#and figuring out stories to go with them was fun

[rabbitindisguise]

love and concur with the whole tag essay but I legit laughed out loud at this bit

ty for articulating perfectly the sentiment I feel about a lot of my childhood faves

Shout out to all those people obsessed with wings who read the entire Maximum Ride series because they convinced themselves the next book would be better but it just kept getting worse until you got to the end of the series and realized you would never recover the hours you lost forcing your way through it.

[bitchesgetriches]

Hi Bitches! I have a fun food story I think you'll like.

So I recently discovered there's a produce rescue in my state that purchases unsold wholesale produce at the border to prevent it from being tossed in the landfill. They then sell it off at hella cheap prices. You don't get to pick what's in your box, but, uh. It's 70 pounds of produce for $15, you get what you get and if you're like me you will figure out what to do with it rather than let it go to waste.

Anyway, my last box included an absolutely insane number of Persian cucumbers. So I decided I'd try something I've wanted to try for years, because if I wrecked one or two in the process it wasn't as big a disaster as if I'd tried it with expensive store bought ones, and...

I can make my own glatt kosher dill pickles now, and holy crap, Vlasic can eat its heart out. Mine are crunchier, more flavorful, better-cut and kept perfectly good food from being thrown away, doing them with my produce box meant they were about 1/8 the price, and also pickling is very easy but people think you're amazing and fancy if you pickle your own stuff.

Also if anyone is in Arizona and wants in on this action, it's called Borderlands P.O.W.W.O.W. (Produce On Wheels WithOut Waste) and you can find them here. Here's what my last box looked like:

I should note that's what's left after I split the box half and half with a friend.

HOLY MOTHERFUCKING SHITBALLS THIS IS AMAZING!!! Thank you so much for sharing this extremely frugal win AND telling the rest of us how to get in on it. With grocery prices the way they are, this is sure to keep a lot of people from going hungry or missing out on necessary nutrition. I encourage everyone outside of Arizona to look for similar programs in your state! (Though I suspect it's mostly only applicable to border states.)

Also, drop that super crunchy pickle recipe, baby.

Here's more advice:

How to Shop for Groceries like a Boss 

You Should Learn To Cook. Here's Why. 

Did we just help you out? Say thanks by joining our Patreon!

[kabr0ztrousers]

Love your work, new fan but big fan, I have an Idea for a centaur x fem criminal story

Basically she has a bounty on her head and can't go through the city gates to escape, a centaur offers her a way out, but she has to be strapped to his underbelly while he wears a centaur sized robe/coat/whatever to get past the guards.

Also she has to take her armor off so theres no sound of chainmail to give them away, so she's totally nude under there, nothing between her bare pussy and the centaurs cock. Which was exactly what the centaur wanted all along ;3

Kabr0z Writes episode 51: Daring Escape

Find the rest of the Kabr0z Writes anthology here!

CWs: dubcon; noncon; size difference; belly-riding; creampie; implied impregnation; cum inflation

A/N: This one looks like fun! I always love a centaur being involved, especially when I can make them as downright unpleasant as Hellenic myth depicts them.

They're meanies.

#####################################

The job went near flawlessly. You broke into the castle, cased the joint, got to the war room and learned which routes the army would be travelling. Once the rebellion gets that, they'll have the King by the balls and finally turn the tide. One problem: they saw your face on the way out. Now you're here, in a stinking cistern, propping up a thieves' guild bar. A head full of priceless intel, that you can't risk getting out, only a dwindling handful of copper to your name, and no way out of the city gates.

You could try sneaking out over a wall, but the wards would stop that short. Maybe try sneaking into a grain carriage? You shook your head, no faster way to get a spear thrust through you. You motioned for another drink. You're dead if you stay, dead if you try to leave. You might as well be dead with a bellyful of whatever pigswill grog they serve here.

A man sat on the stool next to you and spoke "Ever heard of the Wizard Porthos?"

The sign, you knew the response "He rules over Doissetep"

The man nodded, and got up. A piece of parchment lay where he was sat. You palmed it, casually finished your drink and went to an alcove, looking like just another drunk going for a piss.

The light was horrible here, but the enchanted ink glowed ever so subtly: "Seek the hunter under the moon"

You had another round, then left the cistern. It was already night out, but this wasn't the moon you needed. Picking your way across the city you found it. The temple of Luna. Empty at this time of night but for a figure, shrouded in dark. You slid through the door, chainmail clinking gently as you padded in on soft-soled shoes. Your turn to speak this time. "Ever heard of the Wizard Porthos?"

The figure rose. A centaur, the shape of a bow slung across his broad back. "He rules over Doissetep"

You relaxed. Either this centaur was in the resistance, or the whole operation had huge problems

"I hear you need a hand getting out of the city? I'll help, but it won't be easy, or particularly dignified"

You nodded at the centaur. What could you do but hear him out?

"I have a sealskin, when the weather looks bad I wear it. It comes down to about my knees"

You could see where this was going "So you strap me to your belly, and we just walk out?" It was genius in its way. Centaurs hate passengers at the best of times, so checking underneath one's cloak for a fugitive just seems silly. Hopefully the guards would have the same thought process, and even if they didn't, you'd have a four hoofed companion to help run you out of danger.

"One snag though. I heard your armour when you walked in, that'll only be worse when you're under me. I can get it smuggled out separately, but it won't be on you."

"I didn't exactly bring a change of clothes" you weren't supposed to be in the city more than a couple of hours, so luggage wasn't a consideration, besides, travelling light made more sense in the wilderness.

"So you'll be naked. Suck it up, Buttercup. And get some sleep, you've got a big day tomorrow."

You couldn't afford not to take his offer. Laying down next to him, you got as much rest as you could.

It was raining the next morning, the cold predawn light seeping in through the windows. The man from the cistern was there, carrying several loops of rope, a hessian sack and a sealskin. Everything you'd need.

You started to strip. Months in the resistance had beaten any bashfulness out of you, and so you didn't mind the two men seeing your naked body. You could still feel their eyes on you, your boyish hips, slim waist, small tits, not to mention your long, muscular limbs. You glared at them as you stood in the chilly air, feeling your nipples harden in the cold as they started fastening ropes around the centaur's chestnut-furred torso

At last it was time for the finishing touches. You, then the sealskin to hide everything.

"Face up or down?" The cistern man looked over at you "I reckon down, it's a little less comfortable on the limbs, but you won't have a faceful of fur."

You nodded. You've never done this before, but if smuggling resistance members was these people's trade, they probably knew that they're about. Climbing under the centaur you allowed yourself to be tied into place.

The ropes were rough, and itched as they strung around you. Your arms were bound backwards, bent to follow the contours of the equine body, your legs open and lifted behind you, knees bent and ankles secured above. The rest of you was held on with loops of rope, keeping you tight to the centaur and taking some weight off your limbs.

Finally came the sealskin. It hid you entirely, padding disguising your silhouette and the skirts preventing you seeing anything but the flagstones below you.

You heard the cistern man say something to the centaur, but couldn't hear what. They both laughed then the centaur started to walk. He wasn't wrong about your armour. Even trussed up as tight as you were to the horse belly, you were being fiercely shaken. Chain would have been so noisy you might as well have given yourself up.

So you watched the cobbles pass below you. The sound of the rain echoing in your ears as it got heavier. At least you were staying dry under here.

You noticed something. Hanging down from between the centaur's back legs. You stifled a gasp to look at it, his huge semi-hard member dangling down. It swung to and fro with the movement of the trotting centaur, occasionally rearing up to be perilously close to your vulnerable crotch. You could smell it. The warm, tangy scent of his unsheathed member invading your nostrils, moistening your lower lips. It wasn't going down. It gathered length with every swing.

It swung up, pressing against your cunt. Again and again. It pressed hard against the entrance. You felt yourself moving, the centaur was shaking himself, shimmying you down. The expertly tied knots allowing you to slide towards his crotch, cinching tighter and stopping you going the other way. Little by little the flare of his cock was pressing harder and harder against your opening, the steady trickle of precum lubing your hole.

It went in. You stifled a yelp. Who knows what was around you, alerting a guard would be lethal.

