#after an event of kinship/bonding of some sort

[truedarkhunter]

Counterpoint: Undertaker not with Cloudia

While many people, including ones I respect, are fond of the Cloudia and Undertaker pairing, I can't quite get behind it. I don't hate it, mind you, but looking at things both in the period and in the story setting, it kind of doesn't work for me. Here's some of why. 1. Humans are fireflies. Undertaker is one of the oldest, and would have the least connection to the human world. Hence he finds the stage of human life "absurd". He watches it as a play while attempting to stay detached. While some of the Reapers do dally with humans (Grelle in her macaroni get-up in The Story of Will the Reaper, and Ron flirting with a girl in Book of the Atlantic), they aren't long-term things. Reapers have too much to do to easily maintain such relationships and what do you do when someone wants to ask questions like "where do you live?" and "what do you do for a living?" These are some basic things people want to know quickly to assess your social status. Not only can Reapers not easily answer those questions, when they can get away to see someone (lover or no), it could be a month later or more. When they don't have a clear answer for their absences, like being in the military or a deep sea fisherman, it would be hard to wait for such a person. If Undertaker knew Cloudia from when she was a little girl, would he really see her as a woman? Wouldn't that feel weird, like Jacob from Twilight level weird? I kind of think he'd just have the affection and desire to watch over and protect Cloudia throughout her life if he formed a bond with a bright, little girl who didn't see him as scary or creepy, but rather funny and kind. She might have been the reason he discovered the value of laughter. That would be a greater gift. 2. Virginity was still a goal in Victorian times. Remaining a virgin until death was still a goal, especially with the influence of the Catholic church. You wanted to enter Heaven pure. Those who did got a special crown. With Reapers being in Purgatory already, some may wonder if it's wise to get involved with anyone when the goal is to get out of there.

3. It would ruin Cloudia. Virginity was also important to be able to marry well, as having dalliances before marriage could kill a good match. Undertaker was not her social equal. Even if he could have vied for her hand, he couldn't have offered her the life she deserved, and people would definitely have talked. If she had a relationship with him outside of marriage, it could alter her life - i.e. alter the course of human events by keeping her from the life that was originally planned. That would not be a good thing for Undertaker to do to someone he claimed to care for, nor would it be wise given how the Grim Reaper Association might come down on him. Unrequited love? Absolutely! Feeling friendship or a kinship to the girl who then died at 36, causing him to reach the point of wondering what his own life and efforts amounted to? Sure! Getting romantic with someone when you know that giving into your passions would only hurt them, especially when you know that in 5 minutes (to you) their desires will calm down or they will be married off and those emotions can find purchase elsewhere? Not so much. That isn't love, just desire. 4. Demons don't eat Reaper souls. Neither Sebastian nor Claude showed any interest in munching on Reapers, so something fundamentally shifted in them. So even if humans and Reapers can have kids, how would that have affected Vincent and Francis? Is one of them a half-Reaper? How would Heaven and Hell treat that soul after their life ended? (Angels and humans together produced Nephilim, would the Grim Reaper Association even allow such a pregnancy to reach full term? Would the other Powers That Be?) How would that soul get judged or sorted? While having Ciel be a quarter Reaper is a fun concept it also comes with a severe complication. 5. It ruins the story. The whole premise of Black Butler is about the pact between a DEMON and a HUMAN. If Ciel was 1/4 Reaper, i.e. inedible stuff, why would that pact even form? (Let's face it, he'd be like a dog dropping sandwich. No matter how little dog dropping is in it, you don't want it anymore.) What special powers would it confer? It certainly robs the tale of the struggle that makes it poignant if Ciel isn't really a fallible mortal like everyone else. His choice to walk the road not taken and giving everyone else a glimpse into a Faustian pact where instead of pleasure and power, the maker of the pact wants revenge is what makes it interesting. If Ciel isn't fully human, maybe the pact can't be properly formed in the first place. It can undo the very premise of the show, and that makes it not fun. I like it more for an AU concept than the main one. This tale is a tragedy. We are about to see it play out as a version of Hamlet. I'm more wondering who will be the one(s) left to report that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead. Let's see if we get to learn Cloudia's fate. I DO suspect her death, and her close ties to the Undertaker, undid the best Reaper of the association and set him on the path of ending death itself so no one had to die anymore so he might find his own end/peace. And realize, if you do like the Cloudia/Undertaker ship, good on you. I'm still going to read posts and fan-fics about them and get some popcorn. The idea is intriguing, but comes with a lot of plot holes that I need to see filled to fully get behind the match. That said, if anyone can fill holes in plots, it certainly would be Undertaker. Ciao!

[ramblings-from-the-ether]

Prohibition AU | Character Profile: Molly

The silent, stress-shouldering youngest of a widowed toymaker, eternally-exhausted Molly Blyndeff does her best to occupy as little space as possible in a time where even space is often sought after. Molly spends her days toiling to maintain her family’s finances and keep them above the poverty line, but come nightfall, Bliss Ocean’s goddaughter and errand girl finds an unconventional respite in the operation of a different resource: information.

Background.

Born the younger sister of a prodigious teen actor and puppeteer favoured by their father, Molly is quite used to going through life unseen and unheard, especially after the death of her mother, whom she was closer to than anyone. In the years that followed, she was forcibly thrown the responsibilities of her household and of running their small, family-owned toy business for income’s sake, earning her a necessitated knack for diplomacy and administration.

She first met the illustrious Naven Nuknuk taking pictures with him during one of his PR campaigns, directed towards helping the needy in Sweet Jazz City; where her disillusioned deportment and striking ability to garner sympathy from the press would catch his attention (and later, so would the exact circumstances of her home life). They became fast friends outside of work, and he would later go on to foster, support, and even mentor Molly in her neglectful family’s stead.

Molly’s first real brush with crime presented itself when she inexplicably found herself in the midst of a frantic firefight between one Giovanni Potage’s old gang and the ever-zealous Dr. Sylvester Ashling, and even more inexplicably when she managed to befriend both individuals in the end. Naven’s discovery of this event would mark the beginning of Molly’s induction into Bliss Ocean’s far outer circle, where her skills in subterfuge and gathering intelligence would be put to good use in return for some much-needed additional income.

Relations.

Even before working for Bliss Ocean, Molly had a tight-knit friendship with Trixie Roughhouse and Phoenica Fleecity, both youngest members of their respective legendary families. Her unexpected sibling bond with Dr. Sylvester Ashling and aspiring gangster Giovanni Potage was also the catalyst for her honorary induction into Bliss Ocean, and the two of them have had a major positive impact on Molly’s perception of herself.

Molly’s penchant for diplomacy and general affability has also helped her ingratiate herself with even Bliss Ocean’s inner circles. Detective Percival King and Ramsey Murdoch especially found a sort of surrogate affection for her, supporting and nurturing her as such. Other members of the family—Rick Shades, Mera Salamin, and even Zora Salazar, to be precise—have developed a kinship with the troubled young girl, occasionally providing her emotional (and sometimes physical) support.

Bliss Ocean Report.

Truth be told, I do feel some guilt over involving the young Blyndeff in such a perilous trade, but my avenues for supporting her otherwise are limited, and Molly has made it quite clear herself that she’d prefer it over continuing to endure her current circumstances. Regardless, she’ll only be gathering information and running some small errands; ideally, she shouldn’t ever be in much danger, if at all.

I want to say I was taken aback at just how swimmingly Molly’s taken to her new job, but given her already-tumultuous home life, I’m not sure how surprised by her adaptability I really should be. From her field reports, it seems she has a remarkable administrative talent, able to quickly assess her surroundings and parse out any potential assets and liabilities she sees. And yet, her still-unexplainable ability to elude notice and disappear from view at the drop of a hat has become even more apparent.

After getting to know her better, it’s become rather obvious that Molly hates attention and prefers to appear as unremarkable as possible. But she’s clearly an empathetic person; she knows how people think and see her, and she knows how to take advantage of it. She wields a people-pleasing smile and an aversion to conflict better than many politicians I’ve met, and it’s always a delight seeing her practise her craft in less stressful situations. In fact, I’ve recently taken it upon myself to personally teach her additional communication skills; given time and practice, I believe she could make quite a masterful diplomat.

What troubles me still regarding Molly is her passivity. Her recent years have been more difficult than anyone deserves, and the one thing she has to show for it is an incredibly potent set of skills that could drastically improve her circumstances if nurtured and used properly, but she clearly views them more as a means of survival and protecting herself than as tools for change and gain. But they are tools, very powerful ones, and the fact that her unforgiving home life has forced her to use them almost solely to defend herself saddens me greatly.

If there’s any solace to be had, Molly’s situation is improving, if slowly. She’s bonded quite well with the rest of Bliss Ocean, and I believe those connections are good for her. Giovanni was already encouraging her to use her skills more proactively, something I absolutely advocate for, and Sylvie, Percy, and even Ramsey have taken to supporting her in lieu of her family. Perhaps with time, and with their help, the future will finally see things getting better for her.

- Naven

[hisbeautysurroundsus]

I will never forget the events of Sunday, March 14, 2021, as long as I live.  While I have difficulty separating reality from the tale that spins in my mind, one thing I am sure of is that a lone elk calf changed the course of my life.  The story is a modern-day parable of sorts.  However, the parable does not end as neatly as you would want it to.  As with any good story, it must be written, or the facts surrounding that day would get lost to time. 

Jesus always spoke to the multitudes in parables, uttering things kept secret from the foundation of the world.  He did this so that seeing they would not see and hearing they would not understand.  Perhaps all great parables have an element of self-discovery.

As a 28-year military veteran struggling to figure out what to do with the balance of my life, I often prayed that God would help me do something of impact and eternal consequence.  For some time, He remained painfully silent on the matter.  I was enthralled by Paul's conversion story in the book of Acts leading up to that fateful day with the elk calf.  Acts records a miraculous time in human history when the ministry of the Holy Spirit was poured out.  The period was marked by great signs and miraculous wonders, just as those that marked the coming of Christ's ministry on earth.

I do not rely on signs and wonders to strengthen my faith.  I have always considered those who seek signs to be doctrinally insecure.  However, on this particular morning I had been meditating on the ministry of Paul and his companions.  I was driving along Buffalo Bill State Park near Cody, Wyoming, just after sunrise and praying as I looked over the water toward Sheep Mountain.  "God, I do not need signs and wonders to follow you.  I just want to know my purpose; how can you use me?  I want you to give me clear direction, some sign that I am on the right track." 

As I spoke these words out loud, off to my left, I saw a lone elk calf in distress.  I drove past before my brain could process what my eyes had just seen.  I have never seen a lone elk in the wild; they are always together with the herd.  I quickly turned my vehicle around and drove back towards the unusual sight.  I stopped a safe distance from the elk calf to avoid worsening his already frantic state.  As I observed him, it quickly became evident his situation was not good.  He was left alone because he was afraid to jump the fence.

I immediately felt a kinship with this lone elk calf.  He was alone.  He knew he wanted to be where he belonged but did not know how to get there.  He was trapped behind the fence of uncertainty.  I felt his pain.  I sat there in my truck crying for this lone elk calf, crying for me.  We bonded heart to heart, life to life.  He was my kind; we shared the same frustration.  He was me, and I was him.

Everything else around me faded into unimportance.  Why did his herd leave him behind?  Where is his herd?  Why won't he jump the fence?  At once, we were altogether sharing the same experience.  I wept harder for him, for me.  Snap!  I suddenly popped back into my usual rational self.  My military bearing restored, I regained composure, dried up any sign of tears, and set aside this total breakdown of emotions.  Even so, it was evident that God had given me this lone elk calf just as I prayed for a sign.  Was it possible that he was my sign?  I scolded myself for being so weak as to need such a thing. 

With another snap of military bearing, I set aside my selfish thoughts and assessed the situation.  I needed to do something to help this elk calf return to his herd!  But what?  Elk calves are not small; they are easily the size of an adult whitetail deer.  I scanned the mountainside; his herd was nowhere to be found.  What could I do?  I did not even know which direction to push him in. 

I drove closer to see if the truck would convince him to jump the fence.  He clearly had the ability to jump the fence.  I got angry with him.  I said aloud, "Why won't you just jump the fence?" You have everything you need; the answer is right there in front of you.  I related to him again.  I got angry with myself; another flood of emotions came over me. 

The truck pushed him further down the fence towards an open gate to the park.  Surely, he would see this opportunity to be free.  He ran up to the open gate and stopped.  He jerked ten yards away from the open gate with a nervous lurch backward and stopped.  He returned to the open gate, and I said, "Okay, little elk, just go out the gate."  He jerked ten yards from the open gate with another nervous lurch backward.  This repeated four times.  I got angry with him; why wouldn't he go out the open gate?  You have everything you need; the answer is right there in front of you.  I related to him again.  I got angry with myself; another flood of emotions came over me. 

He ran further down the fence towards Gibbs Bridge and the North Fork of the Shoshone River.  I drove into the park through the open gate that he could not, or would not, go out.  I followed him at a safe distance, pushing him towards the bridge.  I exited my vehicle and pushed him on foot over the rocks and ice.  We went under the bridge together to the other side of the park.  This side of the park has a cowboy fence made of wood rails, with segments where the top rail is periodically removed for the elk to cross over. 

He stopped in a stand of aspens, trying to figure out his next move.  I wanted to push him toward his herd, but I did not know where the herd was.  They were long gone, and we were both there alone—together. 

Before I could think it through, he pressured a pair of Canadian Geese.  They honked and flapped their wings, which made the matter worse.  I remembered my morning Bible study in the book of Nehemiah, of the doubters that laughed him to scorn when he set about doing what God had put in his heart to do.  I yelled at the geese, "Go ahead and laugh.  Get out of here, you lousy doubters!"  The pair kept loudly honking as they flew away.

If I were going to help him, I would have to know where his herd was.  At the risk of losing him, I determined to run back across the road, down the rocky cliff next to the bridge, get my vehicle, and find the elk herd.  The truck was about a quarter mile away, and I knew it was likely that I would lose track of him in the shuffle.  I had no choice.

As I drove back up the hill, I saw that he was still standing nervously in the aspens.  I headed down the highway to the pastures where I typically see the elk herd.  From the highway, I could still see him in the aspens.  The drive took me past the road to Logan Mountain, with a piece of property I had been praying about buying.  I had been reluctant because I did not want to settle in a place contrary to God's plan for my life.

