#yes you get another better rendition of my

[erdasmcnonsense]

So... does anyone else feel like Ren is slightly starting to lose it?

#hermitcraft #hc ren #rentheking #rendog #hermitcraft season 9 #hermitcraft fanart #my art #yes you get another better rendition of my #'ren going full gollum with his Precious impulse head' joke post from yesterday

[zgvlt]

sending your crush a survey form hcs first years (and idia shroud) x reader (separate) *ortho's is platonic, with reader having a crush on idia instead

author's note: insp. by that youtube trend! i haven't seen another writer do this for twst, but regardless this will be my own rendition and take on the trope! even though the gen concept is the same, each character has a different twist with theirs

general tags: gender neutral reader, fluff + attempt at humor, sfw, time skip after NRC graduation, not beta read, mix of text and images (for images, image desc/text version available for screen readers and those who prefer to read text over image)

wc: approx. 6k+ total (around 1k per character)

character: ACE TRAPPOLA premise/trope: sending the survey form to Ace, who's already your signfinicant other

HOW HE REACTS WHEN YOU SEND THE FORM LINK

The initial reaction is nothing out of the norm for Ace. Sure he doesn't seenzone or ghost you, but his quick replies consist of him typing variations of "LMAO" and "ARE YOU FRFR", as well as laugh reacting the message itself.

He also asks you if you're planning on becoming an influencer or streamer or something along those lines, why else would you want to make and send him a form like that?

After a few minutes, though, he'll start trying to call you, mentioning/pinging you to make sure you answer. If you're able to ignore his calls, he's going to make sure your phone is unusable with the amount of notifications he sends your way. Hey, maybe you'll even click on it and answer the call on accident!

Ace, as your significant other, probably knows your schedule so he's fairly confident that you have nothing else better to do than to answer him (he wouldn't be spamming you otherwise), so he's smug and not surprised that you eventually answer him. The first thing he tells you on call is,

"You're so lame, we're literally dating?! By the way... did you actually send this to other people?"

Makes fun of you if you say he's the only one but he also thinks it's sweet, and he says as much in a tone that sort of comes off as mocking at first, but it's clear after the first few seconds that he does think it's cute.

He's mature enough if you say you've sent it to other people. Rather than jealous, he's smug at the fact that he's the last crush, he's the end game.

Tells you to stay on the call as he answers the form. You'll notice that even as he's making fun of you with each question, the things he says versus the things he types differ from one another.

(And even if it didn't, you've become an expert at figuring out how to read Ace Trappola)

HOW HE ANSWERS THE QUESTIONS

Q: did you know that i liked you (don't lie) A: wtf did you downgrade me?? did i go from L O V E to L I K E...? damn 💔💔

Q: if yes, how did you find out A: because you were ALWAYS clinging onto me in our NRC days 🙄 like come on could you not leave me alone for a little bit damn you really had to spend every minute with me and then after graduation ur still all over me tsk tsk also you were all heart eyes whenever you looked at me I'm not dense!

Q: okay so did you ever like ME A: the way i know you’re asking this so you can get some new material to make fun of me with. who did you get that bad attitude from huh 🤔 anyway unfortunately i did, and because i know you’re going to try to punt me for that i’m jOKING we’re literally together of course i did and do

Q: what do you like about me A: [ticks the boxes: everything, about, me, other] wowww maybe i do hype you up too much what is this behavior

Q: how did we meet A: you were in trouble and i saved your butt no this is not historical revisionism

Q: most memorable moment(s) w/ me A: to get the sap out, every moment with you is memorable awwww im so sweet, anyway now that i said that - everytime we got in trouble w/ trein or crewel bc we kept passing notes - group bonding activity by making fun with deuce (with love!) - the time we got caught sneaking out by riddle, trey, AND cater like triple kill?? - i guessss our first date (see point three) (theyve NEVER let me forget it bruh)

Q: is there something you dont like abt me A: well if were being serious there are just like there are things you find annoying about me but weve talked about it before and were working through it anyway serious talk over!! if there are other replies to this let me know if i have to fight someone lol (or you can do it yourself and i can watch) (or just prank them or smth i support your rights AND your wrongs)

Q: answer this only if ur my s/o: ily A: why are you being so cute today should i be worried? KIDDING i love you too

Q: ty for answering any last words? A: its been a while since weve gone out, we should go on a date again tonight

AFTER HE ANSWERS THE FORM

Once Ace submits the form, he tells you to read his answers already, almost as if he's expecting you to speedrun through them.

You're totally free to make fun of him back for the things he typed out—he can try to complain or whine, even retaliate whatever you say, but the banter and playful arguing makes things more fun for him. He likes any and all of your attention, you know it as well as he does.

If you sent the form to anyone else, he asks if he can read their answers as well. He won't budge if you'd rather keep it private because the knowledge of him being the final choice bloats his head just fine, but wouldn't it be more fun to laugh at those who, to quote, "fumbled the bag" when it came to you?

(And, well, you can listen to him agree with the nice things they wrote about you, because he knows first hand just how lovable you really are and how lucky he really is to be with you)

When you get to the last question, he's grinning to himself—even without the camera turned on, you can just hear him smiling, like he knows that you're rolling your eyes.

Whatever, you can both share your sweet nothings in person, when the both of you get somewhere more comfortable to be more vulnerable with each other.

"So, you up for a date some time tonight? My treat!"

character: DEUCE SPADE premise/trope: Deuce getting the form from someone he's highly admired for years

HOW HE REACTS WHEN YOU SEND THE FORM LINK

He doesn't answer you for a few minutes, even though it's considered rude to just view your message. You can see that he's viewed your message, for sevens' sake! Still, you send one final message telling him to take his time with answering—Deuce was probably panicking or overreacting behind the screens.

He was. He gets the message while he's at work, and he has to try very hard to swallow his shout—it would be bad if he alarmed his co-workers, after all!

Tries to answer—both your message and your form—during his break, but decides that he needs far more time than his work break would allow, so he tries to focus on his job until he can go home.

His hands hover over the keyboard, and he reads the things he types out over and over again just to make sure he doesn't have any typos. If he's made you wait this long, he'll at least try to have good spelling!

DEUCE : are you sure you sent this to the right person?

Deuce has a bit of a hard time grasping that you could even have a crush on him—he's harbored a huge crush on you for YEARS, an admiration turned romantic affection that he's been, unfortunately, made fun of for his whole NRC career.

(His friends made fun of him for being such a coward, but confessing seemed so out of the question years ago! He had to focus on becoming an honor student, and you were just so...???)

When you reassure him that, yes, you did mean to send it to him, he replies that he'll answer it A.S.A.P! The sudden vigor gives you whiplash, and out of fear of formality you have to tell him that he can be as honest as possible.

It takes Deuce an hour at least to send in his answers, but when you look them over later you'll find that although he's trying to be polite and is clearly holding back (it's alright, you can have a proper talk about this some other time), his answers are genuine and his sweetness shines through.

HOW HE ANSWERS THE QUESTIONS

Q: How do we know each other? A: We both went to NRC and we shared a few classes, then we became friends

Q: Before this, did you know I liked you? A: No?! Not at all?! I mean I knew you liked me as a friend, because we were friends, but like-like? Like as a crush? I mean Ace and a few other people teased me about you liking me back then but I always thought it was a joke because you know? You’re you???

Q: Did you ever like me back? A: I didn’t think I would say it this way but yes?! Of course? I would be blind not to!

Q: If yes, how long did the crush last? A: [ticks the boxes: 3+ years, other] Um am I supposed to answer 3+ if it's ongoing...?

Q: If you liked me, why didn't you tell me? A: There were two main reasons… first I never thought I could have a chance with you, I didn’t want to ruin anything, second is just that I wanted to grow first into a better student and person, so I didn’t think I was ready to date either.

Q: What do you like most about me? A: Do I say just one thing…? It’s kinda hard to choose, and this is super embarrassing, you know. I guess I like that you never look down on me for my past and the fact that I’m still… not very cool. Even though you tell me I am. I like that you try to help me in whatever way you can, and I like that you’re always one of the first people to defend me when a bunch of jerks feel like causing trouble. And when you ran into my mom that one time, you told her really nice things about me (she told me even though you told her not to, sorry!) and I ended up liking you even more… I just find you reliable and respectable and I’ve always wanted to catch up to you since you were (are?) so out of my league?

Q: Could you imagine yourself dating me? A: Absolutely

Q: Thank you for answering! Sorry if this is awkward. Anything else to add? A: Wait can you tell me how long you liked me for? And a few other things I kind of want an explanation :’) Should I send a form too or do I just DM you?

AFTER HE ANSWERS THE FORM

Aside from wanting some explanations (as much as you're willing to give), honestly, Deuce is a little distraught (okay, more than a little—the crush had never really disappeared even after graduation). He genuinely thinks he lost his chance with you. After all, the title was in the past tense!

No he didn't lose his chance, but he's gearing himself up to just accept that you saw something good in him to the point that you once liked him—that, in a way, gives him a sense of happiness.

Maybe you're a mind reader, or maybe you're just good at detecting Deuce's tone from his answers and later messages, because you let him know that you're very much still into him, and if he still is then maybe he's willing to give the both of you a shot...?

At that point Deuce is very much glad to be at home because he's grinning ear to ear, face flushed like the color of his alma mater dorm. He feels like those teenage girls from those movies he watched with his mom on occasion—the ones who got butterflies in their stomach.

It's the fastest he texts back yet, sending you a stream of messages that all form the answer of a resounding YES.

Yes, he does call his mom later that night and tells her that he has a date coming soon. His mom always did wonder if he'd ever find a significant other amidst his busy career.

(His mother teases him a bit, but as embarrassing as it is to be teased like he was still a high schooler, his happiness overthrows it)

DEUCE : HUH?? OF COURSE I WANT TO GO ON A DTEA WITH YOU?? DEUCE : *DATE sorry I got excited. obviously, duh.., wow i'm seriously still not very cool, huh DEUCE : so... no pressure but when are you free to meet up?

character: JACK HOWL premise/trope: two best friends with very obvious mutual pining but have never said a word about their feelings, and now they live far apart. you send the form to Jack for closure (or resolution)

HOW HE REACTS WHEN YOU SEND THE FORM LINK

He wants to ask if this is a joke (even though the form title said it was not a prank), but refrains from sending in what he initially typed out. If you were serious, and he thinks you are, then it wouldn't be right for him to doubt or question your feelings.

It's going to take him a while to actually fully process the form title and form description alone, but he lets you know that he's not ignoring you or anything, he just needs a hot minute

JACK : Don't worry, I'm not ignoring you, but I need a moment. By the way, do you really want me to answer the form? Or do you want to just... call.

For one reason or another, perhaps you wanting to gauge his own interest in you, or perhaps you needing some time before properly having that conversation with him, you request he answer the form first.

Jack doesn't exactly like it when people beat around the bush, but he knows it must have taken a lot of courage out of you to confess to him. Braver than him, really, who never had the strength to let you know what he felt for you, feelings that were apparently required all this time.

Later, Jack would laugh to himself (or with you) at how silly the both of you were, wallowing in angst over unrequited love that was never actually unrequited.

A part of Jack does wish he knew earlier, maybe the both of you could have been dating all this time, but perhaps this was the timing that was meant for him and you... not that Jack knew anything about destiny or fate.

His answers are serious, but not cold, not completely. Warmth lingers, mostly from you imagining him reading the words to you, imagining his expressions as he does so.

His answers are also quite honest, although you can picture him getting somewhat embarrassed over how vulnerable he's being. Maybe typing things out instead of immediately saying them verbally helps him be less shy and awkward about this, too.

And when you read them, you can easily identify his fondness and affection for you, the one he's always possessed. Really, it's a wonder that it took him spelling out his feelings for you to realize how much he adores you.

HOW HE ANSWERS THE QUESTIONS

Q: did u ever realize i more than liked you? A: There were a few times where I really thought you might have liked me back, mostly by watching your body language, or the things my seniors (Leona and Ruggie) pointed out, but the “signs” felt so natural that I just pushed it aside.

Q: did u ever have feelings for me too? A: Let me say something first: why are you immediately assuming that I don’t have the same feelings for you? Like you’re expecting me to reject you? Really, you’re so… anyway. For the record, it’s not “did”, it’s “do”, I do have feelings for you, since we were students in NRC. That hasn’t changed even after we left and went our separate ways. And I don’t want to assume, and since I checked the other questions and you didn’t ask… I’ve probably liked you for just as long. Look, I know I’m actually a lot more dense than I thought I would be, but I didn’t think you would be, too.

Q: did you ever want to date me? A: I did, and I still do.

Q: if i said i still have feelings for you, and that i miss you, how would you feel? A: I would say I’m the same, and that I wish we lived nearer each other so I could see you right now, and tell you these things in person instead of a form.

Q: jack when’s ur next vacation/free day :( A: No vacation until next month, but I can free up my Sat-Sun if you want?

Q: what things do you like about me A: Everything? Is that bad to say? Even though I tried to push you aw[a]y at first, you still tried to be my friend, and then we got closer and closer. You appreciate my space, but you also keep me company. I’m used to being alone, but I’m glad that I wasn’t because you were always around. I think it would be easier to say what I don’t like about you, it’ll take less time.

Q: umm ive been asking so much, do u have any questions for me? A: A few, though I can ask the rest later 1) Is there a certain type of place you would want to visit any time soon? 2) Is there anything you want from my hometown? 3) Just making sure, you’re still single, right? 4) Do you really want to stop liking me?

Q: jackkk i really miss you :((( huhuhu A: i miss you too, more than i let you know. im sorry i rarely tell you that

Q: sorry im a mess, do u wanna add smth A: please call me when you’re done reading this (or when you can)

AFTER HE ANSWERS THE FORM

It's difficult for Jack to proceed with the rest of his day, especially when you tell him you're going to read his response, when you haven't called him yet.

Thankfully you don't make him wait for too long, although Jack was willing to wait if you had other urgent matters to attend to, or if you just needed more time to compose your thoughts.

Once in call, Jack takes the initiative to steer the conversation to the topic at hand—your feelings for him, his feelings for you, and what that meant for your relationship going forward.

The both of you lived quite a ways apart, and while that wasn't necessarily ideal (Jack desperately wanted to see you and hold you in his arms right now), he was sure he had the ability to make it work with you, as long as you were willing to do the same.

Weekend trips to see each other, perhaps moving closer to each other and moving in together in the future, those weren't out of the question.

There were certain topics that could always be decided on later, and he lets you know as much; he just needed to call you now so he could tell you what he's always wanted to for years.

"Hey, don't get over me just yet, not when I've been wanting to see you again."

character: EPEL FELMIER premise/trope: you have been flirting with Epel for years, even though the two of you are merely (unfortunately for you AND him) best friends. you send the form for fun, and get the retaliation you very well deserve

HOW HE REACTS WHEN YOU SEND THE FORM LINK

Seconds after sending the form, you're immediately laughing it off, launching excuses and reasons as to why you sent one (and made a form to begin with). In fact, even before you sent the link, you were already building it up to be "just another one of your flirtations" instead of what it really is

Epel loves you, really (and wow did it take him a while... and a whole bunch of people pointing out his feelings to actually realize it wasn't just the friendly kind of love), but he's very tired of... whatever was going on with the both of you

It's cute when you flirt with him to be honest, even though it's embarrassing and downright flustering more than half the time (probably the thing stopping him from ever trying to do the same unto you), but it always felt... nice. Even if he did lose his shit one too many times.

It'd feel even better if the both of you were actually dating, though

He doesn't think you've been flirting with him as a joke or anything, he'd definitely would've put a stop to it otherwise, but he still wants his feelings to be taken more seriously, and for you to consider that he is very capable of liking you back, and for you to actually give him a say

Well, this form would be a good chance for that, right?

His voice message is enough to make you nervous, the incoherent keyboard smash you sent right after is proof of it

"Hehe, just give me a few minutes, I'mma answer it properly!"

Epel tries to be smooth but his answers have some awkwardness to them, clearly attempting to emulate you and how you enjoy talking to him, but the attempts at flirting are not lost on you.

Still, you can just tell that it isn't just payback—he's very serious about the things he's writing, even with the quips and joking responses to your questions here and there.

It's his sheer honesty though, the way he writes like he just spills his feelings for you all over the keyboard without regard for any proper form, that ends up the most romantic and impactful.

HOW HE ANSWERS THE QUESTIONS

Q: hypotheticallyyyy, would u like me back A: Why would you need hypotheticals when I DO like you back? (Also, didn't you say you "hypothetically" loved me? Why is it "like" now?)

Q: *shakes 8ball* would u date me if ever A: The following is ticked: - signs point to yes - it is decidedly so - without a doubt - yes - definitely - outlook good - most likely - other: My sources (my heart) says yes

Q: so, did u know ur the apple of my eye A: You're so silly why am I even into vou..? Right, it's because l'm apple-solutely a fool for you.