Still, the shaking pressed you down. Inch by inch the cock pushing in, your cunt not having a choice but to accept it. You bit your tongue, desperate to stay silent as the cock twitched and pulsed in you. You could feel the flare on the end growing, pressing outwards inside you.

The centaur's chest tightened. His cock stiffened and his hips bucked. Hot liquid started flowing into you in waves. The flare held it in as your womb filled. He stayed hard. You could feel it stuck in you. The flare was receding, but the thickness of it let the cum inside.

You shuddered, the feeling of fullness was sending waves of pleasure up your body. The taste of blood filled your mouth as you bit down harder, cutting your tongue on your teeth, desperately trying not to moan.

Voices "Off out today, are we?"

"Hunting. I expect to be back before nightfall"

"Damn poor weather for it"

The cock pulsed in you again. You clenched your body against the urge to moan

"Best time for it. Scent doesn't travel as well in the rain"

"Very well. Wait here."

Another twitch of your cunt, another throb of that cock. Every time you moved, it moved. Every time it moved, your cunt clenched on it. You could feel your eager body trying to milk the huge cock inside you, even as you desperately tried to think of something, anything else.

You ran over the battle plans in your head. The cock throbbed, and you couldn't focus. You planned your travel once you got away. The centaur shuddered, and your thoughts became phallic. You tried to remember the faces of your family back home. Your cunt clenched. The flare surged outwards. Again, cum flowed into you. You felt your skin stretching. The cock plugging you stopped it flowing out. Your belly grew slightly, over-full of hot equine cum.

The centaur's orgasm passed, and the flare receded again. He still wasn't moving, waiting as the guards checked and double checked his papers.

You could feel your belly pushing, trying to force the excess cum out. It was going to start leaking out, if it pooled on the ground, the guards might check under the sealskin.

You didn't have a choice.

You clenched your jaw. Squeezing your cunt as tightly as you could, you rocked your hips. You could hear yourself starting to pant with exertion, you hoped the guards couldn't over the rain. You felt the cock throb and twitch in you, but it had already came twice. It was in danger of going soft, pulling out as it did. You couldn't let that happen.

You quickened your pace, rolling your hips up and down, clenching strategically. You fucked him hard, rubbing the engorged head of his cock against your cervix. His back hoof was clopping on the ground. You could feel his cock thicken. It was nearly there. The flare expanded again

"All in order, you can go"

The centaur staggered on. Steps as regular as he could manage while riding the cusp of pumping another load into you. The cobbles gave way to dirt path. You heard him grunt loudly above you.

He came less this time, but it was still enough to push your belly out further. You allowed yourself a moan, taking deep, racking breaths as the last of the centaur's cum was forced in.

On he walked, the cock softening and dropping out, followed by a jet of cum pouring from your cunt. It left a trail on the road behind you, a thick puddle on the already sodden ground

You made it to the rendezvous with the man from the cistern, who cut your ropes.

You fell to the muddy ground. Limbs tingling as feeling returned.

"She give you any trouble?"

"No" the centaur replied "she knew what was good for her, even got desperate enough for it to get me off all on her own"

They laughed as they walked off together. You lay there, oozing. Your kit was piled in the grass next to you, probably minus whatever money you had.

At least you got out

####################################

As we approach the end of February and volume 1 of Kabr0z Writes, I remind you all that commissions are free and open, just be aware there is a queue, so it may be some time until you see your request.

Most people send requests anonymously, so do feel free to send as many as you like! (I'm also loving how many people are sending in requests for bad things to happen to the Chitinids. I'm so happy I've made villains people love to hate ♥️)

[forestofforever]

It seemed his approach was working. It made sense, while telling the story he was being the same Etienne he'd always been, any traits that had begun to sneak in from the Merchant were forced into the background. And Alura seemed to feel safe around him as long as he was Etienne, and right now? Right now he got as close to his authentic self as he was able to.

Her heart was beating so fast, it reminded him of a bunny. Before he could comment on it, however, she cupped his face and kissed his cheek. He raised his eyebrows slightly. "Ah, well, I fear that's not entirely true. If this were a fairytale, I think I'd be the damsel in distress, actually, and you're the hero, here to save me." He nearly grinned, but he quickly changed his expression to a close-lipped smile instead. Those teeth would ruin everything, and he wouldn't let them. "Or perhaps this is more like Beauty and the Beast. You are the beauty, I am turning into a beast. Though if this were a fairytale, I imagine that kiss just now should've broken the curse... ah, alas, I don't think this is a fairytale after all." His tone was light, even when the conversation touched upon their fragile situation, he wouldn't let those negative feelings get the upper hand.

"That being said, once all this is done and over with, I really should take you to the theater with me. We have plenty of princess dresses, some truly gorgeous ones, and I need to put you in all of them at least once." It would be fun to show her around backstage if they ever managed to fix things. He didn't let just anyone backstage either, oh no, his one-night stands rarely got that opportunity... All the props and costumes felt like extensions of himself, not to be shown to just anyone unless they were used in a performance on stage.

"It honestly sucks the last performance was such a nightmare. I don't think a gift basket is going to fix things with Lana... That's the girl whose face I scratched... and obviously, a situation like that is going to cause some complications with the other actors too... Maybe if I tell them I had a psychotic break they'll be able to forgive me? I mean, this is like a magical version of a psychotic break, kind of, right? So it's not even really a lie or anything." He considered the whole thing for a moment. "Well, anyway, I'm sure we'll figure things out when we get there. Once we're open again you really should stop by to watch a show, one without interruptions this time. I'll give you free entry for life, but that does mean I expect you to stop by every once in a while, I'll be terribly offended if you don't."

Feeling her feet get swept out from underneath her- her body jolted as if trying to keep her balance but there was no need. He held her- she was safe and he wouldn’t let her fall. She grabbed onto him in an effort for more stability but she was already held close to him- comforted in an instant. Whatever awful thoughts that had been tormenting her seemed to be pushed away- his plan had worked.

Even if one of the darker thoughts tried to creep back into her mind- her own heartbeat that began to race drowned them out. He had her attention now and she was brought out of her tunnel vision. At least, in this moment, she could enjoy the feeling of being close to him- held by the very person who kept slipping in and out of her reach.

When he started talking about his parents, her eyes widened. This moment felt.. intimate- like he was sharing a part of himself that not a lot of people saw. She didn’t know anything about his parents- let alone how he grew up. Alura would absorb his words like he was singing her favorite tune. To her, really knowing someone, was the greatest gift they could give her. It’s one thing for people to boast about their accomplishments at the bar, it was another to see who someone really was- for who they are.

Her golden eyes looked up at him intensely, arms wrapped around his neck as she leaned into him more. His story about his parents sounded way more wholesome than her own. She was only ever close to her brother and mom.. and well, they weren’t around anymore- no one from her past was. She wondered what had happened to his parents- of course she’d never ask. She didn’t want to pry and besides, it was more meaningful when someone opened up on their own time.

Alura couldn’t help but let out a small laugh at him calling himself a short haired lesbian. He was gorgeous but she’d never would’ve thought he was female. Although.. the longer she looked at him and imagined it- maybe he’d let her doll him up just for the fun of it. He would be a pretty girl.

The story was heartwarming- a type of love Alura only thought existed in story books. It was no wonder Etienne was so charming. “What a sweet story..” she smiled softly and leaned her head against his chest for a moment, listening to his heart beat.

Still listening to his words hum to the beat of his heart, her thoughts begin to wonder again. He was like a prince but she didn’t see herself as a princess- wait- him licking her cheek made her face instantly turn red. Him picking her up and telling this story already made her heart beat quicker than usual. Now she could feel it beating in her ears.

A moment of hesitation before she gently reached a hand up, cupping one side of his cheek before giving a small kiss on the other- to return the favor. Alura wasn’t one to make the first move but she’d definitely match the energy. “You’ve always been a prince.” I’ve never been a princess. She’s seen the worst sides him but she could tell- the way he wanted to make her breakfast and offer her safe vulnerability. She wanted to read him like a story a book- savoring all the pages.