In a 28-year military career, with twelve assignments all around the world, my family moved wherever the service needed us to go.  We had gotten good at making a life somewhere new.  Now, for the first time in our lives, we did not have anyone telling us where to go.  We felt lost.  Freedom and uncertainty are cousins, and we wanted to belong somewhere.  Who are my people?  Where did I fit in?  What was my purpose?  Would my life matter?  How could I make an impact?  God, what would you have me to do?  What will I do with the balance of my life?  These nagging questions bonded me to this stranded elk calf.

Passing Logan Mountain, I wondered if the elk herd was on the property I had been praying about.  No, that was selfish thinking and foolish to boot.  I said to God, "Lord, sorry for my selfish thinking; just help me to get this elk calf back to his herd."  I was pressed in my spirit again about my lack of faith. 

Just a few days before, I was reading Acts about how Herod imprisoned Peter for preaching the gospel.  The church prayed without ceasing for Peter.  God heard their prayers and sent His angel to lead Peter out of prison.  Peter went to Mary's house, where many believers had gathered to pray for his release.  When they opened the gate and saw Peter, they were astonished.  Why?  Though they were praying without ceasing, their faith was deficient.  They did not believe God would answer so soon or in such a miraculous way. 

With a pricked heart, I turned the vehicle around and drove up Logan Mountain Drive.  No elk.  I continue up the mountain on a scarcely maintained private dirt road.  No elk.  Higher and higher.  A thousand feet above the park, looking down at where the elk calf was in the aspens, I rounded a corner, and the entire elk herd (about two hundred in number) was standing in a gully, looking down towards me like a great cloud of witnesses.  I leaped with joy! 

I consider that they had been watching the entire event unfold below them.  Did the elk calf know they were here?  Did they know he was there?  Did they see me cry and run frantically to herd him out of the fence?  What a crazy fool I must have looked like to them.

I returned down the mountain towards the calf.  I just knew this story would have a neat, happy ending.  I could proudly push him across the highway and back up the mountain to his herd.  Mission accomplished.  Job well done, sergeant!

I returned to the park, but the elk calf was not in the stand of aspens.  He was not under the bridge.  He was not trapped behind the fence on the other side of the bridge.  He was not in the riverbed.  He was not anywhere in the park.  I ran around on foot for two hours, searching for him.  I kept scanning the hill back and forth between the aspens in the park and the elk herd on the mountain.  He was nowhere to be found.  He disappeared.  He was just not there anymore.  I saw a section of cowboy fence with the top rail removed directly between the aspens and the herd.  I climbed over the fence and crossed the highway. 

On the other side of the highway, just below Logan Mountain, was another fence like the one he was stuck behind and would not jump.  I walk along it for a quarter mile, hoping to find a break or sign of his crossing.  The snow nearly covered the fence where the fence dropped into a wash.  I saw a lone set of elk tracks crossing the fence in the snow.  Was it my elk calf?  

I climbed straight up the side of Logan Mountain.  The cold, thin air made my mouth water to the point of vomiting.  I sat on a rock to get control of my breathing.  It had been three hours since I last saw the elk calf.  I got angry.  Where was he?  Did he find his herd?  Did he make it home?  Did he find his purpose?  Will his life matter?  Did he make an impact?  What will he do with the balance of his life?  Why doesn't his story end better? 

I resigned never to know and headed down the mountain.  I saw a lone set of elk tracks on the side of the dirt road in a patch of snow just below the elk herd.  Were they his?  I would love to say yes, but this story does not end that way.

I begrudgingly quit my search.  I went home, prayed, and fasted.  My heart was broken.  I wanted to know the meaning of the events.  For two days, I walked around in disbelief and euphoria.  I recalled every step, every emotion, and every thought.  I rehashed every detail of that morning in my mind and to my wife.  I retraced every step around the park and up the mountain.  I prayed that God would help me understand the elk calf.  If he was a sign, what was the meaning?  Why didn't it end better?  What happened to the elk calf?  What would happen to me?

After much prayer and fasting, God showed me the meaning of the elk calf:  I am the elk calf.  We all just want to belong, to find our way to where we fit in.  We want to fulfill our God-given purpose.  There are obstacles in our way, even though God has already given us the way out.  Gates are open to us, but we are afraid to go through.  What if it is the wrong path?  Back and forth in our heads.  God gives us a bridge; instead, we go under it on the ice and rocks.  We rest briefly under the familiar cover of the aspens; it is nice, but this is not our destination.  We know this, but we are unsure what direction to go in.  The doubters honk and flap their wings, laughing us to scorn.  We push past them, believing God has work for us to do.  We must cross two more fences and a highway, but God makes a way where there seems to be none.  God knows His plan for us and where we need to be and gently pushes us in the right direction.

We should live by faith—praying continuously—expecting God to reveal His vision in time.  Over the following days, I continued to read of Paul's missionary journeys in Acts.  It became painfully evident that what he did and how he did it was way more important than where he did it.  I had been focusing on the wrong thing. 

"For he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name."  These are the words of Christ regarding Paul.  Paul was zealous for God.  He was ambitious, obtaining authority from the high priest to arrest and prosecute Christians.  He was influential, skilled in leadership, had abilities and talents, and was a learned scholar.  All that was rendered useless as he fell to the earth on the road to Damascus.  Blinded, his trembling lips could only utter, "What wilt thou have me to do?" 

I had been seeking a 'road to Damascus' experience, where my purpose, calling, and life's work were abundantly clear.  I kept asking God what He would have me to do.  No response.  "God, you gave me these skills, talents, abilities, and experiences.  Now, use them—here am I." Radio silence.  Like the elk calf, I had everything I needed to be used by Him.

It occurred to me that Jesus called Paul a "chosen vessel."  Vessels are hollow containers, receptacles for something of value.  The vessel God wanted me to be could not be filled with my own talents, leadership, organizational, and management skills.  It could not be filled with my ambition, experiences, and ideas about what an impactful life looked like.  If it were, there would have been no room to hold anything of value.  God desires an empty vessel, one void of our own ideas of what He has for us and ready to be filled with something of eternal consequence.  I have considered that all those abilities, talents, and experiences could play no part in what He has called me to do.

Sometime after my encounter with the elk calf, I was reading Acts early one morning.  Paul and his companions were accused of turning the world upside down.  The Spirit sparked a purpose in me.  It hit me like a ton of bricks!  Nothing short of turning the world upside down would quench this fire within.  I had been reluctant to commit to every other "opportunity."  Now I knew why.  Those things did not have eternal consequence and were not turning the world upside down.  That is why I entertained and considered them but was never passionate enough to commit to them.

In my head, turning the world upside down was done on a grand scale.  Paul.  Billy Graham.  DL Moody.  But God pressed in my spirit that, like my experience with the lone elk calf, it was one person at a time—the person He put before me, wherever I was.  As with my experience with the lone elk calf, I would turn the world upside down by showing compassion to each person he gave me.

God's purpose for my life, His calling, is for me to turn the world upside down.  The focus of each day is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  From that center, the Spirit stirs in me the focus of His kindheartedness.  This world's constant is that it always does what is in its best interest.  The antithesis is someone who puts others before themselves.  I will turn the world upside down by showing kindness and love and putting others before myself.  This was the message of all Christ's parables.  This was the message of the elk calf.

Turning the world upside down is not done on a mass scale; it is personal and builds gradually over time, one day at a time, one person at a time.  God uses the grandness of nature to produce humility, approachability, and genuineness.  He uses my love of nature and the balance it brings to speak of Him.  He uses experiences in nature and gratitude in writing as the platform of conversation. 

Those interactions are something that lasts, something of eternal consequence.  Those intimate conversations point people to Christ.  God's purpose for my life, His calling, is for me to turn the world upside down.  God used a lone elk calf to show me that.  Why didn't I see the elk calf successfully unite with its herd?  Why don't I get to know my story's nice, neat ending?  I am the elk calf, and while God has already written the end of my story, I have not read it yet.

[missazura]

Hey so I was wondering based on that drawing of you belos and Hunter, how did you come to boiling Island? And how did you stay in the care of the emperor?

ooh i'm so excited to answer! its not set in stone yet between us but i did think about it, and from what belos has mentioned (who knows if he's lying about the whole thing or not) is that:

azzy arrived sometime before luz did. its possible that she teleported there at some point (her teleportation can be done in her sleep and waking life and its almost always randomized)

instead of being found by eda, azzy was brought to the emperor's coven immediately upon arrival

since she's also human, belos instantly finds some sort of kinship with her, taking her under his wing. i dunno how immediately though. if azzy didn't get the chance to get to know the witches of the boiling isles before she was scooted off there's a higher chance of her being under the emperor's propaganda more than anything

belos keeps her close, to the dismay of the other members of the emperor's coven. i imagine that they did have some sort of bond between them, probably not as close but they have each other's company, and azzy went along keeping his secret. he probably told her the same thing he told hunter, that he misses home and he just wants to see earth again so she helps him rebuild the portal.

(this wasn't mentioned but i think would be a cool idea) azzy being some sort of an older sister figure to hunter. she feels like she needs to protect him and reminds that he doesn't need to work too hard, and gets suspicious when she catches belos being harsh on him. one day she finds hunter injured and nurses him back to health. the day she realizes that belos has been hurting him is the day when azzy's trust with belos start to crack and falter.

belos told me that he sent azzy out to test the portal first and went home because he was thoughtful like that, but i personally think that something bad happened between them. maybe a fight, azzy found out that belos is a monster and makes a run for it- maybe she sabotaged his plans, who knows. she tried to bring hunter along but the kid went missing after the events of Hollow Mind

for the memory gap perhaps she wanted to forget about belos because of how horrid he was, or maybe she hit her head on a rock or something and forgot.

and that's probably it so far! its just little ideas here and there ^^ thanks for asking!

[gallusrostromegalus]

I love this analysis and dynamic and I would like to add more:

1. Re: shinigami women's association:

I think this is the *most* likely place where they really became friends, and specifically because of the aforementioned "all about business until it's blorbo time" autistic girl energy, and it is both very cute and highly plausible to me that Soi Fon and Rukia have bonded by going "yes, this is normal" and taking turns into dumping, and being informed at because that's exactly how my friends and I play in the discord server.

This also means that Soi Fon possesses an encyclopedic knowledge of all things Chappy by proxy and has both the time management and ways & means skills to snap up any new Chappy swag for her friend and drive both Renji and Byakuya insane by getting Rukia the thing before either even knew it existed, and effectively sniping every single birthday and holiday present for the last decade or so.

2. Cool kids table at the noble house function:

You're right that they both have NQOC status at noble house events that they are both invited to and attend out of obligation, and that's awkward, even if they both believe in nobility, and I can see them effectively meeting behind the punch bowl and sharing a look over some outrageous thing they hear Lady whatsherface say and just. Immediate kinship of the awkward kids at the birthday party. They wouldn't diss the noble class, but they absolutely would talk mad smack about nobles who are bad at being nobles.

3. Byakuya:

This is perfect and hilarious and I am giggling over whatever circumstances arise after Yoruichi leaves (or possibly even before?) That makes Soi Fon realize "wait. I'm having beef with a teenage? Specifically, this dweeb? What is WRONG with me?"

Also, consider: Byakuya transferring his one-sided rivalry with Yoruichi at least partially over to Soi Fon (the minute he finds out about Wind Goddess Shunko he's going to do something outrageous like make an audible noise of annoyance), especially if he's been silently seething over/inspired by Soi Fon's Chappy-merch acquisition skills for the last decade.

4. More places Rukia and Soi Fon might know each other from:

Please consider: the soi-fon-isshin-ichigo-rukia dynamic.

Unless I have seriously misunderstood the timelines, I think Isshin Shiba was at least a seated officer, of not actually captain of the 10th when Yoruichi left, and given how affectionate/protective/benevolently patriarchal Isshin is with Karin and Yuzu, I can't help but wonder if he wasn't the same with Soi Fon. It seems very plausible to me that Isshin, missing his sister (mother of Kaien, Kujaku and Ganju), might see Soi Fon, distraught after Yoruichi left, and take her under his wing in an older brother sort of way.

Soi Fon's home life is a mess (she's got 5 older brothers who died in service to the Shihoin Clan and her parents pushed her to devote herself to Yoruichi anyway, that household has fucking shrimp colors of mental illness), and I can see her being confused but also latching on to this new source of attention and affection, esp. when it doesn't come with weird demands.

*I think Isshin got his "greet Ichigo with a flying kick" habit from her, because I feel like that is how Soi Fon's brothers expressed affection to her in ninja, so she did it to Isshin and he thought "oh yeah, that's a normal way to behave :)"

I think Soi Fon and Isshin were close, and when he suddenly vanished too? It hit her like a truck.

We don't see a lot (if any?) Interactions between Ichigo and Soi Fon in canon, but if she ever works out that her friend's friend who has saved soul society's bacon several times is Isshin's son, she's going to have SO MANY EMOTIONS about it before settling on "I like him, but I don't want to invade his personal life, he has enough going on".

This, naturally, manifests in the form of her occasionally appearing seemingly at random (in reality, after a whole bunch of secret machinations and drama) and bestowing a roulette wheel of major socio-politcal favors, hardcore training (read: running up and stabbing him), and very good but weirdly personal gifts, and then vanishing after failing to explain herself.

"You know captain Fon, right Rukia?" Ichigo finally asks. "What's with the (string of bizarre encounters)?"

"What?" Rukia shrugs. "She's just being friendly?"

"FRIENDLY??" Ichigo wails.

"Yeah? You're like, probably her third or fourth favorite person?"

"-I don't think I've ever had an actual conversation with her she just appears, does stuff and never answers any questions when did we become friends???"

"Oh my God Ichigo, how are you THIS clueless?"

Hey, you know who's not being a jerk though? Soi Fon! It's a remarkable development, her giving credit to others and supporting her lieutenant. So much so that Renji (again somewhat rudely...she's right there) points it out.

Rukia's reaction is kind of hilarious though. Like, we know Soi Fon has not always been nice. So has Rukia just not been paying attention? Even assuming she never ran into her as a member of the Squad 13 rank-and-file, she still had three years of being a lieutenant, where she'd presumable get the gossip on her.

