#i also love how many questions are buried in this about what has happened since that recording

[goodfish-bowl]

What Little Remains

Chapter 1: Finding the Pieces

Ectoberhaunt 2024 Day 3: Archeology

AO3 Link

Summary: The Terra Zero Archeology Project has received funding to locate a laboratory of both historical and technological importance. What they actually end up bringing back is something of much greater significance.

Warnings: Dissection, gore, blood

Words: 2,374

They had found it on the planet once known as Earth, now known as Terra Zero. It had been buried in a laboratory of historical and technological importance. The laboratory was the target of their mission and this had merely been something they had discovered along the way, but it was likely a much more significant find than their original goal. It was a miracle, really, that the jar protecting this particular specimen was fully intact, and an even greater wonder that they found a second one to go with it. Despite the atypical building practices found at that location, it had managed to survive the several planetary disasters that had befallen Terra Zero since the lab had been constructed. It was truly an amazingly complex and baffling in its own era. The laboratory itself had been buried under tons of sediment, ash, and debris that had built up on the planet's surface over the centuries, yet it managed to preserve the space from the very passage of time. 

The Terra Zero Archeology Project, shortened down to T.Z.A.P, had only been able to discover it through a related digital archiving project, following mentions of its existence along with digital records from the time, particularly a set of patents that were of interest to the team's investors. They read like utter nonsense, completely indecipherable despite running them through every algorithm available and having sloughs of intergalactic experts look them over. The only hope of figuring them out lay in the lab where they had been created. A myzack-chase through several databases and many long message chains and holos later, the mission was underway. The promise of new technologies was what got the T.Z.A.P. its funding in the first place. This lab was sure to have them keep their funding for a while longer. 

The lab itself had been odd, with unknown radioactive elements non-native to the Terra Zero planetary area found in unusual amounts with a positive correlation with the proximity to the lab. Special suits were created just for this excavation, and entire collections of journals were being written based off of the findings. The interior of the lab looked untouched, only a thin coat of dust covered every surface. It was in a general state of disarray like it had been abandoned in the middle of something, but the walls were intact (except for the portion they had drilled through) with minimal rust and decay setting in. It was an astronomically amazing find. 

Then there were the samples. 

Most of the samples, which looked to be biological samples from a dissection, were degraded beyond use, a millennium beyond expiration. They appeared to be humanoid in nature, which ended up being one of the most unnerving portions of the discovery. It wouldn’t be confirmed until they were actually processed and tested. It wasn’t safe to assume, they had found ones made of ‘rubber’ before. One jar, containing a singular, whole hand, was preserved properly, in what appeared to be an isotopic solution tinted green. The next samples of interest were a set of small vials containing a viscous green liquid that actively rested in a set of a dozen, three of which were intact, the rest exposed to the heavy, damp atmosphere of the lab. It was an unnaturally bright green substance with a dull glow, flecked with red. The intact vials wouldn’t be opened until after the samples of the broken ones were processed first. It would give them a good idea of the decay rate of the substance. There was a heavy containment unit, made from glass that could rival modern war spacecraft windows, with a glowing crystal orb inside, floating in a similar solution to what the vials must contain. All of the other samples were labeled “Phantom” with a time and date on their collection date. This one was marked with the name “Danny”, instead. They were all within two days of each other, with the orb being last. 

The most valuable thing T.Z.A.P. managed to collect from the lab, other than just recording of the finding of an intact lab from the early 2000s era, was the intact digital files located on the ancient external hard drive. Someone on the tech team had managed to reconstruct and restore the files on it and found hundreds of files containing everything from lab journal entries to video recordings, to entire papers. It was an almanium mine of information, shining light on many of the patents themselves, though the blueprints and the construction of the technology remained theoretical at best. Whoever had designed these was using a language all of their own that no one else could decipher. 

The samples and digital files were brought into the in-orbit lab and processed while the systems scanned the antique files for relevant information, matching the patents and the surviving samples. The computer pinged a collection of lab recordings almost immediately, curiously matching the time stamps of the sample collections. 

Zavier, one of the many interns assigned to this project, absently clicked on one at random, sound on, in the middle of the main research room. 

Corroded, the audio snapped and popped, showing its age, but it caught the attention of everyone else in the room. Grainy footage of a woman in a teal jumpsuit, with red goggles covering her eyes, and black gloves covered the screen. A large figure in orange moved in the background. 

“This is Doctor Madeline Fenton, it is June 4th, 2006, at precisely 14:23. I am joined by Doctor Jack Fenton in collecting a whole-piece sample from the ecto-entity known as Phantom.”   

Ecto-entity. It was a term that popped up frequently in the study of this particular laboratory and the related patents. There were at least a dozen sets of eyes on the monitor at this point, several different people scribbling down notes of interest. 

“As mentioned in Recording 632006-334 samples collected from Phantom seem to rapidly degenerate once removed from the central entity. To correct this, we have diluted a solution made from the entity’s own ectoplasm mixed with an isotopic preservation solution in an attempt to preserve the sample for further, future study.”

The woman moved the camera to show a prone figure, heavily strapped down to a mental table, distinctly human, despite their odd features for the time. They appeared young, prepubescent in age, uselessly crying and thrashing on the table they were strapped to. They were covered in past incisions, and missing several fingers from their other hand. Several harsh breaths of horror were taken around the room. Zavier should’ve paused the video there, but he hadn’t. 

“Our intended sample is going to be the entire right hand.”

The child on the table let out a heart wrenching whine, barely picked up through the harsh muzzle on their face. 

Something in the room broke, it sounded fragile, but no one moved, transfixed by the screen. 

The woman, Dr. Madeline repositioned the camera over the child’s right hand. They visibly struggled, straining against the restraint. 

“Jack, the bone saw?”

“Here you go, darling!” The man said with a large smile. 

The boy screamed and it echoed around the entire room, the video filled with bright colors of green and red as the bone saw ate through flesh.

The video was abruptly stopped before it could finish, and someone immediately rushed to the trash unit in the corner. A few people did. The scream still seemed to linger around the room anyways. 

“What in the void of space are you all doing?!” A new voice interrupted.

“H-head Doctor! I didn’t mean to! But it started playing and I didn’t want to stop it so I let it play!”

“And?”

“A… a-and?” the intern stuttered. 

“What did you learn?”

“That… that I shouldn’t click on a random video without permission…” Zavier admitted reluctantly. 

“I meant about our subject.”

“OH! Oh… um. Young, possibly male humanoid, unusual features… they cut off their hand with a bone saw…” Zavier’s voice trembled, unable to focus on the words coming out of his mouth with the scream echoing even louder in his own head than it had in the room. 

The Head Doctor’s eyes darkened. Her grip tightening on her tablet, before snapping down the tech and sending out several messages all at once in a furious efficiency. 

“If continuing on this particular project makes you uncomfortable, please report to the main deck for reassignment!” The Head Doctor announced it to the whole room. “I understand that we’re dealing with humanoid experimentation in this discovery. You will not be punished for wanting to be reassigned.”

Several people left the room almost immediately, practically fleeing in terror. Zavier found himself agreeing, but was firmly rooted in place. Others thought about it, before following the rest out. From the two dozen researchers and interns in the room, less than a fourth remained. Zavier rediscovered his ability to move for a moment, and contemplated joining them before staying in his spot. He couldn’t. 

“Intern. I need you to find the video of the collection of the orb. The video should be labeled 642006-1746.”

“Yes, ma’am. May I ask why?” 

Zavier really didn’t want ot have to watch another video when this one was going to be haunting him for the next decade.

“The sample associated with it refuses to be identified, but it has responded to external stimuli, including sounds and being moved about. Several of our preliminary scans have identified something similar to brain waves emitting from it. We need to identify it.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Zavier swallowed thickly before clicking on the video labeled just as the Head Doctor had specified. The video pulled up just like the first, popping and snapping before settling in place. The same woman from the first video appeared in the camera, slightly worse for wear. Her suit was splattered with green and red. Zavier cringed and looked away, but refrained from covering his ears with his hands. He had to at least listen, even if that was the worst part. 

“This is Doctor Madeline Fenton, it is June 4th, 2006, at 17:46. Dr. Jack Fenton and I have just finished our full dissection of the ecto-entity once known as Phantom.”

The camera panned to show the same child from earlier, cut up into pieces, a large vivisection cut splaying their chest wide open, cavity practically hollowed out, and several stained jars littered the free space on the table. They boy wasn’t moving anymore.

“We have made an… interesting discovery concerning its biology.” 

The scientist paused for a moment, glancing behind her before she seemed to hesitate. 

“Not… not only did it possess a perfect copy of human biology, it was a functioning one. However, after considerable loss of ectoplasm and substantial damage to its internal organs, its facsimile of life ceased. We were able to locate its core,” she held up the jar containing the small glowing orb. It seemed so tragic floating in that solution. All that blood and viscera for something the size of a pinging ball. She placed the jar on a table out of frame.

“And have successfully removed it and placed it within an isolating containment unit. Reasons for this have been stated in my husband and I’s previous papers on the nature of cores. However, Phantom’s seems to be behaving differently than expected. It’s fallen completely dormant after drawing in all available ectoplasm. Theories on this will be further elaborated in the paper currently being constructed on the ecto-entity Phant-”

There was a flash of light in the background that glitched out the camera for a moment, before the video returned. There was much more red than there was before. The boy was noticeably different, his appearance much more in line with the humans of the era, black hair and red blood. 

The woman swiftly turned around, a weapon she reached for off screen suddenly in her hand. It clattered to the ground soon after. She made a horrible choking noise, like she was being strangled. Zavier didn’t think she had the right to react like that. She and her partner had done this after all.

“Danny..?”

The Head Doctor reached over Zavier and turned the video off, gripping the bridge of her nose and letting out a harsh breath of her own. Zavier himself sunk further into his seat to process the information that was likely going to continue to plague his nightmares. He didn’t know why he felt so terrible, or why it was all knotted up in the base of his throat. That kid had been dead for over a millennium at this point. There was no saving them, just the bits of what little of them that remained, as samples, recordings, and data. He shouldn’t be this horrified and torn up over someone long dead. 

“Intern, what is your name?”

“Zavier, ma’am.”

“Zavier, go make yourself something warm to eat and distract yourself. I don’t want to see you until it looks like you’ve had at least a full cycle of rest. Senior members,” she signaled the three of the older researchers who had remained, one of which was trying to light a smoke in the corner, “We are going to be having a long night to figure out the nature of this research. If… If this lines up with some of my current conclusions, then we may have a much more… interesting project on our hands.”

“Ma’am… what do you mean by that?” 

One of the researchers asked, coming in closer to relieve Zavier from his seat at the monitor. Zavier hadn’t been expecting his knees to be so weak when he tried to stand and the world spun around him for a moment before he managed to steady himself.

“Simple. We have the current approval and supplies to use the D.R.C.R.A. on a suitable… sample of interest,” The Doctor claimed. 

“You don’t mean… by the void,” The researcher with the smoke cackled. “Oh, this is going to get us in so much trouble!”

“Well, it would certainly line up with our objective to study the era. What’s better than a first-person witness?”

Ectoberhaunt 2024 Masterpost

[fatuismooches]

Imagine the 3.8 Secret Summer Paradise event but with Wanderer and you. Nahida sends Wanderer to investigate something in the desert and you tag along for fun but you two get sucked into a magic bottle somehow?! Klee dubs his title as the “Sorcerer” - her mage sidekick - and yours as the “Soldier” - her protecter! (Or whatever you want, I’m bad at this.)

The rollercoasters are nothing compared to Wanderer’s flights of fright. He will do loops, twists, turns, upside downs in the air all while holding YOU… at least in the rollercoaster there are seats. Klee is amazed by your endurance and wants to try flying too! (Wanderer reluctantly gives her a piggy back ride and flies a safe distance up from the ground… Kaeya’s watching him very carefully, but you vehemently reassure him that Wanderer would never hurt a child. The cavalry captain actually grows to like him!) Though you manage to convince Wanderer to ride a slow rollercoaster with you. There’s no one else in the Choo-Choo Cart, and it’s late at night. Wanderer lays on your lap as you play with his hair, the both of you silent as you stare out the window, taking in the lovely sights of this realm.

Idyia’s quite scared of Wanderer at first but overtime she comes to fawn over and admire how deep your love is, she’s met many people in her little bottle, but no one has ever had a relationship like yours! Not to mention, Zosimos takes inspiration from the two of you for his characters. And speaking of plays, I think despite the fact the one the group acted out had poor plot, Wanderer finds joy in it, because I believe he likes the arts/dance/performances, and also he found Klee’s acting endearing. (When Kaeya runs out of stories for her, Wanderer takes over and tells her Inazuman folktales!)

Collei is extremely nervous speaking to Wanderer, but finds herself liking him more than she expected. She feels like she can… relate to him, for some strange reason? She doesn’t really understand, since she’s never met him before, but she doesn’t question it. Plus, she knows you’re a really nice person, so you wouldn’t date someone who’s mean, anyway. Eula is suspicious of him at first too, but seeing Collei warm up to him makes her tolerate him, while Kokomi finds the stranger very interesting. She has a few chats with Wanderer, and the things he says about Inazuma has her only more curious. The most important part is, Klee wants to be the flower girl at your wedding, whenever that happens.

