#without them we probably wouldn't be here

[mymusingss]

What really gets me about Chris and Tom is just how differently things could have been.

McQ was in director jail, couldn't make anything work and was about to give up on Hollywood when he heard someone talk shit about Tom and for some reason his first thought was "no way!". After hearing that, he decided to meet Tom in person going through great lenghts to do so.

This could have easily been the case of McQ hearing that and being like "oh" and moved on with his life.

Tom - who went through directors like no else's business and whose career was at a all time low - talked to him for mere hours and just knew that he'd spend the rest of his life doing movies with him.

Later, McQ would attribute them meeting to sheer coincidence or an accident, and sure him listening to that person talk shit about Tom could have been a coincidence (or not, who knows?), but he chose to go to that meeting because he didn't like to hear someone talk shit about a man he didn't even know yet.

People joke Tom knew instantly while it took McQ a while to figure it out, but I do think that those who think that aren't wrong. I can a see a world where Mr. "Suffers from imposter syndrome" wouldn't go down as quietly as Tom would.

The progression is noticeable.

It is important to note that McQ has stated that his relationship with Tom isn't built on them feeling like they owe each other anything. Everything they've done was because they wanted it to.

McQ coming back after Rogue Nation was because he wanted it to. He chalked it up to Tom being persuasive, but we all know the truth. Tom would understand if McQ wanted to give the script to another director, McQ was the one that chose to stay even when he knew that would mean being stressed out and sleep deprived for years to come.

However, we see McQ going from treating Tom like his own thing and feeling like an outsider, to him saying that they were sort of outsiders in the industry speaks levels to the growing comfort they felt with each other. This is proven by the fact that when Tom and Chris talk, they rarely say "I". Is always "we". "We decided on the ending", "we decided to do this", "we chose this route". Even if is writing, which is Chris' thing, he rarely says "I".

McQ went from having preconceived notions of Tom to working with him like no else's business, to understanding him in a level we have yet to see any other director understand Tom. Case in point, we just had Kosinski implying Tom doesn't know his own limits meanwhile Chris takes every chance he gets to talk about how Tom does this for the audiences.

I will always stand by that their partnership is more than other actors and directors partnerships we have.

It is cute that they call each other creative soulmates, it is cute that Chris can't seem to be able to say no to Tom, it is cute that these two don't need to say anything to each other because they know each other so well they can tell what the other is thinking.

But it is more than that by now. And you can absolutely tell. Chris literally implied he'd rather be in a helicopter with Tom in the event of something going wrong, has literally suggested he'd rather die with him, those are some heavy implications to make from a man with a wife and two daughters, if you ask me.

So yeah, all of this all thanks to that random person that was talking shit about Tom. I wonder if they know they're the reason they met? Honestly, I'm like: "well screw you for saying shit about him but also THANK YOU!"

[ladylyra]

a gijinka refresh in honor of 6 years since white 2 (featuring new pre-evos)

so, back then, i didn't really publish in-depth about my runs or have some elaborate story for them. characters like jackie have basically no content besides maybe answering an ask. and i actually didn't really post a bulk of content until AFTER the run. i just threw little tidbits out there of the gijinkas for fun and people ended up liking them (alongside my swsh team at the time!!) and despite me doing nuzlockes prior, this was really the start of my dedication to making them more complete characters. every nuzlocke over time as progressively offered more of the "journey", and compared to what i do now with platinum 2, their content is relatively sparse, but it all started here! i wouldn't probably be making a comic now without them (and you all!) which is crazy to think about but here we are.

[idiopath-fic-smile]

(two people asked for more, so here's like 600ish additional words of Eliot not having a clue!)

They'd chosen their current headquarters partly because it was in an area of town that didn't see much traffic. The street was more or less empty, except for a few people starting to poke their heads out of doors, investigating the sound. His ears were ringing. He swallowed.

Nobody to chase. Nobody to subdue. Just a whole lot of sudden goddamn unanswered questions.

His phone rang.

"That was your car, right?" said Hardison. "CCTV footage's a little grainy, but I thought I could make out—"

"Yeah, it's my car," said Eliot. The smoke was beginning to clear, revealing a small pile of rubble. "Shit."

"Anyone hurt?"

"No."

"You better come back up, then," said Hardison.

"Y'all better come down," Eliot countered. "Whoever did this, if they could ID and locate my car, they likely know where we meet. Nobody's going back in there until I sweep it, and in the meantime—Lisbon protocols."

Lisbon protocols meant a series of evasive driving maneuvers, ending in a speedy trip to the closest safehouse.

Eliot took a breath and let it out. Shakier than he wanted. He would need to be calm, by the time Hardison and Parker rejoined him. His job was to keep them safe, and that meant—

"Grabbed your bug-out bag," said Parker, right beside him.

Eliot jumped. He saw Parker note this, and then he saw her visibly decide to move on.

"And tell you what, man, you better have a good reason why your emergency go-bag is so heavy," said Hardison beside her. "If your sourdough starter is in here, we are having words." And okay, Parker had clearly harnessed up and dropped from the elevator shaft, that much made sense, but Hardison agreeing to be strapped in for a free fall was out of the fucking ordinary. Eliot wasn't sure what his face was doing—hopefully nothing—but Hardison put a careful hand on his bicep.

"You okay?" said Hardison.

Eliot nodded and stepped away. "Nobody in the blast zone, and nobody suspicious in the area," he added. "Bomb must've been on a timer." He didn't bother saying what they both already knew: the bomb had gone off within minutes of Eliot's usual lunch trip. Odds were good someone was watching them closely.

"Take a breath, man," said Hardison.

"I'm breathing, alright?" Eliot snapped. If his oxygen supply had been cut off, he wouldn't have been able to picture so clearly how fucked they were. "What are we waiting for? Lisbon protocol, let's go."

"We're revisiting it later if you're actually okay," said Hardison.

"Revisit it in the goddamn car," Eliot gritted out. "We'll take Hardison's, once I've cleared it."

"I'm driving," said Parker.

"No way in Hell, you drive like a sack of raccoons," said Eliot.

Parker nodded. She didn't smile or anything, but he still sensed something like relief.

.

Hardison drove. He was decent behind the wheel, Eliot could admit that much. Generally, Eliot found it a little irritating all the things Hardison could do without trying all that hard, but at the moment—he'd take it.

After they were positive they had nobody on their trail, Eliot let himself slump down in the back seat and take a breath.

"So," said Parker, exchanging a glance with Hardison. "My bug-out bag doesn't include the 'talking about feelings' puppets, but we think it's probably time to talk about feelings."

Eliot eyed the door handle. He'd tucked and rolled from a moving vehicle before; it wouldn't be that hard to—

The child locks clicked on.

Hardison met his eyes in the rear view mirror. "Don't make me circle back and get the puppets," said Hardison. "Those things give my nightmares nightmares."

For the wnip meme if you're still taking them - no idea if you've seen Leverage (and no worries if not, of course), but I'd live for your Ready For Love / IDOAG-style take on the Leverage OT3, no matter the plot. The snark! The noodle incidents! The yearning potential always inherent in established-het-couple-plus-life-partner! It would be great.

oh my gosh, this is an amazing prompt and i love leverage!!! my first thought was that it would actually be very funny to put Elliott in a close-to-identical spot as Cosmo in Ready For Love, and then, uh. this happened:

The irritating thing about Hardison and Parker—

Well, there were plenty of irritating things about Hardison, too many to name, and at least two about Parker. Hers were the way she ate when she was feeding herself (Elliott still wasn’t over the time he’d walked in on her sprinkling Frosted Flakes onto a piece of pizza. “What?” she’d said. “It’s fortified with vitamins and minerals”) and the way she threw herself into danger even when Elliott was right there to take the hit. But the most annoying thing about them as a couple was that they had no shame, about anything.

“Anniversary cruise next month,” Hardison announced when Elliott slunk into headquarters on Monday morning, nursing a headache he’d been assured was not a concussion. “You coming?”

“I—am I coming,” Elliott repeated. “To your anniversary cruise?”

“Of course he is,” said Parker, dropping upside down out of the ceiling. “We already hacked into his calendar, he’s free.”

Elliott pinched the bridge of his nose, temples pounding. There were many, many things he could’ve said just then, chief among them “Seriously, again?” or “What is your goddamn addiction to having a third wheel around?” or “Do you two get off on being fucking pined at?” or even just a classic “Dammit, Hardison.” For reasons that surpassed his own goddamn understanding, what he said was,

“Next month’s not your anniversary.”

Parker flipped and landed soundlessly on her feet. “Yes it is,” she said. “September 16.”

“No,” said Elliott, with way more patience than they deserved, “y’all got together in August. August 28th.”

Hardison blinked. “Dude, you memorized our anniversary?”

Shit. Elliott could’ve hit himself. He had no cover, for knowing something like that. No real explanation, except for how closely he watched them.

“Well, you weren’t gonna do it!” Elliott blustered.

“Hey now,” said Hardison, “I think—I think I resent that. How could you believe I’d forget one of the most important days of my life?”

“Because you just did!” snapped Elliott.

Parker appeared at Elliott’s side (literally appeared; he hadn’t tracked the approach at all) with a bottle of painkillers, which she shook meaningfully.

“What?” said Elliott.

“I think she means ‘for the headache you’re suffering through for no good damn reason,’” Hardison suggested.

“Taking too many isn’t good for you,” said Elliott.

“Pain also isn’t good for you,” said Parker, and wasn’t that the truth?

“Oh, for god’s sake, gimme that,” said Elliott, pouring out two pills and swallowing them dry.

Hardison shook his head. “Why do you even have to be macho about how you take your Tylenol?”

“At any rate, we’re booking tickets for September,” Parker reported. “Three tickets, unless you’re busy. Which you’re not.”

“Because I’m coming on your anniversary cruise,” said Elliott disbelievingly.

“There, I think he’s catching on!” said Hardison. He and Parker high-fived.

See? Fucking irritating.

[mar-mots]

what are your headcanons on bucky/John walker

Oookay I've been sitting on this for a bit because the horrifying ordeal of being perceived got me good but I started this at 2am this morning so I'm finally gonna answer it.

General caveat of how this is all headcanon and I might not be the most articulate because again, started at 2am and thus I'm working onnnn less than ideal sleep.

So!! Here we go. Maybe I'll make a series of this if it gets too long (Note: It got too long 😔)

Affection and touch

John isn't big on pda and Bucky respects that. It's an insecurity thing--John has a lot of internalized homophobia to unlearn in the early days and it's easier to take it one step at a time. Avoid rocking the boat.

Bucky is subtle affection incarnate. Not overt gestures, just quiet reminders. Like a hand pressed to the small of John's back for a second or so when no one's looking, or standing shoulder-to-shoulder during a mission debriefing.

John actively seeks out affection more than Bucky does, but Bucky is a certified yearner with the puppy eyed awe to match.

John's affection does trend towards the more overt. Offering to cuddle with an open arm when they're both on the couch, coming up behind Bucky when he's in the middle of something to press a kiss to the back of his neck.

(John almost got decked once during the early days for doing that. He learned quickly to make his presence in the room stick before going for affection. Or coming up behind him.)

That being said, they both have a complex relationship with affection. It doesn't come natural to them--tenderness doesn't fit to the size of John's hands and he's very touch starved by the time they actually get together and regardless of what headcanons you have of Bucky's time as the winter soldier, I believe he probably has a weird relationship with touch because of it. (Might write more on this later but the post is getting long)

The most public affection they ever really take part in is when they're patching each other up after missions or sparring sessions. John kind of loves it. Makes him feel doted on, even if Bucky does it with dry wit and a half-serious frown, and he gives lip as good as he gets it.

Love languages

They don't really use the L-word. Bucky's lost too much to take that risk, and John actually wants to use it, there's just a million reasons why he doesn't. He doesn't feel like he's allowed to.

