#encountering weird adventures along the way

[thicctails]

I need more info on the get better children au, especially about when Bill shows up.

*rubs hands together* I finally got some extra time to draw up some new art for this AU, so let's give it some substance >:3 Long post below the read more with extra art :D

Before Euclydia was destroyed, Euclid and Scalene Cipher were some of its most powerful members. Bill saying that everyone loved him as a baby was true for a time; children aren't born very often, and the Ciphers are considered to almost be royalty. It wasn't until Bill's mutation became apparent that people began to shun him. If he had been born to any other family, he likely would have been abandoned.

Though neither Euclid nor Scalene could really comprehend the concept of something being "up", let alone what "stars" could possibly be, both of them used their status to try and find any scrap of forbidden information, hoping that they could find an answer, could find some confirmation that their son wasn't crazy, and didn't need to be blinded by his "medicine."

It was this research that eventually saved their lives. Having the knowledge that it was possible for things to, hypothetically, exist in a three dimensional plane allowed them to pool their powers and create 3D forms for themselves when Euclydia began to burn, pulling themselves off the 2D plane like a sticker being peeled off a page. It wasn't a smooth transition in the slightest, and the flames managed to damage parts of their bodies before they managed to fully free themselves. The rest of their power went into escaping their collapsing reality, and when all was said and done, they were left near catatonic and floating in the space between time and space for many, many years.

They don't really start to recover until a certain frilly guy upstairs nudges them into a new, stable dimension. This one is almost entirely 3D, and inhabited by creatures that look completely alien to the Euclydians. Creatures called humans.

They meet Dipper and Mabel not long after, and the two triangles attach themselves to the babies, doing their best to care for them in their weakened states when their young, unprepared parents fail to be adequate caretakers. Being 2D is far easier for them, so they stick to the walls like shadows and find ways to speak to the twins, slipping into videos and pictures, music and books, their forms changing slightly to match whatever media they slipped into. They teach Dipper and Mabel their colours, shapes, ABC's, ect, comfort them when they get sad or scared, and once they're old enough, how to do basic things like getting themselves food and water when they get left alone too long.

Neither Pines parent really notices their children making grabby hands and babbling at open air at first, though they do become a bit concerned when years pass and they still stare at walls and empty corners like there's something there.

Eventually, as we all know, the Pines twins get shipped off to a sleepy town in Oregon, and Euclid and Scalene are, of course, coming along to watch over their little stars. However, they become deeply uncomfortable when they start to see visages of their son carved into every room of the twin's temporary home.

It doesn't take long for the show's antics to start, but Grunkle Stan gets involved in the twins adventures far earlier because during The Inconveniecing, Euclid uses his ability to manipulate televisions to play one of those old PSA's on loop until he gets spooked enough to actually check on the twins, only to find them missing.

Eventually, through the help of Scalene using a radio to drag up an old advert for the Dusk 2 Dawn, he figures out where they are and arrives just in time to see the tail end of their ghostly encounter. Unable to deny his knowledge of Gravity Falls' weirdness, he and the twins have their Season 1 finale talk that night, and Dipper shows Stan Journal 3, which leads to all three of them searching for Journal 2 (Stan doesn't reveal the portal yet)

Bill gets summoned by Gideon like in Canon, but things veer wildly off course when, upon entering Stan's mind, Mabel asks him if he knows Euclid or Scalene. He freezes up upon hearing the names of his parents, and he immediately calls off the deal with Gideon, ripping himself out of Stan's Dreamscape. Before he can process what happened, he comes face to face with someone he's only seen in daymares for the past trillion years

Bill dips the fuck out once he realizes he's not hallucinating, disappearing to Axolotl knows where to do fun, productive things such as: scream, cry, break shit, sob on the floor, drink until the teeth in his eye ache, stare at the space between stars for days on end, and interrogate every single one of his henchmaniacs to see if they spiked his drink.

Mans has absolutely zero clue on how to navigate this situation, eventually settling on stalking the Pines because he genuinely cannot think of any possible way to approach his (apparently alive????) parents. How do you go about atoning for the extinction of your entire species?

Bill Cipher has never been one to do things for others for any other reason than to get something back, but he figures the best place to start is by protecting these fleshy human young that his parents seem so attached to.

Wait, would that make them siblings? Axolotl, he sure hopes not.

[cheeseceli]

Dates with Ateez

Pairing: Ot8!Ateez × Gn!reader (individually)

Genre: fluff, reactions

Request: ateez and how/where they'd take you on a date

Warnings: mentions of food at Seonghwa, Hongjoong and Mingi's, Yeosang is an idol, some skinship at Mingi and Yunho's

A/n: idk why but for some reason I read the request as "first dates" instead of just "dates", so there are some mentions of first dates here and there lmao | daily click

Seonghwa - farmer's market

‌hear me out!!

‌this one would be very spontaneous

‌first of all he just wanted to cook something for you

‌but there are missing ingredients

‌and yes, he could go to the supermarket but that's boring

‌so!!

‌he calls you and you both go to your local farmer's market

‌one thing that you thought was gonna be quick and mundane just became a whole activity

‌mostly because of the cozy ambient and nice sellers, but especially because there was something so familiar and nice to have you by his side like that

‌it was so domestic

‌made him feel like a happily married man

‌so he makes a mental note to have more dates with you like this

‌and he also takes you home to make the most delicious dish ever known to mankind

‌(buys you fresh flowers from there)

Hongjoong - a walk around the city

‌i think this one would be totally unplanned

‌accidental even

‌like, you guys were supposed to only have lunch and go back to your jobs

‌but no one actually wants to do that right

‌so what starts with just a brunch turns into visiting every single store in the city very soon

‌and it's always so nice every single time

‌you guys constantly discover new spots on town because of this random walks you go to

‌and Hongjoong secretly loves it because even when he's alone, every single spot becomes a memory of you

‌soon enough the entire city is just something that is connected to you in every single way

‌and he obviously wouldn't complain about that

‌so it becomes a routine for him to just pick you up and adventure yourselves into new parts of the neighbourhood

Yunho - amusement park

‌you can't convince me that this isn't the most "yunho" thing ever

‌he would 100% take you on an amusement park

‌it provides you both a lot of time together and it's fun

‌and he's your laugh's biggest fan ever, so of course he needs you to smile

‌call it cliche but he would want to do the Ferris wheel kiss

‌not on your first date tho because he thought it'd be too much

‌but when you guys are already dating, he'd definitely do that

‌it almost becomes a tradition

‌at some point it's even funny because you'd look at a Ferris wheel and give each other knowing looks

‌and you know when there are those roller coasters and you can take a picture during the rides?

‌he always keeps those

‌not matter how blurry, how ugly or how weird it came out

‌he has a whole album with pictures like that

Yeosang - picnic

‌i feel like this would be more of a first date idea with him

‌that occasionally comes along every once in a while

‌but it's mostly about the first encounter

‌a low-key secluded part in the park, preferably close to a river

‌just something very calm and peaceful

‌where you could talk about everything and anything at once

‌maybe even play a game only the two of you

‌idk it feels so ideal

‌it's the peace he's been longing for and, considering his busy and hectic life as an idol, that's precisely what he needed

‌overall I think he would love dates that could provide him a bit of comfort

San - arcade

‌this would be so fun hear me out

‌it doesn't matter if it's your first or 639274th date, he will try to impress you

‌and he would probably succeed because he seems like the type of guy who can do everything

‌would win you plushies

‌or any other type of prize you can possibly win at arcades

‌and even though he's trying to impress you, there's still this playful competition between the two of you

‌even after years of dating it still feels like you both are just teenagers in love honestly

‌even a complete stranger would smile by seeing you both interacting in the arcade

‌after so many times going there, you guys must win some type of discount honestly

Mingi - movie night

‌here we're talking about a whole marathon of movies

‌with snacks and blankets for the two of you

‌in the dorms (he would kick the boys out of there)

‌and he would plan everything

‌he's actually quite proud of himself because he really thought of every single detail

‌and the atmosphere is just so cozy

‌besides the movies are your favourites with his favourites and some that you both planned on watching together

‌he realised that one could figure out a lot about somebody by just watching their favourite movies

‌anyways

‌the mood is super cool, you guys laughed a lot with your few comments in between scenes and you even cried together at some point

‌and if you do end up sleeping on each other's shoulders, it's not like he'd complain about that

Wooyoung - escape room

‌this right here is the perfect formula for chaos

‌just the two of you running, screaming and laughing uncontrollably

‌I can't think of something better than this

‌and considering you are in a relationship with Wooyoung, chaos is much needed

‌besides you never know how it works with him

‌sometimes he's working with you and then he's working against you

‌whatever the case is, you can bet it's gonna be fun

‌and you are always 1000% sure this will be a day you'll remember fondly after a while

‌even if all he remembers is how you fell when trying to escape from one of the actors

Jongho - karaoke

‌i'm almost sure I already wrote something like this

‌and I'm so right for that ngl

‌first, this is a fun date and not too cliche, but also not that odd

‌secondly, between songs you guys would be able to talk to each other and still have a nice activity to do afterwards

‌and lastly, he could showcase his vocals and hopefully woo you over with his abilities

‌so literally every single bit of it would be perfect

‌maybe just maybe, if he's feeling a bit too bold by the end of the session, he would serenade directly to you

‌with your favourite song perhaps

‌or maybe that would need to wait until your next date

‌because he is certainly hoping this will only be the first of many

Masterlist | you'll probably like: when they have a crush

Reminder that this is all fiction, this does not represent the members in real life!

Taglist (open!): @yuyubeans

Dividers by @thecutestgrotto | images 1, 2 and 3

[otterneuvillette]

✧ WE'RE HERE FOR YOU ! ✧

⋆🌼🃏— Pairings: tighnari x gn! reader x cyno (can be read as platonic or romantic, pick your poison :0)

⋆🌼🃏— Sypnosis: You have been targeted by a group of Eremites for unknown reasons, so for your safety and the sake of their worries, you have been staying with Gandharva Ville. Here's how your life has become since then.

⋆🌼🃏— content: gn! reader, mentions of injury and just fluffy with light angst.

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It happened all so suddenly.

You were a Rtawahist researcher, one of the best of your years. You went on an expedition to the desert with a team of adventurers to research the sudden change of movement of the stars.

Along the way, you and your team had a couple of gnarly encounters with the same group of Eremites, which was weird, why are they so intent to capture your group? As far as you know, none of you had offended them or made them feel threatened.

Until they finally captured you while the others were sleeping.

"Come on, give us your research papers and your Mora, and we won't hurt your pretty little head, yeah?" One of them spoke with a gruff voice.

Your eyebrows furrowed.

"Archons! Why do you need my research paper so badly?! Like I understand if you wanted just my Mora, but my research papers??" You exclaimed.

"We don't have to give you our reasons, brat."

They stood up and stabbed the dagger they were holding into a crate next to you.

Thump.

"Just give us the damn papers before things get ugly, you hear me?!"

You shook your head stubbornly.

"No! I worked hard on those, I will not let you have it!" You yelled.

They let out a sound of annoyance.

"Fine, I'll just do this the hard way then." They lifted the dagger up again, it's chilling glint underneath the desert moon made you shiver.

But you'd rather die than let them have it.

You closed your eyes, preparing for a moment of pain that never came.

A groan of pain echoed in your ears, and the sound of cold metal clashing made you open your eyes.

Sliver hair filled your vision along with flashes of purple lightning. You were dazed by its familiarity as a thought crossed your mind.

Cyno.

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That was a week ago.

Cyno told you that your expedition had lasted an extra week than you wrote in your letters. He went looking for you out of concern, and he had found your team and they told him that you disappeared overnight and that the group of Eremites that were terrorizing you and them.

You thanked him with dinner and a couple of rounds of TCG, which you lost, miserably.

And you managed to hand over your research papers to your professor before the deadline.

A win-win situation one might think, right?

Wrong.

Because when you get home from running some errands—

—most of your house was burned down.

All your equipment, your research books are half burned into a crisp.

You felt yourself holding back a scream.

No, this is not the time for an emotional breakdown. You ran inside what's left of your home, as you took whatever you could save in it.

Photo albums, important documents, your boxes of trinkets, anything.

You groaned softly as you cursed yourself for getting a place further out in the city in the first place.

By the sevens, who could be this cruel to do this?!

After a couple of hours, you salvaged quite some stuff. But you were glad that the box was unscathed from the fire, it held all of your precious trinkets that you kept growing up. Everything that they had given you.

You dragged your stuff into a cart that you kept in your yard and headed towards the city. Along the way, you passed by a certain blonde haired traveller who helped you with your other stuff that you hadn't managed to fit into the cart.

When you arrived, you managed to get yourself a place to stay for a while. And without wasting any time, you reported what happened to the Matra. They told you that they will open an investigation as soon as possible. You thanked them as you went back to the place you were staying.

Moments later, you heard a knock on the door, and you opened to find a worried Tighnari and also a serious-looking Cyno.

"Hey, we heard what happened, are you okay?" Tighnari asked you, his ears twitching slightly.

You nodded quietly, too tired to give him a proper response.

"I have some leads to who's the culprit that burnt down your house." Cyno said sternly.

You looked up, curious to hear his answer.

"The group of Eremites that terrorized your team a week ago might have been the ones that did it." He said.

You sighed defeatedly.

"Honestly, I was dreading that. Archons, I have no idea why they are coming for me and my work." You sighed, slumping on the bed.

Tighnari approached you and placed a hand on your shoulder to comfort you.

"You should lay low for now. I suggest you find a safer place to stay, they may still be on the lookout for you." Cyno said softly, feeling quite sympathetic for you.

