#I'm stuck in this place I sometimes get where I can start a bunch of drawings but not actually finish them

[yoinkschief]

Thank you @bladezmad (hope it's okay if I tag you, I can edit it if not ofc :) ) for the splendiferous idea vvv

[asleepinawell]

Sixth Coil Mechanics

since i'm not getting out of the labyrinth any time soon, i thought i'd try to map out how it all works for funsies and how to get around if you want to find all the areas/text

for the most part you don't need to worry about anything other than how to get out (so you don't get in too deep and have to spend 100 actions to get out oopsies), so this is more for anyone interested in finding all the unique areas and text

Basic Navigation

first off, there are FOUR main areas, one for each of the main stats: persuasive, dangerous, shadowy, watchful

you can tell which area you're in by the check on the top available action. so if it's a dangerous check, you're in the dangerous area. those top actions will never take you to another area and are just the default thing to play if there's nothing else interesting

to get between areas you need to use actions that let you go up or down. they only show up at certain airs of the labyrinth and they'll have words like descend, climb, etc

here is a rough map of how the 4 areas connect to each other:

so, for example, if you choose a descend through a trap door type option in watchful, you will end up in dangerous. it you climb up in watchful you will be in shadowy

persuasive is the odd one out as going either up or down from it will take you back to dangerous

rest below the line

Burdens

each area has one item you can pick up, which goes in your burdens slot

shadowy = clinging shadow

persuasive = velvet countenance

dangerous = heavy iron

watchful = predatory clarity

each burden makes the checks harder but increases the rewards you get when you cash out. see the next section for how to get rid of them

Getting Out

every successful action you take gives you +1 coiling ever deeper (little snek icon)

at any point you may start the process of getting out by using the Resolve to leave this place action at the bottom. A successful attempt at that will give you an attribute called Fleeing The Heart. while you have that attribute every successful action will take -1 coiling ever deeper away. when you get rid of all of it, you can leave

there will also be a new option called Shed your burdens. this lets you get rid of your burdens to get out easier if you're stuck (easier checks, not necessarily faster) at the cost of reducing your final reward

update: originally for every point of coiling ever deeper in you went, you had to use an action to go out one (so 100 coiling ever deeper = 100 successful shrine to get out), but a merciful update has made it so that when you obtain fleeing the heart, coiling ever deep is set to 30

Mirror Actions

There are at least 5 mirror actions and I honestly don't know what they do. They are:

bronze mirror

hard mirror

cracked mirror

gold-framed mirror

black mirror

they have really high glassworks checks (at 15 gw i have a 20% chance)

Memory of Light Actions

these are action that show up sometimes based on airs of the labyrinth. they take you between sub areas within the area you're in, but i'm not 100% clear on how that works. they do give you sightings of a parabolan landmark

Gaping Maw Actions

these only show up when you're going into the labyrinth and not when you're coming out. I think they might randomly move you between attribute areas (but sometimes leave you where you are?)

Examine A Sealed Door

This might be the door to the center of the sixth coil, but you can't get in it right now. it only shows up when airs of the labyrinth is exactly 100. There are 99 different flavor texts that can appear within it (the part in italics only). there's a gdoc collecting them all if you want to help out (this is not mine, found on reddit). I will link it in a reblog comment of this post because tumblr doesn't like links in posts despite that being a feature of this completely functional website

Sub Areas of Each Stat Area

Each area (shadowy, watchful, etc) has a bunch of sub areas in it, designated by the title of the page you're on. Below is the list of ones I've found. I suspect I'm missing some

Shadowy

predator's den

dark clearing

orchid grove

scale tree stand

cycad bend

termite mound

rose thicket

Persuasive

marble corridor

feathered bedchamber

portrait gallery

sculpture garden

reflecting washroom

servant's quarters

overflowing dining room

hedge maze

plush drawing room

carpeted boudoir

Dangerous

muddy trench

crumbling battlement

concrete bunker

field of spears

cramped arsenal

windowless war-room

fortified position

deserted emplacement

cracked foundation

bloody sewer

Watchful

leatherbound study

glim-mosaic library

optical gallery

door storage

circular observatory

tattooed office

ink repository

have fun!

[thetriumphantpanda]

congrats on 1k, angel!!! 💙 so soo proud of you!

whew okay, so the way i debated between wayyy too many things for your celebration because options 😵‍💫 but we're goin with mirror sex and breath play, ily ty

Bea, I love you. Thank you so much for your kind words - I'm grateful to call you a friend! And thank you so much for your request - mirror sex and breath play with Joel Miller coming right up. I hope you love it - it's a little different to what I'd normally go for, so I'm nervous to share it, but here we go!

Pairing | Joel Miller x Female Reader

Word Count | 2k

Warnings | Explicit. 18+, Minors DNI. So, obviously we have breath play and mirror sex, there's some dirty talk, soft!Joel, some body insecurity from reader too.

Part of my 1k Smut Sensation Celebration - if you want in, check here for details - I’m accepting requests through July 15th.

You sigh as you take in your appearance in the bedroom mirror. There was no shying away from the fact that these past months in Jackson had changed your body. No longer scrounging for twenty-year-old cans of food or going days without eating just to make sure Ellie had enough. Here there was an abundance of everything. The warm stews from the mess hall, the fresh produce you cooked in your home, the barbecue food that would sometimes appear at The Tipsy Bison, it was all having an effect. 

You’d tried to ignore the pinching of your waistband all day, had even popped the button at lunchtime and not bothered to do it back up until you have to walk back home, but as you lifted the hem of your shirt, Joel’s shirt, you could see the red lines the material had made on your skin. Doubt started to fill your mind. He’d stuck around through thick and thin with you, been there on your darkest days, and you on his, had seen your body go through far more than gaining a little weight, and still never left, but this place was different. 

You couldn’t help but think about all the women here, captivated by the broad, mysterious new man who kept to himself. You heard them whispering in the bar about everything they’d like to do to him if only he’d give them a chance. Whether they noticed you listening in or not, it didn’t matter, you knew if Joel ever tired of you, he’d have the pick of the bunch. 

You can feel the tears building behind your eyes, willing yourself to swallow them down before you lose control, when you feel that familiar, strong pair of arms encircle your waist. Automatically you mold into his frame, letting him nuzzle into the crook of your neck, he’s an observant man though, he knows something is wrong. 

“What’s wrong, sugar?” You’ll never tire of that Southern drawl in your ear. 

“It’s stupid.” You mumble, trying to turn in his arms, he’s keeping you exactly where you are though. 

“Ain’t stupid if you’re upset,” He presses the softest of kisses to your cheek, “Tell me.�� 

“Jeans don’t fit.” You murmur, hoping that he won’t force you to repeat it, forgetting that he is actually pretty deaf these days. 

“Huh?” Yep. Deaf as a doornail. 

“I said,” You clear your throat, tears threatening to spill again, “My jeans don’t fit anymore.” 

You can feel his breath exhaling deeply through his nostrils once he hears you, his arms bringing you closer, fitting tighter around your middle. 

“That ain’t a bad thing, baby,” He muses, kissing the soft skin behind your ear, “Mean’s you’re alive, mean’s we’re livin’, properly now.” 

“I know,” You whine, wriggling your body to try and get him to change the subject, “I just….” 

“Just what?” He’s kissing down your neck now, “You gotta tell me what’s wrong, baby, else I can’t help.” 

“Worried,” You sigh, mainly from frustration, but also from the sensation of his hot mouth on your skin, “Worried you won’t like me anymore.” 

He movement of his mouth stops dead, pulling away from you, but keeping his arm tight around your middle, “Did I just hear you right, baby?” He asks, “Worried I won’t like you anymore?” 

You nod silently, meeting his eyes in the mirror. He’s watching you intently in the reflection, taking one of his big palms from your middle to take your chin in his grip, “Look at yourself,” He commands, “You don’t see what I see?” 

“I guess not?” You shrug, not being able to shake your head through his grip on your chin. 

“Sugar,” He breathes, “I could never not want this face,” He’s let go of your chin and is instead trailing his fingers lightly over your cheeks, “The way your cheeks have gone plump, and that little dimple you get here,” He presses his finger right where he’s talking about, “Whenever you smile, you drive me crazy baby.” 

Then he’s letting his other arm drop from your middle, placing a hand on either of your shoulders, teasing his fingers lightly down the skin of your arms until your flesh is erupting in goosebumps, even through the material of his flannel that you’re wearing. Once he’s trailed his hands back up to your shoulders, he’s unbuttoning the shirt, slowly but surely, and then dragging it off your frame, leaving you in just your bra and jeans. 

This is the sight you hate. The way your tummy spills over the top of the waistband, the way the bra is definitely too small to comfortably do up in the back, causing little rolls of skin to spear, bunching around the material. 

“Stop thinkin’ and listen to me,” He murmurs, back at your ear now, hands reaching around you to cup your breasts through your bra, “Always loved these,” His hot mouth is back to pressing kisses on the skin behind your ear, “Ain’t ever gonna complain about them getting bigger.” He’s firm in his squeeze which has you tipping your head back, pushing your chest further into his palms, but he’s already moving on. 

His fingertips are gently running down your sides and over the curve of your waist, your body jolting when his touch borders on tickling, until he’s reaching around and undoing the button of your jeans and pulling the zipper down. There’s an instant relief, but you can see those damn red marks again. 

“You see this?” He’s looking at you in the mirror again, urging your eyes to look at his hands where they are on your hips, “My favourite place to rest my hands, when I’m grabbin’ you in the kitchen to move you outta the way, or helpin’ you bounce on my cock.” 

The utter filth mixed with the sweet sentiment have arousal pooling between your legs, you can already feel the need to rub your thighs together for a second of relief. You always wonders how he does this – takes the things you think are your biggest flaws and makes them seem so insignificant, but in the best way possible. 

His hands skin the waistband of your jeans, hands slipping beneath the denim to grip the globes of your ass, “Do I need to say anythin’ about this, baby?” He asks, “Think you know exactly what I think about this peach.” 

He’s right. You know it’s always been one of his favourite parts of you. The way his eyes would trail over you when you bent over when you were out on the road. The way he pulled at your hips to pull you closer into his body whenever he slept behind you. The way he would bring a hard palm down on the skin when he was fucking into you from behind or give it a playful swat whenever he walked past. The way he would grip onto it, much like he was now, when he would kiss you. He needn’t elaborate this time. 

