#I love this noodly beast

[drag0n0fbutt3r]

I can’t believe I forgot to post this 😭😭😭 but here be my beloved eel

[cerealforkart]

Friend: "I only watched a little of the One Piece anime a long time ago, but I remember there being a dog I loved the shape of."

Me: "I know exactly the dog you're talking about!"

The dog I thought they were talking about:

The dog they were actually talking about:

[neganium]

Never heard of a banded linsang before today. That sure is an Animal

[followthebluebell]

I saw a weird dog on my way to work! It had the body type of a pit bull but with a long, wiry coat that was almost the yellow of a golden retriever. The long coat thinned out on the head and tail, leaving mostly just normal short gray-brown pit bull fur. This dog genuinely looked like it was wearing a wig, or like one of those sheep with the dark face sticking out of the white wool. But with bonus pit bull rat-tail with occasional tufts of long, wiry golden fur. Ridiculous beast. Made my day.

I love dogs so much. I'll always be a cat person at heart but I love the sheer diversity you see in dogs. You don't get that much diversity in cats. Sure, there are some noodly cats, there are cats with funny coats, or mildly odd proportions, but they're all still recognizably cats.

But not dogs. With dogs, you get so many different types and sometimes they try to express their genetics at once and it's beautiful and strange.

[total-drama-brainrot]

Alenoaheather grabbed me by the throat and body slammed me through 15 consecutive buildings a week ago and it is entirely your fault/lh

But I was thinking about the incredible Fake Dating AU y’all were putting together and had a question, then realized I could just ask the question because it’s ✨Tumblr✨. But what do you think would’ve happened if Izzy wasn’t there when Noah passed out at the gym with Eva? Like, imagine Alejandro and Heather bust into the gym, but because of Eva’s awkward ass self(I love her sm) it genuinely just seems like she knocked out Noah. How would you expect the scenario to play out after that, because I do imagine that Aleheather wouldn’t be happy about seeing Noah laid out like a starfish-

My apologies 😔 (I'm not sorry 😈). /lh

The idea of Eva holding up a passed out Noah by the collar of his undershirt, all but looming over him in her desperation to get him to wake the fuck up, only to have both Heather and Alejandro burst into the room and misconstrue the situation entirely is so fucking funny to me. Thank you for the mental image, anon.

Because Eva has aggression practically woven into the threads of her character; she speaks aggressively, se thinks aggressively, and we all know she acts aggressively. Even when she's trying to be gentle she's always going to be rough around the edges, so it'd genuinely look like she's about to pummel an unconscious Noah into nerd-paste. Without Izzy there as a mitigating force, Eva wouldn't have the eloquence to properly explain the situation before AleHeather jump to conclusions and act accordingly.

Which would mostly be Heather trying to beat the shit out of Eva, physical discrepancies be damned, as Alejandro scoops up their partner bridal style and fusses over the 'damsel' in the situation.

Because, out of the two of them, Heather's always been the more physically aggressive one. She's not afraid to start throwing hands- of course, Heather's more likely to attack others with her words, but she's never shied away from a more hands-on approach to conflict. Whereas Alejandro, for all of his displays of physical prowess, doesn't ever really use his strength in a hostile way (his boxing math with José non-withstanding), and he's far too much of a gentleman to ever hit a woman.

So Eva would be staving off an irate Heather, who's trying to claw her eyes out or something, using her superior muscle mass to (as gently as she can) subdue Heather so she could explain herself. But 'fighting back' only makes Eva look worse to the pair, and any explanations she'd try to offer would be all but drowned out by Heather's enraged screaming, falling on deaf ears. Eva really doesn't want to hurt Heather, so she'd hold back the majority of her overwhelming strength, but Heather would interpret that as Eva looking down on her which would only serve to fuel her anger.

Meanwhile, Alejandro and his saviour complex would be trying to resuscitate Noah from his overexertion coma (previously established; Noah goes sicko mode on a punching bag and his noodly ferret body couldn't handle the strain of physical effort), though half of his attention would be diverted towards Heather going beast mode on Eva- either because he'd be genuinely concerned/alarmed by her ferocity, or because Alejandro seems like the type of guy who'd find Heather going feral kind of hot (whichever's funnier).

Eventually Heather would either tire herself out and Eva could attempt to blunder her way through an explanation- under the dual judgemental/seething glares of AleHeather- to mixed results, OR Noah would wake up, have a 'what the fuck is going on here' moment, and quickly clear up the confusion in his patented know-it-all way. That is to say, insulting everyone involved for their incompetency whilst ignoring his own pivotal role in the disagreement, and then explaining that he and Eva are cool now. (He'd probably be a dick about it to; "We're besties, me and Eva are having a sleepover tonight and we're going to talk about Boys and Shoes and Makeup and you're not invited." Noah can't stop being a sarcastic jester-coded prick for more than one scene or else he'll implode.)

-

Of course, this is all just speculation. I expect @perpetualexistence has plenty of their own thoughts to add to this hypothetical, as the adoptive 'co-parent' of this AU!

This is mostly just me pushing my "AleNoah ask for no pickles, Heather's the one who confronts the cashier when they get pickles" Alenoaheather dynamic. Heather the girlboss and her two cringefail, pathetic-pilled boyfriends. She's the only one of the three who can be direct with her misgivings (Noah is blunt, sure, but he skirts around confrontation- see his reaction to Alejandro's comment in "I See London..."). Also a not-so-subtle nod towards Alejandro always prioritising being the 'hero who rescues the damsel' over the 'hero who confronts the villain', which is literally just canon. The guy's not confrontational despite being manipulative- the puppet master works behind the curtains, after all. (The only time I can think of him ever directly confronting someone is, again, his comment to "Noah in I See London...", which is less of an accusation and more of a pointed comment.)

[lumenflowered]

[A video is attached. Given that both Maria and the strange, noodly bat thing Mallory has become are visible in the frame, it seems likely that the camera is still being held by Dee.

What's more concerning is the fact that there's no sign at all of Lugia—but the cavern is suddenly filled with a lot of people in black with giant red Rs on their chests, and standing before them all is none other than a man in a black fedora.

It's none other than Giovanni, walking out to where Lugia—and Ho-oh—had previously been.

"Oh, what the fuck, why are you back, why are you here," Mallory hisses, the spikes on her back visibly bristling. Giovanni spares her a glance, and a raised eyebrow, but nothing more.

Why would he, when he's got a significantly larger grudge towards an entirely different Faller in the room?

"How lovely of you to join us at last," Giovanni says. "I'm sure you're wondering several things right now."

"...Yes," Maria says tightly. As bad as this situation is, she looks far less stressed out now that Lugia is gone. "The grunts of yours that weren't accounted for—this is more than there were. How..."

"That's what you're wondering? Really?" Giovanni laughs. "Well, when a powerful organization such as mine goes down, another enterprising one might be able to get something useful out of the remnants. This goes both ways, of course. I've been spending some time in Kalos, as of late, and it has paid off quite significantly."

"...Kalos," Dee whispers, under her breath, behind the camera. "Eileen...?"

"Now, now, there were quite a few people quite desperate to get away from an entirely different group of pesky Fallers," Giovanni elaborates. "You, Maria—and... whatever is going on with your doppelganger and that thing—are something that those formerly of Team Flare are far more willing to try their luck with."

"You're going to regret that," Maria says calmly. Too calmly.

"No, I don't think I will." Giovanni's smirk is unmistakable. "I had no idea the technology that Team Flare was developing until I brought some of them into the fold! Most of it's useless to me, I'll admit—I have no use for something so unrefined as that 'Ultimate Weapon'—but there's one particular little innovation that came too late for poor Lysandre to make use of, gods rest his soul. Would you like to know what it is?"

Maria sighs. "You are going to tell me regardless."

"I have in my possession," Giovanni says, "a device that forces every Pokémon within the vicinity to return immediately to their Pokéballs. And, unless they have been pre-registered, no Pokémon can be retrieved from that ball until I have disabled it."

"Hm," Maria says. She looks to Mallory. "I've had worse odds, even unarmed. These aren't beasts."

"Nope," Mallory agrees. "Just shitty people. Just—what is he doing."

What Giovanni is doing is bending down, almost directly where Lugia had vanished, and pulling a Master Ball out of the water. A Master Ball which he promptly opens, releasing Lugia, who does not turn on him immediately as one might have expected.

"Lugia," says Giovanni, "works for me. Even the gods have a price, and unluckily for you, I discovered Lugia's long before you climbed a certain mountain."

Maria freezes. In shock, or in terror—for how stoic she normally is, it's all too obvious now how stoic she isn't here, with Lugia behind Giovanni and looking directly at her.

"That is why you attacked me," she says shakily. "Not because... not because of what I did to—"

She cuts herself off, because Giovanni is looking a little too interested in what she might have to say.

"Why?" she says instead. "Why Lugia? Why Ho-oh?"

"It's quite simple, really," Giovanni replies. "If the gods of this world have chosen to meddle in my affairs, then I'll need that power myself to prevent them from doing so again. Lugia alone could suffice, of course—but Ho-oh will be a lovely bonus, and you've brought them right to me."

