#i don't remember their names now of course but they're still here. somewhere.........

[keeps-ache]

Reading your tag rambles makes me think of Night Vale! Kinda so random lol. I like how happy you always sound! Anyway, yeah idk whats up with the sudden bot-explosion on here! Wasn't this bad in a few months.

hfshfa thank you!! i just started listening to WTNV recently, it's definitely my vibe i love it :D yea lotta thoughts lol, it's why i added the slashes so they're easier to read hfvhhs and thaanks ◕ᵕ◕ sounding happy makes me happy so !!

really ! every couple months there's an influx, and sometimes a new theme! i think it's 'decay' this time loll

[nexus-nebulae]

oh my god. that one "oc" we wrote who had DID that we came up with before our syscovery. that was not an oc. oh my god cody and blake why did you take five years to make yourselves known to us-

[aboutchriss]

walk with me

Pairing: idol!BangChan x fem! reader

Genre: fluff

Warnings: chan being a cutie patootie with berry, reader is 22

Author notes: idk, okay?. i'm bored trying to avoid my relatives that are here for the chirstams holidays...please save me...i wrote this to...escape from this house, i hope you appreciate it. i'll probably do a part 2, it's 2:30 a.m here so yeah, and of course it's not proof read! (i'll read it tomorrow) oh and wear sunscreen my kids!!

💌

remember! english it's not my first language, please be gentle with me! let me know if there's any mistastake

💌

requests are open, especially on Christmas!

It's the perfect day in Sydney; the temperature is on point—not too cold, not too hot. It's the right temperature to wear a sundress and a little jumper that you probably won't use because you want to tan before the holidays, even if you want to tan though, you put sunscreen on and lay down on a beach towel in a public park, the grass is green and you can hear kids screaming and laughing while they're playing with a big grasshopper and any sort of insects, you have a book inside your purse, and cold tea, it's a daydream.

As you lay on the grass, something warm and wet touches your cheek—once, twice. When you open your eyes, you find a small, maybe a little fat dog with a smile on it's face (yes, dogs can smile). You sit down, looking around to find the dog's owner, and there he is the most beautiful, gorgeous man you have ever seen in your entire existence, is it possible? Are you having a heat stroke? He has dark brown curls, the kind of curls you can touch until you fall asleep, he's trying to hide a smile but you can see dimples on his cheeks, he has broad shoulders and big hands, and he looks like a damn Disney prince, are you daydreaming? What the fuck it's happening? "I am so sorry miss" He says in a muffled laugh

did he just called me miss, how old is he? 44? no, that's not possible, he's too beautiful to be this old

"oh, no worries -you giggle- i don't mind kisses from a gorgeous dog like her? are you a she or a he mh?" you say, now talking to the dog that is laying comortably on your lap

"oh uhm, she, her name it's berry" he says touching his ear

"Berry huh? what a pretty name" you rub her hear

"well i guess she's comfy there, 'm sorry, she's old and when she lays down somewhere well...umh - he touches the nape of his neck- she stays there for a while" he says looking right into your eyes

"oh, no worries...if you're free we can wait till she gets up" you say patting the place next to you on the beach towel

he smiles and you can finally see his dimples, and boom we're so fucked up y/n.

"your mom didn't teach you to not talk to strangers? i might be a serial killer" he says sitting down next to you

"what about your mom? -you echo- maybe i'm the serial killer" you smile at him

"touchè" he laughs

"i'm Christopher by the way, you can call me Chris or Chan" he says offering his hand

a veiny and big hand

"i'm y/n - you grab his hand and shake it- nice to meet you Christopher" he laughs

"are you from Sydney?" he asks caressing Berry that is still sleeping on your lap

"oh no, i work here, nothing more, what about you?" you say

"I was born and raised here, but i work in Korea, i'm here for the christmas holidays" he explains (not that you can hear something since your too focused on his thick lips, thanks god you're wearing sunglasses)