Q: epel why are u still here TT A: WellI, if you want me to answer this seriously, it's because I'm getting impatient. I like/love you, you feel the same, we kind of act like we're dating half the time… actually a lot of people already think we're meant to be, so why aren't we dating yet? it's driving me crazy honestly, sometimes i think i'll just kiss you to shut you up whenever you think up some lame pickup line or when you want to hold my hand

Q: when'd ya realize u LOVED me <3- delulu A: Vil pointed out that I didn't bite your head off when you called me cute

Q: whats ur favorite moment with me <3 A: When we went to my hometown w/ the rest of our schoolmates, and then we separated from our group so I could give you a personal tour of my home. You joked that you would get lost and that we were on a date so you needed me to hold your hand, maybe u did want to hold hands but I also knew your hands were cold be SOMEONE forgot their gloves. We held hands the whole tour, and be people recognize me everyone assumed we were dating… but you didn't care if people thought (realized) you loved me, as long I never found out.. and because I was dense, I didn't until I recalled that day again

Q: not to fish for compliments BUT i will. list EVERTHING you like about me <3 A: 1) everything ;) INCLUDING your flirting, believe it or not 2) the way you can tease me and poke fun at me w/o belittling me 3) when you call me "cute" it makes me feel the same as when u call me "cool" 4) the way u enable+join me in, as our friends would say, ; "being chaotic good"

Q: what do you hate about me hehehe A: i hate that ur single and not dating me yet

Q: why did you finish this form epel A: because i want to raise apple trees and make jam with you in the future

AFTER HE ANSWERS THE FORM

The both of you have always been the type to joke with one another. It's not that neither of you take to having serious conversations, but it's always been about things you wanted to vent about, or Epel's thoughts on his appearance and femininity, or a few other things the both of you felt like bringing up. Never a love life.

(You have asked him if he was in a relationship a few times since graduation, likely to see if you had to steer clear and fully give up on him. He's guilty to asking the same questions.)

For someone who flirted with him a lot, you never brought it up seriously before. Not since the incident with the ghost bride.

Of course, he knows he could have stepped up much earlier, that the both of you could have been dating even back in NRC, but perhaps he wanted to wait (until he eventually became impatient), or he needed reassurance or a sign.

Epel's not very sure, and he doesn't think there's one definite reason, but that's besides the point. He finally got to tell you his feelings, and even though you've more than hinted that you feel the same, he wants to hear it from you this time, without you taking it back or pushing it as a joke it never was.

He has his moments of insecurity, too many to count especially in the past, but when he rings you on the phone and you pick up immediately, he's full of confidence, grinning in anticipation of what's to come.

"So, if I said I loved you, too, what would'ya think about it?"

character: SEBEK ZIGVOLT premise/trope: pretending the form you're making him answer is a regular survey you need participants for

HOW HE REACTS WHEN YOU SEND THE FORM LINK

If asked, you pretended it was a requisite you desperately needed participants for because Sebek would definitely take some time off his ever busy schedule to help a friend out. He gets it, getting participants is difficult! And because he's such a good friend, obviously he'll take some time out of his day to answer your survey!

Asks if he should send the form to Malleus and Lilia too but you absolutely refuse. You cite that they've exceeded the maximum age range, an answer Sebek readily accepts. An age range, how diligent of you to put that into consideration!

You can expect him to answer your form as soon as he's able to, and he tells you as much!

SEBEK : What an odd research topic. I never knew this was one of your interests! Still, I applaud you for your dedication and for your interest in studying fae; I shall aid you in your study! And if you have anything more to ask, feel free to call me any time!

He is... more than confused when he goes over the questions. It's always important to read all the questions before answering a test, so he employs the same tactic when he looks at the survey. He's not sure if he regrets it, but his throat certainly hates him for it—choking on nothing but his own spit.

His instincts tell him to message you IMMEDIATELY, face flushed at the idea of you playing a joke, making a fool out of him, but then... he stops himself from doing so.

You're clearly teasing him, yes, but all the same he's curious about your motives, about how you would react to his answers, about the answers you want to get out of him... or anyone else. Did you send the form to anyone else? What if you were getting answers from other people?

Oddly enough, what motivates him to answer instead of interrogating you about the form is the idea of someone else sending in the form before him. He can't have that! He had to show that he was your most reliable friend, the one you could count on if you really needed help.

Most of his answers are predictably... Sebek, loud even in text, honest in his confusion and feelings. Well, in the ones you allow him to type anyway. Probably your fault with your choice of questions. Still, it's enough to reassure you of his feelings, that you weren't just delusional and seeing things.

HOW HE ANSWERS THE QUESTIONS

Q: When you see a picture of me, what emotions are you likely to feel? A: The following is ticked: - Happy, Glad, Pleased - Shy, Nervous, Hesitant - Ecstatic, Excited, Motivated - Delighted, Charmed, Exhilarated - other: You don’t have a study at ALL, do you? How brave to fool me like this!

Q: What traits do you associate with me? A: The following is ticked: - charming - bewitching - endearing - lovable - good-looking - fascinating - other: If you’re going to list everything, why even give the option for other?

Q: With this vague scale, how would you rate your feelings for me? A: [Sebek selects the choice with the highest rank]

Q: How compatible do you think you are with me on a scale of… on a scale? A: [Sebek selects the choice with the highest rank]

Q: If I asked you on a date, how likely are you to say yes A: [Sebek selects the choice with the highest rank]

Q: How sure are you of the extent of your feelings for me A: [Sebek selects the choice with the highest rank]

[ SECTION BREAK / NOT A QUESTION ] Not a question but based on my pre-existing research, it seems our feelings are quite similar! Just sharing!

Q: Hi, I will finally allow you to rant away now :) Thanks for answering this! A: This was not only the most ridiculous test/survey I have taken in my LIFE, but also the most DIFFICULT. The way I’m not allowed to explain myself, well, expect that I will most CERTAINLY be explaining myself at a later date. It has to be on a later date because WHY DID YOU PUT A CHRACTER LIMIT ON THI

AFTER HE ANSWERS THE FORM

Are all humans so... odd and creative when it comes to expressing their feelings? Was this an expression of your feelings? Was this you wanting to court him, or perhaps asking him to court you?!

Sebek's thoughts are all over the place, but they bring out the feelings he thought had died down after graduation. Whatever charm you had placed on him had never worn off, remaining even when you weren't in his presence.

Before typing out his (very lengthy) paragraph of a text message, a paragraph more suited for an email, really, Sebek thinks of two things.

First, that Briar Valley needs better cell reception—a bunch of your text messages just came in, asking if he was answering the form, or if he was busy and got called on to do something, or if he was plain ignoring you.

(Well, by your texts, he at least knows he's the only one you've sent the form to. That gives him far too much pride than it should)

Second, that he wasn't in Briar Valley right now (the younger him never would have thought of thinking such a thing), or that you were in Briar Valley right now, so he could go up to see you and express his feelings most appropriately.

He supposes a text will do for now. A nicely worded text, if he can't send a letter (he could, but it would take too long). He can just... do something more romantic later.

SEBEK : DEAREST HUMAN! Even with our time apart, you are still as confounding and befuddling and CONFUSING as ever, you and your unusual ways of showing what I presume to be your affections for me, or at the very least signaling your interest, gathering information to analyze my own interest levels! Admittedly your attempt was, for the lack of a better way to phrase it, lacking good prose, unpoetic, and extremely weird, but nevertheless your feelings have reached me. Somehow, you have managed to render me speechless (for a few minutes), and you, in spite of your general lack of romanticism, continue to set my heart ablaze. With that said, even though I find your methods cowardly, I accept your advances, but I ask we hold off from pursuing anything until I can tell you in person. That is to say, I want for us to meet again.

[ BONUS ! ]

character: ORTHO SHROUD (& IDIA SHROUD) premise/trope: sending a form to your crush's younger brother, Ortho, mostly because you don't want to commit to confessing to Idia yet

HOW HE REACTS WHEN YOU SEND THE FORM LINK

He already knew you had feelings for his brother, but there's a different type of happiness in knowing you're willing to admit it (at least to him, if not yet Idia)

It's one thing to like his brother, and it's another thing to be able to say it. From his observations (of you, of others, and the games his brother played) and research (on online forums... and also the games his brother played), there was that probability that you would be ashamed of yourself for liking Idia, his wonderful but flawed brother. He's glad you don't seem to think that way.

That aside, he thinks you sending him the form is fun! He's more than willing to answer anything you want to know (whether it's just about him or if it's something to help you get closer to his brother)

Plus, he got called your BFF! :D

ORTHO : Your secret is safe with me! Don't worry q(≧▽≦q) My metaphorical lips are sealed!

When it comes to answering, he's straight to the point but cute, even when he says things that could come off as burns towards you or his brother. Most of all, it's very clear that he not only adores his brother, but that he cares for you, too.

HOW HE ANSWERS THE QUESTIONS

Q: hi ortho! first of all, i missed youuu 💙 A: I missed you too! I haven’t seen you since graduation ＞︿＜

Q: so since i’m sure you know i like idia, when/how did you realize? A: I was walking with you to class one day when your heart rate increased! I was really scared that something had happened to you ::>_<:: I ran a few tests out of concern, even though you were confused about why I wanted to do that. Everything was normal when I checked it, but when I suggested my brother help investigate the anomaly your heart rate rose again!

Q: just making sure, do you think idia has a clue that i like him A: Oh, absolutely! He… just kidding! Not at all! I never told him, even though I wanted to sometimes, but even if I did I don’t think he would belive me! My brother is not dense, he gets flustered by you a lot, but I think he’s too in denial that it’s possible you like him!

Q: do you think idia likes me too A: That’s a secret! Please confess to my brother first, or wait for him to confess!

Q: its okay with u if i dated him, right? A: I approve! I like you very much o(^.^)o Me and Idia always have fun with you!

Q: serious question do you think idia would open to dating right now? A: Hmmm I think it’s better that you talk to him about it! I know the both of you can come to an agreement that you’ll both be happy with ( ˇ v ˇ )

Q: aside from the fact that you love your brother and that you like me, why do you think we’re good for one another? A: I have prepared multiple answers for this question! [ 1 ] Because you like him! [ 2 ] Because you like me, too! ヾ(•ω•`)o [ 3 ] Because you understand and accept Idia without forcing him to change. [ 4 ] Because you know when Idia wants space and when he wants to hang out with you. [ 5 ] Because you smile brightly around him and he smiles brightly around you. Idia is happier seeing you than seeing Gakemo live, or getting an SSR!

Q: do u have any tips for meee A: Just be yourself! ヾ(≧ ▽ ≦)ゝ

Q: if i get rejected by idia, are you still down to be my little brother? hihi A: I don’t want to tell you the probabilities of anything, but you should have more faith in yourself! And of course! o((>ω< ))o

AFTER HE ANSWERS THE FORM

The chances are, either he gives you enough assurance to confess to Idia in the coming days/weeks, or he convinces you to wait it out when the time is right—dating sims usually had confession scenes at very specific and special locations, right? Maybe you had to wait for a sign.

Either way, it's hard not to believe you have a chance when Ortho tells you—not because of his godly skills (seriously, what kind of genius is Idia?) in analyzing data and making predictions based on probabilities, but because Ortho's the one who knows him best, who's always going to be there when he needs it.

How can you not trust him when he implies (implies, only so he won't take the chance from his brother to confess to you properly) that his brother might just have a crush on you, too?

After a while, the conversation divulges from Idia to simply catching up with Ortho, asking him how he's been doing, setting up a day where the both of you could play a few online games together (with and without Idia), but his sweet messages remain in your head all day.

ORTHO : Even though I want you to date my brother as soon as possible (please I promise the probability of him liking you back is much higher than you think!), I promise I won't interfere, so take your time! ORTHO : Even without dating him, I already see you as my other big sibling anyway \^o^/

masterlist | end notes

[ 1 ] made this in 2 days because i was just really tired from school and wanted a break, but wanted something a little less taxing brain power wise than a one-shot. i've had this idea in my head for a few months now so i thought i would finally write it out!

[ 2 ] figuring out how someone would type is a struggle, so i had to make guesses based on how they write the valentine letters + voice lines, then take some liberties based on their relationship dynamic with the reader + the tone of the premise

[ 3 ] epel: "because I want to raise apple trees and make jam with you in the future", referencing one his suitor suit (the groom outfit, i forgot what it's called in EN) voice lines

[ 4 ] speaking of epel, i asked for ideas basically on what dynamics people liked with him. unfortunately i couldn't employ EVERY idea, i mostly went with @ / syl-lithy 's with a dash of everyone elses. ig ill just have to use the other dynamics in some other work for epel 😌

#twst x reader #ace trappola x reader #deuce spade x reader #jack howl x reader #epel felmier x reader #sebek zigvolt x reader #idia shroud x reader #twisted wonderland x reader #nathya twst writing #twst hcs #twst #twisted wonderland #twst imagines #ace trappola #deuce spade #jack howl #epel felmier #sebek zigvolt #ortho shroud

[verysium]

『03』 ブルーロック: blue lock recs

冴糸師: sae itoshi

lost to time by @syriiina

nostalgia. it’s delicate but potent. “nostalgia” literally means “the pain from an old wound” in greek. it’s the twinge in your heart far more powerful than memory alone – a feeling of a place where we ache to go again. but in sae’s case, it’s the painful ache in his chest to return to someone that’s already been buried by the sands of the past; the yearning for someone that’s already been lost to time. notes: this fic emotionally destroyed me; heavy angst paired with audio recordings; basically the most gut-wrenching combination ever; smooth chronological plot development; encapsulates the dichotomous pain and pleasure of love; i felt like my heart was healing and hurting at the same time

merry go round by @syriiina

what if you were given another chance? another chance to say all the things you’ve wanted to say, cry all the tears you couldn’t and hear the voice of the person you’ve cherished all your life? sae itoshi was given that chance. just one more chance for your birthday that he’ll never get to spend with you. just another chance at goodbye. notes: at this point this author needs to pay for my therapy; examining the process of grief; almost dreamy and hallucination-inducing atmosphere; idea of letting go; new beginnings; childhood nostalgia; sequel to first fic

to my first love / to my last love by @by-moonflower

when you agreed to date itoshi sae in mid-october of 1993, you never imagined he'd be your first love—whose presence would continue to linger in your life, hauntingly, even if a year, two, or ten came to pass. notes: high school sweethearts to exes to lovers again; examines insecurities of girlhood; idea of love being a process of trying and trying again; reader discovers herself before she discovers others; happy ending; pre-2000s nostalgia; montage/vignette style

come out and haunt me by @alaboadoa

sae is 13 years old when he moves to madrid. his temporary apartment is old and cheap, and worst of all it's haunted. but he finds your company better than nothing, even if you do tend to knock all of his belongings over. notes: incredibly well-written study of sae’s character especially as a pre-teen; honestly would've never expected a ghost AU; this author has such a beautiful mind; finding commonality in exclusion and lack of belonging; a unique rendition of right person, wrong time; loving someone but still not being enough

hungry hearts by @sanzu-sanzu-sanzu

You are Itoshi Sae’s Manager. Fielder of dumb reporter questions and keeper of his schedule. Among many others. notes: their dynamic reminds me of miguel and lyla from the spiderverse or that one kdrama about secretary kim; sae denying that he is in love yet noticing every little detail about reader; their witty banter is so funny; gradual realization of feelings; honestly i think this is how canon sae would fall in love

find love by @tenjiiku

“Mama?” “Yes, little bunny?” You call her by such a name because when she was a toddler she had somewhat of an obsession with playing leap frog with others. The original pet name had been little frog, but it had caused a rather large tantrum, so you never used such a term with her. Her father suggested it. It was the only thing he made that you still used. notes: i don't even need a rec to tell you how good this is; nuanced portrayal of divorce; honestly hit too close to home; idea of marriage not being endgame; slight hint of second-chance romance; love that never fades; sae being emotionally oblivious; for the hopeless romantics

the hanshin expressway by @tenjiiku

He remembers how sad you had looked — gentle, sweet and kindhearted you. And he remembers feeling the urge to hold you. Because it was the first time he voluntarily felt such a gripping emotion. He recalls the way your nimble fingers trembled around your second mug of jasmine tea, and he looks back on the way you turned to him with a forced smile, as if it was the easiest thing to do — to bear yourself and all of your little idiosyncrasies in front of him, no walls, no windows. Just you and him. You, reprimanded for your selfless displays of kindness. Him, admonished for his lack of expressing his. It was hard not to let himself fall into you. notes: literally even the premise of this fic is not for the weak; amnesia tropes are the death of me; prose is so tender and beautiful; sae being the one who now teaches the reader how to love; role reversal; reliving grief; idea of being unable to equate the past and present versions of the person you love; people change and you are helpless to stop it; being unable to return to what once was

rezkinoff / prelude by @tenjiiku

07.01. It is the first day of my break. I am going to journal both my fitness levels and caloric intake because my nutritionist has told me to. I will also note a daily observation so as to look back on my time with certainty that I have spent it properly and because you have told me to. Today’s observation: the heels of my feet are growing calluses and I found a single strand of white hair, still on my head. I need better shoes and hair dye. Perhaps something is in the water. — Itoshi. S notes: one of the most authentic portrayals of sae’s character; sae being emotionally inept but slowly learning; aging but as a graceful process; daily observations of life; the epistolary style makes it a smooth reading experience; ambiguous enough for interpretation

us, again by @ode2rin

in which: itoshi sae returns to the only place on earth he vows to never set foot again. notes: one of the best second-chance romance fics out there; i still think about this fic at night; just the right balance of hurt and comfort; sae and reader both messing it up and finding each other again; dilemma of both loving and hating a person; has a coffee shop scene and a dramatic airport reunion so what is there not to like

scraps by @itoshiexx

you give him all you have. it's time to collect the scraps before there is nothing left. notes: short but packs the most brutal emotional punch at the end; idea of love not being enough; sae pushing reader away; miscommunication; hurt people hurt people; giving up on someone you love most; falling out of love

conversations by @saerins

he’s back home, and you recall the times you’d spoken to him. all the calls you made, then all the calls he made, and then all the times it went to voicemail. notes: i was having a good day until i read this and started violently sobbing; honestly it's a pretty accurate reflection of fame and the troubles it brings for both you and sae; the voicemails crushed something within me; i was grieving for a relationship that never existed; please read when you want a good cry; thank god for the alternate ending here

do stars return? by @hanyjar

your childhood friend leaves, and you question if he’ll ever come back. notes: the way that i ate this shit up with no crumbs. sae itoshi and star metaphors go hand in hand. picture this: you and sae grow up and then he leaves you and then he comes back again. now amplify that and add childhood angst and a sprinkle of poetic language. you're welcome.

