#because for some reason it was missing from the sign listing all species in that habitat

[critter-captures]

Pied imperial pigeon (Ducula bicolor), family Columbidae (doves and pigeons)

Its taxonomy is confusing and remains unsettled, in part due to its similarity to various other species within the Ducula genus. It stands out by its white plumage (lacking spots on the thighs and a yellowish tinge) and grayish bill with a black tip.

Avifauna, taken July 2024

[adore-laur]

Hey! Saw your post abt asking for more dadrry and I love sending these to you so here goes: Harry’s been noticing that his wife is a bit down lately. It’s not because of anything in particular she still loves all of them but she’s just a bit bored at home with him back at work after a short parental leave to take care of the baby and their oldest daughter at school now. So one day he concocts a plan with their oldest kid and takes her with him to the pet store to pick up something to keep his wife company

——

It was Harry's last day of parental leave, and he noticed you were apprehensive about it. He had been at home for twelve weeks, savoring time with his three girls. Now, he was leaving the little bubble of bliss and heading back to work.

He empathized with you, knowing the daily parenting routine would weigh heavily on your shoulders. A part of him didn't want to leave you. It wasn't that he didn't trust you—he simply dreaded missing milestones, cuddles, and the mere pleasure of watching you as a mother.

Harry was out and about running errands with his eldest daughter to enjoy some quality time together before tomorrow arrived. He stocked up on groceries so you wouldn't have to worry about it for a while. He had also already decided to freeze several home-cooked meals to make it easier on you, as well as occasionally bring dinner home from work if he had the opportunity. Next on the list was buying more diapers and baby powder.

You had told him the days would be long and boring without him home as the main entertainer for the girls. Last night, before he had fallen asleep, he brainstormed ways that you could pass the time while he was working. You obviously had the kids to take care of, but there would be moments, like during nap time, when you'd be sitting in the house with nothing to do.

It was easier with the first kid since all you did was nurse and soothe cries. Now, you needed a distraction for both the kids and you.

"Daddy, can we go see the animals?"

Harry was buckling his daughter in her car seat when she asked the question. Her little finger pointed next to the grocery store they were just at, where a pet store resided. He'd never ventured in there before simply because he had to reason to. Now, he had a daughter who loved every animal that roamed the earth and held a curiosity toward any signs of them.

He sighed and unbuckled her. There was no chance he'd have said no, even if he did want to soak up family time in the comfort of his home. But his baby girl got what she wanted, at least when it was a reasonable request.

Steady rainfall dotted his clothes and frizzed his hair as he speed-walked toward the automatic doors with his daughter on his hip. It was Sunday, so there was a slow stream of people driving around and walking past the line of stores and boutiques.

Inside the pet store, an unknown smell greeted him, as well as two green parakeets perched in a large, luxurious birdcage. His daughter gasped with a wondrous smile, listening to them chatter and squawk noisily. Further past the several species of birds placed near the storefront window were glass terrariums with bearded dragons, nonvenomous snakes, and slider turtles. They all moved leisurely and held zero interest in visitors.

In the back, a dark section dimly lit by blue aquarium lights showcased rows upon rows of glass tanks filled with freshwater fish galore. Some of Harry's cherished childhood memories involved lingering near the fish section at pet stores, feeling like he was in a secret underwater world that no human could enter.

"All right, lovebug," Harry said. "I have a question. Should we get Mommy a fish to take care of?"

"Yes!"

"Let's pick one out. I'll even let you get one if you want."

"Really?"

He jostled her playfully. "Of course. We'll put it in your room and help you feed it."

She rested her head on his shoulder and softly said, "Thank you."

His heart melted a little bit as he kissed her temple and set her down. "Anything for my sweet girl."

They walked hand in hand past the tanks and admired the different species of fish floating in the water—goldfish, cichlids, tetras, and ones he couldn't name.

"I want one of those." She pointed to some nearby shelves, where there were little glass containers with betta fish swimming around in them. Many were vividly multicolored. It seemed like a perfect distraction for your mind. Nothing too high-maintenance or in need of too much attention.

"Yeah?" He stalked over to the shelf. "Which one?"

"Purple," she said decisively.

"And which one for Mama?" he asked.

"You pick."

Harry browsed the options. They were all magnificent to look at, but one in particular grabbed his attention. On the bottom shelf, there was a pearl-white betta fish that looked like a wispy angel. Harry crouched and closely inspected the harmless creature. It was beautiful, with an appearance of quiet elegance. Just like you.

"Definitely this one," he said, picturing it in a bigger tank with aquarium pebbles and plants and maybe a rock cave to sleep in.

Harry waved over a store associate and got the checkout process started. Within ten minutes, he was carefully carrying two glass containers with the new pets and pushing a shopping cart with two separate two-gallon tanks, pellets, and a couple of cheap aquarium decorations.

When they arrived home, Harry walked through the front door and saw you sleeping on the couch. The baby must have been napping as well, which was really the only time you or he could catch up on sleep. He smiled to himself, a lovely ache pulsing in his heart. If it was possible, he'd stay home with you forever and have "parent" be his singular job title. Alas, he was a needed man outside the home. 

His daughter skipped toward you, clearly excited to reveal the surprise. Harry slowly walked over with the fish and crouched next to your sleeping form. Quietly beautiful. 

"Sweetheart," he whispered, softly stroking your cheek with his knuckles. 

You sleepily opened your eyes, squinted at his face, and then hummed happily. "You're home." The way you said it sounded relieved, which made him not want to be released from his sabbatical. If only he could work from home. 

"We got you something," he said, turning to his daughter so she could do the honors. She took the container with the white betta fish and held it out like it was a sacred gift meant to be handled with the utmost care and respect.

"What is... oh my, what is this?" you asked, your expression morphing into amazement. "Where did you get this?"

"We went to the pet store, and Daddy said that me and you could get pet fish."

You quickly noticed the other betta fish that Harry was holding, and your eyebrows drew together. "What's the special occasion?"

Harry tucked the blanket further up your body and said, "Tomorrow is going to be rough, so I thought you could use a distraction when the days are long without me here."

Your jaw dropped a little as you took the container and closely watched the wispy specimen swim in circles. "That's so thoughtful, Harry."

"Thank your daughter," he replied, kissing your head as he stood up. "She convinced me. Thankfully, she picked an easy animal to take care of." He couldn't imagine if he came home with a slithery snake or an obnoxious bird. This was a peaceful pet that didn't really do much of anything. Something you could simply admire and keep satisfied through simple measures.

He never thought getting you a fish would be a part of his lifelong repayment for two precious children, but it was the most spontaneous moments that mattered most.

——

[pannaginip]

Located 62km north-east of the capital Manila, Daraitan village in Rizal province is home to about 5,700 residents, a majority of whom are members of the Dumagat-Remontado indigenous people who consider vast hectares of the mountain range as part of their ancestral domain.

But the village may soon disappear under the same waters that give it life, once the Philippine government finishes building the Kaliwa Dam – one of 16 flagship infrastructure projects of former president Rodrigo Duterte that is being funded by China.

The new dam is expected to provide Metro Manila with an additional 600 million litres of water daily once it is finished by end-2026. Officials said building the 60m-high reservoir is even more necessary now that the country is starting to feel the impact of the El Nino weather phenomenon.

But it was only in 2021 under Mr Duterte that construction finally broke ground, three years after Manila and Beijing signed the 12 billion peso (S$288 million) loan agreement.

Of the 119 on the list [of flagship projects of the "Build, Build, Build” infrastructure programme], Mr Duterte turned to China to finance 16 big-ticket projects in a bid to cement his legacy by the time his presidency ended in 2022. He embraced Beijing during his term and even downplayed Manila’s claims in the disputed South China Sea in favour of securing loans and grants from China.

Analysts have criticised Mr Duterte’s infrastructure programme as ambitious. Perennial domestic issues like local politics, right-of-way acquisition problems, lack of technology and red tape in bureaucracy led to severe delays in the projects.

The same issues hound the China-funded projects – which come under Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to build infrastructure in developing nations – with the problems made more severe by Beijing’s high interest rates in its loan agreements and local backlash due to displacement of residents or potential environmental damage.

Critics say the BRI has been detrimental in the long run to some recipient countries, especially those that have been unable to repay their loans, like Sri Lanka and Zambia.

The Duterte government’s failure to take advantage of its BRI loans was a “missed opportunity” for the Philippines, said infrastructure governance specialist Jerik Cruz, a graduate research fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The four completed China-funded projects under Mr Duterte were controversial too. But they came to fruition because they had the support of local politicians allied with Mr Duterte and therefore increased his political capital, said Dr Camba.

Tribal leaders said they were not properly consulted regarding the project that threatens their traditional way of life. Environmentalists from the Stop Kaliwa Dam Network also say the project would destroy 126 species of flora and fauna in the Sierra Madre.

The Philippines’ Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act states that the government must first secure a tribe’s free, prior and informed consent before building on its ancestral lands.

But Ms Clara Dullas, one of the leaders of the Dumagat-Remontado in Rizal, alleged that the Duterte government had either misinformed or pressured other tribe members into giving their consent.

She could not bear to hold grudges, though, noting that the Dumagat-Remontado organisations that eventually agreed to the Kaliwa Dam were each given 80 million pesos, or $1.9 million, in “disturbance” fees.

“The Kaliwa Dam is the reason why our tribe is divided now. There is a crack in our relationships even if we all come from the same family,” said Ms Dullas. “I can’t blame the others because we lack money. I believe there was bribery involved.”

The government requires them to present identification documents, and only those given passes may enter. Mr Dizon said this is to ensure that no unidentified personnel enter the area [close to the construction zone].

“We feel like we are foreigners in our own home because the Chinese and the people in our own government are now preventing us from entering the lands where we grew up,” said tribe leader Renato Ibanez, 48.

Mr Ibanez also accuses the Philippine authorities of harassing tribe members who are vocal against Kaliwa Dam. Some of them have been accused of working with communist rebels, a charge the tribe vehemently denies.

Unlike his predecessor, Mr Marcos is more aggressive in defending Manila’s overlapping claims with Beijing in the South China Sea, but still fosters economic ties with it.

Geopolitical tensions between the two nations and Mr Marcos’ stance towards Beijing are going to dictate the fate of the pending China-funded projects the President inherited from Mr Duterte, said Mr Cruz.

Tribe members said they would be more amenable if Mr Marcos would revisit Japan’s proposed Kaliwa Intake Weir project that Mr Duterte had set aside.

“We like Japan’s proposal. It would not destroy our forests. It would not affect residents here. The Philippines would not be buried in debt,” said Ms Dullas.

This was among the alternatives the Dumagat-Remontados offered during their nine-day march in February 2023, when some 300 members walked 150km from Quezon and Rizal all the way to Manila to protest against the Kaliwa Dam.

But they failed to secure an audience with Mr Marcos. They remain wary of the President’s position on the Kaliwa Dam and other controversial China-funded deals.

“As much as we want to fully pin our hopes on him, we don’t. We’ve learnt from past efforts to trick us, make us believe a project is about to end, only for it to be resurrected again years later,” said Ms Dullas.

2024 Mar. 3

[geekwriter]

TODAY'S LESSONS ON GENDER (1) "Gender Neutral", including bathrooms, isn't new or political. See section "Gender Neutral Bathrooms". (2) "Binary Gender" doesn't exist. It never has. See section "Human Gender". (3) Transgender and non-binary are not the same thing. Learn more here - https://yourdandi.co.uk/myth-busting-non-binary/

You are free to comment whatever you like. However, using words like 'woke' or 'liberalism' reveal you want attention/reaction (you're a jerk), and don't care about accuracy (too lazy to learn anything). GENDER NEUTRAL BATHROOMS These types of bathrooms have always existed. Beyond decades old. Example is when I was in the Air Force in 1990. The privacy was only about chest and down. I could turn my head and start talking to a male colleague while we were both on the 'pot'. We also shared tents. None of this is an abnormal thing. Nor is any of it 'sexy'. Another example is when they deployed soldiers for Desert Storm and were initially setting up camps in the desert. Types of gender neutral bathrooms: (1) Nearly no privacy, like the one I used in 1990. (2) It's a private bathroom where the door can lock. (3) It's a bathroom of typical male design in that it has both stalls and urinals. Both genders can use it at the same time. Even companies have done this as it makes sense. Cost is just one reason. Because some conservatives allow themselves to get triggered by hearing anything 'gender neutral', many places changed the door sign to 'family bathroom'. Two examples of why they are needed: (1) A father trying to figure out how best to take his 3 year old to the bathroom at a baseball game. Design 2, now more commonly known as a family bathroom, is what they need. (2) Large venues would benefit from having bathrooms with design three. Physically, women need to sit down to pee while men can stand. Men's bathrooms often have just as many stalls as the woman's, but then also urinals. I can tell you from years of experience that women's bathrooms at these places almost always have longer lines. So, am I whining? Well, remember this when you (men) are at a concert with your daughter or significant other, she needs to go but wants you to go with her for safety (especially with your daughter), and you two are standing in line for 30 minutes for her to be able to go, and you both are missing a fantastic portion of the concert. And the list goes on.

HUMAN GENDER For those of us who didn't sleep through the required biology class in high school, you probably learned the term hermaphrodite. This term is still used but excludes mammals and birds. For humans, one of the terms is intersex. We can be born with both female and male genitalia. Or it doesn't becomes outwardly clear until later on in childhood. Some of the sex differentiation disorder terms are Ambiguous genitalia, Congenital adrenal hyperplasia, Gonadal dysgenesis, and DSD.

HERMAPHRODITISM - The condition of having both male and female reproductive organs. Found in the animals (ex. starfish) and other life (ex. most flowering plants). If we don't include the insects, about 33% of all animal species are hermaphroditic creatures. All mammals, including humans, and all birds, fall into the 77% that are not.

INTERSEX - When a creature isn't born as specifically male or female. This includes combinations between inside the body (features of both genders or neither) and what is visible externally. It may be apparent upon the birth or not until later in childhood. Older term that is no longer technically correct but still used is ambiguous genitalia.

Still have doubts? Or maybe curious to learn more? Enjoy going down the rabbit hole with these links.

Non-Binary - https://yourdandi.co.uk/myth-busting-non-binary/ Hermaphrodite - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermaphrodite Intersex - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intersex Intersex Definitions - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Definitions_of_intersex Atypical Genitalia - https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22470-atypical-genitalia-formerly-known-as-ambiguous-genitalia Ambiguous Genitalia - https://healthjade.com/ambiguous-genitalia/ Sexual Anomalies - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_anomalies Disorders of Sex Development - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disorders_of_sex_development

[chaoticevilbean]

An (Un)Official List Of Things Only Anakin Skywalker Can Do

Originally written by Ayala Secura

Blow people up with his mind on accident

Anakin expressed concern over his lack of emotional control. He gave many examples of normal problems that can arise from this. He then casually added one that is not common, usual, or even plausible for known Jedi. From his recollection, he would often cause beings who enraged him to spontaneously and violently combust.

I did my best to reassure him that such things were considered unusual, but weren't reason for him to be fearful. At the time, I simply didn't wish to increase his worries. I did maintain that the exploding of beings is very bad, and that he should work on finding ways to productively release such strong emotions.

I apologize here for the "renovation" of the hangar. (Secura)

Hear as far as the length of the Temple (without meditation)

Amendment: Hear as far as the diameter of Coruscant (without meditation)

Anakin once again was expressing concerns over his lack of control. He also complained that it was causing him headaches. Upon my questioning, he explained that he could hear the younglings playing on the other side of the Temple. I tested this by having us stand on either end of the longest part of the Temple we could reach. I asked if he could hear me (without a comm) and he responded that he could (using a comm).

Later, when he was still within the Temple, I found myself on a mission with my Master. It was not a very rushed assignment, and I began humming. Upon my return to the Temple, Anakin asked me if I knew what song it was, humming the exact tune I had. Apparently, he had been walking with his own Master and had heard me, though he hadn't been focusing enough to identify what he was doing. (Secura)

Smell differences within water despite being a non-variant Human

Smell differences within air despite being a non-variant Human

He accompanied me to the Room of a Thousand Fountains. It was a normal walk through the gardens, until we came across one of the smaller ponds. He commented that someone had cleaned it recently. When I asked how he knew, he explained that it smelled different.

He and I were sitting within his quarters. We were simply chatting when he complained that someone had messed with the ventilation without alerting him or Knight Kenobi. He could smell the air was slightly different than before. As he put it, the smell wasn't the problem, but the lack of communication was.

Both instances, he couldn't elaborate on what exactly the smells were, nor how he knew what each one meant. He simply knows these things. When tested with some other Padawans, the only ones that came close to knowing such things were Nautolans, out of a base group of 15 species. The experiment is listed in the Archives as Liquid and Gaseous Change Detection. (Secura)

Eat death sticks without consequence

Both of our Masters brought us to the lower levels in order to fulfill a mission. Anakin and I were left in a corner booth, with instructions to remain there and cause a commotion if someone attempted to harm or harrass us.

I looked away for TEN SECONDS. Ten seconds, and he was being offered a death stick by a clearly intoxicated individual who had no sense of what should and shouldn't be given to a barely ten-cycle-old. Anakin had no experience with such things. He had no idea what he was being given, and managed to get instructions to pour the liquid into his fizzyglug within the fleeting moment I was not paying attention.

He consumed it, chugging the liquid when I attempted to order him to stop, and then take it from him when he didn't listen. The individual who gave him the death stick had the sense to begin to panic, finally realizing Anakin's youth. However, Anakin finished off every drop with nothing but a smile. I got our Masters attention, but even after taking him to the nearest medcenter and runnign multiple scans, there were no signs of any harm. I have received significant therapy for that event, and Anakin has since been informed to not take anything from strangers. (Secura)

Generate electricity on levels that a (non-variant) Human cannot perform (without a health declination)

He was making his hair do that weird static thing that Human hair does every time he got excited. He also kept causing screens and pads to glitch or turn off whenever he picked them up while in a similar state. A solution of temporary insulating gloves and frequent reminders helped him gain control. (Secura)

Communicate words through the Force with minimal bonding

Amendment: No bonding is necessary for this form of communication, and is possible within the expanse of the Temple

Amendment: Communication is possible over most distances

He asked me if Aayla was available to study (with the Force) because his mouth was full and he'd already been told off that day. (Vos)

Skywalker told me that my Padawan was experiencing a panic attack from across the Temple. No bond existed between us before or after the interaction. (Fisto)

Skywalker informed me of a mission delay over several systems. He explained later that he was attempting to prevent his Master's worry about informing the Council and knew I would inform the other members for Kenobi. (Windu)

Consume raw meat (without a health declination) despite being a non-variant Human

Nervous to eat lunch alone, he was. Asked to eat together, I did. Showed him the kitchens, I did. Ate five live frogs, he did. Proud, I am. (Yoda)

I handed him a rodent I had found within my quarters, asking him to hold it so I could call someone. I was going to call a being who could help me prevent further instances and get rid of this rodent. I needn't have worried about relocating or disposing of the creature, though. I remember hearing a loud squeal, then turning to find Skywalker trying to tear away the fur of the rodent. He had no notion that it was an unusual habit for a Human. (Ti)

Jump into the Temple vents without using the walls

Amendment: Without using any aid

Amendment: Jump in/out of the Temple vents and on/off obstacles of similar height without any aid whatsoever

He's proved this multiple times over various training excercises, and occasionally his attempts to avoid said excercises. There's footage of it from the Temple's cameras. He has no regard for safety when it comes to jumping off of ledges, cliffs, or roofs/out windows. Caution advisory does nothing. (Kenobi)

Send emotions through the Force without a bond

Amendment: Send emotions without a bond, over great distances, with extreme precision and without any meditation or prior preparation - such emotions will likely be magnified upon reception, and can cause fainting, among other symptoms

Upon the death of notable Jedi Master Pak'll Tiffn, I had decided to participate in their culture's traditional week-long mourning practices. Near the end of this, young Skywalker asked me why I seemed so "down". I explained my grief at the death of Master Tiffn, and he continued to question me on the cause of my "distress". When he discovered I had technically finished the practices an hour before, he sent such a strong wave of excitement to me that I found it hard to not smile for the following three days.

I also found myself wishing to work on starfighter engines, which I attribute to the excitement being of Skywalker's creation. (Tiin)

I had a migraine while on a mission. Skywalker sent me a wave of comfort that caused me to pass out. He has since been informed that he should not interact with Jedi in the field unless he is certain they are in a safe enough position to do so. (Windu)

Accidentally cause plants to grow at a visibly accelerated rate

Anakin fell asleep in the Room of a Thousand Fountains while attempting to meditate. Upon my arrival, I found the grass already past my knees in height, and several nearby shrubs beginning to flower. I write my apologies here to the caretakers of the Room, and express my gratitude that none of you commented on it. (Kenobi)

Accidental levitation whilst walking

Amendment: Accidental levitation whilst walking, running, and other movement in which one is not standing/sitting/lying in a singular place

Witnessed during sparring practice with Master Kit Fisto and Master Ki-Adi Mundi

Bypass shielding enough to receive a clear perception of a being's emotions

I was working through some guilt over a recent mission and the requirements to fulfill it. Anakin walked over and did his best to comfort me without any understanding of why I was feeling that way, but knowing exactly what I was feeling. Throughout our entire interaction, my shields remained firmly in place, and strong enough that he really shouldn't have been able to even know where I was.

