#didn't forget the horns btw

[hoofpeet]

Revamping the lamb design a little

[dawnthefluffyduck]

[caramelcomics]

I finished the first part of the new series I'm working on, so on to the next! Here are a bunch of yaks for practice. They're like cows but with a fluffy skirt on.

[kissforyouu]

forgive me now?

pairing : jungkook x sanrio girl!oc

genre : fluff , slight angst

warnings : arguing , mentions of sexual activities

a/n : FINALLY an update. 😓😓 unedited btw

this is a continuation from my previous text au btw!

you stand awkwardly in your friend's yard, clutching onto your little pink suitcase. your boyfriend said he would pick you up and that there was no need for you to call a cab home. usually, this would've been fine. much much much better than the cab even. but not now. the small argument you had with jungkook last night would definitely make things a little awkward between you guys. it was always like that. silent treatment until one of you gets impatient. that's usually jungkook. and it will be jungkook this time as well.

you kick some rocks on the ground while mina tells you and jihyo about some video games she's been playing. you mindlessly nod, not paying any attention to what she's really saying. you feel bad, but you're just not in the mood right now.

all you could think about was the argument. you were aware from the beginning about how overprotective jungkook actually was. you didn't mind it. not one bit. in addition to that, you always felt an underlying effect from whatever he did. it was arousing to say the least. but anyway. he called you a bitch. much worse, noh? how could he.

your eyes dart to the direction of the horn of the car you're so familiar with, emitting a soft sigh along the way. jungkook pulls up in his mercedes benz sl 63 amg, rolling down those expensive ass windows to look at you. he gets out of the car and tries to make an effort to carry your luggage but you don't let him, giving him the cold shoulder. jungkook grits his teeth, eyes scanning your figure up and down as you set your luggage in the back of his car then hug your girls goodbye.

once you were done with your goodbyes and back in front of his car, he tries to open the door for you but you ignore him once again, proceeding to open the backseat's door. you never did that. you were always his passenger princess. always.

the thought that he may have actually fucked up clouds your boyfriend's mind. jungkook closes the door with a thud, clearly frustrated. your friends weren't a helping hand either. instead, they were giving him mean glares. they never liked jungkook much. i mean, to a certain extent they did. but it wasn't enough.

the tall man sighs, his upper body fully turned to face you in the backseat. you weren't paying him any attention and instead, face buried in your phone when it should be in between his pecs, giving him the fattest hug ever while saying you missed him. but nah. eh, he really did fuck up.

jungkook glances at your friends a last time, the scowl on their faces never leaving. he scoffs, starting the engine of the car and beginning to drive out of your friends' sight.

jungkook looks at your reflection through the mirror, while doing that thing again. poking his cheek with his tongue. hot. you try your best not to look.

"you're so dramatic. talk to me."

suddenly, you break out of your stoic expression, jaw opening a little as you stared at your boyfriend in disbelief.

"me? jungkook, look at yourself! you said you would track down my phone to find my location if i didn't answer!"

"and you know damn well i would."

"i— well, that isn't the point here! the point is—"

"honey, we're past that, don't you think? just forget it." he grunts, completely discarding my opinion.

"no. calling me a bitch was too far. you don't get to disrespect me like that. who do you think you are?"

jungkook pauses for a few seconds, taking his time to think of what to reply with. he got silenced, for sure. then he sighs again, opening his mouth to speak again. no. ugh, fuck. you hate when he's like this. why is he acting like he's...tolerating you?

"get on the front." jungkook clicks his tongue, patting the empty passenger seat.

you so clearly refuse, stomping your heal on the carpet of the car as a sign of rejection. jungkook doesn't have any of that, immediately parking the car on the edge of the road. he gets out of his car and walks to the other side of the car, now in front of you. jungkook opens your door and pats his thigh—another signal for you to get on the front. you refuse again though, looking somewhere else.

"brat." he mumbles under his breathe. your boyfriend grabs your arm and pulls your body upwards. you wince a little, finding his touch a little too harsh.

"wait, shit, sorry." his thumb lightly brushes over the spot where he grabbed you gently, then sweetly giving it a few kisses after.

"get on the front seat, baby." his tone was sweet this time, like honey. he was speaking to you as if you were a flower who could get destroyed even from the slightest breeze.

and you just couldn't refuse. you listen to him this time instead of being whatever he calls you, a "brat". you sit on the passenger seat, crossing your legs over one another. but you still weren't looking at him. attitude much, huh?

jungkook groans at your behaviour. he loved it though. found it rather hot although sometimes it was a little too hard to deal with.

he suddenly grabs your jaw, his touch gentle but strong, tightly gripping your face but enough to not hurt you. he has your face turned to his side, forcing you to look at him.

"look at me at least."

you stay silent. your eyes drop down to his lap, legs spread and meaty thighs flexing.

"y/n."

one small look at his face, you break down to a whine. you pucker your lips into a pout, squeezing your eyes shut in irritation.

"i'm really sorry, my love. i admit that it was very wrong and inappropriate of me. i won't say that again, hm? i'll do whatever you want. just please talk to me."

"apologising isn't going to work."

"fine. i'll take you anywhere, buy whatever you want. hell, i'd buy you the entire world, you know that?"

your lips tremble and you grunt, "stop thinking that buying me everything would fix every single problem! it won't! why are you so good at finding solutions for every single problem that includes everything BUT yourself?! it's so frustrating, jungkook! yesterday, you could've literally just called me!—"

"you didn't answer! i called you so many fucking times, noh? did you answer once? nah."

"THAT doesn't matter! it was just...like, one day, jungkook!"

"yeah, and? who knows what would've happened? i was thinking of every single possibility. did you get killed or something? had me fucking stressing for nothing." jungkook rolls his eyes, rubbing his temple.

"it was for just one day! calm down!"

"no! didn't even tell me where the fuck you were going. had to drive upto your fucking house to find out."

you pause for a second, taking a deep breath, gritting your teeth, "jungkook. stop swearing at me."

jungkook scoffs, accepting it either way with a nod.

"let's stop arguing. hate fighting with you, y'know? let's go home, y/n. this is stupid."

"you're stupid!" you fight back.

"stop acting like a kid, damn. i said sorry. we're going home."

jungkook doesn't let you continue as he turns around and sits comfortably on his seat again, eyes facing the front.

"your house or my house?"

"your house." your voice came out in a small squeek.

a few minutes pass by, jungkook managed to sneak his hand up your thigh to grope the flesh. you let him. it was one of his silly habits. each time you're in the car with him, jungkook would either hold your hand or grope your thighs. and when you questioned it, he'd say "for emotional support." what emotional support? you always found it funny. but cute though. sometimes, he'd get sneaky and slowly slide his hand downwards, little by little, and end up cupping your pussy. that itself was enough to make you go crazy. he'd start by slowly rubbing your clit through your panties, then sneakily make his way inside :) .

by now, you both had reached his house. jungkook parked his car in his garage and entered his room, who was laying on his comfy ass bed that was big enough for 5 people.

he lays down with you, big arms engulfing your smaller body. you let him, you're past the argument now. jungkook snuggles into your body, cheek smushed against your breast. his body temperature was hot, warming you up instantly.

"we good now?"

"mhm."

"talk more, baby. i want to hear you. what did you do yesterday? ate well?"

your face melts down at your boyfriend's words. cute man. cuuuuteeee. myy man. how could you ever hate him? :< . you spent the rest of the cuddling and jungkook trying to make it upto you. he gave you foot massages, back massages, made you food, watched your favourite show with you (which you've made him rewatch about 10 times already), ate you out good, ran you a bath, another foot massage, online shopped with you which resulted in him buying you goodies worth 500$ and more, head massage, fucked you good, rubbed your body to sleep and so on 😊.

maybe arguing isn't THAT bad after all.

taglist :

@fungie2332 @wintertxt @wheexine @hyunjinswifeee @ohsweetmimosa @canyon-txt @kooreo @rrosiitas @goldenjeonkoo

[call-me-cheese]

Lucifer x Eve!reader

Summary: You end up existing like a second person your whole life, but in the end everything can change

a/n: will it have part 2? Um, yes..? Btw ~2,3k words

You've been given horns, and the remnants of a halo glowed faintly around them. As you sat silently with your hands on your knees and sobbed. You understood why you went to hell, you hated the fact that you understood why.

From the very beginning, something was wrong, from the very beginning you were just an appendage, only an addition, you were never considered essential. You were given a name, you were called the first woman on earth, you thought you were important. Seemed. Then Adam came. And you've been told he's your husband. It was the first time you cried. There's nothing wrong with that, but there's nothing you want either, but being just a part you had to submit, submit, and agree, now you didn't have the power to decide for yourself.

When you were told that Lilith was better because she was beautiful, much more beautiful than you, you endured. When you were told that you would have to have a child for Adam's sake, you endured and silently hoped that he would forget about it. When you were told for the hundredth time that you were nothing and that there was no way to call you, that you had no right, that you had to live as you were told, you did not want to endure.

On those rare moments when the angels came down to you, you were silent, because Adam spoke, and you did not want to deal with him afterwards. In those rare moments when you had the pleasure of being alone, you considered yourself the happiest in this life, you sat for hours and looked into the water, you were beautiful, yes, but the title of second in everything disfigured you and your soul. When you first laughed, you were sitting in your own blood, you weren't hurting, you hoped you'd disappear from this hateful place and never see those landscapes again. What did they tell you when they noticed the absence? That Lilith was better because she was adequate.

You want to cry all the time, and when you cry you don't feel any better, because they call you a perpetually sobbing fool.

You are called a nobody, and you pray that you will be noticed not as a copy or likeness, but as at least someone. Not like a stupid simple copy of Lilith, made of the person you hate most right now, but like Eve, with a different face, height, and behavior.

When Adam declared that you weren't what he wanted for the thousandth time, you just walked away. You feel like your body is no longer able to create tears, it's able to breathe, you can't even eat normally. The fruit from the forbidden tree seemed beautiful to you, you loved the tree without ever understanding why, but it attracted you, probably, because it was called wrong, like you, it meant nothing, it only decorated the garden. It, like the lake nearby, has witnessed every tear and drop of blood you have generated. Before, it seemed to you that it was feeding on it, you watered it with your tears, holding on to it like a bird, tearing both the bark and your fingers, every word, every prayer, every petition for the cessation of existence you uttered here. If they saw everything, why didn't they answer? They promised to watch you, they forbade you to eat from the tree, they pointed out the eternal surveillance, they didn't notice anything. Why did they lie? Why did you try the faint hope that keeps you still here? What for? You won't be answered, because you are nothing, you are just an addition to the first man on earth... You are nothing.

In that moment, you could have sworn you heard something crunching, crunching inside you and your body feeling lighter.

When the sun began to set, you saw a snake on a tree, it shone with gold, you saw it more than once, probably, it also heard you, but you did not touch it, according to the commandments, everything in the garden is peaceful, does not attack, so you did not want a conflict. You've had enough of your inner self.

"Hello" you said to the snake, and getting up from the rock, you wanted to go away, you didn't decide where, but farther away from Adam, he came looking for you at that time, because he needed you as a servant, but he called it a relationship, called it something that every husband and wife has, you were not sure of his words, according to his stories, he did not behave like this with Lilith, But you didn't have any other sources of information either.

