#and why yes I will take an interesting long post on a random subject

[jaqdawks]

I swapped the placement of tumblr and reddit on my phone so I use tumblr more. But now every now and then I’m like “oh I really wanna look at tumblr” instead of passively tapping where reddit used to be I have to intentionally open tumblr and I get a bit confused for a minute

[doctor-dusk]

𝐬𝐡𝐞'𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐬 | 𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐱 𝐭.

when alex (early sias era - MY FAVOURITE BOY) meets you and accidentally falls in love with you.

warnings: none, actually. most angst and fluff, light smut - fingering (f receiving) and piv - but very light.

word count: 4.1k

coming out of limbo to possibly get back to it after posting this. i wrote it while i was bored and melancholic during my criminal procedure law class, so... yeah, enjoy :)

"and if all people were like rain, i would be drizzle. and she, a thunderstorm."

there was something about her as mysterious as an unsolved case. something in her gaze, in the way she spoke, or in the way she walked. something that left alex thinking for hours on end, even though he never came up with an answer that would concretely explain why he felt like a puppet on a string when it came to her. 

yes, there was something. 

something he couldn't shake, as if it were something that stuck in his teeth and wouldn't let him be still for long. something that started a little over three months ago, when the last thing he wanted was to get involved with someone at that moment, after a somewhat turbulent breakup. 

but, it was somewhat impossible when he saw her entering the bar on that exceptionally rainy tuesday night. the white knee-length dress along with the brown leather jacket over her shoulders never seemed to make much sense to alex until he saw this combination on her. the icing on the cake were definitely the motorcycle boots that wrapped around her feet all the way to the end of her calves, even though the place was hot at that moment. or was it just him who was feeling that his drink was warming him from the inside out.

turner is suspected of saying that he watched all of her actions, from sitting on a chair at a table for two and ordering a beer and fries as a side dish to seeing her take a book out of her bag to read.

"The Prince", by Machiavelli.

you might ask yourself: who the hell would go to a crowded bar with loud music to read a book?

and he answers: her.

he wanted to get her attention somehow, and perhaps the worst and most cliché of all was to buy her another beer and ask the waiter to bring it to her. his heart was beating hard against his chest, especially when the waiter served her the beer, exchanging a few words that made her look at alex, analyzing him from top to bottom. he wanted to say that he didn't feel nervous with that look, but he would certainly be lying.

as he told himself, there was something about her that made him feel more foolish than usual. but even though he felt that way, he didn't let the opportunity to sit in the chair in front of her pass him by. that night, he discovered three things about her: that when she felt embarrassed, she pretended to scratch her nose so she could look away; that she certainly left him subtly and quickly enchanted; and last but not least, her name. 

and since then, whenever alex was in town, he felt that strange need to be with her even though he had only known her for so little time. for many days he tried to occupy his mind with other things that seemed more important, but he soon accepted the fact that he couldn't stop thinking about the girl with the captivating eyes and radiant smile. 

and when he wasn't in his hotel room or in a pub with his friends after a concert, alex preferred to spend his nights listening to her recite some random poems in a restaurant or any other quiet place, or else, getting lost in the ease of her body in the middle of the bed in her bedroom, in the apartment where she lived alone. 

she claimed to be a normal person like any other, but alex was far from believing that. he knew that she liked to listen to david bowie when she was studying; that she always puts on her socks before her pants, without exception; that she prefers to read — or pretend to be reading — when everyone around her is talking about subjects she has no interest in, or when she doesn't have a book nearby, she just gives a weak smile so she doesn't have to give her opinion on the subject; that her favorite game is donkey kong country, and she's already finished it four times; that she likes to wear clothes whose colors define her mood for the day.

but as much as alex knew all of this, he still thought there was so much more to know about her. as if she were an addictive book, and with each page turned there would be a different plot twist to surprise him. and even though alex didn't read that often, ever since he met her, he'd become the most assiduous of readers.

and now, after a private show at a pub, alex could barely contain himself with the idea of ​​seeing her after a few weeks away. he texted her during a break just to see if she had any plans after 10pm. even though he knew she knew he was in town, alex wanted to make sure he could see her, even if it was just for a few minutes.

she didn't answer him right away, even after seeing the message. he had a strange feeling, but he let it go when she replied that she would be available to meet him. his heart raced again when he saw her entering the bar. in the same bar where he had met her, and ironically wearing the same motorcycle boots that had caught his attention so much, along with a gray flared dress. 

he hurried when he saw her sitting in the same chair at the same table as always, but unlike the other meetings they had had, she seemed more distant, her eyes were empty and didn't narrow their gaze on him for long, even after she had noticed him walking towards her. 

"hey, love. how are you?" alex asked, his overly worried expression went unnoticed by her, who was more focused on looking at the window just so she wouldn't have to look at him. 

"i'm fine, how was the show?" she replied, looking at him briefly and giving alex a glimpse of the teary, red eyes of someone who was about to cry or who had cried a lot before that. maybe both.

turner felt a pang on his chest. he felt bad for seeing her like that, and he didn't understand why he was like that for someone he barely knew. i mean, you couldn't catch feelings for some... hookup. could you?

‘’c’mon, you're not okay, what happened? maybe i can help-’’ alex said, completely compassionate with the situation that he didn't know how it had started, but wanted to help put an end to it.

‘’forget it, alex. i have a bit of a headache, can we get out of here?’’ she interrupted him abruptly. 

alex didn't reply, just followed her outside the pub.

after a few minutes, they were in the hotel room where turner would be staying that night before returning to los angeles. the dimly lit room seemed to become warmer when she took off her boots to lie down on the soft mattress and scented sheets of the bed.

alex lay down next to her, the silence was comfortable and just the sound of their breathing was enough to bring some peace to both of them. but alex knew that she was the master of replacing peace and quiet with something that made his heart beat faster and his blood run faster through his veins, so he wasn't surprised when her lips touched his in a calm kiss, which became urgent at a speed he didn't even notice. it was like a race car, able to go from 0 km/h to 100 km/h in 3.2 seconds. and alex liked that adrenaline.

turner felt submerged in the sensations, the touches, the sounds and the looks under the incandescent light of the lamp. he felt her calm breath beating against his ear when she kissed him on the cheek, a warm and tender kiss that seemed simple, but that left alex in a state of restlessness he had never imagined.

"hmm, i'm in love with the smell of your shampoo."�� she muttered, running her fingers over turner's shirt-covered back, still giving him a huge shiver.

he had been thinking about her and what they had for a while. and adding all the things he felt when she was around and that she was doing an endless loop in his mind, he was almost certain that he was in love with her.

"just the smell of my shampoo?" he asked, pulling his face away to look at her, to appreciate her red face and the slight curve her lips made to sketch a smile.

at that moment, all he wanted to hear was "and i'm in love with you too".

she laughed, answering him with another kiss while her anxious hands massaged the warm skin of alex's back under his shirt, and soon the piece was on the bedroom floor. the shivers were increasingly uncontrollable as she struggled against the belt of his pants, and as much as alex knew he was completely submissive to her, he didn't want to completely lose control. 

he took her hands away just as she was starting to pull down his pants, pinning them above her head and holding them there firmly with his hand, and his other free hand groped her burning flesh in the region of her thighs, trying to get rid of the underwear she was wearing.

turner used to think that he was only able to achieve pleasure when he was completely buried to the brim inside someone, but with her, just a single touch or a finger invading her insides could drive him crazy. 

and not only that. 

he already felt satisfied seeing her face contorted in an expression of pure ecstasy; her eyes closed tightly; her mouth half-open that did not contain a delightful sigh that was soon stopped when she caught her lip with her teeth; her hands pressing the skin on the back of his neck and arm; and lastly, the smile she showed when her eyes opened and met his.

fuck, that made him crazier than he cared to admit.

he would never get tired of watching her whenever he had the chance, he wanted to do it forever every moment he was with her, even if she wasn't looking directly at him. he wanted to look at her when she was drinking coffee and complaining that it was too hot, when she was reading and making a face like she didn't understand what was happening, when she was watching the sky through the window and asking for it to rain so she wouldn't have to go to college. 

he pulled her in for another needy kiss, feeling her legs lock around his waist like an unbreakable lock. alex pushed his body back, standing up only to press her body against the cold wall of that hotel suite, supporting her with his hands on the lower part of her thighs. 

and at that moment, he couldn't stop looking at her when he replaced his glistening fingers with his aching length, feeling all the nerve endings in his body active. the flammable desire was capable of burning them both completely, and for a few moments silence reigned as he buried himself completely inside her, his heartbeat was deceitful and showed how euphoric he was, resulting in a voracious flow of blood under his skin. he felt her wrap herself around him, and hugging her was like wrapping herself in an electrified concertina, and oddly enough, that didn't sound bad to him at all. 

‘’god, you feel so good. like always.’’ he praised her with a whisper, not caring about receiving a compliment back. when they were like this, at that moment, he became completely selfish with himself.

she wrapped herself around him to the last inch, gasping against his mouth when she felt a slight tingling in her lower abdomen, and another when he lifted her a few inches just to pull out a little and penetrate her again, the moans in his ear excited him more and more.

his hands knew exactly where to touch and how to touch, caressing that shivering skin, and as the intonation of her moans changed, alex knew she was very close. 

‘’al, i’m close, so close…’’ 

‘’i know, baby.’’ he cooed, kissing right below her ear, shivering at the feeling of her clenching around him.

and soon, when he felt her skin almost burning, she let herself melt against him, her last moan likened to a thunderclap that could not be ignored and was particularly pleasurable to hear. he couldn’t help but follow her suit, giving in to the pleasure of yet another climax with her.

the aftermath was embraced by the stillness and the faint trace of smoke from the cigarette that alex was smoking. he knew that she did not smoke, so he made a point of smoking far away, preferably near the window so as not to let the room be filled with that vaporous curtain of nicotine and other substances.

soon, he heard her say in the background that she was hungry, and like any fool, alex would give her whatever she wanted.

alex didn't know where he was going, but as long as he was with her, he didn't care about having a specific destination to go to. the wind blowing against his face and her laughter muffled by the helmet invading his ear gave him a strange thrill and impulse to let the vehicle's speedometer increase, letting the asphalt run under the motorcycle's tires as if they were in a marathon where the only competitor was the idea of ​​being separated at some point. 

they stopped at a 24-hour diner, they weren't that far from the city, but not that close. the only establishments nearby were gas stations and 3-star motels. but not that Alex was paying attention to that, quite the opposite. he was too busy watching her as she took a last sip of her soda, her eyes were distant again and alex would really like to know what was going on in that extraordinary mind. 

"what's wrong?" she asked without looking at him, the cracking sound of the can being crushed didn't break turner's concentration as he thought about how she knew he was looking at her. 

‘’just looking at you. is that some kind of crime?’’ he joked, watching her shake her head and lean a little on the motorcycle's tank, brushing a few loose strands of hair from her face in the wind.

‘’nope. i just wonder what has you so fascinated that you can't blink.’’ she replied, tilting her head to the side and staring at him. alex could easily get lost in those fascinating eyes if he wasn't in disbelief at her question.

‘’ah, i dunno... maybe everything. does that answer your question?’’ alex says, she makes a slight grimace as if she's not completely convinced. alex adjusts his posture, not putting all his weight on the motorcycle's seat so he can turn completely to face her. ‘’you are a fascinating creature.’’

‘’define 'fascinating', turner.’’ she replied, seeing alex throw his head back and look up at the sky, make a noise with his mouth. he loved the way she left him speechless with simple questions, and although he is capable of writing several songs with the deepest meanings, he wouldn't know how to define that word applied to her.

in fact, he wouldn't know how to define her. maybe no word or adjective would be able to define that woman. before alex could think of an answer that was even remotely capable of convincing her, she got off the motorcycle, taking two steps to face turner. her body now threatened to press his against the upholstered leather seat and he felt her leg slipping between his, and even under his jeans, he couldn't help but feel a voracious shiver. 

"adjective to define something charming that leaves you exaggeratedly seduced or attracted." she said, an amused smile appearing on her lips when she realized that alex was too close and most likely hadn't paid attention to what she said. and he was certainly paying attention in parts, since he really felt tempted to interrupt her just to steal a kiss. "is that what you think of me, turner?" 

‘’to be honest, i think a lot about you, miss.’’ alex wet his lips with his tongue, regaining some of his sanity to answer her without taking too long. she raised her eyebrows, another open and comical smile playing on her lips.

“oh, really? tell me more.” she prompted him, her free fingers curling around the belt loops of his jeans and he felt his breathing heavy. maybe she didn’t know that being so close like that left him completely disoriented, her eyes fixed so intently on his easily made him forget even his own name. he felt her hand invade his back pocket, groping until she managed to steal a menthol candy.

“what can i say? you’re… inexplicable.” alex trailed off, since he was too hypnotized by the scene of her opening the package and placing the candy on her tongue, making a popping noise as she closed her mouth. turner felt the night breeze blow against his face, as well as a few fluttering strands of her hair, which she tried to calm down by running a hand over her head. ‘’like an open sea, intensity and calm.’’

“how can i be intensity and calm, alex?” she asked curiously, leaving alex once again at a loss for words. In his mind, she was like a mix of feelings, like that new drink you try and suddenly it becomes your favorite in the whole world; like that song you discover and get addicted to, listening to it on repeat until you get sick of it, even though he knows it's impossible to get sick of it.

‘’it was like i said, it's inexplicable.” he replied, feeling his face burn with the touch of her hand on his forehead to brush away a few strands of his hair, still paying attention to his every word, as if she were a teacher giving an oral test to an intelligent but shy student. ‘’you ask too many questions. like a fusion of a four year old and a philosopher.’’ he joked, making her crack a smile.

‘’and what would you be in the middle of all this?’' she asked, the same hand that was on his forehead went down to the back of his neck, her index finger sliding up and down and finally tangling in a lock of his dark hair. alex relaxed his shoulders, letting out a brief sigh that was lost in the vague environment lit only by the street lamp.

“you tell me.” he said, feeling her hand briefly leave him only to rest on the tense muscles of his thighs covered by jeans. she closed her eyes, pressing her lips together in a moment of reflection, and alex wanted to be trapped in her deep devotion forever.

“taking into perspective what you said about the open sea… you would be a sailor. a brave and solitary sailor amidst the sinuosity of the water. brave, by the way.” she recited, gesturing serenely, simulating the waves of the sea as the wind hit her body. alex smiled, not letting the questioning expression on his face hide, which she didn't miss. "brave because at any moment your boat could capsize and you could drown."

alex didn't need any more words to understand that. he knew that things could change overnight, he knew that one day a simple and brief encounter between the two of them could be the last. he didn't like to think about the possibility, but he also couldn't let it go. in fact, he didn't want them to have one last encounter.

 "what if i want to drown?" alex asked, almost letting the words hang in the air. she turned her eyes to him. for the first time, she wasn't sure what to answer him. but that soon passed, and what she offered in return was a shy smile as she approached him again.

 "there won't be anyone to save you, alex." she whispered as if she were telling a secret, her mouth was so close that he could almost feel the texture of her sweet lips, but all he felt was her refreshing breath hitting his face with a brief, icy and aromatic touch.

“it’s not like i care about being saved.” he whispered back in the same tone, feeling her vibrant eyes hover over him, and deep down she admired the idea that he didn’t care about the fact that they might not work out, although she felt a little sorry. she really liked him.

“aren’t you afraid of the chaos that an open sea can bring?” she asked, and before he could answer, she kissed him sweetly, as if nothing else there mattered, not even the answer turner was about to give.

the kiss tasted like melancholy and mint, alex felt inert in the middle of a crossfire, but her arms around him and her hands bringing him closer when he felt she was a little far away gave him the feeling of being completely taken and tamed, just like the night does with the day. in a last act, his tongue snakes inside her mouth boldly just to take the candy, feeling her grunt between the kiss before feeling her smile against his mouth.

‘’a calm sea never make a good sailor. and besides, everyone needs a dose of chaos.’’ alex replied, letting the candy run inside his mouth to refresh each area. she smiled, licking her lips and closing her fist around the empty soda can she had drunk and left resting on the handlebars of the motorcycle to throw in the trash later. 

she walked away, alex missed the warmth of her body, but was content to watch her walk away, the wind always making a point of making its presence felt and adjusting her dress, giving her serenity with each step as her boots made an almost rhythmic noise on the pavement.

