#( but let it b known she IS on the brain. has been for a while JHBDSF )

[multiicolor]

i need more lions and evil lady is callink to me ......

[hadersversion]

‘tis the damn season.

“so we could call it even, you could call me babe for the weekend.”

pairing: rafe cameron x pogue! reader

warnings: 18+, SMUT, p in v, fingering, begging, overstimulation, use of babe....let me know if i forget anything lol. ALSO in some places in america, thansgiving eve is literally just a holiday to get drunk in your hometown

your home for the holidays for the first time in years. you've been avoiding rafe, the reason you've been away for so long, but after seeing him again all the old feelings come back. when rafe sends a text one night, you end up in the back of his truck like old times.

i parked my car out front of my childhood home, staring at the old exterior.

somethings never change.

being back in the outer banks felt strange. it has been a while since i have been back, avoiding come home for as long as i can. but with a few begging phone calls from my mom and kiara, here i am.

i knock on my front door and am greeted with a bright smile.

"jj?" i ask, confused.

"welcome home, stranger." he says, with a hug and grabbing my bag.

i walk into my living room and see the pogues, sitting with my mom. a homemade 'welcome home' banner hanging above their heads.

my mom comes over and gives me a big hug. "i thought i would never see this face again." she says with a squeeze.

"boston isn't that far, mom." i tell her but i know she would never leave the outer banks. never in a million years. i turn towards the others and smile. "i wonder who could've put this together?" i say, looking at kiara.

"hey it wasn't all me, pope was the one who brought it up." she says, engulfing me in her arms.

"guilty." pope chimes in, joining the hug. i feel jj and john b join in as well. my family.

we break away and hang out in the living room, catching up.

"don't tell me you went all city on us, y/n." john b pokes fun at me.

"not completely. but it is nice having more things to do than hang on the beach and smoke." i wink.

"who could want more than that?" jj asks, making us all laugh.

"speaking of," kiara starts. "there's a little thanksgiving eve celebration happening at the wreck. just some people from high school. nothing big."

"just a chance to get drunk of our asses and go to dinner the next day hungover." jj says, causing kiara to nudge him.

"what do you say? want to join us?" i look around the room at my friends, all eager waiting for my response. with a sigh, i nod and they all cheer. "thank god, i don't think i could've done that alone."

i smile and nod. it should be fun, it will be. but my brain can't help to wonder if the one person who's kept me away from coming home will be there. no, he wouldn't. not with the pogues. but a part of me can't help but hope to see his face.

───✱*.｡:｡✱*.:｡✧*.｡✰*.:｡✧*.｡:｡*.｡✱ ───

i fix my sweater in the mirror in my room, my body fidgeting from anxiety. it's been a few days and i still can't shake that feeling from my body about being home. sure, i'm happy but this place holds so many memories. memories i wish to bury. i stare at the photo booth picture tucked into my mirror of him and i. i guess i forgot to hide this with the rest of the stuff. i take it off the mirror and sigh, examining it.

almost four years since it was taken. almost four years since we called it quits. and yet, he still haunts my memories. his presence making itself known through cheap beer at the bar, expensive men's cologne at the mall, exhaust that leaves motorbikes as they ride down the street. he's always there, whether i like it or not.

the sound of a horn breaks me free of my thoughts.

"y/n, they're here!" my mom calls from downstairs.

"coming!" i open my dresser drawer and slip the photo in before racing downstairs. i kiss my mom on the cheek and slip out the door, rushing into the van.

"ready to get fucked up?" jj asks with his devilish smirk.

i roll my eyes and laugh. "let's go."

we pull up to the wreck, it's already dark outside and a slight breeze fills the air. we all hurry in, greeted by familiar faces. my name is called from every direction, old friends from high school or the beach. all my fellow pogues who i know and love. when i'm done making my rounds, i head over to our table. everyone has some drink in their hand, beer or cocktail, and they all smile up at me.

"who would've though little y/n y/l/n would be a pogue celebrity?" pope jokes.

i flip him off and slide in next to john b. kiara hands me a beer and i take a sip. "i'm not a celebrity, i'm just one of the only people from this island who actually made it off."

they all make jokes at my despair, teasing me in any way they could when sarah walks up. i feel my stomach flip and i smile at her. "y/n!" she embraces me. "i'm so happy to see you!"

i hug her back and smile. "me too, sar. how's everything been?"

"the usual but i can't complain." she sits next to me and lays her head on my shoulder. "it's been forever."

"it has." i sigh. "it really has."

we all share stories and laugh around the table. we take shots, chug beer, and play different drinking games. just like old times sake.

"i need another beer." i say with a slight slur in my voice, standing up. "anyone else?" everyone shakes their head as i excuse myself.

i walk up to the bar and wait my turn, twirling my debit card in my hand. it could be the alcohol but i feel content and happy to be home.

"y/n?"

until that moment.

i don't want to turn around, i don't even want to accept my fate in this situation.

i know that voice, i could recognize it in a crowd of millions of people. it was the voice that lingered in my dreams, my thoughts.

i turn around and look at the man.

"rafe."

he looks older, his hair buzzed and some facial hair covering his face. but those eyes. they are the same eyes of the boy i loved.

we stood there, not saying a word. just taking the sight of one another in.

"i didn't know you were home." he says, not breaking eye contact.

i nod, biting my lip. "i am, i got home monday."

he chuckles to himself and shakes his head. "how long you here for?"

"till saturday. then i'm going back to boston." my throat feels scratchy and my face is on fire. i want to be anywhere but here now.

his eyes continue to study me. "two more budweiser's, please." he says to the bartender. i open my mouth to protest but he shakes his head. "on me, think of it as a welcome home gift."

the bartender hands me the beer and i smile. i turn back to rafe and tip the bottle to him. "thanks."

"no problem." he clinks his bottle to mine. we both take a long sip. my eyes are desperately trying to find a place to land, ending up on the bright sign above the bar. but rafe's are still on me.

"you okay?" kiara asks as she walks behind rafe. she is my gurdian angel.

"yeah, just waiting for my beer. excuse me." i squeeze past rafe and walk back to my table. i look back at him and smiles. i hate him.

a few drinks more and my ears are ringing. it was loud and everyone was far too drunk. i excuse myself for air outside. there are a few people lingering, smoking cigarettes or waiting for ubers. i smile and take in the nostalgia.

"you know, it would've been nice to know you were home." i hear rafe's voice next to me.

i roll my eyes and look up at him. "oh, would it have been? sorry, i didn't think you'd care." i say coldly. that liquid courage is taking control.

he looks down at me. "and why would i have not cared?"

"hmm, let me think." i put my finger to my chin. "oh, right. 'don't ever contact me again. we're so over. i wish i never met you. blah. blah. blah.' do you want me to go on?" i say to him.

i watch as he processes what i said to him, the words of our last fight. he looks guilty, for once in his life. "that was years ago, y/n. w-we were just kids."

"oh, really? then why haven't i heard from you for the past few years? phone works both ways, rafe." i say, shrugging.

he stands there quietly, i got him.

"how's school been?" he asks, nonchalantly.

"are you for real?" i ask.

"what? i'm being nice." he says.

i huff with frustration. "you are such an ass." i push pass him and walk onto the sidewalk.

"where are you going?" he asks, following after me.

"away from you." i say, not looking back.

i hear him run up behind me and he gently grabs my arm. "y/n. y/n, stop."

i turn to look at him. "what do you want from me, huh? you want to torture me even more?"

he stares at me, hand still on my arm. "what? of course not. y/n, i missed you."

"fuck off." i spit out without thinking.

"you're drunk."

"and you're an asshole." i say, flatly. "you...you fucking broke my heart and you expect me to act like everything is fucking dandy?"

"y/n." he tries to plead his case.

"no, rafe. you don't get to waltz in here and act like everything is okay with us. do you know how much you fucked me over? one day you're telling me you love me and you want to move to boston with me and the next, you're dumping me over the phone." i poke his chest. "i did everything you wanted, i kept what we had between us a secret, i took care of you. and nothing was enough for you."

he looks down at his feet in guilt. "i-i know, i'm sorry. i was...i was fucked up back then. with my dad on my case and the drinking...i wasn't okay. i felt like..." he cut himself off.

"what, rafe? you felt like, what?" i ask.

"like i was going to hold you back, alright?" he raises his voice. "you are too good for this place, for me. i didn't want to hold you back. i loved you too much to do that to you." i stare at him and laugh. "what? what's so fucking funny?"

"you, rafe. you." i sigh. "instead of being a man and handling your emotions, you ran and hid. we could've worked that out. but you were too scared." i close my eyes and shake my head. "goodbye, rafe."

i walk down the street, hugging my body as the wind blows. a weight has been lifted off my shoulders but there's still that feeling i get whenever i think of him. that feeling that i miss him.

───✱*.｡:｡✱*.:｡✧*.｡✰*.:｡✧*.｡:｡*.｡✱ ───

thanksgiving flew by, even though i had a hangover that felt like it would last a lifetime.

i helped my mom clean up the kitchen as the pogues did the dishes and took the trash out. just like old times.

once we were done, we sat outside around the bonfire. you would think after yesterday, drinking would come to a halt but jj found a bottle of vodka in the freezer and mixed it with kiara's apple cider. we all enjoyed each other's company but my mind could not help but wander. my last conversation with rafe ringing through my head.

"instead of being a man and handling your emotions, you ran and hid."

i shake my head and take a sip of my spiked cider. as much as it rang true, there was still that part of me that wonders 'what if?'. the more i thought about it, the more i wanted to pick up my phone.

no, i need to be the bigger person. i'm stronger than that. i can't text him first.

then i felt my phone buzz in my lap.

rafe: hey

i stare at the text and bite my lip. i know i should ignore it, let it go unread. but my fingers work against my brain and type 'hi' back to him. i sit there, eagerly waiting for a response.

rafe: can we talk?

rafe: i'm sorry about last night, i'm a fucking idiot.

rafe: there's so many things i could say to you rn

rafe: but i miss you.

rafe: i wanna see you.

i look around at my friends and sigh, they would be so mad at me for this.

y/n: sure, give me like an hour.

y/n: park down the street at the usual spot.

my friends leave my house, mainly due to me faking another wave of hungover puking. i run upstairs and check myself out in the mirror, i look damn good. when i get his text, i sneak out the backdoor and hurry down the street. i see his truck parked under the big tree, the spot he always parked in.

i open the truck door and hop into the passenger seat. i look over at him, he's still in his dressy clothes. a blue polo that hugged his arms right and khakis that made his thighs look exceptionally big. he knew what he was doing and i can't tell if i hate him or love him for it.

we drive in silence for a bit, his radio playing music faintly. his hands grip the steering wheel as his mind looks like he's on another planet. i play with the ends of my sweatshirt, anxiously waiting for him to do something. anything.

he pulls up to the beach, the spot where we would always come to. it was dark and the waves crashed against the shore loudly. he turns the car off and looks over at me.

"thanks for meeting me." he says simply.

"sure."

"i'm sorry about last night. you went out to have fun and i ruined it, i know i did."

i just nod at him.

"and...you were right. about it all." he sighs, running his hands over his face. "i should've manned up, talked to you about how i was feeling. but you know how i get. i get too in my head and just jump to conclusions. it wasn't fair to you." he looks into my eyes. "these past few years without you have been a living hell and i have only myself to blame."

"are you drunk? high?" i ask.

"w-what?"

"are you not sober?" i ask again.

"i'm sorry, what? of course i'm fucking sober." he says. "why would i not be?"

"rafe cameron...taking accountability? i'm sorry, it just seems so...foreign?" i laugh.

"i'm being serious, y/n."

i laugh again. "oh, i'm sure. and...the sky is green. we live on the planet pluto. aliens exist and so do unicorns!"

he pinches the bridge of his nose. "y/n, i'm telling the truth! god, you always joke around."

"yeah, because i know you." i say to him. "and you would rather eat concrete than admit you are wrong."

"eat concrete?" he asks, with a smirk.

"you know what i mean!" i huff with frustration.

he grabs my hand and stares in my eyes. "y/n, i am fully sober. we are not in another universe, it is not opposite day. i was wrong and i am sorry."

my brain malfunctions as i look into his eyes. "y-you mean it?"

"every word i said."

my brain not working means i experienced a lack of better judgment. i grab rafe by his collar and connect our lips for the first time in years. this kiss, the one i have longed for since i left this place, was the missing puzzle piece i've been searching for in my life. everything seemed to make sense again.

his hands cupped my cheeks as his tongue slipped into my mouth. he was hungry for me and i wasn't going to stop him because i felt insatiable as well. his hands roamed from my cheeks down to my neck and onto my shoulders.

i needed more.

i climbed onto his lap and straddled him. my arms connected around his neck as he pressed against me. i felt his cock hard against his khakis and i wanted it. i wanted it all. i rubbed myself against him, causing us both to moan.

he continued to kiss me until he broke away and looked at me. his puffy lips formed a cocky smile as he brushed his nose against mine. "you missed me."

"shut up." i was itching for more.

"admit it, you missed me. you missed the way i made you feel." he states.

"rafe, shut up and kiss me, please."

"ah ah ah." he shook his head. "not until you tell me."

"you're such an ass." i roll my eyes, trying to catch my breathe.

"yet, here you are, rubbing yourself against me in my truck." he says, kissing my cheek. his lips then go to my ear and down my neck. "i want it all with you, right now, babe. but i need to hear it."

"fine! fuck, i missed you. are you happy?" i groan, needing him.

"very. get in the backseat." he demands. i quickly follow his order, hopping in the back over the seats. he gets out of the truck and opens up the back door, sliding in next to me. "come here." he pulls me back onto his lap and we pick up where we left off. i continue to rub myself against him as he sloppily kisses me. "just like old times." he jokes and i hit his shoulder. "c'mon, don't act like you don't think about it."

"oh, i do. but i bet you think about it more than i do." i smirk.

"probably." he laughs. his fingers fall to the hem of my sweater and he plays with it. "now are we only here to kiss or?"

"why? you wanna fuck me in your truck? just like old times." i say, making fun of what he just said.

"i do, i wanna fuck you right here, right now. it's all i've been wanting to do." he kisses my jawline. "do you want me to fuck you?"

this is what i missed the most, our back and forth.

"yes, rafe. i want you to fuck me." i moan out.

with that, he practically rips my sweater off my body and starts to kiss down my chest. his large hands palm my clothed breast. i bite my lip and let my head fall back, missing the way he affected my body. i felt his hand snake around to the back and unclip my bra quickly.

"show off." i say, out of breathe.

i smirks and connects his lips to my nipple, sucking and licking it. his hand massaging my other. "don't pretend you don't like it."

i smirk and shake my head.

he continues to focus on my tits, going back and forth between the two.

"more." i whisper, eyes clenched shut.

"what was that?" he asked in a teasing tone.

"i need more, rafe. please." i beg.

"look at you all needy for me. i knew you missed me." his hand slipped under my jeans and panties, stopping right at my core. i felt his fingers curl inside me, going in and out. "all wet for me, huh? what a good girl." he pushed in, fingering my cunt, when his thumb found my sensitive bud. he added pressure, circling it, and i felt as though i was seeing stars.

"s-shit." i cry out, moving my hips to try and gain some friction.

