#I never like the shape of his eyes just because I suffer a lot drawing that

[j3nnix]

[ninzied]

green things

alex kisses henry to make another guy jealous. that’s it. no other reason. based on a prompt for @onthewaytosomewhere. modern au. 1.9k.

“You’re quiet tonight,” Pez remarks, halfway through one of the worst house parties Alex has been to in his life. Seriously; he’s been to so many, and none of the others even compare. “Something on your mind?”

Yes. “No.” Alex takes a sip of his drink and goes casually back to not looking at Henry.

He’s kind of not really been okay-totally-watching-them all night, and it’s fine. It’s fine, because it doesn’t matter who Henry talks to, what matters is that he looks happy, and animated, and hasn’t stopped smiling.

He hasn’t stopped smiling all night.

“Hey, so, who’s the guy?” Alex asks.

Pez glances over. “Ah—yes, that’s a visiting prof in Henry’s department. Hazza talks about him quite a lot, actually.”

Alex grits his teeth so hard he’s surprised that none of them crack. “Does he.” He refrains from adding under his breath, Well, I’ve never heard of him.

“All the time, as a matter of fact,” Pez continues. He doesn’t even sound like he’s had to exaggerate. “And with good reason. It’s not even that he’s easy on the eyes, though there is that too. He’s already accomplished so much in the field despite being our age, from what I understand.”

“I see,” Alex says as neutrally as possible. He’s starting to see a lot from where he’s standing, actually, and he doesn’t like it. Like, at all.

Pez raises a perfectly shaped eyebrow at him. “Do I spy something green?”

“No,” Alex says quickly, too quickly this time. “Nope. Definitely not.”

“Well, if you say so.” Pez pops an hors d’oeuvre in his mouth and chews, surveying the room like it’s his own private theatre. Like he’s waiting for something. Like he has a vision. It’s both impressive and disconcerting to see.

As if on cue, someone comes up to Mister Accomplished and claps a hand on his stupid-broad shoulder, drawing his attention away. He flashes Henry a grin—one that’s way too white and with too many teeth, in Alex’s opinion—before walking off and leaving Henry alone in the corner.

Henry, who’s no longer smiling as he closes his eyes and sags at the shoulders. He tilts his glass back and drinks.

Well, fuck. Alex can’t even be glad anymore that the guy has just left because now he wants to punch him for it.

“Douchebag much?” he mutters under his breath.

“Oh, most excellent,” Pez is saying at the same time. “Couldn’t have planned the thing better myself.” He clears his throat, all business-like all of a sudden. “It appears that our poppet is in need of assistance. Are you up to the task, Alexander?”

“Wait.” But Alex finds himself getting pulled along by the sheer force of Pez’s will before he’s even finished speaking. “What task, exactly?”

Pez looks two seconds away from rubbing his hands together like some kind of cartoon villain. “Nothing like making a man jealous to finally spur him into action.”

Alex sputters; didn’t he just say that he wasn’t—? But then he catches the pointed look Pez gives Mister Accomplished again. Oh. That guy. Then: “Wait, that guy?”

“Nothing gets past you, does it,” says Pez.

Alex makes a wild gesture. “You want me to make that guy jealous. Fucking how?”

Pez lets out a long-suffering sigh. “The fact that I must spell it out for you really does explain a lot, actually.”

“A lot about what?”

“One kiss ought to do it, I think,” Pez muses, almost to himself.

Alex swallows. Flirting with Henry every day like he does is one thing. Harmless, mostly, unless you count feeling heartsick that Henry never looks at him the same way.

What Pez is suggesting, though, may be the thing that tips Alex fully over into heartbreak territory.

“I don’t, um.” He clears his throat and glances toward Henry, who’s gazing into his now-empty glass. “What makes you think he’ll be down with this plan?”

“Absolutely nothing, he would never. Which is why we must be quick about it.”

“But,” Alex starts to protest.

“Alex.” Pez says his name like he’s scolding a child who’s being too selfish. “Don’t you want to see Henry happy?”

“More than anything,” says Alex, too honestly. Fuck.

“Then trust me on this,” says Pez, in the voice of a person who’s not to be trusted at all, before opening his arms wide and beaming. “Hazza, darling.”

“Oh, thank God,” says Henry, glancing up as they approach. “I need another one of whatever this was.”

“I have a better idea,” Pez sing-songs, then looks askance at Alex. “Unless, of course, someone’s getting cold feet. I can always ask if dear old Hunter’s available, I think I saw him by the—”

“No, I’ll do it,” Alex says instantly. “I’ll take one for the team.”

“Yes, a big sacrifice on your part,” Pez murmurs, and Alex shoots him a sharp little glare. Henry scrunches his brow, looking between the two of them in something like concerned confusion.

“Alex? What’s going on?” he prompts carefully as Alex marches up to him, taking a breath. He’s determined to do this for Henry, no matter the cost to himself.

“All right. I’m ready,” Alex says solemnly. “Lay it on me, Fox.”

“Sorry,” says Henry, “I still have no idea what we’re talking about?”

“Babe,” and Alex takes Henry’s face in his hands, “Don’t even worry. I’m here to make all your dreams come true.”

Henry stands frozen as Alex presses their mouths firmly together. There’s a second that lasts half a lifetime in which Alex thinks he’s made a terrible mistake.

And then Henry’s lips soften—wow, fuck, they are really soft, actually—and then he’s kissing Alex back and so hard that Alex stagger-steps, almost knocking a chair over as he pulls Henry even closer.

He tries not to totally lose it when he feels Henry’s fingers thread through his hair, or the hitch in Henry’s breath when their lips part and their tongues meet.

It occurs to him that they probably shouldn’t be kissing like this while surrounded by all their work colleagues. Alex doesn’t really care. All he cares about is how devastated he’ll be once it’s over.

Henry is the first to pull back. He’s breathless and smiling, and Alex’s heart hurts like fucking hell but this is what he wanted, right? To see Henry this happy?

Alex puts his hands on Henry’s waist, which, fuck, he shouldn’t have done that; now he thinks he might never let go. His breath comes up short as he gasps into the space between them, “Is he watching?”

Henry blinks. His smile falters a little. “Is who watching, Alex?”

“The guy you were talking to. I was trying to make him jealous.” Alex can’t bring himself to see if he’s noticed. Alex thinks he would rather die than look away from Henry right now. All he wants is to kiss him again even though he probably shouldn’t. “Do you think it worked? Henry?”

Henry has gone very still in his arms. The expression on his face is glazed over, distant. “That’s why you kissed me? To make someone jealous?”

Fuck, they really should’ve talked about this first. Fuck. “Yeah?” Alex winces.

“That man specifically? I didn’t even know you two were acquainted.” Henry heaves out a breath, looking strangely like he might be sick. “So you—you like him, then?”

“What? No, of course I don’t like him. I don’t even know him,” says Alex. Henry isn’t making any sense. “I thought you liked him.” Unless…shit. Unless Henry just doesn’t want them both liking the same guy?

Henry just stares at him for a long time. He’s looking kind of like Alex is the one who’s lost it. “You what?” Henry says finally.

“I thought you liked him,” Alex repeats, but this time it comes out as more of a question.

“You thought I liked him,” Henry says for emphasis. “That man.” Like there’s some other guy Alex could possibly be talking about right now.

“Apparently,” says Alex. He realizes he’s clutched the sides of Henry’s shirt and wills his fingers to loosen a little. It feels like some kind of miracle that Henry hasn’t shoved him away yet. “And then you looked so sad when he went to talk to other people, and I thought, I don’t know, that I’d help? Pez said you talk about him all the time, so…” Wait. Wait a minute.

Henry breathes out. Something solidifies in his expression, like he’s just worked through a math problem of his own. “Hmm,” he says in a weirdly calm tone. “Did he, now.”

“Yeah,” Alex says slowly. “He…” What else was it that Pez had said? Nothing like making a man jealous to finally…

Wow. Okay. Well-played, Okonjo.

“I see.” Henry looks pointedly around for Pez, who’s conveniently nowhere in sight at the moment. “Percy didn’t also happen to mention the fact that the man’s an absolute bellend who’s been gatekeeping my department’s research funding? That I’m thus woefully obligated to kiss the ground he walks on at parties?”

Ah. “He…did not,” Alex allows. “So, just to be clear, you don’t? Like him?”

“Christ, no,” Henry says firmly, and Alex feels something light in his chest flutter and try to take flight.

“Anyway,” Henry goes on, looking all sober now for some reason, “I ought to apologize on Pez’s behalf. He really was only trying to help, in his way. He knows how I feel about—well.” He flushes. “And I’m sorry, too, for kissing you like that. I was under a very different impression as to what it, um. Actually meant.”

“Yeah, hold up.” Alex straightens. “You kissed me back.” Henry looks cautiously on as Alex starts smiling and can’t seem to stop. “You had no idea and you still kissed me back.”

Henry goes a shade pinker each time Alex says the words. “Yes, well,” Henry says faintly. “I believe what you said was something about making all my dreams come true? Which I did take at face value.”

Alex tightens his hold on Henry again. Definitely not letting him go after that. “Henry,” he says. “You’re my fucking dream, are you kidding?”

“I—” Henry gazes at him. His smile is soft with something like wonder. “You’re serious?”

“How do you think Pez got to me?” Alex wants to know. “Do you have any idea how jealous I was of that guy when I thought you were into him?”

“Mm.” Henry tilts his head. “Yet you kissed me fully believing that it would, what, drive him so mad that he’d throw himself into my arms?”

“I did.” Alex takes both of Henry’s hands into his. “I want you. Henry. But I think I want you so much that the only thing I want more is for you to be happy.”

Henry’s eyes are bright and so very, very blue. “And if I told you that they’re one and the same?”

Alex is smiling so hard that it hurts. He never wants to stop feeling like this. “Then I guess that guy can be jealous all he wants,” Alex shrugs, bringing Henry’s hands up to his shoulders. “Because he can’t have your arms now, they’re mine.”

“Noted,” says Henry, mock-seriously. “Anything else you wish to claim while you’re at it?”

“Actually,” says Alex, “yeah, just so we’re clear,” and he pulls Henry back in for a kiss.

[demonpiratehuntress]

that's not for you to decide

Roronoa Zoro x F!Reader

Summary - he thinks you deserve better, and decides to push you away. that just makes everything worse, but you ultimately forgive the big idiot.

Warnings - HEAVY angst in the beginning but turns to comfort, this can work for both versions of Zoro i think? REPOSTING BECAUSE I ACCIDENTALLY POSTED THE INCOMPLETE DRAFT

GIF by anime-aishiteru

GIF by suuho

You don't know how it came to this. You tried to replay everything you'd ever done, to figure out where it all went wrong. To figure out what you could have possibly gotten so wrong for this to happen. But you were drawing blanks, and it tugged on your heartstrings even more.

You sat there and watched the swordsman listen intently to the woman who spoke to him, a beautiful native of the island.

Your crew had stopped here to replenish your resources. It was supposed to have been just that, yet you ended up staying for far longer than you expected. The downside to having an overenthusiastic captain with a unquenchable thirst for adventure, you supposed. Luffy would never have just sailed away and left this small village to suffer at the hands of a not-so-mythical and super grumpy griffin.

But now here you were, pining after the one person you wanted most in the world - who only seemed to be pushing you away. It gnawed at your heart, and left you painfully overthinking everything you'd ever said to him, everything you'd ever done for him. A week earlier everything had been fine, and he was friendly with you. Then something changed, and he grew distant and cold. And now, it seemed, he was adding 'breaking your heart' to the list of things he was doing to you.

You looked down at your drink just in time to see a teardrop make contact with the alcoholic liquid, the collision sending ripples outwards in the small, circular shape of the glass. You had tried hard, really hard, to not cry right here, in front of everyone. But fate, it seemed, was working even harder to make sure you were heartbroken by the end of the night.

"(Name) are you okay?"

You barely heard Nami, your eyes drifting back towards Zoro and the woman who was chatting to him animatedly. He met your gaze, and for a moment something flickered in his eyes, before he turned his attention back to her and moved closer. He gave her his full attention, making sure to show that he was actually listening and not dozing off like he did whenever Nami was bothering him. Your heart sunk even lower in your chest, a dull aching beginning to grow. The tears fell faster, and you gripped your drink tighter as that familiar stinging in your throat came. You dropped your head again, before unintentionally letting out a loud sob.

