#< gotta make sure to keep the spoilers from that one post tagged

[lucky-clover-gazette]

kings rising highlights & annotations

chapter 1

indented text is from the book. some quotes have commentary, some do not. some comments are serious, and some are definitely not. most of them will only make sense to people who have read the series. and, like, there are spoilers. so please read the books first if you're interested!

also: part of the reason i'm doing such a close reading is to study cs pacat's style, especially in terms of how she does romance and erotica. there are "craft notes" that might seem weird, like i'm being redundant or restating something rather than analyzing, but those are more things that i want to remember/take away from the writing!

i'm going to tag these longer posts with "sam reads capri" in case anyone wants to read them all at once.

this is a google doc i wrote with overall content warnings for the captive prince series. it's not perfect, but i do think it's important to include.

A hiss of a rock, thrown. Nikandros came up off his knees, drawing his sword. Damen flung out a hand in a motion for halt, stopping Nikandros instantly, his sword showing a half-foot of Akielon steel.

nik. it's a rock. chill the fuck out.

Damianos, prince-killer. His mind, used to battlefield decisions, took in the sweep of the courtyard, and made the commander’s choice: to minimise losses, to limit bloodshed and chaos, and to secure Ravenel. The Veretian guards were beyond his orders, and the Veretian people . . . if these bitter, furious emotions could be soothed among the Veretian people, he was not the one to soothe them. There was only one way to stop what was about to happen, and that was to contain it; to lock it down, to secure this place once and for all. Damen said to Nikandros, ‘Take the fort.’

i like how the book starts immediately with a very clear example of how the status quo has irreversibly changed. damen has no choice but to act as akielion (akielon? whatever) prince/commander, because that’s how everyone sees him now. even if he hasn’t changed at all from how he’d been five minutes ago

Guymar purposefully spat, and for his trouble was backhanded hard across the face with a mailed fist by the Akielon soldier. Damen let it happen, aware of what would have happened if a man had spat on the ground in front of his father.

i think what i said at the end of book 2 holds true here - damen spent prince’s gambit in the romance genre with interruptions from the war/politics genres, but with laurent’s (presumed accidental) outing of him as prince he’s now forced to live in the same world that laurent’s been in for the past two books. like “yep gotta let my former friend and ally get slapped because politics. man if only laurent had known that i was the prince, we could have avoided this :/“

‘We don’t stand together,’ said Guymar. ‘You betrayed our Prince.’ And then, as though he almost couldn’t bear to say it, ‘You had him—’

in all senses of the phrase, laurent very much had damen

Damen said, ‘I made him a promise.’ ‘And when he learns who you are?’ said Jord. ‘When he learns that he is facing Damianos on the field?’ ‘Then he and I meet each other for the first time,’ said Damen. ‘That was also a promise.’

damen reclaiming his princely authority while being so profoundly wrong… embarrassing

He had a sense of holding on, as though if he just held the fort, held these men together long enough to reach Charcy, then what followed— He couldn’t think about what followed, all he could do was keep to his promise.

he is so devoted to laurent that he doesn’t even stop to think that he’s been screwed over. me too damen, as a first-time reader. and even now, on a second read, i'm not sure how much i trust laurent. i've forgotten the intricacies of his plan and i didn't do a close-reading the first time around, so there are certain things i just can't say for sure at this point.

anyway, i actually think d&l have a ton in common in terms of how they express and demonstrate devotion. they both have bleeding hearts, it’s just that laurent’s has had a much longer time to harden. the way he assesses and handles situations is with a detachment he believes is necessary, so he doesn’t lose control, while damen throws himself wholeheartedly into everything he cares about. they have the same fierceness and passion, and while working together they help to balance out their approaches while applying that passion. starting the book out like this, with damen's devotion on full display and laurent's being majorly questioned, is very smart. because they both need to evolve from this point, in order to be good kings and good partners to each other.

like honestly, they both just need to sit the fuck down and tell the truth and accept that they both care about each other and they don’t have to be avoidant freaks about it. not that either of them (mostly laurent, but also damen in a different way) actually wants to do that. and that’s what the first like 1/3 of the book is about, as i recall: their petty divorce drama until they both give in and decide to figure out their shit.

The ghost of his father seemed to prickle over his skin. It was his father’s title, but his father no longer sat on the throne at Ios. Looking at the bowed head of his friend, Damen realised it for the first time. He was no longer the young prince who had roamed the palace halls with Nikandros after a day spent wrestling together on the sawdust. There was no Prince Damianos. The self that he had been striving to return to was gone.

“with real power comes real responsibility, and i don’t want any of that shit” - dennis reynolds, it’s always sunny in philadelphia

Damen took in Nikandros’s familiar, classically Akielon features, his dark hair and brows, his olive face and straight Akielon nose. As children, they had run barefoot together through the palace. When he’d imagined a return to Akielos, he’d imagined greeting Nikandros, embracing him, heedless of the armour, like digging in his fingers and feeling in his fist the earth of his home.

so they've definitely fucked right

Damen thought of the soldiers bursting into his rooms, of being lashed down in the slave baths, of the dark, muffled journey by ship to Vere. He thought of being confined, his face painted, his body drugged and displayed. He thought of opening his eyes in the Veretian palace, and what had happened to him there. ‘You were right about Kastor,’ Damen said. It was all he said.

nice vs. good theme breakthrough!

He heard of his own body, wrapped and taken in the processional through the acropolis, then interred beside his father.

okay so which dead palace employee/slave got to posthumously cosplay as damen’s corpse

He heard Kastor’s claim that he had been killed by his own guard.

copying the regent's homework

To the Kyros of Delpha, Nikandros, from Laurent, Prince of Vere.

"hey girl,"

The letter was old. The writing was old. Laurent must have sent the letter from Arles.

see my previous breakdown from book 2 chapter 21 about how laurent literally failsafed losing the only living person who loves him with this gambit

It made tactical sense, in a horrifying way, for Laurent to have made an alliance with Nikandros. Laurent had always been capable of a kind of ruthless pragmatism. He was able to put emotion aside and do what he had to do to win, with a perfect and nauseating ability to ignore all human feeling.

i mean i think there was feeling there. making the alliance also was a way for laurent to dispose of damen, returning him to his people so the regent couldn’t use him to torture laurent. because at that point i’m not sure if laurent wanted damen dead, but he definitely wanted him gone. and he’d assumed that damen would want that too

In return for aid from Nikandros, the letter said, Laurent would offer proof that Kastor had colluded with the Regent to kill King Theomedes of Akielos.

okay yeah THAT’S GOOD. and it explains how laurent gets himself in his situation in the next chapter, he’s following up on the promise by trying to get the info from govart/guion

The straightforward ease of it left him without words. He had forgotten what home felt like. He had forgotten trust, loyalty, kinship. Friends.

i’m glad nikandros is a real one. but damen please don’t regress so much that you forget straightforwardness and ease =/= truth and loyalty. oh fuck he can’t hear me

‘Your friend [Nikandros, talking about himself] is a fool and courts treason for a keepsake.’

yeah it makes sense that these two are besties

To gain everything and lose everything in the space of a moment. That is the fate of all princes destined for the throne.

this or a kingdom. guess he’ll kingdom

‘Kastor made me a slave. Laurent freed me. He gave me command of his fort and his troops, an act of trust for an Akielon he had no reason to elevate. He doesn’t know who I am.’

oh honey

‘The Prince of Vere freed you,’ said Nikandros. ‘You have been his slave?’ His voice thickened with the words. ‘You have served the Prince of Vere as a slave?’

this isn’t an hr complaint quite yet but it is a “nikandros takes out his phone and bitches on his private twitter moment” moment. which i think should be a tally as well. nikandros private twitter venting moment #1

He knew what they saw—a hundred images of slaves, submitting, bending at the hip, parting their thighs, the casual ease with which these men would have taken slaves in their own households.

back in book 1, when assessing the state of erasmus in torveld’s possession, i recall that damen assumes that veretians think that “there is no honour in submission.” implying that to damen in book 1, and akielons in general, there IS honor in a slave’s submission. but here, when their prince—a person they respect—is revealed to have been made a slave, they definitely don’t perceive it as an honor. so which one is it? whatever submission damen shows/showed laurent is voluntary and honorable by his own moral code. he hasn’t been groomed or brainwashed into submitting his own free will. get on his level or keep your judgment to yourselves, hypocrites

‘Does it shock you? I was a personal gift to the Prince of Vere.’ He had bared his whole forearm. Nikandros turned to Makedon, his voice harsh. ‘You will not speak of this. You will never speak of this outside this room—’ Damen said, ‘No. It can’t be hidden.’ He said it to Makedon.

i think damen can at least subconsciously see the hypocrisy here. and he’s indignant about it >:)

‘You were the Prince’s slave?’ Revulsion was stamped on Makedon’s face, whitening it. ‘Yes.’

'and tbh i’d drop the past tense i had the blacksmith keep this thing on me'

‘You—’ Makedon’s words echoed the unspoken question in Nikandros’s eyes that no man would ever say aloud to his King. Damen’s flush changed in quality. ‘You dare ask that.’ Makedon said, thickly, ‘You are our King. This is an insult to Akielos that cannot be borne.’

and now damen’s piiiiiisssssssed. i think partially because he knows it was the best night of his life and doesn’t want to be shamed for it, lol

‘You will bear it,’ said Damen, holding Makedon’s gaze, ‘as I have borne it. Or do you think yourself above your King?’ Slave, said the resistance in Makedon’s eyes. Makedon certainly had slaves in his own household, and made use of them. What he imagined between Prince and slave stripped it of all the subtleties of surrender. Having been done to his King, it had in some sense been done to him, and his pride revolted at it.

okay yeah damen’s totally ending the institution of slavery once he's king and the gradual development of changing his mind has been both demonstrated effectively and completely earned throughout the past two books. i think this is why some of the cruelest things in book 1 happen to damen in the first place—they had very little to do with the development of his relationship with laurent, and everything to do with this personal arc for damen’s character. moments like this are the payoff to all of that subtle and consistent work. damen’s wake-up call of being treated like a slave and realizing it’s not what he thought, now transferring to his fellow slave-owners like a moral salve (not a typo for slave. like medicine).

The plan he had developed with Laurent was simple,

ARE YOU SURE

Damen’s men were the bait.

damen sees those red flags and just keeps pushing forward

It struck its front hoof on the cobbles, as though seeking to overturn a stone, arching its neck, perhaps sensing, in the manner of all great beasts, that they were on the cusp of war.

do you think damen and laurent’s horses miss each other

But Jord and Huet. Lazar. Scanning their faces, Damen saw who they were. These were the men of the Prince’s Guard, with whom Damen had travelled for months. And there was only one reason why they had been released from confinement. Damen held up a hand, and Jord was allowed through, so that for a moment their horses circled each other. ‘We’ve come to ride with you,’ said Jord. Damen looked at the small clump of blue now gathered before the rows of red in the courtyard. There weren’t many of them, only twenty, and he saw at once that it was Jord who had convinced them, so that they were here, mounted and ready. ‘Then we ride,’ said Damen. ‘For Akielos, and for Vere.’

<3

The uncertain terrain was a valley of doubt, fringed by trees and dangerous slopes.

“the uncertain terrain was a valley of doubt” great line

Damen would never bring men into this kind of disadvantage without a counter plan.

SSFGHYSUDGFYSUDF

If he just did that, just kept to his promise, then after—

now damen’s the one being controlled by his emotions and desperation. oops!

‘If we do that, and your Veretian doesn’t arrive, we’ll all be killed.’ ‘He’ll be here,’ said Damen.

cringe

Laurent had never planned to come. That was what the scout was screaming, right before an arrow took him in the back. ‘This is your Veretian Prince exposed for what he is,’ said Makedon.

so i know that having akielos show up was laurent’s plan, but i forget if laurent had EVER intended to show up at charcy, or if the plan was always to screw damen over. like laurent tells damen that was the plan, after the fact, or at least doesn’t apologize. because he's a petty bitch and mad at damen for lying and doesn't want to talk about the fact that he got tortured. but i still think that laurent could have intended to be there, just with the twist of damen being exposed, if he hadn’t been held up and injured. after all, the akielos allyship plan has been a thing since vere, but the charcy plan was in response to something laurent 100% did not see coming. laurent couldn't have ended the snowball effect of his own gambit by the time he realized he liked and trusted damen, but he could only have planned charcy after they bonded for almost an entire book. they're two different plans, by two slightly different laurents. not that damen can really see that right now.

i don’t know, i always tend to give laurent more grace than he probably deserves. i WANT him to do better than he sometimes does, because he is a character i'm rooting for, and i know that he cares about being honorable in his own messy imperfect way. (me 🤝 damen).

but even if we're just looking at it without any kind of emotional attachment, it simply isn't characteristic of laurent to leave so many of his own people to die, if he can avoid it. so it would make sense for him to at least try to keep his promise of showing up. but then again, when he’s overwhelmed by emotions he does make uncharacteristically stupid choices. and he is pissed at damen, kind of, although i do think he feels much more endeared to him now than he’d been when he sent nikandros the letter from arles. so he must have meant to be there. but then AGAIN, maybe laurent still somehow assumes that damen was just using him as a fuck, especially since damen didn’t tell the truth even when they started having sex. because laurent is an idiot about feelings, and he doesn’t want to see that damen cares, so he convinces himself that damen deserves to be abandoned on the battlefield.

i don't knowwwwww, my heart says one thing and my literary analysis brain tentatively agrees (laurent meant to be there but couldn't make it), but i hate getting things wrong and laurent is a slippery bitch. and again, this is on a SECOND READ. i just don't remember, for sure, if laurent meant to be at charcy. i don't know if it's even ever said, or just meant to be read between the lines. this may seem negligent or shallow, but listen, the first time i read this book was a binge-read. i read it in a night, right after reading a good chunk of prince's gambit in the afternoon. i was paying a lot less attention to the war/plan stuff and just focusing on the dysfunctional gay people. what i didn't realize, in my haste, is that the war/plan stuff adds an entire new dimension to the gay people's dysfunction. which is why i firmly believe that this is a series that needs to be read twice, at least. these are not romance books, they're a fucking psychological experience. they're like an escape room for your brain that just happens to have horny gay people inside.

Damen had no time to think before the situation was on him.

laurent in book 2: “i can’t think”

There was a dark logic to it. Have your slave convince the Akielons to fight. Let your enemies do your fighting for you, the casualties taken by the people you despise, the Regent defeated or weakened, and the armies of Nikandros wiped out.

and if it was laurent of book 1 or early book 2, that would have made perfect sense. but he made the charcy plan at the end of book 2 come onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn. it can't be as simple as "laurent fully meant to screw you over," even if he didn't manage to show up as a result of his own plans that nobody else knew about. laurent took two steps forward at the end of book 2, trusting damen enough to emotionally and physically be intimate with him AND making this charcy plan with him. i think it makes sense for him to have taken one step back, in not actually telling damen the full truth about the alliance or laurent's own sidequest that ends up getting him captured and injured, but i just don't think he took TWO entire steps back, by putting damen and his men in a deadly situation with zero intention to help. that's too simple for him, both in an in-universe sense and in a "this is how good storytelling (which pacat can at this point be reasonably trusted to do) works" sense. it has to be something in between, even if damen and laurent assume/claim otherwise.

Damen found himself alongside Jord. ‘If you want to live, ride east.’ White-faced, Jord took one look at his expression and said, ‘He’s not coming.’

jord stays losing

[its-a-me-mango]

SMG4 Q&A

How long have you been watching SMG4?

I’ve been watching SMG4 on and off since about 2014, I’m pretty sure my first ever SMG4 video was R64: A Dose of Dr. Mario lol. I’ve tried my best to catch up on everything but I still haven’t watched much betweem 2016 and 2022, one day I’ll catch up on it. I do watch each episode that comes out every Saturday and I aim to watch them as soon as they’re posted, I do tag any episode spoilers for the Saturday just to give people a chance to watch it.

Who are your favourite SMG4 characters?

My favourite SMG4 characters are SMG3, Karen, Mr. Puzzles and Tari! Mario is my favourite Mario character overall so he doesn't count as a fav SMG4 character, I always love Mario! I also love every other character too I think they’re all so fun and silly! :3

What are your favourite ships?

I don't ship a lot of characters but I think SMG34 is my favourite, I’m the only person ever who truly understands their dynamic /J. I don't take shipping too seriously, not in a negative way, just in a silly goofy way, so any posts I make towards any ships are entirely light hearted and for fun, I’m always happy to take suggestions on pretty much any ship, gotta provide food for any hungry shipper out there lmao.

Do you dislike any characters/ships?

Yes, but that's for me to know and to keep to myself, I'm not someone who easily blocks anyone over fictional characters/ships, if I dislike or disagree with someone's choice of characters/ships I just move on, it's never that serious at the end of the day.

Do you have a favourite SMG4 AU/headcannon?

No! I cannot pick favourites, it's impossible for me, especially with so many amazing and talented creators in this fandom! It would feel really unfair to me if I started picking favourites, obviously I have my preferences, but those stay with me and me alone. If you are actively posting in the tags about your AU/headcannon, I have seen it and I think it’s awesome, keep doing what you’re doing!

Do you like/dislike any SMG4 fans/creators?

Why would I answer that? Same reason as before, I cannot pick favourites as that feels unfair to me, and any dislikes I have towards people stays with me and me alone. I am not one to go out after people at all, I prefer to get along well with everyone

What do you think of current events happening in the fandom?

I think it’s great! Unless it’s bad, in which case I think it sucks.

