#but how did you keep the initial line intact?

[i-eat-spinal-cords]

Actually how did you do that to his pants in the second!

Pencil and ink practice with the long lad

Tip jar

[palepinkgoat]

I was asked by someone in the @shamelessdvdcommentary community to share things "behind the scenes" one of my fics. I just think it's the coolest thing so I decided to participate! I hope you enjoy it. <3

Which Fanfic is your DVD commentary about?

Restoration. It's my most "popular" fic by far!

Give us some stats - (when you wrote it, word count, how long it took to finish, is it a one-shot/multi-chapter, etc)

Restoration is a multi chapter fic written in (big gasp!) 2016. It's 14 chapters and took me four months to write. For me that's very fast! But back in that day I was cranking fics out faster. The story is 112,794 words.

What was the initial inspiration for your story?

Well, our air conditioner needed a tune up and we called Bowman HVAC (a real company here, as well as the name I gave the HVAC company in Restoration) and a redheaded technician showed up. The wheels started turning immediately. At the time a lot of houses were being knocked down in the neighborhood (gentrification sucks) so there was a lot of construction happening. I'm sure that helped too.

If the story is written from a character’s POV, why did you choose this character?

I wrote it from Ian's POV. I had only written in his POV one other time. I fell even more in love with him in the process, and exclusively wrote him for years afterward. I can connect to Ian as a bipolar person, and his bipolar features heavily in the story. It seemed like a great opportunity to explore that.

What was your favourite scene to write?

I loved writing the scene with them in the bar bathroom in chapter 3. The first time they kissed . The whole scene felt very alive to me when I wrote it. I also really loved all the scenes with Ian and Sully - they were very fun to write.

How did you come up with the title?

I heard from a neighbor that there were different ways houses could be built, and if you leave any part of the house intact (the neighbor's front porch was left and they built out from that) you can categorize it as a restoration. I liked that. I also really liked the image of rebuilding things metaphorically.

Are there any little moments or references you hope readers will notice?

I'm not sure if this counts but I worked really hard on the construction elements and making them metaphorical to the chapters at the same time!

Was there anything you struggled to write? If so, how did you overcome this?

I don't really remember but I know that a lot of it just flew out of me. I don't remember struggling with any of it, surprisingly!

Favourite line in the story?

I'll pick the end of chapter 4, which includes a scene a lot of readers like. It's the "teaching" scene, wink wink. The last line is "He leans forward and meets Ian's mouth, opening wide and tasting him, them, this."

Did the storyline change in any way as you wrote the story?

I initially thought it would be a lot shorter, but I realized it needed breathing room and a longer timeline. I'm glad I followed that instinct.

If you are writing a particular trope or genre, was it your first time writing this?

I don't think it fits securely in a trope? I'm always a little confused about those.

What are you most proud about in the story? (plot, characterisation, dialogue, twist/cliffhanger, etc)

I'm proud of the bipolar elements to this story, and some of the dialogue. I feel like the dialogue in this was the easiest I've ever written. It was just really nice to write.

Are there any deleted scenes that didn’t make it to the final story?

In the era when I was writing it Amanda was very much in the picture on the show, and I thought her personality would really fit to be one of Ian's "helpers." But I never really got into any scenes with featuring both Lip and Amanda being with Ian at the same time.

Are there any ‘behind the scenes’ info you’d like to share - e.g. what’s going on in a characters head in a certain scene or how you came to write a certain line?

A lot of Ian's med stories and his notebook he keeps for processing episodes and health in general were mine, as well as most of the scenes with the doctor. The office is modeled after that doctor's office and everything. Honestly that doctor and the office were pretty terrible in real life, but I made her better than my doctor was. Now I have a fantastic doctor!

Reading back the story now, is there anything you’d change or add?

I actually did not re-read it for YEARS and re-read it in its entirety for perhaps the first time ever a year or so ago. It probably sounds really vain but I was surprised how cohesive it was and how much I liked it. I'm really proud of it and so glad people like it as much as they do. I don't think I'd change anything really.

Would you ever write a sequel to this story?

I have been asked, but I don't think I could do it! Like I literally think I couldn't write it in the same tone now that it's been so long.

Are there any ‘easter eggs’ in your story - e.g. references to other stories you’ve written, a trope you often use etc?

As far as easter eggs from story to story, I didn't add any of those things to Restoration. I did however reference the Restoration building and street in my recent fic Paragraphs! Another thing to know about me is most of the names I chose for original characters are real names of people I know. For example the developer of the property, Kowalski, is named after one of my besties. Do these people even know I write fanfic? Not really. So it's just for my own amusement. :)

If you’ve chosen your most popular story, are you surprised by the popularity?

I'm amazed at its staying power. I can't believe people are still recommending it and re-reading it. It makes me feel so loved.

Were you nervous or excited to post this story?

Back in that day I didn't feel very nervous. After I wrote this story I felt more nervous because people loved the fic so much and I felt like it was a lot to live up to!

Did you have a beta or a friend who helped you as you wrote?

I did not! Solo act, baby. I have used a beta on Paragraphs and The Ink is a Witness to This though and I think it helps tremendously. Fun fact: it makes me more nervous to share with one person than it does to share with the world which is funny to me.

Ask your followers to pick a snippet (no more than 500 words) and share your thoughts about it.

"Ian nods. Fuck it. He slides off his bed and settles on the floor between Mickey’s legs. “You want to feel it again?” Ha! This is a big reader favorite in this story (and referenced above) and even made into art. I didn't even mean to make it hot. I thought it was just a little scene, no big deal. The response was fun. The gist is Mickey is saying he doesn't know how to give an, uh, below the belt job and Ian kind of "teaches" him by talking him through what he's doing. Thanks to @wehangout for giving me this moment to work with!

Anything else you’d like the readers to know about the story?

I cherish every single reader and all the comments and kudos over the years. Writing this fic completely changed my life. I'm serious. So anyone who likes it or talks about it feeds in to that beautiful change and I'm just so, so grateful. I loved writing it.

[multifunctionalnitroglycerin]

The Locked Tomb Series- Alecto Theory

Brace yourselves this is 3000 words of me connecting dots that aren't even there.

First things first, this post is an amalgam of various brilliant theories I have seen posted on Tumblr, so if anything feels familiar, that will be the main reason. I am just going to present my own take on this, and hopefully add something new to what we already have.

                The subjects of today’s conspiracy theory are Alecto and Anastasia -and Cassiopeia in part, the vow to Anastasia’s bloodline and what could very possible be, Dios Apate MAJOR.

                So let’s start with what we have from the books, and feel free to correct me or add sth I might have forgotten.

                Anastasia and Samael are the only ones of the original Lyctor batch, that didn’t complete the Lyctorhood process, thanks to - in no small part – John, and/or possibly Alecto. (“I am sorry about Samael”). Which could mean that Alecto was somehow involved in the whole process going wrong, and thus she feels responsible for Samael’s death, or that she was close enough with Anastasia and Samael, that she herself felt Samael’s loss, or she felt for Anastasia’s grief. (I like to believe that they did have a tentative friendship even before the vow thing happened.)

                Anastasia is also the only one of the Lyctors we know, so far, to have had children. Which is an important bit on its own, (Can full Lyctors, have children? If so, are they different from other children, necromantic or not? Is there a reason that in spite of biological capability- if it exists-the other Lyctors have chosen not to have children? Even with Augustine’s and Mercymorn’s plan we see that in the end Gideon is conceived with Wake’s material – John is a whole different story as far as Lyctorhood goes so he doesn’t count.)

Back to our discussion though, Anastasia’s bloodline was so important to the Ninth House that it has been preserved for 10.000 years. We do not really get a clear picture on whether the Reverend Family knows why the continuation of the bloodline is important, Harrow certainly doesn’t, but it was so deeply ingrained to them that Anastasia’s bloodline must remain intact, that they effectively committed genocide, dooming the House’s future, in order to produce one more direct descendant of the Saint that wasn’t.

We do get a hint, a rather big one, on why the preservation of Anastasia’s blood is so important, in Nona’s Epilogue. Alecto states that Harrow is “the blood of the tombkeeper” after kissing her and drawing blood. What did she taste on Harrow’s blood I wonder? And how did she recognize the taste, as the taste of Anastasia’s line? Did the vow she initially made to Anastasia herself involve them drawing blood? Did it bind them to one another, so deeply that they ingrained themselves into each other on a molecular level?

To add to this, young Harrow, young desolate Harrow, who had had enough with her life and was prepared to die, young Harrow who opened the Tomb for that express purpose, loves Alecto from sight. And decides to keep living for her. And there is something exceedingly weird to just how much Harrow loves Alecto. Alecto is probably the most attractive person Harow lay her eyes upon to that day, true, but this instant infatuation, and its persistence throughout the years has something more to it, don’t you think? As Gideon points out, both to herself and to Ianthe, Harrow’s heart belongs to the dead cold body in the Tomb. And said cold dead body in the Tomb, recognizes Harrow from sight when she wakes “Alecto recalled her, for it was a face once dreamed in Alecto’s dream.”

And this line begs the question. Could Alecto dream, in the tomb? If so, how? And what did she dream of? Did she dream of Harrow? Why did she dream of Harrow if that is the case? Or did she dream of Anastasia, and the resemblance is that great? On the other hand, if this refers to Harrow first opening the Tomb, and looking at Alecto, does that mean that she was in some form conscious throughout that stasis? Does this mean that she could have heard and felt Anastasia while they were both locked in the Tomb, for however long the other woman lived?

(The scene where Nona describes the feeling of Anastasia's hands in the water and feeling safe. I am going to cry.)

I do have an interesting theory about Alecto’s “dreams” but we’ll get there in a bit.

Something else that is fishy, is that the Ninth, is the House of the Sewn Tongue. It sounds a bit like too much flesh magic for a bone magic house to specialize in, right? The cure to the Sewn Tongue on the other hand? Removing the mandible and all that? That sounds like a Bone Magic solution to a flesh magic problem. And I wonder if the fact that the Ninth House’s emblem is the Jawless skull, insinuates that the Ninth is not so much a house where many secrets are kept – though this is undoubtedly true, as the Ninth is known as the House of secrets by the other houses – as much that in the Ninth, all secrets are revealed. Where the sewn tongue is healed, and the truth comes to light. And I’d like to point out that it sounds a bit like foreshadowing, and a promise. Anastasia has been betrayed by John and sworn to secrecy, and then locked in the Tomb to die and take his secrets with her. I feel like the jawless skull acts as a constant reminder, that even with the sewn tongue, all curses can be broken, and all secrets will eventually come to light. And it feels like a promise to John, that her House, the house of secrets and unspoken truths, will be the one to rid of the sewn tongue and bring the truth he so fears forward. And this aligns a tad too well with the Sixth’s mantra, Six for the truth, over solace in lies.

And you know what else fits here, in this concordance of the Sixth and Ninth Houses? Cassiopeia and Anastasia’s friendship. Their alliance if you will. We know they both worked closely together trying to figure out the perfect Lyctorhood process, and it is possible that Anastasia made her attempt a bit before Cassiopeia. The exact same attempt, that performed in perfect conditions ended in failure, with John ultimately killing Samael.

 We also know that Cassiopeia left contingency plans in place, should the emperor become a hindrance to the empire. And from what we have seen of Cassiopeia in the books, it is safe to assume that she is driven, determined, exceedingly intelligent, perceptive, logical, and excellent at planning. She is also the one to point out John’s less than favorable qualities pre-Resurrection such as his interest in taking vengeance on those that wronged him being bigger in his interest to save lives.

So, we have, Cassiopeia and her logic driven, truth seeking brilliance, and Anastasia, the thorough, overly methodical researcher. We have them both working on perfect Lyctorhood, and we have them both, in one way or another, being betrayed by John. Chances are, that they were the first post Resurrection to notice John’s flaws, the first to concoct a plan against him. But contrary to Cytherea, Mercy and Augustine, they are more subtle than those cannonball attempts. No, I believe they planned. And they planned long term, and together. Cassiopeia left her House a note, left them instructions, she was preparing them for when John would become a liability. And then an aforementioned amount of time later, Anastasia is asked to design the tomb.

We do not really know anything about Alecto’s relationships with the other lyctors apart from the fact that most found her revolting, a “monster” in Mercy’s words. So here is a thought, perhaps Anastasia, the one of the original Eight to never ascend, perhaps the one whose failure Alecto was involved in – “I am sorry about Samael” – finds kinship in John’s unnerving pet, his undead “cavalier”, the one he betrayed first, the soul of earth. Perhaps they even became friends. Perhaps she and Cassiopeia realize the extend of what John has done and realize that Alecto is the key to undoing it. When John refuses to kill Alecto to appease the others, the plan fully forms.

So, they construct the tomb. And Cassiopeia is well-known for building mechanisms within houses, so maybe her and Anastasia create secret passages, and mechanisms with extra access to the tomb that would be independent of John sneaking in, or whatever he planned to do with that blood-ward.  And hear me out, we know that Cassiopeia stayed 7 minutes in the river before being torn apart by the resurrection beast – at Mercymorn’s account at least, not sure how reliable of a narrator she is. But what happened during those seven minutes? Paul says he thinks he knows how to get to the Locked Tomb via the River. So, the river and the Tomb are connected. What did Cassiopeia do, I wonder? (Here I’d like to say that my other theory is that she did eventually die, or rather was consumed by Varun the eater, much like Judith Deuteros was. The RB burned through her in what, a couple months? How long would a Lyctor last? Perhaps that was the reason that Varun didn’t resurface until 100 years after Cassiopeia’s presumed death. She could have been alive and slowly wasting away, while still making failsafe within failsafe until she lost her sense of self and eventually wasted away)

To recap until now, the first part of my theory is that Anastasia and Cassiopeia dissatisfied with the world John had made and the truth he had served them, probably worked together to find the truth. And they worked together from the shadows, to create a plan, a long-term plan, with which they could bring John down if the need ever arose, and undo what he had done. And Anastasia’s bloodline and their secrets are really bloody important to that plan. (Also, some nice symbolism about the Ninth being about secrets revealed, rather than secrets kept, and that functioning as a bit of foreshadowing.)

