#a few of these were really hard since only three of these were originally blue suits....

[the-kipsabian]

@ss-trashboat asked: 9 - Make a gifset of my favorite wrestler + my favorite color.

kip sabian + blue

[thosetrollkids]

MONSTOBER: DESIGNS

Part 1: Teen Cast!

HELLOOOOO everybody! Welcome to my project, Monstober! A series of several posts with large, in depth looks at different aspects of my AU, Monster Kids, that I wrote during October this year. Special thanks to @eurazba for listening to me ramble over all this and helping with the AU over the years <3

This post will be going over the general monster designs for notable teen characters, as well as some thoughts as to why I chose said designs :D

There will be a second post for the main adult cast, and once posted, you can find it linked here :)

Jim / Toby / Claire

Jim Lake Jr (Sphinx): It's him! The poster boy! Wahoo! Honestly, I don't have many notes for his design process, because his design has stayed relatively similar since the early drafts. His was the very first design, and other than being a typical lion/eagle sphinx for like. two drawings, and then a panther/blackbird for two more, once the snow leopard/blue jay combo was struck, he's only really changed in small ways. I chose a blue jay, because they're one of my favorite birds, they're blue, and I'd used them to be an accent to Jim in a previous drawing. Snow leopards are also my favorite big cat! So similar reasoning for that particular aspect. If I were to design him today, blank slate, I miiiight have changed his cat species, but I still am way too attached to the leopard/jay combo.

Toby Domzalski (Gargoyle): Toby's design also hasn't changed much! The main trio haven't, other than minor adjustments. He originally had yellow eyes, but they're back to standard green. He also used to have larger wings, and while I liked the idea of the main three being able to fly together, I decided to go with a different route as I leaned into his design looking more aquatic, and he instead has wing shaped back fins! They fold down and sit under his clothes, as he only really can use them while swimming.

Claire Nuñez (Harpy) Also another design I haven't changed since conception! Harpies were always something cool to me, and I was inspired by an illustration of harpies in a mythology book I had bought at the time. Her design was originally just 'bird' until I tired to find a more specific species that fit. I landed on barn owls, and coincidentally, they are also associated with brujeria/witchcraft in Mexico! Win-win. With her stronger connection to magic overall, she's also the only member of Team Trollhunter that can fly reliably; her magic feeds her energy enough to keep in the air (Jim's wings are too small for anything besides light gliding and cushioning falls).

Steve / Eli / Krel / Aja

Steve Palchuk (Faun): Steve's design was always pretty formed in my head. For the guy that tries so very hard to be an all-American boy, an icon of that is the whitetail deer buck, and it very quickly fell into place! His design is fairly simple, which is why it works so well for him, IMO. Fun fact, he has a set of scars on his cheek from the equivalent of the fight he had with Jim in S1. More to expand on in a later comic, >:3c

Eli Pepperjack (Bat Humanoid): Eli was actually also a sphinx originally, but I wanted Jim to stay fairly unique among the main teens, so my follow up design was something more batlike! I did do plenty of research for monster bats, or hybrid bat monsters, but what research I could do didn't produce much (then again, could always be wrong!), so I went with 'attributes'. He's based on a Little Brown Bat. He little >:) His wings are also not capable of flight, they're basically large hands, all the better to hunt down creepers with, my dear.

Krel & Aja Tarron (Amphibious humanoids): WAHOOOOO!!!! I'm very proud of these, because you have NO IDEA how many months I struggled to find a design I liked for them. They have been (checks notes) spidertaurs, a few other passes of various insectoid tries, I was going to attempt something more seal like, because I knew the main group's designs were already mammal-heavy, and something aquatic or insectoid was what I wanted to balance the group out. Then my beloved @eurazba, listening to me ramble one night, helped me come to the idea of their 'human' transductions looking closer to old monster movies! Creature from Black Lagoon was an easy pick, I did some research about CFBL and Shape of Water (thanks Del Toro), and bada bing, bada boom! My fishy twins! Also Krel is the only one wearing shoes. Just realized this...

Mary / Darci / Shannon

Mary Wang (Dryad): Mary has also gone through a lot of changes (turns out, I was very indecisive outside of the main trio, AJDJSBSJFHB). She was actually a -taur alongside Darci! Specifically a unitaur (saw a lot of alternate Monster Falls art of Mabel Pines as one, and I really liked the idea. The overall AU was inspired by the Gravity Falls AU, now you know!) She stayed that for a while, then also went through some bug-like redesigns, and then a couple months back, I decided on a dryad! Before that point, I was trying to stay strictly to animalistic monster designs, but it became a little too confining, so she exploded into my sketchbook and became real. Her tree is a california redbud, and her 'antlers' are like the branches of the tree, and leaves/flowers bloom in time with the season on them. The hooves were based on a Zelda design from an artist I liked a lot (truffe.art on IG!)

Darci Scott (Praying Mantis-taur): HERE COMES THE BUG PAYOFF. Some of you may remember my design for Darci hasn't changed for quite some time, and while I liked the look of the cervitaur (a centaur, but deer), it didn't feel... as unique as I wanted? And I was still missing my BUG. So, debating over this, I did a few passes of her mixed with a bee, spider, etc etc... and then once again, @eurazba was like "hey! praying mantis." and I fell in LOVE with the concept. (Very quickly sketched her up as I was doing these sheets, actually NDJSNJKJD)

Shannon Longhannon (Gorgon): Last design of the group, another that has hardly changed since conception. Nagas, gorgons, lamias- whatever they're called, I love the visual of a reptilian character slinking around gracefully, and she helped balance out all the mammalian designs as well. She was originally a typical green/yellow snake, but when I inevitably color her, I picture something more ruddy, reddish brown, to match her hair :) She indeed is able to turn someone to stone, but as she was not born a gorgon, this ability is dulled, and only lasts for a few hours, working only if she focuses completely on doing so to someone. She's taken to wearing shades more often to not scare people who don't know this.

[corrodedcoffins-blog]

Out Of Your Comfort Zone

masterlist

note: the original ask said fantasy but i dont read fantasy at all, so i went with a silly little romance novel i loved, which i think still displays that opposite thing the anon wanted. so i hope this is okay!!

warnings: my writing while i'm high (rambling that can be disguised as descriptive writing)

word count: 1.2 k

♡ summary: During a bookstore date Y/n's taste in books gets Spencer out of his comfort zone.

♡ Spencer Reid x fem!reader

request ✓

Finally, Spencer had a weekend off, where there was no chance of a case coming in at the last minute. And it’s not like Y/n hated Spencer’s job, she knew he did a lot of good. But it was hard sometimes when they would go a few weeks without sleeping next to each other.

It was the perfect morning to their perfect day, they had just come from a local art exhibit pop-up/farmers market. It reminded Y/n of Notting Hill, of course from the movie but also from when she lived in London while studying abroad. But now the couple was off to the local bookstore, they had looked at the farmers market, but they were all travel books, the irony was not lost.

Them both loving books was what got them to the second date, their first being filled with a debate about ‘modern classics’ and what classifies them. A topic they both clearly had a lot of opinions on as it took up the whole date that they hadn’t asked all the first date questions, so they needed the second date.

Them both loving books was what got them to the second date, their first being filled with a debate about ‘modern classics’ and what classifies them. A topic they both clearly had a lot of opinions on as it took up the whole date that they hadn’t asked all the first date questions, so they needed the second date.

And though their taste in books were quite opposite, there was a small overlap that was home to Little Women, Pride and Prejudice, The Bell Jar, and many others. But that was Spencer’s main area, classics, Y/n only read the feminist classics.

So when they went to the bookshop, the two would split up until Spencer finished looking in his favourite sections, since he could read so much faster than the girl it took her about three times as long to look through the fiction section.

Spencer was making his way to her now, stopping to read the backs of a couple books that interested him, even picking one up to buy. He walked past the isles of the fiction and romance sections, finally coming to a halt at the ‘J’s where Y/n was now. She didn’t even register his presence, too wrapped up in reading the summary of the blue and yellow book in her hand.

Spencer didn’t want to startle the girl, so he walked past her, her eyes rising from the book in hand to look at who she thought was a random person just browsing the store like her, eyes lighting up when she sees it’s Spencer.

“Honey, what’d you find?” She questions, Spencer assumes it was a rhetorical question since she didn’t give him enough time before she cuts in grabbing the second book from the stack in his arms, “I was gonna suggest this one to you! A subscriber said it was really good!”

Y/n was a booktuber, when she told Spencer that he obviously had no idea what that was, but a simple explanation later and he was caught up. And after a year of dating, she finally mentioned him in a video when she was talking about ‘Normal People’ . It was one of the books they argued could be considered a modern classic on their first date. And she mentioned his taste in books and now her followers left recommendations for him in her

comments, mostly on instagram when she posted him from time to time.

“Yeah. I was really impressed with another book by this author, her description of the caste system in India and the impact it has mentally was so moving.” “I remember you reading that. I’m not good at reading those types of books, but I love when you tell me all about them.” Her soft words brought red to Spencer’s checks while he hid his hands around her waist.

Recovering from the girl’s flirting, even after a year he still reacted the same to her words, his head rose from the spot in her neck to look at the book she had been looking at when he found her.

“What did you find?” “Oh, I saw a girl say it was a good book in her review and I want to do a video on age gap books since so many people ask.” Pacing the books over to him when he signalled his hand forward for it, turning it over to read the front, ‘Part of Your Word’ by Abby Jimenez in large letters was written across the front. It wasn’t a fairly large book, it could take him maybe five minutes.

Y/n was now turned to read more titles, stopping at any that caught her eye. All the while, Spencer was stood of to the side reading. It had actually only taken the man four minutes when he checked his watch. Proud of himself, he looks up to see that his girlfriend was apparently watching him, for how long, he didn’t know.

With a smile on his face, he asks, “What?” “Spencer. Did you just read my book? Before I even bought it?” She replied with a hand going to her hip and a jokey tone. “Well, first of all, you aren’t buying it bec-” “Why was it bad?”

Y/n often spoke before thinking, causing her to cut off people, Spencer was used to it he thought it was cute and she always made it her mission to not interrupt when he was really passionate about a topic.

“Because, I’m buying.” “Hon, no you bought last time.” “I don’t mind.” “I do.”

Spencer moved on from this conversation, they both know how it will end. Spencer will in fact pay, Y/n will say he didn’t have to, Spencer would say he doesn’t mind, she’ll say she does mind, and they repeat it when they pay for lunch after the bookshop.

“But I did read it.” “Don’t spoil, but what did you think?” She had watched a couple booktok reviews on it so she knew it was a little spicy, something she knew Spencer didn’t read a lot of, if ever.

“I think it was good. I liked how they talked about family relationships and verbal abuse in relationships, I think it was done well and it brought a lot more sense of realism. And I liked the leads, I relate to Daniel more than I thought, his dedication to making things work.. I won’t spoil it for you but- um yeah. And I liked the setting.”

His words sent a loving smile to rest on the girl’s face, she loved nothing more than to hear Spencer talk. His voice was deep yet not at the same time, and his mannerisms were adorable to her. And hearing him actually read and enjoy a book from the romance section that was written in the last few decades, was a big step for him. He didn’t even know about Twilight when they met.

“I’m glad you like it.” She said, truthfully, “I’ll be sure to mention that in my video.” “You don’t have to.” “You just don’t want Penny to see the video and by extension Derek.”

Their conversation continued while they waited in line, holding each other's hand while Y/n looks up to speak. They were interrupted when it was then their turn, Spencer paying like he said he would, and again at lunch, much to the girl’s disapproval.

“You don’t have to pay.” “I don’t mind.” “I do.”

[sonicjustbecause]

Shadow's past (without Black Doom) - yeah talking about the original Shadow again.

BD is an afterthough (Shadow was not supposed to be an alien) and it is what had slowly made Shadow too over the top and outlandish.

in SA2 Shadow's past (originally it was supposed to be Sonic's past too but only few things of the original idea remained there) is more pleasantly eerie. We don't really get to know who is Maria, nor her role aside being Shadow's friend and Shadow's creation is more mysterious (and way more balanced and way less convoluted)

We have little information about who Maria was - aside being brave - But it was clear by their little speech that Shadow was completely open to her, letting his thoughs run freely without reservation, completely trusting her.

Shadow was melancholic as usual, I wonder where the idea he used to be all blubby and cheerful comes from. Although OG Shadow had few cheerful moments, melancholy is one of his most prominent personality traits.

No hate on you, starfish...

It was not clear what was Shadow's purpose (Shadow himself was unsure). It was said he was created in order to discover the secret of immortality. He was also weaponized later, but he wasn't born as a weapon. And following SA2 story, it turns out clear.

Shadow weapon qualities in SA2

His mind: his best cards actually

Love this excited Shadow. So rare.

They mentioned the QI (numbers) of only three characters in Sonic: Eggman, Tails and Shadow, all gifted.

Shadow enjoyed reflecting on life when alone, and he liked to use his brain when in action. In fact, in SA2 he doesn't fail at all, his plan is so flawless, it is a complete success. It was terminated simply because it was leading to a disaster (Shadow was aware of this, he just changed his mind), but you can't deny that, unlike Eggman who does a lot of mistakes due to his ego and temper, Shadow know how to get stuffs done.

To underline his intelligence, during the game Shadow caused minimal destruction, virtually any on his own (the bomb was an Eggman idea - not surprise). In the note leading to Shadow's creation, he was supposed to be 'like a ninja' and is known ninja love to keep a low profile. So less noise, the better.

In previous topic (still in my blog) I mentioned Shadow's successfully manipulating a psychopath like Eggman (psychopaths are great manipulators if they are intelligent enough). Most notably, Shadow is not a psychopath, was not trained and is a kid.

In addition, just like Sonic always like to move around and hate to stay still, Shadow liked to keep his brain occupied in some way. Even simply studying 'Blue' (not 'Faker') and questioning him, he enjoyed that.

Hil cool-headedness is linked to his intelligence, I think.

Actually, I believe intelligence was his best quality.

Modern Shadow lacks of the brain and patience to set a perfect plan on his own before taking action. He is more a brawler and I don't perceive him to be particularly intelligent. Such little satisfaction :(

We think to wars as mayhem and bombs and rifle, bazooka, etc...

