#but it used to have wrong info and was barren

[mari-lair]

(part 1)

While still not appetizing, the sparkly potion was the least monstrous of the bunch, and Akane didn't want to risk becoming a mindless beast. He popped open the glitter potion, being greeted by a flowery fragrance that hid a deceivingly spicy flavor.

Akane coughed, his body rejecting the potion, but what little he swallowed was enough: It burned him like a fever, and his chest felt too tight. He was on the verge of panicking when Sumire cut the back of his shirt, stopping the pain and freeing wings that grew unnaturally fast from his shoulder blades. Akane barely noticed it, distracted by the way his heartbeat was inhumanly fast and all his senses keep growing stronger far too fast, his enhanced hearing hurting.

"There there, no need to fret. Everyone loves fairies." Sumire cooed after he calmed down, keeping her voice quiet as she fetched a cracked mirror "Just look at yourself, so fragile and pitiful, isn't it lovely?"

Akane can recognize the creature as himself but it still makes him feel... wrong.

"But beware, Akane-kun... Not being feared have its downsides. Most monsters would die to have you as a meal, and humans will want to use you. Your magic may be powerful, but you're defenseless without it." Sumire stretched his wings, humming "Even your pretty wings can't fly without magic, so watch your tongue: The more you lie, the more magic you'll lose. Avoid big cities, I promise you'll find it rather unplesant~"

Akane writes down what he is told when Sumire insists he should never forget it, listening to her advice again with more focus and reluctantly thanking her when she also provides supplies for his journey, visibly excited for him.

"I'm glad to be of help! but my services aren't cheap~" Sumire smirked, poking his forehead "I am a hopeless romantic, so I'll take your memories of your Aoi-chan as payment. Good luck, Akane-kun."

.

Akane wakes up on a barren field at the bottom of the cliff near his home. His head is a mess and there is a hollowness in his heart despite how overwhelming everything felt. He freaks out at the realization he is no longer human and at the very strong feeling that he should do something, what exactly he doesn't know. It makes him nervous.

He has a map that leads him to a mysterious place far away, something in his heart tells him to follow it. He also has traveling supplies, a journal with notes on places some girl named Aoi could be, and recent pages with info on fairies.

(part 3)

[nobodysdaydreams]

for the ao3 wrapped!! 1 & 29

Thank you for the asks, I’m so sorry this took so long!

1- How many words have you written this year?

I can’t answer that because people could use that information to guess my whodunit fic by subtracting the word count listed here from my visible AO3 word count and seeing which whodunit fic makes up the difference. But my SOS fic alone is over 300k so that should give a pretty good estimate.

29- Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?

I can’t choose. I’ve written 300k+ words. I have SO MANY. Some haven’t even been published and my favorite passages changes all the time, but I’d have to say that right now, I love the whole exchange between Nathaniel and his sister (Nerissa) that I wrote in that latest SOS chapter. After the show left us with “btw they have a sister” and no other info, it felt so nice to have something, anything, a name, some backstory, etc. to go with the concept. For those who don’t read SOS or don’t mind spoilers, here it is:

He’d heard the voice behind him in his office. An unfamiliar voice. A woman’s voice.

“Hello Nathaniel.” 

He turned and saw that no one was there, when he heard the voice speak again.

“It’s so wonderful to see you again after all these years. You’ve certainly been busy.” 

And then the world around Nathaniel began to change, and he found himself staring at a woman he’d never seen before.

And yet… there was something familiar about her. Incredibly familiar. Like something out of a dream.

Or a nightmare.

“Ah,” said the woman, smiling, as she saw the hint of recognition in her brother’s eyes.

“I see you remember me. Hello little Natty.”

Nathaniel frowned.

“Natty?” he repeated, too disgusted by the ugly and childish nickname this stranger had chosen to address him by to question anything else.

“Hm,” the woman smiled sweetly. “I see someone’s still not a fan of his nickname. Though I do hope you will allow me the indulgence. As your favorite sister.”

“…my favorite…what…” Nathaniel began, before pausing as he became aware of and processed whatever it was that had just happened to him and slowly took in his environment and the woman who stood before him.

Nathaniel wasn’t entirely sure where he was. He wasn’t in his office at the compound anymore, nor was he at the Institute. He was somewhere else now, though he wasn’t sure how he could have possibly gotten there without moving. Though wherever he was certainly seemed to resemble both his office in his compound and the one he’d had at the Institute. The walls were painted blue, and the furniture was expensive and high quality. There were couches, tables, a desk, and a bookshelf, which contained what appeared to be mostly fake books with spines that had been colored to match the room’s furnishings.

There was also a coffee table that was barren expect for a small vase of fake violets that had been placed in the middle. There were also a few paintings on the wall, mostly of nature scenes and bluebirds. In some moments, Nathaniel could have sworn they looked like something SQ had drawn. In other moments, they looked more like copies of his style of artwork.

The ceiling of the room was interesting too, perhaps the most beautiful and fascinating part of the room. It wasn’t the sort of thing you noticed unless you looked up, but Nathaniel was sitting on one of the room’s couches, and when looking up at the woman who’d addressed him, he’d gotten a glimpse of the ceiling.

And what a ceiling it was, painted with the night sky, all the stars and constellations dancing in patterns above him. The celestial orb in all its glory. For a moment, Nathaniel swore he saw the stars painted on the ceiling move, as if they were the real stars of the night sky. They did look incredibly lifelike and beautiful, as if one really was staring at a clear night sky, full of millions and billions of stars.

The room as a whole was nice, clean, bright, and well furnished.

And yet, something about the room was wrong. Of this, Nathaniel was completely certain. There was something uncanny valley about it, but he couldn’t for the life of him explain what it was. It was the sort of room that you just couldn’t quite relax in, though Nathaniel couldn’t think of a reason why.

As for the woman who stood before him, Nathaniel wasn’t quite sure what to make of her either. There was something about her presence that felt threatening and also seemed to upset him, which Nathaniel supposed was no surprise considering she’d apparently broken into his house and dragged him…or transported him…or…put him wherever he was now.

And yet, there was also something else about her that seemed strangely warm and familiar. Like seeing the face of someone and swearing that you’ve seen them before or seeing someone that you know you know from somewhere, and you just can’t think of where you met them or who they are, but you know you know them.

She looked around Nathaniel’s age, perhaps a bit older (though Nathaniel supposed it would be hard to tell her age by using himself as a comparison, given all the work he’d done to stay in shape). Her choice of clothing and style was also interesting. She seemed to have the same absent-minded professor look that Nicholas was always so fond of, though more feminine and neater, yet her style still felt whimsical, which somehow seemed to suit her.

Then Nathaniel fully processed what it was this strange woman had said to him.

“My…my sister?” he repeated.

The woman smiled and nodded.

“Yes. Oh, don’t tell me you’ve forgotten me already Natty; it’s only been a few decades. I would hope that you’d be able to remember me at least a little despite our separation. You certainly didn’t forget about Nicky,” she noted, a playful smile dancing across her face.

Nathaniel sat up, feeling suddenly and surprisingly protective.

No one else had ever called his brother Nicky. No one. And yet this woman did so with such ease and familiarity.

“My brother Nicholas had nothing to do with the Emergency, or anything else I’ve done,” Nathaniel asserted.

“If you try to harm him-”

“Oh please,” the woman interrupted.

“Natty, I’ve been watching you two play your little cat-and-mouse game for quite a while. Trust me, I am well aware he had nothing to do with your world domination scheme. And besides, it’s Nicky. He cries when you accidently step on a spider, he’s not exactly the world dominating type.”

“Stop calling me Natty,” protested Nathaniel, but this only made the woman look more amused.

“Even after all these years, you still have the same adorable little pouty look on your face. And really, I think it’s an adorable nickname, or at least a better nickname than “Ledroptha Curtain,” she countered dramatically, making sure to pronounce Nathaniel’s old name in the most theatrical way possible.

“You always did love drama and symbolism, so I suppose it does fit, perhaps as a pseudonym or an alias, but your legal name? Natty, I know method acting is a thing, but that really does take it a bit far.”

Nathaniel ignored her insults, forcing himself to focus on uncovering what this woman wanted and resolving not to let himself be baited into any pointless arguments.

“Why do you know about Nicholas? Who are you?” he demanded.

“I told you,” the woman replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“I’m your sister. Nessie.”

“Nessie?” repeated Nathaniel, his brow furrowing in doubt at the name that sounded like it belonged more to a small child or a beloved pet than the woman who stood before him.  

And yet there was something about the name that felt familiar on his tongue.

“Well, Nerissa Eurus Benedict, if you’d prefer my full name,” Nerissa clarified.

“Most people call me Nessa. Nessie was the nickname that you and Nicky gave me. You used it when you felt particularly affectionate. Though that was more often Nicky than you,” she recalled.

Nathaniel wasn’t sure what to say. This woman was crazy, she had to be. He’d done his research; he’d done everything he could to look into his family’s past. There was no mention of him having any siblings besides Nicholas.

Meanwhile, the woman in front of him began gazing up at the ceiling.

“I like them,” she noted. “The stars. They fit.”

“…fit?” asked Nathaniel, still trying to figure out how to best engage with this stranger claiming to be his kin.

“What our mother used to call you and Nicky,” Nerissa explained. “Her little sweetheart and her little superstar. I think you can guess who was who.”

Nathaniel certainly could, though he was floored by the mention of the word “mother”.

He’d had dreams about her, and about their father too. Dreams of them dying, of his mother leaving him and his brother behind, but… he never thought he would ever hear anyone, even someone who was obviously mistaken, talking about her as if they had really known her.

“No…no I’m sorry,” said Nathaniel, attempting to regain control of this strange situation.

“I’m afraid that there’s been a misunderstanding. I don’t have a sister. I was never adopted, and my brother was the only family I ever had.”

“And I’m afraid you’re mistaken on both those accounts little one,” objected Nerissa.

“Although they are no longer with us, you had a mother and a father, who (interesting bit of family trivia), were both identical twins themselves, just like you and Nicky. It runs the family I suppose, seeing as I was the only one who ended up without a partner. But having two sisters might have been a bit much for you, you always were a little attention hog, even back then. And even if I was the only one without an identical twin, I always had Seymour.”

“Another sibling?” asked Nathaniel, beginning to feel a bit overwhelmed. 

Nerissa shook her head.

“Our cat,” she explained.

Nathaniel felt like he was spinning. A part of him, a part that had once longed for his family, for any family, and answers about his past wanted to cling to every scrap of information this woman was telling him, and yet, he knew it couldn’t be true. Clearly this was someone still upset about what he’d done, whether the Emergency or the Happiness Revolution he did not know, but Nathaniel did know that the information she was giving him could not be correct.

“That’s impossible,” he explained. “Years ago, I found the orphanage’s records for my family. There was no information about a sister, or any aunts, uncles, or other extended family.”

“Of course,” Nerissa replied. “I couldn’t very well keep our family’s information in the records for anyone to get their hands on. Surely of all people, I thought you would understand the importance of keeping secrets.”

“A convenient explanation,” Nathaniel observed. “And one that cannot be proven false, as there is no way to prove that you actually removed anything. Records can be falsified, so even if you have copies in your possession, you should understand my skepticism.”

Nerissa nodded.

“I do. You were always the skeptic. Very well. May I?” she asked, gesturing towards a pad of paper and a fountain pen that were sitting on top of the desk that she was sitting on.

Nathaniel nodded, though he didn’t quite understand why she was asking for his permission. Wherever they were, it certainly wasn’t his office, though it did bear a startlingly similar resemblance.

Nerissa began scribbling onto the paper, and then handed it back to Nathaniel, who glanced over the paper.

At first, it looked like a compilation of random information. Something about a car, lines of dialogue, a phone number, some addresses…and then Nathaniel realized what he was looking at.

It was an account of everything he’d done the day he’d gone to the records office, the day he’d snuck away from his friends to investigate his past. The address where he’d been living at the time. The make, model, and license plate number of the car he’d driven to get there. A script of the exact conversation he’d had with the receptionist, including the exact amount of money he’d offered to bribe her, and the phone number Nicholas had left behind for him. An account of the narcoleptic attack he’d had outside on the bench after he’d acquired the documents. And she seemed to have written a similar account for Nicky’s visit as well.

All of that had happened before the Institute. Before the Emergency. Before the Happiness Revolution.

This wasn’t about what Nathaniel had done to the world. Whoever this woman was, she’d been following him and his brother for a long, long time.

He looked up at her carefully, allowing himself to consider the possibility that what she was saying might be true.

Nathaniel had to admit…she did look like them. She was shorter and more feminine, obviously, but she had the same nose and similar facial features. Her hair was black and long. It was wavy, not quite curly like theirs, but the color matched. And there was something about the way her dark eyes sparkled, like she had an enticing secret that she couldn’t wait to share with the rest of the world. As if the whimsy and joy of Nicholas had somehow been blended with Nathaniel’s hunger and flair for the dramatic.

Nerissa smiled.

“I promised I’d come back for you little brother.”

Little? 

Nathaniel, who had always assumed himself to the be elder of the twins and thus the eldest in the family (despite what the obviously faulty orphanage records might have said) and had become accustomed to taking care of, protecting, and (for lack of a more polite term) infantilizing and patronizing others, suddenly felt like something had been taken away from him.

“You’re…you’re older than me?” he confirmed.

Nerissa nodded.

“That’s right little one.”

“By how much?” scoffed Nathaniel, who was beginning to grow tired of being referred to as “little” by a woman more than a few inches shorter than him.

Nerissa smiled playfully.

“Guess.”

Nathaniel sighed.

“Um…three years,” he speculated.

Nerissa shook her head.

“Seven.”

“Seven?”

There was no way that was accurate. The woman in front of the Nathaniel might be older than him, but by nearly a decade? Maybe it was her attitude or general demeanor, but she looked like she could pass for someone younger than Nicky! Well, barelypass, but that was still impressive.

Nerissa grinned.

“Well, seven and a half years older, if you want to be technical. Though I understand your surprise. I’ve tried my best to age gracefully. Glad to see my stress relief techniques have paid off.”

Nathaniel was surprised, but his surprise quickly gave way to realization.

“But…if that’s true then…you would have been ten when our parents died,” he calculated. “Ten or eleven.”

“That’s correct,” Nerissa confirmed.

“Then…” said Nathaniel slowly, “You’d remember our parents. Not just their faces, but details, their names, our address, our information…you’d remember us, you even found us years ago, so…why not contact us sooner?”

Nerissa seemed a bit bothered by her brother’s question but recovered quickly.

“It was for the best,” she replied simply. “But circumstances have changed, and now I can finally reunite our family again.”

She began to walk towards Nathaniel.

“It’s what I promised you all those years ago, the day that I dropped you and Nicky off at that orphanage. That I would come back. And now I have. I’m here Nathaniel.”

Her words were spoken gently, but to Nathaniel they were anything but gentle.

Suddenly, he remembered why Nerissa’s face looked so familiar to him. He’d seen it before, in his dreams. More specifically, his nightmares, the ones he’d had ever since the orphanage, of himself screaming and clawing up at his mother, begging her not to leave him and Nicky behind, begging her to stay as she forced him down, forced him to sleep and left him on the front stoop.

But…those were just nightmares. They weren’t memories. They couldn’t be real. Besides, the person in Nathaniel’s mind had always been a bigger person, someone much older than he was, surely it must have been their mother, an adult, it couldn’t have been another child.

Could it?

Well…Nathaniel supposed that to a three-year-old, everyone from a six-year-old to a teenager to an adult looked like giant. From that perspective, it was plausible that his mind’s memory had registered the person leaving him as an adult, and he’d drawn his own conclusions as to what that adult’s identity was.

“I had dreams,” he muttered to himself, feeling as if the floor had been ripped out from under him.

“I didn’t think they were real, but…it was real. It was you. You left us…”

“I had to. But it’s alright now,” comforted Nerissa, reaching up towards her brother.

“No.”

Nathaniel struggled to get the word out at first, but quickly found his strength.

“No,” he declared again, a stormy expression settling over his face.

Nerissa’s smile faded.

“You…you abandoned us. You left us in that horrible place?” Nathaniel asked, his voice filling with rage.

Nerissa took a small step backwards.

“Natty, er, Nathaniel, I…I was child-” she stuttered.

“But you must have known how bad it was, considering you decided not to stay there yourself,” snapped Nathaniel.

