#Lunar would say yes without question tho

[socksandbuttons]

Swap Sun! Howdy cute boy, how have you been? I just want you to know that you are great and I hope that your family makes you feel as loved as you deserve. I send you a big hug and a little cat

He's definitely treated well-

[rayofmisfortune]

WOW YESTERDAY'S EP HUH?? KDNDNC

SAMS ☀️🌙& LAES 🌌🌍 theory dump below the cut

OKAY SO AGAIN a majority of these are theories made by or pointed out by people in comments. This time I will only be borrowing information from replies to my own comment, as everyone's gone absolutely HAM with their theories under it!

I will be leaving screenshots with proper credits to the respective people so that everyone's ideas are their own.

NOW THEN

What it all started with- at 10:05 in the 'Repairing BLOODMOON in VRCHAT' episode, we get Rotrick say: "You're far too perfect for the job, my boy."

WHICH RIGHT OF THE BAT! Gives MAJOR Creator vibes! Like- no questions asked. That's the Creator's way of speech. Someone in the replies said the phrase was familiar to them, AND IT IS! The creator used it in MGAFS episode featuring the Creator, Trashcan man (tho he got a glow up) and Stitchwraith: "Stitchy, my boy."

It may have been a different video, but I'm 100% certain the Creator saying this was connected to the Stitchwraith.

So! We now have it semi-confirmed that the one controlling Rotrick IS IN FACT the Creator. Working behind the scenes yet again to make everyone's lifes hell.

FURTHERMORE IF YOU HAVE ANY DOUBTS!

This commenter revealed even more proof supporting this theory:

SO atp, there's pretty much no doubt that the one controlling Rotrick and subsequently manipulating BM IS the Creator. But is it our Creator, or a different one?

It would make the most sense if it WAS the creator we know. He has the motivation for it, he wants the Stitchwraith gone and dealt with.

But then again, while Sun and Moon were in Ruin's dimension, we've learnt that the (evil) Creators have a sort of alliance across dimensions. Not sure what this Creator's motive would be, but it's just a lil what if of mine lmfao.

Anyway as people in comments said:

THIS

The Creator noticed Lunar meddling with Earth's programming and trying to get rid of that one essencial program that is the only thing keeping Earth loyal to him.

So! He pushed BM via Rotrick to break Earth to a point where he had an excuse to give her upgrades, without needing to worry about making her come willingly and explaining himself to her beforehand.

Whatever he added into Earth, is uhhh a mystery to me. Yes I watched the episode of LAES where Moon and Solar take a look into Earth's systems, but I have no idea as to what that something could be.

Please feel free to share ya'll's own thoughts and theories, pls I need people to geek out with help jdbdbfbf

Thanks for coming to my ted talk jsnxnfb

[yuebings]

fic writer meme

thank u @fruitdaze @uhuraisgay @cairoscene @englishsub for tagging me!

How many works do you have on Ao3?

44 currently! double 4s? during MY lunar new year? i gotta change that up quick

2. What's your total Ao3 word count?

315,042 words

3. What fandoms do you write for?

my most written-for fandom is mdzs, but i don't really write for it anymore...if you look at my ao3 profile u can kinda tell i'm a sporadic one-and-done type when it comes to fic hehe no one can predict where i'll go next. my latest fandom is jujutsu kaisen!

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

so you've been robbed by a musuem

the stone-filled sea

the family-dodging bathroom-dwellers association

and his wanting grows teeth

diving blind

it's like a wangxian sweep except for the last sambucky lol

5. Do you respond to comments?

i am trying to get better at that! sometimes i don't have the energy to go through and respond to every single one but trust me when i say that seeing the wonderful comments people leave truly makes my day

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

tbh i don't think i've ever written straight-up angsty endings (or at least the way i see straight up angst). every 'bad' ending has a ray of hope in it, or at least an acceptance that like...yes, this is the way it was meant to be, and to reject the outcome would be to reject everything that came before it. sometimes things were meant to go to shit. there was no other way to go. we were doomed but at least we loved each other. i will suffer but at least i can remember you. so on so forth.

with all that said, it's a toss up between the longest journey (di feijing & lei chun), or all things in pain (wen ning character study). 'angsty' endings, if only in the way i described above

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

a lot of my happy endings aren't super-sweet happy endings per se, but rather a promise or hope that things will get better. idk what that says about me lol like maybe i have more interest in the "how to become happy" part than the actual happiness itself...? but ANYWAY i'd say the sappiest ending is i have is uhhhh feel like a brand new person (msr take edibles together) because 1) their mutual attraction is finally acknowledged 2) they're making out 3) they're high as balls. what's better than this

8. Do you get hate on fics?

not any time recently! i've rarely had negative comments before and all of them have been of such a ridiculous nature that my only response was like "lmfao ok"

9. Do you write smut?

nope! not yet, at least. maybe some time in the future i'll feel like it

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you have written?

haven't written any, don't really read them either! i keep my blorbos locked up in their separate cages. siloed.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

yes! kind of. if this counts, a couple years ago someone on wattpad stole over 100 wangxian fics (including mine) from ao3 and reposted them onto their own account without credit. we got their account taken down tho so all is well...but this is why i say in my ao3 profile that i do not allow reposts. please tell me if u ever see my work reposted anywhere........

i've also come across a fic in a diff fandom that was VERY clearly "inspired" by one of mine (lifting certain scenes and lines beat for beat) and gave no credit. so there's that as well.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

yes! it's always an honor when someone wants to translate my work :)

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

nope! my creative process is so erratic that i feel like i'd be a nightmare to co-write with, so this is probably for the better

14. What's your all time favorite ship?

this is a hard question to answer. i don't have an ultimate favorite that always stays at the top of the pile, cuz my interests change all the time! right now i'm really enjoying platonic yuuji & megumi & nobara & gojo. in terms of what i go to most often when i want a comfort re-read...finnpoe.

15. What is a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

omg. you want a DEEP CUT? i have a wip for a rarepair in an already sparse fandom...yeongshin/seobi from kingdom on netflix (the historical korean zombie drama). i LOOOOVE that show i comfort re-watch it all the time. i love their bonded-thru-trauma-frenemies healer/warrior dynamic and i have this wip going for yeongshin getting bitten and seobi developing a zombification-reversal cure through sheer willpower and spite alone........there's maybe 2k written and i was relying on a season renewal announcement to motivate me enough to get the rest of it out but uh. fellow kingdom warriors if you're out there. i think we may be losing this battle............kingdom season 3 announcement save me..............

16. What are your writing strengths?

as a haver-of-siblings, i think i do general family dynamics pretty well! someone has told me in the past that i am good at packing meaning into very few words. i also think i'm good at angsty emotional beats (i sure like writing them, at least)

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

bro if there is any action scene in my work, writing it is like pulling teeth. what do you mean he's getting hit. what do you mean i have to think of an interesting way to describe punch #1 and punch #2 and punch #3. STOPPPPPPPP I CANT DO THIS.

in terms of technique i used to struggle with this thing where i NEED to perfect the writing i'm working on before i can move on. like i'd waste huge amounts of time rewriting a three sentence paragraph over and over and over again until it was perfect before i could move onto the next scene. i'm getting a lot better with that tho!