Anyway to be serious, I like to keep away from too many interpersonal happening within the fandom as much as possible, it’s just not my thing, so I usually have no fucking clue what’s going on at any one time, I don’t like to get involved too much. I have the mentality of an old lady throwing bird seeds at pigeons when it comes to my “contributions” to this fandom, I throw my stuff in and leave, what happens around and after that ain’t none of my business.

I do, however, love to bitch about things, so uhh if that happens it's never targeted or vaguing anyone in particular so don't feel like I'm trying to call anyone out, I just like to make jokes outta things.

[shewasverynice]

Fandoms: 呪術廻戦 | Jujutsu Kaisen

⚠️ SPOILER HEAVY ⚠️

Major Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death 

Full tags/warnings on Chapter links post

Major Characters: Original Character, Gojo Satoru, Geto Suguru, Ieiri Shoko, Yaga Masamichi, Nanami Kento, Haibara Yu, Tsukumo Yuki, Choso

‎‧₊˚✧ Chapter 21 ✧˚₊‧

Nanami grunted as Haibara’s elbow jammed into his gut. Gritting his teeth, he shoved at the heavy stone door Haibara was holding closed before jamming his blunt sword into the ground in front of it. Both of them stepped back keeping their eyes on the door, but the curses inside seemed to have backed off. They both sighed in relief, their brains remembering they needed to breathe again as the adrenaline wore off.

“We gotta get out of here,” Haibara huffed, leaning with his hands on his knees to catch his breath, “I can’t believe how many curses are in this place!”

“One would have expected they’d warn the first years about the difficulty of this type of mission,” Nanami muttered, sweeping his hair back. He flexed his hands, the skin on his palms already raw from using his sword more than he expected.

“Yeah, well,” Haibara shrugged, grinning anyway, “I guess we’ll just have to make it work?”

Nanami shook his head, one of his hands landing on his hip. Something wasn’t right. And that something hadn’t been right for a while. Likely around the time he’d stepped foot outside of Tengen’s barrier on the school grounds that morning and it was nearly evening by now.

Back in his hometown, if there were any other sorcerers, he certainly hadn’t found them. With that being the case, the feeling of cursed energy and the presence of curses was something he’d grown quite accustomed too. Being the only one able to see them, or the only one to acknowledge them anyway, made him the only one making any effort to keep his town safe and that put him in the most dangerous places often.

“This energy,” Nanami mumbled, his sharp eyes scanning the graveyard, “There’s something weird about it. Don’t you feel it?”

“I do,” Haibara agreed, “That curse that Sarah took down. It’s been weird here since, right?”

“It has,” Nanami said with a nod, “They’re converging here now. It’s as if they’re drawn to the residuals.”

“It faded away, didn’t it?” Haibara asked, his eyes still trained on the stone door. The curses inside seemed to be retreating back into the grave, but he still kept his body tense just in case. 

“It did,” Nanami agreed, “And not the same way they usually do when the curse is exorcised with cursed energy.”

“How did she do that?” Haibara asked, “Did you see what she did? I wasn’t looking at the time.”

Nanami hesitated, looking down at his hands. His eyes flicked to Haibara before he said, “It looked like she was talking to it.”

“Yeah?” Haibara said, standing up straight and rolling his shoulder’s back, “Maybe that’s her technique then? Maybe she’s like Geto?”

Nanami shook his head. “If she had a technique she’d know it,” Nanami said, “People born with cursed techniques know about it as soon as we can recognize cursed energy.”

Haibara shrugged, “I wouldn’t be so sure about that. What if you’ve got something brand new and you just don’t know how to do it yet?”

“We don’t have time to discuss this now,” Nanami said, grasping at the handle of his sword and jutting his head towards the entrance before he pulled the blade out of the ground, “Let’s get back to Yaga-sensei and request his assistance. We need to report the anomaly with Sarah’s energy as well.”

“Where do you think that doll carried her off to?” Haibara asked while he looked around, “It scooped her up fast right after the curse died. Did Sensei tell it to do that?”

Nanami opened his mouth to answer but the roar of a curse interrupted him. Haibara nodded at him before the two of them took off towards the exit, running at a full sprint. The curses poured out of every crack and climbed over the stone walls. Their swiveled eyes rolled and their jagged teeth gnashed while their knotty fingers reached for the two boys.

Yaga glanced up from his seat at the entrance and he raised his hands, cursed dolls manifesting around him almost out of nowhere. He called out, “Get behind me!” and darted forward to meet the two of them.

The graveyard loomed in front of them, shadowy and ominous, with curses pouring out like an unending tide. Haibara and Nanami dashed behind Yaga, staying close as the older man sent his cursed dolls ahead to block the approaching swarm.

“Stick close, boys!” Yaga shouted over his shoulder, his voice steady even as chaos erupted around them.

The dolls sprang into action, their movements fast and fluid. Cathy, Yaga’s larger, round-bodied doll with its unnervingly cute eyes and unnaturally powerful arms, was particularly devastating, hurling curses aside like paper.

“Man, these things are way too strong!” Haibara muttered, peeking over Yaga’s shoulder.

“Focus,” Nanami said curtly, though his gaze stayed locked on Yaga as the man charged forward with shocking agility.

Yaga was a force to be reckoned with. He didn’t rely solely on his dolls; his own fists connected with curses in powerful, bone-shattering blows, his strength enough to obliterate them with ease. Haibara and Nanami watched, stunned, as Yaga methodically cleared a path through the onslaught.

But then Haibara glanced back and froze. “Nanami… the curses… they’re heading for Sarah!”

At the edge of the battlefield, Sarah fought alongside Cathy, the doll protecting her flank as she handled the smaller curses with ease. She moved like a storm, her strikes swift and deliberate. But as more curses surged toward her, it became clear she was getting overrun.

“We have to help her!” Haibara yelled, already moving.

Nanami didn’t hesitate. The two of them darted through the chaos, cutting down any curses that got in their way. Cathy stood firm, holding off the worst of the attack, but even the powerful doll began to falter under the sheer numbers.

“Sarah!” Haibara shouted, planting himself between her and a lunging curse, smashing it with a well-placed punch.

Sarah barely had time to glance at him, her breathing ragged. “Took you long enough!” she called, though there was gratitude in her voice.

Nanami stepped in beside her, his blows precise and unrelenting as they worked together to stem the tide. Yaga, noticing the shift in the battle, began working his way back with his dolls, clearing a path toward them.

“Hold on!” he called out, his deep voice cutting through the chaos.

When he reached Sarah, Cathy caught her just as a particularly vicious curse lunged for her. Yaga grabbed her from the doll’s arms, his expression serious.

“Sorry about this,” he muttered, pushing up her shirt and jacket to reveal her back.

“What are you—” Sarah’s voice cut off as a glowing purple sigil appeared beneath Yaga’s hand, burning with an eerie light.

She winced, a sharp gasp escaping her lips, and then she slumped forward, unconscious. The sigil dimmed, leaving faint traces behind.

Nanami and Haibara stood frozen, unsure of what they’d just witnessed. But then something strange happened—the curses that had been relentless moments ago suddenly turned back, retreating into the shadows as if afraid.

“What the…” Haibara trailed off, watching in shock.

Yaga didn’t explain. He carried Sarah back to the car, gently placing her inside and draping his uniform jacket over her.

As the curses disappeared, the three of them leaned against the car, catching their breath. The quiet felt heavy, thick with unspoken questions.

Haibara was the first to break the silence. “Was it her? Did her technique draw the curses here?” he whispered, looking up at Yaga.

Yaga gave a slow nod, his expression unreadable.

Nanami’s jaw clenched, his fists tight at his sides. “You should have warned us. That was reckless. What if something had happened to us?” he muttered, trembling just slightly.

Yaga didn’t respond right away, his gaze distant. Finally, he said quietly, “I hope the two of you will get along well with Sarah.”

With that, he walked around the car, opened the driver’s side door, and got in, leaving Haibara and Nanami to stand there, the weight of the moment settling over them.

⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂ ⠂⠄⠄⠂☆

Nanami and Haibara walked briskly through the dormitory halls, their mission weighing heavily on their minds. It wasn’t just the exhaustion—they had questions, and they needed answers. Spotting Satoru and Suguru leaning casually against the wall, deep in conversation, they exchanged a glance.

Nanami cleared his throat and asked, “Gojo, Geto, can we speak with you? Privately.”

Satoru raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued, while Suguru straightened, giving a small nod. “Sure. Let’s head to my room,” Suguru said, motioning for them to follow.

Inside Suguru’s dorm, the atmosphere shifted. Satoru flopped onto a beanbag chair, sprawling comfortably, while Suguru perched on the edge of his desk. Nanami and Haibara stayed standing, both looking a bit nervous.

“So, what’s this about?” Suguru asked, folding his arms.

Nanami glanced at Haibara, who nodded for him to start. “It’s about Sarah,” Nanami began, “More specifically, her technique. What is she doing to the curses?”

Satoru leaned back, tilting his head. “Why are you asking?” he asked quietly, his eyes narrowing behind his sunglasses.

Nanami didn’t flinch. “Because we just got back from a mission where it became painfully obvious that there’s something unique about her, and we were left in the dark by her and Yaga-sensei.” he said, his irritation barely concealed.

Suguru and Satoru exchanged a glance. After a moment, Suguru gave a small nod, prompting Satoru to speak.

“Alright, I’ll break it down for you,” Satoru said, sitting up slightly. His tone was casual, but his gaze was sharp. “For one, Sarah has no idea about any of this so don’t tell her. It upsets her talk about it and if you fuck her up I’ll fuck you up.” He pushed up his sunglasses and continued, “So, Sarah’s got something more than just cursed energy. This other stuff is… different. It’s softer, calmer. Think of it like honey—it’s sweet, and it draws the curses in. They’re attracted to it, like moths to a flame.”

Haibara frowned. “So, she’s bait?” he said, wringing his hands together.

“Not exactly,” Suguru chimed in. “Her energy doesn’t just attract curses. It also has a purifying quality, or at least we think it does,” he explained, “When she interacts with curses, especially weaker ones, it’s like they can’t help but be influenced by her presence. That’s why her exorcisms sometimes feel... different.”

Nanami absorbed this, his brows furrowing. “But if her energy is so special, why wouldn’t Yaga-sensei warn us? Or even explain it to her?” he asked.

Satoru pointed at the two of them, his expression serious. “Those are the right questions,” he said, “Why wouldn’t he tell you? I’ll tell you why.” He stood up, shoving his hands into his pockets. His frustration was evident as he said, “It’s a binding vow. Her technique is a secret and the higher-ups don’t want us or even Sarah herself to know about it.”

Haibara scratched the back of his head. “That explains it, I guess. But there’s one more thing—something we saw during the mission.” he said, looking up at Satoru.

Suguru leaned forward slightly. “What happened?”

Haibara recounted the events, his voice animated but tinged with concern. “We were in this graveyard, fighting curses. Sarah was holding her own, but at one point, she talked to this curse, like really talked to it. Then, when she exorcised it, every other curse around us went ballistic. They came after her like she’d just painted a target on herself.”

Suguru’s expression darkened slightly, while Satoru rubbed his chin, a rare moment of thoughtfulness crossing his face.

“Well, that’s interesting,” Satoru finally said, “If I had to guess, it sounds like the curse she spoke to recognized her energy, maybe even felt something... familiar. Curses don’t usually have deep connections, but her energy is unique enough that it might trigger something primal.”

“Or it could be a backlash,” Suguru added quietly, “If her energy purifies them in a way they can’t resist, it makes sense that others would lash out in defense.”

Nanami crossed his arms. “That’s all well and good, but it doesn’t explain why Yaga keeps us in the dark. It was reckless,” he said, scowling.

Satoru smirked, though it lacked his usual levity. “Yaga’s always been a bit of a mystery. But trust me, he wouldn’t put all of you in harm’s way without a good reason,” he said with a wink.

Haibara sighed, dropping into a chair. “Still feels wrong,” he said, shaking his head, “She deserves to know what’s going on.”

Suguru nodded slowly and said, “Yes, and that’s what Satoru, Shoko and I intend to do as soon as we can. However, we can’t be careless. If the higher-ups become aware that we know about her technique they may move her somewhere else under the guise of her safety.”

“So, why?” Haibara pondered, “Why go through all this to hide it from her? What do they get for keeping it from her? It’s just a secondary energy right? What good does it do them to keep everyone in the dark about it?”

“Well, she can also revive if she is killed,” Suguru explained, Nanami and Haibara’s eyes going wide as he continued, “And as long as her injury causes her to bleed in some way she automatically heals herself without any input.”

“So she’s unkillable?” Nanami said, crossing his arms, “I still fail to see how that would need to remain a secret.”

“There’s more,” Satoru said, “When she dies, as long as some part of her remains she will always come back.” Suguru shot him a look, his eyebrow raised as if to say “When’d you learn that?” but Satoru ignored it and continued on. “It takes her four days to regenerate. I saw them doing some type of ritual to collect her ashes, but we haven’t figured out why yet.”

“That’s horrible!” Haibara shouted standing up with his fists balled, “And she has no idea?! This is really fucked up!”

Suguru and Satoru nodded, the former adding, “Yes. And as I said, the three of us have already vowed to get her out of here as soon as possible.”

The four boys went silent, each of them contemplating the conversation. Satoru unfortunately was quite familiar with this realization. It was a heavy one, the very idea that their own leaders could do this to one of their own horrifying. He’d only realized the full weight of what Yaga was trying to show him in his lessons after Suguru had defected. He’d finally opened his eyes to what being a Jujutsu sorcerer was really like once he was truly alone out there. He’d have been completely blind to say he was the only one treated like a tool and that was precisely why he’d worked so hard to try to fix the system. Raise a new generation to be stronger, right?

“Fat lotta good that did,” He grumbled internally. Clearly he was going to have to try harder this time.

“So what does this mean for us,” Nanami asked quietly, “Do we need to protect her or not? Was Yaga-sensei trying to show us what we’re in for?”

 “He probably was,” Suguru said with a shrug, “Yaga can be vague and he doesn’t like to spell things out for us. It’s also likely that he is under some type of surveillance by the higher-ups. A man in his position has to be careful.”

“So again I have to ask,” Nanami sighed, “What does this mean for us? All of us?”

“Right now? Nothing,” Satoru said with a smirk, “We just keep coasting along until we get outta school and keep our heads down. It’s best if we all focus on getting as strong as possible and just get damn good at our jobs. When it’s time for shit to get rollin’ we’ll figure it out.”

“I guess so,” Haibara sighed, his head dropping and a deep frown on his face.

Satoru dropped his hand on Haibara’s head, ruffling his hair with a grin. “Don’t worry,” he said, “It’s all gonna work out in the long run.”

⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂ ⠂⠄⠄⠂☆

The three of them—Satoru, Sarah, and Suguru—were settled in Suguru's room, as was their usual weekend tradition. The warm glow of the TV bathed the room in soft light, illuminating the scattered pillows, a half-empty bag of chips, and Sarah sprawled out on the floor like a defeated starfish with a pillow under her head. Satoru, ever the opportunist, had claimed her back as an armrest, while Suguru was propped against the bedpost, a pillow wedged behind him for comfort.

The latest episode of One Piece had just ended, leaving them on yet another agonizing cliffhanger.

“Seriously?!” Sarah groaned, flopping her head down into the pillow dramatically. “How is it always like this?!”

“Classic Oda,” Suguru chuckled, stretching his arms over his head. “Keeps you coming back for more.”

“More pain, you mean,” Satoru added, though he couldn’t quite hide the grin tugging at his lips.

Suguru stood, brushing chip crumbs from his pants. “I’m grabbing more drinks. Want anything?” he asked.

“Nah, I’m good,” Sarah mumbled, still face-down in despair.

“I’ll keep it paused,” Satoru said, giving a mock salute.

Suguru glanced back at him and smiled—a casual, easy smile that somehow always hit Satoru right in the chest. “Thanks, Satoru,” he said, his voice that softer tone that was the second blow.

The door clicked shut behind him, and for a moment, the room was quiet except for the soft buzz of the paused TV. Satoru shifted, swallowing thickly, trying to will away the warmth spreading up his neck. “Stop it,” he scolded himself, “It’s just a smile. He smiles at you all the time.”

But when he glanced down, he realized Sarah was staring at him. Her wide, knowing eyes practically pinned him to the spot.

“What?” he asked, his voice coming out a little too sharp.

She sat up suddenly, pointing at him like she’d just solved the greatest mystery of all time. “You like him.”

“What?” he repeated, louder this time, his tone defensive, “No, I don’t!”

“Oh, you so do!” she said, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. “That’s why you’re blushing!”

“I am not blushing,” Satoru shot back, but his hand had already gone to his face, as if to check. His cheeks felt so damn hot. Of course they did.

Sarah’s grin faded slightly, replaced by a more curious expression. “Does he know?” she asked.

“There’s nothing to know because you’re wrong,” he said, shifting uncomfortably.

She went quiet, but the way her eyes softened told him she wasn’t buying it. And then, there it was—the flicker of hurt. It was small, almost imperceptible, but Satoru caught it. Guilt settled in his chest as he watched the realization dawn on her. This wasn’t what he wanted for her at all… The last thing he wanted was to hurt her.

He opened his mouth, unsure of what to say, but before he could get anything out, Sarah surprised him. She smiled—a genuine, albeit slightly sad smile—and took his hand.

“I’m happy for you,” she said softly.

Satoru blinked, completely thrown. “Sarah…”

“You should tell him,” she continued, her voice steady but kind. “Don’t wait.”

“I… I can’t,” he admitted, his throat tightening.

