#She worked hard for the parts to build that thing. Don't touch her stuff.

[eleanorgrootch]

Can you tell us more about your operator and drifter?

Yes of course!!! <3

I'm sorry for the lack of art here, I unfortunately don't have much time to make my descriptions look cute but oh well.

My Operator's name is Gin (Or Ginny by only a select few people). Her personality is fairly cold and hardened since she still runs on the anger she felt after the accident on the Zariman. She also maintains the mindset of a soldier she and the other Tenno children were subjected to after being rescued. Unlike my Drifter, she still remembers a lot of details of their life before the accident, but refuses to return to how she was before. Instead, she holds a focus to move forward with her new life, adapting herself into a more capable and powerful Tenno as the game goes on.

She isn't without any growth, though, or friends! I played a lot of the initial quests with a close friend of mine so now I see Gin going on most of her adventures with a fellow Tenno named F.L.O.R.A who helps her to accept her anger, but also to see the joy in small things again. She would never admit it out loud, but Ginny feels less lonely when F.L.O.R.A is around.

Although she doesn't see The Lotus as her mother, nor does she want to, she holds a high amount of respect for her. In fact, she begins to admire her after the events of The New War when The Lotus chose for herself who she wished to be despite her background and past. As she grows older, I can see Gin becoming an almost ethereal being, similar to her.

My Drifter, Imogen, on the other hand wants nothing more than to return to her life before Duviri. Not on the Zariman, not in space among a never ending void, but on the old colony where her family used to live. She wants to return to a home. Her time lost on Duviri left her with many holes in her memory, so there are things she can no longer remember - her mother's voice, her father's face, the silly things she and her brother used to argue about. It made her almost desperate once she put herself in the middle of The New War, as though she were trying to fight for her right to simply exist again.

Ironically enough, though, she's more understanding of her emotions compared to Gin. And once she wakes up from her apathetic state after Duviri, she tries to allow herself to simply feel whenever she can. This so far has given her a stupidly dark sense of humor and a worrisome curiosity for things around her ("I wonder what this does!" type of mindset)

I suppose in a way, Imogen is the more "human" one of the two travelers.

Some more fun tidbits about them!

Imogen loves plants. She has a greenhouse going on in her backroom where she learned to grow vegetables (and slowly grew out of her habit of eating cubed food) She helps the Hex distribute these to the civvies in Hollvania and Arthur uses them to cook as well.

Imogen also plays the Shawzin and sings sometimes. She used to perform for others on the Zariman and liked feeling that she helped spark some joy for that simple thing. It makes her happy to know she can still do it for everyone in 1999. I headcanon her voice to be similar in accent and song to Lucy Gray Baird.

Ginny doesn't play or sing anymore, but she will still occasionally listen to the music that F.L.O.R.A plays for them on the somachord.

Gin like puzzle games. She actually is very fond of a lot of games in general but she prefers the ones that make her brain work more like Komi. However, Imogen brought back a Tammpet once from 1999 and although she initially thought it was a stupid toy, she now brings it with her everywhere.

They both wear glasses. Their vision isn't terrible enough where they need it often - they're both far sighted - but they used to wear them all the time while doing school work on the Zariman. Imogen wears them more now in 1999 (thank you dinosaur monitors) compared to Gin.

Imogen prefers firearms (her Barbie - Babie? Barie? - glocks) while Ginny prefers blades.

[srslylini]

season 2 has a structure problem and that makes act 1 flow naturally enough and it sets up the next acts perfectly well, but they wanted to do so much more than what they were

1. setting up

2. capable of doing in 9 episodes

had they just cut a few plot lines everything would've moved far easier. For example

1. cut the Smeech thing entirely. Sevika and Jinx don't need this to find themselves together and start a found family. That scene In Silcos office was so moving and everything I always loved about Arcane, stuff like this is what's needed. In fact move the prison break to act 1 and have them handle that together, Jinx can still make Sevika her arm, and everything could've still moved the same. It would've fit so much better and there also would've been so much more time to develop anything else with the magic system and act 2 wouldn't feel like it was overflowing with anything and everything. Isha is a character that as of in the show can be cut so easily and that's so sad because she'd be so interesting. Everything about her would've worked and SHOULD HAVE worked but she also just felt like Plot and a thing to make Jinx sad over again. Either don't do that or make Isha not a character like this???? I liked her scenes with Jinx so much and the scene with Jinx freaking out after finding out that Isha was taken to prison was genuinely so good, I'm still holding on to the hope that they didn't actually kill her

2. either cut that shit with the tree because let's be so honest that basically only happened so that Heimerdinger, Ekko and Jayce could meet, since we do NOT even really talk about the tree in act 2? that was so weird. Like either actually make it a thing or find different ways to let characters meet naturally. I dont know, the show was so good with that in season 1. And if they truly wanted the tree scene at least make it make sense and don't randomly drop it Idk.

3. I LOVE Mel she is like my favorite character but the plot with the black rose takes so much necessary time away from what we actually need to focus on. I heard they want to make different shows so they are setting this up but it just doesn't work. Mel could've so easily been integrated into the main plot line and it would've also made so much more sense at that. Though I'll just wait on act 3 before I judge too hard. (if they actually DARE to make her pregnant Istg)

4. Making Jinx that hero character for only like, what, a few seconds was so strange. I hope act 3 gets that better but that, first of all, happened mostly out of no where and a few touches to her shoulder after the prison scene was also not??? helping??? either set that up from the very start or don't do it at all. She isn't a hero, she is a tragedy and someone who needs help and room to breathe. The scenes where they tried to make that funny, in my opinion didn't land at all. She doesn't need a hero complex she needs calmness and stable relationships. Let Isha live I swear to GOD.

in fact that leads me into the next point

5. Have Vi realize she doesn't want to be an enforcerer sooner? I actually do like how rushed that part felt don't get me wrong, but if they wanted a reunion between Jinx and Vi don't randomly put it into act 2 with barely any build up. Let Jinx and Vi realize it during the fight, they kinda did do that but??? just didn't move that anywhere. it's so strange. If they had cut the Smeech stuff they could've easily used the third episode to make Jinx and Vi slowly reconcile. Which also means I think Vi would've been such a better "symbol" than Jinx. Vi and Jinx, for me, show what Zaun is made of, and Jinx is quite literally the valid pain, distrust and anger of Zaun, and she as well as Zaun desperately need healing. Like that would've been SO COOL. that's just my opinion though, so there is that.

6. If they had made Vi the symbol the conflict between Caitlyn and Vi would've felt a lot more natural as well. Like??? Also Caitlyn should've had so much more time if they wanted that switch up in the end to work. Cut the black rose stuff and that would've worked perfectly fine.

7. Now do NOT get me wrong, Ambessa's character is so interesting and I feel like exploring her is so cool but she and her plot just doesn't fit into the Piltover/Zaun thing. It makes it too big for what the show is. In fact I (and now this is just my opinion, anyone can have their own just saying lmao) would've either cut out Ambessa's character/plotline or subtly continued Ambessas drama with Mel, which would give Mel, who didn't get taken by the black rose in my version, a lot more to do and way more interesting stuff too. Again this is very much my opinion and doesn't mean anyone needs to share it, but I feel like they could've easily made Heimerdinger be the one who gets Caitlyn to where she was/is with Ambessa. It would've expanded Heimerdingers character and it would've stayed in the setting they already perfectly build up, Piltover and Zaun. Also, Heimerdinger wouldn't just feel like a random joke character anymore.

8. The Pit fight stuff could have been SO interesting and I feel had we not stayed with Viktor Christ so much which was also so weird at times, we could've gotten so much necessary insight on Vi. If we follow my idea it could've been Vi forced to be a symbol because of the person she is. The embodiment of Zauns loyalty, strength and resilience. And then the fights that will come out of that forcing Vi to face so much stuff she shouldn't etc etc (I haven't fleshed that one out yet don't come for me) and that could've ended in her pit fighting era, which should've taken at LEAST an episode and not a random montage that just gets forgotten??? for no reason at all. Really hope act 3 talks about that cause??? I feel with Vi as the leader the healing of Zaun would make so much sense, because Jinx realistically can't do that. The idea of Jinx being in that position IS interesting I just feel it wasn't established/developed enough.

9. I really really liked how from the very beginning Viktor's safe haven did not in fact feel safe. There was always a very uneasy feeling and that's what I love about the show. I was always waiting for the shoe to drop and it happened, that was amazing. Though I would've either established a lot of this way earlier on in the show or made it not so, and now walk with me here Ik its magic, unrealistic. That does sound strange but having Viktor suddenly float in space with white silver flowing hair and his dead assistent next to him was... very very out of no where. It was like a lazy show trying to get away with "yeah well it's magic so of course this works" and I hate that because even magic needs explanation and build up. So yeah. Either cut that shit out or have it established sooner. And while seeing the one person who helped Jayce as a kid did kind of help, it still wasn't enough for THIS, though again MY OPINION. Also we spent way too much time there, it was getting ridiculous. So much time could've easily been lent to stuff that actually needed it. I actually laughed out loud when Viktor started the healing process with Vander because come ON now, and I do not think they wanted me to laugh.

10. The stuff with Vander, Silco and Felicia (while cute) was unnecessary and weird. What I liked the most about Vander taking in Vi and Powder was the feeling that he didn't do it because he necessarily knew them very well but because he knew their mom was dead (that did show he and their mother did kind of know each other but so do like all the people in the lanes that is kind of established) and wanted to PROTECT. This new context sadly makes it feel like "well of course he stopped everything and took them with them and cared for them he knew them since birth, duh" when I always wanted to feel "well Vander is in his heart a good man who saw what terrible stuff this war and fighting did and then took in orphaned children because of course he would do that" if that makes sense? I feel this new thing took away so much from Vander, but again that's maybe just me.

11. So many jokes and scenes didn't land with me. The scene with Jinx trying to show Sevika her middle finger was SO GOOD and so Arcane that seeing the scene were they try to make it funny with Jinx's trousers and that enforcerer felt so out of place? Like what. That scene could have EASILY been cut and nothing would have changed at all. And that's what is the worst because there isn't one scene in season 1 that I feel could've been cut and there are so many of them in season 2.

12. Introducing Maddie in act 1 made me believe she'd be a bigger, even more of a threat to Zaun, character than she was and that's so sad. What I loved about season 1 is that every single character mattered. Even those we saw maybe once. This time around I hardly cared at all for any new character because they didn't feel like a Person anymore, they just felt like Plot. In season 1 episode 1 there is this scene, the first scene Vander gets to speak in. The only reason Huck meets the woman and the man to trait was basically so we get to know how the undercity works and establish Vander as basically its leader and protecter; The one people are loyal to etc. But it doesn't feel that way. It's something that naturally happens and every character in that scene, even the man and the woman we never see again, mattered and felt real.

yeah so those were really just my thoughts. I could very much go on but I also don't want to.

[tamaharu]

wait i just remembered i DO have unposted orv stuff that i can post for kim dokjas birthday. 2k of hot supreme king x reader fic dont like dont read!!!1!! orginal characarter do not steal!!!!!

(or, Yoo Joonghyuk takes a pit-stop in one of the world-lines. An old friend offers to pay for dinner.)

[Ah, late, so late! I can't believe I missed my alarm! And on my first day of work too... I was so worried, when I got off the train, I started running the rest of the way to the company. Hopefully nobody would notice that I was late. I had to get a new job after my boyfriend dumped me, and I couldn't afford to live on my previous salary.

As I rushed to the building, I had to push past many people to get to the doors. In my haste, however, I accidentally tripped! When I fell, I landed against something hard. "Oof!"

"Hey," a menacing voice said. "Watch where you're going next time! Don't be so quick to touch me!" Eep!

I stepped back quickly, bowing as deep as I could. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean t..." When I looked up I trailed off, becoming even more panicked. Ah, I recognized that man!

He looked down at me with a handsomely striking gaze. "You. What is your name?"

"I-It's L/N Y/N. Um, again, I'm so sorry... CEO-nim!" I bowed again. A nose and a chin shaped in perfect angles; a pair of deep eyes seemingly carved out of beautiful jewels; soft hair styled fashionably to frame his face... His suit, too, looked quite beautiful. I really messed up this time. Not only was I late, but I ran into the CEO of the company, the powerful Yoo Jo--]

I stopped there. I didn't bother to learn the name of the poor idol whose name had been stolen for this. Why was I even reading this? Reader-inserts were meant for wish fulfillment, but they always did something that took you out of the story. For the first part, I'd pay much more attention to my surroundings than that.

I pocketed my phone again, sighing. Perhaps I was the cynical one here? They were probably just written by young girls, daydreaming about getting to talk to a beloved character or idol, and was that so horrible? Actually, I believed in chance meetings, but I felt like the one here was a little too contrived...

Many thoughts went through my head as I stepped through a convenience store. Buying dinner after work was the only good thing about my job, I should just quit. Perhaps that would get me closer to the path of meeting a handsome CEO? How laughable.

I was still thinking this when I moved forwards again. But this time, when I walked, I ran directly into a hard wall.

No, wait? I had been to this store many times, and there wasn't anything blocking the entryway the other times. I stepped back, confused, to find my 'wall' staring back at me. Ah... Perhaps I should've read that story until the end.

The man in front of me had a good face. He certainly looked like he could be the menacing protagonist. But, how do I put this? Everything below the neck ruined the effect. 

He was wearing an astronaut's spacesuit, even with the helmet tucked in his arms, but he wore a black trenchcoat over that, making his form extra bulky. At the same time, strange rips were visible against it. Not a romance protagonist, then. Sci-fi? But the coat screamed chuunibyou characterization...

"Ah, sorry, I wasn't watching, excuse me..."

The man was still staring at me, and if anything his expression grew more annoyed. What did he want me to say? Should I chastise him for standing in the middle of the walkway?

Before I said anything, or even managed to go around him, a young girl peeked out from behind his back. She was dressed more normally, in casual clothes with a fuzzy jacket, but still stood out just by being around him. When she saw me, her first reaction was curiosity, but after a moment, her eyes widened in surprise and an unprecedented amount of delight.

"Oh, it's okay! I promise his bark is worse than his bite. Hey, you're from around here, yes? Do you have some money we can borrow?"

Huh?

The man turned to glare at the shameless girl instead. "We don't need money. Especially not from… them."

"Yes, yes. You're a big scary terrorist, you steal what you can't buy. Isn't that too much though? You're already beating poor authors senseless, how much crime do you need to commit before your dark heart is satisfied?"

I quickly turned on my heel and walked in the opposite direction.

"Hey, hey!" The girl's voice called out again, and I could hear her running to follow me. With a sigh, I paused and looked back at her. I didn't want someone like her friend chasing me, so it would be better to just hear her out.

"Ah, I'm sorry, you must think we're acting quite weird! But, really, we don't have any money. If you can, could you spare just a couple of dollars?"

"Mm, I don't know. If you're that desperate isn't it better to be more polite in asking? What happened, did you lose it all on a scam?" No, wait, what was I saying? I didn't want to deal with these guys longer than I had to. Just talking to them would make me stick out very badly.

Still, for some strange reason, I couldn't stop myself from taking on a familiar tone.

Her friend gave her a mean look, which she ignored, before glancing at me. After a second, he said, "We were mugged."

I blinked at him. "I see..." He gave a pained nod as if to really emphasize his plight, while the girl just smiled. When she noticed my gaze on her, her expression switched to that of grim sincerity.

I had to take a moment to step back and mentally collect myself. First off, how stupid did they think I was? Not only was their acting terrible, but who would honestly think a guy like this was attacked? And lost?

Still, there was a hint of realism in their performance. Definitely not mugged, but maybe they were actually broke?

I sighed to myself, folding my arms and looking up at the ceiling. Ah, what should I do? Most people would just ignore them, or perhaps the chosen few would spare them just enough won for a small meal.

I wasn't a kind person. No more than anyone else was, anyways. My philosophy was that it's best to go through life not making waves, and sometimes the politeness required to slip under the radar was misconstrued as kindness. Still, when the common consensus split so unevenly, that left one question: what would I, Y/N, do? After all, 'myself' was the only thing I could be.

I sighed again, much more exhausted this time. "Okay, let's go get dinner. Follow me."

The man's eyes shook slightly, reluctance evident in his expression. Still, when I started to walk out of the store, they followed after me. Damn, being followed by a guy in that outfit was truly humiliating...

The girl caught on much quicker, hurrying to match my pace. "Haha, isn't this sweet? Going out is much better than convenience store food. You're so nice... Mm, I don't think I caught your name?"

"Ah... Yes, my name is L/N Y/N."

"Y/N?" She echoed. My name sounded strange in her mouth for whatever reason. Maybe I just wasn't used to hearing people not from work use it. In fact, she had an odd look on her face, but it passed quickly. "I see. It's a good name!"