[eluxcastar]

HII, girl I'm LITERALLY OBSESSED W YOUR WRITING AND I'VE NEVER BEEN INTO DOTTORE TGIS MUCH, And I love you dadtore fics, if it's possible, can you make a fic where reader comes back from kindergarten and asks him when her bday is bc it was their friend's bday and poor Dottore doesn't know and tries to find reader's parents to ask them for their bday to find out it's in a few days?? THANK YOU SM AND I'M NOT FORCING BTWW!!!!

Dadtore sends his raccoon child to kindergarten

── ୨୧：il dottore & reader

୨୧﹑synopsis :: dadtore finally lets someone else watch his raccoon child for a while, except they accidentally learn birthdays exist, and then he's gotta figure out when theirs is

୨୧﹑genre :: fluff

୨୧﹑content :: gn reader, child reader, not proofread, details of reader's backstory are still a bit ambiguous (perhaps at the detriment of the story), again mentions reader being mute but you can ignore it and idk pretend they said something, can't promise it's in character I'm super rusty

୨୧﹑words :: 3k

THANK YOUUUU

this is like the perfect setup for him to join a pta or something LMAO

he probably should've tested this child for rabies, but anyway, enjoy this chaos. I finally got inspiration after playing minecraft on this modpack. a raccoon got into my chicken pen and chilled with the chickens until I put a tasmanian devil in there that killed the chickens and became besties with the raccoon. I saw those little guys together and was like "I have to make ocs out of this" then was like DOTTORE'S RACCOON CHILD, so here we are

You have never been fussed over quite so much as you are today. Dottore has been trying to get you ready to be watched by someone else for once. All you can focus on is how Omega stands in the back with his arms folded over his chest while he scoffs at the softness Dottore has adopted when he sits you down on the edge of the closest empty table to clean the crumbs off your face after you scarfed down a cookie Tartaglia snuck you earlier.

He won't allow you to go to such an unfamiliar place like kindergarten without wiping your dirty hands and pressing a cloth to your plushy little cheeks in hopes of making you at least somewhat presentable. You will never shake the lingering dirt under your fingernails or the habit of smearing everything across your fingers in an attempt to have fun with the messes you can make.

Perhaps you're too old for a place like kindergarten, but everyone has to start somewhere. Dottore is not ready to send you to school, a place he sees as a stressful commitment that will consume more and more of your time, which he's unwilling to relinquish.

As much as Dottore resists the depth of his affection for you, a part of him refuses to send you away for too long out of some unfamiliar feeling of...fear. It is awful. It is a battle he fights within himself between the factions that war against loving you and missing you. He is discovering the parental woes of attachment after months of taking your presence for granted as if you will always be lingering in his lab.

It will be quiet. Some of Dottore's segments might be happy you're not around to knock his tools on the floor or almost break glass jars whenever you put your hands up to implore him to let you help. Dottore will, unfortunately, miss it more than he'd like to admit.

You try to mask your nervousness with a facade of excitement as if you're eagerly anticipating the adventure of a new place, but the truth is, the nerves are gnawing at you just as they are at Dottore. Since coming here, you have seldom been away from him, and it was nice. His presence is comforting. You stand there, clapping your hands in a show of readiness, while Dottore helps you with your backpack, stealing your arms to guide them into the straps before settling it on your shoulders and ensuring you're all set.

Though Dottore can't feed himself for the life of him, he knows how to make you a sandwich to get you through the day and cut the crusts off as you'd silently asked by never eating them, only to present him your empty plate with nothing but the crusts. He cut them off this morning before packing your lunch into your backpack for you. He added some snacks, most of which were made by other people who were far better at cooking than him, like the small cakes Arlecchino gave him once the children at the House were done with them.

She worries for you too much, even when you've lived this long without facing more than a fever. Dottore panicked enough when you had that to scare him into wiping your hands and making you blow your nose. If you were going to be injured by anything, it would be the many possible weapons lying around his lab. His efforts to conceal those in the way he did when he reorganised the materials. The segments will leave those anywhere without regard for it, safe for the occasionally conscious few who worry enough about you to be a little more spacially aware.

Kindergarten was her idea once she discovered you had received no formal education.

Dottore can hear Omega walking away once he grows tired of watching him dote on you like a sentimental father. He finally takes your hand to lead you away, squeezing your little hand in his, marred by the fear you might suddenly disappear if he does not stay with you. The fear of losing you is a constant.

-

Getting you to stay at kindergarten in his absence was difficult when you couldn't stop snivelling and whimpering for him to remain, and he felt awkward. Having a Harbinger bring you to school was bad enough, but he was capable of making your caregivers nervous just by nervously nudging you into their arms. At least he knows you'll be treated well. She tried to get you to come to play with the other children and show you the various games and crafts, but you had none of it out of some deep-seated fear that Dottore might not return.

Coming home is easier as you are in his arms the moment you see him, swept off your feet with your eyes filled with joy. You hug him more tightly than you ever have before. He would kiss your head if only that paternal love for you felt real, but his fear of reciprocation keeps him from anything more than a tight squeeze until you kick your legs around to make him release you.

You greet him with crumbs on your face from a cake not quite like the one he sent you off with, inspecting it before he takes the handkerchief from his pocket, which he always uses to wipe your face. Dottore swipes the mess away.

"They wouldn't let me clean them up," the caregiver who had tried so very hard to calm you quickly attempts to excuse herself. "No touching," she adds. "That's dad's job, I take it?"

Dad's job. He supposes he is listed as being your father on the registration papers, and he arrived with you. You clung to him, teary-eyed and unwilling to leave his side for about ten minutes. Every child wants their parents to stay, she'd told him. To think you didn't like her touching you is strange to him when you have always been ok with him doing so—he practically threw you over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes when he found you.

You didn't care before, but now you do, and he has no idea why. Dottore won't bother asking when you're too busy flicking your fingers against his earring, watching the liquid inside the vial slosh against the glass for entertainment as it sways back and forth.

"Where did it come from?" he questions, wondering what you'd put in your mouth for later if you wanted it again.

"Chocolate cake," she tells him. "One of the other children brought it in for her birthday."

Birthday? The thought of you having a birthday has never crossed his mind, but when he hears the word from the caregiver's mouth, his mind races as he realises he doesn't know your birthday in the first place. He pats his hand against the small of your back as you seem to once again settle into place in his arms like it's the comfiest place in the world.

The look you give him is more than enough to glean that you want to know the answer, too, and if you do have an answer, you want to know why he hasn't questioned it. He'd have to find your parents to discern that. He doesn't know almost anything about you that he didn't decide or contribute, save for your name, as you haphazardly wrote it down on a piece of paper you were scribbling all over.

But for a birthday...things are different.

-

He does not appreciate you blowing a party horn at him. You treat it like any child treats something that makes a loud noise, and you continue to blow it incessantly the whole way home. It drives him crazy to hear nothing but that loud, ear-grating sound.

"Where did you get that?" he finally asks. However, he won't take it away, seeing as it distracts you from your earlier fit. Your adventure has been quelled by a need to have someone in your life who can care for you the way you have become used to, but he almost doesn't mind the way you cling.

You blow the horn at him as an answer, even when it does not suffice. It is more noise than you've ever made in response to him, even if it comes through a party horn.

"I suppose you wonder about your birth, then?" he questions at last.

You blow the horn again. Dottore watches it unravel in a spiral and puffs with your breath as the sound rings out again in a rough, wavering blight to the silence. In a way, he almost likes it, endeared by it, if begrudgingly.

"There might not be an answer," he tells you honestly, unable to lie. He sees no point in it, not about this. He's not one for sugarcoating what he tells you, even if he suspects they'll upset you. You need to hear them all.

There's no horn in response to that. You're quiet. As the moments, then seconds, pass, you take the party horn from your mouth, now a touch grossly covered in a sheen of your saliva, and only nod as you usually do. It's a bit sombre, marred by the sting of disappointment Dottore sees in the depths of your eyes so fixed on the path ahead or the movement of your fingers as you play with your newest toy.

With a hand against your upper back, he pats you. "I'll search for one," he assures you despite that, and his hand slips away without another word.