Her fingers tightened around his. “You can,” she insisted. “He’s lonely, you know. Just like you.”

His heart squeezed painfully at that. He wanted to deny it, to brush it off with a joke, but he couldn’t. Sarah saw him—really saw him—and it scared him how much she understood.

“I’m sorry,” he said, the words tumbling out before he could stop them, “I didn’t want you to find out like this.”

She shook her head, cutting him off. “Don’t worry about me.” Her smile wavered but stayed in place. “I’ll be fine. And you? You deserve to be happy, Satoru. I mean it.”

He stared at her, utterly speechless. He hadn’t expected this—the girl who had a crush on him to not only accept his feelings for someone else but to support him. This girl was impossible. How could she be so damn nice? He would have been so angry. He would have been so upset. This whole thing would have thrown him off his game.

“Thank you,” he managed to say, his voice barely above a whisper.

She leaned back, giving him a little space but keeping her tone light. “You better go for it. If you chicken out, I’ll tell him myself,” she teased, picking up a few of the empty cans and scooting closer to the trash can.

“You wouldn’t dare,” he said, narrowing his eyes.

She raised an eyebrow, smirking. “Try me.”

“I don’t even know what he’d say,” Satoru sighed, “What if he’s not into guys?”

“Well… is this your first real crush?” Sarah asked, crossing her legs and scooting back over to him, “Like, have you liked someone like this before? Like, a guy I mean?”

Satoru shrugged. “I mean…” he rubbed the back of his neck, “Not really. I mean, yes and no? I dunno.” He looked up at her over his sunglasses, feeling oddly shy, “I’ve never really liked someone. I’ve been attracted, sure, but this is more than that… or at least I think it is? It’s all so confusing.”

“So you’re still figuring it out,” she said with a little nod, “That’s alright. It’s not a bad thing to experiment. And Suguru is so sweet, so he’ll probably understand.”

“But what if…” Satoru wrung his hands, looking at the door nervously, “What if he doesn’t want to try it?”

“Then it’ll hurt for a while, but you’ll have your answer,” Sarah said with a little smile, “But you can’t just sit on this forever, right? That would be awful. Never having an answer is so much worse than getting rejected.”

Satoru sighed. God did he know that was true. That’s how he got his feelings all in a twist in the first place. He’d never even realized what he wanted until it was too late.

The door creaked open, and Suguru stepped back into the room, balancing three cans of soda. “Did I miss something?” he asked.

“Not a thing,” Sarah chirped, her grin sharp but affectionate.

Satoru glanced at her, then at Suguru, his heart racing. Maybe… maybe she was right? She grinned at him before she laid back on the pillow, getting comfortable once again. Suguru plopped down beside her and passed out the drinks and he stared at the can in his hand as Sarah started up the next episode. 

No. She was right. He smiled a little to himself as he steeled his heart. She was right. He needed to know. Enough was enough. 

⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂ ⠂⠄⠄⠂☆

The spring festival was in full swing, the air alive with the hum of laughter, distant music, and the warm, inviting smell of festival food. Lanterns bobbed gently overhead, casting soft golden light over the bustling streets lined with stalls. Satoru, Suguru, Sarah, Haibara, Nanami, and Shoko strolled through the festival, all dressed in colorful cotton yukata.

Satoru’s was a bold white and blue pattern, predictably loud and flashy, while Suguru’s was more subdued, a deep navy with a subtle silver design. Sarah’s yukata was a soft pink with tiny white blossoms, and Haibara’s was sunny yellow, fitting his ever-cheerful demeanor. Nanami looked impeccable in earthy tones, and Shoko in a plain but well made dark green.

“Alright, alright, where to first?” Satoru asked, hands on his hips like he was leading a grand expedition.

“Food,” Shoko said immediately, pointing at a takoyaki stand.

“Games,” Haibara countered, his eyes lighting up at the sight of the shooting gallery.

“Both,” Sarah declared, grinning. “We can snack while we play.”

They agreed with minimal arguing (a rare miracle) and made their way to the game stalls. Haibara zeroed in on a booth where you could win prizes by knocking cans off a platform.

“This one’s perfect!” he announced, rolling up his sleeves.

Sarah clapped her hands. “Win me that penguin!”

Haibara squared his shoulders, grabbed the beanbags, and threw with all the determination of a hero facing his greatest nemesis. The cans wobbled but didn’t fall.

“Again!” he declared.

Sarah cheered him on, her voice cutting through the din of the festival. “You’ve got this, Haibara!”

He didn’t, in fact, have this. After five attempts and zero prizes, the booth worker gave him a pity keychain. Sarah, undeterred, hooked the tiny trinket onto her yukata’s sash. “It’s perfect,” she said, beaming at Haibara, who blushed furiously.

Meanwhile, Nanami had found his calling at the shooting gallery. He stood with laser focus, his yukata sleeves neatly rolled back as he lined up the cork rifle.

“This is serious business,” he muttered, eyes narrowing.

“You’d think he was defusing a bomb,” Shoko quipped, sipping on a bottle of ramune.

To everyone’s astonishment, Nanami hit the bullseye three times in a row and walked away with an enormous stuffed dog.

“Here,” he said, handing it to Shoko with a straight face. “You can use it as a pillow.”

Shoko blinked, then smirked. “Practical and cute. Thanks, Nanami,” she teased.

They wandered through the stalls, gathering an impressive haul of food—yakitori, taiyaki, cotton candy, and fried squid skewers. Eventually, they found an empty set of benches near the edge of the festival and sat down to eat.

The group fell into easy conversation, passing food back and forth and laughing as Haibara dramatically recounted his attempt to out-eat a takoyaki vendor.

“Not my fault they’re so small,” he said, popping another piece into his mouth.

“They’re not small; you’re just greedy,” Suguru said, smiling as he stole a skewer from Satoru’s plate.

Satoru froze for a second, his pulse quickening. Now or never, Sarah’s voice echoed in his head. He glanced at her, and she gave him a pointed look, her eyes saying get on with it already.

He was getting increasingly jittery, his hands tightening on his yukata’s fabric. The fireworks would start any minute, and he knew Sarah would never let him live it down if he backed out. He sat up straight, then looked over at Suguru.

“Hey, uh… will you come with me for a minute?” he asked, his voice far more pitched and he expected. 

Suguru raised an eyebrow then shrugged. He set his tray of skewers down and stood up, straightening his Yukata. “Sure, where to?”

Satoru stammered for a moment then just grabbed Suguru’s hand, leading him further away into a more secluded area. Just in time too, because when the first explosion of color lit up the sky, they were practically alone. Satoru faced his friend, his one and only, and he had no idea what to say.

“So I… I just…” He managed then trailed off. His lips were still parted and he took off his sunglasses, clenching them in his hand.

Suguru laughed softly, “Calm down. What’s wrong, Satoru?”

"I think I love you," Satoru blurted out, looking up at Suguru beside him with his eyes wide.

There was a long, heavy pause between them with both of them holding their breath. Satoru gathered himself before he finally had the courage to continue.

"... A-at least I think I do," Satoru said, feeling his heart hammering against his chest, "But... This isn't something I really get, you know? I don't really know what it means to 'be with someone' or what that's supposed to feel like."

He took a breath before he continued, "But to me you're really really special. Even the smallest things you do make me really happy and so I want to make you as happy as I can too."

Satoru laughed softly, his hands wringing together in front of him, "I thought that I could just leave things the way they've always been between us but... I got some advice recently that made me want to lay it out there and try."

His brows furrowed, his expression one of confusion, "I just... I thought about all the time we'd spent together and I just... I dunno, I felt really really lonely," he looked down at his hands, "So if you're... If this... If we can maybe..." He stumbled over his words before he took a deep breath.

"I know what I'm doing right now is super selfish and I'm honestly terrified of this whole thing," he said with a breathy chuckle, "But if being with someone you care about is what makes these feelings make some kind of sense then that's what I want. I want to try. I want to see what I've been missing."

Satoru looked up at Suguru again and their gazes locked. Suguru looked so beautiful to him in that moment, his lips parted and his cheeks just slightly flushed. His pretty, thin eyes searched Satoru's face for a moment before he nodded slightly. 

"Well I..." He started softly before he smiled, laughing a little sheepishly, "I can't say I don't sort of feel the same, in a way."

Satoru's heart nearly punched right out of his chest and started break dancing. Sarah was right! She was totally right!

"I'll admit," Suguru continued after a moment, "I'm just as much at a loss as you are. I’ve never really considered you in that way, but you and I are different from the others and… Maybe that’s something only we can understand about each other?”

Satoru watched as Suguru smiled, the softest smile he’d ever seen. The kind of smile that makes you forget how to breathe and your face burn. Suguru held out his hand, palm up, and tilted his head. His bangs framed his face just right as a firework burst in the sky and he laughed softly.

"So let's try it," he said, "I promise I'll give it my all."

Satoru gingerly placed his hand in Suguru's, his expression still completely shocked. He was so happy he didn't even know how to react, and as Suguru pulled him to his feet he couldn't help but embrace him. 

"Thank you," he whispered, Suguru's hair gently brushing against his cheek, "Thank you for giving me a chance.”

He could feel Suguru’s heart pounding and when his arms wrapped around Satoru as well, the white haired boy was about ready to melt. Finally after so long, he had his answer.

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Taglist: @inthedarkshadows000

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[cat-of-starlight]

Ok-

In the wake of the new Limbus Brainrot because Canto 4 ended, I've been seeing a certain... Dante related theory... making the rounds again and I wanted to post my thoughts about it.

Putting it under the cut for length reasons- No specific spoilers?, I just don't wanna blast people with the text wall lmao

I gotta say, I really hate the Dante = Ayin theory. Desperately.

Not any hate to the people theorizing- not like that, I just already have a deep hatred of [x person is actually y person]/Reincarnation/etc. theories.

Why, you may ask? Well, in the case of this theory specifically, I have three main reasons.

1 - The vibes of the two characters themselves

Important note, I actually like both characters. I know some people have A Lot to say about Ayin, and honestly so do I (Probably different things but yea), but I generally don't mind him as much as some other people seem to.

I also love Dante.

And Specifically, I'll say- I like them both for Incredibly Different Reasons. Different enough reasons that I feel that mixing the two would ruin them both. I mean sure, Dante CLEARLY has something going on in the memories they can't yet remember, but honestly? Ayin already had his arc. HAD his chance in the spotlight- a whole game of it. I wouldn't mind a cameo, or reason for him to be important in some way, but I'd be crushed if all the reasons I've come to love Dante were smothered by "oops all Ayin"

I feel like it would make it almost... Pointless? "Oh yea this character may have had their whole character arc, but surprise! They aren't REALLY their own person and are instead this dude who already had his character arc!"

2 - They/Them Dante Supremacy™

Now, considering that the meme They/Them Dante post that I made blew up and is now my most popular post on my blog, I think its safe to say where I stand on the Dante's Pronouns part of everything-

I think it would be kind of... dismissive of that to make "Oh yea they were they/them to hide their identity" Because uhhh. Their identity is already hidden. We can't see their face. Literally anyone could have their head taken, a clock replaced, and that outfit slapped on and it generally wouldn't matter-

I feel like it kind of would send the message of "They can only count as they/them because their everything is hidden and we can't tell anyway" which??? No??? Even once Dante's actual head gets revealed, if people start switching calling them to whatever gender they look the most like and the game still uses they/them I'm Going To Bite People.

3 - ??

The least plot relevant, and the most just vibe based is- I just kinda feel like this type of reveal in writing often kinda feels like a cop out? I mean, I'm sure there's probably a well done version of one of these, but I sure as hell haven't found it yet-

I mean, in a BIG city with TONS of characters, there is SO MUCH plot that a character can have, without needing to jump back to a character that they already have. Sure- Project Moon Protags often have a Big Reveal, and its often Shocking- but does it really need to be a rehashed reveal from the first game? "boo he's old news get new material" ya know?

--

Anyway yea. I don't like the theory- Never have from the first time I saw a post about it.

If you like it, feel free to keep on with it- I don't mean this to say "If you theorize this, you suck" or anything, I just keep seeing it, and felt the desire to put my own two cents in~

But yea, keep on with it if you like it? Maybe tag it something specific and I'll just block the tag lmao

[loveroftoomanyfandoms]

Every Little Thing *He* Does is Magic, Chapter 3

Pairing: Platonic Steven Grant x Reader (for now)

Rating: T

Word count: ~900

Story Summary: The events of Every Little Thing She Does is Magic, retold from Reader's perspective after the fact to her best friend.

Tags/Warnings: Companion fic, canon Divergent since Steven still works for the British Museum post-canon, No Jake Lockley, developing friendship, spoilers for ELTSDiM

A/N: Enjoy Reader's perspective of the gala!

Y/N yawned as she took her shoes off and  flexed her toes. While the heels she had chosen to wear to the museum gala that evening were fashionable, they hadn't been the most comfortable to have been wearing while on her feet all night. Gotta remember to wear flats to the next one.

She was exhausted but had promised to call Amy as soon as she had gotten home, so she sat on her couch and opened their text thread.

Made it home, she typed out. You free to FT?

Less than a minute later, her phone rang with a FaceTime request.

She swiped to answer. “Hey, Ames.”

Amy grinned. “Hey! How was the gala?”

Y/N huffed out a breath. “Oh my gosh, I have so much to tell you.”

She stretched out and got comfortable. “Okay, first of all, like as soon as I got there I was immediately accosted by that one board member who has to brag to me about the original Vermeer he has hanging in his house every single time he sees me, as if one day I'll magically be impressed and take him up on his offer to come see it in person.”

Amy made a face. “Eww. That guy just cannot take a hint that you're not interested.”

“I know. Anyway, I was looking around for some way to escape Cohen when I saw Steven.” Y/N huffed out a breath. “Girl, when I tell you he looks good in a tux…”

She shook her head. “Actually, wait, I have a photo that Helen took of the two of us with the head of Curation. One second.”

She quickly reopened her and Amy’s text thread and sent her the picture.

Amy's eyebrows raised. “Damn. He’s really the whole package, isn't he?”

Y/N laughed. “I know, right?”

“Also, might I say that you look amazing in that dress. I'm actually not surprised Creepy Cohen tried to make another move.”

“Aww, thanks. So anyway, Steven came over and pretended like he had been looking for me in order to discuss ‘important museum business’ and whisked me away, then he got us a couple of drinks and we chatted about work for a bit until it was time for my welcome speech -- which by the way, thanks so much for helping me with that.”

Amy smiled. “Any time, bestie. So did you get to dance with your man after your speech or was it not that kind of party?”

Y/N shook her head. “Not that kind of party, but I did get to talk with Steven some more, get to know him a bit outside of work.”

“...Like as in finding out if he has a girlfriend?”

Y/N huffed out a light laugh. “It doesn't seem like it from what he said, but he does have a pet goldfish named Gus. Oh, and he's studying hieroglyphics.” Y/N bit her lip. “We, um, we actually snuck away from the gala together to go see if we could translate Akhenaten’s sarcophagus.”

Amy raised an eyebrow. “Please tell me that was a euphemism.”

Y/N let out an undignified snort. “Oh my God, Amy. Of course not.”

“You seriously snuck off from a fancy work event with a hot guy that you're majorly jonesing over to do more work? Girl, I love you, but you are such a nerd.”

“What? It was either that or go hide out in my office alone. Besides, I've told you before, regardless of my feelings, I'm sure Steven doesn't return them anyway. He's so formal with me -- it's always ‘yes, ma'am’ this and Dr. Y/L/N’ that.”

Amy smirked. “Maybe he has an authority kink.”

Y/N sat up. “Okay, I'm hanging up now--”

“No, no, wait!” Amy shook her head with a smile. “Seriously, though, maybe that's his way of keeping his distance since you are off limits. You did say he was much more relaxed and maybe even flirty with you before he knew you were the new director.”

“It’s more likely that he’s just not interested. Oh, and apparently I turn into a Victorian maiden at the slightest touch, because I tripped while standing up from crouching in front of Akhenaten's sarcophagus and when Steven grabbed my hand to steady me my brain went completely offline, like I mean full-on ‘ does not compute’ .” Y/N shook her head. “I must've made him uncomfortable because after that it seemed like he couldn't get back downstairs to the gala fast enough.”

“Or he felt a spark too and decided that he needed to get back downstairs before he slammed you up against Akenhament’s sarcophagus and had his wicked way with you.”

Y/N shook her head even as her mind entertained the thought. “It's Akhenaten, and I very highly doubt that. It’s fine, it's just a little crush. I'm sure I'll get over it soon.”

She yawned. “It's almost midnight here and I'm exhausted, so I’m gonna run.”

Amy nodded. “Okay, I'll talk to you tomorrow. Sweet dreams!”

“Thanks, Ames. ‘Night.”

Y/N ended the call and stood, then headed to her bedroom.

She plugged her phone in to charge then got ready for bed. 

She climbed into bed and drifted off to sleep almost immediately, dreaming of soft brown eyes and a crooked smile.

[nobodysdaydreams]

I FINISHED SEASON 1 OF WOLF359 AND THIS IS NOT OKAY (Reaction to Episodes 11-13, plus mini episode 1)

So basic info on the tags and how to follow my reactions below, but I'm honestly too emotional to type much more than that. What the heck was even that? I gotta get going, so I'll let past Bods of a few minutes ago do the talking under the "Keep Reading Button" but YIKES this was a LOT.

I currently have Wolf359 Tags blocked to avoid spoilers and will try my best to react blindly. I also made this meme to describe my recent feelings.