"feel good, baby? let me hear how could i make you feel." he picked up his pace and a pornographic moan escaped my lips. it's been forever since someone has made me feel this good. rafe knew my body like it was his own, he knew how to get me going. "there we go, like how my fingers feel?"

"u-uh huh." i nod, mouth hanging open.

his fingers worked their magic, rubbing my clit at a pace that'll make me come undone in no time. "love the way you look on top of me, baby. so fucking sexy." he attached his lips to my tits again and continued fingering me.

i felt on fire.

i place one hand on the window and the other on his shoulder, holding on for dear life. the more he whispered about me and the faster his fingers were going, i was cumming on his fingers before i knew it. i rode out my high, screaming his name. once i was done, i felt him pull his fingers out of my pants, my juices getting all over myself. i stared down at him, trying to catch my breathe, as he popped his fingers into his mouth and sucked.

"just as good as i remember." he cleaned his fingers off and kissed me again. my hands ran down his buff chest and stopped at the bottom of his polo, lifting it up. his gold chain laid against his chiseled body, he was perfect. i felt as though i was in a trance as i began to kiss down his chest. i could feel his groans vibrating in his chest and i smirked because i was the one making him feel this way. "i need to fuck you."

"you need to?" i laugh, kissing lower and lower.

"yes, y/n. i need to bury myself inside of you, please." he pleaded.

"i like when you're the one begging." i bite him lightly, causing him to hiss.

"i bet."

i unbuttoned his khakis and sat up so he could slip them off. his grey boxers were discolored from the precum leaking off his cock. he took his underwear off and his cock sprung out. "i-i don't have protection." he said, mentally cursing himself out.

"well, are you clean?" i ask.

"yes. i-i haven't been with anyone since." he openly admitted.

i felt the darkness overtake my eyes as i lower myself down onto him. his breath hitched as he slipped all the way in. he was deep inside of me, causing a few tears to leave my eyes. but the pain subsided as he started to rock my hips with his hands, moving me back and forth. i picked up the rhythm he started with me and placed my hands on his shoulder to steady myself. i felt the truck rocking back and forth as i did so.

his hands found my ass and rested there. "fuck, i missed your pussy. so good, takes me so well." he kissed my chest as i grinded back and forth.

i felt my finger nails dig into his shoulder as his cock hit all the right spots. i looked down at him and he stared at me in awe, like i was some work of art. "fuck, rafe. you're so big."

i bite my lip as i let my head fall back in pleasure. i ride him fast as i keep saying his name. "shit, y/n. you're such a good girl, you're so hot. you feel so tight."

i connect our lips, i feel his hands tighten around my ass. this means he was close. "i want you to cum in me, rafe." his eyes widen as he opens his mouth to ask for permission. "p-please fill me up. i miss it so much." i say, trying to catch my breathe.

with that, he lets out a groan and my name falls from his lips like a prayer. "y/n." i feel him coming inside me, painting me. it doesn't take long for his thumb to find my clit again. with the extra pressure applied to my overstimulated cunt, i feel my head reeling. the air in the truck is hot, making it almost hard for me to breath. it all feels too much, my body releasing onto rafe yet again.

we sit there, panting with our eyes closed. i rest my head on his sweaty chest and he kisses me gently. he rubs my back, tracing circles into it.

"felt even better than i imagine." he says, his voice gruff.

"you thought about it a lot, huh?" i smirk.

"all the fucking time."

i take him out of me and sit next to him in the truck. the windows are foggy and our hands find each other, holding them. i get a sense of weird nostalgia, from how things used to be with us.

"well that was a thanksgiving to remember." i joke, trying not to feel overwhelmed by what happened.

"'tis the damn season." he replies.

i slowly slip my sweater back on and try to find my pants.

"w-wait." rafe says. "is this...is this it? just a single fuck and you're gone."

i look at him, his eyes pleading with me.

"i go back to boston on saturday rafe, we only have like a day and a half."

i wish we could keep this going, i wish this was how things always were. but i had to think realistically. i have to go back home, i have to move on with my new life.

he grabs my hand and squeezes it. "boston is only an 11 hour drive. hour or two by plane."

"rafe." i say.

"i can't lose you again. i can't, y/n. these past few years have sucked without you. i can't wait until you come home for christmas again. now that i've got you again, i can't risk it."

i sigh and kiss his hand. "i know. i know." i close my eyes and shake my head. "we'll make it work. we almost did it before."

"we can do it again." he smiles sweetly. i kiss his lips gently, laying my hand against his chest.

"you'd do an 11 hour car ride for me?"

"y/n, i'd fucking walk if i have to." he smiles.

i roll my eyes and kiss his cheek. "you're so cheesy."

he lays me back against the truck seats and kisses me. "don't act like it doesn't work for you."

[lovesodakid]

sworn to secrecy 3

chris sturniolo x fem!reader

1 2 4 5 6

summary: chris and y/n have known each other, pretty much their whole lives. y/n has always had a crush on chris. chris always viewed y/n as ‘nate’s little sister’ until one day, he realized, she wasn’t so little anymore…which nate sees..in which. he does not approve of whatsoever. (“brothers best friend trope”)

warnings: heavy mentions of toxic household (pretty detailed). shouldn’t be anything else

____________________________________________

“Y/N! get your ass down here now!” i hear my dad yelling from downstairs.

i quickly run out of my bedroom, to downstairs. once i reach the bottom of the staircase, i see my mom, dad, and nate all in the kitchen.

as soon as he hears me, my dads eyes land on me the second my foot touches the kitchen floor.

“well well now,” he begins. “y/n…why don’t you tell your whore of a mother-what a slut she is.” he speaks loudly, body swaying back and forth.

my eyes widen as i look over to nate, who also shares the same look as me, but his eyes are directed to my dad, who’s holding my mom by her hair as her knees are planted on the floor.

“a-what?” i ask, tears threatening to form on my waterline.

“she’s too young to know what that means!” my mom’s voice breaks in sobs.

my dads eyes quickly shoot to mine.“well..y/n. it means your mother here, decided to have an affair with her boss.” he speaks, almost condescendingly as he slurs his words.

“i-“

i shoot up out of bed, sweating bullets as i pick my phone up to check the time: 4:32am. i set my phone down, letting out a hard breath as i rub my hands over my face. the memory i thought had been blocked out by my brain, resurfacing. i was 9 when it happened. that was the worse i had ever seen my dad, and he was of course, drunk that night. thankfully, it hasn’t been that bad sense. but he still has his moments. like tonight persay.

once i realize how excruciatingly dry my throat is, i push nick’s comforter off of me, taking a glance at his peaceful state. his lips slightly parted, letting out soft-quiet snores here and there. i smile softly, glad that one of us is having a good night sleep.

i place my feet on the flooring of his bedroom, making my way out of his room. causing the floor to squeak a couple times. once i turn my head back, making sure i didn’t wake nick up, i make my way to the bathroom.

after splashing my face with cold water a couple of times, i grab a towel and dry it while taking a couple deep breaths in and out. i stare at myself in the mirror for a second, before walking out of the bathroom, heading downstairs.

-

the second i reach the kitchen, i immediately make a b-line for the fridge, grabbing a cold water from the fridge, downing it.

“what are you doing up?”

“oh my-!” i quickly turn my body around, shutting the fridge door as my eyes come in contact with an icy blue pair. an icy blue i could stare into for hours on end.

“you good?” chris asks.

i quickly clear my throat. “yeah-sorry. just scared me, that’s all.” i say, realizing i didn’t even see him sitting at the island counter when i came in here.

“sorry kid.” he laughs. “but why are you awake?”

“i-um..i just had a nightmare. that’s all.” i say, slowly making my way to the island counter. once i reach it, i lean my elbows on it, as he sits across from me on a stool.

“ahhh,” he hums. “wanna talk about it?” he asks cautiously.

i quickly shake my head ‘no’ as i look down at the marble design of the counter.

we both sit in silence for a minute. it’s a comfortable silence. just both of us enjoying each others company, until chris clears his throat to speak again.

“well..if you ever wanna talk, just don’t forget im here. okay?” he speaks softly as he looks up at me.

i slowly nod as i return the glance.

silence takes over us once again. except this time, it feels a little different as we’re staring into each others eyes. neither one of us daring to look away. for a second, i think his eyes may have dilated, but its dark in the kitchen and im half asleep so, who knows.

although that’s quickly broken when we hear a third voice enter the kitchen.

“hey chris-y/n?” nate says. “what are you doing?”

im quickly broken out of the hypnotization from chris’s eyes, as mine make my way to my brother.

“i..had a nightmare.” i softly speak.

“what about?” he asks as he walks more into the kitchen, now standing beside me.

“um, nothing much.” i lie. “just one enough to wake me up.”

nate’s eyebrows furrow as he seemingly tries to read my face. “well, you should go back to bed. we have school in the morning.”

i nod as i tell both him and chris goodnight.

as i walk out of the kitchen, i make my way to the stairs. i hear chris and nate mumbling about something, but i can’t make out any words.

-

as soon as i’m back in nick’s room, i climb back into his bed, laying next to him as i let the warmness of the comforter coat my body, almost lulling me back to sleep in a way.

————————————————————————

a/n: this one’s a lil more deep, which i apologize. but we’re kind of getting somewhere 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️ sorry these chapters have been so short !!

[inumbrapugnabimus-maybe]

unearthing an old loz au :D

Extensive rambling and plot and everything in between below

ok so I made this au over a year ago and the other day in an attempt to procrastinate my brain reminded me of it so here it is! Redesigned!

Ummm basically this version of Hyrule has already fallen to Ganon, and (much like in Narnia) it got very, very cold as a result (I’m still working on the exact ins and out of this, but there IS a reason why lol)

Therefore, Zelda’s clothes are A), very warm, with lots of layers, and B), rather hodgepodged together, as they’re all borrowed. She hasn’t been able to wear her royal clothes in years, as she’s hiding from Ganon. And also most of them burned with Hyrule Castle.

so the embroidered frock (embroidered with flowers for symbolism reasons) thingie is about as princessy as her clothes will get XD

the reason she masquerades as Sheik in this au is more to hide from Link than Ganon. The latter is unaware that the princess escaped, while Link has some issues he’s working through lol

basically, when the kingdom was very suddenly overthrown, a confused and unimportant kid named Link (who was aware of the danger due to reasons I’ll get around to if I post his design), managed to save Zelda, who was still pretty young, and very much terrified. Terrified to see her terrified, Link’s protective side activated, and, well, it never really un-activated after that.

He managed to get her to a quiet, little known town on the outskirts of Hyrule, where some Sheikah (notably Impa) had taken refuge as well. They promised to guard her, and Link headed off to suffer the slow realization that he was a hero alone.

meanwhile, Zelda grew up, and grew stronger, and (once again due to things I won’t quite talk about yet) began to understand her duty towards her people, and to the hero. But, when Link returned to inform Impa of the plans he had made, he was very against Zelda helping him in any way (mainly out of fear for her).

so Zelda came along as Sheik instead :D

A few little things of note, now

I am vaguely basing Link’s inner struggle off my older brother… Link and Zelda do not have a brother/sister relationship however; it ends up a romance >:)

The only difference between Sheik and Zelda is simply that by the time Link sees her again as Sheik, she has dyed her hair and she’s been in the sun a bit more… magic is not involved in this case. Honestly it only works because Link didn’t know Zelda very well before lol

Zelda likes to sew, and garden as much as the climate will let her.

She has a very bright personality, but she takes what other people say to heart. I’ve found whenever I make an loz au, Zelda and/or Link don’t start out with Wisdom and Courage, but rather must gain it to some extent. This story is no different.

In some cases, I focus only on one of them, but this story specifically is about both. They grow together, just like Hyrule must grow again :D

in this story, they are all traumatized. Including Ganon. (he also has a backstory I’m working on hehe)

finally, the sheik design is not final… I’m still working on it lol

ok, that’s it! Byeeeeee

[skellymom]

Hey Skelly

You're taking requests? Oh I'd love to ask for one.

Could you please do a one-shot involving a reader and Hunter after Omega gets seriously injured on a mission (Bad enough to wind up in a Bacta Pod) and the reader has to comfort and reassure Hunter that Omega will be OK?

tysm, GenericFicer Hugs

@genericficerblog NICE! Another ASK!!! Thank you!

"THE INCIDENT"

The Bad Batch Hunter x Reader One Shot

Per more information (not included on this particular message):

So the reader is a male battle medic. It's all platonic The reader was a medic on Kamino. He had taken care of Omega after particularly bad tests (She has the scars to prove it) and he's protective of Omega because of her past with the Kaminoans

Word Count: 2.1K

Warning: Star Wars canon violence, angst, swearing, explosion, physical injuries, coma, mention of human experimentation by the Kaminoans.

I was tasked to hang back with Omega and Tech on board the Marauder. Hunter EXPRESSLY ordered us to stay put. His thinking was to only bring the members necessary for the job: Hunter at the head of the group, Echo next to him and to share logistics on comm with Tech, Wrecker as the “heavy”, and Crosshair as lookout/cover fire. 

The job was technically low risk...but Hunter started having those “feelings” of his just before landing at our target.  

Omega protested when he told her to stay on the ship. She had been looking forward to going on a mission for awhile. Many a time she stayed behind on Pabu with Shep and Lyana. Since her rescue from Tantiss, Hunter was dead set against her going on any dangerous missions. 

Hunter’s words were “You’ll have plenty of time to fight with the Rebellion in the future. Won’t stay young forever.” 

She bristled at those words. Then forgave him immediately after. 

They LOVE each other so much! 

But ever the doting dad, Hunter relented this time. She had eventually wore him down. 

Oh...getting ahead of myself...who am I? 

Hello. I’m Y/N. The Squad Formerly Known as Clone Force 99’s Medic/Backup Heavy/Or Whatever They Need Me For. I can patch up just about ANYTHING with the bare minimum of supplies. Sometimes my methods are unorthodox, per Tech’s opinion, but effective.  It’s saved our butts a few times. So, they let me come along on every mission. 

Plus, having known and taken care of Omega while on Kamino helped. 

And the fact that Crosshair took a liking to me immediately sealed the deal. We both speak fluent sarcasm. 

But...back to the mission... 

“What’s taking SO LONG?” Omega fidgeted in her seat. 

“My guess it is due to Hunter detecting an anomaly, they are taking their time.”  

Tech and I were attempting to play a few rounds of Sebacc. I’m HORRIBLE at it. He thinks he can help me improve my game. I’m struggling currently. 

“Safety first. No need to rush into trouble...especially since we seem to find it easily enough.” I threw down my cards. 

Tech glanced at them and frowned.  

“I totally messed up that hand too, huh?” 

“Well, it’s not a strategy I would have used...” Tech trailed off. 

“You’re being too nice.” 

“Shall I explain in detail the best plan of action for this hand?” 

“Can’t stop you. Just infodump me anyways. Maybe I’ll retain SOMETHING this time.” I LOVE to tease Tech. It was difficult in the beginning. Most of it just went over his head. 

This time, he just grinned at my cheekiness and launched into it. 

Omega continued to fidget in her seat behind us. 

“...and THAT is why you should have held onto those cards until the end.” Tech finally finished his tutorial. 

“I... THINK I got all that? My brain hurts now. How ‘bout I switch with Omega.” 

“That will be sufficient.” Tech looks up and glances behind me. 

Then his face froze. 

I quickly swung around to see Omega missing from her seat. 