Nerissa backed away, and began breathing heavily, but Nathaniel continued, his anger growing with every passing word as he walked towards her.

“And you certainly weren’t a child when you hid our family’s records from us, or when you watched everything that happened between Nicholas and I play out for your own sick entertainment. Was this all a joke to you?”

“What? No! I-” gasped Nerissa, her eyes beginning to fill with tears, but Nathaniel ignored them.

“And if what you’re saying is true,” he continued, “then what about the rest of our family? The aunt and uncle you mentioned…where were they? Where are they? Or, let me guess, they probably abandoned us too.”

Nerissa put her hands over her ears and began shrinking into a corner of the room, but Nathaniel continued to advance towards her, driven by a frustration and pain he didn’t know he still had inside of him.

All these years he’d spent blaming Nicholas and even at times himself for what had happened during their childhood felt like such as waste. As did these past few weeks he’d spent accepting the fact that it was nobody’s fault what had happened. When in reality, it had been someone’s fault. The pain, the suffering, the hurt that had molded and twisted him, it could have been avoided this whole time! And…this woman, this sister, who had come out of nowhere and revealed everything she’d taken from him, just expected him to…welcome her with open arms? Pretend that everything was okay?

“You never even tried to reach out to us!” he yelled. “You apparently were fine spying on us and stalking us for decades, but you never made any effort to help either of us, when you knew what we were going through. Stop calling yourself my sister. You’re not my family. You’ll never be my family. And wherever or whatever this place is, I’m leaving.”

Nathaniel turned to storm off, abandoning Nerissa where she cowered in a huddled bunch in one of the room’s corners.

He had almost reached the door when he suddenly found himself unable to move his legs.

It was as if his entire body was being weighed down by something. As if someone had their arms around his legs and was pulling him back.

He struggled and tried to move forward, and finding himself unable to do so, painstakingly turned around.

“What sort of trick-” he demanded, turning to discover that Nerissa had gotten up from her huddled spot on the floor and was staring directly at him.

And she looked furious.

Nathaniel was not intimidated.

“If…whatever this is supposed to frighten me, you’re going to have to do more than that,” he scoffed.

Nerissa didn’t answer. She still seemed to be looking at him, but at the same time, looking through him.

“Well?” asked Nathaniel again in an impatient tone. “Are you going to continue to stare at me or are you actually going to be kind enough to answer-”

And then Nathaniel was silenced, silenced by what could only be described as the worst physical sensation he’d ever felt in his life.

It was as if his entire body was on fire, and yet being cut by a thousand knives at the same time, torn apart from the inside out.  

Nathaniel would have screamed, but he found himself unable to speak, feeling as if hands were tightening around his throat.

Nerissa never broke her gaze, but at the same time she still didn’t seem to quite be looking at him.

It was horribly terrifying, Nathaniel really felt as if he was in the middle of a nightmare now.

He gathered as much strength as he could through his pain and ran, or rather wobbled, towards one of the doors to the room, as fast as his legs could carry him.

He grabbed at the knob, only to feel his hand brush against something flat and solid.

He cried and pressed his hands frantically against the wall, but it made no difference.

The door was painted onto the wall. It wasn’t real.

Nathaniel made his way to the other side of the room, over to the other door, desperately praying that it offered salvation, only to let out a sob of despair.

It was fake too. Neither of the doors to the room were real.

So then...

…how would he get out? 

The window. He could jump out the window.

Nathaniel grabbed the side table and launched it at one of the room’s windows, only for the table to bounce off the wall.

The windows were fake too.

The room had no doors or windows. There was no exit.

She’d trapped him here.

Nathaniel felt his body temperature rise swiftly and suddenly, and he furiously yanked off his jacket and threw it across the room.

The invisible hands’ grip around his throat felt tighter and tighter, and Nathaniel fell to his knees, gasping for air.

This was it, he realized.

This was the end.

But, no, no, it couldn’t be! This couldn’t be the end, he had more to do, he…he’d just reconnected with Nicholas, he’d just started making things right, he had so many good years ahead to spend with his brother! And SQ...SQ more than anyone or anything else. He needed to talk to his son. He needed to apologize; he at least needed a chance to make things right with his son.

He couldn’t die. Not like this.

Nathaniel’s vision began to blur, but he still scanned the room, looking for any means of escape.

Instead, he saw something else.

A telephone on the desk.

He could still call his son. He could still say what he needed to say.

But he would have to hurry.

Nathaniel crawled towards the telephone and hastily dialed the number as fast as he could.

Nothing happened.

Nathaniel grabbed the phone in a panic only to discover upon closer inspection that the phone was made of plastic. It looked fancy, it looked real, but it was only a toy phone. Fake, just like the doors and windows.

The entire room was like a human sized doll house. An extremely realistic looking one, but fake, nonetheless.

Nathaniel furiously threw the phone towards Nerissa.

It bounced off her, and she acted as if she hadn’t been hit at all, the device breaking into little pieces as it crashed onto the floor, knocking into the glass coffee table, and instantly shattering it too, as if the table was made of the most delicate and breakable glass in the world.

Nathaniel caught a reflection of his face in one of the shards. It was beginning to turn purple. His vision started to go black. It seemed as if the room itself, its very walls, floor, and ceiling were closing in on him and collapsing around him all at once, as if the room was breaking apart along with him.

In one last act of desperation, Nathaniel began to throw any item he could find in the room at the fake windows and doors and at Nerissa, but his efforts made no difference. And he screamed, screamed internally for someone, anyone, to please hear him to save him, to give him another chance, anything, any hope of survival. He had to get out of here, he had to get to SQ, he needed to apologize, he…he needed to tell his son the truth. He needed to make things right. Please…it…it couldn’t be too late!

It couldn’t end this way.

And then, as suddenly as it had begun, it stopped.

Nathaniel Benedict was back in his office, as if he had never left.

The jacket he’d thrown was on the other side of the room, as if he had thrown it off right here where he was sitting.

He was still incredibly shaken but slowly felt the air going back into his lungs. He fell to his knees and gasped, allowing the oxygen to reenter his lungs.

Once Nathaniel had recovered, he straightened himself up and timidly sat back in his office chair, debating what to do next.

Had this all been some sort of hallucination? It felt so real, but…perhaps it was a trick. Perhaps this was someone’s twisted idea of revenge.

But even if it was, how could they have known that much about him?

Nathaniel sat in silence for a long while, too nervous to move.

Then he heard his sister’s voice once more.

“I’ll contact you again soon Natty. I am so looking forward to seeing you and Nicky again. I promise it will be a lovely family reunion.” 

Nathaniel gasped, trembling in his chair.

Then he swallowed his tears and shakily rose from his desk.

He knew what he had to do.

[asoulofatlantis]

At the beginnig when the few short Trailers and some screenshots and questionable infos were out (seriously, half of the stuff they talked about was untrue, put in the wrong light or just weirdly worded...) people though Rean and Van would actually fight here. Falcom dodged that Bullet tho XD You do not want to test out MCs against each other, this is a dangerous game, especially in a series like Trails. So I think what they ended up doing was the best course of action.

Oh boy... So Estelle brotherzones her true love for YEARS, Lloyd told a girl he made her his without realizing what that even means, Rean accidentally flirts with seemingly every second girl he meets and Van just doesn't know how to make compliments. What a pile of idiot protagonists we have XD I think we can put Kevin and Rufus into the pile as well with how long it took Kevin to see Ries value in his life (and still not bringing her along on this mission, that idiot) and Rufus almost dying until it finally dawned on him that there are people out there who love and care about him even tho they were literally right in front of his nose. (A less dense Protagonist would be a nice change of pace in the next arc ^^')

Ah yeah... and then there is that. Crow - now freed from all his burdens and shackles and very much alive is now sure to flirt with every girl to his hearts desire and that on fullout intention ^^'

Its ionically fitting to have those 3 on the other side...

A Traitor, someone who technically works for a semi-enemy and the guy who played dead to put the burden from his shoulders on the shoulders of the boy who trusted him.

And there will be more fitting characters on this side in a minute or two. But before that...

I guess at this point we kno why even her own boyfriend calls Ein a monster XD Poor Kevin.

Now back to the other people joining the Traitor-Side...

While Lapis here is just there for support in this game, she obviously does not come alone.

No... no... Kevin I think this is the perfect person for you to be lumped in with XD So the addition to the Traitor-Team would be Trails greatest backstabber. Rufus Albarea.

I will have fun kicking his and Crows ass, that much is for sure XD

Makes him barely two years younger than Van. If we want to keep this up - that there isn't too much of an age difference between our Protagonists I mean - then the next one would need to be closer to their thirties then to their twenties. (And I will still be older then them XD)

Excuse me? We crushed them! Reans S-Craft almost got them all done to Zero, then two more small attacks and they were all down on their knees while we barely lost any HP.

I did not notice that before but the desertification of the East is looking really, really bad. Its way over 50% at this point. I wonder if under these circumstances it would even make sense to have the next arc play there. After all, despite its size, there is not much to look at there anymore at this point. Then again, I guess a barren land would make an interesting change of pace.

That girl...

One of my biggest qualms with ´Kai is Emilia. She is supposed to be Hermes, but neither was there any reason for her to hide her head behind that helmet for that long (I doubt that many people know her from the war, despite her high rank...) and neither did it feel like Hermes was that playful and flirty in the first two games. For me, this feels like a completely different person. (But at least we know now why she could pilote that Airplane like this in the last game...)

We now have entered a flashback by the way, showing us how Agnes father revealed his plans and how everyone in Calvard reacted to it. I kind of have a better understanding now what they were doing tho - compared to watching the Lets play I mean, which is nice.

[ailogomakerr]

Top 10 Logo Redesign Fails: Unveiling the Oopsies of Past Redesign and What it Taught Us.

What’s up, design go-getters! Today we’re up to learn another thrilling info in the world of logos and graphic designing. It’s another blog to guide you through your emblem-making and emblem redesigning journey. Whether you’re a total newbie in the scene or an expert with an undying thirst for knowledge, learning from the big guy’s missteps is always an effective way to learn! Strap in and as we all check out 10 of the most popular emblem redesign fails and learn from their revision mishaps as we go.

Uber (2016)

Uber or just a random geometric shape? The 2016 Uber rebrand gained diverse reactions. It features a sleek design completely barren of what Uber once was. Confusing the public about its connection to the emblem’s identity.

What to Learn From it?

Don’t scrap it, improve it! You can always collaborate with online tools or draw inspiration from other emblems just so you’re certain that your redesign would be a total upgrade all while not severing the connection to the emblem’s original identity.

AOL (2009)

Who is this? For a emblem with users that are mostly digital immigrants, AOL did a pretty clumsy job with their emblem design that happened in 2009. It left its users puzzled with its vague new emblem and unclear representation. This again, stressed the necessity of clarity and incorporating old elements in emblem redesigning.

What to Learn From it?

Aim for concise and relevant. Always reach out to your existing clients for feedbacks and most importantly; research! Research is key to source out what your audience needs to avoid keeping them in the dark and delivering what they need.

London Olympics (2012)

A emblem that left everyone, even outside of the sports world completely puzzled. The abstract design of the London 2012 Olympics flopped so bad and it was thrown with a lot of criticisms as it looked more of a labyrinth than a representation for the most major sporting event.

Far too complicated from the familiar Olympics emblem the crowd is familiar with.

What to Learn From it?

Make sure to not complicate your graphics! If you have trouble with your emblem designing, you can always utilize online emblem making tools to craft a design with a concise message, avoiding jumbled elements on your emblem.

Gap (2010)

Back in 2010 the clothing emblem giant Gap left the public perplexed with their emblem revision that gave a emblem a modern facelift. Don’t get us wrong, modernizing emblems is definitely an ideal mood, but making the letters bland, with a gradient-filled blue box completely drops the iconic white and blue combo Gap is known for by the public.

What to Learn From it?

Bit of advice, don’t mess with perfection and definitely show some respect with legacy. A sudden change from what the emblem is visually known for may alienate a loyal following base. You don’t want your patrons feeling like they’ve wandered upon the wrong store! When considering a redesign, an AI emblem maker like Ailogoemakerr can blend the perfect mix of newness and familiarity in one seamless transition.

Pepsi (2009)

As close to home Pepsi’s emblem revision may seem, it still gained a handful of comments from its critics. Some even went as far as call the new emblem “a swirl of confusion” as it blurred the line between modernity and a soda emblem.

What to Learn From it?

Don’t be afraid to make your emblem unique! But again, always do your best to pay homage to the emblem’s original image to avoid confusion on your loyal patrons.

The University of California (2012)

The epitome of control Z, The University of California refreshed its recognized symbol with a modern stylized “C” which faced a ton of backlash including from their stakeholders.

What to Learn From it?

Keep the crowd informed! Engage with your partners and audience, give them a sneak peek of what’s to come so they would not be too surprised with an upcoming facelift your emblem will go through.

Airbnb (2014)

Was that on purpose? Airbnb’ recent emblem redesign wasn’t a total flop but it did gain a wave of online humor as the uncovered new emblem seems to resemble something that’s usually kept covered!

What to Learn From it?

Examine your emblem design, flip it upside down if you need to. Just make sure there’d be no unintended graphic implications! You can utilize online emblem making tools if you wish to surely steer clear of unwanted visual representation.

MasterCard (2016)

Sometimes, simplicity is not king. Don’t overdo simplification because it can totally look like an amateur’s draft! It’s specifically such a careless move from a global emblem that highlights professionalism.

What to Learn From it?

Everything is acceptable in moderation so try not to overdo anything, not even simplicity.

Sydney Opera House (2009)

Another case of going for simple gone wrong! The iconic Sydney Opera House did a emblem revamp back in 2009. This said redesign also faced backlash as it made the emblem look vague and unrecognizable. This mistake teaches us the importance of paying homage to the emblem’s previous emblem whenever they are opting for a revamp.

The revised emblem that went a little too minimalistic

What to Learn From it?

Never lose the emblem’s touch! Ensure that the core elements are there to preserve the iconic look of a renowned emblem. The emblem’s personality should remain intact even after a emblem refresh.

Tropicana (2009)

Squeeze the juice, not the emblem identity! Back in 2009, Tropicana swapped their emblem-known orange with a straw for a lame glass of OJ. Needless to say, it left grocery-store patrons from all over the world fumble and scratch their heads looking for their go-to emblem that’s just right under their nose!

What to Learn From it?

NEVER underestimate elements that make your emblem iconic. Even if it’s just as simple as a piece of fruit! Try to preserve the symbols that recognizes the emblem. Keep those in mind during a emblem redesigning to ensure a smoother transition for customers.

What’s the Cherry on Top of it All?

Learning what these industry masters already went through is helpful in navigating the twists and turns of your own emblem redesigning journey. There is so much to learn with these redesigns! What’s your take on this? Let us know in the comments. Good luck on your emblem revamping journey and make sure to check out some of our latest blogs so you’re always on the know with the latest design must-knows!This blog is from Ailogomakerr.com

[dogcircle-scans]

Hey guys! As always a huge thank you for translating and editing Natsume for us!! 💖💖💖 I wanted to ask what you think are the main differences between the manga and the anime (in terms of Natsume’s characterization or anything else), thanks!

I find the wiki unreliable, but it once described manga Natsume as being more hotheaded. I personally don't see it, so I disagree, but if anyone thinks otherwise, I'd love to read why. In terms of physical characteristics, both Natsume and Reiko have white/silver hair and silver/green eyes in the manga.

A major difference in the series as a whole is that Sasada moves away after her introduction. The anime team decided to keep her due to the lack of women early on in the series. A decision I respect, but they don't develop her enough to justify it. I do find it hilarious that because of Sasada, barely anyone remembers Tsuji since most of his lines are given to her.

Another major difference is that everyone in the anime is a year older than their manga counterparts. This change was to fix a discrepancy that only exists in the manga, which was that Kitamoto was initially in the same homeroom as Nishimura and Natsume. Midorikawa later changed her mind about the class arrangements and moved Kitamoto so that he had the same homeroom as Tanuma because she didn't want Tanuma to be alone.