Giovanni pauses, bending to pick up another Pokéball—except that there isn't another there. Solaire's isn't there.

His eyes scan the water uselessly for another few moments before he looks back at Maria, his face contorting in rage.

"Where is it?!" he demands. "It should be here?"

"Um, sir," one of the grunts near him says. "The teleportation part of the tech's... a little finicky. Ho-oh's ball might still be in her bag. Or wherever she's keeping it."

"Give me the ball," Giovanni says, "or I will have Lugia visit upon you a world of pain!"

"I cannot give you," Maria replies, "what I do not have."

Giovanni stares at her. Glares at her. Maria holds his gaze, unblinking. Unmoving.

"If you'll pardon my interruption," Dee says, "if she had Ho-oh's Pokéball anywhere accessible, would she not have used it instead of forcing them to fly down here?"

"Then where," Giovanni roars, "is it?!"

"No force you possess," Maria replies, "can make me tell you."

Somehow, Giovanni looks even more furious. "Fine. Fine! Ho-oh will have to return here if they ever want to see their pesky little Chosen again!"

The threat would be laughable if he hadn't snapped his fingers, if every other grunt in the cavern—of which there are dozens—hadn't released their Pokémon, all at once. Maria, and those with her, are surrounded.

"...Ah." Maria looks less thrilled.

"Either of you may leave," Giovanni says. "Or, I suppose, whatever that thing is—"

"That thing," Mallory growls, "can understand you perfectly well."

"Return here, with Ho-oh," he continues, "and those who remain can go free in exchange. Or we can all wait here, or you can try to fight without Pokémon and without other weaponry of any kind. The decision is yours."

"Do you honestly believe," Maria says, "that I would ever accept—"

"I accept," says Dee, and Maria's head snaps around to her, a look of utter betrayal in her eyes. "On the condition that I may speak privately with my friends for a moment before they go."

The video ends there—or, rather, Dee ends the video there.]

[strititty]

10, 16, 25 for the fic asks?

10. How do you decide what to write?

i write what the beast of inspiration decides i should write, most of the time! this unfortunately sometimes leads to me not writing for long stretches of time because my brain is a noodly mess of neurodivergence, which is why several of my fics have gone years without updates. THEY WILL UPDATE AGAIN, I SWEAR IT.

also sometimes i enter exchanges and take prompts, which can get the juices flowing.

for oc writing usually it's just me talking with my friends that gets the idea engine revving lmao if i weren't up to my ass in owed work right now i would be scratching at the walls with some d&d fic!

16. What's an AU you would love to read? (or have read and loved?)

for ones that i haven't read yet... that pathologic/homestuck fusion au idea was frankly killer of me and i would absolutely LOVE to see that done, even if i have to do it myself.

for ones that i HAVE read... well recently i read arc's fallout davekat fic and that was EXCELLENT. arc writes really good aus, always.

also not to throw your own fic back at you but the regency era alphacest haunts me eternally, and i super love the mushroom city fic!! i need to catch up on it, it's tasty (do not taste the mushrooms)

also i love kidswaps and trollstuck aus, i think they're really fun!! i love the way characters can be tweaked just so and seeing how far away you can get from their original iteration while still keeping the core of them, which may also be homestuck's MO lmao.

25. What other websites or resources do you use when you write?

is now a good time to mention that i almost NEVER do research. i know my fics would be better for it, and if i ever get to working on a longfic i actually intend to post i definitely will, but GOD. almost never.

like sometimes ill look something up (i'd say i google it but actually i use duckduckgo so lmao), or sometimes i'll read a book or fic or what have you that has the mood i'm going for so that i can ease into the process, but a lot of the time its just me with a google doc.

ok SOMETIMES i'll open the thesaurus (word variation) or a wiki to make sure i'm not TOTALLY botching a concept or character, but genuinely,,, not a lot of outside help

[inevitablyuncertain]

Help who is floon

sorry for the delay lmao but he's so important and i wanted to make sure i captured his essence properly

floon is an NPC in the Dungeon of the Mad Mage dnd module. the canonical information that goes with him is 1) Pretty and 2) frequently in debt. he's literally just a guy and the most noteworthy thing about him is that he's friends with a fairly well-known noble

i cannot emphasize how much of a regular dude he is except for his incredible bravado and confidence. he walks around with adventurers with his own importance that puts him on the same level, he will not be cowed by any man nor beast nor aberration nor fey nor-

he is a Simple man and we all love him dearly. when i drew a party portrait, i included him in the background. when another player draw a party poster, a little floon was included. he is our mascot. he is unbothered by the trivialities of the everyday, even if the everyday sometimes includes kidnapping. no thoughts head empty, flat zero stat modifiers of a commoner

so with all this in mind, i will now tell you that he's saved the party from a tpk TWICE by virtue of being in the right place at the right time and landing exactly enough damage with his noodly commoner punch to land the killing blow on an enemy. we keep making increasingly larger-than-life theories about him (including that he's secretly a polymorphed dragon who's lost his memories and is now just going around as a human)

[hobgayblin]

5, 6, 7, draethil? lords I hope that's the right name DOFJFKFJ

YES thats my noodly elden lad gsdfh thank you S !!!

5. Does your insert have any magical talents or otherwise special abilities? Are they passive, like the ability to befriend animals, or dangerous power that the villains want? Or if theyre evil - any powers the heroes want to stop? 

It's sort of magic I guess, not like traditional magic in the universe (casting spells), but he has transformation powers. He's a sort of vampire so he drinks the blood of creatures and then he can transform into whatever the creature is, with a caveat being if it's something big (like a dragon) he can't fully transform into it just take certain aspects from it. He can do modular transformations too where he transforms just certain parts of his body to fit a creature/give himself extra limbs or other traits (like his tail, or fire breathing glands). It's not ability that can be like, Taken and used but it is still something the "villains" (blood cult) want to study since its cool blood stuff sgdfhsf

6. Do they fight? What’s their weapon of choice? Do they stay on the sidelines? What would it take for them to get off the sidelines? Revenge? Saving a loved one? What’s the motivation for them to fight, or to stay OUT of a fight?

He does fight, he has to fight to survive in the bastard world of eldy rings. He can use his transformations offensively to give himself uhhhhhhh well a lot of stuff but with dragon stuff as an example he can do a big tail for smacking, big claws for slapping, spikes anywhere on his body also for slapping, and fire breath sometimes. He DOES also have a big fuckoff sword that is a greatsword that can split in half and become 2 big dual wield swords if he needs something quicker.

HOWEVER. He doesn't really like to fight. He just does it out of necessity and tries to avoid it where possible. Unless it is with a dragon in which case he will kill on sight so he can eat it sgfhgsdhf

7. What kind of clothing style do they like? What would they never be caught dead wearing? What’s likely in their closet right now?

Armor !!!!!!!!!! Baby need armor lest the 10000 beasts get him. He usually wears leather/lighter armors both because he likes to be quick on his feet and also because it makes it easier for him to transform. Very difficult to grow more arms or change your body's shape in a full suit of non-malleable metal armor.

[ladder-discourse]

Is now a good time to talk about dragons? Because if it is, then I’d love to hear what you came up with!

YEAH LET'S TALK ABOUT DRAGONS YEEEEAAHHHH thanks for reminding me anon

I realized I kind of touched on a lot of this in my TM info post already so hopefully this isn't too disappointing to read lmao...

Gonna c/p what I put on my info post first,

Dragons: Exceedingly rare and mysterious; as far as anyone is aware no true “pure blooded” dragons exist anymore, and any dragon representation among the cast is limited to what are technically human/dragon hybrids. Draconic abilities are not well understood as they are not only rare but also wildly variable in nature. The only consistently shared trait seems to be that all people with draconic heritage are immune to curses and most magical types of poison.

OK so to expound on this, basically my idea is basically that there are two broad categories of dragons.

The first category are "true" dragons or Elder Dragons which are like, basically what some people in-universe could argue are basically Gods. Big powerful reptilian beasts who could change shape and traverse between the different magical planes with ease, and they had all kinds of whack powers and shit bc they are chock o' block full of magical power. As far as the general supernatural community is aware these guys only exist in legend now, but at some point in history they used to mingle more openly with the rest of society. There are currently no characters in TM who are this type of dragon.

The second category is made up of the dragon-blooded, which is what Phoenix and Ryunosuke and Athena all are. At some point in their lineage an elder dragon got involved, and now for countless generations ever since, random people in their families have occasionally been able to turn into big scaly reptiles with weird powers. I'm not sure yet if the elder dragons 'getting involved' in their family means 'literally had kids w/ a human/another monster' or if it just means they like, passed some of their power onto a family line, like a blessing, by arcane means?? w/e, specifics don't matter, it's a lawyer AU, point is dragon vibes got in there somewhere and created a whole new variety of supernatural entity which are basically like. Demi-dragons.

So. Phoenix, Ryunosuke, Athena, 'Yuta and Dhurke are all this second category. They're dragons, but they're not Dragons. If that is confusing, I apologize, it confuses me too, but this is what I get for basically building this plane as I fly it. I probably should just settle on an alternate term for what they are and stick with it but it's also just easier (and sometimes funnier) to just say 'dragon'.

