#I haven't had the time to put into full scale pieces so I hope this suffices

[legendofrhythm]

PA-PA-PA-PUNCH! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TENGOKU!!!!!!!!!!!!

[waitingongravity]

Alright, so. So there's PLENTY of unfinished business in the Abyssal Hunter storylines.

Let's look at what we know of already and what that could mean:

First off, the stuff that has already been established in previous events: There were three big leaders in the Church of the Deep: Quintus, Amaia, and some other dude who has only been referred to as Him. This Him is acquainted with Specter during her time as an experiment subject. We can pretty safely assume that much like Quintus and Amaia, He will be the one orchestrating the events of next uhhh... event. Besides that, we have Ulpianus and the Last Knight. Those two swam off into the sunset at the end of Stultifera Navis, and we can only assume that they are still hunting seaborn to this point. The curious thing with the Last Knight is that we got to see him plenty in IS3. We know he's a powerful piece of work, and that in true Don Quixote fashion he is unreasonable with. The real question for me is what the hell he's going to do in a world where Ishra-Mla hasn't taken over yet. Will he be more helpful? Proooobably not. Speaking of: ISHRA-MLA. I've seen a lot of speculation over whether Skalter is fully non-canon to the main timeline, or if she is merely an eventuality. Skadi's condition is not looking good, and we haven't really been presented with any possible solutions. Specter is fighting off infection and insanity through her seaborn blood, but Skadi's issue is seaborn in nature. That being said, I'd like to stay optimistic. Skadi's arc has been an upwards one, even if it's only slightly. I'd like to believe that the difference between IS3's timelines and the Canon is that Skadi had more time to grow stronger mentally and emotionally to resist the pull of Ishra-Mla. Or at least stall long enough to find a solution. Of course, this transformation is also affecting Specter and Gladiia. Much like oripathy, they may be doomed, but maybe there's hope for a comfortable life.

AEgir is a nation we know next to nothing about since they're all the way in the Water. An unknown settlement of AEgir was spotted right under the Stultifera, and we know Ulpianus preventing the Hunters' return to AEgir is one of the reasons why the fish apocalypse didn't happen. Whether that is just proximity to the ocean or something in AEgir itself, I think we'll be diving out of Iberia and into that AEgir colony. I doubt we'll go into AEgir proper, but that doesn't mean AEgir won't send its own people out. Okay, now for the operators relevant to all this: The obvious one is Andreana, our lonely cuttlefish. She is essentially a cheap walmart knock-off Abyssal Hunter, so many think that she'd be getting an Alter or some story focus as she goes full fledged (full scaled? Whatever.) While I see that as a possibility, a lot of Andreana's character is just NOT CARING about any of that. She outright rejects the opportunity from Kal'tsit to learn more, and wants to leave her mysterious past behind her. Honestly, I can respect it. My guess is that Andreana might get involved but stay out of it, unless someone (like her employer Incandescence who we've yet to see in-game) gives her a reason to care.

So who else do we have involved in this? Well, Deepcolor is pretty sus, and the only other AEgir operator besides Skalter. I'll be honest, I always thought she was up to no good. Do NOT trust her >:I. There's also the chance she's some loose AEgir agent or something that lost contact after the Great Silence. But I still don't trust. Here's the sleeper pick: Blue Poison! The curious thing about Anura, besides how cute they are, is that they were enslaved by AEgir and brought to Iberia in hopes that their toxins could be a new weapon against the seaborn. This puts Bloopy in an interesting position as both someone with a vested interest. Hell, she could truly be the secret weapon in the event.

With all this in mind, here's my idea for what the event could/should be. Ulpianus can be the new 6 star, whatever he's a loser I don't care about him. More importantly, BLOOPY ALTER as a limited unit. That's right, Andreana can keep her gun, we all know she loves that thing more than anything. Let Bloopy be the first 6 star Arts Defender or something! Or a new Fighter since we know she boxes. I dunno, just make her busted so I can feel vindicated in my love for her. and finally, 5 star... I dunno, some AEgir girl from the settlement under the Stultifera. Give me a manta ray girl! Flat friend. Or angler fish? Hmmmm. As far as the plot, I think it'll be a two-pronged threat. On one end, He and the rest of the Church of the Deep implement a final plan, either relying on the super advanced tech AEgir have, or simply being the culmination of the evolution which has been a running theme for these events. Under Tides saw the seaborn evolve to talk, Stultifera Navis saw them evolve to be incredibly powerful and adaptive. Who knows what we'll see next? As for the AEgir settlement's conflict, I think we could see a next step in the other relevant issue in Iberia: the persecution of the AEgir peoples and the role of the Inquisition in the fight against the sea. I doubt the settlement will be safe for long, so perhaps over the course of the story we will see them integrated into Iberia, and offer their own tech/abilities in exchange for a stronger frontline. Of course, all this is assuming that the settlement isn't just an long-abandoned ruin. I'd also like it if the Doctor actually got involved in this event. Kal'tsit is a given of course, but I think the Doctor's presence might be appropriate for the conclusion of this trilogy. Much how like Lone Trail concluded the story started by Mansfield and Dorothy's Vision, there might be big story turning points at the end of this. And given the forces involved? This wouldn't be surprising. Anyways this was a super disorganized ramble I typed mid-ttrpg session so I'm sure I missed a lot or messed stuff up. I'd love to hear any more speculations, this stuff is very fun to think about.

[my-writings-and-musings]

Do you write for tfa skywarp? I was wondering if you could write something with him as a merformer with a really sweet and small remora mer S/O who will swim up and like- attach onto him and comfort him when he gets spooked or clean his scales? Idk it’s a cute idea to me, a small partner to look out for him < 3

Thank you!

I haven't before but what a great time to start and what a great idea to start with! It turned out a teeny bit angsty but it's mostly hurt/comfort and I hope you enjoy!

You didn't know what had scared him today, but as always, he'd tell you when he was ready. In the meantime, you kept the tiny buffer attachments on your arms running at full speed as you swam along his much larger frame, polishing his scales in a soothing massage. The bigger bot hadn't moved from his spot at the very back of your shared cozy sea cave since he'd swum inside in a panic half an hour earlier, but you didn't mind, and happily allowed him all the time he needed to calm down as always. More than anything, you sympathized with the poor bot as he trembled in his tightly coiled ball of fear.

When he finally calmed down enough to lift his helm for a peek in your direction, you smiled and greeted him with a little wave, buffing the scales around his shoulders to keep encouraging him to relax. The soothing stimulation worked, but as always, he moved slowly. Whatever had scared him this time must have put the big bot on a very precarious edge.

"Hey big bot." you greeted affectionately as you swum around to his helm, buffing his crest just the way he liked. Big red optics continued to keep a close watch on you, but more because knowing you were so close gave him a great deal of comfort. Seeing sadness beyond the fear in their depths, you frowned and allowed your frame to bump against as a gesture of support, hoping to entice him to unfurl and speak to you at last. "Are you okay? What happened?"

He twiddled with a piece of seaweed as he considered your question, raising his helm enough for you to see his sad frown before he spoke. "T-there was a boat, I didn't see it."

You remained quiet so he could continue, pausing your buffing so he knew he had your full attention. Uncertainty kept him quiet a little bit longer, his digits seeking out another piece of seaweed to carefully weave around the first so his servos could spend some of his anxious energy. Whatever he'd been through must have shaken him up quite a bit.

"The humans saw me." he explained, and your spark sunk as you preemptively put some of the pieces together. Bumping into the dominant species had never gone well for the two of you, even if you'd done nothing for months but keep to yourselves and never engaged their endless array of shipping networks. When Skywarp deepened his frown and shivered in residual fear you knew your guess was accurate.

"I tried to swim away, but they opened fire. They m-missed." he explained as he whimpered at the memory, curling back up and hugging his tail to his chassis to hide behind the sizable fin.

"It's not your fault." you soothed as you peeked over his tailfin, encouraging the sizable merformer with a winning smile. Though he didn't brighten, your reassurance did seem to calm him, and Skywarp finally stopped hiding long enough to face you completely. You didn't let your limited size stop you from offering a disproportionate amount of reassurance, and despite being small enough for him to hold on his servos you assumed your usual role of protector quite easily. "How about you stay in the cave tonight? I'll handle scouting for a bit, and we can try to move on to somewhere less crowded."

Skywarp considered your proposal before nodding in confirmation, a small smile of his own pulling on his lips as he swam back to the shelves of stone that had been acting as your shared sleeping space. You puffed up proudly as he got settled beneath the woven blanket of seaweed the two of you had made together for his comfort, waiting until he was comfortable before you swam out into the open ocean to do as you'd promised. No one was going to hurt your beloved mech on your watch. If anyone thought your tiny size made you any less of a guardian, they'd quickly learn just what an unfortunate mistake that was to make.

[the-almighty-gob-john-langley]

Farting, who knew?

Don't ask how I got wind of this, or where my thinking was at the time as I haven't so much as a Scooby Doo. So, I'll put it down to the extreme brain fog I've been experiencing since the onset of my present head cold that saw my nose streaming faster than any Thames Water mains pipe busting out from the A4 road tarmac. Yet, somehow through the delerium of it all the one and only dominant feature of my thought process was farting. I could better understand if it was matters of UK current affairs, Trump v Biden, or the mating ritual of the tsetse fly in the heat of the Swahili valley. But no, somehow it was farting that captured my intrigue.

The fact that my neurodivergent brain works in ways that otherwise normal human beings, by comparison, will process far differently, may act as a pointer under such circumstances. Or, just maybe it was the fact that the scientific formula F = (I x L)S x k (A x g) got me hooked on further investigation. Like who would actually do this, and why? Among the great scientific breakthroughs in history, such as the discovery of penicillin, for example, or the molecular structure of DNA, how would the study of farts further advance humankind?

So, come on, admit it, you're curious too now, right? Even though, in the back of your mind a little voice is telling you this will be the most totally pointless piece of information you'll learn today. Well, apparently, the formula for explaining this to us ignoramuses - of which I'm one, is thus in full form.

F = (I x L)S x k

(A x g)

I = Intensity of the fart (dB)

L = Length of fart (sec)

S = Social embarrassment (rated on a scale of 1 to 3)

k = Number of kids present

A = Age of the listener (years)

g = Gender factor: If female, multiply by 1.05

To be honest, like yourself I've never been one to consider any passing of wind from my rear end in terms of decibels, but I suppose it makes sense. Neither have I ever considered measuring the length of time it takes me to do so by means of a stopwatch, as one would perhaps in a competition with others. There again, maybe I did when I was at school with the other lads. However, it's the sort of challenge I think all schools should introduce in science classes aided by eating certain foods as a prerequisite, especially in the knowledge that an Ofsted inspector happens to be visiting on that day, As that would be one report I'd 'love' to read!

