#do you think i should post it on AO3

[lets-zofifi-stuff]

Plex Gossip

I just found it on my disc. I wrote a fanfiction for Solar Lunacy by @bamsara and forgot?! I decided it's boring and never showed it to anybody but now i reread and it's not so bad?

It's just a short crack fic set somewhere in one of the ealier chapters.

It is a group chat session of five staff members of Megapizzaplex

And they are gossiping about the Reader

I initially thought I am going to wite those on the ENTIRETY of SL but in later chapters everybody got fired so...

Enjoy?

==============================

Dave123: 

yall remember that newbe that got hired recenly?!

5mind: 

no?

Dave123: 

you know 

the one that always looks like they're gonna pass out or start yelling? 

that one?

troublet: 

we all look like that 

sometimes

some of us more often than others

Dave123: 

often seen chasing steffs around

trying to get off the socks stuck on them?

5mind: 

socks with magnets

THE PLAGUE

steffs rest in pieces XD

broz4urus: 

is this the one that always gets their cleaning cart stuck in places? :/

Tris: 

Always? I only saw that happen once.

broz4urus: 

i twice

they are on a warpath with that cart :D

Dave123: 

Yeah! thats them!

Does anybody know their name?

5mind: 

no?

troublet: 

nope

broz4urus: 

nada!

Tris: 

I don’t think I've ever seen them talk to anybody, actually.

Do they know about the group chat?

5mind:

I don’t think so? 

somebody would have to tell them first, no?

troublet: 

what about thm 

Dave123: 

Have you noticed they are spending a lot of time in the daycare?

broz4urus: 

dude why are you stalking some kid XD

Dave123: 

im not!!!

i just noticed thatss all

troublet: 

why do you think they are spending too much time in the daycare?

Dave123: 

that damn banners in DC are always getting busted somehow

troublet: 

wh do u think they r spending too much time in the dc

Dave123: 

one of them begin to flicker 

at least once per week

who do yall think has to fix it?

troublet:

would you just answer

Dave123:

ME! thats who

im heading there right after closing

to fix yet another damn banner

again

so karens would stop being hysterical 

broz4urus:

dude XD

Dave123:

about epilepsy hazard

and newbie is always there 

get it?

every 

single 

time

Tris:

Epilepsy is real, Dave. >:(

5mind:

so dude likes to take a break in a place

that is quiet and covered in pillow mats

so what

Dave123:

but is it really about mats?

daycare attendant is always around them somewhere

jumping around like crazy

broz4urus:

isn’t he always like this?

troublet: 

not really?

it is jumpy true

but it hates employees usually

Dave123: 

especially techs

troublet:

if u think it hates techs u should see what it does to daycare assistants

Tris: 

Is there a position like that?

troublet:

not anymore

Dave123: 

im telling you something is up with them

they only spend time with DA

5mind:

well i saw them talking to monty the other day

Dave123: 

see?

Who is hanging out with Monty these days?

that bot is crazy!

5mind:

hmh always trashing his room 

or himself

do you know he did that again?

Dave123: 

oh 

Is it the Big Bucket time already?

troublet:

no it was an elevator this time

i know bc i had to put him together

took us all day

he was a salt mine all the way through

5mind:

LOL an alligator vs the elevator

i swear

it’s even better than the BB time

troublet:

better for WHO

broz4urus:

hey! Monty is a cool dude.

stop that >:(

5mind:

u only says that bc u don have to work near him

i was relieved to have a day long break from his mood swings

he and the newbie got into some serious fight i heard

Mont said something about trashing them into a garbage chute

i think

Tris: 

He did what?!

5mind:

well he didn’t ACTUALLY trash them

tbh

he just threatened

Tris: 

I did not know they are allowed to say things like that?

troublet:

you have no idea

5mind:

you are working with mr. goody two shoes Fredbear

dad friend to end all dad friends

the ultimate cinamonroll

broz4urus:

I DARE to disagree

DJ is the ultimate cinamonroll

i miss him

Tris: 

David, be honest with us.

Is this going to be another crazy conspiracy theory of yours?

Dave123:

no

and what do you mean by another?!

Tris: 

Another like the one about a previous arcade assistant 

who got crazy because of the arcades?

Dave123:

but he did! 

that is a fact!

he stopped leaving the building for the nights

and he was spitting gibberish about needing to rescue a princess!

5mind:

it only proves that he was unstable

he was probably not taking his medications or smth

broz4urus:

tbh

some of the machines ARE getting weird sometimes

but you also said that the plex is on the ruins of some old pizzeria

like, underground pizza? come on! ;D

Tris: 

If the newbe is always in the Daycare right after the closing, 

they probably have tasks to do there, just like you.