Tagging the mutuals who got me invested in this, and if you want to be tagged or untagged from these posts, lmk, or you can follow my blog or simply follow the tag "#bods wolf359 reactions". Anyone who has followed me for a while knows my updates are inconsistent, so I apologize in advance for that.

@sophieswundergarten @oflightningandstars @acollectionofcuriousreblogs

So for these last few episodes, I'm just gonna live react since I have the time to sit down. Sorry for inconsistent formatting.

Episode 11: Am I Alone Now?

Um... Hilbert? A grey door where no one ever goes??? Well...where does it go? "Open in Emergency When You're Alone"... what does that mean?

Oh the joke about the genie. I've heard this one before: "I wish my friends were back with me". Yep, that's it.

Wait. Wait. Is that what the door does? Does it somehow...bring them back? What is this metaphor trying to suggest? Or...does it only make you think they're back? So that you don't go crazy? Or is it a door that leads outside the ship? Like...a door that gives you the option to, for lack of a better word, "give up" if the others die and you're left alone in space? Because that would also be dark.

Okay, Hilbert, I agree, fear can be adaptive. Uh, not sure about the gun and war thing, that's not exactly what I meant...wait bombs? Hilbert, no, you SHOULD be afraid of yourself.

Working on the fear of death? Uh...Hilbert? Are you uh...working on reanimating corpses in space, because that sounds like a bad idea to me.

"Alone should be afraid of us instead there is a door incase I am ever alone." Well what about the others?

I agree Hilbert, alone can be a good time to focus, but I gotta say, not sure I like how you're spending your valuable alone time.

"The scary part is the part of your mind that whispers back: how can you be sure?".

Oh. Now what's interesting about that quote is that in the "Alone should be afraid of us" sentence it personifies alone. The only way to really be comfortable being alone is if you are confident that you are stronger than whatever might be there if you aren't alone. But how can you ever know 100% that you are stronger than the unknown? Also there are sound effects that sound like someone moving about. Don't like that.

Is it Blessie?

"Someone must think they are alone when they are not, there must be monsters underneath someone's bed". Okay, Hilbert, clearly going for the creepy quote of the episode award.

Why is there knocking?

Uh...Empty Man?

Um...why is WHO here Hilbert? What other missions???? Was Hilbert on another mission? Hello???? Hilbert? EXPLAIN????

"You weren't here last time, but now you are here waiting for the day, open in case of emergency, open only when you are alone."

Does the empty man want them to open the door? When they think he's not around? Why?

Uh...I don't think that joke is very funny Hilbert. And no, I'm not laughing, you're dodging my questions.

Oh now we're onto Hera. I like this. We see a lot of Doug alone but not the others.

Yeah, Hera you should NOT trust the code Hilbert gives you. I wouldn't be surprised if he's experimenting on you too.

HERA. WHAT DO YOU "SENSE UNSEEN?" And yeah...Hera I know how programming works. If I don't unblock the wolf359 tag, tumblr.com isn't gonna just show me wolf359 posts, or tell me "hey here's one you should look at". But let's just say, hypothetically, that one of my mutuals draws some wolf359 season 1 fan art that doesn't spoil anything for me. Then I would trust that they might message me, and tell me that it's okay to view their wonderful art, but I won't know that unless they tell me because the tag is blocked. Not the best metaphor, but the point still stands, Hera I guess you don't HAVE to tell them about the "empty man" roaming the ship unless they ask you for that information. But as their friend, you probably should. What motivation would you have for hiding this? Hera seems to have very human attributes in terms of her ability to have social connections. She also seems to care about them to some degree. At least, she seems fond of Doug and has some tension with Mincowski and Hilbert. She's pretending to talk to Doug, which is a very human thing to do.

Ah yes. Good for you for finding loopholes in your programming Hera. I like riddles too. But...what exactly are you going to do with these riddle answers you've acquired? Are you going to help the rest of the crew? Blessie? The empty man? Or do you have your own agenda?

"Somedays I wonder if I'll miss you after you go away forever Doug." Aw, Hera. 🥺.

"I doubt it". No, I think you will Hera. The fact that you, a robot, are even wondering about missing Doug makes me think you will. Especially since you could, theoretically, live until the heat death of the universe, which is a very long time to be alone.

Wait. WAIT. The storm is happening on a part of the spectrum that their minds can't process...is that what the empty man is? Is that why they can't see him? But Hera can't see it either so her programming must either not be able to see it or it's being blocked. But weirdly enough, only visually it seems. Huh.

Hera seems frustrated with humanity, but also seems to care about them, maybe envy them a little bit. I love this level of complexity with her. "Once the game is over, I'll come up with some names for these colors." Yikes, Sophie, when you said that I was writing the Whisperer very similarly to Hera, I didn't realize it was gonna be that spot on, but okay, especially with her calling this a “game”. It’s kinda like a darker version of what I’m writing or at least, it seems to be leaning darker, probably because it’s adult media. It also makes me wonder who Hera's creator is and what they want, or maybe that just doesn't matter in this story.

"Someday. After you've all gone away..." Um. Hera. Did you open the door?

Or are you the genie in this metaphor?

Ah now we're with Doug.

INCINERATED? What sort of psych evaluation is this? And these questions are NOT standardized for space. When coming up with psych evaluation materials, you need context. Answers that are normal in a warzone or in space are not normal in everyday life.

WHY IS HE SEARCHING FOR ALIEN LIFE IF HE DOESN'T WANT TO BE HERE? Doug, I know pizza hut might not be paying much, but you gotta follow your passion, and this clearly isn't it.

10 things you miss about earth and not one person? No one? No family? No friends?

"Great listener"/"I empathize too much" ok Doug.

Hm. Not too sure about Doug's answers. Honesty is only overrated when you're not the one being lied to Doug.

It also makes me wonder what you really miss about Earth.

Wait. Mission = Punishment? Spaceship = Prison? Is Doug...are they...are they doing this because they are completing a criminal sentence? If so, I can see how Hilbert and Mincowski got assigned to this as a punishment, they have science and military backgrounds, but what on Earth is Doug's story? "He was a former tech genius kid who burnt out got into drugs and alcohol, worked at pizza hut, did a crime, and now they sent him to space?" And since when do space missions fulfill court mandated community service? Also Doug I think technically has arms training, because if I recall correctly, Mincowski gave him a gun but refused to give one to Hilbert. Like...who are you Doug? What is your deal?

Alone...again. Yeah, just Doug and the voices in his head. Forgot about those. There's a lot to keep track of for a small cast of characters.

Let's do a quick run down before we hear from the commander:

Doug Eiffel- former pizza hut employee, no family/friends to speak of, possibly serving prison sentence, apparently knows how to use a gun and a lot about communications

Dr. Hilbert- doing VERY unethical space experiments, sees himself as a genius despite being a huge liability whose mind was nearly over taken by a killer plant. Obviously knows SOMETHING the others don't, so I don't trust him or his spinal fluid stealing ways.

Commander Mincowski- stereotypical by the books commander, I like her, but she also has a ton of unanswered questions and vague backstory so ???

Hera- seems nice, I wish people treated her better but also clearly keeping secrets from the others including Doug who is her friend so Hera what are you doing?

Percival The Plant aka. "Percy" aka. The Blessed Eternal aka. "Percival B. Eternal" aka. "Blessie" aka "Specimen 34"- a plant that thinks of itself as a god. Where did it come from? Even if it did take over the ship, what is it's plan? No one knows.

The Empty Man???- may or may not exist, seems to be off the visible spectrum even for robots and AI. He's hungry or as the messages put it "the empty man hungers" and that's about all we know about him. What we don't know is what his food source is, and I find that rather troubling. Maybe Doug can make him some pizza. Oh, and one other thing: he knocks. Which...is surprisingly courteous behavior from a dangerous man that can't be seen. But why would they open the door for him, unless...oh. Unless they are so desperate not to be alone that they embrace the empty man. But like...how would that even...I don't even know. Also apparently the empty man was asleep, because the first message said he'd awoken. Awoken from what? Hyper sleep? Was he in the box? Apparently he can see them even if he can't be seen, and I don't like that.

The voices in Doug's head- they say "he's not the first". Which is kind of crazy, because Dr. Hilbert was talking about "other missions". So um...what other missions? Who are the others? Who are the voices? Is something being transmitted into Douglas' head?

Captain Lovelace and that scientist lady (don't remember her name) from the sealed off lab- are they still alive? Were they on a previous mission? Why did they want to make spiders bigger? What was the point of these experiments? I SWEAR I saw people posting about Lovelace before I blocked the tag, which makes me think she's important.

The Spiders- presumed dead. Let's hope so.

The thing in the box- weird that the box was 953, which is 359 backwards. Weird that it had a heartbeat. Weird that it was labelled "for Doug Eiffel" with no other information. Odd that there were so many other seemingly nonsensical boxes in that room.

Whoever sent the “Empty Man” messages. Because I’m starting to suspect it might not have been command and there might not have been a psychological experiment. Which means the messages were meant for someone, but whoever sent them didn't want the others to know about it. ...but who were the messages for? Hilbert? Hera? Hilbert? ...Blessie???

Whoever sent that jazz music earlier. It's good music, but why?

Also important to note that multiple characters on this list might be the same people, people pretending to be the same people, or different versions of the same character due to cloning or time travel experiments thanks to weird space magic and also Dr. Hilbert.

Now let's here from the captain.

I um...I wouldn't call the talent show a success. Dr. Hilbert didn't get to make the ice cream! We never even got to find out what everyone's favorite flavor was 😥

3 minutes. Okay. Let's see what Captain Mincowski says.

I wonder who she's talking to.

Yeah, the plant being, it's weird that that's not a priority here, I agree Captain.

Huh. The weather is weird. VERY weird that Hilbert is ignoring it, and VERY weird that he has human tissues samples and jars with dead things after giving a monologue about trying to conquer death. Don't like that one little bit.

Soap? Hilbert you need to get better at lying. And yeah, captain given that he's talking about "other missions", I think he might have been lying for longer than anyone realizes...

Things moving around and turning up in odd places...it seems the empty man and Blessie (one of the two) enjoy furniture rearranging...yeah I do think there's more than the three of you, my list had at least 10 with some possible overlap.

I'm sorry what. The station changes? THE DOOR TO A SECTION JUST VANISHED? Terrarium? That might be Blessie, but still...that's weird. Eiffel...huh. Unsure if this is a case of him being so absent minded he didn't notice or remember the terrarium, or if he legit can't remember. Wait Wednesday started over? Clocks turned back at midnight? FOOD RETURNED? Okay you can change clocks, but you can't...okay time is being warped now. Maybe. Possibly. This is gonna be one of those things where you don't know how much is in their heads and how much is actually happening right? Oh boy. But also...how can one remember a time loop and the others don't...unless they are all remembering different loops...oh goodness, is this like Netflix's Dark, where I'm gonna have to start drawing maps or something?

"I don't know if there's anyone else I can trust": yeah, commander, and with the others in the same boat, it looks like you all really are alone.

Wait "MARRIED ME?" Who is she calling? Aw. Happy Birthday. That's sad but sweet. I hope she makes it home to whoever that is, but...for some reason I doubt.

Also...with the time loop stuff...is that what they mean by saying Doug isn't the first? Is Hilbert trying to escape the time loop is that why he remembers the other missions? What are the missions for? What does Hera know? Man I gotta stop doing these as study breaks or I'm never gonna quit.

But. Wait wait. Okay, I know I’ve had about 600 different insane theories already, but one more: I don’t know who sent the empty man messages. But. Is the empty man… a vessel for someone? Hilbert was talking about cheating death, time warp stuff is happening, maybe this is an invention of future Hilbert. If it came from the box, it might be for Doug. Like a… backup body for his consciousness or an… invisible clone or something? It makes the “you’re not the first” stuff make sense too. Doesn’t explain Hera’s behavior or why Doug is in space, or why the empty man is hungry and knocking, but… you know what never mind idk where I was going with this one.

I think I'll react to the rest tomorrow, because it's late, and I'm tired.

Episode 12: Deep Breaths

Update: It is tomorrow. :)

Why so doom and gloom Doug? Oh it's Christmas. Well someone's a bit of a scrooge. What else besides celebrating a nice holiday Doug? What doesn't the commander remember?

No Doug, don't hint at stuff, explain it. Normalize explaining things.

Doug. A cigarette cannot be all you are living for. You need help. You all need help.

Don't cry for me Argentina? Do not go gentle into that good night?

Doug is so dramatic. I'd hate him more, but I'm in this picture, and I don't like it.

Hilbert. Why do you need him for your experiment?

DOUG DO NOT LIT THE CIGARETTE.

Hera tell him.

Everyone needs to listen to Hera more. And also ask her more questions.

Oh boy another recording!

Sounds like music, less clear this time...oh. A band!

Aw, Hera remembered his birthday! 🥺 Wait...were those words via the transmission!

Oh Hilbert hush up.

Why would it matter if they were all music or always old transmissions from the 10s or 20s?

Hilbert. Okay. Look, 7.8 light years away, I get that...but...now hear me out...isn't it possible that you could be picking up music on a station that plays music from an older decade? Like if I picked up the song "Let it be" by the Beatles my first thought would not be "Hey! That song didn't come out 8 years ago. ALIENS." it would be "oh we pick up a 60s/70s radio station". Now obviously something deeper probably IS going on here, but still a bit of a leap.

Uh. Making a return trip to...where?? Also this is some pretty clear music. Also good quote "When you eliminate the impossible, whatever is left no matter how unlikely must be true."

Also I recognize the music playing. Is that...hold up is that Church music? For Christmas? Wait now it sounds like a ballet?

Um...what is that.

...and why did it happen as soon as they talked about trying to find the aliens?

Let's see. A little weird that the station can receive transmission better than it can send. 40 light years away? That's pretty far.

And um...I don't know if I'd be so optimistic about this. We still have a lot of unanswered questions.

What is lock down protocol 24c and what is indigo39? Hilbert. HILBERT. Were you lying about the aliens to experiment on Doug Hilbert?

Oh poor Hera. Alpha victor? What... how does Hilbert have all these codes? Why can't she let Mincowski in? Hilbert. Are you taking over the ship? Is this a one man mutiny? It is treason. WHY DOES THIS ALTER THE MISSION? LAST HALF HOUR OF OXYGEN? NO NO NO NO NO!

Yeah Eiffel, he IS crazy.

Oh no Hera.

Minutes? How does he have a way to contact Earth? Who is YOUR superior Hilbert? The devil? He must be since you are RUINING CHRISTMAS AND DOUGLAS' BIRTHDAY THAT NO ONE BUT HERA REMEMBERED. How hard is it to save your evil plans until after the holidays? How hard is it not to betray a man on his birthday?

Hera. Hera PLEASE tell me you found a way to win the game. PLEASE tell me you found a way around this.

...Hera?

Uh-oh.

Episode 13: Gas Me Twice

Well that was a bummer. I swear, Mincowski better not die she has a family.

I hate Hilbert so much. Dude is the WORST.

Wait! The oxygen mask! For the cigarette! Douglas your stupidity has saved you again!

...oh my gosh I really am in this picture, and I don't like it.

Oh no. Hera. Hera you need to help him. Yes Douglas! Have faith in her! Even though she's actively withholding information, she still seems nice! HERA! It hurts her? Oh no... oh Hera no. 🥺

22 minutes of air? Well, at least she's still alive.

Incoming pulse beacon? Interesting...

Hephestus station please respond? ...Who is Cutter???

Contingency scenarios? Data series? Transmission from deep space? Origin source? Who are these people? WHAT ARE THEY LOOKING FOR?

Oh...wait why would he know about Eiffel being alive? Haha...oh Eiffel. This was a good plan. But you might have wanted to get a little more information from him.

Death was no immediate? Okay so Hilbert was under orders to kill, but it seems Doug is his own experimental side project? Interesting...

Oh dear. A fire. Looks like you have to let Hera have control back.

Yes! Mincowski is still alive! :)

YES HERA! Emergency response overrides it! For 20 minutes? Great. Kill or capture Hilbert now.

MADE HIM DO WHAT? NO HERA NO!

HERAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Restarting... no. No. Hera. You killed her. 😢😟🥺

This gif I found pretty much approximates my feelings:

HILBERT NEEDS TO DIE.

Shut up Hilbert. No one wants to hear you speak.

Oh...hello Mincowski :)

NOW BEAT HIM UP!

And yeah...it's okay Mincowski. A lot has happened. Christmas was ruined. You lost a crewmate. It's okay to not be okay.

Can you hear me? Well Hera did say she could always hear him. Maybe a part of her mind got saved somewhere. At least, we can always hope.

Lobotomized her? No you need to fix her. 🥺

Hilbert you bastard. I don't swear much or at all on this blog, but if there was ever a time, it is now. And um... given the plant situation and the other mysterious stuff on the ship...look I don't support murder, but maybe you could just send Hilbert off by himself in a little pod and let nature take its course.

You deserved a good dinner Mincowski. Aw, Doug is 32. Happy Birthday Doug.

Hm. A communication from Hilbert's commanders. This is awkward. But better open it. And yeah, you both deserve answers.

But who is on the other line?

...Why does it sound like an telephone?

WHAT.

How dare. How dare they end on such a cliffhanger?

Mini Episode 1: Are space suits itchy?

So I'm not sure what this is, but it's on my podcast list as the last episode of season 1, so I'm gonna listen to it? Let me know if it's not canon or something, but hopefully it will be nice, even if I don't get any answers.

Aw, third grade questions. "What do you do when you're crewmate betrays you?"

IDIOTIC QUESTION? Doug what is up with your family? Be nice to Stephanie, it was a fair question.