Now into the second part of my theory. Anastasia’s bloodline is so important because she has bound her bloodline to Alecto. And I think this happened in the premise of the Vow Alecto has made to her, or they have made to each other. This might be part of the initial vow, of which we know nothing about, apart from the fact that Alecto pledged herself to Anastasia, and that it is important enough that she pledges herself to Harrow, or a failsafe within it. A failsafe to ensure that should Alecto wake after Anastasia has passed, she will not be fooled by any imposters, or anything else John might have planned. Or perhaps, a failsafe to ensure that even if John changes his mind and finds a way to rid of the body within the tomb, to “kill” Alecto, she will not be completely gone, she will keep existing within Anastasia’s line, thus ensuring that the plan for John’s demise can still be enacted and that the soul of the earth will not be dead.

That plays really hard in the Alecto is within Harrow from the beginning theory. And I will explain. I believe I saw something that looked like this in Twitter by lesbian_mothman, but I do not really remember so I apologize if all this has been said before.

In all the dream chapters with John, we relive memories from just before and after the resurrection, and John talks to Harrow as if she is Alecto “You always say that Harrowhark” as a response to “I still love you.” Or when Varun recognizes the Earth’s soul “green thing” within Nona in the car chase scene, or when Judith regaining consciousness asks “Harrowhark?” and Nona replies, “No, and I never was.” So that begs the question of how much of Harrow is Harrow, how much is Alecto and how much are the 200 souls within her? (And there was a crowd of dead children there. They were striving loudly against living children on the far-off shore of the tomb. CHILLS)

In Nona we learn that Palamedes and Camila on the one hand and Pyrrha on the other have two different theories about who Nona is. The Sixth believe that she is an amalgam of Gideon and Harrow, and Pyrrha believes she is Alecto, golden eyes and all. And I am more inclined to believe that it is indeed Alecto, or at least a part of her, that resides within Harrow, and took the wheel when both Harrow and Gideon were gone. Think abt it. Gideon is back in her body, and we have no idea what the hell happened to Harrow, only that she doesn’t have the wheel, and Nona acts nothing like Harrow or Gideon did. It’s like she is learning how to be human for the first time. She learns how to love and be loved for the first time. So with no soul to govern the body, the part of Alecto within Harrow takes the wheel.  

And then there is the candle metaphor in NtN. Alecto’s soul is the candle passed from one necromantic heir of the Ninth to the other.

So long story short, part of the vow, if not all of it, is that part of Alecto will always live within Anastasia’s descendants, so long as they are necromancers. And here comes the part of Alecto’s dreams. Because if indeed she lives within the souls of Anastasia’s necromantic descendants, does she see through their eyes? Does she feel through their hearts? Does she dream of their lives, while locked in the Tomb, while a part of her lives in them? Is she conscious within them? Or does the whole thing act like a cavalier- lyctor sort of connection, where she cannot take the wheel unless the other soul in the body Is gone?

 Part of her soul is bound to Anastasia’s line, and they are bound to her, and over the course of 10.000 years do they spill over? Alecto to Anastasia’s descendants and they to Alecto.  Was this part of the plan to have a failsafe within Anastasia’s line in case something happened to the body in the Tomb? Was it a promise Anastasia made to Alecto, to give her a chance to live, to be human, through the lives of her own descendants?

All in all, I guess I could some it up in a few concise points.

Cassiopeia and Anastasia worked closely together, they were friends and allies and saw in John, the unfulfilled promises he made, and all the faults he tried to cover with rewriting his own version of history.

They decide to make a plan, a long term one, a detailed one, for when John is more a liability than it is worth. And thus, Cassiopeia creates the mechanisms in the Sixth and leaves the protocols for the rest to find. Truth over solace in lies.

Meanwhile Anastasia attempts to ascend, and John kills Samael. Alecto might be consciously or unconsciously involved and harbors guilt over Samael’s death.

Anastasia probably befriends Alecto or finds kinship with this strange being that is the soul of a planet that no longer is.

The planning continues and John after being asked to kill Alecto decides to lock her in the Tomb instead and has Anastasia design it. He later asks her to stay in the tomb and guard Alecto. (Antigone style)

Anastasia designs the tomb, probably with Cassiopeia’s help, probably with a few hidden mechanisms of its own and or a secret pathway through the river, an extra way out.

At some point, Anastasia sires a line, and she makes her vow with Alecto.

The vow probably is in regards of bounding Alecto to Anastasia’s line so long as there are necromantic heirs. A part of Alecto is constantly alive within each descendant of Anastasia’s.

It might work a bit like the lyctoral process, because Alecto only takes the wheel when there is no Harrow and no Gideon in Nona’s body, aka when there doesn’t seem to be another soul guiding it.

Alecto dreams. Whether she dreams of herself within the tomb and that’s how she recognizes Harrow on sight – from the memory of Harrow first unlocking the Tomb – or her dreams are glimpses of the lives Anastasia’s descendants lead I don’t know.

Alecto is thus bound to Anastasia’s line by blood. She recognizes Harrow by her blood, tasting either Anastasia, or the part of herself residing within it, when she kisses her. It also ensures that the line is intact the vow is intact and it’s not a pretender trying to fool her.

Anastasia and Cassiopeia planned to bring John down by opening the tomb when the time was right and leaving her to Alecto’s (and the RB’S???) mercy. There is still a lot left to be explored.

The tomb is to remain closed until the time has come God has to die. We can all see how that can be misinterpreted to > if the tomb opens God will die. And instead of a promise to be fulfilled it becomes a terrible terrible thing, that will spell everyone’s doom.

The freaking skull of the ninth is a threat, a foreshadow and a promise. The Ninth was a house that should have died with Anastasia in the tomb. But it didn’t. It continued existing its bloodline unbroken for 10.000 years. Nine for the tomb and all that was lost. The Ninth is predominantly I feel a house of mourning – the whole nuns, all black, and skull makeup thing. But it is also a house of secrets. It is a house represented by the cure to even the tightest secret held. So the Ninth, the house that should never have been the house that should have died with its secrets in the tomb of its inception, is the one that will break the sewn tongue, and reveal all the secrets, bringing the truth to light.

[letters-to-rosie]

Rosie!!!! Ep 7 had me pointing at the screen like that Leo DiCaprio gif when Jinx lit the match to blow up the bar and during the sweet Timebomb moment on the roof!!! I was like JUST LIKE ROSIE SAID AAAAHHHHHHH even timebomb only being possible in an AU is in line with that i think. AND you are giving us the revolution plot the show didn't!!

lol timebomb and roofs name a more iconic duo

the funny thing about the parallel is that Jinx is doing this tearful goodbye to a place that's been a home to her for so long and was owned by two successive fathers whose deaths she had a hand in and feels responsible for. and revolution!Powder is like "Ekko pissed me off" lmao. not to trivialize her feelings, because it's certainly more than that, but she didn't come there to destroy it initially. it's this explosion of all this pain and anger that then is released when she and Ekko fight in the alley. it's so much less deliberate than Jinx in the show. it was interesting for me to watch too lol I was like heyyyyyy I wrote something vaguely like that

I do wish the show hadn't given us the feeling that timebomb was only possible in an AU, just because it also explicitly shows us that Jinx heals when she has people to care for. I think Isha's death is to suggest that she'll never be anyone's true protector, but it really shouldn't have to be that way. because Jinx keeps saving people all throughout the season. Ekko even says her inventions change the world. and there's so much work to do in rebuilding Zaun and making it its own thing that Jinx could be a big part of. work that Ekko himself is going to be doing. this is all to say that we should've gotten Firelight Jinx lol. we kinda did with the final teamup, but we didn't get to see it, and that's a shame. I think that would have been a very natural ending for her, to hide away and then live amongst the people who have become her people. but noooooo we can't have nice things lol

and that kinda segues into the business of the revolution. I did figure that the two sides of the city would have to team up to fight off Ambessa, though I couldn't have seen her alliance with Viktor coming (though it makes sense given Singed's lore, in a convoluted way). really not a fan of how at the end of the show most of the problems that were present at the beginning as far as class and inequality go are left intact. the only real difference is that Zaun has some leverage, but not much. but this does align with my critiques of the first season having some pretty neoliberal underpinnings. the second season just doubles down on that super hard in a frustrating way

for me, a big part of why I wanted to do the fic is because the show gave me a world in which it was really easy to talk about a lot of issues I'm very serious about, and because I could see Jinx/Powder turning into a leader, even if not in a conventional sense, through traits that were evident even before season 2's direction was revealed to us. it's kinda crazy how it's so easy to forget that Ambessa only had such an easy in because of the oppression Piltover had been perpetuating against its poorer half the whole time. it's a good example of how oppression is dangerous for the oppressor as well (very Pedagogy of the Oppressed-core of me but it's me lol)

this got long anyway hope you're doing well!! we should talk soon!

fic we're discussing is here if anyone wants it

[thedreadvampy]

Waking up this morning so far my leg does not hurt as much as my shoulder. Which makes sense. Reminder if you're in any kind of crush/clash situation to keep your arms as low and close to your body as possible while remaining linked to your neighbour. Because trust and believe that once you lose that grip and allow your arm to come up past 90° it WILL get forced up, out, and back past your shoulder and that's an EXTREMELY painful way to take pressure for 20 minutes. Plus you'll be wasting half your pushing-back energy on Not Getting Your Shoulder Dislocated.

This is why if you're expecting to be rushed, it's important to use gable grip in the front row. Link arms with the people next to you (either both your arms should go over or both should go under) and, as much as possible, GRIP YOUR OWN HANDS TOGETHER.

(If you're behind the front row, your priority is to create space and support, so instead of gable grip, you should keep one hand behind the person next to you, one hand on the back of the person in front of you, and try to keep a wide stance and (without sacrificing pressure on their back) some distance between you and the person in front of you, so they have space to be pushed back into without crushing you)

The problem with gable grip, is a) it is uncomfortable to hold tightly for hours and sometimes difficult to make your hands meet, especially when holding a banner, and b) because you're linked to your comrades, when you take the initial impact and some of you are forced back, your arms will get pulled in opposite directions.

If you start getting pushed, clamp your forearm to your body, and keep your hands together as long as possible. Don't worry too much about your comrade's comfort levels in the moment - they should hopefully be doing the same, and that's how you keep the line intact. When you get a chance, check in and make sure you're not hurting them, but at the point you're getting hit by the opposing line, you will fully need to focus on your own body.

If you're wearing a hoodie or zipped-up coat and your hands get forced apart/you come unlinked from your comrade/you're on the end of the line, it's helpful to put the loose hand into your pocket and hold onto the fabric. That will limit movement and also stop them getting control of your wrist/hand as easily, which is the best way for someone to move you around. (I did manage to get my hand down and into my pocket after like 5-10 minutes and it helped a lot, but it was hard to do and I had already put a LOT of strain through my shoulder)

Don't let up until there's no longer pressure on you, because if you lose control it's very hard to improve your position. In order of priority:

Linked in with your comrade's arm

Forearm as close to the front of your body as possible

Hands holding onto something in front of you (each other, a banner, your clothing)

Elbow either below shoulder height or pushed as far forwards as possible

Upper arm clamped to your side (makes it harder to lose control of your elbow)

Gable grip is easy to practise but all that does is put you in the best possible position to START with, it may not be possible to maintain under pressure for 10, 20, 30 mins - and remember, the force hitting your line isn't a general, impersonal force, they have eyes, ears, hands and feet, and they will use them.

You're both dealing with an indiscriminate all-sides pressure and defending against one or more human opponents, so you need to act accordingly. That means don't keep them get anything in between your upper arm and your side, and don't let them start moving your wrists or hands around.

[nono-bunny]

Here's something to consider: Do you think Bryke were kicked out of Netflix's LA ATLA because they were toxic during the whole set? I saw an article on Instagram saying they were fired because they were unproductive, hard to deal with, and were rude most of the time. I sincerely BELIEVE that this is what happened to cause them to leave, because of how you heard all of Mike's jerk ramblings on things (Zutara) and how he and Bryan were praised for the show. I'm thinking Bryke couldn't handle the criticism and Netflix wanted something different to the story but still wanted to keep the story of Avatar intact. Which makes you think...what could make Bryke so adamant about not wanting to change anything? Was it scenes, moments...relationships? Ever since the trailer came out, everything looks fantastic. So WHAT could be so different that made Bryke act like the way they did?

Something to think about. ;)

Thank you for the ask, some interesting points here!

So first of all, I haven't really been active on Instagram since they killed the chronological feed a couple of years ago, so I obviously have no clue what the article you're talking about is and how true it is, but. Yeah, I'd believe that lol, wouldn't be in any way out of character for what I've heard of them and for the rep they've built up over the years

As much as the guests on the podcast are constantly talking about how good at managing the show they were, you also get a very real sense of how rigid they actually are in terms of listening to other people's ideas when they go against their initial ones, even if they would make the show better. Something that really stood out to me is how many times other people are credited for all of the best parts of the show- Zuko's arc being great had nothing to do with them, Iroh's personality was different from what they initially wanted, Toph being a blind girl rather than a huge dudebro (I don't remember if he was also blind or not but like. Regardless they weren't the ones to come up with the Toph we know and love at all)... All of these are things that they've basically admitted to be changes proposed by other people, which they initially resisted. Like!!! They legitimately cannot take the credit for the show's best parts, because they're shit writers- but they have a massive ego because they've been constantly getting praise for shit they didn't do for years. Genuinely they sound like nightmares to work with!!! The cavalier way they dismiss people all the fucking time whenever they disagree with them is just. Really weird for show creators imo, and the way they keep milking the franchise even though they've long since run out of any good ideas- or, really, the ability to execute them in a way that works... Those two fuckers barely worked on anything else worth remembering/noting, so they just keep coming back to the thing that worked once and wondering why they can't get it to work again- and the answer is that they were never the reason why it worked, and they refuse to accept that

As much as I love the original show, it's also incredibly flawed and imo needed many many changes to be deserving of the perfect image it seems to have, and like? I'm genuinely hoping that the changes Netflix make are along those lines rather than like... Sensationalizing it with gratuitous violence or whatever. Zutara would be great, obviously, but... Yeah mostly I just don't want Kataang, and like. I'm being 100% serious when I say that I'm gonna wait for other people to watch the show first so I know if it happens or not, because if it does- I'm just not gonna bother with it.

