#Kind of? They're not an insect and not hurt

[calf-cover]

Better look at the resident of Alagadda from the last post - three facets of one consciousness: Polythroos, Psalmos and Polykais. The meaning of the names is under the spoiler.

Polythroos - "with many faces/the one who can make a lot of sounds", the human part of the left head Polykais - the right head, "Bright and flaming" Psalmos - the beast part of the left head, "Song of the Lyre".

All words are Old Greek. The three facets help each other to better tolerate both dangerous situations and social interactions. Psalmos is the one who decorated their half of the body with bracelets and an earring. This creature is much smaller than its fellows, although much larger than a human, and much lighter than they look. They can crawl on the ceiling 🕷🕸

[namazunomegami]

Lord of the Flies, Gluttonous Queen, Prince of Filth, Prince of Decay, Goddess of Ekron, Lord of Slander, Queen of Pestilence and Famine, The Rotting One

I Solomon said unto him: “Beelzeboul what is thy employment?” And (s)he answered me: “I destroy kings. I ally myself with foreign tyrants. And my own demons I set on to men, in order that the latter may believe in them and be lost. And the chosen servants of God, priests, and faithful men, I excite unto desires for wicked sins, and evil heresies, and lawless deeds; and they obey me, and I bear them on to destruction. And I inspire men with envy, and desire for murder, and for wars, and sodomy, and other evil things. And I will destroy the world.” - The Testament of Solomon

[hughiecampbelle]

The Boys Preference: Reacting To Your Tattoos

A/N: I have so many ideas for The Boys cast! Be sure to look out for more posts! I'm updating my request list to include them 😊 I'm sorry I've been a little MIA! I'll be getting back to requests asap! Hope you like it! Feedback is always appreciated 💜

Butcher loves them. This is not the moment to say something, to react, but he definitely takes notice. You got hurt, really hurt, and the only way to save you was for Annie cauterizing your wounds, buying you a little more time. Butcher didn't need to hold you down, you'd already gone limp, losing all color in your face. He begs you to wake up, to stay with them. There was so much blood. So much red. He was covered in it, seeping through his shirt. Your jacket was thrown off, the collar of your shirt torn, ripped, for easier access to your shoulder and they both discovered the tattoos. Your chest, your arm, neck, you were covered. He had a feeling there were far more, wondering why you never showed any of them. You were always so bundled up, he never even questioned it. He warned you this was going to hurt, though he wasn't even sure you could hear him. Still, as Annie's hands grew bright, he cringes, hoping you were too out of it to feel anything, hoping this would all seem like a far away dream. Hoping you won't mind the large scar that will warp your ink.

Hughie is pretty intimidated by them. The Boys are already a scary looking group, but meeting you, he thought you were going to bite off his head. Your body was pretty covered. After getting to know you, he realizes how wrong he was. You're snarky and stubborn, but you're also thoughtful and funny. If it were up to you, you'd never hurt a fly, just Vought. Still, every so often you'll do or say something that reminds him of that first impression, especially when you feel threatened or your friends are threatened. You'll show up with a few new ones, filling in the gaps. When it comes to open wounds you're ready to treat it with a strong drink and duct tape. When it comes to your tattoos, you're meticulous in your aftercare. He's never seen you so serene looking as when you're taking care of them, so gentle. Something about that makes him feel like he shouldn't be witnessing it, but he's grateful that he is. When they're in tricky spots, he's the first to offer to help. He works with nervous hands, afraid he'll do something to ruin it. You just laugh, walking him through it.

Annie knows all about your tattoos. They are, after all, linked to the V in your blood. You didn't start developing them until your late teens, your parents assuming the V they injected was a dud. Images started appearing and with them, your powers. By the time she met you, you were covered. You didn't like showing off to The Boys. You still had a long way to go to gaining their trust. Parading around the fact that you were a Supe wasn't going to help. Still, when it was just you and Annie you were less reluctant to show her. All kinds of images adorned your skin: weapons, insects, animals. You liked the weapons the best. The thing could project itself from your skin as if it were real. In seconds, you had a sword in each hand, as real and sharp as if you'd physically gotten one. The best part? Your skin was indestructible. Every few months, maybe years, a new tattoo would appear, giving you a leg up in the fight against Vought. She thinks you have by far the most interesting powers of any Supe she's met.

M.M. hates them. Because they're linked to the V you got as a baby, he sees them more of a warning than anything else, the way brightly colored animals are poisonous. He hadn't realized the first time you met, what they were from, and you were smart enough not to tell him. It was only when you were fighting for your life did you use your abilities: the circles on the back of your neck, layered, you let out a sonic scream that shattered windows, set off car alarms, and drew blood. The group that had attacked you were coughing it up, it was running down their necks from their ears. M.M. was far enough away not to be affected, but the way he tells it, he was *this* close to having his insides turned to goo. Some were safe enough to run away. The ones who were closer dropped dead with a wet squelch. He trusts you even less for not telling him. When he breaks the news to everyone else, he's shocked to find out that they either knew (like Annie) or they were unfazed, more impressed than anything else, like you'd become this great asset. You apologize profusely, but you know it'll be a long time before he can even look you in the eyes.

Frenchie thinks they're so cool. He went with you once and got one of his own: while you were getting a rather large piece finished, he wants to get a smiley face on his ass cheek. Despite the discomfort, Frenchie's all giggles. He's more than excited to show this off to everyone he decides to moon. You try to tell him how to take care of it, but he waves you off. He's eager to show The Boys. He's lucky it heals properly and by the end of the week, everyone he comes into contact with has seen it. Besides that, his favorite thing is to study the ones you have. They're intricate and beautiful and some of them are pretty silly. You never understood the sentiment that there had to be some grand kind of meaning behind them. If you like it, you get it tattooed. He asks questions about them, most done all over the world or, a couple, in prison. He thinks you look badass, especially when you shed the bulky layers and show off what they normally don't get to see. Your back piece is his favorite. When you're wearing something with a low back, or disregard a shirt completely, he can't help but watch you. You're careful, covering them with clothes or makeup so that whatever illegal thing you're doing can't be traced.

Kimiko asks a lot of questions. Did it hurt? Why that image? What does it mean? How long did it take? You never mind, in fact you like talking about them. You spent enough time getting stabbed, you wanted someone to ask. She especially loves the ones on your hands. They look beautiful as you sign back to her. Some are still a little raised despite how well you took care of them, those are her favorite. She touches them delicately, afraid it might hurt, but you assure her they're all healed. She watches when you're getting changed together, how they move with your skin and muscles. They make her smile knowing you feel so much more at home in your body because of them, something you admitted to her late one night after a few drinks. They help you like yourself, covering up insecurities, making you feel cuter/cooler than you would without them. She's always the first to notice when you get a new one, making a point regardless of the situation to tell you how nice it looks and that she likes it a lot.

Bonus! Homelander thinks they're horrendous. Disgusting. Just another way you've defiled your body. He can't stand to look at them and made sure you understand that. Around him, you keep them covered, either by clothing or makeup. You know better than to draw attention towards them. Regardless of how you acquired them (Compound V or just an aesthetic choice) you know not to bring them up or let anyone else bring them up. A-Train noticed the one of the back of your neck and that put Homelander over the edge. You were both thrown out of the room. You consider yourself more than lucky. He could have killed you, both of you, but he was feeling generous. He had bigger things on his mind. You knew working for Vought would lead to sacrifices, uncomfortable situations, but being interrogated by Homelander about your tattoos was never something you ever considered. He thinks about using his lasers every time he sees them poking out from your sleeve or pants. But he needs you. As long as he needs you, you're safe. The moment you stop being useful, he's going to cut off every individual image until there's nothing left. Until you look normal again.

[adventures-in-mangaland]

More Dead Boy Detectives Fic Recs

Since my last fic rec post got a great response and I've read some excellent fic in the meantime, here is a new list with more recs!

The Case of Richard Rowland by RB (BlueflowersandWings)

Charles' dad hires the Dead Boy Detectives to solve his murder. It's. Traumatic. The writing and characterisation are excellent and heartbreaking and the case is intriguing. I have many theories! Cw for domestic abuse, child abuse and homophobia.

we all have a hunger (series) by Anonymous

I couldn't choose! They're both so good! The first is from Crystal's PoV as she tries to figure out what happened to Niko. It also features some wonderful Crystal & Edwin bonding, an absolutely gut-wrenching speech from the latter and The Sandman cameos. The second in the series is an Edwin-centric (so angsty!) case fic featuring Accidental Child Acquisition, greek gods, the Cat King and a happy ending. Superlative writing in both.

Terrible, Horrible, No Good and Very Bad by hibye

Feelings realisation as Charles pines for Edwin and tries not to show it because he has to be sure he's in love. Terrific, very funny writing and Charles is a precious himbo. Excellent payoff too.

Oh, Lonely Bones, Have You Forgotten? by DontOffendTheBees

Charles and Edwin investigate a mystery at St Hilarion's and discover a gut-wrenching secret. Compelling and brilliantly written.

I'll let you go if you kiss me goodbye by shadowquill17

Idiots in Love meets Friends with Benefits and Misunderstandings. Edwin breaking his own heart for no reason is very accurate and Charles gets a cool queer mentor.

the spooky thing about penis ouija by skadii

College AU! Everyone's alive and Charles and Edwin have been besties since middle school. This is another Oblivious!Charles fic; he's like a well-meaning golden retriever trampling Monty in his clueless wake. Also, the gang perform a seance and Edwin is a ghost-sceptic, which is hilarious.

after the insects have laid their claim by lolotr

Charles finds out that Edwin's body was never found and will not let that stand. Has a kind of gothic romanticism I really love and a nice in-universe explanation for the "Charles and Edwin can only feel each other" trope.

The author has written lots of other great fic, including a very cute librarian!Edwin and single dad!Charles human AU with bonus Crystal/Niko.

A Form of Genius by Neous (Greyality)

Charles shows off for Edwin. Crystal Suffers. Idk, it's just cute.

the taste in your mouth by greenaerie

When Esther hurts Charles, Edwin decides to take up the Cat King on his original offer. Interesting exploration of dubious consent, shame and guilt. The author is fairly sympathetic to the Cat King, while also exploring Edwin's complicated feelings, including the impact of his upbringing, general repression and, yes, coercion on his first time. It's not exactly explicit, but take care if those are tough themes for you!

The Manuscript of Real People by paraph

Slow burn Boarding School AU where they're both alive and it's also the 70s. And they were roommates! I have been longing for a fic like this. All the jock/nerd romance tropes, complicated by discussions of bullying and Charles' (perceived) proximity to Edwin's bullies. Edwin is an orphaned scholarship student, so it's also a kind of role reversal and touches on themes of class and poverty. Minor cw for sexual harassment as the Cat King/Thomas is also there (sorry catwin fans).

