#bc lol the master wanted that So Much and it didn't work!!!! he tried so hard and failed

[ssaalexblake]

the missy saying to Clara in that dalek cave that a hopeless doctor would burn them all to dhawan!master mentally torturing thirteen and dragging her down further and further into her own trauma that she’d deliberately burn them all out of hopelessness pipeline 

[skiller0dani]

Secrets | Sebastian Sallow

M A S T E R L I S T Other Masterlist Harry Potter Masterlist

smut | shy!hufflepuff!reader requests info w.c | 7.3k summary | You had a crush on Garreth before you started dating Sebastian, and neither of them can stand the other. Garreth can't accept the fact that you're in love with Sebastian, and Sebastian can't stand the fact that Garreth won't let you go.

Am working on requests now, keep an eye out for them! :) I know I posted this photo recently but Sebastian looks so enamored in this photo, I'm obsessed. You aren't the MC from Hogwarts Legacy in this, and I'll most likely refer to the MC as 'MC' lol

As I'm writing this, I realized this could easily become another mini-series lmao, all of my ideas are so elaborate.

Also just bc I forgot to mention this earlier, I would happily write for Garreth Weasley as well! He's featured pretty heavily in this piece.

Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

You were never one for danger, never one to put yourself unnecessarily in harms way. You don't like dangerous activities and much preferred to keep your head down so you could focus on your studies. You spent 5 Years at Hogwarts doing just that- being a good student and mastering your spells to pass your O.W.L's. You had always know of Sebastian through your friend Ominis, but never spent much time with him until the end of 5th Year. You're not quite sure what had happened during 5th Year with that new student, but you knew that Sebastian suddenly found himself all alone. Abandoned by Ominis- who was quite cross with him, and that new 5th Year you knew nothing about. You pitied him, so you begun to spend time with him. You couldn't stand the thought of him being all alone. Especially with his sister still sick, though you weren't sure with what.

Sebastian very quickly became attached to you, and that attachment turned to possession. He didn't mean to come across as overbearing and possessive, but he couldn't help it. You're gorgeous, easily the most beautiful girl in the entire school. You were kind, the way Hufflepuff's usually were, and you had this magnetic aura. People were drawn to you, you were never seen in the hallways alone. You had a lot of friends, and more than that you got a lot of attention from other guys. It drove Sebastian fucking crazy to see them trail after you, their eyes shamelessly gawking at what was rightfully his. Truthfully, you weren't technically his until halfway through 6th Year but Sebastian knew from the first second he saw you that you were going to be his.

Sebastian didn't mean to scare you away, but at first he did. You were very timid, tended to shy away from conflict. Flinched when someone rose their voice at you, and unfortunately you tended to be a people pleaser. You would often agree to things you weren't particularly comfortable if someone asked you to do it nicely enough. Sebastian worried that people took advantage of your giving heart, and that caused him to come on kind of strong. He's extremely protective, and once again his possessiveness overwhelmed you. Sebastian quickly realized that if he wanted you, he needed to soften up a bit. He kept his heated glares directed at those who wanted to use you, and his loving smiles for only you.

It was easy for you to let Sebastian into your heart, once he stopped being so overbearing. Stopped with his 'who was that guy I saw you with yesterday?' interrogations. He's charming, funny, charismatic, and kindhearted. There was a darkness to him though, you could feel it. A dangerous edge that he tried very hard to keep tucked away, like a wolf trying desperately to fit into sheep's clothing. He didn't want to scare you, and he would never ever hurt you. He'd never use any of the curses on you- though it was tempting to Imperio you and keep you all to himself. He knows though, that you'd never forgive him if he did that. That you'd be scared of him if he did- you made him want to be better.

Sebastian had nobody else, all he had was you. Anne left and didn't bother telling him where she went, Ominis was so angry he avoided Sebastian like the plague. His new friend from 5th Year had sided with Anne and Ominis, so he saw the two of them together a lot. You were the only good thing in his life, the only person who hadn't turned their back on him. Granted- you had no idea what he did 5th Year, if you knew he murdered his Uncle...he doubts you'd still stand by his side. Which is why Sebastian was so possessive, so overbearing, borderline controlling. He was terrified you'd find out, scared Ominis would mention something. That MC would pull you aside and tell you what he'd done. He hardly let you out of his sight. If you didn't love Sebastian so much, you might of had enough sense to be frightened.

Sebastian tried to be a good person, the way you would want him to be. But he let the Dark Arts into his heart, and slowly it was poisoning his soul. He knew it, he could feel it in the way his palms twitched when he saw Leander or Garreth walking with you to the Great Hall, making you laugh and their eyes drifting to where they shouldn't be. If he saw Garreth glance down your shirt again he was going to be itching for blood. Sebastian was never like this before, always more mischievous than dangerous- but he changed after 5th Year. If he could change back he would, but it's too late for that now. All Sebastian wanted to do now was make sure that what was his stayed his.

Garreth had always been a good friend of yours, often having you try out his concoctions he brewed. He never asked for your help making them however, he said he couldn't risk getting you into trouble. He was funny, and you previously had a crush on him before you begun dating Sebastian. As soon as Sebastian came into your life, no other guys mattered anymore. All that mattered was Sebastian, he had you. Mind, body, and soul. Which is why it baffled you that he got jealous so often, why he felt the need to throw an arm over your shoulders and pull you firmly against him if you were with another guy for too long. Doesn't he know that no other guy could steal you away from him? That you're his? That you love him and him alone? There was something he wasn't telling you, something that made him afraid of losing you. You wished he would tell you what it was, but you doubt he ever would. You're pretty sure it has to do with Anne, which is why you haven't pressed him to tell you about it.

You also worried he knew of your previous crush on Garreth, Sebastian has always been more hostile with Garreth than the other guys who normally lingered around you.

"Haven't decided on a name quite yet...but it's just about finished! Want to try it?" Garreth asked you, he caught you walking from Potions to Divination. You weren't actively avoiding Garreth, you honestly missed hanging out with him. You were just worried about Sebastian seeing you.

"I'd love to!" You beamed, taking a sip. The flavor was sweet, but quickly shifted and tasted like...your Mother's chicken dumpling soup.

"It tastes like whatever you're craving! Neat huh?" Garreth smiled, and honestly if Garreth decided to sell these concoctions of his some day...he could make a lot of money.

"That's really cool Garreth! Wait, where did you get the ingredients for this?" You questioned suspiciously, Garreth throwing you a playful smile.

"That's need-to-know information I'm afraid, can't be giving away all my secrets now can I?" He teases, a glint in his eyes you don't recognize.

"You stole from Honeydukes didn't you?" You place your hands on your hips, giving him your best 'disapproving stare'. Garreth always thought you were too cute to take seriously, much to your dismay.

"I didn't steal from Honeydukes. Somebody did, but it definitely wasn't me." Garreth winked at you, and you laughed. You should have been paying more attention to your surroundings because before you can process what's happening you feel an arm over your body. You're yanked firmly against Sebastian's side, his arm pressing you tightly against him. He's grown since 5th Year as well, and you unfortunately haven't grown much at all. You crane your head to look up at him now, which is why the very top of your head barely reaches the bridge of his nose. Garreth however, stands eye-to-eye with Sebastian.

"Weasley, don't you have a potion to blow up elsewhere?" Sebastian snaps, his eyes narrowed. His grip on you is firm, but it doesn't hurt. You can sense tension, and you detest conflict. You try to melt into Sebastian's side, your hand curling around his robes as you turn your face into his shoulder. Sebastian can feel you trying to hide, and it makes pride swell in his chest to know that you're pressing yourself against him and not Garreth.

"Easy there Sallow, you don't want to scare her." Garreth fires back, he's always protested your relationship with Sebastian. He's worried Sebastian is manipulating you, that he's controlling you. You've tried to reassure him that isn't true, that Sebastian just loves you too much to lose you. He's never believed you.

"Who say's I'm the one scaring her?" Sebastian snaps, you can feel the tension rising. Soon enough, there will be a full on duel happening in the hallway. You wished you could speak up, tell them to stop, but you can't seem to find your voice. All you can do is tremble and hold onto Sebastian, he makes you feel safe.

"We were having a fine conversation before you interrupted Sallow, can't tell when you're not needed can you?" Garreth was pushing him on purpose, he can't help it. Doesn't Sebastian know that it was you and Garreth long before you ever even knew Sebastian? Garreth knows you've made your choice, and yes it stings that it wasn't him, but that doesn't mean he has to approve of you you've chosen to give yourself to. Sebastian feel rage flare up in his chest as he takes a step towards Garreth, his arm still firmly around your shoulders. You were his. He would happily fight anybody to prove that.

"P-Please stop..." You whisper, your voice shaking. You weren't scared of either of them but you've always been scared of yelling and fighting. Ever since you had to endure listening to your drunk Father become enraged at a moments notice and start hurling objects at your poor Mother.

"Not needed? Does it look like she doesn't need me?" Sebastian seethes, and Garreth clenches his jaw. You had turned your entire body into Sebastian's side by now. Your face pressing into his shoulder and his arm curling around your back. You just wanted them to stop, you wanted the fighting to stop.

"Seb please, let's just go." You whisper to him, but Sebastian isn't listening. Garreth won't take his eyes off you, and it's starting to piss Sebastian off.

"She sure as hell didn't need you before, she has me. I can take care of her just fine without your help, Sallow." Garreth shrugs casually, sending you another wink. Why won't he stop pushing Sebastian? Why won't Sebastian listen to you and just walk away?

"It's not your job to take care of her, she chose me." Sebastian's eyes were sharp as knives by now. His left fist beginning to curl, and his chest heaving. His jaw was locked, and you could feel his entire body thrumming with adrenaline.

"She chose wrong, and I will spend every second of every day proving that to her. Why do you think she sneaks away to be with me?" Garreth pushes, taking a step forward. Sebastian pulls his arm from you and moves you behind him. Their chests are nearly pushed together as they glare at each other. You do sort of sneak away to hang out with Garreth, but not because you still have feelings for him! Only because you know that this is how Sebastian reacts every single time you're within 10 feet of Garreth.

While Sebastian has never caught you doing anything with Garreth other than talking, he still has a point. You haven't stopped hanging out with Garreth even though Sebastian has practically pleaded you to. Deep down he knows that asking you to drop your closest friend since 1st Year isn't fair, but he knows that Garreth is in love with you. He doubts you know that, but he does. He can see it in the way Garreth looks at you.

"She loves me." Sebastian fires back, though he's trying to convince himself that more than Garreth.

"For now." Garreth says with a sly smile. Your hands are curled around Sebastian's robes, and you're standing close enough to feel the heat of his body. You can see that look in Sebastian's eyes, you can see that he's losing the ability to restrain himself. You don't want to hurt Garreth, but you love Sebastian. You need him to know that because through the anger you can see insecurity, the gnawing fear that Garreth is right.

"I love you Sebastian, can we please go? Please?" Your voice is so small, but this time he actually listens. He releases an angry breath, turning and pulling you against his side once more. Garreth feels anger pulsing through his body, how could you choose Sebastian fucking Sallow over him? He's dangerous, and Garreth is determined to prove that to you.

"Don't forget Sallow, she loved me before she loved you. She still loves me, she just doesn't realize it yet." With that Garreth is slamming the doors leading to the Grand Staircase open, and you flinch at the force. You're trembling and Sebastian feels guilty once the flare of anger has faded.

"Don't worry, everything is alright dove." Sebastian soothes, pulling you against his chest and pressing kisses to your hairline. You feel the fear flow out of you as you nuzzle against his chest. You've never felt safer with another human being...besides Garreth. You try to push him out of your mind, but he's always lingered. But you still love Sebastian, and you will always choose Sebastian.

"I'm sorry." You mumble against his chest, you know how Garreth makes him feel but you don't want to lose your friendship with him. You feel torn.

"It's okay- we're okay sweetheart. I'm not angry with you." He whispers, tilting your chin up to kiss you. It's languid and slow, it makes your insides melt. Your entire body is tingling when he pulls away, a knowing smile on his face. You and Sebastian haven't slept together yet, and the entire idea of it still makes you feel very shy. You're comfortable with Sebastian, and you know you want to. You just don't know how to bring that up with him... or if you're even ready to yet.

"I don't want to be late." You whisper, knowing that Divination is going to start soon.

"Then I shall escort you there with haste, my lady." Sebastian says, using a silly voice to make you laugh.