凛糸師: rin itoshi

the first snow by @tenjiiku

It’d take him 3 lonely nights for Rin to admit to himself he wanted to see you again. He wonders if he torments you as much as you do him. notes: two-shot that changed the trajectory of my life; this author absolutely nails the slice of life genre every single time; finding beauty in the mundane; realistic depictions of modern love; somewhat slow-burn; dialogue and internal conscience are beautifully written

riptide by @misssleepless12

Concerned with how things were left after U-20, Isagi goes to visit Rin before the end of break. They address it. Sort of. notes: not necessarily a rinsagi shipper but this fic has a stunningly accurate portrayal of MLM romance; no sense of false idealism or over-romanticization; rin and isagi’s natural dynamic is perfectly captured; strong imagery and cultural setting of kamakura; rin’s sarcasm is on point

カイザ: michael kaiser

five dates and a proposal by @by-moonflower

all it takes is five dates for kaiser to fall in love with you and you in him, much to your surprise. notes: this fic actually made me believe in love; strong female character; fear of love and gradual opening up; basically what it feels like to fall in love with someone you never thought you’d actually love; realistic depiction of insecurities

color me blue by @saekkas

in which you need to wrestle your boyfriend, michael kaiser, out of his bed to fulfill a promise: re-dye his hair. notes: domestic fluff; michael being childishly cute; imperfections as perfections; heart-warming snapshot of established couple life; never fails to make me smile when i reread it

#fic recs #bllk #blue lock x reader #blue lock #sae itoshi #sae itoshi x reader #sae x reader #rin itoshi #rin itoshi x reader #rin x reader #michael kaiser #kaiser x reader

[honeypawsart]

"BUTTERFINGERS" AU, EARTH-0164

"Hi, my name is Dr. Johnny B. Ohnn. No, not the Ohnn you're thinking of. I'm from an alternate dimension (EARTH-0164). If Johnathon Ohnn didn’t become The Spot because of the supercollider explosion, but rather just accidentally dropped the dark matter capsule. Causing a slow spread of dark matter to corrupt his body over time. That's me."

Dr. Johnny B. Ohnn is an ex-Alchemax lead scientist who designed and began the creation of the Supercollider. On the day of the funding ceremony for his project, he accidentally dropped a canister of dark matter he extracted from a mini-collider test model, which he was to use as a demonstration for the presentation. The dark matter painfully spread to several portions of his body. However, instead of support after his accident, he was ridiculed by his respected friends and coworkers for being so clumsy and unprofessional. "Butterfingers" was a common yet silly thrown at him afterward. Johnny quit his job out of frustration, turning on the Alchemax company to make them pay for his deformities... using them to his advantage.

Johnny is generally very grumpy. This is due to his dark matter deformities being very uncomfortable. It feels like burning, itching, and chronically painful to deal with daily. The black spots feel void of sensation however, it's the white areas that hurt him the most. He uses cold water showers and drinks to help soothe the pain. The dark matter corruption on his body feels like jello, memory foam, or oobleck to the touch; it's solid at first but things can sink into the nothingness void.

The corruption is relatively slow, and by the time he's 41 years old, he's 80% corrupted. At this point in time, although he's still clumsy as ever, he's more confident in his ability to use his powers to his advantage. He adopts the nickname "Milky Way" then (based on another popular chocolate bar candy).

Johnny also has a pet shrimp named Shrimptin Beck. Later on in his isolation, he builds a functional Mysterio robot suit for Shrimptin to move around and help with his crimes. They sort of have a "Megamind & Minion" relationship haha

Johnny B. Ohnn is not a huge fan of his dimension's rendition of Spiderman. Her name is Lucky Charm, and is the exact polar opposite of Butterfingers. But you know what they say about "opposites attract" ;)

Earth-0164 Spider-Man, aka Lucky Charm! Works at the Trophy Bugle casino part-time! The rest of her time is spent saving their city using their very luck-driven superpowers! On their off days, Gwen Amber (lol yes that is my actual first and middle name, cringe is free) works as a regular employee at the Trophy Bugle Casino, owned and run by J. Jameson who HATES Lucky Charm for potentially ruining his business. Butterfingers ended up hitting up a casino after his accident- he always loses and gets frustrated with the hosts and that’s how he and Lucky Charm meet the first time, but she INSISTS on trying to make him better outside of work so they sort of get close as they teach him ya know?? Meanwhile, he doesn’t even realize that out of all the hosts at the casino, the one he happens to bump into is the hero he should hate for being against his motivations.

✮ ✮ ✮ That's all I have for now in the Earth-0164 canon!! I hope you guys enjoy this sort of long, info-dumpy post! He also has an official Spotify Playlist! Fan art is 100% welcome of Butterfingers. I also don't mind if you draw yourself/oc with him. Just please realize some boundaries with him. I will not tolerate any sort of "proship" art of him with any underage characters, since he is an old man (36-41 years old). He's very special to me, so please be respectful about that!

He's also my OC, so please tag me in any posts of him as well! He has a tag on all socials as #butterfingersohnn as well! All fan art is uploaded to his toyhou.se page.

That's the end!! Thanks for reading :D

#butterfingersohnn #butterfingers #johnathon ohnn #dr ohnn #the spot #across the spider verse fanart #jonathan ohnn #the spot fanart #atsv #atsv the spot #across the spiderverse #au #spiderverse au #spiderverse oc #spidersona #spiderman oc #the spot art #alternate universe #earth 0164 #oc #oc lore #oc stuff #fan art

[clangenrising]

Month 13 - Newleaf

Russetfrond scarfed down his morning meal and went over his responsibilities in his head. Sparrowpaw and the others were due for an assessment in their hunting and survival skills that he needed to design with Goldenstar and Yarrowshade. Patrols were mostly in order except for Mystique. He still didn’t like putting her into his schedule but Goldenstar had been clear that she needed daily exercise. At least she had agreed not to send the kittypet on any kind of Border Patrol, at his request.

It took him a while to balance out the patrols to accommodate her, shuffling duties around here and there, but eventually he had a solid plan. He stood, stretched, and sighed. Deciding to get the most unpleasant task out of the way first, he turned towards the elders’ den where a sleepy Ospreymask was sitting watch. If he hurried and took Mystique out now, they would hopefully get back before the dawn patrol returned. 

He stepped up to the den and flicked his ear in Ospreymask’s direction, saying, “I’ll take over.” 

“Thanks,” she yawned and slinked off towards the warriors’ den. 

Mystique stirred inside the den. Curled up in the back corner, she lifted her head and pursed her lips. She seemed to have been awake for some time although she still seemed tired and hollow eyed. Her thick fur was starting to tangle as her winter shed came out poorly. He wondered absently if she even knew how to properly groom herself or if she let her twolegs do everything for her. 

“Hey,” she said, “What’s up?” 

“We’re going out,” he said. “I want to get your exercise out of the way before it gets too late.”

“Oh, alright,” she stood, ears brushing the top of the den, and slipped up beside him with a soft jingle. He stepped out of the way and let her arch her back and stretch her legs.

“I figured we’d go to the river and you could swim for a bit or something.”

“Wait, really?” she brightened. 

“Yes,” he scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Just as long as you agree to come back when I say we’re done.”

“Yeah, of course,” she nodded. 

“Good.” He set off out of camp, confident that she would follow. The morning was still young. The sun had just started to banish the chill of night from the air and birds were singing to each other from the distant trees. He and Mystique walked in silence for a while, simply basking in the beauty of morning. 

Mystique eventually ruined it by speaking. “Hey, I wanted to talk to you about something.” 

“Oh?” He raised his brows skeptically. Hopefully it wasn’t another rendition of her ‘why does everyone hate me’ act. He’d heard from Branchbark all about her little incident during the Gathering and he wasn’t happy about it. 

“Yeah, um,” Mystique said, looking at the ground, “I’ve been thinking - About my brother and everything - and… I want to try and help you guys.”

“Pardon?” he nearly laughed. 

“I want to help,” she said, a little bolder. “Scorch is right, I’ve been way too passive. I may not fully understand what’s going on yet, but clearly you cats have a lot to lose and I want to help you. I was thinking maybe I could teach some combat drills or something? Y’know, help you hold your own.” 

This time Russetfrond really did laugh. “Yeah, right! We don’t need fighting tips from a kittypet.” The idea was completely absurd! Insulting, even!

Mystique frowned. “I’ll have you know, I’m better than most cats back in the city!”

“That’s not saying much,” he shook his head at the comedy of the situation. 

“I’m almost as good as Razor!” she insisted. “I bet I’m better than you! Hell, I know I am.” His shoulders tightened in offense. 

“Is that so?” he growled, puffing up his fur a bit. 

“Yeah,” she smirked and leaned down a bit to be more evenly on his level. “Try me and see.” 

“Fine,” he said, slowing to a stop. “Show me what you’ve got and I’ll see if your offer is worth anything.” They had stopped in the dip between two hills where pooling snowmelt had caused the grass to grow in thick and towering. It swayed above their heads gently, blocking out the rest of the world and nearly obscuring them from each other in its density. 

Russetfrond took a defensive stance. Mystique wiggled down into a crouch, tail tip twitching with eagerness. Russetfrond could already tell that she wasn’t taking this seriously - her smile was too bright, her gaze too scattered. This would be over quickly.

She moved in, tested his guard with a few swipes, and he danced easily to the side. He swiped at her ears with claws sheathed. Mystique ducked under the blow with surprising grace for her size and slipped into the opening he had given her. Her paws wrapped around his torso and her weight carried him off his feet and into the grass. 

They rolled for a beat, Russetfrond hissing and Mystique purring, and landed with him on his back looking up at her. He kicked out with his hind legs and she took the blow without a flinch, then whacked him sharply on the head causing his vision to swim. She snapped at one of his paws as he tried to swat her, twisted so the other swipe struck the back of her head, and rolled onto her side to avoid another strike of his hind paws. 

He rolled with her, onto his paws, and swatted her face twice, confident that, had this been a real fight, she would have been struggling to see through the blood. Mystiquer let out a mrrp of enjoyment and lunged. Her forepaws hooked around his neck and pulled his face into her chest before he knew what was happening. He struggled in the suffocating volume of her fur, unable to stop her as she rolled and flipped him over her body onto his side. Her hindpaws slammed into him, rabbit kicking over and over into his side. He hissed furiously and tucked his head to slam it up into her chin. She reeled, let him go, and he tumbled away. If this were real, he would be bleeding profusely from his flank, but for now he was simply panting heavily, struggling for breath. 

“That was-” he didn’t get to finish. Somehow she was on her paws again and barreling into him. His surprise let her take him to the ground again and she quickly pressed his face into the dirt with one paw. Tail bristling, he tried to rise but suddenly her teeth were in his scruff, causing his legs to seize instinctively. His cheeks flushed hotly at the predicament. 

“Alright!” he hissed quickly, “You win!” He needed her to let him go. 

“Told you I was better than you.” He could feel the shape of her grin against his fur. He forced his body to move and tried to wiggle out from under her but she shifted to put a hindpaw on his haunches, pressing him flat into the ground. His stomach fluttered, only serving to make him even more embarrassed. 

“You proved your point,” he growled, “let me up.” They were both breathing hard, her fur brushing his back every time she inhaled. 

“Say please,” she ordered smugly between breaths. 

“No,” he growled, his skin buzzing uncomfortably with some kind of energy. He felt dizzy. 

“Aww, come on,” she said, her teeth thankfully letting go of his scruff. He summoned his strength and rolled onto his back, paws ready to swipe at her if she tried anything else, but she just smiled at him and tilted her head, one paw raised as if they were playing a game. He found it hard to swallow. 

“You put up a pretty good fight,” she panted, flopping down next to him. 

“You too,” Russetfrond admitted begrudgingly, letting his arms go slack. The grass swayed above and around them, a world of lush green with a small glimpse of cloudless, blue sky. It muted the birdsong and the sound of the wind, leaving them alone with only their slowing breaths to listen to. 

“I won!” she purred, “I’d say I was more than pretty good.” He didn’t want to say it but he was inclined to agree. Neither of them spoke again until they had mostly regained control of their breathing. Russetfrond still felt dizzy though, dizzy and warm and hungry for something he couldn’t explain. 

“Wanna go again?” she whispered, like it was a secret. He knew he needed to say no. He knew that he was standing on the precipice of something very big and very exciting and very dangerous and that if he didn’t leave now he wouldn’t be able to fight the hold it had on him. 

“Alright,” he breathed, the edge of a smile daring to pull at his lips. He swallowed hard again. Mystique grinned wider than he’d ever seen, looking like she was hungry too. 

“Hell yeah,” she said. “Maybe you can try and pin me this time.” Russetfrond thought he would like that very much. 

“Don’t go easy on me,” he said, getting back to his paws. 

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” she chuckled, swishing her silky tail around herself as she huddled into an eager crouch. 

“Good,” said Russetfrond. He jumped.

#clan gen #clangen #warrior cats #warriors #warrior cats oc #warriors oc #clangen oc #clan gen oc #clangenrising #Mystique #Russetfrond #Newleaf

[kiwanopie]

The Cat dilemma

“You see this? Ma’ niece sent me this.”

Kiyoomi doesn’t have enough time to dodge the phone shoved in his face before he’s unwittingly victim to some way-too-loud Tiktok video Atsumu’s showing him on his way-too-cracked screen. Some viral meme played under a nightcore rendition of a song too mainstream for him to stomach. But from what he can tell it’s about a cat on a ledge who misses his mark to the next one and smacks its little orange chin on it in the process.

He rolls his eyes before shouldering his friend off. “Jesus, take better care of your stuff.”

Atsumu pouts at him before glancing at his phone a little curiously. “You know I dropped it when ya - Hey, did ya see the video at least?!”

In lieu of responding, Kiyoomi grumbles a little before shutting the locker room door behind him.

Stupid.

It isn’t until the drive home that he even thinks about it again. When his Bluetooth doesn’t connect immediately and the radio starts to play instead. It’s that song again. Not as sped up definitely but he’d know that cookie cutter viral pop song bass and tremble anywhere. It’s stupid how stuff like that gets popular nowadays. Like any sane person can sit up and listen to something like this. But then he remembers that kids exist and they listen to stupid music and intake stupid media and definitely share stupid memes that no sane person would find funny.

Like that stupid cat video.

Kiyoomi turns on his blinker as he merges down the road leading home. Who would even laugh at something like that. Cats do silly shit all the time and you don’t see him blowing a gasket over it. Even if it did kind of hit that ledge at a funky angle. - I mean, it couldn’t have gotten hurt or anything but it… it did make a little glunk! didn’t it…

Kiyoomi purses his lips as pulls into the lot. Okay, so it was a little funny…

You’re the first thing he sees when he steps into his shared apartment.

He bends to let you pull him into a welcome home kiss as he kicks the door closed behind him. Little whispers of apple and honey blending into the strong lemony smell of his shower gel - and it makes him all warm and gooey inside that you’ve made yourself so at home in his absence. He hums as you greet him. Bends for another kiss when you tell him you missed him and pinches you a little on your side when you tease him for being a sap. There’s a knot in his shoulders that he didn’t notice was there that melts away the moment you get your hands on him. And for a moment he forgets about the whole cat dilemma.

Until, “Oh! By the way baby, your sister stopped by to drop off Salmon. Said you’d babysit him while she’s in Ueno with your mother.”

Kiyoomi groans as he shleps himself into the kitchen. He did not give her the O.K. to do that. In fact, he distinctly remembers telling her that No, I’m not going to babysit your stupid cat while you’re out with mom. And Yes, if you drop him off at my apartment anyway, I’m going to tell the people at the front desk you’re a stalker and to call the police next time.

He sighs when he finds the feline in question perched up on his kitchen counter.

“Damn it… Salmon, how many times have I told you not to-“

Oh, he must’ve spooked him.