When We Walk Together We Tend to Walk Alone by UneducatedAuthor

Charles meets Death and gets to say goodbye to his mum. A sweet concept and it's nice to see Death of the Endless getting some love!

Marriage is a Payne by Ace_of_Turtles

Arranged Marriage and Omegaverse AU featuring the boys agreeing to get married to spite/escape their awful parents. Not explicit and fairly light on the a/b/o details, in case that's a squick for anyone.

job officially jobbed by vernesatlas

Charles decides the answer to the handjob question requires a practical demonstration. Very funny and well written and the title is excellent. All the kudos.

Try, Try Again by Asidian

Alterative ending to episode four. After the Night Nurse, Edwin makes a second attempt to comfort Charles. Heartwarming and sad.

The Risk and Rewards of Communication by Opossum_Subatomic

Another alternative ending to episode four featuring Edwin coming clean about the Cat King. So well written. I feel like this is going to be a fandom classic.

take your chances (win or lose her) by ObsessedWithFandom

Charles decides to check in on his mum. Some very sweet established relationship fluff followed by discussions of domestic abuse and family feels. The ending opened up some amazing possibilities for future fics! Highly recommended.

The same author has also written the ghost of the past that you live in, which is an excellent in-depth exploration of Charles' bisexual awakening and trauma-related repression.

Anyway, I'm going to try to make this a regular thing, so please send me more recs!

[snowsinterlude]

misunderstood.

(coriolanus snow x f. reader)

summary: being the only district girl other than sejanus plinth and having to adapt to the capitol, you thought you could still count with coryo. it seems like you were wrong.

based on this ask

c.w: district n capitol reader, coriolanus snow, coryo being kind of a jerk, heartbreak, drama, quite the slowburn, fluffy, angst, reader has a crush on coryo, mentions to bullying, reader is shy and insecure

moving from district 4 to the capitol after the war when you were small, you never forgot your roots. or whatever was left of them.

your father and your mother made sure to educate you the best they could. private teachers, whatever they could afford witth the new money they had.

now, at the age of seventeen, the closet person you had within you at the academy was coriolanus snow.

athletic skinny, smart, pretty, blonde, gorgeous coriolanus snow. the one boy you knew that probably had a liking to you even if it wasn't much.

of course you would develop a crush on him. he was so gentle with you, so kind. so good to you, he was always there for you, specially since you were so shy, even more shy to defend yourself, so he was always taking the matters into his own hands, defending you from any dumb jerk who thought less of you.

however, as you walked through the academy in search of him, you found festus voice, and your name coming out of his lips.

“so, snow. why does the district girl is always clinging on you?” he asked, and you immediatly hid himself behind the wall, waiting for the answer.

now you could know his thoughts about you! now you would know of he really liked you, if he felt the same, if-

“man, she's a leech.” he said, and you gulped your heart back “i only tolerate her because the teachers always tell us to “be nice” to her, but honestly? sometimes i can't stand her.”

oh.

so that was it? what you thought to be love, kindness, was only tolerance? not even once of kindness was there on his voice, not even one bit of respect- he hated you. maybe he loathed you too. you were probably the same thing as an insect to him. a fly. buzzing on his ear, getting on his nerves.

with that in mind, you rejected every move he made towards you- you loved him, and it hurt. but more than that, the fact that he tolerated you during all those times, made everything worse.

“y/n! finally, i found you-” he said, and you passed through him like you hadn't seen him, like he was invisible. like the way he said your name didn't make your heart flutter and your eyes shine.

you distanced yourself from him the best you could. it didn't matter anymore. he didn’t like you. he never did. didn't even consider you a friend or anything. a leech. a leech. a blood sucking energia draining leech.

without coriolanus by your side, without him protecting you, the only one who could defend you was yourself, but would you do it?

of course not.

you're nothing compared to them. you're district. they're not gonna allow you to be or feel anything other than mediocrity.

you didn't stand up for yourself under any circumstance, letting the bullying be done, letting the food fall to your hair and letting your material things suffer further damage because of their hatred towards districts- towards you. no one was able to help you. no one wanted to help you. and even if they did, you didn't want to bother anyone.

it was humiliating.

"gosh, finally coriolanus noticed what a waste of time it is to be around you," a girl said, accompanied by whoever was by her side. you didn't bother looking up, seeing their faces and the way they looked at you was humiliating.

"c'mon now, don't be quiet just because we spoke the truth." she said, poking your head with her index finger. you closed your eyes shut. this corridor always seemed to happen something that would hurt you?

"hey," his voice. it was his, and you almost looked up to see him, to see him in this stupid uniform, in this stupid hair of his, those stupid expressions of him. "leave her alone."

"coryo-" the girl said, looking up behind you.

"don't call me coryo. i never allowed you to. leave her alone." he said again, and the girl flinched a bit, but she left after giving you a last stare.

"you were lucky, he's just taking pity on you."

"leave!" he growled, putting you behind his back and watching the girls go away.

there was an awkward silence between both of you, and then, when he began to spoke, you interrupted him.

"thank you," you said. "but you don't need to pretend anymore."

"what? y/n, i-"

"-i hear what you said." you interrupted again. "i'm a leech. i don't want to be a leech to you. not to you."

"y/n."

"i thought you liked me." you said, your voice hitched by how much you wanted to cry. to come undone.

"i do like you."

"no. you don't. if you did you wouldn't say those things. if you did, you wouldn't call me a leech. you don't like me."

"i lied"

"i know you did. that's all you do. you lie about a lot of things, i just didn't think you would lie about me too."

"i'm sorry, i was wrong. i don't know why i said that but please- forgive me."

you cried. finally, after so many days crying only to the warmth of your room, you cried freely at the sight of him, at the sound of his words.

"you're so stupid," you sobbed

"i know. i am." he hugged you, arms surrounding your shoulders as you cried on him. "i like you, y/n. i really do."

"you're gonna have to proof that."

" i will."

and he did. coming to the class with his hand on yours, sitting by your side, letting others know that he liked you, that he would protect you. that he loved you.

it wasn't a surprise to others when you began to date. it was a surprise to you.

but finally, the misunderstood was over. and just like that he was head over heels to you.

[monstersandmaw]

Do you think a dragon riders clothing should be realistic in writing? This is something that came up with friends, and i got curious on a writer perspective since i am not one. I have a masters on filmography and a tesis on the world history of fantasy movies/series BUT i do not understand much of writing. The duality came from this: some of the friends said it should be realistic, comparing it to bikers gears. It should protect the rider. And some said that it depends on the fantasy setting of the world the rider is in. If he can use magic as protection instead and so on. For me, in movies and series, it all depends on something called suspencion of disbelief. If you are able to make the watcher think "well, it makes sense" or not question the outfit AT ALL, then you can make the rider wear a bikini and it doesn't matter. But my other friends said it was different for writing (they are also not writers) and this has been BUGGING ME because i have no idea if it really is different. So i decided to ask directly to some of my favourite fantasy writers.

Love this! As a biker myself, I come down on the side of 'comfortable/flexible but offers the max amount of protection for that'.

I think it should mostly be wind/element proof, because I feel like that's probably the dragon rider's greatest danger, providing that they're strapped into their saddle (I'm convinced riders would require some kind of equipment to allow them to do the most daring manoeuvres). If there's magic the rider can access to prevent falling or to throw up a shield against aerial attack, then that's fine.

I haven't seen House of the Dragon, but from this image, Aemond seems to have a high necked top/jacket, gloves (essential because holy crap wind chill is a thing), and some nice tack (saddle with handles and equipment?!) to hold onto and keep him in place. He loses points for all that loose, long hair though (see below). You'd definitely want to have some kind of goggles/eye-protection because your eyes are gonna be watering like hell, and if you happen to encounter a fly or insect at a Mach Dragon, it's gonna hurt.

Like horse-riding gear (jodhpurs, (English) chaps etc.) it could also be designed not just for comfort and flexibility, but also for grip and a secure hold with your leggies. Slight heel on the boots if there are stirrups on the saddle to prevent the boot from sliding too far through, fleece lined for warmth in the cold air.

Again, as a biker with long hair, I think it's safe to say that if the rider has long hair, they're gonna want to plait it, or wrap it with something like a balaclava because brushing that tangle out is a NIGHTMARE after even a short ride/flight XD.

In general, I tend to come down on your side of thinking though. If it works in the world and (like all armour or PPE shall we say) if it looks comfortable and easy to move in, then I'll buy it, no matter the medium (film/tv/writing)

Finally, I can say that leathers in themselves are not warm. You need layers.

Folks, add your thoughts in the notes/reblogs!

[donutz]

Dogday x reader fluff alphabet[2/8]

—☆You are a smiling critter in this, if u want to know which one(but don't know what animal or insect to pick) you could start out as a sheep!

Affection(How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

— VERY. One hug per day keeps the sadness away, he says.

— A hug, a kiss, hand holding, pats, scratches, laying on each other, slight brushes against each other, anything that has to do with touch he will love ^_^

— Loves showing any kind of affection, as long as you like it, he’ll do it

— His long language is definitely physical touch

— Plus he’s a dog! Dog’s love touch, most of the time!

Best friend(How would they be as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)

— THE BEST FRIEND.

— He would cheer you up on your worst days!

— But if he can’t, he would try to communicate with you verbally or not

— “You don’t wanna talk?”

— You nod

— “That’s okay. Do you mean like speak out or..?”

— You nod

— “Oh ok! Uh, would it be okay if you talked on paper or do you just wanna be left alone?”

— And then it would go from there

— It would start with him talking to you first!

— He’d try to interact with you in many ways

— Wanna help with the kids? You wanna carry these boxes? Put away the toys? Anything to include you in it!

Cuddles(Do they cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

— Cuddle master

— Almost always cuddling, or some type of touch

— Especially if you're sad

— When you both are sleeping, you guys are always right next to each other

— If there are times that you don't want to, that's fine!

— But if it goes on for long he'll get a little sad :(

— And then he becomes touch starved

Domestic(Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

— Dogday doesn't mind settling down, but he really likes playing around

— Like going ‘outside’

— He's wanted to see the outside for a long time.

— I'd think he'd be really good at cooking!

— Baking, not so much

— He's so quick with cleaning, I swear he can mop the floor of a mansion in 5 minutes 

— He also loves cleaning!!

Ending(If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

— Uhhhh

— Uhhhhhhh😅😅

— 100% wouldn't do it himself

— It has to be for a really good reason

— His ears would be down, tail sunk to the floor, and have the saddest look on his face

— “... Angel, I need space.”

— And then he speeds away

Fiance(How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

— Idk about commitment..

