#or bug types (cause screw em' i guess)

[nitr09-productions]

Behold, my inspired Fakemon design!

#for context i was talking to my brother about how pokemon eat other pokemon #but the pokemon that get eaten just happen to be similar to the animals we eat in the real world #or bug types (cause screw em' i guess) #so we were speculating what it would be like if there was a pokemon that hunted pikachus

[leossmoonn]

could i please request a stefan fluff where the reader is like spanish or smth, but she speaks ij english with everyone. and her and stefan are dating. so one day she gets upset over smth so she starts ranting in spanish and stefan can't understand a thing. and he's like "oh- ok-" even though he didn't understand anything. if not thats ok! have a nice day!!

have a nice day too <33

masterlist

pairing - stefan salvatore x spanish speaking, fem!reader

type - fluff, angst

note - i put the reader as a spanish speaker and not just spanish, so it could be more inclusive :). and i'm so sorry that this is so bad. i couldn't come up with a better plot like i wanted to, but i hope you enjoy anyways!

warnings / includes - language, kissing, food and alcohol mention, cute couple stuff, you getting upset (duh), kissing, stefan trying to be supportive but also being really confused lol. you all are like in your late 20s for this lol. for those who aren't spanish speakers, i will put translations in little text under each sentence/paragraph

————

"Sí. Bueno, lo retomaré más tarde. Gracias," you hung up the phone, setting it down with a smile on your face.

["Yes. Okay, I will pick it up later. Thank you."]

"Hey, who was that?" Stefan come over to you, wrapping his arm around your waist.

"That was Lucas's friend. He was able to get the cake and the cupcakes made early!" You squealed, jumping up and down in his arms.

"Oh, that's awesome! Looks like Caroline won't be bugging you anymore," Stefan chuckled.

"Oh, I know. Man, am I happy to finally get this party planning over with," you sighed, turning around and leaning against the counter.

You smiled as you came face-to-face with your boyfriend. You hung your arms around his neck lazily, twirling the hair on the nape of his neck with your first fingers.

"Tired?" Stefan raised a brow, settings hands on your hips.

"Exhausted. And to think the actual party is tonight," you chuckled. "Well, that's the easiest part, right?" Stefan asked.

"Yeah, watching over twenty-to-twenty five eleven years olds is easy," you rolled your eyes.

"You'll have help. Caroline, me, Bonnie, Ric, Elena, Matt. Even Damon has volunteered to watch them!"

"Or lure them in a back corner and fed on them," you scoffed. "Hey, Damon's a lot of things, but he is not a child-blood-sucker," Stefan defended.

"Awe, you're defending him. How cute," you booped his nose.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. We are goals. Or whatever the kids are saying these days."

You giggled at his words, turning back around as you heard the front door open. You looked to see Caroline, Bonnie, and Elena carrying the twins, a bunch of presents, and at least five boxes of pizza.

"Damn. I wish you guys bought me this many presents!" You exclaimed.

"Oh, shut up. We give you a bottle of champagne and you're already over the moon," Elena snickered.

"Well, what can I say? I'm a simple gal," you grinned.

"Hey, Stef, can you help, please? Put these next to the window sill," Bonnie ordered as she was carrying most of the presents.

"Yeah, of course," Stefan nodded. He ran over to her with his vampire speed, picking up the presents at lightening speed and laying them out in towers.

"Thank you," Bonnie sighed. "Yeah, no problem. Hey, why didn't you just use your magic to carry them in?" Stefan asked.

"I need to save my energy for the kids," Bonnie explained.

"Whoa, Whoa, Whoa. I didn't know we were letting the world know our secret," you frowned.

"We aren't! They're just a bunch of kids. Plus, we can just compel them to forget. Josie and Lizzie really want to show them tricks, too," Caroline bounced the twins in her arms.

You looked to the two girls who were giggling and smiling. You sighed, "Fine. Anyways, guess who was able to get the cake and the cupcakes."

"Oh, my God! You?" Caroline gasped. "Yep. Call me Santa Claus 'cause I just delivered!" You grinned.

Elena, Bonnie, and Stefan cringed at your joke.

"Not your best work, Y/n," Elena shook her head.

"What! Hey, that was pretty good," you frowned. "You'll get 'em next time, babe," Stefan smiled, going over to you and patting you on the back.

"Okay, you guys are just jealous because you're not as funny as me," you scoffed.

"Oh, yeah, we're jealous all right," Bonnie smirked.

You opened your mouth to retort back, but your phone started ringing. You looked at the Caller ID, seeing that it was your brother, Lucas. You gave them all a death glare, picking up your phone and going into the other room.

"Hey, amigo, what's up?" You asked.

"Uh, bad news, chica," Lucas sighed. "Oh?" You raised a brow.

"Yeah, turns out that Darryl can't make the cake or the cupcakes today."

You opened your mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Your eyes were wide as saucers as you thought of what to say.

"Y/n? Please say something," Luca begged.

You turned your head, your face screwing up in guilt and anger as you saw Lizzie and Josie playing with Bonnie and Stefan. You turned back and focused on the conversation you were having with you very trusting brother.

"¿Qué quiere decir Darryl no puede hacer el pastel o cupcakes?"

[What do you mean darryl can't make the cake or cupcakes?"]

"I mean that he can't make them. Do I need to explain to you what those words mean? And why are you speaking in Spanish? Afraid someone will —"

"En realidad, lo soy, Lucas. Dios, eres tan poco confiable. ¡Y ese amigo tuyo! Espera, ¿podría recuperar mi dinero?"

["Actually, I am, Lucas. God, you are so unreliable. And that friend of yours! Wait, am I going to be able to get my money back?"]

"Um… probably not. But it's okay, I'll pay you back!"

"Ah, ¿cuándo? ¿Después de sacar dinero del fondo universitario de su hijo? ¿O se lo van a pedir a mamá y papá esta vez?"

["Oh, when? After you take out money from your child's college fund? Or are you going to ask mom and dad for it this time?"]

"Hey, don't blame me! Blame Darryl. All I did was hook you up with him!"

"Y probablemente sabías que era un gilipollas mentiroso y que robaba dinero. Llámame de vuelta cuando seas capaz de no mentirme, ¿sí?"

["And you probably knew that he was a lying, money-stealing asshole. Call me back when you're able to not lie to me, yeah?"]

"Wait, Y/n, I-"

You hung up the phone, throwing it on the chair next to you. You groaned quietly, the bridge of your nose burning as tears welled up in your eyes.

"¿Cómo puedes ser tan estúpido, Y/n? Confiando en él después de todo lo demás que ha hecho. Estúpido, estúpido, estúpido!"

["How can you be so stupid, Y/n? Trusting him after everything else he's done. Stupid, stupid, stupid!"]

Stefan, who was throwing up Lizzie and Josie in the air, heard your mutters in the other room. He frowned and put the girls down, promising them that he would be back in a second after checking up on you. He walked into the next room slowly, putting his arm around you lightly.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

You jumped at his voice and touch, sniffling and wiping the tears from your face. "Y-Yeah. Just some um, family stuff."

"Want to talk about it?" Stefan asked.

You sighed, turning around to him. His hand intertwined with yours, squeezing it for support.

"It's just… Lucas. He's just so… jodidamente molesto," you sighed. "Él simplemente no piensa en otras personas y las consecuencias. Quiero decir, trata de ayudar, lo que es agradable, pero siempre termina por pagar dinero a la gente, o termina por tener un ojo negro."

[“He is just so… fucking annoying. He just doesn't think about other people and the consequences. I mean, he tries to help, which is nice, but he always either ends up owing people money, or ends up having a black eye.”]

"O-Oh, yeah," Stefan nodded, his brows furrowed as he tried to understand. But you were speaking so fast and with so much anger, he barely picked up a word.

"Y como su hermana mayor, sé que probablemente se supone que voy fácil con él, pero es un hombre crecido. ¡Debe saber estas cosas! Ugh, sabía que debería haber ordenado a ellos como, Target o algo, pero el amigo de su “aparentemente” es capaz de hacer diseños realmente lindos y hacer arte fondant en tiempo récord, así que tomé mis mis oportunidades. ¿Y adivina dónde estoy ahora?"

[“And as his older sister, I know I'm probably supposed to go easy on him, but he's a grown man. He should know these things! Ugh, I knew I should've just ordered them from like, Target or something, but hsi friend "apparently" is able to do really cute designs and make fondant art in record time, so I took my chances. And guess where I am now?”]

"Right, right. Wow, I'm sorry, babe, I —"

"Ciento cincuenta dólares cortos con dos niñas que van a estar tristes cuando no consiguen su pastel de sirena barbie y cupcakes con temática de Minecraft. ¡Argh!"

["One hundred and fifty dollars short with two little girls who are going to be sad when they don't get their Barbie Mermaid cake and Minecraft-themed cupcakes. Argh!"]

You stopped your rant when you noticed Stefan looked at you with a confused expression on his face. You thought for a moment to yourself, beginning to laugh at yourself as you realised you were speaking in Spanish.

"I'm sorry, Stef. I didn't realise you couldn't understand me."

He smiled and shrugged. "No worries. At least you were able to get it all out, right?"

"A little. When I punch Lucas, I'll be able to get it all out," you grinned.

"That's my girl."

————

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[second-chance-stray]

RP Log: Rising takes Cravs out to skyfish. Egg fish.

Rising Lotus still looked a bit wobbly on her feet as they made their way through the aetheryte plaza. "Ugh, wasn't even a long airship trip..." she took a few deep breaths, trying to collect herself now that they were on solid land... more or less.

Cravendy Hound , in contrast, is in high spirits. She steps out onto the floating island with wonder lighting up her eyes, and she dashes out to an edge to get a better look. "Risin', ye got to work on yer sea legs...or air legs, in this case? Anyway, holy. Shit. What the 'ells keepin' all these rocks flyin' up?"

Rising Lotus: "Some sort of air crystals or somethin' I think? Some sort of aethery type of deal, someone explained it to me when I came here the first time but I don't remember the specifics." she shrugged ."It ain't too far from the spot...which is weird cause you think you could jus' cast out off any side."

Cravendy Hound shrugs. Magic didn't make much sense to her as well. She would follow Rising to whatever spot she was talking about, chatting along the way. "So, ye showed me that weird balloonfish last time, but what else could we drag up?"

Rising Lotus shrugged. "There's lots of different air fish. Some ain't really look like fish though, least not where I casted off here." she started down the way. "But I guess it counts as long as you hook it?"

Cravendy Hound: "I mean, if we're tossin' our 'ooks off a cliff, seems reasonable ye'd catch things other than fish. Like, birds, maybe." She pauses every once and awhile to observe the native flora and fauna around these parts, having never seen anything quite like it.

Rising Lotus approached the edge cautiously, looking out on the vast cloudscape. "Think over here was the place. I remember these weird plants." she plopped down,  setting her tackle box between them. "Also careful when you go for some bait, it has a tendency to... uh float away."

Cravendy Hound: "What?" Cravs goes for Rising's tackle box and opens it, letting a couple of red balloon bugs drifting out. "What?!"

Rising Lotus was able to snag one out of the air as the others wafted away on the breeze. "See? You jus' wanna hook 'em..." she slid the hook into the body part instead of the balloon part, so that it still could float on her line. "Like this. So they can still float. You'll probably still pop a few though on your first try." She then casted her line out, line floating about with the stange bug hook on.

Cravendy Hound does her best to catch some of the bait before it flies away, but the wind blows away most of the escapees. Following Rising's lead, she stabs one a little too roughly through her hook. It's not floating at all anymore. That's not a good sign.