[pudding-parade]

Cactus Springs by poppikins

You know, I should probably subtitle this series "Plumbing the Depths of the Exchange So You Don't Have To." Because, yup, this is another world from the Exchange, though this one is recent, uploaded in April of 2022, found a little while ago when I was poking with a stick at the recent world uploads on the Exchange. This one has the generic CAW icon as its preview, but it said "Mid century" on the Exchange page, and its name implied desert, two things which are pretty much guaranteed to suck me in. (I promise the next one isn't a desert world. It's also tiny. LOL ) This world's file size was decently-large, so I figured it would be reasonably complete, so I gave it a shot.

And I'm glad I did! This is very much reminiscent of an affluent California desert town first built up in the 50s, with its densely-packed houses behind high privacy fences. I will say that I think the world could do with some more terrain painting, both in the world and on the lots, and that it could also do with some more deco, particularly rocks and some embellishment of the titular "springs." (But OTOH, I'm unnecessarily picky about all that.) Since it's a recent upload, it's possible the creator is still working on it and will update it. But if not...Well, scenery might not be this world's strength, but it has fabulous lots.

The world has 41 community lots and 80 residential ones. None of the lots are EA, and most of the residential lots are pre-built with maybe half-a-dozen empty. All of the lots are different, every single one of them. A handful of them are apartments. I'm pretty sure the world creator built all of the lots in the world because they're just too uniform in style to have been downloaded separately. This was a ton of work, so I can totally forgive the lack of scenery. I'd say about half of the residential lots are fully-furnished while the rest only have kitchens and baths. If nothing else, if you like the mid-century modern style, this is a good world to download even if you only pilfer lots from it to use elsewhere.

There's no info about this world's requirements, but you definitely need Lucky Palms for this. Without it, you're missing some rabbitholes, pretty much all of the plants, windmills, and also build items like clerestory windows and slanted columns. The world looks barren and just plain weird without Lucky Palms. As far as EPs, I noticed nothing from Supernatural, Island Paradise, or Into the Future, so it might not need those packs. It's possible items from SPs were used, but I more strongly suspect that the four mid-century sets from the Store were used because many of the furnished lots are missing some double beds, dining tables/chairs, toilets, sinks, and lighting. I could be wrong, but I'm betting the Store items were used for those things. It would make sense, after all. If you don't have those sets, you can download them in .package format here.

The world does have a pet store, so if you want it to function as such, you'll need the pet store register from the Store.

The title of this post is a link to the world's Exchange download, but if you don't want to deal with the Exchange or sims3packs, I have uploaded a .world file here, too. That file goes in your install files at GameData > Shared > NonPackaged > Worlds.

OK, that's enough up-front blather. More info and pics are behind the cut.

The world is 2048x2048, but its playable area is compact. Here is the entire playable area in Edit Town:

Since the world is unpopulated, when I loaded up the world to take pics, I had NRaas Story Progression create 20 families, just to see how the world would run when decently populated. The world ran for a total of 10 simdays, some kids were born, people went to school/their jobs, blah blah, and I noticed no lag or weird issues. Granted, my machine is decent and the folder I'm using to take pics of these worlds has some defaults, the items from the Store worlds (because I wanted to see this world properly and I suspected it was missing Lucky Palms stuff) and NRaas mods only, so YMMV. I didn't get any notifications of any stuck sims, not even horses, so the routing appears to be good, which makes sense because it doesn't have any of the things that often cause routing issues. The world does have subway stations, but even if it didn't, it doesn't take sim-hours to get from one end to the other in a car or taxi or even on a bike because the playable area is so compact.

The world has all spawners except for the Island Paradise and Into the Future ones. It does have the fish spawners from the World Adventures worlds.

So long as you have Lucky Palms, the town has all rabbitholes except for the Into the Future ones, an equestrian center (none of the lots are big enough for horses, anyway), and the Supernatural ones. It does have the film studio. Some, but not all, of the rabbitholes are in basements to maintain the look of the town, and you can of course edit those lots and use rugs instead, if you don't like basement rabbitholes.

The world does not have any Showtime venues, and it only has one dance club. There aren't many empty lots and nowhere to add more, so if those things are important to you, this might not be a world for you. What it does have is cool lots, so the rest of this post is going to be about those. Not all of them, of course because I only get 30 pics in a post, but a sampling.

First some, but certainly not all, of the community lots:

This is the science area. The house in the lower right corner is a residential lot for a small household of nerds, with all the science stuff from University Life plus a chemistry table and other Logic items in it. Then there's the science rabbithole, and the military one is in the basement under the low octagonal buildings in the upper left. There's also that multi-station science thing from University Life. It's in the bottom left corner.

This is the fire station. So nice to not to see one of the EA ones. It doesn't come with a fire truck, though.

This is the salon. It doesn't have tattooing, but in addition to the stylist makeover stations, it does have four or five deco hairdressing stations. So, this would be a good lot to use the hairdressing mod on.

This lot also shows the only issue that I noticed with the world. It has Al Simhara's distant terrain, but it acts weirdly, which you can see in the picture above. I'm not sure if this is just my game doing this or not. Frankly, if I were to play this world, I'd just delete the distant terrain. It isn't really needed, IMO.

This is the arcade. It has bowling lanes and arcade machines.

This is the town's one and only club, and it's an exclusive one, so there's a bouncer at the front door. My testing sim got in via a bribe. :)

The vanilla-color building on the left is the pet store while the coral-color one is a shell with the spa rabbithole in its basement. If I was playing this world, I'd build an actual spa with the items from Sunlit Tides and a spa rabbithole rug, but this will do. The rainbow-colored building in the back is a sort of mall. It has little shops with WA registers in it (nectar, relics, general store, food) inside, and it has the grocery, bookstore, and theater rabbitholes in the basement.

The graveyard. The building with the asymmetrical roof on the right side of the pic is part of this lot, too. It's small and empty, but it could be dressed up for small weddings.

And finally, pics of a handful of the 80 residential lots, in a cross-section of sizes. Of course, the problem with them being tightly packed in and behind fences is that it makes it harder to take pics, but this will give you an idea of the types of lots in the world.

[mittensmorgul]

For anyone interested in long-term residence in the supernatural fandom, please have some observations I’ve made over the decade I’ve been here. Take it or leave it as you will, but I’ve found all of this info useful over the years I’ve been here.

I wrote this yesterday, and it achieved its mission of identifying the sort of folks who would react negatively to it (i.e. a lot of block lists have been updated), so now that it’s been edited for content, it’s going under a cut (because that is how we do things on tumblr in general, unless we have a deliberate purpose for annoying readers with excessively long text posts) for the sake of people who actually do care about the fandom and its history. If that’s not you or your reason for being here, then keep on keeping on with your own thing, I guess. For those who are interested, there’s a lot of fandom resources some of us have been building for years that you might enjoy knowing about.

First off, I’ve been informed by a few friends who’ve read through this for coherency’s sake that it sort of reads like a *shakes cane from porch* fandom grandma complaint, but honestly... I earned this rocking chair and goshdangit imma rock now. So apologies for any “back in my day” vibes or faint aroma of tiger balm this post might give off. Then again, it’s loosely based on a similar post from 2012 so like... time is a flat circle anyway I guess.

1. There is no such thing as “tumblr famous,” unless you’re referring to the hilarious and delightful fic of the same name (please go read it, you will cackle). Posting Hot Takes for imaginary Clout™ on this site is kind of pointless in the long run. Sure you can post solely for the sake of stirring shit and getting notes, but the majority of the folks who do aren’t long term residents of the fandom. They’re just tourists moving through our little beach town for spring break. If you’re actually intent on moving to this corner of the fandom for an extended stay, please bother to really feel out the permanent residents and understand the culture and general mood of the neighborhood. It bears no resemblance to whatever’s going on across town where all the bars and beach parities are happening, and those loud, drunken revelers are, again, gonna disappear back to their regular lives or on to the next party eventually. That doesn’t mean the fandom is dying, it’s just evolving.

(funny how I had several comments implying that I’m just trying to keep the fandom from evolving with this post, because I sincerely do want the fandom to continue on for years to come, and that is impossible without evolution. We can evolve without self-immolating, though. mostly i included point 1 for an excuse to push ancient but hilarious fanfic on you.)

2. Once you post something here, it’s been unleashed to the fandom winds. You never know where it will end up, or who will comment on it or add to it. Remember that time Misha tweeted the link to the Epic Cockles Love Story post? No? It was wild. That was 2012. They all know we’re here, and how to find us if they want to. Please don’t take it to their doorsteps.

Obviously if someone is being a dick on your posts, please feel free to block them, but the whole entire point of this site is to engage people with your posts. Being big mad that someone reblogged your post with comments or supporting evidence, or happy headcanons or “HECK THIS IS GREAT BECAUSE (insert personal story about their experience or whatever else made them Feel Things about your post)” is frankly ridiculous. If your goal is to avoid any sort of engagement with your posts, then maybe try instagram instead. From what I understand, there is a SPN fandom presence there, and nobody can tarnish your original posts with unwanted commentary. But the ability to reblog with additional commentary is a FEATURE of tumblr that builds community through conversation. Otherwise we’re all just talking to ourselves in a vacuum, and that’s what actually kills fandoms.

(and for the folks who just want to blog how they want to blog and don’t want people to engage on their posts at all, please feel free to block anyone you want, as well... nobody wants to step on your toes, but most of us also don’t want to walk on eggshells wondering if this post is one of the “do not add comments for any reason” sorts of posts, either. This is a huge fandom and most people can’t even begin to keep track of every creator and their url du jour, and what their personal rules might be regarding interaction with their content. Including a “please don’t add comments” note at the bottom of your posts-- and not in your tags that won’t even show up on reblogs, but in the actual body of the post-- would sincerely help avoid any awkward or unwanted interactions, too. At the end of the day, you are in control of your own fandom experience and the block button exists.

For the record, I block zero fandom blogs (which is why I posted this, I wanted it to reach a wide scope... refer to the opening paragraphs as to why).

3. Since this post was partly inspired by a tag I left on that post going around about how “previous tags” mean fuckall on this site (which you can read here), just a reminder that if you like someone’s tags or feel they add value to the post, part of the Peer Review structure of tumblr encourages you to PASTE THEM INTO A REBLOG. If you do this, then at least credit the person who actually wrote the tags! Don’t just copy someone else’s tags into your tags on your reblog of the post without credit either. They were not YOUR tags. (I have had this happen to tag rambles I wrote and someone else got credited with them on a subsequent reblog and it is FRUSTRATING). Just... don’t even bother to write “previous tags” because WHAT PREVIOUS TAGS?! Nobody is gonna bother to chase back the chain of reblogs trying to find where the mystery tags came from, friendos. That way lies madness.

(for the record, since some folks seemed to focus on this point solely, writing “previous tags” on a post isn’t inherently a BAD thing, but for anyone who actually is here for more than one-off shitposting, then it’s sort of a pointless thing in the long run. This wasn’t intended to suggest people who ARE here for one-off shitposting are bad or “doing it wrong,” but for people who might actually want to preserve that hilarious joke or insightful comment. People delete posts and entire blogs all the time around here. Links break. I get that the upcoming generation just shrugs at that and moves on with their lives, but heck... you don’t have to accept that all entertainment is disposable if you don’t want to. There’s a bizarre sort of nihilism plaguing us all about the impermanence of pretty much everything that feels like something we should be fighting against rather than buying into wholesale, even in our escapist entertainment. I’m just exhausted by the complete loss of joy in community.

*shouts from the peanut gallery* IT AIN’T THAT DEEP, JUST GET SOME FRESH AIR AND LOOK AT A PUPPY OR SOMETHING

Yes... yes it isn’t really that deep, but bigger picture in the state of reality we’re all entirely disillusioned with, are we supposed to just give up on everything, including the things we cling to because they bring us a tiny spark of hope that we’re not all just trapped in this dystopian nightmare and things might actually be worth living for?

*peanut gallery clinging to burnt husks of peanuts in a barren peanut field* but this is how we have chosen to cope

Okay... you do you... I feel bad for you but if that’s the case then this post is NOT FOR YOU. AND THAT’S FINE. I honestly do not care if you don’t care! I mean, I’m sorry anyone has to live in a world that drives them to that mindset, but I understand. This post is for anyone who might look at their lives and their choices and think “no wait, I unironically enjoy this and want more from the experience of that enjoyment than I’m currently feeling.” Everyone else can continue with their lives as usual.)

4. CONTENT THEFT IS NEVER OKAY. PERIOD. Things like “credit to the artist” or tagging gifs or images you found on pinterest as “not mine” isn’t actually credit. If you can’t source an image or gif set, DO NOT POST IT! We don’t REPOST (i.e. save an image and then create a new post with it as if it was our own creation). We REBLOG (click the little square arrows and reblog from the actual creator). That goes for gif sets, fanvids, screencaps, meta, fic... everything.

(hopefully everyone here already understands this one, but I felt compelled to include some “these are stupidly obvious” reminders anyway, since this is ostensibly some sort of advice column. This is the equivalent of the warning label on your toaster reminding you not to use it in the bath. Like... duh...)

5. Close kin of item 4 is SOURCE YOUR SHIT. 

(for 100% disclosure purposes, I specifically discussed this one in this specific way because of an influx of anon ask messages I received in the wake of the finale. Literally the inciting incident for creating this entire post was what I can only assume was a joking ask about a comment Misha made at a con years ago. Someone actually bothered to take the time to type out those sentences to me. I have no idea what they were expecting in reply, or what could possibly motivate them to send this comment about something so entirely random from, again, several years ago. Just a joke? No idea, but whatever... it got me thinking that there might actually be people who are new to the fandom who MIGHT actually care about the fandom history, and maybe they just don’t know where to go for that info, or how to even begin searching through 16 years of history for things they might actually find enjoyment in, rather than just hauling random out of context garbage out on main and pointing and laughing about it now. People are actually allowed to care about things. It’s not cringeworthy to actually care about things, and you are not alone in actually caring, and there’s this whole big room over here full of people who are thrilled to share in that with you. This post is intended FOR THOSE PEOPLE SPECIFICALLY, so if that is not you, please just continue walking by.)

Yes, I know lots of y’all are new around here right now, but dredging up stuff from years ago that fandom has completely debunked and presenting it as TRU FAX again is just exhausting. We’re not trying to be party poopers, but seriously, we have seen it all and are mostly done with extinguishing bags of flaming dog poop on our front porches for the umpteenth year in a row. I’ve seen a lot of posts that have the same tone as “I saw Goody Proctor dancing with the devil” or “I heard kylo ren has an eight pack” and just... the information is there for anyone who cares enough to find it.

This goes double for “why is nobody talking about this thing I just discovered while watching the show for the first time?!” And, oh hon, we have talked it all into the ground over the last fifteen years. We’re happy you’re discovering it again, but I promise we talked about it plenty when the episodes originally aired. We have such a rich meta history that lots of us have worked really hard to preserve. I encourage you to seek it out, if nothing else than as historical artifacts. The way we have discussed the show has been a 16-year evolution. People have written literal doctoral dissertations on this show. Your shitposts are fun! We love reliving our own experience through fresh eyes, and seeing your wonder at experiencing it all again for the first time! But y’all didn’t invent this fandom in the last six months, either.

Meta Sources and Minerals provided by our friendly neighborhood fandom archivist, @lets-steal-an-archive

Academic books and articles about SPN 

A collection of Meta Essays going back to s1 and organized by topic (all of this has happened before, all of it will happen again)

SPN Heavy Meta Archive (s1-3)

Mel’s Dreamwidth archive of meta (s1-12)

Oranges8hands Dreamwidth archive of meta (s1-15, with many similar entries to Mel’s... though ymmv on viewpoint in a lot of these too)

Anyone remember Fandom Wank? Not the concept but the actual LJ... No? Okay have a link to SPN topics that ended up there. Through 2013. We have seen so much... including several fandom containment breaches.

for all your art sourcing needs, please see @theroadsofararchive, the repository for so much fandom art.

need to find a gif of something? canonspngifs is a vast repository of gifsets of the entire series. If the gif you want to use in your post happens to be the first gif in the gifset, in the tumblr gif finder thingy just paste the permalink to that post from canonspngifs (which is easily searchable by episode, character, location, situation, quotes, and sometimes even color and clothing items the actors are wearing... it’s really well organized, especially for tumblr >.>) and the first gif will be automatically linked with credit to the gif creator attached. It makes life easy that way. It’s also convenient when trying to remember something specific but can’t remember what episode it’s from. I’ve used the site to jog my memory before going to the superwiki armed with more specific search results to find episode quotes and references. Or sometimes I just scroll through all the nice gifs for fun, too.