Why is this even so important?

Dave123:

what tasks? cleaning?! 

that bot can clean the whole playground it a second

the only reason they would give that task to a newbie 

would be if the weirdo was slacking off on purpose

5mind:

or sent the request

they can do that

sometimes I wonder why can’t we

troublet:

we can

they’re just gonna ignore us

5mind:

the poor coffee machine will never come back to life ;(

Dave123:

but it will stay in our hearts U_U

but i am just saying

the daycare is pretty self sufficient, yes?

it only needs for someone to get the trash and laundry out

and the fresh supplies in

thats it

you don’t need to sit there for hours

unless you wanna

Tris: 

Okay, let’s be over with it.

What are you saying they are doing there?

Dave123:

dating

5mind:

LOL!!!

troublet:

you can’t be serious

Tris: 

Well, there are many people who are into animatronic really.

Especially the Glamrocks.

broz4urus:

poor Roxy

she gets a ton of weird fanart

Dave123:

I am 1000% serious

telling you, they are totally into bots

5mind:

or are u projecting

Dave123:

fuck you man

broz4urus:

stop stalking Dave!

Tris:

I agree. You are being creepy.

5mind:

you are jealous because Roxy rejected you that one time

Dave123:

okay y’all can fuck off

People of the drama:

Dave123

General tech, gossiper, conspiracist

Text style: frantic

DCA used pronouns: it/its

broz4urus

Arcade assistant, chill guy

Text style: funny

DCA used pronouns: he/his

5mind

Monty’s handler, confused, jokester

Text style: lazy

DCA used pronouns: it/its

troublet

Animatronic tech, experienced, bitter

Text style: tired

DCA used pronouns: it/its

Tris

Freddy’s handler, fairly new, good girl, polite

Text style: tidy

[licorishh]

no way she's alive ?? yea those mental health breaks because social media makes people suck are wild huh

[umblrspectrum]

updated some ref sheets and also actually made jcj one

[myokk]

Ominis Gaunt has always suspected he is cold-blooded.

It makes sense, really

He always seems to be cold: frigid, long fingers that are often stiff and difficult to move; goosebumps raising the skin of his arms and the back of his neck whenever he walks through the drafty halls of the dungeons; even his eyes, he has been told, are reminiscent of ice. They are apparently quite unsettling.

His whole life has been defined by punishments and sometimes he preoccupies himself with the thought that it is the only way he can view the world. Some of the punishments are manifested in curses he inherited from his family. (His parents and Marvolo insist that they are gifts, but Ominis begs to differ.)

(an excerpt from an Ominis POV WIP I have been working on FOREVER & writer’s block is Tormenting me😔🙏)

[non-plutonian-druid]

[ID: a tua comic.

Panel 1: Viktor says "Why are you in my apartment."

Panel 2: Five, who is in Viktor's apartment, says "We're going to a pottery class on Thursday."

Panel 3: Viktor, perturbed: "Wait, what? ...I'm busy" Five, offscreen: "You're not, I checked."

Panel 4-5: Viktor, from offscreen, says "wait-" while Five says "The flyer said to wear clothes you don't like" and disappears.

Panels 6-9: Viktor, looking bewildered, asks "Does he do this to you guys too?" Luther replies "We made candles. They... look like shit. But they smell nice!" Allison replies "We made keychains." Klaus replies "I... guess he drives me to my knitting club? I think he just does it to flirt with the old ladies."

Panel 10-11: Viktor prompts, "Diego?", who looks embarrassed.

Panel 12: Diego tilts his nose in the air and says "needle felting." Allison replies "of course."

Panel 13: Diego opens one eye and says "I'm gonna make Lila a wolf." Luther replies "of course." End ID.]

Needle felting is the stabbiest craft.

also i have though long and hard about what five should do with himself now that the apocalypse is gone, and i have decided that one of the answers is "drags his siblings to community crafting classes against their will"

(takes place not in season 4, but in the equivalent time period (ie 2024) in one of those classic "after season 2 the sparrows are quickly taken care of and they get back to their own timeline" aus, becuase season 4 was mostly ok but i don't want to play in its space.)

[yantao-enthusiast]

pleaaaase stop tagging wlw ships that are background on the mlm fics !!!!! the majority of that wlw ship tag is clogged up with mlm with just a dash of wlw when all the people want is them to be the stars PLEEASSSEEEEEE

[inimitablereel]

2024 vid recs

Under the cut, recs for vids I saw last year that were published in 2024. Since it's already January I am cutting myself off and making a list from things I've already seen and loved but inevitably there is so much more out there and I would love to see recs from everyone else! Fandoms include dungeon meshi, wheel of time, the general concept of time loops, several miscellaneous cdramas, and other random stuff I personally like

Dungeon Meshi

what are the rules for breakfast today by @dykealloy - anime only action heavy ensemble vid that's just full of energy and a bop!