Because without even a second to prep his little orange legs to jump, he lifts off of the first counter right to the ledge leading to the first floor steps. A clumsy little rocket ship form that kicks his legs lamely behind him, and right as he gets to the edge he’s aiming for - He falls short.

He knicks his little chin with a soft glunk!

It’s not even a second later that you find Kiyoomi doubled over a bathing Salmon, coughing his way through a giggle fit.

#no cats were harmed in the making of this drabble #this might belong to a boyfriend!kiyoomi series I’ve been considering #so #boyfriend!kiyoomi #sakusa kiyoomi x reader #sakusa kiyoomi #haikyuu sakusa #hq sakusa #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu!! #hq x reader #haikyuu fluff #hq crack

[mrsaltieri-real]

I Can Be Sweet (Mickey Altieri x GN!Reader)

Word count: 1.5k

Warning/s: GN!Reader (no specified pronouns, Mickey uses the pet names baby and babe) fluffy fluff fluff, language, nudity, Mickey being soft, (yes it’s a warning) the L bomb gets dropped, romantic shit, Mickey being a terrible cook, Mickey still somehow being a little shit, etc

I’ve had a really, REALLY shit week so I wrote this as like a little soothing thing for myself and anyone else whose having a crappy week. I just needed to comfort myself by writing something like this. I’ve got good friends that have helped me through my stuff this week (you know who you are) and I wanted to say a big thank you.

Anyway, here’s a fluffy Mickey fic because sometimes we need our murder boys sweet.

You knew him better than almost anyone.

Even though you didn’t know about his… extra curricular activities, you knew Mickey.

He was cocky, sarcastic and most of the time a complete ass because that’s simply all he’d ever been. He never allowed anyone to get too close to him in fear they’d disappear like everybody else. He was a performer, an artist. A master of deception and only letting people see what he wanted them too. But once you broke through that hard shell and got to the soft centre, there was a whole different side to him.

Mickey was… sweet, he was romantic and passionate yet remained surrounded by his defensive coating until he finally trusted you enough for you to see it.

After a particularly exhausting day of serving booze to the drunk college assholes in the on campus bar you worked in to make extra money so you could live in an apartment by yourself to avoid having to share a dorm room, you walked toward your door, head pounding and feet aching. You wanted nothing more than to shower and go to sleep in preparation for what would undoubtedly be another shitty day tomorrow.

You rummaged in your bag for your keys but paused for a second outside your door, furrowing your eyebrows when you heard soft music and dishes clanking together. Had someone broken in? Fuck, that was just what you needed.

You pressed your ear to the door to try and hear a little better when you heard a familiar soft humming rendition of the current song playing on your speakers and all the paranoia faded away in an instant, calmly unlocking the door and walking inside.

Mickey was flitting around your tiny kitchen like a hurricane, trying to do far too many things at once.

“Oh, fuck me.” He cussed as he lifted the lid to one of the pots on the stove, grimacing at whatever horrible sight he’d concocted.

“Mick?”

He jumped a little, head snapping in your direction.

“Hey! Hi, you're back!” His cheeks were slightly flushed and his shirt had splatters of food spotted over the light blue material and you raised your eyebrows a little.

“Yeah, there was another fight in the bar. Shit got broken so we decided to close… what are you doing here?” An amused expression crossed your face as Mickey continued to move around the kitchen as you spoke, clearly growing more and more frustrated.

“You uh.. you said the other day you were having a rough week so I thought I’d TRY to do something nice for you. But I… yeah. I can’t cook.” He admitted sheepishly.

As he spoke you dropped your bag on the floor by the door and walked over to him, touched by his effort. “Yeah, I can see that.” You teased, gesturing toward the pots and pans completely wrecked with the burnt food coating the bottom of them. “But thank you, that’s really sweet.”

He shrugged, waving you off with his hand but you caught it, pulling him close to you. “I mean it.” You said softly and he smiled down at you, looking a little bashful.

“Sorry ‘bout your cooking shit.” He said, eyes narrowing at the ruined pans. You laughed a little, shaking your head at him.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Probably was due to get some new ones anyway.” You let go of his hand and walked around him to turn off the stove and grabbed a garbage bag, dumping the pots and pans inside. “I’ll throw them out and buy some new ones tomorrow.”

“Oh, I did do one thing right!”

You tied the bag, placing it down before looking at him.

“Yeah? What’s that?”

He grinned at you, gesturing for you to follow him as he left the kitchen and walked down the hall to your bathroom. You followed him sceptically, unsure of whatever the hell he had awaiting you but was taken aback when you entered your bathroom after him to see he’d run you a beautiful bubble bath, candles scattered around the whole room with your favourite song playing softly on your other pair of speakers. Whatever he’d used in the bath smelt of honeysuckle and lavender, the smells oddly complimenting each other.

Mickey dipped his hand in the bath before smiling proudly to himself and turning to face you. “I might be a shit cook but I can run a mean fucking bath.”

You didn’t respond, staring at the bubbles until they blurred into fuzzy white spots, a tear falling down your cheek. “Hey, hey, hey! Why are you crying?” Mickey’s voice sounded alarmed as he moved in front of you, his hand automatically reaching forward to wipe the fallen tears.

“I… no one’s ever done anything like this for me.” You felt slightly pathetic for crying, trying to move your head so Mickey wouldn’t see your face but he held your cheeks in his hand, beautiful face soft and affectionate.

“I wouldn’t have done it if I knew it was gonna make you cry, baby.” He still looked a little anxious, his teeth sinking into his bottom lip.

“No! No, these are happy tears.” You assured him, sniffling a little. His hands dropped from your face and slid down your arms, seeming at least a little comforted as he said, “still.”

You reached up and wrapped your arms around his neck, pulling yourself up on your toes so you could bury your face into the crook of his neck. He let out a small laugh before wrapping his arms around you, hand rubbing soothing circles between your shoulder blades and burrowing his face into your messy hair.

“You stink.” He mumbled into it making you laugh and pull back, playfully smacking his arm.

“Yeah genius, I work in a college bar of course I stink.”

“Want me to help you?” He gestured toward the bath before his hands moved to the hem of your shirt, a broad smile on his beautiful face as you nodded eagerly.

“Lift your arms.”

You obeyed, raising your arms above your head so he could pull your shirt off of you, placing it carefully on top of your laundry basket. His hands moved down to your jeans, popping the button open and pulling down the zipper slowly, smirking a little at your soft shiver when his warm fingers made contact with your skin. “Easy babe, we’re just taking a bath.”

You rolled your eyes, lightly nudging his hands away so you could remove your jeans along with your underwear, turning to toss them on top of your shirt.

When you turned back round Mickey was already naked and your eyes automatically dropped to his package before quickly diverting away, making him laugh again.

“Giggly prick.” You muttered as he climbed into the bubbly water, opening his arms out for you to climb in in front of him.

You took his hand, sighing happily at the perfectly warm water before you sat down between his legs, head resting back against his shoulder. He leaned forward, picking up your washcloth and dipping it into the water and wringing it out a little before he smoothed it over your chest, his head resting softly against yours.

“You’re being very sweet tonight.” You said softly, hearing his breathy laugh in your ear.

“You sound surprised. I can be sweet.” He defended himself in mock offence.

“I know, but never like this.”

It was quiet for a moment as Mickey continued to gently wash your aching body. The warm water in combination with his hot body was relaxing your tight muscles in a way that almost had you floppy in his arms.

“Am I really that bad?“ he murmured into your ear.

You frowned a little, lifting and turning your head so you were looking at him. “I didn’t mean it like-“

“No, no it’s okay. I know how I can be sometimes, and I guess in addition to me doing this because you’ve had a bad week it’s also to show you how much I care about you.”

You leaned up a little so you could press your lips to his cheek softly before sinking back into his arms, head leaning back again against his shoulder and your eyes fluttered closed.

“There’s also another reason.”

“Mm?“ you hummed absentmindedly. You felt his heart rate pick up and his breathing hitch ever so slightly as he swallowed, as if he was terrified of whatever he was about to say.

“I uh…” he sighed, face burrowing even further into your shoulder. “I love you.” He mumbled, his voice slightly muffled by your skin.

You froze for a moment, trying to comprehend what he had just said. “Y- you what?” You twisted around so his head moved off your shoulder and he was forced to look at you.

“I love you.”

You couldn’t help the smile that broke across your face and you struggled to turn all the way round to face him in the bath, and he laughed as he gripped your elbow to help you. “Steady, steady.” He said softly.

“You love me?” You whisper once you are facing him. You were straddling him, knees either side of his thighs and your hands resting on his chest while his rested on your hips under the water as you looked into his eyes, trying and failing to stop the tears from welling up again.

He bobbed his head once and even in the dim light of the flickering candles you saw his cheeks flush slightly.

“You don’t have to say it back!” He suddenly said quickly. “Please don’t feel like you have to say it b-“

“I love you too.”

A relieved sigh came out of Mickey’s mouth and his lips turned up into a devastatingly beautiful smile. “Thank fucking god.” He whispered, leaning forward and resting his forehead against yours.

#i needed to write this for me #i feel ✨soothed✨ #i love him so much #my favourite lil guy #EVER #scream #mickey altieri #scream 2 #mickey altieri x reader #mickey altieri fluff #mickey altieri x you #slasher x reader

[petarabbit2]

Realistic Ace Trappola + Headcanons

Ace headcanons + realistic artwork done with Art Breeder and edited in Clip Art Studio:

Okay so getting straight into it, this is my first post about my headcanons and realistic versions of twisted wonderland characters and the first one being introduced is *drumroll* Ace Trappola! Ace fans, you eating good tonight my chickies (that sounds so weird if u dont think of chickens right away LMFAO).

Sidenote: When headcanoning Ace and all my other characters, I take both factual and some of my personal thoughts/beliefs of the character to construct my headcanons.

So for Ace, its evident that I gave him acne due to reasoning such as his diet (fav food being cherry pie and mentioning his liking towards burgers) plus he is literally a teen boy that also has no women in his life and stereotypically the mother is the one to bring up looks as an issue, so without this Ace probably would have never gotten the right treatment for his acne. 

He’s already a red head so I added on that by giving him freckles. Also, it's known that redheads are more prone to acne, so another note as to why I gave him acne.

For his features for a realistic rendition, I went with a heart shaped face (because Ace’s card suit is hearts) but his widow's peak is hidden beneath his bangs. He has a snub nose shape which is quite round and slightly upturned. He has thicker eyebrows cause we all know bro don’t give a shit about his appearance.

For his hair I went wild, it's extremely fluffy, a bit curly and like shoulder length when wet. Bro has had like two haircuts his whole life and probably smells foul. I also tried to keep to the original style pretty closely without it looking really weird like bro came straight out of an anime. 

I didn't draw the bodies for any of them but Ace is more lanky with long legs and a rectangular body shape, but he has pretty big feet and hands.

Yeah and he's got a light British accent gang I’m sorry 😭 – he uses slang often as well.

Without & With Face Makeup:

Personality and backstory headcanons + a bit of character analysis:

Okay so Ace is one of the very first characters we meet in the game and a good one at that, a lot of people just put him in the category of “dumb friend with one brain cell”, and yes that's kinda true but every person had a reason to be the way they are due to personal experiences. We know in canon that Ace has always lived with his father and older brother but due to the literally no backstory on his mum, I’m saying his parents are divorced which he has much more time with his dad, also by his mannerism being so straight to the point and not sugar coated, this could be due to him being raised in an only male household. Which could also hint to why he “didn't feel committed” to his former relationship in middle school, he was so new to this type of love and got scared. After all he is just a teen, cut my boy some slack. (#1 Ace defender) 

Due to this relationship with his mother and seeing how his parents fell out of love, fought or similar, he’s very bad with women which is why he has only male friends. The only way he would have a girlfriend (or woman friend) is if they were not sensitive to his zero-filter way of speaking and even tell him off for it. (not me doing this since my yuusona is a girl 💀)

It's still mentioned that the whole family gets together around holidays (although this could possibly just mean his grandma and such and not the mothers side) so maybe the divorce wasn't messy and they just didn't love each other anymore, which happens all the time with quick relationships.

Ace is also pretty immature and not into deep and emotional conversations which is common with teen boys (especially around his age group). So not trying to hate, but all those scenarios made up with him comforting the reader and helping them feel better, in reality, he probably wouldn’t have gotten why you're so sad and not really know how to comfort you. Which is completely fine! He's not fully grown in body or mind and people need to accept this.

He definitely makes your mum jokes and sex jokes, bro cannot stop himself laughing when a teacher says anything sex related. He's highly competitive and will sulk if he loses a basketball game or bet with a friend.

Also despite being not very empathetic (not on purpose though), he appreciates the little things. For example, he’d appreciate you remembering his birthday or always having a spare pencil for him in class as you know he always loses his. He really appreciates those friends and even though he lacks in some areas, he will always protect them and stay by their side no matter what.

In conclusion, he's just some teen boy who's still learning about life and people. I had a lot of fun making the realistic design and giving him more depth as a character and I'll be doing this for the rest of the cast and after that maybe side characters?? Only if you guys want it though, I’ll also one day release my yuusona 😞. (she’s my queen get ready yall (hi i’m the 10/10 editor and assistant 😋)) (together, we are big brain)

My editor/assistant cause I can’t grammar or spell to save my life: @cyb3rpnnk 

SIDENOTE: DO NOT REPOST MY REALISTIC RENDITION OF ACE OR ANY OTHER CHARCTER I DO AS YOUR OWN. EVEN THOUGH THE BASE WAS MADE WITH AI IT IS STILL MY CREATION!

However you are permitied to use my headcanoing as your own for art or stories or whatever, just not my realistic rendition.

Hope you enjoyed my take on realistic Ace and my headcanoning!

#twisted wonderland #ace trappola #twisted wonderland headcannons #twst headcanons #twst hcs #twisted wonderland imagines #twst imagines #realistic twisted wonderland #twst art #twst fanart #disney twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland fanart #twst wonderland #twst grim #yuusona #twst yuu #twst ace headcanons #twst ace trappola headcanons

[chirp-a-chirp]

Court of Darkness 12 Days of Christmas

Here’s a 12 Days of Christmas song rendition for no_one_8473 as a part of the 2023 CoD Discord Secret Santa gift exchange!

…

🎶 On the 12th day of Christmas, my consort gave to me…🎶

12 Cookies Burning!

*Smoke wafts through a crack in the kitchen*

Sherry: Oh, I meant for these cookies to be red. I suppose black will have to do.

Roy: You have time to bake another batch before the party. Perhaps dear Rio will assist.

Sherry: OK! Will you partake in these cookies then brother? *Offers plate of charred discs*

Roy: …of course.

11 Garlands Hanging!

Fenn: *Hangs garland and mistletoe over windows and doors of the S:Ranks lounge* Toa! Come here and test this mistletoe with me.

Toa: *Ignores Fenn, walks past him with stack of papers in hand. Knight scurries behind with another equally large stack*

Fenn: Oh Kniiiiiiiight…*pinches his butt*

Knight: OI!

10 Cups Aligning!

Tino: *Brings out a tray of teacups and plates* Masters Luxure and Invidia, the Christmas tree is beautifully trimmed. Wait, where is Master Lynt?

Nine Letters Signing!

Toa: We cannot delay in sending these missives Knight.

Knight: I can’t believe Idina and your father expect you to work on Christmas! They’d better get coal in their stockings.

Eight Whisks A-Turning!

Sherry: Let’s see, three cups of sugar…

Rio: *Whisks batter in a bowl* Sherry, that’s salt, not sugar. Easy to mistake though!

Sherry: Oh. *Gestures to jar of salt* But I used this jar for my last batch of cookies. I guess Roy likes salty cookies?

Grayson: *Face remains stoic* …yes.

Seven Frantic Searches!

Tino: *Wanders down the hallways AGAIN* Master Lynt where ARE YOUUUU?

Lance: Oi cease your yelling! Try searching the courtyard.

Six Pies A-Baking!

Rio: These pies turned out brilliant! But I haven’t a knack for decorating.

Sherry: Leave that to me! *Performs luminary magic so the pies glow with an ethereal yet somehow tasty light*

FIIIIIVE…SAUCY LOOKS!

Fenn: *Pats his lap invitingly* Will no one sit with me?

Sherry: Maybe you’ll have more luck if you wear this. *Sherry laughs and places a red hat and white beard on Fenn*

Rio: *Promptly sits on Fenn’s lap* Santa!

Four Mugs of Cocoa!

Tino: *Furiously destroys a snowman on a courtyard bench. Under the snow is Lynt, snoozing upright in a sleeping bag*

Lynt: *Wakes up* Hi Chino. *Blinks drowsily and drifts back to sleep*

Tino: Aaaaah! *Shoves a mug of cocoa in front of his young charge.* You need to keep warm! And get ready for the party!

Three Spell Books!

Rio: Toa, stop grading papers and join our Christmas party!

Toa: *Is about to shake his head until Tino arrives with a cup of cocoa*

Tino: This cup is made with Qelsan chocolate. I can procure more if you celebrate with us.

Toa: *Drinks cup of cocoa and smiles*

Two Scratchy Throats!

Fenn: Aren’t you two going to eat any other food?