Need a screencap of something and know exactly which episode it’s from? Try Home of the Nutty. You might not find the exact screencap you’re looking for, but they have a complete set of caps of every episode, and it’s an incredibly useful resource for quick reference checks and the like. Just give pages a chance to fully load before clicking on the next one. The site is easily overloaded, but it’s still free to use (and again, with credit... Pretty much every screencap on my entire blog is from HotN unless otherwise credited).

As you can see, this is a fandom built on preserving our history. You absolutely are not required to engage with any of this if that’s not of interest to you, but I can only assume that there are people who would be interested in it if only they knew it existed and how to find it. Well, now they do.

6. A few more notes on tags, and how they work on tumblr. The first 20 tags on your ORIGINAL posts are searchable sitewide, so if you want to be able to find something again, tag that thing first before going on general tag rambles. The only place tags on reblogs are searchable is on your own blog. So you don’t have to put 50 tags trying to get a post seen if it’s a reblog. You’re just spitting into the wind at that point. If you have a filing system for finding things again, then by all means add those tags (again, in the first 20, so they’re searchable), but you don’t need to tag a reblog “destiel” and “deancas” and “dean” and “cas” and “dean x cas” or whatever. Pick one for your personal blog’s filing system, that’s all you need.

(this was only added because tagging and searching on this site is so very broken... I get that a lot of folks don’t care about ever searching their own blogs again for anything, so this one only really applies if you do often find yourself trying to find old posts. If not, then it’s not really relevant.  It took me years to work out a decent tagging system, and at the beginning of my time here I never thought I’d end up camping out here for a decade and falling this deep into the fandom, and I regretted my lack of consistent tags only years later when I realized I actually wanted to be able to go back and find specific old posts again. So... for anyone who wants to err on the side of caution, working out a sensible tagging system really helps if you’re here for the long term. I personally tag content by episode, because some of my other general tags are so large as to be practically useless as a search term. But whatever system you choose to file stuff on your own blog, it really only has to make sense to you. And again, if this is pointless advice for someone who has no intention of settling here for the long term. Please feel free to ignore it. I just wish someone had explained it this way to me ten years ago and saved me the hassle of retroactively tagging something like 30k posts... especially now that using the mass tag replacer is the fastest way to get your entire blog deleted... oops? so yeah, don’t use the mass tag replacer either >.>)

7. Tags on Tumblr DO NOT WORK LIKE TAGS ON TWITTER. If you @ someone in the body of the post, it will show up in their notifications (if they’re the sort of person who even checks their notifications... not all of us do. For the record, I generally don’t...), but putting actor or ship names in the tags on a tumblr post does absolutely nothing. It’s not the same as tagging the actor’s twitter account in a tweet. Nobody’s getting notifications about you tagging a post about Jensen here as “Jensen Ackles.” There is a difference. Please learn it. (and don’t take headcanons and ESPECIALLY RPF or otherwise explicit art or fic from tumblr to twitter and tag the actors in it. That’s just... not okay.)

(I have seen the pearl clutchers getting all in a huff about the mere existence of RPF or even explicit content of fictional characters if it doesn’t meet their purity standards, but tagging those things allows people who don’t want to see it to actively avoid that content here. Nobody has a right to tell people their fictional content shouldn’t exist at all, or that creators of that fictional content somehow deserve harassment or threats for having dared to create such “immoral” content, won’t somebody PLEASE think of the children... and no... you do not do that here. Don’t be the problematic behavior you wish to ban from the world. Learn to use tags to protect yourself from, as i have attempted to emphasize here, fictional content you are personally upset by. That’s a you problem, not a problem for the creators of potentially upsetting content that they tag appropriately for.)

8. General formatting stuff: If you’re writing long text posts, visually break them up so people aren’t faced with one long wall of text. The enter key is your friend. Also, if you put long text posts under a Read More break and send people to your blog to finish reading, please ensure that your blog is actually visually accessible (tiny text, or light grey text on a dark grey background, or a visually busy background might be aesthetically pleasing to you but nobody can actually read it. Loads of folks won’t even try. Which is great if you don’t actually care whether people are able to appreciate your content or not, but something to at least consider if you *do* actively want to encourage engagement with your work. Confirm how your blog looks on both mobile and desktop and make sure it’s actually functional in both, too).

And since I mentioned that most of my experience on fandom tumblr has been in the SPN fandom, here’s a bit of a reminder for folks who are new around here. With the reminder that I have been here more than a decade and still feel like a newbie myself sometimes...

This is an OLD FANDOM. There are many, many people who have been at this longer than some of you have been alive. The average age for creators in this fandom is older than you think (I think of my friends in their 30′s as young’ins okay? okay). With that understood, you are responsible for the content you consume and are exposed to. Curate your experience. Ship and let ship. YKINMKATOK. Don’t deliberately expose yourself to content you find upsetting for whatever reason. Tags and warnings are your friends, not targets for you to attack in some sort of purity war. People will ship things you do not like (or in specific ways you do not like), will say things you do not agree with, and will find their happiness in things you abhor. That is not your concern. Find what you do like, and support and engage with it, and ignore (or block, or unfollow) the rest. Tumblr has a feature that lets you blacklist tags so the content you’re trying to avoid won’t appear on your dash.

Remember the paradox of tolerance.

It is not your job in fandom to police how other people enjoy the fandom. It’s not *my* job to police how *you* enjoy the fandom, UNLESS your enjoyment is in actively harming other real human beings in the fandom. If you don’t like their take on the character or the show or the plotlines or their ships or anything else, you don’t need to engage with their posts at all! The necessary corollary to this is that clarifying misunderstandings or correcting factual misinformation is not “policing.” 

(this is where the peanut gallery reminds me it ain’t that deep, and I plead with them to put down the social media and find just one (1) thing to actually believe in in this godforsaken life, find something other than disdain and cynicism and spite to live for. If those things motivate you to find a larger cause for yourself, then great, use them to your advantage, but use them to find something that makes you a better person or brings you a modicum of joy and connection to your fellow human beings despite living in a dystopian hellscape of a world)

I have seen a lot of posts lately that are founded on the sort of authority that comes with “I watched through tumblr for a few months and then watched the last three episodes of the series” and as such are just... missing the larger context of the entire show, and are unfounded entirely in canon. I 100% appreciate the new enthusiasm for the fandom that we’ve been living in here for years, and it’s wonderful to see new people enjoying the thing we love. Your headcanons are valid, you are valid, but recognize that your headcanons aren’t canon. All of us finale denialists have accepted this in some measure, so we feel you. We truly, truly feel you. But regarding actual canon, we have a resource for that: the Superwiki. Learn it, live it, love it, as Metatron would say.

(which you could discover he said in 10.17 Inside Man, thanks to the superwiki! accept no substitutes!)

(and again, there have been people who have been involved in fandom for years who haven’t engaged with canon in years, either! You can play in this universe however you choose, BUT FOR PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT CANON AT ALL, WHICH I AM AGAIN POINTEDLY SAYING MIGHT NOT BE YOU, READER, AND I’M NOT SUGGESTING YOU ARE WRONG FOR NOT WANTING TO ACTUALLY ENGAGE WITH CANON, but if you DO want to engage with canon, please have some useful resources. Why do people feel personally attacked by being presented a list of helpful resources? Absolutely baffling.)

(also: words have definitions. “Canon” is a specific thing, meaning in this case “the finished media product that aired on television.” Anything beyond those limits is secondary canon (think: john’s journal, which is not canon but canon adjacent at best...), word of god (i.e stuff said by the writers and showrunners), or headcanon (which includes actor commentary-- they may have helped create the show with their acting choices and whatever, but they are not in control of the story overall). If there’s something you dislike about actual canon, you can reject it and supplement it with your own theories or preferred outcomes-- that’s basically what fanfic is-- but that doesn’t make your theories canon (much to all our dismay, that’s just not how any of this works. This is not to invalidate how anyone engages with the show or the fandom, just trying to clarify what seems to have been a source of unintentional misunderstandings. Your theories do not have to be “canon” to be legitimate interpretations.)

***I am setting this section apart, and did make a separate post of just this following information, because this is where we go from being relatively chill about different parts of fandom choosing to interact in different ways and you do you and blog however you want, to “hey can everybody please understand that the way you are interacting with this specific material might be harmful for specific legal reasons, and stating that you do not care about the consequences of your actions does actively make you the asshole here...” Okay, now that we have that understood:

The spnscripthunt collective has been steadily acquiring new scripts (which are posted in full on the superwiki for everyone to enjoy, for free). The language around how some folks are talking about these scripts is... concerning. For very real legal reasons, actually, and not because we’re feeling precious about the collection and don’t wike it when meanies use them in shitposts.

-First off, these scripts are not “leaks.” They are all verified and legally purchased (or gifted, in some cases, but still acquired entirely above board. we didn’t whack anyone over the head in a back alley for these scripts, or swipe them out of someone’s trailer on set).

(in case anyone was unaware, these scripts are the copywritten protected property of Warner Brothers. So yes, how we use them and share them with the fandom could have legal repercussions. We present them as a collected resource of fandom history which SHOULD fall under Fair Use doctrine, but this is untested legal water. Insinuating that the scripts are somehow not entirely legally obtained, or that posting them for public access involved less than 100% transparent and entirely legal transactions is incredibly concerning.

Once again for the peanut gallery, if you don’t care about any of that and are just having a good time with it, at least be mindful of the work and expense a large group of people have gone through to acquire and present the content you’re all too eager to exploit for cheap thrills. Some of us do actually care and are not exactly comfortable with the fact that others don’t seem to care about burning it all to the ground. We can’t force you to listen or behave as we’d hope you might, but at least be aware of the potential consequences of your actions. All we’re asking is for you to not be the douchebag who sets the whole neighborhood on fire with your illegal fireworks display. Is that too much to ask for? more on that in a second, first... a psa)

-If you see a script for sale and are unsure if it’s legit (or believe it might already be freely available in our collection), please feel free to ask us for advice. Our goal is to make as much of our fandom history available to the entire fandom, and we absolutely do not want anyone shelling out money for stuff you can already find for free.

(seriously, we’ve seen a bunch of resellers cropping up selling printed versions of the scripts we bought and uploaded for everyone to enjoy free of charge, or scripts that are otherwise of dubious origin. We’ve been at this for years now and know what’s actually out there. We don’t want anyone to fall for a scam if we can help it)

-Also, the usual reminder that the scripts we acquire ARE NOT NECESSARILY THE FINAL SHOOTING DRAFTS. In fact, the majority of scripts in our collection are NOT. Changes are made daily to scripts, even during filming. Comparing a Production Draft (white pages, effectively the first “final draft” of what usually becomes a series of drafts before filming wraps) to a much later revision (say... green or goldenrod revisions, several of which we DO have in our collection for comparison) and how those earlier drafts often differ wildly from the aired version versus how similar a much later green draft is to the aired version, for example, can teach you a lot about the television writing process. The link above to the superwiki scripts page has a nice little explainer about how this process works.

Differences between our posted scripts (many of which are white drafts, aka FIRST complete drafts, which will likely go through multiple rounds of revisions before filming even begins) and the aired version of the show are not all “acting choices” or a director or editor just cutting whole scenes on a whim. It’s insulting to everyone involved in production to suggest that’s the case.

(and yeah, fine... whatever, make any sort of posts you like regarding how those changes came about, but at the very least understand that it’s not actually the truth about how any of this works. Don’t care that that’s not the truth and want to make the posts anyway because shitposting is fun and that’s the extent of your sense of humor? FINE! You’re entitled to do that! But at least you DO know the truth now, and hopefully so do the people who engage with your posts. Deliberate ignorance isn’t cute, smooth lions notwithstanding)

There’s probably a whole other post to be made on fandom tagging etiquette, but again I don’t really use the tags enough to know what’s going on with that whole situation. I’ve also probably left a lot of stuff out, so please feel free to add things I’ve overlooked.

Thanks also to @trisscar368 and @thayerkerbasy for help compiling this, too. They were kind enough to escort me through the park to feed these pigeons. Now I need to take them out for ice cream. :’D

So I guess welcome to the neighborhood. Make yourself at home, but like... try not to trash the place while you’re here. Some of us live here by choice, lol.

[iamafanofcartoons]

Hey observation cheesecake… you wanna know what I find funny regarding the certain “critics” part of the RWBY community… they blame team RWBY for a lot of things but seem to blatantly ignore how Ozpin is the reason everything is going wrong in the first place

For example:

Ozpin character chose to elect ironwood as his major power in atlas not because he is skilled or a good leader but because he is someone that is naive, prideful, easy to control/manipulate, and won’t ask any questions.

He could have chosen clover since he is a much better choice and is far better leader figure but most likely didn’t chose him because clover isn’t at all easy to control/manipulate and would actively question Ozpin/go against him if need be.

You know for a fact he actively avoided dealing the faunas rights situation, despite his whole purpose being to unite the world rather than divide it, leading to the white fang turning into a terrorists organization.

Raised a entire part of a kingdom into the air despite having centuries worth of knowledge regarding kings, wars, and politics that would tell him that putting all your upperclassman on floating city with incredibly hard to beat defenses with looking like a luxury, would cause a huge divide with a large social class issue.

And finally, his use of the relics, like seriously, he was given tools by gods that were meant to help unite the world but instead did jack crap with them.

And you know for a fact that CRWBY and Monty meant for Ozpin to be like this since Ozpin is literally based on Ozymandius (a ruler who in a classic quote goes by look upon my works with might and despair but what is left of his kingdom is nothing but barren desert with nothing left) and the mad king Odin (who I shouldn’t have to explain since he is pretty well self explanatory).

Not only that, the story of RWBY is literally all of Ozpin past ghosts and consequences coming down on him because instead of doing the logical job of trying to confront the problem and think of a way to fix it or at least numb the damage, he decides to run from the problem over and over again while trying to delay the inevitable.

I need to look up Ozymandius as RWBY the show uses a lot of fairy tale references.

What I like about Team RWBY is them brining optimism and new ideas to adults who were close-minded and cynical.

Ironic that every "fixing rwby" fanfic involves a healthy dose of cynicism and dislike of Ruby's optimism.

Not to mention the obsession with making ironwood and roman "morally grey".

But yes..Ozpin does make mistakes. Its why yang was angry at him in v6, along with Qrow. Oz withheld info that could have prevented Summer Rose's death along with other factors.

But he doesn't try going about what he does in a different way, instead using whatever happens as an excuse to harden his beliefs...very much like Ironwood does with everything.

However...at the end of the day, Ozpin is a male authority figure. And when it comes to young idealistic women vs male authority figures? The critics will ALWAYS choose the male authority figure. Especially in their fanfics where their fantasy involves "hurting/punishing" team rwby.

[simpz-art-stash]

Late beginnings

Summary: Mac goes out for a drink, and happens upon some advice he takes into consideration about his skewered relationship with Wukong. Before finally taking some action to mend the long burnt bridge. (Author’s note: I barely did any beta reading for this so if it’s worded strangely that’s just how I write without the normal filter on. I’m country so HOWDY) Next Page ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- The night was late, but he didn’t care, he might as well have been nocturnal with the way his whole life revolved around the whole stereotype of shadows and shit. He’d walked into a bar he’d passed through a few times before, donning his human disguise of course beforehand, and walked in without sparing anyone else a glance. Before planting his rear in one of the stools seated at the front bar, ordering a drink to get the night started. “I’m really looking forward to seeing that new Monkey King movie with the trailer they just released. You saw it too right?? The whole style of the film is on par with their most recent game- OH, you think they’re gonna make a game of it?? I bet you they wiiiill!~” Ugh, great, just what he’d come here to avoid.