Yeah, no don't see your doctor. He's nuts. I feel like I might be listening to his out of order. Which is a good thing. Otherwise Doug would be on the podcast telling third graders to not call their doctor lest the doctor try to kill him.

Oh boy the censorship 😂. Mincowski is the better person for this.

Well that was a quick one, but nice! Oh okay, so it was like a mini episode that aired during a break, okay. Well I hope that soon enough I'll be able to listen to more. Because I need answers. Hera needs to get better. And Hilbert needs to go to jail. I want his degrees revoked! I want him rotting in the slammer! I want the world to look upon him with nothing but contempt and disgust!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this, see you all next time.

Wait no, wait hold on. What about the door? The door that Hilbert was supposed to open once he killed all of them? The grey door, the one he kept giving ominous monologues about? And...he knew about the empty man, or maybe the transmission were to tell him about the empty man. But what is that? What does that mean? You know what, we can figure that out later, I'm still mad at him.

[ilguna]

hii! idk if you do this stuff but do you have tips on how to start build an acc? like mutuals followers just general stuff. i'm kinda stuck lmao.

ahhh this one is a hard one to do. if im being honest, i’ve had this account for a while, at least since 2017 😬 buutttt i took a look at your account, im liking the vibes.

when it comes to fanfiction and building an account, usually you have to start writing and posting. i would suggest looking at some of your favorite writers, especially on tumblr if it’s gonna be your main domain and see how they layout their post and try to do something similar.

i’m going to use my acc as an example but there’s many other ways you can go about this.

when i’m looking for fanfiction, i like to see the title of the fic and the person that im looking for specifically. i do it as the title of the fic, some people have it in the body of the text posts.

next i try to summarize it to let people know what it’s going to be about. when i look for fanfic, i have something in mind that i want. i always put warnings because it’s the easiest thing to do/keep track of. sometimes fics can get heavy.

i put a word count in case someone doesn’t want to get caught up in a long fic and they’re just looking for something short and sweet.

and notes is where i put anything important. for that fic, it was the fact that it was based on the taylor swift song. if you’re ever writing based off a certain episode of a show, i would put: spoiler: season x, episode x. or s2ep3. something in that general format.

next comes your fanfiction. people will either love it or hate it. and that’s totally fine. you can put your heart and soul into something and they don’t have to like it. you’re just putting your works out on the market, if they wanna read they will!! if they wanna come back, they’ll follow!!

and tagging is probably the most important way to get traction, in my opinion. i have curated this tagging system over a couple years. it seems to work pretty well. the only rule that i NEVER break is that i DO NOT tag fandoms or characters that are not the main interest of the fic 🙅‍♀️

for example, if the fanfic is about finnick, there is no way that i’m tagging a side character like katniss just for existing inside of it. it clogs up the katniss tags.

anywayyy, that’s my unsolicited advice for writing in general. you just gotta write and post. people will find it in the tags. will you get a bunch of likes/reblogs overnight? not at first. but as long as your works are consistently good, people will follow and come back.

followers on tumblr are not a huge deal. most of the time, people are finding your fics through the search function. they’ll like and move on. if your writing sticks out, that’s when they search your account.

i do not base my entire account around followers either. people will follow and then won’t interact for a loooonggggg time. or ever again. there’s nothing you can really do about it. it’s nice to see a high number but it’s not the end of the world

AND when it comes to mutuals? i don’t really have a lot of advice. i got a lot of my mutuals from the colby brock fandom (shout out to them) back when it was like 15 of us and we were running the whole fanfiction game lol. we still follow each other, but hardly interact.

and it’s kinda the same for some of my other mutuals 🤷‍♀️ i love them all. i think about them sometimes. if we talk to each other, that’s great. if not, i’m not gonna get all uptight about it. life gets in the way and we lose interest in shit.

mutuals are nice if you’re boosting each other’s fics. or to talk to about the latest news with the fandom. yknow. they’re just an internet friend.

i hope this helps? this is just the basic stuff too. when it comes to layout and colors and making your profile look all aesthetic-y, you figure it out over time. i’ll be here if you have any questions 😊

—

edit: also, make sure you turn on anonymous questions!! people usually like to request fics on anon!!

[redhoodinternaldialectical]

Hello, I read and love your Chained Series but only now noticed the Major Character Death tag on the second one, since I moved from part 1 to part 2 without checking the tags/summary. I normally really really really do not touch Major Character Death, it just... well it just makes me really sad in a way i don't enjoy, to keep it brief, even when it's plot or story wise fulfilling a purpose.

This is in no way me asking you not to do it, it's your story, and that's how it should be!

But I was hoping if you'd be willing to give me some information around the MCD, who for example (or if this'll straight up be a bad ending overall), so I can emotionally brace myself because I really don't want to stop reading the fic, because it's really good, but going further into it blind feels daunting, in a way. I will of course not relay anything regarding the fic to others, that you might tell me (since idk how familiar you are with tumblr: there is a way to respond to asks privately in the ask-post settings, if you prefer).

If you're not happy doing this I completely understand, it's your story, but i figured it's worth asking.

I hope you have a nice day, and that the writing will be easy 👌

I would be quite happy to explain what I've got planed with that! I deliberately read spoilers for similar reasons all the time; I totally understand wanting to be forewarned and forearmed. Also I'm just happy to ramble about my fic lol :3 If ya gotta drop it, no worries, glad you enjoyed the first sections and I don't mind anyone takin care of themselves

You're probably not the only one who'd want to know so I'll just put all the spoilers in a read more:

First of all, I don't consider this to be a particularly dark story (though granted I don't consider Death Note to be a particularly dark story so uh your mileage may vary) nor do I see it ending in tragedy.

The planned deaths:

The Joker - So, he's not really a main character in this fic, in fact, he might not even get speaking lines, I'm unsure right now, but he's major in the comics so I'm counting it. It's not going to happen for a VERY long time but it is so pivotal to the functioning of a main emotional plotline that I don't know how I'd write around changing my mind about this one.

Captain Boomerang - Like the Joker, I'm not really even sure he'll get speaking lines, but he's important enough to Tim's other canon stories he makes the cut. Unlike the Joker, I don't actually know if he's going to die yet! At the end of Red Robin Tim tries to kill him but fails. I don't know if my older Tim will do it, but I am certain he'll go at least halfway through a second similar plan. Much will hinge on what I read of his interactions with Huntress.

Other assorted villains, such as Darkseid and the Batman Who Laughs - This will depend a lot on, again, my reading of how Tim interacts with the kind of violence Huntress brings to the table. It also depends a lot on how a few in-fic decisions shake out. Tim has to make the decision as to whether or not they kill more people than just the ones on his small list from the first fic and I've got a more solid idea for if he does than if he doesn't.

Roy Harper (and a few other Heroes) - He's not gonna stay dead though, none of them are. So, due to hesitance and fear of fucking shit up Jason and Tim aren't going to make some key decisions in time to prevent the whole "Heroes in Crisis" plotline from happening. Once they learn of this they are immediately going to start doing mad science to figure out how to resurrect people safely. And, of course, they have the power to time travel.

Jason Todd... Kinda. - An increasingly large and loud elephant in the room is gonna be the fact that Jason doesn't have to have died. Ever. In any timeline.

Tim could save him.

But of course that would mean rewriting the Jason he knows out of existence. There really isn't a clear cut moral equivalent to doing this? But I feel emotionally it would count as this/our Jason dying.

On the other hand if Tim refuses, he is deeply morally responsible for Jason's actual already happened death... but will have saved our Jason's existence.

Tim's decision of whether or not to save Jason's child self is THE emotional climax of the story. One of the main purposes of Chapter 12 was foreshadowing how each character will react to this very situation.

I can't put another read more, so if knowing the two options is good enough for you turn back now! And if you wanna know what Tim's decision is (I sure would!) scroll passed the two big pictures!

Tim refuses to save Jason's childhood self. He loves this Jason too much to emotionally withstand losing him. I have had this story beat and the resulting fallout planned for absolute ages and I'm 100% certain on this one. Frankly, timeline erasing the Jason we know and love would make ME cry too much to keep writing it lmao, so this one I can guarantee.

[stardustandash]

It Burns - Jedi Survivor 

I’ve decided to post some of my one-shots here on tumblr. If you prefer reading on ao3 this is the link.

Summary: “You’re going to be alright. Just gotta get you back to town and then I’m sure we can get you patched up,” said Bode.

The sentiment was nice. Koboh wasn’t exactly boasting a med-station or even a spare bacta tank. At best he’d probably have a new scar and some enduring lung damage. Again. At worst, well, it’s not like he would be around to care.

Or, what if instead of Cal walking away completely fine after the final fight with Dagan Gera, that slash across the chest actually did some damage.

*spoilers up to and including the observatory mission only*

Characters: Cal Kestis, Bode Akuna, Greez Dritus, Merrin

Tags: hurt/comfort, whump, pre-Merrical

Word Count: 3,407

Lightsaber wounds, in Cal’s experience, karking sucked. The line carved across his chest burned hotter than a thousand suns. He struggled to take in a breath, to concentrate on his surroundings, but it was difficult to take in anything but the pain crackling across his chest and the smell of burned flesh. The body of Dagan Gera lay at his feet, finally defeated, though Cal wasn’t sure if he should award the victory to himself or to the memory of Santari Khri. It had been her, or her spirit reaching through the Force, or maybe just a desperate projection of his own mind that had taken down Dagan.

Cal’s breathing hitched around the burning in his chest. Distantly, he registered BD’s concerned beeping, but before he took a stim there was something more important to do. The compass. He had to get the compass. He scanned the sleek white room, unsure if he was spinning, or it was. There, it was under one of the consoles in the room. Or at least he thought that greyish blur was the compass. It was getting hard to make out the details. Hie blinked, and his perspective of the observatory changed. Instead of looking down at the small fuzzy mass he was fairly certain was the compass, he was looking across at it. Then his vision was filled by a very worried droid hopping from foot to foot and bouncing a tiny green vial out of his head. He was supposed to catch that. He tried to reach out for the stim but his hand didn’t do more than twitch.

Large hands found his shoulders and gently turned Cal from his side onto his back. The pain flared. His breath caught in his chest. The ground beneath him fell away as he fought desperately to breathe again. The only tether to reality was those warm, large hands gripping him tight, the distant low voice that sounded through the murky depths of his pain. Yet even so Cal could feel himself slipping further and further away. Kriffing sith with their kriffing lightsabers. Would it have been so hard to just stab him instead and put him out of his misery quickly.

There was a pressure against Cal’s neck accompanied by a small hiss. He slammed back into reality, blinking up into the concerned face of Bode. He wheezed, and the worried lines on Bode’s face deepened.

“You with me, Kestis?” asked Bode voice soft with worry.

Cal was too busy trying to keep his lungs working despite the burn across his chest to think about answering. He settled for trying to lock eyes with Bode instead. It seemed to work; Bode nodded as he met Cal’s eyes.

“You’re going to be alright. Just gotta get you back to town and then I’m sure we can get you patched up,” said Bode.

The sentiment was nice. Koboh wasn’t exactly boasting a med-station or even a spare bacta tank. At best he’d probably have a new scar and some enduring lung damage. Again. At worst, well, it’s not like he would be around to care.

BD beeped and another green vial flew through the air. Bode snatched it and injected it into Cal in one smooth motion. Breathing became a touch easier, and Cal could focus on the world outside of Bode’s hold. Which sent his mind spiralling back to the whole reason he had fought Dagan in the first place.

“The compass?” Cal wheezed. He pushed weakly against Bode’s hold. Tanalorr was so close, he just needed the compass and there would be a safe place in the galaxy for anyone who needed it.

“I got it,” said Bode. There was something odd in his voice, but it was too much effort for Cal to parse it. “Come on, let’s get you back to your girlfriend.”

The words had the intended effect of riling up Cal enough to distract him from the pain of being hauled to his unsteady feet. It took both Bode and BD to get him up, and it was only BD and his little jets that stopped him from tipping over away from Bode once he landed upright.

“She’s not… my girlfriend,” muttered Cal between wheezing breaths. It was true, he didn’t know what was between himself and Merrin, only that what was there had changed in some unnameable way.

“Sure, you can be the one to tell her that,” said Bode as he gently slung one of Cal’s arms around his neck before reaching around to hold his waist.

Raising his arm pulsed fire across Cal’s chest but he bit back a groan and let Bode lead him towards the turbolift. He did his best to keep his feet under him but there was no denying that Bode was doing most of the work keeping him upright and moving. What did he do to deserve Bode. The man stayed strong beside him while facing down Dagan armed only with a blaster and now was hauling his ass out of the ancient Republic observatory to try and get him help. The last time he’d been held so gently had been, well, the last time he had a lightsaber wound in his chest.

When the turbolift descended Cal’s vision went briefly white at the change in movement. Only Bode’s strong arms kept him upright. Still, he tried to focus on anything other than gravity trying to take hold in the burning sensation across his chest. There was the weight of BD on his arm where it was draped over Bode’s shoulder. The scratchy feel of Bode’s shirt where his cheek rested on his chest. The smell of sweat and burned flesh. Scratch that, he did not want to focus on either of those scents.

Too late, his stomach flipped and Cal retched helplessly. He forced down the sick feeling but not before his diaphragm got the memo to send his stomach convulsing and the flames trying to burn their way through his chest increased in ferocity. The hand holding his arm around Bode’s shoulder rubbed gently along his wrist.

“Hold on, Kestis. We’re almost there.”

Cal just focused on not passing out instead of responding.

A few seconds later a cool breeze ruffled Cal’s hair and he could smell the thin, distinct scent of Koboh’s atmosphere; they had made it back out to the lower levels of the observatory. They made their way across the platform towards the open air and the dizzying expanse below. For a moment Cal wondered what Bode’s plan was. Maybe he’d just push him off and let gravity claim another victim. But no, Bode wouldn’t do that.

Instead, Cal found himself being lifted gently into Bode’s arms. The change in position sent another spasm of pain through him, and by the time he managed to breathe again they were next to Bode’s fighter. Kriff, he’d wanted to enjoy hitching a ride with the jetpack. He tried pushing against Bode’s chest to be put down. Now that they were back on sturdy ground there was no need to still be carried. The attempt was futile, whether that was due to the weakness sinking into him or the fact that Bode probably had at least fifty pounds on him, Cal couldn’t tell. Bode kept him in his arms as he opened up the fighter and settled them both in.

It was a tight fit, but Cal couldn’t find it in him to care. It was getting harder to breathe again as the stims reached the end of their efficiency. BD hopped on his knee as Bode began the pre-flight sequence and trilled at him sadly. Despite the burn moving incurred, he raised a hand to pat BD on his head in what he hoped was a reassuring gesture. There was an inquisitive beep, but he couldn’t focus enough to translate the binary.

“Try not to die on me,” said Bode as the fighter lurched into the sky. “I’ll never get the smell out.”

Cal wanted to laugh, but the movement of the ship taking off lurched badly in his chest, and the world faded away to black instead.

The blackness was not calm or peaceful. Stuck in the darkness, Cal burned. There were hands on him, and voices around him, but through it all he fell apart in flames. He burned on Jedha, standing next to Cordova while he contemplated a ruin. He burned on the Mantis, listening to Cere explain an obscure bit of Jedi lore. He burned on Tanalorr, dying as Dagan and Santari watched with impassive faces. Again and again he fell through the blackness of the galaxy as the flames grew hotter and hotter around him, licking at his hair and crawling over his skin.

When he woke, he took it as a pleasant surprise. The fact that Greez was hovering only about a foot away from his face was definitely less pleasant, but at least Cal had experience with Greez’ odd wake up calls over the years.

“Oh look he’s awake. Okay kid, before you even try to get up; yes, everyone is fine. Yes, you got the compass. No, we can’t use it to go to Tanalorr right this second, its broken. No, you may not get out of bed. Think that just about covers it, you can go back to sleep now,” said Greez, one of his four arms already pressing Cal into the mattress in anticipation.

Unfortunately for Greez, Cal had adrenaline and the Force on his side. He pushed his way upright despite Greez’ hold and took in his surroundings. He was in the basement room of Pyloon’s Saloon. There was no mistaking the echoes of comfort and warmth that surrounded him here. It was not just the two of them in the room either. Bode was leaning against the wall near the stairs up to the saloon, and Merrin was sitting on the floor surrounded by what looked like the contents of a rather large medkit. Both of them were watching Cal with an intensity that made him look away. And realize he wasn’t wearing a shirt. He surreptitiously tried tugging the blanket a little higher, which was made difficult by the fact that BD-1 had hopped up onto the bed and was hovering by his knees.

“The compass?” asked Cal.

“Did you not hear me? It’s broken, but Muscles over there thinks it’s not as bad as the other two. Cordova can probably fix it.”

“Then we have to go to Jedha,” said Cal, swinging his legs over the side of the bunk and tried to stand.

All the occupants in the room lurched forward as Cal moved, and he didn’t have to wonder why. Fire burned across his chest and his vision wobbled. Distantly he felt hands on his body moving him back down into the bed. One ruffled gently through his hair before pulling away.

“That’s why I said you should go back to sleep,” said Greez once Cal started breathing like a human and not panting like a loth cat stuck on Tatooine.

“You should listen to Greez. Unless of course, you would like to join my sisters and fight at my calling,” added Merrin.

Cal couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face at her words, even though he still hurt. He glanced over to see her approaching with two bacta patches in hand.

“It is time to change the dressing on your wound. Unless, of course, you would like another giant scar.”

“I think I’ll take the bacta, thanks,” said Cal.