He shucks your jeans and underwear down to your ankles, guiding you to step out of them, before he makes quick work of unclipping your bra. You’re fully naked now, a sight you don’t think you’ve seen from yourself in many years. You want to shy away from it, want to pick apart the scars across your body, the added weight to your thighs and stomach. But when Joel is stood behind you, looking into your eyes in the mirror like he just won the lottery, it all inconsequential. None of it matters anymore. Because he was right. This means you’re alive, and you’re happy. You’ve got the man you always wanted to worship the ground you walk on. So what if you needed to go to the outfitters tomorrow for a new pair of jeans?

You meet Joel’s eyes in the reflection, noticing how your own eyes darken with lust at the same time his do, “You’re wearing far too many clothes, Joel Miller.” You whisper, voice low and husky. 

You place a palm on the glass, leaning yourself forward. Your ass presses only momentarily into his crotch, before he’s pulling away and practically ripping his own clothes off. He’s naked and behind you in what feels like seconds. His calloused fingers are reaching around and slipping through your folds, dipping down to your entrance, where he finds you slick. 

“Mama…..” He breathes, the term of endearment making you blush, “So wet and ready for me.” 

“Always Joel.” You breathe as he brings those soaked fingers up to play with your clit.

You push yourself back into him, chasing his thick cock. You’re aching for him, always are. 

“Look at yourself,” He’s saying, “Watch yourself when I give you my cock.” 

You do exactly as he says, eyes on your own in the reflection as you feel him line himself up with your slick sex. 

“I’ll spend the rest of my life tellin’ you just how beautiful I think you are, sugar,” He says, hand resting at your throat as he slides his cock into your aching cunt, “Gonna love you regardless of how many new pairs of jeans you might need, you hear me?”

You don’t answer straight away, overwhelmed as always by the way he’s stretching you open as he works himself into your pussy to the hilt. You’d never watched yourself like this and it’s almost like you’re having an out of body experience. You know the girl in front of you, with her mouth hanging open and her eyes glazed over is you and you know the man grunting behind you with his cock finally sheathed in your cunt is Joel, but it doesn’t seem real somehow. 

“Gotta answer me baby,” He speaks as he draws his cock from you almost all the way, “Only gonna give it to you if you answer.” 

“Yes Joel…” You whine, and you’re rewarded with his cock slamming back into you. 

He sets that pace, one hand pressed firmly at your pussy, working at your clit, the other at the base of your throat where he squeezes every now and then. You’ve seen Joel in a thousand circumstances where he’s had his hand around someone’s throat before. None of them have ever ended well for the other party. He could snap you in half like a twig if he wanted, but the way he rests his hand, squeezing just enough to cut your air for seconds before he releases, does nothing but thrill you. It sends shocks down your spine, straight to your pussy. You can feel how wet you are, you can hear it as he stuffs you with his length. 

You can see him in the mirror, and the visual is obscene. His teeth sucking his bottom lip into his mouth, the way his eyes are focused on the place where you’re joined together. You’re reveling in watching his fingers work your clit and you can feel that telltale coil in your belly start to unravel.  

“Joel – fuck – don’t stop, I’m gonna….” 

“Watch yourself,” He demands again, squeezing the hand at your throat, tilting your chin ever-so-slightly so you’re watching, his fingers rub a few more times over your clit before you’re letting go, “See how fucking pretty you look when I make you come, baby?” 

There are no words at this point. Your legs are threatening to fail you, all you can feel is the way he’s hitting that sweet spot inside of you, repeatedly. All you can hear is his skin slapping against yours, your moans and groans combining. Then, just like he always does in this position, he’s pulling himself from your clenching walls and fisting his own cock. You hear him first, the low growl you’ve come to know and love, then you feel it, the warm ropes of cum spilling over the cheeks of your ass and dripping down your thighs. 

You’re both quiet for a moment, respectively trying to catch your breath, before he’s wrapping his arms around your waist and dragging you backwards to the bed. He throws you down on the sheets, a surprise yelp leaving your mouth. 

“Joel, the sheets!” You exclaim, “We just changed them, now they’re going to be covered.” 

“Don’t care,” He grumbles, dropping to his knees in front of you, dragging you forward by an ankle, “Wanna eat this perfect pussy, make you forget everything, so all you’ll know is my name and what this mouth feels like.”  

[blueishspace]

Looped Sun 5

Loop #177

Scott had decided to take one vacation loop and this happened? A null loop? In an empires world where Xonorth won? Without an arm? ... The world tree was very very mean.

Loop #179

Grian had decided to take a vacation loop, nothing too big of course but something relaxing... of course this plan did not predict for a null loop stuck in the end with the most sadistic version of the Watchers possible. Grian would never set fire to the world tree...but the tree is making it really hard not to want to.

Loop #182

Pearl wanted to just have a good loop, being trapped for twenty years in a tower was not part of that plan. It being a null loop even less. Being a damsel in distress is extremely boring without something to do.

Loop #184

This is war, after almost 200 loops Scar had yet to have a Star Wars loop and now he instead had a Star Trek one... To be fair it was a good one but it's the principle! The world tree did it on purpose.

Loop #187

Scott: Guess Grian Isn't going to be the only god now...

Pearl: I guess so... So whose place did we take?

Scott: I know a bunch about this place, I took Mianite's place as god of order and you took Dianite's as god of chaos.

Pearl: Where's Scar?

Scott: According to the loop's memories he's taking Ianite's place as balance god.

Pearl: Wait, wasn't Ianite imprisoned for like...centuries?

Scott: ...

Pearl: Let's go get him.

Loop #189

It was two in the morning when Scar crashed trough the window of Grian's apartment. Grian was not excited to see him.

Grian: Another hero loop?

Scar: What? No! This is a villain loop! Watch and fear, I am the wizard!

Grian: The wizard? Really?

Scar: What!? It's straight to the point.

Grian: ... I'll stop bullying if I can join the villany. I still got a mother spore outfit from last time we looped into season 7.

Scar: Welcome on board!!

Scott: No chaos magic this time?

Pearl: Nah, decided to go waterbending for this hero loop. Get better at healing. Maybe if I get a villain next time.

Loop #191

This was early, Grian had gotten used to sometimes waking up in Hermitcraft season 6 or 7. He wasn't too surprised when he woke up as a Watcher or in Evo. But this? He didn't even think he could loop back to high school. Fortunately this wasn't a null loop so he could actually do something but still...

Loop #193

Pearl didn't mind being an hyena, it was the why that annoyed her the most. At the same time, she should have expected this to happen considering Scar's name. She tried not to sigh as she recites her part.

Pearl: And where to we feature?

Scar: Just listen to teacher. I know it sound sordid but you'll be rewarded when at last, I'm given my dues. And injustice deliciously squared, be prepared!

Loop #193

It's been a while since Grian had gotten to start in the desert, as much as he hated waking up here at the beginning of the loops now it was a bit nostalgic. He knew this was going to be a relaxing loop.

Loop #195

Bdubs: She's losing her freaking mind-

*Boom*

Bdubs didn't get to finish that he became smoke while his items fell to the ground... The spectators weren't happy.

Grian: ...Who decided to give Pearl a gun?

Scar: I did!

Grian: ...why?

Loop #196

Rendog: Give us back that banner!

Grian: Nev'r! If thee need t then cometh h're and taketh t thee phony king.

Ren: Phony? How dare thee, thee damn hippie! I'll showeth thee the wrath of the r'd wint'r.

Grian: Nay, I wouldst winneth.

Skizz: What's going on dude?

Scott: They are talking in shakespearian english.

Skizz: I got that. Why?

Scott: I have no idea. Ren isn't even looping, he's just going along with it.

Skizz: Looping?

Scott: It's nothing.

Ren: Cometh h're and visage mine own wrath thee heathen!

Grian: Is yond a dare? Prepareth thyself f'r a vanquish.

Mumbo: Grian?

Grian: There is a way we can still be friends.

Mumbo: Ther-

Grian: þū meahte geunon mē!

Mumbo: ... What?

Grian: What? It's just some Old english.

Tango: Jimmy? Jimmy? What's wrong?

Jimmy: It's Scar and Grian! Make them stop!

Tango: What do you mean-

Grian: 𒁠 𒂠𒀭𒋠𒍦𒋀 𒆭𒋠𒂠𒄀𒊠𒊀𒋀𒀀𒋠𒂠 𒆤𒄠𒀀𒋀 𒋀𒄠𒄀𒁠𒊠 𒁭𒊠𒀭𒁀𒇠𒄀𒈀

Scar: 𒁠𒊀𒍤Y𒄀𒀀𒄠𒌋 𒈀𒄀 𒋠𒄀𒁠𒋀𒄠𒄀𒊠𒍤

Joel: Grian, mate, please stop this.

Jimmy: You'll get used to it eventually.

Grian: 𓃀𓄿𓂧 𓃀𓇌𓋴 𓃀𓄿𓂧 𓃀𓇌𓋴 𓅃𓉔𓄿𓏏 𓄿𓂋 𓇌𓅲 𓎼𓇋𓈖𓎼 𓏏 𓂧 𓅃𓉔𓈖 𓏏𓉔𓇌 𓎢𓅓 𓆑𓂋 𓇌𓅲

Joel: I really doubt it.

Grian: ⊑⟟ ⏁⊑⟒⍀⟒ ⋔⏃⍀⏁⊬⋏!

Martyn: You do know I speak ender right?

Grian: ... I forgot.

Loop #199

Listen, Grian didn't mean to start a religion really. That was more Joel's thing then his. It's not his fault he went god mode right as Gem started her Dawn church. At least he turned the god war between him, an unawake Pearl and Joel into a prank war. Which he was winning by the way. But that didn't stop it from being... Annoying at certain times. At least now he could teleport, that's a plus.

Loop #200

Grian: People! We got an expansion to our loop!

Scar: We did?

Grian: Check your loop memories!

Scar: Why- oh! We are after Secret Life!

Pearl: Finally, we get see season 10!

Scar: Look Joel and Skizz are Hermits.

Grian: Good for them, kinda hardcore that their first month of the season is demise 2.

Pearl: I mean, they are used to the Life Games so It's actually a good way to introduce them mate.

Pearl: Mate.

Grian: I know...

Pearl: I'm so sorry for you.

Grian: I'm going to have so many fishing loops now.

Pearl: It's ok...

Grian: Curse you unawake baseline me! Curse you!

Pearl: ... Snails?

Grian: Snails.

Scar: ... What are we talking about?

Grian: Snails.

Pearl: Snails snails.

Scar: ... Ok then, I'm out of here now.

Pearl: Snails!

Pearl: Is it me or is there something up with the season 10 water?

Grian: It's not you... it might like a moon big thing.

Pearl: Not another moon big, please.

