#What do you MEAN he gets to be insectoid but ONLY in this world??

[teaspoonofdragons]

THIS IS HALLOWEEN. THIS IS HALLOWEEN, HALLOWEEN, HALLOWEEN, HALLOWEEN, HALLOWEEN-

@munchiebeetle

bug

[yandere-sins]

Monstober - Day 3: Alien

I've read so much alien romance by now—it's a good way to incorporate monsters ngl—I feel like I have seen it all. And yet, there is just something about it that I will never tire of ♥

Prompt: Day 3: Alien | Otherworldly // Uncanny Valley // Space Warnings: Yandere, Violence (Threats, (Alien) Blood Mention, Killing (of aliens), Getting cut), Abduction & being auctioned off situation, Belittling of Humans, Alien Manipulation

"And next up: A very rare pet of the type "human"! Directly imported from their home planet, "Earth," to be loved and cared for! Bidding starts at one million GSC!"

You felt terribly exposed without your clothes, merciless, harsh lights burning down on you, and no shade to hide in. Even with your arms tightly wrapped around your body, legs tugged in and crossed over, you still felt the stares of the creatures below, even if you couldn't see them. Their hungry growls and huffs echoed all around you while the price kept rising.

The lanky stature of the monster that hosted this auction paced back and forth on the edge of the stage, asking for participation and making this deal worthwhile. The creature looked like a humanoid cricket, with spindly legs, four arms, and three fingers on each hand that it kept pointing left and right.

"Four million GSC! Four-point-five million GSC! Do I hear five? Five million, thank you!"

You couldn't help the tears filling your eyes as you listened to the worth of your self, something you never had a say in determining. Even with your father swearing up and down that he adored and cherished you more than his own life, you knew that his gambling addiction would one day ruin everything you loved. You just didn't think he'd go as far as to sell you—to aliens nonetheless.

On earth, you had thought you had seen it all—highs and lows, in person or on television. But in your cell on the spaceship that flew you through the cosmos, you learned you knew nothing. You were a tiny speck in this endless design, and it left you feeling empty and meaningless.

You met quite a few species back when you were waiting for the auction to take place. Humanoids, insectoids, and some completely unexplainable. You learned that most aliens sold themselves to wealthier species to live a better life, not so much concerned with pride or shame as humans were. Thus, the existence of an enslaved human caused quite a ruckus in the galaxy. You had yet to learn the worth of GSC—the currency beyond your planet—but apparently, one million was akin to a yearly income here.

"Twenty-five million GSC! What an amazing price for a priceless pet! At this point, it will only be fair if you lovely participants know what you're getting into!"

At this, you finally raised your head again, bracing your eyes against the painful light as the thumping of steps closed in on you. A three-fingered hand reached out for your arm, and as green and gnarly as it was, its movements were fast and precise. You cowered away but weren't as quick and nimble, and the fingers were large enough to wrap around your upper arm, yanking you back.

Without any warning, a small claw emerged from one of the alien's free hands, cutting you right above its own fingers around your flesh that held you in place. You gasped but the creature hummed approvingly before it dabbed a white tissue to the wound, soaking up the blood. Unnecessarily harsh, the monster discarded your arm again, making sure to let you know how much you really meant to it with all its actions—nothing.

You were simply a means to an end. One that would hopefully bring lots of money.

If not for the precarious state, you should have been angry. Angry at your father, angry at the world—the whole galaxy even! How dare they sell you like a piece of meat with no regard for your well-being and wishes! Sure, they weren't used to the pridefulness of a race they deemed weak yet untouchable by the laws of their organization. But the way they treated you, abused you, and disregarded all of your self as if you truly were a mindless animal only seeking food and shelter to simply survive was beyond insulting!

You were still a human! The superior race on your planet. You still had intelligence and empathy and deserved so much more than their belittling treatment!

But here, you were nothing. The alien disappeared with the sample of your blood, and you saw it bend down at the edge of the stage, leaving you to assume it was passing the tissue to someone else, who, in turn, probably gave it to the patrons of this establishment. The crowd suddenly erupted in a heated cacophony of sounds. More groans and huffs spread through the masses, and the alien auctioneer clapped his four hands together as more offers were yelled into the room.

You were just a piece of meat. One to purchase and show off, play with, ruin, break, and then force to be the good pet that they paid millions for. At this point, you were pretty sure that they wouldn't stop and keep your dignity intact. That no one here truly cared whether you'd be happy or scared or embarrassed.

"Fifty-three million! Sixty-four! Do I hear sixty-five—Seventy million GSC!"

The enthusiastic grunts and murmurs made you sick to the stomach, and you hunched over, cowering in your position. Maybe they were right; perhaps you really were just an expensive piece of meat.

You hadn't given the future too much thought yet, too afraid of the present after you were kidnapped and shipped to space. But what if, despite them calling you "pet", you'd actually be killed and eaten? What if once you weren't new, weren't special anymore, you'd simply be discarded, ending up on the streets of an alien planet where you were at the mercy of those creatures? What would you do if they were all hulking, strong beasts that could throw you around like a ragdoll, hurting you, abusing you?

Or worse... Oh god, you could think of so many more things they could do, and yet you were too afraid to form the thoughts in your head.

There were so many cruel ideas in your head as you sat there, hunched over, despair filling your body and mind. You had to do something, had to get away. Pride was one thing, but survival was the most primal need you had in you. And as much as you wished for it all to be over, how could you possible achieve this? How could you, a simple human make them stop tormenting you? Secretly, you had already accepted their superiority; it had been this way since the old ages. Masses made you humans strong, but you alone? No chance.

"Do you wish to end all of this?"

Your ragged breath came to a halt, your head slowly turning to the side from where the voice came. There was no explaining what you were looking at, those humanoid features so similar to humans, yet somehow their features were sharper, elongated, cheekbones too high to be real, the nose too slim to look functional. The creature's body was lean and tall, its torso almost entirely in view from above the stage. You examined them for a long time, their blue skin standing out against the harsh lights. You spied the flick of a tail behind them every so often, sleek with a puff of hair at the end. And despite being so different, somehow, they scared you less than the aliens you had seen on your journey here.

"S-Sir, with all due respect, you're not supposed to approach them without them being restrained."

The auctioneer called out to them, stepping in front of you and blocking the line of sight unsuccessfully with its spindly, insectoid legs. You shuddered at the thought of going back into the restraints you had woken up in after being knocked out and readied for shipment. "What if they attack you or get filth all over you? These creatures are known to spit," he added more quietly, hoping to appease the one standing in front of the stage, their tail flicking more often now. Was it annoyance that crossed their features? Or did the light blind you to see the truth?

The creature's gaze lingered on you for a while longer, their eyes drilling into you from between the gaps in the legs before their head snapped upwards rapidly, lips parting in a menacing grimace. "Let them speak," they growled, and the auctioneer jumped back, sputtering before moving to the side.

Only now did you notice the deadly silence in the hall, and you slowly unfurled from your hunched-over position, looking up. But not without your arms tightening around you, shielding you a little from being exposed.

The alien's head fell back down, facing forward, the movement much gentler, less frightening—intentional. Their dark blue gaze softened, no pupils but swirls of lighter blues and purples swaying in them. And then they smiled, and it almost seemed comforting, if there weren't two rows of spiked teeth. One of their hands raised from below the stage—another uncanny feature as their arms were just too long—and the other settled on the stage tapping on it, beckoning you closer.

When the other arm emerged, it held a smooth kind of fabric in it, maybe a coat or a rag, but the dark blue color glistened in the direct light made you assume it was something better than a poor person's rag as they spread it out on the edge of the stage, pushing it in your direction as far as possible.

"It's okay now," they purred, and a sudden relief washed over you, their words sinking into you like a warm hug and reassuring backrub would, your jaw unclenching and shoulders sinking. Something about them calmed you, and although your brain was telling you to be extra careful, you couldn't help but feel connected to them. Hesitantly but curious, you inched closer, fingertips reaching for the fabric. Part of you expected the creature to pull it away from you the moment you attempted anything, but they didn't move, didn't even breathe. It was unnerving how still they could be, still like a trick of your mind, an illusion, but the soft fabric beneath your hand was very real, and you tugged at it warily.

It followed your pull, and soon enough, you pressed it to your chest, covering up your naked body. Greed settled in as you reached for more with your other hand, spreading the blue around you, the fabric seemingly never-ending, at least not until you had utterly cocooned yourself in it, nothing but your face and a few strands of your hair still looking out of it.

It had this grounding smell that enveloped you like a second layer of fabric, sweet and earthy, but also reminded you of the ocean you used to visit at home. Your heart ached as you took another deep breath, unwilling to part with the memory.

You couldn't help a shuddering breath from escaping as you looked back up at the creature. So much closer to them now, their size was even more towering, yet you didn't hesitate to look into these intriguing eyes of theirs, the swirls now creating pools of depth inside of them with how fast they were circling, looking as if they were entirely fixated on you.

"Thank you," you muttered, genuinely grateful for the help.

"My pleasure," they replied, their long-limbed arm reaching out, catching the loose strands of hair and twirling them in their fingertips. You felt like you needed to recoil, but for some reason, you didn't move, completely at peace with the creature touching you, their skin smelling much like the fabric around you. "Now, about my question. Do you wish to end all of this?"

It was a strangely phrased, hard-to-interpret question, but you didn't wreck your head before agreeing with a nod. You did want all of this to end; you didn't want to be a pet to some strange creature that was paying a lump sum just to own you. They were all the same greedy monsters that your father was: heartless and unsympathetic. Why would you not want to end this damned situation?

"Wonderful, but I'll have you know that that power comes at a price," they chuckled, hand falling from your hair to your cheek. A large palm cupped your face, thumb splitting off to caress your lower lip, pressing against it, their gaze fixating on the plumpness jumping back in place after being fondled. Then, their hand slid further down, unwrapping your neck from the fabric and slipping around your throat to the thumping spot of your puls that it wrapped around.

"Are you willing to pay that price?"

"B-But Sir! Please..." someone whimpered from beside you, but it was nearly impossible to break eye contact with the alien before you and acknowledge whoever was speaking. They had a mesmerizing aura to themselves, the swirls captivating your attention, and you felt ashamed to say they fascinated you. It felt wrong, yet... right. Was it supposed to feel that way?

"What's the price?" you mumbled, a part of you still a good human, aware that nothing came for cheap and everything should be in equal value.

"Mhm," the creature hummed thoughtfully, but not appalled by your question, their thin lips curving into a grin similar to that of a human but more foxish and uncanny.

"Your life to do what I please with, in exchange for..."

They made another thoughtful sound before the rumble in their chest turned into a purr. Their lips split into that menacing smile from before, many sharp teeth creating pristinely white rows, and you knew they thought themselves on the winning side. You felt their grip around your throat tighten, and with an unexpected yank, you were pulled forward, just a breath away from their face.

"How about every life that dares to look at you with appalling intentions? Every soul, or the equivalent in their respective race, in this room, calling you a mere pet? Every alien that touched you as if you were an object of their possession? Anyone that has ever or will in the future harm you? Would that be enough, little human? Do you require more from me? It shall be yours. Your life in my hands in exchange for everything you could want—and my coat."

You tightened the fabric around your body, a waft of the sweet scent you smelled before tingling your nostrils. It was a damn good coat, and an even better offer.

Somehow, it bothered you less to hear you'd still be sold like a slave—although perhaps better a slave than a pet. At least it would be on your terms, right? Or the alien's... Your head felt dizzy as you thought about it. If this was the promise, you could live with it. You'd at least get out of this situation and live to see another day. And you were so angry at these creatures around you, your father, everything! Why should you care about them? Right, you shouldn't. You should... agree. Take the deal and be done with it. Dealing with one alien was better than all the others.

"Do you swear to keep your promise?" you asked, and the creature sighed blissfully, nodding their head before resting their forehead to yours. Tension that you hadn't realized had been there before left their body, and you noticed their free hand creeping up on stage, closer to your bundled-up form.

"I swear," they uttered solemnly, and you nodded in acknowledgment.

"So do I."

"S-Sir! You cannot disrupt this auction as you please! There are rules on the Galactic Space Hub that prohibit direct selling of wares and—"

The sound of squashing flesh interrupted the auctioneer's speech, and your eyes widened—as did the creature's cheeky grin. You felt something hot and wet splatter on your coat but didn't realize what it was until it hit the alien in front of you on the face. Your head slowly turned with hesitant movements, but their free hand reached up, keeping your face forward instead while hushing you.

"Don't look," they chuckled, and chaos erupted in all forms of sounds around you. Neighing, squawking, and the occasional grunts were to be heard everywhere. You couldn't ignore the squashing, sputtering sounds of fluids and flesh being cut open, your body shivering with not even the coat being able to keep you warm all of a sudden as you came to a realization of what kind of deal you had made.

"Shh, shh," the alien hushed, bringing a hand up to their own face to wipe away the alien guts that had splattered them. With a flick of their wrist, they returned the arm to your back and wrapped it around you. "Just keep looking at me, don't look at them. It's your turn to keep your promise and not to disobey my orders. I hope you remember your part of the deal and spare yourself the misery."

Pulling you off the stage, you were cradled against their chest, flat and tight under what looked oddly similar to a vest and dress shirt from earth, intricate patterns decorating the seams. The curiosity of any human wanted you to look and witness the devastation that had taken place, but you couldn't tear yourself away from this strange, otherworldly creature, their command seemingly effective.

"Your Majesty, it is done. What do you wish to do now?"

"Hm," the creature hummed, leaning forward a little more, lips almost brushing yours. You held your breath, fingers clawing into their shoulders. You tensed in their hold as they carried you out of the harsh spotlight, shrouding you in the darkness that had once given privacy to the aliens trying to buy you for their own pleasure. But nothing more than silence was left now, and it was an eery one, paired with many pungent yet alluring smells around you.

"Ready my ship," the alien ordered, and you felt hypnotized by their eyes paired with their smell so close to you now. Tempted, almost, to have a taste of their lips, see if they tasted the same as they smelled. "Sent a fleet ahead of us and tell the court I am finally coming home."

They grinned again, and you should have recoiled from the sharp teeth shining in the darkness. Their whole body seemed glowing even outside of the light.

"And tell them I bring back my blood mate, my newly betrothed, and prepare for the harvest."

You gasped as you heard the creature announce their plans, pushing away from them and managing to tear away from their hypnotic gaze. No one said anything about your blood! What were their intentions? What did they want with your blood? How much blood did they want? You thought this would merely end in you being a companion, rather than a mere pet, but it seemed you had been entirely wrong.

"Ah, ah," they chuckled. "Remember, it's the price you promised to pay. My kind values clean bloodlines above all else. Imagine how hard it was to find one of your kind that matched mine? Otherwise I would have never been allowed the pleasure to keep one of you, be with one of you. You are simply perfect. Interesting, "fun". Exactly what I want in a blood mate!"

"What?" you winced, feeling a strange sense of betrayal. "Why me then? Why a human? Why not one of your own kind? O-Or the others!"

"Your kind is the most interesting of them all," they explained. "I can't wait to uncover all these emotions you are feeling, one after the other. I must know all about what it's like to feel "pain" and "happiness". You have no idea how boring these other species are, no matter what I do to them. I'm not wasting my time copulating with those simpletons. I want something more from my mate. Something they can't give me, but you can."

Their explanation sounded threatening even when they smiled throughout it, their intentions becoming awfully clear, and you squirmed in their arms that only seemed to tighten the more you moved. You fell for it like a fool! you thought, scolding yourself inwardly for not being more careful. You trusted the creature even though you knew better! None of those aliens would have treated you well! None of them had good intentions!

And you might have just fallen for the worst of them all—a curious one.

"Now, now," they tutted, a hand wrapping around your neck from behind, squeezing until you gasped for air.

"It's time to hold up your end of the bargain, as will I, always."