According to 'Australian Mens Health (May 1st, 2021) -

"A video, which was posted by a doctor known under the account name Mad Medicine, claims that in 1998 there was a study done that tried to clarify what was contained in flatulence and what the difference was between men and women.

It revealed that while men fart more wind on average than women, it was the females that had a higher concentration of Hydrogen sulfide, which is the ingredient that makes your farts, well, stink."

Now, if all that wasn't enough for you, read on, as women fart a whole lot differently to men, for which I'll break silence. And, according to Dr Pitcher, it's all to do with the comedic effect of sound.

"A 'gender factor' means that any fart is likely to be found 5% funnier by men than women. Unsurprisingly, age is important with kids finding farts 23% funnier than adults, but with young adults 18-24yr olds being the least amused. The amusement of kids proved infectious with adults scoring sounds 25% funnier when kids are around. Dr Pilcher and her team concluded that socially embarrassing farts are funniest with messy-sounding, wet wind being more awkward than a dry delivery. A fart among friends is far less comic than a TV presenter letting one slip live on air."

Now you know, my friends. I hope you'll sleep a whole lot better tonight for knowing this. As I read back I only wish I'd discovered this on April Fools Day, as for sure, it would have been taken as a prank.

However, all can be verified via the following links. Enjoy -

Dr Pilcher/Bose/Beano - https://bit.ly/3VOlnrN

Australian Mens Health: https://bit.ly/3TRdaQY

[beels-burger-babe]

The Case of the Secret Admirer pt 2

***Wow! You guys really enjoyed part one of this 🥰😅 I'm so happy that everyone is enjoying Teen MC — I certainly love writing them. I hope you all enjoy this part two! -B***

Summary: It started with a single note left found inside your locker one day, and ended with a full-scale investigation backed by all the powers of the Devildom. AKA, You have a secret admirer at RAD and nobody is impressed.

Teen!MC

Part 1

Diavolo, Barbatos and Lucifer sat at a round table — the air heavy and dark with a deadly tone of seriousness that flowed between them.

In the demon prince's hands laid the hideous pink note that, had it not been their only clue, would have long been incinerated by his heated glare. "Does MC know?" he growled lowly.

"They know the letter exists, but not of its contents. Mammon made sure of it," Lucifer reported in a firm tone, his jaw clenched as he looked at the letter.

Barbatos nodded and folded his gloved hands on the table. "Good. We should keep it that way unless absolutely necessary. I assume your brothers' have already been informed about the situation, how do they plan to act?"

Lucifer scoffed, "If they know what's good for them, they'll listen to me and remain uninvolved. I wanted to handle this as quickly and silently as possible. Hence why I contacted the two of you."

Diavolo and Barbatos exchanged a glance. "And," Diavolo spoke with a small smirk, "how do you expect that they'll actually act?"

Lucifer sighed as his shoulders slumped. "They're going to be stupidly protective and utterly obvious about the whole thing. If we want to avoid MC putting the pieces together, I estimate we have until lunch to find the 'secret admirer' and begin the interrogation process."

Barbatos breathed slowly as he processed the situation. "That doesn't give us much time. I can use my abilities to glance back and find the admirer's identity, but it'll take time."

Diavolo gave his nod of approval as he stood. "Get started on that right away. The moment you have a name, I want to know. Then, it's just a matter of finding him and ... having a conversation with the young demon."

Lucifer's phone pinged in his pocket — a groan left his lips as he saw that he had been added to a group chat titled, "the anti-admirer association" by Mammon with five other members. "We'll have to work quickly," he murmured as he showed his phone to the rest of the group. "I'm afraid my brothers' meddling has already begun."

***

For you, this was just another day. As far as you were aware there was nothing planned for the day, and no strange events that would inevitably take a turn into complete chaos were scheduled — by all means the day seemed like it would turn out to be a nice and relaxing one.

You smiled peacefully to yourself as you opened your bedroom door only to come nose to nose with Mammon and Beelzebub.

A sharp scream escaped from your lips as you stumbled back in shock. "Jesus FUCK!" you cursed as you placed a hand over your racing heart. "What the hell are you two doing? Are you trying to kill me?!"

Beel's eyes widened as he quickly shook his head. "No! Of course not! Sorry MC, we didn't mean to scare you so badly. We were just coming to check on you and help you get ready for the morning."

Mammon shrugged as he took note that your breathing had returned to normal. "Don't make a big deal outta nothin'. It ain't our fault you're so jumpy," he smirked as scowled at him. "Someone's gotta wake ya up some how, lazy bones, and now you're awake. Come on. We gotta get ta class."

You huffed as Beel sympathetically patted your back and followed the boys to the foyer. "I could've gotten up and made it to RAD by myself," you grumbled as you crossed your arms over your chest. "Not like I haven't done it before."

Mammon and Beel exchanged a glance over your head as the red head's hand squeezed your shoulder. He smiled innocently down at you. "Just because you've done it before, doesn't you have to do it all the time. I wanted to walk you to class and spend some time with you, and Mammon said he wanted to join too."

"OI!" Mammon shouted defensively as his cheeks flared. "Don't tie me in with your mushy shit. I'm here c-c-cause it's my job! You know as their protector!"

You scoffed affectionately and rolled your eyes. "More like an over protective big brother. Don't worry Mams, I love you too," you and Beelzebub chuckled as Mammon scrambled for an excuse.

As your laughter dwindled and the three of you stepped outside of the House of Lamentation, you couldn't help but frown as you noticed the way Mammon and Beel's eyes scanned around you and how they securely flocked either side of you. You gently tugged on Mammon's jacket and looked at him in concern. "You guys are acting defensive. Does ... Does this have anything to do with that note? Did someone actually send me a death threat?"

"What?!" Beel shouted his head whipping around to look between you and Mammon.

The second born waved off his brother's concern and sighed. "It ain't anythin' like that MC. I told ya, that note was nothin' for ya to worry about."

You hummed in thought. "So you wouldn't mind telling me what it said then?" you quirked an eyebrow as you met his eyes.

Mammon gulped and tensed under your gaze. "W-Well, um, it was just a prank. Nothing serious really. I don't even remember."

You narrowed your eyes at the demon. "I don't believe you," you clicked your tongue and looked back at the path leading to RAD. "I guess if someone's out for me, I'll have to be extra defensive." Mammon and Beel let out a sigh of relief as you walked ahead of them, karate chopping the air to prove your "defensive prowess."

They thought they had escaped the subject of the note and any lingering suspicion that you'd had, but of course, things never went in their favor.

As you settled into your desk in your morning charms class, Asmodeus grinned widely as he perched himself on your desk. "So MC~" he trailed his fingers across the surface of your desk. "You've been attending RAD for a bit now."

You frowned and glanced over at Belphegor, who was sitting in the desk beside you, in confusion. The demon merely stared up at his older brother with glare of both exhaustion and exacerbation. "Um, I guess?" you replied as you looked back over to the Avatar of Lust.

Asmo squealed and leaned forward. "So you've gotten a chance to settle in, maybe get to know people~" he waggled his eyebrows. "I just wanted to let you know, that if you need some time away from the others, maybe get away and have some fun," he winked causing your confusion to grow even more, "Then Big Bro Amso's got your back."

You opened your mouth to voice your confusion, but was stopped as a pencil hits thwacks the side of Asmodeus's head. The demon yelped and whipped around to glare at Belphie.

The younger demon merely shrugged and threw another pencil at him. "Your confusing them and grossing me out. Go be weird somewhere else and get your ass off their desk."

Asmodeus huffed and stood up. "Fine. Just remember my offer, dear!" he blew you a quick kiss before slinking back to his desk.

You raised an eyebrow at Belphie. "What was that all about?"

The demon sighed and buried his head back into his arms. "Don't worry about it. It's adult stuff."

You rolled your eyes and played with one of the pencils that had fallen off Asmodeus and onto your desk. "Everyone's telling me that today."

"Well maybe you should listen to them," Belphie spoke dryly as he peaked over at you from the corner of his eyes. He snickered as you stuck your tongue out at him. "Brat,"

"Jerk," you fired right back. Despite the harsh nicknames, the two of you shared an affectionate smile as the teacher made their way to the front of the class.

An hour later, the bell rang and you made your way over to History of the Devildom with Satan and Leviathan.

Normally, it was Levi who made it difficult to focus in class. The two of you would whisper about whatever show you were watching together and exchange doodles. Satan would smack the both of you on the back of the head and hiss at you to pay attention.

Today, that was not the case.

In a rare change of events, you were actually trying to focus on what your teacher was saying, but the intense stare driving into your skull was slowly grating at your nerves.

You groaned and glared over at Satan, "What?" you snapped quietly. "Is there something on my face?"

He pursed his lips and slid a piece of paper over to you. "I need you to answer these questions ... please."

You narrowed your eyebrows at him in confusion before unfolding the page. Staring back at you was a detailed question, not too dissimilar from the questions Lucifer asked you last night, asking about your time at RAD, things you've noticed, and your experiences with your class. You huffed as Levi leaned over your shoulder and read the questions with an equally confused expression. "What is this?" you asked.

"Just a questionnaire that the exchange students need to do ... Lucifer asked me to hand it to you," he muttered in response, his eyes glancing back at the teacher.

Levi nose scrunched up at the statement. "Since when do you actually do what Lucifer tells you?"

Satan sent a pointed glare over to his brother. "Since it concerns MC," he hissed quickly. His gaze softened as it flickered back down to you. "Just answer it, please. The sooner you can get it back to me, the better."

You frowned as you slid the paperback to him, "No need. Lucifer asked me most of these questions last night."

"That's what he disturbed the sanctity of game night for?!" Leviathan shouted in appalment.

"Leviathan, is there something you'd like to share with the class?" The millennia old professor in the front of the asked dryly. The three of you instantly sat at attention, and you quickly shoved the piece of paper towards Satan.

"N-No sir," Levi stuttered as his face flushed. The teacher huffed and slowly turned back to the board to continue their class. You noticed Satan's frown deepened as he stared at the empty questionnaire in front of him. You shook off the weird behavior and turned your attention back to the class.

The day only weird when the class ended. You gathered your things and walked out the classroom, ready to head to your locker for and switch out your things before the small break you had between classes, when you noticed Mammon, Beelzebub, Belphegor and Asmodeus all out there waiting for you.

You face palmed as you felt Satan and Leviathan come to a stop behind you. "Okay. What is going on?" you asked in annoyance. "What is with you guys today?"

"No, I agree," Levi added as he glanced at his brothers. "You're all acting weird. Did I miss something?"

The others' eyes widened — some in panic at your tone and the rest in realization at Levi's question. Asmodeus smirked and stepped forward to speak, but before any words could leave his mouth, Beel wrapped an arm around his waist and a hand around his mouth — easily restraining and silencing his brother as he smiled at you. "It's nothing," his eyes drifted over to Levi where they flickered down to the demon's phone and then pointedly back to his eyes.