Prev Next First

[blakbonnet]

AUTHOR OF THE WEEK: @adhduck

Please give it up for the nicest and one of the most creative writers in this fandom: Duck! I'm just such a fan because not only does Duck manage to write the softest, gentlest, loveliest Ed and Stede (both together and apart), their fics somehow perpetually keep me looking like 🥹 all the time ough. And they were very very nice about sharing their writing process with me:

What's your writing process like? Do you start with the beginning or the end? Do you write in order or as the scenes come to you?

Mostly it’s the Taika “look at a document for 8 hours and then close the document,” honestly. I’m a very slow writer and lose motivation very easily, so I mostly get by on the muse’s fire hydrant and forcing myself to write those fifty words even when every single one feels so bad.

I go moooostly beginning to end because even though I’m generally an outliner, I always end up with little details that will affect later scenes and I don’t wanna lose continuity or have to rewrite a bunch. However, I do definitely let myself do a [finish this scene later] and move on to the next scene because otherwise I will get really fucking stuck, and sometimes I’ll write a line or a paragraph I thought of that sounds really good and tuck it away for a later scene.

Favourite trope or headcanon you like to explore while writing?

Ooooooooh, I don’t know if this is a trope but there’s just nothing I love more than huge feelings contained in mundane stories, of feelings so big you can’t actually express them and so they’re this constant hum throughout the story. I also love writing about touch for both of them, how Ed gives casual touch to hide the deep well of desire for intimate touch, how Stede is so unused to touch and craves it so deeply. (Can you tell I just really like subtle yet overwhelming emotions? Maybe it’s the aroace in me idk but that shit hits HARD.) Oh, and I love a fuckin’ allegory or object to discuss all those big feelings, whether it’s monsters or gardening or peaches or what the fuck ever (I have used all of these lol).

Whose voice is easier to write - Ed or Stede? Why?

I think Ed’s voice comes to me faster because the way I personally speak is closer to Ed’s voice, but it also means I’m sometimes double-checking myself to make sure I’m still deep in his voice, not my-voice-but-Ed. Stede isn’t necessarily harder for me, I’m just doing all that double-checking to make sure I’m not slipping into Ed voice or, god forbid, Aziraphale-lite voice. So, idk! I love writing them both, the little details of each of their inner dialogues are SO important to me (Ed’s tangents and his pshh-I-don’t-care moments, Stede actively avoiding thinking about things he doesn’t want to face, etc etc etc).

Your personal favourite thing you've written that you'd like more people to read

For the longest time it was There is Love That Doesn’t Have a Place to Rest, mostly because it was posted the day before another fic and, while I find them to be siblings and equal quality,  the other one got way more attention. That fic is about the time between signing the Act of Grace and getting to the academy and I think I really nailed where the two of them are at.

However! (And I know this is cheating okay shh.) Nowadays the one that I wish people read the most is Not Only the Sugar, But the Days. It’s the sequel to my “offscreen 30 year slowburn friends to lovers finally get together” fic and I put my whole fucking heart into it, honestly. The two boys basically go on a bunch of dates to live out the teenage experiences they never got together and work through the biggest feelings and I just! Really want people to see it! (It also can be read as a standalone, which I didn’t advertise super well lol.)

What is the one word that you think you use a lot?

Unfortunately it’s probably “just” or “a little” or filler words like that. Also obviously if the word fuck counts then, yeah, that. Maybe warm? Or something about yearning??? If I have a classic word please tell me I’m fascinated by this idea.

Do you have a beta reader? Have they made you a better writer?

The person who beta’s for basically all my fics is Owen @trans-top-stede and they are sooooo fucking helpful and incredible. So good at catching all the little things I miss, making sex scenes make sense, reminding me positioning in general is a thing, cheerleading me on, etc etc etc. My fics are so much better for their help.

Why OFMD 🥹

Ed and Stede just fit so fucking well into all sorts of AU’s (they try to invent their own AU’s in canon, even) while also having so much fun space to explore within canon. Their range is also perfect perfect perfect for writing fics—they can be in the wells of misery and fluffy as fuck and obnoxiously cheesy and realistic all in the same fic, if you want, and it’s completely accurate to their canon selves. It’s also helped me to embrace being silly and cheesy and earnest because life is about being yourself and finding your people and feeling deeper, feeling bigger, feeling more authentically without fear of being too much. Fuck I just really love these boys. (Also they’re so pretty and the whole crew’s so pretty we WON.)

Please head over to @ofmdlovelyletters (who also made the header) and send your love to all your favourite authors (and authors of the week 😈 watch that blog for some special letters coming your way)

[viaviv124]

Alright you know what time it is, i have a new AU concept.

I would like to apologize beforehand about anything incoherent, the rough concept was a dream of mine and i need to fix it up a bit, but i think my current draft is coherent enough.

ALRIGHT LETS START

So we have these buncha sheep/goat kids around a hill, around 15 of 'em. No parents or other adults there for them and they range between 8 and 13. Every morning, not long after breakfast, a horn sounds. Shamura has immerged and the fight begins. Everyday around the same time the god appears and disappears at the evening and the children try to take them down.

Backstory time, the common folk have started a war with the gods (there's more than the bishops and most of the bishops are still young themselves) and didn't know what they were getting into. Bodies drop left and right, yet the mortals managed to take down a few gods as well. The world is closer to a wasteland in some places, like here. A bunch of lamb and goat kids, that lost their families in the war, gather at this hill, yet when they all got there Shamura was there. A feared upon god. So the children vowed to take them down. Shamura, on the other hand, empathizes with the kids simply because they're so young, not to mention they have young siblings of their own and couldnt imagine them in this kind of situation. They do not wish to harm them and moreso returns every day to humour them. They don't destroy anything the kids built if they can help it and they only kill if absolutely necessary, though in the years they're only responsible for one death among them. At night they disappear so the children have time to rest and make Strategies. But Shamura isn't fully gone, they make sure to get rid of all surrounding threats to grant these kids peace. Sometimes they even sneakily provide food once the kids don't have enough.

Years pass and the children have turned to late teens and young adults and among them only 3 people have died. One death to Shamura and two to illness. One lamb (protagonist and the one we know from the game, i dont have a name yet) has become the leader after the one before died to illness a few years ago and they take their role very seriously. One morning the sheeps and goats get into position and hiding, allthough they still have enough time. Breakfast is being made and handed out. The lamb is hiding with a close friend (the goat from unholy alliance) and after they had taken their food and as their friend is taking theirs whilst chatting with the cook, the lamb's eyes widen. They spot a god in mortal form that has appeared undetected. A black cat with 3 red eyes. And they are looking directly at the lamb.

Cutaway scene because it's another thing i had in mind, Leshy is entering a cave and finds a scared, unresponsive yellow cat. A mortal, all alone, sick. He takes them with him for unknown reasons.

WOO AND THATS IT SO FAR! I'd love to hear y'alls opinions and suggestions because i'm stuck as to where to take this- :')

[thisisxli]

Can you do Suna x gender-netrual(afab)!reader who is austic and have same personality as Mina from mha?

REQUEST - 𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐚 𝐑. 𝐱 𝐆𝐍!𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫(𝐚𝐟𝐚𝐛)

Rs: Suna Rintarou x autistic GN!Reader(afab)

Warnings: ableism, small angst, realistic depictions, bullying, small self-harm, unrequited love, fights, Atsumu is a shitty person

Tags: fluff, reader is a sweet person, Suna is protective, childhood friends to lovers?, Small slow burn, sweet, not for the weak, author's self projection, different sexualities implied

Summary: Reader who stands out and is not always liked by everybody, is childhood friend with Suna Rintarou. Suna truly realizes his feelings when an oddly close friend of his start to berate you.

wc: 1.9k

To say Suna didn't like you was.. wrong. If anything, it wasn't that he liked you either. You were very bubbly and kind but there were times where you couldn't do simple tasks or do exactly as you were told. His parents were friends with yours so as a kid he was constantly at your place. Every time you tried to speak, you always got yelled at or scolded at by your parents. To them, they would always say you couldn't speak properly; as they would say, 'you're not using your tongue.'

Sure, you paid attention in school. But were you at the bottom in your classes? Yes. A lot of people always made fun of you in some type away or found some kind of antic to provoke you, yet Suna stuck around. He mostly felt bad. And his parents would force him to stick around.

Now, you were a honor-roll student, all A's and zero F's, and super friendly. You were able to talk but sometimes stuttering got to the best of you or it was just a jumble of words, but Suna never said anything. Sometimes he would catch you voluntarily sputtering things in a conversation but embarrassingly, it goes silent after that and everyone gets awkward. He would get second-hand embarrassment.

Sometimes he would catch you picking at your uneven set of nails, digging into the sides and create hangnails. Or he would catch you constantly picking at your face ridden with a few acne. He shakes his head at that.

No one really bullied you now, thankfully. You actually became really pretty and makeup would top it all off. Now of course you lured in many people, especially guys. But did any one of them that you got with stayed with you? No, they didn't. But you were so naive, you thought being loved by someone would fix all your problems or that you were constantly the problem. Suna had to watch it all and stick by your side. He was sick of it.

"Suna! Wanna come over my place after school?" You chirp and come up from behind, holding your hands behind your back. He sighs, clutching his school bag, "I don't know, (Y/N). I have volleyball practice." Your smile drops and you think to yourself for a moment, crossing your arms over each other.

"Soo.. Can I watch you play? I could probably try to text my mom-" "She'll just get mad at you for making a last minute plan," he deadpans, glancing down at you from the side. Your cheeks were a little too pink, he thinks. He thinks its' the blush. "Well that's why I said I could try! And now that I'm thinking about it.. I'm starting to get a little nervous- where do I sit? There might be a bunch of eyes on me," you complain, moving your foot in front of the other every time you cross a line on the marble floor. Suna rolls his eyes and waves you off, turning to a room. "This is my class, see ya," he murmurs, earning a cheery 'bye' from you.

You felt your palms sweating, frantically wiping them at your school uniform. Shit, you didn't really think much of this through. You needed permission and for that you needed to ask. You didn't really know why but talking to adults was really scary to you.

You almost groan when you open the gym doors, a low screech coming from the doors' screws. Heads turn to look towards you. Quickly, you scurry over to the coaches.

You blink at them, your voice turned into a sweet facade, "I'm sorry to intrude but can I?- am I able to watch this practice? On the behalf of Suna Rintarou? I have a ride so.." You dig your nails into the hem of your shirt. Suna notices it in the corner of his eye. The coach quite literally stares at you down before responding, "sure, but I don't know if you'll be able to the next time. If you really want to, apply for manager," he shrugs. "You can go sit over there," the coach points to the wall with a cart of volleyballs standing beside it. You lightly bow before scurrying over, letting out a breath you didn't even realize you were holding.