‘’you need to have a little chaos inside you to give light to a sparkling star.’’ she recited in a poetic tone, loud enough for alex to hear and smile as she threw the aluminum can into the trash can attached to the post.

‘’nietzsche,’’ he thought. ‘’she’s really extraordinary.’’ 

the first lightning flashed across the dark sky long enough to make them both look up. soon, she turned to admire the desert horizon, the night sky being illuminated by the flash of lightning hidden by dense clouds in different spots. she didn't notice that alex was right behind her, since he had gotten off the motorcycle and taken silent steps just to appreciate not only her, but also the scenery of a heavy rain on its way, rain of the kind that makes you take shelter somewhere until it passes completely and makes you think about how powerful nature is and how small human beings are compared to it. 

she felt alex's hand pass by her waist, a fleeting shiver when she felt him use two fingers of his free hand to move away the handful of strands of hair that were over her left shoulder, feeling the slight pressure of his lips on the spot. she felt the first drop of water splash on her forehead, opening her eyes and turning to alex with a contemplative smile. 

"i hope this rain lasts until tomorrow." she laughed, reaching into his jacket pocket and stealing the motorcycle keys, making alex aware that she would want to ride on the way home, and he wouldn't be able to deny her. alex let out a laugh through his nose, again feeling her move away as she walked towards the motorcycle as the raindrops began to become more frequent.

alex turned around, just as she wanted that rain to last until the next day, he would also like to feel her body next to his when he woke up the next morning. he wondered if she would call him to come into her apartment as usual or if she would just say "see you later" along with a resentful kiss.

but he was convinced that she was like all the sensations that made him feel more and more alive. and he wanted to get wet to the last strand of his hair in the middle of that storm in the shape of a woman.

[gastersreturn]

YOU HAVE FOUND HIM

READ IT ON : ComicFury - DeviantArt

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GASTER'S RETURN MASTERPOST

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PROLOGUE

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20/21/22/23/24/25/26/27/28

CHAPTER 1

1/5- 6/10

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GASTER'S RETURN - FAQ

What is the plot ?

Everything is in the title, it's a story about Gaster returning from wherever he was after his accident that broke him between time and space. This story is set after the Pacifist ending, months after monsters have been freed from the Underground

What are the main themes of this story ?

I would say it's main focus is about letting go, like the original game in a way

Is it an AU (Alternative Universe ?) ? And how close it is from Undertale ?

Yep, it is. I want to keep it as close of the canon as possible, to make the characters and universe as authentic as possible in order to really tell a story based on the game. But it won't be exactly the same as the canon.

Several details change in this story and this is why I call it a "AU", the main ones being :

Gaster : My interpretation of Gaster resemble a lot the general interpretation of the fandom about him, but not completely. It will be fun to play with what you know, or what you think you know about him :)

Sans and Papyrus's origins : In the original game, I strongly think that Sans and Papyrus don't come from Undertale, but from Deltarune (I won't elaborate more on that subject, you can make your own researches on this theory if you're interested), however it's not the case in this AU. Sans and Papyrus really come from the Undertale universe. It will change their characters, especially Sans, but I'll do my best to show them accurately (at least more accurately than the general fandom's representation of them)

Frisk : Frisk's personality have been imagined and adapted to this story. I wanted Frisk to be like a fusion of their actual personality in the game (because, yes, they have one even if it's really subtle) and the one of the player. So, you get it, the player in itself isn't really a thing in this universe

How did you get the idea of making this AU ?

At the very beginning, I just started to make some random drawings of Gaster, and some KingDings (AsgorexGaster) sketches, then other Gaster related things, and a story began to form into my mind. I decided that I wanted to make something out of it.

So does that mean there will there be KingDings in this AU ?

Well, not really. the main focus of this story won't be romance. At this point of their lives, neither of them are ready for a relationship (if I want it to be healthy). I have thought about making a KingDings mini serie after the main one to develop their relationship, but I don't know if I really will, I didn't even wrote anything for it yet.

When will the next pages come out ?

I try to make approximatively 5 pages every two weeks (I have another Undertale so I'm working on one and the other every week)

How long is this going to take to complete the story ?

Long as hell, I have written a prologue and 3 chapters to finish the story, wish me luck

Am I allowed to make a dub of the comic ?

I honestly don't know if anyone would ever want to make one, but if you do, sure you can ! (as long that you credit me of course)

You are also allowed to make fanarts, or any fanwork based on this AU, again I'm not sure if anyone would, but just in case x)

Am I allowed to repost this AU somewhere else ? Or to make a translation ?

Mmmh….I would allow it, but I want to be informed of it before you do. DM me to ask me, and if you see someone else than me reposting it somewhere, please tell me ^^

The only places I post this AU in here and on ComicFury, anywhere else isn't me

I have other questions !!!

Then you can ask them ! I will answers the ones who are interesting/doesn't require me to spoil my own story

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WILL YOU KEEP SEARCHING ?

[armands-cuck-chair]

"'Exceptional negro.' 'Thank you, sir.' It was the call and response of my entire life. I had let them talk to me like that so long I stopped hearing it. 'Yes sir', 'of course, sir', 'subject, verb, agreement, sir', smile, nod, 'yes, sir.' They all came from the same organ inside me, an organ unknown to science at the time, because what scientist would look for an organ found only in black men who use their weakness to rise? But I wasn't a man anymore. I was something else. I had powers now, and decades of rage to process, and it was both random and unfortunate the man picked that night to dabble in fuckery."

One of my favorite Louis quotes of all time. And it makes me so happy when I'm watching black reactors watch this scene because it's obviously so cathartic for them. I like watching black reaction content for this show in particular, because it helps me as a white person appreciate the show on a whole other level that I would be incapable of on my own. It was actually a black acter that made me interested in watching the show in the first place!

I had seen gifs on tumblr and I wanted to get a feel for the show before I bought it. I was a fan of the 1994 movie and had read some of the book, but it did always bother me that Louis in both of those versions of the story was a slave owner. And especially in the movie, which adds that whole gross slave master/enslaved black woman romance racist trope that always made me uncomfortable, even before I could articulate why. (At least the slaves get freed and then they burn down the plantation? Seriously, don't get me started on that aspect of the 1994 movie.) I was really intrigued by the fact that the show chose to make Louis a black creole man, instead of a white creole man, and also the switching of the time period. But because some aspects of the source material were...not great, I was worried that that change might not have been handled the best. Vampire media oftentimes don't treat their black characters very well. So when I decided to watch reaction content of it to get a feel for the show, I wanted to hear a black perspective on it.

So I watched ShalayaHomebody TV's reaction first (also her Sandman reactions are so good, she is so funny, you should absolutely subscribe), and I was pleasantly surprised because, you know, the bar is in Hell. I immediately bought the first season and I have been obsessed with the show and have had The Vampire Chronicles brainrot ever since.

A while ago, I watched Syntell's reactions with Mikel Claire on his channel and I was sort of blown away by him saying this about the scene when Sam takes Louis's tickets to the Theatre des Vampires show in the fake fangs and white vampire makeup: "I wonder if that's like blackface to them?" Like, as a white person, my mind just straight up didn't go there, but as soon as he said it I totally got it. It made me think of how Josephine Baker had performed in blackface as a black woman, because she could get more money performing to white audiences and that's the only way white audiences at the time would watch anything having to do with black people. It made me look at the whole Theatre des Vampires differently.

After Claudia proclaimed that the trial was a stoning, Alex of Jessa and Alex Watch said: "No, it's a lynching!" And...yeah! It basically was.

I could keep giving examples, but I'm stoned and rambling and this post is already going to be incredibly long as it is. I just have a lot to say!

The show might not handle every single thing exactly right 100% of the time in regards to race, nothing does, but I really appreciate the show taking pains to accurately cover the typical attitudes regarding race in the time periods it's set in, including the present. That's not to say that any scrutiny or criticism isn't warranted, there will always be blind spots. And like I said, the bar is in Hell, but I think it's really cool and good that they took the time to sit back and say, "okay, how does changing this character's race change their history and how they navigate the world?" Especially when there are white supremacists in the US government who think teaching about the history and the structural nature of racism not be taught because it will "make white kids grow up hating themselves". 🙄

I don't know, man. I just saw people criticizing some of the Devil's Minion fandom for their treatment of Louis when I was browsing the tag and like...I don't want to contribute to making black fans of the show feel shut out and like they don't have a space in the fandom. It's like that meme: "I got so caught up in the euphoria of shipping Devil's Minion that for a moment I forgot racism exists."

I don't say it enough, but I love this incarnation of Louis and Claudia. I love that there are so many black fans who feel seen and represented. I love that the show isn't just a sea of 99% white characters like the books are, but keeping everything that makes the books compelling and great and then elevating it by making it more inclusive.

Don't sideline the black fans in the IWTV community. Watch black reacters. Engage with them. Listen to them. You might not agree with every take they have, but I promise you that it will make you enjoy the show from a whole new perspective.

[greatqueenanna]

Have you heard about the new short in front of Wish and how they're using Hans as a punching bag again? I'm just so tired of Disney doing the same thing over and over again. It feels like they're personally attacking his fans. Like, we get it. Can you stop now?

I've read rumors and spoiler posts about it, yes.

First off, I want to see the short for myself first before I pass any real judgment. I'm sure the short is fun and harmless, and one thing I'm excited about is seeing Hans again in (what I presume) updated animation since Frozen. He showed up in Frozen Fever, but it was from a distance so you couldn't really see him too well.

More thoughts on this below the cut. It's a bit long and I didn't want to crowd everyone's feeds.

Second, on the subject of Hans being treated as a joke, I agree to an extent.

I do think that Hans isn't being treated the same way as other villains. Disney Villains, even when they have done pretty gruesome things, are given fun merchandise, songs, or promotional opportunities for their films or the 'Disney Villain' brand - at the very least they get some toys or t-shirts. Hans, on the other hand, barely gets any merchandise and is usually not featured in villain-related promotions. I think the last time Hans was present in anything was his Villain/Hero doll set he had with Elsa and the A Frozen Heart novel that was retconned by Forest of Shadows.

I would really love it if they brought him back in a meaningful way, instead of just random cameos that joke about his douche-ness. We get it. He's a douche. Can we expand on this character a bit more now? Maybe give him an opportunity to prove himself as a villain?

However, even with all this being said, I think the reason for this treatment is because of the uniqueness of Hans' overall character. Not only was he a twist villain, but he was a romantic interest for Anna - making him a little too realistic for many people.

Yes, characters like Frollo and Gaston also share the qualities of men trying to take advantage of women, and Mother Gothel does indeed show signs of a realistic abusive parent. But they're shown since the beginning that they are villainous, which helps the audience know to emotionally disconnect from them. This is the same for most villains.

Hans was shown to be desirable and then changed, which is what realistically happens when people are trapped in abusive relationships. We form attachments to these types of people and it's hard to just disconnect. It's difficult to just place him as a 'deliciously fun' Disney villain with the others when he hits too close to home.

This is why we see less of a fun side to him, and why we are often just shown him being a punching bag. Hans didn't just betray Anna, he betrayed the audience as well.

"But there have been other twist villains, like Callaghan, Mayor Bellwether, and Turbo."

Yes, but did these characters really have the same emotional attachment as Hans did? Not really. Callaghan came close, but we barely saw him interact or have an emotional connection to Hiro. Bellwether and Turbo (as King Candy) were nice to their protagonists, but again, didn't have that emotional attachment to them. Hans was Anna's light of hope after we saw her suffer during her childhood, and then he turned on her when she needed him the most. Remember the plethora of reaction videos to his betrayal when Frozen first came out? Hans is a pretty big deal.

I don't agree with the conclusion that this is meant to be an attack on Hans' fans. Sorry, but the Hans fandom is, and was never, big enough to warrant such a response from Disney and we barely agree with each other on everything. If there were hundreds of fans bombarding Frozen and Disney posts, then maybe I would believe it. However, if you actually look at Twitter, it's literally the same three or four people just insulting Jennifer Lee and spreading the #FireJenLee and #RedeemHans tags. That's the only Hans Fandom presence on Twitter, unfortunately.

[go-to-the-mirror]

Rating: General Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Category: Gen

Fandom: Doctor Who (2005)

Relationship: Tenth Doctor & Donna Noble

Characters: Tenth Doctor (Doctor Who), Donna Noble

Additional Tags: Whumptober, Whumptober 2023, Post-Episode: s04e02 The Fires of Pompeii, Post-Episode: s04e03 Planet of the Ood, Post-Episode: s04e06 The Doctor's Daughter, Post-Episode: s04e10 Midnight, POV Donna Noble, Literal Sleeping Together, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, < because i didnt want to deal with The Thoughts, yes i am painfully aware of the irony, He/Him and It/Its Pronouns for Tenth Doctor (Doctor Who), The Doctor & Donna Noble Friendship, The Doctor (Doctor Who) Has C-PTSD - Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Words: 942

Chapters: 1/1

Summary:

Donna tries to get the Doctor to sleep, to mixed success. --- The Doctor doesn’t respond, so Donna continues. “You just run all the time, spaceman.” “Keeps things interesting,” the Doctor says. “Keeps you from thinking.” There’s a pause, before the Doctor says, “Yeah.” --- Written for Whumptober 2023, day 12. Prompt used is insomnia.

“You look tired,” Donna says.

It’s right after Pompeii and they’re curled up in one of the TARDIS’s rooms, half watching a movie — she thinks it’s a Monty Python thing, but she’s never seen it before, not that she’s paying much attention. It’s just something to have in the background so they don’t have to talk — about what happened in Pompeii, about what the Doctor told her about its people.

“Just a long day,” the Doctor answers.

“Doesn’t mean you’re not tired.”

The Doctor glances over to her, face unreadable, and shrugs.

The subject is dropped, like most subjects are that day.

---

“How does the telepathy work?” asks Donna.

They’re sitting on the floor of the main room, the Doctor fixing something and Donna handing him tools.

“What do you mean?” the Doctor asks. “Hand me the, um—“ it makes a grabbing motion with his hands, and Donna hands him the pliers.

“You said you have telepathy, and the Oods are also telepathic. Do you sing like them?”

The Doctor shakes his head. “No, when I’m not touching someone, my telepathy’s usually… more low level.”

“Yeah?”

“Constant empathetic telepathy. I feel what people are feeling. Works best with other telepathic creatures.”

“And when you’re touching someone?”

“I could make you hear the Ood,”

“And that’s it?”

The Doctor leans back from what he’s working on and takes its glasses off. “No, I can do more. Time Lords have quite powerful telepathy, actually. Oods are just a bit more… versatile, I suppose.”

“Are they going to be okay?”

The Doctor turns to look at Donna, then shrugs. “If the humans don’t try anything, they should be alright.”

“And if they do?”

“Oods have no defences. No natural predators. They’re like… dodos, or penguins. On Earth.”

“The dodos are all dead.”

“But the penguins aren’t,” the Doctor counters. “We can go back sometime, see if they’re still alright.”

“I’d like that,” Donna says, holding back a yawn. “Long day. I’m going to go to bed. You coming, spaceman?”

“Going to work on this a bit more. You think about where we’re going.”

“I don’t even know what options there are.”

The Doctor grins up at her. “Fine, we’ll put her on random again. Whole universe to explore!”

“Is that why you never sleep?”

The Doctor waves her off. “I sleep plenty.”

---

“Do you want to just take a break? Get some sleep, have a day to just… process it all?”

The Doctor looks up from the guidebook of the city they’re in — Donna still hasn’t been able to understand what any of the Doctor’s rambling explanations actually mean, but she’s fairly sure they’re underneath an ocean, an ocean that may be about to flood the place — but continues walking in front of her. Martian and its long legs.

“This is a break,” he answers.

“Yeah, so why are we speed-walking to the city council building?”

“Bit too urgent to take a stroll.”

“So, not a break, then.”

The Doctor stops, turns around, takes off his glasses. “There’s a whole universe to see, there’s a whole universe to save, people who need our help.”

“And you have a time machine.”

The Doctor doesn’t respond, so Donna continues. “You just run all the time, spaceman.”