"Mhmm," you hummed sarcastically as you began to walk towards your locker. "Real convincing."

Belphie groaned as he lightly jogged to catch up to you. "We're handling it, alright?" he spoke seriously as he glanced over at you in concern. "You're safe. They're just being morons like usual," he taunted clearly trying to get a laugh or at least a smile from you.

He winced as you looked back at him with a sharp unimpressed expression. "Wouldn't it be better if I knew, so I knew what I'm supposedly being protected from?"

"Not in this case," Mammon spoke up from behind you. You stopped walking and turned to face the others. "Honestly, nothing will probably come of this. We're just bein' extra cautious."

You cocked your head and pointed behind him. "Then why is Levi paler than Casper the friendly ghost and looking like he just ate a heaping of Solomon's cooking while reading whatever Beel texted him about what's going on?"

Satan shook his head and stared at the ceiling in ire. "MC please just-"

"Guys." Beel cut off as his sharp, hyper-focused stare — the gaze of a predator — fixed on something behind you.

You peaked over your shoulder to see a young, black-haired demon pulling their hands away from your locker with a satisfied look on their face.

Lucifer suddenly rounded the corner, walking quickly with a determined aura as he stormed past the group of you. "That's him," he said coldly as he brushed by.

"Shit." Mammon breathed before rushing past you to get to his brother's side.

You could only watch in bewilderment as the brothers' collectively rushed over to this poor, strange demon — that you could've sworn you recognized from somewhere — and grabbed him by the arms before slamming him against the wall.

"Ajax Floyd?" Lucifer questioned as he stood in front of the terrified student, Beelzebub and Satan securely pinning him down. The eldest removed a familiar pink note from his cloak, inner pocket and held it between his two fingers. "I believe this is yours?"

The demon gulped as he anxiously looked at the brothers. "L-Look, I didn't mean any harm. I-I-I just wanted to try to talk to them. G-Get to know them a little more."

Mammon growled lowly, causing the student to whimper and cower as closely to the wall as he could. "Based on that note, I'd say you wanted to do a little more than that, huh?"

"And there's nothing wrong with that!" Asmo chirped, ignoring the glares he received from the others. "I mean, personally, I think they could do a little better than you. You'd need a little sprucing up here and there, just by the look of things, but good on you for shooting your shot! Must be some brave, little man~" he teased with all his usual sensuality.

Belphie elbowed his older brother in the ribs. "Stop. This is serious. Remember what Mammon mentioned last night. We don't know the first thing about this guy or his intentions with MC."

Ajax, as it were, seemed to have gathered a little courage from Asmodeus's backhanded compliment and puffed his chest a little. "Exactly! You don't know anything about me and h-here you are treating me like a criminal for even asking to get close to them! I know you didn't let them see the note! How about you let MC decide for themself whether or not I'm good enough for them?!" he snarled fiercely.

Leviathan opened his mouth to retort the demon's claims when the damning sound of an un-oiled locker door opening rung through the hall.

While the outrageously over-protective demons were having their little showdown, you had quickly grown bored of the pathetically common display and had decided to gather your things to walk yourself to class and ignore whatever was going on for the time being.

Everyone's breath hitched as your door swung open and another pink note fluttered out. Ajax couldn't help but grin as you caught it and slowly unfolded it.

"Another one?" you muttered to yourself. "Dearest MC, I sincerely hope that this note gets to you. I'm aware that your wards won't approve of my reaching out to you, but my heart tells me to persist..." you snorted and shook your head. "What is this Shakespeare?"

Beel frowned at the reaction and slowly leaned down to his still, shell-shocked brothers. "Is Shakespeare a compliment or an insult?"

Satan gritted his teeth, "Considering he's known as 'The Bard' in the human world and wrote one of the most recognized love stories of all time, most likely a compliment, now shush!"

"Should I be so lucky that this note reaches your hand, I wanted to confess to you. I admire you greatly and was hoping that we could get to know each other better. To put it plainly, I love you MC, and want to make you happy ..."

"That's so sweet!" Asmodeus cooed, earning him another sharp jab from a scowling Belphegor.

"If this interests you. If would just give me, give love, a chance, then I hope to meet with you after school, in the gardens behind RAD. I'll be waiting. Love, your secret admirer."

Time froze as you finished the letter, your brows furrowed as you absorbed what you had just read. "Falling in love?" You began questioningly, and Ajax felt his heart flutter with hope.

That hope was shattered as a snort suddenly came from you and carelessly crumpled up the note and tossed it behind your shoulder. "Cringe!" The group watched with jaws dropped as you lazily shut your locker and began to walk away. "I'm heading back to class. Meet you losers there when you're done with your little manliness contest."

Asmo winced at your lack of tact and turned back to the group sympathetically. "Let him go, boys," he patted Lucifer shoulder as Mammon and Beel dropped the now heartbroken and confused demon. "MC just did more damage to his poor soul than any of you ever could."

*** And that's a wrap! Thank you all for reading this fic and supporting me! You're all the best and I love you all dearly! Let me know what you think of Teen MC! Should I write them more often? -BW ***

TAGLIST

@alyssatjuhhh @obeythebutler @chirikoheina @idiotic-canadian @darkfaethedestroyer @fudgemallowmaniac @ice-icebaby @lovelyaudrey @fangirlinindia @littleloliii @bumbowumbo @satans-athenaeum @thegrimgrinningghost @henry-and-the-seven-lords @satans-beloved-riv @cosmixbun @sufzku @obey-mes-treasure @kissed-by-a-dementor @snowcandyz @justtiarra @mammoneybb @poly-bi-mf @burrixino @rul-of-demise @pumpkins-mainside-blog @acousticpen @sucker-for-angst-and-fluff @itskrispy @10paradox10 @vallison-rea @ivoryclive @newfangled-artistry @pumpkinpatchkid

[thinkingisadangerouspastime]

1, 2, 3, 8, and 11 for the writers ask game! 👀

1. do you know how you want the story to end when you start, or are you just stumbling through the figurative wilderness hoping to find a road?

most of the time, i know at least the Gist of how a story will end as i start writing it. things can and do change during the writing process, but because i have a history of Not Finishing Fics, i am now loathe to commit myself to writing (much less posting) a story if i haven't at least outlined the way in which i expect said story to end. and that's especially so for multichaps! with oneshots, im a little more flexible, mostly because there's fewer threads of continuity to keep straight lolol

2. talk about a notable time a narrative or character has looked you dead in the eyes and said “fuck your plan, here’s what we’re actually doing.”

oooooh this is tough! mostly because my memory is terrible rip

well, in this thing of darkness (i acknowledge mine), there's an upcoming plot development that i can't speak too directly of (since it's not posted yet lol), but i can say it was not something i had planned from the start, and i think it opens doors for me in the potential sequel(s) i want to write someday re venom's motivations as a character. ALSO, re if memories could fade away (an mj bday fic i wrote), that story was supposed to be a little mj&ned friendship piece that exploded into something which toes the line between prose and poetry and tentatively offers a backstory for mcu mj (who currently lacks but very much deserves actual depth as a character). simply put, i am not immune to the power of michelle jones-watson

3. on a scale of 1-10 how much do you enjoy incorporating romance into the average story?

depends on the fic! i think my mjflash plot in this thing of darkness (i acknowledge mine) adds a lot to the narrative im constructing, but i also think including mjflash in Walls or kataang in my children will listen series, for example, wouldn't have benefited either story, hence why they're gen fics

8. what’s your relationship with constructive criticism and feedback like? do you seek it out? how well do you take it?

i Love constructive criticism (it's the only way for my writing to improve!) and i like to think i take it well, but only when i ask for it, and note that i only ask for feedback a) from my friends and professors and b) on original writing and academic work. fanfic is a hobby for me, i am not getting paid, and im sorry but i just don't want criticism on something i only do for fun 😂 like i cannot FATHOM the arrogance a person must possess to leave unsolicited criticism on a story they are literally getting FOR FREE!! what!! imagine going to a free orchestral concert and telling one of the violinists afterwards why you think they played x, y, and z badly. HELLO??? IT'S SO RUDE??? now, it's totally different if an author requests critical feedback, of course, but when they don't??? this is my biggest pet peeve fr, especially bc there's no way to be totally sure how old a fanfic writer is, if the language their writing in is their first language, how long they've been writing, etc. etc. if people had left some of the "critical" comments i've seen across fics on the work i was writing at 12, i promise you i might not be writing fic today!

in sum: i love concrit, just not regarding my hobbies

11. what’s something neat you’ve learned while doing research for something you were writing? also, how much do you worry about doing research in general?

butterfly kisses is full of bug facts i researched, including that when left on a car in the heat for too long, the dead bodies of love bugs are so acidic they can erode the paint (not so much now bc car paint is made to withstand that, but still). for match point, i did a lot of googling about what people need to wear when riding motorcycles (and ended up having to disregard several things bc Plot, but i was very intrigued by the fact that many motorcyclists have custom-made boots).

overall, i don't Hugely worry about research for my fics. if something needs to be researched, i'll do so, and if nothing does, then nothing does, yk? i tend to be more focused on character dynamics and introspection in my writing, meaning i rarely find myself needing to research, for example, worldbuilding (if that makes any sense lol)

[cosmic-aria]

3, 30 & 40 for the figure ask game!

Thank you for the ask!! <3 <3 <3 3. what is your favourite figure you own? This is a REALLY tough one, honestly it's a tie between two, both of which are missing parts but i am so attached to them i don't even care. One is my most expensive and largest figure: my 1/8 scale Ultimate Madoka (who lost her arrow), and the other is an inexpensive little FFX Shiva figure who has a piece of her hair broken off. Both are ones i have had for a long time and come from media that made a huge impact on my life and that i still love to this day.

30. how do you display your figures? Used to have a bookshelf specifically for my figures and I'd have them all set up to have the nicest viewing experience from any angle (this was also back when i had 150 DBZ figurines as well as the rest of my other non-dbz figurines, so yes it did fill up the whole bookshelf). But then my shitty old bookshelf had to move house too many times and literally fell apart. And since i last moved 3 years ago i haven't been able to unpack most of my boxes cause i have what the kids call "trauma" around moving house. Plus no new bookshelf to put them on yet. So sadly all except a select few are away in storage until further notice. 40. do you have any controversial figure opinions?

Look if you like, for example, cute anime girls and you want a wall full of cute anime girl figurines? just go for it. Collecting should be about what you love, so just buy that 5th homura figurine, you deserve it. The other part of this opinion which i hope ISN'T controversial, if the thing you want to base your entire personality around is hentai or gore related, please have a private area in your room to keep those. don't invite strangers over to your house and have graphic figures on your fucking mantle, not everyone wants to see that!

[topweeklyupdate]

TØP Weekly Update #142: A Formidable Album (5/21/21)

So... how 'bout that album release week?