Suna wasn't one to show off but now that you were here, he suddenly really felt the need to.

His eyes follow and switch between Kita and Aran, who both seemed like they were ready to spike. Much to his predicament, he was correct for choosing Aran; hitting the volleyball straight into Suna's hands. He hissed at the sting, getting a pat in the back from Atsumu. "Great work! But I could already tell yer just showing off to that girl ova' there. I heard she was autistic-" Suna cuts him off with a glare, rubbing his hands together. "So what?" They all fetched their water bottles, standing by the walls and bench to rest for a few. "I always see 'ya hangin' around her. You got sum'in going on with the artistics, am I right 'Samu?" Assume nudges at Osamu's side who just nods and doesn't pay attention, gulping down his water bottle down in one go.

"Don't be mean guys, she can't help it-" Aran gets shushed by Akari who also has a mutual understanding with the Miya twin, "oh yeah, for sure. I think it might be a little obvious, Suna."

Suna rolls his eyes and just scrolls through his phone, "shut up. You don't know anything." Atsumu practically cackles at Suna's response just as he walks away, walking towards you. You take the opportunity to finally speak up, "Suna! You were amazing out there! I- you're really good at this stuff- I really- fuck, sorry- you- never mind." Suna snickers and you playfully pout, your makeup unable to hide the embarrassed blush. Suna's lips twitch upward a bit, bringing a hand on top of your head to pet it a little while taking a sip from his water bottle, "it's fine. Thank you though."

You nod and smile. All Suna could feel at that moment was his neck starting to get hot.

Suna lands a fist against Atsumu's cheek, startling their other teammates around them. They couldn't even react when Suna climbs atop of Atsumu, landing multiple punches. Suna had never got into a fight before, so this was new. And it must've been serious because of the way Atsumu was shit-talking behind your back? He had it coming. "Alright, hands to yourselves," Aran carefully finds his way under Suna's arms, trying not to get elbowed as Suna's legs jolted and kicked at Atsumu. "You think that shit's funny now?! I'll beat yer ass again if you keep talkin' shit!" Atsumu just scoffs, pulling his shirt up to wipe his nose that was starting to leak some blood. Kita looms over Atsumu with a grim look, his other team members standing beside him as one of them shook their head in disappointment.

"What?" Atsumu pouts, averting his gaze. "Go apologize to Suna. I want you to apologize to (Y/N) too, if you see her," Kita sighs, pulling Atsumu to his feet. "Fine," he spits.

The next time Atsumu sees you, he asks you to meet up outside during lunch period but once you do, you're confused and hurt.

"I'm sorry for.. saying some stuff about you. I don't know if you've ever heard me or sum'in but I did and now I have to apologize.. But I'm also so pissed," Atsumu stares daggers into your eyes, stepping closer to your faltering form. "How could he like someone like you? Yer actually hard to speak to and yer weird- the only thing I feel sorry for is how stupid you can get. Yer actually so fuckin' weird," he mutters, staring down at you with disgust.

"Okay..?" You can hear your voice waver, bearing a weak attempt to hide what you felt, "what's your point? Why do I piss you off? I don't- that's beyond my comprehension, I don't understand-" he cuts you off when he bucks at you, stomping a foot onto the ground that makes you flinch.

"Suna! He likes you and I don't-" he laughs midway in disbelief, small heat rising to his cheeks in embarrassment, "he likes you! I don't understand. I'm better in every way that you aren't. Yer autistic for gods sake- Yer just someone who he has to hang around with 'cause he's forced to, you-"

"Atsumu!" Atsumu twists his head to see a very angry Suna. You stare up at Atsumu in shock and hurt. Did Suna really feel that way? Did Atsumu really feel that way? You didn't even know he was like that. And why was he so mean? What could you have possibly done wrong to be yourself?

"Get the fuck out of here," Suna mutters, shoving his way past Atsumu and towards you. Atsumu stares at him for a few seconds before scoffing, shoving his hands into his pockets when he walks away. Suna stares at you with worry. "I am so so sorry he's said all of that to you, are you okay?" Suna lightly grasps onto your forearms, his head following wherever your eyes followed so he could be in your direct vision. You look down at his school uniform, frowning when you say, "was that true? You stick around because you're forced?"

Suna's lips curve downward, his fingers sliding down to your wrists and squeezes, "well... yes.."

You hang your head low when you start to feel your face muscles moving on its' own, furrowed brows and crinkled eyes matching with your wrinkling frown. "But, it's only my parents that force me to, no one else. Not me. If I really wanted to stop hanging with you even with my parents forcing me, I would've done so already. My parents don't really count," he murmurs, gently pulling you into an embrace. "What the other part 'Tsumu said was true too though," he whispers in your ear, moving a few inches back so he could move your hair behind your ear.

"What..?" You blink away your tears, making your way to look up into his eyes, "I like you, (Y/N). I'm sorry if I didn't realize that sooner. I don't care if we're complete polar opposites or if you have autism. I like you and all of that is what makes you, you." Suna rubs his thumb across your cheek, eyes slightly widening, "or!- Or it's completely okay if you don't reciprocate. I'm completely fine with that."

Your face felt really hot and all the wrong places on your body were sweating. You suck in your bottom lip, digging your nails into your palm, "I..." Suna looks at you expectantly. You just stare at him until you couldn't, moving your eyes everywhere around him. You wanted to say something but it was almost like your body was compelling you not to. You felt scared. "I like you- you too," you mutter with a strain, slurring and almost spitting when saliva builds up too much in your mouth. You quickly shut your mouth and swallow it down. Suna smiles down at you, his hand moving to the back of your head and leans in.

You frown warily and squeeze your eyes shut but you don't feel anything on your lips. You feel his peck onto your cheek bone, something as so soft and gentle.

You open your eyes to look at him. Suna looks back at you so lovingly, his cheeks slightly tinted pink. "This period is about to end soon, so let's go," he smiles, extending a hand towards you. "Okay," you breathe, sliding your hand into his calloused ones.

a/n: sorry if I took a bit posting this. I've been a little busy :). This fic hit a little close to home because I know what it's like to be standing out in certain places, people, or time and you can never understand why. It's either really hard to speak up or a lot to say or be said. I really am sorry for those who struggle with this or any type of disorder; but then again, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed.

Please check out my other works if you haven't, please enjoy.

[thedo0zyslider]

Writing requests open?

May I humbly request some zombiewood? /p or /r idm

of course you can! I always enjoy writing these two :]

[Writing requests post here]

Martyn, who is currently one of four targets for a whole bunch of red names and has been running solo because of it, has just run into his soulmate. The very person he's been avoiding for the whole game, but especially now. Great.

Cleo blinks, seemingly surprised that she found him. Or had run into him, since she might not have been looking in the first place. She probably wasn't. They hated his guts or whatever.

"Martyn." She says, a frown instantly forming on her face. The speed at which it does so would be impressive to anybody else. But it's not to him. He's seen that frown form way too many times to count over far too many days.

Martyn hates it a little more every single time.

"Cleo." He responds, arms being crossed over his chest. It feels like a defensive position. Martyn doesn't know why. He has nothing to be defensive over. Not this time. But maybe it's Cleo's face that makes him get so worked up now.

"Where the hell have you been?" Cleo says, looking down at him with disdain. There's a scowl on her face, one Martyn has unfortunately grown quite used too. He resists the urge to huff in annoyance upon seeing it.

"Around," Martyn mumbles, and stops himself from scoffing. That would just provoke Cleo more. And arguing soulmates isn't what anyone needs rights now, even if it is very tempting to start. "Why's it matter?"

"It matters because the three of us-" Cleo says, alluding to Scott and Pearl as well. Martyn wonders what they ever had to do with this. "-Have been spying on the reds."

"So?" He says, arching an eyebrow. Sure, okay, those three had been risking their lives and spying on the reds. Whoopee. What did any of that have to do with him?

"A little more help would've been nice." Cleo places a hand on their hip, frowning even deeper than before.

"I'm not obligated to do anything with you." Matyn replies, his frown now matching theirs. They weren't like other soulmate pairs, together and insufferable all the time. They didn't even want to see each other most days. So why did he have to help them?

"You're my soulmate." Cleo counters. And counters like she wasn't the one who abandoned him over one nether trip. Like he had been the one to chose another soulmate instead of the one he'd been given.

"You chose Scott." Martyn snaps back, the words stinging as he says them. He pretends it doesn't, and keeps glaring at the zombie before him. He doesn't know if the pretending works.

(At first, having no soulmate hadn't bothered him. Martyn had always done just fine on his own, he didn't need the universe telling who to be friends with or anything like that. He didn't need anybody.)

(That was at the start. This is now.)

Cleo snaps back at him, a fire in her voice. One that's always there, but gets more intense sometimes. "And I'm still stuck with you."

"Well, I didn't tie us together!" Martyn snaps back, bitter. He never wanted a soulmate, he didn't ask for one! "I didn't want this either!"

Cleo opens their mouth, most likely to bite back at him, but a sound stops them. A sound of twigs cracking underfoot of, people moving uncaringly through the undergrowth because they can afford to and don't have to worry about bring found anymore.

There's a sound of a commotion coming from the treeline, and a yell that is certainly Grian's. Martyn and Cleo bigh whip their heads towards the sound, almost in union, eyes already wide and panicked.

Martyn, who is now frozen like a deer in headlights, hopes their squabble didn't alert the pack if them. He's pretty sure that if they died because of that, Cleo would bring them both back to life just to throttle and kill him again.

Unelss the soulbond was broken after death. Something he might be finding out sooner rather than later.

"Reds!" Cleo hisses, already starting to back away. Martyn, rather uncharacteristically, does not follow. He doesn't even bolt first like most people would expect him too. Grian, and now Joel's, threatening whoops, are getting louder and louder. He still isn't moving.

They're both going to die very soon if he stands there and can't unfreeze himself. So Cleo makes a decision for the both of them. (Not because she cares or anything, but because she doesn't want to die. It's certainly not the first one, or a combination of both. Certainly not.)

"Come here!" She snaps, grabbing Martyn the arm. He blinks when she does, snapping out of whatever funk the sounds had put him in. And so Martyn tumbles after her, away from the sound of the reds, and ignoring how Cleo's touch feels like flames on his skin.

She digs them out a small hole, knowing it was their best bet for not being found. Martyn goes in first, and Cleo right after him. They block up the hole, sealing the small area as tight and safe as they can. It's dark, in their hiding space, and with barely any room for two people to fit inside. But it's better then a bugger hole that can be found quicker.