I smiled faintly, shrugging. "Thank you. Though, I guess you should be telling my parents that more than me."

"Aah, well, I'm Biyoo! And you can just call him the 'Supreme King.'"

I immediately shot back, "I am not calling him that," the same time our titular king went, "Do not call me that."

A moment of silence passed between us, as though he was seriously debating something. Finally, he spoke, seeming deeply annoyed. "Yoo Joonghyuk."

Was that his name, then? His manners were bad, but I let it slide for now. He would just have to thank me very sincerely for buying him food.

"Here, this place does cheap meal sets. Sorry, I know I offered, but it's nothing fancy..."

Biyoo seemingly paid this no mind, while Yoo Joonghyuk shot me an inscrutable look. Hey, at least I had some money. He was in no place to judge. Even if this would mean I'd be eating leftovers for the next couple of days.

The restaurant sat us down quickly. Biyoo and I pulled our chopsticks apart cheerfully. Yoo Joonghyuk kept his utensils untouched, however.

"What is it? I already apologized that it isn't too nice."

"I don't eat food made by others."

His voice was deadly serious. Who was this arrogant bastard? No, actually, both of them were rude. Why was I humoring them to this extent?

Finally, I shrugged. "Okay then, your choice. What's this I heard about you stealing from convenience stores? Perhaps I should go alert the workers there, I wouldn't want their jobs to be in danger just because some man decided thievery was better than perfectly good food, already paid for..."

He glared at me, but I ignored him, eating happily. Ah, the rice here was so fluffy, I never got it like this when I made it at home.

Biyoo laughed, which prompted me to look up. To my satisfaction, Yoo Joonghyuk had picked up the chopsticks and was gruffly taking his share.

"So, Y/N-ssi, tell us about yourself! I'd very much like to know about the person who's been so hospitable to us poor mugging victims."

"Well, firstly, you don't need to pretend to have been attacked to me. I already bought you food. I don't need your sob story."

"Aha, what gave it away?"

"Secondly, there's not much to say about me.. If anything, I'm more interested in your story."

"I'm sure that's not true! Let's see... What do you do for a job that lets you provide for two stragglers?"

She avoided my questioning easily. Was it okay to be giving out my information like this to two strangers? Perhaps they'd kill me after we finished eating.

"I work at an editing company. You’re just lucky I can stretch my budget these days, or we’d all be going hungry. It’s not exactly freelance? But the jobs are varied enough that it keeps me engaged."

"So, you read for a living?" Yoo Joonghyuk asked, looking unexpectedly interested.

"Er, I suppose that's one way to put it... It's a lot of typesetting and indexing meaningless writing. I do like reading fiction in my free time, though," I confirmed. "Not that I have a lot of that, of course..."

"Webnovels?"

I stopped short. "What was that?"

Yoo Joonghyuk asked again, in a patient tone, "Do you read webnovels?"

It felt like being caught reading said webnovels during work, even though my phone was firmly in my pocket, and this guy had definitely seen stranger things than a reader of webnovels. After all, they had to be read to be popular.

"Yes, a little bit... But they'd almost be harder to avoid these days."

Yoo Joonghyuk and Biyoo shared a meaningful look, though it appeared less like they were making fun of me, and more like they were commiserating on some unknown truth to my words.

"What's your favorite genre?"

"I don't know, maybe reincarnation? They can include both action and romance, so it can diversify. Isn't it a nice thought that after I die, I could come into a world where I could be even happier?"

"You shouldn't think like that," Yoo Joonghyuk said, and I raised an eyebrow.

"Well, it's not as if it's ever going to come true."

He carried on like he didn't hear me. "While you shouldn't completely forsake your plan for the future, nor can you forget the past that shaped you, you have to live in the present. You must live to give yourself the best life possible now, with what you have, rather than thinking things would get better if you had the chance to repeat them."

I stared at him for a long moment, surprised, before I... I burst out laughing. His face darkened, but I couldn't control myself. Biyoo giggled a little with me, patting his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I'm not dismissing what you're saying. You're just so serious about it. You act like you've repeated your life many times." I grinned at him, rubbing tears out of my eyes. "I have no intention of dying anytime soon. It's just daydreams, anyways."

It was so odd being with the two of them, but I didn't hate it. Feeding them, telling them about my life, and Yoo Joonghyuk's heartfelt words. It made me feel as if we had known each other for a long time, even though it had been less than an hour.

We stayed like that for a while, talking and eating in a way that felt strangely comfortable. It had been a long time since I had last eaten with other people, especially with people so strange. I’d have to tell someone about this. But… who?

As we finished up, I thought about it. Without me asking, they offered to walk me home, and just for the fun of it, I decided I’d let them.

I’d tell my roommates, I realized. They’d berate me for having strangers come to our home, but then they’d laugh, and we’d keep a baseball bat by all of our beds. I’d tell my co-workers, who would make jokes about me treating them to dinner too. I’d tell my family, my mother fussing over whether I needed money and my sister calling me a liar for claiming Yoo Joonghyuk was dressed like an astronaut. There were plenty of people to tell, who’d want to hear about something so insignificant, who would just want to hear from me. How could I have forgotten?

When we arrived at my apartment building, we all hesitated for a long moment, none willing to be the first to say goodbye. Finally, I said, “You know, I should probably ask that you pay me back at some point.”

Biyoo smiled sadly. “Well, I doubt we’ll see each other again.”

“True. But just keep it in mind, okay?”

“Stingy,” Yoo Joonghyuk tsked and I shrugged good-naturedly.

“Thanks for walking me. I could’ve handled it on my own, but it was nice.” I worked my key out of my bag as I spoke, turning to the building. “I hope you two have a good night.” However, before I could even go inside, Biyoo reached out and clutched my sleeve desperately.

“Wait!” She burst. "Before you go, we... There's a story we want you to read! A webnovel, like the kind you enjoy. You definitely have to read it! Do you promise?"

I smiled at her earnestness. Wasn't she a bit cute? She almost reminded me of a puppy. "Alright, alright, I promise. What's the name?"

"That..." Biyoo pouted. "There isn't a name yet. It isn't released yet."

"Then how am I supposed to read it? Even when it gets published, I won't be able to find it."

"No, it's okay! I'm sure you'll find it once it starts getting released, and you'll definitely come to love that story. You made a promise to read it, so don't go back on that promise."

"Ahh, you expect so much from me. What do you want me to do, read every new webnovel until I somehow find the one you're talking about?" Despite my exaggerated words, she nodded, and all I could do was laugh. "Fine, fine! Is it a sad or happy story? I like most everything, but I should prepare myself if it's anything too sad."

Instead of her answering, Yoo Joonghyuk began, "L/N Y/N..." I glanced over at him, confused. His voice was full of inexplicable longing when he asked, "Are you happy?"

"Hah? What's that supposed to mean? If I say yes, are you going to tell me to get used to never being happy because of it?" It was a joke, but his expression was deadly serious. I gave a helpless laugh, but matched his sincerity when I told him, "I... Yeah, Yoo Joonghyuk. I'm happy. I wasn't for a long time, but I'm really happy right now."

He smiled. It was a smile that was forged from years of loneliness and hardship, but finding a way to live despite it all. I recognized it, because I saw the same exact smile in my mirror every day.

"It's a happy story."

"Then I promise I'll read it."

Biyoo gave me one last hug before she left. "We'll both do our best, alright? So, stay happy, for the rest of your life."

Those two were so strange. Still, I watched from in front of the building as they walked down the empty sidewalk, towards the setting sun, until they disappeared completely from view.

[jpitha]

Between the Black and Grey 67

First / Previous / Next

This time was different.

When Fen awoke in the forest this time, she felt... faint, etherial. It was as if she wasn't all there. At least Ma-ren was nearby, she would know what was going on. "Ma!" Fen shouted. Ma turned her head and her ears flattened at the sight. "Fen? What's happened to you? Why do you look like that?"

"Look like what?" Fen looked down at herself. She was... translucent, nearly see-through. Huh. She remembered hearing how AIs didn't experience this... transition while linking from place to place, and now she was - it still was uncomfortable to think about - mostly operating on AI equipment. It unfortunately made sense that she wasn't all... here. "Um, it's complicated." That was probably the best answer for now. "We don't have a lot of time. You said you didn't talk to Han'iel, did you talk to anyone else?"

Ma shook her head, her earrings jangling. "No, it doesn't work that way here. You really only see people you were close to. I'm able to talk to other people... over on my side of things. All I did was mention to a few people I knew that they should... inspire family and friends they see to work with the Empress of humanity. We can't really direct people, only inspire, recommend, motivate. That kind of thing."

"Han'iel never spoke to you, never planned with you. He - or someone on his team - heard from a relative, or friend, or partner while they linking and that person inspired them to sign on with the scientists who were working with me." Fen stopped and looked at Ma. Now that she was less here, things felt different. Less real, more abstract. She could see Ma, she could see the ground they were on, but things in the distance faded to a blurry mess. She wondered quickly if she disconnected her human body from the system she was running on would she never see Ma again. She pushed that thought down, it was too terrible to think about right now. "If you couldn't plan with people who were... alive, what were you going to do about me and the Nanites?"

Ma's grin was sheepish and surprisingly human. "I... was counting on people to sign on who wanted to overthrow you. If they got close, they would learn about the Nanites and they might come up with a way to defeat them." Her tail flicked and her fur rippled. "I had no real idea on how to do it, but I figured that - properly motivated - someone else might."

Fen made a sour face. "On the one hand Ma, that's a wild assumption to make. That kind of leap is just-" Fen shook her head in disbelief. "On the other hand though, you succeeded. Han'iel has deposed me by building his own nanomachines which are currently battling in my body. I'm in hibernation right now, and partially running on AI servers to keep me alive."

Ma-ren's face looked... odd. She wasn't horrified, she wasn't sad, she was... thoughtful? She peered hard at Fen and reached out to touch her. Fen winced as Ma's hand passed through her. "If you want to see me again," Ma said "You need to get back into your body."

Gord was watching Fen as she came back. "Well? What did you learn?"

"I need to give you some background first." Fen explained what her plan with Ma-ren about defeating the Nanites was and her part of it. Afterwards, a chair appeared, and Fen sat sank down into it. "Ma can't speak to other people when they link. Someone can only interact with family, friends spouses, people they knew really well when they were alive. So, she didn't talk with Han'iel. They can really only inspire folks to do stuff anyway. She basically told people she knew to influence their people to sign on with me."

Gord narrowed his eyes. "How was that going to help you defeat the Nanites?"

Fen threw her head back and stared at the ceiling. "I don't know... I wasn't supposed to know. The Nanites weren't present when I saw Ma when I linked - it was the only time I was free of them - so she said she was going to work on a way to defeat them. She had decided that getting someone to influence some K'laxi to ingratiate themselves to me and work to overthrow me behind the scenes would cause them to come up with a way for them to defeat me and my extension, the Nanites."

While Fen had been explaining things, Chloe had entered and was standing off to the side, listening in. "So, her plan to save you from the Nanites was to... convince a K'laxi to overthrow you?"

"When you say it like that, it doesn't sound great, yes," Fen crossed her arms. Ma is usually a better planner than that, but she did always have a tendency to think everything was just going to work out. "I think Ma assumed that whoever overthrew me would have to defeat my nanites."

"You gotta admit, they're doing that." Gord said.

"You, don't 'gotta admit' anything." Chloe said, "Fen's body is in hibernation and she's running on our equipment. They're not defeated and the whole thing is a mess."

"If I stay on your equipment, and lose my body, I lose the chance of ever seeing Ma - I don't even know what'll happen if I die permanently. If I got back into my body, then I might die as a result of the nanomachine battle and/or the bomb in my body." Fen rubbed her temples with her hands while she spoke. "Speaking of, what are we going to do about that?"

"Honestly Fen, we have no idea." Chloe said. "That thing makes my hair itch. Given what we know about antimatter and it's containment, it's enough to completely destroy Home with a good amount left over. Since your K'laxi scientists made it with some kind of new techniques that make antimatter more viable, it's probably even more powerful."

Fen opened one eye. "Why would that be installed in me? That seems like overkill. If Han'iel wanted to blow me up, there are much smaller and easier ways to do it than to implant a planet cracker into me."

Gord nodded. "Yeah, now you see why we have no idea what we're going to do next." He looked down at his pad. "When you asked us to link somewhere, we linked back to Home - we're in Sol now - and we've started getting messages from all around. Han'iel's nanites don't seem to be infecting people, but there are lots of reports of 'odd' things happening. They seem to be directing their efforts onto the old Builder nanites... and they seem to be winning. In areas of the highest concentration - like High Mars Hyacinth and Regantown - there are reports of "black clouds fighting." Chloe raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

"I don't suppose that if - when - Han'iel's nanites win, they disassemble themselves?" Fen said, hopefully.

"It's possible" Chloe said, "but as of right now, we have no guarantee that's going to happen. You said that Han'iel said he was trying to liberate all K'laxi, so I have to assume he meant 'liberate all K'laxi under my rule' and that means after the Builder nanites are gone, his will take over."

"So we traded one for another." Fen said. "Gord, you learned about the original Builder nanites and developed your anti-nanite gas when you were fighting Melody, right?"

"Yeah, we did." Gord, knowing that he was speaking to a (former) Empress of the empire he and the AIs tried to destroy had the decency to look a little sheepish. "It didn't work as well as we had hoped, and since they were still around we didn't actually destroy them, but I think the theory was sound. It was a gas that was filled with like-" he waved his hand "-code blocks. Like a virus, but for nanotech. It was supposed to command the Builder nanites to disassemble themselves. Being something truly alien though, I guess the Builder nanites were just too different for it to work."

"Han'iel and his team made the new Nanites, would the gas work on them?"

"Almost certainly not." Chloe said. "His nanites will be different - have already shown themselves to be different and so the mechanism to infect them isn't the same."

"But... that's not to say we couldn't rework the gas for Han'iels nanites. Let them take care of the Builder nanites and then we can disseminate the anti-nanite gas to take care of Han'iel's. Hmm" Gord stared off into the middle distance. "It's by no means guaranteed to work, but at least it's not nothing, which is better than we were an hour ago. Nice work Fen!"

"I didn't do anything?"

"Not true! You reminded us about the anti-nanite gas, which lead us down this road. I'm going to sync up to Home and see what I can find. I'm not going to dock for obvious reasons, but there's no reason we can't use their network." Gord disappeared from the visualization.

Chloe had a small smile. "He's always at his best when he has a plan. Thanks Fen. We still don't know what we're going to do about your body, but at least we can probably save the galaxy. It's not nothing." She winked.

Fen chuckled, but the thought lingered at the back of her head. Either die and be with Ma, or stay running in emulation and never get to see her again. It was a hell of a choice. "Chloe?" she said, before Chloe could leave. "Do you think you can save my body? Gord isn't here, so I don't want it sugarcoated. Your real opinion."

"My real opinion? Are you sure?" When Fen nodded she said, "we should have spaced your body the moment we found the bomb and linked across the galaxy. Your body is entirely too dangerous to leave anywhere in-system let alone onboard a ship that I am on. I'm glad you helped Gord come up with direction on how to defeat Han'iel's nanites, but we would have come up with a solution on our own eventually. Once Gord is done with this, he and I are going to have a talk about what to do with you." When she saw Fen's face she said "Remember, you asked." and disappeared from the visualization.

Fen rendered a bed, sat on top, and stayed there, hugging her knees a long time.

[opheliajupiter99]

Maiden of the Manor (Ella/The Baroness Fanfic)

Long before the Feywild, and before the pair even met the others they'd come to know as brothers, Kremy and Gideon had found themselves on the outskirts of Agwe. On said outskirts was a large, sprawling manor, that used to be home to an immensely wealthy noble family.

The pair stared up, way up, at the enormous mansion, behind which was the decrepit remnants of a once ravishing gardening, and a faded gazebo. Gideon huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Ya sure any of this shit is still good?" Kremy nodded. "It is, don't worry. These riches folks always get the shit that lasts." They moved up the steps, careful to avoid the mossy portions of the wooden steps.

"Well, if they're so good at lastin', what the hell happened to 'em?" Gideon remarked, trying to peer through one of the windows, but dust combined with the humidity of the swamplands made the interior of the mansion little more than a blur beyond the glass. "They had it good for a long while, just a pa, a daughter, and a whole mess of servants. The daughter died though, only about twenty if what I've heard's any good. Nobody's quite sure what happened, but her pa died not too long after, good ol' heartbreak. She was an only child, and so was her pa, and with no ma in the picture, the noble line was dead in the water right then and there."

"Why didn't the servants get it?" Gideon said, quickly getting a huff from Kremy, as the Genasi began to pry open the front door, the lock indeed being of high quality, as it was somehow still in place after so many years. "That ain't how shit works around here, not usually anyway. Ain't how shit works in most places, far as I know." Gideon was most way through prying through the door, when he stopped, standing up straight and looking up at the house again.