Moving on, Wanderer has a soft spot for the Hydro Eidolons because they remind him a bit of the Aranara. He acts all annoyed when they want to play hide and seek with him but secretly he enjoys it (and you’re enjoying his fervent denial at being soft.) You two play all of the games together, although Wanderer is less enthusiastic about it than you (as usual of course) but he actually enjoys Bing-Bang Finchball! :3 (He wonders if his creator and that kitsune would like it, too.) Most of all, Wanderer especially enjoys the solitude he gets at certain places of the realm. Sometimes you’re with him, sometimes you’re not, but when you are, during these moments he’s oddly quiet and clingy. Sometimes he still struggles to accept his life and what he’s been through. But making memories like these with you make him happy.

At the end of your stay, when you have to bury a treasure to leave behind, you put in two dolls of Wanderer and you that you quickly made in the mirage! (Wanderer had taught you how to make them that nicely.) You didn’t show your lover at first, a bit embarrassed and scared of his reaction, but he found out anyway and sighed, but pulled down his hat to cover his blush. He flew you to a beautiful spot with the best view, and you two buried it together. You wonder if it would still be there if you ever visited again.

Even after many years pass, Idyia never fails to tell the engrossing tale of the grouchy puppet and his darling lover, an unlikely but loving couple. Maybe if you’re lucky, you could meet them spending their days strolling the streets of Sumeru with the young Archon.

Overall, an unplanned but very necessary vacation that Wanderer needed. Nahida had a blast listening to all of your stories! (And happy he has made some more friends, which he of course denies that accusation.) 

[r1nstaaa]

bangchan x fem!reader

blond chan is my roman empire.

MDNI!!!!

warnings: smut, chan has a breeding kink lol (he def does), tysm maya for the prompt ily and uh yes. enjoy.

you were sitting on the bed, peacefully scrolling on your phone. recently, your fyp has been filled with videos of the cutest babies ever and its literally torture. they’re so cute, so tiny that it makes you want one of your own. god, the baby fever has been hitting hard.

you looked to the side at your husband, who was also sitting on the bed, right beside you. his right hand was resting on your thigh, thumb rubbing soothing circles on the plush skin. “channie” you called out. “mm, what is it love?” he questioned, not looking up from his phone. ugh, the nickname. it still made you weak in the knees, even after 3 years of marriage. “channieeee” you called out again, demanding his full attention. “yes baby, i’m listening.” he looked up, not breaking eye contact this time. 

you stared at his lips. he knew what you were getting at. “you were gonna say something, baby?” the reminder made you snap your eyes back to his.

“i want a baby.” you deadpanned.

you hadn’t planned on blurting it out this way, it just happened. it had been in the back of your mind since the past few days, but you hadn’t really given it much thought. but chan? its safe to say he’s been dying to fill you with his seed ever since he saw you playing with your nephew during christmas last year. seeing the way you handle kids had him fully convinced you were gonna be an amazing mom and nothing could make him think otherwise.

with chan, all you had to do was ask. your wish was his command. and so, here you were, getting every last one of your wishes fulfilled.

his face was buried in your cunt, licking up every single drop you had to offer. he did not plan on letting anything go to waste. you had lost count of how many times he’d made you cum in the past hour, and if he had any intentions of stopping sometime soon, he was really good at hiding it. your fingers gripped at his hair, the curly strands wrapped around your fingers as you tugged at them lightly, making him groan against your sensitive cunt. the vibrations made you arch your back, the friction from his nose feeling sinfully delicious. “‘m gonna cum channie… fuck” you moaned out as he slipped his middle finger into your aching hole, pushing you closer to the edge. “c’mon baby, i know you can give me one more. that’s my girl.” he said, as he placed kisses on your tummy when you came down from your high.

he placed kisses all the way up to your collarbones, taking his time to fondle with your tits midway. he sucked and bit at your neck, leaving hickies all over the visible parts of your skin. he loved making it difficult for you to hide the remnants of your shared desire for each other. 

“what’d you say darlin’? said you wanted a baby?” he questioned, his hands working skilfully to rub and pinch your nipples. “y-yes.. fuck chan. need you to give me a baby.. please.” you mewled, back arching due to the pleasure. 

“since you asked so nicely…” he grunted as he slapped your clit with his cock, gathering your wetness near your entrance. “who am i to deny, baby?” he said as he pushed his cock inside with one full thrust, making you choke out a broken sob at the sudden stretch. the pain mixed with the pleasure made your brain go all mushy. all you could think about was the way his cock filled you up and the way his hands gripped your waist as he tried his best to not start thrusting into you already. “chan.. fuck me, please.” was all he needed to hear before he started rutting into you, building a rhythm and trying his best to not break it and absolutely ruin you right there. “fuck, you’re taking me so well, pretty girl. gonna fuck a baby into you.” his hands reached out for yours, holding onto them and interlocking his fingers with yours.

his pace was starting to get a bit rougher, hitting that spot inside you with each thrust. “so fuckin gorgeous. all mine, aren’t you?” he whispered against your neck, placing hot, wet kisses on your sensitive skin. 

 “shit, stop clenching ‘round my cock like that baby, gonna make me cum.” his thrusts started getting sloppier as you were both about to reach your highs, him reaching down to press on your clit and rub on it using his thumb. he spat on it and pinched it, finally making you come undone around his cock. your pussy squeezed him in even more, getting impossibly tighter. shit, you were driving him insane.

“fuck baby, m’close. so close.” he grunted. “you wan’ it inside? wan’ me to fill up that pretty little cunt of yours?” you nod mindlessly, completely fucked out. “words, pretty girl.” 

“y-yes channie. fill me up, please.” you said, as your cunt squeezed around him one last before he released his load deep inside you, your walls fluttering around his cock. 

he collapsed onto you, rightfully breathless. he reached down to push his dripping cum into your cunt with two of his fingers, giving you a sweet kiss and pecking your cheek after. 

“might wanna do this again just to be safe, you know?” 

[stars-and-the-min]

☆ the wrong way to hard launch (8) | OP81

summary : oscar's girlfriend is a walking pr problem for literally everyone (including herself) social media au

pairing : oscar piastri x zhou!fem!singer!oc

a/n all aboard the speculation train

masterlist | last part | part 8 | next part

INSTAGRAM

selinabui

liked by oscarpiastri and 312,294 others

selinabui somehow @.rollingstone thought it would be an amazing idea to slap me on their cover?? anyways may 2024 🔜 it has an exclusive interview with urs truly p.s. whoever came up with that nickname for me deserves a raise ♥️♥️♥️ tagged: rollingstone, shotsbynadia, michealpollard, lilybeehair and jesszhang_

oscarpiastri Forgot how to breathe for a sec ↳ tina_kim @ oscarpiastri ur so real for this

linasgirl4 'the speakeasy siren'??? 😮‍💨

eb_jonno i'm confused by your dress ↳ selinabui @eb_jonno i was confused as well, don't worry about it, just admire how good i look

TWITTER

↳ kayla @luna_apocolypse · 49m fork found in kitchen, we had to wait over three years for a sophomore album, we'll live ↳ kayla @luna_apocolypse · 47m but then again... no 'new' music makes me think that lina is being sneaky again

oscalina real ?! @ emptyginbottles · 28m too many people talking about the 'no new music' bit of the interview and not enough talking about how oscar's going to drive lina to florence after imola ↳ oscalina real ?! @ emptyginbottles · 27m i didn't think it would be possible, but i think i just heard this woman giggle over a man through my phone via a printed interview

amie <3 @mieflrs · 2h it's actually so insane how smoothly the empty bottles pr team buried all the tommy talk. i didn't even notice bc they moved so naturally to 'chris and eb reunion??' and then the rolling stones cover + interview like they just dropped us better things to talk about ↳ amie <3 @mieflrs · 2h slay empty bottles pr team, i really appreciate y'all 🫶

REDDIT

r/EmptyBottles · Posted by u/luckyluna9364 5 hours ago Lina x Oscar Timeline

Has anyone worked out the relationship timeline for Lina and Oscar? I've been talking to some of my F1 friends, and there's so much confusion about how and when they met because these two people have barely been in the same country at the same time. This is, of course, if we go off the common perception that Zhou Guanyu was definitely the person who introduced them.

buisms84 · 4 hr. ago op i was literally just thinking about this!! lina's been pretty much stuck in california since the pandemic and oscar flies around for races all the time, it's pretty possible that they didn't meet first but rather started texting? but then when did they start going out because they clearly look familiar with each other. fantstic013 · 4 hr. ago streets are saying as early as silverstone 2023 👀 but we all know lina is super secretive about her current relationships (bar whatever mess thomas howard was)

summersweettea1389 · 3 hr. ago i think the confirmed timeline is what we've all been experiencing these past few months. like there seems to be no other indicator they were linked, even platonically, before that insane hard launch. luckyluna9364 OP · 3 hr. ago I know that Lina can be really sneaky but she also loves messing with us, so I'm convinced she was subtly soft-launching him and we all didn't notice. But you know what I found most strange? Right before the hard launch, a bunch of different new sites were publishing rumours, I'm not super online, but were there rumours earlier? whatthekermitdid · 3 hr. ago ur talking about the rumors of them over the holiday season when they both happened to be at the same party but that was debunked ages ago - they went with different ppl but they may have met there?

TWITTER

piaa⁸¹ @ papayaeightyone · 5h no, i don't think u understand, i'm actually SCREECHING over oscar's answer to the 'texting the wrong person' question from the never have i ever video

↳ piaa⁸¹ @ papayaeightyone · 5h I'M SO NORMAL ABOUT THEM I SWEAR 🥹

↳ kayla @luna_apocolypse · 2h 'most awkward conversation of my life'??? 'not the best way to confess'??? SELINA WHAT DID U SAY TO THIS MAN 😭 ↳ pookie piastri @op81ln4 · 3h NO I NEEEED TO KNOW HOW SHE REACTED

lina !!! @EB_selina · 48m everyone keeps tagging/sending me the clip of oscar talking about accidentally texting me about me. guys, i was there, i know it happened, and i will be taking my reaction to the grave ↳ Oscar Piastri @ OscarPiastri · 12m She's embarrassed because she ghosted me for like a week ↳ lina !!! @EB_selina · 11m sir why are u lying???

june @linafesting · 2h finding out that oscalina's talking stage was oscar giggling and texting his friends how much he liked her and lina ghosting him after an accidental confession is pure comedy ↳ june @linafesting · 2h oscalina, the couple that keeps on giving us anything but photos together

↳ clovie @ luvyouvie · 57m wait where did lina mention oscar? ↳ li(n)a @meliabelrose · 44m rolling stone interview, she mentions him like 8 times

REDDIT

r/EmptyBottles · Posted by u/luckyluna9364 3 days ago Lina x Oscar Timeline [read new comments]

whatthekermitdid · 5 hr. ago ok so my f1 friend just told me that the never have i ever video was filmed like in february (or earlier) which means that oscalina were going out since at least then BUT (and maybe i'm delulu) i couldn't help but notice that he's v calm about it like it happened a long time ago which is really no help to this timeline

niaphilia283 · 3 hr. ago not to sound clinically insane but have we considered that they've been together for a lot longer than we imagined? thinking logically, selina isn't the type of person to so publically acknowledge a new boyfriend - she didn't even mention tommy until like seven months - and judging by her recent behaviour (the hard launch, the dedicated performance, the birthday instagram post) she's either down so astronomically bad she'll never recover from it OR they've been together for at least two years luckyluna9364 OP · 3 hr. ago if they've been tgt for even longer than ONE year i'd actually lose it bc there's noooo way lina would be that quiet about it niaphilia283 · 3 hr. ago wait i just remembered that two years ago would be around when tommy got engaged and lina def would've made a big deal about any relationship my bad

TWITTER

clara @ zgy24 · 2h these photoshoots have the same vibe and it was the first thing i thought of 😭

lina for elle china zhou for champion

↳ lina !!! @EB_selina · 1h what a copycat @ZhouGuanyu24 😒 ↳ 周冠宇 | Zhou Guanyu 🇨🇳 @ZhouGuanyu24 · 1h I did it better

MESSAGES

from the phone of oscar piastri

TWITTER

lina !!! @EB_selina · 2h been feeling mean lately, how much trouble should i cause? ↳ EB BAR @theemptybottlesbar · 2h selina pls have mercy MERCY I BEG

kayla @luna_apocolypse · 1h it's been an hour since that cryptic ass tweet, i'm shaking lina what do you have up your sleeve

piaa⁸¹ @ papayaeightyone · 32m OH MY GOD WHAT DID SHE JUST SAY????

EB BAR @theemptybottlesbar · 43m We'd like to extend our condolences to @ McLarenF1, we're working on getting her media training, but it doesn't seem to be working ↳ McLaren @ McLarenF1 · 39m We're all in this together 🥹 ↳ oscalina real ?! @ emptyginbottles · 42m WHAT DID SHE DO???? IS IT THE LIVE?? WHAT DID SHE SAY IM AT WORK SELINA HOW COULD U DO THIS TO ME

amie <3 @mieflrs · 29m i just know that pr team has being worked TO DEATH this past week like RIP

INSTAGRAM selinabui started a live video

MESSAGES

from the phone of selina bui

REDDIT

r/EmptyBottles · Posted by u/luckyluna9364 6 days ago Lina x Oscar Timeline [read new comments]

luckyluna9364 OP · 1 hr. ago this thread is getting super active after lina's livestream so i'm doing my best to summarise what ppl are saying: - a much longer relationship than anticipated is highly possible; lina was still pretty vague with the timing all she really said was 'long enough' what long enough is to her is up to debate (most are keeping the benchmark at 7mo) - lina mentioned her aunt (zhou guanyu's mother) has invited them to have dinner in shanghai which means that not only has lina's family known and met oscar but also that lina is stopping over in shanghai for a bit before performing in shenzhen (exciting news for the oscalina stans) - her freezing up suggests that she and oscar were keeping a lot of the relationship private or even secret for a while and it was genuinely a mistaken slip that wasn't at all supposed to happen (one can only wonder how oscar reacted) - a couple people think that EB planned the tour schedule around the F1 calendar (there are quite a few overlaps in races and shows) which would mean that they were together BEFORE tour announcement which was back in november - one user is betting their life savings that they met before oscar's f1 debut, for that user's sake i hope it's true.

✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:

taglist @ririyulife @ashy-kit @fionaschicken @namgification @cherry-piee @urfavsgf

[impishjesters]

Jax-in-a-box Part 2

warning(s): suggestive/implied sexual content/language, potential out-of-character Jax (look you're just so big and it's distracting okay... let him be distracted and have thoughts), bratty(?) Jax note(s): I swear this wasn't intending to go down this route of horny rabbit man, but I was feeling some dom/sub vibe and it just happened I'm so sorry, I don't know why I'm like this. A/N: I wanted Jax to feel teeny so the reader is at least 9 ft/274 cm minimum. Man, Pomni must look like a step stool next to the reader... Also, this would take place at some point in the dating stage. Also, this is the same original requester of the Jack in the box reader, thank you for requesting more this was really fun to write~ request: I’m just requesting a little story if your up to continuing that request. So what l’m thinking is just a little scenario of the reader completely coming out of their box for the first time (well the first time they were caught) Mabye the scenario has Jax coming into reader’s room unexpectedly and seeing reader chilling outside their box? Though of course you can do/write anything you’d like for this. I’d like it if you made the reader even taller, since they are actually standing this time instead of being in their box.

While being inside your box brought a level of comfort your bedroom couldn’t provide, that didn’t mean you didn’t use it. No, the privacy of your bedroom was used to stretch your legs—something the others, specifically Jax, hadn’t known about. Not that it was a secret, you just loved seeing it wrack his brain as to what lay beneath.

The box sat abandoned, lid wide open as you lay in the provided bed just a few feet too small for you. It’s not like Caine had expected someone as tall as you after all, you aren’t even sure if Caine is aware you can even exit the box, but you made do and got yourself nice and comfy to relax.

You plucked up an interesting-looking book earlier from Caine’s weird collection of provided reading material. Nothing risque sadly, but you can’t help but feel like Caine has never even read any of these and merely plucked them from whatever and just willed them into existence.

The next hour easily passed, nose buried into the book, so much so that you didn’t even hear the jingling of your locked door being forced open. Hell, you didn’t even notice until he said something.

The first thing Jax saw was your box, empty, his eyes shifting to the bed to see long legs dangling off the bed before he realized who it was. Well, of course, it was you, it was your room and it was locked.

“You have fucking legs?!”

You snorted and finally looked up from the book, Jax looked completely flabbergasted, and fuck, if only you had a camera. “Just normal legs, but they could do that too.”

Jax didn’t even have it in him to retort to that little comment, no he was far too focused on the fact you had fucking legs. He’d been entirely convinced that you didn’t have anything below the waist, it’s like that box had this weird black fog that looked like a void you were just coming out of. There are so many questions he wants to ask…

How the fuck do you fit in the box with legs that long? Do you sit with your legs crossed or on your knees? Do they just vanish into that weird black void? Have you been just weirdly seat-jumping around this whole time?

He’s so caught up in his thoughts he doesn’t even process that you moved to sit at the edge of the bed, legs crossed at the ankles. It’s not until you clear your throat that he realizes how close he’s gotten and wow, you’re just sitting and you’re able to look him straight in the eye. Is this awakening something in him? God, he hopes not.

“What can I do for you, my little cotton tail?”

You loved the dumb little pet name, he claimed to hate it and it stuck. If he was gonna call you all sorts of dumb pet names he was going to get at least one of his own.

Jax cringed at the name and rubbed his face as if that would get rid of the growing blush. “Stop it with the name would ya?”

“Then stop calling me Jack.”

He waved his hand before snorting out a “Nah”.

“Fine, at least stop calling me Boxxie.”

“Oh c’mon, it’s cute.”

It was your turn to cringe, he only called you that because he was convinced you were a box when you first showed up. A sentient box, how fun. “Was there a reason you came lock-picking into my room?”

“Tsk tsk tsk, I’m not a heathen to stoop so low as to lock pick.” he held up one of the many keys in his possession. “I used a key.”

A chuckle left you, accompanied by an eye roll. “Yeah okay, that I didn’t say you could have but it’s you so I’ll let it slip. Now spill cotton tail.”

Jax’s face scrunched up at the name again before moving closer, forcing your ankles to unlock so he could stand between your legs. “I wanted to see if you’d give me the honors of helping in a little mischief. But after seeing your legs I’m not sure if I wanna go cause mischief or stay and admire them in their spread-out glory.”

“The only legs getting spread are yours, cotton tail.” Reaching out you placed a hand on his hip, your fingers easily wrapping around him, your thumb meeting your middle finger on his other hip. “Who do you want to bully now? It better not be Pomni again, that poor girl doesn’t need another scare so soon.”

He swallowed hard, eyes glued to his waist and the way your hand just completely wrapped around him. You’ve done it before but in a setting like this, it just hit differently. “It’s not bullying, she’ll be fiiine.”

Jax cleared his throat and used the arm closest to him as his own armrest, you easily supported his weight as he crossed one foot over the other. He was trying hard to play this whole situation off, he was supposed to be in charge and you’ve gone and taken the upper hand without even trying. “So uh, h-how tall are you now? Ya know, without the box.”

That was a good question.

You gestured for Jax to step back and he did so hesitantly before you pulled yourself up, grumbling at the way your knees hurt from getting off the already low-ass bed. Truly a downside to being taller than the furniture here, something you didn’t experience until you started taking breaks outside the box.

Jax let out a string of unintelligible words as you stood to your full height. He knew you were big before but you were a lot taller than he thought you’d be, god his neck already hurt. Is this how Pomni felt standing next to him? God, you could just, break him…

“Penny for your thoughts?”

You tried not to look so smug, but god damn if it wasn’t satisfying to see such a thirsty yet bewildered expression on the usually smug rabbit’s face. Truthfully you weren’t too sure just how tiny Jax would be at your full height, he’d already seemed small before but now you could just toss him like a Javelin spear.

“I take that back, sit your ass down.”

“Make me.” You crossed your arms with a grin and simply watched him curiously.

“Don’t think I won’t climb your raggedy ass and—”

“And what cotton tail?” He flinched when you bent down to get in his face. “Can’t knock me down if you climb me, not that you could on the ground either.”

Jax chuckled nervously but didn’t back down. “Oh yeah? Wanna try?”

Looks like causing mischief would be put on hold for an hour or two.

[offtorivendell]

The possible significance of Azriel and Elain Archeron, the Embrace of Solas and Cthona, the paired blades Gwydion and Truth-Teller, and thin places; a theory

Disclaimer: this is a theory that came to me while reading HOFAS, and as usual it makes absolutely no claim of being canon. It builds on past theories that my friends and I have written about Elain, Azriel, the revival of certain lands, the blades Truth-Teller and Gwydion, and brings in some new info from the latest CC book. It also won't be my best effort, as time is currently lacking. I meant to get this out for @elriel-month but yeah, that didn't happen lol. As usual, rambles and overly long sentences ahead. Sorry!

Thanks as always go out to @wingedblooms and @silverlinedeyes for listening to me rant, and believing me when I say I'll actually get around to writing out my thoughts, even though it takes me ages. I love that so many of our theories tie in well together - please check out their theories, too!

Spoilers: Maasverse spoilers ahead, please proceed with caution if you haven't finished reading.

Gwydion (aka the Starsword) and Truth-Teller; the Made blades

In CC 1 we got a brief description of the stylised version of the Embrace of Solas and Cthona as a necklace, worn by Bryce's mother, Ember:

Five minutes after Bryce got there, Jesiba’s client—a raging asshole of a leopard shifter who believed he was entitled to put his paws all over her ass—prowled in and purchased a small statue of Solas and Cthona, portrayed as a sun with male features burying his face in a pair of mountain-shaped breasts. The holy image was known simply as the Embrace. Her mother even wore its simplified symbol—a circle nestled atop two triangles—as a silver pendant. But Bryce had always found the Embrace cheesy and cliché in every incarnation. - CC HOEAB, chapter 22

Firstly, could this be the (hypothetical) wyrdmark on the left shoulder of the figure on the HOFAS cover? The two mountains are there, but the mark between them isn't exactly a circle, so it's not blatantly obvious, but it's possible (I'd love it if the marks on her arms represented the different gods, or Urd in all of her forms). Perhaps light and dark light cancel each other out in some way? And how relevant will the spiral mark be? Does it represent a vortex/portal opening? Or is it the Cauldron's swirling eddies?

Secondly, I also think the two mountains/triangles and the circle/dot in between them look a little like a basic depiction of Gwydion/the Starsword and Truth-Teller (ie. the points of two blades) with a black dot/black hole/portal to nowhere. It's not exact, because the triangles aren't meeting at the tips, so I'm not super confident in it, but I don't think it's impossible, and it could tie back into the six pointed star, and three pairs of powers gathering in the space where they meet. I promise I'm not trying to claim every little thing for Elriel, and given Nesta has her own trio of Made blades, I suspect they could also be relevant here (if Narben is also found, then there would be six blades for the six siblings and six star points), but as Azriel and Elain were the first two to use Truth-Teller (in recent history), I think it's fair to consider their specific importance here.

Elain, Azriel and the Made blades

I've previously suggested that Elain may have powered Truth-Teller with her light, in order to pierce the fabric of the universe before shadow walking to save Nesta and Cassian in ACOWAR (here and here); this is a theory which is not unique to me, as quite a few of my friends think at least some version of it may be true. However, I believe that what we learnt in HOFAS about “thin places,” and the paired blades Gwydion (the Starsword) and Truth-Teller, could take this a step or three further.

To recap as briefly as possible, Elain previously used Truth-Teller to shadow walk in ACOWAR, and we have since had hints that she may use it again in the future. There are many questions left unanswered about Elain's successful use of what we now know is a Made blade, so we'll have to wait and see.

“You honestly think he’d ever give up Truth-Teller?” “He gave it to Elain,” Mor said, admiring a moonstone necklace in the counter’s glass case. “She gave it back,” I amended, failing to block out the image of the black blade piercing through the King of Hybern’s throat. But Elain had given it back—had pressed it into Azriel’s hands after the battle, just as he had pressed it into hers before. And then walked away without looking back. Mor hummed to herself. - ACOFAS, chapter 4

As a brief aside, there are also moments tying Elain to the shadows (whether or not it ends up being Azriel's shadows specifically, her own, or the Void in general remains to be seen), and I think we could find out that the middle Archeron sister, who is canonically observant and wise, may have learnt by watching.

Behind me, Mor took Nesta and Cassian by the hand, readying to winnow them to the camp, while shadows gathered around Azriel, Elain at his side, wide-eyed at the spymaster’s display. - ACOWAR, chapter 50

Does Elain hear Azriel's shadows singing, and can she and Azriel privately communicate this way?

Did she also hear his siphon singing beautifully in ACOWAR? Perhaps as kin?

The Truth-Teller scene in ACOWAR, below, was also important enough to be included in the ACOTAR Colouring Book.

She refused the knife Cassian handed her, though. Went white as death at the sight of it. Azriel, still limping, merely nudged aside Cassian and extended another option. “This is Truth-Teller,” he told her softly. “I won’t be using it today—so I want you to.” His wings had healed—though long, thin scars now raked down them. Still not strong enough, Madja had warned him, to fly today. The argument with Rhys this morning had been swift and brutal: Azriel insisted he could fly—fight with the legions, as they’d planned. Rhys refused. Cassian refused. Azriel threatened to slip into shadow and fight anyway. Rhys merely said that if he so much as tried, he’d chain Azriel to a tree. And Azriel … It was only when Mor had entered the tent and begged him—begged him with tears in her eyes—that he relented. Agreed to be eyes and ears and nothing else. And now, standing amongst the sighing meadow grasses in his Illyrian armor, all seven Siphons gleaming … Elain’s eyes widened at the obsidian-hilted blade in Azriel’s scarred hand. The runes on the dark scabbard. “It has never failed me once,” the shadowsinger said, the midday sun devoured by the dark blade. “Some people say it is magic and will always strike true.” He gently took her hand and pressed the hilt of the legendary blade into it. “It will serve you well.” “I—I don’t know how to use it—” “I’ll make sure you don’t have to,” I said, grass crunching as I stepped closer. Elain weighed my words … and slowly closed her fingers around the blade. Cassian gawked at Azriel, and I wondered how often Azriel had lent out that blade— Never, Rhys said from where he finished buckling on his own weapons against the side of the wagon. I have never once seen Azriel let another person touch that knife. Elain looked up at Azriel, their eyes meeting, his hand still lingering on the hilt of the blade. I saw the painting in my mind: the lovely fawn, blooming spring vibrant behind her. Standing before Death, shadows and terrors lurking over his shoulder. Light and dark, the space between their bodies a blend of the two. The only bridge of connection … that knife. Paint that when we get home. Busybody. - ACOWAR, chapter 69

Firstly, @silverlinedeyes has a post that details how similar this passage is to the six pointed star scene from HOSAB, and the potential significance of it with regards to magical balance and the gathering of power(s). It's outlandish, but I think it could be important for any travels to Hel or beyond that the IC may undertake.