Cleo sat pressed against his right, their breathing ragged from the running and the small space. Martyn didn’t mind it, or the closeness. It was better than the reds, and the footsteps currently overhead, would have been.

The group runs over where they had been standing just moments before, and Martyn feels his breathing stop when they do. It barely resumes once the noise is gone, and the two soulmates are left ro the quiet of their hole. He doesn't think Cleo recats much better, either, if they way she grabs his arm again and holds on like their life depends on it.

They stay like that, shoved together in a stupidly small hole, until the sounds of footsteps are long gone. Cleo doesn't let go of his arm. He think they actually drag him closer, for whatever reason. The dangers probably long gone, they don't have to stay in this hole together anymore....

(Even though it is kinda nice...)

He turns, and finds himself near face to face with Cleo. Martyn blinks in suprise, his face feeling hot all of a sudden. Cleo blinks back at him, yellow eyes wide and (dare he say it) pretty.

"Kinda close there." Martyn mutters, his tone cheeky. Teasing even. It's nit often he can tease Cleo like that, with no sense of malice or threat behind it. It's...nice.

And happening in a two by two hole, of all things.

"You don't seem to mind." Cleo huffs, amsued, shuffling closer somehow. "What have you even done all day? Other than avoid me and dying."

"Normal stuff, I guess." Martyn shrugs in response. He'd just been running around, prepping his tools and trying not to take damage; since he never knew how close the reds where to him or his rather unfortunate soulmate. So yeah, normal stuff, if you left out any and all mischief that is.

Cleo sighs. They know that's the best awnser they'll get out of him. The zombie has since learned to stop pushing his buttons for more information, at least. It just leaves them both frustrated more than it does anything helpful. "We kinda needed you back there. They almost caught us spying."

"Well, it's a good thing they didn't." He mutters, no hint of any sympathy in his voice. It was their fault if they got caught anyways, for spying on a pack of that many red names. Even if the three of them had hidden underground, like they were now, or had tried to use Pearl's insanity to their advantage. It was still a dumb plan. They were lucky it worked out so well. That it worked at all.

"Martyn." Cleo sighs, glaring at him. The fire's back in her voice again, but not as intense as it was before. Martyn still flinches under it anyways.

Martyn looks at her, curious. He was right, it was a good thing they didn't! And he had no obligation to help anybody! Why was Cleo so insistant on this!? "What?"

"We needed you." They say, a little quieter than normal. And the last part is tacked on, like an admission they don't want to say. "I need you."

"It's kinda terrifying, my soulmate running around all willy-nilly." Martyn doesn't say anything, not at first, so he lets his soulmate keep talking. "You could just die at any point."

"....Is that why Pearl and Scott are striking together for now?" He mutters, now looking at the wall instead of Cleo; ignoring the yellow eyes that stare at him still. Eyes that are yellow like his...

"Yeah." Cleo responds. Her hand is still on Martyn’s arm. She takes it away. He tries and fails to not miss the contact, to not want it back desperately.

(Stupid...this is stupid....but Martyn can't help himself...)

"Sorry." He mutters, looking back over at Cleo again. There's some emtion shining in their eyes, Martyn's almost too scared to know what it is. (He thinks he knows anyways.) "I'll try and do better."

"You don't have much time to try." Cleo says, like a grim reminder. The zombie's voice is flat again, no longer quiet like it had been before. Their hiding spot now feels cramped, all of a sudden.

Martyn can't imagine why.

"I know." He huffs again, just like he had earlier. The hole is still cramped, he can still feel Cleo practically breathing in his ear. Their knees are brushing, the contact still feels like flames. "Let's get outta this hole?"

"Sure." Cleo hums. It doesn't sound like she wants to leave the hole, not just yet. Martyn, for a reason he pretends not to know, finds himself agreeing.

"But first," Cleo says, and leans forward. Martyn doesn't protest, and smiles into what comes next.

[cutebutalsostabby]

iirc you said in another post that the time between ALTTP and OOT was either 80 or 400 years. i haven’t played ALTTP yet but love timelines - are those numbers in the game somewhere?

I think I came up with those specific figures myself, BUT I do have some in-game and official text basis for them! The reason for the 80 year vs 400 years (or even longer) options is that there is actually some pretty big inconsistency between a) various parts of the game itself, b) the official game booklet, and c) Nintendo's big ole retcon of the Imprisoning War. Or possibly retCONS if we count TotK.

(Idk if you wanted an info dump, but you're getting one lol. THANKS FOR THE ASK!! 💜)

SO. The intro cutscene.

We start by hearing of legends from long ago, about a Golden Power that resides in a hidden land. Many people tried to find it; none ever returned. One day, evil power began to flow forth (we later learn this was due to Ganondorf finding the Triforce), so the King told the sages (originally translated as "Wise Men") to seal the Golden Land away for good. The narrator then describes those events as occurring so long ago that they became legend. Sounds like a while, right?

But then within about an hour or two of gameplay, you meet Sahrasrahla. Sahasrala? Saharasala? YOU MEET MR SALSA. And he ends up telling you a story about the knights that fought to protect the sages and who were almost all killed at the time, leaving YOU, the protagonist, as the last known member of that bloodline. According to Mr Salsa, those events took place only three or four generations ago.

That's not long at all! I mean, the exact numbers may vary depending on whether it's 3-4 generations from Salsa-san's point of view or Link's, as well as whether we give that person a human lifespan or an elf one (ALTTP has some Western fantasy elements, but the later games suggest that Hylians are basically just humans with pointy ears), but that would be where my ~80 years figure came from.

One of the later bits of dialogue then mentions Ganondorf rediscovering the Golden Land after the knowledge of it was lost - which may explain the discrepancy between the intro cutscene and Sahasralah(?)'s own dialogue. (I'm taking screenshots from Youtube FYI - see cutscene compilation here.)

All good so far?

WELP. THEN WE HAVE THE GAME BOOKLET.

By "game booklet" I mean the little brochure thing that used to come with physical games up until someone decided they weren't necessary. Boo and bah humbug. But I digress.

The original booklet for ALTTP, which you can find online, says that the Imprisoning War took place centuries ago. It also adds a bunch of other new lore details, including Ganondorf's last name, Dragmire - which never actually appears in-game. Both of those things are however missing from the truncated lore dump you get in the Gameboy Advance release's booklet:

And then there's Nintendo's Fallen Hero retcon. Lol.

See, the original "Imprisoning War" from ALTTP went something like this:

Ganondorf found an entrance to the Sacred Realm (formerly "Golden Land") and went in. Much like the others before him, he was then stuck there forever. UNLIKE the others before him however, he then randomly stumbled across the Triforce, which offered him the power to make a wish.

He made some unspecified wish along the lines of "I want to take over the world". As a result, the Sacred Realm became the Dark World and started to leak evil magic and demons into the Light World (aka "Overworld").

The knights fought against the demons, allowing the sages to seal the entrances ro the Sacred Realm. Note it's unclear if they even knew about Ganondorf's existence at this point.

Sometime later, Ganondorf manages to partially break free, and sends his alter ego Agahnim out to break the seal on the Sacred Realm and merge the two worlds into one.

And then we have Nintendo's retcon, which introduces the whole idea of the Fallen Hero - as a means of clumsily tying ALTTP to Ocarina of Time. So instead of the above:

Ganondorf publicly swears allegiance to the King of Hyrule, only to later backstab him and take over the castle. He then follows Link into the Temple of Time and grabs hold of the Triforce while the latter goes to take a nice long nap. He only manages to claim part of the Triforce (Power), so his wish remains incomplete. The other parts go to Link (Courage) and Zelda (Wisdom).

Seven years later, Link challenges Ganondorf to an epic showdown and loses. Ganondorf claims the remaining parts of the Triforce and uses them to transform into the Demon King. The seven sages, Zelda included, then seal both Ganon and the Triforce away in the Sacred Realm.

The names of the seven sages (per OoT) eventually become the names of the towns in Zelda II. Any remaining discrepancies are handwaved away as unreliable narrators.

Interestingly, TotK's Imprisoning War is much closer to ALTTP's version than Hyrule Historia's - which makes me wonder if that whole retcon is doomed to be retconned once again. Of course, the Triforce isn't present at all within TotK, but it's also a pretty compelling reason for why seven sages with secret stones couldn't win against the one guy with a secret stone. So there’s that.

But yeah, going back to that initial question: no, there's no specific figure provided for the time between the Imprisoning War and events of ALttP. Just depends on which piece of conflicting lore you feel like using lol.

[hondafuckingodyssey]

X-men comic recommendations

The other day I went on a rant about how nobody should attempt to read all of the x-men comics in order because if the x-men have no respect for the spacetime continuum, you shouldn't have to respect reading their shit in order.

So here's a list of comics series, some that I've read and some that are on my to read list. Mind the authors and the dates, Marvel likes to recycle titles so sometimes you'll accidentally pick up something that's a completely different story from ten years later.

If you're going to getting your comics from the library and different sources (cough archive.org cough), or skipping around to different eras, I recommend an app like Comic Geeks where you can track which issues you've read. As a bonus, you get a satisfying little dopamine hit every time you check off a comic you read.

The original silver age comics from 1963 Stan Lee and Jack Kirby These are fun, but they kind of suck. I believe X-men was one of their worst selling titles for many years. They are campy fun though, like that island has a giant acme magnet on on top of it, I wonder if that's Magneto's secret base, hmmm? I'm kind of working through these when I just have my phone because they're easier to read on a smaller screen than the new stuff with full page spreads.

Chris Claremont's classic X-men run, starting in 1975. This is the classic starting point I hear recommended again and again. You start with Giant Size x-men number 1, and then go to X-men issue 94. This is where all the classic x-men are introduced. You got your Dark Phoenix saga, and Days of Future Past, and a lot of the storylines that were used in the 90's animated series. Everybody should read some of these. But Chris Claremont was writing the X-men for FOURTEEN years. Do not attempt to read all of these before you move onto the modern stuff.

The Dark Phoenix saga, 1980 Chris Claremont, issues 129-138 Ok, I just finished these last night and they're so good that I want to make a special call out for them. I jumped ahead to read them and I'm so glad I didn't wait. I can't figure out how the movies sucked so bad when they had this source material to work with. We could have had an epic moon battle? If you don't read anything else from this era read these. Pro tip: get the epic version of like a prayer stuck in your head right before starting on issue 137. Really adds to the atmosphere.

X-men Season 1 by Dennis Hopeless, 2012 This is a graphic novel (so published altogether instead of in individual issues) retelling of the original silver age comics. It's mostly from Jean Grey's point of view. It's very fun.

