#for about 5 minutes i was map guy and i had no idea what i was doing we were lowkey just going on an adventure i think weeee

[lexydakitten]

went to the aquarium today instead of doing monday why do i still have monday rage. its literally not that serious i talked to a guy in my class for like 5 minutes about what our favorite sharks were as the chairs sprayed us with water and i remember absolutely nothing else lol. too unserious of a day for the rage i mean really

[thatdeadaquarius]

sagau with the language barrier issue except... the creator is sick and tired of trying to ask for things so they do everything themself.

and it gives their followers mass anxiety bc they can't even ask what you're doing... bc they know they won't understand anything...

SUCH A GENIUS NARVI 10/10 GOOD WORK SORRY IM SUPER LATE BUT THIS IS *chefs kiss*

Like, that's literally how I feel like I first played Genshin LMAO

Also this has a cont. Part 2 at the bottom bc tumblr fucking hates me UPDATE I FIXED IT THANK FUCK

Paimon was like "and then we go to Mondstadt- ! NO, not Wolvendom, to Mondstadt! NOT THE THOUSAND WIND TEMPLE WITH ENEMIES OUT OF UR LEAGUE, ENTER MONDSTADT FOR THE FIRST TIME BEFORE U EXPLORE THE REST OF THE MAP!! >:("

SO MANY IDEAS YET SO LITTLE WRITING SKILL GUYS HELP-

Also warning this is ROUGH in terms of spelling and editing and im so sorry abt that! I have my art show today so you're welcome to come back if you want to see it a little more readable tomorrow lmao

Edit Update 4/6/23:

Revised and fixed all the bad spelling and grammar (hopefully) so make sure to give another read if you havent read the cleaned up version lol

I dont have a beta reader so its just me trying my best ok-

Everything was like kinda chaos tbh at first

WOW- MY FIRST 1,000+ NOTES POST??!?! U GUYS, WHAT ARE R YOU DOIN??!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!! IM GLAD U GUYS ENJOYED IT SM!! Also look out for more encoded stuff in the future since i mentioned wanting to continue stuff like this + ARG stuff :) <3

Edit 9/7/23: 2,000+ NOTES?? THANK YOU???

Like u wake up under the Irminsul, and u think ur hallucinating a goddamn gacha game for like a solid 5 minutes, or ur lucid dreaming, 

but once u actually took what felt like hours to process that u might actually be in fucking Genshin Impact-

Nahida came running from, somewhere?? Its kinda just very floaty dreamy in here so, unclear, she’s beaming with a giddy little smile (💘)

It’s… so much more than what her game model could manage.

I mean, you knew that, of course you did, but- to see the tiny goddess smiling in person, her cute chubby arms waving in the air, her cheeks all plump with baby fat from her excited smile, pretty green eyes that sparkle only in the way excited toddlers do-

It was just…wow. 🥺

You can’t help it, her sheer carefree excitement, exactly like a child but you know that she must be really overwhelmed with joy if shes letting herself act like that so blatantly, you feel ur muscles tug gently into a smile, you try to muffle it but ur happiness leaks out anyway

She's panting as she stumbles on short chubby legs to reach you.

After just staring at you with those big green clover eyes for a few seconds, she physically shakes her head to knock herself out of it,

Nahida places her hand over her heart, and bows elegantly, going back to looking at you with a small but bright smile, her voice is kind of quiet, muffled in a soft way, much like her game depiction,

“Hzozn! R'ev yvvm dzrgrmt gl nvvg blf! R wrwm'g gsrmp blf dlfow wvhxvmw fmgro R dzh zg ovzhg z uvd gslfhzmw bvzih low!” *

…Nahida begins to look a little concerned… her eyes get impossibly bigger.

…Oh no.

♧

Nahida had apparently quickly spread the news that you can’t understand them, but luckily it seems like all the characters still know you!

Alhaitham is pretty much a constant by your side, you knew he was vaguely studying linguistics in the akademiya… but that knowledge still didn’t prepare you to be intensely stared at with his diamond pupils for hours. 💀

Then he’d tap your shoulder or something, and you quickly picked up that he wanted you to just try and say something.

Then he would scribble for hours.

Turns out they can understand you about as much as you understand Teyvat language (s? You can’t even tell if there are multiple languages, that’s how unrecognizable this language is, damn)

The more extroverted or friendly people, like Venti, Yoimiya, Kazuha, Jean, Noelle, Amber, Xingqiu, Hu Tao, Zhongli, Ganyu, Barbara, Beidou, Collei, Ayaka, Gorou, Nilou

At least attempt to talk to you, and try very hard to watch what you gesture with your hands or body language

They're pretty much ready to play charades at all times for you lol

Interestingly enough, they only ever understood you when you typed in the chat (with other ppl)

But even then not immediately, 

Sumeru scholars basically had to make a whole new department (regardless of how much you play with others) to decipher your ancient language (to them) like those old clay tablets with cuneiform we’re still translating?

Like that, your words appear in elemental magic heavy places (so like that abyss lang. It’ll appear on walls or structures, so like Andrius’ stone colosseum? in Wolvendom gained some of your chat replies inscribed and glowing a rainbow of colors on the top edges of the walls)

Much like the abyss language you see throughout genshin, most Teyvat scholars (across nations/internationally) agreed your language is the oldest form of language known!

It’s like modern languages having roots in older ones, like English with Latin, greek, or German roots, or Sanskrit and the Prakrit for Hindi language today

…so of course no one really speaks the root languages anymore, because they’re so old, so those ancestors who spoke those languages would have little to no understanding of their modern counterparts…

◇

Occasionally if you turned your mic on for whatever reason there would be a gentle whisper on the winds in Mondstadt of your voice,

or your laugh in the waves washing ashore in Inazuma and Fontaine,

your startled noises or screams from battling bosses mixed with the landslides in the mountains of Liyue

So they know what you sound like, but that doesn’t mean they understood your language :/

Nahida had been hoping that you’re actual physical form being here would help improve the language barrier

But unfortunately, those things remained the same, but at least you were physically here to talk to now and give more content for the scholars to study rather than them having to make do with your snippets of language from chats

…so needless to say, it took you a long time to realize they viewed you as a god of sorts.

You kind of knew something was up when at least two allogenes were by your sides at all times, or eremites would replace them if they really couldn’t stick around

You figured they knew you weren’t nearly as combatant-ready as they were at all times, hell you obviously didn’t have a vision hanging off you somewhere, and you only really had a knife strapped to a belt, courtesy of the Thirty Corps

You are still kind of convinced that the people of Teyvat, or Sumeru at least, are just pretty polite (and in the allogenes case, very kind or friendly, even people like Alhaitham or Cyno, resting bitch faces they have, seem to soften a little when they’re walking around with you… maybe you’re just imagining it…)

And as much as you would love to wait until they understand you to do something more fun, as you can see the frustration on Tighnari’s face (and his ears try to flatten back hehe) as he looked like he was debating heatedly with some of the Sumeru sages who insist you stay in the city

…so why not go?

It’s not like they’re going to get it anytime soon, and it’s still too frustrating for yourself to charade things or draw things for them because you can’t even hear their guesses 💀

You can totally handle being like the traveler too, 

You still have access to your inventory afterall! Plus, lucky for you, you still find a pass for the Serenitea Pot in your little pocket dimension!

So now you have somewhere to sleep at night, and while most of your stuff went to the traveler’s pack, the things like Primogems

(which.. Okay now you really want primogems bc theyre so pretty and shiny irl)✨️

And other high-level things, or just objects of no use for the traveler (so basically all your hoarded level up stuff and infinite amount of weapons lol) came along with you

So you did have to wander the first week or so around the city and even commission the Adventurer’s Guild to grab you food supplies to cook with

Filling up, along with a few big waterskins, you’re off!

...and everyone collectively has a heart attack!

◇

When you show up in Ghandaraville essentially all “✨️💖☺️✨️” on Tighnari’s doorstep-

He chokes on the tea he’d been sipping on before he opened the door lol

He looks a little frazzled so you try to just gesture with “calm yourself small animal” energy with your hands

“Tivzgvhg Oliw! R'n- R- sld wrw blf-?! Mvevinrmw, xlnv rm, xlnv rm, ivhg! ...R mvvw gl hvmw z nroorlm ovggvih mld gl ylgs gsv vmgriv xrgb lu Hfnvif, gsv Zxgrmt Tizmw Hztv, zmw gsv Nzgiz nlhg orpvob…” he began out looking at you and talking and gesturing to his small dining table (the game sucks, his house looks great and has lots of cool rooms filled with interesting plants… oooo…so pretty...) 

But then he kinda just devolved into rambling, no need to understand, you can read the vibes and just know that's what he's doing lol

Collei eventually ducks in, and she looks a little panicked?

She’s quickly followed by Cyno, pushing past her to call out into the house,

His voice seems hard and stressed, looking at Tighnari, “Grtsmzir, szev blf hvvm gsv Tivzgvhg Oliw zmbdsviv, gsvb dviv hvvm xlnrmt gl Tszmwziezeroov ozhg-” 

Cyno stops and blinks.

Collei’s mouth is slightly dropped open, she also just, blinks.

You blink. 

Tighnari blinks tiredly, he looks like he’d rather be done for the day, you think.

The doctor sighs, and moves his head to nod towards the other dining seats.

◇

Sumeru foods are so much better looking in real life, and they’re so good too, your practically bloated by the end of dinner, 

As a thank you, bc u cant say it obv, you just gesture for Tighnari to stay sitting, and he gives you a raised eyebrow and a suspicious ear twitch

But stays still, and you reach out to finally hit the eight-pointed star hovering over his, and all playable characters chests at all times.

Like you suspected, it brings up a holographic character menu, but rather than his full model, it kind of hovers in front of Tighnari’s face, replacing his old 3D model self with framing the real thing for a portrait just in front of his face

The poor Denro user nearly jumps a foot out of his chair as he looks in shock at your screen, you do the same “chillll boy” gesture with your hands and press his shoulders for a second to remind him to not run off or panic

Cyno and Collei had done the dishes and put up leftovers, and are now standing behind Tighnari, watching with equally wide eyes,

“...Dszg ziv gsvb wlrmt gl blf?

Cyno’s voice is even deeper and quieter than usual, you feel goosebumps run up your spine

“Ziv blf tvggrmt yovhhvw, Nzhgvi Grtsmzir?!” Collei’s sweet voice is also hushed like she’s witnessing something sacred, Tighnari gently shakes his head negatively in response, his shoulders shrugging,

“Nzbyv? R uvvo... z orggov hgilmtvi, zmw nb Erhrlm rh zxgrmt fk zh dvoo…”

Though he’s replying, Tighnari’s eyes haven’t once left your ancient magic? technology device? hovering in front of him,

and as he crosses his arms and squints to try and look closer at everything floating in front of him, you can see the childlike gleam of awe in his green eyes, (so cute) in fact, now that you glance up and look, both Collei and Cyno have the same quietly excited and fascinated sparkle in their eyes too

With a displeased sneer, you chuck his old level one bow into the material grinding spots, hope he wasn’t attached to that…

Oh well, he’ll like the new one better, afterall, with no characters, all your best weapons and artifacts are ready to use!

With a small smile of reassurance, you finally finish gearing Tighnari up, tap a miniature version of that 8-point star in the corner like an “X” button, and it retreats like a classic TV set📺 turning off into his chest, he startles but then carefully stands

You decide to just start making decisions bc its worked out so far ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

And grab his hand and haul him out into the forest, Collei letting out a surprised squeak, her and Cyno hurrying after

You reach the nearest clearing, and gesture at Tighnari like a bow and arrow firing, he gets it, and your glad he already trusts you, because he doesn’t take long to summon his bow

He takes aim at a smaller tree about two cars length away

You can feel them all holding their breathe, as Tighnari charges it with Dendro, the arrowhead glowing, (it looks so cool and badass irl god you feel envious even tho ur already here-)

The ranger lets it fly, it streaks neon green, whistling through the air, it hits the tree-

and it fucking explodes.

Vines and leaves and the trees roots all rapidly swell like theyre filled with water, like it literally got hit by a superhero with plant powers, which, not that far off actually.

The green floating Dendro seeds make a ring around the tree its so full of elemental energy-

You give a wild grin, you still got it, hell yeah. >:)

Your grin widens as you look over at Tighnari, Collei, and Cyno

Cyno has a smirk lighting up his face, eyes eager, Collei’s jaw has dropped and she’s just frozen staring as the tree finally settles from the burst of the dendro powered arrow

…Tighnari has lowered his bow, and his mouth is only slightly open, his ears perked straight up into the air, shaking with excitement? Happiness? Interest? You don’t know how peopl-animal-hybrid ears work,

and you STILL cant talk to any of them to ask what they thought, so looks will have to do >:/

Tighnari is the first to move, his head snapping over to look at you, the brightest, kinda feral tbh, smile taking over his face-

“Blf pmld, dv xzm'g fmwvihgzmw blf, zmw blf fh, bvg R xzm'g dzrg gl hvv dszg rm gsv dliow blf'iv tlrmt gl wl mvcg. Blf'iv znzarmt."

… and you just 🙂? Cool!

And give a thumbs up👍LMAO

☆

Bonus:

Alhaitham was literally running around Sumeru City trying to find you when you left, tho you did try and leave a translatable-in-3-to-5-business days-note, he didn’t have time to translate that because you were gone.

Or worse, lost in the city, and he would never forgive himself if he lost you, esp as Acting Grand Sage-

Kaveh got a letter a day and a half later from Tighnari letting them know you were having a sleepover in Ghandarvaville lol

Kaveh also had to hunt down Alhaitham to give him said news, then force his roommate to go sit or lay down for the rest of the day to recover lmao

(Haitham honestly kinda freaked Kaveh out bc he’s never seen him that... desperate, it was like seeing a statue emote lol)

♡

ARE YOU KIDDING WE ALMOST HIT LIMIT AGAIN?!

Bro has anyone else had this problem???

I literally had to switch from PC to mobile and copy and paste it there to get all my shit in and tumblr not throw a hissy fit???!!!

FUCKING TUMBLR- SUCK MY BIG FAT- 👹👹 UGH

ANYWAYYYY SO I FINALLY CAVED 

And started doing ciphers for when you dont get teyvat’s language! I meant to do something fun like this for awhile but I wasn’t sure if that would be kind of annoying, but if you’re interested in learning what they actually say (which the whole point of this is that dw it doesnt rlly matter lol) here’s a hint:

*hint = Atbash

:> good luck!