"Hey, wait a minute..." He began. "This place is damn fallin' apart; how's nobody else raided it yet? It ain't even that far from town." Kremy tensed a bit at the question, but shrugged; it was hard to tell, as always, whether he was merely annoyed by the answer to the question, or genuinely spooked. "Eh...ya know how the people in this place are, Gid. Paranoid. An old place like this and nobody'll touch it, especially when tragedy's gone down there. I'm sure it don't help that nobody's seen their fortune in person, like the gold part of it I mean. I'm guessin' anybody not scared just figures there ain't shit to find here, but I ain't givin' up that easy. Folks like this always hide shit, we just gotta find it."

Gideon shrugged. "A'ight." He said simply; honestly, he trusted Kremy enough at this point to where he didn't need -much- of a push, but he'd still question now and then. The door finally burst open, Gideon blinking and backing up a bit. "Damn, didn't think I pulled it -that- fuckin' hard." Kremy shrugged, stepping inside, Gideon falling soon after. The living room was both as expected, and a bit...off. The Gatorfolk wasn't wrong, rich folk always got stuff that was built to last, but even accounting for that, things seemed bizarrely pristine. Their seemed to be very little dust for such an old building, the paintings were faded, but still mostly in-tact, and as Gideon walked up to one side table in particular, he noticed the candle upon it had been freshly lit.

"Looks like somebody got here before us." The Genasi said with a huff, the Gatorfolk looked about with a furrowed brow. "Nah...nah, that can't be. None of the windows were broken, and if the front doors still locked tight, then the back one's gotta be too." Kremy looked down at the candle. "...And why'd they even need to light it anyways? Unless ya a fuckin' idiot, ya bring ya own shit when ya go through a place like this."

While the pair bickered, high up above on the tall walls of the living room, a staircase in the center leading upwards in classic mansion fashion, out of sight of the Genasi's flickering flames and shrouded in darkness, were rows of small, carefully carved, colorful masks. When they first entered, they were inert, but as they began to move through the first room of the manor, one by one they started to move, the beady eyeholes of each mask seeming to blink before their gazes turned downwards. They looked between each other, and soundlessly giggled, before returning to a seemingly inert state.

For a time, they simply searched through the living room, moving from there to the other rooms of the first floor, finding bits of jewelry, gold, and other such valuables, though admittedly, not much more than they typically got from an abandoned place like this. And as they went, something more and more just...didn't feel right. How was everything in this good condition? It wasn't even just the furniture, it was everything, almost as if someone was still living here. For the most part though, they tried to brush it off as a squatter having lived here recently, Kremy especially - perhaps to try and comfort the growing feeling of dread.

Eventually, they made their way upstairs, moving up the towering staircase. As Kremy ascended, he saw something, for just a brief moment, small orbs of light that quickly faded from view - the masks in the depths of the dark returning to inertness as soon as they noticed his gaze. But even with the glow, he still couldn't see the details. His brow furrowed, and he reached out towards where he'd last seen Gideon, expecting to feel his shoulder, but instead felt nothing but empty air.

"Gid?!" He rushed up the stairs, sighing with relief as he saw Gid once more. He was stood at an ornate doorway, having already creaked it open partially. "Aye, check this out." He said, opening the door fully as Kremy moved to stand beside him. Inside was a lavish pink, silky bedroom, fit for a princess. It would've been beautiful, if not for the context - the room looked pristine, all the candles still lit and not a speck of dust to be found anywhere. It was perfect, as if the mansion it was found within was never abandoned at all.

As Kremy gazed around, his eyes snagged on one piece of furniture in particular. It was a vanity mirror, across from the bed, the surface of its mirror sparkling in its polish, and its table adorned with various makeups and perfumes. When he looked around the rim of the mirror, his eyes widened in horror; around the rim of the mirror were symbols, seemingly painted in black lipstick, but not just any symbols. They were ones of voodoo magic, more specifically ones used for communication.

"...Gid." He said softly, form stiff with fear as he clutched his cane tight, backing up. "...We gotta go. -Now-." Almost as soon as he spoke, the mirror's shining surface turned pitch black, and the faint, yet sickeningly familiar tunes of ominous jazz began to hum out all around the pair, Gideon instinctively pulling him back out of the room and moving to stand in front of him protectively.

"Go?" Came a chilling, booming voice from the depths of the bedroom, a voice Kremy respected and feared in equal parts. "Why, ya fellas just got here! Come on, stay a while - stay a -real- long while." He said with a hearty cackle as the jazz grew louder, doors all around the house beginning to open and close in rhythm with the tune, fog flooding out from seemingly nowhere, growing so thick they couldn't step the stairs beneath their feet as they began to run for their lives.

Due to this lack of proper footing, Kremy stumbled, the sounds of his rough tumble down the steps echoing out. "KREMY!" Gid cried, fumbling around in the dark to try and find where he was, only leading to him tumbling right after. He groaned, Kremy full-blown starting to cry - he'd come to fear these signs more than anything else, knowing that all of these things together, not brought forth by the warlock themselves, spelt the end for men like him.

Gideon was bruised up, but not nearly as hurt as Kremy now was, fumbling through the fog until he found the Gatorfolk, hugging him close. As he did so, a pink neon light pulsed through the fog, as a shadowy figure stepped delicately down the staircase towards the pair, the click-clack of heels ringing out amongst the music.

A skeletal woman in a puffy pink dress, adorned with long silky gloves and a bundle of blonde, luscious hair upon her skull, holding a dainty pink parasol in one hand and a matching hand fan in the other, hiding the lower portion of her face with said fan, the burning flames of neon blue in her eye sockets staring down at the pair. It was precisely the same outfit the noblewoman in the portrait wore, and despite the skeletal nature of the figure, they both felt deep in their soul that this was indeed the same woman.

The woman stood in front of them, eerily staring in silence for a long moment, Kremy closing his eyes tight and curling up in Gid's grasp, utterly terrified, while Gid just continued to hold him close, overwhelmed, not sure what to do, or how to go about it. Eventually, he growled. "Get the fuck away from us! I don't care whatcha do to me, ya ain't gettin' him, no way!" The noblewoman was unphased, delicately stepping closer, and reaching her hand down - but instead of reaching for Kremy, she instead reached for the bag of stolen goods they'd collected thus far.

She lifted it up with a soft hum, staring at the bag for a moment, then towards Gideon. "Be a good boy and run along now, would you?" She said, the sweet as apple pie tune of a southern belle's voice echoed and oddly warped, making her voice both comforting and otherworldly at the same time. Gideon just stared for a moment, before shakily nodding, standing slowly and carrying Kremy bridal style, making a mad dash towards the exit.

He ran through the door, breaking the rotted wood clean off its hinges as he did so, running as fast as he could from the manor and back towards Agwe. Kremy was beaten up bad from his fall, but a quick visit to the healer and he was fixed up. That didn't make him any less rattled by what had happened, nor did it Gideon.

The manor's riches would stay right where they were, and any others to try what the pair had would be met with much less mercy.

[werrrrrd]

CHARLES XAVIER X OC pt.2

SUMMARY: May is a Mutant, she doesn't want to be and neither do her parents. She has the ability to control blood and after showing signs of aggression and poor control of her powers, her parents put her through treatment at an institution run by Doctor Shmidt. After going through horrendous things at the mutation corrective institution, she is forced to stay with Shaw, the man who put her through those things in the first place. Working with Shaw she explores the many things her powers allow her to do in mostly uncomfortable ways. She runs into Charles Xavier while his team tries to capture and detain Shaw and they have a stand off amongst mutants on both sides. Charles and May have an immediate connection that neither can explain and try reason with themselves while also trying to find a way to be near each other. Despite the things that May has experienced and the punishment she will receive if she is caught, all she wants to do is help Charles. With so much happening, May isnt sure how this is going to work or if she can make build up the courage to completely severe connections from Shaw

WARNINGS: shock therapy, Inappropriate touching/sexual assault, manipulation, death, suicide, surgery is mentioned including an undetailed description, slight malnutrition, forcive murder, abuse of authority, blood, lots of blood stuff since this is like her power, anger issues, aggression, mentions of murder as well as the actual murder, mind reading, OC is not very kind to herself, let me know if you notice any others. No sexual assault but definitely Shaw being creepy.

AN: First off, this story is VERY loosely based on x men first class and the happenings in that movie. I really don't regard what happens in the actual story line or the accuracy of setting or characters just because I felt like focusing on the romance plot line between May and Charles. I'm guessing you already know what the movie's plot is and you don't want to read another story that just follows along those exact lines. I hope that this doesn't bother anyone. Second, this story has a very long prologue. I wanted to give the character more backstory so that she could be better explained and her behaviors and tendencies made more sense to y'all. I hope that this does not discourage you from reading cause she's pretty cool. Of course you could skip the prologues and read the part where she actually interacts with Charles if you'd like but the prologue helps enrich the story so I hope you do read it. My OCs name is May but of course you could read it as a reader insert if you like, I didn't really describe her too much so this wouldn't be too hard to do. I honestly didn't put too much effort into writing it because I wanted to get it all out before I lost motivation. If you notice spell issues or parts that don't make sense feel free to let me know but most likely I will not be doing anything about it. Bear with me, there are plot points that don't really connect but please ignore because like I said if i don't get this out like RIGHT NOW, I will lose interest and ill have this whole thing that doesn't have an ending and that makes me sad. ANNEEYYWAYYS Tehe! Please enjoy

PROLOGUE II

Three years later 

"Lou?" My voice rang out in the dark room. I wasn't sure if she was awake or not, it must have been 3 in the morning. I couldn't sleep, thinking about the look in Lou's eyes when she had gone to bed earlier. Something about it haunting. She was quiet but I heard her turn her head towards me. Hoping she was awake I asked my question 

"What happened? Was that your mom that came to visit?" 

She was quiet still but soon I heard her voice respond 

"Yeah, that was my mom." 

"What did she say?"

"Nothing." 

I sat up and went to sit next to her on the bed. As I came she sat up and put her back against the wall. 

"She just looked at me." It had been visitation day. The day when mutants parents could come to visit them. We considered ourselves lucky that our parents at least showed up. Some kids had to sit and watch the others talk with their families since theirs didn't come. Others didn't even bother leaving their rooms knowing they wouldn't get any visitors. Lou had run off to her mom while I talked with my sisters and parents. 

"Have they made any progress?" My dad asks as he pulls me into a hug. 

"I think so," I say smiling, "it's painful to use my powers. They said that that's a good sign and that my body will start to reject them soon." 

My dad holds me in the hug for a second longer than usual. 

"That's good news!" My mom adds. "maybe you'll be out by your birthday!" 

Ellie, my youngest sister, hugs me next. "the neighbors are asking about you. We told them you'd be home from boarding school soon. Let's make that happen huh?" I smile and ruffle her hair. "I miss you" she frowns 

"I miss you too" 

Maxine sat on the chair, her recently born child in her arms and her husband sat behind her on his phone. She passed the baby to him before coming to hug me as well.

"How is she?" I asked, peeking over at her. 

"She's fine." Her husband Calvin said shortly. 

Maxine sighed, "she's healthy, smiling already." She said as she gently touched the ends of my hair. "You need a trim." She said

"I'm not allowed to have scissors but I'll see what I can do," 

"Why aren't you allowed scissors?" My mother questioned. 

"A kid killed himself a couple months ago" I said remembering when the news had been broken to the rest of the kids. He was only 14, his name was dakshi. He had x-ray vision, but he couldn't turn it off, he constantly saw through things without being able to see normally. After months of shock therapy and other medications and treatments that had been completely ineffective, the scientists tried surgery. He ended up losing his sight completely. I had met him twice, once before the surgery where he had been a smart and clever boy who I was surprised how well he got along with the older kids. The second time was after the surgery. He stared blankly at the table as we ate our lunch. His tray was untouched and his friends nudged him to at least try and eat the lasagna that was in front of him. He didn't respond. Only two weeks later he had hung himself. A funeral was hosted in the institution so all of the mutants who knew him could say goodbye. His parents were there. Watching them as the kids came up to his coffin, they seemed unphased. If anything they seemed relieved. They didn't have to worry about their messed up kid getting fixed anymore. They were probably glad they didn't have to pretend to care anymore. After that the scientists decided to be more careful about the things we had in our rooms. Nothing about the experiments changed though. 

"What a shame," my mom said. 

I turned my attention back to the baby, trying to get closer so I could squish her cheeks or at least get a good look at her so I could see how much she had grown by the time I came back home. Calvin stood from his chair and stepped away from me staring at me defensively. I looked around confused before I felt a hand on my shoulder. Maxine sighed again. 

"I'm sorry, we just think that it's for the best that you're not around the baby. At least until you're better" she looked at me sympathetically. My heart broke in my chest. The sadness was brief before I could feel my anger coming on. My outbursts had become more frequent and harder to keep under control as the years went by. My hands clenched and heat rose up my neck. I could've pushed the blood back down to hide the fact but it would have started one of those headaches that using my powers always started after the shock treatments. Instead I fumed silently. Maxine looked at me with just the slightest bit of fear in her expression. she had been afraid of me ever since I shut her mouth that day. She tried to conceal it but I could tell. 

"Soon," my dad said putting his hand on my other shoulder, snapping me back into the room 

"Maybe we should go now," Maxine swallowed 

"We'll be back next time, I promise." With that they packed up and left. 

I had been still standing there almost seeing red for several minutes afterwards. That's when I saw Lou. In front of her stood her mom, her back towards me. The look in Lou's eyes jolted me out of my fury. She shrank back out of the gaze of the woman, guilt and embarrassment flashing across her striped face.  

Once Lou had come back to the room she looked sick and pale like she needed to vomit. I had asked her if she was ok and she only nodded softly. Soon she was in bed and I had laid down as well, too afraid to ask her what was wrong until it was hours later and the question was keeping me awake.

 Then there with her back against the wall, she explained. "It seemed like a goodbye. Somehow. Just by the shame on her face, she told me she's not coming back next time. I don't know. I think she's just gonna leave me here." 

"Lou," 

"It's fine." She said firmly. "It's fine because it's gonna work." 

"Yeah..." If I'm being perfectly honest I had already begun doubting the effectiveness of the treatments. I mean I knew they were just experimenting but doctor shaw said they would take up to four years. That it wouldn't be a short process but it would be worth it. I hadn't lost all hope but it was slipping. I knew that. 

I hear Lou's sniffles next to me. I turned to her to gather her into a hug that she willingly entered. 

"It's gonna work." I said. Even if I didn't entirely believe it, I knew Lou would be ok anyways. I would love her no matter what. It was for Lou's sake that I hoped it would work. I don't know if she would be able to live with herself, looking in the mirror and seeing what her mother saw.

Lou began to slump in my arms. I laid her down gently and stroked her long black hair out of her face and wiped the tears from her cheeks. 

"Goodnight Lou, I love you." I whispered

"I love you too much."

In the morning Lou woke me. 

"Hey, we got to go to our appointments."

I suddenly felt sick to my stomach. The thought of doing everything again was unbearable. But I slowly got up and dressed. If I wanted to go home I would have to do this. I wanted to be better. To be fixed. To make my parents proud of their family. I didn't want to be the mutation anymore. 

I was back at the metal desk. Another volunteer standing in front of me, this time a girl. A makeshift running track was wound out in front of me. As The years went by the scientists had upped the challenge from single fingers, to arms and for the first time today, entire bodies. The girl was stretching just next to it while doctor Schmidt himself hooked me up to the wires that were connected to his computer in the other room. He had been monitoring my processes more closely the past few months. He kept telling me I was getting close. That I was the closest to rejecting my mutation of all the kids. 

"We're doing something a little different today," he said "I want you to keep using your powers for as long as possible, even while being shocked. We'll lower the voltage for now so that you will be able to focus on them." He finished taping the last wire to my temple. "Do you understand?"he turned my head to look at him. 

"Yes doctor,"

"Good," he smiled "Amanda, begin." 

The woman began running on the track. 

"Now you, May" Shaw stepped back with his clipboard in his hand. I focused my mind on her blood, feeling it flow in her body through her entire system. Pumping faster the longer she ran. I felt her heart beating in her chest and the blood rushing in her head. I made it all stop. Suddenly the runner stopped and she didn't crumble. I kept her held up, suspended where I held her blood in place. The shock began, 

"Nnngh," I whimpered, trying to keep my hold on her blood but it slipped and she collapsed as my hands went still. 

"Without your hands remember,"

"I'm sorry," we had been working on keeping my hands still and doing it with just my mind. My hands seemed to help me keep control of where the blood went. But the scientist thought I would benefit if it was better controlled in my mind. 

"It's fine, just try again. We didn't expect you to get it on the first try." Shaw said calmly. He didn't look calm. He looked itchy, tense. 