[thyme-in-a-bubble]

dewdrops deserted in the carnage 

the wistful wyvern, chapter four

a/n: we're mostly getting angsty in this chapter, buuuuut also just a little bit slutty at the end. just a little sprinkling of spice.

summary: “please, stop,” you said firmly, your glare briefly averting, “look, trust me when I say, I wouldn’t be here if I had any other choice. But unfortunately, you’re the only one with the information that we need.”

warnings: knight!bucky barnes x knight!reader, fantasy AU (monsters, but not much magic), original fantasy world, ex-friends to lovers, coworkers to lovers, former fuckboy!bucky, tattooed!bucky, slow burn, one-sided pinning, forced proximity, violence, weapons, the death of a horse, crying, only one bed, jealousy

word count: 3398

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“I mean, I knew that your dad was a crook, but One-eyed Ollie? That’s your father?” 

Letting a heavy sigh seep from your lungs, “unfortunately,” you didn’t bother throwing a glance over at the warden riding beside you.

“How did I not know this?” 

“Only the most important people know,” you shrugged, as the king had kept up his promise to keep your past secret. 

“Oh, geez, thanks, snow,” Bucky huffed, taking your comment to heart, “glad for the assurance of where we fucking stand.” 

Twisting your neck, you glanced over at him as his stare was now firm on the road you travelled down, “…fine,” you exhaled, “what do you wanna know?”

Meeting your gaze, his curiosity then began to overflow, “what’s he like? What was your childhood like? Did you know him well?”

“Uh, well,” an awkward chuckle briefly billowed out of you, “let’s just say, he wouldn’t win any awards for his parenting skills. His idea of bonding with his kid wasn’t to teach me how to fish or farm. He taught me how to lie and steal from innocent people. To be honest, I don’t even know if he ever really saw me as a child, more just a tiny impressionable human being that he could mould into the perfect addition to his team…” 

Staring over at you, he asked, “were you there back then?”

“No, that was a little before my time,” you cocked your head as you frame rocked with each of Zenna’s steps, “if I’d already been a part of the only successful attempt there’d been in all the history of Obelón at breaking into the vault in Ingorn’s palace, then I wouldn’t need to go seek help from my father after swearing I’d never even acknowledge his existence again for the remainder of my days.”

Pursing his lips, his gaze then flicked away from you as he uttered slowly, “…so, have you ever stolen anything from me?”

Rolling your eyes, you sighed loudly through the amused smile that somehow bloomed on your lips, “Buck–”

“Have you?” 

“No!” you exclaimed, “of course not.” 

“Really?” he tilted his head before turning his attention back towards the road, “your fingers never had a moment where they itched too much to resist–,” and as he spoke, you begrudgingly fulfilled his request and swept out your grasp, snatching up the coin purse at his belt right as his body’s swaying gave you an opportunity. Though as soon as you’d swiped it, completely unbeknownst to him, you threw it back in his face and the pouch struck his bearded jaw, “ow!” before it tumbled down into his grasp. 

As his eyes lifted from the purse up to shoot a glare in your direction, you just huffed, “there. You happy? I stole something from you. Now can we please just–” 

But the rest of your banter got cut short as a rumbling abruptly shook the earth beneath you. Both of the horses reacted, getting a bit spooked at their sudden unstable footing. 

Without any further warning, the dirt before you split open as a huge ankheg burrowed its way out. 

Skittering forth with its many legs, the insectoid creature ferociously jumped your horse, causing her to tumble over as the monster snapped its large mandibles at her. Tumbling to the grass, all the air got knocked out of your lungs from the impact. 

Coughing and reeling from the fall, you swiftly unsheathed a couple of daggers and tossed them just as Bucky too sent a few bolts flying as well, both of them sinking into the monster at the same time. 

Unfortunately, the ankheg hadn’t been alone as a few more then crawled out of the hole and attacked you both. 

One skurried on top of you as you were still dazed on the ground. Its long branch-like antennas swayed above its head as it screeched a clicking call over you.

The bulbous sack that protruded right on its throat throbbed as green acidic saliva began to drip out of its mouth and down its mandibles, scarcely missing your head as it sizzled against the grass.

Fiddling for a blade, you sucked in a shaky breath when you discovered there weren’t any left on your person. 

As it pinned you down and you used all of your might to keep it at bay, your glance first fluttered to your partner for help, only to discover that he too was in over his head. Your frantic eyes then flickered around, searching for anything you might be able to defend yourself with. 

And just above your head, there lied a solid rock. 

Bending your legs, you pressed your boots up against the ankheg’s hard scales, using everything you had as you slipped your right hand out and stretched it to the stone. Only your fingertips grazed it at first as it wasn’t quite in your reach. Straining till a scream forced its way out of your lungs, your grip then finally succeeded and wrapped around the rock. 

It stunned the creature slightly when you knocked the stone against its head, enough to grant you the upper hand and slip out from under it. 

You didn’t know how many times you repeatedly brought the rock down upon the monster as you lost yourself completely till you were kneeling above its smashed remains, heaving for breath, with its dark green viscera splashed across you and dripping from the stone still glued in your grasp.

The grunt of Bucky dealing the killing blow to the one he was battling didn’t manage to snap you out of your trance. But when the dying sounds of your horse cut through the blinding adrenaline within you and found your ears, in an instant the rock tumbled from your grasp.

Twisting around, tears swiftly blurred up the image of Zenna suffering on the ground, her brown-speckled stomach split open and blistering as her innards spilt out of her. 

“No, no, no–,” you shakily scrambled to your feet, but already knew there wasn’t anything you could do. 

The only thing you could do for her now was end her pain. 

Bending down, you pulled one of your daggers out of her killer’s corpse, still lying right beside her. 

Your hands were shaking so hard that you nearly dropped the blade. Every muscle in your body locked up as you tried to kneel down beside Zenna. 

Then, as tears streamed down your cheeks and dropped to the blood-stained grass below, a hand suddenly appeared and slipped the weapon out of your hand. 

Blinking up into Bucky’s blue eyes, he quietly uttered, “I’ll do it,” as he tightened his fist around the hilt of the short blade. 

As he sank down onto his knees, you turned around and shut your eyes. 

When her suffering sounds were no more and the road grew quiet, an onslaught of tears violently burst out of you. 

Rising to his feet, Bucky wrapped his arms around you before you tumbled over. Twisting slightly, you curled into him, welcoming his hug as your sobs melted against his armoured chest.

“You ready?” Bucky asked softly in your ear as he sat behind you on his ebony mount. 

Staring up at the intimidating dark stone fortress of Yoslor Penitentiary, you let out a low breath, “no.” 

Sometime in the decade since you’d been imprisoned here, your father had finally been caught. For what exactly you weren’t sure of, but the night that the king had pulled you aside to discreetly inform you, was the first one you’d soundly slept through, perhaps ever. 

Even though the last very thing you desired was to lay eyes on your dad once more, you still slipped off of the stallion but a moment after Bucky did. 

You were both let in without much fuss after stating your stature and your business. Guards led you through the prison, passed some of the cells, and escorted you to a chamber, not unlike the one you’d been in when you had talked to the king and your whole life had changed.

After you’d both taken a seat at the central table, not much time passed before, like a haunting nightmare, the voice of your father began to rumble on the other side of the closed door.

“Oh come on, gents. You can tell me who my visitor is,” your eyes fluttered shut a moment at the familiar sound, “or do you want me to guess?”

Blowing out a slow and agonising exhale, you gathered yourself right before the door burst open and in tumble your father. 

Though he was a bit slimmer now, had lost more of his hair, as well as the new accessory of heavy chains that restricted his movements, he still looked exactly the same. 

“Well, well, well…” a bright grin split apart his lips, flashing you a few of his golden teeth, as the guards tossed him down into the opposing chair and secured his chains, “my baby dewdrop,” he stared at you with the eye not scared over and covered by a leather patch, “I heard you got out.”

“Hello, Olliander,” you greeted coldly, keeping your spine straight. 

“Oh, come on, no need to be so rigid,” the chains jangled loudly and he gestured with his hands, “get over here and give your pa a big hug.” 

“Please, stop,” you said firmly, your glare briefly averting, “look, trust me when I say, I wouldn’t be here if I had any other choice. But unfortunately, you’re the only one with the information that we need.”

“And what would I get out of this little arrangement?” 

Staring back at him, you swore you felt steam begin to billow out of your ears, “you would get to help your daughter, finally do something reminiscent of good, after running and making me take the fall when I’d thought you’d only set me up to be the decoy.”

“Look, dewdrop, it was a different time back then, the authorities were hot of our trail!” he tried to diminish your statement, “someone had to go down in order to save the rest of us.”

“So, you thought it should be your own kid?” you seethed, leaning forward in your seat ever so slightly. 

“…well, you’re tough, I knew you’d be able to handle it,” he tilted his head, “and just look at you now! If I hadn’t made that decision, then you’d never have this fancy new life of yours.” 

“Don’t you dare,” the little restraint you tried to keep a hold of snapped, “don’t you fucking dare take any of the credit. You didn’t do a single thing, my entire life, you never did anything that didn’t benefit you,” your pointer finger extended accusatorially, “so, I’m not asking you, I am telling you, you will give us the information we need, or else I’ll make sure your life here gets a hell of a lot more miserable than it already is.” 

The room fell quiet, not even Bucky dared to move before your father eventually let out a heavy sigh, “…what do you wanna know?”

“The vault in Ingorn’s palace, the one made out of hellstone,” your fingers dug into your thigh beneath the table as you spoke, “how did you do it?”

The one-eyed criminal then began to laugh, “seriously? You wanna break into that? I mean, you’re good, dewdrop, almost as good as me, but come on, with how rusty you must be these days, that is just insane–”

“Just tell us how you did it,” you barked. 

“Alright, fine,” he exhaled and rested a restrained arm against the edge of the table, “well, first of all, the lock on it is a thing of beauty, you can’t just tickle her open like a lady with a few lockpicks…” 

“You know, when you said that you knew a place in Erasild where we could stash our stuff, this isn’t what I imagined,” you stared up at the building before you, before shooting a glare in Bucky’s direction, “a brothel? Seriously? We don’t have time to pause everything just so that you can get laid.”

“Hey, this is business, not pleasure,” he stated, then playfully added before heading inside, “but if you wanna get that stick out of your ass, I’m sure some of them would like to help.”

As you entered behind him, the warmth radiating from the establishment swiftly thawed the evening chill that had settled in your bones. Navigating through the clusters of small tables, gently lit by candlelight, a trio of bards in the corner caught your ear as they strummed out a smooth ditty as a part of the sensual ambience. 

A voluptuous woman then sauntered out of a backroom with a casket of clinking wine bottles in her grasp. As she sat it down on the bar with a loud thud and her gaze then flickered up to spot your travelling companion, her face lit up into a bright smile. 

“Ah! Darling!” she immediately walked up to him and threw her arms around him. Pressing her lips to his cheek in a loud peck, she then pulled him back at arm’s length to get a good look at him, “what has it been, like three years? I was starting to think you’d died on me.”

“It's good to see you too, Helen,” a warm chuckle rumbled out of Bucky, before he then twisted back towards you, “let me introduce you,” he held out an open hand in your direction, “this is Warden Y/l/n,” you bowed your head softly as she found your eye, “snow, this is Helen Raye, owner and proprietor of The Sapphire Chateau.”

“Pleasure to make your acquaintance, madam,” you offered her a tight-lipped smile. 

“The pleasure is all mine,” she purred, letting her gaze study you a second before her plump lips parted once more, “so, will you be wanting to share your entertainment tonight, or do you want someone all for yourself? There is this girl that came to me a few years back that I know you’d just love,” your eyes couldn’t help but grow wide as Helen battered her eyelashes up at Bucky, “she can’t just bend herself into a pretzel, but every other shape imaginable.” 

“Uh, some other time, Hel,” he declined with a polite smile, “we’re not really here for that.”

“Oh,” she breathed, though still smirked back at Bucky like she was about to ravage him. 

“We just need a place to set off a few things, let Echo stay, just for a little bit while we go pay Ingorn a visit.” 

“Ah, you must be going to that fancy ball they’re throwing! I’ve no idea what the occasion is, but business has been booming the past few weeks as all sorts of lords and ladies have passed through on their way down to the capital.”

Sharing a glance with you at the new information, Bucky then fibbed, “uh, yeah, we–… we are.” 

Twisting her frame, Helen then waved down a lanky boy behind the bar and said, “I’ll have Jeremy take care of your horse,” you watched as the lad zoomed out to do his duty, “and if you want somewhere secure to store your items, you’re welcome to use the little safe in my room.” 

“Thank you,” you uttered. 

“Do you have any rooms available?” Bucky asked as Helen manoeuvred around the bar, “a hot bath would be nice before we head out again.” 

“Uh,” her vision fluttered down behind the counter where a few keys hung from small hooks, “I have one room unoccupied,” she held up a dangling key, hooked on her curved finger, “it’s yours if you want it.”

And before you could protest about how this didn’t line up with the limited time you had to work with, Bucky had already snatched up the key, “thanks.”

“Room eight,” her teeth lightly caught her bottom lip, “your favourite, if I recall correctly.” 

If his back hadn’t been turned to you, the flush that then crept up on Bucky’s features would have been noticeable to your eyes even in this low light, “it–, uh, yeah, thanks,” he then cleared his throat, “the soap and such still in the same spot?”

“It is.”

“Great,” he exhaled, then turned to you, “I’m gonna head up first, get cleaned up,” his feet already began to carry him towards the staircase in the corner, “you mind ordering us some food? I’m starving for a proper meal.” 

“Uh, sure,” you uttered, still a bit stunned as you now found yourself without a buffer, “so, what kind of food do you serve in this establishment?”

“Let me get you a menu, love,” Helen headed into the back for a moment, only to return with more than just a pamphlet of culinary options. As the list slid over the bar towards you, her palm also insistently pushed a small glass vial containing some dried herbs in your direction. 

“What–,” heat began to rise in your cheeks as you read the small label. It was athrire, the herb commonly brewed into a tea and utilised as birth control, “oh, no, thanks, but I don’t need this.”

“You’ve been on the road for a while, and from how I know that man, you’ve probably run out by now,” she winked and pushed it right back to you as you tried to return it. 

“No, it’s really not like that, we’re not–”

“Darling,” her hand enclosed momentarily around yours, “just take it.”

When you’d found the room, Bucky was so fresh out of his bath that you nearly caught a glimpse of something as he buttoned up a fresh pair of pants. Droplets still trailed down his inked physique as he turned at the sound of your entrance. 

If his painstakingly slow work at covering his drool-worthy body up again hadn’t been enough to make you more flustered than a bashful bunny, the discovery that the room only had one bed sure did the trick.

It shouldn’t have surprised you, but it still managed to. 

And when you stated that you’d just sleep on the floor and let him have the plush mattress all to himself, Bucky argued teasingly that you’d slept under the stars together countless times before. 

But that had been different, oh so very different and he knew it.

As he disappeared to get your food, you grabbed a quick bath. The view of the night sky from out of the balcony doors relaxed and distracted you long enough that you had to scramble at the last moment when Bucky returned, knocking on the door before you shrieked for him to stay on the other side just a moment longer as you rushed out of the tub. 

After the warm meal was scarfed down and a dozen yawns had escaped your lungs, you found yourself in a place you never thought you’d actually get to be. 

In bed next to Bucky. 

You were afraid to move. Just laid there like a statue, your stare darting from the constellations clear out the tall window, to the small Zondür alter in the corner of the chamber. 

But eventually, you heard your hushed tone fill the room, “so, Helen…”

“Hm?” Bucky hummed from his side of the bed, “what about her?”

“She seems nice,” your gaze bore a hole into the ceiling. 

Hearing him shift beside you, he said, “well, she is.” 

Feeling his gaze upon your silhouette, you didn’t dare to twist and meet his eye, “…so, how many of the other people that work here do you think are nice?”

A short chuckle then bubbled out of him, “snow…” before he teased, “what are you trying to get a personal recommendation or something?”

Your mouth then flew open as you shot him a glare, “no, I just–,” letting out a loud groan, “forget I said anything,” and you frantically turned your back to him, “go to sleep.” 

“Helen is very good at what she does,” he casually informed you through his amused smirk, “she hires people who are very good at their job, people who are very nice. You’d be in good hands with any of them.”