In history there have been small armies who won far bigger armies in no time, and this happened more than once. How did they do? Well, mostly with a well crafted plan and you need brain for this. Gengis Khan and the Mongolians were a good example of this.

I follow a site about knowledge on various topics and among those who write there, there are also soldiers. Sometimes they explain what war is like, and is anything like Call of Duty.

Speed

I always figured that Shadow's speed is helped by his shoes, since SA2. Shadow moves less (this also underlines his calmer personaity I think), sparing his energies, most likely because he has less energies than Sonic.

However his speed is more than enough for stealth and he was stealthy.

In a war enviroment this would be super useful, he can avoid the dangers, the bullets and would be hard to be seen and detected.

Athletic qualities

Same as Sonic. And counter balanced. Shadow might be not as fast as Sonic without his shoes, but he can swim, no problem, unlike Sonic that just sink like a rock. That would allow to go where is needed with no limits (is unfortunate games never use character swimming abilities, unless they're not Knuckles, Rouge or Tails). He is also strong.

Urge to save people, regardless (gone in recent characterizations).

Although recently it was stated he only look at the big picture (preserve the planet), Shadow originally cared for people. And from SA2 it seems that characteristic is drilled in him. Because when Rouge is in danger, he doesn't want to save her at first. But this simple choices became visibly painful for him, he struggled and quikly got to her rescue.

In Sonic Heroes he was amnesiac and saved Rouge from Omega without thinking. Rouge was a stranger to him and he rushed almost like he could not do anything different. Everytime he rush to save someone, is amost like an invisible force leads him. Possibly he acts this way because he could not save Maria. In Sonic 06 is him who attempst to assist Elise's father. Not the nice, extroverted Silver. The wary, introverted Shadow rush to cheek.

In war you should be able to save your allies when they're hurt but not dying. You can also be part of the medical staff if not a soldier.

Unique talents

Chaos Control, Chaos Spear and Chaos Blast. No need of some Sauron eyed starfish for those abilities. Chaos energy is what keeps Shadow alive and also what make him immortal (a curse for him actually).

Shadow himself stated that he can bend time and space and uses the chaos control to teleport, but he can also teleport other things instead of himself, including large objects. He can also stop time. in Sonic 06 he travels through time, but he needs help to open portals.

I remember when I played SA2 first, i found scary that somebody could throw a spear from afar or paralyze you. Eggman could not. Eggman badnicks threw falfunctioning missile. But Shadow had an immense power and was perfectly in control, and he was calmer than Sonic, not somebody who could lose his head easily.

The rings he wears symbolize his lack of freedom, they also function as restraing Shadow's real power. If he removes them he becomes powerful, virtually invincible. And things would turn very ugly.

All that is self explanatory.

Drawbacks

This art belong to the.shadamy.artisto10. Video to Crazy Greg

A good, balanced characters (who doesn't have a loomy floating starfish over his head) has strenght but also weakness. OG Shadow's weakness are as large as his strenghts.

Physically not so tough

SA2, after we saw a good display of Shadow's strenght, after he won, Amy convinced him to join the good side. Shadow defeated the biolizard without difficulty. But then he joined Sonic to defeat the Biolizard again, who fused with the ARK.

Shadow and Sonic togheter defeated the beast, but well, we all know what happened to Shadow. Because of all the music (aswell as the iconic quietness of Shadow's voice), Shadow's death was so sudden and shocking. But if you remove the music, you hear he is breathless, while Sonic is still healthy. I think is the set back of the very same power that keeps him alive. With so much chaos energy, his limiters (or inibitor rings) become useless.

Inibitor rings or limiters

Shadow's power is so dangerous for him too that he uses it so rarely and is not virtual.

While in Sonic X and in Archie comics, we see what happens if Shadow doesn't wear them, the only time in the game he removes then is Sonic 06. And after he finish, he quickly wears them again so you clearly see he needs them, desperately.

Eggman describled this power like a 'furnace', so I imagine shadow gets a really bad fever if he doesn't wear his ring, after a first explosion of power.

Recurring - emotionally vulnerable

Shadow is always considered overly confident.

That is what he shows to his foes, but his view on himself is quite harsh, even self loathing, with lots of suicidal thoughs. That's his melancholy taking place and nothing can be done against it, only hoping for better moments (Sonic 06 shows a more confident Shadow). It is shown in Sonic Battle, Archie Comics, Shadow the Hedgehog and recent materials.

While, at least in the original characterization, he wasn't nearly as grumpy as Sonic, it was easy to hurt him deeply.

Shadow shows a lot of coping mechanism at the slighlest perception of danger, his favourite is turning his back towars his peers, often slouching, trying to hide as much as he can. Avoiding eye contact is another of his favourite and the most obvious. Shutting off completely (less frequent. In Sonic Battle he goes mute for a long time, Rouge talks for him). Glaring and throwing death treats that fall flat.

Ultimately, the fact he was not born as a weapon is clear in games like Sonic Battle, where he clearly despise wars, building of weapons and so on. If he was meant to be a weapon, he should have been more reckless, joyful and would have enjoyed war or being destructive. Sort of IDW Shadow but with a perpetual grin.

All good stuffs without Black Doom!

Those are the original notes for Shadow and i think they describle the original Shadow very well. The 'Vegeta' thing appears to be more a reference than 'make him identical to Vegeta'. But is clear where his personaity comes from. I shared the French ones too. French is the closest language to Italian, the grammar rules are the same. Spanish is a cauldron of false friends and is not so familiar.

My brother said he is like Vegeta, but softer.

[xfolex]

Looking through Project Moon's old YouTube channel, there's some interesting stuff. Originally I was going to write about the Tumblbug as well, but there was a lot more stuff there than I realized, so I'll just talk about the YouTube for now.

The first video shows some very early concept ideas for the game. There's actually a lot of information in this first video, which I suppose makes sense as it's the first introduction to the game and the oldest as well. I've added some markings on my thoughts of some of the images and also brightened some of them as well.

Throughout the video we get to see pages from a manual that gives some basic information about the game. These are in Korean so I put them through Google Translate to read them. It's interesting how even from the very beginning the concept of the Sefirot and the Tree of Life was being used. Page 5 has the same list of Abnormalities that I was straining my eyes to figure out in my NDC post, but then there was the same list in color so all my effort trying to figure out each Abnormality kind of went to waste.

The list that explains the attack types corresponds to the way the attack types worked in the legacy version. With Black damage affecting the facility and Blue damage being Instant death (though attack types are very inaccurately assigned in-game). You can also see how it originally seemed like there were going to be only three types of work: feeding, cleaning, and suppressing. Though there's more information about that on the game's Tumblbug.

It's kind of hard to see, but page 15 shows Tangtang being part of the "Command and Surveillance Team" which is something mentioned in the game's code in early versions. According to the game's code, it seemed like the Control, Information, Safety, and Training teams were originally called the Command and Surveillance, Solution Development, Emergency Planning, and Material Management teams respectively.

This manual seems to be missing page 16 and 17, and it doesn't seem to be shown anywhere in any video.

The line of never forget/we remember the day the Abnormality first escaped that occasionally pops up here and there seems to be referencing Nothing There since it's a line from the first training video where Nothing There escapes.

The second training video was released on October 30, 2015. I don't have much thoughts on this video, but I thought the pixel art was very cute. I mention the date this video was posted because this is the last video with the square employee art style. The next video posted on February 15, 2016 has the Legacy art style, so between October and February the art style for the game changed. I'll talk more about this shift in art style when I look at the Tumblbug.

I also want to take this time to mention Jeremy, the original Lobotomy Corp mascot (not really) who appeared in only three videos but still managed to capture my heart. This post is dedicated in loving memory to Jeremy.

The Teaser Trailor video has a few key things I wanted to mention. First, the assign work UI seems to have the Book w/o Picture or Dialogue as the default icon for every Abnormality, and has a very different UI that I'm not quite sure how it works. Next, you can see some silhouettes of various Abnormalities, and most of them I recognize, but there's some I'm not 100% sure on. Throughout the video we see some Abnormalities that ultimately never made it into the game, but we can see My Sweet Orange Tree in the containment unit at the very end, which made me wonder how far along these unreleased abnormalities were in development. Even the ones in the very old videos, were they actually semi-functional Abnos or were they just placeholder images that never got developed?

The Proto-Demo video shows a manual and a line that leads to the target. The manual isn't in the demo version I have access to but can still be found in the game's files. I don't have much else thoughts on it other than how purposely bad the person playing the game is doing. Just absolutely picking the worst option consistently.

I also don't have much to say about the other game test videos except in the Day 14 video where we can see some very minor differences. First, the entire game seems a lot darker than normal, but that might just be due to the recording. Second, the Abnormality's Damage Type is listed instead of the Attack Type, which is honestly more useful information that I wish was kept for the Legacy version. Third, the hallways are all very dark as if Big Bird was breaching, and generic irrespective of the department. Fourth, the employee assign UI is very slightly different not that huge but just enough to be noticeable. Lastly, I found it funny how PM just left a broken icon for Snow White's Apple in the video.

The third training video with Queen of Hatred is pretty interesting because it seems to be following QoH's story where an employee talks to her over the course of a few days and her moods gets worse every day. But specifically the old version of QoH's story, since it seems like a lot of Abno stories were ever so slightly changed sometime after the 1.0.2.2 version. The new version of the story omits the fact that QoH was neutralized with anesthetic, which was probably because that mechanic was removed after the legacy version. Also, another interesting thing about the video is that the background containment unit seems to be different that usual, where some stuff is in different places and the number written on the wall is 76 instead of 27.

The Lobtomi♥High video was PM's April Fools for 2017, released alongside version 1.0.1.0 which introduced Little Red, Big and Might be Bad Wolf, Central Command Team, and most importantly You're Bald...! PM has historically celebrated April Fools a lot, whether intentionally or not. There's a lot of random abnormalities in this video, including some released, unreleased, and joke abnormalities. I find it interesting that Fragment of the Universe was the only abnormality that was unreleased and not shown before when the video was published that was then released later on. This video was the first time Fragment of the Universe was ever made public.

[ I can't show a screenshot of the video because I reached the max image limit for the post :( ]

There's two launch trailers for the game, one for when the game was first released in early access, and one for when the game was about to fully release. Between the two, I personally like the first one better because it has a better sense of progression rather than just showing bad things happening out of context, but maybe I'm just biased since I like first trumpet more.

Ok, I think that's enough for this post. There's a lot of stuff to unpack with these videos, so it was nice to look back through them again since I haven't really sat down to watch them all in years.

[wingboundwarrior]

TOA Anniversary Munday

Celebrating TOA and the people who contribute to make our group what it is.

Repost, don’t reblog. Only fill in what you feel comfortable sharing!

Happy anniversary, TOA! Here’s to many more years spent together.

Name: Serena

Pronouns: she/hers

Birthday (no year): February 3rd

Where are you from? What is your time zone? US, EST!

How long is your roleplay experience? I’ve been roleplaying as long as I can remember... I have vivid memories of creating characters with my friends as a small child and pretending to be them. From there, I moved to forums, paper and pencil RP, texting and email RP, and the like! I’ve been roleplaying on Tumblr specifically for over 10 years.

How were you introduced to roleplaying as a whole? I think it really just came naturally to me and my few friends as a kid, haha! My first forum was a Harry Potter one as a child... and then I got into Tumblr RP with my introduction to Star Trek!

How were you introduced to TOA? I found TOA while in the “fe rp” tag, as they’re really frequent in there!

Do you have any pets? I have two cats, a 4 year old gray cat named Jasper, and a less than a year old black cat named Jacinth! They don’t get along 💖

What is your favorite time of year and why? (Season, holiday, general period) Winter by far! I grew up in a humid environment, and I find the colder weather and environment so magical! Even though I’ve moved, I still do 💖

What is your IRL occupation? I’m disabled!

Some interests and things you like/enjoy? I love crocheting, playing farming sims, and watching anime!

What non-Fire Emblem games do you play? Fields of Mistria is my favorite game rn!! I’m also a sucker for a game I’ve been playing since I was young called Mabinogi! But a good rule of thumb is, if it’s a farming sim available on the computer I’ve heard of it and have an opinion on it.

Favorite Pokemon type & Pokemon: I never really got too much into Pokemon buuuuut my favorite TemTem is Vulffy 💖

Tell us some fun facts and trivia about yourself!

How did you get into Fire Emblem? I met Havoc in another roleplay space and when we moved away from that space I wrote with his Fire Emblem characters, and then I was curious about the source material, so!

What Fire Emblem games have you played? FE7 and a little tiny bit of Three Houses! 👍

First & Favorite Fire Emblem games: FE7 for both JKLFAJKL

List your 5 favorite Fire Emblem characters across the series! Ohhhhh I mean. Definitely Serra and Fiora but also Florina? And Erk? And Heath? And... ohhhh tbh it’s so hard. They’re all so good.

Who was the first character ever to make you go “ooh I like this one in particular” and why? Can be any context and reason! The first time Serra opened her mouth she had reached through the screen and grabbed me by the throat.

Any Fire Emblem crushes? I’d marry Eliwood tbqh....

If you’ve played (or are familiar with) the following games, who was your first S support? Who would you S support nowadays? Wheezes.... I haven’t.... ever gotten that far :softsmile:.....

Favorite Fire Emblem class? I actually love Mages sooooo bad.... But I do rely on my Cavs for. Everything ,

If you were a Fire Emblem character, what would be your class and stats? Would you be playable? I’d be a healer!!! Probably a mounted healer actually!!!

If you were a Three Houses character, what would be your affiliation? (Black Eagles, Blue Lions, Golden Deer, Church of Seiros, Those Who Slither in the Dark, unaffiliated civilian, other - for example Almyran) Probably Church of Seiros!!

If you were an Officers Academy student, what would be your boons, banes and potential budding talent? Boons: Faith Banes: Everything else 😅 Budding Talent: Maybe Reason?.... ha ha.... Deep down I want it to be Bows, though

If you were an Engage character, which nation would you originate from? (Firene, the Kingdom of Abundance; Brodia, the Kingdom of Might; Elusia, the Kingdom of Knowledge; Solm, the Queendom of Freedom; Lythos, the holy land of the Divine Dragon; Gradlon, the desolate land of the Fell Dragon) I really have no clue but I’ll say Lythos for fun 🙏

How do you pronounce TOA? 🤔(separate letters, to-ah, other?) Separate letters!