-

He finds looking for answers difficult. He does most of it after you've drifted off to sleep, resting in the same place you always do beneath the coat that has long become yours as much as it is his.

Your party horn was confiscated by a segment who couldn't stand hearing you blow on it at all hours, thinking it was funny, but once it found the highest shelf far beyond your reach, you soon forgot it as you settled right back into your familiar place.

You spend long days far from where you feel safest, and much of it is spent...reasonably happy. You befriended the child whose birthday cake you got all over your face, and each day, you would return to him with her in tow. You grow inseparable from the girl until the very moment he returns you to this same lab you are so used to.

You busy yourself as you always have while Dottore tries to find traces of someone searching for a child of your rough age, first in the area where he met you and then further.

At a point, he grew desperate, the dwindling sources weighing on him as the sting of failure settled in despite his telling you that he may not find anything. He wanted to provide you with something after all the time he spent leaving you without answers, wondering. It was a simple pleasure.

He briefly considers lying but knows it would do you no good. He has rarely told you lies, but the thought of you never knowing a day when you smeared your own cake on your face is oddly sad.

Then he finds it.

It is only the whisper of a couple who searched for their child and then stopped, but one of his segments presents it all the same.

On the surface, the couple found who they were looking for and returned to their happy lives in the Snezhnayan countryside without incident, but nothing actually indicates that they found the child they were looking for—no thanks to the people who had helped look, no entries in local papers—only that the efforts abruptly ended.

Innocuously, Dottore presents a kamera to you and asks for a picture, not bothering to mention that he intends to show it to people he hopes with recognise your face.

So, Dottore travels back out to the little town where they had lived—personally this time—hoping to find answers without going through a chain of other people just to find hints. Doing all of that had been exhausting, but it's arguably worse for a Harbinger to walk through the streets of a town that had never known the presence of one, knocking on doors for a couple most claimed to have heard nothing from in months.

The quaint little cottage he approaches after a long day spent questioning a town filled with people who didn't want to be questioned belied the effort it took, a pillar of smoke rising from the chimney of a house much older than you, yet which you perhaps once resided in. Something about it carves a sinking pit into his stomach like it confirms his fears that you have a home waiting for you to return to it.

The door greets the beat of his hand with a firm knock, and the shuffle of feet, and a weathered old man appears in the doorway. At first, he seems indifferent to the sight, then his brows knit together in confusion before he pales at the realisation of who—or rather what—has found his doorstep.

"Did you find them?" the man blurts out before Dottore can even speak a word.

Within cautious seconds, Dottore pulls the picture he had taken of you from somewhere within his coat. The man's trembling fingers close around the edges of the picture, and Dottore finally notices one is poorly bandaged.

The man's thumb brushes across the image, tracing your smiling face with a familiar fondness and the gleam of tears threatening his eyes. He would not have seen you in months, if not a year. All of that time, you have lived with Dottore after he snatched you up and kept you from freezing to death in the middle of nowhere.

The man reluctantly invites him inside, offering him a chair at the cramped, cluttered table. He leaves his overcoat across the back of the chair, rejecting the offers of anything to drink or eat as he notices the old man's shuffled steps and unsteady feet.

"I hadn't expected a Harbinger to be looking for my grandchild," the man says. "But some surprises are pleasant. My daughter never had pictures of them to give out. People in these parts don't have fancy kameras like this. I thought nobody would ever find them."

He almost appears to treat that picture, the image of you, the only one he has, as a priceless treasure. Despite that evident love and affection, he frowns.

"My daughter is gone now," he continues. Dottore doesn't ask what that means, guessing enough to tell it's nothing good. The man's shaking hands still grasp that picture. "Can I keep this?" he asks.

"I have no further use for it," Dottore answers. The man only nods and sets it on the table in front of him, the corners of his eyes wrinkling in a wry smile.

He looks up after a while. "Where have they been?" he asks. "They look well."

Dottore pauses, wondering if he should tell the truth. Hearing that your grandchild has been living in a stranger's lab, surrounded by dangers, would not be reassuring. More importantly, it might prompt him to ask for you back.

Despite knowing he should, he's not eager to give you back. "At the House of the Hearth," he replies.

"The Knave's orphanage," he nods in understanding, considering something. "Might they be able to stay there?" he asks.

It takes Dottore by surprise.

-

Dottore leaves with a simple book and a greater understanding of how you came to be where you were at the time you had—how he found you. When he returns to find you curled up with a younger segment in a blanket fort after playing in the lab for the evening. A day at kindergarten should've tired you out, but it seems you had a lot of energy to spare and spent it all as you do when he leaves someone else to care for you in his stead.

You pick the segments apart by now—you know they exist—but letting them pick you up never really seems like trouble to anyone else.

By morning, you are awake and darting about, getting into all the things you shouldn't and having all the fun you know you can here. You stand at the table's edge on your toes and look over the edge at what Dottore is doing. You take well to this life—this routine—and he can see as much.

"I found you something," he tells you. "Your grandfather."

You look at him curiously, eyes lighting in a way he has seen only a few times before.

"He was looking for you," he continues, his hand reaching across the table to slide you a largely inconsequential spare part to fiddle with, as you so often like to do. Your little hand takes it, and you disappear behind the edge of the table as you look at it. After a moment, you reappear, your arms draping over the table, the screw he gave you twiddled between your fingers. "He told me many things about you, including when you were born."

Dottore resists the urge to touch your hair, leaving you to your devices. He must remind himself that he is not your father, though he knows he shouldn't have to. Dottore should have returned you to your home the moment he found it or taken you to the House of the Hearth as he claimed he had.

He stills his hand before it reaches you. "Did chocolate cake become your favourite?"

You look up at him, nodding excitedly. You had made a new friend on her birthday, learned of your grandfather's search for you, and followed her in her affections for chocolate cake, as children do. If you would speak, he imagines you rambling off plenty about your little friend and all you do together. He's not quite sure what you do with her. He knows she makes you happy.

You are growing into this home well, even when this home was not made for you.

"Chocolate it is, then," he concludes.

[feroluce]

For reasons to be expanded upon at a later date (because I love the little bits about Boothill and possible paranoia/betrayal canon gives us so very dearly HNGH) I think Boothill like... He won't let himself fall into disrepair or anything of course, but he reeeeeeeeeeally does not like letting other people poke around at his body. It's a necessary evil to him. He does whatever maintenance and repairs he can himself. He started out with a massive knowledge deficit, simply because he didn't really have any exposure to that kind of technology until he left Aeragan-Epharshal, but he's taught himself a lot since then, he worked really hard at it!

Anyway, the point being, Boothill generally isn't super trusting of people.

But I think he would come to make an exception for Himeko, since he trusts Dan Heng a lot, and Himeko is one of Dan Heng's once-in-a-lifetime dearly beloved companions.

Himeko is so unflappable, I don't think she would even bat an eye about anything he throws at her, either. Like she enters the Parlor Car one morning (she's always the first one up) and Boothill is already there, waiting for her.

"Mornin', Madam Navigator."

"Good morning, Mr. Boothill."

And despite the fact that he blatantly broke into the Express (Pom-Pom is NOT happy about this JDKSAJDSKL), Boothill tips his hat, greets her politely, and is nothing but respectful when he says he has a favor to ask of her. Except it won't stay a favor long, of course- he has every intention of paying it back.

Himeko never agrees to things blindly, but she does bring up that all the knowledge Boothill contributed during the Charmony Festival was essential to preventing the universe from being pulled into Ena's Dream. And they were able to hold onto the Jade Abacus because Boothill used Tiernan's burial relic to summon the Galaxy Rangers instead. The Astral Express owes him a debt of gratitude, and besides, he's a friend of Dan Heng's. Of course she'll try to help him.

Boothill fidgets a bit, quickly brushes off the thanks, and tells Himeko he's having a problem with error codes. He keeps getting the same one, seemingly at random times, but the darn thing has no obvious cause. Dan Heng mentioned Himeko had been the one to rebuild the Astral Express. He knows it ain't the same, but it's not like he's askin' for any major repairs or nothin'. He was wonderin' if she could just take a look, maybe offer him some insight, since she seems to be somethin' of a mechanical wonder.