18. Thoughts of writing dialogue in another language in fics?

i've never done it myself, like, full on written-in-a-diff-lang dialogue, but i think it's cool as long as context clues/some form of translation is provided. and if proper research is done if the writer isn't a native speaker

19. First fandom you wrote for?

the man from uncle (2015). lol. napollya could have won in an alternate universe where armie h@mmer wasn't a piece of shit

20. Favorite fic you have written?

HOO. i gotta say it's my sambucky ghost fic the boy who cried ghost. it's by far my longest fic (even tho it isn't actually very long compared to others ive seen LOLLLL) and it took me AGES to write and ended up being quite personal!! part of the reason it took me so long to finish was bc i couldn't bear to write about sam struggling with grief/guilt when i was also going through something similar, so when i finally got around to writing the moment of catharsis i kinda felt like i was helping myself, too! which was a very interesting experience, and definitely served to lodge this fic in my heart forever and ever. it's not exactly popular but i'm proud of it :)

tagging @tantai-jin @bluecrystalrainingdaggers @vinelark and anyone else who wants to participate!

[fencesandfrogs]

gathering times.

part of my broader lore series.

i’m breaking from my usual lore narration style for a moment to discuss: how cats know when to gather (because it bothers me).

anyway, i haven't seen any other lore about this, so i'd like to say that explicitly, anyone is welcome to use this if they like it. if you want to use the folklore parts (e.g., the story in "full moon.") please credit me somehow, but otherwise idgaf. (a CC0-1.0 liscence, if you are a nerd. if you're not, it's what i just said.)

section one: tracking the moon

so i have this tiny lore thing where so the cats. track the moon as starclan adding claws to the moon and taking them away. so we have four claws to mess with:

no claws: new moon

one claw: waxing cresent

two claws: half moon

three claws: waxing gibbous

four claws: full moon

but cats usually count these in terms of one claw away from new/half/full, like how people used to call november 20th 10 days from december.

also, since only new and full moons matter for most cats, most cats wouldn't think about the waning moon. hence why it's described as starclan clawing at the moon, because they don't care about the precision.

this is also somewhat decoupled from the idea of a half/quarter moon as a unit of time: cats aren't using this to track time (e.g., one claw to three claws), just as a method of measuring where in the moon they are. i'm not sure if this makes sense, i guess it's kind of like saying "monday" tells you where in the week you are, and saying "third week" says where in the month you are, but you wouldn't say "from second week to fourth week," you'd say the dates or be more specific.

look, cats track time differntly. we're going to talk about when first and why second.

section two: full moons

The leaders discussed this, and they agreed. From then on, they would meet the night after the moon had all its claws, and there were no more debates about when the gathering would be.

(full moon.)

yeah so basically i was so angry that warrior cats act like the moon is either new, half, or full i wrote 1k words of folklore about why that is. that will either be published or publishing soon, so i'm not going to recap it.

basically, the full moon is considered to start when the moon is a whisker's length from full (basically, the first night you can't see that the moon hasn't finished), and that day is the holy day for clans who celebrate like that.

the next day is the gathering.

the third day is the medicine cats' half moon meeting (we're getting to them).

mind, i'm still doing a lot of handwaving here, but i do have a limit to how realistic i demand my fantasy cat novels be.

section three: half moons

There was no celebrations to be had on half moon, and the camp was mostly quiet. Moonrise was coming soon, and Dovepaw could see Willowshine and Mothwing climbing the rocks. Jayfeather greets them, doesn’t ask where she is.

(feathers take flight --- footprints)

so basically half moon is when a whisker could be laid straight on the moon. this is still kind of vague, but let's say starclan intervenes.

i honestly can't come up with a better explanation of how they all agree, so at least this is a definition. the half moon is such a vague term like.

anyway.

section four: new moons

“Won’t everyone be asleep?” she asks, and Willowshine’s eyes glitter.

“On the night of the sleeping moon? I hope they’re not done.”

Dovepaw doesn’t know what that means. But she enters the camp, still alive, apprentices sharing fish, flower petals scattered, and she almost does.

(feathers take flight --- footprints)

okay, this is the one that i think is hardest to tell is ambigious. because you might be thinking "new moon is when there is no moon" but this has the same problem as full moon.

luckily, only medicine cats gather on the new moon. so clans can celebrate whenever.

anyway, internet says people can see a moon at anywhere from 1% to 10% as illuminated, and cats have better night vision, and you get about 3 days in the 0% to 5% range, so i'm not really sure what to derive from this.

i mean there are cycles with a new moon and a 0% moon on either side.

anyway, i'm going to say that cats call it the new moon when it's 0% or new. the first day is always the new moon. we're also going to say their vision is good enough that there's no conflict.

(how is this different from the full moon? its a pyschology thing about complete/empty. a cup isn't empty unless there's nothing in it, but it can be full with not very much in it, even if you're holding out for a full cup. also, stop asking difficult questions. i cover this in "full moon." where the answer is basically the same as this one but with better lore.)

section five: medicine cats meet every half moon

“He’s right,” Willowshine says. “Mothwing made me a medicine cat on a second whisker night, and I swear the clan slept ‘til sunhigh.”

(feathers take flight --- riverbed)

so uhh i've never understood what it means that medicine cats meet for the half moon. in older books, it's called a half moon meeting, which implies that it doesn't occur on the new moon or the full moon. but in moth flight's vision i swear they say they'll meet every half moon which is an established unit of time in canon.

so. do they meet every quarter moon or every half moon.

i've gone with every quarter moon. why? the following:

it means i can let cats stay home now and then.

it makes more sense. if you know much about human medicine, rounds/grand rounds (which are a similar vibe with less religion) happen every day to every month, depending on the scale of the encounter. i think meeting every quarter moon makes more sense because they're constantly talking about getting advice from each other, and it would be so much easier to just have jayfeather ask for littlecloud's help at the next half moon meeting than running over, since that's what the point of the meeting is.

i want to.

anyway, new moons for clans and medicine cats can get desynched. kind of like geographic north/magnetic north, and human months vs the lunar cycle. it's not super common, but it does happen and no one really cares.

they meet on a second-whisker night for the full moon. that's basically, okay, in "full moon." i say

"No," said Briarleap. "But when the moon has all its claws, there is always a time where the moon is a whisker's length from fullness. We ought not to waste our energy gathering when the moon isn't full. So the clans must gather the moonrise after the last claw is returned."

and the understanding is, the "last claw" night briarleap is talking about is called "first-whisker night" that's the holy night.

first whisker is the night they meet. because it's supposed to be properly full but sometimes there's a whisker.

and second whisker is the next night, when medicine cats meet.

yes, that does mean any clans that celebrate the full moon have exhausted medicine cats near full moon. this is why meetings are every quarter moon. so they can stay home for a meeting without missing a major important time.

alright, i believe that's all i have for this. as a fun bonus, i have some consistent warrior/medicine cat training timelines.

The typical medicine cat training period is four seasons, although after the first two to three, they are usually alloted a good amount of autonomy.

...

There’s no vigil for medicine cats. They have trained for four seasons, seen the clan at its best and worst, and have already chosen to sacrifice much of a warrior life for the good of their clan. If Willowshine decides to make Dovepaw a full medicine cat, the clan will feast in her honor that night.