Mac’s eyes glanced to the blabbermouth boasting about whatever new movie was being made about his ex, to see two girls residing a ways down near the other end of the bar a few seats away from him. Both looking to have had a fair night themselves already if any of the cups and plates hanging around their spot was anything to go by. “Probably. I hope it’s better than last game that came out on the Brick 360, the bugs in that thing were gross to deal with.” Their friend commented back. Before looking down at their phone and claiming that it was getting late and that they had to go. “Yeah I’ll see ya Monday!” The chick waved their friend off a lazy farewell after they’d paid their bill before going back to their drink, now taking less tedious sips as the mood seemed to smooth out from their conversation prior. “I see someone’s a pretty big fan of that ol’ man.” Macaque piped up from where he sat, earning the attention of the stranger he’d directed his comment towards. “The Monkey King yeah?” Sparks danced in the chick’s eyes at the recognition of the name, before the stranger perked up and beamed a smile back at him, “You betcha! I’m a total nerd for that legend.” ‘A legend, hah.’ “S’the whole reason I moved to China in the first place.” She jabbed a thumb at her chest, “All the way from America!” Mac whistled, “That’s a pretty far leap to take, even for a legend. What, you hopin’ you’ll get the chance to see em’ or somethin’?” He sneered, taking his glass and lazily swirling it in his hand. “I wish!” She laughed, “Nah I mostly just moved here for work. If anything though it’s cuz a them for where I am now. I’d never even heard of him till about five years ago!” Mac blinked, lowering his drink from his lips, “You’re joking…”

“Not at all! No one hardly knows the story back home. Only reason I found out was cuz I just started gettin’ into anything monkey-related as a hobby.” She pointed at him, “Don’t laugh either, it’s a wildly popular standpoint to have these days online.” Mac quirked a brow at that, he’d hardly touched the internet these days save for whenever he needed some quick info on something he couldn’t find elsewhere. He held his hands up, “Hey I ain’t judging…” He smirked a little to betray the look that he totally was though. It was kinda funny how ironic it was him being there right then. She squinted at him, “Anyways...Yeah, I’d seen stuff of him online, but I’d never paid much attention to it up until recently.” “What made you change your mind?” Mac boredly probed, taking a sip. She simply shrugged, “I was in a dark headspace, guy made me laugh.” He paused, “Wait, seriously??” “I mean have you HEARD half the crazy shit he’s done??” ‘Babe I’ve LIVED through half the shit he’s done.’ “Like, literally, the guy is HILARIOUS. My favorite story out of them all being one where he literally tricked THREE taoist immortals into drinking his own piss!!” She burst out laughing while Mac choked on his drink a little, not having expected to hear that of all things. Sure he’d heard a few of the shenanigan’s his peaches had gotten up to throughout his journey to the west but he’d never heard that one before. Nor had he the patience to read through all that mess of context that had been published either. “Ahhh man, it still gets me…” The chick sighed with a few leftover laughs as she wiped a tear from her eye. “What about you? What’s your favorite story?” She asked. And suddenly Mac felt like he’d been put on the spot as he stared back at her. “Come ooon, surely there’s one that’s gotten your gut rolling.” She pried. ‘Plenty, but there ain’t no way in hell I’d tell a soul.’ “Bahh...there ain’t the first one that comes to mind that I’d like. Honestly I’m not even much of a fan.” He waved his hand dismissively. “Whaaat?? Aw come on! There’s tons of cool n’ funny stories!” “Heh..can’t imagine what you find so charming about a guy who’s too good for his own friends.” Mac spitefully twacked himself mentally for spewing something so personal like that out. Ugh, and he hadn’t even finished half his drink yet… The chick sitting to his left seemed to tilt her head a little before she squinted at him. Her silence being what brought his attention from his drink to her as he blinked back with a quirked brow. “What?” “Your eyes, they’re like raging storm clouds.” She pointed out. He blinked, not really sure how to feel about that. The only one who’d ever really pointed that out to him before was… “...So?” “Nothing!...” She shrugged, turning back away towards her own drink as if no conversation at all had happened between them. Whatever...he had his fill of shit to drink to either way. The night might’ve been late but he was just getting started. “He makes me laugh though.” She pointed out, earning her a glance. “All his stories n’ stuff. If there was ever a man I’d want, it’d be one who could always make me laugh.” “Hmph, not one for strength?” He took a long sip. Ignoring the bitterness of others fawning over someone he’d come to love before he’d gotten so popular. “Strength is fine n’ all, but it can only take a relationship so far..you gotta have more pieces to put in that crockpot of a relationship if you wanna make it taste good. Stuff like patience, honesty, a little bit of everything to help it all come together to make it juuuuust right.” “Hm…” “It can’t be all just you putting the stuff in there either, it’s gotta be a contribution from both gardens. Otherwise you’ll just barren your lands and be left with nothing to spare yourself or others in your life with.” She glanced at Mac, “Relationships are tricky like that, but they should always be a 50/50 split~” She winked. That...actually sounded like pretty sound advice. Something he’d heard a little here and there before but never so simply laid out. Though it made sense from his standpoint, fairness n’ all that. But he’d been that way with Wukong before and it had never worked out, all the bickering and such, so what had gone wrong? “Can I...ask you something?” Mac inquired. “Shoot.” “What’re your thoughts on..a relationship that seemed fine, but then the other changed so much that everything about it fell apart?” “Mmm...care to sprinkle in a lil more context?” The chick eyed him. Mac’s face scrunched up a little, no idea why he was asking some random mortal for relationship advice of all things. “Hey man. We’re both probably never gonna meet again after tonight, so if you’ve got skeletons in your closet, your best place to let em’ out is here. Bartenders are known for being the most well kept secret keepers in all the world after all~” She winked at the bartender in question who simply looked the other way with a look that might’ve suggested such a fact as truth. “Hm…” Ah screw it, “Alright alright…” He sighed and put his drink down, “There’s..someone. We used to be real close, we were strong together but then uh..shit got real and he had to go deal with it. But when he came back he uh, wasn’t the same as before, an I might’ve sorta assumed he was cheating on me so…so we kinda fell out.” The chick nodded, “Ahh..the classic misunderstanding of change and cheating, a tale as old as time.” She seemed to hum a moment before she turned from where she was seated, if not to hop down off her stool and plop down on the one right up next to him. “Uh-” “Shhh, lemme see those eyes.” She squinted, leaning in and staring deep into his. It’d would’ve been really unnerving if she hadn’t said anything about them before, now he was a lil put off that he might’ve been asking a witch of all things for advice… “Right. Well, at least you feel bad about it. So there’s that.” He blinked and his brows furrowed, “Wh- of course I feel bad about it, it was his fault-” He suddenly had a finger pressed to his lips. “Nope! Nooononono, you do not get to throw all the blame elsewhere like that sweetheart. There ain’t no way in hell you’re gettin’ a second chance with them if you keep that up.” She pulled her hands back. His face scrunched up and he found himself crossing his arms, if he had his tail out it would’ve been irritably swaying behind him right then at just how annoyed he was getting at this weird lady and her words. “Oh yeah? An what do you think’s best then huh?” “I dunno if you’d be up for that kinda challenge…” She idly fiddled with an imaginative piece of lint off her sleeve, which only seemed to irritate Mac further at the thought of him not being able to handle Wukong of all people. Like sure he’d gotten his ass handed to him before but he could still hold his own! “Try me.” The chick glanced back at him with a smirk, which caught him off guard for a second before he shot her a glare back. “Alright, but it’s definitely not gonna be as quick or easygoing of a recovery as you might hope it’ll be. Nor is there even a chance of you recovering it in the first place. But, you at least got that spark enough to try so who am I to deny?” ‘Hmpt, dam right I got a spark.’

“First of all, no more blaming, if you’re gonna tackle this properly, you gotta do yourselves a favor an quit it with the blame placing. Sure it’s easy, but it ain’t gonna get you nowhere but back to square one. It’s all in the past, the now is now. So push forward to fix it and put it behind you two so you can focus on the more important things.” “Easier said than done…” “Hey man, even if they don’t follow the same ruleset at first you could always work things out to make it one later on. I’m just tellin’ ya right now so you won’t just go diggin’ yourself a deeper hole.” Honestly at this point he was pretty much six feet down under, death to him would’ve been a mercy right then. “Fine…” He rolled his eyes. “Next up, apologizing…” -----------~----------- “I thought I told you to stay off my island.” Mac didn’t really glance back from where he stood high up on one of the breathtaking ledges that which Flower Fruit Mountain bolstered. His arms crossed, eyes sternly held against the leftover warmth of the late afternoon sun as it shifted the skies hues from blue to blood red. Hopefully that would be the only tinge of red the Mountain would see after today. “I know.” “What, no witty remark? Give me one good reason-” “I just wanted to talk.” Mac stated plainly. “Why the hell should I give you the chance?” “...” Mac wasn’t sure if he could come up with a good enough reason after the shitshow he’d caused him the last few centuries, most recent being his spat with him between MK. “I’m sorry.” That seemed to catch the king off guard, as he paused in his vicious glare to stare at the other. “Excuse me??” “I’m.Sorry.” Mac turned finally to Wukong, that look of fiery malice having softened immensely upon meeting their eyes. “I was wrong for what I did and I’m sorry.” Wukong’s face looked like it had had a stroke with how frozen in place it was, almost like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Hurting everyone around you just to get back at you, I was wrong for doing that. And I just wanted to apologize.” Mac’s face twisted a little, the words coming out a little rougher than he’d liked, but he’d managed to get three steps in so far… “If you think a few sorry’s are gonna be enough to make up for all that crap then you gotta nother’ thing comin Mac.” Wukong finally shook off the surprise and crossed his arms with a steely gaze. “Nah I know they ain’t worth shit with as long as it's been...which it’s been..a really, really long time come to think of it..nearly 3000 years…” Fucking yikes. “What’s your point?...” Wukong raised a brow at him. “My point is...my point..” What was his point? To make amends and hope they’d get back together? To go back to the way things were? That couldn’t be done with the way things were now. Wukong had a successor, a moral compass, a lotta shit that Mac didn’t. A lotta shit that he wanted but never could figure out how to get his own. His face scrunched up a little and he sighed, “I..just wanted to make things right.” “Oh-hoh? After so long you finally decided to admit you were at fault? Sorry Mac, but it’s waaaay too late for that.” Wukong huffed, “Honestly, this is probably just another one of your stupid tricks if anything. The old Macaque would never throw himself down like that.” “Well maybe I’ve changed!” Mac exclaimed suddenly, his temper flaring a bit as his eyes flashed lightning. “3000 years later? As if…” Wukong rolled his eyes and turned away, “You’ve still got that same look in your eyes you always do whenever we fight. Do me a favor and just keep away from the hot springs this time yeah? The last time you were here you sent a whole dam boulder over there and smashed half the pools.” He waved his hand dismissively. “And I happen to take my once a month bath’s very seriously.” Mac’s nostrils flared a little at just how flamboyant Wukong was acting towards him and his attempt to make amends. How he just saw his attempt as a joke and nothing more, it pissed him off. Wukong had changed and everyone had accepted him, well not everyone, but still, why couldn’t the same be for him? Had he really fooled himself into believing that there was a chance he and Wukong could be together again? His shoulders slumped a little. Of course, who was he kidding. A 3000 year old pit of grudges wasn’t about to just up and disappear at the wave of a white flag. This was Wukong, the same guy who still playfully pestered the gods and demons around him for past conflicts that had happened between them. -----------~----------- “But you can’t just go, ‘ooo I’m so sorry for what I did.’ Nah, you gotta follow the five steps.” The chick claimed. “Yeesh, this a learning course now?” Mac tilted his head to the side. “It is if you wanna make things right.” She claimed matter a factly. “The five steps have never failed me before and have worked wonders for any an all my relationships. Might not quite have the same range of effect you’re going for but it’ll at least be a good start.” “Heh, you got the guts to back up that case?” Mac sneered. ���I will if you don’t manage to screw it up.” The chick pointed out. “The five steps go as follows.” - express sorrow (I’m sorry) - own guilt (I was wrong) - name specific wrongs (I did X) - name impact (I hurt you) “And finally...” -----------~----------- “What can I do to prove myself to you?” Macaque asked finally. “What can I do to at least make it to where we can..not fight anymore..and just talk?...” Wukong stood there for a long moment, his features unreadable as their silence was muffled by the wind bellowing between them both from being so high up. “You really are serious about this aren’t you?...” Wukong’s head shifted ever so slightly, but not enough to where Mac could get a reading on his emotions. “I’m tired of fighting and waiting and thinking that if enough time passes things’ll go back to the way they were...when they never will. Trying to hurt you isn’t gonna make the old you come back, no matter how many times you beat me down...It’ll never be the same.” Mac admitted finally. A quiet gust settled down between them, before Wukong seemed to let out a dry chuckle and shook his head. “Can’t believe it took me 3000 years to beat the sense into you.” He turned and looked back at the other, where he no longer held a look of seething hate, but more akin to that of the same tired look just as the one Mac wore. Mac felt a sliver of guilt wriggle its way into one of the cracks of his heart and he glanced away, pulling a hand back and scratching his head. “Yeah well...your kid hit me pretty hard last time, enough to knock it in place.” A small smile crept a little onto his face. “Hm~ He’s gettin’ pretty good at hittin’ stuff with that old stick.” Wukong’s eyes glinted a little at the appeal of how proud he was for MK having taken Mac out the way he did. A little over the top and flashy, just like him.” “He’s got a pretty strong master to thank for that…” Mac found himself yearning a little for that same glint to be reflected on his memory the same way as MK’s. Not that he couldn’t see himself holding the same appeal for MK the way Wukong did, kid was strong, just a lil desperate in some of the cracks that shaped his outline. Something Macaque found that was easy enough to take advantage of, and something Wukong held a blind eye to. “Hm.” Wukong’s reply pushed him out of those thoughts for the moment as they shared a brief look between one another. A glimmer of reconsideration flashing between the two before Wukong finally turned his head away to drink in the sunset before them. “One chance.” Mac felt his heart nearly stop at that answer. “I’ll give you one chance, but if you screw this up, don’t even think about showing your face to me again.” Wukong replied, “I mean it this time…” Mac swallowed a little and nodded. Anything, he’d be willing to do anything to gain back what little trust he could from Wukong. “Good...you can start making up for it by apologizing to MK.” Mac blinked and sputtered a little as Wukong turned away and began to make his way back down the mountain. A smile playing on his lips while Macaque groaned to the heavens about his next trial.

[peachbear88]

As The World Caves In

A/N: Inspired by "As The World Caves In" by Matt Maltese.

---------------

"No! Let me go!" Wanda cries as Tony drags her out of the abandoned warehouse, her desperate grasps and cries breaking your heart. You begin your speech through the comms.

"I'm sorry love. I wish I could spend the rest of my life with you but I'm afraid these few scarce minutes will have to do for now. I'll love you forever with the whole of my heart and I'll spend the rest of my bleary, semi-conscious life floating in darkness without you, thinking of how what we could've been. So Wanda Maximoff, will you please marry me?"

---------------

"It's a quick mission. In and out. Intel tells us that HYDRA has recently abandoned the warehouse but might have left some important info behind in their haste." Tony reports, you, him and Wanda sat in the Quinjet, zooming towards the location. No sense in bringing the whole team on a such a small assignment. As the jet lands, you turned to give Wanda a kiss only to notice the distressed look on her face. You squeeze her hand gently, bringing her attention back to the present. She gives you a weak smile as the door opens, giving the three of you a look at the warehouse. It's barren, broken windows and graffiti sprayed all over the building. "Wanda, Y/N, you two take the inside, I'll watch the airspace." Tony commands, his suit expanding as he takes to the air. You smile at Wanda, giving her a quick peck on the cheek.

"I'll be fine. I have you with me." You reassure her, the cool metal of the ring in your pocket burning through the fabric and into your skin. She smiles and the two of you make your way to the warehouse.

"Y/N, you take point A, Wanda, go get the info at point B." Tony instructs. You give Wanda's hand one last reassuring squeeze but she pulls you in, giving you a passionate kiss which leaves you breathless as she runs to her position.

"I'm in position." She reports. You smile to yourself, your thoughts trailing towards the ring in your pocket as you jog to your designated area.

"Same here." You scan the surrounding space. True to Tony's word, the warehouse is seemingly abandoned. Any signs of HYDRA are from weeks ago. Wait. What's that red thing poking out from the chipped cement? Your eyes widen.

"Tony, this place is rigged to blow!" You dive towards the bomb, unearthing the timer. Tony's eyes widen and he swoops towards the warehouse, crashing through the roof and landing next to you.

"God we only have 2 minutes. What do we do? From the looks of it, it's powerful enough to level this building and everything within a mile radius. Quinjet isn't fast enough to get us out, I can fly fast enough but I can only carry one person..." He paces frantically, his metal feet clanking on the floor. Wanda runs into the room happily, waving a USB stick around, completely unaware of the crushing news.