So Himeko walks him back to a another car, where she goes to tinker with machines without them crowding her bedroom. It's all neatly laid out and organized, and it only takes a second for Himeko to locate some specific device with a long cord. Instead of plugging it in herself, she holds the end of it out to him, like an offer rather than a demand, and Boothill visibly relaxes a bit. He still eyes it just a little warily for a second, but he accepts and plugs it into the port on his side.

Himeko pulls up the list of all recent errors, and they really are all the same. Boothill has had multiple temperature alarms over the past couple of weeks since the Charmony Festival, and they know it's not the environment, because Penacony is mostly dreamscape and kept mild year-round. The long-forgotten natural deserts are too far away.

Boothill is staring from the corner of his one good eye, so Himeko turns the hologram to let him see what she's doing easier. They don't appear to be false alarms. His internal temperature spikes and then slowly lowers again, high enough that if it lasted it would eventually cause damage.

One option is for her to start rooting through personal data, figuring out what he was doing at the time of each code, and tracing cause and correlation.

Instead, Himeko reads out the timestamps, and asks Boothill if he minds sharing what was happening around him when it occured.

Two weeks ago: He and Dan Heng went to explore Dreamflux Reef and found a bar- nice place, good atmosphere. Woman runnin’ it was a doll. Boothill left fer not even two minutes to get them drinks (Dan Heng knows like nothin’ about liquor, Madam Navigator, can you believe this guy) and when he came back, someone had already stolen his seat and was hittin’ on Dan Heng! Dan Heng didn't even care, just shooed ‘em off. Boothill laughed and said not to let him get in his way if he wanted to meet someone. Dan Heng looked at him like he'd grown a second head. Why would he want to leave with someone else, when he came here to be with Boothill?

Twelve days ago: While laying low- er, just rustlin’ up some grub- in the Moment of Blue, Boothill passed Dan Heng with March and Caelus playin’ on the beach, buildin’ sandcastles and the like. When he passed by again almost two hours later, they were still out there, with Dan Heng pullin’ March through the water on her inner tube and Caelus hangin’ off the back of it. He swam so fast! You'd think he was part water snake or somethin’. He looked happier ‘n a cat in a sunbeam… He has a nice smile, doesn't he?

Eleven days ago: Boothill was killin’ time in Dreamflux Reef when he turned the corner down a shady alley and saw Dan Heng, surrounded by three men demandin’ “protection money.” None of ‘em stood a chance, they were all on the ground before Boothill even blinked! So cool! Boothill wants to see that spear of his closeup- Anyway, Dan Heng stepped on one of ‘em on his way out, hahaha! Boothill stepped on the same guy a second time as he hurried to catch up.

Eight days ago: Here on the Express, actually. Boothill had mentioned bein’ curious about the archives, and Dan Heng personally invited him.

(“I remember that day, I saw you in the hall.” “Was there any problem with the heating that day?” “No, none. I don't think the temperature has anything to do with these error codes. I have a different theory, keep going.” “If ya say so.”)

Boothill was fascinated by an entry on aeons, and from a single question he asked about Lan, the two of ‘em ended up talkin’ fer hours. About aeons and Paths and Emanators, Acheron and Self-Annihilators, the Sea of Nihility, Tiernan, the Nameless and the Galaxy Rangers, their burial relics and their customs. Dan Heng finally just started writin’ and editin’ the entries in real time, with Boothill pointin’ things out and tellin’ him what to add in. They were at it so late that Boothill ended up sleepin' on a couch in one of the cars.

He'd figured there had to be something to make Dan Heng chatty- he'd caught just a glimpse of it that first night they met, sittin’ at the bar in the Reverie together. He'll have to ask about the archives more often, if it gets him all revved up like that.

One week ago: After that night of energetic discussion, Dan Heng was apparently hyped up, because after he'd downed some of Himeko's coffee (“You had some too, right? What did you think of it?” “It was great, even better'n chewin’ bullets!” "Thank you! That was my newest brew, I can't wait for everyone else to try it.") he actually asked Boothill to go hunting with him. Boothill asked who their target was, and was surprised when Dan Heng pulled out photos that looked like they were from March's camera, of all things, instead of a bounty or wanted poster.

And as he sat there, studying these pictures, Dan Heng explained that he wanted to hunt down these specific memory zone memes to record them into the archives. Planets with so much memoria are a rarity, especially with the Stellaron's activity thrown into the mix, which has surely affected the local “wildlife.” He might not get another opportunity like this for a long time. And Boothill had talked last night about his extensive expertise in tracking and hunting, so he should have plenty to offer here, Dan Heng would like to learn from his experience and see how he does things!

And oh, Madam Navigator, by the time Dan Heng was done speakin', his eyes were practically sparklin'! Just lit up like the sun! Boothill could scarcely believe it! The two of them couldn't even wait another day, they set out that very morning. It had been a long, long while since Boothill had tracked someone- er, somethin’- without the intent to capture or kill. It was…actually really nice. Nostalgic, but in a good way. It might even have been his favorite day on Penacony…so…far…

Boothill trails off as a couple of realizations crash into him. All the temperature alarms he's spoken about thus far- they've all happened in the company of Dan Heng. And now that he's thinking about it, he's pretty sure even the ones he hasn't yet talked about were with him, too. Dan Heng has been responsible for all of his error codes, every. single. one.

The screen in front of Himeko suddenly refreshes to the top of the list, displaying a new notification for the current time. Alert! Core temperature above normal range.

Himeko's knowing smile is sly as a snake.

Wwwwwelp, would ya look at the time, Boothill has some errands to meet, people to run, y’know how it is, he should really get goin'-

“Oh, Mr. Boothill? About that favor.” And Boothill jolts to a stop in the doorway because fudge, he can't just leave without hearing her out. He'd given his word. He has no problem running out on someone he thinks deserves it, but Himeko really had been kind to him to try and help him out. Her voice is just as knowing as her smile, Boothill can't turn around to look at her, or else he knows he won't be able to disguise the sound of his cooling fans kicking on.

“Don't make Dan Heng wait too long, ok~?”

“Y-Yes, ma'am.”

[kfan04]

Thank you so much for sharing all of your theories! It's super fun to read them and to consider different situations, trying to apply some hints we already have about what's going on and determine if this specific information has something to do with the plot line or not.

Especially in the Kaito-Romeo dynamics, I'm curious how much of it is a matter of coincidence, and how much was just bound to happen. You know how when you imagine the situation where the characters are placed in the different environment and some of them would still find each other, while other establish different connections, or just never discover each other? Although Darkwick is a very special and difficult environment by itself. It wouldn’t be such a mystery without the dark (literally!) academia vibe.

Thank you for the recap of the Gucci brand history! I'm sure it would be referenced in some form in the Lucci lore. You got me really interested in Romeo's potential trauma of losing things, and his possible way of coping with the brand loss. Remember how mad he got at Kaito when he told him "no wonder your brand is trash" (regarding casino)? In retrospective it makes even more sense. I'm also curious about what it is about losing things that scares Romeo the most — whispers and gossip? Financial trouble? Loss of prestige? Humiliation? Having no more power — or not enough power? The way Romeo handles everything and everyone is the therapist's treasure.

I love how you mentioned it would probably become worse for Romeo before it gets better — honestly I'm so excited to see it happen! I've been thinking how in 13 chapters we see some characters progress while others are slowly letting in on their mysteries. For example, Kaito. At first he didn't want to use the bow, but he is already quite skilled in the last chapters! He has a long way to go, but it is very evident he is changing. Same thing with Ren, I think? And Taiga, for example... I don't think he is the one changing, but he does move the plot forward.

How do you think it is going to advance with Romeo? His active storyline includes Kaito, the pendant, Hyde. He is an important figure of Taiga's storyline. His mystery is around his brand, his past in Frostheim, his feet, and the Clash, similarly to everyone else. Greed seems to be more of a character feature, but I love how you connect it to his fear of losing things and I will be very excited if it is explored later in the story — and with how it's referenced a few times, I think there are the chances!