— I have no idea what Dogday's age is

— But if he's minor, like I said for the Catnap fluff alphabet, in the kiddy way, he wouldn't mind what time you'd want to get ‘married

— It's up to you!

Gentle(How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

— He's very gentle!

— Very extroverted, but gentle

— When it comes to giving hugs, he squeezes but never too hard!

— He is also very gentle when it comes to emotions

— You're sad? He'll listen or be with you, you're angry? He'd listen too! If you want, you just wanna be mad at him? That's fine! He'll only take action if you start hurting him or people(or toys)

Hugs(Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)

— Y'all already KNOW!!!

— Hugs, at least one per day

— They are sooo comforting, especially since he has his vanilla scent

— Whenever you hug him first, he gets SOOO HAPPY.

— Tail wagging, widest smile, he's loving every second of it

I love you(How fast do they say the L-word?)

— “I love you Angel!” Out of nowhere

— It catches you off guard, a lot

— One time all the critters were playing truth or dare

— And KickinChicken said, “Dogday! I dare you to say I love you to our lovely sheep!!”

— “I LOVE YOU.”

— Everybody went silent and then Dogday started up the game again

Jealousy(How jealous do they get? What do they do when they're jealous?)

— He rarely gets jealous, it's barely ever happens

— The only way he could if someone's getting WAYYY too touchy

— “Hello! Could you give us a sec?”

— Then he takes you and goes wherever that's not near the person

Kisses(What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

— Very loving and lovely

— You can tell he puts so much love into his kisses

— He likes kissing you on the forehead and cheek

— He tells(asks) you to close your eyes when he gives you forehead kisses

— He doesn't want you to be terrified at the darkness you'll see

— Would love receiving kisses anywhere

— Secretly would love getting kisses on his ears

Little ones(How are they around children?)

— Not in the making kids way, by the way I'm going to make fluff alphabets of all the critters

— And for the little ones section it will never be about having kids with the critters

— But as he does, taking care of the orphans, he is fantastic at taking care of them!

— He’s the one to cheer them up! The one who’d play games with them! The one who’d give them bandaids whenever they got hurt!

— 10/10 babysitter

Morning(How are mornings spent with them?)

— “Good morning Angel!”

— Every day.

— He usually asks if you slept well or if you had any dreams, or (hopefully not) nightmares

Night(How are nights spent with them?)

— Absolute cuddle bug

— If someone were to see you two he’d get pretty embarrassed

— If you’re not sleeping on top of each other, you’re holding hands at least

— He also says, “Goodnight Angel! Have sweet dreams!”

— And yes, it’s every time you two have to go to bed

Open(When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

— He would, only if you asked him to

— Sometimes he brings up personal stuff without realizing it

— Then he goes, “Anyways!” or, “Nevermind!”

— It’s really concerning

— He’d reveal things slowly but surely

— He’d be really nervous talking about it though

Patience(How easily angered are they?)

— He barely gets angry at you!

— Most likely will never get mad at you

— He has never gotten mad at you.

— He will never get mad at you ^_^

Quizzes(How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

— Remembers almost everything

— Sometimes he can forget

— But he always remembers the important things(in his words)

— He does remember the smaller details too!

— But he sometimes forgets

— He makes notes just in case so he doesn’t forget

Remember(What is their favorite moment in the relationship?)

— His favorite moment was when you gave him a big hug after he got his legs back

Security(How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

— He isn’t scary protective but he can be protective

— Like hero protective

— “Don’t worry Angel! I got this!” head ahh

— He’d protect you in any way he could! But if it gets physical he tries to calm down the situation

— He’d use his body and hold his arms out, like how a little kid does it when protecting their friend or something

Try(How much efforts would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

— Too much effort

— Jk jk!!

— He puts in as much effort as he can

— ‘Dates’ go however you want them to go!

— It’s your choice! Unless you really can’t or don’t want to then he’ll do it himself! No worries!

— “It’s our anniversary!”

— “:O”

— “I know right?! I’m so happy!”

— Puts so much effort and love into his gifts, it’s usually your favorite things

— On Valentines day he gave you a box of chocolates

— Obviously, he’d put a lot of effort into everyday tasks

Ugly(What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

— Honestly it depends on how you think, because if you find it annoying when someones happy all the time, or you can tell when someone is trying to constantly trying to cheer you up and you find it annoying then yeah

— It’s not an ugly habit but it depends on how you think

Vanity(How concerned are they with their looks?)

— I do not give one fuck, two fuck, red fuck, blue fuck, yellow fuck ^_^

Whole(Would they feel incomplete without you?)

— Yes.

Xtra(A random headcanon for them.)

— Whenever he sees you he gets very happy

— His tail starts wagging and his eyes light up

Yuck(What are some things they wouldn't like, either in general or in a partner?)

— Nothing! He loves you!

— As long as you’re not truly negative, as in you mean what you say if you insult him or something

Zzz(What is a sleep habit of there's?)

— Probably snores, very loud, every time.

— But you always wake up with him on you or right next to you so I guess that defeats his snoring

[hyacinthdoll1315]

3.5 Months of Moth HRT

So, um, hi again! Not much has changed since last time but well, feel like I should be updating this more. a few things have changed. My eyesight is a bit fuzzier now. not enough to need glasses at least! but stuff that's really far away has gotten more, smudged I guess?

I called the doc about it since I was worried about having another eye infection (eww) but apparently, it's not too uncommon to occur by this point, something about the eyes beginning to split? I wasn't able to pay attention to much of it (been so scatterbrained(maybe some more tea will help?) but I did some looking into insect eyes and it seems to be the case? something about less resolution.

my sense of smells really strong now, and I'm starting to find it affecting my emotions. like, you know how ants have this smell they leave when foraging? it, kind of makes me hungry now. not that I've been sticking around ants much! I'm a moth through and through thank you very much! (paperyum)

the biggest thing I think is my skin? I'm not quite sure but it kind of feels, tight? and it's been drying out easier. like, wearing a suit that's too small. not sure what that's about, but at least my setae is still growing!

Well, silver lining I guess.

look, that's, not why I decided to write this though, I just. I feel used, in a way. and I need to write it.

So, about a week ago I went to hang out with my friends again. they've been nice and as cool as always, but, I don't know, there's this kind of, disconnect? like, Only Alice (Tea friend!) has really tried to understand while the others have kind of just acted like nothing changed and teased me a bit as normal. I guess it's just ribbing, but, I don't know, I've never really agreed with it.

but uh, we went to the mall, which was kind of nice, the others wanted to watch a movie and go to the arcade, and it was kind of fun? though a little overstimulating (too loud and the movie was boring) I kept getting weird looks the whole time though, and I just. why? they kept looking at me like, I was strange, which I sort of get, but some seemed creeped out, others disgusted.

I used to be pretty oblivious (I admit, I am kind of naive) but now I just, I couldn't stop seeing it. Even when we went to get food, there was this look in people's eyes like I was, wrong. I even heard someone call me a "freak of nature", though maybe they were talking to someone else? (no, it was about me, definitely).

I tried telling the others I wanted to go somewhere else but they just kept saying it was fine and we could go do something else first. I didn't even get to go to my favorite teashop out of fear of losing the group!

Eventually, we stopped at this ramen place and I remember we were mostly joking around a bit. I was having my salad (meat tastes a bit weird now), I don't remember it all. I think someone said something and I felt hurt, said something like, "I can't help it", I think it was about having to be a vegetarian, and I remember one of my friends just, poked the top of my head and laughed at me, something like "well duh, a moth like you doesn't eat much. don't worry about it, just follow the lights." or, something like that I just.

I felt sick. I quickly got up to the bathroom and I think I heard Alice chastising them but I don't remember. I just, needed space. The whole lamp thing is so annoying! like, everyone acts like moths always move toward light when there's so much more going on there! humans may not know how it all works, but it's definitely not just what people think it is, like some infatuation with it!

After that, I just wanted out. the others acted like nothing happened, but, I don't think I can keep hanging around with them anymore. like, they're my friends, you know? they should be there to help! and they do, or at least Alice does. the others just tend to joke around and be silly.

so yeah, that's what happened. they've tried contacting me with stuff like "Hey Emily, we didn't mean anything by it" "We were just joking, Em", or just "Hey Emily, you coming for our next dnd session?" I think I'm going to stop talking to them, just reduce contact, say I'm busy with other stuff, anything to stay out of, that, again.

I haven't gone out in a bit, just been getting my groceries, got my tea, and been trying to relax. I just hope I can find people who can better understand.

Previous | Next

[idyllic-affections]

What if hashira reader gets hurt on a mission and when they come back, muichiro finds out? (İ love angst to comfort)

what if hashira!reader was hurt on a mission?

summary. muichiro has kept track of the days with impressive precision for someone with such poor memory. he knew for a fact that it had been far longer than usual. his mentor was gone for much longer than usual.

trigger & content warnings. non-graphic depictions of injury, crying.

tropes, pairings, fic length, & other notes. hurt/comfort. muichiro tokito & hashira mentor!reader. 0.8k words. they/them pronouns for reader.

author's thoughts. this post is an expansion of out of all the clouds in the sky, you are my favorite. DELICIOUS. thank you for the idea anon <33 me too. i love hurt/comfort, it is one of my favorite tropes tbh. so i made this a little angstier than what you mightve meant and made it so that its implied that [name] had an encounter with an upper moon (in my mind, it was upper moon one/kokushibo) bc i am silly like that

it's been two weeks.

muichiro has kept track of the days with impressive precision for someone with such poor memory. he knew for a fact that it had been far longer than usual. his mentor was gone for much longer than usual. worst of all, he's heard nothing from them. they've replied to not one of his letters. it was as if none of the letters ever arrived to them, as if the messenger crows could not find them. half a month was a very long time to not have the well-beloved cloud hashira around. it was a long time to not hear anything from or about them.

in that time, he's been on a variety of missions himself, all of which were concluded within a day or two.

it's when muichiro is coming back from his last mission within the two week period that he finally gets some kind of news regarding his mentor's whereabouts. the news comes in the form of his crow.

"tokito-sama," his crow caws, batting her ridiculously long eyelashes as she settles on his shoulder, "[surname]-sama has been found and has been escorted back to the butterfly estate."

his heart stutters in his chest at her ambiguous statement. that told him nothing. what he needed to know was if they were breathing or not; either way, he'd be at their side in an instant. he would much prefer the former, though.

"...are they alive?"

"yes, but—"

that's all the confirmation he needs to speed off in the direction of the butterfly estate.

muichiro gets to shinobu's estate within the hour, his crow having long since abandoned him out of fear of getting blown away from the speeds at which he was running. the insect hashira is gentle when she tells him that the cloud hashira is unconscious. she's even gentler when she describes the severity of their gashes and cuts to him.

