#emoting with silly bird mask is silly

[rat-prophetess]

I have this deeply unfortunate condition where I cannot absorb verbal information without doodling, but also I have the drawing skills of young child and the permanently shaky hands of a wizened crone SO the results are. Unfortunate.

I am definitely making a great impression on my classmates and future colleagues by scrawling stick-figure patho characters next to them while they’re trying to listen to orientation lectures 👍🏻

anyway this (+ illegible handwriting) is why I can never lend people my notes. termitarywallart.jpg

[nyarlathotep-thecrawlingchaos]

Here, have a casual glimpse into my thought patterns and creative process:

*just scrolling about Tumblr and vibing to "Too Much Wine" by The Fratellis*

Too much wine?

Mihawk?

Mihawk drunk??

Wait wait wait WAIT what are they all like drunk?

GASP s h i n y h e a d c a n o n s

BLANK DOCUMENT HERE I FCKEN COME—

So anyway here's some headcanons about drinking too much (insert adult beverage of choice) with the OPLA boyos.

Implied that Reader is already in a relationship with each character in question.

I shall call it.......

HAMMERED

OPLA!Zoro, Sanji, Shanks, Mihawk, Buggy X AFAB!Reader

NSFW Headcanons

Kinda Kinktober I guess? Borderline shitpost, I had way too much fun with this.

♫♬♫ Too Much Wine - The Fratellis ♫♬♫

I'll take the mead from the table

Talk straight while I'm able

Until I'm nothin' less than a crime

Zoro

"Y'know, I actually have four swords, but we're gonna have to go somewhere more private if you wanna see the other one."

Rum, sake, beer, wine, whatever you're down for drinking so is he.

Zoro's got incredibly high endurance and stamina—it's going to take a while for him to show that it's affecting him at all, but once it does, he goes from zero to one hundred faster than you can say "onigiri."

Literally no in between, no tipsy or buzzed. Just sober and then stumbling over his own feet and swearing he absolutely is not drunk the whole time.

All those repressed emotions that he hides behind a mask of dry sarcasm on a day to day basis are coming out in full effect.

That means you're getting one of two Zoros—goofy Zoro or sad Zoro.

Goofy Zoro's going to have his arm around your shoulders, laughing his ass off about that time he caught that idiot Marine brat swinging his sword around bare-ass naked so he chopped off half his hair.

He's likely to get pretty flirty in this state, even downright playful, especially if you initiate it, and it's almost definitely going to end in him dragging you somewhere private to fuck your brains out, because his restraint is totally out the window at this point.

If you end up with sad Zoro, he'll be laying his head in your lap and slurringly asking whether or not you think he's ever really going to be the best swordsman in the world, probably still beating himself up over losing to Mihawk.

Just comb your fingers through his hair and do your best to reassure him that you love him and genuinely believe in him. Whether it works or not, he's going ti end up falling asleep in your lap, so be prepared to be stuck there for a while.

"But like...you really think, like, I can beat that bird-eyed bastard? I mean he fucked me up with a goddamn butterknife."

Sanji

"There we are—a beautiful drink for a beautiful woman."

Turbo Flirt Mode: activated.

Sanji is all for pairing wine with food, but if you're looking to get a little sideways, he's going to want to show off his mixology skills to impress you—and he's going to be making some dangerous concoctions, the kind that taste like there's not a drop of booze in them.

The more lit he gets, the less subtle the flirting. If you thought he was clingy sober, you are in for a surprise, because that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Head on your shoulder, puppy dog eyes, telling you how pretty you are and how much he adores you every thirty seconds, with a big silly grin like you're the most amazing thing he's ever seen.

Brushing his lips along your neck and murmuring all the things he's going to do to you once the two of you are behind closed doors later—and he means every one of them, because you're utterly irresistible to him in this state.

He wants you giggling and blushing just as much as he wants you moaning and trembling under his touch.

Super playful once you are alone, even moreso than usual. He's definitely going to suggest doing body shots, he will beg if he has to, but honestly who in their right mind is going to turn him down?

"You're just...just so—so beautiful—honestly, it should be illegal."

Shanks

"Hold—hold my rum—no, no, just for a moment, I wanna see if I can do a backflip off the railing—"

Spoiler alert: he can't. Now he's lying on the quarterdeck alternating between hysterical laughter and "Oh God that hurt—"

Probably the most fun drunk in the world, but he can be a hazard to his own health as his judgement begins to lapse so someone's going to have to keep an eye on him.

If you're at a tavern or otherwise public location, do not under any circumstances let the man out of your sight for more than two seconds. He turns into a straight-up child, he can and will wander off, and you'll find him a mile away on top of a building, likely half-naked and singing sea shanties at the top of his lungs, with no clue as to how he got up there...or how to get back down.

He's developed quite a high tolerance over the years and tends mostly toward dark rum, though he won't turn down a stein of ale or beer.

Total life of the party energy—telling jokes and stories, he just wants to see everyone laughing and having the absolute best time.

Super, super flirty, he may as well have written the book on pick-up lines; and he doesn't care that you're already together, he's going to drop every single one of them on you just to see how much he can make you giggle or roll your eyes.

He's very likely to pull you onto his lap at some point and make out with you like no one's watching—he already doesn't really care who sees when you're both sober, but he really doesn't care after a little too much rum, so it's probably best to coax him to bed at this point.

He's perfectly happy with cuddling up, laying his head on your chest and draping his arm over you, just humming in contentment and falling asleep together...but if you want more, don't expect to get much sleep, because he wants you lasciviously.

To taste every inch of you, to suffocate between your thighs until you're screaming, to pull you onto his cock and watch you ride him until you're both too breathless and exhausted to do anything but tangle yourselves together in the sheets and drift off to sleep between slow, sensual kisses.

"Oh, princess, just when I catch my breath, you make me lose it all over again."

Mihawk

"If you insist on being such a brat about this, you're going to get what's coming to you."

Mihawk has a strong drive to be in total control of himself and everything happening around him at all times, which means he doesn't tend toward getting drunk.

But...he also has this wee little problem with his ego being larger than the entire volume of every combined ocean in the world. If you imply that you could drink him under the table...he's probably going to sneer and tell you to quit being a brat, but he's also going to be quite driven to prove you wrong.

He does love his wine, but it's generally only a glass or two to wind down and relax—he's definitely got a nice bottle of aged bourbon or eau de vie tucked away somewhere that's going to be coming out, because he's got something to prove now.

Unfortunately for him, due to the fact that he so rarely drinks heavily...he's a bit of a lightweight. Which he won't admit even to himself.

But it barely takes a single lowball of harder liquor to get that pale complexion of his a little flushed.

Perhaps just over three for him to start blinking a bit harder than normal in a futile attempt to get his vision to focus, to start speaking a bit slower to attempt to hide the slight slur in his words as you taunt him about it—which honestly only makes it more pronounced, and more amusing.

You had best enjoy it, because it's probably the only time you're going to hear the words, "Fine, you win," come out of his mouth—as well as perhaps the only time he won't be miffed about conceding. The alcohol in his system has him loosened up just enough that he can't pretend he doesn't find your boldness and sass at least a bit endearing...and even more alluring.

That being said, you're still getting punished for it, teased within an inch of your sanity, and he's going to enjoy every single second of it.

Setting his glass aside, plucking yours from your hand, pinning your hands above your head with a devilish smirk and slowly undressing you, his eyes on yours the entire time.

Trailing his fingertips across your bare skin, drawing closer and closer but never quite giving you want you want, his lips barely brushing against your neck, reminding you in an amused murmur in your ear that he could easily do this all night.

You did have the audacity to challenge him, after all—he has no choice but to remind you who's in charge.

"What is it, my little bird? Did you think you were going to get a consolation prize? You're still going to have to beg."

Buggy

"Bet you two thousand Berries I can shotgun two beers at once, watch this—"

And he basically ends up halfway drowning himself, but hey, you're two thousand Berries richer!

Honestly, there's no party like a Buggy party, because a Buggy party doesn't stop until someone loses a limb—probably him.

No, really. Don't let him use his devil fruit abilities. Keep a bucket of sea water on hand if you have to, because he may literally misplace one of his limbs and you're going to have to go on a Chop Chop Scavenger Hunt to help him find it while you're both completely smashed.

If Buggy's drinking, everybody's drinking, and everybody is getting completely fucked up. This is non-negotiable, he thrives on chaos and that's what he's intent on creating.

Anybody who passes out before him is getting something obscene drawn on their face in permanent ink. He can definitely hold his liquor, so if you can keep up with him then you can expect to be the last two living souls left conscious on the whole ship.

That being said, he doesn't care who's awake—things are going to get kinky, and he's really not bothered about anybody watching. Or joining in, for that matter. This whole operation very well may devolve into a drunken orgy if he has any say in the matter.

Then again, it may also devolve into him flopping dramatically across your lap and divulging absolutely all of his trauma in an emotionally-charged alcohol-induced rant. He won't remember it in the morning, so please do him a favor and don't remind him.

"Hey, uhh...I los—I lost my foot again. .....Sor—*hiccup* sorry."

[burningcheese-merchant]

Mythological Inspirations: Matar Paneer Cookie Edition

So, where did Matar Paneer- nah I don't feel like making this joke again. Indian curry dish + crazy lion lady + demon slaying goofball pretty boy. BOOM.

Next installment of "Merchant rants about how far she went designing these fankids into a void for 10 hours"

Same as/with/for Pepper Jack, I researched and took inspiration from Egyptian and Hindu mythology while drafting up Matar Paneer. If Golden Cheese is Ra, and Burning Spice is Shiva, and Pepper Jack is the bennu bird + Ganesha... what does that make our little lady here?

Remember how Shiva has two sons? Jack is already one, so Paneer is, naturally, the other one. She takes after Kartikeya, second son of Shiva and Parvati, god of war and victory.

Kartikeya's primary color is red. So Paneer's is, as well. It's her favorite color and what she likes to wear the most. (It's also partially because of Burning Spice lol. Red will always = Papa to her to some degree)

Kartikeya is armed with a divine spear called Vel, which was a gift from his mother. Though Paneer wields and favors her katar, she will one day carry a spear alongside them, also a gift from her own mother (can't wait to tell that story haha)

One of Kartikeya's symbols is a peacock; this is because he has a giant peacock (named Paravani) as a mount. Likewise, I had Paneer befriend a peacock, which will one day grow big enough for her to ride around on herself (can't wait to tell that story either! I personally like my little interpretation of Paravani. Matar Paneer and her little bird bestie haha)

Kartikeya has a very innocent and playful personality; he's quite silly and mischievous, and likes to mess with things for fun (ex: messing with planets' orbits, stacking mountains on top of each other, stopping the flow of the Ganges river, etc). Paneer is quite similar (something else I didn't know beforehand, I swear. Paneer being a little gremlin just like the god she ends up taking after is another happy coincidence), going on little adventures and making messes and having... destructive tendencies like her Papa lol. (But she never means any harm. She's a good kid, she's just a bit impulsive and reckless)

Sometimes, Kartikeya is depicted with six heads (varies by scripture). Bit of a stretch, but I thought of having Paneer own six masks, each one wildly different from the other, that she'll often wear for fun. (I'll explain this better in another post)

Kartikeya is credited with defeating many monsters and demons, minor and major. So Paneer will grow up to become a renowned demon slayer, just like him (spoiling the end of her story there lol)

Golden Cheese is clearly inspired by Ra, Egyptian god of the sun and head of the pantheon (it's extra obvious with her Awakened form lol). The stories vary wildly from what I've seen, but the most baseline concept is that Ra has 3 daughters. Believing her to be the most fitting, I chose to have Paneer take after Sekhmet, Egyptian goddess of war, chaos, plague and medicine.