Secondly, I find it really interesting that Elain said to Feyre she didn't know how to "use" Truth-Teller; what if she meant she didn't know how to use it magically? I suspect it's possible that Elain didn't open a portal to nowhere (which appears to require both of the paired blades - perhaps their singing wavelengths cancel each other out?), but rather she created a portal to somewhere, and that's how she shadow walked across the battlefield in ACOWAR (aka she "slipped into shadow" and fought anyway). However, as we all heard her say that she didn't know how to use Truth-Teller, but then did, she obviously figured at least some of it out.

Alternatively, as @wingedblooms, @mrspettyferr, @cassianfanclub and myself have all wondered, did she possibly have some help?!

Was it Azriel, who told us in his ACOSF bonus chapter that he didn't need his shadows to read Elain?

Perhaps is was Nuala or Cerridwen, or maybe even Rhys?

Was it Koschei, the Mother, or a prince of Hel who gave Elain a helping hand?

Even then, how did Elain (hypothetically, of course) activate Truth-Teller? Just like Ruhn found Gwydion and Bryce accessed its magic, so I suspect Azriel found Truth-Teller, but it was Elain who first truly used its power (whereas Nesta, who was at the time full of the Cauldron's death magic, appeared to use it as a simple blade, hastening the king's death after Elain struck a fatal blow). Was it because her light stood in for Gwydion’s own magic and charged it? Is that why Azriel - who I have long thought may have Starborn heritage hidden underneath his shadows - has dark light, or shadows, instead of light? Is Truth-Teller actually devouring his light? Or - less likely - could the obsidian (wyrdstone?) blade be possessed by a Valg, or similar being? Though I'm less certain about that last point, as I wouldn't be surprised if the king of Hybern was possessed by a Valg (or similar) type creature, maybe a Daglan, and if that was the case then why would Truth-Teller decide to behave for Elain, unless the Valg* and Asteri/Daglan are enemies… anyway!

*What we learnt in HOFAS, about the blackest salt/obsidian drawing in the princes of Hel (while simultaneously repelling the Asteri/Daglan) makes me wonder about their possible ties to the Valg from TOG, who used obsidian wyrdstone rings and collars as a way to possess host bodies.

I'm not sure. I've been thinking about this a lot lately, because I think Truth-Teller and Gwydion could be stand ins for Elain and Azriel (not necessarily in that order, though I do think a dagger suits Elain better than a sword does in terms of function); a bond needing to be reforged between them has always screamed “renewed shall be blade that was broken” to me (the Ballad of Strider), and the Truth-Teller scene could be suggesting that the grey - as in the blend of light and dark - could be a thin place between them. It would follow that this imagery, albeit very loosely, could be evoking The Embrace of Solas and Cthona, which Ember wears as a necklace, and that could possibly be a wyrdmark on the cover of HOFAS.

“Light and dark, the space between their bodies a blend of the two..." Just seems so relevant here.

Cthona and Solas represent dark and light.

Gwydion/the Starsword and Truth-Teller are (bright) light and dark light.

Azriel and Elain are dark and light... or perhaps light and dark?

Are Void and Chaos (the Mother?) involved?

Is the statue of the primal goddess that Nesta notices in ACOSF another hint here?

If being carranam ties into this, would it include Feysand and Nessian?

Light and dark have grey in between them, and the thin places are described as “gray.” Elain was even engaged to a man named "Graysen" for crying out loud; his family’s colour was even cobalt. I would be so surprised if all of this ends up meaning absolutely nothing in terms of her story.

How could Elain and Azriel stand in for Cthona and Solas when Elain is light and Azriel is darkness?

I could definitely be wrong, but instead of purely life, I (and @wingedblooms) prefer to think of Elain as rebirth, which inherently straddles the murky realm between life and death - the grey between light and dark (and grey) - and beautifully fits with her role as a gardener (relevant theories are here, here, here and here), the Book of Breathings rambling about "rot and bloom and bone," her position as the middle Archeron sister, her ability to blend quietly into the background, and definitely the grey of dawn and dusk. Azriel, though? The one Feyre described as the knife in the dark? Well, he has shadows that can brighten into sunlight, and I suspect that may have been what Elain was referring to in ACOWAR, when she said she needed sunshine.

So...

Azriel's shadows lightening into sunshine: Solas.

Elain and her many ties to the earth: Cthona.

I'm unsure if this is trying to tell us that Azriel will be the stand-in for Truth-Teller, because he is "dark light"/has shadowsinging abilities, while Elain is represented by Gwydion due to her prominent (so far) association with hope or brighter light, or whether it's the other way around, and we're actually being told that, while Elain appears to be light and warmth personified, in the future she will carry Truth-Teller, the blade that is her apparent opposite, as Azriel will wield Gwydion* (if they both end up having surprise powers, being able to swap between light and dark). It's all very murky, one might say a grey area. But I do think it likely that Elain and Azriel will each end up carrying either a blade that represents themself or their partner in some way.

* Yes, I know that Bryce gave Gwydion to Nesta, but she already has her own trio of Made blades. If I'm putting money on who will wield it, I think it will be Azriel, Elain or Feyre.

Thin places and Made blades

Before HOFAS was published @cassianfanclub and I had discussed the - we thought - insane possibility of the differently coloured mountain rock in Prythian being significant in terms of their possible salt content, and that it could be no coincidence that the black and grey rock of the Hewn City was in proximity to a known appearance of one “Lord Thanatos.”

Black salts were used for summoning demons directly—bypassing the Northern Rift entirely—or for various dark spellwork. A salt that went beyond black, a salt like the obsidian … It could summon something big. - CC HOEAB, chapter 18

Bryce stiffened at the moldy, rotten earth scent that crept from the bundle as he unfolded the fabric to reveal a handful of rust-colored salt. “What the fuck is that?” Ithan asked. “Bloodsalt,” Bryce breathed. Tharion looked to her in question, but she didn’t bother to explain more. Blood for life, blood for death—it was summoning salt infused with the blood from a laboring mother’s sex and blood from a dying male’s throat. The two great transitions of a soul in and out of this world. But to use it here … “You can’t mean to add that to their water,” Bryce said to the Astronomer. The old male hobbled back down the ramp. “Their tanks already contain white salts. The bloodsalt will merely pinpoint their search.” - CC HOSAB, chapter 38

Mor went right up to the obsidian dais, and I halted at the foot of the steps as she took up a place beside the throne and said to the crowd in a voice that was clear and cruel and cunning, “Your High Lord approaches. He is in a foul mood, so I suggest being on your best behavior—unless you wish to be the evening entertainment.” - ACOMAF, chapter 42

The mountain underneath the House of Wind - the one that houses the library in which I think a certain cat-like darkness could be a prince of Hel - contains both red stone and obsidian doors, with veins of silver running throughout (which reads like hope in the void, like the Velaris Weaver's tapestry, and I suspect may be important for Elain's journey, given she is frequently associated with hope).

Rhys stepped into a hall at the foot of the stairs, revealing a wide passageway of carved red stone and a sealed set of obsidian doors, veins of silver running throughout. Beautiful—terrifying. Like some great beast was kept behind them. - ACOWAR, chapter 20

If @silverlinedeyes, @wingedblooms, @ladynightcourt, @cassianfanclub, @psychologynerd and I are right that Clotho and some of her priestesses are involved in something massive, and have been contacting at least one of the princes of Hel, this would make sense! Black salt to summon something big, and red salt to pinpoint their search. And obsidian doors?!

We then learnt the following in CC HOFAS:

“The black salt, in such high quantity, keeps them away. They never realized that its presence drew us as much as it repelled them,” Apollion said with satisfaction. “It has the same properties that made us immune to the thrall of their black crowns.” - CC HOFAS, chapter

“The black salt only repels the Asteri; the mists repel everyone else. But certain people, with certain gifts, can access the power of thin places—on any world. World-walkers.” Aidas gestured gracefully to Bryce. “You are one of them. So were Helena and Theia. Their natural abilities lent themselves to moving through the mists.” - CC HOFAS, chapter

Elain is almost certainly a world walker - doe eyes searching across the world! - and Azriel may be one as well, but what if it is everyone who can winnow? Or just those like them, with a deeper affinity to the Void? And are they walking thin places themselves/as a partnership (remember the charged glance they shared last winter solstice), or do they just have a natural ability to make use of those which exist in the wild? Or is it some combination of the above?

Additionally, the obsidian hilts of Truth-Teller and Gwydion appear to be incredibly important here. In addition to the possibility that the Illyrian runes Truth-Teller carries on its scabbard may in reality be wyrdmarks, what if the obsidian hilts both summon the bearer in a way that allows them to access the void/murky realm and provides protection from any prying Asteri/Daglan eyes? Are the hilts made from wyrdstone? What about Koschei? Is Truth-Teller the reason his magic captured Cassian instead of Azriel in ACOSF?

There are so many possibilities beyond shipping, though given this is romantasy we know the relationships are more important to the story than your average romantic side plot, so we really can't separate the two while theorising. But either way, I'm so excited to see where this leads, and if we'll finally get detailed information about the gods in each or SJM's worlds, and how they may function throughout her extensive literary universe.

If you've made it this far, thank you for reading!

[autisticlancemcclain]

pt one

———

Hunk’s phone rings. Loudly. Since he is the pinnacle of grace and benevolence, he spares one hand, eyes still trained firmly on the other hand pressing a screwdriver onto a delicate wire joint to hold it steady, to blindly pat about on his workbench until it closes around the device. He jabs a finger on the screen until the ringing ceases.

“Yah,” he says, not bothering with hellos. He’s busy.

“Handle your person,” Shiro hisses, then immediately hangs up.

Hunk snorts. Someone’s nap was disturbed.

He turns back to his project, sighing as he wraps it up. He doesn’t have long. If he can just solder this last wire, get that last connection in, it’ll be way easier to —

Lance kicks open his door, walking in screaming.

“Hello,” Hunk greets idly. And largely sarcastically, he will admit. Lance continues his wordless yell, vocalizing at the very top of his lungs, muffled only when he throws himself on Hunk’s bed and buries himself in Hunk’s pillow. “Shiro tells me you’re terrorizing people.”

“His skull is fucking solid!” Lance screeches.

Hunk does not need to ask to whom Lance is referring. He does, however, pause what he’s doing immediately, spinning around slowly in his chair with his fingertips pressed together like every eighties cartoon villain. His smile can only really be described as gleeful. Perhaps diabolical if he stretches.

He is entirely unapologetic.

“And what happened this time,” Hunk questions, adopting his very best therapy voice. It must work, because Lance shoots up, face bright candy red, wicked snarl pulling on his lips. When he speaks again his voice is carefully controlled and dripping with rage.

“It is beyond hinting, Kealoha. I have practically laid myself at his feet and begged him to ravish me, and he still does not get it. I am going to fucking wring his neck.”

Hunk hums thoughtfully. “Well, that is probably what it’s going to take.” At Lance’s raised eyebrow, he rushes to clarify — “Throwing yourself at his feet, I mean. Don’t strangle him. At least not before I can see it.”

Lance groans loudly. This time when he flops back on Hunk’s mattress he is more miserable than rageful, like a scolded chihuahua. Hunk considers telling him that and then remembers that he’s quite fond of his limbs where they are.

“I know he likes me,” Lance grumbles. “He’s just a dumbass. Like, yesterday he had to go into a healing pod because I did those leg stretches in front of him and he walked into the wall and broke his nose. And last week he said I smelled good and no straight people say stupid shit like that. And when I flirted with that princess on our last mission I was lowkey worried he was gonna jump her, or something. He went all big bad Galra growly and everything.”

Hunk inclines his head. “This is true.”

It is true. Well, he didn’t know the broken nose thing — although that’s hilarious and he will be sharing that information with the class when prudent — and he hasn’t witnessed many of the specific brands of Keith and Lance dumbassery, since they spend so much time on their own, but he, like, has eyes. Keith wants Lance so bad it’s actually embarrassing. Hunk’s not one to generally agree with Lance, since it’s his God-given right to humble him at any opportunity, but that boy is oblivious unlike any other. He understands that Keith is emotionally stunted due to the ordeal of being orphaned, and to Keith he leaves his highest sympathies, but also Jesus Christ, dude. How many times are you going to be wrought with jealousy before you go oh, duh, I might be in love with this goober.

Maybe Shiro hasn’t had the talk with him yet. Hunk makes a mental note to follow up.

“—it’s just that I don’t understand,” Lance laments.

Hunk blinks back to the conversation, where Lance has clearly taken it upon himself to wax poetic and inspire woe upon himself once more.

Hunk stills. An idea wiggles its delightful little way through his brain. He holds up his phone, pointed at Lance’s prone and desolate form.

God, he loves his brain. He loves meddling. He loves love and life, basically.

“I just,” Lance sighs, and to his endless credit he sounds genuinely torn-up, for all his melodrama. “I wish I could just tell him, I guess. In some way. I wish I could get it through his fool head that he is loved by me particularly in such a way that I want to hold hands and kiss and generally be nuisances of the affectionate kind. You know, romance.”

Hunk hums with great understanding. “I see. And say you were not plagued with chronic anxiety and an unfortunate tendency to glow in your face region if someone so much as insinuates in any capacity that they care about you — what would you say to this paramour of yours?”

Lance tilts his head consideringly. His eyes are big and brown and pouty, like a scorned puppy. It’s adorable, in a pathetic kind of way. Hunk cannot help but pat him delicately on the knee.

“I suppose,” he huffs, “that I would just say it outright. Keith Kogane, you magnanimous dumbass, would it kill you to ask me out like a man. Something like that.”

“You could also ask him out like a man,” Hunk points out.

“Choke and die,” Lance responds, predictably. Hunk pays him again.

Hunk stops the recording and tucks his phone back in his pocket. He will decide how to handle the situation shortly.