"You could stay with me? I'm sure Collei would be happy to see you again..?" Tighnari offered. His tail swished gently,as he looked at you with concern.

"I agree with Tighnari, you'll be safer staying with him." Cyno nodded.

"Meanwhile, I'll lead the investigation, I'll make sure the culprit will get the judgment they deserve." He added.

"Fine, I'll stay with 'nari. But only, until I repair my house." You said, sighing.

Both of them nodded in agreement, as you stood up to follow them to Gandharva Ville.

"Let me help you with your cart," Tighnari said, already holding on to it.

You thanked him, while Cyno informed the nearby Matra to gather information about the incident.

You hoped that this matter would be over soon.

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It's been a few weeks since then, whoever did the crime was insanely good at keeping their tracks clean, it even had the General Mahamatra stumped.

Yet, both Tighnari and Cyno did their best to help you take your mind off it, they didn't want to see you stress yourself sick.

You'd just been in your room, minding your own business, when you started to hear voices coming from the living room of Tighnari's house. You decided to go out to the living room to check out what was going on.

"Well, you see, it's funny because-" Cyno seemed to be explaining some dumb joke.

"Oh, archons! Stop with the terrible jokes already!" Tighnari groaned, but his ears perked up when he saw you enter the room. "Make him stop, please!"

"Cyno....please behave?" You whispered quietly, clearly exhausted from the house repairs the day before.

Cyno's playfully pouted, but he sighed and gave in to your gentle request.

"I suppose I can behave myself. For now, at least."

He smiles at you affectionately and then turns his gaze to Tighnari, whose eyebrows were furrowed.

"What's with that face, 'nari? Are you having a headache again?" You said worriedly, hastily approaching where he was sitting.

Tighnari nods slightly, a small frown appearing on his face. "Yes. It's been a long day. The headache seems to be getting worse every day. Archons, I wish they'd go away." He sighs quietly, his ear flicking down in displeasure as you move closer to him.

"Hmm....maybe you should take a break... I'll talk with the other rangers, Let me help you with the patrols for the week." You immediately offered, without even a stutter or hesitation.

Tighnari blinks his eyes in surprise at your eagerness to help. He shakes his head slightly, a small smile appearing on his face. A soft, affectionate gaze wanders over your face.

"No, no. I'll be alright. You know I'm tougher than I look," he tries to protest, but you can tell from his expression how much your offer means to him.

Cyno steps forward and places a hand on Tighnari's shoulder. "Come on, Tighnari. Take a break for once."

"See? Even the General Mahamatra agrees with me. So, just sit tight and rest. Let me handle the rest."

Tighnari sighs and looks up at you then at Cyno, then sighs again, giving in. A slight smile forms on his face as he looks back at you, clearly relieved.

"Alright, alright. I suppose I can take a few days off. But you better not overwork yourself," he relents, his tail flicking slightly.

Cyno smiles and nods affirmatively. "That's better. You look like you haven't slept in days," he comments as his hands gently brush back Tighnari's hair to examine his face.

"I promise I won't overwork myself. I can handle the patrols for a few days. Don't worry, 'nari. I'll be fine," You reassure him, offering a comforting smile.

Tighnari lets out a quiet sigh and closes his eyes, clearly exhausted, his ears slumping down a little.

"Alright, alright. I trust you. Just..." He reaches out and takes your hand, squeezing it gently. "Take care of yourself, okay?" Cyno watches the scene with a fond smile and adds. "Yeah, don't do anything reckless. We both know how you get when you don't take proper breaks."

"It's not really that bad, guys! I promise." You whined playfully, before patting Tighnari's shoulder.

"Let me go make you some herbal tea. I've acquired some new medicinal tea from Liyue from my pen pal." You said excitedly.

Tighnari smiles faintly as you pat his shoulder, his ears twitching slightly in appreciation.

"Thank you. That would be very helpful," he says quietly, clearly grateful for your offer.

Cyno, meanwhile, gives you a slightly teasing smile. "Yeah, sure. And maybe don't forget to take care of yourself, okay? We don't want you getting sick, too. You're not immune to everything either," he adds, his tone playful and affectionate.

"Says you, Mr. "Oh no, I have fallen ill because I refuse to wear proper clothing during cold desert nights!" Seriously, Cyno. You should let me knit you a blanket or something." You huffed as you started brewing the tea, filling the small space with a light jasmine scent.

Cyno groans quietly, a little embarrassed that you've brought up the incident again. His arms crossed defensively, but he can't help but chuckle.

"I'm fine with my clothes, thank you very much," he responds, a hint of defensiveness in his voice. "Besides, I like the feel of the desert air against my skin. Even the cold is refreshing." Tighnari, meanwhile, chuckles softly at the exchange, his ears perking up in amusement.

He raises an eyebrow at Cyno, his tone lighthearted.

"You're always insisting that your immune to everything, but look at you. You're just as susceptible as the rest of us," he points out, a fond smile on his face.

Cyno sighs and chuckles, unable to argue with that.

"Fine, fine. I see your point. But... I still enjoy the cold air."

You chuckled, shaking your head.

"Sit down, Cyno. I'm bringing the tea over." You called out.

Cyno sighs and obeys, flopping down on the couch next to Tighnari. His lips curled as he heard your lighthearted chuckle.

"I guess you're right," he admits, leaning back on the couch and stretching his arms. "But I'll still take my chances with the desert air. As long as you brew me some tea to help me when I get sick." Tighnari glances over at you, amusement is evident in his expression.

"The things I'd do for the both of you."

Cyno chuckles, a fond smile spreading across his face.

"And we appreciate it. We really do," he reassures you.

Tighnari nods in agreement, his expression softening. "You always take such good care of us, even when we're too stubborn to admit it," he adds, his tail flicking gently against the couch.

Cyno glances at Tighnari, then back at you, a grin spreading on his face.

"Yeah, you're practically a miracle worker. Always knowing when we need a helping hand, even when we're too proud to ask for it."

Tighnari laughs quietly and nods in agreement. "We're lucky to have you around. Who else would put up with our nonsense?"

"You're being too sweet, just drink the tea already!" You said softly, flushing slightly.

They both chuckled at your reaction.

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"This is delicious. You've outdone yourself this time," Cyno compliments you.

Tighnari nods in agreement, his expression softening as he takes a sip. "Yes, it's so soothing. You're quite a talented herbal tea brewer."

"Thanks, I'm just gonna leave you two to it. I have an appointment with Kaveh soon, so I need to prepare some supplies."

Cyno raises an eyebrow, a teasing smirk spreading across his face.

"Kaveh, huh? What are you two getting up to?"

He takes another sip of tea, his tone lighthearted and playful.

"It's not what you think. I'm just going over my house plans with him. I'm repairing my house because a part of it got burned down, remember? The arson case a few weeks ago? The reason why I've been staying with Tighnari since then?"

Cyno's teasing expression quickly turns to one of concern.

"Right, of course. My apologies for teasing. I remember that case. How's the repairs going?" he asks you.

Tighnari nods in agreement and his ears perk up slightly as well. "Yeah, I hope you're not having too much trouble with the rebuilding," he adds, a hint of worry evident in his voice.

"Well, between having to acquire materials and trying to not break my back fixing it, I'd say it's going smoothly."

"I just hope that my savings are enough to cover for it. The prices of materials are insane." You sighed.

"But Kaveh has been helping out with finding affordable yet quality materials, so I think the repair would go as smoothly as I hope it to be," You reassured.

Cyno nods gently, relief is evident in his expression.

"Sounds like you're in good hands. Kaveh always has a knack for finding good deals. And as for your back, maybe you should take some breaks. Can't be overworking yourself with all this rebuilding," he teases lightly, a gentle smirk on his face.

"I know, I know, thank the Seven, Alhaitham offered to help me with my work, even if I didn't want him to, I could have perfectly done it myself,"

Tighnari nods in agreement, his ears perking up.

"Well, Alhaitham is somewhat of a difficult person to get along with sometimes, but I can't deny that he's quite considerate and helpful if the situation calls for it. Maybe he just wanted to return the favor you extended to him when you helped him in his research." He pauses for a moment, his expression softening. "But you should still take care of yourself. Don't overwork yourself, okay?" He adds, giving you a gentle look.

"I will. I'm going to head out now, so I'll see you tonight, 'nari and you later, Cyno." You said softly and waved the two of them goodbye.

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As you leave Gandharva Ville to meet up with Kaveh, Cyno, and Tighnari continue to chat in the living room over tea. Cyno shares a few jokes with Tighnari, who rolls his eyes but secretly smiles at the playful banter.

As night falls, the house feels a little emptier without your presence. Despite their easy-going demeanors, Cyno and Tighnari can't help but feel a slight sense of worry and longing for your return.

When you finally return home, the apartment is quiet. Cyno and Tighnari are just lounging around the living room. When they hear you enter, they perk their ears up slightly and look over at you. A wave of relief washes over both of them, and they can't help but smile at the sight of you.

Cyno greets you cheerfully as usual, while Tighnari gives you a gentle smile and a tail flick.

"Sorry I'm late, I had to run away from some angry group of Fungi on my way here." You said, catching your breath.

Cyno raises an eyebrow, his curiosity piqued.

"Angry Fungi? Sounds like quite the adventure. How many were there?" He asks, a serious glint in his eyes.

"A whole group of five huge Fungi. " You answered him.

Tighnari's expression softens and his ears twitch slightly. "Are you alright? Did you get hurt at all?"

You scratched your head bashfully, before looking at Tighnari.

"I might've....gotten a massive bruise on my back...."

Tighnari's expression immediately turns to one of concern upon hearing about your injury.

"Oh no... Let me see that bruise," he requests gently, taking a step closer to examine your back.

"I-I'm fine! I swear, 'nari!" You said hurriedly. taking a couple steps back.

"One of the Fungi headbutted me from the back while I was busy dodging the other ones."

Cyno raises an eyebrow at your insistence that you're fine.

"Headbutted, huh? You should be more careful. We can't afford to have you getting injured. Especially when we're not around to look after you," he remarks, his expression serious for a moment before his usual smile returns.

Tighnari's ears twitch, his concern still evident. "Regardless, let me just take a quick look to ease my worry," he insists gently.

"Fine, fine, just let me change into looser clothing first." You muttered.

Cyno nods in agreement, acknowledging your need for comfort.

"Alright, take your time. We'll be here when you're ready," he reassures you, his ear flicking a little. Tighnari gives you a reassuring smile and nods as well. "Yeah, no need to rush. Just take the time you need to change and then we can check your back. We want to make sure you're alright."

You quickly changed, and soon, Tighnari carefully guided you to the couch.

"How is it? Is it really bad?"

Tighnari examines your back, his fingers gently ghosting over the massive bruise that has formed there.

He winces slightly when he sees the extent of the injury but tries to maintain a calm demeanor. "It's a large bruise. You're going to have to take it easy for a few days to avoid aggravating it. I'll prepare some herbs to make a salve that can help speed up the healing process a little. In the meantime, try to avoid any unnecessary movement, okay?"

You sighed yet again. "I guess I have to postpone the repairs again....." You muttered under your breath.

Cyno overhears your muttered comment and his expression softens, sympathetic to your plight. He puts a comforting hand on your shoulder.

"Hey, it's alright. There's no rush. Your health comes first. We can figure out a way to handle the repairs later when you're feeling better."

Tighnari gives a nod of agreement and gently pats your back. "Yes, take it easy. Let us handle the repairs for now. You just focus on resting and getting better."

Cyno and Tighnari help you get comfortable on the couch, bringing you pillows and blankets to make sure you're as relaxed as possible.

Tighnari prepares a soothing salve to help reduce the pain and inflammation in your back, while Cyno grabs a cold pack from the freezer to press against the bruise.

They sit with you, keeping you company and making sure you're feeling alright. They chat with you softly, making lighthearted jokes and sharing stories to keep your mind off your pain.

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Eventually, Tighnari returns with the salve he prepared, and he carefully applies it to your back with gentle but firm movements.

As the salve works its magic, slowly reducing the pain and swelling, Cyno gives you a smile and speaks in a teasing tone.

"You know, maybe this is just what you needed. A little break to rest and relax. Maybe a few days off might not be so bad after all."

"But I was supposed to help you so you could take a break, 'nari!" You whined quietly, pouting.

Tighnari smiles at your pouting expression, amused by your stubbornness.

"I appreciate the thought, but sometimes life has other plans. Right now, the most important thing is for you to focus on recovering. Once you're back on your feet, you can help us all you want."

Cyno rolls his eyes playfully and adds in a joking tone. "Yeah, and speaking of being back on your feet, maybe you should try picking on smaller targets next time instead of those huge Fungi."

"It wasn't my fault they came on me in the first place, I don't even know why they were so irritated in the first place!"

Tighnari chuckles softly, trying to imagine you fending off a horde of angry Fungi.

"Fungi can be picky sometimes. And they tend to guard their territory fiercely. Perhaps you accidentally wandered into their turf without realizing it, and they took action accordingly."

"I was walking down the designated path to Gandharva Ville! The Fungi weren't there when I first passed by on my way to Sumeru City!!"

Cyno bursts out laughing upon hearing your playful defense.

"Ah, well, perhaps those particular Fungi took a sudden detour and decided to set up camp on your usual path without warning. Those mischievous creatures can be quite sneaky, you know," he teases.

"Whatever..." You groaned, voice muffled by your face planting into the pillow.

Tighnari grins at your reaction and gently pats your head.

"Don't be upset. We're just teasing. We know you did your best." He turns to look at Cyno, a mischievous sparkle in his eyes. "Cyno, why don't you make it up to them with one of your jokes? That'll surely lift their spirits."

