#this got a little longer than the others

[fear-no-mort]

favourite thing: his new habit of saying uhuh/mhm and also this

[lilybug-02]

Eimmit High...timmiE high. OMG!

Part 28 || First || Previous || Next...

--Full Series--

Next update may take...much longer! I have finals and an internship and not to mention I have to draw- A LOT :')

[icewindandboringhorror]

I know this is just a silly bad quality random screencap of a screencap that I found on facebook lol, BUT it's a succinct enough image to easily describe the concept in a quick/accessible way hopefully :

-

(and of course, feel free to elaborate in tags, etc.! (especially elaborating about other senses as well.. can you "hear" in your mind just as well as you can "see"? taste? etc.) It's an interesting topic to me, as someone who's like a 4.5 at MOST lol. I'm curious what option will be the most common :0c )

[why-the-heck-not]

honestly happily surprised; I ran for 20mins straight ! I think that’s the longest continous stretch I’ve ran as an adult ever !! Like usually my warm up is 10mins straight so that was a double today!

[thegrandharveyspecter]

All there was in this place was a burner phone. Harvey didn't know where his went but it wasn't in his pocket anymore. Either it was taken or he dropped it somewhere during his trip. Not typical Harvey Specter behaviour, but he had no idea what was going on.

He tried sending the text five times and every time, it failed, so Harvey moved all over the place until there seemed to be a tiny bit of a signal.

[Text: Scott Lang] I'm scared, I'm scared, I'm scared- Harvey Specter

Harvey wasn't really scared but he figured the more urgent it sounded, the more likely he was to get a response. He doubted explaining his situation, his situation he didn't even know was real, would get anywhere.

After Harvey sent it, he started pacing in his spot and hoped Scott wouldn't think this was a prank someone was playing on him.

@antvnger

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

WHAT DO YOU MEAN FANTASY AU HOME FINDS WALLY A LOVER AND THAT ITS COMPLICATED?????

AM I SNIFFING SOME LORE????

OK LISTEN YES AND NO YES AND NO it's not so cut and dry!

most if not all of my decisions in au-crafting stems from the source, my understanding of it, and my interpretations. so warlock!Wally & patron!Home's relationship is how i view their relationship in ~canon~(albeit slightly more intense due to the change in situation). in short: devoted, codependent, intimate, a little strange, and unable to be labeled

so i wouldn't say that Home looks at Wally with outright/explicit romantic feelings, because it's more complicated than that. plus i'm an aro Wally truther. i actually have a ramble post queued up about exactly this so i won't say anything more on the matter rn

[thexgrayxlady]

I think I like the idea of Murtagh and Thorn handling side quest type things for a while once they make it out to Mt Angor. As annoyed as Murtagh is that his already abbreviated training keeps getting interrupted, Thorn's the only mature dragon who isn't tied down to one location.

The first time, they're sent up to the north of the spine, near Carvahall. The longer they're up there, the more Murtagh suspects that the villagers did not need the help of a dragon rider to get rid of a particularly vicious cave bear, but he's already here and it's nice to feel useful and wanted and once he gets over himself, he gets to meet Roran. Reuniting with his brother wasn't nearly as horrible as he thought it would be. Adding a cousin to the mix shouldn't be that bad. Once the initial awkwardness is past, they get along like a house on fire. Even so, he tries to leave quietly once the bear's been tracked and dispatched.

Roran's having none of it. He and Thorn are family, even if he is a prickly grouch. They're at least staying for dinner. Thorn will not let him say no. Ismira is delighted by her uncle and his dragon friend. Dinner turns into a few extra days of helping around Carvahall and spending time with his family. By the time he actually leaves, he, Thorn, Katrina, and Roran are plotting to kidnap Eragon and bring him out here for Ismira's birthday.