Regarding Darkwick, I don’t know why, but this whole time I was imagining it as a giant corrupted prison with an everyday possibility to die... It still kinda looks that way for me, but I'm not so sure anymore x) If after graduation (in case of ghouls) most of the options are connected to the Institute anyway, there's not much freedom, don't you think? Even now, look how the vast part of the boys' life evolves only around Darkwick. I'm not sure about that, but aren't missions the only way for them to get out for a bit? Again, how often do they see their families? Luca might be really lucky not to be tied up to Darkwick the same way others are.

You've mentioned you do know Kaito's incantation from the datamined info, and the demon it unscrambles into? Would you be okay sharing it?

Regarding Hyde possibly being the good guy... You could be right at this matter! This kind of characters is kinda 50/50. From my perspective, this slimy personality is a very antagonising feature, because it smells of disrespect and is in general very condescending — but in media, especially in Japanese, I see it often distributed to the positive characters. And Hyde, who was introduced very early, wouldn't be a surprising antagonist nor a surprising good guy.

About whether it's good Hyde is possibly trying to destabilise Darkwick, mmm... Why is Darkwick like this in the first place? It should be the consequence of the institute's current policy — the one Hyde takes part creating. There's a question of whether Hyde's on the chancellor's — and the team's — side, or on his own. The chancellor and Moby are also super suspicious (Nicholas just leaves me confused, and Dante makes an impression of a compassionate person who feels bad but still does what needs to be done). Assuming Darkwick is evil, what makes it evil? Its policies. Who decides on the policies? Who makes the decisions overall, and based on what? If Hyde is trying to destabilise Darkwick, with what intentions is he doing that? Kaito says to Luca that Frostheim is now much better than it was before — overall, although there is tension, it is still quite peaceful, especially considering how brutal were things during the Clash. When Hyde tries to ruffle things up, is he not trying to make it as chaotic as it was before? Creating competition, constantly stressing out Romeo? The way changes should be achieved is through transparency and trust, in my opinion...

Regarding Kaito&Romeo&Hyde, I was thinking it's more like Hyde recognised Kaito's potential, and hinted to Romeo he might be of use. Hyde does seem to be an expert, he could've predicted that Kaito's stigma is/will turn out to be more useful than it might seem, or like we were speculating before, Kaito's position in Frostheim could at some point become very relevant. For now, pendant and bracelet seem to be more of Romeo's personal obsession, especially now that we know it belonged to house Aldici, and Romeo is Lucci. It would be super cool though if Kaito's ability to see auras helps with the spy situation... Overall, what do you think this ability also might be useful for?

And spy situation... I've seen some discussion about it already, and what stuck with me is that spy — spy for whom? For Darkwick? For chancellor? From the outside? What are their intentions, where did the need come from?

When I first opened Tokyo Debunker, I didn’t expect to become so involved in the story so quickly! I wish it would be more popular though :(

I have so much new information thanks to you! I can't really respond to everyone prompt because I feel like despite there being only 13 chapters I'm already missing out on the important info and I feel kinda silly about it, so I'm really grateful you share so many facts.

What do you think is going on with Kaito and Romeo?

I've posted this on Reddit and now I'm posting it here so I more people see it and talk to me!

Particularly I'm interested in why Romeo seems to be so clingy with Kaito. I know that there are already some explanations — Kaito's debt and Kaito's pendant — but don't you think Romeo is putting too much effort into this?

Regarding **debt**: does Romeo chase around everyone with debt on the regular basis? Also, the academy is clearly full on well-off students, it would make much more sense to concentrate on them. Kaito doesn't have money and he won't somehow get them out of nowhere (Luca is another discussion).

Regarding **pendant**: have you noticed that Romeo is trying to convince Kaito to give him the pendant, instead of taking it away by force? Throughout the chapters he hasn't really tried to take the pendant away, although I think Romeo's more than capable of it. He is stronger than Kaito and the latter didn't have any protectors before Luca (Tohma and Jin are also not shown to be close enough to Kaito to defend him in the past). Otherwise, there must have been tons of opportunities for Romeo to hurt or kill Kaito and take away the pendant, everyone dies left and right, even when they were on the mission — little accident, minus one ghoul, nobody would've probably suspected anything. Why hasn't Romeo taken the pendant away already?

Regarding **Romeo's time and effort**: despite being the busy man Romeo claims he is, he still finds time to regularly look around for Kaito, calling his name, and with a gun. He asks MC for Kaito's schedule — twice. He spams Kaito with messages. He locks Kaito in the cage in his private office very few people know about — this is just another level, because why. He also takes Kaito on a mission with him, when being told that was his chance to assemble the best possible team — notably, he goes for Kaito before contacting his actual friends, and also has to threaten Kaito to go with him in first place. On the mission, it's Romeo's decision to split, and both times he takes Kaito with him, also physically dragging him and just casually intimidating him along the way.

Who would go that far for the indebted guy? Or even for a pendant? It's more like Romeo's interested in Kaito being constantly around, but also, why?

Regarding **Romeo's attitude**: he's the mix of tenderness and frustration when it comes to Kaito. The phrase he use to call him is *Doko itta no, dete oide?* which translates kinda like *Where have you gone? Come on, come out!* and is often used to talk to animals and kids. He also uses *Fuji-kun*, emphasising on either Kaito being his kouhai, or being on friendly terms with him. He's very touchy when it comes to Kaito — grabbing his hand, his collar, his ear, shaking his shoulders, clamping a hand over his mouth. It's not necessarily tender, but it seems that Romeo finds it absolutely natural to act towards Kaito in such way. Romeo's also often implying Kaito acts unreasonable towards him when not willing to comply, like when Kaito is hiding or running away from him, or when he doesn't want to go on the mission. One time he says something along the lines "there's more on the map than that, so just shut up and do as I say", implying it's in Kaito's interest to listen to him.

**Why does Romeo seem to be convinced that Kaito should be doing as he says without asking questions?**

Regarding **Kaito's attitude**: Kaito isn't shown to be super intimidated by Romeo. Yes, he runs away away from him, and in one voiceline he mentions he started getting chills when someone calls his name because of Romeo — so it's not like Kaito doesn't recognise Romeo as a threat. However, Kaito is constantly talking back and resisting. When talking to Romeo, Kaito openly questions his decisions, mocks him, swears at him, uses *omae*, simply disagrees and Romeo has to put *a lot of* effort to actually get Kaito to do something — and half of the time, Kaito doesn't do what is expected of him anyway. He talks to Romeo almost freely, definitely less scared than with Jin or with Tohma, or even with Ren or Jiro. Interestingly, Kaito uses *Romeo-san*, instead of *-senpai*, like with Tohma and Jin. Kaito also doesn't seem to have a clue about why Romeo is following him, but he's not interesting in figuring it out either, just "weird guy, ugh how annoying, does he ever stop".

Unlike Romeo who perceives his own actions as natural, justified as "Well I'm just collecting debt", Kaito openly talks about how strange Romeo acts towards him. Locked in the cage, he says "shut up, kidnapping creep" and "do you even realise how unhinged you sound" when Romeo says no one would save him from there... When MC says "he has certainly taken a liking to you", Kaito corrects "liking, more like stalking".

For now, no one except Luca and to some degree MC hasn't commented on Romeo's and Kaito's connection — do they know? Or do they don't care? Or both.

Regarding **timeline**: Kaito mentions Romeo has been on his tail for half of the year. Before that, he wasn't even in the gambling den. This lines up with the estimated time of the Clash. Does Romeo's interested in Kaito has something to do with the Clash? Did it just happen in the same time? Kaito says he has somehow avoided the Clash — he himself doesn't connect the Clash with Romeo's interest in him. Kaito doesn't seem to connect Romeo's interest with anything, implying it was sudden. It could be that the determining point of the Romeo's interest was the moment Romeo was looking at Kaito from a distance, if Kaito cannot remember any special confrontation. What doesn't line up is the warding card of Romeo standing above Kaito and looking at his pendant — judging by his expression, for the first time. Who wouldn't have remembered this situation? Another thing, Kaito mentions that he hasn't seen Romeo much before, and he wasn't even in the gambling den. So although Romeo justifies his hobby by collecting debt, he possibly wasn't that interested in collecting this debt initially, before that special point six month ago.