“Keeps things interesting,” the Doctor says.

“Keeps you from thinking.”

There’s a pause, before the Doctor says, “Yeah.”

---

“You look exhausted.”

“I am,” the Doctor answers, and Donna knows it’s bad when he doesn’t try to deny it.

“I should have been there,” Donna says and the Doctor shrugs.

“I don’t think it would’ve changed anything.”

“I would’ve stopped them.”

The Doctor shrugs again, then is quiet, before Donna stands up.

“Come on, let’s go.”

She walks with the Doctor to the TARDIS. It’s quiet, unbearably quiet. Things just aren’t quiet with the Doctor, things aren’t still, and yet the alien next to her is both.

“Go to sleep,” she says. “You’ll feel better in the morning.”

It looks at her, and she hates it when his face is blank like that, because she knows him well enough now to know what it means.

“I don’t want to just lie there,” it says, and that’s wrong too, because it’s not part of their little song and dance. Donna says he needs to sleep, the Doctor says it doesn’t want to sleep because there’s a whole universe out there, Donna infers it’s because he doesn’t want to be without a distraction. It’s not supposed to say it himself. It’s not supposed to look so bloody defeated.

“Would it help if I was there?”

The Doctor pauses, then nods.

---

“Glad I finally got you to actually sleep,” Donna says.

It’s been… well, time is difficult, but it’s been a little while since Donna first suggested they sleep in the same bed. They’re like kids at a sleepover, one’s feet by the other’s head, chattering away until they both fall asleep. It’s actually working, as far as Donna can tell. At least he’s a bit more willing to actually go to sleep when it doesn’t entail lying in a dark room for however long it actually takes to nod off.

“Glad I finally got you to stop bringing it up all the time,” the Doctor responds.

It gets nightmares sometimes, Donna thinks, but she’s a heavy sleeper, always has been, and mostly only notices when she wakes up and it’s not there.

“Yeah, well, now you don’t look like you could get knocked over by a strong breeze.”

The Doctor scoffs. “I can take worse than a strong breeze,”

“I said looks, didn’t I?”

The Doctor climbs under the covers. “Goodnight, Donna.”

“Night, spaceman.”

[dearestones]

Hiya Devin :) for the recent ask game!

10 (short, huh?), 26, 27, 43, andddd for 50: Why writing? What inspires you/ got you into it in the first place? Thanks Devin :) Hope you're having a slay day! <3

Hey, Devin here!

10. How tall are you?

Did you know... shortness is only a matter of perspective? I'm 191 cm. Obviously. Like Floyd Leech. You should totally believe me.

150 cm

26. What are some seemingly childish things you like? 

Ohhhh, that's a very cool question! Ummm.... hmmm...

I really like cute notebooks, planners, scrapbooks, and calligraphy sets! I don't have a creative bone in my body when it comes to writing legibly, much less decorating planners or scrapbooking, but it seems like a good hobby!

Another a childish thing I like? I really like my happy stims! It's a sore point for me in real life, especially if other people are in the room when I stim, but I like flapping my arms or jumping up and down. The happy chemicals create more happy chemicals in an unstoppable feedback loop that has originated since childhood. :D

Ohhhh, puns! I like to grab seemingly random objects and making puns out of them!

I mean, with all of these questions... It seems like this is a quest ur on to know more details about me! ;)

Yes, I know it's bad shhhh...

27. What’s your favorite book? Or just one you’ve read a few times? 

Oh gosh, please don't be mad at me, it's been years since I've read a book that wasn't a reference text or a manual. Can fanfictions count? From my most recent memory, even though it's been a while since I've last read it (but I have read it upwards to 10+ times over the years)... Snakeskins by Lsunnyc.

I know you like worldbuilding and lore, guess what that fanfic is composed of! (It's also one of my main inspirations to how I write nowadays. I really look up to that author and you should check them out and their ao3 if you're interested!). It's a Hetalia/Harry Potter crossover fanfic and it's... very long, but hey. It's really well written.

But an actual book? Gosh... No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai? That's one of the last few books I remember reading and that was definitely a trip. I related to the main character a bit too much and the subject matter, trajectory of the character... It really hits and there's a reason why the book has the reputation it has.

43. Do you have siblings? How many?

Yup! Two of them!

50. Wild Card. Any question, ask away.

Why writing? What inspires you/ got you into it in the first place?

(Answer under the cut because it got too long!)

Okies, so I know in the past I think I admitted to having started posting fic in 2012 and my first fandom was for Tokyo Mew Mew. However! My first ever fanfic was for Sharkboy and Lavagirl and it was written on yellow legal pad and will never see the light of day ahaha!

The reason I bring that up is because when I was younger and school would let out for the summer, our class would have this ritual of throwing away our tattered old notebooks that we weren't planning on using for the next school year into the recycled bins. However, before I left for home, I would take all of the notebooks that had been dropped into the recycle bins, take them home, rip out the old notes and doodles, and then keep them over the summer.

So that I can write in them.

I started in fifth grade when I realized that it would be a waste just to let those notebooks be recycled when there were some that had tons of clean pages??? In them??? That's why I saved those poor notebooks.

The thing was, I didn't realize that I had like half a dozen or so notebooks that had clean pages that I realized... I could do things with the notebooks. So, over the course of the summers from 5-7 grade, I would write short stories (seriously, short as in like one paragraph long onto a single page and call it a day). It wasn't until the summer of 7th grade that I realized... wait, why write stories only in the summer? Why not write during the whole year instead?

At that point, I amassed a lot of notebooks and scraps of papers filled with stories. Somewhere along the way, I shifted from purely original fiction to fanfiction because it was through my first official fandom (Tokyo Mew Mew) that I realized fanfiction was a thing.

I totally thought, upon reading my first fanfic in ye old ffnet, that it was actually canon material until I checked the comments and other stories. And thus, my eyes were opened.

So yeah, come eighth grade and beyond, I began writing more fanfics in my free time and eventually, in high school, I began bringing my fanfic notebook into class so that I could work on them during breaks.

I think what really inspires me to write would be because... there are entire swathes of the story, of the behind scenes, that we never get to see in canon. You can infer a lot from subtext or hints dropped from characters alluding to events, character perceptions, etc. but there's a difference from accepting the subtext or canon as it is and... Taking what you know and then adding depth to it and transforming it into something new.

I don't know... breathing life into characters who already has an established character is so exhilarating to me! There are people out there who roll their eyes at fanfic, but like??? Writing a character and making them stay in character while also transforming them in the process??? It's creation in one of its more pure forms while also paying homage to the original creator.

There's a quote somewhere... maybe on tumblr? and this person said that writing fanfic or any sort of transformative work is like playing with the sandbox that the original creator has left behind. That's what I'm doing, I'm playing in a sandbox.

And I'm having a lot of fun with it! :D

Anywhoozles, thank you so much for the questions and I hope that you have a wonderful day!

Feel free to ask more questions and I hope that you have a wonderful day! :D

[rotnow]

✨The First Conversation✨

PT2 of Articles of Phantom theives

Note : YAYAYAYA ITS HERE!! Im so sorry for keep you all waiting! I hope you like this 🫶🏻

It has been a few days after Emily has published her article regarding the mysterious phantom theif Joker to the public. She was happy that some people were amazed and intrigued as she was about him. That night in the museum, it felt so unreal for her. Was it the way Joker did his enterance? The effortless impressive way he dodged the police with his playing cards? The whole time, the brown hair girl was simply amazed.

So imagine her suprised when one day she recived a text from a random number after a few days the article regarding Kaitou Joker. Emily didn’t think too much about it, probably it was probably just a scammer or one of those texts advertising their goods. But it wasn’t, it was from a person who claims to be..kaitou joker?!

That text soon led to our girl standing in front of a cafe. This “kaitou joker” person she texted wanted to meet up with her face to face. Now yes this sounds like an awful idea, she knows that. Thoughts such as ‘It could be a trap, it could be a creep, this is dangerous!!!’ were running through the back of her mind. However, Emily believes that this could be the real kaitou joker! As a journalist she’s ready to take any chance she can get! Besides…

If this person is really a creep, she brought pepper spray in her handbag just in case.

—

So she stepped in the cafe

Looked around

When someone called her name

“Emily! Hey!”

Emily looks at her surrondings and sees a figure waving at her from a few tables.

—

“K-kaitou joker?”

He smirked under his red rimmed glasses “Thats me, but you can call me peter”

She gasped “is that your real name?”

Joker chuckled, waving his hand “No, its just something you can call me. You can’t be just calling me Joker in a public space ”

“oh” Emily you idiot! Of course he won’t tell you his real name!!

She takes a seat across from him making herself comfortable

“I’ev heard you wrote an article about me, Emily. While I am a little flattered I must ask why you decided to write about me? From what I could tell from reading your previous ones, you never really had an interest on the news about phantom theives?”

Ah she was expecting this. This isn’t some random question, its not the first time Emily has been asked by the subject of her article WHY she was writing about them.

“On the night I saw you..something sparked in me. I don’t know how to explain it but it was like I was witnessing those theatre stage shows!” She then blinked and realized something “oh er..is this meet up made because you don’t want me to write about you-?”

Joker waved his right hand, dismissing her question “oh no thats not true! I was just curious and all. No one has written an article about me ever since..”

There was a look in his eyes as if he was recalling something before continuing “Nevermind, you can keep writing but I want something in exchange..”

Emily slowly reaches for her pepper spray in her handbag.

“I want to read the articles you wrote about me before you publish”

She moves her hand away from the pepper spray, raising an eyebrow at Joker’s proposal. “Huh? Why?”

“Just to make sure you don’t weite anything wrong about me”

“Did I write something wrong in the lastest article?”

He grins “Maybee”

“Jeez! Don’t make me worry now”

“I’m not hehe”

And in that moment a friendship blossomed between a phantom theif and a journalist.

——————————————————————————

HELLO EVERYONE!! I’m so sorry this took very long to post, I was caught up with school and taling care of my school library student program.

Thank you for reading this and I hope you have a nice day or night‼️✨❤️

-Huhu

[oraclekleo]

Finances related tarot readings

Hello my dear followers and random visitors of my posts!

Some of you probably know that I'm a very productive adult person with a responsible job in a bank. That's one of the main reasons why I can't really work on completing readings all day long.

But! In this time of high inflation and just things being financially tough in general (and financial difficulties can severely affect our mental state and emotions, of course, and eventually our physical health, too), I have thought I could perhaps use the fact I have a good and friendly relationship with the financial sector and maybe offer some money related tarot readings.

PLEASE! DON'T TAKE ME WRONG HERE. NEVER EVER BASE YOUR FINANCE RELATED DECISIONS ON TAROT OR ORACLE OR LENORMAND OR KIPPER OR RUNE READINGS! NEVER! THOSE CAN ONLY DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO ASPECTS AND SUBJECTS YOU SHOULD LOOK MORE INTO. BEFORE MAKING ANY MONEY RELATED DECISION, MAKE YOUR RESEARCH AND CONSULT SOMEONE TRULY COMPETENT LIKE THE PERSON FROM YOUR BANK WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR ACCOUNT, OR FINANCIAL ADVISOR, OR STOCK BROKER, YOU KNOW, SOMEONE WITH THE ACTUAL DETAILED KNOWLEDGE.

When this warning is off my shoulders and I truly mean it! I consider myself decent with money but I'm still learning myself and you should also know I have never studied any economy related school or even subject. I sort of learned everything from real life experience and I'm in no way an expert.

However, if you were interested in some general suggestions regarding your personal money management, little nudges towards the direction you might need to explore in more details, I can surely provide that.

I have already assembled one general tarot spread for this topic and I have tested it on myself and it looks like it works just fine so I can share it here with you.

Fiscal Year Ahead tarot spread

Expenses to cut (advice on what might not be wise to waste your money on in the upcoming year)

Sources of Income to explore (it can refer to side hustles or to a new direction of your career…)

Money Management Advice (general advice regarding your skills of handling personal finances)

Financial Forecast (what to expect / avoid / be prepared for in the upcoming year)

Investment Tip (general suggestion on what areas you might explore in order to invest in them, it can refer to simple things like your health and advising you to stop eating fast food and invest in groceries and start cooking better food for yourself or it can draw your attention to stock market, if you have some extra money to be invested)

For those who are not familiar with the term Fiscal Year, it's 12 consecutive months but they don't have to copy the actual calendar year. I have used this term in the title of the reading to address the fact that this tarot reading is giving you information for the 12 months ahead of you from the moment of when the reading is done for you. So you're not waiting for the 1st of January to start implementing the advice, you can start immediately. 😊

This tarot spread is clearly not the only option on how the finance related tarot reading can be done but I simply wanted to show you an example.

So! Would you be actually interested in such types of tarot readings? You can say no, it’s no problem for me. I’m simply offering it but if you don’t really trust this or you are not interested, feel free to tell me. I’m not gonna be sad about it. 😂

Let me know what you think!

Thank you and have a great day!

Kleo 🦄

[bisluthq]

I was wondering if your partner has any insight on this, I know he doesn’t work on vfx but maybe he has more knowledge of the subject if he works in post production.

I have seen some actors say they’re going to vote no to the deal based on some stuff Justine Bateman has been saying. But I have seen people say that the issues she has brought up are either things that are already done (filling a stadium with copies of the same person) or things that we won’t possibly have the technology for in the next 3 years. I know she said scenes should only use real people and I saw someone say you can’t hire thousands of extras for a battle scene because it wouldn’t be safe. That’s one of the reasons why we use cgi in those situations now, but that’s different from AI. I’ve also seen actors say that bigger actors are going to be able to say no to AI but smaller actors will lose jobs if they say no. I have also seen people say that the full body scan actors are worried about costs 10k per person to do and they would never spend that much on background actors, when they already make fake crowds with cgi.

I’m conflicted because it does sound like actors are overreacting and I can’t really see a full AI movie doing well anytime in the near future (and by that I mean a “live action”). I think we would get realistic games before a film, and while you can play a game and say the graphics are really good, I wouldn’t enjoy that in a movie. But at the same time, vfx people sound like they’re into AI so I’m not sure if I can trust them.

What are your thoughts?

So my bf is really into AI lol and thinks it's awesome. I think post people are generally just crazy into technology (based on him and other people I know in the industry) and because they're geeks like they geek out over new shit and rn they're geeking out over AI. He uses it a fair amount. He's not completely au fait with it yet because there's like a LOT to know but he's done a course and he's like suuuuper into it. His whole thing is like it makes things faster and easier and it's dope tech and he's like "people thought shooting on digital was 'cheating' at one point" and I'm like "that's true they really did." He also makes the point of like CGI can do most of what AI is doing but it takes far longer and you have to deal with the CGI people lol and they're all a bit weird.

Personally, I think AI is gonna affect jobs for a lot of BTS people unless you're getting on board and like using it and it's gonna affect jobs for mid level actors because yes 10K is a lot but it's cheap like longterm. I don't think it's gonna be used for crowds really but like yk Gunther from Friends? He could be AI generated now. Like that's the kind of role that could go to AI and cut production costs down. Random bitty part actors, especially on shows, could go to AI rather. There won't be full AI movies for a long time imo because 1) AI looks a bit weird lol like you absolutely can tell if it's fully AI 2) AI is not that smart rn like it needs to be spoken to a lot and in very particular ways and like creatives aren't into that it and geeks can't generate a film based on prompts imo.

Fwiw like I like AI lol - I did part of my bf's course with him because I found it interesting and again I'm teaching atm so there isn't a reason for me to stress about AI but I've used it for lessons also like Twinkl has an AI bot that lets you generate stories and comprehensions and I've done that live with kids and they get SO into it lmao like they think it's the coolest thing they've ever seen.