Then they spend a few weeks in Illeria, trying to help Nasuada negotiate with the mages because the system, as it's currently set up, is a powder keg. They're happy to see Alin settling in nicely and that she's genuinely enjoying the outside world. Murtagh gets to be a fancy boy who knows politics at galas. He's having the time of his life dragging an ambassador for being a bad dancer. The four of them get involved in so many spy thriller shenanigans because Murtagh cannot go five minutes without kicking some kind of hornets nest.

They go north and fight a sea serpent alongside Uvek. Murtagh can only watch with horror while Thorn plunges into the icy abyss to stop it from dragging their boat under. Then lines on their harpoons go slack and come up cut. He's about to dive in after him when Thorn's head breaches the waves.

"She will not trouble your tribes anymore," Thorn says, dragging himself, panting, onto the pack ice, and adds softly, "I could not bear to destroy something with such a beautiful song."

They find more leads on the Draumar, only now they have enough experience to follow them safely.

Of course, half the time they either create or stumble into far more problems than they wanted. Murtagh can escalate taking care of some small time bandits into a narrowly averted major diplomatic incident between the Broddring Empire and Surda in under three minutes. At one point, they go to take care of some minor smuggling and somehow, wind up leading a heist in Ellesmera and both refuse to elaborate on how those two things are connected.

Eragon looses count of the number of times they come back far later than anticipated, and when questioned about it, Murtagh's first answer is just, "Fucking Durza!"

Thorn continues his side quest to get Murtagh laid, only now he's armed with the knowledge of romantic ballads. His arranged meet-cutes with any of the men or women he deems acceptable are met with a resounding lack of success.

Thorn builds his confidence up with bandits and wild animals and more of the little surprises Durza left around the continent. He learns drinking songs and ballads in taverns and from harvest festivals and on the road and eventually starts to share his own work. He watches people change from approaching him with fear, to caution, to acceptance, and eventually to joy.

And slowly, but surely the people of Alagaësia stop feeling dread at the sight of the red dragon and his rider and instead, feel safe.

[marclef]

about to finally start work on the first part of the comic! but i made some nice-looking character sheets for them. (finally happy with how a couple of these guys look heh)

(if you have no idea who the heck eyhm is i've got a post on here here.)

[nerosdayinanime]

feral giyuu beloved

hes gonna fucking kill Shinazugawa

so Sanemi pulls his stab-the-baby bullshit which terrifies Tanjiro, thinking he'd try to open the box next to burn her in the sun. as soon as Giyuu registers his distress all the tension he'd be holding in snaps violently- he lurches forward out of the lineup and lunges at Sanemi with the ferocity of an actual demon. Sabito and everyone else are stunned in place as Giyuu punches him hard enough to send him to the gravel, snatches Nezuko's box from him and leaps back pulling Tanjiro behind him. He stands there posed protectively in front of them, every muscle tensed ready to move as he stares Sanemi down snarling as loud as thunder. Obanai Mitsuri and Tengen are cringing back- Obanai because hes closest aside from Sanemi and can smell the intense sea-salt & pine through his mask, Mitsuri because shes an Omega Prime and the warning growl/threat scent affects her more, and Tengen because the sharp ring of loathing in the growl hurts his head. Sabito's still in the lineup baring his fangs, struggling to keep calm and not make the situation any worse for his partner despite the anxiety of the situation.

"Don't fucking touch them." "I didn't even touch your stupid brat!" "YOU STABBED HER!"

Everyone startles at the implication of that- Sanemi growls and starts berating him for imprinting on a demon, stomping closer, calling him a traitor for attacking him. Giyuu leans forward ready to rip out his throat at a moments notice, not lunging solely because Tanjiro's holding onto the back of his haori pleading for them not to fight. Sabito finally snarls and stands up- Kyojuro Mitsuri & Tengen follow, fully expecting to have to intervene when the three of them start tearing each other to shreds, "SIT!. ALL OF YOU!." He snaps, harshly grabbing Sanemi by the shoulder and shoving him down. Sanemi starts to protest but Sabito leans over him threateningly and grabs his throat, "You stay fucking put. You're already 5 feet down and i suggest you stop digging any further." Sanemi stares back at him, gripping the arm holding his neck, but doesn't do or say anything else, the others hesitantly settle back down. He lets go and straightens up, looking back at the other hashira, "We're going to sit here and wait for Oyakata-sama like civilized people," a pointed look at Sanemi, "Are we agreed upon?." When everyone murmurs in agreement he nods to Giyuu and kneels next to Sanemi, barricading him and the other hashira from Giyuu Tanjiro and Nezuko.