"they've lost a lot of blood," she had said. "there is... unfortunately, no way to know if they will pull through or not. only time will tell."

muichiro sits at their bedside for days.

surprisingly, he hasn't been called away for a mission. he wonders if oyakata-sama knew that he'd be rendered so... helpless by his mentor's injury. would they scold him if they were awake? probably. he should be out on the field, but he is not. in his defense, oyakata-sama has not assigned him anything. he'd most likely be able to function if he had to, and yet... he hasn't needed to. oyakata-sama has not forced him to do so.

muichiro sits at their bedside for what feels like an eternity, absentmindedly watching the slow rising and falling of their chest. as such, he's there when they begin to stir.

he nervously clasps one of their hands between his, leaning over their body and quietly calling their name. they stir even more, eyelids twitching. he calls out to them again.

relief rolls over him in waves when they open their eyes.

"hehe..." they laugh hoarsely, tired eyes crinkling with fondness. he feels their fingers shake slightly in his hands, and suddenly they're holding one of his hands back, giving it a weak squeeze. "hi, mui-kun."

"who did this?"

"wh— what?"

"who did this?"

their breath catches in their throat. they're taken aback by the sheer rage burning in his eyes; it's as if he's been blessed with a brief moment of clarity from the never-ending haze in his mind. they're hardly even awake yet, but they can see his fury clear as day.

then, their expression hardens slightly.

"i will not tell you."

he looks betrayed, like a kicked puppy. they almost falter.

"[surname]-sama... please, i—"

"no." they remain firm nonetheless. the sheer authority in their tone triggers a heavy wave of nostalgia to wash over him, though he cannot quite explain why. who was the last person to be so hard on him..? he can't recall. "this conversation ends here. you will not ask me again. do you understand?"

"i..." he trails off. his throat tightens. "why?"

"because you'll get yourself killed if i tell you." he goes quiet. then, they gingerly reach up to his face, tenderly brushing their knuckles across his cheekbone. the moment of firmness is gone in an instant, and their eyes are soft again. "i have to be hard on you. you won't listen otherwise. you understand, don't you? you're a stubborn one. you don't listen if someone isn't firm."

his mentor's soft touch snaps him out of the daze he was in. it's then that he realizes he had been crying.

"shh... it's alright. don't cry. come here."

their arms open for him. he gladly accepts their invitation, cautiously kneeling down and laying his head on their chest. to properly hug them would be forcing them to sit up; he doesn't want to disturb them anymore than he already has. they've just woken up and they're already having to console him.

a visceral sob tears from his throat. his shoulders shake.

how humiliating.

their hands smooth over his hair with such love and care that it overwhelms him.

"it's okay, mui-kun," they murmur kindly. "i'm okay."

please consider reblogging, it helps me out quite a lot!

[flatoutin-eaurouge]

Boy scout

Pairing: Mika Häkkinen x Michael Schumacher

@schumi-honey and I were in such a Makkinen mood 🥰. Michael gets hurt as he and Mika run for their lives 😭😭. Mika to the rescue.

Michael watched him as he crouched down to look at a beetle. He sat down on his knees in the mud and put his finger in front of the little creature, hoping that it would climb his hand. Hiking really brought out the nerd in Mika. Michael thought it was adorable.

His Finnish rival had always had an interest in unconventional animals. Sure, he loved cats and dogs, but he also loved turtles, frogs, stick-insects and bugs. It was a good thing Keke kept an eye on him every once in awhile, because otherwise Mika's apartment would probably be a zoo.

"Look Michael, It's a stag-beetle!"

Mika walked up too him with the big bug in his hands and almost pressed it in Michael's face, making the German recoil.

"Yeah nice, Mika. I could see it pretty clearly when it was still on the ground."

The Finn grinned. He put the bug back on the ground, then smelled his fingers. "Yeah." He pulled a face. "The downside of holding one... it excretes a smell when it feels threathened. Now my hand smells like..." He thought for a moment. "... like particularly strong ivy."

"That's very... specific. Why do you know so well what ivy smells like?"

"Have you never smelled it?"

"What do you mean? Stick my head in plants to find out what they smell like?"

"I was a boy scout when I was a kid."

Michael gaped at him. Of course he was a boy scout during his youth. That man could sell cookies to anyone. "You still are, so it seems."

Michael loved the nerd-talk. With Mika he never really talked about the far future... about life after Formula One... about whether they wanted to have kids at some point... about what kind of insurances they should take out... It was always about the matter at hand. And if it meant they were talking about bugs and plants, then so be it.

Mika wiped his hands on his pants and smirked at Michael. The German was very dear to him. He had no idea how it turned out that way, because a few years ago, during their F3 days, he was very supicious of him. Could he call him a friend right now? Was it possible to be friends with a rival? Friends were people from school, from your childhood. People you played with at the playground... he hoped he could call Michael a true friend...

"You know... I bet you were a boy scout too."

Michael quirked an eyebrow at the Finn. "Nonsense! What makes you think that?"

Mika pointed at his clothes and smirked. "Your very professional gear. You're an outdoor type. Tell me, were you a boy scout in the past or are you affirming the German stereotype?"

Michael stuck his tongue out at his rival and poked his ribs. "Brat!"

Mika jumped away from him, rubbing over his ribs. "Hey! Don't do that. They're sensitive!"

"Oh, are they?" A mischievous grin crept up on Michael's face. He took a leap towards the Finn and grabbed him by the waist with one hand. His other hand poked his rival's ribs repeatedly, making Mika squirm and blush.

"Michael! Don't," he yelped.

Michael felt a swarm of butterflies invade his stomach. The sudden feeling made him blush so deeply that he was afraid his rival would notice. He immediately let go off Mika, unsure of what to "make" of this feeling. He created a distance between them, staring at the Finn as his heart bounced in his chest.

Mika swiped his golden locks from his eyes. His face was equally as red as Michael's. He stared at the mossy ground, trying to hide the blush on his cheeks. Michael's touch was burning on both sides of his ribcage. He tried to ignore his feelings, his eyes scanning the ground for little creatures that could distract him. Frogs, bugs, salamanders... everything would do...

Michael noticed how Mika had become silent. A sudden gust of wind blew his blonde hair in all kinds of directions. The Finn's hand shot out in instinct to smoothen the luscious locks back in position and to hold the fluff down with a disgruntled frown on his face. "Why is it so windy all of a sudden?"

Michael looked up at the sky where dark clouds had gathered above their heads. The pine trees surrounding them whistled in the wind. Branches creaked. Silent rain drops fell down on them.

Mika followed Michael's line of sight and wrapped his arms around his body. "That's not good. How far up are we?"

Michael took a glance at his GPS. He knew how quickly the weather could change in the mountains. He knew how quickly the temperatures could drop up here. "Not sure. I think we've been walking for three hours... that's really not good."

"Didn't you check the weather forecast?" Mika asked him, pulling his collar up.

Michael scowled at him. Why did his rival always expect everything was arranged and scheduled around him. Why was he so immature?

"Mika, why didn't you check the weather forecast yourself?! I'm the one wearing responsible gear. I'm the one operating the GPS... what did you do all day? Look for wurms?"

The Finn stared at him in confusion. He seemed a little gobsmacked by the sudden reprimand.

Seriously, had no one ever told him the truth about his naiveity? Were people afraid that the truth would make him cry? Of course they did. Mika had always been quick to tears. "I mean... What kind of boy scout are you?"

There it was... the pout... the quivering lips. Mika quickly grabbed his backpack and conjured up a coat. "I brought a coat. I have responsible gear too."

Michael shook his head. "Wow, is that the least you could think of?"

Mika stared at the ground. His shoulders slumped in embarassment as he crumpled his thin softshell coat in his fist. "I'm sorry, Michael. I... I..."

He was interupted by a loud thunderclap, and quite soon after, by a bolt of lightning that painfully slowly branched out in the dark sky. They both flinched and looked up with big terrified eyes.

"Jumalauta!"

"Mika, come here." Michael grabbed his rival by the arm. "Ssshh, It's okay. No need to apologize. I just think you have to be aware of these kind of things... for your own good. What would happen if you were here on your own?"

Mika shrugged. "The same. It's not like you checked the weather forecast either. So either way, I would end up lost in the mountains with a thunderstorm coming my way."

Now it was Michael's turn to be gobsmacked by the Finn's comment. Mika was... right. He had been irresponsible as well.

As nature's rumble echoed through the sky, they were both quite oblivious to the fact that they were holding each other as they counted the distance from the thunderstorm to their location.

"33... 34... 35... 36... shit it's getting closer."

Mika opened his backpack, rummaged through it and grabbed his carabiners. He then – not too gently – pushed Michael to get him to turn around and unzipped his backpack.

The Finn grabbed Michael's metal drinking bottle and proceeded to throw his carabiners and Michael's drinking bottle in the chasm near them.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" Michael exclaimed, grabbing the Finn by his sweater and shaking him.

Mika yanked his sleeve from Michael's grip. "Metal objects conduct lightning as they have low resistance."

"So what?"

"It hightens the chance you get electrocuted." Mika replied as he threw Michael a contemptous look. "Yup, that's the boy scout speaking. You might need him today."

Michael had never thought Mika was able to throw shade at him. Most of the time he was very kind and innocent. But witnessing the friendly boy snap at him was a whole new experience.

"Mika, can we please put this little dispute of ours to rest and get ourselves to safety?"

Mika shrugged. He looked into Michael's emerald eyes and smiled. "Sure. It's not a good moment now, eh?"

They made quick work of putting on their coats and backpacks, before they started the quick hike down.

Above their heads the thunderstorm was increasing in intensity. 29... 30... 31... 32... the lightning was nearing 'striking-distance'.

Their feet padded quickly down the mossy and slippery path as the pine trees were creaking and the spruces were bending like twigs in the heavy wind. Nature was coming for them.

"Mika, I'm scared!" Michael had hidden his fears for way too long. He was truly scared of getting lost, of getting hypothermia and dying in the mountains with his favourite rival.

"Michael, It's okay! I'm scared too! But the chance we get electroduced is very small."

Michael felt how Mika put an arm around his shoulders as they ran down the path, staring at the rocks beneath their feet with maximum concentration. The gesture warmed his heart. He was glad he was with Mika. He couldn't think of anyone else he'd rather want to run for his life with.

When the rain started to become heavier it was only a matter of minutes before one of them would slip and injure themselves.

Counting down in his head, Michael had to divide his concentration on both the nearing thunderstorm and his footwork. It went well for five minutes until Michael tripped and fell on the rocky surface below him.

An agonizing scream emitted from his throat as he fell on his knee, probably tearing off a ligament.

"Micheal!" Mika shouted as he ran towards the floored German. "Michael, are you okay?" The Finn felt his heart bang against his sternum. "Michael?"