[data-core]

Chapter 1

Tessy stared into her human ale, despondent. She was being assigned full time to babysit some random human from the "haunted ship" that nearly crashed into a docking bay all night, and Commander Sontag himself had called it busywork. The entire point of her joining Starfleet was seeing the universe and experiencing strange new worlds! Sure, having human crewmates to suggest the nearest human equivalent to her favorites made it easier to order something exotic at the replicator, but everyone knows the first thing you order at the DS9 replimat is the pollo asada tacos #3. It's not like she needed to join Starfleet to catch a ride from Bajor though. Tessy cringed inwardly thinking about the literal hour she spent obsessing over the word, having Chief Rogers repeat the word and staring at his lips, flipping through all her English guidebooks trying to figure out why it was pronounced the way it was, before somebody took pity on her and told her it was actually Spanish. The full weight of every "don't tell me!" came crashing down every time someone vaguely recognized her as "taco girl". At least when I was "gym rat" people asked me for advice. Now taco girl is playing chaperone to some creepy war profiteer that flew through the wormhole until they can exile her. And it's the Major herself asking me, so I can't just say "oh, I think this will interfere with my self development progress" like that botanical survey. Why did I mention doing more special missions for a promotion at my evaluation when I knew I was only 2 months away from those certifications! Tessy finished her beer and wished the rest of her group good night. She was reporting directly to the to ready room the next morning, and it may have been her fastest ticket to the beaches of Risa.  

Commander Sontag stopped Tessy by the door to Major Kira's ready room before the special briefing. "Lieutenant Sharda, a moment please." 

Tessy snapped to attention. The Vulcan commander was the new longest-leading Starfleet commander of the station, a fact he readily credits to stepping aside for Kira to take de facto control of the station long before Starfleet scheduled it, and he was the one that informed her of the assignment by apologizing for the busywork in the subject line of the boilerplate special briefing email. Sun Tzu would have been impressed by the opacity of his bluntness. "Yes, sir?"

"I understand you wish to receive a transfer to another posting, preferably planetside. Let me offer you something I have learned in my own travels. As the Major is fond of saying, play the game. I have no interest in lying to you, this will be a time-consuming task; babysitting, if you will. Starfleet has questions about this woman, questions I cannot inform you of and questions that have become evidently clear she is not able to answer satisfactorily. We are conducting investigations of our own, and Bajor was kind enough to work out an agreement between us in the meantime. Your official orders are to follow Major Kira's request and refrain from mentioning any details of our guest to anybody, media members in particular. If you do well on this task, I will ensure you receive that next pip."

Tessy smirked at the options before her. "You sure have me between a rock and a hard place, Sir."

"I'm the one caught between a rock and a hard place, Lieutenant. My commanders want answers, the Bajorans want nothing to do with this, and you're the unlucky officer who asked for something to do." His stony gaze betrays an avuncular care. "I'm asking you to pause your life for a bit. Don't turn down a reward because you think you didn't earn it."

"Th-thank you sir." Tessy stammered out before quickly adding "For the life advice." She quickly opens the door and steps into the ready room, where the Major's grinning face greets her. "Major! You…you heard all that?"

Kira covers her mouth with her hand, stifling a chuckle. "You junior officers, always so surprised once you realize the world runs on greased palms. Please, have a seat, Lieutenant Sharda." She gestures to the chair across from her. "This woman is - was a smuggler supplying medical supplies and supposedly weapons to a breakaway planet on the other side of Federation Space. She was reported dead after being caught in a skirmish in the area. Regardless of the, shall we say, veracity of these facts, she has requested asylum from Bajor on humanitarian grounds and my Starfleet friends have assured me they have no interest in her outside her mysterious resurrection. She calmed considerably after hearing she would stay in Bajoran custody aboard the station until the inspection was complete."

"You're making it seem like she just stole an identity and is trying to ride the fame out."

"Two things are making Starfleet take her seriously. First, as you probably heard, the ship arrived jury-rigged to hell, no atmosphere, matching the damage description and transponder number from 5 months ago. Second, her account of what happened matches the reports on their end. If she wasn't on that ship, she knew somebody who was."

The young Bajoran sits up at that revelation. *The ship in bay 29? No way someone could have survived in that thing for 5 months alone! And you just want me to babysit this woman?" Tessy can't hide her incredulity. "What else are you not telling me?"

Kira rubs her temples thoughtfully. "Like I said, the scanner logs confirm there was no one alive on board at the end of the fight, and scrappers moved in quickly. For my money, she doesn't strike me as someone who went through hell and lived to tell the tale. There's no pagh behind those eyes any more."

Tessy sits in silence, wondering what she just got volunteered for.

"Commander Sontag will be thrilled to hear I've decided to brevet that promotion starting immediately, at least the upgrade in quarters. Our guest seems harmless enough after I came to an understanding with her, and your commission is enough to convince Starfleet it will be handled appropriately. Enjoy the time to think about how to decorate your new space, Lieutenant. Your charge will meet you there." Kira hands Tessy a slip with her new quarters designation and turns to her terminal with a smile and a wave goodbye. 

Tessy stops, spotting her new room with a guard bored out of his mind in the hallway outside. Okay, I guess she really isn't a big deal out here. As she approaches again, the guard perks up. "Oh, tac-Tessy, I didn't know you were the lucky L.T. Don't forget me now that you're off hallway duty." He sneers slightly as he walks away, visibly jealous of the cushy gig. 

Maybe at least people will stop calling me that to my face soon. Tessy steps into the empty room, dark and still. "Are you here, Miss Shepard?" 

A rustling sound comes from the closed door, furthest from her. 

"Is that you? I was told you'd be here already." Tessy sneaks to the master bedroom and flicks the light on as soon as she pokes her head in. Empty. Whew. Enough talking. Tessy creeps back out to the living room. Her old couch sits in the corner. What nearly covered a wall before makes the room seem gigantic. Her legs shake, struggling to cross the huge gulf to the door behind the kitchen. The only place left to look. 

Augh!

Tessy manages to conceal the yelp trying to burst free from her chest as she trips over nothing trying to back up. The door opens to reveal a gangly figure, pin-straight black hair forming a dark veil covering its eyes. Warm, moist air creeps around her face as she sits up, trying to get her bearings. The figure reaches out a pale hand, gradually nearing her face as she feels her arms lock in place by her side. The fingers near her face, nearly close enough to stroke her lips, and a voice echoes accusingly in her mind. 

"You must be my new chaperone, Lieutenant Sharda."

The words spoken like a command bounce off her mind, not registering until the figure has already grabbed her hand and helped her off the floor. Tessy lets the order move her mouth for her. "Yes, nice to meet you, Miss Shepard." She pulls her hand back, pride thoroughly ruined by the spectacle and loss of composure. 

The voice coming from the figure continues speaking slowly and serenely. "Please, just Artemis is fine. Sorry to scare you like that, it is so very hard to get used to clocks and timetables after 5 long months alone." Having introduced herself to her satisfaction, the gangly human steps awkwardly around Tessy for a glass of water before returning to her room, leaving the door ajar. Tessy eases herself around the corner to see a room just as empty as the rest of the quarters, save Artemis in a corner changing out of a bathrobe. Tessy sighed in relief at figuring out what was going on, until Artemis spoke up, making no other effort to acknowledge the Bajoran's presence. "If you'd like to learn more about human anatomy, can I suggest speaking to Dr. Bashir? I'm sure he has literature you'll find helpful."

Tessy stayed stock still on the couch until Artemis jerkily loped back out, not even turning her head as she easily stepped over the low couch back to sit next to her. That didn't stop her from thinking about how unnatural this woman looked in motion and at rest, despite looking perfectly normal in the pictures shown to her. How the hell is she breathing with her knees at her shoulders? Why does she pick up everything slightly breakable with both hands and hold it to her chest? After far too long of her staring out the corner of her eye she speaks up. "Well, it seems like you'll be here for a time. Any suggestions on what you'd like to do with it?"

No reaction except for Artemis's response, almost more surprised the silence was broken already. Her legs started bouncing lightly as she answered "I thought you'd have liked to unpack your belongings. I'd offer to help but I have no idea where to put things." She looked straight at Tessy, smiling wryly. "I'm very good at moving furniture, Lt. Sharda." The words linger in the air between them; a friendly offer or simply feeling bored and nosy? Tessy went to the kitchen and started unpacking her kitchen box. "You know, I was really excited when I got told to pack up my things before my shift yesterday. I was hoping my application for EVA academy on Luna had come through." The fluorescent red mugs clank together quietly as they get hung below the cabinet. 

"I'm sure I was quite the disappointment."  Artemis suddenly got up and loped over to the control panel on the wall and turned the lights up to 70%. "Are you attached to that couch? I think you need a bigger one." She turns her head to Tessy. "Or more seating, at least"

Tessy finally took her guest in fully. Artemis's pants and shirt weren't cropped, the longest standard pattern in the replicator was still a few inches too short if it still fit around her waist or shoulders. Her hair, slightly wavy now that it was dry, fell below her shoulders. The large hazel eyes and pointed nose matched the pictures, along with the burnt orange lipstick on the bottom lip. A tattoo, maybe? That white line in the center makes it look like a gang or tribal marking. Or an animal tracking tag. "Uh, yeah. Do whatever with the furniture. It looks...empty right now." Anything to make it feel like I'm not trapped in a cage with something that's going to pounce on me at any moment. She set the glasses and plates her brother had made for her on the shelf, racking her brain for something to keep Artemis focused after the decorating was done. "Do you think you might want to get some clothes that fit later today?"

[demetriandelibinaryboyfriends]

Well, ladies and gentlemen, I spent 4 years studying ecology, behavior, and evolution an accredited university...and now I use it to write gay fanfiction about a karate soap opera. Granted, my school’s career services were pretty shite, and they never quite made it clear what I should be using my degree for, but I’m pretty sure it’s not this.

AND YET.

Anyways I have a long-standing headcanon that Eli has a special interest in “badass” animals (namely raptors and reptiles) that really intensified around the time he got super into Cobra Kai. And now, naturally, I’m going to subject the rest of you to it, AND use it as an excuse to infodump all the random-ass animal facts I know!!!

(Also credit to @asphodel-storm because part of what really solidified this headcanon was seeing her use it in her fic Second Chances and I was like :O Yes!!! Hawk loves badass animals!!!)

Ever wondered why Demetri just had random knowledge about snake pupil shapes queued up to lecture Kreese about??? Like how on EARTH would you know that off the top of your head unless you either a) had a specific interest in snakes or reptiles (which I haven’t really seen from Demetri other than that) or b) you had someone in close proximity constantly infodumping to you about reptiles, and you hung on their every word OR you independently researched reptile facts to impress/better engage with that person??? Because take it from me, niche snake pupil trivia is NOT something that any “science nerd” would know. Like I was none the wiser about the round vs. slit snake pupil thing, and I was in a bio-adjacent major!

Also like. Dem and Eli should probably talk about the fact that Kreese apparently shattered Dem’s nose to the point of him needing stitches??? So here I make them! Angst (but also some much-needed closure) ensues.

“He’s a man of few words...unless you bring up reptiles or birds of prey. Then he will have far more words than you’re prepared to handle.” --Demetri about Eli, at some point prior to the show probably

Chapter 1: Here

Chapter 2: Here

Chapter 3: Here

All 3 are also posted on my AO3, SummerPhlox!

CW here for homophobia and some sexist talk/language at the end (sadly, the teachings of my problematic fave Johnny Lawrence don’t die easy). Be warned, this is the longest of these bad bois yet!!! A whopping 7k+ words! Keep Reading at your dash’s risk!

***

The Nature Center

“Come on, come on, come on!”

Demetri lets himself be unceremoniously dragged through the cactus gardens, Eli’s grip around his wrist stronger than some of the rock formations they’ve driven past. Saguaros and organ pipes and barrels alike whip past at alarming speeds, and Demetri considers telling Eli he could be very grievously injured if he hypothetically were to be rammed into one. Say, for example, if he had a friend yanking him into a desert wildlife nature center at roughly 40 miles per hour.

He sighs wearily. “We’re on an urgent mission to save our best friend from certain doom, and you still want to stop here and dick around.”

“It’ll only be a couple hours,” Eli mumbles as he maneuvers them around a particularly frightening-looking cholla patch.

Demetri grinds his feet into the dirt, pulling his friend back. Eli stumbles and loses his balance, nearly sending them both careening into the chollas.

Demetri frowns. “A couple hours?”

His friend turns, giving him a pair of the big, sad eyes that have caused him no shortage of trouble over the years. “One hour?” he says, a little too hopefully.

Demetri sighs. “Okay. Not a second longer, though. And you’re doing all the night driving we inevitably get stuck with. All the way to Mazatlán!”

“Deal.” Eli turns back to the faded adobe building, and the dragging resumes.

Something soft brushes against Demetri’s leg. He tenses, suddenly concerned about the number of wild tarantula species in Mexico. His eyes flick down, and he slackens with relief when he catches sight of nothing more than a sprig of breeze-battered pink wildflowers.

They’re almost to the doors—and out of the unforgiving heat—when Eli lurches to a stop.

“Dem, look!” Eli tugs on his arm, pointing at a nearby rock. “Looklooklook!”

Any annoyance in Demetri abruptly drains out, replaced by a soft warmth. It’s been a long time since Eli’s called him Dem. Maybe even longer since he’s seen Eli this excited about something.

Demetri squints, spotting a mottled brown lizard doing enough push-ups to make Eli’s workout routine look shabby. As the little creature goes up and down, he catches glimpses of bright blue under the chin—a tiny, puffed-up dewlap, probably. The color reminds him of a certain mohawk that once made his life very…interesting.

Across the sun-baked rock are two slightly-smaller light brown lizards—presumably females. They both stare vacantly out into the desert air, the male’s exuberant display lost on them.

Eli nudges him, snickering. “Look, he’s trying to get babes.” He cups his hands around his mouth and hoots. “Work it!”

Demetri smiles sadly, shaking his head. “Doesn’t seem like a successful endeavor thus far.”

Eli scoffs. “Their loss! Who doesn’t want a guy who works out?”

As if to demonstrate, Eli strikes a pose and flexes a bicep. Demetri groans.

“Oh, great. I thought you were past this.”

“You wish. The Power of the Hawk is never finished!” Eli spreads his arms and lets out a bellow. Despite himself, Demetri laughs.

“How am I best friends with such a hammy idiot?”

“That’s a two-way street, my friend.” Eli smirks, slapping him on the back.

Eli’s hand lingers on his shoulder blade as they glance back at the rock. The male lizard has sped up his push-ups substantially, as though achieving supersonic pace will at last impress the ladies.

Currently, it is not. Both female lizards have closed their eyes, the male’s dramatics having apparently put them to sleep.

“You see his dewlap?” Demetri asked.

“He has a dewlap?” Eli squints. “Wow. I totally clocked his species wrong.”

“Barely. I’m just getting little flashes of it.” Demetri breaks into a smirk. “I guess blue is the color of overcompensation.”

“I gue—HEY!” He laughs as an elbow collides with his ribs. “Don’t make fun of the blue ‘hawk! It got your dumb ass, like, 7 beers!”

And I needed about 3 more to stomach you swapping spit with Moon.

Demetri thinks better of saying it aloud.

He really shouldn’t be bad-mouthing the color blue, anyways. Blue is the color of so many nice things.

Miyagi-Do. Ravenclaw house. The TARDIS. Spock’s uniform. Obi-Wan Kenobi’s lightsaber. Captain Marvel. Eli’s eyes. Stuff like that.

“It wasn’t the worst look for you,” Demetri admits. “I think that award goes solidly to the firetruck rooster hairdo.” His smirk widens. “Didn’t help that you were being such a cock.”

Eli groans. “Get that on one of your stupid pun shirts, why don’t you?”

“Maybe I will! Just a picture of you doing that wannabe scary scowl of yours and a big caption that says ‘Don’t be a cock!’”

He does a sweeping motion with his hands as he says it, and earns a reluctant snigger from Eli.

“Oh, my god. I hate you.”

“I’ll make one, and wear it to graduation instead of robes.”

“You’d better not. I’ll sob to Counselor Blatt until she withholds your diploma.”

“Ah, yes! The woman who singlehandedly stopped bullying at West Valley High! I’m sure she’ll be completely proficient at navigating high school bureaucracy to prevent me from graduating.”

Eli snickers. “Yeah, okay, fair. I guess I’ll have to make an equally embarrassing shirt of you.”

“Well, good luck finding an embarrassing aspect of my personality that I don’t also embrace wholeheartedly.”

On the rock, the two female lizards decide they have seen one push-up too many and skitter off. Eli lets out a disappointed cry, looking genuinely a little sad.

“Aw, little buddy! They didn’t deserve you, anyway.”