Which I suppose means that Soi Fon has been personally nice enough to Rukia to make up for that. Here are my theories as to how that could have happened:

Rukia and Soi Fon get along at Shinigami Women's Association meetings. They are both all about business and getting things done, except when each has the chance to indulge in a passion for their favorite animal character. Somehow this has led to amiability rather than rivalry.

Rukia and Soi Fon get along socially at nobility functions. Rukia is a rukon orphan who was adopted into the Kuchiki household somewhat scandalously, while Soi Fon is from a servant clan to the Shihoin but has taken on some of the traditional Shihoin positions because of the youth of the current clan head. Both of them are invited to all the fancy dinners, neither of them is a hot commodity at these dinners because they have a limited capability to confer status on others. Perhaps they bonded there.

Soi Fon had an entirely-in-her-own-head rivalry with Byakuya when Yoruichi was mentoring both of them. When Yoruichi left Soul Society, Soi Fon at first took a bitter pleasure in her also leaving Byakuya behind, but as she became more and more resentful towards Yoruichi for leaving, she found herself relating more and more to Byakuya, and started requesting to work with Squad 6. Byakuya was oblivious to all of this, but was flattered by Soi Fon's seeming appreciation of his obvious talents and impressed by her competence and professionalism. He has expressed to Rukia that Captain Fon is the sort of officer the Court Guards could use more of, which Rukia recognizes is the closest her brother comes to expressing fondness for his co-workers.

[enbyblades]

enough starop sap where are my fellow stans of political marriage enemies-to-grudging-allies-to-lovers. wheres the post canon hand in unlovable hand. wheres the bonding over shared mixed feeling about megatron. i want these two COMPLEX and i want them to have MESSY WAR HISTORY but ultimately seeing the self in the other

woah woAH HEY NOW we can have BOTH starops in this household!! "i guess i can tolerate you for the sake of peace" to "maybe we have more in common than i thought.." a period of time where theyre just trying to learn how to Put Up with eachother- starscream trying to manipulate his way around having to spend time with the prime whos just oh so insufferable in his sincerity only to find she actually Appreciates his honesty...optimus not being able to stand how volatile starscream cam be (especially in a situation they dont want to be in) but eventually coming to see that theres far more to starscream than he thought, he finds himself admiring how passionate starscream is, appreciating how he holds nothing back. the selfish one and the selfless one clashing but while they Try to make it work they find themselves admiring the traits they previously hadnt seen in the other and picking up on some of that themselves. "you may have committed unspeakable atrocities in the name of ur cause but so have i" starop...that one panel i just reblogged recently!!! the "all we have in common. i mean, everybody hates ME, too" hand in unlovable hand indeed. *nods sagely*

[the-antiapocalyptic-man]

Duela Dent, The Joker’s Daughter

Born Debra Dent to District Attorney Harvey Dent and law school dropout turned sculptor Gilda Gold, Duela’s mother was a complicated individual. She liked to claim at parties that her by-then deceased father had evidence they were direct descendants of Cyrus Gold, the 19th century rake who vanished mysteriously in Slaughter Swamp.

 After losing Debra’s twin brother Dexter to a hit by crime boss Bianca Steeplechase and her husband to his own demons as the Two-Face identity consumed him, Gilda began experiencing fugue states where she would take on other personas, including Jessica--her husband’s “twin sister”, oddly--Evelyn, a man named Jack, and perhaps most infamously, the Holiday Killer. In a way, the “Three Faces of Eve” System was arguably one of Gotham’s most successful criminals, assuming one ignores the conspiracy theory that the Joker was somehow a single individual over almost a century of activity.

Eventually separated from both her parents, Mister Wayne and Mayor Real never formally adopted the girl, but they did the best they could. Despite some concern from physician Dr. Leslie Thompkins and therapist Dinah Lance, they also helped her change her name from Debra to “Duela” as a sort of tribute to her parents, who Duela still loved deeply despite being estranged from them both for some years. She ended developed a kind of kinship with the Wayne siblings and a brief flirtation with the young Jason Todd, though she never became aware of any connection between the family and the Batman.

All of this came crashing down as a series of devastating events unraveled Duela’s life, including the death of Jason, something actually made worse by his eventual return. Convinced the real Debbie had died as a child--murdered by Bruce’s mother, no less--and Dexter was the actual survivor of that night, Duela claimed she was her Debra’s counterpart from “Earth-3″ and that the Justice League were all evil, fascist doppelgangers who secretly controlled the world. For Bruce, this was all the more concerning as he knew that Earth-3 did exist and matched many of the details Duela claimed to recall as personal experience.

Entangled in memories and timelines that were not her down, Duela fled in the Jokers Gang underground, fashioning a costume out of old clothes, and rechristening herself as The Joker’s Daughter. She made other bizarre claims as well, such as having the Original Joker’s face in her possession, as well as picking fights and starting online beef with Kitty Walker and Evie Rhyme over basically anything.

Reuniting with her father years later would be bittersweet as well. Harvey had gotten reconstructive surgery on his face at his psychologist’s insistence, but the process only served to subsume his mind completely into the Two-Face persona, going on a final killing spree ending in an attempted bombing of Gotham Towers and his death. Her mother was long missing and presumed dead by this point as well.

Despite all this, Jason and his group of Outlaws would reach out to her when they could. She would go in and out of psychiatric treatment, but the nature of her mental illness and its possible connection to the Bleed was on par with the Roger Hayden case and difficult to manage in any effective way. Following her mother’s claims of lineage, she did eventually develop an odd familial bond with Solomon Grundy...the resurrected Cyrus Gold.

[nightswithkookmin]

-continued-

It's very normal for Jikook to be close. What's not normal is if they are not close. I'd say this for every pair in BTS but especially so for Jikook.

Let's get out of our shipper minds for a moment, it was JK's role to make Jimin feel as comfortable as possible within the group from day one given that they are from the same town and he was one of the first members to join the group before Jimin. He was that 'familiar' face in a strange place for him and was and should have been.

It can be lonely sometimes when you find yourself in new places or surrounded by people you feel out of place with. And it's common to want to tether yourself to that piece that is familiar to you. Can't speak for Kook but I know for Jimin JK and BTS was that for him. They were his home away from home. He gets lonely without them 🤷🏾‍♀️

Jk probably gets lonely too. He takes thirst trapping selfies at dawn or walks to Jimin's front door to drum not knock😏

Not to say the only reason they can be close is if they hailed from the same town. That's like saying the only reason two people can like eachother is if they were fucking. Both assertions are absurd.

But that helps.

It's very normal for Jungkook's parents to entrust Kook to Jimin. It just puts your mind to ease to know your ward is in the safe hands of someone you share to some extent a certain level of kinship with in an unfamiliar territory.

It would have been very weird if in spite of this those two couldn't find a common ground, hated eachother or couldn't relate- not to say that doesn't happen but I think for them that hometown thing mitigated or acted as an ice breaker of a sort and gave them some common ground. It still does.

Much like their president saying other government heads use BTS as an icebreaker when they meet him.

I hate it so much when people sidestep this little bit of information and invalidate Jikook's bond when it's a well known FACT those two are the closest pair within the group. These people need to leave Jikook alone.

First they are dismissed as fake love, that Kook doesn't like Jimin, then when they saw that was not the case they labeled them fanservice because the only reason JK can like Jimin is if he was performing his affections for the gaze of an audience, then later they were brothers from the same womb because fanservice just sounded too delusional to them.

I have loose screws in my head but not even I would go through this mental gymnastics over two people's relationship you know.

And just as Jikook shouldn't make people uncomfortable, Tae kook shouldn't either. They may not have that little bit of busans going on for them but their friendship is equally valid.

Personally, it's nice to see them both put in effort to nurture their relationship and not just do it for the fans. The company went through a period after their Soop confessions of trying hard to mitigate things to create the impression they were all good now. Tae particularly was on that agenda and we talked about this didn't we?

It's not just the we are taking selfies for Army, or staff pairing them up for chuseok or whatever event that was. It was the "we used to be so close what happened' "and now?'

Their shippers wanna act like they been seen blinding white lights from the men in black

And they getting cocky too Lmho.

No, we didn't say Tae Kook were off. We saw it and they confirmed it out of their own mouths. One selca and all that never happened? And here i thought jokers were the clowns. Stop now please.

Tae has the most followers on IG and posting Kook exposes him to all his followers including his unique audience. As a closeted JKK, I'm really not mad at that at all. Tae has that streak. Did he not recently come under fire for promoting his alleged girlfriend's brother's SNS???

He does promote his friends from time to time and helping others with his influence is actually part of his love language mi thinks. Tae if you are watching this, I'm poor. I take cash only no hand me downs😌

I see what he is doing there with Kook. I love it for me and Kook. I wish he would post Jimin too in furtherance of my vmin agenda.

Tae's TKK agenda has always made sense to me. Just as much as his Vmin agenda. I get frustrated when some jokers act like they don't or never had something special too or worse when Tuktukkers act like it's deeper than it is. Both stresses me out.

I would be very disappointed if all of this is to promote something. Did y'all say their mixtapes?? BRUH!

I REALLY HOPE NOT.

That would be cruel and machiavellian of them seriously. Worse than Hybe using ships and fanservice to sell products 😭😭😭

Jungkook's is another case.

His perspective on life in general seems to have had a drastic shift which is quite fascinating. He's tapping into his entrepreneurial side and cashing in on things profiting off of his looks, name and influence. That's not necessarily a bad thing. It just means he's gotten more ambitious and is playing the game rather than against it.

Do I think he'd post Tae if it really was to promote something- I won't lie he would. Got into a whole scandal and almost faced criminal charges for promoting his brother's brand didn't he??

I love where his energy is at. And he seems just disillusioned to me. But then again I use that word a lot to describe bangtan lately.

If there's anyone who'd push for some sort of individualism and a break from the OT7 facade my money would be on JK first before any other member. Lol.

I honestly hope they are taking genuine interest in eachother and not being capitalist evil power duo cos I hate capitalism

I honestly think they really are in a good place. You can hide a relationship but you can't hide intimacy. Those two seem really close and intimate to me and if they are faking it then they are the best actors in the world and deserve an oscar.

We can talk about how that plays into the Vminkook x Minguggie dynamic on Ko-fi but yea this has been my thoughts on it so far.

If Tae Kook is real, wouldn't we just have to support them? Why should that give anyone anxiety. May be its because I'm gay I see things differently. Jikook or Tae kook either way it's a win for me. But I just don't think Tae kook are real. Jk gay though

Me, I'm here for the gays. If that is Yoonmin, Jinmin, monmin really doesn't matter to me.

Jimin gay, JK gay, Hobi bi. Period. I claim these three. Y'all can have the rest.

And I hear yall claiming Mr I need an expensive girl as part of the community?

I thought his secret boyfriend thingy was just a running joke in the fandom. We taking it seriously? WHY?

All the 'are you lost baby girl' references he's been making throughout the concert and y'all still think he gay?

All the Mr magnus references??

Yall missed that??

I'm not good at stereotyping people but I'm a bit good at sporting the couple ish. If Namjoon is gay good for us

The more the merrier.

I think he straight though. It's him planning to surprise Jin with a girl waiting in bed for me😌

Some believe he married with kids but i didn't see him rush back to be with them on his vacation 🤷🏾‍♀️

Unless he flew them out to be with him, we would never know.

Jin don't like traveling, JM does. Yet they chose to come early to quarantine for ten days- perhaps to free them later to do whatever they want or whoever they want to see.

Sus.

Genius English Translations

RM - Expensive Girl (English Translation)

English Translation

[Intro]

1,  2, 3

[Verse]

Girl,  You’re the medicine patch that slowly eases my motion sickness

Wherever I go I’ll have it under my ear

The time it takes to fall for you takes 3 seconds

But  I feel as though you’re the meaning of my eternity

I  see visions of you on the tv screen, bathroom mirror, and the sun

What’s going on, I want to avoid you but I can’t

Actually,  it’s not that I want to avoid you

In fact, I can’t rationalize myself

Put your thoughts away and just give me a hug, give me a hug

Put your expensive t**le of ‘hard to get’ down for today

[Refrain 1]

Take  it off now girl just take it off

I’m a master, baby with your bra

Take it off now girl just take it off

I can help you slide those panties off

[Refrain 2]

Dim the lights down baby, dim the lights

I’m a beat that pu**y like you never ever felt before

We gonna double your heart great form lady, just dim the lights

I’m a beat that pu**y like you never ever felt before

Dim the lights down baby, dim the lights

I’m a beat that pu**y like you never ever felt before

We gonna double your heart great form lady, just dim the lights

I’m a beat that pu**y like you never ever felt before

Baby

Erasing my own memory.

I love the song though💀

He can help yall slide your panties off and beat your pussies for you yet you wanna pretend and say he's gay. That's cruel

You guys crack me up sometimes 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Please leave Tae Kook alone. As long as they are each doing what the other wants and respecting each others boundaries they are fine. The moment that is not the case they will start having issues which I feel has always been the source of conflict between them in my opinion.

Tae for instance shouldn't feel left out when its time for Jk to nurture his bond with JM or others and start acting like Kook should feel indebted to him or something. That wouldn't sit too well with JK i feel.

Jk doesn't like to be owned and constrained.

Jimin shouldn't feel that way too you know?

Nor should JK.

And please let's stop conflating movement with progress when it comes Jikook and Tae Kook. Both sides make that mistake a lot I feel.

Both ships are beautiful, unique and have different dynamics and should be celebrated not hated on.

But that does not stop me from trolling the shit out of Tuktukkers 😫🤣🤣🤣

I most definitely will.

Muhahahahaha

GOLDY

[mammons-sugarbaby]

Hmmmm... What about a hc about the brothers visiting a zoo?

(I'm also going to reference the paws and claws event which was when I started playing....at the tail end of it lol)

MC's begging finally paid off and Lucifer cracked, agreeing to go on an outing to a human world zoo for the day, and of course the other brothers wanted to go where MC was going!

(this got suuuuuper long so I put most under a read more)

Lucifer

⦁ At first he would see it as something that cut into his busy scedule running errands and doing paperwork for Diavolo, but after getting there and seeing MC so excited, of course he'd soften up.