Cravendy Hound throws caution to the wind and decides, screw it. She casts off with the dead bug anyway. The chill really sets in once she begins waiting in earnest. "Eesh, it's colder than I thought up 'ere."

Rising Lotus snickered as Cravs had a deflated bait hanging from her line. "It's a little tricky, the ballon part is way bigger than the non-balloon part." she shrugged as she cast off anyway. "You think it'd be warmer since we're closer to the sun."

Cravendy Hound feels something tug on the other end and she pulls up a...weird? Purple circle? Cravs can't tell if this is a living creature or skytrash. "I think I caught this through pure luck."

Cravendy Hound: "Well, the tops of mountains tend to be cold? Maybe whatevers 'oldin' in all the warm air becomes thinner the 'igher ye go."

Rising Lotus reels in the same thing, unhooking it then tossing it away, watching it drift away. "Wonder what those things are, weird purple balls." she casted off again. " I got some other bait in there too, these giant bugs. But ya know, different from these bugs."

Cravendy Hound gives her Storm Core a confused squeeze and the thing begins to deflate, spitting out questionable liquid as it becomes as flat as a pancake. Cravs feels a tinge bad, decides to toss it off the cliff as if releasing a fish. The purple thing descends and disappears below the cloud layer. It's probably fine, she tells herself!

Cravendy Hound: "Other bait? Giant...bugs?" Cravs mutters apprehensively. "How big we talkin' 'ere."

Rising Lotus: "Well their body is small, but it has super long legs." she motioned to a small cage with Giant Crane Fly fluttering about. "...So...how did Riylli take... ya know.." she reeled in once more after asking, pulling in a small slug like thing with little wings, giving it a strange look. "...it's like some small angel thing."

Cravendy Hound peers over at the bait and lets out a breath of relief. "Oh, that's nothin', I thought ye were talkin' like, /big/ bugs. Like this bug." She spreads her hands a few ilms apart, invisibly outlining something the size of a loaf of bread.

Cravendy Hound: "She took it well enough...at least, don't think we 'ave to worry about 'er gabbin' to Momori anymore. I think it'd be good to keep 'er and Florus separated though, she still wants to tear 'im a new one."

Rising Lotus "Well yeah that was a no brainer...good though. I was worried 'bout her runnin' with Momori... an' her bein' as naive as she is at times...well..." she let out a sigh at the thought before reeling in another catch. It looks like a weird mass of cloth moving about. "Whoah.." she held her line up so she could look at its form better. Whiteloom

Cravendy Hound: "While most Eorzeans don't take kindly to Garleans, I think somethin' personal must've 'appened with Riylli to make 'er distrust 'em that much...and she's sheltered, too. Bein' in the woods for all yer life don't do the mind any good."

Cravendy Hound glances over at Rising's catch and lets out an amused snort. "Hah, did ye accidentally reel in someone's smallclothes?"

(Cravendy Hound) Buoyant Oviform UMM )) (Cravendy Hound) THATS JUST AN EGG?? )) (Rising Lotus) What's the lady's name they're trying to stop again?)) (Rising Lotus) and yes that's an egg)) (Cravendy Hound) Mindred Rot? )) (Rising Lotus) okay thanks I was blanking xD))

Rising Lotus looked again at her catch. "..Well them Ishgarde folk do wear that frilly stuff." She carefully unhooked it and tossed it over the edge only for it to start swimmin' back through the air.

Rising Lotus: "But aye... worried someone's gonna take advantage of that...someone like Momori or Rot."

Cravendy Hound: "Good thing Riylli's got us to protect 'er, then. Or try. She's pretty stubborn."

Cravendy Hound - Something tugs on the line and she reels in an egg of all things. Cravs holds it in her hand, stunned into a prolonged silence.

Cravendy Hound: "...AY. OKAY, NOW I KNOW YER MESSIN' WITH ME." She turns to Rising with the egg brandished like a club. "The purple beachball and cloth thing were fishy enough, but an egg?! What do ye take me for? Are ye, like, attachin' crap to my line or somethin'?!"

Rising Lotus was about to speak on the Riylli matter when Cracs pulled up an egg. "Huh... that is an egg." she cocked her head. "..so there are eggs floatin' 'round up here too? I mean... does it hatch into things?" she gave it a puzzled look, losing her own bait. "How in the hells would I do that? I'm right here with you!" she set herself up and cast out again.

Cravendy Hound: "I dunno, ye tell me! Did ye 'ire a moogle to loiter below us? Or maybe yer usin' magic. That shit can do anythin'," Cravs rambles as she grips the egg in her hand. "Well, the jig is up!"

Cravendy Hound tosses the egg against the ground, smashing it. A tiny, weird fish splats out of it and flops futilely as Cravs goes from confused to seconds away from losing her mind.

(Cravendy Hound) I have no idea but like - if eggs can fly.................. )) (Rising Lotus) These eggs can! If they're even eggs)) (Cravendy Hound) sus eggs ))

Rising Lotus "I don't know any magic! Aside from some of that blue kind I haven't practiced in...whoah!" she was jerked forward from the tug on her line, causing her to stand up and fight with it. "This ones feels big..." her eyes darted down to the edge nervously and inched back a decent amount of ilms. Eventually with a mighty tug a shark swooped up over the side, thrashing about as it landed on the edge before Rising.

Rising Lotus: "...It's a flyin' shark!" her face lit up, though the creature's resistance broke through, biting through her line and the fly-swimming off.

Cravendy Hound peels her eyes off of the questionable fish-egg and hurries to loop her arm around Rising's elbow. "Don't let it drag ye off! It's a long way down!"

Cravendy Hound: "Well, shit! That's a flyin' fish if I ever saw one," Cravs points out. "But like, a /real/ one, not just the glidin' type I see on the water."

Rising Lotus grunted as it flew off. "Well it was a fish.." she watched it fly off into the distance and back into the clouds. " Ain't ever had that happen before. You'll vouch for me that I caught a sky shark right? I'll vouch for your egg." she snickered.

Cravendy Hound narrows her eyes again. "Ye say that, and people'll just think yer loony. Damnit, I wanna hook a shark too." She stabs another balloon bug onto her hook and decides to change spots - maybe standing somewhere else, she'll have more luck?

Cravendy Hound: "Anyway, what exactly did ye promise to Momori? Somethin' 'bout takin' 'er to Idyllshire? Gods, I feel bad that yer stickin' yer neck out for me to begin with..."

Rising Lotus made her way down the way and cast out again. "Ugh... all I could offer was some connections out there, which even that I ain't thrilled about. Gotta warn 'em 'bout her." she sighed. "An' don't worry 'bout it...gotta look out for you to."

Cravendy Hound blinks several times at that last part, two parts dazed and one part embarrassed. Mixed in is also that feeling of fear you get when you look down a cliff - which /may/ be from literally looking down a cliff. She's not sure. "Ah. Well. I can look after myself...but I appreciate the 'elp anyway."

Cravendy Hound: "We look out for each other." Cravs pauses, then glances up to give Rising a shy smile. She finds her footing. "..A 'ound never 'unts alone.

Rising Lotus nodded, returning the smile as she idly reeled in her line. "Aye..." she chewed her lower lip, looking like she was fighting with something. "...I was alone for a bit before I joined up with Heartwood. Was...a bit hard...so.. ya know...you an' Riylli..." she trailed off, reeling in her next catch.

Cravendy Hound tilts her head as she listens to Rising, every word slow and careful. Which struck her as odd, but then again, Cravs figured she was feeling just the same way. "Yeah! It's good the three of us stumbled into each other. Ain't good bein' alone all the time."

Rising Lotus fished up an egg of her own, breaking the tender moment by by grabbing it and shoving it in Crav's face "See! I wasn't putting you on! There are jus'..." she looked at the egg in her hand "..these things floatin' about.." she shrugged and tossed it away.

Rising Lotus: "..b-but yeah...Thanks." she smiled weakly, though it looked like something was still bothering her a bit.

Cravendy Hound rolls her eyes with a smirk. "Well I'll be...ye also got one of them flyin' eggs. Either there really are eggs just out there, waitin' and willin' to be fished up, or we're both goin' crazy from bein' up 'ere too long. If they're aren't just a 'allucination, we should shove 'em in a carton at 'ome as a prank. See if someone bakes a cake with it."

Cravendy Hound: "Anyway, I'm gonna 'ead back. My nose's gonna be frozen solid if I stay out 'ere any longer." She packs up her rod and bumps Rising on the shoulder with a clenched fist as she begins to walk back. "Thanks for takin' me out. Shout if anythin's givin' ye trouble."

Rising Lotus nodded. "Aye, I think I've had enough of starin' off into...certain death." she stashed her rod away. " Glad we finally had a chance to go out here." she rubbed her elbow a bit at her offer, glancing back over the edge before nodding lightly. "..A-alright." she shivered a bit as the chill was finally starting to get to her as well. "..I wonder if they got a bar in that town back there.."

#ff14 rp logs #Rising Lotus #Cravendy Hound #it's literally just an egg #there is a surprising DENSITY of lore in fish descriptions and logs #I love it. I am blindsided and I want more

[aboyandhisstarship]

Kindergarten AU: car crash

Thanks to @dysphoric-artist for the prompt and proof reading

still written in a diary style  and () are still kid adding his thoughts in after the fact 

anyway without further ado lets hop into it 

Ok now, you may not unreasonably say something along the lines of “Mike, you have literally died, hundreds of times. A good chuck of which happened when you were just a kid…how are you not 8 different kinds of traumatized.” And I thank you for your concern (weird guy who is reading my diary…really who does that you would have to broke into my room and stole this thing…which is uncool in every state) to be frank, I am traumatized…but I can’t really tell anyone why, what am I going to tell a headshrinker?

 Headshrinker: so Mike…why don’t you talk to me about the tragic events at your kindergarten….”

Me:  *bursts out laughing* which one…the time I got killed by the principle…or bugs, or monty, or Cindy…or the janitor…or those weird monster things (this would go on for some time)

Headshrinker: uhhh, I think you’re crazy…off to the crazy house!  (ok in fairness I’m pretty sure it doesn’t work this way…but I’m not exactly keen to find out.)

“Ok Mike” you may retort, “They might think you’re crazy…but you could be a superhero! Like the Flash, or Batman! They could call you….Reapto!”  (First off Random guy, Reapto? that’s the best you can come up with?) I tried that once to be the big hero…it can be rather hit or miss.

 High school parking lot:

Nugget said with a smile “if friend Mike, Friend Carla and the Pretty Lilly would be willing to accompany Nugget, we will indulge in some super…”

Nugget was interrupted by the loudest car screech I ever heard, my eyes went wide as felt massive pain and the air forced out of my chest.

I shoot up hyperventling as my alarm went off screaming a little bit too loudly “FUCK!”

My mother bless her soul, responded with an “I know you don’t want to go to school today young man but I will not tolerant such language.” (yea that was embarrassing)

I shook my self-off, and considered putting on a tally before deciding that it was a one off death adding to my journal *Don’t go to the parking lot after school Dummy* (normally I leave myself notes like this…and normally they are a lot more helpful, like don’t mix the red and green flowers it blows up the room you know useful stuff)

 Hallway, My high school:

I had been glancing at my watch about 4 times and Carla (Perceptive as she is) finally snapped “goddamn it Mike you got a date or something?”

I smiled awkwardly “what me no!?”

Lillie frowned “alright you are sketchy…”

Nugget nodded “friend Mike is definitely hiding something.”

A second later a car came crashing into the school slamming through several walls, nailing all 3 of us I paused briefly musing  “man I didn’t think the school was this badly built,” Before hitting the ground hard.

I woke up to the sound of my alarm and groaned grabbing my pillow throwing my face into it saying “not again!”