Your mistake was to obey at the beginning, but not to fix anything.

"Wait, where are you going?" A woman's voice asked you, it could have been an angel, but you'd never heard it before, never in all the times you'd crossed paths with them. So turning sharply towards the tree, you began to look for the source of the sound. "Don't you stay here for the night?" Again the voice, you could not find the source, you began to look closely at the snake, but it did not move, then, turning around, you came completely to the center of the clearing, by the noise from the bushes you realized that someone was moving towards you.

"Who are you?" That was the second time you felt the fear that filled your trembling voice, the first time you felt that chill down your spine, the hairs rising on your skin, your heart beating and your head spinning, when you contradicted Adam, he hit you, telling you to be quiet, you bowed your head in pain and unwillingness to see him, obeyed, when you remember it, your cheek begins to ache with phantom pain, You hope in life not to be in such a situation. But here is another fear, you are exhausted from the desire to know the secret of the tree, you are afraid of it, but it is pleasant, you have not felt such harsh feelings before.

"I'm Lilith" the girl came out from behind the tree and appeared to you completely, she was beautiful, you could understand why you were expected to conform, and contrary to expectations, you felt calm when you saw her, you didn't feel an enemy in her, even though every second before, you swore that you hated her. "My husband told me that you often cry from helplessness here, I want to help you."

The snake, which you hadn't been paying attention to for a long time, turned into a beautiful angel, you hadn't seen it before, which was strange because the six wings indicated status, and stood next to Lilith.

"I'm Lucifer" he introduced himself, you've heard from the angels about him, he's a rebel and a rebel, he's the one Lilith ran away with, he's the one who heard everything, everything, and every suffering you had, every cry, "Did you ever think that you were forbidden to eat the fruit of this tree for a reason?"

Your hands are shaking, you want to blindly believe the words for help. Since they are the ones who have condescended to you, then they are the ones who can be trusted, right?

Your hands are shaking, you want to blindly believe the words for help. Since they are the ones who have condescended to you, then they are the ones who can be trusted, right? There is a better chance of luck than just staying here under oppression.

"Take this fruit, it will give you knowledge," they said at the same time, their voices soft and pleasant, so you didn't even think too much about taking it.

They disappeared the moment you touched the fruit, now you see that it is a bright red apple, seductively shiny and alluring. You wanted to show it to Adam, you didn't even understand why.

When he saw you, he came up and was about to start screaming, his hand clenched into a fist, but the bright and shiny apple distracted him quite a lot. He was and is a wingman, so he grabbed him faster than you noticed, you didn't even have time to say anything, he did what he swore never to do, he swore to the angels that he would not touch the fruit of the forbidden tree, but right now and here he did it. And then he handed it to you, you have to try it too. The first bite seemed insanely sweet, the second sour, and if Adam didn't seem to like the new taste, you did.

The next time the angels came, you weren't present, you didn't want to, but when they ran up to you and yanked you by the arm, accusing you of committing sin and acts of disobedience, you were silent again. When you were thrown to your knees in the clearing, you saw the seraphim and Adam, standing there satisfied. You've been accused of everything, you've been told that you succumbed to sin and tried it first, made Adam try it, he told it himself.

Then you understand one very important thing, the angels don't see anything. No problem.

You're crying.

For the first time in a long time, you expressed your emotions in a familiar way. Tears of anger at injustice burned your cheeks and eyes.

Adam was the first, but you were blamed because it was more convenient. For the first time in your life, you were made first, but it didn't make you happy, contrary to expectations, you began to hate it.

"That's a blatant lie, Adam! Can't you see that?!" All the angels around you turned to look at you, their eyes like the sharpest spears directed in your direction. Only when you got up from the ground did you want to sit down again, you staggered under the pressure and took a step back. Your eyes darted across the crowd for support, but there was nothing close to the cruel angels. You felt a slight pressure in the lower part of your throat, your legs became cottony, the lump in your throat pressed harder.

You blinked and tried to breathe, the fear, the fear you'd never felt in this life, enveloped you again.

"Oh, poor thing, have you been corrupted by the rebels?" The seraph stepped toward you, assuming her humanized form and holding out her arms to you, "Just acknowledge your temptation."

You walked away from her, you were surrounded by a ring, but okay, you don't care, you just want to be equally far away, fear stopped fluttering in your eyes, now they were filled with a bright fire of anger and hatred. "Admit it?! To admit that the only way out I saw before the adversaries came was death?!"

You began to breathe parts, you were ready to defend your truth, maybe it was the apple, maybe it was the accumulated anger, but you knew you were ready to die, to die for your honor, to die for yourself.

Seraphim stretches out his hands to you, you almost growl at her, but her eyes don't change, you wanted to see benevolence or a desire to help in them.

All you saw was anger at you for disobedience, her eyes cruel and empty, you could see your reflection in them, your open mouth with a kind of bestial grin and squinted eyes.

"Leave her alone, that fool was always crazy" Adam said, and you turned around, taking a step you almost rushed towards him, but when you felt a light touch, you lost control of your body and fell into a sweet sleep. "Calmed down at last" you heard an echo at the edge of your consciousness.

The final crunch, you could say the sound of the final breakdown, you heard in yourself when you felt the solid ground beneath you and Adam's voice rang out in your insanely aching head, at first it seemed to you that it was just a pathetic illusion and you prayed that you would finally be alone. After all, your brow seemed empty and not at all real.

But no.

No blessing has come upon you.

When you conceived your third child, you didn't want to live, you've lived too long. When the angels told you that his name was Seth and forbade you to call him something else, the desire to go through the pain of childbirth and most likely the subsequent conception of the next child, you did not want to. For now, you're hoping to be alone forever.

Why didn't the angels create another woman from the dust of the ground? Why did you, as just a part, have had to suffer many times more, you are weak, you have always been and will always be. Why were you expected to be involved in the lives of these people? You didn't know anything about them, all you did for them was give them names, not even the ones you wanted, but the ones the angels told you.

So when you heard the sound of screaming, you weren't in a hurry, you didn't feel like going at all, but it's not that bad to go for a walk.

Cain has always been like you, you have the most sympathy for him, so when he towered over the body of his dead brother, you didn't run to stop him.

You were glad it was dead, and your loud, high-pitched laughter tearing through your lungs was just proof of that. Then the nearest rock seemed like a good idea to you.

When you ran to your freedom, even if it was a peculiar one, you were genuinely glad, glad for the first time in all the time that you have been living since, you felt it so much for the first time. Suddenly, your legs came together and a sharp pain caused you to fall.

You're not sure what happened next. Did you die in childbirth? Or did Adam tear your flesh apart, killing you and freeing his third son? You did not really want to hope for the adequacy of Adam, for there is nothing to hope for, and you do not care about the condition of your body on this mortal earth.

You thought you had wings, just for a second, but you felt free. And then a thin hand touched your head, and it became heavier, awareness pierced your head, and your body began to feel heavy and your own again.

Tears welled up in her eyes.

You were disappointed that you would be forced to serve again. But you are also happy with the weight of emotions in your head.

As you(@valen-nidk) can see it looks bit same(?) but it was halfwritten when i saw yours idea, sooo, yes)

[oh-three]

Skeleton Crew S1E4:

Title made me laugh ngl (I read it in his voice)

Did not expect the episode to begin with them finding At Attin, but okay.

They are in so much trouble lmao.

Plot twist: Silvo's actually from At Attin and he doesn't know it.

"Onto the ship. Don't make me count." SM-33 is really just a parent in disguise.

I don't think it's occurred to them that maybe they landed in an uninhabited area? Like, maybe on the wrong side of the planet or something?

LMAO, the kids were right, this is a different planet. That's funny. Knew it was too good to be true.

Okay, Mr. "Can't say I remember no At Attin." WHY ARE YOU LYING.

At Achran is giving me viking/medieval vibes.

Eopies :D With horns!

I love the Troik accent.

"Ah, but only this world, we treat our children as adults." Yeah, kinda figured that when there were two kids showing up in a warzone talking about enemy patrols.

Hayna's badass btw.

Not sure how I feel about Strix yet. He's…interesting.

It's hilarious how Silvo & SM-33 keep treating each other like children and the actual children like adults.

"Just shoot me." Lmfao, man's given up already.

Wait, is At Achrann really a clone of At Attin? Because Neel seems very confident with the layout of the city.

It's really interesting seeing Neel & Hayna's heart-to-heart about about their different cultures. I love how people from such different ways of life can get along.

Wim lifting a gun that weighs as much as he does lol

The way they didn't even give them armor smh

Okay, yeah, Strix is…not great. I petition for Hayna to replace him.

Hayna volunteering to go with them because she recognizes that this isn't something they know how to do like she does, that they don't have that same type of courage. She should totally be in charge one day, with empathy like that. She'd make a great leader.

…..How did Silvo and SM-33 manage that???????

Silvo requesting the kids back as his reward for returning the eopies is great. Except there's probably a catch.

HE ROBBED A KID. I mean……at least he used those credits for a good cause, but wtf, man. You're not helping them decide whether you're trustworthy or not lol.

Oh…….yeah, okay. They've known each other for like a day (not even), but sure. Good for you, Neel.

At Aytuu, At Achrann, At Arissia, At Aravin, At Acoda, At Attin…Why do they all start with double "A"s?

Rip coordinates.

??????????????????

HE'S BEEN THERE?

Holy shit, his memory is fucked. Or he's playing them hard.

He broke Fern.

Fern & Wim 😭

FERN, YOU GENIUS.

SM-33's old captain sucked…

FERN. CAN YOU UNDO THAT PLEASE.

THANK GOD FOR THAT. Legit never thought I'd be glad droids can be powered down.

Anyway, I think we're all thoroughly traumatized now. I knew something was off about SM-33, but wow. That was not what I expected from my silly pirate droid. Hopefully they can make him forget that bit of memory. I do like him.

[tiredofthehumanlife]

Upstairs

Barbie dolls: Blaise Zabbini x reader

Warnings: I tried to keep it gn but like it's kinda difficult to do that with smut, jealousy, Blaise is in love?, he fingers you, he cums in his pants btw, poor grammar, I think that's it

Summary: fwb kinda Blaise gets pulled upstairs by you bc you need him and he's more than happy to ditch a party for you

When Blaise first heard about a party being thrown, by your house nonetheless, he thought of you immediately. Would you be going? Are you going with your friends? What did you plan on wearing? Were you spending the whole time there? Did you plan to stop by halfway through? All things considered his mind was always plagued with you so it wasn't that out of the ordinary. Blaise asked Pansy if you were going and she told him to 'man up' and ask you himself. Which he did not. Blaise decided he would find out the night of.

He did find out the night of, you weren't coming. Blaise should've suspected. You didn't go to very many parties, even the ones a few sets of stairs away from your dorm. Too many people, too loud, too much B.O. If you did go to one Blaise noticed halfway through you'd disappear from his side and follow Pansy off to God knows where. Forty minutes or even an hour you'd come back, bee line for him, tell him you're turning in for the night and he'd walk you back to your common room. You'd always tell Blaise what shenanigans you and Pansy got up to. It was never something he'd classify as trouble making but you both had a very different definition of the word anyway. Blaise was bummed when he noticed your absence but he wasn't surprised.