Oh yeah. He came from across the Temple to find me. He bypassed my shielding from across the Temple, without realizing his actions, and did so with better precision than a fully trained Master. (Vos)

Carry items of any weight without strain from channeling

According to Skywalker, the only trouble he has with lifting all the furniture in his quarters is he has to focus on the act while also looking for his missing holopad. (Koon)

(regarding previous entry) Reminds me of the time he lifted all the ships in Hangar 6 in order to find a single wrench, which was in somehow within the vents. (Billaba)

Cause a building-wide power outage from a nightmare/vision

Incident recorded as Padawan-induced. (Nu)

Bite through beskar when curious

Taste the strength of metals

Skywalker is no longer allowed in the forges without someone actively supervising him and him alone. He saw a piece of beskar I had managed to aquire. He was curious about the ore, due to it being unknown to him. I caught him with it in his mouth like some youngling sneaking a cookie. Apparently it tasted really strong. I thought he meant the taste was pungent, until he said that even durasteel didn't taste as strong. (Ria)

Heal minor personal wounds immediately, within a few seconds and without discernible energy usage

Heal major personal wounds immediately, up to halving recovery time and with lessened energy usage

Incidents recorded in mission reports including Skywalker (Nu)

Accidentally mind trick crowds of 20 or more

Amendment: Untested limit of how many can be affected, although the effectiveness of the tricks varies between individuals, and can reach up to 50 beings (recorded)

Note to all those who may serve a diplomatic mission with Skywalker: he can safely diffuse mobs, protests, and other upset crowds. He will need time to calm his own emotions afterwards, as it is (theoretically) his increasing anxiety that causes such effects. (Fisto)

Learn a language after hearing it only once

Amendment: Anakin will not know this is happening. He will simply begin to speak the language back at whoever spoke it to him.

Incidents recorded in mission reports including Skywalker (Nu)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

All Jedi are now welcome to add to the (Un)Official List of Things Only Anakin Skywalker Can Do. All editors are asked to put some form of a source, even if such source is simply a page-long rant about Padawan Skywalker's habit of not checking if a substance should be poisonous to him (condolences to Knight Vos).

Please also include some sort of identifier to connect each edit to the being(s) who created them.

Sincerest gratitude and condolences to all Jedi who find themselves editing this file. (Secura)

[horta-in-charge]

Content Warning: 18+ Content! Minors do not interact!, OC fanfic, Cult, DS9 spoilers, Covenant Spoilers, Dukat being Dukat, religious jokes, general trauma from dealing with cults, mythology.

Author’s Note: This work contains OC’s (my unnamed half siren OC and Clara, brief mention). It also contains 18+ content so minors DO NOT INTERACT! It is also a bit of a crossover between Librarians (my second favorite show) but the content isn’t heavily dependent on needing to watch it. The song she hums is Lean on Me by Bill Withers. General vibes are inspired by that song, Take Me Home Country Roads, Rocky Mountain High (both by John Denver), and the backing track to All My Ex’s Live in Texas by George Strait because it came on the radio while I was writing and passed the vibe check. Of course in this case Texas is the Dominion. Please note a lot of the mythology/religious jokes were funnier in my head. The gif of Kira I wanted for this post tumblr wouldn’t let me use for some reason. I also apologize for the world building in this fic but it needed to go somewhere and was relevant. Humans consider themselves the only native evolved species on Earth in Star Trek and ding dong they are wrong. 

Tagging: @deepspacedukat​ for listening to my OC rants and for letting me use her gif.

Broken Covenant 

It started out like any other day on DS9. Get up, eat, dress for the work shift, then actually work- which was very entertaining because of all the vaccinations scheduled with one of the main infirmary computers tied up doing sequencing on a newer viral strain. Of course, DS9 had interesting things happen nearly every day before it became a front line pit stop during the Dominion War. Maybe it was because she’d used that holosuite program the Library had gifted her before she reported for duty. Maybe it was the focus on work that somehow freed another sense from its prison. Or, quite possibly, it was that the water patterns of every permanent station resident were etched into her psyche and the awareness that one was suddenly missing was like taking a brick to the head. No matter what, she was going to find out what had disturbed her mind, even if it took all of her off duty time. The replicated meal she’d had for dinner sat there, empty dishes staring back at her like banshee eyes, although not screaming, which was a good sign. 

Pushing her focus outwards, she swept through the station while sitting crosslegged in her chair, searching, taking mental note of who she could cross off her list. Something blocked her sense from entering Kira’s room. A very strange, orange vibrational pattern lingered there, draping over the inside like a viscous fog. Pulling focus back in was much easier because there was only one target- herself. The absolute conclusion: Kira was missing. The problem: she didn’t work with the Colonel, so there wouldn’t be any residual energy from exposure. Keeping her eyes shut, she went to that place in herself that was so easy to access, and in desperation, conjured up an image of Kira’s face, not unlike that of Prince Eric’s in that anti-Siren propaganda movie (so called by her seven year old niece), and willed herself to physically move to that location, hoping for a stagnant target. A warp target would leave her frozen in space. 

The sensation of landing on your ass, while familiar, isn’t a pleasant way to appear anywhere. She had a feeling she’d be sleeping face down, ass up for a day or two if she wasn’t immediately killed. Unfamiliar arms pulled her to her feet. She blinked to readjust her eyes to the dim, albeit red light of the room. Her ears needed no adjustment to know that was Dukat asking how she’d gotten there in his usual smarmy, charismatic voice. He would be behind anything to do with Kira. His obsession seemed a primary self-trait. The response that she’d been meditating and had no idea what had happened left her mouth with the honest skill of a con man’s patter. It was unfortunately a practiced skill all human-like earth species mastered young. Deceit, used correctly, was like the helmet of invisibility, which was sitting on a Library pedestal, nowhere near that Byzantine death trap she’d broken over a year ago. 

Dukat’s mention that Damar would be pleased (jealous) his good luck charm was here in the temple of the Pa’Wraiths was ignored. If he wanted to waste his breath on that, she’d let him. The hands and arms let go of her at his command, and then disappeared out the door, leaving her with Kira and Dukat, while they had a non-consensual reunion on the raised stage area of the room the three were in. This place, Empok Nor, was twin to DS9 in every way but the decor and the lower power level humming its way through the station. She was too tired after the jump, which was somewhere between wormholing and teleporting- not that she would be able to explain how it worked anyways because the math needed to combine physics and magic was beyond her level of expertise- to send herself out through the station to take stock of its occupants. Knowing Dukat, he would be the only Cardassian on the station, leaving everyone else except her, the uninvited guest, to be Bajoran. 

“I was touched by the hand of a god,” her focus snapped to Kira who was clearly not having it.

“I was touched by the hands of many gods. Some were inside me.” They both took a second to take stock of that statement, which coming from her in that tone, would register as a joke, even though she was dead serious on the matter. A goddess as well but it was probably best not to mention strong female figures around Dukat in any mood. Whenever he decided the conversation was over, she followed Kira and the Vedek, who was told to escort them to their room, out of the decidedly quarkless Quark’s Bar location that was doubling as a temple. 

As they passed through the promenade, her suspicion about the general occupancy was proved true. The Vedek gave the usual speech about life in the cult that all charismatic right hand men do, which was equal parts entertaining in the nature of its stupidity and rote nature, and eye-roll inducing. As they passed a pregnant woman, Mika, the Vedek called her, the Vedek- Fala?- began speaking about ancient Bajoran sex practices. Which screamed CULT at the top of its lungs through the entire quadrant. Being that close to the woman meant it took no focus at all to read the DNA of her child- and that child was half Cardassian. Again, CULT was screamed through the rafters of the universe itself. Determined to keep her mouth shut, because there was no possible way a human would know that information, she did, until they got to their quarters and Fala left. Kira was angry, and trying the door like there was hope of getting out that way. At least the rage wasn’t directed at her, which was good. 

“You know that child is half Cardassian.” Kira stopped banging at the door’s access panel and just stared at her. Stupid, stupid mistake. I can’t afford to get caught like this. Not at my own fault. 

“How do you know that?” The soft, yet stern questioning voice of the Colonel asked, hand still on the inside door lock.

“It’s a cult. Standard behavior is that the cult leader gets his pick of people to fuck. I wouldn’t be surprised if the other pregnant women on this station were taken by him as well.” Finding no lies, Kira tried the door again. “They aren’t going to let us out until Dukat wants us out. We might as well rest right now before we get paraded around this place at his whim. If they make us put on sheer wet silk and dance for his eminence Ezri will need to clear her schedule for the next three Dax lifetimes.” 

“Three!?”

“I have no intention of dying young. I will be a sexy rasin with a bikini clad staff somewhere on a nice estate. That’s what’s going to get me through this. Mental images of hot people.” That wasn’t what would get her through it at all. Sirens had an average life expectancy of a thousand years. A half human could expect at least five to eight hundred years (they didn’t have a lot of data to go on, so it was a guesstimate). She’d lied more in the last year than she had ever done in her life. As an atheist, she was quite glad she wasn’t an Egyptian species, because there was no way her heart wouldn’t get eaten by a crocodile, goddess given egyptian adder armband or not. 

In her own thoughts, she hardly noticed Kira sit down on the couch near her chair. What am I even doing here? Clearly not helping Kira. If I was I would have rigged that door lock to open- and what, expose myself? I have no tools! I wish I was Baird- no, I wish I had her experience. She’s over 300 years old! I wish I had the Library- not that I can solve this situation with science like they do. They don’t DO active magic. How am I supposed to even qualify for an interview for Guardian if I can’t even solve a cult? If I’m only half-human? They’d have this all fixed by now. And how do you fix a cult anyways? Therapy? I’m not Ezri but I’m pretty sure that comes after a dissolution. This is an active cult!  

The door opened and Fala stepped in. Apparently, it was time for services. What kind? Who knew? Probably not an orgy given the earlier speech about abstinence. She wondered if the ancient Bajorans masturbated. The walk there was full of anticipation but also very uncomfortable, because with all of her inner musings she’d forgotten to use the bathroom and her bladder was full. The services began with the banging of some type of Bajoran gong, and there was some opening chanting, which having never been to a regular Bajoran service, she assumed was normal. It wasn’t like she couldn’t understand what they were saying, even with no universal translator, but it didn’t sound much different than any type of service she’d seen. The problem was that it was led by Dukat which was, to use a 21st Century Earth phrase commandeered by a child missing a few baby teeth, heckka disturbing. 

Kira was standing a few people in front of her, and from the back, anyone with vision could see the anger simmering off the colonel. Herd dynamics and group mentality made stupidity contagious, and not that she wanted to insult her senior officer, it seemed highly catching. As soon as Kira was in reach of that phaser, her instinct kicked in, which was the exact opposite of what needed to happen. The display in front of her stuck her feet to the floor as she watched the other Bajorans defend a genocidal maniac cult leader. The next thing she knew, Kira was on the ground, knocked out by a blow to the upper back. Dukat was attempting to manuver through the crowd, but she got to Kira first and deadlifted her off the floor, which was no small effort on little sleep and no breakfast- was it time for breakfast yet?- distracting herself from the pain, she hummed an old earth song, well not that long, her grandmother was only in her fourth century of life at the time of release, but old to everyone else on the station. The strain was almost unbearable by the time she reached the quarters they were ‘assigned’. She assumed Dukat had stayed to administer the rest of the service, whatever that entailed. She put Kira down on the couch then quickly ran to the bathroom to relieve her discomfort and clean up. 

There wasn’t much she could do for Kira right now with such low energy levels, but she certainly was going to keep an eye on her superior officer. Dukat would no doubt try to use this to his advantage, which was something she herself was familiar with. A little too familiar considering Mika’s case. At least it was fun at the time, because according to the members of the ladies’ tea club her grandmother hosted, if it wasn’t fun then, it would never be fun at all. The enjoyment while it lasted was worth quite a lot later, although she wasn’t sure they had this kind of a later in mind when they dispensed their sage advice with oolong tea and cakes. 

A time later, which could have been five minutes or five hours to someone this tired, Dukat came in with a rag and a bowl of water. She wasn’t in the mood to fight with him about getting near Kira and he didn’t want to fight her either, so she ended up bent over Kira’s body holding a wet rag to her forehead until Kira woke up. Fortunately, the access to water did allow her to partially accelerate the healing of the bruise, but not by much. Dukat began proselytizing or just irritating Kira, it was getting very hard for her to focus. She had absorbed part of the water in that bowl too but it didn’t stop her from being dehydrated. Dukat seemed to be trying to make Kira feed herself when they were interrupted. Apparently it was time for birth. Dukat followed the messenger out and so did Kira, but hunger was no match for her own stomach, so she took the melon slices off the plate and started eating one while following them down to the infirmary. The look she received from Kira wasn’t a pleasant one, but her stomach didn’t care, and her pride wasn’t keeping her from food either. 

When she reached the infirmary with the others, her mouth was as sticky as her hands but her stomach was semi-filled. No one was looking at her, and even if they did, they wouldn’t see her controlling water molecules in the air to clean off her hands and face, because water molecules were invisible to the eyes of everyone there and they were all looking at the entrance of the room Mika was being rolled out of. 

She didn’t have to see the baby to know she was right, but she did anyway by the nature of her placement in the room, as did Kira. She caught the ‘you were right’ look from her kidnapped companion. Of course, the real entertainment was when Dukat saw the child and had to formulate a plan to cover up his cuckolding. Unsurprisingly, the people actually bought the explanation. She didn’t, and neither did Kira, but their opinions had no bearing on the events, and they most likely never would. She found the whole thing hilarious really, most likely because she wasn’t focused on her own physical needs. Maybe Kira would too if she had a sandwich or something else to snack on. 

After that, the two of them followed Fala somewhere, leaving the crowd to rejoice over the birth. Kira laid into Fala with good sense which was misplaced because he was too far gone into the path of Pa’Wraith worship. While he did make a good point about Kira hating Dukat so much she refused to even think the Pa’Wraiths could change DNA in utero, the simplest solution was usually the best, and while she had no physical proof the child was Dukat’s, her senses told her that it was.    

“It is possible to give birth while a virgin.” The out of left feild comment garnered looks from the two arguing Bajorans. “The original definition meant uncontrolled by a man. It had nothing to do with sex. The Catholic Church on Earth changed the meaning as a way to separate themselves from Roman and other ‘pagan’ cultures. In the current printing, it never mentions that there was any sex in the production of a new god. The original Aramaic says that a great light came into her. For all we know, it could have been Zeus.” The others chose to ignore the statement because she had been up for over twenty four hours. However, Fala had agreed to let Kira talk to the couple tomorrow in the hopes of proving her wrong. 

They walked back to their quarters in silence and got themselves cleaned as best they could before trying to sleep. Kira was still itching with anger over the whole situation, and was clearly mad at her for what she had said earlier.

“You can’t actually believe him. It’s preposterous.” She rolled over on the bed to face Kira. The room they were in was so tiny they’d both come to a non-verbal agreement to share. 

“I don’t, but I’m convinced that I’ll get access to the loading docks if I pretend like I do. Or at least don’t argue about not believing the swill Dukat sells as religion.” She had no idea if that settled the matter or not, because sleep came over her like a large blanket with talons and didn’t let her go until the morning. 

They were fed the following morning, that is to say they were given food, and got themselves ready to be escorted around the station. If she had her way, she would never sleep in her uniform’s undershirt ever again. Somewhere in the night, she had come to the conclusion that this entire charade was not for her. Or at least it wasn’t actively meant for her. If it was one of those unteachable lessons Si-Fu had spoken of during her training in the City of Light, that protected pocket of the Himalayas, she wasn’t sure what she was supposed to learn, unless she had already figured it out. Somehow she didn’t think Kira had learned what she was supposed to either. 

They followed Fala around to where Benyan was painting, and Kira was very much herself about the situation, much to the chagrin of their guide. The three of them went on searching for Mika, and because she was still suffering the effects of unorthadox jumping through space, the range of her senses was very limited, unless she wanted to pass out. When they found Mika, the airlock was open, and Dukat’s DNA was all over the buttons. Kira closed it, and they managed to get the poor woman to the infirmary. She wished there was something she could do for her, but she had no energy to spare, and the effect of decompression was so great that any help she could have given would have been too noticeable. She was going to need to go swimming in that Library holosuite program after all of this ended, if she was still alive to see the conclusion, that is. 

Of course Dukat called it an accident and dispatched a work crew to prevent any others. Kira didn’t buy it, and she didn’t either, but as usual, everyone else did. Except for the sedated woman in public view, but she couldn’t speak. Her husband was looking forth between her and the quote unquote miracle baby with a horrified yet blank look on his face. Fala insisted they go back to their room, and so they did, until after dinner, when Dukat held a late? Possibly early? service. The concept of time here at the Empok Nor Pa’Wraith cult village was mind boggling. Dukat had seen Kira afterward while she had been getting ready for bed. Kira came in fuming, talking about the proverbial Kool-Aid capsules. At this point, there was nothing they could do for a few hours, but sit and wait for everyone else to die. Except Dukat, because while Kira knew him better than she ever would, they both were of the opinion he was pulling something. Dukat and die didn’t belong in the same sentence. Dukat and ‘confirmed dead’ did. 

Eventually, Kira got sick of sitting. They both had, but Kira began to hit the door again. Her hands were freezing, so she held them over the space heater and waited. Finally Kira looked at her, and then at the space heater, then back at her face. She drug the space heater over to Kira, who ripped the inside door lock open. Kira was a good person to get trapped in a room with, because she knew what the inner workings of Cardassian equipment looked like. She had gone to Herford Medical School (very prestidgious, they only accepted eight students a year and routinely didn’t fill a whole class, but then again they only accepted non-human species, which was not advertised anywhere except among their own population) and passed the Academy’s Officer School with flying colors. She still had a hard time telling a phase converter from a decoupler. Kira shoved one of the longer wires into the heat source and they both waited.

The mechanism exploded, or at least ruined something inside, and they were able to pry the door open. Kira was somehow less tired than her despite a lack of food and sleep, and managed to reach the temple platform ahead of her. Watching her companion jump off of it and onto Dukat was a privilege and an honor. She noticed the different pill compositions in a way Kira couldn’t, but there was no need to warn her friend because Dukat was flopping his arm about like a dead fish looking for something. The non-lethal pill. As soon as Kira opened her mouth the crowd began to murmur and Dukat’s face had a look that was enough to raise the decibels to a level a Vorta would find absolutely unbearable, if she was remembering Weyoun 5��s physical structure correctly. 

Dukat went stark raving mad, and the angrier he got, the more his need for control caused him to move wildly, until his hair looked like what she assumed would be the same as the Cardassian equivalent of Fabio. It would have been sexy except for the attempted mass murder and that his personality was more disgusting than anything in the universe she’d encountered. Even a Fae charm couldn’t counter that. She wished she could curse him with the evil eye, but that was something reserved for grandma’s- they had the talent and the experience to make it work. Instead, he escaped just before Kira’s betrayer, as she just now began to understand why he’d been their guide, swallowed death whole. 

Another Colonel had saved the day at great cost to herself. She stood behind Kira as the body decomposed rapidly. There was nothing she could do except grab her superior officer by the shoulders and march her to get something to eat, the shower, and then bed. They waited two days, along with the other Bajorans, who were forced to look at their shattered illusions and try to pick up the pieces, for the Defiant to come and transport everyone back to DS9. She wasn’t sure if Kira had learned what she needed to, but she was thankful that Quark didn’t argue with her wanting a holosuite. She pulled the datarod out of her pocket dimension (a highly useful fifth birthday gift) and stuck it in the port, then called up the program. She pulled off her clothes and stuck them where the rod had been previously, then grabbed her necklace in one hand and worried it between her fingers as she stepped into the real salt water (thank you to Clara the Librarian for figuring out how to make the holosuite operate as a portal) and let her tail form as the depths wrapped her body in comfort.  

[crystal-moon-101]

Got good old Albedo next on the list for redesign and rewrite, and oh boy do I have a lot instore in how I ended up writing this character. There's just a lot to do with the idea of him, and I happened to pick a pretty depressing route, but I think it works in the end. Vilgax will be done next, though I'll be a little busy for the next two weeks so not much art will be done in a while, then eventually Rook and Rayona. But, onto the rewrite for Albedo!

-Albedo-

Albedo's background is...something. When he was growing up, he exceled in many of his classes, projects, and many even theorized that he could have potentially become the next First Thinker if Azmuth hadn't come back. Because of this, Albedo grew up with nonstop praise, parents that would brag about him, and people building up this idea of him having a grand future. So, as you can expect, he became arrogant, prideful, and due to issues in Galvan culture, did look down on those lesser, mostly other species in the galaxy. When Azmuth arrived back and was giving the role of First Thinker, Albedo wasn't too bothered by it, either believing he would get it one day, or find something better for him, but he felt honored when Azmuth took notice of him, and suggested that Albedo be one of his assistances, and even apprentice. Albedo agreed, wanting nothing but the best of the best, and having Azmuth as his teacher would surely benefit him quite a bit.

But that's when his prideful fantasy began the start of it's downfall, those little cracks showing up. Azmuth was by no means cruel, but he wasn't one to give blinding praise, knowing criticism was good to shape a young ego, something he had also been doing with Ben at the time. What he didn't realize was that, because Albedo had been nothing but praised his entirely life, he didn't know how to handle criticism, especially since Azmuth does have a dry sense of humor and can sound harsh when he means well. It started making the young Galvan insecure, because he had to be the best, he had to be perfect, that's what everyone else said, so why did Azmuth see it differently. Did Azmuth not think he was good enough?...Of course, that wasn't true at all, and Azmuth saw a lot of potential in Albedo, but will admit he missed many signs of what kind of mental state his young friend was in.

It didn't help when it came to Albedo's behavior towards three other people Azmuth worked with, that being Ben, Myaxx and Eunice. Not only did he look down on them for not being Galvan, but he just couldn't understand what Azmuth saw in all of them. He saw Myaxx as loud, rude, and would never admit she was smarter than he gave credit for. Eunice, who is Azmuth's bodyguard Galvanic Metamorph, felt a little too free for his taste, since while she did do her job, Azmuth let her mostly do what she wanted, far too chipper for Albedo's taste. And then there was Ben...the most baffling out of the three. He was nothing but a dumb, chaotic, little brat that for some reason Azmuth saw so much potential in, and even had enough faith and trust in Ben to let him handle the Omnitrix. It didn't help that Ben could not only handle Azmuth's criticism and suggestion, but he even dear talk back against the First Thinker and test his judgement, and Azmuth would actually listen or let it slide. Just what exactly did Ben have that he didn't??