Demetri snaps a twig off a nearby shrub and starts toward the rock. “Maybe we can give him a free lunch to help him feel better.”

Eli sneers at him, snatching the twig away and chucking it over his shoulder. “Lizards don’t eat wood, you idiot. They’re insectivores like 90% of the time.”

The lizard’s head shoots up as they approach, pondering them for a moment. Before Demetri can figure out how to go about acquiring a dead bug, the reptile scampers under the branches of a creosote bush and is gone.

“Anyways.” Eli’s hand slides down and fastens around Demetri’s wrist again, returning to yanking him toward the nature center. “There’s lots of other shit to see. Come on!”

As they head toward the entrance, Eli’s gaze flicks back to the now-empty rock.

“Can’t believe that fucker had a dewlap,” he muses, half to himself. “No idea what he was supposed to be. I really thought whiptail. Maybe alligator lizard, but I don’t think they live this far south. Besides, the markings aren’t quite right. And he’s too dark to be a brush lizard.” He curls his lip. “It’s going to drive me fucking nuts.”

Demetri smiles, fondness starting to trickle through him. Apparently the “badass animal” special interest is cycling back around again.

Better that than karate cults.

The wave of cool air hits Demetri as soon as Eli opens the door, so eagerly it nearly smacks the taller boy in the face. The nature center is surprisingly crowded, the air filled with tinny animal noises that can only come from several small children pressing every display button at once. Kids are being chased by many a stressed parent, snapping at them in both Spanish and English. Nonetheless, there’s no entrance fee, so perhaps Demetri should count his blessings.

“You sure about this?” He raises his eyebrows. “Seems like a tourist trap.”

“Demetri! They have a tarantula section! We are going!”

There’s no time to argue before he is being pulled along once again. Demetri wonders idly when Eli went from an arachnophobe who hid in baggy sweaters every time Aragog came on screen to thinking tarantulas were the coolest shit he had ever seen, apparently. Probably a particularly brutal brand of exposure therapy while trying to be Cobra Kai’s toughest fighter.

It makes Demetri’s stomach churn, thinking of Eli bullying the terror out of himself, but he shakes the thought away. It’s months behind them, and Eli is okay now.

Besides, Demetri hardly minds Eli being a fearless force of nature, when he isn’t using that energy to break arms and commit felonies and such.

“Oh, shit! They literally liquify their prey and start digesting it! That’s so metal. And apparently there’s this really fucked up species of parasitic wasp that lays eggs inside tarantulas and then the larvae eat them from the inside out—”

Eli begins eagerly feeling up a large, hairy model of a tarantula leg. Demetri passes.

Before he knows it, he’s being yanked to the scorpion information panel on the other side. “Oh my god, these things can fucking kill you if they sting you. That’s so cool. And they have these weird hairs on their legs they can detect movement and shit with, so if you go anywhere near one, you’re already screwed, and they also like—”

Demetri starts to worry that it may be difficult convincing Eli to leave.

“—and venom in general is so wild, man. Like that shit goes in and fucks up your spine so you’re just frozen as you die. What a way to go. Although if I was a mouse or whatever, I think going out to a Gila monster would be pretty sick. Like at least you die with dignity. Better than a cactus falling on you. And I mean—”

Eli opens up little boxed information panels with reckless abandon, commentary not ceasing the entire time.

“—are you fucking kidding me? They really called this asshole an ‘earless lizard?’ All lizards are earless, idiot! I mean, unless you count earholes, but there’s a difference between those and ‘ears.’ And the lesser earless lizard, too?! Like it’s bad enough some dick is calling attention to the fact that you don’t have ears, but now these poor fucks can’t even have self-esteem? It’s depressing, Demetri, I’m telling you—”

He stops mid-rant, suddenly turning to gape at something behind Demetri. Demetri feels his friend’s finger ram into his side several times.

“Oh my god. There’s a snake room?!”

Demetri chuckles, shaking his head fondly. “You are so predictable, Eli Moskowitz.”

“Look, just because Cobra Kai are assholes doesn’t mean actual snakes aren’t still sick as fuck.”

Demetri is once again being tugged across the tile floor and into the next room. At this point, he simply lets it happen.

“I read up on it a while back, and there’s actually a shitton of rattlesnake species,” Eli goes on. “They’re not even the most badass ones, though—kingsnakes will just fucking wrap them up and eat them. Rattlesnake venom doesn’t do shit to them. It’s insane. And that’s not even touching on gopher snakes—those things can get like 10 feet long, and like that’s not enough to get anyone to fuck off, they can reshape their damn heads and pretend to be rattlesnakes and I think—”

Eli’s rant fades into the background as Demetri squints at the artwork on the snake information plaque. A vast, starry sky stretches out behind silhouettes of mountains, cacti, and shrubs. In the foreground, a moon-washed creature appearing to be a nightsnake is poised with his head raised and his little forked tongue extended. His orange eyes, sliced by black slits, are glowing eerily in the darkness.

“Hey, Eli.” Demetri nudges the other boy. “Did they get the pupils right on that one?”

“—and the reason sidewinders do that whole creepy ribbon candy-looking thing is because it doesn’t move the sand around as much, so they won’t slide down the dune or whatever. Probably also mimics the wind so they can disguise movements and hunt better. Or not get eaten by shit hiding in the sand. You know, like that sand walk they do in Dune? So the sand worms don’t—oh.”

Eli cuts his ramble short as Demetri’s question finally processes. The shorter boy studies the painting, gaze flicking to the information panel a few times.

“Yeah, vertical pupils are right,” he says finally. “A lot of patterned snakes have them. Something about making their eyes not stand out by having them look like scales or something.”

Demetri nods approvingly. “I do see how that could be unnerving. You know the thing’s looking at you, but you can’t tell from where. The kind of constant, invisible surveillance only seen in the bleakest of dystopias.”

Eli snorts. “You should write some desert wasteland Mad Max-type shit where the government uses automaton nightsnakes to spy on everyone. People would eat that up.”

Demetri chuckles. “You know, maybe I will! It’s not a bad backup plan, if the computer science career doesn’t work out.”

He looks again at the snake painting’s slit-pupiled eyes and sighs, shaking his head.

“You know, I still can’t believe that war criminal ex-sensei of yours is going around proclaiming to be a snake aficionado when he’s got such a blatantly incorrect king cobra on his arm.”

“Right? It’s kinda sad.”

Eli laughs, but it sounds forced. He looks away from the nightsnake display, shuffling awkwardly and not meeting Demetri’s eyes.

“I, ah…” Eli’s hand comes up to rub nervously at the back of his buzzcut. “I shouldn’t have been such a dick to you when he punched you in the face.”

Eli Moskowitz is not one to apologize over and over. Demetri figures that the first time gets the point across, in Eli’s opinion—no need to keep repeating it. It helps that Eli has always sucked at bullshitting. It isn’t hard to tell when the man is being genuine, if you know him well enough.

Nonetheless, Demetri knows that all the lingering guilt from Eli’s Cobra Kai fuckery didn’t just dissolve.

The fact really should not fill Demetri with as much smug glee as it does.

Perhaps “glee” is too strong—and too sadistic—a word for it. Perhaps it’s only relief. The ever-present relief that Eli really did mean it when he said he was sorry, and it wasn’t all some elaborate act (Eli has, regrettably, gotten a little better at bullshitting since the Hawk shtick). The relief that Eli is back with him—and works every day to make up for the very, very shitty 6 months he spent away from Demetri, terrorizing him and the rest of the Valley. The relief that Eli regrets his time spent being an asshole, and not the choice to turn his back on Kreese and all his bullshit.

Still, Demetri can’t resist being a little petty. Not when Eli Moskowitz peed in his bed at sleepovers for over 10 years and then acted like such an absolute shithead for several months.

And broke his heart. That too.

He nudges Eli’s side. “Are you just now realizing that?”

“No, I just, uh…I always felt a little bad about it.” He keeps rubbing his buzzcut. “You couldn’t admit that kind of thing in Cobra Kai. ‘The weak don’t belong’ and all that.”

Demetri snorts. “Charming sentiment. I do wonder what the endgame was for being ‘the baddest dojo in the Valley.’ Another secret, even bigger karate trophy? World domination?”

Eli laughs, seeming to relax slightly. “More like continuing to boost Sensei Kreese’s ego.”

“It gets much bigger than it already is, and he’ll be releasing some herpetological virus that makes all snake pupils shrink to slits, just so he doesn’t have to be wrong about something.”

Eli looks up at him, suddenly grimacing. “Did you really have to get stitches?”

“Oh, yeah.” Demetri winces at the memory. “I came home with my nose bleeding everywhere and my mom freaked out and rushed me to the ER. She yelled at like…7 nurses in Greek. It’s kind of funny, thinking back on it. Anyways, I probably didn’t need all 12 of those stitches, but you know how my mom is.”

“Sure do.” Eli chuckles softly. “I’m honestly surprised she was cool with us hanging out again, after…you know…”

He trails off, looking away. Demetri frowns.

“You know I didn’t tell her that was you, right?”

Eli’s head snapped back to him. “Huh?”

“She thinks it was some random new kid whose name I didn’t know.” Demetri rolls his eyes. “She already worries about anything and everything as is. Where do you think I get it from? I wasn’t about to tell her my wayward and misguided best friend is going around assaulting me.”

Eli winces, and Demetri feels a stab of guilt.

“Hey.” He lifts a hand and quickly squeezes Eli’s shoulder. “You know I’m not still mad about that. Frankly, though, I am a little insulted that you really think I’d snitch on you to my mom and get her on some kind of witch hunt after you. Besides, I’m not looking to collect another round of stitches, thank you very much.”

Eli breaks into a smile, sniggering. “Snitches get stitches. Anyways.” His face turns serious again. “I, uh…I owe you one for not telling your mom about…that. I don’t think she’d ever be able to look at me again.”

“She might plot your murder. Or worse, press charges.” Demetri made a face. “Listen, no matter how pissed I was at you, I didn’t want you getting beat up in juvie or six feet under.”

“I would not get beat up in juvie!”

“Oh, please. Juvie is full of people who don’t need karate to be scary. There’s always going to be a better fighter, especially if they were raised somewhere they’ve needed it all their life.”

Eli pouts defiantly. “I could take them!”

He still looks so young when he makes that face. Suddenly they’re 8 years old again, Eli on the verge of tears after the mean kid in the class took the last of the popsicle flavor they knew he liked. Even with the added muscles and the gritty back tattoo, it’s hard not to still see some of that sensitive little boy when Demetri looks at him.

He imagines that elementary school kid locked up in a prison yard, and he feels sick to his stomach.

“People get traumatized in there, Eli.” His voice drops, and he takes a step closer to his friend. “Doesn’t matter how tough you are. I don’t want you anywhere near there.”

“I could kick ass if I wanted to.” Eli grunts disapprovingly. “Besides, Cobra Kai can get away with whatever. Kreese has a bunch of the city officials wrapped around his finger because he’s a Vietnam vet. I figure that’s how he didn’t get arrested for aggravated assault, because there’s no way your mom wouldn’t have called the cops on him.”

“Oh! So you admit it! You admit it was aggravated assault!”

Demetri stuck a taunting finger in Eli’s face. Scowling, his friend ducked away.

“Yeah, yeah. Fine. I looked it up too, and I didn’t want to admit you were right.”

“As I so often am,” Demetri added smugly.

“Not all the time!” Eli retorted. “What about…um…”

Demetri breaks into a conniving grin as Eli struggles to remember an instance where his supergenius best friend was, in fact, incorrect about something.

He hums mockingly. “That’s what I thought.”

Eli groans, slapping a hand to his face. “You were acting like your life was over after one sock to the face. You act like your life is over when you stub your toe. What was I supposed to think?!”

“Many people go their entire lives without a broken nose, Eli. I’d even managed to avoid getting any from Kyler so far.”

Eli’s hand drops, lip curling up in a hint of a smile. “He sure tried. You were always too quick for him.”

“Ah, yes.” Demetri shook his head at the memory. “The tried-and-true strategy: Squirm out of Kyler’s gross, sweaty grip and haul ass out of there. Quite the high drama. ‘Alexopoulos and Moskowitz, on the run for their lives!’”

He sweeps a hand for emphasis, and finally gets a chuckle out of Eli. “God, we were such sissies back then. Always just caving and running to our moms whenever there was trouble.”

Demetri shakes his head.

“Not always,” he argues. “You found out soon enough what happened if your mom caught wind and tried to meddle. And I never actually told my mom Mr. Anatomically Incorrect Cobra Tattoo was the one who broke my nose.”

“Really?” Eli looks up at him in surprise.

“You told me not to get your crazed karate teacher a year in prison and a $10,000 dollar fine, so I didn’t.” Demetri shrugs. “I went and vagued about my grievances via Yelp instead. Of course, that was still too much for you, but it seemed like the option that would cause you less distress overall.”

Eli raises his eyebrows. “I think the issue there is that you weren’t vague enough.”

Demetri only rolls his eyes. “I certainly could have gone into more gory detail if I’d wanted to—no pun intended. I simply chose not to.”

“I guess I should thank you for that.” Eli sighs, looking down. “I never realized that’s why you didn’t snitch. I just thought you were…” He trails off uncomfortably.

Demetri snorts. “What, scared of you? Don’t give yourself so much credit. I mean yes, you did kind of give me the heebie jeebies later on, but not after making a handful of douchey comments and yelling at me once over FaceTime. I have a slightly thicker skin than that.”

“Maybe it’d have been better in the long run, though. If you called the cops on him.” Eli shakes his head, smiling forlornly. “Could’ve saved us a lot of grief at the All Valley.”

“Yeah, right. I’m pretty sure you would have drowned me in the ocean and left my body for the sharks.”

“Would not! The ocean doesn’t need more pollution, Demetri.”

“A body isn’t pollution, it’s fresh food! An ecosystem contributor!”

“Your clothes, dumbass. You get eaten by eels or whatever and then everything on your person ends up either in something’s stomach or the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.”

“Well, I’m glad marine health is important enough to you for you to cancel your murder plans, Eli.”

“What can I say? I’m a California progressive.” He smirks a little before his face falls again. “In all seriousness…yeah, I would’ve been really pissed, but I’d get over it when I heard how full of shit he really was. It’d be okay in the end.” Eli bristles slightly. “He deserves it.”

Demetri feels his friend tense up beside him, and a wave of concern ripples through him.

Demetri knows he’ll never admit it, of course, but Eli is scared of John Kreese. Scared of what a man who has seen war and clawed his way out to the other side and knows how to twist people any way he wants might still do to a traitor.

“He’ll get his just desserts eventually.” Demetri reaches up and gives Eli’s shoulder another squeeze. “The cops can’t always turn a blind eye to…well, whatever he does in that cursed dojo of his. I’d wager only about…maybe 30% of it is actually legal.”

Eli laughs softly, leaning into his touch. “30%? That’s generous, Demetri. I doubt it even tops 15.”

A distinctive piercing screech runs through the nature center, made tinny and artificial by poor-quality speakers. Eli’s eyes widen.

“Oh my god,” he breathes. “They have a raptor section?!”

Demetri raises his eyebrows. “How do you know the soundtrack isn’t just queuing up for you to fight someone?”

Eli snorts. “Because if I had a soundtrack, it’d have way better sound quality than that. I live in LA, not some midwestern shithole with terrible production design.”

He starts frantically looking around, head whipping in every direction as he tries to locate the source of the cry.

“Where is it?” he demands to no one in particular. “Where’s the bird of prey room?!”

“Calm down, Harley Qui—”

He isn’t even able to finish the statement before his wrist is once again being tugged to the exit by an insistent (but nonetheless very warm) hand. Eli is relentless, wrenching him from room to room with the drive of a persistence predator with unlimited stamina. Demetri wonders idly if this is how humans managed to rise to the top of the food chain—i.e. dragging their long-suffering friends all over the place with no end in sight.

It's a wonder, really, how the Nature Center Society of Mexico or whatever-have-you has the budget to make so many rooms in a tiny building in the middle of nowhere. The electricity bills needed to cool the place down to a reasonable temperature must be astronomical. Demetri feels like he’s in some anxiety-inducing fever dream, rushing around a strange, unfamiliar location and being utterly unable to find what he’s looking for.