He crouched down to flip Michael over and saw him cry. Eyes squeezed shut in pain and tears rolling down his cheeks. Mika's eyes traveled down to Michael's knee where he saw his torn jeans and the blood trinkling from a nasty wound.

"Shit, Michael. Don't cry. I'm going to help you." Mika stood up and looked around with his hands in his hair. "Vittu!"

As if on cue, it started to rain harder and the thunderclaps started to become louder.

"Mika!" Michael was sobbing loudly and shaking like a wet kitten. "It hurts so badly and I'm so scared! I can't walk!"

"Ssshh, I will find us shelter." He crouched down and placed his hands in Michael's armpits, hoisting him up.

"Mika, ouch! That hurts!"

"I know and I'm sorry. Lean on me."

Michael could barely hear the Finn over the sound of the raging storm. He was no help to Mika, who awkwardly tried to  mandhande him to rest against his side.

"I wonder if I can carry you. I've never carried a grown man."

The Finn's arms enveloped the German in a warm embrace as he tried to lift Michael up. His face turned red as he put all his strength into lifting the German. He only just managed to keep Michael against his chest and staggered on his feet under the weight of his rival. "Wow, you're heavy!"

"Are you calling me fat?"

"No, of course not. I'm calling you heavy, as in grown-man-heavy."

Mika held Michael against his chest as if he was the most precious thing in the world, softly tracing his thumb over Michael's arm. He very carefully took his steps down the path in order not to jostle the German too much. "You okay, Michael?"

Michael stared at the blonde boy as if he was an actual guardian angel helping him,  protecting him. The tenderness, the sweetness... it made him cry even more. He nodded despite his tears. "More so than a few seconds ago."

Mika smiled his lopsided smile and almost jumped in excitement when he noticed something that resembled the outline of a cave. Well, it looked more like a deeply eroded ridge. It was good news, since he felt Michael slowly slipping from his grip.

He hurried to the ridge as carefully and as safely as he could holding 140 pounds of German in his arms. "Michael, we will be safe and warm and I'm going to make us a campfire."

Arriving at the small cave, Mika felt Michael slipping down his arms more and more. To provide the German with a soft landing, he dropped to his own knees to take the hit for him. He gently pushed Michael against the stone wall and sat down next to him to catch his breath.

Michael made himself smaller and curled himself up into a tighter ball, pressing his back firmly against Mika.

"How is the pain Michael?" Mika carded a hand through Michael's light brown curls, noticing the German's watery emerald eyes.

"Mika, it hurts so badly! I think I've torn a ligament." Tears streamed down his cheeks uncontrolably. "What if nobody finds us?"

"Ssshh, Michael." Mika cradled his face in his hands and gently wiped the rain and tears off his face with the sleeve of his sweater. "Ron will do everything to get me back." He grinned. "He starts panicking right away when I don't answer his calls. You know... he thinks I'm immature too."

Michael lifted his hand and stroked Mika's cheek with the back of his hand. "Not immature, just a little naive. Which is a good value... it makes you enjoy life more... I think."

Mika grabbed Michael's hand from where it was resting against his cheek and folded it between his own warmer hands. "Gosh, you're cold. I do need to make a campfire."

He got up and walked away, back into the rain and storm.

"Mika, twigs and branches won't work! It's too wet!" Michael yelled after him. He just wanted Mika to get back so he could cuddle up against him. "Come back. It's to no avail."

But Mika didn't come back. He wandered towards the pine trees with determination in his eyes. Michael shook his head. "Seriously, Mika?"

After five minutes Mika came back. He stared at Michael knowingly as if he had something up his sleeve. "I heard you, you know. I'm not dumb." He opened his coat and a stack of dry bark fell from it. "It's dry and the resin inside is perfect for fire."

Michael was truly impressed, but he was in too much pain to show it. He watched as Mika retrived a matchbox from his backpack. Within a few seconds they had a fire.

"I know what you're thinking..." Mika grinned smugly "...all this, but you didn't check the weather forecast?" His grin quickly turned into a grimace when he noticed Michael's pained frown. His eyes were red and puffy, his breaths sounded hoarse and shallow.

Poor thing. He had never really seen Michael so out of it. The German was usually the one comforting him.

"Come here." He scooted closer to his rival and pulled him against his side. Together they listened to the thunderclaps and the raindrops cascading down the rocks. Mika placed his hand on Michael's sweat-matted brow. "Should I take a look at your knee?"

Michael huddled even closer, leaning into the touch and pressing his face in the crook of Mika's neck. He nodded. "Please. It hurts so much." His words were muffled against the Finn's skin.

"Okay." Mika stood up and carefully tore the damaged jeans further open to look at the bloodied knee. His fingers reached down to gently palpate the wound.

"Ouch, Mika! Be gentle!" Michael whined.

"I am! I am! ...I try!" Mika gently patted Michael's thigh in an attempt to sooth him. "I don't know what to do! It doesn't really need to get sutured." The Finn's face showed signs of his own little panic attack. When Mika was in panic he often started rambling - thinking out loud. "Maybe I need to bandage it? Or maybe I need to stabilize your leg?"

He took off his coat and made a little nest for Michael's knee, carefully guiding Michael's leg to rest on top of the soft material. He then took a handkerchief from his backpack and started dabbing the wound.

"No, Mika!" Michael whimpered.

"Ssshh, it's okay. It's okay... just cleaning it a little." He reached out his hand to wipe the tears off Michael's cheeks and threw him a rueful smile. "It's okay. I made a fire and I brought chocolate chip cookies with me. We will wait for Ron. He has developed a seventh sense for when I get into trouble."

Michael found it in himself to chuckle at that. The complete trust Mika had in his team boss. He watched as the Finn grabbed the bag of cookies and opened it. He sobbed in relief as tears managed to escape and stream their way down his face. He was getting hungry and the smell of chocolate was a very welcome suprise.

Mika sat down closer to him and guided Michael's head to rest on his shoulder. Together they watched the forces of nature rage on.

"Mika, I'm sorry for calling you immature. I had no idea you had so much stuff in that backpack!"

Mika chuckled, his smile lighting up his handsome face. "All good. I get that a lot. You need to focus on getting your leg better before the start of next season."

[allwormdiet]

Buzz 7.8

Nazi capes fuck off, like fucking for real

Honestly even if Kaiser deigned to tell his people that the Undersiders weren't responsible, somehow I doubt any Empire member would be inclined to treat them with much respect.

Yeah, see, this isn't about the leaks for Hookwolf. This is about the fucking beef over the dog fights.

Not a genius move from the driver, honestly. If you really want to put bullets in the villains that have good defensive capabilities, the last thing you want to do is give up the element of surprise. Stormtiger may not have been able to deflect those shots if he didn't have enough time to react.

Also, does Cricket wield kama? Like, the fucking Japanese farming tool? Are you allowed to join the Empire if you're a blatant weeaboo?

This is a really bad matchup honestly, it's tense to see how close they get to death with these fuckers

Disturbingly evocative and sadistic, but what else is to be expected from fucking Nazis, right

Clever guy

Fuck yeah, environmental takedown

Grue is fucking hardcore. Two shots to Stormtiger's legs and not even bothering to acknowledge Cricket's hostage. Dude does not fuck around when it comes to Empire, the only restraint here is that he's not killing them outright but honestly I wouldn't feel bad if he did. Just dump their bodies into the water, bing bang boom.

Well, okay, I guess Hookwolf would still be a problem, wouldn't he

This Cricket gal is bullshit honestly

So, yeah, now that we've gotten all three of the Empire capes to show their powers, I'll go ahead and say that this fight was stacked against Skitter and Grue from the jump. Hookwolf can't be fought hand-to-hand without being shredded to pieces and insects can't do much about metal flesh. Stormtiger can get bugs off himself no problem and can blast away Grue's darkness. Cricket, meanwhile, has some kinda sonic blast that lets her navigate Grue's darkness and also incapacitate Skitter's bugs.

The fact that they get out of this fight alive is a testament to remarkable intelligence and grit on their part.

This is a brutal slugfest honestly, although the fucking Nazi deserves every second of pain she's getting from it.

It's a little funny that they're having this conversation in front of Cricket. Like "oh yeah it looks bad but she's too busy being a sadist to do any real damage," "oh that sucks ass of her but I'm glad you're not too hurt" and she's laying there with a chunk of thigh missing. She should be embarrassed enough to leave town forever.

Yeah Cricket's busted, but good news is she's taken care of

It's a little funny that they're both stuck stitching each other back up after Brian cut off any romantic options. Like I've seen a lot of works where patching up someone's wounds and putting them back together would have a kind of bloodsoaked intimacy to it, but not here lmao

Also yeah you'd better appreciate Tattletale

These little punks. Love em to bits.

Okay so real quick, noticing Taylor's description of how Regent is talking, and I wonder how grounded Alec is as a baseline. Like I have to imagine that the Heartbreaker Experience doesn't do a whole lot of wonders for learning how to connect to the world around you. Is it an affectation like I've been speculating, or is that just the best he's got for engaging with reality?

I wish going straight for Purity meant killing her, but even without reading the rest of this arc I know the Undersiders don't have that kind of firepower. I can dream, though.

Teehee, parallels

Current Thoughts

I wish Grue managed to kill all three of the Empire capes but I get why he couldn't. I'll just have to hope they all die later.

Awesome that they managed to get the win over those bastards in the first place though, I don't think this is my favorite fight in terms of the beat-by-beat action but in terms of how they have to overcome the disadvantage of enemy powers it feels the best.

[enby-jellyfish]

Appreciating the Little Things

Loki x GN!Reader (POC friendly)

Pronouns: You/Your, They/Them

Summary: In an easier time, decades before his brother was cast out to Midgard, Loki was in love. The subject of his affection has an eye for the littler things, like bugs. The adolescent prince does not understand their fascination.

Warnings: Bugs, fluff, Loki and Reader being cringey teenagers, bad writing (I am cringe but I am free)

Word Count: 656

A/N: This is my first fic ever! Loki was the first character I ever read a fanfiction about, so I felt it only right that he be the first I write about. English is not my first language, so please be kind.

It is a beautiful spring morning. You can feel the sun softly caressing your skin, hear the birds singing their songs of love to each other, and admire all the beautiful blooming flowers of the palace gardens.

The perfect day to go bug hunting.

Your life has been very busy as of late. This has mainly been due to your betrothal to the infamous second born prince. The choosing of fabrics, foods and flowers has been very draining. Planning a royal wedding is a lot more work than you were anticipating, so you could really use a small break before getting back to your duties.

As you sit in the grass, amongst the wildflowers, looking for the small subjects of your interest, your brooding betrothed, who usually spends his time somewhere dark and quiet with a book in hand, has also made the decision to come outside.