MONSTER and OTHER SIDE OF PARADISE by @mynnthia - two super short manga vids about Falin (but I'm pretty sure that this is manga from before where the anime cuts off rn if you're avoiding manga spoilers but not the manga in general) - this does SUCH cool animation with the lyrics and the manga panels the movement is so dynamic and well matched with the song and fun to watch

Eat It by @allegoriestamvs - this is exactly what it sounds like, a goofy fun vid about food in the dungeon meshi anime, which much like the show itself packs in more characterization than you'd expect given the silliness

Kiss Me Dungeon Lord by @sevenangrybees - manga vid that is full of delicious delicious spoilers don't watch this if you haven't finished the manga. But if you have the parallels!!! The original post for this vid has been sitting in my drafts for ages because I Needed to rewatch it (I still need to rewatch it there's a lot in there)

Wheel of Time

best friend by @thiswildernessismyhome - Moraine&Lan vid that is just a real bop. Friendship!!! Really fun movement to watch in a fighting as dancing kind of way! Also some incredible anachronistic lyric matches

put on a show by stardust_rain - another bop! but about Lanfear so it's a more evil bop :D some really fun stuttery editing that gives it a real groove

What's Up by cosmic_llin - Moraine character study - I do think of this song as kind of a meme song but it's taken VERY seriously in this vid and it's perfect for Moraine - it does make me sad about her

Velodrome by stardust_rain - aes sedai focused. This really leans into how beautiful this show is, lots of gorgeous visual parallels and also another one that makes me sad about how aes sedai are very constricted despite being very powerful

Time Loops

Okay so this time loops section is one multi-fandom vid and several Reset vids but whatever, I love time loops

Do What You Want by cupidsbow - this is SUCH a cool multi-time-loop vid - it really gets into the nihilism inherent in time loops

And Do It Again by @rhea314 - Reset - a bop! This combines extremely fun boppy music (and fun boppy movement editing) with dying repeatedly which is the kind of incongruity I love

one wrong turn by @marquisguyun - Reset - this one you probably are better off having watched the show for because it really leans into the parallels with everyone on the bus' story and how one moment can lead to death in a time loop

Everything Else :p

queer cinema - pink pony club by @finalgirlguy This pulled in SO much queer cinema, much of which I haven't seen (and now want to), but even without knowing all the source it's a real testament to queer joy and so fun to watch

Trust+Fall by @sandalwoodbox (fandom: Romeo+Juliet) I was not expecting to be sad about Romeo and Juliet, like the characters not the whole play. We all know how this one ends and they're just dumb teens or whatever but ugh this vid was SO upsetting (positive, love to be sad about a tragedy)

Hell or High Water by dkwilliams (fandom: Word of Honor) This vid takes the plot of WoH seriously and draws a ton of beautiful thematic parallels and turns it into a more coherent arc than the show imo. This made me sad about, well, you know the dead people, but also everyone in the jianghu.

Thunder City by @bingeling (fandom: DMBJ: Reboot) Really beautiful aesthetic vid leaning into creepy tomb stuff with a ton of silence and diegetic audio. This is one of those vids that is so impressive to me on a technical what you can do with the medium level (and also just really cool to watch), would highly recommend with/without fandom knowledge. To do the equivalent of a bookstore readalike, fans of the older multi-dmbj show vid Aspara Calling may enjoy this (and vice versa)

Joyride by @himemeiya (fandom: utena movie) extremely fun, very short, sometimes you gotta lean into wtf is the utena movie

this Nirvana in Fire vid by @zhoudadudugongjin I love NiF vids that are goofy but also saying something real about the show. In this case that real thing is MCS will break your heart :D

Boys in the Ocean by @rhea314 (fandom: Fire Island) I'm bookending these miscellaneous recs with queer joy. This vid just made me grin the whole time - it captures all the fun goofy moments and also all the cute moments of this movie and also is a bop!