Roy: *Continues eating Sherry’s cookies, washing them down with copious amounts of milk. Grayson joins his Master*

Roy: N-no. I prefer to eat something made with love.

Grayson: *Grimaces throughout his gaging* I agree.

And a Happy Holy Night Paaaaaarty!

Every Consort: Merry Christmas!

Sherry: Brother, you ate all my cookies! I’ll make sure to add extra salt to my next batch just like you like them!

Roy: *Chokes on his milk*

#court of darkness #voltage games #sherry invidia #roy invidia #fenn luxure #toa qelsum #rio voleri #fanfic fluff #otome #12 days of christmas

[thisnameisnotspokenfor]

Chapter 27 (Long Teaser)

Aka- my apologies.

Note: This is FULL canon Divergence! But this was heavily inspired by the myth/Disney rendition of Atlantis.

Context: Asha and Ceph are deciphering one of the old scrolls that Asha's father used to own.

“How-?!” she started, looking at the rough patches of grass and dirt beneath her feet. But the dirt quickly became the least of her worries as she looked to the nearby valley full of small stone and clay huts that pitifully sat underneath a starry sky. Children in faded clothing ran to and fro while their mothers tended to dinner and torn laundry. 

Several men carrying water limped into the edge of the town, with a few passing a ring of lit torches that surrounded the village; a sign she presumed to dissuade any wandering animals from nearing.

Alright. She definitely wasn’t in Rosas anymore.

“Cepheus?!” she called, unsure whether she should be angry or horrified as she looked around the settlement. “Cepheus where are you?!”

“Right behind you,” came his voice as she jumped, whirling around to see the star casually standing there with Valentino and her birds by his side. 

“I thought I told you not to sneak up on me!”

“I didn’t! Well…At least not like how I did before….”

She sighed, facepalming before she turned to him, “Please tell me you did not turn my room into-,” she gestured to the clearing around them. “Wherever this is!”

“Well, since you asked so nicely,” the star cleared his throat. “Asha, I am pleased to tell you that I did not turn your room into where we are currently standing.”

“Cepheus-,”

“I’m serious, I didn’t do anything. You see what you’re seeing now is-,” 

“On the verge of sending us all to our deaths!” came a sharp voice as several figures stumbled out of the nearest house. It was dark, but Asha could tell from their uneven gaits that several of these people were drunk. But it wasn’t hard to see why as they neared.

Their faces were smeared with mud as branches and leaves clung to their clothing and hair. A few had bloodied bandages around their hands and arms as another voice from within the house called out “I speak the truth I swear! Please…if it exists we should find it!” the voice pleaded as a young man hurriedly entered the clearing.“Hear me out! This may be our only chance to get an advantage when they are vulnerable!”

The men gritted their teeth, none looking particularly happy as the largest man, their leader complied with the young man’s request. He’d stopped next to a torch that had offered her a brief look at the scars that had marred his body, as an old eye patch sat over his right eye. 

The young man knelt over, taking a few deep breaths in to settle himself before he stood up.

The fire illuminated his features as he reached the group of unamused hunters. His face and entire body whispered of a handsomeness that had been nearly lost to the hunger and hardship that had ravaged the people. 

Finally, the oldest hunter looked him over before the young man spoke, “I beg you to reconsider-,” he started as another young man joined his side. 

“Reconsider?” The oldest hunter and a few other men scoffed. “Do you know what happened the last time we tried what you proposed?” 

He winced, “But If we join forces with the-,”

The eldest hunter waved him off, “Don’t fool yourself, boy. Just because they have the same enemies as us doesn’t mean that you should just accept any and every gesture from them so quickly.” He turned his attention to the other young man before shaking his head disapprovingly. “Kokaf,” he spoke sharply.

The other young man tensed, “yes sir?”

“When I’d allowed you to take Erlan to the port city I expected you to do better than this. You were supposed to be the responsible one! Now look at you both! Carelessly conspiring with others who would sell you for less than a loaf of bread!”

“Sorry sir,” the other boy, Kokaf, mumbled as he lowered his eyes apologetically.

The younger man, Erlan, shook his head. “But that was in the past. Most of them aren’t like that anymore, sir-,”

The scarred man frowned. “ Listening to the Relaki and Seralix is one thing but the Adakhi have never been trustworthy. Not unless you plan on crossing them first.” 

“But they’ve also never been so desperate,” Erlan countered. “I’ve intercepted the reports. Their harvest was just if not more disastrous than ours. They won’t meet their quota, and you know what will happen.”

“What are you getting at boy?” One of the surrounding hunters hissed only to be silenced by a glare from the scarred man.

“The Adakhi you knew are no longer the ones that exist. Before they conquered nations, now, they only survive as nothing more than slaves to the devils as well. They are desperate.” An uneasy silence filled the clearing before he spoke once more, “And you never know just how far a man can go when he’s desperate.”

The scarred hunter shook his head disapprovingly as he took an uneven step. “Nor will you ever know how his desperation can make it that much easier for him to stab you in the back to save himself.”  The alcohol was faint on his breath as he spoke. “You’re so eager for vengeance that you’re forcing yourself to forget the reason why your life is like this in the first place. Don’t you remember what those devils did to your parents? What they’re going to do to you if they catch wind of this?”

The young man tensed, his eyes darting away as he quickly shook his head. “No of course not. But how can we allow ourselves to live like this?”  A low murmur passed through the crowd as the young man continued speaking, his voice bridled with unspoken anger. “We can’t just sit back and do nothing! Our lands have given all they can to us. Our forest and our animals are dying. If we keep on putting off our time to take action then what will there be left to save?”

The scarred man sighed, taking a seat in front of a small fire pit. “Think Erlan. Even if you succeed in your strike, are you prepared to do what it takes to face the rest of their army? Are you prepared for the sacrifices that will not only befall you but us as well?” When Erlan couldn’t answer, the man handed off his jug to another hunter. “We were fortunate that they were as merciful as they were when we told them that our harvest was bad.”

“Merciful? Merciful?!” Erlan sneered as the fire crackled. “How could you call them merciful for destroying both our ships and the land bridge?! For slaughtering the Seralix’s cattle?! The Seralix princess now sweeps the devils’ streets, just to make her people’s ends meet!”

The scarred man stared him down, his voice quiet as he replied, “It was merciful in the fact that no human lives were taken in the process-,”

“Yes, because it is more humane to subject people to starvation and extreme cold than swift execution! Where was that mercy when they tortured you and slaughtered the royal family, our people, and my parents, like animals?!” His voice broke as his body trembled. “Were they merciful then?!”

The entire clearing had fallen silent with none daring to answer his question.

Soon another figure slipped from the small house. “Erlan!” A young woman called, gathering her half-torn and dirtied skirts as she raced toward the group. Any onlooker could tell that she was beautiful, though she was in no better shape than any of the disgruntled hunters as she neared. “Please wait!”

The hunters stepped backward, clearing a path for her as a few even respectfully bowed their heads. “Erlan,” she pauses, glancing at the young man before shaking her head disapprovingly. “You’re a wicked boy, you know that?” she murmured in-between pants before pointing to him accusingly. “Making your poor aunt run like this after you at night of all times! Don’t you know it’s dangerous to be out here?! I swear nothing you do has been the same since that old goat ran away!”

The young man frowned as he took a step back. “That goat was our livelihood. We need to find her.”

“No, we don’t! There’s no goat on this planet worth risking your life over!” she called as Valentino huffed, clearly taking offense to her words.

“Go easy on him, Marendellis,” the scarred hunter spoke gently as he quietly tended to the fire. “Today has not been kind to any of us.”

This seemed to catch Marendellis’s attention as she turned her eyes to the hunter who tossed more sticks in the fire. “How far did you go, Geron?”

He turned around, gesturing to the darkened woods behind him. “To the very edge. All the way to the foot of the cursed mountains,” he confessed with visible unease as his eyes met hers. “But we could find nothing more than bones.”

“Just bones?” Her voice wavered barely louder than a whisper.

He nodded, the faces of the surrounding hunters only grew more desolate as he continued. “Just bones. But they’re getting bigger. Bear bones. Bones of the mountain lions and great cats. All of them were picked clean and neatly arranged at the site of the kill.”

“Were there any signs of struggle?” Marendellis asked. Her grip on her skirts tightened.

The hunter, Geron, shook his head, “Not much. Whatever happened was swift yet brutal. I don’t think the prey stood a chance.”

“It was enough to cause the devils to be worried,” Erlan whispered as he stepped forward. “They fear it.”

Kokaf nodded before quickly joining in, “I overheard one of them claim that they’d hoped to never see something like this again.”

The other hunters exchanged glances before one whispered, “Someone said they heard the commander complaining that a few of his men went into the forest a few days ago and none have been seen since. All that was found were traces of blood and broken crystals.” 

All knew of the crystals the devils carried that had awarded them the power they’d used to easily tear the world apart. To think that there was something that even the devils would fear was…unnerving. 

All eyes turned towards the edge of the forest as Marendellis began to tremble.

The air grew thick with unease as her fingers crossed the outline of a barely visible tattoo on her arm that had been hurriedly done. “Perhaps it is a sign from the gods. A curse even.”

Erlan scoffed, waving his hand dismissively as all eyes turned back to him. “Ha! If the gods really wanted to make a statement then they’d just destroy them. Better yet they’d give us the means to do so-,”

“Erlan that is enough!” Marendellis snapped, her eyes ablaze with anger as she took a threatening step towards him. “Not all of them are bad or deserve said destruction.” Erlan scoffed, but quickly quieted as she glared at him before continuing. “But all you want to do is answer a blood debt with blood that may very well cost more than your own!” He opened his mouth to protest but she sharply cut him off as she continued. “Have you ever considered the possibility of failure and the consequences that it would bring to not only you but the rest of us? And even if you did succeed this time, what then? Do you think that you and your fragile alliance will be enough to withstand any form of retaliation from them? They’ve already spared your life once. I doubt they will have enough mercy within themselves to do it again.”

“I know that,” he snapped. “But I don’t fight for blood. I fight for our freedom! Our lives! Our survival!”

She shook her head. “No. You’re so caught up in the fight for re-claiming our glory and vengeance that you forget we are surviving!”

His eyes briefly wondered the settlement before returning to hers. The bitterness was present in his voice as he laughed, “Ha, and yet we live in the runes of our greatness, barely making ends meet. Our ancestors would weep if they had seen how far we have fallen.” She flinched. His words hurt as silence fell over the clearing once more, and a few men shifted uncomfortably. The tattered remains at the edge of the village only emphasizing his point as he spoke once more. “The devils have grown arrogant, and it has seemed as if the gods, or something, are finally punishing them for it. I’ve heard the reports and whispers. They know something is out there. Something that even they know they must fear.”

“And you believe it to be real?” Merendellis questioned. 

He nods, “I do. But you are our acting elder…and you know the gods more than anyone. So if this ‘thing’ is a sign or even a curse then you know this means we must act n-”

She shook her head, reeling back as if he’d struck her. “No, no! Haven’t you forgotten how they beat you the last time you tried such a thing? You could’ve died, Erlan! How much further must you punish yourself in pointless revolt?” She cried as he winced.  “I promised your parents I’d protect you and I don’t intend on breaking that promise anytime soon! Not even for you!” She sighed, visibly deflating as she weakly shook her head. “I’m sorry Erlan,” her voice barely above a whisper as she tightly grasped his shoulders.  “I cannot- will not allow you to do this! And if you knew what was good for yourself…if you really cared about your people then you’d forget what you’ve heard!” Now it was Kokaf’s turn to wince. 

Geron quickly glanced from the fire to the surrounding hunters. The message in his eyes was received by all as the others quietly nodded, casting Erlan one last uncomfortable glance laced with pity before quickly slipping into the cover of night.

Geron was the last to leave, but the look of pity in his eyes was unmistakable. Unmistakable and unwanted. 

Soon only Erlan and his aunt remained.  Neither spoke as the sounds of the forest filled their ears. 

“Erlan-,” she began. Her voice broke the silence as she tentatively reached towards her nephew who had made no effort to move. He only hung his head as she gently cupped his cheek and sighed. “I understand your pain. I truly do. We all do. But if you wish to rebel then you must do it in another way. A better way. Don’t defeat your enemies by becoming them. Otherwise, you may lose sight of the very thing you were fighting for,” she murmured.

“Then what must I do?” He whispered.

His aunt frowned, her lips parting to speak when a cry rang out from across the camp as Kokaf bolted towards them.

“They’re here! The devils are here!” He yelled, pointing to the cloudy night sky above as a strange blue light emerged, quickly heading in the direction of the village. 

Somewhere in the distance, Asha could hear a scream as the village’s serenity quickly evaporated. A cry broke out as figures bolted into their houses. Men pointed to the sky in alarm as women hurriedly pulled and carried children to safety. Quickly, the lights in the surrounding houses went out, subjecting the small clearing to darkness.

Several of the hunters from earlier quickly re-joined Merendellis and Erlan as the lights grew closer, revealing the strange ships that they belonged to. 

Murmuring a small prayer beneath her breath, Merendellis quickly withdrew herself from her nephew’s grasp as the ships finally neared the ground.

“Merendellis,” the man on the ship barked. His accent was harsh and foreign as he leaned forward, harshly regarding the woman as she bowed.

 Asha had been surprised to see that the ones they’d called devils had looked surprisingly human. But as the other ships joined him it wasn’t hard to see why. 

Their ships appeared to be fearsome creatures carved out of stone that could fly. How they were capable of such a feat was beyond her, as the ship's eyes glowed the same eerie blue as the crystals that hung around their necks. Their dark blue clothes and sharp weapons were a sharp contrast to the rags that the people of the village wore and the dull weapons the hunters carried. 

“Kommander Kerakash,” Merendellis replied in a language far different from the one she’d been speaking earlier. “How May I have the honor of serving you tonight?”

For a moment, Asha thought she could see something flare deeply within Erlan’s eyes as he watched the man regard his aunt once more.  A smile teased on the commander's lips before he looked over the nearby village. “Your village is quiet.”

“They are resting from a hard day of labor, my lord-,”

“With nothing to show for it other than mud houses and dirt roads. Pity.” Commander Kerakash replied as Erlan tensed, a fire burning in his eyes before Geron quietly placed his hand on his shoulder. 

Finally, the commander’s eyes settled on the hunters. “Another unsuccessful hunt I see, correct, general?” 

“Yes my Lord,” Geron bowed his head as all the other hunters followed suit. All, save for Erlan as the man’s eyes drifted from his aunt’s to his own. 

Tension hung in the air as the two looked each other over for a moment, a sneer teasing at the man’s lips as his eyes narrowed.

“Don’t be a fool, son,” Geron whispered, his head bowed. “Bow.”

Erlan stood still. His posture was laced with defiance as he refused to look away.

“Erlan-,” Kokaf pleaded from beside him. But he remained unmoved. 

Soon an uncomfortable murmur passed through the crowd as the soldiers exchanged glances.

It wasn’t until Merendellis had briefly looked back at him with her eyes pleading that Erlan finally relented, angrily earning himself a grim smile from the commander.

“I am here on behalf of the royal family,” the commander finally spoke, holding out his hand as one of his men stepped forward to place a scroll within it.

“The Royal family?” Merendellis whispered her face contorting with shock and fear.

“Yes, you heard me,” he replied as he rolled his eyes. “Do try to keep up. I hate having to repeat myself so often.”

She nodded, quickly stifling her tongue as the man grinned before unrolling the scroll. “As of this moment forward your forests are hereby confiscated under order of the crown of the Atlantean Empire. Unauthorized entry is forbidden under punishment of but not exclusive to death.”

An uneasy murmur arose from the crowd as several people exchanged glances in protest. Finally, Merendellis stepped forward, her voice polite yet pleading. “But my Lord, those forests are sacred to us! A gift from the gods themselves!”

“Yes and what a wonderful gift it is! It can barely feed any of you.” He sighed before placing the scroll down. “Just explain to your little friends that none of you are allowed to go in it anymore.”

“But if it’s so pointless then why confíscate it?” Erlan called as the group tensed. “Unless your royal family has made a mistake-,”

“Watch your tongue, boy” the commander hissed, his eyes narrowing as the soldiers behind him tightened their grip on their weapons. “Your lands are being confiscated out of mercy…a kindness if you will.” He waved his hand dismissively. “For the time being I suppose you could say that Your lands are…sick. So we will make them better.”

“Will you give them back?” Erlan asked.

“Not if you’ve learned how to live without it,” the commander replies with a pleasant smile as the crowd’s murmurs grow louder and louder. 

“But how are we supposed to feed ourselves without it?” Erlan protested.

He shrugged, a small smile teasing at his lips “The same way you've been sustaining yourself until now I suppose. Or at least…attempting to. It shouldn’t be that hard for you to figure out.”

Merendellis stepped forward, still pleading, “Please my Lord! Surely we could arrange something to-,”

“No,” Kerakash waved dismissively. “We’re already helping you out enough as is. We’ve fixed your primitive village and now we are fixing your forests. What more could you want?”

“Your head,” Erlan quietly muttered under his breath as a few shot him stern glares. “If that isn’t too much to ask.”