Blaise stuck to Theo and Mattheo. Lorenzo had a date so he left the children in Blaise’s hands. Theo left to the dance floor with some Ravenclaw, but Mattheo stayed with Blaise. They talked next to the banister of stairs leading to the dormitories. Blaise kept an eye on Theo and Pansy.

Theo, Blaise knew would probably just head back to his dorm, Ravenclaw in tow. Pansy however had a tendency to climb on top of things, forgetting her outfit and often her state of intoxication.

Often when you did come to parties you and Blaise were on babysitting duty. You'd keep your eye on Pansy and Mattheo. Blaise had Draco and Theo. Lorenzo barely ever came.

Draco just rolled his eyes at everything everyone did and showed them the proper way. He was a snob for almost everything under the sun, wine, cheese, how to pour a beer, how to roll a blunt Theo taught him, how to properly tie a tie, proper dinner etiquette. The amount of times Blaise had heard "no elbows on the table." has made him question if the consequences were worth stabbing Draco in the eye.

Mattheo mostly kept to himself. Although if he had enough he'd take over whoever was Dj-ing, or he'd start making new drinks that had odd side effects. One night Mattheo made the whole Gryffindor house, even people who didn't come to the party, grow horns and fangs. Mattheo says he doesn't remember how he did it. Blaise doesn't believe him.

Blaise missed you, for more than a million reasons. Parties were boring without something pretty to look at, he had to babysit all of his friends alone, you were quite comforting in social situations, he could use you as a buffer when people wanted to talk to him, and Merlin you were hot.

While Blaise was having his crisis downstairs you were in your own predicament upstairs. You were gnawing at the walls kind of horny. It's all you could think of, it was tiring. You were frustrated. You've tried everything and while one or two orgasms lessened your frustration you were still pissed. You considered every option. You could feel the loud music through your floor and you knew Blaise was downstairs. This wasn’t new territory for you two. You started an odd friends with benefits expect you never clarified what you actually are situation a while ago.

It was raining outside, everyone had gone to sleep except for you and Blaise. You had started the night on opposite ends of the couch, by the time Mattheo dragged Lorenzo up the stairs you were pressed against each other. After a long moment of just staring at each other, you broke the dam. You kissed Blaise, barely a second long before you pulled away. He grabbed the front of your shirt and pulled you back in. You prayed all the fish were blind that night because you were both too lazy to move to his dorm. Besides you all had roommates so the possibility of an audience would probably be lower in the common room.

Still it made you anxious to actually ask Blaise to join you in your dorm. You knew Blaise defiantly gave other people the same kind of night he’s given you. A pit of jealousy always crawled in your stomach, up your throat, and made you never speak or breathe again. But Blaise made it all worth it. He was probably enjoying himself fat the party. It’s Blaise. Well, maybe he was tolerating the party. You needed him in your bed, you needed him period. So you rounded down the stairs to the common room, still in your pajamas. The closer you got the louder the music and people became. First, you recognized the hand grabbing the bottom of the banister. Then, you heard his voice, talking Mattheo out of trouble. You slowed as you reached him. Blaise glanced up, he sighed when he saw you. Blaise noticed your outfit and gave you a confused look. Mattheo poked his head around, seeing Blaise's reaction. Mattheo rolled his eyes and leaned back. You settled a few steps above the floor, grabbing onto Blaise's hand.

"thought you weren't coming, but looking at your clothes you don't seem to be staying very long." You nodded. You leaned over the banister, getting into Blaise's face. He held his breath, staring blankly at you. You kissed the corner of his mouth before pressing your lips to his temple.

"come upstairs with me?" You wanted it as a statement, but it fell like a question. Blaise gave you a soft smile. He shoved his cup into Mattheo's hands and sprinted up to your step. Mattheo yelled something about a condom, to which Blaise flicked his wand at him. Blaise's drink spilled over Mattheo's head. Mattheo huffed. You pulled Blaise up the stairs by his hand. When you reached your dorm, Blaise pulled you closer to him. He interlocked his fingers behind your back, his arms around your waist. You rested your arms over his shoulders.

“Scale 1 to 10, how intoxicated are you?” You mumbled. You knew you sounded kinda geeky, but you knew better than to sleep with someone drunk. You had morals. Blaise hummed and kissed your cheek.

“Negative five.” You rolled your eyes. Blaise rubbed your back, slipping his fingers under the hem of your shirt. He explained how he had only arrived a few minutes before you came bounding down the stairs. You squished your lips to the side. Blaise hummed in question. You nodded.

“I suppose we could continue.”

“Oh you suppose, do you?” Blaise gave you a mocking smile. You hummed and pulled him into a kiss. He tightened his arms around you. You nipped at his bottom lip. Blaise opened his mouth for you, letting you slip your tongue to meet his. You dropped your hands to his collar. You made fast work of unbuttoning Blaise's shirt, throwing it somewhere in your room. You walked him back. His legs hit your bed. You pushed Blaise down before straddling him. He ran his hands up the back of your thighs moving to the small of your back. As you tilted his head back, giving yourself a better angle, Blaise dragged his hands down your back, slipping past the band of your pajama pants. He gripped your ass. Your stomach twisted as you thought of all the times he’d done that to someone else. All the times Blaise had someone else’s tongue in his mouth. How many people he’d seen wrapped in his sheets. How many people he felt naked and pressed against him. You pulled back away from him. Blaise seemed to sense the change in the air, pulling his hands back to safety on your hips.

“You okay?” You sucked in a breath and sat back. You stared down at your hands slowly slipping away from his chest. Blaise gently pulled both your hands into his. He whispered your name. You stared into his eyes.

“Am I your favorite?” Blaise titled his head to the side. You still felt sick thinking other people pushing their hands past the band of his boxers.

“Favorite what?” You rolled your eyes at him. Lorenzo could play off the oblivious act but not Blaise. He said far too many filthy things in your ear for you to believe him. You gave him a knowing look. Blaise opened his mouth in realization.

“Ah.” You nodded. You pressed your lips together, feeling you already knew the answer. You weren’t entirely sure you could handle him actually saying it out loud. You already missed the feeling of his hands down your pants. You could feel the rejection boiling in your stomach. Blaise pressed his hand under your chin, pulling you to look up at him. Blaise gently pecked your cheek.

“Of course, baby.” You shook your head. He tutted. You glared at him.

“Stop looking at me like that. All pouty.” You glared at him more. Blaise rolled his eyes.

“You make my breath stop. Everyone knows how i feel about you. I don’t even look at other people like that anymore. It’s just you on my mind, darling.” Blaise pressed his hand to the back of your neck. You pulled him back into the kiss, this time with more fervor. Blaise understood you excepted that answer and wanted to pick up where you left off. He tugged at the hem of your shirt. You quickly pulled it off and flung it in the same direction you did for his shirt.

Blaise dropped his head to your chest. He pressed his lips to your collarbone, pulling the skin into his mouth. You moaned and traced your fingertips over his head. Blaise dragged his teeth over the new mark. You exhaled and gripped his shoulders tighter. You dropped your hands to his pants, tugging at the band. Blaise shook his head.

"No baby, clearly you're questioning my love for you. Gotta prove it to you, hm?" Blaise pushed you back against your sheets. He pulled your pants and underwear down, dropping them over the edge of your bed. Blaise gently blew between your thighs. You groaned. Blaise smiled at you before lowering his head. You moaned at the feeling of his tongue. Blaise nipped at the inside of your thighs before kissing your happy trail.

Blaise dragged his hand down your side. Blaise very gently pushed two of his fingers into your hole. You groaned and lulled your head to the side. He moved his fingers making you moan more. Blaise kept his pace as he moved up and connected your lips. You cupped his cheeks as he met your tongue with his. Blaise grinded down against your sheets as he swallowed your moans.

His underwear was just rough enough for him to know he'll be finishing without your touch tonight. Blaise quickened his pace with his fingers making your chest heave and your fingers dig into his shoulders. You felt your stomach tighten as you arched your back. Blaise moved his mouth to your neck as he kept his pace with both his hips against your sheets and his fingers moving in you.

You moaned loudly cumming around his fingers. Blaise pressed his face against your bare chest as he came in his boxers completely untouched. Your breath returned to normal as Blaise slowly moved his hands away from between your legs. Blaise wrapped his arms around you and pressed his face further into your chest. You massaged his scalp as he came down from his own high.

Blaise peppered kisses against your stomach as he sat up. He told you he'd be back in a moment. You heard your bath running in your bathroom. Blaise came back to you, pushing your hair away from your face as he pulled you into your bathroom. Blaise joined you in the bath. He took his time to run through your entire routine. He washed your body, face, hair, and massaged your body once you made it back to your bed. By the time your roommates came back from the party your curtains were drawn and you were asleep in his arms.

[seaofreverie]

Sparkstember Day 5: Indiscreet (In The Future)

Unfortunately it would be a bit of a lie to say that I vibed with Indiscreet right away. Not to say that I didn't like it, but maybe my unprepared ears weren't ready for whatever this album is. It's a lot. And it's all amazing stuff!! Still, I guess it needed some getting used to before I could really GET IT too. Had to stick to the couple tracks that I gravitated towards first (and I REALLY liked those btw. A lot) before gathering up the courage to take another plunge into the whole thing. Probably a lot of that can be attributed to the fact that this was one of my very first Sparks albums: the 6th I listened to according to my notes... I know Indiscreet is a pretty big fan favourite and thankfully, for me it might just be the finest case of gradually enjoying an album more and more with each listen. And I must say I REALLY love it now. EVERY song here is amazing, no doubt about that now.

But returning to the start for a bit, I was ready to get into some more of that (glam) rock side of Sparks I already knew by then from the previous two albums, and I got a bit of that here... Not quite as much as I hoped perhaps, but that was just another fact of life to learn here: Sparks never stick to one thing for too long. And this is when I need to get into the beautiful mix of... everything that this album offers. Early 20th century big band and vaudeville next to rock and pop and even some slightly-punk-before-punk-was-even-a-thing-really, as I've seen In The Future be described as once (more or less)... And then within the tracks themselves, we'll have strings next to brass and horns next to electric guitars next to beepy synthesisers. And let's not forget the most important of them all: the whistle.

The best thing about it all though is that it does not feel jarring to have a mix of all these different things and jump from one to the other constantly. Or, at least, not TERRIBLY jarring. Jarring within reason? Jarring, but in a masterful and knowledgeable way that works in favor of the whole piece rather than against it? You name it.

I say this... quite often about Sparks and individual songs or albums of theirs but this time I mean it perhaps even moreso than ever, that this album is extremely unique and truly like nothing else I've ever heard or likely will ever hear. I'd say it poses a bit more of a challenge than some other Sparks releases but once you get through that initial bewilderment (if you DO encounter it. I'm sure many don't but many others also probably do just like I did), the reward is a really great and one of a kind musical experience.