John might blurt it out in an argument one day. A bad one, maybe after doing something stupid or dangerous (both?). He wouldn't realise that he's said the quiet part out loud until Bucky's entirely stopped just to stare. (And if there's a bit of fear in the way Bucky looks at him, then, that's just something they'll both choose to ignore. If John regards him with fear of his own? Also ignored. At least, verbally.)

Bucky might say it. Once. If he thinks they might be dying or John really needs to hear it. It's an incredibly rare privilege. (Nevermind that the first time he says it it basically gives John ammo to give him shit about it later. Affectionately, of course.)

Both of their main love languages is Acts of Service, but John in particular needs words of affirmation to like. function. He needs to be told he's doing well, he needs to know he isn't just going to fuck it all up again.

Bucky struggles with this at first, the sharing. The gentle comfort without coddling. He's used to butting heads with John, he doesn't immediately realise how much it actually stings when John's at his worst and really just needs to be told it's okay. (They fight a lot early on because of this. John's just too proud to admit when he really needs something.)

Bucky on the other hand actually likes when John does things for him and hangs out. It's comforting when the man cooks, or helps clean up after training, or any number of things that aren't obvious. And John just. does it. Not because he knows what it does to Bucky, but because that's just how he is.

They don't really kiss much early on. Bucky doesn't like people getting that close to his face and John has to unpack a lot of things internally related to kissing a man now so it doesn't come natural to the relationship.

Pet names

They don't do pet names. Bucky keeps calling John by his last name and it drives him nuts. (Secretly, that's partially why Bucky still does it.)

John kind of does like the idea of pet names but nothing really sticks. 'Buck' feels reserved for someone else even if he does use it when he's being an ass, and traditional terms of endearment like 'Babe' don't feel right, either. 'Asshole' doesn't count.

When Bucky actually uses the name 'John' it's either an emergency or it makes him melt on the spot. No in-between. Either way, it's a private thing. Special. Reserved for those quiet moments between fights or when John needs reassurance the most.

One time Bucky called him 'Johnny' (maybe to rile him up or tease him) and Walker just about combusted. John won't ask Bucky to call him that, mainly because that means being vulnerable, but Bucky knows. He knows.

Aaaanyway, that's all I have for now. But I'll probs end up posting more in the future because these are really fun actually. Hope this answers at least some of the question.

[pucksandpebbles]

𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒂 𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒏', 𝒎𝒄⁷¹

a short fic in which Mack notices a girl on the ice and cannot get her out of his head because of just how much they have in common macklin celebrini x figureskater!reader

a/n : my first mack fic ahhhhh! I wanted to do this as a dual pov so it felt more 'x reader' but then couldn't be arsed so this is all Mack pov!

A disclaimer btw, reader's nickname is 'Princess' and sometimes that's how Mack refers to her but otherwise it's pretty much 'x reader' because she isn't named. The way I write reader fics can be so specific cause I hate doing the y/n thing so this may read a little like my oc fics. I also know nothing about figure skating except the basics and have no idea about the goings on at the Shark Tank so don't come for me.

Absolutely nooooo proofreading sorry guys if there's mistakes. Always remember to show love and don't be a silent reader - I love your thoughts and without y'all I probably wouldn't be writing so thank you. And we are soooo close to 200 followers, I cannot believe it.

wc: 1.9k

There’s a girl on the ice at the Shark Tank. Clad all over in a black material that clings to her skin, hair whipping from side to side even though it’s secured in a pony tail, even her skates are an even-toned black, speckled with bits of ice, the only part of her not in black, not covered in a material are her hands. Despite the way she’s skating, rushed and powerful, Macklin thinks that she must be cold - her hands that is, especially with the way in which, when she does the cantilever, her fingertips brush at the ice below her. With a strength that is deep set in her bones, she charges across the ice, powering her high and complex jumps and landing with an elegance that would be impossible to master for Macklin. She’s a figure skater, obviously. Occasionally, some of them book out the stadium for practice, it’s not often though and usually they’re accompanied by their trainers and teammates - but as Macklin looks around the empty seats of the stadium, he spots nobody. 

She’s stayed past her allotted time. But Macklin’s also here early, lacing up his hockey skates for a pre-practice practice, his own personal warm-up that he can do without any prying eyes. Now he’s the prying eyes, watching mesmerised as the skater performs her toe-loops and a quad or two. It’s impressive to him.

He watches as she propels herself up into the air, arms pulling into her chest and long hair wrapping around her face. This time when she lands though, she stumbles and her other leg flies over and she goes tumbling to the ice, the momentum of the jump carrying through to slide her away from the scene of the incident, sat with her legs outstretched. She buries her head in her hands and cries out and Macklin shoots to his feet and rushes to the plexiglass to see if she’s okay.

Against his better judgement of staying quiet and unnoticed, Macklin shouts out across the ice to disturb the skater, “Are you okay?”

Her head pricks up and she stumbles to her feet and her skates haphazardly, skating tenderly to the plexiglass where Macklin is standing.

“Fine, sorry were you waiting for the ice?” She smiles apologetically, stepping off the ice and reaching for her guards.

Macklin shakes his head, “It’s okay, not really,” she sits on one of the benches, unlacing her states and tugging a hoodie out of her skate bag to pull over her head, Macklin watches intently and then realises he’s being a bit of a creep - the best that he can force out is, “Your skating was impressive.”

She practically bats away the compliment, smile souring into a hard set line, “Not really. I fell, couldn’t make the quad in case you noticed.”

“Well, it looked impressive to me.” Macklin combats the self-depreciation, the line sounding awfully familiar. Usually he was on the other end of this type of conversation.

The girl shakes her head, “I need that quad to make the team.”

Macklin sits down beside her as she swaps over her shoes and takes her earbuds out, “You seem like you’re working very hard for it.”     

She smiles, brushing through her loose hair now, Macklin watches the soft waves unfold along her back, “You too. You’re a shark aren’t you?”

“The centre, Mack,” he formally introduces himself, extending a hand out to her to shake which she takes with a giggle.

Her amusement is barely hidden and she slides her hand against Mack’s and softly shakes it up and down as a greeting, “Nice to meet you Mack.”

“You’re not going to tell me your name,” Mack questions.

She smirks as she stands up, pulling her skating bag, a light beige coloured and highly battered, onto her shoulder, “You can figure it out. But people call me the Axel Princess in the skating world.”

“How about Princess then,” Macklin shouts to her as she makes her way through the stadium away from Macklin, evidently towards the exit.

She turns to him, walking backwards slowly, a sweet smile appearing on her face, “Princess, I don’t mind it.”  

Macklin thinks about ‘Princess’ through all the way up until practice, as he run drills silently and alone on the ice. He thought it would be nice if she had stayed to watch, leaning back in the stadium seat as he warmed up until he was warm and his hair was wet underneath his helmet. The drills strain at his muscles in a burn that Macklin pretends the enjoy - it’s for the good of him, for the good of the game, for the good of the team. When he returns to the locker room before actual practice, he’s puffed out and jelly-legged, having pushed himself more than usual. Spaced out as he thought of the girl of the ice, how her limbs must burn with the exertion of how she propels herself up and off the ice and lands back to the ice in a hip-shattering movement, and then just carries on.

He’s heard about some of the San Jose figure skaters before, most of the hockey players look upon them with scorn, a little bit of a rivalry. There’s no artistry in hockey like there is in figure skating and ice dance, and the two sports operate in almost completely different ways. Hockey players build up and figure skaters slim down - most of the skaters burn out by the time they reach their twenties. Macklin remembers the exhaustion under her eyes, dark purple circles and the tape covering the bit of her skin visible to him when she came closer. She was small too, skinny, a small woman but able to produce such a performance on ice, it was incredible. It’s a sight that is familiar to Macklin, when he goes home and his father trains him and Aiden until they drop. It’s his second season with the sharks and when he returned after his first, he remembers how Toffoli had pulled him to the side, told him he looked exhausted, and asked if he was okay because he didn’t seem himself. Macklin had shook him off, it was for the better he said to himself but he couldn’t even bring himself to believe it.

He wondered if it was the same for Princess. If she worked herself to the bone like Macklin did because she felt inadequate. Not good enough, even if everyone around her was saying that she was perfect, the best, number fucking one.    

Macklin couldn’t stop thinking about her all through practice, and then in the locker room when he would usually be chatting with Toff and Ekky, even on the drive home with Will, he keeps strangely silent, thinking of the next time he might see her again.

Mack must be a psychic. 

Because Mack does see her again. It’s when he, Will, Ekky and Toff are filtering into the stadium before practice. This time she is on ice with what looks to be a trainer. A stern looking woman dressed in a warm fur coat and yelling at her across the ice; with each screeching yell, Macklin flinches, and watches as she takes it, a blank look washing across her face, making the only defining feature on her face the purple circles under her dull eyes which skitter across the ice. It catches Macklin’s attention immediately, and after a few curses from her trainer, Mack watches as Ekky and Will turn their attentions to what is happening out on their ice. 

As they walk past, Princess runs her jump again, the same one over and over and Mack watches as she fails in over and over, tumbling to the ice and getting back up. 

Toff looks concerned Mack notices, and he’s not the only one. But the boys do nothing, say nothing. It turns Mack’s stomach. Yet again, Mack can’t stop thinking about her all through practice. It’s eating away at his bones, and by the time he plonks down on the bench of the locker room after practice, and the incident is all but forgotten by his friends, he pulls out his phone.

He does what he must and googles her - The Axel Princess.

Headlines pop up instantly. Horrible ones, questioning her integrity, critiquing her performance despite the medals hung around her neck, commenting on her struggle with her body. Mack slams his phone back down. He can’t think about it. Can’t think about just how alike they must be.

She stays on the periphery of his life for almost half a year, until the Winter Olympics roll around. 

He knows that she’s been picked for the team, he has a google alert set up and that is how she finds out that she’s officially competing on the team, for the US. He goes to the Olympics, he’s not competing, but his father drags him and Aiden along to watch Canada compete and despite being herded by his dad around the event, he does slip away to watch the figure skating and watch her compete.

The routine is beautiful. Macklin cannot judge, obviously, he knows very little about figure skating, but to him it is beautiful.

He thinks that she spots him in the crowd, directs a little wave and moves on.

Her face is stern and hard as the hang a bronze medal around her neck and Mack thinks he might be able to see tear track streaking through her competition make-up. He’s been following her career since they first met and he’s watched as they predicted her to podium, one reporter even asked her if she thought she could win gold. She shook her head but her answer said it all. 

That anything but gold, was sub-par.

It made Mack’s throat clog up when he read the article.

He is desperate to get out there on the ice, to where she is wobbling on the make-shift podium. She looks as if she might keel over and spill her guts out on the pure white of the ice. Mack stands up and rushes down the stairs. There’s a slight bribing incident with security (the Olympics need better security desperately, he thinks), but he manages to get backstage.

They’re not close. Not really, by any means, have only talked once, it’s a strangely parasocial relationship and for a moment Macklin feels as if he has made a horrible mistake in coming here, doing this, misreading it all. However, almost as soon as she spots him, she melts into his arms, weeping and burying her head into his hoodie.

Macklin doesn't talk, doesn't question as she weeps salty tears onto his teal Sharks hoodie. His arms help support her as she leans into him, chest heaving and body limp against him - it breaks his heart a little.

He takes her back to his hotel room, makes sure she has a good shower, some comfortable clothes to dress in - they’re all Mack’s - and lets her cuddle up to him on the hotel bed and she eats a hamburger and they watch the movies on the horrible hotel channels. She lets him drag her around the rest of the event to watch Will and Ekky play and watch him try to avoid his dad and Aiden for the rest of the time in favour of her and Toff’s attention.

It’s the best week of his life. 