All your crewmate's heads snapped in your direction.

"S-Sorry," you apologised, hastily putting your drink down before getting up. "I-I'm-" You stopped when you noticed only one of them hadn't even bothered to look in your direction.

"That idiot," you heard Nami and Sanji grumble in unison.

That was the last straw for you. Your heart crashed to the bottom of its cavern, shattering in the process. Tears filled your eyes faster than you could stop them, blurring your vision to the point you only saw a blob of green a few feet away. You swayed on your feet, stumbling a bit, the full weight of his rejection hitting you full force.

"(Name)!"

You jerked away from the hand that grabbed your arm, not knowing who it was. Only then did Zoro look at you, but that's because everyone else was looking at you as well. You turned and fled, your shaky legs doing their best to carry you as far away from the scene as possible.

You fled into the forest, an area known on this island for it's unimaginable horrors.

-

He only thought you deserved better. In his mind, he was doing you a favour by pushing you away. Because he wasn't good for you, and he didn't deserve you. You deserved a lot better than him. And this was what he thought was a reasonable justification for his behaviour.

His heart sunk at the sight of your tears. He was acting like he didn't see them, but he noticed each and every drop that fell and each one caused a painful pang to reverberate through his chest. He hated it when you were upset, and he despised when you cried. But now he was the cause of it. Part of him wanted to drop this act, run to you and beg for forgiveness.

But he stayed where he was.

He let you think he didn't care. That he was going to keep chatting up this mindless bimbo in front of him. Because that was better for you right? He was only doing this for your sake.

Someone's fist collided with his jaw, sending him stumbling back a bit.

"What the hell?!" He glared at the blonde cook, "You really wanna start a fight right here, waiter?"

Sanji was about to say something equally insulting, but was interrupted by a bloodcurdling scream erupting from within the forest's tall, gloomy trees.

Your bloodcurdling scream.

Zoro's blood ran cold. Every bone in his body stiffened for a millisecond, before he tore off towards the forest, sprinting faster than he ever had in his life. His heart was racing a million miles an hour, thundering in his chest like it would break out of his chest and beat him to you.

When he finally found you, his heart almost stopped.

You were on your back on the ground, lying in a pool of your own blood. Your shirt was ripped at your waist, which seemed to be where your wound was. Upon closer inspection, his panic increased tenfold. The gashes were deep, three long claw marks decorating your waist.

"(Name)!" He surged forward, shaking you roughly. His fear was getting the best of him, and he was starting to think the worst. "(NAME)!"

There was no response from you.

You didn't move.

He placed his ear on your chest, searching frantically for the sound of your heart. He almost gave up, when he heard it. It was very faint, scary faint, and dull. It was barely there.

What had done this to you? Whatever it was, it was incurring Zoro's wrath. He felt an unstable fury build up inside him, anger like nothing he'd felt before ready to consume him. He looked around, desperate to find the cause of your injury and kill it. That would maybe make him feel a bit better - and distract him from the fact that you were half-dead on the floor.

"Z-Zoro?"

Your weak voice caught his attention immediately, and he felt relieved. He turned to you, immediately scooping you up and dragging you onto his lap. He tried not to look at your wound as he removed his shirt, ripped it open and tied it around your waist to at least staunch the bleeding a little.

"Don't talk," was his response, his voice a little higher than it usually was. He was avoiding your gaze, unable to meet your eyes.

This was his fault.

He quietly rose to his feet, bringing your weakened - and, alarmingly, paling - body with him. He held you close, one arm hooked under your knees and the other under your back. He positioned your head on his shoulder, and ran all the way back to the village with you in his arms.

The crew met him halfway, Usopp fainting when he saw how much blood there was. Sanji was glowering at Zoro, absolutely furious that he let such a thing happen. Nami was asking a thousand questions at once, questions the swordsman didn't have the answer to. Luffy had gone quiet, not used to seeing his crew in such a panic, and definitely not used to seeing you drenched in so much red.

"Get her back to the ship," the captain finally spoke, surprisingly the only sane one at the moment.

"Excuse me," they were interrupted by the same woman who was talking to Zoro earlier, "We have a healer. It would be quicker to bring her there, and it looks like she needs immediate treatment. Besides, now we can properly thank you for helping us."

Zoro looked away, guilt ripping through him. She was partially the reason you ran off, him being the other part. He didn't want to make an already bad situation worse, but Luffy immediately nodded and told her to lead them to the healer, so Zoro had no choice. The woman offered him a sympathetic smile and tried to touch him, but he shrugged her off angrily. He was mostly angry with himself, for even daring to pull such a stunt.

-

If you had taken her to your ship, she would have succumbed to her injuries.

Those words played on repeat inside Zoro's head, making the swordsman feel helpless for the first time in his life. This evening had been full of firsts for him.

You were okay now, alive and resting. You were still gravely injured, and they were told those three claw marks would leave permanent scars. Zoro had flinched - you would now have a permanent reminder of the night he'd hurt you in the worst possible way. You'd live, but you needed lots of rest, and would probably need to limit your movements for the next few weeks.

"Sanji!"

The swordsman perked up when he hesrd your voice, indicating that you were finally awake, but his heart fell again when he heard you calling for the cook and not him. He supposed he deserved that, but it still stung quite a bit.

Swallowing his pride, he turned to where you were eagerly hugging Sanji, happy to be up on your feet again. Zoro slowly made his way over, guilt filling him again when he saw the way your smile dropped when you looked at him. Another painful sting.

"I'm going to go find Nami, Usopp and Luffy," you decided, looking away from Zoro. You still loved him, but it hurt to look at him right now after what he did.

"I'll help you, you shouldn't even be moving around like this," Sanji gently took hold of you and led you away.

Zoro wanted to protest, wanted to stop you and pull you into HIS arms is HE can guide you around, but you looked so heartbroken because of him he felt too ashamed to act on that thought.

"No, it's okay. Zoro can help me."

"Are you sure?" Sanji asked uncertainly.

"Yes."

He was stunned to hear you say that. His head snapped in your direction, to see you making your way over to him. He thought he might have passed out and was now dreaming when you wrapped your arms around his middle, leaning into him.

In one swift but gentle movement, you were in his arms.

"I'm sorry," his deep voice rumbled in your ears, "I'm so, so sorry." And for the first time ever, his eyes glossed over with tears. "Please forgive me. I don't deserve it, but I'll do anything to earn your forgiveness. Please."

His begging caught you off-guard, but you were too saddened by the way his voice cracked while he was speaking.

"I love you. I promise I'll show it. Please, please give me a chance."

You bit your lip, looking down at your lap and fiddling with the hem of your shirt, "Why did you do it?"

His grip on you tightened, and he let out a shaky breath, "I thought you deserved better than me. I tried to make you hate me so it would hurt less when you found someone else. Because you deserve someone much better than me, and I don't deserve you at all."

"That's not for you to decide," you said quietly.

"I know, I know," he mumbled, ashamed. He couldn't even meet your gaze anymore.

You sighed, making him look at you, "You are the biggest idiot I have ever met, you know. But despite that, I am still madly in love with you. And I forgive you." You kissed his cheek. "Now let's go find the others."

-

A week later, you were still hobbling around the ship like an old lady with a back problem. Much to Zoro's chagrin, as he kept insisting you stay in bed and he'll do whatever you needed to do. The rest of the crew agreed, all of them taking turns to do your chores or help with your duties while you just rested and recovered.

And you know damn well this green-haired man is going to pick you up and take you straight back to bed if he sees you up and about.

"I'm fine!" You protested, when he brought you dinner that night.

He glared at you, "Your blood is still soaking those bandages. You are not fine. Now stay."

You pouted, "I'm not a dog."

He sighed and gently pressed a kiss to your forehead, "Let me take care of you, alright? I have a lot to make up for, and this is just the start."

"No, you don't have anything to make up for," you smiled innocently, tugging him down next to you. "You didn't attack me."

"But I-"

You shut him up with a kiss, "Listen, it's pretty fucking impossible for me to hold a grudge against you, or to even stay mad at you for five seconds. Seeing the look of shame, guilt and regret on your face on the island was enough for me to know that you didn't want any of that to happen. And what's the point of being upset or angry over something that you didn't intend? It's a waste of emotions."

He stared at you in awe, your words striking him deep, "I'm still sorry."

You sighed. You had already long forgiven him, but he had not yet forgiven himself. It was going to take him a while.

-

"Here."

You glanced up from your bed as Zoro walked into the room, holding something out to you. Your eyes lit up when you saw what it was, eagerly taking the book from his hands and shifting into a more comfortable position.

"I figured since you're stuck here for a while, might as well keep you from being bored," he sat down next to you, slowly. "Do you...like it?"

Over the last few days, you had gotten a multitude of gifts from the green-haired swordsman. From handcrafted to store-bought, he had been surprising you almost every day with something new. He was also - very surprisingly - getting along with Sanji, after hearing you ask him to be nice to the cook. It seemed he was pretty serious about proving his love and erasing all trace of that horrible incident from your mind.

"Does it hurt??"

You snapped out of your thoughts when you heard Zoro's concerned voice, realising you had started crying. With a shaky laugh, you shook your head no and wiped your eyes - you got as far as two drops before he wiped the rest away.

"No, I'm just...I'm so grateful for you. You've been amazing these last few days, even more so than usual. I just don't know how to thank you, and I'm overwhelmed by how loved I feel right now. I love you. So, so much."

His concern melted away into shyness, the small blush coating his cheeks giving away his embarrassment. He tried to cough awkwardly and play it off, but you knew better. He loved being complimented, he was just too stubborn to show it.

"Love you too. Come here." He got into the bed next to you, pulling you close so you lay on his chest, letting you dive into the book while you rested on him comfortably.

-

His acts of service did not stop.

Even after you were able to walk around with no pain, Zoro was still lifting things out of your hand, carrying them to where they needed to be for you. He was still offering to take your night watch, or any watch, and he was still doing your chores.

Even...dare I say it...washing dishes.

"Here."

Sanji handed him another dish to wipe, just as you walked in. You giggled at the sight, a tiny pink apron draped over your boyfriend's body as he wiped the dishes dry and set them on the rack.

"I see you two are hard at work."

Zoro lit up at the sound of your voice, almost dropping the plate he was wiping. He turned to give you a rare, happy smile, greeting you with a loving gleam in his eyes. You returned the smile and sat at the table, watching them work and thinking about how much you absolutely adored this man.

"I can work now, you know."

"Let me think...no," both he and Sanji said in unison.

You laughed.

[comicaurora]

What are your thoughts on guardians vol.3? (If you have watched it) I went into it, expecting it went to the garbage like the rest of the mcu, but I was pleasantly surprised by its creativity, trope subversion, and how it wrapped up the previously unresolved arks of its characters.

That's what I've heard!

The thing is, Guardians 3 could be the most transcendent work of cinema ever made, and I'd probably still feel little to no motivation to watch it at this point. It's not Guardians's fault - it's just suffering from the same problem that superhero comics have been struggling with for decades: no matter how good an individual arc or run is, absolutely nothing good lasts or matters in the long term, and the stories are shaped in such a way that "the long term" is the only thing anyone gets to build towards.

Whenever I complain about the MCU I get a handful of people loudly complaining about my complaining, with the general thesis that if I don't like it I shouldn't watch it or talk about it - if I'm not having fun, just stop engaging with it. And the thing is, I have. I am intellectually interested in why this massive franchise is fumbling the bag so hard, which is why I still check in on it sometimes, but I've long since stopped turning to the MCU for uncritical entertainment. And even the good movies or shows with a lot of interesting ideas - good character arcs, fun concepts, interesting planting for future payoff - don't draw me in anymore, because they're hooked into a massive moneymaking machine that will scrap and squander anything if they think it'll make them more in the quarter. It doesn't matter how good the writing is, because the writers are not allowed to tell a complete, finished story, and they have no control over what happens to their characters outside of their own script.