Additional tidbits...

How much a dragon-blooded person's draconic influence expresses itself through them (ie whether they are in touch with their powers and draconic form or not) has a lot to do with like... the individual's own inner strength, and whether they have a proper understanding of their own capabilities/heritage. So like, I think Ryunosuke was raised in a setting where his family was like, yes, we are aware that we are capable of turning into these noodly bois, it's rad, and it was like a part of their daily culture and how he was raised. Same w/ Athena to an extent, Metis may have been killed when she was young but she still had enough time w/ her mom to get something of a foundation to work from

Phoenix is a special case. Either he was an orphan and basically had no guidance on this shit at all, or his family just really fell out of touch with the magic shit in the generations that happened between his time and Ryunosuke's. Which is why he can't really access a full form for the duration of the Trilogy. He has to find himself still, basically!

(...And now in the course of typing this all out I am also now wondering if I should retcon and canonize that Athena also has some of this shit to figure out still. 🤔 (I say as if I'm actually writing a fic or something out of this and not just making Funney Doodles lmao))

...Anyway this is way too long and rambly and I'm so sorry, somehow at some point I wound up basically turning this AU into like, a sandbox where I use these lawyer games characters as fun dolls to try to figure out world building for my own original urban fantasy setting??

[blookmallow]

ive found an EXCELLENT game in one of the itch.io bundles

everyone should play pikuniku it will bring you unimaginable joy 

ive been alive 2 seconds and i already have a ghost friend this is starting off strong 

fuck dude you sure are 

thats ok your friendship alone is a treasure i will cherish all of my days 

i cant get back into the ghost cave anymore.... i miss ghost... :( 

its been a while since ive seen a game this genuinely delightful to play. you do a silly flip every time you jump. you can roll around like a little jellybean and bounce on mushrooms. you’re just a little thing with noodly legs and the world is full of color and cute sounds and nothing can stop you

im apple

im having fun being The Beast zdfsndfg

they’re not scared of me anymore but i am still a public nuisance 

i love how much chaotic bastard energy they’ve managed to contain inside this little creature

DONT LOOK AT ME YOU’RE THE ONE WHO PUT YOUR EGGS IN A CLOUD

(they were fine i just. kick started the hatching process. literally. fsdg they hatched and flew off and i found them its Fine Everyone’s Fine) 

sir,

help

sdjgasdsfjg iM SO SORRY I HIT THE WRONG BUTTON AND ACCIDENTALLY FUCKIGN LAUNCHED THIS POOR SPIDER ACROSS THE RIVER INSTEAD OF TALKING TO THEM

which, however, also fixed the bridge problem bc apparently this spider has silk strong enough to walk on, so i think ultimately i was SUPPOSED to do that, but it was in fact an accident. the kick button and the interact button are very close together i am so sorry 

this guy asked me to draw a new face for the scarecrow prepare yourselves 

HORRIFYING. A MASTERPIECE 

im a genius 

ive become..... The Beast

also when i roll i look like this now which is excellent 

im absolutely positive these are here specifically for me to come in and destroy them but i could not bring myself to do it. this nice blob man doesnt deserve this 

FLOWER HAT 

IT CHANGES COLORS

i tried to help fix this guy’s toaster and a giant magical toast god came out and transported me into the toast dimension but i survived all the toast and made it to the toast god and unplugged his toaster which defeated the toast god but also killed the toaster 

o kA  Y 

this is peak ~Random Humor xD~ but somehow this game gets away with it fdfgdfh

i think its. because of the combination of “some insane bullshit happens” and the characters just being completely deadpan unimpressed by it like. wow. huh

[qhostqizmo]

Welcome home

tfw u love your wife so gd much

“Easy, Maestro,” Amon grunted, giving the horse’s reins a tug to slow the beast. The equine tossed their mane and snorted in response; almost a sass. He blew a playful trill past his lips to answer the animal. A whinny here, a prance there, and they rounded the corner of the gate with hooves trotting to a steady stop for the nobleman to toss his leg over and drop off. Honestly, the mount had better comebacks than many of the adversaries he’d fought over the years.

The Illiad heir wore a grin as he tugged his cloak back into place, the wrap of fur on the base sweeping against the ground. Taking the reins once more with a gloved hand, he gave a click of his tongue to encourage Maestro to follow towards the stable. His lungs filled with the air of home; of the woods and damp stone and grass. Flowerbeds in front of the estate were in bloom for the season, waving in the light breeze to display flashes of color. They added a hint of sweetness with their subtle fragrance traveling in the wind.

It was just another ordinary day.

Amon retrieved a few satchels from the saddlebags, and handed off the bridle strap to the first stable lad who came out to greet him. He settled his gaze upon his home; brick-layered with an intimidating dark roof. The window-boxes filled with flora took away from what otherwise would be a dismal appearance, and many of the windows themselves were open to allow the breeze inside. It was warm, the sun was shining, and the curtains were swaying ever so gently as the day entered in the house.

He shouldered his sacks, and headed for the imposing heavy oak doors.

They opened with barely a squeak; recently cleaned and oiled. The nobleman settled his things on the carpet carefully, and went to latch the door behind him.

Three… two… one…

“Welcome home, beloved!”

His heart fluttered. He could count the seconds to her greetings down to the breath. She was always on time; predictably so. Some would call the routine boring, but he could never get enough of it.

Amon turned towards the warmest greeting he’d ever known. Like clockwork, his Lady Essätha beamed at him; bright eyes of sunlight and a dazzling gleam of a smile. She lit him up on the inside as she came running towards him with the glee and giddiness one would expect of newlyweds. Yet years had passed; evidence in the white hairs that stubbornly had begun sprouting through his locks, and her beauty and warmth never stopping taking his breath away and making his heart race.

She flung herself into him and he wheezed; her frame warm and soft against him. She was almost delicate; gently curves on her waist echoing the same sort on her lips. Her arms linked around his neck, and the sorceress clung to him like he was the last man on the planet.

Even on the most brief trips such as this to the market, and this is what he came back to. Every time. He couldn’t have been gone but perhaps an hour at most.

It was still the best welcome home he’d ever had.

Animated himself, Amon gathered his wife up in his arms and squeezed until she began to squeal and laugh. What a wonderful, enchanting sound. Her arms clung to him and held tight as he buried his face into the curls of her black hair, inhaling the aroma of peony and orange blossom caught in her ringlets from her wash soap. Her giggles began to accelerate as he brushed his nose along her her temple and down to her neck, his breathing tickling her skin and sending a flurry of goosebumps down her bare shoulders. The off-the-shoulder top she wore had its advantages; unfortunately its shape hid the true shape of her figure with its ruffles, but her exposed warm brown skin was thrilling.

He kissed a speckling of scales on shoulder, admiring the way she shivered against him.

“I missed you,” Essie chimed sweetly, prying herself away from him. She grinned wildly, and he grinned broadly and helplessly back. Gods, her smile was so radiant he felt weak in the knees.

“I was only gone for a moment,” he teased her.

She puckered out her lower lip. “I still missed you,” the Lady of the manor protested stubbornly.

“I missed you more, darling.”

“You insult me. I came racing to see you m’lord Amon; I would argue that I missed you more.”

The nobleman chuckled, letting go of her waist to cradle her face in his hands. She sighed a dreamy little sigh, and nuzzled herself in his rough hands comfortably. Half-lid butterscotch golden eyes, full lips curled up, patches of scales beneath his fingertips, and waves of dark hair trapped beneath his palms.

He had never seen a more perfect vision, and yet she grew more and more fond and divine in his eyes and heart each and every day.

“I don’t like to argue with you Essie, you know this,” he remarked through a grin, “can we agree that we missed each other equally instead?”

“Let me think on it,” she hummed, sliding her arms from around him to comb through his shaggy mane.

“Think on it?” his echoed, his brow knitting with confusion.

“Yes. I need to think if I should punish you for offending my heart.”

“My dear, my heart, my love, my beautiful Lady Essätha Illiad; whatever can I do to undo the unjust I have caused you?”

She cooed, running her thumb against his pouty lower lip with a smile. “Stop, you know that’s not fair.”

“What is?” he whined, playing ignorant.

“Fine, you are forgiven. Now stop looking so sulky, it hurts my soul to see you so.”

Leaning forward, she kissed the bridge of his nose. She turned to kiss both of his cheeks then, as they rose with the grin that split across his expression and made his face ache. He pulled her urgently closer, his hands tightening by fractions on her features. Essätha gave a short gasp before he kissed her lips.

He kissed her, slow and endearing. His whiskers scraped against her skin. Her mouth was soft; slanting, eager for more.

Amon pulled away before he’d find himself carried away in the moment.

“Thank you for pitying a foolish man.”

“Amon.”

“I meant you no offense, madame Illiad.”

“I can not scold you long; not even teasingly, you doof,” she sighed, kissing the tip of his nose. “I love you too much.”

His gaze softened. “It is the greatest gift I’ve ever been honored with,” he murmured, kissing her brow. “I love you too.”