Children of the Atom, 1999 by Joe Casey, 6 issues Sort of a prequel, explains how Charles Xavier recruited a bunch of teenagers. This looks good, but it started out with mutants being lynched, and with the way I always compare being a mutant to being queer, and the election and project 2025 looming, I decided this one was too much for me right now.

X-men First Class, 2006 by Jeff Parker, 8 issues I read the first four of these and they were cute. Bobby is writing home to his parents about his time in school, Scott and Jean go to the beach. Lots of fun character stuff. Originally 8 issues but it looks like they immediately did another run of issues the next year.

New X-men, 2001 by Grant Morrison his run starts with issue 114 This is a great place to jump in if Deadpool & Wolverine got you interested in x-men comics, because it's got Cassandra Nova in it. She's doing her weird finger thing! Supposedly this is one of best places to jump into modern x-men. I've read about 6 of them, so far so good.

Astonishing X-men, 2004 by Joss Whedon This is supposed to be the best x-men run ever. It continues directly from Grant Morrison's run. I'm saving it for next time I have a mental breakdown a rainy day.

All-New X-men, 2013 by Brian Michael Bendis This is what I'm reading the most of right now. Cyclops is being an asshole, and Beast decides the best way to solve this problem is to go back in time and bring the original teenage x-men from '60s back with him to confront him. This works particularly well as a jumping in point because they keep explaining backstory through the kids finding out all the ridiculous things that have happened. Like, poor Jean asking how she died, and they're is like, um which time?

[hyperfixingfr]

Sector V stim head canons WOOOO

Numbuh One: he has mostly vocal stims... But because of the way the world around him is, he masks it a lot and only does it in private. Sometimes he gets pulled into it by his friends though because Hoagie and Kuki also have a lot of vocal stims and if they start vocally stimming, Nigel will chime in. They even have two-person vocal stims (mostly between him and Hoagie) that are taken from memes or skits. One will say a line, and the other will say the next.

Other than numerous vocal stims, he does some other pretty typical stuff too. Pen clicking, leg bouncing, mostly nervous behaviors.

He repeats stims over and over again due to OCD. Sometimes in situations where he's extremely nervous he gets stuck in a loop of repetitive stimming. It exhausts him.

Numbuh Two: stereotypical autism stims. He stims ALL the time. Wally takes care of the people who make fun of him for it so he doesn't feel like he has to hide it. He has a few "unique" ones though.

Hand flapping/fist shaking, jumping up and down, little dances, kicking feet, chirping, whining/cooing (animalistically), and meowing at people. He gets a lot of shit for it from his grandma unfortunately. "You aren't five!"

He's sound sensitive and doesn't have many auditory stims due to trauma. He does, however, like Nigel's accent so much that it calms him. I guess you can call it an auditory stim?

He's also smell sensitive but more in a positive way. He loves mechanical smells and will take any chance he gets to inhale that scent into his entire body. He also likes the smell of... Mold. If he walks into a room and says, "wow, this place smells amazing!" when you haven't lit a candle recently, it's time to check for mold. He likes the feeling of mechanical stuff, too. Rust is a very soothing texture to him despite most hating it. Like Kuki, he enjoys soft, gentle textures too. He curls himself up in multiple big blankets, even when it's hot outside. He feels safe in them. Can't forget to mention, he has a BUNCH of comfort foods. We all already know what they are tho!!!

Numbuh Three: has lots of visual stims. Also stims a lot. Can often get distracted by visual stims when they're around.

She can be kinda loud with her vocal stims. With help from Hoagie (who usually gets triggered by the volume of her stims), she's working on learning to manage how loud she is. He's very understanding and finds resources to help her with it.

Auditory stims are, as expected, most rainbow monkey tunes! There's a few from the franchise that don't sound quite right and bother her. But many will calm her down and even make her stim in other ways.

She has MANY textile stims. Rainbow monkeys are probably obvious. She has a special rainbow monkey called the super fuzzy wuzzy rainbow monkey, and it's her favorite texture. She can't get enough of it and holds it ALL the time, taking in all the details of its soft, pink texture. She also likes her blankets a lot, and she loves the comforters. She has a big love for gelatin and eats it often. Her favorite flavor is lemon, because she likes sour stuff.

Numbuh Four: he doesn't stim in public but he stims around his friends and at home. Quiet and shy about it, though. He very subtly shakes his fists back and forth (like Hoagie does, but slower). He also taps his temples. Bouncing his leg is also common.

Similarly to Kuki, he can get LOUD! I mean SUPER loud. He's usually in his room so it's mostly not a problem but he has a tendency to send 1 & 2 into fight or flight with sudden and loud vocal stims if they're around. Nigel's working with him on it, although Hoagie's the only one who actually seems to be helpful lol. What makes it worse is that one of his vocal stims is just... Screaming. This one can get really bad because even if being in a different room quiets it down, it'll send Hoagie into a state of panic. He claims that the screams sound just like Tommy, causing him to instinctually run to the location and scream bloody murder at the source. "It was me, not him", "stop it, hit me instead", so on. He finally calms down enough to gain an idea of his surroundings and realizes it was just his friend. Wally found a place where he can scream safely without this happening. It got stressful for them both VERY quickly when he'd scream and that would happen.

He's very sensitive to textures. He won't eat most foods. He won't wear most clothes. His hoodie, however, comforts him. And he loves the texture of Kuki's sweater.

Numbuh Five: mostly visual. She LOVES colorful things, just like Kuki. She does have a few noticeable stims tho. She chimes in when people are vocally stimming and she shakes her fist (yes, FIST and not FISTS).

She loves the aquarium. She also loves bubbles. She has a bunch of stim toys that she watches for HOURSSSSSSS on end. Never ending. She has one of those fake jellyfish aquariums that she watches all the time...

She has LED lights in her room and they're CONSTANTLY ON. She changes the color a lot to fit what she needs. She changes the color sometimes when other teammates walk in, especially the visually sensitive ones.

Only wears bike shorts. She hates wearing pants so badly 😭 she can handle normal shorts but she prefers bike shorts because they allow for more mobility.

CONTENT WARNING: I'M ABOUT TO GET INTO SOME HARMFUL STIMS. AVOID READING IF NEEDED.

Numbuh One: hits himself over the head with pens. Pulls on his ears. Kicks around until exhaustion. He also purposely makes sounds that irritates himself.

Numbuh Two: lots of self injury. At this point, it has become instinctual. He almost always draws enough blood from it to cause him to become, for lack of a better term, sedated. He tends to use this as a sort of harmful stim to combat negative emotions. He also bites his nails so badly that he chews off the skin and occasionally causes bleeding there.

Numbuh Three: throws things. Destroys her room. Pulls her hair. She sometimes even bites her own arms and tries to maul herself. She doesn't have very sharp teeth, so nothing happens. She can't even draw blood, thankfully. She just leaves behind bite marks that fade after an hour.

Numbuh Four: head banging (which is canon btw). He does it a lot. Punches things to the point of drawing blood. Like Kuki, he also pulls his hair. Because Wally is very much "monkey see, monkey do", he also does purposeful self injury just like Hoagie. Although, unlike Hoagie who ends up losing enough blood to become woozy each time, Wally will only manage to just *barely* draw blood from cuts on his upper arms because he uses the tabs from soda cans.

Numbuh Five: head bangs as well. She slaps her leg really hard. She pulls her hair, sometimes even plucking strands from the source. When she was a bit younger, she did self injury. She doesn't do it anymore, and instead does all of these other things as a harmful stim. She's working with a therapist to find a way to learn healthy coping skills and healthy stims.

[withered-rose-unbreakable-lotus]

So you want to listen to 9GOATS BLACK OUT?

...and you don't know where to start? Well I got you. I like talking about my favorite bands and I love recommending music.

So, I won't go into details about the band, you can look that part up. All you need to know, imo is that it's unfortunately disbanded. Why you need to know that? Cause some people don't like listening to bands that are no longer active. Another thing you might wonder is if the members are still active. Well Ryo (bunch of projects, HOLLOWGRAM, DALLE, etc.) and Uta (Sukekiyo) are. Hati isn't, I've looked it up and...as far as the rest of members, who weren't showing up much in photoshoots are concerned, I unfortunately don't know. The fact they were sometimes in sometimes out discouraged me from looking further into them or following their activities BUT I'm sure you can find something about them on vkgy (if you haven't tried that site, do so, it's an amazing archive of vkei bands). Anyway, let's get to the music.

[side note: Some fans might disagree with my choices or think I should add 1-2 more songs, but this is just an opinion. If you wish to make a list of your own go ahead, every person has different criteria on what feels easier to listen to first, or showcases a band's colors best.]

Sink is the first song that got me into the band and I would hands down recommend it to anyone wanting to give this band a try. It's a common starter for many fans as well, as I learnt years later so yeah. If you like moody stuff with a melody that takes you places, you will like this one.

If my 18-19 year old self saw me suggesting this song, she would goggle her eyes at me. The reason I'm suggesting this is because it was one of their songs I didn't like at all for years, however, whenever I accidentally came across it, the melody stuck to me FOR DAYS. This is one of their catchiest tunes in my eyes. You don't understand, when I don't like a song I almost never come back. I was bewitched to like this song xD. If you are like me, you probably won't like it on the first try, but give it a few listens and you might change your mind. ;)

This is another song I see many 9goats fans enjoy and I think it's easy to listen, too. I love it personally and I also love the pv cause I get to clearly see everyone! Up until their last pv's release, Uta and Hati, even though they showed up in photoshoots, they weren't often visible in pvs for long, if at all. They both have amazing aesthetic, beyond their music artistry, they can give you strong visuals if you ask them to, but they both were more focused on sound and I think, in Uta's case that is obvious even now that he is with Sukekiyo. They wanted their music to be the center of attention it appears and that's ok, but to me it was a bit sad they didn't let us see them in pvs more too.

I say that a lot, if you know me and we've spoken about this band before, but I consider them the closest thing I have ever felt like calling “black magic in music form”, but in a novel way. This song is a good indication why. Also this song showcases everybody's talent. Ryo's haunting voice, Uta's screaming guitar, and Hati's calm bass carrying everything else from the back and making the sound move like waves in the sea, slow at first and then speeding up and back to slow again. The drums are powerful here as well, the melodic piano, creating such a soaring feeling with everything else, it's just ugh.

This is one of those songs that feels like it's from a videogame to me. Or a movie, if you aren't a videogame person. It's mysterious, like following a character around during the night. It's quite haunting too. The way the music trails off at places especially....goodness gracious. The distortions, the melody just...try it try it. Very cinematic.