Captain America's arc was set up from literally minute one to answer one burning question at the core of his character: does a world without a war still need Captain America? After that incredibly basic tee-up at the end of First Avenger, half a dozen movies failed to come up with a reason to say "yes," and now Steve is retired for good after getting fumbled through four different storylines that couldn't even pretend that they needed him (the unused Chekhov's Phone from the end of Civil War still haunts me). The foundational arc of his entire character never happened because nobody bothered to keep track of it past a single movie.

Taika did something interesting with Thor in Ragnarok - take away Mjolnir, force him to recognize what it means to be the god of thunder, give him a very Odin-y missing eye - and the very next movie undid all of it. Just kidding, never mind, here's an eye and a new weapon and also his old weapon again, and in one more movie we're even gonna give him his hair back, probably as an apology for all the completely unironic fatphobia we're gonna slather him in for two and a half hours. I'm not even surprised Love And Thunder was such an overblown mess that barely took itself seriously - why would Taika bother trying to give Thor another arc when the powers that be will just roll it back in six months anyway?

I hear Rocket Raccoon has a fantastic arc in this movie. That's great, and demonstrates that he's being written by a writer that deeply cares about him. But he's part of the MCU, and the MCU doesn't let anything end, so if current patterns hold, Rocket is going to continue to serve as quippy plushie-bait for the next dozen movies and none of that depth is going to come through in the long term. Hell, since they're making Kang noises for the Next Big Threat and Kang's entire gimmick is rewriting timelines, literally none of this is guaranteed to matter. By next year, it might not have even happened anymore.

The MCU has successfully shaped itself into a paradigm where the bright spots of good writing are overridden and lost as soon as the writers room turns over, and that makes it really hard for me to muster up the enthusiasm to watch even a really good movie that's locked into the exact same grist mill as everything else. I'm glad people liked it, I hope it gets to stay good this time - I just have no desire to watch it.

[pocket-jack]

Hey, guys! I decided to torture myself before sleep beacause... Why not? So, here's KidKiller's rough sheets with some headcanons I have for the guys (probably with a lot off mistakes cus my browser refuses to fix them for me)

Kid time, baby

I draw him differently now. I know his face looks more... diamond shaped in anime, but I can't get rid of his square coded energy, so... Heart-shaped it is!

When he recieved his eye scar he didn't lose the ability to see, but now it get's dry really fast and if he won't do something about it it'll gonna ache.

He had multiple piercings on his ear, but his powers just kept pulling them and one day almost ripped his ear of, so he (with a manly tears) decided to take them off.

I headcanon him wearing a corset, because he's a little chubby and he can't get rid of this extra fat (not with his appetites). Also everytime when he takes it off, not only he's forced to look at his hanging stomach, but he's also has to fight off Killer. Killer's only dream was for Kid to be well fed and happy.

Nor his, nor Killer's sexuality is defined by them, but actually based out of other's observations. Kid is pansexual because he's kinda gender blind. For him it's confusing that you're weak just because you have tits and extra hole between your legs. He's also demiromantic. Both of those preference he acquired during Kutsukku (where you couldn't trust anyone, even your lover. And where the gender norms were the least of your concerns)

He also have undiagnosed ADHD which mostly give him extra impulsivity and also now the metal can speak (thank ye, neurodivergency!). Sometimes it's stresses him the hell off, especially during Kutsukku. He could not sleep because of all of this buzzing he kept hearing from EVERYWHERE. Now he can control it, but sometimes it returnd and he has to suffer.

Metal also responds to his hidden emotions. It may float when he thinks, reflects or remembering something. It may rumble when he's angry, concerned, scared. Or it may form something if he's happy, in love or something like that.

He's hard rock kinda guy, we all know this, but I headcanon him as a music lover in general (so whatever makes his brain go bzzt, mostly rock). I find Thrown a couple of month ago and it's sounds like something Kid would like (probably even kin, esp Backfire). MSI is a basic thing for him to have (every punk need at least one song in their playlist). I guess not every person will understand it, but Пшлнхй is such a Kid coded song (Every Russian proverb, but one part is just sending you to fuck yourself is something that Kid would do irl. The chorus is just... mmm)

Killer, my beloved!!!!

I love headcanoning him as androgenous. He has a feminine features: oval shaped face, eyes with big eyelashes, even his lips is a little softer than the average male lips. That is the main reason why he hid his face, because everyone would bully him fot it when he was young. Killer was confused with a girl a lot during his time on Kutsukku.

During timeskip he strained a lot of muscles just to get stronger. He was neglecting himself most of the time, because he had a mission: to become stronger so he'll never fail to protect Kid ever again. They also been really distant during their training. Only when Killer hurted his arm they bounded again. Kid was surprisingly a good mentor for his healing. Probably because their trauma was almost the same

When he's wearing a mask he usually get's his hair out of the way so it wouldn't mess with his vision

Pre timeskip he wanted to work on his style, feeling obliged to do so, cus his crew was dressing up in colorful styles. He choose to fit into more West Bluish kinda style (cowboy boots and pants). But then anxiety hitted him and suddenly he felt too vissible and everyone was looking at him and... Let's just say it wasn't a pleasant expirience for him. He just wanted to show that he was a part of the crew too, but now he feels himself too overreacting and dramatic and stuff. It took a lot of time for everyone to convince him that it wasn't about the look, but more about the comfort. With their support Killer started wearing something he likes more, and it felt fantastic. He actually started to like himself in the mirror a bit more after timeskip and then Wano happened

Killer is asexual beacuse of the amount of trauma he suffered during his childhood. I hc him having a low libido too. He's still feels romantic attraction (only for Kid), and if he asks, Killer will have sex with him without hesitation. But it's only for Kid, OR for his sake

It is so logical for him to have OCD. Just him casualy living and then the dread that if he won't do something usefull his crew will see how fucking usless and worthless he actually is and live him behind the same his parents did just suddenly hits him. Oh hey! Anxiety! Abandonment issues! This man will explode, please, give him a hug.

It got worse after Wano. He's doing bad things with his face and no one knows. Even Kid. (I love making them suffer for the sake of Hurt\Comfort)

I am 100% sure Killer is a Queen guy. It just gives me Killer vibes... The same with Elton John. And also... To fit in his pre timeskip cowboy vibes into the oven,,, He's actually like country rock alongside with glam rock. Barns Courtney is his favorate

So... How do you like my silly little headcanons? Maybe I post something about Heat and Wire too. Welp, I'm fainting out of exaustion, bye!

[v1naco]

Okay hear me out

Simon Riley x reader but Venom AU.

Like Simon did go into the military but he left a couple years after when (I know this is not canon cause I love his family too much and my baby deserves happiness) his family gets attacked. They’re still alive (besides his father cause fuck that dude) but they got seriously injured.

The attack left him hurt mentally a lot and having to help them heal when he was struggling with his own things made it all worse. So when he went on a night walk he somehow comes across Venom and they bond(?I don’t know how to put it?).

Fast forward years later when his family is a lot better health wise, he uses catching bad guys and letting Venom eat most of them to blow off excess steam and as his therapy. He is out doing his regular shit eating bad guys and he comes across you getting robbed.

You just had a horrible day at work and just wanted to go home and sleep but this guy just had to choose you, a young woman a lone with her earbud(s) in and a backpack on her back walking past the opening of an alleyway at like 11pm.

You were too tired and smart to fight and decided to give the man what he wanted, money, but you only had $3.34 on you from tips and change. The man was pissed, but what is a woman in her last year of college supposed to have, a centurion card (Black Card)? You were living off of hard hours working in the restaurant industry and the scholarships you got to not go in dept after you graduate, even now. You were even an RA but tuition is still pricy.

Simon saw the squabble and knew you just needed some help, since the man just pulled a knife out, and you looked like you could just lay on the floor and sleep the next week away.

Simon (actually Venom) lands on the ground and politely, to the best of his abilities which is none, tells the man to hand back you your money and to walk away. The man argued saying he deserved it, you just wanted to walk away but as Venom took his first step out into the light the man grabs your arm and puts the knife to your neck.

Now you were not only pissed but scared, pissed that if this man slits your throat or puts you in the hospital it can ruin your chance at graduating, and after all those gruesome years of pain and suffering you did not want to redo a whole year. Scared because who wouldn’t be scared of a knife to your neck and the guy holding it looks like his off his rocker.

When you turned your head towards Simon, not only did he see the fear and anger in your eyes but he saw how beautiful you were, even as he could see the light sheen of sweat on you, your dirty hair, and the prominent eye bags you were carrying around, but he would call those bags gucci with how beautiful you looked still with no make up and the bad situation you got unlucky with.

When you saw him your eyes widened. Apparently the man had gotten more scared than you seeing the big black and dark gray mass. Shaped with a human complexion of a body but the head was obviously alien.

The man shoved the knife’s dull blade into your neck enough to draw a small line of blood. Though he didn’t get far enough to cut you deeper since Venom shot a tendril out and grabbed the mans arm. The man dropped the knife due to the pain radiating from his arm. Venom asked (really he threatened) the man to hand you back what he stole from you and he threw insults, calling you all sorts of names you wished to never be called by anyone.

Simon, and especially Venom, was in a happier mood today and would have let that man go with a very distinct warning, but those insults thrown at you slammed that “good day” door right on their faces. Simon believed that no words such as the ones he spoke, should be heard by your pretty ears, those pretty ears with all those pretty jewelry on every inch of them, dangling and reflecting the street and store lights off of the jewels.

Simon didn’t wish for you to see this next part but Venom liked your ear piercings and tattoos and was getting very cranky and wished to take a bite of that man’s head. Simon couldn’t stop Venom in time and the next thing you notice is the blood and the top part of the man’s cervical vertebrae sticking out.

You were a wide eyed doe right then and there. With your hand on your mouth not trying to breath anything around you in. Venom then turns and asks if you’re alright. He was sorry you had to see it, you just nodded and continued to look at the body, slowly and weirdly getting used to it the more you stared at it. You believe you should take a break from all those movies and shows that has a lot of gore in it, believing that your reaction to this situation is not normal.

With how you reacted, and noticing you not shaking much at all anymore, Venom strikes up a conversation with you, much to Simon’s protest. He noticed the accent and figures out that you are not originally from the area, definitely from a different country. As seconds pass, Venom and Simon like you more and more. Asking to walk you home to make sure you are okay, Venom changes back to Simon and he walks you home. You’re much too surprised and still very much so tired and don’t try to fight him on his request to walk you home. But you enjoy the silence between you both, it was calming and you didn’t need to listen to music to fill that silence for once.

When he reached your home he wished you a safe and well night. You stop him real quickly, asking if you could do anything for him to repay him for helping you. He said he didn’t need anything from you. Just as he was turning to walk away you ask to at least cook him a mean sometime, him AND Venom of course, remembering that Venom said that that man’s head was not tasty and he was still hungry.

Simon did not wish to bring you into his pain filled life, but he wished to be selfish for once for his own happiness and with that Simon agrees. He walks away with one lesser bad guy on the streets and with a new number in his contacts, ready to set up a dinner with the woman he knew would later marry.

Anyway thats my little thought of a Simon Riley Venom AU. I did’t specify an age of the reader cause people are different ages during their college/university years and some people go to school for more than the regular 2-4 years. But I was thinking Simon would be about around 25 while the reader is around 22/23 but can be older, maybe even 21 if you want her to be, but nothing under cause those specific age gaps weird me out.

I also did not specify his and her appearance or what she wears bc I don’t really care but if I did I would say more so jeans, converse, and t-shirt with maybe a zip up type style. I do love a girly with many piercings and tattoos though so I wanted to put it in there.

Anyway…sorry Im a d1 yapper😔. I just thought a simon+venom au would be perfect and he would fit the role of Eddie so well. Especially with the motorcycle ugh creaming rn😩. Ehem. Do with this how you want but I do hope that if you do use this please tag me. Maybe give me credits for this idea since I have not found anything like this anywhere if you want. But yeah if someone writes this PLEASE TAG ME. I write for shit so I definitely am not.

[beacedocrime]

Art of the characters from @basilthesnakingthing 's Monstrous Children AU. Check it out!