Merrin replaced Greez at his side and sat down on the edge of the bunk. Cal had approximately thirty seconds to appreciate that Merrin would sit with him and care for him and how lucky he was to have someone so beautiful and kind in his life before she ripped off the bacta patches over his wound without any pretense or warning. Cal yet out an undignified yelp, making Bode and Merrin both chuckle. He took it all back, he did not want Merrin playing nursemaid ever again. She just might kill him with her version of care.  

“Ow,” groaned Cal.

“Don’t be such a baby,” teased Merrin. “It hurts more if you do it slow.”

At least she was gentler when replacing the bacta. Her fingertips smoothed the patches against his wound just below his collarbones and he could feel his cheeks getting warmer and warmer every time she grazed his skin. He could feel the amusement coming off of Greez and Bode and kept his eyes trained adamantly on the ceiling until Merrin finished putting on the bacta at last.

“There. Now you must stay in bed and rest,” said Merrin.

“But, the compass-“

“I’ve got it. Don’t worry, I’ll keep it safe until these two let you out of bed,” said Bode. “Taking it to Jedha can wait a few more days.”

Cal sighed. “I can sleep on the Mantis on the way there.”

“Sure, if you can walk yourself to the Mantis, we’ll go,” said Greez, arms folded and daring him to try it.

Cal began to swing his legs towards the edge of the bed again, but this time both Merrin and Greez stopped him before he moved more than a few inches.

“We don’t have to do that again, thank you very much. You already proved my point earlier,” grumbled Greez as he pushed Cal’s legs back into place on the bunk. “BD, you’re in charge of keeping him there.”

BD beeped an affirmative and sat himself on top of Cal’s ankles. The little traitor.

“I’d like to go record a story for Kata since we have some time here,” said Bode. “Rest up, Scrapper.”

“I should return the items that are not needed to their proper owners. Medical supplies are always needed here,” said Merrin, gesturing towards the pile of bandages and other assorted medical things strewn across the floor.

The two of them left slowly, Bode helping Merrin with her armload of supplies. Cal watched them go with a bit of jealousy. He hated being stuck in bed. He sighed and slumped against the pillows, resigned to staring up at the flat, boring bottom of the upper bunk for the foreseeable future when suddenly a slice of bread slathered in meiloorun jelly appeared in front of his face.

“If you’re not going to go back to sleep you may as well eat something,” said Greez, waving the bread in front of Cal’s nose as if trying to entice an animal out of its lair.

Cal snatched it from his grip using a little tug from the force to bring the bread into his hand. The offended look on Greez’ face made him smile as he bit into the bread. Meiloorun jelly wasn’t his favourite, but as soon as it touched his tongue his stomach rumbled loudly and he devoured the bread like a ravenous rancor.

“You know I hate it when you do that,” said Greez, flapping his hand like he’d dipped it in something unpleasant.

“Got any more?” asked Cal around the last mouthful.

“Yeah, upstairs. That was the last bit of my lunch I’ll have you know,” said Greez.

Usually Greez was eager to feed anyone who asked, but now he remained still, perched on the edge of the bunk. They sat in silence, and just when Cal had given up on getting more food and  was thinking he might actually drift off, Greez began talking again.

“Remember when you showed up here a few months ago and I said you looked terrible?”

“Yeah.”

“You look worse now,” said Greez.

Except he wasn’t looking at Cal. Instead, he was watching one of the plants across the room. His hands worried at each other where they rested in his lap.

“Thanks,” said Cal, sarcasm dripping from the word.

“No, ah blast it. Cal, you remember when we all split up?” asked Greez.

“How could I forget,” replied Cal with a frown. It had been one of the worst days of his life, behind the Purge, Prauf’s death, and Vader. The fight, the others all walking away. It was awful.

“I said I wanted to get away from trouble, settle down, find a cantina that needed a cook. But that wasn’t all of it. We did so many missions together. And every time you came back just a little more bruised, a little more bloody. Call me a coward but I didn’t want to be there the day you didn’t come back at all.”

“Greez, I-“

“No, nope, you let me finish,” said Greez, waving a hand to make Cal shut up. “I left you the Mantis because it felt like that way I could keep you safe even if I wasn’t there. Then you show up with the big guy and I think great, finally someone who can keep up with your nonsense and keep you out of trouble. Then three days ago he drags your ass in here having met the wrong end of a lightsaber and being most of the way to dead. Exactly what I wanted to avoid when I left you gallivanting around the galaxy. You’re damn lucky that you’ve endeared yourself enough to everyone on this rock or you’d be pushing up Dathomirian daisies by now.”

“I’ve been out for three days?” asked Cal.

Greez threw up his hands and hopped off the edge of the bed. “Great, I pour my heart out, and what does he actually catch? The fact that he’s been asleep for three days. Can you believe it?”

BD trilled that he certainly could.

Guilt bubbled up inside Cal. He hadn’t meant it like that. It was just alarming to know he’d missed so much time that they didn’t have.

“Thanks for looking out for me, Greez,” said Cal quietly just as Greez took a breath to get going on another lecture.

He watched Greez deflate with an exasperated sigh. For a moment Cal could see the age on his face as he ran a hand down it and over one of his braided mutton chops. Then it was gone, replaced with the usual unaffected expression Greez favoured.

“Well someone has to, seeing as you’ve proven you have never even heard the words ‘self-care’ before. Seriously, between you and Cere I have my doubts about Jedi education,” said Greez.

Cal smiled, glad to see that Greez bounced back despite the still heavy air in the room.

“They tended to prioritize learning about how to read someone through the Force over relaxation techniques. Except for meditation. The crèche masters were really into meditation,” said Cal, letting a teasing tone slip into his voice.

Greez shot him a look. “Don’t you try and do any of that Force magic mind-reading crap on me or you won’t be getting any more food from the saloon.”

“I won’t. Merrin on the other hand...”

“Fine, I see how it is. Alright, don’t you move. I’ll be right back with some more bread in a minute, if you promise you’ll stay in bed until you’ve healed up.”

“It’s okay, Greez. I’m not going to vanish if you leave for a few minutes.”

With that Greez went up the stairs mumbling to himself about kids and heart attacks. Cal listened to him go, smiling to himself. The burn of the saber wound still ached, but his chest felt warm with something else, something he hadn’t felt in a long time. He turned his attention to the little droid still perched on his ankles.

“What do you say BD, think we could sneak out?”

There was a loud, adamant no in response.

“Yeah, you’re right. Guess we’re going to be stuck here a while, huh?”

BD let out a series of beeps in response before settling down on Cal’s ankles like a little metal tooka.

“You’re right buddy. Not like I can do much right now.”

Lightsaber wounds karking sucked. They burned no matter how much bacta was put on them, and scarred no matter what. Even now, as Cal settled into the bunk it rippled agony through his chest. But still, there was something nice about being able to just exist for a moment without being expected to jump straight to the next thing without taking a breath. Maybe one day, when they finally reached Tanalorr, he’d get Greez to teach him about this whole self-care thing.

[risingroseart]

I posted 37 times in 2022

24 posts created (65%)

13 posts reblogged (35%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@risingroseart

@southfarthing

@abyssanyon

@rainbowchibbit

@risingroseakira

I tagged 29 of my posts in 2022

Only 22% of my posts had no tags

#my art - 14 posts

#doodle - 12 posts

#digital art - 11 posts

#fanart - 10 posts

#risingroseart - 9 posts

#mcyt - 9 posts

#sketch - 8 posts

#critical role - 7 posts

#cr fanart - 6 posts

#critical role fanart - 6 posts

Longest Tag: 108 characters

#i know its a common choice bc tangos colors are warm so colder colorscheme is obv a good opposite to use but

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

You know when you have these jokes and shitposts that only you and one other person on the planet really understand?

Well I thought I would share this anyway! even though only @galaxy-minecart has the full context to this jfhgkfhg

So here's the first one. Some more Wither-Watcher Deity!Grian stuff (you can find a proper drawing of him here, since I gave up drawing him properly after my 5th redraw on this fucking meme shitpost) but he's been thrown into empires smp.

More context under the cut

[do not repost, edit, use or claim as your own] [Reblogs help the artist]

So its basically from a deity grian crossover with empires (i made this before he canonically visited the server LOL) coupled with the imo absolutely hysterical concept of Joel just refusing to believe in deities and demons and the like. I mean when Xornoth showed up, mans deadass went ''i do not see. i am looking away. Xornoth? never heard of them.'', so its probably the same with gods.

Anyway so deity!grian shows up on the server and bumps into joel and makes him his 'listener' (which does NOT mean the same thing as it does in canon watcher lore in the absolute slightest. listeners in my lore are basically followers of the watchers, and as far as i know canon listeners are against the watchers so kgkfhghg v different) but joel the small king refuses to believe (or at least admit to believe) that grian is a god so he acts like they're just ''allies''. nevermind the dread of feeling the very gaze of the universe itself befalling Joel whenever he does something Grian dislikes, no supernatural powers to be seen here, no gods in this town,,,

235 notes - Posted January 12, 2022

#4

[Please don’t repost, use, edit, NFT, claim as your own or otherwise steal.]

Hello!! I’m alive and well. 

I haven’t had much to post as most of my art has been unfinished and/or private worldbuilding stuff or figuring out people’s designs. However I have fallen into a deep critical role hyperfixation on campaign 3, Ashton’s design and Campaign 1 Percival (etc etc) de Rolo and his whitestone arc, so I’ve been doing a few doodles of some designs here and there - specifically for c3 since I’m still new to c1. This is the first proper colored one however, so yay! It’s Ashton in pretty much the same outfit Taliesin wore during Ashton’s introduction bc I haven’t been able to get that visual out of my head :] I love their laugh, whenever I hear it is when I can best visualize them in my head, it’s so distinctly their sound. Might be my now pfp, maybe! love them a lot. Also hi critters! I’m new in this corner of the internet! any fellow newbies out there? :> 

[Reblogs help the artist! Comments and tags are very much appreciated as well!]

249 notes - Posted April 17, 2022

#3

hi im rusty and not supposed to draw bc it has been a month and my hand has continuously hurt the whole time (which is also why there hasnt been any posts in a bit) but I had to do at least ONE doodle during the restream. I hope to make a "there's strength, but there's pain; There's pain, but there's strength." painting once im able but that might be a while

276 notes - Posted September 23, 2022

#2

[Please don’t repost, trace, use, edit, steal, NFT, claim as your own, or any of that stuff.]

hi fcg’s eyes are a struggle and im still working on his design but uhhh decided to draw my beloved he/they player character duo. also yes im aware ashton’s outfit looks different in their character art but i felt like playing around with it some more :v he’s so much fun to draw.

Reblogs help the artist! Tags and comments also keep me motivated

546 notes - Posted April 21, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Team Rancher has my whole entire heart

Hi, hello, I'm alive and I'm Totally Normal about these two.

Wanted to post this before I get so swept up in Empires Season 2 that I forget to put this here- I saw the scene where Tango was raging and Jimmy did his best to calm him down and stop him from doing something stupid and he said that quote and this. came to me in a vision, i immediately grabbed my tablet lol. Team Rancher brainrot is real, i love that these two got put together as soulmates. cant wait for next season when theyll probably burn down desert duo's incredibly flammable base [Reblogs and Comments help the artist and are very much appreciated!]

! Do not repost, edit, steal, NFT, claim as your own, and so on and so fourth !

1,228 notes - Posted June 25, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[halfbreeddege]

Cover | Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Page 5 | Page 6 (coming next week)

 And so it begins!

The script is 100% done, it’s just a matter of me converting it into a comic. I have about half this comic finished so far and the last few pages kinda sketched out and it’s looking that this comic could be 7…maaaaybe 8 pages long??  Who knows? Your guess is as good as mine.

If I don’t start posting these now, then no telling when I’ll get around to it, so here goes…

I’m going to post one page a week so hopefully that gives me some time to catch up. Hopefully. I’ll make sure to link the pages together too.

I gotta admit, drawing in Monkie Kid style is hella fun. Too fun! That ain’t a bad thing.

The airlock test Dr. P is mentioning is referring to this.

I think I had way too much fun drawing Dr. P. As badass as the Monkie Kid style can be, it’s also hard to look past how adorable the button-eyed, crab-clawed characters can as well. Spoiler alert, she’s going to be a sadistic creep and look cute while doing it.  

For Dr. P, I referred a lot to Spider Queen a little bit of the scorpion demon and for Cyrus, well, Tang could practically pass as his twin. (I referred to SO many screenshots of him!)

A head’s up, you might see numbers of existing SCPs used in this AU. Purely a cowinky dink. Seriously, how is anyone supposed to keep up with all those numbers? Dr. P (a humanized Preeminent) is an O5 member and poor ol’ Cyrus is the director of the site she’s visiting.

AU belongs to @breathlessmorro so go check them out and their loooooong list of headcanons for this AU.

I’m taking a few creative liberties here so a head’s up, Breathless might have some different things planned for these characters.

That being said. I love Ninjago. I love SCP. And I just really wanted a good reason do draw some ANGST. :-9 Now shut up, Dege and let’s get to the blood-covered meat and potatoes.

As a reminder from my previous post, there will be some blood, gore, violence and abuse in this comic, but once we get to those pages, I’ll have tags and warnings applied.

Let’s enjoy some wine as Dr. P laments about the day’s experiments.

AU belongs to @breathlessmorro Art by me

[monstersummongenre]

Ash & Chloe’s Friendship!

I felt the newest episode had a bit of a slight emphasis on Ash & Chloe's relationship in a way so I’m also gonna discuss their friendship, mainly though why I think Chloe is a good friend for Ash to have. (This post will include spoilers for Journey ep 135 Pokemon I’m Glad I Met You)

I realized a couple days ago that Chloe is actually a really good friend for Ash to have. Ash is emotion/instinct/impulse but he doesn't always know how to handle other people's feelings with care. Sometimes he misses other’s feelings completely and Chloe is his friend who tells him what he's missing, openly helps him shift his perspective by laying out the information he needs.

One of the most notable times this happens, Chloe letting Ash know what he missed, the information he doesn’t have, is in the episode Betrayed, Bothered and Beleaguered. In this episode, Pikachu is starting to feel jealous and let out as Ash puts just about all his focus into train Riolu. Ash misses this completely. So when Pikachu gets the attention he’s craving from Delia instead, he decides to go back to Pallet Town, with only Mr. Mime knowing this decision and not being able to inform anyone as he tagged along to ensure Pikachu was okay. 

Now we don’t see this scene on screen as this is a Pikachu-centric episode but after Pikachu leaves, Ash looks around for him. Unable to find him and confused as to why Pikachu would go mia, Ash ends up talking to Chloe, who saw something similar with Yamper literally in the episode before. Chloe had been able to peg Pikachu’s feelings and so tells Ash the why, what was going on, how Pikachu was feeling. This was important for Ash to hear so that in the long run he could course correct.

This isn’t the only time Chloe has filled in information for Ash, nor that Ash had missed someone’s feelings completely.

On Ash’s part, if you go back to one of the earlier seasons, the end of Johto for example, in the episode “Gotta Catch Ya Later”, there’s this scene where Misty gets her bike returned, completely fixed. Ash sees this as a good thing, because well Misty had really wanted her bike fixed, plus her sisters just called saying they need her to watch the gym. However Ash turning to Misty and pointing out that it’s great, now she can get home fast, isn’t at all what she had wanted to hear. She’s upset, he’s confused, she runs off. Ash doesn’t get why she responded that way. In that instance he had Brock who suggests that maybe Misty wanted to keep traveling with them.

In the most recent episode, Journeys episode 135, Ash is in a sort of similar situation. He’s just announced that he and Pikachu will definitely be heading off on a journey. Goh’s upset, Ash is confused, Goh runs off. 

Instead of Brock, Ash has Chloe who, though she wants to go find Goh and make sure he’s okay, is still taking the time to put into words what Goh’s reaction didn’t. She told Ash what he didn’t know, that Goh was considering going on a journey but couldn’t quite decide because of his feelings, because of their friendship.

Not everyone is going to always tell Ash everything, as a matter of fact, I’m not sure how often people actually full-on tell him things, in regards to their feelings and stuff. So when he misses things, he misses them, some things he couldn’t have known or at least couldn’t have known to look for. So I think it’s good for him to have Chloe as a friend because as she’s shown, she will tell him what he doesn’t know.

So yeah, that’s what Chloe does as a friend for Ash. She’s there helping him see the parts of the picture out of his view. 

I don’t fully have it worded out in my head on Ash’s end but I will share what I’m thinking so far.

On the flip side, Ash just gives her some nice help and pleasant attention really. Like I’m sure and I know he could help her in regards to Pokemon but when I think about their interactions, they’re very nice moments, like Ash inviting her to join him and Goh to wherever it was they were heading, or him helping her out with her fossil in that one episode. 

I’m not going to get too into it, but I think Chloe is rather lonely. Goh’s always been off doing his own thing, same for her family, and when she tries to hang out with them they sometimes flake out on her or hold her up. But Ash is like just a friend. And I haven’t quite figured out how to say it, I need to rewatch/watch more episodes with the two of them in them but honestly I think that’s important too. I do know he does sorta flake out on her in the episode she tries Contests Lives by opting to battle instead of heading to the Contest Hall, so maybe that’s part why I haven’t fully figured out what I’m trying to say but I really think that he is a pleasant and good friend for her to have. Maybe he helps her relax.

I’m not quite sure but even in the most recent episode, the emphasis I was referring to before honestly was simply the framing of shots.

They sit and walk next to each other throughout the episode, when theoretically you would expect either of them to be next to Goh, and their were times they were but the times they were interacting was notable.

