#Ara's being weird again

[arafilez]

19:42 ㅤㅤㅤ☆ ㅤ —﹙ k.tr ﹚

WHEN ㅤ,ㅤ you wish to surprise taerae !

ㅤㅤ ᶻzㅤ( x fem!reader ) 𓂃 ㅤ fluff estb. rl. ㅤ timestampㅤ warnings kissing ㅤ⋆ ( 455 wc ) ㅤ❟❟ㅤ library ㅤ zb1 shelfㅤ navi

The air fills with Taerae’s soft strums on his guitar as he plays a song he had recently written. You halt at the doorway, eyes training on his back as you watch him with a lovesick smile on your face.

Maybe it is the dim lights, his bare face with his usual glasses, his deep, melodic voice, or possibly everything else that makes you stare at him like a whipped teen with her first crush.

When Taerae’s shirt shifts a little as he adjusts the guitar you get a weird idea in your mind, giggling softly and then slapping yourself lightly for being so head over heels for him.

Slowly sneaking behind him you stand for a while, basking in the scent that is so him, before you sneak an arm around his waist earning a surprised gasp from him. You giggle softly seeing a red hue cover his ears as he says, “When did you get here?”

“A while ago,” you murmur as you nuzzle your face in his neck and press a feather-light kiss on his neck. You feel Taerae stiffening, lightly tripping on his words before his composure is back and he laughs.

The deep laugh vibrates off his body into yours as he says, “This is new, anything good happened?” You shake your head against his shoulder and quickly peck his neck again before he can talk more. Taerae hums visibly unfazed by your second attack as you stare at him with narrow eyes.

You peck him again and again, all over his neck knowing he can’t keep up his unflustered state for long but as you are going in for the seventh peck Taerae turns his head and presses his lips to yours taking you by surprise.

Your eyes widen as you blink, unable to kiss back and Taerae’s lips are gone as soon as they come. A smirk slowly makes its way into his face as he grins, his cavernous dimples glistening in the low lights. You feel flustered at his stare as he asks, “So when exactly were you back?”

You blink at him, brain not comprehending what he asked and Taerae bites back a smile as he sees you. Intertwining his fingers with yours, a small breath leaves your throat as you reply finally, “A while back.”

“Okay, good,” he hums as he pulls you into his lap, resting the guitar on his other leg and says, “Then I get to kiss you all I want.” Your face heats up and you slap his chest lightly making him grin, “What? You were having fun kissing my neck just a while back!”

“Shut up,” you groan and he smiles saying, “I will,” and presses his lips to yours.

ARA'S NOTES ㅤ,ㅤ blame @slytherinshua fully 'cause she planted this taerae neck kiss seed in me by sending me a gunwook clip !

ㅤㅤ ᶻzㅤ( TAGLIST ) 𓂃ㅤ fill this or comment or ask to be added.

@slytherinshua @sxmmerberries @haecien

@aaa-sia @haneagerr @yeosayang

ㅤㅤ(ㅤㅤ© arafilez on tumblrㅤㅤ)

[farahtissaiamyloves]

Are your requests on? If so could I request something with Andromache? I love her and there’s not enough fanfiction out there with her

-Ara

Capture

Andromache of Scythia x reader

Note: I know that I've been gone for months. However, I've been preparing for the most important examinations of my life, and it's been really stressful for me. I hope you enjoy this and thanks again to Ara for the amazing request.

You were looking out of the only window of your room - more like a cell, but you had come to accept that long ago.

You considered yourself lucky - what they did to Quynh was by far worse from what was happening to you.

At least that's what you had convinced yourself.

Dying again and again, only to be brought back to life to die once again deep down the sea, was horrible.

However, being captured for (you had lost count) something more than 4 centuries was even more horrific.

You missed your best friend, of course you did, but the emptiness that washed over you at your wife's absence was something else.

You and Andy were the first immortal warriors. She had found you pretty quickly. You hadn't even understood when you died or what the weird dreams were before she sat you down and explained.

You hadn't been apart ever since. Spending every single day next to her was a privilege and a gift.

You learned so many things from her. After all, Andromache had already been alive for 300 years.

After spending a s couple of decades traveling around the world with her as your only company, it came to no surprise for neither of you when you ended up sleeping together one night.

And that night proved to be the beginning of the most wonderful thing that ever happened to both of your lives.

You loved every second of it.

You being wrapped in her arms while she was kissing the top of your head or you caressing her naked, extremely soft skin as she was wrapping a blanket around the two of you; Andy couldn't have her beloved baby catch a cold.

You teared up recalling your wife. Your beloved wife.

You wrapped your hands around your legs and pushed them against your chest.

You missed her.

You missed her so much.

After 5000 years and a couple of centuries, you were finally divided.

You looked up as you saw the door opening.

A paramedic came in with a huge needle.

Here we go again.

꧁☾︎❥︎☽︎꧂

Andy looked at the only building standing in the area. The only building among a plethora of trees and all kinds of plants.

" Alright, Joe, remind us one last time what we are her for. " Andy spoke.

" We are here to save all the girls/women those people experiment on. We don't know more, including the number of either the victims or the security agents, which means that caution is strongly recommended. " The man pointed out.

The rest of the team nodded, listening carefully.

Little did they know about who the real guinea pig was.

꧁☾︎❥︎☽︎꧂

They killed, killed, and killed once again.

They found countless of the latest laboratory equipment, yet no girl or woman asking for their help.

The team knew that it wasn't a trap.

No trap would have been equipped with so many tools costing millions.

Andy was growing more and more frustrated.

For a human with that much of an experience, she should have caught on by now.

" Guys, I think I found it. " Nicky whispered, pointing with his gun at the only door of the corridor at their right.

They as silently as they could run to it. The door did look like a cell. A bulletproof door with a password was always placed to hide something important, and the group came to this very same building for something important.

If they weren't able to free any innocents, they could at least learn what the fuck was happening there to put a stop to it.

Joe placed some light explosives on the door, telling everybody to buck off, which they were more than eager to do.

He pushed the button and a loud sound was heard, shortly followed by the sound of the door falling on the floor.

The team immediately raised their weapons and entered the room, shouting that they were armed.

Nile, who was the first to get in, quickly scanned the whole room and announced to everybody what they could already see with their bare eyes. " It's empty. "

Realizing that it was just a simple bedroom, the team was to turn away until Nicky pointed at the bed. " I think someone's sleeping there. "

" Don't be ridiculous. Wouldn't have they heard the explosives ? " Nile jumped in.

" Not if they were dragged. Guys, I think we found our victim. " Andy spoke slowly, walking to the bed.

She noticed that the person was fully covered by the blanket, so she slowly pulled it off only to freeze midway.

Andy knew that sleeping face.

Truth be told, she knew it better than her own face.

She had traced it countless of times with her fingertips.

She had seen all kinds of emotions on that face.

" A-Andy ? Is something wrong ? " Nile inquired, feeling beyond confused with the leader's teared up face.

" Shhhhh. "

Nile turned to look at both Joe and Nicky, giving her stern glances.

" What ? " She asked again, unable to understand where her wrongdoing was.

" Oh my love. I thought you were dead. " Andy whispered, kissing the top of your head.

She, then, turned to the couple. " Me and Nile are going to get her to the safe house. You make sure to clear everybody out and destroy this place. Nobody should know anything concerning our immortality. Was I clear ? "

" Yes, boss. "

" Good. "

꧁☾︎❥︎☽︎꧂

You slowly opened your eyes.

Sleeping under the influence of whatever drugs they were giving you had the luck and the curse of having no dreams.

You blinked, taking in your surroundings.

No.

Not again.

You hated when they were changing your room because that meant that they had given you strong enough medication to sleep for days.

Suddenly feeling unwell, you instinctively placed a hand on top of your head, and with the other, you pulled the blanket to cover you completely.

" You've already slept for at least 10 hours, I recommend waking up, eating something, and walking around for a while. " Suddenly, a voice interrupted your thoughts.

Your blood froze for a whole second, thinking that your wife just talked to you.

However, you knew better. Drugs have side effects. They made sure you knew each and every single one.

You didn't move - not even to look, still remembering how heartbroken you had been the last time you did - and closed your eyes to sleep.

" Darling, did you hear me ? " Andy made her voice sweeter, waiting for you to move and see her sitting on the armchair near the bed.

Andromache waited a couple of minutes to watch the lack of reaction. Maybe your hearing had been impacted, or maybe you were still hazy due to being drugged the day prior.

The woman sighed, sitting up.

" Sleep well, sweating. " She wished kissing the top of the blanket - where your forehead was.

꧁☾︎❥︎☽︎꧂

You were frozen on the spot. Your mind running a million miles per second.

In the back of your mind you registered her steps and the door opening and closing.

You felt it. You felt her lips through the blanket.

Your wife was here.

She rescued you.

You teared up, unable to resist.

Your wife came for you.

She hadn't forgotten about you.

She still loved you.

Your hand reached the other pillow of the bed. Slowly, as you were still slightly hazy from your sleep, you moved your head on top of it.

It was her.

Her smell.

She had you sleep on her bed.

How long had it been since you shared one.

You immediately wrapped your hands around it and pulled Andy's pillow onto your chest.

You loved her so, so much.

However, still being under the influence of the drug, you quickly fell asleep once again.

This time with your beautiful wife on your mind.

꧁☾︎❥︎☽︎꧂

Andromache came back into the room after a couple of hours.

She had to make sure that everything was taken care of as well as cook you some food.

Andy quietly set the tray down at the bedside table and looked at you.

A smile formed on her face as she noticed your figure wrapped around her pillow.

" Darling, you have to wake up. " She whispered with her sweetest voice next yo your ear.

You whined and turned your face away from her, burying your face in her pillow.

Andromache gently shook your shoulder while leaving small kisses wherever she could reach, mainly your shoulder.

You opened your eyes, slowly turning to face your one and true love, the very person to whom you have devoted yourself for a couple of thousand years.

Still feeling dizzy, you sleepily smiled at her as you reached to caress her cheek. " Morning. " Your voice was way too harsh than your normal one, as you realized you had probably spent a day without a single drop of water.

Andy kissed your forehead lovingly. She brought a cup of water to your lips and propelled you to drink some.

You happily did as Andy wanted you to, too dizzy to oppose her (not that you would have, you were quite thirsty).

As Andromache placed the cup of water back to its place, you took the chance to wrap your hands around her waist and bury your head in her neck.

Your wife chuckled at your adorable reaction and embraced you back, pulling your body closer to her.

" God, I thought you were dead. " She whispered, continuing washing your body with kisses.

" I... " You stopped midsentence, not sure about how what you intended to say would sound to her.

Andy gently messaged your sculp, silently propelling you to talk to her.

You took a deep breath as you turned to look at her with teary eyes. " I wish I was... "

Andy took your face in her arms. " No. No. Don't you dare ever say that. "

You shook your head, casting your gaze downward. " But, it's true. "

" If you had died, my love, we would have never reunited, would we ? " Andromache countered.

You hesitantly looked upward, at her beautiful striking eyes. " It was torture. "

Your wife gave you a sad smile. " I know. I know... But the important thing is that you are here, in my arms, safe and sound. "

You nodded reciprocating the gesture. " Indeed. "

" And just like back then.... We have all the time in the world to do whatever we please. " Andy's smile widened as her eyes narrowed meaningfully.

You laughed a little, wondering how could a single person delete 400 years of torture, but then again.

That person was your beloved wife.

Your Andy.

[nkn0va]

i request yuzuriha, hilda and kaguya with an s/o that calls them mommy

Well...I can't say I wouldn't do the same

It's kind hard to write about something like this in a non NSFW context so these are gonna be a bit on the shorter side.

-It comes out on accident, most likely. Yuzu's doting on you as usual, she's the type to dote while joking about taking care of you.

-This happened so much that eventually you soon called her mommy in one of your responses to her to ask her to stop. She freezes like a dear in headlights as her eyes go wide.

-She hadn't actually expected something like that out of you, her teasing is all in good fun. If anything she sorta jokes about being your big sis, as weird as that sounds in the context of your relationship.

-She tries to shake off the awkwardness with a slightly sarcastic yet lighthearted joke that she was supposed to be your big sis, not mommy.

-She'd probably mutter under her breath about you calling her that in 'other contexts', only to deny she ever said anything. Does tease you about calling her mommy again though.

-Hilda gives off big ara ara vibes, let's be honest. It's going to come out sooner or later.

-It eventually does after you start dating. She's teasing the hell out of you, probably with some innuendos and you drop it, whether on accident on purposefully playing into the joke.

Either way, she can't stop the uproarious, amused laughter at your remark. She probably didn't see that coming but it is way too funny to her.

-She cranks up the sexual tension to 11 if it wasn't there already. Lots of jokes calling you her little boy/girl. She's definitely getting some very naughty ideas of what to do in the bedroom when the time eventually comes.

-Even in non-sexual situations she's holding that over your head. Whenever you want her to do something for you she'll hit you with a "please...", expecting you to finish the sentence.

-She'll at least have the decency to only do so in private, but she just can't help herself, especially if you get flustered over it.

-If you've known Kaguya well enough and long enough to start dating her, you're going to have to at the VERY least tolerate her teasing, but an ideal S/O would probably play into the teasing.