“Like I said before, just tell the rest about this,” the man sighed before half-heartedly tossing the scroll in Merendellis’s direction. It landed short of her as the ships began to glow once more, this time levitating off the ground. “Come midnight it would be best if we do not come across any of your faces in that forest. Am I understood?”

“Yes my lord,” all called in unison as they bowed. The commander scoffed, not replying as the ships quickly took off, leaving no trace of their presence as they vanished into the cloudy night sky.

No sooner had they vanished than the lights in the houses began to return. Quietly the people re-emerged, slowly drawing closer to the crowd of hunters and Merendellis. 

“Are they gone?” a child whispered, anxiously peering behind his mother’s skirts as they stepped out of the house. 

“Merendellis?” Someone in the crowd whispered. “Where is Merendellis?”

“What’s going on?”

“What did they want?”

She was silent as she reached forward, picking up the now dirtied scroll with trembling hands. “Merendellis-,” Geron called as he’d placed a hand on her shoulder. Her head lowered as a small sob escaped her.

“Auntie?” Erlan whispered as her sobs grew. She’d said nothing, quickly wiping her eyes before disappearing into her house as the crowd stood there uneasily. 

“Return to your houses,” Geron commanded. “Tomorrow she will speak to you on the news that the devils have brought but for now. It is best that you all give her some time.”

Hesitantly the crowd nodded, quickly dispersing as it left Erlan alone with Kokaf and Geron.

Erlan was the first to break the silence, “we’re not going to let them get away with this are we?”

Geron shook his head. His fingers lingered over his eyepatch. “I don’t know, son. I don’t know. If I knew a way to stop them then I would tell you! Both of you! But right now-,” he shook his head with a heavy sigh. “It’s best to stay out of trouble. Come tomorrow we will head for the city.”

“The city?” Erlan repeated as he and Kokaf exchanged surprised glances. “Why is that?”

“There’s a decent man with devil’s blood there,” he started. His eyes rested on the nearest fire pit. “He is named Kedakh, and he owns ‘The Olde Heart Shard’.”

“The Olde Heart Shard?” Kokaf repeated. “Isn’t that an inn?”

“Yes. It is,” Geron groaned as he took a seat by the fire pit. Its flames were too small to offer a man of his size any meaningful warmth.  “And from what I hear, he’s seeking to employ people.”

“So you’re just going to give up and move on like that?!” Erlan protested. “Those forests are our culture-,”

“But now they are no longer ours,” Geron argued back. “We no longer own anything, not since the day our kingdom fell, or your father died. They just like everything else will be something we must learn to do without.”

“But-,”

“They’re not worth it Erlan!” Geron yelled as he stood to his feet. His voice tore through the clearing as he now towered over Erlan. His body shook as he continued, “None of it matters if we have to lose more people for it! Haven’t you seen how much we have lost already?! Why do you want us to haphazardly risk it all just to lose more?! Your parents wouldn’t do it so why should you?!”

Erlan took a step back, the fire in his eyes vanishing as his expression wavered. “I…I don’t..”

“I’m sorry-,” Geron started before stopping himself. Regret filled his features as he stood there for a moment looking between the fire and the pair of young men before sighing. His face was shrouded in darkness as he murmured. “I’ll see you both in the morning. Stay safe.” Then he was gone. 

In the distance, the lights within the house flickered before dimming and soon the entire village was dark. All had retreated to the safety of their beds, all save for two.

“Are you okay?” Kokaf asked as the pair lingered around the firepit. 

Erlan nodded, the lie hanging heavily between the two as they stood there. Their eyes rested on the forest they had once been proud to call their own. 

“Do you think the monster is real?” Erlan asked quietly.

Kokaf shrugged, “I doubt it. They probably found some treasure or something in there that they don’t want us getting to first.”

“Really? But we heard-,”

“It was probably a lie,” Kokaf interjected. “Look at the devils! They fly and can shoot lightning from their eyes! Do you really think one puny forest monster is going to intimidate them?”

“No,” Erlan confessed. But he had hoped it would. Just to remind the devils of what it had felt like to be human, to be vulnerable. But all hope had died as he felt Kokaf comfortingly pat his back.

“It’ll be ok,” Kokaf started. “I mean, after all, the city’s not so bad, right? If we have to spend more time there, then we might be able to gather more intel! Won’t that be nice?”

“It will,” Erlan nodded, before gesturing to the forest. “But I think you’re just saying that because now you’ll have an excuse to be closer to…what was her name again?”

“Sakari?” Kokaf answered before slapping his hand over his mouth. 

“Yeah,” Erlan smirked. “Her. I bet you’re so happy that you’ll get to see her more often, aren’t you?”

Kokaf’s face reddened as he quickly shook his head, “N-no! That’s not true!”

“C’mon, we all see the way you look at her every time you two come across each other-”

“She’s a princess,” Kokaf frowned before shaking his head, “…ANYWAYS, anyone would be amazed to see her!”

“Well if by anyone you mean you, then sure.” Kokaf scoffed, reaching down to grab a handful of dry clay before tossing it in Erlan’s direction. Erlan laughed, ducking before he’d taken cover as Kokaf chased him about the clearing.

It’d taken them a while to settle down back near the firepit as the two ate the remaining scraps of their meal in silence, reverently listening to the sounds of the surrounding forest as they thought about their day. 

Erlan was the first to speak, as he confessed, “I’m going to miss this place.”

Kokaf’s nose wrinkled as he frowned. “Really?”

“Yeah, it was nice. Like on the night of our first hunt. You remember that don’t you?”

He grinned, “How couldn’t I? You were crying through most of it! You should’ve seen your face!”

Erlan bristled, angrily crossing his arms. “Easy for you to say. You weren’t the first one who got marked by the meteor blade that night-,”

Kokaf cackled, “Going in the wrong direction too! But in your aunt’s defense, it’s the job of the village elder to ensure that those marks are distinctly unique, so nobody can say she didn’t do her job!”

“Yeah right,” Erlan replied as he rolled his eyes, “I crawled so you could run and almost faceplant into a thorn thicket that night,”  A grin came to his face as he watched his companion’s expression change from amusement to embarrassment. “You were never able to get through that part of the forest without falling.”

“It’s not my fault the rocks are strangely shaped around there! It’s hard to grip!”

“Sure,” Erlan rolled his eyes before he paused. “But it’s not quite midnight yet, right?”

Kokaf shook his head, “No…It’ll be midnight in an hour I think…wait are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

Erlan eagerly nodded. A hunt was just the distraction they’d need given all that had transpired recently. “I am! Wanna do a final hunt?”

Kokaf shrugged, “I don’t know…Geron did tell us to stay out of trouble-,”

“And we will! If we’re quick enough we’ll be back before anyone notices that it’s midnight!”

Now it was Kokaf’s turn to grin. “Alright! Just let me get my-,” his voice trailed off, as he looked down. His hands quickly searched his sides. “What? Where is it?! I could’ve sworn it was at my side earlier!”

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

“It’s my hunting knife…” Kokaf frantically called, as he’d searched once more. “I…I must’ve misplaced it!”

“You lost it that quickly?” Erlan exclaimed. “After it took you forever to make that handle too!” 

“I know,” He groaned, turning back to Erlan.

“Well you can borrow mine if you’d like,” Erlan offered as he pulled out his blade. “I doubt we’ll be needing it anyway. The forest is practically empty now.”

Kokaf frowned, shaking his head, “Eh thanks but no thanks. You know how your aunt feels about us hunters sharing blades. She gets angry-,”

“Not as angry as she’ll be at you for losing yours in the first place,” Erlan countered.

“I didn’t lose it,” Kokaf scoffed. “In fact, I’m pretty sure I might’ve left it in my house…I’ll be back!” he called as he began taking down the path towards the darkened huts. “If you see something don’t wait up!”

Erlan nodded, quietly seating himself around the small fire pit. 

Maybe he’d wait for Kokaf. Maybe.

But as the minutes grew longer, his mind began to drift, replaying all that had transpired from earlier. 

Now his eyes were glued to the starry heavens above as he spoke, his voice quiet yet pleading.  “You see what they’re capable of? They tear our flesh and break our spirit with the powers the gods have given them. The power the gods deny us. If I cannot become worse, then what must I do? What must I become?” He whispered to the distant stars. “ I only wish I knew the answer…” He’d nearly reached for another stick when he came to an abrupt halt. 

The hair on his neck slowly raised as he felt the ice slowly travel through his veins. 

He knew that feeling.

Slowly he turned, glancing towards the edge of the forest when he saw it. Something moved within the depths of the darkness as it retreated deeper into the forest. Something large. 

Kokaf had said not to wait up, hadn’t he?

He grabbed his hunting weapons, moving towards the forest cautiously at first but with each step, he seemed to gain more confidence as Asha realized that he was headed straight towards her. 

She took a step back, not quite sure what she could do or say to calm the near-sprinting man who was carrying weapons. From his conversation alone, it sounded as if his nation was on the brink of collapse, a fact that she was certain wouldn’t help her case if he discovered their trespassing.

“Please sir, I can’t explain but-” she started as she felt the man bolt straight through her and into the forest with such speed that she could barely speak.

“I was trying to tell you earlier that it was an illusion,” the star clarified as he drew near. “A mental visualization of sorts that I thought you might appreciate to make the story a bit more lively.”

She looked around the clearing in disbelief. Her hands reached for sticks and stones that her fingers uneasily passed through. “Wait so we didn’t go back in time? This is all in my head?!”

“Well yes and no,” he started. “I had a feeling that you wouldn’t appreciate me messing with the space-time continuum. Plus…Last time I did that I got…an earful to say the least…”

“From your alpha star?” She asked as his expression soured but he nodded. “Do you like your alpha star?”

“I like my alpha star as much as you like your king.” Alright so she’d take that as a no then. “but-,” his expression wavered as his eyes met hers. Maybe she’d been imagining things, but for a moment she’d thought the blues of his eyes had matched the crystals she’d seen the soldiers wearing. “Do you like it?” He asked, breaking her line of thought. 

“It’s…it’s unorthodox, I’ll give it that,” she confessed as the star beamed before they both turned their attention back to the forest.

____________________________________

Quietly he hid in the bushes waiting for the ship above to pass before disappearing into the cloudy sky once more. 

Once alone, he shrugs his bow over his shoulder as his hand reaches towards his quiver. He’d been at this for at least ten minutes, a time that would’ve been greatly reduced had he not had to avoid the devil’s nightly patrol guard.

They’d been serious about this confiscation which could only mean that they’d be equally serious about the punishment that would come with it as well. 

Shoving those thoughts from his mind he began once more, moving and running through the darkened forest with an agility that only a hunter could possess. 

The trees around him had only grown more twisted, with several even sporting deep gashes.

His eyes lingered towards the ground beneath his feet taking in the sight of several bones that were neatly piled. Human bones.

Something about the way the pile of bones sat there perfectly unnerved him. It was one thing to come across a dead animal in nature of course as most things existed to either eat or be eaten. But it was another thing to see something so meticulously stack the bones as well. No animal that he’d seen prowling this forest on previous hunts would be capable of such a thing. Nor would they have been capable of being responsible for the dull shards of blue crystals that had encircled the bones.

His thoughts only seemed to worsen as he took in the sight of something pressed into the dirt. 

A claw print, or at least, something that resembled one. It was hard to tell from here. He'd need to go higher for a better view.

After waiting for the patrol ships to pass by once more he reached forward grabbing the tree branches of the nearest and safest-looking tree before climbing.

He’d nearly had to reach the top of the tree before he’d managed to make out the entire shape of the claw print, which had enveloped the entire clearing that he’d been standing in moments before. 

Its shape was twisted, far different than anything he’d seen before as remorse began to fill him. 

He shouldn’t have come out here, alone with nothing more than his bow and arrows to defend himself.

Out of all the times for his aunt and Geron to be right- why did it have to be now? he groaned, looking past the top of several surrounding trees to the near-cursed mountains, barren of any sort of greenery. 

His aunt had told him that before the devils had conquered them, those mountains had been shrouded in mystery. Many had gone so far as to whisper that they were cursed by the gods who had given the forest to them. 

But behind the curse was a legend of a treasure lost in these mountains that didn’t want to be found. Those who ventured for it often were never seen or heard from again.

Of course, he’d known better than to stray near those mountains. They’d always frightened him as a boy. The dark cave entrances, and the enormous thorny thickets that grew alongside the mountain walls were daunting. He’d have never dreamed of venturing into it until he spotted something.

Something that he was quite certain the myths and legends had missed.

“You there!” A voice yelled, as a blue light from above nearly blinded him. “What are you doing trespassing in the forest?!”

He’d nearly lost his grip before carefully slipping off the branch. Moving instinctually, he’d made his way down. His foot had only touched the ground when he’d heard more ships gather from overhead.

Panic rose within him as he bolted off into the direction he’d been looking at, not stopping until he reached the edge of the mountain where the scene lay before him.

 In the middle of the near desolate valley was a crater.

The wind howled around him as he took in the sight of the crater surrounded by the barren mountains and its lands. 

He’d heard stories of objects, and beings coming from the skies. It had after all been the reason why the devils who had conquered his people were so powerful. But he’d never heard stories of anything descending upon the foot of the cursed mountains…

He’d nearly been half tempted to turn around and accept whatever punishment the devils had for him and he may very well have gone through with it, had it not been for the sound of a familiar bleat.

“Sufesha?” He whispered as he heard the goat bleating again. He hesitated. But the growing sounds of yelling followed by the ship's lights reappearing were more than enough to encourage him to push forward. 

He’d scrambled out of the way, narrowly missing a blue beam that had emerged from one of the ships, eviscerating the ground beneath him as he faltered. Forcing himself upwards he climbed the mountainside as quickly as he could.

Soon he found himself standing on a peculiar side of the mountain, away from the reach of the moon as he stared over the ledge he stood on towards the ground. 

At its bottom, he could see a pit placed near the entrance of another cave. 

It was hard to see at first through the pile of bones that littered the cave’s entrance but then he caught sight of his goat, alive. He could barely believe it as he made out her figure standing as far away as she could from the cave entrance.

Had he been lured into a trap? It wasn’t possible to reside in the forest with a creature that large without running into it. But anything would be better than dying by the devil’s hands, he thought as he heard the voice overhead yell, “HALT!”

Halting wasn’t an option. For so long he’d let the devils dominate and control his life. Doing so with his death was not an option.

“Sufesha!” he whispers, mere seconds before he leaps from the edge with no hesitation, maneuvering his way down into the middle of the pit. “Sufesha-,” he whispers, gently goading the animal towards him.

The poor goat practically trembles, taking one uneasy step after the other before it collapses into his arms. “Easy girl, easy. You’re safe now….,” he whispers, as he looks the goat over. The goat is trembling, but unharmed. “How did you get down here anyway?”

As expected, the goat does not answer as he lifts her into his arms. He stumbles as he places her on his shoulders but after a moment or so manages to right himself.

He could feel the day’s work taking a toll on him as exhaustion set in at the mere sight of the mountain wall he’d have to climb over. But he was grateful. Not only had he managed to avoid whatever lurked within the shadows of the forest but he’d even found his goat. 

Maybe he had been too harsh on the gods earlier…

He’d nearly begun to climb when he came to a halt. His ears caught the small sounds coming from the cave entrance behind him. 

“Hmm?” he pauses, looking over his shoulder towards the cave’s entrance. 

He draws in one breath, then two. The darkness is all that greets him from the cave as he continues to stare. But he knows it is there staring back at him. 

He was so focused on the cave behind him that he failed to notice the blue lights from above land on him. While shielding his eyes, he can barely make out the brief outline of seven ships, one carrying commander Kerakash who looks all too pleased to see him.

The ships quickly descend, cutting off any way of escape as the soldiers quickly confront him. 

Their curved spears aimed at him from every angle as their commander takes a step forward, stopping a foot in front of Erlan as he grins. “Well, well, well, Erlan was it? Your Seosamus’s son. Yes…I remember your father. I faced him a few times in battle.” His eyes were thoughtful as he placed his arms behind his back.  “Yes, He was a great general, a formidable opponent even. As was your mother, a powerful politician in her own right. They were good at what they did… too good.”

Erlan took an uneasy step back, trying to ignore how the ice in his veins had started to spread. “It’s not midnight,” he spoke lowly. His grip on Shufesha weakened as he slid her to the ground. “I haven’t broken any rules-.”

“On the contrary you already have. Pity you couldn’t have done it more discreetly. You may very well have gotten away with it too.” He sighed, running his hand through his hair as he began to encircle Erlan. “If only we hadn’t heard it through the grapevine first that someone was foolish enough to defy the order.” 

“Grapevine?’ Erlan spat. “What are you talking about?”

He tsked, shaking his head as he shot him a look of pity. “Poor boy. You think you’re so much like your parents, who had the ability to inspire and uplift the people around them that you haven't the slightest clue to who even betrayed you, do you?”

Betrayed? Someone had betrayed him? But…who?!

Kerakash stopped, his eyes narrowed as his grin re-emerged in full force. “I thought so. But I’ll be honest, I was surprised at first as well. Until I realized it myself. You see, back in the day, your people were known for a lot of primitive things, but loyalty-,” he leaned towards Erlan. “-was never one of them.”

“You’re lying!”