Wish me luck on my art exhibition today!! Then I’ll be homefreeeee 😭

Safe Travels,

💀♒

♡ the beloveds ♡

@karmawonders / @0rah-s / @randomnatics / @glxssynarvi / @nexylaza / @genshin-impacts-me / @wholesomey-artist

[meanbossart]

Because I love the idea of DU drow as a companion... how would you recruit him? Where do you find him, and what's his intro cutscene?

Hi, I've been thinking about this since I got this message :V

There's this nautiloid pod somewhere nearby the Owlbear cave right? So those things were just crashing all over the place, not just near the beach where the actual ship fell. I believe his pod could have had a similar fate and fallen somewhere off the beaten path.

Mind you that, In this scenario, waking up from the pod and onto the forest map would have been DU Drow's first-ever conscious minutes ever since having his mind wiped, so he truly has no fucking idea of what just happened - he just knows his head is in shambles and that he needs to survive for long enough for his memories to return, assuming they ever will. So, his immediate instinct would be to retreat away from where the people are.

I think underneath the bridge, where there's running water and some fauna/flora would be a good spot to find him. Players might take a day or two until they stumble across this weirdo companion and so they are more in the loop than he would be. You'd find a little blood-trail leading you down there, and eventually spot a fist's corpse with no shoes near the river - DU drow would be crouched down by the water washing blood off himself:

While the rest of the party may have been picked off random places as they went about their days, this guy was busy being dissected and put back together over and over again - and there's no way Kressa bothered to dress him back up fully before he was taken away from her (me allowing the man to have pants on at all is a mercy onto you all) so he begins with no armor, but to make up for that fact he's the only companion who begins with a great-sword, which he would have stolen from the fist.

When you approach he is perfectly calm, In fact, he doesn't seem all that there. He stands up and appears half-ready for a fight, but lets you speak first. You can either ask what he's doing here, or about the corpse. You get more or less the same answer to both:

If you successfully persuade him, he tells you with no particular tone of shame or remorse that you got him, he did kill him, however he claims he was attacked first. Whether you pry into his mind with the worm, or have a scroll of read-thoughts, you get the same narration:

"Behind the aloof facade, you find the drow's mind to be in a concerning state of disarray: dozens of thoughts racing, jumbled, all at once, each trailing into the next before you can catch a hint of substance. You don't find the answers you were looking for, just red goo."

You CAN however use speak to the dead on the corpse. If you do that, it's revealed that he is actually telling the truth; The fist found him and assumed him to be with the drow who raided Wakeen's rest. Otherwise, you have to either take his word for it, attack him, or leave him.

He will refuse your offers to join you/go to your camp until you reveal to him that you have been tadpoled - either through using the Illithid-worm option, or telling him upfront through normal dialogue. If you didn't peer into his head earlier, you will now, confirming to yourself and him that he's also been infected. Then, you can tell him you're looking for a cure, and he will agree to travel along. This gets you approval from Shadowheart, Karlach, and Astarion, and disapproval from Lae'zel, Wyll, and Gale.

If you attack, he's as easy a fight as any companion would be at that point. If you choose to leave him be/not tell him about your worm so he refuses to join, he will appear at your camp after two long rests, basically forcing himself to into your party unless you kill him. You find him hanging out around Withers and he tells you he's decided to travel with you from now on, and that he will make himself comfortable.

If you ask for his name, he tells you to just call him whatever you want to (cue like 5 joke dialogue answers - he responds to all of them with a snort and you get approval if you pick any flattering ones). Whatever you ask about him gets you a very blunt, vague response. If you have Shadowheart in your party/are playing as her, she implies he may be suffering from memory loss, finally prompting him to admit to it. Otherwise he only reveals this after a couple more long-rests.

[i-only-ever-asked-questions]

Map of Soho Good Omens Season 2 - Part 1 (Location and general map)

Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Update: Map now identifies Lucky Snake and the coffee shop listed in Aziraphale's clipboard may indeed be Give Me Coffee I think we all have wondered how the GO Soho looks like and where it would be in real London. So using all the screenshots, BTS pictures and videos I could find I did my best to map out where things are. It is not to scale but everything I could see is there. I originally had all the pictures and explanations in this post but soon it became obvious it was going to be too long and impractical so I had to split it in different posts and I hope I got it right. The map has five reference points (circle with two diverging lines); imagine the circle is you, standing in the set, and the lines are your viewpoint if you were taking a picture from there. The left side of Whickber Street (#1 and #2) is in Part 2, the intersecting street (#3 and #4) is in Part 3 and the right half of Whickber Street (#5) is in Part 4.

As to where the bookshop would be in real London. We know that Whickber Street is supposed to be Berwick Street so let's start there. The intersecting street is not obvious from the show. In this post Neil said he imagines the bookshop to be where Gosh! Comics is (Peter Street) while Michael Ralph and Douglas McKinnon probably put it at The Week (on Broadwick Street). Because it is ambiguous and really you can do whatever you want, I just left it as "intersecting street". We know from the book that Crowley takes Wardour Street after the bookshop fire. Wardour is behind Berwick so in our map it would be where the Chinese Buffet Restaurant is, considering they run more or less parallel. On the other side, we have the Windmill Theatre located on Great Windmill Street. From Berwick St. and Peter St. it takes three minutes to walk to the theatre, it is that close! (yes, I know, Crowley was conducting business two blocks from the bookshop while not talking to Aziraphale for 80 years). I have never been in that part of London so I used Google Maps streetview and based only on that, I like the corner of Berwick St. and Broadwick St. better. It has the crooked intersection but the proximity of the theatre matches Peter St. better, so whatever works better for you!

There is one place missing from the set map though: Brown's World of Carpets! It is nowhere to be found, we simply don't know where it is My very personal headcanon is that it is nothing but a desk inside the furniture store. I find that idea of the guy most worried about storefront looks being the one without a storefront very amusing, but don't mind me, it is just my very silly hc XD Now, we know Aziraphale has a list for the shops he needs to visit. And we know he wrote it in alphabetical order which begs the question: Where is the Dirty Donkey?! Are they not invited? And what about the fabric shop? And Bilton Scaggs? Battye and Palm? The News Agency? Is "Mo Coffee? No Coffee?" supposed to be Give Me Coffee or Give Me Death? Or is there another coffee shop somewhere? @crow-bee23 suggested it could be "Me Coffee" which it is entirely possible, the full name is kind of long. So many questions to ask Mr. Brown.

Anyway, I put pictures and details on the shops in parts 2, 3 and 4. Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

[phan3145]

Title: Slippery Slope. Fandom: Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. Rating: T. ( Blood, Intensity…Implications) Pairing: Eventual Noa x Human!Reader.

***Note: Guys…I literally have no idea why I went this hard with this chapter, it’s 8K+ and not even that integral to the plot, but every time I wanted to cut something I simply couldn’t. I’m posting this so quick and then going to bed. 🙈 As always, comments are welcomed and encouraged!

Chapter 5: Evolution

You

Waiting for the apes to tie up their horses was the longest couple of minutes of your life. You practically launched yourself up the steps two at a time. They had to run to keep up with you as you pushed through the double doors, feet echoing off the tile floor. This place was massive! You searched for some indication of where to go, spinning in a circle as you took it all in. The ivy and growing trees did nothing to diminish the beauty of the architecture, the dome above you holding a replica globe of the Earth taking the breath from your lungs. While the power no longer worked, the tile mural surrounding it still held an ancient grace to it as well. What must it have been like to see it bright and new?

Most of the color had faded, but the blue was still prevalent, reminding you of the night sky before the last sliver of light disappeared and turned it black. The rich sea color faded into the white stone of the building, and squinting, you could almost make out the sculptures carved into the walls. Probably Greek inspired…or maybe something else more ancient. It was all too faded to tell.

A noise behind you drew your attention from the ceiling, to your companions. Soona had dropped her sling, her expression matching Anaya and Noa’s as they took in the same grandeur that you had. You let them have that moment, padding over to what you imagined was the main desk. You shifted through decaying papers and old technology that no longer worked, looking for some sort of directory or map.

“Noa…reminds me of…light tunnel,” you heard Soona say. “Echos…made this too?”

You heard Noa grunt, taking a few steps before addressing you, “What is…this…Library?”

You didn’t look up, responding as you shuffled more things about, “It holds the mind and memory of humanity in it. Everything humans know about love, nature, science, math, religion, language, and history is in this building.”

You thought for a moment you had found it, a piece of color coated laminated paper within a folder, but it only showed where emergency exits were in case of a fire. Anaya took that time to chime in, “ Only know…three of those words.”

“That is why we are here.” Noa said, “Caesar understood…human things that…we do not…how do we learn?”

You figured that last bit was directed at you, explaining, “It’s written down in all the books here, thousands of years of information. Everything that is and ever was…excluding the fall of humanity of course. It’s not like we need that though, we already know how that happened.”

“We do?” Noa asked.

You stopped then, “You know who Caesar is, so you know how he was involved with the fall of humanity.”

“In..volved?” Noa looked skeptical.

“Well, yeah. If it wasn’t for…” you trailed off. Your eyes locked on to an old board hanging from an upper level, three giant letters on it that you recognized. Three letters that were exactly what you were looking for. “We can compare notes some other time, come this way.”

Old escalators that no longer worked took you up a level to where a long forgotten map was. You took the hem of your shirt and wiped the dirt and grime from it, barely able to make out the colors, let alone the words. Somehow, eyes straining from the effort, you managed to make out key letters. You knew where you were going after this. All you needed to know now was what Noa, Anaya, and Soona wanted.

You turned to them then, “This is it. What do you want to know? I’ll tell you where it is.”

The three shared a look, remaining so quiet you wondered if taking charge of their Caesar Journey had upset them. Anaya made to sign, but Noa stopped him with a hand over his. He began to sign instead, but they were gestures you didn’t recognize. You hadn’t learned a lot of sign, but you were picking up on certain gestures and had learned enough to usually understand what the apes were talking about. Noa knew this. It was deliberate, Noa silencing Anaya. The thought caused something in your stomach to plummet. Soona’s mouth opened then, as if sensing your sudden mood shift, gaze locking with yours, but a quick glance to Noa’s hands had her mouth shutting again.

You took a step away from the map then, hand still resting on the surface as a sort of tether. The space was needed though, no matter how small, between yourself and the trio. You were cruelly reminded then, that no matter what, at the end of the day, you are not an ape. They are not humans. You trusted them not to hurt you, and they trusted you to a point, but their full trust would probably never be earned. You are not an ape…you are an echo of a bygone era.

An Echo…and how they never let you forget it. You felt your jaw tighten, teeth clenched as you looked back down at the map in front of you. A month…only a month. A drop in the bucket compared to how long you’ve been alive, and look how quickly you forgot what their kind had taken from you. Look how comfortable you had become with them. Look how much you came to care for each of them…and trust them. Was it mutual though? Their continued silence screamed no.

“Symbols…in books?” Anaya asked.

You scrunched your eyebrows, “Do you mean letters?”

Soona leaned forward, head slightly bowed as she confessed, “We are not sure….do not understand human…markings.”

“Wait, Noa you said…” you stopped yourself, frustration pushed to the wayside for now. Playing back the conversation in your head from your first meeting, you thought it was only Noa who couldn’t read, but apes in general could. You assumed since he knew what books were at all, that his village could read. Noa never brought it up again, and after finding out he was the leader of the Eagle Clan, you figured he just didn’t have the time to learn. That wasn’t the case it seemed, as you confirmed, “Apes can’t read at all, can they?”

“No,” Noa admitted, the word sounding as if it was forcibly pulled from his mouth.

One word, but the impact was massive. They were showing you and somewhat teaching you sign, but none of them could read. You brought them into a building of power, but that power only belonged to you in this instance. You thought the balance was always disproportionate between the apes and yourself, and it had been…just not in the way you expected. Guilt threatened to choke you now, as you reevaluated what their silence and secrecy had meant. If you were who you were months ago, you would let them stew in their own ignorance, but as it stood now? You knew better.

You let out a sigh, eyes wandering back to the map for a moment, “I have a feeling we’ll be visiting here often. For now, follow me.”

“Where?” Noa questioned, the three apes not hesitating to follow you as you began to move.

You went around the escalator, seeing across the way that what you needed was laid out in faded colors and deteriorating furniture. “To the only section that’s going to matter for the foreseeable future.”

Knuckles gently nudged your shoulder, so soft you almost didn’t feel it. You turned, it was Anaya, “Symbols…not letters?”

You hesitated, trying to think how best to explain, “Symbols can be both letters and pictures. Pictures are drawings. See a symbol is…anything that has meaning behind it. Think of…that pendant of yours you keep tied around your shoulder sling for Caesar. That’s a symbol.”

“How?” Noa challenged, looking more confused.

“So, it’s basic design is a diamond within a circle.” You began, stopping at a book shelf, drawing said symbol in the dust. Off to the side, a book cover labeled Learning Your ABC’s caught your attention. “Nothing about that particularly resembles anything to do with apes or ape culture, right?”

There were nods all around, Noa adding, “It became a symbol for the order of Caesar.”

“Right!” You smiled, “But someone first had to give it that meaning. Before Caesar, if someone drew that symbol what would it have meant?”

Confused stares followed your question, maybe that was too philosophical for them. Of course, as you thought that, Soona chimed in, “Would mean…nothing without Caesar…just shapes…the shapes meant something…important to him.”

“Exactly,” you picked up the book that had originally caught your attention, opening it up to a random page. L is for Lion stared back at you as you turned the book to show them. “These symbols have meaning, both the letter and the picture. This is the letter L, and this is an animal we called a lion. It starts with the letter L, this is how we taught children to understand it and make the connection.”

Anaya pushed his finger onto the page, moving across it as he asked, “What about the other letters?”

“It takes more than one letter to make up a word…usually anyway. This book is just meant to help children memorize the twenty-six letters and the sounds they make. The pictures will help them remember and associate the sound with the letter and the word.”

Noa seemed to look around then, taking in where they were standing. His brow furrowed, “This is for children…will not learn about…Caesar from this.”

“You’re right.” You countered, “You will learn how to read though, and then you can learn about humanity as Caesar knew it.”

“Noa…” Soona brushed his arm. He turned to her, “This is…better…Caesar could read…so we should…too.”

Anaya, ever easily distracted, wandered over to a table where a few forgotten books covered in dust remained. He called over his shoulder, “Want to learn…know what our Echo knows…seems easy enough…if Echo children can understand…then should be no problem…for clever ape.”

Noa’s jaw rotated, an agitated huff leaving him. Anaya had picked up a book from the table, turning random pages. He looked to Noa then, who was looking at him in what you could only describe as malice. It wasn’t a look you had ever seen on Noa’s face before, and it was aimed at Anaya, which surprised you even more. Anaya hooted, closing his book and pacing back over to the group.