Sekhmet's primary color is also red. More red for our little lady. (All the war gods like red, so predictable smh)

Sekhmet is extremely violent and bloodthirsty, as her profession suggests. Born from the fire in Ra's eye, her main purpose in life is to protect him, help uphold cosmic order, and punish mortals for disobedience towards either. Paneer is... quite temperamental lol. Very strong-willed, very easily frustrated, very emotional. Fiercely protective of those she loves. And she can be... vengeful. Very, very vengeful. I will not elaborate further because it's spoilery as fuck lol

Like most of the other gods, Sekhmet is a furry part animal, with a woman's body and a lioness's head. Also a bit of a stretch, but... a certain young lady is getting a lioness tattoo on her back when she's an adult, as a nod/homage haha. Also, Golden Cheese's special nickname for her is "little lioness"

Sekhmet is often depicted with a lotus in one hand, and an ankh in the other. There, now you know why Paneer has a lotus in her hair lol (she's also getting an ankh tattoo when she's an adult, on her left wrist since that's the hand Sekhmet is always seen using to hold it (Paneer is getting a lot of tattoos when she's older, as you can see))

The Egyptians very much believed in names having power (common idea in the ancient world, really, but they were extra into it), so Sekhmet, like all the other gods, has like a billion names lol. To keep things simple (I counted 15 names the first time I looked into her and I'm pretty sure there's more), Paneer only gets a few: "Red Lady" (this one in particular), "Lady of Slaughter", "Mistress of Dread" and "She Before Whom Evil Trembles". The first three, people in general give her as a result of her actions/accomplishments (demon slayer, remember?) and are meant in a positive, reverent way (sometimes with a small touch of fear, admittedly). The last one is what High Priest Cheesenbird calls her. He has a term of affection/endearment for both children

Sekhmet can breathe fire; in fact, the Ancient Egyptians often credited/associated her with the hot desert winds because of it. I think I said this before already, but Paneer is a fire breather, too (she can light her hands and feet on fire, as well. Not a full-on firebender but not too far away)

In an interesting contradiction, Sekhmet is a goddess of both disease and medicine. She's bitter and wrathful, and causes plague outbreaks as a form of punishment for mankind... but she cures them, too. She's feared and looked to for salvation at the same time. She's even considered a patroness of physicians and healers. So... Perhaps our little firebreather has a hidden knack for healing, too. A secret power. One that's only noticed by another healer who would know how to spot and nurture such a talent *cough*Pure Vanilla*cough*. Maybe. Perhaps 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔

Also, here's some doodles of more general things just because

There's little Paravani lol. Hopefully I actually start improving as an artist eventually, so I can draw Paravani better (or more in line with how he looks in my head. I don't really want a regular looking peacock, that's boring)

There's the little cheese lotus Paneer wears in her hair. Just used the one in the Golden Cheese Kingdom decor set as a reference 😅

Ankhs r cool 2 draw. Also, fun fact: they symbolize immortality and reincarnation. Reminds you of her mom, doesn't it? Haha

Tried to draw her katar (Indian knives. Basically Wolverine claws). They were a gift from Cilantro Cobra (she's alive and well in my personal canon ok 😫), and she went the extra mile to have little symbols engraved in both. Burning Spice's in one, Golden Cheese's in the other

She's supposed to have little green earrings that look like green peas ("matar" means green pea, "paneer" is the Indian cheese. Literally "green pea cheese" lol). Her design references the food she's supposed to be a lot more than Jack's, I think

Ok I'm done now. I'm sorry this post was so late. I'm also sorry this is all on paper and in shitty ass lighting, me no have drawing tablet. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk

[kolyubov]

Hi! Can I request Nikolai with a reader who achieved HIS goals? Like (maybe almost) not feeling emotions at all, but she still thinks she's not free. So she pretends to have emotions and much more goofier than him... But when she gets serious she really gets serious!

Sfw! I would love to see how Nikolai would act towards her! :)

Hiii, you're my first request and I'm so excited! I hope I met your expectations<3

Well, I think even if you pretend to be all silly around Nikolai, he'll notice sooner or later. After all, he knows how to pretend to be someone he isn't (like when he pretended to be a secretary or a police officer). And when he confronts you about it… things don't go as expected…

He wouldn't want you to lose your sparkle :((

✧ contents. angst?, Nikolai is a bit ooc and obsessive if you squint.

Nikolai decided to take you out today— The sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky, it's the perfect day for a date, he thinks.

The spot was far from the city, you weren't even sure where this park was situated but that didn't matter since Nikolai’s coat could bring you back home in an instant.

You two set a blanket down, along with some food and even board games to pass the time before sitting down.

Just the two of you.

“Dove, Look!”

Nikolai points at something behind you, but when you turn around you only meet with the scenery of the park— leaves rustling with the wind, birds chirping, the sound of water from a nearby lake…

The sight alone was almost mesmerizing.

Almost.

You didn't feel happy even if you were smiling slightly; which was only to pretend how much you were supposed to enjoy it. You rather feel melancholic.

When you turned back to Nikolai, he was holding a bouquet of white flowers; lilies of the valley, tulips, roses.

You had to force a bigger smile as you looked down at the flowers, trying to avoid his gaze as the melancholic feeling grew bigger inside you.

The gift itself was incapable of bringing you any sort of joy, rather you felt cherished by him because he intended to make you happy with the white bouquet.

“Oh… Kolya, dear. You didn't need to!” You giggle, reaching for the bouquet, but before you do he pushes the bouquet away from your hands and tilts your chin up.

The smile on your face falls when you meet his heterochromatic eyes, his right one is uncovered. A soft smile across his lips.

He's vulnerable in front of you.

“Darl’, if you want it, I need you to do something for me, please.”

You stay silent for a few seconds before putting on your mask again and chuckling.

Arms wrapping around his neck, making him drop the bouquet and instinctively resting his hands on your waist.

“Want me to smooch you all over your face? paint your nails? try new hairstyles on your hair? help you to bother Sigma? or—”

“I need you to be honest with me, dove.” His voice turns a bit more stern as his grip on your waist tightens slightly.

The way his softness falters makes you realize he's serious, so you stop smiling too.

“Why are you lying to me, hm?” He almost sounds like a father grounding his child. “I'm not mad at you, I just wanna help you because I care about you. I know something's wrong.”

A long sigh escapes your lips. Nikolai would know exactly how you feel; what you wish for… because he's feeling the same too.

To get rid of any complicated emotions that always get in the way of everything.

To be free.

“I don't wanna feel anything anymore…”

Nikolai could feel how his system completely stopped for a brief second after your words. His eyes widened, his hands went numb to your hips, and his stomach twisted.

His darling… not feeling anything?

That'll mean not hearing your sweet laugh when he says something silly, not seeing how your eyes open wide in excitement each time he shows you some random trick, not seeing those pretty cheeks getting red as you cry or get embarrassed.

Does it mean not loving him anymore?

Nikolai's large hands cup your cheeks, and you swear you could feel his fingers trembling.

“Love, don’t— don't do it, nonono.” His voice cracks slightly. He's getting desperate.

Of course, you still love him with your heart and soul, it's impossible to get rid of the love you feel for him, plus, you don't want to even if that means not being completely free.

“I think it's already a bit late… don't you also want to—”

Before you could finish speaking, he pushed you down on the blanket, locking his fingers with yours to pin you down.

“It's not the same, dove. You don't understand.”

A nervous chuckle emerges from his lips. He doesn't want to lose you, because losing your emotions means losing your love for him too.

And he wasn't going to let you leave him caged alone with his complex feelings.

“It's not fair that I'll be the only one who's stuck with his emotions, isn't it?”

There's a large grin on his face that sends a shiver down your spine.

“You can't leave me alone… You won't leave me alone. We'll both be suffering from these emotions if it means being together...”

Nikolai giggles, sealing his promise with a tender kiss on your lips as his hands tighten around yours— Making sure you know you're stuck with him as long as you keep breathing.

© 2024 pinklacydovey

[charkie-ee]

team bolas rojas gas masks designs??

in THIS day and age?????

it may be more likely than you think..

this was my first time drawing a series of different gas masks, no idea if they’re accurate at all, but it was really fun!!

**notes & closeups under the cut :-D**

it’s a lot of notes so be prepared for an info dump.

NOTES:

Philza: honestly, what more is there to say than “CROW MAN!!”? aside from his goggles being glow-in-the-dark, theres not much more to the mask design. however, i decided, “hey! this is purgatory! i can fuck up these characters!” so, he has a ripped ear(?)wing and messily cut back hair. (i didn’t pay too much attention to the hair in this design, i was mainly trying to get the gas masks down, but maybe i’ll go further into later.)

Cellbit: this is definitely one of my favorites, he looks pretty scary, i would NOT stop my car if i saw him on the side of the road. its based off of a cat mask(obviously) and a painted white streak goes through his mask, inspired by his hair. i didn’t include it, but circles in the goggles are supposed to retract with different emotions (kind of how cat’s eyes do, saucer and dagger pupils.) he’s also covered in blood because he’s going through it lore wise.

Slimecicle: ngl, it was my first time drawing code charlie(other than all the wips i have that i’ll never finish),but i think he’s pretty spooky. his mask is the worst quality, like it USED to work well until he wore it out. thus, there are broken air tubes that let the gas in. (he should probably get those replaced.) the holes for his horns are kind of like an airlock, so the gas can’t enter through them (phil helped him make it.) however, it makes it difficult to take off.

Baghera: baghera’s mask is kind of built like charlie’s, except in much better quality. aside from the loose air tubes, the mask almost goes all the way around her head, not letting even the slightest bit of gas in. theres also a plastic duck beak on top of the regular breathy-thing(i have no idea what i’m doing, so, no, i don’t know the technical term for that) to give it the “bird touch.”