Eunice and Myaxx weren't really bothered by Albedo's attitude towards them, and Ben always had a proper comeback to tease Albedo, but Azmuth did tell him to knock it off often. Albedo did bring up his concerns many times, especially about letting Ben run around the watch, and while Azmuth tried to tame his worries, Albedo felt like he wasn't listen...or at the very least Albedo wasn't willing to see from a different view. And yet he still tried, and worked under Azmuth for a few years, even getting involved in the Malware situation which he tried to deal with in his own way, only making it worse though. He will admit he was somewhat happy that Ben stopped wearing the watch sometime after that event, but still annoyed that Azmuth let him keep it just in case.

It finally came to head when Ben put the watch back on and was getting involved with Highbreed stuff. Albedo just couldn't understand the relationship between Azmuth and Ben, especially when Azmuth gave a lot of his time to Ben (Because of the Highbreed issue), and Albedo still felt like he wasn't good enough for Azmuth. So, after trying to understand the whole thing in how he saw it, Albedo pinpointed the idea that it must be the omnitrix that connects all of this, why else would Azmuth care about some kid on earth? If he could prove to Azmuth that he could do just as a good of job as Ben, even better, then Azmuth would finally see him as the worthy Galvan he was...expect, that's not what happened. Albedo found himself trapped in Ben's body, and Azmuth was furious with him for making another watch, and when Azmuth said, for the first time in Albedo's life, he was highly disappointed in him. Something in Albedo finally just snapped.

Azmuth said he would help turn Albedo back to normal if he gave him back the copy watch, and to get help for this problematic state he was in, but Albedo refused. He now jumped to the idea that Ben and Azmuth were the route to all his problems, and that he was going to prove that his way of life and thinking was better than whatever Azmuth could come up with, even wanting to prove he could fix this human body issue he had going on his own. Azmuth will admit, he was surprised from this outburst, and is somewhat upset with himself that he didn't notice sooner to help...But for now, he ask that Ben keep an eye out for Albedo and make sure he doesn't do anything to harmful to him or anyone else, which Ben agreed to, feeling bad for Albedo and the obvious effect on how blind praise for years ended up hurting him in the end.

Now Albedo runs loose, crafting plan after plan after plan to prove he's better than Ben or Azmuth, as if trying to convince them he's worthy of something...or perhaps, to convince himself...

Notes:

Because Azmuth still feels responsible for Albedo, he does send him supply packs of food, water, medicine, blankets and anything else he might need when he can. Ben also pitches in, by getting Albedo things human teenagers need that Albedo isn't too well versed in, and even gets him his clothes since they're both the same size. Albedo often tells them both to bugger off...but does even up using their gifts since he doesn't have the money to buy his own things.

Albedo is an albino Galvan, and all the aliens he turns into are albino too, or at least the equivalent for certain species.

After he fled, Azmuth had returned home to info others what happened, and Albedo's parents kind of...disowned him after that, though they weren't the best parents anyway, only really enjoying the fame their son brought for them originally. Azmuth did give them a good talking to about his disguised he was of them.  

Albedo isn't sure why he enjoys chillfries so much, since Ben admits he takes it to a whole other level. Maybe a glitch in the watch, maybe because it was cheap to get, maybe a part of him that he denies kind of likes some of the food not from home...

Azmuth knows he can't force Albedo to accept his help, as that would just make things worse, so he said he will always offer the chance to turn him back to normal, but Albedo has to be the one to take that help, and to still hand over the watch and perhaps get some therapy too. But he keeps rejecting this, saying he doesn't need Azmuth's help.

The moment that actually starts to make Albedo doubt himself in what he's trying to do was when Vilgax out tricked him and betrayed him at the end of Alien Force. Something about it was different compared to when Ben and his crew would win against him...Perhaps because of the idea that another alien race could do something he could not...But he wouldn't admit that...

Albedo does get involved during the Malware arc, due to his previous connections to it and Azmuth, making him a target for Malware. Begrudgingly, he does ask for Ben and Azmuth's help in that to stay safe...

Despite hoping Albedo would come back, Azmuth did eventually have to get a new assistance, another Galvan by the name of Abacas, who Albedo is aware about, and hates that his spot has been replaced, even if he was the one who up and left.

He does not get enough sleep, thus the bags under his eyes.

Since Galvans are insectivores. Albedo does still eat bugs as a human, mostly out of habit.

Is really bad at understanding humor.

[kaypeace21]

i'm losing hope of byler being an endgame :( milevens say that we are invalidating mileven, besides having several scenes that they show "passion/love". they make fun of us, besides always giving reasons why mileven is an endgame, and disrespecting other people's ship, and maybe actually Will will be with another boy right?? idk but I really hope I'm not being deluded

lol  lets not focus on byler for a sec and mostly discuss mileven. what scenes show mileven’s  ‘passion/love’? Because the show invalidates mileven constantly-why they’re so aggressive/afraid of us.THEY KNOW IT’S DOOMED (they live in head canons and nothing else).  I’m going to try keeping this short by doing bullet points.

-The writers in s3 threw in a telemarketing joke just for Mike to say “El. no. sorry not interested” and hang up the phone. 

- Flo  in s1: “only love makes you that crazy and that damn stupid.”

Mike: “if we’re both going crazy. we’ll go crazy together right?”will: “yeah, crazy together “ *smile and stare longingly at eachother *————————————————————-Mike: “they do say it makes you crazy”El: “what makes you crazy?”(the exact opposite of crazy together as she continues to be confused over every explanation he gives of love 😂)————————————————————-During the byler fight  Mike says “el’s not stupid!” After this, Will calls himself “ so stupid “ 4x .  rips up photo where they said they’d go crazy together and cries . But, El after fighting with mike happily says: “there’s more to life than STUPID boys .”  El’s catchphrase being “not stupid” which she says in s2 before going to see Mike at the school. And Nancy before Mike says he loves El / Mikeduring the byler fight (about mileven) say “El’s not stupid!”

original gifs  sources

-the s3 stobin confession parallels mileven’s s3 shop confession (full analysis in link). Both El/Robin have bandages on their legs and both pairings sit together (on the floor) during their confessions- and are interrupted by Dustin. And in both straight baits- the guys use the terms “stupid/crazy” but subvert the expectation of it being romantic-as both girls say they’re not “crazy” or “stupid” for the guy. El saying “what makes you crazy?” in response to Mike. And Robin saying she was not into Steve’s “stupid hair” (similar to El saying there’s more to life than ‘stupid boys’/other saying she’s not stupid.”Also the song ‘the first i love you’ only plays twice in s3. During Steve’s romantic confession and robin rejecting him because she’s gay & El’s romantic confession and awkward kiss with mike (where Mike doesn’t reciprocate). Cause Robin/Mike are both gay and will reject the romantic confession.

- Erica making he-man and barbie kiss: “Hey , They’re in love!”Lucas (livid- and standing right next to a rainbow forcing them apart): “No, actually,  they’re not. they’re not even from the same planet.”  El even watches he-man in s1! Mileven is not in love!

Cue El and mike being compared to ET and Eliot -WHO AREN’T FROM THE SAME PLANET (by the Duffers in multiple interviews and in the pilot script ) .   And then there’s the  old euphemism of “girls come from Venus, and boys come from Mars”.  The Duffers saying mileven isn’t in love cause they’re not from the same planet (aka the same gender) -is just them telling us Mike is gay so he can’t fall for El-who is a girl/diff species. They literally have Will say to Mike “welcome to my world” as a contrast. So El telling mike he should ‘stick with his own species’ (aka boys) is another gay hint.

In s2 they even had El wear the same shirt as a 1986 movie character (staring Winona Ryder). The movie is called coincidentally “lucas”- and he’s in an unrequited romantic relationship with a gal named maggie. And he later says him and Maggie are  from “different worlds.” El being movie-Lucas in a unrequited romance, in this scenario. And the other easteregg is the Duffers have st-Lucas  say the “planet/worlds” similar to movie-Lucas.

some milevens also attribute romeo/juliet to mileven cause Dustin mentioned it while mileven was out of shot. But romeo & juliet weren’t actually in love-it was just kids in infatuation. And also used to describe the unrequited infatuation of Lucas/Maggie.

-Also when dustin in s1 says el is “like a wizard” (like Will.) Mike corrects dustin and says “more like yoda”. Really hammering down the alien references- which the Duffers reference to el in interviews all the time-by comparing her to et . In the pilot they even said mike and el are like “Eliot and et.” They said they made el dress like a ghost cause et did so- and then for the extra burn they made mike a ghost hunter/buster. And they also said that EL’s makeover in s1 was like et’s in the movie. And sorry ... who compares the girl they “crush on” with a green gross alien (yoda)- kind of shows how he sees her more as this foreign superpowered entity rather than a girl/crush. And on what planet is et /Eliot romantic??Answer is -it’s not. 

- In contrast, They have Mike and Will parallel  Diane and Venkman. In ghost Busters, Mike -is Venkman- and Will -is Dana Barret- who Venkman flirts with shamelessly until she is possessed. Dana finds a demon-dog in her fridge, and hires the ghost busters. And right before Venkman goes on a date with her she is possessed by the big-bad, Zuul, and is transformed into the gate-keeper (who controls demo(n)-dogs). Venkman proceeded to try to talk to the real Dana , ignoring her possessed form and eventually realizes how serious her condition is, is forced to sedate her. Eventually with the help of his team, Venkman closes the gate to Zuul’s dimension, rescuing Dana in the process. And Venkman plants one on Dana before riding away in triumph. While, El is a ghost and Mike is a ghost hunter XD

Notice in the same season lucas says mileven is ‘not in love’ and compares mileven to he-man and barbie .  Dustin has a  he-man & Et next to each other (along with a ghost buster sign above them, and the ghostbusters-trap next to et). This just reinforces the mileven eastereggs I’ve already talked about -  and how they want you to make the connections  about mileven not being in love. They showed et/barbie next to he-man, had El watch he-man, compared El to Et (who had a barbie-like makeover/ghost costume), so the next he-man ref of ‘not being in love’  cause rhey’re from different planets would connect in a more obvious way to mileven.  Same with Et next to the ghost trap and ghost busters sign (and El dressing as a ghost and Mike as a ghost buster-as an extra burn).

- Mike dehumanizing El is hammered down again when they compare s1 mileven to s2 dart /dustin (a demo dog) , to further show how un-romantic it is. Fin even said the duffers told him Mike saw el (OFFENSIVELY) as a “puppy’ (right after s1).  And of course millie accurately said “what a horrible way to describe me!”But the parallels are there: Dustin/Mike sharing sweets ( nougat vs eggos) for breakfast and saying they’ll have to wait for them to come home from school. And having mike annoyed, say  “a bond? cause you shared nougat?!” is dissing milevens who think the ego thing is cute/romantic. Dustin/Mike saying they ‘promised’ to take care of them and that they ‘trust’ dustin & mike. Dart killing a cat and El almost killing a cat. Dustin/Mike trying to convince Lucas- Dart & El aren’t bad. The boys thinking both El & Dart were bad guys causing both to end up running away because of that. Mike even admits in s1 he doesn’t like eggos and told El she doesn’t have to eat “like a dog” anymore.  it’s ironic when Mike says to Dustin “she’s not a dog” cause he treated her as such. Why El says in s3 angrily , “am I your pet?” It’s because he did/does unfortunately treat her this way to some degree. 

-They Parallel Mileven to Hopper & El (since mileven isn’t actually romantic)!

*teaching the meaning of promise vs com-promise. And making “promises” to eachother is not some super romantic thing- for just mileven.

* Telling her to eat “real food” vs eggos

* saying her new look is “cool”and saying it’s “bitchin” after El says the look is.

* Saying others are “corrupting her” and in response gals say neither respect her ability to make “decisions” in regards to romance. Hopper not accepting Mileven together (want them to break up)  and Mike not accepting she dumped him.

* Max saying to not let Hopper/Mike control her

*El saying “you lie” to both of them

ok , back to listing other points

- they dance to ‘every breath you take’ a break up song about a stalker ex who can’t accept he is now with her friend. The writer of the song also has said many times “it’s NOT a love song.” The duffers obviously knew that. Lumax also danced to it and Lucas was called a ‘stalker’ . El also stalked Mike in s2 (all that stuff milevens found romantic- El watching him without him knowing. Mike says he was not ok with it in s3). And in s3 he said not to do that and she just says ‘i make my own rules’.Plus, sting (the singer) mentions it’s supposed to sound romantic but the lyrics are sinister. And that the ambiguity/deceptive happy -romantic tone was intentional. Kind of like how people think mileven is healthy and in love when the show (ambiguosly says ) that it’s not -and the “opposite”.Just like the song being misinterpreted as romantic because of its deceptive packaging -mileven is the same . Mileven got popular cause everyone missed all the warning signs it wasn’t healthy (cause it was packaged as ‘cute’ and ‘ in love’) when behind the surface it was shown to be the opposite and not healthy.

 Not to mention Nancy teaching Dustin how to dance is a direct parallel to Mike teaching El. 

Mike also tries to act like Dustin, and  forces Will to dance with a girl (who’s wearing a rainbow hair clip). Trying to be a good sport like Dustin is about lumax. And right after this we see Dustin look sad about Max/Lucas dancing and Mike (next to Dustin) look sadly at Will/girl dancing in the same exact frame as Max/Lucas. As they switch between these 2 shots to emphasize their sadness/jealousy.Then they both sit down (mirroring each other) on the verge of tears before Nancy and El show up to comfort them and distract them.  As El once again (presumably) wears Nancy’s dress. Mike after El asks “will you be my brother?” “you cant go  (to the snowball) with your sister... i mean you can but it’d be really weird.” 

- before their first kiss in s1 she asked if he would be like her brother (after being compared to a cousin, and being compared to Holly, and wearing Nancy’s dress.) In s2 they even make a direct parallel to Luke &Leia (who were siblings who had a weird romantic relationship/kissed before realizing they were related). Mike (as Leia) saying “it’s a trap” to El (Luke). 

- Mike in s1 writes a d&d story for Will inspired by star wars.  in ep one Will tells Mike “it was a 7, the demogorgan it got me.”At the end of the season Mike writes a whole story of him and his friends killing a 7 headed monster, and showing the decapitated head of the monster to king Tristan (Will). Similar to how at the hospital he tells Will to not worry cause “it’s dead now”. This is right after Will rolls a 14 (cause Mike and Will are 7s together). And Mike who is a fan of starwars has King Tristan give them medals after killing the monster. Cause he wants Will/king tristan (instead of Leia -a girl) to present him with medals and be his romantic love interest (and praise him for being a hero).

- They had Dustin call mileven “bullshit” just like stancy (who were never in love). And in s3 for almost every single character in the show to dislike mileven . if that isn’t a cry for help from the writers idk what is XD

other stancy parallels: Making out on a bed to cheesy music. stancy wasn’t in love but they kissed the most in the series and nancy and steve (similar to mileven exchanged ‘i love yous’) but weren’t endgame and it was never love. Mike and Steve sing to their gfs and neither girls are fans and cut them off.In s1, both Nancy/Mike slap Steve and El and then both yell “ What is wrong with you?!”  Stancy/mileven are compared to Karen/ted who according to Nancy “never loved each other”. El is a fan of ted’s lazy boy. (Karen in s3 looks at Ted in the chair when the lyric “I should have walked away “ plays). And Steve and ted continuing to eat chicken as their gf /wife storm off from the table upset , and they do nothing. After the mileven and Karen/Ted fight- Steve says while eating “what did I do?what did i do?” And mike while eating says about el after their fight “what did i do wrong? what did i do wrong?!Steve and Ted both tell Mike to “stay on the bench/you’re on the bench.” Karen/ ted that they “never loved each other” (just like mileven and stancy which are “bullshit.”) All 3 wheelers were with people cause it seemed like the rational choice ( rich guy/ popular guy/ girl). Not to mention mike said “ I don’t remember” ( in reference to saying he loved el ) . And doesn’t say it back when el says “I love you”. Which mimics Nancy in s2 saying “I don’t remember ” (saying the stancy relationship is bs) . And she is also unable to say she loves Steve when he says“say you love me.” And Steve and el walking away as both wheelers stand there in silence. Unable to say “I love you” back.  Also, when stancy officially breakup it also pans to mileven on the porch as another parallel.And 11byers mentioned (at Christmas)  jancy has a moment but despite stancy’s issues she goes back to Steve where she looks sad over the decision .  Similar to how Byler have a moment , but then after , mileven talks about christmas  and they have that awkward kiss. In s3, steve when talking about stancy and trying to be popular even says “dustin’s right it’s all a bunch of bullshit.” (meaning Dustin’s right about mileven). Steve even says “everything people tell you is important that you’re supposed to care about- it’s bullshit.” (same season Mike mimics Lucas’ words from s1 about El being the “most important thing”.

-They also had Mike tell Max “i don’t hate you. I don’t even know you.”  Aka he can’t hate Max or love el cause he knew both for a week-and doesn’t know them. The amount of mileven burns that were in s2 -were insane XD.

other direct contrasts between Mileven & byler 

besides the ones already mentioned. 1) ‘crazy together/so stupid’ vs ‘what makes you crazy?/el’s not stupid/more to life than stupid boys & 2) ‘they’re not in love they’re not even from the same planet’ vs byler’s ‘welcome to my world’

3) Mike has drastically different expressions after the byler/mileven fights and the difference in weather and music selection ,convey how Mike is feeling. He looks regretful with Will, and almost annoyed with El dumping him.  Mileven breaks up to upbeat music on a sunny day (the break up being in front a crowd and a joke) vs the morose music and the storm shown (with just Mike and Will fighting ). We are supposed to take the byler fight seriously and the mileven one as a joke.They had Mike apologize to Will immediately. But with El he says “what did i do wrong?’ (Kind of like how ted, after pissing off karen says “what did I do?”)And then had Mike wait by the phone for her to apologize- says sexist stuff about her. Then have mike laugh/burp and talk about cheese and El to laugh about the break up/high five max and immediately oggle a pic of another boy/male celeb (unlike Will who looks sadly at the pic of Mike after their fight). And then after staring at the  teen-male celeb,  El says she’s not sure if  Mike’s a good kisser cause he’s just her “first boyfriend” and she has no other boys to compare him to (implying she’s thinking of other boys in the future).  Contrasted to Will who said he thought him & Mike would never get gfs but just spend the rest of their lives together. El after all these events, then happily reads comics  as Max says she shouldn’t hang out with Mike all the time. VS Will having him sadly read his comic to distract himself  only to throw his comic on the ground right before he looks at the pic of mike from Halloween (where they said they would go ‘crazy together’), calls himself stupid (unlike El saying there’s more to life than stupid boys/mike saying El is not stupid-aka in love ). And then destroys castle byers /crIES after the their fight. These events were perfect opposites.

4) When Mike says in the pool shed she’s the “most important thing in the world” to him. she cuts him off and says Hopper is right about them spending too much time together. But when Mike in the shed says asking Will to be his friend was the “best thing he’s ever done” (it was practically the cliche of true love breaking the curse) XD.

When Mike says to El  “you’re most important thing to me” in the pool shed. El doesn’t even acknowledge the comment (and neither should the audience- cause the words were empty). The framing of this mileven scene was not cinematic or heartfelt, and neither was the delivery from Mike. He’s not crying, trying to reach her with proclamations of his genuine feelings. There’s no dramatic music, framing, lighting or shot composition (and the scene was incredibly short).And El just responds and cuts his supposed ‘true feelings’ off- only to agree with Hopper and says “ what if he’s right”  . I didn’t speed this up FYI.

Juxtaposed to the MUCH longer byler shed scene. A literal single tear falling down his cheek as Mike , recounts the first day they met. This whole monologue is only of tight shots of just their faces (their bodies aren’t shown like in the pool shed scene). With contrasting colors of light and shadow.This is a personal moment between them and them alone- and the fact we zoom in on their faces (expresses this to be important emotionally) . And when we see Will’s reaction to Mike saying “it was the best thing I’ve ever done”. We just see Will’s face only- no music is playing and all we hear is  Will’s whimpers and Mike crying in the background.*

5) Max in s2 at Will’s house questions how Mike can still trust Will now that he’s a spy for the mf . Max (in s3) at El’s house: says that Mike doesn’t trust El- and Mike mentions that her spying is why he doesn’t trust her.  in s2, Mike: “if anyone could stop them it’s Will“. Max: “ I thought we couldn’t trust him that he’s a spy for the mf now?” Max in s3 calling Mike out  : “El has saved the world twice. And Mike still doesn’t trust her.” Mike: you want to talk about trust really?! after... Eleven spied on us! I guess girlfriends don’t lie they SPY!”