Garreth knew there was something Sebastian refused to tell you. He knew because you had told him once, that you were scared Sebastian was hiding something bad from you. He probably was, probably hiding something he did. Garreth was determined to find out what it was, you need to know that Sebastian isn't who you think he is. Garreth doesn't want to hurt you, and he doesn't want to do this so he can brag and say he won you from Sebastian. That's not who Garreth is, not why he wants to find the truth. He just wants to keep you safe, and he knows you're not safe if you're with Sallow.

Though, he'd be lying if he said there was no part of him that wanted to look Sebastian in the eyes- knowing he won you back from him.

He doesn't like to think about it, doesn't like to admit it even to himself...but he loves you. He thinks he always has, before he even knew what love is. You love him too, deep down he knows you do. He can see it in the way you look at him. Why else would you continue to see him, despite Sallow being so clearly against it? It's because you can't stay away from Garreth, you can't fight the way you feel. Some might think he's delusional, but there's nobody that knows you better than him. Not Sallow, not anybody. He has to protect you, needs to keep you safe from him.

Which is why Garreth has been following Ominis around, bothering him to open up about Sebastian.

"Garreth." Ominis is annoyed, Garreth can hear it in his voice. Ominis has been infuriatingly tight-lipped about Sebastian which Garreth found odd.

"Are you even friends with Sallow? You haven't spoken to him in a year." Garreth pressed. It was hard for the other 7th Years not to notice the sudden rift between Ominis and Sebastian. They've been attached at the hip since they met in 1st Year, and suddenly Ominis won't go anywhere near him. Something happened. So why is Ominis still protecting him?

"Yes of course I'm friends with Sebastian. Just because I am cross with him, doesn't mean I will be forever." Ominis says, though there is uncertainty in his voice.

"Angry enough to still be angry over a year later?" Garreth wasn't going to let this go easily, Ominis was beginning to discover. Ominis huffed, he had to tell Garreth something or he won't leave him alone until he does.

"Sebastian and I had a fight, he made a mistake. That's all." He said, his voice firm but all he did was add fuel to Garreth's fire. Sallow made a mistake? What kind of mistake?

"What happened?" He pushed, continuing to follow Ominis towards the Slytherin common room.

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with." Ominis sighs, Garreth was really starting to get on his nerves.

"Is it about Y/N?" He asked urgently, almost like a Private Investigator would. Ominis paused, he furrowed his brows before he felt his irritation slowly morph into anger.

"Is that what this is about? Ruining Y/N's relationship? Have you nothing better to do?" Ominis snapped with anger that Garreth wasn't anticipating.

"I'm trying to help her Ominis. You know something that Sallow did, I know you do. What I don't get is why you're protecting him if you haven't spoken a word to him in over a year. Does your friendship with Sallow mean more to you than Y/N's safety?" Garreth snapped harshly, a scowl on his face.

"No it doesn't and she isn't in danger. Sebastian would never hurt her, but if you don't stop you will." Ominis fires back angrily, turning and entering his common room after he does. Ominis is wrong, Sallow has this entire school fooled. Garreth should have known better than to try and get Ominis to tell him, he's always been loyal to the twins. Garreth briefly considers trying to find MC, they were close with Sebastian during 5th Year and stopped talking to him around the same time Ominis did. It's worth a shot.

The first thing Ominis does upon entering the common room is find Sebastian. He spends a lot more time in his dorms than he used to, and Ominis can only guess it's because he stopped talking to Sebastian. He feels guilty about cutting Sebastian out, but his use of the Dark Arts drove Ominis away. That and the fact that Sebastian manipulated Ominis into getting what he wanted...the Dark Arts began to change him. You were starting to bring Sebastian back, the boy Ominis met in 1st Year. Sebastian loves you, truly, unconditionally, and if Garreth were to succeed and tell you the truth? Ominis shudders to think of how Sebastian would react, the path he would follow as a result.

Without Anne and you, Sebastian doesn't have much to live for- and he's already lost Anne. Which is why Ominis is entering the 7th Year dorms without so much as a knock, heading straight towards Sebastian's bed.

"I had an interesting conversation with Garreth today you should know about." Ominis says, drawing Sebastian's startled gaze.

"What did he say?" Sebastian's voice is already tense, Ominis can practically feel the frustration rolling off him in waves.

"He knows something happened in 5th Year, he's trying to find out what...so he can tell Y/N." Ominis informs him carefully. Sebastian is worryingly quiet, which concerns Ominis.

"Sebastian?" Ominis tries, and he hears Sebastian stand from his bed. He's begun pacing in front of Ominis, he can hear his heavy breathing getting heavier. He's angry, very angry.

"That fucking snake. Why can't he let us be happy? Why is he determined to take her from me?" Sebastian is seething, Ominis isn't sure he can calm him down.

"You know why." Ominis says factually. He knows why Garreth is doing this, Garreth didn't hide his feelings for you as well as he thought. Even Ominis, who's blind, can understand he's been head over heels for you since he met you.

"Well he can try all he wants, he won't take her from me. I would happily kill him if he even tries. She chose me. He needs to accept that." Sebastian snaps, tugging angrily at his hair. Ominis knows Sebastian didn't really mean it, but it was still disconcerting to hear him say it after what happened with Solomon.

"You know if he finds out what happened, Y/N is never going to speak to you again?" Ominis points out, as if Sebastian hasn't considered that already.

"Yes Ominis I know that." Sebastian snaps, pinching the bridge of his nose. He didn't want it to happen like this, but Sebastian needs to make you his. Entirely. He needs to stake his unrivaled clamed upon you, mar it onto your very skin.

He needs all of you.

"Hey." You hear a voice from behind you. His voice is quiet, as Madam Scribner would regularly throw students out of the Library for being too loud. You'd come here to study for your O.W.L's, you know you're going to pass but you like to be well prepared.

"Hello Garreth!" You say happily as he lowers himself into the chair next to you. Sebastian is unlikely to stumble upon the two of you this time, not that you're trying to avoid him. You don't want him to start another fight with Garreth, the two of you aren't doing anything wrong! You're just talking with a friend, you wished Sebastian could understand that. You didn't know how to reassure him that you're his. That you love him and only him, he doesn't have anything to worry about. You chose him, and yet he still worries.

"I'm sorry about the other day...with Sebastian." Garreth says sincerely, and you feel your chest warm. You wave your hand with a smile as you flip your book to the next page.

"Don't worry about it, I'm starting to get used to the fact that you two will always fight." You say, keeping your tone light. You don't want him to know how much it hurts that your boyfriend and best friend don't get along. You wished they did.

"No, you shouldn't have to. I'll do my best to be nicer to him." He promises, though you're not sure you believe him. He's just as hostile towards Sebastian as Sebastian is towards him. 'She still loves me, she just doesn't realize it yet.' His words from earlier flash in your mind, replaying over and over despite you trying to push them away. By now Garreth has brought out his potions notebooks. Not anything from class, his notebooks are leather-bound and usually full of ideas for other things he can make. You love how creative he is, and that he's smart enough to make all these potions. He makes them blow up a few times before they're finished but he never quits until he finishes the potion. You admire that.

"Gar? Can I ask you something." You ask, nervously chewing on your lip. Garreth lifts his head, his expression softening once he notices the anxiety on your face.

"Of course, are you alright?" He worries, making your skin feel tingly with the way he looks at you. You turn your head to refocus on your book.

"When you fought with Sebastian...there was something you said that I don't understand." You started, and Garreth felt his palms get all clammy. He hoped this wasn't going where he thought it was going. He didn't think about what he was saying during the fight, just said what came to him naturally.

Garreth waited for you to continue, but your face was fear-stricken and you began to nervously pick at your thumb.

"Y/N, you can say anything to me. I promise." He reassures you gently, giving you time to feel comfortable saying it on your own. You were easy to scare off when you got in your head like this, he knew he needed to tread carefully and be gentle with you.

"You said that I love you...that I just haven't realized it yet. What did you mean by that?" You whisper the words quietly. You're afraid to look up at him, you don't want him to be angry and you sure as hell don't want to embarrass yourself. Garreth feels like his heart is going to burst out of his chest, this cannot be happening. He doesn't want to admit his feelings for you while you're still in love with Sallow.

"I only said that to irritate Sal-Sebastian. I shouldn't have. I know you don't feel that way towards me, I'm sorry." Garreth says, correcting himself. You don't like it when he calls Sebastian 'Sallow'. You think it sounds mean, maybe it's just because of the way Garreth says it. You're not sure how his answer makes you feel.

"Oh."

Garreth tries to fight the smile that threatens to stretch across his face. "If I didn't know better I'd say you sounded disappointed."

"What? N-No of course not. I love Sebastian so you're correct...I was just...wondering." You feel your cheeks color, and you know Garreth can see it too. Your voice was shaking and it made you stumble over your words, what is it about him that makes you feel so nervous?

"Are you sure?" Garreth says, and you swore he wasn't sitting so close just a minute ago. Your heart begins to race.

"Sure a-about what?" Your throat suddenly feels very dry, and its as though the temperature in the room rose 10 degrees. Your entire body feels hot and flushed.

"That you love Sebastian." He says, his voice a tad bit deeper. You turn your head to look at him, and his pupils are blown open. There's a look in his eyes you can't define, it makes you feel like a lamb looking into the eyes of a wolf.

"Yes, of course." You whisper, adrenaline pumping through your veins when he leans forward a little. His eyes staying firmly locked on yours, he can tell you want this. That you want him. He can see the way your eyes have dilated a little, there's curiosity in your gaze. He can feel the tension between you. His lips barely graze against yours before you snap out of it. You feel horrified with yourself as you scramble away from Garreth. You love Sebastian, with all your heart. Why did you let him get so close? What is even going on?

"I-I have to go!" You squeak out, cheeks blood red and pulsing as you quickly pack up your things.

"Y/N-" Garreth tries, but you're standing and stumbling towards the stairs before he has a chance to catch your hand. There are tears streaming down your face as you head to the entrance of the Library as a realization hits you. It makes you sick to your stomach and a fresh wave of tears gush down your cheeks. It's too awful to admit, even to yourself. But Garreth was right.

You love Sebastian...but you love Garreth too. Oh no.

You're pacing back and forth outside the Slytherin common room, you'd woken up early today to get ready and wait for Sebastian. Normally it's the other way around, and he's waiting outside your common room to talk you to your first lesson. It usually makes him late for his own class but he's never cared, he's happy to do anything for you. You feel nauseous just thinking about it, but you have to tell Sebastian what happened in the Library. You didn't kiss Garreth and that makes you feel better but you almost did, and you feel like not telling Sebastian means you're trying to hide something. You don't want to have any secrets from him.

When Sebastian emerges from his common room, he looks surprised to see you. He smiles at you, but that smile is quickly wiped away when he can see the panicked expression on your face... and the fact that you're pacing back and forth like a caged animal.

"What's wrong sweetheart? Talk to me." Sebastian urges, taking you into his arms and feeling your entire body trembling. You're as fragile as a flower and absolutely anything can send you over the deep end like this, so Sebastian isn't seriously concerned quite yet. At least, not until the first tear drops and you refuse to meet his gaze.

"My love you're beginning to scare me, please talk to me." Sebastian is nearly begging, and you feel tears spill from your eyes again. He's going to go ballistic once you tell him about Garreth, about what he tried to do. You shudder, you don't want him to hurt Garreth or get himself in trouble.

"L-Last night I was in the Library..." You can hardly speak, your voice is trembling. You don't want to say it.

"Garreth c-came and sat next to me for a little." You pause again, feeling your heart thumping so hard against your ribs you worried Sebastian could feel it. You saw his jaw clench, and the tension beginning to seep into his shoulders. You haven't even said it yet and he's already getting angry.

"A-and Garreth, he...well he tried to..." You stammer, your eyes dropping to the floor. Sebastian felt a red haze of burning rage swirling around him.

"My love, he tried to what? Did he touch you?" Sebastian's voice was trembling with anger. If Garreth touched you then he's as good as dead. You shook your head, your fingers curling around his robes.

"N-No I pulled away before he could...but he tried to- to kiss me." You breathe out, and you can only pray that Sebastian isn't angry with you. You couldn't survive it if he was angry with you. Sebastian's nostrils flared, you could see the rage all over his face. His eyes were focused on the stairs and his jaw was tightly clenched, if you let him you know he'd race off to beat Garreth to a pulp this very instant. You won't let him hurt Garreth, you need to calm him down.

"S-Sebastian? I'm sorry! I'm so sorry. I love you, I would never cheat on you I swear! Please don't be cross with me." You explain desperately, trying to do anything to pull his gaze back to yours. You begin to cry again, pressing yourself against Sebastian's chest. He wrapped his arms around you, he wasn't angry with you.