Jaiden: jaiden’s mask was FUN. like i kinda went overboard. i did these all on different days, and this was the night after the big egg battle day. i saw she had fnaf bonnie ears along with her bird gas mask, and said “ok cool. i’ll add that.” she has the same feather/beak thing i gave to baghera. also, hair-wise, she gets a hair bun and her brown roots showing through(we love messy haired cubitos ^^)

Foolish: foolish was interesting, not sure i like the final product, but i’m tired, so it’ll do. his mask is based off of a lemon shark. he gas glowing green eyes and golden splotches on the leather. the air tube foolish has is REALLY long. like unnaturally long. so he wraps it around his neck to get it out of the way. the other members are extremely concerned it’ll choke him one day, but foolish thinks it’s cool and will scare other teams away. kind of like a “yea, i’m crazy, i could choke and die at any minute, and i don’t care.” phil, being the protective father figure of the group, does not like this at all.

Carre: and finally, we have carre. ah, sweet, sweet carre.(he is my favorite.) his mask is based off of a snow leopard because i hc he’s half feline. carre has the lightest, and most simple mask, since it’s entirely plastic, and more so based off of skiing or snowboarding goggles.

ANYWAY, i hope these notes make sense, excuse my rambling about silly designs, i tend to doodle messily, and not really have a plan when i draw, lol.

thanks for reading, BYE!

[wordstome]

Shrike pt. 3 - who we are

König x high school sweetheart reader

2nd person, she/her pronouns, reader is Austrian/has lived in Austria and speaks German for most of the story, romance, pining, friends to lovers, reader's nickname is Thorn, König's first name is Alexander, absolute tooth rotting fluff, corny as hell towards the end

2.8k words

tw: physical and emotional abuse, violence (chokehold, stabbing, throat slitting)

Hello to everyone reading this from my main blog! In case you haven't seen the pinned post on bucca2, this is my new writing blog. Everything I publish will be here on wordstome now. Please feel free to unfollow bucca2 and follow me here!

also PARIS PALOMA TEASED HER NEW SONG "DRYWALL" JUST FOR SHRIKE CHAPTER 3 SPREAD THE WORD

[PART 1] [PART 2 (PREV)] [MASTERLIST]

What I had left here I just held it tight So someone with your eyes Might come in time To hold me like water Or Christ, hold me like a knife

When you’re in total darkness, your eyes adjust. You can see everything around you, but it’s all devoid of color. Then when the light turns on, it blinds you, but it’s better to be blinded momentarily than to live in the dark forever.

That’s how it feels as you prepare to travel home. To escape. You’re antsy, excited and petrified at the same time. Before, it felt like the days flew past in a murky haze. Now, even the seconds crawl.

It feels like moving in a dream, like you’ll wake up any day now and it will all be taken away from you. Your hope, your new dreams for the future, your König.

A shiver runs through you. Where did “your König” come from?

When you’re not occupied with the anxiety of keeping such a huge secret from your husband, all you think about is König. You’ve spent the past few weeks in a haze, like he’s put some sort of spell on you. You do get a kick out of imagining him as a witch with a hat and cauldron.

But you know it’s something simpler than that. All the feelings you used to have for him have returned.  It’s different than the heady rush you used to get with your husband. It feels sweeter, like you really are a teenage girl with a crush all over again.

It feels naïve, but you also don’t care. You feel safe despite the situation you’re still in, for the first time in a long time. You never would have expected to see König again—even less so for him to become your saving grace.

It seems silly in hindsight that you had been so frightened of him. Sure, the mask was a lot. But it had been something about his energy. It was different than you had ever felt from him, before or after your reunion. If he was that way on the battlefield, then no wonder he had earned the nickname König. You’re not sure if it scares or awes you.

You’re about to find out.

An anxiety attack is the worst feeling in the world.

You dry heave. Your chest feels like a roiling ball of angry carrion birds hollowing you out. You shake like a leaf in the wind. You fall down a long, dark pit of despair as your stomach seizes with nausea.

The train’s delayed. There’s been an issue with the tracks leading out of the city. No trains will be leaving for 12 hours.

You should have just sat in the terminal and waited, or tried to contact König, but you’re not thinking straight. All of your thoughts are focused on your husband, and what he’ll do if he comes home and finds you gone. You decide, somehow, that it would be wiser to throw yourself back into the lion’s den and pretend everything’s alright instead of waiting for him to come raging into the train station and pull you out by the hair. The thought of that is the only thing that gets you up off the wall you were hyperventilating against and back towards home.

The plan is to get home before he does and hide your suitcases. He’s usually not home by this time, anyway. You chalk the rising sense of dread in the pit of your stomach up to your anxiety and turn the handle to go in.

Fuck.

He’s standing in the kitchen.

The years have not been kind to him. He’s far from the charming young man you married. He’s wretched, unkempt, angry. It’s clear he’s been drinking, maybe even before he left work. The shadows etch themselves into the lines of his face as his expression twists into something awful, inhuman. You stand, frozen, as he approaches you.

“Planning a trip without me?” he asks with an awful grin.

You can still salvage this. “Yes. I’m sorry I didn’t say anything, but I just received word. My mother’s not doing well. I have to go see her.”

“You lie like a whore,” he snarls. “Don’t think I haven’t been paying attention. You’re different nowadays. Not the nice obedient woman I married.”

Your fear turns to anger in an instant. Years and years of this horseshit, waiting on him hand and foot, placing his smallest whims before your own needs and wants—it rushes up through you like hot steam. His nice obedient woman. And the worst thing is, you hate that he’s not wrong. That is what you’ve become.

“Yesterday I came home and you hadn’t even started dinner. Where were you, huh? Running around on me behind my back?” It’s difficult to describe, but his smile is oily: sleazy, untrustworthy, dangerous. “With that big fuck in a hood that came here with the mercenaries, perhaps?”

Your blood runs cold at that. Has he seen you with König? When? Why hasn’t he said anything? It feels like you’re stepping into a trap, but you must move forward if you want to get out.

“He’s going to get what’s coming to him, alright. My manager has a direct line to his boss. One word from him will get that fucker deployed to the middle of nowhere on a suicide mission.”

It’s an absurd threat, and you know it. This drunken idiot has no idea what he’s talking about—as if some middle-management bureaucrat could persuade a PMC to dispose of a soldier like König. But it’s the audacity that irks you. You’ve lived your life serving this man for too long, and now he thinks the world will bend to his whims. There’s absolutely no way he can touch König, but an old and familiar anger rises in you.

A long overdue revelation dawns on you now. He’s a bully. The same as Andreas: little boys with petty insults and empty threats. Pushing people around because their own lives are empty and unsatisfying.

An eerie calm breaks through you like the sky cutting through a storm. The man before you is just a feral animal, snarling and snapping in desperation. You’re not afraid of him anymore.

You reach behind you and slowly roll open the knife drawer, grabbing the first one your fingers land on.

“I’m leaving. I’m leaving this house, this country, and this marriage,” you say, gripping the knife in a defensive position. Your father taught you how to hold a knife like this: backwards, with the blade along your arm, sharp edge facing outwards.

“This way, it’s much more difficult for someone to turn the blade against you,” he had told you, demonstrating the motion by moving your arm towards your chest. The memory makes you smile. At the time, you’d been indulging your old man—he had always said that violence was a last resort, but that the world was unkind and one day you may have to defend yourself. He was right, just as he was when he told you he had reservations about your marriage.

You’re going home. You’re going to see your father again. And you’ll never have to tolerate the loathsome toad before you again.

The beast laughs. “What do you think you’re going to do with that? Stab me?” He’s up against you before you can react, the breath leaving your lungs in a gasp as he pins you against a wall by the throat.

“You. Are. Mine. You will never raise a hand against me because I own you,” he hisses, his alcohol-laced breath foul against your face. “And it’s high time you remembered that.” His grip tightens like an iron vice around your throat, but you’re not afraid. Even as your vision begins to blur and blacken, you stare directly into his eyes. They’re like red-hot coals of fury, but you see what’s behind them now. The fear. The cowardice of a desperate man who has no recourse but to lay his hands on someone who can’t fight back.

“You’re pathetic,” you rasp, lips tugging into a smile. The coals burn brighter. The hand squeezes tighter. The adrenaline surges through you like a tide—and your body acts to protect itself, in a way that you haven’t allowed it to in a long time. A feeling as sweet and familiar as an old friend.

The knife makes its home right between his ribs.

He staggers away from you, as if you had slightly winded him instead of stabbed him in the heart. Your hands instantly go to your throat as you cough and sputter, lightheaded and dizzy but alive, so alive. You’ve never felt so alive as you do right now, watching the demon of your own personal hell look down at the blade sticking out of him.

“You stupid little bitch—” He makes as if to lunge at you, but time slows. Your eyes widen as the shadows behind him melt and solidify into a figure. Tall and hooded. No knight in shining armor, but an assassin of deepest night.

König slashes through your husband’s throat in one deadly, beautiful motion.

Your husband falls to the ground like dead weight, gasping and choking on his own blood. Your eyes are fixed on him, a strange sensation bubbling through you. You’re making some kind of noise, loud and cacophonous, as König steps over the dying animal who has controlled you your whole adult life.

His arms find their way around you as you slowly sink to the ground, howling and wailing. He’s so patient, you think numbly with some corner of your mind that remains untouched by the mania seizing the rest of you. The two of you sit there, his body warm and solid against yours, as your body slowly exits fight or flight mode.

“Alex?” you say hoarsely once you’re in your right mind again.

“I’m here,” he rumbles.

You turn to look at him as he pulls the hood off his head. There he is, your Alexander, all grown up. He’s rugged, with nasty-looking white scars streaked across his face, but so, so handsome. His eyes are still the same as he looks at you with something akin to rapturous adoration. Your green-eyed boy.

“You’re back, rosethorn,” he says with a wide grin. There’s a touch of madness to it, but you can’t bring yourself to care.

“Was I…” Exhaustion sets in, seeping through your whole body. “Was I crying or laughing just now?”

He shifts you onto his lap, cradling you like a baby as you look up at him.

“I think you were laughing.”

The police release you after just over half an hour of questioning.

You aren’t going anywhere, of course. They’re leaving you, exiting your hospital room with murmurs of well-wishes for your health. They’ve hardly left the room when König comes striding in, instantly moving to your bedside and holding your hand in his.

He looks tired too, his eyes soft as he takes in your small smile. You’re sure he was being interrogated for much longer than you, but it looks like he passed muster as well. Not as if you had anything to worry about—what could the local police have done to the commander of the mercenaries taking down their local terrorist cell anyway?

“Are you alright? Did they clear you?” His expression hardens as he glances at your neck. You nod weakly. Your throat is going to be bruised for a while, but your attacker hadn’t done any lasting damage.

Attacker. Husband. Corpse. All of these words describe the same thing now.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there sooner,” he says mournfully. “He shouldn’t have had the chance to attack you like that.”

You shake your head at him. He didn’t know that you weren’t on the train heading home, after all. The room is quiet for a few moments, save for the distant beeping of a heart monitor.