⦁ He'd tease them about acting like one of the kids running around but would 100% enjoy their enthusiasm. He'd take an interest in the wolf exibit, reading the information plaque about wolves and their familial bonds and feel a sort of kinship.

⦁ Of course he's also heard stories casting wolves in a negative light, in one case humans killing many in a particular area to protect their livestock, and an experiment reintroducing them to the area. The experiment went on to show how vital wolves were to the ecosystem and public opinion changed. They were misunderstood, Lucifer knew that feeling well.

⦁ At the end of the visit, Lucifer and MC were in the gift shop and MC picked up a stuffed wolf and showed Lucifer, saying how it reminded them of him. When they put it down and went to look at something else, Lucifer picked it up and bought it, surprising MC with it on the way home.

⦁ "So you'll have something to remind you of me when we're apart." He told MC, giving them a sly smile and causing them to blush. But Lucifer didn't fail to notice how they clutched the stuffed toy to their chest the whole way back, as well as noticing it sitting on MC's bed whenever he would pay them a visit. He'd never admit it, but it made him happy as well as a little jealous that MC slept with it every night. At some point he'd suggest MC could sleep in his room if cuddling the wolf plush wasn't enough.

Mammon

⦁ He wouldn't get why MC would want to walk around in the hot sun and look at animals all day, but once they get there, he gets just as excited as they do.

⦁ He'd ask all sorts of questions about every animal, and make plans on how to steal some and bring back to the devildom, surely they'd sell for a ton of grim!

⦁ Satan has to remind him human world animals wouldn't survive long in the devildom, and Mammon would dismiss him saying as long as he made a profit, who cares about some dumb animal.

⦁ This upsets MC and they scold him and tell him all about exotic animal smuggling, circuses, and other places that used animals for entertainment even if it caused the animal distress. Mammon feels bad and apologizes for upsetting MC.

⦁ But as soon as he sees the tiger, he is once again thinking of ways to get one, not for profit this time, but for himself. He admired the way they excluded a sort of quiet power, a regality, something beautiful and dangerous. He wondered if he could find the devildom equivalent and just how he'd be able to smuggle it into the house of lamentation.

⦁ At the gift shop he sees MC admiring a tiger keychain and when they walk away he pockets it, planning to give it to them later. While leaving he hands it to MC. "I saw you checking this out and I thought you'd like it." He says, cheeks flushing red as he tried to act nonchalant.

⦁ MC is surprised and brings out a matching one and gives it to him, explaining that they saw HIM looking at it and thought how nice it would be to give him a souvenir. MC laughs and says they have a matching set now, causing Mammon to lose what little control he had and he turns into a blushing, stammering mess. He starts rambling about how they shouldn't have spent so much money on something like that, but inside he was over the moon that MC had thought of him and that they now shared matching keychains.

Levi

⦁ He complains about having to go to such a "normie" activity, he has game events going on! And anime to review!

⦁ He's pouty through the first half hour of being there, until MC's constant attempts to include him in their fun finally win him over. He focuses on enjoying his time with MC, taking note of everything they find particularly interesting.

⦁ They reach the exhibit with the zebras, elephants, gazelles, and giraffes and he notes MC's smile drops when they don't see the long-necked herbevore. However he notices a sign that says "Feed the Giraffes!" with times underneath, he checks his limited edition Ruri watch and sees that it's feeding time.

⦁ "Hey, follow me MC." He says quickly, not wanting them to notice the sign. MC gives him a confused look but follows. The crowd gets thicker and MC falls a little behind, and when Levi notices, he grabs their hand and pulls them along, not wanting to miss surprising MC with feeding the giraffes. ⦁ Thankfully they're able to get there before the line got too long, and the take their place. While standing in line, Levi realizes he was still holding MC's hand and quickly lets go, blushing and stuttering out an apology. MC tells him they don't mind and if it's okay with him, they would like to keep holding hands. This makes Levi blush even harder and he holds out his hand for MC to grab.

⦁ "So what are we in line for?" MC asks, bringing Levi back from his inner thoughts about how it was just like that dating sim 'I took my crush to the zoo and we got separated so when I found them I didn't let go of their hand for the rest of the trip and eventually they kissed me in front of the panda exhibit'. Levi tells MC it's a surprise and they'll see in a little bit.

⦁ When they get to the front of the line, a park worker gives them a large cup of feed and explained how to feed the giraffes and ushered them up the platform. MC looked excitedly at Levi and was practically bouncing with excitement.

⦁ After feeding the giraffes, MC throws their arms around Levi and hugs them tight, jumping up and down and squealing about how he was the best and how it was such an awesome surprise.

⦁ Levi thought it would be the perfect chance to kiss MC like the protagonist in that anime, but MC beats him to it and plants an enthusiastic kiss on his cheek, making the shut-in otaku completely lose his composure and become a blushing, stuttering mess.

Satan

⦁ He actually is interested in going to the zoo, he reads a few books about zoos, what makes them good or bad, and about some of the animals that the zoo may keep.

⦁ As soon as he clears the gate, he grabs a pamphlet for himself and one for MC. He starts pointing to places on the map, explaining what order they should view the exhibits so that they would have time to see them all.

⦁ Halfway through MC's stomach growls and they apologize and ask Satan if he minded grabbing a bite to eat at the cafe with them. ⦁ He agrees and they head into the cafe, and to Satan's delight it was big cat themed. The barista was wearing tiger ears, their coworker wearing cheetah ears and when they turned around, MC notice they also wore a matching tail.

⦁ MC and Satan got their food and drinks and sat at a nearby table, while MC ate, Satan filled them in on various facts about the animals they'd seen that day.

⦁ When they get up to leave, Satan notices a souvenir stand and goes to investigate. MC points at a shirt that reads "Big Cat Cafe" with an image of various large cats curling around a mug below, and tells Satan they think it would be fun to get matching shirts. ⦁ Satan happily agrees and buys the shirts, then he suggests MC should try theirs on and MC tells him they both should change and wear the shirts for the remainder of the visit. So they change, and for the rest of the trip Satan can't stop smiling and thinking how cute MC looks and feels slightly smug thinking about how his brothers would react, especially Lucifer.

Asmo

⦁ He didn't really want to go, walking around in the sun for long periods of time was so bad for his skin. Not to mention the smells, he told MC he'd never be able to get it out of his clothes.

⦁ Nonetheless, MC convinced him and being Asmo, he's pulled out all the stops, wearing a gaudy explorer outfit to "fit in", as well as carrying an umbrella.

⦁ He cooed over various animals, saying how cute they were. Not as cute as him of course, but they had their charm.

⦁ It was then they came to the black bear exhibit, the massive creature lumbering over to the edge of its enclosure before flopping down. I seemed to look up then at Asmo and MC did a wave motion with it's paw.

⦁ Asmo went wild, pointing and dramatically exclaiming that "It recognizes my beauty!! No other animal here acknowledged me! This is obviously a creature of intelligence, class, and culture!"

⦁ MC couldn't help but laugh and after Asmo gave them an offended look, they explained that bears sometimes mimic people in that fashion, usually to get treats. ⦁ Asmo waved them off and continued to fawn over the bear. Eventually the bear wandered back inside, presumably to get out of the heat, and Asmo blew it kisses and waved until it was out of site.

⦁ On their way out, Asmo insisted on stopping at the gift shop, where MC bought Asmo a small teddy bear, since "he loved the bear so much". Within the week, a huge box arrived from akuzon addressed to MC and when they opened it, they were surprised to see a gigantic pink teddy bear that was covered in ribbons and bows. Asmo waltzed in and dramatically called "Ta-dah~~!!! Just a little thank you present for my favorite human~"

Beel

⦁ Beel was happy MC asked him to go to the zoo with them, he enjoyed hanging out with them.

⦁ Once through the gate they picked up (more) snacks so Beel wouldn't get too hungry while walking around.

⦁ Beel asked tons of questions about the animals they saw, and what kinds of animals MC liked best.

⦁ When they came to the lion exhibit, the lions were being fed and MC could hear Beel's stomach growl. He apologized and Mc told him not to worry about it, that if he'd like, they could go grab so more food.

⦁ Beel nodded but told MC he wanted to watch the lions for just a while longer. After a few minutes, his stomach growled again, even louder this time. The male lion's head turned towards them and he let out a bellowing roar.

⦁ They both burst into laughter and had to find a quiet area to calm down. Wiping tears from their eyes, MC asked Beel if he wanted to go to the restaurant now, Beel nodded and took MC's hand and they headed off to find out where the restaurant was.

⦁ While they waited for their food to arrive, Beel chatted excitedly about the various animals they had seen and MC asked if there was a devildom equivalent to a human zoo, Beel replied he was unsure. MC asked what his favorite exhibit was and Beel eagerly replied the lions, because of the moment they shared together.

Belphie

⦁ This boy complained the whole time MC was trying to convince him. At first he was extremely opposed to going to the human world in the first place. Besides, animals usually didn't like demons, unless it was the kind they were connected with.

⦁ Then he'd complain and ask what the big fuss was about looking at some animals in cages, it sounded pretty miserable for the animals. It's just like humans to not care about something unless they got entertainment out of it, even at the expense of what ever was entertaining them.

⦁ He complained even while walking around, though did secretly enjoy seeing MC happy. ⦁ After another round of complaining, he saw MC's smile slip ever so slightly, become a little more forced, it not quite reaching their eyes. 'Damn it, I went too far and now their upset.'

⦁ From then on he tried to keep his bitching to a minimum, though he was getting so sleepy. He didn't see how MC thought he could make it through the whole trip without falling asleep.

⦁ Eventually they came to a sort of petting area where various employees showed off various animals and let visitors touch them while explaining about the animal.

⦁ Belphie saw a bench in the corner and made a beeline for it, he sat down and leaned against the wall, promptly falling asleep.

⦁ He woke up to MC's voice calling his name and he reluctantly opened his eyes before he noticed a weight in his lap. Looking down, a fox had curled up on his lap, sleeping soundly. He was surprised and accidentally moved, causing the fox to wake up and look at him.

⦁ But it just sat there, staring at him as if saying "Why did you wake me up?" He knew that feeling all to well. "Sorry for waking you..." Belphie muttered, then slowly brought his hand up and gave it head scritches. The fox seemed to enjoy this and Belphie ran his hand along it's soft fur, noting a kind of harness on it.

⦁ He was so content he didn't realize a zoo employee come up and apologize for the fox's behaviour, that one was always slipping off somewhere. Belphie shook his head and told them it was no problem, but then the employee brought out a leash and clipped it to the fox's harness and clicked their tongue, causing the fox to jump down.

⦁ MC was bubbling over with excitement and envy on their way out of the park, saying how lucky he was that he got to pet the cute fox. Belphie only heard half of what they said before a fox plush outside of the gift shop caught his eye. He turned and headed towards the shop without warning, catching MC off guard. They soon followed after him and saw him looking intently at a row of fox stuffed animals, he seemed to find one he liked more than the other identical ones and picked it up.

⦁ He then asked MC if they could buy it for him, since he didn't have "human money". The laughed and agreed, buying it for him and smiling at how cute he was clutching at the stuffed fox.

[unseeliekey]

kaemiu perhaps? :)

“At a certain point,” Kokichi told her, watching the blaze in the chemistry labs spread despite the best efforts of the sprinklers above, “it starts looking a little bit desperate.”

“Oh, shut up,” Miu replies, lifting up her pink-stained hands in surrender as the teachers of Hope’s Peak came flying down to catch them. “I thought we had better fire safety measures in place after fuckin’ Komaeda and the gym incident. These are science labs. I dunno why everything in them burns so goddamn easily.”

“It’s because you mixed a highly explosive powder in the pink dye,” Ouma sighs, giving a very annoying wave to the upperclassmen evacuating around them. “Which I told you not to do. Just get pigments from Angie like a normal person?”

She elbows him sharply, hands still raised. “As if your stupid fucking blueprints weren’t what spread it everywhere! You always leave them scattered around! This is a place of work, not a doodling workshop, you little twink bitch-”

Her next row of insults are cut off by a sudden boom from within the lab- the fire swelling too fast to process and proceeding to shatter every window in the lab with the heat of it. People are yelling, now.

Miu winces.

Kokichi looks at her thoughtfully for a moment, before leaning up against her with a grin. “Well, look on the bright side.”

She shoves him off her tit and resists the urge to pick him up by his scarf and give him a good shaking, like he’s a badly behaved cat or something. “What?”

His smirk only widens. “This will definitely get Akamatsu-chan’s attention.”

--

Homeroom, after school, one gorgeous girl genius stuck on the class side of the teacher’s desk, one not-quite as gorgeous but still stupidly pretty dumb stupid piano player on the other side, lecturing her.

Really, this is entirely Akamatsu’s fault.

If Akamatsu hadn’t been pretty and nice and somehow stupid enough to continually seek out Miu’s company, to stop by her lab and ask her opinion on festivals and school events even though everyone knows she’ll never agree to Miu’s brilliant ideas anyway, maybe Miu wouldn’t…. Appreciate her, a little. As a fellow intelligent blonde. So that’s her fault, for starters.

And, maybe if Akamatsu wasn’t the sort of idiot who liked to try and “increase class bonding” and “establish a good kinship with the rest of the school,” she wouldn’t have volunteered to host a school dance and put their class in charge of it. 

And if she hadn’t done that, Miu would have never had to watch her turn down a boy from 2A when he asked to go with her.

And she wouldn’t have realized that the idea of Akamatsu taking anyone else to the dumb, shitty school dance that Miu doesn’t even care about- fills her with so much restless, scratchy, jealousy that she can’t even think straight.

Straight. Haha. If Kokichi were here he would have laughed.

Anyway, the point is that when Akamatsu thumps her palms on the desk and leans forward, mouth all twisted up in a scowl and Miu is staring at her lipgloss and wondering what it tastes like, when she asks “just what were you trying to do?” the only answer is “impress you.”

But Miu actually thinks she might die rather than say that, so instead she pulls at her hair and tries not to pout too much. “We were helping! We were building a decorating machine- to help get the gym ready! ‘Cos you were whining so fucking much about how ugly the floor and walls were, batting your eyelashes like you were hoping Saihara would paint it for you-”

Akamatsu’s cheeks go apple-red, curling her hands up and pulling them back. “Ah, geez! That’s not true, and I wasn’t whining, and- and, anyway, how did you make a decoration device explode?”