Close ups and explanations of my thought process for some of my decisions under the cut

First of all, Victor Frankenstein. His physical descriptions are sparse, except for how ill he looks. I tried to give him a slightly sickly looking skin tone, but skin in general isn't my forte, so I'm not sure how much I succeeded. Other than that, I always imagined him with black hair and green eyes, and as having somewhat sharp features.

For the colours, idk, I just thought purple would look on him. I wanted the vest to have simple gold detailing on the lapels, but the watercolour wasn't really obvious, and I couldn't be bothered to search for my pencils. He's never described as wearing glasses as far as I'm aware, but I liked how he looked with them better.

After inking him, I could tell there was something I didn't like about his face, but I couldn't pinpoint why. Later, I realized his eyes weren't spaced correctly. I made a quick little sketch to correct this.

Basil said the gravedigger guy was gonna be inspired by some other classics character, but she hadn't given an example and I didn't have any ideas so I decided to make him as generic as possible. I thought he'd look funny among all these fancily dressed children.

When I drew these, I hadn't been told that in this au Jekyll and Hyde would be their first names, so I drew Victor calling out to 'Henry' with Jekyll in mind. However, since this isn't possible in this universe... thoughts on Henry Clerval 👀?

Jekyll! Drew him slightly sleep deprived and did not make good decisions about that vest. Fixed it later. Like Victor, not a lot of physical descriptions, so mostly going off of how I imagined him- brown hair and brown eyes, softer features.

Debated a bit on the colour scheme, before deciding mellow browns and yellows would be a good fit. Don't know why his sleeves are rolled up other than I thought it looked nice.

Not much else to say about his appearance, I was fairly satisfied with him (other than the vest). Though his jawline came out a bit uneven, and the shape of his pants look weird (I was not inking this on a table like a normal person and he slightly suffered for it)

Basil mentioned once that this version of him and Hyde also have the talking in the mirror thing, so I made a small doodle of that.

Hyde! With a quick bonus Dracula.

So, just to say this quickly, I did not think at all about Dracula's clothes, it was just a quick sketch cause I really wanted to draw this scene. Also his proportions are weird, and his skin not pale enough.

Hyde! Similarly to Victor, I did not like something about his face in the first inked version, so I fixed it in a quick sketch. This time it was his chin. His face felt too long, and I wanted it to be rounder.

Like the other two, Hyde doesn't have a confirmed hair and eye colour as far as I'm aware. His descriptions are along the lines of 'pale and short with bad vibes'. I imagined him with reddish brown hair, and the same colour for eyes.

I didn't mean his vest to be pretty much the same colour as his hair, but it happened, and I like it, so. I made his vest the same kind as Jekyll's, just on the other side. He doesn't have a necktie because things around my neck give me sensory issues, and I'm projecting. His button-up is pink because, like many other design choices, I thought it would look cool.

The sharp teeth were one design choice that the creator of the AU wanted him to have.

Other stuff- they all have coats/jackets (not sure which one is the correct term) that I haven't drawn here. I tried to give the colours a slightly washed-out look to fit in with how the creator described the setting to look, though I'm not sure how successful I was. I wanted Creature to be bigger, but by the time I'd realised that it was smaller than I wanted, I couldn't really go back.

[skyartworkzzz]

Because you said you love rambeling about lore and you are looking for excuses to talk about it redeem this cupon for one free lore ramble, any topic

OH YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT U JUST DONE

SIT BACK AND RELAX CUZ THE GOATS UNIVERSE HAS BEEN IN MY MIND THE WHOLE WEEK + SOME HEKET RAMBLING Cuz I got her a partner idea hehehe <3

LONG RAMBLING UNDER THE CUT!!! (btw bless chu I appreciate u <3 )

ABOUT CULT OF THE GOAT AU:

About the Purple Crown: Ive been seeing a lot of interpretations of Goat's Crown going around and honestly Id like to put in my cents: I dont think the Crown being purple changes who the owner was, because the eye shape is still the same as Lamb's Which brings me to think that, just like how in COTL everything seems to be colored after warmer/reddish colors, everything in Goat's universe must be following cooler/purpleish palettes What does that mean to me? That ALL the other Crowns are of different colors as well, maybe a colder one compared to their original ones

Im still thinking about what each of them would be here but so far I like to think that Yellow -> Ocean green?? Green -> Blue Blue -> dark pink? Purple -> Cyan/White

I think the Crown shapes would still be the same + what each Bishop's domain would be as well

About Aym and Baal: They were never offered to Narinder. Shamura didnt have that compassion. They were so mad at their brother that they couldnt bring themselves to consider his feelings for being banished. Neither did any of the other siblings, for they wouldve been too busy fighting off Old Gods and hunting for empowerment

So where are Aym and Baal? Theyre alive! With Forneus! And both of them are lil jerks as much as their mother Taught to steal, lie and fight, all in order to survive no matter what. The twins have already expressed wanting to go out and explore the world, but Forneus refuses to let her kids go, much for her own selfish reasons of them being the only things that make her happy in this fcked up world AND because, of course, she loves them. She knows how cruel the world has turned into, she does not want to lose them Aym and Baal never met Narinder, and Narinder never met them Maybe eventually, while Goat is out in a crusade, they shall cross paths........as enemies

About the Purgatory: This is still smtng I am speculating about, but what I have so far: instead of it being MS to tell the Goat to free the Bishops from their deserved-suffering, itd be them asking the deity if such thing was possible, because Narinder wouldve been feeling bad about it He believes that his siblings could change over time, especially now that the Crowns were relinquished by the Goats power, and so they are allowed to have that chance This would unlock many scenarios of the Bishops actively trying to take over the cult, run away or kill the Goat + their followers. It is smtng Ill let cook for a while more

IF ANYTHING Id just- leave them dead lol they wouldnt be redeemable in this world (BUT BECAUSE I LOVE MY SKRUNKLIES EQUALLY ILL TRY TO MAKE IT WORK-)

ABOUT HEKET: Ehehehe I accidentally started shipping her with my follower OC Astrid so we'll see how it goes

Astrid is someone who keeps to herself for the sake of others; she is not used to opening up and oftentimes believes her pain is not worth of complains compared to others she is caring for However, she is very much talkative, maybe as a way to make her forget her problems Whilst Heket she- well. She cant. Talk much it hurts like hell UASHDNJASMDK

SO WE HAVE A TALKATIVE BUBBLY GF WITh her mostly quiet butch wife that shes constantly having to change the bandages of <3

I have a dialogue set up for them which I shall get to drawing a comic for as soon as I am done with thIS CURRENT COMIC-

ANYWAYS thats the ramblings for now, HOPE YALL LIKE THE IDEAS bless u again for givng me a free pass made me rlly happy MWEHE,,!! 💜💜💜

[falloutjuli]

OHHH BOYYYY OKAY. HEAR ME OUT RIGHT. HEAR ME OUT.

BUCCI GANG WITH G/N!Y/N (PLATONIC OR ROMANTIC IDM <3) WHO IS AN ALIEN (Like from part 4) WHO'S LIKE PRETTY WELL ACCUSTOMED TO EARTH BUT ALSO. TENDS TO SHAPESHIFT INTO ANIMALS ACCIDENTLY WHEN THEY FEEL AN EXTREME EMOTION!!

like pissed at narancia because he broke their favourite cd? OHHHH BOY ITS A FUCKING CHIHUAHUA

Otherwise, have a lovely day and hopefully you've got some good requests to keep you busy, i know what it's like to be painstakingly bored lmao. if you don't feel like writing this one tho, that's fine :)

DRINK SOME WATER BTW. JUST. JUST A SIP. LIKE. A LITTLE SCHLURP.

I LOVE THIS IDEA SO MUCH THANK YOU FOR MAKING ME THINK ABOUT THIS!!

And thank you so much for your kind words, always means a lot! Drinking water as I'm writing this. And now other people who read this... DRINK SOMETHING. NOW.

Anyways, i think it's on the more platonic side, but i think it can also be interpreted as romantic. Hope you enjoy my little writing!

Same content warning as before, typed on phone by an unhinged person 😎

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Bucci Gang x Alien!GN!Reader - Shapeshifting adventures

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The boys and Trish are pretty used to your sometimes weird antics but when they bit by bit discovered the shape shifting? OH BOY.

They were all used to you messing up small things that were normal to them, like teaching you idioms and stuff. But this? This is a whole new level of crazy.

First. The Narancia incident.

It's Narancia, so he pretended to know nothing about no CD. Especially not broken ones he helped pick out. No no, he knows nothing about this, never even heard of CDs.

But you know him and his bullshit so you keep nagging him about it, getting agitated by his constant lies.

And just when you wanted to full on speak your mind to him, poof. Bark.

He stares at a little Chihuahua where just Y/N stood that looked like it was ready to bite him.

Once everything in his brain clicks, he laughs his ass off. Tears in his eyes, his laughter filling all of the house, eventually drawing in Abbachio who just wants some piece and quite and now has to deal with Narancia crying/laughing on the floor and a.... Chihuahua angrily barking at him.

It took a while until Abbachio got answers out of the younger one and once everything was explained (well, everything despite what happened to the CD) he went off to get the rest of the gang, trying to contain his laughter on the way.

So everyone was informed then. Fugo and Giorno were super interested in this newfound quirk you discovered, Bruno and Trish were worried at first but once they saw that you had suffered no harm or were stuck in the form their worries subsided. Abbachio found it a little funny but was also glad you were alright.

Meanwhile to Mista and Narancia it's the funniest shit they have ever seen. They keep referencing it. "Ohhh Mista, don't steal their desert or they might turn into a puppy again!"

Those two are true idiots and once they pushed you a little too far and you accidentally turned into a grizzly bear, they finally stopped. For while.

Bruno had that worry again. He wasn't sure if you could maybe hurt yourself or them if this kept happening but you kept assuring him that's you'd never. It's just the form that changes, never the Y/N inside of the form.

Trish and Giorno are super kind to you as always and would barely ever push you into such extrem emotions to the point of accidentally shifting.

Abbachio and Bruno will always look out for you and will tell the others to stop bothering you/calm you down if they deem it necessary. They are never pushy about it, especially not Abbachio.

Fugo is... Certainly something. You're sure if he too was from your planet he'd be a walking zoo with how easily angered he is. You two spoke about that once and Fugo never felt happier to be from Earth.

While Mista and Narancia can certainly drive you up the walls, they also know when it's too much and after you turning into a bear, they decided they would stop trying to set you off on purpose. (Especially since Narancia brought up the possibility of you turning into a dinosaur. Which they deemed cool. But scary.)

This doesn't mean they will stop bickering with you over tiny things.

Mista also called you once a "Discount Giorno." Nobody found it funny and Giorno was tempted to transform his newly bought shoes with Golden Experience but decided against it.

[mslanna]

Be My Guest

Who is ready for another Tav x Raphael Beauty and the Beast AU?!?! *thundering silence*

too bad, because that's what you get. 😋

Tav bargains for Raphael's life with Mephistopheles. All it costs them is their soul. A small price they do not intend to pay. After all, who will rule hell once Raphael has the Crown of Karsus in his possession? Maybe, for once, Tav should have thought their actions through.

they/them Tav, AFAB with top surgery

Read the first part on AO3

1. A Trap Of Their Own Making

The thing about devils is, that, in a manner of speaking, they are only human. Take their abodes. If they were, and most of them are, places people want to get out of, the security for the way in tends to be very shoddy.

A fact that Tav exploited before. And though Mephistopheles' home is far lager than that of Raphael, it suffers from the very same problem. Tav gets all the way to the throne room before somebody deigns to wonder if they belong.

Also, devils are not threatened. Annoyed, intrigued, bothered, but never threatened. Puny mortals are, under no circumstances, a danger. Tav smiles as they step in front of the throne, ignoring the beat up pulp at its side with all they have.

"Mephistopheles." Tav sketches a bow. "I'm glad I caught you at home. With the security as is, I wondered if maybe you moved to a different place altogether."

"Cute. Get to the point."

"I come to offer a deal, of course." Tav clasps their hands behind their back. "Unoriginal, but true nevertheless. I want to offer up my soul for a small favour. Well, a favour."

"You are assuming quite much about the worth of your soul. But since my son had great interest in it, I will hear you out." Mephistopheles stretches over the throne in a display of power. A short glance at the red heap of devil at his side tells how much he thinks of his son.