…After he makes several copies and distributes them to the team. Obviously. Hunk’s excellent advice and matchmaking skills isn’t free, after all.

Lance whines again. “Why is my life so sick and twisted.”

Hunk chooses against reminding Lance that they are in the very beginning of the process of dismantling the worst tyranny the universe has ever seen, and of all the things in his life to be sick and twisted his dweeby romance is probably not one of them. Because that would be a huge buzzkill, obviously. Instead he delicately and a touch condescendingly pats Lance on the head. Lance leans into the touch, because he is a massive sweetheart and dork and nerd, and Hunk can’t help but smile widely.

“All will work out,” he says ominously. “I’ll make sure of it.”

“Blah,” Lance says.

Hunk smiles wider.

[cocobeanncteez]

Song Series One-shot: Choi Jongho - All I Have by EMO and Oskar Cyms

Genre: angst, idol au, established relationship

Pairing: ateez Jongho x idol!reader (f)

Word Count: 1.2k

Warnings: none

Disclaimer: Please note that my Song Series One-shots are purely based on how I personally interpret the lyrics of the songs I chose for this series. It is not based on the music video (if it has one).

Walking along the beach at dusk, you could feel the weight of the world pressing down on your shoulders. The waves crashed gently, leaving footprints that were quickly washed away, much like the memories you shared with Jongho.

He was walking beside you, his hands buried deep in his pockets, eyes fixed on the horizon, half his face covered by a black mask. The silence between you two was heavy, filled with unspoken words and lingering emotions.

"Jongho," you began, your voice trembling. "Do you ever think about what we had?"

He stopped and turned to look at you, his eyes searching yours for a moment before he replied. "Every day, Y/N. But it feels like we’ve drifted too far apart."

Being an idol wasn't easy by any means. It also didn't help that your company was based in the absolute opposite side of the city, far away from Jongho's.

You had been dating for two years now, and Ateez was finally, gradually receiving the recognition they deserved, which means that Jongho's schedule was busier than usual.

This was a very rare occasion where both you and Jongho had some time off; he just finished recording for the next album, and your group got back from your Asia tour only yesterday. Usually, you wouldn't see Jongho this early due to your exhaustion, but you pushed that aside to see him, even if it was only for an hour or two.

The weather was chilly, so the two of you decided to meet up at a beach in the evening, knowing there wouldn't be many people at the beach on a cold day, especially since it was further away from the city.

You felt a pang in your heart, the realization hitting you hard that maybe your relationship with Jongho was coming to an end. "I need you, Jongho. I need you now more than ever," you murmured, looking down at your shoes so that he couldn't see your teary eyes.

You had poured your heart and soul into this relationship. Spending time with each other was sadly neither in your control nor in his. But every free moment you got, you never hesitated to tell Jongho about it, to check that maybe, just maybe he would be free for a little while too.

Jongho was different, though. As much as he wanted to see you when he was free, he was too exhausted to do so. It didn't help that you both were far away from each other. He only ever told you that he's free when he had a full day off.

Jongho sighed, the sound filled with regret and longing. "I know. It’s been so hard, feeling like nothing is the same anymore, and our busy lives. But something's holding us back, and I don't know how to fix it."

It just wasn't working out anymore.

You reached out and touched his hand, feeling the warmth of his skin despite the chilly weather. "I gave you all I had. I want to be with you through all of this. I want to support you, support us."

Jongho shook his head slowly. "Is there a way to make it right? Was there ever a chance for us to truly make it through, Jongho?" You questioned, gulping.

"Right now... all I see are fleeting moments, Y/N, that are slipping away too quickly."

Tears welled up in your eyes as you listened to his words. "I thought we could find a way, Jongho. I thought love was enough," you said, the tears now falling down, absorbing into your own face mask.

He took a deep breath, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. "Can we really find our way out of this, Y/N? Because I feel lost, like I’m wandering further away from what we had, chasing promises that never really happen."

Jongho blinked, the tears escaping his eyes. He didn't want to give up on you, but he didn't want to hold you back. He blamed himself a lot for not being able to see you more often, for not telling you he had a little free time in the middle of the day, for not be able to hold you, to kiss you, to tell you you're doing well in such a harsh industry, to comfort you when pratice gets overwhelming, to be someone you can lean on when life gets tough.

He used to be able to do that before, but now he couldn't give you that anymore despite how badly he wanted to.

You stepped closer, wrapping your arms around him, feeling his heartbeat against your chest. "We'll find our way out together. I promise. I gave you all I have, and I'll keep giving. Just don’t walk away, please..."

Jongho held you tightly, his voice barely above a whisper. "I want to believe that. I really do. But I just don’t know if we can break free."

Truthfully, you knew you had to let go. For him. For yourself. Love isn't enough to keep this going.

But you loved him. You were so in love with him as you've been for two years now. You didn't want to give up.

Before you could say anything, he continued, "I can't give up on you, Y/N. I know I should, and I know that's what's best for you cause I can't be there for you the way I was before, and I'm just not good enough for—"

"Shh," you interrupted him, taking his hands in yours. The sound of the waves against the damp sand seemed louder now. "You being here with me is enough, Jongho. Fighting for me, for us, is enough."

Something had to change to make this relationship work, but the two of you weren't sure what to do.

As the night grew darker, you stood there, holding each other, hoping that somehow, you could find a way back to the love you once knew.

The waves continued to crash, erasing the footprints behind you, but you held onto the hope that new ones could be made.

[eternadreeblissa]

I was in the middle of brainstorming with Madra (nickname i have for @gliphyartfan ) and as I was rambling with her I just had a thought.

How many years would pass before they meet Ava?

Cuz like, if you're gonna look at canon, they're just ACQUAINTANCES so far. They all met slowly by pairs, and as they go along together, they slowly met the rest, until eventually the start of the LU comic finally happens.

But even then, even with the unknown amount of time they all spent with their partners before they met the rest of the group we know them by now, none of them know what had happened to the other during their journeys. I'm talking about very intimate and personal stuff. They could joke some references about it but the full deets? Zipped, locked in a chest buried to the ground 12 feet under.

They're still trying to adjust as they all go on this quest they have. Theyre treading carefully about pasts and secrets and doing their best to be all buddy buddy without risking accidentally setting off sensitive things within the group. Heck, they'd rather not reveal any of them at all.

Why am I mentioning this? Cuz in fanon, we write the chain as if they're very, very close. It's like a lot of time has passed and they all went through a lot of stuff together that theyre all brotherly bonding and everything. Altho ofc this could vary between AUs and stories, the general, majority of what ive seen is that the chain are much closer already than they supposedly are in canon. And this extends to the (yandere) LU x reader community (i think).

I will admit I myself have gotten used to the chain being really close, that theyre like a family and share each other's burdens. So sometimes reading the comic gives me a raincheck cuz theyre still at the acquaintance stages IHSRIUGFRTH That said it's not bad if theyre closer in fanon. I like them when theyre closer. And honestly it's preferrable if they are closer and not acquaintances. Cuz my content will eventually go on some yandere harem themes, one heavily inspired by @gliphyartfan and @yanderelinkeduniverse kind of yandere harem as the chain. Where basically the chain would be united to protect and love darling and put aside their rivalries and whatnot for her sake. If I followed canon and theyre just acquaintances, theyre less likely to eventually unite cuz they dont know these people that well yet, and worse it may destroy any possible future family brotherly bonds they would have. So yeah to make this yandere harem work they gotta at least be closer than canon.

So since I made my decision, it begs the question I just asked earlier, but maybe I should word it better: how much time would have to pass enough for the chain to get close enough before they reach Ava?

It MAYBE would sound like a stretch, but I'm GUESSING it'll be 2-3 or 4-5 years.

Bcs think about it; in canon theyre only acquaintances so far and they JUST learned about Twilight being Wolfie. Legend being a bunny, Four being able to split, those were revealed to only one individual. Theres still secrets not revealed yet and especially big revelations like Sky possibly blaming himself for being the reason the heroes, like him, will be living forever to save Hyrule but suffer a life of loneliness and loss and possibly trauma, or that Time also caused another timeline where he failed to save Hyrule.

Do you think all of the secrets, all of the trenches that every hero has went through, would all of that happen in one year? With how well guarded they are and how theyd rather not talk about their secrets almost forever? No soul to reveal it to?? Well some probs wants to share a lil but the fact of the matter is, is that theyre gonna be vulnerable and theyre gonna open up. But its gonna be a while so really, they cant know each other well enough in one year. In one year, at most, it would be the times during the start of LU Comic and so far and it's not enough I think that they would be sharing burdens and pain and whatnot. Theyre comfy with each other, they cant rlly be that intimate or close about trauma or deep personal secrets just yet. They throw little references of secrets here and there, but the full details are locked in.

So If theyre gonna know each other, like how fanon interprets them in majority of the fanfics, or in the PROCESS of getting to know each other, itll take at least 2-3 years. But it could also possibly more than that. They have a whole package of secrets and things they went through they carry around individually, and there might be some secrets that will never get to be revealed in the end. 2-3 years are the LEAST amount of years that gives them the time to know enough secrets like Legend being a bunny, Sky blaming himself and so on. Not all of the revelations or secrets will be revealed, heck said secrets I used as examples may not BE the kind of secrets that will be revealed during those times or, maybe even AFTER several years have passed they still randomly learn things about the other heroes, but at least in 2-3 years its enough for them to know or have some chunks of ideas of what some or most the rest went through in their adventure. If 2-3 is not enough it could go 4-5 years depending on how much I want to be already revealed KHSIUHKUSUHFK

SO, basically, what's gonna happen is that, the chain will be going for about 2-3 years before they meet Ava. Meaning, they're gonna be aged up.

Which would mean everyone would be in their early twenties or mid twenties, and Wind.. might reach tweens??? I forgot the term IUDHGIUSGHFISF

Hold on lemme do the subject that i dont rlly like: math.

Im just gonna google search their INITIAL ages during the start or end of their adventures: starting of with: Wars!

Wars is 17 in Hyrule warriors, roughly at least.

Now here's the thing: Jojo had a Q&A, and the one of the questions she answered she revealed that there was some time that had passed after their adventure BEFORE they went onto their quest with the rest of the chain. And she said Wars finished his adventure 6-7 years ago. So 17 + 6 or 7, hes about 23 to 24 in canon

Then we add the years in the reboot or Ava's story in LU, AKA: the time he spent w the chain before meeting Ava, which is lets say plus 3: my calcu says he'll be 26 or 27

Twilight is also roughly 17 but finished his adventure 4-5 years ago, so he should be about: 21 or 22 in LU Canon.

Plus 3 in reboot: he'll be 24 or 25

Sky is seemingly the same. Idk if he started 17 and then became 18 at the end of his adventure, but he's basically said to be in similar age to Twilight. He finished his adventure 1-2 years ago, so hes either 18 or 19 Plus 3 reboot: 21 or 22

Wild is... Oh boi: 17. But now 117 technically cuz of the sleep thing. He finished his adventure less than a year ago so nothing's changed. But plus 3 reboot has him in: 120, or 20

And then.. Oh blobs.

Legend is gonna be a HEADACHE 😭😭😭😭

Im gonna make a guesstimate 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹

Ok so he had about 4 or 5 adventures

A Link to the Past, Oracle of Seasons, Oracle of Ages, KOHOLINT 😭 (Link's Awakening), A link Between Worlds, Idek if I'm gonna include Hytopia

ALTTP def took a year (I heard smth about a year passing when he finished?... Or there was a year break before Leg went off to OOS.) He was 16 or 17 in ALTTP so during that break or right AFTER he finished he would be about 17 or 18 in OOS.

OOS and OOA i'll hc to have taken under one year at most. So he'll be 19 to 20. And then... There was LA, and ALBW, and if were including it, Hytopia too. Those 2 (or 3 w Hytopia), happened within a year from the looks of things. So Leg will be about 20 to 21.

He finished ALL OF THAT, and had a lil mini break from his adventures for about 1 year Jojo said so plus 1 equals to him being 21 to 22 in Canon LU

Plus 3 in the reboot: 24 or 25 🧍‍♀️

And then.. Hyrule, OHSDFH

Help I searched at google and his first adventure it was said he started at 10 years old TT Then he started his 2nd adventure at 16.. Huh he had a long break before he went on a new one.

Rulie finished his adventure 2 years ago so he should be about 18 in LU canon. Then 3 plus reboot: 21

Next is Four. He's ROUGHLY about 12-15 in the start of his adventure, which his first being in Minish Cap. EDIT: In LU Canon, one of the earlier comics of Jojo, Four said he isn't a child. Implying he's of legal age. So he must be AT LEAST 18. For him to reach that age, he has to be 15 in minish Cap, then four swords must take a year, which makes him 16. So that, and then add what Jojo said he had a break after finishing his adventures for 2 years, that will FINALLY make him 18.

Then finally, plus 3 in the reboot: he would be 21 or 22

And lastly Wind: he is one of the only, or the only honestly, to have canonically dropped an age in the comic and I believe he said he was 12 when he set out. In Jojo's Q&A she said he finished his adventure 1 year ago. That means he's 13 in LU canon, and its further solidified when he said to Malon "I'm almost 14." THEN we add 3 in the reboot: he's simply 16 by then.

No we can't do much with Time. Malon was laughing when the guys guessed he was 60 years old. It's gotta be more than that IGSIUDFGISFG Regardless,.. ugh. He finished his adventure PHYSICIALLY 20 years ago, plus 3 in the reboot... there's 23+ years added to his belt.