“OMEGA???” I called through the ship.  

Nothing. 

“Oh SHIT!” 

“INDEED!” Tech immediately radioed Hunter that Omega slipped out of the Marauder and is probably enroute to them. 

I grabbed my med pack and ran out of the Marauder before he could stop me. 

Omega used to sneak away A LOT on our previous missions. Probably one of many reasons why he wanted to keep her back on Pabu until she matured a bit more. Of course, he feels guilty...the Kaminoan’s keeping her locked up in their home world. He didn’t want to clip her wings.  

“TOLD YOU to stay on the ship!” Hunter’s voice fills my ear comm. 

“I can’t just assume that Omega finds you somehow and is safe.” 

“Don’t need ANOTHER person in danger. Go back to the ship.” 

“Well...is Omega with you?” 

“...no.” 

“She SHOULD have been by now...AND I’m NOT going back.” 

Hunter’s tired sigh. “Well, then... 

He never finished his sentence. 

A flash of intense light... 

I awoke thirty feet away from where I was standing. On my back. 

My head hurts...all I can hear is high pitched whine in both ears. 

Sit up dazed and look around at EVERYTHING obliterated and on fire. 

Torn remains of whatever was left of the trees and outbuilding I was near... 

...two small legs sticking out from under smoldering wreckage. 

I lurch up to my feet and limp over. Grab the unidentifiable thing crushing Omega and try to pull it off her. 

It’s not budging. I frantically keep trying. There's NOTHING else in this world except me and this huge THING on top of her that I cannot seem to move. 

Sweating, my hands are raw, my eyes are wet, there is blood dripping down my face... 

Is it lacerated? Could it be my eardrums are ruptured? I don’t know.  

I just know I HAVE TO GET THIS THING OFF OF HER! 

Push, pull, kick... 

Then the wreckage flew off her like it weighed nothing at all. 

Wrecker is next to me. He freed Omega and put a hand on my shoulder. Hunter grabs her up. Echo is trying to speak to me. 

But I can’t hear anything at all. Just that damned whining in my ears.  

I can lip read though... 

He’s telling me to get back to the ship. 

Echo runs ahead with Hunter.  

Crosshair grabs my arm, dragging me along. He looks extremely worried. 

Whatever happened or if we even achieved our objective, I don’t know. 

Hunter sets Omega down on a bunk. He’s beside himself emotionally.  

I can feel the Marauder take off world.  

My hearing is still impaired, but the whining is less pronounced. 

I gently nudge Hunter aside and open my med kit. Pull out the bacta...but it won’t be enough... 

...she needs a tank. Her burns and lacerations are too numerous and severe. Still breathing and regular heartbeat, but unconscious.  

I am doing the best I can with what supplies are on hand. Putting her prognosis out of my head for the time being. 

We make a pit stop at a Rebel Base on a hidden moon. One with an extensive medical facility.  

Echo radioed ahead. As soon as Tech lands, the staff enters the ship and whisks Omega away. Hunter and Wrecker run after them. Echo runs in another direction...I’m assuming to report his intel to the Rebels. 

I stand at the bottom of the gangplank and watch them leave.  

Tech stares at me strangely.  

I shrug...and a horrible twinge of pain erupts from my upper back. My face feels sore too. 

Crosshair mumbles something. 

“WHAT???” I must be screaming but can’t hear anything. 

He mouths “your back” and points.  

I try to reach behind me to feel it.  

Tech grabs my hand and nods “no”. 

They both immediately took me to medbay. 

I’m treated for multiple facial lacerations, on top of first-degree burns. Missing some of my eyebrows. And, like I guessed bilaterial ruptured eardrums. 

Oh...and the kicker: A 12-inch piece of metal sticking out of my back. Had NO idea it was there.  

Adrenaline is a HELL of a hormone. 

Tech left to confer with Echo over intel and our next move. 

Crosshair stayed with me during the surgical removal of the metal. I demanded to be awake and requested a mirror to watch the whole procedure. 

The doctors were horrified but complied with my request. 

Crosshair held the mirror. He also asked to keep the metal once removed...to frame and hang up back on Pabu. 

“You're NOT like the other kids.” I quip. 

“Neither are you.” he winks. 

They won’t let me walk out of medbay. It’s the sedatives and painkillers, of course. I wouldn’t let me walk, either.  

Crosshair pushes me in a hover chair. We head over to the bacta tanks to check on Omega. 

She’s stripped down to a medical binder and med panties. Tubes to feed, breath, and eliminate. Floating in the tank, the extent of her injuries is very apparent: Second degree burns, multiple lacerations, a broken arm, a few broken ribs, and a head injury. Her hair had been clippered off entirely for cleanliness and most of it was charred.  

Omega was also put in a medically induced coma to aide her recovery. 

Hunter, sitting in a chair, has his arms around the bacta tank. He’s basically hugging it with his forehead resting snugly against the glass. 

“I shouldn’t have let her go. Blame myself.” He mumbles. 

Wrecker puts a hand on his back for comfort. “She’ll be ok Hunter. They said we got her here in time.”   

Then he looks shocked when he sees my face. 

“OH MY MAKER! Where are your EYEBROWS?” 

Still can’t hear very well, but I can DEFINITELY lip-read Wrecker. 

“Look what medical pulled out of him!” Crosshair proudly dangles a clear plastic bag containing the metal shard. 

Wrecker is transfixed. 

Hunter is devastated. “I MISSED that??? Didn’t even register you were injured...looked right at you...” 

Like a man lost and questioning EVERYTHING. His focus had been solely on Omega. 

“Aw...they couldn’t kill me. Don’t think I’ll be attracting any ladies with my perpetually surprised look though.” Trying to lighten the mood. 

“You can’t hear ANYTHING, can you?” Crosshair looks me in the eye. 

“Barely...why?” 

“You’re so LOUD.”  

“You should talk, Wrecker.” Crosshair sneered. 

“That’s how I know!” Wrecker rolled his eyes at his brother. 

Hunter looked even more guilty, hanging his head. 

“Hey guys...” 

Wrecker and Crosshair stopped whinging at each other. 

“Can I have some time alone with Hunter?” 

They both nodded and wandered off to find Echo and Tech. 

I nudge the chair over closer to Hunter and look at Omega through the glass. 

She’s so tiny in that big tank. So beat up and bruised. The lighting in the tank leaves NOTHING hidden. Even the old scars from her time on Kamino. The “experiments” according to the Kaminoans. Things they did to her before her brothers took her away.  

Things she never really spoke about with even Hunter. 

Things I only know about since working so closely at the facility on Kamino. A little girl who needed someone to comfort her. This was before her brothers were ever aware of her presence. 

“Her prognosis is very good, yes?” I broke the ice. 

“The docs say she’ll have to spend close to the next month in this tank.” Hunter’s voice cracked. 

“It wasn’t your fault.” 

“I knew better! Why is it SO HARD for me to say no to her???” 

“Because you love her. You know she’s strong. You also know she’s still a child. If it makes you feel better, she snuck out ALL the time on Kamino. The Kaminoan’s would ask me to go look for her constantly.” 

“More of an argument to have left her on Pabu.” 

“You REALLY want to be at fault, huh?” 

“I’m responsible for...” 

I cut him off. 

“YOU CAN’T CONTROL EVERYTHING, HUNTER!” I winced. Moving too much with my exasperation. The sutures on my back were straining...and wet. 

Hunter stood up, glancing at my back. He could smell it. 

“Strike through?” I asked. 

“Yeah...just a little blood. You need to lie down and rest.” 

“That’s gonna be hard. Not supposed to lay on my back...and my face isn’t going to feel great against the pillow. How about I just stay sitting in this chair with you?” 

“You sure?” 

“Yeah. I know you don’t want to leave her alone while she’s in this tube.” 

"Thank you. Honestly...I should say that more often. Y/N...you've really saved our butts a lot of times...I'm grateful to have you in our squad...family." Hunter cracked a small smile.

"Of course! Man...you are MY PEOPLE!" I beamed back. They really are. I'd go to the ends of the universe for every one of them!!!

Hunter's smile was so warm and genuine. But it lasted very briefly. His face became pensive again.

He was silent for a while...thinking. 

“Technically she’s asleep? Is that what a coma is like?” Hunter asked. 

“Kind of. The doctors are monitoring ALL her vitals constantly. And if anything is off, they can immediately see to her needs. Besides, the coma is just for the next 24-48 hours due to her head injury.”  

“I see.” 

“She’ll come through this. You clones were made to withstand a LOT of physical trauma. Stuff that would kill a regular human.” I added. 

“It’s not necessarily the physical stuff I’m worried about.” Hunter motions to the faint old scars on Omega’s body. “When she does wake up...she told me she has fears about being in a tube like an experiment.” 

“Tell her she has nothing to fear.” 

Hunter looks at me strangely. 

“People in a coma can still hear. Talk to her, Hunter.” 

He nods. Then directs his voice to the speaker on the bacta tube. 

I sit back and relax in the chair, watching this man...a brother, a parental figure speak to his child. 

He’s doing the best he can with what he has. 

We are all doing the best we can... 

...hanging on with HOPE. 

It’s the only thing holding the galaxy together right now... 

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[ashwhowrites]

1, 2 & 6 from the smut prompts with subby jonathan or steve ;) thank you so much!

People voted for subby Steve 🫡

Never proofread. I hope this is what you were looking for

~~

I’ve never seen you squirm so much

A and B have a code name for a dirty word. While at a social event with lots of people, A casually slips the word into conversation, causing B to choke on their drink and get very red in the face.

A texts B reassuring and flirty texts from the opposite side of the room. A watch in glee as B checks their phone and their face goes dark red.

~~~

Steve was always known as a ladies' man, he was the king for a reason. He knew his way around the bedroom and knew how to treat the female body. But there was one girl that flipped him on his stomach and made him feel things he has never felt before.

She was his girlfriend, and he had no idea how he got so lucky. He finally received the love he gave out. And he has never experienced someone desiring him so intensely.

He felt safe with her, he could let his brain disappear when he was around her. Just a puppy dog following her every move.

It didn't matter where they were, he was attached to her side and blindly following every instruction.

It was Dustin's birthday and the group was at the bowling alley. Robin and Nancy wanted to do boys against girls. Steve immediately pouted and begged to be on the team with his girlfriend.

Robin refused to budge, throwing her arms around Y/N and placing a wet kiss on her cheek. Steve pouted at the action, giving Robin a glare as everyone began to search for their bowling balls.

As the game went on, it got competitive. Steve and Robin were tied, and neither wanted to lose to the other person.

Robin knew if anyone could throw Steve off of his game, it would be Y/N.

"Help me out, here. Get him all nervous and twitchy." Robin whispered in Y/N's ear. The boys were already celebrating their win as Steve knocked down eight pins. He had a chance to knock down two more.

Y/N walked over to Steve with a proud smile. Handing him a cup of water. He smiled as he took the cup, taking a small sip as she leaned into his ear.

No one knew what she said, but the way Steve's eyes went wide, and he choked on his drink. He nodded and coughed. He walked a little bit away from her, drinking his water as he prepped himself to bowl again.

"Wow Steve, I didn't peg you as someone who was so good with balls." Y/N joked as Steve set up to throw the ball.

She knew the group would focus on the inappropriate joke and not the fact she said peg with a taunting tone. She watched as Steve lost his grip, the ball being thrown right into the gutter.

Robin squealed as she raced for her turn to bowl.

Steve felt his body blushing as he covered the front of his jeans with his hands, walking over to Y/N with a pout on his face.

She smirked as he moved in her arms, hiding his face in her neck.

"Someone a little excited?" She teased, rubbing his back as he groaned in his neck.

Robin squealed as she beat Steve's score.

~~~

Steve suffered as his jeans grew tight. Sitting in a booth across from Y/N. Her eyes locked on her phone as the table shared plates of food. Steve couldn't bother to eat, what he was craving was not an option at the moment.

Steve felt his phone vibrate, confused he pulled it out.

He tried to hold back the whimper as the thread of naughty texts from his girlfriend filled the screen.

He could tell his face was on fire, burning from head to toe.

Y/N watched in joy as Steve shrunk in his seat, shifting over and over. His eyes looked up to her and down to the floor. Switching back and forth.