There's so much to cover; the release of nine new songs, the hype that's building for the World's Best Band to return to the stage, and (if we're able to come up for air) the massive speculation of what the future brings for our band.

I'm gonna get right into it, laying out my thoughts regarding this bold new album and covering all the most notable news from the week. I'll be sharing my (mostly) positive opinions about Scaled and Icy under the Read More line; I hope they're the start of a fun conversation with all of y'all who have stuck around through this last year.

Scaled and Icy Review

First, my general thoughts on the album: It's good! Really good. Do I think it's a no-skip like Vessel or a cohesive piece of art like Trench? Absolutely not! But it's also not the potential misfire that I worried that we might be getting when I first heard "Saturday" (more on that later); I think all of the songs are at least good, and some of them are downright great tracks that hold up with anything else that our band has ever released. It is also indisputably very different, but I think that generally works pretty well. Many of the songs evoke '60s rock or Britpop sounds and structures that you can tell Tyler is still trying to navigate, but I think he does a very solid job at adapting them to suit his strengths- namely his lyricism and knack for melody- rather than change to suit them. Unfortunately, this does result in a bit of square-peg-in-round-hole syndrome at times; most of the rap verses on the album feel like they're here just to fulfill an obligation to fans who would be mad if they weren't here, and most of the songs that use them are the weakest ones in the project.

"Good Day" plays a major role in getting the rest of the album to work as well as it does. Its gradual ramp-up, introducing the sound that will be used throughout the rest of the album. Its playfulness belies its message about how one can project a somewhat false optimism for oneself in the midst of tragedy: the type of dark stuff in a bright package that Tyler is so so good at. It's perhaps not an instant classic, but I am excited to see how it comes across when it's eventually used as a show-opener. 9/10

I've of course already discussed "Shy Away"; an anthemic, inimitably catchy track that I just wish had a bit more going on under the hood. Still going to be so good to hear thousands of voices scream "An 'I LOVE YOU' that isn't words!" someday. 9.5/10

"Choker" definitely took a little bit to grow on me. I think part of that was a bit of disappointment from over-inflated expectations and the environment I was in when I first heard it. With further listens, I fall more and more in love with the melody of the song... well, most of it. Like the rest of this album, the biggest weakness in the song is when Tyler tries to tick the box of having a rap verse; it just feels really out of place, unfinished, and almost amateurish, and it doesn't end the song on the note that it really should. Without it, it'd be one of my favorites on the album; with it, "Choker" is a solid 8.5/10.

Speaking of unfinished-sounding songs really hurt by their rap verse: "The Outside". There's a definite something to the vibe of the song, but that seemingly nonsensical verse is one of the two weakest parts of the entire project for me. The way the song meanders only adds to the feeling that there wasn't as much energy and attention paid to it compared to other parts of the project. It's pretty easily my least favorite track on Scaled and Icy, and the only one I might regularly skip. I've also seen plenty of people saying it's the best song on the album, so please tell me why I'm wrong! 6.5/10

"Saturday", as mentioned above, had me really nervous about this album. Like "Choker", it's grown on me a bit since I first heard it, in part because it fits better with the context of the rest of the album. However, this one really does feel undercooked lyrically and overreliant on the novelty of using a disco-inspired sound that seems to chase trends more than almost any other TØP track. The inclusion of that very sweet audio clip from Jenna boosts the song in some ways, but also adds to the disappointment in others; there are many other songs on this project that would be more worth surrendering time watching Friends. Thankfully, those come next. 7/10

"Never Take It" is fascinating. I never thought I'd hear a Rolling Stones-style song from Tyler Joseph featuring a gd guitar solo of all things, and it actually sounds pretty great. However, I also predict that this song will see some of the greatest critical scrutiny out of all the songs on the album. The lyrics seem to be Tyler's criticism of the media for playing up division in our society, but he's extremely vague when discussing which entities are spreading said division and ultimately recommends that people "educate yourself, but never too much". I'll be honest: maybe it's the fact that it sounds like something my dad would listen to, but it feels like this would get tons of play on Fox News. Since it makes specific reference to the events of last summer, it's hard not to feel like song is at least partially inspired by Tyler's brush with cancellation last year. Maybe I'm reading too deeply into it, but those reservations come from the song's lack of specificity, which is an issue of songwriting more than politics. They hold me back from truly loving a song that still manages to be one of the most exciting the band has ever put out. 8.5/10

"Mulberry Street" seems like the perfect realization of the entire album's intended tone. It is so pleasant, so lush while also simply produced, full of great lyrics, metaphors, and imagery. It really brings the whole project together, even if it's missing That One Line to really move this up to the top tier of the canon. 9.5/10

"Formidable" is the best song on the album and one of two songs I would truly rank in the top tier of the band's canon. Extremely pleasant and brimming with well-crafted lines to make your heart swoon. Jenna (and Rosie) is (are) a lucky gal(s). Or is it about Josh? Who's to say? 10/10

"Bounce Man" is just plain wild. I think Tyler's smuggling someone to Mexico to escape the feds? The playfulness of it all really covers up any frustration I might have with the clarity; it makes it clear that there's not really stakes here, just vibes. 8.5/10

"No Chances" sees the album take a turn that I'm sure the Reddit Clique is going to have an absolute field day with; it and "Redecorate" both sound quite different from the rest of the album and evoke enough elements of Trench to make me think that's it's actually possible that all this 'SAI is Propaganda' stuff might actually have something to it... until I actually pick apart the lyrics, then I'm even more confused. The song has some of the best rapping on the album, though that's not saying much (the feng shui line is a groaner right out the gate) and the gentle pre-chorus is really pleasant. I still haven't made up my mind on whether the chorus is effective or just plain goofy. This one might get worse or better on repeat listens, impossible to say for now. 7.5/10

"Redecorate" rounds out the album by opening with a Clancy quote (Tyler, you bastard), firmly setting this as a coda to Trench more than the album we just listened to. The rest of the song is really storytelling, with Tyler describing a bunch of people who are struggling deeply. The idea of "redecorating" here stands for how they are faced with the option to clean and resort their own spaces and lives or leave that to their loved ones to do after they're gone. By the time it gets to the album's name drop, you begin to wonder how much of this is potential autobiographical of the last year. It's moving stuff, a callback to some of the great strengths of the band's discography. 10/10

If I average those scores all up, this project ranks below almost every album among the Pilots discography on my rating scale, very narrowly edging out Self-Titled. That's still a very solid 8.6. Scaled and Icy is a very good album on first listen. We'll see how I feel about it after having a little more time to sit with it, but I've rambled enough: let's move through the rest of the week's news.

Other News

Of course, there was a lot else going on this week! To accompany the release of "Saturday", Zane Lowe over at Apple Music dropped an interview with Tyler. As usual, Zane did a pretty solid job of getting to the heart of the craft and the creation process. However, Tyler also wound up skirting a lot of the questions to just talk more about how much he loves being a dad, which makes me happy; if the cost of getting a little less attention and mental energy devoted to the music is that little girl getting all of his attention, that's honestly preferable for me.

The album rollout is not even close to over. Later today, the concert will be streamed live. It's our first real performance that we've gotten from the band since 2019, but the previews that we've seen have completely exceeded any of my expectations, and really anything that we've seen from the band. It appears that they've transformed the entire arena (which I think is the ol' Schott at Ohio State) into a whole TØP world, with different sets laden with Easter eggs and a cast of backup dancers. If the website can hold up to the traffic (and I acknowledge that might be a big ask), this could really live up to Tyler's promise of this being the best livestreamed concert ever.

Oh, and this guy dyed his hair pink.

What a time to be a fan. Catch you all tomorrow.

Power to the local dreamer.

|-/

[echo-three-one]

Chapter 34

THE ROAD SO FAR

To the notable few people reading this. I hope you enjoy! Cheers!

High and Dry

"Alex"

MacTavish Residence, Glasgow, Scotland

Alex joined the commotion going on in the living room while he was on his way to get Samantha a cup of coffee before she woke up. The group consisted of Soap, Price, Jack and France facing a laptop.

He peeked for a while and saw Ghost, Roach and Maxine on the other end of the video call. He had no idea why they'd have to do that but proceeded to listen.

"So uh… we didn't find a single body on the ship. It's possible the waves already washed them somewhere. Guess I'll have to check on local news for more information. But what we do have are coordinates to a Site Hotel Bravo?" Ghost asked and the name didn't ring any bells.

Price and Jack's heads turned after hearing it and they slowly speculated before replying.

"I'll see what I can find." Price replied as their feed slowly lagged due to internet failure. Francine looked like she wanted to say anything to Max but the call ended abruptly.

"How could she just leave without telling me?" Francine complained while storming off.

"Maybe she had her reasons?" Soap followed her trying to calm her raging emotion. Alex nodded to Jack and Price who nodded back and went to the office. He felt like words weren't necessary to tell him that they'll be planning on their next move.

With everyone else gone, Alex made his way back to their room where Samantha was already awake and brushing her hair in front of the mirror.

Setting the cup of coffee by the drawer, a smile escaped his lips as their eyes met through the reflection, where she saw Alex slowly approach her and hug her back as they slowly swung sideways.

"Good Morning, Gorgeous." Alex muttered and kissed her on the cheek while Samantha giggled at the ticklish feeling of his moustache.

"Good Morning to you too, Handsome" she replied while her hands looked for him and intertwined them tightly.

"Any plans today?" She mused, tilting her head enough to meet his lips as they kissed intimately. 

"Hmm. Your best friend somehow made it to London today…" he murmured after their kiss, as Samantha's eyes opened wide.

"Hm?" was all she could say as their heads parted farther.

"My best guess is that they went back to the ship. Probably to look for Alexandra… or what remains of her." he continued as Samantha showed a worried look.

"Roach is with her…" he added once more in an attempt to not make her worry.

"I see what you are doing, 3-1." She mused. Alex's eyes widened to the sound of her using his code, he somehow found it… sexy.

"So we're using code names now?" He turned to Samantha who sat on the bed, the worry on her face was still obvious.

"Hey now." Alex called, smiling at the moment their eyes met.

"She'll be alright. She's got two strong soldiers around her. Don't worry." 

"I guess you're right…" she sighed in resignation as Alex leaned in closer for a hug. The said hug meant to assure her that everything will be alright.

Alex spent most of the day with Samantha, judging on how busy Jack and Price were, he assumed they're going to be back on the field again, and that means that she'd be left all alone and worried.

They caught Soap and France doing the same too, but since they're both soldiers, they won't be separating from each other. 

"I like to believe something's already going on with them." Samantha leaned in to Alex at the sofa, as the two watched Soap and France arguing at each other in the kitchen. It looked like they were seeing who gets to assemble a pistol first, but the bickering was longer than the actual game.

"Yeah? You should've seen them kiss back at the Gulag. That was uhh… a sight to behold?" Alex chuckled.