Giyuu finally stops growling and posturing, hesitating for a moment before turning and fretting over the two of them for a bit- they finally sit down when he calms. When Kagaya arrives hes immediately hit with the tension and thick fear-anger-stress scent filling the courtyard and asks what happened. Sanemi opens his mouth- Sabito slaps a hand under his chin and closes it again. Shinobu and Kyojuro pipe up, explaining that they were questioning the boy when Shinazugawa went ahead and stabbed the demon in the box, how Urokodaki stepped up and ...convinced everyone to sit back down. He finally brings out Sakonji's letter and asks everyone else to allow it like he did. Sanemi of course objects and asks to prove the demon's real nature. Giyuu immediately snaps at him to shut the fuck up- he's already done enough stabbing his fucking cub. Kagaya recognizes the gravity of the situation and offers Giyuu to come inside so he can check on her (and maybe possibly also show everyone else shes not so bad-). Giyuu quickly takes up the offer and pulls Tanjiro over with him in the far corner- Sabito follows them to the edge of the engawa and stands guard there between them and the other hashira.

Giyuu sits down in front of her box and gently opens it, little Nezuko crawling out and looking around for a moment. She sees the blood on Tanjiro's face and tries to wipe it off with her sleeve, Giyuu makes pointed eye contact with Sanemi and carefully cleans Tanjiro's face off. Nezuko patiently sits in his lap until he pats her head and inspects the damage to her clothes. The other hashira are talking, arguing maybe- he doesn't care enough to tell. "Shinazugawa, you owe me 5 yen." "The fuck do i owe you for jackass!?" "Thread, for the fucking HOLE you put through her-" "Ah!- Giyuu-san its fine!-"

Eventually its decided they'll let her live for now, "I also offer to take them in to the Butterfly Mansion, if that's okay with Tomioka-san." Giyuu notices the peace-offering look she gives him when she says that. "...I'll allow it.." Tanjiro herds Nezuko back into her box and Giyuu growls at the kakushi who try to pick up Nezuko's box. He puts the box on himself, Tanjiro tries to assure them he can walk on his own and immediately buckles when he puts pressure on his injured leg. Giyuu picks him up and carries the both of them out and to the butterfly mansion while Sabito stays for the rest of the meeting

[dapg-otmebytheballs]

something ig is a bit of a hot take (maybe not on twt tho) is the whole people speculating about dan’s gender. it all just feels a bit off because i sort of think of it as his whole sexuality journey and how people were so onto him. he has said that he is comfortable as a man but obviously if that were to change it would be fine and we would be accepting.

as well as saying phil is autistic or neurodivergent based on some behaviours and videos. he has not stated it so we don’t know but if he came out and said he was it would all be fine. i just feel weird about the whole speculating aspect of it.

It's fine to not want to engage with particular kinds of fandom activities, you can always curate your experience so that you don't see people posting that

It's odd that you throw this at me though, who has a whole autism tag for keeping track of these instances where Phil does things that make autistic me feel represented

No one is pressuring them, no one is tagging them, this is just what marginalised people are Like when we see kindred spirits and go all Leonardo DiCaprio pointing meme at them. We aren't trying to get personal info from them, nor are we trying to spread misinformation about them. It is something of interest to me though that when people try to shut down speculation because 'we shouldn't assume', they don't realise that you are taking being cis and being allistic and otherwise neurotypical as the 'normal' there. "They haven't said they are trans so you should assume they are cis" "They haven't said they're gay so we shouldn't assume they are" what should we assume in these scenarios? That they are the 'normal thing to be'? Because people are hardly ever uncomfortable about speculation when it's shit like 'maybe they like cats more than dogs' 'do you think this celebrity is gonna marry his girlfriend this year? I think he is' etc etc it's somehow always only when marginalised people are like 'ooh I really relate to those experiences and went through that phase of discovery, wonder if they are also a part of this group' that people start being uncomfortable. Which is like. Honestly, genuinely, betraying some internalised queerphobia and ableism.