She’s really hot when she’s angry. Miu thinks about how unfortunate this is for a solid three seconds. “Go big or go home. You wouldn’t get it, you’re too much of an artsy type- inventing shit like this is risk-reward!”

Something in Akamatsu’s forehead twitches. She inhales, like she’s forcing herself to remain calm. “Okay. Okay. Well, maybe next time, don’t take major risks on school property.”

“This is a fucking boarding school!” Miu snaps, gesturing wildly with an arm. “What, you want me to go request a town leave slip every time I gotta work on something?”

“If it’ll keep you from blowing up half the science labs, yes!”

Miu crosses her arms. “You’re just intimidated by my genius brain.”

Akamatsu rolls her eyes in response. She’s so annoying. Class rep. Thinks she’s in charge of everything. Thinks she can just boss Miu around all the time. This is her fault, anyway. “Yes, Iruma-san,” she says, voice dripping with sarcasm. “Your intelligence is what intimidates me, not your complete lack of ability to grasp the concept of danger and consequences. You- you could have been seriously hurt!” Something sparks in her eyes, and she’s leaning on the desk again, angry and passionate and annoying as ever. “You’re lucky you escaped with first-degree burns!”

“I had ‘Kichi with me!” Miu protests.

Akamatsu huffs. “Oh, and I’m sure he would have put your safety first.”

This is a somewhat fair point. (Not that Miu will admit it.) She kind of thinks that Kokichi thinks he’s unkillable, which is why he has so little regard for his own safety and also things like pain. At the same time, Miu also thinks she’s unkillable. That’s what makes them excellent lab partners. If Miu is Frankenstein, Kokichi is Frankenstein’s shrunken hype man who keeps passing him bang energy and surprisingly skillful blueprints to work on.

(Akamatsu, obviously, is Frankenstein’s adopted-not-sister with the pretty hair and eyes who loves him devotedly. Kokichi says that their relationship was fucked up and Miu’s critical analysis skills are flawed. Miu says that she doesn’t give a shit, she’s in it for the science and the drama.)

“Look,” she says, staring sideways so she doesn’t have to look at the almost hurt expression on Akamatsu’s face. “I’m fine. I’ve done this a million times before. And the school’s got insurance or whatever and they already said I can make up for it with after school projects, and-”

“That’s not the point!” Akamatsu cries out, throwing up her hands. “Iruma-san, you can’t- I don’t care if you’ve done this a million times! Sooner or later you’re going to get actually hurt, and excuse me if I don’t want to see that happen!”

Miu blinks. She bites her lip. She tries to fight back the stupid blush on her face.

Akamatsu sighs, pressing her fingers to her forehead. “You’re my friend, Miu,” she says, and the sudden switch to her first name is like a punch to the gut. “I don’t want anything to happen to you, okay? Especially not for some… silly problem I got flustered with.” 

Miu twists her hands through her hair, feeling like a kicked dog. “...It’s not silly. You’ve been freaking yourself out about it for weeks,” she mumbles. She doesn’t look up. “I… you’re arranging this whole big thing, and you won’t let anyone help you, and- I dunno. You were talking for ages about how ugly the gym was.”

“I didn’t say it like that,” Akamatsu protests, but a little softer.

Miu pushes her fingertips together. “Whatever,” she scoffs, and her face still feels all hot. Akamatsu called her Miu. “I don’t even care about your stupid dance, anyway, I just wanted you to stop being so fuckin’ whiny-”

Akamatsu leans over the desk. Miu feels lips, warm and soft, and a little tacky with lipgloss, press against her cheek. 

She thinks she might have died.

Akamatsu looks sheepish but pleased, her face all flushed pink again. “...How about next time, you just come and help me hang up streamers?” She asks, and somehow she sounds a little nervous.

She should be nervous, of course. She’s asking for the company of the world’s number one inventor, asking Iruma Miu to hang out as if she doesn’t have better things to do, as if she isn’t the hottest motherfucker around-

Miu can only nod, clutching at her own shirt. “I’d- yeah. I can- I can do that.”

And Akamatsu smiles like the sun is coming out.

[curseofbreadbear]

UNPROMPTED || ALWAYS ACCEPTING.

Anonymous asked: What does Grim Foxy think about Dreadbear?

Believe it or not, they're almost like brothers; a duo of their own, akin to Jack o'Bonnie and Jack o'Chica. Although he keeps to himself most of the time, Grimm Foxy has a stronger bond with Dreadbear than with any of the other animatronics. Perhaps it's because they're the only two "new" Halloween characters -- new skins for the original Foxy and Freddy, which were missing in FNaF 4 itself -- included in the VR DLC, or maybe there's something more to it. Something haphazardly added to the game by the coders, mixed in with the circuit boards mysteriously donated to them.

hi welcome to rick’s dumb headcanon corner!!! ( added under a read more bc this is informal as heck and i just wanna ramble for a bit bc i particularly enjoy my dumb lil headcanon about these two :) i’m really happy i got an ask about grimm foxy and dreadbear, ty!! )

basically!!! you know how the entirety of curse of dreadbear expands on fnaf 4, right? grimm foxy and dreadbear are HUGE new characters, especially dreadbear!!! if you ask me, it seems like he’s a big reference to crying child and what happened to him after the events of the game. there’s literally an entire level where you have to CREATE A NEW BRAIN FOR HIM in a frankenstein-esque manner and bring him back to life!!!! doesn’t that seem a little uncanny to anyone else???

and if dreadbear represents the crying child, who do you think grimm foxy represents??

why, the older brother, of course! :))

so the whole gist of my baby headcanon is that somehow, possibly because of the mysteriously-donated circuit boards and junk that were given to the development team ( y’know, the same ones that added malhare??? ), the animatronics that were programmed into the game have SOME memories from their “lives” ( vague as they are ), including the smallest sense of kinship between some of em. just as william afton can be reincarnated into the game, for instance, it’s just as possible for other characters to join the ride -- i.e., the crying child and the older brother.

i just like to think that this is a sort of redemption arc for mr. older brother, and he gets to run around as a violent fire-fox, but he also gets to bond with his frankenstein’s monster brother in the meantime and make up for everything he did ( even if he doesn’t really realize that’s what he’s doing ). 

[punkpoemprose]

December 3rd- To Boldly Go

Universe: 1990′s AU/ Star Trek Convention AU Rating: G (General audiences, cleavage as a plot point but otherwise it’s a meetcute) Length: 3107

A/N: Thanks so much to @karis-the-fangirl for the idea to do a Trekkie convention for the 90′s AU. I actually got really into TNG around the same time I got into Frozen, so this was a fun callback for me. Also as a sidenote, this fic involves side Elsamaren, because meddling siblings and their equally as troublemaking significant others are always fun for me to write!

You don’t need to know a lot about Star Trek to get this fic, but you’ll get a kick out of it sooner if you do know at least a bit about Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Anna tugged up on her collar, trying to keep her top from plunging quite as low as it had. She was having some regrets when it came to her choice to dress up for the convention. She’d been so excited by the possibility to be like her favorite character for the day that she’d forgotten that Counselor Troi was clearly much more comfortable showing off her decolletage than she was, and was now paying the price for that as she walked around the convention center with her sister and her girlfriend.

They had made the better choices of dressing in general Star uniforms and were making a particularly cute and comfortable couple of science officers. She couldn’t help but smile as she watched them out of the corner of her eye, Honeymaren was helping re-pin Elsa’s Starfleet pin and Elsa was smiling at her like she’d hung the stars. A part of Anna was a bit jealous. While she was, of course, thrilled for her sister to have found someone who made her happy, she also wished that she’d be so lucky in love.

“Having issues with your uniform Deanna?” Elsa asked when she took note of Anna tugging her top up again.

“No more than you are,” Anna grumped, trying and failing to play it off like it was nothing.

She had been so excited when the convention had been announced. She’d never really considered herself the nerdy type, but as soon as she saw her first episode of Star Wars: The Next Generation she’d been hooked. That her sister had been willing to watch it as well had given them something to bond over after years of not having very much in common. This convention had been the ultimate way for her to enjoy the show and to meet other fans, but she just couldn’t stop thinking about how this wasn’t at all what she had planned.

When the announcement was made, she’d immediately gone to the nearest box office to her that was selling tickets and picked up three. One for her, one for Elsa, and one for her now ex-boyfriend. Honeymaren was just filling in so that the ticket purchase wouldn’t be a waste. She of course liked the show too, but hadn’t been watching it for years like they had, her fascination with it being a much more recent development.

She was glad that it had actually developed though, given that after Elsa had come out to Anna and introduced her to her girlfriend, they had needed something other than Elsa to talk about. Hans, her ex, had only feigned an interest, and like many other parts of their relationship, he’d not paid any attention to it.  

“You do look great though, just so you know.”

Honeymaren offered the compliment without any hint of placation. She wasn’t saying it because she thought Anna needed to hear it, she was saying it because she meant it. It was one of the things that Anna appreciated most about her sister’s girlfriend. She was honest, sometimes to the point of accidental injury to others not so versed in her frankness, but Anna was always glad to know exactly where she stood with her, and she thought that after the many years Elsa had spent second guessing everything, she deserved someone whose love she would never have to doubt.

“Thanks Honey,” she replied, “I’m sorry I’m being such a bummer.”

Elsa shrugged, “You’re usually Ms. Mary Sunshine Anna, you’re allowed a sad day. Just let us know what we can do. I know we both want you to enjoy the convention.”

“You can find me a Riker,” Anna teased, already feeling better knowing that she could enjoy the convention in the company of people who cared about her. And who, she was certain, would keep her from having an accidental nip slip.

***

Kristoff had been happy enough to take some of his siblings to the Star Trek convention they’d been talking about for weeks. He hadn’t really known what to expect, but when it came to his brothers and sisters he couldn’t really deny them anything. Well, at least he couldn’t deny them anything reasonable. They had asked him to dress up as Spock, and that was, ultimately where he drew the line.

They had begged and pleaded, but as much as he liked Spock, and generally enjoyed watching the Original Star Trek series with them, he didn’t really consider himself the dress-up type beyond his little sisters sticking him in a tutu here and there.

“Krissy!” his sister Crystal called, tugging on his hand, “Come on, there’s going to be a panel in a minute about how to make your own tribble!”

He huffed but smiled down at her. “How about you go grab Ben and Gemma from the merchandise table over there and head on over without me. If you promise to stay together you can go by yourselves and I’ll go figure out something for lunch.”

She grinned and then took off toward her other two older siblings. He could tell she was giddy about the trust he was placing in her and couldn’t help but feel glad that despite their high energy, his siblings were very good kids. Crystal was the youngest at nine, and then Gemma was the eldest excluding him at fourteen. Ben was smack dab in the middle at twelve, and while they still needed a chaperone to go to such a big event, he knew that he could trust them on their own for a little while. Especially because they’d be sitting.

He’d been adopted when he was five because his parents thought that they couldn’t have kids. That had seemed to be true for a little over a year until they discovered that they were expecting Gemma, and from there Kristoff never had a moment of silence to himself. It was a blessing of sorts, to go from no family to a small family, to having three younger siblings who loved him unconditionally.

It was worth all the diaper changes when they were small and now it was worth taking them on trips on his days off. His parents always appreciated the help, but really he enjoyed it more than they needed it.

As he watched them run off, Gemma holding Crystal’s hand and Ben following directly behind, he turned off the path of the convention floor and found a pillar to lean against. He just needed a minute to breathe before he went to find lunch for the kids. As much as he loved spending time with them, he wasn’t fond of the crowded convention space. It was too many people for his taste, and while he did enjoy the show, he didn’t really know much about the newest incarnation and that seemed to be most of what was highlighted at the booths and panels. He didn’t particularly have the urge or interest to investigate, but he did need a break, and he would take it where he could.

***

“Oh my gosh,” Honeymaren exclaimed, taking Elsa and Anna both my surprise.

Elsa tried to look in the direction that Honeymaren had been, but Anna watched as she quickly turned her to the side with a tug on her hand.

“Don’t look!” She chided.

“Look at what?” Anna asked, feeling just as confused as her sister looked.

She was quickly shushed and then Honeymaren grabbed her hand and dragged both her and Elsa off the show floor’s path and into a lull area by a merchandise table.

“What?” Elsa asked her girlfriend once she seemed to have settled from the whiplash of being dragged away from where they’d just been walking.

“Okay, keep your voice down, and don’t be obvious.”

“Obvious about what?” Anna asked, feeling like she’d fallen into an episode of Star Trek and some alien with an inability to explain its actions had taken over her sister’s girlfriend.

She gestured to the side, nodding her head in the direction of a pillar filled empty space off the show floor. It was near the hallway entrance that lead to the panel rooms, and Anna didn’t notice anything at first except for the fact that many people in and out of costume were resting in the space. She saw a Worf standing off to the side talking to a redshirt, an Uhura checking her lipstick in a hand mirror, three kids heading toward the panel hall together, and a handful of aliens eating snacks or sitting on the floor with their backs to pillars.

“What? Do you see Wil Wheaton or something?”

He was the only actor that was particularly close to their ages that was potentially coming to the convention and Anna knew that Elsa found him particularly charming on the show. There was probably a kinship for her in his character, a young kid who suddenly has to deal with the death of a parent and who is constantly trying to find his place.

“No, against the pillar, don’t be obvious.”

She was giggling now, and after a moment so did Elsa.

“Oh.”

“Oh what?” Anna replied still trying to scan the pillars, being quite obvious probably, to figure out what the two other women were looking at and giggling over.

“Oh.”

She spotted him after a moment. Tall, broad and handsome, leaning against a post with a short beard and a black turtleneck.

“You told us to find you a Riker,” Honeymaren said gleefully, “Well there you are.”

“I mean, he’s blonde and not in uniform, but she’s got a point Anna.”

She did, in fact, have a point. If one took a moment to slap a Starfleet uniform on him he’d make a pretty convincing Commander Will Riker. Except of course his blondness, but given that she was a red-haired Deanna Troi, she supposed that could be excused.