I hope that if I’m right about Chloe continuing to be an important character in the next series, that they get some more moments of friendship. Maybe Chloe will be one of Ash’s travel companions in the next series while Goh does his own thing lol

[trinidaddy888]

You Wanna Smoke? (Chapter 6)

Chase runs out of weed and must go to the human world to get more. How will they manage? And who will they be smoking weed with? Find out in this self-indulgent fic about my Obey Me blunt rotation.

Characters: MC, Mammon, Lucifer, Thirteen, Diavolo, Asmodeus, Simeon, Beelzebub, Solomon

Genre: Slice of Life

Tags: Marijuana, Recreational Drug use, No romance just bros being bros, No Spoilers

A/n: I had a blunt rotation list for Obey Me characters that I’d like to smoke weed with and I decided to make it into a story. The full story is already posted to AO3 but I wanted to keep a writing tumblr for all my stories. The previous chapter had art but I got lazy from this point on and stopped drawing lol.

Story Index

Heaven. I came from Hell straight into Heaven. They had everything .

Wall to wall was stocked with cannabis paraphernalia. From bongs to pipes to rolling papers. From herb to carts. From inhalables to edibles. Everything was beyond what I could think of. It was as if I was a toddler in a candy store.

“Damn Chase,” said Mammon looking at me with amusement, “I’ve never seen ya grin this much.”

I nudged him. “If you were a stoner, you’d understand.”

I glanced at Thirteen and Diavolo. Their eyes shone with excitement.

She leaned over and whispered, “Usually I think human world weed is mid but this collection is impressive. What are you getting first, Chase?”

The first thing I noticed was the bongs behind the counters. There was one shaped like a skull and bones that warmed my little goth heart.

I pointed at it, “That.”

We spent about an hour looking at what Emanate Herbals had in stock. I bought indica and hybrid flower, carts, and that beautiful bong that had my name on it. I also got some skull patterned rolling papers for me and Thirteen.

Thirteen bought as much flower as the dispensary would allow and enough patterned rolling papers to match. She even managed to find a pipe shaped like a Grim Reaper holding a scythe.

Diavolo bought distillate and hash to make edibles and a new vape battery with carts.

Mammon didn’t buy anything, mostly because he was not a stoner and because I promised to use my stock to smoke him out. I wondered what type of person he would be while high.

“Alright, friends,” said Diavolo, “What next?”

“Pizza,” I said, “The perfect stoner party meal.”

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

We got back to Devildom by noon. With Diavolo’s help, we managed to smuggle our contraband into our respective rooms, save for some flower, rolling papers and my bong. That was for Mammon’s room. We also successfully snuck a cheese pizza into Mammon’s room without attention from Beel. He must have still been at Hell’s Kitchen.

“Okay,” said Mammon shutting the door behind him and taking a seat, “What’re we doing first?”

I placed the pizza pie on the coffee table next to my bong. “That’s up to you, Mammon. It’s your first time. What do you want to try?”

He pointed at my bong. “That looks interesting. I think that?”

I grinned at him and looked at Diavolo and Thirteen. They nodded.

I poured some water into the bong and packed the bowl with weed I ground on the car ride back to the portal.

“Observe,” I said to Mammon.

He watched as I placed the opening of the bong to my mouth. I held the flame of my lighter to the bowl and sucked until there was a cherry to the herb. I placed my hand over the mouthpiece and waited for smoke to fill the chamber. Mammon was mesmerized by the tendrils of smoke that danced into the chasm as it went from whisps to a milky fluid smog.

“All you gotta do,” I said carefully holding it out to him, “s make sure your mouth is inside the rim of the opening creating a seal and inhale. Don’t let the smoke out. When you’re done, cover the opening and pass it to a friend”

He glanced wearily at the bong, “Do I have to inhale all of that?”

“Yes,” said Thirteen, Diavolo, and I simultaneously.

He sighed and with a shrug, he took it and inhaled. Obediently, he took in all the milky smoke. He covered the mouthpiece with a hand as he held it in and exhaled coughing as if he was about to hack up a lung.

“Easy, there,” Diavolo said, “Don’t hold it in that much next time.”

“How the heck was I supposed to know?” Mammon said through coughs.

I patted him on the shoulder, smiling. “I’m so proud of you.”

Mammon blushed and smiled. As he passed the bong to Diavolo, my D.D.D. vibrated. I got a text from Lucifer.

“I heard you went to the Human world,” he wrote, “I offered you the chance to go with me but now I see that you didn’t want to go because it was with me. If that was the case, you could have been honest. I guess I was mistaken in thinking that we were becoming close.”

Fuck. I hurt Lucifer. And I couldn’t tell him why I hurt him.

“Sorry,” I responded, “I promise you, that was not the reason why I said no. Give me a chance to explain.”

I saw the tiny “Read at 13:45 ” text under my message and sighed. How was I going to save my friendship with him?

“Hello?” Thirteen called out to me, while exhaling a cloud of smoke, “I’m passing it to you.”

“Sorry,” I said, taking the bong. I placed the rim to my lips.

Well, I thought, That is Future Chase’s problem .

And I took the biggest hit I could.

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

As the hour went by, we passed the bong amongst ourselves until the cherry ran into ash. I let Mammon only do two bong rips, for his own good. Thirteen, however, opted to roll a J for herself when we were finished with the bong.

We put on The Tale of the Seven Lords movie and everything about the movie was more hilarious than I remembered. Levi would be enraged at our laughter if he were there. He might have even called. it sacrilegious.

Mammon, Thirteen and I managed to get one slice of pizza while Diavolo devoured the rest. It was as if stoned Diavolo shared Beel’s bottomless stomach. I was amused.

Thirteen finished her joint by adding a filter, then said, “There’s human weed in this, if you guys want some more.”

“I’m waiting for this high to settle a bit,” I said after sipping some water. “Give me like thirty minutes.”

She smirked. “Who said this J will still be here in thirty minutes?”

She inhaled as she lit it, sparking a cherry. The whites of her eyes remained white. Not a speck of red in sight. I was impressed. She was a marijuana demon. Er, Reaper. Whatever.

“Can I ask, why you do weed?” I asked Diavolo.

“Well,” said Diavolo, sitting up, “There is a lot of pressure on me as the Prince of Devildom. I’m supposed to lead a good example to all my citizens and students. I’m never supposed to falter or mess up as a prince. Weed helps me relax from that stress.”

“Damn,” I said, relating to what he said, a little bit. “What about you, Thirteen?”

She shrugged. “It’s just fun. That’s it.”

We nodded, agreeing with her. I looked over to Mammon. He was silently staring at The Tale of the Seven Lords movie as if he was peering into a portal to another world.

“You good, fam?” I asked.

He grinned from ear to ear, chuckling. He was reclined on the couch next to me, his eye blood red and half open. He leaned on me.

“I’m good, good. Good. Good ,” he said, drawing out the last word. He saluted me and giggled.

God, he was so cute when he was stoned. I put my arm around his shoulder. He put his arm around my waist, pulled me closer and leaned on my shoulder.

“Glad, that you’re having fun,” I said, grinning.

I felt so chill in that moment. The guilt of hurting Lucifer’s feelings melted away. It would be back when I sobered up. But at the time, I was enjoying myself. I even learned what type of person my friends were when high. Diavolo was more jovial than he usually was with the ability to eat nearly as much as Beel. Thirteen was the silent type, with one the highest tolerances for weed I’d ever seen. And Mammon was the giggly, spacing-out and cuddly type.

“Damn,” said Diavolo inspecting the empty pizza box, “No more munchies? I guess I should get more. Does anyone need anything from the vending machine?”

“I’m good,” I said

“Same,” said Mammon and Thirteen.

He got up and went out the door. I got up and put in the DVD for the 2nd movie in the TSL lineup. As the opening credits rolled, I decided to dump the dirty bong water into Mammon’s sink and rinse it so I wouldn’t have to spend time doing that later.

I heard a knock at the door. Must have been Diavolo. I noticed his phone laying on the coffee table. Maybe he realized that he left his phone?

I picked up his phone and opened the door. Suddenly, my chill washed away and anxiety filled its place.

“Chase” said Lucifer, squinting and wrinkling his nose, “What is that smell?”

[mythandlaur]

EE Week - Day 5

POTENTIAL MAJOR SPOILERS. Though everyone is only referred to with nicknames, this features Bliss Ocean members who have not yet been officially introduced, including the boss. This is also why I'm posting this in the AC tag instead. Read at your own risk!

--

TOTALLY UNSUSPICIOUS SERVER THAT DOES NOT CONTAIN ANY EVIL PLANS WHATSOEVER

User List:

SUPREME SERVER EMPRESS -- 1 SALLY FINKLESTEIN!!

Boss -- 1 Lethe

Online -- 3 💗💖Aphrodite💖💗 boudica Sundance🔆

Offline -- 1 Mercedes (always set to invisible)

-- SUNDAY - 12:16 PM --

Mercedes: I saw the news. Mercedes: I leave you people alone for a week. Mercedes: One. Week.

SALLY FINKLESTEIN!!: is somebody talking????? i cant see their messages!!!!

Mercedes: I know you don't actually have me blocked.

SALLY FINKLESTEIN!!: wow theyre still going i bet theyre saying something reallllllll stupid rn lolll

Lethe: The museum? Lethe: I can assure you that was not us. I would not have authorized that; I am not yet completely insane

SALLY FINKLESTEIN!!: bet

Lethe: Please.

SALLY FINKLESTEIN!!: pbfffffth

💗💖Aphrodite💖💗: wait what news 💗💖Aphrodite💖💗: 🍵🍵🍵 💗💖Aphrodite💖💗: gimme~

Mercedes: Where have you been? It's everywhere.

💗💖Aphrodite💖💗: I'm in the inspiration zone 📝

Sundance🔆: sittin on the couch with a tub of icecream watching shitty romcoms ?

💗💖Aphrodite💖💗: You shut your mouth >:(

Mercedes: The Arsene Amulet was stolen from the Sweet Jazz Museum last night.

💗💖Aphrodite💖💗: Wait the epithet stealing one?

Lethe: The very same.

💗💖Aphrodite💖💗: ;ooooo

Mercedes: I know the Banzais wound up getting it but I assumed the independent inscribed there might've been ours.

boudica: no

Mercedes: I wasn't going to say anything.

boudica: better not

Lethe: No, they were not ours, and in fact we're trying to get the amulet to safety as soon as possible. I've got our best on that.

Mercedes: Oh no.

Sundance🔆: oh yes

SALLY FINKLESTEIN!!: OH OH LET ME SEND YOU THE PICTURES I TOOK A BUNCH

💗💖Aphrodite💖💗: You were there?

SALLY FINKLESTEIN!!: YEAH LIKE THE WHOLE TIME benefits of not sleeping roflmao

Mercedes: What happened?

SALLY FINKLESTEIN!!: what are these phantom messages on my screen oOOOooOo

boudica: tell me what happened boudica: now

SALLY FINKLESTEIN!!: SO BASICALLY a couple chuckleheads were faking being staff to steal the amulet because i guess one of their epithets sucks??? And they wanted a different one???? But also the banzai blasters showed up to steal other stuff and this poindexter kid wanted to study the amulet and then this other kid was locked in and chucklehead 1 and 2 wanted to steal her powers and it turned into a whole Thing SALLY FINKLESTEIN!!: a guy thought he was a car and there was a big cow and everything was on fire a couple times and a bunch of walls came down and i think they broke a dinosaur

boudica: of FUCKING course

[ boudica is offline. ]

SALLY FINKLESTEIN!!: omg did she throw her phone again

Sundance🔆: nah aint heard nothing from my room Sundance🔆: think shes just sore

Lethe: It makes sense. Give her some time.

💗💖Aphrodite💖💗: That sounds so wild thoooooo god why this week of all times 😭😭

Mercedes: Because disaster never happens conveniently.

Lethe: It's not a disaster. It's being taken care of.

Sundance🔆: damn right

Mercedes: My mistake. Disaster in progress.

Sundance🔆: say that to my face bitch

SALLY FINKLESTEIN!!: FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT 👊👊👊

Lethe: That's enough you three

Sundance🔆: fiiiiiine Sundance🔆: anyway i should be gettin outta here on wed shouldnt take more than a day

Lethe: And you were told to keep it quiet if at all possible?

Sundance🔆: i mean i can try but this is me youre dealin with

Lethe: If at all possible.

Sundance🔆: yeah yeah yeah

💗💖Aphrodite💖💗: You GOTTA tell us how it goes ok

Mercedes: I'm sure we'll find out on the Thursday news.

Sundance🔆: you forget im the best there is Sundance🔆: people or jewelry i can hunt it down and quiet like too Sundance🔆: just usually less fun that way

💗💖Aphrodite💖💗: you got this b <333

Sundance🔆: thankyou kindly little lady

SALLY FINKLESTEIN!!: GET A ROOOOOOOOM

💗💖Aphrodite💖💗: You first ;)

SALLY FINKLESTEIN!!: OH MY GOD ITS NOT LIKE THAT

Lethe: It really isn't.

💗💖Aphrodite💖💗: No one SAID anything about you 😘

Lethe: Well! Lethe: I'm just saying Lethe: For her sake Lethe: This behavior is extremely unprofessional

Sundance🔆: would love to see boss' face right now

SALLY FINKLESTEIN!!: Full tomato

Sundance🔆: HA

[hoboal87]

Storm

Title: Storm

Pairings: Dean x F!Reader, mentions of Sam x Eileen

Characters: Dean, F!Reader, minor mentions of Sam and Eileen, unnamed OFCs

Word Count: ±2.1k

Warnings: anxiety, car accident, major injuries, angst, fluff, blink and you’ll miss it pre-smut, post 15x19, more spoilers will be in the tags.

A/N: Requested by a nonnie: “Hi sweetie, I adore your writing especially dean fics. Can I pleaaase request a flangsty one shot of dean x reader where they get into a car crash and she's the one who's badly injured?? And maybe they are stuck in a snow storm or something so help would take forever to come and dean is just trying to keep her alive? With lots of worried and gentle dean?? But I don't want her to die pleaaase 🥺🥺 thank you so much. And no pressure if you don't want to write it ❤️”

A special shout-out to @deanwinchesterswitch​ for taking time during her #BlogAppreciationBounce to beta this for me! Thanks Kym, you’re the best!

My Full Masterlist

My Dean Masterlist

Tags are open! Tag yourself here!

Have a request? Send me an ask or DM!

You walk through the aisles of the grocery store, pushing the ever-growing cart in front of you. You and Dean had finally moved all of your belongings into your new home, and now you needed to stock it full of food. Dean is like a kid in a candy store, grabbing so many unnecessary items that you can only shake your head and suppress your giggles.

A thunderclap from outside makes you jump slightly; spring in Kansas, a woman just a few feet in front of you notes, you politely smile as she suggests stocking up on bottled water and canned goods. When you were living in the Bunker, severe weather wasn’t even on your radar. It was a fortress, with all sorts of magic protecting it. But now, you and Dean are living in an ordinary, run-of-the-mill house, and Kansas is smack-dab in the middle of tornado alley.

Dean meets you at the checkout counter, two pies in hand, and you give the cashier a small smile. Another thunderclap makes you jump, and Dean immediately wraps his arms around your waist, calming you, reminding you that it’s just a little rain. Thunderstorms had made you anxious ever since your family was attacked by a wendigo when you were a teenager. Every storm dredges up memories of you and your family fighting for your lives as the creature used a storm to hide in the shadows and the sounds of thunder to cover its inhuman screams.

Rain begins to fall as you load bag after bag into the trunk of Baby, empty now that Dean has retired. A large bolt of lightning strikes, brightening up the sky, making the heavy, dark clouds visible for a moment.

As Dean pulls Baby out of the parking lot, rain has begun falling; scattered droplets softly thumping on the roof of the car. You and Dean live away from town, out in the middle of nowhere, your closest neighbors being Sam and Eileen, owning the property next to yours, but their house was still being built, so for the time being, it was only you and Dean for nearly five miles. It didn’t seem like a lot of distance when you first chose the property; in fact, you originally wanted to buy both pieces of land so that you and Dean could have all 10 acres to yourselves.

Dean drives past the Gas n’ Sip, the closest business next to your home, and turns down the road that would eventually lead to your new house. The five-mile distance shouldn’t seem like a lot, but now, as the rainfall becomes heavier, you wished you’d chosen a home closer to town.

The thick, heavy rain makes it almost impossible for you to see anything more than a few feet in front of you. You take a long, calming breath, trying to keep your nerves intact as lightning strikes again in the distance. Dean notices your nerves starting to get the better of you and reaches over to give your knee a reassuring squeeze before bringing the car to a stop.

“You wanna wait out the rain?” He asks, taking your sweaty palm into his own.

“Food’ll spoil,” you counter, trying to cover your growing nerves.

“S'just food, sweetheart,” Dean unbuckles himself and slides closer before reaching over to do the same to you. “We can get more tomorrow.”

Dean wraps his arm around your shoulders as the storm seems to grow even stronger. He places a gentle kiss on your lips and reaches to the back seat, grabbing a blanket to cover you both. Under the worn blanket, Dean’s hand rubs up and down your thigh, inching closer to your covered core. This wouldn’t be the first time that Dean’s tried to get frisky in the Impala; hell, not even the third or fourth but with your anxiety running on high, the last thing you want is to fool around.

You don’t have to say anything, just gently intertwining your fingers with his and he seems to get the message. You curl up against him, basking in his familiar warmth and smell, praying that the storm would soon be over. Your heart thumps rapidly in your chest as the wind howls with enough force to cause the Impala to rock slightly on the road.