“I-I wasn’t trying to–,” you stammered, nearly twisting around to bash his mass in the moonlight, “just shut up, please!” but he just laughed. 

© 2024 thyme-in-a-bubble 

[leggerefiore]

request: May I ask for headcanons or drabbles (whatever you find easiest) for how different pokehybrid characters react to their s/o (or even crush) reciprocating or initiating courting behaviours of their hybrid pokemon? Maybe crush is trying to drop hints or s/o is trying to make them feel loved.

mating behaviours.......

cw: fluff, slight sex mentions (nothing explicit), pokehybrid au,

characters: Larry, Ingo, Emmet, Cyrus, N

💼Staraptor Larry🏢

🍙 Staraptors mating behaviours were usually odd. Countless steep dives and manoeuvres during flights while making loud calls for a mate. Not exactly things humans really did for one another. Larry appreciated that. He did not like having to get all involved like that, despite his obvious avian features. It was simpler to ask someone out for coffee or lunch. Of course, that did not mean he was above such things. The urge to do those grand displays bothered him more often than he would like to admit, but he simply ignores it. That was his go-to strategy typically. Well, it was, until you handed him a blanket out of the blue one day.

🍙 His mind raced with many possibilities. What could this mean? It smelled of you. Had you been using it? It was soft. Perfect for a hybrids nest. He stood unmoving and staring forward with an empty gaze. Was this… Was this a mating gift? He could hardly believe such a thing. Him? Surely, there must have been better options out in Paldea. You insisted that he keep the blanket when he tried to return it to you. His heart raced. Keep it? Could he? That felt wrong. (He would.)

🍙 You felt a bit bewildered when you later got asked out on a date by Larry but accepted nonetheless. It seemed your gift had made him happier than you expected. You had just been worried about him staying warm during these colder months. There was a surprise when you saw in wedged into a nest on his bed on a later date. It was only then that you realised that he had taken your offer as a mating request. Well, at least it worked out for you in the end, you supposed. Larry adored that blanket, too.

▲Frosmoth Ingo▼

● The human world often proved itself to be one of many scents. Some of which terrified him off or lulled him in, depending on what unfortunate part of his insectoid brain it activated. Ingo had learnt to deal with them for the most part. He was not some mindless moth who barely had over a week to live and mate – He was part human. A smell was just a smell. He was lucky to have an actual sinus system rather than just using in antennae to sense pheromones like his pokemon counterparts. Which is why he felt so embarrassed after you greeted him on the street smelling of one of the sweetest scents that he would ever know. Something so pleasant that he knew if Emmet were near that he would beg for a piece of whatever it was.

● You were sweaty, which obviously should have counteracted the sweet scent, and he felt bewildered. He stood there with his four arms crossed and tilting his head. Even his antennae detected the pheromones in the air. His brain almost pleaded with him to receive your apparent call for him. You tilted your head when he stood there frozen and eyes staring into space. Tapping his shoulder lightly, you heard his wings rub together and make a squeaking sound. Ingo forced himself to calm down. You could not release a Frosmoth pheromone. It was a foolish thought. He softly removed your hand and began conversing normally. His own feelings should not be forced onto you, even if they were related to you.

● You both would laugh at it later when it turned out that you had actually been trying something that you had read online about humans making pheromones similar to horny Frosmoths after a workout. Ingo felt extra flustered by it. Then you made it worse by telling him that you had hoped it would have encouraged him to confess to you after you two were dating. His wing squeaks were almost as loud as his voice.

▽Galvantula Emmet△

○ Galvantulas had very unusual mating habits when compared to humans. Emmet was aware of many differences from what Ingo had told him. For one, human females did not tend to eat their mates. In fact, that was a crime, actually. Humans also did not weave webs laden with pheromones that alerted others that they were ready to mate. They did not do mating dances, either. Emmet, however, cared little for human traditions. In his brain, when he saw you, there was an urge to do a mating dance, so he did. And you sat bewildered by the giant spider man's movements.

○ Your completely silence and staring during his dance almost emboldened him. That meant you were interested, right? That was what female Galvantula did when they were consenting to a mating. But, before he could pounce on you, he recalled your more fragile form. He verrrry much did not want to do any harm to you, so he instead approached you carefully. Before he could ask you whether you were ready, you just tilted your head and asked him what that was. His heart broke. You did not understand. He ran away back to his web to mope, while you just remained confused by everything.

○ Ingo had to politely explain what Emmet was trying to initiate and essentially confess later when you asked him about it. Needless to say, you returned and talked it over with the saddened Galvantula hybrid. When you explain that you were just confused by it and not agreeing to a mating, he seemed more upset but calmed down when you assured him that you did have feelings for him. In the end, you were pulled into a web and cuddled by a fluffy spider. What more could anyone want?

🌌Houndoom Cyrus🛰

☄️ Cyrus was fully aware of his more uncivilised side's mating behaviours. A male and female joined up, usually while the female was in heat, and thus began a new pack together with the result pups. He, however, was raised as a human. Such behaviours were entirely beneath him. The Galactic Boss was not going to be driven by any desires. His goal was simple and plain. Momentary lapses in judgment could be corrected in the future. Which is why he tried so desperately to repress whatever feeling you had forced out of him by making a serving of your cooking for him.

☄️ The blue-haired man took the food, as he was raised to be polite. You then sat across from him at the table and smiled at him. Sharing a meal… He tried to ignore the ridiculous instincts that sought to push through his logical side. You had made him lunch and were eating it with him. It was a meeting between comrades. Nothing more. You were completely unaware of Houndoom mated behaviours. This was mere coincidence. He almost ground his teeth in frustration. Your cooking was good, too. Cyrus felt unbearably out of control. Soon, he made an excuse to depart and vanished to be alone for a few hours.

☄️ Later, when you miraculously managed to end up in a relationship with an emotionally constipated man, you ended up reading about Houndoom behaviours to try to better understand him. When you reached the part about food division among wild packs, the odd situation re-entered your mind. Oh. You had. A laugh left you at the realisation. Poor Cyrus must have seen it as a mating gesture. He did not appreciate your discovery of this.

🌿Zoroark N👑

🟢 Zoroark mating behaviour was similar to many other canid pokemon behaviours. Packs exist, which most consist of two parent Zoroarks and their many offspring. Every so often they made more social groups where a few came together to protect dens, but usually, it was two Zoroark. It was hard for humans to purposefully imitate any Zoroark mating behaviours, too. Zoroark hybrids, of course, had the unfortunate best of both worlds. Offering food was a sign of mating to Zoroarks but to humans it was a thing done even among friends. N had trouble navigating many human relationships at the best of times. At the worst, he felt conflicted by you wanting to cuddle up to him.

🟢 While humans did it all the time and Zoroarks could even do it amicably sometimes, he felt confused. Especially when you wanted to sleep beside him, too. Granted, you both were camping, but he felt confused by what all this meant. You laid almost with your back pressed against his as he debated what any of this could mean. It caused him so much confused that he could barely sleep that night, ironically ending up almost on guard over you. He politely tried speaking about it with you in the morning, desperately wanting to clear up whatever was going on.

🟢 You proceeded to become just as bewildered as him. Apparently, you had thought that you were being obvious that you liked him. He blinked a few times and just nodded. N liked you, too. This worked out. Less confusion. You were doing human mating tactics, and he now understood. The green-haired man was now your mate, rejoice. (Please explain to him what flirting is.)

[jpitha]

Between the Black and Gray 2

First / Previous / Next

"Next!"

The voice called out gruffly, and the line shuffled forward another step. Little by little, bit by bit, the line moved though customs as people tried to get into the station. Finally, they came upon a human, average height for the species, with dirty blond hair cropped short on the top of their head, wearing careworn clothes. He was carrying a large bag over his shoulder, and set it down as he approached the counter.

"Name." It was not a question.

"Gord Beaverbrook."

"Planet of origin?" The agent was bored and only half paying attention as they scanned the human's passport card.

"Earth."

At that, they looked up sharply. "Lying to an immigration officer comes with immediate expulsion. I must have misheard you. Planet of origin?"

The human's eyes widened slightly. The immigration officer - a Tylan - didn't notice the subtle change in body language. "Oh uh, my mistake. Orbital High Parvati."

They looked down at the passport card and grunted. "Colony Worlds eh? Leaving like the rest?"

"Something like that, yes."

One of their eyes flicked up to the human and stared just a moment longer than was comfortable. "Final destination?"

"Wait friend, is that required? Last time I came through, they just wanted to know where I came from and how long I was in town, not where I was going." The human looked back at the line and smiled - with his mouth shut - apologetically.

"Sapient, that has been the requirement the entire time I have worked here. If you are unwilling to divulge-"

"No no, it's fine. I've held up the line enough." He sighed. "My final destination is Lemilar Station."

"Lemilar? You're at least ten Gates away from Lemilar."

"Yeah, I have to ride the circuit. Can't afford to Flip over, and it's not like anyone is running a Flash. Transiting the Gates is the most affordable way to travel."

The terminal chirruped and the agent grumbled as they handed back the passport. "Damn refugees. Clogging up the place." They looked up at the human. "Forty third level is where the rest of the human and K'laxi refugees are if you want to see more of your kind." They looked past the man. "Next!"

Gord shouldered his bag, and walked past customs and into the promenade. It was wide and long, with shops on either side, and room for tables to be set out so that people could people watch. It was the same as any of a thousand orbitals, stations, and starbases he had been to in his long life. Sapients milled about, living their lives, going to work, meeting friends and living.

The thing that stuck out for Gord was the lack of humans. This station was far, far from the settled Colony Worlds and humans were rare here. He was used to being in the majority, even if he wasn't - technically - a human. These days one kept that kind of thing to themselves. Bouncing the pack to redistribute the weight, he started walking across the promenade, to look for the way up to the forty third level.

"Hey! Ape!" A Gren called out to Gord while was walking by. Gord didn't stop.

"I was talking to you, ape!" The Gren stood up from his seat at a restaurant, and approached Gord. Behind him two other Gren looked nervously at their friend, but didn't stop him.

Gord shrugged his pack off his shoulders and put his hand on it. Meeting the gaze of the Gren he sighed. "Yes, friend? What can old Gord do for you today?"

"That's an odd accent you have, Ape. You just learn Levinen?"

"No, I learned it a while ago, but I was taught by a Ivarr with a lisp."

At that, the two Gren behind the bully chuckled. Ivarr are insectoid species, they all speak with a slight lisp.

"Oh, a comedian. I see how it is." The bully turned back to his friends. "I mean, getting chased out of your own systems is pretty funny, so I do have to give you that." He tipped his head back and roared laughter, his mouthparts waggling along.

"All right then, I'll be on my way." Gord bent to pick up his bag.

"No, ape. You won't" The Gren put a large hand on Gord's bag. "You see, new arrivals have to pay an... administrative fee to get up to forty three. One hundred Stars."

Gord raised an eyebrow. "You know, if you hadn't been greedy, I probably would have just paid your extortion money." He looked around the large Gren at his two friends. "Thirty Stars? Would have paid it without any question. Even Fifty I would have grumbled, but paid so as to not cause trouble. But, one hundred stars? That's just too much."

The two Gren looked at each other for a moment. "Hey Tam, maybe the humie is right. One hundred seems like a lot to ask. Most of them are coming with the clothes they are wearing and that's it."

Tam turned back and raised a hand like he was going to cuff the Gren. Quit taking his side! I'm in charge here, I do what I want." He turned back to Gord. "One hundred Stars."

"Friend, I don't have one hundred Stars."

"Then you can't pass." Tam crossed his upper and lower arms. and glared at Gord.

"You see Tam - it's Tam? - You see Tam, that's a problem. I'm trying to get up to forty three where the other humans are, so that I can get my bearings and maybe work a bit so that I can buy passage through the next few gates. If you prevent me from doing that, then I'll be stuck here."

Tam took another step towards Gord. "One. Hundred. Stars."

Gord made a show of reaching for his wallet. "Look, I have Fifty on me - I was going to find a cot and get a bite, but that can wait-"

"Oh, you're going to pay, one way or another!" Tam roared, and his larger lower arms swung at Gord.

Faster than anyone thought possible, Gord had shuffled to the side of Tam, and the punches went wide. "Tam, really. I would wish you'd see reason and not do thi-" He ducked again as Tam wheeled around and tried to kick him with his strong, reverse articulated legs.

While Gord danced and ducked around Tam, he looked back at the two other Gren. "Look. I don't want trouble, fellas. Can I give you like ten Stars - just so you can say you shook me down - and I come back in a few demi cycles with a few more?"

The two other Gren's eyes were locked on Gord. They noticed how he was dodging every attack without seemingly putting any effort into it. "Uh Tam, maybe we should take the humie up on his offer. Do ya see how he's dodging you?"

"He's just getting lucky!" Tam was starting to breathe heavily as his swings got wilder and wilder. Gren had immense strength, but only in short bursts. They had almost no stamina. Finally all four of Tam's arms tried to roundhouse punch Gord. he side-stepped them and Tam spun around once and fell over, gasping.

Gord walked over and picked up his pack. "Uh, I'm just going to uh, go." He said to the other Gren. "Give Tam my regards, and I'll see you around eh?" Gord continued on down the promenade.

The rest of the walk he was very deliberately ignored. He found the lifts and went up to the forty third level. Here, if one squinted, one could think they were back in the Colony Worlds. Maybe Hyacinth, or Picaresque, or one of the other smaller starbases. Humans and K'laxi were around, in numbers Gord expected. He took one loop around the refugee level to get a feel for it, and sat down at a table outside an all-day breakfast place.

A busy K'laxi saw him, and waved. After a moment they approached. "Sorry! It's been a busy afternoon. My name is Ma-Ren, and I'll be your server today! What can I get you?"

Gord looked at the K'laxi and seemed to get lost for a moment. She was a spitting image. Ma-Ren's ears flicked nervously at the stare.

"Sir? Do you need another minute?"

"Oh! Sorry. I didn't mean to stare. It's just been a while since I've been somewhere with so many K'laxi. It feels like home. I'll uh, have the pancakes. Do you have any maple syrup?"

Ma-ren laughed. "My mother talked about maple syrup and how good it was. Something like that was probably left in the Colony Worlds. No, here you get regular sucrose syrup."

"Oh, okay, that'll be fine. Any chance of some coffee?"

"Sure thing. I'll bring you a cup now, while I put in the order for the pancakes?"

"That would be lovely, thank you." For the first time in months, Gord smiled widely.

[cyncerity]

Hey New AU Time!!

i’ve been planning this one for a while so please ask questions or comment or lmk if you wanna see more! It’s very much inspired by my love of analog style horror and i made it after watching Vita Carnis in one night if that tells you anything

The story here:

Tommy is your average high schooler in a normal world. Well, normal to him. This world is infested with mutant bug monsters that have been around for centuries.

Originally, humanity reacted like it was the end of the world, and the apocalypse lasted a few decades. Over time, though, humanity learned to evade these insectoid monsters, and now have adapted to living in a much more dangerous world. Point is, it’s normal nowadays to hear of a massive man eating bug creature in the woods near your house! Just means a few days off of school while you hide in the mandated fallout shelter houses have now! Fun!

Anyway, back to Tommy. He’s got good grades, nice friends, a good dad and adopted brother, and two new foster brothers that he’s very close with! Nothing could go wrong!

Until it can, of course.

Tommy begins hearing a voice, someone under the command of a “Saint,” whatever that meant. Plans for an invasion. Plans for what “each of them” needed to do to take the city down in the coming months.

Tommy, baffled and more than a little terrified eventually just starts pleading with the voice to stop. To his surprise, it does!…until the speaker tracks him down and finds him in person.