"I'm not angry with you, I'm not. I love you, always." Sebastian says, finally turning back to face you. You lean up to kiss him as his thumbs brush away falling tears, and you surprise him with the desperation in your movements. You wind your arms around his neck, your lips moving against his as his arms wind tightly around your waist. Sebastian knows sooner or later Garreth will find out the truth, so he needs to follow through with his idea before he looses you. He needs to make sure you'll never be able to look at Garreth or any other guy for that matter without thinking of how good Sebastian can make you feel. He wants to open you up to a whole new world.

"Do you trust me my love?" Sebastian whispers against your lips. You nod instantly, making Sebastian smile as you try to kiss him again.

"Then skip your first lesson with me." He says with a playful grin.

"Skip a lesson? Are you crazy?" You ask him, the idea of skipping an entire lesson makes you feel anxious.

"C'mon, I promise I'll make it worth your while." Sebastian says, taking slow steps backwards with his fingers laced through yours. He slowly pulls you towards the stairs, and smiles victoriously when you let him pull you along without any further objections. You feel butterflies rising in your tummy when you look at him, grinning at you playfully as he tugs you through the castle towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts Tower. Just as you're crossing into the courtyard, your eyes briefly lock with Garreth's- who is sitting next to the fountain with Samantha Dale. You feel your cheeks tingling as you quickly snap your gaze back to Sebastian, and Garreth feels jealousy burning under his skin as Sebastian drags you off. You've never looked happier, and he knows he should be happy you found someone you love. But he isn't, and it kills him to see you smiling like that at someone else.

"Where are we going?" You whisper, a smile on your face as he drags you just past the stairs to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Towards the Undercroft Ominis had finally opened up to you about just last year. Sebastian pulls you inside and once the gate shuts behind you, you see a beautiful plush looking bed tucked against the back wall of the Undercroft, it looks slept in.

"I come here most nights, hardly sleep in the dorms anymore." Sebastian shrugs, you didn't know that. When he isn't with you, he's alone? Every day?

"Seb…why aren't you in the dorms?" You ask sadly. He shrugs off the sadness in your tone, he's used to the fact that he has nobody except for you.

"Easier to be alone. Easier for times like this." Sebastian quickly shifts the focus off of him and onto the reason why he brought you here in the first place. You blink up at him innocently, it makes sets his insides ablaze.

"Do you remember what we talked about a few weeks ago? When you said you were ready?" Sebastian asks softly, his eyes darkening as he watches your cheeks flush and feels your skin heat up.

"Y-Yes I remember."

"Are you still ready?" He whispers, slowly leaning down to brush his lips against yours. You feel a shudder run down your spine as you keen up into him, trying to press your lips against his.

"Yes, please." you beg quietly, and Sebastian groans before pressing his lips firmly against yours. He deepens the kiss by turning his head, reaching down to life you by your thighs. His hands reach under your thighs, lifting you with ease as he walks you backwards towards the bed. His lips never leave yours and soon he's placing you gently against the plush mattress. Your legs fall open to allow him room to slot himself between them. His hips meet yours and you moan feeling him pressed firmly against you, he begins grinding gently. He draws soft moans from your lips every time he rocks against you.

"Can I take this off my love?" Sebastian asks, pulling at your robes and you nod, sitting up to let him push them off and throw them to the side. His lips return to yours then, his fingers slowly pulling your sweater off your body. You feel flushed under his heated gaze and you quickly press your lips against his again when his stare becomes too intense. He shrugs his robes off before reaching up to unbutton your shirt and you can feel the shyness creeping back in as more skin is slowly revealed. Once his fingers open the last button, you pull the shirt off to toss aside. You lay back against the bed and Sebastian's eyes are hungrily drinking up your figure, committing every inch to his memory.

Sebastian's lips press against your neck, slowly trailing down your shoulder as his fingers slyly undo the clasp of your bralette. His eyes meet yours, waiting for any protest before he's slowly pulling the fabric off your body. You reach up to cover yourself, turning your head to avoid his gaze. You feel exposed. Sebastian reaches up to gently take your arms and press them against the mattress. You can feel a heartbeat from between your thighs.

"Don't hide from me my love." He whispers, his eyes locked on your bare chest. His finger turns your head to look at him again, he wants to see that beautiful look on your face as he makes you fall apart.

"Is this okay sweetheart?" Sebastian asks, he has to make sure. You nod instantly, feeling too sky to speak. Sebastian gives you a gentle kiss before his eyes drop again. His lips encircle one of your nipples, his other hand pinching and rolling the other between his thumb and pointer finger. You moan instantly, rolling your hips against his. Sebastian smiles as he sees your eyes shut tightly, your mouth falling open as he gently bites down on your nipple. It feels better than anything else you've ever felt before...and you know he's only getting started. Sebastian switches to the other nipple and sucks it into his mouth, humming against your breast as you moan wantonly.

His right hand slides down your tummy to flip your skirt up, his fingers gently rubbing your aching clit through your panties- which are quickly becoming wet and translucent with your slick. You moan again, feeling him gently rubbing you while his lips and tongue lave your nipple and breast. Your hips can't stay still, and you try to grind against his fingers, which makes you smile. Your fingers wind into his hair, holding him against your chest firmly. He groans every time you accidentally pull on his hair. Soon Sebastian reaches another hand down, his fingers hooking into the waistband of your underwear.

"P-Please." You beg desperately, and Sebastian swears he can feel the blood surging south. He slowly pulls the soaked fabric off your body and as soon as he does he sits back to get a better look. You watch with pulsing cheeks as he examines your glistening folds. He looks utterly entranced as he reaches forward to pull your lips apart, getting an even better look. You turn your head to the side, embarrassed.

"Seb…" You whisper, feeling very exposed as he gapes at your heat. Instead of answering, Sebastian leans forward and drags his tongue through your folds. You cry out, your hand flying into his hair as he begins to lap at your cunt. His tongue circles your entrance before briefly dipping inside, only teasing you as he sucks your clit gently into his mouth. You continue to cry out and grind your hips against his face, and your sounds of pleasure are music to his ears. He laps at you like a man starved, his arms circling your thighs to pull your cunt more firmly against his lips.

Your chest is heaving as you moan, throwing your head back as he licks a broad stripe through your folds, from your entrance to your clit. His gaze is dark and intense and his eyes will not leave yours. You can see the lust in his eyes, and no matter how shy you feel- you keep your eyes locked on his. His tongue explores your folds, his teeth nipping at you gently every so often. You moan like you're a bitch in heat, shamelessly using Sebastian's mouth to chase your orgasm. He presses sloppy kisses to your clit, flicking it with his tongue before you feel your body convulsing. You cum all over his face and Sebastian happily laps up every drop, making sure to lick and suck at you until your body is jerking with overstimulation.

"Did that feel good, dove?" Sebastian asks against your lips, as he reaches down to undo his belt. You nod, but that isn't good enough for Sebastian.

"Words sweetheart." He urges as he opens the buttons of his trousers.

"Yes Seb, it felt so, so good." You moan against his lips, kissing him firmly again. You feel the sharp heat of his cock before you see him, and he's gently notching the head against your folds. You whine nervously, placing your hand on his hip to stop him.

"Trust me, my love. It's going to feel really good. It'll pinch at first, but I promise it'll feel amazing after." He whispers, and you can already feel him pressing himself into you. The stretch burns, and it feels like he's going to tear you in two. Sebastian reaches up to rub circles on your clit to help distract you from the pain. He continues to slide inch by inch into you, and when he meets a little resistance he surges his hips forward until they're flush against yours. His fingers are still playing with your sensitive clit, and it makes slick gush out of you, coating his shaft.

"How do you feel? Are you okay?" Sebastian asks through pants, your walls are hugging him like a vice grip.

"F-Full. It hurts." You whine, holding his face against your neck as he presses kisses into your neck and shoulders. Sebastian feels pride swelling in his chest, you're writhing underneath him. Stuffed full of his cock, and he is the one making you moan and cry out in pleasure.

"I know sweetheart, it's going to feel good soon." He whispers while gently grinding his hips against yours. You moan desperately, wriggling against him. Sebastian takes that as his cue to gently pull his hips back before sliding back into you again. Stars erupt behind your eyes as he continues to sweetly thrust into you.

"You feel- so fucking good my love. So tight, so wet, taking me so well." Sebastian praises, making warmth flood through your belly. You feel stretched beyond your limits, and your toes curl when you feel him sliding against your walls. Your hips begin to push against his to meet his slow thrusts. You feel heat building in your pelvis.

"G-Gonna cum Seb. Please don't stop." You beg and Sebastian is more than happy to oblige. He presses his face into your neck, thrusting into you soft and slow, steadily building up the pleasure until your back is arching and pressing your breasts against him as you cum.

"That's my good girl, you're beautiful when you cum my love. You feel incredible, so so good dove." Sebastian rambles, continuing to thrust into you as his own orgasm approaches. He feels your walls continue to clamp down on him and your cum drenches his cock, making an erotic wet sound whenever he thrusts back into you. With a deep groan Sebastian is cumming, his fingers playing with your clit as he does to make your body convulse and tighten around him again. He pumps you full of his cum, leaving his mark on you. A claim that cannot be challenged by Garreth or anybody else.

You're his. You always have been.

Garreth knows he should stop, knows he should just let you be happy. He still can't get the image out of his head, watching you walking through the courtyard with Sebastian around an hour after he saw you the first time. The way you looked up at Sebastian made him sick, your rumpled clothing and the button you forgot to close on your shirt made him feel even worse. There's no way you slept with Sallow, he knows there's some other explanation for what he saw. There has to be.

But what made Garreth feel the worst was Sebastian's victorious gaze as it meets Garreth's. His eyes bore into Garreth's as you press yourself against his side and they're saying 'checkmate'.

Garreth clenches his fists before turning to find that damn student Sebastian met during 5th Year, they know what Ominis knows and Garreth is determined to find out what it is they're hiding.

TAGLIST: @weezley @eddiemunson4ever @idcabouttumbl @saturnawa @valyrra @cerulione @dilucente @riokunova @theknightssecrets @rinascere-di-fiore @sallowapologist @kaixoly @cosmicmadwoman @turnip-milk

[orionhere]

Noctis' affection story is so domestic and chaotic I honestly can't believe it (well, as domestic as you can with Noctis)

I often find myself giggling and snorting bc he's such a fun guy. He has Kamui's personality but more violent (So a mix between Kamui & Camu?) and also a ✨HIMBO✨

He attac, he protecc, but most importantly, he can bake

SPOILER from his affection story below:

(This became so long lmao I really love his interaction with Skk)

Important note: I can only read a little of chinese & with help of translator lol, so I'm so sorry if there's some mistranslation. Also his affection story is after Sands of Wrath event, so beware of spoilers from the main chapter!

Skk and Noctis work part-time in a store (bar?) on Pure Zone as a bartender and chef respectively. Pure Zone is an area that is safe for the human environment because of the blue Tower that purifies the Punishing Virus (Spiral of Chronos chapter).

Turns out it was because Nikola asked the Skk to "take a break" by helping out at the conservation area. Also to gain more publicity with the people in the Pure Zone.

With how famous Skk is, it's easier to attract customers' attention.

"Customer A: Your smile please."

"Customer B: And don't forget, the most important thing is to add a little bit of love."

Noctis being a knight in shining armor always meddles in the middle to stop the customers from pestering Skk too much lmao

After the store closed, Skk and Noctis tried to make their specialties. In this case, Noctis tried to make his special homemade hash browns and Skk tried to make a special drink. Both of them exchanged their "creation" and tried it together.

Hilariously, it ended in failure lmao

"So sour!! Commandant, what did you add to this drink?!"

"Yours too!! There's enough sugar on this hash brown to last the store for a year!"

Not believing the other's comment, they tried to taste their own dish.

" …. Let's just throw them…"

Noctis makes Skk a personal dish for lunch. When a customer saw the dish, they wanted Noctis to make it for them. But Noctis refuses.

"No no no, this is a private meal. We don't sell it in our store."

"Just a little bit please?"

"No means no. And don't make things difficult for Commandant here. This guy had a busy day and didn't have time to eat!"

Also, Noctis used all the ingredients that the boss just brought back to make Skk's meal (more cursing from the boss but he ignored it & ate together with Skk lmao)

Then we have a Karen here (lol) who asks where the chef is. The name is Sykes (I think). Said the "homeless pancakes" (?) that the store sells are not the same thing that he used to eat when he was wandering and accused the store of fraud. Many customers are afraid of Sykes or refuse to involve themselves with Sykes. This caused the store's income to decrease.