"Please don't, can't you see I suffered enough? You guys are bullying me, I swear."

"Oh, don't worry, we're not bullies. We just believe in the healing power of laughter!" Cyno says proudly.

He takes a moment to think, then grins wider. "Hey, what do you call a snake with no legs?"

"What is it?" You groaned.

"An adder. Get it? Because it's a snake, and it has been 'added' without legs? Haha!" He laughs at his own joke, clearly pleased with himself. Tighnari hides a small chuckle with a cough. They both look at you, eagerly awaiting your reaction.

"I hate you guys...."

Cyno laughs even harder at your response, clearly enjoying your reaction to his terrible pun.

"Oh, come onnnn. Don't be like that. You know you love my sense of humor." He says with a smirk.

Tighnari can't help but smile at your groaning. He reaches out to pat your head softly, trying to soothe you.

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As the evening progresses, Cyno and Tighnari keep up the light banter, sharing jokes and stories to keep your spirits up.

Slowly, you start to relax, the stress from your injury fading away as their company puts you at ease. The room is filled with laughter, and a comforting atmosphere settles in. Cyno tells another terrible pun, and even though you try your best to maintain a scowl, you can't help but let out a small chuckle.

Tighnari notices your slight smile and grins at Cyno, silently signaling him that their efforts are working. They exchange a sly, knowing look, grateful that you are starting to feel better.

As the night drags on, the room gradually falls silent as you doze off into a contented, healing slumber. Even after you fall asleep, Cyno and Tighnari take turns watching over you, making sure you're as comfortable as possible. They can't help but share a warm, fond smile, appreciating the peace and tranquility of the moment.

Your healing progresses in the following days, Cyno and Tighnari take turns caring for you. Tighnari diligently prepares meals and soothing herbs to help with your recovery, and Cyno occasionally comes by to offer his own unique way of making you feel better – by sharing yet another one of his terrible puns.

Despite your protests, Cyno's jokes never fail to crack a dumb smile on your face, and you find yourself secretly looking forward to his visits, just to hear those awful puns.

Eventually, your injury starts to heal as the days turn into weeks. Your pain and discomfort gradually fade away, and the bruise on your back begins to yellow before finally disappearing completely.

Tighnari examines your back once again, his fingers lightly tracing the area where the bruise used to be, before nodding in satisfaction.

"Yup, it appears that you have fully recovered. The injury has healed nicely, and there are no signs of pain or discomfort left."

Just as you're about to express your relief and thanks, Cyno chimes in with a dramatic sigh.

"Ah, it's a shame that you've recovered so quickly. I was already working on a new series of puns to keep the cheer going."

Cyno remarks, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

Tighnari rolls his eyes but can't help but smile at Cyno's antics.

"Oh yes, because your terrible puns were an absolute cure for all our ailments. We simply would be miserable without them," Tighnari retorts, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

Cyno pouts, feigning offense at Tighnari's words. "Hey, they weren't that bad! And besides, I had a whole new stockpile ready to go."

"Maybe, some other time, Cyno." You giggled.

"Spoil sport," Cyno grumbles, crossing his arms in mock disappointment, but a smile creeps onto his face at your laugh.

Tighnari lets out a lighthearted chuckle, shaking his head at Cyno's antics. They both sit quietly for a moment, enjoying the light banter and the relief of your full recovery.

You felt relief knowing that no matter what, come rain or shine, both of them would go to the ends of Tevyat for you as you would do for them as well.

But for now, let's just enjoy the tranquility of the moment, shall we?

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extras:

Tighnari: hey, I noticed that you kept the pictures of our student years in the albums you have in your cart.

Y/N: of course I did, they're really precious to me.

*Cyno come closer and picks up a picture.*

Cyno:....hey, when did you take this photo of me passed out on Lambad's Tavern, and...wait...DID YOU SERIOUSLY BALANCE PLATES ON ME?!

Y/N: ......yeah, i'm just gonna leave- *sprints*

Cyno: OH NO YOU DON'T- *runs after Y/N*

Tighnari: *dies of laughter.*

[wcnderlnds]

my heart is so jet lagged | rory monahan

・❥・ summary: a long distance relationship with rory while he’s away filming isn’t the easiest ・❥・word count: 1.5k ・❥・warnings: nothing rly just a couple of swear words maybe ・❥・ authors note: hi i love rory and i wrote this in like an hour so 😭 i had a long distance relationship for two years and they are HARD

Another day, another missed call. It seemed to be happening more often lately. When Rory had first left for England three months ago, there wasn’t a single day that went by where you didn’t spend hours upon hours talking to each other on the phone. There had always been a set schedule and nothing would deter either of you from that. Slowly, as the weeks went by, it got harder and harder for the two of you to abide by that schedule. Either something came up on your end or Rory had to film — it sucked but that was life. Sometimes things didn’t go the way you wanted and you had to adjust to it. So, you tried. Those everyday phone calls turned to barely two a week and now you were lucky if you managed to speak to each other once a week. It was one of the worst feelings in the world feeling like you were losing someone you loved so much.

You had first met Rory two years ago at some Hollywood party you’d tagged along to. Your friend was a PA to the stars and was occasionally invited to those big, fancy shindigs that took place after award shows. The one party you had decided to attend happened to be the one that Rory had. It was a chance encounter — he’d been passing by and making some stupid joke and you’d laughed. Of course, he’d stopped and started chatting to you. That was Rory down to a tee. He was a social butterfly. He could make friends anywhere he went — bonus points if they found him funny. The rest of the night the two of you had drank, laughed, made fun of all the celebrities making idiots of themselves. It really had been a pleasant surprise. You’d half expected everyone there to be stuck up but Rory was far from it. He was a normal, down to Earth guy so it was no shocker when he left that night with your phone number.

Truthfully, you hadn’t expected anything of it but when you got a text from him the next day, you couldn’t have been more thrilled. Things escalated from there. He took you out on dates, you made things official and before you knew it the two of you were moving in together. Life with Rory was fun. Everyday felt like a new adventure, it was impossible to have a boring day when he was around.

That was why you felt so… empty now that he was gone.

The days dragged on. You found yourself feeling more exhausted, more irritated by everything around you. There was no smiling Rory to come home to after a hard day's work to make you feel better. There wasn’t even a phone call anymore. It felt like a heavy weight on your chest constantly weighing you down. The entire relationship was hanging on by a thread at this point and you so badly wanted to hang on to it but would it be better to cut it loose? Was Rory feeling the same way?

Throwing your purse on the couch, you sat down just as your phone rang out. Quickly, you pulled it from your purse, seeing Rory’s name on the screen. Your heart was pounding as you accepted the call.

“Herro!” His cheerful voice sounded out.

You could almost cry with how good it felt to hear his voice. “Rory!”

“Hey, babe. Sorry I’m calling at such a weird time but I wanted to hear your voice,” he stifled back a yawn. You could just picture him sprawled out wherever he was using the back of his to cover up his yawn.

“I… I miss you,” you whispered.

“I miss you, too, baby. You have no idea ho-“ He didn’t finish his sentence but you could hear muffled voices in the background then a second later Rory sighed into the phone. “Sorry, hot stuff, gotta go. I’ll call you again tomorrow. I love you.”

“Yeah, I love you, too,” you sighed. The phone call ended and once again you went to bed that night with a heavy heart.

Rory didn’t call the next day but he had sent a text telling you that he had a busy day on set but he’d try to check in when he could. Everyday without him was getting harder and harder. You knew when he got this big job and was flying across the other side of the ocean that it would be hard. You just didn’t think it would be this hard. Rory was the love of your life, he meant everything to you but sometimes you had to let go of the things you loved. Inside your brain you were fighting every single day between holding on or giving up.

One night when you called and he picked up, you couldn’t handle it anymore, trying to explain how you felt but it all came out in a jumble of words. At first the phone call had been normal — small talk and him telling you about his days but it only made you miss him more so you ended up word vomiting.

“I don’t know if I can keep doing this, Rory. Every single day without you is like a knife to my heart. It hurts and… this isn’t me being selfish because I love you and I’m so, so happy and proud of you for doing what you love but… we’re growing more and more apart every single day. We barely speak and when we do it feels… strained. Maybe…. maybe this isn’t work anymore,” you choked back a sob. If this is what heartbreak felt like then you hated every single second of it. It felt like your heart had been ripped out, stomped on then put back in.

“Babe, no,” Rory instantly panicked. “I know it’s hard b-but we’ll be okay. We can make this work. Please. Please don’t do this.”

Tears were falling freely down your face now. “I… dont know, Rory. I just don’t know.”

“…okay,” he sounded deflated, like his whole world had fallen apart. “I’m sorry.”

The phone call ended and, once again, you went to bed but this time not with a heavy heart but a broken one.

Getting out of bed the next day was hard. All you wanted to do was bury your head in your pillows and sleep the day away. Maybe then you wouldn’t have to think about the hurt in Rory’s voice or how you’d just lost the best thing you’d ever had. A day in bed sounded great but the insistent knocking at the door was enough to make you get out of the comfy confines of your safe haven. Pulling the front door open, you were greeted with the fiery red hair that you were so fond of.

“Ro-“ You started but he stopped you by obnoxiously placing his finger on your lips to shush you.

“Let me talk. By the way, sorry for knocking, couldn’t find my keys and then I tried to climb in through the kitchen window but you’ve locked it which is smart. You’ve always been the smart one. We’re like Pinky and the Brain. You’re the brain and I’m the dumb one that just goes along with everything you do…. okay, I’m rambling,” he laughed half heartedly. “Look, last night, that phone call? It was the worst moment of my life. The feeling of losing you? I never want to experience that shit again. No job is more important than you. I need you to know that you are and always have been the number one thing on my mind. Seriously, what was that thing Taylor Swift said? Living in my head rent free, that’s you.”

“Rory…”

“Not done, babe. I love the shit out of you. So much so that I literally hopped on a plane the second we hung up last night so I could come and see you. I’m honestly not sure what time or day it is right now but that doesn’t matter because I’m here with you. Don’t give up on us… on me. Please.”

The sincerity in his eyes brought tears to yours. The last few weeks really had been an emotional rollercoaster but here he was right in front of you fighting for you. How could you give this man up? “I don’t want to. I just… couldn’t take it. The not talking, the being so far away from each other. I love you so much. I was trying to protect my heart and failing really badly.”

“We’ll make it work, okay?” He stepped inside, kicking the door closed behind him and taking your hands in his. “I can come visit you, you come visit me and we’ll get back to calling each other every night. This isn’t happening again.”

“I like the sound of that,” you smiled.

“Now, what’s it gonna take for a guy to get a kiss after a big romantic gesture like this?” Rory grinned as he grabbed your hips and pulled you into him. With a laugh - and a healed heart - you pressed your lips against his for the first time in months. It felt like home, like everything was going to be okay.

list (ask to be added or removed): @ldydeath @jazz-berry @lemoniiiiiii @bohnerrific69 @honeymoon8 @lacucarachapisser @evanpetersbf

[robin-evry]

Hey there, I have a request Yuu who is just like Falin from Dungeon Meshi for twst? (She's my favorite character even tho she is absent most of the series :'D)

Sure thing, she's also my favorite character

𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐅 𝐅𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐍!𝐘𝐔𝐔 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐖𝐒𝐓 💡

Falin Touden (ファリン トーデン, Farin Tōden?) is the younger sister of Laios. Her consumption by a Red Dragon prompts the Touden party's latest expedition into the dungeon to rescue her

One of the sweetest NRC students I mean who wouldn't love this loveable person, they are sweet and understanding and will never raise their voices towards people.

Mother of the first years of the group, always keeping them in line as well if something goes wrong they go towards falin!yuu for advice or support.

Falin!yuu also have grown a bond with the ghost of the schools, you can always find them having a nice conversation in some situation falin!yuu would try to find ways to help them.

Has a fascination with biology, you can find them in the library studying the biology of magical creatures. They also have an interest in insects, they have multiple pet insects that they keep for research purposes or just for fun.

Clashed with Jamil fear of insects, falin adored insects meanwhile Jamil despises them so their views of how to get rid of them clash with each other. Meanwhile falin!yuu has a much gentler way of dealing with insects, Jamil will use fire to get rid of them.

Rook and falin!yuu would have conversations over their interest with magical creatures most of their conversation consists of magical creatures. Falin!yuu expertise in magical creatures biology made rook interested in them.

Falin!yuu are an average student, their grades are by far average as well as their magic but sometimes their grades will go down. Their main expertise is support and defensive magic with hints of draconic magic, during battles falin!yuu has protected the first years using their magic.

before joining NRC they were an adventurer with their older brother and also once studied at a magic boarding school. They tell tales of their time being an adventurer with their older brother and the creatures they encounter in the dungeon.

If you don't know, falin!yuu has a habit of hitting things with heavy objects since they lack physical strength.

Unlike the other students, falin!yuu uses a staff that looks like a street lamp, they are like a light that protects and guides people from the darkness of the night.

Pretty careless due to their selflessness, even tho it killed them they will protect their friends and families from any danger.

After school falin!yuu would usually go to the forest near the ramshackle dorm where they would meditate and have breath of fresh air, grim also tag along with them to make sure they were safe.

Malleus and them get along and usually have a conversation together during school or after school, falin!yuu would also walk around NRC with him admiring and listening to his fascination with gargoyles.