"Korea mh? and what do you do? CEO in a company? Actor? or you cook kimchi for stray cats?" you ask caressing Berry

he laughs and it feels like the sun just exploded

"I- uh- i'm an idol, nothing special" he shrugs

"an idol?" you echo

"mhmm, i have a group and we sing and dance and stuff like that" he says smiling

oh this dude really loves his job

"stuff like that mh? and are you famous?" you ask caressing Berry's head

"what about you? what do you do?" he asks

"uuuh, you're avoiding the question...is that a yes? you're famous!" you say giggling

"shhhh, i'm not, i promise i'm not that famous" he says

"oh...okay..." you look at him trying to see his eyes through his sun glasses

"so...what do you do?" he asks again, caressing Berry's head

"i-uh i work in a library, i own it actually...it's not that interesting" you say

"so you read a lot?" he asks

"i do, actually" you say smiling

"and what's your favorite genre?" he asks caressing Berry's body, his fingers brushing against your thigh

"i-do you want the real answer or?" you giggle

"of course i do!"

"smut"

"smut?" he echos

"yes, porn in books, smut, call it how you prefer" you say shrugging

"interesting" he nods

"do you want to grab a coffee with me?" he suddenly asks

"mh? you want to grab a coffee with me?" you ask

"yeah, with you and well berry, even if she might be the third wheel" he giggles

"okay"

"you don't have if you don't want to, i just asked because you're really cute and yeah i want to know you better" he spits out in one breath

"Christopher i said okay, let's go. I need to know more about your job and i won't leave Berry 'till you make me listen one of your songs, but before we go can i put sunscreen on your face? you burnt your nose" you try not to laugh

"oh? really?" he touches his nose

"mhmm -you nod- may i?" you asked

"sure, go on" he says lifting up his sunglasses

"tell me if i hurt you okay?" you say as you squeeze sunscreen on the tips of your fingers, putting it on his nose in the most delicate way possible

"you're kind you know?"

"i know" you smile

"i feel like a kid...wait i -he grab your hands gently- how old are you?" he asks

"old enough Christopher, don't worry" you smile

"i'm serious how old are you?" he asks

"i'm 22, and you?"

"i'm 27" he sighs and let go of your hands

"damn, what a sigh" you giggle

"i feel like a grandpa" he says

"you're not a grandpa Christopher, not with this body"

"oh-...thanks" he says is it the sun or is he blushing?

"okay, let's go, and by the way, you can't threat me with my dog" he says, getting up, grabbing berry from your lap and offering his hand to you

"what a gentleman! and that wasn't a threat, i just want to...listen to what you do okay?" you say grabbing his hand to get up and fuck he's also tall, and bigger than you expected

"of course i'm a gentleman. and yes, she's my baby, i would do anything for her, even embarassing my self in front of the most beautiful woman in this park with my songs" he says looking at you

"oh-" he giggles

is he flirting?

"come on, i know a good place for a coffee and maybe lunch?" he asks

"i'm right behind you" yeah right behind you staring at your fifty pounds of ass

"you know that my eyes are up here right?" fuck

"no, yeah i know, i was looking for my...purse...yeah my purse"

"liar" he says laughing and you push his back

"shut the fuck up, you've been staring at my boobs the whole time!" you say and he turns around to look at you

"i-did not- okay maybe a little okay? wait...you can see my eyes through the sunglasses" he asks looking down at you

"i do...you can see mine?" you ask

"i do"

"good than we're both idiots"

"maybe a little" he giggles

"come on, let's go we have a 10 minutes walk and berry is heavy"

"ugh, big arms for nothing" you mumble

"i could pick you up with one hand and throw you around if i wanted too" he says walking straight, he and his stupid fucking aura

"damn okay, sorry"

-

ten minutes later you're at the cafe, it's cute and cozy and the sandwiches on display looks yummy, and the man in front of you looks yummy; he took off his sunglasses now and you can finally see his eyes in a decent light, simply brown boba eyes, and you can clearly tell that he is a good man just by looking at his eyes. his eyes are also eating you alive, but again this is another story.

[abbysimsfun]

Sims In Bloom: Generation 2 Pt. 160 (Blast From the Past)

Felix pulled back anxiously as the blonde woman read his rights, a righteous anger creasing her dark brows. "Last I saw you, you floated up to me on my wedding day and begged me to run from my husband to join you as a ghost!"