OKAY BUT THERE'S THIS SCENE WHEN SYKES WANT TO INTIMIDATE SKK BUT NOCTIS STANDS BETWEEN THEM TO HIDE SKK. BUT NOCTIS IS SO TALL, SKK NEED TO STAND ON TIPTOE SO THEY COULD PEEK OVER NOCTIS' SHOULDER AND CONTINUE TO ASK SYKES TO GIVE THEM A WEEK ASDFJSKKS

More Skk & Noctis' chaotic kitchen shenanigans

Noctis couldn't form the mixture like in the recipe with a mold, so Skk suggested using his hand to manually shape the mixture.

"Are you trying to choke someone to death…"

Skk went to Noctis' side and helped him mold the mixture by grabbing his hand and instructing him step by step which make Noctis blush.

Skk wipes the crumbs and flour from Noctis' cheeks with a towel hshshshshshs-

A customer asks Noctis if he could 'surprise' them. Not knowing the meaning, he asks Skk and they replied that the customer want another dish. Noctis offers his homemade hash brown which Skk asks if Noctis finally mastering the said dish.

"Huh? Nope. I don't have the time. Just let them eat that poison-"

Skk then proceed to cover his face with a towel and rub it as hard as they could lmao. "Comm *—mph!* – mandant! Stop! I *gasp* can’t b–breathe! *pant*"

That night, Noctis asks the boss to use the Bluefin Tuna that the boss brought back. He thought that Noctis gonna use the fish for Sykes' dish, but turns out it was for Skk's dinner. More cursing from the boss (HE ALWAYS TRIES HIS BEST & USING THE BEST INGREDIENTS FOR SKK'S MEAL IM CRYING)

Skk was worried that Noctis was pushing himself. But Noctis refute that, saying that he likes the challenge and enjoys making the pancake. Then Noctis asks back how Skk was holding up with how they have to smile and chat to customers all day as a bartender. Skk assure him it was part of the job, as long the customer isn't Sykes.

"That's pretty tough. …… Want to switch? I'd like to try to manage the bar too."

"Okay, try to smile."

"Noctis was a little flustered but managed to squeeze out a smile at your request. It feels like staring at a great white shark."

(Imagine you were drinking in a bar, and ask the bartender for a smile. This is how he smiles at you)

(Gorgeous)

Remember when Skk tried to make their own special drink? Turns out they make an adjustment by adding 40 shots thanks to a customer who suggested it to them. Drunk Skk

"40 shots?! Isn't that the same as wine …… OK, I'll ask around tomorrow to find which genius suggests such an idea."

Noctis then give Skk his special homemade hash brown. But because Sykes' matters, he doesn't have time to improve his dish.

Which results Skk throwing up.

"How is it, Commandant? After you vomited it out, do you feel more awake now?"

Drunk and angry Skk swings a chair at Noctis.

"Who on earth came up with the idea to make Commandant drink 40 shots?! Hey hey hey, Commandant… You can’t be serious, can you?!"

This scared Noctis to the point whenever Skk asks him what happen that night, he always tries to cover it up.

Next day, they went out to ask others about the recipe. They met an old man who used to be a part of the wandering group with Sykes. Turns out the homeless pancake that Sykes want is just some various ingredients mixed together into a weird mixture and baked into pitch black. During that time, canned food and fresh ingredients are very precious and even a luxury.

The old man gestured to Skk to try it, but before they can put it in their mouth, Noctis eats it.

"....Commandant… It's better for you to not try it."

"How can I know what's wrong with it if I don't try it myself?"

More coughing and Noctis pat pat Skk's back

Knowing that Skk is a bit tired from today's walk, Noctis wash the dishes by himself.

Skk was a bit down after finding out about the homeless cake origin, so Noctis tried to cheer Skk up in his own way lol.

"Skk is really kind. If it was someone else, I would probably have said that this is none of my business, and then I would not care about it anymore. After all, thinking about this kind of thing will only add more trouble."

"How is this adding more trouble…"

"That's why I say that Commandant is very kind. You tried your best to do everything for the people on earth, but you still refuse to let yourself go on this matter. If it were me, I wouldn't care at all."

Noctis and Skk wash dishes together.

"This is a pain. Are you gonna help me wash the dishes or not?"

"But you're washing it right now?"

"No way! I don't want to enjoy such good thing alone! So you do it too!"

"…Commandant, if you keep pushing me, I'm gonna stuck in the wall. Tsk, why is the area around the sink so cramped?!"

It was time for Sykes to come back. Noctis finally finish the dish and present it to Sykes with the same recipe from the old man from before. But Noctis refuse to make it as black as the recipe says. "However, this store will never sell that kind of pitch-black food. It is our store principle to make it carefully with the right ingredients and utensils."

Tldr Sykes being a stubborn jerk shouting about 'the real homeless pancake' is the sole reason they're still alive & what Noctis did is just a gimmick to attract more customers.

"We are literally eating all of that stuff. Are they only worthy of being a gimmick to attract customers in the pure zone? Should the past just lie in our memory and become mere talk? Should we just pretend that nothing has happened?!" Basically just Sykes can't let go of the past.

Skk promises all of them to fight hard so they can retake the earth and the Great Arcadia Retreat won't happen again.

Sykes still being a stubborn bastard refuse to let this matter go and tried to attack Skk. But Noctis just stop him in time. It ended up with a bar fight lol

On their last day as a part-timer, while waiting for the boss to arrive in the morning, they decide to make their signature again. This time it was a success.

Skk and Noctis give the recipe to the boss so he can add it to the menu. He asks what it's going to be called.

"Vegetable Storm."

"Super Hash Brown!"

"I definitely don't want that kind of name on my menu. How about calling it '<Name>' and 'Noctis'? It's a good combination. And it added some emotional value."

Because of the last bar fight, they need to replace some furniture. They change the door to a new one, but Noctis painted graffiti on it because the color doesn't match the store. Skk also bought a lucky cat from Kowlong but Noctis modified it into a shark because it doesn't match the store's style. (Lucky shark??😂)

Noctis daydreams about life after Punishing virus is gone.

"These past few weeks felt like a dream. No missions, no enemies, no emergencies, no equipment for maintenance, not even weapons to use. Every day I'm with Commandant, taking orders, cooking, chatting…"

"Are you happy, Noctis?"

"It’s not bad, I’m very happy! I was so happy that I actually didn't want to go back."

"Commandant, do you think we can enjoy this leisurely life for the rest of our lives after the Punishing Virus is gone?"

"Of course we can, we already have the Pure Zone, and one day we will retake the earth completely. And then, you could do whatever you want to do."

"Then let's make a fortune with '<Name> and Noctis'! We could open a store, and then I'll let Commandant be the boss. Then you'll be in charge to manage the bar!" He even plans to open many branches, even on Babylonia (THAT'S SO SWEET WTH-)

The boss being a savage to Noctis lmao.

"Our store will always welcome you back, <Name>. As for Noctis, forget it. I just want you to know that no matter what happens, no matter how it ends, as long as this store exists, your aprons will always be there."

"Don't worry, Commandant is in my hands. When it's all over, we'll definitely come back."

"Maybe at that time, they will no longer be the Commandant of Gray Raven and a member of the Cerberus team. But just '[Name] and Noctis'." (I'M GETTING EMOTIONAL AT THIS LINE FCK)

All in all, this is really a fun and heartwarming story. I haven't finished Sands of Wrath chapter yet, so Noctis' interaction with Skk really caught me off guard. There's still a lot of his interaction that I couldn't fit in here because that's gonna be too long-

Also in the Sands of Wrath chapter, Skk and Noctis called each other 'partner' (In JP dub, he calls Skk 'aibou') I LOVE HIM SO MUCH ASDHFKA😭😭

Noctis is a malewife material you can't change my mind✨💕

[thegeminisage]

THE LEGEND OF ZELDA ECHOES OF WISDOM FINAL VERDICT

SHORT VERSION: minor nitpicks but rad as hell

LONG VERSION:

what i loved about eow:

zelda getting her own adventure, FINALLY. it matters so much to me <3

the thinking aspect of it. i'm used to trying a puzzle a few times and then looking it up if i can't get it, but eow made me WANT to throw myself at the wall until something clicked. it made solving puzzles even more satisfying than in link games, somehow. though i had my initial concerns over not getting a "real" sword, i didn't really miss it until the final fight, and most of the time, i went out of my way to avoid using it if possible, because i wanted to be creative. in fact, even while playing, i looked forward to being able to watch other peoples playthroughs to see how they tackled certain puzzles differently from me. it's so fitting to who zelda is in the lore that it's crazy to me she wasn't een in the original concept - she just fits so PERFECTLY here, as if they'd designed it for her from the ground up.

the way link mattered in the story without stealing the stage (everywhere except the final boss, which i have mixed feelings on). i know that link's function is to act as a stand-in for us, but in this project especially, it's nice to see him get some personality - i think he's earned it!

i ALSO really loved, of course, the final dungeon and working together with link to solve puzzles. the last zelda co-op game we had was four swords where everybody had the same abilities bc they were all link, but what if we had one with link and zelda where they had different abilities? it was so exciting and rewarding to finally get to work with link after all the mystery surrounding him and the fights with his evil duplicate.

the stilled realm stuff was incredible. i had so much fun in the rifts i wish there had been more of them. picking your way around that fucked up landscape is great

being able to cheat your way around any landscape is great also. like i can get to hebra from the ground with enough platbooms, i can jump over tree barriers, etc. it made me feel like a master of the world.

i liked tri! not the most standout companion, but they were just confused enough about basic emotion and nonplussed about things in general to be funny and make me fond

in fact, most of the secondary characters were a lot of fun. i was pretty neutral on wright and lefte and the gerudo ladies, but the zora leaders, impa and lueberry, and of course, conde - they were all fantastic. zelda's dad not being shitty for once was a really nice touch, too.

loved all the callbacks to other games - the deku scrubs, the river vs sea zoras, volvagia, big blue pig ganon even though he sin't my fav

speaking of, i'm not mad about the lore either. it fits with what we know so far and it was GREAT to hear from the three goddesses again when it's been like 20-something years. i was kinda mad when they got shunted aside for hylia and i'm glad nintendo is bringing them into co-existence again

most of the time the music was just okay but when it was good it was REALLY fucking good.

overall, the story was absolutely charming, filled with mostly fun characters and environments and a creative mechanic and a world i cared about saving. none of that feeling i got from totk sometimes where i went "wait, what?" or "this is bullshit!" except maybe when the goron had to break the picture of his dead dad lol.

what i did not love about eow:

my absolute #1 main complaint is the quality of life bs. i should NOT have to go through so many dialogue boxes for a task that is repetitive. minigames that have a 20-second time limit where i spend almost as much time skipping thru the dialogue to try again? come on. smoothies? the dojo? these are things we do dozens, perhaps hundreds of times per playthrough. there is NO NEED to make it that tedious. i would have had a LOT of fun experimenting with smoothies if it hadn't been so tedious, but instead i went out of my way to avoid using them because i was dreading having to sit through the animations and dialogue boxes for more. and there's no quick retry for minigames, either. for the dojo where one misstep means you'll have to start over, all you can do is quit early and then go through the dialogue ALL. OVER. AGAIN. it is 2024!!! surely when they played the game they got annoyed by this too! what are we doing!

similarly, while i didn't hate the slidey menu as much as everyone else cuz i got pretty good at skimming it, it's still nuts to me that they couldn't come up with anything better, perhaps involving some sort of category. sometimes i want platforming echoes and sometimes i want combat ones. separate them!!

while the final boss was FANTASTIC in mood and presentation, my echoes and automatons being kind of useless + me being denied a sword made me feel like i had nothing to do but run around and dodge and watch link and my lynel fight the boss. this is a tricky one because i'm not sure what could possibly be changed to make me a more active participant and still leave link his sword (his presence elevated it so much - much like zelda's does in final fights against ganon), but it felt just an inch to the left from perfect for me

automatons in general - i was really hype for them, but most of them don't even move around on their own, and they're so slow a fast-paced combat sitch will obliterate them instantly. which would have been PERFECT for the final boss where i wanted a more direct means of attack, but they'd get toasted before i had a chance to wind them up. JUST removing the winding element would have improved these greatly without any other change at all, but it's another quality of life thing

the horse was also useless, but the horses have been useless in every game since majora's mask, and even in majora's mask it's iffy.

the world DID feel a little small sometimes, but i think that's the natural result of being able to cheat your way around it - and i wouldn't change that.

finally, the music - most of the music for the overworld sections was boring, where the dungeon music occasionally had more character. i was a little disappointed there wasn't more of the old melodies aside from little snatches of them here and there. i definitely understand composers wanting to do something new, but if their new something is this atmospheric, unhummable stuff...that just doesn't feel like a zelda score, you know? that said, again: when it was good, it was GREAT. that final boss fucking rocked.

overall this made me SOOOO ready for an oracle or minish cap remake from grezzo and absolutely RABID for zelda to have her own 3D adventure someday. they thought it wasn't possible but it ABSOLUTELY is, and the co-op sections near the end were especially wonderful and something i'd love to see in a mainline title someday. yes, this game was flawed, but it wasn't flawed the way totk was, it was overall a great joy to play and well worth both my time and money. there's very little i would change.

and, on a mushy real life note, echoes of wisdom did also help me get through the 15-day power outage after hurricane helene...i started the game just before the hurricane hit and finished it just after i got my power back, so helene kind of defined the experience of playing it for me. i'll never forget sitting in my dark bedroom with all the windows open and the generators going outside and my switch just propped up on my monitor stand, surrounded by battery packs, my only light from flashlights or candles, trying to help the time pass and enjoy the game while keeping a clooose eye on my battery life. it was one of the very, very few things i could look forward to in an uncomplicated way every day, and having something to keep me going was vital to my not just going nuts. zelda games usually seem to come out when i need them most! and i'm grateful to her too <3

[bigtreefest]

Hi Essie!