Be reminded that the sources I got are from google and the people who stated these ages were also guesstimating everything. So you don't have to take these seriously or just take it with a grain of salt. But regardless, I'll be using these ages in Ava's story/ Ava LU Reboot... I might also apply these ages in my other stories Ava has with the chain-

Okay but with all their ages settled (mostly), do you know what all this realization means to me.

...I might be redesigning the chain...

Wish me luck guys. 🥹

[magniloquent-raven]

okay i have SO many questions 😂 the way stede just sort of off-handedly goes "yeah i know" like. HOW does he know though. not that ed shot izzy but that he did it after izzy dropped an l-bomb

cuz like. the two scenarios coming to mind are: izzy has been drunk off his ass since it happened so he's just been mopey and telling EVERYONE. literally anyone who will listen. he's been going around like "hey. y'know what ed did when i said i loved him? he SHOT ME." everyone on the crew has heard the story. four times. every seagull that's landed on the ship has to listen to it. he cries to his own reflection about it.

OR ed told stede.

because him and izzy are the only two people who know about the conversation they had BEFORE the bit where ed came out of the captains cabin and started waving a gun around. so.

idk man, how would that conversation have even gone??? ed seemed to barely register izzy's confession in the moment, purposefully, yeah, he was brushing it off deliberately, but he has such hangups about being loved it would have stuck with him whether he wanted it to or not.

it just seems like a thing ed would have buried and decided never to talk about, and the idea that he might have told stede is driving me insane. he barely let stede say the word love, he's made it pretty clear it's hard for him to hear, but it's also a thing he NEEDS to hear, so i can't help but think he might've brought it up hoping to goad stede into saying it again. just. a thinly-veiled excuse to bring up the topic of love, watching stede out of the corner of his eye trying to play it casual but sweating a little and hoping stede gets the hint.

[baiwu-jinji]

I'm so very late to the party but finally finished listening to TGCF audio drama season 1, love how intense the last two episodes are :3 Here are some incoherent thoughts about some of the episodes I haven't talked about:

Episode 12: It occurred to me when I'm listening to this episode that the ghosts of Ghost City are always so lively and bubbly, always laughing and flirting and teasing, when most of them must've had a tragic life story with unresolved misfortunes that caused them to turn into ghosts in the first place. Their high spirits feels incongruous with their tragic past, but maybe it's because they're happier as ghosts than as humans?

There's a ghost called 红粉骷髅 (literally "skeleton of beautiful woman") in this episode that finds afterlife much more liberating and satisfying than life itself, as she recites the following poem when she's dancing: "I danced for others in life, nobody buried my bones when I died; I sing for myself after death, my beauty moves the netherworld."

(The name 红粉骷髅 actually comes from a Buddhist story where the Bodhisattva Guanyin turns into a beautiful woman to make love to men but would suddenly turn into a skeleton in the process, scaring the men into realising that the most alluring beauty in the world is but ashes and bones and ghastly in death, and that they shouldn't give in to temptations.)

Episode 13: Hua Cheng tells Xie Lian that he doesn't look at the wishes of his believers and just throws them away because he doesn't care about being worshipped. This just shows the difference between Hua Cheng and Jun Wu: although they both desire power, Hua Cheng only wants power in himself and over his own fate, while Jun Wu wants power over others. The conversation between HC and XL is as follows:

HC: It's better to help yourself than ask the help of others. If you want to climb out of the abyss, what use is it to look to others? Others won't come to save you every time.

XL: That's why you need gods.

HC: But if everyone counts on the god, what about the god? Wouldn't the god get tired?

XL: But you must have many believers. If you turn a blind eye to their prayers, won't they consider you to be ineffectual?

HC: I didn't ask them to worship me, they kneeled before me without my permission. Besides, only those who happen to have their wishes granted would dare to talk about it - those who don't wouldn't dare to complain.

Episode 17: Xie Lian tells Lang Qianqiu that he named his sword technique which he uses to break up a clash by diverting all the harm to himself "wuming" (meaning "nameless") - a fitting name because the technique is about the negation of the self, and sacrificing oneself to endure it all. "Wuming" is also the name Hua Cheng took when he followed Xie Lian after the fall of Xianle and eventually sacrificed himself to protect Xie Lian.

Episode 18: When Xie Lian worries that telling Lang Qianqiu the truth would make Lang Qianqiu question everything XL taught him and cease to be the courageous and honourable person that he is, Hua Cheng asks XL to trust in LQQ's innate moral strength. I like what HC said to XL about LQQ:

"If you value him so much, then why can't you trust him? Trust that since he's the one you chose, he won't lose himself in hatred and will eventually do what he should do, even though he once wanted to destroy the whole world out of hate."

HC is asking XL to have faith in LQQ the same way that HC has always had faith in XL.

There's also something I wonder about the situation between Xie Lian and Lang Qianqiu. LQQ's parents were murdered by the resentful ghosts of the people of Xianle, and XL took the blame for the Gilded Banquet massacre because he didn't want LQQ to think that he tried to save those resentful ghosts in vain, that LQQ's good will towards the resentful ghosts was met with hatred and revenge. But has it occurred to XL that his own supposed "betrayal" would've hurt LQQ equally much? Would LQQ really feel better if instead of the resentful ghosts, it's his teacher whom he admired and respected so much that had betrayed him?

[mik0is0bored]

I remember when I saw chapter 266 and Yuji said "it'll be lonely without you, Fushiguro" me and my friend both thought Yuji was saying goodbye to Megumi, which I honestly hoped I was wrong.

Now chapter 268, It's one of the few times I was glad that I was wrong. The whole "Just once more... I think I wanna try living for someone else." is not only something I can easily relate to, but I also can't help but wonder who he's implying this to when he says "living for someone else" yuji and nobara? Just yuji?

Both of those seem like really reasonable answers to my question. Because Megumi from the start had this mindset of "I'd die for you" towards Yuji, and even in the fight with Hanami in season 1 (forgot the chapter) Megumi says "if you die again ill kill you." I swear the love/respect he shows yuji is absolutely one of my favorite things in the whole existence of Jujutsu Kaisen. The relationships in this show/manga is absolutely beautiful (some more than others).

The thing I love most about 268? Is not only the fact Megumi chooses to live, after what Yuji said, and his own decision of course, and after his body being taken over, and during this, Tsumiki is killed, Gojo is killed, and he really has no will left to live, he's smiling.

Of course, it's because of the note Gojo wrote to Megumi that said: "Unfortunately, your daddy’s dead and buried! ‘Cuz I killed the dude!"

But from what we seen of Megumi in 268, it's honestly something I'm relating to heavily and it gets me emotional for some reason.

He couldn't and can't find a reason to keep living, for himself. Along with his "I'd die for you" mindset for Yuji, he had the mindset of "I couldn't care less if I lived or died", so if he truly had the decision, he wouldn't have continued living.

Like I said, he couldn't find a reason for himself to continueliving, hence when he said "I think I wanna try living for someone else."

Implying that, he couldn't find a reason for himself, so he chose to keep living for someone else. Someone he more than likely cares deeply about, and didn't want them to be alone. Because he's known for the past however many chapters the loneliness, the emptiness and the nonexistent will to continue living.

Like I said how this chapter makes me emotional, I'm not gonna go too heavily into my own problems, that's for a completely different post.

But the feeling of loneliness, what he said in that one chapter (I forgot what number) "I've had enough" to when he said "I think I wanna try living for someone else.", it's all to familiar for me.

The nonexistent reason for me to keep going for myself. If I was completely alone with absolutely no one, I wouldn't be here right now, more than likely. But I know that my bsf would be lonely if I wasn't around, so that's the reason I keep living, I keep waking up everyday.

I'm living for my friend, not myself. And that's what got me emotional about the chapter, how relatable thar was, how easily I could understand what Megumi was saying mentioning that.

And I know I can't say much here since I'm in my own void of depression myself but if you are feeling similar to this, know that there is people who care about you, who'd miss you if you were gone. That person for me just so happens to be my bsf.

[george228732]

Fylass Through the Looking Glass - Chapter Four - Windows of Remembrance

The knights were leading the gang towards the exit with ease, although Twilight Knight in particular was feeling pretty happy to see them again; Fylass really acknowledged how much he loved them, but sadly, Twilight’s position as a knight didn’t allow him to go with them, even with Dolly’s peaceful kingdom at hand.

Fylass wanted to have a small talk with them, so they silently told the rest of the group to wait for them outside the castle; they agreed, and left them alone with Twilight.

"Hey… How are you?" Twilight spoke up first.

"I am… alright. How are you, too?" Fylass spoke up next.

"Things around here have been pretty nice ever since you… well… you know. I am sorry for not being able to help you back then. I would’ve been devastated to see your head resting on a bloody basket." Fylass remembered what happened back then the last time at the Card Castle, with their head resting on the guillotine, shrouded with fear and hopelessness; sure, they knew this was a dream they had, but that feeling that they might not wake up was still on their mind. 

If they didn’t wake up, what would happen to their friends and family? They would be heartbroken for sure, seeing a Fylass that has stopped breathing, and suddenly having to be buried 6 feet under, and maybe even eventually, forgotten. They felt horrible to let that possibility be true, for they thought they were selfish, for that, for this, and for the things they think they did before. 

"It’s o-okay. Don’t worry about me, I am not mad at all…!" Fylass stopped with that train of thought, to make a reply to the one that they considered their older brother back in the real world.

"U-Uh, sorry. I don’t know why I am acting like this. We’ve only talked a few sentences back then, and yet, I feel like we’ve met for a long time. It’s weird, I know…" 

Fylass was a bit startled by that, but quickly pondered about it; this Twilight Knight was only an effigy of the one Fylass knows pretty well, and even then, it seemed like it was more than that. Was he something else, or was he only the version Fylass wants Twilight to be? They were taking on that "role" perfectly in Fylass’ eyes, but it seemed like this version was taking on that role in a more literal way. 

What could be said about the rest? 

"...Oddly enough, I feel the same way." That wasn’t really a lie, they loved TK with no limits after all.

"Guess I am not weird then, haha…" Twilight chuckled. "Ah, thank you. Here, take this." The knight took out some tickets from behind his cape. "These are some tickets to the Memory Lane Cinema! Dolly gave us quite a lot of them, so I have many more to give, so I thought it would be good to give some of them to a wonderful person like you!" 

"...Wow. Uh… Thank you." Fylass took the tickets with them; they didn’t really know where to use them, but they were happy with them giving off these gifts. It felt real, and that’s what mattered to the kid.

"Hey, uh, I must leave, sorry. Thank you for the gifts, though! I promise to visit you when this is over, okay?" 

"O-Oh! Alrighty! See you, Club- I mean, Fylass!" 

That felt good, although they also felt sad to have to be reassured that things are okay. Things are okay, right?

Fylass walked out of the castle to meet up with the rest of the group.

"So… are we going?" Mikuto said to Fylass.

"Yeah, let’s go."

"Well, FINALLY! Let’s better find a way out!" Banshee spoke up next.

"...Wasn’t your plan to be sent here to avoid responsibility, or did I understand it wrong?" Unicorn remarked in a snarky tone. 

"Oh, shut it!"

The whole group had figured out at this point that these new members wouldn’t be able to comply, or at least, it was sure that Banshee would. Fylass on the other hand, was wondering what did Unicorn mean by that statement, although they weren’t going to ask that question since they thought it would be rude.

"Wait, what’s that in your hand?" Ades asked with curiosity. 

"Oh! Twilight Knight gave me these tickets for the "Memory Lane Cinema". I don’t know where that place is, but either way, that’s surely not important."

"Wait, the Memory Lane Cinema?! That place is amazing! You should visit it one of these days! Besides, I am pretty sure that the place we’re going to is right after it, so, win-win!" Damian spoke.

Fylass was interested in that place, and if what Damian said was true, the kid could take advantage of that. They looked at the rest of their friends, and they noticed that Lucid was pretty interested in that place too. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt too much to do something before sending Lucid to his home, right?

"Maybe we could take a short trip there if that’s the case…" Lucid spoke up.

"Well, if you say so…"

"Ugh, come on. This is just making things slower! We might as well leave you guys so me and Unicorn can find the way out faster!" 

"I am sure that won’t work. The last time we were alone in this world you tried to kill one of the inhabitants of this world because you thought they were a beast. These people surely know how to lead us to an exit, so we can’t lose this chance."

"FINE! But right after we find the exit, you won’t see my face around here!"

"Not if we would want to see you around…" Kurabe murmured under her own breath, although it was loud enough that everyone could hear it. 

"...Wait, what do you mean, find the exit out of this world? You aren’t from Wonderland?" Fylass questioned.

"Uh, no, we aren’t part of this bizarre land." Banshee answered. Fylass tried to rub it off as they meant that they came from another realm, just like Lucid. Maybe Underland too, perhaps? 

"Alright, we’ll try to help you go home too. Promise."

"Thank you. You are pretty noble." Unicorn said.

Fylass felt something; a sense of guilt and regret. They nodded silently, and tried to hide that feeling towards the rest.

"...Are you feeling okay?" Lucid said.

"Yeah, don’t worry. I am fine… Let’s just get going, okay?" 

The group started to walk towards their location, and they ended up having to cross the circus again to get there. The place was just as before, which wouldn’t be surprising on its own, but Fylass had to be wary; even though the place was calm and happy, in Wonderland, everything could happen.

"Heeeeeeeeyyyy!" A voice was heard in the distance, putting some of the cast on edge. They looked behind, and they saw an individual that seemed like Dark Matter, wearing a nutcracker outfit. 