Before throwing himself out of bed grabbing his marker he added two marks onto my skin

5 loops later:

Ok I didn’t know the school was this badly built, guess what no matter where I was I got taken out by that car, the bathroom, Boom, the library, boom…I even skipped school once…I may have gotten grounded but I laughed thinking I had in fact won, only to get hit by a different car crossing the road, and looping. (I sometimes wonder if the universe hates me…)

But before I died I did get some valuable intel, I saw the death count (the entire school by the way…yea after this I wrote a strongly worded letter to the school board…again) but also the names of the folks in the car, two high school seniors…(now for the sake of timelines I can’t tell you who they are, but mike they didn’t die! Yea yea…just trust me the less anyone knows about the other timelines the better off we all are, tried that once when I first started looping…the planet literally exploded, so no names) so these teens who I dub….Bob and Bertha  crash and kill the whole school…and I need to find out why.

 So I approached the gang saying “alright sit down.”

Monty asked “what this about mike.” His voice clearly impaintent

so I lifted my arm showing the tally’s, that was it they were all ears as I explained “alright in exactly.” I glanced at my watch “4 and half hours, a car comes crashing into school and kill literally everyone, we need to stop that so ideas?”

Jerome proposed “maybe tell them?”

Buggs shook his head “real high and mighty types won’t listen to us.”

Lilly sighed “well they crashed into the building…so they clearly were not leaving it…”

Billy nodded “that’s right, that means they left are coming back for someone or something…we figure out what and bing bang boom.”

I pointed out “has it literally ever been that easy?”

Ted smiled “me and penny can think about cars, figure out what caused it.” Quickly blushing

Penny also blushed “I would love to Teddy…”

Felix cleared his throat “perhaps me and Cindy can get close to them ?”

Cindy smiled brightly (she had grown out of her bitchiness, but she was natural born queen bee, even if she was cool with us all the snobs and assholes in school love her.) “I can reach out…maybe find out what they have going on and more intel.”

I nodded “right find out what we can but tell me before it happens, so I can write it down.”

Everyone responded “right!”

I spent most of the loop with Monty and Carla using their connections to figure out if they were getting any drugs or other fun stuff to explain there “Skillful” driving (got em….yea ok not the best burn)

 Loop 12th:

I woke up with another groan “If I have to read another book about cars I am going to lose it!”

He glanced at his notes the car (a 66 Camaro…I swear those two are like a couple form the 60’s) and the other intel he had gathered from the others (they had indeed been indulging in drugs those bad bad boys and girls…ok I’m not one to talk, seeing  the number of crimes I have technically committed…but those were other timelines…and you know what let’s not go down that rabbit hole)  but the issue was simple, they had indeed nought some weed from Carla and monty’s secretive network (I never asked) but had not in fact gotten it yet, so the question still stood as to what exactly caused it.

 Nugget hole:

The Lair  (Ozzy wanted to call it that)  is what we call our base of operation’s,  I have been spending my time shooting down ideas that we already tried and smiling with evil glee whenever I  make ted and penny work together (honestly I want to yell make out already whenever I see them) but then it hit us, instead of stopping the car crash maybe we should stop them leaving.

 Now mike, you are likely saying, I literally thought of that after like the third loop, first off no you didn’t you liar, (seeing as we didn’t even know who they were then) also, this loop was different normally there are multiple things that need doing to affect a change in the timeline, so it is almost never that easy (ohh jee mister principle, the star athlete and his girl are going to skip class and kill us all ohh geee, yea real convincing huh?)  there was of course the factor, that our group (ok just me) were not exactly popular around school or town, they called us the kinder busters (pretty badass name right?...yea I don’t dig it either) so people consider us bad luck (to be fair…we did end up at two schools run by crazy kidnappers in a row…if that is not unlucky I don’t know what is.)so we needed a couple of people that will actually be believed, now 3 guesses of who my friends who Is the most likely to believed about that kind of thing?

Cindy? Well no seeing as she has her queen bee rep they may think that she is “fronting” (there words not mine…I shuddered just thinking about them trying to street)

Bugs? (HAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHHAHAHA *snort* HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA…wait your serious… HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA)

Carla or Monty (better, but no joy they are bit to up to something…we need purist faces.)

Ok by now you have either guess correctly (good job!) or are yelling at the page, “stop teasing me mike and tell me!”

And naturally the answer is Ted and Penny, (I mean have you seen those faces! Who could say no to them?!)

Of course I had to convince them to do it.

 Nugget hole:

Ted asked “are you sure about this?”

I smiled “of course I am…ninty percent sure this will work.”

Penny smiled “relax Teddy this will be fine.”

I pulled out 5 dollars “here you go get yourselves some ice cream afterwards.”

Ted pointed out “you know I’m a billionaire right…”

Penny took the five dollars saying “deal! Come on Teddy.”

Now you dear reader may be sitting there thinking “that was easy, that’s it, what no boss fight, no dramatic showdown, no sweet groundhog day style montage where you do whatever you want?” (that was happened…more on that later)

My rebuttal to that dear sir, is screw you  let me have this, alright most of time when I start looping I have to fight monsters and a whole thing so I think I earned a nice break, but you might be sitting thinking “that was anti-climactic! Did Ted and Penny at least go on a date!?”

My answer to that is a yes… and no, you see both told me (under the promise to never tell a soul after the loop) they also sadly made me promise not tell the other person, now you may say Mike…after the loop they would not remember, you can pull a sneaky and just tell them that they like each other, and while you are right I don’t for a couple of reasons, number one being I keep my promises, number 2 is they would think I am messing with them (I know right those oblivious idoits.)

But sadly this journal is not a relationship journal of ted and penny (sorry guys, but this supposed to be a record of loops) but I will quietly disclose that they may have been a kiss on the cheek (I screamed I tell you)  of course they are still claiming to be friends in front of us but I don’t buy it…anyway I should proably end this entry…

So thanks for reading? (I mean you are reading a private journal…so I don’t know why you are reading this)

Mike June 26 20XX

#kindergarten game #nugget kindergarten #monty kindergarten #ted kindergarten #carla kindergarten #penny kindergarten #lilly kindergarten #Ted X Penny #Kid Kindergarten #Cindy Kindergarten #as always feed back and prompts are welcome #this verse is really fun to write for so fire em my way

[popatochisssp]

Make Your Mark, 9/10

Series: Undertale, Horrortale Relationship(s): HT!Sans/Reader Chapter Warnings: none

AO3 Link

In a world where soulmates exist, monsters and humans have one thing in common: the first time two soulmates touch, a mark randomly appears somewhere–anywhere– on their bodies to represent their match.

It still doesn’t make relationships easier…but maybe it does make them a little more interesting!

You met him online.

It wasn’t under the most favorable circumstances, all things considered—he beat you in a bidding war for a really uniquely shaped hunk of coquina jasper at the very last minute and you spent probably a solid few hours cursing his username in your head no matter how cool it was.

Naturally, you were pretty surprised when he messaged you through the site the next morning.

geode-dude: hey, sorry about the coquina, kinda stole that from under you, didn’t i?

As much as it had galled you, you had to reply…

xXgoblincoreXx: Oh, don’t worry about it, you won fair and square! That’s how these things go, no hard feelings.

geode-dude: mm, still didn’t feel too gneiss of me, no matter how good a shale it was

……Pfft.

xXgoblincoreXx: Haha, not to quarry, dude, I’ll get over it, enjoy your spoils. Just don’t take it for granite, alright?

geode-dude: lol i like your style

geode-dude: think you’d be up for a consolation prize? sure there’s something around here i can part with to send you. might make me feel like less of a jerk for doing you dirty like that

It was…an unusual request to be sure.

The guy was well within his rights to have screwed you bought the stone for himself and he not only apologized, but was actually offering to send you something else? For free?

It occurred to you to be wary, but you had a PO Box for this kind of thing—too many doorstep package thieves who assumed ‘heavy’ meant ‘valuable’ instead of ‘ten bismuth geodes that you never saw and didn’t get a refund for and were definitely not still salty about’—so you didn’t see the harm in seeing where this went.

xXgoblincoreXx: I’m not one to turn down free shinies, if it’ll really make you feel better. You don’t have to, though, no pressure! ;)

geode-dude: think i will anyway, thanks for being so coal about this

You laughed and sent over your PO Box address and then promptly forgot about the whole thing, not quite expecting the guy to follow through. He was probably more after an excuse to try out those sweet rock puns on somebody and you were happy to be the audience.

At least it had put a smile on your face!

You imagine that expression was nothing compared to the awestruck one you wore when you picked up an unexpected package a couple days later and opened it to the most incredible-looking rock you’d ever seen in your life.

xXgoblincoreXx: Dude, did you send this?!

geode-dude: oh you got it, cool

xXgoblincoreXx: Yeah, what is it? I’ve never seen anything like this before!

Even as you frantically typed, the fuchsia crystal sat beside you, innocently illuminating your room with its warm, fluctuating glow.

geode-dude: don’t think it has an official classification, it’s mostly magic, but we call ‘em lantern rocks. they’re everywhere Underground.

Only one kind of person capitalized ‘underground’ that way and had free access to what was down there.

Your punning, rock-loving pal here was a monster.

You were fascinated—there were no monsters where you lived, their population was still small after everything and hardly any had branched out from Ebott, even though it’d been a few years since they surfaced—and you can’t quite restrain the burst of curiosity this revelation sparks.

You…probably embarrassed yourself a little, to be honest… but all of your eager questions about what other magic stones and crystals he had or could tell you about were met with good-natured amusement.

Good-natured amusement and surprisingly detailed, informative answers, the kind that turned out to be better suited to actual phone texting than a limited bidding site’s chat feature.

‘geode-dude,’ or Sans as you eventually found out, had a pretty extensive geological background and seemed happy to answer anything and everything you threw at him. The only real drawback was the unstoppable slew of puns that came with those answers, but… to a person like you, the puns were less of a bug and more of a feature.

In addition to being a funny guy with a varied rock collection, Sans has a horrifically messy room, a self-sustaining tornado of trash in it, and a younger brother named Papyrus.

He’s also a skeleton, which he didn’t exactly tell you, but he sent you an awful lot of puns about bones and once—when you’d insisted he prove he wasn’t catfishing you—a video of Papyrus balancing a seashell on his head, since that was too weirdly specific to fake.

The guy in the video was definitely a skeleton and he definitely had a seashell atop his skull, effortlessly keeping it there even as he proclaimed to the camera, “Well, Sans’ Pen-Pal, I Have No Idea Why You Want This, But I’m So Stunned That Sans Is Actually Making Friends That I’m Not Going To Question It Very Hard—So Behold! My Impeccable Balancing Skills!”

After that, you wholeheartedly agreed with Sans’ assessment of his brother’s coolness levels: clearly off the charts.

For several long, albeit fun months of chatting and memes and pictures of rocks, though, that’s all you really know about your apparently-a-skeleton friend.

He’s never sent a picture or video of himself, and he’s flatly turned down anything resembling a phone call.

It doesn’t bother you too much. Some people are just private that way, and that’s okay!

You figure you’ll see him when you see him, and that’s just fine by you.

-

You get the text early in the morning—which you’ve gathered is approximately the witching hours over in Ebott.

geode-dude: hey

geode-dude: i’m trying to be a little boulder so i’m kinda petrified here but

geode-dude: do you want to come visit for the festival?

The Freedom Festival—held to commemorate the anniversary of monsters’ escape from the Underground and reunification with the surface world.

Being held in Ebott, next weekend.

You don’t have to think about your answer for more than a minute.

xXgoblincoreXx: Sounds rockin’, I’d love to! :D

-

Ebott isn’t quite as far away as you’d thought.