-It's another bout of teasing between you two and a remark she makes seems to awaken a devilish little voice in your head. Your next response immediately has you call her mommy.

-This immediately sends Kaguya into a giggling fit, rhetorically asking if that's really how you see her. You answer either with a flat out yes or with a vague "perhaps."

-Either way, she's going to tease you about "mommy" treating her good boy/girl. It doesn't take much to assume where she's going with that.

-If you react in a flustered way and shift gears suddenly at the thought, she'll laugh it off and call it just more teasing before moving on. If you react enthusiastically with a resounding yes, well...

-I think we've all seen enough hentai to know where this is going.

-Either way though, she'll get you in bed one of these days. It's only a matter of time. You both know it.

[twoidiotwriters1]

Daughter of Olympus (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: I won't elaborate on my fancast for Leo it explains itself -Danny Words: 2,152 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter / Next Chapter Listen to: 'Polaroid' -by Imagine Dragons

VII. Save Money on Valentine's Day, Become Unlovable

"What Luke told you back on the Princess Andromeda, about starting the world from scratch... that really got to you, huh?"

Annabeth makes a face. "My fatal flaw. That's what the Sirens showed me. My fatal flaw is hubris."

"That brown stuff they spread on veggie sandwiches?"

She sighs. "No, Seaweed Brain. That's hummus. Hubris is worse."

"What could be worse than hummus?"

"Hubris means deadly pride, Percy. Thinking you can do things better than anyone else... even the gods."

"You feel that way?"

Annabeth takes a moment before replying. "Don't you ever feel like, what if the world really is messed up? What if we could do it all over again from scratch? No more war. Nobody homeless. No more summer reading homework."

"I'm listening."

"I mean, the West represents a lot of the best things mankind ever did—that's why the fire is still burning. That's why Olympus is still around. But sometimes you just see the bad stuff, you know? And you start thinking the way Luke does: 'If I could tear this all down, I would do it better.' Don't you ever feel that way? Like you could do a better job if you ran the world?"

Percy and I look at each other. "Um... no," he admits. "Me running the world would kind of be a nightmare."

"I agree," Percy gives me a playful glare, but I add: "No, I mean, I don't have what it takes. Leaders have stone-cold hearts."

"Hubris isn't your fatal flaw, then."

"What is?" Percy asks with curiosity.

"I don't know, Percy, but every hero has one. If you don't find it and learn to control it... well, they don't call it 'fatal' for nothing."

I shiver at the thought of having a weak spot that could kill me, but what can be dangerous for a girl like me? As long as I stay out of everyone's way, my flaw has no reason to put me in danger.

When Leo says he wants to look for Festus, Ara decides to join him. It's obvious he doesn't want company, but she won't let him go alone, not when something's after them.

She's half expecting the walk to be awkward. However, Leo's asking so many questions now that it's just the two of them again that she gets comfortable rather quickly. It doesn't feel like she's talking with a stranger, which is weird, not even Percy felt this way so soon into knowing him.

"So, what's your deal, exactly?" He fidgets with a couple of screws. "What does it mean, being the daughter of Olympus?"

"That I protect Olympus."

Leo gives her a sideways glance. "Your job isn't to fight monsters and do quests, then? Is it something more important?"

"You got it backward," she sighs. "That's exactly my job. The gods hand me tasks directly, or used to before they shut down Olympus... I go on quests and lead their armies."

Ara almost sounds bored when she talks about it, but she's only trying to hide how anxious it makes her, to have all that control over her loved ones. She didn't want to boss around her friends, she wanted to be their dependable hero.

"What happens if you fail?" He asks, the screws in his hand are ignored for a moment.

"If I'm breathing and can move, I gotta keep going."

"But my question is what happens when you can't continue a quest?"

Ara stares at him blankly. "If I fail, it means I died, there is no other option. I may be called the daughter of Olympus but the gods are not my caretakers. It hasn't happened though, lucky me."

Leo's amusement quickly vanishes. "Man, so you could die if we fail this quest?"

"Yeah. But I agreed to this."

He hesitates. "You might be a little too insane for my liking, and that's saying a lot..."

"Maybe I am," she heaves a sigh. "But I did it so they would stop using my friends..."

"How old are you?" Leo frowns.

"Fourteen... and a half," she adds as an afterthought.

"What!" He raises his voice. "And you're a General? I don't even have a driver's license!"

"And that's such an impediment now that you're flying a dragon," she replies sarcastically. "Don't be dumb."

"If that's an order, General, I'll have to transgress it," he taunts her. It's crazy how quickly Leo can switch from being upset to acting all funny. "That's the one thing I do perfectly, don't take my dumbness away." 

Ara sighs again, not sharing Leo's easy-going attitude. He tries again, he doesn't know why, but he likes listening to Ara's voice. It soothes him and makes his mind go slower. "So... why did the gods say yes? Why not choose someone older?"

Ara's brows knit together, she's heard this question many times before and knows that it makes sense, but it still annoys her. "I was the only one asking for it. Percy made his wish, and I still had mine, so I used it for this. The children of Olympus had been er... discontinued. I brought them back."

Leo tries to ask the following question without sounding rude, it's not coming easy. "So were you... powerful enough? Is that why they said yes?"

"I was good enough, yeah. It's a slow process, years and years of training. I convinced them 'cause I had a special set of skills."

Leo's hands are back to fidgeting. "What skills?"

Percy hides our ship behind a large rock wall, so in order to get to the top, we have to climb.

"Okay. Who first?"

They glance at me, of course they'd want me to go first, keeping an eye on the weakest link is the wise thing to do, but I'm not looking at them, I'm examining the wall.

"There's a path," I inform my friends.

"What?"

"You're hallucinating, Birdy..."

"No. Follow me."

Usually, when I insist there's something I can do, they let me try. I hold onto the nearest edge, and after that, I just keep going up. I stop only when I hear someone calling my name many feet below me. I look down to discover I don't have vertigo. 

"Why aren't you coming up?" I frown. "It's safe!"

"You're moving too fast, we can't see where you're stepping!" Annabeth pants.

"I'm fast?" I look at my hands. "Cool!"

"You don't use the lava wall back in camp, do you?" Percy raises his voice so I can hear him.

"Silena doesn't let me, she thinks I'll get hurt!"

"Well, I think she has to reconsider!" He grunts.

Festus landed on a pile of portable toilets, and both teens stare at the mess in disgust.

"Talking 'bout good fortune, huh?"

"If we had one of those cranes here it'd be easier..." Leo looks around with a scowl.

"I can climb his back," Ara steps forward, then stops. "Maybe throw snow on it before we..."

"What?" Leo puts his hand on the dragon's surface, then he jumps back. "Oh, right—ouch," he says in a not-so-convincing tone. When he notices the way she's looking at him, he tries to make up an excuse. "I'm very sleep-deprived."

"Stop that."

"Stop what?"

"Lying," she steps closer to him.

He smiles like he finds the conversation absurd. "Doll, I really got no—"

"You may think I'm an air-headed Barbie, but I can tell you're full of shit," Ara seizes his wrist. "I'm tired of you and Piper hiding things from me. Tell me what's your deal, or I'll lock you up in one of the squeezed-out toilets."

Leo complains loudly as Ara squeezes his wrist. "Okay, okay! Dang, you're stronger than you look!" He scoffs. "You have to promise not to freak out, alright?"

"You better be honest," she lets go of him. "Don't worry about me, I've seen a lot of weird stuff."

"Okay..." he rubs his wrist. "I... I make fire," Leo scowls at her. "Now's when you point fingers and call me bad names."

Ara stares at him, her gaze is calculating. "Nyssa told you their superstition, didn't she?"

"No, I just guessed I'm an omen of tragedy and bad fortune!" He replies sarcastically.

"So rough life for you too, huh?" She tilts her head, ignoring his defensive tone. 

Leo nods once, still scowling. "Good ol' demigod life."

"Well, it's not the end of the world, and I would know that. I witnessed like, three of those," she tells him. "Can you make fire out of nothing?"

"Yes," he opens one palm and small orange flames envelop it. "But I don't do this trick at parties, y'know? For obvious reasons."

"Yeah, because you don't get invited," Ara reaches out. It is real fire. "It's okay. Chiron will know how to help you."

"You think he'll want to? Because I'll be honest here, I need the training."

"I'll do it if he doesn't. You won't get better if you don't practice, and I owe it to you," Ara stretches out her palm. "Deal?"

The fire dies on Leo's hand. He stares at her unblinkingly. "You sure? I can be really hard to handle."

"I'll manage," she decides to tease him into shaking her hand. "What, afraid of getting cooties?"

Leo smiles. "Afraid of passing them, actually, but if you insist..." 

He reaches for her hand and shakes it. 

Tyson invites me to help him build Percy and Annabeth's chariot and I'm happy to assist him. We work side by side, and Percy and Annabeth win the race.

"We couldn't have won this race or got the Fleece or saved Grover or anything! We owe our lives to our friends, to..." Annabeth pauses and looks at the Cyclops.

Percy catches my eye and his smile widens. "My baby brother and sister! Tyson and Ara!"

Before I know it, I'm being lifted on someone's shoulders and Tyson's holding my hand. When we reach the winner's platform and I'm placed between Percy and Tyson, I feel accepted unconditionally.

Percy reaches for my hand and squeezes, I make a promise that I'll treat him as my brother forever. "We should talk later," he says under his breath.

He has a strange glint of determination in his eyes. You know when someone says "later" but they mean "never"? Well, Percy isn't that type of person. Later meant fifteen minutes forward.

Chiron and him are waiting for me in the Big House, and Percy's holding a phone. "You have a call, Birdy."

"Did I do something?" I look at Chiron without understanding.

He points at the cell phone. "Don't keep them waiting."

"Hello?" I speak in a little frightened voice. 

"Hi, Ara," my heart does a somersault, it's Sally Jackson.

"Hi!" I reply, too excited to even question why my friend's mom wants to talk to me. "Did Percy tell you about the rock wall? I'm the fastest climber!"

"I heard you helped Tyson build a chariot, too."

"I helped Percy sail a pirate ship too! And I used my Charmspeak with Polyphemus before he could rip off—" My friend shakes his head frantically, so I change the subject. "Why are you calling me?"

Sally takes a moment. 

"Well... Percy and I talked..."

I glance at Percy. "Yeah? About what?"

"You liked staying with us during Christmas, didn't you?"

"Yeah! Can I go this year too?"

"How about staying the whole year?"

I'm sure I misheard that. "Sorry?"

"I've talked to Chiron, and he can help us with the paperwork to make it happen. Percy and I agree, having you around felt right."

"Wait, make what happen?" My heart's crawling up my throat.

"We want to adopt you, Ara."

"I-I'm not an orphan," My face is getting redder.

"We know."

"I told those things to Percy 'cause he asked, I wasn't trying to—I didn't use charmspeak!"

I'm embarrassed. I mean, when your friend hears your sob story and suddenly he's like "Suprise! I'm giving you this thing you told me you wished more than anything!" It kinda feels like he's just shutting you up. I didn't want it if it was out of pity.

"Ara," Percy intercedes. "We have more than enough to welcome a second regular-size kid into our home. Having Tyson around made us realize that."

"But I can't protect you like Tyson," I insist.

"We don't want that," Sally says. "Having you is enough."

They're asking me not only to stick around but also to use their name. Be part of their family forever. 

I look at Chiron with hopeful eyes. 

"Can I?"

Their bodies light up in a golden hue as soon as Leo holds her hand. Ara snatches her palm away in panic, looking at the boy as if he's got two heads.

"What?" Leo stares at her anxiously. "Did I burn you?"

"I'm fine!" She replies high-pitched. "Good talk! Let's—let's fix Festus now!" Ara turns to face the dragon so Leo can't see her blush. 

Gods, if her friends could see her now... No. This is not happening. That was not golden.

"Dammit!" She kicks the snow. 

Leo's climbing the dragon but he stops halfway. "What?"

"I'm having a moment, stay out of it!" She snaps.

The boy stares at her, half-amused and half-worried. "Why are the prettiest girls always so crazy..."

"Shut up!" Ara blushes even more.

She's dreamed about this moment for quite some time, but Leo's timing is downright inconvenient at this point, so denial it is. Ara isn't gonna make things easier. It will be the slowest slow-burn the Fates have ever had the misfortune to witness.

Next Chapter ->

Taglist.

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[jams-sims]

Putting Ara aside again because interesting shit happens around him. Not so much to him-

I'm starting to think Mahoro comment was a little deeper than I gave it credit for the first time. So-

We all agree that Matakara brother coming back is either going to be the best thing or the worst thing right? That he's either gonna be super nice or it's going to turn out he is fucking insane. An has been lying to Matakara the whole time.

Leading to Zabu who really fucking cares about Matakara trying to get between the brothers to save his friend. Only to get his ass beat and have to go running to Ara. And fucking beg him to save Matakara from having to go to Juvie like his brother or something like that.