She could almost taste the beg on his tongue.

~~~

By the time they made it back to Steve's house, he had been on her back since. His arms wrapped around her waist, whimpering in her ear, and pouting whenever she gave him attention.

He wasn't sure how much more teasing he could handle. He ached all over and his mind was only focused on getting a release.

"I've never seen you squirm so much." Y/N teased, her arms wrapped around his neck as he looked down at her.

"Can you just have mercy on me already? I can't handle anything more." He whined, no shame in using his puppy eyes to guilt her into being nice.

She did take some pity on him. Leaning up to press her lips against his. Swallowing his whimpers. Her hands played with his hair, causing his knees to grow weak.

He let his body melt, releasing his lips from hers as he kissed down her neck, her chest, stomach, and placing a final kiss above her pants. His forehead resting against her stomach, arms around her thighs.

His neck turning to look up at her, water in his eyes.

"please, baby, just something." He whined.

"yeah? Just need me to help you?" She mocked

He nodded as he sniffled. Rubbing his face against her stomach.

"what do you want?" She asked, her hand running through his hair

He mumbled against her stomach, the words muffled by the material of her shirt.

"again?" She asked, yanking his hair so his head snapped up.

"I want to cum." He said, loud and clear so he wouldn't get in trouble for having to repeat himself.

"there's your big boy voice " she teased, patting his cheek softly with her free hand

He waited for her next instruction. He wasn't sure how he would get to cum, but he wouldn't be picky.

"hump my leg and make a mess in your boxers."

He felt a sob in his throat but kept it together

"can I please be in you?" He asked

She gave him a look, and he knew to back down. Swallowing more of his own whimpers and straddling her leg.

He held on to the back of her thighs as he began to rock his hips against her. The rough material of his jeans scraping against her. He shivered as his cock felt the sensation.

He closed his eyes, embarrassed that he was desperate enough to cum that he'd hump her leg.

He felt like dying in embarrassment when he could already feel the need to cum. He was pathetic.

He tried to pace himself, rub himself to feel good but not cum all over himself.

But she would never miss a chance to embarrass him.

"nah uh, don't pace yourself. You are pathetic, we both know you are. So show me how pathetic you are." She demanded

He nodded his head and began to rub himself faster. Moans escaping his mouth as he clenched her thighs in his hands.

He could feel the build up. Panting as he rubbed himself against her as fast as he could. His jaw dropped as he silently whined when he felt his balls tightening.

"that it? Gonna cum?" She asked, her hands back to playing with his hair.

He couldn't answer, his brain melted. His insides were vibrating and his cock was throbbing.

The sound of her mocking giggle sent him over the edge. Whining loudly as he coated his boxers in his cum.

Slowly riding out his orgasm. Gasping as each movement of his hips made his cock sensitive. His tip hit the puddle of cum that now rested in his boxers.

His ears were red and burned. His face flushed in embarrassment.

"my good boy" she teased, dropping down to his eyesight. Smirking as her hand ran over the wet spot in his jeans. Loving the way he jumped and shivered.

"round one is done."

[nights-at-crystarium]

Fragments - episodes 31-35 author notes

You can find similar breakdown posts on older episodes in my pinned!

The chasm in their understanding of what makes Vivi tick.

The stakes in this scene seem low and the twins are just overdramatizing the danger for the sake of unwinding and being silly, right? Yesn't. One wrong move or word, and they join those leafmen scattered all over the place.

Finding the line between bad actor and caring sister.

Of course Alisaie wants to hang out with Vivi. She doesn't want to admit that to herself, let alone risk looking desperate in her brother's eyes. Tsundere moment. It's been a while since they've. Had a rest. Between rescuing Minfilia from Laxan Loft and making their way to Il Mheg. Alphinaud, at least in my hc, isn't as physically durable, but definitely as stubborn and proud as Alisaie, so he wouldn't simply agree to chill out for a moment. Alisaie makes him tunnel-vision her bad (?) acting and openly throwing the game for supposedly selfish reasons, while she gets what she wanted, AND forces Alphi to sit his ass down.

I’m sorry but I really need to point out that her ahoge did, in fact, launch into the stratosphere.

More under the cut~

....Can you blame her tho.

Vivi’s shirt’s a bit more plain than usual, he needed to wear something practical under his crystarium guard disguise in Laxan Loft.

The flashback in episodes 32-33 has no dialogue per se, only monologues, to emphasize how disconnected they are.

Technically both vivis are real, but Exarch’s memories are definitely heavily skewed. He’d only known Vivi during the CT quests, in this story it’s a month or two in summer, during which literally nothing bad happens, sans the finale. Alisaie, however, got lucky to experience Vivi during Stormblood, his absolute low.

Exarch and Alisaie sit on opposing sides of the bias, one wears pink glasses, delusional and bluepilled, the other one’s (heh) redpilled, perhaps a bit too much. Hence Alisaie feels the whiplash when her jerkass woobie friend suddenly acts mellow (back in the present), still she has the expertise to tell that he’s not affected by a fae spell or anything.

Full page because I’m so proud of the paneling here, simple as this trick is, these speech bubbles blocking Vivi from sight neatly illustrate that Alisaie just babbles away, paying no heed to his state.

With the power of flashbacks and stories told by one character to another, I’m able to revisit any moment in their past whenever I please. I didn’t commit to a linear story because there was no story! Well, just the outlines. Vivi as a character began in ShB because I really needed to fuck that old man, I started writing down the lil scenes loosely connected by the canon plot, and that’s how the whole concept of Fragments came to be.

It may not work for everyone, but my secret sauce’s that you don’t have to begin at the beginning. Make a guy, put him in a situation, then ask a lot of whys and hows to expand his story backward and forward.

Keeping the past events for later allows me to flesh things out at a leisurely pace. This Alisaie flashback is actually an iteration, originally I’d planned to have Vivi stand alone and just think the broody thoughts, and that was supposed to be the transition between ARR and ShB arcs. I grow more writing muscle as I go, and I’m infinitely happy that I avoided that angsty infodump.

Okay this’s becoming a big fat tangent, but I wanted to acknowledge another pitfall: overusing a character as a mere exposition tool. I wouldn’t do this for, say, Tataru or Y’shtola. Being THE flashback haver makes sense for Alisaie because a) they’re close with Vivi, b) her worldview and opinion on Vivi are changing in ShB, she’s a smart lil thing who would slow down and reflect when appropriate, c) she has a distinct arc in my comic, and knowing what’s going on inside that elf brain will give you the most entertainment out of her actions in the present moment.

I’m new to writing and very excited about the story that comes together as we speak, so I like to show around my kitchen. Please lemme know if you enjoy this. I don’t know if I’m parroting the boring 101s, or if this’s actually useful to someone.

“Meals made for me” YEA HE CAN’T COOK. Well, barely.

New sharp outfit, procured by our most magnanimous branch. The “tail” will help me draw the upcoming Titania fight, it adds fluidity to his movements.

*presses the upgrade button*

There's a lot happening in his head that's not being shown. I hope at least some readers wonder who or what he leaves behind in his mind's eye in this moment. What we know for sure is that he doesn’t take too long to make a decision.

Not sure if subtle, but I did try the breadcrumbing:

Unfortunately for everyone, including himself :’>

I love this one especially because, instead of telling that about himself, Vivi asks Ardbert, kinda gauging his wol experience against the other wol’s.

Episode 34 really shook people awake and reminded that we’re off the msq rails with this story. I loved the response it evoked in the tags, lots of thoughtful rambling about being a hero.

Fae temptation jokes and all, but Feo Ul really says what Vivi needs to say out loud to himself.

Normalize prioritizing self-care over world-saving.

Vivi genuinely cares about Feo Ul. That’s unusual. It might be my storytelling mistake that I didn’t show much of his typical indifference before this scene, unless you count the episodes where he does this

instead of hurrying the fuck up with the msq. Or, perhaps, it’s okay, since this gets plenty of attention later on. You won’t miss the fact that he isn’t eager to set himself on fire to keep others warm. Feo Ul just lucked their way into his heart, and, as a result, he approaches the Titania fight with unusual consideration.

/srs mode on ^

Remember how I just talked about developing this story in all directions at once? I planned Vivi to have this demeanor during the early days of writing Fragments. Like, most of the time. He’d be a broody bitch, get slowly thawed by Exarch’s kindness, and... That’d be it. In veeeeeery broad strokes, this’s still the case, but the current iteration has much more nuance.

Vivi and Titania’s likeness has no deep meaning, take it or leave it. Vivi cares about appearances, he was bound to notice this. Feo Ul can see souls, visuals are secondary to them. But Vivi, being himself, must doubt and question everything.

He moves fast and thinks a lot as the adrenaline speeds him up.

Notice how he lets Titania speak and remains quiet. This’s common in most fights: he doesn’t indulge with chats or banter those who he sees as mere targets to destroy. There’s like a point of no return, if an enemy poses no threat and can be talked out of dying, Vivi will speak, sadly he enters this fight knowing that Titania has to die no matter what.

Once he’s familiarized himself with the situation, and realized that Titania’s more than just a mindless husk, things change up a bit. But for now, he just runs in circles, analyzes the situation, and overthinks about their visual resemblance :’>

Sorry not sorry but unintentional reference x’DD

To be fair Vivi IS being a magical boy in this miniarc so this works lmao.

Wrapping up on this note, thanks for sticking with me and reading till the end~

[the-desilittle-bird]

Author's Note- I have been planning a Tywin Lannister Fic. If anyone has some ideas, you are free to share. For the meantime, enjoy this one and do tell me if you want a second part. Also requests can be made.

Thank you and Enjoy your reading!

The Crimson Lady

Aemond Targaryen x Reader

Summary- The Greens and the Blacks gather to settle the war peacefully. And the Era of the One-Eyed King and Crimson Queen begins...

Tag List- @eliseline , @little-moonbeam-666 , @blackhoodlea, @omgsuperstarg, @shopping, @lizlovecraft, @dayane, @bbgmonsay, @michelle-26 , @all-things-fandomstuck, @hc-geralt-23, @chevelledahuman, @morganastrucker, @shrexy , @helloitsshitzulover, @daringboba, @minaxcarter, @b-tchymoon, @stargaryenx, @hukio, @saraelizabeth26, @targaryenmoony, @moon-light1415, @eudximoniakr

King Viserys 'The Peaceful' gone. King Aegon 'The Usurper' gone. Queen Rhaenyra 'The Black Queen' gone. All in the duration of no more than 2 years.

Prince Daemon 'The King Consort' killed. Prince Jacaerys 'The Heir of the Black' killed. Prince Lucerys killed. Prince Daeron Targaryen killed. Prince Jaehaerys killed. Countless casualties on both sides due to the war which was known to the common people as 'The Dance of the Dragon'.

The greens had seemingly won the war until their king was poisoned by his own kin, only a few moons into the rule again. Meanwhile, the Starks and the Velaryons convinced Rhaenyra's only living heir to assert her claim on the Iron Throne.

The council of states of the realm was divided. The whole realm was. The Blacks hailed princess (Y/N) Velaryon, naming her the rightful heir to the throne. The Greens wished to name Prince Aemond the King of The Realm.

Both the sides of the war had suffered the consequences of war. And the namely leaders of them had seen the most of the horrors; and both of them could mutually agree on only one thing. That the war must stop, on any basis.

(Y/N) sat blankly at the head of the table in Dragonstone, staring into a distance, distant from the ongoing argument as Corlys Velaryon and Cregan Stark fought on their next step in war.

She could feel the tiredness in her body, seeping through her brain and clouding it. She had lost her mother a mere moons ago, and her stepfather- or as the rumors suggest, father- some moons before her mother.

She was alone in this world, except for her youngest brother Aegon, who was too young to understand these things.

"Can I expect a few moments of silence?" She asked, growing agitated from all the noises around her. She could only wish for some peace in this chaotic world.

The council chamber fell into silence as both the lords watched their princess sigh in exhaustion, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Please take your seats," she commanded softly, gesturing with her hands.

The lords nodded in understanding, sitting down as they shared a worried look. They had seen (Y/N) grow up from a bright, cheerful girl to a dull and commanding lady.

"What do you wish for, my queen?" Cregan asked, as stiffly as he could as he observed the younger lady in the war. (Y/N) glanced at him, her gaze softening as she looked down at her hands.

"I wish for this to end. With me on the throne or without, a give no care," she stated, letting go of the truth she knew for a while. "But that throne belongs to you," said her grandfather.

Before (Y/N) could react, the door to the council chambers opened and a servant walked in, trembling harshly as he feared the rage of the war lords.

"What is it?" (Y/N) asked softly, making the boy look up at her. She could calculate that the boy was no older than her, possibly the same age, but she could see the differences between him and herself. While he was fearful of these lords, she commanded them, much to her inner dismay.

"A... a messenger from the... the Greens have came upon the doors," he said.

The throne room was in the state of alert. The Queen's Guard stood on the steps to the throne, each hand on the pommel of their swords, ready in case of any danger.

Cregan stood two steps down the throne, hand folded behind his back with his eyes glaring at the door, waiting patiently for the messenger to stride in.

(Y/N) sat on the throne, fiddling with her fingers nervously. Her eyes glancing to the door every second in caution.

The door opened at last, and a tall, hooded figure walked in, head hung low to hide his face. Though the man never looked up, (Y/N) was sure he could feel their curious eyes on him.

"You stand in the presence of Queen (Y/N) of Houses Targaryen and Velaryon, First of her Name. Rightful Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men. Rightful Lady of the Seven Kingdoms. Rightful Protector of the Realm. The Crimson Lady and The Eagle of Dragonstone."

"What is it that the Greens want?" Cregan asked, picking his words carefully. The man extended his hand, a scroll in his grip. Cregan and (Y/N) met each other's eye before (Y/N) nodded, making one of the knights present in the room, snatch the scroll from his hand, handing it to Cregan.

Cregan opened the scroll with care, an analytical eye reading it. He walked up to the queen who sat in her place with fear bubbling in her stomach.

"What now?" She whispered, looking at the scroll with fear. "They wish to negotiate for the throne, in peace," Cregan whispered back, his eyes casted down in respect. He heard (Y/N) gasp silently, eyes meeting her Valyrian ones.

"Should we accept?" She asked, looking around to shake off the nervousness. "It is your decision, (Y/N). Not mine or Lord Velaryon's," he stated, nodding back and walking down to his place.

"The Greens wish to negotiate with the Rightful Queen in peace," Cregan announced, making Corlys scowl. "This is just another one of their schemes to butcher us like sheep," the Lord of Driftmark said.

"I can assure it isn't, Lord Corlys," the voice of the messenger startled everyone, making the knights of the Queen's Guard draw their swords and point to the man.

The man looked up, letting his hood fall back to reveal the face of the second son of King Viserys and Queen Alicent. A smirk appearing on his visage as he saw the look of fear on everyone's face.

"Prince Aemond," (Y/N) greeted with a nod, standing up from her seat. With swift and soft steps, she strided to him, ignoring the fearful looks of the lords.

"You are aware we could imprison you here," (Y/N) said matter-of-factly, making her uncle hum as he looked at her with interest. "And give my family the message that you wish to continue this war, resulting in more deaths," Aemond replied.

(Y/N) observed her uncle, once who used to be her favorite companion. He had matured during the war. His hair shorter than before, braided to keep the hair away from his face. His face had become more sharper with time, if it was possible. He had grown taller during the period of this war.

Aemond had seen (Y/N) the last time before his father's death and now, with her in front of him, he couldn't help but notice the changes. She had grown an inch or two taller, still rather short compared to him. Her face more defined than the last time he saw her. Her hair shorter due to the war and pulled back in a bun.

Eyes traveling down, he noticed the prominent curves she have developed in last two years. Her usual bright gowns had now changed into a black and deep red gown, fit for a queen.

"We will come, uncle," (Y/N) announced after a while of thinking. "But if this is some scheme of yours and your snake mother's, then know, that neither your family nor my council can stop me from marching onto King's Landing."

Aemond could see the threat clearly, and he nodded sincerely. "Thank you for your kindness, princess," Aemond bowed, his eyes sincere. (Y/N) only nodded, her eyes followed Aemond's movements as he turned around and walked out of the throne room, not even glancing back.

"My Queen, are you sure?" Corlys asked, as everyone visibly relaxed after the Prince was gone. "He killed your father," Cregan added. "I am sure, Lord Corlys. Thank you for your concern," (Y/N) said, leaving the throne room as well.