Due to falin!yuu growing up isolated and alone most of their childhood, they give small trinkets to their friends like acorns, leafs, flowers and other things as an appreciation towards their Friendship. Some might find it weird but some would grow to understand and appreciate these small gifts

[harocat]

Why People (Especially Gay People) Should Watch Mysterious Lotus Casebook

Thirty plus year old former greatest martial artist in the world, Li Lianhua, travels around in a poor man's version of Howl's Moving Castle dispensing sometimes quack, sometimes seems to be pretty accurate medical care to people throughout the land for a quick buck. He is dying a potentially preventable death because he was poisoned ten years ago and refused to seek treatment from his martial arts sect because he felt like he let them down (a lot of them died, and they think he died too). Hopefully he doesn't die for real at the end. He's been stripped of 90% of his martial arts powers, so he basically is just some guy. He does not GAF about almost anything. He likes to cook. He's smarter than everyone. He's our hero.

He has a cute dog by the way. Its name is Fox Spirit, but it is very much a dog.

Along the way he meets Fang Duobing, an annoying, oblivious to class consciousness (but still lovable) rich kid who makes it his mission to travel together with Li Lianhua so they can solve crime. He has huge puppy energy. He wants to be an official detective, and he needs LLH to help him out. He has a serious case of heart eyes for his shifu, and he shows zero interest in any woman ever. He believes, due to a previous encounter, that he's destined to be Li Xiangyi's student in martial arts. Oh and Li Xianygi is Li Lianhua's true identity, so he's kind of like, FDB's shifu twice over. He has no idea that LLH is actually the swordsman of legend.... yet.

Along the way they solve murder mysteries and also get involved in tomb raiding adventures complete with Indiana Jones style booby traps, backstabbing, and weird, creepy kids.

By the way, LLH's archrival from a decade ago, before he left the martial arts world, was Di Feisheng. He leads up an alliance that LLH's was pitted against, and one that was viewed as a scourge in the martial arts world.

LLH's last battle before his 'death' was with DFS, so the martial world believes DFS killed him, as does DFS. Di Feisheng finds him again, and is super DTF (fuck, or fight? actually both), but when he finds out that LLH lost his martial arts powers, he makes it his mission to restore them so they can have the final showdown they deserve.

The fight scenes rule.

Were they friends in the past before they became rivals? We don't know yet. All we know is that they have extreme divorced energy, and DFS wants nothing more than to get remarried. He's gay. He's so gay. He's legitimately confused when he finds out that LLH has an ex girlfriend. He's seriously like 'I NEVER THOUGHT YOU'D BE INTERESTED IN WOMEN.'

You bet your ass LLH is wearing a wedding dress here.

So all three of them travel together to solve murders, which they do, with aplomb. The whole time DFS pretends he doesn't care while making moon eyes at LLH and making sure no harm ever comes to him. Fang Duobing is confused and probably jealous.

Yeah he really did pledge to marry Li Lianhua in like, episode two.

He also, at that point, has NO idea the true identity of either of them.

Right now DFS is no longer traveling with them, but I believe he'll be back to them soon (he's still plenty involved in the story and present), and the three will continue their shenanigans. And anyway, he's still annoying LLH despite them not traveling together (to be fair, pretty much everyone annoys LLH). There's also sect drama! Secret alliances! Completely wack murder mysteries! And always with a side-dish of heavy homo. They're going to be the best found family.

There's eighteen episodes of forty out right now, and it's streaming on IQIYI or wherever you choose to pirate your Chinese Dramas. It's EXTREMELY entertaining every single episode; funny, addictive, and yeah, pretty gay.

[whisker-biscuit]

Sonic Big Bang 2024

Close Encounters of the Grim Kind

Rating: Gen

Summary: Sonic did end up telling his friends about the Shatterverse, but it’s clear to Tails that he's still hiding something. In an effort to find answers and with Shadow’s reluctant help, he uses the Paradox Prism to create a device capable of jumping dimensions. When he sends it out, however, what was meant to be a one-way trip returns to him with a cryptic greeting from a stranger who seems interested in researching the dimensions with him.

Now, Tails finds himself trying to solve two mysteries - why Sonic is acting so weird around him, and who this unorthodox, anonymous cross-dimensional pen pal really is.

It's a lot harder than it looks.

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

Chapter 1

The day Sonic finally told his friends about the Shatterverse and all that entailed within it, Tails had no idea how significant it would truly end up being.

He, his brother, Amy, and Knuckles were gathered together at the beach. The fox was in the pilot seat of the plane, adjusting some of the inner controls, while everyone else lounged about. They all listened with rapt attention as Sonic described the disaster that would have happened had he smashed into the Paradox Prism – the disaster that had already happened, if events were to be believed.

Frankly, it wasn’t very hard to go along with the idea. Weirder stuff went on in their lives at least twice a year; dimensional and/or timeline shenanigans sounded like par for the course.

“A bunch of miniature dimensions, huh?” Tails drummed his fingers against his screwdriver, thinking about the logistics of such a thing. Alternate universes were an aspect of quantum physics that he’d never delved very deep in.

“Yep! There was a pirate dimension, a jungle dimension, and even a dimension with five Eggmans!” Sonic shuddered and stuck out his tongue. “I always thought ours was bad enough, but then I met an Eggman baby. That’s one memory I’ll never be able to get rid of.”

“Did you kick the Eggman baby’s butt?”

“Knuckles!” Amy scolded.

“What?” The echidna asked defensively. “It’s a valid question! If that version of Eggman was still evil, then I don’t see why you wouldn’t also teach him a lesson.”

“Oh, trust me, he was definitely evil. Kicking his butt was extremely satisfying.”

Knuckles folded his arms with a self-satisfied smirk he tossed Amy’s way. She huffed and rolled her eyes, gesturing for Sonic to continue his story.

“There weren’t just other versions of Eggman, though,” he said with an excited gleam in his eye. “Every dimension I visited had new versions of you guys! Even Rouge and Big and Froggy!”

“Ooh, really?” Amy clasped her hands together. “What were we all like?”

“Well, the pirate versions of you all talked with these funny accents and were on a ship’s crew together. Knuckles was your captain but he was a big bonehead.”

“Hey!”

Tails smiled, going back to the wiring in the Tornado as he listened to the hedgehog tell them all about this strange new adventure that he’d found himself in. One eye he kept on his work, the other he kept on Sonic to show he was still paying attention, tuned into the rhythm of his brother’s storytelling just as much as the words themselves – and that was the only reason he caught the stumble.

Sonic was in the process of telling them how the Chaos Council had put the entire Shatterverse in jeopardy by punching holes between dimensions using shards of the Paradox Prism, and that he, Shadow, and an alternate version of Tails had stolen the shards back and were planning to put the prism back together. Then he paused, very briefly, and sheepishly admitted that they were unsuccessful before the Council had caught up.

That pause had been barely half a second long, but for the hedgehog it might as well have been a full minute. Tails stopped working as Knuckles began teasing Sonic for letting any version of Eggman be faster than him. He watched his brother carefully, noting the tension in his quills that the fox could only see from his place in the cockpit above. To the others, it seemed like Sonic was embarrassed about his failure, but Tails knew that wasn’t what it was.

Embarrassment was fidgeting in place and wanting to change the subject immediately. It was not standing rigidly with fingers twitching like they wanted to curl into fists, nor was it too-loud laughter at the ribbing his friends were giving him.

The fox quietly placed his tools in his lap and turned his full attention onto his brother.

When the teasing finally stopped and Sonic got back to the rest of his story, it felt different than before. More pauses, shorter descriptions of events, and vague answers to questions about how the Shatterverse was saved from ripping itself apart. The hedgehog’s expression was tight with sadness as he told them of the goodbyes he’d shared with all the different versions of his friends before he and Shadow found their way back to Green Hill.

“Don’t get me wrong, I was so excited to see you guys again – the real yous instead of those weird ghost holograms – but I also knew it was a permanent goodbye for them. All those different versions of you…they were still their own people, with their own goals and dreams and lives. I got to know each of them, and it was hard to walk away knowing I’d never see any of them again.”

“It’s not like you to dwell on goodbyes,” Amy said gently.

“I know. I just…” Sonic glanced up at Tails, then looked away immediately before their gazes could properly meet. The fox narrowed his eyes in confusion. “It was really bittersweet, in the end. I wish you all could have met each other.”

As Amy pondered over what her “sisters” might have been like and Knuckles pointedly declared that the other hims would have probably just gotten on his nerves, Tails’ namesakes curled around each other in a slow mimic of his flying movements. It seemed like the hedgehog was simply melancholy over the loss of his new friends, but it still felt…off. Like there was something he hadn’t told them, or even something that Tails had missed, that was obscuring the whole picture of his experience.

He briefly considered asking Sonic outright when they were alone later, then immediately nixed the idea. His brother was open about nearly everything right up until he suddenly wasn’t, and then pulling information from him was just as hard as convincing Knuckles to part with the Master Emerald for more than a week.

“Do you think the other dimensions are still out there even though you put the Paradox Prism back together?”

Everyone fell silent as they all looked up at the fox. Sonic’s mouth pulled sideways like he wasn’t sure how to answer.

“I mean, I assumed they are. Don’t really like thinking of the alternative.”

“I’m sure they are!” Amy was quick to reassure. “You can’t just unmake a bunch of worlds once they exist, right? And you said it yourself, Sonic – the Shatterverse collapsing only happened because the Eggmen misused the Prism Shards. All you did was make them whole again.”

Tails tapped the end of his screwdriver twice against the Tornado’s steering wheel. An idea was starting to develop in his mind, formed from a swirl of thoughts and his admittedly shallow knowledge of Quantum Physics. He kept it to himself, however, as he continued to study his brother’s body language and the tension still present there.

Just a few days later, that particular tension was gone from Sonic but the idea was still firmly in the fox’s head. He took every physics book he had that touched the subject, plus several that were “liberated” from one of Eggman’s laboratory libraries, and began researching. It didn’t take very long for him to conclude that no matter what theories he read about, or potential blueprints he began to draw up, he wasn’t going to make it very far on speculation alone.

If this idea was to become tangible, then he needed the Paradox Prism. And achieving that, Tails remembered with a grimace, would be more difficult than any mathematics he puzzled through.

He could only hope that its keeper would be in a good mood.

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

Contrary to popular belief, Shadow was not particularly difficult to find. He was a creature of habit, much like Sonic. The real issue was that those habits tended to seem erratic at best and completely nonsensical at worst to anyone who didn’t know them well. To the average person, Sonic was flighty and never settled down in one place for long, and Shadow just couldn’t be found to begin with.

But Tails was not an average person, and he had a lot of experience in tracking down speedy hedgehogs.

There was a large waterfall in Green Hill that overlooked an even larger lake. It cascaded constantly down from a giant cliffside that was difficult to climb and get down from. Sonic avoided the area entirely unless absolutely necessary, but Tails loved to practice his aerial maneuvers there. It was for those three reasons – his many visits, the general seclusion, and the consistent lack of Sonic – that the fox knew how much Shadow preferred the place, too.

It was here that he looked for the black hedgehog first. He started at the base of the cliff, shielding his eyes against the sun as he peered up past the waterfall while lake water lapped just a few inches short of his shoes. After a minute or so of squinting and scanning, Tails caught sight of a dark figure standing at the very top of the cliff, arms folded and looking out at the scenery.

Excited, the fox began to fly up towards him, making his presence known as obviously as possible so Shadow knew he wanted to talk. He felt the moment those piercing red eyes snapped over to him. The fur on the back of his neck prickled by instincts honed from years of Eggman battles before settling down immediately afterward, recognizing the gaze as non-threatening.

That didn’t mean the hedgehog was happy to see him, though. Irritation was visible in every line of his face when Tails touched down a few feet away from him.

“Is Sonic with you?” Shadow asked, in a tone of voice that suggested he was going to teleport at the first syllable of a ‘yes.’

“No, he doesn’t know I’m here. I wanted to talk to you about something.”

One black-furred eyebrow rose in mild surprise. He tilted his head the tiniest bit forward to acknowledge he was listening.

Tails took a deep breath and took the plunge without wasting another second. “I know you have the Paradox Prism. I was hoping to run some tests –”

“No.”

The answer came so strong and curt that it made Tails’ mouth click shut before he even registered what was said. He blinked, caught off guard by both the reaction and the way Shadow’s entire body seemed to tense. It almost looked like he thought the fox was going to attack him, which was as bizarre an assessment to make as the realization that Shadow saw him as a viable threat.

“Why not?” He asked, thoroughly confused. “I didn’t even tell you what kind of tests I’d be conducting.”

“It doesn’t matter what kind; the answer remains the same. The Paradox Prism isn’t something to be tampered with.”

Tails resisted the urge to let out a huff. “I’m not going to tamper with it. I just want to learn more about those other dimensions Sonic was talking about.”

“Then ask him about them and stop wasting my time.”

The hedgehog turned on his heel and began walking away. The hum of his hover shoes coming to life threatened only a few seconds left before he disappeared entirely. Tails knew his one and only chance was slipping out of his grasp.

He didn’t think; what came out of his mouth next was pure panic.

“I think something’s wrong with Sonic!”

Shadow froze mid-step. The fox blinked and then suddenly they were an inch apart. That unreadable glare seemed twice as potent now as it searched his face for any kind of deception.

“…Elaborate,” the hedgehog finally said in a quiet yet uncompromising demand.

“W-Well, he told us about the Shatterverse, and you guys trying to get home, but I feel like he’s…omitting things?” Tails paused, thinking over the last week or so. “He’s been clingier, too. He wants to hang out with everyone more than usual. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him plan so many get-togethers before now.”

Bringing everyone together had usually been Amy’s or Tails’ idea, and Sonic always popped in at the last minute or stumbled into the group in the middle of a run. Now, he was asking them all to hang out so often that Knuckles had threatened to slug him if he didn’t leave him alone for at least a day.