Loki enters the palace gardens. He looks around and sees you sitting hunched over in the grass.

"Did they drop something? Are they hurt?" He thought whilst walking over.

"What are you doing?" He asks, making you jump.

"Oh, Loki!" You exclaim, trying to compose yourself. "You startled me!"

He suppresses a smile. "My deepest apologies, darling." He says, putting his hand up in mock surrender.

You roll your eyes at him, redirecting your attention back to the beetle you've been attempting to identify.

"What are you doing?" He asks again.

"I'm looking at bugs." You say, not taking your eyes off the task at hand.

"Well, why would you do that?" He puts his hands on his hips.

"Because I like it, it calms my currently restless mind. They're such fascinating little creatures, don't you think?" You say softly, your mind occupied by the insect crawling over your hand.

"Not particularly."

You shoot him an annoyed look and playfully hit his leg.

"Be nice! Here, just look." You gesture to the insect you're cradling in your palm.

"I am!" He attempts to defend himself.

You roll your eyes again, a motion you seem to be doing more and more, the more time you spend with Loki. You pull him down to sit next to you.

You hold your beetle up again, continuing to rant about the intricacies of insects and their importance.

Loki hums noncommittally, looking at you instead of the beetle, admiring the way your eyes light up when you talk.

"A rose chafer."

Confused you stop your ranting and look at him. "What?"

"The beetle you were trying to identify, it is a rose chafer."

You sit up and look at him in disbelief. "Now, how do you know that? A few moments ago you didn't care for bugs."

He sighs, fighting back a smile. He starts picking at the skin of the palm laying in his lap.

"I... I might have found an entomology book in the library. I started studying it after our courtship started."

You grin at him. "Careful my dear prince, if you're not careful I might start thinking my affections for you are reciprocated."

He blushes as you grab his hand and kiss his cheek.

You smile lovingly at each other, a feeling of mutual love and understanding washing over the both of you.

He gently brushes his hand over your cheekbone. "As much as I would love to spend the whole day in the dirt with you darling, we really should get back to the palace." He says, attempting to sound teasingly but not quite succeeding.

You decide not to comment on his sudden softness this time and sigh. "Yes, we probably should. I love your mother, but she would kill the both of us if we were late to the preparations for our own wedding." You say getting up, brushing off your clothes.

Loki smiles at the mention of his mother and gets up as well, offering you his arm.

"I don't doubt that for a second, my love."

Masterlist

Thank you for reading <3

[spectral-snippets-and-drabbles]

Beware the Blob Mafia

Where Danny is younger (12-ish) wants to be an entomologist (Insect Scientist) instead of an astronaut and develops a different core as a result...an Insect core!

Also, I kind of headcanon that Blobs are animal ghosts and Zone-born ghosts while Shades are intelligent Sapient ghosts who crossed over the the Infinite Realms.

~•~ ~•~ ~•~ ~•~ ~•~

• It all started when a blob got caught in the middle of a fight with one of his rouges. The little blob remembered Danny when he released it and a small bundles of them from his parents' traps. Intially, they saw the boy as an unusually powerful newborn predator, so they tended to stay away to avoid being eaten by him up until they realize he was purposely freeing several dozens of them from the bad human scientists with no sinister intent.

- They decide to form a symbiotic relationship with Danny by becoming a loyal swarm in the hopes of staying close to him as protection, as they are lowest on the food chain. The young Halfa has no idea they imprinted on him, he thinks they're just being extra friendly.

Blobidious (as Danny named him) and his group bring refined ambient ectoplasm and human food to their protector to keep both sides of the Halfa nourished. They unintentionally stole from random restaurants, stores, and homes for a little while until Danny catches wind of food going missing from people's houses and has to teach them to not do that. Though, the occasional Nasty Burger wouldn't hurt anyone...a small fee in the shape of a combo meal for keeping Amity Park safe, if you will.

- Thankfully, Sam and Tucker help by having food stuff stashed away in their rooms at their houses for the little battalion to grab for him when he's hungry, as his own home is to dangerous.

• As time passes, Danny's new ghost core slowly evolves to become a living hive/den for blob ghosts to live in where they rest after a day of successfully working on collecting nourishment for their protecter. With the area around his core becoming a small pocket dimension that serves as the main nesting area for them, adorned with a honeycomb pattern over its surface.

- Danny's human body has also evolved to hide the ecto signature of the swarm and himself as a defense mechanism, making the Fenton household defenses unable to detect their ecto signatures, much to his surprise and relief. When he transforms for the first time after his body successfully completes its metamorphosis, he appeared more insect-like in the beginning.

(Think like Devorah from MK series.)

Due to the nature of having a bestial core, he can transform into a large variety of Insect/Human forms and utilize their abilities via his Obsession with bugs. Danny's already insane strength and skill set being amplified by using the powers of the most unique insects on the planet.

• Danny's naturally produced ectoplasm from his body combined with the refined ambient ectoplasm collected by the swarm creates a ghost jelly. As he uses it to revitalize himself for the first time, the effects are almost instant, with wounds healing themselves rapidly and finding himself full of energy that lasts for days with no need for sleeping or eating. Due to the energy crash, he uses it sparingly, which causes an overflow resulting in a leaky core and him puke up the excess amounts.

Not wanting to have it happen again, he lets his swarm have the excess as reward for everything they've been doing for him, completely unaware of the hell he was gonna unleash on everyone with this offering to his little buddies.

~•~ ~•~ ~•~ ~•~ ~•~

• They proceed to evolve rapidly and become much more powerful as a result of eating the jelly. They begin to specialize and diversify their roles to better aid their boss to help him succeed and survive in Amity's ghost-ridden madness. Their symbiosis has resulted in Danny learning a form telepathy only he and the Swarm can communicate with.

From the simple blob ghost, Collectors, Warriors, Hunters, Scouts, and Workers arise to fill new roles. What's more astounding thing is the fact that they aren't just stronger, but have a higher intellect and can think and behave with reason, picking up on Danny's thought process and following his lead.

- Collectors are tasked to seek out ambient ectoplasm and food for the Danny. They also evolved in a way to leech it from hostile ghosts and follow hunters/soldiers to aid in subjugation. They can even drain humans attackers of their stamina and emotions, stripping them of their will to fight and leaving them unable to act.

- Soldiers are responsible for accompanying Danny to fights and following his orders on the field. They are also tasked with protecting the civilians from other ghosts looking to cause harm and evacuate the nearby area. The townsfolk were intially terrified, seeing monstrous ghost bugs, but calmed down knowing that they were Phantom's " pets", ready to defend them all.

- Hunters specialized in stealth, ambush and hit-and-run tactics, purposely venturing out into Amity Park and seek out his rouges in packs and dragging them back after paralyzing the offenders to be souped with a few Collectors in tow to squeeze 'em dry.

- Scouts are the crew that watched over Danny when he sleeps or when he's unable to transform into Phantom at the time, patrolling Amity Park for ghostly activity. If they saw/sensed a nearby ghost, they would emite a pheromone to alert the horde.

- Workers kept their intial blob form and stay inside Danny to be on standby to strengthen his body via nurturing it and repair it from the inside, taking the non-combat role; focusing on healing his wounds and making his body much more durable and healthy by merely being the caretakers of their boss. Thanks to their continued efforts, it increases the space for small pocket dimension to carry things he would need and increase the capacity for the swarm's hive.

His body is at its peak and the definition of perfect health. Perfect sight, hearing, strength with a quick healing factor for a boy young as he!

• Danny was intially surprised when the Swarm first came out of their volition to fight and was worried for them. But after seeing them pull a Cujo and transforming into Insect monsters of various sizes to beat down the unsuspecting victim rouge (Box Ghost), he's relieved that they're safe and he's excited that he's no longer alone in the literal fights against ghosts and that his friends don't have to jeopardize themselves without proper backup.

• Meanwhile, Danny's rouges are having an awful time in the wake of his growing bond to his Swarm. They can't enter the living world without a literal army of blob ghosts waiting for them to pop out the portal.

- Skulker tried to hunt them down only resulting in him getting his suit torn to shreds by the Welp (Phantom/Danny) when one of his blobs got hurt by the hunter's stray shot.

- Ember tried to pull a Pied Piper and force them under her control, but it only resulted in her guitar getting badly damaged and her ectoplasm sucked out of her by the Collectors.

- Spectra and Bertrand developed a severe phobia of insects after they brought her scheme crashing down and nearly killed them both after she tried to manipulate Danny like in canon, reveling in his despair until it brought the full fury of the swarm to make the attempt to destroy her when she made him upset. The swarm would've succeeded if Danny didn't call them off and she hasn't returned from the Zone since.

- Technus kept having his machines melted by corrosive acid being spat at him and ripped apart with the insane bite force of the insects assaulting him.

- The only one who managed to get passed them was Cujo. The pup's obsession wasn't destructive in nature and took a liking to Phantom and his hundreds of friends, even going as far as to acknowledge Phantom and even listen to him, making him get a pass while the others were stuck in the Zone, totally not jealous.

• The ghost pup was able to be stopped by Danny and the Swarm before he could destroy Axion Labs, making Val see the infamous "Spectral Skitter" in a more positive light.

She was a little mad, but seeing Phantom laughing as he gave the ghost puppy his favorite toy gave her a somber reminder that they both, the puppy and the ghost boy, had died way too soon. Val would still become Red Huntress, but less out of revenge, but to find out more about Phantom, becoming the 4th person to know Danny's secret.

• Vlad is rather good in this au! The sting of Jack and Maddie's abandonment made him a recluse and he refused to try and find happiness out of fear of being abandoned again. Causing his once green ectoplasm to become a shade of violet, as it was his pent up love made manifest.

- But Vlad wouldn't let that stop him, nor would it hold him back in life! He came into his own in Wisconsin after starting a successful chain of brands revolving around dairy goods, using a small portion of the earned funding to research ghosts in his free time using actual methods of study and not the havoc he's heard regarding a certain set of ectobiologists. He honestly can't help but be worried about young Daniel and Jasmine. He can only imagine that whirlwind of a life the children must have, having his former friends as parents.

- After making enough progress, his therapist suggests Vlad getting back out there and try giving the socializing scene another shot, as the Halfa himself mentioned that he missed companionship during their last meeting. Being socially inept, he decides to transform and look around for potential associates while invisible. So lost in thought that he ended up in Illinois on accident when his ghost sense went off like a bomb.