Favourite songs (and other highlights):

Happy Hunting Ground: early fav that I don't really think about all that much anymore... (it's still a total banger though. And, not going to lie, seeing the live performance of this song from Dee Vee Dee renewed my love for it recently). I was REALLY into it in the beginning though. It aligning very well with my hopes for more energetic rock tracks must have been a big part of that

Get In The Swing: idk what to say about it but it's just SO GOOD! Type of song I hear before the album proper that convinces me that yes, this band here is truly something special, I need more of this

Pineapple: it fullfills every need! Most importantly the need for a very singable and delightful tune from the renowned songwriter Russell Mael. It's sure to lift my mood considerably every time I hear it

It Ain't 1918: I think if I had to cut down all of Indiscreet to one song that represents it best as a whole, I would go with this one (Get In The Swing would probably be my second choice)

The Lady Is Lingering

In The Future: DEFINITELY my favourite here, another candidate for one of the best Sparks songs overall, special shoutout to those short instrumental segments between parts of the verses, you know, with the synth line that slows down and then speeds up again?

Miss The Start, Miss The End

Profile: song so good and in line with the rest of Indiscreet that I find it hard to believe it's just a bonus track. Impressive falsetto moments, fun as heck piano lines, all of the songs here are very unique but this one is fun and catchy in an especially unique way, to me

[justanotherpersonsuniverse]

Hey cap :3

miscellaneous meta lore question for OM this time!!

also I need you to know that I can't spell miscellaneous. every single time I have and will type it have been autocorrected it's like my worst enemy

Anyways- prelude time.

Other Magic is like so much fun because of the sheer variety of mythos and magic you incorporate into it. I mean; Alya is a twist on Selkies which have always been one of my favourite scottish folklore stories, there’s this one story about a boy who was a selkie that I read when I was way younger but I cannae remember enough details to find it again. Then you’ve got someone like Kagami who is a Nekomata from Japanese folklore which was super interesting to see and then subsequently do more research on, cause I didn't know they existed before that which was a failure on my part. And then you’ve got the more miscellaneous monsters of vaguely european origins which also fit the specific character themes wonderfully, like Juleka being a Vampire, Nino being a Gargoyle (which btw rocks (pun intended) for the whole protection thing he has going on) and Sabrina being a changeling the list goes on.

I honestly can’t tell if you’re just really good at finding the perfect fit or just such an excellent writer that what you chose feels like the perfect fit for your version of the characters. Probably a bit of both. 

Obviously you know all this, you’re the one who wrote it. What I’m getting at is; how the fuck did you decide how the magic system works?

Is it, like, not a concrete thing? Do you make it up as you go along?

Or do you have a proper magic system in place that fits behind all the crazy variety of sources you’ve pulled the monsters from?

If you make it up as you go along, what are some of the things you have decided are like hard rules of magic? (which do not go into spoiler territory! Perish the thought that I am vying for spoilers. Your response about how time worked in the PN universe without veering into spoiler territory was fantastic. and I'm insane about your drawings of Alix.) 

And if you don’t… how the fuck have you got a system in place for all this? Is it a hard magic system or a soft magic system? Please I beg of thee tell me how it works. 

Deciding on magic systems for things is the bane of my existence. Pokemon types and moves even count as one, so don’t get me started on how crazy insane I’ve gone for the origins of magic and how it works for the planning of my own miraculous fic is. like I need to stop. 

Anyway. The point is. Every single time you introduce a characters monstrous side you inevitably have to explain how that works in relation to the other magic (pun intended) and the fact that you’ve managed that without contradicting yourself or making things seem far fetched or shoe horned in has me clawing at the walls in my cage. Are you a magician. seriously, how did you do it.  

That and I’m curious if you’ll get more into how Miraculous magic affects regular magic (that feels like an oxymoron, as if magic could be normal). Cause obviously we got Little Red and Wicked Witch being akumatised together cause they were both holding the glove, but their closeness even while evilised felt like it was because of the familiar bond. 

This is a super broad question sorry if that’ll be difficult to answer!! however observations and notes on things plus hyper specific questions are coming soon! I simply must organise myself. (and have my 18th birthday tomorrow… so soon may be later than expected, i keep forgetting that’s happening this has changed my plans significantly. fuck)

Magic systems are pretty tough!! I originally made it up as a I went along, but what I did then that I feel like was important was- instead of just doing things and saying they were related, I tried to branch out the system by asking lots of "why" and "how" questions with myself.

So, for example with Alix, my base was; "Wouldnt it be cool if she wrote down spells like Luz and the Kane Chronicals" which is kinda lame. But still, I worked to try and clean it up. "Spells and Runes are like Code commands to magic." became the cleaner base. Then I asked; "Why not just use a wand?" So I asked myself "What makes wands different?" and so on.

I then asked myself if the answers I made could connect and become answers for other things. Which creates an interconnecting system.

Making it up as you go along is natural and inevitable, the only difference between planning and making it up is how long you think about it without touching your keyboard. I asked myself my big magic questions because of points in the story where I had no idea how something worked and instead of trying to fit it with what I originally knew, I tried to figure out how things would accomodate the new thing.

ALSO HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY!!!!

[arthropod-concoctions]

(AO3 - prev)

Jimmy wasn't in Tumble Town. Instead of the mesa he'd claimed to build his empire in, Jimmy found himself in a snowy field surrounded by gargantuan walls made of blackstone. Had someone pranked him by terraforming his surroundings while he'd been in the game? Probably not; there wasn't enough time for that. He'd been inside the game for five weeks, so that was... about fifteen hours for outsiders. Not nearly enough time to gather enough blackstone to do all this.

I still can't believe I died so early again. To an enderman of all things! Jimmy thought to himself. Well, no point lingering on that now; he'd apologize to Tango the next time they played. Right now he wanted to get out of these walls and see something familiar.

He flew to the top of one of the walls to look around, but he only saw forests, no familiar scenery. He shuffled across the wall to see more-- shuffled, because whoever had dropped him into this snowfield had also put a thick, cumbersome coat on him. It got in the way of his movements and made it very hot, so he began to take it off-

Wait a minute. He was in the middle of a snowfield, yet didn't feel cold at all; in fact, he was getting very warm. Wasn't that a symptom of hypothermia? Suddenly, he noticed that his arms were very pale, unhealthily so.

“Oh no,” he whispered to himself, and put the coat back on. “Right, change of plan: I need to get out of here.” He activated his elytra again, and flew away from the blackstone construction.

He didn't have to fly long to find signs of civilization; he quite quickly came across a large street with many buildings along it. It was deserted, and didn't look like the building style of any other emperors, but Jimmy landed anyways. Then he decided to do something he probably should have done earlier; he checked chat.

Strangely enough, his chat didn't manifest as the book and quill he'd designed, but instead as a small red device. Still, it showed him the most recent messages of the server he'd ended up in:

Tango joined the game

<joehillssays> Howdy Tango, welcome back!

<Cubfan135> Tangooooooo

Tango was here! Jimmy didn't know the other names, but that didn't matter; finding Tango would already be very helpful. He decided to send him a private message; better not to alarm these strangers.

You whispered to Tango: tango

Tango whispered to you: tango

You whispered to Tango: im lost

Tango whispered to you: im lost

You whispered to Tango: where are you

Tango whispered to you: where are you

The fact that his messages to Tango immediately got sent back was worrying. Maybe Tango's chat was bugged, and somehow bouncing messages back instead of showing them to him...? Regardless, Jimmy sent him one more message.

You whispered to Tango: im so sorry about that death btw

Tango whispered to you: im so sorry about that death btw

Unsure of what else to do, Jimmy made his way to a bench and sat down. He was beginning to sweat; would it be safe to take off the coat yet? His arms still didn't have any colour in them, so he decided against it.

After a few minutes of waiting, someone flew past on elytra, noticed Jimmy, and landed in front of him. It wasn't Tango; this was someone wearing a brown sweater, with curled horns jutting out from his blond hair.

“There you are! Why weren't you responding to chat? And what are you in Scarland for?” the stranger asked Jimmy.

Jimmy wasn't sure how to respond; this person didn't seem at all concerned about the fact there was someone new on the server. He decided to get straight to the point: “I think I'm freezing to death.”

“Oh jeez. The deep frost finally got to you, then?” he stepped towards Jimmy, and put his hand on his forehead.

“I mean, you are a little cold, but I thought that was just part of your bit this season,” he said. “You feel, warmer than the last time I high-fived you. And- dude, you're sweating! Tango, buddy, I know hardcore worlds can get intense, but did you forget the difference between hot and cold?”

Jimmy hadn't ever high-fived this man. “I thought getting warm was a symptom of... did you just call me Tango?”

The man's eyes widened slowly. “...Yes? That's your name, silly!”

“No it isn't,” Jimmy said, and frowned. If he got mistaken for Tango, did that mean...?

“Oh. Okay, that's fine, uh... do you remember my name?” he spoke slowly, and had a concerned expression on his face.

“No. Look, dude, I think something went-”

“WHAT!?” the man interrupted Jimmy. “You don't even remember your best friend Zedaph? Okay, you are clearly not feeling well. Take that big coat off, I think you're overheating.”

Jimmy did take the coat off, leaving him with a short-sleeved undershirt. His upper arms were even paler than his hands; they were almost blue. Zedaph took the coat and draped it over the bench they were sitting on.

“Tango, you just lay down for a moment. I'll stay here with you, and I'll call X when he gets online, and then he'll get you checked out, okay?”

Jimmy started to lay down, then changed his mind. “No, I feel fine, but dude, I'm not Tango. My name's Jimmy, and me and Tango were-”

“Ah-bah-bah-bah, don't get so worked up, just get some rest,” Zedaph interrupted him, and pushed him flat onto the bench. He was surprisingly strong; or maybe Jimmy was just lighter than he was used to. Zedaph sat down on the bench next to him, and began writing something down, muttering to himself: “Okay, symptoms: amnesia, weird body temperature, talking in a London accent for some reason...”

Jimmy sighed, and laid down. How had he ended up in this situation?

---

One moment Bigb was rushing up the stairs of the Box, trying to help Ren. The next he was... sitting in his lap?

When he turned his head to see Ren's be-sun-spectacled face right next to his own, he immediately jumped up. He also squealed, which would've been embarrassing if not for the sound Ren made, which was louder and lasted much longer.

“He-hey, Ren! Fancy seeing you here,” Bigb said to Ren, trying to sound casual. He had not expected to see him again; he'd expected to end up back on BasicCraft with Tom. Maybe this was the afterlife? He was pretty sure Scott had mentioned an afterlife some other time.

“What sorcery is this!?” Ren responded, not sounding casual in the slightest. “Why- How is there an impostor of the king in thine own throne room?”

“Impostor? Aw, I thought you liked the matching dog ears,” Bigb replied, scratching his own ears. Yep, still furry. Then, noticing the small crown on Ren's head and the throne he was sitting on, he added: “Wait, are we doing this again? Uh, my lord.”

“Well, of course I like the ears. But-” Ren paused, and tilted his head at Bigb. “Ah, I see. You are my old self. My PEASANT self! Oh, how it doth pain me to see this reminder of how I once was... BEGONE!”

“Wow,” Bigb said. “Rude.” He'd remembered Ren having a dramatic flair as king, but he was fairly certain he'd been nicer last time.

“I am the king, and I can be rude to whomever I doth wisheth! Now leave me, I must ponder!”

Well, two could play at that game. “You know what?” Bigb said. “You look stupid in that big cape.”

Ren's face dropped, and Bigb saw him shrink down into his throne. “Oh,” he said, much quieter than before. He looked utterly crushed by Bigb's remark.