[n0maku]

Some details from the Undertale Legends of Localization book

271 pages! If the localization of Undertale into Japanese interests you, I suggest getting the book off of Fangamer yourself. Anyhow, here's some details I noted from my reading:

-"mt.ebott is "toby" backwards, inspired by mt. itoi from MOTHER" (translation note from Toby to 8-4). This detail is also mentioned at another point in the book.

-An image of the debug tool that 8-4 developed to quickly jump to points in the game has "No Mercy" as a tab...(?) selector...(?). I don't quite recall what other names have been used for the route 'officially', so found it interesting enough to note. It is also referred to as such a few other times in the book.

-The name they used for the fallen human (shown in their debug tool menu image) is "Rose".

-Toby instructed the translators to keep ICE-E somewhere, even if to keep it funny the wordsearch got changed to something else.

-It has been known by people already, but the book notes how each item has three names! One standard name, one abbreviated for battle menus, and one abbreviated for battle menus during serious scenes. I think I recall some post calling it "Serious Mode"...? For example, the Butterscotch Pie goes in the battle menu from "ButtsPie", to "Pie" in the Toriel fight from "Serious Mode" . (Though, it says they cut the abbreviating for the Japanese translation as there were less space needed for the item names. I guess that means the japanese version didn't get any 'silly' item name variations...?)

Now, this gets pretty long, so I'll just put a readmore here...

-The translation of the Wrong Number Song comes up in the book, and it actually references that the main fan theory for who the "G" is is Gaster! BUT it reveals nothing about it basically. Toby remained mysterious about the "G..." person referenced in the call, with his note on it being "Character's name beginning with "G"... Actually, it might be suitably bizarre if you leave this line completely intact in English." Disappointing, but admittedly expected that this book wouldn't give any more details about it.

Apparently initially the localization team also thought it was meant to be "Gaster" and put a "Ga--" in an early draft, but it got overruled by Toby's decision to keep the call in English.

-A section emphasizes how while Monster Kid's dialogue uses ore, a more masculine pronoun, ". . .Toby designed the character to have no clear gender," and "Monster Kid's gender is never specified in the original script." I personally found it nice how the section asserted Monster Kid's gender neutrality and emphasized the pronoun choices being more purely used to reflect character, and chosen after consultation with Toby. -Onionsan's unclear gender led to the translators choosing for them to use watashi (which the section describes as a "polite, somewhat gender-neutral" pronoun), or simply "Onionsan" (which works to emphasize their childish vibes). -There is nothing about Frisk/their name is never mentioned. A section on Parsnik only notes that Hard Mode is accessed when you "give yourself a certain human's name." -Apparently Toby says Alphys is pronounced "al-feez"

-It is noted that Toby did not mean to reference the "it's over 9000!" meme with the dialogue "OH YES! MTT-BRAND OVENS CAN REACH TEMPERATURES UP TO NINE-THOUSAND DEGREES!" -For the (slightly inaccurate) Kitchen quote CHECK text (two lovers standing over the cauldron of hell...), Toby asked the translators to just translate it directly instead of grabbing the exact lines from the Japanese version of Kitchen. The section emphasizes how Toby was so unattached to it being a reference that he specifically requested the translators to not bother with it.

-There is a section on Entry Number 17 (the wingdings one, not the unused alphys one)! However, it is not referred to as such, merely vaguely talking about it- how most people never see some of the lines in Undertale, and the process of translating the wingdings. (They wrote out the Japanese translation with English spelling, keeping the same wingdings font.)

The image examples they use are images of the wingdings "THE DARKNESS KEEPS GROWING" and it translating to wingdings "YAMIHA NOUDO WA MASHITE YUKU". Funnily enough, the section notes ". . .it almost feels like these messages contain dark secrets. . ." and ". . .the localization team wanted to preserve the 'dark, mysterious, and unreadable' vibe in Japanese too." "Dark" twice... ha ha, these writers, I swear...

Sadly, no mention of Gaster or any other insight on the entry. An example sentence they use for Wingdings is "I EAT BUGS EVERY DAY," so uhhh maybe that's a clue that he's a bug eater? (I'm joking...) -"Asriel Dreemurr" being an anagram of "Serial Murderer" is confirmed to be intentional by Toby. -Toby notes how the "But it refused" line has two meanings: One, that it can mean "refused to die," secondly, that it can mean "'re-fused', referring to how the heart fragments fuse back together again." It's another thing that's been noted by some people, but a neat detail regardless!

Alright, that's what I've got...! There's a lot of other stuff, like how dialogue that was referencing other games was handled, (which is a LOT), but these notes are what I found the most personally interesting and relevant to Undertale.

[puffymucher]

I might have made a hazbin OC.. how did you figure out a story I'm struggling 😭

OH. GOD FINALLY AN EXCUSE TO POST HAZELS STORY

so, first- how did i come up with it? i tried to think about what i wanted for an oc- i wanted a hell hound, i wanted an "old fashion" butch inspired a lot by our narrator in the book "stone butch blues" (AMAZING read) and i wanted a country gal

so, how did i put that into my story? let's read the basic blurb of what i have first

----

Hazel was born into the gluttony ring, like a good amount of hellhounds are, but she wasn't exactly from the.. Best family. You always had to fight for your part, and if you were rude or out of line about it, you got snapped at to get in place or *starve.* Her family is mostly consistent of her and her handful of siblings (shes the first born in the litter, followed by Bolt [@mirconreadzztuff22 's oc!] and you can feel free to add on siblings if you'd like!! always ask me though LMAO), her parents, and her grandfather.

Her grandfather was actually the one who, when she was about to leave the family for work in Pentagon City, helped her dress up to look snazy. He would also comfort Hazel during the harder parts of her family moments, and even if he was the one who instilled some of the "manners" talk, he didn't feel exactly right about watching his grandpups starve, and he'd often sneak into the pup's room at night with small snacks to feed the ones who weren't fed

Once Hazel made it for the city, it was rough at first. Being a hound, she was treated like absolute DIRT, and constantly had to either fight or kill for her own survival (or, job) and a few years later in the city, that's when she saw applications for Vox Tech's Guard Initiative.

(I CANNOT DIVE MORE INTO IT WITHOUT SPOILING THE "Just A Simple Job" BUT a basic thing to note, most art of hazel herself is nearing half a decade she's worked for velvette! (if you're curious, Hazel in current time is just entering her 30's, she got the job with velvette around her mid 20's :^>)

Hazel was soon promoted up to Velvette's personal guard after that, and it was so significant that Hazel was constantly called and chided as her "lap dog" or "pet" by others, but never infront her or the overlord- It wasn't a good idea if you wanted to keep intact.

-------

the whole gyst of what i want her to be is in her roots and ties to hell itself n all that- shes a guard because hounds are expendable, and its setting up something that can be touched on in my scenes with her and velvette as i touch into their first day together you'll get to understand how exactly they got together

basic gyst of this shit though is have fun with it! who fucking cares if it makes sense why they kiss whoever!!!!! just have fun!

[triptychofvoids]

Soooo what did ya do with the mercs orginal hearts? after you switched them to Über compatible hearts, that is. Do you like have them in jars somewhere, or on display? Also do you have engi's cut off arm somewhere too??

(Idk if your familiar with magnus archives, but theres mention of a shed with the walls lined with shelves of beating hearts in jars. And medic feels like he'd have someting like that. With also other organs and "souvenirs".)

i think you will be interested to hear that i actually did not have to switch all of their hearts out! a few of them were actually über compatible, especially once i actually managed to refine the implants a bit more!! heavy, obviously, was not one of them, which i found very surprising considering how sturdy his body tends to be with most other experiments. thats why he makes such a good guinea pig for initial trial runs! ah,, but not in this case heh.

to actually get to your question, yes i do keep anything i take from a teammate! sometimes this is so that i will have a spare, sometimes i will give it back after im done with it, and i do occasionally keep things for display but not for each and every little thing. im sad to say that i do not have any of their hearts, or at least not intact, because like i said a few of them got to keep their original (and now improved!) hearts, and the remains of an exploded heart are not much use to me unless i can salvage a majority of it. but not all is lost! i have plenty of other things from them! and finally, i do have dells hand! its preserved in a jar on a shelf above my desk!

[downwiththeficness]

The Usurper-Chapter Twenty Six

Summary: Lilah McNamara stole things for a living. It was tedious work and often dangerous, which made it just exciting enough to keep her interested. After botching a routine job, Lilah finds herself standing amid monsters. Wholly unprepared for the horror of living under Amaru’s reign, Lilah decides to use her well honed skills to thwart the queen’s plans and prevent the end of the world.

Word Count: ~5,600

Disclaimer: I do not consent to this work being copied or posted to other sites of blogs.

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“Are you sure this is gonna work?” Lilah crossed her arms and stared at the set up. Two wooden boxes were stacked on top of one another. Sitting on top of that was a bundle of dynamite. If she looked very closely, Lilah could just see the gleam of metal between the sticks.

Seth sidled up to her right, “There’s enough there to blow a hole through concrete.”

“Which reminds me of my next question. Where the hell did you get that much dynamite?”

Richie appeared at her left, “Where we get everything.”

“Tech Guy Juan?”

“Tech Guy Juan.”

She sucked her teeth, “Still haven’t answered my first question.”

Richie shrugged, “Guess we’ll find out.” He looked around Lilah to Seth, “You wanna set it off?”

Seth laughed and shook his head, “No I do not. Honor’s all yours.”

Richie grinned and it made him look about twelve years old. He produced a lighter from his pocket and practically skipped over to where the long end of the fuse laid on the ground. Lilah flinched and backed up quickly towards the back of the bar. Seth turned and watched her scamper away and his smile was one of bemusement.

Lilah flipped him the bird, “I’m not getting hit with fucking shrapnel.”

He made a face of ‘that makes sense’ before he turned back to watch Richie lean down and put the lighter to the fuse. It hissed and glowed red, a slow moving dot that she could track in the darkness. Even from her position next to the building, Lilah could see the path of the fire as it sizzled along the line, up the boxes, and into the bundle of dynamite.

Boom.

Usually, when Lilah worked with explosives, she used ear protection for this exact reason. The sound was way, way too loud. It echoed between her ears long after the initial blast, leaving Lilah digging her palms into the side of her head and grumbling curses. Neither of the brothers seemed to be having the same problem. The two of them were just...kind of standing there, staring at the smoking mess.

Still rubbing her ears, Lilah walked up to them and said a little too loudly, “Did it work?”

Seth shrugged and looked at Richie, who was still staring at the blast area. “Go check it out.”

Without hesitation and without acknowledging his brother, Richie sauntered forward. On the way, he knelt down and picked up a stick as wide as two of her fingers. With it, Richie dug around in the ash. Lilah bit her lip while she waited for him to confirm that the plan worked. The plan had to work. There was no other option but for the plan to work.

Richie looked up and shook his head. Lilah blinked and she might have yelled out in frustration while stomping up to him to check for herself. In the still smoking mess at her feet was a singed metal cup. Completely intact. Not even a dent. Lilah’s head tilted back and she stared at the night sky, “I knew it. I fucking knew it.”

“What is that thing made of?” Richie murmured.

Probably the same thing as that fucking book, Lilah groused internally. Externally, she said, “What’re we going to do?”

He stood, “I don’t know. I think, if we can figure out what its made of, we can figure out how to destroy it.”

“How long will that take?”

“I don’t know.”

“Lots of I don’t know going on here.”

She could feel his glare. “You got a better idea?”

“Not yet,” Lilah admitted. “But, I might soon.”

“Gonna need it faster than that,” Seth announced. “Just got a text from our resident sun god. Amaru’s taken another twenty five and turned them. He thinks she’s moving up her timeline.”

To the night sky, Lilah asked, “You wanna throw anything else at us this week? Because I think we’re full up.”

Richie leaned close to her, “I don’t think He’s listening.”

Seth tugged a piece of cloth from his coat pocket and reached down to snag the cup. He held it up to the ambient light of the bar and turned it slowly between his fingers. The cup was plain, just hammered metal. No jewels. No decoration. When Lilah grabbed it from the shelf of some eighty year old woman, she initially thought she had the wrong relic. This little debacle proved that she didn’t.

Sniffing back her ire, Lilah took the cup from Seth and trudged back to the bar. The boys followed silently. She walked through the back door, past the trough for dish washing, past the empty liquor boxes waiting to be broken down, and through to the back hall where she pushed into the office. Richie leaned a hip against his desk while Seth poured a drink. The air took on a pensive weight.

“The book can’t be destroyed, either.” Lilah rubbed at her face in frustration. She was tired from their trip and this little setback only served to make her more tired.

Richie crossed his arms, “I’m not surprised.”

Lilah sighed, “I guess I’m also not surprised.”

Seth threw back a swig of liquor, “Well, I am. A few sticks of dynamite and the thing barely looks smudged.”

“Its magic,” Richie muttered while he, too, made himself a drink. He lifted the bottle in Lilah’s direction, but she waved him off. She didn’t want to be drunk right now.

“God save us from magic,” Seth replied. “Look, I’ll take it to our guy and see if he can figure out what metal we’re dealing with. We’ll go from there.”

Richie set his glass down and shrugged out of his jacket. He threw it on his desk and said, “We should look for the next relic while we wait.”

“Not a bad idea. Lilah?”

“Yeah,” she breathed in answer, “I know where it is.”

Seth looked surprised, “Really? You found it already?”

“I didn’t have to find it,” Lilah said. “I already stole it once.”

This time, Richie looked surprised, “You stole a Xibalban staff?”

She nodded, “Sort of. Actually, its a funny story. Stealing the staff is where I first met Brasa, only I didn’t know he was Brasa at the time. At least, not until he killed a maintenance right in front of me.”

Seth took a short breath, “Let’s, uh, set aside the funny story for a second. Where is the staff?”

“I stashed it in a church a couple hundred miles from here. Small town. Nice people. Terrible taste in gods.”

“You think its still there?” When she nodded, Seth continued, “Alright. We’ll go get it the day after tomorrow.”