“You have to go talk with him,” Honeymaren said, seeming very convinced that it would be a good idea despite Anna, who normally considered herself an optimist, already forming doubts to how that would work out.

Anna looked to Elsa for assistance, but she was just smiling at her sister sheepishly, as if silently wishing her good luck. Honeymaren had a firm belief that things happened for a reason, one that had only been reinforced when she and Elsa had accidentally got trapped in an elevator together for three hours which was certainly the strangest meeting she’d ever heard of for a couple.

“I couldn’t. I mean, he looks like he wants to be left alone, and…”

“And nothing,” Honeymaren said, pushing her towards the pathway again, intending fully to make her cross it and walk over to the not-costume-wearing-Riker-like-gentleman leaning against the post.

Anna tried to turn back, but if there was one thing that her sister’s girlfriend and the Borg had in common it was that once they had a plan for you, resistance was futile.

***

“Uh… hi!”

Kristoff opened his eyes. He’d been taking a moment to decompress while his siblings were in their panel and had all but forgotten for a second, other than the loud noises of chatter and phaser sound effects, that he was in the middle of a room full of people.

He wasn’t sure who he expected to see when his eyes opened, but it was not a beautiful redhead with her cleavage on display right in his sightline. He flushed and averted his eyes, trying to burn away the mental image of freckled breasts that within a half a second were already lodged deep into his memories.

“Can I, uh…” he met her eyes and forced himself to maintain contact, “Can I help you?”

She flushed in return and he thought for a moment that she might have thought that he was someone else and had approached him by accident or something. It had never happened to him, but there was, of course, a first time for everything.

“I’m sorry to bother you,” she said, sounding sheepish, “But uh, do you see those two girls across the way? The blonde and the brunette? That’s my sister and my friend.”

Not really sure where any of this was going, Kristoff awkwardly raised a hand to wave to the two women who were watching their exchange with interest. The brunette waved back, but the blonde, realizing they’d been caught, or more accurately ratted out, flushed and covered her face with her hand.

“They well… they think they’re funny and because you look kind of like Will Riker they told me to come over and talk to you. Stupid, I know.”

She had him until Will Riker. He thought that maybe he was an actor he didn’t know about or something. His Trek knowledge really was limited to just what his siblings had him watch, so he didn’t know much about anything else.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know who that is, but you’ve got the wrong guy.”

“Oh,” the girl said looking nervous and turning redder by the minute, “I didn’t mean I thought you were him I mean obviously… wait.”

She gave him a serious look for a moment, then continued.

“You’re at a Star Trek convention and you don’t know who Commander William Riker is?”

The accusatory tone to her voice almost made him nervous, like she was going to call the convention police on him or something.

“Uh, is he from The Next Generation?”

She nodded then, looking a bit confused still, but also a bit satisfied.

“I’m sorry, I’ve never watched it. I’ve only seen parts of the Original. Mostly I’m here watching my younger siblings. They’re in a panel.”

He didn’t know why he was telling her that. It didn’t really matter after all, there were no Star Trek convention police who were coming to kick him out for not knowing enough about the show. Yet he told he anyway, maybe because she was clearly in this situation under duress, or maybe because he’d stared at her cleavage and felt that he owed her for it, even if it was unintentional.

“Oh,” she said, “Well, um… that’s nice of you. I’m so sorry I bothered you. I’m sure you can understand siblings trying to talk you into things…”

He nodded. He did get it.

“You know, they tried to get me to dress up as Spock. Not Kirk, Spock. I had to tell them no, but it was a battle anyway, so I get it. And, uh, also… you weren’t really bothering me.”

“Oh, that’s nice of you to say. But I just interrupted your sibling break. I wish I could catch one of those, but if I walk away on my own I know those two are going to follow me anyway. Also, if your younger siblings watch Next Generation they’ll want you to be Riker next time.”

“Would they follow you if we walked to the café together?”

He didn’t know why he asked. He didn’t even know this girl’s name, but she seemed nice and he was starting to get a bit of a sense that she might be a kindred spirit. Clearly, he thought, she was a much more social kindred spirit, but someone he thought he might like to talk to nevertheless.

She flushed again and he was trying to think of how to backpedal when she answered, “Probably, but they might leave after a little bit. I’m their ride so they’d need to find me eventually, but it might be nice to spend a second alone… or alone together I guess. Until your little siblings get out of their panel that is.”

He nodded, and let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. He wondered if she would let him buy her lunch. Because of the cleavage staring thing of course, to fix his karma, nothing at all to do with the fact that his treacherous brain was already filing away the details of her smile and ascribing labels to them like “cute” and “beautiful” which he rarely if ever did. He was the sort of person that fell in love with a personality before he did with looks, but he had to admit he wanted the opportunity to get to know her a little better.

“Oh!” she said, “And I’m Anna by the way… or Counselor Deanna Troi if you don’t want my real name. You don’t watch the show so you probably wouldn’t have known that anyway.”

She let out an awkward little laugh, and he couldn’t help but smile.

“I’m Kristoff,” he replied, “Just, uh Kristoff. I could’ve been Spock though, or I guess this Riker guy. Why did they think you should come talk to me anyway? I mean I get it’s because I look like the character, but is he important or something?”

He saw her blush brighten before she shook her head and took off towards the hallway that would lead them to the café. He followed behind and realized suddenly that he really needed to watch The Next Generation.

***

“What do you think?” Honeymaren asked, flapping a polaroid in her hand.

“You’re not supposed to shake them you know,” Elsa teasingly chided, “It says so on the package and everything.”

“Well I just wanted to make sure quickly that it was a good photo,” she explained, “I mean it’s their first date after all, I want to make sure we have pictures to show your future nieces and nephews.”

Elsa chuckled, “You’re always so sure of these things, aren’t you?”

She took the photo from her girlfriend’s hands and couldn’t help but grin when she saw that despite the distance, you could clearly tell that Anna-Deanna and her mystery not-Riker were smiling at each other and blushing in a way that very much indicated that Honeymaren was right to send Anna over to him.

“Of course, I mean this one was just too easy. I mean I know he wasn’t in costume, but he does look like Riker, and Anna makes a good Troi even if she’s a redhead and since those two are getting married in the show, we might as well assume our real life analogs will get there too.”

Elsa shoved the photo into her canvas bag, tucking it between a zine and a headshot of Wil Wheaton as Wesley Crusher. Anna would, no matter the outcome, probably want it later for the memory. She only had to hope, grabbing Honeymaren’s hand, that her girlfriend’s romantic sense was as good for others as it had been for them.

“Come on,” she said with a sigh, “Lets stalk them to the foodcourt.”

[hisbeautysurroundsus]

I will never forget the events of Sunday March 14, 2021 as long as I live. While I have difficulty separating reality from the tale spinning in my mind, one thing I am certain of is that a lone elk calf changed the course of my life. This story is a modern-day parable of sorts.  Only, this parable does not end as neatly as you would want it to.  As with any good story, it must be told or the facts surrounding that day will get lost to time. 

Jesus always spoke to the multitudes in parables, uttering things that had been kept secret from the foundation of the world.  He did this, so that seeing they would not see and hearing they would not understand.  Perhaps all great parables have an element of self-discovery.

I am a 28-year military veteran struggling to figure out what to do with the balance of my life.  I often pray that God will help me to do something of impact, something of eternal consequence.  For some time now, He has remained painfully silent on the matter. 

Leading up to that fateful day, I was enthralled in Paul’s conversion story found in the book of Acts.  Acts records a miraculous time in human history when the ministry of the Holy Spirit was poured out.  The period was marked by great signs and miraculous wonders, just as those that marked the coming of Christ’s ministry on earth.

I am not a person that relies on signs and wonders to strengthen my faith.  In fact, I have always considered those who seek signs to be doctrinally insecure.  However, on this particular morning I had been meditating on the ministry of Paul and his companions.  I was driving along Buffalo Bill Reservoir near Cody, Wyoming just after sunrise and was praying as I looked out over the water toward Sheep Mountain. 

I prayed, “God, I’m not one that needs signs and wonders to follow you.  I just want to know what my purpose is, how can you use me?  I just want you to give me clear direction, some sign that I am on the right track.”  As I spoke these words out loud, off to my left I saw a lone elk calf in distress.  I drove past him before my brain could process what I had just seen.  I have never seen a lone elk in the wild.  They are always together with the herd.  I quickly turned the truck around and drove back towards this unusual sight.  I stopped a safe distance from him, as not to worsen his already frantic state.  As I observed him, it quickly became evident his situation was not good.  He had been left alone because he was afraid to jump the fence.

I immediately felt a kinship to this lone elk calf.  He was alone.  He knew he wanted to be where he belonged, but he did not know how to get there.  He was trapped behind the fence of uncertainty.  I felt his pain.  Yes, I sat there in my truck crying for this lone elk calf, crying for me.  We bonded heart to heart, life to life.  He was my kind; we shared the same frustration.  He was me, and I was him.

Everything else around me faded into unimportance.  Why did his herd just leave him behind?  Where is his herd?  Why won’t he just jump the fence?  At once we were altogether sharing the same experience.  I wept harder for him, for me. 

Snap!  I suddenly popped back into my usual rational self.  My military bearing restored, I regained composure, dried up any sign of tears, and set aside this total breakdown of emotions.  Even so, it occurred to me that God had given me this lone elk calf just as I was praying for a sign.  Is it possible that he is my sign?  I scolded myself for being so weak as to need such a thing. 

With another snap of military bearing, I set aside my selfish thoughts and assessed the situation.  I must do something to help this elk calf get back to his herd!  But what?  Elk calves are not exactly small, they are easily the size of an adult whitetail deer.  I scanned the mountainside; his herd was nowhere to be found.  What can I do?  I do not even know which direction to push him in.

I drove closer to see if the truck would convince him to jump the fence.  He clearly had the ability to jump the fence.  I got angry with him.  “Why won’t you just jump the fence?”, I said aloud.  You have everything you need; the answer is right there in front of you.  I related to him again.  I got angry with me; another flood of emotions came over me. 

The truck pushed him further down the fence towards an open gate to the park.  Surely he will see this opportunity to be free.  He ran up to the open gate and stopped.  With a nervous lurch backwards, he jerked away from the open gate about 10 yards and stopped.  He then ran back to the open gate, and I said, “Okay little elk just go out the gate.”  With another nervous lurch backwards, he jerked away from the open gate about 10 yards.  This repeated itself four times. I got angry with him, why won’t you just go out the open gate?  You have everything you need; the answer is right there in front of you.  I related to him again.  I got angry with me; another flood of emotions came over me. 

He ran further down the fence towards Gibbs Bridge and the North Fork of the Shoshone River.  I drove into the park through the open gate that he could not, or would not, go out.  I followed him at a safe distance pushing him towards the bridge.

I got out of the truck and pushed him on foot over the rocks and ice.  We went under the bridge together to the other side of the park.  This side of the park has a cowboy fence made of wood rails, with periodic segments where the top rail is removed for the elk to cross over. 

He stopped in a stand of aspens trying to figure out his next move.  I stood there thinking I would love to push him towards his herd, but I do not know where the herd is.  They were long gone, and we were both there alone—together. 

Before I could think it through, he pressured a pair of Canadian Geese.  They honked and flapped their wings and made the matter worse.  In that moment I was reminded of my morning Bible study in the book of Nehemiah, of the doubters that laughed him to scorn when he was set about doing what God had put in his heart to do.  I yelled at the geese, “You go ahead and laugh, get out of here you lousy doubters!”  The pair kept honking loudly as they flew away.

It occurred to me that if I were going to help him, I would have to know where his herd was.  At the risk of losing him, I determined to run back across the road, down the rocky cliff next to the bridge, get my truck, and go find the elk herd.  The truck was about a quarter mile away, and I knew it was likely that I would lose track of him in the shuffle. I had no choice.

As I drove back up the hill, I could see that he was still standing nervously alone in the aspens.  I drove out of the park and headed down the highway to the pastures where I typically see the elk herd.  From the highway, I could still see him in the aspens.

The drive took me past the road to Logan Mountain.  This road has a piece of property that I have been praying about buying.  There’s a reluctance to buy because I do not want to settle in a place that is contrary to God’s plan for my life.

After a 28-year military career, with 12 assignments all around the world, my family has moved every place the military has told us to go.  We have gotten good at moving and making a life somewhere new.  Now, for the first time in our lives we do not have anyone telling us where to go.  We feel lost.  Freedom and uncertainty are cousins, and we just want to belong somewhere.  Who are my people?  Where do I fit in?  What is my purpose?  Will my life matter?  How can I make an impact?  God, what would you have me to do?  What will I do with the balance of my life? These are the nagging questions that bonded me to this stranded little elk calf.

As I pass Logan Mountain, I wonder if the elk herd is on the property I have been praying about?  No, that is selfish thinking and foolish to boot.  I say to God, “Lord, sorry for my selfish thinking, just help me to get this elk calf back to his herd.” 

I am pressed in my spirit again about my lack of faith.  Just a few days before I was reading in Acts how Peter was imprisoned by Herod for preaching the gospel.  The church prayed without ceasing for Peter.  God heard their prayers and sent His angel to lead Peter out of prison.  Peter went to Mary’s house where many believers were gathered praying.  When they opened the gate and saw Peter, they were astonished.  Why were they astonished?  Though they were praying without ceasing, their faith was deficient.  They did not believe God would answer so soon, or in such a miraculous way. 

My heart was pricked, so I turned my truck around and drove up Logan Mountain Drive.  No elk.  I continue up the mountain on a scarcely maintained private dirt road.  No elk.  Higher and higher.  At about a thousand feet above the park looking down at where the elk calf is in the aspens, I round a corner and the entire elk herd (about two hundred in number) is standing in a gully looking down towards me like a great cloud of witnesses.  I leap with joy! 

I consider that they have been watching the entire event unfold below them.  Does the elk calf know they are here?  Do they know he is there?  Did they see me cry and run around frantically trying to herd him out of the fence? What a crazy fool I must have looked like.

I turn the truck around and head back down the mountain towards the calf.  I just know that this story is going to have a neat happy ending.  I will be able to proudly push him across the highway and back up the mountain to his herd. Mission accomplished, job well done sergeant!