Because maybe just like Mahoro, Matakara has this idealized version of his brother. That is not at all true. Listen- Marito cares about his sister but in a normal way. He doesn't want her all up in his business. He wants to talk and joke with his friends. She is his sister who's really fucking weird about him and I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out they have a fucked up childhood. (if not then good on Bucchigiri for just making home girl fucked up for no reason.) That he is for the most part trying to make sure she has a normal fucking life. Because if you noticed none of the guys fuck with her. She got beat up on her own accord of course. But when it comes to the 2 gangs. We saw both blue and yellow coming to pull Mahoro off of Outa who was not pressed about Mahoro yelling.

It's weird because as much as Matakara talks about wanting to be a honki person. Just like his brother- no one fucking talks about his brother. If he is as awesome as Matakara say he is.

Like it's weird that there seems to be this tension that happens when the brother is brought up. The only reason that seems to truly care is Matakara. An I could be wrong we only got 12 eps to work off of. To take a serious turn would work against the show. But their something weird happening behind the scene with some characters.

I know everyone else felt weird about the fight right? How we had a whole ass gang war but now everyone fucking buddy buddy??? An I feel like that's may be brought up like all you kids are playing at being in gangs but none of you are committed to doing so. It just the vibes are off and I may just be fucking begging honestly. This could all be nothing. Serious shit like breaking your arm is treated like a gag so *shrug.*

I wanna make a post about how everyone else perceives Ara and Matakara relationship. Because this ep was an eye opener.

[poupeesdecirque]

"Tainted Dolls" - And how I handle them

I have mentioned on IG I want to actually blog more, write down my thoughts and impressions to get things out of my mind and share my expierence. This is a rather personal entry on how I handle dolls that got "tainted" in some way.

With "tainted" I mean difficulties that I came across during ordering, receiving, working with other artists, postal services and maybe my own standards.

The pictures above all feature some different dolls that got tainted for me, I have a lot more some carry heavier weight, some have lost their tainted status/I forgot about it, some are old, some are pretty recent.

If you are interested in those please read ahead.

Let's define what kind of dolls truly fall under the "tainted" term for me with examples and how I handled them ever since. Not doing all that's... too much of negativity to deal with rn. Starting with some ages cases and moving on to more recent dolls to see how things can develop.

Before I start I can tell I always try to give the doll a chance, to win my "love". There was one case I but the doll/head on sale after unboxing because I was so disappointed, let's start with that one.

Elisa - Unoa Lusis FP - Wrong Colors

With Elisa it is... Ara was my main Face up Artist for years but I wanted to expand a bit. After Nathan (Elisa's BF) was painted by Lynsey and it worked greatly I send Elisa's FP off to another local Artist to paint her. The photos looked great and I always wanted a cute Unoa.

But as I unboxed the FP the colors were completely off, nothing matched to the photos, the artist was baffled insisting the photos were correct. I put the FP on sale right away ... she was bought by said face up artist .. well.

I can tell I later on got my Unoa Lusis with the most beautiful Face up I think this was a gap to fill.

Now to the dolls that got a chance with me:

Samuel (LM Little Bear) - Goodbye head?

Samuel's 2nd shell was send to Canada for a Face up by Belladonna. I absolutely adored her style & her circus crew but I wasn't in for what was upon me. She went mia. Alright I knew she did that from time to time - I tried anyways. But she went really mia on doll forums but was super active on Instagram and I actually made my IG account back then to get in touch with there as she didn't reply to mails or PMs. She told me the same over and over again if she didn't ignore me or pretended I never wrote her. It took me months of back & forth to get him home after treatening to open a paypal dispute after the time she told me like 4 or 5 times "he'll be ready by the end of the week" but poured out Cosplay photos and was super active in everything but not this commission. In the end I finally got him back 3 months overdue. After I ordered a replacement head because I was certain to never see this head again.

As I got him back I instantly loved him and all the hassle was almost forgotten. I can tell he is a very tame case of 'tainted'. The replacement head was send to a local artist whom I trust a lot to paint him as casual variant. Ever since Samuel is fine for me.

There are several other cases in which issues with the Face up artist left a bitter taste for me, may it be the Artist being incredibly weird, taking forever or me getting back dolls unfinished, some of the dolls are doing great, some still have a bitter vibe, I won't get into all here. I can tell that the majority of the ones with face up issues are indeed dolls I am not doing much with, I take them out here and there but don't 'feel' it. Why don't I sell those? Well I still like the dolls and it's not like they feel anything, I can put them on display and still think they look nice.

Captain - Dear Mine Gorgi - Wrong delivery

Captain was a curious case, you might wonder what was wrong with the little fella?

Well it was that this was his first unboxing ....

Yep, I got send the wrong doll. I was devastated. But gladly Dearmine helped out, I was allowed to send the doll back, they paid me the shipping and shipped out the correct doll later. This got happily resolved and Captain doesn't feel tainted for me anymore.

Weirdly Tyki arrving broken/bend on arrivel didn't taint him for me, just in case you were wondering.

Artists going MiA - What about my doll?

I'll put these two together as they are similar.

First case here is a "happily resolved" I will start with that one. The doll in question is my ZeligenArt Anglerfish. Marie went mia from time to time, updated here and there. But after a year and her being mia for some time I made a callout post asking if somebody had heard of her as I knew she had some of the dolls in for a while. She got to me within hours, send my doll out the coming week and even gifted me a 3D file of a bjd. Which was the BJD Shark (Hanke), the whole transaction ended well and I like the doll, it's not taken out much but it's a fish anyways, that's okay.

Second case is the infamous Bulbasaur from Into the Deep Dolls. I never have expierenced such a liar of an artists in before. His bad luck was that Ara had an order going on as well and I could call out his lies af of "postal service is not operating in your country" as Ara got the order in a day prior. It was fight as the order date had passed any protection in the end I got the doll tossed some paint onto it, not even posted a boxopening as I hated it so much but felt bad when I would sell it as it's fanart of a series and made me torn from the start. I didn't even look at the doll for over a year.

Until my hobby burnout came and I somewhat decided to try everything to make it better.. Pumpkins helped. I repainted the little thing.

Now it's on a better display and taken out for photos even.

The Storyteller - DC Alva - Perfectionism and the Burnout done

Coming to more recent or interesting cases here. The Storyteller. What is wrong with him? I can tell my own personal standards. I projected a lot into his, I was hyperfixated on this character, everything needed to be perfect. As I failed to paint him myself I send him out to theUgliestWife who did an amazing job painting him. But upon arrival none of his eye made him look like what I wanted him to be, he looked DEAD to me. I have to say he arrived during the time my hobby burnout was happening and every little bit was enough to make me wheep. (I will get to the worst case here after him)

The photoshoot above is the 2nd take of the first try, the first is still so ugly to me that I can't look at the photos. The 2nd photoshoot is okay-ish but still feels icky.

I tried over and over again, had him ob display next to me, every time I changed things and took photos it felt wrong and dead. But I loved the character, I think in 2023, after 2 years of having him, I finally resolved the issue. He is easier for me now, the taint still swings with him a bit. But photos feel more natural. I think the main point was retaking the photoshoot that started it all.

So that's how he now feels for me:

At least as doll, the character is still not back to full force with me, OCs are hard to me. But I need the distance I guess. Maybe one day I will get into them again.

The UPS Desaster & Hobby Burn Out Triangle

What finally had led to my hobby burn out might be that photoshooting with the Storyteller as last drop but a big chunk of it was the UPS Desaster.

To make it short: these three dolls were shipped in May and arrived in August. They arrived in Germany in May. I live in Germany. They were scanned each day by UPS over and over and over again, 3 hours from where I live. The dealer (Angelesque) helped from the other side trying to free the parcel. After almost 3 full months in transit I finally got the dolls (I had to treaten them with a lawyer...), pissed off because I wanted to work on them to get them to the sea with me, I was super into merfolk around that time and even ordered one more which got tainted as well, but well they came in too late.

I pulled through customizing all three dolls at insane speed because around that time I kinda had a mental race going on with having them done upon arrival to be one of the first to have that type of doll finished ... I have literally no idea why that was a thing for me but it somehow developed. This was not possible anymore and my little shell got more and more cracks. I completely burned myself out by doing insane mods on them (breast removal by hand, additive mods, bodyblush for 3 dolls, 2 of them 70+), face ups, hair, photos. I was drained for my full summer break and beyond. I tried to get into things again but nope. Then the thing with the Storyteller happened. OCs seemed to be cursed for me, they didn't spark joy anymore. That's when I turned into fandolls again and pumpkins.

Kaneki saved my ass and Pumpkins helped, a few dolls (OCs) arrived around that time I never really got into them. Those are Tamani and Leopold.

They fall into the Triangle, I never was able to develop their characters as they somehow hit a negative nerve for me. I really like them as doll they are pretty to look at. What got me out was my DC Enoch arriving, scrapping making him into a OC (he was planned as Guardian for the Storyteller and uh... nope not happening), turning him into Clown Mana saved my hobby ass and got me back into the hobby along with D.Gray-man. Things got a bit lighter and I even got 1-2 "fresh" dolls after that but not for a "race" like I did in earlier days.

But a doll whom I ordered during the high time of the Burnout was Eeske my DC Beacher

She kinda got the treatment of "okay I will customize you but toss you in a corner afterwards" and I still kind of treat her like that. I will eventually come back to her when more time has passed.

This whole ordeal peaked with ...

Preorders out of Hell

These have different stories and this still hurts as they are super fresh .. but alright. Imagine you just had the whole Bulbasaur fuckup that leant into UPS being the most horrible shipping service and ultimately getting into a hobby burn out here. This all within a span of several months.

Pumpkins and D.Gray-man were my safety zone here. I got several preordered, got some heads, all fun and stuff.

1 - Pumpkins by Mirror. Not Mirror's fault she shipped my order in time but ... the postal service ate it. She replaced the order and 1 year later I had it and she even gifted me the other two heads. I can tell the little pumpkin Patchlings are already 'green lit' for me and have lost their tainted status.

2 - The failed Lavi.

Picture here is Lavi's 2nd shell as I am still super pissed towards the artist of the first shell. To make it short: Preorder happened, Preorder had problems with the Casting. Got promised a solution (that was Other caster with Body), solution was cancelled because "It's impossible to make such a body" (yeah they promised to make it without people needing to pay what was not that smart to begin with but alright, I would have paid for a matching body) ALBEIT happiliy posting that they made up a body in no time on their media. Preorder forth and back, got told "I will write each of you what we will do" - Refund without any further word. While we were mutuals. Artist pretending nothing happened towards me, Refund was less than what I had paid because of the exchange rates, I didn't get any apology, they got protected by the community, I got told to shut up. Ultimately I blocked the artist everywhere for my own sanity. And my mind will hate you if you support such an asshole behavior. End of story.

I got a replacement for Lavi because I want to have him as doll, I want to get over with this but he is still super hard for me. I am not sure if this head will work but I will try.

3 - Vampire Pumpkin not so much fun

Okay you have two lost pumpkin heads in the mail, a preorder failing on you and then a preorder going on for 1 year already with the artist ghosting you for two months.

This was not fun, I got Sokrates after some very questionable mails on my side and then ... UPS. Trying. the. same. shit. as. with. the. mermaids.

But this time with the artist (aka sender) not cooperating with helping me to free the parcel. I played the lawyer card right away as I was still getting flashbacks from the mermaids. As he arrived after 1 1/2 years after I ordered him I pushed him back on my working list for almost a year. I painted him inbetween to "do" something on him but well.

He is now a full doll and working on him yesterday was not a "yay he's here" but more "oh lord he is here finally this shitshow will end, come on I just want you to be done to put you into a dark corner and forget you exist".

The whole thing resulted in me pushing back ordering dolls/bodies for the heads I got as I wasn't able to deal with shit anymore. I turned to making more clothes for the dolls I have, finish my own head, pour more time into the customs overall. And got Cosplay sewing back to my mind. Yes, Cosplay is now my way to cope when the Hobby turns its back on me.

I mean there are things that frustrate me, but if I am the one doing it (aka being stupid while sewing) I am at fault and can try again later, I want to give my dolls a chance too. Ultimately I get up when I fall, I like my dolls.

I think the best way for me is to cool down for a while, set them aside and try again later on. The later could be the next day, month or even years later.

Some never will reach the status others have, some always will have a bitter taste to them. Some turn into fun dolls to have, some into favorites maybe. It's different from doll to doll.

[excelsi-or]

summoned (pt. 12)

In reality, this section is a continuation of the last part, but I didn't want part 11 to be like 4k+, so I split them. Posting the next part alongside this, so not long to wait. :)

pairing: woozi x fem!reader/fem!OC

w.c. 1.8k

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5 | part 6 | part 7 | part 8 | part 9 | part 10 | part 11

Hansol gets out of the car, holding his stomach as he stretches. "Mr. Demon, your car is dope and your driving skills are mental."

"Were those good things?" Jihoon asks as the two humans lead the way across the street.

"The highest praise from Hansol, really," Seokmin states. But the angel's focus in on the other human, who is now walking across the street without stopping for traffic. Hansol walks alongside her, unbothered.

"I already exorcised her," Jihoon says.

"That was a few days ago. You then brought her around more demons than she's probably ever exposed herself to." Seokmin shakes his head. He's about to say more, but the wilting flowers in the flower shop next door catch his attention. "I'm going to suggest to the florist that she close shop for the day. Just in case you..."