Turns out Tommy’s been unwillingly listening in on a hive mind plan between “the Parasites” and their “Saint” (Saints are high ranked Insectoids sent specifically by The Queen to watch over certain areas) in this area leading them to finally come out of hiding now that their numbers were up for the final stand against humanity. Which is a huge problem since bugs aren’t people, they are massive mutant bugs. Theres never been a human looking bug. Until now, apparently, as Tommy learns that Parasites have existed for years, infiltrating and gaining trust in human society to take it down from the inside. And now Tommy is the only one who knows this. The speaker, Dream, as he introduces himself, says that he’s the head leader of the charge in this city specifically, and emphasizes (mildly annoyed) how important it is for Tommy to do his part in the coming fight.

The only issue? Tommy is, like, 99% sure he’s not a Parasite. He goes to a human school, has human friends, a human family, and so on.

He explains this to Dream, and subsequently fails all tests Dream throws his way to test if he’s Insectoid (verbal tests, anyway; Dream doesn’t know how to test physically since Tommy isn’t old enough to have developed insectoid traits yet anyway). Dream gets super confused how he could hear the hive mind, then, and deduces that surely Tommy must be a bug of some kind. Tommy disagrees and tries to leave to tell some sort of authority that the city is full of bug people readying to attack, but Dream is smart enough to realize what he’s doing and threatens his human family that Tommy so desperately cares about as a way to keep him silent. He also says he’ll be keeping an eye on Tommy and conversing with his Saint to see just what’s wrong with him and what they should do.

Now it’s up to Tommy to try to keep delaying Dream’s attack plans and try to subtly hint to his family and friends that things are about to go to horribly wrong.

Dream, on the other hand, starts his master plan of bringing his dumbass Parasite friends to Tommy to help him figure just what exactly he is, and maybe break him of whatever attachment he has to these humans around him so that they can recruit him to the Insectoid cause.

All the while Tommy is trying to grapple with the ever increasing odds that he may not be as human as he once believed…

[smittywing]

Ficbit 8: Jason Todd/Tim Drake

Previous parts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Possibly Bernard is not just cannon fodder.

~

Jason laid low for the next few weeks. There was a world-ending event that he noped out on and he entirely skipped one of the Riddler’s rampages by volunteering to substitute for Dick on an off-planet Titans mission. Dick and Tim got a lot more fun out of the Riddler than Jason ever did.

But eventually, Tim called for help and Jason was the closest. 

Insectoid, three of them,and Robin was backed onto a roof by two while the other one poked holes in the asphalt below.

“Were these people?” Jason asked, landing on the rooftop and firing some rubber bullets in a gap between the carapace. One of the insectoids shrieked.

“Nope,” Robin replied. “Feel free to use the real things, but I need you ground level, this was some kind of restaurant experiment gone wrong and there are people down there.”

“Sure you’re okay up here?” Jason checked.

“Bernard’s down there,” Tim said, and oh. Of course.

“On it,” Jason said crisply and fired off a rappelling grapple. He swung easily to the ground and shot the knee out of the rampaging ant-thing on the ground. Well. One of the joints in one of the legs. Close enough. He didn’t actually have regular bullets on him because Gotham crime tended to be human-on-human or sometimes sentient-meta-on-human. But he certainly didn’t feel bad about using the rubber bullets at close range.

“On your six!” Great, citizen participation.

“Get down!” Jason roared and then spun on his heel to - 

See Bernard Dowd, formerly known as Cannon Fodder, connect a solid roundhouse punch into the side of the insectoid’s leg joints.

What the actual shit.

“You just,” he gasped out with no idea how he was going to finish the sentence.

“I’ve been practicing!” Bernard called, his sneaker connecting with another appendage.  “Keeps me in shape!”

“Great.  Don’t die,” Jasons called back because Timmers would fucking *kill* him.

~

No wonder Replacement was so over the moon for this guy. Bernard was actually useful. Yeah, he wasn't going up against Shiva or taking the World’s Most Awesome Axe to any parademons, but Bernard was sufficiently competent to keep himself and some bystanders alive while Jason cleared the deck. 

“Nice job,” he said reluctantly when the identified threats were down or in retreat. “You should get to safety though.”

“Nah,” Bernard said *right to Jason’s fucking face. “My boyfriend, Tim Drake, will be back in a minute. Nothing's going to happen to me when he's around.”

“Uh.” Jason was speechless. Quipless. Wordless, even. “Okay?” 

Was Bernard legit telling Jason that he knew Tim was Robin? 

No. 

Yes?

Jason tilted his head. 

Bernard blinked. He looked calm and confident. 

No. 

“Bernard!”

And sure enough, there was Tim Drake, jogging up to them. 

“Okay,” Jason said to Bernard. “I’m out of here. Scream like a girl if you need me.” Tim gave him the hairy eyeball and Jason, who hated Bruce's disappearing bullshit, went with his grapple gun for the quickest possible exit. 

~

“Hey, your internalized homophobia is showing,” Tim greeted Jason about three hours later. 

“Huh?” Jason asked eloquently. Replacement was in his territory this time and his only reason for being there seemed to be policing Jason. 

“Scream like a girl?” Tim prompted. 

“No.” Jason stared at him. “You know I said that long before you came out. You do not get a buy for being gay.”

“Bi,” Tim corrected, smirking. Jason let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. “I get a buy for being bi.”

“Also,” he said, and smacked Tim upside the back of his head. 

“Hey! What was that for!”

“You let me call your boyfriend Cannon Fodder for *months* and you knew he could fight!”

Tim grinned, and again Jason wondered at how talking about Bernard lit up his face. 

“Yeah,” he said, sounding like a complete and total sap. “I mean, he doesn't have our training but he….” Tim fucking *blushed.* 

“Oh my god, stop,” Jason said, because vicarious embarrassment was apparently a thing that affected him for the first time ever. “I’m just saying, he’s not complete Cannon Fodder.”  

“He's been kidnapped four times,” Tim said matter-of-factly. “I’ve started calling him that in my head. Don't tell anyone.”

“Anyone?” Jason asked after a beat, because Blondie would *love* this. 

“Don't even think about it,” Tim warned. “You know Steph would sell me out in a heartbeat.”

“How did you know I was talking about Blondie?” Jason demanded.

“Who else were you going to tell?” Tim asked. “Bruce, Tim let me call his boyfriend Cannon Fodder even though he can probably beat up the Riddler.”

“Did he beat up the Riddler?” Jason asked, because the Riddler *had* been rampaging last week and at this point, he’d believe it.

“No,” Tim said and then blushed. “A couple of his goons, yeah. He solved some of the riddles, too, which was fun.”

“Huh. Didn’t realize he knew the Secret. Does he know who I am?”

“What? No, he doesn’t know I’m Robin,” Tim said. “Riddler did the thing like in Keystone City a few years back and just airdropped a bunch of riddles on Midtown. So I picked some up and we figured them out, but he just thought we were doing it for fun.”

“Are you sure?” Jason asked, thinking of their most recent interaction. “Because I think he knows.”

“Wow,” Tim said with a sigh. “My life would be so much easier if he did.”

~

Turns out Bernard knew exactly who Tim played dress-up as at night. He spilled the beans by rounding up Batman and Robin, Nightwing and Batgirl, Spoiler and Orphan, and half the marina to save Tim and Kate from the weird cult they’d infiltrated.

Jason wasn’t invited.

It was fine.

~

It wasn’t actually fine. Tim’s pupils had officially gone heart-shaped and being around him made Jason want to throw up a little bit in his mouth. He and Bernard did a lot of canoodling on the boat and Tim didn’t seek out Jason to discuss investigations or be extra muscle on his cases.

Jason missed Tim.

It wasn’t exactly something he was going to advertise so he kept to himself and patrolled his area of Gotham without venturing into anyone else’s territory.

Some people didn’t have the same compunction.

“You’re not coming to Tim’s birthday party?” Batman demanded. Because of course Bruce got dressed up in his scariest costume to come harass Jason about his social calendar. “I thought you were working to integrate more closely with the family.” 

*I thought you were trying.*

“Maybe that was a mistake,” Jason said roughly. “Maybe I fucked up, old man.” He stared out over at the city, a collage of lights and shadows, beautiful and deadly, and superceding everything else, *home*.

“Hrm. Oracle. Is this roof blacked out?”

Jason didn’t hear the answer but a second later, Bruce pushed the cowl back. Jason turned his head automatically, like he was compelled to make sure it really was Bruce under there.

“Tim’s disappointed we haven’t heard from you. He assumes you’re not coming.”

“Good detective work on his part.” Jason approved. “Because I’m not.”

“When I was your age,” Bruce said, and then winced. “This is making me feel old.”

Jason tossed him a look that was meant to mean, *get on with your point or get off my roof* but may have included some, *there’s some self-awareness for you.*

“Anyway. I had a crush on someone I shouldn’t have,” Bruce confessed. “Someone married, actually. He wanted to stay in the closet. And he did. I never told him how I felt. And I lost him.”

Bruce put his hand on Jason’s shoulder and Jason felt like his insides were caving in.

“I have a lot of regrets,” he said. “Don’t be me.”

“So you’re saying I should just barge in and break up Tim and Bernard,” Jason asked, letting go of all his secrets. After all, who was he, trying to hide something from Batman?

“No,” Bruce said. “But I’m on your side, Jaylad.”

“What?”

“You heard me,” Bruce said, pulling his cowl back up. “I don’t want that kid to be cannon fodder but he’s really intent on putting himself in the middle of everything.”

“You’re never on my side,” Jason accused.

“How are you always so sure which side I’m on?” Batman asked, and stepped onto the brick wall lining the roof. He shot a grapple and paused before jumping. “Don’t let this be the thing that defeats you.”

And he was gone.

~

[ladyofthecastleproject]

The Knight and the Detective

[AO3 version]

Summary:

Ken vs Lightnimon showdown, Fight the Knight!! The detective (prince) Ichijouji Ken finally reaches his conclusions and unmask the mysterious yet terrifying digimon's secrets.

[Note: It takes place in 2008; this is one of my favorite drabbles btw]

The dark night didn’t stop Ichijouji Ken from running after the mysterious shadow who had been spotted. He let the group sleep, and then with Wormmon he dived into the forest.

His investigation was leading him to a conclusion -- The mysterious digimon named ‘Lightnimon’ who had been a hot topic through the Digital World as some terrifying savior for the victims of Frostmon and Ranamon’s armies, had not been alone. He got an accomplice, a partner which probably had been doing all the dirty job for him.

However, Ken did not believe it could be him . He’s a nice person and wouldn’t hide behind a mask or pretend to be who he isn’t. The time he had done this on Valentine’s Day five years ago, Ken immediately snapped him out of it. But why would this now be an option?

Unmasking Lightnimon became Ken’s priority. If he were a digimon, then this means Daisuke had yet to be found. However, what if…

“I can’t think about it being a possibility” Ken shook his head.

“What’s wrong Ken-chan?” Wormmon frowned, he was on Ken’s back.

“Nothing… Do… Do you think that that silhouette we saw was Lightnimon?”

“Hmmm… Maybe?”

“I’d hope to be Daisuke though…” Ken whispered, “Where did you go, you dumbass…”

“If it’s not him, what should we do?” Wormmon asked this time.

“Maybe we can fight… or retreat to call for the others” Ken replied, musing about his plans.

“I… I sense something…”

“Huh?”

“Right there!!” Wormmon stared at the unknown, and threw his silk web at the bushes. Something the web hit and stuck on it. So, Ken took the other end of the silk from Wormmon’s mouth and held it tightly.

“We know you’re here. Show yourself, whoever you are!”

“My my…. You’re quite smart hm?”

That voice…

“Who’s there?!”

“What, you have been looking for me and don’t even know my name!?”

“Show yourself!” Ken repeated, gritting his teeth.

The silk started to loose as the digimon-or-human appeared from the bushes. The Lighdramon armor revealed that it wasn’t no one else than…

“It’s him, the digimon were talking about him!” Wormmon gasped.

“Who me? Ah yes, I forgot I became pretty famous” Lightnimon shrugged, “Anyway, isn’t past your bedtime Ichijouji-kun?”

Ken felt so much anger at that mysterious enemy (?) sassing him. But, instead of losing his mind, he smirked.

“I don’t sleep when I’m investigating something. Say, what makes you think you’re different from us? You said you and us have the same goal, but also threatened us to not mess with your plans. This is quite contradictory, don’t you think?”

“Kh… You…”

“Ah, this reminds me of someone who tends to lose his coolness once dealing with some critique.”

Then Lightnimon started to laugh, louder and louder.

“You think I am someone you know?” he said with a serious tone of voice, “Ichijouji-kun, you know nothing about me, but I do know you. Or you think slipping back into this cocky Digimon Kaiser persona would intimidate me?”

“You lost your mind!! I’m trying to make you get back to your senses!”

“Again you keep insisting I’m someone you know… Sigh, you’re so boring. I’m going off--”

“You won’t escape this time! Wormmon!”

Wormmon jumped from Ken’s back and evolved to Stingmon. The insectoid digimon flew in Lightnimon’s direction, but then the digimon got blocked by a Lighdramon-motif Glaive. This probably made Ken realize he was right about not only Miyako and Iori had gotten such weaponry based on their Digimentals of Sincerity and Reliability.

“I knew it… You’re him.” Ken clenched his fists, but this commentary kept stuck in his mind.

“You got one of those too!?” Stingmon exclaimed.

“Tsk, I stole it from your friend.”

“If you’re not him…” Ken said aloud, “Then where is he!?”

“You want to know? I can’t tell you where he is” he held the glaive on guard “It would put his life at risk.”

“If you know… We will make you tell it!” Stingmon attempted another kick, but Lightnimon dodged it “Where’s Daisuke-san and V-mon!?”

“Are you ignoring me!? I said I CAN’T tell that! His life’s in danger, you all saw Frostmon saying he was dead!”

“That information was incorrect though” Ken said seriously, glaring at him “The Digital Gate can only be opened by a D-3. The gate to the Digital World was locked, but someone managed to open it. Daisuke is alive, and you also confirmed it.”

“Yes, but which part of ‘His life is in danger so I can’t tell where to find him’ you two did NOT understand!?” He used the glaive to block Stingmon’s kick again, then repelled the digimon with it.

“You will tell us or else…!!” Stingmon and Ken said together.

“Or else what, you will destroy me knowing I know where he is and then ruin the possibilities of finding him again?” behind that helmet, he was smirking.

“We won’t kill you!”

“Oh interesting~ Well then, I’m not alone and you know it.” Then he snapped his fingers, making a wild claw come from the shadows.

“What?!” Stingmon dodged, and stood in front of Ken, “Is…”

“As expected, he indeed has a partner-in-crime.”

“Impressive! As expected from the prodigy genius boy” Lightmon clapped his hands and laughed, and Ken cringed at being called 'genius' by him “Now if you excuse me, I have to go. There’s more enemies around and I can’t let them attack those innocent lives.”

“We… We won’t give up!”

“Ah, you still want to fight” and then he sighed, “Isn’t it a disadvantage for you? Two against one?”

“Kh…” Ken bit his lips, “Fine, you won. You can go, but before… Allow me to ask one more question.”

“Another one?” Lightnimon said, totally uninterested in it, “Fine, fine… Go ahead. If it is about your friend he’s fine and safe but I can’t tell you where he’s hiding--”

“Oh no, I know Daisuke is an idiot but can survive alone. My question is about you though.”

Ken smirk was denouncing some tricky question, or a trap. He couldn’t fall on it.

“If you’re not Daisuke, then how do you manage to get his partner to evolve?”

Wh-what!? How did he…

Stingmon had taken that distraction to attack the clawed monster, revealing Fladramon from the bushes.

“S-shoot…!!” he muttered.

“Answer me, Lightnimon… Or should I say...”

“Fladramon, now!”

“W-what are you do--”

Fladramon’s form changed to a crimson armored version of himself, and wings of flame appeared from his back, causing a huge explosion in which both him and Lightnimon used to escape as Stingmon couldn’t pass through the flames.

“Ken-chan, he escaped…!”

“Darn it, you moron…!!” Ken thought, now knowing that Lightnimon wasn’t a digimon at all and yes…

“I’m sorry Da-- It mean, Lightnimon. I messed this up…” BurningFladramon said, holding Lightnimon in his arms.

“It’s not your fault, buddy… Ichijouji Ken’s an amazing detective after all.”