You might need more time with the band before you try this one, but it's really good. The way the drums enter after the guitar and Ryo's first lyrics grasps my heart. It makes me shiver every single time, chills, chills, chills across the board. If you have a woofer at home, please use it. Let it shake your room, feel it. And if you have earphones or headphones, choose headphones at least once. I don't know how effective this song is on others, but they can't have added so much ahm...how do you call that, underground sound I guess, unless they wanted people to feel the instruments vibrate underneath you (not that way, ye nasties, like an earthquake I mean).

I hope you find sth you like, if not, it's ok, we all like different things, but yeah, this was my attempt to entice more people listen to one of my favorite bands, 9GOATS BLACK OUT.

[ghost-kitty-cat]

Bunny Headcanons (enjoy more of my rambling...)

First Headcanon, Before bunny met dion, they didn't have many friends (because of this, Bunny grew into the habit of reading a lot of books typically fantasy & history, they liked to imagine what their life would be like if they were there in the stories... which is slightly ironic seeing how their life turns out..)

Second Headcanon, Bunny actually quite likes bunnies (the animal) but they would never got one as a pet (or any pets in general) because they don't think they're capable of handling that much responsibility (I imagine they were kinda already struggling with taking care of themselves before they met two demons who are technically their "roommates" now...)

Third Headcanon, Bunny (and Dion too) totally have forgotten to eat sometimes (and now that Kane is "stuck" with them, he constantly has to remind them to... he unofficially became a "guardian"... well I guess he was already sorta one for Dion but now Kane has been a sorta "guardian" for Bunny too... he's basically that friend who somewhat acts like a dad...)

Fourth Headcanon, (because of the recent Kane solo video) I totally imagine Bunny likes tea now... and they will constantly ask Kane to make them some to the point where Kane grew so tired of it, he showed them how to make the tea (which I imagine was made with honey and lavender since those ingredients seem calming and I imagine Kane likes the kind of tea that can make you calm..)

Fifth Headcanon, when it starts getting colder in temperature, I totally imagine Bunny sitting on the couch in between Kane and Dion with a bunch of blankets to keep warm... usually they end up falling asleep like that... (I mean Dion and Kane are both "flame" demons so I imagine them being quite warm ^^)

Sixth Headcanon, Bunny (possibly Dion too) likes to ask Kane for piggyback rides (because in my head, Kane is the tallest, Dion is sorta in the medium (He's slightly shorter than Kane) and Bunny is shortest (though they're only a tiny bit shorter than Dion... just short enough that they can't reach certain cabinets without a stepping stool... speaking of which)

Seventh Headcanon, Bunny is totally the type of person who asks either Dion or Kane to help them reach something either in the kitchen or when they're out shopping (with Dion and Kane in disguises of course)

Eighth Headcanon, (this is more of a Dion Headcanon but it was because of bunny so I'm putting it) because Bunny showed Dion video games I totally imagine Dion now steals Bunny's controller or switch (I totally imagine Bunny having a cute little Nintendo switch.. maybe one with violet or light pink controllers) to play games and doesn't typically put them back in the right spot so Bunny ends up having to search the whole apartment for them (don't know if it was mentioned or not but I imagine Bunny lives in a apartment)

Ninth Headcanon, (again this is slightly also a Dion & Kane Headcanon) but before They met Dion, Bunny hardly went outside besides to the store, their job, school etc but after they met Dion, he would (not literally) drag them to all sorts of places, but now that Kane is here, he doesn't let Dion or Bunny go out until they promise to be back by a certain time (again I imagine Kane totally acting like a mother hen at times..)

Tenth Headcanon, Bunny is totally the type to only put up a few small decorations for holidays (like the type of decorations that are so small that you can keep them up as just decorations even after the holidays are over... I don't know why but I imagine Bunny doesn't really celebrate holidays, like the way I imagine Bunny is like a loner, not only do they not have many friends but they also don't really chat a lot with family.... but when they met Dion and Kane, they put a little more time and effort into decorations for holidays since they finally have someone to celebrate with... (anddd that got depressing quick... excuse me while I go cry my eyes out...)

[anthromimicry]

hellooo, everyone! i hope all of y'all are having a good day so far... because i am here to once again lore dump on all of you all, which i apologize in advance for. but to expand more on that part in my doc where i wrote that one of misao's weaknesses is that she has an addictive personality, i mean that she is a 'love junkie' so-to-speak — and when i say that, i mean that she is very much an adrenaline seeker and/or actively seeks out adventure, which translates into her having this ongoing search for the dopamine rush that comes with starting a new relationship with someone. and whenever the original infatuation misao sometimes feels towards other people 'fades' ( since she has a fear of getting too close to someone and then having them abandon her... she often times will not allow herself to actually consider the possibility of getting into a deeper, more intimate relationship with someone, and stays stuck being in this phase where she's in love with this person in question but not in LOVE love with them if you catch my drift ) , for lack of better words, thing's go on to crash and burn because there wasn't enough of an emotional connection between them to keep the relationship they have going.

then misao is likely to just go look elsewhere for a new 'crush' or infatuation afterward; when, confronting herself as to why she is afraid of commitment and why she keeps on finding herself running from a relationship whenever she starts feeling even a bit 'too comfortable' around them, would probably be the best thing for her in reality. however... misao isn't really in a good place mentally in her current arc, so i feel as if it'll take a while for her to even acknowledge that this is indeed kind of a concerning behavior of hers. but i also meant that she has an ' addictive personality ' in other ways as well. like, i'm not going to lie, misao does overspend and could probably be considered as a ' shopaholic. ' and this behavior could have some linkage to her past seeing as she didn't have a lot as a child; not to say that anyone is at fault for that, of course. i just feel like misao feels this subconscious need to want to get things she likes the second she sees them now because she has the necessary resources to get them now ( which would be money, in this case ) when she didn't have them before. and the fact that buying something gives her this sense of instant gratification doesn't really help her case if i'm being honest. so, you could also definitely say that misao has a bit of trouble with controlling her impulses as well.

and speaking of impulses, there was also a time where misao very much overindulged in alcohol, particularly when she was still in japan + traveling with the japanese pirates that i had talked about a bit in one of my previous posts. this couldn't just be attributed to how abundant it was on the ship though; it also served as an unhealthy coping mechanism for her after her mother died and misao felt both like she was going nowhere in life + like she could go anywhere she wanted at the same time. the best way i could describe why misao felt like this was because she had never had that amount of freedom before in her life and that was quite the intimidating as well as somewhat harrowing thing to her to have to deal with. because although she might've felt alone before, misao did have her little half-brother with her and her mother, as well. but now she was running off with a bunch of pirates that she didn't know and although that part of her that craves adventure was very much satiated by this; pirates can honestly be very terrifying people.

though, once she had fallen in love with reika, thing's had certainly changed for her in a way. however... it couldn't erase that underlying emptiness that she felt in her heart at the time that was making her ask herself questions like ' why are you doing this? shouldn't you be doing something else, like taking care of ryu, for example? ' but misao kind of got swept away in all of the freedom she felt in the end ( which, she admittedly felt a bit selfish for ) , i think, and so these thoughts just started getting buried in the back of her mind. especially when they were coupled with alcohol. killing also provides her with a thrill, but she knows she has to be more careful now with when / where she does it. so that has kind of discouraged her from using it as an outlet in which she can seek her adrenaline rushes through... but yeah. i hoped y'all liked this little drabble of mine, though i know that it was actually super long and not actually ' little ' at all LOLLL.

[ineffable-endearments]

This is not meta, I'm just venting boringly and feeling very sorry for myself YET AGAIN lol. Season 2 spoilers.

If I'd known for sure. For the past two years. If I'd had a vague idea. "Season 2 will end on a big cliffhanger." "Season 2 will end in a bit of a dark place." "Season 2 is gonna be a tough one."

I'd have experienced some sadness and disappointment on hearing that news, but it would have happened slowly, over time. I'd trade away a few of the deliriously excited moments I've had over the past couple of years in order to soften what I'm feeling now. Of course, that would go against many fans who would have wanted to be totally unspoiled, and it wasn't the way Neil and the rest of the creative team wanted to tell the story, so that's okay. I accept it and can't blame anyone for how they approached it.

Like I said, I did know that act 2 of 3 usually ends with a massive flare-up of conflict. But I'm not a professional storyteller; knowing that fact in the abstract didn't keep me from wondering if maybe you could get around that somehow, or if maybe it could be...mitigated.

Rob did say "it will break your heart." That definitely put me on the alert a bit. But since it wasn't particularly corroborated by anyone else, it was easy for me, in an excited and hopeful state, to wonder if maybe he was talking about something that happens mid-season.

Intellectually, I KNOW how good this development could be for the overall story. I know. I know. But it doesn't fix the uncanny sadness of losing a favorite fantasy - losing something that only ever existed in my head, that is technically still there but feels changed now by this knowledge.

Almost nothing ever seems to get my blood pressure up in a way that I'm conscious of - but this season does. Sometimes, when thinking about it or worrying about the future, I can feel my heart start to pound and the blood rushing up the sides of my throat. Even now, two days later.

What's more, I'm realizing that I am just not very good at catching certain details. I didn't even notice, for example, that Aziraphale and Crowley were on the opposite sides from where they usually are during the ending credits. I completely missed a number of plot threads that were left hanging and didn't even notice a bunch of dialogue that is demonstrably bizarre. I was hoping to do more analysis and probably will continue to do it anyway because I can't help it, but it doesn't feel great knowing that I might be wrong about most things because I am maybe just not that good at analysis.

These characters, Aziraphale and Crowley, really do feel like two halves of me. And I'm stuck with all these massively strong, frankly irrational feelings about where they were left off, fractured.

It's weird having big feelings about this because people in real life don't get it, and they would not be totally unreasonable to wonder why I can't just compartmentalize and let go. My partner and family have been incredibly sweet, have never belittled me for feeling strongly (about anything), and have in fact been very reassuring. But I'm still aware that they would be a bit bemused and maybe concerned if I voiced the continued intensity of my feelings to them.

Anyway. That's what I'm doing here. If you've somehow read to the end, thanks.

[abronzeagegod]

ETS WIP Chapter 4: The Problem with Dreams

<first>|<more>

The drive back to the office was quiet and slow.

After turning in the company van and clocking out, Aeth went and found a small room set aside for rituals. There they participated in a deep cleansing ritual and even a protection spell to keep the bad dreams at bay. They knew that this case would be haunting them for days and weeks.

Just as the magic faded and the incense started to dissipate away to just smoke, Lyta stuck her head into the room.

"Hey, I saw you're back. How was it?"