[shylittlefr0g]

"Keep an eye on him, alright?" || Umetsuba fanfic

N/A: This has not beta reader, and it's probably really bad translated like all my fanfics. Also bad curse and Higari assume that Tsubaki is in fact a surrogate girlfriend from one of his neighbors because #humor

[★]

When Tsubaki return home that night, a little earlier than usual, he stopped at the door when he heard the laughter of Umemiya and another man.

"He brought a friend this time? Shit, and im in my work clothes." Thought Tsubaki. It was still hard for her to get used to being seen as she wanted to be seen, especially in front of people who didn't know her at all.

Uncomfortable, she knocked on the door a couple of times, hearing the chair move and Ume steps. He greeted her with his characteristic smile, but before he could say anything, Tsubaki interrupted him.

"You brought a friend? Do you want me to leave?"

"Huh? Why would you say that? Tsubaki, this is your home too!"

"I know, I know! But... You know..." Tsubaki muttered, stroking his forearm to accommodate his goosebumps. "It doesn't matter, I'm gonna ask Kotoha-chan to sleep on her house, don't worry-"

"Tsubakino." Umemiya grab his hand, making him make eye contact. "This is your house too. You don't have to leave because there's a friend of mine... And even if he say something, the person that should leave this place its him, never you."

His cheeks blushed, and a little smile appear on his red lips. He only mutter a "thanks", only to hear the voice of the other person in the apartment.

"Oi Umemiya, did move the bag of plastic plates from the shelf? I can't find th-" He stopped, making eye contact with Tsubaki, not noticing that Umemiya was grabbing her hand. "...Sorry, this is departament 202, Mr.Hiroshi is the one on the end of the hall, the 211."

Tsubaki felt her pride (and her heart) tighten in her chest. It was a crushing blow; it always hurts to be compared to one of Mr. Hiroshi's rented girlfriends.

"Uhm... Higari, this is Tsubakino, my new roommate."

"...oh. oh fuck."

[★]

The sound of Higarii Toma hitting the table with his head make Tsubaki jump on her seat, grabbing her sake glass for fear that it might fall off the table.

"I really sorry Tsubaki. It was not my intention to make you feel uncomfortable." Said Toma, with a mixture of nervousness and embarrassment that made Tsubaki quickly return to the table.

"D-Don't worry, Higari! It's okay! It's a mistake anyone would make!"

"I truly sorry." Higari raised his head, looking at her with shame, taking out a stomach pill and swallowing it without water. "When I still lived here, those girls called all the time, and Ume was always too embarrassed to push them away."

"Yeah, I know." Tsubaki smiled, giving a sip of her drink. "I'm curious, how was living with Ume? I mean, he is an angel to me, but you have a completely different experience, right?"

"Ugh, from where should I start."

"How about if you don't?!" Ume smiled, leaving on the table the pizza he was cooking. "Don't listen him Tsubaki-chan, he's just exaggerating, im the best roommate on the planet!"

"Hmm... Well-" Tsubaki look away, grabbing a pizza from the table. "You wash my clothes when I told you clearly that I don't feel confortable with that..."

"...!"

"Ume is an 'acts first, thinks later' kind of guy." Said Higari, taking his glass. "When we first met in high school, Ume simply decided to be my best friend because she thought I was a 'good guy'. Not matter how rude I was with him, he was always like 'thanks for being honest with me!' and 'Hey, Toma, hey hey!' all the time."

"I'm eating on my room." Ume said, feigning indignation and taking his plastic plate (so he wouldn't have to clean, like in the old days).

"oh come on Ume." Tsubaki smiled, taking his hand softly. "You know we are kidding... You're a great roommate, I'm happy to live with you."

For a moment, Higarii disappear for the room —not literally— due to eye contact between the two, There was a minute or two of silence, but after that, Umemiya said 'yes, you're right' and sat back down, continuing a quiet conversation between the three.

"They're both...? Huh. Interesting. Good for them, good for them." Thought Toma, leaving his glass on the table. He smiled a little. "I guess I shouldn't worry so much anymore... She seems like a good pal."

"Oi." Ume talk, making Higarii leaving his thoughts. "Are you okay, dude? You seems kinda lost."

"yeah, im good, sorry." Toma said as he cracked his neck. His eyes went to Tsubaki. "Tsubakino, I know this sounds strange but... Thanks to keep an eye on this airhead."

"..." Tsubaki didn't know what to say at once, she just smiled suddenly. "You're welcome."

"Aww, Higari-kun was worry 'bout me?! You're so cute, man! Gimme a hug! Bring it in!"

"Don't make it weird! I only came here to see if you still alive! When I leave this place you look like you was about to make the harakiri or some shit!"

Tsubaki couldn't help but laugh when she saw how Higarii kept his best friend away, grabbing his head with his hand to push him away, while Ume tried to hug him with all his strength.

Idea for an AU: Umetsuba but they are roomates.

Umemiya is studying political science at university, living in a small two-person apartment until Higarii has to move back home because he plans to quit his degree. Now, the rent that two people used to pay has to be paid by one, which is complicated with a minimum wage in multiple jobs.

Tsubaki, by the other hand, is studying performing art and the situation with his parents is tense. Really tense. And he doesn't want to bother the old couple that let him be himself, besides, he has some money for his night work at the bar.

They ended up meeting eachother thanks to Kotoha, and, until Tsubaki finds a better place, they start living together (besides, they assist at the same university, so it's a win-win situation)

NOW THAT I HAVE YOUR ATENTION, HEAR ME OUT, THIS IS IMPORTANT:

Tsubaki isn't 'out' when he meet with Umemiya. Since he lived with his parents and had several arguments about dressing as a woman or painting his nails, he prefers to "pretend" indoors (like in canon, he actually want to have his hair long and his nails pretty, but usually uses men's clothing)

Umemiya finds out when he does laundry, because he sometimes finds women's clothes among Tsubaki's clothes (he was told NOT TO wash Tsubaki's pile, but he is too nice to let him do that, besides, Tsubakino usually returns tired from the job and he needs his clothes clean)

Ume is actually pretty cool with it, and doesn't say anything about it because he is a gentleman, but Tsubaki's pissed because he isn't saying anything. He was always on guard, on his parents house, on the streets, the job, he cannot understand why Umemiya isn't saying shit about this, why isnt he crashing out about "the crossdressed freak living with him".

The situation turns tense when Tsubaki returns home from his job and finds Umemiya (who usually is sleeping) baking brownies because he lost the control of his life.

He doesn't say anything about the skirt or the high heels, Ume just smiles and says "do you want one?"

In that moment, Tsubaki's patience FINALLY breaks and ask him why the hell he isn't freak out about all that.

Ume just says that he is cool with it, and that he respects Tsubakino preference for woman's clothes, and that if HE is happy with it, he would be there to support him. And then, the silence invaded the apartment, until Tsubaki starts to cry.

That's when Tsubaki starts to feel at home, and exclaims to Umemiya that he's actually glad he agreed to live together until they finish college. They ended up on the couch eating brownies at two in the morning watching Sherlock (BBC) online.

There's some ideas I have to this AU, feel free to use it if you want to (only tag me to read it):

- Ume dyeing Tsubaki's hair

- They having they first kiss

- Higarii returning to the house and thinking "damn, these bitches gay, good for them, good for them-"

- Sakura, the young next-door neighbor, thinks they are in a relationship until he discovers that they are actually just good friends/buddies/roomates/collages/anything but lovers

- Ume confronting Sugichi because he is a disgusting piece of sh- (for the record: this is the bastard who calls Umemiya a lameass and fights with Tsubaki)

- Tsubaki being jealous of a girl who talks with Ume (later he finds out that its only Mizuki, Umemiya's classmate)

- Did already mention Sugichi being punched in the face? Well, do it again.

- Ume trying to understand his own feelings ("ARE YOU INTENTIONALLY DENSE???" <-Sakura or Kotoha / "HUH?" <-Ume (he isn't))

- Ume falling in love first but don't doing anything because the situation would be weird for them because they only know since a couple of weeks.

- Tsubaki feeling jealous about a girl that Ume meet in classes (this one is actually for real, but it could be angst because of all the "im not a girl and it would be weird, but my feelings for him still there" thing) and Kotoha/Sakura/Shizuka it's his 'shoulder to cry'

- Shizuka knowing Umemiya for the first time

- Ume going to Tsubaki's job and meeting Shizuka and Kanji (they are embarassing Tsubaki, Shizuka isn't doing on purpose, Kanji on the other hand-)

- Ume ACTUALLY being jealous of the twins (he isn't really sure about which one is his target but he has the spirit) (?)

[h0estar]

What do u think is the difference between the Apothecary diaries world and our current world's reality? Is the modern world we live in now, capitalistic as a primary? What do you think Jinshi and Maomao's position would be in our world? I mean regarding on their circumstances— I have a scenario like Tamaki and Haruhi from Ouran Host Club. But still, our world is more complex and diverse in technology fields than Ouran Host club world. And given the revolution of artificial intelligence, coming next 5 years would be totally different.

okay, first of all, very interesting question. second of all, my brain isn't built for something like this but i will try to answer as best as i can. sorry if i don't answer it as well as you expect me to but i'll try!

i'm going to point out the obvious here and say our modern reality (esp for women) isn't as harsh as it is in the apothecary diaries' world. for one, women in their time had practically zero rights and respect (though that is still very much happening today in some places). however, at least most women irl have access to education, voting rights, vast career options, free will and speech, and generally just be able to live their life independently without relying on men. at least in our world, women have laws protecting them against violence and sexual acts, and it's no longer a requirement to marry, bear children, and live for your husband; that's just a choice out of many—something the average woman in TAD universe could never dream of experiencing.

i'd say capitalism is one thing both this fictional story and our current reality have in common. just like irl, characters (mostly commoners) in TAD are scraping by to make profit: maomao with her apothecary shop, granny with the verdigris house, quack's family with their paper business, gyokuen with his family and the WC, and we've got mentions of merchants a lot in the story. there's also a moment in the manga i remember where maomao was carting books to the palace and she planned to overcharge Jinshi (wringing him out for his money to gain extra profit. go maomao!), too bad suiren caught her lol. anyway, yeah, like IRL the commoners are doing what they can to survive, while the important and rich ones (the royalty and ministers) cozy up in the court and palace, completely indifferent to the state of small villages and townsfolk outside (the farming villages affected by taxes, women in the red light district, kidnappings, slavery, etc).

as for jinshi and maomao's positions in our world, hmm, this is purely imagination but if we follow their ages (maomao at 20 and jinshi at 21), that'd make them college students. maomao would definitely be a pharmacy student and might even go to medical school. she'd also own a flower shop 100%, or at least a botanical shop. jinshi would probably be studying economics, anything business-related, or international relations. that's as far as my imagination will take me.

and if they're going to be like tamaki x haruhi in this little modern world, then maomao might accidentally ruin one of jinshi's projects (in the name of science!) and she'd have to pay him back by working for him (idk how; maybe by being his personal medic or offering him tips on how to make business out of medicines lol). or maybe jinshi just might stumble in maomao's little flower shop by chance, and find her studying, completely disinterested in him (despite his popularity), and this throws him off, lol. either way, i'm fairly certain they'll still find each other in this world, and in many worlds.

the two of them would also be fascinated by technology (both their hypothetical degrees often heavily rely on it), but they would probably reject the notion of using AI in extremely simple, practical, or professional tasks. however, jinshi has a progressive mindset and maomao just goes with the flow. they might accept this technological advancement (as part of the world)—they wouldn't try to fight it—but they also wouldn't use it as often.

thanks for this question lol. sorry i took so long to respond, i haven't been on tumblr for 2 days oops.