- He jaw fell open when he couldn't believe what he was seeing. He saw giant ghost insectoids that were taking down several Ecto beasts being led by Skulker, who seemed to have tamed (intimidated) them to his side. Another group was taking the people far away from the fighting and standing guard over them. Despite his curiosity being peaked, Vlad couldn't help but groan loudly and facepalm. The tin can tried skinning the older halfa in the past, only for it to end with the said Halfa threatening to destroy the little nuisance's core if he kept it up. He hadn't had a problem since, but seeing the "Greatest Hunter" again made his eye twitch something fierce.

"When I get that welp's pelt I'll–"

"Prove to everyone that you're the greatest hunter ever and yada yada yada...Soup Time!"

Along with his defeated beasts, Skulker is absorbed into the Fenton Thermos and Phantom powers down back into his human form after hiding in a nearby alley...not even realizing that Vlad just saw him do that.

• Vlad immediately knows that this is Daniel Fenton, due to looking up the Fentonworks Website in the 'About Us' page and seeing the major similarities between the "two" boys". He also knows that Phantom is labeled as the "Ghost Menace"...who was constantly being hunted by Jack and Madeline, getting shot at like it's open season, causing needless destruction in their wake...like how they tried to hunt him a few years prior...

- Knowing Jack and Madeline, This makes poor Vlad's mood go from bad to infinitely worse because that meant that they had no idea that they've killed their own child (like him, oof) and have been hunting him since his first appearance in Amity. He immediately retreats back to his castle and has a severe panic attack.

• After calming down, Vlad will probably try to murder his old friends like in canon by inviting the family to his place, but it comes from a messed up sense of needing to protect Danny from his disastrous parents, seeing the younger as a victim of his parents recklessness. It takes a lot of convincing, but Danny is able to get him to stand down and explain that his parents aren't as dangerous as he says they are. Except Vlad had made very good counterarguments that made the younger Halfa question the doubts he had about his parents.

- It doesn't help that the original members of his swarm don't answer when he asks for a biased opinion in his favor. Surely his folks would still love him once he tells them what happened down in the lab...right? Danny makes the protocol "Friend or Foe" with Sam and Tucker and creates a guideline depending on which way the wind blows that fated day.

- Vlad gave him his number, a key, and a room for him to stay at the castle should he be inclined to take the offer should the worse come to pass. Telling the young badger that he had a place to retreat to in case things goes sideways and someone willing to train him as well.

• Jack and Maddie are up to their usual activities, but they meet more resistance by both the ghosts and people of Amity Park.

- The blob ghosts they usually catch to turn their ectoplasm to power their weapons or experiment on have made an alliance with Ghost Boy, Phantom, who made them far more powerful and elusive than they previously were. It doesn't help that their failed attempts to grab one usually end up with some form of property/vehicle damage while Phantom and his monsters scatter and vanish as soon as they arrive.

- People are genuinely looking to the literal ghost child (Phantom) for protection and has been keeping the streets of Amity Park safe from ghosts more than the proclaimed "Ghost Experts". He even began rehabilitating most of his old enemies at this point and helped them find non harmful methods for them to fulfill their obsessions at this point of the timeline. They couldn't defeat him or his army, so they yielded and gave his methods a chance with good degrees of success.

When a curious person (Jazz, the daughter of the town ghost experts) "asked" about a ghost's obsessions and why they fight, Danny goes into extreme detail (thank you, Clockwork and Pandora!) about why it is a ghost would do the things they do, debunking many ectobiologists theories and scientific discoveries made by the field of study.

• It felt like a slap in face and all their hard work was being undermined.

- This causes a screaming match between Maddie and Phantom. Both who are refusing to back down and causing a crowd to form.

"You're kind are danger to humans!"

"Have you seen how you nutjobs drive!? There's a reason nobody parks their cars on your street! You're a living road hazard!"

"You ghosts have been terrorizing the town!"

"Excuse me!? We've been PROTECTING it from your mistakes! Maybe if you actually studied ghosts instead of labeling us non sentient and cutting us up and making them live ammunition, you'd get better results!"

• It just keeps going until something in Danny starts snapping. He's already past sobbing and red in the face with panic and anger, the swarm is practically going feral as they sense the distress rolling off of him in waves, waiting for these humans to dare to make a move. Snarling, hissing and growling could be heard from hundreds of creatures slowly manifesting in the sky, floating with eyes glowing blood red.

People begin to start to worry out as they never seen Phantom's pets like this before...but then again...holding guns up to a kid who died recently and protects them from both the ghosts and the Fenton's daily madness isn't exactly a good image.

"You may have fooled everyone else, but you haven't fooled us, Phantom Menace! If we let our guard down, your kind will exploit us and we'll all be paying for it!"

And just like that...the final thread self control snaps and Phantom explodes. His scream of anger is amplified by his swarm and takes out most of the devices powered by ectoplasm.

Pay for it...PAY FOR IT!? WHAT DO YOU NOW ABOUT "PAYING FOR IT" WHEN ALL THIS WAS ALL YOUR FAULT!? ALL BECAUSE YOU MADE A LITERAL PORTAL TO HELL! YOU'RE SO OBSESSED WITH GHOSTS YOU HAVEN'T EVEN NOTICED WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME..."

The silence that came after was deafening and as the "good doctors" try to object, they themselves are stunned into silence as well when a ring forms around Phantom's waist and reveals who he actually is. Gasps and shouts of surprise are heard as a teary eyed boy stares down at his parents from a roof, glaring icy daggers with tired eyes.

"You were always in the lab, for days on end, as Jazz and I grew up. She put up with it and accepted the fact that work took priority, but I didn't! I hated that stupid portal and I went into the damn thing trying to make it work so you could pay attention to us again...but it turned on with me inside because a "genius" put the power button inside...which I hit on accident...making me die alone!

My grades dropped off a cliff because I had to step up and take responsibility for YOUR obsession with ghosts! I lost so much sleep because there were threats almost every other day trying to cause problems for Amity Park! Jazz was almost murdered and I almost had to kill the ghost to stop her from harming my sister! I had to literally beat my rogue's gallery into submission so they could behave and to protect them from ghost hunters so I could get to live a semi-normal life again! My so-called evil "parasites" have been helping me out keeping everyone who saw me as some weird freak safe since we teamed up and I won't let you slander them or myself anymore!"

It made the people of Amity feel sick to know the truth. The small kid who likes bugs who was supposed to barely start high school was the same friendly ghost who constantly charged into battle to keep everyone safe. His friends and enemies alike were under his protection out of the kindness of his heart when he could've easily used his powers for mischief, or worse, evil. As the realization began to sink in, people began to whisper and mutter to each other.

"An actual kid was defending us the whole time!?"

"Bug-a-Boo was really just a kid..."

"Danny Fenton is the Spectral Skitter!?"

"THEY KILLED THERE OWN KID!?"

That's what made people turn on the Fentons with the looks of disdain and anger. People were forming a protective ring around Danny as they continued to bombard his family with accusations and throwing insults. "Hey, Jazz is innocent in all of this, so leave her out of the hate mob! My sister barely found out and has been taking care of me better than our own parents well before I died...was there for me when things were at their worst fighting back the ghost..."

As the two Fenton siblings looked at each with soft, reassuring smiles, the tender moment was ruined when a blast went off, screams were heard and Danny stumbled back in shock at the sudden pain and blood blooming in his chest. It didn't punch through him fully, but cracked his ribs and now he was on the ground in pain. The shooters fate was sealed when a soldier's stinger punched through the attacker's leg with an ecto blast before the swarm and began fighting men in white suits, the attackers being overrun quickly and being mangled savagely before stopping at Danny's order before fainting.

In their desperate attempt to get Danny to safety, the swarm grabbed his unconscious body and hurriedly went through the Ghost Portal before blowing it up, preventing the Guys in White from doing more damage. There, they were greeted by Danny's greatest ally, Clockwork, and Yeti named Frostbite who wished to help their Boss. With reluctance and cries of sadness, they gave him to the beastman and hoped for the best.

[seleneprince]

I think that what makes Beron an asshole is not that he's sexist, but that he's a huge classist and egocentric jerk. He hates everyone equally regardless of their gender, but specially if they're low borns. His repulsive aura has nothing to do with women or how he views them, because to him, people are only two things: Useful tools or insects beneath him. He's gonna treat you like shit no matter what you have between your legs. Which sucks anyway, but hey, at least he agrees that men and women are the same.

I've been reading the books and sure, he's obviously an awful husband and father, but there's nothing on his behaviour that implies he's a sexist pig (unlike some other characters who make it obvious because misogyny is their whole personality). He was the first High Lord to give a piece of his power to Feyre UTM to bring her back, and it was after him that the other Lords did it too. He had no problem with his wife living with her sisters, away from him, until Hybern killed and so she was forced to return. They had a somewhat decent relationship at first, until he found out about her affair with Helion. It's after that when Beron begins to treat his wife like absolute shit and despise Lucien, knowing very well he's not the father. He doesn't do that because she's a woman and that automatically pushes him to abuse her, but because he wants to punish her for being unfaithful. It's not justified and, considering they had an arranged marriage, i think they should've just touched the topic of lovers and mistresses at some point instead on inmediately jumping into the torture train.

There's also an scene when the High Lady of Autumn remembers her sisters and her grief shows, and Beron places a hand on her shoulder in a gesture that's described as "comforting". It doesn't make up for all the damage he's inflicted on her, but it was weird to me because, everyone knows what kind of man he is and he's not asshamed. He doesn't need to play a role in public, so why try to comfort your wife, the very same one you've tortured to the point she has becomed a shell of herself? There's also the fact that he knows Lucien is not his, why not get rid of him? He allowed him to be educated just like his brothers and referred to him as another one of his sons.

In my head, Beron is more than just a secondary villain with bigoted beliefs that appears conveniently to show how much of a piece of shit he is. He's a terrible father, but he still considers Lucien his own. He makes his wife's life a living hell, but also cares for her enough to notice her grief and try to comfort her. He doesn't give a fuck wether his subjects are happy or not, but he still puts the court first and has no problem considering an alliance with another dictator to keep his land out of harm. Him stating he wouldn't hesitate to join Hybern if he won the war was morally unforgivable and disgusting, but as a ruler, is a somewhat understable move. He's thinking of what's best for him and his court, and not about what's "right".

Conclusion: Beron Vanserra is a bigoted, classist jerk that only cares about what's his and thinks hurting his family is for "their own good". He's twisted, narcissistic, manipulative and selfish, and also capable of love in his own fucked up way. And I enjoy him for that.

[skylinx2o]

Can we have some apricot lore? I want to know more about them 

Well, thanks to you moth man, we now have a more detailed outline of her lore (I give you like, 90% of the credit here)

There's a bug demons city ruled by a Butterfly Empress. But moths are well liked in the city, being conveniently night hours workers. Apricot belongs to one of the more well off families with a lot of influence. The butterfly empress isn't that nice actually, mostly doing nice things because she wants others to love her.