"I got the info! Let's go!" She exclaims, her tone dying down noticing the somber expressions on your faces. "What's wrong?"

You lock eyes with Tony, practically pleading. His eyes widen as he understands your intention.

"No. Absolutely not." He stands firm and you get on your knees.

"Please Tony, I'm the only one that can defuse it." Wanda watches the two of you, confusion on her face.

"Y/N, what's going on?" You ignore her, still staring at Tony. He relents, a single tear trickling down his face.

"Alright kid..." You take the ring from your pocket, placing it in his hand, swift enough that Wanda doesn't see it.

"Give it to her if I don't make it out." Wanda's eyes widen at your words.

"No wait, what are you talking about? Y/N? Y/N!" She cries as Tony marches towards her, slinging her over his shoulder as you fall to your knees in front of the bomb, watching her pound against his metal breastplate, begging him to let her go. "Y/N! Tony let me go!" He ignores her, powering up his thrusters and soaring out of the building. You wipe the tears from your eyes before turning to the bomb, removing the case. It's a rat's nest of wires, all red.

"Shit." You curse taking a shard of glass from the floor beside you. You wrack your brain. You'd never been trained for this. Wanda's cries echo through your communication device. "Tony, I'm going to cut all of them." You can hear him protest but you cut him off. "No choice. They're all red. Are you guys clear of the explosion radius?"

"Kid no, I can drop her off, fly back and get you out, don't cut anything-." You stop him.

"Tony there's not enough time! 35 seconds left. Just tell me, are you out of the god damn area?" Silence ensues and you know his answer.

------------

Wanda punches Tony. It's unexpected really. She propells herself towards the warehouse, Tony hot on her heels.

"Y/N, no!" She cries as Tony grabs her once again. You smile sadly, despite knowing she can't see you.

"I'm sorry love. I wish I could spend the rest of my life with you but I'm afraid these few scarce minutes will have to do for now. I'll love you forever with the whole of my heart and I'll spend the rest of my bleary, semi-conscious life floating in darkness without you, thinking of how what we could've been. So Wanda Maximoff, will you please marry me and make me the happiest person in the universe for the last moments of my life?" Tony drops her gently, handing her the ring. Wanda clutches it to her heart, falling to her knees.

"Yes... I will." She sobs and you smile once again.

"That's all I needed to hear. I love you." You grip the shard tighter, blood trickling down your hand and you slice all the wires. You all hold your breath for a moment and the building collapses, a blinding light escaping from the windows. Tony rushes forward, holding onto the slim hope that you might still be alive but Wanda collapses into a sobbing mess, knowing your fate. Her heart wilts, clutching the ring.

"I love you too."

-------------

Man, that song was a really great inspiration. Might've made me shed a few tears.

Taglist: @username23345 @musicinourlips @gingerbreadcookieforlife @xxxtwilightaxelxxx @trikuismybitch @ima-gi--na-tion @nicole-rayleigh-hot

[threequeensss]

why taka’s ultimate isn’t useless

spoiler warning for trigger happy havoc and taka’s free time events!

HIHI SORRY FOR THE LONG INTRO SKIP TO THE SECOND PARAGRAPH IF YOU DON’T WANT TO READ IT ,, ok lol so i only make an original post like maybe once a year AT BEST so here we go,, anyway, i’ve seen a lot of posts on tiktok, instagram, etc. saying that taka’s ultimate makes the least sense or that it’s a “useless” ultimate. maybe it’s because he’s my favorite DR character overall (which may be surprising if you don’t know me considering how barren my blog is of taka content), but after thinking about it a lot, i personally disagree with that and here’s why. (side note: i know the original translation of his ultimate is shsl public morals committee member, this is an analysis of his ultimate overall, not just the way the english dub titles it, so it can be applied to any translation :) )

most criticisms i’ve seen surrounding his ultimate is that it’s not a real ultimate or that it doesn’t have any practical use. a moral compass one’s means of distinguishing right from wrong and to follow the morally “right” path. taka is the ultimate moral compass, meaning he quite literally acts as a moral compass, guiding his peers. on the surface level, we see this through him scolding the other students for having dyed hair (leon), heavy makeup (mukuro presenting as junko), or for students sharing a room (aoi and sakura). sure, at first glance, this may seem like a silly or pointless ultimate, but if you talk to taka during free time, it quickly becomes apparent that it’s so much more than monitoring halls and scolding his classmates for acting like teenagers.

let’s talk about why taka behaves the way he does and why his ultimate is, in my opinion, perfect for his character. we can trace this back to his grandfather, a disgraced prime minister of japan and a “genius.” his grandfather abandoned his morals as one of the most influential people in the world, effectively shaming the ishimaru name and sending the family into enormous debt that would haunt them even after the former prime ministers’ death. through the way taka explains it and how upset he gets when a well-meaning makoto calls him a genius, unwittingly implying that taka and his grandfather are similar, it becomes abundantly clear that his grandfather’s scandal tears him up inside every day. he’s ashamed to be related to such a morally questionable individual and wants nothing more than to repair his family’s reputation, to step out of the enormous shadow his grandfather cast. 

taka’s way of doing this is for everything about him to be inherently “good,” so that the ishimaru name is no longer associated with scandals and disgrace. this is why he sacrifices any sort of self-indulgence (only wearing his uniform, staying away from popular media, etc.), to remain as seemingly “good” and unquestionably “morally upright” as possible. being a model student and leading the public morals committee are the most immediately accessible ways for him to begin repairing his family’s reputation, alongside guiding his classmates (whether they asked for it or not). this isn’t meant to be a commentary or judgment of the way he interacts with others, but he’s definitely not critical of others just for the sake of it. he genuinely wants to make the world a better place due to his trauma and his own ambitions, which i’m about to delve into next. 

ok so. now that i’ve dumped enough info that hopefully explains his personality and motivations, i’m going to talk about why i believe his ultimate is useful and deserves to be recognized as a legitimate ultimate by the fandom. the most obvious cases are when he takes on a self-appointed leadership role at the beginning of the killing game. if i remember correctly (i haven’t played thh in a hot minute), it was taka who had the idea of the morning breakfast meetings, and he was also the first to suggest that everyone announce their secrets at the beginning of chapter 2 to undermine monokuma’s motive. the latter example was unsuccessful given the events that proceeded, but it was him using his ultimate and position as a leader to the best of his ability. 

i understand that this next part is debatable as to whether or not it applies to his ultimate since it’s his untapped potential more than anything, but i personally believe it’s a central part of it so,, here we go! i feel like it’s pretty much agreed that despite being “super high school level,” an ultimate shouldn’t be a skill that someone can just drop after graduation. it should be able to be applied to the real world and society as a whole, hence why they’re at hope’s peak academy. it may seem like taka’s ultimate doesn’t hold up in the real world, since he’s the president of a high school club, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. taka already plans to use his ultimate after graduation to become prime minister and establish a meritocracy. 

taka has a vision of a society where it’s an equal playing field for everyone so that individuals can build their lives through their own effort, so the history pertaining to his grandfather can’t repeat itself. (this part is meant to analyze taka’s ambitions and the reasoning behind them, not meritocracies as a whole!) he has been so badly burned by immorality and the concept of geniuses (side note. his disdain for geniuses and ambition to create a society without them reminds me SO MUCH of edelgard’s ambitions from fire emblem. anyway sorry abt that) that he has chosen to take it upon himself to one day reinvent society. he wants to use his experiences and sense of justice, or moral compass, to better the lives of other people. if he has proven to effectively use his ultimate within whatever situation he’s in and has a dream pertaining to his ultimate that will take him far beyond his high school years, then i don’t think it’s fair to call it “impractical” or “useless.” 

taka’s ultimate title may not have the same immediate wow-factor as the ultimate programmer or ultimate pop sensation, but it’s not meant to, taka regards himself to be an average man ! he acts as a guide for those around him and truly wants to make the world a better place. all of these examples can be traced back to his ultimate, which in my opinion, is SUCH an interesting concept and has too much potential to be called useless. 

if you’ve made it this far, tysm and i’m sorry. if anyone has any thoughts at all, please don’t hesitate to share!! i’m the only taka stan i know lol

[bells-of-black-sunday]

Hell overview

This is organized by a brief summary then organization with sub headers for each layer (Pride being the most important with it’s own power structure)

While many versions of a place called Hell exist, Lucifer’s was made by himself as a safe haven for those that fall from Heaven. It is not where the dead go automatically if they commit sins, people’s souls are sorted by God into which place they deserve to be in the universe whether it be reincarnating, moving to a different soul planes (like Heaven) or ceasing to be entirely. Hell is mainly populated by descendants of those who first fell during Lucifer’s rebellion in Heaven, each one branching into it’s own unique species.

How hell is organized

Hell is separated into 8 layers, 7 for the deadly sins and 1 buffer zone mainly used for housing, each one is expanded upon as the population grows. This makes certain layers like Gluttony bigger than sin layers like Envy. Each layer has their own uses and population, even if the buffer zone is primarily housing. Each layer can be accessed through various bridges and teleporters, none are really off limits to anyone.

Layer of Pride

The pride layer is unsurprisingly primarily where royalty live, people here dress to the nines in wonderous handcrafted garments s from across the known worlds. Everyone is trying to show off just how much better they are than everyone around them, it’s primarily ruled by 7 major birth lines. (Mephistopheles, Leviathan, Lilith, Belphegor, Beelzebub, Mammon, and Abaddon) Constant political struggle among demon royalty constantly makes life in this layer uncertain especially as smaller resistance groups hoping to make a name for themselves are starting to pop up more frequently.

 Layer of greed

The layer of Greed is where all the money is at, it primarily deals in souls like all places in hell, but this is where the vast wells of them are stored as well as various entertainment industries and casinos. It’s a vacation spot for most, but there are demons that call this chaotic layer home though most belong to the Wealth of Mammon.

Layer of Lust

The layer of Lust is primarily a red light district, mainly home to the succubi and incubi and their various duties both sexual and not. This is the birthplace of demon kind, it’s where most demons are made and succbi and incubi being compatible with all demons, this is where you can hire out surrogates and donors for those that are unable to have kids and want them.

Layer of envy

The layer of envy is the primary fashion market, people who live here are constantly striving to have the best thing that month and envying those that do. It’s a very toxic layer making it the most barren save for a few who thrive in such environments or the order of Leviathan’s plotting.

Layer of Gluttony

The layer of Gluttony is primarily a party and work layer where most of the food is made and stored. It’s not uncommon for their to be lavish feasts or the fountains to run with wine. It’s quite the lively layer with one of the biggest populations though the self indulgence of Beelzebub certainly get first pick of all festivities.

Buffer zone / Hellish Planes

Primarily for housing, but also a great spot for hunting as it’s wide open fields span as far as the largest layer and expand as it does. Majority of demon kind lives here and moves to hte layers they need to for work or play.

Layer of Wrath

The layer of wrath is the power house of Hell, it’s a military district home primarily to Abaddon’s armies, but also other birth lines as well. It's considered a great honor to serve in this layer, though it’s undeniably hard depending on your station. 

Layer of sloth

The layer of Sloth is where a lot of things go on in the shadows. It’s the quietest layer, but no one will come looking if something goes wrong in the night. This is where the Lethargy of Belphegor primarily do their work, feasting on dreams to get as much info as possible before they sleep all day and repeat the next night.

[theimperialnuisance]

FFXIV Write 2021 Day 1

// FFXIV Write Info // Prompts // Master post //

(Heads up, this is LONG. I got kind if carried away as this is an ORGIN STORY! : D Set before ARR so Kien is 18 but is not known by that name just yet. Mentions of  speculated physical and mental abuse if you squint. Some of my personal headcanon’s of Meracydia are present in this! I hope you enjoy!)

Day 1 Forster

bring up (a child that is not one's own by birth).

encourage or promote the development of (something, typically something regarded as good).

Ranald had been to his fair share of places since becoming a merchant, but no place struck him as interesting as Meracydia.

It was a place people scarcely traveled to as it had been rendered a wasteland ever since the Allagan Empire declared war there during the last years of the Third Astral Era; a lot of regions were still uninhabitable to this day and those regions that could be lived in consisted of a rather recluse population that would attack any outsider on sight. However, some of the natives were still open to trade as certain materials from Eorzea were highly sought after and the rare gems found on the southern continent could sell for a hefty sum of Gil in Eorzea but one wrong move in the eyes of the natives meant an ambush or death, so Ranald never stayed for long or ventured too far from the shores whenever he decided to come around to try his luck with a trade.

With every visit, the Hyur could never quite comprehend how natives still lived on the southern continent. The water was always cloudy and murky and the sky was ochre in color with the sun permanently hidden behind a thick haze. The land itself was barren and dry—what remains of standing trees were bare and splintered while the rest were deduced to blackened stumps. In some places, there were remains of structures but none of them were in one piece and most of them were reduced to rubble, but he certainly felt prying eyes on him at several instances and he shuddered to think of who—or what—could be roaming around the ruins.

He and his three fellow traders had been in Meracydia for the better part of three nights with no luck when Ranald finally made the decision to call it quits and leave before any sort of ambush befell them; It was already risky enough to travel without a tribe’s trust to trade with and staying any longer than the initial welcome was just begging for an attack. As he turned to follow his fellow shipmates up the ramp, he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end; someone had been watching him.

“Who goes there?” Ranald quickly unsheathed his daggers and whipped around, expecting to come face to face with a tribe ready to ambush them but was mildly surprised to find a young Miqo’te staring back at him. He seemed just as startled as Ranald was, his own bow drawn at the ready and a hand resting on the quiver on his back as if he was about to draw an arrow.

“Wait! Wait!” The Miqo’te said hurriedly but still didn’t lower his weapon. “You’re a trader, aren’t you?” His accent was thick but his Common was easy to understand causing more confusion to the Hyur. Usually, it was always the other way around; the natives expected outsiders to understand their language when trading, it was unusual to meet a native who could speak and understand Common.

Questions bubbling, Ranald arched an eyebrow at him. “I am. What have you?” Behind him, he could hear his shipmates rush out to see what going on, but he cocked his head to the side in a silent request to stay back to which they obeyed.

The Miqo’te looked even more nervous than he was before at the sight of the three other people but didn’t move. “I did not come to harm you; I only want to trade…an exchange, if you will.”

 Ranald almost wanted to laugh. “Then why are you brandishing your weapon at me lad?” He asked, watching as the Miqo’te’s expression twist from concern to confusion. “This has better not be a trick and no one else comes out to attack.” He said firmly, watching the Miqo’te eyes widened.

 “I—I wasn’t trying to catch you off guard, but when you suddenly pulled out your daggers, I panicked.” The Miqo’te confessed. “I—I’m not really used to talking with people outside my tribe, so I was unsure how to approach you.” He slowly lowered his weapon and pulled his other hand away from his quiver of arrows. “I promise you, I am alone, and I only seek to trade with you.”

Ranald eyed the boy a bit longer before slowly relaxing his stance and sheathing his daggers. The Miqo’te, who had been watching him carefully, seemed to sag in relief and he quickly returned his bow to his back. Without a weapon shielding half his face, Ranald could finally see how young the lad was compared to him—he looked as if he was in his late teens, maybe the same age as his own son but somehow older and wiser just based off the energy he had about him. His shaggy black hair fell almost completely in front of his right eye, giving Ranald barely a glimpse of it which he could see was amber; a color not like his left eye which was green. He seemed to be traveling somewhere himself as two bags sat behind his feet, and he looked as if he hadn’t gotten any sleep the past few days.

“What’ve you got to trade?” Ranald asked as he descended the ramp back onto the shore. The Miqo’te wordlessly picked up the smaller of the two bags and opened it, inviting Ranald to step closer and look inside. Still a bit weary, Ranald leaned forward to peer inside the bag, nearly gasping aloud at the abundant sparkling gems inside.

“You cannot find these anywhere outside of Meracydia,” The Miqo’te began. “At least, that’s what the other traders told me when I traded with them before…I’ve been collecting them for several years.”

Ranald could hardly believe it. There had to be at least twenty or more gems inside the bag and the Miqo’te was right: they were rare ones he’d never found in Eorzea before—this was more than what he’d ever traded in the past. But…he knew he didn’t have anything worth the amount offered in goods to trade. He looked up with a questioning stare. “What can I give you in return?”

