#but we're not opposed to the idea of small runs

[rebeccathenaturalist]

ETA: I wrote up a guide on clues that a foraging book was written by AI here!

[Original Tweet source here.]

[RANT AHEAD]

Okay, yeah. This is a very, very, very bad idea. I understand that there is a certain flavor of techbro who has ABSOLUTELY zero problem with this because "AI is the future, bro", and we're supposed to be reading their articles on how to use AI for side hustles and all that.

I get that ID apps have played into people's tendency to want quick and easy answers to everything (I'm not totally opposed to apps, but please read about how an app does not a Master Naturalist make.) But nature identification is serious stuff, ESPECIALLY when you are trying to identify whether something is safe to eat, handle, etc. You have to be absolutely, completely, 100000% sure of your ID, and then you ALSO have to absolutely verify that it is safely handled and consumed by humans.

As a foraging instructor, I cannot emphasize this enough. My classes, which are intended for a general audience, are very heavy on identification skills for this very reason. I have had (a small subsection of) students complain that I wasn't just spending 2-3 hours listing off bunches of edible plants and fungi, and honestly? They can complain all they want. I am doing MY due diligence to make very sure that the people who take my classes are prepared to go out and start identifying species and then figure out their edibility or lack thereof.

Because it isn't enough to be able to say "Oh, that's a dandelion, and I think this might be an oyster mushroom." It's also not enough to say "Well, such-and-such app says this is Queen Anne's lace and not poison hemlock." You HAVE to have incredibly keen observational skills. You HAVE to be patient enough to take thorough observations and run them through multiple forms of verification (field guides, websites, apps, other foragers/naturalists) to make sure you have a rock-solid identification. And then you ALSO have to be willing to read through multiple sources (NOT just Wikipedia) to determine whether that species is safely consumed by humans, and if so if it needs to be prepared in a particular way or if there are inedible/toxic parts that need to be removed.

AND--this phenomenon of AI-generated crapola emphasizes the fact that in addition to all of the above, you HAVE to have critical thinking skills when it comes to assessing your sources. Just because something is printed on a page doesn't mean it's true. You need to look at the quality of the information being presented. You need to look at the author's sources. You need to compare what this person is saying to other books and resources out there, and make sure there's a consensus.

You also need to look at the author themselves and make absolutely sure they are a real person. Find their website. Find their bio. Find their social media. Find any other manners in which they interact with the world, ESPECIALLY outside of the internet. Contact them. Ask questions. Don't be a jerk about it, because we're just people, but do at least make sure that a book you're interested in buying is by a real person. I guarantee you those of us who are serious about teaching this stuff and who are internet-savvy are going to make it very easy to find who we are (within reason), what we're doing, and why.

Because the OP in that Tweet is absolutely right--people are going to get seriously ill or dead if they try using AI-generated field guides. We have such a wealth of information, both on paper/pixels and in the brains of active, experienced foragers, that we can easily learn from the mistakes of people in the past who got poisoned, and avoid their fate. But it does mean that you MUST have the will and ability to be impeccably thorough in your research--and when in doubt, throw it out.

My inbox is always open. I'm easier caught via email than here, but I will answer. You can always ask me stuff about foraging, about nature identification, etc. And if there's a foraging instructor/author/etc. with a website, chances are they're also going to be more than willing to answer questions. I am happy to direct you to online groups on Facebook and elsewhere where you have a whole slew of people to compare notes with. I want people's foraging to be SAFE and FUN. And AI-generated books aren't the way to make that happen.

[balioc]

A Simple Model

Both of the major US political parties are really very bad, right now.

(Blogger Has Amazing Novel Insights!)

The electorally-significant Dems, having finally lived up to their destiny as the new Party of the Elite, are a pack of careerist apparatchiks incapable of any vision beyond "keep the engine of the world chugging along for another day." (Turns out, that's the kind of person you have to be in order to rise to the top of the Party of the Elite.) They are aligned with enough of the major institutional power-players of American society that they're pretty much at the mercy of those power-players. They can be counted on to provide the kind of ass-covering deceit that big bureaucratic institutions generally provide (cf. Covid guidance). The last wave of "big change ideas" that were cutting-edge in the early-to-mid 2000s - marijuana legalization, public healthcare, stimulus spending, No Really We Could Just Have Open Borders, etc. - has been thoroughly assimilated, dealt-with or not-dealt-with to varying degrees, and they're not really having any new ones.

Mostly separately from that, by a weird quirk of intellectual history, the otherwise-extremely-stodgy modern Dems managed to attach themselves to a very unpopular version of identitarian group-liberation ideology. There are arguments to be had about how much this matters in the long run, how long-lasting the effects are going to be, how likely the problem is to solve itself (and under what circumstances), etc.; but one way or another, (a) it's a political albatross, and (b) it's created a bunch of actual-factual problems on the small-to-medium scale.

The Republicans, meanwhile, have become so totally unmoored and directionless that their political program consists entirely of lashing out at things they don't like. The coalition has no center, and no integrity, save for its opposition to the elite sociocultural establishment. It is capable of embracing insane/inane "ideas" like tariff-based tax systems, border-wall-building, The Plague That's Killing A Ton of People Just Isn't Happening, etc.; it can be easily baited into gleefully embracing things as evil as police brutality and war crimes, just by presenting it with a smarmy opposition on those issues. It can toss random bones to constituent ideologies like right-libertarianism or religious social conservatism, but not advance their agendas in any overarching way. It is actively opposed to institutional competence, because competent institutional actors are assumed to be Of the Enemy, which is more important than anything else. It doesn't even try to keep most of its (insane) promises. It is increasingly dominated by naked grift, mostly directed at its own base. It is, in short, the kind of party that could nominate and then elect Donald J. Trump twice.

...either of these parties could easily, by this point, have become Totally Nonviable. This hasn't happened, mostly because both of them are coasting on their legacies, and through spinal reflex doing just enough to keep those legacies on life support. The Republicans are the traditional party of the rich and respectable, and even though they're increasingly unappealing to the country's newer middle-class cadres, they're still the party of Big Tax Cuts etc., which...stanches some of the blood flow. Meanwhile, the Democrats are the traditional party of minorities, and - although they're less and less able to depend on those minorities, as we just saw in the 2024 election - there are enough credible signals that they're Less Racist Than the Other Guys to keep the minorities more-or-less voting for the apparatchiks.

At this point, both parties are mostly selling "at least we're not the other guys." This is a very easy and low-energy thing for them. It requires no vision and relatively little competence; it plays on partisan hate and fear, which are more reliable and easier-to-stoke than hope or inspiration, in an environment suitable to them.

They will both continue selling that thing, rather than anything else, until forced to change. Which is to say, until one of them actually becomes Totally Nonviable and has to spend some time in the wilderness becoming a genuinely different kind of party. (Or, hypothetically, until one of them actually gets replaced by an outside institution. Good luck.)

Which is to say, we are going to be in this nightmarish stalemate until one of the parties breaks the other one over its knee, in the world's most depressing geriatric cage fight. This is actually even more important than it sounds, because the political situation is yoked to the sociocultural situation. We're going to be stuck in some version of this dumbass culture war until there is an ideological power capable of uniting the warring tribes, a power that is stronger than their toxoplasmic hostility to one another; that power could imaginably be a sui generis religious movement or something, but it's much more likely to be some kind of all-encompassing We're Actually Good political thing, a new Reaganism or War Rooseveltism or whatever.

I would strongly prefer for the Democrats to win that fight. I would strongly prefer to be ruled by the bleak sclerotic establishment, during the period when the opposition is getting its shit together and coming back to force a New Better Binary, rather than by a gang of nihilistic hucksters likely to dismantle random parts of the system and to make essentially-random diplomatic gestures to volatile dangerous foreign powers.

Until recently, I would have said that the Democrats were going to win that fight, in the sense that the contemporary Republicans literally couldn't. I thought that nihilistic hucksterism would always provoke enough horror, when given the power to do anything, that the bleak sclerotic establishment would have room to push its way back. Maybe that's still the case. But, like so many people, I've become more pessimistic.

[dominiquelucalover]

Merry Christmas | David "Deacon" Kay x Fem!Reader

Summary: You intend to make the most out of your first Christmas with the Kay family after moving in.

CW: domestic, Christmas fluff

Wrapping presents Christmas Eve night and into the early hours of Christmas morning was fun if tiring, but you and Deacon managed to get through it all with smiles on your faces. What started off as a simple mission to make Christmas happen turned into realizing the two of you had over-compensated for the kids. Emptying the closet of hidden-away toys and other gifts had slowly turned into a temporary nightmare as you both realized you'd bought enough gifts for a small village, but you didn't blame each other. You couldn't.

It was the first Christmas you'd be spending with the Kay family as the kids' step-mother, which was a big deal. All you and Deacon wanted to do was make it extra special, especially since you worried it would remind the kids that Annie wasn't around anymore. You wanted them to have the best Christmas yet, and by extension give Deacon a great Christmas too.

So, as you pulled gifts from boxes and neatly wrapped them in colorful paper, using different colors for each kid to make things a little easier, you were having so much fun. Christmas music played lowly in the background so you wouldn't wake the children and you softly hummed along to get through the night. You hoped to get some sleep before Matthew or Lila woke up at the crack of dawn in an excitement that could only come around on Christmas morning.

However, Deacon was puzzled when he got to the end of his pile of jolly gifts. He held up a small rectangular box with his name written across the top. He took a glance over at you, wondering why you'd gotten him a watch when he didn't need one. However, no matter what, he thought it was sweet of you to get him anything at all. Of course he'd gotten you something, he hadn't forgotten something so important, but he didn't expect anything from you. You were already the greatest gift he could have gotten after his divorce; you loved him and his kids, which was all he needed.

"Here, you should wrap this," he said with a smile, passing it over to you.

You looked up to see what he was talking about and let your mouth fall open. "How did that get in there?"

You gently took it from him and looked at it, then handed it back to him. "You should open it now?"

"Are you sure?" he asked.

You looked at the clock beside the bed and grinned. "Yeah, it's Christmas after all."

He smiled, loving your cheerfulness and excitement for the holiday. He held the box and inspected it, pretending to think of what it could be, drawing a laugh from your beautiful lips. Then he opened the lid and stared down at what was inside.

It wasn't a watch.

It was a positive pregnancy test.

Your positive pregnancy test.

He stared at it for a moment before looking up at you, seeing your happy, hopeful smile. The two of you had never talked about having any kids. He had a house full when you moved in, so there seemed to be no reason to talk about it. However, when you got suspicious of your tender beasts and nausea, you had to consider the option that another pair of little feet could be running around the Kay home. You weren't opposed to the idea, it actually thrilled you.

You only hoped Deacon liked that idea as much as you did.

So, as you sat with your heart beating in your ears, you tried to read his expression as you sat together, most of the kids' presents wrapped and ready to put under the tree. It didn't take long for you to look into those beautiful brown eyes you've come to love so much and see how much he adored you.

"This is real?" he asked, almost in disbelief.

You grinned at his question and nodded. "Yeah... we're having a baby."

He got up and came over to you, swooping down to engulf you in a hug before you could even stand from your seat. His lips descended upon your face in fast, loving kisses that tickled your skin. You giggled softly, trying to remember that the children were asleep upstairs, but Deacon didn't seem to care. He gently lifted you up and held you close, pulling back only to cup your jaw and bring you into a passionate kiss. No words were needed to describe just how happy he was to enter another chapter in his life with you by his side: having another happy baby.

As he parted from your lips, he whispered, "I love you so much."

You smiled at him, holding his neck in your hands ever so gently. "I love you too. Merry Christmas, Deac."

His hand came down and caressed your belly, where your baby was growing. He couldn't contain his excitement, though he was tired, and kissed you again.

"Best Christmas ever," he mumbled against your lips.

@passionwillow I hope you enjoy this because honestly I wouldn't have written for Deacon if not for you; you inspire me :)

[devsgames]

On Scoping And Idea Management for Games

I started my teaching gig (which is incredibly chaotic but I'm very much enjoying it despite that) and I noticed a really consistent theme with some student project pitches around the idea of planning and scoping projects. Some advice that I gave them that I think is worth repeating and reinforcing here:

You are not a AAA studio. Do not plan to make games like a AAA studio.

If your concept, premise, pitch or idea of a game that you actually want to finish contains elements, mechanics or concepts that is predominantly executed by AAA studios, please for the love of god don't expect to be able to execute them without brutally interrogating them first.

Things like: Soulslike game balance, 'open world', heavily systemic design, online multiplayer, complex mechanics, etc. You know, things you largely only see AAA studios (or very experienced dev teams) complete with any semblance of success. There's a reason many of these are only executed by large teams.

This isn't to say it's impossible to execute on these ideas or that it's not worthwhile experimenting with it a little, but if you're going into it with little previous development experience and expect to come out the other end with a 'finished' thing, you're overscoping and setting yourself up for failure.

Ever notice how AAA studios even struggle to execute complex concepts like that? It's not (always) because of mismanagement, but also because it's often overscoped for them too and they are incredibly hard to execute. AAA studios often work on concepts and premises which require a lot of resources to do so effectively. Indie studios don't often make these kinds of games for the same reasons, because conceptually it will easily explode your scope out of the water. Some try, and you can often feel how stretched thin they were.