"Ohh they already did? I knew it. Even back at the infirmary, I could feel the both of them trying to vibe." Samantha mused and laughed and just after that statement. The two competitors already found themselves in a concerning situation. Soap was already on her back, his hands helped guide France's on the pistol, their faces were so close to each other, one slight turn could already be a potential time to kiss.

And that they did, Alex and Samantha saw France ask a question to which Soap answered by slowly tilting his head to her face. What happened next was that their eyes both closed and their lips met slowly at first then progressed into a more intimate session.

Samantha covered Alex's eyes and giggled as Alex did the same, laughing so hard that they were lying on the sofa.

After that, Price and Jack quickly announced that they'll be visiting Shepherd in Afghanistan. The two couples exchanged looks, where Samantha frowned as she realized that Alex would once again be placed in danger.

AFGHANISTAN

Alex didn't expect that they're going to visit Shepherd with full gear. It looked like Price and Jack made some negotiations to make this possible considering how the weapons looked expensive. Maybe earning favors was a good thing after all.

The rest of the team easily regrouped in Scotland, where Maxine and Samantha kind of got the whole MacTavish Estate to themselves. It's the safest idea aside from sending her back to her Dad.

Now, the rest of the squad is flying discreetly above Afghan borders on their way to Site Hotel Bravo. Intel suggests it's a hidden cave network which housed Shepherd's Elite troops called the Shadow Company, which the group already acquainted with back in London.

The plan is to stop Shepherd from finishing his EMP Nuke and attempt to destroy any trace of it from being rebuilt again. If possible, they could also use this opportunity to get intel on Nero.

"Da. There it is. The exact location of your coordinates." Nikolai announced over the comms. The rest of the team looked down on a barren canyon, no sign of anything that said "Camp". 

"For a military base, this one looks pretty empty." Roach commented.

"Well, if intel's correct then whatever is below that would be the one we're looking for." Ghost said, putting on his new and improved mask.

"Prepare for dropoff." Price signaled as everyone quickly attached themselves to the hook, as they descended after Price's signal.

"Let's get evil!" He cheered as his foot landed on the ground, dust quickly blowing on the wind.

They all raised their suppressed weapons and hid on the nearest covers.

"Sandstorms brewing up. We'll use them for cover." Price announced as he and Jack crouched forward, hooking to a rappel slid down the ropes, as they stealthily took down two guards by the elevated area.

As soon as the coast was clear, the group now gathered by the entrance of the cave and began to split up.

Alex and Jack were to locate and plant charges on the Nuke, permanently erasing such weaponry off the face of the Earth. Soap, France and Ghost's task was to locate any intel regarding Nero while Price and Roach will try to find Shepherd and beat the truth out of him.

"All-righty, kiddo. Let's get a move on." Jack nodded as Alex followed his former CO inside the cave. The scenery turned darker as the rest of the team split up to cover more ground.

"It's almost pitch black in here…" Jack whispered as he toggled his flashlight.

"You're not using a flashlight? Can you see in the dark, Alex?" He asked with amusement in his voice.

"Not really. But I eat a lot of carrots." He joked, turning on his lights and pushing forward to the dark tunnel. As expected, Jack wouldn't get the joke. Alex knew that some things would never change.

"You hear that?" Alex mumbled as sounds of footsteps echoed on the narrow walls, causing the two to lean close to the wall and turn off their lights. With his eyes beamed on the light at the end of the tunnel. People in lab coats shuffled across the halls, making their path correct.

"This is the right way." Alex affirmed as they slowly pushed their way to the Lab in stealth.

Jack followed, guarding Alex's six, as they reached the main hall of the laboratory. 

"This is Echo Three One, we already made it to the lab. Proceeding to locate the Nuke and plant the charges." Alex informed as they took cover behind corners, eyeing out for possible hostiles.

"Copy that three one, we're still on the lookout for Shepherd." Price reported.

"Uh.. Ghost kinda left us alone. He said he was going to cover our six but he's gone. This place is huge, we're still on the lookout for possible intel rooms." Soap muttered as Alex and Jack maneuvered the Laboratory as stealthily as possible.

When a small group of babbling scientists were heard from the halls, Alex and Jack quickly hid in the nearest room they could find, accidentally stumbling on the blueprints of the nuke.

The whole wall was filled with blue paper depicting an almost scale model of a rocketship. If this was the nuke Shepherd wanted, it was obvious why he desperately needed the money.

Jack's camera shuttered as he took a photo of the thing to report back to Price.

"So, how do we get rid of this?" he asked.

"More importantly, how is our charge going to set off that huge thing?" Alex asked and looked at the blueprints carefully.

"The engine." They both said, as they traced the engine.

"It's their final piece of the puzzle." Jack theorized.

"And we're lucky enough they haven't placed the thing yet." Alex continued.

The further they traversed into the lab, the more crowded it got. It was expected as they were building a huge EMP rocket nuke, and it was getting harder for Alex and Jack to advance further. Right now, their best option was to lock themselves in a comfort room.

"We need a diversion." Alex planned as Jack leaned by the sink, checking out his greying beard in the mirror.

"We'll wait for the others to alert the whole base." he replied. It was a risky move, but it would work. If they were to create their distraction in the lab, everyone would go here and make it much harder to set the charge.

"This is Echo Three One does anyone copy?" Alex's tone was annoyed.

"I guess they jammed this place up, kid. We're on our own." He said calmly as Alex clicked his tongue. Jack was right, they just have to wait.

But the anticipation of not knowing anything outside was worrying him. What if the nuke was already launched? What if the team already did their plans and they're still inside the damn comfort room?

Alex's mind was clouded with thoughts of failing. He was not used to this way of thinking, but ever since he met Samantha once again, he became more concerned of the safety of the group, more specifically, his safety. Back then, he was fine with sustaining injuries and being reckless, but now he wanted to get home from missions in one piece. Losing his leg was the last line he was willing to draw.

Then, the alarm systems blared, it was requesting every scientist to report to the bunker.

"See? All you need to have is a little faith." Jack smiled and readied his weapon, leaning closely by the door.

"After you kid, I always got your back." He said as Alex slowly flicked the lock open, his hand grabbed the door knob and slowly pushed it open.

Next Chapter : Red

Notification Squad my Beloved

@bumblingbee1 @enderio @smokeywhalee @samatedeansbroccoli @whimsywispsblog @ricinbach

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

🏰⚔️🐲 DMODT 23... update I guess. I'm sorry. I haven't had time to work on this at all