If you have your reasons for it good for you, yk, you can learn to make it so you don't see shit that makes you uncomfortable. It's just v weird to go to marginalised people of that group to say 'hey it made me uncomfortable that you even suggested that someone might be like you'. Yeah we know, we hear that like. All the time. Lol.

This askbwasn't worded very hostile so I'm taking in good faith and assuming you just didn't think about it this way before, so like. Anon if you see this please do a bit of introspection about this. We are tired of having our identities treated like they're radioactive

[skyloftian-nutcase]

Hunting for Clues (Dad Squad)

(@nancyheart11 @telemna-hyelle @smilesrobotlover @skyward-floored + @ whoever else wants to be tagged)

The air was uncomfortably thick as a heavy blanket of moisture clung to Rusl's skin. It felt like summer in Ordon Village, except he was in no place to be stripping off his shirt and going swimming to cool off.

Well, swimming might be involved. It depended on if there was a clear path to their destination.

They were following a lead he'd gotten from a nearby village. After the cucco incident, all it took was some conversations to figure out that a local cave had suddenly become more dangerous, that people were being harassed and attacked when they approached it. It didn't take much to ascertain, then, that if the Yiga had a holdout nearby, and a cave was being guarded, it was likely that the group would find Yiga there.

Abel led the group, tense with anticipation. Fierce was last, surveying the area and watching their flank. Rusl kept his eyes alert, wiping the sweat on his brow with his headband. His heart beat hard and fast, not so much from the exertion of climbing along the hill as they followed the river, but in the hope that they would find Link. It had been far too long since his capture, and though Rusl tried to stay focused on the objective rather than worry, the anxiety had steadily been growing.

It had been too familiar, having one of his boys kidnapped. He hated it. He'd been eager to push forward and find him. But when he'd realized he was in a completely different Hyrule, he'd recognized that he'd have to take a step back and figure this out. But now they had a lead, and now there was tangible hope that he could get to his boy, and now nothing was going to stop him from getting there.

They eventually reached the waterfall that supposedly hid the cave's entrance, and Rusl walked up to stand beside Abel.

"No guards," Abel noted quietly, his voice barely audible over the crashing water.

Worry wormed its way around Rusl's heart and mind. Abel was right, after all - the reason they had learned of this place at all was because people had been warded away with violence. The fact that no one had even tried to stop them was telling - either they were walking into a trap, or their lead was an old one.

"I have not noticed any scouts, either," Fierce added as he caught up with them easily. "This does not bode well."

Rusl drew his sword. "Then we should be ready for anything. Let's go."

The water was refreshingly cool on his skin as he passed through, bowing his head as the weight and pressure briefly beat down on him. He opened his eyes again quickly, blinking water away and surveying the area.

The cave was enormous, with moss and glowing mushrooms lining the stone path leading far beyond where he could see. He grabbed a lantern and quickly lit it, leading his companions into the darkness.

Bearing a torch and a sword while looking for lost children. This is too familiar. Rusl bit his tongue, shaking the thought away. He had to focus.

A particularly large water droplet fell from the ceiling, splashing on the top of his head and startling him back to reality. He gave a quiet huff, thanking the goddesses for the help focusing, and gripped his sword more tightly.

The farther they walked, the worse it felt. The waterfall drowned out any sound that could have tipped them off if there was someone nearby, and the very distinct lack of people made Rusl's skin crawl. The Yiga had already tried to ambush them once, and they were defeated fairly easily, but still... a place like this could make matters difficult if they were attacked.