It’s a few hours on a train and then you’re there, wandering around in search of the skeleton you’d been promised to pick you up.

You’re expecting Papyrus, taller than tall and decently loud, presumably very easy to spot in a crowd.

But he’s not the skeleton you see.

His brother is stupidly tall, but even slouching, Sans is a pretty big guy himself. Dressed in a well-worn blue hoodie, some basketball shorts and the cutest pair of hot-dog-shaped slippers you’ve ever seen, the big skeleton leaning up against the wall is hard to miss.

…And so is the massive gaping hole in his skull, black as pitch above the giant red light darting nervously around in his socket.

It’s…

Not that much of a surprise, honestly.

You understand a lot of monsters suffered permanent injuries in the living hell they crawled out of and while grisly, it’s really nothing worse than what your imagination’s cooked up for you over the past few weeks—reasons ranging from the embarrassing to the outright horrific that Sans had been hiding his face from you.

In comparison to that, a bit of jagged bone is nothing to bat an eye at.

You head right on over to say hello.

Sans stiffens a little as you approach and somehow a bead of sweat seems to appear on his skull. He asks your name in a surprisingly soft voice and you nod.

“Yep, in the flesh,” you chirp. “Which I guess makes you Sans the flesh, right?”

It seems to take him a second to process what you said…but then his shoulders start to shake with laughter.

“good one,” he chuckles. “here five seconds an’ you’re already tryin’ to steal my thunder…?”

“Just trying to make a good first impression,” you joke with a shrug. “I have a feeling I’m not gonna get more than a couple over on you, Mister Funnybones.”

Sans is just a pinch slower in person—or maybe his puns just seem to come across a little snappier with a screen between you—but the moment or two you have to wait is more than worth it.

With a screen and miles of distance separating you, you’ve never had the pleasure of watching Sans’ skull go a dusty shade of blue, or hearing a downright bashful laugh escape him.

“eheheheheh, you, uh…ya’ might be surprised…”

You already are.

You came down here to meet a friend and spend some time with him.

You weren’t expecting him to be this cute, or to feel a spark towards something beyond simple friendship already, within mere minutes of talking to the guy.

“…This is going to be an exciting weekend,” you decide with a smile.

Sans grins back. “yeah? ya’ feel it in your bones?”

You laugh and your duffel bag slides down off your shoulder.

Luckily enough, you have pretty quick reflexes…and apparently, so does Sans.

For all you’d have expected a slow reaction, he reaches out lightning-quick and catches your bag before it can hit the ground—at the same time you catch it.

You touch.

Forming soulmarks don’t cause a physical sensation.

They don’t, it’s been studied: no one, not even monsters, the most soul-attuned sentient species on the planet can conclusively feel a soulmate match being made or say where the mark is forming with any degree of accuracy. Anyone who says otherwise is wrong, reacting psychosomatically at best.

And yet, you swear your skin is tingling all over from that one little brush of skin against bone.

Sans is…… you think Sans is your soulm—

You jump a little as suddenly, Sans has your entire hand in his grasp.

“hey,” he says, and through the very nice sensation of the warm, rough bones of his hand wrapping around yours, you notice that his grin is a little tight. “can we…not…?”

You blink at him, not understanding. “N…not?”

“the…the whole…soulmates thing,” he unhelpfully clarifies. “we don’t have to…look, y’know?”

………Ouch?

“Uh… I… I mean, I…guess?” you try. “If that’s…”

Sans looks pretty damn relieved and that’s yet another thing you hadn’t planned for. The ‘spark’ you’d felt must not have been very mutual if your pen-pal didn’t even want to know if you were soulmates, and that was…

Well, ouch.

“cool,” says Sans, “cool, it’s just…you’re… it’s… you’re here the whole weekend, it’d be……… no need to, uh, ruin the trip…right? it’ll… if we are,it’s…it ain’t like it’d be goin’ anywhere.”

………

Wait.

You almost actually, physically facepalm at the dramatic direction of your thoughts as reason finally occurs to you.

It would be insanely awkward to get all excited about a soulmark…and then risk not finding one immediately before having to spend a whole weekend with somebody—especially since Sans and his brother had so graciously offered to host you while you were visiting.

You think you feel equal parts silly and relieved.

“Yeah,” you agree, much more easily this time, “you’re right! We can…check that out later. For now, you just focus on showing your pal a fun Freedom Fest!”

Sans smiles, passing your bag back to you.

“that’s the plan,” he says and as he starts to amble off, you happily follow. “c’mon, let’s get ya’ settled in first.”

-

You last about two hours.

After arriving at the brothers’ house, meeting Papyrus, and enjoying some delicious (homegrown!!!) cucumber sandwiches for lunch, you’re shown to the guest bedroom and then the bathroom.

“This Is More Sans’ Hostly Duty Than Mine, But Quite Frankly,” Papyrus confided in you, “I’m Not Certain Sans Remembers We Have A Shower. But! You Seem Like A Fine, Upstanding Human With Standards And I’m Sure You’d Appreciate Knowing Where To Find It In Case You’d Like To Freshen Up Before The Opening Ceremony And Fireworks Tonight!”

That had sounded perfect to you, so you’d stripped down for a quick shower to rinse all the miscellaneous travel funk off and…

Well, there it had been.

You manage to contain yourself long enough to actually get clean and then you dry off, grabbing your phone to snap a…very carefully cropped photo of your inner thigh.

At first, you figure it’s just for you, because Sans had said…

But the longer you look at it, the less restraint you have and it really, really, really feels like Sans should get to see this.

You could easily go down the hall and knock on his door to show him, but you’ve been texting buddies for months.

It feels like the most natural thing in the world to pull up your chat and send the picture.

xXgoblincoreXx: [IMG-96]

xXgoblincoreXx: I looked, sorry…

And after a moment of thought:

xXgoblincoreXx: No regrets, though. :)

The dark, rough oyster shell on your thigh, just barely cracking open to reveal a pretty little pearl hiding inside…

It just gives you a really good feeling about your relationship with Sans, and you don’t know how to regret that.

You watch your phone, nervously awaiting a text that…never comes.

Because suddenly, from behind you, you hear, “i looked, too.”

You jump, whirling around to find Sans looming over you. You hadn’t even heard him come in and you marvel that such a big skeleton could move so silently, but that quickly falls by the wayside.

Sans is fiddling with the sleeve of his hoodie, blushing again, but at your encouraging, curious smile, he shoves it back and lets you see.

“guessin’…guessin’ it’s a human thing,” he says, “‘cause i got no idea what it means. google ain’t helpin’ either, heheh…”

You don’t imagine it would—without already knowing the name of it or at least its context, it would probably be a little difficult to just stumble across a Rod of Asclepius.

You reach out and gently grab hold of Sans’ ulna, tracing the line of the rod all the way up to the thick cluster of his carpals where the head of the snake had settled.

He must be able to read some of the emotion on your face because after a moment, he tentatively speaks.

“s’it good?” he asks. “ya’ look like… seems like it’s…something good…yeah?”

It is so good.

You actually think you’re genuinely honored to have caused a mark like this because if there’s anybody out there who deserves to heal from everything they’ve been through, it’s a monster.

It’s Sans, your friend.

…But you don’t think you know him well enough yet to be able to say that out loud.

Instead you put a teasing smirk on your face and shrug.

“I’ll tell you later,” you say, letting go of his hand and heading out of the guest room. “Isn’t the fest starting soon? We should probably get going.”

There’s a pause…but then, Sans is hot on your heels.

“c’mon,” he pesters, “you know, just tell me.”

“I don’t recall,” you tell him. “I think you’re gonna have to refresh my memory somehow…”

“…you’re…ya’ want a bribe?”

“Sans!” you gasp. “I’m hurt! We’re friends, aren’t we? I thought you knew me better than that.”

Sans does know you better.

He quickly realizes, “ya’ want bribes.”

You elect not to respond.

“………eheheheheheheh, oh stars…”

You turn and Sans’ red eye-light is glowing brightly with mirth.

He looks like he’s having fun.

He looks happy.

“alright, twist my arm,” he mutters, shoving his sleeve back down. “you’ll get your bribes, but m’pretty sure i already know what it means, now.”

“Do you?”

“yeah—you’re a snake.”

You laugh.

“Oh, don’t get all hissy, I’ll tell you! You just might have to buy me one of those Spider Ciders I’ve heard so much about before I can remember properly.”

“an’ a funnel cake, too, i guess.” In spite of Sans’ put-upon tone, he looks just as amused as you are. “some popcorn. maybe a nice cream or two?”

“Now you’re getting it!”

You shoot Sans a wink and he snickers, shaking his head but hardly protesting your demands.

Depending on how the night goes…you think you might even be able to finagle a smooch onto the list.

The idea of getting to plant a kiss on this skeleton under the fireworks is very, very appealing.

You guess you’ll find out what fate has in store.

POST-SCRIPT

UT!Sans | UT!Papyrus | US!Sans | US!Papyrus | UF!Sans | UF!Papyrus | SF!Sans | SF!Papyrus | HT!Papyrus

#make your mark #undertale #sans #sans/reader #horrortale #ht!sans #fanfiction #myfic

[angryhausfrau-writes]

Something Old and Something New - Chapter 5: It’s All Coming Together

A few weeks after she and Margaret get roped into Hawkeye and Trapper's little scheme, Kat comes home to a flurry of pink tulle blanketing the living room. In the center of the hurricane is Maggie – wielding a pair of scissors with gleeful abandon.

“Margaret, honey, what are you doing?”

Margaret looks up from her shears with a dangerous smile. “Exacting revenge.”

“Oh yeah?” Kat says in her best mobster voice. “Do I gotta send someone to sleep with the fishes?” And then in her normal voice. “I know some good piers to push people off of, Maggie, don't you worry. Whoever made that dress will never sew again, I promise.”

“No shoving people off of piers.” Margaret mock scolds. “It's pointless anyway, I bought it at a department store – and you can't shove the entire women's department of Kresge's off a pier.”

Kat's expression says just watch me, but what she actually says is, “Ok, no taking things out on the innocent shop clerks. Who do you really want to suffer?”

Margaret's response is immediate and full of invective. “Private Scully.”

Kat looks at her questioningly.

“You know,” Margaret insists, “that sonofabitch I dated after Ponobscott. Though I haven't exactly kept track of him - he may still be in Asia for all I know – so finding him to push off a pier may be difficult.”

Kat looks ready to attempt it regardless. Margaret really does love how far she's willing to go to take care of and protect her – even if these threats are mostly empty.

“Anyway the last time I wore this dress, it was for that dud of a soldier – and when I found it, I got so mad at him all over again. The inconsiderate fink.”

Part of it may have been that Margaret had found the dress completely accidentally. She'd actually been looking for a winter coat that had gotten shoved into the spare bedroom closet – a sort of overflow for her and Kat's closet that mostly houses out-of-season clothes and boxes of the kind of stuff you need to keep but don't want to trip over everyday. And in one of those boxes was the dress.

Just opening it and seeing that shade of pink had brought back that whole sorry episode. Suddenly, she was back in Korea – back with Scully and all the feelings of inadequacy and loneliness and longing he'd evoked.

Margaret isn't generally one for sentimentality – or at least that's what she tells herself. Growing up as an army brat didn't really allow for attachments to places, possessions, or people. And her father hadn't approved of womanly histrionics.

But the memories associated with it aren't exactly rose tinted. And Margaret is certainly one for holding a grudge. So when she'd found that dress. Well. There was really only one way to react.