"You what?" Lilith looked between them with a nervous smile.

"I..." Felix stammered. "I was still processing everything, Lil. I've had more than enough time to let go; it's been a century and a half."

"At least we hope so," she lamented, remembering they were here without Emit. She turned to the angry woman she suspected was her great-great-grandmother, Maude Alcorn Ruggbyrne. "Ma'am, do you know what day it is?"

The blonde cocked her head sideways. "July 13, 1920, of course! How don't you know that? Are you both dead?"

Felix reeled. "July 13th? You're certain?"

Maude pointed to a newspaper strewn across a nearby bench. "That's the paper I write for. Today's edition."

"We're a day early," he said to Lilith.

She frowned. "I must've set the wrong date on the device after we jumped from January 13th, 2020."

"What in blazes are you two talking about?" cried the blonde. "Felix, are you dead or not? And who in Watcher's name is she with all those nails in her face?!"

Felix and Lilith glanced helplessly between themselves. They weren't supposed to do anything that might change history, and they weren't supposed to tell anyone who they were, either. But Felix couldn't exactly lie to someone who knew beyond a doubt who he was. "They're piercings. Maude, and her name is Lilith Pleasant. She's my girlfriend."

"Your girlfriend!" she cried. "You...you were dead!"

"I was! For almost a century and a half," he said, leading the three of them to a nearby bench. "But a few years ago...In the future, I...I was still a ghost, and I made some friends who cooked up some ambrosia for me. You know how much I wished I could live again. Where I came from, Britechester looks pretty much the same as now, but it's been a long, long time."

"That old wives' tale about fish cakes is real?" He nodded, and Maude's face softened. "Why are you back here?"

"Lilith and I are helping a friend catch a time thief, but we overshot our landing by about 24 hours."

Maude looked at them as though they had two heads. "Felix, are you telling me tall tales? You sound like they just rolled you out of the asylum!"

"I promise it's not like that," he vowed. "But everything we tell you, we need to you to promise never to tell another soul."

"I'm a reporter, Felix! Telling the world the truth is my job."

"The world isn't ready for this. I'm not sure you're ready for this..."

"Spill it," she demanded. "Convince me your painted jumpsuits weren't issued by a psychiatric ward!"

"Could we go somewhere more private to talk? Maybe find a change of clothes so we don't stick out too much?"

Maude thought for a moment, studying Lilith with a discerning glare. "You're sure we can trust her? She looks spiky."

Felix laughed. "She's a lot like you."

Backhanded compliment or not, Maude appreciated the thought, studying Lilith with keen interest. "Berend's in Komorebi trying to become the first sim to scale the mountain, and Bruno's with his governess. I think she could fit into some of my roomier skirts."

Lilith laughed, unfazed. "She's not like me. She's more like Angela!"

"And who's Angela? Another girlfriend?"

Felix shook his head. "No, she's your great-great-granddaughter. And so's Lilith."

Maude's stunned expression remained until they'd made it to her two-storey home in Britechester. She lived here with her husband and three-year-old-son, but the elegant rooms were empty of voices when they entered.

Maude quickly found some clothes for Lilith to change into. "That hat hides the metal on your face quite nicely," she enthused.

Lilith forced a smile. None of the clothes she was wearing were her style, and she hated tucking her bright red hair under a hat. But she and Felix were stuck here waiting for Emit and the time thief to arrive the next day. She had to make the best of this.

Despite the rules they were supposed to follow, Felix and Lilith told Maude almost everything - about the ambrosia, about falling in love and Maude's connection to Lil's family tree. They showed her the time travelling device, and explained their mission to prevent a time thief from changing too much about the future.

But they didn't mention the young Landgraab behind the device - even in 1920, the name was too well known, and they'd promised Heather and Conrad they'd help protect him.

Maude listened intently, sitting before a portrait with her husband and young son - Lilith's ancestor, Bruno Ruggbyrne. "I never met my great-grandfather," said Lilith, but my grandmother Coral used to tell us he was the biggest charmer you'd ever meet."