“Passage on your ship,” The Miqo’te replied confidently as if he had rehearsed the line several times before. “While I do not know where you’re bound to next, know that I you needn’t worry about lack of provisions as I have my own and I will do any necessary work during the journey.” He spoke with confidence but once again his fidgeting hands and tense shoulders gave away to his nervousness—had he been denied before? What fool would turn down a bag of rare gems for an extra passenger on the way back? Nay, there was something more to this and Ranald felt a need to know why.

“What’s your name lad?” Ranald asked but the Miqo’te stayed silent as he bit his lip in hesitation. Ranald’s expression softened, deciding to not press it further. “Well, you can tell me when you’re ready—it’s a long journey back to Eorzea so there’s plenty of time to share life stories.”

“Eorzea…? The place I’ve heard stories about…have seen in...” The Miqo’te trailed away and bit his lip to prevent himself from speaking any further. “You’ll have me then?” He looked back up; hope swimming through his eyes that caused Ranald to smile warmly.

“Aye, climb aboard!” Ranald smiled as he gestured to the ship. “These three here are Mikiah and Arlix,” he gestured to the short brunette Hyur to his left and the tall blonde Elezen to his right before turning to the brunette Miqo’te standing at the top of the ramp. “That there is U’vhana Tia and I’m Ranald.” The three friends all raised their hands in a gesture of greeting looking confused but welcoming all the same. Ranald watched as the young Miqo’te eyed them wearily before nodding his head in greeting. “We leave as soon as we fire up the ship, don’t want to lose any more of this daylight—if you can call it that.” He waved his hand absently with a smile as the Miqo’te gathered his remaining bag and followed them up the ship and they took off.

----

For the first half of the journey, Ranald watched the young Miqo’te bemusedly as he seemed to go through an array of emotions over the course of seconds—fear from the airship beginning to fly, excitement when he saw a blue sky, probably for the first time in his life, and then, he seemed to settle into his thoughts as the ground below grew smaller and smaller and they sailed through the clouds.

As the day stretched into evening, the Hyur left the Miqo’te alone, sensing he was still nervous from everything that had just occurred while the man himself was still in bewilderment of it all. He essentially just helped a kid run away from his family, and his friends didn’t even question him! He wasn’t what exactly possessed him to agree to such an absurd trade but judging by the relief on his face once he invited him on board, he supposed he couldn’t blame him for wanting to get the hells out of the wasteland. But what about his family? Wouldn’t they be searching for him? Would it even be safe to return to Meracydia again knowing there may or may not be a tribe on the lookout for their lost family member? And that scar on his eye…Ranald hadn’t missed glimpsing that but chose to not ask him about it either. Was that why he wanted to run away from his family?

The Hyur sighed, running a hand through his graying hair. Such speculative thoughts would have to wait! Mayhap he could get some questions answered over dinner. Deciding to do just that, he ensured his friends were all tended to with the ship and made his way up to the deck where he spied the Miqo’te leaning over the ship wall and watching the stars. Just as he made way to approach him, the boy suddenly went rigid, his hand flying to his forehead as if he was in pain. By the time Ranald was able to get to his side to help keep him steady as he staggered, he was coherent again but a little pale.

“I must’ve gotten too excited and gave myself another headache, but it passed.” The Miqo’te looked down as if he was ashamed and slowly stepped away from Ranald’s hovering hands. Ranald furrowed his brow and gently placed a hand on the Miqo’te’s shoulder, not failing to notice the slight jolt that went through him.

“Another headache? These’ve happened before?” Ranald couldn’t help voicing the question aloud and the Miqo’te flinched as if he was expecting to get yelled at. Ranald’s face softened as he quietly asked, “Are you alright?”

That question seemed to take him by surprise, and he looked up to meet Ranald’s worried expression, blinking in bewilderment. “Ah—I—I’m fine,” he stuttered before looking away again in embarrassment. “Sorry, could I maybe sit down for a bit? I’m feeling very sick.” Ranald carefully guided him down to a chair and quickly fetched one of his water skins, offering it to the boy with a gentle nudge. He cautiously accepted it and took a few sips before leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes.

 Ranald watched him carefully for a bit, trying to figure out the right then to say as he sat down in the chair across from him. “Have you heard of the Echo before?” He finally asked. When the boy shook his head, he smiled warmly. “I don’t know much about it myself unfortunately, but I’ve heard what it can be like—headaches—like the one you just had—and if I’m not mistaken, you saw something, didn’t you?” The Miqo’te’s brow furrowed as he nodded his head.

“How—how did you know?”

“Your eyes glazed over for a good minute as if you were watching something,” Ranald explained. “When you’ve been traveling around for as long as I have, you meet a few people with the Echo every now and then. Who knows, maybe you’ll become one of Hydaelyn’s chosen and save Eorzea in her time of need like those ‘Warriors of Light’ did during the calamity five years ago!” He chuckled fondly, a memory of his son excitedly talking about the fables springing to his mind.

“Hydaelyn’s chosen? Warriors of Light?” The Miqo’te questioned.

“Aye, the rumor goes that they’re the ones who the Mother Crystal chose to bestow her blessin’ to and they showed up during the Battle of Carteneau and promptly vanished after some big ol’ flash—no one has seen ‘em since. My son would always tell me about an adventurer he met—Kieron, I think—he believed he may have been one of those warriors.” He smiled fondly. “My son was frail and sickly; he didn’t get to travel around as often but Kieron would trade with me often and helped fill that void for him—kept him company and told him all about his grand adventures before taking off on the next one.” He paused, feeling his heart twinge in sadness.

“My son passed away before the calamity, bless his soul for not having to witness that battle, but… I cannot help but wonder if Kieron really was a ‘Warrior of Light’ like my son thought he was because after the calamity, I never saw him again either.” Ranald let out a sigh as he brought his gaze to the starry sky above. “I’d like to think he and my son are off on their own grand adventure somewhere now—mayhap I’ll see them both again someday.” He fell silent as turned his gaze back to the Miqo’te. “Can I ask you why you won’t tell me your name?”

The Miqo’te hesitated for a moment, his eyes casting down to his boots as he wrung his hands. “It’s Roh’to,” he began quietly. “I rather not be called by it anymore…I just want to get away from my tribe. They…did not make me feel welcomed and I’m not proud of my tribe name. I just want to start anew.”

Ranald reached up to scratch the stubble on his chin with a nod, his speculation about the relation to his scar and family slowly piecing itself together. “Then I suppose we’ll have to find a new name for you then.” The Miqo’te looked up, his expression a mixture of confusion and awe. “Take all the time you need to think of it but what I really need to know is what you plan to do once we get to Gridania.”

“I—I don’t know,” The Miqo’te confessed as he looked down again. “I truthfully didn’t even think I’d get this far in the first place…not a lot of traders were as willing as you to believe I wasn’t trying to trick and ambush them.”

“Used to be a pirate,” Ranald laughed. “Easy for me to tell when someone is lyin’ to me.” He leaned forward and clasped his hands together. “Tell you what, you can stay with me for a bit, just until you get yourself situated. There’s a few people I think you should meet anyways in regards to that Echo of yours.”

The Miqo’te jerked his head up and stared at him in disbelief. “Truly? I…I won’t be a burden to you?”

Ranald shook his head with a laugh and leaned back. “O‘course not! ‘Sides, I could use the company with how quiet my house has been lately.” His expression softened, somehow knowing this was the right decision to make.

The Miqo’te seemed on the verge of tears as the corner of his lip tugged into a small smile. “I promise to do my part and help out in anyway I can, you won’t regret this.”

“No expectations, just be yourself.” The Hyur smiled and stood, giving a small nudge to the Miqo’te’s shoulder, noticing that he didn’t flinch this time, a sign that he was already feeling more comfortable than before. “You take all the time you need to figure that name out, and I’ll get some dinner prepared…get some sleep too, it’ll be a while before we get to Eorzea.”

He turned on his heel to retreat down into the hull, but before he could descend the stairs, he heard the boy call out, “Ranald?” The Hyur paused with a hum to indicate he was listening. “I thought about what my new name could be.”

“Oh?” He turned to face the Miqo’te again.

“Kien.”

A smile spread across Ranald’s face, his heart filling with warmth. “Well Kien, it’s nice to finally meet you.” 

[xchoco-mixturex]

SO, WHAT I GET FROM WHAT HAPPENED IN THE END OF TENKUU SHINPAN ARRIVE

Of course: FUCKING SPOILERS, IF IT ISNT GOD DAMN OBVIOUS! and yes i say it like that because i see someone saying ‘EWMYGEWDIWASSPOILE--” shut up.

shut the heck up.

I wont cross tag, this will be explicitly called Tenkuu shinpan arrive spoilers and the others ones i have. i wont even tag characters to not spoil anything at all.

now get ready....

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.SO!

Yuri faced Alien-kun, who seems to be the predecessor God of this realm. Or so it was told. It seemed to the the retaiing existence of him.

even with the facing she did, she cannot save Senya with the power she has. The only posibility is Senya returning by his own or something like that. He seems to be trapped in another area, different that the first high rise world of the survival game, and also different than the barren survival world

Yuri and co are thinking of going there it seems, Oribe says its too dangerous, but she thinks it only

Yuri learnt there is a CREATOR of all this realms. Each survival game, and each dimension of survival. Yuri says she needs to stop that person once and for all. Yuri says if that mean is defeated, maybe everyone might come back, from Senyas will, to Nanamis father, though its a possibility. (aka, also Kuon would return, my baby <3)

it seems the creator is IN A REALM CALLED AS ‘ARRIVE’. he said she found it, and what she really must do.

Oribe, seeing Yuri happy, thinks she is a little bit crazy....Also, she says when Senya goes back to normal ‘I will also....’ (ngl,if she confesses to him i would be dissapointed. That would feel forced a bit. sorry. And i like ships (?)

Yuri asks Kuon, who is with her,what about Daisei. Kuon says the battle with Daisei its almost over. Rika succeded in killing his body and Rika, Sniper, Nise,Hayami Shintaro, and Great angel colaborated in reducing the energy of the realm, so Daisei would be consumed aka killed. But he ran away with a little bit of energy

That confirms my theory that when the realm energy gets consumed, if there is a being that was born with that energy (Aka Daisei or Kuon), that entity dies since its made of energy, and the energy was consumd. That explain many people wondered why Yuuka (since Yuri being the admin, and Rika being a non-electible for god God candidate) didn’t keep going with the god trials, not only because there wasnt enough energy only, but also because the energy consumed would mean Kuon’s death.

Kuon asks Yuri if she meets Daisei she will kill him? Yuri says yes. Since Yuri before wanted to be diplomatic with Daisei, but no, fuck diplomacy.

Tenmas was listening all the new info all along, with Asuka on her back. She seems interested with the new realm, info and energy. She wants to be stronger than the original Yuri, so she taunts her saying if she reaches that place, she will finally be able to surpass her. Yuri is puzzled *Choco chuckles*

 Tenma admits she cant surpass her in strenght competition, but with ‘this new little acqueired guy’ she will, as she wants to absorbs his abilities. That ‘little guy’ is no one as Daisei as an eye/cloud. Tenma has seized him. Tenma wonders wht will happen if she has him at her side (well, mostly as kidnapped---). 

Daisei’s seems to gone crazy as he is crazily repesting the world ‘equality’ multiple times. his motto for him to be god.

Kuon sees the scene surprised. “Daisei...how pitiful...”

Yuri tells Tenma that her sin was only because of Daiseis program when he created her, and for that, she didnt pursued her. Yuri warns her if she indeed goes away and keeps going and stuff with Daisei, that means Yuri and co will take her down.

Tenma looks at her down, mockingly. Asuka raises her the middle finger

Far from there, Sniper is aiming at them with his rifle, ready to take the shot. In the end, he sighs and mutters “what a bother”, and lowers his rifle. Ttaku is pretty much the japanese “Tch” muttering.

Something that noticed later...I feel Sniper a bit odd. Maybe its just my imagination because I’m not used to see him with no mask but...

Tenma notices Sniper was threatening, her, and she mutters he is scary, so in the meantime she will ran away with her friends (dunno if she only meant Asuka, or she will take Zeon and Juo(rika) with her too)

She says one last thing, in honor to the ‘Originals’, aka they main 5 original crew:

“Thank you....and goodbye, clumsy people.”

As she said the Clumsy people phrase , we see different pannels: Rika watching the horizon, Nise with Mayu (nise’s clone) in her arms, Great Angel also watching the distance and Shintaro Hayami (Prophet) reuniting with Shika Hayami finally.

Tenma ports away. Yuri falls and laughs softly. Saying that indeed, they are clumsy people, not only her, but also her crew, that being because... (She alludes to the fact that maybe they could have done the teleportation to the OG world, but not happening because Yuris powers were unstable (special chapter) and also the fact they would sacrifice Kuon)

Yuri reassures Oribe and Nanami that with time she ‘will deliver them to the OG world, so please rest assured.’

Oribe comments that she is a bit confused since it seems the Original World is also turning to be dangerous, and also that her head hurts.

Oribe says she wont go back yet, she still have many things to do. Yuri smiles softly to her, but a bit sad.

Oribe looks at the distance and asks Yuri about that orbital elevator. She asks her about if Yuri has a way to make that elevator work somehow, of course if it doesn't bother her. Oribe says she is curious if it is truly connected to space

Oribe: “I...I actually like it a lot. The universe...”

With that last phrase, we see the last panel of Senya resting in a bed. He is resting with a smile.

SO, IT IS AN OPEN ENDING. IT SEEMS MAYBE, MAYBE WE MIGHT ALSO HAVE A CONTINUATION OF THIS, SINCE WE ARE FACED WITH THE REALM OF THE CREATOR AND A POSSIBILITY TO STOP FINALLY EVERYTHING ONCE AND FOR ALL.

Besides they need to go back. And also there is the issue if bringing Senya back, alongside with Kuon’s returning to have a physical body. and the slight possibility if the creator is defeated, maybe some things will be solved. 

(Yuri says maybe she can bring back Nanami’s dad if she faces the creator, but I’m not entirely sure because Supervisor told us before bringing people back to life was impossible, and the only exceptions being the ones with the Judges “Resurrection.” Even Senya’s state is still unknown. But ther eis a posibiity for Senya to come back.) THATS ALL, EVERYBODY! STAY TUNED IF I KNOW SOMETHING ELSE! for now i will go and write some fanfics and cope with this because holy smokes, i am curious

Also no, no ‘visual’ confirmation about the ships for the ones who likes that. Yes, we know some ships are freaking almost undeniable canon but ANYWAYS

....And I really hope i’m wrong with Sniper. It’s an interesting theme of him seeing a downfall to what has been told since day one in Tenkuu shinpan, that Gods doesn't need to feel and stuff, and Sniper already facing one of the 3 god trials. And knowing Sniper’s key-stuff of his personality is his humanity and how he clings to it so hard... It pains me.

Also he needs a freaking rest for fucks sake. Like, stop, let him be happy for once---

take care <3

[flowerb0y-art]

HEY FIRST THINGS FIRST SO SORRY FOR ASKING THIS SO STUPIDLY LATE. If you’re still doing the ask meme, what about 51, 94 and 96 for our dearest theo? <:^)

I will ALWAYS take the opportunity to ramble about my dearest boy

Also a little warning that I am going to write A LOT for these bc I already had some character info written down from like last month that was pretty relevant to these questions so I’ll probably just copy-paste that. ALSO slight warning for OC x Canon content? I don’t know if I really need to add a warning for that but I know some people don’t like it

51. Why would they be a BAD partner for a road trip?

Even on a 3 day road trip, Theo will refuse to pass the wheel to anyone else. It’s probably because he’s pretty confident in his own driving, but even when he’s running on 0 sleep and people are telling him he needs a break, he’ll stubbornly refuse and just keep on driving. It won’t be until he runs a red light in his half-awake state that someone will force him out of the driver’s seat and not let him back on until he gets some rest.

94. What does their room look like?

I’ve had this idea for a WHILE, so thanks for giving me an excuse to talk about it!!