“I just – I was spitting mad. Do you know what he wanted me to do? Do you, Kat? He wanted me to keep house with him if you can believe it – in the middle of an army camp I was in charge of running the nursing staff for!” Margaret puffs up in indignation. “He may have been on leave, but I certainly wasn't!”

“Uh huh,” Kat nods, “he sounds like a real charmer. So where does the dress come in? He want you to put it on and play wife?”

Margaret growls in frustration. “And then some. He said he couldn't see me as a real woman in army drag, wouldn't make time for me if I didn't put in the effort to look human – look womanly and sweet and welcoming. And stupid me! I wanted him – wanted someone - enough that I did it. This dress was the only civilian outfit I owned and he wanted to see me in it – wouldn't take no for an answer - no matter that I was too busy to play dress up or cook his food or do any of the other little domestic tasks he asked of me. So I put it on for him.”

“What a delightful man,” Kat says, sarcasm sharp enough to cut. “Kind, considerate of your feelings, attentive – what more could one ask for in a lover? Why, I'm surprised the two of you aren't still together.”

“He was a real loser,” Margaret agrees. “Which is why I'm taking my revenge!”

Margaret brandishes the scissors to emphasize her point and Kat backs away surreptitiously.

Maggie's always been an expressive person when she feels she's allowed. And it's nice that she's unwound enough around Kat to show that side of herself again instead of just buttoning everything up behind that inspection-ready front she'd worn since joining the army. Not letting anything show through the cracks until she got pushed far enough that the facade crumbled and she collapsed.

But despite her excitement, Maggie seems to remember that waving sharp objects around her face isn't the best idea. Which Kat is grateful for. Because despite them both being nurses and able to deal with various minor injuries and ailments, Kat really doesn't fancy having to sew up stab wounds this afternoon. It's the sort of thing that kills the mood.

At any rate, Maggie goes back to her dress demolition with a little less wild abandon than before. And Kat joins her, sitting cross-legged on the floor like a kid with piles of tulle piling in snowdrifts around her. There are certainly worse ways of spending an evening, after all.

After some almost meditative destruction, Margaret says, “I do feel sort of bad cutting it up.” After all, Max worked so hard to make it look nice and fit her better. Lost cause though it had been.

Kat peers closely at the fabric. “It is a nice shade of revenge.”

“Just not my style, I suppose. But maybe it'll be Charles and Marjory's.”

--

A few months or so after he gets invited to Charles's wedding, Steve heads down to Boston for a poker game. The last few had been called on account of snow, so he's looking forward to seeing Hawkeye and Trapper – and yes, even Charles – for the first time in a while.

The game's as good a time as ever, plenty of banter and good-natured ribbing. But Steve sort of feels like somethings different. And maybe it's just that he hasn't seen the others in a while – that he'd forgotten the rhythm of their jokes and repartee. But it also seems like maybe things are a little changed somehow. Like Charles is a little warmer, more friendly.

He'd never exactly struck Steve as the warm and cuddly type – especially to folks he'd thought he was better than. Which is most everybody, seems like. Hell, Charles hadn't started warming up to Steve til he found out he'd gone to Johns Hopkins – the snob.

That's not to say he's not a good friend, in his own way. Once you've befriended him, Charles will give you the silk shirt off his back - complaining heartily the whole time. So Steve guesses that what he's trying to say is that Charles's own way tends to be a little... stand-offish. And this is coming from the son of emotionally constipated Midwesterners.

But tonight, Charles is positively outgoing. Slapping Steve heartily on the back in greeting. Laughing and joking around in a way that's more lighthearted than snide. And then there's the fact that he won't shut up about his upcoming wedding – even though it's still months away.

It's sort of strange to think of Charles Winchester settling down. But he positively gushes about Marjory. About how beautiful and brilliant and wonderful she is. About how he can't believe he's lucky enough to get to marry her – to spend the rest of his life with her. Because he's not going to be the love 'em and leave 'em type, not with Marjory.

It makes Steve feel a little guilty.

He goes a little quiet, maybe. But Charles's unexpected jubilance ought to cover that over, right? Unfortunately, Steve isn't being quite subtle enough and Hawkeye and Trapper must pick up on it. Or at least Steve thinks they do.

They keep giving each other loaded glances over Charles's head – and not the kind of loaded glances they usually give each other. Or at least Steve hopes not since he's staying over at their house tonight on account of the late train not running in winter much and he'd rather not have to deal with his hosts screwing in the next room over. Not that they ever would, but if things are heading that way. Well. For politeness's sake, Steve would have to accept Charles's offer to put him up - despite it meaning that Steve would then have to spend even more time with him.

One evening is difficult enough. Particularly an evening like this which seems almost designed to make Steve feel guilty.

Fortunately, all Hawkeye and Trapper's looks seem to indicate is that they want to get home. So Steve follows them back to the house – and it's early enough still that he's not surprised when they herd him into the living room to sit and shoot the shit for a while. He is kinda surprised when Hawkeye slings his legs over Steve's lap and Trapper throws a companionable arm over his shoulders, effectively trapping him there with them.

“All right Steve, what's eating you?” Trapper asks.

And it would have been too much to hope that they weren't going to bring it up.

At least Trapper's question is born out of genuine concern. He pulls Steve closer to him and says, “You've been looking real morose all evening – and it ain't like you lost your life savings, cuz we don't play for cash without Margaret. So something's gotta be bugging you.”

“Something Charles Winchester related,” Hawkeye adds. “You kept looking at him out of the corner of your eye – and I doubt it's because you suddenly developed a schoolboy crush on him.”

The last is delivered teasingly and Steve laughs. “No, I'm more than happy with Millie. And Charles really isn't my type.”

“Too snotty,” Hawkeye says with a nod. “I completely understand.”

“It wedding related then?” Trapper asks. “Cuz there ain't that many reasons to be looking sideways at Charles.”

“Yeah, it's wedding related.” Steve sighs. “I guess I'm feeling kind of guilty about my part of the gift.”

“Yeah?” Trapper's giving Steve his full attention – and he wilts into Trapper's shoulder a little.

“Yeah.” Steve takes a breath. “Look, what are you guys doing for your quilt squares?”

“I'm sewing a Claddagh – you know, the hand and heart thing-” Trapper makes an approximation with his hands “-onto an old fatigue shirt.”

“Finally a good use for army issue duds,” Hawkeye interjects.

Trapper jerks a thumb at him. “And he's making some real pretty shit – go on and show him, Hawk.”

Hawkeye pulls out a piece of shimmery gray fabric with a wavy pattern of tiny copper leaves embroidered over most of it. It's absolutely beautiful. The kind of thing you treasure for years and pass down as an heirloom. Fuck.

“See, that's my problem. Everyone's doing these heartfelt traditional things – even you guys. And I was sure you were gonna take the opportunity to get one over on Charles. But you didn't, you did something sweet and meaningful and I'm. I'm just doing a joke.”

“You do know Sidney's doing a cross stitch that says “pull down your pants and slide on the ice” with little pink flowers around it, right?” Hawkeye asks.

That startles a laugh out of Steve. “Is he really?”

Steve turns to Trapper for confirmation and he nods. Sidney had called just last week and asked him and Hawkeye for advice on the appropriate level of twee-ness.

Hawkeye shakes his head fondly. “A fountain of profound wisdom, that man.”

“And he'd prolly tell you that Charles likes you for who you are – so you may as well embrace that. Make something personal, you know? It ain't like he's gonna be showing this off to all his snob friends, anyway. This is for us.”

Steve nods at that.

“Plus,” Hawkeye adds, “you're nuts if you think anything Margaret makes is gonna be tasteful.”

“Or Max.”

“Or BJ. I know for a fact that he's doing a really terrible pun on his.”

Steve smiles. “Thanks guys. I feel a lot better knowing how crass and terrible everyone else is being.”

Trapper slaps him heartily on the back. “That's us, crass and terrible.”

“He's crass, I'm terrible.”

“Where does that leave me then?”

“You can be thoughtless.”

“Gauche?” Trapper suggests.

“What about tasteless?”

“Wow, thanks fellas. You're really making me feel better about myself.” But Steve's got a smile on his face and Trapper figures he and Hawkeye have done their job. After a little longer chatting and joking around, they all sort of disentangle and go get ready for bed.

“BJ's doing a shitty pun, huh,” Trapper says as he and Hawkeye brush their teeth.

“That's what he said. Though he refuses to tell me what it is.” Hawkeye pouts around his toothbrush. “Tight lipped sonofabitch says I have to wait to see it in person. It better be one hell of a pun, that's all I can say.”

--

“Shit.”

“You stick yourself again, dear?”

BJ can hear the smothered laughter in Peg's voice even with her all the way in the kitchen.

“All I can say is, Charles had better appreciate the hell out of this present. I think I've given more blood for this thing than I did at the Red Cross blood drive.”

“Well, everyone knows it's the thought that counts. But I think it's coming along very nicely.” Even if Peg hadn't necessarily agreed with BJ's decision to make a pun rather than something more meaningful. But then again, she's not the one this is for – and she doesn't know Dr. Winchester's sense of humor or taste in presents. Doesn't know him at all except through BJ's stories about the man - and Hawkeye's letters about the wedding.

Of course, Max is the one actually coordinating things. But those letters tend to be focused on answering BJ's technical questions – and badgering him into having the quilt square done on time.

Hawkeye, on the other hand, is a wellspring of gossip. Who's making what, funny stories about wedding planning passed on from Marjory or Honoria, and Hawkeye's own opinions on the courting behavior of the upper-crust all feature in the nearly weekly reports from Boston. Along with descriptions of Hawkeye's day-to-day life.

This is something Peg has learned to be wary of, over the months since BJ came home. When Hawkeye starts being too candid – when he strays away from idle gossip and responding to BJ's own letters and starts talking about his life – his life with Trapper – that's when things get. Difficult.

And now there's the added wrinkle of BJ's feelings for Hawkeye. Feelings that may or may not be reciprocated. Feelings that Peg honestly isn't all that sure she knows how she feels about. Feelings that ought to make any mention of Trapper John McIntyre even more upsetting to BJ.

But it feels like the opposite has happened, in a way. With BJ able to put a name to what he's feeling – able to find a reason for his jealousy – he's lost a lot of that desperate, wild anger.

That's not to say that there haven't been some rough days. Days when BJ looks longingly at the liquor cabinet – emptied of bottom shelf gin since that last horrible night but still holding enough wine and scotch and whatever else to drown any kind of sorrow for a time. Or stoke any kind of anger. But on days like that, BJ has taken to going out with fellows from his motorcycle club - riding far too fast through the twisting mountain roads, until he can leave all his anger behind in the wind. And that brings its own sort of worry. But when he returns, his face raw with windburn and his eyes free of ghosts, Peg can't bring herself to tell him to stop.

And then there are the days when Peg finds BJ staring at old photographs from Korea like they hold the secrets of the universe rather than just images of himself and Hawkeye. Peg feels like maybe she ought to feel- she doesn't know, slighted somehow? Worried that her husband is so obviously in love with someone else, someone he'd known so intimately for so long? Because this isn't just a little fleeting crush, that much is obvious. BJ loves Hawkeye deeply. And with a love like that, well. What's left over for her?

But BJ isn't like that. He isn't going to leave her and the children. And as jealous and petty and silly about little things like emotional honesty as he can be, Peg knows there's enough love in her husband's heart for a hundred people, a thousand.

If it helps BJ, Peg can live with the shadow of Hawkeye Pierce in her house, in her bedroom, even – tucked under the covers between them, a breath passed between their lips when they kiss. He feels so real, from all of BJ's stories. Like he's always lived there. So it's not jealousy she feels. And, to be perfectly honest, Peg is rather looking forward to meeting the famous Hawkeye in person. To seeing if he's anything at all like the person she's built up in her mind.