A nerve had been struck, clearly, but you couldn’t tell what it was. Unless, it was the taunt of it being easy in general. As soon as it appeared Noa quickly let it go, relaxing his body with a hum, turning back to you. “You would…be able to…teach us?”

You nodded once, “Yes.”

“Why?” Soona asked, the question seeming to surprise even her once it left her mouth.

It was a good question though. Why did you do half the things you did for these apes? Why did you decide to trust them? Why did you spend your days with them? All questions came back to the same answer, “I care about you, all three of you. Understanding Caesar is important to you, and if learning how to read will help you better understand Caesar, then teaching you is important to me.”

There was a pause, a beat of silence and hesitation, then Soona reached out. Her hand clasped your shoulder. You smiled, stiffening slightly when she pulled your towards her, leaning her head forward and touching it to yours. You weren’t expecting it, still surprised by the gesture in general. The sentiment was there though.

Anaya reached over Noa to nudge Soona then, “Do not touch…Echo Soona…told does not like.”

You laughed, Soona letting out something similar to a groan as she swiveled her head away from you to look at Anaya, “That…was different.”

“Different how?” Anaya demanded, puffing his cheeks.

Noa and I seemed caught in the middle, catching each others eyes before both glancing to Soona, “Because I…am not you…Anaya.”

Anaya opened his mouth comically wide, gasping dramatically before pointing a finger at Soona, “Not fair!”

Soona and Noa both let out loud hoots, Anaya chiming in a moment later with a disgruntled screech or two of his own. Your laugh blended with theirs, tears forming at the corners of your eyes. You couldn’t remember the last time you laughed this much in your life before meeting the trio. Maybe things just seemed funnier when you had others around you to laugh with. You had to gasp in a breath by the end of your laughter. Soona and Anaya were making faces at each other now, but Noa was gazing at you. Staring more like, eyes trained on your mouth, then shifting to your eyes. His, seemed to be holding a question.

You cleared your throat, not giving him time to voice it. “I’m going to look for a few basic books on learning the alphabet. Normally, I would say don’t judge a book by its cover, but in this case, look around. Each of you pick two or three books for us to take back with us, whatever catches your eye.”

Anaya still had that one book in his hand. He clutched it to his chest, going down on three of his limbs to be more level with the shelves. He began to look and scan for a few more. Soona wandered down the rows, picking a book and scanning through its pages before putting it back. You supposed she was making her decision based on the pictures she saw. That was a way to do it.

That’s when you noticed that Noa hadn’t moved. That question still remained in his eyes, and it twisted something in your stomach. You couldn’t face him. You turned, crouching down to scan the shelf you found the Learning Your ABC’s on, hoping to find similar books in the same area. You could feel him at your back, his eyes burning that familiar hole into you. At this point, you would think you would have built up an immunity to it, but with Noa… you were afraid you would always be affected. He shuffled around you then, coming to rest in the peripheral vision of your right side. His back was to Anaya and Soona, his sheer size blocking you from their view and vice versa.

You tried to keep your eyes on the titles, but they were blurring together as you tried not to squirm under his gaze. A long sigh through his nose, then, “I am…sorry.”

That caught you off guard, nearly giving yourself whiplash as you turned to look up at him. “What? Why? What for?”

He crouched then to be level with you, “For not sharing…the truth with you…I did not lie…but I hid it from you…saw what that did to you.”

“What do you mean?” You asked. “You saw what?”

Noa placed a hand on his chest, “Inside…you were…hurt…when I stopped Anaya…signed things you did not understand.”

“You can’t see what I’m feeling on the inside.” You snapped, turning back to the books, refusing to look at him. To hear him confirm what you thought at the time, somehow did not make it better. The fact that he recognized your hurt made his apology almost seem hollow.

“You are…right.” Noa hesitated, “But I can…see it in your eyes…and when you cackle…you said…can also be from relief…tears in your eyes…and relief from hurt…hurt that I caused…from keeping secrets.”

Your jaw clenched as you pulled another book from the shelf, flipping through it to find a few exercises. You hated how even when Noa was wrong, what he said was somehow right. You hated that he could read you so well, as if he’d known you your entire life. You tried not to let your anger spiral, a tinge of bitterness creeping into you voice as you replied, “You are not obligated to tell me anything, Noa. You certainly don’t owe me an apology for telling apes things you think an Echo wouldn’t like or understand.”

“I tell you…now,” He countered. “Told them…that I had mislead you…about ape knowledge…that Caesar Journey could not…happen without you…the truth…you know more than we do…needed you here with us…could not learn…without you.”

You tilted your head at the books in front of you, fighting the urge to turn, “There was a lot more signing than just that.”

“Told them…it was your choice,” Noa continued. “We speak truth…and if you decide not to…help us…that was your choice…but it does not change…us.”

“Us?” You questioned.

Noa said your name then.

The suddenness, and the softness of it almost took you out of your body. He did not often call you by your name, for whatever reason. You couldn’t help it then, even if you wanted to, you felt yourself shift, slowly turning to face Noa. He looked ashamed, mouth downturned and shoulders hunched in more than usual. His eyes, pleading a thousand different things, searched yours. He said it again.

“You…and Soona…and Anaya…and me…us.” The anger in your heart cooled as Noa continued, “Will not change…ever…because you do not want…to do something we ask…not how this…works…you are free…make decisions about…your life…ape not interfere.”

You hadn’t even realized that was a true fear of yours. Deep down, along with never having their full trust, you had to admit that a quiet part of you also whispered things like that. How dangerous it could be for you if you ever refused one of them. Everyone gets along as long as everyone is happy, right? But…a disagreement, an argument, a demand? What would happen then if you said no?

The fact Noa had even thought about that, showed how much he was aware of the dynamics between you and the apes. More so than you, or rather, more willing to think about it in reality instead of pretending it didn’t exist. Something about that touched you. Noa was always being considerate of you, and your feelings. Having him as a friend, was altering not only your life, but your perception on apes. If more were like him…you let the thought die. Noa was Noa, there would never be another ape like him.

“Though it wasn’t the best time to say that,” you started softly. “Thank you, for caring about my feelings, about my freedom. I’m sure that Anaya and Soona appreciated the truth too. I trust that what you’re telling me now is the truth.”

“It is,” Noa replied, a tinge of desperation to his voice.

You smiled then, bringing a tentative hand up to cup his shoulder, “Then don’t worry about it anymore. All is forgiven.”

He huffed in relief, hand coming up to mirror yours, clasping onto your shoulder. His grip, shifting back and forth, rocked you slightly with it, “I am glad.”

You felt a traitorous smile creep up before you let go of him, shrugging his hand off your shoulder as you moved to your feet. You didn’t miss the surprise or slight hurt in his eyes as his hand fell from you. You were still a little too raw for his touch though, as much as you didn’t want to admit it. You had forgiven him, and it was water under the bridge, but in the back of your mind you still wondered when something like this would happen again. You couldn’t blame him now for things that might happen in the future, so space was what you needed now. You needed to ground yourself and refocus on the task at hand.

Noa stood, looking down at you still. You grabbed two more books at the shelf, stacking them and holding them by your side. You tried in some small way to apologize for shying away from his touch, playfully pushing against his arm, “I think I have everything I need for now, go find your books before Anaya and Soona take all of the good ones. I need to make sure no one has two of the same before we leave.”

Noa nodded, grunting, “Will be dusk…by the time we return.”

You shrugged, “Good thing I’m not the one guiding the horse then.”

He chuffed at that, beginning a slow pace away from you, looking as if he wanted to say more but did not. Soona passed him as he walked away, coming over to you with three books in her hands. She laid them down on the shelf in front of you for your inspection, and you smiled down at the familiar titles your mother had read copies of to you as a child.

Goodnight Moon was a classic of course, and was top to bottom covered in illustrations. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be too boring for her. Then again, though she was an adult ape, to your knowledge, she also had never read anything before. You couldn’t imagine she would complain this early on. Then your eyes landed on The Giving Tree. You felt a pang in your heart, having mixed feelings about the story now as an adult. It was a bittersweet story when you didn’t look at it through the eyes of a child.

Your brows furrowed as your eyes skimmed over the third book. You picked it up, reading allowed, “Stellaluna…I’ve never heard of this one before.”

There was a picture of a bat clinging to the branch of a tree, in what looked to be autumn. The illustration was beautiful, the bat looking so lifelike. You went to open the book but Soona stopped you, gently taking it from your grasp and holding it tightly, “We read…together.”

You were confused by her actions, but decided if she felt so strongly on the matter that you should respect her wishes. You smiled, “Okay, that’s fine with me. You picked really good ones, I remember the other two from my childhood. They are simple, but I think you’ll enjoy them.”

Soona nodded, “Pictures…tell a lot about…the story…I think.”

You snickered, “Well, enjoy them while you can. Books that were written for adult humans, things that Noa will probably be interested it, won’t have pictures in them.”

Soona looked crestfallen for a moment before both of you startled. Anaya, who was on the other side of the shelf, had rather roughly dropped his books next to Soona’s. He tapped them three times with his knuckles, gesturing to himself then to you, “Anaya’s books…good for learning?”

You saw the cover of the first one, another smile threatening to split your face in half. Green Eggs and Ham was very repetitive, and you were sure Anaya was either going to love it or hate it. You moved it aside, humming in approval to see The Rainbow Fish, which didn’t really surprise you. While Soona seemed to focus on books where pictures also told the story, Anaya seemed focused primarily on bright colors and designs on the covers. Still, you had to admit that the moral behind the story was a sweet one. It would be good for him.

You moved that one to the side to reveal his final pick. Unlike with Soona’s, you knew this one. It still made you pause. You locked every muscle in your body, fighting back laughter as If You Give a Mouse a Cookie stared back at you. You weren’t sure why it struck you as funny, and you didn’t want to laugh at Anaya’s choice, especially when you couldn’t explain why to him. You swallowed down the laughter, feeling your lungs burn from the lack of oxygen as you held your breath.

Anaya, more observant than you gave him credit for, let his expression fall, mouth hanging open slightly as he asked, “Bad?…Bad book?…Echo is quiet…why is Echo quiet?”

You took in a large breath of air through your mouth, “No Anaya, it’s not a bad book. It’s actually a very sweet book, sort of funny too. It reminds me of you actually. This is the book for you.”

Anaya seemed confused but relieved, snatching his books back from the table and holding them close to his chest, as if someone would try to take them from him. That did have you chuckling, looking behind Soona but not seeing Noa is the rows and shelves of books. You turned left, facing Anaya and looking over his shoulder. The ape mirrored you, looking behind him before turning back to you.

“Echo…looking for…what?” Anaya asked.

“Where’s Noa?” You wondered aloud before a light brush of your shoulder had you jumping out of your skin. You gasped in a breath, turning to find Noa behind you, “You scared me, when did you even walk behind me?”

“When you were…trying not to cackle.” Noa answered cheekily. Said playfulness disappeared as quickly as it arrived though, replaced with an anxious expression.

He raised the three books in his hands to you. You took them carefully, knowing right away Noa’s choices were not as simple as Soona’s or Anaya’s. On top of that, you only knew one of them, not sure how the other two would fair. Peter and the Wolf was a story you heard growing up as a child, a cautionary tale about being smart but also being able to be brave in the face of danger. It was a bit of a longer read, but still doable with illustrations to help set the story. The other two struck you as odd. One was The Mitten, and it was short enough, but just by looking at the cover you weren’t sure what it was about. You hoped nothing gruesome.

The final book, while being slightly illustrated, was not a beginner book. And the title alone…you had to crack open the book to make sure it was in English. It was, but still the title intrigued you, “Rikki Tikki Tavi…what on Earth? I’ve never heard of this one, and where did you even find it?”

Noa gestured to a reading table behind him where many books were spread out across it. You bit the inside of your mouth, knowing it was not meant to be in this section, but was probably placed there so long ago, it’s reader thinking they would be right back. You didn’t want to insult him, but you also knew he would have to work his way up to this one.

You sighed, “The other two are fine but this one, well…it’s not for beginners Noa. You’ll have to learn a lot before you read this one. If you want to pick another one you can, we can wait.”

He huffed, “No…take now…will learn to read it.”

There was a moment of warring wills before you decided, for whatever reason, he was not going to budge. You shrugged a shoulder, “Alright, the three of you will eventually swap stories before we come back anyway. We’ll make…Rikki Tikki Tavi our goal. Such a weird name.”

“Sounds fun…to say.” Anaya chimed in.

You chuckled, “Always a bright side with you, Anaya. If that’s everything, let’s grab the books and head out. Are we stopping anywhere else?”

This was directed at Noa, who took not only his books, but scooped yours up as well. You started to protest but he argued, “You must…mount first…we are heading home now.”

You stretched your arms, rolling your shoulders as you imagined the ride back. Then, you remembered the jump and you cringed at the thought of how often it would be happening in the future. What had you gotten yourself into?

That’s when you remembered, “When we get back you can leave your books with me, they’ll probably be safer that way.”

Noa and Soona nodded, but Anaya hesitated. He shuffled, asking, “Why not safe…with Anaya?”

You tilted your head slightly, eyebrows drawing together, “The books are fragile, made from paper. Getting them wet or dirty would mean they would fall apart. My shelter is pretty water proof, so…”

Now it was your turn to hesitate. You weren’t sure what their sleeping arrangements were like. You had assumed a few crude huts at most. Apes in the past usually used man-made structures that already existed as their nest, and the ones who didn’t chose caves or huts made from tree branches. Then, there were a few you came across that slept in trees. You figured, since there were no cities nearby in the first place, they probably slept in trees or huts, only now realizing how wrong you might be. You had never seen their village.

Noa, sensing your struggle, came to your rescue, “Echo is right…safer with her…other apes…will not understand…Echo books.”

“I promise to keep them safe, Anaya.” You said.

He looked reluctant, but nodded in the end. With that, the four of you headed out. Soona and Anaya tucked their books into their packs along their horses’ backs, starting to untie their reigns while Noa followed suit. You took this time to put a foot in the stirrup and practically throw your weight up and over, wanting to make the attempt while Noa was distracted. You let out a breath, thankful it only took you one try, and this time you didn’t need Noa’s help.

You turned, noticing the grin on Noa’s face as he tightened the strap on the pack to secure it. Your spear was still there, resting above the satchel, tied nicely but loosely should you need it. You felt the horse underneath you shuffle, whipping its tail in Noa’s face, and you had to laugh to yourself. With three apes, you probably didn’t need to bring a spear with you. Maybe next time you’ll just bring a small knife, or even forgo the weapon all together. After all, with three apes and as many horses at your side, you were more than confident you could protect each other. And, less weight for the horse to carry.