Gods above seemed to play a game with the young Targaryen as she and her small troop of advisors arrived at the keep with a furious rainstorm outside.

(Y/N) was greeted at the entrance by Otto Hightower, who despite his scowl was able to give the princess a hard and distasteful smile.

He had led the group to the small council chamber, where (Y/N) could recognize the Green's Council Members.

Prince Aemond and the Dowager Queen Alicent and the representatives of Houses Baratheon, Lannister and Strong sat on one side of the table with an empty seat reserved for Otto by his daughter's side.

"Please, have a seat," Alicent said stiffly, as she glared at (Y/N). The young She-Dragon nodded, stepping forward to sit in front of Aemond as her loyal advisors followed and soon, the other side of the table was filled with the Blacks.

"We all are aware of the reason for which we gather here," Otto started, glaring quite openly at Rhaenyra's daughter. Alicent glanced at her son, whose gaze was focused on (Y/N).

"So, on behalf of my king, I would like to propose that you and your army kneels to the rightful heir of the realm, Prince Aemond. You all will experience the King's kindness and will not be charged for treason or such."

Cregan scoffed loudly, making Otto glare daggers at the young Lord of Winterfell. (Y/N) sighed tiredly, looking at Cregan as if to ask silently 'what are you doing'.

"My Queen, may I?" Cregan asked formally, making (Y/N) nod. Cregan nodded in gratitude, standing up to meet the eyes of the Greens.

"We all are aware of the person who is the rightful heir, and it is our Princess (Y/N). As a benevolent Queen, she ask you all to kneel before her in peace, and stop the war right here. There is no need for anymore bloodshed to take place, no need for more innocent people to die and face the consequences of our action."

And thus, the verbal fight began between the Greens and the Blacks. Corlys and Cregan defended their queen while the Lannisters and Otto listed Alicent and Aemond's kind actions.

"Can we not discuss this in peace?" (Y/N) asked after a while, fed up of the elders fighting like children for the throne. She looked at her army's commanders scoldingly, glancing at their seats before looking at them.

It seemed Cregan and Corlys were smart enough to get the silent gesture, settling in their seats as they grumbled to themselves. Childish adults, (Y/N) thought to herself while sighing, sinking into her seat as well.

"Grand Maester Orwyle, you have heard the arguments yourself. What do you suggest?" Aemond asked, leaning towards the table, raising a perfect eyebrow at the man.

"My prince, my princess, lords and ladies," Orwyle stood up, nodding at each other as he greeted everyone. "I see potential in both Prince Aemond and Princess (Y/N), and thus, I suggest an alternative. I suggest that the Prince marries his niece and the crown's authority shall be shared between them."

"Princess (Y/N) is already betrothed, maester," Cregan said smugly, his eyes traveling to catch Aemond's. "Betrothals are important, my Queen," Corlys started, looking at (Y/N). "Especially when we are going through a war. Alliances are important," he continued.

"Betrothals and holding alliances are important, but so is putting the war to an end," (Y/N) murmured. "Grand Maester Orwyle, we thank you for the suggestion," (Y/N) said with a smile, making the older man smile widely and sit.

"I agree with maester's idea," Aemond said, looking intensely at (Y/N), who seemed to hesitate a bit. He watched as she turned to look at Cregan and Corlys, her eyes asking for a silent affirmation.

"The suggestion is a valid one, Princess (Y/N). We are aware of your wishes to stop the war and this is the best way to do it," Alicent spoke for the first time. The princess in question could only nod, a sigh releasing from her throat.

Her eyes looked up to find Cregan's. 'What should I do?' She mouthed, noticing Cregan lean in. "Remember all he has done to you. Slayed your brother and fa... step-father," Cregan whispered, his eyes fixed at Aemond.

(Y/N) sighed again and nodded, her eyes finding Aemond's. All the memories she had of her uncle resurfaced one by one, a longing feeling settling in.

"I... I agree with the idea."

The fate was sealed, and the destiny was set. The Greens' faces broke into small smiles as they looked at each other, while the Blacks could only sulk in silence.

"Then it be known, the prince and the princess shall be married within a fortnight and be crowned King and Queen of the Seven Kingdoms," Alicent said, standing up. "You are welcome to stay here, in the keep for the duration, Lady (Y/N)."

And so did the journey began of the One-Eyed King and the Crimson Queen.

[queenlucythevaliant]

See and Hear Everything Twice

(Or, How I attended a Taylor Swift concert with my sister in spite of my severe photosensitivity)

So as I indicated on this blog while we were sitting in traffic, I went to Taylor Swift's Eras Night 1 in Foxbourogh over the weekend.

"But Leah," I hear you saying, "How in the world did you manage that? Surely such a thing would liquify your poor, photosensitive brain! After all, twinkle lights have been known to give migraines before. Surely a stadium concert is a bad idea!"

Well. Yes. My sister went into the concert alone. I listened from outside the stadium.

My sister and I are long-time, vintage Swifties. We started out listening wearing grooves in the Fearless CD, and we've never let up. My sister and I are also night-and-day different in both our interests and dispositions, to the point where I've had friends ask, "But what do you do together?" And the answer to that is a lot of things, but "sing along to Taylor Swift" is definitely a big one.

I looked hard and was eventually able to get my sister a single ticket to Eras for her birthday (which has the added advantage of being substantially cheaper than two tickets together). The idea was that I would (a) become the Coolest Big Sister ever by making this happen for her and (b) be able to experience the whole thing secondhand. Both of us took that concept very seriously.

I don't know if you know it, but there's a Christmas story that we like in my family called "Why the Chimes Rang." Here's an excerpt:

"But I cannot bear to leave you, and go on alone," said Little Brother. "Both of us need not miss the service," said Pedro, "and it had better be I than you. You can easily find your way to the church; and you must see and hear everything twice, Little Brother - once for you and once for me."

My sister quoted this to me the morning of our concert and I can't describe what it meant to me. She saw and heard everything twice. Sitting outside the stadium (and wearing both the concert tees we bought on top of my regular clothes - it was a cold night), I got to hear the music that we grew up listening to together. More than that, in a lot of ways, it felt like my incredible little sister was sitting right next to me, like we were listening together. Really, it was kind of surreal.

I've long since made my peace with the idea that there are lots of things that my illness won't let me do. Yet it was really beautiful to be able to cross one impossible thing off that list this weekend, with some help from my sister.

I've waxed poetic enough, so I'm just gonna bullet point some of the details below for anyone who's interested:

The traffic on the way in wasn't terrible, but when we stopped at a rest stop for lunch the place was stuffed with Swifties in full concert apparel. A feeling of fun and camaraderie in the air.

The merch line was a good hour and forty five, but I was able to get a poster for the shadow box that my sister plans on making (she's crafty like that).

Everybody's outfits were NUTS. Lots of sequins, sparkling cowboy boots and hats, replicas on iconic T Swift looks, etc. One gal was dressed as the crumpled up piece of paper from "All Top Well."

Friendship bracelet swapping was SO fun. I spent the run up to the concert knotting bracelets and everyone I talked to seemed to think they were really cool!

There were probably 40-50 people hanging out by the stadium the night of our concert. Lots of folks were picnicking. There were these four little girls in identical concert sweatshirts there with someone's mom and they were having a grand time dancing and singing and oh boy was it infectious. You could hear all the music clearly from where I was, though probably only about 20% of the dialogue.

My highlights were probably the Fearless set (something buoyant in the air + truckloads of deep fondness), august into the illicit affairs double bridge (SHIVERS), 22 (a fave + fond moment with my sister over text), and the end of the 1989 set (high on the night and singing along).

Our surprise songs were "Should've Said No" and "Better Man." My sister sent me some genuine hall-of-fame texts as Taylor was announcing them. Both are firmly A-tier songs for which I have a lot of love. Also, we both found it funny that the Yeehaw Swifties won so big in Massachusetts, of all places.

The traffic getting out of Foxbourogh was horrific. We barely moved for the better part of two hours after getting back to the car.

After the concert, my sister came running when she found me and all but leapt into my arms. For all that I loved the music, that was the best part of the night.

[sophieswundergarten]

Because apparently I like angst, I was thinking about the various iterations of "Kate gets adopted by Curtain" AUs, and my brain went to...

The TPJ Cave Scene

Because, I imagine that in this version of events, Kate really was on the Society's side. She wanted to join them, and she tried her best to help them at the Institute, but when push came to shove she couldn't leave SQ.

(SQ knew a little bit about the whole situation, but he has, like, negative ten self-confidence, so he's caught in the middle of his headstrong sister and control freak dad, and he's pretty sure that Kate and the others must just be misguided, but it's his job as the big brother to protect Kate, so he doesn't tell Curtain a single thing)

So she went with Curtain and kept quiet about her mutinous thoughts. Sure, she still snarked at him and pulled him into arguments about his paranoia or his treatment of SQ, but that was nothing really out of the ordinary. She sent a few letters, far too vague and far apart for the Society's comfort, with no return address and no details beyond "We're safe. I'm so sorry."

So they end up on the island in hiding and Kate is doing her best not to rock the boat, but still begging SQ to trust her and leave Curtain before something worse happens.

Meanwhile, the Society is losing their entire minds because immediately after Kate apologized and slipped away to check on SQ, Milligan shows up. And he's regained his memories.

Anyways, instead of a scavenger hunt they're just actively searching for Curtain/Kate the whole time, and when eventually they figure out he's probably looking for duskwort, Mr. B and Number Two have been doing field research while the others stay at home and research that way. But cue Mr. B and Number Two going missing, and that whole crisis, and the kids go off on their own.

Because they were actually involved in the search this time, they get to where they're going much quicker. They still get to meet Noland/Cannonball/Sophie because I love them and they need to be included, but at last they get to the island!

There they find Kate hanging out in the forest/abandoned village because she got mad and ran off and Curtain let her because A) Where's she going to go? It's an island, and B) He's spiraling down the paranoia hole at this point and can barely pay attention to anything.

The Society is super excited to see Kate, and assure her that they understand her not wanting to abandon her family, and she fills them in on all the details. Number Two still escaped, and is... somewhere. They're trying to come up with a plan when Milligan shows up!!

The kids all look at him and Kate uncomfortably, and he announces loudly and forcefully that they will be focussing on one problem at a time, and right now they need to deal with getting everyone off the island safely.

So, they formulate a plan, and then the Ten Men or Grays or whatever show up and think they're trying to kidnap Kate :)

Milligan fight scene, and the kids get to the cave

The Society gets captured, and Kate gets in serious trouble. She has a fight with Curtain where he yells at her a lot and tries all his nasty manipulation tricks like telling her her real dad didn't love her and how great he is for adopting her, and then goes somewhere else to Plot.

SQ tries to comfort her, and the kids take this moment to try and convince him how awful Curtain is. SQ is too scared and uncertain, though, and while he's definitely not going to hurt the kids or tell on them, he isn't about to give up the only protection he and Kate have ever known.

Mr. Benedict has to do his hypnotism trick, but Kate doubles back after a minute and arrives just in time to see Curtain going berserk, just so angey at poor SQ for messing up. Kate hides until Curtain storms out again and rescues SQ, who is so miserable at this point (And after being confronted that 90% of what made his life bearable was Kate, and thinking she had finally gone because he made too big a mistake) that he agrees to go with them.

Aaaaand then they find Milligan and get back to the Shortcut (Where Number Two is) and SQ does his best to help in whatever way he can and sticks right to Kate's side the whole time, and then they get to head back home!!

At this point it's basically a backwards version of the lovely @sqenthusiast's post here, but I will never get over the Cave Scene, so here's what came out of it this time :)

[mosneakers]

10, 22, B, & E for your favorite (or current favorite) OC! ♥️

Thank youu for the ask! Let's do more Coraleye answers since my brain has her book open 📖😄

10) What lie do they most frequently remember telling? Does it haunt them?

Her and Mira's marriage often stresses her out. She definitely isn't as comfortable lying about it as Mira is. Not because she's afraid of repercussions, but because every once in a while she sees the human in Tatiana, the doting mother, she sees how excited she is for the two of them, and feels a twinge of guilt. She reconciles this guilt by reassuring herself that Mira and her truly do love each other, so is it actually a lie?

If you're new or need a reminder, here is more information on why Coraleye and Mira got married in the first place

22) How does jealousy manifest itself in them (they become possessive, they become aloof, etc)?

Coraleye has grown up in a household that really cultivated healthy communication skills and a sense of security that makes handling jealousy fairly feasible. As the baby of the family and the only girl, there was little to no competition for her, so that was also helpful. That isn't to say she doesn't experience jealousy, she definitely does. If she's in a relationship with a person, her emphasis on open communication and trust really comes into play and usually she talks it out. Although, there are rumors in the Realm, that Coraleye has been known to snap when pushed too far... 😬

B) What inspired you to create them?

Answered here 😊

E) Are they someone you would get along with? Would they get along with you?

Oh gosh, YES! She would love my kids and insist on babysitting them, how could I not love her for that already? We'd bond over sharing our love stories, and she's a great listener and no doubt we'd be looking for a mystery to solve 10 minutes in 😂

OOOH counter question!!! do you think YOU and Coraleye would get along? 👀 I gotta know!

[ridley-was-a-cat]

What I Watched This Fortnight – 9/17- 9/30

Space Adventure Cobra – RetroCrush added this to their streaming catalog just as everyone was posting their remembrances after the mangaka passed away, so I figured I should probably see what it was about. What I got was a interstellar romp featuring a blond-haired frat boy with a gun-arm and a smorgasbord of comic book villains and nearly naked women that entertained me despite my better judgement. It’s directed by Osamu Dezaki, with all the pastel freeze frames and three pans he was known for, and still looks pretty darn good for a 40-year-old anime. If you’re ever in the mood for a turn-your-brain-off sort of adventure peppered with smugly delivered one-liners, this should deliver the goods. 7/10

Project Blue Earth SOS – I found this one night while randomly poking around Crunchyroll’s library, and it’s a nice little retro-futuristic sci-fi that’s much better than its MAL score lets on. It’s set around the year 2000 in an alternate timeline Earth where humanity has developed powerful engines that allow for near-light speed travel, leading them to be targeted by an alien civilization bent on subjugating the planet. Rising up in opposition are two brilliant teenagers, one the son of the manufacturer of the powerful engines, and the other the son of astronauts killed in a space disaster years earlier, who work together with a quasi-governmental secret agency to drive them away. The art style is vibrant and colorful with a delightfully 1950s ray gun sci-fi vibe, and the story had lots of twists and turns and revelations straight out of a midcentury B-movie. 7/10

Initial D: Extra Stage – This two-episode OVA follows the driver of the blue Sileighty from Usui Pass as she faces down a challenge on the road and one in her love life. The first episode, Beyond Impact Blue, has her racing one of the Lan Evo drivers from the Emperors after he insults female drivers as a whole and challenges her to what he assumes will be an easy race for him. The second episode, Sentimental White, has her go on a date with one of the divers from the Night Kids, who suggests that he would want his girlfriend to give up a dangerous hobby like street racing, leading her to do some thinking about her life. I didn’t feel like the racing was as exciting as it was in the main series, and I don’t love this mangaka’s approach to writing female characters or romance content, but I did like watching Mako take control and set a path for herself. 7/10