Not to mention - the fact is... El has “saved the world twice but Mike still doesn’t trust her” to fight the mf. Yet he 100% believed Will could defeat the mf -despite Will being possessed/a spy for the mf . And despite the fact Mike  thinks Will has no powers - unlike El ( but we all know he does , though :P). And, Mike even says Billy is dangerous cause  the “mf is in him ...Billy’s mind is sick, diseased” (but with Will possession -Mike still trusted him).  Max rolls her eyes and stares challengingly at Mike cause she remembers what Mike said about Will in s2- and the hypocrisy . And she finds it annoying how little faith he has in her compared to his almost unmoving-trust in Will (who at the time was possessed) . Mike has 100% trust and faith in Will-but simply doesn’t trust El.  And MAX KNOWS IT! Cause she’s paying attention. Like her facial expression/raised brow, at the end, is a challenge- you think non-superpowered Will could defeat the mf but not El with a history of fighting monsters? You say Billy possessed by the mf is dangerous- but still have more faith in Will possessed by the mf- than your own gf?! tbh El couldn’t defeat the mf (so technically him trusting Will over  El was proven to be correct). He wasn’t right about the El ‘giving up’ bs and he was still wrong for not respecting El as her “own person” with her “own free will” : not believing in El’s ability to make decisions like breaking up with him/ not believing El made the idea to spy on him, etc . But, Team work has always been what saved the day in s1-2, so over-relying on El to do it all and acting like she was the messiah ( like most of the st fanbase) was a poor plan . It’s not the El-show (it’s an ensemble cast with several mains). When they relied on her only ,to be the chosen one- she lost her powers, 30+ people d*ed, and they had to save her.

6) ) El and Will both calling for “Mike” alone in the upside down . And Mike “never giving up” on them.In the exact same ep (s2 e2) , both call for Mike from the upside down. El saves herself without Mike’s help. But Mike rushes to save Will crouching to comfort Will (whose body language mirrors El’s but who was alone in the forest after she sees mike and he did nothing). 

in s2 ep 1, both call for Mike ,but Mike only comes for Will -not el. It was like how Nancy in s1 called for Jon, and jonathan pulled her out of the upsidedown.  And as Jonathan and Mike both pull Nancy and Will back from the upside down , Jonathan says “I got you”. And Mike says “I got him “ twice. But mileven is like how barb while in the upsidedown called for Nancy (but nancy didn’t hear her screaming her name-cause it shows symbolically Nancy does not return Barb’s romantic feelings). Just like mileven.

Mike even saw Will’s dead body but the second he heard his voice he convinced everyone he was alive. Mike deep down assumed El was dead he brushed off seeing El as seeing things (like how Hopper described seeing Sarah). He even tells Max “ they took her just like they took bob” who was dead. Then a few minutes later lies and says he “never gave up” on her when she appears alive (which was a lie cause he just said she was dead). When El goes to his house Mike doesn’t ever go the forest to find her (unlike how Mike went into the forest in the pouring rain twice for Will). The truth is the only person he ‘never gave up on’ was Will.

7) They have El & Will have pics of Mike on Halloween (same night of the ‘crazy together’ speech). El only has a pic of Mike being miserable  and Will has pics of Mike staring at Will, and smiling next to him- despite the joke Mike never smiles in photos , this isn’t the case when mike is next to Will (he always smiles with Will). Cause being crazy with Will makes him happy - unlike his relationship with El who he fakes being ‘crazy’ about .

zoom in of Will & El’s pics of Mike: Will’s pic on left vs El’s on right . XD

8) Millie said El is “obsessed with Mike” so she has Mike-themed stuff all over  her room. She has a drawing with a heart that says mike on it/random heart pics, mike pic, dice that spell out mike, mikes’ stuff. So, It’s funny that mike has nothing relating to El at his place. In contrast to this, he still has 5 d&d drawings from Will on his wall (that he’s kept on his wall for 3 years despite removing an old poster from that same wall-which he gave to El). Mike even put up a 6th Will-drawing in s3- next to his new poster. And he never put a single 1 of her many drawings on his wall-just Will’s).

back to other points...

- They compared mileven to karen/billy. El in s2 , mimics Erica Kane who m(in the ep she is watching) rushes into a relationship with a writer named Mike Roy. (That relationship is not endgame-and  literally ends with one of them stalking and sabotaging their next relationship, but eventually accepting it’s over). This, also parallels Karen/ Billy. Before she meets him in s2, Karen is reading a romance book that has a guy that resembles Billy on the cover. The Duffers even mentioned they changed the cover to show the resemblance between Billy and the fictional book character. And we see Karen reading the sequel in s3 before Billy appears. Both El and Karen don’t/didn’t love Mike or Billy- they just projected onto them fictional characters they were infatuated with. El being into Mike roy- but projecting her crush on to Mike wheeler.

-They had El’s whole s2 arc be destroyed to show mileven is bad for her. “friends don’t lie” to let me lie to my friends so I can kiss mike and ditch them. lucas even said “they’re lying (about her curfew).”And lie to Mike about hearing his confession. Then in s2 trying to leave the cabin to experience the world and see my friends and fam again. To literally ignoring them all for 6 months and never leaving the cabin-despite Hopper letting me leave the house in s3.

- El in s3 says Mike treats her “like a pet” and “garbage”.

-In s1 Mike referred to her as a ‘weapon’  to help get Will back. smacked her when he thought she lied about Will being alive and said Lucas was right about her all along when he thought Will was dead and he couldn’t use her anymore. 

- They had El never apologize for spying/stalking . And  Mike never apologize for lying -despite it being the cause of the breakup . And had mike not reciprocate the kiss/ or say ‘i love you ‘ back  and had his eyes open while the same exact song plays that robin came out to: called ‘the first i love you’). These are the only 2 times the song plays in s3. The ‘first i love you’ also sounds like ‘the first lie’ - that song played when jancy said they were just friends. it sounds the same cause jancy lied about it not being romantic while mileven lied by saying it was.  He never apologized for lying cause the love is the lie- like Max said “boyfriends lie ALL THE TIME”. And it’s why the camera panned to Will when Lucas asked why Mike lied to her. And he never answers El’s question of ‘why do you lie?!’ (he just looks up silent and guilt ridden).This awkward kiss all happens in Will’s room too while Mike is in front of an open closet (while El is holding Will’s old bear).  

Plus he also fought with Hopper in s2 (’about El’) in Will’s room too. He wasn’t actually calling Hopper the liar he was calling himself “a stupid disgusting liar”out of self hate .  That scene was foreshadowing his lying to El in s3 (about his feelings for her). He blamed Hopper for his feelings for Will cause he told himself it wouldn’t have escalated if El had been around to ‘fix him’ . “I BLAME YOU! NOTHING ABOUT THIS IS OK! NOTHING ABOUT THIS IS OK. YOU STUPID DISGUSTING liar, liar, liar, liar”.starts crying.

- Mike says “i never gave up on you (to El). “ When moments earlier he says “it took her just like it took Bob.” HE’S LYING AGAIN. He always thought she was dead -he was just hoping she was alive so he didn’t have to blame himself. He felt bad for treating her like a “weapon”. Mike saw El and didn’t even bother looking for her in the woods cause he assumed she was dead and was hallucinating. Mike saw Will’s dead body- but heard his voice and got him from another dimension (for El he couldn’t even bother to walk into the woods). Despite going into the woods in the pouring rain 2x for Will in s1& 3. El and Mike both call for Mike in the upside down (Mike in the same ep only comes for Will).

- They barely spoke to each other and all they did was makeout for 1 ep (while Mike put a drawing of ‘Will (the fire wielding) wise’ on the wall to help him kiss her/ with rainbows pic everywhere in the room to signify he’s gay and lying).  All while listening to a mixtape Will gave him as he kisses El.As Mike moves her hands off him (and sings a song from ‘boy in the box’) and El says to Max later she doesn’t know if mike’s a good kisser . And Mike rushes to one of his many established double-dates with Will and lumax  (x). And Mike in s3 when dating el, removes the sign of the heart being propelled by a rainbow (which he had before meeting El in his basement) .BUT it follows him symbolically ,as a drawing of a heart being propelled by a rainbow (in el’s room- cause no matter how much he kisses el there, he can’t escape his rainbow/being gay.)

-as mileven kiss in s3 e1. We zoom in on the drawing of Will the wise (the lyrics over the pic are “a little more time can open closing doors”). And then Mike continues to sing this song from ‘boy in the box’ (cough closet).Will in s3e1 says he won’t fall in love and the song then a diff song plays “love that was new to you , you open up the door.” mileven at the end of s3 kissing in front of Will’s open closet door with Mike’s eyes open not kissing back , and saying he doesn’t “ remember “ the love you and just says it was “in the heat of the moment”. The mike song being from “boy in the box” (closet). And they make out to “I can’t fight this feeling” which the singer says is about wanting to admit your feelings to your friend of many years and being afraid it’ll ruin the relationship. Aka even when kissing El he’s thinking of Will and admitting his feelings and not being able to fight his feelings

- Mike saying about Max “awesome? you don’t even know her.” Dustin says “ i don’t have to i mean look at her.” El was said in s1 multiple times to look like a boy (specifically Will). So Dustin and Lucas had no interest in her -only Mike did. BUT when max (a girl who looked like a girl) arrived- they as straight boys  were smitten. And Mike was not interested at all (cause he’s gay). The fact people don’t realize Mike was rude to her because he thought Will liked her too makes me laugh - he even was 1/2 honest in s3 saying he was jealous of her  XD 

why in s3 (when she looks like a girl) the compliment to her look is almost the same as Hopper’s comment to her makeover in s2. Paralleling Mike to her dad is the opposite of romantic!

-people say in s3 Will saying “a day free of girls” is gay coded but everyone ignores Mike in s3 saying “BOYS ONLY”. Same energy.

-MiKE has more rainbows than Will: Mike’s rainbow bedroom blinds, the rainbow-heart wooden sign in the basement in s1, the rainbow heart drawing that says Mike in s3, a rainbow sticker in his room, byler standing behind a rainbow poster in s2. And Will with the rainbow ship and the girl he danced with having a rainbow hearts-hairclip.

- People mention Mike saving El in s3 was romantic ( when he hit Billy). But when Billy slapped max he charged in to save her too and tried punching him (despite their beef). that moment wasn’t romantic (unless you think madweheeler is- which no). Mike is just a good person- he also risked his life for dustin. He’s brave and will defend HIS FRIENDS. 

- we’re almost to the end for those not keeping tract mileven is compared to stancy, ted/karen,  karen/billy, stobin, Dart/Dustin, max &mike, barb/nancy, nancy & dustin, siblings & cousins & a parent/kid dynamic. And contrasted to byler.

- Finn, after s1, said the duffers told him,   Mike thinks of her as a “puppy/ “et” , and that Mileven was a  “first summer love thing”- foreshadowing what was mileven’s downfall during the Summer (aka s3). He repeats this “first summer love” phrase 2x.  Millie when he mentioned what the duffers said, rightfully thought the puppy thing was “awful”, but Finn was clearly told mileven doesn’t last -very early on.Summer love” by definition fails-as it only lasts during the summer.  

-It wasn’t a break it was a breakup. Like Max and Will said in response to Mike  “ she said she dumped your ass! That doesn’t sound like a break?!/ it wasn’t!’ Or El knocking all the candy out of the machine, except the kit kat Mike wanted. Slogan of kit-kat “ having a break , have a kit kat.” In other words, it was NOT a break. It was a breakup. Difference is - in s4 it’ll be El who can’t accept this fact , not Mike. Max having to correct El that Mike is her “ex boyfriend” after the breakup (in s3) foreshadows this.The other couples in s3 who fought -were always still paired together in framed shots (jancy/ lumax) were on a break (but got back together- by the end of s3,  not confident about their futures together, but they still have a distinction from mileven-based on such framing). That mileven didn’t get back together. El in s3 was always on her own and Mike was paired with Will (while the other couples were in frame). 

this could go on and on honestly. there’s so much other stuff proving mileven is not going to be endgame. Not to mention all of Mike’s queer coding (x) XD   

[gretchensinister]

I want Megamind sequel

Listen, normally I don’t want sequels, and normally I REALLY don’t like sequel babies, but I have to make an exception for Megamind.

So, we start off, Roxanne and Megamind getting married (maybe Minion officiates?) and there’s a tease at the “interrupted wedding” trope, but Megamind has GOT THIS and the wedding gets done all official-like. Then there’s a montage, setting up a house, Roxanne still being a reporter, Megamind doing superhero-y things, Roxanne is pregnant, and then finally there’s a little half-human baby. Hooray!

Except that it turns out that caring for a newborn when a couple is a reporter and a ex-supervillain-now-superhero is actually really difficult! Especially because these very threatening robot drones are now showing up in the city like, all the time. They need help. But Minion can’t be the one to be the babysitter because he’s taking some time to see the world now and learn how to be his own fish, even if Megamind is still his best friend.

So it’s like, “who do we know who has a lot of free time and would be able to protect our baby from any harm?”

Obviously…MetroMusicMan! Hooray!

So that’s working out great. (And like, for anyone who is willing to see it, it’s very clear also that this is developing into a throuple situation. First with Megamind at the apex of a V, but while Roxanne and Metroman were never a couple, now with Megamind also there…)

Anyway one day Metroman and the baby are at the park and there’s just…a little tension with some people. Not most people. But not zero people. The baby’s blue. She (I’ve decided the baby should be a girl) is visibly not entirely human. She’s too young to notice, but Metroman does, and he’s (badly) singing her a song about like, ignoring people like that, when one of the threatening robot drones lands in the park and scans them both before Metroman can even react. Then it zooms off.

And the next day an alien mothership shows up calling for Earth to give up the [y]ian and half-[y]ian and the [z]ian. And Roxanne immediately makes herself spokesperson and is like “WTF why?”

And it turns out that it wasn’t a random disaster that destroyed Megamind’s and Metroman’s worlds. They were destroyed deliberately by these aliens for no reason, essentially, other than “being weird and gross. You kept…mingling.” The evil aliens admit to starting a war between Megamind and Metroman’s worlds to keep them apart, but it didn’t work perfectly and [y]ians and [z]ians kept crossing lines even after most [y]ians and [z]ians traditionally hated each other. So they decided to blow up both planets. But it’s no loss! They have all the music, history, and art of the planets stored on this crystal macguffin! And ever since they’ve been moving through the galaxy hunting down any [y]ians and [z]ians who were off-planet/got away.

WELL THIS IS A BOMBSHELL.

And the evil aliens really don’t see a problem with what they’re doing because they’ve gotten away with it for so long.

They give Earth a time limit to give up Megamind, the baby, and Metroman before they come down to get them, but then one of the evil aliens looks closely at the drone data and is like “wait…the other half of that baby is an Earthling. You have also…mingled.”

And there’s like some argument among the evil aliens but eventually they’re like “we will spare the Earth, as long as no one does anything like this EVER AGAIN”

And Roxanne is like “You can’t tell people what to do like that!”

And then the evil aliens halve the time limit.

Meanwhile, Minion has returned from vacation to find Megamind and Metroman in various states of shock and franticness in Megamind’s new lair, passing the baby back and forth and like WE NEED A PLAN But something the evil aliens did has made it clear that neither of their usual approaches is going to work

Roxanne comes back, there’s more freaking out, and part of that is her saying of course they’re not going to give up anybody, especially not THE BABY and listing off various human things that she wants their daughter to experience.

And Megamind agrees but also like…he didn’t even know the name of the alien species he came from until today. The evil aliens have all that [y]ian stuff on the mothership. And Metroman, shouldn’t he also know more about [z]ians?

So blah blah blah “They don’t want us to face them together—but we will!”

Except for the baby. Minion gets to have a turn babysitting this time.

So then there’s a big cool action scene where Megamind and Roxanne and Metroman fight the evil aliens, get the macguffin with all of the [y]ian and [z]ian culture on it…and also, as a surprise, whatever thing the evil aliens were using to find [y]ians and [z]ians. Actually, yeah, also that tech is stolen from another planet the evil aliens blew up, so they can’t rebuild it and continue their evil mission.

The day is saved! Big hugs with Megamind in the middle! Even the people from the park are more chill now!

Credits scenes: Roxanne trying not to roll her eyes as she reports on a “mysterious new villain” that only fights Megamind in deserted areas outside the city (It’s Metroman. He missed using his powers.)

Pictures: the baby and Megamind in matching weird alien outfits, the baby and Metroman in different matching weird alien outfits, labelled things like “Baby’s first flksfjioed!”

Wheeling the [y]ian and [z]ian detector into a half-constructed spaceship. Minion in an upgraded robot body because he’s super into travel now—some ambiguous brief convo about how Megamind’s needed on Earth—

Ship landing, triad and toddler with a welcome sign and—the door opens and more [y]ians and [z]ians come out! (AND MINION HAS A FISH PARTNER NOW! WHAT!)

This scene is happy but also like super emotional obviously! And—oh yeah. The daughter is an older sister by now. But there’s something about this second blue-ish baby’s design…

(That ambiguous convo about Megamind being needed on Earth—well, the macguffin crystal explained A LOT that they didn’t know, and the second blue baby is Megamind and Metroman’s. Megamind couldn’t go off planet because he was pregnant. DON’T @ me, Treasure Planet initially had Dr. Doppler carrying the epilogue babies. Anyway it would still only be implied/only present in rumors from various creatives who worked on the movie.)

And we end with happy triad for everyone with eyes to see it, Metroman as permanent babysitter and sparring partner (for dinguses), and hopefully restoring cultures for all!

And now I’m sad that this movie will never exist.

[clonemando]

Had a bad day and am stressed out so I wrote some Father/Son Jaster and Jango hurt comfort to make me feel a little better. Please enjoy!

Jango hasn't been eating like he should after hearing rations are low and Jaster isn't pleased to find out.

Jango smiled as he sat next to one of the foundlings being looked after by the Ha'at after the last campaign and offered them a second bowl of tiingilar. "Shh, just a secret between us." He said with a wink at them when their expression lit up amd he took the empty bowl in exchange. Jaster couldn't know he had been giving his portions away or he'd be furious but Jango knew what it was like to be new and hungry and too scared to ask for food. Especially when their rations were as low as they were at current. Death Watch was targeting any settlement that traded with Haat they could find and it was leading more and more to turn them away and refuse to trade with them. That with all the crop burning and more foundlings being left behind with no where else to go meant slim pickings for food. Jango was older than most of the others. He was used to missing meals while out on the field with Jaster. Plus the less he ate the easier it got to ignore the slight pains of hunger that would occasionally pop up. It was fine. He wasn't starving himself. He still ate midmeal. He just only at midmeal and whatever snacks Jaster occasionally would share with him.

He got up and walked around to another new kid and snuck them a ration bar that was supposed to he for his breakfast. They smiled at him in thanks and he nodded back before heading to turn in the empty dish.

"You finished that off fast Alor'ika! We should enter you in a competition." Bari said with a bright grin that showed off some fangs she had inherited through mixed genetics. She looked mostly human but so did most Mandalorians, years of adopting any species or race into their own had played with all of their DNA in weird ways. Jango himself was certainly some sort of mash of things as well but it's never really mattered since he was human enough.

"I guess the mission earlier just really had me hungry. I'm all filled up now though. Delicious as I expect from the best cook in the camp." he said kindly but she just raised a brow.

"You really are Jaster's ad with a tongue that smooth Alor'ika. Speaking of which, I haven't seen your buir yet. Take him his portion for me? He's probably still going over those maps." She asked handing him another full bowl and Jango nodded.

"Of course. Honestly how he got anything done before I was here to remind him life exists is a mystery." He chuckled and headed back towards his father's room getting nods from a few verd as he passed them. He felt good about his position. He wasn't cocky enough to think he was special or anything like that but he hot along easily with the other Haat'ade and most seemed to think he belonged with Jaster. It felt nice to be wanted and to have other people confirm his place with them. Even if he didn't become Mand'alor after Jaster, he'd always belong there.

"Buir! Bari sent me with your food. You get lost in that romance novel again?" He asked teasingly as he set the bowl down on Jaster's desk after clearing some space.

Jaster jumped a little in his chair glasses askew on his face before he relaxed at the sight of his son. "I actually think I fell asleep after calling a few more friends to make sure Tor hasn't bothered them." He admitted ruffling Jango's hair fondly and picking up the bowl and sniffling the stew inside.

"Mmm. This smells great. Bari really is a miracle on this whole operation. Only she could manage Tiingilar on such a meager budget." He chuckled and Jango nodded.

"Yeah. It's great! She's an amazing cook." He said clearing his throat when his stomach growled at him to cover the sound.

Jaster took a few bites while Jango looked over the list of numbers Jaster had been going through.

"Hmmm, something about this tastes different." He said after a while and Jango hummed absently.

"She said earlier that she ran out of the normal spice paste she used and started using Clan Rook's stuff instead." Jango said surprised when Jaster choked on his bite causing him to pat Jaster's back.

"Clan Rook's? Are you sure? And you ate it?" Jaster asked eyes fluttering over Jango with concern.

"Of course! It's not like I'm going to turn down Tiingilar! What are you scared Clan Rook is out to poison me or something?" Jango asked playfully though he was trying to understand what had Jaster so upset.

"Jango... Clan Rook uses vash nut powder in their spice mix." He pointed out and Jango winced. Right. Of course they did. And he just happened to be extremely allergic to that particular nut.

"Well... I... Actually wasn't that hungry tonight and didn't want to worry you. I'm sorry Buir. I shouldn't have lied about it. I'm fine though. It's a good thing too it seems since it saved us me swelling up and needing to go to medical." He tried to joke but Jaster was staring at him with a considering gaze now that made him uncomfortable.

"Well you still have your breakfast rations right? You can have that tonight and I'll talk to Bari and make sure there's no more surprises like that again." He offered and Jango reached into the empty pocket head ducking.

"I... uh... I don't have my breakfast ration anymore buir." He said letting his hair fall forward to hide his eyes feeling heat burning his face in shame.

"What happened to it? Did you drop it?" Jaster asked and Jango cleared his throat as his stomach growled again but this time there was no hiding it.

"I'm really not hungry Buir! Really. I'm fine." Jango said knowing he couldn't lie and especially not to Jaster.

"Jango, what's going on? Why aren't you eating? Are you feeling sick?" Jaster asked setting his bowl aside to feel Jango's forehead but Jango pushed his hand aside.

"No... I just... gave it to the foundlings. They need it more. Many are too nervous to speak up and rations are low right now. I don't mind. When things pick up again I'll eat more. I promise." he admitted quietly.