I was just reading your post on your application and this is just a thought -- you don't have to respond at all if you don't like this idea!! this idea is purely my CPH4 brain talking I swear I have nothing to do with this lol

So, a young man (okay maybe not so young he was born four years ahead of you according to his page in the uni website ) with some very serious frowning becomes your thesis supervisor at the end of the term. He taught one lesson that you attended and you didn't know him very well besides his name. He rarely speaks, always listening to your presentation/answer, and very occasionally asking "do you have any questions for me?"

Nevertheless, you have impressive GPA and at the end of that term, you decided to apply for a PhD. You already have two letters of recommendation, one from a professor that you have known for two years during your Master's, one from a professor that supervised your Bachelor thesis and teaching a few courses that you attended.

But this damn Graduate School that you want to get in requires THREE. THREE FUCKING RECOMMENDATION LETTERS. And it specifically requires the letter from your dissertation supervisors.

You ask, not with much hope, your current supervisor, the lecturer with a very serious frowning look on his face, whether he could provide you a letter of recommendation.

To which he responded, texting back in a matter of seconds.

-Ofc. When do you need it? Send your transcripts btw.

NOW, the question is: Is he

or

or

----I just thought it'd be hilarious if he's very serious during class and meetings while he's basically any 20-somethings when texting you and discussing things that he shouldn't be sharing with you (like the content of your recommendation letter, or the fact that three recommendation letters is absolutely worthless even though he's providing one for you, or that because another professor is cranky and possibly stealing work from their students, you def shouldn't be choosing him as your doctor supervisor)

Oh I absolutely adore this ask! Thank you so much for sending this in, I unfortunately know the hierarchy of academia too well which is why I honestly think I would be rolling my eyes at these standards, too. I took the prompt and ran with it. 😂

I wanna talk about the other two options before I get to my choice. All below the cut bc it’s long.

Let’s discuss Ari:

Throughout Ari’s undergrad degree, he played football and was greatly interested in world policies, so everyone thought once his sports career and degree was over, he’d be ready to get out there. Nope. He really wasn’t sure where to start, so instead, he decided to keep going with schooling.

His grades were just good enough for him to get into the program you were applying to now. Varsity athletics looked great on the application and his charm was the extra boost. Now that he’s in it though, it’s been almost seven years instead of the usual four to five. Part of it is him going in without much of a plan, wanting to try every avenue, while the other is him just not caring enough to push further and just finish the degree. He’s getting paid just enough to get by and no one has threatened to kick him out, so he enjoys the coasting and the free time it gives for him to look into his actual passions.

Part of the PhD program is all of the grad students sitting in a room grading exams of undergrads every few weeks, and during this, Ari really shows his personality. They have to sit there for hours on end, and it can get boring, so Ari will tell stories to the kid next to him to pass the time, except the room is so quiet that everyone hears. These will range from the various dates with odd girls, to that time he saw a video of someone cooking salmon in the dishwasher, so he tried it out. “It was pretty decent. I swear it’s Kosher! I would do it again if it didn’t take so long.”

Any time he gets trusted to teach, which is rare since his advisor doesn’t really want it in order to guarantee the kids are being taught correct content, questions are not answered very well. It’s either with a “hell if I know. Use google. That’s how they do it in the real world.” Or “wait for the professor to get back. This isn’t my expertise.” Both technically valid, but not what a younger student wants to hear from someone in a position of authority.

Star Student Steve:

Steve was born for upper-level studies. He’s been ready to graduate essentially since getting into the program, knowing exactly what he wanted to research right off the bat. He knows all the content well and is well-liked by students and professors alike. The undergrads have a habit of ogling him and crowding his office hours, so you never even bothered to go. Pending his early graduation, he’s already been offered a job at the university with a full federal research grant, which he could use to travel or gain equipment for his projects. He’s probably considering this, unless one of the prime companies/agencies gives him a better offer. He can’t wait for the opportunity to make new rules and discoveries in the field, just needs to find the best route to get him there. (Talk about a CPH4 brain, haha)

With all of this going on, though, he doesn’t have time for much else. Sure, he’s very kind, but he’s always on the move. Students are not his first priority right now if he wants everything in place to be successful and make history. When it comes to picking an advisor, everyone wants Steve, but after hearing all that, and the standard he might hold you to without giving you the time of day to reach that level, do you really want him?

My wonderful choice Curtis:

(Even before I saw my options, this description was screaming ‘Curtis’ to me.)

He’s definitely the kind of silent student who puts his head down and does his work because it’s difficult stuff. Some may say it’s even more difficult than Steve’s if they knew what Curtis actually did, but he’s so silent and keeps it to himself unless he’s asked. It’s not because he doesn’t want to share, it’s more because when he’s interacting with students, he understands his job is to help them first and foremost. Although Curtis may have been busy, he never rushed and made sure his full attention was on the task or person at hand.

All the Professors know Curtis and really like him for his work ethic and ability to maintain balance and remain a grounded person, except he’s just not a poster boy like Steve. For this reason, his advisor trusts him enough to teach certain classes since Curtis parses out his time well and not only knows the content, but cares about it deeply. At the end of his lectures, though, when he asks for questions, it’s radio silence. Perhaps it’s because he taught the material so well, but even Steve and Ari get the odd question about their research or last Sunday’s football game. Curtis gets disinterested stares until he dismisses everyone. Office hours are pretty quiet, too, until right around exam time when a few students come to him for help since everywhere else was so full. After seeing how helpful he is, yourself included, they keep going back to him, keeping it to themselves, though, keeping him their hidden secret gem.

The lack of recognition Curtis gets is a shame, though, because he’s so nice. Actually, not just nice, but genuinely kind. When you were assigned with him as your advisor, you weren’t really sure what to do. Not many talked about him and the stoic demeanor was a little intimidating, until you actually spoke with each other. He was so sweet and engaged, asking you questions and providing guidance not only on what he thought might work the best, but how to go about it and how to properly convey ideas to the committee panel members at the end. He gave you his phone number, too, in case you needed any help at all, saying he’d pick up anytime.

When you asked him for your letter of recommendation, he was elated. “No one has ever come to me for that before, but ofc. When do you need it? Send your transcripts btw. And your resume.”

Curtis was right, though, he had never had to be the voice of authority vouching on someone’s behalf since up until this point, he was in your exact shoes. “Don’t be nervous to ask questions, but I also don’t want you to think that I’ve got all the answers and you’re not good enough. The only difference between you and me academically is like four classes content-wise. I just have more hands-on experience.” He said it with a soft, reassuring smile that really put you at ease.

He’s aware of the system, and of course he hates it, because he knows what it’s like to be at the bottom. Throughout his time putting together your recommendation, he’s messaging you with updates. “I’m going to add this because they really like to see it specifically highlighted,” or “I’m not even sure what they’re asking here, but it’s fucking stupid if you ask me. Conventions like this are ridiculous. I hate that these decisions are made by people who aren’t even on the ground. If they actually took part in this program, they’d see you’re more than qualified to get into it. But no, for some reason, all important decisions are made by old people so far removed from actual work.”

That second one was in person, though. It wouldn’t look good to have him saying those things in writing. He rolls his eyes before switching back to his reassuring, charming self.

“Anyway, don’t worry. I’ll make sure it’s good.”

And then as he sits down to write, he constantly sends you lines from it. “Does this sound too braggy? Am I hyping up your work too much? I feel like it wouldn’t be fair if I was casual about it, but we’re rocking with a lot of enthusiasm right now and idk where the line is where it’ll seem insincere.😅”

You tend to hang around Curtis a lot while you’re working on finishing up. On small work breaks, he tells you about the weird little things the other PhD students have sent to his email. “I’m what, four years older than you? And so are these other guys, but I swear they act like they’re twelve.” It helps you to laugh at his small little complaints in a time of building stress. He lets you into his life and you see he’s a normal person, just a few years older than you. He’s the whole reason you know about Ari and the dishwasher salmon, and he helps to break down the barriers you feel against everyone in his program that seems to know so much. Half of your conversation is weird everyday things about his life you’re sure no one else has given him the space to talk about. “You texted me while I was watching the hockey game, they were losing anyway so I was grateful to do something else.” He was in the city…at the actual hockey game…drinking a beer and scrolling emails…. Or “my apartment has a no pet policy, but my roommate got a cat, so I hope you don’t mind the little guy joining us today. Just while the landlord does some maintenance so we don’t get kicked out.” He’s half shuffling through the papers on his desk, half giving you an amused smile thinking of the whole situation. Of course, it can’t all be personal, though, so he continues to sprinkle advice in here and there.

“Also, if you wanna keep your sanity around here, keep away from Levinson’s advisor. Not only is he just straight-up a ridiculous man, but he won’t push you if he likes you. And if he hates you, you’ll know it a mile away. That’s why I never chose him for my committee meeting.”

As you prepare to defend your thesis, Curtis is sitting with you in the hallway. He’s been prepping you for this presentation for weeks, but for peace of mind, he asks you potential questions as you wait to be called in. He holds a paper copy of your thesis, saying once again “you’ve got this. Just like the rehearsals. No one knows this stuff better than you. Show them that.” As you stand in front of the small crowd, he gives you a thumbs-up and watches with approving nods as your blow it out of the water.

He gives you a big hug when you pass and an even bigger hug when you stop by the small TA office and visit his desk to tell him about your official spot in the PhD program. “I can’t wait to work together more with you. You’re going to do great things, I know it, and I’m proud to be a part of it.”