Also going to put a blanket rec for the four festivids for Bound (including mine!) here - they were all really beautiful and extremely sexy (do mind the tags)

FYI I've decided to leave out the vampires (specifically ones being interviewed, though I also haven't included any snowfall or fangs of fortune vids here) - I haven't seen the source material and while I have seen several rad vids, I feel unprepared to give recs based on the random things that have crossed my radar. But there's a lot of cool vids out there, if you like iwtv definitely go looking for vids

[hopeswriting]

imagine you're luce, and you're born the heir to a mafia family. you're mafia-born, and so of course also mafia-raised, and then also a donna-to-be. you're raised to be able to take on the role, to be good and capable at it, are taught to make one of your core beliefs about how the many must come before the few, because the family must always come first. you're going to be the donna, of course you must always prioritize the family above all else, it's your foremost and most important duty.

if caring about the few too comes at the price of the many, comes at the price of the family, is it even worth it? if the happiness gained from it comes at the price of a greater suffering for others, is there even any meaning to it, even if it's your happiness we're talking about? you understand, don't you?

you're not sure if you do, but you care about your family, love it, want to do right by it once you become their donna, so you nod, listen and learn.

(you don't have to be taught the pain and loss and guilt and anger and bitterness is a fair price to pay for the pain you decide has to be inflicted and the sacrifices you decide must be made, including by yourself. it's the least you could do, even.)

imagine you're luce, and the gift of foresight runs through your blood.

you would not call it a gift. you did not ask for it either. and you'll never come to see it as something wanted by you.

you can see the future, and it happened exactly as you saw it would, so of course it's exactly the way you wanted it to go. you can see the future, and it happened exactly as you saw it would, so of course you didn't care to try hard enough to change it. you saw the future before the shape of it had yet to be breathed into existence, and who's to say it didn't come into existence only because you saw it happen? you saw the future, and it happened worse than it had to for it.

you can see the future, but you still can't make it anything else than what it was always going to be. you can even make the visions happen at your will, but you still have no say on what you see or how much you see. you still can only be the witness of it before anyone else can.

it does mean double and longer the happiness sometimes, means relief and gratefulness and hope beyond words, and it'd be cruel of you to voice out loud your feelings for others to hear the many more times it means something else.

you can see the future, and it doesn't make it any kinder on you than on anyone else, does not give you any more power or control over it than anyone else, but at least you can see the future. you're given the time to make peace with it, to brace yourself for it, to bargain with it, to plead and beg and fight against it however desperately and hopelessly, even if in the end it still happens exactly as you saw it would.

(you can see the future, and it still doesn't hurt you any less than anyone else when it happens, but you don't expect anymore for anyone to hold you any less responsible for it anyway. it would be nice for someone to do it one day, but you understand.)

you can see the future, and you decide it's a kindness to both yourself and others to keep it for yourself as much as possible whenever you can.

imagine you're luce, and your family has this set of rings they've looked after and protected for as long as your family has existed. they're one set of three of the most important artifacts in the world, ones that help in safeguarding its existence and balance. they're duty, the very first one and the most important one your family was created for.

the pacifier around your mother's neck is duty too, and the most important and powerful artifact among twenty-one in safeguarding the world and its balance. it's been passed down in your family too, from mother to daughter. it's duty, but less tied to your family and much more to the blood running through your veins. it's a curse, in fact, as it demands heavy sacrifices the rings don't, and one that can only be tied to the blood running through your veins.

(your mother looks at you as if expecting some kind of reaction from you, and you can only wonder at which point you weren't supposed to see it as a given. duty and sacrifices have been one and the same for you for a long time now. is it even duty if it doesn't require any sacrifices from you?)

imagine you're luce, and your mother dies for duty. she's the donna, and so she dies for your family. she's the sky arcobaleno, and so she dies for the world. she's your mother, but she dies anyway, doesn't fight it either, even knowing she will leave you behind, even knowing she won't ever get to see what you look like all grown-up.

everywhere you look, duty stares back at you, from your mother and the pacifier around her neck, her love for your family and the life she gives up for it, her love for you and how she dies anyway while you're still only a child. duty, from your family members and how they die for you and kill for you, how they do both at your command, how their lives are in the palms of your hands and how they weigh only as much as you allow them to at a time. duty, from the knowledge your foresight gives you and the shackles tied to the blood running through your veins.

your mother's only duty while she lives too. she loves you, but she'd have had to give birth to you anyway even if she didn't. she loves you, but she still gave birth to you even knowing the kind of life you'd have to live, the kind of hands you'd inevitably end up with, the burdens she'd have to lay on your shoulders, passing them down from her own. because she loves you, she finds the resolve to raise you to be able to face all of it head-on and come out on top, but she'd have had to raise you much the same way anyway even if she didn't.

(she doesn't die for you, doesn't fight to be able to keep living with you, and this, too, is your mother surrendering to duty one last time.)