"Jango... why didn't you say anything? You... How many meals have you been skipping? How long?" Jaster asked looking concerned.

"I've been giving away my breakfast rations and late meal. I still eat with you obviously. It's enough. I'm used to it. It doesn't even hurt anymore." He said quickly then regretted it.

"Anymore?! It doesn't hurt anymore? Oh no. No no no. Come on." Jaster stood and grabbed his arm gently but firm enough he couldn't jerk it away easily and started dragging him out of the room.

"Buir! Buir wait! You're overreacting! It's really fine! Some of the verd were even impressed by how good I'm looking!" He said and Jaster almost growled.

"Looks don't matter! None of that matters! You haven't been eating Jango! You're a child! If anyone should he cutting portions it would be the adults and even that there are ways to manage it so we all take turns so no one misses meals the way you have. If you had just said something I could have been giving you extra breakfast rations to give to the others if they're too nervous to ask. You shouldn't have been starving yourself! Do you have any idea how it feels to hear you talking like this? Like you deserve to eat less for some reason? You're my son and I've failed you by not even noticing you were doing this to yourself. I thought maybe the weight loss was because of a growth spurt coming on. I never had an ad before but you... You've been hurting yourself. We're going to medical. They're going to run tests and we're going to figure out how badly you've thrown your diet out of whack. Hopefully not too badly. Then we're eating every meal together until I'm certain I can trust you again." Jaster ranted and Jango just stared at the floor fighting tears. He had just wanted to help.

Jaster took a deep breath and let it out. "Jango, ner ad, you are a good boy with a good heart. But you matter just as much as the new foundlings, you know that right?" he asked more gently as he knelt and tipped Jango's face back up.

"Of course I do. But I'm going to be a leader one day and I have to make sure that our people are all taken care of first. You would have done the same thing!" He argued feeling the tears start to spill down his cheeks and hating it. Being eleven sucked.

Jaster wiped the tears away with his thumb. "Jango, if that was true why am I still eating normally? We have plenty of food Jango. Yes it's a little tight, but nothing to where you need to skip out on everything besides midmeal. And I'm your leader. So, again, it would be me or the other adults, who would be responsible for figuring out how to ration. Which we would need you to be honest about how much you need to eat to be able to do. You're my son. I love you and want you to be living a happy healthy life. Something not hurting anymore, is not a sign of you being happy and healthy. It should never hurt to begin with. You're not in trouble. I'm not mad. I'm scared and upset with myself for not noticing and fixing this sooner." He murmured more calmly and Jango wrapped him in an embrace he eagerly returned.

"Do you promise to actually eat all the meals I give you and tell me if you or anyone else needs extra from now on?" Jaster asked and Jango nodded from where his face was tucked into Jaster's shoulder.

"Good. Then let's get you examined and then I think we both deserve a treat tonight. After you eat a proper latemeal." He said firmly but lifted Jango up and carried him to medical.

[seostudios]

GEEK CHARMING: MARK LEE

pairing: mark lee x fem!reader genre: rom-com, fluff, angst, comedy info: high school!au, film-club-kid!mark, diva!reader, non-idol!au, mentions of other members (principle!sicheng, car!jeno, student-body-president!doyoung,  film-club-kid!johnny, film-club-kid!jungwoo) synopsis: You are Yonsei Academy's peachy princess, having the best boyfriend, the most fashionable friends of mos, always updated with the latest trends in fashion. But you come face-to-face with your own personal creature-self-professed film nerd, Mark Lee, when you scratch your Holli crystal-embellished ROSANTICA purse. In exchange for her purse repair she let Mark film her for his high school popularity documentary. Reluctantly, you let low-class Mark into your A-list universe, and you are stunned to discover that nerds can be pretty awesome at times. However when your pro-claimed, boyfriend charming prince dumps you flat, your life and social status drops. Would you still win Spring Formal Queen at Yonsei Academy now? Will Mark win the Annual Film Festival?  Could even you put together the pieces to bring back your happy-ever-after, with Mark 's help? warnings: swearing, mention of alcohol word count: 7.5k tag-list: @count-your-shadows​ @jimjamjaemin @minaczennie @renjunvinates @pervieve @rjoonie @marksrainbow@commentgirl @rarestgrace @08skrr @bangtanismylifw @traashytae @superheros-and-others @johnnysnipple @00-baejin-05

a/n: this is the longest writing piece i’ve written yet on this blog and it’s inspired by a disney movie?! behold geek charming starring mark lee. your local film club nerd entering the school’s prissy princess’s life but did that make her finally turn back from her arogant ways or did it make her more of a bitch!! >_< i’m actually so happy

"I'm proud to announce this year's Annual Yonsei Spring Formal Queen Kang-" 

"Hello? Y/n? Snap out of it." Your train of thought quickly crashed as you direct your attention to the student body president, Kim Doyoung. "Y-Yes?" You ask, straightening your posture. "I asked if you are applying for Spring Formal Queen?" He put a question to, waiting for a response. Viewing as you turn to Sooyoung, who delivers you a pen, jerking it out her hand, you grab the clipboard from the plastic table in front of you, signing your signature on to the paper. Making sure your sign was large enough to cover most slots of the page. 

"Toodles," You sang to Doyoung before you and the girls walk away. “Next!”

The three of you strut down the narrow hallway, Sooyoung and Yuna trailing behind you, "This year is going to be our year ladies," you look over on both sides to see them smiling wide grins enveloping onto their lips, as they stopped to walk at your pace, "Once I'm crowned Queen of the Spring Formal, it's guaranteed I'm the well-liked, prettiest and just overall the best here at Yonsei," you finish halting your steps at the door frame of the cafeteria. Looking over your shoulder, you make a gagging motion with your finger to the pack of hungry students. In front of you three, you decide to walk through the tables showing the two lingering behind how you'd win the students' heart if you already haven't.

Walking by a table with miniature stage set-ups, you see three students huddled together revising a script "Drama kids," You start "They'll be an easy vote seeing how they just adore my dramatic gestures," Making your way down a couple more tables "Film club nerds..." You start to roll your eyes coming up with a reason why they would vote for you. "You're like a movie star to them," Sooyoung quickly interjected watching as your flip your head to pose.

You stride down some more, "I can't believe you used to be friends with Shin Ryunjin." Yuna throws in as you walk by the stage crew table. "I know right," Sooyoung agrees. "It's a burden I carry, but at least I traded up to you two." You say earning beaming smiles on both sides.

"Y/n!" Someone called, skipping happily towards you. It was Jisoo. "I got bangs since you said they would suit me! I couldn't agree more, thanks!" She beams, "Of course, just want the best for you!" You smile, reciprocating the energy she gave off until she walks off to her friends. "See? People know I care. This will be a piece of cake."  You said before stopping in your tracks to see, Jung Wonyoung; your biggest competition at Yonsei Academy. Yuna and Sooyoung see you as someone superior to them (right?). As a higher-ranked princess here at Yonsei you shouldn't let such a wretched thing like Jung Wonyoung get to you, especially with that tacky head-band she decided to pair with her uniform. But what good candidate for Spring Formal Queen would you be without a little competition, winning was a given but winning unopposed is an embarrassment. The girls notice your stink-eye towards the table and rather than letting yourself get angered in front of your girls, you oppose chatting in the most unaffected way you could muster up. "Whatever, we all understand who's gonna be crowned Queen, why let someone who pairs blue polka-dot headbands with navy plaid uniforms get in my way?" They hum in response as you two make your way to the popular table.

Yuna and Sooyoung took their seats in front of Jihoon, your lovely, amazing, perfect boyfriend, as you walked around to sit next to him. "Hi baby," He said, which sounded scripted but, you paid no attention to since he was your prince charming! His looks over-looking his flaws, you leave a small kiss on his cheek before digging into your meal.

You are finished your meal, getting up and walking to the bin to throw. On your way back you- BAM! Right on the chest, you are greeted with the expired milk the canteen provides having it spill all over your chest,  drenched. "Ugh!" You cry, a boy in front of you with his lunch tray now on the floor, his hair scruffed up with a school-provided bow-tie. "You- You geek!" You bark as he is taken aback with his words, but he isn't afraid. "You are so gro-oss!" You shout emphasizing the word gross he's already tired of your shit and it hasn't even been a minute since your first encounter. Without hesitating he relates "Actually gross is one syllable-", "I don't care just go- just go read a book or something, you nerd!" You argue not wanting to hear what he has to say before marching away out the cafeteria.

The boy watches as you make your way out the commissary. He kicks his tray to the side, walking back to his table with a glint of annoyance struck onto him.

"Dark Victory of course. It stars Bette Davis, George Brent and most importantly Humphrey Bogart from Casablanca." Jungwoo said swiftly to the two geeks in front of him. Johnny, the only one of the three who could properly score a date with the popular kids started a debate on which film from the late 1930s to the early '50s was le Meilleur which is French for  'the best'. "Did you forget The Great Lie? Probably one of Bette Davis's only good films since she has co-starred with the one and only Mary Astor" He argues speedily. "Hello??" Nayeon says budding in between, "A Stolen Life will remain the best film from the 40s, 50s, and possibly forever I will and could go on about-", "Looks like Film Club's assistant president finally showed up," Johnny says cutting off whatever nonsense Nayeon probably had to add to their already ridiculous conversation. "Sorry, I got stuck in traffic with Yonsei's little princess," Mark says with an obvious eye-roll.

"Watch your words Markie,"  Jungwoo quickly told him. "Her dad-"

"Who funds 75% of the school!" Johnny added, Jungwoo turned to his side giving an annoyed stare before looking back in front of him to Mark. "Her dad who funds 75% of the school. Will ruin you if he gets notice of his daughter's uniform being spoiled with the cafeteria's milk from a film geek." He finishes sipping on his water. Nayeon turned to him, "He can get our club shut down within minutes Mark, watch how you talk to her." 

"So what? Like they'll even come close to us." Mark scoffs, "They're like a whole new alien species." The two in front of them nod, but Nayeon is a little too distracted with the tuna sandwich her mom packed her. "You guys is it just me or is the tuna moving..." Nayeon says slapping Marks forearm softly to grab his, then everyone else's attention. Just before she did Mark's attention was already taken by something- or should I say someone else. "Hey Ryunjin," He quickly says waving towards the girl walking by towards the exit, she turns around to wave before heading out. That's where Johnny inquired, "Face it. You and Ryunjin" He brings his hands up and around to make an 'x' with it, "Never gonna happen." He says watching his shoulders sag slightly, "You've been crushing on her since what? 8th grade, and having numerous occasions to ask her out and not doing so. You missed your shot awhile back unless we had a time machine you and name are a no-go." He finished now invested in what Nayeon's sandwich was up to.

"I-I'd go out with you!" Nayeon says dropping the sandwich into Johnny's hands. "Look, I don't even have time for dating why would I even ask Ryunjin out? I'm cool with being known by her. Plus there's no way I'd do it now, the school board's Annual Film festival is only a little over a month away, I'm our school's candidate how do I mess up because I was distracted by some girl with purple highlights" He said flat-out ignoring Nayeon. "That's true," Johnny says leaning in, "And you are our school best shot at bringing home that huge ass trophy, what's the other prize again?" Jungwoo said agreeing before taking a bite of his pasta. "It's a summer getaway to a Hollywood film camp, I gotta win," Mark said signing the application forms he had in his pocket. "I'm supposed to be a cinematic genius, so what better to do than murder the competition and bring home a trophy after going on a getaway trip to Hollywood to better my knowledge I'm gonna be like the Frank Capra or Victor Fleming around here!"

Johnny grabs Marks's application form to read the requirements, "You have to document something and make it worthwhile..." He read aloud, "What's the documentary about?" Jungwoo asked, "I have no idea." Mark said before snatching the paper. "He has no idea...." Jungwoo whispered almost inaudible in disappointment. Mark writes down ideas on the back of the paper while discussing it with Jungwoo, "So," Johnny starts, "Wanna go out with me?" He said. "No." Nayeon answers strictly as if she was waiting to reject the boy who's attention was back onto her tuna sandwich.

"Anyway, I gotta go hand this into Principle Dong." Mark said witnessing the awkward interaction before getting up and leaving the vicinity

He was playing with the hourglass on his office desk when a knock on the door was heard. "Come in!" He chirped and in came a student. "Ah, Mark." He sang motioning the boy to sit down while he took his legs off the desk. "Came to finally hand me those application forms I've been begging your little club to hand over I see." He said noticing the paper in hand. "Haha, Yea," Mark said avoiding eye contact as he brought his hand up to hand the paper. "Can't wait to see what one of my star students has prepared for the Festival." He said opening the folded paper reading aloud, "A documentary about how lunch ladies keep old food fresh, and our bellies full," His voice started off strong going quieter word by word, looking up at him. "Yeah, you know how the lunch ladies always give us the same green looking sauce every day, or the same batch of oatmeal cookies from months back, every time we sink our teeth into it. It tastes fresh! I've always wanted to know and I think it'd be a cool thing to find out" Mark your blabbering, Is what Principle Dong wanted to tell him so he'd shut up. He didn't want a lame documentary about something to make his school look bad in to be put out in front of dozens of other schools. "Mark." He stops the boy, "Your artistic vision is lunch ladies?" He asked. "Yes, NO! But yes? I'm struggling I can't come up with a good topic that's not gonna bore students and teachers." Mark said. Mr.Dong could see how strongly Mark expressed his struggles with a mere school contest, he probably wants that prize more than anything. He knows he shouldn't help him, since it'd be unfair but he wasn't gonna let him put out something that can ruin his reputation. "Stop playing safe Mark. Challenge yourself by widening your perspective maybe instead of documenting lunch and stuff that you know will bore people and try going after something to catch their attention." Mark's eyes slowly open as he looks up to Principle Dong nodding understandingly "Alright I get it, I get it" He says before clasping his hands together. Mr.Dong sees his improvement and instead of picking another student to compete he can rely on Mark who's now being ushered out the room by him, "Now don't forget I need a new proposal by tomorrow." He said before shutting his door.

"Dude I know exactly what Mr.Dong was getting at,"  Jungwoo tells him. Their school day was over about two hours ago and now they were at their part-time job, at Yong's, a popular little cafe in the middle of a jam-packed shopping mall. "Something challenging...like I don't know maybe a certain diva you encountered during lunch?" His eyes lit up, looking over his shoulder to look at a grinning Jungwoo who flipped his non-existent long flocks of hair like he was the diva. "You're a genius!" Mark said now ecstatic, but quickly going back to his little stressed self, "No, but then how am I gonna convince her?" He said placing his hand up under his chin. 

The bell rings by the entrance, which meant there was a costumer quickly brushing off crumbs from a cupcake he snuck in he turns around to see his proposal for the Film Festival itself. You looked different, you were wearing a pair of plaid pants with a tightly fitted black turtleneck, accessorized by dangling earrings, a heart pendant necklace and a simple gold chain. Your face was quick to cringe after seeing who was about to take your order, "Ugh It's you." You spit looking him up and down, he doesn't look too bad out of school you thought before handing one of the many many bags of clothes to your father's butler. "Here Minho, get a seat for us, please," You tell him watching him rush to one of the many empty seats. "Hi, Welcome to Yong's what can I get for you today?" Mark asked, tone sounding uninterested. "Shouldn't you be happy to see me? I am a miraculous sight for sore eyes," You said getting a half-suppressed laugh from Mark. "Anyway, I would like a grande green tea latte. one pump classic, nonfat, 6 enormous scoops of matcha, 195 degrees, and ABSOLUTELY NO FOAM." You finish, right before starting back up again, "And,  I would like a venti caramel frappe with extra caramel drizzle." You finish finally reaching into your purse to pull out your (dad's) card. When you go to hand the card you see not only Mark but also Jungwoo looking at you, mouths open, jaws almost touching the floor. "Did you not get it? Do I have to repeat my order or something?" You say with a hint of irritation, "Ah- No. Sorry it'll  be 15.50" Mark said averting his gaze from you.

After paying you, tell Mark, "bring it to my table will you?" before walking off to Minho.

"Dude go," Now's Mark's time to actually shine. He makes sure the drinks are perfect knowing ruining them could ruin his entire attempt.  He strides along between the tables finally towards your booth handing you both your drinks. But Mark just stood there, you motioned with your hand as you would to stray animals. "Why are you just standing there, go do your job?" You said already bothered, "Nope, I have a proposal for you.", "Whatever it is, No." You said not even wanting to hear what he's got to say, "I'm gonna ask anyway." He said towering over you and you seated butler. "I want you to star in my movie for the Film Festival this year," You look up, surprised an obvious smile dancing over your lips. "What's it about?" You asked still not sure, "You! I'll have to document your lifestyle til the Spring Formal." Mark said. You bit your lip not knowing to go through or not, but it was a nice ego boost, having someone film your daily life, letting everyone know you got the best friends and most fashionable friends, a prince-charming and a purse worth more than your teacher's salary. Jung Wonyoung, who's also a runner up for Spring Formal Queen having the football team paint her posters and make pins but what's that compared to a freaking movie documenting your life...Winning this year is gonna be easier than expected. "Deal," You said, Mark, cheers a little too loud before bringing his hand out to shake, you reject kindly before letting him know "Don't look like a freaking weirdo at school though. We can start tomorrow at lunch," You finish before seeing him run off to Jungwoo.

Finally home being able to rest from begin outrageously gorgeous today you skip down to your bedroom, hoping into the shower then changing into a more comfortable attire. As of now you were in the middle of your bed doing some homework before the phone went off, it was a notification from Ryunjin, she tagged you in an Instagram post of you and her when you were younger. Your mom took that photo on the first day of grade school back when you and Ryunjin were inseparable. Mom died later that same year and it was heartbreaking but you were stronger than that you knew you shouldn't pity yourself, or have others pity you simply because she passed away, she wouldn't want you to be like that. 

It was a brand new day and Mark was in the principle's office, don't worry this star is nowhere near in trouble when Mark hands in his proposal. "This is marvellous, I can see the growth Mark. Please keep me updated,"  Mr.Dong said watching Mark skip away cheerfully to lunch, where he'd meet you. Fridays at Yonsei were known as the only days of the week students didn't have to wear uniforms to school which often made them pull together a swagger (Johnny's words not mine) outfit for the rest of the school to see. Mark wasn't one to dress up on these days so today he decided to wear his black and blue striped t-shirt paired with black denim jeans,  his black hair parted in the middle this time. He did not look like a film kid. He looked like he belonged to sit beside you, "Hey" you were busy opening up your lunch when he stood behind you with his camera. "Oh-" In all honesty, you thought he'd be wearing baggy trousers and a worn-out shirt but you were filled with joy to see him looking presentable to you. "Hey, sit." You said to him, "I'm gonna just cut to the chase and record..." He said fiddling with the camera for a minute too long, "A few rules before you point that thing in my face," you started as he lifted his face to see you, "Absolutely no filming my left side, no hanging a minute later after filming I need you out of my sight when I hear you say cut." You were strict but not so sure if you meant it. He gave you a thumbs up before clicking record.

"So, Y/n why are you so determined to be Queen at the annual Spring Formal" Mark asked zooming in and out for a few seconds finally focusing, "Because it ensures permanent popularity and I can't fall from my throne can I?" You ask, "Aren't you already popular?" He asked looking up from the camera confused, "Companies at the top of the list don't need to advertise but they do it because..?" , "They need to stay at the top of the list," Mark says understanding where you were getting at. "Exactly, it's not easy to be popular like me nowadays," You say placing your hair behind your ear, "So not easy being like Y/n" Yuna said, Sooyoung agreeing. "Girls not now, this is my time-" , "Actually if they wanna add something they-", "Being popular isn't something you can just fool around with, it's like royalty to us hormonal teens. It's not easy, I gotta live up to these beauty standards, and be on my A-Game whenever." You finish. Not knowing what to say next you smile at the camera hoping Mark would do something- anything but suddenly your knight in shining armor is here- Jihoon takes a seat next to you. "Oh Babe!" You say kissing his cheek; making sure it was on camera. "Only 10's can get date 10's like Jihoon, we're perfect for each other!" You express, but Mark snickers to the scene unfolding behind you watching Yuna and Sooyoung roll their eyes at that certain sentence. "Are you coming to my game today?" Jihoon asked, before noticing Mark. "Why is there a fucking geek near us," He barks but you quickly come to the save. "Ji, we went through this. Mark here is going to be making a movie on how I win Spring Formal Queen." You say, gripping his hand slightly so he could get the memo. "He better not show up to my games", "Never, just eat." You said as he glares at the boy. "Alright, and cut." Mark said before getting up, "Thank you." 

"So...you don't have a job?" Mark asked filming you going through a bunch of clothes, you shake your head no. "You just shop til' you drop huh?" He asked amused at your simple lifestyle, "Of course, now don't come in here this is a school film." You said going into the change room. "Here she comes," You cheered (for yourself) minutes after changing into a short black skirt which was most definitely breaking dress code and a tight white long sleeve which had a deep cut in the back. Mark's mouth is slightly agape seeing you, you were gorgeous indeed he thought. "So tell me what it's like to be...." He trails off trying to find a synonym for the popular " Amazing? Well, there are levels of popularity, at the top moi, and at the bottom..you." You said giving him a grisly glare."Ou! Love these!" You acclaim to a pair of black heels, "Hate these." You say to a set of hot pink ones beside them. "I have two of these!" You declare cheerfully at a pair of white heels which shimmered with sparkles; definitely your style. "How do people get popular?" Mark asked, ignoring your admiration over ridiculously cruel footwear. "Well some are just born with it," You say then go in closer, covering your mouth in a whisper action, "But some gotta follow the diva's around for it." You said, clearly talking about Sooyoung and Yuna.