Tav follows the gaze for a moment before returning their attention to the white-eyed face of the archdevil. "Very kind. So, my soul. And in exchange you let me and Raphael leave unhindered and unharmed. And you will discontinue any attempts at his life and well-being."

Silence fell like a hammer. The cambion crouched at the foot of Mephistopheles' throne dares to peer up. Tav sees hope and disbelief fighting on the bruised face.

The silence shatters when Mephistopheles laughs. It is not a happy sound but hard with cutting undertones. "That is quite a lot to ask, mortal. No soul is worth that much."

Tav shrugs unfazed. They expected this, but trying couldn't hurt. "Alright. How about this: You let me and Raphael leave unhindered and unharmed."

Mephistopheles considers. His eyes rest on the prostate from of his son. There is no way Raphael will make it out of here on his own. "Curious. You never took any of his deals. Or he wouldn't be in this predicament right now." Teeth show in what may be a smile. "It makes no sense."

"Sorry," Tav huffs. "I didn't know I was to bring a complete explanation and defence of my request. ” They stare at each other for a while and just when Tav thinks they may have to do some explaining, a contract pops into existence before them. They take it warily and start to read.

Reading infernal contracts takes a while. All the small print and subsections in which devils like to hide their double-crossings. Tav doesn't really care about any of it, but has no wish to make the archdevil suspicious. So they settles on the floor with their legs crossed and read. The whole contract. Word for word.

In the end, Tav picks up the quill that came with it. Unthinking, they ram it into their arm to draw blood to sign. Chuckles echo through the room.

"Ink was provided and would have sufficed," Mephistopheles intones as the contract flies to his hand. "Should have known that somebody willing to save Raphael on a deal would be as extra as he is. Leave." The archdevil gestures towards the door.

"Immediately." Tav sketches another bow before hurrying to pick up Raphael. The cambion is in horrible shape, but Tav manages to sling his arm over their shoulders somehow and drag him towards the exit. "Feel free to spirit us away any time," they murmur at the struggling figure.

"Why-" Raphael begins but Tav cuts him off.

"Please. Can we just leave?" They take a few heavy steps. The devil is not holding up much of his own weight and moves distracted. A sudden whoosh of air explains his lack of help as both stumble into the Feast Hall in the House of Hope.

Raphael leans his full weight on Tav and they crumble into a heap on the floor. Not for long though, because the servant souls of the house flock to their master. One brings water from the fountain of restoration which gets Raphael back into a coherent state.

The Master of the House is whisked away and Tav remains behind, covered in blood not theirs. On the one hand, they wish to leave. On the other hand, their business is not yet completed. Tav turns to the laden table and starts looking for something that hasn't gone bad yet.

When steps approach from behind, they are still looking. Nothing on the huge table is edible any longer. It has easily become a quest and despite it being useless and just something to kill time with, Tav is annoyed when they are interrupted.

"Still around?" The smooth voice of Haarlep asks. "Waiting for a reward? A medal?"

"Waiting for Raphael to get his act back together and talk to me," Tav replies. They are bored and time stretches.

"Time for some fun without the big man, then, little mouse." Haarlep sits down too close for comfort and places a red hand over Tav's. "He will be in a horrible mood when he returns to health. Imagine being a little high for that."

"Thanks, but I'll take my chances at cheering him up."

"Delusions of grandeur?" Haarlep claps. "Delicious. I hope I can watch."

"And what have you done to deserve that?" a familiar voice sneers.

Tav turns. Raphael looks a little worse for wear, the impeccable hair slightly rumpled, the suit minimally askew. His face a thunderstorm as he levels a finger at them. "You come with me. And you," he turns his steel gaze to Haarlep, "You stay here for the time being."

Without waiting, the devil returns the way he arrived and Tav follows. They walk trough the house in tense silence. Debtors flinch as they pass, busy with cleaning up and getting the House of Hope back to splendour.

Raphael makes for the boudoir and Tav shivers. Why does it have to be that place? The memories of it are tinged, guilt and overwhelming pleasure. A deal with yet another devil who isn't Raphael. But needs must. Tav hadn't thought about it much back then.

Now the bed looms with its deep red silk sheets and pillows. Tav feels their cheeks approximate the colour of the silk. But Raphael strides past the ignoble piece of furniture and ushers Tav onto a balcony framing the room. He sits Tav down in a corner – nowhere to flee but the abyss. Then he takes a seat opposite still glaring daggers. "Explain yourself."

Tav tilts their head. "Can you be a bit more specific. I have a lot of issues."

"You just sold your soul – your soul – to Mephistopheles. And for what?"

"Safe passage," Tav holes up behind sass. "I though that was pretty obvious."

Raphael pinches the bridge of his nose. "Yes, yes. Save passage. But what do you get out of this?" Black and gold eyes drill into them.

"I got to get out of there," Tav replies brightly.

"There was no reason for you to be in there in he first place," the devil points out.

Tav fidgets. The last thing they want is to confess something they don't fully understand themself. But it is clear that Raphael will have his answer. One way, or another.

"I was was, kinda, just passing by, you know, like one does, and you were not home, and I was like, huh, strange, where could he be and Korrilla dead on the floor which, bad sign, see?" They stop their babbling under Raphael's darkening stare.

"The debtors were in a panic, said you'd get devoured or something. Dropped Mephistopheles name. What was I to do?"

"You made a deal with my father," Raphael growls. "The archdevil, a fiend who is by far less forgiving and lenient then I am."

So that's what bothers him. Two deals with devils, none of them his, and now Tav's soul forfeit to his arch enemy. Time to come clean at least a little.

"You see, the reason I was kinda passing by accidentally." Tav looks at their hands on the table before reaching into their bag of holding and produces the item they recently took from the elder brain. They place it carefully on the table between them and the devil. "Thought you might want it. "

Raphael reaches out, his fingers hesitate a hairsbreadth before touching the metal. His eyes fall onto Tav once more.

The paladin forces an apologetic smile. "I know. Sorry."

Greedy hands close over the coveted item and Raphael pulls it towards him in a swift motion. For a moment nothing else matters but the artefact in his grasp. "That doesn't explain anything," Raphael finally says, dragging his eyes from his prize.

"I don't intend to go through with Mephistopheles' deal," Tav shrugs. "I expect him to end up dead before I do."

"Smart," the cambion replies. "Clever indeed." If he is annoyed by Tav skirting the heart of the question, he doesn't show it.

Silence falls and Tav wonders if they can leave now. They'd have to squeeze past the devil, but Raphael seems lost in thought. They yearn for a bath to wash the blood and stink away. And then a hearty meal and a little too much wine to postpone thinking to deeply about what they did and why to the next day. They fidget on their chair.

Raphael returns his attention to them immediately. "You cannot leave the House of Hope."

"Excuse?"

"You cannot leave," the devil repeats.

"Oh?" Tav arches a brow. "Plan on keeping me? How?"

Raphael takes a deep breath. "You are free to leave. Just know that Mephistopheles now has great interest in your demise. He'd love nothing more than to gloat over your soul."

Tav grimaces. They had not thought this through. "There is nothing that keeps him from killing me?"

"Nothing at all." The devil shakes his head thoughtfully. "You don't know him the way I do." The words are shot through with pain.

"I cannot be that important," Tav insists. "I'm just a simple soul."

"You are a soul I coveted and he can now claim." The admission takes Tav's breath away. "If he can have you, he will. It would be a lesson taught, a show of how I never can escape his grasp and everything I do is doomed to fail, to fall into his hands."

"So it's nothing personal," Tav surmises. "At least not personal where I am concerned."

"I am afraid not. You are, as you so acutely observed, just a simple soul." Raphael steeples his fingers, scrutinising the mortal over the crown they just delivered to him. Unasked for, well asked for yes, but unbound by a deal or promise.

"I will give the situation some thought. So should you but first," he shakes his head in disapproval, "you should clean up. You are positively rancid."

With that he leaves Tav to their own devices.

For a while they just sit and stare at the abyss around them. Caught in a trap of their own making. Somebody had to tell their friends. They would worry, they would storm the House of Hope for a rescue. Tav closes their eyes. Did they really resign themself this fast to the prolonged stay? Raphael was talking war. That could take forever, decades, centuries. Fiends lived very long, provided nobody killed them.

Tav crosses their arms on the table and rests their head on them. They could just chance it. Leave. Just to grab their things and see what happens. And what if Raphael is right? Mephistopheles is as petty as any devil. How much effort will he expend to get their soul? Even if he killed Tav himself, out in the open with spectators, their soul was his by rights.

Small steps, Tav tells themself. Small, solvable problems. They are rancid and there is a bath waiting. Then a quest for food. And sleep. They'd feel better after having a good night's sleep. Tav's eyes fall onto the bed in the boudoir. Nah. There have to be other beds in this place. And maybe other baths than the pool too.

They would find a way out of this.

[naradivision]

“Happy Birthday!

I don’t know if this present will get to you in time, but I think it’s only fair I return the favor after the presents I got from you for my birthday a while back! I was told you wanted to speak with me but I haven’t gotten to meet with you since then! Do stop by my office, we can meet up and have a talk if you’re still up for it! Hope you had a great birthday!

Regards,

Anika Kiyozaki from Akihabara Division”

With a smile, Yuuya Kanata closed the letter that had been taped to the outside of the package that had just been delivered on his front doorstep.

Last he remembered, he had been curious about the uncanny similarity of his and Kiyozaki-san’s eyes. The package that was now sitting in his living room brought it back to his attention.

Shaking his head with a smile, he peered into the package that was delivered to him.

Inside was a—

…

What the heck?

Inside were multiple goose statues, the beaks being magnetic and able to hold various items such as keys, knives for the kitchen, and several more.

Let it be known that if there was anything the hypnotherapist of Akihabara loved, it was gag or prank gifts.

“Woah, look at what got here human! Are you going to adopt these lovely goosey goosey ganders?!”

Exclaiming excitedly at Anika’s presents was ANGE the high-definition digital girl who was now floating on Yuuya’s television screen.

And as if the previous awkward moment between them had never happened, she let out an airy giggle, drawing a soft smile from the birthday boy who was now busy bringing stuffs he got from townspeople into his living room.

“Goosey, you say? At first I thought they were ducks. But welp, these two birdies are way too similar. I can’t really differentiate them from one another.”

Joking a bit about the goose vs duck paradox, Yuuya was just returning home from his personal errand to deliver presents to other divisions.

Because much to one’s surprise, there were few acquaintances who were coincidentally sharing the same birthday with him. However, he didn’t expect the townsfolk to give him this many gifts during his way back home. It was always very nice of them; his hometown’s people, their hospitality had never failed to make him feel touched ever since he was a lot younger. And that was one of the reasons why he had tried so hard to keep his hometown unscathed from whoever’s exploitation.

Hot and humid, the first summer draft was slipping through the balcony and bringing along the warm and woody scent from his father’s room to his senses.

And even if today was meant to be the longest day of the year, now looked like the sun had been shifting lower and lower toward the horizon.

Suddenly swarmed by emotions, the birthday boy gazed at the distant evening sky that bore the same shade as his eyes.

…That’s right, his birthday used to be so lonely since he usually spent it alone mourning. But somehow this year was shaping up to be a bit different.

His smile softened as he could hear his chatty companion explored each of his presents with sparkling enthusiasm.

“Tee-hee, couldn’t believe that the meme ANGE stumbled upon on the internet one day would be actually brought to life! This lady you called Kiyozaki-san has got a great taste! Humans sure are being creative~”

—And well, he was glad to see her being back to her energetic self again.

Earlier she seemed to be oddly quiet that he felt somewhat frustrated she might be mad at him. Together with Ojou-chan, she had always been the liveliest voice in his home.

“Oh. And to think about it, Kiyozaki-san did tell me to give her a visit sometimes too. Hmmm, perhaps I should drop by her clinic whenever I get a chance to go around Akihabara…”

From what extent he knew about this Kiyozaki-san beside her being the leader of Pixel Syndicate was that she had been once a high-rise racer but now turning over to become a specific type of professional therapist after suffering grave injuries from a certain accident in her past. What’s more? She was also the current guardian figure to Setsukura-san, one of his underclassmen at his old school! So, that was probably why he could feel the mature-ish comforting vibe to her despite her rather mischievous streak judging from her choice of gifts.