Said horse shuffled again, still tied to the post. You naturally grabbed the mane, feeling it trot in place. It’s jerking movements steadily progressing, until it was almost full blown bucking. Then, you noticed it wasn’t just yours, hearing a whinny from Soona’s horse. Anaya’s horse reared up on its back hooves, with Anaya holding on for dear life. You called Noa’s name, who was attempting to soothe his horse, looking to Anaya and Soona for an answer of what was happening.

Something was definitely wrong.

Soona stood up in her stirrups, one hand still on the neck of her horse in a comforting gesture. She scanned the area, sniffing loudly before her eyes widened, lowering herself and turning towards us, “Need to leave…Noa need to leave…now.”

Anaya’s head jerked in the direction of something behind you, screeching out, “Noa move!”

You had just enough time to turn to see a large, black mass charge towards Noa. He leapt off the ground, using the horse as leverage. He landed on the concrete steps of the library, somewhat off kilter. Ready to move again, stopped only by his horse rearing up again, Noa tried his best to assess the situation. Soona’s and Anaya’s horses followed suit, bucking and stomping their feet at the mass beneath them.

A boar.

You heard the squeal and grunts before you saw it’s next charge, the boar moving faster than you thought possible for something that size. It took everything in you to stay in the saddle, hearing Anaya hiss at the animal as Soona prepped her sling. It wouldn’t do her much good you realized, your eyes landing on the spear just an arms length away.

“Soona…Anaya…ride!” Noa yelled, attempting to free his horse while avoiding its wild bucking and the boar’s charging.

You noticed the triangular path it made, attempting to maul anything that wouldn’t kick it, or would hold still long enough. A damaged horse leg meant death for the animal, some distant memory whispered in your brain. The fact the tusks of the boar hadn’t found any soft flesh yet was a miracle. Soona took off immediately, Anaya’s horse attempting a few more stomps before it too took off down the road.

The boar attempted to give chase, just long enough for Noa to finally release the reigns from the post. The next second felt like a minute as you realized how far away you were from the jump of the barricade. You weren’t sure how long these horses could run, knowing they were used to walking long distances. Boars could chase down their enemies for long distances, like apes they were also territorial. Of course, between now and reaching the barricade, if one of the horses was injured…

Your hand was on your spear before you could blink, your feet kicking the horse beneath you into an immediate gallop. Noa’s snarl and subsequent screech would probably haunt you in the afterlife if there was one. You couldn’t look back, hearing him scream, “What are you doing…Stop!”

You couldn’t, the boar already heading straight for you and your horse. You gripped the spear tightly, reminding yourself that humans used to be the dominant species. Humans road horses long before apes did. You also tried to remind yourself what Noa had taught you about riding at a run. Still, your left hand gripped the spear in a firm hold, your right hand winding the horses mane around it like you had as a child. You silently apologized to the horse, letting the reigns rest on the pommel as you prepared for the fight.

The first pass of the boar was uneventful, your horse easily dodging, and you weren’t ready to use your spear just yet, testing the distance. Noa, originally safe on the steps of the library, tried making his way to you by leaping from perch to perch of buildings and old cars. You were relieved that he knew to avoid the ground. A quick turn had you circling the boar, trying to keep the distance close to avoid a charge, but far enough away it couldn’t outright attack.

It lunged, but you were ready, landing a hit to its right shoulder. Blood coated the tip of your spear now, but the blow didn’t so much as make the boar stumble. It followed through on its lunge, but thankfully a kick to its jaw from the back hoof of your horse forced it away. It still stood though, head shaking as it put distance between itself and you. You swallowed, eyes darting towards your horses legs just long enough to see there was no damage.

You heard Anaya and Soona approach tentatively, ready to flank the animal if need be. They didn’t seem to move forward though, allowing you the chance to take it down or scare it off yourself. You were grateful for the confidence, your stomach wanting to rebel against you as the boar charged again. You jabbed lower, more harshly this time to penetrate the fat of its side, close to its underbelly. This time, it ran away from you naturally. Noa’s horse, who seemed to understand now what was happening, was already circling the animal as you had done before.

Avoid charging distance.

You almost felt bad for the creature, blood dripping from its mouth as it started to incessantly charge and run at your horse. Still, you avoided each strike, Noa’s horse skillfully trotting from place to place as you tried to hit a major organ or muscle that would bring the beast down. Strike after strike, and still nothing, just flesh wounds. You decided your strategy needed to change. Your horse would tire eventually, and the cruelty of repeated strikes wounded something in your soul. The boar wouldn’t give up, wouldn’t leave, so you needed to end it.

You had an idea, but if it failed you were probably as good at dead. You noticed Noa keeping time with your movements while also keeping his distance as Soona and Anaya were. If it did fail, there was a small chance they could get to you in time. With that small hope, you unwound the horses mane from your wrist, gripping the reigns instead, turning the horse from the boar’s next charge and running it in the opposite direction. This seemed to confuse all parties present.

The boar, of course, did what you knew it would. It gave chase, charging relentlessly for your horse’s legs. You allowed it to chase, turning your horse around again to stab once more as you had been doing. Another wound, but still it stood. You weren’t striking hard enough, deep enough. You were too weak, too far away. You sent your horse galloping again, headed straight for Anaya and Soona. Their faces didn’t seem to understand what your plan was, but a quick glance at Noa showed you he had some idea what you were up to.

Your right leg was out of the stirrup, your hips screaming as you kept them wide enough to keep your seat, but bent your knee and tucked your leg as close to your body as possible. Your foot braced underneath you as much as it could, and you tested your weight on your left foot in the stirrup. It was solid. You held it there, turning to see the boar gaining once more.

That’s when your right hand released the reigns, both hands gripping your spear as you did the quickest maneuver of your life. You inverted your stance, left heel in the stirrup now as your toes pointed outwards, standing on said foot, your right leg swung over then in a phantom dismount. The momentum on your left side felt like you had been bucked off the horse, sending you straight for the boar. The tip of your spear was aimed for the center of the boars head, where snout met skull, right between its eyes.

The force of you leap from the saddle had been enough to carry you directly into it, feeling the spear slice through flesh and bone. You allowed yourself to launch forward in a type of pole vault past the boar as it dropped, releasing your spear. The last thing you wanted was to get trapped underneath the animal, whether or not your stunt had been enough to kill it. You hit the ground, nothing close to gently. You bounced and rolled a few feet, hearing fabric rip and your bones shake. You felt the burning of your palms against the asphalt as you made a single attempt to stop yourself before you willed your body into a limp state.

When you finally stopped moving, you felt sore all over. You wondered briefly if anything was broken, but a quick flex of your arm and leg muscles confirmed that it was just soreness. You couldn’t hear anything other than a slight ring at first, senses coming back to you slowly. How long had you been on the ground? You raised your head, the muzzle of Noa’s horse the first thing you saw. The sound of snuffling faintly reached your ears, the hairs on the top of your head moving from the force of the horse’s breath. You reached up, patting its nose with the tips of your fingers before laboriously lifting yourself up into a kneeling position. You kept your bleeding hands clutched into your lap, palms pressed into the material of your pants.

That’s when everything came into view.

The boar was still on the ground, your spear still protruding from its head. Soona and Anaya were heading towards it, their eyes locked on you though. Noa’s horse had moved to your left, out of your line of sight now. It was standing behind you as you looked to where Noa had been. He wasn’t there now, he was…suddenly beside you. He called your name again, the marvel of hearing it three times in one day had a small spark of joy shoot through you.

You tried to focus on what he said, but everything was coming in too fast for you to process. You could see Anaya grab the spear from the boar’s head as they rode towards you. Noa gripped your chin in his hand, turning your head towards him. His face came so close to yours, but you couldn’t back up, his grip iron. He sniffed loudly, his other hand smoothing around your head and digging into your hair.

He looked confused, but you couldn’t figure out why. He pulled at the edges of your shirt and your jacket around your neck, hands trailing down your arms then. He moved on to your back, leaning you forward with that same hand grasping your chin. His other hand roamed the expanse of your spine, swiping up the hair at the back of your neck. You felt his hand move again before stilling, unable to disguise the clear look of shock on his face. When his hand came back into view he was holding the entire backing of your jacket. The frayed ends and shredded middle clued you in to what that ripping noise had been. It basically saved your back from looking like your hands.

Soona and Anaya dismounted then, Anaya carrying your spear as they approached carefully, both sniffing the air. Soona said something you couldn’t hear, head foggy but starting to clear up the longer you sat there. Looking around them to the animal at their backs, you found your voice enough to ask, “Is it dead?”

“You should be dead!” Noa’s booming voice suddenly echoed in your ears.

You cringed away, groaning from the noise, “Not so loud.”

“He is right,” Soona’s soft voice brushed by then. “Whatever that was…should not have worked.”

Anaya seemed very excited as he proclaimed, “But it did…you killed it!”

You nodded slowly, not sure you could trust your legs to stand, but needing to either way. Noa’s hand on your shoulder stopped you. You looked up at him as he demanded, “Do not move…you are injured…smell blood.”

“I do too,” Soona confirmed.

You looked down then, pools of drying blood spreading across the material covering your lap. You turned your palms then, seeing the broken skin for the first time as you raised them up for the apes inspection.

Soona looked very concerned, turning to Noa as Anaya made small, rapid sounding hoots of concern. Noa did not hesitate, digging into the side bag on his horse and pulling out a small pouch of red looking paste. He smeared his fingers with it before slathering it onto your palm. The sting was immediate, causing you to hiss and jerk away out of instinct, but Noa did not allow you to go far with a hand on your back.

Your awareness pivoted to the warm leathery feel of his hand as it touched the bare skin of your back, only then remembering the state of your clothes. Your shirt was still in one piece, but sliced up just the same. Once he knew you wouldn’t move again, he yanked the wrap on his left arm from his body. He immediately began wrapping your left hand, the blood soaking through the first few passes before finally being confined to just your hand.

Noa looked to your right hand, seeing he had excess materiel. He made to rip the band, but Anaya stopped him, pulling away his own arm wrap and handing it to Noa. He said nothing, but you nodded towards Anaya, gasping through the pain of the red paste once more. “Thank you, A-Anaya.”

He grimaced, but grunted, “For Echo…anything.”

Noa finished wrapping your right hand, looking down at your pants as if you had soiled them. You remembered then, that Echo blood is revolting to apes, which probably explains the looks of disgust they were sharing. Anaya pivoted away from the group, taking a few steps towards the boar, then swiveled back before asking, “How…get home?”

“We…will not.” Noa responded with a sense of finality to his tone, offering you an arm to help you stand. You stumbled, but quickly caught yourself with his help. At first you thought they meant you, until Noa clarified, “Too big…hide too damaged…predator will clean for us…come nightfall.”

“But she fought,” Soona protested as Noa spotted your weight, making your way towards his horse. “Her honest kill…must be honored…we witnessed it…that is the law.”

Anaya was suddenly in charge of your weight, Noa passing you off to him as he mounted. He huffed, nostrils actually flaring as he argued with Soona, “Nothing we can do…out here…need to focus on…getting Echo home.”

Soona, not to be deterred, stamped her right hand into her left palm, “It is the law…Noa!”

“Law does not matter,” Noa hissed. He turned his gaze to Anaya, whose arm was wrapped around your waist and his other hand was holding your head. He refused to hand you over while Noa was fighting with Soona, which only seemed to enrage him more. “Will be dark…by the time we get back…do not have time for this…need Echo to be home…to be safe…for all of us to be safe!”

“Why does the law…not matter Noa?” Soona pushed.

You saw every muscles in Noa’s body tense, his breathing harsh as he and Soona stared each other down. You felt Anaya flinch beneath you before he grunted, “If that is the reason…then Noa should have…courage to say it.”

You felt like you were missing something important, but all you could focus on was how upset Noa was. You wanted to comfort him, but even now you felt yourself getting weaker the longer you stood. You allowed more of your weight to rest with Anaya, who had to readjust his grip to keep you upright. Still, he would not hand you to Noa.

Said Ape jumped from the saddle, anger burning in his eyes as he stared at Soona. You thought he would take you from Anaya by force as his gaze shifted, but instead he shouldered past you. He was out of your line of sight, but a few moments later you heard what sounded like the snapping of bones. You flinched each time, the sound sending chills up your spine.

When Noa returned, he grunted. You could see him now, in his left hand were the two tusks of the boar. His right hand, covered in what you assumed was it’s blood, raised towards your head. He paused before touching you, eyes softening as he silently waited for your permission. You hummed your approval before he made, what felt like, a W between your brows on your forehead.

Soona came towards you then, placing a hand on the top of your head, Anaya’s hand already occupying a side. Noa placed his on the remaining space, saying, “You have protected…the Eagle Clan…with this honest kill…in front of the witnesses…of your bravery…in the name of the elders who came before…as Master of Birds I…honor you now.”

You felt their hands, all but Anaya’s anyway, leave your body then. You remained confused, feeling as if something important had just happened, but you weren’t sure what. You supposed it was the clan’s way of thanking someone.

Soona looked to you then, patting your cheek, “Very proud…amazing Echo.”

Anya hooted lowly, “Very honored…Noa will explain…later.”

“We must go now,” Noa grunted as he mounted his horse once more.

Anaya did not hesitate to help hoist you into Noa’s waiting arms now. Once you were settled, a whimper catching in the back of your throat as the spreading of your legs hurt the places where your thighs had hit the asphalt. You tried to massage the pain away, but it was too deep set in. You closed your eyes, willing to grin and bare it until you were tucked into your bed tonight.

“Anaya…Soona,” Noa called. “Lead the way…home…will follow you…keep eye on Echo.”

Both apes nodded, Anaya making a hand gesture that you did not catch in time. Just in case, you signed back, Do not worry. Echo fine.

As the group made their way towards the barricade, you heard Noa whisper, as if he did not want to be heard by the other two, “Do not…do that again…very dangerous…could have been…hurt worse.”

You hummed, “I’ll try not to.”

“You are too intelligent...to be this foolish” Noa huffed.

Your brow creased, “A simple thank you would be enough. Y’know Soona’s sling, couldn’t have killed it. If it would have ripped into one of the horses legs you would have had a dead horse on your hands. I know you care for your horses just as you do your eagles.”

You were unprepared for the horse to run, your body a rag doll as Noa’s arm once again wrapped around you. The jump came and went so quickly, though you did yelp in pain when it landed. Noa’s grip did not leave you, and you allowed yourself to lean back against him. You were so tired, the setting sun reminding you that there was still an hour ride ahead of you.

Noa sighed, “Did thank you…and yes…I know…still…do not put yourself…in danger again…you are safe…with us…we can…protect you.”

“I know,” you mumbled. “I just wanted to help.”