Bigb stuck out his tongue at him, and turned around to leave... but Ren's sad face made him feel bad. So he turned back around and said: “I'm sorry, my lord. That was mean.”

“Yes... yes, I'm sorry as well,” Ren replied, wiping a tear out of his eye. “I should not be so rude to my own image... but I can make it up to you!”

“You can?”

“Yes! From this point onwards, I declareth thee... the royal stunt double! If ever I need a vacation from ruling, or I get a bad haircut or something, I will calleth upon you to take my place for a meeting or two.”

Bigb raised an eyebrow. “And what's in it for me?”

“Huh? You... you'll have a position in the royal court of King RentheKing! That is the greatest honor in all of Hermitcraftia!” Ren called out, spreading his arms wide.

“Right, of course, of course,” Bigb responded, then scratched his ear again. “...Are you sure I look enough like you for that though? I mean, we don't even have...” he trailed off, as he took a good look at his own arm for the first time since getting here. Why on earth was he white?

“Yes, of course, you are my splitting image! Come, stand beside me,” Ren ordered, so Bigb approached him again and stood next to his throne. Ren grabbed his chat and turned on the camera.

“Look, our faces are identical! As soon as you don some proper royal garb, no one will tell the difference.” Sure enough, the screen showed two Rens: one with a crown and cloak, and one with the floral shirt Ren wore at the start of Double Life.

“Oh. Yeah, that makes sense,” Bigb said slowly, staring at the screen. “I have no questions about this at all.”

---

Martyn felt the characteristic thud of getting dropped into a new world, and opened his eyes to see he was laying in a flat field of grass.

“Are we going again already? Surely not, it's been like thirty seconds since the last game. I didn't even hear the rules this time,” he said to himself. He got up, and immediately saw that wherever he was, it was not at the start of a Life game. Giant rectangular pillars loomed before him, and he turned around to see two huge seahorse statues. He also noticed he wasn't wearing his own clothes; instead he was wearing a dark blue dress, and his limbs were pale green and felt numb.

He was undead like Cleo, and was wearing a dress like Cleo's. “If this is some kind of punishment for being mean to my soulmate earlier, it's-”

his statement to nobody in particular was interrupted by the sound of fireworks nearby. Martyn immediately whirled around to find the source-- was someone coming at him with a firework crossbow?

It almost seemed that way when an explosion of green and yellow lights in his peripheral vision made him jump; but the person who emerged from the explosion was unarmed. They looked a bit like Skizz, but with a significantly more eccentric fashion sense. They smiled at Martyn.

“Howdy Cleo, welcome back! How was the death game?” they said in a voice that sounded nothing like Skizz's.

Oh, so that's the game we're playing, Martyn thought. It was best to stay under the radar until he'd figured out what was going on, he thought; so he decided to play along.

“Oh you know... you know how it is with death games,” he replied, talking slower than usual, hoping to mimic Cleo's voice. It seemed to work, as Cleo's friend didn't look suspicious of him.

“Not really. It's been a little while since I did one. Maybe I should ask Grian to invite me next time,” they said. “Anyway, I'm about to go mine out some nether tunnels, do you want to help?”

“No. I'm gonna go... recover for a bit,” Martyn said. The more he was alone, the longer before someone caught on to the fact he wasn't actually Cleo. It's a good think we have similar accents at least, he thought.

“Okay, see you around!” the stranger responded, then used a pull-string firework rocket and elytra to take off into the sky. Martyn watched them fly away for a few seconds, then turn around and go back towards him.

“By the way, Cleo, I have a lot of blackstone now, so if you ever need any for your builds, just tell me and I'll give you some, alright?”

“Yeah, alright. Look, can you just-” Martyn was interrupted by the sound of yet another person flying in using elytra. He turned around and saw Scar landing on the ground and walking towards him, leaning on his cane. This was someone he knew-- he wasn't sure whether that was better for him or worse.

“Howdy Scar! Did you have fun in the death game?” Cleo's friend said, while grabbing a totem of undying from their inventory. That worried Martyn; he really didn't want to end up in the middle of a fight right now.

“Hi Joe,” Scar said to them. Then he turned to Martyn: “Look, Martyn, something's gone horribly wrong, as you can probably tell-”

“Who's Mahrtyn?” Cleo's friend-- Joe, apparently-- interrupted.

“This is,” Scar responded, gesturing at Martyn. “Wait, did he not... had you not told Joe?”

Martyn didn't respond. Well, there goes that plan, he thought. Joe stared ahead for a moment, squinting, then a smile broke across their face and they turned to Martyn.

“Oh my gosh, Cle- Martyn, that's amazing! I'm so happy for you! Is it okay if I call Quinn?”

Martyn didn't know who Quinn was, but evidently Scar did. “No, Joe, that's not what I-” he started to say, before breaking down into laugher. It was a loud cackle, very un-Scar-like; and Martyn suspected he knew why.

Joe's smile faded. “...What?” they said accusingly. “Did I not understand this correctly? Also, Scar, why are you British now?”

When British Scar had recovered slightly from his laughing fit, he said: “No, Joe, listen- first of all, I'm not Scar, I'm Grian. Somehow we all got swapped into each other's bodies when coming back from Double Life. So this isn't Cleo at all, this is Martyn.”

“Oh, okay,” Joe said. Then they blinked and said to Martyn: “Wait, no, cancel that. You mean you aren't my good friend Cleo?”

Martyn sighed. “No, sorry dude.” At this point, pretending otherwise would only make things worse. Martyn held out his hand-- or rather, Cleo's hand-- to Joe. “I'm Martyn, nice to meet you.”

Joe stood still for a second, thinking, then shrugged and took it. “It's a pleasure,” he replied. “Welcome to Hermitcraft, I guess.”

(next)

[chimakiisane]

It's the same anon again. Happy New Year!

I got to the end of the demo last night, and I just sat there extremely impressed by everything and highly looking forward to the full game.

(It's going to be difficult to be non-spoilery because there are a lot of things I liked, so I'm just going to be as vague as possible or put up a big spoiler warning... I just hope I make sense ;x;)

Zone 2, I'm going to start off by saying that I really liked the layout and detail of the mall (I think I became that eyes emoji when Doux first stepped inside it XD)

I also screeched very loudly when I found two certain NPC's. I was just so happy to see them! :D

And trekking up to the fight with Zone 2's boss! Reading all those notes got me wondering what the heck had been planned for the bosses by the greater forces, and I felt sympathetic towards the boss. I will say, though, I was ready to throw hands while learning about the history between the Zone bosses and our party member (*GOTTA SPOIL TO MAKE SENSE:*specificallyhimgettingbulliedbythebosseswhilegrowingup ;_;) and understood our party member's upset at the (*I HOPE THIS ISN'T TOO SPOILERY*) apology that came very late.

At the same time, I could feel the Zone 2 boss's sincerity, especially when (*SPOILS AGAIN*) he said he could tell our party member was struggling with comforting him in his last moments and that Blight didn't need to.

Ooof it was quite the scene.

(While we're on the *SPOILS TRAIN*, I'm going to share that I felt kind of bad for defeating Zone 1's boss and wondered if there was a way for him and Dedan to work together. Afterall, both of them wanted to take good care of Zone 1)

I was interested in the bigger forces during the fight in Zone 1 when they got mentioned, Zone 2 got me even more curious and more eager to meet them (and kick their asses >:( )

At this point, I thought Zone 2 was my new favorite Zone. . .

. . . And then I entered Zone 3 XD

The vibes were wonderfully unsettling and I enjoyed the little scares! They kept me on my toes, and one of them had me wondering how I'll deal with it face-to-face.

AND OH MY GOD. The Area 4 level! It was terrifying going through it (I kept chanting "I hate this" jokingly), but it was a fun time overall!

(((Beating that *one* boss was pretty satisfying, given how absolutely *creepy* he was 😬. And I was pretty happy receiving something for Doux!)))

I felt so bad for everyone living in Zone 3 😭 I got shook when they died, either by their own hands or by forcing our hand.

I was ready to throw hands with the boss when he made his pre-fight speech... and then got a little sympathetic post-fight ;w; and even more curious about the greater forces!

And before I forget, I went to a certain floor in the Library. ...It was ***really*** hard not to get teary-eyed while going through it, to say the least. The floor was a very sweet commemoration!

I'd like to gush about more stuff, but I'm afraid I'll stop making sense if I keep rambling (it's getting close to midnight here) XD

I'll probably be back, if you don't mind of course! ^u^

Happy New Year!

(Btw, I did encounter some bugs while backtracking and I have a couple feedbacks. I'll send them over to you in another ask, but it was basically me getting stuck while backtracking... I guess I backtracked too hard lol)

Happy new year!

I'm so happy you enjoyed the demo thus far! I am still a bit upset I wasn't able to give my full vision for the final section of the demo like I wanted as well as certain other parts like I intended before the release, but work and lack of motivation has been hitting hard. I want things to flow together easier and not feel like it was shoe-horned in XD

Also, no need to worry about spoilers when it comes to Blight and his relationship with the bosses! I'm sure at this point everyone knows of it, but I do appreciate you wanting to try and keep things on the down low of the new stuff for those who haven't played 4.8 yet <3

There are still some things I need to figure out how to rewrite for the future, cause I'll admit, there is a good handful of dialogue that was kept and forgotten about from the earlier demo days where stuff is either no longer canon or is just very poorly conveyed XD

For zone 3, I still plan on doing more to it to make it less of the copy paste it initially was upon release to a more varied area outside of the nightmare sections and area 5. I also plan on attempting to refine the unsettling stuff, which is definitely going to be tough since fear is subjective.

Definitely feel free to gush more if you want, I don't mind! Also, please do let me know of the bugs you've run into so I can check and see if I've since fixed them or need to.

[desultory-novice]

You said the Mechalor/Crowned Marx AU wouldn't have much impact, but could you not extend the format to some other villains? Taranza hunting down Star Dream to try bring Sectonia to her senses, only to make things worse. Susie, trapped and contorted by the Dimension Mirror, now just trying to find her father after her accident.

This is the first ask Mechalor Anon sent me, btw!

I'm half putting this up for interested readers, because it was a fun read, but also for Anon themselves, as I included some fresh commentary on their ideas as well!!

...

>Not much impact

You know, I sometimes forget how popular my little AU ideas can get! (Hmm. Can I claim the title "CEO of Kirby AUs?" Is that one taken?)

ATM these asks ended up leading to the formation of the Permadeath Swap, which I'm working on the second half right now, but there's a lot good here too I don't want to leave on the table!

>Taranza + Star Dream

Ohoho... the fact that Taranza might seek out a DIFFERENT cursed Ancient Artifact to try to undo what the previous cursed Ancient Artifact he got did is so broken in a very delightful way! (And I hate to say it, but it feels very in character for Taranza ^^; )

And that Susie story...feels very much like what may have happened to Parallel Susie! Although, given how she no longer has the hair accessory her father gave her, I think it didn't end so well...

>Permanent changes for Taranza...

Is it sad the first thing that came to mind is "Sectonia actually does real permanent damage to him?" Like...physical abuse? Maybe, since she's losing her mind due to Star Dream eating up her memories and the last traces of "Joronia", she sees Taranza and tries to erm, force HIM to evolve to become more "like her." Doing things like destroying four of his hands, breaking his mandible/horns and blinding him in all but two of his eyes. Like, at this point, she can't even recognize / remember what caused the changes in herself so she just thinks that by breaking him she's helping him to "evolve." Of course, he never seems to "get there" so she just keeps going...