Space Dandy – I don’t know what took me so long to watch this series, as an episodic space comedy directed by Shingo Natsume featuring dozens of top-tier animators and guest directors is completely my kind of food. It starts off a little dubiously with the title character monologuing about tits and asses before heading off to his favorite breastaurant, Boobies, but it was hard to stay mad at this charming idiot blundering his way around the galaxy with his talking vacuum cleaner robot sidekick and alien cat freeloader, Meow. Some of the episodes were fantastic sci-fi short stories that packed a ton of worldbuilding and creativity into 20 minutes, and others were just sort of okay monster-of-the-week episodes, with a thread of a overarching plot loosely connecting them. The art and animation varied a bit depending on who worked on the episode, but on the whole, it was very good work and a lot of fun to watch. 8/10

Gunbuster – The old anime nerds have been talking up this series ever since Discotek licensed it, and Crunchyroll added it to their catalog this week, so I watched it. If you watched Aim for the Ace and thought to yourself that it would be better if it had more mechs and titty fanservice, this is the show for you. The first episode is an almost frame-for-frame homage to the beginning episodes of Aim for the Ace, which is kind of amusing when all the girls were training to be mecha pilots to fight the alien horde. It had some solid space fights and substantial sci-fi scenarios, and I appreciated how big the stakes felt. I only wish there were fewer lovingly animated bouncing titties. 7/10

Sasaki and Miyano: Graduation – This is one of those movie sequels to a series that’s kind of hard to put a rating on. On the one hand, it’s more of the story I enjoy with the characters I love, and it’s great to see some of the moments I remember from the manga animated and acted out. On the other hand, however, it’s not structured like a movie in the least, and runs through the material pretty quickly, leaving the viewer little time to take in what they’ve seen. It’s basically just two more episodes smooshed together without an opening or ending song. If you like the series, you’ll like this, but it’s not a movie-length story with a dramatic arc that stands alone. 8/10

[thewrongexecution]

this post is about ffxiv oc lore, not any well-known mythological figures. thank you for your understanding.

Been thinkin' about Theseus lately.

(Theseus is my Azem. If you don't know what that means: don't worry about it! these sorts of posts are as much to vacate my own brainspace as communicate ideas to others. you know how it is.)

((See, twitter didn't allow me the space to post these sorts of disclaimers, which really was a blessing. kept me on point. Hardly a paragraph in and I'm already digressing. not that that's a problem per se, just. different.

anyway.))

I love the way ffxiv plays with the theme of... mirrors, reflections- foils, that's the word- the three-body problem of being You And No-One Else, The Masks You Wear, and A Bit Of Everyone Who's Ever Touched Your Life all at once. (Millennia and Tataru, I realized just some few days ago, is itself a mirror of Ardbert and Lamitt, which is a fun joke for my brain to play on itself imo.) So how do I take my WoL (Millennia) and refract her through a funhouse mirror to reach my Azem (Theseus)?

Theseus has remained in the semi-fluid state a narrative device tends to take when the internally-understood path from A to B is nonlinear or otherwise opaque, but I've made recent progress by working backwards.

Personality-wise, I've always enjoyed taking canon depictions and extrapolating them far beyond what anyone involved might've reasonably intended (ask me about Luigi's Persona sometime), so how do I rationalize Millennia as the type of Silent Protagonist depicted in a way that makes sense was a fun puzzle to chip away at. (She's severely traumatized and dissociating due to post-calamity events for most of ARR, and only starts to recover after successfully killing a god or two makes her go, hang on a minute, shouldn't I actually be dead by now? Y'know, as ya do.)

I describe his style of speech as eloquent minimalism, the idea being to pack as much meaning as densely as possible for maximum impact; deliberate, measured, and a little bit like poetry:

"How have you been?"

You are a friend who I trust with knowledge that could otherwise shake public confidence in The Warrior of Light (TM) if shared freely. This last adventure nearly killed me, but even more so than usual, in a way that even I was worried I might not survive. There is a tale here, and I want you to stop and listen fully and without distraction. How do I convey all that as minimally as possible?

"Mortal."

So, how to rebuild that in a way that is-and-is-not the same, reflecting the attitudes and society of the Ancients?

Efficient brutalism.

"How have you been?"

You are a confidant who I trust with knowledge that could otherwise shake public confidence in The Seat of Azem (TM) if shared freely. This last adventure nearly killed me, but even more so than usual, in a way that even I was worried I might not survive. There is a tale here, but it has ended, and there's no need to recount it. How do I convey all that as efficiently as possible?

"Dead."

Millennia is the silent protagonist that thinks carefully about the meaning behind everything she says- and doesn't say; posture, gesture, expression, and a variety of hums and grunts can all convey in moments what would take a wordsmith minutes. Theseus, in contrast, is the silent protagonist who sees no need for small talk or pleasantry; they rarely even blink, let alone smile or frown or wave.

But the double-edge of being quiet is it leaves a lot of room for others to speak for you. Because they're both public figures, the public decides for them that they're stoic or cool or haughty or wise or what-have-you. So it goes.

For combat, I previously posited Theseus could wield a Gun or Keyblade or Keygunblade, and while those're great as jokes, they don't necessarily make for a great parallel. Millennia herself started out as a Warrior, but possessed only middling physical prowess; to compensate, he relied on clever tactics and psychological warfare to cow his enemies and strike unexpectedly. These days, she has a full suite of esoteric combat styles at her disposal, and relishes the opportunity to accumulate more.

So, a collection of varied combat styles, emphasis on unconventional tactics over raw power, and maybe a connection to Warrior.

It's Blue Mage. No wait come back hear me out on this one

It's not literally Blue Mage; rather than cast the same powers as their foes, Theseus studies how beasts and creatures fight, and adapts those combat techniques for personal use. A martial rather than magical art, similar to Monk or Ninja, coupled with the visceral terror of an unblinking robed cryptid scuttling menacingly towards you at coeurl speeds. "so what's the connection to Warrior" Inner beast, outer beast. Funhouse mirrors, innit.

And because it's Ancient and because I'm me: someone who studies the ways of war of living things is, of course, a Biologist.

The ultimate and final measure of any Azem, then, is "How bad can they clown on Emet-Selch?"

Imagine they are sparring. Emet has taken one look at this upstart wiry gangler and decided there's no possible way they could be an appropriate heir to the Seat of Azem. The job is difficult and dangerous and this Elezen-before-Elezen simply does not have what it takes. Theseus just knows they've been assigned a task to their quest log, and doesn't give it any more thought than that. So they are sparring.

Emet asks how they fight and they say only "Biologist." Emet clarifies, not your vocation, not your profession, your combat style. They drop to all fours and, as if the phone they aren't communicating over had a bad connection, repeats "Biologist," before going zero to sixty on the old man.

Later in the fight, Emet starts spouting some grand monologue about true power and transforms. Theseus... doesn't. Emet questions this decision, but without hesitation or consideration, Theseus simply says "I like being me," and resumes adding injury to insult.

[creativemorningsvancouver]

We are quite excited to host chef, restauranteur, 
author, and activist, Meeru Dhalwala, who will share her compelling story of creativity through the lens of June’s global theme ‘reverie’.

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Meeru moved from Washington, D.C. to Vancouver in February 1995 and has since been cooking and running the kitchens and menus at Vij’s and Rangoli restaurants. Vij’s has been hailed by the New York Times as “easily among the finest Indian restaurants in the world.” (Rangoli closed after 17 years in May 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Meeru also wrote all three award-winning Vij’s cookbooks.

In 2021, Meeru created a small community business built from her learned ethics in the food industry: My Bambiri (baby) Foods. My Bambiri sources from BC organic farmers and sells on income-based pricing: three price options based on a family’s specific finances. She has also partnered with Food Stash Foundation to sell My Bambiri at their markets for low-income families who face many economic and social barriers. In October 2022, Meeru relaunched her annual international food fair called “Joy of Feeding” that is held at the UBC Farm Centre for Sustainable Food Systems.

Meeru holds a MSc in development studies from Bath University, UK, and brings her passion for humanity into her business and cooking practices. She is one of Vancouver’s most prominent promoters of women in business, climate change and sustainability, and healthy-elegant cooking. She proudly sits on the Board of Directors for the Green Party of Vancouver. For her professional and community work, Meeru has received honorary doctorates from both University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University.

Every month we like to ask our speakers a handful of probing questions to give us a deeper glimpse into their life and relationship with creativity:

How do you define creativity and apply it in your life and career? I imagine and then come up with ideas. Lots of ideas, of which most aren’t realistic, but contribute to the final ideas that I/we can execute. I love the process of ideas popping or slowly coming to form in my head. I love the crazy ideas that are impractical and the ideas that could make stories if I were a novelist. I say the word “IDEA!” in the Vij’s kitchen and staff stops whatever we’re doing, get excited and hear the “IDEA!” Half of them result in all of us just laughing b/c while even saying it, I realize it’s not practical or just sounds silly coming out. My kitchen staff doesn’t rely on me to run the daily kitchen—cooking, ordering, loading, prep, etc.—but they rely on me for my “IDEA!” And if I love my idea, I don’t let it go.

Where do you find your best creative inspiration or energy? From running in my neighborhood—not any neighborhood or trail. Running is combination of my familiar surroundings and my body igniting me—my brain is dancing while my body is doing all the physical work. Whatever is on my mind—whether my family, trying to save some aspect of the environment, imagining being dead, imagining my comfort place on this earth, a work issue, coming up with recipes, etc.—it’s done with abandon while I’m running. Within 10 minutes, I lose myself in imagining, pondering…and daydreaming about my past in relation to today.

What’s one piece of creative advice or a tip you wish you’d known as a young person? Find a solo activity during which you feel abandon and…yes, lose yourself in reverie! I run. All those times when I was crying or stressed about my home life or school life, if I had gone out running and released that stress energy, the weight would have lightened and so many windows would have opened. Doesn’t have to be a physical activity—it can be knitting or drawing.

Who (living or dead) would you most enjoy hearing speak at CreativeMornings? George Eliot or Graca Machel. Intellectually attuned and gracefully passionate, brave women. Middlemarch is still relevant as a compelling storyline and observation on humanity’s social concoctions. Women and children’s rights activist Graca Machel was the First Lady of Mozambique at an important and crucial time. Her husband (the President) was assassinated via a plane crash. Later, she became the First Lady of South Africa, as wife of Nelson Mandela.

What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done? Fly to Vancouver from Washington D.C. to meet a guy I was talking on the phone with for a month (back in 1994) and, after spending 5 days with him, deciding to marry him asap. I left my hometown, friends and career in human rights and economic development to move to Vancouver. It resulted in a new and completed unexpected career, two beautiful children and 17 years of marriage. I don’t know how, but I grabbed the confidence in love before it escaped in the form of common sense.

If you could open a door and go anywhere, where would that be? My partner is a dry suit (meaning he dives in cold waters) scuba diver and travels to all waters of the world to dive, take photos. His “comfort place” in this world is the silence and being solo under water—complete opposite from mine. He lies there with his camera, watches and waits for creatures to swim, fully in zen mode. This level of silence and alone-ness intimidates and fascinates me. I would LOVE to turn myself into an invisible and weightless being, and be on his shoulder while he does this. I would not want to disturb his zen. For me, this would be like magically living in a dream.

What are you proudest of in your life? Giving motherhood my all, by which I don’t mean just love. The most important moment of my life so far is when I first looked down at my newborn and felt/saw the look in her wide eyes, settling on her mom’s face. I call this “Newborn Eyes”. Newborn Eyes are the energy of my personal life. I’m proud of fully and honestly engaging with my two daughters as humans and not as my extensions. I’m proud of calling them out on their shit and not worrying if they like me or not, or if they’ll rebel. I’m proud that I never stopped being me for the sake of being a mother.

If you could do anything now, what would you do? Have each human above the age of, say 6, in this world watch the animated documentary film “Flee” for its subject matter and b/c its engrossing storytelling. I want all of us watching at the exact same time so we are aware of sharing this experience together, as one. So, a bit of magic or super sci-fi high tech required here. Some of the bravest and most loving people in this world are “refugees” and “migrants”. These are labels for some, but for me they are my mom and dad.

What books made a difference in your life and why? The Employees by Olga Ravn. This book is potentially our real future with real humans co-existing with AI types of humans. It’s beautifully written. It’s a very short book and I read it twice in a row.

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[naruwitch]

Code Geass: Paladins of Voltron Chapter 1: Rise of Voltron Part 1 (Updated)

"Why isn't this just perfection, everyone?" trilled a curly-haired blonde in designer hiking boots and a matching jacket, "The way the sun meets the lake and the mountain air whipping in your face! It's the perfect day for a hike to Lake Chuzenji!"

"If... you say so... Milly," coughed a slim, dark-haired teen behind her, currently bending down on his knees, heaving large gasps of air.

"See Lulu? That is exactly why you shouldn't always be skipping out on gym classes. What on earth will the ladies think of a man that isn't even strong enough to sweep them off their feet?" the blonde, Milly, teased with a quirky grin to the boy.

"Lelouch doesn't need the muscle," said another teen of seventeen years behind them. "While he may be frailer than a twig, he has the brains to compensate for it."

"Ha. Ha. Very funny, Suzaku!" Lelouch replied, glaring at the Japanese boy.

"Well, at least the scenery is pretty. This used to be a volcano or something, right?" A girl with orange hair tied in a high ponytail trotted up behind the group.

"Sure is, Shirley," Suzaku nodded. "It erupted thousands of years ago, and because the eruption blocked the valley below, it made the perfect place for water to gather. So now we have Lake Chuzenji, also known as the Lake of Happiness."

"The brochure says there's an onsen on the east side of it. We should totally check it out before we head back to the hotel tonight," Milly insisted, waving a pamphlet above her head.

"That… actually sounds really nice," Lelouch admitted, stretching his arms and hearing joints pop.

Milly chortled, "You seriously must be an old man in a teenage suit, Lelouch!" Even Suzaku fought the grin that was stretched across his face.

"Laugh it up…" the boy groaned again before the quartet was joined by a blue-haired boy who was currently piggybacking a red-headed girl up the trail, who was failing to hide a bright blush that matched her bangs.

"Doing all right there, Rivalz?" Shirely asked him, biting her lip as she watched him panting harder than Lelouch, even staggering under the additional human weight.

"Yep, yep, I'm good, Shirley!" Rivalz insisted with a strained smile.

"We're almost there, right?" his passenger said meekly. "I think I can walk the rest of the way."

"You sure, Kallen?" Rivalz asked as he gently set her down on the mountain trail. "I mean, sure, it is all downhill, but…."

"I got it, okay?" she snapped, before withdrawing, embarrassed. "Sorry…"

"Hey, it's fine. Let me know if you change your mind. The Rivalz Express is always available!"

"Don't push yourself too hard, Rivalz," the final member of their group commented, a tall, thin, but somewhat haggard boy with hair so blond it looked almost white depending on how the light reflected off it.

"Aw, thanks for the encouragement, Rai, my man!" Rivalz grinned, slinging a sweaty arm around his shoulder. He then glanced at the tall boy's comically bulky backpack and an additional travel bag with his left hand. "You sure you don't need help?"

"No, I've got it!" Rai said quickly, shying away from the short-haired member.

"Okay, if you say so…"

"Come on, everyone! It's not too far now!" Milly declared from the front, and the group trailed behind her through the forest and thicket surrounding the lake.

It had been six years since the Empire of Britannia had annexed the country of Japan, now known as Area 11, and renamed its citizens Elevens if they refused to apply as honorary citizens of the empire. Since then, the country had become a hotspot for colonization and military operations.