Eren and Levi were both late back the following morning. Eren had flown them back over to Eldia for their private night together, where they'd spent the night near the Draecia peninsula. Come morning, Eren had tried to hide away from the sun. Neither of them were hung over, but they were a mess, and neither wished to return to reality or the company of others... Eren woke in a playful mood, happy to take "advantage" of the fact Levi's clothes were ruined from where he'd slice them off with his magic. It took a bath in the ocean and Eren's magic to make them both look presentable again, and not like they'd spent the whole night doing less than respectable things. Flying them back to the Reiss manor, Erwin was waiting on the field near the cabins. The moment they'd landed, the man was lecturing him on his disappearance. It wasn't like Erwin hadn't know there was a chance of him not returning for the night. Levi wished he could follow Eren's lead by not being human. Eren hadn't shifted back, instead he was was standing tall behind Levi, almost daring Erwin to say something about his appearance. Erwin didn't, but unfortunately Levi couldn't stay "hidden" behind his omega's protection forever. Kissing Eren's forehead goodbye, he promised to see the mage later. Erwin had prepared an overly lengthy lecture for him, the blond didn't stop talking, even once they'd arrived back at the cabin the Eldia party was using. It was only him, Erwin and two guards, so it wasn't like they needed lavish rooms. All he really needed was a bed and somewhere to bathe. He'd thought everything that was happening with the festival would be planned down to the very last second, instead it seemed they very much went with the flow. He and Eren weren't even the last pair back. After his scolding from Erwin, and showering, it was time for breakfast and Levi was famished. Eren was a very demanding lover after all. And Levi loved being the one to make Eren fall apart beneath him. Grabbing a full loaf of fresh bread, butter and jam, he then brewed himself a fresh pot of tea and settled himself down at the kitchen table, sighing heavily as he did "Is there more I should know?" Pulling the opposite chair out, Erwin sat, launching right back into it "Mikasa and Armin wanted to know where both you and Eren had gone. It would seem Mikasa has feelings for Eren" No fucking shit "That's old news" "She's intending on asking for Eren's hand" Choking on the sip of tea he'd taken, Levi glared at the mug. Ok. He knew she held deep affections, but surely she must know Eren wasn't interested "She has no chance" "And how are you going to break this to her?" "Me? It's not my issue. If you haven't forgotten, I'm still engaged to Petra. I'm not the best person to be going to over relationship advice" "I didn't expect you and Eren to return to fucking quite so fast. It would problematic if everyone was to find out" "Everyone who?" "Everyone. We don't know if there are Marley based dragons here... I hope you kept things under wraps last night" "They all already know" Slamming his hands down on the table, Erwin rose "You idiot! Is he really worth all of this?!" "Erwin, you knew damn well it would be out in the public once we arrived here. Historia and Freya both knew with just one look. It's a dragon thing" Sinking down, the blond shook his head "I let you come up here, under the provision you didn't allow things to get out of hand" "You let me? That's rich. You know how much I missed him" "That doesn't mean you need to throw yourself all over him" "I've been carrying out my royal duty. I've been on all the walks and to all the sites the Reiss family wanted to show us, and since we've arrived, I've only spent two nights with Eren" "Without your bodyguard even knowing where you were" "Well, the first night we screwed down by the lake. Last night, we took a quick trip back to Eldia and went at it like rabbits near the beach. Is that what you want to hear? Or do you want to know how many times I knotted him? Or how many times I made him come?" "Why must you be so crass?!" "Because you're picking a fight over something so incredibly stupid. This festival is important to Eren, and important to me. Draecia is important..." "Why can't you listen to what I'm telling you?! I want you to be careful. We don't know if there may be a possible enemy here, and you've let your guard down as you're back with Eren. What if something had happened last night?" Levi tapped the brooch he'd attached on his fresh shirt "Eren has placed a portion of his magic inside this. This scale is one of his, and if anything happens, his magic will kick in" "That doesn't mean anything! Some poisons kill you in an instant" "I was surrounded by dragons and dragon riders. I couldn't have been safer" Could he be flattering himself to believe that Erwin wasn't being a dick for the sake of being a dick, but out of actual concern "You still should have told me. I heard nothing from you at all" "There wasn't exactly time, and other then when we returned Eldia, Eren and I were supervised" "He never should have taken you back to Eldia" "Eldia is special to him. All he wants is for the people of Eldia to be safe and happy. He knows the potential outcome of Zeke learning about his dragon status and his relationship with me" "So you two are still in a relationship?" Levi blinked. Yes? Was that not feeling obvious? "I'm serious when it comes to Eren. My affections for him hasn't changed in the least, despite our time apart" "Have you explained to him that Petra still resides at the castle, and your engagement is still in effect" "You don't need to keep harping on about it. You make it sound as if Eren and I have never had a serious conversation over the future. He hasn't openly talked about it, nor has he tried to rub it in anyone's face. We've been careful, and Eren takes herbs to prevent pregnancy, even with a dragon pregnancy lasting for two years. He understands the situation, and he only wants what's best for Eldia" Eren had explained in length what a dragon pregnancy entailed, after his talk with Historia and before he'd left Eldia. They weren't rushing things, even if they'd fallen into bed so fast, or at least, Levi didn't feel as if they were rushing things. They'd spent a year apart, with only letters between them, and still wanted to be with each other "Eldia can't afford to lose you... I can't afford to lose you" Placing down the piece of bread Levi had been buttering, he sighed deeply "I'm continuing to play my role, and I'm being cautious about it. Still, it isn't enough for you. Your puppet prince is doing his job, and you know it" "Levi" "No. That is enough. I wish to eat my breakfast in peace, before I have to return to the manor" "The manor? Again?" "Yes. I found myself unprepared yesterday, so today I'm going to talk with Historia about the rest of the festival" "Does that mean I'll be spending the day with Mikasa and Armin again?" "Does that bother you?" Erwin groaned, Levi enjoying the sound of pain "Mikasa is a tad forceful..." Snorting, he nodded. Understatement of the century right there "She is just that. That's why she's here, as Eren's body guard. So we didn't have to suffer her anger of them being separated" "She's bright, but she's far too focused on Eren's personal life. You won't be able to hide things between you and Eren, from her, for much longer" Levi already knew about just how invested in Eren, Mikasa was. He'd been enraged when Eren had written that she'd offered to share his heat with him. As far as Levi was concerned that was his right, as Eren's boyfriend. Spending four heats/ruts apart had been bad enough at it was, his ruts had been nearly unbearable without his partner to soothe the pain, and to take care of "Then I'll talk to her when the time comes. Even if she challenges me for Eren's hand, it is his decision in the end" "Is there any chance that Draecia will oppose your relationship?" Levi's alpha roared in the back of his mind. His eyes narrowing as his tone grew icy. Erwin had sounded fucking hopeful, and it hadn't gone missed "No. Because they actually fucking respect relationships around here. I am Eren's alpha. I am his master. I am his boyfriend. And I am his dragon rider. We are bonded by the vow taken upon the altar, but we were bonded before even that. I am so fucking sick of this. I get it. You hate him. You only want him around when it serves your purposes. He has proven himself time and time again, and that he has Eldia's best interests in heart. Why we must keep having these petty and ridiculous arguments, I do not know. But I am absolutely sick and tired of it. Never once has he placed anything in jeopardy. He is strong and he is brave. And I am proud of him" "We keep having these arguments because you keep putting yourself in danger!" "I do not!" "You're intimate with him. You were so, even when he couldn't control his magic" "His magic has never hurt me. Even when he was a child, and on death's door, he didn't hurt me. Even when he lost control mid-heat, he didn't hurt me. He doesn't want to hurt me. He doesn't want to hurt anyone!" "No one is that perfect. He turned those bandits to stone" Erwin was grasping at straws. He'd tried to give the man leeway, chalking things up to stress. Even over the past year, he'd found himself making excuses to excuse Erwin's behaviour. It wasn't easy living in the castle where your parents were murdered and being the last of the Smith line, nor was it easy to watch your country fall more and more under Marley control, when you didn't have the forces to resist. But god. He was so tired of it all... "The bandits who killed royal guard and tried to force themselves upon him. If it was either of us, we would have slaughtered them. The only difference is that he used magic, where we would run our swords through them! Now that my breakfast has been ruined, you can fuck right off to babysit Mikasa and Armin. I do not want to see you for the rest of the day" "You can't do that! I am your bodyguard" "No. I am yours. I'm the public face the kingdom hates. I am the one with the target on my back. And I am the one who is going to spend the afternoon being educated by Historia, because Draecia is an important ally and I don't want to turn them into an enemy" Rising from his seat, Levi left Erwin sitting there. He was so tired of fighting. Why couldn't he just have this time with Eren? They'd both been high on aphrodisiac wine, which had made having a serious conversation too hard, and he hadn't been able to ask when Eren was finally coming home. Marching up to the manor, the days in Draecia were so much warmer than Eldia. The sky bright and clear, apart from the dragons coming and going. There was little wonder as to why Eren's health had improved, despite falling pretty much along the same line of latitude, the air seemed to be so much more fresher, and everything so much more green. No doubt dragon magic was responsible for that, but he did feel some shame in the fact that Eldia wasn't doing quite so well. By the time he'd reached the manor, sweat beads rolled down his back uncomfortably, leaving him feeling like he must look horribly disheveled. In the heat of the sun, any other colour to black would have been preferable, but appearances must be kept up, and once inside the manor, he found the temperature much more agreeable. Historia was busy for most of the morning, so Levi made a pest of himself by settling down in the Reiss family's library, and reading. It was either that, or go back to Erwin., and that was liable to end in a fight. How could they possibly have the same fight almost every single day for over a year, and Erwin still think that Eren was bad for him? No one else who knew about them seemed to feel the same way... by that he meant Historia and Ymir... and they'd been by Eren's side when he couldn't be... it was just... exhausting. Historia appeared around lunchtime with lunch, the blonde bright and bubbly as she came to sit across from him on the plush floral sofa, placing a tray filled with sandwiches, fresh tea, and cups down on the table between them "I'm sorry, you know how It can be..." Waving her hand towards the door, Levi smiled as she blew a raspberry at it "I do, very much so" "My father and step mother are stubbornly set in their ways. They wish to keep with this policy of non-interference, even with Marley developing weapons to shoot down dragons. They say if they fall, then that's on them... it's a load of shit" Pouting and swearing. He'd never thought he'd see Historia do both so easily "Has that been happening often?" "As far as I'm concerned, for it to even happen once since the treaty, is far too often. And then you inform of us Marley attempting to gather dragon relics. It's as if he doesn't care if Draecia is wiped out" "I'm sorry to hear that" "I'm complaining far too much. Tell me what brings you up to the manor" Taking a cup from the tray, Levi poured himself a cup of tea "Would you believe I'm hiding from Erwin?" "Oh, no! Eren did say that Erwin didn't seem to approve of your relationship" "No. He doesn't. He sees no issue with using Eren like a pawn, or for jobs he doesn't want to do for himself, but it's tiring to hear how much he disapproves of our relationship" "Do you want me to put a little magic on him?" "No. He'd lose his shit, so you really shouldn't tempt me" Historia giggled "Aw... if you change your mind, I know an excellent spell that leave him itchy down there" Levi snorted so hard he nearly split his tea "Don't tempt me! He's a man of questionable bedroom morals... I think he'd declare it a crisis if he were to develop an itch" "Now you make me wish to try the spell even more" Sharing a small laugh, Levi leaned back into the sofa "Maybe I should keep it in mind. Actually, aside from Erwin, I wanted to ask if there is more I should be doing during this festival. I thought everything would be thoroughly planned, and down to the second given how respectful every dragon and dragon rider I've met has been" "Normally, it is a little more structured. Father... he had a falling out with some dragons and things happened. It sought of spiralled from there. But honestly, we dragons and dragon riders prefer to let things come as they may. It is much more natural that way, and if you haven't realised, we are very much about nature" "I've noticed. Still... last night, I felt as if I should have been standing... and Eren was far too intoxicated to make much sense" "You're doing just fine. Simply being here with him, shows a great respect in everyone's eyes, and it's clear you both adore each other. That's the main thing. Everyone knows you're human, and that it'll take time to learn things, so they don't actually care. Of course, we have to look like we do, because that's what been told to us as young children. No. You've proven yourself already when you didn't abandon him" Levi wasn't expecting that... he was sure he must have insulted more than a few people "Then... when do I give him his gifts?" Historia smiled broadly "Tonight. See, not all dragons can stay for the length of the festival, so we get all that out the way first. The markets being run today are mostly to trade wares from all over the world, and a last chance to buy a gift. The markets will be open for the whole duration, but as I said, some dragons need to return early" "I was quite surprised to find that not all dragons lived here" "Well, it'd be cramped if we all did. Some have established themselves as healers, using magic to hide their nature and walk among normal populations as simple magic users. Some dragons need the heat, while some need the cold. We don't usually tell anyone, as it makes them prey for less than desirable people. You're an exception as Eren is your partner and your dragon" "I have no intention of telling anyone your secrets" "You couldn't, even if you wished to. Eren would lose his shit" "That's very true. So tonight, I give him his gifts?" "Yes. And I know how much you love flying, so be prepared for another flight" "Over to the ocean again?" "Not quite... I don't want to spoil the surprise" "Erwin's going to be angry. He was mad I didn't inform him of my whereabouts last night" "Upset he wasn't invited?" "I probably would have killed him if he'd found a way to show his face. That fancy wine of yours certainly works" "Like you two need any prompting. Anyway, once lunch is finished, would you like to come with me? I'm not sure if Eren will be there, but I need to go retrieve Ymir, or she'll try and escape tonight's ceremony" "Are gifts not her thing?" "Oh, no. She loves gifts. She loves giving me gifts, it's receiving them..." Historia sighed, picking at a sandwich "... she had a hard past, before she finally became mine. You should see how much gold she has already, dragons adore gold. For every gift I give her, she gives me five back. It's actually