“And then, yesterday…he got really upset when he couldn’t find me.”

Tails remembered it vividly. He’d made an impromptu trip to the nearest junkyard in search of parts for his idea, forgetting to leave a note for potential visitors because of how short the excursion was, and had come back to his workshop in disarray and one agitated hedgehog looking ready to tear down the walls in search of him. His brother had grabbed him in a tight hug without any words, visibly shaking, and had stayed with him in the workshop for hours afterward. There hadn’t been any explanation; Sonic had remained tight-lipped in embarrassment and so Tails had assumed it had to do with the brief loss of his friends during his Shatterverse adventure.

But putting that odd encounter alongside the clinginess and simultaneous avoidance now, it was starting to paint a much more concerning picture. The fox wanted to kick himself for not connecting the dots sooner. Hyper-fixating on a new invention was no excuse.

Shadow was still watching him. Tails took a deep breath and spread his hands out in an honest, pleading gesture.

“I’m just really worried about him. I think there’s stuff he’s not telling me, and I don’t know how to approach him about it.”

“What makes you think studying the Paradox Prism will help with that?” The hedgehog’s voice was flat but no longer as harsh. He had a funny look in his eye that was impossible to place.

“I want to figure out whether those other dimensions are still out there. If they are, I think it will perk Sonic up. But the only way I’ll know for sure is with the Prism’s help.”

Silence floated between them for a long time. Tails swallowed the urge to continue making his case, and instead waited as patiently as he could for Shadow to come to a decision. A myriad of emotions flitted across the other’s face, all small and fleeting and unreadable.

“…Fine. I’ll let you look at it.”

“Really?” The fox gasped, excited, but Shadow held up a hand before he could say anything else.

“On three conditions. One: that I’m present the entire time you’re with it. Two: that you do exactly what you told me you want to do and nothing more. No using it to power machines unless it’s explicitly for finding other dimensions, no tampering with it or trying to break it apart, and no additional investigations. I don’t care how fascinated you are with it.”

“Okay, I can do all of that. What’s the third condition?”

“That you don’t involve Sonic in your studies.”

Tails frowned. “Why would I involve –”

“Agree to all the terms, Fox, or you’re not seeing a hint of that crystal.”

“I agree!” He replied, quick as he could before the hedgehog changed his mind. “You’ll be with me the whole time, I won’t mess with it, and Sonic stays out of the process.”

“Good.”

With the deal struck, Shadow nodded once before walking off again. The fox watched him, uncertain, until he threw a glance over his shoulder.

“Are you coming or not?”

Tails didn’t need to be asked twice.

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

And so, two hours later, they were both back in Tails’ workshop with the Paradox Prism floating innocently in the middle of a containment chamber. Shadow leaned against the closed garage door – which he had demanded stay locked while they were working – eating out of the can of raw coffee beans he’d requested when Tails had offered food. It would have been quite the sight if he wasn’t already used to the bizarre black hole of a stomach that belonged to his brother.

Maybe liking weird food was just a hedgehog thing.

The fox, meanwhile, was in the middle of making complex calculations as he studied the Prism, adjusting for energy levels and power output with every spike that appeared on his scanner. He was quickly realizing that developing technology that could reliably run on this energy was going to be a careful balancing act; it fluctuated sporadically in seemingly indecipherable patterns, and every sudden jump was volatile at best, downright dangerous at worst.

If not for all his research into chaos energy, handling the Prism would’ve been infinitely harder. Their properties weren’t all too dissimilar, now that the thought crossed his mind, and it took a lot of willpower not to get sidetracked by that line of theorizing. The promise he’d made to Shadow was one he intended to keep no matter how painful it was for his scientific mind to ignore every other possibility.

“What are you doing now?”

The hedgehog’s question broke the melody of furious pencil scribbling. It was a common occurrence while Tails worked; he barely even glanced up when he answered.

“I think I’ve finally isolated the most benign wavelengths of energy the Paradox Prism is giving off. Using that, I can power the interdimensional device without risk of it exploding.”

“What is this interdimensional device for?” Shadow asked, suddenly right behind him.

Tails absolutely did not jump, but the grip on his pencil went tight as he pulled back from his blueprints a bit to blink owlishly at his suspicious companion. “I told you already – it’s to determine whether those miniature dimensions still exist.”

“How is it going to do that, exactly?”

The fox resisted a great urge to sigh. “It’s just going to be a probe. If prism energy is capable of making things jump between dimensions like Sonic said, then even a tiny amount will make my invention cross the theoretical inter-dimensional barrier and hopefully tell me what’s out there.”

“Hmph.” Shadow’s eyes darted across the schematics laid out on the table. It was hard to tell how much of it he understood, but Tails had a feeling it was more than most people usually could. “Remember: only for this function.”

“Loud and clear, sir,” he mumbled with a roll of his eyes before he could stop himself. The hedgehog’s glare sharpened considerably, but he went back to his place against the door to finish off his coffee beans without another word.

Now that Tails had successfully found a safe power source from the Prism, it was time to actually build the device that would make use of it. He wasted no time getting to work – grabbing scrap metal and wiring and as many tools as he could carry, then starting the process of putting together his newest invention piece by piece. Just like with anything powered by the chaos emeralds, the probe couldn’t simply be built and then pumped full of Prism energy. Every aspect and every addition had to be tested for durability. If it could channel its power source without issue, then he moved onto the next section and repeated the testing process. If it couldn’t, then he had to rework his calculations completely until it wasn’t at risk of frying from a single jolt of energy.

A tedious endeavor, but one he enjoyed wholeheartedly just for the way it occupied his mind. The fact that success meant a new, fully-functional invention was just the icing on the cake.

When at long last the fox was satisfied that his interdimensional probe wouldn’t blow up the moment he turned it on, he swiveled in his chair to hold it up triumphantly. Shadow, to his credit, had not made another sound nor moved a single inch through the hours it had taken to complete the device. He peered at it with a mix of curiosity and wariness.

“Are you going to send it out, now?”

“Yeah, but first…”

Tails turned it around in his hands to reveal a tiny screen and keyboard on one side, pulled straight from Knuckles’ most recently-busted flip phone. He typed in a string of code and watched with a satisfied snicker as a message appeared on the screen in response.

– Hello Worlds! –

“What is the purpose of that?”

“Tech joke.” He placed a solid metal cover over the keyboard, but left the screen visible. “I doubt anyone is going to find this, because it’s supposed to only travel through the space between dimensions, not actually visit them, but it’s funny to think about.”

“Hm.”

If Sonic were here, he probably would have told Shadow to lighten up. Tails, on the other hand, was much more aware of the precarious state of their arrangement, so he didn’t do that.

Was definitely thinking it, though.

Before turning the device on, the fox double checked that its connection to the Miles Electric was strong and secure. Sending it out without a way to relay information back would have been a silly mistake to make. Confident that there was nothing else to be done, he flipped the single switch on its underside, and they both watched as it hovered out of his hands for a few seconds before disappearing in a flash of rainbow light.

Shadow eyed the spot where it had just been, expression tight, then lifted the Paradox Prism’s container with ease. “Keep me informed on what you find. I’m…curious, as well.”

“Okay.”

Their gazes locked for one brief moment before the hedgehog also disappeared with his charge – in a green flash instead. Tails let out a long exhale. He was exhausted but in a good way, like running a marathon and beating your best time.

He checked the Miles Electric. Nothing yet. That was to be expected; interdimensional travel was probably not as instantaneous as Sonic made it out to be. All he had to do was wait.

So, he waited. And waited.

And waited.

A week passed with no signal. Not a single, shallow blip on his radar to show that the probe had survived its attempt at escaping the barriers between their dimension and whatever lay beyond. Disappointed but not entirely surprised over the possible failure, the fox stopped checking for it as often. Every hour dropped to a few times a day; a few times a day dropped to only once per day. As yet another week began creeping by with nothing to show for it, he finally took the Miles Electric off his desk and put it away to make room for other, more pressing projects.

The device might have ended up a bust, but that didn’t mean there weren’t other ways to confirm the existence of the Shatterverse. Tails began sketching up tentative ideas for his continued research. He didn’t have any Prism energy left to work with, though, and Shadow probably wasn’t going to be as generous if he asked for help again. The power to cross dimensions was going to be the biggest hurdle.

Just as he was debating whether chaos energy would work as a potential substitute, there was a sudden flash of rainbow light to his left. The fox startled, whirled around with his hands up in preparation for a fight – and stopped.

Stared.

There was his device, hovering in the air. Tails’ ears twitched as the Miles Electric suddenly let loose a muffled cacophony of sounds from within the desk drawer; the familiar, loud pings that meant a probe had been successfully connected to. Stunned and unable to think of doing anything else, he slowly reached out to stop its hovering and hold it instead.

From the way he had grabbed it, the little digital screen was visible. Tails looked down at the message and felt his heart skip a beat.

[ hello stranger ]

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

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A/N: Several months ago I joined the Sonic Big Bang event, and today is the culmination of that event where we flood the fandom with fics and art! We are Sonic Fans and we cannot be stopped lol. Expect a chapter release every day until the fic is finished!

The fantastic artists paired with my fic are @currantlee, @phantom-howl, and @dewdropdraws. I'll link their artwork when it's all posted, please please check them out cause they're all wonderful! Thanks so much to @sthbigbang for hosting this and letting me participate! I had a blast!

[basmentdwealer]

Ok ok listen

What if.... TADC Swap AU but a bit different?

Ok so Pomni arrives at the digital circus so much more earlier than the current cast, even Kinger. Pomni acts just like how she did in the pilot, trying to find the exit at first. She made friends with the past cast and tries to find the exit for all of them but as time goes on, they all started to abstract... one by one.

Pomni is the last remaining person there, along with their ringmaster (not Caine in this AU). The ringmaster then says something about failing their job and turns to Pomni, asking her to hold out her hand. They then get teleported to THE VOID and the ringmaster tells Pomni she's the new ringmaster now and some weird as code thing happens and the old ringmaster just disappears in a cloud of codes.

Pomni after going over the fact she's now the new ringmaster fell into a trance like state and hears a voice. As she wakes up, she doesn’t remember much of the encounter, just the commands she heard. This type of encounter keeps happening until the first ever person came into the digital circus after what seems like years. During these encounters, Pomni after she realized she was the ringmaster and have all of these new abilities, tries to make an exit. After multiple tries, she just gave up. She couldn't keep doing this since she was still technically a "person" so with all the emotional distress she was experiencing, she was also abstracting. See, being a ringmaster also gives you a type of defense system so while she is abstracting, she can't exactly fully abstract so she was stuck with basically 30% of her body abstracted. She feels some spikes of pain from time to time but it doesn't hurt as much as the time she almost abstract before all of this.

Years after dealing with the abstraction and cleaning up the circus and giving it a much needed redesign (as the voice had said to do so), a new person arrived. Kinger and his beloved queen, Queenie has popped into the digital circus. Pomni seeing this put on her performer voice introduced herself and explained everything that had happened. This cycle continued on and on until the newest MEMBERS came, Caine and his pal, Bubbles.

So a rundown on the swapped aspect of this whole au issssssss

Pomni and Caine have switched ROLES, not personalities. Though Pomni acts a bit like Caine when doing the adventures and everything (but not to the extreme like Caine either)

The rest of the cast has swapped personalities

Ragatha acts more in a way where she doesn't care for anyone and is less like the caring doll she was.

Jax is more shy and sweeter. He tries to help anyone in need (god that'll be weird to write about and draw)

Zooble gladly joins in any type of activities and adventures Pomni makes. (There'll probably be more but I can't think of anything right now)

Gangle is happy all the time but she does act like a people pleaser to the point where she doesn't care for herself anymore, always putting people first before her.

Kinger is more confident but after losing Queenie, he acts a bit mean and has a but of a short temper. He still like bugs so the cast will give him insects as a way to apologize.

Caine is the jester now with his pal Bubbles as the uhhhhh jack of all trades? Bubbles can do anything if they feel like it.

And Kaufmo? Yeah no he still abstracts when Caine is introduced into the world. (Poor guy)

This AU will mostly be mainly focused on Caine and Pomni but the rest of the cast will still have their own stories (if I can think of any)

Also JesterDoll of course. They're pretty open about their relationship.

I hope y'all like this AU idea I had swimming around my head seeing just two fanarts of a swap au lol

[n4rval]

hi I just wanted to say your tags on the gaster poll posts are so correct yessss (always enjoy your takes just in general). thank you for being one of the seemingly very few people out there who also believes there's no way the timeline works for gaster and alphys to have been colleagues. however, him haunting her benevolently is something I'm 1000% here for <3 (also I hope your finals went well and you get to have a nice relaxing break!)

HII HELLO HI im glad you like them!!! knowing you read these motivates me to keep being Absolutely Very Normal About Him on the internet

personally it's less of a believing thing and more of a come on it's written right there thing, but since we're here.

behold! dingus timeline. (and the hottest of takes with freshly baked personal headcanons otherwise what am i doing)

Not a skeleton?

Isn't 201X too early?

Indeed, not a skeleton, but rather, some guy. Something about how monster's bodies are manifestations of their SOUL, and him oddly resembling a strange looking man does well to represent his insatiable curiosity and love for creating. (things humans are known for in a better light)

On the other hand, you will be pleased with how fascinated he is by "FLESHLINGS AND THEIR CALCIUM DEPOSITS".

And then they fucking died.

201X is the year the first human fell into the underground, and shortly after, the royal family has moved to New Home. This means some decent exploration of the cavern has already been made. Scientists could very well already have been working on optimizing life underground, with special attention to the large and ever growing new capital.