"Gonna try these on, out Geek," you said to Mark who was almost walking in there with you. "Oh- right sorry!" He said now moving over to your two (deemed) friends. "So, since she's not here... " Mark started  getting the camera up to focus on the two, "Do you have anything about Y/n you can spill?" He asked, "Like, does your popularity only come from following her around," Yuna was quick to fire back, "We may not be as popular as Y/n, but we do know some secrets..." She trails off letting Sooyoung start. "Like when Y/n doesn't get her way, she has the biggest hissy fit,", "And Jihoon is only with her cause he likes the attention, you know to she makes him feel better about himself," Mark couldn't understand how your two announced friends were fundamentally spilling everything about you to an insignificant camera and film nerd. "Behold!" You squeal opening the curtains, to reveal your outfit (which admittedly, had Mark's jaw drop). You were some-what dress shopping for the Spring Formal and you saw this magnificent dress, a silk orchid dress which fell all the way down to your knees frilling at the bottom. The right amount of skin and the right about of puff! You thought; pairing it up with black heels, "God, I look fantastic. What do you think?" You ask the three in front of you, "You-I think you look great!" Mark said the camera to his side, "Film!" You shouted suddenly, as he ponderously brought the camera back up. "Ladies?" You ask the two behind Mark, "You look so good!", "Agreed." They say. The four of you voted to get smoothies before departing and you were ever so willing to pay for all four, "So popular people can't hang out with... nerds?"  He asked filming you sip on the mango smoothie, "Of course we don't," He moved on, placing the camera down to take a sip out of his smoothie thinking there wasn't too much to embellish on, although you continue. "It's better that way, no interference. Why would a dime like me hang out with a nickel?"  You asked oh so wisely which made Mark mumble a WTF. "See, if you two were to go out... The school would go mad as a hatter and it's not gonna end well on both ends." Yuna adds you look to her in the seat beside you, giving her a warning look to 'not talk this is my movie' as she sinks in her seat. Mark sees the silence as an opportunity to ask a question from his cue cards filled with questions that would have something engaging, after finding something to grab not only your attention but the audience about to watch this's attention, he springs the question on you. What if you don't win Spring Formal Queen? "What if I don't? That's not a question, of course, I will? If I don't my life will be over!" You said sliding your drink aside stressing the word over. 

It was in the late hours of the evening and Mark was confined inside his bedroom, editing and stressing. How was this a high school documentary? She only cares about herself, 'fashionable' friends, and prince charming, in which two out of the three didn't even care about her. Maybe she's like this because of what it's like at home? He thought questioning about your at-home life was. Does she have a deep heart-aching past which makes her act like such a nuisance? Nah who am I kidding this isn't some movie. His night was mostly spent, under his blanket with a laptop screen shining into his eyes (probably the reason why he has contacts). 

Saturdays were beach days. That's what Jihoon always said. You'd meet him at the beach where all the (popular) kids from school would go on Saturday mornings, not to sun-bathe but to attend the main volleyball matches would be held. The teams were unauthorized, but for the student's entertainment, our Yonsei's official volleyball team would pick Saturday mornings for a friendly event against Joongdong High. You texted Mark beforehand to meet you there which took him a minute to agree on, but only if he brought his friends, Johnny and Jungwoo. "Hey, you're late!" You tell the boy who's jogging towards you with his tiny camera, you look behind him to see a taller fellow, "And you brought  friends..." You said uninterested and rather irritated, "I'm gonna help Mark, so you look extra beautiful today Y/n!" He quickly said chiming in; his effort in pleasing you was extraordinary. You give him a small smile before nodding. You look beside Mark to see a familiar face, "Johnny!" You cheer before embracing the boy, "Hey Queen Bee" He joked, as you slap his arm jokingly. You and Johnny's dads are business partners, which often made you two spend time together growing up so, in your world, Johnny was your only nerd. Mark just awkwardly stands the before Johnny scatters away with Jungwoo for soda cans, but Mark follows you. Mark was busy filming your little interactions with Jihoon before catching a glimpse of his Ryunjin. He thinks to himself, I can put the camera down for a second, before jogging to Ryunjin, who was getting a soda from the vending machine. "Hey," He said awkwardly. "Hi Mark, didn't come across to you being a beach guy..." She responded laughing at his getup in the hot climate. "OH, I'm just filming for Y/n." He stated catching 'O' shape form on her lips before they start talking casually. You back away, momentarily from the crowd to give yourself a little break, being gorgeous is a workout, you thought, before snickering. You look to your right to see Mark in the distance talking to a brown-haired girl, noticing the purple highlights, hidden between her locks, you realize it's not some rando,  it's Ryunjin. I have to get him out of there. You don't really think before grabbing a spare volleyball to flinging it over the crowd to Mark's head. Running over you ignore the girl aiding Mark, "Are you okay? You look okay. We don't have time for breaks." You said sternly before grabbing his arm and sprinting as fast as you could in a pencil skirt and orange stilettos.

"God, your so lucky I was your knight in shining armour out there. Saved you from your utterly wretched flirting." You tell Mark posing for the camera he set. "Flirting? What, no. Why would I flirt with Ryunjin?" He demanded panicked that you might do something knowing you. "Oh please, your crush on Ryunjin is way more obvious than Wonyoung's fake gold." You said adjusting the skirt you had on. "Can't believe I used to be her friend," You mutter, which he caught onto quickly, "Wait, what?", "Yea, in elementary but look at us now, way out of her league, she's almost at the bottom of the list with her, 'I'm in a rock band' getup." You spit before posing dramatically. 

You sit at the bench in front of the now, empty parking lot. Jihoon ditched you for 'pizza with the boys' to celebrate their victory along with the two friends who just needed to tag along for the sole purpose to tell everyone they hang out with the volleyball team during their free time. "Hey," Mark said sitting down beside you, "They left me and took my car." You say recalling Jihoon asking for your keys to drive to the pizza place. "Now I'm stuck here, do you have a car Mark, let's go somewhere." You whined quietly watching as Mark put his camera away, grabbing your hand to bring you away. "This is Jeno." Mark says, pointing to his Silver 1965 Oldsmobile, "He's getting old but isn't vintage a style you princesses adore?" He asked, chuckling before telling you to get in. "Spot on Film Geek!" You praise, before hopping in. You notice from the corner of your eye a group of kids from Yonsei walking by, you duck down, hiding from them "What are you doing now?" Mark asked confused, before noticing the batch walking down and taking a turn. "Okay Miss Popular, they're gone." He said a little insecure this time giving you a dry laugh. You notice from the corner of your eye a group of kids from Yonsei walking by, you duck down, hiding from them "What are you doing now?" Mark asked confused, before noticing the batch walking down and taking a turn. "Okay Miss Popular, they're gone." He said a little insecure this time giving you a dry laugh. The car failed Mark this time, and not wanting to break the already broken car he tells you "Let's bus it, this car isn't going to start anytime soon,", "What? No way I'm going inside a jam-packed van just for it to stop a block away from my place!" You argue. "God why don't you quit this diva act and just face were gonna walk back which is probably a little over two hours I know you won't ever do or take a thirty-minute bus ride which you should consider knowing your so-called prince took.", "What did you just call me? A diva? Hello?? I'm a star in your film!" You bark, now furious at the boy, "No. You are a stuck-up, arrogant, annoying brat who's in my film." He fired-back. No remorse at all. "You're-You're fired!" You shout. "No, this is my film you don't do the firing!" He said back, "Don't care, I'm the star here and I say you're fired!" You finish before he grabs your wrist, "Oh please I'm the only one who demands are going to be valid and I say you're fired." Mark finished walking away from the bus-stop down the street, leaving you alone and forced to call a cab.

Mark thinks he hit jack-pot, finally getting rid of you. "It's not too late to change projects right?" He tells himself on that gloomy Monday morning, combing his hair with his fingers in the mirror before going downstairs to eat breakfast. Here he was, eating a bagel in Principle Dong's office. "I'm afraid you can't Mark," He said towards the boy. 

"Hello! Yonsei!! It's me your future Spring Queen! Y/n! You want to better the halls of Yonsei? Vote for me, I'm sweet just like candy!!" You shout, the crowd you have in front of you, this was your way of campaigning. "Out of my way," Wonyoung says, grabbing the mic, to advertise and get people to vote for her. As per usual, she one-ups her opponent; you. "Oh my god, Y/n thanks for the advice on flirting, I finally got Wooseok to go with me for Spring Formal," Jisoo said, from behind making you turn with a happy smile, "So I can count on your vote?" Her smile faded quick, she mumbles a little something, before stuffing her face with the homemade cookie's Wonyoung provided, quick to run away.

It was almost the end of the school day and you were stuck in literature recapping on how to write proper paragraphs before your end of the year essay. You notice a semi-familiar face, Nayeon. You know she and Johnny are friends, so she must be close to Mark, you thought. You were gonna ask her to ask Mark to meet you but you'd rather not bring more geeks into your already geek-filled life. You read her phone screen that illuminated brightly in the dim-lit classroom. 'The Fifth Element is having a showing tonight,' A group chat called 'Hollywood's Trash' sent in, Mark would definitely be there. Writing down on a sticky note the address provided thankfully you slip it into your binder focusing your attention back on the lesson, this time with a smile.

You and probably the only other person you'd allow in your bedroom with you is Minho. He's been your family's butler for a little over 25 years now and has been with since day 1. Aiding since you unintentionally fell and cut a mark after attempting to bike without training wheels to strengthening you with your mother's passing. Minho was with you when he dropped you off at the very, very empty cinema. "They're probably inside, just wait until it's over which is..." He looks at his wrist, to his watch. "Another 10 minutes," He gives you an assuring smile before reaching over to open the door. "Knock em' dead," He tells you, before driving off. You sit on the sidewalk ledge with a soda in hand, sipping on it here and there until you began to see people walk out. Standing up, you pat down your skirt and look for anyone that resembles Mark. You see a short boy, black-parted hair and a graphic t-shirt paired with baggy trousers. "Mark!" You shout, he looks behind him to see your petite figure run up to him, "Hey," He said confused. "What are you doing right now?" you asked him eagerly, seeing him turn to Nayeon, Johnny and Jungwoo. "Yong's, we are totally digging sugar cookies," Jungwoo said before Mark could open his mouth, you smile leaning in a little closer to the odd trio,  "Mind if I tag along?", "No! Feel free." Johnny said, grabbing your forearm to drag you along. 

"God how can you guys drink those dreadful things," Nayeon said watching Johnny and Jungwoo gulp down smoothies. You and Mark already finished your drinks a while back, "Nayeon you do know, smoothies have a health glow about them? They’re often a fundamental part of cleanses, and they’re ubiquitous at health food stores and health-centric restaurants. And the smoothie trend is still going strong. Workout studios serve them up post-class, dietitians preach their powers and fit celebrities tout their nutritional prowess. The fruits used at Yong's are fresh and have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits with low-sugar, employee's here have also learnt to provide fibre, calcium and vitamins A, C and K they add dark leafy greens like spinach or kale. "Y/n what the fuck??" Nayeon said. You stare at her dumbfounded... Have you said the wrong thing? Were you wrong?

It's still the early hours of twilight, and you are still wandering with Mark and his friends, roaming around the lit-up town. "So, since when did you get so smart?" Mark asked. The two of you were walking delayed to get a chance to talk after your dispute. "What do you mean I've always been like this," You said, a little offended he thought that low of your academic abilities. He mutters a 'wow' before continuing "Well I thought pretty diva's like you only cared about popularity and crowns," He said poking fun at our egotistic side. You gasp before laughing, "So you think I'm pretty?" You sneakily stated which made the boy stutter like crazy, he couldn't answer back without the rosy tint on his cheek growing so you continued on with a little heartfelt apology in hopes he'd continue the documentary. "Look I was hoping you'd let me hire you back to finish this stupid film," You started smiling eye-to-eye hopefully, "You mean, I could hire you back?" He said. "Yes, whatever. Just continuing this- whatever" you pointed at him, then back at you repeating his vigorously "whatever this is.", "Only under one condition, you being a little bossy duchess is not gonna be happening, I like the cool nerdy Y/n I saw at Yong's," He said, which you quickly fired back with 'I'm not a nerd!' You accept your mini defeat against Film Club boy, letting him know you need a ride home before anything. "Alright, get in."

"Wha-What are you doing?!" Mark asked, laughing so much he almost dropped to the floor. You invited him inside after he agreed to drop you off at home. "Making cookies duh!!" You cheer, grabbing all the chocolatey goods from the cabinet. He's quick to pull out his camera and hit record, "Welcome to my Y/n's baking show!" You sang, adding a  trumpet noise (with your mouth). "So, what's the new with you and Ryu?" You ask, sitting beside Mark diving into a very, very unhealthy mess you call a cookie, with Mark. "Nothing really, how are you and Jihoon." You sigh to look over at the spacious living room, Mark understands your silence and understands your having trouble in paradise. "How about I ask some of her band mates- who worship me. If they can ask Ryu to go on a date with you" You suggest to Mark with a soft smile. He looks at you, thoughtfully, "I got someone else on my mind nowadays..." He tells you with a crimson red colour visible on his cheeks. "I-I should get going now it's nearly ten." He says going to grab his things, you nod and walk towards the front door. Maybe some nerds are cool, you thought, before Mark went out. 

3 weeks. You've spent the last three weeks with Mark Lee. Getting to know him, documenting your- I mean our movie. He's been warming up to you, and you've been less of what he liked to call you; diva. You've started flaking out on some dates with the girls, just to film with Mark, you two have learnt more about him through the movie nights you spent over at your place after filming. He's really cool and you're grateful you stopped clowning around to know him.  Today you went over to Mark's place extra early since you wanted to give him a makeover. His dorky striped tees were getting old and you'd like to see him rock the nice clothes in his closet you knew he had. "Wear this, this and OH! Make sure to put these to use." You say handing him a pair of khaki pants, a yellow shirt, patch denim jacket and a beanie to wear. It was beautiful to see him actually clean up for once, he almost made you fall for his looks. "If Ryunjin doesn't ask you out, don't mind if I do," You said laughing "Aren't you too busy with Jihoon to look after me?" He said bluntly laughing before stopping to look for a reaction which was nowhere to be found, "Jihoon broke up with me because apparently, I'm a part of the geek team now!" You said chuckling, a hidden sadness underneath. "Hey, don't worry I've been a member of the geek squad for about my whole life I think we roll far better than rich snobs-", "Hey! Take that back I was one of them" You said punching his arm. "Don't worry you're good," He said laughing it off. To be honest his feelings for Ryunjin over the past few weeks have now shifted into distant memories after getting to know the real you. I think Mark's really been feeling lucky he's got you and he knows you're aware who he's got his eyes on now. You're parting his hand, in between his legs as he sits on the stool, his hands were sneaky to make their way to rest on your hips; you hum unaffected, but proceed to part it nice and neatly before ripping his hands from somewhere it shouldn't be.

It was D-Day. Spring Formal was no longer weeks away, it's hours. You had just recently gotten news that Mark's little documentary he's been making about and with you has won first place in the Annual Film Festival, due to this he had won the summer getaway to Hollywood film camp, which by the way, was exclusive. He was lucky, and he aspired and reached his goal like no other, you on the other hand... Let's just say Spring Formal Queen wasn't something you were looking forward to nowadays. But it did feel nice to win something at a party you didn't even bother to attend, you were too busy telling mark farewell at the airport to be at a function that was still being supervised by faculty. "Don't forget to text me, Mark," You tell the boy in front of you. Today Mark is sporting a red and black striped tee with an In The Row Leather Jacket (gifted by who else other than you!) and some dark blue jeans. "Can't believe you missed the fricken' Spring Formal to hang out with the film geek! Ah You really have evolved," He said standing in front of your hands reaching to nothing when he stuffs them in his jean pockets. "You make me sound like those Digimon characters you collect," You say ultimately making him facepalm at your words Digimon? Really Y/n? he thought before going into a fit of giggles, oh why should he correct you anyways you seem so cute."But no, I won't forget." He assures hand reaching out to rub your side. This time spent with Mark is something the old you would've retched at, but the current you? The current you are thankful, Mark helped you go back to your regular self, showing you that you didn't have to be some type of Barbie doll for some; what Mark called rich slobs. You were better than that now, and you had Mark. You've come to realize that Mark Lee isn't just that geek from the film club. He's above that. His place in your hear is indescribable. Who knew he would be the one to make your heart run laps from simple gestures. It's hilarious in a way, you'd be aggravated if he even came into your vicinity but now you'd be anticipating his visit.

"Mark," You start, watching his eyes light up at you call him. Your eyes meet, looking into one another's dark coffee bean orbs. Your gaze was sharp as if lined with shards of glass around the edges, his eyes. God, when your eyes met, you could see the glow in them, it was irresistible. That is when you finally realize, this newly discovered desire you found in yourself, is in Mark. He foresees your next moves bringing a hand up to your cheek, caressing it. "God, you're so beautiful," He whispers watching both of your arms trail up his torso to rest firmly on his shoulder. Leaning in, you finally taste his peach lips. His heart was racing, once he dipped his face down to you. He knew that once he places his soft pink lips on you, he wouldn't want to stop.  Breaking the kiss, you whisper, "Goodbye, Mark." Hand raising to ruffle his hair, "Make me proud out there," You tell him, leaving a less-heated peck on his lips. "Thank you, goodbye Y/n" He wanders off into his designated area before taking off almost immediately pulling his phone out. Is he really that addicted to elec- Oh, your phone rings. He's calling you, "I miss you already," he tells you the moment you answer. "I miss you too." You tell him. "I have to go, my Uber is here." you bit your lip, the words tangling up in the pit of your stomach, should you tell him the eight letters you've been longing to? "I love you, be safe." You look over the crowd to the seat to see him, looking for you. He brings the phone up back to his ear, "I love you too- Fuck so much," It looks like he's been waiting just as long.

Let's just say your happy ending took couple wrong turns but it looks like you finally reached your destination, in Mark's heart.

[pendragonsandbuckleys]

hold me like the moon holds onto the tide (1/3)

Summary: Kidnapped and locked in a cell with no escape. Alex and Michael are faced with an ex-Caulfield employee who is prepared to do anything to get alien powers of his own. (Inspired by the Daisy/Sousa scenes in Agents of Shield 7x06)

Word Count: 2,946

[Also on AO3] [Part Two] [Part Three]

This wasn’t the first time that Alex had woken up somewhere with no memory of how he had gotten there.

There was the happier occurrences of this, such as waking up at his grandparent’s place after falling asleep during the car ride there as a child or ending up at home in bed with a killer hangover the morning after an unexpectedly wild night at the Pony.

Or the not so happy occurrences like waking up in the hospital after an encounter with a roadside IED or tied to a chair in his father’s basement after an unfortunate meeting with his metal cane.

But this. This was definitely the first time that he’d woken up in an unfamiliar cell with his hands shackled to the wall.

His head hurt and there was a weird heaviness in his limbs that could only be explained by the uncomfortable sensation of drugs running its course through his body. Blinking a few times in a poor attempt to clear the haze from his vision, he lifted his head to get a better look at his new surroundings.

“Alex?” Came a murmur from nearby, which only confused him more.

He let out a slight groan in response as he pushed himself up to rest on his forearms, the chain securing his cuffed wrists to the cell wall jangling nosily at the movement.

To say that Michael was a sight for sore eyes was an understatement at the best of times. But right now, the sight of him was practically angelic. He was sitting with his back against the wall, legs stretched in front of him, matching cuffs around his wrists. His hair was more of a mess than usual and he was looking at Alex with such big eyes that the worry radiating off him was palpable.

He looked beautiful, of course. But above all that, him being here meant that Alex wasn’t facing whatever this was alone.

“What the hell is going on?” Alex croaked around the unexpected dryness of his throat. How long had they been here?

“No clue. I woke up about twenty minutes ago, haven’t heard anybody outside.” Michael shook his head, eyeing Alex carefully.

They may be chained to a wall but at least their mysterious captors had the consideration to secure them within reaching distance of each other. Pushing himself up onto his hands and knees, Alex shuffled over and rearranged himself to mirror Michael’s position, their shoulders bumping as he rested against the wall.

Now that his head had cleared a little, Alex took a moment to survey the cell. It was a small room with dull grey walls and a cold, dirty floor.

There was one window positioned high on the wall behind them that was allowing a few beams of light into the room. The dim rays hit the door opposite them as if preparing to provide their captors with a golden entrance.

There wasn’t much to deduct from their closed means of exit, but the solid metal of the door was worrying. It didn’t look like some makeshift prison hidden in the basement of someone’s house, this looked professional and if someone had access to a place like this, who knows what they wanted with the two of them.

Alex lowered his head to rest it against Michael shoulder and squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to take a calming breath.

“Your head hurting?” Michael whispered, feeling himself relax just a little from having Alex so close.

Alex nodded gently, “Yeah, yours?”

“Yeah, it’s been throbbing since I woke up.”

Michael had been worried when he had woken up first.

The first thing he had registered was the hard surface beneath his cheek and he had thought for a moment that maybe he’d been drinking the night previously and hadn’t quite made it into the airstream before passing out. The drumming in his head sure seemed to support that theory.

Opening his eyes revealed how far off he was with that prediction and it had set his heart racing. But seeing another person lying nearby had his heart jumping straight into his throat.

He had only allowed a second to compartmentalise the fact that he had clearly been kidnapped before clumsily crawling over to Alex, instantly shaking the man in an attempt to wake him.

After a brief flash of panic, Michael had taken note of Alex’s small breaths and the rise and fall of his chest before letting out a nervous laugh of relief.

And now that Alex was finally awake, Michael took solace in his breathing once more as the man sat next to him.

They were silent for a moment as Alex glanced down at the metal cuffs cutting into his wrists. The thick grey bands looked stronger than standard police issue handcuffs and the sturdy chainlink connecting them to the wall bracket was not going to be easily broken.

“I feel like this is a dumb question, but have you tried to break the cuffs?”