"What do you think I'm going to do?" Jihoon demands, his hand on the door to the convenience store.

"I don't know, but the less human casualties the better." Seokmin disappears into the flower shop, no doubt wearing his most charming smile. 

"What have you been doing back here, Mrs. Han?" Jihoon can hear her voice from the backroom. Hansol is standing in the doorway. Mrs. Han is nowhere to be seen, though Jihoon can guess where the angel is.

Hansol glances over his shoulder and motions with his head for Jihoon to join him.

Mrs. Han is sat in the desk chair. But Jihoon can't even fully process the scene, because his human is talking. Everything she's saying sounds a little bit more convincing. It's starting to sound like someone—or something—else entirely. Jihoon studies her figure closely, looking for any signs that his human isn't in there.

But as with most things about her, he's terribly unsure. Without knowing for sure if she had a soul in the first place, he isn't sure what's got her acting so different now.

"According to you, someone came to you a few months ago asking about nuclear war? Why you in particular, Mrs. Han?"

"Oh, dear, if I knew that, I would have outed them to Him already! But they were threatening Ara!"

Hansol stiffens next to Jihoon. The demon glances his way but says nothing.

"And I didn't want anything to happen to her!"

She squats down next to Mrs. Han, gazing up at the older woman. Even Jihoon would be near swayed by anything his human asked of him if she looked at him like that. "How were they asking you to do it?"

"I..."

Her hand reaches out for Mrs. Han's, holding them between hers. "We can't keep Ara safe if we don't know what they've asked you to do."

"You're going to try to stop it?" Mrs. Han asks. "Dear, I think it may be too late for that now!"

Jihoon and Hansol both don't know how she's not blown away by Mrs. Han's volume.

"So you do know what they are doing."

"I only know my part in it! And even that I don't understand! But can't you feel it in the air?"

They're practically standing in the black smoke at this point. Hansol keeps clearing his throat.

"Show me and maybe we can figure it out."

Seokmin appears then as the two women fiddle around on the computer.

"Ara's okay?" Jihoon asks.

Seokmin nods, surprised that Jihoon bothered to remember the name. "Yes, she is. I told her to go home. Maybe visit her parents in the countryside." He peers into the room. "What's going on here?"

"Unsure. The human is being weird again," Jihoon states, his voice low. 

Hansol glances between them when Seokmin doesn't defend her immediately. The angel looks concerned.

But whatever she's doing seems to get them results. She waves them over. "Mrs. Han, can you explain what is going on?"

Mrs. Han hesitates, her gaze shifting between the four young-looking beings in her presence. The silence in the room is broken when Hansol coughs. The older woman gives Hansol a once over and seems to feel some sort of pity, because she explains what's happening on the screen. 

Apparently, someone had come to her, threatening Ara if Mrs. Han didn't agree to do this 'simple' thing for them. "They said that it wouldn't be too hard! They said that I would have no direct role in what happened! I was just..." Mrs. Han tries to find the words, "making it easier!"

"Why did you agree to do a demon's bidding, Mrs. Han?" she asks.

"They were definitely not a demon!"

"Not a demon." She looks to the others from her squat on the floor. "Not an angel either, probably."

The older woman huffs. "If it were an angel, I would have gone straight to Him and told Him what sort of ridiculous plans are being conjured up!"

"So, whoever or whatever this entity is asked you to do what exactly?" Jihoon asks. He takes a step into the room to view the screen over Mrs. Han's shoulder. "What is this?"

The older woman shakes her head. "I don't really know! They installed this program on my computer, told me to go on it, and press certain buttons! According to them, the program would do its work!"

"The program would do work all by itself?" She studies the screen. Whatever it's doing is beyond her science degree. She recognizes a few things, but not enough to really parse through what she's reading.

"All they told me was that this would go on my computer, that I shouldn't feel too guilty because I wasn't doing anything, and that He would understand since Ara was being threatened! And not just by some sick human!"

"How did you know that? If they were not a demon or an angel, why would you think they could actually do anything to Ara?"

The angel pauses to think over her answer. "It was something about their... aura! I just knew!"

She nods. While the other three don't like that answer, she understands what it means. Sometimes, you just know in your gut. "Okay, well, what exactly did they ask you to do?"

"Once every few weeks, I had to click a little button on the screen!"

They all wait for more, but nothing comes.

Seokmin asks, "That's it?"

Mrs. Han nods.

They all watch the screen. There are different sections to look at, clearly monitoring different things. She has to search up most of the words on the screen.

"Based on these words, they all connect to nuclear power."

Seokmin hums. He points to the bars in the corner. "Then these bars must be temperature and radiation levels."

"Temperature is rising," Jihoon comments.

Hansol looks to Mrs. Han. "Do you know what the person... being... thing looked like? You kept saying "they", but I'm assuming one being."

Mrs. Han describes one being in a human form dressed all in white with white hair to match. They had green eyes. "Not just their irises, but what are normally the whites of people's eyes!"

"Like this?" Jihoon's eyes flick to their cat-eye form.

Mrs. Han tips her head. "I told you they weren't a demon, but it was similar! Eerie!" She shivers. "And permanent!"

"The temperature rising stopped," Hansol says. There is a red zone and the temperature has not quite reached that point yet.

"Mrs. Han," Seokmin draws out her name, "how many times have you done this?"

"I would say... 20 times! Potentially more!"

Seokmin had been doing his own searches. He shows the phone to Jihoon. There are 25 nuclear reactors in the country.

"Would you say closer to 25, Mrs. Han?" Hanosl asks when Seokmin shows him the phone.

"That seems right." Mrs. Han's voice softens, which catches everyone off guard. They'd all been braced for another shout. 

Jihoon's eyes widen. "Did, uh, this entity happen to tell you anything more? Did you ask about their plans?"

The angel doesn't notice how the others are staring at Jihoon in concern. She snaps at him instead. "I was a little too worried about what they would do to Ara!"

"Okay, Mrs. Han." She pats the older angel's hand. "It is alright. We are not accusing you of anything." Her voice is velvety smooth, wrapping around Mrs. Han's human-like emotions and soothing any burns.

Seokmin and Jihoon's eyes widen at the effect her voice has.

"But... did you happen to get any more information from this being?"

Mrs. Han tips her head, leans into her touch, and nods. "Yes, actually! They left the room, as if to answer a phone call! Not that I heard a phone ring! But they said something about it taking time! That they would then meet somewhere when everything was ready!"

"Do you have any idea where that somewhere could be?"

"'The first one' is what I heard!"

Silence falls on the group as they process this information. Seokmin moves to extract Mrs. Han from the human's grasp. "I sent Ara home." He helps the older angel to her feet. "Maybe you should watch over her. Make sure she doesn't come back to the shop. It's not..." He looks around the black billowing smoke around them. He's surprised he's been able to keep from coughing. "Not exactly safe."

"The smoke is really horrid, isn't it?" Mrs. Han sighs, following Seokmin's gaze. They watch Seokmin guide her out of the shop. He soothes any hurt feelings. The last thing they need is Him reigning down the angels if Mrs. Han decides to go to Him with her deeds.

She slips into Mrs. Han's seat and turns to Hansol and Jihoon. "Right, so, what do we do?"

Hansol looks to Jihoon.

"What do nuclear reactors do?" Jihoon asks.

"Create energy."

The demon waves his hand dismissively. "Not what I meant. I meant what can they do for the demons' cause?"

They sit in silence until Seokmin returns.

"What if," she starts, "if it is about bringing about the apocalypse...." She sits back in the seat and tips her head back to look up at the ceiling. Her voice changes, something the others are more familiar with. "They're just trying to pollute the world as much as possible." She'd noticed the temperature tipping up into the red. "A nuclear reactor meltdown would be devastating. Twenty-five of them? I don't know if we'd be able to recover."

"There's war in other countries. Political corruption, pollution, divisiveness," Seokmin agrees. "Whatever they've started, it won't take much more to tip it over. The Horsemen are probably already here."

"They're here?" Hansol demands. "I thought we were talking metaphorically."

"No, they're real," Jihoon hums. "What did Mrs. Han mean when she said 'the first one'?" He studies his human.

And what did Linnaeus mean when he said she may have a bigger role to play?

Seokmin shakes his head when the humans don't answer. "Mrs. Han isn't sure what it means either."

"I don't think we're going to learn much else here." She stands, her hand running over the keyboard. She makes a point of closing the program on the computer and then leads the way out.

part 13

[autisticempathydaemon]

For the RedactedAudio match-ups!

I pondered over whether I should send my own request (I'm sure you have plenty of these already and I didn't want to add more to the workload- for a lack of a better word) but I love the love and care you give for previous entries and it just seems so fun to play along! Please take all the time you need, there's no rush at all ><

Lizzy McAlpine's "Doomsday" has been playing nonstop for the past month, but I've always been obsessed with Will Wood's "Well, Better Than the Alternative"! My fav part of the lyrics: "Baby could you play along with me? / Baby would that be alright with you? / And when we find out what's wrong with me / Could you tell me how I'm right for you?" This is the kind of song suitable for both lighthearted jamming and brooding self-reflection while staring at the ceiling at ungodly hours, yknow?

For the Enneagram type, I just did the test recently and I got type 4? I found the descriptor "Inward Exlorer" extremely suiting! Also, in case it helps, my MBTI is INFJ^^

I had several childhood friends, the one I talked to the most was a faceless boy my age with glasses and messy hair who's crazy about the concept of martyrdom. I'm trying to write him into my story these days!

I happen to adore my name for the meaning behind it. My initials are literally A.R.T., and, fun fact, I'm currently the only person with my last name in my region, haha. But yknow, names carry weight to them, and I find the weight of mine a bit cumbersome at times, so that might be a cause for change somewhere far in the future. Maybe changing it to Ara, or Nadine? Because the meanings are so pretty ^^

My current fav audio vid is the "finally hearing from your your long distance lover again"! What can I say? Anton is my beloved and he gives off so much comfort and I root (haha get it) for his happiness!

Speaking of platonic attraction, it's gotta be Hux and Damien. As a college student myself, how wonderful it would be to have them with me to go through endless study sessions and just to hang out? If I get to write fate beforehand, I'd have them and Camelopardalis be my childhood friends. Imagine that!

I don't exactly have a gas station drink combo(?) but I always order carrot-orange juice if I see it on the menu. My siblings look at me weird whenever I do, but it's really good!

Uh, what else is there... I've been told I'm the older sister type, or the mom friend? I grow tomatoes and bird eye chillies alongside roses of various colors on my family's front yard, and one of my life ambitions is to own a house with big enough land to grow fruit trees- I solemnly swore to my mom and her mom that I'd plant lemon and orange trees if I could make that happen, because they love the smell of citrus. I write; mostly short stories, and I've published a number of anthologies, but I'm working on finishing the first draft for my first novel.

Oh goodness this is becoming so long already. Thank you for taking your time to read this! I'm looking forward for your verdict, haha ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

Ooh, this was an incredibly easy one to assign! There’s a lot of little and big factors that went into my decision, but the kicker is that a big, lovely family home wouldn’t be complete without a David Shaw to help take care of it.

Type Fours and INFJ’s are so lovely and creative, generally very attuned to their inner sphere of thoughts and emotions. I think that pairs well with David, who went through the character development of needing that openness to draw him out into the open, honest, affectionate man he is today. Your being the mom friend also pairs well since he’s the dad friend, and the two of you could lend each other support in case you neglect your needs in favor of others.

Speaking of “mom and dad”, I love to think of the huge, beautiful house and garden the two of you would cultivate! It’d be so homey and comfortable, the perfect place for pack parties, the sort of space where every member knows they’re welcome. Not to mention, those fruit trees would be the envy of Dahlia; you and David would make sure of it. Those would be the most bountiful trees and most beautiful garden you could ever imagine.

Song:

Oh, let's get rich and buy our parents/ Homes in the South of France/ Let's get rich and give everybody nice sweaters/ And teach them how to dance/ Let's get rich and build our house on a mountain/ Making everybody look like ants/ From way up there, you and I, you and I

I love the vibes of this song for you guys! Even if it’s not what I think his music taste would be (dad rock), it’s sweet, it’s fun, it’s cozy. It’s perfect summer day, laying in the grass and dandelions and roses music. It’s a duet that he would never think of not chiming in along with you.

Runner-Ups:

Lasko could also strike me as an INFJ, so I think the two of you would make this lovely, introverted pair. Plus, a writer and a professor- that’s objectively cute. Milo is also a good runner up, because frankly, that boy strikes me as a momma’s boy, so he would adore the way you talk about your mom and grandma. You also have that shared dream of owning a nice house and home, so there’s that too.

note: I like the cut of your jib- roses and tomatoes AND Birds Eye chilis? The best kind? You’ve got taste /gen

Read this post and send me an ask if you’d like a match-up of your own! 💌

[mysticonsheadcanons]

Mysticons: Next Quest Episode 4- Not Again

Queen Goodfey calls the Mysticons to the throne room. She tells the girls about a cave where people mysterious dissapeared, including some guards she previously sent to investigate the cave. She asks them to investigate, but warns them to be careful, as they don't know what's going on. Arkayna says that they'll be fine, as they faced the Spectral Hand, so a weird cave should be no problem for them. Zarya agrees, and the Mysticons head out. Queen Goodfey watches, a worried expression on her face.

