#i definitely still need to do a lot of cleanup

[xgoth-mothx]

- Goth Cat -

[eggs-attorney]

CASE 1: TURNABOUT ASSEMBLY

8:00AM - Egg Quarters: Judge's Office

Eggman: Thank you for meeting me on such short notice.

???: No! I, uh... Thank you for the opportunity.

???: (How can I be saying this? After everything he's done!?)

Eggman: Well, let's make this quick, as I have a lot to attend to today - why don't you tell me about yourself?

Reiker: Well... My name is Reiker Strait, I'm 26 years old, and a recent graduate from the Acorn Kingdom's School of Law. I've volunteered at-

Eggman: The Acorn Kingdom, hm? Why come to Sunnyside?

Reiker: ... Sunnyside?

Eggman: You don't know the city's name?

Reiker: Oh, everyone outside of this place has been calling it Robotropolis... That's what this island was called before it became Eggmanland, wasn't it?

Eggman: Heavens, no! I gave up on that concept a long time ago. This one is entirely new!

Eggman: ... [Ahem]

Eggman: Regardless, you have yet to answer my question. Why come here?

Reiker: Uh... Let's just say there aren't many opportunities for new lawyers in the Acorn Kingdom. I was hoping some positions might become available once the Restoration was finished with their cleanup. I guess now that everything's settled, most people just want a return to form.

Eggman: Hm, I see. I wont lie, this city itself is new blood - only a year old - but we're a bit desperate in the legal department. We can actually start you today.

Reiker: Oh! Like, agreeing on a salary? Setting that up?

Eggman: No, I have a case for you to defend. If you meet my expectations, I'll sign you on full time.

Reiker: WHAT!? There's been a crime already!? I've only been here 30 minutes!

Eggman: No, no... This case has been on hold for quite a while. We simply haven't been able to assign a suitable lawyer for the defendant.

Reiker: ... You're kidding.

Eggman: I wish... The last buffoon ran off weeks ago. I've tried to reach out to other "well respected" lawyers, but most people don't trust a man hellbent on world domination who waged a global war and destroyed their livelihoods to hold a fair court of law.

Reiker: Oh, yeah... So I just-?

Eggman: You're due on stand at approximately 9 AM. You will find your client in the defense lobby.

Eggman: ... Oh, you'll also be needing this.

Attorney's Badge has been added to the Court Record.

Eggman: That badge will grant you free access to the judicial areas of the building. That being said, I'll see you in an hour.

Reiker: ... Wow.

Reiker: (I guess I got the job... But is this really happening? I'm still not sure of what I'm doing, but he's just... Tossing me into the deep end.)

Reiker: (... Is this a trap? Is this how I get roboticized?)

Reiker: (Well, I better get going. Definitely shouldn't no show on my first case... That wouldn't look good on my record, if it ever leaves this island.)

Reiker: (This must be the defense lobby. Now where is-)

???: ...

Reiker: (Is this... My client?)

???: ... Oh, um... Hello.

Reiker: (Gah, I'm freezing up! I need to say something...)

Reiker: Uh... Hi?

???: .........

Reiker: (Oof, that's no good... Why am I blanking now?)

Reiker: (Think, Reiker. You can be personable! Just take a breath. Ground yourself, visualize your Thought Pool and... Jump!)

Reiker doesn't always know what to do or say. That's when he needs help from his Thought Pool (that's you guys)! Simply reply to this post with what you think he should do next (actions, statements, questions, etc)!

[Next >]

[mllemaenad]

To clarify about bringing down the Veil: I did say, and I did mean, that I don't think we should just let Solas do whatever. He's clearly having some sort of Mythal-related nervous breakdown and is intent on going it alone. This is stupid, and we really need to have an actual plan for this.

But.

Primary issue seems to be demons. Demons are often created by being pulled through the Fade, so bringing it down actually solves a problem. Demons can be complex people who aren't necessarily a problem to have around. When demons are problems, we have: the Avvar, the Chasind, the Rivaini, the Nevarrans and whatever spirit allies Solas has as experts who could line up to deal with this. This feels like the same argument the game would make about Circles and possessed mages. I want to get rid of the Veil like I used to want to get rid of Circles.

Secondary issue is Blight. Blight was contained prior to the Veil going up, so we've definitely got methods for doing that. The Veil is clearly not working as Blight-related security because Thedas has been up to its eyeballs in the stuff for centuries. You put a big mysterious city in everyone's dreams and guess what happened.

While Blight is present in the Fade outside the Black City, it is not everywhere in the Fade, and with the presence of eluvians we've got people wandering physically all over the Fade anyway. You can wander into Tainted bits of the Fade and get Blighted just like you can by wandering into Tainted bits of the Deep Roads. Don't do that! Also: make sure the Black City is properly locked up! It's common sense.

Blight, while undeniably still dangerous, seems to be operating on diminishing returns: the First Blight took two centuries to defeat and nearly wiped out civilisation; we just knocked over an Archdemon in a single battle at the cost of a few hundred lives and one fortress. And I'm betting we take out the seventh by the end of the game. Ghilan'nain has apparently been genetically engineering worse darkspawn, and we're still kicking their arses.

We should absolutely have Grey Wardens on cleanup duty in the Fade, though. I really do want to do this sensibly.

Darkspawn are also people, who can be cured of their compulsions by a modified form of the Joining. I'm certainly not wringing my hands over killing darkspawn in self-defence, but I think it's worth remembering that Davrin is wrong: they are not mindless monsters and if we can help them we should.

Tertiary issue is the Titans, who are attached to the Blight problem. The Titans were severed from their dreams in what sounds a lot like a form of Tranquility. This is a practical problem (Blight!) and a moral problem (we've got some mutilated people here!). The thing about Tranquility was that it was this utterly irreversible nightmare condition ... until it turned out that there had always been a cure, and it just involved reaching out to a spirit for some assistance. I'm not suggesting that the situation with the Titans is identical, but I am saying: bring down the Veil, reconnect with magic and spirits and start brainstorming. We can and should fix this.

Quaternary issue is just the Veil itself, which is increasingly tattered and in some places almost entirely absent. It is stupidly easy to thin the Veil and people are going to keep doing it, whether they mean to or not. So if there's, for example, Blight loose in the Veil, there is nothing stopping somebody from accidentally thinning a Blighted bit. And the damn thing will fall apart eventually. I for one would like to know its end date and be prepared for it.

So ... look, unless the game gives some last minute information on this ... Yeah, I think I want the Veil down. Solas can be a pain in the arse, but he's right about this. I've looked at his memories, and the flashbacks in the Fade: I know about the evanuris messing with the Blight, and Mythal's murder, and the ritual to lock up the gods not going as he intended. It's a mess, but it hasn't changed my mind.

Now: again, that does not mean I'm on board with Solas's actual plan. I want to grab him and tell him to sit the fuck down and work this out as a group project. Do it carefully, do it as safely as possible, and be willing to wait another year or two until we're organised.

But yes. BRING. DOWN. THE VEIL.

[kinkteez]

I can’t remember if it’s already been talked about, but I’m curious about aftercare for the doms and how you avoid top drop :)

A/N: This is a poly-ATEEZ kink ask blog! Feel free to ask any of the eight members a question! :) > Reblogs are very appreciated!

Hongjoong: One of the most important things for me is getting to settle down together with who was involved, and having a chill time out of the dynamic. Snacks and fruit juice also help a lot, because low blood sugar can make drops more likely. There's cleanup and that kind of thing too, but those are more practical for me and not like an emotional need. I just like to cuddle up and talk casually to help our brains settle down, and to have that snack. It's also nice to get to take care of a sub, especially if they're kind of out of it and need me to look after them. Makes me feel responsible and dependable, and it's just extra endorphins on top of what I already got.

Yunho: I'm a lot like Hongjoong, I think, with a bit of an extra focus on cuddling up together after a scene. I like to feel that physical closeness, the gentle kisses and caresses. That kind of thing. I think part of that is reminding my brain that we're still just a normal relationship with two (or more) equal people, even after doing something a little more extreme.