Despite the construction of Britannian settlements, civilian and military, the empire still left many areas of Area 11 untouched to preserve the natural beauty and environment. Some were so well preserved that it was as if the war had never occurred in the first place. One such place was Nikko National Park, home to Lake Chuzenji, also known as the Lake of Happiness. It became a popular vacation destination and easier to access after a Britannian boating company was built to carry visitors across the lake, and many nobles owned small villas along the lake's shore. Several new hiking trails were also constructed for easier travel through the largely underdeveloped forest area. Developers even built a small beach area for lake goers to enjoy the water more directly.

In some ways, Area 11 is better off now than the old Japan ever was. Being made a colony of the Empire has stabilized its military and economic position in the world. Kallen fought to keep the scowl from forming on her face as Lelouch's statement from about a week ago reared its head. As much as the rebel fighter Black Knight side of her wanted to argue, she couldn't help but admit that Britannian companies did improve a couple things, such as easier access to natural parks like this. At least they didn't destroy everything with their improvements… this time.

She shook her head and leaned back on her beach towel, glaring up at the sun through her sunglasses. She was a Black Knight, serving faithfully under Japan's savior, Zero. A fighter for justice and defender of the weak. She couldn't allow these sympathies to start forming just because of a couple of conveniences.

"Wake up on the wrong side of the bed, Kallen?" Milly asked, tilting her own sunglasses up.

"Uh… maybe something like that," Kallen muttered in reply.

Milly's smile turned sympathetic. She felt bad for the redhead. She was rarely at school half the time due to poor health, so it was a surprise when she told everyone she could go on this outing. She was grateful. Not only could this help Rai get used to everyone, but it could also be a way for Kallen to open up and make some friends.

If only Nina could have come… Milly mentally sighed. Unfortunately, the only absent student council member had come down with a terrible head cold the other day, and when they checked up on her a day later, it hadn't gone down. The council initially planned to postpone, but Nina insisted they go on without her. Though something in Milly's gut told her that even if Nina hadn't gotten sick, she would have found some excuse to stay behind anyway. She didn't blame her. Not after the hotel jacking at Lake Kawaguchi. Who knows what could have happened if Zero and his Black Knights hadn't stepped in. The girl had already been traumatized in the Area 11 ghettos a couple years ago, and the terrorist attack had likely only worsened the trauma. And when she was finally starting to warm up to Suzaku too.

Milly sighed and leaned back. She'd deal with that later. Right now, the only thing she would focus on was her tan.

"Hey! Suzaku! Shield me!"

"Wha-hey Lelouch, no fair!" Suzaku yelped as his friend dived behind him, using him as a human meat shield against Shirley and Rai's water gun assault.

"That's foul play, Lulu!" Shirley laughed just before Rivalz sprang up from behind Lelouch and dunked him into the lake.

"I… guess that's our point?" Rai asked as Lelouch miraculously escaped Rivalz's grip and tried (keyword tried) to make a beeline for the shore.

He didn't make it.

Rai sighed as he unpacked the large bag he'd brought on this trip. Shortly after the water war, Shirley went further into the lake to practice some laps. Meanwhile, Rivalz and Suzaku had found some snorkeling gear and were busy diving and exploring some of the lake's aquatic life. Lelouch was hunting for some pretty stones and snail shells for his sister. Meanwhile, Kallen was soaking her ankles in the lake's cool water while Milly had moved her sunbathing spot in the shallow shore area, sitting upright in the water, but most of her body remained dry, absorbing the sun's rays.

Rai pulled out a personalized laptop, noise-canceling headphones, a receiver, a small satellite, and a homemade handheld device as discreetly as possible. He set the device aside and set up the satellite and receiver before plugging his headphones into the laptop. Lines of code greeted his vision, and his fingers moved fluidly across the keyboard. Numerous colored graphs and other data flashed to life before his eyes.

He winced and turned down the volume as an electronic beep hit his eardrums. Fortunately, it didn't take him long to bypass the static and focus more on the murmuring voices he was picking up in the background. Just as he suspected, bringing his equipment closer to the epicenter had made the distortions clearer.

Now if only he knew what they were talking about…

He didn't register that someone had been calling his name until someone waved a hand in front of him. He nearly jumped out of his skin.

"What?!" he snapped, turning around. He saw that all the student council members were standing behind him. Suzaku had his hand pulled back, meaning he had been the one that finally got his attention.

Rai coughed slightly and composed himself. "What?" he asked again, more politely this time.

"Sorry to disturb you, Rai, but it's getting dark. We were about to head over to the onsen before it got too late," Shirley explained.

Rai blinked and finally took a look around. She was right. The sun was setting, and the sky exchanged blue colors for warmer twilight colors. How long had he been focused on his laptop?

"You must be very invested in whatever you were working on to not hear us," Lelouch commented, eying the headphones slung around Rai's neck.

"Um, sorry…" Rai blushed.

"Why did you bring all of this equipment with you?" Suzaku asked. "Some of these look military grade."

"So?" Rai asked defensively. "Never heard of someone building their own laptop and equipment?"

"Wha… wait, you built all these?" Rivalz gasped, looking the satellite up and down, mouth agape. "How? When?"

Rai shrugged. "I barely leave the school after classes, and I'm mainly in the council as a formality. I've had extra time on my hands."

"That's impressive," Kallen commented.

"Did you two know he could do this?" Shirley asked Milly and Lelouch.

"I knew he was handy at fixing stuff. He was the one that fixed the radio in the broadcasting office," Milly explained. "Though I'll admit, this is the first time I've seen him make some from scratch."

"But that doesn't explain why he brought his handmade equipment out here," Lelouch pointed out. "Come to think of it, Rai was also the one that requested this destination."

Rai stiffened as all eyes fell back on him, silently asking for an explanation. He had to admit, it was weird to bring all of this out here, but he had to. The voices he heard through the headphones and in his dreams were telling him, ordering him to find it.

He hesitated. Milly and her grandfather took him in out of the kindness of their hearts. Would they kick him back to the street if they thought he wasn't well in the head? Anyone would draw that logical conclusion, after all.

But if he got admitted to a mental hospital, he could break out like before.

Wait… before? Before what?

"Rai, you okay?" he heard Shirley ask, and the platinum blond blinked again.

"Sorry…" he muttered, "I just… you wouldn't get it if I told you."

"...Try us." Lelouch insisted.

Rai frowned, but something told him everyone would keep pestering him about it until he finally fessed up. So he sighed and decided to take the plunge.

"Okay, here goes," he muttered in defeat. "So this stuff, the satellite, laptop, all of this, I designed its reach to be as far out as the edge of the Solar System."

"Seriously?" Kallen asked, "Why?"

"Well, it's—if you could not touch anything!" Rai suddenly snapped, scaring Rivalz as the other teen nearly dropped the handheld sensor Rai had set aside.

"Okay, okay, jeez…" Rivalz muttered, setting it down and pouting.

Rai sighed in exasperation. "Anyway, long story short… I'm picking alien radio chatter."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...Huh?" Shirley asked as the others stared at him like he was the guy in the town square who liked to rant about conspiracy theories and the apocalypse.

"Okay…? You feeling okay there, dude?" Rivalz asked.

Rai rolled his eyes, "Knew you wouldn't believe me."

"No, no, it's not that we don't believe you," Suzaku insisted, "It's just… well…."

Rai sighed again, "I get it, but I'm not making this up." Rai pulled out a notepad from his back pocket and flipped to a page with a large bolded word he'd underlined several times. "They keep repeating one word: Voltron! I still don't know what it means, but once I brought everything here, I heard it clearer than ever."

"How did you know to come here?" Lelouch asked, sounding like he was at least willing to hear the new student out.

"It wasn't easy," Rai admitted, "In the chatter, I also started picking up a series of numbers, and I couldn't figure out what that was for a while. But then I realized it was a Fraunhofer line."

"Frown-what now?" Rivalz asked, confused.

"Fraunhofer line," Suzaku explained, "I learned about this during my military training in the engineering department. It's the number describing the emission spectrum of an element. The head of the department said the military uses it to find new sakuradite veins to mine in Area 11."

No one noticed the subtle death glare Kallen shot Suzaku when he said Area 11.

"Exactly." Rai nodded, "Anyway, once I figured that out, I input the numbers and realized that whatever radiation signature this is, it's not an element found on Earth. Of course, I didn't have time to go around and scan every inch of the island on foot. But then, I actually took a look at the wavelength. Check this out."

Pulling up a line graph on his computer, he then pulled out a side-view picture of the volcano surrounding Lake Chuzenji. The pictures overlapped each other to form a single image. The wavelength blended in perfectly with the mountain range.

"What…?" Rivalz's eyes widened.

"That's… kind of scary…" Shirley stuttered as Milly leaned forward, squinting.

"That's a strange coincidence," Lelouch admitted, genuinely intrigued.

"A little too much, right?" Rai asked before continuing. "Well, once I realized the line matched the mountain range, I had to come and confirm it for myself. Hence why I built and brought this Geiger counter."

He reached for the handheld device Rivalz had been looking at earlier. "With this, once I confirmed if I was in the right place, I planned to use this to track down the energy source and maybe find this Voltron thing I keep hearing about."

"On your own?" Suzaku asked.

"That was the plan," Rai admitted with a shrug. "Since we were planning to spend the night at the resort, I figured that would be the best time to sneak out and be back by morning."

"And then what?" Lelouch asked, "Say you found what this mystery radiation was. What were you going to do next?"

"I…" Rai hesitated, "I honestly didn't get that far."

"Not the most thought-out plan," Kallen muttered.

Rai scowled, "Oh, well, if you were in my shoes, let me know if you have a better idea."

"Well, for one, I'd have some help." Milly answered immediately.

"What?" Rai asked, genuinely surprised.

"Wait, Prez, what do you mean?" Shirley asked.

Milly simply smirked one of those smirks, which could make the other student council members fear for their lives depending on the day.

"Everyone… who wants an adventure?"

Without any street lights from the city, the forest around Lake Chenzenji grew dark fast. Fortunately, since he had already planned to sneak out, Rai had a few flashlights, so the group wasn't tripping over each other in the dark.

Following his Geiger counter, Rai led the other student council member down a hiking trail. Eventually, they branched into an unpaved area, the forest becoming thicker and dirt pricklier.

"Hey, anyone hear that?" Shirley asked after a while.

"Hear what?" Kallen asked.

"It sounds like… a waterfall?" Shirley asked.

Suzaku smiled, "I'm not surprised. There are a lot of those around here. Some of the hiking trails lead to them."

"Like that one up ahead?" Rivalz asked, pointing from the front of the group holding Rai's satellite. Coming over a small ridge, the group gaped in awe as a serene waterfall greeted them, the water looking pure and untainted as it poured from the cliff ledge above.

"This is it," Rai said, looking down at the Geiger counter. "It's leading us here."

"There's a cave! Down there!" Lelouch pointed with a flashlight.

"Oh! Let's check it out!" Milly exclaimed, a gleam in her eye.

"P-prez! I don't think that's a good idea!" Shirley yelped, put off by the president's look. "Isn't this good enough?

"No!" Rai was the one that answered this time. "We've got this far. You can go back if you want, but I'm seeing this through to the end!"

"Calm down, Rai," Suzaku said as Shirley hunched her shoulders and glanced back in the direction they came from.

"I think we should check it out, too," Lelouch said, surprising everyone. "Something led Rai and us here. It would be insulting to stop partway through."

"My, my, Lulu!" Milly teased, "Where has this adventurous spirit come from?"

"What makes you think I've never had it?" Lelouch shot back with a slight smirk.

"Uh…" Rivalz muttered, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't answer that…" Lelouch muttered, grin vanishing as he led the way down the rocks to the waterfall.

"Wait! Guys!" Shirley protested as she trailed behind as everyone else climbed down after the vice president. "We-we're tracking radiation, right? What if it's radioactive or something? We could get infected or poisoned, or…."

"Could you calm down, Shirley?" Kallen snapped, "You're overthinking this. Besides, if this was radioactive, wouldn't this area or even the lake be closed off or something?"

"I… guess you're right…"

"Don't worry, Shirley," Suzaku assured her, "It's just a quick peak inside. I'm sure the most we'll do is take some pictures."

"Yep! Making memories is why we're here, after all!" Milly added jovially as Lelouch, Rai, and Rivalz crept behind the waterfall and peeked into the cave.

Shirley nodded, still feeling unsure, but nearly jumped when Rivalz cried out.

"Whoa! This is cool!"

Those that hadn't entered the cave quickly followed. And stopped dead in awe at what the flashlights were illuminating.

There were drawings and artwork of all styles decorating the walls. Not only were there paintings but even carvings right into the stone itself. Despite the different patterns, they all had one thing in common.

They each depicted a blue lion.

"What the…" Lelouch muttered, swinging the flashlight in one direction, then another.

"Who could have done this?" Kallen asked. "And why a lion? Japan doesn't have lions."

"Maybe an old deity had a lion's body or something?" Shirley guessed.

Suzaku shook his head. "I think you're mixing up Japanese and Egyptian, Shirley."

Then, as if they were robbing a bank and tripped the internal alarm, the cave's carvings and paintings lit up in bright blue lights.

Rivalz let out a yelp and stumbled back. He had only cleared some dirt off one of the drawings to get a closer look! Did he trip a booby trap?!

"Rivalz! What did you do?!" shouted Kallen in alarm.

"Nothing! I just touched it! That's all!" the boy defended in a panic.

A tremor under their feet drew all eyes to the floor before it promptly collapsed under their feet. Screaming, the student council found themselves riding a raging river deeper into the cave, white water and rapids splashing around them. It came to an end as one by one, the group landed in a shallow pool at the bottom.

Now wet, cold, and miserable, the teenagers struggled to their feet, but their eyes were drawn elsewhere before anyone could start trying to find a way out.

Eyes widened, and jaws went slack.

"Lions are everywhere…" Rivalz muttered as they beheld the large blue lion sitting serenely before them.

Well, not a real blue lion. It was a giant, robotic, blue lion, and it was sitting up behind a large blue barrier of some sort.

"Wh-what is that?" Shirley stuttered, "Is that the Voltron?"

"It must be… it has to be!" Rai whispered, arms slack, Geiger counter forgotten and lost in the rapids.

"It looks like a Knightmare Frame," Suzaku commented, "A really gigantic, advanced Knightmare Frame." Taking a closer look, it looked like no machine he'd ever seen, whether on paper or in production with the engineering corps, which was saying a lot when Earl Lloyd Asplund was the head scientist of the department. He came up with some wild designs and upgrades.

"It can't be," Lelouch insisted. "From the looks of it, this cave hasn't been touched for decades, maybe centuries. The first Knightmare Frame was invented over twenty years ago. There's no way something like this could have been created before that, and I don't see any other entrances in here, so it's highly doubtful this was some secret military project."

Suzaku nodded, seeing Lelouch had some good points. And while it was possible there was a hidden entrance they couldn't see, he knew logically that if this was a secret Britannian military weapon, there would have been a lot more security. Plus, the military could have used the radiation excuse Shirley mentioned earlier to seal off and cover up what was really happening, and none would be the wiser. After all, it was common knowledge that radiation took a long time to dissipate or dispose of properly. The European Union was still struggling from the Chernobyl disaster thirty years later.

Rai quickly walked up to the lion Knightmare robot. "It's not moving. I think it's safe to come closer."

The others cautiously followed after Rai, but Rivalz couldn't help feeling goosebumps. It felt like something was watching him. Gazing at the lion, he swore he felt its eyes following him.

"Um, does anyone else here feel like this thing's staring at them?"

The group eyed the secretary dubiously. "No…?" Kallen answered for them.

"...Yeah, the eyes are totally following me!" Rivalz exclaimed, feeling antsier than before they found the cave.

Lelouch reached the forcefield first, and looking closer, he saw that the lion wasn't completely blue, mainly on the head, shoulders, torso, and around the paws. The rest was mainly grey and silver, but he also noticed some red detailing by the shoulders.

He placed his hands against the barrier. It felt cool like he was pressing against the glass in an aquarium. "I wonder how we get through this…?"

"Maybe you just have to knock," Rivalz said sarcastically and did just that, rapping his fist against the translucent shield.

Rivalz had meant that as sarcasm, but then he yelped when he felt a jolt of electricity run through his arm. The forcefield flashed before vanishing, revealing the lion underneath, its yellow eyes glowing brightly. Under its feet, a platform began glowing in the same color as the carvings above.