On the way to the caves, they talk about what could be causing the people to dissapear. Em suggests that maybe there ara cave-ins inside the cave, but the cave entrance is still open, so no one knows. Sharise points out how that is a lot of bad luck, as Queen Goodfey said no one left the cave, so in order for that to happen, the cave-ins would have to block everyone once they come in without blocking off the entrance, which is unlikely. Piper suggests that the cave might contain a portal to another world, which Zarya admits is possible.

They get to the cave, which shows no signs of it about to cave in. They begin walking inside the cave until they eventually see statues. Sharise takes a closer look, and notices that the statues are made of bone. Arkayna recognizes one statue as a guard who was particularly kind to her, and remarks that this was probably his last mission before retirement. Em asks if Arkayna is OK, and while Arkayna says she's fine, it's clear that she's lying.

As they go through the cave, they debate on what to do. Sharise thinks that they should figure out what's turning everyone into statues, but Arkayna wants to save them as quickly as possible. They all agree to save the people first, seeing how much it's affecting Arkayna. As they figure it's possible the same thing that turned the King and Queen to bone is also turning everyone else to bone, they decide to grab what they need to reverse it, using the spell they tried to use back at the Crystal Archipelego (in "All Hail Necrafa"). However, they realize that they are lost in the cave.

While looking for a way out, they come across a strange creature. It attacks, and Arkayna notices it's trying to get them to look at it right in the eye, and wonders if that's how people are turned into stone. She warns the others to avoid looking in its eyes, but Zarya accidently does so during the fight. They manage to get away, but notice that Zarya's arm is turned to solid bone. As most of her body is OK, Zarya guesses that she didn't look long enough to completely turn into a statue. Still, they decide that they have to figure out a way to reverse it quickly. Arkayna tells Zarya to let them know if anything strange is happening to her, and keeps an eye on her sister in case the bone starts to spread.

They find a portal that was blocked off, and they wonder if the creature came from whatever dimension the portal leads to. Zarya suggests that they send the creature back through the portal, as they know what's causing it, so they get rid of the creature, then undo the spell safely. Arkayna says that they need to get everyone back to normal right away, but Em points out that Zarya does have a point, and that it will be safer to undo the spell with the monster gone. They manage to get the portal working, and Piper offers to lure the creature back to where the portal is, but Arkayna snaps at her, saying that she would probably end up looking straight into the creature's eyes, turning into a statue. Everyone is surprised by this outburst, and Arkayna breaks down, crying. She apoigizes, and admits that ever since they realized what happened, she's been thinking about her parents being turned into statues. She also admits that she's been having bad dreams sometimes about the Mysticons turning into statues. The others reassure her that no matter what happens, they will face it together.

They continue the plan to lure the creature in, with Piper, Sharise, and Arkayna luring the creature in, while Em and Zarya get the machine ready. Piper almost looks the creature in the eye but looks away last second, avoiding being turned into a statue. Em and Zarya open the portal, and the creature flies in.

Once they return to Gemina, they quickly get what they need to restore Zarya to normal. Queen Goodfey is relieved that they all made it out, but makes Zarya promise to be more careful. Arkayna offers to go and undo the spell, but upon seeing that Arkayna is still shaken up, Em asks if there is anyone else who can, as the statues scared her. Queen Goodfey agrees, and King Darius offers to do it. The Mysticons go to leave, but Queen Goodfey asks if she can talk to Arkayna for a second. She tells Arkayna that it's OK if she's still struggling with them being turned to statues, and that she'll be ther if Arkayna ever needs to talk. Arkayna thanks her and leaves. Before he leaves, King Darius says that it's nice that Arkayna has good friends looking out for her and Queen Goodfey agrees, implying that they know Em asked about someone else saving the people in the cave to help Arkayna.

[lilith-devi-nyx-elsword-theorist]

It took me until now to realize this is "closer" to Angkor's true form.

Are you telling me, this dude can get the most epic handsome design for a Demon Bat God?! If so I want fanarts for the possibilities. Not that 4th jobs are going to happen. If anything

the 4th Job could be an optional thing to do a " Last final step" to finishing the classes story path but granted where Elsword's story is headed we're probably somewhere in the middle because things barely just started happening. It's like a graph in the Elsword story.

It goes up, then it goes down, the tension of the story goes up again in Velder because the Priestess and the El Lady story starts somewhere in the middle ish, but then it dwindles for a moment where the stakes were being weird. Then lowers slightly but at least reasonable to Atlas to Elysion.

The Elrianode story line was great but where it has the line go up, like " Henir's Order is important right here." But lowers it.

the Demon Realm story seems to dwindle on the graph where it wants to be. we go back for a moment in Master Road, only for us to straight back into Demon Realm to fight Berthe, and then " HOLD IT, RANS ARMY IS HAPPENING!" so they go for Tirnog and then to the Abyss story, which they left out a somewhat arc for Chung's Father because they mentioned him he went somewhere so I think they're trying to wiggle in some story arcs for some of the characters and rush it. Ara's whole arc seems to be complete, she has Aren, and Ran is defeated. But Chung his arc is not even done, are we going to end up fighting a Henir Order controlled Helputt?! IDK.

But almost all the goals lined up to " Henir's Order members and the thing that sleeps within the El. But could also probably be another thing. Or the Demon Realms version of the Giant El."

Henir probably isn't even evil it just probably has its own El like it's content with it watching all the chaos that it's not even doing this time, its just a bunch of nutjobs who call themselves the Order of Henir, trying to Kingdom Hearts while not really being the same goal because there's a bunch of Henir Order members.

So how does this all relate to Angkor? Nothing really, because I was just surprised that his human form right now, is "close" to his true form meaning we might get to see him in his true form, maybe like a side thing in the story. maybe a 4th job that everyone can access long as they have Master Class. WHO KNOWS?!

[edalynn]

Another addition: I’ve never liked shipping for the sake of recreating another ship. Like, if that’s one reason you like a ship it’s one thing. But I remember when it was popular to ship Vee with the blonde cheerleader from ep one as Lumity 2, and I could never get behind it since her only appearance had her freaking out at Luz’s antics (and she likely would’ve thought Vee WAS Luz before s3). So h/l being so big when it seems to have been thought up to be Zu/tara 2 is… frustrating.

GOD YEAH, that was such a weird time. I love Vee having a crush on Masha (and most likely being in a relationship with them post show!) because that AGAIN pulls on TOH's tendency to subvert tropes imo. I love as Luz's sister, instead of going for someone like Amity, she goes totally different and goes for the super goth they/them instead. LOVE it.

But yeah, h//l's popularity hinges solely on the fact that ppl see it as New Age zut/ara which was, to be fair, probably inevitable with most people's inability to use critical thinking skills and their lack of media literacy

[dadddybangtan]

Metanoia | ch. thirteen

cw: some violence

word count: 1.2k

a.n. namjin crumbs

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Moonbyul's ramdon turns out to be one of the best meals I've had since my parents kicked me out. My eating style may come off as slightly barbaric now, but I'm sure she understands. I'm hungry and it's good.

My enjoyment is short lived, something I've grown used to while living out here. Agust and Joon burst through the door.

"Get him out." Agust says.

"W-what?"

"You fucking rat, you knew Yangyang worked for that snake?"

"What? No."

Namjoon comes and restrains my arms and drags me off the chair of the island counter. His hold is painfully uncomfortable.

"Agust, stop," Moonbyul spoke up, "We talked. He didn't know. Yangyang lied to him and said he was only working for you."

Agust looks at me and his face relaxes almost instantly. The change stings more than Joon's hands around my arm.

"Let 'im go, Joon."

There's a hesitation before he throws me off of him. He certainly hates me.

"Jimin," He says very softly before reaching out to me, "I'm so sorry. This is- probably the worst date ever."

"I'm sorry, date?" Joon yelled.

Surprisingly, this isn't the worst date I've been on. One day I hustled enough money to take Taehyung and I to a decent restaurant. But he was high on percocet. It was like being on a date with a dead body. The withdrawal afterward was traumatizing.

"Let's just pretend this never happened," Agust says softly, "I'll take you home, okay?"

I panicked. I don't have a home here, I'm in a hotel that he can't know about.

"That's okay, I'll just–."

"I'll take him." Joon said assertively.

My face goes white. Somehow I'm more scared of Joon than I am of Agust.

"If that's alright with you, Jimin."

"Y-yeah."

"Ugh, you guys are so weird," Moonbyul cuts in, "I'm telling you, the problem is gay men."

"That's homophobic."

"Agust, I cannot be homophobic. I am a homo."

"Obviously," Agust roles his eyes, "Joon, I trust you'll make sure Jimin gets home safely."

We look at each other and he stares me down like I'm a bug under his shoe. I gulp at the larger man. Joon truly terrifies me.

"Of course." He says.

The air is tight in his car. Not because he keeps the windows rolled up or because the air itself is particularly stale. It's because Joon sucks the life out of any room he's in. He's so suffocatingly rigid that it's hard to breathe.

"So," He clears his throat, causing me to jump in place, "Remember the car you got into last night? I traced the license plate number."

My stomach churns and my muscles freeze. I'm screwed. Jin is screwed. I swallow a big lump in my throat before he continues.

"Who are you," He asks sternly, "And why are you here with Jin?"

"I- I can't answer that."

"Let me ask again: who the fuck are you and why are you here with Jin?"

"I'm not fucking him if that's what you're getting at."

He slams the breaks hard, sending me forward and banging my head on the dash.

"Fuck." I groan.

"Answer the question." He continues driving.

I rub my forehead in pain, feeling a bump forming. I can't find a lie to tell to keep our cover. He doesn't like me, but he loved Jin. He may still love him since they were forced to separate.

I'm sorry, Jin, for what I'm about to do.

"I think it'd be better for you to hear it from Jin."

"And why's that?"

"It's been three years since you've spoken, right?”

Joon holds his breath. Not a sound is heard from him. He slightly readjusts his hands on the wheel.

"We're staying at The Ara."

I know that telling him our location has significant danger in it. But I have a theory and a plan to match. Joon is smart enough to put the pieces together. He knew the car belonged to Jin. He found out Yangyang worked for JK. And they're both heavily involved with me. He knows I'm not as innocent as I say I am.

But there's a reason he didn't tell Agust and have me "relocated" like Yangyang. The reason is Jin. And if Jin explains the plan, we may be able to get Joon in on it as well.

I open the hotel room door and Jin is sitting on the edge of his bed. He perked up when he heard us come in.

"Jimin, wh-."

The look on his face is one I don't think I can forget. His gaze fell just above my head, eyebrows begging and mouth parted. I haven't seen him like this. He looks like he could cry. I wouldn't blame him if he did.

"Joon," He stands, "What're you doing here?"

I let Joon step ahead of me. He's slow and suddenly less confident than I remember. He dips his head and slouches as if he doesn't want to be seen. As if he's ashamed.

"I saw the license plate on your car." Joon says softly, "What're you doing here, Jin? I know you remember what Agust said."

"I know," Jin shakes his head in shame, "I can't tell you."

"That's what Jimin said. Jin, please just tell me what's going on. You know you can trust me."

As Joon inches closer, Jin freezes. Only Joon has the power to frazzle Jin. And only Jin has the power to soften Joon. They are each other's only weakness. Like kryptonite.

"Please, Jin. If you tell me, I can find a way to help you make it out alive."

"But if you know and let me do it, you won't make it out alive."

Joon looks back at me. A pitiful look, really.

"Are you guys here to kill Agust?" His voice gives out towards the end, like he can't believe what he just said aloud.

A heavy, shaky breath escapes Jin before he nods.

"Fuck, Jin," the stress in his voice is apparent, "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"I didn't have a choice and you know that." Jin shook.

"So he has Jimin doing it and you helping him?"

Jin nods.

"I can't let you do this."

"But if I do," Jin reaches out his hand, snakes it underneath Joon's and latches on, "We finally can be together... Don't you want that?"

He follows my plan exactly without me having to tell him. All we need now is for Joon to take the bait.

"Jin, I want that more than anything. But you don't understand. If JK kills Agust and takes over Daegu, this city will fall."

"Let it fall," Jin says lowly, "Be with me."

"I really, really wanna say no. I wanna be a good friend. But after what he did..." Joon pauses and takes a step closer to Jin, lifts his free hand up to the other man's cheek, "After what he made me do... I'll help you."

His voice is chilling, not because it's necessarily scary. It's because he means that with every inch of his being.

Jin and Joon embrace each other in a way I haven't seen before. Joon holds him like he's a soldier coming back from the war. Jin latches on as if he's lucky to be alive. Despite their daily death threats, they truly survived the agony of being apart.

I want to be happy for them, but I can't. All I feel is jealousy and envy.

[tr0ubl3d-tr4n53nd3r]

So I have this sim I play in my legacy challenge, and her whole thing is kinda about how she has a whole hair journey, and since I have no (good) wifi on my computer, here is her whole hair journey to date.

(you may know her from the handheld ports of the sims 2... Ara Fusilli!!!!)