There was a faint glow ahead, bluish in color. Rusl lowered his lantern slightly, squinting and looking for movement. He pulled the wick back a little, dimming the light so they wouldn't be as obvious as they approached. Though Fierce's steps were much louder than theirs, he still tried to creep along as quietly as Rusl and Abel did until the trio had reached a bend in the long cavernous pathway.

When Rusl peeked around, he saw litter and debris, and he immediately knew they were too late. The tension drained out of him with a heavy exhale, disappointment filling the void. His eyes were attracted upward, however, to trace the blue light to its source. It was a strange, frog-like creature clinging to the stony walls and hopping around easily. Rusl stared at it in wonder, reminded of the light spirits, and wondered if it was kin to them.

Abel swore softly, walking into the room, seemingly ignoring the creature altogether.

"Hello, little sprite," Fierce called to the animal. It turned, glancing at him, and continued to bounce around cheerfully.

"What is it?" Rusl asked, curiosity holding his anguish at bay.

"I am not entirely sure," Fierce answered, catching Rusl off guard. "I can sense its magic, though. It is not of the Yiga."

With that little knowledge, Rusl returned his attention to the large room the creature was illuminating. The room had a few barrels, a desk with some notes, but most of what was there had been removed. Abel was busy perusing a book of some sort that was on the desk.

Approaching, Rusl asked, "What did you find?"

"Notes," Abel answered simply, engrossed in his reading. Rusl didn't bother pushing the matter, waiting for him to finish.

The loud meow that emitted from one of the barrels distracted him well enough. All three men turned their gaze, though Abel resumed his reading quickly, and Fierce and Rusl walked to the nearest barrel.

Inside was a kitten, creamy white fur blending with patches of buttery brown. It meowed again as it looked up at the pair.

"What are you doing here, little guy?" Rusl asked as he cautiously reached in. The kitten didn't swat at him, allowing itself to be hauled gently out of the barrel where it had been trapped.

When Rusl turned to ask Abel if he had finished reading, he saw the knight staring at him with wide eyes and a furrowed brow, as if he'd just been given some sort of life altering news. Ice filled his veins, worry for Link immediately shutting out any other thought. "What's wrong?"

"The Hero of Time," Abel said. "That's... your son is the Hero of Time?"

Several thoughts clamored for attention all at once in Rusl's mind. The Hero of Time was a figure of legend, and he had been the one to train Link. Did.. did that mean Link inherited the title? He supposed that wasn't unreasonable. But that meant the Yiga had written about him in their log, and that meant he had to be alive still, because his title would not have been the first piece of information Abel had clung to if it were otherwise.

Hopefully.

Rusl walked to his companion in three large steps, the kitten bouncing in his arms, and he demanded, "What did they say about him?"

"T-they..." Abel glanced between Rusl and the kitten, temporary confusion flitting across his face at the sight of the animal before he continued, "They said he's---he's, ah, been fighting them off."

Rusl's dread vanished in an instant and was replaced with hope. "What? But..."

They hadn't captured him after all? Was he out here somewhere, lost and injured and alone, searching for Rusl as desperately as Rusl was looking for him?

"They escaped," Abel explained, holding the book close to his chest. "They escaped the main Yiga stronghold. They've been spreading their forces to find them."

The kitten was suddenly plucked out of Rusl's arms, held by the scruff of its neck by the fierce deity as he stared at it. "And this tiny furry creature was supposed to track him?"

Rusl's eyes stung unexpectedly with tears, and he let out a wet laugh, blinking them away. "I think maybe this little guy got lost."

"The kitten was supposed to be bait..." Abel added with a tone that was just as confused as Fierce's. "Apparently to lure the dog in."

Rusl whipped his head towards the knight. "Dog? What dog?"

Rusl immediately snatched the book before Abel could answer, courtesy abandoned, and the knight snarled, grabbing it back.

"This isn't time for your paranoia," Rusl snapped. "Whatever you're hiding, unless it has to do with my boy, I don't care. Let me read it."