[n3ptoonz]

'Make It Quick'

Pairing: Sam Wilson/F!Reader

Fandom: MCU

Warnings/tags: Smut; Explicit, dialogue heavy; minor argument, Bucky mentioned, reader is Sam's fiancée, reader got a lil southern in her, cunnilingus, door/wall sex, quickie with a hottie (shout out the sims 4), babe baby and honey used, 3/4 proofread, i had too much fun writing the dialogue

Word count: 1.9k+

Naturally, Sam let Bucky crash at his place. Well, his shared place with you, his fiancée. Bucky had heard a lot about you, but didn't get to meet you yesterday when they were working on the boat. However, Sam wasn't entirely sure if you'd approve, which made it slip his mind to just tell you Bucky's staying with you two for a few weeks until he's is on call again.

You came down the steps, rubbing the morning crust from the corner of your eye in your open robe and sleep scarf. You walked into the living room while stretching your arms before stopping mid-step to Bucky sitting on the couch, mid-bite into what looked like breakfast from a fast food restaurant. You brought your robe together as he quickly looked away, letting you leave at least without being completely embarrassed. He just saw you in a tank top and underwear!

When you went back to the steps, there Sam was with a "I fucked up" expression on his face while he was coming down, forgetting to warn you before you left the bedroom.

All you did was give him a 'care to explain?' look with your arms folded. You were definitely not happy, and very much embarrassed at what just happened in the span of two minutes.

"I was gonna tell you..." he said with his hands up to placate you.

"And just when were you planning to do that?" you asked in a hushed yell. "Before or after your best friend almost saw my nipples?"

Sam sighed and descended to the bottom of the stairs, putting his hands on your shoulders. "Okay, I'm sorry." he said softly. "It slipped my mind and I didn't want this to be a big thing. I didn't think you'd mind him being here."

You blinked at him and pinched the bridge of your nose. "It's like you didn't hear what I just said."

"Nah, I heard you." he lightly teased and let his hands fall to his sides. "I just don't think it's that bad."

"Sam, you know I don't usually walk around fully clothed."

"Yeah, but it's not like you're butt ass naked."

"I may as well have been!"

"Babe, honey, you're acting like he hasn't seen a woman's body before. It's not that serious."

"Sam." you warned. "Your best friend just saw your fiancée in her underwear, and that's what you have to say? You think I care that he's seen a woman before? What that gotta do with me?"

"Hey, hey, listen. I know you're embarrassed, and I feel bad that I didn't tell you beforehand. But you gotta relax because right now, you're making a big deal out of something that isn't. He just saw you in some underwear. Accidentally. I wouldn't trip about this."

"Well, I am! That's not normal!" you replied, "And this is his first impression of me. In a sleep scarf and panties. I don't go around inviting people over with the chance of them seeing your junk."

"Oh my goodness- baby, he's probably not even thinking about those soft, supple thighs of yours anymore." he remarked with a small chuckle.

You narrowed your eyes, not finding that bit funny at all. "It's not just the lack of clothes. You even had him sleeping on the couch when we have a whole ass guest room. Why are you acting without thinking? And without talking to me first?"

"Look- we were both tired yesterday and I didn't think the details mattered. If I knew it was gonna upset you this much, I would've told you. But what's done is done. Just...go get dressed, alright? You can worry about your first impression after you put some clothes on."

Your brow raised as you looked at him. You reopened your robe in front of him, hands on your hips. "Oh, I think I'll be just fine like this. He's already seen half the package anyway," you said, gesturing to the white tank top that was form fitting, another reason you reacted like this. "You're tidying up that guest room and getting your boy off of our nice couch. You know better."

Sam let out a low whistle, almost missing what you said entirely. "I, uh...Damn." he said while looking at you in your glory.

Okay, maybe your reaction was completely valid.

"Yeah I can um, I can do that. Just- hey, look, now, I still need you to put some normal clothes on. Don't need you getting his attention."

"Too late for that now." you closed your robe back up securely and went back into the living room. "Mornin', Bucky," you said as you passed him and walked right into the kitchen. He cleared his throat and gave a short wave.

"Uh, morning." he said, quieter than he intended. But it was almost impossible not to. He overheard maybe a quarter of the conversation and started to feel a little bad. He stood up from the couch to stretch, and to rid himself of the awkwardness plaguing him.

"You sleep alright? Sam was just about to tidy up the guest room for you." you called out from the kitchen as you gathered ingredients and materials to make breakfast with. Sam huffed and started grabbing some cleaning supplies from the hall closet.

"Yeah, I slept alright, thanks," he nodded. "I've slept on worse than a couch, believe me."

He watched as you started preparing food, then looked over to Sam, who was currently moving stuff from the closet to a table, presumably to clean up the space. "Are you sure it's alright for me to stay? I could just go to a motel."

"No, no, it's all good. Even if I wanted to smack my lovely fiancée upside the head, I still have no problem offering some good ole southern hospitality to someone he clearly holds dear. I don't have a problem with you being here, really." you said with a smile.

Bucky nodded and smiled back a bit, not expecting you to be so relaxed and cool with the whole situation after what went down a minute ago.

"Thank you," he said, as Sam came back from the back room, looking a bit tired.

"Yeah, don't even worry about it," Sam patted him on the back as he went over to the kitchen entrance. "Hey, can we talk for a second?"

You looked up from the food splayed out on the counter at Sam and walked past him out of the kitchen. Glancing at Bucky, you gestured vaguely towards the kitchen. "Don't hesitate to get started on something if you feel like it." you said. He gave a thumbs up, watching you two walk back out of the living room and heard your steps ascending up the stairs.

"What was all that?" Sam asked while shutting the door behind him. "You trying to show off for company now, huh? What, cause I said it wasn't that deep?"

You didn't respond as you undid your robe, letting it fall to the floor. He watched you with suspicion and crossed his arms.

"I don't know what you mean," you said with a fake thoughtful expression. "I was listening to what you said. It's not that deep, so, I didn't change." you added with a shrug, the force of your shrug making your breasts bounce for a split second. Sam's mouth went dry the second in happened.

What was he mad about again?

He took a deep breath and took a step towards you. His hands naturally rested on your hips whenever he wanted to talk to you, your name falling from his lips like a spell.

"I don't wanna fight about this," he said, "How about we both change clothes, hm?"

You couldn't help but stare at him with adoration as you placed your hands on his broad chest.

"Yeah, I don't really care about the clothes anymore." you said with a simple kiss to his lips. Hoping he'll get the implication.

And boy did he get it.

Sam looked down at you and pulled you flush to his chest. "We have a guest downstairs." he murmured and idly traced shapes on your side. You just shrugged and said,

"So we'll be quick. And quiet." you put a finger to your lips and whispered. When Sam heard your hushed giggles he shook his head gave you another kiss before backing you up against the door. He got to his knees and started kissing up your body, starting at the top of your foot. If it's one thing Sam is, he's a giver. A mighty good one too.

As he kept on, he inched your underwear down your thighs and down your legs until they were discarded to the floor. He kissed up your knee while his free hand caressed the other leg. When he reached the top of your thigh, he tapped it to signal you to put that leg over his shoulder.

Your head softly hit the door as he went down on you, toes curling already. It didn't help that his beard tickled your inner thighs but it never bothered you.

"Sam," you breathed out as your hand was already resting on the back of his head to push him closer. Your next thought couldn't be completed as he took your silent plea to heart, eating you out faster with a wide smile against your skin.

The leg you were standing on nearly gave out as you struggled to focus; struggled to keep quiet, but damn it was the man working you like you were about to get caught by a teacher.

"I think I'm gonna-" you inhaled shortly after cutting yourself off, a hand coming to cover your mouth. But it wasn't your hand. Your eyes opened to see him standing in front of you and holding his index finger to his lips.

"Turn around." he whispered. You quickly did so and pressed your chest against the door. Now was the real challenge: not making it abundantly obvious you two were fucking on the door.

His hand remained over your mouth as he slid on in, a soft whimper quieted by his palm. He exhaled after he was completely sheathed inside you.

"I'mma make this quick, baby. I promise." he muttered next to your ear and started thrusting at a very steady pace. You had both hands on the door so it would lessen the chance of it making noise.

Sam was no liar. He fully intended to ride out the high as quick as possible and it was working. He didn't need to go super fast and super hard. He knew the exact angle he had to be at the repeatedly hit that spot that always left you breathless no matter what.

You mewled quietly over and over again. Clenched against him as if you wanted to prolong it. Wanted to keep this up for as long as you could--and he could feel it. Every last bit of it.

"C'mon," he whispered and wrapped an arm around you to keep you in place. "You can do it. Can't keep our guest waitin'."

Your body stiffened as you released. Your essence streaming down your leg and some onto his thighs. He let you ride out your climax but he didn't stop. Not until he got some too.

Luckily, it wasn't too long after that he was right behind you. His hips connected to your ass as he slumped over, groaning softly in your ear while pumping you full. You removed his hand so you could breathe. Your forehead resting on the cool painted wood while catching your breath. Sam pulled out slowly and kissed your shoulders, rubbing your biceps to soothe you.

"Let's go get changed."

[llamaisllama777]

I have questions and theories!

So, today's episode was a shock. I have a lot of questions but also a lot of theories, so let's get on to that...

So, in the episode, we see the Sun and Moon of this world, Day and Night and they seem... off.

Like something is wrong with them.

Night precedes to light the daycare on fire! With everyone inside!

Day tries to stop Andromeda from saving the kids and alerting Freddy. Andromeda manages to escape but is unable to save the kids, and I imagine Freddy probably went in there to save the kids and didn't come back out...

So... what the heck happened? Day and Night seemed like there was something wrong with them. They seemed crazed. So, what happened?

Theory 1# Eclipse woke up early

Eclipse may have woken up early in this universe and taken over Day's body, then reprogrammed Night to help him (basically creating Bloodmoon early)

So, Eclipse and BloodMoon decided to destroy the daycare... why? Who knows? Evil? Bloodshed? Sending a message to someone? Faking their deaths so they could go do evil without being tracked?

It could be a number of things.

Theory 2# Day and Night got hijacked by their Creator

Pretty simple theory: Day and Night got hijacked by the Sven of their world, and he used them to kill the kids to maybe collect their souls for a remnant experiment.

Creator is messed up. And it seems most Creator's are no strangers when it comes to killing kids.

Theory 3# Day and Night were sleeper agents

The most outlandish theory here, Day and Night, were always evil and were working for their Creator to gather remnant (This is a twist on the previous theory) Day and Night waited till they had enough kids in the daycare at night and then lit the daycare up to collect the remnant and agony from the kids' souls and fake their deaths to return to their Creator.

My issue with this theory: Why would Creator have Day and Night fake their death when secretly killing the kids would be better? Better to have two men on the inside constantly then whatever the heck they did?

(You could also add to this theory that Monty acts this way cause she genuinely cared for Day and Night and feels betrayed that they betrayed her and that's why she acts like a jerk to everyone, cause to her, anyone could the next Day and Night)

Theory 4# Monty reprogrammed Day and Night

Basically, a Monty is the villain theory. That Monty in this universe isn't some jerky-tragic figure but a straight up villain!

Monty feels jealous of everyone in the Pizza-plex and hates all of them, and as much as Fazbear loves her, they aren't willing to get rid of all of the animatronics so Monty takes matters into her own hands. She decides to hack one of the animatronics and probably was originally gonna go for Andromeda, but she got Day and Night instead. She didn't mean for them to kill the kids, that was a side effect. She probably only meant for Day and Night to be a little more standoffish or agro with the kids...

NOT HOMICIDE!

So, now Monty is trying to hide the fact she's technically responsible for the kids' death and for causing two of their most popular animatronics to go rogue and kill kids.

She is trying to get rid of all the animatronics that annoy her till she's either the only one left or till she gets a team she actually likes.

This theory is a little much, but honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if this Monty was a straight-up villain.

Theory 5# President Earth hacked Day and Night.