Jongho: The physical things take second place to me, although they're very nice. Who doesn't like to cuddle? But for me, what really helps me settle down is to feel emotionally close. Verbally asking my partner if they're good, and if they need anything, and then getting that for them. I like to ask if they liked the scene, too. I know it's silly, because I know they liked it, or they wouldn't have let it continue. I can always tell just from their reactions when they like something, and I stop immediately if they don't. I still just like to ask. And also just establish that normal banter again that usually gets a little lost during a scene, especially a more heavy one.

Seonghwa: First of all, cleanup. It feels almost ritualistic to me. It's a natural part of settling down so I can get to a place where I can be there for my partners fully. Because I am distracted if we're still covered in all manner of fluids. After that, snacks. Like Hongjoong said, it always helps to have something sugary, both for me and my partner. I think both of these things are about getting to take care of them, to baby them a little. I love to fuss over them and show them that I care about their wellbeing and that I love them. Showing them that side of me, always helps my brain back into a more regular mindspace, especially if I was a bit mean during the scene itself.

San: Oh hey, I get to participate in this! I have very limited experience, but for me, the most important part was also getting to care for Yeosang in any way I knew how. Cuddling him and make sure he didn't feel alone, kissing him, asking if he was okay, if he needed anything. Hand feeding him some chocolates and making him drink a juice box, then getting us into a shower after a while. It's possible that I was a bit too cautious... I definitely focused more on him than I did on myself, and that's something I'll have to learn to balance better. That first time, I had the safety net of knowing Jongho wasn't going to go far, so I'd only have to text him and he'd be there if I needed him, but I can't keep relying on that forever [Laughs].

[misc-obeyme]

unchained - chapter seven

masterpost read the chapter on ao3

recommended music: Like Real People Do by Hozier word count: 2272

GN!MC x Arsenios [demon OC] a/n: In case you don't recognize it, that image is the Purgatory Hall kitchen. So yes, there are cameos from Solomon, Simeon, and Raphael in this chapter! Solomon talks about the time he summoned Arsenios into the human world, which you can read here if you're interested! Warnings: some slight spoilers for OG season 4 and like... at least three romance tropes all in one scene because I like fluff and cheese~

You knocked on the door to Purgatory Hall and waited. You didn't have to wait long. Simeon opened the door and smiled brightly when he saw you.

"MC!" he said, moving aside to let you in. "I didn't know you were coming!"

"Sorry to stop by unexpectedly," you said. "I need to talk to Solomon. Is he home?"

Simeon continued to smile, but there was a distinct stiffness that suddenly descended upon his face. "Ah. He's in the kitchen with Raphael."

You understood immediately that there was likely a dire situation happening in there, but you felt like you could avoid sampling whatever Solomon was cooking. You nodded firmly. "Right. I'm going in."

Simeon went with you, clearly concerned about your well-being.

Fortunately, it looked like Solomon was finished with whatever he had been cooking and was now doing the dishes. Raphael was helping with the cleanup.

"Oh, MC," Solomon said when he saw you. "I didn't know you'd be coming by. I would have made more simmered behemoth's hind leg."

You eyed the dishes that still hadn't been cleaned and did not say how it looked more like unidentified matter than anything else. "Don't worry about it, I already ate. I'm sorry for dropping by unannounced, but I wanted to talk to you."

Solomon wiped his hands on a nearby towel.

"We can finish the dishes," Simeon said, taking Solomon's spot at the sink beside Raphael.

You and Solomon stayed in the kitchen to chat, sitting on stools by the counter.

"What's going on?" Solomon asked.

You decided it was best to get straight to the point. "How much do you know about Arsenios?"

Solomon looked thoughtful. "Not that much," he said. "I know that Arsenios is a music demon who can lend humans musical talent by making pacts with them. He spent a lot of time in the human world doing just that. I don't know about his unique experience, but he was likely summoned by humans. I summoned him into the human world myself and he seemed to find it a matter of routine."

"You summoned him?" you asked. "Why?"

Solomon smiled at you. "I had heard rumors about him. I wanted to meet him for myself. Demons who make deals like that are generally fairly easy to summon at a crossroads."

"A crossroads?" you repeated.

"A place where two roads meet," Solomon said.

You folded your arms and puffed out your cheeks. "I know what a crossroads is. Why is it easy to summon demons there?"

"It has to do with the symbolism," Solomon said. "A crossroads is a place where two things meet, which means that it's also a place where the barrier between two worlds is a little thinner. It's easier to summon demons into the human world there because it's easier for them to get through."

"So you summoned Arsenios at a crossroads and asked him to make a pact with you?" you asked.

Solomon laughed. "He refused immediately!"

"Did he tell you why he wouldn't?" you asked.

Solomon shook his head, frowning. "He was too busy telling me to never summon him again."

"Why did you want to make a pact with him to begin with?" you asked.

Solomon shrugged. "He's a fairly powerful demon. I mean, he's certainly not on the level of Lucifer and his brothers, but his particular ability is unusual."

You thought about how Arsenios had alleviated some of your fatigue with his song. You had definitely never heard of such an ability before, but you didn't realize it was that unusual. "Do you know anything about a reaper named Caligo?"

"I've heard of him," Solomon said. "His name means mist in Latin and he has the ability to manipulate… well, mist. I had also heard rumors that he was working with a demon…"

You remembered how the fog had acted in the garden that evening, how unusual it had been. The way it had dissipated once Caligo left.

Solomon reached out and put a hand on your arm. You looked up and saw concern in his eyes. "MC. Why are you asking me about all of this? Did something happen?"

You shook your head. "Nothing I can't handle. You of all people should know you don't need to worry about me. You're the one who trained me."

Solomon grinned and the worry you'd seen a minute ago was replaced by pride. "Of course I know that, my adorable apprentice. But I can't help worrying about you anyway."

You rolled your eyes, but you smiled at him, too. "One last question. Do you know of any kind of trouble between Arsenios and Lucifer?"

Solomon frowned. "No. I can't say that I know anything about that."

"I don't think there's anything specific happening there," Simeon cut in from where he had just finished the last of the dishes. "I've gotten to know Arsenios a bit and I think it just comes down to their personalities."

You supposed this made sense. Perhaps the two of them were just too much alike. You looked at Simeon. "He won't talk to me about his past. He always avoids any questions I ask. Do you really think an angel helped him?"

Raphael looked up in surprise. "An angel helped him?"

Simeon looked a little guilty. "It was just the impression I had when I first met him. There's a certain look people get when they've encountered an angel and then see one again for the first time. It's like this light behind their eyes."

Raphael nodded. "I know what you mean. But it's usually something you only see in humans, not demons."

"Not many angels would help a demon in trouble," Solomon said.

The room went quiet. There was an unspoken truth hanging in the air. Nobody needed to comment on how Simeon was still wearing his human world outfit. An angel who helped a demon stood among them. You hadn't been told this directly, of course, but you had your suspicions.

Raphael frowned. "I may know something about this."

Everyone looked at him in surprise.

"You?" Solomon asked.

"What do you know?" you asked.

"A while ago, an angel told me they helped a demon in their time of need," Raphael said. "They were so distraught over it, convinced that they would be punished. And I…"

"You told them to keep it a secret, didn't you?" Simeon asked quietly.

Raphael sighed.

"Who was it?" you asked. "Who was that angel?"

Raphael shook his head. "I won't reveal their identity now. I'm sorry, MC. It might not even be the same angel."

You slumped a little, but you understood. It wasn't like you could talk to an angel who was likely still in the Celestial Realm anyway. "Probably not. Anyway, I'm just trying to understand a little more about what's going on. I feel like I can trust Arsenios, but he isn't exactly an open book."

Simeon nodded. "That's definitely the impression I have of him, too. He's kind. You've seen him with Luke. But there's some deep pain there that he won't talk about. I also think there's a bit of anger, an almost dangerous streak if you happen to cross him."