The point is, you (assuming as a reader that you're an individual with no 'fully' shipped titles) are equivalent to...basically 1/2 a person at an average indie startup. If you have a team, then you're basically the size and scale of a small indie team. Realistically, in all likelihood, you do not have the knowledge, experience or time to do it anywhere nearly as well as a full-time studio production.

And I get why people fall into this trap!

We draw inspiration from what we see most and what we like, and don't often challenge our assumptions about them - it's why we see something like a Batman Arkham Asylum combat system or Photorealistic graphics and say "yeah I could do that easy" without realizing it's actually really really hard to do in the first place, let alone really get right. Studios are notoriously secretive about process, and the reality is there's months and months of unseen work behind pretty much everything.

We also tend to use blanket terms we're familiar with to define our works, as opposed to more fitting terms. For example, some people might call something like Journey an "open world" game, despite the fact it's not strictly an "open world" but rather a linear one with a non-linear presentation.

As a solo developer I too constantly make this mistake of over-scoping or underestimating just how hard it can be to execute on certain concepts or ideas.

Avoiding It

So how do you get around accidentally writing cheques only well-equipped studios can cash? You need to interrogate your ideas a lot more.

Okay, now ask yourself: Is it mostly a premise that is done by people operating at around your level of resources, or by dedicated groups with tons and tons of employees? Has anyone done your mechanic at a small, simple scale? How many studios have done it? What size were they? How many resources do they have? If anyone has executed a similar idea, how many resources did they seem to have to do it? What corners did it seem like they need to cut to get there? Ask yourself how often you see concepts like yours, executed at scale like yours. Ask yourself why that might be.

A generic example to run with: "I am going to make an open world exploration game where you can climb anywhere, with tons of content and things to do".

Ask yourself some of the above questions, and also interrogate all your definitions. What do you define as "open world"? "exploration"? "tons"? "anywhere"? "Climb"? What do these words, specifically, mean to you? Are these reasonable and realistic expectation for the amount of time you have for this project? Have you already executed on any of these before, and how many are unknown to you?

"But Devon, my idea is unique and no one has done it before! I have nothing I can compare it to!"

Nope. Sorry, just no - you're wrong. Maybe they've not done it exactly like you envision it, but I promise you that at this point in time someone has done virtually everything in games before, you've just not heard of it yet. I have yet to hear someone describe a game that didn't do anything I hadn't heard of before to some degree or another. Ask some friends for references and take more time to do research - you'll find parallels if you dig enough.

Execution

If by now you've realized you might be in over your head, you might still be able to do it if you plan very smartly around it and accept scoping down.

I could talk forever about how to break down your scope into something that is more manageable (and probably will in the future), but I'll keep it focused on this idea of interrogating definitions for now.

Running with the "open world exploration game where you can climb anywhere, with tons of content and things to do" example.

Plan to do only one of the verbs in your game really well.

"Climbing" - you could spend forever building a game just around that verb, and people have! Getting Over It With Bennet Foddy. Doodle Jump. Grow Home. People have done this, and even those games tow the line of being complex to make.

"Open world" - this one is very heavy, but make it just about walking around. Challenge the assumption that an open world isn't enough and that it needs 'content' - just make walking around the world really fun. Dear Esther, Proteus, Passage, Beginner's Guide.

"Exploration" - this verb is vague and takes many forms, and while it can easily be dangerous if it gets too big, it can still be small and engaging. A Short Hike, Umurangi Generation, Hidden Folks. You don't need mechanical complexity or depth to make something fun.

Start from that and then expand. Maybe you get to a point where your climbing is really fun and good and you don't even need to add tons of things to do, or open-world mechanics. Maybe your open world is so easy to do that climbing becomes the thing you spend your time on.

---

Essentially the point here is to not assume that because you've seen something done before it's easy to execute on, nor that you should simply run with concepts without fully understanding what you mean when you come up with them first. It's going to not only save you a lot of time and stress, but also more likely to put you in a position where you'll be able to actually finish what you started.

This is also only the tiniest portion of my thoughts on scoping here, so I'm sure I'll add more to this down the road. :)

[writeforfandoms]

Hey babes!

I've got an idea if you want to write about it.

How about TF141 + los vaqueros + könig meets fem reader's family and her nephew (could be a toddler or pre schooler) grabs her breasts or sucks on them (like babies do).

How do you think they'd react?

I think Ghost would be like "Hands off kid, those are mine." 😁😁😁

Can you write this please. ���🥹🥹🥹

Okay it has been a long, long time since I've been around a kiddo that young. So we're gonna do this headcanon style because that is the only way to fit all of those guys in lol

Ghost:

Honestly he remembers when his nephew was that little

The sight of you carrying the little one makes his heart clench and his knees a little weak

But it also makes him a little bit terrified

He grumbles good-naturedly about it but at least half of the grumbling is to hide his feelings

Definitely jokes that he could do that for you too

Price:

Probably doesn't bring it up

He does watch you with the kid but he is not all that comfortable around kids

He's had very little experience with mini humans so he keeps a bit of distance

Might grumble about the kid grabbing you but also it's a small child, no harm done

After kiddo is gone back to his parents or to bed or whatever he does check on you to make sure you're fine

Gaz:

Thinks its adorable

Look, tiny human trusts you!

Also tiny human has great taste, which is a joke he makes with a big wink to you, because he loves to make you laugh

But seeing you with the small child definitely makes him think

He's not opposed to kids, hadn't given it too much thought before you

But seeing you with this kid? Seeing you play and have fun and be so patient with the little one?

Now he's having thoughts

Soap:

Look. This man wants kids. He wants a whole soccer team

So the sight of you with this kid? Ramps up that longing to 11

Watches the entire time you're with the kid, observing how you are

Later murmurs that you'd be a great mom, you're so patient

And he'd be happy to contribute to that venture

The two of you definitely end up tumbling to the nearest private (ish) space to, ahem, discuss the matter 😏

Alejandro and Rodolfo

I'm putting these two together because I think they'd react basically the same way

Neither of them are phased at all

They probably have nieces and nephews of their own

Personally I think Ale is an oldest child and Rudy is a middle child

And even if they don't have nieces and nephews of their own, they've mentally adopted all of Los Vaqueros and their families

They are honorary uncles to SO MANY kids

Seriously

So the sight of the little one grabbing you? Barely registers with them

Maybe if you'd been discussing kids with one of them, they'd tease you a bit

Or if the kid grabbed too hard and you winced, they'd be right there

Offering to take the kid, give you a break, etc

König

He blushes. A lot. Red from the tips of his ears all the way down his neck

Tries not to look

Looks anyway

Definitely the one to check in and make sure you're okay, even if he trips over his own tongue

If you need a break from the kid, he's running to grab someone

Does not trust himself to hold such a small child

He's so big and the child is so tiny and he doesn't want to hurt the kid

Eventually he will ask if you want kids, because he's not convinced one way or the other and he hasn't been able to stop wondering since he saw you with the kid

[casiavium]

I wrote a fanfic based on the twitter/tiktok takeover instead of working on my master's thesis, which is due in two weeks. lol.

Title: Chaos Theory

Rating: G

Pairing: Sonic the Hedgehog/Shadow the Hedgehog

Tags: Sonic, Shadow, Cream, Cheese, Slice of Life, Rivals to Lovers, Babysitting, Amusement Parks, Awkward Dates

Summary: Everything's a contest with Sonic and Shadow, even babysitting... learn to expect the unexpected.

Sonic watched the small rabbit bounce down the path, jabbering away to her friend as it floated alongside her head trying to keep up. Carnival music filled his ears, bright lights flashed from every corner, and even the threat of water rides didn't mess up his good mood.

Beside him someone who was decidedly not having as great a time finally broke his silence to complain, his rough whisper just barely heard above the roar of rollercoasters in the distance.

"So we're really doing this?"

"Well, yeah, I wasn't joking when I said I'd be great at this, and Vanilla seemed pretty happy when I offered to take her to the park. The new kiddie ride opened last week and she hasn't stopped talking about it."

"Your first instinct was that we'd be protecting milk."

"... like you've never misunderstood someone." Pouting, Sonic ignored Shadow's further jabs as they caught up with Cream at the entrance to the park. A bored teenager sat at the ticket desk, typing aimlessly on a computer as he glanced at the group.

"Entrance is free for cute couples, but the kid and the chao are going to have to pay."

"Cute couple? We're not—"

"Opposed to that!" Pushing Shadow out of the way, Sonic forked over the cash and smiled wide. Through clenched teeth he hissed, "Shut up and take the discount, tickets are expensive."

Four tickets were pushed into his hand, and the worker mumbled something he didn't quite hear. It didn't matter enough to bother him, and soon enough they were all inside the park. Spread out before them was a sticky wonderland of possibilities, kids running around screaming while tired parents followed behind. Paradise.

"Okay, Cream, what do you want to do first? Games? Rides? Ice cream? Chili dogs?"

"Can she even eat those?"

"Shadow, she's six. Of course she can eat chili dogs."

Cream thought for a moment, looking towards her chao for support. "What do you think, Cheese?"

Cheese just bobbed around saying 'chao chao', but somehow that was enough of an answer for her. "Games!"

"No problem-o, just point me to which one you want." Her tiny paw shot out towards the nearest stand, covered in stuffed animals from wall to ceiling. "Basketball? You sure? You're so..."

Short, he meant to say, but Shadow interrupted him. "Let her play the game, Sonic, what harm can it do."

"Okay, but..."

Cream had already darted off, Cheese floating after her. "Oh, that prize looks just like Cheese!"

At the basketball stand, Cream had been unsuccessful and missed each goal she needed to win a prize. The counter at the top sat at a big fat 'zero'. Her ears were dropping, and she looked very upset as she longingly stared at the largest stuffed chao Sonic had ever laid eyes on.

The guy behind the counter shrugged, tucking the money Sonic had paid for her to play into his apron. "Aw, tough luck kid. Try again next time!"

"One more game!" He had a crazy idea, but it would stop tears and save his reputation as best babysitter this side of the islands. "Shadow, distract the guard while I win this for her."

"Not very heroic of you to cheat, Sonic."

"And not very heroic to let Cream leave without a prize she really wants!" Lowering his voice, Sonic muttered, "Do this for me and I'll win you one of the keyring black and red ones."

Shadow rolled his eyes, but grabbed the nearest stuffed animal and tugged it off the wall anyway. "Hey! You! You call this a fox? I've seen roadkill that looked better than these things?"

While Shadow argued with the attendant, Sonic spin-dashed to the top and slid through the hoop. The game counted it as a score, and as Shadow kept up his distraction, Sonic racked up the points.

The timer went ding-ding-ding! again, and this time, the score was almost as high as it could go. Both feet on the ground, Sonic stood proudly as Cream jumped up and down in delight.

"What? When did you...?" The attendant looked from Sonic to Shadow to Cream with narrowed eyes, but his shoulders fell with a sigh. "I don't get paid enough to deal with this. Fine, I guess you win."

One ultra-large chao and one smaller keychain in hand, Sonic and company wandered away from the game stand with smiles on their faces (save a certain member of the group), laughing about how the rules never explicated stated you couldn't use yourself as a basketball.

"Mr. Sonic, can we go to the new merry-go-round now?"

"Sounds good! You lead the way!"

Cream had already started to run off, her outline disappearing into the crowd, when Shadow grabbed Sonic's arm and pulled him back. Holding a paper map in open in one hand, he was eyeing the park diagram with his characteristic fun-killing skepticism. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

Sonic scoffed, shoving him away. Already revving up to race him after the rabbit, he shrugged, "C'mon, it's just a merry-go-round, how bad can it be?

--

"I'm not getting on that."

"Oh yes you are." Shadow grinned, swatting him in the head with his map. One long line later they had finally reached the gate keeping them from getting on the ride, and it was like walking into a nightmare. A dozen carriages lazily spun around a beautiful fountain, some shaped like swans, some cute colorful ducklings. Though they each followed along the track, nothing was connecting the carts to each other or to the ride. Instead, they were floating about two feet off the ground. And what was between the ducks and the ground?

Water.

It was a water ride.

The ride attendant pushed Cream, Cheese, and her large stuffed chao forward into a pastel pink duckling, giving the car a push.

"Hey, wait! You can't make her go by herself!"

"Two to a car." The gruff man ordered, pointing at the duckling as it drift away. "Stuffed chao counts."

Cream squealed as the duck meandered ahead, cooing at the flowered arches and hanging vines dangling over her head.

"Next."

"I'm not getting on that—!" Shadow's hand covered his mouth as he wrapped an arm around him, pushing him into a large swan.

"You're embarrassing me."

The boat rocked as he nearly fell out of it, crystal blue water on either side of snow white wings. When they lurched forward along the lazy river, he tightened his arms around the figure he was holding onto (probably the swan's neck), and squeezed his eyes shut. If he let out a terrified squeak, no one but him would know.

"Sonic, you can let go now."

"What? Oh, uh, yeah..." His arms didn't seem to work anymore, so unlatching his grip wasn't going to happen. "Hmm, I don't think so."

"Can you at least open your eyes? What's the point of babysitting if you're not even going to watch the kid."

Sonic peeked open one lid, colorful scenes of flowers and marble statues around him. The ride would have been gorgeous had it not been on a rotating river. Something Amy would have drug him on, to be honest, not something he'd have chosen, but he could understand the artistry of it all the same. Cream was laughing from the pink duckling in front of them, her ears popping into his vision from either side of the swan's neck. Which meant that...