Current TOA muses: Fiora and Serra!

Past TOA muses? I wrote Limstella for about seven seconds but actually still muse them in another server!

Who was your first TOA muse? If you no longer have them, can you see yourself picking them up again? Serra! Yes, I still got her!

Do you believe you have a type of character you gravitate towards writing? YES I write Sunshine Girls or Melancholic Girls. Sometimes both at once. 🙏

Do you have characters or types of characters you don’t think you can handle writing, but wish you could? Honestly not really, I think I could figure out how to write other muses but these are the ones I enjoy most!

What kind of scenes, situations etc do you believe you enjoy writing the most? (If you filled this out last year, has this changed in any way?) I really love delving into emotionally or physically charged things... I’m a little angst demon.... I really want our characters to feel and feel deeply....

Do you have any scenario in mind for your muse(s) that gets you thinking “man I hope I get to write this one day”? For Fiora, I hope to confront her feelings of failure and sorrow over her losses. I want her to be called out!!!! For the self-sacrificial shit she does!!!! I want her to be honest and emotionally vulnerable!!!

Favorite TOA-related memories? I feel like every thread I write is my new favorite thread 🫶

Present or past tense? Present tense recently, honestly!

Normal size text, small text, no preference? I actually like small text the most but I’ll do anything!!

Got any potential muse delusions to share? 😉 Nope! I’m happy. 😌

[2007ru]

A (shaky) Mikoto Double Color Analysis

Tl;dr 4koto

Throughout Double there are 5 prominently shown colors, not just red and blue (John and Mikoto) despite the mv being primarily John's POV and him only being aware of Mikoto's existence, he was literally just born I don't think we can expect him to know how systems work or that Mikoto isn't the only other alter.

The main 5 colors I noticed were red and blue of course, but also green, pink, orange. I counted orange as its own alter originally, but then realized orange is also often used to represent red/John. I can only make sense of this assuming different variations of the same color (for example, different shades of pink) represent the same alter. There's a few blues that appear, a few pinks, and a few greens, and a mix of orangey-reds.

Some of these are from inverts, of colors turning into pink or green, but some are very much so standalone the color appearing.

Green and red background with blue and pink and (cut off) red text. So these are blue, pink and red's thoughts? With the background shifting from green to red, to indicate John fronting.

Red, green

Pink, red, green

I can't even screenshot it because I keep missing the frames but in this scene it also shows green silhouette which then inverts to a static overlay of a pink color, which then happens again at the door.

Finally caught the pink on the running scene.

The running scene is the most interesting to me as it shows the most.

In order, it's green flashes, then pink, then black with a blurry more monotone background, then quickly white with an orange background. Then it is blue and orange, monotone again, green and pink, orange and blue, THEN specifically orange, pink, green AND blue when it shows the silhouette of three of him running. It shows 4 Mikoto's running and shows 4 different colors.

It does of course flash between other combinations of these colors but like, come on. Showing 4 Mikoto's running away on screen and showing 4 colors... At times the red and the orange look similarly, but this one is most definitely an orange. Especially since the frame after is blue and red, orange in the corner, and then no color Mikoto as the actual? I saw people take this scene as trikoto, but there are 4 Mikoto's shown, as well as a mix of 4 different colors.

I really find it hard to believe they'd write a system character who became a system as an adult, when the writer has a psychology degree and it's very common knowledge DID stems from childhood.

Blacks and white's also often appear, but generally before drastic color changes. So would black and white indicate a 'switch'?

This scene then has blue, orange, pink, green, and a much lighter orange. Are both oranges representing the same alter? Idk lol, it looks more yellowy this time.

I wonder if whether a color is on Mikoto or in the background represents something?

This scene shows the three other alters, pink, blue, and green, but then a ring around them of orange, showing John is controlling the body ultimately at this point maybe?

Red tint fading in and out during a murder

Pink tint panning up which leads into....

Straight up pink background! With a bit of purple? So purple grouped with pink, similarly to how red had been grouped with orange and the two shades of blue are probably supposed to indicate the same alter? I have no idea, it has been 12 hours since this thing even released. What gets me mostly is the blatantly pink backgrounds as well as the pink text, that are very clearly in contrast to the red backgrounds and text.

I keep editing this and adding more on lol, but my general view of this is that Mikoto lived covertly as a system throughout his life, but then when Orekoto/John was formed, it as a lot more overt and different from the previously existing alters who, though incredibly stressed out, were managing to live in 'peace', or at least together enough to hide/not realize that they had DID. It's possible Mikoto is the only alter who was not aware of the DID, as Orekoto is clearly directing comments at someone in their body who is AWARE of what he has done, and terrified of it. Yet Mikoto himself insists he has no idea, and is truly genuinely confused.

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

Unfamiliar

Part 5

Demon!Grim gets summoned by a bunch of kids accidentally and immediately decides to adopt them in retaliation

<P4

When you cash in a soul for Soleils, the amount of money you get for it can vary. Humans were worth the most, as their souls were ‘pure’, completely untouched by magic. Werewolves, which were humans who had been corrupted before a demon had even gotten to them, were worth the least, mostly out of spite.

Faerie souls were rare, since no demon wanted to wait up to a thousand years for one to die, and were therefore worth quite a lot.

What does this all mean?

That Grim was rich.

Which is convenient! Because kids, he learned, are not cheap!

“Deuce, please don’t take apart your old phone. Just because you’ve got a new one does not mean that breaking that breaking the old one is okay,” Grim sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He may be rich, now, but that didn’t mean he was used to it yet. Every time he glanced over and saw Deuce trying to convince Ace to use his claws to pry it apart, he had a mini heart attack. And he didn’t even have a heart!

Deuce pouted at him.

“You’ve got everything you needed to buy, I can always send you back home,” Grim said, raising an eyebrow.

The boy’s eyes widened and he shook his head, immediately grabbing the nearest friend – Ace – for comfort.

“But he doesn’t need that phone anymore,” Trinity argued, her arms crossed over her chest. “It can’t even text us! It’s awful.”

“It can’t text you when you’re in different worlds,” Grim corrected, tiredly. “And it usually doesn’t have to. Demons are the only species that consistently travels between worlds.”

“Still dumb,” sulked Trinity.

He shrugged. “Enchantments are hard, and finding someone to do them is expensive, it would be a waste to get them when most people won’t use them. Now, stop distracting me, I can see them trying to open the phone. I have peripheral vision, y’know.”

The boys’ shoulders jumped up to their ears, faces red as they quickly tried to hide the evidence behind their backs.

Trinity didn’t look ashamed in the slightest, only pouting harder now that they’d been caught.

Grim plucked Deuce’s old phone out of their hands. Problem solved. “Alright, next up, we should get some stuff to decorate your room.” He thought of his house, relatively bare save for a couple of sentimental things he’d picked up over the years. And small. “I can probably swap out the bed for two smaller ones…”

Ace shook his head, rapidly. “We can share!”

Grim blinked. Hm. A dragon wanting to share? These kids were… perhaps a little more codependent than he’d originally guessed. Should he… do something about that? And, if so, what was he supposed to do?

“Er… sure,” he said, slowly, making a mental note to stop by the library for a lot of parenting books and, perhaps, a few books on childhood trauma. “You’ll have to decide on what color sheets you want.”

There was a beat of silence.

“Red,” said Ace.

“No. Pink.”

“Absolutely not,” said Ace. “Just go with red. It’s dark pink.”

“And pink is light red!” she argued.

“I like blue,” offered Deuce. “It’s a nice… sleepy color?”

“Red’s way cooler.”

Technically, red was a warm color and blue was a cool color, but go off.

“I like blue,” said Trinity. “A nice sky blue could be okay.”

Ace looked betrayed.

“Are you sure you don’t want separate beds?” Grim asked, feeling faint.

“No!” all three of them said, immediately. Even Deuce, who wasn’t even going to live with them, had chimed in. Grim was definitely going to look into codependence.

“... okay. How about we get clothes, and you three can think on it?” he said, a little desperately.

Once they no longer had to share the things that they were buying, shopping was far easier.

Grim couldn’t say he was super knowledgeable about fashion, seeing as Hell didn’t really have any fashion trends for him to follow. Put delicately, there was… no need to cover up, and so most demons didn’t bother. Some experimented, sure, but it was just that – experimenting. Most gave up after a few years, if only because it was a pain to doll yourself up every morning.

This did not mean that there wasn’t an abundance of clothes stores to pick from, though, all in kids’ sizes.

(Demons, as strange as it may sound, were prone to randomly picking up children of miscellaneous species. Gotta pass the millenia somehow, he supposed.)

Now, Grim watched as the kids ran around, picking out items, and realized that he was even less fashionable than he had originally thought he was. Trinity took a liking to a tutu and a set of wizard robes. Ace picked up what looked to be a Batman costume. Grim simply did not understand.

Deuce looked pained. He tugged on Grim’s arm.

“Tell them that it looks bad and they can’t buy it, please.”

Grim looked at the two kids, and then shrugged. “If it’s what they want to wear, I don’t see why they shouldn’t.”

The faerie fell to his knees, devastated.

Now that he thought about it, faerie put a lot of effort into their appearances. They, probably, had a myriad of fashion rules to follow.

… whatever. Ace and Trinity were happy, and it wasn’t like anyone in Hell was going to care if their clothes ‘clashed’.

Outside of Deuce, who picked out a few outfits for them to wear ‘when they came to visit’. Grim added a new note to the margins of his already full mental notepad: make sure Deuce doesn’t burn their clothes out of sheer spite.

Considering his notepad was full, he should probably try and alleviate the danger now, before he forgot. He even had a plan for dealing with it!

Distraction! Kids are easy to distract! Especially with shiny things!

So, he took them around the mall. He didn’t let them go wild – he had no intentions of going broke, after all – but he was happy to buy anything within reason.

Something that the dragon, unsurprisingly, was even more happy to take advantage of. Though Grim was happy to say that Ace focused, largely, on buying nesting materials. Which meant that Ace was actually able to prioritize when splurging! Grim had done nothing to teach him this virtue, but he was proud regardless.

Trinity bought… a goldfish. Grim hadn’t known what she would get, he could have guessed for a hundred years and he still wouldn’t have guessed that she’d go for that. Still, it was her money, and it wasn’t like the goldfish would harm her, so he bought a tank and some little decorations to go with it. The tank was way too big for such a small creature, and literally flashy thanks to a couple of LEDs. He was half tempted to get a couple more fish, to fill it out more, but decided to hold off on that for a while, until he was sure that Trinity was capable of keeping the single fish alive.

Unaware of what Grim had considered and then subsequently shot down, Trinity was as content as can be with the current situation.

“I thought you’d get a cat, if you were buying a pet,” he mused, absently, watching as the tank and fish disappeared in a small flash of light, privately grateful that he had thought far enough ahead to choose a mall that provided delivery services.

“No!” she huffed, drawing his attention back to her. “I want a cat as my familiar, not my pet.”

Grim nodded, slowly. That made sense, he guessed.

“Also the water is calming,” Deuce said.

Grim, who had watched the kids sit in the fish aisle for twenty minutes, eyes full of wonder, decided he would take his word for it.

“I still think chimeras are way cooler,” he said.

The kids shook their heads, vehemently.

“Who even cares what’s cool,” Trinity grumbled. “What matters is how cute a pet is. Black cats are cute. Fish are cute.”

“Chimeras are cute!” Grim said.

All of the kids erupted into disagreement.

One day they would get it, he was sure.

But… he, privately, wouldn’t mind if they didn’t understand. Grim fought back a smile. They all looked so adorable when their cheeks puffed up in anger. He ruffled Ace’s hair, which only made his face burn an even brighter red.

Fighting off a laugh by clearing his throat, he looked around. “Right, anything else…?”

His eyes landed on Deuce. The boy seemed happy to be included on their little trip, content to follow his friends around and give his opinions on things when asked, but…

He sighed. “You can buy something, too, if you want.”

Ace immediately whirled to look at him, his eyes gleaming. “Get us all gaming consoles!”

“Vetoed,” Grim said, immediately.

Ace whirled back around, his mouth dropping open in sheer offense.

“It’s his money, he should choose what to spend it on.”

Deuce pressed his lips into a thin line, clearly thinking hard.

And then he led them all back to a jewelry store they’d visited early on, thanks to Ace. Ace had taken a liking to the watches. Grim sighed, about to tell Deuce not to buy something just because Ace wanted it, that it was supposed to be for him…

But Deuce pointed at something on the wall. A pair of golden bracelets. Enchanted, judging by the price.

Upon closer inspection (of the plaque hanging on the wall, just below the price tag), they were enchanted so the wearers could get a vague read of each others’ emotions, so long as both of them were wearing their bands at the same time. Basically, it was the ultimate friendship bracelet.

Predictably, Trinity and Ace started bickering with each other over who would get it.

Deuce either didn’t notice this or was actively ignoring it. Either way, he was blushing bright red, looking at Grim imploringly. “If – if I get them, my mom won’t have to worry about us getting separated! She’ll always know if I’m safe or not!”

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Ace and Trinity’s fight come to an abrupt halt, both of them sulking a little now that they knew it wasn’t for either of them. The smile that made its way across Grim’s face was partially out of relief. Deuce could never blatantly show favorites among his two friends, because that would surely lead to a blowup of some sort.

But he was mostly just smiling because this kid was a sweetheart.

“I have no problem buying that for you. I’m sure Delilah will love it,” he said.

Deuce beamed.

Grim clapped him on the shoulder, and then turned to the nearest store clerk. Within a few minutes, Deuce had a present for his mom, and Grim was much less rich. After a quick glance around, he realized they had kind of covered everything. As far as he could tell, all of the necessities were taken care of.

Which meant…

Oh no. The day was over. There was no more stalling it. They must return to the sheet debate.

Eventually, under threat of being stuck with brown sheets, they all compromised on a dark purple set… so long as Trinity got a light purple comforter to go with it, and Ace got to choose the fish’s name, and Deuce got to put glow-in-the-dark stars all over their ceiling.

They got home, every problem solved… only for Grim to look at all of the new stuff in his apartment and realize that every problem was not, in fact, solved. Because they had only bought the stuff, they still had to set it all up.

Hey, God! He was tired! Give him a break!