Lilah pressed her palms to her thighs and stood, “Fine. I’m gonna get some shut eye.”

In her room, she kicked off her shoes and sorted through her meager clothing to find something to sleep in. She settled on a pair of athletic shorts and the t shirt with the lizard on it. With a wide open yawn, Lilah slipped between the sheets and turned off the bedside light. She wriggled around to get comfortable and breathed deep. For a few seconds, she thought she might actually drift off pretty quickly, but her mind just wouldn’t let go.

“I’ll put serious money on all of the relics being indestructible,” she said to the darkness. Lilah didn’t need a metal analysis to know they wouldn’t be able to destroy the cup. Same with the book, the staff, and the knife. Without a way to take the relics off the board completely, there was only one solution: Hide them. Lilah had to find the deepest, darkest hole—several of them, to be safe—and throw the relics in.

“Sleep,” she said aloud. “Sleep now. Plan later.”

After ten minutes, Lilah was still staring at the ceiling and trying to stop her brain from recalling the exact schedule for church services. There was a gap on Tuesday where there wasn’t anything going on. She could slide into the sanctuary and snag the staff without anyone noticing. Unless they’d hired Raul’s replacement. Maybe she should case the place for a week or so before breaking in. Someone might recognize her, though. Lilah might need a disguise. The image of her wearing a wig and giant sunglasses forced a chuckle from her throat.

Lilah scrubbed her hands across her face, “Stop it. Just stop thinking.”

She kept on thinking right up until she blinked and the darkness turned into the warm light of someplace very, very different. Lilah sat up and looked around. She was sitting on a large bed in the center of a small, but cozy room. To her left was a closed door and a pair of lit sconces. Their wavering light was unnatural. She leaned a hand on the mattress to get a closer look. There was just a tiny ball of light sitting in each one that cast an amber light on the meager furniture.

To her right was an opening that led to what looked like a terrace. Lilah scooted to the side of the bed and set her feet on the floor. It was then that she noticed the distinctive lack of lizard t shirt. Her hands bunched into a dress that was made of what looked like long, vertical strips of fabric that were tied at the waist with a thin leather belt. There was nothing underneath. She pulled one of the swaths away from her body. By itself, it was nearly transparent. The mass of twenty or so strips layered atop one another provided just enough coverage to hint at, but not reveal, her body.

A quick turn around the room produced no new information as to where she was or why she was there. She tried the door and found it locked, which left the terrace as the only point of exit. Lilah stepped outside to find that it wasn’t actually a terrace. The stone walkway ran along the side of the building and around the corner. Lilah leaned over the side and looked down onto a large courtyard that was lit with the same flame-less sconces. People milled about, some sitting at low tables that were piled high with food, some collected together in groups.

Drawn to the frivolity, Lilah spotted a staircase and headed for it. Her feet were bare against the stone, but it wasn’t cold. The air was warm and humid. There was no wind moving through the breezeways and when she looked up at the night sky, there was no moon or stars shining down on the large courtyard below.

The space was lined with huge pillars that held up the mezzanine. Between the pillars were little nooks and benches for extra seating. The stone floor was a dull taupe and very clean. It was smoothed to a shining finish that didn’t seem possible. Same with the pillars. If she looked closely, she could see small geometric carvings along the base. The area where the pillar met the upper floor was a perfect circle with an unfinished center. In the hollow, rough cut stone caught the light and threw off tiny, pinprick sparkles.

Lilah tried to move in stealth, but it didn’t seem to matter. No one was paying an ounce of attention to her. They didn’t even look her way when she sidled past them to the foot of the stairs. Having reached the courtyard, she was quickly surrounded by the crowd. The air was rich with spices and something vaguely like citrus. Food and drink were abundant, piled high on top of the tables. Large bouquets of flowers stood guard at every pillar. The blooms were brightly colored oranges, reds, purples, and blues. Some tall, some short, all beautiful.

A pair of men walked past her, wearing a sling of fabric around their waist. One had a large golden pendant swinging from his neck. The other wore an arm band of braided leather. At their heels was a small woman wearing a dress similar to hers. She was carrying a large basket filled with loaves of bread. Behind her was another woman, much taller, following with a heavy metal pitcher. It was then that Lilah realized why everyone was ignoring her. She was dressed exactly like the caterers.

In the center of the large hall was a set of three long tables arranged in the shape of a horseshoe. The tables were low to the floor and pillows were laid out so that people could sit and eat comfortably. Lilah struggled to recognize the food arranged on wooden and metallic plates. Strangely shaped fruits in teals and pinks surrounded by leafy red vegetables. At strategic distances, some kind of large animal was steaming in a roast pan. The smell wafting from pan was vaguely like clove.

She kept mingling, moving around the perimeter of the room and taking in the sights. Everything was so beautiful. The food, the flowers, the guests. There wasn’t a single thing out of place. Lilah slowed to a stop near a massive bouquet of fragrant flowers that stood taller than she did and enjoyed the feeling of anonymity right up until she discovered that she didn’t know what to do with her hands. It would look weird if a caterer wasn’t actively doing anything—not that anyone was noticing her to begin with. Lilah was being ignored so thoroughly that she half wondered if they could see her at all. Maybe she wasn’t really there. Maybe she was a ghost wandering through the room, and unable to interact. Did that mean she was dead? She reached out and touched the soft petal of a nearby bloom. It felt real against her fingertips.

“Not a ghost,” she said absently.

Lilah distracted herself by looking at the architecture. It was awfully familiar. Where had she seen these breezeways before? While she was busy squinting at the mezzanine, the air in the room noticeably shifted. What was carefree and jovial became alert and tentative. People all around her stopped their conversation while their heads swiveled to look across the room. She, too, craned her head in the direction everyone was looking, eyes widening when she caught a set of broad shoulders cutting through the crowd.

Half hidden by the flowers, Lilah stared at him while he moved through the room and sat on one of the cushions at the head of the u-shaped table. Like the others, he was wearing a low slung wrap of thick fabric in a deep purple. Around one bicep was a circle of gold. His skin seemed to glow in the soft, warm cast of the sconces. It offset the way his eyes swallowed all the light as they tracked across the scene in front of him.

Lilah traced a loving line from his neck down to where his torso dipped beneath the table and wished they had more than just a kiss that night outside the bar. She could get more now. She could draw him back to that empty room and take whatever he would be willing to give her. Lilah sighed around a dry throat and her feet started moving without conscious effort. Crossing the room took a little more effort this time. People were moving at a slower, more careful, pace around the central table. Several others who were dressed like her sidled between the small groups to bring additional dishes to lay before Brasa. Elaborate plates of food steamed next to a large pitcher. He neither looked at, nor touched, either of them.

For the most part, he ignored the various other guests, though she saw a few of them try to engage him in conversation. Brasa’s responses were clipped, if he gave one at all. His attention seemed far, far away and Lilah thought that he looked a little bit sad. It moved her to hasten her step along the length of the table until she angled around the corner. Without a single ounce of preamble, Lilah dropped to kneel on the cushion beside him.

“Hello,” she greeted him a confident toss of her head.

Brasa turned and, for the barest second, she thought he might not recognize her. He blinked slowly, then said her name in a warm, tender voice. Lilah’s smile widened to a grin while she moved closer. Her hands gathered up the strips of her skirt so that both her knees rested on the thick, soft pillow. It was large enough to seat at least three people easily. She reached out and cupped his jaw. Like the flower, she could feel soft skin beneath her hand. He was as warm to her now as he was when she was awake. Warm and real and inviting. Lilah leaned forward and kissed him lightly once, then pulled away a scant inch. She held herself there, waiting for his reaction.

Brasa didn’t disappoint. He shifted towards her and returned the kiss with firm intensity. Lilah’s eyes closed against the way it burned through her. His tongue swiped across the seam of her lips and Lilah could taste the sweetness that hinted at venom. She held tight to him, pressing against his side with a low sound of pleasure. It felt too good to be a dream. Too real.

He broke the kiss, “I did not expect to see you here.”

“Where is here, exactly?” Lilah asked as she caught her breath.

“A memory,” he answered, picking up her hand and touching his mouth to her palm.

She stared at the way his lips moved to her wrist with slow, deliberate kisses. “Memory?”

Brasa nodded, but didn’t explain further. He nuzzled her forearm and up to her shoulder where he dotted little kisses all the way up to the curve of her neck. Lilah tilted her head to the side with a sigh. Her eyes fell half closed as he nipped along her jaw until he reached her lips. He brushed a barely there kiss against them before returning for something deeper.

In between one kiss and the next, the sconces on the walls dimmed to almost nothing. The courtyard dropped into a deep darkness that was made even darker by the lack of moon and starlight. Lilah gasped and leaned into Brasa’s body while she looked for danger. He’d said this was a memory. He hadn’t said it was a good one.

Brasa chuckled and his arm slipped around her hips to tug her so close that she was nearly sitting in his lap, “Relax. The show is about to start.”

“Show?”

He hummed in confirmation, “One of my favorites.”

Shadows moved at the far end of the room. Brightly lit lanterns were placed in a large semi-circle. They flickered with the same light as the sconces, casting the area in shades of amber. Lilah stared in anticipation, wondering what might be in store for her. She only waited a few minutes before music began to play from somewhere off to the side. She could barely make out the musicians, swaying along as they played. The song had a hard driving beat with some kind of stringed instrument that warbled with every note.

“Do you remember when we talked about dancing?”

Lilah squinted in thought, “You mean at the burlesque show?”

He nodded, “This is almost the same. Nudity included.”

“Oh?” she breathed with lifted brows. “How much nudity are we talking?”

Brasa shrugged, “I’d say its equitable.”

More shadows shifted around the ring of light. Intrigued, Lilah focused on them, catching shimmers and sparkles winking at her from the darkness. They walked in time with the drums. Slow, purposeful movements that moved the group steadily into the light. Their steps were synchronized, arms lifting in gentle arcs over their heads. One by one, they entered the circle. Lilah was impressed by their costumes. Intricately woven ropes that were knotted in such a way as to expose as much skin as possible while only hinting at indecency. The men and women of the dance troupe slowed as they reached their places while the music dropped off into silence. A few sounds of encouragement came from the crowd, along with soft claps and whistles.

Brasa leaned down and whispered, “They’ll start with something energetic. Watch.”

Lilah watched.

He was right. After a swollen silence filled with the expectation of everyone in the room, the music started up again. The drums and the strings moved together with so much frenetic energy that Lilah was amazed anyone could stand still. She flicked her gaze around the room to find exactly that. No one was moving. Not the dancers. Not the audience. Not even the staff. She opened her mouth to ask what was going on when Brasa shifted his weight and lifted an arm.

The air in the room snapped with the sudden release of tension. A howl came from somewhere near her right, its answer floating from the balcony. In the improvised spotlight, the dancers began to move. Arms and legs and hands and feet all working together to form shapes and patterns that shifted from one to the other with such precision and speed that Lilah could barely keep up. She had no idea that a body could do that.

“They’re so good,” Lilah murmured to Brasa, unable to take her eyes off the dancers. One of them stepped forward, their hips rolling so seamlessly that the motion made her whole body ripple like a wave.

“They are,” he replied. His fingers plucked one or two of the individual strips of her dress. “Some of them have trained since they could walk. Its an honor to dance at one of our feasts.”

She took a breath, instantly connecting the dots. Turning to Brasa, she said, “Oh, that’s what this is. You told me you loved the feasts.”

Brasa smiled, “This is one of the better ones.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“What makes it so special?”

“Its the last one before we noticed the culebras were going missing.”

Lilah’s heart dropped. She couldn’t think of anything to say. All she could do was stare at Brasa’s somber face. His face remained somber for another three or four seconds before he visibly shook himself and said, “The next dance is better.”

“Better than this?” Lilah asked, forcing humor into her voice, “Because this is pretty good.”

“Oh, it gets better,” he drawled. A thought seemed to occur to him, “Would you like something to drink?”

She looked at the fare around her, strangely colored and exotic, “Can I even drink anything here? It won’t poison me?”

Brasa rolled his eyes, “This is a memory Lilah. You can have anything you want.”

The Xibalban had a point. Lilah smiled, “Alright. I’ll have a drink. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

He got the attention of one of the staff and they hustled to bring over a glass and pitcher. Brasa took the glass and set it in front of Lilah. From the pitcher, he poured a honey colored liquid that was just slightly thicker than water. She picked up the glass and swirled the drink around, “Is there alcohol in this?”

“Its fermented.”

“So, yes.”

His smile was soft, “Yes, there’s alcohol in it.”

“Excellent.” Lilah took a sip, finding the drink to be extremely sweet. If it had fizz, she’d mistake it for a prosecco. She sipped a few more times before she noticed Brasa watching her with curiosity. “Hmm?”

“Do you like it?”

“I do,” she answered. “Is it actually Xibalban wine or am I just making up the taste in my head?”

Brasa laid his hand over hers and deftly guided the glass to his own lips. Lilah felt her breath catch as she watched him take a drink and lower the glass. His tongue peeked out to swipe at an errant drop, reminding Lilah of another, more intimate moment where he was licking her blood from his lips.

His head ticked to the side and he nodded, “Its as I remember it.”

“Good,” Lilah croaked around the desire building in her chest. She had to make herself look away at the dancers to clear her head. After weeks with so little contact, to be this close to him felt like standing on the edge of a cliff and looking down. Dangerous and dizzying and strangely enticing.

The music changed and the beat slowed down. Lilah sipped her drink while a few dancers walked out of the light, leaving four to continue on. The drums continue to drive the dance forward, a rumbling locomotive rhythm that she could feel vibrating in the floor beneath her. She leaned into Brasa’s side while she watched the four dancers begin circling one another.

“This one is about a rivalry. It happened a millenia ago, but it brought down two of the ruling houses,” Brasa said near her ear.

Lilah shivered as his breath warmed her skin, “What were they fighting about?”

He ran the backs of his fingers over her shoulder and down her arm, “An archery competition.”

“You’re kidding.”

“I am not.”

The dance picked up, a woman flipping backwards into a handstand. Her partner grasped her legs and bent one in an imitation of drawing back a bow. Lilah didn’t need to ask for more context as the movement dissolved into a raucous fight. They pulled each other back and forth, bending at extreme angles before releasing into acrobatic lunges. The music swelled as one of the dancers became the clear victor.