Michael smiled fondly, glancing down at the top of Alex’s head, “It was the first thing I tried, but my powers aren’t working. It feels the same as when Helena dosed me with that stuff.”

Alex sat up straight with wide eyes and Michael mourned the sudden loss of contact. “That means they know that you’re an alien.”

“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.” Michael replied, biting his lip. A situation where someone else knew about his powers - let alone how to neutralise them - was concerning to say the least.

And downright terrifying to say the most.

Though he was quietly glad that Isobel and Max were nowhere in sight. At least they were safe, for now.

“Shit.” Alex looked towards the door as if expecting their captors to burst in at any second, “I don’t even remember what happened.”

“I’m pretty sure we were at the junkyard, but apart from that I’ve got nothing.”

Alex leant his head back and closed his eyes as he tried to get everything straight in his head, the incessant throbbing in his brain doing its best to distract him.

There was very little information to go on regarding who had taken them and how, but the part that was screaming out to him was why the pair of them had been taken together.

Their captors clearly knew that Michael was an alien, but if they’d kidnapped him because of that, what was Alex’s role in all of this? And if it was Alex they were targeting, why bother with the extra hassle of bringing Michael along?

There was no situation that would require them both. Not unless they’d gone back in time and were part of a secret organisation’s plot to create an atomizer that would eradicate an entire species.

Then the kidnapping would make sense. Maybe.

But after CrashCon, they had ensured that the devices and all existing blueprints were destroyed thoroughly and the only remaining knowledge of the chemical formula could be found locked away in Charlie Cameron’s head.

And well, after his father’s death, the threat of a systematic elimination of the alien bloodline had unsurprisingly become less of a problem.

So who was this new threat they were facing?

-

They were making them wait.

Classic interrogation technique Alex had told Michael. You leave the subject just long enough to let them get inside their own head and think through - in painful detail - every possible reason for why they could be there. Then you ambush.

And if that was the plan, their captors had succeeded.

After confirming that they were both reasonably unhurt and a few very unsuccessful attempts to break their chains and find a way out of the cell, they had managed to compile a rather long list of why they could have been taken and who might have been responsible.

Maybe there was a new alien in town who thought they were a threat. Maybe Jesse Manes had been brought back to life like some alien hunting Frankenstein’s monster who wanted to finish what he’d started. Maybe this was all some giant ploy by their friends to force them to get their act together and go on that first proper date they had been trying to arrange for weeks.

In truth, they knew that every idea was either completely far fetched or extremely possible, but they all ultimately came back round to Michael being an alien. It was the one thing that Michael had feared, above all else, for as long as he could remember. Someone had discovered that he was an alien and now they wanted to know more.

It was about an hour before they heard any signs of life beyond the door. Heavy footsteps and low mutterings could be heard muffled through the metal, before the door creaked open and a man in air force fatigues entered the room.

For one tiny moment Alex was hopeful enough to think that this was a rescue. That by some miracle his base had known that he was missing - despite the fact that no one was expecting him to report to them anytime soon - and had sent an officer out to find him.

It quickly became apparent that this was not the case.

The man closed the door, stopped in front of them and said nothing, simply stared at them as if surveying his goods. It made Alex feel very exposed. And concerned. His brain flicked through several reasons for why the air force might want to kidnap them and they weren’t exactly pleasant.

“You’re probably wondering why you’re here.” The man spoke, his tone patronising as if speaking to a toddler.

Alex felt Michael stiffen beside him. He clearly wasn’t expecting the air force’s involvement either.

Alex schooled his features, making very sure to hide any trace of unease or confusion, as he studied the man in front of him for any hint that they may have met before.

Hughes, his uniform’s name tag spelled out in thick capital letters. He was a middle aged man, maybe early forties, with dark hair and the beginnings of a beard to match. Alex didn’t think he’d come across any ‘Hughes’ during his time in the air force.

“You’re here.” Hughes continued, unfazed by the lack of response, “To give me what I want.”

“Oh yeah?” Alex asked with an air of defiance, “And what’s that?”

“Power.” Hughes grinned and the sight was unnerving.

He began pacing the room and Alex could sense an evil monologue coming.

“Let’s skip the pretence of you not being aliens and get straight to the point. You see, when I was nineteen I joined the air force and found my true calling, my one purpose in life. But there came a point a few years ago where I felt like I’d lost my way.” He paused for dramatic effect, coming to a stop in front of them, “That is, until Master Sergeant Manes recruited me.”

Alex and Michael glanced at each other as if reading one another’s minds. It was always a possibility that someone new would discover the alien secret, but despite the jokes earlier they had truly believed that the Jesse Manes chapter of their story had come to a close.

“Thought that name might be familiar,” Hughes smirked, crouching down to their eye level, “He told us about you. About the aliens that hadn’t quite made it to Caulfield.”

Without a second to hesitate, Michael went to lunge at Hughes, the sudden memory of his mother’s death flashing before his eyes but Alex’s quick hands coming to rest on his thigh (and the rather inconvenient chain) stopped him from giving Hughes the satisfaction. The man almost looked pleased with the reaction, chuckling to himself as he began pacing once more.

“‘Those three aliens are practically inseparable!’ He’d told us. 'You find one and the others won’t be far behind!’ And he was right.”

Michael watched him carefully as he reached one side of the cell before turning gracefully on his heel to continue the motion towards the opposite wall. If this guy knew about the three of them there was no reason for him not to go after Isobel or Max next. In fact, they could very well be in a cell just like this, right now, waiting for their own personal soliloquy.

And Michael was powerless to help them.

“Learning about your species altered my path in life, but now you’re going to change it completely. Starting with you.” Hughes pointed to Alex with a meaty finger and any response Alex might’ve had ready fell away with complete bewilderment.

Wait, what was going on? Alex glanced at Michael once again to make sure he had heard the same thing and he could have laughed at the mystified look that Michael was unable to hide.

“But he’s not an alien.” Michael furrowed his brow, suddenly feeling very unsure of what details Jesse Manes had given him.

“You better hope he is.” Hughes stepped closer, not even blinking as he stared Michael down, “Or he’s of no use to me.”

“And what exactly is it do you want with me?” Alex held his head higher, ready to offer himself up willingly if it would keep the attention off of Michael.

“The power flowing through your veins. It might take a few tries but it’s an easy enough experiment and I’m sure I’ll harvest the right cells eventually before it kills you.” Hughes watched him carefully, practically daring him to break eye contact first. “Besides, I’ve heard you heal quick so there’s nothing to fear really.”

“Wait, that’s your plan? You think you can just give yourself powers? You’re deluded. That’ll never work.” Alex remarked as Hughes pursed his lips at the comeback.

“I guess we’ll find out soon enough, won’t we?”

“Take me first!” Michael blurted out, ignoring the confused glare he could see Alex giving him from the corner of his eye.

“Hmm, telekinesis is impressive, but the power to kill with a single touch? That’s what I want.” Hughes smirked, his eyes still not leaving Alex.

And well if that didn’t slot a few more puzzle pieces into place.

It was true that Alex had been spending a lot of time with Michael and Isobel lately, and with Max more likely to be found in Liz’s arms than at his sibling’s side, it’s clear how this little misidentification may had occurred.

Before Michael could argue his case further, Hughes turned to leave the cell. “I’ll be back when we’re ready,” he stated simply as the door slammed shut behind him, leaving the room quiet once more.

Neither of them spoke as they tried to organise their scrambling thoughts. An hour ago, when they were making their list, they would never have guessed the correct outcome of that conversation.

“He thinks I’m Max.” Alex whispered into the silence, his eyes still on the door.

“We have to tell him you’re not, we have to do something.” Michael turned his whole body towards Alex, a determined look in his eyes.

“Guerin, we can’t tell him.” Alex furrowed his brow. Even if they could convince Hughes that he wasn’t an alien, it wouldn’t suddenly make everything better. He may be pretty useless to the man right now, but Alex knew full well how expendable he would be if Hughes found out the truth about his lack of alien abilities. With no means of escape and no sign of a rescue anytime soon, he knew that this was their only logical option, no matter how deranged and barbaric it sounded. “Whatever the hell is going on right now, we definitely don’t have the upper hand here, so if he’s gonna take anyone it’s better me than you.”

“Are you insane? If he experiments on you, he could kill you!”

“And if he experiments on you, he could discover everything.”

Michael opened his mouth to argue but Alex barely gave him a chance to take a breath before continuing.

“You’ve always been careful to make sure that nobody even has a chance to get access to your DNA but now you want to what? Give it up freely? No.” He stated firmly, shaking his head. “Him thinking I’m an alien is our best case scenario right now. This guy clearly knows a lot about you already - I mean who knows how much my father told him - I won’t let him learn any more.”

Michael had always known that Alex would go to great lengths to protect him, but to see his resoluteness firsthand sent a rush of warmth through him.

Still, he bit his bottom lip as he tried to grasp at any response that would overrule how right Alex was. Putting his own safety above Alex’s had never - and would never - be an option but, as selfish as it was in that moment, the thought of doing something that would put Isobel and Max in danger made him feel physically sick.

Without thinking, his hands found Alex’s and he wrapped his fingers around them tightly, undeterred by the awkwardness of the cuffs. He watched as Alex weakly gripped back despite the odd angle.

“This is insane.” He whispered dejectedly.

“I know.”

“He knew your dad.”

“I know.” Alex let out a huff of laughter and rolled his eyes, “Fucking Jesse Manes.”

Michael couldn’t stop the corners of his own mouth turning up into a small smile.

Trust Alex’s father to still manage to upend their lives from beyond the grave. And unless Hughes had somehow managed to pass his medical exams alongside serving his country, this was definitely not going to end well.

[five-rivers]

Glass Beetle

Based on a prompt by 2fruity4u for the Phic Phight! Might be sort of... fragmentary, in parts.

.

Danny frowned at his hand as it flickered in the evening's fading sunlight. He'd been having trouble with his invisibility lately. Nothing so obvious, for the most part, but both Sam and Tucker had noticed him 'blurring' or 'fading' around the edges this past week. He'd been able to correct himself so far, pull himself back into focus, so to speak, but, if that flicker was any sign, this was getting worse, not better.

He wondered if a new power was coming in. Sometimes his other powers acted weird when that happened. He hadn't noticed anything like that, though.

Either way, there wasn't all that much he could do about this. It wasn't as if he could just ask anyone what was wrong with his ghost powers.

Actually, that wasn't quite true. He did have a few ghostly allies. Sadly, they all lived (resided?) in lairs that took hours and hours to get to from the Fenton Portal. Lairs that also moved. He didn't really have the time to go find them.

Honestly, with all the schoolwork that had been heaped on him and his friends, he didn't have time to go do anything that wasn't absolutely necessary. Including sleep. He would give a lot to just be able to go to bed now, rather than whenever he finished his math homework. His extra math homework, assigned in lieu of detention. But, no, Skulker had to show up again, this time with ghostly hunting dogs, and completely waste Danny's afternoon.

But maybe that was the real reason he was having trouble with his invisibility. Exhaustion. And embarrassment. The two seemed to go hand in hand.

Just that week... Ugh, he didn't want to think about it.

He perched in a tree in the park, resting, and, inevitably, thought about it.

He really hated the people at his school sometimes. Dash for dumping glitter all over him and calling him a fairy... as if that insult wasn't so old it was fossilized... all the other people in his class for staring at him... Mrs. Hall for calling him out for 'disturbing the class'... the inevitable interruption of said class by ghosts... the detention... and everyone staring at him and giggling behind their hands.

Not to mention the toilet paper and what Dash and his cronies had done to his locker. Carrying his waterlogged books around and trying to explain to the teachers had been... painful.

In other words, the A-list had been in a bullying mood this week. No wonder he wanted to be invisible.

He sighed and drifted out of the tree. He had his breath back, as much as he had it as a ghost, and it was time to go home and do math.

Of course, to put a cherry on top of this already horrible week, he was immediately shot. He tumbled head over heels, and instinct took over. He went invisible, hard, erasing his light even in the infrared and ultraviolet parts of the spectrum, the chill of the power washing over him. He didn't know what had hit him, after all. A lot of ghost hunters had special goggles for seeing ghosts only transparent in the visible spectrum. Ghosts could often see through invisibility.

He reoriented himself, scanning the area for his attacker, one hand on the thermos.

Valerie. Very confused Valerie, judging by how she was whipping her head back and forth, scanning the ground and the skies.

Danny didn't want to deal with her. He hid himself behind a tree and went human in order to confuse any ectosignature tracing equipment she might have. He never knew what she'd get from Vlad, the jerk, but he probably wouldn't have included anything capable of tracking a half-ghost in human form.

He let out a breath as Valerie flew away. Now it was really time to get home.

He let go of his invisibility.

The cool feeling on his skin didn't go away. He looked down. Still invisible.

He let go of his invisibility.

Still, he only saw a faint outline of his limbs, visible only to his eyes.

Oh, this was going to be bad.

.

Danny had snuck into his house while invisible before, but usually he had a choice about it. He couldn't just walk through the walls, because his parents had coated most of the ground floor with something that blocked phasing a couple months ago (and was also a truly hideous orange), and he couldn't climb through his bedroom window because they had rigged it with a special anti-ghost alarm after noticing an ectoplasm stain on his windowsill.

He decided to go around to the back door, so no one would notice the front door opening and closing on its own. From there, he'd go to the lab and use the portal. Hours of flying and missing his math homework were preferable to being stuck invisible indefinitely. If only his parents had invented something to counteract invisibility... But, no, they were too focused on making things that hurt.

Yeah, maybe he was a bit bitter about that.

Okay, the coast was clear. Good. He padded down the back hall, unwilling to go ghost to fly. The security system was set to ignore him in human form, but sometimes it still picked up his ghost.

He turned the corner into the kitchen and froze as he heard the hateful beep of the Fenton Finder. His father's head snapped up, away from his plate of (unsanctioned by his diet) fudge.

"There is a ghost ten feet in front of you."

Jack leaped from his seat, and slammed the button to activate the Fenton Anti-Creep System. Lights strobed, some of them green with ectoenergy. Danny yelped and dodged a laser, then a laser sword, then a metal-backed cutout of his dad's face.

He ran.

By the time he got out of Fentonworks (the deathtrap) he was out of breath, slightly singed, and definitely bruised. He also felt, weirdly, more invisible.

He frowned. Was he diving deeper into invisibility without realizing it? Why? Because he'd been startled?

He turned to Sam's house.

.

"Okay," said Jazz, over the speaker on Sam's phone, after he had explained his current predicament. "It sounds like a confidence problem. Just, tell yourself you want to be seen- No. You have to want to be seen."

"I do want to be seen," said Danny. "I've been over this with Sam and Tucker. I don't want to be invisible."

"You know that," said Jazz, "but do you feel it?"

"Trust me," said Danny. "I feel it. Can you not get them out of the house for a bit so I can sneak in?"

"Afraid not," said Jazz. "They've put us on lockdown until they find, well, you. Or tomorrow morning."

Danny groaned. He'd already called them to say he was staying over at Tucker's. He'd wondered at the time why they were so happy about that.

.

He hadn't managed even a flicker of visibility by midnight. Even his transformation rings, usually blindingly bright, went unseen. Stuff he picked up turned invisible, too. Anything he wore turned invisible.

Also, the constant invisibility was draining him. Ghost powers took energy, especially when he was in human form. He was exhausted.

Maybe he would spend all his energy and wake up visible. He could hope. In the meantime, he'd sleep in one of the Manson's guest rooms.

.

He did not wake up visible. He woke up just as exhausted and unable to so much as see his own outline anymore. That was new. Before, he'd always been able to see himself while invisible.

He had to ask Sam to call Jazz, because he couldn't hold and see the phone at the same time.

"It should be safe to come home, now," said Jazz. "I turned off the security system, and Mom and Dad are off chasing ectopuses near the mall."

"Oh, good," said Danny, sluggishly transforming. "I'll be there in a few."

He took the same route in as before, but, this time, only Jazz was waiting for him in the kitchen.

Since he was a younger brother, he snuck up on her and poked the back of her neck. She jumped about a foot, and glared at a bit of air several inches above his eyes.

"Danny," she said, "would it kill you to take things seriously for once?"

"It already did," said Danny. "And, honestly, you sort of walked into that one."

Jazz rolled her eyes, and pushed open the door to the lab. "Do you want me to come with you?" she asked. "We can take the Specter Speeder."

"Better not," said Danny. "I should be fine. None of my enemies are going to be able to see me, after all."

"Well," said Jazz, as they stopped in front of the portal. She looked over a foot to his left as she said, "Be safe, Danny."

"I will," he said, and launched himself into the Ghost Zone.

.

"Your sister thought you had a what?" asked Frostbite, amused. He, also, wasn't looking quite where Danny was. In fact, Danny kept having to dodge out of the larger ghost's way.

"A confidence problem," said Danny. His voice sounded weirdly quiet, even to himself, and he wondered if his voice would also be affect by whatever this was.

The large ghost suppressed a toothy smile. "While your current condition may respond to your emotional state, great one, and your powers are linked to your emotions, they are not the cause."

"Then what is?"

"You have a parasite," said Frostbite.

Danny didn't say anything for a moment, half-convinced Frostbite was joking.

"A what?" he squeaked.

"A parasite. Don't be concerned, it is relatively harmless." Frostbite paused. "For ghosts. I have never heard of a human or half-ghost getting one."

That was comforting. Not. "What kind of parasite?" asked Danny. "What does it do? I mean, other than force you to be invisible."

"Well," said Frostbite. He turned to face the dizzying array of screens and other technology embedded in the icy wall of the cave. He brought up a image that made Danny blanch.

"It's that big?" he asked, one hand kneading his stomach, as if he could thereby force the many-legged thing out.

"Yes. Actually, it's a rather small example of this species. This must be its first breeding cycle."

Danny's eye twitched. "Breeding cycle?" he asked, feeling even sicker.

"Yes," said Frostbite. "The malaperas eraro is very sensitive to light during its breeding cycle, but they are also very weak ghosts, unable to become invisible for long periods of time. So they find a host and use their host's abilities. Once the breeding cycle is complete, all of the parasites will leave the host, and symptoms will stop almost immediately."

"And how long does this take, exactly?" asked Danny, voice cracking.

"Ah, it varies, great one," said Frostbite. "From the point that the ghost is unable to become visible, no longer than a week, depending on the strength of the host ghost."

"I can't be invisible for a week!" said Danny, alarmed. "I have school! My parents will notice I'm gone! I'm already exhausted from being invisible for this long. I can't take a week of this!"

"Ah, yes. The fatigue," said Frostbite. His eyes flicked from side to side. "That is, actually, the reason for the variable time. The malaperas eraro cannot finish breeding while the host is awake. It waits for the forced invisibility to drain the host and drop them into a sort of hibernation. It takes longer for stronger ghosts to reach that point."

"Oh," said Danny. "Great."

"We will be more than happy to have you stay with us while you recover. We will provide everything you need, and keep close track of your condition. This is more of an inconvenience to most ghosts than anything else. Similar to, say, the common cold or chicken pox for humans. It is difficult to be reinfected."

That was something, at least. He didn't want to do this again. "You're sure it will be safe for me? I mean, I'm not normal. Maybe we should just... take it out?" He mimed pulling, even though Frostbite couldn't see him.

"That is a matter to consider," agreed Frostbite. "Due to your unique physiology there may be... unforeseen complications. That is another reason for you to stay here, where we can monitor you. If it becomes necessary, we can remove the parasite, but doing so is an invasive and rather dangerous procedure."

Danny briefly considered flying to Clockwork, who could probably do something about the time problem, but exhaustion weighed heavily on his shoulders. "Okay. Fine, I guess. Just- Could you- If it isn't too much- take a message to my sister for me?"

.

The room was cozier and warmer than the norm for the Far Frozen, in deference to Danny's smaller stature and warm-blooded human form. There were also a number of nice, safe nooks and crannies that were attractive from a ghostly perspective, and a large number of paper-wrapped items.

"What?" asked Danny, leaning back into Frosbite's fluffy fur. On the way over, they had come to a compromise regarding how not to run Danny over. It involved Danny holding onto Frostbite (teenage pride required that he refuse Frostbite's offer to carry him) and Danny had enjoyed the contact more than he wanted to admit.

"Ah, gifts from your admirers, great one. We all wish for you to recover swiftly."

"So I don't freeze everyone again and leave quickly?" joked Danny.

Frostbite chuckled. "Nothing like that. We enjoy having you here, great one. It is an honor."

Danny hummed and let Frostbite guide him to the nest-like bed.

.

Danny felt like he was sleepwalking the past couple of... whatevers. Honestly, he didn't know how long he'd been in the Far Frozen anymore. It was all sort of blurring together, and Danny found it difficult to focus on anything.

Frostbite was doing another body-scan on him today, to check where the parasite was and what it was doing. Danny wasn't enthusiastic. The table for the scanner had been built for someone much larger than him and was distinctly uncomfortable.

Right now, Danny was sitting in a chair across the room, a blanket wrapped around him, waiting for Frostbite to wave him over. It was useful, he had found, to announce where he was going to be and then stay there. People wouldn't trip over him as much, if he was where he was expected to be.

"Alright, great one," said Frostbite. "We are ready to take your scan."

"Okay," mumbled Danny. He stood up, walked halfway to the table, and then collapsed under a wave of dizziness and fatigue.

"Great one?"

Danny only managed to make a pathetic sort of mewling sound. His vision was all grey around the edges, but he could still watch Frostbite grope along the floor, searching for him, and hissed when Frostbite bumped into him a little too roughly for comfort.

After that, Frostbite picked him up, and Danny stopped forcing his eyes open.

.

He woke up cocooned in sadly invisible blankets. There were voices. Deep, rhythmic ones. He sighed and tucked his chin down against his chest. He was safe here.

.