Before either party could continue the argument, the book was taken out of Abel's tight grip with ease, making the knight yelp. The Fierce Deity flipped it in his hands, reading it aloud. "We have arrived at the designated site per our leader's orders. We're currently looking for a good way to lure the wretched heroes. The Hero of Time has been a constant thorn in our side in every encounter. He even took our bananas during the last fight."

Spirits above. Link's alive. He's alive and he escaped.

Of course he did. It was Link. His boy had fought Zant and Ganondorf, had been trained by the Hero of Time (the previous Hero of Time...? Did they all have that title, then?), had been forged into a strong warrior through the dark flames of twilight magic. Link could handle anything. Rusl shouldn't have worried.

Except he still did. Because he didn't know if Link was hurt. He didn't know where Link was, and the Yiga were hunting him.

What did these people want with him?! All Rusl knew of the Yiga was that Abel said they were traitors to the crown who wanted to see Hyrule fall. He said they were a cult of sorts, and they worshipped a demon, the same one that had destroyed Abel's Hyrule.

The deity turned the page with a thumb, carelessly tossing the kitten towards Rusl, who jumped, startled, and quickly caught the frightened little animal. He leaned it against his chest to soothe it as Abel grew steadily more wound up watching their companion.

"We've got a lead on their whereabouts," Fierce continued reading. "It appears the Hero's condition has improved somewhat, or at least enough that he is still alive. We have to ensure we catch him before he dies."

Rusl's breath was stolen from him. "What?!"

Fierce also stared worriedly at the pages, reading silently to gather more information quickly. It left Rusl in too much suspense, and he said, "Fierce, tell us what the hell is going on. Is my boy okay?"

"They're referring to three figures," Fierce answered as he read. "The Hero of Time, the Hero, and the dog. Sometimes they mention a mutt... I assume that must be the dog."

The uncertainty and anxiety were going to drive Rusl insane. "Just read it aloud. Please."

"Our camp was raided by the Hero of Time last night," Fierce obliged. "He took all our food and smashed all our bananas. One of our scouts spotted his dog but then we lost contact with him."

"We've made a discovery. The dog likes hanging around other animals. One of our scouts saw it playing with some kittens. We've since acquired one of the kittens and will be utilizing it to lure in the dog. If the mutt comes, then the Hero of Time will follow. Then all we have to do is find his base of operations to get the Hero."

"We've been in this cave for two weeks, and it's been almost a week since there's been any sign of our targets. The kitten ploy has not come to anything. Another group reported in that there are warriors looking the heroes. We will attempt to set up a trap for them. In the meantime, I've decided we need to move camp."

The longer Rusl listened, the more he realized that the Hero of Time was not, in fact, his Link. He could easily see his boy attacking the Yiga encampment, but he wouldn't simply raid it for supplies and leave. Link was too self reliant for that - he would gather his own supplies. He would only enter an enemy camp to eliminate it. His sweet boy was gentle in all ways but battle, after all.

Also, he knew, out of any group of boys, who would go running to the nearest pile of cuddly animals.

He knew exactly which one was his Link.

Which meant...

Rusl glanced over at Abel, really looked at him, and he saw the subtle signs in the man's stony demeanor. He saw the worry, the fear, the way the man's hands trembled.

"The injured one... that's your son, isn't it?" Rusl asked quietly.

Abel's expression darkened, a fierce, nearly feral glare crossing his face. His look dared Rusl to say anything else.

So this was the unspoken fear Abel had been carrying with him. This was the reason he didn't dare speak much about his boy. Had he thought they'd take advantage of his boy's vulnerable state? What else was Abel hiding?

"The Hero of Time is my child," Fierce said firmly, closing the book with a quick snap. "That is his title. And his tactics match. One of your children is missing."

Rusl bit his tongue as he smiled and choked back a snort. "Well... we'll find my boy. Let's start by finding yours."

"The Hero you've been protecting is the Hero of Time?" Abel confirmed.

"Yes," Fierce answered with a nod.