Or at least he would feel that way if Eli wasn’t holding onto him like a damn lifeline once again.

That seems to be happening a lot lately. Demetri is not going to complain.

The hawk screech sounds again, louder and even more grating this time. Eli lets out a triumphant bellow and pulls Demetri down one last hallway. They burst into a sunlit room, panoramic window giving an excellent view of some distant, dusty mountains.

That isn’t what catches Eli’s attention, though.

The ceiling is spangled with hanging birds. Plastic and stuffed models alike are suspended by delicate wires, beaks parted and wings spread wide. Demetri looks up and sees everything from owls to eagles to ospreys to falcons to kestrels to grackles to woodpeckers to tiny doves and finches.

It’s like walking into an aviary where some all-powerful wizard has managed to freeze time.

And, of course, there’s no less than 3 different species of hawk. He braces himself to get a massive earful about each one.

Eli looks around—mouth hanging open, more than a little starstruck. He breaks into the biggest beam Demetri’s ever seen, so large that Demetri is honestly surprised his face can contain it.

He probably feels like he’s flying as much as the dangling birds are.

Demetri remembers the dumb bit from Titanic where Kate Winslet stands on the edge of the ship and excitedly tells Leo DiCaprio that she’s flying. Certainly not on the level of actually having wings, he’s sure, but still perhaps worth re-enacting if he and Eli ever find themselves on a boat. (And they live 30 minutes from the ocean—it’s not an outlandishly unlikely possibility.) Still something Eli might enjoy.

“Oh, dude!” Demetri is tugged across the floor as Eli points up at a mass of deep brown feathers tinged with reddish-orange. “They have Harris’s hawk here?! These fuckers are so cool. They hunt in packs. Imagine being lost in the desert and you finally see buildings in the distance and then you get mowed down by a hoard of these guys. It would suck, but it would be a sick way to go. And—oh, my god! They have these too?!”

Demetri can only follow as Eli’s attention is captured by another type of hawk. This one is a bit smaller, underbelly a brown-speckled white.

“I read about those,” Eli says importantly, pointing. “They actually pounce like cats. Like they’ll hide in the bushes and just explode out at you. It’s weird as hell. Pretty badass, though. Oh, shit, Demetri, look! These little fucks!”

Demetri barely has time to get a look at the strange pouncing raptor before Eli has already yanked him to the next one. It’s nearly identical to the last, but it’s the smallest yet—barely bigger than the jays that frequent his mom’s birdfeeder.

“I read somewhere the males help raise the chicks, but they’re deadbeat dads.” Eli sniggers. “They eat all the mouse heads before they even get back to the nest, and apparently that’s the best part. So they hog all the good shit for themselves and bring their kids a bunch of saggy leftovers. Birds can be dicks, man.”

“I don’t know.” Demetri nudges him playfully in the side. “Out of all the ones we’ve seen, that’s the one that reminds me most of you.”

Eli’s head shoots up to glare at him. “What the hell’s that supposed to mean?!”

“Well, he’s certainly small enough to be you. A tiny hawk that eats mouse heads—sounds about right.”

“Hey!” Eli lifts a leg and kicks his shin—soft, but firm. Enough to make him wince slightly, but not enough to stop his chortling. “You’re just mad I know more about raptors than you.”

“I promise you, I am not.” Despite himself, Demetri smiles. “I mean, don’t get me wrong. I am quite impressed. However, the fact that you’re some kind of amateur bird expert doesn’t exactly fill me with an envious rage.”

Eli smirks at him. “It will, after I tell you all the shit I know about gray hawks.”

Demetri chuckles. “All right, Professor Moskowitz, take it away.”

Their next stop is near the back corner of the room, underneath an admittedly very pretty bird. This hawk is a sleek silvery gray, belly interspersed with tiny white stripes. Eli is talking before they even arrive.

“—and the really cool thing is they’re actually super good at flying through trees, and sometimes they just snatch shit right off the branches. They basically only eat reptiles, and it’s fucking badass. Like they can eat fucking spiny lizards and somehow not like…gash up their throats at all? They’re going around swallowing the animal equivalent of spiked maces several times a day, and they don’t give a single shit about it. They can also catch fucking whipsnakes, and I mean, have you seen a whipsnake?! They’re fast as shit! And whipsnakes can eat rattlesnakes, it’s insane. And then a fucking gray hawk can swoop in and snatch them up like it’s nothing. I think they eat horned lizards too, and it’s like—”

Eli’s enthused presentation fades into the background as Demetri becomes acutely aware of something.

He’s fairly certain that not once since they stepped into this godforsakenly huge building has Eli let go of his hand.

Sure, having a grip on Demetri’s wrist was best for optimal yanking and making sure Demetri didn’t try to escape the onslaught of desert animal fun facts. Also ensuring they didn’t get separated in the oddly large crowd. The interesting part, however, is that somewhere in their jaunt around the nature center, Eli’s fingers have slid down to clasp Demetri’s.

Demetri wonders when it happened. Judging by how warm his hand feels, probably a while ago.

Strange that he didn’t notice. Demetri guesses it somehow felt so natural that when his synapses informed him of it, it only stayed for a moment before being casually dismissed. He didn’t even give it a second thought.

Demetri and Eli used to hold hands when they were much younger. In elementary school, it was one of the few ways to calm Eli down when he was on the edge of falling into a panic or succumbing to a meltdown. Sometimes when things got to be too stressful and overwhelming and Eli got caught up in his head, it helped to give him a concrete link to the physical world. It helped with the bullies, too—a small gesture of physical affection to remind him that even if no one else had his back, Demetri always would.

Perhaps it had been a little possessive, too. A way to assure that if someone came along, friend or foe, and tried to grab Eli Moskowitz away, there would be resistance.

Demetri smirks, amused by the memory. He imagines a younger version of himself shooting threatening glares at the kids who came anywhere near Eli.

He hadn’t trusted the lot of them. They were quick to feign friendliness and put a knife to your back. Nonetheless, he meant to send another message as well.

Find your own friend! This one’s mine!

Regardless, it currently seems that it also felt so natural to Eli that he either hadn’t noticed they were holding hands (and had been for some time now), or he was doing it on purpose. Demetri isn’t sure which possibility he likes better.

“Eli?” He breaks into a slow smile.

“—and they’re insanely good at what equates to like…bird air acrobatics, like they can swerve through basically anything and so even if you run into some really tangled thicket or whatever, you’re still probably fucked, and—yeah?” Eli cuts himself off to look at Demetri, eyes curious.

“Are you planning on letting go of my hand anytime soon?”

Brief terror flashes across Eli’s face, like he was hoping Demetri either wouldn’t notice or wouldn’t say anything. (No such luck.) It quickly fades, however, to be replaced by a sharp cunning Demetri didn’t expect.

“No.” He lowers his voice. “Because it’s really pissing off those people over there.”

His eyes surreptitiously flick to the side. Demetri glances over to see an elderly couple, looking to be plucked straight from a conservative Arizona retirement home and glowering at them like they just took a knife to the vitals of several children. He gives them the most pleasantly passive-aggressive smile he can manage. They scoff, in almost perfect we’ve-been-married-50-years type sync, and turn to study a nearby cactus wren display.

“So it is.” Demetri’s smile widens. “How long have they been watching us, exactly?”

“A while,” Eli says smugly, refusing to specify further. “I followed them over here. Thought I’d get our gay contaminants even closer to their Christian Family Values.”

Demetri chuckles. “That was a very good call.”

Eli’s eyes twinkle with mischief. “You know what would piss them off even more?”

“Do tell.”

Eli, apparently, would prefer to show. He stands on his toes, wrapping his free arm around Demetri’s neck and pressing their lips together.

He tastes like fast food hash browns, espresso, raptor trivia, and spite. He kisses hard—and Demetri knows he’s doing it to put on a show, but he can’t help but relish it anyway.

A little egotistical of him, maybe, but he likes to be shown off. Even if it’s only to stick it to a couple homophobes who look to have been around since the fall of the Roman Empire.

Demetri wraps his untethered arm around Eli’s waist, pulling him closer. If Eli wants to make this into an elaborate performance, far be it from him not to join in.

It’s honestly a shame his heart can’t run the infamous gym class mile in his place, with how fast it’s going right now. Its time would rival the cross country team captain’s.

He tilts down to dip Eli slightly, and the other boy leans into it. They move in the same unspoken sync they did at the Christmas house fight, the same sync that linked them at the hip for 10 years. It’s not difficult to feed off each other’s body signals, to move together like they’re one creature.

It’s something so integral to Demetri’s being that it nearly destroyed him when he lost it.

And now Eli Moskowitz might well destroy him again, by kissing him just a little too eagerly in the middle of a Sonoran desert nature center. Demetri wonders how many times it will have to happen before he gets a grip on himself.

Maybe he never will.

When Eli finally pulls away, his grin is blinding. The two of them turn to see the elderly couple now regarding them as though they set several orphanages ablaze. Eli beams at the pair, giving them a bird to go with the rest of the room. They storm toward the exit, the woman muttering something about how “there are children here.”

Ironic, really, given that the subjects of her grievances are far from legal adults themselves.

***

“Eli. Eli.”

Demetri receives no reply aside from continued huffs and pants.

“Eli, I am begging you to stop doing push-ups on my dashboard.”

“Absolutely not.” Eli puffs out the words in between heavy, overdramatic breaths. “How else am I supposed to get swole and land Mexican bitches?”

Demetri sighs. He tries to push away the part of his stomach that twists itself in a sad little knot.

“I really don’t think you should be basing your strategy to ‘land Mexican bitches’ off a lizard who lost the interest of both bitches he was attempting to land.”

Eli snorts. “Those bitches just had bad taste. I could find better ones in my sleep.”

Demetri rolls his eyes. Eli’s probably just messing with him, but he still feels a prickle of annoyance.

“Since when do you still care about this inane alpha male stuff again, anyways? I was really hoping you joining Miyagi Do meant Johnny Lawrence would stop rubbing off on you.”

“A guy’s gotta get laid, Demetri. And if we do it in Mexico, it’s no strings attached. Besides, I haven’t been in so long.”

Demetri wrinkles his nose. “You whiny baby. Just jack off like the rest of us. Look, a center of education is one thing, but I refuse to let us get off track on our very important rescue mission because you’re thinking with your dick.”

“You’re such a fucking nerd,” Eli sneers, although probably not with as much malice as he was hoping for.

“There, there.” Demetri takes a hand off the wheel to grab onto Eli’s ever-moving shoulder, giving it a couple squeezes. “I’m sure there will be plenty of time for acquiring ass after we make sure Miguel isn’t in mortal danger. We had our fun half an hour ago.” He gestures behind them. “The fun of a more…carnal nature we can save for later.”

“Get off, man! You’re messing up my rhythm!”

Eli roughly shakes his hand off, and Demetri sighs again.

“You’re ridiculous. You’re telling me that little make-out sesh we had in there didn’t tide you over at all?”

“Didn’t we establish that kind of thing doesn’t count?”

“As I recall, your qualification was ‘no witnesses.’ We had at least 20 in the bird room.”

Eli splutters, determined dashboard push-ups slowing for just a minute. “But I was just—I was trying to—fine! But it’s not the same as getting pussy.”

Demetri resists the urge to gag.

“You know, you don’t have to use all your ‘badass cool guy’ buzzwords here. It’s just me. You sound ridiculous when you say ‘getting pussy.’”

Although the push-ups start again, Eli seems genuinely crestfallen. This only makes Demetri more annoyed.

“I just figured while we’re here…” Eli starts, trailing off.

Demetri scoffs. “What, you think the locals are going to be racing to get a piece of the two California white boys who just rolled into town?”

“Maybe!” Eli snaps. “I don’t know. We might seem exotic or something. Or they could be impressed with the karate skills.”

“Look, while I’m sure not everyone in Mexico knows karate, I’d bet enough people do to make us not seem like much of a catch.”

“Do you always have to be like that?!”

“Like what?”

“Assuming the worst of everything!”

Somehow, no girls wanting to have sex with them in Mexico seems far from the worst-case scenario. In fact, Eli not getting naked with a member of the opposite sex for this entire trip is a scenario that brings Demetri more joy than it should.

I’m such a bad friend. Damn.

Demetri wished he knew why Eli was so hung up on girls. For the life of him, he couldn’t figure out what the big deal was. Exploring the female body was mildly interesting, but he couldn’t fathom how it could be such a potent motivator—especially after the lackluster way things had fizzled out with Yasmine.

Girls were fun, sure, and relaxing to spend time with after you’d been around a little too much testosterone. But it perplexed him how they were such an all-consuming force in so many guys’ minds.

“Ah, yes,” he says. “Contemplating us taking no sex stops on this trip truly is the worst-case scenario. Forget arriving in Mexico City and realizing that Miguel has been brainwashed and quickly risen the ranks of the local Mafia chapter and now has an ever-growing body count, Eli Moskowitz not getting laid would be a disaster.”

Eli scoffs. “I’m not just doing it to get laid, you know. I need to be in good shape to fight off Miguel’s dad’s goons. Or anyone who gives him trouble.”

Demetri frowns, feeling a sudden prick of dread. “You think Miguel’s dad is a big enough name in the crime world to have goons?”

“Any scary criminal worth half his shit has goons.” Eli scornfully growls the words as he continues to grind out an exercise routine the car is much too small for. “Sensei Kreese did. Heard he had guys pull sketchy shit with some land managers who tried to reclaim the dojo.”

Demetri winces. “Did we say 15% legal activities going on in that hellhole? Let’s bump it down to 10. Anyways.” He sighs. “If we’re going up against an entire army of goons, I don’t think a few car push-ups are going to make much difference. And no, I truly believe it will not get you laid, either.”

“Shut up,” Eli grumbles. Sadly, his push-ups still have not ceased. “It’s not like you’re any better than me. If you had a chance to get it on with some hot Mexican babe, I bet you’d take it.”

“Quit being gross.” Demetri reaches over and swats Eli’s shoulder. “And I mean that in more ways than one. You’re going to get sweat all over my mom’s car, and it already smells questionable enough from the remains of those nachos we spilled yesterday.”

“Oh, don��t worry. I accounted for that.”

The sound of push-ups—bless all the powers that be—finally ceases. Demetri hears a plastic rustling and glances over.

Eli is digging around in his footspace, brow furrowed slightly in concentration. He pulls out what appears to be a small paper cutout of a prickly pear cactus.

Demetri snorts in surprise. “Where did you get that?”

“At the gift shop,” Eli says airily. “When you weren’t looking.”

He tugs a wide string from the back and loops the trinket around the rear-view mirror. A tart, floral scent begins to fill the car.

“An air freshener?” Demetri tsks disapprovingly. “What, you think that gives you a free pass to dump perspiration and gas station food all over my seats? I’m still getting an earful from my mom, desert-flower-smelling car or not.”

“Sorry, I had to buy it.”

Demetri glances over to see Eli simpering in a very self-satisfied and aggravating way. “And why’s that?”

“Cactus Blossom’s the perfect air freshener for you,” Eli says smugly. “Because you’re such a dainty little flower, but you still somehow manage to be a total prick.”

Eli broke into snickers as Demetri’s fist collided with his shoulder. “You’re just mad ‘cause it’s true!” he cackled out.

“I am not a prick! Besides, cactuses are badass. They can go up to two years without hydration because their water storage is just that good.”

“Oh, I’m not denying that.” Demetri glances over to see Eli’s smirk hasn’t faded in the slightest. “It actually makes it all the more impressive that you manage to be this resilient, hardened drought-tolerant little shit, and you’re still somehow a total pansy.”

“My god. Why do I hang out with you?” Demetri shoots another punch into Eli’s shoulder, and his friend only laughs again.

“And you’re stuck with me all the way to Mexico City and back, babeyyyy!” To emphasize the direness of this situation, Eli slams both his hands into the dashboard and resumes his workout.

“I will throw you out of this car, Eli Moskowitz.”

“No, you won’t. You wouldn’t have anyone to tell you which of the snakes are venomous.”

Demetri lets out a long groan as huffs and pants once again fill the car. “Fine. Fine. You can stay. For now.”