(feathers take flight --- riverbed)

the implication here is that warriors train for two seasons, which is why medicine cats are given more authority around then. in riverclan, that's when they move into the medicine cat's den, because their denmates are moving into the warriors den. not always, though:

“Am I going to be all alone when Troutpaw and Rushpaw and Mossypaw become warriors?” she asks. Dovepaw has never slept alone.

(Jayfeather, alone in his den.)

“I don’t think so,” Willowshine says. “They might stay in with you until Fernstream’s kits become apprentices, or you could sleep in the medicine den. You’re always welcome.”

(feathers take flight --- riverbed)

(fernstream is an invention bc riverclan doesn't have any queens they don't age it's a problem i need to redo their allegiances for FTF.)

anyway yeah that's a different story tho.

finally, take these cute words from mistystar to dovepaw:

“Then I make Dovepaw kin, and say she is born from River, as we all are. And I trust her training to Willowshine, and Starclan, to guide her paws.”

(feathers take flight --- riverbed)

[system-architect]

Am i allowed 2 ask t4 for all of them.....

yOU ARE....... god............... T4 is a fun one to answer questions for because its a mixture of T4 headcanons and arkk himself headcanons

♥ - What does ‘love’ mean to them? hhJGKHD he’s...... Very Inexperienced with love so i think he’s still figuring that out............. the general concept of love is an exciting but very alien thing for him... i think he mostly just associates it w/ buzzy excited feelings and affection in general but still has yet to chew on deeper meanings

♠ - What are they afraid of? A Lot............................ god..... destabilizing, having his loop reset, never gettin out of Mists Hell Cage, and despite being aware that he’s an echo i think he’s still fearful he’ll like. never see his mom again or save her... i think he still wants that on some level

♦ - What is one thing about them that they are most proud of? he’s arkk.. he’s very proud of his Immense Intelligence and Immeasurable Genius and Undeniable Prowess........... additionally! weirdly proud of the innate stubbornness he inherited even if he won’t necessarily admit that he’s stubborn. but it’s gotten him through a lot of shit

♣ - What is one thing that they find embarrassing? (About them, others, things in general) t4/arkk is a Sore Fuckin Loser god i can see him turning beet red whenever tourists thwart him in fractals... and then lashin out with snark and overkill in reaction to his own embarrassment....... i think he also gets sort of embarrassed about his own shortcomings or moments where he’s more weak-willed than he wants to be... i think he goes through cycles where he flings himself at something pretty hard and doesn’t quite succeed and gets gloomy and embarrassed about it and then comes back to go at it again at least twice as hard

★ - Do they prefer daytime or nighttime and why? i think in general arkk prefers nighttime bc edgy BUT t4 just.. misses Both at this point. nightmare frac has no discernable time, his lab in SO is In Space and has no discernable time but glaring bright sun mismatched with The Void, and his and t3s chaos isles was and is day on one side and night on the other. the lack of flowing linear time and lack of proper solar/lunar cycles for sleep purposes is driving him really stir crazy by this point i think

☾- Are they prone to nightmares or dreamless sleep? both...... for reasons above and then also bc of anxiety/trauma/etc i think he often gets pretty terrible sleep and struggles with it a good bit

☼ - Something that/Someone who makes them happy. OH BOY all of the answers to this are Sappy.......... it’d take a lot to get him to openly admit it (yes) but t3 is definitely a.. welcomed presence and has helped him out a lot mentally and whatnot........ also simon is forever his beautiful lovely son and best pal whomst he is exceedingly protective of even though the simon in these boys’ canon belongs 2 t3.................... also, begrudgingly, he sort of enjoys the DDR-X’s presence. sort of. even though it’s a GIR-esque atrocity

☁ - If they’re caught out in the rain how do they react? im nnnot sure abt original arkk but i think at this point t4 wouldn’t wanna go inside honestly... he’d just. stand out there in it. he really misses Weather (the snowblind section of chaos isles doesn’t count)... i can see him finding rain very reassuring and soothing

♪ - Are they musically inclined? absolutely fuckin not

♫ - What kind of music do they enjoy? dubstep.. nightcore.. u kno... the works..

✓ - How do they react to praise? he’s absolutely fuckin thirsty for that sweet sweet praise and acknowledgement and gratification........................ he feels he Deserves it and acts that way all pompously at least outwardly but i think a bit more on the inside he gets a bit starry-eyed and just a tad.. like... ‘anime girl pushing her pinkies together’ esque............... he’s not gonna Admit That tho

✕ - How do they handle rejection? NOT WELL........... it definitely can depend on what the individual situation is but when it comes to stuff like “no, you can’t use inquest resources for that” “arkk no don’t rip a hole in the mists” “no you cant eat the last can of pringles” “hey no you shouldn’t attach that kind of laser to that kind of battery--” he has a very hard time taking no for an answer and is probably gonna get pissed and do what he wants to anyway and very aggressively do so in your face orrr slink off and do it behind ur back depending.. arkk/t4 does what arkk/t4 wants and thats the end of that

☺ - Do they prefer sour or sweet treats? i think he’s pretty blissfully neutral and will eat absolutely any junk food/candy you shove at him...... i can see him preferring slightly more sour stuff sometimes but that doesn’t mean he won’t stuff his face with chocolate either

❄ -  Favorite season and why? he just wants Any Season back........... tho im gonna say spring and autumn because that’s when u can get weather where u can wear a tank top outside without being too uncomfy in a binder and also Con Season u kno?????????????

☮ - Do they have an idol or someone they look up to? his mom is the obvious answer here!! but also.. he is indeed, unfortunately, a bit of a Scarlet Fanboy.. despite her wrecking shit and all that he can’t help but find her inventions super fascinating

❤ - Do they have a love interest? HMM

✖ - Who is someone they just cannot stand? gOD him and t3 sort of go at it constantly don’t they... but at the end of the day they’re Totally BFFs so i guess that doesn’t count huh...................................... i think rather than specific people he’s still always gonna be salty at Fractal Explorers Tourists.... regardless of them being hired by dessa or w/e... t4 in particular now too.. now that he’s aware that he’s actually a mists being/echo, on top of bein the son of the woman who literally created the fractals, he views the fractals and by extension the mists as sort of his Birthright almost... he really despises the tourists storming in and resetting other echoes’ loops and not allowing them to Live Out Their Lives and just.. causing endless pain over and over especially considering that fractal portal was originally established by the consortium who he undoubtedly loathes, presuming he’s aware of that............

♔ - Do they value loyalty? i think this is kinda hard to answer bc like.. who doesn’t??? i think arkk in general is a sort of lone wolf type who actually doesn’t generally like other people meddling in his work much and doesn’t quite enjoy having to rely on other people/have ppl be loyal 2 him, judging by his remarks at the brazen gladiator and about his.. probably inquest??? krewe in his journal entries and then ofc all the snark at the party during nightmare frac (though he had a lot of personal salt material involving batteries that motivated that).. i think he’s less of a “if ur loyal to me we’ll be Buddies and get things done together >:)” type and more of a “well i need you unfortunately so do what i say and do it well and we won’t have a problem and i guess i’ll owe you one, but stay out of my way after that” type..... he doesn’t enjoy involving other people in his plans and would rather do things himself especially to ensure it doesn’t get Mucked Up by someone else’s foolishness...... so i guess to that extent no he actually doesn’t ppparticularly value loyalty and won’t treat you special for adhering to his plans; for him adhering to his plans and then getting tf out is just the baseline performance you should be giving him

HOWEVER t4 is a bit of a special case because he does have t3 and despite all their bickering he values t3s cooperation a lot and is really optimistic about their partnership. i mean cmon.. TWO arkks! twice the brilliance! the ability to always be on the same page and not have to deal with the tragic shortsightedness and insurmountable ineptitude of not-arkk underlings! loyalty isn’t still quite a factor but he appreciates that they’re both on the same page on everything

♕ - Do they trust easily? hhghhrrhg no probably not...... he’s probably a bit bitter towards other people in general and closes himself off easily and doesn’t want them involved in his business

[dskid]

memeghan answer me every single question from the overwatch thing

YES it’s all under the cut!