“Mmm, keep talking mister smooth,” the sorceress sang. She let go of his face, and bent down to retrieve one of his bags. “Here, let me help you with these.”

“Allow me to carry the heavier ones, please,” the nobleman insisted, grabbing the straps of the other bags to sling over his shoulder before she could snag them.

“Afraid my noodly-arms will fall off?”

“No; I just prefer to remember my manners. A gentleman should always be swift to assist a lady.”

“Will you get the door for me into the dining room too then?” she whispered playfully, stroking his sideburns and cradling the side of his face.

Amon leaned into her touch naturally, turning to kiss her wrist. His eyes burned fiercely into hers. “Yes.”

Her expression changed to one bordering sympathy. “You know you don’t have to m’lord.”

“I want to,” he replied with profound honesty.

She tilted her head at him, a half-smile on her lips. Looking into her eyes triggered a memory; how could he be so forgetful? Pulling his cloak aside, he opened up his jerkin to pull out the maximilian sunflower he had carefully tucked into his coat pocket. The yellow flower’s petals were a bit crushed and bruised from the previous hug, but was still intact.

Carefully, the nobleman tucked the steam through her mess of ebony hair and around the curve of her ear.

Eyelashes fluttering, she turned a shy glance back up towards him, a romantic glow of pink burning its way across her cheeks. His insides felt like they melted into a puddle.

Sliding his pointer finger beneath her chin, he tilted her head back to brush his lips against hers once more. She trembled beneath the whisper of contact, her mouth falling open and her eyes slowly drifting close.

He could deny himself no more, and her even less. Tilting his head to mirror hers, he stole her breath as she so often did his. They arose from that kiss both wide-eyed and panting for oxygen.

“Wow,” Essie breathed, patting his chest. The way her eyes traveled over him; the way her teeth sank into her lower lip, instantly made his blood run hot.

Clearing his throat, Amon stepped to her side to wrap an arm around her waist. “Shall we, Mrs. Illiad?”

Her rosy blush was more red than pink now, and had spread down her throat as she swallowed. Essätha leaned into him, trusting her weight against his side. “Only after we’ve put produce away,” she answered mysteriously, stroking a hand beneath his chin.

His eyes turned into mere slits of cat-like pleasure. Her touch was heaven, and he found himself unable to take his eyes off her. Naturally, she was the beacon of light that guided him home.

His heartbeat quickened as her gaze dropped over him down to his trousers, and she raised an eyebrow with a cheeky smile. Well, he hadn’t exactly made the effort to hide his reaction to their kiss.

Essätha rested her cheek against the mantle upon his shoulder and sighed, nuzzling herself there as they took a stroll through the manor, heading for the dining hall.

And he still couldn’t stop looking down at her. An ache in his chest that there were no words to explain. He loved her. He loved her so much, his very being sought her. He was pulled to her like gravity. His longing to see her; to touch her, to hold her was more boundless than the sky was endless.

He tilted his head slowly to rest atop hers, breathing in the perfume lingering in her hair again.

There was nothing ordinary about today, or yesterday, or tomorrow. Nothing every felt mundane or plain or simple. So long as Essätha Meduza Illiad was with him, every day was as outstanding and captivating as she was, and he was going to soak in every second of it.

Essie let out a squeak, jumping as his hand traveled to innocent grope from her lower back to her rear.

And he certainly couldn’t wait to immerse himself in today’s adventures with her.

[hitodama89]

And done! I am highly amused by how fast I managed to finish this piece, as the one I previously already compared it to took me apparently 80 hours to finish. I didn’t time my process this time, but I’d guess this took something like 10-15 hours, max 15-20 hours. Considering this has 18 Pokémon in it and the bigger one has around 54 (18 is exactly 1/3 of 54) that’s not a bad time at all!

But enough about that - let’s talk about the Pokémon themselves.

So pictured here are all of the beta Pokémon that I wish were actually canon so, so much. Here are my reasonings for all of them, but beware - this is gonna get lenghty!

Legendary beasts. Currently I just wish it was considered canon that this is what the beasts looked like before they were resurrected by Ho-Oh, but funnily enough I am absolutely sure that as a kid I would’ve just all around preferred the beta versions above the final versions. I didn’t like how cluttered the designs of the legendary beasts were, so these much simpler versions would’ve really pleased me back then. Nowadays I do like the actual beasts, too, but I still wish these designs were used the way I descirbed in the beginning in order to both pay homage to the beta versions as well as finally give faces to the then-nameless Pokémon trio that died in the accident of Burned tower.

Blastoise. If I’m being honest here, I have never liked Blastoise that much. Didn’t like it as a kid and, unlike with the beasts, don’t really like it too much nowadays. Somehow just adding guns to Pokémon feels really wrong to me, even if I have of course grown accustomed to the design over the years. And then we found out that Wartortle was originally going to evolve something completely different than the Blastoise we know nowadays! Argh! We have very little footage of the actual evolution though (just a 1st gen back sprite), so what I drew is a little bit more speculative than most other Pokémon shown here.

Plesiosaurus-seal starter line. If I could choose only one beta Pokémon line to become canon, it would be this one. Why? Because it would literally be my favorite starter line ever. Also I have never actually liked Totodile line, so if it had been replaced with these guys 2nd gen starters as a whole would be easily my favorite of all time. I also don’t feel like the designs are TOO close to Lapras or Dragonair, especially if Dragonair was tweaked a tiny bit, which would’ve also been a good opportunity to make it a more believable middle form between Dratini and Dragonite.

Marowakhan. It pains me so god damn much that this isn’t a canon Pokémon. In fact I think it would’ve been a perfect chance to make Cubone line’s evolution very special: maybe the cub looks like the one pictured here in its mother’s pouch if it gets raised peacefully by its mom and then evolves into Marowakhan, but if it gets separated from its mother it grows into Cubone and then the Marowak we know today. Or Marowakhan could just be the second evolution of Cubone line, but I personally would love to get some explanation to the whole Cubone-is-always-mourning-its-lost-mother-and-wearing-the-mother’s-skull situation; not literally every Cubone ever could’ve lost their mothers, right?

Shellder’s cousing. Another one that in my opinion would just need to exist for the sake of lore. The whole “when Shellder grabs Slowpoke’s tail, Slowpoke evolves into Slowbro” just doesn’t make any bit of sense - the Pokémon attached to Slowbro (and Slowking) looks nothing like Shellder at all! And the whole thing isn’t ever being mentioned as an evolution of Shellder either, so it doesn’t really explain why it suddenly looks like the creature pictured here. Add this fellow to the dex and bada-boom, things are back in sensible order.

Baby Vulpix. This one looks stupidly cute, but it would also be a good way to make sense to the whole “Vulpix is born with one tail that later splits into several tails” issue. Maybe this fellow could’ve even be depicted with just one tail instead of the already splitting one to make it look even more distinct from Vulpix?

Baby Meowth. Okay, for this one I don’t have any other reason than the fact that it looks adorable. But now that I think about it, giving Meowth a baby form would’ve been a good way to also further draw parallel between it and Pikachu line, which also got a baby form in 2nd gen.

Baby Tangela. Another cutie I just want to exist! The second evolution of Tangela they were planning at this point was also muuuuch better than the Tangrowth we eventually got, but I didn’t draw it because I’m not that huge of a fan of it either. But the baby I would’ve definitely loved! (This is also the only Pokémon whose sprite colors I just used as they were instead of trying to speculate what they were intended to represent. The reason was that I just plain and simple really liked these colors!)

Wooper. Okay the final version of Wooper is already pretty nice, but the beta version is just squishably cute! I would literally want an army of these critters! Later they did reuse the idea in Mudkip, but still I think the beta Wooper was better than both Wooper and Mudkip combined.

Aipom. Oh my god, what happened to this guy?! I like this cat-monkey a million times more than the googly-eyed, noodly-armed monkey-caricature we eventually got. Just why must you hurt me like this, Game Freak?

Dark cats. I absolutely have no idea why these two didn’t become canon? Yeaaaah they are a little bit close to Umbreon, but, like, take that moon away and the problem is just about solved. The bells are so darn cute and would’ve been absolutely a neat idea! The 2nd gen could’ve also really used a few more Dark type Pokémon, so there’s that, too.

Flying blob. This guy was going to be cut from this list when I was drawing the line between what I was going to draw and what not, but it was saved mostly because of how well it filled that space up there. This design seems like it was reused in Mantine and maybe Togekiss, but that scary face on the backside didn’t make it into either of the designs, which I think is a shame.

[destiny-islanders]

You (Comrades Protag) + The Chocobros | Part II - Prompto

Part I - Gladio |

STRAP IN, FOLKS! I GOT CARRIED AWAY WITH THIS ONE. YOU AND PROMPTO ARE ABOUT TO GO ON AN ADVENTURE.

So after you eat Gladio’s I’m-Sorry-I-Gave-You-A-Concussion Cup Noodles, he gives you his phone number, just in case you figure out how to unlock your phone.

He knows that you’re a pretty big deal in Lestallum; people recognize you and know that you’re busting your ass to help keep the city safe. He asks you to keep him posted on Lestallum’s progress via Iris.

You and Iris become pretty good friends. And you take pictures of everything.