God did not give him a break, so he had to give himself one. After the room had been made livable enough for the kids to sleep in, and Deuce had been sent back home for the night, and the kids had been forced to brush their teeth (he could not comprehend why they hated it so much)... he dropped onto the couch and flicked the TV on.

Yeah, he could sleep. Just like he could breathe, could eat. In fact, Grim loved sleeping. It was a great way to pass time!

However, there were far more pertinent things to do.

Ah, his show. He had missed so much. The main leads had been about to confess, he swears!

Grim relaxed into the plush cushions, letting the prerecorded episode start playing.

… okay, they hadn’t confessed in this episode, but they would soon, he was sure of it.

He sighed, flopping back on the couch. Closed his eyes, the dull murmur of the TV playing in his ears. The kids had his bed, now, so here he would sleep. If he even could – the couch was comfortable, but only in the one place that had been properly broken in. He shifted around, awkwardly, for twenty long minutes that stretched into an eternity, before giving up entirely. He fumbled for his remote, starting to flip through channels…

Only the channels didn’t change. Because he’d turned the TV off in frustration when he’d realized that his ship wasn’t canon yet.

But he’d heard people talking…

He sat up slowly, listening intently for any whispers coming from the kids’ room. He didn’t hear any talking now, but they’d definitely been up for at least an hour after he’d put them to bed. Maybe he should have confiscated their phones? He had just assumed that they, as species that needed sleep, would actually do it, but perhaps that was foolish of him.

Grim tiptoed over to the door, and opened it, peering in.

Ace had once again curled along the perimeter of the bed, though there was now an actual nest for him to wrap around, a myriad of soft cloths he had taken a liking to and the occasional golden watch, in a loose ring shape.

Trinity lay in the center, her blanket abandoned once again.

… hugging Deuce.

When had Deuce come back?

Grim’s eyes flicked to the wall. They’d made a quick and easy, two-way portal between Deuce’s room and Grim’s kids’ bedroom. Now, the portal was glowing, the faint red warring with the blue and purple LEDs in the fish’s (named Lubert, because Ace was bad at naming things, too, apparently) tank. It had been used recently, that much was obvious.

He looked at the three kids, fast asleep, seemingly perfectly content…

And decided that it was fine, though he did send Deuce’s mom a quick text so she wouldn’t wake up and worry that her son had been stolen away. Again.

He sighed, quietly, letting the door click shut.

And then turned his attention to the kitchen. Well, they’d wake up in a few hours. He might as well spend the time learning to make breakfast.

He opened the fridge and immediately stopped cold – not only because of the cool air washing over him.

Other species need to eat! He’d forgotten to go buy groceries!

He grabbed a scrap of paper and wrote a quick note for the kids, in case they woke up before he got back, telling them he was at the store and to call him if they needed anything. He threw it, vaguely, towards the counter, not even bothering to make sure it landed right before he rushed out the door.

If anyone in the supermarket questioned why he was walking around the store, visibly panicking, they didn’t ask. Which was great, because he was pretty sure that it would not help with the whole panicking thing.

Okay. Okay okay okay. Let’s see. Calm down. Think. Faeries eat fruit. He’d seen Deuce eat watermelon. Perhaps for the high water content? Whatever, that should be easy to prepare. He should also grab a couple of water bottles, just in case.

Right! Next up! Dragons are carnivorous. Grim wondered if they could eat eggs. That was certainly a breakfast-y meal, but he didn’t want to risk it. No, he could ask that later, for now he would play it safe and prepare some kind of meat. Let’s see… oh! Bake-kujira was on sale… but did fish count as a meat? It should! Though, he supposed, the ghost whale’s meat was kinda see-through, and he wasn’t sure whether the un-undead could eat it. He grabbed a chicken breast instead. As an afterthought, he grabbed a spice bottle labelled ‘chicken seasoning’. Helpful!

Okay. Last but not least… witches could eat anything a human could. They preferred things that had once been alive, since that meant they could replenish their mana while also taking in nutrients – which meant, unfortunately, Trinity would likely never know the joy of eating a processed potato chip. Still, that gave him a lot to choose from… though he wasn’t sure what, exactly, would be considered nutritious. Maybe he could just give her the stuff he bought Ace and Deuce? Maybe a vegetable, too…

He grabbed a weird white plant labelled ‘cauliflower’. That was, probably, healthy!

He rushed to the checkout counter. The cashier, thankfully, didn’t comment on his somewhat haggard appearance. Though the kitsune did raise an eyebrow at his basket.

“Trying something new?”

“You have no idea.”

She gave him a mildly curious look. Her many tails swayed back and forth.“I’m guessing you’re not just talking about how you’re not buying tuna today.”

“I… adopted some kids,” he admitted.

It was the first time he’d actually said that aloud.

He… felt strangely giddy. It suddenly felt far more real. This wasn’t the plot of some dumb TV show he was watching, he was adopting kids. Two of them! And a third, kinda, in spirit! He was buying groceries, for his kids, who were sleeping peacefully back home. He was going to make them breakfast.

A wide smile threatened to steal across his face.

She hummed her understanding, smiling a little in return. “Congratulations! Have you figured out which school you’re going to send them to yet?”