1. Who is your defense main?

junkrat! my sweet baby boy

2. Who is your support main?

lucio

3. Who is your offense main?

reaper

4. Who is your tank main?

d.va

5. Who is you MAIN main?

junkrat RIP

6. Which character have you played the least?

mei or ana,,, i never play them if i can help it tbh

7. Which character do you want to learn how to play?

MCCREE, genji, hanzo, widow, tracer

8. Which character do you dislike the most?

HANZO I HATE HANZO SM as a character… but hes fun to play and im >:- (

9. Which character’s background story do you like the most?

genji, reaper, or mccree definitely!!

10. Which character’s background story do you like the least?

idk really, just the bland ones :’- )

11. Which map is your favorite?

i love hanamura and it’s not just because genji….. i just. really love hanamura

12. Which map is your least favorite?

lijiang tower >:- ( it sucks and i hate it

13. What Arcade game type is your favorite?

mystery heroes or honestly 3v3′s !!

14. What Arcade game type is your least favorite?

total mayhem is Terrible tbh

15. Do you prefer quick play, competitive, arcade mode, or custom games?

i love quick play the most! it’s fun and u can dick around without consequence (though i prefer winning to. Not winning)

16. Which map type is your favorite? Assault, escort, assault & escort, control, or arena?

assault or control maps are my favs !! escort is fine but control? good shit dude

17. Which map type is your least favorite? Assault, escort, assault & escort, control, or arena?

assault and escort are :- / but u know

18. Which event map was your favorite?

idk if it counts as an event map since it’s still here but i love all the new elimination maps!

19. Which event map reskin was your favorite?

winter wonderland!

20. Which event was your favorite?

i didnt get to play it but junkenstein’s revenge? or the uprising event bc BLACKWATCH REYES’S VOICE I NUT

21. Which event legendary skin was your favorite?

i nut for all of the blackwatch skins

22. Which event was your least favorite?

cant say!

23. Which event legendary skin was your least favorite?

ROADHOG’S YEAR OF THE ROOSTER SKIN SUCKS and it scares me

24. Which event non-legendary skin was your favorite?

genji’s sparrow skin makes me NUT

25. Which event non-legendary skin was your least favorite?

all of the piss yellow skins

26. Which event item do you most regret not getting?

genji’s and mccree’s dance emotes :’- ( i want them so bad

27. Did you beat the Uprising event on Normal, Hard, Expert, and Legendary?

couldnt play it aaaahahaha

28. Do you have Sombra’s “Power Outage” achievement?

NOPE

29. Do you have Widowmaker’s “Smooth as Silk” achievement?

nope

30. Do you have Lucio’s “The Floor is Lava” achievement?

nope :’- )

31. Do you have Zenyatta’s “Rapid Discord” achievement?

n o pe,

32. What was the first achievement you got?

i think it was the one u get for getting a quad kill with junkrat’s rip tyre

33. Did you get the “Not A Scratch,” achievement on Junkenstein’s Revenge?

NO

34. What has been the hardest achievement to get for you?

any of the ones for the pixel sprays bc the pixel sprays make me nut

35. What’s your current SR score in Competitive Mode?

i dont play comp

36. What the highest you’ve been in Competitive?

^

37. What’s the most amount of placement matches you’ve won?

^

38. How many gold guns do you have?

0 aha but i want junkrat’s so people know im annoying

39. Which was the first gold gun you got?

NONE

40. Whose gold gun do you currently want?

junkrat’s!

41. What role do you usually play in Competitive?

JDAFSDLK

42. If you don’t play Competitive, why not?

too intense? and im honestly not that good at ovw so my team would carry me the whole time and it would be :- (

43. What kind of theme event would you like to see in the future?

i just want to play junkenstein’s revenge dude

44. What type of character would you like to see in the future?

A NEW HEALER

45. Who needs more (or better) skins in the future?

REAPER and basically all my faves except genji cause hes good

46. What country would you like a new character to come from?

i dont really care,,,,,,

47. Favorite voice line?

“hear me baby?” - torbjorn

48. Favorite player icon?

GOLDEN PACHIMARI but i have goldrat rn

49. Favorite emote?

all of the dance emotes but roadhog’s and junkrat’s are my faves cause they HIGH FIVE

50. Favorite spray?

THE ONE WHERE THE KID? IS PUNCHING? AND HE LOOKS RLY UNCOMFORTABLE

51.Favorite victory pose?

uhh idk! i love basically all of them tbh but reaper’s shrug probably? i love reaper

52. Favorite highlight intro?

D.VA’S SELFIE INTRO

53. Characters you ship the most?

mcgenji and roadrat 8- )

54. Characters you ship the least?

aside from bad ships™, meihem and mercyhog are both Rly Bad in my opinion, along with gency and mercykill (both very bad)

55. Characters you wish had more in-game interactions?

FUCKign…. mccree and genji…… and if reaper and doomfist dont have a lot of interactions those two also

56. Character you wish had a comic about?

i want hanzo and genji to have their own individual comics or one together about their childhood

57. Favorite comic released?

the junkers going legit comic

58. Favorite short released?

DRAGONS cause im a ho for genji

59. Favorite new character released?

doomfist

60. Overwatch, Blackwatch, or Talon?

BLACKWATCH I LOVE MY BOYS

61. Pro-Omnic or anti-Omnic?

pro-omnic but only for zenyatta…… im love him

62. Favorite character that isn’t a playable one? (Ex: Emily, Brigitte, Gerard, Efi, etc.)

gerard or efi probably? theyre both v good

63. Character change (nerf, boost, work around) that you liked the most?

roadhog going faster and having more bullets

64. Character change (nerf, boost, work around) you liked the least?

i cant fuckign hook anyone anymore

65. Best ultimate?

i love d.va’s nerf this but i can never position it right,,,, and i love rip tyre

66. Worst ultimate?

widow’s is the most useless tbh

67. Most kills in game?

never enough :’- ) 41 tho

68. Most heals in game?

10,520

69. What character do you think needs a nerf?

SYMMETRA i hate playing against her >:- ( her beam takes no skill to use and also winston’s beam needs to heck off

70. What character do you think needs a buff?

reinhardt… give the man a range…..