“Why…” you manage to ask. He knows what you’re trying to say.

“Why was I there?” He glances around to make sure nobody’s listening, and leans in to whisper in your ear.

“I was there to kill him, of course.”

You shudder a little. He admits it so casually, that he was in your house because he was there to commit a murder. You should be afraid of him, but you feel around in your brain and come up empty-handed.

Instead, you find yourself worried. For him. “What if you had gotten in trouble?”

He snorts. “You underestimate me, rosethorn. I would have just framed it as a robbery.”

You nod. Oh God…does that mean he had planned this? Why doesn’t that horrify or disgust you? You’re just going to have to dissect that later. Right now, you only feel a warm affection towards the man stroking his thumb along your hand in a soothing motion.

“So…what comes next?”

“You’re asking me? We can do whatever you like. I can take you home.”

Home. Where is that, now? It’s certainly not in the house you’ve left behind, where the ghost of the man you were married to settles in every nook and cranny. It doesn’t feel like your childhood home where your parents are, either.

It’s such a corny saying, “home is where the heart is”. But home feels like it’s already here, sitting next to your hospital bed with the fondest look in his eyes.

“I’d like to travel,” you whisper. The with you goes unspoken.

“I have plenty of leave time saved up.”

You flip your hand so you can hold his. It’s huge next to yours. This is the hand that slit your husband’s throat, a hand that has killed countless people.

You’re not sentimental enough to pretend that’s not an issue. You’re not entirely sure this is happily ever after: that all of your problems are solved because you’ve replaced one violent man with another. But another part of you yearns to be the one who gets protected. You’ll take care of König, and you know he’ll take care of you. In his own way.

You can ask the questions later. Right now, you have lost time to make up for.

“Are you sure you should be wearing that scarf?”

The air is cold, but the wind is soft instead of feeling like tiny blades against your face. You tug said scarf down from your face and take in a lungful of crisp, icy air.

“I’ll be fine,” you reassure König as he hauls himself up the last ridge to where you’re standing. “It’s loose enough. And it’s chilly.”

“If you say so.” He tugs his neck gaiter further up his nose. “What a view, hm?”

You’re standing on Mont Blanc, blanketed by serene white snow just as the name promised. Further below you, the skiing slopes are crawling with tourists, but here in this little outcropping, the only sound is the occasional rush of wind and your voices.

“I think I can see Salzburg from here,” you say, pointing off into gorgeous landscape spread out before you.

“That is most certainly still Switzerland,” König says, amused. You turn to look at him instead and are rewarded with his shining green eyes looking right back at you.

“Whatever!” You let out a dissatisfied hmph, which draws a hearty laugh from him.

“You came all the way to Chamonix just so you could look at Austria again?”

“It’s a very tall mountain,” you argue.

“It’s one of many very tall mountains. We could have just gone to Großglockner.”

“That’s boring. I’ve always wanted to visit France.”

“You wanted to visit a very expensive ski chalet.”

“Bite me.”

“I just might!” You giggle and squeal as he grabs you, chasing your face with his as you squirm around.

“It is beautiful,” he concedes as he holds a hand above his eyes to keep off the sun. “Almost as beautiful as you.”

“I should push you off this peak right now.”

“You couldn’t move me an inch.” He grabs you by the waist and holds you tight to emphasize his point. You can’t even shift his arms off you, no matter how hard you push.

“Ok, fine, you win.” You pout at him, but he doesn’t let you go.

The dynamic the two of you share is so easygoing and relaxed, it’s like you had a rhythm all along that both of you just fell back into. But of course, there are some things you’ve never done together. Like travel together.

Or kiss.

“Are you going to do it this time?” you ask him, smiling.

His nose wrinkles up, uncharacteristically cute for someone like him. “Well, I was going to, but then you had to open your mouth.”

You cackle. “Go on then.”

“Can I?”

“I just said yes!”

“I forgot how much you like to talk,” he complains. Before you can say another word, he captures your lips in his.

The sky is vivid and blue as the whole world stretches out before you.

#RIPBOZO

Here we are! We're at the end of this little story I started writing on a whim. Honestly, this means a lot to me personally: I wrote a lot when I was younger, but high school and university were very difficult times for me, and I stopped writing fanfiction. I tried to get back into it during the pandemic, but I was never able to finish anything beyond a long-ish drabble. I'm quite proud of this.

Even still, I feel like there are a lot of stories that I still want to tell about this couple. There's quite a lot that I decided to cut from these main 3 chapters for the sake of pacing and time. There's a little bit of dissatisfaction at not having crammed in every little detail that I wanted, but if there's one thing that writing university papers has taught me, it's that perfectionism will keep you from getting anything done. So you will be getting more from Alex and Thorn in the future!

I know a lot of you were anticipating what delicious revenge König was going to exact on Thorn's husband, so I hope you weren't too disappointed ;; While I personally would have loved to have König strap him to a chair in the basement and do some morbid things with a knife, I think it was important for Thorn's character that she's involved in it. While of course the main focus of this story is König, Shrike is also about his beloved Thorn. I hope to explore König and the darker (and pervier) aspects of his character more in subsequent stories. But for now, they're getting a well-deserved happy ending.

One last thing before I go: Chamonix is a resort town in central/southeast France, not far from Lyon. (Sorry, I don't know whether Lyon is south enough to be considered southern France lol). Mont Blanc is Chamonix's main peak of the Alps, and is known for how pretty it is and being at the border of France, Switzerland, and Italy. As König said, if you wanted to visit a mountain as an Austrian, there are several of them at home you could visit, but since I visited it a few years ago, Chamonix has a special place in my heart. I just had to cram it in!

As usual, I'm excited to see your comments and feedback. I've read every single thing everybody has commented about this fic, even if I couldn't respond to you all, and I appreciate it so deeply. Whenever I get feedback I literally feel like kicking my feet and giggling. And if you want to ask questions or request specific scenarios with Thorn and Alex, please do send me an ask!

@crowbird @poohkie90 @cumikering @iytatsworld @papaver-decervicatus @anxietyrain @riotakire @ax0lotly @kneelingshadowsalome @cookiepie111 @kacchasu @no1runawaymilkdad @chthonian-spectre @backwards-readings @yxllowtxpe @garbau @hexqueensupreme @queenthorin1 @violetstyless @her-majesty-theking @vegan-peppermint @peonytarian @ghostslittlegf @euuuuuuun @e1x03 @kokonoiwife @deaddainish @dragonfang @teehee-47 @catluvwr @fireballoveraltanta

psst. to my tag list people while I have you here: naturally I will continue tagging you in other Shrike stories, but I'll also be using this same tag list for every other König fic I write. If you'd like to opt out of that, let me know. (No hard feelings, of course :3)

[the-s1lly-corner]

can you make headcanons for all the tadc cast with a reckless reader?

also, have a good day :)

-daz

TADC cast x reckless! reader!

last post for this batch! ill get right back to answering stuff soon! my cinnamon roll dough is almost done with its first rise and ill have to shape them soon! also gotta make the frosting..! short post since the base of one of my thumbs is getting a lil sore idk if its because ive been typing so much these past few days or if i just slept on my hand wrong; maybe both

CAINE:

youre in luck reader! you cant really get hurt in the digital world...! well, not... traditionally.. you can definitely still feel pain, thats for sure, but i dont think your digital body has any bones to break or skin to scrape..! so hey at least you can kind of be as reckless as you want without consequence...! except, there are consequences. caine is not at all happy at your recklessness.. i mean sure yeah some of his IHAs can be more... intense, i mean zooble almost got turned into a gloink, but..! i think he tones down his adventures just so you wont throw yourself into the danger

POMNI:

tries to stop you but her words fall short as you run in yelling into whatever the threat is without a second thought. "i- wait- er..." and youre gone, leaving pomni to hurry and try to catch up with you. she probably has to drag you to safety, assuming this isnt a case where you got all glitched up by an abstracted circus member.. shes gonna have to work herself up to get you to chill out; perhaps ending in a whole emotional thing where she just. explodes? perhaps

RAGATHA:

just because you cant get hurt doesnt mean shes not going to fuss over you. if there were a need for it i think she would keep a pack of Band-Aids on her. however, because you guys cant get hurt in that way, she tries to keep you in bed when you inevitably get knocked a little too hard and need to rest it off. dont even think about trying to get up out of bed, shes going to give you this stern look that only a few percentage of people can muster.

you know the look

the stern one

scolds you too if you get caught up in something real dangerous

only really softens up if you threw yourself in danger for the sake of another person, because i think ragatha would do the same

JAX:

"bet you cant make that jump"

"bet i <> can!"

que you absolutely eating shit after you fail to make that jump, comically flipping over yourself and face planting. you probably have cartoon birds circling around your head. jax laughs at you before eventually coming over to help you up. he will not let you live this kind of stuff, down

KINGER:

he gets so so scared when youre not in his sight, i think if he knew you were willingly throwing yourself into harms way? this man would have a heart attack! like really, or he would if he still had his organs and stuff...if he could he would keep you in his pillow fort with him forever... but he cant, so he has to settle with following you around with meek attempts to try to stop you

ZOOBLE:

zooble would do similar stuff as jax, but when you actually. go to do the dangerous thing they just pull you back. "dude. i wasnt being serious"

bro has to keep you on one of those kid leashes because your first instinct someone says "bet" or "no balls" or anything in that vein, you need to prove yourself

GANGLE:

her comedy mask probably falls off from the sheer shock from how easily you just. launch yourself into things. on one hand she worries for you, but on the other hand she cant help but feel a little jealous; i mean shes just ribbon and a mask, shes not really... tough... strong.. durable... she wants to be able to run around and do the things you do but theres that fear of being immediately broken down or overpowered, you know? didnt mean to get silly there; anyways i think she would try to keep in you bed to sleep off the soreness, like ragatha

[yuri-is-online]

congrats on 500 followers, you deserve it!! ^_^ i adore your writing! for the masquerade event, may i request prompt 11 with trey, jamil and rook? thank you so much!

11. There is a really lovely moon outside tonight that you find yourself admiring, but if you would just turn around you would find someone admiring you.

Annon my lovely annon how does it feel to have such a wonderful beautiful brain, this is perhaps the most perfect line up of characters for this prompt. I'm happy you like my writing and really hope you like this.

notes: they/them used for Yuu, I can't speak French so none of that for Rook, sorry I do not trust google translate. So many references to music in this one... the other event quests can be found on my masterlist.

Trey

If Trey had to pick something about himself he liked he would probably pick his height. It made certain things easier, like walking through crowds and looking at things in the far off distance. It makes these little emotions he has when he sees you easier to deal with, he can always excuse himself and observe from afar. Trey prides himself on being realistic about these sorts of things, prides himself on his restraint and ability to keep things calm.