(you're so sick of it, so angry at it, so hateful and resentful against it. you're so stifled by it to the point you've stopped being able to breathe for a long time now. or you would have been if they had taught you how to face duty in this way too.

it's for the better they didn't. a silver lining, sparing you pain that isn't necessary for you to go through. everyone you turn to only teaches you how to keep holding your breath longer, and you listen and learn, obedient and dutiful as you've ever been.

you're grateful for it too. really, you are.)

everywhere you look, there's no room for you to so much as question any of it, let alone anything more. duty is commendable, something you ought to look up to and strive towards, strive to achieve. duty is the right thing to do. of course it is.

(you exhale a breath of relief that shakes you down to your very core.

thank god, it's at least the right thing to do.

you're grateful for it beyond words. really, you are.)

imagine you're luce, and before it even happens, you know the choice you'll make when climbing that mountain, when standing on top of it, when waiting for a bright light to shine down on you from above. you know the choice you'll make then, even when pregnant with your daughter.

it doesn't matter since how long you knew, be it years, months, days, hours or minutes before. all that matters is that before you can even contemplate the idea of making another choice and all its implications and possible consequences, before the thought can even come alive in your mind, you already know the choice you'll make.

(you can see the future, but just because you already saw it, it doesn't mean it's now set in stone.

you can see the future, but just because you're given the chance to fight to change it, it doesn't mean it still won't happen every bit like you saw it.

it doesn't mean it can't still happen even worse than how you first saw it happen because you fought to change it, no matter how already dreadful it originally was.)

imagine you're luce, and before it even happens, you know they'll be others with you standing on top of that mountain. you're the only one who'll know it before it happens.

(because you can see the future.

and oh, you did not ask for it.)

they're strangers, people you don't owe anything to. adults who choose to show up at the first meeting, and to show up to every following mission after that. the chosen seven, whose ambitions and prides lead them to walk the path of the seven strongest too once laid down in front of them.

you don't force their hands in making any of those choices for them. you're not responsible for any of them.

you become coworkers then, accomplices, your hands stained in blood to various extent, but now dipping in the same pool of blood as you strive towards the same goal together. you have each other's backs, learn each other's strengths and weaknesses, learn each other's personalities, likes and dislikes. you keep having to spend more time together as the missions keep coming your way.

inevitably, you come to care about them. even more damning, they come to care about you in return. enough so they'll look after your daughter even after what'll happen on top of that mountain. enough so they'll look after your granddaughter too, warmly and fondly enough she'll call one of them uncle.

you're still the only one who knows they'll stand together with you on top of that mountain, not knowing what'll happen on it like you do.

and you do care about them, you swear you do. really, you do.

(you care about them the same way your mother cared about you, and how she still raised you to have steel in you and be made of sharp edges you know how to use. you care about them the same way you care about your family, and how you still send them to their deaths as needed so the rest of your family you care about just the same can keep on living longer and safely. this is the only way you've had the chance to learn how to care and love.

duty and sacrifices have been one and the same for you for as long as you can remember. it doesn't matter at which point sacrifices came to mean love to you too.

and most of all, you love your daughter more than anything else in the world.)

imagine you're luce, and this is who you are. this is who you've been raised to be, the only way you've been given room to grow up to be. this is the life you've lived and the kind of life that has shaped you as the person you are now. this is what you've been taught and told is the best version of yourself you could have grown up to be. this is who you ended up being by what you've been taught and told are all the right choices to make.

you're still the only one who knows what is about to happen on top of that mountain. it hasn't happened yet. the fate of the world hangs on what'll happen on top of that mountain, the same world you'll have to give birth to your daughter in. the same daughter you're currently pregnant with.

now imagine you're luce, look me in the eye and tell me you'd know how to even form the thought of the possibility of there being any other choice to make. look me in the eye and tell me you wouldn't look at the only choice in front of you, and know deep in your bones it's the only right choice to make. that it is right of you to make it. because it simply has to be.

(imagine you're luce, and you're not doomed by the narrative. of course, you're not.

why would you need to be when the narrative has painstakingly shaped you all your life to become its perfect, faithful and dutiful sacrificial lamb?

and then, imagine you're luce, and you're even grateful for it, so, so very grateful it held up its end of the bargain too.

truly, you are.)

[neil-neil-orange-peel]

I was thinking to myself recently how wild it would be if this fandom was big enough to do a kinktober. Alas...

[crownedwille]

.

[forgetme-eternally-blissfully]

In the darkness, Salvation may be found.

An ORV fanfic. Read it on Ao3 here.

•••

Yoo Joonghyuk exhales. It's cold, cold enough to freeze water, but the air from his mouth doesn't turn white, leaving a strange feeling to gather in his chest.

This was no ordinary house, that's for sure. It's a standard Korean apartment at times, then a different apartment, and sometimes it's an office or a prison visiting room. Each time he passes through a door, it changes. If he tries to go back into the room he had been in, he finds that it has also changed.