Abel let out a sigh of what seemed to be relief.

"What's wrong with your son?" Rusl asked gently.

The knight closed his eyes, his body stiffening. He didn't trust them. Rusl almost felt hurt, but then again... he had just withheld vital information about his Link as well.

But why wouldn't he? Telling them his boy could turn into a beast was a recipe for disaster.

Then again, them not knowing was equally bad. He knew that from experience. They'd already had to battle one pack of wolves and he'd nearly had a meltdown. He had had a meltdown.

What secret was Abel keeping to protect his boy?

Rusl's train of thought was interrupted when the strange blue bouncing creature hopped over, hovering directly over Abel. Seeing as the man wasn't reacting, Rusl hesitantly pointed to it. "You... can see that thing, right?"

Distracted, Abel glanced upward. Then he huffed. "It's a bubbulfrog."

"A what?"

"Bubbulfrog," Abel repeated, glancing at the pair. "Legend says if you strike one down you can obtain a mystical stone from it."

"You don't seem very fazed by this," Rusl noted.

"Link and I have found plenty in different caves when he was little," Abel sighed. He raised an eyebrow as he looked up. "I'm surprised this one isn't blowing bubbles at us, though."

"They do that?"

"Often. Link loved popping them. But we... never got this close," Abel went on uncertainly. "I wasn't sure how dangerous they were. They usually stay away from people."

"It won't harm you," Fierce said.

"Either way," Abel continued with a dismissive wave. "They don't hang around people. If there's one here it means the Yiga left long ago."

The kitten meowed again, pawing at Rusl's tunic. The Ordonian smiled down at it before looking back at Abel, whose gaze had grown distant. Meanwhile, Fierce turned, motioning towards them. "We should move on. It is clear the boys are not here and have not been in the area for some time."

Nodding, the two men followed him out of the cave. Rusl ran a hand gently over the kitten, which purred in response, relaxing him a little. They really needed to get to the bottom of all of this. Abel needed to open up and tell them more about the Yiga. And maybe... maybe Rusl should tell them about Link's transformative abilities before something terrible truly did happen.

Rusl sighed, looking around as the humidity came back in full force upon exiting the cave. This was... a mess. But at leas the knew Link was alive, and that was all that mattered.

[gamebunny-advance]

Today's Pikmin comic...

is so f*cked.

(link)

[tswwwit]

(NSFW)

What was it like the first time Bill got turned on in his human body?? I mean even though he’s had demon sex (?) in his geometric form, and witnessed human sex dreams, it must’ve been weird the first time it happened to his, like. Real real body.

It sure was!

While Bill's possessed human bodies before, it was generally for mischief and mayhem, with the mind of the mortal screaming in impotent terror and/or rage. Which is hilarious, but not horny.

Even besides that, wearing one to get down with the human-style flesh-slapping didn't particularly appeal either; it just looked so.... meaty. With fluids going in places, I mean, c'mon! From the outside the whole ordeal looks completely ridiculous! You'd probably be all sticky at the end and pushing lots of air in and out. What a bunch of weirdos meatsacks are.

Of course, as we all know, Bill ended up in a meatsack at the beginning of Faking It - which came with a myriad of annoyances, but some extra benefits!

For one, having his own custom model suited Bill much better! It was quite literally made for him, tailored to his very essence. All the nerves and wires plugged into the right metaphorical ports and full driver installation. He's much more in that body than the other ones he's driven around, it's rigged out with all the luxuries and hooked right up to his own mind.

So it was with mild surprise that Bill noticed when he was, ahem, interested, there was an involuntary reaction. All the tubes pushing liquids into places and a slight rise in temperature; and some other things. One of which was quite evident. Bill was well aware of this one in the past he'd made considerable fun of it - but being in this body so much, and having it tuned to respond to his mental state, lent the absurd situation a bit of, uh. Urgency? Importance? Anyway, it was... much more distracting than he thought it'd be.