My idea? As this idiot has been aiding exploration with his antics, Gerson was the one to appoint him to Asgore. Something about his talent with turning garbage into non-garbage. With a little patience and getting familiar with his odd manerisms, it was not too long until he got to be the prince's weird godfather.

Cracking already?

And everyone was devastated, mainly the close family. Not only that, but amidst your mourning, the one couple responsible for your unrealistically high standards for romance just divorced. Is love even real anymore. You eat ants with your cereal and your work consists mainly of convenience improvements and absolutely nothing groundbreaking. What's the point of breaking that pesky barrier again? Child murder? Come on.

That's the Wingdings PATIENCE and BRAVERY encountered in their adventure. Dear god, you're lame. Aren't you some kind of genius? Get yourself together! And together he got his self, now, he has children to look after. Surely there must be some other way. He must stop coming up with new flavours for chips and find some other way.

... Dear god, the King is going to kill them.

BONES and DT

Listen. He's old. You got your wrinkles, he's got his cracking. What? You meant to point out some major event of injury must have been responsible for his current state of deformity? Well, he's old AND heartbroken. That's a direct blow to the SOUL, okay.

Jokes aside (kind of), doing any lasting damage to a monster is quite difficult given their magic forms can easily be healed through, well, magic. They can, however, eventually "fall" (wink wink) and dust away with age - which cannot, however, be fixed with magic.

With a little determination however ...

Something about the anomaly.

He found it, the other way. It was the bones all along, the so needed sustainance for channelling such a high concentration of that power. Well, not necessarily, but a boney structure will endure much more and last much longer than a meaty one. Also, it looks so cool.

You know this guy, he gets first dibs on any and all dubious substances that might or might not deal the last hit to the nail on his coffin dust urn(?). And when it all works out (dubious), he might as well play a little. What kind of things can he make? With the material properties of these calcified remains infused with his own magic, animated with determination.

Some new, powerful magic tricks?

A new kind of monster, maybe?

DARK, DARKER, YET DARKER.

There is a lot of interesting things one can do with isolated DT, aside from making bones rattle with life - for example, peeking onto the complex layers and ramifications of what composes reality. This is when the already kooky scientist grows a little mad; manic, if you will. This is the Wingdings sans was familiar with.

Time travel this, resets that, blah blah blah alpha timeline, the anomaly, the angel, the anomaly again, all things that only make sense to him and his illegible mess on the black board. The lack of detail is killing him, he needs to know what it is - what it does, why it does, how it does. Not to stop it, no, there is no stopping it.

Rather, an overwhelming need to understand it.

He falls somewhere in recent history, details of it left ambiguous. The shattering, combined with the amount of DT running in his magical... mathematical physiology, rendered all of his self but an espectator of his reality; confined to the code and unable to do anything but watch, powerless before the nature of his very being, like a corrupted program.

It is all rather frustrating, besides the burden that is coming to terms with simply not existing anymore, watching was pretty much all this research was and now ever will be. That is, until something interacts with him. It is different from the tragic prince, whom no matter how much DT he's accumulated, he is just as confined to this world's rules as other elements. Not this one, not the force from beyond. Not "YOU".

He makes it a mission to reach out, despite the limits of the code, to give away bits and pieces of him and see if you bite. But not too much, he's seen how you tend to exhaust a world for knowledge, something he can oddly sympathize with. I mean, what will you do once you find everything? One cannot fully know a person.

Maybe in another world, prophetized by a cute, little white dog. A much better world for everyone, without so much as war or disease, his greatest creation yet. And he could invite you to it, to experience bewilderment, to be reminded of wonder. If it could even help you, wherever you are, to deem your own world worth of partaking ... then the experiment was a success.

[friskarm]

tentatively putting my thoughts into the tag. for context i am an anime-only watcher but i've been really, really enjoying the mage exam arc and i was definitely a little surprised to find out that this arc has a lot of people frustrated!

one of the strengths of this arc, i think, is seeing how frieren interacts with characters and personalities we've not seen her encounter before. fern and stark are both relatively placid as people; they're generally content to go along with what frieren says.

lawine and kanne are two very strong personalities that frieren initially doesn't know how to deal with at all! they have a whole thing going on and frieren's choice is to. not handle it at all. rather, she spends much of her time quietly observing the two of them until she can speak with each of them individually and figure them out, just a bit. she really struggles to get a grasp on the situation until she does that; it's lawine and kanne who are acting first within their team.

then, secondly -- frieren's plan is so. elf with a lot of time to spare. the impact of the time limit is felt so strongly by every human character on the field; everyone is in such a rush! fern's team are stoked they caught a stille so early. the team that attacks them are desperate to steal it asap. after lawine freezes the lake, the other teams are desperately trying to thaw it, for a quick solution.

frieren, though? frieren's solution takes a shitton of time and involves her essentially meditating by a pond for god knows how many hours. it's such a frieren plan; i feel like only someone with a relationship with time like frieren does would come up with it.

tldr; frieren's capacity to form relationships and understand people and her relationship with time are shown off in a really interesting way wrt the way frieren solves the stille problem.

that, and... it seems a bit silly to say this about a show with a certain character in the title but... i do not feel that frieren is exclusively about frieren. it is certainly a story about her adventures but frieren is by no means the only important character! fern is also there! and stark but hes on vacation. so let's talk about fern.

the one fight scene fern has is so unbelieveably crunchy to me bc we learn so much about the world (now) and about the world (part)/frieren's view on magic from it! the girl she fights has really impressive magic; we know that this is generally considered a time of peace, the demon lord is dead, etc. magic is not necessarily a means to an end. i wonder if this means magic has entered a sort of renaissance? a time period after a period of great upheaval, where social structure is thrown out the window and great advances are made in technology, science - and maybe magic!

the way fern uses magic is very indicative of how frieren feels about magic. fern says (that frieren said) that "this is enough to defeat mages of this era", which is so interesting to me bc yes, ofc, fern does win! with her simple magic and full auto fire. but does that automatically mean fern is a better mage? it's complicated...

you hear a lot about the different philosophies of people who use magic in these episodes, and what i'm really interested in seeing is mr war guy meet frieren, bc i think they'd be the most interesting contrast -- a warrior of the past, and a warrior of today.

specifically bc -- frieren is basically a custom-designed warrior. the way she can mask her mana is very specifically designed to be able to weaponised against demons, flamme did that to her very purposefully. the way she's trained fern is also indicative of that; fern's immense firepower and stamina being "enough to defeat mages of this era" without being flashy so to speak indicate, at least to me, that this sort of thing was common in frieren's time! but this is a type of magic very specifically made for battle against a very specific enemy.

no wonder frieren likes collecting weird spells so much... i wonder if she's had much time at all in the past to play around with magic for the sake of anything but fighting and training to fight?

[boombox-fuckboy]

Hey. Could you rec any podcasts with sapphic couples as their mains? Or a sapphic story. And so on. I only really know about where the stars fell and Alice isn't dead.

You're off to a strong start. Here's 20, there's more out there, but I tried to pick a variety. I'm going to put a ★ next to the ones I think will fit best, but they're all good.

Arden: (Fictional "True Crime", Investigative, Comedy). On the 25th of December, 2007, heiress and young actress Julie Capsom crashed her car into a tree and fled into a nearby forest clearing, leaving a trail that seemingly vanished into thin air, and a dismembered torso in the trunk. A decade later, Bea, the first reporter on the scene, and Brenda, a detective on the case, are hosting a true crime podcast about it, and neither is remotely impressed with what the other has to say. Arden is also a retelling of various Shakespeare plays.

The Author's Anathema: (Horror) Looking for some extra cash, and with some help from her girlfriend Eleanor, college student Natalie takes a small job to narrate an audiobook for a reclusive anonymous author. The book being a horror wouldn't be such a bother, but the stories within are... Familiar. Too familar.

The Beacon: (Urban Fantasy) Bee is a perpetually anxious university student who discovers she has the ability to create fire, and decides to start a podcast to find others like herself. She quickly discovers she's not alone, but a series of bizzare animal attacks suggest superpowered freshers are far from the only strange thing on campus.

The Department of Variance of Somewhere, Ohio: (Weird Fiction, Horror, Sci-Fi) On day one of a new job at the Department of Variance, in the middle of her workplace orientation, Jasmine's new workplace goes into lockdown. Guided via walkie-talkie by Scarlet, an experienced security officer, Jasmine must make her way down 20-odd shifting floors of strange entities and experiments. Ideally without becoming one of them. As a disclaimer, this one is the only addition to this list that isn't actively romantic yet, however there are canonically sapphic characters, and I am fairly confident it's headed that way.

★ Elixir: (Urban Fantasy, Romance) Set in a fantasy world's equivalent of the american prohibition, lawmakers daughter Elsie approaches someone unexpected in search of her missing sister: Vera, an alchemist and propriator of the local now-elicit hush bar.

The Far Meridian: (Magical Realism) An agorophobic young woman wakes up to discover her lighthouse home has moved overnight. It quickly becomes clear this isn't a once-off, and she decides to use this as an opportunity to search for her missing brother, having some strange encounters along the way.

Interference: (Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Romance) Jacq is a D&D podcaster. Geneva is an orc scientist studying ancient human ruins the next world over. What happens when these women from different realities begin picking up each other's broadcasts?

Khôra Podcast: (Sci-Fi) Somewhere between adapted from and inspired by various greek myths, Khôra follows four women who deserved better (Atalanta, Echo, Medea, and Medusa) on a grand space adventure to find the golden fleece while keeping out of the reach of the olympians who own and run the galaxy.

★ Mabel: (Mystery, Supernatural, Horror, Romance). The live-in carer of a dying elderly woman attempts to contact her granddaughter, with little success. The contents of voicemails only get stranger, and what starts as a subtley creepy mystery-horror develops to poetic lesbian fae body-horror.

★ Midnight Radio: (Light Supernatural, Romance). Sybil McIntyre, host of the ever-popular 1950's nightly radio hour, begins exchanging letters with an old fan who has reluctantly returned to visit Sybil's beloved town.

Mina's Story: (Sci-Fi, Romance Elements) Still dealing with a major loss in her family, a young woman volunteers for a long-term cryonics project. The episodes are her audio logs after waking up each time, always the same place but centuries after she went to sleep. A story about grief, change, and the intersection of past and future.

Mirrors: (Sci-fi, Mystery, Supernatural). The audio journal of three women from different periods (past, present, and future) who seem to share little in common bar the strange inhuman, ghostly figures they have started seeing.

Night Life: (Supernatural, Noir) Utterly wacky one-episode story (more of a short audio movie) about an ex-vampire hunter turned private eye who finds herself dealing with the shenanigans of mafia and vampires in the wake of an upcoming mayoral election. Find it on the feed for The Lightning Bottler.

The Night Post: (Supernatural, Mystery). The conscripted couriers of Gilt City are both respected and shunned, integral to the city's function, but inexplicably tied to the supernatural. It's not something they like to talk about. When his husband goes missing on the job, Milo is called to take over. Clementine took over from her father a long time ago, yet recently someone else with her face has been delivering her own unsent letters. Val's not going to discuss how she ended up there, but she will absolutely open people's mail (filled with their own supernatural tales) to read aloud.

Palimpsest, Season 2: (Horror, Romance, Fantasy Elements). Set in the 1800s, a young woman becomes the maid to a supposed fairy noblewoman, who is being kept as one of many "denizens", living curiousities, in a large house. Each season is a different story, this is Season 2.

★ The Pasithea Powder: (Sci-Fi, Thriller?) The last major interplanetary war was full of atrocities, but none more infamous then the creation of Pasithea Powder, a memory altering drug which was used to horrible effect and landed it's entire team of creators in prison. So when decorated war hero Captain Sophie Green sees one of them wandering free, worlds away from his prison, she gets in touch with a very old, estranged friend: one Dr. Jane Gonzalez, who's behind bars for the very same reason.

Starship Q Star: (Sci-Fi, Comedy) The small crew of a tone-deaf space agency's attempt at a PR mission wake up at Mars to discover that they - and the one botanist abandoned on Mars base - are now the last surviving members of humanity. Co-captains and ex-girlfriends Aurelia and Sim must now dedicate themselves to protecting their crew and finding a new home, but they're rarely on the same page about how best to do it.

★ The Strange Case of Starship Iris: (Sci-Fi) When the shuttle carrying the crew of scientific research ship Iris explodes, Violet Liu finds herself stranded in space, the last survivor with no way out. Until her emergency broadcast is picked up by a passing ship. But the crew aren't who they seem to be, there's more going on here than anyone knows yet, and Violet must decide who she can really trust.

Unwell: (Supernatural). Lily Harper revisits her supposedly haunted childhood home to help take care of her aging mother. The house is weird, sure, but there's something far stranger haunting the town of Mount Absolm than simply ghosts.

Weaver: (Supernatural, Romance Elements). The musings of the entity within the old house about the girl she fell in love with (the only thing she can remember), and her two new coinhabitants, who do not yet know she exists.

[animeloverskylarmoon]

Mayuri Kurotsuchi (Bleach) -Extra

“M-Mayuri..”

“I already told you, this is the best way to administer the drug.”

He bit the capsule, and you barely got a word in before his lips were pressed to your own. You gripped at his captain’s cloak, knees trembling as his tongue seemed to explore every area that it could. Your brows knitted, and he finally pulled away, licking his lips confidently.

The bruise on your arm was sizzling and he smirked.

“See, the drug is already taking effect. Although it is still underdeveloped, it works wonders, wouldn’t you agree?”

His tongue darted out, licking the corner of your lips.

You couldn’t believe how much had changed.