He has yet to see a person. Objects, empty beds, a sink in a small kitchen full of dirty dishes and a microwave ramen unfinished on a counter, but no person to accompany these innocuous things.

He's supposed to find Kim Dokja in this place?

He feels angry at the idea that whatever being has trapped him here is merely playing with him.

He is walking through a school hallway when a shadow passes behind him.

Yoo Joonghyuk speed is impressive as he gives chase to the shadow. The shadow moves quickly though, and it isn't easy to keep track of as it passes through doorway after doorway. The scenes shift and change, trees outside unbreakable windows move through the seasons, faster and faster as Yoo Joonghyuk races after the elusive, dark specter.

Left, right, through this door, back through the way they came, left again, right...

Minutes go by like that, neither the shadow nor Yoo Joonghyuk giving up.

Abruptly, the shadow disappears. It moves through a door, and instead of being behind it, it simply vanishes, as if it hadn't been there in the first place.

Yoo Joonghyuk stands in the doorway. His breathing is steady as if he hadn't been running at all. There was no pattern to the shadows movements, but it still looked like it had been moving towards a specific place.

The room he arrived in was small, with a neat bed for a child low to the floor and a dresser, but besides that, nothing.

He steps in.

Shk-click

He turns around at the sound of the door closing behind him, but the door is gone, leaving only a white wall, covered in peeling paint and faint reddish spots in strange places. No way back.

He hadn't planned on turning back anyway.

He moves through the bedroom without examining anything.

Yoo Joonghyuk opens the last door.

Black.

The entire room is covered in an oozing, sticky mess of black, and the door's white paint is hardly able to be seen underneath from it all. The room itself is a familiar one, with furniture from a living room that he'd repeatedly been in at this point. The room had always given the impression that a family lived in it, but it didn't show signs of a happy life.

The substance doesn't look harmful, so Yoo Joonghyuk steps into the room without any fanfare. His shoes stick to the black, tar-like material, and it tries to grab him, oozing up his boots and attempting to wrap around them, to hold him still. He picks up his feet with little effort and continues walking to the center of the living room, where a couch is faced away from him.

Yoo Joonghyuk runs a hand along the edge of the couch. The substance attempts to grab onto his hand.

Kim Dokja.

On the couch, laid out in all his glory, is Kim Dokja. He's covered in the tar, but it looks to be embracing him, rather than restraining or trapping him here. His white coat can be seen peeking through spots, and his face only has a few smudges of black. Safe.

Yoo Joonghyuk moves around the couch and bypasses the tar with ease. He reaches out to grasp Kim Dokja's shoulders and underneath his legs, lifting him. The substance screams, as if in pain, as Kim Dokja is ripped away. The tar still connected to him stretches out as long as it can before eventually being disconnected and falling patheticly on the floor.

Kim Dokja doesn't show any signs of life.

Yoo Joonghyuk minds this fact very much.

The reality before him distorts, and Yoo Joonghyuk is lost on what to do as the room starts to disintegrate until he sees a phone on the coffee table, completely clean of any of the black substance whatsoever. A faint but bright white light illuminates from its screen. It's with pure instinct that Yoo Joonghyuk steps onto that phone and the white light intensifies, enveloping both Yoo Joonghyuk and Kim Dokja.

Vwoop

The living room becomes an empty, sad thing.

However, faintly, the tar recedes from the couch.

Perhaps someday, this tar, this pain, will go away.

Not wholly, not completely, and not without some work.

But perhaps one day...

Kim Dokja can be able to leave his past behind.

In the arms of Yoo Joonghyuk, Kim Dokja opens his eyes. In those arms, he may be able to live. By reading a novel, by saving the world, by saving someone else, he may be able to live. Perhaps, in the darkness like this one, Salvation may be found. Salvation for someone like Kim Dokja.

[ngfics]

15 - Future, Decimo Era

No one bothers the Varia about it.

Iemitsu's disappearance is made note of, in passing, not even unusual for it's lack of reaction.

"Trash is dead." is all Xanxus says. He doesn't give any further answers, only throws glasses, but Squalo notes that he does glance as Sawada the younger - or only one now - a bit longer than usual.

Squalo keeps his mouth shut on it.

[mechazushi]

Fortitude Privilege {Staring Yu/Na and Base Inspector} (A short story)

After everything had settled down, they let Kafka do what-the-fuck-ever. That also includes snuggling on his boyfriend at anytime during work hours.

Vice Captain Hoshina was the first to leave the training room when Iharu passed by with a new recruit. He was showing her around the expansive base when he was presented with an opportunity to have a down to earth meet-and-greet with the base's second in command.