So she had encouraged BJ to reach out to Hawkeye, to tell him some of what he's feeling – both to prepare him for the difficult conversation they're sure to have and to help BJ figure out what it is he actually wants to say when he has the opportunity. Because BJ is a good man and a wonderful husband, but he's really not very astute sometimes. And Peg wants this to work out – for all of their sake's.

BJ feels the same way, he says. And it's obvious that he's really honestly trying to figure things out, both with her and with Hawkeye.

And Peg thinks he's sort of latched onto the quilt project as a way of feeling connected to Hawkeye – and to a lesser extent, the other members of the 4077. It must be difficult for BJ, being the only one on the West coast. There's practically a little enclave in Boston – and Hawkeye makes it sound like there are regular meet ups with the rest of the folks living on the East coast. But BJ doesn't have anyone to meet up with, not who experienced the same things he did – who has that same understanding of the blood and the horror and the loss.

Peg can listen, of course. And BJ's started talking more about his time in Korea – something he'd initially shied away from, not that she can blame him. The stories he's telling now are full of more horrors than she could ever imagine. And that's the point – she can listen, but she can't understand. The only people who can really understand are the ones he went through those horrors with him.

So she's glad he's been able to keep his connection to Hawkeye – and she's looking forward to meeting him and the rest of BJ's friends from Korea in a few months.

--

A couple months before the wedding, Max starts getting quilt squares from all the 4077 folks. Plus Letta – and she's an honorary member of the MASH in Max's mind due to her tricking Dr. Winchester out of tons of money and then giving it all to a good cause. Anyone who can do that is worth bringing into the family, as it were.

And now that all the quilt pieces have arrived, its Max's job put them together.

She commandeers the dining room table – the largest flat surface in the apartment – earning a fond eye roll from Soon Li and excited curiosity from Seong. Max plops him in a chair on a towering stack of books so he can watch as she lays out the squares, moving them around to form something resembling a quilt. She'll sew everything up at the tailoring shop, but it'll help to get a good idea of what all she's working with before putting needle to cloth.

Fortunately, there's a sort of balance to the chaotic swirl of color and texture.

Margaret's pink monstrosity – which features golden swan appliques, the heads bent to form a heart shape with the necks – and Max's own gaudy Bedouin patchwork can sandwich the Padre's more sedate square – cream linen with black text and gold and silver embellishments. That all ties together nicely for the top row of the quilt. Max makes a note of their placement on her latest sketch.

Then Colonel Potter's log cabin square and Radar's prairie points obviously go with BJ's square. A nice little depiction of the 4077 signpost with the words “be it ever so rumble, there's no place like home.” Max laughs to herself as she notes that Radar's square forms a little hidden panel behind the inward pointing triangles – with a picture of two interlocking wedding rings quilted onto it – so she'll have to avoid sewing that over when she quilts the square. And that's the left side done.

Hawkeye and Trapper's squares stay together, obviously, to make up most of the bottom of the quilt. Steve's contribution – an anatomically correct heart with “home is where the heart is” emblazoned on it – goes between the two more sedate squares. And ain't that a kicker – Hawkeye making something beautiful and elegant instead of zany. Not that he doesn't have a touch of the romantic in him. But Max'd expected something more in line with Trapper's contribution. Meaningful but with a little bit of a sly dig in there. Hell, even the Father's choice of bible verse – all about humility and patience and love – could be read as a little something designed to take the wind out of Dr. Winchester's sails.

And Max isn't surprised at all by Sidney's contribution. And it's as good advice now as it was back in Korea. So she makes it the center of the final side of the quilt, bracketed by Letta's star pattern and Donna's interlocking wedding rings.

All that's left now is to fill in the gaps.

In addition to her own square, Max also made corner pieces with scraps of fabric left over from her other tailoring projects. And there's a center piece – with Dr. and Mrs. Winchester's names and the date of their wedding on it – made from some white satin taken from Max's own wedding dress. Soon Li didn't have any kind of emotional attachment to it and Max figures she's done getting hitched. And any kids they have that want to get married in a dress can get a brand new one courtesy of Max Klinger - professional tailor.

So with all the individual pieces done, all that's left is to sew everything together, slap a back on it, and quilt it so the stuffing don't fall out. Easy.

Well, not quite. She's got a few long nights ahead of her, trimming the pieces so they fit right together and join up square, then actually sewing everything together, then sewing batting and the back piece on with edge strips that have to be turned under and hemmed so no raw edges show, then quilting the whole thing in a pattern that both holds everything in place and also looks nice. It's a lot of work for sure – but she figures it'll be worth it to see the look on Dr. Winchester's face when he opens their present, sees what they've come together to make for him.

#mash #piercintyre #something old and something new #chapter 5

[knightsoflight]

Chapter 1

Three young people must fight the darkness to survive. Warning: Fowl language and intense/uncomfortable moments. DO NOT REPOST!

"Let's go!" Said a young woman wearing a black trench coat with a green and purple striped shirt. She had black spiky hair and she was long and thin just like her friend. She was that of black and Hispanic heritage with ebony skin. When she spoke it was full of energy. Her eyes were an olive green.

"This girl is my friend, Tenna Green. She's the only friend that managed to stay beside me the longest. She and I have been friends, not long since I graduated high school. We live a few rooms from each other in an apartment complex. Her best qualities are cooking, bugging people to hang out with her or to go out and at the very most, be a great friend. She's loyal through and through."

"No!" Her friend, a girl with pink hair in pig tails replied.

"Come on, Devi!" Tenna said "We haven't went out in about weeks! I'm serious, you're starting to give off this creepy Howard Hughes vibe..."

"Really?" Devi sarcastically replied "I thought it was longer. It couldn't be long enough!"

"And this this is me. My name is Debra Dynast but I hate my name so I changed it to "Devi" since I was a kid. I'm what you would call one of those "struggling artists". I work for a company as a designer. I design anything from posters to covers, whatever and in both digital and traditional means. I prefer traditional but there was a demand for using digital, so I learned digital just to keep up with the job. When I'm not working for work, I'm painting for myself and myself alone.

Why I'm struggling to be alone? Well, you'll find out soon enough. I can't just tell you everything, you know?"

"Oh, come on Devi." Tenna replied to her friend. "You need to live a little!"

"I stopped wanting to live years ago..." Devi replied but then broke down after a while of Tenna just staring at her and said "Fine, I'll go! But in return I'll kill you afterwards."

"YAY!" Tenna said in her overly cheerful way.

"Spooky!" Replied her small familiar, a toy plush skeleton doll who squeaked to let him out of her trench pocket.

"See, Mr. Spooky is glad you're coming too!" Tenna replied. "Say, what about your little friend?"

"Tenna, we've been through this..." Devi said "She's not my friend. She's just proof that I'm going insane and I told you no magic!"

"But how come you can hear voices?" Tenna said.

"Cause I'm going insane as I said!..." Devi said. "Now drop it and lets go! You wanted to go, now lets get this done and over with..."

"Okay..." Tenna replied. "Crabby..."

"Okay, I gotta tell you at least this bit...Lately, there has been this little voice in my head...At first I thought I was going insane, especially when this little voice takes the form of this little doll that looks almost like me...It's like one of those plush chibi rag dolls, but with screws for eyes. I would hear this voice in my head, since this one incident that ended tragic with my last boyfriend. At first I thought I was going crazy, until my dear friend Tenna, showed me Mr. Spooky.

Apparently, anyone who can use magic, gain a doll like familiar born from their hearts. Tenna has magic in her blood, being on her mother's side, she came from a long line of witch doctors and shamans and such. So apparently, this thing was a part of my heart in the form of a familiar. I dunno if it's magic in my blood or just something I gained, but whatever reason, I didn't want to be apart of it. Least around that time."

They went into a brown car and drove off into the city. They stopped by at a Chinese Restaurant  called "Eat or Die". It was a hole in the wall type place. Kinda small but decent and clean, least a bit cleaner than some restaurants near by.

After getting out of the car, Devi sighed "Oh god...The world...."

"Oh shut up, hermit!" Tenna said "You'll like it here. No one works here. Everything is automatic."

"Well I like the name..." Devi replied with a small smile.

"Yeah, it use to be eat or don't, but they weren't making money."

As soon as they entered, they were greeted by an automatic voice that said "Welcome, please be seated...OR DIE!" The last bit startled Devi a bit. Tenna was just more enthused as she said

"Mmmmm....Death..."

They sat down near the window in the restaurant and Tenna asked "Okay, now that I used my super ninja skills to take you and get you into a comfortable state of mind, mind telling me what's wrong?"

"You know what's wrong..." Devi said.

"You're afraid of your powers..." Tenna replied "There's nothing to be afraid of!"

"Yes there is!" Devi told her friend. "I mean, don't you find it weird that we even have these powers and these weird creatures?"

"Well, to me it just means we have magic in our blood." Tenna said "And so we got powers and now we get to use em. Instead of being afraid of them, why not just accept it and practice it, so you can have control over it?"

"You don't understand, Tenna..." She replied

"That's not just the reason why you're afraid of yourself, is it?" Tenna asked.

Devi looked at her oddly and sighed.

"Oh come on, Devi!" Tenna said "I'm your best friend! You can tell me anything!"

"Yeah, you're my only friend." Devi replied with a cool smile.

"More the so reason for me to help you." Tenna replied with a smile. "I mean, why are you so afraid of accepting this?"

"Well..." Devi replied

*flashback*

Devi~ "Long ago while I worked at a book store, I met a somewhat strange young man. Well strange was putting it mildly, as I would have found out, but we somehow clicked. We were both painters with a passion, but at the same time something told me that there was something strongly off about him. His name was Johnny C. Kestral and instead of going by "John" or his full name, he went by the nickname "Nny". Yes, like "knee" the joint. I told you, he was eccentric.

He had jet black hair, pale skin, wore a lot of black and leather, was tall and long with green eyes. There was something mysterious about him, but not the cool, calm, collect kinda guy. He was outgoing and laid back, but something just came off of him as odd. Not just because he wore the same kinda dark outlook as I  and the whole "Nny" thing, but just over all.

He was like the wind, something I could feel and be around, but slips out of my grasp when I tried to hold on. And just like the moon, he would disappear sometimes. When I tried to grasp just what he's all about, he disappears as quick as a gale and yet, he was like the moon. Mysterious and yet captivating. He would go off on his own for a while, sometimes for weeks and just come back without explanation.  I just wanted to know more about him. He had a charm that, to this day still works, despite what happened. Childish, laid back, simple yet wondrous and so mysterious.

If I knew what I know now about him...I wonder if I would still have welcomed him in my life.... to try to save him...?

While we watched the city from a large hill, upon a mountain road, he asked me what makes a person who they are and what would happen if they lose their most defining trait? He said he asked that because he hadn't drawn anything in a while."

"Hmm..." Devi said calmly as she looked up at the sky and smugly with a smile said "If I could never paint again? Not possible! For me, to not paint, is to not live! I'd cease to exist!"

"Or maybe you just feel like you're dropping into insanity, trying to keep it back with your abilities."

"Nope!" Devi replied, thinking he was just joking about it.

“I guess that’s just me...” He whispered.

“What?”

“Oh, no nothing!” He said with a smile. "The fix is probably obvious. Maybe, I just need to stand back, look at the situation from a different perspective..."

"Maybe not." she said. “I mean, look at the city. It looks so pretty from a far but look closer and you see the ugliness of the human kind.”

He took a deep breath and smirked “You honestly think that?”

“Hmm?”  Devi looked confuse.