"That sounds like Bruno." Maude smiled intently as she glanced at the portrait. "But Felix has been around a long time. It's a bit strange he's never found another soulmate except my own kin."

Lilith shook her head. "I think it makes sense. If he married you, my sister and I would have never been born. Bruno would have never been born."

Maude's face fell. "So this was meant to be? I was always supposed to be with Berend and you were supposed to live happily ever after with a girl with piercings in her face?"

"Lil's beautiful, Maude. She's your kin, after all."

"I think...you really love her," Maude said, rapidly processing this new information.

"I do. As much as you love Berend. Maybe more."

Maude smiled proudly. "My boss wanted me to quit the Times when Bruno came along, but Berend marched right downtown to insist I keep reporting to show our son what a hard worker looks like. When the boss promised to let me keep my job, Berend told him I'd take his job one day, too."

Felix was well aware of the future and he knew this was true, but he refrained from mentioning it. As long as things stayed the same, he didn't need to tell Maude what she would accomplish in her life. "I know I wasn't happy for you before, but a lot can change in a hundred-fifty years. I think you and Berend truly were meant to be."

"And I think Felix was always meant for me," said Lilith. "Before I met him I was stuck in a cycle dating an endless stream of losers and dreamers who didn't really care about me, but Felix showed me what it was to be really loved."

The corners of Maude's mouth turned upward. "Felix was always a good man. He let me pursue my career and didn't rush us into marriage, and I appreciated him for it every day...until the day he died on me. It's hard to overstate how important it is for a woman to be seen on the arm of a man to survive in this world, and after Felix' death, Berend offered opportunity. And I do love him, Felix. I know you said I never could as much I as I loved you."

"Maude, I was wrong. I'm sorry I tried to put you on the spot that day," said Felix. "You deserved better and you deserve this life. This beautiful house and your beautiful family suits you better than even I could have done."

She laughed. "You think you can date my great-great-granddaughter with that attitude? I know you, Felix. You were the best man I knew. I can see you haven't changed much, but I don't know you anymore. I don't know anything about this world you say you came from, with time travelers and computers and websites and eyeball phones, or whatever you called it. I don't know what a podcast is and my editor never puts my stories on the front page. Just his own tripe with spelling mistakes. A story like this could make my career overnight."

"If you tell anyone, you'll change the future in ways no one could possibly know," Lilith pressed. "Simanity doesn't figure out time travel until Emit appears in 2060. Even then, no one's saying much about it because it's so dangerous."

"That's why it's been so important to put the component together to catch the time thief," added Felix. "But if we get discovered here by anyone else, or you tell anyone about this, everything we've been though could be for nothing. Will you help us wait out our friend's arrival tomorrow?"

"I can't let you stay here tonight. My son and his governess will be home soon, and I don't know how to explain you to either of them, but I can help you find a room that'll let to unmarried men and women. I do need to work tonight at the Foxbury Jazz Club - why don't you come with me?"

Felix perked up at the mention of the club. "Foxbury Jazz Club was the place to see and be seen in the Roaring Twenties! I went once or twice, but never let anyone see me as a ghost."

"If you stick with Lilith tonight you shouldn't be recognized. Tonight's event's mostly out-of-towners who've come together for the Simlandia Builders' Club gala, and everyone's so well-known, they won't be looking at either of you. My editor wants me to take photos and sniff out content for the gossip page. You two could help me find a story to make up for the one I'm not allowed to tell."

Lilith, a loner at heart, didn't love the idea, but it would probably be a more interesting experience than sleeping on a park bench waiting for Emit to arrive the next morning. "I don't know any of the dances," she said sheepishly, but outgoing Felix grinned.

"I can lead."

"Berries!" said Maude with a grin. "I love the new jazz, and the Foxbury Club is heavenly!"

As they chatted, the front door opened and Maude stood, with a beaming greeting for Bruno and his governess.

"Mama!" Bruno raced into his mother's arms as the governess slipped quietly upstairs. "Mama we went park!"

"Did you have a nice time?"

"We threw rocks at pond!" Bruno laughed while he recounted his morning, looking up with curiosity when he spotted Lilith and Felix. "Who they, Mama?"