Amanda rose from the ground panting

 "I couldn't breathe" she turned angrily toward doctor shaw. "You said it wouldn't hurt."

"I apologize Amanda. May here, hasn't been able to control blood without letting some of it remain to pump through the heart and keep your system running. It should cause slight issues for only short periods of time. Can we continue?" He said impatiently. She breathed hard but seemed to shake it off. A stab of guilt coursed through me. I had hurt someone again. 

"Fine, we can keep going." She said before starting up a jog once again. Shaw looked at me to go again. 

I felt her blood again. This time I tried to leave enough of it to keep her alive. I used my mind to stop her run. Once again she was suspended, her eyes bulged slightly but I felt some of her blood remain running through her body and through her heart and up to her brain. My hands flexed and twitched again. The shock began and I winced again. This time I could keep my focus for a little while longer. Soon though, I began panting under the strain. Sweat glistened on my face and my body tensed under the electricity. I lost my hold and Amanda dropped again, this time she caught herself. She muttered a curse but seemed to recover quickly. The shock stopped and my muscles eased, some of them cramping up. I was given a minute or so to recover and wipe the sweat off my face onto the sleeve of my shoulder. 

"Great job! She didn't go pale this time, you must have figured out how to leave some left over for her to keep breathing. Unfortunately we are not here to fine tune your powers but to get rid of them. We're going to up the voltage again."

Inwardly I wanted to cry. It already hurt too much and added with the mental strain was exhausting.

"Can we get those hand binds again," he said to the room. Soon someone came in with the two metal slots that were locked to the desk that my hands were secured inside of to keep me from moving them. 

"Again." Shaw demanded 

Amanda begrudgingly began running again. I tried to do the same thing again. Leave her system enough blood to run her main functions, but without hands I couldn't be so precise. She froze in the air. Her eyes bulged again, wider this time and I quiet whine sounded from her open mouth. The shock began. I could feel my mind take control of her entire blood mass. All of it freezing up in her veins and her head going fuzzy and eyes unfocusing. I could feel her heart stop. My eyes widened too, I tried to stop but the electric shock was causing my body to seize, my hands flexed in their slots and my wrists strained to try and pull them out

"S-stop" I said 

"We can't stop the shocks May, you know this," shaw said but wasn't looking at me 

"I cant. She's gon- ah -gonna die!" I shook in my chair. Shaw didn't respond, he only stared at Amanda. My mind was racing, I looked between Shaw and Amanda and opened my mouth to scream. My powers were taking over and I couldn't override it. Amanda's eyes began to roll. A sick choking sound erupted from her throat. 

Finally the shock stopped and I took control of the power and stopped it completely. Amanda crumpled to the ground and shook. She didn't gasp for air, only convulsed on the track. My hand binds unlatched on their own and i shot off the chair towards her

I reached her and knelt down beside her on the rough track. The blood in her body moved extremely slowly through her heart and to her brain. I could feel it beginning to still, something must have responded to the complete lack of motion in her blood and was shutting her entire body down. I didn't know if this meant she was dying or if she was just going unconscious. I was too afraid to think coherently. I just put my hands on her chest and pushed the blood through it, hoping her body would catch on and begin pumping blood itself again. 

My ears began ringing as I used my powers, a strong headache forming. It started off small and ignorable but grew to pound in my head and make me feel dizzy and lightheaded. I'd never had a reaction to using my mutation like this before. It was causing my vision to go in and out of focus. I still pushed Amanda's blood through her body, Color was coming back to her face but I didn't know if that was because of me or because it was actually working. I felt sick to my stomach, Like I could throw up. Suddenly Amanda shot up, gasping for air, and her hand flew to my face. A loud smack sounded in the otherwise silent room. I reeled, my hand going to where she had smacked me. A sharp stinging blossomed on my cheek. Tears pricked my eyes as the sensation of the smack and the lingering migraine overwhelmed me. Amanda heaved and got to her hands and knees

“You almost fucking killed me!” she screamed. “I-im sorry I didn't mean to! “ She lunged at me, pushing me to the ground, pulling at my hair and scratching me. A fist landed on my cheekbone but I was unable to protect myself. Soon Scientists and assistants came running in to pull her off me. I was left panting on the ground while Amanda tried to reach for me while being dragged off. Once she was out of the room Shaw walked up to me. “Up,” he demanded. I blinked at the ground. So much had just happened and My mind hadnt quite caught up with me yet “up! Now.” his voice was raised. It took me a moment before I finally came to a stand, my knees wobbling.

“You know you aren't allowed to use your powers unless you are hooked up and able to receive the shocks.” Shaw looked at me with disappointment in his eyes. “This is what you mutants do, your powers hurt people. You cannot be trusted.” something flashed on his mouth for just a moment, it looked like a slight smirk before it slipped back into his stern angry frown.

“But i-”

“Shut up and go to your room.” I was shocked by the harshness of his words. He hadn't ever been so angry with me before.

As I walked through the fluorescent lit halls past the courtyard I wondered If I had ruined everything. Had that single moment of using my powers set myself back years of progress. The thought made me want to cry, want to scream, want to bang my head on the walls. I had almost killed someone that day, and yet Shaw had made me feel as though my saving her was the worst thing of all. 

[kissorkill16]

The Demon Man: A Hello Neighbor Fanfic

By JJ

Summary: Mr. Peterson and Bubba meet, and Nicky couldn't be more embarrassed.

Nicky held his grandmother's hand as they walked home from the grocery store.

His parents would be home late again, so Bubba was in charge of dinner.

Nicky didn't mind spending time with Bubba, what he did have a problem with was that she was holding his hand. He may have enjoyed it in the past, but not anymore. Whenever they held hands, all he could think of was his second day of school.

Then they passed Screw Loose Hardware Store, and Nicky's eyes lit up.

He'd been working with Aaron, Mya and Lucy on a new prank machine called the Fart Synthesizer, and they could barely finish it with some tools being missing. Mr. Peterson locks and hides his tools very often, so Aaron couldn't ask him, but Nicky could buy some stuff they needed.

He let go of Bubba's hand and walked into the store.

"Nicholas, what're you -?"

"I'll be right back, Bubba.", said Nicky, "I just need to get something."

He walked around the isles of paint cans and hardware tools, and didn't stop until he found the drills.

When he finally found them, his face lit up.

And they were on sale too!

He reached up to grab one and accidentally touched someone else's hand, and it felt like rubber. He looked up to see who it was, and his heart nearly jumped out of his body.

Mr. Peterson.

The man looked down at Nicky, and he wasn't scared before, he was terrified now. "Oh hello, Nicholas.", he said. "I didn't know you liked to build."

Nicky smiled nervously, "Yeah, I do. I am part of the Inventor's Club after all, I'm friends with all of the engineers. I just need a drill for a machine I'm working on.", he said.

"That's lovely.", said Mr. Peterson, "What's this little machine you were working on?"

Then Nicky felt the blood in his body run cold. He couldn't just tell Aaron's dad that he needed a drill for a prank machine to pull on Mrs. Tillman, the man would totally vaporize him for sure. But before he could say anything, he heard a voice come from behind him.

"Nicholas, why are you -?"

He turned around to see his grandmother, she looked ready to complain. But before she could say anything more, she stilled in her place and she turned pale. Well, even paler than usual.

"Bubba, are you okay?", asked Nicky. He looked at her hand, clutching her cane so hard, her fists were turning red.

"Nicholas...", she started off, "Get away from that man."

Nicky furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, "But Bubba, this is just Mr. Peterson. He's -"

"Now."

Nicky didn't even hesitate when she said it like that. He walked away from Mr. Peterson and stood behind his grandmother, shamefully looking at his shoes.

Then out of nowhere, Bubba pounced on Mr. Peterson and started hitting him with her cane.

"STAY AWAY FROM MY GRANDSON YOU DEMON MAN!", she screamed. "I SAW YOU COME FROM THAT CURSED HOUSE!"

Nicky didn't think Mr. Peterson would fight back, mainly because she was an old lady, but he was surprised when he grabbed Bubba's arm and twisted her over, pinning her down on the cold, hard surface of the floor.

The man stood up, and put a foot on her back.

"Listen here, lady. I don't know what your problem is, but you will not call me or my house cursed.", he said. Then he turned away and walked out of the store.

Nicky immediately ran to his grandmother's side and helped her up, wiping the dust off of her dress.

"That man is evil!", she growled. "Evil I tell you!"

The boy just kept nodding. He walked out of the store with Bubba, completely forgetting about the drill he needed.

Nicky couldn't stop thinking about that moment. Mr. Peterson just completely pinned down his grandma, and he didn't even care that she was older than him.

The first thing he wanted to do was confront Mr. Peterson.

He ran across the street and knocked on the door of the Peterson house, and Mr. Peterson opened it a moment later.

"Nicholas? What brings you here?", asked the man. Nicky looked down at his shoes in shame.

"I...I don't know. I guess I just wanted to apologize for what happened at the hardware store. I didn't know she was going to pounce on you, I swear. I -", Mr. Peterson smiled and put his hand up. "Nicky, I understand. When I came to this town, people were frightened of me because of my long family heritage. The Petersons can be very good and very dangerous people. But when your grandmother called me cursed, I wasn't going to just sit back and take it."

As he said these things, he stepped forward to Nicky, making him shrink back. Mr. Peterson seemed to notice this and put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Nicholas, are you afraid I'm going to hurt you?"

Shamefully, Nicky nodded. Mr. Peterson warmly smiled.

"Nicky, I may be a little intense when it comes to my family, but I would never hurt an innocent child. I would never even hurt my own children. Remember that.", he said.

That seemed to calm the boy's nerves down. He smiled at Mr. Peterson and walked back to his house, the distant sound of a door closing behind him.

All the while, he kept repeating in his mind, "Mr. Peterson is a good person. He would never hurt anyone."

[happyk44]

Look. I know that like. Pluto is not the god of business and that wealth is not equivalent to business but like 1) the meaning of wealth has changed over time and differs among people and I'm pretty sure now when you think of wealth and wealthy people, you think of people who own fortune 500 companies and know what stocks are, and 2) I love the concept of tired businessman Hades/Pluto who just wants to spend a quiet day with his spreadsheets and a pencil, and not have to deal with whatever nonsense is currently being drummed up by his employees

Anyway -- Nico's wealth being generational due to his grandfather (and I want to assume that politics was a family thing so likely also before him) vs Hazel's wealth being hard earned, which, at least in the current age, means business know-how and being able to file a tax report and reconcile a balance sheet sheet and understand excel (I might be slightly projecting here lol)

Hazel being almost an obsessive accountant, monitoring bills, income, every single expense and penny off the street vs Nico who knows the value of things, like antiques, stuff with history. He can do surveys of property, anything that has the potential to be passed on. He's good with valuing a will - splitting assets between family members. Or managing a trust, devising different funds for the future. I think he's probably very good at looking at the long-term. And thus pretty good at noticing when someone is scamming another person with the whole "it'll be cheaper in the long run" thing, or "it'll increase in worth over time".

And since generational wealth is mostly familial, I don't think all of it has to be specific to monetary value either. Emotional wealth, the value something carries emotionally, is also something he can sense. A cheap wedding ring passed down from generation to generation could be more valuable than a standard cut diamond bought today.

Like he could look at old vase on sale at Goodwill for $2 and know it's monetarily cheap, but emotionally it's valued in the thousands. I think it could be kind of cool for things that carry high emotional value and were a part of a family's lineage for generations, if he could touch them and see the history behind it - but that doesn't really fit in with the scope of his current powers or the general theme of the Underworld so :/

They're both good at investments as investing is kind of the core of wealth management and plays a big part in building generational wealth these days, although, I'd gather that Hazel is probably better at it.

Nico, however, is very good at being able to calculate future value of a long-term investment (at least 20+ years).

Hazel can calculate future value of any kind of investment - short term fixed deposits, long and short-term investments, property changes (she absolutely hates house flippers, especially when they change or cover all the older original work, because it cuts the value down so much more than they realize), other stuff that has slipped my mind because my brain is stalling, etc.

Hazel's your go-to for reviewing the split of assets during a divorce. She's extremely meticulous and can track down even the most hidden of accounts. She's also the one you want to talk to about getting the most out of filing your taxes. She will go through every single one of your purchases, no matter how minor, to find a loophole she can work with to shave even only a couple cents off.

(disclaimer: bermuda does not have income tax so i have no idea how filing taxes actually works, other than the two canadian tax classes i took over five years ago as part of my degree)

Hazel can also assess depreciation somewhat automatically. Someone trying to choose between types of equipment can go to her and be like "which one will depreciate in value faster if I do X with it" and she'll look and point and if you ask her why, she can sprout off some nonsense at the top of her head without thinking - like percy with sailing, or my hc about jason/thalia and their inherent diplomatic schmoozing skills.

However, unlike them, she maintains understanding of what she's said when she's exited the environment, either because the power just does that or because Hazel is an amazing busy lady. if you casually said "hey hazel, between X brand and Y brand, which will drop in value faster" she'd have to think about it because it's not really "business" related.

In that sense she's also REALLY good at noticing trends. most of it is subconscious - what brands are becoming more popular, what clothing styles are losing touch. I put this in a previous fic, but she's very receptive gemstone trends. She can tell which stones are moving up in popularity and which are going down. In my headcanon about her business with Walt, this is very useful.

Her ability to notice trends, especially from a monetary standpoint, also helps with her managing stocks, and allows her to invest in high interest but riskier equities with very minimal loss (trends aren't set in stone, you know? Sometimes things happen and everything sudsenly shifts)

Plus back to the whole wealth is conflated with succesful business these days concept, putting Hazel in charge for just a day can boost a business's ability to turn a profit. In just a few hours, she can have all major flaws analyzed.

In New Rome, if someone is opening up a shop or whatever, they'll ask Hazel to review their plans because she can immediately point out all the issues and devise a better way to go about things. A couple times she's just taken them gently by the shoulders and said in the kindest voice ever, "This is going to fail. Do not put money into this." Sometimes it's the business concept, sometimes it's the person behind the concept. They either listen or they don't and if they don't, Frank is there to listen to all her complaints about them going against her advice.

Also - as an U-turn back to the splitting assets in a divorce concept, I'm not sure about pre or post-nuptial agreements. I think pre-nuptials are pretty straightforward in a "this is what im bringing in and want to keep separate from marriage" kind of thing, which Hazel could handle easily. I know in both cases it's important to declare all assets - which again Hazel could easily handle.

Post-nuptials are probably more of Nico's thing because at that point the assets in question have become merged and become familial, and much of generational wealth is in the idea of building wealth to leave behind to your family so they may have a better opportunity to build wealth to leave behind, etc, etc. Especially since post-nuptials, I think, are typically created after children are born, and those are the people who wealth is supposed to be left behind to.

This also kind of plays with my idea that the underworld is inherently familial/communal - as a person cannot bury or perform the proper funeral rites on themselves. Plus the Cocytus is the river of lamentation (aka grief and sorrow) and I imagine some of that comes from the people left behind, crying over their lost loved ones.

Also I think the idea that children of Pluto are resistant/immune to monetary greed. Since Hades was never technically the god of wealth, and was only conflated with him over time (to which, I would imagine some things and behaviours began to pop up, like they'd always existed and then becoming Pluto in the Roman era just solidified that conflation), his kids don't really have this innate resilience, but their dad is also rich and loves them, so their ability to fall prey to it is lower.

Oh! Oh! And Hazel can inflict plutomania on people, which is a word I discovered just now that means "the excessive desire for wealth". I don't know how this would be helpful but idk - social wealth is something I found popping up a lot so maybe if Hazel needs information on something that a person won't give, she can utilize plutomania to inflict a desire for social wealth in the person to get them to spill the information

(Social Wealth is about connection and network, having a sense of belonging and trust essentially. Someone with a lot of social wealth will have a lot of connections versus someone with no social wealth)

(oh yeah in my hasty google search to fact check my understanding of generational wealth when I started this post yesterday, I discovered there are many types of wealth. The number kind of varies from result to result, but essentially the 4 mains ones are: Financial Wealth (obvi), Social Wealth, Time Wealth, and Health Wealth (haha, it rhymes). But anyway yeah. Not sure how it could all loop into her without making her too all powerful but like. Hazel is also super cool and deserves to be godlike in consideration so 🤷‍♂️)

I love that when I started this yesterday it was a lot more clear cut and then I came back to finish it and ended on a ramble 😂 I do not have the energy to go and tidy everything up into something more coherent and uniform so this is what it be 👍

Oh, also, Hazel is amazing at gambling and poker. Nico is also good at poker but that's because he's reading people's souls to figure out their tells. Hazel is good at it because she attracts cash money and therefore always wins. That's why whenever anyone plays poker or places a bet with her, money can't be involved.