You felt Noa’s other hand come up to stroke his fingers through your tangled hair. Something about that seemed odd, but you couldn’t pinpoint why as the pain slowly dulled the longer you rode. The gentle rock back and forth seemed to soothe you further. You jerked, almost falling asleep before crashing back into your body. You forced your eyes open then, trying to stay awake.

Noa chuckled, “You are tired…rest.”

“I’m okay,” you replied.

“Your body wants sleep,” Noa replied. “Listen to it and give it…what it wants.”

You hummed, feeling Noa pull you in closer to him. Your entire weight braced on his chest. He was warm, and as you let your eyes slip closed, you felt your head swivel to rest in the crook of his neck where it met his shoulder. You could hear his heartbeat, it was strong and steady, adding to the warmth of him and the rocking of the horse. You would lose this battle with sleep.

You felt Noa’s arm tighten around you, securing you to him. “Sleep…I have you.”

You were already half asleep when you whispered back, “You always do.”

[strangemaleswaps]

Strange Leather Bar Swap

Today's my 21st birthday and you know what that means! I'm finally able to take my first sip of alcohol…well legally anyway! But I didn't want to go to just any gay bar, I wanted to go to a leather bar in the city! I'm a leather fetishist for sure, even though I don't own any real gear. The only leather item I own is a jacket I got at a thrift shop awhile back. I want to buy better gear, but it's not the best idea since I'm still closeted to my judgmental family in the small town I live in. I do have a car and license though, so I'm happy to be able to escape all that when I need to.

I drove to the nearest city to find the leather bar, a super tall building that you could see from the distance. I've always wondered why it was so tall; it had to be at least 5 stories! If it's just a bar, it shouldn't have more than two floors though right? I was about to solve the mystery because, proudly wearing my leather jacket, I walked up to the bouncer at the door.

"Hey kid, can I see some ID please?" I was a little intimidated, but knowing that I am in fact old enough, I was reassured. I proudly presented the ID to the bouncer. He gave one long look at it, then beamed at me.

"Hey, happy birthday kid! Hope your first legal's good."

"Thanks!" He opened the door for me.

"Enjoy Swap Night too! It's really fun."

"Oh…yeah I will!" I had no idea what Swap Night was, but it must be some kind of event.

Walking in was amazing. Everywhere I looked, there were hot leather guys in all shapes and sizes, with the fresh scent of leather in the air. I felt a little awkward though. Not only am I the youngest one there, but lots of guys were wearing kinky fetish gear too. When it wasn't a BLUF type uniform, it was harnesses and jockstraps. I really wish I owned their gear!

Walking through the crowd of sweaty leather men, I arrived at the bar. I sat on the stool and the bartender came over.

"What'll it be kid?

"Hmm." I'm not really sure actually. Thankfully he seemed to have read my mind.

"I get you, it's your first time right? Simple margarita it is."

"Sure." As he poured, he made eye contact with me.

"So, you excited for Swap Night? Should be starting pretty soon."

"Er, what exactly is it anyway? I didn't know about this."

"It's a whole lotta fun. Everyone in the bar swaps bodies with a partner."

"Really? Body swapping? That's so cool! Do you get to choose who?"

"Unfortunately not, it's random. But you do get to choose who to fuck!"

"Wait you can fuck?"

"Yep! It's an amazing experience."

"That sounds so cool! How do I sign up?"

"Over there." He pointed at the nearby table that had a stack of papers on it, along with a box. "Just sign there and put it in the box."

"Alright!” I finished my margarita, paid, and quickly headed over to the table. I filled out my information, signed the paper, and placed it in the box. A few minutes later a really hot guy walked onto the stage and took a microphone. He was wearing a leather jacket over a harness, along with a pair of chaps over his leather briefs. I swear he looked directly at me. I really hope I'm able to swap with him - or at least someone as hot as him!

"Hey all you leather men! It's time for Swap Night!" The crowd cheered. "Now if you just walk through that door, you'll find a bulletin board with a room number listed next to your name. In these rooms, you'll find the body swapping helmets. Put 'em on, wait until everyone's ready, and boom! New body! Now if you wanna fuck, there are plenty of playrooms to have some fun in, as well. You'll be body swapped until midnight, so when the clock strikes twelve, you'll automatically be put back in your original bodies. Any questions?"

Nobody had questions so we headed over through the door. We all crowded around trying to look for our names and I found mine - Room 503. The map on the wall nearby indicated that 503 was on the 5th floor so I walked in the elevator, standing behind a few other guys. The smell of leather and sweat filled the air and I could feel myself getting hard.

I reached the floor, found my room, and walked in. It was about the size of a typical hotel room but without furniture. There was a large window in the back. Looking through, I could see a good portion of the city. I turned to my left and saw the helmet sitting on a small side table, so I grabbed it, pushed the only button on it, and placed it on my head. Nothing happened at first but after about a minute, it started lighting up, and making buzzing noises. A blinding flash of light hit me in the face and when I opened my eyes, I was in another room.

I looked down to see my new body, excited to be swapped with a hot guy, but was met with a surprise. I was wearing a leather shirt with light blue stripes down the side, but it was bulging out in a ball shape. The blue tie I was wearing highlighted the curve even more, by arching over a shiny black balloon. I have a fucking ball gut! I poked it with my newly gloved hands, to prove it was real and…it was real all right! I grabbed it with both hands and shook it up and down, feeling vibrations throughout my body.

I'm fat! I've never been fat before, not even a little bit! At least I'm wearing leather gear. I took one hand and put it up to my nose to smell the glove. It was fucking amazing…the leather scent made me go stiff immediately. I couldn’t even see my own dick past the gut, but I sure could feel it! As I held the glove closer, I noticed my face felt a little fuzzy. I brushed under my nose and felt some facial hair. Oh god, I have a mustache! I looked around to find a mirror and saw one on the wall.

I looked at my reflection and was shocked at the sight. I'm not only fat, I'm old! I inspected my face closely, touching the mustache that spread across my face in an arch shape. This is weird but incredible! I’ve never been able to grow more than peach fuzz before and now I have a whole damn mustache! I had wrinkles under my eyes, on my forehead, and under my chin…actually no. That's a double chin! Even though I was grossed out, I started playing with it, pinching both my chins and neck. It was surreal.

I can't believe out of all the hot leather men I saw, I had to end up in the body of some fat old guy! Is this really supposed to be random? I couldn't have had worse luck! I've always wanted to own new gear but not like this! I turned to the side, staring at my new belly and holding it, jiggling it slightly as I grimaced at how far it stuck out. The leather shirt hugged it tightly in a way that no matter how much I tried to suck it in, it was still obvious. I took a moment to check out my entire leathered up body. In the mirror I could finally see the leather pants and boots I was wearing, along with a muir cap on top of my head.

So is this what it feels like wearing full gear? It really hugs my body…though maybe that's because I'm so big. I started to feel stiff, but this time, I think I was turned on by my body instead of the leather. That's funny though. I'm usually into younger to mid age fit guys, not silver daddies and bears, even if they're in leather. There's no ignoring the horny urges, though. I may not be able to see my dick but I can feel it! Maybe the body swapping causes an increase in sex drive? Well, whatever it is, I can't wait to try out this senior bod on some other guy…

[daydreamingmia]

Walker Scobell X Reader I Series | You Belong With Me 🔱 Part 24

A WHOLE LAND?! 🌊🏰 Part 3 🩵

You were hiding backstage. The plan is to have Uncle Rick cut the ribbon to the land then you, Walker, Dior, Aryan and Charlie are gonna hide in the rides. You'll pose as animatronics then start talking and everyone is gonna freak out!

"Attention all guests! When you entered the park today you were handed a scavenger hunt map. It is now time to use it! Follow the blue arrows to find the lightning bolt- I mean treasure." You hear the announcer say

—

It was about 20 minutes later...

There was a huge crowd outside of the entrance. One of the cast members was live-streaming it so you guys could see.

Uncle Rick walks into front of the entrance and you can see the crowd processing what they are seeing. They must've figured it out because suddenly the screaming was so loud it almost hurt your ears.

"Thank you! You know when I wrote this book I didn't think it would become what it is today. With an amazing cast and crew my idea was brought to life...not only on pages but on the screen. I would like to thank each and everyone one of you for all of your support. As a token of my appreciation I hereby open this new land for all of you halfbloods." He says as he grabs a huge pair of scirrors and cuts a ribbon which causes the curtain to fall.

"Camp halfblood is now open!" He exclaims as as the crowd runs inside

You look at Walker and smile

"Ready to brave the storm my seaweed brain?" you say as he smiles back at you

"Are you ready wise girl?" He smirks as he kisses you

The two of you hold hands and take the underground tunnels to the ride.

First ride opening is the Tunnel o love

There were cameras placed around the rides because Disneyland is gonna post the videos later

You sit in the boat where the animatronics usually are

"So like should we move weird and try to look like we are animatronics?" Walker asks

"Omg yes! I love that!" You squeal

"The first boat is coming" you hear someone say on the walkie talkie (haha Walkie has a walkie talkie...yes i have the sense of humor of a 5 year old😂)

You see the guests float in...wow the first guests on this ride EVER!

"I think I've seen this before...maybe in an orthodontist's office?" Walker says movie like an animatronic

When they see the two of you they scream...VERY LOUDLY

"Walker is so cute! Even as a robot" one of the many girls blush

"Hey! He's taken!" You jokingly yell

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!! I LOVE YOU BOTH SO MUCH!!" She squeals

"We love you too" you smile back at her

"Enjoying the ride?" Walker asks

"YES!! OMG ITS AMAZING!!" Another girl gasps

"I'm glad you like it" you smile

2nd guest

"Omg they look so real!" A little girl says

"Would you like a picture angel?" You smile and look at her as she just stares

"Hi" you smile and wave

3rd guest

Nobody was talking just taking pictures

"HEY NO FLASH DUDE!!" Walker yells at the guy and he almost tips the boat from jumping

He had a really nice camera so he was probably a content creator

4th guest (you are now in the golden chair room)

You stand with Walker and decided to look romantically into each other's eyes

"Awww that's so sweet" someone says

"I'm sorry" you whisper to Walker

You shove him into the water (don't worry there is a hug gap between the boat and where you pushed him...like 50 feet)

You just start laughing at him as everyone just looks at you shocked

"Oh no! Now I gotta kill the witnesses too" you say with a mischievous smile as you walk towards them

5th guest

You hug Walker and look at him

He kisses you and the crowd gasps

"What? You've never seen true love's kiss before?" Walker yells as the crowd screams

6th guest

You and Walker now have lightsabers...why? Because I said so!🫵🏻

Walker was standing in the golden chair and you on the floor

"It's over Annabeth! I have the high ground!" Walker yells

You can't see behind you but you can hear squeals and see the flashes of people's phones

"You underestimate my power!" You scream back

You turn around and lunge at the boat. Just missing them you land in the water.

7th

"Avada Kedevra" you yell at Walker and point your wand-less hand at him

"That's the wrong franchise stupid girl" he rolls his eyes

"Oops" you shrug and draw a sword and point it at Walker

"Is this better?" You turn and ask the guests

8th

"You know what Percy?! I'm tired of your impertinence!" You yell at him as you draw a sword and "stab" him

A girl in the boat cries out nooooooooo!!

"What? You wanna be next?" You threaten

9th

Walker got a vest and a line attacked to him

"We will never win Annabeth!" He yells

"I find your lack of faith disturbing" you smirk as you "force choke" him

He lifts in the air as you look at the boat

Everyone is just looking at you unimpressed

"Kids today...they just don't get scared like they used to" you roll your eyes

10th

You and Walker put on Luke's shoes

They had little wings that move and everything

You were both tethered now

When the boat comes in you hear people say

"Why is there nothing in this room?"

"Percy what did you do to these shoes and why are they mad at you?!" You lectured as you descend from the roof

"I don't know" he rolls his eyes

You go flying towards the boat and just start "flying" around the room

—

It was now time to play capture the flag. This show was gonna happen like 3 times a day in this land.

"You're going down kid" Dior (in character) says

"Big mouth for a girl who was defeated by a 12 year old" you smirk

The game starts!

Everyone didn't have time to choreograph a fake fight for the guests to watch so...you guys are kind of just winging it

Let's hope nobody dies🫣

"Where's your water power kelp face?" Dior taunts

"Where's your broken stick thingy?" Walker replies

Dior does her iconic scream ABCs runs towards Walker as he grabs you and uses you as a shield

"Walk-PERCY WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" You scream at him

"Uhhh nothing" he says dropping you

Honestly because this fight isn't choreographed it hasn't been very epic🫣

You could probably take down everyone because of all your training for marvel and stuff but you don't wanna hurt anyone😔

Suddenly you get an idea 💡

You look at Dior and give her a look. Somehow she got it

Dior helped you train for your fight scenes. For almost everything you've been in since you've known her. You can make this fight look real!