"These are friends of mine," said Maude, careful not to name either one. "They're going to work with Mama tonight to help me get a headline!"

"Mama Headline!" he celebrated, half understanding what it meant, but happy enough to join his mother in laughter.

Felix smiled at Maude with her son. He'd wanted children and a family of his own for so long, but he couldn't begrudge Maude for achieving her happy ever after. Not the way he once did.

"Motherhood suits you, Maude. Just as well as your career."

He felt Lilith's hand wrap around his own as they looked back to the portrait, and he wouldn't take for granted how their lives - or second lives - had thrived in recent years. In different timelines.

Felix knew his own happy ever after was just a proposal away. ->

<- Previous Chapter | Gen 2 Start | Gen 2.1 Summary

Gen 1 Start | Gen 1 Summary

FUN FACT: When I was putting together the newspaper, I looked up real history on July 13, 1920 and picked the weirdest piece of real news I could find. On this day in history, the US Postal Service had to ban people sending children through the mail because enough people were actually doing it.

WCIF: Thank you @deardiaryts4 and @matchalovertrait for letting your sims stand as models for the top right photo on the newspaper! I was so, so excited to play with them, you have no idea! And they look so good in some amazing period cc pieces, like Antoinette's La Maison Blanche coat by @javitrulovesims, Flapper Fabulous by Kiara Zurk (Antoinette's headband and Lilith's '20s hairstyle), Chorus Curls by Retro Pixels (Antoinette's hairstyle), Dmitri fashion set by @happylifesims (Antonio's hat), and happylifesims' Blessan jacket with @pleyita's matte trousers (Antonio's suit and Berend's portrait outfit in different swatches).

Lilith is in happylifesims' 1920s Cloche hat and Lady Mary's Day Dress, while Maude wears the 1920s Guest Dress in the family portrait on the wall. In the scene, she's wearing another happylifesims' Cloche hat and Day Dress 03. If you get the urge to set some scenes in the past or throw a costume party, happylifesims has incredible cc from many eras that I can't recommend enough. I couldn't have done any of this without their work.

I used @beto-ae0's Imperial Dynasty posepack for the portrait of Maude, Berend, and Bruno, and Maude and Bruno are posed in the living room with Guess How Much I Love You (Part 1) by @simmerberlin. The Ruggbyrnes' house can be found on the Sims 4 Gallery by JoaoDiBarro, and the Governess was aged up to elder and can be found on the Gallery by NMinnow.

And finally, I did not create Maude. A whole plate of cookies for after Iftari goes @purplesimmer455, who knew it was Maude when she showed up last episode! She guessed that this might be Mimsy, if not Maude - and fun fact - I used a Gallery-submitted version of Mimsy called 'Mimsy Von Haunt Teen Fix' and aged her up. I thought it looked nothing like OG Mimsy, while also resembling her just enough to be a sister (and the sim is beautiful), so Gallery-user mariuopole put up a good one!

I could not have put this installment together without the combined forces of everyone mentioned in one of my longest WCIF postscripts ever. Thank you so much, everyone!

[blueishspace]

Hero Villain God Bonus 1

(Prev) (Next) (First)

✨Hotguy answers the internet's most asked questions.✨

*The video opens to Hotguy in hero outfit sitting on a chair in a white room, he waves at the camera*

"Hello people! Hotguy here and this is my autocomplete interview!"

*Intro music*

"I'm dyslexic so I don't know how well reading is going to go"

[What Hotguy]

"What is... Hotguy's real name? Oh I'm sorry but you aren't going to find that on the internet! It's very confidential. I have seen a few interesting theories about it though"

*Hotguy has a pensive expression*

"For example, I heard people say I'm secretly Mayor Ren. It's kind of funny even if completely wrong. Next!"

"What is Hotguy's age? Uh, you guys are really curious about me...hence this whole thing, I'm flattered. You know, there is this site that said that I'm in my late fourties! Can you believe it friends? My fourties! I don't look that old do I?"