[nfoodd]

BOOTING UP//

EXPOSITION //

Uzi: We are Worker Drones. Autonomous robots helping humans mine exoplanets for our interstellar parent company, JCJenson IN SPAAAAACCCEE!!!! Yeah, we were mistreated in the name of Windex. But it's not like we revolted and killed all humans or anything, mostly because they handled that just fine all by themselves.

(As she speaks, the planet core collapses and blows up a good majority of Copper 9. Afterwords, a Worker Drone touches a frozen human skeleton, which falls over and shatters.)

Uzi: With biological life wiped from the planet, we found it pretty easy to pick up where they left off. We finally had a future, all to ourselves.

(The Landing Pod crashes to the city.)

Uzi: Unfortunately, our parent company didn't exactly love the concept of runaway AI...

(The Disassembly Drones begin to emerge from the pod. One of them throws the head of a dead drone, laughs, and destroys the city with other drones.)

Scene 2

(During a class presentation...)

Uzi: But what have our parents done for the past forever while those things build a spire of corpses?! Hide under the ice behind three stupid doors?! It's like we're waiting for an inciting incident! Anyway, that's why my project is this sick-as-hell Railgun!

(Her classmates panic.)

Riley: Oh, so not the vibe!

Uzi: Easy, morons. It doesn't work... yet! It doesn't work yet. Who said it doesn't work, maybe it does! (Uzi flicks the switch and laughs evilly.)

Teacher: (Rolls his eyes and sighs in disinterest) Uzi, the homework was a word problem about buying watermelons.

Uzi: Oh, and this magnetically amplified photon converger doesn't count?

Teacher: ...No. Plus, repressed emotional baggage was only worth two points on the rubric. And is it supposed to be that color?

(Uzi's railgun turns red and blasts the classroom.)

Scene 3

(After that calamitous demonstration, Uzi winds up in the sick bay.)

Lizzy: Ew, it didn't kill her! Oh my god, it's so bad! (She and her friend leave.)

Uzi: Ugh...

Thad: (Walks in) Classic toxic masculinity, Chad! That's never gonna end up problematic... Oh wow, Uzi? I heard you, uh-

Uzi: I'm an angsty teen, Thad. Bite me! Also, how do you know my name? People willingly talk to you.

Thad: (Chuckles) Well, I'd say everyone knows Khan's daughter, but, uh... Then you might blow the other half of your face off.

Uzi: Crippling daddy issues, hilarious... What are you in for? Testosterone too hard?

Thad: That can happen? Awesome. Hey, those bandages look pretty badass!

Uzi: Oh... Uh, ew. Gross, I hate that you said that.

Thad: So, what's the, uh...

Uzi: (Points railgun) Sick-as-hell railgun?! Sci-Fi nonsense, that super works! I'm sneaking to the Murder Drone lair tonight to get the last spare part I need to save the world with it and earn my dad's respect and stuff, but mostly the world part.

Thad: Oh, but doesn't your dad make awesome doors so we don't have to, uh... Do that scary sounding emotionally repressed stuff you just said?

Uzi: (Angrily points railgun into his cheek) NO MORE FEEDBACK ON MY REPRESSION TODAY!!

Thad: Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't think...

Uzi: (Leaves) BITE ME! (Comes back) I'm not mad at you by the way, just generally hormonal! (Leaves again)

Scene 4

(It's now 3 in the morning. Uzi smacks her face to turn the alarm clock off and prepares to sneak out of the house. She grabs her railgun, straightens her hat, and quietly steals her father's door key to swipe and get a door open. Just when she is about to leave, she runs into her dad.)

Uzi: Oh, Robo-Jesus!

Khan: And where might you be off to?

Uzi: Umm... Sneaking out to make out with my boyfriend that I definitely have?

Khan: (Laughs) Seriously, though.

Uzi: Okay, okay, you caught me! I need to measure... the exterior hydraulic mechanisms of Door One. Because that's... the project I'm working on for school? A big old door! Just like what my old man build! (Khan isn't buying this.) I want to join the WDF and hide behind the doors like cowards while playing cards and stuff...

Khan: (Chuckles) Well, we don't just play cards...

(Another door opens up behind Khan revealing his buddies playing cards.)

Braxton: Khan! Can you grab a fresh pack? We literally only play cards so much that the numbers have faded. Oh, hey Uzi!

Uzi: (Chuckles)

Khan: (Closes door) Well... (Laughs) When you build doors so good- (Goes back to hug the door like a dog owner petting his four-legged friend) Good door, good door... (Turns his attention back to Uzi) There's no need to fight! Uzi, this is great news! Here! The wrench that I used to tighten bolts on my first door prototypes, and to put your mother out of her misery when the Murder Drones got to her with that nanite acid... I want you to have it! (He hands Uzi the wrench.)

Uzi: Neat. Therapy's fun!

Khan: (Opens door) Guys! My daughter is into doors!

(The fellow drones start cheering as another door opens, letting in snow and a cold breeze, much to their chagrin.)

Khan: She's gonna be outside for a bit to examine the exterior of Door One! Your door-specific destiny awaits!

Uzi: Uhh... Wow, okay! I'm just gonna leave then, cause this worked so weirdly well. Uh, go doors! (The door closes.)

Khan: (Tearing up) They grow up so fast! (He takes off his fake mustache.)

Scene 5

(Uzi ventures out into the arctic wasteland and makes her way to the Corpse House. She comes across a downed Drone pod and forages around for the component she needs when she hears a noise behind her. A winged drone swoops in, takes the head of a drone, and crushes it. They notice Uzi hiding behind some machinery, and the two engage in a fight. Uzi braces her railgun, but the drone lands so hard it gets knocked out of her hands. Uzi jumps back and strikes a pose.)

Uzi: Whoa, and they said pirating all that anime was useless...

(The drone stabs Uzi hand, leaving a hole, and flings her to the side. Uzi quickly grabs her railgun as the drone scans around for her.)

Uzi: Bite me!

(Uzi fires the railgun, destroying the drone's head. The railgun recharges as the drone's body falls to the ground.)

Uzi: Holy hell! Suck on that, Dad!

(Suddenly, the drone's head regenerates. Uzi quickly slaps them with an arm, which does nothing, then their eyes open.)

N: ...Did you just slap me with that arm?

Uzi: Holy crap, it talks.

N: Yeah... Sorry, it's just my, uh, head kind of hurts. Hey, are you new to our squad? You're a little, uhh... (Shows Error in his sensors) short, for a Disassembly Drone. I'm Serial Designation N, nice to meet you. I'm kind of the leader of the squad in this city. That's not true, everyone tells me I'm useless and terrible. Wait, I'm not supposed to tell you that part! Biscuits! (Sighs) Well, honesty is the best policy. (Laughs) I also can't seem to remember the past 3 hours of my life, but I'm sure that'll sort itself out.

Uzi: Uh huh... I, uh, have to, go. (She leaves, but forgets about the painful hole in her damaged hand.)

N: Stuck yourself? Just pop it in your mouth. Our saliva neutralizes the nanites, otherwise I'd be constantly disassembling myself. (He holds up a syringe with nanite acid.)

Uzi: And by our saliva, you mean...

Uzi & N: Disassembly Drone?

Uzi: Right. Hey, let's go in that landing pod over there!

N: Sure! I love doing anything!

Scene 6

(N is drinking saliva from Uzi's hand.)

N: Sweet! Uh, I'm open to new things, I guess.

Uzi: We are never talking about this.

N: Talking about what? Consider it, uh... Repressed!

Uzi: ...Uh, you mentioned other members of your squad? Are they coming back soon?

N: Oh, yeah. Two others. They're out hunting for a bit but you'll love them. First, there's V.

(Flashback. V tears a drone's entrails out.)

Grant: No, No! Please don't feed me my own entrails in front of my family!

(N watches V feed Grant his own entrails in front of his family and kill him.)

V: ...And yet, I still feel nothing. (Her crazed eye twitches.)

N: So, V, uh, I heard this planet-wide toxic death storm is supposed to be especially inhospitable tonight-

V: Oh God, who are you?! (She leaves.)

N: No worries, I'm N! But a whole letter is a lot to remember! (He laughs nervously.)

(Flashback ends.)

N: So obviously, a lot of mutual respect there. But secretly, I actually kind of have a crush on her... You can't tell her, okay?! (Beat. Motioning, Uzi zips her mouth.) Then there's J, our leader.

(Another flashback. J has N pinned to the ground.)

J: N, you're worthless, and terrible, (N: (Struggling to breathe) Thank you...) and if the company allowed it, I would straight up kill you myself!

(Flashback ends.)

N: J's awesome. Hey, let me give you the tour! Outside are the corpse... wall... thingies. In here are the buttons! (He begins pressing buttons.)

Uzi: This... isn't just a landing pod... This is a spaceship! This could get us off the planet!

N: More of a one-use missile. They never taught us how to land.

Uzi: No, I, uh, uh, the worker drones, we could work with them to fix this! Instead of all the murder! ...Which, uh, why are we doing that again...?

N: Other than ingesting their WARM, SWEET oil to avoid overheating and dying? I guess I just want to be useful. I was given a job and I always want to try my best.

Uzi: And look at all the respect it's gotten you, N. You really think the company isn't going to dispose of you once all the workers are dead?

N: Oh my, you sure are rebellious! It's kind of exciting. But, not as fun as, uh, following the rules...

(They hear footsteps.)

N: Hey, they're back! You- (Uzi has disappeared.)

J: Idiot, get out here!

Scene 7

(Uzi retreats from the Corpse House.)

V: (Laughs) Yo, we got a worker out there I kind of want to practice balloon animal shapes with. ...What happened here?

J: Synergistic Liability here must have tripped and knocked himself offline. (J slaps N.) Moron bot, hello? (She snaps her fingers as N goes through a system reboot.)

Uzi: (On a recording) You really think the company isn't going to dispose of you once all the workers are dead? (Rewind.) Bite me!

YOU'RE DEAD

[IDIOT]

(The reboot finishes.)

N: Ohhhh... (His scanner indicates Uzi's footprints.) Ohhhh! You know, I-I left an-an extremely dangerous weap- excuse outside...! (He flees as V holds up a flag that says "Literally So Insanely Suspicious". Meanwhile, N goes off in pursuit of Uzi, who is fleeing back to the colony.)

Scene 8

(Meanwhile, during the card game...)

Todd: Haha, I am out, boys.

Drone: Oh, gosh darn it...

Braxton: Wait until my loving wife and kids hear about this!

(The door opens, letting in the cold and Uzi, much to their annoyance.)

Uzi: Bite me! Close it, close it!

(Uzi tries to swipe the card to close the door, but N has already stuck his claw in between. He pries the door open slightly.)

N: Hey, fellas. Oh, deal me in, I love rummy. Wait, no, I'm going to murder everyone... Rain check!

(He swings his acidic tail at the door scanner, breaking it and the key. The door opens up, as do other doors. Realizing their lives are on the line, Uzi and the other drones, minus Todd, run off.)

Todd: Um, actually, it's gin rummy. So-

(N impales him against a wall and slices his head off. He begins firing at the rest, shooting Makarov's head off and pouncing the other drone. Meanwhile, Braxton catches up with Uzi.)

Braxton: Hey, Uzi! I just realized no one's said my name out loud before, so I'm just letting you know I'm- (N slices him in two, then flies off in pursuit of Uzi.)

(Uzi recharges her railgun and turns back to fire, but sees that N is gone. Khan appears.)

Khan: Pretty nice hydraulics, huh? (He pauses as he sees all the chaos he missed.) ...What-What have you done?

(Uzi doesn't reply. Before she could explain herself, N swoops in. Uzi prepares for a fight.)

Uzi: This time, I won't miss!

N: (Chuckles) I'm sorry. I really enjoyed our time together, but I can't have you shooting V with that thing.

Uzi: Bite me! (To Khan) Dad, get down!

Khan: Uzi, you Lead a murder drone here?! My beautiful doors!

Uzi: Now is so not the time! I messed up, in the same way I'm about to fix it! Move, dad!

(N pins her to a wall and her railgun falls at Khan's feet.)

Uzi: (Straining) Dad... Point and shoot... Trust me...!

(Khan, trembling with fear, slowly backs off instead of helping his only child.)

Uzi: (Heartbroken) Dad...?

(In an act of cowardice, Khan closes the door, leaving Uzi broken. Not just brokenhearted, but broken to the point where she shuts down. No grief over being left in the lurch by her own father. No attempts to fight back N. Nothing. She just goes limp... The room turns red and alarms blare as N regains his sanity, looking with despair over what he has done. At this moment J and V show up.)

J: Whoa, N! Am I dreaming, or did you do something not useless, for once?

V: I've been trying to get past those doors for months. Nice work, N.

N: ...You... Me... Name... Remember...?

V: These ventilation shafts can easily get us around this last door. Lowest body count eats a missile! (She flies upwards.)

J: Way to go, stud. The company's gonna love this. With this colony wiped, we'll make top team this quarter, for sure. You know what that means... Branded pens! (She holds up a JCJenson brand pen, to N's joy. She tosses it to him and prepares to fly off and catch up with V.)

N: ...Uh, you know, not that I can't wait to keep murdering all these, uh, maybe not-so-actually different from us Worker Drones, but, just out of curiosity, do we actually, uh, know what the company plans to do with us afterwards...?

(Uzi begins to wake up.)

J: Excuse me...?

N: Okay, so, a worker earlier might have suggested that they could fix up our landing pod to, uh, escape the planet and stuff, which, whoa, hey, that's against the rules! But, it is kind of making me question why our pods were only one way in the first place. Cause, you know, I get the feeling the company doesn't actually love robots, and like we might be robots. I've made a terrible mistake. It's cool how immediately I could tell.

J: Hmm... No way, buddy. Questioning the company? You just finally gave me the excuse I needed. (J injects N with a virus.) Worker drones are corrupted, N. That's why the company sent us. I hate to see you corrupted as well.

N: (Infected) Thanks, J... Always looking out for me... You're awesome... (He passes out.)

J: Heh. (She flies upward to catch up with V and hunt down more drones.)

(Uzi wakes up and goes to get her railgun.)

N: (Still infected) Ah, biscuits. I'm sorry. I ruined your card game, then made you have an awkward moment with your dad.

Uzi: And I made you rebel like an angsty teen, which got you killed. Though, you also tried to kill me, so morality calls this a draw. (She climbs on top of a box to reach the vent. Predictably, she can't reach due to not having the ability to fly, and for being too short.) Ugh... For the record, that was the lamest heel-face turn in history. Was that supposed to be you switching sides?

N: Being rebellious is a lot harder than it looks. Thanks for showing me the ropes.

Uzi: Nuh-uh, no bonding thing. You just killed a bunch of people, idiot.

N: That's super fair... (Sighs) I screwed up...

Uzi: Ugggh...! In the same way you're about to fix it? (She shows the wrench.)

N: Hahaha! I love doing anything!

Scene 9

(Thad gets flung backwards. Lizzy and Doll rush to help him as J arrives.)

Khan: So... They found our evacuation spot. But, if we build a quick door...

(Thad gets up.)

Thad: Are you kidding me?! You're the WDF, right? Defend! (Khan and his friends back off in more cowardice.) For real?

(V arrives and impales Thad. Just as she's about to kill him...)

Uzi: Hey!

V: Huh?

Uzi: Put that conventionally attractive male down!

(N waves before Uzi nudges him.)

N: Oh! Uh, J, you're sometimes kind of mean to me, and I wish you weren't. Just some constructive criticism.

Uzi: Nice. (They fist bump.)

J: Noted, traitor. We'll circle back after I right-size your existence!

Uzi: (To N) Okay, which one do you want?

N: J, please.

Uzi: Too bad. Good luck.

(Battle commence. Uzi flings her pen at J's hair and runs off, leaving N to deal with V. J manages to knock Uzi down and yanks the pen out of her hair.)

J: Damn the well-made quality assured durability of JCJensen's products! Huh? (Uzi gets back up and kicks J in her face.)

(Meanwhile, N is fighting V. He tries firing from his gatling gun, but hearts shoot out instead.)

N: Ah! My mind's in a weird place! Don't read into this! (A rocket lands near him and explodes.)

(J gets up and knocks Uzi out while N and V are swordfighting. N sees J walk up to Uzi.)

N: UZI! (To V) I'm so, so sorry. Have fun repressing this! (He... licks V's sword. Nasty...)

V: EW! What the hell?! (N kicks her down as J looms over Uzi.)

J: You've got a lot of cuts for a barely sentient toaster. I've had prey fight fact before, but your edgy spirit is just... so... painful...?! (She looks down. Her leg has been stabbed.) GAH! FOURTH! QUARTER! PROFITS! MOTHER OF COMPANY LEADERSHIP RETREATS! (She jams her foot on a piece of rubble and falls over. Uzi points her railgun at her face.)

Uzi: One more buzzword and I'll do it!