Lilah felt Brasa’s fingers drift from her arm to her thigh where he slipped between the ribbons to rest his palm against her skin. His face was very close to hers, lips hovering near her cheek. Lilah could feel every breath he took. She turned to him, but he nudged her forward with a softly spoken ‘watch’ that was almost too low for her to hear. Her eyes returned obediently to the dancers, though her attention was on the way he stroked her thigh in slow circles that moved steadily upwards.

When he reached the place where her legs were pressed together, Brasa stalled briefly before gently pressing two fingers upwards to indicate what he wanted. She didn’t have to think about it. Lilah shifted her weight and let her thighs open. Over the music, she heard Brasa’s pleased hum. His hand moved higher until her cupped her mound. With gentle pressure, Brasa teased her folds. He rubbed carefully from top to bottom and back again in a slow, thorough circle. The feeling sent little sparks from her core down her thighs all the way to her toes.

The music continued. The dancers danced. Lilah pressed her hands to the pillow just behind her hips and gave up the pretense of trying to watch the show. She turned her head to lay her temple against Brasa’s forehead, biting down on her lip while he circled her opening with a firm pressure that stopped just short of penetration. Here, he lingered, circling...circling.

Lilah arched against his hand, whining when he denied her. Incensed and wanting to force him to give her more, she caught his mouth in a harsh kiss that he returned eagerly. She kissed him over and over in quiet desperation while his hand worked steadily between her thighs. Lilah could feel how wet she was, could feel the slow tightening of muscles in her hips and belly. If he let her have just a little bit, she would come.

Brasa wouldn’t give an inch. He kissed her, teased her, made her arch into his hand, but he wouldn’t give her what she needed. Not even when Lilah rucked up the fabric around his waist to encircle his length. She swallowed down his sharp gasp and got in a handful of firm strokes before he grabbed her wrist and tugged her hand away. Her hands were gathered together and held in an unyielding grip that Lilah immediately tried and failed to break. He laughed at her frustration, then went back to petting her with that same, slow tempo.

The song ended and, in the silence, Lilah’s breaths were so loud that she felt faintly embarrassed. She sent a quick glance around the dark room to find that the edges of the courtyard were nothing but a deep, blurry void. She could still see the lanterns, could still make out the movement of the dancers, but almost nothing else remained. Even the other guests and the staff were gone. Brasa caught her distraction and made a low, huffing sound. His hand left her and he rolled to his knees. Startled, Lilah tried to rise with him. She didn’t mean to get distracted. She would try harder to focus if he would just keep touching her.

Brasa towered over her. Strong, proud, powerful. His eyes, shining and black, narrowed as he took her in. She could hardly meet his direct stare. Instead, Lilah ran her hand down his stomach, over the soft black hair that led down beneath the heavy fabric that did nothing to hide his arousal. He caught her hand and brought it to his lips to suck at the pulse on her wrist. Lilah’s mouth opened on a soundless moan, her whole body trembling when he touched his teeth to her palm—a warning, if she’d ever seen one.

Rocking forward, Brasa pushed her down onto the pillow and deftly loosened the leather belt around her waist. Here, he showed the first inklings of impatience. His hands swiped over the separated scarves that made up her dress—left and right—exposing her naked body to the air. He caressed a long line up from her stomach, taking a detour over her breasts. Lilah watched him look at her with possession looming in the shadows of his eyes.

He dropped to rest his weight on an elbow, head dipping to trace his nose down the center of her chest until he reached the mound of her breast. He kneaded it lightly while his thumb stroked over a hardened nipple. Lilah bowed upwards when he circled it with his tongue, the heat of his mouth overpowering her senses. She reached up and pushed her hands into his hair, gently urging him to rise up for a kiss.

While his mouth was busy driving every thought from Lilah’s head, Brasa’s hands were not idle. He tugged the knotted fabric from around his waist just enough to free his length and grasped her thigh to pull it up over his hip. The movement was quick and it caught part of her dress in the bend of her knee, dragging the strips along with it. The tangle of clothing didn’t deter Brasa from sinking down into her body and pressing against the wet heat of her opening.

Lilah whimpered as he breached, eyes closing at the pressure that both soothed and inflamed her. Brasa pushed forward slowly, inch by inch, until he was seated to the hilt. There, he stayed, breathing hard. She could see the effort it took to remain still. His brows were drawn together and he was biting down on his lip. Brasa wanted desperately to move, but he refused for some reason that she couldn’t comprehend. Lilah wanted him to move, too. She wanted everything that he was silently promising. Her body trembled beneath him, needing more friction, more pressure.

“Lilah,” he whispered, “Lilah...come back to me.”

Brain foggy and body thrumming, Lilah blinked confusedly at him, “What?”

“Come back to me,” he repeated. “I need you.”

She smiled fondly at him even as her hips tilted up to allow him to sink just a fraction deeper, “I’m right here.”

Brasa groaned and shook his head, “I want more than dreams.” Then, with more urgency, “Come back to me.”

Lilah tried to think around the need boiling in her blood. She knew what he meant. Every day that they were apart, she missed him more. “Okay. Okay. Give me...three days? Three days to finish this job and we’ll work something out. Stay somewhere in neutral territory.”

He kissed her hard in response and Lilah took that as a ‘yes’. When he pulled back, Brasa was smiling wide, dimples and all. Lilah found herself smiling along with him. She was giddy with the prospect of a getaway, no matter how short. As much as she was beginning to like her new comrades in crime, their constant bickering was exhausting.

Brasa dropped a quick kiss to her mouth and pressed up onto both palms so that he could get the leverage he needed. He stared down at her with his lips pulled between his teeth, all his excitement melting into something hot and burning. His hips pushed against hers—Lilah’s second warning of the night.

The first thrust was slow, out and in. The second was faster and the third faster, still. Lilah closed her eyes against the feeling of finally getting what she wanted. It was amazing. It was perfect. It was—

Morning.

Lilah silenced the alarm on her phone and glared at the ceiling, “What a perfect way to start the day. Twat blocked by my subconscious. Fucking great.”

A knock came to her door, “Time to get up, sleeping beauty. We gotta get on the road if we’re gonna rob that church.”

Seth. She was supposed to be working through the final details with him while Richie slept.

“I’m up!” she called back. Then, under her breath, “Against my will.”

Lilah got out of bed and showered. After dressing and pulling on some shoes, she grabbed the back she packed for the trip. On her way out the door, she picked up her phone to find a message notification from Brasa. He’d sent her three or four hotels, asking for her preference. Lilah smiled down at them and clicked off the screen. She would spend the long hours in the car working through the options and figuring out where they would go. All she had to do was get the staff, and then she was home free.

[wild-karrde]

Congrats on 800 🥳 !!!!

For a quote-ficlet request, Commander Cody and Ahsoka Tano (underappreciated duo imo)! “What did Skywalker do now?”

THANK YOU SO MUCH and THANK YOU very much for the ask! I completely agree that they are an underappreciated duo! I hope you dig what I came up with!

Rating: T

Warnings: language, extremely fluffy sibling dynamics

Word Count: 1.6k words

“Ah good. Anakin’s returned.” 

Cody glanced up just in time to see the 501st’s gunship landing in the hangar of their Venator. The doors hissed open, and he felt himself already doing the mental tally in his mind, checking off brothers as they stepped out one by one. Their numbers still appeared to be mostly intact, and Cody felt himself relax slightly, especially when he caught a glimpse of a pair of painted blue Jaig eyes emerging from inside the ship.

“I’m curious how his mission went,” General Kenobi remarked. “Hopefully, he and Ahsoka were able to hold the line on the eastern front. That will make recapturing the capital city much easier.” 

Cody had a sneaking suspicion that things hadn’t gone quite according to plan. They rarely did when his general’s former padawan was left unsupervised. The first glimpse he caught of Skywalker’s new padawan only seemed to confirm that suspicion. He could already see something was off in the way the young Togruta’s shoulders slumped as she strode off of the gunship. Her eyes were glassy, and her teeth were digging firmly into her bottom lip. She was clearly trying to keep her head up and put on a brave front, but something had battered her, and judging by the fact that she had no visible injuries, Cody suspected it was her master. His mouth turned downward in annoyance.

What did Skywalker do now? 

It wasn’t that he thought Skywalker was necessarily cruel for the sake of being cruel; he just hadn’t wanted a padawan, a fact that he had made abundantly clear to that padawan despite her not being at fault in any of this. She was a child, one that had been placed on a transport and sent into a warzone. And Anakin had yet to accept that fact and adapt to it, something Cody couldn’t understand. 

We always took care of the cadets. Always protected them when we could. Always looked forward to mentoring them so that they would be able to stay safe. Why won’t he do the same for her?

Rex had told him what Skywalker had been subjecting his padawan to for training, and quite frankly, it enraged him. While Cody was as stringent about preparing his men and their counterparts for battle as anyone, he vehemently disagreed with Skywalker’s methods for a multitude of reasons. 

Firing on a teenager, even with stun bolts? Unacceptable. 

Rex had confessed how much he hated it after a few rounds at 79s, and while he had to support his general in front of his men and toe the line, watching the young Togruta’s confidence slowly slip away under her reluctant master’s constant berating was beginning to wear on him as well. Cody had teased his brother relentlessly about how quickly he’d become protective of Ahsoka, joking that she might as well share their face and have been born from a tube. 

But in spite of all of his teasing, he understood it. He couldn’t deny he felt a certain level of protectiveness over her as well, as did Kenobi. When he’d found out that his general had initially thought she was assigned as his padawan, Cody had allowed himself to think about how things might have been different, how she’d have been leading with him rather than Rex. He’d liked the thought of having her around, but he also knew Ahsoka had had a positive impact on Rex, and that the two of them working together had maybe tempered some of his brother’s recklessness. 

Kenobi would have been the better choice, of that he was certain. His general was empathetic to a fault at times, normally very cognizant of the feelings of the people around him. However, at the moment, it seemed that his general was completely focused on his former padawan, oblivious to the mood of the young Togruta as he strode by her, absently resting a hand on her shoulder in greeting as he passed. Cody could see the touch brought her little comfort as Kenobi continued past, not even sparing her a second glance as he greeted Skywalker. Anakin was obviously in a foul mood, his brows knitted together in his trademark scowl. Ahsoka turned and looked over her shoulder at master one more time as he exited the gunship, clearly hoping for some sort of reprieve, but Skywalker pointedly ignored her, meeting Kenobi and walking off with him in the opposite direction with Rex in tow. The captain of the 501st removed his helmet as he fell into step behind them, his gaze lingering on Ahsoka as she slumped off before he turned and met Cody’s eyes with a pleading look. The unspoken ask was clear. 

Keep an eye on her. 

Cody gave him a short nod, and Rex responded with a grateful grimace before he disappeared out of the hangar with their commanding officers. 

Ahsoka had made her way over to one of the large windows on the hangar deck and was hugging herself tightly, staring out at the starfield before her. Cody ran his hand through his short-cropped, regulation haircut before sighing to himself and striding over. She didn’t turn to look at him when he stopped next to her, her eyes only briefly flicking over to where he stood before returning to the empty space ahead of them. 

They’d had a few interactions, all of which were brief and simple, but this time, Cody wasn’t quite certain where to start. He didn’t want to drag Skywalker through the mud in front of her. As far as he understood Jedi tradition, she was permanently bound to her master, and they had to figure each other out. Driving an even larger wedge in between them wouldn’t help things, and it would only make Rex and his brothers less safe if their two Jedi leaders were at odds. But she wouldn’t want to be coddled either, that much he’d gathered from her personality. She was a good kid, as stubborn as her master, but above all, determined to prove that she was competent, that she could do this, that she would do this. It just might take more time than she had patience for. 

Cody wet his lips. “Would you like to talk about it?” 

Ahsoka shrugged, but he could see her eyes were still glossy. “Same as always," she muttered. "I disappointed Master Skywalker again. Did something wrong, and apparently, I somehow should have known better.” She sniffed. “I know he didn’t want me, and I’m trying so hard to be a good padawan and a good leader, but I don’t have it all figured out yet, and I feel like I can’t learn it all fast enough. Like I’ll never be good enough.” 

Cody nodded, thinking for a moment before taking a deep breath and wading in. “You know, no matter how many times I come up here, I never get used to the number of stars I can see from this deck. More than I can from any planet’s surface.” 

The padawan was quiet for a moment before dipping her chin in agreement, not questioning his abrupt change of topic. “They’re really pretty.”

“That they are. But you know, it’s always funny to me how they all look the same from here,” he noted. Ahsoka turned to him, raising one eyebrow in curiosity, clearly wondering where he was going with this. Cody pressed forward. “They’re all different when you’re up close. Some are burning hot and blue, while others are cooler and red. Some are massive and others are smaller. A few are part of a binary system with two stars, some have even more than that, relying on one another to keep things in balance, but you can’t see them separately from here. Some are at the beginning of their life, others moments from going supernova or burning out. All so different, but from here, they all look the same.” 

Ahsoka rocked on her heels. “I suppose that’s true.” 

Cody flexed his fingers, glancing over down at her to see if his hastily cobbled-together metaphor was landing. She was clearly mulling it over, but he decided to maybe be a bit more clear rather than letting her meander towards his meaning. There were enough riddles and metaphors in her Jedi training.

Crossing his arms over his chest, he leaned down and nudged her with his shoulder, knocking her slightly off balance. “What I’m trying to say is it’s easy to think we’ve all got our shit together at a distance. Jedi, clones, even other padawans. But everyone is on their own path. Sometimes we are burning brightly, sometimes we're close to burning out, and sometimes we’re relying on the ones around us to hold us up, and all of that is part of life. Doesn’t make you any less or the general any more. Just means you’re doing it differently, and from what I know of General Skywalker, different comes with the territory. You’re doing alright, Commander. You’re finding your way, just like the rest of us, and no one can rush that. Not even The Chosen One.” 

A smirk tugged at the corner of Ahsoka’s lips as she recovered her balance and shrugged. “You mean to tell me you and Master Kenobi don’t always have things figured out?” 