Pictures capturing the progress of construction projects around Lestallum

Pictures of your handwritten notes from your meetings with the elected leader of Lestallum, Holly, Cor, Libertus, Dave, and a handful of other key players in the power restoration efforts.

You even send him a photo of you and Iris posing in sweaters you knitted for each other by hand

Yes, you know how to knit now. When night falls, and the people of Lestallum are forced to hide within the safety of the city’s walls, they’re left restless, anxious, and with way too much time on their hands-- time to learn how to actually play a game of chess, time to learn how to play every single card game known to man, and time to hear just about everyone’s stories of loss and faint, fragile hope for a brighter future.

One day, Gladio texts Iris to let you know that a friend of his will be swinging through Lestallum soon, and that he might track you down for some combat practice.

Iris seems excited to see this friend of her brother’s. She says his name is Prompto and that you’re going to love him.

The name doesn’t ring a bell, and you have no idea what he looks like. You guess you’ll recognize him when he taps you on the shoulder and asks if it would be okay to beat you up behind the power plant.

Prompto shows up while Cid is tinkering with your favorite weapon, imbuing it with the power of that griffon feather you and your friends found yesterday. You take it from Cid and give it a few practice swings, testing out its weight, admiring its shine in the light.

Prompto: “Yikes. Hope you don’t end up hitting me with that thing lmao”

Turns out that, just like Gladio, you’ve seen this guy before. He’s another one of the prince’s royal retainers. He was a last-minute addition, with next to no formal training. But you guess he must at least have some kind of raw talent, to have survived this long as a hunter.

The extent of your former interactions with Prompto: You were collecting herbal ingredients in Duscae for a medicinal remedy that a sickly friend of yours desperately needed. You’d just about gathered everything you needed when you heard screaming from across the lake. You glanced in the direction of the noise and saw a cotoblepas charging towards two tiny figures standing way too damned close to the water.

You: “SHIT SHIT SHIT”

It’s a good thing you didn’t spare a second to think this through, because you would have realized how stupid you were being if you had. Instead of trying to warp around the lake, you decided to warp straight across it. Your intentions were noble; you wanted to help these people as quickly as you could.

But yes you fell into the water and approximately twenty-seven (27) gallons of it shot up your nose. But you chucked your weapon into the air and kept going 

You barreled into one of the people fleeing the cotoblepas and warped, putting as much distance as you could between yourselves and the beast. You put a hand on the person’s shoulder, shouted, “Stay!” and got ready to warp back for the other.

Turned out you didn’t have to bother; the other idiot could warp, too.

You: “...Prince Noctis?”

YEP! Prompto knew that you were a Glaive and was waaaaaay too intimidated by you to lie. He explained that they essentially Did It For The Vine. 

Did the key to the salvation of Eos almost get himself trampled by a cotoblepas for a photo?????

Prompto showed you the photo.

You: “Okay that’s actually pretty sick, bro”

Noctis: “Hell yeah”

You: “Oh shit my fucking weeds”

Prompto: “Your what now”

Prompto and Noctis understandably felt guilty when they realized that the herbs you had worked so hard to collect for your friend were soaked, dirtied, and ruined because you fell into the lake. They helped you collect more before you parted ways.

Prompto: “So... Gladio said you might be down for some sparring?”

You lead him to the Lestallum equivalent of the bicycle rack: the same quiet corner where Gladio had brooded in a constant state of exhaustion.

No one cleaned up the crates you broke with your body in the back of the alleyway...

Prompto: “Go easy on me, ‘kay?”

This guy is smaller and more noodly than Gladio. You hope that means you actually stand a chance this time.

Nope. Wrong. Bitch you thought. You don’t. One second you’re standing there, getting ready to fight, the next, you’re frozen in place and unable to do anything but watch as Prompto takes a selfie with your petrified body

No sooner have you regained yourself than he’s casting Starshell and inflicting you with confusion.

Where are you? What are you doing here? What day is it? Who’s President?

Why are you asking that? Lucis has a monarchy?

You literally end up putting your weapon down and sitting by a dumpster, your head spinning and your thoughts a muddled, confusing mess in your head

Prompto sits down next to you and listens to you rant and rave, riding out the status effect until it’s run its course

You, Confused: “Why do they call it instant ramen when it takes three minutes to cook”

You, Confused: “That’s not instant”

You, Confused:  “Does it hurt grass when we step on it?”

You, Confused:  “Why are bees”

Prompto: “Why are bees what?”

You, Confused: “Just. Why. Why are bees”

You, Somehow Even More Confused Than Before:  “Tissue fabric running tire folder clean”

Prompto: *Is trying so hard not to fucking laugh right now. Literally he has never seen someone react this way to the confusion status ailment* “That’s right. Let it all out.”

You finally come back to yourself and look at Prompto for what feels like the first time.

You: “Did... did I win?”

Prompto: “I’d call it a tie.”

You don’t spar again that day. You just hang out.

You will fight again a few more times! Turns out he’s not so tough once you manage to dodge his attacks and get in close.

Punch him! He bleeds!

Please don’t punch him. He bleeds. :(((((((

The score ends up being 4-3 in Prompto’s favor. You try to argue that the first fight shouldn’t count because of the Status Ailment Hell he banished you to, but Prompto won’t hear a word of it

You’ll get him next time

You think Prompto’s great! You can’t remember the last time you laughed this much. It feels good to laugh. There’s not much to laugh at in this dark day and age.

Prompto gives you his number before he leaves Lestallum. You promise you’ll text him when you remember your passcode.

That leaves Iris to once again be an intermediary between you and another Chocobro, though this one is more for fun than it is with Gladio-- since most of your communications are related to relief efforts around Lucis.

IRIS’S PHONE BECOMES A HUB FOR POST-APOCALYPTIC MEMES

It’s like a “laugh in one eye, cry in the other” situation

You guys end up texting so much that Iris can’t take it anymore. A friend of hers in Old Lestallum has an unlocked smart phone and gives it to you until you can unlock your own.

The meme-ing gloves are off now. Uh-oh.

Group chat with Gladio and Iris. Prompto names the group “Annoying the Amicitias”

Where has Prompto been all your life? You’re memesters in crime

Fast-forward seven months. Iris bursts into your tent in the middle of the night in tears.

Iris: “I just got a call from Gladio. Prompto went with some hunters on a supply run. They haven’t come back. They’re all missing.”

You’re getting out of bed and reaching for your jacket in an instant

You: “I’m going.”

Iris: “I’m coming with you.”

Gladio promises he’ll meet you in Hammerhead, and that Iggy’s coming, too.

You have no idea who Iggy is, but Iris looks happy about that news, so you will be, too

You don’t tell Gladio that Iris is coming with you.

He’s going to be PISSED.

AT YOU.

WHY DO YOU GO OUT OF YOUR WAY TO MAKE THIS GUY ANGRY 

HAVE YOU NO FEAR

Continued under the cut!

You and Iris meet Cindy in her garage, and she explains what had happened. She and Prompto had been talking about those special headlights that can be used to keep daemons away. If the possibility even existed that there were more in Insomnia, it had to be looked into. With the nights growing longer, it would soon become suicide to drive between safe havens without them.

A search party had been sent to Insomnia a week after the original group had left. They’d made it to the city, but they couldn’t find Prompto or the hunters anywhere-- alive, or dead.

You: “What if they never made it to Insomnia?”

Gladio: “Or they made it to Insomnia, but were on their way back when they were attacked?”

Cindy: “Will be a right mess if either one o’ them is the case. They could be anywhere between here ‘n there.”

Gladio: “And splitting up to cover more ground is out of the question.”

Iris: “So what do we do, Gladdy?"

Ignis: “We travel in pairs.”

You witness the True Power of the Amicitia Family when Iris and Gladio get into a spectacular argument about whether or not Iris should join the rescue mission.

You and Cindy kind of watch them bicker in awe. The way that I imagine one of the humans in Jurassic Park watched in awe as the dinosaurs fucking killed each other.

Gladio finally relents. BUT. Iris has to travel with him. Ignis, still trying to adjust to life as a blind man, will travel with them, as well.

Gladio hadn’t even tried to tell Ignis to stay behind for this one.

Ignis devises a plan for the rescue mission.

You all create five search parties and plan out the routes each of you will take with a map. At this point, there are only a few hours of light each day, so the plan is to drive out together in two trucks, fan out and search the area, and then return to the car and drive back as it starts to get dark.

The keys are left in the glove compartment of the unlocked car. Six forbid that the person with the keys gets killed or goes missing, leaving the survivors stranded without an escape vehicle

You get paired up with a hunter named Kravyn. You’d worked with him on a few hunts before. He’s as capable a hunter as anyone.

You both get out of the truck and head northeast. It already seems like the sky is growing darker. Are the days even shorter now? Will the time come when the sun doesn’t rise at all?

Iris and Prompto seem convinced that Prince Noctis will return before that happens. 

You do your best to not lose hope that he’ll return at all.

The clock is ticking. The timer you’d set on your phone shows that you only have fifteen minutes before you need to head back.

That’s when you see blood in the grass.

You follow it.