*The hand of the cameraman appears to do a so-so motion, Hotguy gasps*

"How dare you! I'll have you know I'm not fourty or worse...fifty"

"What is Hotguy's favorite colour? Orange of course! Next question!"

*Hotguy very dramatically reveals the next one*

"What is Hotguy's net worth?"

..."I don't even know Hotguy's net worth and I'm him"

*Hotguy giggles*

"To be honest, my manager helps me with that kind of stuff. They're totally awesome."

"What shampoo does Hotguy use? Oh you like my hair, do you? Well, I like caramel or oh oh! Maple syrup scented shampoo, really nice sweet smell. It was actually gifted to me first by the number 5 hero Tay and I liked it so much I kept buying it."

"What is Hotguy's personality type? I uh never done a test for that, my manager said it would be dumb so I never done it... Maybe I could do it in the future! What do you civilians think?"

[Did Hotguy?]

"Oh no, what did I do? I'm getting worried"

*He anxiously reveals the first one*

"Did Hotguy... Fire his pr team? Who is asking this? No! I did not do anything of the sort, I'll have you know that my pr team is having a great time... What's with that face mr. Camera man?"

*Cut to the next question*

"Did Hotguy kiss... Really? ... Did Hotguy kiss Mother Spore? I very much did not, she almost killed me in fact. I don't know where you guys got the idea that I'm in a relationship with her...moving on-"

"Did Hotguy go to school? Well, I did of course, got a degree too! It was around that time that the Hero association first scouted me actually. It's also when my manager actually became...well, my manager, it was a really busy time for me!"

[When Hotguy]

"Let's see, when did Hotguy appear? Oh! You mean my first public appearance? That must have been a while ago actually, 7 or maybe 8 years ago now? I'm not quite sure to be honest!"

*He puts his hand on his chin in thought before smiling*

"These last few years have been great haven't they? And now with my new sidekick entering the scene the next few are going to be even better!"

"When Hotguy merch? Oh, you can expect new merch coming soon! I have so much I want to say about it but I don't want to spoil the surprise! Just know that it's going to be amazing!"

*Wink*

*There is some noise from behind the camera*

"Oh right! Onto the next question!"

"When did Hotguy fight Poultryman? ... That guy sure is an headache, he's following me even here, never going be free of him I swear. It was around a month ago that I fought him for the first time, of course one failure wasn't enough to stop me! I'm still onto him!"

*He stands up as he says it before remembering where he is and sitting down*

[Who Hotguy]

"Who is Hotguy? Just the top hero in the country of course! I guess people outside of Hermmittopia might not know me as much as they do those who live here... "

"Who was Hotguy's first villain? Oh that I do remember, I think it was Midas... It was Midas right? ... Yeah. A really nasty guy with the power of turning things to gold. Of course I catched him and is now somewhere where he can't hurt anyone. Catching him was hard but I manget- ...managed, sorry, to assault his back-"

*❌ Sound*

"I managed to take him from behind -"

*❌ Sound*

"I managed to... Surprise attack him?"

*✅ Sound*

"Who is Hotguy's PR team... Again? You know what, I'm not answering this one again"

"Who is Hotguy's manager? Oh! I can't reveal their name but they're great, probably the smartest person I know! They're a scientist though, so I guess it makes sense that they would know so much!"

[Is Hotguy?]

"Is Hotguy hot? Sure am, It's in the name for a reason friends! Look at these muscles!"

*Hotguy flexes in front of the camera*

"Using a bow as much as I do will do that for you, requires a lot more strenght then people think."

"Is Hotguy... single? I am, saving the city is a lot of work so I don't really have time to date anyone... I know, so many fans must be heartbroken but don't be sad! If you are interested in love then I'm sure you'll find someone ... Or someones perfect for you!"

"Is Hotguy gay?"

...

"I'm pansexual, It's a very different thing. Moving on!"

[Where Hotguy?]

"Where was Hotguy born? Here in Hermmittopia actually, born and raised here! I know it may sound unbeliavable but it's true"

"Last but not least... Where does Hotguy live? I'm uh I really can't say my adress friend! Especially somewhere a villain might be able to see! Sorry!"