He blinked.

~~~~~

P6>

[eveningserenityyy]

His Apology | OneShot

Pairings: Obi-wan Kenobi x Reader

Wordcount: 5,179k

Summary: You, a senator, are in a secret relationship with Jedi master Obi-wan. His actions on a mission of his left you deeply upset with him, and after a few days of tension, he comes to apologize to you and ends up doing so in a rather special way.

Warning/tags: NSFW (smut), Oral f receiving, hurt/comfort, praise kink, teasing, fluff, vanilla, f!reader, a sprinkle of angst.

>Original here (first time crossposting to Tumblr, & this was my first NSFW oneshot ever, so enjoy! More are to come!)

It had been three days since you had last seen him. Three days since your argument.

You have been dealing with far too much lately in terms of your political affairs. Day after day you have been so focused on relief efforts and attempting to de-escalate the war by pushing for an end to it with help of fellow Senator Amidala and Senator Organa. It was exhausting for all parties involved.

The only thing that got you through any of this was knowing you had someone to come home to, someone to hold you and vice versa. The person you felt closer to than any other being, your person. The one who you could confide in, sharing details about your day with each other all while you laid your head on his lap with a content hum as you felt his fingers gently comb through your hair so affectionately.

Those early mornings you cherished too. You would usually have to get up early most days, except he would never let you get up without a fight for it. He was not a morning person by any means as he slept whenever he could, and truthfully, you found him adorable in this state. The messy hair that only your eyes ever got to see, tired half-shut blues, and groggy whines when you tried to leave his firm grasp he held on you. It pained you to have to leave him at all, as you felt so safe with him in these moments under the covers. 

But you were still angry with him, that hadn’t yet faded. As much as you wanted to forget about what happened and go back to normal, you also couldn’t shake the need to yell at him for hurting you on account of his sudden recklessness.

While away on his Jedi general duties, he had needlessly risked his life in the heat of the moment when it was entirely unnecessary for him to do. And he didn’t even have the guts to tell you himself, you had heard it from Padme who heard it from Anakin. She had asked how he was, and mentioned the fact that you must’ve been so worried about him. When you asked what she meant, well, that’s when you discovered what he had done while away. You thought you were gonna be sick at that moment, when your stomach dropped and your head got dizzy. 

You knew the risks that came with war, and yet you always worried about him when he was on the battlefield anyways, or anywhere at all really. That's what love is, right?  But you always trusted him to do what was right, and to come back home in one piece for you. You were disappointed. Disappointed in the fact he had lied to you about it, and that he did something so irresponsible. People needed him, the republic, the Jedi, Anakin, You.

‘What would I do without you?’ You had asked him, and to that, he had no reply as he lowered his head in such guilt.

It just wasn’t like him, or you thought it wasn’t in your very knowledgeable opinion about him.

He apologised for it over and over, but he knew that maybe you couldn’t be ready to forgive him so easily, so he left you to think. That was hard for him. And unknown to you, he had barely slept in the last three days without you. He hadn’t meant to hurt you, but he also had to own up to his mistake. He knew he fucked up greatly, and even he thought this unlike him.

He disregarded the code for you, risked the only life he had ever known for you and still continued to do so out of love. Not that you hadn’t argued against your feelings for each other at first, of course, but he won in the end. The point is, you were the realest thing in his life. You were the one who allowed him to feel, and now he might lose you over such a stupid decision on his part.

And now here you stood, in the apartment you secretly shared, alone.

You were in your bedroom, trying to fold some of your own clothes by hand just attempting to focus on anything else after a long day of mental torment and work. You picked up one of your more special dresses, feeling the fabric between your fingers. This was the dress you had met him in, and a sad smile crept onto your face while you looked at it. He particularly favoured this one on you, admiring how it clung to your figure all while making sure you knew what kind of thoughts that had brought on in his mind whenever you had decided to wear it, a small smirk playing on his features for you to take notice of. Now you were upset that you even looked at it at all.

“It’s ugly anyways I suppose,” You grumbled to yourself, throwing it to the floor in an usual fashion than how it normally got there most nights.

“Well, that's a shame you think so.” You tensed up as his voice suddenly spoke from behind you. You hadn’t heard him come in, sneaky much.

You fought yourself on what to do. You didn’t want to turn around, for if you saw him you didn’t know what you would do. You worried that his soft eyes and annoyingly handsome face would melt your weakened heart all over again, and you were too stubborn and too petty to give in so easily.

But, it had been three days already. And you missed him, maybe more than you were angry. You were stuck in place, not knowing what to do.

He sensed this, and that made him feel worse than he already had. ‘Good.’ He thought. ‘I deserve this, do I not?’

If you had known he was thinking that to himself though, you would have dropped all of your stubborn attitudes to tell him he deserved the world. Yes, you were upset about what he did, but you would never wish for him to think so low of himself just because of you. That was the last effect you wanted to have on him. He had allowed himself to think poorly of himself at times, feeling inadequate for his role as a Jedi master on the council, and like he was still a Padawan on the inside; yet you were always the one to shut these thoughts down and remind him of his worth, how great a Jedi he was, and that he deserved more than he ought to think he does.

It was time for you to swallow your pride. You didn’t have to act like everything was fine, because it wasn’t, but you couldn’t keep giving the silent treatment. It would pain both of you further.

You still chose not to look at him though, having your back turned to him. You kept focus on the clothes in front of you as you continued to fold them. “Where have you been?” You asked plainly, with a bit of bitterness in your tone that you couldn't help.

He let out a breath of relief that he didn't realise he had been holding in. You were talking to him at least, that was good progress. “The temple. It’s been a quiet three days, no duties just yet.”

Lovely, you could have spent time with him that would be considered quite rare these days. Instead, you were wasting all your time too angry to think and now he could leave for battle any day. You wanted to bang your head off of the fucking wall at this point.

He noticed you balling your fists up tightly, and he let out a sigh. He wanted to move closer, but didn’t want to risk upsetting you further, therefore he stayed put. There was a moment of tense silence between you two, the only thing that could be heard were your breaths until he decided to take a chance.

“I missed you, my love. You must know that I have.” The words were spoken so softly and quietly with a great hint of sincerity, yet with so much shame in his tone of voice as well for how he had upset you.

You felt the tears build in your eyes as you dropped the gown you were just holding in response. You ached for him, you couldn’t deny yourselves of that. When you finally built up the confidence to turn your body to look at him, you took notice of how tired he looked, and only then did you realise what this must've done to him. To both of you, really. He lacked that sparkle in his eye, for they looked so tired, almost like he couldn't keep them open much longer. He noticed such a likeness in you too, how you probably hadn’t been sleeping much as well, and how sad you looked from the tears swelling up in your eyes. Neither of you could take this, you were acting like fools- well, you were at the very least.

You let go, practically rushing into his embrace to have him hold you after what felt like ages as you wrapped your own arms around his torso. You let your tears flow into his chest as naturally as they came as his fingers found their way to your hair like usual, running through its softness in a way that comforted you unlike anything else, and did the same for him in return. His other hand found the small of your back, holding onto you securely for he never wished to let you go again.

“How could you scare me like that? Do- do something so stupid!” You asked through cries, your words muffled in his chest as you continued, “You- you know how I love you and-”

He nodded eagerly as he let out soft “shh’s” at your worries, not to dismiss, but to calm. He leaned back to look at you, moving his hand from your hair to the side of your face while his other hand still held your lower back firmly pressing your front against him. His thumb wiped your tears away as he tried to comfort you once more. “I can’t apologise for this enough, my love, but I’m here- look at me, I’m right here. I won’t ever leave you as long as I can help it. Maker- I'm terribly sorry.”

You knew he meant it, he meant it most sincerely. You forgave him now, as being upset over something that cannot be changed would do neither of you any good. You communicate, move on, and work things through, all because you love someone enough to do it. You didn't need to say it, for you knew that he knew, he could feel it radiate from you as you breathed him in- but your cries from distress still pained him, and although you forgave him, he would likely never forgive himself for causing you such pain; but he would continue to prove just how much he cared for you from this point forward.

As he looked at your rosy cheeks and wet eyes all while your chest stopped heaving, he then leaned forward to close the distance between your faces, placing his lips upon your cheek and then up to your tears on the side of your face that his hand couldn’t reach so as to kiss them away ever so gently. This only caused more to fall that he took care of too, as you were overwhelmed with the sensations of his and you felt so dearly for him. The soft lips, rough beard, gentle fingertips on your other cheek, you wondered how you could ever keep him away because right now it felt impossible.

His lips finally met your own as he reached down for them, closing that final distance you were waiting for so eagerly. It was a perfect feeling. Not rough or passionate, but just what you needed for this moment. Loving and tender, yet soft and sensual. You felt like you were on a cloud, it was the type of kiss that swept you off your feet and made your brain go numb. You wondered how the hell you made it through those three days without this, because all of him was now so addicting to you and you had no desire to pull away as his thumb continued to caress your cheek while his lips pressed harder against your own just asking for more. Your anger had turned to lust at this point as you grabbed onto his shoulders to pull him closer.

Just when it was getting more heated, he pulled back while your lips chased for his, not wanting it to end so soon nor expecting it to. He rested his forehead on yours with a knowing smile, “You’ve missed me, hm?”

You huffed, fluttering your eyes open as you allowed your foreheads to rest on each other all while your eyes met his satisfied gaze. “Don’t be so mean.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it, darling.” He promised softly, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” You smiled with nothing but contentment as you let his lips travel your face again. First, pressing a kiss to your lips once more, then the corners of them, your cheek again, and nose. This made you let out a quiet giggle at the feeling of his warm lips all over your skin, it felt so teasing.

He then travelled back down, hovering over your cheek, and lower to press against your jaw, and finally to your neck. He lingered on that spot, pressing more tender kisses on the sensitive skin while he received hums of approval from you.

You shivered in response to the further attention he paid to your neck, and breathed out his name. “Obi-wan…”

He smiled against your skin, “Hmm?”

You bit down on your lip hard, feeling rather tingly from the intimate act of affection. “Is this what you’ve been thinking about all this time?”

His lips moved closer to where your jaw and ear met, hovering between as you felt his hot breath over your skin. “When I said I missed you, I meant all of you." He hesitated, "Will you let me apologise to you?"

You liked this idea of an apology, for you found yourself almost begging at this point. Your breath was hitched, legs were weak, and there was only one thing you could think of. The power he held over you was unbelievable, from the suggestive words and sensual neck kisses It was so easy for him to turn you on. "Please.."

He didn't need to hear anything else as he swept you up with a squeal from you in response to the sudden jerk of movement. He carefully sat you on the edge of your shared bed, pressing one more kiss to your lips as he knelt down before you. The image of him between your legs was enough to make you want to spiral.

He placed each of his hands on your lower legs, slowly hiking your dress up as you watched impatiently until you could feel his soft fingertips rest on your thighs. You spread your legs apart for him in anticipation, and the reaction you were met with was him bringing his lips upon your inner thighs, pressing light butterfly kisses as slowly and teasingly as he could. He was so close to your heat, and he knew how much this affected you. 

He hadn't yet decided whether he wanted to tease you relentlessly or give you everything you begged him for, which of course he was going to do either way but the point still stands.

"Stop being such a tease." You whined as your legs shook against his firm grip he held. He already had so much control over you, and you were ready to give yourself over to him entirely. 

He looked up at you with an innocent expression, "Hm? You want me to take these off?" He asked, obviously hinting at your panties which clung to your wetness.

You let out a whimper you couldn't hold back as you shook your head eagerly. He fucking loved this, loved how bad you wanted him to fuck you, and all the sounds he brought out of you before he even began to touch you. It made him forget how much he liked teasing you, as his mind began to spin at the thought of you beneath him as you withered in pleasure all because of him. In response to this, he swiftly took a hold of your panties and pulled them off your legs, tossing them aside onto the floor as he admired you in your entirety and vulnerable state. He could see how wet he had made you, the clear desire dripping from between your thighs. 

You were prepared for him to commit to more teasing, to make you beg him for more as you squirmed under his grasp as his lips got closer and closer to where you wanted him, nibbling and pressing soft kisses to the soft flesh of your inner thighs all while needy whines and trembling whimpers fell from your lips, when you suddenly felt his warm mouth engulf you. His velvet tongue excitedly exploring your wet folds as you gasped at the unexpected pleasure, travelling up and down your drenched slit like he couldn't get enough of your taste. He held you down firmly by wrapping his arms around your thighs from beneath, keeping them wide open for his and your own pleasure. 

You couldn't resist the urge to moan as his tongue ran over your clit while he was enjoying you, he noticed how your hips shook when he did this and began to draw out slow circles around your sensitive bud, swirling his tongue around it while he enjoyed the sound of your quiet moans. He started sucking it gently, teasingly almost as he looked into your eyes for a reaction, noticing how much of a mess he was building in you. 

"Do I taste good?" You asked between soft gasps and breaths of pleasure, struggling to get the words out as your voice quivered. 

You felt his lips pull into a smile as they wrapped around your clit, pulling away just a second to answer you, sounding breathless. "So good, darling-" He licked it gently again, making you whimper. "Best in the galaxy."

He continued to eat you out like you were the best thing he had ever tasted, knowing damn well he could keep this up all night if he wanted and if you had asked him to. It amazed you time after time again how good he was at this, he left you a moaning mess every. single. time. with just his mouth. 

You felt yourself getting closer to release from the sensations he brought on and the wet noises that erupted from his mouth as he licked and sucked from between your legs. He felt this, and it only made him increase the speed of his tongue against your wet folds and sensitive clit. Your hand travelled down to his hair, pulling and tugging on it to bring his face closer into you if that was possible. This made him moan into you, sending vibrations through you as continuous sounds of pleasure erupted from your throat.

"I'm close," You moaned, gripping the sheets beneath you. Maker, did this feel good.

"Cum on my tongue for me, dear. show me how good I make you feel." He responded breathlessly and with nothing but lust in his tone of voice as he continued to go to town on you.

This only helped you get closer, as your legs began to lose control which only made him hold them down more firmly to keep you from moving too much. Moan after moan slipped from your lips as you came on his tongue from the pleasure just as you were told, he didn't stop the movements of his warm tongue on you until your high was over allowing you to ride it out.

He was quite pleased with himself as he took in every moan that slipped from your soft lips, and when you expected it to be over he ran his tongue over your folds again, cleaning up the mess you had made down there with a hunger evident in his eyes. His tongue swirled around your juices until he was satisfied. "Such a good girl," followed by another mutter of praise as he swallowed the last of it, "All this for me,"

His words sent shivers down your spine, and you swear that could have made you come again.

Finally, he pulled himself up from between your legs, immediately hovering over you with one hand beside your arm to hold himself up and the other on your face as he caressed your bottom lip, gently signalling what he wanted from you now. His lips found your own with ease, as he wanted you to taste yourself on him. He slid his tongue against your bottom lip as to request entrance, and you parted your lips in return. His tongue slipped in between your lips, meeting your own as they entangled each other. You could taste yourself on him, the salty yet sweet flavour he enjoyed so much made your cheeks grow redder than they already were. his beard tickled your face, wet from eating you out just seconds ago.

Your kiss was passionate, having to pull away for breaths every so often before connecting again, and your warm tongues met and entangled each other like a lustful dance. You couldn't get enough of each other. your hands found his hair once more, entangling your fingers into it. You wanted to pull him against you, feel his skin on yours when you noticed he still had his robes on. 

"Take that off," You pulled away from him, gesturing to his clothes as you let out heavy breaths. 

"So impatient, " Without another word he had lifted himself off of you, grabbing at all his layers and throwing them off to the side as he held his gaze of desire on you.