71. Have you ever rage quit in the middle of a game?

nope i only leave games early if i have to do something else irl or if my internet goes out

72. What’s the fastest you’ve won a game?

like……… 1:10

73. What’s the fastest you’ve lost a game?

i forget it probably wasnt too far off from 1:00 - 1:20 tho

74. Your best Overwatch-related story?

UMM idk ! all the skirmishes where the enemy team dances with me and stuff r lit and when people have the low grav parties with me on horizon lunar colony it’s also lit

75. Weirdest thing that happened to you on Overwatch?

nothing weird really happens to me in ovw tbh…

76. Platform you play on?

PC!

77. Do you stream?

nope

78. Do you normally play solo or with friends?

i try to play with friends more than i do solo but i will solo sometimes

79. Have you made any friends because of Overwatch?

MADDY!! and u and kelly and rose!

80. Have you cosplayed a character from Overwatch?

no but i really want to cosplay young  / sparrow genji really fuckgin bad

81. Have you ever wrote fan fiction about Overwatch?

im in… the process……

82. What’s the lowest you’ve been in Competitive?

i dont play comp

83. In “All Brawls,” if you get “Charge!” do you play Reinhardt or do you pick the Lucio role?

i missed these

84. In “All Brawls,” if you get “One Shot, One Kill,” do you play Ana, Hanzo, or Widowmaker?

i missed these

85. In “All Brawls,” if you get “This is Ilios,” do you pick Lucio or Roadhog?

i missed these

86. Team Genji or Team Hanzo?

GENJI HANZO DESERVES NOTHING AND HE SUCKS

87. Be honest! Do you usually get on the payload?

yes! im always the one calling for people to get on it tbh

88. Does your team?

not usually :’- )

89. What’s the longest session of Overwatch you’ve played?

when i first got it…… ive played it for a solid 6 hours in a row with no breaks bc i suck

90. No Limits, Mystery Heroes, or Total Mayhem?

mystery heroes definitely

91.Most cosmetics you have for one character?

i think i have the most for mercy but i cant remember?

92. Least cosmetics you have for one character?

symmetra

93. Have you ever made your own custom game?

only to practice playing genji

94. Best D.Va skin?

CRUISER, junebug, or carbon fiber

95. Best Mercy skin?

the witch one

96. Best Tracer skin?

roses

97. Zarya’s Industrial and Cybergoth skins: yes, no, or HELL NO?

eeh

98. Do you want more animal character, robot characters, or human characters?

human characters (theyre easier to draw and im a Weenie when it comes to drawing mechs / robots)

99. Is there are character you’d get rid of completely?

hanzo bc i hate him or sym bc i cant play against her no matter how hard i try

100. What do you think Sombra’s real name is?

something really pretty………. idk what exactly………….. but something just Real Good

[resbang-bookclub]

AMA Transcript: Now the light falls

This week, @lunar--resonance​ stopped by to talk about their Resbang, Now the light falls! Here’s some of what went down!:

Q: What inspired this fic?

Lunar: makapedia sent me a prompt for Ghost AU back in 2015 and I wrote this: http://lunar--resonance.tumblr.com/post/119962051400/41-for-soma-o. I had so much fun with the prompt that I started a notes file on it and it got so long that I was like, yeah I have to split this up into different fics. I knew from the beginning it was gonna be a trilogy, and I have basically all of the plot points planned out for each fic which is why there are some things that go unexplained in Now the night falls. Some of what I wrote for the original prompt differs from the actual fic but that was where it all got started. :D The plot went through many drafts and revisions ahah. What I envisioned when I wrote the prompt is v different from the fic. I had a draft running before Resbang started and then I hit a rut so I had to take it to pieces and regroup halfway through so that was fun.

Q: I want to know if Soul actually made Hiro's pudding explode cause he was jelly or if it was just Hiro being Hiro.

Lunar: Soul got jelly, but he didn't mean to make the pudding explode lmao.

Q: I'm super hype that this AU will have more stuff! I was like "they didn't answer a bunch of questions, this universe is super huge and well developed." "IMMA ASK ABOUT A SEQUEL!"

Lunar: YES I HAD SO MUCH FUN WITH THE WORLDBUILDING AND YOU WILL SEE A LOT OF THAT IN THE SEQUEL. Esp with Ghostbusters squad. I'm so excited for them to play a bigger role in the sequel.

Q: What was your favorite part to write?

Lunar: I really liked writing when Maka and Soul are out on the roof because that's one of the first times they truly connect. And I was really looking forward to writing the possession scenes lmao, like I had that planned way back in the earliest drafts. I had to do it. And it's also going to be a big plot point in the sequels. ;D

Q: The roof scene made my heart burst.

Lunar: The roof scene was one of the most emotional scenes I wrote and at first it was originally slanted that Maka was the only one going through anxiety stuff but after one of the revisions, I made it so Soul was also going through stuff (for secret plot reasons) so it was interesting to write two characters who are both very not okay support each other.

Q: What have you learned from participating in Resbang for three... years? FOUR?

Lunar: I participated in Resbang when it first started which was in 2013 I think?? So four years. WOW THAT'S A LONG TIME. I would definitely say that my writing process has been developed and refined so much, I basically had just begun to write when Resbang #1 rolled around so basically my process was just WRITE. Now I actually list and plan everything out in plot instead of being like, oh I didn't know the story was going this way. Which happens sometimes still lol, just not as much.

Q: What was your process like?

Lunar: For writing I like to go through things chronologically because my brain allows no other alternative so generally I make an outline of the main points I want for each scene. Generally snippets of what I'm envisioning come alive during that part so I also jot those down and by the end my doc is a trainwreck so I re-organize and that really helps me cement the timeline for the scene/chapter. Then I start writing and if I hit a rut then usually what I do is force myself to write in bullet points of what I want to go down but just....can't find the words. Because I know if I stop writing I'm just going to be staring at a blank page for two hours lol. OH AND MUSIC. That is super essential for me getting into the headspace of a character. I can't write without it.

Q: Do you have playlists you'd like to share? Or general artists you listened to a lot?

Lunar: I didn't make playlists because I would have procrastinated with that instead of writing but I basically listened to these songs on repeat while I wrote: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lwx6BNwXBaA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VBc7VIibRA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=so8V5dAli-Q http://listenonrepeat.com/?v=7FDAkpQSJVA#Fountain_soundtrack_-_Death_is_the_road_to_awe. With the exception of Control all of them are instrumental, which helps bc sometimes lyrics can get distracting.

Q: Is the pudding exploding an HP reference?

Lunar: YEAH THE PUDDING WAS AN HP REFERENCE LMAO.

Q: That bullet point thing is neat! Do you find it helps you to get out of your rut when you're having a hard time with a scene?

Lunar: The bullet points help SO MUCH. From past experience I know if I run into a block its going to take me forever to get out of it, so forcing myself to write and flesh out the scene def gets my inspiration going again. Breaking out of blocks is such a difficult struggle x.x It wasn't until my last Resbang fic that I figured out the bullet point method was the way to go lol.

Q: Did you have to do any extra research for this fic, and if so, what kinds of things did you look into?

Lunar: Working out the different levels of ghosts and how they evolve into each other took some research, I only hinted at it somewhat in the story but ghosts and the poltergeists are related as well as other ghosts that we haven't seen yet ahah. Also names of places like Orcus Hollow. I put some research into that bc symbolism and future plot points. Supernatural stuff was the main thing tho.

Q: Did anything inspire that sort of in between world with all the spiderwebs?