You considered this. The way he had no problem expressing how he felt about both Solomon and Lucifer made you think this was true.

You stayed at Purgatory Hall for tea, especially when Luke came into the kitchen with a box of cookies he'd made with Barbatos. The discussion remained on mundane topics, but you couldn't help thinking about all you had learned today.

-

A couple days later, you were walking back to the House of Lamentation one evening. You had gone to a bookstore that was on the other side of town, in search of a specific magical tome. You had found some interesting books that you picked up for Satan, but the one you were looking for wasn't there.

You were hurrying through the streets now, glancing up at the gathering clouds on occasion. You were certain it was going to start raining any second.

You were preparing yourself to dodge into a nearby establishment if the rain began. You were listening for the telltale patter, but instead you heard the soft sounds of music. Tender acoustic guitar chords that reminded you of something, but your mind was too focused on the dark sky.

And so you didn't realize how the sound got louder until you collided with something solid. The minute you did, the chords cut off.

"Woah, hey," someone said.

You didn't even have a chance to respond as you felt yourself losing your balance, the bag of books in your hand creating an extra weight on one side.

Just as you thought you were about to make the acquaintance of the cobblestone street, you stopped falling.

There was a hand wrapped around one of your arms. You looked at it and immediately recognized the black circle tattoo on the back of it.

You looked up to meet Arsenios's eyes. He had an acoustic guitar in one hand and your arm in the other.

You were about to say something when there was a deep rumble of thunder and the rain began coming down in a sheet.

Arsenios pulled you back with him under the awning of a nearby store. He left your side immediately to grab the guitar case that was still sitting open on the street. He put his guitar inside it, closing the lid and clasping it shut.

Then he ran a hand through his hair, which was loose and falling slightly into his eyes. "That was close," he said, looking out at the rain.

You caught your breath, your heart still racing from the adrenaline of almost falling. You checked the books in your bag, but they were fine. "Thanks," you said. You eyed his guitar case. "Were you busking out here?"

Arsenios laughed a little. "Kinda? I just like to play, that's all. People always ask me where they can put their Grimm, so I just leave the case open."

There was a silence filled only with the continual shhhh of the falling rain.

You sighed. "I'm not going to get home any time soon, am I?"

Arsenios tsked. "Left home without an umbrella, huh? Aren't you a sorcerer now? Can't you just teleport home?"

You frowned at him, but he was smiling at you. "I can't just teleport whenever. I mean, yeah, I can. But it drains me, you know? And the House of Lamentation is pretty far from here. I shouldn't waste my magic like that when I can just wait it out."

"Ah, so responsible," Arsenios said, his smile growing.

"So what about you? Do you have an umbrella?" you asked.

Arsenios took a small round box out of his pocket, spoke some words in some ancient language you could only assume was demonic, and watched as the box expanded into an umbrella.

He opened it and you were surprised by the soft pink color and cute bow designs.

"Uh," you said.

Arsenios grinned when he saw your expression. "You wanna know why it's pink, huh?"

You blinked and frowned. "No," you said. "Why would I care about that?"

Arsenios came close to you, guitar case in one hand, umbrella in the other. He stood so the umbrella covered both of you, although you were still safe from the rain beneath the canopy.

"Why don't you come with me and I'll tell you all about it?" he said. "There's enough room under this massive umbrella for you, too."

The air around you had become chilly with the rain, but his body so close to yours created a wave of heat between you. You refused to back away, keeping yourself still, your eyes on his.

"Go with you where?" you asked.

"I live nearby," Arsenios said. "You can stay at my place until the rain stops."

He was inviting you to his house? Where did he even live? You realized you knew nothing about his living arrangements.

You debated with yourself. If Lucifer found out about it, you'd be in trouble. Was it dangerous? Could you trust Arsenios?

You did. You knew you did. It was a truth you had already admitted to yourself previously. For whatever reason, despite his annoying grins and ominous connection to a reaper that wanted to kill him, you trusted him.

And anyway, if you really needed help, you could always summon one of the brothers to your side. You remembered what Solomon had said about Arsenios - that while he was powerful, he wasn't on the level of Lucifer and his brothers. And you dealt with the seven of them every day.

"Okay," you said.

Arsenios looked surprised for a moment before the expression was replaced with a soft smile. "All right," he said. "Will you hold onto my arm? So I know you're still under the umbrella."

Arsenios offered you his arm, the one holding the pink umbrella.

You took it, linking your arm in his, your other hand holding tight to your bag of books. You rested your hand on his arm, the skin exposed as he had rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. He pressed his arm into himself, pulling you closer to him before stepping out beyond the canopy.

The instant the two of you stepped out into the rain, the sound of it hitting the umbrella became almost fierce.

"It's not far," Arsenios said, his quiet voice somehow still perfectly audible despite the noise.

You didn't say anything, only allowed him to guide you through the rain soaked streets.

masterpost | chapter six | chapter eight

taglist: @avalordream @lonely-north-star @expressionless-fr @featheredcrowbones @pumpkinsareamazing @szired comment to be added or removed!

masterlist | Thank you for reading!

[tinyinvadr]

I’m back with another chapter! Thank you all so much for supporting this fic! It’s cool to know that people like the same stuff as I do, and it motivates me to write more!

Ch. 1/Ch. 2

Hide & Shrink

Chapter 3

I woke up on a plush surface, practically sinking into it. There was a part of me that wanted to still believe my entire experience with the Digital Circus was a dream, but I knew that couldn’t be true.

This wasn’t my bed. Not my real bed, at least. In fact, it didn’t feel like a bed at all, more like a giant pillow.

Right. The last thing that happened before I passed out was when I realized that Caine couldn’t change me back to my normal size. Which meant wherever I was, I was likely still tiny.

I finally opened my eyes, and the bright colors surrounding me were almost blinding. Massive blankets and pillows of every shade stretched as far as I could see.

As much as I didn’t want to admit it, the pillows were kind of nice. It reminded me of pillow forts…

Of course. This was Kinger’s pillow fort. That made sense, since he was holding me before I passed out. He probably brought me there so I could rest.

“Oh, Pomni, you’re awake! You really had us scared back there.”

I don’t know how I didn’t notice that Kinger was also in the fort with me right away. Then again, he kind of blended in. His robes almost looked like one of the blankets.

I tried to scoot myself back, but the pillow was too soft and I ended up just sinking into it further.

“Oh, did you need help getting up? I’ve got you!”

Kinger started to reach for me, and I frantically tried to move away faster.

“Nononono! It’s okay! I’m okay!”

He could tell I was panicking and stopped, glancing away in shame.

“Aw, I’m sorry. I must be freaking you out right now. I know I’d be terrified if I was in your place. But there’s nothing to worry about! I won’t grab you again, and it’s perfectly safe in my impenetrable fortress, so we can just wait here until Caine gets this whole thing sorted out.”

Admittedly, I needed the levity, so I gave Kinger a nod of approval and willingly let myself sink into the pillow. I could see why he liked to hide in his fort. It was like a little break room from the overwhelming insanity of the circus.

But it wasn’t as impenetrable as he thought it was.

A pillow on the bottom of the fort suddenly slid out of place, and before either of us could react, a huge assortment of pillows and blankets came crashing down on us.

It was a chain reaction of disaster as Kinger fell onto the pillow I was laying on, and the sudden weight shift sent me flying into the air, only to fall on my face a couple inches away. As I struggled to push myself up, I could hear the voices of the others.

“Jax! What did you do that for?!”

“What? I wanted a pillow.”

“But… Pomni could’ve gotten hurt…”

“These are cartoon physics we’re workin’ with here. She’s fine, look.”

For the third time, I was grabbed without warning and lifted into the air, this time by Jax. The thought of what he might do made me sick. The others at least seemed like they were worried about me, but it was pretty clear that he didn’t care.