Ara had finally moved into a house away from her father, she look very similar to how she did as a teenager, except her hair grew out a bit for her wedding. at this point she felt like her life was complete, but felt kind of lost.

Ara and Lazlo have been married for a while now, and they finally decided to have their first kid. During her pregnancy she usually put her hair up so that it wouldn't be too much of a disturbance. At this point she was unemployed, and pretty much depressed, but anticipating the arrival of Reggie.

Despite her hair barley changing, this part of her life is important to mention. (this version is her og hair but without the little bit braided). She gave birth and her entire focus in life was dedicated to her son. At her roomates wedding she contracted a deadly disease, and ended up missing his whole childhood.

While being blocked away from the whole world, with nothing to do but read and cry to herself alone about how much she is missing out on she went insane. She tore hair out of her head and it got tangled, and choppy. The room she was social distancing in was wrecked. Everything that made Ara, Ara was gone.

Through her time with the disease she damaged her hair more and more. The agressivley red box dye she always put in it started to fade, and eventually she died on christmas day... kinda. The whole time she was like this Grim was just kinda like "Oh. poor kid. I guess I'll resurrect her" (she is unlucky btw). After her revival she started a life of crime... then got to thinking.

When Ara made the connection that she literally evaded death she tried to reinvent herself. A pass time that she once did casually as a kid (painting) became her whole job. during the time she had the disease, her roomates started earning so much money, that being an artist was honestly a safe career choice. Her hair was so matted and torn out that she had to shave it, which terrified her at the time but she grew to love it as a mark of new beginnings.

Because she missed so much of her own children's life, and her roomates were so busy working all the time, she decided to help them raise their own kids, solidifying them a house for their entire childhood. She practically became a second mother to Lemon Delossantos. Her hair grew a little and she dyed it red again.

Because she spent so long taking care of the kids, her hair started getting really uneven and patchy, and she decided to embrace that. This is the beginning of her really figuring out who she is. (also her hair is starting to fade back to brown a little.)

As she watched the children she basically raised as her own (And Reggie) grow up right before her eyes, she realized that she wasn't young anymore. She couldn't participate in trends young teens did- so she went retro. Around this time her art started getting more classical, some even being displayed in museums.

On the 28th anniversary of her close call with death, she started to see her husband's hair greying. She always knew he was older than her, but up until now she didn't really realize what that meant. She got much closer with her husband and son, and made sure to spend the remaining time she had left with them... well... with them. Alot of this period of her life was surrounded with death. Her brother In laws Vidcund and Pascal, Sister-in-laws Penelope Redd and Jenny, her father. Her hair doesn't reflect that too much, but she does just let it grow out, and keep dying in her signature red color.

On that same christmas Lemon and Reggie got engaged (No that isn't weird because we'll just say that Ara was a good mother-in-law figure for her), and did a celebratory woohoo, where they got pregnant with Cheddah' and Camembert, twin boys who take after their mother and paternal grandfather in being handy (for some reason) and she had to start dealing with the idea that she is a grandmother. Around christmas time as well, Orange had a kid of his own, him being the youngest of the three in the house really set things into perspective. Jean Luc (her lowkey annoying washed up celeb of a roomate who gets his french 'oui oui' out of his pants every five minutes) was starting to fall ill (he's about 78) and had to be admitted to the hospital. His life looked bleak, setting him at about one or two years (days in game) left to live. His wife was aging as well, at about 70 years old, and her husband not too far behind, and she started to realize that she herself was old. Sure she missed 10 years to illness... which places her mentally at about 39, but truthfully she is 49. She only has about 30-ish years left of her life, and she wanted to calm down a bit. She dyed her hair back to brown and even added greying streaks to make her look her age. She wants to make sure to be a good grandma to her grandkids. She doesn't want them to miss out on a grandma (or as she would differently word it herself) like Reggie did.

Currently that is all, but from my brain she has about two more hairstyles left before death so thats fun!

[twoidiotwriters1]

Almighty (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: I didn't add Percy's new book to the plot but let's imagine Ara was there and she dissociated big time -Danny Words: 2,935 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Chapter

X: Yes Boy, Give Us Nothing!

Ara stands next to Apollo and Meg, looking down at camp with a loving expression, she loves this view... if only she could keep it safe and sound forever.

"How come I've never heard about this place?" Meg says in awe. "Do you need tickets?"

"It's harder for satyrs to find you if you live in the streets, so... if your godly parent isn't looking for you..." Ara doesn't want to discourage Meg, the fates will take care of that later. "Don't worry, being yourself is enough to get a spot here."

Peaches bites off a patch of grass and spits it out growling. "He doesn't like the taste of this place," Meg informs the other two.

"It's alright, I'm giving you a free pass as long as you promise not to kill any nature spirits or demigods living inside, Peaches," Ara raises a brow questioningly.

"Something doesn't feel right," Meg comments anxiously. "Those woods... your brother said they were wild and enchanted."

"That isn't bad. I've spent a lot of time in the forest and I'm okay! Besides, Pollo will keep the dangerous stuff away."

"Who?"

"My lion," Ara steps into the forest.

"You have a lion?" Meg forgets her worry and follows her in, Peaches moves forward reluctantly and Apollo hurries to catch up.

"Yeah, you'll love him—but tell Peaches to keep calm, Pollo is my baby and I won't hesitate to kill if he tries to hurt him."

"Noted," Meg pats Peaches's head as they keep moving.

Ara whistles, the sound echoing through the trees. She waits five, ten, twenty seconds. "Hmm," she frowns. "That's weird, usually he shows up right away. Maybe he's napping. Don't worry, he'll hear me coming and show up soon. Let's go, the sun is close to setting."

The forest is keeping them away from camp. Ara pauses and scowls at the trees, she's certain they're moving. "Something's up."

Meg sits down with weariness. "I told you..."

"Yeah, but this isn't..." Ara looks around, feeling watched. "Don't freak out."

Apollo huffs. "That is a terrible thing to say."

Ara scowls. "I'm talking to Meg, you shut up. "

"Yes, not freaking out," Meg gestures at her to continue.

"We've had some issues lately," Ara looks around trying to find the right path. "Campers have been going missing... And I think the forest is the reason behind it, but no nymph can shift the forest's paths like this... something else is going on."

"Maybe Peaches can help," Meg turns to her pet. "Hey, can you find us a way out of the woods?" Peaches poofs out of sight and the girl jumps to her feet. "Where'd he go?"

"Perhaps he went scouting," Apollo suggests nervously. "Perhaps we should—" The boy bends over gasping, he lifts his hands and covers his ears.

"What's wrong?" Meg looms over him with concern.

"We can't stay here," Apollo's face pales. "Attend me, mortals!"

"Excuse me?" Meg scowls.

"Uh, I mean come on!"

Ara turns Almighty into a crossbow. "Stay close to me."

Apollo drops to his knees without warning. "Hey! Get up!" Meg stumbles beside him.

"You didn't hear that?" He gasps.

"Hear what?"

The boy faints, taking them by surprise. "Pollo!" Ara calls out again, now truly disturbed by her lion's absence.

"Apollo! Come on! We can't carry you!" Meg whines.

"I can," Ara picks up the boy. He may be as tall as Percy, but he's thinner, so Ara throws him over her strong shoulder without a problem. "Walk ahead of us, Meg."

Apollo's getting her clothes wet, making her shiver in the winter chill, and therefore worsening her mood. He laughs stupidly. "I—I heard—" He squirms around like a fish out of water, hurling them back to the ground. He throws up beside her.

"Dude, what's wrong with you?" She growls, pushing him to the side.

Apollo keeps giggling while Ara pulls him to his feet, she whistles again, harder, and the noise comes out so loud that Meg covers her ears wincing. All of a sudden, Pollo runs into them roaring as if he's been fighting to get through, and she fully believes he did. Ara yanks Meg closer, helping her to climb on the lion's back, gets Apollo next, and then climbs at the very back.

"Fast, boy!" Apollo—the lion—runs forward, the trees moving out of his way as they go. 

Meg is muttering something, eyes tightly closed as she clings to the lion while the trees seem to open a path for them. In a matter of seconds, they go from lost, to running straight into the middle of the amphitheater. The campers stand and salute the moment they spot Ara, and she looks at them with bright, urgent eyes, speaking in a choked voice. 

"We're in trouble."

Apollo slips sideways and lands flat on the grass, he laughs stupidly again. "Oh, hi! I'm Apollo!" 

Ara watches him faint a second time. "He's the real deal, believe it or not." The kids burst into questions and the girl whistles again, so everyone goes silent. "Where's Will?"

"Here!" He rushes up to them while Ara hops off from Pollo's back. "Is he really..."

"He's mortal now, I think he had some kind of breakdown..."

"He was hearing voices," Meg counts as Ara helps her down from the lion.

"Yeah, that," Ara looks down at her. "This is our new camper, Meg. Apollo brought her to us. She's unclaimed—and something tells me that'll change quickly, so you stay with me, kiddo."

"Austin, help me out," Will calls his brother, taking Apollo to cabin seven without asking any more questions.

Ara walks towards the big house, Lily and Nico joining her promptly. "Meg, don't stay behind!" The girl rushes to catch up, Pollo skipping close to them purring loudly. "Nico, you stay on the porch to keep an eye on Apollo, Lily, you're with me."

Ara rubs her brow, a habit that isn't going anywhere anytime soon. She's draped over the couch, with Lily checking her pulse and mumbling in Italian about getting her lemonade.

"I'm sorry Mr. D is not here to welcome you," Chiron tells Apollo once they're settled. 

"Mr. Dee?" Meg questions.

"Dionysus," Apollo clarifies. "The god of wine. Also the director of this camp."

"After the battle with Gaea, I thought Mr. D might return to camp, but he never did. I hope he's all right."

"Ghosted us," Ara mutters, earning a glare from Chiron. "What? It's true, the gods are gone and all we have is this guy," she gestures at Apollo. "And he barely counts."

"I don't know anything," Apollo admits. "I'm a bit behind on the news. I was hoping you could fill me in."

Chiron sighs. "I see...."

Lily places a chocolate in Ara's palm. "Your blood sugar is low, Queen B—what did you find in the forest?"

Ara makes a face. "It's about what we didn't."

"What is your crisis?" Apollo asks Chiron. "You have the same look Cassandra had in Troy, or Jim Bowie at the Alamo—as if you're under siege."

"You know that during the war with Gaea, the Oracle of Delphi stopped receiving prophecies. In fact, all known methods of divining the future suddenly failed."

"Because the original cave of Delphi was retaken," Apollo says, unable to meet their eyes.

"Oracle of Delphi," Meg teases Seymour the leopard, and Ara pulls her hand away shaking her head discreetly. "Percy mentioned that."

Chiron looks at her. "Percy was with you? Where is he now?"

Ara and Apollo recount their adventure and the girl mentions having to be home before dinner, so she asks for permission to take Blackjack. Chiron agrees, though Lily makes a face of disapproval, she doesn't want her to leave in the middle of such chaos.

"Percy said he would drive out this weekend if he could," Apollo adds.

"At any rate," Chiron speaks tiredly, "we hoped that once the war was over, the Oracle might start working again. When it did not... Rachel became concerned."

"Who's Rachel?" Meg asks.

"Rachel Dare," Apollo explains. "The Oracle."

"Thought the Oracle was a place."

"It is."

"Then Rachel is a place, and she stopped working?"

"The original Delphi was a place in Greece. A cavern filled with volcanic fumes, where people would come to receive guidance from my priestess, the Pythia."

"Pythia." Meg snorts. "That's a funny word."

Apollo looks at Ara pleadingly but she doesn't silence the girl, she looks at Meg with fondness. Ara was just like her at that age. "Yes. Ha-ha. So the Oracle is both a place and a person. When the Greek gods relocated to America back in... what was it, Chiron, 1860?"

"More or less."

"I brought the Oracle here to continue speaking prophecies on my behalf. The power has passed down from priestess to priestess over the years. Rachel Dare is the present Oracle."

Meg hums, taking a cookie. "Mm-kay. Is it too late to watch that movie?"

"Yes," Apollo continues impatiently. "Now, the way I gained possession of the Oracle of Delphi in the first place was by killing this monster called Python who lived in the depths of the cavern..."

Ara spaces out, as usual. Meg is inquisitive as any little demigod, and Ara doesn't mind it, but she's got too many things going on at the moment, so she lets the adults explain while she organizes her mental turmoil. Priorities, priorities, what the hell is happening with the camp's forest?

"So where is Rachel Dare?" Apollo pulls Ara out of her thoughts. "Perhaps if I spoke with her...?"

Chiron glances at Ara and Lily. "Rachel planned to visit us during her winter vacation, but she never did. It might not mean anything...."

"Or?"

"Or it might be part of the larger problem. Prophecies are not the only things that have failed. Travel and communication have become difficult in the last few months. We haven't heard from our friends at Camp Jupiter in weeks. No new demigods have arrived. Satyrs aren't reporting from the field. Iris messages no longer work."

"Iris what?"

"Two-way visions," Apollo explains quickly. "A form of communication overseen by the rainbow goddess. Iris has always been flighty..."

"Except that normal human communications are also on the fritz," Chiron continues. "Of course, phones have always been dangerous for demigods—"

"Yeah, they attract monsters," Meg nods. "I haven't used a phone in forever."