Another outlandish yet possible theory.

What if in order for the Earth of this world to get where she needs her to be she decided to give Fazbear a reason to bring in Earth.

Prez. Earth hacked Day and Night and made them go crazy (I highly doubt she would be okay with child deaths, but who knows?)

She wants to make this Earth something great.

What Prez. Earth wants with this Earth is a mystery? I think she may want to make her another President Earth, to either replace her in case she ever dies or to make her spread joy and democracy to her dimension too.

These are all my theories.

I'll admit these theories are a bit out there but let's be honest, a few of them are also extremely possible!

But hey, these are just theories...

LAES THEORIES!!!

Thanks for reading!

I'm loving the New Lunar and Earth show and the mystery we got going on here. Kat, Davis, you outdid yourselves!

[starly-amazing]

A Star From the Multiverse - Ch 9 is OUT!

Cover art by @wyvern-witch as a donation commission for Palestine. Commission them here!

Fic summary: After FINALLY beating the King after thousands of tries, Siffrin is STILL sent back to Dormont. They. Just. Can't. Do. It. Anymore. They drag themself through the day and to the Favor Tree in the dead of night, begging, wishing for help...and they get it in the form of a strange creature with talons and feathers and fangs.

Memory of Stars Chapter summary: Loop lets their walls down just a bit and takes Siffrin stargazing. Nothing goes wrong in any way shape or form!

Rating: Mature | Graphic depictions of violence & all the canon-typical warnings.

[Read on Ao3]

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

"Stargaze!??!" Siffrin nearly throws himself off the branch to lean closer. "You know about the stars!?"

"I—wh—yes? Who doesn't? They're right up there?"

"Nobody does! Everyone just thinks they're boring dots in the sky whenever I try to tell them about it they think I'm lying I've forgotten so much too just like I forget everything I know I used to know more but I lost it all too when the... when the... the..."

"..."

"...Stardust?"

"Wha..? What were we talking about?" They blink a few times.

"...the stars? You—"

"Stars!? You know about stars!?" His heart skips a beat.

"I—wh—yes? I just sai—" They stare at him for a moment. "Never mind. Yes, I do know about stars. I was an astronom—" Their jaws snap shut. They lower their gaze and mumble to themself for a long moment, glancing between their hands while flexing their fingers. "Hmm... I suppose it's fine to share this." They shrug and sigh. "Yes, I was an astronomer, so it was kind of my job to know about stars."

"Your job... your job?" There’s no way. There's no way! "So you know a lot about them!?"

Loop tilts their head, ears flattened. "I'd say my knowledge is above average, yes."

His breath skips. "Please tell me please please I need to know please! Nobody cares anymore I'm not lying I'm not making this up Odile told me to stop lying to Bonnie when I tried telling them but I wasn't and I know they're important but why can't I remember them!?"

He pauses, panting, shaking.

Loop's whole body is tense as they stare. They grip their branch with both hands.

"Please," they whine.

Loop inhales deeply. "Okay."

"Okay!?" His breath catches in his throat.

Loop throws their bubbly persona back on. "Sure, stardust! I suppose it's fine if I talk about this. It's just general information, after all, and I care about you so much, my precious little cinnamon roll," they wink, "I can probably fudge the rules just a little bit more. So! What would you like to know?"

"Everything!!!"

They flinch. "That's gonna take a while!" They gaze up into the canopy at the thousands of little pinpricks of light that filter through. "How about you come back when it's dark and we can talk then? I need some time to er... create my syllabus for our little impromptu lesson, anyway~!"

"But I want—no it's okay, that's fine." It's fine! A syllabus is good! They can prepare!

"You'll be back in no time," they hum. "Go have some fun with your friends and get some delicious din din!"

"Okay, see you soon. Loop."

He leaves, heart thundering in his chest.

>>>

The sun has just barely fallen below the horizon when Siffrin leaves the Clocktower. His allies all seemed disappointed they couldn't meet his mysterious 'friend', but they let them go without too much of a fuss.

When they arrive, he doesn't see Loop in their usual spot and nearly jumps out of his skin when they pop their head out of the bushes right beside him.

"Blinding stars, Loop, you nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Whoopsies! I guess that wouldn't be too bad, though, since you'd just loop anyway." They retreat back into the undergrowth and motion Siffrin to follow them with their tail waving above it all.

He pushes in after them and follows closely, dodging recoiling branches with some effort. Loop seems to navigate with much more ease, other than the occasional snag on their wings.

They stumble with a small yelp and shake their front paw. Ok, maybe not much more ease.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine, fine!" They shake their paw. "Just a scratch, don't worry your pretty little head about it~!"

They push on before Siffrin can respond, and he can't help but notice they now have a small limp.

"How far are we going?"

"Not far," they say, pausing with no weight on their hand. "There's a little hill nearby that has a clear view and can't be seen from town."

As if on cue, the trees thin and open up to a grassy field somewhat similar to the one he wakes up in at the start of every loop. The grass is shorter, fresher, and less prickly-looking than what he's used to.

Loop peeks out from the treeline, sniffing the air and vibrating the fluffy feathers on their head. They take a step forward, seemingly satisfied, and shake their head until the feathers are tucked neatly away.

Together, they pad out to the top of the small hill and sit down.

It's still light out and there aren't many stars to see yet. Siffrin eyes Loop messing with their paw, picking out bits of debris from it.

“Uhh, Loop?”

They flinch and cover their hand. “Yes, stardust?”

Voice low, they ask, "Do you want me to heal that?" They lean over to get a better look.

"You—you can do that?" They curl their talons and pull them toward their chest.

They nod. "Learned it in the loops."

They squint at him and turn away. "It's fine."

"Are you sure?" Siffrin tilts his head. "It's no problem, really."

Loop's fingers twitch. They stare at their hand for a moment. Then, with a long, drawn-out sigh, they speak. "Fiiiine if you insist, stardust then I guess I can let you heal me."

Siffrin's lips twitch upward, but they hide it with a cough. He holds out his hand, and with some hesitation, Loop reaches out and places their hand in it.

They both flinch. Loop looks away, cheek feathers puffed.

It's warm. Rough. An array of what look like scars break up the even pattern of scutes that line their leg.

Taking it gently in both hands, they turn it over. The palm is covered in a thick pad, similar to a cat's but not quite as pronounced. It's rough and callused from walking on bare ground; a few still look somewhat raw and fresh, even.

There's something strange about the wound. The trickle of blood that leaks out seems...off. Like the shade is a little to the left, but in the dying light, it's hard to get a better look. Not that Loop would appreciate him scrutinizing their hand for longer than necessary, anyway.

As if they heard him, Loop huffs and flexes their claws. "Having fun ogling my toesie woesies, stardust?"

"Ah! Uh, sorry!" They sputter. Using the back of his glove, he gently wipes away the remaining dirt and debris before breathing a bit of healing Craft into the sore. Loop's hand twitches as the wound stitches itself back together with an uneven scar.

"Huh." They flex their digits. "That feels different."

"Different? Does it still hurt?"

"Huh? Oh! No. It doesn’t hurt anymore. I meant different as in—never mind. Thank you, I owe you my life, am forever in your debt, et cetera et cetera."

"Don't mention it," he snorts.

Something nags at the back of his mind. He glances at Loop's other paw.

They have to ask.

"Hey, Loop, can I see your other hand?"

They gasp and put their healed paw to their chest. "My, my, can't get enough of me? If you wanted to hold hands, you don't have to be so secretive."

Siffrin huffs. "So is that a yes or a no?"

Loop pauses. "Fine, if you must." With a sigh and dramatic flourish, they extend their other hand out, folding the freshly-healed one under their chest.

Siffrin squints and turns it over, only to see a similar sight of calluses and old blisters. He heals them, too, watching them harden into something sturdier.

They look at Loop. They're looking away, scar facing him.

"Loop?"

"Thank you, stardust," they pull their hand away and fold it under them. "It's getting pretty dark out now. Maybe we should do what we actually came here to do!" They point their head toward the heavens.

Siffrin stares at them for a moment longer before following their gaze up into the night sky. A little bit of daylight hangs at the horizon, but the stars are rapidly blinking into view as it fades.

A cold, twisting sense of longing churns in his chest as they stare at the sky. He knew. He knew. They knew so much more about it, but it's behind that same wall that shrouds their memories of home. The wall that prickles and cuts into him if he tries too hard to remember. The wall he forgot that he even forgot until the loops. The wall that teases him with morsels when he's not looking, only to take them away forever if he tries to focus.

...Will this hurt?

Loop shifts their body until all their limbs are folded under them. They curl their tail around and shift themself until they look like a giant winged cat loafing in a sunbeam. Siffrin shifts around as well until he finds a soft patch of grass with no rocks poking at him.

Loop hums. "Well, I suppose we can begin by you telling me what you know already. I'd hate to insult your knowledge by assuming you don't know the most basic things, but also you might not know the most basic things, so..."

"Oh," they murmur, grabbing a piece of grass and rolling it in their fingers. "Well, I know stuff like, the sun is a star and stars are all really big balls of fire and some stars are actually planets and people make pictures called constellations and used to navigate by them and telescopes, orreries, star charts... and uh..." He points to a brighter light. "That's the planet Venus, and uhm..." he keeps looking, thinking. The prickling fog already starts digging into the corner of his mind, so he closes his eye and shakes his head.

"That's all I remember."

Loop hums. "Okay, so we're definitely starting from the basics."

He grumbles. "I know I knew more than that. I could read star charts, I know it. I could use telescopes and orreries and whatever else there is."

"Well, maybe this will jog your memory some."

"I wish." They pull up a clump of grass.

Loop watches them rip it up and toss it before clearing their throat. "Anyway, you're right that not every light in the sky is a star. Some are planets, or comets, or moons, and some are entire galaxies that are so far away they're nothing more than a tiny dot to our eyes."

"Galaxies?" That one doesn’t sound familiar.

"Collections of hundreds of billions of stars and planets and other celestial bodies." They gesture at the thick band of stars that arcs across the sky. "We're in the Milky Way, which is a spiral galaxy and—oh, I wish I brought a pencil and paper. Ahh, well, not like I can draw to save my life anyway."

Siffrin can already feel his heart thundering in his chest. He leans closer to loop with stars in his eyes.

"I think..." he pauses and squeezes his eye shut. "That sounds familiar. Please keep going!"

Loop snorts and lets their expression relax. "Okay, well..."

Siffrin is enraptured by the tales Loop weaves of the sky above them. Tales of stars and planets and black holes and quasars, nebulae, dark matter, and everything else. He can't move, he can barely breathe as he soaks in every possible little detail that comes out of Loop's mouth. Some of it tickles the hidden part of his mind, behind the thorny wall, overwriting what was lost and keeping it fresh and close to him. Some of it is all too new; it's as if he's a small child again, sitting around a bonfire with their friends as their... their...

...

He blinks, shakes his head, and has to ask Loop to repeat a whole chunk of what they just said.

Loop looks… so different when talking. Their voice is lighter, smoother, less guarded and calculated, and they frequently have to pause for a breath after speaking for too long without stopping. It makes Siffrin feel winded just watching them. They can't help but smile—not just at getting back such an important part of him he thought was lost forever, but seeing a fresh, new side of Loop. Seeing them talk a mile a minute, waving their hands around, and looking up to the sky with such wonder just fills him with a sense of peace.

It won't last.

He knows that. It digs at the back of his mind. But just for that time, he manages to shove it down.

After talking for a while, Loop pauses and stretches out. They flap their wings a few times and reach out as far as they can with their front legs, spreading their toes out far. They let their wings fall more relaxed to their sides and rest their limbs in the grass in front of them.

Siffrin follows suit, not realizing how stiff he's grown from sitting unmoving in the dirt for however long they've been there.