really sweet, but then I have to sneak everything back into her room. Dragons are super picky about their spaces" "That doesn't sound like Eren" "I'm sure he doesn't know how to accept gifts without expecting something to be wrong. If that makes sense. Like a gift for a service... not that he thinks like that with you. It was just hard for him. He's lucky you found him that day" Levi had never thought of it like that. He'd known plenty of skeezy men who'd lured young children in with gifts. Just the thought of someone hurting him... He'd never told Eren that he'd also been on the streets, because he knew the shit that happened there. Eren had been so young, so it was better he forgot all he went through "He won't let me spoil him... I want to though, and I did bring smaller items..." "I'm sure whatever you have chosen for him, he will adore. He doesn't let the brooch you gifted him out of sight" "I hadn't expected him to like it so much" "Of course he does. It's a gift from you" Levi shook his head "I'm a good decade older than you, yet here you are, consoling me" Rolling her eyes, Historia gave him a very "Eren" look "I'm not consoling you. I'm educating you. There's a big difference" "I stand corrected" "Actually, you're sitting. But who's splitting hairs. Now, I need to feed my face. I'm starving and on my feet all morning" Chatting back and forth over lunch, Levi joined Historia as she headed off to find Ymir, and from the feeling of it, Eren too. Walking a well worn path through the forest, Historia sighed as she looked up towards the top of the hill, where a series of loud thuds drifted down from "Something wrong?" "No. Just our dragons being idiots. Stay close to me. Ymir will probably want to play" Confused and curious, Levi followed Historia up the hill, unable to stop himself from shaking his head as he watched what Ymir and Eren were up to. The two of them had, what could be described as a boulder, between them, using both their feet and their tails to smack it at each other, running round and chasing each other while ignoring the clearing they were ruining in the process. Watching the boulder come to a stop, Eren wriggled his butt, practically pouncing in it, before swatting at it with his feet. Racing across the space, Ymir stole the boulder from Eren, Eren jumping backwards before pouncing on her. Kicking him off, Ymir rolled the boulder away, smugly turning to place a clawed foot above it. Eren once again shaking his arse as he lined up his prey "He's like a damn kitten with a ball of yarn" "Yes. Yes they are. I told Ymir to magic up a ball in future, but they pop them too fast" "They pop them?" "They get so into their own little game, they forget everything else..." So magical balls could be popped? Ok... he didn't know why he needed to know that, but if Historia said so "Ymir! Eren!" Eren's pounce went sideways as Historia yelled his name, Levi cringing as Eren landed on his head. The kid still a total klutz... Ymir on the other hand wasn't done playing. With a swipe of her foot, the boulder was sent flying straight at them. Throwing himself sideways, Levi ducked and covered, waiting for an impact that never came. Cautiously opening his eyes, he watched as Historia sent the boulder rolling back up to the playful dragons "What the hell was that?" Historia doubled over laughing, shaking as she staggered over to offer him a hand up "Ymir. She knew I'd step in. You didn't have to dive like that" Letting himself be pulled up, his face felt warm... "I'm sorry. I'm not used to flying boulders coming right at me" "Eren wouldn't let anything happen to you" Catching the boulder, Eren brought on foot down on it, smashing it to pieces, Ymir barrelling into him as he did "Are they sane? And is that safe?" "All dragons love playing, or at least young ones do. Eren is no exception. Ymir however knows I've come to get her and doesn't want the game to end" "I think Eren just saw to that" "He did. He probably didn't take too kindly to Ymir sending the boulder down. Now, how you recovered?" "I'm fine" He sounded pouty, and completely unprincely "Good. Let's head up"" Shifting her form, Ymir came running when Historia was close enough. Catching her dragon, Historia smiled. Looking to Eren, his boyfriend walked over to him, nudging him with his nose "Hello to you too. I thought you had serious dragon things to attend to" "Our game was totally serious. Until Eren decided to ruin it" "You did away the boulder towards us" "I wasn't expecting the prince to run away" "I didn't run away. You try being human and having a massive boulder coming towards you" Eren huffed, shifting back and wrapping his arms around him possessively "Ymir knows she's not supposed to send the boulders flying" "You're just upset your prince ran like a girl. Oh! What's that?! Historia's a girl and she didn't run? Maybe he's a chicken?" "No. It means you're just a sore loser" "I'm pretty sure I'm winning. Have you seen my Historia?" "I'd rather my Levi!" "You can have him" "Good. You're fixing the field today. Levi and I have things to talk about" "Noooo. You destroyed the boulder! The rules are "whoever destroys the boulder, fixes the field!"" Releasing his hold around Levi's waist with his right arm, Eren waved his hand. The damage and the boulder dissolving away as the grass went about regrowing. It was kind of amazing... and over in seconds. He had no idea why they'd act like it was the hardest job in the world "Very nice, Eren. Your magic has come along beautifully" Ymir shot Eren a dirty look, Eren was sickly sweet as he replied "Thank you, Historia. It takes a delicate hand" "Oh, blow it out your arse, Storm Dragon. You wish your magic was as delicate as ours" "Mmmm. I do. It always feels so warm" "Your storms always smell nice too. That's enough niceness, let's go, Historia" Levi wasn't completely sure how the conversation ended in compliments, but as Historia and Ymir left, Eren nuzzled into his neck "It's fine. It's a dragon thing" "I don't think I'll ever understand. She didn't hurt you, did she?" "Maybe a few scales, but it's all fun and games" "It... was scary to watch. You two just jump on each other like it's nothing" Mouthing at his neck, Eren was a little shit "I didn't mean to make you worry. I'm honestly fine" Turning in his boyfriends arms, Levi slung his own over the teen's shoulders, leaning up to kiss him "You're more than fine" Sharing a deep kiss, it was warm and affectionate, and not matching the horny way Eren had been mouthing at his neck. Breaking the kiss, he stared up into Eren's bright eyes "So... we have all afternoon" "We do. I was thinking we could talk?" "Normally you want sex" "You make it sound like that's all I want" "Not all. But talking would be nice" "Good. I want to show you my room" "Only your room?" "I might show you more... like the kitchen" "Does that mean you'll cook for me?" Eren shook his head "It means you're cooking for me. It's hard being that big" Breaking their hug, Eren looked across the field. Holding one hand out, the grass seemed to grow, and seemed to get even greener? Arching an eyebrow, Levi looked to Eren in confusion "What was that?" "My scales being absorbed by the ground. Ymir likes to give her scales to Historia. I would have given mine to you, but they're only quite small. I hope you don't mind..." "No. They're your scales. Does it help the ground?" "Does it help the ground?" Obviously it had to help the ground. God. That wasn't what he meant to ask "Oh, yes. You probably can see how green Draecia is. It's because of all the magic in the soil. Ymir and I play here quite often, so I like to give back to the earth" "That's very like you" "I'm a visitor here. It'd be rude not to repay Draecia" Taking his hand, Eren lead him towards the forest path "Speaking of that... I was wondering when you planned to come home?" "I thought I'd told you? Once the festival is done, I can come back. I mean, obviously I need to come back to Draecia from time to time, but it's time for me to go and explore the world" Way too happy, Levi pulled Eren against him a little too hard. The alpha landing on his back, with Eren's knee dangerously close to his crotch. Both of them looking down, and letting out a sigh of relief "What are you sighing about?" "I don't want to break your dick with my knee. How would I even explain that?!" "I thought your magic fixed everything" "I'd prefer not to hurt you, or that wonderful dick of yours. Now, why did you pull me down in a fit of passion?" "Because you didn't tell me you were coming home! I've been stressing over this" "I thought I did" "No" "Oops. Hey, Levi. Guess what? I'm coming home soon" "Really? Thanks for letting me know. I'll have to get your room organised, no one's been inside since you left" "That's creepy" "It didn't feel right... but... if you're coming home, you can stay in my bed until your room's ready" "Oh? Really? Is that so?" Growling softly, Levi flipped them over, nuzzling at Eren's chest, as Eren laughed. Finally. Finally his boyfriend was coming back home "Yes. You and this sweet little arse of yours is mine" "Mmm... this sweet little arse is all yours" "Good... now, we're going to go talk. And you're going to pack" Eren nodded, his smile dropping on the edges of his mouth "We're staying... until the end of the festival, right?" "Of course. I don't want to take this away from you" Throwing his arms around him, Eren's happy scent flooded into his nose "I love you! Thank you!" "You're welcome, brat" As the pair of them detangled from each other, Levi's heart was racing as he panicked. Eren had told him he loved him! Without the influence of sex, or his knot, or wine... it may have been a slip of the tongue, but the elation he felt... it was scary... "Master? Are you ok? Your scent..." "I'm fine, brat. Just imagining the lecture Erwin is going to give me for disappearing again" "Then we better get you back. Mikasa's probably going to lecture me too... I swear. I'm an adult. I don't need to tell her everything" Climbing to his feet, Levi brushed himself off "You're an adult? When did that happen?" Eren faked a pained look, as he pushed himself up "You wound me" "Then let me kiss it better" "Nope. We're behaving" "We are?" "Yep. At least until you've fed me" Slinging his arm back around Levi's waist, they started back down the hill, Levi mumbling to himself "So demanding" "I know I am" "You weren't supposed to hear that" "Then remember I've got super hearing, and super sight, and super smell... I'm really the complete package" "I already knew that" * Letting Levi into the cabin Eren shared with Armin and Mikasa, he hadn't expected his two roommates to be, or for Erwin to be there. Eren had hoped that it'd be just him and Levi, as he really did want to sit down and talk with his boyfriend. Careful to wait until Levi was inside before stepping in, Eren cleared his throat "I found Prince Erwin on my way back" Armin rose to bow at Levi, while Mikasa rushed from her chair to grab Eren by his shoulders. Great. Here came her lecture... right in front of Levi... He was fine. Mikasa should have known he was fine. She'd seen the previous year's ceremony, and known how much he'd wanted to join in. Leaning in, she sniffed at him "Where have you been? You stink!" "Excuse you. I've been off doing dragon things, and then I was with Ymir" He could smell the anger in Mikasa's scent, and he could smell Levi on him. It was probably for the best they hadn't had sex, or he'd never hear the end of that one "You smell like alpha" "Probably because Ymir and I have been out in the fields around the manor, all day. There's people everywhere, and you know that" Moving to scent his neck, Eren dodged his adoptive sister "Mikasa, you don't need to scent me. I don't mind the scent. It's not gross to me, and you know I've got a great sense of smell" "And I'm telling you that you stink. Just let me scent you" "I don't want to be scented by my sister, so stop it. You're embarrassing me in front of the Prince" Mikasa crossed her arms "You're too trusting. Anyone here could be an enemy" "No ones going to hurt me! We're the only humans here! I'm part dragon and you need to accept that" "Do I?! You're also an omega! If anyone attacked you... you could fall pregnant" "I'm not going to fall pregnant! You're being too paranoid! Go hit something with a sword or something. Maybe you could train with the guards the prince brought with him?" "Stop changing the topic" Though Levi was standing in front of him, he could almost feel the alpha giving him a look of sympathy. Erwin's lectures were probably just as annoying, but at least they didn't occur in front of Levi's best friends "I'm not. I've been busy since the ceremony yesterday. I came back to take a shower, then Prince Erwin, Levi and I will be talking about what magic I've learned since coming here and how it could help Eldia. I'm sure Armin would be happy to explain what he's learned while I do" Brushing past Levi, Eren headed towards his room. He didn't want to come across as rude, but he really couldn't deal with Mikasa. Every moment of every day, he wanted to be by Levi "Eren, wait" "I'm going to shower, Mikasa" "Wait... I want to talk you" Pausing as he grabbed his door handle, he looked to Mikasa "What is it?" "At tonight's ceremony, am I allowed to give you a gift?" "You want to give me a gift?" "I know you've been with the prince because of his status, but Eren, to me..." "Mikasa, I'm sorry. I really need to shower. As far as I know, the prince is the only one who can give me a gift. I'm sorry, that's just the way it is" "But we're family" "I know. You're my sister, and you'll always be my sister. We're heading back to Eldia in a few days, why don't you make the most of the time we have left here?" Darting into his room before Mikasa could reply, Eren wished he could be harder on her. He didn't want to upset her, but shit. His boyfriend was just outside the hallway. He'd probably even heard... Sometimes he wished Erwin's stupid command wasn't still in place. It was probably a good thing it was, but he couldn't even call Levi's name as they had sex. The closest he got was "Lee", and even that strained the command. He wanted Levi to know that he saw him as more than the stand-in-prince. That he saw the man for who he was, without the titles or formality... and he'd wanted to talk to Levi about everything he'd done and seen since coming to Draecia. He wanted to show Levi how his magic had grown, and he wanted to show Levi that everything they'd given up in their time apart had had some kind of meaning. He loved Levi... Showering and rejoining the four in the kitchen, Eren nearly melted at Levi's scent. In their time apart, he'd thought he'd imagined the effect it'd had on him. He'd thought he imaged the smell of warm tea and safety, but each time he smelt it... it made him feel the luckiest man alive. Sure, there were traces of annoyance, probably at Erwin being there, and the fact their private conversation was over before it could begin, but he could tell his alpha was happy beneath it all, and that in turn made him happy "Sorry for the wait. I'm ready now" Dressed in another set of robes, Eren knew he looked good. These robes started out a deep blue green and faded up to a blue, like the water of the peninsula between Eldia and Draecia. He'd dressed carefully, given he had to look presentable before Levi gave him his gifts, and he'd dressed knowing he'd drive Levi crazy. Standing, his boyfriend's chair scraped slightly in his rush "Ah, Eren. Very good, I'm sorry, but we need to go now" Smooth. His boyfriend was an idiot, in the best kind of way. Eren nearly laughed at how flustered he'd made his alpha, without even touching him. Rising to his feet much slower, Erwin sighed, probably not happy to be babysitting the couple "Thank you, Armin. You've been most insightful since our arrival" The blush on Armin's face was soft, his friend giving Erwin the biggest smile he'd ever seen on the beta's face. Mikasa rolled her eyes with a huff. While he'd been secretly pining for Levi, Armin had voiced his excitement to see "Levi" again... repeatedly. Counting down since Eren notified them, and notified them that they'd be returning home. He'd been sure he'd told Levi in his last letter, though after their rough reunion, he'd been nervous to bring the topic up... then got swept up in the festival "It was nothing. I'm just happy to be of help" "And you were" He could see it on Armin's face, this must have been the greatest day of his life. Now. If he managed to get his hands on some of Erwin's hair, he'd be able to give Armin news of his compatibility with the alpha "Eren, maybe I should come with you?" "Mikasa, I'm perfectly safe. Levi will be there to guard us. Go enjoy yourself. Take Armin to the marketplace... have fun. You know once we go back home, it'll be straight back to work"