Too bad that one day the Butterfly Empress heard servants talking about how the new child of one of the moth families was just so cute, and yes, she got petty over a baby being prettier than her. So she, you know, asked someone to read her future, just in case, to make sure she will still be the most liked empress.

But she got news that she didn't like. Her demise will be brought upon her by a moth demon. Now you see, the Butterfly Empress may have looked kind and nice, but she was vein and bitter on the inside. She couldn't stand the idea of being beaten by an 'uglier' bug, seeing moths as inferior imposters of butterflies, whom she thinks deserve more because they're prettier.

So she made up a lie... That moths were secretly stealing from other demons. Planted the seeds of doubt... And well, that's how a revolution started, other demons trying to chase moth demons out... She of course sent her right-hand man, Mantis General, out too to 'support' her people.

And so the town went into chaos, and Apricot's family has been cornered in their mansion, with no way to escape... But through the angry mob, the Mantis General walked through and into their home, going to deal with them personally. They plead with him to let their only child go.

And the Mantis General hesitates, because he's loyal to the Butterfly Empress because of the kindness she showed him, but he's not a monster that would hurt a small child. So despite everything he lets them save her, and her parents send her off to the moon with the bow of Apricot's father to remember them by, using the last of their power. Whatever happened to her parents… I'll still keep a mystery for now.

Then on the moon Apricot is found by Chang'e, but the little moth doesn't remember anything because of the trauma of what happened, or perhaps her parents didn't want Apricot to have the memory of them so she can have a normal life. And the Butterfly Empress doesn't mind one child being unaccounted for, because even if she escaped, there was no way a child this small like Apricot could fend for herself in her belief. And to make absolutely sure that she will keep all the power and praise, the Butterfly empress used a new power to control people with mushrooms, bending them to her will, and making sure they worship her...

That's what I've decided on Apricot's backstory and how she ended up in the care of Chang'e. Now I'd also like to talk a bit about the characters too (taking this opportunity to introduce the new buggy/insect ocs)

{Apricot, Mantis General, Butterfly Empress}

Starting with Apricot... She's of course the little moth demon. She was found by Chang'e on the moon mysteriously, along with a bow of light. Change took pity on her and adopted her, quickly getting attached.

Apricot doesn't remember what happened before, and overall was too young to understand what happened anyway. She does know her name, but tends not to react when people call her by it and have to grab her attention more directly. She also doesn't speak much, maybe a word or two sometimes, essentially partially non-verbal, and she won't speak if she doesn't want to. She mostly points and makes little squeaks.

Her parents used to be demons of high status in the city and well liked. She was their only child and their pride. She was loved by other people for being a cheery child that put a smile on everyone's faces. Her father was a merchant as well as an excellent archer and had light powers, while her mother made art by weaving and had water powers. Apricot would have some combination of their powers, and also could use her father's bow of light that shoots arrows made of light, but Chang'e keeps that away from her for now...

🍑

And since I'm showing the two new ocs here on Tumblr for the first time too, I'll introduce them. As you've read before, Butterfly Empress is the selfish and vein ruler of the bug demon city. She only cares about her looks and having power, and she will stop at nothing to achieve praise and loyalty. She could have chosen to learn plant magic, but instead she honed her power on perfecting her brain altering mushroom powers. By implanting them on someone, she can influence them to do what she wants, and put people in an almost trance like state if need be. They're more likely to like her and not question her once they're influenced by her power. Girl just straight up evil and entitled.

The Mantis General isn't as bad... He looks scary, and could certainly hurt people if he wanted, but... Don't get me wrong, he is VERY loyal to the Butterfly Empress, because she showed him kindness, gave him love he craved and treated him like a normal person. He wasn't so lucky before he meet her... She was his light of hope, but maybe he will realize that, her actions towards him mean nothing to her, and she's just using him and likes the power she has over him. [the designs of the two will likely still change, especially Butterfly Empress's outfit]

🦋

Well, that was a bit more than just Apricot lore, but a lot has changed the more ideas you gave me. Idk what else to say, that's all I have for now.

Also she's like, four to six years old. In her current design. I'll probably make her grown up version later on, because I'm not sending this small of a child to fight some evil fungi bug lady

[silverynight]

Courting a sweet omega

Tanjirou is usually a very friendly person, he likes to get close to people and ask about their lives and even hug and cuddle them if they trust each other.

The problem is that he is afraid of alphas, most of them. He can't help it; when he was younger an alpha tried to mark him while he was trying to sell charcoal to help his family. He wasn't sure what to do at the time and the alpha was really strong and tall for him.

It scared him, especially because he didn't seem willing to stop; at some point the omega fell on the ground covered by snow and the alpha took the opportunity to lie on top of him when a couple of people from the village stopped him.

They had always been good people and they proved that again that morning.

However, the omega wasn't the same after that; the alpha never came back to the village but Tanjirou couldn't bring himself to be around other alphas.

But they understood, the people in the village, they made sure that only the betas and other omegas were the ones in charge of buying charcoal from him.

It was even worse when that demon killed his family and turned Nezuko into one of them; he was an alpha, Tanjirou could tell by the scent he left in the house.

It's a little bit different now, however, because he met Tomioka and even though he was terrified of him at first, the omega realized that the alpha only wanted to help.

Then the trial happened and Tanjirou knew that Tomioka was a good alpha who would even kill himself if Nezuko hurt an innocent human.

Tanjirou realized then that he was not alone, that there was someone willing to help him, that alphas or at least some of them, weren't actually that bad after all.

Still, Tanjirou doesn't trust the other Pillars; he's afraid of them because they all are alphas and also because they did want to kill Nezuko at first.

However, he knows he should learn to work with them; they're the most skilled swordsmen alive and they have saved many lives over the years.

He knows that, but his inner omega is afraid of them.

In order to help him, the staff of the butterfly estate has been really accommodating; instead of Kocho, Aoi is the one who patches Tanjirou up so he doesn't have a panic attack when the insect hashira walks in the room. Tanjirou is grateful for that, but also feels bad because he's smelled disappointment and sadness whenever Kocho asks about him outside the room.

"Tomioka-san," the omega mumbles shyly. The water hashira is the only alpha who can walk into his room whenever Tanjirou is sick or injured.

"What is it, Tanjirou?" The alpha asks in a whisper, almost like he's afraid of scaring him if he talks too loud.

Feeling like he needs a little bit of comfort, Tanjirou gets closer to him and puts his arms around the surprised alpha. He's relieved that at least he can do this around one alpha. Maybe hope is not completely lost after all.

"Am I causing everyone too much trouble? I mean... the fact that I can't spend too much time around alphas–"

"No," Tomioka shakes his head before getting closer to nuzzle against him; Tanjirou's inner omega relaxes immediately. "Everyone understands what you're going through and they're more than happy to help. Me too."

Tanjirou nods, trying not to tear up. He doesn't feel so bad now, but it's still difficult for him.

He'll try to make an effort next time.

***

It seems they have the same idea because they start giving or sending Tanjirou all kinds of gifts. Some of them give him the things directly and immediately take a few steps back so the omega doesn't feel overwhelmed, but others like Shinazugawa and Iguro send him the gifts through someone else.

They're obviously trying to make friends with him and Tanjirou appreciates their efforts so much he usually waits for them to be in the butterfly estate at the same time to thank them personally (from a safe distance).

Tomioka doesn't seem too happy about it, especially after the train mission, in which Rengoku loses an eye and Tanjirou realizes that the alpha would never hurt anyone.

After that, it's really easy for Tanjirou to get physically close to the flame hashira and he proves it by asking him to scent him once, like he did to Tomioka a while ago. It's weird because Rengoku gets completely flustered when the omega asks him that, but he does it with pleasure.

Then it's Uzui and his beautiful wives that make Tanjirou realize he must be a caring and respectful alpha if they all love him the way they do. So he starts trusting him as well.

And then there's Kocho who not only is a Pillar and knows how to fight demons, but also cares about every single one of the slayers who end up in her care.

Trusting Kanroji is even easier; she earns Nezuko's trust too in the blink of an eye. He starts warming up to Tokito too, although it's more difficult for him.

But he's probably one of the sweetest alphas Tanjirou has ever met, at least around him, because other slayers claim he's a very strict and often rude teacher.

With Himejima is not that difficult either; Tanjirou can smell in his scent how kind he truly is.

It takes a while for Tanjirou to trust Shinazugawa and Iguro, but he does, especially because Genya and Kanroji talk to Tanjirou about them and how caring they truly are.

However, even now that Tanjirou lets them all get close to him, they keep giving him gifts; he thinks they give him even more now and the omega is a little bit confused by it.

They also make him food, patch him up when they can and spend all their free time with him.

Tanjirou doesn't get it. They're friends now, they don't have to do any of that to earn his trust anymore, they already have it.

He asks Aoi about it one day and, after she takes a deep breath, she says:

"They want your love now. They're courting you, they have been doing that almost from the very beginning."

Tanjirou blushes to the tip of his ears; what surprises him the most is that, for the first time in years, his inner omega is not scared, but delighted with that information.

Even though it can't be true. He's far from perfect; he doesn't think he can be a good omega either because of the trauma he's been through... besides, they need a better omega if they want pups. There's no way they would choose–

"I know it's difficult for you to see it," Aoi continues, noticing something sad in Tanjirou's expression. "But they are in love with you and they've been trying to let you know how much they want you in their lives."

"All of them?" That's even more difficult to believe.

"All of us indeed," Rengoku says, right behind Tanjirou, prompting the omega to jump. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!"

The omega turns around, only to see that they all are there.

"Can we keep courting you?" Tomioka asks in a whisper, looking almost afraid of the answer.

"Sorry we didn't tell you earlier, darling," Kanroji says as her cheeks turn slightly pink. "We thought you knew."

"Do you really love me?" Tanjirou stammers; it seems almost unbelievable that so many amazing alphas want an omega like him.

"We do, Tanjirou. More than anything." Himejima's response sends a shiver down his spine, but in a good way. Tanjirou's heart has started to beat crazily inside his chest.

He feels warm and fuzzy and full of love for a moment.

"But what if... I can't choose?"

"We actually prefer that you don't," Kocho says. "We would like you to be ours."

His inner omega is very pleased to know that many alphas want him, but he still needs to make sure...

"Are you okay with sharing?"

"It's okay if it's you," Tokito assures him in such a determined and fond way that makes Tanjirou flustered for a moment.

"O-Okay," he mumbles, feeling his face like it's on fire. "You can keep courting me."

They all scent him that day, Shinazugawa bites his cheek playfully too, earning a scolding from everyone and making Tanjirou giggle.

It's okay, he's changed... the omega knows he's ready for this. Besides, they make him really happy already.

***

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