Regarding **paperwork**: Luca repays Kaito's debt in the prologue, another simple solution to Kaito repaying his debt and Romeo not having to go after him ever again. Yet Romeo claims "he still owes rate of interest, so it's not enough to buy his freedom". To which Luca replies "I'd like to see the paperwork then", and Romeo's muttering he "hates men with brain". Other than Kaito commenting on how he didn't know about the rate of interest (which could be written off as ignorance, and not necessarily as Romeo deceiving him), Romeo's comment suggests there might be something unclear with the documentation. Another important paper is the one Romeo threatens to show the MC when telling Kaito to join him on the mission. It is not the debt-related issue — MC already knows about it. It is something that Kaito feels to be embarrassed about, and something that allows Romeo to say "you really think you can say no?". In the prologue, when Romeo demands pendant, Kaito also replies with "this is one thing you will never get from me" — one thing? Does that mean Kaito agrees in some way Romeo can demand anything else? The paper which Romeo threatens to show the MC — which conditions are written there?

Let's assume that Kaito does owe Romeo more than money. What exactly is Romeo gaining in this situation? Why would he need specifically Kaito's compliance in the first place? Why Kaito of all people, of all ghouls. Okay, maybe Romeo thinks it's handy to get a guy who he can threaten to do anything. Why would he put so much energy into keeping Kaito close to him — especially on the occasions that could've used more catered to the situations ghouls, like the mission. Judging by how he addresses Kaito as "plebeian", he doesn't think Kaito's pendant connects him with the powerful family, plus he comments how Kaito doesn't know its true value. So Romeo is not after Kaito's potential prestige.

Romeo's behaviour doesn't make sense. It especially doesn't make sense considering he *is acting rationally* when it comes to missions, or his income, or dealing with others, which means there *is* an explanation for how he acts with Kaito — my guess, it directly or indirectly includes money, or another physical value.

What is notable, is that *Romeo is deliberately keeping Kaito close* and *monitors his actions*.

What are your thoughts? Have I missed something? I'd die to discuss, really. I see all these signs, but I can't really understand what it means. I know we are quite early in the story, but for the 13 chapters the story has been very consistent with the relationship between Romeo and Kaito, and Kaito's pendant. I'm super interested to know what others think!

[stop-breaking-my-heart-dragonage]

You mentioned you romanced Lucanis, how do you feel about Neve x Lucanis getting together if you don't romance either of them?

It's fine, I guess.

I romanced Davrin on my first playthrough, and I'll be honest, Neve and Lucanis getting together came out of no where for me. After the scene played, I realized that I rarely had them together in my party, and if I had, it'd probably make more sense. Or have more chemistry.

I left that scene like, "...What just happened? Oh well, good for them, I guess, have fun!"

I had Neve in my party a lot [Davrin and Neve were my go-to duo], and Lucanis was unfortunately benched until it was time to do his quests... which is really ironic, like if you had asked me who my least favorite companion was at the end of that first playthrough, it would've been Lucanis.

It doesn't help that I saved Minrathous, so I missed out on some of his personal quests, too.

I didn't dislike him or anything... though learning about Spite did have me throw him off the table of potential love interests because that Anders Romance Trauma [affectionate] kicked in and I said, "noooooo, I'm not doing that again, you cannot make meeee-"

Which, again.... ironic. Because he crawled his way back onto the table and made me feel things. It healed some parts of me. But also did more damage. It's complicated, like being an andersmancer makes it a whole other discussion for another day.

I will say, I saw a lot of talk about Neve and Lucanis prior to doing his romance which made me wonder if it was another Isabela and Fenris "Isabela bad because she USES Fenris if you don't romance him" situation where players are weirdly jealous and take it out on the female character... which uh oh.

Yeah, I can honestly say I never felt "threatened" by Neve while pursuing Lucanis. I brought them out and about several times, waited to see if they'd flirt or anything, or give me a reason to feel that he liked her more than my Rook, and like... It's not just a Neve and Lucanis thing.

It's more to do with Rook feeling like an outsider within the group who isn't allowed to interact with their companions until the game tells them to. Walking around the lighthouse feels really lonely sometimes because you're just approaching your friends, listening to their conversations, and then they look at you like "....can we help you?" and you just... walk away. Also the visual during team meetings where everyone is sitting together with Rook on the other side by themselves with only Assan sitting at their feet...

...again, topic for another day.

Anyway, aside from that? No, I never felt like they crossed a line for me that would make feel like they liked each other better than Rook. If there is banter that does, then I didn't get it.

There was this really sweet banter after I locked his romance in though, the one where Neve commented on Lucanis smiling more and making sure he recognizes that he's happy with Rook. That only endeared me to Neve more than I already was, I adore her.

But if I'm not romancing either of them? Let them have their fun, y'know?

[triglycercule]

who asked for this. nobody. but unfortunately as a creator i actually have to CREATE for my au 😞😞😞😒😒😒 jk fashion au ink and swap designs ig,,,,,,

ink. ink. ink. she's totally not holding a gun to my head as i type this,,,,, because she CANT break the fourth wall ok she totally doesnt realize that she's forever gonna be stuck living life as a high schooler with no chance of ever graduating or progressing in life,,,,, BECAUSE THERE'S NO ANGST IN JK FASHION AU HAAHAHAH 😁😁😁😁 anyways she's soooo silly :3333 i'm not a connoisseur of anyone that's not the mtt (biased 🙂🙂🙂) but i wanted her to be silly but also a bit freakish,,,, ya!

what do the people think about INK???? featuring everyone in jk fashion au so far 😇😇

dream: "ink is another one of my close friends. she's been there for me when even nightmare couldn't, and i've supported her likewise. sometimes her head is in the clouds, so i send her texts to remind her of things like homework and such. maybe she forgets lunch sometimes, so swap and i give her a share of ours. and when ink wants to talk about anything she's thinking of, whether it's a painter's use of color or the reason we exist, i'm always open to listening. she's an amazing person, really."

nightmare: "ink. ah, that girl is an enigma, truly. somedays she supports me on my path to world domination, and other days she just laughs at me and says as if it were a fact that i would never achieve it! ugh... but despite my slight grievances, she's dream's friend, and i've grown fond of her. quite often, without me even requesting, she gifts me paintings. now, they may seem normal at first, but recently i've discovered a pattern with them. as if ink had peered into the mind of god and depicted it visually, the paintings assist me in handling dream appropriately. i must say, she's skilled as well..."

killer: "see now ink? she's my type of gal. we get along pretty well, hehe! we're on the same wavelength or something, i dunno. not like she can predict what i do, but i wouldn't be surprised if she could, but ink and i just click. we talk about all sorts of silly stuff; similar sense of humor, after all. ink and i can yap about different shows and movies we've watched and stuff, she gives really good insight on the more technical stuff like color psychology and framing, and she once drew me art for one of my big follower milestones on twitter! she's suuuuper cool, haha!"

dust: "okay, just... keep this between me and you, but i think ink has some sort of secret sixth sense? i dunno. nothing against her, she's a fun person. just that, uh... sometimes she just comes up to me when i least expect it and starts asking me about my progress on my writing. which is... confusing. i've only ever told killer and horror about my writing, so i don't know how she knows...?"

horror: "y'know, dust and i have a bit of a bet going on. all jokes and all, but i've got a feeling ink's pulling some sort of elaborate spying prank with how much she knows about us... dust doesn't think so. but i'm betting 20 bucks she does. like, once i was at a vending machine and the stupid thing didn't give me my goddamn candy bar, ugh. i had to stay cool. but then ink just pops out of nowhere, says its okay for me to drop the act and get mad around her, and then does some sort of vending machine trick to get the candy?? yeah, she's definitely a wizard or something. in a nice way, i guess."