 “But now he knows…”

“Well I suppose that cannot be helped, as long he doesn’t spread the word and put their lives at risk. The trees have ears y’know?”

“Was… Was that a…”

“No, I meant literally. If any digimon from those two’s army heard us, this might put everyone’s lives in danger.”

“Don’t you think it’s the right moment to reveal ourselves?”

Daisuke did not respond, he was thoughtful. Something in his mind was going on and BurningFladramon knew.

“I’ve… Turned into some despicable person right now. Except for Mimi-san, Palmon and Gummymon… All of them do not like me. Do you think if I reveal myself they would understand?”

“We’re all friends, of course they will.”

“... But not now, we need to keep beating those meanies and save villages. We will settle this some other time.”

“Right…”

“Should we tell the others?” After Stingmon had put out the fire to prevent it hitting more and more trees and the local towns, he returned to Wormmon form.

“Hmm… I think we can--” Suddenly, his D-terminal beeped, “Huh?”

Ken took his device from his pocket and opened it. He noticed Daisuke had sent a message to him:

Ken, for the sake of everyone… DON’T tell anyone what you know. You might be putting everyone in danger if you do that. Wait for the right time, I trust you. P.S.: Put out the fire and uh, sorry for lying.

“What does he mean by ‘wait for the right time’ Ken-chan?”

“I guess he’s still been tracked” Ken mused, “If the enemies know.... They could find him wandering alone and then…”

“I don’t like that, he should’ve come back to us.”

“I know Daisuke is not a genius, but… He might have a reason for this. His ideas usually backfire, like now. So I’m concerned.”

“He admitted it was him, so I guess… We should keep it a secret like he asked us.”

“I think the same, but he’s a terrible liar. This might only work if he’s not talking at all.”

“I agree.”

... Sigh, what do you have in mind, Daisuke…

[000life-is-meaningless000]

As long as I survive I know God, Hate's Me

The day that I die the day God Say's, Sorry.

I won't but I still won't be sure if he means it or not ?!

On the Sweet Release of Death will be the only good thing to happen to me and my fucking life.

. . .

🌎 <- Hell For Alien's And There Hybrid's !!!

I don't mean this in terms of trouble, I don't mean in Term's of a hard life, I literally mean hell, I literally mean The word Fucking hell !

I know you're probably thinking that aren't the homeless and people who have suffered serious drug damage their brain living hell and I would say yes but I was still say that being a hybrid or an alien on this planet is far worse than any human life has ever gone through ever and I've seen rape victims I've seen whole kinds of torturers I've seen the medievals I seen the Dark ages and what humans did to each other and I still say this world is a fake worse than hell for any of us and our kind - 🧚🏻‍♂️/🧚🏼‍♀️ <- Insectoid aka Fae

! We, Come From Hive World

We do not have Human Nature, We are not primates we are not Patriarch own we are a Matriarch !!!!!

Will we come from the women are strong extremely strong and dishes and aggressive and the men are the geniuses but the women catch on fast eventually and they become super smart too a woman with no intelligence is a worthless, woman,

A woman with no strength no courage no raw power no dominance ability and no predatory nature is a worthless woman

We Male Fae, are the ones that look for a good female she has to be perfect otherwise the kids will be worthless and their survival will be non-existent

We're not humans we don't have a human brain we don't have a human soul when we were with God we didn't agree this for this bullshit

Don't forget that God created the universe what we call in our dimension our planet we call it the source

We worship God but we worship God in the fairy way we don't worship God in the human way both of us are a different energy expressing ourselves in our natural Way, As God Created !

! Other, Names for God is All father Ptah and Allah

. . .

We never agreed to go to an alien world we didn't want to be here we want to live our little insectoid lives alone and away from everybody else it want to live it on a little buggy world but somehow these asshole grades wanted to conquer the Earth and so did the mantises and they threw our souls into this hybrid agenda we wanted to stay away from the business and affairs of aliens and other worlds we don't like that by any means we had our own extreme political problems of the gold Hive conquering of the world and slaying other realms we dark ones are the ones that saved everything not the fucking light

The gold constantly doomed Universe while silver was fighting the gold

Gold in the light, silver in the night when they get together because it's going to be a fight - 😡

I explained much on our women but I don't think it's the place for that

We are bugs we are insect toys and we worship it we don't hate God but we do express our intense problems and emotions to an all-knowing being that's already going to know what the fuck we're going to say but then how he still wants us to express it God takes interest in what we're going to say we know he already knows we're going to Say, it's fucking disturbing

But then again maybe for God it's like watching one movie over and over again maybe for God it's like watching a movie replay you know how everything is going to happen exactly that a single frame or any details going to change even the slice bit then won't even be a single leaf that goes a different way and it it is scene, they won't be a single dust particle that goes a different direction everything's going to happen exactly the same way every time you watch the movie that's what it's like to be God knowing everything in existence everything is fucking predestined

Link :

( This is my Post, on . . My Sub Reddit ! )

Then, Why do we experience it as if everything is new and fresh ?

[melonisopod]

@fledbeast578 Okay maybe I never went over anything beyond ranting in the tags a couple of times but basically:

I don't completely hate Morgan for what she's done, and I can't chock up her wish to just "wanting a kingdom." She wanted a place to live, she did not want to see this beautiful place die, even if she hated everyone living there, she could not accept that her world would be destroyed and so fought against destiny to keep Fairy Britain alive. I still think some of her actions were selfish, and especially with PHH Morgan she clearly could not accept that she wasn't fit to be queen.

Barghest is introduced brutalizing a bunch of human slaves attempting to escape, even turning one of them into one of her hellhounds for speaking out of turn. Later she carries out Morgan's order to burn down the Autumn Woods. This all carries into her philosophy that "the weak serve the strong," only later we see her ruling Manchester where this philosophy is actually more "the strong protect the weak," but now this makes her look like a huge hypocrite. So the weak are to be protected if it's your sickly human lover or the one (conveniently not very insectoid) Welsh pixie but any randos not under your care you will happily cut down? Yeah I wasn't exactly shedding tears when she started going Beast Mode.

Baobhan is introduced as a cruel and selfish fairy who happily tortures and kills random people. She is madly in love with Beryl Gut because...he gives her new exciting ways to torture and kill people, basically. But THEN we learn she was actually a nice fairy only PRETENDING to enjoy torturing people! Morgan just told her she had to be mean to survive and she misunderstood this, you see! (She doesn't act like a nice fairy who plays at being mean, she acts like a mean fairy who is just very easily duped and only feels bad when things start affecting her personally)

I guess I feel less angry over Melusine because...she at least knew what she's doing is wrong? She doesn't try to excuse or justify herself and her rationale feels a lot more believable to me (she just wanted to win the approval of the one fairy who was kind to her, even though she knows it'll never happen she keeps hoping and wishing for it). Her actions felt *consistent* at least, like there is never a sudden swerve to where we have to forget a bunch of stuff she's done before, and that made her feel more sympathetic.

Then you get into NPCs like Boggart and Aurora where I can't really tell if you're meant to feel bad for them. Boggart came off extremely creepy to Mash especially where he tried to force himself on her, only stopping when she pushed him out the window. So the narrative treatment of him from then onward is kind of weird cause now suddenly he learned boundaries? And towards the end he's said to be charismatic and good with women even though at the beginning he's called heartbroken and only takes human slaves as wives because they can't say no to him? Idk his whole character is *weird* I couldn't mourn over his death.

I think it's hard, because if Nasu was trying for a narrative of complex morality, where ultimately the fairies didn't necessarily deserve their fate, but could never avoid it in the end, it's very back-and-forth in showing that through the story. And added to this is Fate fans' own limited reading comprehension further muddying the waters. The ultimate Original Sin of the first six fairies is that they simply were lazy one day. Should we fault them for this? If so, why should we just excuse the actions of a few characters who were allowed greater focus in the story?

(I could go into a big rant about Beryl and how he is so insultingly one-dimensional. I never really expected him to be good or woobified but man he is like Shinji but with all the worst qualities of Kirei shoved in, it's so painfully clear Nasu had no love for him as a character and just reduced him to "rapey hentai villain" that Guda is meant to beat up and kill. I'd rather not though).

(Also Pepe, I'm SO bitter about Pepe, his arc in Lostbelt 4 was an obvious parallel to Arjuna Alter, a whole chapter about how toxic it is to try and erase anything deemed "evil" from the world because all humans have some level of evil, and to erase that is to erase one's own humanity, and to be able to forgive oneself and accept yourself rather than constantly condemning and erasing. That was all thrown out the window with his death, where he goes on for whole paragraphs insisting this was his karma, and then Castoria herself looks at us and says "I don't feel bad for him, I saw all the evil that he did so I think he was a bad person," (basically) and just okay, wow, we've really thrown his whole character arc out the window because we didn't need him in the plot anymore. Cool! Also not very happy at the occasional jokes of him looking like a Nightcall because of his goofy exaggerated expressions)

That was most of what I was initially going to say.

I saw your reblog on the Morgan post, and just wanted to say you described my thoughts towards her better than I was able to. ‘Let off the hook’ for a lot of things honestly feels like it applies to a lot of lostbelt 6 characters, but I can definitely agree it’s worst with Morgan.

Okay I wrote and erased and rewrote an answer to this ask like five times now I want to be brief and not repeat the things I've been saying already now but I guess the basic points of this are:

Lostbelt 6 was originally going to be a more classic "good vs. evil" story, but when Nasu rewrote it he wanted to make his characters more morally complex. And I think that came with some complications, doubly so where some characters are allowed more focus within the narrative and others are more bit part characters.

What really makes it especially glaring to me is this: you, the player, are actively encouraged to call out Oberon on his bullshit. You are even rewarded for doing so, with an added cutscene that gives you further insight into his motivations. This would automatically make a lot of characters who've similarly done wrong feel kind of unbalanced for how you're just supposed to ignore or excuse their actions in favor of sympathizing with them. It's more frustrating to have to choose between seeing other characters as either irredeemable scum or blameless woobies when there is a character right there, who is both sympathetic and deeply, deeply culpable for multiple atrocities.

[lily-orchard-gossip-blog]

Can you please make a very long speech post about Isekai? I want to learn about its history and it’s first appearance related to the modern-day definition in any culture. Please? For me.

Well... Alright, since people are interested in it.

Isekai quite literally means: Another World.

It comfortably sit in between Portal Fiction, Fantasy and Science fiction, in terms of genre, and it's its own thing.

So, Isekai does have roots in ancient mythology.

Namely the myth Urashima Tarō, whch involves a fisher man saving a turtle and getting wisked away into, well, a heavenly space (or another world.), before returning and dying. Fun stuff.

But it's easier to look towards Portal Fiction as being the starting point, because it includes... well, portals to another world.

Portal fantasy is when a character crosses into another world through a portal of some kind. (Often leading to a fantasy world.) The big distinction between Portal fantasy and Isekai, at least to me, is that in Portal fiction, the character who crosses into this other world will always go home at the end of the story . But in Isekai, the main character will always stay in the fantasy world.

(It's been argued that having a coming of age narrative is also vital to the Portal Fantasy genre, but I'm being more simplistic just so it's easier to understand).

Basicly, think of Inuyasha. The Kagome goes through the well to feudal Japan, have adventures, and then returns to the real world through the very same well. Other examples include Alice in Wonderland, Caroline, and The Wizard of Oz.

Now, All that being said, that's just backstory. There are elements we associate with Isekai, but it isn't Isekai.

That actual FIRST isekai novel, that has elements of what we know of as Isekai today, comes from:

Isekai no Yūsha (Warrior from Another World )

Look, Isekai is in the title and everything!

It's a short fantasy novel about a high-schooler named Ryoji, who's summoned to take up a magic sword and fight against the demon king Gandar Boa.

The Book is out of print, and information on it is rather scarce. However, I do know it came out in 1979,making it one of the earliest examples of modern day Isekai…. I think.

Okay, look, I haven't read it, it's never been published outside of Japan, and it's name is so generic that it's hard to find much about it. But multiple sources told me it was the first notable example, so I'm rolling with it.

But I know what your asking. What about the first Isekai anime? Well, I've got you covered on that.

The first Isekai anime is

Aura Battler Dunbine (1983)

The Summary, that I totally did not just steal from My Anime list, goes as follows:

Shou Zama is an ordinary 18-year-old from Tokyo who finds himself summoned to the medieval fantasy world of Byston Well. Upon arrival, he is put into service under the ambitious lord Drake Luft, who seeks to greatly expand his power. Those like Shou who come from "Upper Earth" possess strong aura power and are ordered to pilot "Aura Battlers," insectoid mecha designed by a man named Shot Weapon, who also came from Upper Earth.

As Shou finds himself fighting alongside his new comrades, they put their lives on the line to prevent the villain from taking over Byston Well before it's too late.

Mechs, fantasy, special powers only people from our world possess? Can't be any more anime than that!

It ticks a lot of the boxes that we tend to expect from most Isekai anime, but it is missing one thing. Where's the video game mechanics? Where's the video game worlds?

Well don't, I've got you covered. The first Isekai with video games being a proud feature is:

Super Mario Bros: Peach-Hime Kyushutsu Dai Sakusen! (1986)

(For those who want to watch it in beautiful 4k)

Yes, that's right. Mario got there first.

The Mario Bros. get sucked into their Famicom game, and must now rescue Princess Peach from King Bowser Koppa.

This Mario Film is notable for being one of the earliest Isekai to involve a video game world, and mild usage of video game mechanics.

For more information, I would highly recomend this video here:

For Mother's basement, as he goes a lot more in depth then I could in a blog post.

But yeah, that's my Isekai speal. I hope you enjoy it.

[ongit0]

Could you please do headcanons for Tso Lan please?

Hi and of course I will! However, I’m not sure what kind of headcannons: general head cannons on Tso Lan, platonic, family/stroge, etc.

Maybe it was just me overthinking but um, i wrote them all. I am so sorry 😀

🌕 He lives on the moon, or at least once lived on the moon. The most isolated demon among his siblings.

🌖 He gives me eldest/ first born siblings that are so tired of the family. Or whatever you can call a “family”from those demons. He doesn’t live on the moon to be isolated. Oh contraire, he doesn’t mind company. Unlike his brethren who all work solo, Tso Lan will not be bothered to who accompanies him as long as they share the same wavelength or intellect. He will question yours or others but never question him. The insectoid demon’s ego isn’t as large in size to his 16 feet stature but he is considered to be the wisest. It’s nearly impossible to get on his bad side.

🌗 He doesn’t see Jackie Chan as someone to take seriously compared to how strong Tso Lan is to mortals. He only sees a thorn at his side. None of the other Chans mean anything to him. He seems neutral to the idea of sharing; whether it be defeating Jackie with Valmont alone or not or the idea of ruling Earth with his siblings.

🌘 He doesn’t dislike humans, he doesn’t seem to want to kill them – he’s more into watching them run like ants as their world shrivels or floods. He doesn’t insult Shendu’s host but insults Shendu. In kinder words he stops Shendu from talking any further and just wants to bypass him. The man just wants the moon and see Earth crumble or be left in ruins for his siblings to toy with – doesn’t seem all too interested in killing them though.

🌑 Back on the idea of company, Tso Lan would most likely be keen on the idea of having human servants much like Shendu when he has his palace in China. However Tso Lan would only choose highly respected individuals or at least smart or fond of his field of interest. He has seen the stars pass by the moon, watched asteroids almost collide with Earth. He will gladly answer any questions you ask him of the moon, what he could gain from staying there and all the folktales he laughed at such as the man in the moon being kind when kids were unknowingly stare at a demon. He doesn’t seem to care who his followers or company may be – child, elderly, demon, human, he doesn’t judge as long as you don’t say or act foolish in order to annoy him much like Shendu.

🌒 His robe reminds me of a Confusion Robe with the dark blue-indigo trim, the visible overlapping red layers. He might have been into Confusionism:The long hair of respect and honor to the family, especially as the eldest sibling, the robe, doesn’t seem to be as murderous as the other demons.