"Hey! Vice Cap! Good timing. Yunna, this is our Vice Captain Hoshina. Vice-Cap, this is Yunna. She's a transfer from Division Seven." Iharu took the lead on the introductions while the two of them were exchanging salutes. They all began trading questions with each other, busy distracting themselves with platitudes to not notice another person turning a corner and coming up behind Hoshina. A tall, burly, and clearly tired individual shambled up behind the vice captain and slumped over his shoulder unceremoniously, almost knocking him over.

"Oof, Kafka! Is everything okay?" Hoshina said calmly at the intruder. The man he called Kafka just wrapped his arms lopsidedly around Hoshina's left shoulder as he dug his face into the crook of his neck on the right.

" 'M fine. Drained" He mumbled incoherently, sacrificing vowels in his state of exhaustion. He nuzzled his nose affectionately in the curve of Hoshina's neck and took a noticeable whiff. "New cologne's nice."

Yunna, the new recruit, became visibly flushed as she continued to stare on. Iharu was already completely desensitized to this and just continued his conversation with the Vice Captain. Noticing the state of shock on the newcomer, Iharu took a second to explain what was happening.

"This is Kafka Hibino. He's the Captain's and Vice Captain's boyfriend. Everyone has learned to just let him get away with this bullshit." Iharu smiled cheekily at Yunna after he had finished.

"What am I supposed to do when he's like this? Tell him 'No'?" Hoshina said as he crossed his arms. He felt the rumbling of deep throated laughter coming from the man on his shoulder.

"Conveniently leaving out the fact that I'm also a kaiju." Kafka said as he lifted his head a little just to speak clearly. Yunna made a small squeak of surprise as the revelation made all the pieces click into place.

Down the hallway behind Iharu, everyone could hear another person aggressively shouting as they came down their direction.

"Aw, shit." Hoshina whispered under his breath.

"Who's that?" Iharu questioned as he turned around to look.

"Base Inspector. Probably looking for me to bitch about something inane." Hoshina continued. Iharu took that as a sign to whisk the new person off to a different location, sensing a need to disappear before he got themselves caught in possible corporate crossfire. Hoshina prepped his best Resting Bitch Face as the lanky inspector approached viciously.

"Afternoon, Inspector." Hoshina said in a deadpan manner. He took a longer look at the man coming toward him and noticed he recognized none of the man's features.

'Hmm. I wonder if he's new?' Hoshina thought. His hopes were raised a little, thinking that this possibly new base inspector wouldn't have the same stick up his ass like the last two did.

"Vice Captain Hoshina. Just the person I was looking for." The inspector called out. He opened his mouth to begin what was most certainly about to be a mindless rant concerning some slighted offence over some breach in paperwork or protocol, but quickly shut it when he noticed Kafka making no move to acknowledge his presence.

"Well, I was going to bring up your continued disregard to execute less leniency toward how officers structure their reports, but now it seems I should take over instilling basic officer conduct as well." The Base Inspector straightened his square framed glasses and leveled the most demeaning glare at the tired, hairy, lump that had made its place on Hoshina's shoulder.

"Oh, lay off. He said he's tired." Hoshina countered. He was beginning to wonder if a mightier-than-thou attitude was a requirement to being an inspector.

"Lethargy is no excuse for blatant indifference to higher authority." The stringy looking man sniffed haughtily. A threatening, rolling, and loud inhuman growl emanated from Kafka, still not looking up from his place at Hoshina's side. Hoshina chuckled as he ruffled his hair while he talked to him.

"Mind being a dear and head up to Mina's office for a bit? The only adult in the room needs to discipline this child, apparently." Hoshina spoke in hushed tones, sounding incredibly loving into Kafka's ear. Only a more disappointed growling whimper was heard in response.

"You could beg for more cuddles if she's in there." Hoshina sang quietly as he nosed Kafka's hair. The slacked-spined man lifted his head to stare disapprovingly at the unwanted interloper before planting a smooch to his Vice Captain's cheek and walked away, radiating an irritated aura all the way down the hall. The two that were left followed his path and waited for him to turn around a corner before continuing the discussion.

"You do know that having a relationship between a higher authority figure and an officer is prohibited, correct?" The inspector said as he turned back to face Hoshina.

"You know that man has a fortitude rating, correct?" Hoshina snarked.

"Don't you mean an aptitude rating?" The inspector returned wearily.

"No, fortitude." Hoshina reiterated firmly as he stepped closer into the inspector's personal space, " Ya'know, because he's a kaiju and all." The inspector tried not to express it, but he seemed taken aback. first from the clear hostility, then from realizing what Hoshina meant.

The inspector's lips flapped open and closed for a moment before letting slip a small, simple "oh."