“Am I? Well fortunately for you. I am not without a heart. So I will spare you the fate of having to wander the rest of your afterlife trying to figure it out.” He began to move once more, his blue eyes never leaving Erlan’s as he asked, “Have you heard of a man who calls himself… Geron?”

Erlan shook his head, trying to ignore how his voice wavered as he shouted “No…he would never!”

Kerakash laughed, “Oh but he did, and who could blame him? There’s a fine line between those who are destined for greatness and those who are not. Don’t believe me?” he reached into his robes, quickly pulling out the familiar sight of a hunting knife. “Tell me, boy. Does this look familiar?”

“How…how did you-,”

“Obtain it?” he yawned, looking bored. “Let’s just say that information isn't the only thing Geron prides himself in giving me.”

“You’re lying!”

“To a dead man? Ha! Not even I would stoop to that level. Do you understand?”

Horror dawned on Erlan as he helplessly watched the general encircle him once more. 

“I thought as much…You’re Merendellis’s next of kin, correct? Hmm I remember you. You were always asking foolish questions. Don’t you tire of the constant humiliation? I know your father did. But it was a lesson he’d learned far too late.”

Commander Kerakash chuckled, merely lowering his hand with the knife as he stated, “but that’s why you persist, isn’t it? Running around spreading futile messages with the others in hopes of gathering pointless intel for your little rebellions that never seems to get off the ground. It’s a shame, isn’t it? You’re not half the challenge that your parents were.”

Erlan says nothing, taking another step back away from the man’s grasp as he tries to ignore how his own hunting knife calls to him, begging to cut the flesh of the man who’d revel in his parents’ downfall. 

His heart stopped as he saw the man’s grin twist into something far wider before he leaned towards him. “It’s a shame your intel couldn’t have kept you out of here tonight. But I'm curious, boy. Just how far do you think she’ll go to save your life? Her life for yours…Tell me…how do you think she’d react if she knew that you’d been cut into a thousand pieces with a blade from your own? How does that sound?”

“Stay…stay away from her!-,” he screamed, lunging towards the man. The man easily sidestepped him before his hand forcefully collided with Erlan’s face, sending him towards the rocky floor. 

His head roughly collided with the bones. 

Pain enveloped his vision as he heard Sufesha bleat in protest as a soldier reached for her. The goat bleated, running as the soldier chased after her while the commander laughed. His foot landed on the side of Erlan’s face as he snapped. “Ignorant fool! You really thought you were capable of starting an uprising? Look around you! You are nothing more than the debris you survive off!”

Erlan coughed, weakly yanking the foot away before he hauled himself upwards. This time he withdrew his hunting knife. His blade moved in an arc-like motion, missing Kerakash’s eyes by mere centimeters before it nicked his cheek. 

The other soldiers were on him in seconds, tackling him to the ground, as his blade slipped from his hand.

In the distance, he could see the stunned commander brush his cheek. Red coated his fingers as his face sneered in anger and disgust. 

Satisfaction filled Erlan as a pair of soldiers roughly hauled him up, with another poised to aim the tip of their spear at his throat. 

Cautiously a woman stepped forward, holding her crystal over the commander’s cheek, to allow the crystal’s light to coat his injury before pressing her hand to it. Soon the light’s imprint was gone and with it, any sign of the commander’s injury. Erlan’s eyes widened in amazement. He’d known the crystals had given them incredible power, but the power to heal like that was impossible.

As if sensing Erlan’s surprise the commander roughly tore himself from the surprised healer’s grasp before swearing at her, “Fool! Now look what you’ve done! You’ve exposed us!” 

“A-apologies my lord,” the woman stammers, taking a step back as she bows.

“Enough excuses!” he yells before turning back to the soldiers who were holding Erlan. “What are you waiting for? Whatever he’s seen dies here with him tonight!”

The blade pressed tightly at his throat as his eyes slipped to the moon overhead. Its waxy figure quickly slipped behind a cloud, leaving him to the mercy of the darkness when it happened.

Something out of the cave lunges forward. 

Soon the screams of the devils fill his ears as he feels their hold on him disappear. 

“Asteriun!” one yells as a terrible scream cuts through the air. A beam of bright energy tears through the air, colliding with several of the ships as they explode in a brilliant ball of fire. “Ave Primorus Asteriun!”

“Dera lunes-,” 

“Back to the ship!” the commander screams at the rush of passing footsteps. “Back to the-,” his words trail off as he hears the woman scream followed by another ship exploding.  

“Mercy!” someone wails. “Merc-,” 

 Their words are lost to him over the sounds of metal clanking, followed by screams and shouts that are abruptly cut short. Through the darkness he reaches forward, grabbing the handle of his hunting knife as his eyes search for the goat.

He can hear it now.

The sound of something large moving past him as he stumbles to his feet, and grabs Sufesha, slinging her onto his back. 

Around him, he can make out the outline of the glowing crystals as the figures stumble towards their last ship. They’re nearly in when they stop. Their eyes were wide with fear before their figures fell over, twisting and contorting in pain as their crystals shattered.

Horror fills him as he nears the cave walls. He’s nearly there when he feels it, something wet and heavy underneath his foot.

 He pauses, struggling to see until the moon returns, offering him a sight he’d wished he’d never seen.

Underneath his foot was the commander, or what was left of him. His lifeless eyes were wide as in his hand lies the blade he’d taunted him with.

Fighting down the bile that threatens to escape his throat he takes the blade from the commander’s hand. 

He leaps up the wall as far as he can. His fingers painfully clutch the knives’ handles as he digs their blades into the rock wall. 

His heart roars in his ears as he claws his way up the mountainside, trying to ignore how the mountain beneath his body trembles as a terrible scream from behind rips through the air. 

It’s nearly a miracle that he reaches the top of the cliff, wasting no time nor energy before he takes off, stumbling towards the path he’d taken around the thorny thicket.

The creature follows. Its every step shakes the ground beneath his feet as he nears the path he’s about to take when he feels the ground beneath him begin to shake once more. The thickets tremble. Their branches grow and merge together in the way of the path as he grinds to a halt only centimeters away from his formerly clear path of escape.

There’s no time to look for another, nor is there even a chance that he’d find it. 

He only has a second to make his choice when he adjusts his grip on the goat. “Brace yourself!” He grunts, tossing the goat with all his strength over the thorny thickets.

He’s not sure which one is more miraculous: the fact that the goat makes it over to the other side unscathed or the fact that she manages to land on her hooves while doing so.  

“Run home!” He screams to her.

The goat doesn’t need to be told twice as it disappears down the pathway, just as he begins to force his body underneath the branches of the thorny thickets. 

It isn’t the first time his skin has been cut and abashed by thorns, but at the sound of the creature that follows, he gladly welcomes the pain of the thorns over the alternative. 

The creature roars. Its footsteps come to a sharp halt as he hears it prowl the edge of the thorny thickets. 

He stills. 

If it had made the thorns move then there was a good chance that it could make them part if it wished to find him.

The seconds slip by, feeling like an eternity before he hears its footsteps grow distant. 

He knows it’s too soon to consider himself fortunate. But he’d be a fool to pass up any opportunity to escape. 

Laying his body low to the ground once more, he begins to maneuver towards the other side carefully. He was nearly there when he noticed the sudden silence that had now enveloped him and the forest. 

It was here, it was- SNAP. A scream tore itself from his lips as the thickets above his head were torn away. 

He pitifully shields his eyes as he feels the thorns rain down from overhead.

The ground beneath him shakes once as he catches sight of the creature looming above, enshrouded in a dark cloud of sorts. 

All he can see are its claws. No, not claws. Talons. They strike out towards him, as he feels something pierce his side, abruptly yanking his body upwards. 

His head snaps back as the world begins to spin. 

Somewhere amidst all the chaos he thinks he can feel his own hunting knife slip from his grasp as he helplessly watches it disappear from view. 

The last thing he hears before the darkness takes him is the sound of the creature screaming.

#wish au #wish remake/rewrite #disney fanfic #kingdom of the stars

[twisted-wonderland-shenanigans]

YOU RESPONDED!!!!‼️!!!!‼️ yourespondedyourespondedyourespondedyourespondedyourespondedyouresponded!!!!!

Thank you so much for responding! And as the official new -🍄 anon, I wanted to share another tidbit of thought that has been itching my brain for the kaiju au.😄

So! We already know that, like in the monster au, humans are very good at mimicking sounds and some can even use false vocal cords, change range, inflection, etc. at will! Now, given this information, I was thinking about how Yuu could use this to be an Absolute Menace!😂 Could you imagine, once Yuu figures out some sounds that the others freak out once they hear i.e. distressed sounds, the call for danger approaching, sound of a hatchling whining/crying, etc. and I am LIVING for the mental image of Crowley constantly running around like a chicken without a head becAUSE HIS FREAKING CHILD WON’T STOP TELLING HIM THAT THEY’RE DYING FROM A FRUIT STUCK IN THEIR LEG!!!!!! Idk, I’m also kinda imagining that even though Yuu is good at mimicking most of the sounds, they still don’t know how to string them together correctly to make a sentence that makes sense. Thus, a lot of very weird warning calls take place!😂 Do with this thought what you will! I have been laughing heartily at the scenarios I keep imagining!😂

Drink water, and stay healthy please!! P.S. you are my most checked blog.🥰💙

-🍄

This has got to be the most enthusiastic response I’ve gotten to a response I made! 😂 I’m glad I made your day as much as you made mine, 🍄 anon! :D And aww, most checked blog? I’m honored! QvQ

Oooh, yes yes yes! I absolutely adore mimicking menace Yuu!

The first week or so that Yuu would be spending living with these kaiju, you can bet that they’d be trying to teach Yuu how to communicate with them. In fact, that’s literally what Crowley was trying to do on the first day after unceremoniously adopting the tiny hooman!

Oh how chaotic it will get once Yuu overhears one of the other kaiju (*cough*Leona*cough*) grumble what essentially translates to “fuck you Crowley” and repeats the sounds to Nevermore. Poor Yuu has never seen any creature alive react so dramatically as though someone fired an arrow point blank into his heart after their attempt, let alone how Pridefang seemed to be laughing up a storm shortly afterwards! Imagine how confused Yuu was as they tried to figure out what they’d said…though it apparently wasn’t good if the look Crewelfang was giving them was any indication, let alone how pitifully Nevermore was squawking.

Here's a perfect rendition of how this happened and a slight spoiler behind our favorite lil’ monster~!

“Talking”—Kaiju

[“Talking”]—Yuu

//

Crowley: “My child hates me!”

Crewel: “Calm down. They were only copying what they heard and didn’t even know what they were saying.”

Crowley: “After all the care and attention I gave them…I did everything right, and still they hate me!”

Crewel: “They’re human, Crowley—they understand us no better than we understand the squeaks and chitters they make.”

Crowley: “Ooh, the tragedy!”

Crewel: “Are you even listening to me?!”

Yuu: [“What the heck are they saying?”]

Grim: “Trust me, you’re better off not hearing this drama. It’s embarrassing!”

Yuu: [“Then again, it’s not like they even understand what I’m saying either, right?”]

Grim: “What am I, chopped liver?!”

Yuu: [“…if I didn’t know any better, I’d think you could understand me.”]

Grim: “What was your first clue? I’ve been talkin’ to ya the whole time, yer just not hearin’ what I’m sayin’!”

Crewel and Crowley: *stares*

Grim: “…what?”

Crewel: “…have you been able to understand what they’ve been saying this whole time?”

Grim: “Duh! Of course I have! Can’t you?”

Everyone else: “EH?!?”

//

And thus, Grimfang became Yuu’s impromptu tutor on “Kaiju Language 101”! It was slow going as it took Yuu a bit to realize that he was trying to get them to copy him, but eventually they were able to mimic the sounds he made. It started off mostly basic given he wasn’t taking this as seriously…at first. But he eventually realized that this meant he was the “teacher” and—of course—got a little mischievous with some of the phrases he was teaching the newest member of the pack.

//

Crewel: “How is the teaching coming along?”

Grim: “Great! Why don’t you show him, lil’ hench-human?”

Yuu: *pausing for a moment before yowling* “HALP!! Keep safe! Fruit mean!” [“…okay, I think…I said ‘let me go, I need to find home’…right?”]

Grim: “See? Aren’t I a genius?”

Crewel: “…I’m going to have to monitor these lessons of yours from now on.”

//

Now of course, you’d think that with Crewel guiding the lessons that things would go more smoothly…right? Well, it would be, but when the first year/youngest kaiju start coming into the picture, Yuu starts getting mixed messages in trying to mimic the new sounds they’re hearing. Yuu has their work cut out for them just trying to survive, now they’re having to try and keep the monsters happy by copying what they’re saying?!

And then, of course, we also wind up with misunderstandings on the other end as well. What’s a human to do when they’re tiny and their voice is small compared to the earth-rumbling growls and chirps of the kaiju? Why, scream, of course! Even if we wind up sounding like a broken squeaky toy, what better way to get the point across?

//

Yuu: *thinks the kaiju can’t hear them properly and is trying to ask for help getting somewhere* “Help! Help! Help!”

Jack: “Why is the tiny human screaming? There’s no danger around here.”

Leona: “Someone get this little tick away from me. I’m tryin’ to sleep.”

Yuu: *looking frustrated* “Help help help! Big meanie jerk! Leave nest!” *thinking they’re asking Leona to go back to the nest and not realizing that they called Leona by Grim’s nickname for him and just told him to leave his territory*

Jack: “!!! Yuu, no!”

Leona: “Why you lil’-!"

Ruggie: *wheezing laughter* “Okay, I think someone’s a lil’ cranky. Come’er, kitten.”

Yuu: *climbs on top of Ruggie’s snout and yips again* “Nest! Home! Help home nest!”

Ruggie: “Hm…? Oh. Oh! You’re asking to go back to the nest where Crowley and Crewel are, aren’t you?”

Yuu: “Nest home! Leave for nest!”

Ruggie: “Ah, now I see! Shishishishi~! You need to work on your pronunciation there, squirt. You might just make the wrong lion grumpy!”

Leona: “Tell the teach to give the lil’ runt better lessons before someone squishes them. I’m goin’ back to sleep…”

//

These are just some of the silly things that came to mind, though I’d honestly be tickled pink to hear more silly shenanigans like this that come to mind from you guys! XDD And don’t worry, I’ll be drinking plenty of water and making sure I stay healthy, so please do the same, 🍄 anon! UvU Looking forward to seeing more from you and everyone else that wants to share silly ideas or scenarios!

#twisted wonderland #twst #twisted wonderland kaiju au #twst kaiju au #🍄 anon #the mysteries grow deeper with each update

[halfagone]

Got it, thank you! What’s been on my mind lately is the whole Danny x Kara thing (honestly surprised it got as many votes as it did tbh). I’d love to see someone expand on this idea in the future with its own story or something along those lines, as I got the inspiration for the idea from seeing you doing Danny x Cass in your Lex Luthor story. So I suppose my full prompt would be a story where Kara actually meets Ellie first, as I think those two could have a lot in common with being in the shadow of another hero from their family. Maybe Kara can even act like an older sister to Ellie. Then, it eventually leads to Kara meeting Danny though Ellie, whether it be due to Ellie destabilizing and calling Danny for help or even having Ellie play matchmaker and purposely introduce the two, the romance starting from there. I think it would be fun to see!

Ooh, yes~! What fun! I've been watching different animated versions/renditions of Kara in preparation for an upcoming scene... That shall be the most I share on that subject. Hehehe~

(Now, this isn't super refined or edited, or put into my regular prose, but I hope you like it anyways.)

I can imagine many possibilities for how Ellie and Kara could meet up or run into each other. I've always imagined that Kara takes care of more intergalactic threats, but Earth is still her new home, and she doesn't want to be away from it for long if she can help it. Not to mention she does have a civilian life she has to keep up.

So much like her cousin, Kara takes care to settle and assist in domestic issues, like wrangling forest fires or assisting natural disaster relief efforts, maybe even taking care of the occasional megalomaniac, as any good Super does. She's fairly popular, and the public might always be happy to see a fresh face, but it's hard to push out the occasional remark from the crowd that she can't help but overhear about how they prefer Clark or one of the Superboys. If there's anything Kara has to say about Earth it's that she's not fond of the misogyny. But she doesn't let that deter her, although sometimes she finds she just needs to stretch her legs and take a flight around the planet before she ends up punching some creep who's gawking at her legs a little too much to be brushed off as a mistake.

And it's here that she starts running into a younger girl with bright white hair and illuminating green eyes. Kara is of course startled when she first spots her, it's always a surprise to see someone outside of the hero community flying around, for business or pleasure. Kara tries to approach, cautious as always, but the girl seems to startle at that too. So Kara tries to back off a little, and just waves at her in a friendly manner. The girl waves back, shy and unsure, and she quickly zips away again. Kara doesn't chase after her, but she does mentally log the instance. The girl didn't act hostile in any way, and while Kara doesn't know who she is, she also doesn't know every hero or meta in the world. She resolves to keep the instance in mind for the future, but she mostly brushes it off in the meantime.