[strqyr]

very intrigued re: your thoughts on cinder’s grimm arm but I’m not sure its symbolism thus far supports your point.

like to me it’s a sign of salem’s power and control over her. it’s creeping up her body and eating her as she does more and more evil to serve a master that doesn’t care about her.

i think if she dies the arm dies with her but if she lives she lives without the arm, just like i think the only way she survives the story is if she breaks free from salem.

also i just feel like it can’t feel good to have grimm be a part of you and i want good things for cinder

i want to pre-face this by saying that my thoughts spiraled from the fairly popular theory that summer tried to destroy / 'purify' salem with her silver eyes and obv it didn't work ( and if you subscribe to the theory that salem got her veins as a result of that, it might have made things 'worse' ) so like. the implications are there.

this might also be all over the place so sorry in advance i just woke up lol

anyway. back to cinder. they've clearly paralleled the grimm arm with the shock collar which definitely muddles the ground re: the fate of the arm, buuuuuut there are some interesting points here as well as differences.

for one, cinder doesn't take the collar off until after the madame is dead and the fight with rhodes is over, signifying a power struggle—the madame shocks cinder to no affect; she holds no power over cinder any more with or without the collar—and the main failure of rhodes—he was the huntsman supposed to help, but cinder only took the collar of after his death.

in V8 cinder and salem already had their power struggle which resulted in salem having to give 'concessions' ( for the lack of better term ) to cinder lest she wanted to lose her bc cinder was going to do her own thing ( and almost getting herself killed. no good ) rather than follow salem's orders. and then cinder lied to salem who does not like being lied to so either she pulled it off successfully ( doubtful with how much she hammed it up ) or salem let it go bc she's got two relics now and reprimanding cinder would ruin the moment of success.

something something balance cannot be restored with force or calculations true balance finds it own equilibrium it only requires love and the patience to see things through in the end something something the villains do be getting it.

and through it all, the grimm arm remained.

unlike the shock collar, too, the grimm arm cannot be easily removed; slicing it off won't work as it will just grow back ( which begs the question of it's origin, as regrowing is not regular grimm behavior ), and, well. silver eyeing it is a bit of an odd choice when that's the reason cinder lost her arm in the first place, so... how do you remove it?

also, thinking about silver eyes and grimm, specifically ruby challenging maria's notion that the eyes only work against grimm bc she used them against cinder, "perhaps there was something that you weren't seeing" <- obvious answer is the grimm arm but atlas arc has come and gone, ruby has seen the arm a plenty and has had zero reaction to it re: why she can use her powers against cinder, which makes me think that this conversation in an episode titled DEAD END has more to it; either that there's more to silver eyes than "they only work against grimm" or that "something you weren't seeing" is less about something physical like the grimm arm and more about cinder herself, i.e. cinder is not a monster who needs to be eye-lazered on sight but a human being and that maybe it would be better to understand why she's the way she is rather than going pew-pew.

also also, as far as any villain -> hero arc that cinder may or may not be going through, i think it would be more poignant if she had the grimm arm through it rather than chopping it off as a sign of it beginning. ya know, like. despite all the negatives that come with it, the grimm arm is also beneficial for cinder in that she can siphon maiden powers that she wants with it, so if she has it until the end, any development would be more meaningful if she chooses to not use it rather than removing it altogether. it's the difference between "would but can't" vs "could but won't".

and yeah the arm growing is a concern so that's. A Thing. but i think there's like. how much does cinder and / or salem even know about this stuff. like i could see cinder agreeing to having a grimm arm bc maiden powers but not knowing exactly what having a grimm arm entails—i.e. it was not an informed choice—but does salem know either or is she just experimenting? cos i feel like that also changes thing like is this intentional negligence or is this uncharted territory for everyone involved? idk.

what i do know is that i like the grimm aesthetic tho and i would be sad to see it go :( but that's the character design gremlin in me talking.

[secriden]

anon🕵️ - I'm one of those that hinted towards joondunk shows based on your love for 🐕‍🦺 fort :p

tutoryim are also a pretty visual cp to look for and firstkhao in the eclipse (only friends might be too intense if you are starting in bl). It's lovely to see your enthusiasm ☺️

feel free to post unhinged dunk moments because we rarely get them compiled unlike 🥑

for both firstkhao & joongdunk the bts are a must watch!

alsjdflasjdf OMG ANON YOU WERE RIGHT!?!?! I really want to make a post about all of joong and fort's similarities because like throughout this whole process i keep feeling like i was re-discovering joong because there's SO MUCH crossover and clearly i have a Type because it took nearly nothing for me to fall in head over heels for joong. *u* but there's so much??! the eyebrows, the eye crinkle smiles, the sunshine golden retriever disposition, the way they are overwhelmed by the cuteness of their respective partners, the way they're both engaging with alternative creative pursuits, the way they're both incredibly hard working and have such drive, the way they both melt when their partners give in/turn it back on them. i've so many FEELINGS about them rn.

tutoryim: i really really liked them in cutie pie. in fact they were the only couple i really... connected with?? so its was sad they were so minor. i tried to watch BOTW but grew frustrated with it before i could finish it. i plan to go back to it at some point with re-adjusted expectations because it definitely didn't live up to its potential but the visuals are <3

i'm excited to see firstkhao in THK!! i've been meaning to check out The Eclipse but just haven't cuz i don't have the time. but i'm also not sure i really want to watch yet another "school" series unless its for a cp i'm already invested in the way i am with joongdunk. so i may go back and watch it after THK.

wait, ok, what does the avocado emoji mean??? *confused* hahaha i need to find that one of dunk coping a feel of joong cuz it was so random and unnecessary. xD

also, bts of what? HA? *u*

🕵️‍♀️ - my hc for dk is that he gives spoiled young master vibes used to bat his eyelashes and joong is capital W whipped for him. based on the bts they seem to share the unhinged sense of humour bc dunk often baits him into it. i can't even imagine when they were matched as a cp. For joong to be introduced to this very pretty funny young man and dunk getting a handsome protective (he is so respectful of him particularly in regards to physical stuff) cp i wouldn't be surprised if other gmmtv actors/actresses would have wanted to pair with either of them, even now 😂🤣

just confirming dk = dunk? my brain went seventeen's main vocalist??? xD

ohhhhhh is he from a wealthy family?? tbh its so funny to me how many thai bl actors are just... from rich families because it means they could do anything and chose to make out with other pretty boys for their careers and that's so incredibly valid and i love it (yes, i am mostly thinking of mile).

honestly joong is so SO whipped for him. i am transfixed by that story of joong calling dunk before they were confirmed cp and being all "do you think we'll be put together? i hope we'll be put together" like he was so committed so fast ugh!!

and ohhhh i haven't seen anything much yet about joong being protective of dunk, but it wouldn't surprise me. he has the vibe. do you remember which interview/post it's from??

lol everything i've seen about gmmtv seems like all the actors just love everyone else a ton. like wasn't there this thing about gun atthaphan kissing another of the gmmtv boys (not his cp partner) and the internet going batshit crazy about it? xD so the vibe seems to be love all round and its very sweet. *u*

[goblins-riddles-or-frocks]

You already mentioned how making him worse would have worked. How do you think making him not suck at a conceptual level (re Darlington?) would have worked if his situation was the exact same?

Oh I forgot to answer this. This was re: the Familiar discussion where I was saying Santangel being worse (or alternatively less shitty) would have been a better choice rather than the lukewarm place he occupied. And hm the thing is, I'm def biased towards favoring terrible characters, and that's the most interesting to me. But I think a traditional route would have been having him trying really really hard to discourage Luzia because he does Not want her to get stuck in a similar position being forced to serve either Victor or the King. I'd remove her servitude earning his freedom as a sense of stakes for him, he's only teaching her out of loyalty to Victor/because he's forced to serve him. So freedom seems like it's never going to be on the table for him *anyway* and he's just organically starting to empathize with her. Seeing himself in her (both in ambition and yearning for knowledge/magic specifically, and how she's going to entrap herself) is itself like how he could connect to her vs it being such an obvious conclusion with the replacement thing that him coming to that conclusion holds no weight. I'd then remove the betrayal entirely. Something that struck me when I was reading it is that the redone bargain's terms didn't make sense to me. Because in the OG Teo (who would become master) would lose what he valued most, and then Santangel (who would become the familiar) would lose what he valued least. So why in the redo would Victor lose nothing but then Santangel who is simply exiting this bargain has to lose what he values most? Idk it didn't make sense to me that it would work like that. So I would have the Act II reveal be that Victor planned to bind Luzia to him in the same way. It's never established... how this spell is performed at all, or how Teo even found someone who could credibly do it if Santangel had spent that fucking long searching for immortality with no results. But whatever. Lets say it's something he newly unearthed in his ancestor's stuff. And they're both horrified, and Santangel tries to tell her to cut and run as per canon. Sidenote: I would probs have her learn about his backstory much earlier. Some sort of scene well before they're obviously romantically interested in each other and she just asks him to tell her about himself because she's curious. And maybe he tells her some unsavory stuff he's done on Victor's family's behalf to scare her a little bit, but then things turn to him telling her about the bargain and his relationship with Teo. Where she stuns him by offering to take his place-- somewhat naively, but also with the understanding that she's someone's servant anyway/is going to be forced to listen to Victor and maybe she does want immortality/maybe if she has a massive crush on him already then she surmises that he and just their magic lessons might be what she values most already because she has so little joy in her life so losing that won't actually be much harm. And he would laugh this off but also feel like someone fucking gutted him lmao. And that could be where the Feelings stem from for him, but also an ironic callback when they realize that Victor meant to enslave her as well all along. Anyway I'd probably have the resolution be that Luzia somehow gets her hands on that spell— actually she shouldn’t find it like Victor did, show of trust Santangel tells her bc he still remembers it— and she performs it, tying him to her instead? It's not freedom but neither is burning to ash every morning and depending on her to heal him lol. I think in terms of likeability and there being more of a relationship arc I'd generally have him be more reticent towards her and all around just more of an annoying curmudgeon. Which can be fun for silly banter earlier and have a more distinct feeling of him being someone who's emotionally super super guarded and has had those muscles completely atrophied. So when feelings do come into play he just falls to pieces. Fwiw I get the sense that he is somewhat meant to be these things already, but I'd just heighten it.

[capricioussun]

Sorry gamers I fell asleep and also appear to have a throat infection(?) BUT I am awake now so

The hashtag Commentary on the artists and styles✨ (under the cut ⬇️ )

⭒ Up first is decafcoffee00 - decaf's art is so next level, everything is so SHAPE and there's personality in every line istg. Surprisingly, this one didn't fight me as much as I expected! I don't think it's half bad, and I had an easier time w/ this one than any other lol, but fr if you're not following him uhhh you should <3

⭒ The next to the right, minksinty - phenom's art inspires me SO so much, the way they colour things is absolutely stunning and life just flows through it, even the doodles! I think this one is probably the one I did the worst on lol, idk! It just doesn't seem to have any of the right energy, but it'd be more than worth it to do a more thorough study bc uhhh absolutely gorgeous art fr

⭒ And the third in the top row, bonetrousledbones - the only one I've actually tried before! So I had a liiitttle more familiarity with it, but it's such a fun, super expressive style. Their art just seems to translate the characters feelings and personalities so strongly, it's like. A narrative art style. If I had more time and focus I'd have loved to do a full body shot like this, especially to get more into studying their Clothes Technique, of which they are a master in their craft !!

⭒ Now on to the bottom row✨ jnpie - this one is small bc I was so happy w/ the first sketch I didn't want to try making it bigger and having it get all fuzzy lmao, but! Jnpie's style is so cute and like. Idk what would be a good word for it, sincere? It really is an expression, and you can feel how much they put into their art just by making it, it's just so -gestures emphatically in a positive way-. This is also the only one that didn't have a direct ref to look at! So pls forgive any discrepancies 🙏

⭒ On to the right, savestar - her art always exudes such a softness to me? Almost like a somberness that I don't quite know how to describe but its sooo pretty and makes their stuff feel very nostalgic when you look at it. It probably comes in second for the ones I struggled w/ a bit and feel I couldn't quite capture, but you can make the judgement for yourself by checking out and following her :*)

⭒ And last but certainly not least, owl-bones - this one was very fun, I'm not sure how obvious it is but his art has definitely been an influence on whatever direction mines taken for how I draw these bone boys, as it should! Rayne's art is sooo cool and pretty and this is another style I'd love to try doing a full body shot w/, the way he poses and draws clothes is so fluid and appealing and !!!

-

Sorry if this reads a little off I'm a bit fog brained atm and did NOT check for typos well but I didn't want to put this off any more! Bc seriously while I was working on this I kept getting distracted just scrolling through everyone's art these ppl r sooo cool and good at art and just 🌟❕💗

I wanted to get to the second part too yesterday but I was flagging so hard man, so next week! And until then don't forget to rest and stretch and hydrate <3

[a-tale-of-legends]

( Legendverse) Red and Green(protag) stuff

Red

Compared to Blue and Green as kids, he was much more ( genuinely) polite and responsible ( as responsible as a child can be anyway).

This doesn't mean he doesn't get himself into mischief. Either bc Blue or Green dragged him into a mess or he specifically thought something was a challenge that he was going to beat, he tends to get into more trouble than it's worth. It's fine though bc he's very polite :)

LIVES for the outdoors. Protag Trait of literally disappearing on people, only to be found in some forest camping( he has gotten better at letting people know of this tho). Really good at foraging and stuff.

I wasn't totally sure of the Professor! Red before, but seeing so many of it, I think it's neat :) He already likes pokemon and does want to understand them more. He could get his PhD like Blue ( who. Honestly doesn't really use it much-) but. That means going to school. Red loves to learn, but he is very weary of the school system. Maybe one day though. Battling is still his biggest passion, of course, I just think it would be something cool for him to do on the side.

Going with the above, I think he would really like what Beryl has done with the johto safari zone. Turning it into a rehabilitation area for pokemon essentially. I think he would help around the place pre- battle tower.

Tying into his love of learning- when blue and green leave for Kalos I just imagine Red being. So board. And lonely. He's no longer fearing the public as much as he used too, and constantly training doesn't have the exact same appeal as it did before ( bc he's no longer alone on top of a mountain). So he honestly just tries learning shit. He is the King of useless facts now. Cooking, knitting, crafting, you name it. Yes, Green has tried to make a profit from this. No, Red hasn't sold anything.