J: ...Equity partnersh-

(Uzi pulls the trigger. In the end of it all, J's entire top half has been obliterated. Uzi spits on the corpse (Or what's left of it) to show who's the baddest. As the other drone's come out of hiding to cheer for her, she falls over tiredly. N picks her up onto his shoulders.)

Thad: Holy hell, Uzi, that was insane! And you too, uh...

N: Huh? Oh! N! I'm an angsty rebellious disassembly drone, now.

(They hear someone clearing their throat. It's Khan. Uzi throws her wrench back at his feet.)

Uzi: I brought the murder drones here accidentally. You chose to leave me for dead instead of just freaking believing in me! That's not even an edgy teen hyperbole like when I said it last week! (No response. Uzi, near tears, smacks herself to regain composure.) I'll save you the trouble dad. I banish myself! (Khan tries to speak, but can't find the words.) Let's go, N. Everyone here can bite me! (N grabs V and they begin to leave.)

N: Nice to meet you, Mr. Uzi!

Uzi: (Smacks him) Shut it.

(N takes off with Uzi and V. Khan has a sip from his mug in disappointment."#1 DAD" Nothing could be further from the truth...)

Scene 10

(Out in the frozen wilderness, Uzi sitting on top of a broken car, thinking to herself. Meanwhile, N is lodged inside the Corpse House.)

N: I'd join you if the sun didn't kill me. Hope you're having important character growth or something, though!

Uzi: Just can't wait to murder all humans. Classic robot stuff. I hope they're sitting pretty there on Earth, because we're coming for them...! (She laughs maniacally, her sanity completely vanished, as the zoom out reveals three Drone pods making their way down to Copper 9.)

(Credits roll.)

(The sound of rainfall and thunder pounds outside...)

James: We got to curb her trips to the dump.

(N is shown wearing a suit and holding a platter, like a servant.)

James: And where is she getting the hair to play dress-up with them? Creepy...

(James tosses his glass onto the tray, which N catches without dropping any dishes and walks off. He stops to make a view out of a window as the cacophonous storm continues raging. Continuing his walk, he looks around some more as he collides with V, wearing a maid's outfit. The collision causes N to drop the platter and the dishes fall to the floor.)

N: OH! I'm so sorry!

V: I-It's okay! I wasn't looking.

(Their hands touch and a spark emits. They blush and stare in curiosity as N begins to speak, but is kicked to the side by J.)

J: Move it, moro- (Suddenly turns cutesy and polite) Hi, Tessa! ...Oh, no. Another one?

(A new drone reveals herself from behind Tessa. She makes eye contact with N as everything suddenly goes dark...)

Scene 2

(N wakes up from his rest and falls to the ground.)

Uzi: N, I found something in here!

(Inside the Corpse House, Uzi is inspecting her new finding: a symbol consisting of a skull with a cap and wings. Uzi stares at her reflection in a mirror, which breaks.)

V: That's weird and concerning.

Uzi: Bite me! This is probably you weirdo's fault!

V: I've never seen that symbol before. Wanna do an autopsy to find out?

N: (Appears) What'd you find?

Uzi: Did you know that was a pilot hat?

N: I was the pilot? That's awesome! I crashed and ruined everything... Spaceship Pilot: Origin Story.

(V hisses, then calms herself by blowing bubbles out of a bubble blower.)

N: ...Speaking of piloting to Earth, we sure "murder all humans" is, uh, morality?

Uzi: The humans sent you without a communication relay and reformatted your memories to soup. (No response or rebuttal.) Covering their tracks means their past negotiating. Not like tried negotiating with my mom...

V: Or you missed the negotiations! The humans programmed us to solve a problem. Where's proof of your backstory? The one where your kind's so conveniently innocent? (Chuckles)

(N, not wanting another fight to break out, gently pulls Uzi out of the way.)

N: J was getting orders from someone. If not the company through that relay, then, uh, who? And how?

Uzi: (Pouts) Quit complicating my murder plan. (N tries to comfort her by gently patting her on the head, but Uzi brushes his hand away.)

Scene 3

(Back at Uzi's colony, two drones are staring at the large hole that N made in the roof.)

Tim: Yeah, just fix her up because, whoops, pretty big security risk in hindsight. Uh, you got this, uh, Ladderbot 5000. (His name is Frank.)

Frank: Ugh... Please, just leave the lights- (The lights go off.)

(Frank digs his flashlight out and tries to think of a way to get up there when he hears a clattering sound. He looks around in fear and suspicion when he notices something... fleshy. He goes to investigate, only for a strange spider-like heart device to reveal itself. His flashlight gets shot out of his hand as The Absolute Solver turns the colors of the room yellow and red before finally dispatching him.)

Scene 4

(It's Parent-Teacher Conference Day (AKA "That explains a lot!") at Uzi's school. Khan sits down across from the teacher.)

Teacher: Mr. Doorman, your daughter has been, uh... absent.

Khan: Yes, on that "kill all humans" kick, like when I was younger. Grounded herself and all that.

Teacher: Speaking on her behavior-

Khan: Of course, of course, precocious, popular, supernatural understanding of doors. Takes after her old man.

(Flashback time.)

Teacher: Uzi, please sit normal.

Uzi: Bite me!

(Flashback 2.)

Teacher: Uzi, (Sighs) give Braden back his sentience.

Uzi: (As Braden) Bite me- her! I started it, and also, I'm dumb. (Her head lights ablaze.)

(Flashback 3.)

Teacher: Uzi, you have to partner up.

Uzi: Several people wanted to, for the record.

Lizzy: No, we didn't. You freak us out.

Uzi: (Inside a trashcan) But mostly, bite me!

(End flashback montage.)

Teacher: Yeah, she has trouble fitting in. We think there might be something damaged with her programming. How is she at home?

Khan: Uh... Sorry? I mean, she's a little herself, but damaged? I... maybe haven't spent much time...

Teacher: Mmm, m-hm...

(A worker arrives.)

Worker: Mr. Doorman, sir? There's been an... incident.

Scene 5

(Meanwhile...)

Uzi: Oh, I'm sweaty! Who programmed that?!

N: You good, Uzi?

Uzi: I'm good! Better than good! I am God!

(She pauses to see Thad has shown up.)

Uzi: (Chuckles nervously) Hi, hi, Thad. (He hands her back her railgun.) Thank you.

Thad: Of course, 'Zi! (To N) N&M's. You saved my life. I don't think the colony is even serious about all this banishment stuff, more just confused. Especially with the fact-

Uzi: I'm too rogue to re-enter society now? I can never return...

Thad: ...Recent disappearances, and your murder friend's corpse. When I went to grab your gun, it kind of looked like it... crawled away...?

Uzi: We can return a

Scene 6

(Back at the colony, Tim comes across a hologram of Frank (Or Ladderbot 5000).)

Tim: Oh, Ladderbot 5000? We looked everywhere for you!

(Frank screams in pain, then returns to normal.)

Frank: Hi, Tim. Care to join me?

Tim: Join you standing eerily still over there in suspiciously low resolution?

Frank: ...Yes?

Tim: ...Alright.

(He walks over, not knowing that the Absolute Solver is about to snatch him and drag him up into the ceiling up until it's too late. Tim's hologram joins Frank.)

Tim: Flawless character acting, me.

Frank: Improv game for more practice?

Tim: Hahaha! We are a monster!

Scene 7

(Uzi, N, and Thad head back to the colony. A worker opens a door a little bit to see who arrived.)

Ron: Welcome back, Thad! (Notices Uzi) Uh, wait, isn't she grounded or something?

Uzi: Ugh, banished! Has my dad been saying I'm grounded?

Ron: (Notices N) Genocide Robot?

(N quietly walks up and hands Ron a crayon drawing to show how super very, very sorry he is for all the murders he committed.)

Ron: ...Oh, alright, just don't do it again. Get in here, ya goobs! (He hangs the drawing on the door.)

Scene 8

(The Absolute Solver's handiwork has been turned into a crime scene.)

Worker: Yeah, where's Khan? Because this looks, ahaha, ugh, non-ideal.

Sarah: Parent-Teacher Conference. Something about his daughter being more important than building a door in this hallway. Ugh, kind of cringe.

Worker: Ew. (Gets ready to hurl) Oh, give me a minute... (Holds his vomit in) Ah, yep, okay, almost threw up.

(Uzi is behind them, listening in on their conversation.)

N: You good?

Uzi: I'm good. Stop asking! (She pushes N away and motions for him and Thad to follow her while sneaking past the investigators.)

Sarah: (Turns to two of her colleagues behind her) Any forensic things over there? (No response.) Do we have fingerprints? (They fade away. She turns back to her colleague, who also fades out. Same with Frank and Tim. Her surroundings begin to get the same treatment. She looks up in horror as the Absolute Solver makes it's way towards her...)

Scene 9

(Back at the Parent-Teacher Conference...)

Khan: I mean, you don't think it's my parenting, do you? I left her for dead once! It sounds like she's bored in your class and the other kids suck! Call her "damaged" again, and I will install a DOOR ON YOUR FACE!

(Lizzy and Doll are in the back, listening to the ragefest that is Khan.)

Lizzy: (To Doll) Where are your folks?

(Doll starts having flashbacks.)

Doll: Мёртвые. Я смотрела как они умирали. ("Dead. I watched them die".)

Lizzy: ...That was the joke, idiot?

(They both hear a knocking. They turn to see a hologram of Lizzy outside the door)

Lizzy: That girl is... Gorgeous, right!? I'm gonna let her in. (She gets up to let her copy in.)

Scene 10

(Uzi, N, and Thad are in the room where they fought V and J.)

Uzi: You guys... do that often?

N: Haha, no. I'm very concerned, but also pretty frightened a little bit.

Thad: Hey, Uzi! What's this thing?

(It's an Absolute Solver sign.)

N: Hey, isn't that your special eye?

Uzi: Don't call it that! (She reads.) "Absolute Solver"? "Reboot"? Does this have something to do with how you grew your head back?

N: Hehe. I actively avoid unpacking how that works.

Uzi: New material can't be pulled from thin air. If the wound is severe enough, this "Solver" might be some sort of auto run program to collect more matte-

(N places his hand over her mouth to shush her. They hear something coming towards them... A human hand. It latches itself onto Thad's leg as they look up to see what the hand is attached to. Not able to see much in pitch black, N fires his missile cannon. This still doesn't reveal much, but it does anger it enough to begin pulling Thad up. Suddenly, a shuriken flies in and slices the cable apart, freeing Thad. He looks back to see that N was the one who unleashed the shuriken.)

Uzi: I want a freaking ninja star!

(She and N get thrown against a wall as one of the Solver's claws grabs Thad and leaves.)

N: (Getting up) You good?

Uzi: (Slams him back down) Stop asking! ...Chainsaw hand time?

N: (Braces his chainsaw hands) Yeah, cool, cool.

Scene 11

(Uzi and N give chase. They come across Thad's hologram.)

"Thad": Yes, and hello. It's me, Tad. Um, can I get a location? ...I heard dentist's office! I'm Thad at the dentist office. Come over here for your... teeth!

Uzi: Predictably terrible work, J. Why do you look so-

N: Great! You look great, J!

"Thad": No, no, wait, guys, it's really me! Is that a (His voice glitches and turns robotically feminine.) freaking ninja star?

(N unleashes his shuriken as Uzi kicks it. It flies upwards to bring down the real Thad as the hologram disappears.)

Thad (The Real One): (Pulling himself together) Life savers again. Thanks! Super invited to my shindig next weekend. Cool kids only. (He runs off as Uzi and N squee with delight over being invited to his get-together. Suddenly...)

Absolute Solver: We're busy then anyway, so whatever. So lame.

Uzi: What's with the voice, J?

Absolute Solver: Oh, J's not here. We are trying to repair that host as per our directive.

Uzi: So, you ARE a program?

Absolute Solver: More like you are our cute puppets. It hurts our feelings you don't remember us. (The Solver creates a hologram of Nori, Uzi's mother.)

Uzi: N...? (N has vanished.) What's with the mom hologram...?

Absolute Solver: Easier to assimilate than explain.

Uzi: Not happening.

Absolute Solver: Fair, but poor choice. Now we will have to do something shocking. (The Solver brings down a clone of Khan.)

Uzi: Woah! Hey!

Absolute Solver: Goodbye, Dad. ("Khan" gets ripped in two and the Solver feeds on his corpse.)

Uzi: What...?

(The Solver goes in to kill Uzi, but it gets struck by a missile fired by N.)

Absolute Solver: Pained cry.

N: Uzi shoot! Or give it to me! (He fires again, but the attack is deflected by the Solver.)

Absolute Solver: Claw swipe. (It then begins to move in on the duo.) Snarl.

N: Uzi! You good?!

Uzi: ...No.

(N grabs the railgun...)

Absolute Solver: Pranked, idiot. You big stupid. (The Solves throws Uzi to the side, knocking the railgun out of her hands and smashing it, it grabs her.) Lucky for you, it's snack time. Time to go into my mouth now.

(Before the Solver could feast on Uzi, N, the actual N this time, saws off its appendages. The railgun suddenly turns red as N fights the claws.)

Absolute Solver: Ow. And please don't. And also, I was using those.

(N grabs Uzi and they make their escape as the railgun self-destructs... As they regain themselves, they look back at the mess.)

Uzi: What was...? Which parts of that were real...?

(The Solver reappears and tries to escape.)

Absolute Solver: Sneaky sneaky. Sneaking away. Get snuck upon. (N stabs it.) Ow. (He repeatedly stabs it until it turns into a miniature black hole and floats off. Hearing a commotion heading their way, N tries to help Uzi to her feet, but she resists in fear.)

Uzi: What... are you things...?

(Hurt by her newfound distrust in him, N flees the scene as a search party led by Khan shows up.)

Khan: Uzi? (Uzi silently staggers towards him.) What are you doin- (Uzi, without word, hugs her father, who silently returns the embrace. He gestures for his men to scour the area. Khan looks up and sees N, who makes his escape.)

Scene 12

(Doll is sitting by herself in the classroom, looking at a photo. A robotic cockroach crawls up her arm as she looks back towards the door and remembers what happened earlier when Lizzy saw a copy of herself behind the door.)

Lizzy: Gorgeous, right?! I'm gonna let her in.

(She gets up to let her copy in... Only for Doll to use one of her powers to break the door before Lizzy could reach it.)

Lizzy: Jesus, sorry, industrial strength ghost or whatever. Settle. (She takes her seat as her copy disappears.)

(Back in the present time, the roach crawls onto the photo, only for Doll to will it to explode. She licks some of its remains off her face as we see what's in the photograph she's holding. It appears to be V.)

Scene 13

(Back at the Corpse House, V speaks to N, who is still guilt-ridden over what happened earlier.)

V: (Sighs) I hate your personality normally, but this is somehow worse. What am I being punished for? (V’s expression softens, and she looks down, revealing her chain is broken. She then hides it before looking back at N, and then turning away again with arms crossed.)

(Uzi is in her room, laying down on her bed, and looking up at a web of theories in regards to the Absolute Solver program.)

(Credits roll.)

[happiness-of-the-pursuit]

2023 Fic Round Up (Part 2: Fic Quotes)

For favorite lines, I tried to choose quotes that may have less visibility—maybe they haven't made it into a tumblr post or the summary, but I love them all the same. To make this easier for myself, I'm limiting this to quotes from my three published works that I'm the most proud of, plus the two WIPs that I've worked on the most recently.

Presented in reverse chronological order, I present fic quotes:

Unnamed Porn Star x Filmmaker AU

I literally wrote both of these as I outlined two days ago, so they have not reached their Final Form. Also, Smut Warning.

Alex is jealous of the wax. An inanimate object. For being spread across another man’s body. He’s pretty sure he’s completely lost his mind.

Moments later, Henry comes all over Basil’s hand as he uses it to stroke Henry, coating the deep blue wax that’s slowly hardening on his dick. A completely fucking mess. Alex wants to get his mouth on it.

Honey, You're Familiar (From My Mirror Years Ago) aka the Dads Fic

I've shared a lot of my favorites, but I don't know if I've shared this—pretty prose has never been a strength of mine, so I'm pretty proud of this:

June glances up at Henry, studying him for a moment. He wonders what she sees, if she can tell that he’s a crystal vase filled with a bouquet of emotions—absolutely transparent and if nudged too hard, the carefully crafted container might just crack apart, contents spilling out, shattering all remnants of what might have once been construed as beautiful.  An unavoidable mess. The hyacinths, taking up most of the space, for regret and remorse. Tulips, a bit hopeful, for forgiveness. Purple lilac, stubbornly wedged in the mix from the first moment Alex flashed his smile at Henry, for love at first sight. He thinks maybe June does catch a glimpse of the blossoms, because the next thing he knows, her eyes face softens a bit, and she’s turning back to face her cousins with her hand pressed against Henry’s back. It’s not the touch of the Claremont-Díaz sibling he craves, but it still settles him somehow, even before she speaks.