"Crazy blue hedgehog." Shadow murmured, leaning away but not removing Sonic's arms from his person. "It's two feet of water, you're not going to drown."

"You can drown in two inches! I'm not taking any chances."

He felt the rumble in Shadow's chest as he groaned, but wasn't pushed away. Surprisingly, the steady rise and fall of his breath was calming him, and Sonic could take a moment to really appreciate the design. There were enough flowers to fill Tails' workshop, and that was only in the area he could see. Tiny statues of chaos with wings aimed bows and arrows at the riders, their smiling faces surrounded by roses and lilies in every color imaginable. Not a ride he'd have chosen by a long shot, but maybe it wasn't that bad.

The entrance gate came into view again, barely three minutes since they got on.

"Half an hour of waiting for this?"

"Too long, in my opinion," Sonic grumbled, jumping when the boat rocked in the water, "and I wouldn't call this a 'merry'-go-round."

The final archway was upon them, enough vines crossing overhead to block out the sun. The scent of the flowers was nauseatingly strong, but Shadow took in a deep breath.

"Lavender..." Reaching a hand out, he brushed against the delicate purple flowers as they passed. "Hm. Maybe it wasn't all that bad."

"And maybe the moon's made of cheese, let's get the heck off this thing." Clambering over top of him, Sonic fought his way out of the ride tooth and nail. He'd go down screaming if he had to, ready to be back on solid, dry land, and—

"Relax, you're away from the water. Can we accomplish what we came here to do and get the hell out of here?" Shadow's sudden hostility shocked him back to reality, his senses returning to him from the total shut down the water had caused.

"What?"

"Ice cream, seagulls, something about handling oddly specific situations. I'm done babysitting."

Sonic looked from Shadow to Cream, who was staring at them with her wide brown eyes. Even Cheese looked like they knew something Sonic didn't, a trickster's smile on its round blue face.

"Let's just get our ice cream and go."

"Fine, I guess?" Taking Cream's stuffed chao for her, Sonic watched as Shadow stormed ahead towards the nearest ice cream stand. Cream was halfway between the two when a group of older kids ran in front of her, not noticing the smaller kid as she was pushed out of the way. Her shout as she fell to the ground alerted Shadow, who turned around quickly enough to watch her fall.

"Chaos cont—!"

But at the same time that Shadow raised his hand to dramatically yell, Sonic had already spun forward, trying to catch Cream before she hit the ground.

"I got it!"

He did not, in fact, have it. He crashed headfirst into Shadow, who had appeared out of nowhere. Both rolled to the ground as Cream landed on her knees, crying out.

From on top of Shadow, Sonic mumbled, "Okay Mr. I-can-keep-control-of-any-situation, didn't see that one coming, did you?"

"Shut up and take care of the kid."

"Right. Uh, Cream? Are you okay?"

It was clear she wasn't, her lip trembling like she was going to cry, but she was hugging her chao as it cowered in her arms. "I'm okay, Mr. Sonic, but Cheese is scared. Can you carry them please?"

"I'm already carrying the other Cheese. Shadow, you do it."

Shoving him, Shadow tried and failed to get Sonic off him. "I didn't sign up to babysit chao. Get off me."

Sonic dug his elbow in, squirming as Shadow tried to kick him away. "Well what did you sign up for if you were just gonna be sour about it all day?"

"Not this! Now get away from—" Their positions flipped, Sonic slammed to the ground as Shadow pulled his fist back. They were at each other's throats when they heard a faint sob, twisting to see Cream wiping off her cheeks.

"Shadow, you made her cry!"

"And?"

"Shadow!"

"Stop fighting!" Tears in her eyes, Cream stomped her foot, unable to keep silent anymore. "Mr. Sonic, I wish you had taken Amy on this date!"

They immediately stopped fighting, Shadow's fist inches away from Sonic's face.

"Date!? This isn't a—"

"Oh, no, no no, Cream, we didn't mean to—"

The rabbit ran off before he could get another word in, unable to chase after her as Shadow still held him down by the throat. When he finally released him, Sonic could see Cream sitting by herself on a park bench as she rocked Cheese in her arms.

"Ugh. We screwed up."

"Yeah. We did."

The irony of the situation made him snort. "Well, guess we agree on something."

Shadow made a noncommittal grunt, but didn't argue. "We should make it up to her."

"Any ideas?"

"Do what we came here to do." Glancing at the ice cream stand, Shadow sighed again. "I don't know what she likes."

"Twelve scoop ice cream with one scoop strawberry, two scoops chocolate, one blueberry—"

"You seem to know her well." His eyes darted from the ice cream stand to the girl on the bench. "You should get the ice cream, I'll... go talk to her."

"Sounds like a plan." Sonic started to head towards the ice cream stand, but he noticed Shadow wasn't moving. "You good, man?"

No answer. Shadow squeezed the chao Sonic had given him, pretending to inspect the keychain to buy himself time. "I don't know what to say. What if... what if I make it worse?"

Jokingly, Sonic shoved Shadow with his elbow. "I would never have guessed the 'Ultimate Lifeform' would be too scared to talk to a child."

A hint of a smile ghosted his lips, barely a twitch. But Sonic saw it.

"Fine. I'll go talk to her." Yanking the stuffed animal out of his arms, Shadow shook his head. "And I'm taking the chao."

--

Sonic balanced three ice cream cones between his hands, one precariously teetering tower of flavors and two smaller ones to hold it in place. He slowly, for once, approached the bench that Cream and Shadow were sitting on, the smaller Cheese sitting on the lap of the big Cheese between them.

"So... how's it going?" He asked hopefully, not wanting to cause an already shaky situation to explode again. "Cream, I wanted to say that Shadow and I are really sorry for the way we were acting. It's never nice to fight with your friends."

"'Friends'." Shadow huffed, but Sonic glared at him before it got out of hand. He leaned down to give Cream her cone, who was still sniffly but not full-out crying anymore.

"Thank you, Mr. Sonic. Mr. Shadow was telling me how sometimes people get into fights because they don't understand how to use their words, and that it's not okay to use their fists instead."

"Oh, he was, was he?"

Shadow rolled his eyes, but Sonic could swear there was a hint of blush under his fur.

"Mhm. He said that he..." She glanced to the side, continuing at Shadow's slight nod, "he said that even though you fought, he was happy to be invited to our play-date."

"Really?"

Giggling quietly, she added, "And he was happy to be the one to go on the merry-go-round with you."

"I didn't say that." Shadow quickly interrupted, but Cream kept on giggling like she knew something they didn't.

"Thank you for the ice cream, Mr. Sonic!"

"Yeah, of course. Move over, Cheese II, let me have a seat." Shoving the stuffed animal aside, Sonic plopped down next to Shadow, grinning as he offered him the ice cream cone.

"What was that about the merry-go-round you were saying?"

"It doesn't mean anything." Swiping it from his hand, Shadow took a small lick before his face scrunched up. "Coffee... with extra beans."

"Yeah, well." Sonic shrugged, his own cone melting down his palm. "Thought I'd say thanks for helping me through the water ride. Not really a merry-go-round, but, hey, I'm all for innovation on classic designs. If there's no water involved."

"Tunnel of love."

"What?"

"It wasn't a merry-go-round." Shadow spit through gritted teeth, a crumpled up map in one hand. "Its technical name is a 'tunnel of love'."

"Oh." Cream's quiet giggle cut through the silence again, and Sonic's eyes widened. "OH. Okay, well. Yeah."

Everything from the ice cream to the chao keychain to the free tickets felt a little suffocating. Sonic looked to Shadow, who wouldn't meet his eyes, and for the first time, felt his behavior was making a lot of sense. Not necessarily in a bad way, though. If the flutter in his stomach wasn't from the fear of being clobbered if he admitted it out loud, then maybe... maybe his own behavior was making a lot of sense, too.

"Maybe this was a date."

Shadow pushed his face into his hand, and Cream couldn't hold back her laughter any longer.

"Just shut up and eat your ice cream before a rogue seagull gets it."

[arlerts-angel]

HIII!!! i got an idea from a scenario that happened to a Hockey Armin bot from j.ai (i'm not a very mentally sane person.) and I'd like to request it!!:

well, so armin!afab reader had just started dating when after a game, eren and jean "were driving them home”, which ended up on eren and jean putting aphrodisiacs in reader's and armin's drink, and they ended up fucking on the backseat of the car, while the boys recorded it..

note: omggg~ this one's long but i wanted to try something different! i hope you enjoy this nonnie ♡ please let me know what you think of this one!

cw: hockey player!armin x fem!reader, drinking alcohol, voyeurism, filming, masturbation (fem), unprotected piv sex, pet names used: beautiful, pretty girl, angel, reader is referred to as girlfriend

a loud buzzer sounds off in the chilly arena, signaling the last break of the game. there's 15 minutes left to catch breaths, tend to any minor injuries, and work on plays. you rush to the bottom of the stands to catch your boyfriend in time for a quick pep talk. you scan each jersey for his number until your eyes fall on it, lucky number 13 in black and white.

"hey! you guys are doing great!" you say with a smile. armin turns around and looks at you, taking his mouth guard out. "we're down one point which could cost us the game if we're not careful," he smiles back at you. "but thank you. it means a lot that you came tonight." the 5'6 blondie hugs you tight. you return the hug and gently grab his face, looking him in the eyes. "i know you've got this."

you leave him with a kiss on the cheek and return to your seat so he can spend the break with his team, planning their win. eren jaeger, the center of the team, and left defenseman jean kirstein, approach armin. "we're gonna go get drinks later regardless of the outcome of this game, care to join?" eren asks, swinging his arm around armin. "i would but my girl's here, i don't wanna blow her off." jean nudges armin. "c'mon man! bring her with. i'm sure she won't mind a little detour." armin scans the stands for her, his lips curving into a small smile when he finds her. the buzzer sounds again, signaling the start of the third and final play. "i'll talk to her after the game." he puts his mouth guard in and returns to the ice.

eren stands in the center of the ice, facing off the opposing team. the referee drops the puck between the players. eren quickly gains possession of it, pulling it backwards towards jean. he takes the puck into the head of the stick and swings, sinking into the opposing team's net. cheers and claps erupt from supporting fans at jean's lucky shot. the teams are tied now, but there's still time left to secure victory.

the final faceoff begins with eren, once again, gaining possession of the puck. this time, the team decides to ride the clock and pass the puck around to each other, sending the puck into the offensive net just before time runs out. final score, 4-3 for jaeger's team.

you cheer for your boyfriend's team's success and wait for the crowd of people to leave. after the stands clear, you find armin talking with eren and jean. you decide to just let them chat, taking pictures of the scoreboard while you wait. eren catches a glimpse of you from his peripherals. "you here for a picture, sweetheart?" he coos. armin turns and sees you, offering an apologetic smile. "eren! ...that's my girlfriend." armin groans.

"ah– sorry about that." eren sighs, feeling embarrassed at his dismissal of you. "i'm eren and this is jean." he slaps jean's chest playfully. you offer a small wave and smile. "i'm y/n, nice to meet you both." eren looks you up and down. "i don't think armin's mentioned it but we're planning on getting some drinks, you're welcome to join us. we won't go too crazy, promise." he smirks. "sure! you guys deserve it, after all!" you say happily. "i'm gonna run to the restroom before we leave." you kiss his cheek and make your exit.

eren nudges armin again. "so that's your girl, huh? she's cute, man." armin sighs. "eren–" "don't worry dude, i'm not trying to meddle. she suits you." he smiles at armin, patting him on the shoulder reassuringly.

you meet up with the group of boys, who are now showered and dressed in casual clothes. "i know the perfect place. armin, i'll send you the address. meet us there." eren prompty sends armin the address to a bar a few minutes across town. armin nods. "alright. see ya there." eren pats his shoulder before walking away with jean. armin turns to you, seeming a little nervous. "are you sure you want us to join them? i could just tell them i'm tired." he offers. "no! it's totally fine. i'm kind of excited that eren invited me. i would've been fine with you going without me, but it was really nice of him to extend the invitation." you reassure him. he grabs your hand and smiles. "alright then, off we go."

a few minutes later, your uber arrives to the bar eren suggested. you and armin step out and into the bar. eren and jean wave you and armin down. "hey lovebirds! we already ordered drinks for ya." jean nods his head at the drinks on the table. "oh, thanks!" you smile. you take a sip of the cocktail. armin does the same. eren and jean share a glance at each other that you and armin don't notice. "so, y/n... how long have you been seeing armin?" eren asks slyly. "oh, uh, officially? about a month or so." you reply. he nods at your admission. you take another sip of the cocktail and eren grins.

20 minutes passes. the four of you make casual conversation about different things, talking as if you've known each other for years. armin wraps his arm around your waist and whispers in your ear. "you look beautiful. thank you again for coming to the game." you smile and kiss his cheek. "wouldn't miss it, handsome." you reply softly.