"Were you not made aware that we had such a person within our ranks?" Hoshina asked poignantly.

"I was made very aware of such personnel." The inspector said as he adjusted his glasses again, "What I wasn't made aware of was how much leniency he seems to be permitted to have because of such an obscenely paltry standing." The inspector spoke with baseless higher authority, attempting to recover from finding himself on the back step. Hoshina could feel his lips being stretched thin over his teeth as he felt the need to use them to rip the throat out of this obstinate and unwarranted trespasser.

"Then you should have also been made aware of how that man had not only saved the lives of millions, but also saved the planet six times over consecutively." While being shorter than the inspector, Hoshina did a fine job of making it seem like he was towering over the other man.

" As... notable... as those achievements are, it shouldn't take away the fact that a relationship between an officer and a Vice Captain is unconducive to to the workplace since it could be used to unjustly gather sway in one's ranking." The base inspector held his position in the conversation, but was forced to slink down in height as he cowered under Hoshina's invasive presence.

"Ohh, trust me. The higher ups have made it very clear that he's already achieved the highest ranking they'll allow him, and that's being an exploitable weapon." Wrath tinged the edges of his words as he managed to climb higher over the base inspector.

"There is nothing in this world that he hasn't earned by not working his ass off for. So excuse me for thinking that the least he's owed is the right to express some fuckin' PDA." Hoshina could feel the tips of his lips curl into an unfriendly smile with an uncanny amount of teeth showing.

"If you really want to drag rank over this and piss off a man who's capable of leveling all of Western Japan for no decent reason, be my guest. If you have nothing drastically important to talk about, like something that's impeding the health and wellness of my officers, then I bid you farewell and hope your day is as wonderful as you are." Hoshina reclined back onto his heels and crisply marched away from the inspector, who still wasn't recovered from the invasion of personal space and was stuck being slant backwards, even as Hoshina moved out of eyesight.

Minutes later, Hoshina had found himself in Mina's office. Hoping to join in on Kafka's sudden bout of needed physical closure, he slipped past the threshold and quietly dumped his gym bag next to the door. Taking up most of the center of the room in front of the desk, was Mina, sandwiched between Bakko and Kafka. Reclined against the tiger formed monster, Mina looked silently overjoyed to have an asleep Kafka nestled between her legs as he rested his head on her stomach. Laying tilted on his side, the left portion of his face was buried in Mina's clothes while his arms had dug a hold around her midsection, framing his head. A low vibration hung in the air, getting louder as Hoshina snuck over.

"Need me to pry him off?" Hoshina lovingly muttered into Mina's forehead as he planted a small smooch as well.

"Later. Now, I need you to grab my phone!" Mina tried to contain her excitement as quietly as she could while gently brushing her free hand through Kafka's hair, the other being trapped under his heavy shoulder.

"Yes, he looks adorable, doesn't he?" Hoshina playfully rolled his eyes as he made moves to stand up.

"Well, yes, but you can't tell me you can't hear this?" Mina's smile was wide as she looked up at Hoshina. He took a second to listen as he processed the low rumble in the room.

"Is... is that not Bakko purring?" Hoshina questioned.

"No, he's awake!" Mina harshly whispered in joy as she jabbed her finger behind her, "This is all him!" She pointed her finger again at Kafka, emphasizing her revelation.

Hoshina made a quiet, deep throated cackle as he comically tiptoed around her desk to grab the phone and pull up the camera. He managed to settle onto the floor and shimmy his way under Mina's free arm as he held the camera close to Kafka's face. They got at least a good minute of audio, starring his purrs before Hoshina decided to end it there, not wanting to push their luck.

"It's a shame he can't purr all the time. Instead of the sleep talking, I mean." Mina commented as Hoshina made himself more comfortable in their embrace on the floor.

"We wouldn't be able to get out of bed in the morning if he did." Hoshina muttered sleepily as he finally stopped shifting when he found a good spot to settle into. Mina brushed his hair for a second while she returned the forehead kiss from earlier before relaxing into the warm and heavy pile she had unintentionally made for herself.

@iceclew

I hate to ask this from ya, but... Have you seen this yet? If you didn't have an opinion one way or another, that's fine. Just wanted to ask.

[n0bluev]

@fushiglow hmm….wonder who i’d draw this for all of a sudden and why… 🤔🤔

[solar-halos]

i’m gonna see you alligators later

[thevioletcaptain]

y'all get that screenshotting fic to publicly make fun of it is straight up bully behavior, right? like. it doesn't matter if you redact the author's name. this is no different to a kid taking someone else's art off the wall in a classroom, walking out into the playground, and holding it up to say "haha look how shit this is"