But their run-ins keep happening, either as Kara is rushing to another rescue or even taking a lovely little flight as the sun sets. They never actually introduce themselves, but she finds that their waves of greeting become warmer and warmer over time, with the white-haired girl often eagerly waving at her first. Kara is always happy to wave back, a smile on her face. She finds her run-ins with the strange girl to be some of her favorite parts of any flight, and she occasionally gets disappointed when they don't bump into each other.

One day Kara is sitting on a seastack out in some archipelago she unfortunately doesn't remember the name of, and the other girl hesitantly approaches her, face burrow slightly in the collar of the hoodie thrown over a hazmat suit design. The girl introduces herself as Ellie, and Kara returns the greeting with her own name. (She knows better than to give her civilian name, even though that name has far less meaning to her than her birth name.)

They talk. A lot. Often times about absolutely nothing and sometimes about quintessential 'girl' stuff as some of the girls in her class would call it. Kara doesn't really get it entirely, but she has to admit there are just some experiences that she would never share with clark even if she'd blabber all about it to the wonderful Ma Kent. Whenever they bump into each other now, they always make sure to stop and chat. Unless Kara is rushing off to an emergency, of course.

At some point, Ellie tells Kara about her brother. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that they have a complicated relationship. But the most that Kara can carefully needle out of Ellie is that there's a few years age gap between them that usually wouldn't be a problem for most families, but Ellie's family definitely isn't like most families. She speaks highly of her brother, even if it's in that begruding, whiny way that she'll hear Tim or Damian complain about their siblings to Kal's kids.

They're close, but their living situations mean they don't get to see each other face to face very often, and they find themselves communicating primarily over the phone. Kara figures it's not ideal, but there are plenty children from divorced parents that often have the same struggles. Kara only ever hears about a father figure, a pretty damn bad one too, and she doesn't really feel like she has the right to ask about the mother.

She learns that Ellie has many powers, although she gets to see very few of them in action. (The question of why Ellie has no heartbeat is always on Kara's tongue, but she refrains from asking every time.) Ellie isn't really interested in being a hero, and Kara always tells her that she's not wrong for not wanting that. Being a hero is a lot of work and responsibility, no one should have to carry that weight on their shoulders if they don't want to.

Ellie always looks at Kara with stars in her eyes, and Kara tries not to preen with pride. Ellie's compliments have always felt different, more personal, than any accolades she receives from the adoring public.

Eventually, Kara has to inform Ellie that she has an upcoming mission in space, so they won't be able to meet up for a while. When Ellie learns of this, she instantly blabbers about her brother's love for space and astronomy and "You two should totally meet! He'd love to hear you talk anything about space!"

Somehow Kara gets roped into doing just that. She doesn't know what compels her to agree to a meeting with Ellie's brother, Danny. But there's no going back now, and she wonders if she should feel more self-conscious about what this means for her relationship with Ellie. But then Ellie shows up at their meeting spot, brother in tow, and everything settles.

Kara wouldn't call it an instant click, not like the romcoms and romantic Earth fairytales would describe it, but it- settles. That's perhaps the only way Kara can describe the way she slowly eases into conversation. There are some awkward bumps, and the occasional uncertain silence, but Danny is eager and curious and snarky, and well. He's pretty cute too.

So if she tucks some hair behind her ear and laughs at some joke Danny says then that's nobody's business but her own.

Ellie had been so excited for two of her favorite people in the world to meet. But then she started to notice the blushes on their faces and she realizes with dawning horror that she might have just created a monster.

#halfagone replies #dpxdc #dpxdc au #this got surprisingly long #but i hope you enjoy it :D

[zalrb]

I MUST REALLY LOVE MY FOLLOWERS - BRIDGETON 3.01 review

1. "Dearest gentle reader, did you miss me?" Me:

2. I'm not doing this recap.

3. I maintain that Nicola should be Belle in the next live action we'll eventually do.

4. Idk man, Kathony just feel SO unnatural.

5. MINI MOUSE MAN NEXT TO BIGGER MOUSE MAN

6. Who will be the prize of the season? And it's Colin?

7. All of these women are gorgeous and all of these men are like basic white bread. I -

8. I'm upset because this is supposed to do something for me

and it's resolutely not.

9. Oh please. Francesca looks like every other woman there.

10. Prudence is probably the only character I somewhat like. I think. She's the terrible one, right?

11. I might like that family the most because they're the schemers. They're actually DOING QUASI-INTERESRTING THINGS.

12. Colin is a fuck boy without fuck boy good looks. Please stop it.

13. And I'm not saying he's ugly. I am saying he's plain.

14. This is my problem with Bridgerton. It SHOULD be fun. And it's punishing.

15. Where the fuck is Edwina? I DON'T CARE ABOUT KATE.

16. They should shock us all and have Edwina come back and just murder everyone like Carrie.

17. Leave her alone, Colin.

18. I know the point of this season is Polin but I already know she deserves better.

19. GIVE ME MORE OF THE BICKERING SISTERS. They're terrible. I'm interested.

20. "Well that's your fault for marrying men without title!" But Prudence's man is one of the, like, two most good looking of them all, so you know.

21. OOOOOOOH IS PENELOPE GONNA WEAR LAVENDER NOW? THE COLOUR OF LOOOOOOOOVE.

22. Considering that I barely pay attention to this show, did Penelope do like irreparable damage to Eloise and her family for this fallout to be as serious as it's meant to be?

23. That's a genuine question.

24. This Kanthony love scene is ... awkward.

25. Kanthony? Kathony? Whichever. Whatever.

26. And even when he goes down on her I'm like idk, Outlander would like a word.

Someone is BANGING ON THE DOOR and Jamie does not stop until Claire orgasms, so.

27. So Penelope is basically "draw me like one of your French girls, Jack" but with clothes.

28. The one thing Bridgerton had going for it was the music and I'm not hearing any classical renditions of pop songs. What is the POINT?

29. This ball looks like every other ball in this show.

30. Oh, there's the music. abcdefu is a good choice for her, I do have to say the music choices are at least better than TSITP. She SHOULD be talking to Colin as it plays though.

31. I'm not sure why I hate him, I just do.

32. If she enjoys embroidery let her enjoy embroidery, Eloise. Don't "not like OTHER girls" them please. Jesus.

33. "D-do you all like to read?" I get it, Pen.

34. TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF. NOW. Isn't Francesca meant to have a chaperone? Isn't there a dance card or something? Aren't there RULES?

35. I'M ONLY 30 MINUTES IN?

36. Original Mouse Man, what are you doing? Aren't you a viscount with responsibilities?

37. "I expected conversation, I did not expect to be inspected--" then you weren't prepared at all for this. This is the ERA for that, should you not KNOW? WHAT?

38. Everything is muted and dramatic at the same time.

39. Oh, Kathony in another scene. Are they going to try and have sex?

40. Yes.

41. "I've already spent YEARS taking care of Edwina" I mean, did you?

42. "So why don't we put ourselves first for once?" I MEAN, DIDN'T YOU?

43. BRO, WHERE IS YOUR SISTER?

44. "We have our lives to be viscount and viscountess" man, pull a Downton Abbey and kill him.

45. "Think of the balls as..." You should've had this conversation BEFORE the ball.

46. "It pains me to see you upset." "Then perhaps you should not have come." Ha.

47. "and what I have learned is charmed can be taught" which is funny because Colin isn't charming no matter how much the show tries to convince me he is.

48. I suppose it's better than watching Theo James.

49. AND HE WILL FALL FOR HER DURING THE LESSONS.

50. The handshake is supposed to be a Moment and it's interesting because it's called attention to and yet also breezed by at the exact same time.

51. LOL what she wrote was SO TAME especially for a MAN in THIS society? "Is this new character the real him or is it a ploy for attention?" DAS IT??? Please be serious.

52. oooh drama, if he finds out who Lady Whistledown is, he'll destroy her life. It's just hard to think there are stakes when it's ... Colin.

DONE.

#review

[lampmanliveblogs]

Something about Luz reflection in the portal, but at the same time glimpsing the grave on the other side… I feel like there’s some meaning I should be able to derive from that. Um… I dunno, something about a dream dying? As in, Luz’ dream of a happy life in the Demon Realm dies here in the Human Realm or something.

Death as in permanence, as in Luz deciding to stay in the Human Realm permanently.

Luz feels dead inside.

(this is the kind of quality analysis you can only get here, at Lampman Liveblogs)

”I was scared… I thought you’d all hate me for it. Which is why I’ve made a decision. I think… that it’d be in everyone’s best interest if I-”

”Took your mama to the Demon Realm!”

Heck. Yes.

I think we’ve already established I’m all for that. Now Camila will finally get to meet Luz’ mentor and bonus mom Eda, her lil bro King, Hooty, cool aunt Lilith… oh, and The Collector! If anyone can tame a childish god, it’d be the woman who raised Luz.

I also appreciate that while Camila herself is not immune to making bad decisions, she will also keep her daughter from making bad decisions… granted, this is more like postponing the issues rather than actually solving them, but we’ll get there eventually, I’m sure.

HOL UP, wiat a mintue-

When did Hunter’s eyes change color!??!???? ANd how did I miss it?????

I rewound a bit, and it’s right there, when he wakes up and I just. Missed it. I can’t believe this. I’m an utter failure as a liveblogger and a person. As punishment, I will go on another four month hiatus which is only occasionally broken by posting a few low-quality memes and fanfics that no one will read. 

(hey, Luz and Hunter ((and Camila)) have the same eye color now, that’s neat)

Pictured: Amity being the MOST awesome girlfriend that ever was an awesome girlfriend.

I mean, echoing Luz’ own words from when she asked Amity out is just next-level. so Hang on Sloopy, and let’s go get that bastard Belos.

Pictured: Me, ruffling my snake daughter’s pycnofibers.

Vee’s staying behind in the Human Realm, which… yeah, that makes sense. All her life spent in the Demon Realm was a nightmare. Things only started getting better for her when she came to the Human Realm. Hunter too had a hard upbringing (maybe putting it a bit lightly there), but he at least have some things there to fight for.

Oh, and minor detail, but confirmation that Camila does have living relatives back in the homeland.

And then they hit me with this rendition of the closing theme… it’s too beautiful

As the portal closes and Vee walks of smiling, sure that her family can handle this, we pan up to the beautiful night sky an-

”Shoot, Camila still has the car keys.”

…Vee gives the funniest line of the episode. I love the implication that if she just had the keys, Vee could totally drive the car back home. She is a basilisk/snake/legless lizard/naga of many talents.

#the owl house #liveblog #the owl house liveblog #toh s3e1 #thanks to them

[purplewitch156]

20 Questions for Fic Writers!!

Thank you for tagging me @racfoam! That was very sweet of you. <3

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Eight

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

342,149 words. And it's gonna get bigger. I love writing fanfiction.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Harry Potter.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Of Your Making – Harry and Voldemort are trapped in a magical artifact and must forgive each other to be released.

Entwined – Harry is trapped (I have a running theme here…) on a distant, hostile planet and Voldemort is determined to get him back to Earth.

Memento Mori – In the hope of freeing Voldemort from his endless purgatory, Harry chooses to seek him out in death and they end up on a roller coaster of various Lives.

When the Phoenix Cries – Sequel to Of Your Making. Harry and Tom are sent to another dimension where they must deal with a victorious Voldemort and a Death Eater Harry.

Sand In My Shoes – A non-magic AU. Tom is a professional chess player sent to a vacation island to deal with his temper and meets Harry, a comic book artist/surfer.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why? Why not?

I typically do. It’s so exciting to receive happy comments that I want to be happy back. :D 

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Nightshade. It’s the only one I’ve written so far that is a tragedy.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Of Your Making.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Rarely. Negative comments are in the minority, but I still have to remind myself of that fact when one shits in my inbox because I tend to pay more attention to negative remarks – they hit harder than they should. I’m getting better at brushing them off. And if they are particularly shitty, I delete them.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I don’t think any of my sex scenes are smutty enough to be called smut, so no. BUT I would like to one day write a story that leans more into the smut as a personal challenge.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I have not written a crossover.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

No. And if it has happened, I’m unaware.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! A few of my fics have been translated, especially Of Your Making, which blows me away to this day. People are amazing.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I have not.

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

Tomarry, but Harrymort is in very close second place.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Hmmm, that isn't quite how I work. When I get enough of an idea to jot it down in a journal instead of it just floating about in my brain in hypothetical land, I tend to intend to finish it one day. As time goes by, I may decide that the plot isn’t as strong or as compelling as I’d originally thought, and it gets downgraded or repurposed into something better. So I don’t necessarily look at my ideas and say, “I’d like you to happen, but let’s face it, you won’t.” I’m more likely to say, “I think I might strip you for parts…”

16. What are your writing strengths?

Oh lord, I get so stressed with these kinds of questions. I’d say dialogue and engagement.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I rarely spend time describing clothes or structures or people. I have a scene in my current WIP (Deimos) where Tom takes Harry robe shopping (this is such a wonderful trope, god bless) and I tried harder, which meant I Googled ‘mage robes’, found an artist’s rendition I liked, and described it as best as I could. lol

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I’ve dropped in a few words from other languages when I feel like it might help immerse the reader in the setting, but it’s not something I do often.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter.

20. Favourite fics you’ve written?

I love all my fics. I’ve enjoyed writing each of them immensely, but if I had to pick favorites I’d say Of Your Making and A Deathly Visit.

Tagging anyone who sees this and wants to participate! <3<3<3

#tag game

[occasionalsango]

I've had this account for awhile but haven't done anything with it so I'm just gonna start. Anyways, some friends and I have been recreating Inkopolis in Minecraft. This is what's been done so far.

Inkopolis Plaza. This is the center of the city and also the part that I personally put the most time into. There's a nether portal in the train station for travel, oh yeah this is survival. The Calamari Inkantation easter egg is also there, activated by a skulk sensor. The doors to the lobby are also functional.

Inkopolis Square. We really tried to line up the plaza and square so that you can see the tower, but there just isn't a good spot on a 90 degree angle that wouldn't be blocked by the train line. You can JUST about see the tower, though. Despite being part of some Server Shenanigans, the square has been kinda neglected in terms of detail. I also had very little to do with the design process, just building it. Although, I am personally working on it to bring it closer to how it is in Splatoon 3.

Urchin Underpass. This is one of my favorite builds in the city. We really tried to recreate the are around Urchin as best we could. I also got to put an entire 3 minute rendition of Splattack! on noteblocks underneath.

Blackbelly Skatepark. It is not quite finished, there's some more detail I'd like to add, as well as filling in some scenery. It will not be particularly accurate due to space restrictions, but we're alright with that.

Flounder Heights. This is the Splatoon 1 version (The Splatoon 3 version released like a week after the map itself was complete). While none of us are very good at interiors, I plan to make it a functional complex, at some point. Also the "ghost" is represented by an armor stand with a skeleton skull.

Arowana Mall. The pallet for this thing was a big debate, there's not really a block that properly represents the walls or the roofing, but I think is came out decently. It also functions as our actual shopping area, since we have an economy.

Walleye Warehouse. This one was pretty fun to build. It serves as an actual warehouse for blocks. There are minecarts that move around to mimic the conveyor belts.

Hammerhead Bridge. While the stage itself is the Splatoon 1 version, it is covered like in Splatoon 3 (I have a moral opposition to the remake). This took so long.

The Reef. I had no part in this one, outside of some minor touch ups. It looks nice, and is pretty accurate. I am, however, working on making the overhead train rail.

Shellendorf Institute. This took forever and two beacons. I love how it turned out, but I’ll probably never have enough copper to build anything substantial again… We also turned it into a server museum, holding several artifacts and rare items including a blue axolotl and a tall fern item.

Manta Maria. I designed the hull of the ship for this one, not the stage itself, though. It's a little smaller than it should be, but is close enough to still be recognizable.

Wahoo World. Another one I didn't do much with. The roller coaster works (sadly doesn't go inverted) and several other rides and attractions are scattered around. If there is a good way to make something spin or extend diagonally I would love to know, it feels very soulless without the movement.

Bluefin Depot. It's the Splatoon 3 version. This is probably my favorite build in the city. It's also the only one where I designed the stage completely by myself. I did get help with the surrounding. It's probably the most accurate stage overall, since it's far enough away that space wasn't a concern.

Spawning Grounds. I mostly did redstone for this one (plus the heli) since it is a fully* functional recreation of Salmon Run, using zombie pigman and gold nuggets.

New stuff/ stuff that wasn't in my reddit post:

A better look at the alleys in both hub areas (Yes that is a spike instead of Spyke)

The Plane. This is based on the plane that flies over in Splatoon 1 (I used the Boundary Break video for better reference)

Moray Towers. This is unfinished, the surrounding buildings, highway, and some terraforming needs to be done.

Stuff that is in the works/planned:

1.Mako Mart

2.Piranha Pit

3.Port Mackerel

4.Sturgeon Shipyard

5.Anchovy Games

6.Kelp Dome

7.Goby Arena

8.Saltspray Rig

9.Tutorial Stages

10.Octo Valley (MAYBE)

11. Octo Canyon (IDK MIGHT HAPPEN)

12.NILS Statue

13.Skipper Pavilion (if there's space)

#splatoon #minecraft #minecraft build #city #This has taken too long #I need a different hobby #group work