[davidmann95]

I haven't been able to tolerate a comics news site since ComicsAlliance shut down so what news out of SDCC is actually worth knowing about?

I’ve gotten so many questions regarding SDCC-related news that I figured I’d just do one big post, and this seems as opportune an ask to build that off of as any. To kick off, in terms of news that’s not for me but is a big deal, there’s a trailer for the next season of Doctor Who, and Star Wars: Clone Wars is shockingly coming back for a final reduced season years after the fact. Congrats to the fans of both franchises! Plus yesterday we got the announcement of Orlando and Foreman’s Electric Warriors for DC (as well as Orlando’s Dead Kings with Matt Smith at Aftershock Comics) and the Wonder Woman/Justice League Dark October crossover.

So first and foremost in terms of the reaction it picked up, OH MY GOD:

It’s like the Bat In The Sun team handed over their production to their shitty kids but made them work off a third of the budget. I kept seeing the jokes about it on Twitter, and I kept thinking they were surely hilarious exaggerations, AND NOT A ONE OF THEM EVEN SLIGHTLY WAS. At least it now makes sense why Hawk and Dove is here, given the Liefeld connection: this is 90s as helllllllllllllllllllllll, and while a part of me hopes it swerves unexpectedly in a couple seasons into Fun 90s DC with Starman and Wally West and an Electric Blue Superboy and Titans One Million, I can’t pretend I wouldn’t gleefully hatewatch this if it wasn’t behind a paywall. What it really comes down to is that, as I saw someone mention, the over-the-top content warning at the beginning isn’t actually by any means to get rid of anyone under 18, but specifically to appeal to them over anyone over it: there is nothing about this show not precision-crafted to appeal to teenagers watching something they technically aren’t supposed to, since anyone older than that will just laugh until the stars grow cold. And while it’s one line in particular that’s rightfully drawn all the attention, to me the clear defining moment is Beast Boy taking his big goofy dramatic leap, and you expect him to transform, but that ain’t happening (I fully expect he’ll just have claws and growl and do assorted Wolverine shit instead), because that kind of thing is for STUPID KIDS, whereas this is RAD. 

RAD, dare I say…to the EXTREME.

Also, the pilot Robin’s scene was presumably drawn from was written by Akiva Goldsman, Greg Berlanti, and Geoff Johns. So was it the guy behind Batman & Robin, the guy behind the CWverse, or the recent President of DC Comics who ushered FUCK BATMAN into the world? Because all three of those possibilities are equally hilarious. In any case, the rubicon has been crossed: easily one of the top ten, probably one of the five or so most iconic superheroes of all time said fuck in a piece of mass media. Where we go from here, nobody knows. But at the very least I’ll take the L for my original certainty that this would take place in the CW DCverse, because that clearly isn’t going to be the case. Though boy, imagine if it was. Personally I like to imagine this is a totally normal DCU, and suddenly going full 90s and murdering a bunch of people is their universe’s version of normal teen rebellion.

Additionally, it’s now seemingly set in stone that the fourth DC Universe live-action show alongside Titans, Doom Patrol, and Swamp Thing will be a Stargirl show where Courtney Whitmore learns about her legacy and tries to track down the Justice Society, described as in the flavor of Superman ‘78 and Wonder Woman. Again, if it wasn’t behind a paywall I’d check it out.

And before turning to comics proper, we learned from WB itself that there are no plans to idiotically pour millions into making a functional Justice League Snyder cut a thing, unsurprisingly making some of the worst people on the internet be just the absolute worst (I’m interested myself in it artistically even if I don’t think it would be very good, but at this point it would feel like a validation of some really rotten people’s behavior if this happened). Meanwhile the first trailer for the Dragon Ball Super movie dropped, and yeah, I’m still happy to see Broly. This looks big in a way Dragon Ball for all its action rarely gets, and seeing Paragus suggests Toriyama understood what worked about the original flick, which is a very good sign. Did they swap out Vic Mignogna as Broly though? Wouldn’t blame him, I know he’s said he hates the part, but surprising nonetheless. And the Spider-Man game dropped another trailer, along with a ‘Velocity’ bonus suit designed by Adi Granov.

The big comics news of the day was of course the long-awaited confirmation that Green Lantern is being relaunched - apparently as The Green Lantern - in November by Grant Morrison and Liam Sharp. What’s surprising is that Morrison’s currently insisting that since the last decade or so of the franchise has dealt with constant upheaval and cosmic apocalypse, his run is going to scale back down to a character-focused study of Hal (“He’s a loner and a drifter and he’s an unreconstructed man. It was nice to do that and to go a little bit old-fashioned with it. He doesn’t belong here at all, you know? He’s longing for the heavens, and to be back up as a Green Lantern. We’re doing Hal Jordan where, you know he’s a good cop, but is he really a good guy? And we’re looking into his relationships and how he deals with people. And also the fact that, if you’ve got a job as a space cop, it’s hard to be stuck on the planet Earth. He has other lives on other planets.”) amidst him going about his duties and dealing with weird alien crimes and space threats, such as stopping aliens from ‘parking’ a planet-sized artificial megastructure near a sun and causing damage to nearby worlds, and solving the murder of a gaseous lifeform.

I doubt it’ll necessarily stay there forever - his Batman and Action Comics runs, after all, were both initially marketed as staying on the smaller side by his standards, and the one idea we know of Morrison having once had for the Green Lanterns back in the day was making them a multiversal force. But it’s remarkable how, well, normal this sounds coming from Morrison. Clearly this must be a passion project if he’s doing a monthly again for the first time in 5 years, especially since DiDio mentioned he had to be persuaded (ultimately persuading himself as his attempts to brush off the proposition led to him thinking about the possibilities and rapidly talking himself into it) to make time for this amidst an incredibly busy schedule of surely more profitable and creatively unshackled projects, but on the surface level? This sounds like the closest Morrison has come since his JLA days to writing a regular superhero comic. At this point in his career, I’m very, very curious what that’s going to look like. Just hoping he read the King/Shaner oneshot on whatever reread he surely went through to catch up on current continuity. And also hoping this guy was right that it’ll turn out “the REAL construct that was limited by our willpower and imagination all along was…REALITY.”

On smaller notes:

* Kelly Sue DeConnick and Robson Rocha are taking over Aquaman, with an opening arc that shows him washing up amnesiac on an isle of forgotten sea gods. DeConnick seems to be like the Jeffs Lemire and Parker where my appreciation of their work is limited to very, very specific slivers: none of her Marvel superhero stuff I’ve read did anything for me even if I could see the talent behind it, but her Lois story in the last issue of The Adventures of Superman was pitch-perfect (and also had a great Aquaman bit!). This gets at least an issue from me.

* DC announced new titles for DC Ink and DC Zoom, including Cassandra Cain, Oracle, Dick Grayson, Creeper, and Wonder Woman books, while also announcing some artists for the existing titles.

* Geoff Johns is doing (ugh) Shazam with Dave Eaglesham, who showed off a really great, fun cover suggesting the possibility of a tonal shift away from Johns writing the absolute worst version of that character imaginable. On the likelihood of said possibility though, I think @intergalactic-zoo put it best. I might just check it out in trade if word of mouth is overwhelmingly positive, but then, lots of otherwise rational people liked or at least saw merit in his original crack at it with Gary Frank, and you were all deliriously, impossibly wrong back then, too.

* And finally, speaking of Johns, he’s doing Batman: Three Jokers as a 3-issue mini with Jason Fabok, a smart move given that is precisely as much as I’m willing to invest in this out of morbid curiosity. What’s really baffling though is that it’s being released under Black Label. It would seem to destroy the stated purpose of the line by immediately releasing Very Important Continuity Comics under it, but maybe this means Batman’s gonna follow in his protege’s footsteps and say a fuck. Anyway, I’m mostly just hoping it isn’t revealed Fun Golden Age Joker is actually not the original in order to rub out the prospect that he was ever truly anything but a terrifying sidekick-butchering murder machine at the center of very serious stories, because that feels to be like a real possibility. And absolute no question one of the three is gonna turn out to be the lost child of Marionette and Mime in Doomsday Clock.