I get back to the park and the elk calf is not in the stand of aspens.  He is not under the bridge.  He is not trapped behind the fence on the other side of the bridge.  He is not in the riverbed.  He is not anywhere in the park.  I run around on foot for two hours searching for him.  I keep scanning the hill back and forth between the aspens in the park and the elk herd on the mountain.  He is nowhere to be found.  He disappeared.  He is simply just not here anymore.

I draw a line between the aspens and up the hill to the gully where the herd is at.  I see that directly between the aspens and the herd is a section of cowboy fence with the top rail removed.  I climb over the fence and cross the highway. 

On the other side of the highway just below Logan Mountain is another fence like the one he was stuck behind and would not jump.  I walk along it for a quarter mile hoping to find a break or some sign of his crossing.  Down a bit, the fence drops into a wash that is full of snow. The snow comes halfway up the fence.  I see a lone set of elk tracks crossing the fence in the snow.  Was it my elk calf?  Did he find his herd?  Did he figure out where he belongs?  Was he able to jump the fence?

I climb straight up the side of Logan Mountain.  The cold thin air makes my mouth water to the point of vomiting.  I sit on a rock to try and get control of my breathing.  It has been three hours since I last saw the elk calf.  I get angry.  Where is he?  Did he find his herd?  Did he make it home?  Did he find his purpose?  Will his life matter?  Did he make an impact?  What will he do with the balance of his life?  Why doesn’t his story end better?

I resign to the fact that I will never know the answer and head down the mountain.  On the side of the dirt road in a patch of snow just below the elk herd, I see a lone set of elk tracks.  Was it his?  I would love to say yes, but this story does not end that way.

I begrudgingly quit my search.  I went home, prayed and fasted.  My heart was broken.  I wanted to know what the meaning of the events were.  For two days, I walked around in a state somewhere between disbelief and euphoria.  I recall every step, every emotion, every thought.  I rehashed every detail of the morning repeatedly in my mind and to my wife.  I retraced every step around the park and up the mountain.  I prayed that God would help me to make sense of the elk calf.  If he was a sign, what was the meaning of it?  Why didn’t it end better?  What happened to the elk calf?  What happens to me?

After much prayer and fasting, God showed me the meaning of the elk calf:  I am the elk calf.  We just want to belong, to find our way to where we fit in.  We want to fulfill our God-given purpose.  There are obstacles in our way, even though God has already given us the way out.  Gates are opened to us, but we are afraid to go through.  What if it is the wrong path?  Back and forth in our heads.  God gives us a bridge, and instead we go under it the hard way over the ice and rocks.  We rest for a short period under the familiar cover of the aspens, it is nice, but this is not our destination.  We know this, but we are unsure what direction to go in.  The doubters honk and flap their wings, laughing us to scorn.  We push past them believing God has a work for us to do.  We must cross two more fences and a highway, but God makes a way where there seems no way. God knows His plan for us, He knows where we need to be, and He’s gently pushing us in the right direction.

We should live by faith—praying continuously—with the expectation that God will reveal His vision for us in time.  Over the following days I continued to read of Paul’s missionary journeys in Acts.  It became painfully obvious that what he did, and how he did it, was way more important than where he did it.  I had been focusing on the wrong thing. 

“For he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name...”.  These are the words of Christ regarding Paul.  Paul was zealous for God.  He was ambitious, obtaining authority from the high priest to arrest and prosecute Christians.  He was influential and skilled in leadership.  He had abilities, talents, and was a learned scholar.  All of that was rendered useless as he fell to the earth on the road to Damascus.  Blinded, his trembling lips could only utter, “what wilt thou have me to do?” 

I’ve been seeking a ‘road to Damascus’ experience, where my purpose, my calling, my life’s work is made abundantly clear.  I keep asking God what He will have me to do?  No response.  God, you have given me all these skills, talents, abilities, experiences, now use them—here am I.  Radio silence.  Like the elk calf, I have everything I need to be used of Him.

It occurs to me that Jesus called Paul a “chosen vessel”.  Vessels are hollow containers, receptacles for something of value.  The vessel God wants me to be is not filled with my own talents, leadership, organizational and management skills.  It is not filled with my ambition, experiences, and ideas about what an impactful life looks like.  If it were, there would be no room to hold anything of value.  God desires an empty vessel, one void of our own ideas of what He has for us and ready to be filled with something of eternal consequence.  I have considered that all those abilities, talents, and experiences could have no part in what He has called me to do.

Early one morning after my encounter with the elk calf I was reading In Acts.  Paul and his companions were accused of turning the world upside down.  That is when the Spirit stirred in me my purpose.  It hit me like a ton of bricks!  Nothing short of turning the world upside down will quench this fire within me.  I have been reluctant to commit to every other “opportunity”.  Now I know why.  Those things do not have eternal consequence, they are not turning the world upside down.  That is why I entertain them, consider them, but am not passionate enough to commit to them.

In my head, turning the world upside down is on a grand scale.  Paul.  Billy Graham.  DL Moody.  But God pressed in my spirit that just like my experience with the lone elk calf, it is one person at a time.  The person He puts before me.  Wherever I am at.  Like my experience with the lone elk calf, I turn the world upside down by showing compassion to each person he gives to me.

God’s purpose for my life, His calling, is for me to turn the world upside down.  The focus of each day is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  From that center, the Spirit stirs in me the focus of His kindheartedness. 

The constant of this world is that it always does what is in its own best interest.  The antithesis is someone that puts others before themselves.  I will turn the world upside down by showing kindness and love, putting others before myself.  This is the message of all Christ’s parables.  This is the message of the elk calf.

Turning the world upside down is not done on a mass scale, it is personal and builds gradually over time.  One day at a time.  One person at a time. God uses the grandness of nature to build humility, approachability, and genuineness in me.  He uses my love of nature and the balance it brings to speak of Him.  He uses my experiences in nature and gratitude in writing as the platform of conversation.  Those interactions are something that lasts, something of eternal consequence.  Those intimate conversations point people to Christ.  God’s purpose for my life, His calling, is for me to turn the world upside down.  God used a lone elk calf to show me this.

Why didn’t I get to see the elk calf successfully unite with its herd? Why didn’t I get to know the nice neat ending to my story? I am the elk calf, and while God has already written the end of my story, I have not read it yet.

[kogo-dogo]

i like your skyrim stuff and i wanna know more about the funky little dudes you posted in those “sentences” lol. instead of asking for more snips

You have made a mistake. Prepare for an essay.

But, joking aside, they’re Morrowind characters. I do like Skyrim, but Morrowind is my favorite game of all time and the entire reason I got into the TES fandom years ago. I don’t talk about it much on here because everyone is here for Half-Life and HRV, but... you know what? I’mma take this opportunity. To yell.

About The Guys(tm).

So, basically, in my Personal Canon, I don’t just have a Nerevarine (i.e. Protagonist) character. I have an entire crew of people who help him get through things because it just seems... more realistic for my Extremely Flawed and Terrible Nerevarine. Also, I just had a lot of characters conjured up as a teenager and it was fun to evolve it over time so they’re all friends.

They are, as follows:

- Jo’Karsa (a.k.a. “Karsaga”). Battlemage born under the Atronach. Afflicted with Wombburn. Also the Nerevarine. He’s an abnormally large Cathay-raht who has had an unusual upbringing. He was originally an orphan plucked off the streets in Corinthe and trafficked to Morrowind where he was sold as a slave. As fate would have it, a houseman under his owner took a shine to him and stole him away when they fled to Cyrodiil to avoid political assassination. Karsaga has been raised Telvanni in Imperial territory so, despite being a mighty brute of a Khajiit, he has an extreme affinity for magic and an equally extreme disconnect from his Khajiiti roots.

He speaks like a Dunmer, carries himself like a Dunmer, and has very Telvanni sensibilities. He also has an extensive criminal record from his time spent as a bandit outside of Cheydinhal, and that is eventually how he ends up on the prison boat that sends him to Morrowind. He has a bunch of aliases and an unhealthy penchant for drink and smoke. Not a fan of skooma, though. As gruff and sarcastic as he is, he has a very silver tongue and a way of winning people over and talking himself out of trouble.

Also, “youth born under a certain sign?” Nah, this bitch is 34. And smells like a wet dog.

- Dasrazel. Altmer Nightblade and Quarra vampire. He contracted his vampiric curse while trying to save his lover from the clutches of an undead menace during the Second Era, after a life working various quasilegal oddjobs that brought shame on his noble family. In life, he was a likeable but lowkey individual, and in undeath he’s still very lowkey... but perhaps not as likeable. He has to take a low dose of a calming potion to keep the inherent, violent bloodlust of his Quarra curse at bay, and it does a lot to deaden his emotions. Combine that with hundreds of years to learn how to not give a fuck, and you have a very blunt, stoic, matter-of-fact creature who only very occasionally makes quips and usually just wants to be left alone.

He is Karsaga’s closest ally, right hand man, and platonic soulmate. They met after Karsaga robbed him blind at a bar (thinking him to just be some weird, frail elf), and Dasrazel took pity on him after Karsaga ran him through with an iron saber and panicked when it... did nothing. Their bond is one of a mutual distaste for most people and Dasrazel’s desire to have companionship again.

They’re very much bros, even if Dasrazel spends most of his time not understanding why Karsaga is the way he is.

-  Neira Brenur. Dunmer Witchhunter and low-ranking member of House Redoran. She’s the daughter of a Camonna Tong member and an Ashlander woman, though her mother is dead and she spends a lot of time trying to distance herself from her racist father. She joined Redoran in hopes of atoning for the crime of just being born into a bad family, but has a really difficult time fitting in. She’s very meek and empathetic and does better in controlled duels than actual combat. The idea of actually hurting an opponent makes her sick to her stomach.

She kind of just happened to Karsaga one day, courtesy of him running afoul of her not-so-popular friend, Vandrith (we’ll get to that trainwreck later). She mainly acts as a translator for Vandrith and tries to play mediator when Karsaga starts getting too aggressive with others. She’s in good with some odd folks in Redoran and a very aggressive supporter of the Tribunal Temple, which makes it hard for her to wrap her mind around Karsaga’s existence as the Nerevarine.

Also, the fact she’s an absolute pushover means she just accepts the less-than-savory people Karsaga pals around with. She’s got a big heart and feels actual pity for his blasphemous, undead, and criminal friends. They’re good people on the inside (probably).

- Vandrith Valen. Dunmer Ordinator and conglomeration of a lot of factors coming together in the worst way possible. He is naturally “blessed by Azura” and has some degree of prophetic power, though he’s choked it down after a life of being raised Indoril. He also came to the unfortunate realization after being stationed on Vvardenfell, that he is also a descendant of House Dagoth and is haunted by the Poison Song, a “song” sent out by Dagoth Ur that warps the minds of those who are of his blood and turns them into Sleepers and Dreamers.

These two traits do not mesh well and make Vandrith more than a little unstable.

Vandrith is... prone to erratic behavior and violent outbursts and is largely under the care of his paternal uncle, Tuls Valen, the head priest of the Ald’ruhn Temple. Vandrith is also a clever and tricky bastard who has been trying to figure out how to discern Dagoth Ur’s plans from the Poison Song in order to prevent bad things from happening. Usually, he can keep things under control, but extremely bad visions, close proximity to items/places corrupted by House Dagoth, and stress can cause him to be difficult.

Beyond this, though, he’s not what you’d expect from an Ordinator. He’s very witty with a somewhat bawdy sense of humor, a very devil-may-care attitude, and he’s a huge fan of causing mischief. He forced his way into Karsaga’s social circle due to his absolute certainty that Karsaga could bring down Dagoth Ur, and Neira is his closest (and for a long time only) friend, who has figured out what all of his weird ramblings mean.

- Bashinga. Sorceress and Aundae vampire. She is an old acquaintance of Dasrazel’s who has ties to Telvanni, the Mage’s Guild, and several circles of warlocks and witches. She’s very much a self-serving sort, more interested in the acquisition of power than the wellbeing of Morrowind, but she is fiercely protective of the people she deems worthy (and she has a soft spot for Neira she can’t really explain).

Once upon a time, she was a dancer and performer with a traveling circus, and her fall into undeath and wizardry was a happy accident after being taken as cattle by rogue Aundae. She’s got a good set of vocal cords and can move with grace and ease, but she speaks very bitterly a lot of the time and is difficult to get along with.

She’s one of those people who Karsaga immediately took a shine to because they both like to sit around and bitch about people. Dasrazel and Bashinga mostly get along by the time-honored tradition of “two very gay individuals being catty at each other as a sign of affection, though outsiders would think they hate one another.”

- Jai Swift-Fly. Cathay assassin and member of the Morag Tong. She was born and raised in Elsweyr in a more tribal environment, and is an old friend of Vandrith’s (odd, considering they met because she took a grey writ to knock him off and, instead, he knocked her out). She mostly comes into the fold because Karsaga needed somebody to break into the Ministry of Truth to free Mehra Milo, and she came highly recommended (by Vandrith; Vandrith recommended her). 

She’s a married mother of two, is big and strong and very proud of being big and strong, and a crack shot with a bow. She’s also deaf as hell and communicates through a series of homebrew gestures. Her decision to stick around and help Karsaga after completing the job she was hired to do stems primarily from her extreme curiosity. She has no stake in the Nerevarine Prophecy or this group of losers, but by god does she want to see what it looks like when a god dies.

Fun fact: Jai is dead by the events of Skyrim, but two of her descendants remain. Shevah and J’Rakka. They’re a brother-and-sister duo. Shevah is as much of a curious, troublemaking adventurer as her so-many-greats grandmother. J’Rakka is a werewolf who mostly hunts bounties to make a living.

- Dravyn Telvayn (no picture of him, sorry D:). Dunmer assassin and member of the Morag Tong. Former highwayman and current Berne vampire. Husband of Jai and perpetually confused, mainly over the fact he has kids with Jai and... well, every book he’s read has indicated that that should be impossible for a variety of reasons. He lives in the sewers of the Arena canton in Vivec City and is allowed work in the Morag Tong due to his efficacy at eliminating very high risk targets, though he’s basically “on his own” if he ever gets caught. They’re sure as fuck not giving him writs of execution to present to guards when the Tong could end up fucked over if their relationship with a vampire gets out.