In front of me stood Ragatha, Gangle, and Zooble, all looking concerned. Well, at least Ragatha and Gangle. Zooble’s expressions are kind of hard to read.

“She doesn’t look fine…”

“Yeah. I’m sure she LOVES being grabbed like that, Jax. Totally not traumatizing at all.”

Jax simply laughed off their concerns, emoting by moving his hands and arms around a lot in a way that was definitely intentional.

“Hey, come on, you guys, Pomni can speak for herself. If she didn’t like it she’d say something. Isn’t that right, Pom?”

By the time he stopped talking and moving me around, I couldn’t hold back and I threw up. Again.

Jax quickly dropped me and backed up in disgust.

“Ew. Somebody call Bubble.”

Right as he said that, Bubble appeared in front of me, way too close for comfort.

“Cleanup crew at your service!”

I backed up as he started licking up the vomit just as he did the day before. He’s really a freaky little thing. Though he didn’t look so little from my perspective.

Caine appeared shortly afterward, shaking his head(?) at Bubble, but then shifted his attention to me.

“Goodness gracious! You sure are prone to getting sick, aren’t you? Do you need anything? Want me to carry you to your room?”

The last thing I wanted was to be picked up again, so I queasily backed up in protest.

“No, no, it’s fine, I can get there by myself.”

Just as I regained my balance enough to start walking away, Jax walked in front of me, nearly stepping on me.

“You sure about that, shorty?”

Ragatha glared at him again as she made her way over to Caine.

“Anyway, Caine, have you made any progress on finding a way to fix Pomni?”

“Nope! Still working on it! But don’t worry, I’m sure a solution will come to me soon! After all, this is the digital world, and anything is possible!”

Zooble scoffed. “Yeah. Anything except leaving.”

“That’s the spirit, Zooble! Now then, Pomni, I leave the choice up to you if you want any of us to escort you to your room, or anywhere else you might like to go!”

I really would have preferred to be alone, but that wasn’t an option on the off chance that Jax decided to try anything else. I needed someone I could trust. I needed the one person I’d been avoiding.

Keeping my eyes glued to the ground, I approached Ragatha.

“Um… Ragatha? Can I go with you?”

She didn’t say a word, and kneeled down in front of me, her hands resting on the floor. I looked up to meet her eyes, and she gave a reassuring smile as if to say that this would all be on my own terms, and she wasn’t going to grab me.

I was still hesitant to even get near her, but she had a calm patience that the others didn’t. It was like she was willing to wait there for as long as it took until I was ready. In each passing moment I could feel my nerves ease just a little bit more, and finally, I took the first step onto her hand.

Due to her being a rag doll, Ragatha’s hands didn’t feel much different from the pillow I was sitting on earlier. I sat myself down, continuing to look up at her as she watched and waited.

“You okay?” She asked, her voice soft and warm. I simply nodded, and she continued to smile and wait. “Just let me know when you’re ready for me to stand up.”

I gave her another nod of approval, and she slowly stood up, holding me close to her for support, but not too tight to where I felt trapped. As she lifted me up, I could see the others looking on in surprise at how calm I seemed.

“Alright guys, I’ll be back in a bit.” Ragatha said as she turned to walk down the hallways where everyone’s rooms were.

As soon as we were far enough away from the group, I finally worked up the courage to speak again.

“I… thank you…”

She let out a content sigh as she continued walking.

“Hey, I’ve got your back.”

[professionalranter31]

I have several headcannons regarding Tracer and her relationship with Emily

So Lena originally was just supposed to be a pilot that helped Overwatch squads get to their mission locations, however while she was flying Winston who was transporting some of his inventions to an ecopoint that were meant to help with further gathering data they were attacked by a group of mercenaries hired by a company that wanted to sabotage the Ecopoint program

Lena proved her skills as a pilot by avoiding nearly every rocket shot at them, the only one that managed to hit was at the beginning when the mercenaries still had the element of surprise. Later when Winston began work on the Slipstream he nominated Lena to be the test pilot

It would be around this time that Lena was set up on a blind date with Emily, however it was a few days after the test run for the Slipstream so Lena would unfortunately miss it

Now the Slipstream, it was sabotaged. The company that was funding it was facing the risk of bankruptcy and so had set up an insurance in case of the failure of the Slipstream. There was also a disgruntled scientist who had a similar idea to the Slipstream (albeit different enough it was obvious to anyone else that Winston hadn’t copied it but the scientist didn’t care) that the company hired to sabotage the Slipstream. Now what the company wanted was something that would just cause the slipstream to not work, but the scientist wanted to ruin Winston, and he also had a theory that if proven correct would allow him to upstage the gorilla. If the sabotage had not taken place, the Slipstream would’ve worked albeit with a few bugs that needed fixing

So the Slipstream incident happened and the company was saved from bankruptcy, and the scientist bided his time. The sabotage wouldn’t be discovered unless someone looked at the Blueprints Winston sent to engineering and the blueprints that engineering actually got

Anyway, Lena comes back and is saved by Winston with the Chronal Accelerator thus ruining the scientist’s plans without ever knowing of them

Face forward to the events of the Kings Row Uprising and this is when Lena and Emily first officially meet where during the cleanup Lena saves her from some of the Null Sector warbots remaining. Sometime later Lena is granted a vacation so she can see home again since she’s deemed stable enough to be away and they run into each other again at Lena’s favorite pub

However the way they met in the pub is because Lena got into a bar fight, she didn’t start and she doesn’t know what started it but she definitely ended it, and Emily offered to help bandage her cuts up and also ask Lena out on a date

It wasn’t until their seventh date did they both realize that the blind date they had been set up for several months ago was with the other, but they had a good laugh about it

Emily is a artist for a comic book company and does some fashion designing on the side when she’s tight on cash but her work does allow her to work from home a lot

When Overwatch was shut down Lena wallowed in her room for a long time, until Emily wore a “special” sweater and got her out of that rut and helped her try for a few jobs

None of them stuck however and since Lena was banned from ever flying again she started doing some vigilante work, setting up an outfit (her Graffiti skin) and started helping out where she could while trying to remain inconspicuous

For the most part she succeeded and did a lot of good work, until Mondatta and the events of the Underground comics, then several months later the Recall went out

Tracer almost hesitated to go, her and Emily were going strong and she had started to get used to not being part of Overwatch but Emily told her she would be fine, and that no matter what she would always be there for her

That would be the moment when Lena decided that the moment she got a break and could see Emily again she was proposing, not knowing that Emily was also gonna start looking for a ring

Now for some smaller headcannons

Emily is related to Moira, just because it would be really funny. She doesn’t bring it up because Moira reached out to her niece and told her not to mention the familial relationship between them (this is when Moira was fired from Overwatch and disgraced) because she doesn’t want her niece’s life to get messed for it

Neither Lena or Emily can cook a full meal, they can make amazing teas and desserts but the moment they try to make a full meal they mess it up in some way that ends up with them eating out

Emily has a gun and she knows how to use, she’s never had to bring it out but it’s easy to reach, she showed it to Lena when they first moved in together and it helped Lena fell more secure with her rejoining Overwatch and when Null Sector attacked London because Emily would have some way to defend herself

If it ever comes to light that the Slipstream was sabotaged it’s unclear who will be more pissed off about it between the couple, it’s Emily. Look Lena would be all sorts of angry about it but Emily actually has a temper unlike her girlfriend and has always been upset that they didn’t get a chance to meet sooner because of the Slipstream’s failure

Finally my thoughts on something else unrelated

I want Emily to become a playable character because we have all sorts of familial relationships between the various heroes in the game but not one that is explicitly romantic, not hinted at they are just straight up in a relationship

I just want that sort of dynamic in game and if it actually happens with another set of characters maybe my opinion will change

Anyways hope this was fun for you all and let me know your headcannons because this is fun to do

[bridgyrose]

Is it bad that I’m imagining Tea Amidst Terrible Trouble is the Ruby Clone Army AU?