Like. Okay Red isn't like a master of these things, I should add. The most he's extremely good at is camping, battling, and cooking. Everything else is just decent.

He doesn't know how to feel about being Chosen. Especially so late into the game. Apparently, mew was supposed to Choose him when he started his journey....but forgot. It wasn't until SM until Mew did Choose him and by that point it felt. Pointless??? He suppose he's grateful, since he thinks being Chosen at such a young age would have been. Very bad for his mental state ( which makes him feel bad for a lot of the other Chosens after him), but like. It just continues to put him in some sort of pedestal that he doesn't want. He could ask mew to just. Unchoose him but....he doesn't know. Mew is nice though. A gremlin that doesn't give clear instructions yes, but still nice.

Green

Was always kinda blunt, even as a kid. Surprising bc she's also a skilled liar. No one knows how or when she got into scamming people ( who deserved it) or how she got so interested in money, but she is and we all have to deal with it.

Being younger and, well, a girl, Blue used to try and not have her come along with him and Red on their adventures ( Red didn't mind Green coming along, in fact he liked her company). Green would kick Blue's kneecaps for that. She would get scolded for it, but so would Blue for excluding Green out, so it's a win. She comes up with way more fun games than Blue anyway.

Is in the middle of the road in terms of talkativeness. Blue is definitely the one who does the talking most times, but Green isn't shy from it herself. In fact she's pretty talkative too, just not as much as Blue. Still, she can be also pretty quiet like Red. I think these two have a cute friendship, but I gotta work out the details. Tbf, they are protags lol. Protags gotta stick together.

Like Red, has the Protag Trait of just disappearing and doing her own shit. Unlike Red, is probably worse at telling people about it. Where's Green? Wouldn't you like to know, weather boy.

I've ultimately decided that Green is a cave fanatic. She just loves cave spelunking that much. She's not even looking for shit to sell, she just likes caves.

She was the only one that actually completed her pokedex....okay no. I'm sure Red and Blue did eventually, but Green was the first, as always. Red was under pressure from being champion to do anything and Blue was in his feelings, so leave it to Green to buckle down and get the damn pokedex done ( also to alleviate the loneliness of her two friends drifting apart and kinda leaving her behind even more)

Honestly it is just traveling now. Going into caves, battling strong trainers if she wants to, scheming all the way. I like the idea of her becoming world champion but I don't know if that's possible in my au yet. We'll see.

She grew taller out of spite btw. She was the shortest of the trio and she didn't like that, especially bc Blue would tease her for it, so she willed herself to be taller. Not even Mewtwo knows if the Chosen powers were at play here.

Speaking of Mewtwo, yeah she got it. She's the Chosen of it. Mewtwo shouldn't be able to Choose being a man made pokemon, but it did so out of spite and honestly? Good for them.

Sometimes I think Green genuinely forgets she's a Chosen. Like actually. The only thing that actively reminds herself that she is one is that she has powers now and she can live when Mewtwo fucking yeets her into the sky ( this is a fun bonding activity).

During the johto arc, Green was in Johto, staying with Bill's family. Why? I haven't fully fleshed it out, but I think it's a matter of her just not wanting to be at home anymore. That's the baseline of it. She's probably helping Bill with some stuff in return. Green during this time was angsty and angry, so her powers ( or what was unlocked at the time) would tend to flare up when she's pissed. Though, given that she's still very new to bring Chosen, they are unreliable as ever. So. More on her plate, I guess.

Green and cooking is an interesting case. I don't think she's bad. Maybe she's pretty good. But uh. The girl lives off protein shakes and granola bars. If not that: meat( sorry Red). So it's probably less of that "Green can't cook" bc she can, and more of " Green can cook but is choosing not too".

I haven't talked about the whole " Green being forgotten from the narrative despite accomplishing so much" here and that's only bc I want to take a closer look at that on my own time. I still think it's true but I want to like it. Map it out better, if that makes sense.

Green going to Kalos with Blue is for two reasons: Shopping ( Blue and Green are The Shopping Duo) and Caves. Oh and mega evolution so three. Unlike Blue though, she ain't studying shit ( okay she does a little) and spends most of her time doing Arceus' knows what. I think it would be funny if both Green and Blue gained several exes in their time in Kalos but that has yet to be determined.

Green and Blue are actually siblings in my au, so if you're wondering why I'm grouping them together so much, that's why.

Has a lil ditto :3 Is less used for battles and more so for schemes and is in general a friend that's happy to be there :]

[convexicalcrow]

So I might be a little dumb, but what did Cub do to Tango in the Deep Dark? Did he connect to the Sculk? the Vex didn't seem pleased by this at all.

That fic was very deliberately written from Tango's POV to obscure the shenanigans Cub was getting up to. In this particular AU, Cub is balancing obedience to the Vex and obedience to the skulk, and the skulk are adamant that Tango won't have wardens in Decked Out without the skulk's cooperation. This was always going to necessitate Tango going to an ancient city to get infected, Cub just would never have said that to him directly.

I did write a lil vignette a while back about Cub and Tango in an ancient city but I could never quite figure out if it fit into this AU, and when I tried to turn that into a longer, more complete fic, it just never quite worked either, so. That's all that remains of that particular idea, and I'll probably never revisit that. idk what to do with it, except appreciate it as a nice idea that I could never fit into the AU.

But what you need to understand is that Cub/the skulk are very much taking advantage of Tango's lack of memory after the possession to get that skulk infection sorted at last. But also, Cub's also not lying when he says the Vex are pleased with Tango's obedience under possession. That is also true! There's just other stuff going on that Cub isn't telling him about because of this specific circumstance where he won't remember stuff. So if/when Tango finally figures out the skulk infection, Cub can simply say, well, we were testing out the hood, and we stumbled into an ancient city, and you got trapped in the skulk before we managed to escape a warden killing us, and Tango won't think anything weird about that.

The ethical side of all of this is debatable ofc lol, bc Cub is clearly gaslighting and manipulating Tango into doing what the skulk want. But he's also the subject of possession, and his willingness is also subject to that as well. There's a lot of mess going on here, and Cub's just trying to balance his two masters, skulk and vex, who do Not get along, but are being forced to cooperate anyway because a dungeon where lots of Hermits are going to die, over and over again, is worth it tbh.

(as an aside, I'm feeling Very Normal about Tango referring to the Vex as the spirits of the Dungeon. >_>)

[xycuro-illuminati]

wait could you explain the divorced stuntdevil and jaykyle more I just saw the poll but it ended already :c

Oh sure thing! Sorry about the poll, it was a fun little gag to do for the followers and mutuals who knew about the two. I didn't elaborate on it bc I didn't think it would be that significant in the tags lol. But here's a brief rundown on both hateships:

Bitter exes stuntdevil: Matt Murdock/George Smith aka Stunt Master(an old dd villain since vol 1 and has appeared in vol 3 as well); Matt fell madly in love with George in my version of the daredevil reborn arc and the two were the most headass and unhealthy yeehaw couple. Their marriage only lasted for a year bc Matt slowly started realizing that George was shitty and he hated dressing up like a cowboy and doing crime for him. Post divorce there's no feelings of longing or wanting to patch things up to at least be friends (they tried that in vol 4 issue 11 but oops, George is still an asshole), they want nothing but the worst for each other. Matt wants George to get hit by a truck and die, and George wants nothing to do with him except maybe laugh at his suffering once in a while. I made a whole elaborate lore about this relationship and how it would tie in with DD esp for my version of it, so this one has more headassery in terms of backstory.

Petty exes jaykyle: Jason Todd/Kyle Rayner; So this was a joke in a DC server I'm in where we were discussing how we don't understand the appeal of jaykyle and how it would work much better if they were exes rather than being romantic partners, and that's where this version of the pairing comes from. The funny part is these two didn't technically get married. They were dating for less than a month, did a botched wedding, and then soon broke up much later. They don't flat out hate each other like the other two mfs discussed here, its more so that they'll bicker and argue like divorcees whenever they get the chance and everyone has to suffer from it. Which is why their relationship is more petty. And it's funny that way. There's not much lore for these two bc I barely read anything about Kyle, I just think the pairing works way better as a crack divorce. Sorry jaykyle fans that genuinely like these two as a romantic couple, but they are two of the most divorce-coded characters in DC.

[welcometomybraincomics]

Got all the other OC asks for Guillotine: alone (mostly the „how do they act when no one is around“ part), betrayal, break, failure, fear, hate and skin. Also how tall is he?

Alone: How does Guillotine deal with loneliness? Hmmm... That's an interesting question to answer bc lonliness is an emotional response to perceived isolation (yoinked from Wikipedia), but Guillotine sort of just.... doesn't feel isolated? In his younger years he did, but he's very good at a) acclimating, b) reasoning away, or c) just straight up ignoring his emotions or circumstances, leaving him in a pretty permanent state of "intimidating metal fluffball of enthusiasm."

I suppose the simplest answer would be that he just tosses his loneliness under the metaphorical rug and pretends it doesn't exist. Coupled with the way he chooses to interpret reality, he just doesn't feel lonely.

To be frank, he doesn't really seek out company and often prefers his solitude so he can work. Now that I think about it, he might be an introvert 🤔

Has he been completely alone before? Oh absotudelutely! Again, this was in his younger years. He didn't have anyone he could lean on back then, or at least not anyone who made sense to him. There were a few mecha that tried, but he wasn't forged in the best of places. No support network, no friends, no job, simply lost to the sea of life! He got to his feet before the war started, but he still didn't have much of a support network until the Stations

I have a few short pieces about Guillotine and his mindset that I thought I posted, but apparently not. They just need a little editing, so feel free to come by and poke me about them bc my brain is currently filled with Pokémon, so finishing the editing might slip my mind.

How does he act when no one's around? Mostly the same, he's a very open guy. He dances and swings around a bit more when he's alone bc he doesn't have to worry about hitting or stepping on anyone, but that's about it. Sometimes he'll sing or hum while working on a project or chilling just to fill the space with noise

He's just a little goober!

Oh, he also makes kissy noises and does the baby voice at his creations (some of them are living). He does that in front of people too, but I thought you might like to know

Betrayal: Ooooh, betrayal? You sure are making me dig into the hazy hazy depts of Guillotine's past, lol. But yes! He has been betrayed and done some betraying. In a fashion that is both lucky and concerning, it was only betrayal in a professional relationship. Unfortunately, "professional" was the type of relationship Guillotine had the most guidelines for and therefore those types of relationships were the most stable/closest he got to anyone for a long while. He tried to figure out friendships by watching people, but deciphering relationships is a very complicated art that Guillotine never mastered. Most of his attempts at applying the things he watched ended in failure.

But back to the betrayal!

So, as I mentioned, Guillotine's been learning social stuff by watching bc he never had a mentor and he thought he had everything figured out in the workplace hierarchy and expectations when his boss started doing sketchy shit and taking advantage of Guillotine and his co-workers. In response, Guillotine used his rep as the goodie two shoes who follows every order to the letter and therefore couldn't possibly betray the boss to get up close to said boss and kill him 🎉

btw this "betrayal" falls more alone the lines of Guillotine looking at double standards and unspoken rules and going "Ah, so the rules aren't real!" and deciding he can do whatever he wants actually. To him, killing his boss wasn't a betrayal, he was just following the natural world order! Which for him is collecting dead bodies, lol (Streaker and Vole take after him in this manner!💖)

Break: What would cause him to break down completely? Hmmmmm.... I think it would be.... loss of his support network (friends and family) now that he knows what that's like PLUS loosing all his possessions (creations included).

If he looses one but not the other, he can recover bc they're tied. If he looses all his possessions, he's still got the people who made them special in his life and he can always recreate his stuff. He'll be sad (loss caused by uncontrolable event) and fucking pissed (loss caused by an entity or conglomerate), but it won't be the end of his world.