Cody chuckled quietly. “If we did, do you think I’d have a clip on my belt specifically for when I recover his lightsaber?” 

Ahsoka giggled, and Cody warmed. “Don’t tell him I said that though," he whispered.

The young Togruta grinned. “I won’t.” She leaned against the clone commander slightly. “Thanks, Cody.” 

The gesture took him aback slightly, but he reached down and gave her shoulder a squeeze. “Of course, kid.” 

Thanks for participating in my 800 Follower Celebration!

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[mllemaenad]

I think I need a break from Fallout 76. I swore I was going to get through it, and Tessa and I have been making good progress. My biggest complaint up until now is that they won't let you have Sofia and Beckett active at camp at the same time. I'm sure this is a resourcing issue, but Fallout 76 is such a lonely game. I get that you're supposed to play with friends, but unless you have a dedicated role playing group (and while I am sure such things exist, I do not get the impression that they are the majority) that's companionship for the player, not the character. I think Tessa, who did a lot of her growing up in a vault, would love a tiny community of her own.

But I have just slogged through Steel Dawn, trying to justify to myself why Tessa, who loves books and writes poetry and runs down the road to help out Lane and his Responders with food runs or package deliveries every day, would even be there. That's immediately followed by Steel Reign and ... I just can't. Not right now. There is no option to tell the Brotherhood to go the fuck back to California and leave us alone.

The entire first part of the quest line was "these idiots mislaid a bunch of dangerous weapons and are now complaining about other people in the region having the dangerous weapons". You know who I don't think is qualified to have dangerous weapons? The Brotherhood of Steel.

While I appreciate that "dangerous super mutant attacks", which seem to be part two and presumably have something to do with the dodgy scientist guy who showed up earlier, constitute a serious problem ... I am struggling to believe that Tessa would work with them on it. They would also kill Grahm! And Gail! Those are her friends. There are so many other people who could help deal with this, but that's not how the story goes.

So I'm going to give Fallout: London a try. It seems to be the hot new thing at the moment, and I am curious. Mods can be something of a mixed bag, and I'm hesitant to be very critical even when I don't like them, because the labour involved in some of these things ... I can just about do some simple patching in xEdit. So, you know, not really my place to criticise. But I've been trying to mod Bethesda games since Morrowind, and the worst you can say is "Why the hell did I install this? Was I drunk?" and scour it from your game.

But I have (so far) enjoyed Sim Settlements 2 and Tales from the Commonwealth. I did not take to Depravity and Outcasts and Remnants, for several reasons although the ... thing ... with Preston was the last straw (Except that they allowed you to pause your search after going through Kellogg's flat. I do not want to install that mod again ... but I sometimes think ... just for that one feature ... Emily could have a bath and a nap before tearing off again.).

Thank heavens for Mod Organiser 2. I can swap this thing in and leave Emily's load order intact.

I have named my girl Hannah, and since the premise is that you wake up in a lab with no memory of who you are or how you got there, I am going to learn about her as I go.

Initial impressions:

Wait. Is that Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy performing unethical experiments? That's ... something. Tortured by no less than two Doctor Whos.

Radshrews are terrifying. Little mice creatures should not be this hard to deal with. Admittedly with Hannah's fists since the game seems to be allergic to starter weapons.

This is not quite fair, as some guy kindly handed her a pocket knife once she crawled out of the train crash. But we are now fighting raiders with a pocket knife, and it is only slightly easier to deal with.

While Churchill is adorable, and we are keeping him, I do question his previous human's judgement. Hannah is a lost amnesiac wearing the rags she picked off the last raider she killed and wielding a pocket knife she does not know how to use. What on earth made him think she could care for a dog?

Now we need to go talk to some people called "the Thamesfolk" so Hannah can stop taking 30% more damage (Why? Just why? She can be one-shot killed by a bloatfly looking at her funny). We are about to find out how London feels about mutants, I think!

[ut-versotale]

A Trip Down Nostalgia Lane

This AU's been in existence for so long, and the most current iteration is so wildly different from the rest. As such, I felt it'd be kinda cool to show you guys how the AU's progressed over the years. I don't think it's too big of a problem to reveal what the initial plans were for each iteration, what I liked and didn't like, and my thought process behind forgoing the old ones

If you don't particularly care for all that, here's the iterations' major characters lined up. (Iteration 4 I only have revealed Asriel and Undyne, so the rest I've designed so far are silhouetted)

Iteration 0.5

Oh boy, where to begin with this one...?

I number it "0.5" and not "1" because there were only two parts that never even officially released on this Tumblr blog. I did upload Part 1 for an April Fool's joke a while ago. But really, it was only ever present on the TS!Underswap Discord server over half a decade ago.

To put it bluntly, Versotale at this point was just a reskinned Undertale roleswap AU. The personalities, while I tried to keep them intact, were not the main driving force. As such:

Asriel is a silent protagonist (And not in a cool clever way like Kris; I mean just straight-up silent)

The only difference with Undyne as a narrator was noting that Frisk was a human at the first save point

Flowey had a more formal speech pattern but was otherwise barely affected despite carrying Chara's consciousness. They weren't even named Asthana yet.

Frisk... well, I can give my past self this, he certainly made an effort to differentiate Frisk from Toriel. I can't say he did a GOOD job at that, but they certainly were different. Awkward dialogue, though, and not much sense behind why they were the mayor of the Ruins at 13 years old

Overall, you can 100% tell I made this as a young teen. Awkward dialogue, barely any effort put into the concept, unoriginal...

It's pretty easy to see why I forewent this version of the AU. Only two parts were ever made. I must thank @beethovenus who gave me a lot of very helpful critiques, such as giving Asriel a voice and making original sprites rather than using sprite edits, as well as encouraging me to make this Tumblr blog for it. Thus, brings us to what I'd like to consider the first PROPER attempt at this AU...

Iteration 1

Ah, this one... this ALSO lasted only two parts. Can't remember why. But I made a lot more headway on this one. Quality aside, I am happy that I had the guts to try and make original sprites of my own back then, even if they aren't particularly good compared to now.

This was where I really attempted to make the characters act noticeably different. Though there were still quite a lot of problems, some that would even persist all the way up until Iteration 4.

I wanted to give Asriel a combination of his regular and Flowey personalities. A cool idea on paper, but the lore doesn't support him acting like that well enough. Thus, I refer to this version of him as Sassriel. This was one of those problems that persisted up until Iteration 3.

Undyne having this snarky back-and-forth with Sassriel. Again, cool idea on paper, but it is not supported by her personality in Undertale, nor the altered circumstances in VT Iteration 1. Also, with Undyne being a disembodied consciousness, it means she's merely an observer of the story and not an active participant, meaning her dialogue got very boring very fast. Undyne in canon was always an active character, so putting her in a role that basically FORCED her to be a passive character was maybe one of the worst decisions I could've made that lasted way too long, all the way until Iteration 4.

You'll notice a whole bunch of characters that never actually saw the light of day in the comic. In the bottom row, starting from left to right, there would have been Pepper (Who DID have a design but I've lost it), Donavan, Dr. Aakil, Lily, and Queen Alice. There's not much to say about them story-wise since I mainly just got the designs down, and you can probably guess what the plot was gonna be like given this was the early days of the AU where it was still very much following the Undertale formula. I think the only UNIQUE things I should mention are that Aakil's version of the amalgamates would've been cyborgs.

Iteration 2

This is the one that's lasted the longest (so far), managing to push its way into the Cold West. I tried to break out of the Undertale formula a tiny bit with this one, to varying degrees of success. There's not much history I can recall or find with this iteration, but I suppose I can give a character rundown of the ones you never saw, ironically enough all positioned on the bottom row again.

Donavan... not very unique compared to Undyne. The main gimmick that separated him from her, I think, was that he had gloves designed by Aakil that were soul-powered.

Valencia... a new character who was meant to be an expanded version of Napstablook's role. Fun fact: Valencia's hooded trenchcoat design there was originally Pepper's Iteration 1 design.

Everyone else was... about what you'd expect.

Looking back on this version, I am... honestly very embarrassed by how badly I butchered the Cold West. I wanted to do so many cool things, like a bounty on Asriel's head and all. But my God... Spade and Pepper sucked so much. Especially Pepper. For characters who at this point were meant to be this AU's replacement of Sans and Papyrus... what poor substitutes.

And honestly, I think that's why I scrapped this one; because I hated the Cold West and how I did it. It felt rushed, awkwardly-written, bad characterization, horrifically-bad puzzles, etc. Thus, Iteration 3 was made.

Iteration 3: Hybrid

I nicknamed this short-lived one "Hybrid" for multiple reasons.

It's where Deltarune became an extremely prevalent influence in Versotale's universe. So no longer is Versotale just an Undertale AU, it can also be considered a Deltarune AU as well.

Many characters could be considered hybrids at this point. Asriel and Undyne shared determination and a body. And, more interestingly, the Mettaton role also shared a body with Mettaton. More about that in a bit

When I was making Part 10-B of Iteration 2, Iteration 3 was meant to flow naturally into it, effectively replacing all of what had came beforehand. That never worked out.

Ultimately, I abandoned this version because it just simply wasn't doing it for me. By this point, the project was beginning to feel stale and boring. Despite my attempts to make a new unique storyline, it just kinda... felt like it was still following in Undertale's footsteps far too much. I mean, you've got the protagonist kid, an old fallen member of their species, the double-crossing flower, a mentor who's lived in a secluded area all their life, a chef who wants to join the guard, a tough grizzled guard captain, a morally-dubious scientist, a celebrity, a monarch... you see how I became dislliusioned with the quality of what was supposed to be my "Unique Undertale storyline." The most unique thing at this point WAS probably Spade. But still, many elements of this version of the story were very fleshed-out. I tried to turn Pepper into a character who wasn't just a bargain-bin Papyrus clone, I had come up with a more unique Hotland area, and it probably could've turned out really nice.

I think the thing I genuinely really liked from this old version was that Shella (This iteration's celebrity character) actually was also possessed by Mettaton. There was this huge backstory thing where the scientist character had monster dust and was injecting humans with it, and since Mettaton was a ghost, his consciousness became attached to Shella's and served as her sort of "assistant." He gave her all the tips and confidence to become famous and gave Mettaton the opportunity to indirectly entertain humans like he always wanted. While a cool idea on paper, having... well, essentially Mettaton technically in the same place as canon Undertale again just felt cheap and lazy. Not to mention it only continued my disillusionment with my "unique story" being far too similar to Undertale for comfort.

But the Surface shenanigans this iteration... man, for as weird as Gaster being king was, I had such a cool thing planned for all the Ebottobia characters. It's something I wanna carry over into Iteration 4 to a certain extent.

Iteration 4: "King Asriel"

This one's really freaking cool. Going back to the drawing board completely, the story resembles almost nothing like Undertale's, with the sole exception of the main premise: People underground, free them from imprisonment through peace or violence.

I'm so proud of these ideas so far, you have no idea. The new Ruins area I'm excited for, the new Cold West feels like an actual proper flowing storyline now, the other areas have way more uniqueness, the characters feel like their own characters with their own stories now (Even the ones that appear in canon), the plot feels completely different... I think you all are really going to like it

That's all. Just felt like taking a trip down memory lane and share some ideas and designs the public never got to see.

[crazycoke-addict]

The Smiling Critters Theory Part 1 (HoppyHop Scotch, PickyPiggy, Bubbaphant, beary bearhug)

This is a continuation from the last post. I wanna discuss the smiling critters and what I think what happened to them.

If you aren't aware, in Poppy playtime Chapter 3. A line of characters was introduced as the smiling critters. Their names are Bubba Bubbaphant, KickinChicken, Beary BearHug, PickyPiggy, HoppyHop Scotch, DogDay and Catnap. Not only we're they sold as toys with each of their signature scent. They were also given their very own tv show. However, parents start to express their concern about the catnap plushie because while making the toys instead of the lavender scent that catnap was supposed to have, instead, he was given a poppy scent That even the bigger body catnap has to make the kids go to sleep. Parents express their concerns because their kids kept having hallucigenic nightmares. We even hear this when a woman named Clare Harper talks about how one of the orphans, Marie, had a nightmare involving a colourless monster.

Just like how many of the toys were made by playtime Co. Each of them ended up being part of the bigger bodies initiative. We saw Catnap in that form as well as dogday, so it would be that far-fetched that the other smiling critters were bigger bodies as well. But the question is what happened to them since DogDay says that he is the last of the smiling critters.

We need to talk about where we found DogDay. After managing to get power back on for the school area. We manage to find ourselves in the playhouse. Ollie appears to not like the playhouse, and when we get there, we know why. While the other places have destroyed with blood stains all over. The playhouse looks unsettling, especially when we meet DogDay. He is chained to, but also, he's in a prison cell. The first time we saw the prison cells was a surveillance camera in project playtime. While finding DogDay, we do see some sort of underground lare, which is where catnap used to be in. This is where they kept the bigger bodies of the smiling critters.

Now, let's talk about what happened to each of them. During the playthrough, you come across a cardboard cutout of one of the smiling critters. It starts with them introducing themselves, and we get to know a little about their personality, but things take a dark turn where they say things that are unsettling. While cardboard cutouts have been there since the beginning that never really introduced themselves. Huggy Wuggy expresses the importance of hugs, CatBee makes bee puns, and Bunzo Bunny talks about birthdays.

The reason why this is important is because if you listen to their cardboard cutouts, you'll notice that it sounds like they are at the brink of insanity. Since CatNap was already devoted to the prototype since the prototype saved his life. He is pretty much aware that there is a plan since he tells Lieth Pierre about the prototype saving them. If you look at the promotion of the smiling critters. The other smiling critters express emotions even if they have grinning faces except for Catnap, which still keeps the same emotion. CatNap's personality revealed that he has a calming presence.

While Catnap does worship the prototype because of what he did for him. CatNap accepts the influence that the prototype has on him. Meanwhile, DogDay says that him and the other tried to resist the control of the prototype and how if someone disagrees with the prototype, Catnap eliminates them. The other smiling critters are trying to keep their personality intact, but because they are trying to resist the control of the prototype, their sanity becomes a problem.