Oooh, god, wouldn't that would be awful...? The other awful thing of course is that by this point, Taranza might just accept all the horrible things she's doing to him with a smile because he wants them to be the same too (inside, he knows this is wrong, but he can't speak up about it because it means accepting how BAD things have gotten.)

Keep smiling, Taranza. Joronia used to say your smile was beautiful. If you stop smiling...what body part will she take next?

-

PS: I actually forgot while writing this that she wouldn’t be her BEE self because it would just be the star and not the mirror (so much for god reading comprehension…) but uh… just go with it. >.<

(Btw, I’m reminded just how dark this AU can get. I don’t know what it is about the BossSwap that brings out the worst in me….!)

>Max's Eternal Search

Something I really like about the thing with Max is that when Star Dream began messing with him, became obsessed with money - to the point that it was the only thing he thought about. Everything he has is expensive. Everything in framed in terms of how much ludicrous amounts of money it costs in his own fictional currency. ("Company store" indeed.) Everything is covered in gold + gemstones. Greed incarnate. But...

...This Max would probably become obsessed with looking through the mirror instead. If he stops looking for even a moment, he might miss catching a rare trace of Susanna. And so he uses his technology to expand the mirror's reach and makes sure EVERYTHING he owns is absolutely covered in mirrors/mirror-dimension feeds. (Take THAT, Versailles!) You can't see his eyes, as they're always covered in visors projecting the mirror. He doesn't even LOOK at you when he's talking down to you because he is still looking for Susanna...

>Daroach + Hyness Swap

"None of these are great?"

WHAT?! I love this idea?! A Daroach + Hyness swap?! This is going on the to-draw list for sure! And by draw, I mean I now need to see the Mage Sisters dressed up as a pack of 1920s-esque lady thieves! The Jamba cult in a wacky heist story is too good.

No, really, this one is galaxy-brained! Multiverse-brained, even!

Plus, Squidward I mean Hyness and Dark Nebula just...they'd be so cute together?! (...Don't look at me that way... >.> ) Also, Dark Hyness would probably look like some kind of skrunkly cthuhlu (Nebula's arms sticking out from under his hood/veil) and that's just great?!

Fun fact: It is not a Squeak who steals Kirby's cake but WADDLE DEE (the traitor!!) And yet, I can totally see Flamberge in the role of starting things off this time. 

Zan: "Is everyone ready?" 

Berge: "Hold on, I gotta finish this."

"...Berge? Where did you get that?" 

"Huh? I grabbed it along the way. Figured you'd start complaining if I made us stop to eat in the middle of the mission! Smart, huh?" 

"Are you telling me...you found a slice of cake...just lying on the side of the road?" 

"No way! That'd be silly, Zan!" 

"I'm trying to ask, who did you take it FROM?" 

"Dunno. Didn't ask their name! Haha!"

"...BERGE...!"

-

My weak attempts at writing the sisters aside, you're right about Daroach and the Squeaks being quite easy to fit into this plot. After all, Daroach already expressed interest in the Jamba Heart! Given it's probably close to the galaxy's "largest jewel" in size, he might already have his heart set on stealing it! Perhaps he finds it but it has lost its glow. (The Heart Spears are still restraining Void Termina, after all.)

He uses what little magic he has to try and restore the gem's sheen, but just as it does, the Jamba Heart splinters and cracks. So he sends Spinni, Storo, and Doc out to gather the missing pieces, breaking up the cohesion of the close-as-family group as he stays behind to make sure... it's, you know, that it's safe... All the while, the Heart takes up more and more of Daroach's thoughts...

Also seeing the Squeaks all dressed in black... Yeah, I like this swap...!

>Various Elfilis Swaps

I think the funniest thing about swapping the two geminis and Zero/Zero 2 is that you would either have Gooey playing the role of your "Elfilin" figure... or Dark Matter Blade!!

And something about the perpetually friendless, socially awkward Blade attempting to assist or (...god...) give commentary on what's going on is just very fun to imagine.

Let's ignore the fact that Dark Matter would almost certainly play the role of brainwashed Dedede in that situation and just go with it!

Lastly, while I really, really, really like the Daroach + Hyness swap (it's probably my favorite just because I'm still having the time of my life imagining the super serious Hyness and the Sisters in the madcap "Wacky Races" plotline that is Squeak Squad) but I like this possibility too! Especially if you have it so it's an unexpected consequence of the botched summoning. (Although it WAS secretly effective! This is just what happens when you touch the mind of a dimensional rift opening psychic from across time!)

[twsthc]

can you make species hcs ? like stuff on how beastmen/merfolk/fae work ...

HELLO SORRY ANON... im sure ur the same person who asked this earlier, i didn't forget about you!! i don't wanna keep you waiting any longer, so ill just post what i have now. i was planning on compiling all my beastmen hcs but here's what i have so far!!

im p sure it's unclear how beastmen/merfolk came to be? iirc ruggie brought up once how he's descended from actual hyenas, so im gonna chalk it up to evolution (animals evolving to look like humans) and will be using that logic for this post.

okay so i hc beastmen/merfolk are extremely diverse :3 some just get the ears and tail while some get an entire muzzle, paws, etc. to make it easier im gonna classify them as hlb and alb (human like beastmen and animal like beastmen)

hlb beastmen usually have 5 or less components of the animals they have characteristics of. ears, tails, other body parts (such as a rhino horn or something), instincts, and senses.

for example, a hlb with deer characteristics would have the ears, tail, horns, be skittish and territorial, and have heightened senses (especially hearing).

an alb would have the face an antlers of a deer, furry skin, and hooves (feet), despite their human-like bipedalism and opposable thumbs.

i think it's basically the same for merfolk! someone in the discord just recently posted some different merfolk hcs recently ill just put them here... ily kaz... CEO of merfolk hcs... @/kenjakunuts on twt btw

I don't have a lot of fae hcs atm so here are some super cool headcanons from lili on twitter

hopefully ill have a better cleaner hc post for this later anon! ill get this done one day i prommy, sorry to keep yall waiting :3...

[starlightbooklove]

Ok lets keep going.

Episode 4.

He was so confused with Poseidon saving Percy LMAO, i had to explain him. He was telling me that HE CAN BREATH UNDERWATER and i had to tell them that he didn't know that and he was like BUT HE CAN RIGHT??

He said that the chimera looked like a dog I thought he was referring to before he transformed but he told me no, even transformed he looked like one I asked him since when do dogs have horns lmao

Episode 5.

He really liked the scene of the ride of love

I think it helped him to understand more about the gods things.

He was on the edge with the scene of the chair, again he mentioned Percy's powers

Like HE CAN SAVE HER RIGHT

He was so confused about who Ares was

I told him that he was the god of war and he asked me if he liked to fight

I was like yees, but no at the same time, he creates wars, he went *impressed Pikachu face*

Episode 6

Him: Who's him?

Me: Hermes.

Him: what does he do

Me: dude we literally saw him like two episodes ago, he delivered medusa's head.

Him: aaaa

Wait why are they forgetting? I explained him

He repeated like three times if they forgot anything And I told him yes but that Grover was the one who forgot the most. I had to remind him who Pan was because he completely ignored the chatter on the train.

Episode 7.

He's commenting everything, he's all in now.

Got half scared, half excited for the dog.

He was asking a lot bout the underworld cause he was wondering if it was hell, lol

Also i explained him who was hades

The biggest wtf face when they found the lighting

He was much more confused when the shoes tried to drag him to Tartarus

Why is his mom there?

My sweet child pay attention

Ooooh it was Kronos. He keeps calling Ares, Percy's cousin lmao

OMG they're gonna fight.

Episode 8. (Definetly My favorite reactions of all of the episodes).

OMG THE OCEAN

Is that his house??

He literally remembered Alecto's name as a "teacher" in the first episode that her actual name btw

Him: Why the necklace?

Me: Because it is a lucky necklace

Him: Can you buy a lucky necklace? I had to explain that to him that that's not how it works, he was not very convinced.

What is a forbidden child? OMG 😭

What is Zeus doing on a fliping stone throne? L M A O i fucking died (He said it with such a sass)

Oooh that's his dad right? Why does he say he gives up?

Why are they speaking in English? (we watched the series in Spanish)

Me: that's not english hun.

He's back, to the tree, wait they Made it?? That means he gets the glory right??

Has a theory: the man in Black that has the light and is in his dreams is the thief, and that's his cousin!! (LMAOOO I don't know what made me laugh more, how wrong he was or that he kept calling Ares cousin)

I was like sure Jan.

His mouth went full Open with the revelation of the thief He even laughed at himself for his big mistake about who the thief was.

In shock the whole fight and when Annabeth showed up.

In the last dream of the episode he was half confused but he said ''finally'' when the figure appeared Because he could finally see it properly and he said it was scary

Post credits scene.

As soon as he saw the box he said that's where the head was and he laughed when Gabe turned to stone.

Latest impressions

I asked him what he thinks and he excitedly told me that he loved it and that it was super exciting and good I asked him if he wanted to be like Percy and he told me something like that, without the monsters but with the lightning and the sword hehe

Yes he finished it in less than a day lmao

Proud to introduce him to this, hope that one day he gets to watch the complete adapted series or likes to read so he can read it 🥹

[flydotnet]

Bad Things Happen Bingo! The event where I give myself stupidly niche requests according to this marvelous card… or something. It’s been three years dawg. (Red cross is the completed prompt, character headshots are prompts I’ve already filled).

Besides, if I didn't mess up in the first place, this wouldn't have happened.

This fic is quite a long time in the making. I started working on it last year, before I even had the idea for Rice Vinegar, a previous entry in this bingo card series. I was reading/catching up to the absolute banging series that is Brimstone in my Garden, Roses set on Fire by @inkblackorchid. I was on my yearly YGO kick, this time mostly 5D's-related (it's either 5D's or Arc-V, I've come to notice) and reading Snapping Jaws and Piercing Horns (which you absolutely should read, btw, but I have a sneaking suspicion that, if you're reading this, then you've at least heard of SJPH), when the idea for this fic came to me. I really like the friendship between Aki and Crow that the series sets up during the WRGP arc, because it's got my two favourite 5D's characters involved and also it's got canonical whump material linked to it and I'm a sucker for that stuff. Everything was here for success; I was unemployed at the time so I had a bunch of free time on my hands, the inspiration was crisp and I could fuck around and find out with writing new characters I hadn't before. Issue: I hated what I was actually writing.

Since I was reading InkBlackOrchid's works, I was like "God, I need it to be as good as hers". Problem is, I don't have her writing style at all, all the while I was somehow attempting to pastiche how she writes Aki's POV. The result was a very spiteful narration that doesn't even fit Aki at this point of her character development or even the story I was trying to tell in the first place, and a lot of clumsy descriptions. It was bad, y'all. Now, that was the first draft. I had abandonned it at first, thinking I'd just never do anything with it nor with the idea I had, but I just happened to look at my AO3 subscriptions, remembered the banger 5D's fic series, and finally went on InkBlackOrchid's Tumblr. Reading her Autopsy of Crow series of posts reminded me of my WIP and made me want to finish it so I could throw my two cents in the 5D's fight.