"Oh! Erebus!" Damian spoke up first; Fylass remembered seeing her when hanging out with Damian one of those days; she was quite interesting for sure, a bit scary and somewhat manic, yes, but she didn’t try to kill Fylass or any of their friends, so it shouldn’t be a problem. Guess that Fylass placed her on their head too.

"Why, it isn’t the funny bookworm, Damian!" She snickered as she pulled out a whip just for fun. "Whaddya doin’ around here?"

"Oh! Just trying to help some friends out. We’re trying to get to Underland for a fella right here!" 

"Pfft. That sounds cool, shame that I can’t accompany you since I have to be working to pay in terms of work because apparently "murder isn’t fun". It’s a miracle that I am not in the dungeon!"

"If you keep doing it, I’ll make sure that you will." Ades said with a threatening voice. 

"Oh, woe is me!~ I am soooooo scared!~" She didn’t seem to care that she was talking like that towards three of the four Suit Bearers in the same place; she really was the same as how Fylass remembered her.

Ades sighed. "Let’s just go to the Memory Lane Cinema." Some of the members of the group were moving forward, although some decided to stop. 

"Er, well, excuse me but I think I will stop here!" Selene said with glee. "I am not really that interested in this journey, and considering that the circus reopened, I just want to have some fun with Wisp and the rest of the cats!"

"Oh, sure! No problem. Although, where are they?" Everyone looked in the distance, only to see Wisp trying to chase down Casey and Artemeta, who were terrorizing the visitors thanks to Artemeta’s new appearance.

"...Yeeeeeeah, I better get going. See ya, heehee!" Selene left the group, although no one was sure that she was going to stop them, or join them in mischief.

"Gee, great. Let’s just go." Banshee was losing patience about this, but Fylass tried to walk as fast as possible to their destination, and Lucid was about to smack him down, but only stopped to avoid more discussion; the least he could want at this point was to cause more ruckus, specially with Chaos’ recent attitude; it was strange, as if he remembered something he shouldn’t.

Soon enough, they reached Ades’ domains, which seemed much prettier than before, with the smell of flowers around the area, and a tune resembling jazz echoing through; even though it was pretty, both Ades and Fylass felt a sense of melancholy by only looking at the outside, and both didn’t seem to understand the reason of such, and only being able to keep going to their destination.

"Soooooooo, where do you guys live?" Mikuto asked both Unicorn and Banshee.

"Oh, us? We live in the Saddrac World, although SOMEONE thought that it was a good idea to send us to a random place just to avoid doing their job, and now we are here."

"Well, excuuuuuuuse me for trying to find a way to stop defeating enemies day by day! Things get tiring, you know?!"

"That isn’t an excuse!" 

"...Alllriiiiiiiiighty." Mikuto said, trying to end the conversation."

More and more steps were taken further into the land, until all of them noticed something was off; there was a new path that Fylass knew wasn't there before.

"This path should be it, for sure…"

The way was seemingly quiet, with the music gone, and only the sound of birds chirping was being heard; the surroundings wouldn’t be ones of dread, but rather, ones of a warning, and Fylass had the idea that something was, indeed, wrong.

"...Are you okay, kid?" Lucid asked.

"Oh, I am just… thinking."

"If you need help with something, you can ask us, okay? Just saying."

"...Alright."

It was a surprise seeing that the path of dirt leading our group to their destination was slowly starting to resemble a red carpet, and golden fences started to appear in place, and that’s where they saw it; a black building resembling of a cinema and a skyscraper, with the words "Memory Lane Cinema" embedded on that same carpet; its doors were huge, reaching an entire story when looking correctly.

"...Wow…"

"Weeeelcome!" Another voice had spoken, right next to the entrance, and as Fylass approached it, they could see some of their characteristics; a small dragon of blue ice colors, dark blue spikes and kind, black eyes; this description alone could make it seem like a terrifying foe, but he actually looked pretty friendly, although Lucid seem pretty nervous by his mere presence.

"Oh, hi there…!" Fylass said to them. They realized this person was wearing a suit that resembled one of a rich man, and also resembled a uniform for people working in movie theaters. 

"Welcome to the Memory Lane Cinema! Can I have your tickets, please?" Fylass remembered the tickets they had in hand, and showed them off to the mister. 

"Great! So, all of you can enter. Let me be your guide! My name is Klax, nice to meet you!"

"...N-Nice to meet you too…" Lucid said, stuttering.

The cast decided to enter the movie theater, with Klax as their guide. 

The inside was nothing ordinary in the slightest; it practically resembled a mansion, more than an actual movie theater, with lots of hallways on the sides, with the same red carpet on the floor; walls made from a checkerboard pattern of blue and cyan, and movie posters resembling actual curtains; the posters seemed to be slight alters of ones that Fylass had seen in the real world, some were funny looking, others were slightly disturbing.

"Here, we have an insight on all of the movies you are able to watch endlessly, since they never leave your side! Right there, there’s a counter where you can order popcorn and drinks, from tea, to many more!" Klax remarked, as Chaos, Lucid, Kurabe and Fettuccine felt shivers down their spines; they didn’t want to hear anything related to tea.

"...Well… thinking about my last statement…" Banshee spoke up.

"No. We are not staying here for you to watch some movies. I thought that your main goal was to get out, was it?"

"Oh, come on! Let me have some fun!"

"You’ll have your "fun" when we find out our way out."

"...Fiiiiiiine."

Fylass was even more interested in taking a peek at these films, but that interest peaked when they heard Klax’s new statement.

"Also, down that hallway, is the Memory Lane! A set of rooms where you can watch your closest memories in moving pictures! Those happy memories can be watched again, as long as you enter these rooms! Right there, you can find the exit taking the form of the backdoor!" 

"...What?! That’s possible?! Well, excuse me, I am leaving to see my movie!" Banshee said as he sprinted towards the hallway to find his room, as Unicorn grumbled, sighed, and went towards him in silence.

"...Would that be true? In that case… I think we can take a little break from going to Underland. I need to see something first." Lucid said. 

Fylass nodded in response, as he left. Quickly, the rest of the group left out of curiosity to see their memory rooms; Chaos seemed the most interested though. When Fylass was left alone, they did the same; maybe it was a good idea to take a break, and look at their memory lane. The kid went to the counter, got some popcorn for free, surprisingly, and went towards the same hallway.

Fylass quickly realized this hallway was segmented into many more hallways that seemed to be organized from A-Z, so they figured out that their memory lane would be on F. The kid quickly found it, although, before entering, they were curious about the others’ memory lanes. Klax didn’t state that you weren’t allowed to see memory rooms that aren’t yours, right?

They went towards their hallway to find Fettuccine’s memory room, and they opened the door slightly to see what was inside; the room resembled one of a cinema from the 80’s, and the film was a moment where Fetty was proposed marriage by Meta. Fettuccine was there, silently sobbing tears of joy; she was happy, and so, Fylass was happy.

Afterwards, Fylass went towards Banshee’s memory room; this time, the film was playing a scenario where Banshee was exploring a labyrinth with Unicorn and some other people Fylass didn’t seem to know; Banshee seemed happy, and so, Fylass was happy.

Next, it came to Chaos' room. This time, the film was off, and foggy, only projecting one single image; it was a man, dressed in dark gray clothing, with a golden orb on his chest; the mouth seemingly was moving, but there were no words coming out from it. Chaos was confused, and so, Fylass was too.

Trying to ignore what they just saw, went towards Lucid’s room. The film seemed much older, and it also projected one image; it was Lucid, or well, Shard, making a hat, and next to him, was someone that Fylass didn’t seem to recognize, due to having their face scratched out. Lucid was sad though, and so, Fylass was sad.

Many more rooms came into place, but after a while, Fylass saw most of them, leaving their own room. Fylass entered in it, and sat down in a seat seemingly made for them. 

This film seemed much newer than the rest, and it was a collection of snippets of memories that Fylass had with their friends and family. That time when Archie got them their purple PJ’s, that time when Selene, Dolly, TK and Ades got them a plushie, or that time when Dero and them did a friendly fight with Verin, Ava and Damian cheering them on in the background. Fylass was happy.

They were about to leave the room to reunite with the rest, but before they opened the door, a clicking sound was heard from inside the TV film, and they realized the movie had changed. 

Fylass was having a different outfit, the one they had when being with their father, Cosmounse, but was covered in blackened blood; they were having a cleaver on hand, and they used it to swing it towards Cosmounse’s face, as Fylass laughed and mocked him, as they said "THAT’S WHAT YOU GET." over and over; the room on the film was starting to be filled with that same blackened blood, and after a deafening scream, the movie ended.

"..." Fylass was tearing up. "Why…? Why am I getting reminded of that, even after all of that time? Why?" Fylass was sobbing, but they quickly hid those tears as they left the room. 

Walking down the hallway, they saw the group again, seemingly walking with curiosity.

"Oh! Kid, we’ve been looking for you. Are you alright?" Lucid said again.

"Y-Yeah, I am! Are you okay?"

"Indeed, I am too. Let’s just leave and find that cabin." Fylass nodded as they heard that, and left towards the backdoor exit, although they saw someone else walking down the hallway, Dero. 

"Oh, greetings. I should have expected to see you here." He spoke up to the group.

"Hi…" Said Lucid with a death stare looking at Dero. "What are you doing here?"

"Revisiting some memories, although I am about to leave and go towards the Card Castle."

"Alright then! G-Good luck with that!" Fylass said, trying to hide the fact that they were somewhat hurt by what they saw. Dero was about to leave, although he stopped and looked back.

"Pleiades, can I ask you a favor?"

"Hm?"

"Could you go with me towards the Card Castle? As the Diamond, I need to discuss some… matters with you."

"Oh. Sure, although, it better be quick…"

"Wonderful. Fylass, could you go with me as well, when you are done with your journey? You are the Club, and I need your help as well discussing these topics."

"...No problem. I can do that."

"Thank you. Now, Ades, let’s go." Dero said, as Ades left with Dero towards their new destination, and the rest went towards the backdoor exit. 

It was pretty, with trees around and around, gray flowers, and a big space that seemed that it could fit a house in that. Fylass used the clock to turn it to 11:59 again, and sure enough, the supposed cabin appeared out of thin air. A gray cabin with rotting wood.

"...This is it, perhaps?" 

"We need to figure it out."

Lucid opened the door, revealing a dusty inside, with no furniture, but a table with a chessboard on top, sliced in half, and one of the halves missing was replaced by a checkerboard; both were seemingly stuck together with glue, and at one of the lateral sides leaving the same distance between both sides of the board, was a minute hand from a clock pierced through it; all of the pieces of both sides were there, but the bishop on the chess board was missing.

The interesting part of the inside though, was a giant silver framed mirror that has a sign on top with the words "Looking Glass".

"...Why do I feel attracted to that mirror?" Chaos said.

"Like, in love, or something?" Fetty said, trying to joke with the situation, although she knew exactly what he was referring to. Fylass went closer to the mirror and touched it, revealing that it was crossable like water.

"What the-..." 

"Wait, let me try this!" Banshee said, trying to cross the mirror, only to find out that he wasn’t able to. "Oh, come on!"

Chaos was the next to try, and surprisingly, he was able to cross the mirror too.  "Guess that only Suit Bearers can cross it. Oh well…"

"...This must be the entrance to Underland… Are you ready Lucid? Grab my hand guys, so we can all cross this mirror together." Everyone nodded, and grabbed Fylass hand, and step by step, everyone crossed the mirror.

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

"My Queen, I have news to tell you."

"Hm? What is it?"

"...The Bishop is back."

"...What?"

"The plan needs to start. Now."

"...Are you sure this can help me get both thrones?"

"Yes, I am sure, Queen Majaway."

"...Okay, I trust you…"

"Mister Cosmounse."

--------

@that-fanperson-meg

@theflutteringdreameater

@galakianexplosion

@ilikesillythingswooo

@loaflovesdoodling

@lostsoulau-ask

@kachikirby

@kirby-universe-4162

@monsterhatdoodles

@moon-mage

@den-of-the-blue-dragon

@mossyriverrocks

@the-chaos-axolotl

@avathestarwarrior

@wyverewings

[mifeeey]

during december last year i had... a mental health moment and suffered something psychosis like (not trying to self -diagnose) but let's just say generally i wasn't doing hot. while that was happening i started writing a fic and I want to share a snippet, just to see if there is interest in reading this... thing bc i think the concept is interesting, I'm just very nervous about how it would be received.

I probably won't finish it unless there is sufficient demand but I also think that letting this rot on my google docs would be a waste. But after you read the snippet pls vote

Here it goes:

Prometheus (Kazuscara)

(click keep reading for fic snippet)

[...] Scaramouche's eyes narrow ever so slightly as he studies the aged photograph. A surge of emotions, long suppressed and buried beneath layers of deception, momentarily flickers across his face. The younger version of himself stares back, frozen in time, a ghost of centuries past.

"Well, I'll be damned," Scaramouche mutters, his cool demeanor faltering for just a moment before he catches himself. "Quite the resemblance, I must say. Lucky coincidence, I suppose."

Kaedehara's gaze is intense, unwavering. "It's no coincidence, and you know it."

Scaramouche leans back in his chair, crossing his arms as he reasserts control over his emotions. "Look, kid, I don't know what fantasy world you're living in, but people don't live for centuries. It's just not possible."

“Yes it is!” the young man insists with a slight tremble in his voice, “That’s you in the picture, I know it is! I’ve been looking into this ever since I saw you in class for the first time, you keep popping up in so many pictures over multiple generations!”

Scaramouche leans forward, locking eyes with Kaedehara. The room feels like it's closing in, the air thick with tension. "Let's entertain this little fantasy of yours," he says, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial tone. "Suppose, just for a moment, that I am the person in that photograph. What does that mean to you?"