Dior swings her sword at you and your duck backwards

You're seeing your sword back and she blocks it with her shield and hits you in the face with her shield

You stumble back

"What's the matter? Is your bark bigger than your bite?" She mocks

"It certainly isn't as big as your ego" you reply as you leg sweep her

"You see I know when I can win a fight and I know when I can't. Unfortunately for you...you keep picking fights with kids younger than you who keep beating you." You taunt back

She grumbles as you help her up

The siren goes off because you won capture the flag 😜

—

"Our very own Percy Jackson cast will be answering questions! Welcome to the stage Walker Scobell! Y/F/N! Y/L/N! Aryan Simhadri! Dior Goodjohn! And Charlie Bushnell!" He announced as all of you Walker on stage and sat down

Weirdly there was an extra seat with a cover on it

"What was it like to fall in love with Walker on set?" A cute like 7 year old said in a really sweet way

The crowd just went "awwwwwhhhhh"

"It was like a book. Never in my wildest dreams would I have expected to fall in love so young. Let alone fall in love with my true love in a show that we are together" you answer

"Have you started filming yet?" Another asked

"Well we haven't started filming yet but we have started rehearsals in Canada" Walker answered

"So you flew here from Canada?" Another girl asked

"Yes we did" you smile

"Do you have a favorite character?" Another asked

"Well I'm a little biased I gotta say Annabeth" you reply

"Well I'm pretty awesome. But the nails digging into my arm tells me I gotta say annabeth too" Walker jokes

"I guess you're a wise boy now" you wink at him

"Do you know who will be joining the cast next season?" A boy asks

"No not yet" Aryan replies

"What was the first time someone recognized you?" A girl dressed as Annabeth asks

"Like from Percy Jackson or like ever?" Dior asks

"Ever" she replied

"I was at a grocery store and I was really confused because I thought I knew the guy but I didn't" Aryan laughed

"I think I was out with my sister and a few girls were pointing at me and one screamed look y/n's boyfriend!" Walker jokes

"I was actually at universal studios...Disney please don't kill me! But yeah I was at universal studios and my mom and sister were in the line with me and a little girl...I think she was like 5? And she ran up to me and just wrapped me in a hug and it just melted me " you smile

"I was-" Dior gets interpreted

"I am interrupting with Q&A with a special guest with exciting news! Ladies and gentleman Rick Riordan!" The guy announced as the crowd went wild

Uncle Rick joined you on stage with a mic in hand

"Thank you! Thank you! I am pleased to have a little surprise for you all." Uncle Rick smiled

"So nobody knows the new cast members of Percy Jackson are...not even our Walker or y/n NOBODY. I am thrilled to announce one of the most exciting characters for this season. Ladies and gentlemen our very own Thalia will be played by the very talented and creative young lady Leah Sava Jeffries!" He exclaimed as the crown goes absolutely insane

A girl around your height and age walks on stage and joins you

"Hello I'm Leah and I just wanna say I'm so honored that to be chosen for this role. I love Percy Jackson so much! I'm trying really hard not to fan girl up here! I've actually never met y/n or Walker or any of you and I just wanna say I'm a HUGE fan of all of you! This is truly a dream come true and I can't thank you enough" she says as she turns and walks over to the 5 of you

"I seriously love your music and your movies so much! Your last album is literally am I listen to now!" Leah says as you hug her

"Awww thank you so much! I'm so excited to get to know you! I just know we are going to be best friends!" You smile

"Young Mr. Deadpool" Leah salutes Walker

"He wishes" you laugh

"I am young Deadpool!" Walker whines

"In your dreams kid" you reply

Leah hugs everyone and uncle Rick uncovers the chair that says Thalia

—

You all go back to your hotel room

You and Dior pull Leah into your room and close the door

"Okay so I think you should know what's about to go down" you giggle

"Ooooo!! What?" Leah asks

"I'm gonna pull a prank on Walker. So we are all gonna be hanging out in the living room watching a movie. about an hour I'm gonna come out of my room screaming saying THEY'RE HERE! THEY'RE HERE!! GRAB EVERYTHING AND GO!! I'm gonna put my phone and Dior's phone to record his reaction. Now I'm hoping he will PANIC...I know I'm mean but he's mean too. You'll get used to us trust me Leah. But I thought we should tell you so you don't freak out. I promise nobody is after us okay?" You smile

"Omg that's so funny! Wait...does anyone else know besides the three of us?" Leah asks

"Nope" Dior replies mischievously

"Alright I'm ready" Leah salutes

"Oh and one more thing...can I trust you to be on my team? I need you against Walker with me constantly!" You giggle

"Duh!" She replies

"I thought so" you smile and hug her

—

You were in your room getting ready for bed

Everyone was still in the living room

"Alright. Time for chaos" you say to yourself

"WALKER!!" You scream as you open the door and he jumps up

"What wrong?!" He asks worriedly

"GRAB EVERYTHING! THEY'RE HERE! THERE'S NO TIME!! HURRY!! GRAB EVERYTHING!!" You scream and just start running around grabbing random stuff

"NOOOOOO!!! THEY'RE HERE?!" Dior jumps up and stars grabbing stuff too

"OMG WE HAVE NO TIME!!" Leah joins in

You smile subtly when you see Walker, Aryan and Charlie starting to run around after the 3 of you

"Who's here?" Aryan asks frantically

"THEY ARE HERE!! THERES NO TIME!!" You scream at him

"Honey who's here?!" Walker says stopping you

"WE HAVE TO RUN!" Leah says grabbing your hand and pulling you away from Walker before he could see it in your face

You turn and see Charlie holding a toothbrush, a seat cushion, a blanket, and

Aryan was holding the remote for the tv, his phone, a hair brush, a bowl of fruit and an almost empty glass of water

"Okay?!" Walker says as he frantically runs to his room

He immediately runs out with a picture in his hand and a suit case

"You never unpacked?!" You ask him

"No but it's handy now isn't it?" He shrugs

He then runs off to the kitchen and throws the refrigerator door open and grabs a bunch of food

You look at Dior and she's holding a curling iron, her computer and her guitar

Leah is just holding a frying pan #repunzelisaqueen

"THERE IS NO TIME FOR FOOD!!" You yell at him

"IM SORRY WHAT?! THERE IS NO TIME FOR FOOD?! WHO IS COMING?! ARE WE DYING?!" He asks shocked

"WE HAVE NO TIME FOR QUESTIONS!!" You yell at him again

You watch as he grabs a lamp, a broom, a tv, a chair...honestly I don't know hold he's carrying so much so don't ask😁👍

You can't help but start laughing

"What?" Walker asks grabbing a bag of cookies in his mouth

You fall on the floor from laughing and Dior and Leah join you

"What are they laughing at?" Aryan asks

"I don't know" Walker replies

"Bro why are you holding a tv and one chair?" Charlie asks

"I didn't wanna get bored" Walker shrugged

"Should we be scared why they are all suddenly dying of laughter?" Walker asks

"Probably" Aryan says

"Wait what about running? What about the people who are coming?!" Walker asks

"There's nobody coming" you can barely get out from laughing

"WHAT?!" Walker says as he, Aryan and Charlie all drop everything they're holding at the same exact time

"This was all fake" Dior laughs

"You've already got Leah's brain corrupted by your idiocy" walker rolls his eyes

"Girl power baby" Leah smiles

"Who did you think was after us?" You ask

"I don't know maybe you annoyed somebody and they wanted revenge" walker says as he helps you up off of the floor

"I will get revenge. When you least expect it. When you forget that we are dueling. I will win" he says mischievously

"Oh I'm so scared" you mock

"You should be" he replies

A/n: SURPRISE!! LEAH HAS JOINED THIS STORY!! Was that a good surprise or what?😜

I'm so sorry the chapter got delayed!! I am REALLY REALLY sick! IM SOOO SOO SORRY!!

(Also if there are mistakes I'm sorry😭)

I've been planing this surprise for like two weeks now and I was so sad when I couldn't write it for a while.

Sorry the prank was a little goofy! I saw it on instagram and I thought it would be a fun way of saying Leah is already on your team hehe

I HOPE YOU ALL LIKED THIS CHAPTER!! If you did please vote, comment and follow!! I LOVE YOU ALL SOOOOOOO MUCH!!🫂💞💜💗💕💓💘💝💟🩷

Tags

@mireyaaaaaa @noahkahansorangejuice

@yeeteddemigod @walker-scobell-obsessed @callsignwidow @froggyflower264

@owlscanread25

[sinner-sunflower]

P.2 HH Lucifer-centric AU 17/?

STORY 1, PART 1, PART 2, PART 3, PART 4, PART 5, PART 6, PART 7, PART 8, PART 9, PART 10, PART 11, PART 12, PART 13, PART 14, PART 14.5, PART 15, PART 16, PART 18, PART 19, PART 20, PART 21, PART 22, PART 23, PART 24, PART 25, PART 26

I live!

I can finally post this chapter 😭😭😭

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

Before anyone could react, Lucifer flashes his eyes with a chilling intensity. Time itself stopped, as if the universe held its breath.

The now sinner wasn't even the least bit surprised; in fact, he didn't even tried to hide his annoyance.

Adam: Ugh. I hate it when you do that. I'm surprised Sera never questioned why our meetings were so short-

The sudden impact to Adam's chest silenced him mid-sentence. One moment he was speaking, the next he was on his back with the King of Hell straddling him. He loves seeing Lucifer furious, but only when he knows the other can't kill him as long as he's an angel of Heaven.

Can't not won't because he's pretty sure Lucifer will kill him if given the chance.

He doesn't know if he should be grateful of the fact that Lucifer didn't kill him in the last extermination.

Lucifer: How are you here?

Lucifer spoke with fire, lightly singeing Adam's face as he asked, no, demanded an answer.

Adam: U-Fuck! I don't know man! Get off du- Hey! Stop that! Hands off the merchandise!

Adam yelled as Lucifer ripped open his clothes, revealing a white scar right in the middle of the first man's chest.

Lucifer: Talk.

The other gulped. Adam had never been afraid of Lucifer not back then and especially not now. But he does value his life, so.

Adam: Man, I told you. I. Don't. Know. One minute I was dyin' on your gross floor and then next poof I woke up on the edge of some fucking cliff looking like one of you disgusting freaks. You have no idea how much of a bitch it was to walk from there to this stupid city. I kept dying from random shit and then I spawn back to that cliff!

Lucifer: What cliff?

Adam: Dude, do I look like a cliff expert? Just some random one with a weird lookin' mountain over-

Lucifer: Which direction!

Adam: -South! God, chill.

The Sin of Pride doesn't need a map to know what Adam is now talking about. He may be a recluse but he knows Hell like the back of his hand.

Lucifer: Mount Sinai…

Adam: Uh what?

Lucifer: Mount Sinai, principal site of divine revelation.

Adam: Huh? Isn't that where that Moses dude got the 10 rules-

Lucifer: Commandments.

Adam: -from your daddy?

Lucifer: First of all, don't call The Almighty "daddy". Second, yes. Most significant landscapes that form on Earth reflect here. Even the one where Satan tested Prince of Heaven.

Adam purposely yawns obnoxiously.

Adam: Boringggg. What does that mountain got to do with me?

Lucifer: Maybe it's telling you that you're now a disgusting freak like us cause you're too stupid to realize.

Adam: Fuck you.

Lucifer: No thanks.

To that, the turned sinner quirked an eyebrow and gave a little smirk.

Adam: Oh really? Cause you're not getting off me any time soon. Unless… You want the whole Eden package, Luci?

Lucifer's face spoke volumes, each expression a testament to his thoughts on the matter at hand. Adam, catching the subtle disdain in Lucifer's gaze, felt a twinge of offense directed at his pride. After all they'd been through??! It's like the guy doesn't even know him.

Adam: Rude ass bitch. Fuckin' get off then before one of us does a different kind of getting off.

The King jumped back as if he'd been scorched, hissing his disdain for the man before him.

Adam: You act like I wanted to come here. Down here is just... ugh. I want to go back up there, thank you very much. This place looks even tackier than last time, by the way. I even went to the damn embassy.

Lucifer chose to ignore the jab about the hotel.

Lucifer: Let me guess, you forgot the ban on any sinner soul to enter?

Adam: Who even thought of that?!

Lucifer: You did, dumbass.

Adam: Yeah- well- I still say it's your fault! Now go there and contact Sera for me. How are you still here anyway? Shouldn't Heaven be punishing you for killing their totally fuckable first man?

Lucifer: Fatherdamnit, why did your ego not die with your divinity? And to answer your question, Heaven hasn't contacted us ever since the battle.

Adam: What?! Why??? I'm THE fucking first man! Maybe they're preparing for a war to kill all you fuckers.

Lucifer: They're preparing for a war alright.

Lucifer didn't mean to say that but thankfully Adam's habit of selective hearing whenever he speaks hasn't changed.

Adam: What was that?

Lucifer: I said maybe you're just that insignificant to them.

Adam: Just like you? Also, why the fuck do you look like that?

The King tilts his head to the side, a calculated gesture meant to convey innocence.

Lucifer: Like what?

Adam: Like that!

Lucifer: What do you mean? I've always looked like this.

Adam: Uhhh no. I've known you for literally all my life and after. I think I would've made fun of you more if you looked like an emo clown since the beginning.

Lucifer: How would you know what an emo is?

Adam: Bruh, have you seen my lieutenant?

He had but he doesn't think she's emo. Charlie had an emo phase and that just became his basis on what that word means. An idea struck him, and he pondered sharing some old photos of Charlie to Vaggie...

His contemplation was interrupted by Adam's whistle, pulling him back to the present moment.

Adam: Helloooooooo. Earth to Lucifer. I'm still here you know and I know that you don't want me here as much as I do.

Adam is right.

Though the first man's presence grated on him, and the fact that he wants nothing more than to send him back to Heaven, he knew it was a futile endeavor.

There is no way they're going to take him back because, for one, whether they like it or not, the guy is a demon now.

He could try Sera but she hasn't contacted him since the last extermination-that-wasn't and Michael did mention "taking care" of her so that's out of the question.

Seeing as there is no other solution, he resigned himself to handling the situation as every other demon had.

Lucifer: Let's make a deal then.

Adam: Psh! A deal with the literal Devil? You think I'm some kind of moron?

Lucifer: .... Maybe.

Adam: Fuck you!

Lucifer: Yeah yeah. You keep saying that. So?

Adam must have deduced that this was Lucifer's way of saying"what other choice do you have?" and just groans in resignation.

Adam: Just lay it on me.

Lucifer: You be my personal assistant.

His reply came as quick as the offer.

Adam: No.

Lucifer: No?

Adam: Yeah fuck that. I'm not gonna be your servant.

Lucifer: I'm fine with leaving you on the streets, you know. But how do you think the demons out there will react once they discover that you're a former angel? The head of the exorcists at that. And trust me, we will let them know.

Adam: Yeah- well- The hotel! I'm pretty sure your dear princess won't turn me away if I say that I'm here for this redemption bullshit.

Lucifer: Oh! That's great then! I'm sure Nifty won't have a problem having another helping knife- I mean, hand around.

Lucifer, for his part, harbored no illusions about allowing the man near his daughter, but he found a certain amusement in Adam's discomfort, especially with Nifty.

The prospect of Adam's paranoia amuses him greatly that he allowed himself a faint chuckle.

Adam's eyes flick towards the gremlin cyclops. HDespite his attempts to rationalize away his fear, he couldn't shake the sensation of impending danger of being killed. Again. He lets out an involuntary shiver.

Weighing the pros and cons, he eventually decides that his life is more important than his pride.

Adam: Fiiiiiiiiiiiineee. I'll be your fuckin' errand boy.

Lucifer: Great! And another thing. Keep the innuendos to a zero. Especially around my daughter.

Adam: Come on. Don't tell me you don't love it!

Lucifer: I really don't.

Adam: Anyone would be lucky to have a taste of this majestic dick, yaknow.

Lucifer: Yeahhhhhh, still no.

Adam: I heard you can change into a girl.

A snap.

Adam: So, just let me fuck you once and I promise you'll never want another dick agai-

As the static noise filled the room, Adam found himself the target of collective anger and simmering hostility from the others. His ill-considered words had ignited a storm of rage, each member of the gathering consumed by thoughts of murder.

Adam was the only one physically affected, his ears covered in a futile attempt to shield himself from the overwhelming static.

Alastor: I suggest you watch what you say next, first man.

Sensing the danger he's in, Adam stood up and pointed an accusatory finger at Lucifer. Well, he tried to but he got pinned back to the ground by sets of multiple hands.

Adam: You set me up!