You watched as he undressed, enjoying the show, while also incredibly impatient. You wanted him- no, needed him. You bit your lip in anticipation as he got closer to revealing himself, feeling yourself drip between your thighs all over again. You then remembered you still had your dress on, and swiftly pulled it off over your head with ease as you too threw it to the floor where it belonged. Finally, he had removed all his layers of wool but he didn't give you much more time to look and admire him as he climbed on top of you like before. He connected your lips again, forcing his tongue between your lips as he pushed his body against yours, skin against skin. Nothing else could feel so right.

He removed his mouth from yours, and moved its position to press against the skin of your neck. Kissing and sucking your sensitive flesh more eager than previously on that perfect sweet spot, which elicited soft trembles of pleasure from you. He grinded against you, and you could feel how hard he was. You couldn't take this anymore.

"I need you inside me, please." You begged, getting his attention. He looked into your eyes, and you could see how much lust lingered within them. Maker, it was hot how much he enjoyed this.

He let out a harsh breath, not pulling away from your eyes as his face hovered over your own. "Beg me again, darling. I love it when you beg for me." he had a smile tugging at his lips, a smirk perhaps. 

You did as you were told, but not without an impatient whine from your now sore lips. "Fu- Please, please fuck me. I need you so bad."

"You're so good for me, how could I not?" You loved his praise, and you ended up shaking your head in agreement just to get him going. He was so in love with you, he wanted to give you everything now, whatever you asked even if you didn't do what he asked of you. The whines, moans, the begs for him to fuck you- you were perfect. 

He carefully got himself into place, hands resting beside each side of your head to hold himself up as you wrapped your legs around him. He centred himself now, dragging his tip up and down your wet slit slowly to ready you while also teasing you at the same time. Eventually, his tip stopped at your entrance, slowly dragging in circles around it. He looked to you for approval to keep going, to which you quickly nodded in response. You swear you almost forgot how to breathe as he slowly entered you, slipping In easily from how wet he had already made you.

He slowly dragged his tip in and out of you, before entering you further at a gentle pace until he was almost completely buried inside of you, feeling how you stretched around him perfectly. He began thrusting carefully, not wanting to hurt you when he really started going. "Is this alright for you?"

"Mm, " You nodded, biting your lip and impatient for more. He was going too slow, you wanted him to fuck you so hard that you saw stars. "Faster, I'll tell you if you need to stop. Just fuck me."

He got the hint, and paced his thrusts with more speed at your command. With every thrust he made, the pleasure inside the both of you grew. Your walls hugged his cock perfectly, making his eyelids flutter shut for a few moments as he too let out a moan followed by a few quiet swears. You were the noisy one, but fuck did you love the sounds you could draw from him too. You could tell he was trying to hold back on taking you at full speed, he was struggling to resist himself as his thrusts got harder and faster and more shaky even. He wanted to pound you into this mattress, and you knew how to get him there.

You dug your nails into his shoulders, gripping harder as his cock pumped in and out of you at a faster pace than before. Moans kept pouring out of you that you couldn't help, you sounded like you were in heat. He enjoyed every single one of them, revering in the fact that no one else could make you feel this good. 

"So good for me aren't you- fit so perfectly- I love fucking you, good girl." He struggled to get the words out in one piece, grunting as he praised you and continued to do so.

As he praised you, your walls gripped his cock tighter than before. That got you closer and he knew it. You felt so submissive from under him, and he knew that too. "Oh- you like my praise, do you? Don't cum just yet, darling, almost there."

Almost like a reward, it seemed he let himself go and stopped resisting his needs. He was pounding into your pussy now, just how he wanted to. With his stamina, he could go like this for hours as you squirmed and that thought turned you on even more. You were in ecstasy at this point, practically screaming his name now as he pounded you into the bed at the perfect pace. You weren't gonna last much longer with his head hitting your g spot with such force, and you hoped he would let you cum soon. 

You hit your face in his neck, biting down as to muffle your screams of pleasure. He growled, and if you thought he was pounding you hard then, well it was even harder now. Just how you liked it.

"I know, love- make you feel so good, but I need to hear you. Let me hear how good it feels." With that, your teeth fell from his neck and the only thing you were capable of as he pounded your pussy was to jerk your head back in ecstasy, your eyes rolling back into your head as his thrusts ceased to slow down just yet.

You were nothing but a whimpering and moaning pile of pleasure from beneath him, you wanted him to do this all night yet at the same time you were so close to cumming and needed that sweet release from him. He felt so good from inside you as your tight walls gripped onto him, pumping in and out like this. As your brain fogged, all you thought about was him and how much you loved him as he fucked you good for the first time in days. 

He felt your grip tightening on his cock as he pounded you into a pile of moans at this never-ending pace he held. His eyes fluttered again as his own sounds of pleasure fell from between his lips. He needed release just as much as you did. "Cum for me now, my love, cum on my cock. Prove how good I fucked you tonight."

He gave more praise, calling you his good girl and more to encourage your climax. You could barely speak as your whole body shook to it's core, eyes rolled as far back as possible as your back arched itself instinctively, your grip on his shoulders loosening as you lost control of yourself. Moans turned to screams of ecstasy all over again as you came hard on his cock. He continued to thrust inside you at the same insane pace as you orgasmed, before he couldn't handle it either and his grunts turned to moans as he too came inside of you, his seed pumping into you encasing your velvet walls. 

"I love you- so much," He panted as he finished inside of you, placing a kiss on your forehead while he did so before pulling out and falling down beside your exhausted little figure.

"Mm- love- love you too." You managed to force the words out of your now sore throat, you really couldn't function, hell- you could barely breathe. You wondered how you were gonna walk into work tomorrow. 

He let out an airy chuckle, pulling you into his chest as he kissed your flushed cheek. Your hair was a mess, and your eyes could barely stay open. He adored you with all his heart, and as hard breaths rose and fell from his chest he admired your flushed face in pure adoration. "Perhaps I should've been more gentle with that apology."

You forced your eyes open to look at him, looking back in pure adoration just as he did while you tried to get your brain to work again. "W-why was I mad at you again?"

Really puts 'fucking your brains out' on a whole other level.

[crossingbaranduin]

Guessing Games

(Teen | The Almighty Johnsons | Anders & Mike | 1.4k words)

Summary: Axl found out that saying “guess what” will lead to Mike knowing the “what” in question, since it was a game. Naturally, Anders figured out how to exploit that. (Or, five times Anders made Mike “guess what”, and one time he couldn’t but asked anyway.)

Notes: A quick, fun work spawned by a Discord message from @blairsanne: “I need someone to write a 5&1 where Anders annoys the shit out of Mike and then uses that Guess What game for a good purpose”. I’ll never turn down writing about my two favorites, so… here it is! Enjoy! : )

Read on AO3 here!

----------

As with many things in their family, it all started with someone being just a bit too curious. This time, it was Anders — about Mike's powers in particular.

“There’s no way you can know what I’m thinking if I say ‘guess what’. That’s bullshit!”

“One, no it’s not. Two, how did you even find out about that?”

“Axl told me. You’re god of games, not god of being psychic!”

“It’s a game where to win, I have to know what you’re thinking. It’s not that hard, Anders.”

“Fine,” Anders rolled his eyes. “Guess what?"

A thought that was definitively not his own filled his mind. Ty and I were the ones who broke the window crank on your old truck. Ty tried to crank the window closed on me.

Mike stopped, all thoughts of proving his point abandoned at Anders’ admission. "That was you?!"

"Holy shit, it does work," Anders said, astonished.

"Yes, it does, but my window crank doesn't!"

"It didn’t; that truck is long gone now, anyways." Anders grin only grew as he continued. "Oh, I'm so going to abuse this."

And with that, Mike realized just how critical of a mistake he had made in mentioning this ability to Anders.

"...Goddamnit."

----------

It wouldn't be Anders if he didn't immediately test the limits of something.

Unfortunately, knowing that did nothing to stop it, as Mike found out not long after Anders' original discovery. The bar was empty, and oddly quiet for once, as the two of them waited for the rest of the gods to arrive.

Or, it was, until Anders spoke up out of the blue. “Guess what?”

What if—

…

…Mike refused to repeat the rest of what Anders was thinking, even within the confines of his own head. Frankly, he wasn’t sure what of that was Anders’ own fucked-up ingenuity and what was Bragi’s gift with words used for horrible purposes.

It was a vivid mental image, that was for sure, and one he'd like to never have again.

He didn't dare turn around, his jaw clenched as he nearly glared a hole into the shelves in front of him. “Anders?”

Mike didn't have to look at Anders to hear the shit-eating grin he was wearing. “Yes?”

“You have three seconds to start running.”

If the other gods walked in a few minutes later to a couple barstools knocked over and the two of them tussling on the floor… no one really needed an explanation.

(Or wanted one. No one wanted to get in the middle of that — or find out what they had done to start it.)

----------

Of course, even that didn't stop Anders' plan, as he tried once more — this time from Mike's couch upstairs, rather than at the bar.

“Guess what?”

Mike responded without missing a beat. “No, I’m not playing this game, Anders.”

And he really wasn’t intending to. Nothing said he had to agree to play, and guessing games took two participants to work.

The unfortunate thing was, as much as his mortal half didn't want to give Anders the satisfaction... resisting the will of his godly half was another story. From the insistent nudging at the back of his mind, he figured he could get a headache from Ullr, or a headache from Anders.

The choice was easier than it should have been, really.

Bracing himself for the impending disaster, he huffed. “Goddamnit.”

I was wondering how long this thing would last since you just have to guess what I’m thinking but that doesn’t have a limit on how long that guess is going to be—

It turned out that if Anders didn’t need to breathe, he really could talk forever. Mike would be impressed, if he had any room to think over the constant stream of sound now in his mind.

—so if it’s all one thing to guess I just have to not take a break and keep talking blah blah blah—

"Will you shut up?!"

—absolutely not I'm nowhere near done Mikkel did you really think I'd stop talking this quickly you've known me too long for that—

"Oh my god, stop—"

—that won't stop me I can keep thinking even if you try and interrupt me haha I can go on forever—

With a groan, Mike blindly reached for the whiskey bottle across the table. He thought he'd been done with Anders tiring himself out by talking decades ago.

("God, my head fucking hurts," Anders muttered a good bit of time later, rubbing his temples.

Mike, who was doing the same with one hand and a glass in the other, leveled Anders with a blank stare. "I feel absolutely no sympathy for you.")

----------

Mike had — rather mistakenly — assumed it would be a quiet night in for him. That is, until a seemingly innocuous text flashed across his phone screen.

> Guess what?

"Great." He'd never had someone try it over text, but if that curious tingle in the back of his brain said anything, Anders had figured out yet another way to exploit it. He opened the messaging app, ready to chastise Anders for abusing his power yet again, when—

Ty and I are headed your way; situation happened with Loki. We'll explain when we get there.

Mike's heart dropped. Loki never meant good news, and if Anders was willing to admit that himself—

> Guess what?

We're fine. Loki just crossed some lines he shouldn't have. It's taken care of.

A breath he didn’t realize he was holding suddenly escaped him. They were alright — somehow, if Loki was involved yet again. He could bitch them out about it once they got to the bar. They weren't burnt to a crisp, or spontaneously combusted, or smited, so he could still chew them out.

(It was a horrible, relieving thought.)

Sitting down less steadily than he'd ever admit, he closed his eyes, breathing out as he let Ullr wash over him.

He could feel them approaching the bar — they were nearby. And still alive. He could handle the rest when they got here.

> Guess what?

Oh yeah, and Ty is Hodr again. Surprise.

...Probably.

----------

The world was ending, or damn near close to it, and by morning, none of them would be gods anymore.

It was a weird feeling. Mike had been a god for as nearly as long as he hadn’t been one, now.

Michele had stepped away for a moment, leaving Mike and Anders in an uncommon shared quiet, sitting back and observing the bustle of the casino around them.

"Guess what?"

Mike turned his head at Anders' sudden question, barely murmured above the background din of the room. He prepared himself for some quip, but instead—

It was the first time Mike had gotten more of a feeling that a coherent thought, and it was nearly overwhelming. A combination of thankful-relieved-peaceful-happy washed over him, and for a moment, he was at a loss for words.

(For a split second, it was as if a much younger Anders was superimposed over the one sitting in front of him, smiling and carefree before everything had gone to hell.)

He couldn’t send the feeling back, not in the same way, but he hoped his own smile and the light knocking of their shoulders together got the point across.

(He thought it did, from the way Anders leaned ever so slightly into him, even as Michele returned.

And of everything he was going to miss come the next morning, that would certainly be one of them.)

----------

"Guess what?"

Mike didn't have to answer Anders. He really didn't, this time; there was no pull from the now-gone Ullr, and even if he did, it wasn't as if it'd work the same way.

Maybe it was the lack of sleep from the night before, or maybe it was simply not giving a fuck in comparison to all the shit they'd been through recently. (Or maybe he knew he'd miss it if he didn't.)

Regardless, Mike turned around, an eyebrow raised as he finally answered Anders' question. “What, Anders?”

(“Nothing!”

“What?”

“Nothing! That was it.”

“You can’t just ask me what and then say nothing!”

“I sure can if it bothers you that much—“

Anders’ bright laughter was audible even over his own groaning into his hands, and if he cracked a smile of his own— well, no one would ever know. They couldn’t guess it, after all.)

[mrfroag]

any chance you'd be willing to share why you made some of the design choices for the scret soulmate fusion?- it always facinates me to see why artists do certain things and your design is especially cool👀👀👀

!!!!!!!!!!

Oh watch out you've unlocked the froag unskippable cutscene you're not safe from my abnormality about rocks now >:))))

For real though, there were a couple reasons I picked Apatite for the secret soulmates fusion, but. I'm going to put this under a cut because this WILL be long:

I'm honestly not sure how people usually find rocks to look for for gemcyt fusions, but for me the thing I found most simple was to just. Scour geological and gemology websites for any information I could find about blue gemstones. I had a couple criteria in mind- since Grian and BigB's current designs are opposite ends of the blue spectrum (Bigb leans more ultramarine/warm blue, while Grian leans more turquoise/colder blue) I wanted to look for a stone that ideally had a good mixture of the two, and preferably with spotting or interesting color patterns to sort of match the speckled nature of blue quartzes [also I wanted to potentially give them freckles. I'm a weak guy]. So I spent a few hours looking around on various websites, comparing gemstones for their hardness, chemical properties, what their cuts were, etc? I probably went a lot deeper than I should for. A rock to make a funny little fusion guy out of, but it was basically me squinting information about a rock and thinking "hmm. can I see secret soulmates in this rock" until I found some that clicked. By the time I was done with that I had Apatite, Sodalite, and Larimar as my top three potential choices, and eventually picked Apatite:

Number one, it looked like a really fun gemstone to pick colors from!!! It has a lot of interesting color patterns, and I especially liked the little bits of gold you could pick out in it, which would be fun to mess with. And secondly, Apatite is actually pretty fragile as far as gemstones go- it only has a rating of 5 on the Mohs hardness scale, and isn't often used for jewelry because of how brittle and easy to break apart it is. And that was a little interesting to me. Grian and BigB choose each other as soulmates, they trust each other, they go against the fate of the game to swap gifts and resources and be together. But there's also the way in which at the end of it, Grian still kills Ren and doesn't even realize he's killed BigB until it's already over. Something about the way that even if they choose each other that isn't enough to change the way the game goes, or fully break the other alliances they have. So, it was kind of inchresting to connect that fusion to a rock that's a bit softer.

In terms of the actual DESIGN for Apatite though, it was mostly just me messing around sketching until I hit something interesting? I knew before I picked the gemstone that the weapon was probably going to be some kind of bubble contraption- I was originally going to go for some kind of detachable bubble sword where you had the physical hilt, and then a bubble/water blade that could shift shapes, but that was before I dug into BigB's design and found out he actually uses a chakram [which is a sick as hell weapon btw]. So it ended up being the perfect shape for a bubble wand fusion!!

The chef theme was a silly little homage to how Secret Soulmates started because Grian and BigB exchanged little cookie gifts and promised to exchange food, and also just because. Look at these two goobers. I feel like they'd be moderately competent chefs together and it made me giggle to think about, so I went with it! Plus, having a little chef theme and tilting the bubble wand so that you could move it a bit like a frying pan, giving it exploding bubbles that could look like food- it sounded like something a little goofy and silly, which is the main theme I was going for lol.

The three sets of arms was honestly more of a whim kind of thing- I'm still sketching out and designing this dude in my brain so i might add on or take stuff away later when i give it a second pass. But I knew I wanted at least one of the sets of arms that Grian contributed to be water hands? Firstly because it'd be kind of fun for a silhouette, it'd match up with the chef theme (give this guy so many sets of hands he can be his own sous chef), and also because it'd kind of match up with the trickster, multiple sets of repeated limbs motif that other Grian fusions like marblegroves' Charoite design have, which I thought would be cool. Gonna be real most of it is because I thought it would be cool or funny.