If he looses all his friends and family he would cry so goddamn hard (Eventually, it would take him a while to get to the point of emotionally processing everything), but he'd at least have stuff to remember them by. If there's anyone responsible for the loss, he's 100% taking vengeance, or at least contributing greatly to any effort to get back at the offending party (bc for him to lose all his friends, the entirety of Station 5 needs to go and the Stations would NOT let that slide)

What would he look like completely broken? He'd go into a depressive spiral and shut himself away to create/pretty* away the pain if there's no one to be angry at. He would definitely hoard as much of the bodies as he could, prioritizing the heads over everything else. If there is anyone to be angry at, we'll be seeing the return of the berserker Guillotine Autobots used to fear**, only this time, he won't be nearly half as pleasant

While Guillotine does find beauty in death, he's never actually had anyone he cares about die before (never been close enough before the Stations), so while he may find their deaths hauntingly beautiful, he will long terribly for the time they were alive and wish he had more time with them

Anyone who's seen him at his lowest (not what is described, but what came before now bc his life is currently at a peak) died in the slums he was forged in. He's very lucky to be alive

Failure: Greatest failure ... Due to his reputation, Guillotine isn't really given many opportunities to fail or disappoint anyone, so he has a lot of time to devote two stuff that he would rather not fail, like being a decent dad. From what I've written Hint Devised about his back story so far, the biggest thing I could see being considered his greatest failure is forgetting to lock his door which allowed A newbie cleaner who was trying to do too much to come into his workspace and accidentally get themselves killed on one of his projects (A recreation of predatory cybertronian fauna). He more or less successfully hid the body And, unless I can think of an interesting storyline that involves someone figuring it out, nobody else knows what happened.

Guillotine is a background character, so I haven't actually done a lot of deep dives into his character. Maybe in the future he will have a more juicy failure

Fear: Guillotine's greatest fear... So, I've thought about it for a few days and Guillotine's "greatest fear" is pretty minor. When I hear greatest fear I think of something that's nearly crippling in the fear it causes, but Guillotine doesn't feel fear that intensity.

After going through and answering these questions, I've determined that if Guillotine were to lose somebody he cares about, losing people (As in losing the chance to experience life with them, not death. Death still wouldn't scare him) would be his greatest fear, but he'd never has.

At the moment, Guillotin's greatest fear would be losing the privilege to hang out with the people he likes and work on his projects. As I said before, it's not a crippling fear, it's just enough to cause him anxiety from time to time. It's why he follows the rules

Hate: I can't think of anything Guillotine personally hates, but he has absorbed the Station's stance on kids: hurt them and you die

But that's a very distant sort of hate

In general, Guillotine isn't a hateful person. There are many irritants in life, but Guillotine is far too much of an optimist to believe in hatred

Skin: Holy shit, this man is so comfortable in his skin, you have no fucking idea. I didn't even realize he was until someone pointed it out, but he is so goddamn confident in himself. (If you ignore his intimidating aura) He might seem shy from time to time, but that's usually from confusion and at all other times he has the confidence of a fucking bull stampeding through a China shop.

And height? Uh oh, a numbers question. Uuuuuuh, well Streaker and Vole are 2x average human height, so about 12-14 ft, and they are about 1/2 Vaporwave's height which makes Vaporwave somewhere around 28 ft and Guillotine is about half a Vaporwave taller than Vaporwave which would make Guillotine about 42 ft

This is a pretty good approximation I think

This is, of course, the height of a very chonky, scrunched up Guillotine. Were he uninjured, he would probably be taller.

Also, his head is pretty low on his body bc he's got weird posture 42' is measuring approx. where his shoulders are tallest and ignores the muzzles of his back-mounted weapons

He's got that old person at the computer hunch. This man got that shrimp posture

*death and mutilation and staring at fractals

**this refers to the short you can poke me about editing

[thegeminisage]

star trek update time. last night* we watched tng's "attached" and ds9's "necessary evil." *i am typing this at fuck o clock it will go up when im at work

attached (tng):

ok, the premise of this is basically every spirk fic ever, right...? "ooh, we accidentally have a telepathic connection and our feelings are revealed"

to get this out of the way, i like how much worf e riker e deanna was in the b-plot of this, even just circumstantially (i missed data though). i also think riker finally getting fed up with the aliens and giving them shit was really funny. riker is never mean to ANYBODY. i'm also glad he was relatively chill about picard being missing for once lol. like, in NO way were these assholes ready to enter the federation. not to agree with picard, but PART of a world can't enter. if you haven't mastered world peace you can't sit with us etc etc. not that i'm fully buying the propaganda of the federation as the ultimate good or that earth does somehow have world peace but whatever. even i know these guys weren't ready. what a fucking joke

frankly stunned this didn't lead to discussion about the affair baby wesley crusher. yes i know picard said he would never act on it. i don't care about that. i KNOW these people have had an affair baby. they're the type. he would knock her up and leave her high and dry. it's the kind of man he is. don't tell me there's no affair baby. i know what i know. there IS an affair baby!! i will die on this hill

actually, even though i dislike picard, i think sir patrick stewart is a v talented actor and i DO like him. i also really like beverly, so they managed to be charming a couple of times in this episode, mostly when they had a thought we couldn't hear and then started snickering about it

that said, i have no respect at all for jean-luc. the campfire conversation sucked. beverly was DEEPLY flattered and also in a little bit of a vulnerable position and he WAS LYING when he said he didn't feel that way anymore bc he tried to hit her up at the end of the episode. a man would have HELD HER, jean-luc. i would have held her. beverly crusher i would treat you so much better

this is insane bc i don't even have a crush on beverly. like genuinely. i only talk like this about sophie devereaux and brit marling characters. i just think it's outrageous her man doesn't treat her better. i almost had a fit when it came out he didn't like the breakfasts until beverly responded in kind also lol her saying croissant w the french accent

them getting sick when they split up was really funny. jean-luc, time to ruthlessly experience morning sickness. this is how it was after you left her high and dry post affair baby conception

the bait and switch at the end fucking killed me i love beverly making him ask and then turning him down GOOD FOR HER but i have no idea what motivated the entire thing. like, was the goal to get them together before the series ended? ok, why keep them apart? why show her pushing him through to safety at the expense of her own if she was gonna turn him down? why was she giving dtf vibes there at the end? like i was YELLING at him to go to her and then he did and she was like "actually nah." which was FUNNY and again good for her but what the fuck? i thought she wanted him. i just want her to be happy.

necessary evil (ds9):

OHHHHHHH MYYYYYY GODDDDDDD

i knew going in that this was an odo episode but AN ODO AND KIRA EPISODE??? swoon. oh my god she was the first person to give him his little constable nickname. HURL. KILL MEEEEE

actually, odo/kira and odo/quark people were BOTH getting fed during this ep. odo like yeah idc about quark but im gonna solve this murder case w extreme prejudice. i like both so i had a great time

every single mention of odo's dehumanization in the past makes me HOMICIDAL please treat him really niceys. i would kind of like to know what the cardassian neck trick is though. just not from odo

"i dont drink" fuckin hilarious. i think odo should shapeshift himself a digestive system so he can try food. um one that can digest stuff in 16 hours i guess or it would all just fall out when he gooped again. we tossed around the idea of chewing gum, since you just spit that back out eventually. but does he even have tastebuds, or just the approximation of them? his other senses seem to work ok........

the window in this acted SO sketchy like she was fake crying at her third dead husbands funeral after she just inherited a zillion dollars but she literally was innocent. she pointed at kira and was like girl she did it and we're like NO kira's innocent! and then kira is literally not innocent but shady sketchy widow is. incredible

kira with long hair my beloved. i would hate it if she had long hair in present day but it's perfect for past kira

ds9 looks SO BAD in the past. to have children running around and playing in it now is insane. you can really feel the difference between the cardassian occupation and Now so well in this episode, it's as striking to us as it would be to kira and odo

ohhh my god kira and odo. "will you ever trust me again" he's not even mad she killed that guy just mad that she lied about it. AUGHGHGHG

but when kira did something shady it was for a good cause. when odo was being shady he was indirectly working for the fucking cardassians. "choose a side" so true but he eventually chose kira's <3

i love deeply that he didn't try to fuck her. like it genuinely didn't even occur to him. ace king.

40s mystery style of this was so fun. odo narration is so funny bc like he doesnt wanna do it and his log is just one sentence bc he thinks its fucking stupid and then by the end of the ep hes like man am i supposed to be usign this thing as a diary?? girl dont worry about it james t kirk did the same fucking thing

final note: rom in this episode was amazing. i've never really given him more than a passing thought before this but him secretly being a fucking amazing thief was truly fantastic. sisko and odo good cop bad copping him was really funny too especially when you remember his son and sisko's son are besties. i would still rank the ferengi as my least favorite ds9 characters but i was pleasantly surprised with how often i laughed

TONIGHT: tng's "forces of nature" which sounds like. its gonna make me mad lol

[krynutsreal]

yipee another request done, this time for @princeasimdiya12 !!

they had asked for some talentswap ishimondo and I asked for some suggestions of what they wanted:

I only did a few of em since some I couldn't really think of designs for mechanic mon and aiikido master ishi aughefjejt but either way I hope you enjoy!

this post is gonna be long bc of the doodles and also just me rambling abt em 👍

starting off with prince! Ishi and soldier! Mondo :]

im gonna be honest it was somewhat difficult to come up with a decent design for mondo bc I feel like it'd be a bit ridiculous to make it those like cameo soldier type of things that first show up when u google soldier aughddjtkdnt

But it was fun to draw them either way! Mondo would probably have shorter hair if the man bun was down but he keeps it up so that it doesn't get in the way of his face (duh)

As for ishi my only thoughts for him are that he's a prince who wants to make his family name and kingdom better because of his old tyrannical grandfather who used to be king or sumn.

I don't think either of their personalities would change too much, mainly their backstories ofc due to the change of ultimates.

Onto the next talentswap!

Idol!Mondo and Assassin! Kiyotaka :)

OOK SO FOR THESE I LITEKTJJDF I rlly like how Mondo turned out and I had more difficulty with taka since looking up references were wonky this time.

Ik these look very simple but trust me it took so long trying to not smudge everything even more SO 😭

.

for mondo I believe that when he actually preforms it's more of that outfit but obviously with more details to it (I would have added them if I could but I didn't want to make it more messy). Like he'd probably have some form of the Diamonds logo maybe on the back and some gold designs on the cuffs of his outfits and such!! Maybe his preforming outfit is like the version of his coat where it's white with gold like in his original design yk? In a similar way that Sayaka wants to not give up all that she's worked for to be an idol I feel like Mondo would be that way too. I'd say more but it's this post is already long enough as is jakfjdjf

For ishi I wasn't sure on whether to go in the way where he pretends to have a different talent in hopes to cover his actual talent? Like how they did with Maki, but I just decided to draw him in what he would wear when actually killing someone, the cape to cover himself and the black mask to keep his face unrecognizable ofc. Ironically though I think people would state that even with his mask and hood on the most recognizable thing abt him is his eyes since they're red. On the job he probably tries to keep quiet to make himself unsuspecting but when talking to classmates or outside of it he's probably still just as loud as he is canonically lol

ok that's all, I'll probably draw more of em and draw some ideas out bc clearly I cannot organize my thoughts properly

[shprka]

Stranger things atla au I thought about for the past 2 days

El is the Avatar obv, some Earth Kingdom kids find her wandering in the woods. She already has some skills with using Air but she needs to learn and master all the elements.

So first she needs to learn from Hopper who is her Earth bending master

Then they she has to learn water bending. Mike tries to teach her a bit of waterbending but she needs an actual teacher. Nancy is a waterbender but she's not a master yet. Steve is also from there and almost married to Nancy. He even made a bethrotal necklace and worries how to ask her. But throughout their adventure, they grow apart. Turns out the Southern Water Tribe is where they need to go and where the best water bending master lives. It's Joyce who hasn't used it in ages because of trauma and she didn't have a need except to water bend small things. But in the end she teaches El and Nancy waterbending, and basically adopts El, and Nancy falls in love with Jonathan. Will and Mike become besties. Steve tags along like the good Big Brother he is (huge Sokka vibes)

Then El runs away and Kali helps her master her aibending

Now it's fire left. And Billy and Max are the prince and princess of the Fire Kingdom who have been tasked with capturing the Avatar for their father (aka the Fire Lord Corneilius lol) and they cant go back home until they do it. Max is really on it, she's been taught to hate the Avatar, but when she meets El, they become besties quickly. While they travel together, Max wants to teach El fire bending but it's not really working

Then we have Billy who never hated the Avatar, who was happy enough never coming back home, but then she hears Max has been kidnapped by the gang traveling with the Avatar and, as much as they argue, he cares about Max and has to get her back. More so, because his father will punish him and Max if he doesn't. He is one of the most powerful fire benders out there, but cannot control his emotions which makes his powers dangerous and unpredictable. He catches El and delivers her to her father, then gets her out of prison bc he feels guilty, and travels back with her to her friends. They bond over their traumatic pasts and slowly El starts to finally learn how to Fire bend. Then somehow along thr way Billy becomes a part of thr group and ends up teaching El and finally understanding his own powers

It ends with defeating Neil and Steve's brand new bethrotal necklace on Billy's neck 🥰