I feel like Ruby might actually choose to become someone else at the blacksmith because she believes that the Ruby Clones are just better than her.

(At some point I plan to get that far with this au, but I think you misunderstand if you think the Ruby Clones are better than here. Because, they're not better than her, just trained differently. No, the real problem is how easily they seem to replace her with everything. Which, yeah, if Ruby is that easily replaced, she'd definitely consider choosing to be someone else. That said, since here's a small continuation)

Ruby took a small breath as she stepped off the airship, feeling the cold, Atlas air hit her face. After a few days of resting and helping Pietro upgrade her equipment, she finally felt ready to take a mission with her friends to help Ironwood, and to take her mind off everything she’d learned. Clones of herself being used as weapons against the grimm, an army of huntresses that could be replenished at a moments notice, an army that would be loyal to Ironwood… it was almost as if she was being replaced.

She shook her head and let out her breath as she tried to clear her mind and spoke under her breath. “I dont need to worry about that right now.” 

“Dont need to worry about what, Rubes?” Yang asked 

“N-nothing,” Ruby said nervously as she started to make her way in front of her team. “Just excited for this mission!” She paused and shivered for a moment. “Though its a lot colder than expected.” 

Harriet nodded and started to walk towards the dust mine. “Its cold enough out here that even with aura, the windchill is enough to cut through you. And without aura, well… try not to let your aura break.” 

Ruby nodded and watched as her team made their way forward, following close behind them. Her heart raced with each step as she kept an eye out for any of the Ruby clones that might’ve been following them or sent ahead. It wouldnt have surprised her if Ironwood sent them out to start clearing the mine and let her and her team finish the cleanup. She paused in her step as she tried to take another shaky, deep breath as she tried to clear her mind again. 

Weiss put a gentle hand on Ruby’s shoulder. “Everything okay? Ever since we’ve come to Atlas, you’ve seemed on edge.” 

“I’m fine, really,” Ruby replied through a fake smile as she let out her breath. “There’s… there’s been a lot to take in since coming to Atlas. Ironwood being told the full truth, Penny being alive, the clones of me… it feels like I’m being pushed away and replaced.” 

“None of us would ever replace you.” Blake stopped in her step and flashed a smile to Ruby. “You’re our teammate, irreplaceable as our leader. No matter what, we’ll always follow you.” 

“Yeah, but… what happens when you dont?” Ruby pulled her scythe off her back, unfolding it and gripping the hilt as she looked into the blade at her reflection. She watched as her red cloak turned white, silver eyes flashing into a blinding light before returning back to normal. “What… what if every decision I’ve made is a mistake?” 

“What do you mean?” 

“I-I wanted to go to Haven Academy for answers about who Cinder was and why Beacon had to fall. And since then, we seem to keep getting in deeper and deeper without any clear answer about what we’re really doing. Salem wants me and I still dont know why, she cant be killed and we still dont have a plan to stop her, I… I backed Jaune up with stealing the airship and almost got ourselves killed doing it…” Ruby felt her arms shake for a moment as she remembered watching the cannon start to charge just before she took her shot. “And now we told Ironwood the truth, the same truth that we all had an issue with accepting. How do we know we’re doing the right thing?” 

“We dont,” Yang answered. “All we can do is keep going and see if we can figure things out. Besides, Ironwood thinks he has a plan that’ll work and Uncle Qrow seems to trust him. And maybe having those clones of you will help us.” 

Ruby looked up at Yang, her heart breaking at hearing that. “You… you cant be serious. He made those clones to replace me!” 

“Only if you were dead,” Weiss rebutted. “And since you’re clearly not dead, those clones wont replace you. But that doesnt mean we shouldnt use them to our advantage.” 

“Yeah but-” 

“None of those clones will ever replace you,” Blake said as she started to walk deeper into the mine. “But right now, we need Ironwood’s help, so if that means we’ll need to get used to an army of yous at our side, then we should use that to our advantage.” 

“I-” Ruby held her tongue as she watched her team walk ahead of her, deeper into the mine. For a brief moment, it truly felt like her team didnt need her, even though she knew that wasnt what they had meant. Finally, she let the words out as she followed behind everyone else. “I… just want to be careful about all of this.” 

Ruby started to rush forward to keep up with her teammates, fingers gripping her scythe tightly as she ran down the tunnel. She stopped once she saw the geist in the main chamber, controlling chunks of dust. “Alright team-” 

“We’ve got this!” Harriet yelled out as she joined the rest of the Ace-Ops. 

Ruby slowly lowered her weapon as she watched the Ace-ops work flawlessly to take down the geist, Marrow using his semblance to slow it down, while Clover picked off chunks of dust that Harriet, Elm, and Vine caught. She quickly raised her weapon as she noticed the geist leaving the dust it possessed, making its way to another pile of rocks and dust. With her finger on the trigger, she tracked the grimm as Clover’s hook missed the mask… until a silver light caught her off guard, blinding her for a few seconds until she heard the sound of rock hitting the ground. As her vision cleared, she saw a couple of the clones rush in with their semblances to catch the remaining dust crystals. 

“Got it!” one of them yelled out as they hit the ground. 

Clover smiled and sheathed his weapon. “You both came just in time. And I’m sure you’ll be able to handle the rest of the cleanup, right?” 

“Yes sir!” the clones yelled out in unison, saluting to Clover. 

Ruby tightened her grip on her scythe as she let it fold back up. “My team and I will make sure the perimeter is cleared-” 

“No need to worry about that,” Elm said as she put down one of the dust chunks. “If those two are here, then that means everything around us is clear. You and your team can head back to Atlas to rest. Tomorrow will be the start of a long week.” 

Ruby slowly put her scythe onto her back as she watched the clones pick up some of the scattered dust crystals. Everything she could do, they were capable of. Just as fast as her, able to clear out grimm with ease, even able to use their eyes reliably. She lost focus on the clones as she felt Yang lightly hit her shoulder. 

“We should make it back to the airship before it takes off,” Yang said. “And then we can play a few games before it gets too late.” 

Ruby made a small nod as she looked away from the clones, putting up another fake smile as she held back the pain she felt. “That… that sounds like a… like a great idea.”

[dreamspace24]

My Dearest Valentine,

A/N: Didn't get the chance to write this until last night, so while it's late, I hope y'all don't mind the fact that you're getting Valentine's Content of me and Ted! This is part 1 of a 2-parter, and you can read part 2 here! Not much else to say, but I do hope you all enjoy, and had a good Valentine's!

The hardest part of waking up in the mornings was trying to leave bed, definitely. 

As Sara stirred from her slumber, the first thing she felt was warm. Warmth, and strong arms holding her tightly, cradling her against a firm chest. She couldn’t help but bask in the feeling, shifting to press closer to him, wishing she could just stay in his arms the entire day. 

Alas, she had work in a couple of hours. How cruel this world was, depriving her of spending Valentines with her love. Even if they could just celebrate it on a different day, it wasn’t the same.

Oh well.

She opened her eyes slowly, glancing up at Ted’s sleeping face, happy to see him look so peaceful. He didn’t get a lot of rest either most days, but at least he could rest today. She reached a hand up to his head, running her fingers through his hair and taking in how soft and silky it was, even if a bit tangled. His bed-head was cute. All of him was cute.

He stirred slightly from her touch, arms tightening around her, and she had to suppress the urge to laugh while he clung to her like a teddy bear. Her sweet teddy bear.

Her hand drifted from his head to his cheek, letting it rest there for a moment as she watched him settle back down and still once more. What she wouldn’t give to stay like this… Oh, if only.

She needed to get up. She’d be late.

It took a minute of gentle coaxing and shifting, but Sara eventually untangled herself from him without waking him up. She slipped out of bed, wincing from the cold of the room, immediately grabbing one of Ted’s sweaters and pulling it on. Hugging it to herself and feeling much warmer, she started her morning routine once more. 