Lucifer: Dunno what you're talkin' about, buddy.

Charlie: Dad, what's going on? What do we do with Adam?

Lucifer: Don't worry about him, sweetie. He'll be staying at the palace doing my paperwork like a good assistant-

Adam: -Ugh! I hate doing paperwork!

Lucifer: -until we can figure out why he's here.

Charlie: I don't know, dad...

Lucifer: Trust me. You don't want him here.

The silent exchange between father and daughter carried a weight of unspoken understanding. After a while, Charlie gave her dad a reluctant but genuine expression of trust. Her acknowledgment broke the tension, softening the atmosphere between them.

Charlie: Okay. I trust you.

However, their moment was interrupted by the clearing of a throat, drawing their attention back to the chaotic scene unfolding before them. Adam is now suspended upside down by the irate Sins and Alastor.

Adam: So uh, can you tell your simps to put me down now?

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

So! I'm back.

I didn't really plan for Adam to be part of the hotel right now. We'll still get to see him but he'll just be at the palace.

With Lute and Heaven not knowing that Adam isn't dead but just fallen and Hell not knowing that Sir Pentious has been redeemed.... who knows what will happen?

Hope this chapter was worth the wait ;;

And yes that is a Jesus mention.

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

Idk what is it with legacy but everything seems to me like it was written on a napkin five minutes before the programming started. I'm crying about the ancient magic and the fact that nothing was done with it. The friends weren't involved with the plot enough, Fig was involved too much (were they trying to copy year 4 and 5 with Rakepick???), we CAN'T FUCKING ALLY WITH RANROK, Isodora and Bragbor successfully cooperated to create the repository but we can't have main character and ranrok paralleling that and working together.

You know, you're absolutely right.

This game was like...almost incredible. But in every area it could have been incredible, there's this pesky "almost" stuck as a prefix for this reason or that reason.

The companion mod is proof that not enough was done with the characters in this game (Amit doesn't even get a quest-line) but it's obvious that the characters are still compelling. Poppy and Natsai are three dimensional and lovable, and Sebastian's popularity speaks for itself. Even the ones who aren't meant to be in focus can be well crafted. (They rolled a real winner with Ominis, I said what I said.)

Fig was obviously meant to be a significant character (I am still not clear on what subject he teaches, does anyone know...?) and given his connection to the plot through Miriam, that's to be expected. He's a lovable guy and I don't mind him being so relevant, but it's obvious that (for better or for worse) the student characters are largely here by obligation and in the mind of the developers, they're more for side-quest content. That other characters like Fig and Lodgok are meant to be the important ones. Again, for better or for worse. I've heard it said that Sebastian's story should have just been the main storyline of the game and honestly...that's not entirely a bad idea.

Though frankly, I think a far better idea would have been just having Isidora as the villain instead of Ranrok.

Which is a good segue into talking about the other points you mentioned. I've talked about this before as well, but yes. Ranrok was beyond wasted as a character. What you describe would have been perfect, and yeah, it would have mirrored the backstory. It seems so obvious. Ranrok deserved more development and deserved to be portrayed as someone the MC might sympathize with. He deserved an ending of his own, where the player can side with him. Never mind the political, real-life reasons for why this was essential, it's just a no-brainer in an open world RPG that would have you believe it has multiple endings. (It really doesn't...)

Oh and that reminds me, this game pretends it has two endings when really, it only has one. Yes, you can choose to harness the Ancient Magic rather than becoming a Keeper, but it changes nothing about the game's ending. Half of the players were already going to head-canon their MCs as doing that anyway. The Ancient Magic is such an intriguing concept but apart from being a map marker for The Fifth Year to discover new plot threads, we don't learn much about it at all.

Honestly, the most fascinating the Ancient Magic ever gets is when we're learning about it through Isidora. The scene where she removed her father's pain was genuinely chilling, and in that I saw the glimmer of a terrifying villain wielding magic we had never seen before. Isidora would have been the best kind of villain because she would have believed she was doing the right thing and would have had understandable reason why she believed it. What she could do to those who oppose her...what she did to the people she loved, and all because she wanted to help them...the power of Ancient Magic is frightening, in no small part because we know so little about it, but we could definitely have stood to learn a little bit more, especially as it's unlikely to be featured again. (Unless they make a sequel.)

I think above all, what this story needed was more nuance. Everything is way too black and white. There are hints of something more, but they get dropped almost immediately as they get brought up. Maybe that's why Sebastian's storyline is a fan-favorite. His dynamic with Ominis and where his story ultimately goes, not to mention the sympathetic reasons why it ends up where it does...and the actual impact The Fifth Year's choices can have on this story...yeah, the rest of the game could take note. Isidora isn't developed enough, and neither is Ranrok, when they could both be exceptional characters.

You want to know my favorite scene of the game, bar none? The scene where Lodgok opens up about meeting Miriam and his grief at her death. That. That is the kind of nuance I'm talking about, and combined with the scene's atmosphere and raw emotion...I teared up. I mean it. That was so powerful. I wish more of the Ranrok storyline was like that more of the time. Any story in the Potterverse that centers around a Goblin Rebellion cannot afford to be this black and white, and we all know why. But in general, it's just better storytelling if there are more shades of gray.

[rosieblogstuff]

Surprise, everybody! It's exactly what nobody was expecting today, a new chapter of my 3x13 wilderness survival training fix-it fic. Who's ready for more trees and rain?? 🌲🌧️🏕️ And also some bad guys and conspiracy theories...

The party of three men and one woman that abducts Mac has high-powered rifles and no idea how to survive in the wilderness. That becomes apparent in the first twenty minutes he’s with them. The one thing they do well is tie his hands, which leaves him little choice but to come along quietly. Well. He technically had the option of yelling, but two of the four kidnappers had weapons trained on his sleeping friends when they pulled him away from his bathroom break just before dawn. He’s got a better chance of getting himself out of this mess with his hands tied than they had of surviving a couple bullets in their sleep. His estimation of their survival skills goes down as soon as they rifle through his backpack and start guzzling the contents of his canteen. “You might want to ration that,” he says. “Clean water can be hard to come by out here.” “Where’s your food?” one of the men asks, pulling Mac’s deflated backpack open more, as if that will make a pile of rations appear. He's a big guy, and he looks like he'd hold his own in hand-to-hand better than he's going against nature. And, of course, there's the rifle slung over his shoulder. Mac holds in a smile. “Don’t have any. I was going to find it on my own. How long has it been since you guys ran out?” “Too long,” says the guy who swallowed down half of Mac’s remaining water. The man who seems to be in charge, who one of the others called Giovanni, ends up with Mac’s knife, which kills the idea that he might be able to get to it and cut the rope around his hands. He’s pretty sure he could make a break for it, but he’s less certain that he could get out of range before one of them shot him. Even if he did get away, it’s still possible that they’d be able to track him back to the campsite, putting the rest of the team in danger. No, he’s going to have to cooperate for now. “So, are you going to tell me what this is all about? Where do you need to go so badly you’re willing to kidnap a guide?” For a moment, it looks like the guy in charge doesn’t want to tell him, but he pulls out a paper map and unfolds it. “X marks the spot,” Giovanni says, tapping it with his gun. “What’s at the X?” Giovanni’s eyes narrow but then he shrugs. “You ever heard of D. B. Cooper?”

(Chapter 5 on AO3) or (Start at the Beginning)

Chapter 6 will be out soon.

@diekatimitdemhutohnehut asked for a tag after I posted the last chapter... back a while ago. Here it is... 🥲😬

[estasticvanni]

|| Karasuno X Nekoma Disaster||

Excuse the change in format,still trying to figure something out. ➷

There is no pair in this,I think! ➷

Purely for comedy,may have ooc lines but it’s just for comedy yk ➷

——————————————————————————

Everyone had made plans for the summer,except Hinata. He only planned to practice and race Kageyama every time they crossed paths

Luckily,Sugawara planned a camping trip for the team. It was gonna be a peaceful trip but somehow Kuroo knew about it and raided the campsite out of nowhere,so now they have to deal with it’!

“Stop hogging all the marshmallows!”Hinata snatched the bag of marshmallows from Kageyama who didn’t even get to put in between his crackers. This was his 3rd s’more.

“You little-“ Before Kageyama could shout,he was chopped on the head by none other than Daichi “Stop acting like toddlers! Just share the bag.”

Tsukishima was snickering and Yamaguchi was too,Kageyama ended up throwing his s’more at Tsukishima which started a war.

“Get the camera! This is gonna be good!” Tanaka laughed and cackled in the back watching the fight happen,Lev was cackling but quickly shut up due to Yaku giving him the death stare meanwhile Ennoshita watched from the shadows,he wanted no part of this.

Sugawara just facepalmed,not only was the trip infiltrated but now there was huge fight,He shook his head in disbelief

A couple minutes everything was resolved but now the teens find out that they have no service out here.

“How am I supposed to play my games…”Kenma frowned and stared at his switch sadly,Kuroo patted his head “You’ll finally get off that thing!”Kenma groaned. “You suck.” Inouka chuckled “Some exercise would do you good!” Kenma glared at Inouka with malice which backed the brunnette off

Daichi was one problem away from screaming.”Everyone calm down,I have a map back to the city.” Nobody calmed down,it was more like everything became more chaotic. “We should split up and then come back!” Noya suggested,Daichi’s jaw almost dropped,There is no chance he is letting anyone out of his sight-

“That’s not a very bright idea!” Sugawara sighed “Let’s make grounds so it’ll be easier!” Noya was dead set on his plan. Eventually Sugawara agreed without Daichi “This is going to fail.” Tsukishima mumbled

(Some I haven’t written yet but they are present!)

Group 1 • Daichi • Noya • Kuroo • Tanaka (Chaos.)

Group 2 • Yaku • Sugawara • Hinata • Lev (Kinda balanced)

Group 3 • Asahi • Yamaguchi • Kageyama • Tsukishima (Arguing every 2 secs-)

Group 4 • Kenma • Inouka • Ennoshita • (Random!)

Since Daichi had the map,the rest followed,Noya and Tanaka wandered off every so often which was a huge pain in Daichi’s ass. “Get back here!” Daichi shouted after the two,Kuroo enjoyed every second of Daichi’s pain “Having trouble dealing with your own teammates?” Kuroo snickered “Shut up rooster face!” Daichi sighed and face palmed,This was going to be hell.

Sugawara and Yaku had to look behind them every minute to make sure the hyper duo didn’t run off somewhere “I’m so hungry….My stomach hurts…I wanna go back!” Hinata complained “Yeah,My legs hurt,I feel like i’m gonna fall!” Lev also complained. “Shut it you man child! Use those legs!” Yaku kicked Lev in the leg which made him fall”Oh!” Sugawara held back a laugh before handing Hinata a marshmallow “Finally some fooood! “ Hinata ate it quickly,Yaku couldn’t wait to go home.

Asahi didn’t say much throughout the walk however Kageyama and Tsukishima bickered the whole way through “Is the king upset over a marshmallow?” Tsukishima smirked “More like your cocky attitude.” Kageyama frowned deeply,Yamaguchi just watched,He did not want any fight to break out but he did hope they would find the city soon

The group barely talked except for inouka who offered to race both the tired teens “Come on you guys! Running is good for the soul!” Inouka pestered Ennoshita who was half asleep,he already fell 5 times- “Kenma what about you? You barely catch up to the team at practice,you need the strength y’know!” Inouka kept pestering the two and Kenma was about to trip Inouka but suddenly they saw the street lights,they found the city finally.

After everyone arrived at the nearby park,Ennoshita already fainted and had to be taken home,Daichi took the honors in that (wouldn’t blame him-)

“Alright,next time…You guys aren’t coming!” Sugawara sighed and pointed at Nekoma”Come on! We wanna have fun too!” Kuroo wore his cheshire smile on his face,it was annoying sometimes..

Casually Inouka,Hinata and Kageyama were racing around the park,somehow all of them were at the same speed “What a bunch of speedy freaks.” Tsukishima spoke “Tsuki! Could you refrain from being rude for like a minute?” Yamaguchi shook his head,a nice Tsukishima seemed impossible sometimes even though it wasn’t.

Asahi was being bombarded by Noya and Tanaka’s foolish antics “Come on man,what type of girl do you like?!” Noya chuckled deviously and Tanaka did the same,Asahi just trembled. Someone save this poor Brunnette

Everyone eventually said their goodbyes and went home,in the morning,Hinata was already racing Kageyama.

Sugawara,Daichi,Asahi and the forgotten trip were hanging out

Noya and Tanaka were fooling around with Saeko

Tsukishima and Tadashi were hanging out as well

Summer was a bit eventful this time.

[ambitionsource]

I was just wondering, you guys have always said you had the series and where it was going mapped out from the beginning. Is there any storylines or characters that you changed from your original plan as time went on?

omg i absolutely love this question, thank you for asking!! while es and i have always had the general plan and arcs sketched out (literally, we were talking about S3 stuff in the early days of S1 lol, we are crazy), there were definitely things that caught us by surprise or unexpectedly emerged -- one of the most beautiful and baffling parts of the writing process i think.

also in full disclosure, while we definitely do have a lot of big tent poles set up from the very start -- which allows us to make so many early, long-term plants (josh being mentioned in season 1, the lucas patron plot point, brandon and missy both appearing in seasons much earlier than their main storyline), many things still develop organically as the story unfolds. to sound a bit like an insane person (or maybe just a writer -- synonyms?), i have genuinely had moments where it feels like the multiverse is sending me messages through the ether about this story. when an idea that had literally never occurred to me before suddenly hits me like lightning, and i think about it more and then realize it has been perfectly set up like it was just waiting to be incorporated into the story, those moments always feel like multiverse conduit dylan is sending me urgent mental morse code to make sure i get the storytelling right in this world (there is a BIG example of this i'll share later after season 5).