45 minutes, now. armin pulled you into his lap tweny minutes ago and has spent the past 5 running his hands over your body. your thighs, your hips, the bottom of your stomach. he even brushes his fingers across the hem of your skirt. you can feel his dick pressing against your ass. he nuzzles his face into your neck, kissing and circling it with his tongue. "you're coming home with me tonight, right?" he asks quietly. you nod in response. "don't know if i can wait til we get home." he whispers, sliding his hand between your thighs.

an hour has passed. "it's getting late, friends. i say we pack it up here and get home. how about you two ride with us? i'll drop you off at armin's place." eren offers. "you've done enough for us for the night. we appreciate it." armin says. "come on bro, it'll be fun." jean encourages. "when's the last time we just went ridin' around?" armin chuckles. "it has been a while, but–" "we'd be happy to." you interject, nudging your boyfriend's arm playfully.

eren hops into the driver's seat, jean in the passenger. you and armin sit in the back of the dark car. armin whispers in your ear. "my pretty girl... gonna let me play with your pussy in my friend's car?" you shiver. "armin! they'll see... or hear." you whisper. he drapes his jacket over your lap. "don't worry about it, it's too dark. they can't see anything." he replies, sliding his hand down your skirt. his slender finger traces your slit before sliding inside, collecting your juices. "stay quiet for me, angel. don't wanna get caught." you nod and sharply inhale as he begins to trace circles around your clit. you squirm around in the seat trying to contain yourself.

"you alright back there?" eren adjusts the rear view mirror, glancing at you and armin. "we're good, thanks." armin replies, still circling your bud. your heart is pounding hard against your chest knowing you could be caught. the adrenaline sends you close to your orgasm quickly. "armin-" you whisper, "i'm-" he hushes you and nods. "i know. we're taking a backroad, get in my lap." "hm?? your lap?" you question. he nods. you slide the coat to him as he unbuttons his jeans, freeing his cock.

you get into his lap and slide his length into your soaked cunt slowly. his hands on your hips guide you up and down his cock. it's unspoken, but you both know you need to be as nonchalant as possible. the car is big enough for a good amount of space between you two and them. eren and jean aren't stupid, though. they've been watching this whole time, recording. jean adjusts eren's phone, making sure he's getting a good view.

"dude, this feels fucked up." jean admits. "what's more fucked up, jean? them fucking in my car or us recording it?" eren scoffs. this makes jean ponder. "touché." he grumbles. "besides, i won't let anything happen to this vide or let anyone know this even happened. it's for my enjoyment." eren adds, his eyes still on the road. "don't act like your dick doesn't want to jump out of your pants either, kirstein." jean rolls his eyes.

you continue riding armin's cock, but not for long before the knot in your stomach comes undone. your legs stiffen as you quickly reach your orgasm, tightening your walls around him. this sends armin over the edge too, you feel his cock twitch as he fills your pussy with his cum. you shift back into the seat next to him as he adjusts himself back into his pants.

"look's like we're here, friends. thanks for a fun evening." eren says snidely and winks, as he approaches armin's apartment complex. "thanks for the ride, eren." armin says as he opens the door and nods. "here, take this." you offer him a $20 bill. he shakes his head. "nah. 'preciate it though, sweetheart. i got all the payment i need." you smile awkwardly and nod.

you both send eren and jean off with a wave, watching him drive away. then, armin grabs your waist and kisses your forehead. "round two?" he asks hopefully, smiling down at you. you flash him a smile and follow him upstairs.

[vireadsandreblogs]

Baths with Katsuki

prompt: taking a bath with katuski (domestic au, established relationship, 18+ yr old katsuki)

no smut tho lol gender neutral reader

A/N: yo i wrote a katsuki drabble

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

Settle into the bathtub, you can't help but feel a bit cramped. "This bathtub is so small," you mutter to yourself, trying to find a comfortable position in between Katsuki's legs. You bring your knees together, hoping to fit snugly against his body.

Katsuki notices your discomfort and runs his hand soothingly along your arm. "Well, you wanted to take a bath together," he says with a grin. "It's not my fault your tub is so damn tiny."

Earlier in the day, while you were getting ready with Katsuki, you had suggested the idea of taking a bath together. You had seen it on social media and thought it would be a cute couple activity, complete with bath bombs, roses, bubbles, and candles. Katsuki had initially raised an eyebrow at the idea, looking at you as if you had asked him to do something completely absurd. But now, as the warm water envelops your bodies, you can tell that he's not completely opposed to the idea.

You had been looking forward to your day off all week, planning to spend it lounging on your couch and watching your favorite TV shows. So when you heard a knock on your door, you were more than a little annoyed at the interruption. You groaned as you got up, slipping on your slippers and trudging to the door.

When you opened it, you were surprised to see Katsuki standing there, a wide grin on his face. He swept you up into a tight embrace, lifting you off the ground.

"Why're you home so early?" you asked, a bit confused. Normally, he didn't come home until late afternoon on Saturdays.

"Wanted to see you," he said simply, his arms still wrapped tightly around you.

You couldn't help but smile at his words, feeling your heart swell with warmth. But before you could say anything else, he grabbed your hand and practically dragged you out of the house.

You stumbled along behind him, still trying to process what was happening. And then, before you knew it, he had picked you up and threw you in the passenger seat of his car.

"Katsuki, what the hell?" you protested, trying to catch your breath.

"We're going to the store to buy your bath stuff," he said casually, as if it were the most normal thing in the world. "I thought you wanted to do that cute couple thing you were talking about."

You were surprised that he remembered, but also a bit hesitant. "I thought you didn't want to?" you said, not wanting to force him into something he wasn't interested in.

He simply shrugged, not even bothering to look at you as he pulled out of the driveway. "I changed my mind," he said simply.

Despite your initial reluctance, you couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement bubbling up inside you. You had always wanted to do a romantic bath with your partner, but had never had anyone who was willing to indulge you. But now, thanks to Katsuki, you were finally going to get your chance. And somehow, that made the day off you had planned seem even better than you had ever imagined.

As you settle into the bathtub, you can't help but feel a sense of contentment wash over you. The warm water envelopes you, soothing your muscles and easing your mind. You look over at Katsuki, who is sitting beside you, and you can't help but feel grateful for his presence.

After spending a small fortune on bath materials, you find yourself in this small bathtub with your boyfriend. The music is playing softly in the background, the candles flickering around you, and the bath itself looks like it came straight out of a dream.

You can't help but think that this is definitely a fire hazard, but you push the thought aside, focusing instead on the warmth and the intimacy of the moment.

As the bathtub finishes filling up, you feel the water rise up around you, enveloping your body in its warmth. You sink down into the tub, letting out a contented sigh as Katsuki wraps his arms around you.

He looks at you with a soft expression, before you lean over and give him a quick peck on the lips.

"Thank you, 'Suki," you say softly, feeling a sense of gratitude for the person sitting beside you. It's moments like these that make you realize just how lucky you are to have someone who cares for you so deeply.

[farlynthordens]

SKB Volume 9 Summary

this is a summary of important points, including spoilers and new characters.

Vols 2-5 now have official translations! | Volume 6 | Volume 7 | Volume 8 | Volume 9 (here)

As always, my translations of characters' names or other new things introduced in the book likely won't be accurate to the official version.

"The Black & White Coexisting Spacetimes Theory: like how objects have a reflection in the mirror, the world is made up of 2 spacetime layers that similarly coexist in a balance with each other." This idea has not yet been proven to be true, but it was realized by high priest Ochagama. ...

A woman with long, billowing hair like flames stands looking up at Mt. Fuji - akaboshi bisco, also known as red the twinshroom, and the last mushroom keeper on earth.

Her full body tattoos are the manifestation of the souls that reside in her. they glow and throb with a dull pain. she HAS to win this, not just for herself, but for all those lost, and for....

Milo, also known as blue and the other half of the twinshrooms. she and actagawa find red, and blue scolds her for going off alone. blue is described as being small, and with a panda-like mark and bright eyes.

R: "Like I'd actually go by myself. I keep my promises!" Red gets onto actagawa and pulls in blue for a tight hug, basically shoving blue's face right into her chest. R: "C'mooon, don't be mad at me... If we're dyin' then we're doin' it together, right?" B: "Hmmph..." And yet somehow, like always, blue was assuaged by her words. B: "We can't die though, we have to come home alive for Sugar." R: "Oh yeah, how is he?" B: "Sleeping soundly ... Tirol set up a barrier dimension with mantras, so they shouldn't be able to be found from the outside." R: "...And where is Tirol now?" B: "Ummm...."

Tirol [male] runs up behind them. he's short and has jellyish-like hair.

Tirol explains their plan to defeat the rust god, who steals people's souls and makes their power his own. they have to attack from outside the rust god's visual range, because once they're in his sights it's all over.

It's revealed that pawoo died a while ago after trying to fight the rust god.

Main universe: Bisco wakes suddenly in a panic, having just seen red's life through his dreams. he accidentally wakes sugar, who tells him he just had a bad dream and needs to get some sleep before their beach trip in the morning.

The whole family is sleeping together in a tent, seemingly all living a traveler life together for the time being. pawoo and salt are to bisco's one side, sugar and milo on the other.

The memories of the dream rapidly fade, but bisco can't shake the disturbing feeling he got from it. he is unable to sleep the rest of the night.

Red's universe: the rust god, named rust (yes i know. naming choices) sits atop a throne on the pinnacle of mt. fuji. he is an automaton, but looks like a young boy. the souls of countless people swirl around him, asking rust to grant their wishes for wealth, talent, and power.

Rust seems bored by all the souls pestering him. with each snap of his fingers, he grants their wishes... or at least appears to. by doing so, the souls declare their fealty to him and he absorbs them into his body.

A tiny, flying bug-like creature named N'badu asks rust how the souls tasted, to which he replies they were disgusting.

They go for a walk and look down over the fields full of rust-covered statues - people whose souls had been taken.

When rust first began taking over, he would simply kill all who opposed him and take their souls that way. However, n'badu came up with an idea where those who willingly gave up their souls would have their wishes granted by rust.

The vast majority of humanity chose to give up their souls in exchange for a wish. less than 2% of the population is still alive.

Rust is quite pragmatic, asking why humans chose to stop fighting and why they wanted wishes when the wish was simply a hallucination they saw as their soul was consumed. if the humans had attacked en masse, even he would not have been able to stop them all in one blow.

Despite the massive amount of souls he has, rust is not satisfied. he wants a high quality soul, one that burns with strong passion and a willful fighting spirit. he remembers hearing that red was still alive, and says that she's perfect to be his target.

Like rust, red has an ability that allows her to absorb souls into her body. this is a passed-down mushroom keeper skill in this universe.

As if on cue, red appears. actagawa casts a tiny shadow against the backdrop of the full moon from how far away they are. red shoots at rust with a powerful poison arrow and the resulting growth eviscerates mt. fuji.

Red cheers that she defeated him. her tattoos are lit up like fire from activating the souls' maximum power. however, the mechanical pieces that had rained from the explosion come back together. rust begins to reform right in front of them.

He sends red and blue flying and crashing into the rocky ground with punches and kicks that contain unbelievable strength. both beaten and bloodied, red cradles blue in her arms. Red: "It's impossible... I thought I killed you...!" Rust: "And you did. ... But it matters not if I die once or twice, for I can revive once for each soul I contain." Red is overcome with a sense of despair. She was a human who could only die once, while Rust could brush it off like a minor scrape.

Rust loves those who are strong, who fight against fate and do everything they can to survive... so that he can watch them break down, grovel, beg for forgiveness at his feet.

He thinks of how he can make red truly go mad with despair. his first decision? to kill actagawa right in front of her...

Main universe: Bisco wakes up screaming in terror. he's on the beach next to actagawa, and gives him a hug. he later talks to tirol (who came with the fam to the beach) about his nightmares, and she explains the black & white spacetimes theory to him.

Tirol says he shouldn't worry about what he saw since there's no way to travel to other timelines. he should just be happy he ended up in the "good" one.

Sugar is playing in the water when a meteor appears in the sky. as the protector of earth, she tries to destroy it. on the first hit, it doesn't break. she goes to hit it again, but senses it has an energy like it's alive.

Sugar sees that the meteor was actually a human woman. she creates a platform to pull the woman onto, with not only her clothes but also her eyes gone from having burned up. R: "W... who's there.... Is that you, Milo? You're safe, right? Don't worry, I'm fine, I'll protect you..." S: "It's okay, Sugar will make you better again!" R: "...Did you say, 'Sugar'??"

Sugar uses her powers to restore red's eyes, heal her body, and give her a new set of mushroom keeper clothes. able to see again, red hugs sugar tightly and cries. sugar is confused. red realizes something is off too.

She marvels at the existence of the alternate timeline being true, before trying to wrack her brain for what happened during her fight. she only remembers tirol sending her away, and that she has a mission: to devour her other self.

Riding on actagawa, bisco arrives to see if sugar is okay. the instant red and bisco lock eyes, they go into battle mode.

They realize simultaneously that they're both akaboshi bisco. bisco jeers that there's no way red is the strongest mushroom keeper since he already exists, but it's quickly made clear that red can overpower him. she is able to deflect his arrows, then when they cross blades he's barely able to hold her off. he tries to stab her, but doing so only makes the metal of the blade bend.

She breaks bisco's nose before grabbing his neck. She shoves his head underwater as if trying to drown him. R: "That's right. I'm 'Akaboshi Bisco.' ... To save the future of my timeline, I'm goin' to take your soul!"