I think that mostly covers it so uh. Hope you enjoyed unskippable cutscene if anybody has made it this far criminy. Hands you a gold star or something I guess if you're down here ^-^"

[im-smart-i-swear]

If funky guys had become paladins of voltron which one would be in which Lion?

back in the VERY early days of this whole au(like. buddys-name-was-still-ryou early) i wanted to base every clones personality/character on a diffrent lion.... but over time it slowly stopped fitting their personalities and i kinda abandoned the concept lol. though you can still see some remnants of that in . certain design choices...

going back to this concept after uhhh two years?? i think? was definetely interesting! all the characters changed WILDLY since then and i tried to re-assign the lions to fit the changes........ it was surprisingly hard

i couldnt for the life of me decide in a few cases, so instead im just gonna give the most suitable options lol

tashi & soup - im putting these two together beacuse- and i have NO IDEA how that would work- theyre copiloting the black lion! they function the best as a duo and separating them would NOT be a good idea in a situation as stressful and complicated as piloting voltron. they barely manage to keep everyone alive on a good day... also picking only one of the two as The Leader just feels wrong

buddy, ideally, would like to stay as FAR AWAY from voltron as psyhically possible, thank you very much- but nothing in this cruel world is ideal, so they get the red lion:) i actually have this whole story idea where basically stickbug ""goes rouge""(like. some sort of 'sleeper agent mode' left over by haggar gets activated by accident??) and runs away to do some evil shit so buddy goes after him(on a whim)(alone)(without telling the others) and while searching for him they bump into fUCKING VOLTRON- so they form a very uneasy truce until they find stick. and at some point buddy finds out he can pilot the red lion! its awful he hates it:/ he pilots anyway cause his loved one is in danger(this whole thing is way too complicated to talk about here lol)

i had A LOT of problems figuring out the last three..... they changed so much that i just cant rlly fit them into these categories anymore... but i tried!!

ORIGINALLY stickbug was supposed to be based on the green lion but he doesnt fit it as well anymore....... i think taks does pretty well tho! shes very bold and iquisitive and a pain in everyones ass<3 plus loves learning about diffrent planets' unique ecosystems n stuff. stick IS very curious and likes exploring so he still kinda fits? but hes not as forward as taks, so yeahhhh im very torn on this one

i have NO FUCKING CLUE what to do with blue. all three of em could propably fit there ngl....

yellow could either be taka or stickbug- taka is the youngest and the brightest, hes what brought all of them together in the first place(it takes a village to raise a child)....... buuuut hes not really a 'puts the needs of others above his own' kind of person? hes still a kid and NOT ready for that kind of responsibility. soup is an OBVIOUS choice here of course, but im not sure- honestly, the more i think about it, the more stickbug starts to feel like the best option here? ok hear me out: stickbug, for most of his life, had very little power over his life. even while with the funky guys(ESPECIALLY in the beggining, these bozos were dysfuctional as fuck) there were moments when the others would talk over him bc 'hes a kid', and even without that theres still his people pleasing problem wnich meant he often disregarded his own good to make other ppl content. so, taking this scrawny guy desperate for control over his life and putting him in the toughest, stongest, most resilient lion- basically i think he deserves to go a little apeshit. as a treat. let him wreck shit for once

honestly it kinda funny im stting here and calculating all of this like a mad man where IN THE ACTUAL SHOW the paladins switch the lions like pokemon cards

realistically speaking i think they would all trade and switch em a lot and then squabble over who gets to pilot yellow bc they ALL want to wreck shit sometimes:)

[ideas-on-paper]

Lies of P - No Specter Challenge Results

It's been a while since I finished Lies of P, and I'm already on my first NG+ right now, but I thought it would be fun to take a retrospective look at the results of the No Specter Challenge I had running during my live playthrough of it.

Since I streamed my complete first playthrough of Lies of P, I still have the recordings of the boss fights I did live on camera. The breaks during my streams have been subtracted from the times, however, since I had to take those from the edited episodes (the breaks were usually about 10 - 15 minutes).

More information and backstory under the cut 🔽

My Lies of P No Specter Challenge was something that I originally started out of a whimsy. When I got to the Scrapped Watchman (who really gave me a hard time during the demo), I did a voting on my Mastodon account, saying "Hey, would anyone like to see me trying myself at the Scrapped Watchman without Specter? Y'know, for the extra challenge?"

Of course, everybody voted "yes" (probably expecting to see me gloriously fail), and I said "You know what? I'm going to set 2 hours as a limit, so let's see if I can beat him in that time."

It was, as I expected, a fierce struggle, but about an hour into the stream, I actually managed to beat him - with one millimeter of health left, three perfect blocks just at the right moment, and a final blow just before the lightning got me. Needless to say, I was beyond myself with happiness and relief.

Later, when I was about to fight Fuoco, I did the same voting again, this time (curiously) with the result that I should fight him with Specter. However, my stream crashed at some point without my knowledge, so I not only had to re-do the boss fight, but all my game progress up until this point. (I made a habit of regularly copying my saves on a USB stick since then.)

Nevertheless, despite winning the battle against Fuoco, it almost felt too easy with Specter support. So when I re-recorded the fight, I said "You know what, I feel like I can do this without Specter, so let's give it a try." And I succeeded, at my second attempt even! (I almost got him the first time, just took a bit of an unlucky hit at the end.)

From there on, I decided I would try myself at all the bosses without Specter for my own fun (and kind of regretted it when encountering Andreus). I'm pretty proud that I managed to do almost every boss solo, with the exception of Romeo. (Unfortunately, it seems I blew all of my luck on the White Lady beforehand, whom I defeated first try - weapon break included!)

After Romeo, I also introduced a rule allowing me to use a guide after one hour if I can't beat the boss for whatever reason (frankly, the biggest problem for me was how to deal with Romeo's inferno combo). This rule really helped me out later with Laxasia, who also has what I call "bullshit combos" you can only counter with very specific tactics or items.

Other than that, I actually did all of the boss fights in the game with one and the same weapon: the Wintry Rapier handle + various upgraded versions of the Greatsword of Fate blade. (I started out with the Rapier and a Technique build, and I've been using the combo with the Greatsword blade ever since the Scrapped Watchman.) It may not be the fanciest weapon combo skill-wise, but it does really good raw damage. I did briefly use special weapons during some battles - like Etiquette for my first few tries against Andreus and the Puppet Ripper for the Green Monster - but these didn't really do much to help me (in fact, it almost ended up losing me the fight against Andreus, since the raw damage of Etiquette is really lackluster).

So, I essentially took on all bosses in the game solo, with no special weapons, no special amulets (since these were always too heavy for me to wear), just with my good old trusty standard weapon and my more or less fixed combination of amulets. (Life/Blue Guardianship Amulet, Patience/Leaping Amulet, Recharged Amulet and an amulet for bonus damage depending on the type of enemy.) And from my experience, it's absolutely doable.

As far as explanations go, I think this should suffice for now. However, if there's anything else you'd like to know, like tips for a specific boss, feel free to leave me a comment. I'm open for Q&A. :-)

[the-masked-ram]

Blurred Lines- Chapter Three

CW: NSFW, College AU, Roommate AU, Dom/Sub Undertones, Gambling, Friends with Benefits, Enemies to friends, Hate sex, Impact play, Mild Breath play, Drugs, Alcohol, afab! reader

See more content like this with months of early access, all original content, and artwork on my patreon

---

Chapter Three: The Sandwich is a Lie

Classes had been kicking your ass if you were honest. As someone who majored in environmental studies, who eventually wanted to help work to change the world for the better, your classes were many and exhausting. Add your work to that, and now taking care of Touya’s housework and food, and you were running on very little sleep.

The thing was, what you thought would be easy when it came to keeping the flat clean, was just another front Touya put on. If he had been left to his own devices, the apartment would never had been that clean to begin with. He had apparently been paying for a maid service.

No, the usual amount of filth, dirty laundry, junk lying around, and just general grossness, was astronomical. It’s like he didn’t know how to pick up after himself or didn’t care to. More likely the second. The meal planning at least was normal and stuck right to the rules and expectations.

However, because of your lack of sleep, you’d forgotten about the whole confusion and worry of who Touya really was, not just his name since you were positive you’d heard it before, but also why he was so secretive. You were running yourself ragged, and in the process sleeping far deeper and longer than you usually did when you actually managed to catch a few hours. Your alarm was not working as well anymore and often you either missed it or swiped it to turn off instead of snooze.

Thankfully the day you truly overslept, so much so that minutes turned into hours, was a day you didn’t have class- thank you flu season- and didn’t have work. So, you didn’t wake from paranoia plaguing your dreams, no… instead you were awoken by your incredibly rude, asshole of a roommate banging open your door and sitting on you.

Touya expected you to follow the rules, but he tended to take liberties with them a lot of the time. It’s a wonder how he hadn’t walked in on you naked yet.

You flailed awake, only to realize that your squirming body was pinned down by an annoyingly heavy weight, so you rolled, and he fell up against the wall on the other side of your body.

“What the fuck do you think you are doing, Touya?” you snarled, voice still gravelly with sleep but clearly conveying your irritation.

“Me? I was just worried about my wonderful roommate, obviously. I mean usually she’s up at the crack of dawn and today she’s almost slept in ‘til noon,” his blue eyes glittered mirthfully.

You rubbed a hand across your eyes as you checked you phone, he was right it was almost twelve. Damn, you’d wasted so much time. But you body wasn’t aching like before. You were surprised he hadn’t come in earlier.

“Did you just wake up too? And realize there wasn’t any coffee or something?” you groaned as you sat up, the shirt that you’d worn to bed twisting and exposing your cleavage.

“Naw, I’ve been up for hours now,” he said, eyes narrowing and sliding across your skin so obviously that you couldn’t ignore it even in your sleepy state.

“Touya… Can you go wait for me outside my bedroom?” you asked patiently.

He hummed, but moved off the bed, probably in the most inconvenient way. He rolled over you, taking care to brush about every inch of his body over yours that he could without it seeming too obvious. Though honestly, he didn’t succeed in staying incognito. Sometimes he was such a jerk, he had to know how he affected you. You felt your heart ramp up eagerly, and you sighed, flopping back against the pillow until you heard the door click shut.

“Asshole,” you groaned as you covered you face with your arm.

Your life with Touya had become very strange. He now openly flirted with you, not just eye fucking you. It was becoming harder and harder to keep your cool around him as he continued to up the ante. You couldn’t deny that, though you had very little time to yourself, you had far more money than you’d had in ages, and you were actually saving a small amount every week. Also, you were eating actual food.

You definitely felt grateful he’d let you sleep in. It would be rather normal for your roommate to wake you up when he’d awoken and then you’d be even more sleep deprived. You wondered if he’d noticed how exhausted you’d been lately. Snorting in amusement you stood and slipped on a pair of sleep shorts. Even if he did, Touya wouldn’t let you sleep if he wanted you awake, it wasn’t his style.

You yawned, rubbing a knuckle across your eyes as you stumbled from your room. You half expected Touya to be waiting for you, maybe waiting to scare the shit out you. But he wasn’t, so you wandered into the bathroom to do your daily care routine and make yourself look mildly presentable for the day.

Touya was sprawled out on the couch texting aggressively on his phone. He glanced up when you walked in, and once again you could feel the prickling heat of his teal eyes wander over your legs. You suppressed a shiver, refusing to let him have the satisfaction of affecting you.

“Ah, I’m sorry I wasn’t up to make you a breakfast or lunch or anything,” you murmured sheepishly.

“There’s food leftover if ya want it?” he slurred lazily, rolling over to prop his chin on the arm of the sofa.

“Wha-?” you said and when you stepped into the kitchen you saw not just food left over but a plate carefully wrapped that held a simple meal.

It wasn’t anything special, just a sandwich with some fruit on the side. But it didn’t stop the warmth from unfurling in your chest, it didn’t stop you from biting your lip and breathing deeply to stop the sudden rush of overwhelming tears. You were exhausted, emotions threatening to break the dam, and here Touya was being… considerate? It wasn’t fair.

“Thank you,” you breathed, feeling like someone had punched you in the gut.

“It’s just a fuckin’ sandwich,” he mumbled, and you didn’t look over because you could hear the embarrassment in his voice.

“I know,” you whispered.

It was just a sandwich, but that single act of kindness meant he had noticed, and that he was a decent enough of a human being to want to ease your burden for a moment. To make that soothing rush of serotonin take over so that the rest of the week would go easier.

You grinned as you sat down and revered the sandwich as if it were a steak. While you slowly went about enjoying your first meal of the day, Touya joined you at the kitchen island. He stared at you for several minutes and for those several minutes you were able to ignore him, until he cleared his throat and you sighed.

“Yes, Touya?” you asked around the mouthful of bread and fillings.

“I have a party this weekend,” he responded.

Your chewing slowed as you sifted through your fogged memories, you knew there was something specific you should remember about this word. Party… There was something you didn’t like that was part of your--.

“You mean on the day I have off?” your eyes narrowed, subtle irritation tightening your muscles.

“Yeah, think so,” he murmured as if he didn’t have your schedule written out on his phone.

“So, what… was this sandwich some form of apology? Or some way to get me to comply with your stupid rule for the parties?” you aggressively took another bite.

“If you wanna see it that way, sure,” Touya shrugged, already turning back to his phone with narrowed eyes.

He was typing away on the screen before you even had a chance to snap back at him, instead choosing to finish off the food that had brought you such joy earlier. Even now though, you couldn’t deny the simple meal had tasted far better than it should have. Maybe you had been running yourself thinner than even you were aware.

Spending the night in your room, finishing up homework, watching a show, or reading a book might not be so bad. Perhaps Touya was giving you a blessing in disguise. Forcing your overworked mind and body to relax. Yet, you still felt a petty anger directed toward your roommate as you went back to your room to get dressed.

 

---

It was during coffee that day, with you good friends Mina and Tsuyu, gossiping and laughing away, that you learned once again the Todoroki name. Where you learned just who you were staying with. Suddenly, everything seemed to flip on its head, and you felt your hands clench on the cardboard cup you held, and it crushed under your fingers. What had you gotten yourself into?

-Taglist-

@arvandus

[queen-ofsunflowers]

POV Ryoji in that one chapter involving him, Aigis, and Minato in Tartarus.

no excuses writing meme, askbox version

POV — something that’s already happened, retold from another character’s perspective

original chapter and perspective can be found here!

I assume that this is the scene that you were talking about, shortly after the August Full Moon? It was the first one that came to my mind, so I hope you enjoy!

With a twirl of his scythe, Ryoji sliced through a group of Shadows, only for Minato to follow up behind him with a quick slash and a volley of bullets from Aigis to destroy the next. Ryoji stepped back as the wind picked up around Minato, the latter swinging his blade to create a powerful gust of wind to slice through a bunch of Shadows that had been trying to sneak up on them.

Ryoji drew in a silent breath, allowing the strange air of the Tower to fill his lungs. It was sharp, and each inhale felt like an icy wind in his lungs that sent small pinpricks of magic zipping through his body. It was odd. Ryoji wasn't entirely certain about it since he had his eyes currently focused on their field leader and his every movement, but it felt like his own magic seemed to spike a little.

...was he always that fluid when he fought? For someone who was strictly against using magic only a few months ago, casting spells seemed like second nature to Minato. And the way that he used it in sync with his sword, moving with each step like it was a dance that he always knew and Ryoji really wanted to be a part of--

The sound of Aigis's gunfire snapped Ryoji back to reality, and he swallowed down something hard. He was really glad that no one with a telepathic ability was in the area. And if Misturu did choose that exact moment to peek into his head for whatever reason, he would never be able to look her in the eye again. Never again.

And frankly, he was glad that wasn't an ability of Aigis's. After what happened last night, she had been kinder towards him. At the very least, she wasn't keeping them apart for whatever strange reason. Being able to spend time with Minato again -- even if it had been in the Tower, fighting Shadows, was a relief to him.

"Minato-san!" Aigis shouted, bringing Ryoji back to reality and out of his daydreams. A group of raven-like shadows that brought a chill in the air swarmed the team of three. Minato swung his sword, the blade alight with blue flame to try and keep them at bay. Ryoji ground his heel into the floor as he and Aigis tried to keep still, with the Shadows causing a minor windstorm to try and knock them off their feet.

“Son of a…!” Minato said through his teeth.

Maybe it would be better if I saved the daydreaming for the day... If Ryoji had been more attentive, maybe this wouldn't have happened. He glanced down just as Fuuka's voice screamed over their communciation line--

“Look out!”

An all too familiar purple-black glyph was taking shape underneath the three of them. Crap--

Ryoji slammed the pole of his scythe against the gylph's center.