“I dunno, you have such feeling about you that makes me feel happy. It’s just kinda weird hearing something that harsh, from someone that gives me such a feeling.”

“Johnny...” Devi said in surprise.

“But I guess that’s what makes us alive.” He replied with an upbeat tone. “The good and the bad, the salt and the sugar. All that stuff...”

Devi let out a giggle and said “Yup!”

His hand became shaky and he felt nervous for some reason. He looked at his hand in slight worry.

"Is there something wrong?" She asked

"Oh, nothing!" He said and looked up at the stars. "Please...let me have this night to feel good." He thought to himself. "Where I’m not a warrior. Just a civil human being."

Devi ~"We were having a nice time. I thought maybe there could be a chance for me to be with someone."

"But I thought wrong..."

After a moment long moment of quietly looking at the sky, something became wrong with Johnny.

"Kill her..." Said a strange voice in his head.

"What?" He asked it.

"Kill her! " It said again.

"But why?" He asked it.

"She has the power hidden within her that can possibly destroy you!" The voice said in his mind.

"What!? No way!?" He shouted

"No way what?" Devi asked

"Uh..." He said "Nothing..." He jumped off the car and felt his head pounding.

"Johnny, are you sure you're okay?" She asked

"Yeah..." He replied.

"If you don't kill her, she will destroy you!" Said the voice in his mind.

"She's just an innocent girl..." He said quietly as he put his palms to his head in agony. "Leave her be..."

"Do not question us, Johnny!" Said his thoughts. His hand began glowing a purplish glow, as he held his hand tightly as if he was losing control of it.

"I will not kill her!" He screamed

"Johnny, what's wrong?!" She said as she jumped down from the car and walked toward him. A look of worry on her face as she came close to him.

"It's nothing!" He yelled at her.

"This is certainly not nothing!" She told him. As she touched him, he pushed her away.

"Don't you DARE touch me!" He said with madness in his eyes. Dark form of energy fired all around him.

"What's going on?!" She yelled "What's happening to you?!"

"I'm sorry..." The fading voice of Johnny said as he stretched his hand out and what looked to be a sword made out of purple dark aura and matter, shot out of his hand. He raised it over his head as if to hit Devi with it. "But now I have to kill you!"

Devi looked at him frighteningly and raised both hands "No!" She could feel a strange energy pulsing from her body, as he took the energy sword and slammed on her. However, the strange energy pulsing from Devi was protecting her from the attack. Suddenly the energy from Devi pushed forward and blasted Johnny away!

She looked at her hands afraid of what she just did. She took off and never looked back. She eventually got home and locked herself away.

*Flashback ends*

Devi ~ "Not long after that, was when I started hearing that tiny voice in my head and started seeing her..."

As they walked out after getting done eating, Tenna began trying to talk to Devi again.

"Well okay, that does explain a lot why you confined for solitude for so long." Tenna replied "But you can't just stay in solitude for the rest of your life. I mean, you got powers, instead of keeping that all inside, you should learn to use them."

"But I don't wanna use them!" Devi said "I mean don't you ever wanted to be normal again?"

"Who said we were ever normal to begin with?" Tenna asked smugly.

This made Devi's just drop and put her palm to her face and said "Okay...good point..."

"Besides, maybe if you practice them and who knows, maybe that voice that you keep hearing is your familiar, trying to speak to you. If the voice is a familiar, maybe it just wants to be your friend." Tenna said

"She's not my friend..." Devi said "You never heard Spooky talked to you before he appeared, did you?"

"No, but that's because I didn't push him back or anything. He just was born from my heart, least from what my family said. He appeared one day and we've been friends ever since!"

"It's almost sickening how you accepted it so easily...." Devi replied annoyed and then got serious again. "That little voice.. won't shut up about this strange 'darkness' that's supposedly coming."

"Darkness?" Tenna replied

Mr. Spooky popped from her shoulder pocket and went "Spooky?"

"Yeah..." Devi replied "She keeps ranting on about this darkness. She won't tell me what she means. I'm not too sure even she knows. If she's going insane then I feel that I might be too. She keeps saying I'm the only one to stop it."

"I see..." Tenna replied, not really sure what to make of it.

As they kept walking, Tenna began to ask with a grin "You know what you need?"

"Don't say it...." Devi sighed.

"You need to get out more!" Tenna replied

"ACKKKKKKKK!" Devi replied.

"I'm serious!" Tenna replied "You spend way too much time being cooped up! You wonder why you're going insane! I know I would be going insane if I didn't get out much."

"Yeah, I don't think so..." Devi replied sarcastically "Tenna, you say that all the time!"

"That's because it's true..." Tenna replied "If you're not going to practice your magic, well, get out more and see if that helps. Socialize, get some fresh air! Keep your mind off of stuff and maybe that little voice will shut up or at least calm down....Maybe she's a part of you that's frantic because you don't socialize much or get out often."

"I don't need to socialize with more people, especially since that thing keeps popping up. It might pester me during a conversation and besides...People are sick beings." Devi said this coldly. "Why would I need to socialize with the likes of them? They're nothing but breathing organisms that take up air."

"Oh come on!" Tenna replied as she pat Mr. Spooky on the head. "Quit being a Debbie Downer!"

She looked at them uncertain with herself. She and her friend walked out in town.

"Maybe, try mingling might help.." Tenna replied in a cheeky way.

"You mean go on a date with someone..." Devi replied in a revolted fashion "And that is not gonna happen either! I'm bad at dates and most people I dated were jerks...OR psycho killers! I gave up on that along time ago!"

"Come on... Okay, so your date with that Eddie dude wasn't so great, considering he kept thinking about sex and not clearly on the road. Least you lived....And your last date was a psychotic spooky dude, that wanted to kill you for.... some... reason....You lived! It doesn't mean all guys are all bad!"

"Oh, I know that for sure..." Devi replied as she remembered a tender memory..."Believe me, I know not all guys are bad..."

#jhonen vasquez #anime #johnny the homicidal maniac #invader zim #jthm #fanfic #i feel sick

[youcantrewind]

So I finished Detroit Become Human last night

As a “completionist” who usually tries to play choice-based games in a way to get the best ending first, with plans to play more extreme versions (bad outcomes, evil playthroughs etc) later on down the line... ... finding that only 1 of the 3 protagonists survived the end of my game, and having a whole lot of chapter flowcharts showing me all the things I missed finding, or different ways the scenes could have gone is a bit of a punch to the gut. I screwed up in too many places, I guess. :/

Oh well. More opportunity for replay value, I guess! Gotta fix my mistakes! And then do the more reckless run throughs one day. (Although I see there’s a trophy for getting Connor killed at every single possible chance and I want to sue the game makers for the inevitable mental damage that will cause me should I choose to attempt THAT run.)

So some general thoughts on the game, at least... I don’t normally write reviews or anything but I guess the ending I got left me with enough of a need to process that I’m gonna just brain dump here for a sec. Trying to stay more vague to avoid blatant spoilers, but I can’t promise I won’t reveal too much by summarizing storylines, so if you’re trying to be 100% spoiler free maybe don’t read further, but anyway here we go:

I’m not generally hard on entertainment the way many are, but I can see where people are frustrated with the writing. The game--while I loved loved loved it--is definitely trope-y beyond belief, and that can easily rub some the wrong way. The characters are a lot of common cliche archetypes, some played out more successfully than others. I’m on the same page with the general consensus that the Connor storyline was the strongest of the three. I think a lot of that had to do with the character interaction of Connor and Hank, who are designated the classic “grisled seen-too-much cop gets rookie go-get-em partner” trope... except the rookie go-get-em partner is a precious naive Robocop.

Where I struggled a bit with the other two stories was a little different. Markus, who gets the “leader of the revolution” storyline, I enjoyed him as a character (and especially loved his lovely opening scenes with his mentor Carl), but had trouble with the rushed pacing of his story (notably: how he literally just falls into the resistance and they just auto-dub him their leader??) and some things about his abilities that maybe aren’t so clearly defined enough that we’re supposed to just go along with.

Kara, on the other hand, because her story line involved a whole lot of running from danger most of the time, was almost entirely reactionary and that kind of story can leave a lot to be desired in terms of getting to know her as a character. While the other two protagonists had a lot more interaction with adult characters of varying long-term relationships (mentors/co-workers/team... sidekicks) to have deeper conversations with and get some varying sides to personality, Kara is left with a fairly simple child to protect 24/7 and (potentially) a strong silent type big bodyguard of a friend who only gets to REALLY have a deeper chat with her maybe once, and even that is interrupted by perceived danger. It’s also kind of frustrating to have your one female protagonist spend the game discovering her humanity outside of being programmed as a housekeeper... to discover she just really wanted to be a mom. (I’m not knocking writing moms and great mom storylines, but... dear lord talk about the most unimaginable female storyline, especially when your next biggest female character is “escaped sex slave”. Siiiigh). What we did get of Kara’s personality was lovely and caring and she really is a cinnamon roll, but I sure wish we’d had a little more time to let her have some more to do besides mostly running away from stuff. A lot of people seem to be taking issue with inspiration being drawn from varying historic civil rights movements--there are some glaringly blatant parallels despite the creators denying it--but honestly this is what a large portion of classic sci fi has been doing for decades (usually with robots or aliens or mutants as the “other” proxy), so it doesn’t really phase me at all. This one is perhaps far more heavy handed than others, so that might be part of the annoyance. Again though, it’s sort of predictably expected out of an A.I. story (either that or the rogue A.I. has gone evil and must be defeated to save humanity or whatever).

Anyway it kinda sounds like I’m being more negative than positive but I guess it’s just easier to talk in depth about the small things that bugged me than it is to put “I STILL REALLY LOVED IT” in more words than just... that.

So, you know...

I STILL REALLY LOVED IT. The game is gorgeous, a technical marvel, I love the main characters (despite wanting a bit more from some of them), and the sheer unpredictability of how many outcomes this one has (despite the predictability of the general plot concepts) means more replay value so that’s exciting. ...now I need to figure out when I’ll have time to try some playthroughs where my new favourite robo-son doesn’t perma-die, because my heart can’t take that again. (In the meantime, I’ve just been taking in Bryan Dechart (Connor)’s wonderfully excited streams of the game, and descending further into android lovin’ trash. BRB...)

#basically i'm emotionally compromised #i stayed up too late last night trying to process my mostly sad ending so... #hELP

[elkian]

whats up you memeloving fucks it’s time for more TLP

ch 20: Battle in Blaine

I feel I should point out that in Blastinus’ LP, this is one of the few -if not only- chapters where they had to do separate Plot and Gameplay posts.

I’d also like to mention that Writing is not Blazer’s strongest point.

This is legit part of the first opening lines:

“I assure you the information I have to tell you is important for you to know.” “Although I've already heard this, I feel I should be here to discuss it. This discussion affects all of us, after all.”

riveting

The first segment has, as I roughly estimated, around 1,000 words of dialogue. Then there’s a scene change to the antagonists. Then like four more scene changes. Keep in mind that this is all across dialogue boxes that can hold roughly two lines of 10 total words at a time.

tldr (can’t blame you): I skip the shit out of this part and go straight to play

The map is largely Wyvern Riders, Cavaliers, and Knights, with a few Wyvern Lords and Generals and a Physic Bishop too far removed from the meat of the map to really contribute.

Also, this. The Bloody Rifle is an upgrade to Blazer’s Rifle Bow, basically a Killer Longbow I guess? The problem is that, if you recall, no one in my army has any fucking Skill.

Blastinus’ helpful map. We left a word slog for a literal slog.

Here’s something neat: Halberdiers were introduced officially in FE9, meaning someone took the time to make this exceptionally nice class portrait. Their sprites are pretty obvious, especially in combat, but not bad - just not quite Intsys-like.