Kaedehara hesitates, as if choosing his words carefully. "It means you're not just some TA in a college. It means you're something more. Something that defies the natural order of life and death."

Scaramouche sighs, getting frustrated with not being able to stop this questioning. "And why would that matter to you, Mr. Kaedehara?”

Kaedehara takes a shaky breath, attempting to calm himself, “I-It has to be true. No, I need it to be true.”

The determination in Kaedehara's eyes is unsettling. Scaramouche has encountered curious mortals before, but this is different. The fervor in the young man's voice speaks volumes of something deeper than mere curiosity.

"You need it to be true?" Scaramouche repeats, masking his intrigue with a facade of disinterest. "And why is that, pray tell?"

Kaedehara's fingers tremble as he clutches the aged book, his gaze fixed on Scaramouche. "Because if it's true... Y-You might be able to help me.”

Scaramouche finally takes his shades off, raising an eyebrow at Kaedehara, “Help you?”

The young student nods, “There is… something wrong with me. I don’t know when and how this happened but… I don’t think I can die. I-In fact I can’t be permanently damaged at all.”

..............................

Summary I wrote:

Scaramouche has lived for centuries, cursed by his nature and his creator to wander the mortal realm, plagued by a perpetual beast like hunger for the flesh and blood of the humans surrounding him.

There is no sense in getting attached, they are all just short lived sources of sustenance for an immortal like him.

That is until one of Scaramouche’s students cuts off two of his own fingers before his eyes and grows them back immediately.

OR

Two immortals killing each other slowly. This is a love story.

[shootingstarpilot]

Fic Writer 20 Questions

Thanks for the tag, @merlyn-bane!

1.) How many works do you have on ao3?

Eight!

2.) What's your ao3 word count?

217,911

3.) What fandoms do you write for?

*sobbing* Star Wars, my beloved. The brainrot is real; I am consumed. When I was still on FF.net, though, I had stuff up in Harry Potter and How to Train Your Dragon.

4.) What are your top five fics by kudos?

back then, i was dauntless

how to bring him home

if i don't make it back (from where i've gone)

though some would harm you

like lightning changing hands

5.) Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I absolutely do! I feel bad because I know I've gotten some lovely comments on chapters that aren't the most recent one, and those tend to get lost in the inbox, but I promise I'm working on it- if you get a response from a comment you left a year and a half ago, don't hold it against me 😅

I do it because I want so badly to build community here! I love getting comments from people, responding to something with a wee hint of a tease because I'm AWFUL and then getting a keysmash of a response and then exchanging snippets in the comments, truly, it fills me with delight- and I've met some absolutely wonderful people who I got introduced to by responding to comments-

Anyway. Community. That.

6.) What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Oh. Hm. Hm.

I... guess it would have to be though some would harm you? Although I'm not sure if I feel confident in that designation, because it's very much part of a multi-work series. And I'm too much of a sucker for happy endings to write a stand-alone fic that doesn't have one, I think.

7.) What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Oh, neural plasticity, for sure! Short and sweet <3

8.) Do you get hate on fics?

A bit. I can brush off the "actually the Jedi were the real monsters" assholes easily enough, but honestly, the comments that hit the hardest are the ones that clearly come from people who think they're offering ✨constructive criticism.✨ Not only because I didn't ask for it, but also because saying my work is "fatiguing" or "I'm sure there's a decent story here, but it's being buried under what you're trying to do with it-" there's nothing constructive there.

Side note: the person who left that last comment deleted it about half an hour later, because when I went to reply, it had vanished from my inbox. I don't know if they did that because they didn't want me to be able to reply, or if they realized that what they said was unhelpful and mean, but if they ever happen to see this-

I still got the email, prick.

9.) Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Write? No, I haven't quite worked up the panache to try. Reading, on the other hand...

10.) Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I do have snippets of one crossover that I actually posted in an anonymous collection, ha- an old BBC Merlin/ Good Omens/ Supernatural fic that I dug out of my old documents. Other than that, no- unless you count the Prequels and the Clone Wars as different enough to qualify as a crossover.

11.) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of!

12.) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Also not that I know of- very much open to it, though!

13.) Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Since I don't think taking drabbles in tumblr chats to ridiculous lengths counts, I'd have to say no- I'd like to, though!

14.) What's your all time favorite ship?

Codywan. Fiercely, unwaveringly Codywan.

Just to reinforce this- 292 of my bookmarks consist of Cody/Obi-Wan. The next most common romantic pairing (Aziraphale/Crowley) has less than half that, at 121.

I'm a goner, and I can't even bring myself to regret it.

15.) What's a WIP you'd like to finish, but doubt you ever will?

OKAY SO I've written snippets of a modern AU focusing on Helix, Needle and Stitch, and I'm totally gonna take this opportunity to rage about it. I'm probably never gonna finish it, but it gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling, so, hey- what else is fic for, really, if not for indulging yourself?

At first, it's just Needle and Stitch. It's just been the two of them, for as long as Stitch can remember. Needle's only a few years older than him, but he's raised him, kept him in school, kept a roof over their heads and food on the table-

Food on Stitch's plate, at least.

Then, one night, Needle does not come home.

A hit-and-run, the nurse tells him, although the words will not trickle through until much later. A coma.

He will not, they say patiently, come home for some time.

(There is so much that needs doing.)

Helix, meanwhile, is studying physical therapy at the local community college and working part-time at his brother Ace's bakery.

It's during one of these shifts that a skinny little twerp comes in and hands him a job application.

(Rent and bills and Needle Needle Needle-)

It doesn't take Helix long to realize something is... off.

Ace tells him not to push it, but-

The kid's a good worker. Great, as a matter of fact. He's never late. Stays past closing, too, if they've had a rush. He tells Helix about his brother and nothing else.

(His brother hasn't come to visit.)

Everything that's not sold at the end of the day gets packaged up and given out. They only toss in the dumpster what's really, truly inedible- stuff that got dropped in the kitchen, scraps left over from customers-

He thinks it's raccoons, at first, until he peers in and sees Stitch flatten himself against a heap of bags in the corner.

They package up leftovers for him, after that. A bit more than leftovers, maybe. Ace sets aside sandwiches. Helix buys him a thermos and tells him it's been in the lost and found for over a year. They make sure he eats.

(Needle's getting transferred out of the ICU.)

Stitch is trying. He's doing everything he can, and more besides. But Needle's life is too expensive and he's buckling under the weight.

(He hasn't even grieved. Not really. No room. No time.)

Eventually, something has to give.

He does.

(He hadn't expected someone to be there to catch him.)

Featuring:

Helix stumbling into adopting first one, then two idiot kids

Ace being a supportive brother

Needle finding his way home

Mace Windu as Needle's (unfairly attractive, Helix thinks) neurologist

Obi-Wan as a hospital social worker who gets assigned Needle's file

Cody as Obi-Wan's husband, Helix's cousin, and children's book author (Stitch's favorite)

(listen I am WEAK for author!Cody, truly)

(Helix was totally the one who got them together and he regrets it every day of his life.)

Sheev Palpatine as the epitome of the evil of the American healthcare system

The Melidaan crew running a long-term, non-profit care facility that offers both in-patient and out-patient rehab services

16.) What are your writing strengths?

(I'VE PUT TOO MUCH THOUGHT INTO THIS. SHIT.)

17.) What are your writing weaknesses?

I am, apparently, really good at writing breakdowns. >:3

18.) Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

Dialogue does not come easily to me. I have to work a bit to hit my stride. But I think it turns out well enough!

Hm. Coming from a purely technical perspective here, I think the reader should be able to understand everything that's spoken in a fic. If a character says something in another language, then I think the best way to convey that is, "X muttered something Y didn't catch," or, if the listener recognizes that it's at least in another language, "X muttered something in French."

If the reader should understand it, then something along the lines of: "'I knew we shouldn't have trusted him,' X muttered in French."

If the POV character doesn't understand the language, it doesn't make sense to provide the reader with a perfect transliteration of what the other character is saying. The character wouldn't have that knowledge. It can really take me out of the fic when two characters suddenly start conversing in written-out sentences in another language, and I have to scroll all the way down to the footnotes for translations.

19.) First fandom you wrote for?

But then again, that's just my opinion- I'm sure others have their own thoughts on this!

20.) Favorite fic you've ever written?

Harry Potter.

Hell, I have to say like lightning changing hands, if only because whatever fic I'm writing at the moment is my favorite. It's the act of creation that does it for me!

(Also because it's such a good opportunity to explore so many relationship dynamics.)

No-pressure tags for @jedi-enthusiast, @themonopolyhat, @shadow-pixelle, and @foreverchangingfandomsao3!

[shortpplfedup]

Chapter 6: The Walk to Forget and Forgive

Gut punch after gut punch this episode as the focus moves squarely onto Jim for really the first time this whole series. Jim's been...not an enigma exactly, but he does keep things close. You get the sense of melancholy and a deep-rooted pain, but don't know exactly where it comes from, until now. Other things happen this episode, but it's mostly about how Jim internalises and responds to events more than the events themselves.

Before we get to Jim though, Li Ming going to see Heart's mom, apologising for sneaking him out, speaking frankly and openly with her about the Heart he knows, asking her to allow him to continue spending time with Heart despite his job with them being over...Jim doesn't quite see it but Li Ming has grown up. He can take responsibility for his actions, and he can ask for the things he wants, and what he wants is not to lose his connection with Heart, and for Heart not to lose the agency and community he's gained. For Jintana to agree, albeit with conditions, you can tell she's processing a lot but trying, finally, to do the right thing. I love that Li Ming didn't tell Heart that his mom allowed him to come over to his house, but instead told him to ask his mom and let her tell him yes herself. That's a little bit of healing that those two needed, and Li Ming saw that. And then Heart gives him his voice in return and...look I have something in my eye. Heart doesn't have to vocalise. Li Ming doesn't require him to, and he's never asked it of him, they can communicate just fine. But the joy Li Ming got from Heart allowing him to hear his voice was just sweet. It was special, something Heart did for him out of love and trust, and Li Ming understands that. And then their little New Year's celebration à deux, them taking their romance from understood to confirmed with that kiss, and their shy reactions afterward...perfection.

The headline this week is Jim finally dealing with the scars of his relationship with Beam, as we discover that Beam died in a tragic accident without them ever resolving Jim's discovery of his cheating. They had a fight about it, Jim dumped him, Beam left vowing to explain later, and then he was gone. And in the ensuing years, Jim's grief and guilt have simply consumed him. He's questioned himself, he's blamed himself, he's buried himself in what if's, and he's never faced up to what happened, not really. Jim is holding so many regrets inside him that Wen coming into his life has churned up. Wen's insistence on pulling Jim out of himself has ultimately been good for him. It's Wen who suggests that he try to meet with Beam's girlfriend, try to get some closure on the questions that have been swirling in him for the past four years. And you get the sense that once he's done that he takes the first deep breath that he has since that moment he identified Beam's body. 'We just fell in love with a selfish man'...Jim NEEDED to hear that. The way he loosens up after that lunch and allows himself to be affectionate with Wen, to hold his hand and embrace him and be playful, it's like he finally has an ounce of hope that maybe he's not cursed after all. He still won't answer Wen's question, as to whether he's part of Jim's family now, but you know the answer in his heart.

Also on the 'Jim clearing things up' tour: Gaipa. Poor sweet Gaipa, who just isn't the one Jim wants, and he finally has to tell him that. You could see from the moment Gaipa starts to talk about his mom and dad's love story that Jim knows where the conversation is going, and he starts steeling himself to let him down as gently as possible. When Gaipa finally just asks the question, Jim doesn't say anything except 'I'm sorry', but Gaipa gets the message. And then he returns the title deed, making it as clear as possible that there's no hope there. And man it's BRUTAL, watching Gaipa try and fail to hold back his tears while Jim sits there in agony that he's had to hurt him like this.

Alan isn't doing so hot. After insisting to Wen that he can separate personal from professional, he tells Jim exactly the opposite as he hands back his loan application and suggests he try another bank, a suggestion which Jim dismisses. And then drunk driving? Getting into an accident? Wen still being his next of kin? Wen feeling responsible and Jim agreeing that he should stay and take care of Alan? On top of stumbling upon Heart and Li Ming kissing? All this just as Jim returns from a moment of catharsis and feeling free, and you see his shoulders get lower and lower as the weight of his life piles back on after the brief respite.

Side Dishes

This ep is set at New Year which means everything since Alan crashed into the story and Li Ming started sneaking Heart out of the house has happened more or less inside a week. What a fucking week, no wonder Jim is stressed as hell.

Poor Gaipa, you just know he heard Wen moved in and thought it was now or never.

The way Jim responds to Wen, even as he tells himself and Wen that they can't be a thing...he's so in love. Holding himself back from stroking Wen's hair and then just giving in and letting himself have that was such a moment.

Jim sir that man is good at doing the dishes, Li Ming said so, why are you doing them?

I understand why Aof did an angle kiss with Heart and Li Ming, but it's still a smidge awkward.

Speaking of the kiss, I'm so glad Jim didn't ruin their moment. No matter what his complicated feelings about Li Ming's sexuality are, he let them have that.

Li Ming's mom Jam shows up next week and YES LET'S SQUARE THIS MOTHERFUCKING CIRCLE I'M READY.

Interesting throwaway (except is anything ever a throwaway in this show?) about Jam and Jim running away from home. We'll probably get some more on that when Jam shows up next week.

Another interesting 'throwaway': Saleng and Jim's conversation about being selfish when you're desperate. That's definitely about to come back around.