The trail leads you through the grass and into the woods. It’s so dense... you can barely fit between the trees. It’s so dark beneath the canopy of leaves overhead that you have to take out your flashlight so that you can see the blood splattered around.

The blood leads you to a corpse. It’s not Prompto’s.

You take the dog tags. They belonged to a woman named Janda.

Kravyn: “Fuck. Fuck. We gotta head back. This is way too dangerous.”

You: “I’m not leaving. We still have... seven minutes. The rest of them could still be alive somewhere.”

To Kravyn’s credit, he doesn’t abandon you. You can tell he’s terrified, but he stays by your side and helps you search.

The alarm on your phone starts to beep right when you see a boot jutting out from behind the trunk of a tree.

It’s Prompto. You’ve found him.

He’s covered in blood. His eyes are closed. He’s not moving.

You: “SHIT SHIT SHIT”

You snatch a hi-elixir from your back and break it over his head, since he’s covered in so much blood that you can’t even tell where he’s injured and you don’t want to waste time poking around trying to find out where.

He lets out a soft moan when you give him the curative. He’s still alive! Thank the Six!

Why didn’t you check for a pulse first? You could have wasted a precious curative on a corpse!!!

You: “You’re hurt, Prompto. Tell me where.”

Prompto: “Everywhere.”

You: “YOU ARE BEING VERY UNHELPFUL RIGHT NOW.”

You end up giving him two more elixirs. He’s still in a pretty bad way, but his breathing is significantly less labored, and his pulse feels strong enough to repair some of your confidence about his chances of survival.

Kravyn: “This is great that we found Prompto and everything, but we really should be heading back.”

You, Reaching to Pick Him Up: “Right. Up we go, Prompto.”

Prompto: “I can walk.”

He moves his right leg a little bit and stops immediately.

Prompto: “I lied.”

You: “As I was fucking saying. Up we go, Prompto.

Prompto: “Omg I’m so heavy you’ll never make it.”

Is Prompto heavy, or are you just really strong? Both? Neither? Who cares? What matters is that you’re able to pick him up and carry him without too much trouble.

You can pinpoint the exact moment he passes out because he stops apologizing for how heavy he is and for making everyone worry and for the fact that you risked your life to find him

You and Kravyn make it back to the truck. Everyone else has already returned, but the plan had been to wait an hour before heading back to Hammerhead, so they had all been waiting for you.

Iris starts crying again when she sees Prompto. Even Gladio gets really quiet and dewey-eyed. Ignis rests his hand on Prompto’s chest, as if to feel his heartbeat.

Ignis: “Bloody idiot. Thank the Six...”

Prompto is the only missing hunter the rescue team was able to find.

Iris found a dog tag. Including the dog tag you’d found, that leaves two of the missing hunters still unaccounted for.

You all agree that you’ll head back out again tomorrow to search further north.

You take Prompto back to Hammerhead to get proper medical treatment. He’s going to be okay.

[vankoya]

Aphelion; Perihelion.

✗ Part of the Across the Multiverse series!

Genre | Cowboy Bebop AU.

Pairing | Jeon Jeongguk / Feminine Reader.

Words | 2,309 words.

Conspectus | The call will always come, and Jeongguk will always forget. That is just how it is, how it always has been, how it always will be.

Warnings | Alcohol, smoking and gambling addiction. Somewhat unhealthy relationship. Weapons.

The radio crackles sometime after midnight. Well, for anybody in the Tharsis timezone, at least.

Such a flimsy, manmade concept is nothing but precisely that when the ship is suspended somewhere near Ganymede. Thrust into the oblivion of outer space, where the stars are always visible against the pitch infinity and the sun remains to burn fiercely in the distance. Existing simultaneously when, back in the years that Earth was the only colonised planet, you could only see them one after the other.

But out here in this vast, tenebrous eternity, there is no day or night when the two elements that defined them come to coincide. Thus, no means for time.

It really screws around with your body clock, that is for sure.

Though based on Tharsis time, and the fact that it is a Saturday down on Mars, it should be near two in the morning. This is generally the appropriate time that the crackling occurs and you, slung within the limbo of not quite asleep though desperately needing to be, heave that same old sigh. The one loaded with past burdens and bad decisions and the name of that sole crew member you would fight blood and bone for, would die for, but would never admit it.

Jeongguk fucking hates Mars, which always has you wondering why he spends his every Friday night in the thick of its casinos. Losing the woolongs you split from the last bounty on blackjack tables, slot machines, and another pack of cigarettes that Namjoon will convince to trade him for a can of beef or something trivial. Disgustingly broke scavengers, the lot of you.

Lazily, you stretch for the receiver on the coffee table, swiping your fingers this way and that until they come into contact with cool metal. Answering with a click of a button, you part your lips to speak. Before you can, words are tumbling through the other end of the line in a voice that both clutches your heart and makes you wish to stomp the feeble vessel underneath your heeled boot.

“Baby, fuck, thank– Thank fuck–” And god, if it were not for the way the words were slurring together like melting ice being swilled in a glass of whiskey, the fact that you can practically smell the liquor on his tongue through the receiver is a clear indicator that Jeongguk is blind drunk.

“Hey baby, sweetheart,” he continues to coo and you are already lifting yourself from the draped position across the couch. You step over a face-down, sprawled out and snoring Taehyung in your progression towards the front of the ship. “Y'there, baby? I m’need a favour, pretty please.”

“What?” There is nonchalance in your tone, cutting and firm. But your actions juxtapose the lack of empathy you wear like an artificial shield around him. You enter the bridge and light up the touch-screen monitor to reroute the ship to Mars. Namjoon is going to be pissed, but you really could not care less.

“C’mere ‘nd give me a kiss,” Jeongguk whines, which directly translates to: I am too intoxicated to drive my ship home, so please come and pick me up before you and Namjoon decide to bail on me and fly to the farthest planet from here. He sounds terribly genuine, so sickly sweet like melted sugar, full of divine promise.

You have to swallow the heart-shaped lump in your throat before you thickly answer.

“We’ll come pick you up in two hours.”

You hang up the radio immediately after the confirmation is spoken—before he can make a snarky comment to your outright neglect. Slamming the receiver on the panel, you run your other hand down your face, groaning.

Taehyung appears by your side as he does in that Taehyung way of his—uninvited and usually scaring the damn wits out of you. You stifle a yelp when he slumps beside you out of thin air, smacking the side of his face beside your hand where it lays upon the control panel desk. You retract it against your chest as if you have been electrocuted.

Taehyung is a loopy, noodly teenage kid that the three of you found on Earth, roaming about with nothing to his name but the clothing on his body and a jacked up laptop. Yes, a jacked up laptop that he used to hack into the ship’s system, reconfiguring the flight sequence to have it land right before his toes. To say that the three of you were screeching like banshees while all of this occurred is a severe understatement. But it is completely understandable when your spaceship suddenly starts hurtling through the atmosphere towards grand expanses of desert plains, and one strange, gangly boy with skill hidden in his goofy grin.

Taehyung’s eyes are drooping with lethargy. A trail of drool is dried to his chin. “Mars?” he mumbles, yawning. “For Jeonggukie?”

“Yup, the dumbass got drunk again,” you hum, listening to the engines groan as they guide the lump of junk that is the Helios through a one-eighty, heading towards the Astral Gate. “Maybe we should just leave him there. What do you think?”

“Can’t, sissy!” Taehyung whines, scrunching up his nose and staring at you accusingly, which has you raising your eyebrows in question. “Not when sissy loves Jeonggukie so much!”

Namjoon turns out to be more pissed at the fact that you woke him up by throwing the receiver at the wall of the ship with a bloodcurdling scream, smashing it to smithereens.

The passage through hyperspace takes half an hour less than anticipated. Yet surprisingly, Jeongguk is already slouched beside his battered, steel grey zipcraft, the Aphelion, when you arrive at the casino. A cigarette dangles unlit between his lips. 

Really, you hate Mars just as much as he does with its low density, causing the lighter gravity that keeps easy on complexions. Lifting wrinkles from the skin; softening any marring in the form of scars. You can barely see the one that thinly slices Jeongguk’s cheekbone. The smoother skin is ugly and unsightly.

He looks more beautiful with it. Natural and real. He looks like Jeongguk.

Mars apparently makes him a different person in a lot more ways than one.

“There’s m’girl!” Jeongguk hollers. The cigarette falls to the ground in his haste to get up, and he does not seem to notice as he crushes it in his drunken stride towards you. He smells like a liver abused by alcohol and lungs sticky with tobacco when he envelops you in a crushing hug that is so unbearably warm. So unbelievably home. “Y’made it, baby. Missed you.”

“How haven’t you sobered since you called?” you groan against his throat, moisture gathering on the skin from your hot breath, arms hanging limply by your sides.

Jeongguk pulls back then, rifling around in the pocket of his black bomber jacket. He retrieves a stainless steel flask, which he holds up next to his liquor-slack grin. His breath smells like a casket full of death.

“Poor men come prep–”

You snatch the flask out of his hand before he can finish, weighing just under half full in your hand. Twisting off the cap, you knock back the last of the contents and then ditch it into the finely trimmed bushes. His grin only widens at the way you cringe with realisation as the alcohol burns a fire down your throat, knowing full well how much you hate gin.