Just a few weeks ago you were complaining about how infuriating this man was. Now you’re just letting him mess with you.

“P-Pervert..”

You mutter weakly.

You liked it when he kissed you.

There was no denying that.

“Am I?”

His hand slid around your waist and you squeal when he flash steps. You’re now seated in his lap as he sits at his desk. Your intention is to yell. Do something, say something, but the second his hand lands on your thighs, you feel like you’ve lost your voice.

“M-Mayuri w-wait someone could walk in..”

You clenched your eyes shut when his free hand moved up your shirt.

“This is my private space, no one but you and Nemu have access.”

That statement shocked you.

He leaned closer, nibbling on your ear and you shivered, bracing your hands on the desk.

“What else should I test on you, hmmm?”

“I-I’m not an experiment!!”

Mayuri’s grin grew wider.

“I beg to differ, you’re the best experiment that I’ve ever encountered.”

His hand started drifting over your thighs, moving to your center. You bit your lip, eagerly anticipating the touch. He was close, so clos-

Boom!!

The sound made you jolt, and your head whipped behind.

There was now a gaping hole where a computer once was, and when the debris and smoke finally cleared, you could see none other than Kenpcahi picking himself up off the ground. He was smiling like a maniac.

“Good one Ichigo!!”

He blasted right back out of the hole, creating a bigger gape in the wall.

“How bothersome.” Mayuri grumbled.

It’s then you seemed to realize just how compromising your position was. You jumped out of his lap, pointing at him.

“Q-Quit messing with me all time!!”

You were gone in an instant, and he just let out a soft huff of annoyance.

~~

“S-Stupid Mayuri!!”

When did you become unaffected by that clown-faced weirdo?

It was a little annoying.

He was still using you like a test subject.

Maybe that’s what was actually pissing you off. At any time he could find a replacement. Some new person that would peak his interest. Then what. Were you just supposed to pack up your feelings?

“I hate him..”

You hate that he makes you feel this way.

Self conscious and unsure.

Planting yourself on a building, you just stared at the sky. When you first got here everything was pretty clear. Mayuri was a psycho that you needed to avoid.

Yet now..that’s so far from the truth. Maybe it wasn’t just now, but all those months you spent going along with his crazy adventures. Each one seemed to be worse than the last, but you always showed up. You were always with him and Nemu. Now it feels weird to be all alone here.

Wondering.

The familiar sound of robes flapping brought you back. You didn’t have to turn. You already knew who it was.

“Do you intend to sulk forever?”

His tone sometimes really did piss you off.

“What do you want? Another perverted experiment. Why don’t you just go find some other superpowered human.”

You hugged your knees, still refusing to look at him. It was petty, but you can’t help it.

Mayuri frowns.

“There is no other being that would come close to intriguing me as you do.”

It was shocking, hearing something like that from him. You turned your head slowly, and he was just looking at you. There was something there. Something he didn’t show often, or maybe ever. Mayuri looked away, seemingly agitated that you made him express such a thing.

This wasn’t a confession of his undying love, but this was possibly the closest you would get. You wore a small smile, shaking your head.

“I’ve really lost my mind.”

You must have.

Oh well. 

[mdhwrites]

thoughts on Lilith Clawthorne? Her redemption or her time a villain etc?

So I actually haven't of just Lilith and this is going to be fun for me because if you talk about Lilith, you have to split her into two halves. S1 and everything beyond. This division is not about villain versus protagonist though. Her narrative role does change into that but the thing is that those are secondary roles to her main roles.

Namely, that of a straight man vs comic relief.

In comedy, the straight man is given the veneer of seriousness for the sake of having someone who will react to the jokes in a way that helps elevate them where a laugh wouldn't. This is your stick in the mud who hates sarcasm or puns or stuff like that. They see the absurdity happening and clap back. People like Red from that 70's show, or Doctor Cox from Scrubs, are straight men who help play on jokes through contrast. This isn't even that they cannot be funny themselves but that usually their humor is more rooted in a grounded sense, such as Doctor Cox ranting at someone after they've been stupid because they've been stupid, rather than the absurdity the other characters revel in.

For The Owl House, especially Eda's sister, this was a masterstroke. One of the biggest issues TOH has with its comedy is actually a lack of reaction to them. Few people laugh along and almost no one will ever get upset, not unless they themselves are the butt of the joke. My favorite jokes in TOH are essentially all rooted in someone actually killing what you'd expect, such as Gus saying he gets it when Luz says no offense to him for saying Willow is stronger or the monster hunter who has always dreamt of pushing children off giving a deadpan "I was a weird kid." But no one in the series really has it as a dedicated role besides Lilith.

The only problem, and this is a core issue with her character, is that she's actually not a very good straight man. She never has barbs to throw back or moments of actually winning against the others comedically. Yes, we like seeing the straight man suffer, which Lilith does, but we love just as much when he can actually fight back. Lilith never fights back, not with comedy. She'll shout and throw a tantrum but honestly, she gets so frustrated that it isn't even a comedic reaction like a straight man should have. She never has that normal groan, roll your eyes and then bring your paper up as you put a wall between you and stupid. Instead she gets loud and meets Eda every time on her level which is NOT THE POINT.

Otherwise, how is she as a villain? Well, she only has the VENEER of seriousness, like I said before for this role. She is knocked down in almost all encounters with her and made into a fool in some way. In some way made out to be honestly kind of bad at her job which she shouldn't be. She's the only witch on the Isles who can compete with Eda, the literal only representative of the EC proper before the S1 finale and the best member of the EC. If she's a joke, what are we supposed to think of the main villain faction as a whole? It's like if instead of Zuko in S1 of Avatar, it was Azula who was the bumbling fool, constantly failing to catch Aang, sometimes in comedic ways.

The saving grace for her though is three things: A lack of screentime and paced out far enough from each other mostly that it's easy to respect her title and forget how much often she gets punk, the fact that usually it is some sort of trick that beats her, even if it makes her look foolish and finally her relationship with Eda. Mind you, that last one is actually really shallow. There's nothing really here besides the fact that they care about each other but are on different sides. We actually never get an exploration of why they're on different sides, minus the curse obviously but that's hardly personally driven, that was inflicted on one of them by the other, how they've dealt with this divide, how they actually see each other even, etc. like that. Most of their adventures honestly portray them as not even giving a shit about the core conflict between each other because they're more than happy to goof around, bend the rules, BOTH OF THEM, and just act like they're teenagers to be frank. It's shallow but it's effective enough to make you want to see them getting along.

Then I will admit she gets a good finish and an act of redemption that feels entirely correct for the fact that Lilith really wasn't much of a villain ever but had committed a grievous mistake upon someone else. A good finish to a character who was entirely unremarkable besides a kick ass design. That's S1.

You all remember that I said TOH had a problem of having NO OTHER STRAIGHT MEN OUTSIDE OF LILITH?

Okay, I defined Straight Man, let's talk about comic relief. Now, we actually need to acknowledge, thanks to a bit of lingering strength to Lilith's writing, that comic relief is not actually a character trait. Comic relief itself is a writing tool. It is just anytime comedy is used to help ease tension. That's what it's relieving. Much of the time, there will be one character who is better at this than others. Sokka is the comic relief of Avatar much of the time. However... He's not a comic relief character because his existence is not the joke.

That inherent fact is the reason why 'Comic Relief Character' is purely negative. By the mandate of the label, all they are is a joke. They are entirely 2 dimensional and exist only to insert comedy when comedy is decided as being necessary. Now you might go "Wait, isn't the Straight Man all about comedy?" but hear me out. The veneer of seriousness means that a good straightman gives as good as he gets. When he rolls his eyes, the joke isn't rolling his eyes. The joke is whatever came before and the gesture amplifies it. Meanwhile, when King has a tantrum about not being taken seriously, the tantrum is the joke. We're supposed to laugh at King, not laugh with him. S1 King, S1 Gus, HOOTY, all of these characters in TOH function like this to the point where when they do have focused episodes, they feel out of character because to try and give them something more to do, they inherently have to get rid of the one core trait you laugh at and that's their entire identity. This is why Gus and King become drastically less fun, and honestly less interesting, when the shift is attempted with them, and stuff like King caring about Luz going or not comes out of nowhere, just like Gus' anxieties do. These characters are so much dedicated to their comedy that even trying to play on shifting perspective of it rings hollow unless you're REALLY good at it.

SO. What about Lilith? Well, through Affearances, she's actually pretty good because is comic relief, not a comic relief character. We see elements of it brewing, the fact that she is definitely being taken less seriously, the fact that she just is less serious and the fact that while we have in the past pitied Eda for her helplessness due to lack of magic, we're meant to laugh at Lilith. Following through on the finale though is seriousness enough and gives her enough genuine personal motivation that while many scenes are played for laughs, she still feels distinctly Lilith.

The second Coll Aunt Lilith shows up, old Lilith is dead and buried. All there is now is the comic relief character. We laugh at her version of nerdy, while Luz is accepted. She is now all about history, a trait she barely had before now, and is for the most part entirely oblivious to anything going on around her because she's just a comic archeologist now. She has barely two brain cells to rub together, questions nothing and even her trauma, her losing EVERYTHING, in a manner very similar to Hunter but way more effective because she actually had something to lose at the time unlike Mister "My Uncle is gonna kill me anyways, may as well turn good," is treated as a joke. Maybe the most offensive line, just singular line, to any of the core themes and things TOH technically claims to care about, is "I'm realizing I was bad at my job." The fact that we are meant to laugh at that, laugh at the ONE accomplishment Lilith has ever had in life and sacrificed so much for, and so sacrificing it made S1's finale powerful... Fuck you.

And you might go "Well, she became comic relief because King and Gus, as I said before, stopped. So they were the straight men, right? Or Hunter?" No. They aren't. Because they don't react to jokes like Lilith did. So much of the sparse humor in S2 and 3 is just joke and then crickets. Worse yet is that the comedy isn't fast enough to make the dead reaction to jokes actually work. It's why the like ONE good joke I can think of in S3 is Amity yes anding Luz talking about who might want to eat Stringbean because SOMEONE reacted to the fucking joke. Otherwise, the lost comic relief relief characters (and honestly, Hunter is so pitifully framed that it's hard to take him seriously and he almost comes across as primarily comic relief too, especially after his second appearance) are just boring now.

The degradation of Lilith is emblematic of so much that is wrong with TOH as a piece of entertainment. That is an important element to remember after all. We talk about fucked up themes, arcs, etc. in the show but as a kid's product that IS a comedy, how well it entertains is an important question. How well does it make you laugh, stay engaged and be entertained?

And well, by the end, the greatest joke of all is simply the show itself. See you next tale.

======+++++======

Btw, I think there's something to be said that Luz actually acts as a straight man but uh... You might have noticed that I mostly listed assholes. Luz gives us, by far, WAY more than anyone gives her, negative reactions to other people being themselves. She does most of the subversive humor, she doesn't like Hooty, her most expressive faces are almost always someone expressing themselves and her being against it or thinking they're stupid. For a show that wants to preach 'be yourself' and 'self expression is king' having your main character be a judgemental bitch about these elements is a... Choice. It also makes her poorly suited to be a straight man because instead of elevating a joke, it just comes across as mean spirited or hypocritical.

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[crying-fantasies]

the same anon who beg for more that mayhem goes to multiverse content, adding extra like brainstorm is at it again for more clearer detail , also the aftermath when Mayhem goes home in the latest fic hh you don't know how many times I reread all Soundwave contents like it's my daily hourly cravings sorry to bother you again ,friend

Ironically, what Brainstorm did and what Perceptor tried to do in order to not make it as bad as possible, only made it worse, in some way everything is very much connected to some degree, and even when SG Soundwave tries to help Mayhem to return home he could never imagine that the new multiverse is like a cheese full of holes (in the narrative) and streaming lines (in the music), very different from the time Cliffjumper ended in their world or when the righteous decepticons of SG traveled between realities to help others.

Mayhem ends up with a little more adventures in the way, as his very existence can't occur in some of the realities, so the reality itself ejects him to the next one.

He ends up in a reality where his father wasn't naturally forged but is somehow a marketable toy, in the same reality he gets a glimpse of his carrier near, next he is in another reality where his father is also a toy, but a sentient one that joined the decepticons and what a mess really.

In the middle of this his stress signal flares up, he knows it's impossible for anyone to come and find him, but hope is the last thing to forget once he keeps falling around.

He falls somewhere in one Earth, he looks and feels different, his frame is the same but now he has a lot of pointy and sharp ends everywhere, and, somehow, the decepticons of this earth are horrific, every cybertronian he has encountered so far is literally so weird, their face aren't made of faceplates but of different segments of their own metal and he is so out of his element here, things get worse because of course he finds the version of his sire here too, his frequency of volume way too unique and always the same no matter the universe, BV Soundwave practically falls from space and drags him to the floor with a gun to the helm before inspecting him, taking a sniff here and there, maybe recognizing his own bio signature on the young mech, but that doesn't stop him from almost ripping his helm from his body with his bare servos just because he can.

It's BV Megatron who stops him from killing Mayhem, apparently the old mech is lenient with the youngest, and that he could feel this as a gift of the uncreator, who has sent him a new mech for the battlefield, Mayhem's pre-war medic insignia being of great interestand that strange tingle of human EM field in between, maybe humans have more purposes for them.

BV Soundwave shows off Mayhem to Dylan, like a feral cat does to the person feeding it, who never in his most wildest dreams thought the robots could reproduce, but everything is possible in his shitty life, and laughably enough he is the one to tell BV Soundwave to let the kid drink some energon.