Hey, I just realized it skipped over 19x even though I have Rex in my party. Is my game just bugged?

The map is not kind to sword units, and I almost bring Shuuda, but there’s a buttload of Vuleraries and Elixirs for the stealin’

Our ultimate team. Remember Levion’s Dragon Axe way back in our first Kelik chapter? Yeah, it’s Mark’s now.

It says a lot that my Knight is more useful on this godawful slog that a Wyvern Rider is. Karina’s here to decide her benching or not.

this is Yue, almost certainly a Cardcaptor Sakura reference and also responsible for like a third of the 6,000-something words in the pre-chapter. He decides he needs to not only introduce himself fully but also explain why he is introducing himself. Not a great way to enter my good grace, bucko.

Howard, who we (barely) kicked the shit out of two chapters ago, only has two lines of dialogue before finally letting us fight. Also, considering how shitty my cavaliers not named Eduardo are, he’s probably gonna be a staple for a bit.

At the very least, I get a hyper-strong Paladin and an okay Shaman on a long, Wyvern-heavy map. They can make themselves useful, unlike, say, a level 1 shaman and an incredibly shitty Valkyrie on a desert map

Also this dude was in the starting village. (he has 7 Def and 4 Res, pretty okay for a level 8 Fighter.) He comes with a Dragon Axe (and C Support with Mark), too.

Zach hops into the Ballista

also here’s Yue’s stats

Lastly, he has this Amulet, which gives the holder +10 Hit/Avoid. Blastinus doesn’t think it’s worth taking up 20% of a unit’s inventory, but Blastinus isn’t completely Skill-screwed. Seriously, the Shaman has better Skill than like four or five of the units I’m fielding.

please note that if not for the Weapon Triangle, Ed would being doing as much damage with a Sword as these fools are with Lances (and have like +30 on their hit). I love Ed.

not entirely sure about that lime green lining on the bottom, but Yue’s sprite is pretty decent

So. Uh. If that second Wyvern had hit, Ed would be dead. -_-’’’’

this is the start of turn 2, and we’ve killed like two wyverns. You CANNOT rush this chapter - the Wyverns are just strong enough to overwhelm a unit if they pile on.

Kevin: Still awesome.

While everyone else is getting like 15-20 EXP from a kill, Rex is in the 40s. Not bad.

Mark gets our first level of the map, and it’s gorgeous.

does skill even matter when Ed can hit on a 68 but i have consistent misses on 80+?

I don’t think I really looked at Howard’s battle sprite before. It’s not bad, though part of the recolor on the horse’s tail is done wrong and looks off.

I piled like 3 units on this damn Paladin who kept dodging at 1 HP, but Yue, of all people, brings us home. (this is especially surprising because I stupidly sacrificed him trying to make a Nosferatu hit on the guy one loadstate ago)

Emma patches Karina up for a totally acceptable level.

good thing that was the last enemy in range

Anakin Motivates Zach to disappoint me.

Mark revisits his old friend Effective Damage.

So here is a fucking quandry. No one in range of this Wyvern Rider can OHKO them. Karina might be able to with the Killer lance, on a 75% hit chance, but if she fails she dies.

After some agonizing, she trades Zach for his Elixir (and to equip him with the Short Bow) and doesn’t attack. Everyone else in range can take a hit and most can counterattack, so worst case, they’ll go for Althares, who’s sitting at full HP on a fort (and wielding a Lancereaver).

I so want to do this but she would be murdered by all the upcoming enemies.

Howard is a great Panic Button for this mission - he’s not indestructible, but he can be alone for a turn or two without dying.

Oh Fuck(TM) 

fortunately, between Zach’s lightning Speed and the weight of a Steel Lance, he doubles in return, but this was an unpleasant surprise. I’m glad the Wyvern Rider I was worrying about flew off to heal before this.

Zach and Karina double-team the Wyvern Lord (who Zach can double even with a Steel Bow). Karina apparently fears the bench.

So here’s something fun:

Emma, at technically the same level, has more Defense than Howard., Hell, aside from HP/Con/Attack Stat (and, for some reason, luck), She’s better than him in every way. What the hell.

I was gonna Motivate Zach to retreat towards heals before remembering that Anakin could do that. His Magic is so high that just a Heal staff is enough, too.

This rude-ass motherfucker whacks Mark, so Mark procs a goddamn 26 (before True Hit!) to nearly murder him in response.

FUCK

We make this happen again.

but not this :(

rude

Acceptable

I know Ace is on Forest, but look at that hit rate! It’s hilarious!

A GOOD LEVEL

I was trying to soften the Cav up for Lirin but Mark decided to proc both hits for an okay level. He’s getting a lot of mileage on this map - and I have an Animate Seal (basically Master Seal for non-Lord-likes) but I know there’s an Ocean Seal coming up.

I wasn’t expecting Lirin to dodge, so this is already going better than my pre-loadstate (>>)

I’d complain, but Defense. On a Peg Knight.

We put Sai to the test, and he works out rather nicely, landing both adn dodging the counter. I’m ambivalent about his spritework.

I had to reload several times trying to push this segment before finally going the patient route.

Sweet Jesus, that was close.

Sai apparently lives to impress.

So glad i put her on Forest. Cia’s Speed is nearly as hilarious as Ace’s, so she’s a great dodge tank if you place her right.

Even moreso now. What a great level.

That’s adorable

Sadly Sai is not strong enough to one-shot a Wyvern, but give him time.

We all pile on to the Wyvern Rider, with Zach surprisingly hitting on the first Rifle shot to finish it.

We’ve been taking potshots at this Physic Bishop for a while - to the point that he ran off to drink vulneraries instead of use Physic for like three turns - and Inanna finally puts him out of his misery.

I’m glad later FE games thought that Falcoknights should get Staves and Wyvern Rides->Lords Axes->Axes and Lances, cause the whole Sword thing just seems silly to me.

Goddammit Zach

Emma patches Keving up for a nice level. Aside from her frankly terrible luck, Emma is basically untouchable.

hey hey! Ace and Ed can support again! Since Eduardo is only second to Kevin in my physical-units heart, this is fine.

Like so. Ace’s Avoid should only be 45 ((17x2)+11) with the weight of the Javelin, Eduardo’s ((11x2) +12) 34, so both of them are gett +15% Avoid at B-rank. Not to mention Hit, crit, and Dodge

Ow.

Why is this random Knight so fucking strong

I feed Yue the kill for an acceptable level.

Not bad! Love to see some speed, but I’ll take this.

...speaking of strong randos, this cav- which is one of the weakest enemy types in this map - is meeting Sai’s damage despite WTD

Lirin chips at ‘em for a pretty great level, though that Speed is scaring me.

also there was a Secret Shop right above the village, so Inanna’s going shopping

except we can’t afford the one thing I wanted. oh well.

Anakin throws some Motivation at Althares for a pretty great level. Keep on truckin up that Avoid, bro.

lol

oh.

Sai unexpectedly procs a crit for his first level. Not bad for a Fighter, especially since he hasn’t doubled anything on this map.

Karina pokes this (weirdly healthy) Soldier, careful to stay out of Bloody Rifle range.

So Sai can Support with Mark but Mark can’t do the same - I’m guessing that Talk options fall under this menu.

considering my options. That bow weighs in at a whopping 12, so the Sniper can’t actually double Kevin. They can, however, crit him exactly to death.

Ed’s faster but has lower Con and Def, but higher HP and Luck. But that Defense difference means a crit will also kill him.

My best bet is probably luring over the other nearby enemies, then swooping in with high-Move and Motivated units and trying to one-round the bastard.

A Cav was pestering Sai, so I tried to chip em down only for Zach to crit on the first Rifle shot. And apparently he’s realized his precarious position.

----

So I went though.... a LOT of reloads before deciding that maybe I should actually act on that plan to draw out the Sniper’s buddies. They’re surrounded by Wyvern Lords with high-class gear, and I just kept losing Althares and Lirin to focus fire.

It’s kind of funny, because the object of my caution - the sniper with the Bloody Rifle - was NEVER the actual source of a game over.

It may be due to the support with Mark I just grabbed, but I like that Sai has a better hit chance despite the weapon types and WTD. He also dodges.

You know, I totally forgot about his Dragon Axe?

The fucker doubles Lirin with her Javelin disadvantage and misses twice. This particular Wyvern Lord was the source of at least four resets because they kept double-killing Lirin with that fucking sword. I don’t know whether to be pleased or pissed here.

Karina FINALLY proccing a Killer Lance crit almost soothes the pain of her getting no level.

oh, and also this. She has this now.

How did you MISS

Inanna cleans up for a- sigh.

Yue joins the miss club.

A big theme of this map is piling multiple units onto one enemy in order to kill them in one turn, lest they murder a weaker unit. Having such low Skill all around is part of the problem.

Lirin finishes this fucker off for a good level. Maybe now not everything on the map will double her.

So here’s Anakin’s base Avoid stats.

And here he is with the Amulet, in range of Ace, on Forest terrain.

In range of the Bloody Rifle Sniper.

This is the funniest fucking thing

How’s that 21-Damage 12-Crit working for ya

Ed didn’t ACTUALLY need to crit that Wyvern Lord, but he did anyways, because he’s awesome. I love you, Eduardo.

Ace finishes the Sniper for a pretty excellent level

Anakin gets hit on some amazingly low odds and decides it shouldn’t happen again.

can you imagine how sadlarious it would have been if that had hit

And now that it’s our turn again...

Aw yisssss. Look at those stat gains! 3 con! He can use Javelins without his ridiculous Speed going down.

A refreshed Sai brings down a Cav for a mediocre level. I’d like some Skill or Speed in the future, buddy.

good thing we fed Cia all those Robes way back when

you know, this is the second thing we’ve stolen with Althares all map? There’s just too many enemies and too little space to work him.

Zach somehow hits twice and finishes an enemy Halberdier. I wish I could show off the animations; they’re pretty good.

sure

Karina definitely fears the bench.

Sai gets what would be his second Hand Axe crit for... you know, I’m okay with this. He’s actually doubling people now.

Lirin chips at an enemy halberdier for this phenomenal level

Rex does the same, but better. Also, he has more Speed than the Peg Knight, at a lower level. We also grab his and Kevin’s C Rank Support.

Anakin Motivates Yue to actually do something useful, like get a good level. Goddamn.

Also, he still has more Skill than Ace

We’re finally down to the last enemies and the boss. The General has a Spear, and this Bishop actually has a tome, so we’re treading lightly STILL.

Sai borrows Mark’s Hammer.

aw sick

Sai is actually in the Bishop’s range, but not to worry - I park Lirin two spaces above him, blocking him off. Hilariously, Lirin (and Inanna) will only take 1 damage from that Bishop.

Said Bishop couldn’t even double Sai before this level. This Bishop is clearly a healbot.

Zach finishes the job for a decidedly defensive level. Not bad, but look at that fucking Skill! He has more Defense than Skill!

btw, here’s Lirin and Inanna’s stats.

If Lirin promoted right now, she would outdo her sister in everything except Speed and HP, and remember that we gave Inanna like 10 points in HP with stat boosters.

On the other hand, Lirin’s Speed and Con are so abysmal that I’m not sure I should be using her...

the boss, of course, hits like a fucking truck and has a unique 1-2 range weapon.

....and then Sai fucking OHKOs him with a Dragon Axe crit

I... yeah, okay.

Thank you, Sai, for putting this chapter to rest finally.

#elk text #4th #May #2017 #May 4th 2017 #Elk plays TLP #Elkian plays The Last Promise #fire emblem: the last promise