Loop stretches again, roll to their side and—

"Oof!" Siffrin grunts as their head lands right in their lap. He flinches and freezes. "Loop!?"

"Wow, you are really bony," they huff. They shift around a bit until their good eye is pointed upward and the top of their head is pressed to his gut. Siffrin holds their arms stiffly away from them the entire time. He can't move.

"Ah," Their expression stiffens when they catch sight of his face. "Was that too much?" They keep their eye locked onto him.

"N-no, it was just sudden!" And warm! And surprisingly light. "U-um." He slowly places a hand on their cheek, feeling just a bit of squish as he presses down on their feathers. Loop makes a small noise but doesn't say a word. They look away. "Why?"

"You look like you needed it," they shrug. "Consider this some good ol' rukemi touch therapy."

"Touch therapy?"

"Well, I’m already helping you with the loops and the stars, so I thought I might help with that as well."

"Thanks???" They're definitely touch-starved, but wow!

"You're quite welcome~! Just keep your hands off my plumes."

"Your... plumes?"

"The long feathers on my head. They're sensitive."

"O-okay."

They're so soft. He wants to... to...

He swallows hard. "So I can... I can p—I can p-p-p..."

"Yes, yes you may pet me if you want, I guueeesssss," they huff. "So demanding~!"

"You're the one—agh—never mind." He can guess what kind of game Loop's playing.

Slowly, carefully, they sink their fingers into Loop's feathers until they touch skin. They both flinch.

So warm. Warmer than a human, it seems, though what would they know about touching another human?

He curls his fingers slowly. He wants to take his gloves off and feel just how soft they are, but that seems like too much! They're surprised he hasn't combusted from this level of touch; if he held Mirabelle's head like that or, stars, Isabeau held them like that, he'd loop on contact. With Loop, it's different. Not quite as overwhelming as he'd expect. Like petting a giant chicken.

He starts scratching a little more and cautiously moves his hand around their face, down their jaw, along their neck. Loop closes their eye and sighs, letting their legs relax and slide out a bit more. They flex one paw and relax, flex and relax.

Siffrin works his way up their head until he reaches their ear, only to find out it's not really an ear at all, just a collection of feathers in the shape of one. They slide their fingers around it until they feel a gap in front of them. He brushes his thumb across it, and out of nowhere, Loop yawns wide, flashing their sharp teeth before shaking their head and pulling back.

"Excuse me! Don't go shoving your fingers into my ear," they glare, folding their feathers down.

"S-sorry!" He pulls his hand away. "Um... so... your ear is just..."

"Yes, it's just a hole in my head."

"Okay." Weird.

"What? Disappointed?"

"No! Just uh... I don't know." What is Loop, really?

The rukemi snorts and rolls their head in his lap. "Oh, stardust, you are too much sometimes."

He frowns. "What'd I doooo?"

They glance at him and snort. "Tee hee~!"

Loop's definitely too much, sometimes too.

"I know I'm too much, aren't I~! That's what makes me so great~!"

Siffrin sighs and shakes their head, smiling lightly.

"Also, take your hat off. I can't see the stars."

"O-oh." He touches the brim and pulls it down further. They don't want to be exposed, but it's not like they can hide anything when Loop's looking up at them like that. He clenches his fist and peels the hat off. The cool night air is refreshing, and he shakes the heat from his head as he sets his hat on the grass.

Cautiously, he places a hand back on Loop's jaw, far away from their ear and plumes. Loop flexes and relaxes their hands again and goes silent.

"So," Siffrin begins after a minute, voice barely a whisper. He shifts his hips and stretches his back. Their fingers work themselves lower and lower on Loop's jaw and down their neck until...

They feel something.

A vibration, soft and gentle.

Coming from Loop's throat.

He stops, twitching slightly. He closes his eye, listening carefully.

He can hear it too, now.

No.

It can't be...

"Loop..." They lean over, looking them in the eye.

"No." They look away.

"Are you ... purring???"

"Do I LOOK like a cat?" Their cheek feathers puff out.

"You sure sound like one." Siffrin doesn't fight the smug grin that grows on their face.

"And YOU sound like you know what you're talking about, but sounds can be deceiving," they quip.

His smirk gets bigger.

"Don't look at me like that."

"Like what?" And bigger.

"Like, ughhhh! Do you want to know more about stars or not?"

"I do!" his heart skips a beat. He clenches his fingers around Loop's cheek feathers.

"Good~! Now, where were we?"

They pick up where they left off, and soon Siffrin's nerves ease. He continues petting Loop for a while before he has to shift around and dig his fingers into his back, massaging down his spine to his hips.

After a moment, Loop sits up and scoots around him. His heart spikes again when Loop's wing folds over his knees and shoulder presses to his back.

He stares at Loop, who simply keeps talking, staring up at the sky the whole time.

So warm.

Their breath is slow and heavy against him. He's still so tense, so unsure.

But slowly, slowly, they breathe and let themself relax. Bit by bit, they lean further and further against them, sinking into their soft feathers. He bites back a sigh as the tension eases in their back and slowly radiates through the rest of their body. Their breathing slows, their fists unclench, and they lean their head against Loop's shoulder. He closes his eye and feels Loop's voice reverberate through his whole body.

It's nice.

He can let himself have this one indulgence.

"So what exactly was your job?" he mumbles after a while. "Like, did you just spend all day looking at the stars until you find something interesting?"

"Nah, we have computers do that part. No, it was much more specific than that." Loop mulls over their question, rocking their head side to side. Finally, they sigh. "...I was on a team tasked with finding life on other planets."

"What!?" Siffrin jumps, nearly jabbing their knee with the claws on Loop's wing. He spins around to face them, breathing fast. "There's life on other planets!? For real? Did—did you—" Wait. They tilt their head. "Is that where you're from? Another planet?"

Loop looks at them for a moment, then back to the sky.

"Anyway, we've found two, so far, and a few speculated to have all the building blocks needed to form life, if they haven't already. Early life, it seems, in those two, they're still pretty young. They're both a couple hundred thousand light years away, so we haven't been able to get any clear physical images of them with our level of technology yet, but the readouts show atmospheric levels very similar to what Earth's meso-proterozoic era was estimated to have."

"Meso-what?"

"Oh, stars, do I have to give a paleontology lesson too?"

"Oh, wait. Like, dinosaurs?"

"Waaaay before them." They stretch their leg out as if pushing something away. "Probably very early multicellular life. Think worms, and sponges, and algae. And—" they cringe. "Oh geez, fossil reconstructions probably look terrible here."

"Huh?"

They shudder. "Paleontology is probably a pretty fresh field of study here, so any reconstructions are likely horrifically inaccurate."

Siffrin tilts their head.

"Have you been to a museum that has fossils?"

"Once, a while ago."

"I can guarantee, if there were any attempted reconstructions, they look nothing like how these animals actually were."

"Oh."

"You probably learned some pretty wrong things about astronomy, too. So maybe after a few lessons with me, you'd be ready to go out in the world and correct all those awful inaccuracies!" They sputter. "A-actually, don't do that, just keep this all between you and me. Okay?"

Siffrin squints. "So you really are from the future?"

They pause. "Ah. No. It's... No."

"Huh?"

"Anyway!" They clap their hands together. "What else would you like to know?"

Siffrin stares at Loop for a long while, but the rukemi simply stares back, smiling with their single eye curved upward. Their jaws are so close to his face, and he can feel their hot breath on his skin. He sighs. "Can you tell me about constellations?"

"I—" they gaze back into the night. "No. This is an entirely unfamiliar sky."

"What?"

"I don't recognize any of these stars," they murmur. "It looks nothing like the sky back home."

"Oh." They frown and lean back against them. Loop lets out a long sigh.

"Anyway! What else would you like to know?"

Siffrin stares up at the sky; the trillions of twinkling lights staring back at him seem just a little bit closer.

He hums and closes his eye.

"There's a lot I'd like to know," he breathes. "But..."

"Need some time to process all this, hmm?"

"Yeah."

This is nice.

The night chill starts to nip at his knees, so he pulls his cloak down further. A shudder runs down Loop's body as he does it, and their feathers puff up slightly.

So fluffy, so puffy.

They turn to Loop and gaze into their face; they look back, tilting their head the same way and time Siffrin does. Their darkless feathers almost glow in the rising moonlight.

The loops have been unforgiving, still, but at least with Loop here, they finally have a few moments of respite here and there. They're getting back what they've lost. He's getting to know his allies all over again; maybe even better now than at the start of the loops. The House has changed… for better or for worse; snack times are nice, and even though the sadnesses are all over now, he feels himself getting strong enough to defeat most of them with ease.

Maybe eternity with Loop won't be so bad.

He looks away. They watch him for a moment, then sigh.

"You're going to get through this, stardust. We aren't gonna be stuck here forever. That's not how these things work." They cough. "Er—well, I don't really know how these things work but—ergh, you know what I mean."

"I guess." They grab their shoulder and hold themself close.

"Hmm." Loop shifts and stretches their neck. "What do you plan on doing after the loops?"

"What?"

"You have to have some sort of plan for what you want to do after saving an entire country."

He digs his fingers deeper into his arm.

Nothing. Nothing. There is no plan. They're going to be—Everyone will—

Something grips his throat from the inside.

"What will you do after?" His voice wavers.

Loop's silent for a moment. "I suppose I'll go back to how I was before." Their voice is low, resigned.

"How you were—" A chill flashes through him. Like he's being frozen by the King. He whips around to face them. "You'll leave."

Loop folds their ears down and looks away. "Stardust, I thought this was appa—"

Siffrin turns even more, now upright on his knees. "You'll leave! You'll leave me, too? You're just going to leave!?"

They fold their legs back under them. "I-I told you I'm not even supposed to be around yo—"

"I don't care about that!" He shifts forward, grabbing the feathers on Loop's shoulders. "I won't tell anyone about you! We can... I don't know!"

Loop flinches and goes rigid, their tail starts to rapidly twitch. "Stardust, there's nothing—"

The tightness in his throat worms its way out through his chest, down to his gut. "No, no, no! We can keep traveling together you can't leave you're the only one who I can talk to about this!"

"I'm not, though," their voice wavers. "Your pa—"

"I can't tell them! I know I'm selfish and greedy and awful and disgusting but I'm going to lose them and I don't want to lose you too!"

They shrink down more. "Stardust, I don't really know you."

"But you do! You still remember things! You remember to call me stardust! And that you want to help me! And to meet me at the Favor Tree and a lot about the loops and the King and you remember you care about me! Right? That's what you said!"

"I-I did but—" They rake their claws through the earth. "I don't remember anything else."

Tears prick at the corner of his eye but don't fall. "Then I'll tell you! Every time we meet! I'll tell you everything you need to know! That's what I've been doing already! I'll tell you as many times as I need to so if this is ever over you'll remember for real!"

As Siffrin pleads, Loop keeps pulling back, more and more. Their body tenses, and their wings fold tightly against them. They grip the ground, claws digging deep into the dirt.

"Please, stop." A low rumble emanates from deep within their chest.

"No, Loop, please, please don't leave, please you're my f—"

Loop's ears flutter, eye narrows, and they snap their jaws with a hiss. "I'm your what? Your friend? Your family? Someone who can just seamlessly blend in with you when you traipse around other humans?"

A frozen fist crashes right through Siffrin's chest. "But... you said we were friends."

Loop's tail flips up and slams on the ground with an audible thud. "Did I? Okay! Sure! We're friends! I'll be your friend! I'll just keep living out in the woods, watching you go have fun in civilization and hope maybe you'll toss some crumbs my way once in a while! That sounds fun, yes! Sitting out on the sidelines while you get to move on with your life! While you get to go home, and I get to sit in the mud waiting to get another infection that finally kills me. Wondering why I can't go home or if it's even fucking there anymore!"