In the middle of this whole fiasco Mayhem hears someone call his designation, having just enough time to turn around before he is inside something, something made of light and with the shape of a corridor, when his optics finally recalibrate he is totally flabbergasted by who is his savior, "Chainbreaker's brother?"

There is no real explanation, only silence as the green mech just takes his servo, guiding him through the light, maybe he is explaining something along the way, how could he do this, why him? But his brain processor is so foggy, next thing Mayhem knows, he is in a medical berth back in Cybertron, you're at his side, sleeping, and he can already feel his sire right next to him.

Obviously, he asks, just to be sure, and when his father simply holds him close without a word he knows he is back home.

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are weird: The Adventures of Captain York and Felix: The Galaxies luckiest bastards

Continuation of: https://www.tumblr.com/niqhtlord01/679724673487044608/humans-are-weird-salvage-rights?source=share

“Esteemed scions,” the human captain opened up to the descending group of alien leaders, “welcome to the most interesting purchase of your lifetime!”

Despite their trepidation about dealing with a human, the gathered aliens could not disagree with the human captain’s statement.

Before them was the chance to purchase a Scral Warship; a vessel that had been deemed a fleet killer for sheer armament and technical sophistication. The human captain “York” and his crew had flown this vessel unannounced to their spaceport and loudly broadcast that they were looking to sell.

Within three hours a delegation from the chamber of scions had been assembled and shuttled up to the waiting warship to inspect it and hammer out the final details for the purchase. Lingu, the delegation leader, was somewhat more cautious than his fellow delegates.

The majority saw this as a chance of a lifetime. The acquisition of a Scral Warship would be a huge boon to the system defense fleet and would allow them to even exert power to neighboring systems. Lingu was aware of the benefits, but at the moment he was more worried about the still many unclear facts of the situation.

This York and his second in command “Felix”, claim to have salvaged the warship after finding the entire Scral crew dead. They then repaired critical systems and flew to the nearest system to put the ship up for sale.

From the very beginning Lingu found this concerning.

The standard crew complement of a Scral warship was five thousand minimum. Each member of the crew would be the cream of the Scral navy; from the lowest janitor to the captain themselves. For all five thousand to die suddenly from an “atmospheric malfunction”, as the humans had described it, would be strange to say the least. Then there was the matter of the Scral government wanting their ship back.

Salvage rights were one thing, but they meant very little to a Scral attack fleet and Lingu would be hard pressed to find a reason that would convince them to let his people keep their warship.

Lingu had sent a message to the Scral government over the matter but he had yet to receive a response. He would have to push the matter to the side for now as the humans began their sales pitch.

“What we have here is the most technologically advanced death machine the galaxy has ever seen.” York began as he began leading the delegation through the hangar doorway. In typical Scral design aesthetic the corridor was decorated with various trophies from previous conquests and battles.

A nebula blaster here, a religious braid of a Shen’gan warrior there, a tiny black obelisk of the Drumari there; it was as impressive of a collection as it was seemingly random and without order.

Lingu wasn’t paying much attention to the trophies though as he listened to the human captain.

“Have you contacted the Scral government?” Lingu asked Captain York. “I imagine they would have been rather eager to obtain such a valuable asset.”

York smiled and nodded to the diplomat. “You would be right, but after determining that the Scral were just as likely to board the ship once more and attempt to take it back we have kept our relations cordial.”

“Meaning you haven’t contacted them about your latest acquisition.” Lingu added with a smirk.

If the snub had wounded the human’s pride they gave no sign of it. With the air of a used hover vehicle salesman he deflected the question while leading the group deeper into the ship.

The group walked for another thirty minutes touring the gun decks and engineering sections of the warship. Along the way they would occasionally encounter members of York’s crew. The humans would either nod a greeting to York and the diplomats as they passed or would be so deep in their work that they hardly noticed as the delegation passed.

Lingu took notes on a data pad as they entered each area. It was strange how despite traveling through the majority of the core areas of the ship they had still yet to see a single deceased Scral. If there had been an atmospheric malfunction as Felix had said there should have been dead Scral manning their station. He pondered this question as York led the group into a turbo lift that carried them to the command bridge. York introduced some of the other humans on the bridge including his second Felix who came over to the group after smacking a nearby terminal to stop the sparks from flying out of it.

“And that concludes our wonderful tour.” York announced as he casually sat himself into the Scral command throne. He looked like a child sitting in the chair three times his size but none of the delegation openly spoke it.

“What is you offer?”

The delegation spoke amongst themselves for a moment before nodding to each other. Lingu stepped forward and handed the data pad over to York. The human took the pad and scrolled through the details on it.

“Is this a joke?” York declared as he finished.

“Something wrong captain?” Felix asked, to which York responded by handing him the data pad. Felix went through the data pad and Lingu watched their expression contort with each page.

“What the frak is this?!” Felix finally declared before throwing the data pad back in disgust. Lingu casually caught it midair and returned it to his robes.

“I take it you are not pleased with our offer?” Lingu asked. In truth he had already knew the first offer was well below the value of the ship itself. The chamber of scions had approved spending up to two third the yearly planetary budget to make the purchase but he was not willing to offer all of that without negotiating.

York slapped the right arm of the command throne and sat upright. “Perhaps you need a demonstration to up your bidding offer.”

York nodded to Felix who in turned waved a hand to the surrounding human crew. On the order they began activating the ships systems and bringing the warship to full power.

The delegation turned to see the energy shields come to life outside of the viewport. Waves of blue energy enveloped the ship in a thick radiance until the entire viewport was tinted in a blue glow.

Lingu watched as the monitors began turning on one by one showing other portions of the ship.

Video feeds of the engine room, armory, weapon batteries, and…

Lingu stopped on one monitor in particular as he saw a room filled with what looked like stacked bodies. No sooner had he started to focus on the image did it suddenly turn off. Checking the other monitors Lingu turned to see that it was the only one that had been deactivated and turned back to look at York.

York was still sitting in the command throne smiling while Felix was likewise smiling but somewhat flustered. His arms hurriedly folded behind his back and Lingu swore he could see a band of sweat running down the human’s face.

“Mr. Felix,” York cut in through the silence, “target an open area of space and have all weapon batteries open fire.”

“Wait, what?” one of the delegates said as they heard York. “You can’t fire in system, it will frighten off the other traders and merch-“

“Firing main cannons.” Felix replied in a monotone voice.

Lingu felt the ship shudder as at least a hundred weapon emplacements fired as one into the void of space. The viewport soon was filled with lances of pure energy shooting out into the void; thankfully aimed at nothing within the area.

“Quite impressive, no?” York added smugly before Felix jabbed him in the shoulder. “What?” York asked before looking at Felix motioning with his head to the radar screen. The normal and orderly lines of trade ships coming in and out of the system now were scattering in all directions like insects when the lights turned on.

“Oh, well; sorry about that.” York remarked with a half laugh. Felix pinched his brow and sighed loudly before stepping forward.

“As you can see all primary systems are functioning and within operational standards. This vessel will become a primary deterrence to any and all aggressors while complimenting your military forces for any future engagements.”

He then proceeded over to Lingu and held up his own data pad. “This is our final offer; if you refuse we will take this vessel and seek new buyers.”

Seeing no other option Lingu looked back at the other delegates who were all nodding in unison. “Very well, we shall make the transfer now.”

Lingu pulled his data pad out once more and began entering in several keys. Felix’s pad beeped and he went over the information to confirm the transfer. When the device flashed green he gave the thumbs up to York who rose from the command throne.

“It has been a pleasure doing business with you gentlemen,” York began as he walked over and shook Lingu’s hand. Felix beside him was waving his hand in the air in a circle motion and the rest of the human crew began filing out into the turbo lift.

“Until we meet again, I wish you all a bright future.” York finished before turning in place and joining the other humans in the lift. The last Lingu saw of them was York’s smiling face while Felix was repeatedly pressing the close button on the turbo lift.

“This is York to all hands, the sale is complete so let’s get the hell out of hear.”

York started speaking into the communicator built into his collar the moment the turbo lift doors closed.

“You have twenty minutes to get back to the Cuttlefish; any later and you will be left behind.”

With that he terminated the communication and turned to Felix who was looking at him in disapproval.

“Why the hell is our ship name so stupid?” he asked as the other crew in the lift casually began looking anywhere else.

“Because it’s my ship and I wanted something cute.” York explained once again. “Any you don’t get to sass me now after you nearly cost us the deal.”

“I caught it in time.” Felix countered. “How was I to know the mess hall had a camera in it?”

“Furthermore, it was your idea to store all the bodies there; I wanted to dump them into space.”

“So you just wanted me to get rid of perfectly lootable bodies?” York scoffed.

The turbo lift finally came to a stop and no sooner had the doors opened wide enough was York and the rest of his crew sprinting out of the lift to their ship.

“We need to be off this ship before they find the bodies or battle damage.” Felix called out as the group skidded around a corner. “Blaster fire kinda puts holes in the whole atmospheric malfunction story.”

York grunted in reply but otherwise kept focusing on sprinting.

It was true that the atmospheric systems deactivated on the Scral warship, but only after York’s crew had snuck aboard, fought their way to the atmosphere control center and turned it off. The majority of the crew died once the breathable environment evaporated, but several dozen had been smart enough to put on vacuum suits and continue to hold key sections of the ship.

They had only eliminated the last batch of survivors on the bridge just before the traffic control station contacted them after they entered orbit. They then spent the three hours waiting for the delegation to arrive cleaning up the hallways leading between sections and repairing whatever battle damage they could while hiding the bodies out of sight.

Felix had wanted to dump them to be safe, until York pointed out their potential buyers would be suspicious seeing a couple dozen bodies begin ejected out an airlock.

Now with the sale completed the human crew needed to be off ship and out of system before the Scral realize that one of their warships was missing and came looking for it.

“Next time can we steal something smaller?” Felix gasped out after passing through the last airlock on to the Cuttlefish. “Like a safe? Like a normal bank safe filled with credits?”

“Always thinking so small, aye Felix?” York remarked as he ushered the rest of his following crew onboard. “You should be thinking how we can possibly outdo ourselves after this job.”

“But don’t worry,” York smiled as the last of his crew finally came onboard and the airlock began sealing, “I already have an idea or two.”

[waitingforsecretsouls]

Zahard downplay is crazy. I'll grant Phantaminum (though regardless of how easily he could have defeated Zahard, fact of the matter is also that for some reason he didn't *shrug*). But Enryu (in its extent) and Urek?

Enryu fought an Admin (whom I, and that's just my personal opinion, believe to not be categorically more powerful than fully realized Irregulars outside of their supposed administrator monopoly over shinsu and its distribution, at least no to the point of categorically out fire - powering said Irregulars) and some fodder but people make the gulf between him an Zahard akin to heaven and earth (nevermind that Enryu is not an administrator, so the whole "but he killed one, and SIU said Zahard could never do it!" is somewhat of a false equivalent to draw for a hypothetical Enryu and Zahard battle. Anyone remember the whole "King of the Tower" Zahard deal, granted said position by virtue of the administrators? Of course he couldn't kill an administrator, he's the Irregular with the most known administrator contracts ("shackles") out of them all).

Mind you, I'm not even saying Zahard would win against Enryu or anything, but he IS 1) a fellow Irregular capable of Shinwonryu 2) a physical anomaly and durability machine, so I don't think it's weird to grant him better reaction times and endurance to say, a first volley of "Red Rain", than background rank and file Rankers. He also categorically doesn't underestimate people, even his far younger and inexperienced data only gradually tested Bam because he absolutely trashed him in their first encounter and wanted to have some fun, so it's unlikely Outside Zahard wouldn't realize the threat Enryu poses (SIU did say he had excellent survival instincts as befitting an adventurer) or not start all out. I'd even argue that to Outside Zahard a nearly hopeless fight to the death would be the equivalent of the fun his data self had with Bam, whether he himself has realized that or not (as reckognized by his data <3).

Urek punched through some scenery, fought an upjumped administrator parasite, needing Bam's help for the finish and had an exchange of hits with Luslec who chose to bounce. The fact of this extended battle screentime alone makes it narratively unlikely that Zahard is only going to be slightly more dangerous, because I see no way that wouldn't feel highly underwhelming to the audience. But even with those "feats" trying to argue that he's more powerful and how widespread that opinion seems already is kinda crazy. There's a reason 90% of Urek>Zahard is based on the old blogpost info about Arie Hon saying that Urek was "far better" than him when they fought at his floor (which. Big whoop, so was Zahard, 10:1 in that regard for him, since we're using blogpost info and such).

And again in reverse, I'm not saying Urek is not incredibly powerful in his own right or deserving of his high ranking, simply that he has yet to tangibly demonstrate something that would put, say, his physical strength (something I've surprisingly often seen as the edge people would give him over Zahard, when imo, giving him an advantage in speed seems far more likely, given his signature technique of "firing shinsu at the speed of light" and everything about Zahard's highlighted monstrous strength) above Zahard, who has the entire Princess of Zahard stuff on his side as a "feat" in that regard alone (creating Princesses out of not only Great Family members but even random Towerborn physically superior to all Ten Great Families average and the (physical) equal of Rankers even all the way back on the Floor of Tests with just a little of his power).

I'll also say that the whole concept of "yeah, number 1 and 2 are definitely stronger than number three (this checks out), but ACTUALLY number four was also stronger than number three all along!" (Uhh, what? In that case, don't give Urek a definitive ranking built into the earlierst lore, that so far checks out (Phantaminum>Enryu>Zahard), and make him a Traumerei or something) would just feel...Random. Especially since number three is the primary antagonist of the whole series.

Tldr; I see the gap between Zahard and Urek as likely to be wider than the one between Zahard and Enryu.