And while there might be some barrier of communication in between them according to her partial loss of hearing, this couldn’t make him less interested in learning more about sign language.

Still, Kiyozaki-san’s motive in joining the D.R.B. remained quite unclear to him.

Though her background sounded like she was a fame seeker in the past, some part of him believed she was also exhausted with all that stuff as she had changed into her new career to help people, hence she might as well have another reason to sign in this suspicious tournament aside from seeking either its prize or glory… Actually, it would be a blatant lie that the majority of participants did join it without some kind of hidden agenda —He himself even had one of his own.

But if you ask him what about her that caught on his curiosity the most, the answer was undoubtedly her eyes: the sunset color, the unique scheme he had never seen anyone with this same shade so far except…

His sister, his nice and kind nee-san whom he had never seen in years

And damn it, before he could grasp a hold of his emotions, his sickening nostalgia began to striked up. He was well aware that Kiyozaki-san was obviously different person from his sister, yet she strongly reminded him of her.

His nice and kind nee-san… Just where are you now?

There were too many things he was always yearning to hear from her but sadly never got a chance to.

…How has she been up to this present? Is her new family being nice to her? Is city life that great compared to here? Is there anything she wants to tell him, her only little brother? Any story she would love to tell like she always does when they were young? Or literally, any, anything. Or at very least, he wanted to ask her if she perhaps got bored of his calls… Also, what about mom? Has she… even smiled more than when she was still with him?

A stream of feelings stirring up inside his chest, the sunset gleam in his eyes wavered like a fickle light dancing on the ripples. But before he got more indulged into his own turmoil, Yuuya sharply inhaled.

…Nah, just kidding, there was no time for him to be sad.

Thinking as such, the boy who had now grown older as a young man wiped the evidence of his emotions off the corner of his eyes and stood up.

…His clubmates had just called him that they were gonna throw a karaoke party for him this dinner. Hi-chan was also attending. That old man was probably not coming, but he was already grateful for him to keep his promise on sponsoring his education up to this present. And on top of everything, he was finally graduated and now was one step closer to his dream. Therefore, he should be happy. He had got to be. There was no way he wasn’t… He wasn’t a lonely little brother who was in need of some pampering anymore.

Suppressing his pathetic self deep down the bottom of his heart, Yuuya let out a long sigh. He still had a project needed to be done anyway, and yeah —This must be the best way to keep himself distracted for a while.

However, unbeknownst to him,

A pair of bright red eyes were kept watching after his back with a bewildered look…

—Thanks for the gifts! And sorry for getting late lmao

[infinitethree]

Have you ever met a version of darkza that was kind?

Day makes a face like he’s insulted. To be fair, he is; the question is absurd to him on quite a few levels. His wings flick in annoyance as he answers,  "I've only met the one. If I could have snapped his wings off and stuffed them down his throat, I would have. He’s a monster and I'm glad he died suffering."

The irony of him, of all people, saying that is not lost on Day. But, well…even at his worst, he didn't do anything as heinous as hacking the wings off of two of his own kids and blinding one of them.

Coming back from just a day-long run to the nearby village to find Theo, all of thirteen, desperately trying to protect his younger brothers despite his own maiming–

He can never forget that sight. Nor can he forgive a man who would be that much of a monster.

There are a lot of debts he has racked up with the Fates, but that is the first and largest. Despite their confusion from the sudden reality warp, they were still able to give Theo the strength to hold on until Day returned.

The Fates are why his family remains whole and hale. He can never hope to repay them for that fact.

"Not me, personally," Day answers. "But Sanctuary as a whole does, yes. Some people would say Manhunts don't count. I disagree; the server pretty much shuts down for them, after all. Even Lucid’s are a big deal…not that they can outdo Perce's."

He sounds a little smug about that. His second youngest, for all that he likes to be a menace, has taken to Sanctuary's style of Manhunts with a startling amount of grace.

Maybe part of it is a desire to get the hefty paychecks offered, sure. Perce has several pricey hobbies; those had actually been the push he needed to actually take the plunge.

There had been some awkwardness in adjusting to the new format, of course. But once he had his footing, his second youngest had taken off at a dead sprint and has yet to slow down.

And now Perce draws the biggest audience, in no small part because he knows exactly how to play to them. He’s damn good at finding the best way to balance his skill and keeping the viewers in suspense.

But the question had likely been about more normal festivals.

"The last weekend of March, we have the Blooming Festival. It's a celebration of the end of winter and beginning of spring. Lots of flowers get handed around in different forms. Bouquets, flower crowns, corsages, bracelets– some people get them preserved with magic as a memento. Or just get paper ones."

He can’t help but smile at the memory he has of Lee and Perce's respective first years. 

With Perce, the rest of his family– and his friends, once they caught on– made a game out of stealthily adding to the increasingly unwieldy number of floral adornments. It quickly spiraled out of control, until it seemed like half of Sanctuary decided to pile on.

Even Vio had managed to pin a small hyssopus to his sleeve. Nobody was sure when he did it, just that it had to have been him.

The flower is pretty uniquely linked to the alien. They’re what his ear cuff is in the shape of, and thus a little too personal for most people to grow at all. Even those that do wouldn't just hand them out like that.

By the end of the festival, Perce had enough flowers that he could have started a stall. He had been red faced from laughter and a bit of embarrassment.

Lee, meanwhile, had missed that same celebration by just a bit under two months. He had more time to acclimate to Sanctuary's style of celebrating in time for the next year, and more critically, time to plot.

His goal had been to give every single person a flower. In his eyes, they were all special, and thus all needed to get something from him.

There…had been some distress, when he failed at that exceptionally ambitious goal.

A few people got together afterwards to help him belatedly achieve it– Aster being among them.

Daz, too. It's sort of funny; the two Tommys don't mesh at all, and yet they had both felt driven to help a sullen six year old feel better.

Now that he’s thinking about the perky head of newcomer orientation, though, he remembers another event.

"The Welcome Wagon holds a picnic each month, open to anyone who wants to go. I think it's mainly to help new residents meet others. I don't go much, but Orph loves it."

Likely, part of that is because he’s good friends with Daz. Plus he doesn't have to stress about orientation any more. The rest of the people who run the day-to-day parts of the server are semi-regulars as well. Even Vio shows up sometimes, in between boughts of…hibernation?

Day is pretty sure that's what Vio has claimed he does to recover post-travel. But Vio says a lot of things that Day takes with a few pounds worth of salt, so fuck knows if he was telling the truth, exaggerating, or just flat out lying.

He and Theo agree that Vio definitely makes some things up just to fuck with them. It’s likely payback for all the times that the two of them annoy the alien.

It does not help that the rest of the not-family double down on some things, or refute others that Day knows for a fact are true.

Speaking of Vio's totally-not-sons, though…

"We have combat tournaments– which Aryll is banned from participating in. He won too easily and it was boring for everyone. That happened not too long after multiverse travel started, though, and there’s a good chance he wouldn't do nearly as well now. He's never tried to appeal it because he can't be bothered and he likes rubbing it in Theo’s face."

It remains a sore spot for Theo that he was never able to get banned for being too good.

Of course– Day’s eldest never gives them his all, either. There’s leagues of difference between a friendly, if heated, match and Theo aiming to kill.

Theo can be beaten. Theseus Was-Taken cannot.

Day is all too aware of just how powerful Theo truly is– a lifetime of pushing himself to be stronger, better, and faster than anyone else is emphasized every time the chorus of the Fates demand blood.

Despite the frequent bickering and annoyance, the Fates do not fuck around with an actual threat. They’ve grown attached to Theo and his loved ones– and, thus, messing around when those are in danger is a non-option.

Theseus Was-Taken, the legend, was born because Theo needed to protect his family. He and the Fates formed a deep, symbiotic relationship; they live in his head and grant him strength, and he acts as their conduit on the world at large.

Even Iatros has been able to get a better understanding of Chat through him.

…And also through Day talking about Theo’s antics over the years. So sue him– the piglin was arguably the last bridge not reduced to ash by the time Day had made his desperate deal. He might have spent decades in the world of the SMPza, but…a part of him could never forget that tiny sliver of hope.

Iatros might be his therapist, but Day still considers him a friend. Zephyr– usually just Phil– has become one, too.

They do share centuries of memories. Some of them are confusing, some are infuriating, some are fascinating, but they are still shared.

Phil only ever competed in one of the tournaments. Despite complaining that he was too old for it, he was still fifth.

Not bad by any stretch. Definitely worse than Day’s fourth, though– and well behind Vio's third, Theo’s second, or Aver's first place.

It had been a good fight. A familiar sense of joy had overtaken Day when the scrappy, snarling kid who had been through hell got his first gold medal.

Aver looked a hell of a lot like Theo had the first time his eldest was able to beat Day in a spar. Definitely older, but the look of hard-won victory still brought back a lot of memories.

So, Day had taken it upon himself to commission Atlas for a golden laurel wreath. Aver had laughed in delight and wore it for the next week.

As far as Day is aware, Aver's laurels are currently being worn by a life size cow plushie on display in Make It Sew.

That had all been years ago, of course. It was before Aster had been brought back– hell, it was before Perce had entered the picture.

His second youngest sometimes feels like he’s been with them forever. It's jarring to remember that there was a time before he or Lee were a part of the family.

He continues, "Christmas is another big holiday for us. It's…" he pauses, brows furrowing in thought.

"...It's a way to reaffirm the spirit of kindness that made them decide to stay here. It doesn’t matter if you've been here two weeks or two years; you get presents. There’s a lot of groups that hold open festivities, because just about everyone here has too much experience with being alone."

Prime knows that Day is familiar with it. He remembers the numb blur of time, blood, and agony that his time in Pandora's Vault became.

Even before that, though– when he was rapidly spiraling out of control– he spent too much time with only his server for company.

By the time things devolved beyond repair, even that was gone. There was just Day, his fury, and the crippling admin drives that ruined him.

He tries not to focus too much on that part of his past. Sometimes he's left breathless over his grief that he had to rip out a part of his soul, to murder the world that never understood why everything was going so wrong so fast.

"It doesn’t matter how fancy the gift is. What's really important, at least from what I've seen, is that you're thinking of the other person. I've heard a lot of stories about the Welcome Wagon reducing people to tears with origami or a box of snacks. One year, the Prank Guild heads hacked into the com network to send everyone a greatest hits montage of server prank wars."

Day remains completely and utterly convinced that they did it with help from the Redstone Alliance. Nobody has ever admitted as such, sure, but Day is incredibly suspicious that the compilation had Theo getting bested so many times.

…The number of times Vio looked like a clown was also pretty damn high. The T3 are united in their rock solid belief that the tech geeks provided the leg work for that particular 'gift.'

Caper and Spark, meanwhile, were able to add another onto the list of server guidelines. Hacking into the com network on that scale for anything short of an emergency isn't cool.

Funny, yes, but not great for the overall mental health of the server.

He stretches his wings out behind him, trying to work out a faint twinge. It's too easy to tune out physical discomfort and pain. This body might have never gone through horrific torture, but Day damn well remembers it.

His pain receptors are, as far as he can tell, just permanently fucked up. It's…been an issue for him.

"And on Christmas night, most of the server gathers for a party. Some people dress up, others wear casual clothes, but it’s fun all around. Food, games, time spent with friends and strangers alike…even active prank wars get set aside for the night.” Another smile creeps up at the memories.

Day is definitely among those who want to dress up. It’s not only a chance to wear something nice, but to show off a lot of the fancier jewelry he’s gotten over the years.

To him, Christmas night is magical. Seeing so many people he’s offered a hand towards gathering together, laughing and talking, in a server shaped not by war but peace…

That feeling is not something he could ever fully put into words.

Seeing his sons in that atmosphere in particular makes him emotional. He still feels a horrible sense of guilt for the suffering that his eldest four endured on the SMPza.

Having them be so carefree, with so many others who care about them…

Yeah, he needs to go to another event. If he doesn’t, he might start crying.

The best way to redirect is, as always, to reflect on the Prank Guild’s actions.