But hey! Weirdness is like, Bill's whole jam, you can't deny he's curious enough to poke around in places a being probably shouldn't, and he was already stuck in the thing anyway. Why not give it a little test drive and see what that's all about?

Important note: It's canon in the Bill POV sex scene that human flesh has hundred of thousands more nerve endings than his standard form. Considerably more sensitive. Touch is the difference between an armored gauntlet and your bare hand; temperature and texture are all very, very enhanced -

The results: Positive. Excellent. A+++, Bill was Enlightened and Delighted.

A convert was made that day. Bill Cipher is big into hedonism, and now the doors to the pleasures of the literal flesh were open.

Bill had to hand it to humanity; okay, like, he gets it now. It's an acquired taste to be sure, but once you get it it's fan-friggin-tastic! He cast all those old aspersions aside and prepared set sail onto new seas of sensation.

[lairmadness]

hiatus notice!

It's been a long time!! We are both well, but life has been collectively kicking both our asses a little bit, and the prospect of picking up and running the blog as consistently as we used to is feeling kind of daunting as a result. So we're going to step back for a little while and work on some other stuff while we clear our heads, and come back later ready to continue.

(how much later? unsure! But hopefully not long, we still both care a lot about the blog and its story. This isn't the last you'll see of it by a long shot :))

Additionally, both mods have both moved main blogs over the past few months- you can now find us instead at @alien-shmalien and @creaturelytracker.

Take care!!

[neotula]

i love character creation!!!!!!!!!!!!

[sharkneto]

now that joining together is coming to a close (which, holy moly, congratulations!!!), were there any ideas or drafts that ultimately had to be cut for whatever reason, things that didn't work out in the flow of your story that you wish you had time to explore further? conversely, were there any major last minute changes you made that surprised you? thanks for your work, as always!

I think the only officially cut thing from JT is this deleted scene from Chapter 23. Other cuts that happened very early on in getting JT ready to start sharing was that there used to be a couple more people in Sarah's lab - a post doc and a second grad student. It was too many people and Megan's role absorbed them both. The fic is better for it. Another cut thing I played with was that, during the Extra Ordinary arc, Rick would have had a talk with Sarah about the book because he read it, becoming the only Lab Member to have read it and finally kind of getting Number. I liked the idea because it let Rick be a bit more of a character, but ultimately didn't add enough and the pacing was so much obviously better to keep the focus tight on Sarah and Five, so I never even wrote any of it. Rick gets to continue hanging out as a quarternary character with the defining character trait of Tall.

As for how things have changed, I've had the basics of the final chapters written for like two and a half years, so I've always known where we were headed. But, the exact Vibe of them and how we got there shifted. It was originally just Extra Ordinary drama - the Sarah Argument was a relatively last-minute addition, but I think it's better for it and better supports the rock-bottom of the rock bottom Five is at.

Another thing that surprised me, just overall in writing it, was how goddamn long it took for Five to be friends with Sarah and Rob. It took like 60k words. Jesus fucking Christ. I just wanted to write them as friends already but Five was Not Ready and I wasn't going to rush it and cheapen the development even if I just wanted to write them all hanging out already.

I think the largest oversight I had (and cannot believe I missed!) was that Five could have taken a class from Sarah. I've been thinking about this series and Number and Sarah for over three years, and this only occurred to me a couple months ago. It's too late to go back and add it in, now, but I might have to write that one of these days as a little bonus. It's just so fun and would have been perfect to slip in in their early days, when they're Friends but before Five is really part of the Walters family. The beats for this chapter would be as follows: Second semester of Five in Sarah's lab, he signs up for one of her classes. He incorrectly assumes that, because it is Sarah's class, it means he doesn't have to go to it and can just work in the lab through her lecture and discussion. When she tracks him down to yell at him about skipping, he is disappointed that he has not found a loophole to the Agreement. He has to go to class. He sits in the back and grudgingly participates when Sarah forces him to, otherwise spends the class texting Sarah his thoughts about what she's teaching but mostly about the other students. He has a good time and does learn some things despite himself.