(Dil)Do It Yourself 

Chapter 1

“Pez, like the candy?” Alex blurts out. He doesn’t have much of a filter on a good day, but hot people make his porous coffee filter turn into a goddamn colander.

Also Chapter 1

"If I find that you have somehow managed to muck it up, how should I plan to contact you?” Alex grins back at Henry. He has no fucking clue why this British elf who speaks like a Victorian orphan and looks like he stepped out of a Calvin Klein photoshoot has him thinking about getting a second apartment key made, but here he is. Mentally googling routes to his nearest hardware store. “Well, usually, when it’s for business I just give out my fax,” he drawls, unable to contain his smile as he gets to the second half of his sentence. “But since I’m fairly interested in mixing this with pleasure, I guess I can share my cell number.”

Soft stuff before the less soft stuff in Chapter 3

What he’s absolutely not prepared for is the look on Henry’s face when he spots Alex entering the shop—like Alex just saved babies from a burning building or cured cancer or something. It’s way too fucking much when Henry doesn’t even know about Alex’s coffee addiction or the way he incessantly taps his foot when he’s focused or how Alex accidentally interrupts people when he starts getting really passionate in a debate. Maybe Alex can accept that Henry’s into his jokes or his smile or his dick. But basically, Henry hasn’t learned about all the other stuff that comes with spending an extended period of time around Alex. He’s not getting his hopes up. Except when Henry smiles, and softly greets him with “I missed you,” Alex absolutely gets his hopes up.

Claremont 2008 

Both of these are from the final chapter of the fic:

Henry’s sitting at his desk, a heavily annotated Norton’s Anthology of Poetry propped open to his left, a notebook full of beautiful, neat cursive laid open to his right. The soft glow of his lamp warms the small space, coupled with the changing light from the window as the early sunset fills the room with an orangey light that makes Henry appear golden, like he’s been blessed by Apollo, or Helios, or some other sun god.

Finally arriving at their door, Henry unlocks it for the first time, the movers having finished up while the two of them went over to pick up a nametag for their new roommate. After taking a few steps down the hall, they enter into a cozy living room already filled with both their book collections and their family photos all jumbled together. The Lightning Thief sits next to Pride and Prejudice like they’re two puzzle pieces aligning, a photo of Henry and Arthur on a sailboat hangs next to one of Alex sitting on his abuela’s lap: two homes side by side. 

Freaky Friday (I woke up in my enemy's body) 

Alex waxing poetic about Shaan's ass

“You can, er , go,” Alex directs him, though it comes out like more of a question. Apparently it was effective enough, though, because the guy exits, and the phrase “hate to see you go, love to watch you leave” pops into his mind when he gets a view of his ass strutting out of the room in that suit.

The Great Dick Soliloquy

Eventually, and to Alex’s great shame, he gives in. He just has to know, okay? It’ll just be a brief glimpse, he assures himself. Alex is not kidding when he says that he took one glance at Henry’s dick and it changed his life. He really did intend on it being a brief glimpse.

Thank you to @hgejfmw-hgejhsf @firenati0n @anincompletelist for the tags!

Sorry if I missed one of y'all doing this, tagging @littlemisskittentoes @ssmtskw @affectionatelyrs @read-and-write- @matherines @rockyroadkylers!

To see all my 2023 fics in Part 1, click here.

[vamptoll]

Night's Black Agents Campaign Diary Part 1-

Right now running this game (with the Dracula Dossier book) and want to have a record of my thoughts on the game as it develops. I know some of my players are on here, but it won't touch on any spoilers so feel free to take a look

Rule-books and Campaign Books-

I had heard of Night's Black Agents when it came out, and secret agents who track down and hunt vampires is a pretty kick-ass premise. While I don't much care for spy fiction, it's very easy to get me into any genre if a vampire is there. Humble Bundle had a thing which reminded me the game existed, so now I'm playing it!

I've heard complaints about the system being "too rail-roady", and while that's a possibility (the central gimmick is you don't roll for clues, you get them automatically, so you're just following the GMs per-mediated path through the session), it's a problem I think I can solve by running an improv heavy game (which is my normal approach anyway).

The game has some optional rules to modulate the tone, and of course I went with the "mirror" style. Shifting alliances, faulty memories, Players betray players! Cool stuff, and how most of my games end up turning out. While I like the rules for PVP combat, I don't like the rules for afterwards. The only real possibility the game opens is the betrayer rolls a new character to join a team, which is just eh.

I have the following possibilities for my game-

A) Run sessions as normal, treating the party as split-up. Issue is, the players likely won't care about what the other side is doing.

B) Have the whole party roll new characters, and then have them play the betrayer party and the original party. I really like this for opening up the world, though it's a bit more work.

C) Contrive a reason for the betrayer to still be in the party! This can range from the esoteric "you wake up and there she is, in the hotel bed besides yours. Like nothing happened. Did it even happen?" to the practical "Sure, she sold you out and shot you, but she's still the best damn hacker you know. You need her! Maybe she lost gun privileges though."

Mirror games are fun, but also exhausting: to help provide contrast there's gonna be a subplot against assholes no one would join: Nazi vampires. Lucky me, the Dracula campaign book even has some pages dedicated to the concept!

The campaign book is mostly a collection of characters and organizations as a jumping-off point. Each one has various iterations, mostly revolving around if it's under the control of Dracula or under the control of Project EDOM, Britain's secret vampire spy organization. This means the book is mostly focused around evil British spies and Evil Dracula crimes.

Character-Building-

While I was worried at first, the players ended up drawing out characters that suited the mirror-mode VERY well. Shocking reveals will come out! In very inconvenient times!

But the themes we've gotta work with are A LOT. Faulty memories, romance, the nation-state against the individual, it's a lot to juggle. And that's just everyone's starting points, not getting into the themes I wanted to bring into the game. I think it'll be fine (Table-top games can be messy and still work, because the audience is a group of 3-5 players), but means I'll have to work hard to keep the tone and theme going steady. I'll probably prep each session with a tone I want for it.

Session 1

The first session was pre-written, which was fine. I wanted to focus on teaching the rules and setting-up characters, anyway. I can tell that the party is already pretty unstable. I need to find some glue to keep them together. It'll make the betrayals hit harder, and also, no one wants to spend time with "the three women who don't care one-way-or-the-other about each other."

The players did almost jump out of the railroad at one point, saving a man who very much is supposed to be dead. It would have been kinda fun to see how things would develop, but i decide to make it a roll and it was 1 away from happening. Him being dead was the plan anyway, and it does keep information a bit more locked.

Session 2

Last time the players got a hook about a dig-site in Romania with a possible vampire in hiding. The players also wanted to search for Dracula's castle. The book luckily provides a little trap for early-on when players are looking into that, a coffin that seems to be part of Dracula's network, but actually has a bomb in it. Two different old Romania ruins, with two different coffins. One a trap, and the other with a creepy vampire. They went for the trap first.

I played up the spooky factor this session, with howling dogs and a lurker watching them, and then they were trapped with just the coffin. The clear solution is to throw the bomb at the barricade trapping them, letting them escape, which they did! Yay! Then they talked some with the lurker. (The party was not combat spec-ed, and I was planning on more combat later anyway, so I decided for a talking scene.)

This gave the players the chance to become double-agents, learning some of Dracula's organization. Fun! I also let this scene give additional context for the dig-site: Dracula's organization wants them to run-off everyone at the dig-site, and leave the vampire there alive. Doing that lets them join up with him.

Off the team went to the Dig-Site, and one of the leaders of the dig knows one of the PCs, but that PC doesn't remember them. Mirror/mode/Moment! The rest of the session had this great underlying tension because of this (though I'll have to dial it back next time- the group is nearing a breaking point.)

The players ended up having another spooky time, with the coffin speaking to them. When they betrayed the vampire, feeding it holy-water, the whole area shock, and of course both Dracula and Project EDOM is NOT happy with that. The players played it off with Dracula's agent, and now their next adventure is working for Dracula, this time on something much simpler- Dracula wants them to beat up some nazi vampires for them!

Things the players need: Friendship with each other! Some Combat! Push them toward more independent connections!

[goldfishlover73]

4, 5, 10, 13, 14, 15 for the fanfic ask game 💕

4.How do you channel characters' voices and personalities? A lot of self reflection. Lol Writing fanfiction is a double edge sword for this one. The voices and personalities are right there. They already have a voice and personality. It makes it really easy. But at the same time, as a fanfic writer, you have a lot of liberties with that. You get a lot of writers that do not make the characters anything like they are in canon and depending on the writing, it works. Particularly in AUs. Especially in non canon ships. Because, lets be frank, in canon Kakashi wouldn't touch Sakura with a ten foot pole like that. But that's also not why we're here. I do not always write my characters the way the initially were portrayed, but I do my best to at least stay within bubble of realism. Lots of 'What would Kakashi do?' or 'Would Sakura really do that?' This usually comes in the editing process. I would advise you to that while writing. Don't want to get into the revising of a long fic and realize that what you've written does not match Kakashi's personality at all and have to rewrite motivations. *cries in fanfic* 5. What techniques do you use to create believable dialogue? Similar to above, a lot of 'what would Kakashi say' or 'What would Sakura say' I've been writing a lot more Gai recently and creating believable dialogue with him has been challenging, but in a fun way. He's very boisterous and very animated and has a very interesting manner of speaking at times. Finding the right words is important.

TLDR: just being mindful of the character's head I'm in.

Also! when I write dialogue, I try my best to have them not just standing in the ether talking to one another with their hands at their sides. No one talks like that. I try to stay away from just saying 'he said/she said' and say 'he rubs the back of his neck' or 'she presses her lips together and looks away' or if they are walking and talking have them looking around and noticing the stuff around them (even if it is the person next to them.) Using the characters quirks and mannerisms helps build out a talky-talky scene.

10.What's your favorite part about the fic writing process? Coming up with the idea and the brain storming in my head. The day dreaming. Then writing, which is the second worst part. Then revising is the bane of my existence.

13.What's the most challenging aspect of writing fanfiction for you? Besides the fact I tend to switch tenses? Which is more of a writing thing than fanfic thing... it's characterization. Hands down. I would like to create a piece of work where there is no time where the person pauses and goes 'that character wouldn't do/say that' (unless it's, you know, a driving force behind the story. Like that's the plot or the relationship). I want Kakashi to be Kakashi. I want Sakura to be Sakura. For better or worse. Flaws and all. Because playing with flaws is very fun. 14.How do you go about researching details or canon information? Naruto Wiki. It's hard because it's been a hot minute since I've read Naruto and to recall what is canon and what is filler is a bit mind reeling. I say that and recognize I do pick and choose what I pull from filler. Like Friend-Killer Kakashi. 15.Do you plan your fics or prefer to let the story unfold as you write? I do both. Usually my first write through is half a story and half outline. The second go through is where I expand on ideas and then start narrowing things down. Then some ideas take hold and I run with it. That's one of the nice things about waiting until you're done writing the whole thing before you post because you can find a great idea at the end of a piece and go back and add layers in at the beginning and no one is the wiser.

Sorry this is really wordy and long, hopefully I answered your questions!

[vaguely-concerned]

trying to decide the details of my second veilguard run because my plans have been something like:

-- second rye ingellvar run now that I Know him and can really receive the full psychic damage along the way (so lucanismancing elven mourn watch mage again b/c. he's everything to me. perhaps the most oc blorbo to ever blorb for me if we don't count purple hawke for being a more set character). this one IS happening eventually no matter what haha I need to see my boy again there's no way around it. nightmare run?? I am doing one eventually anyway. I didn't touch any evoker stuff at all this playthrough, maybe try some different builds? what I was doing got me through underdog just fine but I feel the fromsoftware 'I need to run into a wall face first fifteen times for enrichment' instincts stirring.

-- rosaria 'rose' de riva, vashoth crow ready to throw all the punches rye didn't until the very end when he decked the dread wolf so hard he became one with the veil. I had planned to have her as a rogue, BUT I think I want to romance either emmrich or neve on this run and also I still want lucanis around for. personal reasons. emotional support. morale. and also crow background texture for a lot of it. so IF I make this one (or possibly one of) the nightmare run(s), might be better to have her as a warrior to make the team balance and detonation game work out better?? I would like to play all three classes eventually and warrior is further up my list of fave DA classes than rogue is. (will I find the rogue fine aim mechanic insufferable? previous experience indicates 'very possibly'.) this would also be my solavellan happy-as-we-could-make-it ending run, with a whole arc of rose starting out so ready to carve his throat out and ending up there. (between the realization of solas and mythal's relationship and the things rose knows she would be willing to do if viago asked it of her and also myra lavellan's complete lack of swag yet methodical thoughtful nature having reached a Conclusion however nuts, all things are possible)

rose is kind of the mirror character to rye in many ways (she's leery of magic and ready to say 'if it could be trouble one day just burn it the fuck down man it creeps me out', impulsive and the fakest dgaf-er who ever lived aside from davrin so more genuinely emotionally expressive and open than rye is, and does not have rye's stark and vengeful nature when pushed past his limits lol) so I'd get to see a lot of things and outcomes I didn't the first go around! and of course. can accomplish the goal of annoying viago de riva to within an inch of his life as an ultimate show of love both from me and her. I am doing this one too and have some design notes in mind, I just need to make the class choice already. maybe try out both in the prologue???

-- dwarf mercar who's quite simply a very nice if not always confident young man doing his best that I intended to have as an emmrich romance. initially imagined as a warrior but maybe better as a rogue, since it would be my saving minrathous run and lucanis is going to be less central/be gone for parts of it? I must admit this is the one that doesn't inspire me as much as I might like it to so far, I don't think I've found like. The Meat that would sustain me in it. certainly not enough to make it through serving lucanis another huge L on a platter lol. also I am working with the ps5 character limit, and I think we all know I'm not making it through two playthroughs before I see rye again haha.

[symphorine]

time to return to the scene of the crime (ritual site) (solas did the crime)

ill skip over most of the quest bc it's just exploring the ruins and there's not much new. i did spy a halla statue, but nothing that really gives any insight as to what they're ruins of. we go through pretty extensive built and paved sections, so i'm wondering if we're in a part that used to be the city of arlathan proper, with plenty of different buildings, proper streets, etc.

did take a couple of screenshots of the view from the floating ruins, which gives an idea of what arlathan forest looks like.

i was a little confused about the mountains, but got this map from the fandom wiki:

we do see the white spire to the east, a mountain in antiva, and a mountain range on the west and southwest, which are the hundred pillars from tevinter. my guess is the ruins we're at are in the southwest side of arlathan forest, since we seem to be looking at a mountain range rather than a singular peak? arlathan forest is also right on the coast. iirc in the tevinter night "three trees to midnight" story, we follow characters captured by qunari and set to work between the edge of the forest and a beach. it's set a few years before DAVG, so whether qunari forces are still attempting to penetrate the forest or have been forced to give up because of veil jumpers' effort is up in the air. it's possible that when the antaam broke away from the rest of the qun, some of them were there.

there's also this map from tevinter nights, also found on the fandom wiki, which i find less readable but is a little different (more up to date with recent lore additions/changes):

the end of the quest at the ritual site sees us getting the dagger and harding awakening some magic powers when she touches the pure lyrium dagger, a first for dwarves, as far she (and anyone else) knows.

interesting thing: in the following screencap, taken at the beginning of the quest, we see where the dagger fell. the ground is cracked, and blue light comes from those cracks, indicating magic.

in the following two screencaps, taken at the end of the quest, where the dagger was planted into the ground briefly, there's actually what looks like lyrium veins growing:

it looks like it's not part of the rock either, but growing from nothing on top of it. i don't know what to make of it, just thought it was interesting. surely if lyrium was self replicating like this dwarves would have lyrium farms instead of mines, right? maybe it's just a small scale phenomenon?

other than that, the big thing is obviously harding talking with words and a voice that are obviously not her own. transcript of what she says while she's glowing blue from what's happening:

"This is the eternal hymn, the prayer, and the proclamation. Isatunoll. I am. We are. Free again. Whole again. Here again. Here... again..."

During this speech, she floats up in this rock, then bursts out of it. Again, it's got clear lyrium veins (god I just realized lyrium veins is so literal with lyrium being the blood of the titans. very cool).