After you’ve calmed, Dean suggests heading on home. You nod slightly, wanting nothing more than to crawl into the comfort of your bed. He slides back over before shifting the car into gear and slowly starts accelerating.

Pain. Cold. Wet.

Steam rises from Baby’s engine, and thunder claps again. The last thing you remember is a horn honking and Dean slamming on the brakes before everything went dark. Your body lies limp on the hood of the car, glass shards from the windshield surrounding you.

The Impala’s front end is crushed, and the heat from the engine warms you as you try to piece together what happened. You can hardly focus on anything; there’s another car a few yards away; it must be the one you collided with. You try to move your body, but it’s then you realize that you can’t feel anything below your waist. You groan as you desperately try to move, hoping that you can will yourself onto your feet and find Dean. You can barely make out a low moan through the sound of the rain hitting the metal. You want to turn, but you can't; pain radiates throughout your body, at least the parts you can still feel. You try to call out to Dean, to anyone for help, but you can't find the words to do so. Your brain and mouth aren't connecting, and the only sounds that you manage to make are whimpers of pain.

A figure appears in the rain, cursing as he seems to take in your broken figure; he's almost yelling at what you can only assume is some 911 dispatcher.

"Shit.. one of the passengers…conscious? The driver? I'll try…"

The man appears at your side, and you can still see the phone attached to his ear.

"Ma'am? Can you hear me?" He asks cautiously, you want to nod, but you're too afraid to move your head, afraid that you could accidentally hurt yourself further. "Her eyes are open; she's breathing," the man relays into the phone. "Uh.. ragged. There's blood… Ma'am? I'll try that. Blink if you can hear me."

You slowly but deliberately blink your eyes. The man breathes out a sigh of relief.

"Y/N!" Dean's voice comes from through the broken windshield. The man hurries away from you and towards Dean. You can only make out the muffled noises as the man tries to convince Dean to stay inside Baby, but you know he won’t; he’s too stubborn to listen to anyone.

The rain begins to let up, and the man tells Dean that an ambulance is on the way. The sound of Dean’s boots on the wet concrete put you at ease, knowing that he’s, at the very least, in better shape than you are. You count the strides that Dean takes before he’s beside you, frowning slightly at the large gash on his forehead. Dean’s eyes rake over your body, and you know something is going on that neither man is telling you.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Dean’s hand gently cups your cheek, and you know that he’s trying to keep his voice steady. “Help’s comin’ baby, okay? You’re gonna be okay, y’hear me?”

You try to mumble a response, but the words still don’t form. The rain is now nothing more than a sprinkle, clouds shifting to reveal the night sky. Numbness has taken over the rest of your body as Dean keeps his eyes focused on you, assuring you over and over again that you're going to be okay. Off in the distance, you can hear a siren, and Dean squeezes your hand tightly as he tells the man to grab two flares from the trunk.

“Help’s almost here, Y/N.”

“De,” you barely manage to mumble out, “’m tired.”

“I know, baby.” Dean looks relieved at the sound of your voice. “Gotta stay awake, Y/N, please. Y’can’t go to sleep, baby, not until help gets here. Promise me you’ll stay awake.”

“Love you,” you murmur as your eyes close, and every breath becomes more difficult to take.

“Y/N, baby, I need you to open your eyes,” Dean begs as the siren grows closer. “Please, honey, just a coupla minutes. Please Y/N, you have to fight for just a little while longer; lemme see those pretty eyes, baby.”

With all the energy you can muster, you slowly open your eyes, focusing on Dean as he breathes out a sigh of relief. His face is wet; whether it's from the rain or fallen tears, you can’t be sure. Dean offers you a pained smile before leaning forward to press a gentle kiss on your forehead.

Red and blue lights illuminate the sky, and a handful of overlapping voices fill the air. A paramedic replaces Dean, who refuses to leave your side until a firefighter drags him away. Your vision blurs as the new person begins quickly examining you while another puts a brace around your neck. A team of paramedics turns you over, and slides a board under you before lifting you off the hood of the Impala and putting you onto a stretcher. You can barely register what’s happening around you, and you want to cry out as they load you into the ambulance.

The collar around your neck keeps your head facing up, and you try desperately to look for Dean. Your eyes frantically search from side to side before Dean comes into view. He reaches forward, and you feel the familiar calloused hands rubbing against yours. Voices are flying, asking Dean question after question; is she allergic to any medications? Did she lose consciousness? Any prior existing conditions? Blood type?

Your hearing becomes muffled and your vision becomes tunneled as Dean struggles to answer each question.

“She’s seizing!”

A steadily beeping heart monitor awakens you. There’s a tube down your throat and you’ve seen enough Dr. Sexy to know it’s a breathing tube. You cough as you try to breathe and the heart monitor’s beeping becomes more rapid. A nurse is in the room quickly, telling you to keep calm before calling someone else in to help remove the tube. She orders you to cough again and again until the tube is out.

“D’n?” Your throat sore and raspy from the tube being down your throat for who knows how long. “‘Ere’s D’n?”

“He’s gone home, Y/N,” the nurse, Rebecca, tells you calmly. “Visiting hours ended a while ago. We’ll call him as soon as we get you a work-up.”

“S’okay?” You hate that your brain and mouth aren’t working together, and you can only speak in half-formed words. Rebecca nods, smiling as she takes your vitals and calls for an orderly. “How l’ng out?” You struggle to ask, but she seems to understand your question.

“Six months.”

Hours later, you’ve been poked and prodded by too many doctors to keep count of. Words may take a few days, but you’ll get them back, a neurologist assures you, just keep practicing.

By the time they’ve returned you to your room, Dean is there, eyes glistening as Rebecca wheels you in. You want to stand up to meet him, but your limbs, like the rest of your body, don’t want to cooperate with you. Dean crouches down to meet you, the skin on his forehead slightly red from where you remember seeing the gash. He leans forward and presses a kiss on your lips.

“Missed you, sweetheart.”

Dean and an orderly help you back into bed, and he takes a seat in the chair next to you, taking you by the hand and rubbing the back of your palm gently. A team of doctors explains everything to you and Dean—that you’ll have a long road of recovery, you’ll need physical therapy for your limbs, you’ll most likely need a speech pathologist, but with hard work, you’ll be back to your old self in a matter of time.

“You’re very lucky, Y/N,” one of the many doctors says as the others clear out of your room. You let out a scoff, you’ve been in a coma for six months, and you’re lucky?

“Honestly, I’d call it a miracle,” he remarks before leaving, and for a moment, you swear his eyes flash red.

Feedback is appreciated!!

[marahuyos]

anon asked: Hi I really liked that hc with the pointing lips, I didn’t expect to see this on the tag list and my filipino heart couldn’t contain it 🥺 this is my first time requesting for a genshin fanfic heheh. I want to request a hc something to do with Harana, where the characters (albedo, Diluc, kaeya, maybe xiao 👀 and other characters you would like to add) sing from your window to persuade/court you since it’s part of (our) S/O culture so they wanted to impress them with this... IKSNSJS

*:･ﾟ✧ nakilig ako dito putaena AHAHAHAHHA

doing this quickly bc i wanna do it b4 windblume ends sksks. also i’ll go and link some songs fitting for the characters (all filipino ofc. spoilers its all ben&ben HAHAHAHAHA)!

gn!reader

tw: none

✧ Diluc Ragnvindr | Ben&Ben - Araw-Araw

Umaga na sa ating duyan 'Wag nang mawawala Umaga na sa ating duyan Magmamahal, o mahiwaga

• It’s apparent that Diluc can sing since he won first place in the music minigame. He was taught at a young age on playing and dabbling in the arts like any other young noble should. It comes as no surprise that Diluc knows how to sing and play.

• It was you who had to tell Diluc this tradition when the Windblume Festival hits. When hearing the prospect of reciting poetry to your loved ones, you immediately got excited, which made Diluc question your sudden excitement.

• “Back where I’m from, there’s a tradition where a person will sing to their crush if they want to court them. It’s usually underneath a window sill but either way, I do want to experience it at least once!”

• He imprints the sight of your soft smile at the memory of the tradition. He thinks back on his time learning music as he cleans a beer glass. He’s not a bad singer by any means (ngl i thought diluc was voiced by jonah scott bc hoo boy he sings. but imagine my surprise when he was voiced by mishima skks). He can definitely carry a tune but would he risk his entire dignity by singing under your window sill with a song that he barely knows?

• If Kaeya wasn’t there, then maybe. Maybe.

• So he opts for the next best option; serenading in a private and romantic place. It wouldn’t be the Dawn Winery, there is too much traffic to try and attempt to sing. Windrise is an option but Diluc knows that the sisters of the church comes and cleans the statue (and Barbatos knows that he doesn’t want Barbara to faint from his voice). His next bet is Starsnatch Cliff, where numerous Cecilia flowers are littered across the cliff. 

• With that plan, he now attempts to memorize a song from your country. Diluc’s a fast learner, so he has no trouble learning the notes, the lyrics (though his pronunciation leaves little to be desired), and finally, the emotion carried through the music. Now that’s where he struggled since he doesn’t know how to convey emotion compared to other musicians. He tries his best, even asking Venti for help (enrolled is what Venti would use but at least he was paid with the best alcohol).

• Now to actually play the damn thing. He already struggled when inviting you out to Starnsatch Cliff (and bribing the couple that was there away), he hopes that his fingers wouldn’t twitch from nerves. It was when he began strumming his guitar that he realized something: there was no point in proving that he can sing. There was no point in learning a different language when there were many other different things he could’ve done to impress you. There was no need to potentially embarrass himself.

• But it was worth it when he sees your wide-eyes, your parted lips, and the warmth on your cheeks when he leans in closer. It’s worth it to see your eyes shine just like the stars in the sky when you understood the lyrics. It was worth it to see you say the words that Diluc longed to hear from your lips as he sealed them with a kiss.

Dawn has come within our cradle I pray you never fade Dawn has come within our cradle I love you, my ethereal

✧ Albedo | Ben&Ben - Ride Home

Took a morning ride, found a place up in my mind, no one else can see Maybe it's fate that we lose control In circles around, we go We become who we ought to know We just gotta let it go We just gotta let it go

• I think it’s safe to say that everyone knows Albedo can sing when his VA posted him singing. He can carry a tune and play decently on the strings. It’s just that he closes himself off in his research in Dragonspine all the while the Windblume Festival is in full swing. It’s not like you to leave someone behind while everyone is celebrating so you stand by Albedo for the duration of the festival.

• He says that you didn’t have to keep him company, more so if you don’t know anything about alchemy, but you were adamant to not leave the alchemist alone. Albedo can’t help the warmth fluttering in his heart that you wanted to stay with him. He wanted to try and teach you basic alchemical stuff so you wouldn’t feel bored or left out but he feared the shakiness in his voice would hinder him.

• So, you two talk about each other instead. While Albedo didn’t have anything noteworthy to talk about, you said to him about how you wished you can partake in the music game in hopes to play a love song. You told him that you wanted to try and sing a love song to your crush since it was a tradition in your country. While he bristled at the fact that you have a crush, the way your eyes flitted towards him, with a wavy smile on your face solidified his feelings for you.

• Having that information in mind, he quickly makes a harp out of the materials he has on hand. Such a feat is nothing to Albedo but it wasn’t the music that he was afraid of, it was giving his feelings away to you so suddenly. Learning a new language wasn’t so hard (because he learned it when he immediately realized he had feelings for you, what’s stopping him from learning everything?), but he fears that you may take it the wrong way.

• Or rather, he fears that he may do something he regret towards you.

• But he perseveres. When you were up sitting on a rock formation, studying a rare flower, Albedo stood below you, harp in hand. The sight of him, his beautiful eyes that were used to be so sure are now nervously flitting from side to side. His voice was carried out to the wind, deep and soothing just like the winds that caressed your skin. Albedo is nothing short of nervous but he was sure that he had his point across when he sees your blushing smile.

• All fears vanished when you jumped down a giggling mess, saying that this was the best Windblume Festival ever when you leaned in and kissed him.

So I'm coming home to you, ooh You, ooh You're all I need, the very air I breathe You are home, home

✧ Kaeya Alberich | Ben&Ben - Pagtingin

‘Pag nilahad ang damdamin Sana ‘di magbago ang pagtingin Aminin ang mga lihim Sana ‘di magbago ang pagtingin

• Kaeya won’t deny that he’s just as musically inclined as Diluc. As siblings, they’re naturally competitive against one another, always competing to see who can play the better piece. He wishes he could go back to those days, but bygones are bygones. Now, he strums his harp just for fun. Still, he’s not one to serenade to random strangers so it’s a first time for him to be laying his heart out in the open.

• Kaeya, like a responsible captain, steals you away and joins in the festivities with you with an arm around your waist. Reluctantly, you humored him, as you recount previous stories that you’ve experienced. One particular story that he keeps in memory was when you were serenaded once in your own bedroom window. While you had to turn down the one courting for personal reasons, you can’t help but feel warm whenever you remember the memory. Ever since hearing the bards’ sing their songs for the festival, you can’t help the flutter in your heart.

• Now, Kaeya is a very adaptable man, so he quickly thinks the best way on how to confess to you. Sometimes he has to curse himself from being so successful at flirting at absolutely everyone that he knows you could pass it off as being Kaeya. So he figures out the next best thing.

• Now, unlike Diluc, he’s willing to throw away his dignity for you. He’s willing to throw anything away from you because you were already so etched deeply in Kaeya’s heart.

• He’s a fast learned like Albedo, so it wasn’t hard to learn your language and do the correct pronunciation. All that’s left is to sing it and where. He hopes he could sing it underneath your balcony but you lived near the Cat’s Tail Tavern, where the noise has been raucous in this time of year.

• So he decided on going to the safety of your home, “drunkenly” stating that he was too sloshed to go back to his duties so he wishes to stop by your home until he sobers up. It wasn't an uncommon sight to see, so you relented Kaeya in resting on your couch as you prepared some water for him to sober up. At that moment, he prepares his act. 

• With his guitar in hand, he stands up and meets you in the kitchen. With his fingers elegantly strumming against the strings, his silky voice permeated across the house. His one eye watched your own widen at the sight of the man singing. He relished it even more when he sees the recognition in your eyes when you know the song that he's singing. Each lyric has been beautifully sung and amazingly enunciated that you wondered if Kaeya was a native to your homeland. 

• Kaeya wasn't normally a sap like this. He doesn't just do this to anyone. He even wonders what's the point of this when he doesn't even know that you'll accept him for who he truly is-for what he will do when things go awry. He recounts the words of a bygone father and he feels every ounce of sin he’s committed claw his back.

• But your gentle touch sends them away. Your hands burn the sins to ashes as you told him your ‘I love you’ in your language. And he understood it perfectly.

If I reveal just how I feel I hope you won't change how you look at me Admit all secrets I keep I hope you won't change how you look at me

✧ Xiao | Ben&Ben - Kathang Isip

Pasensya ka na Sa mga kathang isip kong ito Wari'y dala lang ng pagmamahal sa iyo Ako'y gigising na Sa panaginip kong ito At sa wakas ay kusang lalayo sa iyo (lalayo sa)

• Could Xiao even sing? Guizhong may have instilled some Liyue music in his veins when he was still a baby adeptus, she may have pulled her hair out once or twice when Xiao keeps breaking the guzhengs. At least Xiao has a decent voice, so Guizhong wouldn’t strangle Xiao with a forced sweet smile on her face. After the archon war and the yakshas fall, Xiao never sang or picked up another instrument ever again.

• Not when he passed Mondstat, hearing the insufferable bard play his tune, hearing the people who’re safe from karmic binds profess their love for one another, it made him sick. But by Guizhong’s hair would he waste this opportunity to leave you alone in the Windblume Festival. Even if he has to drag you away from the crowd in fear of him lashing out. He is not apologetic to him dragging you away but he does wonder why you would rather choose to spend your time with him rather than enjoy the festivities.

• It was at the city walls, you and Xiao enjoying the almond tofu you prepared beforehand. You did most of the talking, talking about random things that you can get. Xiao would always dutifully listen because he-honestly-you’re the only mortal that wormed his way into his heart and now he wants more but afraid of the consequences. He listens to you rambling about a courting method where one person serenades the other while they were in a higher place, just like the city walls.

• Human courting rituals have been the most confusing thing to Xiao; why go through such great lengths just to confess to someone your feelings? Shouldn’t straight up saying it be better and save time for each party? Even when he says this, he can’t help but watch your eyes glimmer at the thought of someone serenading you, in a night just like this.

• He was willing to embarrass himself for you, as he planted his feet on the wall railings. “Wait here.”

• He jumps and before you could say anything, he uses his Anemo Vision to keep him afloat. On his position, he was below you by a few feet. You watched in confusion when he summoned a lyre (and you could make out a scowl on his face, as if he was cursing the instrument) and soon, he began strumming it.

• His harp skills... could do some work. Some tone-deaf bard might have bawled his eyes out if he hears him play, but he was willing to swallow that embarrassment when he gets to have his point across. He hopes that he does, laying his heart like this just for you to take apart, for you to heal, for you to do whatever you want with it. He was willing to be weak and revere to you as someone as grand as an archon. 

• Xiao wasn’t expecting you to understand but when he sees tears in your eyes and your hand covering your mouth, he immediately stopped his singing and hurried to your side. Though, he didn’t have to. You already jumped down and got caught in his arms. He felt your tears soak his skin, your incoherent babbles muffled by his shoulder but he could make out that Xiao’s feelings aren’t one-sided.

I'm sorry For this imagination of mine I guess it's just because of my love for you I will wake up now From this dream of mine And in the end I will stay away from you (stay away from)