***

SMH at Eli’s atrocious lizard identification skills, like that’s CLEARLY an ornate tree lizard??? Idiot

Disclaimer that I actually have no idea if ornate tree lizards are one of the species that do push-ups, but like. Something something Artistic Ecology License + Rule of Comedy has to trump accurate science sometimes

[lostinfantasyworlds]

HELLOOOO 🥳 I'M HERE TO ASK ABOUT LE WIP CHALLENGE GAME. Can you share with me more about:

The First and Last

If It Kills Me

Untitled Royal AU

🥰🥰🥰 (this is Fandom hahah)

HII @fandomobsessions016!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! ❤️❤️  (also sorry for taking so long to respond)

I answered asks about all three, but I'm happy to provide any extra tidbits I can think of!!

The First and Last - (Here is my introductory post about this fic that includes the summary, tags, and a snippet! and here is the previously answered ask for the WIP game that includes another snippet)

Even though I have about 30k words written, it’s all so rough and subject to change that I sadly don’t have any other snippets to share at the moment😭. But here’s a random list of some things you can expect to find in this fic (all between Inuyasha and Kagome):

Smoking weed together on a playground (late at night when no children are around lol) and reminiscing about old times

An impromptu heart-to-heart after Inuyasha discovers an emo song on Kagome’s iPod (the chapter takes place in 2008, when iPods were still a thing😂)

A flashback where 13-year-old Kagome gives Inuyasha a folded up note (yes, like this😆) with her AIM screen name written on it

A hot and heavy makeout session during a fireworks show

A drunken, silly-turned-romantic slow dance at a wedding

If It Kills Me - (Previously answered ask that includes the summary and tags can be found here!)

Honestly I can’t think of much else to say about this one because pretty much everything is spoilers 😂 I’m sorry! The only thing even mildy interesting I can think of to share is that this will actually be my first time writing Sesshomaru as a character into one of my stories. I am both excited and nervous lol. I might end up including a bit of SessKagu, but I haven’t pinned down what I want Kagura’s role to be yet, or if she’ll definitely even be in it at all.

Untitled Royal AU (Here’s where I introduced this fic, including a snippet)

For this one, I have another rough snippet! This actually picks up right where the snippet in the first post left off 🥰

Desperately seeking more, Inuyasha cast his tongue into her open mouth, his knees nearly buckling from the sound of her soft moan. Before he knew it, his hands were tangled in her hair and he was taking a few steps until her back met the rough stone wall. Her fingertips dug into his back even through the thick leather he wore, and they were both breathless within seconds, kissing as if the fate of the world depended on it.

It took far longer than it should have for reality to dawn on him, reminding him what he was doing there in the first place, who he was, why he had been keeping his distance. Abruptly releasing her, he took a frightened step back. 

Kagome looked a mess with her hair disheveled, her parted lips reddened from the bruising force of his kiss, and her chest heaving as she stared at him with wide eyes. It was the most beautiful, enticing sight he’d ever seen….and also made him realize just how much he’d screwed up.

“Fuck.” He took a couple more steps away from her, but this time she followed him. 

“Inu —”

“I — I shouldn’t have done that,” was all Inuyasha could manage before he turned around and fled like the coward he was, scared shitless by the intensity of the feelings that had just bubbled up within him, and the way he saw something similar reflected in her eyes. 

Thank you so much again for the ask @fandomobsessions016!! 😘

[just-random-smuts]

Library Fun

Warnings: Fingering in public, sir kink, this is my first smut

Here you go!!!

.

.

.

Shawn was pretty good at chemistry and that was the one subject which always pulled your GPA low. He had been a great friend to you since you met last year at an annual college fest, so it seemed like a nice idea to ask him for help. However, SPOILER ALERT, the outcome came out to be much better than expected.

You reached library around 9:15 and admired him as he sat on the secluded benches at the back of the library. "Sorry! Got a lil late, the guy working next shift came late."

"That's alright! Let's start?"

"Sure" you replied taking your textbook out from ur bag and placing it on ur lap.

The first hour passed by him teaching you some random reactions that you tried to take interest in. Although, his enchanting cologne, and oh-so-visible collar bone made it pretty difficult to concentrate on anything else. He noticed you staring at him a few times.

"Why don't you read this page out first and then we can discuss further?" He proposed.

You nodded and started to read just loud enough so that you both could hear.

Just as you were mid-way through, you felt Shawn's big hands drawing circles on your thigh slowly taking them up your skirt.

"Don't stop reading babe"

You nod and tried to continue reading but gasp again as he gripped your thigh tightly just near your panties.

He pushes your panties aside and let his fingers get soaked in your wetness.

"Are you sure it's chemistry that's going on in your mind? Cause i doubt that isn't what is making you so fucking wet."

Your cheeks go Cherry Red as you look at him staring down at you. "I didn't mean to... I was reading..."

"Issokay babe, I like it" he gives you a little smile that you had always swooned over. "Read the next page too", he commanded as he pressed two fingers against your entrance.

"Yes sir", you said showing him the most innocent expression.

He smirked and slowly pushed two of his long fingers inside you. Your pussy clenched and you tried to not stop reading.

He started pumping those fingers slow, gradually increasing the pace. Bending them inside you to hit the spot on your walls.

"Fuck Shawn!" You moaned feeling your orgasm build up.

"Don't you dare stop reading girl" he ordered. You tried to keep your eyes open and make sensible words from your mouth which only seemed to know how to moan at the moment.

"Are you close?" He asked as he realised the words that came out from your mouth now made no sense.

"Yess, fuck yess I am"

"Do you want me to let you cum?" He whispers to you, now nibbling on your earlobe.

"Yess please sir, let me cum. I am very close."

He doesn't say anything and continues to torture your pussy with his thumb now rubbing your clit."

"Please sir I would do anything you say! Please just let me cum" you beg again.

"Alright babe, cum for me. Cum all around my fingers."

You bite your lower lip and grab his thigh as you try to stay as quite as possible while you explode around his fingers.

*Hi everyone! This is my first smut, your suggestions and reviews would mean a lot. I am planning to continue this one and post a second part soon. Thank you soo much.*

[4stars-uswnt]

My Muse, My Valentine [Christen Press x Reader]

requested by anon: Not sure if you’re accepting any request but can you write a cp x photographer gf where her gf surprised her at man u, like her gf secretly transfer there to be with cp. Thanks

A/N: please ignore some of the inconsistencies this story has with reality :) but anyways... hope you enjoy and have a happy Valentine’s Day (tomorrow) and remember it’s a day about LOVE, whether that be romantic, platonic, familial, or self ❤️

“I’m gonna miss you,” you whine, as you watch your girlfriend pack her suitcase.

“I know, babe. I’m gonna miss you too, so much.” Christen leans down to quickly peck your lips, before continuing to fold her clothes.

You and Christen had been dating for almost three years now, having met after you’d photographed one of the USWNT’s matches. You instantly felt an attraction to the curly-haired forward, your camera always drifting towards her wherever she was on the pitch.

After you’d posted a couple of your photos on your Instagram, which Christen made a point to like and repost, you gathered up the courage to approach her after a game, and thus began your relationship.

With yours and Christen’s busy schedules, it was sometimes hard to find time for each other, but you made it work, sharing an apartment in Portland during the offseason and flying out for matches when you could. But being a sports photographer did have its benefits, as your work often led you to spending more time with your girlfriend and admiring her speed down the field and score goals.

But now, with the pandemic, as the NWSL was struggling to field games,  you found yourself with little work. Christen herself was not quite satisfied with the league’s plan for the season, so when Tobin proposed the idea of going to the WSL, she desperately wanted to, yearning to get back on the pitch.

At first, when Christen approached you with the subject, you immediately opposed, not wanting to be so far from your girlfriend for such a long amount of time. Additionally, with COVID, it would be nearly, if not completely, impossible for you to visit. But after a blowout fight and discussing it further, you realized that this is what would be best for Christen and her career.

“Do you have to go?” You pout, sitting up and moving to the end of the bed.

“You know I do, (Y/N/N).” Christen playfully rolls her eyes.

“Humph.”

“Babe, come on, don’t make me feel worse about leaving you.”

“Then don’t,” you quip, grabbing your girlfriend by the waist, pulling her down on the bed with you.

“Babe!” Christen squeals, as you blow raspberries into her skin.

You lift your head from the crook of her neck, your eyes locking with hers. “I know that you have to go,” you admit seriously. “Doesn’t mean I like it, but I know that this is what’s best for your career.”

“Thank you, (Y/N),” she says earnestly, giving you a small smile. “We’ll text and FaceTime everyday.”

“I’m holding you to that.” You cup her face and bring her in for a kiss, savoring the feeling of her soft lips on yours. “I also know that you’re gonna kill it over there in Manchester. The WSL isn’t gonna know what hit them.”

Christen ducks her bashfully, a small blush arising on her cheeks. “You know I love you, right?”

“Of course, Chris. I love you, too.”

“Good.” She gives you a quick peck, as she gets up from the bed. “Now, either quit bothering me or help me. My flight is early tomorrow morning, and I haven’t even finished packing.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

—————

It had been a little over five months since you’d dropped Christen off at the airport and she left for Manchester. Despite the constant texting and the nightly FaceTime calls, you couldn’t help but ache for your girlfriend. Without her, the apartment was lonelier and the bed felt bigger.

It had helped that your work had started back up, first with some freelance work and then with the NWSL fall series starting, which gave you something to do and kept you fairly busy.

Currently, you were sitting at the kitchen counter, sipping on a cup of coffee, as you edited some photos for the Thorns. Just as you were saving your work and closing Lightroom, about to shut your computer, a ping alerts a new email in your inbox.

Switching tabs, you notice the message is from an unfamiliar address, so you presume it’s a new client. You click and open it, your eyes widening, as you scan the email:

Ms. (Y/L/N),

I noticed your professional portfolio through many referrals, particularly your work form the World Cup. I am writing on behalf of the BBC News Media Centre, and we’re looking for an excellent sports photographer to join the team, specifically to cover the FA Women’s Super League and the Premier League.

Your experience is outstanding, adn your work speaks for itself. I think you’d be a great fit for this role, and I’d love to tell you more about it and hear more from you.

Would you like to set up a phone or Zoom call soon? If so, let me know when you’re available.

Best,

Charles Smith

Director of Media Relations at BBC Sport

You quickly reread the email, and then reread it again, just to make sure you’re not dreaming. This was too good to be true. But you shake yourself out of your stupor and quickly type out a response to set up a phone call as soon as possible.

After hitting send, you shut your computer with excitement and throw your hands up in the air.

“Yes!” You exclaim into the empty apartment, as you throw your fist in the air and jump off the barstool.

Knowing you needed to distract yourself, otherwise you’d just be staring at your computer, eagerly awaiting the response, you decided to go on a run.

Jogging through the city, you think of your girlfriend and your potential reunion if this job offer worked out. You decided that if you did in fact take this position, you’d surprise Christen at one of her matches, hopefully one that you’d be able to photograph.

As soon as you arrive back in your apartment, you make a beeline for your laptop. You anxiously open your inbox and beam when you see Charles had replied to set up a Zoom call at 9:30 tomorrow morning. You excitedly type out pleasantries, telling him you’re looking forward to it.

For the rest of the afternoon, you were in an increasingly good mood. So later that evening, when Christen called you for your routine FaceTime, she could tell something was up.

“Why do you keep smiling like that?”

“Can I not be happy to talk to my girlfriend?” You tease, a huge grin plastered onto your face.

“You can,” Christen trails off, not quite believing you. “But you have the weird giddy look you get when something’s up?”

“Nothing’s up. Just had a good day,” you shrug nonchalantly.

“Okay,” the forward accepts, still eyeing you suspiciously. “Anyways, you know She Believes is in a couple weeks, are you working the tournament?”

“Yup,” you nod and make a mental note to mention that to Charles tomorrow.

The two of you continue updating each other, chatting about topics ranging from what you had for breakfast that day to re-inc’s upcoming drop.

“Alright,” Christen yawns. “I think I’m gonna call it a night.”

You check your phone and see it’s 5:37 pm, meaning it’s almost midnight in Manchester.

“Okay,” your eyes softening at the sight of your sleepy girlfriend. “Good night, Chris. I love you.”

“Love you, too, babe. G’night.”

After ending the call and shutting your laptop, you head into the kitchen to make some dinner for yourself, getting on with your evening.

—————

The next morning, you anxiously await for Charles to begin the Zoom call, nervously bouncing your knee and biting your lip.

“Hi, (Y/N),” Charles greets, his face appearing on your screen.

“Good morning. Or rather good afternoon?” You correct with a light chuckle, to which he reciprocates.

“Well, as you know from my email, we are looking for a photographer to join our team, and from many referrals, you seem to be a very good candidate,

“So, I was thinking maybe we could look at your portfolio really quickly and then hash out the logistics to see if this is something that could work out.”

“Sounds good,” you agree, as you pull up some of your best pictures and share your screen.

The two of you look through your photos, many from the 2019 World Cup, some of the Olympics, and a few from random NWSL games.

“Well, (Y/N), your work is quite impressive. If you’re ready, and you’re seriously interested in this position, we can talk specifics, scheduling, all that good stuff,” Charles offers.

“I’m definitely interested, but can I just preface by saying that my girlfriend is a major part of this decision, so depending on what she wants to do at the end of the season will impact my contract.”

“Oh?” He raises his eyebrows, clearly not expecting your candor. “Your girlfriend plays in the WSL?”

“Yeah, well, technically only for this season. Her contract is up in May,” you explain.  

“(Y/N), to be completely frank, we’re looking to hire because a couple of our photographers had some personal issues due to COVID and had to leave mid-season,” Charles reveals. “So if it turns out that your girlfriend wants to go back to the NWSL, then we can work that out. And if she wants to stay, and you end up liking it here and you fit in well, we can also work that out. We’re pretty flexible.”

You sigh in relief, giving him a small smile. “Wow, thank you so much. So what would my contract look like?”

“Well, we can sign you to three month contract with the option for extension,” he offers, as you nod along enthusiastically.

“That sounds great,” you exclaim, beaming. “And just to let you know, I’ve already signed on to work the She Believes tournament from the 18th to the 21st.”

“That actually aligns with the WSL’s international break, and there are a couple Premier League matches that weekend, but I think we can manage, so that shouldn’t be an issue.”

“You guys are too kind and so flexible. I really appreciate it so much,” you say earnestly.

“It’s really just us being desperate for a good photographer,” Charles jokes.

“Either way, I’m grateful for this opportunity.”

“We’re excited for you to join our team,” he reciprocates. “So, in terms of when you’ll begin, I honestly would like you to come over as soon as possible so that you can get settled and get acclimated.”

“I am honestly ready to start whenever you’ll have me.”

“How about next week? The Manchester Derby is on Friday, and honestly, given your portfolio, I’d love you to photograph that match,” the British man admits.

“That’s perfect!” You were in complete awe of how perfectly everything was working out. Photographing a Man United match as your first job meant you could surprise Christen, maybe as an early Valentine’s gift.

“Great,” Charles smiles.

The two of you discuss and finalize your contract and the logistics of you starting the job. Once everything’s settled and you each have the information you need, you wrap up the call.

“Well, thank you so much, Charles, for this offer, and I can’t wait to see you next Tuesday.”

“I can’t wait to work with you and meet you. See you next week. Cheers.”

After ending the Zoom call, you begin to make a COVID test appointment, book your flight, and arrange your hotel room for the few days that Christen doesn’t know you’re there, preparing yourself for moving across the world.

—————

After landing in London, getting settled into your hotel, and meeting with the BBC team and the other photographers, you were now on your way to the Manchester Derby.

In the back of the black cab, you pull out your phone to text a good luck text to Christen.

It was difficult to keep your surprise a secret, especially when you were actually in England, because it was much more difficult to FaceTime without her noticing your change in setting. You had to make up the excuse that you were swarmed with editing and preparing for the upcoming Thorns trainings.

As you pull up to the Academy Stadium, you hear your phone ding.

Chris ❤️

Thanks babe. Miss and love you 😘

You quickly type out a response, before heading into the building.

(Y/N/N) 💗

Love you too. I miss u too but go kick butt.

The match was exhilarating. Not only were you a sports photographer, but you were also a huge fan of the game, enjoying a good game when you see one.