The cut-outs even give us in-depth what happened to the smiling critters, and we may even figure out what happened afterwards. We'll start with hoppy hopscotch. She introduces herself and asks if we want to go jump on to the moon. This is basically a generic cartoon way since HoppyHop Scotch is described as being energetic and wants to go on adventures. However, the more we hear, the more it sounds like she is determined to jump on the moon. She's also appears frustrated with the player for supposedly messing it up and that looking at feet doesn't matter. When she does jump, you hear the sound of falling. Since we know that they were trying to resist the control of the prototype, it is likely that hoppyhop Scotch couldn't deal with it and she really want to go the moon so she unalive herself for the process.

Next up is PickyPiggy. Hers is interesting because It tells us what happened to 3 of the smiling critters but not hers. It is heavily implied that KickinChicken, Bubba Bubbaphant, and CraftyCorn were eaten by PickyPiggy herself. However, I see them as an offering by catnap since its a knowledge that pigs eat everything that they see as food. PickyPiggy talks about how she's still hungry despite eating an elephant. It is likely that picky piggy died of starvation because if she was eating her friends in front of her friends, they probably saw it as a punishment if they tried to escape.

Bobby BearHug is next on. We are going to look into it. Bobby BearHug is the compassionate of the smiling critters where she appears to care a lot about her friends. In her cardboard cut-out, it appears that she has abandonment issues where she asks the player if they are going to leave her. This is leaning towards that Bobby BearHug died of a broken heart. It is like that when some of the smiling critters tried to escape, which led to their deaths, they abandoned Bobby bearhug. While yes, it sounds absurd that a toy can die in such a way, but these toys have organs where they can eat, breathe, and even die. So, I don't think it would be out of the ordinary that a toy like Bobby bearhug who is known for her compassion but also trying to break free of the prototype's control would end up dying of a broken-heart.

Bubba Bubbaphant was the first cardboard cutout we saw in the game, and because of this, it is likely that he was the first to die. Bubba Bubbaphant's cardboard cutout doesn't act weird until the end when he is screaming. He expresses that he remembers the player, which could be because we know the main protagonist used to work here while also stating that elephants always remember. If you listen closely to his screams, it sounds like he's also laughing at the same time. The only time he's done this is when him and the smiling critters are given the red smoke at CatNap in that episode.

While Bubbaphant is laughing and screaming, it sounds like he's saying, "Grandma." I looked up, and grandmothers take the role as the matriarch of the elephant and make sure that the baby elephants grow into adulthood and that the mama elephant gets the support she needs. It's so interesting because it appears as though Bubba Bubbaphant was given the knowledge as an elephant itself. Since the red smoke is known for the person showing hallucinations. It is likely that when Bubba Bubbaphant got the red smoke, he may have been hallucinating an elderly female elephant, which was probably catnap in disguised, who ended up killing him and offered him to PickyPiggy.

[los-ninos-tortugas]

Alright so I ended up watching both episodes three and four of Tales before I went to sleep last night (although honestly I was tempted to stay up later and just keep watching but I'm trying to maintain some semblance of a sleep schedule). I'm going to talk about just episode three here. episode four may not get it's own individual post because I kinda feel like a lot of what I have to say about it will sorta overlap with what I have to say about the arc of the first four episodes overall, which most likely will be it's own detailed analysis (I say. maybe. I'm kinda flying by the seat of my pants here and I don't exactly have a set format for when I do these watch-throughs.) I also kind of just want to get on with watching the rest of the show since I am thoroughly enjoying it so far. so as I go through it i'll probably just make shorter little comments and save these longer sorts of posts for a little more after the fact when I've maybe watched it a couple more times and had more time to kinda mull it over.

I feel like the series really hits its stride with episode three. honestly I was a little on the fence about each of these episodes starting off in medias res and giving a roshomon style flashback for each turtle, but Raphael's episode really hits the ground running. truly it doesn't stop either. of the four opening episodes that reacquaint us with the turtles I feel like Raphael's is the strongest, with some really excellent pacing and tight writing.

I also kinda found myself being a bit taken aback by just how violent (both explicitly and implicitly) this episode is. and then I was taken aback by the fact that I was taken aback. because by nature TMNT is just kind of a violent franchise, that's just kinda how superhero media works and they're, you know, ninjas. and it's not as though previous iterations haven't gone to dark places. 03 and 2012 particularly come to mind with their pretty frequent use of body horror as a go-to storytelling device. Rise has a bit more of a "Steven Universe" approach where violence is kinda hidden under a thin layer of cartoon logic, where the line is kinda blurred about whether certain things will have consequences or not; sometimes characters shake off an injury with relative easy (usually turning it into a visual gag) or then there's... the movie. (movie notwithstanding rise does a lot to kinda soften the blows a bit) but I think the difference comes from the fact that the violence and horror from previous series is always firmly in the realm of the fantastic. the prime example is what happens to Stockman over time in the 03 series but it's a kind of horror that is strictly sci-fi. but Kitsune coming up to Raph and point blank saying "I am going to sell you on the black market to be experimented on and also I am going to cut off pieces of you for the same purpose" hits a little too real. (i'm sure the angst lovers are enjoying their juice) I'm going to suspend my suspension of disbelief for a second to say obviously I know how this goes, Raph escapes with all his fingers intact. He's the hero, that's just how it goes. but in the moment of watching this happen, with my suspension of disbelief fully engaged, the presentation of this threat makes me believe in its credibility.

Now Mutant Mayhem did a lot to set up the kind of stakes we deal with in this iteration in particular, we know Superfly has blood on his hands, and now the payoff is Tales staying committed to that more grounded sense of danger and Raph really is the perfect character to do this setup and payoff with, since he himself is so tied up with violence as a character in any given iteration.

It's probably also why the purple dragons really shine in this episode.

Being used to Rise I initially thought the the leader was going to be a new version of Kendra (and there seems to be a little bit of a callback to Kendra's design in her) but I was really excited when she was revealed to be Angel. Same for Hun as well. He and Raphael kind of develop a bit of a frenemies dynamic by the end, and if this show gets more seasons it'd be pretty interesting to see where that goes.

this episode doesn't just test Raph's wits but also his moral compass in a really interesting way. Out of the arc of the first four episodes I think this one in particular is shaping up to be my favorite (favorite episode of the series overall tbd).

[cherryfairytwist]

RickFic Ch5. The Vat

(Tags: drinking/violence/light gore)

—- HELLO —-

—- INITIATING DOWNLOAD SEQUENCE MEMORY CLUSTER #5 —-

—-PULLING UP EARLIEST ASSISTED MEMORY RECORDS —-

—- NARRATION SIMULATING NOW —-

Somewhere in space,

“O-Oh seems s-simple enough.” Morty said with a shy grin looking toward Astrid.

“Y-yeah. Simple enough, survive a carnivorous plant jungle a-and get out with everything intact.” Rick stated as Morty’s face puckered not knowing how to respond after that.

“Come on Grandpa, stop trying to scare Astrid. She proved herself last adventure.” Summer said with a huff from the back seat of the ship. 

“Yeah yeah. We’ll see how she handles this one.” He said with a grunt while nearing the Jungle planet’s atmosphere. 

Astrid sat relaxed in the back next to Summer silently taking in the sights all around them. They glided through thick dense jungle and slowly started to weave around trees and other plants until they found a spot to land. Once out of the ship, Rick tossed all of them laser hand guns this time and then looked down at Astrid. 

“I take it you still have my hunting knife from last time?” He said a little annoyed. 

“Right, I figured it wasn’t a big deal… I mean if it was, I figured you already know where I work.” She said with a cheeky grin. 

“Next time ASK.” He said with a huff as he turned around and headed into the jungle. 

The siblings and Astrid followed close behind him making sure not to lose sight, it was so densely covered in plants you could blink and  get lost. They continued on into the jungle for quite a bit, climbing, dodging and maneuvering around giant roots and leaves. The deeper into the wilderness the more apparent the dangers became. From small to massive bugs, they all started to swarm nearby water pools and plenty of creepy crawlers scattered about on the jungle floor. Still the group trucked on deeper into the thick of it. The noise of nature around them became deafeningly loud. Suddenly one of the large alien bugs flew right towards Morty’s face as he let out a squeal. Astrid’s muscle memory kicked in and shot the bug out of the air before it could make contact with his face. He let out a sigh of relief and gave her a smile. 

“Nice reflex.” Summer said continuing to climb over roots. 

“Growing up as a hunter comes in handy I guess.” Astrid said humbly in reply. 

“Hopefully y-you didn’t go hunting with a hand gun.” Rick said, giving Astrid a bitter glance. 

While out in the woods Astrid kept seeing some dark silhouettes randomly out of the corners of her eyes, weird beings stood just along the tree line as they got deeper in. She pipes up and asks Rick, 

“Are there any other apex predators on this planet besides the carnivorous plants and bugs…?” She asked suspiciously eyeing her surroundings. 

“Uh… this planet only ever had one small food chain…so no.” He said while giving her a funny look noticing her paranoia. 

Astrid started to feel a little weird after his reply but decided to keep it to herself and continued on with them through the underbrush. As they got deeper and deeper towards the center of the jungle the humidity and dampness increased. Rustling and slithering noises started to stir up more as well when suddenly both Summer and Morty were pulled under the underbrush as they both let out two screams in reply, 

“AAAHHH GRANPA RICK!!”

“R-RICK!! ASTRID!!” 

Astrid quickly morphed her eyes into a different species’ that saw heat signatures. She did this discretely as to not let Rick notice. She saw the two siblings being dragged far away by what must have been plant vines. She quickly morphed back to normal and looked over to Rick at her side who was already shooting at vines that had tried to grab him. 

“UHHGG!” He grunted while shooting through a few of the vines that had wrapped their way around his legs. 

Astrid looked down and saw some were creeping towards her as well and shot them before they could make contact. She then continued shooting any that came near both her and Rick. Once Rick had freed himself he pulled out a little device and threw it on the ground. It sent out scans and then beeped when it was ready, frying any near by vines. 

“Nice! That’s going to make things a lot easier.” Astrid replied positively. 

“Yeah well this will only get the outer vines. This species’ thicker roots won’t fry that easy.” he said as her pulled out his flask and took a sip. “Let’s get a move on and find where they dragged the kids.” 

They rushed ahead in the direction the vines had taken them. Astrid assumed Rick also knew it was the right way from his scanners. They then slowed down as they came up to what looked like a massive bundle of various dead and alive creatures all wrapped up in vines. Even some various looking wrecked space ships and parts were tangled in as well. A massive pink flower with razor teeth lining its petals devoured nearby corpses of various bugs and stranded aliens near the bundle. 

“Oh wow that’s what they look like? They are really pretty.” Astrid said referring to the carnivorous flower. 

“What the hell- Where you traumatized as a child or something?! Why are you so calm right now?!” Rick spat out at her in disbelief. 

“Jeez Rick! You can’t just say something like that to someone! Y-you know that’s insensitive!” Morty quickly interrupted Rick. 

They both quickly looked up to see Morty wrapped up in the vines above them in the trees. 

“Your guys’ FRIEND is acting ABNORMAL.” He whisper yelled, “You think a regular teacher’s assistant is like this? Yeah I’M being SO insensitive.” Rick hissed back at Morty.

“Omg grandpa, if you were a teacher you’d probably torture high school students. And so what if she’s not freaking out? Just means she’s bad ass.” Summer said with a bit of attitude also hanging from some vines a few trees over from Morty. 

“Aw, thanks Summer.” Astrid said whispering back with a smile. 

Are you two stupid-“ Rick got cut short as the carnivorous plant reared its head back and roared at them. 

“Oops.” Astrid said as it came barreling towards her and Rick. 

Rick then quickly grabbed Astrid and then tossed her into a nearby hole in one of the trees. Rick then jumped in behind her, slamming against her barely getting away from the flower as it tried to chomp down on his legs. The flower slammed up against the large tree not being able to get through the small hole. He then quickly tossed the gadget he had used before on the vines out. This fried the vines the flower had tried to send in the hole after them. The plant let out another frustrated roar after not catching them but went back to eating on the corpses from before. 

“Okay we’re safe for now…” he said while staring out the hole keeping an eye on the plant. 

Astrid shifted her weight trying to adjust after Rick had slammed into her. He noticed and scooted back giving her as much room as he could. But due to how small the space was they still sat huddled down pressed up against each other. He then looked at her for a second seeming to calculate something in his head. 

“What..? You got an idea?” She asked looking up at him. 

He stayed quiet and then looked back out at the creature, “Y-you really do seem too calm in these situations for being just a normal Earth woman.” He said to her while still keeping an eye on the flower. 

Astrid laughed and rolled her eyes. He furrowed his eyebrows and whipped his head back to face her again. 

“Don’t give me that attitude! I know something is up with you!” He hissed at her. 

She casually avoided eye contact and stayed silent. He then looked back out of the hole to see Morty and Summer had both managed to loosen the grips on the vines wrapping around them. They made eye contact with Rick. 

“Try to climb down without it noticing. Don’t move too fast or it will feel you escaping!” He whispered loudly to them. “Astrid and I will make a distraction.” 

“What’s  the plan?” She asked earnestly. 

“Okay, I’ll bite…. Let’s see where this goes” Rick murmured to himself, not referring to the situation but rather how he felt his suspensions towards Astrid. 

“Hu?” She said confused not quite hearing what he had said. 

“I said- Just follow me! Copy what I do.” He said handing her some small marble like orbs and then jumping out of the tree and v lining towards the vine cluster right as Summer’s foot slipped while climbing away from the flower. 

The monstrous flower noticed the tug on its vine from Summer’s squirming to get her footing. 

It reared back and was about to snap forward. 

Astrid shot after Rick. She looked over noticing Morty now had gotten free and jumped down to the ground next to them. She handed him some of the orbs too. He quickly caught on and mirrored his grandpa running towards the plant. 

“TOSS THEM!” Rick yelled as he threw his orbs at the vine cluster. 

They all did, upon impact all the vines and its inhabitants froze over. Rick pulled out his laser and aimed to shoot at the now frozen cluster. But suddenly his laser holding hand found itself in the giant mouth of the carnivorous flower. 