S: "Wait, that's my papa?! Or, um, my mama?! But my mama is Milo...?!" ... R: "Havin' both of us be called 'Bisco' is a pain in the ass! In my timeline, me n' Milo are called Red and Blue. If you need a name for me, then call me Red the Twinshroom!" B: "Well ain't that a fancy name, huh?" R: "Somethin' like 'Enoki' is good enough for you ... You're so damn tiny, can you really use a bow lookin' like that?" B: "You're just too damn muscly! ... Besides, it's 3 against 1, you think you can win?" R: I'm alone, huh...? You'll regret sayin' that."

She summons a giant bow that glows orange, which she calls the crab god's bow. it's made from actagawa's soul.

Bisco and sugar summon the choushin bow. red knows of this power, but it was never able to be used in her world. they clash and are perfectly matched.

Bisco calls the souls in red's body "evil spirits" and this sends her into a rage. as they fight at close range, glowing vines come out of red's arm and form into shishi's signature sword.

Red's body starts burning up from overusing her powers. as she's dying painfully, all she can think about is fighting and winning so that everyone's deaths were not in vain.

As red falls unconscious and bisco catches her, she thinks of blue... R: (I guess I really can't do this on my own... I need you... Milo...) ... She holds Blue's corpse in her arms, unable to stop the continuous bleeding. Red's clothes become increasingly stained, trembling in anguish and despair as she feels the body of her loved one growing cold. R: "No.... no!!! I'm gonna die with her!! Just kill me! Please kill me too...!"

The squad brought red to banryou-ji, where milo runs tests and watches as she sleeptalks and writhes. he gently touches her face and this seems to make her calm down.

Tirol, Bisco, and Pawoo force their way into milo's space and stare at red like a zoo exhibit. as usual, they all start bickering and the noise wakes red.

Red can't see very well, but freaks out upon realizing she's tied down. she activates her powers, and flexing her muscles breaks the metal bonds. milo tries to explain things, and hearing his voice makes her pause. R: "Who... are...?" M: "I'm Milo! I'm Bisco's partner, and I've gone to school, so you have nothing to worry about!"

She becomes enraged at remembering blue's death. everyone backs off while pawoo handles things, but red easily knocks pawoo's staff away.... before jumping in to hug her.

Red is happy to find that "her husband" is "alive". everyone shouts at pawoo to knock red out, but pawoo is too taken in by red's brazen affection. bisco says to keep her hands off of his wife, and pawoo passes out from happiness at two biscos fighting over her. Milo watches all of this with great amusement.

Tirol hears the voice of her counterpart in her head. he shares his memories of the alternate timeline with her, and she projects them to everyone else.

Tirol's memories: he managed to save red just before rust killed her, but she was frozen in shock after blue's death. she only snaps out of it once she sees tirol hurting his own body from using mantras to protect them.

Tirol says that to get stronger than rust, she needs to take the soul of her alternate self. tirol uses his remaining life energy to activate the ultimate mantra, Akasha Tripper, which can send people across realities.

R: "Stop it! Why are you dyin' for me?!" T: "Call it my selfishness... Is it so bad?" R: "I thought you hated me...!" T: "I don't bother arguing with people I hate ... Goodbye, Akaboshi. Be nice to the other me."

Seeing tirol's memories clears red's amnesia. she apologizes to milo and pawoo for acting out. pawoo gives her a hug, seeming to feel bad for the horrors she experienced.

Red's universe: using tirol's soul, rust and n'badu figure out how to activate akasha tripper. rust plans to go steal souls from the other timeline, but he wants to preemptively cull the mushroom keepers as well as sugar who is a god that could rival him.

Rust possesses their world's (red's son) sugar now as well since tirol is dead and the mantras protecting sugar faded. sugar seems to be a normal baby.

N'badu borrows a soul from rust and transforms its former physical appearance - and it's none other than amli. n'badu enters the portal and goes to carry out rust's command.

Main universe: having received her counterpart's technical knowledge, tirol programs a copy of akasha tripper. pawoo is restless, really wanting to be helpful but unsure what she can do. seeing this, tirol thinks of something and tells pawoo to sit tight.

Meanwhile, milo has been refereeing bisco and red's endless competitions to see who's superior, which includes tests of strength and speed to who can cook better or watch a horror movie for longer. everything's ended in a tie.

B: "Next we'll see who can grow more shimeji mushrooms!" R: "You're on. I'm gonna cover this whole damn country in 'em. ... Milo, get out the manta bow! I'm gonna win this!" M: "Huh?! But, uh...." B: "Hey, the hell you think you're doin'!? You can't take someone else's partner!" R: "Just lemme borrow him for a bit. Bad enough you're a guy, but you're stingy too. No one in the whole universe knows how to work with Milo better than me!"

They grab milo's arms and fight over him, until bisco suddenly falls down. he looks at his hand, only to see that it isn't even there.

N'badu, also skilled at programming, was trying to overwrite bisco's timeline with a fake reality where he and milo don't exist. tirol just barely managed to stop the change.

Tirol says they need to find the person who cast the wish to overwrite the timeline and stop them.

Banryou-ji transforms into a tetsujin being piloted by pawoo. using pawoo's massive love energy, the tetsujin activates akasha tripper. bisco tells her to stop because it's dangerous, but red shuts him up. R: "Thanks. Love you, Pawoo! I can feel the love you've given us. Just for you, I'm gonna win and come home safe!" P: "Yes, honey...!" B: "What the fuck?! Cut this out, Pawoo is married to the one and only Akaboshi Bisco...!" R: "Yeah? And that's me." B: "No! I'm only talkin' about ME! Because... I love Pawoo MORE than you!!!" he shouted like a child who didn't want to be one-upped.

Bisco, milo, and red get sucked into the portal and hold onto each other so they don't get separated. milo passes out from moving at high speeds. he's squashed between the 2 biscos.

Bisco's senses are telling him that they might not come out of this alive, and tells red: if things turn dire, she can willingly take his soul. but in return, red has to promise to protect his family.

In the false reality: Izumo has become the new capital, and all religious sects were forced together to become one under the rust god. it's gone from six towers 108 to represent every former sect. everyone is praying and giving their energy to the rust god, which is being used to form this fake reality overwriting bisco's world.

The trio falls from the sky and crashes thru multiple towers. red wakes up, feeling something pressing on her chest and figures some rubble landed on her.... but she opens her eyes to see milo kissing her.

She sends him flying in her rage, but then cries thinking about how she cheated on her husband. she accuses milo of making her pregnant (she's not). milo was just giving her CPR because she stopped breathing. red turns... well... red in embarrassment.

Trying to pull herself together, red talks proudly while still blushing hard. R: "...Anyway! You said you're experienced but turns out you're [the other reality's milo is] nothin' special! Don't tell me that's the best you got. With kisses THAT shitty, you'd never excite even a single girl." M: "Okay..." He presses against her. "Should I give you a real kiss?" He was not joking. His eyes narrowed, and Red felt herself being oppressed by his aura. It was like that of a hunter aiming to take down a predator in one shot. M: "Are you scared? You're the one who picked this fight..." R: "Uh, um...! Milo! I was jokin'! Just..." M: "Mm-mm, I'm not letting you get away. This is the perfect opportunity to teach you a lesson..." R: (Is this really what Mllo would'a been like if she was a guy?!)

But milo pulls off of her when he hears bisco calling for them. red is extremely confused, having accepted that milo was going to kiss her. milo says red needs to be careful about protecting herself from shitty men since she doesn't have blue around to help.

They find bisco.... who has turned into a palm-sized kinoko. milo exclaims at how cute he is and tries to tickle him, but bisco blasts him and tells him to focus on the serious task at hand.

They get attacked by Kyurumon and Corpulo (fire and gold tower leaders). corpulo says he'll let red live if she becomes his whore, and then an arrow slices through his throat. "How dare you say something so disgusting to Bisco... Do you regret it? Ah, maybe you didn't even have time to." Red stands there in shock at Milo's incredible readiness to kill. He then turns to look at her. "He can't talk anymore, so don't worry!" he said with a smile. B: (Scary, ain't he.) R: (Way more than Blue...)

Kyurumon uses gold creation mantras to draw in lots of people and makes them form into a giant mass. milo has a plan to fight it, but red won't listen and just blows holes in the amalgamation without caring if she kills anyone.

Bisco says Red won't listen to milo since they aren't partners. to become her partner, he needs to use her REAL name. M: "...Actually, I wouldn't be cheating on you, would I?" B: "Huh?!" M: "Are you telling me it's okay? Even if it's just for a minute, I'm going to be someone else's partner--" B: "The hell're you talkin' about?! Just do it already!"

Milo calls for red... or now bisco, and stops her just before she fires an arrow that would've surely decimated the city. she felt blue's presence in his voice, and can feel her partner's warmth on her back... She scolds herself for being so easy to sway.

The trio commits yet another act of religious impersonation. red and milo use the mantra bow and fire a jizou-shroom, which creates a giant jizou shaped figure. bisco jumps onto its head and pretends to speak as the "great spore buddha" to the people, and those in the amalgamation come to their senses and leave quietly.

Red doesn't feel good about this win. she's never used jabi's jizou-shroom because it's useless for battle, but bisco explains that wanting a way to end battles without killing was what made jabi create the jizou-shroom in the first place. R: "You fight, and one side is gonna die - that's just life. Jabi's dream was nothing more than that!" ... B: "We don't wish for things hopin' they'll come true. I think what life's really all about is dreamin' and chasin' after those dreams."

Red gets angry, saying that bisco can only dream of nice things because he's had good luck. she acknowledges his way of thinking isn't wrong, but to remember that those who dream are protected by those who see reality.

A decrepit kelshinha tries to steal the scriptures to regain his power and take back the title of "rust god." amli (n'badu) appears, mocking him for his weakness. amli's hair has now grown long, and he is the official rust god of izumo.

Just as n'badu is about to kill kelshinha, red and milo bust in to protect him.

N'badu breaks a hole in the floor under kelshinha and he plummets. bisco jumps in after him. milo and red escape the building, but n'badu follows them. N: "I see that the other world's Blue also has some level of mantra power ... But compared to what the real Blue could do, yours are child's play. One who was raised in the comfort of the good timeline could never be fit to be Red's partner. You're nothing but a weakling using the name of the Twinshrooms." ... Red explains who n'badu is and tries to form a plan of attack, but now milo is the one not listening. M: "You think I'm not good enough? You think I don't have what it takes to be Bisco's partner...! Even though I... I even had one of his kids....!"

N'badu keeps prodding him when he realizes how well it's working. R: "Don't let him provoke you! you gotta work together with me here--!" N: "So useless. You can't do anything without Red's power, can you? Just a poor little star who can't shine on his own. All you do is drag your partner down..." M: "SHUT UUUUUUUPPPPP!!!"

Enraged, Milo expels massive amounts of energy and summons the mantra bow by himself. he fires it, only for n'badu to stop the arrow easily and sling it back at him.

A fully powered kelshinha appears and protects milo from the attack. kelshinha absorbed kinoko!bisco and is borrowing his energy.

Kelshinha fights n'badu using new techniques that are a mix of mantras and mushroom energy, which he invented on the fly. it looks like he's going to win, but n'badu manages to snag bisco from him, which causes kelshinha to weaken and fade from existence.

Red convinces kelshinha to give her his soul. they use his soul's power to form a new bow, and fire a shot to destroy amli's body. amli's soul is set free and he talks one last time to red, thanking her for all she's done.

The reality they're in begins to fold in on itself. the trio tries to escape thru the akasha tripper portal, but then milo is grabbed and dragged back.

N'badu took control of kyurumon and used her powers to form a new human amalgamation. the energy from the peoples' prayers is closing the portal, so milo tells red and bisco to leave him behind. he'll defeat n'badu and rejoin them later. red is hesitant, but bisco says they should always trust when milo says he'll do something.

Milo defeats them quite fast and sets everyone's souls free. n'badu is extremely pissed about this defeat to the point he no longer cares about going after red. the portal closes behind milo, and he considers what to do to get out now.

Blue's soul appears and she passes on her powers. she says he has the potential to attain new powers that no one's ever imagined. blue's soul, as well as all the others around him, are absorbed into the emerald cubes, and the unstable spacetime reforms into something new...

While n'badu kept the trio distracted, rust had gone to the main timeline.

He destroys the banryou-ji tetsujin instantly. pawoo fights him, only to create a repeat of what happened to red in her final battle: rust's body explodes to pieces and pawoo thinks she won, only for rust to reform and attack her while she's unaware.

Tirol is frozen as she watches pawoo get beaten bloody by rust, unable to hold a candle to his power. T: "Someone, please, save her...! Save my friend! I'll give you all the money I've got, just please...!"

Rust threatens to kill tirol unless pawoo gives up her soul, to which she agrees. rust then goes to kill tirol anyway, but is stopped by a rainbow-colored blast. S: "You promised all your money, so give it!" T: "?!?!" S: "Juuuust kidding!" T: "She really IS the daughter of those idiots..."

Sugar heals pawoo and lets the two escape while she faces rust. for the first time ever, rust feels excited, knowing there's a chance he may lose.

Red and Bisco (still a kinoko btw) are stuck in the cold, dark subspace tunnel after the exit back to the main timeline closed.

Red summons all the souls from her body and uses them to form a path that points to where the portal should be. without the soul's power in her she loses not only her tattoos, but she feels incredibly cold and exhausted.

Bisco offers up his soul if it means keeping her alive. she refuses it, so instead he heats up his own body using the spores inside him, and acts like a heating pad to keep red warm.