Breakfast first; hard to do anything without food to wake her up. Then cleanup, getting dressed (the hardest part; she didn’t like taking off his sweater), making sure her bag was packed, and all of this while trying to stay as quiet as she could. Thankfully, being quiet was her expertise.

Once all dressed and ready, there was just one final thing to do. 

She went over to the fridge and pushed aside large bowls and containers and miscellaneous things crowding around what she was after: an unsuspecting brown paper bag. Pulling it out, she went over to the table and took out its contents: An expensive bottle of red wine, and a heart-shaped box of gourmet chocolate. A part of her considered leaving them in the fridge so they could stay cold… But it didn’t sound very romantic to wake up and find those things next to a bowl of lettuce. 

She tossed the bag away and angled the items together, trying to make it look perfect for when he woke up. And once she was satisfied, she went back to the bedroom, moving over to her vanity drawer and pulling out a white envelope with a red heart sticker keeping it closed. A sweet letter she had written for him, since she couldn’t be with him for the whole day.

For a writer, she had surprisingly struggled with this. There was just too much to say and not enough space on paper. But as she opened up its contents to give it one final read-through, she was sure she liked what she came up with.

To My Dearest Valentine,

It pains me to know I can’t spend the day celebrating with you, but I hope the gifts and this letter make up for it. 

I know this is only our second Valentine’s Day together, but to be honest, I feel as though I’ve celebrated a thousand and more with you. Perhaps because every day feels like Valentine’s Day, or maybe because I know you so well I can’t remember a time where we didn’t celebrate together. In either case, it’s always special, so I hope to make this one special, too. 

I’m sorry I have to be gone for the whole day, but I promise we will find the time to do something. I’ll even make it a surprise so you can be pampered for the day, if that’s what you want. For now, just relax and enjoy your day off. Enjoy the chocolate and wine, and wait for me. I’ll come home to you soon enough.

With all my love and more,

Sara.

Her heart fluttered, both in nerves and excitement. It looked perfect. She hoped it was perfect. All that was left to do was to let him read it and hope the hours would speed by. 

She placed the letter back inside its envelope, closed it with the sticker, and sealed it with a kiss. Then, she placed it on top of the chocolate box and sped-walk to the door, glancing at the clock on the way. She’d make it in time, thankfully. 

Stepping out and shutting the door behind her, she left her sleeping love alone, hoping he wouldn’t mind the wait.

[kitkatt0430]

Haven't done this in a while, but HOPPY EASTER everyone, here have an Easter gift of villains being villainous in a villains win story.

The obvious solution to save Dante seemed to be to make sure he was sent somewhere far, far away. Which Savitar cheerfully agreed to. “I know a few realities we could drop him off on where he’d be relatively safe. Live out a normal human life, only have to worry about the normal human problems. Cars are dangerous and so is walking down the stairs if you trip. Hell, bad run in with a vacuum cleaner and next thing you know you’re going in for MRIs and knee surgery.” “Do you ever shut up?” Reverb muttered in irritation. If he’d asked Zoom something like that? Vibrating hand through the chest, immediately. Savitar just laughed.

Savitar is a bit of a talkative and sarcastic little shit in this one, but once Reverb gets more comfortable around him the banter will be much more two-sided. (This is totally villain flirting, right?)

But it's not just villains being villainous around here. From the Eobard-is-the-shitty-ex fic for Barry/Cisco/Hartley...

“I let Eobard convince me you were a lying brat and by the time I realized he’d been playing me…” Cisco hesitated. “I’m sorry, Hartley. I should have listened to you.” “And maybe if I hadn’t been an easily flattered idiot, I would have realized what he was really up to and turned him in with proof before things got too far.” Hartley heaved a sigh. “Maybe I could have stopped him before he ever had the chance to hurt either of you.” “Him using you… using all of us… that’s not any of our faults,” Barry said. And, for the first time, he might even believe it.

The only reason Barry can pull out of his own guilt complex? He feels the need to help Cisco and Hartley pull out of theirs. Right now they're sitting outside the building where a long hearing over Eobard's actions just took place and old grievances are being aired and reviewed. So it's been a long, hard day for all three of them, having to give testimony on their relationships with Eobard at some point during the process. But the hearing was entirely off screen, because I didn't want to have to research the actual process of investigating these kinds of allegations. Just move on to these three bonding, shall we?

Tommy is having to deal with a lot of obnoxious Queen family nonsense in the Ep3 rewrite for my Arrow Redux series. Including Oliver teasing him a little over wearing some of his mom's things as a kid. Though, to be fair, there's definitely the impression afterwards that Oliver liked getting to see Tommy in those things...

“We were, what… twelve? Thirteen.” “Ollie, do not.” “And we found your mom’s old stuff in the attic…” Tommy sighed. “I looked good in the tiara and heels, shut up.” Dig chuckled softly. “You must have missed her a lot,” he offered, looking amused by their antics. “I did. I still do. I have most of her things squirreled away in storage, actually,” he said with an amused smile. “And I do still look good in the tiara and heels,” he added with a smirk, just to see how that would get taken.

I've still got about... a third of the episode left to go? And then I can run cleanup on the fic. I'm also using this scene to set up an event taking place between episodes 6 & 7 as I'm trying to use the airdates of episodes as guidelines for approximately when the events within them occur and Tommy is going to be participating in an annual charity auction for an LGBT+ cause. A date auction, of course. ;)

Instead of trying to fit that into an episode rewrite, I'll probably just include it as it's own separate fic between those two rewrites.

[eimearkuopio]

You live in a big fancy manor house owned by a rich man who runs a lot of the village. Never mind how he acquired that wealth, or whether he is a just lord. That part of the story doesn't matter right now.

He left his servants and his children in charge while he stepped out for a bit. The children decided it would be fun to throw a rager, and went around inviting everyone in the village. Some people wanted to join in. Some people felt like they had to because the local lord's children were insisting. Some people got straight-up kidnapped out their own fucking homes and dragged to some stupid party they didn't even want to go to.

And some people really shouldn't have been invited in the first place, but that's what happens when you decide to "get wild".

Things got out of hand. You got your first taste of freedom, and it was sweet until it turned bitter.

Luckily for you, I live in the next town over, and one of my kids ended up at your party. She had the common sense to get in touch, in spite of all the older kids yelling at her and telling her it was a bad idea and you would all get in trouble.

And now, I'm here.

Think of me as your slightly weird aunt. Your dad doesn't approve. We have different parenting styles, and sometimes I'm more liberal, and sometimes He is, but we both love your whole generation of tiny dumbasses.

Admittedly, I love my tiny dumbass more than I love His tiny dumbasses, but I do still love you.

You've trashed the place. Maybe you didn't think that would happen. Maybe you thought the House Rules would keep the party from devolving into chaos.

Step one is getting rid of the ones who shouldn't be here. Anyone who wants to leave, LET THEM. It's not their job to clean up your mess. Some of them have homes to go to! Anyone who wants to help out, you owe them one. You're scared of how they might leverage it? Too bad, shouldn't have thrown a rager. Anyone you think it might be a good idea to get rid of anyway... Make your own call and accept the consequences, or feel free to ask me. I might not get it right, but I have better odds than most of you kids. (The kid who called me is sticking around. You owe her big time, but you don't need to be worried that she'll be in trouble when it's time for her to come home. If she hadn't managed to overcome the terror you instilled in her, she might actually have tried to torch the place, and that would have been worse. She did fine.)

Step two is cleanup and repairs. Anything absolutely trashed beyond repair should be recorded and remembered. If it's something that can be replaced, you're going to need to figure out how. In this parable, children should do more of the clean-up than servants. Servants will guide and instruct, and will probably help out because that's part of their job, but they didn't make this mess and I will not be happy if they are left to clean it up. Maybe think of it as the shepherds being given carte blanche to supervise the wise men. My kid is a good kid, but she's still a kid. Ask her, and if she's not sure, she'll try to find me.