"A wise move. But recently our phones have stopped working altogether. Mobile, landline, Internet... it doesn't seem to matter. Even the archaic form of communication known as e-mail is strangely unreliable. The messages simply don't arrive."

"Did you look in the junk folder?" Apollo asks.

"I fear the problem is more complicated. We have no communication with the outside world. We are alone and understaffed. Ara goes back and forth between camp and the city almost daily, you are the first newcomers in almost two months."

Apollo looks at Ara with a scowl. "You and Percy failed to mention this."

"I didn't know at which part of your bitching it was right to interrupt and tell you the world no longer revolves around you," she replies with a straight face.

Chiron speaks before Apollo can curse her. "Winter is normally our quietest time. For a while, I was able to convince myself that the communication failures were nothing but an inconvenient happenstance. Then the disappearances started."

"The disappearances, yes. Ara did mention that. Tell me about those."

"Three in the last month," Chiron lists while Ara munches on a cookie angrily. "First it was Cecil Markowitz from the Hermes cabin. One morning his bunk was simply empty. He didn't say anything about wanting to leave. No one saw him go. And in the past few weeks, no one has seen or heard from him."

"Children of Hermes do tend to sneak around," Apollo nods.

"At first, that's what we thought. But a week later, Ellis Wakefield disappeared from the Ares cabin. Same story: empty bunk, no signs that he had either left on his own or was... ah, taken. Ellis was an impetuous young man. It was conceivable he might have charged off on some ill-advised adventure, but it made me uneasy. Then this morning we realized a third camper had vanished: Miranda Gardiner, head of the Demeter cabin. That was the worst news of all."

Ara stiffens. "Miranda's missing?"

Lily glares at the plate of cookies as if they're to blame. "We don't know how it happened, no one heard or saw anything, and believe me, we've tried."

"Why is that the worst?" Meg asks with curiosity.

"Miranda is one of our senior counselors," Chiron explains. "She would never leave on her own without notice. She is too smart to be tricked away from camp, and too powerful to be forced. Yet something happened to her... something I can't explain. Something is very wrong, Apollo. These problems may not be as alarming as the rise of Kronos or the awakening of Gaea, but in a way I find them even more unsettling, because I have never seen anything like this before."

"These demigods..." Apollo shifts awkwardly in his seat. "Before they disappeared, did they act unusual in any way? Did they report... hearing things?"

Chiron glances at Lily and Ara, and they both shake their heads. "Not that we're aware of. Why?"

"It seems to me, that our first priority is to bend all the camp's resources to helping me regain my divine state. Then I can assist you with these other problems."

Ara leans forward ready to strangle him, Chiron places one hand on her shoulder while stroking his beard with the other. "But what if the problems are connected, my friend? What if the only way to restore you to Olympus is by reclaiming the Oracle of Delphi, thus freeing the power of prophecy? What if Delphi is the key to it all?"

"That makes sense," Ara speaks. "Which brings the question: Should I help this ninny?"

"Yes!" Apollo argues. "In my present state, handling this alone is impossible. Right now, my job is to serve this demigod, probably for a year," he points at Meg. "After I've done whatever tasks she assigns me, Zeus will judge that my sentence has been served, and I can once again become a god."

Meg shrugs. "I could order you to go to this Delphi place."

"That would be very wise, Meg," Ara's ready to slip charmspeak into her words, but Apollo intervenes.

"No!" He squeaks out. "You should assign me easy tasks—like starting a rock band, or just hanging out. Yes, hanging out is good."

"Hanging out isn't a task."

"It is if you do it right. Camp Half-Blood can protect me while I hang out. After my year of servitude is up, I'll become a god. Then we can talk about how to restore Delphi."

"Apollo," Chiron tries to reason, "if demigods keep disappearing, we may not have a year. We may not have the strength to protect you. And, forgive me, but Delphi is your responsibility."

"I wasn't the one who opened the Doors of Death and let Python out!" Apollo exclaims. "Blame Gaea! Blame Zeus for his bad judgment! When the giants started to wake, I drew up a very clear Twenty-Point Plan of Action to Protect Apollo and Also You Other Gods, but he didn't even read it!"

Ara stands up, not losing her composure, but looking very capable of murder. "You jumpstarted this mess by telling Percy my prophecy before time—you gave Octavian your blessing!"

"Only one out of those two is maybe my doing," he stands up too. "And from what I remember, you weren't complaining until you got the real workload—which comes off a bit unprofessional."

"I still think it's your fault," Meg tosses another chunk of a cookie to Seymour, who stirs and growls. "Hey, look! He's awake!"

Chiron moves on his chair—staying in between Ara and Apollo—and points at something. "My dear, in that jar on the mantel, you'll find some Snausages. Why don't you feed him dinner? Apollo and us three will wait on the porch."

He glances at her. Enough. Ara glares at Apollo, turning around with Lily following close, glimpsing at Apollo torn between annoyance and concern.

"She's just like you," Lily nudges her arm. "Meg."

Ara tries to smile. "Don't worry, she just needs some guidance and soon enough she'll be nothing like me."

"Then it's great that she ran into you."

Ara looks at her without understanding. "Is it?"

"You can guide her," Lily rolls her eyes when Ara wrinkles her nose. "Don't give me that look..."

"Tell me," Chiron comes out with Apollo. "What did you hear in the woods?"

Apollo claims a voice asked him to search for them, someone whom he's not sure could actually be real, and considering how creepy and overly hostile the woods were, Ara can't differ.

"We will have to warn the campers to stay away from the forest. I do not understand what is happening, but I still maintain it must be connected to Delphi, and your present... ah, situation, Apollo. The Oracle must be liberated from the monster Python. We must find a way."

"Yeah, Lester," Ara raises a brow. "And you better be quick about it."

Apollo glares at her. A god is above taunting, but he's slowly forgetting his etiquette, fitting more and more into the teenage body he was forced into, and the god Ara worshipped throughout the years, is turning into the one kid in camp she detests.

"Come, come, old friend," Chiron pats the boy's shoulder. "You have done it before. Perhaps you are not a god now, but the first time you killed Python it was no challenge at all! Hundreds of storybooks have praised the way you easily slew your enemy."

"Yes... Hundreds of storybooks," Apollo lowers his gaze. 

A horn announces dinner, and Ara's time to go home. The centaur turns to the girls. "We will talk more later, eh? For now, let's celebrate our god's arrival."

"Yeah, things are about to get better," Ara hums, not wanting to bum out the others. "Gotta leave now, Percy has to go through his manuals..." she shrugs, feeling lost. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Next Chapter –>

Taglist.

@siriuslysirius1107 @ask-giggles1303 @im-planning-something-look @bandshirts-andbooks @coolninjapaper @thewaterlily @whenisthefall @1randomcomic @you-bloody-shank @sunflowergraves @owlalex44 @taylordaughter @typicalsolangelolover @writingmia @espressopatronum454 @slytherinnqueen @orbitingpolaris @obxstiles @ellipsisspelled @thepixiechicksh @ebony-reine-vibes

[grison-in-space]

Weirdly enough, there is also a significant overlap with fascist beliefs. I was trying very hard not to Godwin myself as I was posting because I wanted to engage with ARA in its strongest rather than its weakest forms, but it is worth noting that fascist movements often do also contain a lot of overlapping interest in animal welfare*. (And that's not even tangling with ecofascism, which is its own thing.)

For example, animal welfare* was a major point of organizing and contention for German and Italian fascist movements in the 1930s and 40s, and much of the postwar Neo-Nazi movement was shaped by Savitri Devi, who was a committed activist for the rights of animals for much of her life.

I think this is a consequence of the way that fascism concerns itself with a very emotionally driven mythologized past and fantasized future. Animals are powerful symbols that offer easy ground for that kind of emotional imagination to take root: by being nonhuman and incapable of speech, animals can be imagined to be purer and free of sin and therefore in need of protection against degenerate humans that would violate the natural order. Which humans are degenerate, of course, is a function of whichever fascism you're thinking about.

And then of course you get into the fixation with exploitation. There is a real belief that human interaction with animals is inherently bad, especially if humans derive any benefit from that interaction. Often this is framed in the context of corruption: there's that purity fixation again.

There's a lot of really weird, very Christian subtext in the whole thing: the Edenic concept of humans as fallen and essentially separate from other animals, the obsessive focus on individual purity, both of the self as avoiding the corruption of partaking in exploitation but also of the animal as free from sin... the evangelization of the good news, as I said, and of course the fixation on martyrdom and suffering and innocence. It's not great!

*I am using animal welfare here as a broad term to refer to concern with how animals are treated and reserving "animal rights" or "ARA" for the movement that coalesced in the 1970s around, among other things, the philosophy of Peter Singer.

I'm genuinely sorry, I was really tired and couldn't think of the word that mad pride movements use. I'm new to all of this. I thought you would be more open to it because you've reblogged from radical leftists (anarchists and communists both) within the past couple of weeks and they're all for Veganism afaik. The argument that all brains are different but equal and should be treated the exact same is a primary aspect of mad pride from my understanding, and that speaks to me about animals just having different brains, and that they don't deserve to be exploited and killed for us just because they're different. I'm not spamming people with it, but I was inspired by an ask by a nonvegan and started asking popular bloggers why they weren't vegan to open up conversation and potentially change people's views on animals. If I've made you uncomfortable I'm sorry, though I admit I'm really confused by your standpoint. You do know that the only reason communism hasn't succeeded is because of America? Anyway, sorry again, I'm also autistic and I didn't mean to dismiss your legitimate dietary needs. Can I recommend acti-vegan's posts? While I understand that you can't go vegan, perhaps their blog will at least help you understand our points, they're much more well-written than my asks and they have plenty of legitimate science resources at hand. Thanks for listening, I'll take your advice into account. I'm not trying to not listen, it's just frustrating because so many people say they get it but they don't change, and if they truly got it they would, you know?

Okay, I get that you didn't mean to be offensive, and fuck knows I shouldn't throw stones when it comes to forgetting specific words. (This happens to me fairly frequently; it's a thing.)

The argument that all brains are different but equal and should be treated the exact same is a primary aspect of mad pride from my understanding, and that speaks to me about animals just having different brains, and that they don't deserve to be exploited and killed for us just because they're different.

So yesterday I actually wrote out and then deleted a whole paragraph to the effect of "part of my deep, deep frustration with animal rights activism hooks into my commitment to the phrase 'nothing about us without us,' because I frequently see the same kinds of emotional projection without making the effort to listen to animals on their own terms from animal rights activism groups."

The first thing I need to make clear to you is that this--veganism and animal rights activism (ARA) more generally--is not new to me. I am in my mid-thirties and I have never had a job of any kind that did not revolve around animals in some way, I've spent time in rescue spaces and vets and universities, I'm queer and I have spent most of my life in leftish progressive circles, so it's kind of hard to miss.

Essentially, you are proselytizing to me as if you were a newly baptized evangelical convinced I had never heard of Jesus, because if only I had heard and understood his holy word, I would be converted instantly to his light! It's not any less irritating when the belief system isn't explicitly a religion.

More under the cut, because this one is long.

Disclaimer one: Veganism isn't synonymous with ARA ideology, but it's deeply entangled with it, and ARA ideology drives the movement of veganism as a (theoretically non-religious) ethical decision. And I object very strongly to the framework imposed by ARA activists. When I say I am not vegan, I am saying that I have considered the ethical framework that underpins veganism as an ethics movement and I have deliberately rejected it.

The second piece of context you should know that when I talk about being a behavioral ecologist, I mean that I'm a researcher who works on animals and that my framework is rooted in trying to understand animals in their own natural ecological context, without necessarily comparing them to humans. There's a lot of ways to study animal behavior you might run into, including attempts to understand universal principles of behavior that transcend species (animal cognition) and attempts to understand how to better treat animals in human care (animal welfare). You know Temple Grandin? Temple Grandin is an ethologist (the field that gave rise to behavioral ecology, also focused on animals within their species context) who worked on animal welfare (finding ways to make slaughterhouses less stressful to livestock, among other things).

Third point: my profession also means is that I work directly with animals--in my case, currently mice--and that I do not think research with animal subjects is wrong as long as all efforts are made to ensure maximal welfare and enrichment for the animals involved. This is another major bone of contention politically between my entire field and ARA groups, and you should know that I have also spent my entire professional career under the shadow of, well, people who care strongly enough about those ideas to invade my workspace and potentially seize my animals and "free" them into a world they do not have the tools to survive in.

So there's where I am coming from. Let's get back to what you're saying. Here, I'll quote again in case you have the same crappy short-term memory I do.

The argument that all brains are different but equal and should be treated the exact same is a primary aspect of mad pride from my understanding, and that speaks to me about animals just having different brains, and that they don't deserve to be exploited and killed for us just because they're different.

Point the first: Even within humans, I don't think that all brains should be treated the exact same. Especially in a disability context! After all, what is an accommodation if not an agreement to treat someone differently because they need certain things to access a space? Accommodations by definition fly in the face of this "treating everyone the same" understanding of fairness. I think all (human) brains are equally valuable, and I think all brains are worthy of respect, but I do not think that it's wise or kind of me to assert that everyone should be treated in the same way. For one thing, I teach students. If there's one thing teaching has taught me, it's that a good teacher is constantly assessing and adjusting their instruction to meet students where they're at, identify failures of understanding, and keep the attention of the classroom.