🌓 However his views on Confucianism are rather tilted. He seemed interested in the view of what little “morality” these humans speak of yet oppressed their people. He would probably poke fun at them but chose it for status. He only has 2 sisters who are more than capable to defend themselves, possibly defeat Hsi Wu, Earth or Wind Demon. He’ll turn the other cheek when it comes to the less fortunate humans that are forced into foot binding and servatitude to appease others.

🌔 He won’t hate you for tagging along but just don’t stand too close to him. Unless you are in one of the 5 relations to him then consider yourself lucky to even be noticed by him.

P L A T O N I C - B o n d

🌕 I’ll start off with the Confucianism part from earlier. If you are a woman/transitioning/nonbinary who is going through the harsh treatment but managed to strike a conversation with the Moon Demon then consider this offering. He will always be looking forward to make an empire on the moon for himself with human servants – join him and be bound to him and his empire for all his eternity to leave these conditions. Consider yourself a missing person, an entity long forgotten or never even existed once you live on the moon. Any human essentials you thought you would need would disappear so you’re duty 24/7 and any waking hour is purely devoted to serving the demon. Prove your undying loyalty to him.

🌖 Regardless of your gender, you and the other servants will be treated the same, never referred by name but as a head count. His punishments don’t have any warnings, prepare to be tossed out the empire to suffocate in the freezing silent sky around you with no one to hear your gasps or screams, or be fed to Po Kong or Dai Gui.

🌗 If you happen to be pleased enough to listen to or answer your questions about the moon, perhaps the stars during his strolls through the moon or occasional walks to Earth then he will view you more than a servant. You will be his minister, a jump much higher than you expected from being what you were once. He still believes in the Confucianism beliefs; servant/ruled, minister/ruler and friend/friend. You are by his side through every change and discussion to change the moon in larger capacity or just to enjoy strolls together. Maybe even see Earth in ruins or venture to another section of a library. In any case of danger one of his 4 arms will drag you away, scolding you later when you two are alone to be more aware of your surroundings.

🌘 He’s still the serious demon you met him as but he isn’t as uptight as he was.

🌑 He will take hide and seek a bit too seriously and make the whole room float just to find you. Last time it took him too long to find you under a bed, holding onto the frames. He jokingly blames you for being smaller than him which makes it difficult.

S T R O G E - F a m i l y

🌕 Maybe you were a younger forgotten demon, easily sealed away. You are weaker. You might have been created before one of the many demons before you but you will be considered the youngest for being weaker.

🌖 Being Confucius to some degree, Tso Lan will always keep you in check so you never cross the line with him or any of your brothers. His view to you will be of what an older sibling sees the youngest; annoying, unbearable but protected. His beliefs stad with the “elder/younger sibling” category. He will expect high respect and obedience on your part. His only role is to tutor and put you as a priority. If you piss off Bai Tza or annoy Po Kong then that’s on you. He can do so much. He is willing to share the world with his siblings so he will most certainly do the same for you.

🌗 He will call you a fool for playing hide and seek but still look for you no matter how many times he will find you annoying.

🌘 Any mistake you make he will lecture you along with the other Demon Sorcerers who will all compare you to Shendu. It’s best to just do as they all say and avoid any idea of betraying them. He and the others will keep you away from Po Kong to avoid being eaten. Also from Xiao Fung because you’ll easily be blown away.

🌑 He’ll keep you around until you are strong enough to take a part of earth – a way to say “waiting for you to row up and fly the coop”. Tso Lan and Tchang Zu take turns “babysitting” you – pushing you away at a distance but also trapping you in his hair so you don’t run out of sight.

He’ll most definitely leave you upside down for being disobedient, maybe even just for fun because how small of a demon you are compared to him.

(I’m sorry if I overdid 😭 I wanted to mention Eros or maybe Pragma but didn’t bc I wasn’t sure what head cannons would be okay

[weirdmarioenemies]

Name: Space Invader

Debut: Space Invaders

Can you believe it? We have covered so many iconic enemies on this blog, but perhaps not the most iconic video-game enemy of them all! Sure, the Pac-Man Ghosts, the Minecraft Creeper, Plugg, they’re all pretty high up there, but when you think about it the Space Invader has to take the cake! How many video-game enemies have their own emoji? 👾

Heck, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say this creature is synonymous with the very concept of Video-Games! This is the kind of little guy who would flash on your television screen as you play a computer game with a little joystick with one big red button on it. This is the kind of little guy who I would print on a T-Shirt and Beanie to prove to the world that, yes I game! I can press buttons! I know that Super Mario Bros. 2 was originally called Doki Doki Panic because the Japanese Super Mario Bros. 2 was deemed too difficult for America!

The Space Invader’s sprites are so ingrained in our memories that we don’t often think about the aliens on the actual arcade game’s art, huh? Well this is a perfectly good Alien Monster! A furry man like the Wookiees from Star Trek, but dark and ominous with harsh red lighting! This guy definitely looks like he’s got some invading to do! 

I say this design isn’t too well-known, but apparently it is iconic enough to get its own figma! Wow! You can really see the fur in this one- without a doubt, this is a mammal! I bet it has six teats under there. 

But if you ask me, there is just no beating the look of the sprite! It’s vague enough to leave a lot to the imagination, but there’s plenty here to love! The little dot eyes and the insectoid antennae! the little arms/mandibles/alien tentacles (if you’re feeling spicy)- a mammal this certainly is not! This is an absolutely ideal Little Guy, a computer creature to blow up on your screen. We’re so accustomed to seeing it that I think we all forget how Awesome this is! And look at how it jumps for joy! 

Do you know what we aren’t accustomed enough to, in my opinion? It’s the other aliens from Space Invaders! The middle alien is quintessential of course, but they can’t Space Invade alone! They need the help of their friends! The Squid invader hangs out at the top of the screen, perhaps because they are the smallest and most vulnerable of the three. How thoughtful!

And the Octopus invader! This image is smaller than the last one but trust me when I say they are wider! And they have two, count ‘em, two, pixels for their eyes, so I interpret them as having closed eyes and being dozy or a little sleepy because that is cute. They hang out at the bottom because they are the best defense! 

Now hold on! If the big and little invaders are confirmed to be Squids and Octopuses, what the heck is the medium invader? The answer is: Crab! It was a crab hiding under our noses all along! This was all apparently confirmed through a 40th anniversary interview revealing original concept art, but do you know what? I’m not a fan! And you know we love any and all crabs here, but I think the sprite is quite fun in its mystery, plus it is very un-crablike! Only four limbs, without distinct claws? And don’t get me even get me started on the lack of eyestalks! This isn’t amateur hour! So I continue to headcanon the medium invader as something not-crab. You can’t control my life, Toshihiro Nishikado!

Also, this concept art for Octopus really looks like a jellyfish, which got me thinking: there are a lot of Japanese aliens that are just vague jellyfish/cephalapod monsters huh? 

It’s almost the default there compared to the typical gray alien, and if you ask me it is way better! Meeting another sentient race and finding out they are like humans but grey and with big eyes? Snore! Meeting another sentient race and finding out they are talking jellyfish people? Awooga! This is also the second time we have used Pretty Cure and Rhythm Heaven as examples in the same paragraph, but probably not the last? There’s definitely more examples of this trope I can’t think of, so Please send us any funny jellyfish aliens you have. I’m begging you.

Er... anyway! The last member of the Invader Crew is the UFO, and I wasn’t sure to count them but why the heck not? They are presumably just a flying saucer, which don’t get me wrong is always fun, but what if they are also a creature with many eyes? You can’t say for sure!

Actually, when I said they were the last member two sentences ago, I lied! This is Shapeshifting Cuttlefish, from Space Invaders Part II! First of all, what a name! Second of all, this doesn’t look like a cuttlefish in the slightest! But it is very funny and looks like an emoji with feet, so I forgive it. Plus, they have the special property of splitting into a smaller guy when you shoot them! Cool! 

The Cuttlefish’s concept art is even weirder! This DEFINITELY isn’t a cuttlefish! It is more like... a little man with hair. I mean, I love it! But what the heck? 

While Space Invaders (1978), was definitely “groundbreaking” or “influential” or whatever, let’s not kid ourselves- their most important role was in Pixels (2015), also known as The Movie Where Josh Gad Breeds With Q*Bert! What do they do in this movie? I assume they invade! I will no longer discuss Pixels (2015).

In conclusion: all the Invaders are great friends, and they love to hang out in rows of eleven and move slowly downwards and sideways, while doing their little dances. Don’t interrupt them! They’re having a good time! 

[25centsoda]

Star Wars Fanfic - Wisdom Teeth

I just got my wisdom teeth out the other day...you know what that means! Luke too!

I just wrote this in one sitting and there is very minimal editing. If I ever feel like cleaning this up I’ll throw it on AO3 (and possibly make it longer, possibly leave it as-is).

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The world filtered up slowly, rising from the smoke of dreams. The first thing Luke was aware of was that there was a blanket on his chest. It was warm, and soft. The room faded into view.

His tired mind dimly registered the fact that the blanket was blue, and the walls were off-white. The lights confused him. They shone blindingly, obscuring much of the space. Between the two of them, the only other thing he could make out were the empty chairs beside him.

Luke drifted.

The world was quiet, as if buried beneath sand. There might have been a memory of being supported on each side as he was led down a hallway, but that could have easily been a dream; the memory was shadowy and indistinct.

He moved his hand slightly. Yes, the blanket was soft.

Words filtered into his consciousness. Murmurs, far away and nonsensical. He couldn’t summon the will or strength to focus on them.

Through the Force, a spike of emotion.

It was quickly washed away by his exhaustion, and Luke’s eyes fluttered closed. His mouth hung open slightly. Something held it open. What was it? Why was it there? 

He forced his eyes open again and squinted at the room, trying to bring it into focus.

Medbay, his mind finally supplied. Now he could tell that he was seeing double. Closing one eye or the other turned the two chairs into one. He entertained himself with looking at each part of the curtained-off room in turn. The small table on his other side. The curtain rod. His own covered legs.

A commotion outside in the hall filtered into his awareness. Luke made a small questioning noise he wasn’t sure even left his throat and turned his head slightly towards the sound.

It sounded almost like...blaster shots?

Behind the curtain, a door hissed open. Cold followed like a shadow. Luke closed his eyes against the chill, grateful for the blanket. Loud, rhythmic breathing grated against his ears. He peered up through his eyelashes.

Vader.

Father.

Was this another dream? Luke’s eyes melted closed again.

He was on the verge of falling asleep once more when the sound of flimsy being shifted pulled him back towards consciousness again. He was almost tempted to wave the sound away, annoyed, but his limbs felt like lead. It wasn’t worth the effort. Amusement washed gently over him in the Force.

The flimsy was folded and shifted against something, then the noise stopped. Something carefully stroked his hand through the blanket.

“Come, young one. It is time to go home.”

Luke managed something between a hum and a groan. That amusement came again, along with an undercurrent of love. He peeled open his eyes and squinted up at his father’s insectoid mask.

Vader helped him sit up while Luke stared at him. His mind spun slowly. His father couldn’t really be here, right? The last thing he remembered...the last thing he remembered…

That shadowy image of being helped across a hallway resurfaced. He pushed it away. Before that, there was…

The surgery!

The Empire had been quiet for long enough that the Alliance decided to take the opportunity to get its soldiers and staff medical care while they could afford both the time and expense. Luke had been brought in to get several teeth removed that had grown in sideways. Leia was supposed to be with him when he woke up.

Where was she?

Luke was pulled to his feet and he stumbled, knees weak beneath him. His head rocked with vertigo. Without thinking, he clung to the arm supporting him.

Where was Leia? She was supposed to be here…

He barely noticed the hallways passing under his feet, focus taken up by the effort of staying upright and trying to figure out where Leia could be.

Maybe...maybe he was hallucinating, and what he thought was his father was actually just Leia.

Luke made a noise that was meant to be “Leia?” but all that came out was nonsense. He furrowed his brow when he realized he couldn’t feel his tongue. Or most of his mouth, really.

The person leading him didn’t respond.

Something was wrong.

“Nng,” he managed, tugging his arm away from their grip. They held on tighter as he stumbled, keeping him upright.

“Hush, young one. You’re safe.” A feeling of security washed through him with those words, overpowering the panic that had begun to rise through the fog of sedation. He leaned on their arm for support. “There. We’re nearly to my ship, then you can rest some more.”

Their boots clanged on a ramp. Luke’s socked feet didn’t make a sound.

The next thing he knew, he was being buckled into a seat. In front of him, a viewport showed the mountains of the planet the Rebels had made their latest base on.

The ship vibrated as it took off, and Luke fell back asleep.

-----------------

Vader marveled at the boy sleeping next to him. At long last; his son. He had been most fortunate in finding the boy and his rebellion in such a state. It had been laughably easy to invade the base and take Luke. The Rebels had grown complacent.

As he piloted the shuttle back to the Executor, he puzzled over the sheet of flimsy that had been tied to the end of his son’s medical bed. “Wisdom tooth extraction”, it had read, along with instructions for care once the boy was released from the medbay.

Vader had heard of such a thing - Obi-Wan had told Anakin Skywalker of his own experience with the procedure, but Skywalker never had a need for it. Evidently Vader’s son did. Incompetent as they were, the Rebellion did not waste money and soldiers on unnecessary medical procedures.

Glancing at Luke again, Vader wondered if perhaps he should have paid closer attention to the sheet before leaving with his son. The boy may need supplies the Executor did not have; the surgery was most often performed on humans younger than the majority of his officers, and Star Destroyers were not equipped for most non-injurious surgeries.

No matter. If anything needed to be acquired, he would get it.

First, he had to get his son to the rooms he had prepared.

Although they would evidently need slight modifications as the boy was recovering from surgery…

----------------

When Luke woke again, he was once more covered in a blanket. This time, however, he was also propped up by many pillows on all sides, and there were ice packs on both cheeks.

Where was he?

At his confused hum, his father reappeared beside him. Luke’s eyes widened.

Oh. So it hadn’t been a hallucination, then. His father actually...just kidnapped him out of the medbay.

Kriff.

“Father,” he tried, but he still couldn’t feel his mouth. He huffed in frustration, then winced when doing so pulled at his sore jaw. He mimed writing on his hand, looking at his father through narrowed eyes and hoping that conveyed his frustration.

Vader handed him a datapad and pen.

Luke held the pen above the datapad for a minute, trying to decide what to say. He eventually settled on, What did you do?

“You had a surgery, young one,” Vader said. Before he could finish, Luke started writing again. “I did nothing to you.”

I know I had surgery. Where did you take me? What about the base?

“You are on my flagship, the Executor. The Rebel base was taken by the Empire, although I believe the Princess and Wookie escaped, if you are worried about them.”

No dark side.

Vader inclined his head. “You are in no state to begin your training, I agree. However, there are other things you should be aware of in the meantime. For example, the sheet your medic left indicates that the gauze in your mouth should be changed every 30 minutes, the ice should remain as much as possible without causing damage, and you are not to have solid foods for the next several days.”

Luke looked up at the ceiling in lieu of throwing his head back. Kriff. He thought it would be bad to go through this back on base with his friends; to do it stuck with the Empire? With his father? The man had chopped off his hand during their last meeting; Luke had since come to terms with both the news and the prosthetic, but that didn’t mean he trusted his father with his health.

He cleared the screen and wrote again. I want to see a medic.

“They will not tell you anything different, Luke.”

He underlined the sentence and gave his father a pointed look with as much vitriol as he could muster.

Vader sighed, an odd, staticky sound. “Very well. I will call for him.”

Luke watched with interest as his father picked up a slim remote from a small table next to the bed Luke was propped up in, and pressed a button. A small buzz sounded. Moments later, the door hissed open and a man in a medic’s uniform stepped through, clipboard in hand. He bowed, and approached.

“Commander Skywalker, Medic Kix at your service,” the man said. “What can I do for you?”

Luke reset the screen and wrote, then held up the datapad.

What will my recovery look like? How long will it take?