The other students gasped. Shirley, in particular, took several steps back as the cave began to rumble.

"Guys, I think we should–"

Shirley was cut off when in the blink of an eye, the cave disappeared and was replaced by a cloudy sky, seven colored streaks soaring above their heads like shooting stars. The lights joined as one, and in their place was a figure with red and green arms, yellow and purple thighs, and blue and orange shins. His body was mainly black, but a blue glowing 'v' was spread over his chest, and a gold horned crown perched on his head. With a swipe of a flaming sword, the starry universe vanished, returning the group to the underwater cave where they still stood.

"Uh… did anyone else see that?!" Rivalz asked, eye flicking to others pleadingly.

"Voltron's a robot!" Milly squealed, "A huge, awesome robot!"

"And this thing is only one part of it," Kallen added, "I wonder where the rest of them are?"

"If that's true, how did this piece get down here?" Lelouch asked, "And how long has it been like this? Why isn't it with the other pieces?"

"Who knows?" Suzaku shrugged. "This is still amazing, though!"

"There's no doubt," Rai said resolutely, "This is what that alien chatter was talking about. And we found it!"

"Okay, so… what now then?" Shirley asked.

As if to answer, the blue lion lowered its head toward the group. Shirley yelped and hid behind the closest person she could find (being Rai), and everyone else tensed, ready to run if the thing tried to make a snack out of them. However, all the blue lion did was open its mouth, and a small ramp lowered right in front of Rivalz.

Blinking but intrigued, Rivalz set his foot on the ramp, pulled it back like it had been burned, then set it down again. Then he took a step forward, then another, and eventually, his feet led him inside. It led him up, and a set of doors slid open to reveal a large cockpit with a single white and blue chair in the center.

"Huh, okay then," Rivalz said, taking a seat and leaning back. "Here we go, I guess–whoa!" Rivalz jerked forward as the seat slid in, locking into place.

As the other student council members filed into the cockpit, several screens lit up, some on the dashboard, and others in holograms, much to everyone's astonishment. If there were any doubts that this was really a Britannian secret weapon, they were gone now. Britannian technology hadn't advanced far enough to invent holograms yet! Finally, the front main screen lit up, showing the cave outside.

"This is nuts…" Suzaku commented as the others looked over the screens and other gadgets.

"Amazing!" Milly commented, snapping a few photos with her phone.

"All right, this is pretty awesome!" Rivalz admitted, a grin sliding across his face.

"Okay, uh, everyone," Shirley said nervously, "I think I just need to point out, just so we're all, you know, aware. We're in some kind of futuristic, alien cat head right now."

Just as the words left Shirley's mouth, Rivalz felt another jolt of energy run through him, from the top of his head all the way to his toes. The world around him faded, and all he could hear was a loud soothing purr.

"Whoa! Did you guys just hear that?!" asked Rivalz, looking back at them, eyes wide and a little spooked.

"Hear what?" Lelouch asked cautiously, a strange sense of foreboding creeping up on him.

"Um, sorry if I sound crazy, but I think it's talking to me!" Rivalz explained before turning back around and examining the controls. Hesitantly, he pressed a couple of random buttons on the closest hologram. He had no idea what he was doing, but they felt like the right ones to push.

He must have hit the right ones because the blue lion jolted and leaped to its feet, roaring loudly. Excitedly.

"Whoa! What's happening?!" Shirley squeaked, visibly frightened.

Rivalz felt a grin grow on his own face. "Okay, got it! Now, let's try this!"

Once he pushed the controls forward, the lion smashed out of the cave. Rocks and debris flew everywhere as it shot into the evening sky. Descending, the lion flipped and used rockets in its feet to skim over the surface of Lake Chuzenji, kicking up water before rocketing into the air again, corkscrewing above the forest.

Inside, the Ashford Academy Student Council held on for dear life, screaming at the top of their lungs, holding onto whatever they could so they wouldn't fall.

"RIVALZ!" screamed Kallen as the lion did a few more flips, "YOU ARE THE WORST. PILOT. EVER!"

After several more maneuvers that did little to assure the other passengers that Rivalz was a good pilot, the lion began bounding around on the ground. Thankfully, the forested area it made its playground was away from any buildings or civilian homes. The lion seemed too overjoyed about being freed from its underground prison to care about any damage it may be causing.

Despite this, Rivalz felt like he was having the time of his life, a wild grin plastered on his face.

"Isn't this awesome?!" he exclaimed.

"Make it stop!" yelped Shirley, who was starting to look a little green, "Make it stop!"

"I'm not making it do anything! It's like it's on autopilot!" Rivalz shouted with a whoop.

Suddenly, the lion's back legs fired into the ground, and the lion ascended into the sky.

"Rivalz!" shouted Lelouch in a rare tone of panic, "Where are you going?!"

"I just said it's on autopilot!" Rivalz explained hurriedly. "Ah-it says there's an alien ship approaching Earth. I think we're supposed to stop it!"

"What did it say, exactly?" Milly demanded.

"Well, it's not like it's saying words, more like feeding ideas into my brain… kind of?!"

"Wait, aliens?!" Shirley asked. "Um, okay, if they want this thing, why don't we just give it to them? Maybe they'll leave us alone?" Shirley suggested, "Sorry, lion, nothing personal."

"No!" Rai shouted. Everyone turned to him, shocked by his outburst. The platinum blond was trembling, eyes wide and wild, skin pale and sweating. "We can't! They're monsters! They'll destroy everything in their path! There's no bargaining with them!"

"Whoa, Rai, what are you talking about? Who's 'they'?" Suzaku asked.

"They won't stop! Not until everything is dead!" Rai continued.

"That doesn't explain anything!" Kallen shouted, irritated.

"He has a point, though," Lelouch agreed, "We've never encountered aliens before. We don't know their intentions. If we hand this lion ship over, what's to stop them from turning it on our planet next?"

"Oh…" Shirley muttered as everyone turned to glare at her. She shrunk in on herself, "Sorry. Didn't think about that…."

There wasn't any time to continue the discussion anyway. Moments later, the blue lion exited Earth's atmosphere and entered open space, the blue of the night sky darkening further and sparkling with millions of stars. The tranquil scene was interrupted when a violet flash entered their vision, and a huge dark ship with purple highlights appeared almost out of nowhere.

There was a collective gasp in the cockpit. "Holy crow, is that real?!" Milly cried.

"...They found me..." Rai whispered in horror, though no one seemed to hear him.

After flying around and observing the UFO for a few seconds, multiple purple lasers began firing at the lion. Fortunately, they didn't have the best aim, so none hit them.

"We need to get out of here!" Kallen screamed.

"Hang on!" shouted Rivalz as he pulled on the controls, and the lion flew off at top speed. Even though Rivalz had little to no idea what he was doing, the lion seemed to know what to do as he felt like it was guiding his hands over the various indecipherable keys as it maneuvered and dodged all the attacks with little to no effort.

"Okay, I think I know what to do!" Rivalz shouted, knuckles white on the controls.

"Rivalz, be careful!" shouted Suzaku, "This isn't a simulator!"

"And you don't think I know that, Suzaku?!" he replied as the lion leaped around more lasers. Rivalz then pushed down on one of the control levers, and the lion's mouth opened wide, firing a powerful blue beam directly at the side of the ship. It sliced through it like a sword through butter, causing massive explosions.

"Let's try this!" Rivalz smiled as he flew the lion closer to the ship, scraping the lion's claws on the other side, leaving deep gashes and causing more explosions.

"Nice job Rivalz!" Lelouch praised.

"Okay, let's get these guys away from our planet!" Milly proclaimed.

"Right!" Rivalz agreed.

"Lord Zarkon, the escaped prisoner, and his people found the Lion. It attacked us and is heading out of the system."

"Follow that Lion and alert all ships in the area to intercept. Capturing the Lion is your first and only priority."

"Yes, your majesty. Full power, after the Lion!"

"Oh no!" Shirley gasped as they all saw the alien ship catching up to them.

"They're gaining on us!" Kallen exclaimed.

Lelouch's eyebrows furrowed, "It's weird. They're not trying to shoot us anymore. They're just pursuing!"

"Is that supposed to be a good thing?" Shirley asked, looking more and more frightened by the second.

"Where are we?" asked Milly, looking around.

"Edge of the Solar System," Rai murmured, looking at the moon they were passing by, "That's Keroberos, Pluto's moon!"

"That's impossible!" Suzaku exclaimed, his eyes widening, "It takes the most advanced spaceships decades to get out this far! We got out here in like five seconds!"

Suddenly, a swirling, sparkling... thing appeared before them like a vast swirling whirlpool.

"What is that?!" Shirley nearly shrieked at the sight of it.

"Uh, this might seem crazy, but I think the lion wants us to go through there!" Rivalz explained hastily.

As everyone stared at the strange swirling void, everyone else couldn't describe it, but… they felt the same. Like they should go through it.

But why?

"Where does it go?" Kallen asked Rivalz urgently.

"I-I-I don't know…" Rivalz stuttered, "Um, Lelouch, what do you think we should do?"

Lelouch was caught slightly off guard. "Why are you asking me? Ask Milly. She's student council president."

"No, you decide, Lelouch. You're the chess master here," Milly immediately deflected, "What do you want to do?"

Lelouch stared at Milly, almost not believing what he was hearing. Yes, Milly was one of the few who knew of his former status, but to think she was basically forcing him into an equivalent role right now… then again, she wasn't wrong. His experience as Zero did still make him the best person to choose what to do.

And he had to do it fast.

Lelouch frowned, glaring at the swirling vortex in front of them, his brain working on overdrive. If they chose to go forward, they would be entering no man's land. The people of Earth barely knew much about their own solar system, so moving forward would give them even less information. They could be walking right into a death trap with no hope of return. Not to mention… he'd be leaving Nunnally. While he trusted Sayoko to look after his sister in the event of an extended absence, if he and seven other students who attended a prestigious school like Ashford Academy went missing, it would definitely be on the news. It would take one wrong member of the royal family seeing his face on the breaking news to reveal who he really was: Lelouch vi Britannia, seventeenth heir to the Britannian Imperial Throne, and thought to have been deceased for the last six years. Britainnian military and royal guards would be swarming their residence faster than he could say, "I am Zero!"

He (and Kallen, by extension) would also be leaving the Black Knight hanging. Since their official debut with the Lake Kawaguchi hotel-jacking a month ago, the Knights hadn't made any huge moves. Most of their actions involved raiding drug cartels and exposing corrupt politicians and businessmen. Basically, they were doing what the police should be doing. They had even gotten some special Knightmares from the Six Houses of Kyoto, which was a good sign. Despite this, it was clear that most of the members were getting anxious to take their operations a step further besides being a glorified police force. If their leader and top Knightmare pilot went missing, there could be panic amongst the ranks, and they could do something stupid.

Lelouch grit his teeth. If anyone in the Black Knights got arrested, he would have to start over entirely from scratch. It would be annoying but… not impossible. And it looked like Ohgi was a reasonably competent leader. Hopefully, he could keep the Knights in line until he managed to get back.

As much as Lelouch hated those odds, though, he had to consider the other side of the coin as well, and that was simply the fact that the threat directly behind them wasn't much better. This alien ship had shown it was willing to follow them until it got what it wanted: the lion ship. Plus, the lion itself seemed to hold some kind of sentience. Something told him it wouldn't be easy to convince the ship to turn around when it had already brought them out so far from their planet. And if they did manage to turn around, the clearly hostile alien ship would pursue them and undoubtedly attack Earth, which would endanger many more people, including Nunnally.

But… they knew there were six other lions like this one. If they were all just as, if not more capable than this one, he could use them to help his cause. He hadn't seen it yet, but he could already tell, without a shadow of a doubt, that if this lion went up against a hundred Knightmare Frames, the lion would be one walking away, and there would hardly be a scratch on it.

Taking in all the factors he knew of, Lelouch made his decision.

"Something else is clearly happening here, and the only way we'll find out more is going forward. I say we take the chance. Any objections?"

"Lelouch, are you sure? Nunnally–"

"She's with Sayoko," Lelouch interrupted Suzaku, "Besides, I doubt we can get this lion to turn around. Unless you'd like Earth to deal with an alien invasion on top of everything else."

With that, all the passengers looked at one another until they finally came to the same conclusion. And that was that Lelouch was right. Nothing could be done until they figured out more.

Rivalz sighed, "All right. Guess we're ditching class tomorrow."

With that said, Rivalz urged the lion towards the whirlpool. Once it swallowed the lion, it closed behind them, the alien ship pursuing them missing it by seconds.

AN: So, if you've all been keeping up with my updates, you'll know about my intentions. I'm revising and rewriting most of this fic. Nothing too crazy or plot-altering will happen, but I wanted to update the chapters to reflect my current writing level and style. I hope you all enjoyed this updated version of the first chapter. In case you didn't notice, I did combine parts 1 and 2, so the prologue will ultimately be shaved down from 6 to hopefully 3 parts. Here's part one. Let me know what you all think. R&R!

Edited and revised 03/19/2023

[total-fandom-tr45h]

New AU time!!

So during my time without wifi, my gremlin brain aided by my sister came up with a new idea-

A Urinetown: The Musical inspired au.

What is Urinetown: The Musical? Well, obviously it's a musical! But most importantly, it's a musical where the base story takesplace in a world where the Earth has suffered from a 20 year long drought, causing a water shortage. You literally have to pay to pee, and will get arrested if you are found breaking that law.

The musical is filled with toilet humor as well as satire, making fun of other musicals and itself, and I was lucky enough to have a role in the chorus during my high school production of it.

As for the AU, well...

In this world, fossil fuels are running out, and the methods of renewable energy are seen as ludicrous and a waste of money and resources, and nuclear power hasn't been harnessed. Because of this, there is a shortage of electricity.

In the wake of the electricity shortage, one company rose above the rest; Fazbear Co. Formerly known as Fazbear Entertainment and Mining services, they made animatronics that provided entertainment as well as robots sent deep underground to collect the last of the coal that human workers couldn't get to.

With the shift of focus in the company, most of the bots were released to fend for themselves, having to search for jobs in order to scrape together money just like the humans did in order to charge themselves. The unlucky ones ended up running their batteries down to the very last percent and often died on the streets. Their bodies would just get shoved to the side, and more often than not would get picked over for spare parts to sell.

When it comes to the humans, each household was given a chargeable generator that someone would have to drag to the nearest local charging station and pay to have it charged. A full charge would last 12 hours with continuous use, so people often would ration their electricity to try and make it stretch.

In order to keep people in line and ultimately keep money in the pockets of the big shots, a law was passed stating that it was illegal to use renewable energy of any kind, and if anyone was caught using it they would be sent away to what people began to refer to as 'Fazland'. Anyone sent to Fazland was never to be seen or heard from again.

Now! In the case of our characters, Sun/Moon (in one body) were the favorites of the owner of Fazbear Energy Co., a Mister William Afton. Because they were his favorites they were spared the untimely demise most other animatronics faced, and was instead made the secretary for the company after undergoing new training.

Y/n works for Fazbear Energy Co. at one of the charging stations, taking people's money and hooking up their generators to allow them to charge. They often get people trying to beg them for freebies and passes, and they have to turn those people away with a saddened heart- until one day the person asking for a freebie is their own father, whose medical condition means he needs to have power constantly to run his machines.

After a brief argument with the other attendant working along with Y/n (Undecided who it will be), Y/n's father reveals that he had been working on a project all while Y/n was at work- a mini solar panel. This gets him immediately arrested and taken away to Fazland, leaving Y/n with their mother who broke down when she heard the news.

I'm not going to go on to continue telling the entire plot in one post, but if anyone is interested please let me know! I loved Urinetown: The Musical and am a bit excited for this au, even though i'm sure just about nobody else is going to know it.

Brief character synopsis for those of you who do happen to know the musical:

Afton as Caldwell B. Cladwell

Sun/Moon as Hope Cladwell

Y/n as Bobby Strong

Y/n's (yet) unnamed father as Joseph Strong

Y/n's (yet) unnamed mother as Josephine Strong

And I'm still working on other characters