“Let’s go, dumbass,” you cough, wiping the back of your hand across your mouth, ignoring the way Jeongguk stares at your lips. “The Helios is parked on the port down the road. We’ll pick up the Aphelion once you’re sober.”

“You’re always s’hot when you’re demanding,” Jeongguk cuddles into your side with a devilish simper, beginning to walk in the direction of the home ship with an arm draped limply around your shoulders. He hums a tune that he knows you once listened to long ago.

“Even if you were broke, my love don’t cost a thing,” he croons, tucking you closer, but you refuse to appease him, eyes set on the destination floating in the bay like a giant beast down the hill’s slope.

Silence is your only solace, secluding your voice to the back of your throat where it itches and burns with the urge to form. Because when Jeongguk wakes up in five hours time, he will have forgotten all that he has said on this ugly Friday night in Tharsis. Just like he does every other time.

Jeongguk, for quite possibly being the biggest out of all four crew members, has the smallest room on the Helios. Back when the ship was a fishing trawler, it must have been a storage room. Now, it is fitted with some overhead drawers and a double bed that has its sides touching all walls but the entrance.

“Help,” he slurs, spine against the mattress, legs dangling off the edge and either side of your own that stand between the bed and the door. He cracks one eye open, juts his lower lip. “Pretty please?”

Begrudgingly, you take him by the wrists and haul him upright. His head slumps forward and presses to your stomach with the slackness of his muscles. You shuck off his jacket first and then lean over his shoulder, reaching for the hem of his shirt and pulling it up, exposing the curved bumps of his spine, the slashes of scars against tanned leather. Jeongguk obediently lifts his arms.

Once you have pulled the cotton over his elbows and wrists, he lays back against the bed again. His arms are tucked behind his head, and his torso stretches in unadulterated, wrecked and ruined display.

You wonder how many bullet holes he will have marring his flesh by the time he eventually loses. How many gunshots it is going to take until he is dead.

From his position, he waggles his eyebrows. “Like what’ya see, baby?”

“Fuck you, Jeongguk,” you spit, tearing your eyes from the gentle caramel tone of his skin, soft and innocent. You turn on your heel to leave.

“Wait, stay!” he suddenly insists, lurching forward and curling his fist into the hem of your sweater, tight enough to keep you in place. You glance at him out the corner of your eye, try to not let the hope become obvious in your gaze. His expression has become twisted, pained, though strangely unreadable.

“Why?”

“Because I want you to.”

“Why, Jeongguk?”

“Because I want you. I want to remember this.”

The ship, for once, is silent. No engines run to power you through the distances of the universe. No Taehyung screeches like a dying animal in front of his laptop. No Namjoon complains to his thirteen bonsai about the rest of you and how there is never any damn peace and quiet.

Instead, it gently bobs on the water in the port and the late night liveliness of Tharsis sounds far, far away. Jeongguk is staring at you like he is repenting for his sins and you are something holy. Yet the both of you know that you, of everyone onboard, is aeons from that.

Suddenly, Jeongguk defeatedly exhales. He runs his free hand through his hair before he uses the other to hook his fingers around your wrist, yanking you on top of him where you collapse in a heap of limbs. Silently, he hoists the both of you up to the head of the bed where only one rumpled pillow lays.

He helps you unclip your bra without taking the sweater off, threading the straps through the sleeves with precious ease. Then, he rolls your jeans down the muscles of your thighs, calves, and you are about to kick them off your ankles when you both notice that your boots are still intact. You slide each shoe off, and Jeongguk uses one to throw at the light switch by the door, effectively drawing the tiny room into a swathe of shadows. It is only when he is tugging off his own black jeans that he cusses under his breath.

“Forgot ‘bout that.”

He is nothing but a hunched over outline at the centre of the darkness. “Forgot what?”

“Gun,” and you notice it then when he chuckles and pulls the handle out of his waistband. He lifts it up so that you can see the weapon—loaded, no doubt—before he drops it onto the pile of clothes at the end of the bed.

“Jesus, Jeongguk.”

Jeongguk laughs louder, and it is gruff and beautiful, ringing around the room; smothering the sound of your trembling heart. He climbs back next to you, an inch of space separating two bodies that long for one another. Though it only lasts for a moment before he, glacially, curls his arms around your waist, slips his cold palms underneath the back of your sweater, and lays them crossed over on your shoulder blades. Holding you closer than he ever has.

There, with his nose touching to the tip of your own, your legs toasty and entwined, you can see his eyes glimmering, the drunken haze fading. They are a shade of onyx, exceptionally more gorgeous than the galaxies the four of you sail as bounty hunters, scavengers, thieves. Human beings with no other place in this vast universe.

But here, with Jeongguk closing in, his breath hot on your mouth and his fingertips dancing patterns across your skin, you cannot help but think that maybe, this really is it. Here, with him, you belong.

“M’not letting myself forget this time,” he whispers, and then he does nothing more than kiss you, lips of heat and home tucked against your own in a promise that you finally, at long last, allow to blossom happiness within your heart.

Prompt | Call Me: I will write a drabble about my character asking for yours.

Series | Across The Multiverse is a collection of drabbles based around the prompts from this list, each taking place in a different universe. The updates will occur whenever I am inspired by a prompt to write a small piece, most generally done as a warm-up.

All Rights Reserved © Vankoya. No translations, reposting and/or modifying of the material is allowed without my direct permission.

[persondudeman]

My 20 Favorite Albums of 2016

I know I'm late to the whole “end of year list” thing but really I don't think you can make a list of stuff that came out of a year until it's actually over. I see people with the top ten lists in mid December and I'm like, “the year isn't even over yet!” Ramble over, on with the list. 20. Dayshell – Nexus So here's the deal, I was really interested in what Shayley Bourget was going to do after he left Of Mice & Men because he was the only thing that kept me interested in that band. The 2013 self titled album Dayshell showed me that he could make it without his former bandmates and thrive delivering a bunch of fun, raucous rock songs and a few other songs while good in their own right I don't think really fit the style the band was going for and it resulted in a kind of odd reception of what would otherwise be a kick ass album for me. This new album Nexus does away with any of that dissonance and gives us a more cohesive vision of the band's sound. From the opening bass riff in Car Sick, I just have to fucking jam to this album. If you ever see me doing a weird chair wiggle with my earbuds on, odds are that I'm listening to this album. The mood the music gives me is the essence of fuckin' cool. Like, walking down the sidewalk in slo-mo with some sick ass shades on cool. If you're down for that, then get in an open top car, cruise down the highway, and bump the fuck out of this album.     19. Plini – Handmade Cities Plini's been killing it for a hot minute before this debut album with all his trilogy EPs offering up some of that good ass jazzy guitar. The songs on Handmade Cities are just as good as those trilogy songs but without the need of a musical narrative throughline. This is a good establishing album from a guitarist who's fit to be a breakout success. Get on board now because there's already an amazing backcatalog that's sure to get even better. 18. Frost* – Falling Satellites So this is a band I was seriously sleeping on. I legitimately had no idea progressive pop was a thing until I checked out Frost* and their sound is this odd mix of flavors that I really like but I would have never thought of putting together. Essentially it's progressive rock but with a penchant for pop production so you get the cryptic lyricism and scope of prog rock but with a reliance on synth and super glitzy studio effects that by all means shouldn't work but inexplicably does. Jem Godfrey goes HAM on the keys and has a really unique timbre to his voice that colors every track. 17. Mandroid Echostar – Coral Throne I was hype as FUCK for this album to come out. I heard these guys on the EP Citadels and was fucking blown away by the musicianship and passion on display. Their willingness to experiment while not always a 100% success was something I welcome in a band. Once I heard about the new album, I pre-oredered it along with a hoodie that's the coolest thing ever! That said, how is the album? To use a word that's essentially lost all meaning, EPIC. I mean that in the literal sense. Everything on this album is huge! The passionate, booming vocals, the shread-tastic guitar playing, the groovy as fuck bass licks, and the bombastic drums. This album took the experimentation on Citadels and crafted an amazing foundation on which I cannot wait for them to experiment and adapt from. 16. Emarosa – 131 I've been a big fan of this band for a while and even though Versus was a good comeback album for a band who had been on hiatus for the better part of 4 years it felt as though the band was still living in the shadow of Relativity and the self title and that music was good but I couldn't help but want the band to evolve. That's where 131 comes in. From the first notes of Hurt you know this is going to be a different beast entirely than the albums that came before it. Bradley Walden's voice is just fucking dreamy and instrumentally it goes from subdued and ambient to pounding and great. At the risk of starting shit, this album is fit to make you say “Jonny who?”   15. Polyphia – Renaissance There's instrumental bands but then there's Polyphia. In an era of down tuned guitars and five million note solos Polyphia asks the all important question, “can't we have some god damn fun!?” To that end, this new album answers a resounding Fuck Yes. I loved Muse but the overabundance of guest solos and musicians could leave one with the impression that Polyphia wasn't strong enough to stand on their own. Renaissance takes that preconception and kicks it in the fucking face because Polyphia delivers a more cohesive, catchy, and overall fun album. They have technical flair in spades on this album but never is it too atonal or verbose to keep away from the rest of the music. Polyphia has found a winning formula with Renaissance and I can't wait for new material. My only complaint is that after the album's release they made a remix of one of their songs and called it Lit and it was fucking awesome! So now my opinion of the album has changed to it was pretty great but it didn't have Lit on it so fuck!  