Theo’s room is…sad. It’s absolutely barren and empty of decorations, photos, souvenirs, etc. he doesn’t even have a bed, just a thin and uncomfortable futon in the corner that he rarely sleeps on. The reason why he doesn’t have any photos or decor is the same reason he doesn’t get attached to people-you get sentimental and those people will leave your life and it just makes you feel worse. If he’s in his room he spends most of the time working at his desk where he usually falls asleep. If he does go to his futon he probably won’t even tuck himself in, just plop down on top with his clothes still on.

The first person to actually see his room was Engie. One day Theo was extremely sleep-deprived and Engie had to actually drag him back to his room so he could nap and he was shocked to say the least when he walked in. He asked Theo about it and bc Theo was in such an exhausted state he just explained his pessimistic outlook on keeping sentimental objects before immediately passing out on the floor. This came as a shock to Engie bc Theo usually acts like a very optimistic person and he didn’t want him being so miserable (cue the “damn bitch you live like this?” meme). He wanted to prove that he can feel safe and happy around the other mercs, and especially with him because he wanted to befriend Theo. He plans out a whole day to spend time with Theo and essentially get him to bring some things back to decorate his room; he also asks the other mercs to help him out. Of course, things go wrong and Theo confronts him. It’s an awkward drive back to the base and they don’t say a word to each other-Engie secretly panics that he just ruined all his chances of being friends. However, the next day Theo knocks on his door and shyly asks if he could help him build a bed frame and add some decorations to his room-Engie’s overjoyed. The two spend the day fixing up his room, and the first photo he puts up is of him and Engie proudly showing off the newly decorated place.

Also, on Theo’s first night working with the mercs he woke up to find Medic standing over him taking notes. He was so horrified that he installed 5 locks on his door the next day.

96. What’s their sense of humour like? (Dad jokes, morbid humour, basic knock-knock jokes, stand up comedy, etc)

For the longest time everyone thought Theo liked “smart jokes” because he was always laughing at Engie’s engineering puns. Truth was, he doesn’t understand a single bit of it and he just wants everyone to think he’s smart. He also has a fake laugh that he uses for whenever he doesn’t get a joke but wants to be polite about it, and because he uses that fake laugh so much everyone thinks it’s his real laugh.

What he REALLY thinks is funny and will make him genuinely laugh is normal dad jokes. That shit has him hunched over wheezing. His real laugh actually kinda sounds more like this ? His voice gets high pitched and he starts wheezing and his face gets all red

[some-mad-lunge]

Answers - Michael Guerin Week AU

Okay this is WAY off the fic prompt which is Drunk and Disorderly. I started imagining Michael being the exact opposite of that. Which made this AU come out in a weird jumble. So yeah...sorry! (Also it’s stupid long. Again. Sorry)

👽 👽👽👽👽👽👽👽👽👽

To say Friday nights at The Bunker were rowdy would be an understatement but Saturday nights were like a second coming of hell. Michael did not have two masters, one in engineering and the other in biodynamics, to deal with this shit. But needs must, and plying officers with alcohol while they held up the bar was a gateway to information. He took in every tidbit, worked out shift schedules and even swiped one security pass from a dubious looking corporal. After two months he was so close to getting inside that he was antsy, that much closer to some answers about who he was and where the hell he was from. He tried to remind himself he’d waited 28 or so odd years, that he could wait just a little bit longer.

***********

He’d done a decade in the foster care system, he knew a thing or two about biding your time and protecting yourself. You move when the moment is right and you keep your fucking head down.

It was easy to go unnoticed in most regards. Everyone in this town either worked for the military or made their living off of it. No one questioned what was going on behind the chain link fences or deep in the desert too barren to visit. No one bothered to look to closely at the man sliding them drinks. Especially when it was really easy to slip into their mind and erase yourself completely.

Michael would have made an excellent spy, probably would have given James Bond a run for his money. Fact was he’d much rather be the Q in the situation, but once again, needs must. So he watched and he clocked and he made himself as unassuming as possible.

So as Saturday nights went it was loud and obnoxious. Clearly there was a new brood of recruits, some battle scarred, some probably with their virginity still intact, but all happy to have been selected to work at one of the most prestigious and secretive bases in the US. Michael scanned them all, none of them would be any more than grunts. None of them had a fucking clue what was really going on and therefore weren’t worth his time.

But he’d pour their beer and serve them army themed burgers and wait for his opportunity.

What he didn’t expect was the package said opportunity would turn up in. Or how it would unravel every plan and belief Michael held dear.

What was it they said about mice and men? They should have included aliens in the mix.

*********

It was second nature, every time a new body came through the door his mind scanned them. He didn’t even have to look up, he didn’t have to stop what he was doing. He’d know in a few seconds what he was dealing with. It got to the point that he probably let his guard down too much, that’s why this one had affected him so much. Or so he told himself.

It was the end of the night, most had cleared out except for a few men leaning on each other nursing the dredges of their beer. Michael had done his share of the clean up and was going to kick them out on their asses in a few short moments. He’d heard the door open, his mind doing what it did until he was hit with a wave of something he’d never experienced before. It was desire mixed with pain, dark and light. Secrets in shadow mixed with laughter and contentment.

He could admit to being shocked, instinct telling him in some way whoever had just walked in held the key to something vital. Something tangible. Until he turned and met brown eyes.

Then Michael learned the true meaning of being knocked on your ass.

*******

The thing was he’d never bothered to look for the other two kids he was found with over 20 years ago. He wondered vaguely if they all had the same made up birthdays on their drivers licenses. He’d occasionally get a memory of giggles and mischief, but then pain and fear. He didn’t know if they were alive but somewhere inside he knew that was a lie. He’d know in his bones if they weren’t.

They’d be together again someday, of that he was certain. But Michael felt like he needed to have the answers before he met them again. He didn’t know why, but the why had been what he’d spent most of his life searching for.

********

He didn’t have to wait long before he saw those eyes again. He’d been too stunned to do anything but nod as the man mumbled apologies for his intoxicated soldiers and then shuffled them out the door. He noted the name Manes as one drunkard shouted it with delight. He’d seen that name before but he couldn’t quite put his finger on where. He went straight home and used every contact and dark web access he had to find out more.

Staff Sergeant Alexander Manes, from a family of military servicemen. More importantly his father was Jesse Manes and the rumours that swirled around that name had Michael buzzing with excitement. This was a window of opportunity he could not pass up, he just had to figure out how to get an in with the Staff Sergeant.

He didn’t expect Alex to make it so easy, and so fucking complicated.

********

The first time Alexander Manes talked to Michael he felt it in his dick. He politely asked for a beer on a rather dull Wednesday night and the sound made Michael’s knees weak and his pants tight.

Thoughts of seduction hadn’t entered his mind as a viable option until he smiled, got a lick of pink lips and heated eyes in reply. Michael had done that before, used his charm and body get him the answers he needed. It had never been a hardship, he never jumped into bed with anyone he didn’t want to. If it turned out to be more than beneficial for him in the long run so be it.

The fact was with Alex it hadn’t been anything but a need from the start. He told himself it was answers he was after, but he wouldn’t let himself admit it was all the wrong questions.

**********

He made sure to run into him at the gas station, at the grocery store. Casual head nodes, one blinding smile and a wink for good measure.

It was the wink that must have sealed it, gave Alex the green light. You always let them come to you.

That night when Manes had walked in Michael got the same jolt, only this time it was more than heat. It was like shooting stars and swirling cosmos.

When he handed Alex his beer he casually mentioned he was off at 11:00. He held the bottle a little longer than necessary, felt the soft rub of skin as their hands met. It was warm and soothing in a way he didn’t expect.

They ignored each other for the rest of the night. At least Michael attempted to, but his mind kept going back to him. Searched him out. Wanted to settle in and stay a while.

*********

He broke all his rules that first night. Never take them home, never let them in. Guard up Guerin, at all times, at all costs.

Rules are easily forgotten when your shirt is scraping against plaster and your mind is deliciously blank of anything else but how good Alex feels in his arms. He’d never been one for making out, not since he was a teen. With Alex he’d have happily stayed pressed in the shadows, night sky lit by the moon as they teased with lips and tongue.

If this was the preview then the main act would probably end him and he kind of liked the idea.

So he pulled and he shoved as they danced to his Airstream parked in the far back of the parking lot. He needed walls and a flat surface with Alex’s skin on display.

He wouldn’t realize until later how dangerous that had been. He forgot himself, forgot everything. Because they moved and they moaned, they laughed and they smiled into each other’s mouths.

When it was over they curled around each other, limbs and sheets tangled. He whispered stay and got a contented sigh in return.

The one thing he should have realized was that they’d never shared their names and yet still they’d been whispered and gasped into the night.

That should have been his first clue.

**********

When he woke up Alex was still there, dark hair messy and the only word that came to mind was adorable. He’d never felt fond of anything in his life. He’d never felt this way before.

So instead of using his advantage, the openness of a sleeping mind and the time to explore it, he pressed closer and breathed.

********

They were dating, which was sort of the most bizarre experience of Michael’s life. Not so much the making each other dinner or texts asking how is your day? No it was the openness of affection, so easily given, so easily received. It was missing Alex the moment he was out of sight, the flood of relief when he was near.

They spent most of their time at Alex’s apartment, after a few weeks Michael felt like a different person. Was this what it was like to be normal? To be human?

He let himself forget why he’d started this. He let himself sink into the warmth of Alex and belonging.

********

They were both secretive in their own way. They didn’t talk about their pasts or their families. Which was a godsend. Michael should have seen it for what it was, both holding each other just far enough away.

Just in case.

**********

It wasn’t until he’d gotten a message from a deep web contact that Michael remembered why he’d come here to begin with. There was info on Jesse Manes and two suspected aliens living in Roswell. When he opened the attachments and saw their photos he knew.

His family.

************

Michael started to work more then, tried to make up excuses as to why he couldn’t see Alex. He was walking a dangerous line.

He didn’t want to use Alex, not anymore, but he also needed this all to be over. He didn’t want to pretend to be nothing but a bartender for the rest of his life. He didn’t want to pretend anything.

Michael had never wanted anyone to know him before, all of him. Alex hadn’t been part of the plan, and now he was the only plan Michael had left.

*********

It felt weird to show up at Alex’s door with a bottle of wine and an apology on his lips. He knew why he was here, he had to take what he needed and then say goodbye. He couldn’t let himself think about it, couldn’t let himself fall back into the comfort and warmth and this.

Alex didn’t even make him pay for the distance, just wrapped him in a hug and whispered I’ve missed you. Fed him dinner and kept looking at at Michael like he was all he’d ever need in the world. He kept telling himself it was okay to accept it just one last time.

Maybe it was that knowledge, knowing he’d never have this again. Alex above him, Alex below him, Alex buried so deep inside in every way possible. Maybe that’s why.

The plan crumbled fast when he was so close to the edge he wanted to cry, Alex’s fingers digging into his ass and his eyes unwavering. Maybe it was the words I love you kissed into his mouth that had him losing control, falling apart, finally letting go.

Michael had never let go before, didn’t know what it could do. Didn’t know what it would mean.

*********

Alex was still wrapped around him, eyes laser focused and wary. The bed had thumped hard to the ground shortly after the pictures had flown off the walls. If he wasn’t mistaken the lamp beside the bed hadn’t been shattered into a hundred pieces just a few moments ago.

Michael?

Alex wasn’t scared, just questioning. That look in his eyes was still there, those whispered words still meant something. Somehow that was more terrifying to Michael than the truth.

So he ran.

**********

Less than an hour after leaving Alex and his destroyed bedroom behind he was driving his truck and Airstream down the darkened highway. He’d wasted months of this life and never got any closer to the answers he’d been searching for.

He thought of Alex’s hair damp from the shower, of lazy Sunday afternoons draped over each other on the sofa and teeth biting into Michael’s shoulder.

The answer he never got to give.

I love you too.

*********

He ended up in Roswell. He didn’t have anywhere else to go and it felt like the only way to close the chasm in his chest. Part of him was missing now, he needed to fill it with something.

He’d barely crossed the city sign when he heard her in his mind. She was sassy, a little bit beautiful and she told him it’s about damn time. It was the first he’d smiled in weeks.

Maybe it should have been awkward, they didn’t really know each other. But it wasn’t. They understood him, they welcomed him in and he thinks they might have even love him a little.

He was more powerful, Max and Isobel only started really investigating their abilities a few years prior. Neither of them had telekinesis, but his sister (as she called herself) had weaker telepathy skills. Their first order of business was to make those stronger. But his brother (as Michael liked to tease him) had a healing ability that Michael had never felt an inkling of.

Both of them were in committed relationships with scientists who accept them, knew the truth. At times he felt like he had more in common with Liz, Max’s wife and Kyle, Isobel’s husband. They spoke his language, sometimes they’d get in friendly arguments over theories and Michael felt understood for the first time in his life. He had a family, he had friends, people who knew what and who he was and didn’t run scared.

It wasn’t until he was alone under the stars at night that he could feel the hollow space where Alex was supposed to be.

*********

It had been a month of feeling each other out, sharing their pasts and their experiences. Until they all sat Michael down and decided to share what they were working on.

The danger they were all in.

Thankfully they had a lifelong friend on the inside, someone who was close to getting pieces to their puzzle. A man who Michael already knew was the exact opposite of the father that hunted them.

Liz insisted he was the kindest soul she’d ever met. Max called him a good guy. Kyle called him family. Isobel called him her best friend.

You can trust him.

If only they knew.

**************

It was fireworks and a gasping ache when Michael felt Alex walk into the Prancing Pony. His skin itched in an instant, he wanted to rub up against Alex like a cat, curl in his lap. He wanted to push him down on a table and remind himself he was alive. He wanted to hold that face in his hands and rub their noses together.

Instead, he gripped his beer tight and expected a punch to the chin that never came.

Alex’s eyes were blank, like he didn’t know Michael at all. Like weeks ago he hadn’t kissed salsa from his lips or slept with their feet intertwined. He shook Michael’s hand, polite and indifferent.

Isobel has told me a lot about you.

Then he turned away and acted like Michael wasn’t even there. He would have appreciated the punch more.

**********

So he cornered him in the bathroom because Alex Manes breaks his brain. He doesn’t think or function properly, he just needs to be alone with him.

Alex sighs, leans against the sink.

I get it.

But he doesn’t, not at all. He tells Michael he understands, that had Alex been in the same situation he would have made the same play. He would have used Michael, pretended to care. He would have done anything for the answers.

Just forget it okay. I don’t blame you. I’ll be gone in a few weeks. They don’t need to know. Please.

Michael realized then that Alex is ashamed. Ashamed that he fell for it. Ashamed of how he felt for Michael. So ashamed he doesn’t want his friends to find out.

It shouldn’t hurt as much as it does, like every breath is tearing him up.

***********

The next day he has lunch with Isobel but she’s looking at him funny. She even tries to sneak into his mind but he snaps the walls up quick. It actually makes her laugh.

She asks him if he’s nervous about his interview the next day with a research lab at the hospital. He’s not, they’d be fucking lucky to have him. He tells her so.

So...Alex…

The name makes his head pop up, and she gives him a sly smile.

Yeah I thought so.

Turns out Michael was far from subtle when it came to watching Alex’s every move the night before. He’s not embarrassed, weirdly he’s proud of what he feels for him, even if he’s not allowed to be.

It’s not a good idea, not right now.

And then Isobel tells him about how Alex was seeing someone, was head over heels in love. She’d never heard him so happy, so content in his own skin. She’d been so hopeful for her friend, until one day he said it was over and refused to speak about it again.

Who would ever be stupid enough to let Alex Manes go? I mean…

Michael doesn’t really hear the rest of it. He throws money on the table and rushes out of the restaurant. He’s in his truck about to turn the key when he realizes he has no idea where he’s going.

Well his sister turned out smarter than he ever gave her credit for. He sees directions in his mind, the front of a cabin in the woods, a red door. He offers her his thanks and steps on the gas.

**********

Maybe banging on Alex’s door like a maniac wasn’t his most charismatic move. At least he hadn’t blown it off it’s hinges. He waited impatiently for the door to open, and then he just let go. Let it all tumble out.

I love you. I didn’t fake that. I didn’t even know something like us could exist until I met you.

Alex just searched his face, warm brown eyes and something akin to joy lighting up his face. He pulled Michael into the house, into his body and into his mind. Into his heart.

So that’s when he learns what home feels like.

****************

Michael never does learn all the answers but he learns the most important one. Not bad for best laid plans and all that.