Lunar: Mmm so the in-between world is the new witches' realm; it's kinda like its own dimension overlaid on ours. So Arachne's part of the realm is overlaid on Orcus Hollow which was why there were all the spiderwebs and spider beasts and is also why Soul and Maka ended up in the same place in that dimension.

Q: That's v neat - looking forward to seeing it play out in later parts of the series. ;)

Lunar: Me too. ;v; There was so much that I put into developing this universe but there's only a fraction revealed bc the story is only from Maka's POV (with the interlude being the exception) but in the sequel I know for sure I'm going to be switching between Soul and Maka pretty evenly and adding in some other characters' POVS as well. So that will be fun ahah. I've been working on the sequel and there is gonna be angst. The obvious conflict is that Maka is alive and Soul is not but there is other pain that I kinda hinted on in the story that will be a much bigger part of the two sequels, especially this upcoming one. I have like, one happy ending and several sad ones ahahahah.

Q: What was the most rewarding aspect of this Resbang for you?

Lunar: Ahhhhhh there were so great things but I really enjoyed bouncing ideas with my artists, they helped keep my inspiration up. Also after being haunted (haha) by this idea for so long I was excited/nervous to see what people would think and if it lived up to expectations or not.

Q: I'm still waiting for ghost fam to make a reappearance. Q: Same. What happened to ghost fam? Except jk we will probably find out in the sequels, I hope.

Lunar: I LOVED GHOST FAM. I GOT INVESTED LOL. That was one part I meant to not go in much detail in but I realized it was needed to explain Maka's issues with ghosts later on. AND YEAH YOU WILL FIND OUT IN THE SEQUEL. ;D

Q: Are we gonna get to see more of Soul learning about modern things? Cause that was one of my favorite little details of the fic.

Lunar: That was a fave detail of mine too ahah. I have sections that I wasn't able to fit in the story of Soul experiencing riding in a car and going to the mall for the first time. I'm debating whether to see if I can work it into a prompt for SoMa week?? Or just finish and publish them lmao. It will get published one way or the other lol.

Q: Whats your [worldbuilding] process? Have you developed and tricks or hacks?

Lunar: Generally I start out with: what is necessary for the plot, especially from a reader's perspective? In answering that question, it's very easy to expand on that and develop from there. Like, for example I knew that Soul was going to be a unique kind of ghost so I figured out what kind of ghost he was, then built on that to make the other levels of ghosts you see in the story and in the sequels.

Q: Where did [that] idea come from?

Lunar: I was rewatching the episode of Maka and Soul facing off free while they were fighting and the part where Maka is like, is Soul trying to eat my soul, made me think about the process of becoming a kishin in canon. And I was inspired and borrowed from that in making the different levels of ghosts in Ghost AU.

Q: How'd it spiral into a trilogy? Was that always the plan?

Lunar: The plan was always a trilogy from the get-go; when I was initially planning out everything, I knew that all of the plot points weren't going to fit into one fic, but luckily there were two breaks within the plot points that made it easy to section it into a trilogy.

---

Big thanks to Lunar for stopping by!!! Stay tuned for more transcripts!

[kagayakimasu]

getting to know shinee world ♡

@duevangogh tagged me to answer these shinee questions and before i get started ill tag @acelululala @kimjongloser @ninonisanoctopus @taerrorize @peridoxxx @5-25 @eyes0ny0u @lunar-otter @losteraable  (but its ok if you dont want to do it ♡) and can i tag you @duevangogh back since you posted the questions but didnt answet them? ;u; ♡

01: How did you get into SHINee?

i like telling this story lmao

 yk that msn messenger thing we used to use like forever ago? my friends and i had this emoticon of a guy we assumed was from a kpop group laughing and he was adorable so we decided to look for him in music videos cause we knew kpop existed but we werent rly interested in it so i tried looking for him in shinee videos and instead i found taemin and fun fact: i still dont know who the emoticon guy was lmao

02: Your favorite member in SHINee is?

my favorite member has always been taemin but ive been in such an ot5 mood recently ;;

03: Bias wrecker anyone?

all??? of them???? im like minho it depends on the day

04: Your favorite SHINee OTP (if you have one)

again all of them OTL i mostly ship people like in a friendship kind of way so all the dynamics in shinee are really adorable and i love seeing any of them but ill say ontae and minkey

05: Is there a SHINee ship you don’t like?

at first i wasnt so warm about 2min tbh but that didnt last like a couple of months

06: The SHINee member you think is most easily shipped

i dont know? ;;;;;

07: Your favorite Korean song by SHINee

i cant choose one ;;; hit me, last gift and selene 6.23 are ones that hit me pretty hard 

08: Your favorite Japanese song by SHINee

better is a really really special song to me because i remember when the album wasnt released yet and the only way to listen to it was in a super lq tudou video and right around that time my cousin came home from japan so he brought me the album and it was my first album and i treasure it so dearly TT but honestly im the biggest sucker for shinees japanese discography 

09: Favorite album

the first is really special for me, i love every song and theyre all in japanese and key is in a shopping cart i just love it so much ♡

10: Your favorite live performance

like a fire from swc iii clearly also their very first live comeback stage for everybody it was so good? the first time they performed sleepless night and tho i hate it when a member is missing i find it really nice to hear the other members covering their parts

11: First SHINee MV you saw

for some reason i chose replay out of the youtube search suggestions yk (how did i not pick lucifer i was in my emo phase idk how that happened)

12: Your first impression of SHINee

cute af, onew and keys voices destroyed me and i did not believe the mushroom guy from replay was the long haired lucifer himself in the lucifer mv

13: Is there a SHINee member that recently impressed you?

umm yes they impress me everyday let me live rip 

but jokes aside tbh every time taemin performs sayonara hitori he got me SO shook its never the same and like this isnt necessarily impressing me but sometimes taemins smile is so beautiful i cant believe and i cry 

14: The SHINee member you think has changed the most over the years

tbh i dont really like talking about change because im idk i guess im a little stuck up but one thing im really happy about is the fact that minkey got over their infamous fight and taemin has clearly become this amazing artist but it was kind of to be expected cause weve known him since he was a lil tiny child

15: The SHINee member you think has changed the least

i dont really know how to judge this adkjnvjnf i guess onew has had the least physical change since he was already almost becoming an adult when he debuted so we got to see less of his natural maturing and stuff but i also feel like jonghyun has accepted himself a lot over the years so hes allowed us to see a side of him that has always been there so even though it was sort of new to us at first, it wasnt really a change

16: Your favorite SHINee MV

lowkey replay japanese version highkey married to the music also lucky star is a masterpiece

17: Your favorite SHINee lyric

im actually really weak for even mildly cute lyrics like its two words and im on the floor screaming and there are some really specific ones that people really dont care for but i think are so beautiful like the “im not important” part in selene 6.23 and theres something along the lines of “i want you to depend/rely on me” in colors of the season but like the english translations dont do it justice i think the meaning in the original japanese words is so deep (and its probably really not lmao) also really simple ones like “you are the reason of my smile” in always love i just! want! to talk! about! lyrics!