Kix nodded and said, “This first day, there’s going to be a lot of blood. It should clot by the end of today and over the next few days there should be some swelling. The ice will help keep that down. You’ll need to change the gauze every thirty minutes to help the blood clot and keep you from swallowing too much of it. Take it easy for the next few days; no strenuous exercise. Liquid foods only for today, then tomorrow you can start moving on to soft foods like pudding. We’ll talk more about the day after when we get there. You should be fully healed in two to three weeks, assuming all goes well.”

Two to three weeks??

“Yes sir. As you were not treated by one of our medics, I’m unsure how well the surgery was performed, but rest assured we will do everything we can to ensure your healing is as fast and comfortable as possible. Any other questions?”

Kix waited patiently as Luke wrote.

Can I change my own gauze?

He did not want his father to try to interfere more than strictly necessary.

The medic hesitated. “...Yes, but I would advise that you have somebody help you. If you’d like, I can assign you a medic for the next few days.”

“I can--” Vader started, but Luke interrupted him by holding up the datapad.

Yes, I would like a medic. The writing was rushed - his father could speak faster than Luke could write - but it was legible enough. Thankfully Kix took Luke’s side.

“Very well sir. I will send somebody to assist you.” With that, the medic left.

His father turned back to him. “Would you like access to the holonet, young one? It will be restricted, of course - you wouldn’t be able to contact any Rebels - but you would be able to watch videos.”

Kriff, he really was stuck here with his father for at least the next two weeks, wasn’t he? Couldn’t even eat real food.

He was already exhausted of it all.

Yes, Luke wrote. He handed the datapad to Vader.

At least he’d have plenty of time to hack into the datapad and find a way to contact his friends.

----------

Luke’s mouth finally stopped bleeding by the end of the day. He was so grateful to be rid of the gauze in his mouth that he almost didn’t mind the fact that his father had stayed after the medic left.

He tipped his head back and carefully drank some water, reveling in the fact that he could close his mouth almost all the way now. It was still partially numb, but most of the feeling was back and there was nothing holding it open anymore. He set the cup back down next to the pill bottles on the bedside table, then looked between his father next to the bed and the datapad on the blankets.

He’d wasted the day dozing and watching as many pod, speeder, and spaceship races as he could find, but Vader had stayed away for most of it, only seeming to come in as Luke was falling asleep. What...was he supposed to do now that the man seemed determined to stay?

He stared at his father for a long moment. Vader stared back.

Slowly, as if his father was a watching krayt, he grabbed the datapad and turned the latest speeder race back on, sinking into the fresh ice packs and pillows.

They watched it together, side by side.

[genuflectx]

Giant Mantis/Reader Chapter 3 {NSFW}

Chapter Length: 5,318

Main Themes: Giant bugs, fluff, dates

Other Warnings: Implied public copulation, dead animal, gore, blood, mention of loved one death

Ch 1 - Ch 2 - Ch 3 (you are here) - Ch 4 - Ch 5 - Epilogue

Not the smutty chapter but does have NSFW discussions...

(all images in aesthetic board are labeled for reuse with modification or are mine)

Chapter 3 - The Party

You got back to the house a little past one in the evening. With the bloody boar between the arm-jaws of Vervain's body you were greeted with the faces of happy mantises- or, you assumed they were happy. They weren't exactly facially expressive, but their gratitude flowed verbally. A huge, fatty, nutritious meal to share before the guests arrived? Might as well have been manna from Heaven. You were glad to have suggested bringing the boar back.

Gladys, however, was a little more than unnerved.

“They usually don't get into the preserve, not just because of the fence but because of-” she gestured dismissively at the gored boar that was being ripped to shreds by several little mouths.

You didn't know how she could watch that. You crossed your arms. “I'm lucky Vervain was there. These guys can move a lot faster than I thought they could, one minute he was on the ground, the next he was beside me and it was dead.”

“Ehhh, they're ambush predators, it's what they do,” she laid a hand against her cheek. Then she shook her head minutely, eyes squinting. “Why do you keep saying he? You know Vervain's female, right?”

You tensed, looking off towards your new insectoid friend who was delicately eating a hunk of meat from his hands. It made his hands look even smaller than they were. He had a brother on either of his sides, with both sisters catty corner and the carcass in the center. Gingko's head abruptly snapped in your direction and your heart jumped. You instantly looked away, trying not to seem put off by that motion.

“Well, yeah,” you started quietly, shrugging one aloof shoulder.

Maybe now was time for the gender discussion? You knew Vervain didn't much care for Gladys and she didn't care for him, but she was still the only caretaker here. He needed that support. He was more tender-hearted than Gladys gave him credit for.

You continued, and the awkward began to leech itself into your voice more with every word. “But Vervain... doesn't feel that way.”

She raised a brow. “What do you mean she doesn't feel that way? Look at her, she's huge! A lot of insects have pretty drastic sexual dimorphism. There's really no mistake.”

You cringed. “Well, there's more to it than that when something can think and understand like a human. Sexing a sentient, intelligent person isn't the same thing as sexing baby chicks, or... snails, I don't know,” you scrunched your face, hoping any of this was making sense. But Hell, if you could get a bug to understand, you could get an elderly woman to understand. “And Vervain's idea of himself doesn't fit the idea of how someone with his sex is assumed to be.”

She stared at you for a while, lips parted, with an expression of pure skepticism.

Before she could blurt in with some science mumbo-jumbo, you tried again. “Like, in people. You can be born one sex, like the doctors say you're a girl, because of your... you know. So everyone around you says you're a girl. They dress you in pink. They baby you. Tell you you're pretty, or beautiful, hand you baby dolls and glitter. And maybe you like it, maybe you don't. Maybe you grow up with this desire for the world to treat you how they treat your brother.”

“You want them to say you're strong, not act like you're delicate. You want them to ask you about what sport is your favorite, assign you the color blue. But more than that, more complicated, you want them to accept that even if you didn't want to be called strong, even if you did still like dolls and glitter, that you're still not a girl.” You only just realized how passionate you were getting, moving your hands around wildly as you explained, going on a rant that Gladys probably couldn't make heads or tails of.

Your explanation was watered down and incomplete, if not a little binary, but everyone had to start somewhere. Baby steps. Your arms flopped to the sides of your body and your cheeks warmed. She still wasn't saying anything, instead just looking at you with that expression.

“Vervain is like that,” you finished. “I don't know the full extent of how he feels. But he wants to be 'like his brothers,' and wanted me to call him him. So I respect that. And support it. He's nice, and he deserves it.”

She moved her mouth like she was chewing on what to say. Then her hand came down upon your shoulder and you jolted, heart pounding.

“Sweetheart, I've been on this plot of land since time began. I don't know much about whatever's going on out there beyond the island. I just study bugs. But I know one thing.” Her lids drooped. “He will alwaysbe a bastard,” she shook her head, corner of her mouth quirking.

That was unexpected. It was a refreshing surprise, and your eyes must have gone wide because she started laughing at you. She leaned away and propped herself against the cabin wall, smug.

“Listen, it makes sense,” she snorted. “Vervain's always been annoying like his brothers. But mama, Gingko, and Wisteria? Forget about it. He's never had a sliver of their grace, even if he is the biggest and most assertive.”

“You seem... awfully casual about this,” you questioned with suspicion.

She turned her eyes on the group of feeding insects wistfully. That smug smile turned into something more genuine. “Practically raised them. They don't get a lot of joy out of being cooped up here, even with the designer suites. If something as small as that can make him happy who am I to say no?”

Maybe she cared for Vervain more than you thought. You got the feeling you really didn't know the true extent that she'd thrown herself into this place, and began to feel silly.

You pursed your lips. “I sort of thought you hated him to be honest.”

She looked to be in thought, then rolled her head along the wall to meet your eyes. “He certainly seems to like you, but that's no shock. And you like him. I don't think anyone's ever described Vervain as nice,” she scoffed, making quotes with her fingers.

Were you that obvious? Getting choked up with embarrassment wasn't helping, you could see it on her face. You ended up just shrugging, tone going up in pitch. “Well he protected me,” you argued.

The way she was watching you now, as if she saw something you didn't, made your blood run cold. Like you'd just had a secret exposed. Her eyes softened until there was a hint of sadness behind them. She was looking at a memory. Gladys went back to enjoying the show, continuing in a low, far-away voice.

“When I first started working here I mainly worked with G. pseudofoli. Since I'm not a anthropologist or psychologist I rarely got too close to them. I thought of them all as specimens.”

You nodded, following along and curious where this was going.

She took a moment to breathe, as if debating on whether this was a good idea or not. “But I ended up spending a lot of time with them. Making diagrams, mostly. They weren't always cooperative because they're skittish, and posing for photos or sketches, especially if a human was going to be prodding at their sensitive areas, was nerve wracking for them. And there was one particular mantis more jumpy than the rest. Always giving me the side eye,” she laughed. “Never let me draw him.”

“Until he did. But by then I had been here well over a year and had moved on to diagramming the larger species,” she gestured at the group who were messily enjoying their meat. “So I ended up just drawing him for fun. And we talked. A lot. He would start seeking me out even when I wasn't assigned to handle the mantids that day.”

You smiled. “So he was your friend.”

“Oh yeah,” she cracked a smirk. “It got a little more than friendly.”

That sunk in, and then you silently choked down your shock. “You and he were... together?”

“A family-friendly way of putting it.”

You swallowed and glanced towards Vervain, who had finished his portion of meat and was likewise observing the two of you from afar. Unlike yourself, he wasn't made embarrassed to be caught looking. You waved just to make it not weird. He lifted his claw just-so, antenna twitching.

Gladys's voice cut back in. “You can stay here as long as you'd like. It really is nice to have company. For all of us.”

Chest fluttering and body weighed down by this revelation, you went with something that was sure to sour the mood of good will. “I only have the hotel booked till the end of the week. After that, I was going to be fared to the mainland and take a plane back home.”

She shrugged and made a non-committal sound. “Then stay the whole week, what a better place to enjoy your vacation than out in the wops?”

And you would break Vervain's heart if you left early, you thought ruefully, and maybe your own.

“Okay,” you agreed, brightening. “That would be really kind of you. Thank you Ms. Gladys!”

She nodded, smiling back at you with a radiating warmth. You thought she appreciated your presence more than she let on, and certainly appreciated your ability to occupy Vervain. You looked towards the group again and noticed that Vervain's stare and posture had intensified, and there was an odd deja-vu. He looked like he wanted your attention. You had one more question for Gladys, first.

“Could I meet your, er, mantis friend at some point before I leave?” You asked politely. The more she talked about the small, reclusive species the more you wanted to see them.

Her eyes fell for a moment before flicking back up. “G. pseudofoli do not have life spans as long as

G. clypeum.”

Your expression twisted into grief. You offered your condolences, but the shadow that crossed into yours quickly distracted the conversation, and you were glad for it.

“You should eat too,” Vervain said, ignoring Gladys's amused gaze at his approach.

You nodded. “Probably right. I could go for some lunch. If that's okay?” You prompted Gladys for permission.

“You can cook this time,” she winked, walking away and entering the cabin.

Vervain's head lowered a few inches, though it still towered over your own. “You looked sad.”

Unable to deny it, you sighed. “Yeah, she was telling me about a mantis that she had been... close to. How he had passed away.”

Vervain cocked his head. His pupils swiveled up like he was searching for a memory, and when he found it he pulled his attention back to you. “I recall. A little one. Moved on from natural causes, as she said when it happened. She was very sad for a long time.”

“Yeah. It's... really hard to lose a loved one like that. I can't imagine loving someone who you knew would die way before you. The pain of waiting for it to happen.” A thrum of desolation pressed against your skin like a thorn. “How... how long would you live? I mean. Your species.”

“The human way of marking time would be around sixty to seventy years,” he said. “Gladys marks the little ones as thirty to forty years. Half of ours.”

You nodded. That was some relief. “Humans can sometimes live into their hundreds, but I don't think that's very pleasant.”

Vervain acted like he'd become bored of this conversation. Maybe he just didn't like talking about death. He changed the subject back to the original one. “You should go eat now. If you intend to observe the activities, you will want to be full and healthy. It may last for a while, and they should arrive soon.”

“Right,” you agreed. “I guess I'll see you soon.”

The two of you stood there for another brief moment. You didn't know what you wanted, or what he wanted, but still you stayed. It felt incomplete to just walk away. But then he lifted his claw, pupils trained to your face and body in watch of any sign you didn't want this. When there was no adverse reaction he gingerly rubbed the side of his claw against your head, above the ear.

“Eat.”

Head light and chest warm, you nodded and tried to hide your stupid smile by ducking your head down. You fled inside the house with a wave, closing the door soundlessly.

You scrambled together lunch for yourself and Gladys. Surprisingly, there was a box of name-brand macaroni and cheese in a box inside of her cabinets, so you boiled some water and poured in the gooey cheese and felt only a little homesick. Hopefully that sensation would ebb away as time went by. If you looked down, or vaguely despondent, Gladys didn't comment on it.

When the clock hit four you began to worry your lip and absently pluck at little hairs on your arm. When you began peering out the front window Gladys slapped you on the shoulder and assured you nothing was wrong. You weren't so sure. You even checked your phone a few times though you knew it had long since died, your face reflected in the cracked black screen. Habit, you supposed.

Finally, when the sky morphed from searing, pine-shaded heat into a vast canvas of pinks and gold, there came a tapping at the living room window where you occupied yourself with mindless television. A glance at the clock said it was about half past six. It was a good thing you made yourself something else to eat about thirty minutes prior, or you'd go hungry.

“Are you not coming?” You asked, hanging in the door frame of the room.

Gladys continued lazing on a ragged loveseat. “At my age I get tired around nine, kid. Let this old woman watch her reruns, it's been a long two days. You two have fun,” she winked mischievously, and you blushed, scandalized.

“It's not like that,” you mumbled, but she didn't seem to hear.

You waved and left through the door with your camera weighing heavy around your neck. Vervain was at the foot of the steps leading down from the porch, fiddling with his forearms anxiously. His head jerked when he saw you and he straightened. And then you were sixteen again, your date sweating with a bouquet of roses behind their back, nervously waiting to meet your parents for the first time. You inwardly reprimanded yourself. No, no, this isn't what that is, I've been reading way too into these things all day, even if I think he's sweet, you thought while trying to quell your excitement.

“When you said they'd be here soon I sort of thought you meant like, in an hour or something,” you tapped your foot and shot him a playful, sardonic glare. “Half the day is over! It'll be dark soon.”

He glanced around with his eyes. “Sorry. They took longer than I thought, and then they did not want to have a meeting until it became cool,” his eyes finally met yours again. “If you have changed your mind I understand.”

You sighed and came down the steps, and he moved aside to get out of your way. “Nah, I'm really interested in what you mean by meeting. We never really talked details, but uh, you sort of implied there will be courtship. So will there be dancing? Like a little party, right?”

He quirked his head and began to lead you behind the cabin. “Courtship, yes. Dancing could be a human way to understand it. For some of my siblings it will feel... formal. For others they will have fun.”

You knew by 'some' he included himself, by his sheer disdain for this event in general. You hoped by accompanying him he could be comforted. Though, you realized if you hadn't wanted to come along he'd likely have just skipped it all together, risking more wrath from his mother Rhod. It would be good to at least show up. You wanted to take lots of photos.

There was a small clearing east of the garden, and in its center looked to be a bonfire. At first you were shocked that they had a fire, but then you had to remind yourself that they were intelligent people, not animals, and certainly not tiny pebble-brained bugs, and thus could handle a controlled burn. Still, it was quite a sight to witness a cozy campfire surrounded by huge chattering insects, all of which took some minor interest in your quiet arrival.

Suddenly, a gigantic presence with a prickly aura closed in, the flame reflecting in its judgmental eyes. Rhod took a brief moment to assess the fact that you actually decided to follow along. She didn't look very happy about it.

“[Y/N],” she greeted, a hint of disapproval there. “Daughter. I'm glad you've decided to join us. There are many suitable, you only have to pick one. Just don't go for the ones with long wings, I beg you,” she shook her head. “Look, Gingko has already been allowing them to approach her, she's already on speaking terms with two. They fight over her.”