“ Garu !” he shouted, a burst of wind blowing strongly out from the connection point. It blew Aigis and Minato out of the gylph's range, and just in time, too. Ryoji shut his eyes, gritting his teeth tightly and threatening to break his scythe in half with how tightly he was gripping onto it as the gylph exploded into a bright, condensed dark purple light. It burned, threatening to tear his flesh apart thought it would leave no mark. As it dissipated around him, and his legs shook.

“Engaging,” said Aigis. Her wrist twisted around as Ryoji crouched down to his knee, and she unleashed a hail of bullets upon the Shadows in front of them. It wasn’t going to be enough. Ryoji had to do something--

“Aigis, get back!” Minato called to her. Aigis glanced at him for a moment before leaping back to the boys’ sides. “ Zio !” 

Lightning crackled in the air as it charged up Minato’s blade. He drove it into the ground, sending a cavalcade of electricity flowing through the Shadows in front of them. They shrieked before dying off and fading away. Minato sighed as he stood up, pulling his sword out. A small sigh escaped Ryoji. He tried to stand. He wanted to get up.

But whatever aderaline had been with him before was gone now. He bit back a groan. That was just great...

“Targets eliminated,” said Aigis with a whirl of her gun gauntlets. She turned to Ryoji, who was still on the ground. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine… surprisingly,” said Ryoji, groaning. “And you?”

“Thanks to you,” said Minato. He held out his hand to him. Relieved, Ryoji took it and allowed Minato to pull him back up. His legs were still a bit wobbly, but he didn't think either Aigis or Minato noticed.

“I suggest we make our return,” said Aigis. “You are still weakened from yesterday’s operation.” So, that was that was? Maybe that was why Ryoji's legs were all shakey after taking that blast. Or maybe because he just got hit with dark magic. Sure, it was controlled and not chaotic -- that would've done more damage -- but still.

Ryoji came to a stop when Minato turned to him and said, “And you just took the full force of a dark spell.”

“I feel just fine,” Ryoji huffed. Other than the shakey legs, but he could deal with that.

“Don’t argue with me. You will lose. Especially after we tell Kirijo.”

"I'm feeling just fine," Ryoji grumbled something under his breath, though he was uncertain if Aigis or Minato could hear.

most likely ‘I'm feeling fine’ again. How he could be after taking a hit from one of the strongest combative spells known to Non-Mortalkind, Minato had no idea.

“We were exposed to poison gas last night," added Minato. "We should take it easy.” Aigis nodded in agreement with him. Ryoji's eyes softened, and he sighed. He was right, and he knew it. Minato was just trying to be a good field leader and look out for them.

He didn't protest as Aigis sent a message to Fuuka and Mitsuru to let them know what happened, making their way down the Tower as they did so. When asked why they were heading down so early by S.E.E.S.’s leader, Aigis thankfully took charge and explained.

“ Sometimes, I swear, ” huffed Mitsuru once Aigis’s explanation was done. “ It feels like you have a death wish. ”

“Which one of us?” Ryoji asked.

“ Both of you. ” Minato rolled his eyes, and Ryoji bit his tongue. Her reaction now was a good thing. That meant she hadn't seen inside his head earlier. If she had, she would've been keeping an eye on them during that brief bout, and promptly yelled at him as soon as it ended. “ Aigis, keep an eye on them. ”

“Understood,” said Aigis with a short nod.

Minato huffed as the crystal’s connection was cut off. “I do not have a death wish.”

“If anyone has a death wish, you’d think it would be Akihiko-senpai,” mused Ryoji out loud. The tiny team of three began to make their way towards their exit. Mitsuru's words lingered in his head as he held his scythe behind his back, not wanting to dispell it until they were safely out of the Tower. “...honestly, I never understood that phrase. Death seems like a strange thing to wish for.”

“Not really.” Both Aigis’s and Ryoji’s eyes fell on him. What did Minato just...? “If you think about how some people think and feel, it’s no surprise that they want it.”

“I see,” said Aigis with a nod. “Some people would choose death rather than suffer.”

“I think that’s enough of that topic for now,” said Ryoji rather quickly. Death was the last thing that he wanted to talk about at the moment. After what just happened? After what happened yesterday? Thinking about it all just...

It made him think about his friends dying. The people he loved and cared about dying. He couldn't handle that. He didn't want them to die. He wanted them to be able to live freely, without fear of Shadows or anything else. He just wanted them to be safe.

And then Minato said something that surprised Ryoji.

“...I don’t want you to get hurt, that’s why we’re turning back,” Minato told him and Aigis seemingly out of the blue. Both Aigis and Ryoji stopped, his eyes wide. Minato was the last person Ryoji had expected to say that out loud, or openly admit it to anyone that wasn't Kotone. And then he kept going. "With the poison gas and Aigis overheating last night. It… really… It's just…” Minato sighed, taking a moment before he turned to Ryoji. “If you hadn’t thought to use your scarf the way you did, I think we would’ve all been killed. I don’t know if it would’ve happened, and I don’t want to think about it. I just… want to be careful going forward. We’re friends. And you guys… you’re… important.”

There was a beat. Neither one of them said anything. Ryoji wasn't sure if he could say anything. He was still trying to digest everything that Minato just said.

He was... important to him...?

Minato shuffled past them. “Come on, we should get going.”

“Uh, y-yes,” Ryoji stammered, snapping back to reality. The group descended down one staircase after another until they found a checkpoint that Fuuka and Mitsuru had set up long ago to help make navigating the Tower a bit easier. He swallowed. This silence was starting to kill him. “...I didn’t know you felt like that.”

He probably never would have known if Minato didn't tell him. Or maybe he would have thought about it, and never had it confirmed. There were a lot of 'what if's floating around in his head right now.

“I’m not one for talking about stuff like this," Minato said. "But I feel comfortable enough around you guys to say something, anyway. I’m not sure what I would do without you.”

For once, Ryoji was glad that Minato was in front of them. He could practically feel his face burning. It was a general comment about not only him, but the entire team. So why did it make a butterfly bounce around in his stomach and his heart just skip a beat when he heard it?!

“Ryoji-san, your face is turning red,” said Aigis as Minato started to work the device to get them back to the lower floors. “You are also overheating.”

He knew that, but Aigis didn't need to say it out loud! It drew Minato's attention to him, which only made Ryoji blush even harder.

“ Aigis !” Ryoji exclaimed, exasperated. Why did she have to be so blunt about her observations?!

[soka-writes-things]

Blinded by coffee

echo x café!reader

word count: 2.4k

summary: who knew a bit of coffee and a blind dating app could be the start of a love story?

warnings: cringe & the ending feels rushed but i don’t know what else to put ,.,

authors note: super sorry for the long wait but this story caused such a writer’s block it isn’t even funny. thank you for all the support on my last two posts!

You glared at your phone, the little blue line blinking mockingly at you. Regret buried itself into your stomach and your anxiety creeped up your back like a a spider.

After constant nagging from your friends, you had finally given in and downloaded the app Shuffle. Shuffle, a popular blind dating app, had been sprouting all over the city of Coruscant the past few months and your friends decided your lonely arse should hop on the love train. You regret listening to them.

You had set up your profile and swiped meaninglessly through the profiles of people for an hour before deciding that you’d choose the next one that popped up. Stupid idea but you thought it would be funny since you were bored of the people who kept appearing. The profile was actually really neat, and the person seemed to have quite a few good qualities, so you checked it and left the app.

A couple of days later, the profile you had forgotten that you checked had also checked you. Then started the waiting game of who would message first. About ten minutes had passed and your phone had dinged twice with new messages from the app. The other person had messaged you first and to top it off, they had sent you a terrible pickup line about… cheese?

Despite the awkward attempt, you had responded and a conversation bloomed between the two of you. You learnt that this person is a he and his name is Echo. Echo came from the city of Kamino far on the other side of the planet and had worked as a mechanic for a while there before moving to Coruscant. Regardless of his quick and clever mind, Echo preferred creativity and artistic things instead of the hard facts. He also told you that he came into University later, so he was only now finishing his final year of Art Uni. You told him all about you, how you wanted to go into music and be a singer but after freshly coming out of Uni and being a new face, no one wanted to hire you. You made a few covers and posted them to HoloTube and an original song of your own, but you were yet to bloom.

The conversation was lovely, he kept dropping terrible pickup lines which made you laugh, and everything was going well. Until now which brought you back to the fact that he just asked you out. Of course there was nothing wrong with him asking you out, but since you had bad anxiety and tended to make a fool of yourself in stressful situations, you panicked. Especially when he dropped the bomb that he wanted to bring you to his favourite coffee shop (once again, nothing wrong with it) but that shop was where you worked.

So of course in your moment of panic, you did the most logical thing. You told him you had an event on that day and wouldn’t be available. His three dots appeared, and you watched it with a proud smile at yourself for thinking up such a smart idea. Until he told you that he was available every day this week since his Uni was currently having a weeklong holiday.

Your smile dropped from your face and a groan came from your lips. How would you get out of this one? You stared at the screen lost in your thoughts until you remembered that Echo must be waiting for your answer. With a reluctant sigh you told him that you’d be available on Friday around 9:30 in the morning. Your shift ended at 10 am that day and if he came in early, you could assess him before actually having to go over and interact with him.

Echo responded almost immediately with his own confirmation and that’s how you managed to land yourself a date.

You texted your group chat, telling them what had just happened (they thought you were pranking them at first) until you gave them all the details. They were proud of you of course and since two of them worked with you at the coffee shop, they’d be able to be your backup if anything went wrong. A plan had been set in motion and you felt much more confident in yourself. And then you remembered that you had to pick an outfit which brought you back into the spiral of despair.

The next few days flew by, and terrible thoughts planted themselves in your head. What if Echo was one of your co-workers? You had quickly shaken that thought out of your head, telling yourself you knew these people and that was a stupid thought. What if Echo decided he didn’t like you? What if you were too loud and made a fool of yourself? What if-

The bell rang in front of you, and you had to remember to stay in the moment of your job.

Finally, Friday creeped up and jumped onto you, throwing you into the day starting with a stomach full of panic. After ten minutes of rearranging your closet for an outfit, you gave up and picked light blue jeans and a white matching top. Simple and casual. That would work, right?

You headed into your shift exactly at 7am as scheduled and tried not to vomit from the butterflies in your stomach. Your friends tried to give you encouraging words but nothing seemed to be working, if not it seemed to only make you more nervous. You briefly wondered if you could drown yourself in the coffee machine but decided against it since the bitter coffee would be a terrible way to die.

You snapped out of your intrusive thoughts when a hand shook your shoulder aggressively. “What about him?” Your friend asked, pointing at a new man who walked in. You rolled your eyes. “I really don’t think it’s going to be him.” You retorted, filling up a new cup of coffee for table four.

Sabé, one of your friends and co-worker, bounded up to you with a bright smile in her eyes and on her face. Your other friend, the one whom you were previously talking to, turned to Sabé with a quirked eyebrow.

“What is it now, Sabé? Did you find another rich white boy to bring home?”

Sabé scowled, “Shut up Dormé.” She smacked Dormé on the shoulder. “So inconsiderate.”

Sabé turned to you. “It’s 9:30, is your hubby here?” You stared at Sabé blankly. “What?” She asked.

Dormé rolled her eyes, picking the filled coffee mug from your hands and already swiftly making her way to table four.

“Sabé. It’s a blind date.” You stated in disbelief. “How would I know what he looks like.” Sabé shrugged. “You ask?”

You struggled to resist the urge to face palm. Just as you opened your mouth to retort, the bell rang again, signalling a new arrival. Sabé whistled lowly, pushing you aside so she could cashier for the newcomer. You rolled your eyes at her actions, turning back around to restock the muffins.

“Hi~!” Sabé sang as she greeted the newcomer. A low voice greeted her back. Despite your better part of yourself, curiosity won the battle and you pulled out your phone to look at the guy in the reflection of your phone.

Even though you couldn’t properly see him due to the bad reflection, you could tell that the guy had tan skin and unruly curly hair. His eyes seemed to be deep brown, but you couldn’t confirm. You cleared your throat slightly as you put away your phone and turned around with the tray of muffins, turning to the glass cabinet.

You made your way over to the display and decided to take a peek at the man who was still chatting with Sabé. As if sensing you looking at him, he turned his head to you, locking your gaze with his own. You choked on air and stumbled slightly as you whipped your head around, looking towards the glass cabinet.

The man chuckled and Sabé said something to him. Something you would’ve heard if your blood wasn’t pounding in your ears, your face flushing in embarrassment. You hastily shoved the muffins in the display case before shuffling away to go respond to a calling table.

When you came back from serving the table, the man had already left. Sabé grinned cheekily at you, already opening her mouth to begin her taunting. You held up your hand with a tired sigh. “Don’t even start, Sabé. I know that was embarrassing.” Sabé continued to grin. “Actually, I wasn’t going to say that. Apparently he is here for a blind date.” Sabé wiggled her eyebrows at you.

Your heart jumped in your chest, but you scolded your overexcited heart. “Don’t get my hopes up. It could be a coincidence.” Sabé shrugged, rearranging the money in the cash register. “Don’t be such a down in the dumps and try to get some information! Maybe he is your hubby!”

You frowned, your social anxiety getting the best of you, and you shook your head. “Maybe in a bit.” You promised. That promise didn’t hold awfully long since you continued to eyeball the lonely man in the booth as you continued with your shift.

Ten minutes passed and Dormé had served his coffee to him. He drank the coffee slowly as he peeked at the entrance every so often.

Fifteen minutes passed and your heart continued to pound guiltily in your chest. What if it was actually him and you’ve been leaving him hanging?

Twenty minutes passed and the man looked just about ready to get up and go. He grabbed your attention as you were passing by and asked for a muffin. You nodded and scurried to the display before realizing that he didn’t ask for a specific type of muffin. With glowing red ears, your face clearly flustered in embarrassment, you went back and asked the man which muffin he’d like. He responded with a chocolate muffin and looked down at his phone almost excitedly when it lit up but then became disappointed when he saw it to be something other than what he was expecting.

You gave a small nod and retrieved the muffin for him. By now it was almost 5 minutes until your shift was over and the man looked almost sad. You almost stepped away to go back to your shift, but your guilty heart pounded in your chest again. “So, uh, are you waiting for anyone?” You almost wanted to slap yourself for stating the obviousness of his down mood but the man merely sighed, rubbing his cheek in slight awkwardness. “Was it that obvious?” He asked.

You nodded, shifting your weight. “You would look at the door every few minutes. It was kinda hard not to watch.” The man looked up at you in confusion and you dropped your notepad as you waved your hands in the air. “Not like that! You just looked awfully sad.” You confess. You bend down to pick up the notepad and banged your head on the flat side of the table when coming back up.

You scowled, rubbing your head in annoyance. A bright laugh came from the man, and you beamed as your pain had made him slightly happier. “Are you alright?” He asked between chuckles. You smiled at him, patting your head. “I’ve got a thick skull, should be fine.”

The man shook his head with a smaller smile, the air turning more solemn again. “So!” You said quickly, not able to bear the silence. “I heard from one of my colleagues that you’re here for a blind date?” The man’s eyes casted downwards. “Ah yeah. Seems it was a no go though.”

You frowned, “Damn that kinda sucks, sorry about that. I’m supposed to be on a blind date as well but I’m not sure if he’s even here.” The man peered up at you with a confused look. A cringed look appeared on your face, and you swore under your breath. You bit the inside of your cheek and look back down at the man. “If I’m correct about what I’m about to say, I’m going to feel like a downright sheb.”

The man narrowed his eyes, starting to catch on. “You don’t think?-“ He started. You shrugged, sitting in the booth in front of him. “Only one way to find out.” You stuck your hand out in greeting and introduced yourself. The man’s eyes widened at your name, “I’m Echo.” He also introduced.

Now you really felt like a sheb. Echo quirked an eyebrow at you. “So, you didn’t “show up” because you actually work here?” The guilt that had weighed in your chest seemed to slam into you tenfold.

“I had my reasons!” You exclaim hurriedly. “I saw you walk in, and my friends kept telling me to talk to you, but I was really nervous and just decided to wait and see what you did.” Now you really wanted to slap yourself. “Hearing it out loud just makes me sound really stupid and I’m sorry.”

You waited for Echo to say something in response to what you just said but he just sat there, musing over you. “Well.” He said finally, “Even though I had to wait a bit, at least you are here now.” You nodded in relief. “I’m still really sorry. That’s super embarrassing of me to stand you up like that.”

Echo waved his hand in dismissal. “Are we going to have this date now though? Or is it going to be rescheduled?” You jolted in panic. “No no we can have it now! Let me just make myself a quick coffee and I’ll be right back!”

Even though the greeting was terribly embarrassing, the date continued on smoothly and Dormé and Sabé continued to give their silent cheers from behind the counter. When the date ended, Echo actually surprised you by asking if you’d like to go on another one. You agreed with an excited smile and you two exchanged numbers with each other. As Echo left the shop with a wave, Dormé and Sabé wiggled up to you, squealing about you having to drop all the details.

Guess the Shuffle app really does help people find love…

tags: @quizznag