18: The SHINee member you think has the best face

key 100% i remember when i first got into shinee id think key was taemin because he looked the best and i thought oh that must be the long haired guy

19: The SHINee member you think has the best body

onew hes soft and his face is squishy

20: The SHINee member you think has the best personality

mmmmmmmmm too hard they all have so many qualities i think are important in a person idk 

21: A SHINee picture that makes you smile

its just so funny to me omg

22: A SHINee picture that makes you nostalgic

23: Your favorite quote by someone in SHINee

i think taemin is really inspirational and i think about him saying you have to give up things to achieve others a lot also keys entire chicken speech

24: A picture of your bias with someone else you like in another group

25: Have you seen SHINee live?

not yet ;;

26: Do you have a favorite variety show moment?

tbh every time they eat and all these japanese hosts who treat taemin like a lil prince are 10/10 

27: How would you describe SHINee in three words?

bestthing thatseverhappened tome

28: Which SHINee video would you show to someone who has never heard of them before?

not a video but someone has this series of gifsets that they call “someone asked why im a shawol” or something like that i forgot who it was sry ;;; but i think those sum them up rly well

29. Is there a memory in connection to SHINee that you will always treasure?

when i was in japan there was a day i bought a fuck load of albums and random merch and the store clerks were all really nice to me and at the end of the day i remember when i was leaving shin ookubo, there was a store playing lucifer pretty loud so it felt like it was the soundtrack of my life as i walked down the street lmao and it was really the perfect way to finish such a great day

30: If you could tell SHINee anything you wanted…what would that be?

i think about this a lot but i still havent found an answer orz i think i would just end up telling them theyre the most important thing in my life but i wish i could let them know how much they mean like not to be dramatic but i couldnt live without them, i wish there was a way to make that sound good yk cause like it sounds way too extreme and generic and maybe hard to believe but i wish i knew a way to let them really understand how much they mean to me

[thederailedtrain]

The Mark of Oblivion: Home [Two]

“So what color candle would you recommend to a customer crafting a spell to study better?” Kira asked, smiling her most encouraging smile at Gus.

He couldn’t see her, of course, not when he was focused so intently on the wall of candles before him. “Yellow!” Gus exclaimed after a moment’s deliberation.

When the werewolf turned around, Kira was already waiting with a high five. “You’re picking this up really fast,” Kira told him, with her signature good-natured shoulder punch. “Not gonna lie, I kinda hate you right now.”

“You could never hate me,” Gus grinned.

There was an odd tension in his jaw Kira spotted when he smiled. For a second, Kira thought she was imagining it. But then a customer bumped into him from behind and Gus nearly jumped out of his skin. However, once he spotted the woman and the infant in her arms, the tension left. They both murmured apologies before parting ways. Gus groaned, rubbing frustratedly at his cheeks.

“Full moon coming up?” Kira guessed.

Head still in his hands, Gus nodded. “It’s this weekend,” he confirmed. Well, considering the weekend started the next day… “For some reason, it’s really bad this month.”

“Maybe it’s the supermoon,” Kira replied and Gus blinked up at her. “Come on, like you haven’t been all those Facebook posts?”

“You know I hate Facebook,” Gus frowned.

Well, that was fair, Kira hated Facebook too. It just surprised her that a guy who had a lunar phase calendar app on his phone didn't know about the upcoming supermoon, nevermind hearing about it from other members of his pack of werewolves.

Hell, Kira heard it plenty herself around the shop. Tomorrow was going to be the perfect time for everything from dedications to kitchen witchcraft. And if Gus had somehow missed out on all that with his superhuman hearing, then he really was distracted.

“Hey,” Kira said, dropping her voice. “Is something else going on? You know you can tell me.”

“I just...I have a lot of stuff on my plate right now,” Gus sighed. He deflated with the admission, sinking into himself. “Rent’s been tight without the track scholarship, even after picking up shifts here. And now there’s all this drama about whether or not my parents can make it out for graduation.”

Kira wanted to say something comforting, but she wasn’t good at this kind of shit. These kinds of delicate responses took time for her to craft. As she was working on one, her phone buzzed in her hand. She looked at the message notification on her screen, eyes going wide.

“Well, safe to say I understand you’re coming from. Families are a lot,” Kira replied. She opened her messages, turning the screen to Gus.

Based on Gus’s facial expressions, she could tell the exact moment he got to the message in question. “She wants to get lunch?”

“I mean, she is going to be my…” Kira had to wince at the absurdity of it all, “-future step mother. I guess.”

“Alright, you win this round for sheer absurdity,” Gus held his hands up.

Kira, who hadn’t realized they were competing, could only shrug. “At least if it’s awkward, it’ll be over soon. Once Cedric finishes damage control, we’re saving them a table at that diner on the end of the block.”

“Wait, if you and Cedric are gonna be gone, who’s going to watch the shop?” Gus asked. He put two and two together before Kira could answer the obvious. “Oh, no. Kira,no,  I can’t. I don’t know enough about magic and the- the moon phase!”

Shit, Kira realized, he was right. For as good as Gus was picking things up, he just didn’t have enough experience to run the shop during peak hours by himself. But Salazar had specifically requested Cedric’s presence and Kira sure as hell wasn’t attending what was sure to be the most awkward lunch ever by herself. Maybe Gus could join her instead-

“Hey, do you think Toni would want to come down?” Gus spoke up. “I mean, we did pretty okay last time, right?”

Actually, that was a pretty good idea. “Yeah, hang on, let me text her.”

As Kira worked on a text explaining the situation (oh, she couldn’t wait to hear Toni’s response to this one), she picked up on a familiar presence. Ravid’s rings might’ve made sensing harder, but Cedric’s magical signature was the first one she’d ever become familiar with. She sent off the text and looked up at the door just as the bells jingled.

Immediately, Kira could tell that something was wrong. The set of his shoulders, the lack of focus in his eyes - even his beard looked like it could use a good trim. Not that it was particularly long, but he generally kept it very neat. Cedric picked the two of them out of the crowd quickly and made his way over to them.

There was a question ready and waiting on Kira’s tongue, but a customer intercepted him first. She watched as Cedric’s face changed from serious and determined to the smile he wore around all customers. As much as she preferred a smile on Cedric’s face, this one was quite right. It sat a little too perfectly on his features.

“What did Toni say?” Gus asked. Kira nearly gave herself whiplash turning back to look at him. His words hadn’t fully processed yet and all she could do was stare blankly at him. Gus just gestured eagerly to her phone.

Oh. Right. Kira opened her phone to see a new message staring back at her. lmao sure why not? gotta be done by 7 for my night shift tho

“She’s in,” Kira told Gus. She sent Toni a Yeah we should be back by then it’s just lunch before looking over at Gus. Instead of the sigh of relief she’d been expecting, Gus let out a rather enthusiastic ‘Yes!’ complete with a victorious fist pump.

“What are we celebrating over here?” Cedric cut in. Kira was disappointed to find that smile still on his face, just like they were any other customers.

“Toni’s coming over to help Gus watch the shop while we’re out,” Kira explained.

That seemed to do the trick. Cedric’s smile wavered before devolving into a much more sober look. Without the smile to hide it, the tiredness in Cedric’s eyes was more plain. On second thought, maybe Kira did like the smile better.

“I mean, she’s just an interesting person to-” Gus began

Cedric cut through his excuse, perhaps accidentally, with a curt, “You ready to head out?”

“Yeah, let me grab my jacket,” Kira nodded, already heading over to where she’d stashed it behind the counter.