Aeth shrugged, not really up for vocalization.

"I'm about to finish up my shift, you want to go get something to eat? It's my turn to buy."

Aeth nodded. Lyta was a good friend, a great friend, their best friend. She could read their mood and their whole demeanor with a glance.

"Great, I'll order us something to pick up and we can go to my place and eat and watch some TV. You feeling And the Fifth Rose was Black or do you want some truly silly nonsense like Real Monsters of the Sea?"

"Sea," they mutter.

"Great! I need something mindless tonight. Let me get my desk together and I'll meet you in the break room?"

"Yeah."

Before she left, Lyta entered the room and gave Aeth a quick hug.

The day was deeply draining. Aeth felt so very tired, but Lyta had a way of making them feel better about everything. They hope that she doesn't mind.

Even though they know if they asked, she would say that she doesn't mind if it is for them.

Aeth didn't have to wait for Lyta for very long, she just had to grab her stuff out of her locker and then their friend drove to her apartment.

They often worked the same shift, so Lyta almost always drove the both of them to and from work.

Lyta's apartment was small, full, and deeply comforting to Aeth, who made a beeline for the couch, where they plopped down and snuggled up to the plush bat named Bat-tholemew. Lyta had gone into her room to change out of work clothes and put in food order. She knew their likes well enough by this point that she didn't even bother to ask what Aeth wanted.

Eventually, she returned and went to the couch, gently picking up Aeth's feet, sitting down, and letting Aeth lay across her lap.

It was right about twenty minutes into Real Monsters of the Sea (when Urrephetilgoth the Emissary of the Dark Tide was calling out Herominish Lor'gillth as a horror, as if Herominish would be offended by being called a horror) when the food arrived.

By the time the food was consumed and the fight between the two ancient sea creatures had resolved, or at least come to a truce so they could fight with a third friend/enemy/fellow-horror-form-100-fathoms-below-the-sea, Aeth was feeling much better.

It was around the time that they had finished food and the second episode of Monsters was wrapping up that Aeth finally felt good enough to talk to Lyta.

“It was the last job,” they said. “It was a typical family that had their computer for too long and it was starting to give up.”

Lyta didn’t interrupt. She never interrupted when Aeth spoke especially about things that were bothering them.

“But the kid, about seven or eight, believed in the computer enough to create a small god that lives in it and kept it working long past it’s lifespan.”

Lyta reached over and grabbed Aeth’s hand, just held on to it. She knew what was coming next, where it was going, but sometimes it was necessary for the person to say it out loud. After a moment she pulled their hand into her lap.

“She believed in her computer so much. She named it, had a bunch of plastic dinosaurs she named and gave permanent make overs to. She reminded me of me, but, you know, with a better home life.”

Lyta rubbed her thumb across Aeth’s knuckles. A soothing, repetitive gesture.

“Got me thinking about… you know,” Aeth said with significant pauses. “I called the Bureau, and they assured me it’s still in lock up under constant surveillance.”

“It hasn’t tried to get out?” Lyta asked. She was the only person that knew of 3812-B. But even she didn’t know the whole story, not the whole truth of it. That was something too much even for Aeth, something they didn’t even believe or want to share ever again.

“No,” Aeth responded. “They would have told me if it did.”

There was a long silence between the two of them. “How are you doing?” Lyta asked.

“Better now, but tonight is going to be rough dreaming.”

“You can stay here,” she said. Please stay, is what she meant.

Lyta always said stuff like that. Aeth wanted to stay, they really did, but they also needed the comfort and privacy of their own place.

They thanked Lyta for everything and called themselves a car to take them home. Lyta kept Aeth's hand in hers for as long as she could, kissing the back of their hand as they finally had to pull away.

They don't dream that night. At first.

When they did dream it is intense and violent and full of spiders.

Well, maybe it wasn't supposed to be violent.

But all the spells they did to keep from dreaming also kept the underearth spider aspect from sending them their thanks so they increased the power of their dreams until they broke through their thorough magic and it was basically a nightmare.

A nightmare built on the strength of the generosity of a spider aspect, a being from the inner earth, so far below the surface that things are naturally dark and twisted. A nightmare built from their everyday experiences strong enough to pierce through the wards and defenses carefully crafted by a hurt mind.

The thing with gods and their gifts is that one can't refuse them. Not really. Refusing a god outright is a terrible idea, and being coy about it is simply a worse one. Because nothing is more horrifying than a god who has been thwarted in their attempts to thank you.

They had honestly forgotten about it. Especially after the small god.

The corridors Aeth was lost in were twisting, dark, made of stone that was hot to the touch and rough and coarse. They twisted in and back on themselves like the paths of stone were moving, living things. Like a spiderweb turned stone.

Aeth knew something was in the tunnels with them and was chasing them, pursuing them, just like before.

They weren't strong enough to fight them the first time and had only survive through sheer luck.

To fight a second time was something that was just beyond their capabilities.

So they ran as far and as fast as they could, but their legs were loose, and numb. They couldn't move fast or far. They were trapped and this was the end for them they knew.

It was coming.

It was coming for them.

And they were caught in this web and labyrinth.

Suddenly the nightmare tilted on it's side, everything slid to one angle and Aeth found themself face-to-face with a spider aspect.

"Thank you," the spider said enigmatically. They were already big, bigger than Aeth was in the physical world but now they were massive, gargantuan even.

All of their many arms reach out and hand Aeth a thing made of the darkness around them. It is small and soft as they reach out and touch it.

It is unwise to refuse the gift of something that wants to give you a gift, especially one even so tangentially related to divinity.

Aeth took the gift, with only a little hesitation.

They knew that they were still being pursued, it was still coming after them.

"Thank you," Aeth responded, looking over their shoulder.

"It is authentic spider-silk. Very soft. Amazing to sleep upon."

Oh, it was a pillowcase. That made more sense.

Suddenly, the spider tilts it's massive head. They just noticed the thing that was persuing Aeth throughout the nightmare.

"Something is stalking you," the spider pointed out unhelpfully.

There went any hope Aeth had that it was part of the nightmare the spider aspect crafted.

"Yeah," Aeth said. "It's something from a long time ago and it won't ever stop."

"I shall delay them, and you should wake up," the spider said before moving deeper into their nightmare of their own creation.

Aeth wanted to wake so badly. They wanted to free themselves from nightmares and sleep without fear, and they wanted to free themselves from this specific nightmare immediately.

The spider had gone and Aeth could feel wakefulness just beyond the skein.

They rose and tried to break through, they tried to move through the dream, the nightmare, to the waking world where their pursuer was locked away safe, they tried to rise but it was like surfacing through the water, the light was distorted and made the surface seem so much closer than it truly was, the tension of the water holding strong even as they rose fighting against breaking, not letting Aeth leave the nightmare and the thing that wanted to chase them and consume them, even though they had risen seemingly past the surface the water refused to break the skein refused to tear and Aeth then feared truly drowning of facing the thing they had spent so long running from of the thing that had tried to engulf them and would try time and time and time and time again until Aeth awoke, breathing hard, unable to move, unable to do anything besides breathe heavily as they rose out of their nightmare, in their bed, safe and sound.

Their heartbeat was loud, intense, and the only thing they could focus on.

Eventually the cobwebs of the dream left them, and Aeth climbed out of bed.

It was still dark outside, and they turned on lights as they walked through their small apartment to find water. It was something for their shaking and anxious hands to do.

With the lights on and their heart racing, Aeth knew that sleep was basically a lost cause.

They sat in their bed and scrolled on their phone looking at pictures of couatl and memes. They even sent a few to Lyta, knowing that she had her phone muted and wouldn't respond until she woke up.

Despite the distractions, the fading adrenaline, and the threat of terrible nightmares, Aeth's body demanded sleep and rest, so they found themselves slipping into sleep once again.

Mercifully they didn't dream any further.

When they awoke again, they found the lights still on and redundant.

Not feeling particularly rested but awake, Aeth moved through their apartment.

After only being awake for a few minutes, their phone lit up with a notification.

It was from Lyta.

"i'm coming over with coffee and snacks! [kissing emoji]"

Sure enough a few minutes later Lyta had let herself in with her spare key. She had a pair of coffee cups, a bag presumably filled with some kind of pastry, and a giant bag filled with all sorts of things.

"Hey," she said softly when she spotted the tired looking Aeth, "how are you feeling?"

"Tired, and annoyed, but you come with coffee and breakfast so less annoyed."

Lyta smiled as brightly as her yellow sundress.

"You seemed like you were having a bad day."

"How could you tell?"

"You sent me three cute couatl memes at 4am. You only do that when you can't sleep," Lyta responded, the concern in her voice obvious and unmissable. Aeth's heart swelled a little. Lyta knew them so well, and cared for them so much that she dropped everything on her day off to bring coffee and pastry.

"Yeah, the spider aspect from earlier yesterday really wanted to thank me."

Lyta's eyes went wide and she made an "oof!" sound. "And the underearth things always wanna communicate via dreams."

"But I had blocked my dreams since the encounter with the small god."

"Oh no."

"But the spider wouldn't be denied."

"How bad?" Lyta asked.

Aeth didn't speak, just opened an email on their phone and pushed it across the kitchen island.

Displayed was an email from the Catalog and Archive Bureau about Aeth's subject. There was a vicious escape attempt that was thwarted at approximately 3:49 AM. The subject did not manage to escape, and only caused damage to it's holding prison, but as per regulations, the Bureau was required to inform Aeth of the activity.

"Well, I'm really glad I brought this," Lyta said as she indicated the large bag she brought with her.

"What's that?"

"Unless you very explicitly tell me no, we're going to the beach. Leaving you here, inside, alone, seems real bad. So you can come with me to the beach, we can watch the people, look at the creatures in the bay, and play in the sand."

Lyta knew that the temptation hook was landed, Aeth loved to try and build elaborate sandcastles, and Aeth is very susceptible to Lyta in a sundress.

"You don't have to even do anything if you don't want," Lyta said to further sweeten the pot. "I just don't want you sitting in your place moping the whole time, thinking about your dreams. We'll stop and get snacks."

Aeth knew, objectively, that they should say yes, but they were still tired and reluctant.

"I got a new bikini and everything, it would be shame to show it off to no one."

Once again, they knew, objectively, that they shouldn't be so excited to see their best friend in whatever new swimsuit she got, but Aeth was only human and particularly weak for Lyta.

"Sure, I guess."

Lyta smiled brightly (almost as bright as her sundress). "Yay! Drink your coffee and eat your breakfast and then get ready. We'll head over and spend the day in the sun and the sand together."

Together.

Aeth wouldn't admit, ever, how nice that word was.

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