"While I get to—" Siffrin prickles. Something white-hot bubbles up within him, forcing its way past the chill that had its hold on him; he clenches his jaw so hard his teeth groan painfully. "I can't go home either!"

Their expression shifts in a blink. "What?"

"My home!" He snaps. "It's gone! Wiped completely off the map! At least you remember yours! I don't! I don't even know how old I was when it happened or what it was like or anything about my family or my culture or my language! It's all just gone!"

"Wiped... off the map... like an ex-explosion?" Their feathers stand on end, and they fold their legs closer to their body, claws ripping at a root.

"Just disappeared! Vanished! And everyone forgot everything about it! Including me!"

"Oh."

"That's why I can't remember the stars! I learned it all there and that was taken from me too!" He's yelling, louder and louder. "I don't have anything! I don't have anyone or anywhere to go after this!"

"But your friends—"

"They're not my friends!" he cries. "They don't care enough about me to want to call me that, to want to stay with me! They'll leave me too!"

"I-I'm not sure that's true." Loop's voice is so small.

"It is! Odile said we're just allies! They all talk about going their separate ways when all this is over! And they will, because this journey meant less to them than it did to me!"

He

feels

a

tug—

"Ugh!" He screams into his hands and stands up, snatching his hat and forcing it back on his head.

"Wait, stardust."

"Just forget it, I'm going back."

They don't try to stop him.

>>>

The Clocktower is dark when Siffrin arrives, save for a small, crafted light glowing in the dining area.

He swallows the ever-growing knot in his throat and bubbling dread in his gut, then slips in quietly. Isabeau is settled at the table, fixing a tear on one of Bonnie's shirts. He jumps when the door latches, but a bright smile rises on his face when he sees them.

"Sif!" Isabeau whisper-yells. "You're back! I was starting to get worried." He quickly sews in a few more stitches and ties it off before packing everything away.

"I'm fine." He watches as Isabeau carefully puts everything in an orderly fashion. They clench their fist and breathe. "You waited for me? How long was I gone?"

"A couple hours. It's pretty late. The others just went to bed. I'm guessing you had fun catching up with your friend?"

"Something like that."

Stupid. Stupid. Why did you say all that?

"Huh?" Isabeau tilts his head, studying them.

"They're just leaving tomorrow, is all." They smile.

Why did you do that?

"Aw, you won't be able to see them after we beat the King?"

Ha.

They shake their head. "It's fine, though, we talked a lot tonight."

And then you had to go fucking blind it up by acting like some sort of possessive, desperate creep.

"That's good, at least!" He grins. "Still, I'm sorry you won't have more time with them. I know it's hard to say goodbye sometimes."

"Yeah."

They stare at the floor for a moment before slowly looking up at Isabeau. He smiles, soft and warm, but he seems tense, gripping his hand tightly and rubbing circles on the back with his thumb.

Neither speaks. Everything is so quiet that his own breathing is almost deafening.

It's fine. It's whatever! They're gonna forget this too, and you can pretend it never happened!

They stretch out with an exaggerated, forced yawn.

Unless you were that much of a blinding ass that it's permanently seared into their memory.

"Heh, ready for bed?" Isabeau hums.

"Mhm," they nod, blinking slowly. They're not tired at all.

"Okay," he hums. "Hey, Sif, before we head up, can I tell you something really quick?"

"Hm?" Is it the same thing from every other night or something new?

Doesn't matter, it's not like he'll say whatever it is.

Loop. Why did they..? Ughh...

He keeps his eye focused on Isabeau, though his mind keeps trying to wander.

"Okay, um," he begins, cheeks darkening. "I just wanted to tell you that I, uhm... really liked traveling with you and... and..." He looks away, scratching the back of his head. "And that's it. It was fun. Yep!"

That's it? That's all he wanted to tell them?

They feel...

"Oh."

"Oh? You didn't..?" His expression falls. "Never mind."

"No, no, I did!" He holds his hands up. "This journey... meant a lot... to me. I just expected..."

Isabeau shrinks in on himself. "More?" he coughs. He can't make eye contact. "Well, there was something else I wanted to say, but I'll tell you tomorrow, after we beat the King. Wouldn't want to distract you."

Ah, the usual, then.

"Is that okay?" He leans forward, head tilted.

They nod. Maybe one day they can pry it out of him, but not today.

Too blinding dead inside.

And... ugh!

Why did you flip out at them like that? They didn't know! But ugh. They should have! Why can't they remember? Why can't you remember?

...

They can't go home either.

...

"Okay!" His radiant smile is back, and even after all this time, Siffrin feels a little bit of ease flow through him.

It's fine. It's fine! Maybe they'll change their mind!

Isabeau gets out of his seat and walks up to them. "Ready for bed? Big day tomorrow haha." His cheeks are still flushed.

"Yeah," they nod. "Lemme just—" They point to the bathroom.

"Okay, I'll warm the bed for you hahahhh."

He snorts, and they part ways.

Why did you do that?

He locks himself in the bathroom and tries not to scream.

Why did you do that?

They splash cold water on their face and slap their cheeks until it hurts.

Why did you do that?

They find their mildewy towel and scream into it.

Why did you do that!?

They hold it to their face, breathing in the stink, getting hardly any fresh air.

Why did you do that!?

They kick the wall, forgetting they had just taken their shoes off. They bite their lip hard enough to make a mark and resist the urge to rip the sink off its pedestal and throw it out the window.

He sighs and gazes out into the night toward the field they were in, wondering if Loop was still there, wondering where they sleep at night, wondering why they can't go home either. Tears threaten to fall again, and he chokes up.

Why did you... do that..?

When he sneaks into the sleeping quarters, Isabeau is already out like a light.

They slip in beside him and shuffle under the blankets.

He settles in for a long, sleepless night.

Loop.

>>>

The next morning, Siffrin can't bring themself to start any new conversations, and they slip back into a semi-script as their party ascends the House. They try and fail not to think about their horrific blunder from the night before.

A stupid sadness is waiting near the entrance this time. They nod along as their party reassures Mirabelle, and he manages to take out half its health with one swipe.

He is getting stronger.

He can't bring himself to feel excited; it's not like it matters unless he can somehow get strong enough to kill the King in one hit.

But they don't even let themself dream about that.

Wouldn't it be nice, though?

>>>

They remember the key in the Head Housemaiden's desk drawer and slot it into the Library's lock.

The library... something about the back wall.

Oh!

The secret library!

The switch!

They shove their way inside and beeline it to the ancient bricks.

Don't get your hopes up. Don't get your hopes up. It's just boring papers.

But still...

They run their fingers across the wall until they feel a brick shift slightly.

He gasps.

Is this it?

Deep breath, in, and out.

They press it in.

It scrapes along the other bricks and...

There's a series of muffled clicks, and suddenly the wall slides away to reveal a narrow passage.

...

He can't breathe.

THERE REALLY WAS A SECRET LIBRARY?

WHAT?!?

"What the gems—?!"

"SECRET PASSAGE!!!" Bonnie screeches.

Mirabelle looks between them and the opening rapidly. "But how— How did you—"

"I-I just touched it and it opened," he chuckles and rubs the back of his neck.

Mirabelle steps forward and peers at the mechanism poking out at the top. "That's so weird?! Was it here all this time?!?"

If it was, then... then...

They don't want to think about it! They will not think about it!

He steels himself and enters.

Another sadness slithers around. They bite back a hiss and sneak past when it has its back turned.

That's future Siffrin's problem.

They push their way through the ancient, heavy door and...

Sweet stars, it really is a secret library.

Stars, stars, blind it all.

No, stop thinking about it and look!

"Wow, there's so much here!" Mirabelle gasps.

"Fascinating," Odile muses. Some papers catch her eye, and she drifts over to a pile on the table.

Siffrin's heart hammers against his chest.

Don't get your hopes up.

Don't get your hopes up.

Do NOT get your hopes up.

They walk stiffly to the first shelf.

He's already sweaty, clammy, gross—the sensation of angry bees buzz in his chest.

They swallow the tightness in their throat.

Okay, okay, just start looking.

Okay, okay, okay, nothing yet. Nothing useful...oh hey, there is an ancient book on newts.

...

Nothing there. Just a bunch of books on colors. Whatever those are.

Next shelf.

Isabeau seems to notice his tension, but Siffrin gives him the widest smile they can and turns away before he can say anything.

There's another headache book.

He starts to gravitate toward it.

No—no time. Don't get distracted.

Check everything. Leave no book glossed over.

Last shelf.

Last shelf. Please.

Please, something.

He runs his finger along the spine of every book to keep himself from rushing ahead and skipping something in his haste.

"Siffrin?" Mirabelle asks. "Are you looking for something in particular?"

No. No. No. Still no.

"Huh? Oh." Maybe another set of eyes would be helpful. "Do you think there's something on Crafted shields?"

Isabeau peers at the shelf. "Like, shields in battle? To protect ourselves?" He hums, scratching at his chin. "It would be useful, wouldn't it... We have skills to boost our defense, but a shield would be cool."

Mirabelle hums, threading her fingers together. "I-I was thinking about learning! And I feel like I'm close to getting it!!! But... I'm not there yet. Sorry."

Bonnie squeezes past them and kneels over the bottom. "This book here is just called 'Shields', and it's super dusty." They pull out a book near the bottom of the final shelf.

What?

"Dusty books are good, right?" They smile and hold it out to them.

Siffrin nearly rips the book from Bonnie's hands and throws it open.

This... this could be.

"Siffrin?"

"Whoa, Sif, are you okay? You're shaking."

He hands the book to Mirabelle without a word.

He can't look. He stares at the empty space in the bookshelf instead.

Mirabelle watches him for a moment, they all do, before she turns to the book and starts thumbing through the pages.

Don't get your hopes up.

Don't get your hopes up.

Don't get your hopes up.

She stops about a quarter of the way through the book. Siffrin forces his head to turn and catches a glance at the page. It's dense and full of confusing diagrams.

Mirabelle taps the side of the book rhythmically. "Well, that's not how it works." She chews on her lip. "But... . . ."

Don't. Get. Your. Hopes. Up.

He forces his expression into mild curiosity.

He wants to throw up.

"Wait... Wait a second." Mirabelle gasps. It's as if a switch goes off in her mind. Her expression brightens, and she buries her nose back into the pages.

A few more seconds of mumbling and Siffrin clenching and unclenching his fists, and—

"THAT'S ALL?!?!?"

He nearly jumps out of his skin, causing Isabeau to jump too and reach out to them like they're about to keel over.

"THAT'S HOW YOU DO IT?!??!"

Don't get your hopes up don't get your hopes up dont'getyourhopesupdontdontdont.

"Ah." Odile wanders over from the papers she was snooping in.

"Oh, this sounds fun." Isabeau leans over to check the book, takes one look at the text, cringes, and leans back.

Mirabelle chews on her knuckle. "So then, if I do this, and keep this in mind, and don't forget about this..."

She mumbles under her breath for a long time...

"Okay, so..." She slams the book shut and snaps her head toward them. He jumps again. "Siffrin, do NOT move. I'm about to try a highly volatile Craft Skill on you that I've never tried before."

He freezes. His lungs feel like they're being squeezed.

Just breathe. In, and out.

Mirabelle holds her hands out and murmurs a few words. There's a sound of sizzling wind chimes that seems to originate from within Siffrin's own body.

He feels warm all of a sudden, like a thick blanket wrapped itself around him.

He pries his eye open right as Bonnie throws a punch in his stomach.

Owwie. He flinches. Wait.

"Boniface."

Mirabelle leans closer. "Siffrin, did you feel something...?"

He puts his hand on his stomach.

They didn't feel a thing.

They

Did

Not

Feel

A

Thing.

...

He shakes his head.

He keeps shaking it, more and more.

He didn't feel it. It didn't hurt. He didn't feel it it didn't hurt he didn't feel it he did not feel a thing!!!