He huffs softly as he says, “April Fool’s day is omnipresent, inescapable, and officially sponsored by the Prank Guild. My understanding is that they make bank. Some people go into lockdown.”

Day’s family is not among them. As long as there aren’t recently-rescued guests in Summer Hills, it’s the best time of year for anyone to try to prank them.

Plenty have tried. A lot have failed, and gotten a taste of what the Was-Taken family can do when sufficiently motivated.

The ones who succeed get a full taste of it. It’s maybe a little too satisfying to see them realize the gravity of their actions far, far too late.

Being able to see their glee turn into regret in real time is definitely petty of him. But at the same time, he only pretends not to be a chaotic bastard at heart.

His kids had to learn it from someone, after all.

But there's plenty of other, less benign things they've learned from him. He can’t help but feel an ache in his chest when he thinks about how much they've all suffered because of his selfishness.

Tone much more serious, he explains, “On the day before the anniversary of the server's creation, we mourn. For people, for places, for things– everyone in Sanctuary has lost something. A collective day of remembrance lets us all grieve. Some people do it alone, others with friends or family. We usually light candles or send lanterns made with seaweed out over the ocean. There’s no wrong way to do it, though.”

Prime knows his own style has shifted over the years. It had been something he did only with his sons, at first.

Then Iatros gently suggested that he should take at least a few hours to focus on his own grief, instead of only theirs.

It was good advice. Day takes time in the morning to let himself ruminate on his past. He's lost so much, and he’ll lose so much more before he's through.

After that, he joins his sons to have a slightly less somber remembrance. He tells stories and listens to the ones they tell, in turn.

He sighs softly. “And…the next day, we celebrate healing. We come together and have a festival to declare that no matter our pain, we're still here. We've escaped hell and found a place that prizes kindness and love. How can we not love that, after we've suffered so much?”

A faint smile creeps up again. It's hard not to, when he thinks about the years he's spent marveling at the way none of them can stand to let negativity linger for too long. Many of the current residents have had a bad parting be the final time they spoke to someone, after all– and that regret has shaped them into the people they are today.

The Night of Flight and Dawn of Sanctuary are two halves of a whole. Pain and grief will find you, yes, but there is always time to heal.

How sweet. You should write greeting cards or something.

Day startles, his head snapping up like he can spot whoever just spoke.

Oh c'mon, DayDream. You're smarter than that!

You don't want to bore me, do you?

A shudder goes down his spine. The flex of power in just those words makes the situation painfully clear.

This is some form of divinity, and boring them is dangerous.

They want to be entertained, like Day is only there to put on a show for them.

A peal of laughter, almost staticky at points, rings out. Fuck, you have no idea how right you are! Why did I bother staying quiet for so long, if it's this much fun speaking up?! Being silent doesn't suit me, anyway. Too much of a showman–

The door slams open, and on the other side is Theo. He looks distressed, a fact that diverts Day's attention from the likely-malicious entity.

“Dad, we have a fuckin’ problem–” Theseus, your timing sucks. I spent so long waiting, and NOW is when you show yourself?!

Theo grits his teeth. “It's been ten minutes.” Hah! If only you knew.

A bitterness lies under those words, but Day is too busy getting up to put a hand on his son's shoulder. “What do you want from us?”

I'm sick of hanging back. This whole mess is going to get stalled out forever unless something changes, anyway. Two birds, one stone.

That explains nothing.

You don't need to understand. You'll figure it out eventually, even if I don't tell you.

Jaw flexing, Theo hisses, “You act like you're above retaliation from other gods. Do you think that Time–”

Laughter booms so loud that they both wince from it. Half-hysterically, the voice repeats, Time? TIME?! I know you're not supposed to know, but holy FUCK…of all the threats you could have made, that's the funniest. It's a dumb one, too– it's not like they'd take your calls.

Day narrows his eyes. It feels like a trap, but–

“Who said we're the only ones who can call?”

A giggle sounds out. Sure; I'll back off if the Observers can get Time to scold me. What could outrank the embodiment of time and reality, anyway?

Somehow, Day doesn't find any comfort in that promise.

[chuuyasfanboy]

Hi ! I Hope you’re doing well and I’m not bothering you too much with my random request, I’m here for a Genshin impact and bungo stray dogs romantic matchup with a male character

Sexuality : Straight

In my free time I enjoy reading, playing video games, listening to music, doing crochet, drawing, learning new languages, dancing and swimming.

Apparence : Long wavy/almost curly light brown hair and almond shaped brown eyes. I’m pretty tanned. 5’4,so I’m kinda short and normal weight though on the curvy side(I have a pear shaped body). My fashion sense is a mix of vintage clothes from the European 50s and kfashion.

So about my personality: I’m a Virgo, my mbti is intj, enneagram 5w6 I’m mostly withdrawn, individualistic, introverted and very honest even blunt at times. I need a lot of alone time.When im with people i’m close with, I tend to be more cheerful and energetic, I like to joke around too and tease people. One of the thing that stands out the most about me is that I’m extremely determined, ambitious and eager to learn new things. However, I do have some very specific subjects/ hobbies I tend to get hyper focused on.I’m also very observant and notices a lot of small details and I try my best to be attentive to my friends which makes me a good listener, especially for my friends who I value very much and try my best to be considerate with( for example by avoiding being too blunt).

I can be very anxious at times and I’m extremely cautious with people I don’t and sometimes do know, I have a hard time opening up and I’m an over thinker.

I have a hard time with small talk, the one where you talk just to be polite, although I don’t mind joking around with my friends and telling nonsense. I dislike noisy and crowded places, it stress me out.

I like funny/teasing and intelligent people who can give me a lot of personal space.

I suffer from insomnia and probably a bit of social anxiety too, my love language is physical touch and act of services.

Thank you very much and have a nice day !!!

Never a bother to get a request! I picked two fairly different characters for you just to keep them from being repetitive, but I hope you'll still like em!

For Genshin, I match you with...

Wanderer

Wanderer doesn't really tend to care about appearances. Or, physical ones. All he's looking for a partner is someone who's note entirely unsufferable, he does NOT have high standards. Though, he does find your fashion a little amusing. Those are two completely different styles and he thinks its hilarious watching you try to mix them in a comprehensive way. Just poke fun at his hat, he'll stop real quick.

He finds a specific interest in you learning new languages. A hobby? Really? Not something he considers a hobby, it took him a while to even understand the common slang in Sumeru let alone in nations he doesn't interract with much. Definitely asks you for tips every once in a while. He only goes to you and if you point it out he get's all defensive. He finds it really embarassing to have to rely on someone else, but if you don't point it out then…

Thankfully, Wanderer is pretty similar! He's introverted, and needs a lot of time alone to recharge his battery. That battery goes out QUICK too. Its a wonder how the two of you even met (probably Nahida's doing) because he practically ignores everybody. Most people are just really infuriating, especially when they're trying to make him like them. It's obvious, and annoying. When you got to the point you were comfortable enough to be cheerful around him, he almost did a double take. Because, really, he always figrued you were all sassy and cold. Then you just turn around and give him a bubbly smile and he's SO CONFUSED.

He wont ever rant to you, not on purpose. But with you paying so much attention to all his little trauma responses, it's hard for him not to be dragged out of his shell a bit. And oh boy, he has a lot to vent about. Mostly complaining about Ei, or Childe, or Sumeru, or this and that. He doesn't actually tell you a lot about his history, and certainly not about his time in the Fatui. Even with little hints, he's a mystery. It's frustraing, because he just wont open up to anybody, and is intent to never do so. He bottles up a lot, which leads to outbursts sometimes. Which, in turn triggers your overthinking, then triggers HIS overthinking and wow it's just a whole mess. Sometimes Nahida has to step in, because you two cannot function during arguments. Just a side effect of Wanderer, really.

You and Wanderer are both pretty similar when it comes to socialization. You both dislike small talk, and both hate crowded places. Thankfully, it means he doesn't find you annoying, not as much as everyone else. And he's more open to friendly teasing because of it, he knows you wont take offense. The two of you can stay in bed together at 3am and talk about whatever gossip he can think up. It's real sweet, he enjoys you a lot more than he lets on!

For BSD, I match you with...

Kunikida

Falling for you was a NIGHTMARE for Kunikida. I mean, you hardly met any of his 58 requirements. But I guess you cant stop your heart…

He really respects your fashion, finds it interesting. I definitely see him as the type to research random things, so he might actually dedicate a few free hours to reading up on your inspiration. It's bad, because he ends up knowing more about it then you do, which is- embarassing to say the least. Depending on what you want to put him in, you MIGHT be able to convince him to match with you. Maybe.

As long as you do hobbies only during free-time, he doesnt find any issues with them. Don't try to pull a sketchbook out a work, though. The furthest you'll get is passivey listening to music while doing paperwork. He's very serious about your responsibilities! He doesn't get free time a lot, but if he ever does, he doesn't mind spending it with you doing unscheduled home dates. It gives him a chance to finish up any last documents to sign and you'll get to spend time with him. Read out a book to him, he LOVES it.

He tends to akin you to a less annoying Dazai, especially when you're getting more energetic. Seeing as you don't go out of your way to ruin his day, though, he doesn't mind it. He's willing to indulge you as long as it fits within his schedule, just be mindful of any spontanious plans! He doesn't mind your bluntness, in fact, he actually appreciates it! Everybodys white lies in critiquing him makes it difficult to actually improve. If you're brutally honest, it's all the better for him. Though- he might start to take it personally, especially if it's something particularly important. Not that he'd ever change, buuuut it does bother him for a few hours and he'll busy himself to forget about it.

Kunikida doesn't mind your aversion to social outings, and is more than happy to take the conversation for the both of you. He does have a bad habit of planning things out to a T though, and if your social battery gets in the way he's just a TAD upset. He'll get over it, though!

Kunikida's not particularly funny or teasing, but he is fairly smart. Especially book wise. Now, he can't recite out the whole dictionary to you, but he can definitely help with spellchecking any essays or reports. He also doesn't mind beating up somebody for you if you may happen to ask. As long as it's deserved, he has a very short fuse with people who feel the need to insult you for any reason.

[zacharyleartist69]

I need the story behind Funky and Swanky, what happened to Lanky? Where's Kiddy? So many questions!

WHOA I GOT SOME QUESTIONS ON HERE? This is wild okay uh- let’s get started man lmao.

Funky and Swanky Love Story (in a short summary):

When Swanky first came on the island, he was introduced to Funky. He thought Funky was lazy and obnoxious to work with.

As for Funky he thought Swanky was too serious and boring since Swanky never seem to understand how to have fun during this time.

But as time went on, Funky and Swanky started to warm up with one another and became friends. However, Swanky developed a new feeling: Love. Swanky didn’t know what to do since this was the first time he ever felt that way towards any kong and he had no one to turn to since he didn’t leave a good impression in the Kingdom. So he kept his feelings for himself.

As for Funky, he also developed feelings for Swanky too. He talked with DK about this and DK suggested that he should go for it and ask Swanky on a date. He thought about it for a long time until he finally grew the confidence and ask Swanky on a date. He thought that Swanky would reject him right then and there but he was wrong. Swanky actually accepts his offer.

From then on, Funky and Swanky spend their free time together. Going on dates, talking, and even teasing each other. This has gone on for years until one day, something special happened.

Everything was well planned out and perfect.

Funky took Swanky at the beach during the golden hour and walk him along to where there was flowers shape like a heart, shells laying on the ground neatly, and fairy lights twinkling for this romantic occasion. The scenery was breathtaking.

Swanky couldn’t believe his eyes as he admires the beautiful sight until.. he turned around. Funky was on one knee as he holds up a small box, looking at him with a loving smile. Soon, Funky gave a heartfelt speech of how much Swanky means a lot to him and popped the question.

Swanky was over the moon and taken by surprised from all of this. He soon get on one knee and took out a small box out of his pocket, revealing that he was also gonna proposed. The two look at each other in amazement then burst out laughing, this moment truly felt like a dream.

Afterwards, the couple said “yes” to each other and happily got married at the same spot they proposed to one each other. It was a very special moment indeed.

Now, Funky and Swanky are a married couple and the parents of Diddy Kong (Diddy Kong is adopted).