But it's hard to deny the truth. Painful even. He can feel the ache even before he sees you, his hand even twitches with the desire to reach out and break your reverie. But he can't, you aren't exactly alone, you walked out on to the balcony with Ace and Deuce close at your heels. They're joking with you, distracting you from the moon and stars he thinks you wanted to observe, but you can't seem to bring yourself to be annoyed with them. That's fine, Trey can be annoyed enough for you both. He would never call himself "massive" but he is certainly blessed with a broad set of shoulders.

And an exceptionally creepy (Rook had insisted it was fancy, très magnifique) bird mask that sends the dynamic duo fleeing back to the ballroom "abandoning" you to your fate. He would be tempted to laugh but he does not want to talk to you just yet. You shake your head in amused affection, relaxing onto the railing and letting some of the night's tension roll off your shoulders. He does the same, trying to give you space but not avoiding you when you move closer.

"The moon is beautiful tonight." Trey says after he's let you have your moment, surprised when you turn to him with a flustered look on your face. "That's what you came here to look at, right?" You cough, not helping his certainty but the shy smile that flickers onto your face suggests he has not made a misstep, not exactly anyway.

"It's a nice night." You say. "Stay with me, won't you?" There's emotion to the request he's tempted to read into. Tempted to classify as the same longing he feels and barely swallows when he looks into your eyes.

"I'll stay as long as you like." He says softly, and tries not to smile too much when you lean your head onto his shoulder.

Jamil

He is in love. You look like a ridiculous child and he is in love, Jamil is smiling at every move you make like he is actually happy for once. It's all he can do to pull himself away from his hiding place out to the courtyard you have decided to to stargaze in, as much as he wants to continue admiring you he would rather no one else see him in this horrifying mood.

"When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie~" You are dancing, he thinks, but it looks more like you are jumping trying to catch the moon in your hands, the rest of your silly song devolving into fits of giggles as you twirl, obsessing over the way the fabric of your costume follows you as you twirl. "Jamil!" You notice him the second he joins you, your hands immediately reach out for his. He lets you take him, lets you guide him in a jerky series of movements he knows aren't real dance moves. You're happy, and seeing him has made you happier.

"Just what are you doing?" He's almost laughing himself now, letting you guide him through your made up dance. "Wouldn't you rather be back in the ballroom?" You hum and shake your head.

"It's too busy in there, I wanted to look at the moon." Your dance slows to a gentle sway, Jamil takes advantage of the lull to take control of the flow, guiding you into a more structured dance. The silver light seems to kiss you, as if the moon is happy you came to look at her. Too bad, Jamil doesn't intend to let your attention wander back her way.

"You know, the view of the moon from Scarabia is especially beautiful, perhaps you would like a change of scenery when you're ready to leave." Jamil helps you twirl your costume, doing his best to guide you back towards the ballroom. He might have been spending his time hiding among the furniture of the ballroom, but he had a plan for tonight. One that involved you wrapped around his finger and waltzing well into the hours of the morning, and while he is not exactly picky about where-

He would very much like everyone to see just where you are ending your night.

Rook

The music in the ballroom drowns the tiny hymn that comes from the balcony. Even if anyone else had been looking for it, they would have found it impossible to hear, but Rook is no casual observer. To the casual observer, Rook is merely standing near the windows and their curtains, the Prefect's strange tune barely recognizable even there.

But then recognizable is not the right word. Rook highly doubts anyone in this world other than him had heard this song.

Initially you had walked onto this balcony because Grim had mentioned seeing a piano there earlier and that had struck you as odd. Why stick a piano out on a balcony if there was going to be a ball with live music inside the actual ballroom why stick an instrument out in the cold? You had thought it would look lonely, but the moon has decided to make it look romantic. Seeing no one around you settle yourself at the keys. And begin to try and play along with the tune in your head.

Rook holds himself back from going to you, telling himself to wait until you look his way, but you don't. You are content to sit and pluck at the piano, seeking the keys that match the memory of another world, another moon. He waits and waits, but still you only idly glance up at the night sky, and never his direction.

"What sweet torture," he murmurs into his mask "to be so ignored by such a perfect sight." As the music finds a stride you still hum, to his great relief. The pitch and quality of the melody matters little when observing someone's most private reflections. What matters is the far away look in their eye, the pride with which they rest their finished fingers on the keys and think aloud some words unlikely to be theirs but fitting all the same.

"Their song interweaves melancholy with moonlight, quiet moonlight so sad and lovely that it makes birds dream in their trees, while fountains sob in ecstasy..."* Your eyes finally turn his way and you startle. He pries his mask free from his face to reassure you of your safety; to you, it is like he has appeared from thin air, but you know him well enough that your surprised smile is more a courtesy than genuine surprise.

"Just how long have you been here Rook?" Your fingers twitch with embarrassment at the keys.

"I was lured here the moment you began to sing my lovely trickster." He bows, mask placed over his heart in genuine devotion. "Truly the power the your soul's voice has to command my steps is frightening." You sigh, embarrassment twinged with joy as you move yourself to make room for him by your side.

"Well then why don't you sit next to me and listen to just how badly I can butcher this piece." He very much doubts you could do such a thing, but who is he to deny your every request?

"My Trickster, I would love nothing more save you."

*Clair de Lune, Paul Verlaine 1869, translated by John Argo 2017. As a note to the interested reader, the linked song is named after the poem. I'm rather fond of it as I once owned a music box that played it.

[rubyroboticalt]

Minecrafters grab your pickaxes, and catch up on the QBLR QUATERLY!

What's up guys, update just dropped! It sure is something to try and decipher, huh. We've got pages of new stuff to go over, so let me learn you a thing about all the events and mishaps that happened on the server this week!

The Nether Angel, the Bird, withers away. Bibi mourns their friend, but does unlock an eye for the Eye Spy puzzles.

Peachy builds a precious pink cottage in a cherry grove. Zpca has guests in the evil lab, sure hope no experiments happen. Desnay has some deep-sea shenanigans with friends, and tames a Little Creature! Not a character creature. This is a mob that looks like a teddy bear.

A group of residents discover the chat bubbles mod, a mod that places typed chat messages above the player's head in a box. Some eggs discover how to imitate each other, so good luck telling which Salem is the real Salem. Residents also rediscover drugs and alcohol.

Two of the robo crew glow in the dark quite nicely! Also, turns out you can wear blackboards with drawings on them on your face as a mask. Now to find out what the point of the mask is.

Splat builds a manor in the mystic grove. Next on FOV competitions, we have a new record for how do you play like this. The other members of popcorn's family have a nice photo with normal fov.

Peachy does some interiors of the cottage! Some lore is silly and fun. Some lore is a kid watching a sister get killed by an uncle. The range of human emotion. And some lore is killing a g-d.

But don't worry! Residents have some very healthy coping mechanisms. And some kinning of that Russian guy who tried to grow a homunculus son using chicken eggs and genetic material. Don't forget the very normal coping dinner, that is vital.

And now, some autistic Minecraft behaviors. The digging isn't the only one, we also have our gothtistics playing funeral and going to Hot Topic.

All in preparation for summerween! Given that halloween is in october and it's not october, residents celebrate summerween to get that sweet sweet spooktacular on. There's costumes, candies, and cunning pranks. Don't forget the photo op!

Remember the creature statues that may not have actually been mentioned in a previous episode? Plenty are now complete, and some even have books for visitors to write to or about the creature in!

And this week on the server comes to a close with hor hor hor hor hor

[therandompagesblog]

Her Soul for His Soul Chapter 9 🌜Seungmin🌛

Trigger Warnings: Haunting, Mentions of Torture, Mentions of Trauma, Swearing

Humans could change emotions in a day, month or even year. We kept ours for centuries and forever until we were executed or murdered.       Y/N was going to have to learn all about the depths of hell when I walked her to the other side at the end of her little lifespan. As long as a Reaper or the Grim Reaper did not stop me. They didn't like humans being toyed with. I bet if they had the chance they would. I wondered how Y/N would cope with being in hell. I could end her life sooner and then she would be stuck with me forever because deep down I was going to uphold my bargain forever. I was going to own her pretty little soul forever.       My puppy was deviously pretty. Her long brown hair and her curious pools of onyx were deliciously sexy. Her mind was attentive to all needs and creatures which was very puppy orientated but she needed to be trained. Trained to let loose and careless.       The minute she awakened I was going to start my mission of training her, while I searched for this little boy. She would have to come with me of course. I can't leave her on her own for too long. An hour max. I could leave her while she slept as she was content. Deep into her subconsciousness. Dreaming away. Whatever humans dreamt about. The thing was, I was going to have to leave her alone. The plan would not work with me there. We both needed to be separated. She needed to lure the entities and I needed to work on this boy that was humorously haunting her.       I walked over to her. Looking at her fragile state. Covered by her awful bedsheets and an eye mask. I brushed her soft hair against my fingers and felt the fire coarse through my veins. I needed to look into this and ask the council why this puppy had an unusual effect on me. I pulled away quickly and walked to my pairs of shoes, slipping them on. I took her university card and headed out of the accommodation as I saw Jeongin waving from outside.

Jeongin was smitten with his little bird called Winter. A curious thing she was. She loved and relished in the thought of the unknown that it got my puppy into trouble. And me of course. "Your little bird let you out of her cage?" I asked. "I'm right here." The blue and purple-haired woman said from the bench, smoking away. I sighed, realising I could not make a rhetorical knowing she was here. "Winter is it?" I asked her. "Yes. You must be Y/Ns demon like Innie here is mine." She said seductively. Innie? Fuck Lucifer and all his demons! What in the Lucifer was that!? "Y/N doesn't own me. I own her." I said with a smirk as I looked at Jeongin who was watching the human with desire. "You are aware you left her in your mess." "That's why I came back to help her," Winter told me. "Right. You should not have left in the first place." I told her. "I didn't know what was happening."       Before I could answer I felt fear and worry radiating into my body. I scanned the car on the door and ran up the flights of stairs into her room to see her awake. She had a bad dream.       I walked over to her and sat on the bed. I felt this need and desire to comfort her. To keep her from all the bad dreams. "It is alright, Y/N. It was a bad dream. Talk to me. Tell me your worries." I told her. "It is silly but the boy lured me to my death and you took my soul." She told me. I reached out and squeezed her hand before turning into a demon. I forced her to look at me. "That boy will not hurt you. Nor will it take your soul. I have a plan and you need to be a brave little puppy." My sharp pointed fingers brushed her hair. "Tell me how to make it stop! Make him go away. I'm tired, Seungmin. I'm tired." Y/N whispered. She needed sleep. Lots of it but the spirits kept her up at night. "I will abandon you for a few days. You will follow the boy until he takes you to his grave sight. You will then dig it up and take his body. I will find his mother with my friend on where she is. We will bury them together, but you need to be strong without me. Remember I will come back as soon as you summon me. But do not summon me until you have completed your mission. Find the body and dig it up." I told her. I was not only going to find information on the boy's mother, I was going to find out how a lost soul got trapped in the Neverworld and why the Reapers had not figured it out yet.       Y/N listened to my words carefully. She was unsure. It was a big task for her and for her heart. She was being separated from me. Her newest found friend. Someone she could rely on when her friends were not making her summon entity shit. "I will do it. I will try to stay calm as long as you come back to me." She whispered. The worry in her voice told me she was more scared of going against entities than me abandoning her which was a good thing, despite my own confusing feelings. "I will come back to you. You own me until the bargain." I told her. "No I don't own you. You are only summoned when I call you. I don't own your freedom." She told me. Fuck why did she say that? It made me feel things I shouldn't feel for a human. "Stupid puppy."