A laugh bubbles up from within his chest, and soon he's reduced to a cackling mess leaning up against the ancient books.

He doesn't even care that his allies are all staring at him as tears and snot stream down his face.

They feel like their chest should hurt by now from how violently they're laughing, but it feels fine!

It doesn't hurt!

Don't get your hopes up!

"Uh, Sif, Buddy," Isabeau says when he slides to the floor, still laughing. "You uh—"

"Yeah, haha? Isa?" They wipe all the fluids from their face in one long motion.

"Nothing, glad you're happy it works!"

"That wasn't a side effect of the craft, was it?" Mirabelle hugs the book to her chest.

"No! Haha, no, it's fine! It's fine. It just I uh... thought of a really bad joke... about shields!"

"Really?" Odile raises an eyebrow. "Gems, alive Siffrin."

"Boo," Bonnie crosses their arms.

"So, what was it?" Isabeau asks tentatively.

"Forgot!" They're not even going to bother trying to salvage that.

They have a shield skill!

They can survive the King now!

Maybe!

Don't get your hopes up!

Trembling, they pull themself back upright, wiping the remaining snot from their nose. The shield Craft has since worn off, and he can feel a twinge of tightness in his chest as he gets the remaining giggles out of his system.

They're gonna beat the King again and Mirabelle's gonna deal the final blow and they're going to break the loops and then everyone...

Loop...

Siffrin shakes his head and violently blinks away the thoughts. He takes one step toward the door and stops. They're gonna have to come back there. It's going to take so long every time because they're not gonna beat the King this loop or next loop or the next loop!

...

Maybe there's another way for Mirabelle to learn quicker.

He turns to her. "So, Mira. What made it click?"

"Huh?"

"This book? What about it made you figure it out when you couldn't before?"

"Oh!" she perks up. "That's easy! It's all about—" Mirabelle suddenly bombards him with technical terms!!! He doesn't follow a single word but smiles and nods along either way.

>>>

" —and that's how you do it!!!"

"I did not understand even a little bit of this." Odile rubs her temples.

Isabeau crosses his arms and looks into the distance. "Hm, I couldn't craft a skill like that myself, but..." He squints as he searches for his next words. He lights up with a small gasp. "But it's just about using the CARROT method, right?"

Odile takes the book and gives it a cursory glance. "Is it?" She flips back a page. "I guess that makes some sort of sense..."

Mirabelle flips back a page and shows Odile. "It is! They actually mention it in here, too!"

The CARROT method???

"What's the CARROT method?" Bonnie tilts their head and scrunches their nose.

Mirabelle points to a line and reads aloud: "Can Arrive at a Really Really Outstanding Technique".

What?

Isabeau chuckles. "If you don't know the CARROT method, you don't need to know the CARROT method."

Okay.

Siffrin sure feels stupider than usual this loop.

But it's fine, it's fine! They have a shield skill! That's what matters!

They take a breath. "So, hypothetically, someone reminding you of the CARROT method would make it click for you?"

"Yes!!!!!!" Mirabelle beams, sliding the book back into its place on the shelf and clapping her hands together.

Well, there you go.

Don't. Get. Your. Hopes. Up.

>>>

They make it through the rest of the house.

He tries to start a few conversations, but his mind is miles away.

Don't get your hopes up.

Do not get your hopes up.

...

Loop.

They don't have anywhere to go either...

Pick up that tonic.

Don't get your hopes up.

Why did you yell at them like that?

Kill that sadness—oh, hey that wasn't so bad this time. More than half of your tonics left.

Why did you have to act like such a needy creep?

Why would they want to stay with you?

Don't get your hopes up.

Pick the malanga fritters again.

They're only helping you to get out of the loops.

Tastes like ash.

The King is ahead...

Siffrin shuts his eye tightly and takes a deep breath, in and out.

He takes another, and another.

They're packing up and are about ready to leave the final safe room.

Tune back in, Siffrin. Don't embarrass yourself dying WITH a shield.

Don't get your hopes up.

"Ready?" Isabeau says as they approach the door.

He blinks and pulls his gaze from the tear floating dangerously close.

"Ready!" He smiles.

Deep breath.

Deep, deep breath.

They push through the door and enter the final hallway before the King.

His heart is going to shatter his ribs.

It's so loud. He can hear it.

It sounds like... clanking metal.

Wait.

He pauses.

That's not him.

"What's that sound?" Bonnie asks.

Something crashes far ahead.

The King bellows, followed by another crash.

Wait.

Wait. Waitwaitwait.

Oh no.

His legs move on their own, and he dashes full speed ahead.

"Sif!?"

"Siffrin, wait!"

Oh stars, oh stars.

Oh, blind it all!

The noise grows louder. There's a massive boom, and the whole House shudders. Dust shakes free from the ancient bricks. Siffrin stumbles but does not slow. His party is already far behind him, calling out to them.

He throws the door open, heart in his throat.

At the far end of the antechamber, the King thrashes around, wailing. Something long juts from his neck, and dark blood spurts from it with every move he makes. The walls around him are littered with holes, with a particularly massive one to his left. Rubble, shards of glass, and so so many tears coat the floor and

        there

                     is

                               a

                                       shade...

terrifying and visceral spattered across everything, the walls, the floor, the King.

And before the tyrant, flying erratically, thrashing violently, dripping that same shade is...

"Loop!"

[illbringthechaosmagic]

@tarnishedxknight

"But if it's you that he's after... it should be me protecting you. Me keeping you safe," Wanda replied. Sure, Venat would probably come after her for breaking Xenos out of here, but wouldn't he be more focused on trying to get the other back? After all, what was he going to want from her, apart from revenge? Still, best not to think of that right now.

"You don't need to tell me twice how destructive we can be. It's why we don't deserve to have magic. We already cause so much pain and suffering amongst each other without it," she sighed, shaking her head slightly. "Perhaps. Though are all Occuria so... careless with their powers? Or do they only use it when they need to?"

As she made herself comfortable in bed, his question had her turning to look at him. "I don't sleep much. Sleep is when nightmares like to visit and I would rather not deal with them at this moment," she admitted, "especially when I am so new to the palace. The last thing I would want is for one of the Judge Magisters to hear me screaming.. so I'll be alright. You should rest."

She gave him a gentle smile as he laid down, her cheeks turning rosy at his words. "There's no need, I'm just glad that you are safe," she replied. Letting him drift off, she pulled out her notebook and set about crafting one of her protection spells, making sure to cover any entry point to the room. The last thing she wanted was for any unwelcome visitors while her acquaintance slept.

"Who are you? I do not believe we have met." (for Xenos because reasons)

It had been Gabranth's duty to show the Emperor's new sage around the palace and the capital city, helping to familiarize her with important locations she may need to know during her stay. If she was to assist His Eminence with war strategies and grant him advice on what direction to take the Empire in the future, she would need to know what was going on there. Thus, one of the stops on their tour was the Draklor Laboratory.

The Laboratory was a massive seventy-floor building within which all sorts of research important to the Empire was conducted. Everything from airship design, to weapons development, and magical pursuits were studied there, and at some of the topmost floors were the offices and lab of Dr. Cidolfus Demen Bunansa, known by most as Dr. Cid. He was not only the head researcher of Draklor Laboratory, he was also the chief writer of science, technology, and magical policies for the Archadian Imperial Army, which funded the Laboratory. Dr. Cid was also one of Vayne Solidor's main go-tos for secret nethicite research serving the prince's agenda.

Gabranth took Wanda up to Dr. Cid's offices, but the man was not there. This was typical, for Cid was always something of a free spirit, and he often went out in search of materials for his experiments. He took Wanda on to see Cid's laboratory anyway, explaining to her that this was where the Empire was attempting to safely study the effects of nethicite. Even as he said it, though, he scarcely believed his own words. Cid was anything but safe. If rumors were true, and Gabranth had at least some evidence in support of them, then Cid's might was slowly beginning to slip. Regardless, Gabranth gave Wanda a superficial look at the lab, for she mostly just needed to know where it was, in case she needed to talk to Cid at some point, and not so much its intricate inner workings.

When she seemed to stop by a rather ornate looking set of double doors - doors with a strong magical ward for a locking system - Gabranth was soon tasked with explaining that, no, Cid did not experiment on living beings. His research was mostly chemical, magical, and technological. He wondered why Wanda would fixate on the doors and ask such a question, but none of his spies or his own reconnaissance had indicated that Cid was experimenting with live creatures. "It may be a storage room for nethicite or other highly dangerous magical components," he explained, feeling the Mist within him stirring, and not just because of the magical lock on the doors. In his mind, that was the only explanation that made sense.

Oh, but there was a living being inside the room, and he was quite tortured, frightened, and sad. His emotion was so thick and heavy, it came off him in waves to one who was even mildly empathetic like Wanda. Even through a magically locked door, the imprisoned and enslaved being Xenos gave off a heartbreaking and desperate amount of suffering that permeated the room and even beyond it. His magical power also branched out into his surrounding environment, even magically bound such as he was.

When Wanda returned later without Gabranth, that same energy and emotion was apparent the moment she got within the near vicinity of the doors. For someone with magic as unique and versatile as Wanda, the magical locking glyph placed on the door was certainly no match. Once the doors were unlocked and opened, a sorrowful sight met her eyes.

The room was bare, sterile, with no sign of warmth or kindness. A marble floor, two pillars made of a different type of stone, and a man kneeling between them, slumped where he sat, a mess of chains tethering him to the pillars. He was barefoot and shirtless, wearing only a pair of linen pants and a tattered cloak, the hood of which was draped over his head. His wrists were shackled, connected to chains that were rooted in the stone pillars on either side of him. Those shackles were then also chained to a third shackle around his neck. Small glowing glyphs of warding, suppression, and control glowed on each of the shackles.

When Wanda entered the room, Xenos slowly lifted his head, feeling her presence even if he hadn't heard her first. Her magic was significant, he could feel it, but he didn't know who she was. Was she here to hurt him? Probably. Everyone else here was. He shakily rose to his feet and backed away slowly, until the chains pulled taut and he couldn't go any further. Trembling and a bit folded in on himself, Xenos stood there, clearly afraid of Wanda.

He was very lean, probably too thin for a man of his height. And there was an unnatural blackness to his hands and feet, continuing up his arms and likely his legs too if they could've been seen under his pants, until it brightened into a bronze skin tone. Red glowing eyes could be seen peeking from underneath his hood.

Her question, though... was strange. Usually people just came in and started ordering him around, inflicting pain with magic if he did not comply. They didn't usually want to chat with him, or ask his identity. Did she not know who he was? Was she not told? If she didn't know, then why was she here? Maybe she wasn't here to hurt him after all.

Xenos slowly moved to one of the pillars, his left arm being harshly pulled in the direction of the other pillar by the short chain even as his right hand softly touched the pillar before him. He huddled against the stone, partially obscuring himself with it, feeling safer when he wasn't standing entirely out in the open. "Xenos..." he answered her, his voice a raspy whisper from lack of use. "I... am Xenos..."

[drsantosgf]

•°•

[nexus-nebulae]

oh my god. that one "oc" we wrote who had DID that we came up with before our syscovery. that was not an oc. oh my god cody and blake why did you take five years to make yourselves known to us-

[commander-damneron]

I have never been more bitter than right now when I realised that while I'm here, starting a new job while also dealing with some of the worst weather we've had so far this year (and this is scotland, our regular bad weather is nothing to sniff at), my parents are in Miami. Boarding a cruise ship. And it's currently 26°C there

[theladygazingatemptiness]

.

[harlotofandraste]

boss went to the office sick last week, on a call she joked about how "she's gonna give it to all of us haha" now i am sick, most likely from her and joke's on her if I don't feel well tomorrow morning then I'll not work as is my legal right and she will have to deal with me not being there