They pretty much act like the parents in the crew since they are the oldest. Sometimes when they are having a small argument about something, Donkey Kong jokes on how “the parents are fighting” to the other crew members and laughs about it.

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What happened to Lanky Kong?

Lanky doesn’t remember where he came from because he has dementia.

Lanky Kong suffered a really bad head injury at a young age during a war that was happening during that time (which I would talk about soon) and was left behind by his parents until someone found him and took him in as their own child. His head injury caused him to have dementia, but he didn’t know he had it because no one really told him until Swanky straight up said that he has dementia.

When Lanky came up with the idea of friendship bracelets, the crew decided to make one for Lanky with their signature colors on them to help Lanky remember who they are. For example, when Lanky is talking to Tiny about someone, he will forget mid way and try to remember who he was talking about until Tiny point at one of the bracelets and saying their name to help him. Lanky thanks Tiny and goes back to his exciting day with that person.

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Where’s Kiddy Kong?

Don’t worry he is around, I just didn’t add him with the rest of the group because I was exhausted from drawing the main crew designs.

(Which you can tell which Kongs are my favorite lmao)

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I honestly had a lot of fun answering these questions so if y’all have any questions of my version of the Donkey Kong crew then ask away 😋

[phcenixfcrce]

xmen oc post wee i still need to work on her face. i have an idea of what i want her to look like i just have to draw her and the various fits i see her in under the cut bc im cringe and not free sorry

fatima mohammed adara as-sihr ; "hex"

born september 13, 1917

physically 26 (107 as of 2024) / she/her / speaks & reads english and arabic

powers were inerhited / X gene was passed from grandmother to mom, and reinforced by her father's. her powers are derivative of nuha (n. arabian sun goddess), ruda (n. arabian moon god), atarsamain (n. arabian astral deity) who she can hear and talk to in dreams in addition to the others. stellar, solar and lunar manipulation as granted by the trinity. on her own, she possesses black magic power - telepathy, telekinesis, reality alteration/illusionism, black magic (curses/hexes), item transformation, occultism, self regeneration (exacerbated by deity granted powers). magic starts a bright green and turns black when being used ie moving things, etc. she also pretty please begged the gods to let her cat be immortal with her. lovecraft has been her cat since 1945.

intelligent, semi-confident, somewhat self-assured and very self-reliant. length of her fuse depends on how fast someone gets on her nerves (which seems to be pretty fast). keeps to herself for the most part for her sanity. suffer in silence type - introverted socially. will open her big mouth if she hears or sees something she doesn't like. would rather die than ask for help. analytical, stubborn. tends to be overcritical of herself a lot of the time and other's especially when she gets upset. chronic worrier. the devil is in the details. she hates being seen by other people but loathes being ignored. very much an outsider in more ways than just one. lover girl. strong sense of justice and believes in an eye for an eye, or more. more than willing to serve it herself. flawed in the way that she thinks she is the worst person in the world and deserves to be alone despite doing nothing wrong. ambitious, cunning.

consistently wears a lot of gold rings on each hand with various symbols/numbers for luck (literally never takes them off) usually black or green painted nails. about 5'2 or 5'3 without heels, about 5'5 or 5'6 with them. civilian clothes are pretty much mostly black outfits meant for different occasions with some accent of gold and/or green to them. tattoo of a wishbone on her ankle. tattoo of the sun, the moon and the north star on her back, on her right shoulder. long dark brown hair, dark brown eyes. wears a jade jasmine necklace from her grandmother.

fatima was born in armenia to a young mom dad (aged 13 and 14) in the duration of the armenian genocide in 1917. her mom turkish, her dad armenian - in trying to move to keep fatima safe, her mother and father left her with her maternal grandparents because they were afraid the ottoman empire would kill her too for being armenian. her parents taken and placed in a death march line down to iraq. her grandparents raised her, and as she got older stranger things would happen as her powers developed - as did her connection with nuha, ruda and atarsamain. at 3, things would disappear and reappear in the house, change shapes and forms as she experienced emotions and changes in her development. by 10, she learned / gained her other powers of telekenetics, telepathy, regeneration.

frequently was responsible for things like getting so upset and shake the surrounding buildings and farms, neighborhood through primary school. mostly, leaving behind acts of defiance and her brand of justice in her wake. her grandparents loved her very much but did not understand her powers - or why she had them. she took care of them up until they both died - her grandmother of breast cancer and her grandfather from a staph infection from cutting part of his leg open on farm sheers. the deities intervened and offered to care for her and guide her, but she needed to leave the middle east. she moved to the united states after she laid them to rest in 1943. allowing the deities intervention stopped her aging process at 26.

she had been on xavier's radar since cerebro's inception in the 1960's, but it was only when a semi-severe earthquake struck her college when she was studying in california in the 70's, causing structural damage and a fraternity house was burned down, runic symbols were burned into concrete, and all the fraternity members were found in their underwear, strung up by their ankles and crying - that it caught people's attention and was cause for concern, particuarly the xmen.

it was also not the first time where an earthquake and arabic text and runes were burned into the ground but proof someone was there that charles could hold against her. previous documented places it occured was not only the college - but through time it's been a documented phenomenon across the united states. after graduating college that semester, she backpacked through europe and left the same hellish trail behind her. she has fought them every time she has encountered them with no desire to join them because of her solitary nature.

after evading the xmen for a few years, she retired to the woods in washington state. she slowly resocialized herself into the small town of north bend - going into town to work, eat, and that's it. she would spend the rest of her time reading, and cultivating a small cabin and greenhouse. getting comfortable, she went in more often and drank at a bar called the drunk cattle. eventually, charles would try again despite her fighting them a few years prior - following another large event like the one at the college, occured in gig harbor - another small town in washington following an attack from juggernaut's attempted forced recruitment for the brotherhood of mutants. fatima had not been seen by the residents of north bend in two weeks when wolverine and storm came asking for her around town. storm was frustrated and wolverine was pissed. charles / cerebro can't find her because she's blocked herself off.

they leave the bar with logan fuming and ororo trying to be reasonable. two teenagers tell them about the lore of a witch that lives in the woods outside of bend and that she's been alive forever. logan scares the shit out of them and they spill that some lady does live in the woods but it's just the town's librarian/historian (she is really weird, never talks to anyone about more than the town or work, never has anyone over. "my dad's the mayor and he says she's nice. jack's mom works at the library with her." "my ma thinks she's a mutant." "you can't say that!" "i'm not! my ma thinks that. i do too.") followed by ororo asking nicely what that means before logan gets pissed off and almost tosses a 15 year old asking what that means.

they settle for what information they have. eventually fatima comes out of her hole and goes back to the bar after a third week. xmen bar intervention. everyone pretends to do their own thing. fatima doesn't really notice or care. it's the cranberry festival and fall faire. it's busier. each of them take turns saying hi to size her up and talking to her. she gives the same dry energy to everyone. smiles with her mouth and not her eyes to anyone. logan takes a stab at it and is annoyingly persistent. she gets annoyed easily and leaves to go to the fall carnival. more watching from the sidelines. logan tries again at charles' request ("she told me to fuck off, so we should fuck off. can't make her do nothin'." "logan, were we not patient with you?" "can't make the lady be an x-man, bub." "she does not have to be an x-man, but she must know she's not alone in the world like some other mutants i know.").

she walks around the carnival and logan talks to her. she's annoyed but she doesn't tell him to go away. he talks at first trying to have a conversation with fatima before getting annoyed and cutting to the chase. we've been looking for you a long time. she looks at everyone in the crowd. that's foolish. a waste of time really. why. 'cause charles believes in that kinda thing, no mutant being alone kinda shit. i'm not alone. i know there's other mutants. no, like bein' a pack animal. i'm no pack animal. i don't talk to anyone and i'm fine that way but thank you. is that all you want? what? to convince me to become an x-man. is that all you want?

i guess. well the offer is on the table if you change your mind. i don't know if it means anything to you i was like you. i don't think we're the same. i don't think so either but you're not alone. what's your name? logan. thank you logan. no problem bub. (forgets to ask for her name. he knows it because the papers know it, and charles knows it but it's different for someone to introduce themselves.)

he does take it upon himself to go back to north bend more often than not to see her and visit her in the bar. they don't do more than exchange maybe a few words and drink in silence. sometimes he'll talk about stuff and she'll nod or offer an apology no one has given him for the pain he's endured. she doesn't introduce herself by name once. you never told me your name. you never asked. what have you been calling me all this time then? i dunno. hex. the whole magic thing. i lke that. but what's your name? fatima.

eventually fatima does become an xmen and leave north bend after pyro burns her home down and threatens the citizens of the town, and after their fight on the washington coast and another set of runes burned into the rocky shores she shows up to the school. some people aren't excited to have her, like scott initially and butts heads with him a lot. she didn't talk to anyone. ororo and jean are happy to have her. jubilee is scared of her at first. hank is polite. gambit and rogue try to be really friendly even if she isn't receptive to it.

at the end she's a happy little member of the x-men <3 she does get a matching besties bracelet with logan (genuinely) where it's one of those silly heart bracelets that magnetically link up. their conversations are still the same but they talk more now. scott still fights with her but they get along sometimes over food or talking about strategy when charles is mediating. ororo and her talk about nature and jean helps her control her powers. jubilee hangs out with her and lovecraft watching tv. she'll borrow hank's books and ask him questions about what he knows and she finds interesting. she fits right in.

[saucedxlls]

Some OCs i made cuz A.I could never

btw: this is in my own OC AU a.k.a. i like to suffer creatively, also their in the same AU as my last oc Ome

oc (insert matpat saying lore): tomei: so tomei was originally meant to be a voodoo doll that maddie made because she was getting buliied at school, they actually looked a lot different but didn't want to be a voodoo doll to they changed their appearance, first they had long brunette hair, a blue sun dress and green button eyes, then after learning they are a voodoo doll changed the way they looked to now.

teddison: so i pretty much went "hmmm, what if the thing (horror movie) and happy tree friends combined?" and this thing was born, so it's an alien disguised as a teddy bear, the circles on his cheeks are actually two of it's eyes (yes it has more, 8 to be exact) the star is the mouth kinda like the demogorgon from stranger things but really colourful, but the stripped thingeys coming from his tail are his tongue, and the hand is, well his hand, also he likes buttons, his name was actually gonna be buttons.

benny & darayavaush: they're twins that are pretty much the manifestation of maddie's siblings, maxx (girl btw)& jan, who are twins, also by the "manifestation" i mean maddie's like 6 and tried drawing them w/ two colours, also yes darayavaush has braces, benny's actually blind but ✨Lasik✨

BoB: imagine that one plush you had as a little kid got possessed by some other dead child (man maybe i should stop watching FNAF timeline vids, it's starting to seep into my OCs) that's pretty much what BoB is (and yes the two capital Bs are necessary) BoB is just the soul of a german victorian child the died in a house fire caused my his father's mistress (ya'll that doctor phil family problems were bad) also because we're talking about a victorian child BoB nearly had a fvcking stroke after eating a hershey's kiss, so now he really likes chocolate.

🌧️(thought i was joking when i said this was his name): so 🌧️ is kinda like teddison (btw if you're confused on what to call him his friends call him cloudy or rain cloud) like he's an alien but unlike teddison 🌧️ can't shape-shift so what 🌧️ is is a red blob with two dot eyes (if you look right above his fake eye's you'll see them) and his mouth is on his stomach like a stingray, because of 🌧️'s lack of the ability to shape-shift he drew some eyes, cut them out, super glued them under his own, and drew a smile with a green sharpie, and yes those blue noodles on his side are his actual hands, he also really likes taylor swift.

Maddie: maddie's just a 6 y/o child whose mother keeps trying to make wear an ungodly amount of pink, not the good shades either like dusty rose or baker-miller, like neon magenta and nothing else, you can see she's very upset that her voodoo didn't work, also that granny yellow & white garment she's wearing is literally the only thing she's has that isn't bright magenta, also i know yall probably don't care but she's ✨asian✨ specifically Chinese (which means imma have to do so much research on chinese culture if i ever post her again cause i'm fvcking hispanic and literally don't know a single chinese person), also, she does like ✨cooking tree✨ (btw if u don't know what that is it's a youtuber).