He’s mostly in the background and tags along due to his extreme dedication to Jai. He doesn’t get along with hardly anyone but her, though he is the one who coined the term “Council of Accidents” in relation to him, Dasrazel, and Bashinga. He feels a loose kinship with them in that they’re all members of different vampire clans, but all members whose sires want nothing to do with them, rendering them outcasts. Even after the events of Morrowind, he keeps in infrequent contact with the others. 

After Jai’s death, he acts as a weird “ancestral guardian” to his own descendants. As of the time of Skyrim, he spends most of his time trying to keep Shevah from getting killed. He is very tired. She is a lot.

[dannyphannypack]

Crossover Fic Recs

Hey, saw your post for some fic recs! Unfortunately I can't continue the wonderful thread of reblogs because I wish to remain anonymous, but here have some cool crossovers that I didn't see get rec'd yet :D (you can either post this or add it to the reblogs, I don't mind either way)

Just Another Meteor Freak [500k words, complete] (and it's sequel, which is unfortunately incomplete) is a Smallville/DP crossover that's absolutely a fantastic read and I cannot recommend it enough, it's one of my faves! Brief synopsis: Danny goes to live with his aunt Martha Kent after his family dies (and for once Danny's family dying in a crossover fic doesn't have anything to do with TUE!), and misunderstandings of the good kind and mishaps ensue because of course Danny and Clark's hero complexes come into play. It's got hurt/comfort, fluff, angst, sibling-esque-bonding, and all sorts of cool stuff, including ghost king headcannons and new powers for Danny. It takes place mostly from a Smallville perspective, but Danny's woven in so seamlessly that you won't believe he wasn't in the original show to begin with. I read it for the first time after having not watched Smallville in years and I could still understand it though, so I think that if you haven't watched Smallville before you could still enjoy the fic a lot!

And like, honestly, I totally recommend other stuff by this author (jadedbluerose) too. She's got a Merlin/DP crossover that's pretty fantastic, but unfortunately she hasn't updated anything since 2014 :( still worth the read though!!

Spirited Away [70k, complete] is a Harry Potter/DP crossover, it's honestly THE MOST hilarious fic I've ever read. Synopsis: Danny is an unwilling student at Hogwarts, and the most chaotic Hufflepuff the world has ever seen. He claims he's been kidnapped but when no one listens to him, he raises all kinds of hell to try and get kicked out. And if that doesn't work, well, he can always sue them. 100% worth the read, it will definitely make you laugh.

Various Superphantom (Supernatural/DP) crossovers by sapphireswimming. Literally anything Superphantom found here? Totally the best. You can also check out Superphantom fics by surelysilly (whose fics are more on the darker end of the spectrum, and their prose style is kinda abstract rather than your traditional linear narrative) Vitaliciouscreations (they've got a oneshot collection that's pretty fun, as well as a oneshot that I wish they'd continue and a complete cute 13k-word penpal fic.)

How to befriend a ghost [80k, incomplete] is a HTTYD/DP crossover in which Danny gets stuck in the Viking era, and I originally started reading this for the Danny & Hiccup friendship because it's adorable and both of them see how similar they are to each other and find kinship in that. The dragon Danny gets (because this is a HTTYD crossover, this is inevitable!) really sneaks into your heart though, and I ABSOLUTELY adore Sparky as much as I adore Toothless. He's very lovable and complements Danny super well! Of course, it's not all friendship bonding and training dragons, the archipelago is Danny's home now (until he can find his way back to Amity Park/his own century) and he's going to protect it too when trouble arises, just like the dragons do. He even gets new powers along the way. This fic is pretty fun, there's a lot of switching perspectives and you really see the characters' voices come through in it, and you even get to see the dragons' POV, which is really interesting since you get to learn Sparky's backstory!

Den Mother [8k, ongoing] is a Young Justice/DP crossover that acknowledges the fact that Danny is by all rights a first-generation hero, and he's treated with the respect as such and gets to join the Justice League rather than the YJ team. Of course, he doesn't WANT to join the league at first, which is a different take than you'd expect, but he reluctantly agrees and is then given the same responsibilities as a Justice League member--that is, to teach the YJ something about teamwork or whatever. It's not very long right now, but the premise is so good! It has a lot of potential.

A Foreign Perspective [200k words, complete] is a DNAngel/DP crossover that I saw @scrollingdown call a fandom classic once and honestly agree, even though I don't think many people know/have read it. It's a cute friendship fic that focuses on Phantom (not Danny, but Phantom specifically) making his first friend, an older boy named Daisuke, who seems normal at first, but is slowly revealed to be a little more understanding of Danny's situation than he appears. Some comfort involved too since Danny deals with a little more with the idea of mourning/loss than in canon, seeing as Daisuke thinks he's a full ghost and therefore a teenager that died, and Danny learns to be a different kind of hero because of it. Really cool fic too since you don't need to know DNAngel at all to understand the fic, since it's told from DP's perspective, and you get to learn about Daisuke as Danny does. It's just super sweet and it's got some action here and there that makes it exciting, and it's really a fun read.

Other stuff by this author is worth the read too! They've got oneshots of a HP crossover and Ghost Whisperer crossover, and a sadly incomplete HTTYD crossover [100k words] that is still super super good and also deals with ideas about mourning and loss. Their non-crossover stuff is also pretty interesting (there's a Mute!Danny AU and Dash kinda-redemption oneshot I really liked).

Diversity [150k, ongoing] is another Ghost Whisperer/DP crossover, it's a found-family fic where Danny runs away from home after his family dies in the events post TUE. He ends up running into Melinda and she goes out of her way to help him. There's a couple underlying mysteries surrounding the ghosts that haunt this fic, and Melinda tries to understand Danny's past and ends up tangled in a conspiracy because Danny's hiding his ghostly alter-ego and also the GIW are involved at some point (and they are much more menacing here than in canon). It's totally a page-turner, and you can get as invested as Melinda in hoping Danny heals from his loss. Spellbound [150k, ongoing] is a HP/DP crossover by the same author! Danny accidentally gets trapped by Magical Britain and is bitter about it, but he's trying to make the best of it. The Wizards have no idea what to make of him, but he just wants to go home, and he makes a couple friends while he plots his escape. (It's actually been a while since I read that one, so I'm a bit fuzzy on the details, but I do remember feeling bad for Danny in this fic, poor boy's lonely and can't even interact with kids his own age because he's an unknown creature to the wizards. Good thing Danny's never been one to follow authority.)

A Visit to Paris [10k, complete] is a Miraculous Ladybug/DP crossover in which Danny is Akumatized... sort of. The results are hilarious: Danny's a troll, Hawkmoth is frustrated, the heroes aren't really sure what to make of it, and Danny and Adrien make a lot of puns. Oh, and Danny is the only one smart enough to fix Paris' villain problem (okay, so it might be slightly cracky). It reminds me very much of Spirited Away, which I mentioned earlier. It's got the same level of chaos that's for sure. All in all, it's a very, very fun read.

A Different Sort of House Call [50k, incomplete] is a House MD/DP crossover, it's been years since I read it but I've always considered it one of the fandom classics too? It was definitely one of the first things to pop to mind when I was trying to recall all the cool memorable crossovers to rec you, so this goes on the list too. It's Danny at the hospital with House, and the doctors are trying to diagnose him without knowing about his ghost half (and Danny's not exactly willing to tell them either). There's angst (especially since the author wrote this to follow Lab Rat by AnneriaWings), Vlad trying to be an ally (sorta?), and House being clever as usual. Sadly it's incomplete but it's still super good!!

Running Blind [20k, complete] is a CSI/DP crossover (it took me forever to find the link again since it wasn't listed as a crossover). It's super good, Danny runs away for reasons unknown (at the beginning of course) and gets caught up in a murder investigation and he suspects the culprit is supernatural so obviously he helps out. The CSI guys are both trying to protect him (thinking he was a target for the murderer) but also trying to uncover his past and the reasons he ran away. When you find out why he ran away, you might be awed like I was (especially when you realize how long it had been since he ran) or you might be unimpressed, but the aftermath and his family/friends finally catching up to him might make up for that. I kinda liked how Vlad was written here too.

Ghost Crimes and its sequels is a Criminal Minds/DP crossover. It's the first in a very long series (currently 500k+ words in total) that expands on the DP world and lore, and also involves a lot more murder, death, blood (and the other related gore-ish stuff), and overall realism. Like, Danny fights what is basically Jack the Ripper and its terrifying. It's kind of like a "dark and gritty" DP (but like, not unbearably or overwhelmingly dark and gritty), angst sprinkled here and there, along with darker themes and less light-hearted issues (mental health/trauma/depression/etc. and neglect/abuse and like, actual competent adults like social workers and stuff are a real thing in this fic). There's a lot going on but it's got its lighter nice moments too (Dani is there and gets to be a part of Danny's family, Val's in on the secret, among other things). Also some of the chapters are illustrated, it's great. Definitely check it out!

Okay that's a lot of fics so I'm gonna stop now. Have fun reading!!

[planetsinastrology]

Aries

 In the initial not many months of the year, you will have distinction of assessment among you and your companion. You should attempt to evade haughtiness and rather work on improving your relationship. Correspondence is the way to enduring the disturbed occasions.

 In the second 50% of the year, things will radically improve among you and your accomplice. You will security in a greatly improved manner and correspondence channels will open up. In the event that you are seeing someone, it may finish into marriage. Read in Detail…

 Taurus

 Beginning of the year till March, your life partner may confront medical problems. There may likewise be a breakdown of correspondence between the both of you because of progress in work, significant distance or work pressure. Attempt and address this issue before your relationship goes astray.

 From March till year's end, there will be improvement in the relationship and solid holding will arise with the companion. On the off chance that you are single, you may discover somebody soon. Indeed, this individual may end up being your perfect partner. Marriage is on the cards as well. Read in Detail…

 Gemini

 Beginning of the year to March, you will appreciate quality minutes with accomplice. You will go for long excursions and go through private minutes with your accomplice. There will be monstrous love and holding noticeable all around during this period.

 From February to April, you ought to evade contentions on useless points, both actually and expertly. You should reconsider prior to talking, else the circumstance may winding crazy.

 From June to year's end you will discover improvement in the relationship, will appreciate outings and gatherings or get-togethers. Singles will discover perfect partners and love will be noticeable all around. On the off chance that you are hitched, avoid the enticement of an extra conjugal undertaking, else you will cut off up destroying your association. Read in Detail…

 Cancer

 From January onwards, you will make the most of your sentimental life. This is an ideal opportunity to solidify your relationship with your accomplice. Go for some occasion and appreciate some upbeat minutes with one another. From April to August, you ought to evade contentions with your life partner. You should save personality and egotism aside for your relationship to succeed. Evade superfluous contentions with your accomplice.

 From August to year's end, you will make the most of your affection life. You will get ready for some occasions, gatherings and family parties. This is an ideal opportunity to be with your family and you should utilize it. Read in Detail…

 Leo

 January to March things will be acceptable and you will appreciate quality minutes with your companion. This is an ideal opportunity to bond firmly with your accomplice and you should set aside out enough effort for that. Love winged animals ought to invest energy with one another.

 From April to September, you ought to dodge personality and presumption, else there may be some separation in your relationship. On another note, don't uncover your own insider facts to anybody, henceforth you may land yourself in a tough situation.

 From September to year's end, circumstance will be vastly improved, your companions will uphold you and new companions will come in your life. Couples will discover positive vibes in the relationship after a self-investigation stage. Read in Detail…

 Virgo

 From January to March, you will appreciate a decent love life. You will likewise go to numerous gatherings with your friends and family and appreciate some glad minutes. In the event that you have children, at that point they will be your highest need during this time.

 April to September, you should be cautious in adoration matters, since your allurement may lead you to have an extra conjugal illicit relationship. Nonetheless, you ought to abstain from concealing anything from your accomplice and tell the truth.

 From September to year's end, you will security unequivocally with your accomplice – there will be love noticeable all around and all methods of correspondence will open up. You should evade useless contentions with your accomplice however. Read in Detail…

 Libra

 From January to September, you will make the most of your affection life, singles will discover love, new kinships will fashion and new bonds will be framed. With everything taken into account, this will be a satisfying time for you.

 From September to year's end, you may confront some pressure in affection matters and you will require more straightforwardness in the relationship. Workaholic behavior can make your relationship pushed and you may be vexed hence. Attempt to keep up your quiet. Read in Detail…

 Scorpio

 From January to April, there will be some misconception in the relationship, anyway you will move beyond it and all will be alright. Proceeding onward, keep all directs of correspondence open in your relationship to dodge any disarray later on.

 From April to year's end, you will make the most of your affection life and you will bond well with your life partner. There will be family congruity, yet you ought to stay away from any allurement as an extra conjugal undertaking. You will bond well with all your relatives. Read in Detail…

 Sagittarius

 From January to September, it will be a blended period in adoration life and you ought to abstain from concealing anything with your accomplice. Your remaining task at hand will influence your day to day life and you probably won't have the option to rest well.

 From September to year's end, the circumstance will be greatly improved, you will make the most of your affection and individual life. There will be numerous allurements around you, anyway avoid any since it might hurt your notoriety. Read in Detail…

 Capricorn

 From January to April, you will make the most of your adoration life, you will likewise go for some worldwide outings. You will be occupied with work and you many appreciate some quality minutes with your friends and family.

 From April to year's end, you will appreciate love and day to day life and your holding with your mate will be acceptable. You will be glad and fulfilled in your relationship, thus you ought to evade any allurement that comes your direction. It might hurt your family esteem. Read in Detail…

 Aquarius

 From January to April, you will confront huge pressure because of work pressure. Be that as it may, your life partner and the remainder of the family will be steady and along these lines, you will have the option to inhale simple.

 From April to year's end, you will have a decent holding with your mate. You may likewise meet an old love, anyway evade any allurement of any sort. You and your family will uphold you through every difficult time. Read in Detail…

 Pisces

 From January to April: you may meet somebody exceptional, in any case, you ought to try not to blend your own and expert life, since that may land you in a tough situation. Loved ones will come together for you for help.

 From April to year's end, you will make the most of your affection life, new kinships and love will be fashioned. You will go for trips or will appreciate family occasions. Singles may get hitched for the current year. Read in Detail…