You watched in awe, the level and style of play significantly different from than NWSL. While snapping hundreds of photos of both teams, your camera would always somehow land back on your girlfriend.

Your heart ached for the curly-haired forward, as you missed her dearly. Until you saw her back on the pitch, you hadn’t really realized that you missed watching her play the game that she’d mastered, her movements around the pitch and on the ball effortless and elegant.

As the ref blew the whistle, signaling the end of the half, you scroll through some of the photos you’d taken, deleting some of the blurry and unfocussed ones.

A smile immediately forms on your face when you see a picture of Christen during warmups with a huge grin on her face. You spend all of halftime editing said photo and putting together an Instagram post for your girlfriend.

About fifteen minutes later, the teams take the pitch and you go back to doing your job. Throughout the second half, you could tell that Christen was getting increasingly frustrated, her team getting down 3-0 with only about five minutes left.

You watch as the players high five and hug each other, and you want nothing more than to run onto the field to be with your girlfriend, but you had a plan to stick to.

As the team goes back into the locker room, you pull out your phone to post a photo on Instagram and then you shoot a quick text to Tobin:

(Y/N)🤓:

toby go check out my ig post :))

Back in the Man United locker room, after Casey went through her post match speech, Tobin checks her phone and sees a text from you. The injured forward playfully rolls her eyes at your message but follows your directions.

Upon opening the social media app, Tobin raises her eyebrows, her eyes widening. She glances across the room to see if her best friend had seen your post, but Christen was minding her own business, changing into sweats after her shower.

“Chris!” The older forward calls over to the other woman. “Have you seen your girlfriend’s Instagram post?”

Christen furrows her brows in confusion. “What? No, what is it?”

Tobin waves her friend over and shows her the post:

Liked by mrapinoe, ashlynharris24, and 638,231 others

yourusername: My muse, my valentine.

“As I sat and looked at her

and the rolling hills she sat upon

I thought,

what amazing luck I have

that the world had created

such beautiful things

and given me the eyes to see them.”

- atticus

tagged: christenpress

- - - - -

mrapinoe: Stunning pictures, (Y/N). Love you guys 💖

alikrieger: These photos are 🔥🔥🔥🔥

alexmorgan13: love this 😍😍

cdunn19: Beautiful!

glennondoyle: Love love love love this!!

ashlynharris24: Holy shit! Are you in Manchester????

↳lavellerose: Was this today??

↳sammymewyy: Oh my gosh it was!

↳kellyohara: Valentine’s Day surprise for Pressy?? 👀

Christen zooms in on the photo in the center, her eyes widening when she realizes that it is from today’s match.

“How did she get that picture?”

Tobin mentally slaps her forehead at her friend’s denseness. “Knowing (Y/N), she probably took it.”

“But that’s impossible. She’s in the States,” Christen states and shakes her head, dumbfounded.

“Actually,” you speak up, stepping into the locker room, deciding to make your presence known. “I’m right here.”

“(Y/N)?” Your girlfriend looks up at you, her mind in a state of shock.

“Hey, love,” you greet shyly.

Once her mind caught up with reality, Christen runs and jumps into your body, kissing you passionately but briefly and wrapping you into a bone crushing hug.

“I can’t believe your here,” she whispers into your neck. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too, babe, so much.”

Unwrapping herself from the hug, Christen stares at you in awe. “What… how are you here?”

“We can talk about that later,” you give her another quick kiss. “But right now, I just wanna spend time with you. Maybe we can grab some dinner? You can show me around Manchester, considering I’m gonna be spending a lot of time here.”

Your girlfriend looks at you puzzled, but you just give her a wink with a small smirk on your face.

“Well, c’mon lets get out of here.”

—————

Back at Christen’s apartment, the two of you sit down for a nice and casual, but romantic, dinner you’d prepared along with a bottle of red wine.

After catching up, the forward finally decides to address the elephant in the room. “So how are you here? What’s going on, (Y/N/N)? You said earlier that you’d be spending a lot of time in Manchester, what does that mean? I’m so confused. Not that I’m grateful that you’re here right now and that I get to see you, but I thought you were working She Believes, and—“

“Chris,” you cut off your girlfriend’s endearing rambling. “Babe, you’re rambling.”

“Sorry,” she blushes, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

“I got a job with BBC Sport till the end of the season,” you answer her parade of questions.

“Does that mean what I think it does?”

You nod, while taking a sip of your water. “It means I’m yours if you’ll have me.”

Not having the adequate words to express her joy and excitement, Christen gets up from her chair, walks over to sit in your lap, and connects you lips for a searing kiss.

“I can’t believe you,” she breathes, rubbing her nose against yours. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” you quickly peck her lips while rubbing circles on her hip. “But as much as I love you and all this romance, we gotta get going soon.”

Your girlfriend tilts her head in confusion.

“Do the words ‘She Believes’ ring a bell?” You tease. “If I remember correctly, our flight leaves in a couple hours.”

“You’re coming with me?” Christen asks, her brain trying to wrap around the fact that her girlfriend, who she hadn’t seen in almost five months, would now be living with her in England and flying back to the States with her for the next week.

“Of course, Chris,” you give her a cheeky smile, along with a kiss to her nose, as you quote a book Becky had convinced the whole team to read. “You should know by now that I’d follow you anywhere. You’re the only good thing left in this world.”

[lord-of-christmas-lights]

I could post regular Narnia headcanons...

Or I could post the continuation of this post and go into depth about how Eustace and Caspian are affected by deity Narnia. Welcome back to Inhuman Narnia 101 and it turned out just as long as the first one so buckle up.

Check out this post by @dorianviolet for another awesome version of Inhuman AU Caspian

Warnings for slight body horror mentions including blood magic stuff, slight religious themes and theological discussion towards the end.

Before anything: This AU directly contradicts canon a lot. I don't care, that's why it's called an AU. Some of it is deliberate, some of it is accidental. I haven't read the books in a number of years, so this is all based on the movies and general information I've picked up from fanfic and tumblr. Discussion on this post is welcomed, criticism and arguments are not. Thank you.

First off, here is the link to an exploration of Dragoning, the Eustace-centric fic I wrote about this. I refer to it repeatedly in this post so if you want the full thing, there it is.

Second, let's get into this. So in my last post, I talked a lot about Narnia, her general existence in this AU, and her motivations as a character. She wants the people in her world to be a part of her, and no one else. Some of this is a conscious choice, and some of it isn't. Eustace's changes throughout his time in VOTDT are definitely not purposeful. It was his greed that drove him to the treasure, it was his own "curse" in becoming a dragon. That was not Narnia reaching out to him and purposefully trying to mold him to her world. As such, he takes on more of an observing role.

Eustace doesn't ever actually directly address his cousins on the subject of their inhumanity, in this fic or in any other I write. He simply sees it, notes it happening, and moves on. Even in the sections in my fics where the subject of inhumanity in general is brought up between Eustace and one of his cousins, it's always about Caspian, the greater Narnian world, or himself.

"Eustace asks why, and Lucy answers. Narnia changes people, she says. It happens to everyone, but the closer you are to her Heart, the greater it is. I don't know where Dragons are. Perhaps closer than we realized. It's exhilarating, isn't it? Aslan will return us to normal though, at the end of our journey." - AEOD

I don't know why, but I don't like the idea of Eustace trying to directly address the Pevensie brand of inhumanity. That line above takes place after his UnDragoning, after the way he sees things has changed, and I see it as him asking what exactly has changed, you know, why are Dragons different than boys?

That brings me to how Eustace himself changes. Now, if he hadn't gone and turned into a Dragon, I imagine Narnia wouldn't have taken much note of him. He's a random human, stuck-up, not at all in line for ruling her lands, and just kind of exists without much else going on. She still would have affected him a little, as she does to all humans in her world but it would have been almost entirely spiritual with no physical changes. And then we got the greatest fuck around and find out scene ever. He becomes a Dragon.

I love dragons, always have, I have a very deep spiritual connection to these creatures, and as such, I have gone all out on worldbuilding for Narnian Dragons. Again, the quote from AEOD, "...the closer you are to her Heart, the greater it is. I don't know where Dragons are. Perhaps closer than we realized." In the Inhuman AU, Dragons were the first creatures Narnia (the deity) and Aslan made when they created Narnia (the world). They just really liked the dragon shape from other worlds and thought, "Hey wouldn't it be cool if our world was populated by these big fire-breathing lizards?" Now I don't actually remember how often Dragons are mentioned and/or featured in the books so I'm going with my idea that Dragons are a somewhat rare but not extinct species. They have to be created through magical means, often through physical transformation of people or objects, though there are a few known cases of natural-born Narnian Dragons. Eustace's creation was the curse on the treasure, though I don't see his Dragoning as a curse itself. As in, the curse isn't in the being a Dragon, it's in how the Dragon was created. So, Eustace experiences this accidental change into a creature that's closer to Narnia's Heart than pretty much any other being in Narnia. They were her first creations, forged from the fire in the Stars, and they are the closest to her magic. And that gets her attention.

Now, if you went and read AEOD, you'll have noticed that one of Eustace's biggest changes (aside from the obvious physical ones) is his vision. This is just a natural thing for Dragons, they are far more in tune with magic and the earth and everything than everyone else, but Narnia's special interest in him definitely amplifies the hell out of his magic sense.

"The people here say dragons see the oddest of things, and he has to assume it's a hallucination....He refuses to give into its whims, reminds himself it's just his imagination. Until Reepicheep comments on it." - AEOD. Following this quote, Reepicheep mentions to Lucy that her inhumanity is returning faster than Edmund's and Eustace has a total panic attack at the idea that what he's seeing is real. He sees what everyone else does, Lucy's stained fingers and Edmund's ability to manipulate words, but he also notices stuff no one else does like the stars in Edmund's throat and the echoes that follow Lucy's words. This is further cemented after his UnDragoning, where the extra stuff he perceived has vanished. Now the general idea in this AU is that the closer to Narnia's Heart you are, the more you know and perceive. Everyone can see some of the more obvious inhuman aspects of the Pevensies, but there are things that only Dragons, druids, Stars, and some other magic folk really close to Narnia's Heart see. I'm not going to get into an exact chart of what certain characters can and cannot see because that can change over time and such and I'd rather leave it mostly up to personal interpretation on what other characters do and do not perceive about the Pevensies and other such inhuman characters.

(Side note—I had to pause in the writing of this post here to go to my second meeting for an autism assessment and I think if I just showed the doctor my notes app and the inhuman/dark fantasy narnia tag on my blog, I'd get the diagnosis instantly lol) So anyways, Narnia senses Eustace becoming a Dragon and is like "Ooohoo what's this?" and starts sort of digging into him in the same way she does to her Kings and Queens. This triggers his already enhanced perception of Narnia (the world) to get even stronger, and this is when he starts seeing stuff like people's souls, Caspian's second heart (more on that soon), and looking at Lucy/Edmund/Lilliandil becomes almost painful because Narnia's magic is so bright in them. Aslan then UnDragons him, which Narnia really doesn't like btw, and Eustace is back to being a fairly average human.

This is where stuff established in AEOD ends.

Now I have so many ideas and half finished fanfics written out in my notes app about Eustace, UnDragoning, and inhumanity and it would be impossible to cover them all here, so I'm just going to go with the highlights. One of my favorite ones is the idea that after Eustace's UnDragoning, he still feels very connected to being a dragon. He's had this taste of pure inhumanity, and something like that doesn't just leave a person. There's a fic I read once long before I was fully invested in this fandom about Eustace and draconity that I will never stop thinking about and was actually the reason I started considering Eustace and Narnian Dragons in this AU. One of the really important things to note is that once a Dragon is created, they can never be uncreated. They can be UnDragoned, where their physical form is returned to whatever it was before their Dragoning (a rock, a talisman, a faun, etc) but their soul has changed on a fundamental level to that of a Dragon. Now for Eustace in my Inhuman AU, this manifests spiritually as a deep longing to return to being a Dragon. Physically, he experiences fun side effects like increased heat tolerance, nails that grow faster than normal, and because Narnia likes to meddle, a single ridge of scales along his spine. In some versions of my drafts, he stays at the end of VOTDT and experiences a slow Dragoning because Narnia's influence on him is that strong, other versions he stays but never quite returns to the Dragon he was before, and in yet other versions, he returns to England and loses that connection enough that physically, he will never be a Dragon again. As I said, Narnia is fascinated by him, she's never really had a human Dragon before, but he is still just a random guy who happens to be related to the Pevensies and as such, she doesn't invest as much time or magic into his inhumanity.

So that's Eustace. This is already such a long post but I promised to talk about both him and Caspian so here we go.

Now, in my last post I talked a bit about how Narnia (the deity) affects the other humans in Narnia (the world) to an extent, but it's nowhere near the amount she does to her Kings and Queens, and also this diminishes more and more the farther you get from Narnia (the country). Telmar is fairly close to Narnia (the country) but as we see in PC, a lot of Narnia's magic and spirit has been diminished by the time Caspian is born. Up until the awakening of the land during the battle, Caspian is essentially 100% human. However, this changes very quickly.

It's hard to pinpoint the exact moment Caspian becomes a King of Narnia. Is it when he refuses to kill Miraz? Is it when Aslan tells him he's one? Is it during his actual coronation? Yes, yes, and yes. I try not to pin it down to an exact moment. By the end of PC though, he's definitely noticing some changes in himself. I have an unpublished part 2 to an exploration of Inhumanity (my only other actually posted fic on this stuff) that I swear I will clean up and get posted soon that goes into further detail on the changes he's noticing at the end of AEOI. Some of the big ones include a second golden heart, seeing some of the life magic in the world around him, and a golden glow on his palms. He also slowly develops the ability to heal, though it's not always consistent. Magic takes practice, lots and lots of practice. In pt 2, the glow on his palms has gotten so bright and also spread around his head like a halo, and Lucy shows him how to conceal it so he's not impossible to look at, but because of Magic™ there's still a dusting of golden powdery stuff across his skin. His blood turns golden because Ben Barnes + golden blood is such pretty imagery, and like the others, it gets sucked down and absorbed into Narnia's Heart when he bleeds in battle. Also when I say he's got a second heart I mean he's got a second fucking heart. Ribcage shift and all. (His appearance doesn't actually change, it's more like a pocket dimension thing going on inside him, but he sure as hell can feel it happening). Having Narnia as a patron goddess just means you have to put up with a second puberty sometimes lol.

Anyways, there's a line in AEOI that I feel explains this stuff really well. "He cannot truly protect the land without becoming a part of it himself." Narnia changes her Kings and Queens because she wants them to be a part of her. Aslan doesn't really see these changes as necessary (in canon, a world without deity Narnia, they don't happen), and if the storyline we pick is the one that's the constant cycle of humanity and inhumanity, it's sort of a push and pull between them. Aslan wants the Pevensies, and by proxy anyone else who rules Narnia or experiences these changes, to keep their humanity, to stay as they were Created by him. Narnia, however, wants them to be as much a part of her as she is of them. It's very clear in both the books and the movies that Narnia (the world) is where these characters belong. In the end, they all come home to her (yes, Susan too because fuck Mr. Clive Staples Lewis). Caspian being anything less than fully inhuman is something she cannot handle. She is constantly having to recreate the Pevensies, reestablish her hold on them, only to have them return to England and become mostly human again. Caspian cannot be taken away from her, he is in this world by birth and she is going to do everything she can to shape him into the ruler he needs to be.

Once again, I would like to state that Aslan and Narnia are not opposing sides of good and evil. Gods cannot be defined by human standards, and to think either Narnia or Aslan completely in the right or wrong in this AU would be, well, an interesting standpoint, but really not the one I'm going for here. I'm not going to say it's a misinterpretation, I am very open to hearing people's thoughts on this AU, and everyone's going to see things differently. Just, please reread what I've written about them before you start making that argument.

Anyways, that wraps this post up because I have spent the better part of the past 6 hours writing this. I spent way more time on Eustace than I intended but it's just so fascinating to think about inhumanity from his perspective considering he's the only one in canon that actually was (briefly) inhuman. Again, if you got this far, congratulations! If you use any of my ideas mentioned here, please tag me, I am so starved for inhuman Narnia content lol.