Taglist for the iconic readers:

@silentreadersthings @ihrtlix @galaxy4489 @catlove83 @reallychaoticwoo @leezanetheofficial @linocz @hyunmikim @eastjonowhere @skzdreamer13 @mavischerry @kiaralynn3838 @jellyleggz @mihoonz

[allmightskitten]

HELLO! first of all, thank you for the tag on the tag game. Second of all, I've been loving your 'Corazon's Flowershop Diary' Fic a LOT. You've a way with words and they're so fun and engaging to read. I get to feel all the tension and emotions and I often get so nervous every time I get to a rather tense scene. Love every update!!

Ok, on to the ask, I'm super excited about the Doffy/Tsuru and the two Doffy/Rosi ones!! You've got their characterisation down so so so well. I just want to say I'm super excited to see Doffy/Tsuru bc we do be needing more of that on AO3. I'm quite the sucker for zombie apocalypse AU, I've read the snippet of the Doffy/Rosi ZA.AU and I just wanna say I love how freaky Doffy is in your fics, he's so weird he makes me wanna grab him like a barbie doll and shake him around bc he's so weird and freaky!!!! If you would drop a bit of snippets or your ideas for either fics please! 🥺🙇‍♂️

Lastly, have a nice day!

WAH, hello!!! Thanks for this ask omg, this was so so sweet to hear, you made my entire day 🥹💞 I'm absolutely thrilled that you enjoy corazon's flower shop! I've had so much fun writing it that it's just the best feeling ever when someone enjoys it :') also, YES to extra Freaky doffy, he's my favourite form. Certified Freak Seven Days a Week 🙏🙏 and weird as HELL but that is our silly bird man 💖

Complete agree, doftsuru needs more works, I'm 99% sure I've read every fic under the tag because there's so few! I got an ask about the doftsuru fic so I'll be posting a snippet of that soon 👀 In the meantime, I'll respond with one of the dofcora ones; I managed to dig up this quite coherent draft of a bit from the Zombie Apocalypse AU, which I hope you'll enjoy! 🙈

☆

Rosinante knew that they should be using water sparingly, but he couldn't bring himself to be miserly with it when Doflamingo looked like this.

He should've gone to the damn medical ward as soon as he got back. He looked as bad as everybody else who'd returned alive, battered and bloody everywhere and barely standing upright– but instead, he'd found Rosi, as if he could somehow be of more help than actual medics, and insisted with his last left strength that they didn't need anyone else.

This was how Rosi found himself rubbing some sparse foamy soap into his brother's blonde hair, deliberately ignoring both the sizeable purple bruise decorating his back and the way the water that ran off his body flowed into the drain diluted red.

For a long time there was only the sound of running water and distant busy noises from the rest of the base outside. Doflamingo was the first to break that spell, once he didn't look like death anymore.

"We'll get a commission," was the first thing he said. "It will be worth the trouble."

Rosi's hands stilled in his hair. The water started to wash away the foam of the cheap soap.

"A commission," he muttered unhappily. "That's why you risked your life?"

Doflamingo angled his head back, looking at Rosi upside-down with a devilish smile.

"Half of the party wound up dead, Rosi. As you can see, I am perfectly fine."

Rosinante laughed shallowly. He couldn't believe him.

"There's a pretty wide range between perfectly fine and dead, Doffy. You still need to visit the medics."

Doffy rolled his eyes at him, turning his gaze back to the wall. He hunched some more in the stolen kitchen stool he was perched on, making Rosinante's job of washing his hair just a little less convenient.

He was doing a stellar job of compartmentalising, actually. His dry tone did a good job of masking the slight shaking in his voice when he told his brother off for his idiotic choices. He'd been scared.

Rosinante didn't think he'd ever felt fear so potent as when he heard about the hoarde that the scouting team had encountered. It was a massacre, they'd said. More than half the men were dead or infected, and the rest had barely escaped with their lives. They didn't know who was still among the living at the time it was communicated.

He was fortunate; he couldn't even compare his situation to that of the loved ones of the dead scouts. But past the immediate relief of spotting Doflamingo in the returning team, he'd felt that insidious fear again. The red blood and ripped clothing on him made Rosinante fear the worst: that he'd been infected, and it just hadn't kicked in yet.

But he was apparently fine. Just fine.

Rosi wanted to scream at him and make him swear on their mother's soul that he would never go on a scouting mission again. He wanted to get on the other side of the shower spray and fall to his knees and kiss him. He wanted so many other things that were irrational and impulsive that he wouldn't normally think of, because he'd never felt fear or relief this strongly before.

"I don't know what you mean by a commission," he said instead, swallowing his grief and rage. "Money?"

Doffy shook his head.

"More important. Privileges on base."

Rosinante frowned. The soap was completely washed away now. Aside from the bruising he looked almost normal again. He turned off the faucet, leaving the communal shower area silent except for the sound of their breathing.

"What kind privileges?"

In a display of way more strength than he should still have, or maybe he was just pushing himself, Doflamingo turned around rapidly in his seat and stood, grabbing the hands that had just been in his hair. He grinned like he was awfully proud of himself.

"First pick of your turn on the patrol or nightwatch. First access to the meat at meals." Doffy massaged his thumbs in slow circles over the back of his hands as his gaze turned sly. "A private room to call our own."

Rosinante stared at him like he was an idiot.

No, fuck that, he was.

"You signed up for the fucking scouting missions because you want a room?"

"Privacy," Doflamingo corrected. "I want privacy. I thought we both did." He raised a meaningful eyebrow at him.

Rosinante's face felt hot. He shrugged his hands off immediately.

"That's ridiculous."

Doffy laughed.

"We used to have our own place, Rosi. Tell me you don't miss the peace and quiet of just being by ourselves."

Rosinante glowered at him, but couldn't really find the words to object to that point. Truthfully, he did miss it, but Doflamingo couldn't possibly be stupid enough to trade it off for his life.

On second thought– he absolutely could, but it wasn't a matter of stupidity or skewered priorities. Rosinante fell silent when he remembered that Doffy hadn't wanted to come here.

He was so intent on making it on their own. He'd fought him every step of the way, arguing that they didn't need anyone else, that they could do just fine without finding the survivor colony, that he was enough to protect the both of them. Only the last ditch resort to convince him had worked– when Rosinante brought up that if he fell sick, there'd be no way of handling it. Of course, Doflamingo would sooner risk tooth and nail to find Law for them than join a group of strangers where he'd need to cooperate with other people, but Rosinante had patiently explained to him that even if locating Law on the other side of the country was doable, Law was a medical student who hadn't got to finish his studies because of this outbreak.

Doffy never made it subtle that he hated this place, still. He'd taken the biggest issue of all with the communal sleeping arrangements, descending into a worse mood each day because Rosinante insisted on more decorum around strangers.

Having their own room on this base would make it easier for Doflamingo to pretend they were still surviving by themselves, but it also meant Rosinante wouldn't stop him from being too clingy at night.

Fucking stupid. Or perhaps stubborn to a fault.

"How long do you have to keep doing the missions?"

"As long as it takes us to get out of here." Doffy reached out, brushing his bangs out of his eyes. "Do you need me to cut your hair again?"

Rosinante could cut his own hair. He wasn't a child.

But like a lot of highly-catered things he did, it placated his difficult, ridiculous brother, so he didn't turn it down.

"Yeah. Later."

Doffy cupped his cheek. Rosi let his eyes slip closed, savouring the feeling of closeness that he'd almost lost today.

"Every one of those fucking missions is a chance to lose your life, you know."

"Mm," Doffy hummed, not paying attention to his warning, probably deliberately. His other hand came up to mirror the first, holding Rosinante's face. "Let me cut your hair tonight."

Rosi held his breath. It was an instinctive response. He absently licked his dry lips.

Doffy had never– but he was unpredictable, and he had to be running on heightened emotions too–

He felt a kiss to the top of his head. The spell broke, and Rosinante released the breath he was holding.

"I don't like it," he continued, though there was no sternness in his breathless voice. "The scouting missions. It's a bad idea."

"We'll talk about it in bed."

In bed, huh?

If they were sharing the same bed Rosi didn't see much serious conversation happening. Doflamingo couldn't pay attention to anything else when he had him that close. Sometimes Rosi wondered what it would take for him to cross the line, but he always backed away from the thought fast because he never hated it as much as he probably should.

They would need to have this conversation some other day, then. Perhaps over a meal or the night watch. Rosinante didn't see this situation as one he would end up winning; it was starting to look like the only way he could get Doffy to stop participating in those missions was to get the hell out of here with him. Vaguely he wondered if this was some kind of manipulation; if Doffy wasn't also doing this to scare him into changing his mind about staying.

It would be nice if it could be the two of us and Law, if he's alive.

No, he had to be alive. Law was brilliant and knew how to hold his own in a fight, too. He would survive, and they'd find him, and Rosinante would force the two most important people in his life to get along with each other for his sake.

The colony was a safe place to be, but he suspected that even Doflamingo knew he would not refuse an offer to leave this place and look for Law. So long as they were adequately prepared to make that kind of journey without getting killed on the way, Rosi would choose it, and Doflamingo didn't even need to pull some underhanded manipulation tactics. It was only a matter of time.

☆

(A previous snippet can be found here!)

Thank you for this ask, it was really fun to do and it brightened my day :')!!