I'll wander around and keep an eye on things. This is your house, not mine, so I don't know the specifics; but I actually run my own household instead of leaving it all to the servants, so I can probably offer some helpful tips.

I don't know when He'll be home. I don't know how bad it will be when He gets here; I've seen some pretty messed up shit, but He has definitely mellowed with age. But I would strongly recommend you stop wasting any more time and GET TO WORK.

[alicesadventuresinffxiv]

FFxivWrite2024 Complete! ...So now what?

Whew! Definitely still recovering from writing every day for a month straight. Speaking of which, if you’re looking for my master post of entries, it’s here and it’s now complete!

I also made some silly graphs because I love doing statistics on fan stuff, including my own :3

(Come to think of it, I still need to do that writeup on how I determined the top 10 F/F ships… it wasn’t trivial to figure out!)

So with the challenge done, the question is, what's next for this blog?

First of all, I’m planning to put the oneshots I wrote up on AO3 at some point! But it will be a slow rollout when it does happen. There’s a few fics I think will need major cleanup, and I’m also considering doing a gpose for each one as practice. 

Meanwhile, I haven’t quite figured out what I want to do with the scenes from my Stormblood AU/TCaFS. At a rough guess, I think I’ve now written 75% of the major scenes, but there are lots of small moments and connecting tissue missing - including several scenes that I suspect will work a lot better visually than in prose. So do I keep writing in prose? Do I go with my original plan of doing them as screenshot comics? A mix of both? Well, there's no need to decide immediately…

After all, at the moment, I think I still need a bit of a rest! I’m really thrilled I managed to fill every prompt and even do all the extra credit. But now that I’ve proved to myself I can do it, I suspect I won’t try to do that again. I now have a whole mountain of other people’s fics to catch up on!

It would be nice to do another art queue too, perhaps… hmm…

Yeah, I think that’s what I’ll do for the next few weeks. Make little queues of some of the fanfics and art that I missed! Expect lots of NPCs, because that’s just where my brain is at these days! :D

[tirfpikachu]

Hey lay! About ur book with bridging the gap between radfems and tras, would you mention people who are 'post' all that? I've definitely been a tra-alinged person in my teens, then rapidly peaked and was seeking out radfem ideas, but in recent times I've let go a bit and relaxed (along with getting sick of radblrs homophobia and trads) I don't know how common my stance is, but it might make for a good footnote somewhere in there

okay dude ngl... i think ppl who got bored of radical feminism and became apolitical or at least politically vague when it comes to active modern feminism are the grand majority, the norm. it's a valid life choice that i have had to take in the past too, but like.. some ppl within radfeminism were shitty, so you disassociate from the movement instead of taking part in reforming it and bettering it for marginalized folks. it's hanging up the towel. and that's fair, not everyone has a resilient enough mental health to survive social activist movements. but honestly i don't really think much about passive people in my activism. post-radfem and post-tra is just too vague to even define anymore. political labels are meant to unify and combat against an oppressive class. without it, you're swimming in nothing. you're not taking a stand. there were some who distanced themselves from #metoo, blm, etc as well bc there was the usual predictable amount of toxicity in it and needed some cleanup. bad takes are everywhere, shitty ppl will crop up sometimes. but if you give up you're becoming a centrist again. you're not a soldier against the patriarchy anymore, you're a rogue. as long as you do work as a rogue who cares, you do you. but if you just sit back and watch, you're just tired and not involved. and so i won't discuss you much in my activism or my book, bc to me activism is about resolving issues and making progress. and you can't make progress without interacting with fellow activists, as messy and stupid as they can be. movements like that are also HUGE and you can find a chill nuanced corner to hangout in if you search enough. but words are just words, and you can call yourself whatever. you just have a different strategy for fighting the patriarchy, maybe by reforming generic feminism instead or liberal feminism or hell, maybe making your own branch of feminism. who knows. just look inwards and try to see if you're a feminist, if you're active in the movement, or if you're just a bystander affected by the results. at least call misogyny out when you see it and do whatever you can to confront the patriarchy and make positive social change in your personal life. if not, then you're not a feminist. feminism, especially radical feminism, is about feminist actions and powerful words and building an actual movement. if you're very vague about your affiliation or your goals, you may just be nudged out of our way instead. sowwy <3 i still def will mention post-identification people, but it won't be a big part of it. but that's not to shame. ppl use lots of different terms and can divorce themselves from a political label for various reasons. your mental health is still #1, if it's best for you to just snoop on radfeminism but not be a part of it then that's okay too. yolo!

[andmaybegayer]

Last Monday of the Week 2023-07-17

Joining my aunt for her Europe Adventure. Learning fascinating new things about how to move around different cities.

Listening: I don't know whether I like Drumfish yet but they keep putting out music and I listen to it, new video for BONES

Watching: Nothing

Reading: Too Like The Lightning, with which I am almost finished. It's a lot of fun! It draws you in with the desire to learn more about the incredibly fucked up future bunch of Enlightenment Fanboys! The gender is so much.

Playing: Also nothing

Making: Thorough cleanup of the new old furniture I just brought into The Thicket, including rewiring the two-ended lamp for remote control and replacing the antique halogen with LED. I got these from a cool furniture refurbishing place that I'm definitely going back to if I need more slightly mismatched and cheap furniture. The little cabinet is a fantastic hiding place for the autovacuum.

They're nothing special, pine and veneered pine, but if you paid this much at IKEA you'd get the cheapest chipboard imaginable and I do not like dealing with chipboard if I can avoid it, nuisance material. I'm pretty sure the hybrid lamp/sidetable is someone's DIY project because I saw a lamp exactly like this in someone's house last week.

That rewiring job isn't finished, don't worry, I'll make all the connections safe. I just ran out of parts and wanted to test it out.

Tools and Equipment: pitching the Interrail/Eurail pass system for extended rail travel around Europe. You buy a pass and it grants you N travel days where you can hop on and off trains more or less with impunity. You need to reserve seats on some trains but that's like €3-5 and you can do it pretty last minute on all but the busiest links. Booked end to end trips are fine but the quality of connections is still kind of finicky so it's nice to have a fallback when something gets delayed, I already used that once.

[letsplayballet]

so uh. this post didn't get a whole lot of attention but it did get just enough for me to start trying to write some other scenes. this piece is pretty different vibe-wise, and i'm pretty sure it's not done, but i'm tired of looking at it so!!

~*~

“Have I told you that my father was a cop?”

Akira stops, losing his mental grip on the rest of the sentence he’d been writing for his literature assignment for Kawakami. Glancing up from the paper, he sees Makoto sitting tense as a coiled spring on his perpetually dusty couch, knuckles white on her pen, staring through the textbook in front of her as if she could see into the café below their feet. If it weren’t for Morgana’s perked ears from where he’d been half asleep on the table, Akira could almost believe that she hadn’t said anything at all.

It had been a little strange, when Makoto had shown up hours early for their planned infiltration of Futaba’s palace. She’s his teammate, and he trusts her implicitly, is willing to put his life in her hands- if she’d shown up that morning asking him to go backpacking across China with her, he would only have asked if it could wait until after they’d dealt with Medjed. But despite all this, they haven’t had a lot of time to spend together individually, and Akira gets the sense that there’s still a lot he doesn’t know about her as Makoto, as opposed to Queen.

And she hadn’t asked to do anything drastic. Hadn’t asked anything at all, actually. Just stood in the entrance to Leblanc silently, exactly 15 minutes after opening, until Akira (remembering all I am is a burden to her, remembering the faintest gleam of guilty relief in her eyes when telling them I haven’t seen my sister in days) finishes brewing coffee for the both of them and just as silently brings her upstairs to his room.

They’ve been working on their summer homework for nearly an hour, quiet but not uncomfortably so. This is the first either of them has broken the silence, and it’s pretty clear that whatever is on Makoto’s mind has been weighing on her for a while.

Realizing she’s still sitting there, tense and unmoving, Akira clears his throat a little. “Once, I think? You said he’d worked the beat in Shinjuku.”