Somewhere else, Milo wakes up.... standing at the front of a college classroom giving a presentation. he finishes his report on apollo particles and the perceived benefits and dangers of it. the professor praises him for a great job and class is then dismissed.

B: "Well that was something. You spend your free time thinkin' about that sorta stuff?" M: "Of course not, I just chose that topic because it would make the professor happy." B: "Gross." M: "Lying is the key to getting ahead in life!" he says with a wink. "By the way, are you ready for your presentation next week?" B: "All I gotta do is read the script you wrote me, yeah?" M: "No! You need to rehearse what you'll say if the professor asks questions too ... I'm trying to make sure you graduate, so come over to my place again to practice!"

Milo latches on to bisco's arm and asks if he wants to go out for ice cream. but as they're walking, things start to go wrong. someone drops chemicals out a window over their heads. a professor uses an apollo particle-powered canon to kill students. bisco acts like everything is normal.

Bisco offers to help with the professor's 'tests', aka volunteering to be killed. milo takes bisco's place, absolutely refusing to let him die. just as he's about to be shot.... domino appears.

She fights the professor (n'badu), saying that blue created this space and n'badu has no right to be in it.

Bisco, who is merely part of the illusion, acts as n'badu's ally and shoots at them. domino 'kills' him, and milo tries to rush to his aid.

Domino chases off n'badu and helps milo wake up from the hallucination.

Domino leads him to where blue wanted, so he can learn the soul absorption technique...

Red's dreams: red absorbs actagawa's soul and gains the crab god's bow, which is said to have a power equal to a hundred million souls. if rust gets hit with a single shot, even he would die from running out of souls to restore himself with.

Red is unable to get the bow to draw. blue uses a mantra whip to snare rust, but he isn't fazed. he grabs blue and holds her hostage, yet even so blue still tells red to shoot so they can win - so they can protect the future of the world for sugar.

Red fires.... and misses. blue is tossed by her feet. She missed to not hit her partner. As long as Milo was alive, as long as she at least had her partner by her side, then...

But rust took that away from her too, killing blue by tearing out her heart. Red screams in anguish and tries to comfort blue as she dies.

Rust tells her to stand up and fight, but red refuses over and over. she's going to die with milo. she begs rust to hurry up and kill her already...

Red wakes up in a fit, upset for wasting the lives of everyone who loved her and upset at bisco [/herself] for being loved by everyone when it's impossible to live up to their expectations. B: "If you don't wanna fight the rust god, then you don't have to. You should just live the life YOU want." R: "But then everyone's love for me would have been for no--" B: "People don't love you just because they expect something from you in return."

The voices in red's mind telling her to fight and win were not the souls, it was her own voice. SHE was the one burning. but even if bisco tells her 'live how you want,' what can she do in a world where everyone she loves is already gone?

Bisco invites her to come to his world and live with his family. R: "Won't it be kinda complicated havin' 2 Biscos around?" B: "I'm already havin' to do the work of 2 husbands, so havin' another Bisco would make it even out." Red smiles and agrees to it.

The subspace tunnel's raging blizzard is gone. red calls the souls back to her body, and they glow rust eater orange now, instead of the ashura red they had been before. she feels she's realized her true self, granting her a new form of power.

She summons a new weapon called the Atman [True Self] Crossbow and fires it, tearing open a new exit in the subspace tunnel.

Main universe: back to sugar and rust's battle. rust questions why sugar is fighting so hard to protect the earth when living is only a series of suffering and chasing after dreams that may never come true. R: "Protecting these lifeforms amounts to nothing more than prolonging their suffering ... Let us work together to free the humans from having to live in fear." S: "The one living in fear is you! ... The reason you grant wishes all the time is because you're scared of what humans could accomplish by their own power. People will never rise up if they never learn what they're capable of."

Sugar creates a giant chain to ensnare rust and drags him along the rocky mountainside. she goes to finish him off before his body reforms again, but collapses from exhausting almost all of her power.

Rust, having used billions of souls, begins to age. when he reforms, he looks like a man in his 20s instead of a child.

Rust strangles sugar until she passes out. just as he's about to kill her, n'badu takes over her body and begs rust to reconsider since sugar's powers could be useful to him. rust has no interest.

Realizing that n'badu is useless to him too, rust goes to kill the both of them. n'badu activates sugar's powers and tears open a hole in spacetime, allowing red and bisco to return.

With her new powers, red delivers a punch straight to rust's face and heavily damages him. feeling proud of herself, she touches her tattoos and tells everyone to watch as she finishes this.

Rust slices through her stomach... but gets stuck in her muscles. red uses the opportunity to punch the shit out of him, knocking limbs off and causing mushrooms to grow across his body. kinoko!bisco activates his choushin ability to heal red while she keeps fighting.

Rust continues to age. he forms his arm into a giant drill made up of layers of spinning gears, stabbing it straight through red's chest.

Red grits the pain as the drill keeps destroying her and bisco tries to keep up with healing the damage. she pulls rust closer and wraps her arms around him, activating her soul power and using her insane strength to crush rust's body.

Bisco warns that if he uses the choushin ability any longer, the amount of rainbowshrooms in her body will kill her. red is moments away from destroying rust, but bisco makes the decision to separate the 2 of them to save her life.

Red's chest wound heals completely. rust has cracked and aged to the point of a dying old man, and he panics at the loss of his youth and beauty. he grabs bisco... and sticks him inside his body to absorb his powers.

Overflowing with power once again, rust flies high into the air and sends giant spinning gears raining down across the continent, killing many people and stealing their souls.

She summons the crab god's bow, but rust mocks if she'll have the heart to fire it and kill her own self when she couldn't even kill blue.

Seeing her hesitate, bisco calls out to red. "I'm givin' you the name of 'Akaboshi Bisco', so...! Protect the planet I care about, and all the people who loved me! Use your bow to save all of it! BISCOOOOO--!!" The instant that Red heard Bisco's cries, she felt 'love' well up from deep within her. In that moment, Red felt a love for the self that stood before her eyes. (I get it now...) (I love...) (Bisco [myself]...)

With the power of her realized self-love, she transforms her bow into the Red Star's True Self bow ** . her arrow pierces thru bisco and rust... only for bisco to realize he isn't dying, but transforming back into a human.

Bisco falls from the sky and red catches him. he's confused how he's still alive, but red says that this is her own ultimate bow technique - it isn't meant to kill, but to let things live, just like the technique that jabi invented.

Rust has been restored into his all-powerful form, but red is calm. burning hot, red tattoos suddenly cover rust's body and destroy him from the inside out. red's arrow awakened all of the souls in him and they were now trying to escape.

Rust continues to burn but doesn't die. bisco says they should end things since they've already won. R: "Okay, we'll need the choushin bow." B: "Seriously?!" R: "We need a way to calm the souls and send them off, but my bow can't do that. We need your power, the choushin bow's power of dreams!" B: "But I can't do it without Milo...!"

Bisco tries to summon the choushin bow but fails. up til now he and milo had used their combined power/belief in each other to create it...

So red helps him, by believing that he can do it. by believing in bisco [themself]. and it works - they create and fire the Ultimate Self-Truth bow ***. the souls are calmed, and return to the great cycle of life.

R: "Man, you're so easy to use. Your big sister gives you just a li~ttle encouragement and you completely go off." B: "What part of you is sisterly? You're just 'big'." R: "Chose your words more carefully when talkin' to a lady, you shrimp!" They start fist fighting and rolling on the ground, but red pins him after a few minutes.

After an awkward moment of silence she thanks him. she leans in and... looks like she's about to kiss him...... bisco is confused and so am i as the reader. they both sit up in a hurry when they hear n'badu fly to them.

N'badu laughs maniacally and disrespects the pieces of rust's automaton-corpse. he reveals that he was the one who created him.

Red throws an arrow at him and takes off one of his legs, only for one of her own legs to disappear. red asks why they're connected like this, and n'badu states that not only did he create rust... but all of the existence that red had known, including herself. her entire timeline was made from a divergence in bisco's.

Seeing red fading from existence, bisco grabs n'badu and heals him to restore red's body.

N'badu projects a dark aura over them, showing memories of past battles and what could have happened if they hadn't won. bisco and milo managed to stave off destruction over and over, but all of those divergences to bad futures still existed within the subspace of reality. those divergences came together to manifest n'badu.

N'badu brings out the sugars of both timelines, using them and the remaining souls he has to form them into "sugar the universe-creator."

When bisco looks up to the sky, there is a giant goddess casting light over the entire planet. a new universe forms in her hands, turning the blue afternoon sky black as night.

N'badu says he is the father of the universe. he orders sugar to overwrite all of existence - every world, every timeline. bisco runs towards the goddess and n'badu orders her to protect him. with barely a flick of her finger, bisco's arm is torn off.

Bisco uses his remaining hand to reach out toward sugar, his voice weak. B: "Sugar... let's go home... we'll go home.... to Milo..." S: -My love. Who is this human?- N: "Oh, you don't even remember who Akaboshi Bisco, your own father, is?!" he exclaims with faked surprise. "He's your very, very beloved papa. Before you turned into the creator of the universe, you loved your papa and mama more than anyone else." S: -That is true.- Sugar and bisco look at each other, exchanging many words in a single look. despite her memories being gone, the bond of their hearts has not completely disappeared. N: "Ahh, how moving! ...Now what the fuck are you waiting for? Kill him." S: -Yes, my love.-

A beam of light pierces bisco's eye, yet he continues to look up at sugar....

TO BE CONTINUED.

The book ends with a teaser quote and placeholder title for volume 10:

“Do partners stay together forever? Until they die?” “Yeah.” ... Sabikui Bisco 10, the final volume: Promises

Other notes:

In the family beach scene, Bisco is still fully clothed besides his cape. he's developed a phobia of the ocean mostly because milo told him a scary story about how vengeful spirits all live at the bottom (milo didn't intend for him to take it seriously). he shivers from remembering "an underwater adventure" they did with actagawa a number of years ago, which I think is a reference to one of the short stories included with the anime BluRay discs.

When Red explains her nickname "Red the twinshroom", "red" is written as 火星, the planet Mars.

Pawoo trained bisco in using a staff so now he's much better at it.

Tirol's great-grandpa (the high priest) fucking died off-camera and we only get a single sentence about it, which says he died from eating too much daifuku. RIP king

The fake realities that n'badu and blue create are referred to as Svapna Akasha.

Male amli is taller than bisco.

Main universe amli saw her alternate self via dreams like bisco did. when she wakes up, she's sad that she's still short.

The college scene: we get to see more of domino's personality, which is that she's very girly and very self-assured. she has painted nails and checks if she needs to fix her makeup. she takes a selfie with milo.

The college scene: Milo scolds himself for not realizing bisco was a fake sooner - "He was weirdly obedient, didn't make sarcastic remarks, and didn't pick fights. I'm so stupid, someone so plain could never really be bisco!" the fake bisco also implied he didn't like sweets, which is very anti-real bisco.

Salt never existed in red's world.

** Red Star's True Self Bow: 真我赤星弓 (shinga sekisei-kyuu), pretty literal translation. and of course red star/sekisei is the same kanji as "akaboshi".

*** 真我超信弓 (shinga choushin-kyuu), i wasn't sure how to make this name short and understandable. since "choushin" means "ultimate faith", this bow's name is "ultimate faith in one's true self".

Red is mentioned to have a high-quality, extremely study cloak. she can use it to deflect attacks.