ANYWAY, to your actual question. here are just a handful of moments where i think this applies:

charlie gardner, end of sentence. es and i cop to this all the time, but we legitimately thought of him as an non-entity in season 1 and more of a prop for zay's character and arc than his own fleshed out persona. i feel like compared to other seasons, you can kind of see shades of that in early season 1 -- but once we hit "the miserables," that started to change, and now he is not only one of the most essential ensemble members that we love to write, with one of the richest and most fleshed out character arcs, he is also both es and my's favorite character LOL. it's really remarkable how things like that develop. so as a writer, to any other writers out there -- listen to your characters, and give them the room to grow. they truly might surprise you.

dylan and asher, end of sentence. they also apply in a similar vein as charlie. they were mainly interchangeable comedic relief in season 1, sidekicks to lucas who just happened to be boyfriends too, and now they are such a quintessential... essence of the vibrance of ambition. they literally weren't even going to have individual storylines until we were in the middle of planning season 2, when i randomly decided out of the blue while listening to the grinch soundtrack that i wanted to do a holiday special featuring the two of them. i figured it would be mostly comedic (mostly remained), a short like theoretical 10 minutes in length (definitely did not remain), and that would be that. what it did instead was fleshed out their characters and individual quirks so much in my own head, and from there the whole storyline of their complex dynamic with lucas throughout season 2 just emerged organically and i became obsessed with it (it's one of my favorite parts of season 2). from there, they've become such a seamless piece of the main ensemble -- and, like charlie, very beloved by readers as far as i can tell (which i'm grateful for 😊).

haverford's involvement. again, since we kind of wrote off charlie early on -- big mistake! huge! -- we knew he would transfer but we didn't have a big picture as to what haverford would be like. this led to some admittedly pretty cringe storylines that briefly floated around the idea map, one of which involved zay hooking up with a havie (i think dweezil?). it was needless drama, and it made no sense. i cringe to think about it now. another tip from one writer to others -- you do not have to keep every idea. it's good to have them, like don't scratch out an idea before it gets the chance to breathe, but god, toss the ones that just ain't fresh anymore. anyway, much happier with the story role haverford ended up having instead.

nigel, yindra, and jade. much like dasher, these three were promoted going into season 4 when we realized we felt like they had a lot of story to tell in them (and i'm super glad we did). theirs was more of an organic, natural progression of an ensemble and shifting the nature of the series though going into college, unlike dasher and charlie where it really was like boom suddenly they are everything to me and they were trying to tell me the whole time. but these three are such great additions to main ensemble (individually and with their dynamics) and i am very happy they evolved that way.

rosie and uri. there wasn't any point early on where we set out to be like omg let's have the junior gardner and minkus date, but once the opportunity arose it was just too funny not to (and also a great story vehicle for examining certain elements of the gardner family dynamic + charlie's growth). (and also, i just love the idea of the small ways our lives are interconnected and the extension of the definition of family, etc. etc.) (but again, also, it's just too funny).

like the above, there's another duo that fits into the nearly the exact same category of "we didn't plan for this to be romantic but now i've stumbled upon it and somehow it's the best thing i've ever thought of and i need to follow through immediately," but i won't be able to speak on that until season 5. stay tuned.

the depth of vanessa's character. we always planned to have vanessa be a major character in s4, and we long planned to explore her rivalry / potential feelings with zay. what we didn't expect is how easy it was to expand her world, dig into her insecurities with her family, intermingle her with the main ensemble once the quincy rivalry was set aside, and discover some of the natural characters she just clicks with (one big one is nigel -- writing her scenes with him in 409 was actually so much fun and something i didn't expect to like as much as i did). there's another one that will fit into that in a big way (an endgame, you could say), that shifted slightly from our original plan, but again, will have to wait until s5 is wrapped.

-- Maggie

[commanderbuffy]

Hey! I’m quite curious about your approach to writing fics. Apologies if you’re answering this for the millionth time, but do you know the main parts of the plot from the beginning and map them out? Or are you kind of winging it with a loose idea of where want the story to go? What’s your approach like?

Also, how do you manage to be so engaged with your audience and remain so productive with your writing?! Your stamina is impressive to say the least.

Loving your Tanthamore fics. Thank you for sharing your talent with the rest of us for our absolute enjoyment. Got another big fan right here. Keeping an eye out for Ch12!!

Cheers, Kris.

ruby

Hi!!! Okay, trying to answer this as detailed as possible. So, for starters, I came up with a couple notes of broad strokes for the story. I tried to recreate this outline here, but don’t have the original anymore (as I’ll get into in a minute)

Initial Outline (roughly)

- each chapter: Jade pov, kit pov, 1-2 flashbacks

- Accident: kit pushed Elora out of the way to save her when sword-like structure fell

- Key themes

- New kit vs old kit

- Incorporating new kit (ex. good with kids)

- Vulnerability

- The gray area

- *spoiler thing*

- “Not in spite but because”

- Kit gets her memories back slowly

- Explosive reveal via phone (midpoint)

- Last chapter

- *vague plot details*

- *the exact last 5 sentences I’ll be using*

That’s about what I had for the first chapter. Then, as I wrote the first three chapters, I started expanding and changed it to a checklist and adding quotes, themes, scenes and plot ideas and checked them off as I incorporated them or picked chapter numbers for them based on my vague idea of 10 chapters.

Then, at I think chapter 5, I wrote a much more extensive outline for chapters 6-12 (which later became 13), that I mostly stuck to (except for switching the order of two chapters).

In terms of being engaged, it’s actually helped with writing! It’s so encouraging to talk to you guys about theories and what you like about the story. It helped shape it in some ways. There are scenes I massively expanded based on what I was realizing you guys were enjoying!

In terms of stamina, having 2 main days a week I write helps. It also helps that I always write a lot so I’ve built up that muscle and can write a lot, very fast, and I write relatively clean. And that’s only because I’ve been writing at this speed and volume for like 7ish years now.

Thank you Ruby and all you other readers for reading and encouraging me with your theories, ideas, and even horny asks. I can’t wait to share the last 2 chapters with you! I think you’ll be happy with them 💕

[asp1990]

Day 5: Tuesday 24th September, 2024 [Rotorua]

Breakfast: Brownie & a latte Lunch: Another bloody buffet! Dinner: Pizza

Today is Amara’s birthday and I had taken charge of booking all of our activities for the day. We headed off at 10am to the Polynesian Spa for a morning soak. I’d booked the adults only section and was grateful. The whole place stunk of eggs (sulphur) but the views were lovely and the 40 degree pools were delightful. We spent about an hour in the pools, trying them all, and even filming a silly synchronized swimming routine. We then headed back to the house for a quick shower and outfit change for the rest of the day. 

We drove to Skyline Rotorua to ride the gondolas up to the Stratosfare restaurant that overlooked the city. Upon arrival at the restaurant, we realised it was a buffet! We all got the giggles as we realised it was our third consecutive buffet meal. Yet again, everyone but me devoured their share of seafood and I stuck to a tasty roast and then some beef, rice and kimchi. We ordered a bottle of rose for the table from the local winery and it was delicious! I’d booked a winery tasting at the Volcanic Hills winery on the top level, so we were excited to try more and purchase a bottle. Before the end of our meal, the staff brought over a dessert and card for Amara’s birthday, which was lovely. 

After lunch we headed to our wine tasting. The manager of Volcanic Hills was a guy named Brent and he was loose. He was very enamoured with the fact that were were Austraian and made lots of Kath and Kim references whilst talking to us. He was also very intrigued by us being Drama teachers and asked us many questions about the conference that we were going to in Wellington. The wines we tried were very tasty - Amara liked the room temp chardonnay and Tim like the Syrah but we all agreed that the rose was still our favourite. We bought 2 bottles to take home.

Fun facts about New Zealand from Brent:

All petrol in New Zealand is imported which is what makes it so expensive (currently 2.35p/L)

Cars are also imported and cheaper - he said a second hand Toyota Camry was around $4k.

There are no pubs in New Zealand, like the ones we have in Australia. The drinking culture is to invite people to your home and host them there. This blew Tim’s mind, but I quite liked the idea of it. I always prefer hosting people than going out for overpriced food and drinks. 

Outside, Tim, Amara and Jane decided to go luging. I’d been in 2016 when I was in Queenstown and decided to go for a walk instead. I walked through the cherry blossom trees and took a few photos of the city, which was very photogenic. They had a great time and all came back beaming.

We left at 5pm and drove over to the Redwood Forest. Jane said it was disappointing that it was man made, in that the trees were not native to New Zealand. I didn’t mind though as I think Redwoods are stunning. Tim had booked us tickets to the evening treetop walk and we were an hour early, so we went for a walk through the forest instead. We walked around 3km and as it got darker, everyone started stressing about not being able to find our way back. Tim seemed confident in his sense of direction, but Amara then used Maps to figure out where to go. We made it back safely with out 10 minutes until our booking, so we lined up and waited.

I was originally excited to go on the walk and see of the light installations, but as soon as we stepped onto the first suspension bridge, I became very anxious and wasn’t having fun being up high on a wobbly bridge. I had no choice but to continue, but Tim was walking with lots of bounce in his step, which was making it worse! Jane was nice and checked in on me, but after a while I just hung back so I could walk the bridges by myself. At one point there was an option to go higher and I let the others go ahead and just walked as quickly as possible through the rest of the path until I was back on the ground. We’d booked the right time as when I got back to the bottom there was a ginormous queue with lots of families and a school group. No thank you!

Back in the car I ordered pizza for dinner using UberEATS and it arrived shortly after we got home. We ordered from Pizza Peddler and it was outstanding. We had a classic BBQ Meatlovers and a Camembert, chicken and bacon pizza. We ate these while watching the second Hobbit movie, which I didn’t really pay much attention to as I was writing this blog.

Off to Napier tomorrow! A town that Jane is excited to visit for its landscape and Art Deco history.

[sosos-adventures]

March 29th: travel day to Tam Coc.

While still feelinga bit weak, we had to check out and take the bus to our next destination. Before we left we finally wanted to try the famous vietnamese egg coffe. They serve it both ways. Hot and cold. We found a cute little cafe where also locals go to. And its a hidden gem. And I literally mean hidden. Many cool restaurants and cafes are inside another building or at the end of a dark narrow street. So thank you google maps and some travel blogs for all the good recommendation from other people. This egg coffee place just has tiny chairs and tables that we would probably let our little kids sit at. But here it seems a normal thing to do. Many grownups sitting on these tiny plastic chairs and drinking coffee.

We decided to go for the hot egg coffee vatiation and it reminded me a bit about tiramisu. But also very different. Hard to describe. Apparently they used this type of coffee back when they didnt really have milk so they used condensed milk and eggwhite instead.

Right when we wanted to leave and get our backpacks from our airbnb it started to rain. Not like the day before but rather more intensely. So we had to wait until it stopped because taking the bus soaking wet would not have been fun.

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How did we get to Tam Coc? So apparently Tam Coc is such a touristic spot that there are thousands of private bus possibilities to choose from. Literally any 10 minutes there are 10 other buses going there. How is that possible? Sadly nor public transport connection. So we booked a VIP limousine (which sounds more fancy than it actually was) that is more of a van with comfy seats. After 1.5 hours the driver just stopped (we were still 20min away from our destination), the door was opened and 2 other guys told us to get off the bus. So we had to take our luggage and get into another van that then drove us to Tam Coc. What a weird system. We had no idea what was going on.

Arriving in Tam Coc was a bit disappointing. The town has a beautiful lake and amazing landscapes to offer and therefore the locals started building one restaurant and cafe and bar and travel agency after another. All full of bright lights and signs and not a squaremeter that looks like a local would live there. A bit like one big partystreet. But if you take a bike, within 5 minutes there are rice fields and mountains and just silence.

All in all it is still a nice spot that should be on everyones travellist of Vietnam as the caves, ricefields and temples in that area are a next level experience. Also if you book in advance (and not like us around 9pm the night before) you can actually get a really fancy hotelroom with a view of the ricefields and away from the touristic party area. Our last option was basically a little bamboo bungalow that has A LOT of moskitos in the room. When we arrived the owner showed us the room, saw a lizard and just used a broomstick to kick it out. Very authentic. But seriously we pay 6€ each a night for individual queensize beds that are actually quite comfy. So no conplaints there at all :)

[whatsonmedia]

In Conversation With - Chew Magna

Meet Laurie and Co, four lads who together make Chew Magna, an indie quartet from Manchester who have gradually been building up both momentum as well as a fan base following. Like so many other bands out there, they have had their ups and downs and the road ahead to rock bliss certainly presented them with its challenges. Interestingly taking their name directly from a map they look forward to bringing both their music, and self-titled album to a venue near you. "It’s quite an interesting record in terms of the variety of styles, its primarily indie rock with pronounced influences of style" How did you guys first get together? We knew each other from previous bands / the Manchester music scene in the 00s and early 10s. Our previous bands played together and we would see each other at bigger shows etc In the time you've been together as a band how has the journey been so far? We are the classic Covid casualty band.  We've known each other around the Manchester scene for years and years - we were all on the same label at one point (Red Deer Club) but in separate bands - and we finally got in a room to jam.  We'd built up a decent rep as a live outfit and stuck out an EP in 2019, which we recorded as live at The White Hotel in Salford. Great venue and a place that suited our live sound.  We'd all but got an album recorded and mixed when the first lockdown hit. We looked to keep the energy alive through the forced shut down by sharing clips of ideas and working on them independently.  We've still got a big library of work ready to work on but we knew we had to get this debut album out before moving on. As with everything this side of the pandemic, it's taken longer than we hoped to get this collection of songs out in to the world.  We can't wait for people to hear it.  What music where you listening to in your earlier years? We all loved guitar music as kids/teens and we were in high school during the Kerrang TV/minidisc era, so I guess it was standard stuff like Nirvana, Greenday, Pixies, Smashing Pumpkins, Foo Fighters, Radiohead as well as nu metal, garage rock revival and landfill indie stuff that was massive in those years too. Which musical influences do you use for the bands? 80s/90s alt is our touch point - everything from Fugazi, Husker Du and Minute Men, to Pavement, MBV and Dinosaur Jr.  Chew Magna, what's the story behind the band's name? Laurie saw it on a map and thought it sounded like a gnarly 90s influenced indie rock band! Describe the band in 5 words Loud energetic motoric alt rock Now, you're releasing your self-titled album, what can you tell us about it? It’s quite an interesting record in terms of the variety of styles, its primarily indie rock with pronounced influences of kraut rock, post hardcore, shoegaze and punk. It’s also probably 75% instrumental – we were really influenced by two records: Open Your Heart by The Men and You’re Living All Over Me by Dinosaur Jr – they’re both records with long instrumental passages; the vocals come and go rather than always being the main focus of the songs. How long did it take you to put it all together? The album came together quickly. We wrote the main chunk over a few months and lobbed in a couple of newer songs during the recording / mixing process. The writing and recording were the easy bit! The pandemic was the real challenge.  So, depending on how the vinyl format goes could it resume release on that format? We always wanted out record on vinyl. In a digital world there is still a joy to having something tangible. Something we can hold in our hands as proof of the work.  We're very grateful to have had the support to print up the run we have so we'll see how it goes!  And will you be touring this with this record? We’d love to play in Chew Magna village again! Where can people check out your music? Our album will be on all good streamers - along with our debut White Hotel EP Spotify here:  https://open.spotify.com/artist/3lQVdEMIlFX2JhcYFAelCr?si=e35dfa19a5d34741 You can preorder / buy the vinyl here: https://straycatrecords.bigcartel.com/ Read the full article