I mention Brimstone in my Garden, Roses set on Fire this much because my love for this series is a genuine explanation for some elements of this fic. I like its version of canon so much I wrote established Faithship into this fic as if they were actually dating by this time of the series, forgetting that actually didn't happen in 5D's proper. Sorry not sorry on that front, btw, I've always shipped them and I don't think I'll stop anytime soon. The very first version of this idea wasn't even going to delve into Aki losing her powers after her crash pre-Team Catastrophe (my very own guilty pleasure of a duel, I actually really like it lol), but since I was so inspired by something that did, I figured I had to tackle the question as well. I hope it doesn't fall flat on its face. Be Careful what you Wish for had me by the gametes.

Wow, I had a lot of things to say for something that's kind of just whump I decided to write on a whim like a year ago, huh. I don't even know if my characters sound right (as in, I think my Aki is OOC, she's too open if that makes sense?), it's my first rodeo and it's scary but hey, getting out of your comfort zone is how you improve, ain't it? I don't know if this story is good, I didn't really rewatch 5D's before writing it, just pantsed it out based on memory and what I rewatched earlier this year (I think it was this year? I remember writing a post for my side Tumblr back then mentioning Max Verstappen out of all people and I wasn't into F1 until late 2023. Anyway).

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

Outside the Comfort Zone

Summary: Aki passes by Yusei and Co.'s living quarters to retrieve a copybook. Crow makes it way harder than it has any right to be. (or: a recently-ish powerless Aki finds herself having to care for a very stubborn, unwell Crow, and it goes as well as you'd expect.)

Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's (set during the WRGP arc)

Word Count: 4K words

AO3 version available here.

Event run by @badthingshappenbingo

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

There’s something off with the garage of Poppo’s Time, today.

Oh, of course, most of it is obvious: the air’s still, there’s a distinct lack of mechanical clicking and Yusei isn’t here. It’s a minutia of various little details that, added together, make the entire place tilt forty-five degrees to the left.

It’s, unfortunately, not just these which make her feel this way. Frankly, if it was, Aki would’ve already gone out the door and back home. She’s just here to recover a copybook and it should’ve only taken her mere minutes to do that; yet there she is, ten minutes after stepping on the other side of the door, still without her biology copybook, still in a home that isn’t hers, and unsure of where to take the situation next.

The reason might just be the odd-looking Crow that’s standing in the way between her copybook and her.

Is she friends with said Crow? Yes? Maybe? “Friends” sounds a bit strong for their relationship, she’d say; there are no strangers to each other, and she likes sharing a room with him enough to consider them on friendly terms, but they don’t share enough emotional intimacy for them to be friends. At least, that’s how she sees it – maybe he sees it another way.

(Or maybe they’re already friends, and she’s just too afraid of rejection to admit it to herself – better be safe than sorry, even around the most transparent person she knows).

Whatever their relationship is, what Aki knows without much doubt is that Crow isn’t looking like himself. His stance is slouched and unsteady, his hand is holding the doorway just a little too tight for comfort and his eyes look mussed. It’s like his gaze, while explicitly trying to focus on her, is instead looking at something right behind her – as if seeing through her, which is a thought Aki truly has no time to unpack.

“Oh, hi Aki,” he tells her with an indignant wave, head bobbing along with the sway of his hand.

“Goo – good afternoon.”

His smile turns into a puzzled expression, which doesn’t help the impression she’s gotten so far. He looks around, his left eye twitching and his brow furrowed, then looks back at her when it seems like he hasn’t found what he wanted.

“You not hangin’ out with Yusei?”

Aki almost freezes.

“What do you mean?” She asks back, a shiver going down her spine.

Crow’s brow furrows even further, finally pointing her in the direction of the dark rings under his eyes.

“What do you mean, what do you mean? You come here to hang with Yusei, right?”

“He’s… He’s not here, Crow,” her voice staggers against her will. “He’s in Peru with Jack. I just came her to get a copybook I forgot here.”

The reminder, as useless as it should’ve been, seems to have confused him even further.

“Why the fuck would they go to Peru?” Crow asks, anger sipping in his tone. “That’s on the other side of the damn planet!”

He then hacks a lung out, prompting Aki to jump out. It’s harsh, not unlike the coughs she’d get when she was ill as a child and it seemed like the world was melting around her, psychic powers mixing in with the fever – the powers who, like so many people before, have abandoned her.

The silence is too heavy. She can’t let herself falter now. She may be in danger – scratch that, she’s fine, Crow is the one who needs help as far as she’s concerned. They’re friends, or as close as it gets, and she needs to step up now that his foster brothers aren’t here.

“They’re there to follow on a lead Bommer gave them.”

Her heart sinks a little further when all she sees is confusion. In fact, anything she says seems to result in confusion.

“How? That guy’s dead, y’know,” he gulps with a wince. “I know. I watched it happen. And, like, the dead don’t send emails.”

It’s an understandably difficult thing to swallow, she’ll give it to him. To this day, and despite her (former) psychic powers and links to the extrasensory through her Signer’s Mark, she still has little idea how Carly or Misty have managed to rise from the dead. It’s beyond either of their comprehension.

What shouldn’t be for Crow, however, is the whole travel thing. He was there when Yusei and Jack announced they were going. He must’ve been there to fret over them and their budget like Jack likes to complain about. So how come he cannot remember any of this? Why is he so—

“What time is it already?” Crow asks out of the blue.

It takes her aback, but she looks over her phone screen anyway.

“It’s fifteen to six in the evening.”

His face gets splattered in surprise.

“Shit! I’ve got a shift to attend to!”

“What shi—”

His hand lets go of the doorway.

“Sorry to leave this quick, Aki, I’m in a hurry—”

He walks past her, but before he can make it past her, he folds in half into another coughing fit. Fearing the worst, Aki runs to catch him with her arms, the click of her heels almost hiding the harsh sound of his cough. Heat sips through his clothes and through her gloves, ringing the final alarm that finally allows her to deduce what it was that bothered her so much about his appearance.

Despite the audible pain in his breath and the grimace on his face when he moves his arms, Crow still tries rising to his feet on his own. He weakly bats her away with his hands, but he has to lean against the nearest wall to stay upright. It’s an unreal sight, knowing how stubborn and enduring he truly is. Where is the man who was driving with an injured shoulder mere weeks ago?

“Is this shift really that urgent?” She makes no attempt at hiding her ever-growing concern. “You don’t seem like in any state to go to work…”

“What day of the week are we on?” is all he says back to her.

“It’s… Wednesday? Why?”

Crow’s face finally lights up.

“Oh! I’ve got some time ahead of me then.” He chuckles, but it dissolves into a cough, and she can’t keep her grimace to herself. “I thought we were Monday, for some reason?”

“You honestly seem very out of it,” she ends up bluntly stating instead of going along. “I really don’t think you should go work today.” Or tomorrow.

“Can’t afford not to,” he croaks back, but it lacks any sort of sting.

What looks to her like a dizzy spell ends up taking his resolution out, his whole body pitching forward. Once more, almost in rhythm, her body moves on its own as a result, her arms catching him in his fall.

Heat lingers on her hands even after she has finished bringing him to his room.

Unlike most of Team 5Ds, Aki has never had to care for someone else. She has none of Yusei’s instinct for help nor Crow’s experience with dealing with children. Usually, when faced with this sort of situations, she’d entrust the person in need of care to someone with a lot more ease in this domain – as it turns out, most of the time, it’s asking Jack’s childhood friends to handle his problems, much to his protests. As such, she’s never had to play nursemaid before, and nobody has trusted her with such a role until Yusei came along, and for once, she hadn’t wanted that to change (except for Yusei, but this is a situation that’s unrelated to her current predicament).

Whatever she’s used to, unfortunately, is now out of the realm of possibility. The two people she could ask about it on any other occasion where the need could rise up are respectively currently in Peru with terrible reception and too busy refusing to stay in bed for much longer than a minute to give her a precious hand.

And, you know, you don’t usually ask someone who’s sick to take care of themselves, let alone help you in the process.

Very much to her misfortune, this is all without taking into account that Crow is as stubborn as a patient as he is in every other thing. It was to be expected, of course, and Crow is nothing if not stubborn; but it hasn’t made anything easier. If anything, she should’ve seen it coming as soon as he was too beyond himself to know where his housemates were and why.

Still, it doesn’t mean she shouldn’t try her best in this situation. What friend would she be if she left a comrade in need on his own, harmful to himself? (And she craves for empathy, a part of her whispers, the part of her who misses her powers for the bond she enjoyed having with Black Rose).

Despite a losing battle against his own voice and the way his limbs tremble whenever he tries holding himself out of bed, Crow is insisting that, no, he’s fine to go work, and she has no reason to worry, because it’s not his first rodeo… or something along those lines. Admittedly, it’s difficult to understand everything when he’s struggling to push the sentence out of his throat to begin with, let alone articulate his thoughts.

All that ends up doing as a result is annoying her, because this is oh so similar to Yusei but in all the wrong ways, but that’s once more beside the point. She isn’t here to lash out her annoyance at Crow being an idiot, she’s here to make sure he doesn’t die an idiot.

“I’m tellin’ you, I’m fine,” he whines, a hand already back at gripping the edge of the blanket.

“Why are you so insistent on pretending you are?”

(She doubts it’s because of a martyr syndrome like Yusei’s).

“I’m not pretendin’ anythin’. I’m actually fine.”

His voice is feeble, his words tremble out of his mouth.

“Crow, I know you’re not. Please stop making this harder than it has to be.”

He deflates with a single, wheezing sigh.

“It’s Satellite nature, I guess,” he shrugs with a slight smile. “Both Yusei and Jack got it too, y’know.”

“Speaking of Yusei, right now you’re just like him in that regard.” She lets herself sigh. “Pretending like you’re fine when all signs point to the contrary.”

“Yeah, it’s… Y’know, when you were sick in Satellite, unless you had someone to shelter you and cover your back, ‘t was like signin’ your death certificate.” He coughs again, and it keeps dragging on, worsening, and it pangs at her heart every single time. “Guess that never went away, even now.”

“Even for something like a work shift?”

“Especially for a work shift. Do y’know how tight our finances are? Jack sure don’t seem to, that asshole!” A barking cough interrupts him. “Fuck this shit, I could be literally anywhere else but here. Plus…” He turns to her, and despite the evident weariness on his face and in his eyes, his gaze is sharp. “You should be doin’ better things with your time than watching over me, though.”

Aki rises an eyebrow.

“Such as?”

He shrugs again as a response.

“I dunno. Studyin’. Playin’ cards. Drivin’ a D-Wheel. Tryin’ to… sort through what mess that must’ve been for you, these past few weeks.”

The last bit hits her a lot harder than the previous ones. Having to replace Crow in haste due to a mysterious crash, the conflicting sentiment of her first race as a member of Team 5Ds, her own crash, and now, having to grapple with the sudden and unexplained disappearance of her powers… It’s been a lot of turmoil. Too much, in fact.