[bogkeep]

i don't know if it's just me, but there's posts that i keep seeing that are like "people need to stop cycling through fandoms so fast," usually with a sentiment about the importance of commenting and sharing people's work and nurture their communities. i think Fandom Sustainability is a very interesting topic so i have THOUGHTS............ like first of absolutely all, that's a weird onus to put on people. Fandom Is For Fun. people don't usually control what their brainworms are gonna wriggle about. nobody should have to sign a five year contract for Enjoying Thing Together With Others. like. i understand that a lot of these posts are directed at people that are Enjoying the works of fanartists and fanfic writers, to urge them to share and react and feed their inspiration - but what about me, A Creator Of Such Things? are you making it my obligation to keep drawing fanart for a specific thing? becuase i've gotten plenty of lovely comments and feedback and all around soft and fuzzy feelings from the communities i've partaken in, but i'm only human. it's not that i lose love or interest for the properties, it's just - sometimes life happens. sometimes my momentum is unsustainable and i gotta slow down eventually. sometimes i want to draw other things! and yeah, i'm only one person, i'm not a whole fandom, and i can only speak on my experiences. i just feel like there's a narrative of "nice comments and engagement can keep an artist/writer go on forever" which i don't really agree with. reblogs and comments absolutely make me want to make more stuff! being part of a community is absolutely inspiring and fills me with ideas! but that can only take me so far. i think plenty of artists carry the same feelings of guilt for not drawing more X, or have gotten asks pleading for more Y. feeling unappreciated is not the only reason people stop creating a specific content.

my next Thought is that i think there are external sources causing fandom lifespans to shorten. i think there's a well documented phenomena that it's easier to sustain a fan community for long running, serial media with waiting time inbetween content, than it is for one-off movies or like, entire showruns premiered all at once for bingeability. and the current climate of "we're probably going to cancel this show after two seasons for capitalist rot reasons" and disillusionment with corporation and streaming services? probably not helping either!

i DO think there's something to be said for the speed of social media as opposed to, what, email lists? snail mail compendiums? but early tumblr was like, dominated by approximately five fandoms or something for years and years, so it CAN be done. clearly. maybe the change for discord servers to be the main hubs for communities, as opposed to old school forums? i think that may be one of the culprits for sure, because servers are so fast and exhuasting and there's Stuff going on all the time and you can only keep up so much before you burn out. i think. maybe it's just me who's burnt out thinking about it, because i know there can be really good servers that are well moderated and paced and sustainable! i've tried fandoming in several formats - i've done old school forum. i've done discord server. i've done Small Group Of Friends. i've done Just Vibing On My Blog/Twitter. and to me - and this is of course personal experience and not speaking for everyone else - the best longterm strategies for me has been the ones where i have the least contact with the actual fan communities. partaking in communities has been amazing and inspiring, i've made lots of close friends i'm still in contact with, but active participation in fandom is not something i can hold up forever. i can either burn in a fiery blaze for a little while or i can keep a low simmer for a long time. it's so much easier to love a story on my own terms when i don't have to be involved in every controversy of its fan community, even if it means trading away ideas and inspiration and drive. there's a balance to be struck between the two, of course. then there's like... sometimes something happens, either with the Media or with the Fandom. there's always going to be a risk with attaching yourself to a community and pouring yourself into it. do i have to keep loving something even if the creator of it makes it too weird for me? should i have to stay in a space that causes me stress or pain? sometimes the right thing for us to do is leave. sometimes we need a change. i think it's lovely when people stay to keep communities good, to keep creating good fanwork in spite of dissappointing creators. i think it's good to nurture love, but. it's a choice everyone has to make for themself. you should stay because you want to, not to martyr yourself for the sake of proving a point. last Thought i want to honor is that yeah, i believe there's Attitudes Afoot that are a sustainability drain: how old can a fandom get before it's Cringe? how large can a fandom get before it's Cringe? either we're all Cringe or none of us are. people love what they love, and is it not cruel to mock someone for something so joyful, based on arbitrary lines in the sand? if pre-2014 tumblr culture was good at anything it was to love hard and fearlessly. i DO think it's worth creating good and sustainable communities, to love well and responsibly, and find joy on your own terms. i think there's many ways to fandom and one way isn't more right than the other. a relationship is worthwhile even when it's not everlasting.

[coeluvr]

Part 1 of Modern AU, same anon of the last au:

"Helios..."

Just like that, she calls out my name. Like honey, but tastes bittersweet, like there's a river of haunting melancholia and insomnia. She keeps on kissing me, I could feel her lips, solely on my nose and cheeks, as she strokes my hair.

I pull her into my arms, hold her closed beyond anything, she burries herself between the crook of my neck and shoulder. I love it when she does that, her small frame in my body, the way she trembles in excitement and shyness when I trail my fingertips along her back.

Drops of kisses hinders in her hair. I remember those cries, every soft moans she screamed out when she's under my body, pleasure and alluring. I could feel the heat of her when her entirety presses against mine, and my love will never satisfy, not when we're both so close yet so apart.

Eyes are everywhere beneath and underneath those walls, and she hates it. I want to carry her in my arms and forever begone, but I have my duty, for I carry the royal bloods.

That makes it even harder to run away.

And then there's bloods.

Red dress, bloody eyes, dark veins across skins... I remember not being able to concentrate anything, but her. She smiles, for the last time.

And I scream.

I scream for her life. I scream for her love. I scream for her to stay awake.

"Helios."

No. That's not her voice. It's never hers. Wake up.

"Helios! Helios! Seriously buddy, wake up!"

Quiet. Shut up. No one can ever calls me that. Only MC...

MC...? Who is she? She's my dream, but who is she?

Ah, right. She's...

"Helios! I swear if you're not gonna wake up any sooner, I'll splash water!"

*Gasps!

Helios opens his eyes as soon as he wokes up. Soarine stands next to his bed, looking at him with worries. She hands him a glass of water. "MC again?"

No. Not a nightmare. More like a bittersweet slumber. Still, he nods his head. "MC." Maybe it's indeed a nightmare, with the a blessing of dreams.

He can still feels her, though, shyly hiding herself in his arms.

"Well, Fadiya did make those pills yesterday. Make sure you have it before your sleeps." Soarine grimaces a little as she mentions those pills, knowing that Helios hates it. "I can help you contact Aunt Naima." She's a therapist.

"There's no need for that." He winces, as he notices he has immediately opposed against the idea. But really, he doesn't need it. Not when MC's in his dream. "I... Just, just give me a break. Please."

Even when all she does is haunting him mercilessly.

Thankfully, his dear friend didn't continue on the topic.

"Okay." Soarine stands up, proceeds leaving Helios's room as he needs to prepare himself for the day. "Ah, by the way..."

"There will be someone new joining us, the room next to you. So, be kind and make sure Vincent doesn't kill them."

"Them?" Someone new will be joining their dorm. Great. Just great.

His friends chuckles. "Well, we aren't sure of their pronouns, don't we?"

"Get dressed. And come down for breakfast. Hunter's going to kill me now if I don't get you down. And Vincent, too."

[posting as is bc fanfic]

[phoebosacerales]

Do you know anything about the fixed star Dubhe?

I know a little about the Ursa Major, Dubhe's constellation of the great bear. It's a funny thing that it has a tail. Real bears don't. But greco-roman mythology explains that by saying it was Jupiter/Zeus by picking her up and streching her, that gave her a tail. It has a very important relationship with the constellations around it, especially Ursa Minor and Bootes, which I've talked about before, and you can't understand one without the other.

Dhube is the alpha of the Great Bear, known as a circumpolar constellation in the northern hemisphere. It's really high on the northern celestial pole, making a lot of its stars never set on the horizon, and so here in Brazil for example we never see the bears entirely. I've never seen them. The proximity to the northern axis makes the Great Bear always look as if she's going in circles around Polaris, the star that's placed in the exact spot of the northern axis and never moves while everything revolves around it, making it look like we're all in a centrifuge.

"Now where heaven reaches its culmination in the shining Bears, which from the zenith of the sky look down on all the stars and know no setting and, shifting their opposed stations about the same high point, set sky and stars in rotation, from there an insubstantial axis runs down through the wintry air and controls the universe, keeping it pivoted at opposite poles: it forms the middle about which the starry sphere revolves and wheels its heavenly flight, but is itself without motion and, drawn straight through the empty spaces of the great sky to the two Bears and through the very globe of the Earth, stands fixed. Yet the axis is not solid with the hardness of matter, nor does it possess massive weight such as to bear the burden of the lofty firmament; but since the entire atmosphere ever revolves in a circle, and every part of the whole rotates to the place from which it once began, that which is in the middle, about which all moves, so insubstantial that it cannot turn round upon itself or even submit to motion or spin in circular fashion, this men have called the axis, since, motionless itself, it yet sees everything spinning about it." (Manilius, Astronomica. 1st century AD. Book I p. 27)

Manilius saw a different sky than this in the 1st century, Polaris wasn't as close to the pole as it is today, but the Bears still had this movement. The Great Bear was also called by astrologers as Bootes' carriages. It's hard to understand its thing if you see them just as bears, but the idea is that Bootes (aka the bearward or Icarius) is driving them like a team of plowing oxen, because Icarius is a shepherd who keeps the rotation of the heavens. So, the bears have to do with plowing, planting, agriculture, cars, carriages and driving or carrying etc.

The top of the axis is occupied by constellations well known to hapless mariners, guiding them over the measureless deep in their search for gain. Helice, the greater, describes the greater arc; it is marked by seven stars which vie with each other under its guidance the ships of Greece set sail to cross the seas. Cynosura [Ursa Minor] is small and wheels round in a narrow circle, less in brightness as it is in size, but in the judgment of the Tyrians it excels the larger bear. Carthaginians count it the surer-guide when at sea they make for unseen shores. They are not set face to face: each with its muzzle points at the other’s tail and follows one that follows it. Sprawling between them and embracing each the Dragon separates and surrounds them with its glowing stars lest they ever meet or leave their stations.” (Manilius, Astronomica. 1st century AD. Book 1 p.27, 29).

Ptolemy says the constellation is like Mars in its effects, which makes sense with plowing. But looking at my post about Bootes will help you see a bigger picture and get the movie reference I made here. On there I left out the fact that Cooper is also a pilot besides a farmer, later I realized that the spacecraft could also be seen as the bears in the story, as well as his agricultural machinery that starts showing anomalies in the beginning of the film. Movies are the best help in understanding astrological symbolism, it's amazing. And when you see it you can't unsee it.

[mizusswordtip]

Down The Rabbit Hole ⚝ Killian Jones x Reader (14)

find the story on wattpad

summary: Alice's plan to overthrow the Queen of Hearts is thwarted by a dashing pirate with a hook. Years later, after the curse is broken, they reunite once again.

masterlist

After climbing out of the pit we're led by some guards who keep their watchful gazes on us the entire time.

"Why couldn't you have just listened to us?" Snow asks with an undercurrent of hurt in her voice as opposed by my annoyance. I can imagine that having your own daughter not being willing to trust you would be hurtful. I can't exactly blame Emma, after all, they're both about the same age and she probably feels like a fish out of water in the enchanted forest.

"Why couldn't you have trusted me? I was just trying to find a way to get us home." Emma asks back, exasperated.

"Trying to find a way to get us killed." I correct, unable to hold my tongue. She shoots me an annoyed look.

"I could've handled her." Emma says confidently. I scoff.

"Cora? Don't be so sure." Snow says, disbelieving.

"Cora was able to rule over an entire land because of how powerful she is and you think going to her for help is a good idea?" I ask rhetorically. She looks slightly embarrassed but tries to hide it.

"Well, how was I supposed to know that?" She asks defensively."You not, that's the whole point. You know nothing of this world and yet refuse to listen." I say firmly.

"We've lived here, Emma. I know this world and its dangers." Snow says pleadingly, trying to get through to her.

"Wait here." One of the guards says before walking off. We stop and Emma turns to look at her mom with a look of contempt.

"Is that why you came through the portal? Because you thought I was helpless here?" She asks.

"No." Snow whispers with a shake of her head. "I came through to be with you." her voice sounds heartbroken. Her face switches suddenly, her face becoming joyful at something behind us.

"Lancelot?" Snow asks, a smile forming on her face. I turn around to find a handsome night, dressed in all black armor.

"Snow?"He asks in disbelief before the both of them run to each other and tightly embrace. "If I had known that you were the prisoners Mulan had brought back, I never would have locked you away. Please, forgive me." He explains with a sympathetic look.

"Of course." Snow immediately says. Shoulders sagging slightly, I feel a bit relieved. I may not know this man but I trust Snow enough to trust her judgment.

"Lancelot? Really?" Emma asks in annoyance.

"He's an old friend. We can trust him." Snow reassures with a nod of her head.

After a little while of catching up we're sat at a table and one of Lancelot's men brings over large plates of food. All my better judgment leaves my body at the sight of freshly cooked meat. I haven't ate since leaving the hospital. Having been fed nothing but a strange, mushy, creamy substance for twenty eight years, I'm practically drooling.

"What the hell is that?" Emma asks, picking at the meat hesitantly with her fork. Without asking I cut off a large chunk and plop it onto my plate. Emma and Snow give me weird looks but I ignore them.

"That is chimera. An acquired taste, but all our hunting party could bring back. One part lion, one part serpent, one part goat." Lancelot explains with a small laugh. I shove a large piece into my mouth and my eyes roll to the back of my head with a grin.

"Like a turducken?" Emma asks.

"It's delicious!" I exclaim. Lancelot raises an eyebrow at that.

"I don't understand, we were told this land didn't even exist anymore. How did you all escape the curse?" Snow asks, not bothering with the food.

"It is a mystery. The curse struck, and when the smoke cleared, most of us had been torn from this land. But some of us here, in this particular region, were left behind. We don't know how and we don't know why." His answers gives me pause, I drop my fork, studying his expression.

"What do you mean you don't know? The answers pretty obvious." I say, brows furrowed. Every one looks at me expectantly and this time it's my turn to roll my eyes. "Who's the only person in this land powerful enough to counteract the strongest curse ever made?" I ask, a suggestive brow raised.

"It's possible but I doubt she'd ever admit to doing so. Finding this safe haven wasn't easy. It took some spilt blood. But worry not, you're safe here." Lancelot reassures with a smile. There's something off about him but I can't quite put my finger on it. His answers just seem too... perfect. Rehearsed.

"We can't stay. My husband's back there. Emma's son, my grandson. We have to get back to them. Can you help us find a portal?" Snow pleads.

"No, leaving is unwise. The enchanted forest is not as you remember it. The ogres have returned." Lancelot warns. I shove another piece of meat into my mouth."Ogres? Like, as in 'Fee-fi-fo-fum'?" Emma asks, clearly finding the idea funny.

"Those would be giants." Snow corrects and Emma shoots her an annoyed look.

"Ogres are far worse. That's why we live here on this island, where it's safe." Lancelot explains to Emma before turning his attention back to Snow. "Please, Snow, stay here. There are no more portals left."

"I might know of one." Snow says, a look of realization coming over her face. I feel my heart skip a beat hopefully.

"Really?" I ask.