He woke up again, hungry and grumbling. He complained until he got food and went back to sleep.

.

When was the last time he opened his eyes? It was dark.

.

"... have finished?" said the voices.

"... reconsider the surgery..."

"... preparations..."

.

Danny woke up.

He could see his nose. Huh. He'd never really noticed how visible his nose was before he'd been stuck invisible. Really. It was right there.

He went back to sleep.

[macattackp]

Lies Chronically Ill/Injured People Tell Themselves:

1. I Am a Burden Who Only Takes From Others and Can Never Give Back

We all have things that we feel we SHOULD be able to provide. As a guy, it KILLS me that I can’t do things like shovel the driveway, help carry heavy items, or have a job that could make me a breadwinner for someone.

Don’t undersell what you do bring though! For one thing, chronically ill/injured people tend to be masters of empathy, not to mention we get pretty knowledgeable on the medical system. If you aren’t... don’t fret over it! If you can’t do something, then don’t! Focus on what you CAN do instead!

2. I Am Undeserving of Love Because Who Would Take on a Burden Like Me?

This one is another huge struggle for a lot of people. I know as a guy, I feel the added pressure of being worthless if I can’t provide financially for a girl. (No matter how progressive people may be, this progressiveness tends to vanish when their daughters’ well being are concerned), but I know just as many girls who say the same things.

“How can someone love me when I just am stuck in bed all day?” “Why would someone choose me if I could never have kids?” “Who would choose a spouse who may not be able to have sex?”

Look. I’ll be honest, I have no wise advice on this one as to find someone who is willing to support you on your struggles. Nor can I be dense and say “You’re just misreading people!” because let’s admit it... our lives are tough and there are many who would choose not to join us.... what I can say though... is I have had friends who had chronic illnesses. Some could never have sex. Some would require tons of medical expenses. Some were missing limbs or body parts. One was even pretty much guaranteed to die before she turned 30.... And they ended up getting married, and loved, and supported. I don’t know what the future holds for you, but I do know it IS possible! So don’t put yourself down or give up hope!

3. I Have to Work Harder to Keep Up With Everyone or Else I Will be a Failure!

This world has a main road, but that main road has a lot of cracks... and there are probably more people in this world who have fallen through the cracks, than walk on the main road. But we feel like everyone in this world is on the main road because once people fall through the cracks they tend to be overlooked even though there are so many of them.

It is not fair, nor is it doable to be expected to keep up with others when you are carrying a different burden. We have the Paralympics for a reason. Would you ask a man with one leg to race against the Olympic sprinters? Would you ask someone carrying a massive boulder to outrun someone without one?

And in all honesty, it is not always as cut and dry as “Accept you’ll get 4th or 5th place.” Our world tends to try to put us on rails. We make everything systematic and anything that doesn’t fit within our metrics is considered broken. We often judge people more by their process than their results! But the way laid out by others as the “Right way” isn’t always the only or even the best way! 

Learn how YOUR body works! I was a horrible student in school until I finally gave up relying on teachers and just studied the way I enjoyed it. I figured at that point “As long as I pass, what else matters.” but had the added surprise when I jumped from a 60′s-70′s student at best to my lowest grade being a 94! It doesn’t always work out this well, but your body is yours. No one else can tell you how it works. Learn from what people have done in the past but look for the way YOU work best! When you look back you realize, none of the biggest world changers really ever lived their lives by the book anyways!

4. I Have To Get Better So I Can Have a Life!

To an extent, this makes sense. Without energy, or finances, and with a schedule stuffed to the gills with doctors appointments meaning you can never go far from home... it is hard to feel like there is really much you can do... but... at the same time....

YOU ARE ALIVE NOW!

You may not have the finances to do what you want. You may not have the social life that you enjoy. You may not have an overabundance of time or energy... But you are alive RIGHT now! You are allowed to live!

Write that book you always wanted! Learn a new language! Cook yourself a big meal! You may tell yourself “BUT I HAVE SO MUCH OTHER STUFF I SHOULD BE FOCUSING ON INSTEAD!” 

Look! That stuff will be there whether you focus on it 24/7 or 12/5! Don’t let it get out of hand, but if you aren’t going to be able to solve it by worrying about it more then don’t! Spend your time doing things that will revitalize you, help you grow, and give you some interesting stories to tell once this is all over!

5. I Am Not Allowed to Be Happy or Have Fun Until I Am Better!

This one is a tough one as it ties into our impostor syndrome. That horrible feeling that we get every time we start to enjoy ourselves or smile in public of “Oh no! What if people assume I’ve been faking this whole time?!?!?!”

You are allowed to laugh. You are allowed to smile. You are allowed to have good things happen to you. Yeesh, there is no time in life that it is more important to have happy moments than through hardships!

Being happy or enjoying yourself from time to time through hardships isn’t a sign that your hardships were never that hard. It is a sign that you are fighting forward. That you aren’t letting this take over your life. And plus, as human beings we NEED hope and happiness... we die both mentally and physically without it

6. There is No Future After This

This is one that I personally struggle with... if we count the 6 years of trauma as a kid that originally gave me PTSD, and these last 7+ years of pushing as hard as I can only to fail harder and harder (including these last 2.5 years that have been giving me a whole new layer of trauma on top of my previous trauma) I’m reaching the point where more than half my life has been going through miserable, destructive times where I lose most things that matter to me and find myself alone at the start again in a dark place. It is hard... honestly... Anyone who follows my account and sees my tagless venting posts know that there are more than enough times I question why I even try anymore when I don’t even know what’s left of me...

But there was a movie I watched a while ago... another cheesy hallmark movie, but it was a good one as far as hallmark movies go. I remember they had this one line in it that really stuck with me.

“I’ve lost everything 3-4 times now! It’s the perfect place to start!”

Now I’m not as optimistic as that ambitious old man from the movie was... but I do know this.... You never know what life can hold. The same way you can lose everything that matters to you in a year, I’ve seen people gain more than they ever thought possible in a week. Not to say we are all about to win the lottery or by some miracle wake up completely healed of all afflictions... but I do believe that if it was possible to have things go this bad, it is also possible for things to go much better.

And let’s admit it. You might be thinking “Oh! But I’m not strong enough to make it happen!” and you’d be right... you aren’t. But honestly who is? We live in a world where tons of people succeed or fail... and very few I can say “earned it.”

Life IS unfair, but if it wasn’t, we’d all be dead! What we really get upset about is that it seems to be more unfair in some peoples’ favour than our own. But life is tough. The fact that any of us live is a miracle in itself. Don’t limit what the future holds for you based on what you feel you’re able to do. You aren’t a static person, and this world doesn’t rise or fall on your shoulders either! (even though it feels like that most mornings). Give it your best with what you’ve got every day, and realize even if each day feels like a year, this is still only a season of life. Personally I want to fight and survive long enough to see a day where this all seems like it was worth it!

7. I Will Never Be Self Sufficient!

The lie in this one isn’t that you will be self sufficient! The lie is that people assume ANYONE is self sufficient!

Look. Do you see people growing their own food? Even if they do, do they grow their own fertilizer? Even if they do, did they build their house from scratch, their car, their fridge, do all their electrical work, never once look up anything on the internet?!?!?! No!

We are NOT a self sufficient species. From the minute we are born we NEED people just to stay alive let alone to succeed! So you have to rely on people in a way you don’t see others needing to rely on people! Does an electrician complain that he needs to call someone to fix the backed up pipes when the plumber doesn’t??? No! That would be stupid! And to try and fix it on his own would be stupider! 

You are ALLOWED to rely on others. You are ALLOWED to ask for help. This doesn’t make you any less of a person! This makes you human!

8. I’m Not Worth It . . .

This is something I struggled with even before I realized just how much was stacked against me from the start... I remember one time, someone very precious to me sat down in front of me and for 15 minutes she said nothing else but “YOU ARE WORTHY!” She repeated it over and over again in different ways, not letting me talk and refusing to say anything else until I finally just accepted that I maybe was. Times change, and she may not be around to say that anymore, but those words still stick with me, and that moment still pops in my head every time I am feeling really down on myself like a planted warrior to fight against my internal self doubt...

There are many things in our lives that make us feel worthless.... “I messed up and hurt them.” “I have a lot of health concerns.” “I am not attractive.” “I have a perverted mind.” “I don’t fit with what society says I should be.” “My parents/people who I care about said I wasn’t good enough.” The list goes on... but YOU ARE WORTHY!

“But I don’t deserve to be happy!” YOU DO!

“But I don’t deserve anyone to put up with me.” YOU DO!

“But I don’t deserve a happy life” YOU DO!

“But I don’t deserve a second chance.” YOU DO!

Whatever you’re worried about

Whatever is bugging you

Whatever lies are bouncing around in your head right now saying you should just disappear and stop being a bother to others

YOU

ARE

WORTHY!

Don’t let anyone or anything tell you otherwise, LEAST of all yourself!

I don’t know who you are. I don’t know what you’re going through. I don’t know what you’ve done or haven’t done.... but I can tell you this right now. You are a one of a kind beautiful life. You are allowed to exist in this world, you are allowed to flourish, you are allowed to enjoy your time with it and interact with others. What’s more, you aren’t just put up with, you are NEEDED! Because there is only one of you out there, and this world needs you. Treat yourself well, and let yourself know just how valuable you are. You are you, and that is beautiful!

[yuvon-writes-letters]

[This letter seems a little bit more, frazzled. The handwriting is noticeably messier, with a few food stains littering parts of the paper.]

Yu,

Alright, I fucking did it.

Told my man to not freak out, and sent him some parts of the first few letters, literally just now. He hasn’t responded yet, so I’m just, sitting here, waiting.

Meanwhile, I actually searched up spiritual meanings of Elder Trees, why? Honestly, most of this stuff sounds spiritual in the first place, so maybe putting a bit more research into the folklore will help a little.

According to a website I’m browsing, Elder Trees symbolize transformation, death, and regeneration. It apparently is very popular among fairy and witch superstitions and magical protection. It’s commonly connected to female deities, as well as protection and guardianship. Of course, this information could be inaccurate as fuck, so take it with a grain of salt.

It’s also said to be a part of a category of trees called the “Ogham Trees”, I’m still currently trying to figure out what the fuck that means, but I’m workin [there’s a drop of ink that covers the rest of the sentence, it seems the pen was laid there a little too long.]

Ok, update. He’s responded.

At first, he thought that I was pulling a humongous prank on him, but after showing him more proof (and a bit of begging) he eventually caved. He’s still, very skeptical but our ha Jake, is ok with us using his name.

He sends a very reluctant greeting [Another doodled emoji, of a sheepish face]

I’ll continue to research about the Ogham, and like you, I’ll act as middle-man for my Jake.

Trying my best, Rai (and Jake)

Rai and Jake,

Ah. Lovely. Symbols of death. Just the thing I love to see. But... that's sort of the opposite of what's happening, isn't it? Nothing's transforming, nothing's ending, nothing's regenerating. The Duskwood characters are in stasis, and I'm just sort of hanging out here.

Now that I'm writing this out, does the elder tree stand for the birth-life-death-rebirth cycle? It sort of sounds like that, but I'm not sure. So, this one of the symbols of death might actually be a clue or some sort of symbolic representation of how things SHOULD be, rather than a threat.

Yeah, I'm gonna go with that one when I summarize this to our Jake. Wow, it's shockingly hard to get used to actually writing his name, rather than dancing around it.

Female deities, protection, and guardianship. Well, "female deities" could either refer to me, or to what put me here. Always wanted to be a goddess XD "Protection" is a bit weirder. I guess I am, technically, protected from most harm here? Though I always feel like I'm walking on eggshells whenever I try anything new. "Guardianship" is weird for the same reasons. I don't exactly feel safe here.

"Ogham trees"... let me know what you find out about those, because I have no clue what those are XD I actually didn't even think of looking at them in a symbolic sense, before, but now that you mention it it makes way more sense for the trees to be symbolic rather than location-specific.

Now we have two Jakes and two amateur detectives on this case! There's no way this case will remain unsolved now!

Yeah, I think my Jake would've been more skeptical if I didn't send photos and videos of this damn place, and if he didn't know me. I don't mind the skepticism from your Jake, though. In fact, it's probably good, in a weird way. Someone's who's skeptical might look more closely at any and all information you share with him.

On the other trees: we got nothing. Google image search failed us, so poor Jake is combing through lists of trees on Wikipedia and through a couple forums dedicated to this stuff trying to find any that match our description. I wish I could help or that we could divvy up the work somehow, but I have no internet :(   For trees that look so generic, they are annoyingly difficult to identify. Every species has at least one thing off in these trees. Leaf shape, bark texture, color, height, etc etc. It’s driving me insane, and I’m not even the one doing the footwork!

I’m gonna talk to Jake about all this real fast, hopefully I don’t make his job too much harder XD

So, he’s as pleased as you’d expect about the whole symbol of death thing. He prefers the more metaphorical/symbolic/etc interpretation too, but unlike me he’s acknowledging the existence of the other option. (I, on the other hand, am utterly determined to forget it exists unless I feel like I need to explore the case from that angle.) Obviously, no one’s saying that I should literally die to leave this place, but we discussed symbolic and ritualistic forms of “death” and determined that we don’t know enough about what exactly this entity wants from me to come to any solid conclusions yet.

Maybe I need to change, somehow? Coming-of-age rituals are a symbolic death of the child self and birth of the adult self, after all. But unless the entity wants me to transform into a paranoid half-insane wreck, I can’t think of any “transformations” its putting me through.

Or maybe it has to do with

In any case... I should sign off soon. If I’m counting the days right, it’s Father’s Day, so I want to check in on Lilly and make sure she’s doing alright. She’s gotta have pretty mixed feelings about her dad right now. I want to check in with Jake too, but I feel like I should give him some time to cool off after the “symbol of death” stuff before I do so.

I wonder if my parents are doing okay. Are they worried about me, or are they in stasis too? Have I been reported missing in my world? Does anyone even ca

Oh shit. I just realized, my dad asked to meet the Duskwood group briefly, since he wanted to know the people who’d become such a massive part of my life. I asked the group to humor me, and they all agreed, and we set up a time and everything for a video call. Now I’m going to have to figure out an excuse to cancel all that without tipping the others off that I’ve been kidnapped by an eldritch entity. And Jessy knows me way too well to fall for it and she knows I don’t talk about my more serious problems and she’s going to know I’m keeping something from her and

Fuck. I’m SO screwed.

—A very stressed Yu and Jake

(The letter tucks itself into the paper clip with the others.)

[marewriteblr]

Traits And Quirks For Characters In Fantasy (list)

idk if I’m the only one, but when creating characters for my wips, I like to google lists of traits and quirks to give a bit more depth to them. and since I mostly write fantasy, I thought my characters deserved some more fantasy-related traits and quirks, so here’s a list of 150+ traits and quirks for characters in a fantasy setting!! hope it helps some of you too

has tattoos that keep changing

bad vision—takes magical potion to see clearly

addicted to magical food or drink

weird things happen when they laugh, sneeze, cough…

sees things that aren‘t there—or are they?

speaks in rhymes

has a wandering scar

has a wound that never stops bleeding

shows symptoms of a curse but pretends to not know how they got it

physical signs when lying, eg hair growing unnaturally fast

can summon any mythical creature easily

has a mythical creature for a pet

brings a slight breeze with them whenever they enter a room

was dead once

refuses to eat certain type of food for no specific reason as though it were amoral or inethical

obsession with a particular period in history

obsession with a magical creature/species

doesn‘t dance or make music because weird things happen

haunted by a ghost, their best companion

always has a candle lit (eg for their ghost companion)

can speak a mystery language only very few people understand

can turn the light of single stars on and off as they please

used to be part of a secret society

wears shoes with wings, no one knows if they actually work

can predict the future correctly for a ridiculous/bizarre reason

lives at court, no one knows why or where they came from but they let them stay

can only talk in questions or riddles

always seen reading spell books though they can‘t do magic

always seen reading books though they can‘t read. bonus if the reason for this is magical

tells everyone about the time they did something they‘ve certainly never done

tells everyone they used to be a dragon, is obviously lying

is actually blind, no one has noticed

never speaks, only talks to people telepathically, they’re used to it by now

has blood of unnatural colour, tells the weirdest stories of why that is—story changes every time

sacrificed 7 years of their life to magical creature who might claim them any minute

sacrificed a body part, determined to get it back

sacrificed their good looks

always learning spells by heart and seen using them the next day as though they’d prepared it for the occasion

has a secret identity, eg can do a certain type of magic and sneaks out to commit crimes/perform on stage/meet their companions…

keeps getting into trouble because people are convinced they have magic, but they don’t

belongs to a human/non-magical species but was kidnapped years ago and never went back

is actually a ghost

is immortal but doesn‘t know anything about history—can tell you all about the migration of dwarf antelopes on their continent throughout the centuries though

always corrects people on history/mythology facts with things they can‘t possibly know if they weren‘t there themselves

allergic to magic. bonus if they‘re a powerful wizard or deity

obsessed with knives and swords. you can fight them but they‘re more interested in the crafting of your blade

allergic to a certain spell and only that spell for no apparent reason

always has a certain item or food in their pocket in case they need to bribe a magical creature today

miscorrects others‘ pronunciation of spells and pronounces them wrong themselves (eg emphasis on wrong syllable)

talks in a fake elf accent to piss off elves

pretends to be a species they clearly aren’t judging by their appearance, and gets defensive when told so, calling people racist

gets themselves into trouble by trying to seduce nymphs when drunk. also an alcoholic

is cursed to never remember any names—has forgotten their real name a long time ago so no one can ever have that power over them

introduces themselves with a different name every time they meet someone

heavily worships an evil trickster god

ominously refers to themselves in third person

doesn‘t walk but jumps from roof to roof instead

predicts the future but is always horribly wrong

challenges people to a quest all the time

seems to know every person in the entire kingdom

seems to be enemies with every person in the entire kingdom

spends a lot of time in dimly-lit taverns seeking opponents for a strange board game

likes to look for bizarre monsters deep in the forest

talks to their dagger

talks too much during sword fights

gets involved in sword fights but only ever carries a paper sword with them

makes up crazy and hardly believable stories when asked about their past to hide their guilt

collects a particular type of item that can only be found on adventurous quests to dangerous places

has large horns on their head despite their species having no such thing, refuses to tell anyone why

never seen eating

never seen sleeping

takes every time anyone mentions something being hard or dangerous to do as a challenge to try it

wears an eyepatch solely for the looks of it

collects dangerous enchanted jewellery

random hissing

an excellent storyteller, like unnaturally excellent

politically involved and fights for giants‘ rights

has a finger that‘s mysteriously shorter than the others

is best friends with a demon

is nocturnal but loves sunlight

pretends to be completely resistant to pain

always sneaking around

has a tattoo that keeps dis- and reappearing

enchants people with their acting

has a wooden prosthesis

doesn‘t wear shoes

changes eye colour every day

wears gloves all the time and tells people it‘s for their safety

hears the trees talk to them

believes the apocalypse is near

pretends to be immortal

breaks into people‘s homes to steal food. no jewellery. only food

pins pressed flowers to their walls

believes that flowers grant wishes

has random visions of other people‘s pasts that aren‘t necessarily true but always get them into trouble

strongly believes in reincarnation

talks in a different accent every day

is convinced they are cursed

sees every minor conflict as a challenge to a sword fight

fights their battles using nothing but darts

is an archer and also blind or missing an arm

accidentally stabs themselves. a lot.

always carrying poison around „just in case“

is at fault for the fall of a mighty god

knows all about mythology

always up to date regarding drama and gossip between the gods

immediately scared they’re about to be cursed whenever someone raises their voice

still mourns over the death of a friend

whatever they touch breaks instantly

chews on their wand (definitely not a good idea)

always wears their hair tied up into a bun, is longer than rapunzel‘s when worn loose

brags they were good at picking locks but actually just hit it really hard until it breaks

accidental shapeshifting

still waiting for an ominous prophecy to foretell their destiny

makes weird/seemingly unnecessary bargains with strangers

has something slightly off about their appearance that makes people stop in their tracks to watch them

unhealthy obsession with cloaks

is a great fan of wizards. collects wands and hats like action figures

horses don‘t like them, they ride a wolf instead

sings the spells they use

constantly mumbling to themselves or someone others can‘t see

can duplicate themselves but can‘t do math so they‘re always a bit confused

has a leaf sticking to the back of their hand. don‘t ask them why

is a painter, travels very far to obtain a particular kind of paint

sketches their dreams in a book after they come to them at night

always seems to be charged with electricity

freckles on their cheeks dance when laughing or when light hits them

makes up prophecies and tells strangers about them

grows wings when high up due to fear of falling

gets arrested regularly for pranking nature spirits and deities

sneezes when using magic

insomniac, needs a particular spell or magical food/herb to fall asleep

magic makes them fall asleep (when they use it or when others use it nearby)

mixes the weirdest potions all day

can‘t eat spicy food, literally breathes fire

necromancy but only to revive their dead cat

turns the same colour of any food they eat

dreams of becoming a knight

horrible short term memory but can easily recite anything they read two centuries ago

makes their eye colour look white just to mess with people

can‘t remember spells for shit. says them incorrectly which always goes horribly wrong

terrible handwriting. bonus if they’re a messenger who has to send important letters on a daily, causing things to go very wrong

can correctly guess anyone‘s magical power on a scale from 1-10. is stupid enough to point it out aloud, too

wears cloaks that are way too long

carries a fake sword on their hip

carries way more weapons on them than necessary

uses their dagger as a toothpick

plays with dagger when thinking

supernaturally heavy sleeper

gets the different species mixed up a lot

tells everyone how many people they‘ve killed in their life

a die hard fan of a well-known assassin

a die hard fan of shakespeare‘s puck

desperately wants to be abducted by the fae

heavily affected by the phase of the moon