[ghcstao3]

fun fact!! today marks the one year anniversary of this account (and a year + 3months of writing ghoap!!) and that is honestly so crazy to me

i’m so very grateful for everyone here, everyone who has made my experience in this community better by tenfold. thank you all for reading my silly little posts, and thank you all for just being here!! :D

as a bit of commemoration for the fic that pushed me to make this account, here’s a few wingfic au hcs to come full circle :) ->

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» since wings are such a big indicator of emotion, having lost his and constantly wearing a mask has made ghost incredibly good at hiding what he’s feeling. unfortunately for him, though, without the mask his thoughts become a little more obvious—his face is just as expressive as his wings had been

» ghost gets phantom limb sensations every once in a while. it makes waking up from nightmares that much worse—dreaming about his torture, about roba taking his wings, to waking up and reaching backward for reassurance that they’re still attached only for them to be gone, it’s made for some pretty terrible nights

» otherwise, though ghost rightfully laments the loss of his wings, with therapy and time and healing he’s learned to deal pretty well. and he can take a joke—for example, the puny little set of costume angel wings that soap bought for him one halloween

» some old habits ghost finds impossible to shake. like how much space he takes up—with large wings, he’d gotten used to making himself smaller as to not take up so much room. but now he just makes himself smaller within a larger space, which is how he manages to scare so many people by going unnoticed

» ghost likes sticking close to soap for comfort and familiarity, but also because he seems to be the only person unafraid to touch ghost with his wings. others think the contact might offend him, but it really doesn’t. because with how expressive soap is, and how in-tune they are with one another, sometimes it almost feels like ghost has wings again when one of soap’s wraps around his shoulder, shifting with emotions they both feel at a given moment

» when on leave, soap has gotten into the bad habit of not taking care of his wings as well just to have an excuse to have ghost preen them instead

» winged recruits underestimate ghost’s knowledge of how to use wings to one’s advantage out in the field. then he’ll kick every one of their asses even with their advantage and suddenly that doubt has vanished. soap himself still has trouble beating ghost in a spar sometimes, and as do price and gaz on occasion

» soap studied the one picture he’d been lent of ghost pre-roba for a long while, and now most—if not all—of his sketches of ghost have him with wings. at first he’s hesitant to show ghost, but ghost adores it

» ghost is still updating his mental catalogue of bird jokes. he will not stop

[smash-64]

2024 Game of the Year Countdown Honorable Mention: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Nintendo Switch, 2023

I feel like I’ve played this game before…oh, right! I did! It was 2018 and the game was called The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. 

Now that at least one person is furious with me, I have to say that I did not hate my time with Tears of the Kingdom. I just don’t think it lived up to the immeasurable hype that I heard from critics, websites, YouTube, and friends. I don’t think I heard a single person say a single negative thing about this game for two months after it came out. I even heard people singing its praises multiple times on NPR, one of the last platforms where I’d expect to hear video game reviews. 

So, let’s start out with the things I liked after the cut, because this is going to be a super long review, for those interested.

I adored exploring the Gerudo Desert, as I did in Breath of the Wild. The Gerudo are a really fun and interesting group, and I spent significantly more time here than anywhere else. It was nice to see Link welcomed into town as the one male with a hall pass, since that meant I didn’t need to make sure to always don the disguise outfit. (Although it’s silly to put on the full Yiga Clan garb and get tossed into jail!) The addition of a subterranean area in Gerudo Town was also cool and helped add to the lore of the Gerudo having a long history. The bright colors and designs of the town, clothing, and the equipment were also still present and welcome. And seeing Riju grow into her role as leader was both cool, as she packs a wallop with her thunder attack, and reassuring as she was fairly self-conscious and unsure of herself in Breath of the Wild. 

The Yiga Clan are also still around, and I found them more interesting than in BotW. I wish we had a little more from them, but they’re supposed to be in disarray after we crushed them in BotW, so it wouldn’t make a ton of sense from a narrative standpoint.

Music was generally pretty good, especially in the more plot-centric sequences. The classic Zelda swells and melodies bring emotion to the forefront, most notably nostalgia. The credits music ties the whole experience together. Can’t really go wrong with a Zelda soundtrack, although it was a touch less subtle than Breath of the Wild.

Tulin was a really refreshing character that somehow struck a balance between over-eager young bird with skills, and annoying kid. In fact, he’s one of the only kid characters I genuinely enjoyed from start to finish in any game. He’s determined to help his village, prove himself, work as a team with Link, and follow through with his new role once you complete the Wind Temple. 

Finally, the characters themselves all seem to have had a bit of a glow-up, design-wise. Everyone looks great. There’s also a focus on making characters stand out more, with more unique designs and more plot relevance. Some have more of a part to play than others, but there were seemingly fewer one-off interactions in TotK. Many sidequests have multiple parts to them that occur across the map, so expect to see characters popping up more than once.

Something that has undoubtedly stood out thus far in my review is how often I have referenced Breath of the Wild. It is fully unavoidable to review Tears of the Kingdom on its own. It looks, sounds, feels, and plays like Breath of the Wild. I have heard criticisms of Majora’s Mask from some people who claim they couldn’t enjoy it as much as Ocarina of Time due to the reuse of assets, claiming it was too similar, or even lazy (which just proves they don’t know the actual history of Majora’s Mask, but I digress). But even those critics have to recognize that Majora’s Mask shares little beyond the reuse of assets as the game is fundamentally different on so many levels. 

Tears of the Kingdom is so similar to Breath of the Wild, I find it hard to not look at the whole game as anything other than a massive DLC. We’re on the same map. We’ve got towers and shrines all over, and while they’re not in exactly the same spots…they’re not that different and serve the same purpose. Zelda needs rescuing. Ganon(dorf) is the bad guy. Enemies are the same. Controls are the same. It felt like I was playing the same game, maybe just a different post-game story. 

The addition of the sky islands and the ill-lit underworld were so underwhelming to me that I never felt compelled to explore beyond a few minutes, aside from when I was forced to do so. I just didn’t find anything interesting about them at all. It was difficult to even get to the sky islands in the early game, and once I finally made my way there, I was expecting unique weapons and enemies, or powerful ingredients for cooking. I got neither, so I don’t really see the point. Perhaps I missed some massive highlight, but I have yet to hear about anything that would make me seek out some special, far-flung sky island for amazing content. 

The same goes for the dark abyss area, which I heard was this hugely fun land to explore. When I got there, it was just…dark. I couldn’t even see anything off in the distance to entice me into exploring, and the light seeds you get don’t travel very far, nor do they light very much of the area around you, so you’re still stumbling around and hoping to just chance upon something. As a result, I didn’t do much of anything down there at all. 

The Zonai tech was a huge letdown, too. I didn’t exactly adore the magnetism, bombs, stasis, etc. from BotW, but it was serviceable. This new stuff in TotK was downright not fun. When I see people building these huge, elaborate devices with fans and batteries and whatnot, I honestly cannot fathom the enjoyment they’re getting out of it. It got to the point where I just never did any shrines ever again. I’d find one and activate it as a warp point, and never go inside because they were annoying chores. 

The new tech felt gimmicky at the best of times, too, and I was disappointed that the developers clearly focused so much time and effort on it instead of…anything else. Being able to throw random objects onto a sword isn’t as interesting as discovering well-crafted weapons that have a bit of lore or culture behind them. Instead, we just get a couple of very basic weapons and are expected to combine them with random monster parts to make stronger ones, but they always end up looking held together with paper clips and bubble gum.

Perhaps my time playing games from Falcom’s Trails series has bled over and corrupted my ability to fairly assess the storytelling and writing in other games and series; and while there was definitely a bigger focus on story in TotK than BotW, I still found the story to be lacking. Maybe it was just my disinterest, but it came off as very underwhelming to me. I liked individual moments, like Riju standing on her own or Zelda actually playing a part in the plot, but the overall story just didn’t click with me. It all felt like something I’d already done before.

I found the difficulty in this game to be a bit of a mixed bag. I welcomed some of the more difficult enemies and the increase in the number of boss fights, in general, but the final gauntlet was such an enormous leap in difficulty that it was ultimately the thing that made me put the game back on the shelf for about five months. I was getting bored with the game, skipped both the Goron and Zora areas, and was forced to fight their bosses at the end of the game as a result. This was definitely a difficult surprise since I had no tips from the respective champions, and while I did manage to scrape through, I never felt a sense of accomplishment, only frustration and annoyance. I appreciated the option to skip Divine Beasts in BotW, but this felt like a harsher punishment in the endgame.

Even in BotW, I was never one for “proper” Zelda combat, with parries and such, not to mention being moderately underpowered. So brute forcing it was kind of my MO, and TotK very clearly doesn’t want you to do that. As I’ve gotten older, I enjoy Hardcore Gamer Moments™ less and less and I think my favorite thing to happen to video games is the difficulty slider that allows me to choose the type of experience I have. Work and life is stressful and I don’t generally want my games to be the same. Or, at the very least, I’d like the option to choose.

Now, I must admit that when I got frustrated and put the game back on the shelf, I wasn’t really intending to ever return to it because I wasn’t having fun. However, after five months, something changed and I was open to making another attempt. The water and fire temples were extremely unenjoyable experiences, with the very long, drawn-out quests for the Spirit Sage and Master Sword being only slightly less chore-like, and this has essentially always been the case with Zelda dungeons for me. I almost never enjoy them, which explains why the list of Zelda games I like is shockingly short. I actually gave up on the Master Sword quest because it involved expanding my stamina gauge, which meant completing shrines and I hated shrines in this game, so I said screw it.

However, I did beat the game. I sought out the temples I originally skipped, finished them, and headed back to Ganondorf for a second attempt. It was definitely easier, but still a jump in difficulty compared to the rest of the game. I didn’t feel satisfied with the fights, only annoyed that I had to be troubled to finish them at all. 

My last real gripe is just how this game is essentially one massive roadblock. Every single thing you want to do will be locked behind having to complete some OTHER quest first, which is supremely annoying and a complete break from what Breath of the Wild was. I found myself just wishing I was playing Breath of the Wild instead, which cannot be a glowing endorsement for Tears of the Kingdom.

I can’t say I regret playing TotK and I didn’t hate every minute I spent with the game, despite some of my grumblings. It didn’t reach the heights of BotW, but I did spend over a month playing it, when it’s all said and done. I still like the open world Zelda aspect and the art direction is still top notch. Nintendo always puts their A Team on Zelda projects, so it’s never a franchise you can ignore, even if individual games don’t do it for you.

[bow-of-aros]

Day Twenty-Two: Role Reversal

Summary: Daniel Jacobi is exhausted. Daniel Jacobi makes terrible fucking decisions when he's exhausted.

But, hey, at least he got to hear Kepler laugh before he dies.

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Hey folks! I struggled coming up with something for this prompt but we got there! This is literally the only way I get see Kepler being tickled and Jacobi is in Such Deep Shit. They are so silly. Hope that y'all enjoy!! <33

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“Officer Jacobi.” 

Kepler’s voice raised the hairs on the back of Jacobi’s neck. Their most recent mission had gone well with minimal casualties. Jacobi hadn’t even bothered him to the point of pulling over on the side of the road on the way back!

By all accounts, Kepler should be in a good mood.

But Jacobi’s continued survival sometimes hinged on telling the miniscule differences between Kepler’s tones. This was lower than average, the words clipped in a way they only were when Kepler was trying to curb whatever emotions he thought would give his thoughts away.

And Officer Jacobi? Kepler never called him officer. It was always Jacobi, or Mister Jacobi, or sometimes even Daniel if Kepler was trying to convince him to do something particularly heinous.

In short, Jacobi was fucked.

He looked up from his desk, all hopes of getting more than six hours of sleep fading into mist, and said, “Yes, sir?"