Despite all of the pain, it’s somewhat heartwarming to have someone genuinely worry for her, even if it tugs at an uncomfortable heartstring. It means she has the company she so desperately looked for and thought to have found in Divine, now truthful and actually what she needed. Yet, she feels uneasy when she has to show vulnerability in front of them, afraid of what they could take advantage of, of hidden intentions that may be hiding beneath a smile. Letting go of her masks has been terrifying, even if it’s the right thing to do.

For the longest time, she could protect herself with her powers. They were her curse, they were her blessing. They made her unlike the others but allowed her to connect with Black Rose and all of her deck. She misses them even now as she’s within the warmth of Team 5Ds; who don’t judge her for them like the others. Who care for her, like Yusei has ever since meeting her, like Crow is at the moment. Even in pain, they care.

The least she can do is pay them back now that gets the chance to. Now that her powers have left her more vulnerable than ever and created a void she can’t seem to fill on her own.

“I’ll be fine not brooding about it for a while,” is all she tells him in response.

Because it’s the truth. Sometimes, letting the dark clouds consume you is worse. It’ll always be worse, no matter how easy it looks.

“You sure? Because watching over an ill guy gets boring real fast.” He gives her a small smile. “I’d know, I’m usually the one doing the watching.”

She replies with a smile of her own.

“A bit of calm would do the both of us some good, I believe, after all that happened.”

He closes his eyes with a deep sigh.

“Can’t go against that, I guess.”

“Take some rest. I’ll be here by the time you wake up.”

It’s not intended to be a lie to make him feel better about sleeping.

“If you’re lookin’ for it, the medicine is in the cabinet in the bathroom. Pretty sure we got the right stuff at least.”

“I’ll go get it.”

That, and a basin of water, and everything she can remember from hazy memories of childhood illnesses.

Yusei once told her to write down thoughts that were confusing to her, as a way to at least alleviate the black clouds in her mind. He helped her pick a cute-looking notebook for it too, just the size of her uniform pockets, red with an embroidered rose on top of it. It seemed too fitting not to pick it, and Yusei seemed even happier about it than she was. She isn’t sure if what she’s writing in it right now makes sense, but it feels nice to have a place where to dump all of the thoughts that’d usually fester and poison her mind nonetheless.

The loss of her powers continues to leave her at a loss. The best way she can describe the feeling is a bittersweet void it’s left behind: she’s finally normal, like she wished for so long when pretending to be a witch, yet now that she is, it’s like this life wasn’t for her. She misses the bond she had with her Monsters, now that she can’t caress Black Rose Dragon like she could for so long. It makes her feel lonelier in a way that’s wrong to her. It’s like she never knew what she actually wanted out of life, out of the world.

Writing down this loss, this void and this coldness is what’s helping her process some of it. It onsets the way the melancholy would’ve taken ahead of her before she met Yusei and the others. It allows her some lookback and to keep her head out of the water until she can find a solution or get used to a new situation. It feels… soothing, at times, despite it just being scribbles on paper.

A hand strangles her arm, her hands lets go of her pen, her notebook falls to the ground.

“What—”

“Who the hell are you?!”

Shaken, she stares back at her assailant – a frazzled-looking Crow, his eyes glazed over and his pupils dilated. His breathing is erratic, coming out in little wheezes, his teeth gritting.

“I…”

Aki has no idea what to do. A stranger attacking her is no surprise, but a friend? Clearly, something is very wrong with Crow, and she has trouble connecting the dots as to why he’s in such a state. Did she not look after him hard enough? Is she just as neglectful as she was when she was isolated and lost, manipulated, used as a weapon? Is this retribution for that, to be forgotten by those she cherishes?

He lets go of her arm, seemingly against his will – it seems like he doesn’t have enough strength left to actually fight her. She can hardly breathe normally, every gasp of air coming quicker than the last, but she has to compose herself back anyway. She’s the one who’s supposed to fix things here, and now, she doesn’t want to destroy anyone further. Perhaps she can still find redemption.

“What’re you doin’ here?!”

Crow’s voice is unsteady, made all the worse by the cough that’s dried it into being hoarse, and his words slur together, making him very difficult to understand. Aki wishes she knew what do say back, but…

“I’m – I’m looking after you,” she explains back, because calming him down seems like a good idea.

He cocks an eyebrow at her, doubt just barely readable in his half-closed eyes.

“Who’re you?”

“I’m Aki. I’m Yusei’s girl… I’m his friend. I’m your friend.”

His hands grab at her shoulders.

“What’s tellin’ me you are, huh?!”

She looks around the room, trying to ignore how uncomfortable the pressure from his knuckles on his shoulders are, and the heat sipping from them almost right into her skin, before finding a sign of reassurance.

“See this basin of water?” She points it with her finger, he follows it to the bottom of the chair where she sits. “It’s mine. I was trying to keep your fever in check.” That sounded like a good idea, at the time. “I’m admittedly… not great at it, unlike you are, but I’m trying.”

His gaze slightly clears up – and then his eyes flutter close and don’t open up, leaving him in her arms once more.

It’s sort of a wake-up call for Aki, as she puts him back to bed. She should’ve kept a keener eye, but instead got lost in thoughts. She was so sure she had done all of the right things already, yet there she is, only realizing after the fact she wasn’t careful by being attacked by a delirious guy who mistook her for the enemy. Talk about failing at the mission you assigned yourself.

She takes off her gloves and puts a hand on his forehead – his fever has gone back up when she wasn’t looking. It makes sense, miserably so. But this is no time to mop for herself, she must be more like Yusei. She must help out her friend even if she has her own issues. She can’t do anything about her powers, but she can do something so Crow doesn’t have to see things that aren’t there.

So she picks up the washcloth that fell onto his lap and twists it cold again, determined to correct her mistakes.

Aki is staring at Crow when he finally opens his eyes again. They’re clear, able to follow the way her hair sways when she backs up from the bed and back into the chair. Her back is trying to make her pay for the unnatural positions she made it endure, but it’ll have to bear through it for a bit. She’s not letting him down now.

“Hey,” he tells her, stifling a cough.

“Glad to see you awake again,” she confesses. “How are you?”

“Erh… Sore. Sick. You know the deal.” He sits up with the help of the headboard of the bed. “How long was I asleep for?”

“I’d say… an hour or so.”

“And you’re still here?” He chuckles, even if it dissolves yet again into a coughing fit. “Gah, forgot how much that sucked.”

“I… I didn’t want to leave you alone like this.”

“Don’t worry, I went through worse. I’m a big bird, I can deal with it on my own.”

The way she’s staring back at him must’ve looked suspicious, because he looks concerned, now, and it’s like cold water seeping through her socks.

“Hey… Did something happen?”

“No, nothing. It’s… it’s not important.”

“Tch, you’re like Yusei. ‘Not important’ my ass.”

“I don’t think I should tell you about it.”

“You’re not makin’ your case any easier. Shoot ahead anyway.”

Aki looks at her hands on her lap, her knuckles almost white. Her skin looks slightly red, especially without her gloves.

“You weren’t yourself earlier,” she manages to get out, “and you thought I was some sort of enemy.”

She can’t bring herself to look up and see what his reaction to that is. Her head’s weighing heavily on her neck.

“Shit, did… I did something to you, right?”

“You… You tried to attack me, yes,” and she realizes how bad that sounds, “but it’s nothing. You weren’t yourself and it wasn’t a big deal. I’m fine.”

“You don’t sound like you are, though… Shit, I’m so sorry, Aki…”

She rises a careful eye, only to see pain distort Crow’s pallid face.

“It shouldn’t have happened,” she replies. “I should’ve done a better job.”

“Hey. Look at me, Aki.”

Hesitantly, she does – and finds no anger, no disappointment in Crow’s eyes, only compassion.

“You didn’t have to put up with my shit, and I was trying to push you away, but you did it anyway. Attacking you was wrong no matter what. You’ve got a lot to deal with at the moment and none of this is me. Don’t beat yourself up for not handlin’ everythin’ perfectly.” He smiles. “So, thanks, Aki. Don’t worry about good ol’ me, I’ll handle myself from now on.”

Silence follows.

“Though I get why you’d doubt that. We don’t really have a good track record when it comes to that stuff, do we.”

“Not really, no,” she manages to chuckle. “But friends need to trust each other.”

“You catch on quick!” He coughs into his elbow. “I’m sure it’s starting to get late, your parents may be worried. You should head home.”

“Can I… Can I stay here for a little longer? At least until Bruno comes back from whatever errand he may be running. I’d… feel better if I knew someone could watch you over.” Like she’d like it if she was as vulnerable as Crow is right now. “It keeps me occupied too.”

He gives her a sympathetic look from which she wants to recoil, but stops herself from doing.

“Make yourself a home, then. Yusei’s bedroom should be available.”

He winks, right in time for her face to warm up.

“Thank you, Crow.”

“If you need an ear to talk to and I ain’t sleepin’, don’t hesitate, okay? I promise I won’t bite your head off this time.”

“I’ll keep it in mind, thanks.”

She doubts she’ll bother him with this when all she’s tried to make him do today was resting, but she very much appreciates the reminder. It’s always nice to know she’s not only accepted, but also cared for by people whose honest intentions she can be sure of.

It’s making her feel welcome, and just for that, she’s more thankful – her and her missing powers, her and her conflicting feelings it, her and her past that she’s just now feeling comfortable with disclosing anything about. Her and the ghost that may continue pursuing her in the future, but which are leaving her mostly unscathed for now.

Perhaps that’s what home is – and it may just take the shape of a friend’s bedroom, or of a garage.

[foxgirlintestines]

I have to say, I've been enjoying Baldur's Gate 3, but the people hyping it up for the romanceable characters should really be ignored. Your options for romance are all different tropes of conventionally attractive character you'd expect to be in a white girl's romance novel or standard fantasy babe with a tiny bit of paint splashed on them. Even the Teifling Barbarian is just "punk" girlfriend barbie with red skin and horns.

But, lack of diversity in body type aside, the real reason the whole romance stuff sucks is that the relationships just kind of pop up out of nowhere and seem forced. Only one character, Karlach, has any motivation and thought put into why she would want a romance, and only one character, Astarion, has a believable reason to suddenly start a romance. BTW, before you give me weird looks about that second statement, the reason is he is bored and wants to fuck, I said it was a believable reason, not a good or compelling reason. For the others, it just seems like they suddenly break character once you get their approval rating high enough, especially Shadowheart who just seems to completely forget all of her backstory to suddenly stop being a bitch and suddenly be more palatable as a relationship when that is the conversation to doing a complete 180 in all other interactions.

The only thing I can really say in BG3's defense is that if you have played DnD with a bunch of horny people and the DM offers them the ability to go fuck NPCs or other player characters, it goes exactly like this. "Continuity be damned, I am going to try to fuck that pointy eared slut." I do not think this is what the game is actually trying to emulate, but that's the exact vibe I get from this part of the game.

I didn't really play the game with the romance stuff as a goal, though. If you want an automated DnD campaign that trades the full freedom of a real tabletop game for not having to find a DM and spending more effort trying to get people's schedules to match than actual gameplay, I would suggest this game. It's fun, it gives you a lot of room to be creative with how you solve puzzles, and it implements mechanics from the physical game well, even if they had to slim down some of the mechanics. However, if you just want to fuck the bratty white boy, there are actual porn games on Steam, and if you want to be fucked by a bear e621 is the place to go.