After waving goodbye to Gus, Kira hurried over to the door where Cedric was waiting for her. They caught Toni as she was coming around from the alley in back of the shop. When Cedric greeted her with that same customer service smile as earlier, that was all the confirmation Kira needed.

However, just because she knew something was up didn’t mean she knew what to say. It was like the situation with Gus all over again. They’d gotten to the diner and were in the process of being seated before Kira had even gathered the courage to bring it up.

“Oh, I didn’t expect you to…” Cedric began when Kira slid into the seat next to him.

“And then who would Lix sit next to?” Kira narrowed her brows.

A resigned sigh came from Cedric’s lips and he quickly turned to stare out the window. It was beginning to dawn on Kira just how small this booth was, and Cedric’s broad shoulders certainly weren’t helping. She watched as he actively tried to shrink himself down every time they brushed against each other, which was an impressive task for someone with Cedric’s frame.

Up close, Kira could see something in his body language she hadn’t noticed before. It wasn’t so much that he was uncomfortable around her, more like he was trying to make himself uncomfortable.

Something bubbled up in Kira’s veins alongside worry. This was a job that was probably better suited for someone with a more delicate touch. Someone who could empathize with Cedric and talk him through it. Unfortunately, Kira was not that person.

“Okay, what the hell’s up?” Kira asked, unable to keep the frustration from her voice. Cedric turned back to her and seemed to be in the middle of formulating a pleasant and convincing way to say ‘Oh? Hmm, nothing’. Kira cut that shit out with the raise of her hand. “No, you don’t get to to just tell me nothing’s wrong, alright? I’m not some random store regular. I know you. I know you’re not just tired.”

That seemed to do the trick. Cedric’s casual customer service smile cracked before dissolving completely. “Well, I am quite tired,” Cedric said eventually. He leaned back against the window sill, but at least he was facing her this time.

Kira leaned her chin on her hand and stared back. She wanted to let him know that she was listening, but also that he wouldn’t get away with such a simple answer. Cedric managed to hold out under her intense stare for all of five seconds before he let out a defeated sigh.

“This morning was more work than I’ve done in a single day since-” The incubus cut himself off, blinking as he tried to recall some kind of memory. “I honestly couldn’t tell you. It’s been...decades. And this wasn’t necessarily work I enjoyed either.”

“Well, if you want to talk about it,” Kira offered with her most casual shrug. She watched as the debate played out across Cedric’s face.

After a quick glance around the diner, Cedric leaned in and dropped his voice to a whisper. “This is the largest case of Otherworld exposure in recent memory. Not just in my Ward, but Wards across the country. I think I was able to contain it, but between cleaning up the site and all the memories I had to erase…” He ran a hand over his face, which had the added effect of muffling a groan. “The other Wardens haven’t had the highest opinions of me since Central Park. And now, this?”

Guilt crawled up Kira’s throat. How selfish was she for thinking this was all about her? “If there’s something I can do to help - you know, as your second-in-command,” she said, slowly letting her fingers wander over to where Cedric’s hand was sitting on the table. “I mean, it’s what you hired me for and all.”

At that moment, Cedric finally noticed Kira’s hand encroaching on his personal space. Good, she’d done it slowly on purpose in order to gauge his response. For a moment, Kira feared he would flinch away like he’d been burned. Cedric’s whole body, not just his hand, froze. But then, he relaxed again. This time, he was the one to close the distance. It may have only been the barest brush of fingertips, but it was something.

Touch had never been something Kira used to show affection. There weren’t many people she trusted in her personal space, nevermind to put their hands on her. Cedric, however, seemed to prefer it. This was probably an incubus thing, Kira realized long ago, something about drawing energy and emotions through contact. She remembered all the ways he used to reach out to her, like when he was proud of her for learning a new spell. But he was also so respectful about it once he figured out her personal boundaries. Now, Kira couldn’t help but wish she’d appreciated it more before. Maybe, she thought, touch wasn’t so bad after all.

While they were in this good place, Kira wondered if she could ask him what else was going on. What had been going on. However, just as Kira was drawing in a breath, Cedric’s head whipped towards the door. That air rushed back out her mouth when her eyes landed on the couple that had just entered.

It made sense that she didn’t sense Salazar. Even without the Mark, he was a powerful neutral mage. The woman at his side, however, Kira really should’ve picked up on. She was surprised she only noticed her presence after spotting her. Had she really been that distracted?

Upon seeing Cedric and Kira, Salazar’s face lit up. He gave them a friendly wave before heading over, a hand on his partner’s lower back.

She was rather petite, which was the first thing Kira noticed. Maybe it was just an issue of scale - herself, Cedric, and Salazar were all well above average height. The second thing Kira noticed was how beautiful she was. Her skin was a smooth, light brown and her thick, black hair had been curled neatly over her shoulders. She was smiling as she walked over, giving her a youthful look.

Or maybe she was that young. Despite appearing to be in his late thirties, Kira had to occasionally remind herself that Salazar was, in fact, eighty-something. As if that weren’t a strange enough thing to think about, his fiancée was certainly closer in age to her than to him. Kira might’ve even been older than her. It was an uncomfortable thought until Kira remembered the age difference between Cedric and everyone else in the room.

Cedric was the first to stand and nearly tried exiting the booth until he realized Kira was boxing him in. She jumped up, managing to get out just as the other couple reached them. The two Wardens hugged like they hadn’t seen each other in months, not hours. Not that she would ever tell them, but Kira found it adorable when they got like this.

“Lix, congratulations!” Cedric exclaimed, turning to shake her hand. “Though I must say, I’m quite jealous. You’ve found yourself a wonderful man.”

“Oh, please, I’m the lucky one here,” Salazar shook his head. The way he smiled down at his fiancée actually made Kira’s heart warm. She almost had to look away. “I still can’t believe she said yes.”

“You’re telling me,” Lix said flatly. Then she broke out that big grin again, leaning back into Salazar’s embrace. “I tease, I tease.” Okay, Kira liked her already. Next thing she knew, Lix was turning that smile on her. “And you must be Kira?”

Kira stumbled for a second, almost forgetting what it was she was supposed to do in this situation. Saying um, yeah, that’s me probably wasn’t the right answer here. But what was the right answer when you were meeting the woman engaged to a man you only just found out was your biological father? “Kira Nguyen. It’s nice to meet you,” she settled on.

“Nice to meet you too,” Lix echoed. Her accent was just as pretty as she was. “My full name is Calixta Maroun, but everyone calls me Lix. You’re welcome to as well.”

“Well, now that we’ve all been introduced,” Cedric gestured to the booth. “Why don’t we get started on lunch?”

Everyone made noises of agreement, settling into their seats. Kira found herself across the booth from Lix, who busied herself with undoing her jacket and hanging up her purse. Although they’d hardly said five words to each other, and Lix seemed like a nice woman so far, she couldn’t help but stare awkwardly. The situation was just so strange and Lix was acting like it didn’t faze her. How the hell was she doing that?

“So,” Lix began once she’d settled in. “Tell me a little about yourself, Kira. You’re the only one here I haven’t met and I would like to get to know you better. You are the daughter of my future husband after all.”

Wow, okay. That was so straightforward, Kira couldn’t help but think. So that’s how this lunch was going to go.