He ignored most of that. “And not Wisteria?”

Rhod laughed. She gestured with a claw to the opposite side of the fire, closer to a sparse, distant gathering of squat, young trees. Wisteria was there, abdomen on the ground, and there was another on her back. You couldn't tell if they were coupled, but it was definitively not a safe-for-work display. Your brows nearly flew into your hairline and you cast Vervain a wide-eyed look of bashful astonishment.

You couldn't help but croak: “Oh woooow. Should I... not be here?”

“You're welcome here,” Vervain said immediately.

“Come, if the human is uncomfortable or frightened don't keep her. You should leave back to the house,” Rhod sneered.

You raised your hands and shook your head. “Ahhh no, I'm okay. Just. Wow. I was nooot expecting that out in the open.”

“They haven't mated yet,” Rhod clarified. “But soon. Unless he does something to make her change her mind and remove him.”

You were all quiet for a moment, with both Rhod and Vervain watching Wisteria. Her mouth moved as if they were talking, and occasionally the male on top would tap his claws against the shell of her back, beating against her folded wings.

A flash of movement caught the corner of your eye. You wandered from Vervain's side to watch another couple. This was a female you didn't recognize, someone not from Vervain's family but the visiting one. She was a little smaller than Vervain, and a tiny male mimed at her from about ten feet away. The two had their eyes locked, and he tried to circle her.

As the male's face came into view you discovered it to be Fig, one of Vervain's annoying brothers. He must be attempting to woo her. However, as he circled she moved too, always facing him, and that alone gave you the impression that he was, so far, not doing a very good job. You snapped a photo without flash, letting the darkness be illuminated by only the fire. It would make the picture dark with their bodies half-silhouetted, but it would add to the alieness of the image.

He began to strike the ground with his claws, tapping rhythmically, before flaring his wings out behind him. They flapped slowly, the false eyes blinking. All the while the flag-tipped striped antenna waved. Down, up. Down, up. The female scrutinized his loud display. When he leaped forward a few feet she flinched back, striking out with her claws. Fig scooted back, the front half of his body angled down.

“He isn't doing well,” Vervain said next to your ear in a whisper.

You jolted, caught off guard. “It really is like a dance. But I get the feeling you're right, she just keeps backing away and lashing out at him.”

“They don't like aggressive males. Fig has always been...” He searched for the word. “Jumpy. Wisteria always said he was born the wrong species. Should have been a little one.”

You hummed. The female's claws struck out again as Fig attempted to approach her a second time, this time coming closer to slicing at his own forearms. He finally got the message and slowly backed away. As soon as his attempt had been good and well thwarted she relaxed, but Fig looked angry and dejected as he crawled away.

“Poor guy,” you tutted, smirking. “So, the point of this is for everyone to dance around and find a partner. But you don't actually do the mating right here in front of everyone, do you?”

“Not always, but we do. Insemination takes time.”

A shiver went down your spine at the word insemination. You took a stalled breath and turned your head, only to realize how close he was. He'd actually lowered his body to the ground, like Wisteria, and looked quite cozy where he lay, too. You thought that wasn't exactly a safe position to be in considering all the hormonal males looking to hop on. But he didn't appear to be bothered.

You swallowed and took a step back, then a grin broke out and you took several more. Camera to your eye you snapped a full-bodied picture of him looking natural and relaxed. Even though you knew with the fire literally behind him that you'd barely be able to see the details of his body, it was a picture you would treasure. You trotted back and showed him.

“It's dark,” he said, leaning in.

Shrug. “Yeah, but it's sort of mysterious, isn't it?”

He laughed. That wasn't a sound you heard much, if at all, until now. A spike tingled from your toes through your guts then up into your chest. You wanted to hear that again.

“You're a natural, the camera just loves you!” You joked, grin big and wide and silly. “Hey, we should take one together!”

“Together?”

You demonstrated, turning and flipping the camera in a way that you hoped would capture both of you in frame. “Lean in closer, or you might not be in the shot.”

He obeyed, and it clicked. When you turned the camera around to look there the two of you were, his head slightly above yours and your dumb smile. It didn't look real, but it made you happy. When you glanced up to see what he thought his attention was obviously elsewhere, pupils focused over your head. You followed his gaze.

Someone had approached. A male, big for his size, keeping strenuous eye contact with Vervain. He was so keen on Vervain's attention that he ignored you completely, despite the fact you were currently just inches away from Vervain's blue-green carapace. You thought you should move, but there was something that kept you there, your feet planted firmly between the stranger and the eccentric mantis you'd come to grow fond of.

“I think he wants to court you,” you whispered.

Vervain didn't say anything. He didn't even stand back up. Was it resignation? Indifference? Either way, the two stared one another down. Then the new male's front tilted and his abdomen crooked up nearly to a ninety-degree angle, wings spread. Those beautiful fake-eyes blinked at the two of you. Then he beat at the ground, head cocking and mouth grinding. His antenna only twitched a little bit. For a few seconds he swayed like that, and when Vervain didn't make any move in response at all he crawled a few steps forward. Instinctually, you sidestepped to be more in front of Vervain. It didn't deter the suitor.

He began to slowly circle around towards Vervain's abdomen, and Vervain followed him with his pupils, head still. Finally he moved, lifting and extending a forearm just-so, a small threat, and with that there was a pulse of anger within your body. No, Vervain didn't reciprocate this, but he wasn't nearly as aggressive about his disapproval as you'd seen in the show with Fig from earlier.

I have to help, you thought, I'll be the aggressive one. I'll be the one to yell no.

So you charged a few feet, posture wide and threatening, and flung your arms up to say go away, shoo! The stranger acknowledged you for the first time, crawling backwards. He beat his claws on the ground and moved to the left, then the right, eyes locked on yours. It looked like he was trying to find a way around you; this tiny, violent thing baring its fangs at him.

“Get away,” you called, baring teeth.

He decided to take a chance and jump closer, and you nearly fell back with fright on instinct. You bumped against something and tilted your head to see the blunt part of Vervain's thick forearm caught your stumble. Then, in one swift movement, the other struck out and his horrible, meat-hook claw left a hole in the ground beside you. The approaching male immediately jumped in the air and retreated, wings tucked back against his body.

You huffed, frustration ebbing away leisurely, an angry ocean tide receding back into the collective. As you got your bearings back Vervain spoke softly.

“You didn't need to do that. He didn't understand you anyways, they don't speak English.”

With the irritation gone there was only a wash of embarrassment in its wake. You shouldn't have done that, Vervain was right. It could only be explained as jealousy, but you didn't want him to know that, knowing you had no right to be jealous for someone who wasn't yours and who you'd barely known for two days.

“I,” you scrunched your face. “I just wanted to help. He might have gotten on top of you with you laying down.”

His outstretched arms came up against his chest snugly, and his antenna drooped forward, just inches from swatting the top of your head. “They can't do anything I don't allow,” he said slowly. “Though they may try.”

You nodded. “Right. Sorry. I shouldn't have intervened.”

Vervain looked at you for a few moments, the fire crackling as a log shifted in the heat. Ash bellowed up and floated soundlessly to the ground, like little grey snowdrops, filling you with oddly nostalgic comfort. The growing night was beautiful. You thought Vervain was, too, silhouetted against it.

“What would you have done if he had danced for you?” He asked, voice low as if sharing a secret.

You blinked up, surprised. Then you scoffed and rolled your eyes believing this to be his odd way of expressing humor. “Very funny, I don't think any of these stiffs would be interested in a squishy hairless ape.”

He hummed. “I agree. But what would you do, if he was?”

Pacing around slowly, you attempted to give the idea some thought. Swaying, claws tamping the dirt down, wing-eyes batting towards you for attention. It sounded like a lot. You pursed your lips and squinted them at Vervain to show you were thinking on it, but the way flame glinted off his beautiful carapace made you mutter: “Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.” You regretted saying it.

Luckily, he hadn't caught that. Vervain tilted his head. “What was that?”

Your cheeks burned and face wrinkled in an awkward smile. “Oh, I was just talking to myself!” You waved. “But really, I didn't even know that one. I'd probably have done the same thing.”

He nodded somewhere at the clearing, calling you to look. “What about that one?”

Your eyes followed his, and you grit your teeth when you saw who he'd meant. It was Gingko, all by herself on the fringe of the clearing, having evidently decided she didn't like either of the males Rhod had mentioned earlier. She was cleaning her antennae delicately, folding them over her face and running them through her mouth.

Was this some way of trying to figure out if you liked girls? You glanced from Gingko back to Vervain, looking at him from his midsection to his long, round abdomen, to the bent knees with their flags and the claw-tipped feet at their ends. Vervain wasn't a girl, but you got the feeling that wasn't the point.

“You know that one,” Vervain said, sensing your reluctancy.

You rubbed your arm and shrugged. “Do females dance?”

“If she did, what would you do?” He sounded amused.

“It would... be a lot, I guess,” you said. “I know her, technically. But I don't know-her know-her, you know?” A laugh. “Did that even make sense?”

Vervain's arms fidgeted against his chest and his mouth ground against itself. He watched his sister enjoy being alone a little longer before he asked his next question.

“I know the kind of person you don't like, but what about the kind of person you do like? If you got to know that one, what quality would allow her to dance for you?” He tried to straighten his head and neck, but you could clearly see his nervousness.

You raised a brow. “Questions, questions. Why are you asking me all of this?”

“Just another curiosity. What my kind like and what your kind like seem very different,” he explained, and it was at least true.

You eyeballed him suspiciously, then tried to help explain what, in general, humans found attractive in their mates. Kindness, trust, loyalty, someone that meshed well with one's own personality. Someone whose life goals lined up with one's own. Children or no children, life in the city versus getting away from it all.

“Looks do play a part in it,” you admitted. “Even people who want to keep from looking shallow have preferences even if they don't say it out loud.”

He was understanding of that; his mother was apparently quite vain and fixated on the appearances of her childrens' mates.

At the end, you tried to imagine your ideal person, and tried very hard not to make it Vervain. “For me... I want someone attentive, who really seems to care about me. Maybe brings me flowers every now and again. Who's interested in my hobbies, like photography.” Yes, that sounded good and broad.

“Attentive and meshes with the things you do for fun,” he paraphrased.

You smiled and gave a nod. Whenever you spoke Vervain listened well, hanging on every word. If that wasn't attentive you didn't know what was. You had to take a breath and swallow before continuing.

“Someone who's just nice. Loves the world, loves people and animals. The complete opposite of my ex,” you laughed.

Vervain's small pupils bore into you, and he'd become completely motionless. He looked transfixed. Eventually he smoothly turned his head, and you did too, catching Gingko as a new male approached her and began courtship.

“If you like flowers, I can take you where there are many,” he said, not looking away from his sister.

You considered that by chewing at your inner cheek and crossing your arms. “Is it far?”

“No. A short walk. If it would make you happy, I will take you there. You must be bored here. And,” he turned his head in the opposite direction, looking mostly from the corner of his huge purple eyes. “Mother has been staring at us for a while.”

You told yourself not to look but you did. Rhod's expressionless mantis face somehow gave off the impression she wanted to separate your head from your shoulders. You shuddered and hugged yourself tighter.

“Ohhhh yes, your mom really does not like me here does she?” You laughed. “Okay. Let's blow this popsicle stand.”

[definii]

“Something to give you” HSO AU

“I know that you’re lonely but if it really happened, who would be there to save you if I get taken away, huh?” Dream pressed on, his tone ever so becoming harsher. Tommy tried to hide his trembling body as much as possible but you can’t stop a bottle with gashes once water fills in. 

Dream took a step forward, his tied arms unfurling, condescending into a daring temper “You’re better than that, You know what the Galactic Council does to uncertified humans that don’t have VUSA IGPs? Theseus?” he called him by his real name, Tommy knew he was in real deep shit if he did that. 

Tommy quietly gulped, mustering up what his tight throat is able to sputter out.

“They...g-get killed” he’s stumbling. Pride or making excuses wasn’t an option here, even if it was, it’ll worsen Dream’s temper either way. He learned that the hard way a long time ago.

Dream glared at the little blond boy with disappointed resentment. Tommy’s chest anchored inwards as the room was silent white, his heart throbs like a hand banging on a metal door.  

“Before that...They were tortured and experimented on.” There was no emotion in Dream’s voice when he said that but coldness was seeded in each word. For a man whose voice was comforting, he’s scary. Fucking terrifying. 

He’s disappointed in me again. Why? just why do I keep making these stupid decisions? I just wanted to give him something I saw. Why am I so stupid? I hate this feeling. I hate this I hate this I hate this I hate this I hate me-

“Tommy look at me” 

He doesn’t wanna look up, he’d rather look at the floor than Dream right now. It not like he was scared…He isn’t a pussy, he’s not

Anxiously twiddling with his fingers, He quietly sucked in air and slowly look up to face him. 

“Why did you go outside?” Dream leaned forward, “I know that you don’t do those sorts of things for nothing other than loneliness”, Tommy can hear his heart drumming in his ears and tears daring to leave their dam. 

Carefully shifting to his pocket beneath his plaid makeshift-poncho, not breaking eye contact with him. “Come on Tommy, I’m waiting-”

 There was a white flower between them, held by the little blond boy nervously held out between his small fingers towards Dream’s face. 

“I-” He choked on his throat, “I just- was that when w-we landed in this planet-” he took an exhale, his eyes fixated on the floor in contemplation, trying to get a hold of his stumbling. 

“I saw a few flowers around and I thought these flowers looked so much like a flower we had back on earth! so I- I thought you’dlikeonebutIkn-” 

“A lily?”

“Yeah- no- I...actually don’t know what kind of flower is this but It’s just really similar t-that’s all!” Tommy butted in hesitantly as if that justifies anything.

 Dream shot a stare at Tommy who clamped his mouth shut. Never run your mouth that doesn’t add things up. His subconscious whispers warily as a reminder of what he’d been taught.

The artificial air went tense with the blond’s chest deepening in guilt and fear. he doesn’t wanna get hurt, he just wants to see Dream happy, that’s all he wanted to do. 

Dream’s arm shifted. There it is, you screwed up again, why are you like this?. Tommy’s head flinched in acceptance, preparing to get hit. 

He didn’t expect a gentle hand laid on his hair. The Green-eyed man sighed “Tommy, I-” He pressed two of his finger onto his forehand “Just don’t do that again, God you gave me a heart attack”. 

“...Sorry…” Is all that Tommy can muster up, his hand is wavering from how long he was holding the small white flower which Dream gently took from him. He looked at the flower for a strange amount of time. 

Tommy twiddled with his fingers, unsure “Do...you like it?” he asked quietly.

Dream broke his focus and looked towards Tommy. The little blond’s mind screamed at himself again however soon calmed by his response. 

“It’s...lovely” He softly whispered that last part, it didn’t seem...wrong? But not sure if it’s genuine but Tommy took it as a good sign. 

Tommy wanted to speak but again, he has no voice in this. He perked up when Dream started to speak. 

“Training starts around early in the morning” He turned to his room, Tommy tilted his head “W-what?”

“I said training starts around early in the morning, Tomorrow.” Pressing some buttons, the door shifted open and soon there he was off to his quarters. Tommy would follow him but he knew he probably would be kicked off his bridge for being an annoyance.  

_________________________________________

Tommy was left puzzled. Training starts around early in the morning

Training starts

Training 

“Does he mean…” Tommy felt the pieces clicked. Does my apprenticeship begin tomorrow?! 

Finally, this 11-year-old going to be Dream’s right hand man in working! 

I Always wanted to help out Dream since he deserves a hand in his business, Though it’ll be rough it does benefit him going to the out world! Perhaps even making friends with a couple of Xenos- perhaps a Grachk’ve? Those lizard people with four eyes? They seem cool- Or oh! an Elytr’ev? Those centaur-like quadrupedal insectoid people? They have different types of people in there perhaps I can hang out with them?

Tommy has to control excitement, He’s finally getting a true step out of this ship to have a chance to see the galaxy instead of behind a hylographite glass.

If he only knew what was ahead, he would’ve run out of that ship when he had the chance.