And then she turns darkspawn into stone. This is stuff that is explored in her companion quests, so not much to say at this stage. Harding is very much a conduit for new lore in the game, in ways that did irk me a little, but i'll get to that when i progress to her quests. i do wish she had been more of her own character. it also makes it absolutely baffling to me that she can perma-die if you pick her as a second team leader in the ending, and frustrating, like she was really just a vehicle to deliver this knowledge to the player.

before we come back to the lighthouse, we get a little peek at our two elven gods

i looooove ghilannain's silhouette. i think elgarnan should have been more fucked up tbh. what we do learn here is that the darkspawn ghoul that we chased during the quest was controlled/influenced heavily by ghilannain to retrieve the dagger, and seeing as it failed, the gods now decide they need to make a new dagger - ghilannain specificies "made of red lyrium", for some reason. clearly regular lyrium wasn't a problem, since they wanted solas' dagger, but maybe it's a preference thing...? anyway. we now have. the entire motivation for the game i suppose. i guess it IS made obvious how pivotal the dagger is but... idk. it's not very impressive. in general i feel like they suffer from a crucial lack of development in the game. yes, of course as the main antagonists, we dont really spend a lot of time chatting to them, but i wish we'd gotten a bit more depths. especially since later we can hear snippets of conversation! also they have a scrying pool of sorts??? how does it work??? can they only see blighted creatures??? does it include wardens??? where the fuck are they in this screenshot??? it does look like elven architecture but i'd like to know where EXACTLY they are. somewhere in arlathan forest still? why would they not go themselves to pick up the dagger? is it too low-level work for them? are they too weak to risk it yet?

it does remind me tho of when they got freed and you saw solas turn towards them and look afraid. suddenly he didn't seem like the Dread Wolf, but like a very small and scared man. this is probably one of his greatest nightmares. good moment i liked it.

we go back to the lighthouse to have another huddle. harding says that she feels like something took her over and is worried it might be possession - neve reassures her, saying dwarves cannot be possessed because they aren't connected to the fade. i wonder if this is meant as like, a physical impossibility, or just that since dwarves dont dream or access the fade as easily, theyre just so much less likely to come into contact and make a deal with a demon?

a mage rook says it's not the magic they know, and then we have a beautiful bit of dialogue:

Rook: It's clearly Stone-focused. Which makes sense. Dwarves are Children of the Stone. Harding: Mages connect to the Fade. Dwarves reach out to the Stone? Maybe? Rook: Maybe. Harding: I guess we don't have any real answer.

i dont know guys i feel like you could have dug into this a little more T_T. especially frustrating playing a rook who is a scholar haha.

then you can tell harding how you view her new magic. not sure what it influences exactly apart from some dialogue later. i think maybe that's my gripe with a lot of those decisions being made a big deal out of (through the purple notifications): a lot of the time, it's just some dialogue you get or don't, not really something that has a real mechanical consequence (like actually influencing outcomes of situations). i might be wrong though.

lighthouse conversations after this: you can have a proper one with harding, where she expands a little more on isatunoll, and it being a proclamation of being , not "i", because that's a single being, and not "we", because that's multiple but separate. I think the closest analogy I'd give to what isatunoll seems to refer, which would have been the state of the dwarves before the titans were made tranquil, is a hive mind? maybe not quite that, but clearly dwarves were connected to each other through the titans, and to the titans, in very intrisic ways. harding also says she can't find any accurate mention of isatunoll in the books she's reading ("none of the histories are right."). as an aside, she never seemed particularly interested in dwarven history, or underground dwarves - it makes sense that she'd want to look into it now and suddenly feel closer to it, but where did she get those books on such short notice? did they just appear in the lighthouse?

speaking of the lighthouse! the library is now debris-free, and bellara's area, the workshop, is now open, though in the same state of neglect as the rest. we also of course now have the meditation room and get to arrange it. i was delighted to see a mourn watcher rook brings an urn with them... presumably it contains?? skeleton bits?? since nevarrans don't burn their deads??? anyway. imagine just lugging a whole urn around for months on end as you're travelling through thedas. tbf the mage thing, the magical project, also does not seem like something you'd bring with you for that. where were these objects before? who knows.

we unlock this codex entry in the meditation room:

On Life in the Lighthouse This ancient logbook is filled with meticulous veilfire runes. Though it is encoded, flicking through it offers vignettes of borrowed memory. Fearful refugees are ushered to the Lighthouse through eluvians, emerging from the infirmary and libraries as soldiers, spies, and scholars. Gardeners plant long-extinct herbs that grow, are harvested, and wither in the blink of an eye. The sharp smell of distilling medicine wafts from a window, and poison for the enemy drips into a vial. The arguments of a war council go on late into the night; fobidden songs are sung freely, with filthy lyrics substituted for the Evanuris' names. Finally, a heated conversation silhouetted against glass with quick shadows darting behind it. The argument ends with a wordless but unmistakable impression: "You summoned them: you feed them."

i love every scrap we get of what things were like for the ancient elves. it's nice to learn a bit more about the rebellion; it also seems like the lighthouse used to be a much larger place, if it housed all these people and rooms (libraries, plural, but also some kind of alchemy lab for poisons and medicines, at the very least, as well as gardens). and someone recorded this, wrote it in encoded runes - a member of the rebellion presumably? i was also wondering if it could be a spirit observing them, but solas makes it pretty clear later on that spirits were implicated in the conflict whether they wanted to or not, so i dont think there'd be any that just observes, especially in the heart of the rebellion.

solas sassed me so bad during this conversation with him i yelled at my screen. he asks if he overstated the danger, i picked the option to say he didn't, and he told me "How unfortunate for you." in the most mocking way. SOLAS. WHAT IS THIS. this man has no manners.

anyway, we learn that solas knows some of who we are and draws a parallel between him and us. I think that happens no matter what you choose - I'm gonna transcribe what happened with beryl, but I remember a similar dialogue with daea as well.

Rook: Then you know that powerful opposition doesn't frighten me. I find a way to get the job done, whatever it takes. Solas: I suppose I was not so different when I started. Rook: Started what? Solas: My rebellion against the Evanuris -- the "elven gods", as you call them.

side note: fun early apparition of "whatever it takes".

solas then tells us that the gods "wish to reclaim their dominion over the world." that's fine, i guess, but it rubs me the wrong way that we hear our main antagonists' goals through a third party who's assuming it's what they want. that could have been a fun twist! you can perfectly keep elgarnan and ghilannain as evil bad guys while saying they have more complex or specific aims than solas says or thinks; then that could contrast solas' conviction that he is always right, as well (until he realizes he was wrong and decides to destroy the world again about it, of course).

and then some fun stuff:

Solas: First, the blight. What exists in this world is a bare fragment of its power. The rest is imprisoned... until they release it. Rook: (Why blight the world?) I don't understand. Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain were elves like you, right? Why would they want to blight the world? Solas: It is my fault. As the Dread Wolf, I was a thorn in their side. Solas: When my efforts weakened their grasp on the elven people, they grew frustrated. Then desperate. Rook: And turned to the blight. Solas: Once the corruption took hold of them, they were blind to its horror. It was just another source of power for them. Solas: Now, they would blight the world without hesitation and call us backward and foolish for opposing them. Rook: (It's bigger than what we have?) The rest of the blight is imprisoned? There's more than what's in the world already? Solas: Yes. Centuries ago, the magisters of Tevinter opened my prison. A tiny fragment of the blight escaped. Solas: That fragment grew beneath the earth and led to the Blights that have swept across this world. Solas: However terrible the blight is now, it is a mere fraction of what we will see if its full power is unleashed. Rook: (It didn't escape?) The blight didn't escape with the gods? Solas: Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain escaped largely empty-handed, fortunately. Most of the blight is still trapped in the prison I created ages ago. Rook: So what we saw at the village, that's them not at full strength? Solas: Correct.

these are the questions you can ask solas about the blight before continuing the conversation. all interesting tidbits! the blight existed before they turned to it - we know it's the anger of the titans, a consequence of making them tranquil. it was considered bad, including by the evanuris: solas saying that once the corruption advanced enough, they were blind to its horrors implies that they used not to be. the blight we know and have known since origins is only a LITTLE of it, which is humbling. the titans were gods in their own right; that their fury is much bigger and worse than what we've seen also makes sense.

also, the magisters did unleash the blight, but it is not of the maker. someone call the chantry i need to destroy their entire ideology asap (if everyone else' beliefs are getting fucked, i don't see why the chantry should be different. but i will complain about this later for sure). this confirms that the golden/black city was arlathan. corypheus said in dai that he throne of the gods was empty, so either he saw the evanuris in their prison but did not recognize them as gods, or the magisters just didn't go very far into that prison (plausible! it was a ritual that demanded a lot of power and they resorted to a lot of blood magic just to enter the fade physically, let alone go further into it. I wonder if it would have demanded less power if they hadn't been trying to get into solas' prison? also, was it on accident or not?). it is intriguing that the blight escaped first with no god, and now the gods escaped with no blight. were they held in different sections of solas' prison? also, honestly, what the fuck was that prison like? thousands of years imprisoned with your fellow tyrants in the fade? AND additionally: the evanuris and the forgotten ones seem to have disappeared at the same time, but solas only ever talks about imprisoning the evanuris, despite legends saying he imprisoned both (in different prisons). and we see anaris later, coming from and being send back to the fade. what happened to the forgotten ones exactly? clearly they're not in with the evanuris.

anyway. then solas tells us to find the tyrants and bullies, the cruel and the corrupt, because that's where elgarnan and ghilannain will seek followers, as they "care little for the elves". I do agree they don't care for the well-being of the elves, for sure, but i was expecting a "you were ours and you shall be again" angle to be played much more strongly in the game. it soooort of happens, with the way elgarnan talks to and about the dalish, but not that much. but now we've establish that anyone who works with the gods is evil anyway.

it's frustrating because then it's just reinforced that the venatori and antaam are purely evil, with very few exceptions - or not even exceptions, just... contact with members that show another facet. I'm thinking of the crow and venatori lovers in treviso, and the brief dialogue with the butcher in treviso as well. the enemies being uniformly bad, something that is never questioned, is definitely a disappointing and frustrating aspect of the game, especially when racism is thrown in the mix with the antaam (the way theyre depicted is dehumanizing and sexualized and just. so bad. plenty of other posts have touched upon this but it bears repeating.)

finally, "And when you see Varric, please tell him that I... regret what happened." SOLAS WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU.

actually this does remind me of something i forgot to write about earlier, about the very beginning of the ritual site quest, when harding and neve have a bit of a fight. Harding at one point mentions Varric, and Neve says that he knew what he was in for, he knew what the risks were. so clearly varric is not a taboo subject in front of rook. HOW did rook not stumble into conversation that made them realize varric was dead and an illusion during the game? it must span at least MONTHS.

caught up with my screenshots folder, so ill play some more tomorrow probably! I think from next week, as I go back to work, I'll prob play during the weekend and write these posts during the week, but we'll see.

[saunteringvaguelydownwards]

what are the fics you’d consider required reading (as you said in the tags of another post) ? any fandom i’d say for required reading or if there’s too much, for warrior nun ?

*heavy sigh* I had this post 90% complete when the power went out at my house and I had to rewrite the whole thing.

I'm gonna give you a scattershot approach, one fic for a few different fandoms, different types of fic, and hopefully something resonates.

🦗 (Recommend any fic, wild card!)

Avengers/MCU - The Infinite Coffee and Protection Detail series by owlet (tumblr?)

Set immediately at the end of CA:TWS, Bucky's scrambled brain does a hard reset and decides his new mission is to protect Steve, covertly. Meanwhile, he kinda gets adopted by the senior citizens that live in the shitty apartment building he's crashing in while he learns how to be person again. It's snarky AF, touching, funny, great action, fluffy domestic Avengers Tower stuff. There's some Stucky eventually, but it's not the primary focus and doesn't really show up until like the 5th story in the series. There are 7 stories, and a Q&A with the author.

OUaT - The Secret's in the Telling by @the-pyrophoric-one

Emma is being pranked by a thief while living in the mansion with Regina and Henry, and there's also magic fuckery afoot. This story is just neat. It's tightly-plotted and funny. I can't actually say too much because the whole point is that there's a mystery to solve and I'd hate to spoil it. Even when I had kinda figured out what was going on, I still had no idea how it would end. It's told from two different POVs, so it's fun to reread the first part once you know the ending. Apparently there's also a sequel, but I don't believe I've read it yet.

R&I - Calamity Jane Meets Dr. Isles, Medicine Woman by @jobethdalloway

Rizzles 1800s western AU. Maura is a fancy lady from Boston who moves west to live with her fiancé Garrett Fairfield, Jane wears pants, drinks whiskey, and roams the countryside as Jake Wyatt, an outlaw who's hunting for Charles Hoyt, the man who killed her parents. The immersion in this AU is stunning, the characters feel true to the originals while allowing for how things would change given the time and circumstances, and the buildup from their unconventional meeting to friends to more is a lovely and authentic slow burn. There's also a completed sequel, but it's still on my to-read list.

The 100 - Lightning Only Strikes Once by fiona_249 (tumblr?)

Lexa gets shot and dies, Clarke climbs to the roof of the building, gets hit by weird lightning, then suddenly she's back on The Ark, about to be sent down to Earth with 99 other teen prisoners, and no one remembers the events of the past year besides her. The ultimate fix-it fic. How do you fix your mistakes while still trying to keep the good things that happened? Balancing future knowledge with ripple effects, how much can you change before you don't know what's going to happen anymore? What do you do with a second chance? I think I've read this fic at least half a dozen times.

Warrior Nun - What If I Told You I'm a Mastermind? by @sapphicstacks

Avatrice actress AU. Ava is an unknown actress working as a bartender, Bea is a famous but reclusive actress making a comeback after several years away from the spotlight, and they get cast together in a sapphic love story. You ever read a story and go "JFC, will you two just talk to each other?" Yeah, the reason is because all of the healthy communication got requisitioned for this fic. It's incredibly wholesome and overwhelmingly romantic and also ridiculously hot. Like, prep a cold shower or make sure you're somewhere private when you read it. There's a regularly-updated WiP sequel.

[chronically-sawyer-pilled]

TCSM Sissy x Fem!Reader

"Sweet Sugar" Part 9

Part 1

18+, Minors BEGONE (DNI)

Warnings for whole story: NSFW, Murder, Cannibalism, Drugging, Coercion, Slight noncon, Unwanted touching, Abuse, Blood, Knifeplay, Bondage, Kidnapping, Sweat stuff, human faces being worn, pet names (sweetie, sugar, sunshine) general horror themes. This is a work of pure fiction, pure horror fiction - the actions in this story are not to be taken as positive depictions of affection.

The next thing you knew, you were being pushed down onto the bed, with Sissy standing nude in front of you. She was beautiful, radiant, the room was filled with a green haze - your mind throbbed as Sissy pulled your underwear from your legs, admiring your form as she cut the strap off your bra. "Sugar… I might just go mad if I look at you too long~" Sissy hummed, crawling onto the bed, running her fingers along your tender skin, kissing your neck softly before biting down, causing you to cry out "Let me hear those cries sugar, let me hear your song" She laughed as she bit down harder, suckling and biting almost hard enough to draw blood. It made you squirm, made you writhe and buck, your arms too weak to push her off as Sissy feasted like a wild animal. She continued to assault your body with bites, marking every inch of you, so everyone knew you were hers. Every kiss, every bite was an assault to the senses, the haze in the room bringing your mind to such an intensity you swore you would pass out if you were touched any further. Sissy's hands eventually made her way down to your breasts, squeezing, pinching, each touch dizzying, her tongue soon followed, every lick and swirl was nauseating. Your legs kicked and twitched each time Sissy made contact, it was almost enough to make you sick. You felt a knot build in your groin, your breath was heavy, your moans loud and desperate. "Sissy I…" you cried, sweat building on your forehead "Shhh, I know what it is you want sugar. But you've gotta do somethin' for me first." Sissy giggled, turning around, positioning her pussy right above your mouth. "Just do what your body tells you to." Sissy hummed, lowering herself onto your mouth. She tasted sour, her smell was overwhelming - and yet, despite how wrong it all felt, you found yourself tasting her anyway.

Every time you lapped at her you tasted her more and more, your tongue didn't know where to go, but Sissy found a way. She forced herself down, bucked harshly against the places she needed touched the most, all with a mix of ferocity and lust. As Sissy's quiet little moans became louder, she pushed herself further down on your face, suffocating you as she rode. "Just like that sunshine! Don't you DARE stop!" Sissy gasped Suddenly her act of lust became a fight for survival, as Sissy got closer and closer to her climax, your lungs grew more desperate for air - you lapped desperately at Sissy's slick mound, hoping you could bring her closer to finishing, your tongue ached, your lungs were burning, but with one final push - Sissy cried out - at first she spasm'd wildly, riding out her orgasm on your face, and then her movements slowed. After a moment of rest she dismounted from your slick-streaked face, the two of you gasped for air, taking in the sweet flowery scent of the room, inhaling the haze right into your lungs. "Mmmm, thanks sugar." Sissy giggled, cutting off your desperate breaths with a kiss, a deep, passionate kiss - you couldn't tell if she was revelling in your taste or her own. Your eyes began to roll back, your mind a total haze as Sissy took control of you. "Now. I'm gonna make you squirm."