“AAAHG! F-FUCK OFF YOU OVER GLORIFIED FLY TRAP!” he angrily yelled at it while struggling to free himself. 

A laser slammed into the flowers face from Astrid’s gun causing it to release Rick. She then quickly shot down all the vines that were flying towards them one after the other. 

“How the hell did you get so good at that?!” He asked momentarily taken aback. 

“I’ve already told you!” She yelled back before shooting one last shot into the ice cluster Rick had been originally going after. 

Instantly the thousands of frozen vines shattered into chunks sending the plant into fits of flailing and screaming. Summer now safe hoped down and joined them. 

“Holy shit. Nice.” She said looking at the flower writhing around in pain on the jungle floor. 

“Stay alert! We aren’t done yet.” Rick narrowed his eyes at the flower as he quickly fixed his mangled hand. 

They all readied themselves, lasers at the ready. He pulled out a vial full of dark looking liquid. And popped oven the cork. He gave a glance to all of them. 

“W-watch yourselves. It’s going to be pissed. Keep away from its mouth but keep shooting it. It won’t cause much damage but it’ll sting. K-Keep it distracted while I go pour this on its roots. This will kill it by dissolving them.” He barked out giving the order. 

The kids glanced at Astrid and she glanced back at them all determined. They lept forward towards it sending out shots right in a row. The flower lashed out with is budding face attempting to snap at them with its razor teeth. 

Rick ran in and slid down on the ground to the side of it still gripping the vial. Right as he was about to pour the substance onto the roots the plant v lined over to Morty and scooped him up in its mouth. The base of its stem bent over and whacked Rick straight in the face sending the vial flying out of his hand. 

“FUCK! MORTY!” He screamed. 

Astrid tumbled and snatched the vial before hitting the ground making sure not to drop any of the liquid. After landing she slid across the ground towards Rick next to the roots. Summer in turn jumped up and lasered the plant in the face causing its petals to open wide momentarily showing Morty in the back of its throat whining. Rick sent out his robot arm to snatch Morty out of its mouth. As Morty went flying by Astrid while squealing she tossed the liquid onto the roots before the flower could react to anything else. The roots instantly started to dissolve as the Flower let out one more dying screech. Summer, quick on her feet, jumped backwards right as its massive head fell to the ground right where she had been standing. They all breathed a sigh of relief and brushed themselves off. 

Rick walked over to the dead flower and lasered its head open reveling a little pollen sack inside. He plucked it out of the petals and then started punching in commands on his robot arm. It scanned the pollen and then a loading screen popped up stating “READY”. 

“Perfect. Now we have this.” He stated. 

“W-what’s that ganna do…?” Morty asked curiously. 

“Well we can spray them with this-“ Rick interrupted himself after a cloud of the spray hit him in the face from this arm. 

“GRANDPA?!” Summer yelled out shocked. 

Rick then collapsed to the ground and started coughing and wheezing. His eyes had turned red and he started to look like he was convulsing on the ground. Both the siblings started screaming and yelling in fear while huddling over his body. Summer frantically searched his lab coat for an antidote or a poison neutralizer. 

“R-Rick!! Where is it?! Where did you stash the neutralizer?!” Morty screamed. 

*HAACK* *HUACK* “M-m-Morty…!” He chocked, “I’m-I’m fucking- *COUGH* *COUGH* “DYING MORTY!” He writhed around and gripped his chest. 

Astrid stood there staring blankly at them all on the ground silently. Summer noticed and yelled at her, 

“Astrid!! What are you doing?! Come help us!!” She said panicked. 

“Summer… he’s faking.” She said with a snort. 

“W-w-what..?” Morty asked confused and looked down at his grandfather’s closed eyes as he lay limp on the ground. 

Rick peeked out of one of his shut eyes at her and then a big grin spread across his face. He quickly sat up and started laughing. His eyes still extremely red. 

“WHAT T-THE HELL RICK?!” Morty yelled as she shoved him in anger. 

“Jesus Christ Grand dad… why would you do that?!” Summer stood up and crossed her arms looking down at him. 

“Holy shit! You should have seen the looks on your faces!” Rick continued to laugh. 

Both the siblings were now standing looking at him completely unamused as he continued. 

“Both of you are so gullible! Like HOW do you think she knew that?!” He said gesturing at Astrid. 

Astrid stood there with a loss of words for a second but then defended herself, “I could just tell he was faking… I mean…odds are that the pollen wouldn’t be poisonous right? It’s not like the plants would try to poison their own species right? They need to pollinate to make more!” 

“Well even if you DID assume that… it is poisonous to other species like me… just not in a lethal way. I-It gets you super high.” He said with a grin while rubbing his still red eyes. 

The siblings and Astrid all scoffed in annoyance. 

“Fine. Fine! Jeez it was just a joke guys. D-Don’t get your collective panties in a twist.” He said finally standing up and going back to calculating on his robot arm. “We can spray this around us as we try to get to their species’s root core in the middle of the jungle. They will think we are one of their kind so we won’t keep getting bothered. However they may or may not try to mate with us though.” He explained. 

“Ew gross.” Summer said thinking about the last part. 

“Yeah… that doesn’t really sound like the problem is solved…” Morty said uncomfortably. 

“S-stop whining. We’ll be fine. Let’s keep this up.” He barked as he sprayed them all in the pollen and around the areas they continued to walk in. 

After coughing a bit their eyes turned red. The harshness wore off at they collectively got high. Astrid rubbed her eyes as she started to notice a red hue came over her vision making the jungle around them look more pink and hazy. She looked at the Smiths and suddenly felt extremely relaxed and happy-go-lucky. 

She caught a mischievous grin slide onto Rick’s face as he gave her a passing glance back while maneuver through the jungle ahead. This made her wonder what he was up to. 

After about an hour and a half of them avoiding horny flower creatures they came up to a pit full of vines and roots all coming from what looked like a massive glowing seed halfway in the ground. 

“Here it is!” Rick said cheerfully as he scurried down to it in the pit. 

He pressed two buttons on his robot arms and pulled the seed right out of the ground ripping it from its roots. A collective shriek was heard echoing throughout every part of the jungle sound them. Suddenly all the vines connecting the carnivorous species shriveled up and died. 

Rick let out a triumphant sigh, 

“This is going to work just great for my special protein powered.” He said cockily. “Good thing they were and invasive species!”

Rick then sent out the signals to the ship to find their location so they could leave. They all sat down and rested in the pit at they waited for the ship to arrive. Astrid caught Rick eyeing her with the same expression from earlier. Right as she was going to say something the ship landed next to them. They all piled in and took off. 

Once they had gotten back to Earth Astrid noticed a big vat full of some type of green substance had risen out of the Smith’s front yard. She turned to look at the still red eyed Rick in the rear view mirror. He looked back at her with a shit eating grin. 

“O-okay. You’ve proven to me you can help keep the kids safe. But let’s see which one of them you really care about!” He yelled and slammed his hand down on a button. 

As the ship was lowering down closer to the yard, the glass covering of the ship opened up and two metal arms grabbed the two siblings from the ship. Morty eyed the vat and started to scream out, 

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! Not the vat of f-“ his mouth was quickly covered and muffled by the robot arm as is snaked its way over his face keeping him silent. 

Summer squirming against the metal arm holding her while glaring daggers at Rick, “YOURE JOKING RIGHT GRANDPA?! IS THAT A VAT OF ACID?!” 

The arms then suddenly dropped the two siblings sending them straight for the vat. Astrid scrambled from the back seat and jumped off the side of the ship towards them. 

In her head she heard a voice say, “silly old man.” 

As she fell she grabbed hold of one of the ship’s metal arms and dragged it down with her. Both siblings screamed up at her as they fell. Rick quickly leaned over the side of the ship to watch what Astrid would do. As she plummeted closer to Summer she reached out and grabbed her, tying the metal arm around summer and then barrel rolling so that it would still keep her from falling even if it tried to release her again. Rick laughed and started to yell, 

“I FUCKING KNEW IT-“ but he was cut off in surprise as Astrid let go of the arm now that Summer was safe. 

He watched as she kicked off of the arm using it to speed up her fall towards Morty snatching him up and throwing him off to the side away from the vat just before she went splashing in. Now submerged she floated for a second motionless looking around in the vat. Nothing happened…. Just like she had thought. She swam to the surface and took a breath of air looking up at Sanchez who was now on the ground with the ship and the kids. 

“Rick! This pissing match between you and our friend needs to stop! Like what the hell!?” Summer yelled at him pissed. 

“I was hoping it was going to be fake.” Astrid said kind of annoyed as well. 

Rick scoffed and turned to open the garage clearly ignoring Morty also yelling at him about his annoyance for the vat of fake acid bit. While Astrid swam to the side of the vat and climbed out she thought about how “pranks” like these reminded her of the Cognito Inc. crew. She found herself standing on the lawn in silence thinking about the old days with them. 

“Uh… Astrid…? A-are you okay….?” Morty peaked back out of the garage at her worried. “Did Rick really scare you that time?” 

Astrid looked up at him trying to hide the sadness in her eyes, “I’m good Morty… just had to let my body catch up with my thoughts for a second.” She said trying to reassure him. 

“Well….. thanks Astrid. It means a lot to me that you’d still go out of your way to save both of us and not just Summer..” he said thinking about the time his mother had chosen to save Summer over him in a previous adventure. 

Astrid could almost tell what Morty was thinking about and tried to cheer him up, “Morty, there is no way I’d let something bad happen to you if I could help it. I care about both you and your sister.” She said truthfully. 

She caught what looked like tears forming in his eyes right before he turned away, “thanks….. let’s go inside!” He said trying to sound optimistic. 

Once in the garage they see Rick going to his mini fridge to pull out a beer. Summer stood to the side of him with her arms crossed looking sour. 

“That was so uncalled for!” Summer bitched at him as he drank from the can. 

“Come on Sumsum it was just a gag! Besides aren’t you glad now knowing your friend would sacrifice herself for you?” He said in a chill voice before letting out a burp. 

“I mean.. I guess but that’s still wack. Why do you always have to scare Morty and I like that?” She huffed. 

Rick turned to Astrid and asked, “Y-you want a beer?” 

Astrid arched her brow at him suspicious of his now relaxed and carefree mood. 

“Uh sure I guess?” She replied as he tossed her one. 

He then grabbed a case of beer and a bottle of liquor and said, “Feel like watching some interdimensional cable?”

“Sure” Morty said passively annoyed as Summer also replied, “Yeah, okay.” As they all went in to set in the living room. 

A few hours had gone by, both Rick and Astrid had drank all alcohol he had brought in with them. Buzzed Rick decided then to get more from the garage. Summer then looks over to Astrid in the couch and made the comment that she was hungry and asked, 

“You want anything?” so they both went to the kitchen to look around while Morty just continued to chill and to watch tv. 

Summer popped a pizza in the oven and then gave out a panicked: “holy shit I forgot to do my homework. Give me like….. 30mins or something I’ll be back!” And runs upstairs. 

A soft thud and Rick’s groan came from the garage. Astrid peaks in and asks, 

“You okay..?” 

She sees him standing with two liquor bottles in each hand and a fallen box from the metal shelf next to the door. 

“Just b-bumped in-into something, it’s fine.” He replies tipsy. 

She looks down and sees one of the liquor bottles he was holding was already half empty. She picks up the box and puts it back on the shelf as he kind of backs over to his work bench setting the bottles down. As he leans up against it  he asks, 

“ Y-you up for some-some more? *burp*” 

She sat down on his wheely stool and takes a few chugs and then sets her sights on Rick. He doesn’t notice she’s looking at him for a minute while he also chugs some from the other bottle. After he put his bottle down he looks down at her and makes eye contact. Astrid looks up at him through her eyelashes, also a little tipsy and asks him, 

“Why are you so chill with me all of a sudden after today..?” 

He comes up with, “W-well… I mean you helped get the kids out of a few bad spots already and you took that prank pretty well…either you’re a real psycho or y-you just got guts and care for them.” 

She quietly smiles for a second looking down. and then looks up at him and asks jokingly “what if it’s both?” 

Before he could react they get interrupted by Summer coming in to tell her “The pizza is ready! Also I got my homework “basically” finished.” 

Astrid suddenly thinks about how she doesn’t want to get too comfortable around Rick so she quickly says “Actually Summer… I’m not feeling too hungry right now and it’s getting late. I think I might head out.” 

“Wait- you could sleep over if you wanted!” Summer quickly offered.

 Astrid nicely declines saying, “Honestly I just want to pass out so then I can have time to get up early and plan some lesson stuff for class.” 

Summer understood and walked her to the front door while Rick went to go sit back down in the living room. After Summer shut the door behind her Astrid paused, thinking about Reagan as she was leaving. She then pulled out her old communicator and started typing up a message to send. While she stood there on the sidewalk she hadn’t notice that space Beth was sitting in her ship on the driveway. Astrid finally sent a message saying, 

“It’s been a while. How’ve you been?” 

After standing there staring at her phone for a few minutes after no reply she let her tipsy nerves get the better of her. She hit the call button and waited for an answer only to be met with ringing and then the, 

“Leave a message after the tone.” 

Astrid awkwardly stood there for a second while playing with her hair trying to figure out what to say. 

“Uh hey….Reagan…it’s me. I’m uh well… back in the area kind of… and I wanted to see if we could maybe catch up sometime..? I know we left things off on the wrong foot but I’d really like to see if we could maybe fix things… sorry I disappeared off the face of the planet but… you know…. Work is complicated…. Well, uh give me a call if you get this.. or I don’t know… just let me know if I should just forget about it.. okay… bye.” 

She then hung up and sighed. She then tried calling Reagan again but got the, 

“This person’s mailbox is all full. Goodbye.” Automated response. 

“Fuck it… I need to just let it go for now.” Astrid said defeated as she walked back towards her apartment. 

Space Beth having overheard all of that made a mental note as she walked inside the house to greet the family. 

“Uh who was that on the phone outside?” She asked curiously. 

“Oh thats just our new friend Astrid.” Summer said casually. 

Rick perked up curiously and asked, “ W-who was she on the phone with..?” 

—- PART FIVE COMPLETED —- 

—- SHUTTING DOWN —-

—- GOODBYE —-