“Would you care to tell me what these are?”

Kepler was holding his mission report.

Or, at least, what was supposed to be his mission report.

In his exhausted state, Jacobi had decided that he could deal with that tomorrow and doodled a little picture of him in bed.

He’d been hoping that he’d look like that picture before Kepler decided to look at it.

“Look, I’m planning on getting it done tomorrow!” Jacobi tried to explain himself, “It’s just a placeholder until I get some sleep and can actually focus on it."

Kepler, stone faced, turned the paper around to show Jacobi the back.

Oh. Right.

“Is this also a placeholder, Mister Jacobi?” Is Jacobi hallucinating, or did the corner of his mouth just twitch upward?

It was a drawing of Kepler as a stick figure with some very angry eyebrows. Jacobi had his eyes closed with little z’s drifting up from his head.

He was also flipping Kepler the bird.

“…Yes?”

Jacobi didn’t get a response, so in a desperate bit to get home, he continued packing up his things. He made sure to do it slowly, any sudden movements might set Kepler off.

“You really gotta lighten up, sir.” Jacobi walked up to him, “Let loose, actually smile for once!”

Maybe it was delirium. Maybe it was exhaustion induced insanity. Maybe Jacobi was still riding the high of a job well done.

But he jabbed Kepler in the side like they were friends.

And Kepler clearly hadn’t been expecting it due to the sharp inhale that was cut off almost as soon as it had began.

That was new.

“Jacobi…”

Kepler’s tone was dangerous, a clear warning for Jacobi to back off unless he was looking for an early death.

Well, if he was going to plead insanity, might as well get as much as he can out of it.

Jacobi got a few rapid squeezes to Kepler’s side before he had to dance away. Kepler was not holding back and Jacobi wasn’t looking for a concussion right now.

But the attack hadn’t done what it had clearly intended to do, which was mask the half-flinch and choked exhale that escaped Kepler.

“Mister Jacobi, if you wish to keep your position you will ceASE—”

Because Jacobi had very little survival instinct (obviously. He worked for Goddard Futuristics. Under Warren Kepler.), he decided to take advantage of the fact that Kepler was speaking and wiggle a few fingers under his chin before rapidly pulling them away.

And there it was.

An honest to God giggle.

He’s sure that Kepler would insist that it was a catch in his throat, or maybe a shift in tone due to Jacobi’s insubordinate behaviour, but Jacobi knew.

He saw the brief flash of a genuine grin.

He heard Kepler laugh.

And now, seeing the murderous intent on his commanding officer’s face, Jacobi was pretty sure that it would be the last thing he ever heard.

“Run, Mister Jacobi.”

Wait, what?

“Sir—?”

An edge of mischief had crept into Kepler’s voice and a sort of giddy nervousness began to spread through Jacobi.

Kepler took a step forward, and Jacobi took a step back.

As he spoke, Kepler’s eyes glinted in the dim lighting of the office, and the reminder that they were the only two people there popped into Jacobi’s brain.

Nobody was here to help him.

Nobody would hear him scream.

“Three—”

Jacobi was gone before he could finish the word and an involuntary grin spread across his face when he head Kepler’s steady footsteps in pursuit.

“I will make you regret testing me, Mister Jacobi!”

Ha! Like hell he would.

Jacobi wouldn’t trade this for the fucking world.

[poicyss]

Okay I definitely wanna hear ur Duck gushing. I liked her too, but I won't deny the one that was my fav was Rue lol

She's just so much! Aaahh!!!

I feel like Duck is very much a very basic anime protagonist on the surface - clumsy but kind, willing to do anything for her friends, a little confused but she has the spirit etc. However!! While she may be basic, she is in no way boring!

I feel like a lot of the times clumsiness is slapped onto main characters for humor and cute value. And while it does make her silly and cute, it also plays a big role in her character and her struggles. She feels like she doesn't ever really fit in, clumsily navigating and trying to balance the life of Duck the girl and Duck the bird and her role in the story as Princess Tutu.

She's called dumb all the time, but she's very wise! Especially if you're a fan of Rue, you can see how wise Duck is when giving advice and talking to her about her feelings and their relationship with Mytho, even if she has trouble getting her point across. Her intentions, even if her words were jumbled, were felt and changed Rue for the rest of the series. Duck is very Empathetic and a lot better at reading people than she gives herself credit for. She thinks she only has the ability to "save" people as Tutu, but I think a lot of her greatest contributions to saving the others were done as Duck.

She also is very brave. She's the one who first examines her role in the story and tries to search for a better ending. I mean obviously, she's the protagonist, but still! Fakir had been going through the same song and dance his whole life, wishing to change the story and stop it from finishing, but he doesn't go actively looking for a better alternative, instead just sort of stalling for time by keeping Tutu from collecting the heart shards.

I really like how Princess Tutu handles it's characters and their struggles AS characters. I feel like a lot of the time when you hear about characters being "doomed by the narrative" or whatever it's referring more to characters who are doomed by action and not role. And due to being the protagonist, of course, this difference is shown best through Duck. She happily accepts her role as Tutu at first, but then later considers that by becoming human she has been losing her identity as a duck, and how the role of Princess Tutu was sort of forced upon her. Is she just Princess Tutu, or is she more?

And she worries about being a tool used for helping people, but still continues to help people regardless. She's not perfect obviously, but her heart is ALWAYS in the right place, and she is incredibly sincere and strong and I think it's great that she is still able to be the same silly girl while having to struggle with stuff like her identity, purpose and destiny.

I feel like a lot of the time when people apply "angst" to genki characters like Duck it can feel insincere. A lot of people see silly characters, ESPECIALLY GIRLS, as lacking depth. Even protagonists! But Duck is just so emotionally rich. She's very cheery and always wants to do her best, of course, but she's not tied to just being a happy character. Actually, she's probably the only one of the main four who doesn't really wear a mask! She doesn't need to, since her emotions and connections fuel the story and it's characters in a way that isn't just "Don't give up ^^ Love your friends ^^ Girl power!!"

She's awkward and loving and brave and a lot deeper than people (including herself, with all that "I'm just a duck" talk) give her credit for. She reminds me a lot of myself, stumbling blindly through social situations to find a connection and someone who could handle all the big huge emotions I have without being deemed unnecessary.

...I'm gonna be honest, I don't even know if a lot of the above makes sense. I sorta just rambled in a random direction until I felt I made a point lol. And I still feel like I didn't manage to say everything! Ahh!! I love this anime so much!!!

[academicfever]

🌿 Infusing Joy into Your Days: A Multifaceted Guide

1. Sensory Joy (Engaging Your Senses Fully)

Touch: Wrap yourself in a soft blanket, wear your favorite cozy socks, or apply a scented lotion.

Smell: Light a candle, brew tea or coffee just for the aroma, or walk past a bakery and breathe it in.

Taste: Try a new fruit, make a fun snack plate (cheese, nuts, fruit, chocolate), or eat something nostalgic.

Sight: Change your laptop wallpaper to something inspiring, tidy up a small corner, or watch the sunset.

Sound: Play white noise, ASMR, or ambient café sounds when working. Sing in the shower (or hum if that’s easier).

🚀 2. Automotive & Motorsports Joy (Because You’re a Gearhead!)

Watch a classic F1 race or a legendary battle (Senna vs. Prost, Alonso's best defenses, etc.).

Listen to team radios—chaotic, funny, or emotional moments.

Sketch or design a dream car livery or create a fantasy motorsport team.

Watch car restoration videos or How It’s Made episodes on automotive tech.

Play a racing game, even casually—Forza, Gran Turismo, or even something simpler.

Read about a lesser-known motorsports history moment.

Find a weird car fact and share it somewhere (even if it’s just a journal entry).

📚 3. Intellectual Joy (Stimulating Curiosity & Learning for Fun)

Watch a TED Talk or a YouTube mini-doc on a topic outside of your field.

Read one interesting paragraph from a philosophy or science book.

Try explaining a concept (F1 aerodynamics? EV batteries? Climate policy?) in the simplest terms possible.

Listen to an audiobook while lying down with your eyes closed.

Learn one random word in a new language.

Write a small note on something fascinating you learned today.

🖋️ 4. Creative Joy (No Pressure, Just Play)

Write something purely for yourself—a mini poem, a journal entry, or a character sketch.

Doodle, even if it’s silly. Try drawing a tiny F1 car in the margins of your notes.

Make an aesthetic mood board for your ideal study space, dream travel spot, or even F1 team livery.

Play with fonts and handwriting—try calligraphy or make your notes look artistic.

Take a random photo during your day—anything that catches your eye.

Try a short, fun writing prompt: “If I could time travel to any moment in motorsports history, I’d go to…”

🏃‍♀️ 5. Movement & Physical Joy (Without Pressure)

Dance to one high-energy song before getting to work.

Stretch for 2 minutes between tasks.

Go for a non-goal-oriented walk—just observe what’s around you.

Try “barefoot grounding” if you’re outside—just standing on grass for a bit.

Do a few neck and shoulder rolls (especially if you’re at your desk for hours).

If you’re really tired, just lay on the floor and exist for a few minutes.

💬 6. Connection Joy (Finding Light in Relationships & Conversations)

Send a voice note to a friend instead of typing.

Comment something meaningful on a post that resonated with you.

Ask someone an interesting question—something beyond “how are you?”

Revisit an old conversation that made you laugh.

If you don’t have the energy to reply to messages, just react with an emoji—it still counts.

Write a letter (even if you never send it).

🌿 7. Nature Joy (Even in Small Doses)

Step outside for 5 minutes just to breathe.

Sit by a window with sunlight for a few minutes.

Pick up a leaf or rock that looks interesting and just observe it.

Watch birds or clouds for a bit—no overthinking, just look.

Bring a small plant into your space, or just Google pictures of beautiful forests.

🍵 8. Restorative Joy (Gentle, Nourishing Activities)

Have a “cozy reset” moment—change into comfy clothes, grab a warm drink, and do something low-energy.

Take a guilt-free nap (even if it’s just closing your eyes for 10 minutes).

Put on an eye mask and just lie down with calming music.

Watch an old comfort show or re-read a passage from a favorite book.

Have a slow, distraction-free meal—fully enjoy each bite.

🎉 9. Joy Through Play (Bringing Back Lightness & Fun)

Do a small, silly challenge—how fast can you type the alphabet?

Find a random trivia fact and drop it into a conversation.

Play a quick online game (Wordle? GeoGuessr? A car quiz?).

Look up weird world records just for fun.

Try a silly filter on your camera just to make yourself laugh.

💖 10. Gratitude & Perspective Joy (Reframing & Finding Lightness)

Write down one thing that went well today (even if it’s just “I got out of bed”).

List three things you’re grateful for—big or small.

Think of one past version of yourself who would be proud of how far you’ve come.

When feeling overwhelmed, ask: “Will this matter in a year?”