Makoto lets out a long, measured breath through her nose, and her jaw unclenches ever so slightly. It’s another few moments before she speaks again.

“He was. He was actually a really instrumental part of the Shinjuku Cleanup Operation.”

She stops again. Bites her lip. Her pen shifts slightly in her grasp.

“I… Growing up, I thought of him as a hero, you know? Idolized him, even. I didn’t know much about his job, not really, but between the few things he shared and what I would always see on shows, I definitely had this golden, untouchable image of what he did. Hunting down criminals, bringing justice to the world… I wanted so badly to be just like him.”

There’s a faint, fond wistfulness to her tone that makes Akira intensely grateful for her still-distant gaze, forcing his breathing to remain calm and even as he gently sets his own pen down and hides his shaking hands in his lap. For a moment he’s overwhelmed –

that dark, ugly fury rising up in him, blinding, screaming see, you can’t trust anyone, as if anyone would give a fuck about you when you’re nothing –

the sense memories of hands too-tight grabbing pulling and concrete hard and cold against his face –

until his battle instincts kick in and he’s able to bring his mind back to his body in the (conditional, relative) safety of his attic room. This is Makoto. She’s not an idiot, and she’s not frivolous with her words, still learning she can say more than the bare minimum she absolutely needs to. If she’s saying all this, to him of all people, then there’s something important in there.

Thankfully, Makoto has lapsed into silence again, too lost in organizing her thoughts to notice his slip. He can feel Morgana’s eyes on him, though, and makes a mental note to block out his evening for that conversation just as Makoto continues.

“When he-” she pauses once more, swallows. “When he died on the job, a few years ago, I only became more motivated to follow in his footsteps. I was… so convinced that there was some nigh-unstoppable tide of evil out in the world, that the police were gallant figures holding the line, and if I joined the police I could…”

“You wanted to help people,” Akira says quietly, filling in as Makoto trails off. Like you needed to be helped, he doesn’t continue, because maybe he’s projecting, though the resonance of his bond with her makes him think he probably isn’t.

Makoto gives a little self-deprecating scoff, turning to look at him for the first time. “I’m sure I sound like some naive idiot, don’t I? I even-” she barrels forward, frustration entering her voice, before Akira can even think to say anything in response, “- I would see stories of corrupt officers, mistreatment, false convictions, and every time I would write it off, or come up with excuses. But then I met you, and none of my excuses sat right even before I tried to blackmail you about dealing with Kaneshiro, and when his men grabbed me off the street the cops at the corner just watched as they forced me into the car and -”

The pen in Makoto’s hand snaps loudly, causing all three of them to jump as shards of plastic clatter across the table.

There is a long, frozen moment where everyone stares at her still-clenched fist and the crooked end of the pen barely kept in place by her grip. It’s broken only when Makoto lets out a loud, shuddering breath and drops the ruined remains of the pen to the table. Morgana makes a quiet noise and stands, crossing the table and sliding into her lap as Makoto presses her own hands to her face in an attempt to compose herself.

Akira gives her a minute, gathering and tossing the pen in the trash and wiping up the few stray drops of splattered ink before sitting next to her on the sofa. He leaves a little space, just in case – but it’s quickly closed, Makoto pressing her shoulder against his, Morgana’s purrs loud and soothing between them.

[gunsli-01]

Trick or treat!

Tricolored Sweets with Pumpkin Smashing

A 3koto fic

There were very few benefits to working an office job. Well scratch that there were barely any benefits to working an office job. The hours were grueling, the pay would probably never be a livable wage, and if you didn’t get on well with your coworkers that could be the difference between your continued employment or termination. Then if you were unlucky enough you could wind up knowing your boss’s work and personal number.

I was unlucky enough.

Yet, there were some days that were better than others. Days where everyone was on their best behavior and there was an almost jovial atmosphere. Seasonal workdays. It’s barely any surprise- Bring a bunch of graphic designers together in one cramped space and there’s bound to be one person that goes all out for one holiday. Yet, Halloween was a day where everyone pulled out all the stops and pitched in.

That coupled with how rowdy things could get in the area during this time. Well, it is Shibuya after all. Most were just waiting for the workday to end and the festivities to start.

“Mikoto, good job on the decorations. It’s really helping with the atmosphere. Almost makes me not hate spending most of Halloween here.”

“Ah, it was nothing.” It was around four in the evening. Maybe with some luck I’d be able to get out of here at a reasonable time for once. I really hate working nights. Most of the employees with kids had left for the day already. So, it was mostly people around my age still hanging around. At around nine they’d start heading out too.

“No need to be modest about it. The chief flung all the decorating onto you at the last minute, and you still managed to do it. It’s impressive. Like what did you stay here all night?” Another coworker chimed up and I laughed.

“Ha, of course not-“ I had. “I’m really into horror so the moment they brought it up I already had a lot of ideas. It was pretty easy, really.”

“Man, well hopefully he has someone else to clean it up at least.” A pit formed in my stomach as they spoke.

“Cleanup is going to be hell. I feel sorry for whoever gets stuck doing that. Especially that gory sight in the men’s restroom. Highlight of the day though.” They all began chatting about it casually as I took a very cautious glance at my currently cut off phone.

“But you know- the chief is such a hard ass that he’s definitely going to want this all gone by tomorrow. Well, that’s what the custodial staff is for.” The first guy said as I could hear the telltale sounds of them getting ready to leave. Had that much time passed already. It was rather dark out.

“Hm, Mikoto you’re staying? It’s already past nine.”

“Ah- yeah I just have some finishing touches to add to this and then I’m heading out.”

“Well, make sure to lock up properly and take the trash out.” I just gave them a nod as I continued what I was doing.

“Man, didn’t you just say that’s what the custodial staff is for?” The other asked.

“Well, the chief says the last one out should do at least that much. His rules not mine.”

“Ha, ha- It’s fine I’ve got it.” I do it most days anyway. I’m almost always the last person to leave.

I waited for thirty minutes to give them ample time to get out of the area and make sure nobody was coming back. Watching the seconds grow into minutes on my computer.

“I need a smoke break.” I spoke aloud to myself in the empty office. As though I was announcing my departure to someone else.

It’s late… Why am I outside of the office? I looked over our phone and a mild annoyance began to bubble up. Ten thirty ugh I get to be out less and less these days. How long is this going to keep happening. Whatever, what is it this time?

[Hey, Mikoto make sure to clean up the decorations before you leave today. There’s a box in my office for you to put the decorations we can reuse in. Make sure to clean up that horrid display you set up in the men’s restroom too.]

“Ugh not again-”

I spent all of last night putting them up and now I have to take them down too!

“Ugh….”

I don’t even have energy to spare to get angry. I might as well hurry up and get this done before he wakes up. Don’t need this turning into a bigger mess than it already is.

It took until eleven twenty-seven but I managed to get everything done and the office locked up. At least-

“Huh, what am I still doing here- Was I going to go work overtime… Did I have work I had to do? There’s nothing I can think of… I’m pretty sure it’s all done. Besides I hate working overnight. Though an office at night on Halloween- It’d really give off that creepy vibe. All those empty cubicles and barely any light. Ah-” I should probably stop talking aloud to myself or people are gonna start thinking I’m crazy.

I guess there’s no used thinking too much about why I’m still here. Maybe work just ran later than usual. The lights are out and the buildings locked. The trash has been taken out too, so everything’s properly closed.  What time is it?

“Ah- no it’s gonna be twelve soon and I haven’t even done one Halloween thing. Maybe there’s a midnight horror film showing that isn’t sold-out!”

Ah, wait I did it again I really need to stop that. If the movie’s completely sold-out I’ll just binge some horror movies at home. I think I bought some candy ahead of time just in case. I might’ve eaten it all already though. Ah, I can’t remember and the more time I spend dwelling on it the less likely there are to be tickets left at any theater.

Let’s just forget about it for now.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN CANDCKIRBY!