14. TTNG – Disappointment Island This is one of those albums I can only listen to once in a while because it is very emotional. Henry Tremain's falsetto is a beautiful haunting deity that pierces my soul and the instrumentation is a light kind of noodley which can be more punishing than the hardest breakdown especially on the track Whatever, Whenever where the strings pluck on after moody disaffection. This section is shorter than the others because I need to be in a very particular mood to listen to this album. If you feel moody and disaffected, put on this album and drift away. 13. Letlive – If I'm the Devil Another band I had been seriously sleeping on. Letlive is normally known for their high intensity fiercely political songs and while I love that and we desperately need voices like that who speak out against political injustices, it was somewhat nice to see them dial it back a little bit and become just a little more personal. I think the intro of the album, I Learned to Love Myself doubles as basically the album's thesis paired with the album title essentially that they have been shaped in a bad way but they're going to love themselves anyway and I think that is a message that needs touting and in the coming years of turmoil, I hope to look to Letlive as a vehicle for change and revolution. 12. Animals As Leaders – The Madness of Many You know how I slagged off noodliness and downtuned guitars in the Polyphia spot? Well, this is different. Animals as Leaders has a way of crafting the densest music that I find pretty accessible. From the opening notes of sitar from Arithmophobia, you know you're in for something you may not fully get your first listen but have an unparalleled appreciation for. While it is less melodious than their last album The Joy of Motion, The Madness of Many offers a lot of great songwriting for those willing to take the dive. 11. The Fall of Troy – OK   Holy shit, The Fall of Troy had an album this year! These guys were on hiatus for 7 fucking years! The likelihood of them making an album at all was astronomically unlikely and the fact that it's so fucking good is a god damn triumph! If you've been missing their particular brand of post hardcore then this is a real treat! Thomas Erak is just as much a guitar god as ever and his voice has aged into a bitter howl that’s fucking intense. Hearing his refined screams and blistering guitar playing is amazing! I'm blown away that even as stripped down as this album is compared to In the Unlikely Event that just three guys can pull of this huge ass sound! 10. Haken – Affinity Affinity is one of those albums where really one song is worth the price of admission. Don't get me wrong, the rest of the album is great too but... 1985. As far as I'm concerned, the album could just be that song and I'd be like, “it was a little short but this album was fantastic!” This album positively oozes 80's synth prog but with a reckless progressive abandon that's quintessentially now that makes it the perfect tribute because you're struck with nostalgia (or if you're as young as me, secondhand nostalgia) for all the good stuff about the 80's like the first 5 80′s Rush albums but coincidentally forget all the shitty stuff about the 80's which happens to be basically everything else from the 80's. I swear the little synth break in the middle of 1985 evokes some kind of emotion in me. I either start crying or get really pumped or have a stupid ass grin on my face or some bizarre combination of the 3 and if you want to experience that too, listen to this album! 9. VOLA – Inmazes With Haken covering 80's synth prog, there's also a great place for electronic elements in modern metal and VOLA showcases that perfectly with Inmazes. It's a bizarre combination of heavy riffage with video gamey synths that works extremely well. I've heard VOLA described as Tears for Fears mixed with Meshuggah and if that sounds like a combination you might like, you need to check this out because odds are you will. Even if it doesn't seem like it will mix, trust me it will. 8.  Three Trapped Tigers – Silent Earthling The fact that I'm putting another instrumental band higher than Animals As Leaders is seen as blasphemy in some circles but you have to believe me when I say that these guys are really that good. They have a really technical approach to synthy music that I haven't really seen anywhere else and are yet again another trio that makes everything sound really big and grand. At times it feels like the Hotline Miami soundtrack but other times it's super bombastic and crazy. The more I say about this album, the less good I get at describing it so I implore you GO LISTEN TO THESE GUYS THEY’RE REALLY GOOD!! 7. Deftones – Gore This album is both crushing and beautiful at the same time with both some of the sludgiest breakdowns I've heard and some of the lightest passages of ambiance. Chino Moreno's voice booms and croons and soars all over the damn place throughout this album and the guitars echo and crunch along with him. It's ultimately an uplifting album by the end but damn does it sink deep into depressions to get us there. If you need to fade away, pick this album up. 6. Balance and Composure – Light We Made Remember Deftones? Well now you don't have to! Okay, that's not quite it but at the same time though, Balance and Composure's latest shares a lot of similarities to Gore with its ambiance and overall melancholy. I was a fan of their previous albums but this new album is almost a complete departure from that style and whereas most bands feel very odd in new territory Balance and Composure seems to thrive. The long stretches of guitar tones and soft ambient vocals layered with light keys is something they've never attempted before but absolutely nail. This is another fade album for those of you who need to fade away.   5. The Dear Hunter – Act V: Hymns With the Devil in Confessional You know how award shows give out awards to actors who recently starred in something that the award show just now recognizes and the award is well deserved but really you know it's for their earlier works and this is kind of penance for all the other better stuff? Okay, well maybe not that specifically but that's my place with The Dear Hunter. I had heard of these guys and checked out a few albums before but this is the year that I really dove into their discography and discovered the treasure trove of gems awaiting me. This isn't to say that the album isn't worth this spot, it totally is. Casey Cescenzo's lyricism is on point as ever with a poetic gravity that makes each bit hit super hard and this album basically went full on musical with songs like The Haves and the Have Naughts I can basically envision taking place on stage. The reason I had that little caveat before this however is that you need to be familiar with The Dear Hunter's previous acts to really get into the album. Granted, the album itself is great, but knowing about the previous acts going in makes it much better.   4. Thank You Scientist – Stranger Heads Prevail None of the people I watch had this album on their top lists and honestly I think they're doing a disservice to themselves. Thank You Scientist dropped one of the most creative, imaginative, and fun releases of the whole fucking year and the so called “critics” didn't do shit! This album is an explosive blast of jazz fusion that's at once technical and crazy but also accessible and catchy. You know what? Instead of me waxing poetically about this album, go check out the song The Amateur Arsonist's Handbook and thank me later. There's a violin solo that's beyond words it's so good! 3. Dance Gavin Dance – Mothership Some of you may know that Dance Gavin Dance is one of my favorite bands and this year they released one of their best albums to date and I'm tempted to say that this is their best album ever. Yes, even better than DBM 1. Where DBM 1 is lightning in a bottle, Mothership is pure cultivated skill over the course of their decade long career. Everyone has never sounded better. Tilian is raw and emotional but still possesses amazing skill and range from screaming along on Chucky Vs. The Giant Tortoise to his soaring over Deception. Jon Mess sounds better than anything he's put to record before with an unparalleled clarity to his screams. Will Swan's guitar playing has been gushed about to death and honestly I can't add anything to it except another glowing appraisal. Matt Mingus' drums are bombastic and crazy but consistent and Tim Feerick's bass provides a much needed spine to the songs. Before I gush myself to death I implore you to listen to this album. Even if you weren't on board with Dance Gavin Dance before, give this a spin because it may make you a fan. 2. Periphery – Periphery III Select Difficulty This is one other instance where one song or in this case, cluster of songs is worth the price of admission. I saw a lot of people turned off by The Price is Wrong's lyricism and I'm hoping that the triple threat of Flatline, Absolomb, and Catch Fire are enough to bring them back. I also see a lot of people wishing that Periphery would go back to their Periphery 1 sound but that's for another time. The fact that this was made right after what I consider their magnum opus Juggernaut and it's still pretty damn good is a miracle in itself. The fact that it's just as good as Juggernaut I can't even fathom. To keep this from just becoming a bunch of gutterances I'll just say please check out this album. If you’re anything like me, the bass line in Absolomb will awaken things in you. 1. Iamthemorning – Lighthouse Technically if we're going by favorites, Periphery would be number 1. However, sometimes I have to forego personal taste and showcase something masterful. Iamthemorning's Lighthouse is a work of genius that needs to be remembered. From the first track I Came Before the Water Part 1, Marjana Semkina graces the ears with her operatic falsetto that I just cannot praise enough and when combined with Gleb Kolyadin's piano work, and a veritable studio orchestra it creates a thing of unbridled beauty. This all culminates in what I think is the best track off the album, the title track where Mariusz Duda shows up and I just fucking die because it's just too beautiful. This is yet another album I can only listen to sometimes. It tells the tale of somebody suffering through mental illness and their suicide. It's very bleak but not without hope. At the end of the album in the liner notes the band has a message that says, “This album is dedicated to the subject of mental illness and we'd like to pass on the message to all the lost souls out there: you are not alone, ever.” I want to take that sentiment with me into the coming years and I hope you do too. Thanks if you read this far. If you want more of this music talk abouty type of thing, tell me.