NOW SWWAAAAAAPPP she's silly. i included the bit of her getting into trouble because of her good will SOLELY because swap gets bullied a lot in other aus 💀 (askerror, something new, etc,,,,,,) i also read a canon underswap doc??? SWAP IS SO SILLY!!!!! i cant really explain her personality through text i'd need to draw comics for her which uhhhh,,,,, (looks away)

THOUGHTS ON SWAP????

dream: "ah, swap! she's one of my dearest friends, i truly care for her deeply. out of sheer coincidence it seems, that she, ink, and i were chosen to be the star students of the school, but surprisingly it works out well... swap's truly a delight. she's a great motivator, and she's saved me from a few situations that would've ended up terribly had she not been there, hehe."

nightmare: "sometimes the world hates me. ah- well, what i meant was, the path of fate has me set on a predetermined path of struggle! and yet, when even i, the queen of negativity, could not stop my kin from slipping on a ridiculously placed banana peel and almost breaking her neck, swap was her knight in shining armor and caught her. needless to say, just as fate despises my bloodline, fate also has angels sent down from heaven. i do suppose swap is one of those, bless her soul."

killer: "heh, swap?? that girl's a riot! couple years ago i tried convincing her to show me some of those sick moves she learned at kickboxing, or karate, taekwondo, whatever... she broke my wrist, haha! but then i pulled a knife on her and then we both got in trouble. hah, good times, good times. no, i didn't stab her?! in fact, she's very good friends with mr. mew and the grumpen, thank you very much! a friend of my kitties is a friend of mine!"

dust: "she's nice. her type of energy is something you only see is like... a sugar-rushed ink, and killer normally. but anyways, swap's a good help around the school. she's a bit ridiculous every now and then with all her "the magnificent swap" and how she's a bit of a showoff, but whatever. aren't we all? anyways, at least the scavenger hunts she makes during school dances are fun."

horror: "swap is uh... she's something. gotta admit, she's pretty normal compared to some of the people at this school. but man... enthusiasm, much? eh, whatever. i'm not the type to complain when her burritos are to die for. we're partners in cooking class... let's just say, she carries us hard."

anyways jk cross and epic soon. sooner than you think heheheh

[racke7]

From a fanfic-writing perspective, One Piece is incredibly frustrating on a few counts.

The first is that... One Piece is actually pretty damn good, as far as stories go. So trying to nudge it into something "better" is pretty much a lost cause overall.

The second is that One Piece has this huge and incredible world that's filled with lots and lots of things... that we never see. As in, outside of the very local environment of the Strawhats, the world is incredibly vast and largely empty.

Basically? Because of OP's good story-telling, it's really difficult to really add someone new to the Strawhat-crew. But because everything outside of the Strawhats are both incredibly unknown (in the Grand Line anything can happen) and incredibly disconnected (the world is too big for people to really stumble into the plot "accidentally" with any frequency)?

Trying to write a non-Strawhat fanfic is a bit like just... inventing an entirely new world of vaguely pirate-themed shenanigans from scratch. It ain't fucking easy, is basically what I'm saying.

[luckystarchild]

SCREAMING OVER THE CAT COMPARISON, OMGGGGGG

But you've got the essence of the fic nailed (and I posted a summary here BTW). I've found something of a plot to string things together cohesively and guide character development, but Kurama absolutely takes it upon himself to educate (dubious) Kei in an effort to correct their terrible taste.

It... half works? Kei fights back as only Kei can, and it's going to be interesting to see them butt heads. This story channels their combative dynamic from the early chapters of LC, plus a dose of the dynamic shared between 2020!NQK and Kurama as shown in RIOT CHILD. AKA: These two are off to a very rocky start!

Oh god. I have two AUs for LC at this point. THEY'RE MULTIPLYING...

Anyway. Kei in this AU will be using they/them pronouns and be explicitly nonbinary, which is also going to be fun for me! I'll be writing in third person and sharing scenes from multiple POVs, too.

I can't say when I'll post an installment, but right now I'm editing and fleshing out some of the text I've already shared on Tumblr. Excited to share this with y'all, and it's fun to have a project to tinker with.

OH, and I'm also trying to figure out a title?? Right now I'm using "A Good Cup of Foe" as my working title. It's obviously a play on the phrase "a cup of joe," AKA a cup of coffee, but with a nod to the character dynamics in "foe." We will never forget the way LC!NQK tormented Kurama with puns...

Bruh. This dang coffee shop AU is taking on a life of its own. I'm 2,000+ words of notes deep. I know the roles of all the canon cast in the AU. The coffee shop has a name now. I know how the plot progresses. It has a plot.

IDK if I'm supposed to just keep telling the story through reblogs or start posting shit to AO3. What is happening?

[bawmbo]

get a load of this guy, "praise me i'm the lord" yeah okay, do you want animal crackers? a blanket and a nap?

[lorepossum]

….y’all do realize that GBA isn’t just going to tell you how Bastards vs Zombies is going to go right?

Like…?

Theory crafting is one thing (but also you don’t need Geeb to confirm/deny your theory for it to have legitimacy and be fun for you), but some of y’all are just straight up asking him to spoil so much of the intrigue of a series with only 3 parts so far.

Become comfortable in having questions. It is by design that we don’t have answers yet. We’ve barely even started this story.

[mariyekos]

Crack fic idea: POV of a police officer chasing a robbery suspect who ends up running into DMC to escape/grab a hostage. When the officer opens the door, he finds the suspect standing frozen in the middle of the room, because on the opposite end by the desk, an angry Vergil's standing there stabbing a surprised Dante. This stabbing pretty obviously happened before the robber showed up. It's only through the hand, but the one guy is holding a whole giant samurai sword, the guy getting stabbed has a gun in his free hand, and there's kind of a lot of blood.

The other officer comes in after POV guy. Officer 2 looks over the scene, then starts to arrest the suspect who's still so shocked he doesn't really fight the handcuffs. Once the suspect is cuffed, Officer 2 starts to walk him through the door and tells POV Officer it's time to go. POV Officer is confused, because uh, sir, there's some pretty severe domestic violence going on and he doesn't know if that gun's registered, and even if they ignore all the normal police/violence/safety issues shouldn't they call some EMTs??? Or at least ask the guy getting stabbed if he's okay???? (To which Dante calls out "oh yeah I'm good!" confusing poor POV officer further)

Officer 2 just frowns and shakes his head. "No, they've got this. Right Dante?" To which Dante cheerfully replies with some small talk that makes it obvious he and Officer 2 are acquainted. Vergil gets tired of the small talk and rips the Yamato out of Dante's hand, walking upstairs. And when POV Officer starts to ask something else, Dante basically just waves him off with some sort of comment about how Vergil's just grumpy, honestly Dante kind of deserved that one, he'll admit he was being a bit pushy. And then waves goodbye when Officer 2 says they really need to get back go the station and book the suspect.

As they leave, POV Officer asks what's going on. Officer 2 basically just tells him not to worry, and not to write it in the report. That's just Dante. Dante tries to keep clear of the police, the police try to keep clear of Dante, and everyone's happy. He's helped out on a handful of cases when he just so happened to be in the area, he's gotten accused of some property damage a few times, it all evens out. You just don't mention Dante. City Police actually have a code for it, if they ever absolutely have to. But today they don't, so they won't. They caught the suspect. That's that. The suspect ran into one of the many abandoned buildings in the area and they caught him. Nothing else of note.

Oh, and if POV Officer is worried about the hand, he shouldn't be. The police here have known demons were real for years before Redgrave, and they're pretty sure Dante's one of the nice ones. When he says he'll be fine, hell be fine. Officer 2 has some good stories about him getting shot in the chest and getting tight bacm up, actually...

...

And so a crazy day comes to an end. The suspect's been caught, the streets are safe, and that's that. Nothing else happened. Nothing at all.

If POV Officer starts sprinting in the opposite direction when he sees a certain tall, white haired, blue eyed, blue wearing man when he's walking down the street later that week, it's for no reason at all.

[murdleandmarot]

A quick bluebelle painting :))

[bookshelf-in-progress]

Me, faced with a shiny new story idea: Save it for the Inklings Challenge, save it for the Inklings Challenge, please save it for the Inklings Challenge, I'm begging you please save it for the Inklings Challenge