"You do? Where?" Lancelot cuts in hastily. Snow opens her mouth but I grab her hand before any words can come out.

"Don't. Cora's near." I remind her lowly.

"She's right, I don't feel comfortable voicing my plans. She's powerful." Snow tells Lancelot.

"Not anymore. The curse stripped her of her powers." He tries to reassure with a soft smile but I'm not buying it.

"That doesn't make sense." I speak up. He gives me a questioning look. "If the curse avoided these lands then how did it affect her?" I ask. He looks down for a moment before sighing heavily.

"I wish I knew. Perhaps that was the price she had to pay to protect herself from the curse." He says, lifting his head.

"That's a price she'd never be willing to pay." I say knowingly. He doesn't seem fazed by my clear suspicion but that doesn't mean anything.

"Perhaps she didn't know what the price was before paying it. Either way, given her reputation, we've kept her locked up as a precaution." He says, gesturing toward the pit.

"Nevertheless, I'm not taking chances. Trust me, I may have a way. Let us go." Snow pleads. He looks conflicted for a moment before making up his mind.

"I'll allow it. But on one condition, take my bravest warrior with you. Allow Mulan to defend you." He says, gesturing toward the dark haired woman who had dragged us here to begin with.

"We can defend ourselves." Emma says.

"Deal." Snow intervenes, causing even more annoyance from Emma.

"Extra swords never hurt." I tell her with a little nod but it doesn't seem to help ease her irritation. "Well they do but it doesn't hurt us." I joke under my breath.

"Thank you, Lancelot. For always looking out for me." Snow says before standing up. I grab a piece of meat and shove it in my pocket.

Mulan opens a chest filled with a variety of weapons.

"Choose wisely. We must be vigilant if we hope to survive the journey." She says firmly with a determined expression. Snow bends down and picks out a bow and quiver. I kneel down and rifle through the chest.

"Where's my gun? I want it back." Emma asks Mulan while shoving a dagger in her boot. Mulan pulls out the gun, examining it with a confused expression.

"Is it magic?" She asks. Emma holds out her hand expectantly and Mulan hands her the gun.

"Depends on who's pulling the trigger." She replies. I see a little glimmer in the chest and I feel my heart race. My mouth goes dry as I pull out the Vorpal sword. I hold it with both hands out in front of me.

"How did this get here?" I whisper to myself but I must have caught the attention of Mulan.

"Why?" She asks.

"It's... mine." I whisper back, looking up at her. Her confused expression matches my own.

"It was with Cora when she was captured." She explains with a small shrug.

"Curious. Very curious." I murmer, grabbing the sword by the hilt before standing and sheathing it. I feel a sensation I haven't felt since Wonderland, a sense of belonging.

"You know her then?" Mulan asks with a raise of her chin.

"A prophecy long ago said we were to be enemies. This sword was made for me to defeat her. It protects the user from any and all magic. At least that I know of." I explain to her with a rueful smile at the memory of Hook blackmailing me into the portal.

"If that is so, how did you manage to become cursed?" Mulan asks suspiciously.

"It was stolen from me." I reply bitterly. "But that's not the question you should be asking." Mulan raises a brow. "You should be asking yourself how the curse took Cora's powers away if she had this on her." She clenches her jaw, clearly unnerved by my words but I continue anyways. "So the question isn't how you captured her, but why she let you."

"Get to the point." Mulan snaps.

"Lancelot, he has to be helpi-"

"No."

"He wouldn't." Both Snow and Mulan speak at the same time. I shake my head with a humorless smile.

"If you say so." At my word, Mulan seems all too happy to change the subject. She straightens up.

"Follow my lead. Step where I step. Do exactly as I say, and we might survive." Mulan orders. I can tell she's not trying to be hostile, I think that's just her natural state of being.

"Thanks for the pep talk, but I think we're okay. We have a dragon slayer in our group." Emma says, gesturing to me. Mulan doesn't even spare me a glance as she steps closer to Emma, her face somehow more severe than before.

"Have you ever seen an Ogre?" She asks.

"Pretty sure I've dated a few." Emma Jokes.

"Legend has it that when they kill you, the last thing you see is yourself dying in the reflection in their eyes." Mulan says, clearly trying to scare her. I roll my eyes with a sigh.

"Riveting. Let's go now." I say, gesturing in the direction we're going. Before Emma can pass by me I step in front of her. "She's right, but it is possible to kill them. The key is to aim for the eye." I say with a nod of encouregment. She swallows hard.

"Have you ever killed an Ogre?" She asks a little breathlessly.

"Oh! I thought we were still talking about dating." I joke. Her nervous exterior cracks and she laughs a little. "No, I've never killed an Ogre."

[birdy-the-artist]

Reanne's black Lincoln came to a halt on the shoulder of a barren desert road. Claire hadn't really been paying attention to where they were going; all that Reanne had told her was that they were headed to St. George, Utah, and they'd been driving across miles and miles of featureless land for what felt like a million years. Realistically, though, it had probably been about a day. Somewhere along the way, she must've dozed off, and she now found the car stalled and the sun hanging directly above. Reanne climbed out of the car and motioned for Claire to follow.

"Did it break down?" Claire asked wearily, rubbing her eye. She noted that what should have been oppressive, blazing desert heat in mid July didn't seem to be affecting her much. Perhaps that was another vampire thing, or it was due to the protection of the strange enchanted stone around her neck. Reanne shook her head as she popped the trunk.

"We're running early, so I thought I'd stop and teach you to shoot." The older vampire began hauling things out of the trunk, including a cardboard box of bottles that clinked noisily when she set them on the ground. They were followed by what looked like a few small briefcases, and then, perplexingly, a fold up chair. Claire's brow furrowed as she watched.

"Why do I need to know how to shoot?" Claire asked, her nose wrinkling a bit. Not that she was strictly opposed to the idea, it just seemed a bit... out of the blue. Reanne returned the question with an incredulous look.

"Have you even been listenin' to me, kid?" she asked, bewildered. "We're huntin' down recruiters! What, you think when they see you comin' they're just not gonna fight back? Maybe give you a little pat on the head and an apology for the inconvenience? Hand over their gun and their dick while they're at it?"

"Geez, okay, I get it," Claire grumbled. In hindsight, maybe the question WAS kind of stupid, but that didn't mean Reanne had to be rude about it. "I wouldn't be asking so many dumb questions if you just explained yourself better, you know."

Reanne muttered something that Claire couldn't make out, but offered no rebuttal. Apparently, even the old vampire herself had to admit that she could be frustratingly obtuse at times. Claire could only surmise that this came with age... Or, perhaps, part of being a vampire was an incessant need to cultivate a thick air of vague mystique. Whatever it was, it was getting old very fast.

Wordlessly, Reanne began to set the bottles up in a neat row atop an ancient looking wooden fence that lined the road. She then sauntered back towards the car where the briefcases still sat, set one of them on top of the now closed trunk, and opened it to reveal a small gun. Tiny, in fact. It was a revolver, but could barely even be called a pea shooter, by the looks of it. Upon being handed the freshly loaded little thing, Claire looked it over and found herself unimpressed. "You want me to use THIS?"

"Mhm." Reanne was now setting the folding chair up and settling into it, casually flicking open a Vogue magazine that she'd seemingly produced from nowhere.

"So you're not even gonna teach me how to use a real gun?" Claire's eyes narrowed a bit, her brow furrowing even further. "What's in those other cases?"

"Nothin' you're allowed to touch," came the bored reply.

"Like?"

Reanne looked up from the magazine briefly. "Are you gonna keep asking questions or are you gonna shoot those bottles already?"

Claire scowled and turned towards the fence, taking a stance she'd seen Reanne do when shooting. She held the gun up and cocked it, then leveled it with some uncertainty towards one of the bottles. She focused on it in silence for a moment, taking in the green light that glittered off of it in the sun, then carefully squeezed the trigger.

BANG!

A small explosion of dust burst up from the ground behind the fence, the meager sandy debris drifting away in the hot wind. The green bottle stood proud and untouched on the fence. Claire chanced a look back at Reanne, only to see that she'd been watching with carefully concealed interest.

"... That was terrible," Reanne said finally, the casual flatness of her voice putting Claire's teeth on edge.

"Well, it's my first fucking time shooting one of these things!!" Claire exploded. "You didn't even bother to show me anything!"

"Well, you clearly know how the thing works," Reanne answered, once again engrossed in her magazine. "So do it again. But try actually hitting one of the bottles this time."

With a growl, Claire did as she was told. Minutes turned into an hour, and she still hadn't hit any of the bottles.

"Can we go now?" she whined. "Look, I've been practicing this for, like, a million years now."

"Hit one damn bottle," came the reply. Reanne had set the Vogue edition down and was now simply watching Claire, her arms crossed and her expression worryingly unreadable. One thing was clear, though- she was patient, and she wasn't planning on moving from her seat any time soon.

Claire stomped her foot, reloaded the gun as she spat explatives into the sandy ground beneath her feet, and marched back over to where she originally stood before unleashing shot after shot into the row of glimmering bottles. After the third shot came, finally, the satisfying sound of shattering glass as an old, brown whiskey bottle exploded into a shower of shards. Claire let out a victorious whoop, throwing her hands into the air. "YES! You see that?!"

Before her mentor could reply, she reloaded the gun yet again and resumed her brute force strategy, finding herself rewarded with two more hit targets. Claire whirled around with a smug grin. "How's that?"

"Better," Reanne answered thoughtfully. "Though if you gotta reload your gun four times to hit three targets, your aim could still use some work."

"Okay, well-" Claire had begun to gesture rather exaggeratedly with her retort, but as her right arm lifted and the hand holding the gun tightened ever so slightly, she found herself interrupted by another shockingly loud bang. Carefully opening her eyes, she found herself starting directly at the figure before her, who was wearing her own expression of shock, mingled with annoyance. She also had a neat, fresh little bullet hole right in the middle of her forehead.

"Shit," Claire mumbled, stumbling back as Reanne finally got up and approached. "Sorry! I'msorryI'msorryI'msorry-"

"Hand over the gun," Reanne grumbled, holding a hand out expectantly. "Practice is over."

"... Really?" Claire replied, her voice laced with mock innocence. "Damn, I should shoot you more often."

"Shut up." Reanne snatched up the little gun and began stowing it away. "Grab them bottles."

"Yes, ma'am," Claire muttered giving the sky a characteristically dramatic eye roll.

[livwritesstuff]

thanks for the tag @cheeky-undead <3 <3

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

55 (according to AO3)

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

435,923 good lord

3. What fandoms do you write for?

used to write for legends of tomorrow (rip) and now it's literally just steddie (and ronance when the inspiration strikes)

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

if we're only talking stranger things (bc tbh i don't really wanna talk LoT lol):

i want your guy (to know)

swing, sucker, swing

plant a seed (we'll watch it grow)

honeydew (you love me, well)

don't look back, love (there's a million people)

5. Do you respond to comments?

yep i try my best to reply to all of them

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

i'm not really one for angst tbh (writing it, anyway, i LOVE reading it). Angstiest overall is probably Covered in the Colors (LoT soulmate au w/an unhappy ending). For ST it's probably hold on (hold you)

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

tbh most of my series The Satellite and the Sky has happy endings, but I guess that depends on your definition of "happy". plant a seed (we’ll watch it grow) is probably the happiest ending overall.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

not very often these days -- i don't think it's ever happened during my time writing for the ST fandom bc i think there's been a shift in awareness that leaving hate comments on fic is generally really shitty and that individuals are ultimately responsible for curating their online experience

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I personally am not a smut writer. idk why but i always run into weird blockers whenever i try

10. Do you write crossovers?

not at the moment

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I don't think so -- come to think of it, I should probably being checking in on that every now and then

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

not that i'm aware of

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

nope - not opposed to it except that I move at a glacial pace when it comes to writing and I don't want to put that burden on anyone else lol

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

ooh fav of all time? idk i’m not really a multi-shipper to be honest. i usually get really into one ship for a while until my interest runs dry. longest running would probably be captain canary from legends of tomorrow, but i see myself ranting about all the ronance missed opportunities for a Long Time

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

i have bits and pieces of a hadestown au for steddie that i sincerely doubt will ever see the light of day bc I'm so genuinely intimidated by it. that musical is so so good and I couldn't write anything that came even close

16. What are your writing strengths?

i think i’m pretty good at making things feel real. i’m a planner and a bit of an over-thinker so i really like the small details. i also tend to lean on writing what i know which i think helps

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I have a hard time sticking to just one tense lol i don’t know what that's about.

i’m also a pretty literal thinker so tapping into metaphors and abstract ideas is still a challenge for me.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

there are stronger soldiers than me out there who can do this. generally speaking, i like to write what i know. english is the only language i have total fluency in so if i wanted to write dialogue in another language, i'd have to rely on google translate which is obviously not accurate at all (not for conversational dialogue anyway), and I think some realism slips there

19. First fandom you wrote for?

not sure if it counts, but i used to write little self-insert harry potter stories when i was in elementary school before i even knew that fic was a thing. i think my first published fic would have been for glee (again, rip)

20. Favorite fic you've written?

tbh I think just like honey (you make me melt) is my fav. I had never written Eddie's POV up to that point and I was really nervous going into it, but something about writing from his perspective made it easier for me to face some of my writing challenges

i also had SO much fun writing my tommy pov i want your guy (to know)