Point the second: animals do have different brains from humans. That does not mean that animals are inferior, but it does mean that they are alien. There's a philosophy paper, Nagel, What Does It Mean to Be a Bat, that you might find illuminating on this front. Essentially, the point of the paper is that animals have their own experiences and sensory umwelts that differ profoundly enough from humans' that we cannot know what it is like to be a different species without experiencing life as one, and therefore we must be terribly careful not to project our own realities onto theirs. That is, our imagination cannot tell us what a bat values and what it experiences. That is why we have to use careful evidence to understand what an animal is thinking, without relying on our ability to identify with and comprehend that animal. I have watched ARA groups deliberately encourage people to shut their reasoning brains off and emotionally identify themselves with animals without considering within-species context for twenty years. This is a mainstream tactic. It is not an isolated event and for that reason alone I would be opposed to them.

Point the third: there is a definite tendency in lots of people to care deeply and intensely about both animals and people who are seen as "lesser" in status--children, poor people, disabled people, etc--just as long as those groups never contradict the good feelings that come from the helper's own assessment of themselves and their actions. In humans, when the "needy" point out that some forms of help are actually harmful, the backlash is often swift and vicious. This is why animals are such an appealing target of support and intervention. They can't speak back and say "in fact, you are projecting my love of this frilly pink tutu onto me, and I think it's uncomfortable and prevents me from walking." They can't say "I kind of like it better when I don't have to worry about getting hit by a car, actually?"

(By the way: this is also why it's offensive to compare disabled people to animals, because this is generally done at least in part to silence the voices of disabled people speaking for our selves and our communities. We have access to language, and we use it, thank you.)

All forms of animal welfare intervention going right back to the founding of the first RSPCA have been incredibly prone to being hijacked by classist, racist, and otherwise bigoted impulses. This is because animals offer an innocent face for defense that conveniently cannot criticize the actions taken by their champions, and they therefore provide a great excuse for actions taken against marginalized members of human society. Think about the very first campaign the RSPCA ever did, which was banning using dogs as draft animals: a use that is not inherently harmful to dogs, which many dogs actively enjoy, but also one that was specifically used by poor Londoners and which in fact immediately resulted in a great butchery of the dogs that Londoners could no longer afford to feed rather than allowing poor people and their dogs to continue working together. No one was, of course, challenging the particular uses of dogs or any other animal favored by the wealthy. This kind of thing is so, so, so common. Obviously it doesn't mean that all interventions to prioritize animal welfare are inherently bigoted, but it does mean that we have to be critical about our choice of challenges.

On top of everything, the animal rights activist movement's obsession with "exploitation" is a function of the idea that humans are sinful or otherwise Bad in how we interact with animals by definition. For example, take the chicken rescue near me that is so obsessed with the possibility that some human somewhere might benefit from an animal in their care that they implant every hen they adopt out with hormonal implants such that the hens no longer lay eggs--a function that is normally a natural byproduct of a chicken's reproductive system, fertilized or not. A mutualistic relationship involves both parties benefiting, and that is the case for an awful lot of human relationships with animals. In general, the idea that associating with animals is a thing that can only harm animals rather than being a trade between two species to enrich one another is all over these groups. It's just so myopically focused on human shame that it prevents practical interventions that might benefit everyone, and often promotes interventions that don't directly benefit animals but sure do make humans miserable. For example, this kind of thinking is why groups like PETA are absolutely awful at effectively rescuing unwanted dogs and cats: they think pets living in "bondage" with humans are an essentially sad outcome, rather than one that might be mutually enjoyed by all parties.

I'm tired and my meds haven't kicked in, so I'm not currently going to handle the communism thing except to point out that while the US absolutely did destabilize a number of leftist regimes in South America and Africa, Russia and China between them have certainly not treated their own people kindly, either (and more so their own client-nations, as with the former members of the USSR). Please do some reading about the Holodomor and Lysenko in Russia (and frankly all of the details of Stalin's regime) and the Cultural Revolution in China in particular. Khmer Rouge might be worth looking into, too. I am not saying the US's hands are clean, you understand, because they are not; they're as steeped in red as anyone else's. What I am saying is that for people living on the ground, communist revolutions have this nasty habit of turning into bloodbaths and arbitrary slaughters. Do not let your distaste for the US's bloodsoaked imperialism (which, yes, is and was bad) let you fall into the trap of becoming a tankie.

And if you don't know what a tankie is, you really, really should take some time to learn.

[anywaymurder]

Parole Performance

Chapter 51

The next morning, Raiden wakes up with a swamp elf staring him down. He explains to Ara that he’d like to go downstairs now - not to leave, but to make breakfast. Ara insists on coming along. Raiden has worked in this kitchen a couple of times over the course of the last week, so the innkeep allows him to whip up some breakfast for his friends, but draws the line at having Ara there as a supervisor, despite his explanation of Raiden currently being on ‘friendship parole’. She promises she’ll keep tabs on Raiden, and the rogue makes it a point to stick his head out every once in a while to loudly announce his continued presence in the kitchen in order to ease his suspicion. 

When Annori wakes up, she asks Kevin to braid her hair and inquires how he’s feeling now that he saw his mom. He says it’s nice, though it’s a bit weird to see her as ‘The Fable’ now. It doesn’t quite match the image he had in his head of who his mother was. Though he does admit it suits her: he’d always thought of her as a strong woman anyway. Annori asks if he’s mad at all, seeing as she did leave him behind. Kevin considers that for a while, but says that most of the anger he felt fell away once he saw her again, and that it helps to know she’d been looking out for him from a distance all this time. Annori commends him for his kindheartedness - she’s not so sure she wouldn’t be angry when she finds her mom. When Kevin finishes putting flowers in her hair, they share a good hug. 

Once they get downstairs, there’s a table set for four with an overabundance of delicious breakfast foods. Seeing Ara and Raiden at the table, Annori asks Ara if he ordered all this food. He says yes, unconvincingly. Raiden then announces that he actually prepared it himself. ‘See it as Making-Up-For-Abandoning-You, part one.’ They briefly consider the food being poisoned, but then decide to trust him enough to taste it, and it turns out it’s very tasty! Enjoying their pancakes and Valgharan toast, they discuss their plans for the day. If they’re gonna attend a fancy party, they’ll need fancy clothes - and money to buy them with. Kevin suggests he could earn some money performing his music, maybe even singing some duets with Nori! She is instantly on board and proposes a concert at the inn tonight. Ara offers that he and Raiden could add some choreography, and Raiden quickly asks how exactly they’re planning on attending that gala anyway. Wild plans arise quickly about poisoning and replacing the band, or posing as waiters. Kevin nervously asks if that would involve murdering the existing waiters, (R: ‘Good gods, I lose sight of you for one week and you’ve changed!’) and Nori loudly protests that she never said murder. Raiden takes it back a little further and asks why they’re trying to go to the gala, again. They conclude that it’s a good place to gather information for the investigation, and also: they just really want to go. They decide that plan A is to ask Findire (who is definitely not Ara’s boyfriend) for an invitation, before considering any of the plans involving poison. When the boat trip is brought up, they briefly summarize for Raiden what happened - with a lot of emphasis on Nori biting Ara’s butt, and them defeating not one but two demons without his help.

Onwards to the money-making plans! Kevin and Annori go to find a good public spot to practice their performance while possibly earning some coin from passersby. She asks him to show her to the shrine for the Wildmother, where she settles down at the foot of the big indoor tree. Annori shares with her all of her complicated feelings about seeing Kevin reunited with his mom, and about Raiden suddenly returning. ‘Thanks for bringing him back, I guess. I’m definitely still angry with him, but I’m glad he didn’t do anything stupid like falling off of a horse and dying.’ She thanks the Wildmother for keeping an eye on them, and uses Druidcraft to make the flowers at the foot of the tree bloom - while Kevin plays a moving, gentle melody that suits this beautifully peaceful space quite perfectly.  

They then leave the shrine to practice their performance in a seemingly very suitable busy square. About half a song in, someone comes up to them and asks them to please not make music in the Temple District today, seeing as there’s a parade coming by here later and they shouldn’t distract from it. The duo quickly leaves to find another spot. (K: ‘Did we almost do a crime just now??’) 

Meanwhile in another part of town, Ara and Raiden wander the streets trying to come up with a way to earn some gold. Ara asks how Raiden usually goes about making money. ‘You gotta stop asking me that, man - you wouldn’t like the answer.’ Ara protests that he doesn’t care about money at all, nor how people come by it, because it is a stupid concept. Raiden explains that he made some money this past week doing small tasks and bits of manual labor around the city, but by far the most efficient source of income had been pickpocketing. When Ara asks how one goes about pickpocketing, Raiden is hesitant at first, feeling like this is the type of stuff he was supposed to avoid while trying to be a more honest person. But he definitely also doesn’t want to upset the delicate feeling of normalcy he has with Ara currently, so he caves and describes to him the basics of the subtle art of pickpocketing. They decide that Ara’s job can be causing a bit of a scene with someone in the crowd so that Raiden can take advantage of the distracted passersby. Raiden stresses that he shouldn’t get too invested in the argument - it’s best to keep it short and sweet. Ara asks if violence is allowed. ‘Mmmmyes? A small amount of violence, like a shove, or… you know what I just pictured about eleven different ways that could go wrong and it’s gonna be my fault. I’m on friend-parole, I can’t afford that kind of mess. Let’s say no to violence for now.’ Ara scans the crowd for someone to argue with, and finds an unsuspecting lady wearing mismatched gloves. He stops her and points this out to her. She claims it’s a fashion statement actually, and he retorts that she clearly knows nothing about fashion. Incomprehensibly, this conversation continues to spiral and not long after, Ara tells her: ‘You are a sad speck of dust floating uselessly in the universe, and it’s baffling that you are allowed to exist.’ The lady tries to leave, ever so slightly brushing Ara’s shoulder to get past, and he decides to radically change his strategy. ‘My lady, this shoulder touch, so close to the ears… in my culture it is a very bold proposal, indeed, and I must say I accept!’ This freaks out glove lady even further, and she quickly removes herself from the situation. Since none of this caused a big enough scene to turn any heads, Ara sits down on a bench and starts loudly lamenting his lost love, woefully reciting swamp elf poetry. It’s definitely not the distraction Raiden had hoped for, but seeing the amount of effort Ara’s put in he feels like he owes it to him to at least try. Thankfully he manages to swipe some coin purses unnoticed. Once all witnesses have moved on, Raiden sits down on the bench next to Ara. A: ‘Did I do well? R: ‘It was… unlike anything I’ve ever seen.’ A: ‘I get that a lot. I don’t know acting - I’m no bard, I’m a middle child!’ Raiden worries what Kevin’s going to think when he hears they Did A Crime, but Ara feels like it might not even come up. Raiden then asks when exactly Ara was supposed to meet up with his not-a-boyfriend Ambassador. Ara responds that he’d said once you’re settled, but what if they had different ideas of what settling meant? He’d better go, to be sure.

They meet up with Annori and Kevin again, who forgot to earn any money at all due to their little location mix-up. But at least the performance is coming along nicely! They ask how it went for Ara and Raiden, who reluctantly admits that they made some good money, but didn’t exactly come by it honestly. Kevin frowns and asks if the people he stole from were at least bad people. R: ‘Well admittedly I didn’t see much of them, but they watched Ara cry and didn’t do anything about it, does that count as a bad person?’ K: ‘Oh my gosh, who made Ara cry??’ R: ‘Ara made Ara cry, it was… He’s a middle child, what can you do?’ They decide to go visit Findire (who is decidedly not Ara’s boyfriend but in fact, a person he barely knows) to ask for an invitation to the gala, but realize that they don’t have his home address. Kevin, who knows the city, mentions that wealthy and important people usually reside in the Radiant Gardens. 

When they arrive at the entrance to the Radiant Gardens, two guards block their path and inquire who they are and what they’re here to do. Annori immediately announces the famous bard Kevin Duckett, here on personal invitation of Ambassador Findire Talthanryl for a living room concert. The guard asks if he has any paperwork of this arrangement. Kevin panics, not doing too well having to lie on the spot like that, and Ara tries to salvage the situation by showing the guards one of Findires hairs that he ?? mysteriously had on him?? Annori tells the guards to just tell Findire that his boyfriend is here. The guards raise an eyebrow, but one walks off to find The Ambassador. While they wait, the other guard says: ‘Sooo… boyfriend, huh? Let’s hope you don’t end up like his last girlfriend.’ The group demands to know more, but the guard refuses to spill the beans - until Ara offers to tell him in exchange what shape the moles on Findires ass are. (Absolutely everybody freaks out hearing this)It’s enough to convince the gossip-guard, who leans in and explains in a hushed voice that during last year’s gala, Findire attended with Pyriel Nimwen, a high lady. But during the party, she was caught having an affair with Fin’s sister. Pyriel claimed she simply mistook her for him, and rumors say everyone was furious. (A: ‘Poison’s back on the menu, it seems!’)

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