[vulpixisananimal]

<Null> {Mal Du Pays} [Loop] (Siffrin)

(Polaris is @neoncityrain's character)

<Move fast. There's not much time until that sadness shows up again, and you needed every edge you could get. What about those strangers you ran into? Those travelers?>

{You shouldn't trust strangers.}

<I'm well aware, but they both seemed competent. A five on one fight would go much better than three on one.>

<You were standing under the window to that girls room, Vixul. You threw a few rocks up at it, trying to get her attention. Nothing.>

"You're sure that's the room?" <Asked Mirabelle. She looked fidgety.>

"Positive." <You threw another rock. Still nothing. What happened last time?>

{Odile interupt us, it's possible they left the room after dropping their companion off.}

<Break in then, got it.> "Alright, help me up Ramos."

<After a bit of work, you got up to the window, opening it much faster than you did the first time. Good thing too, because the room was different from last time.>

<Polaris, that was his name, right? He was laying here unconscious, the door was open, notebook and spear taken. Left in a hurry? Either way, you pushed the window up and hopped inside. You call back to Mira and Ramos.>

"They're not here."

"Oh. . ." <Mira looks away.>

"Got here too late?" <Ramos asks. You nod.>

"Doesn't change the plan, Mira do you think you could give Ramos a hand?" <You say, leaning out the window and reaching a hand down for them.>

"Of course!" <Mira replied. She's trying to hide anxiety. You can imagine why. With a bit of work, you're able to help the defender-in-training in the room.>

<They dusted themself off and looked around, eyes landing on the unconscious stranger.) "That's him?"

"Yeah, better get to work, Rams." (You smile at them, and blink a few times- ah, wh-)

<Well that was sudden. Do you mind?>

(I don't know what just happened?!? Where, okay, update me?)

<One moment. You walk over to the window.> "Mira! If you could hide near the entrance, we'll run down to fight the sadness once it's inside, wait for us, okay?"

"A-alright!" <She nods, and is off. Now, Siffrin, welcome back.>

(You hold your head, Ramos was over by Polaris, a few fingers on his head and muttering something under his breath. You lean on a wall, sliding down to sit. Stars. . .)

{Putting our faith in strangers, Null? You don't even know if those wanderers are on our side or not.}

<Do you have a better idea? The tables turned fast last time, we need help.>

"Then why don't we try and undo the mind craft first. . ." (You mumble under your breath.)

"Huh?" (Ramos glances over at you.)

"O-oh nothing." (You smile at them.)

<Smooth.>

{Idiot.}

(Hey! Can we go back to planning?)

<Fine, alright, well the sadness was tough, it becomes invulnerable at times, but was weak to rock attacks. And it healed.>

(And blinding hurt!)

{Curious. You remember fighting it, do not forget it can freeze people in time.}

(Right, we haven't fought any sadness like that in, well. . . When?)

<The loops.>

(Right.)

{And there has been an absence of sadness, although they are slowly repopulating. Like some sort of King related population boom.}

(Not a fan of that idea, thank you very much.)

<Ugh, I hate you both.>

"I'm getting somewhere, I think." (Ramos speaks up, you see some sweat forming. You get up.)

"How. . . How does mind craft work?" (You ask.)

"You, don't know?" (Ramos asks.) "I-I mean, you seemed, to have figured most of it out after, uh-"

"No not like that, I mean how do you cast it." (You roll your eye.) "Basic crafts need your craft symbol, healing needs some form of focusing, body craft is a whole thing apparently, so. . ."

"Oh!" (Ramos thinks for a moment.) ". . . It's, like, like a mantra. You repeat something, in your head or with your words, willing the body, nerves, and mind to, uh, to follow."

"Right. . ." <A command.>

(You watch in silence, and close your eye. A mantra, huh. . .)

{"I wish I could have seen it." }

(Huh?)

{A mantra. Both to wish that they were your friend, and to know your secrets. That's what they said when you were effected by mind craft.}

(Oh. . .)

<Did you really forget?>

(Do I need to even answer that?)

"Okay, I'm, nearly done." (Ramos mutters, you let them work. You'll have to ask them about that "mantra" sometime.)

(In a flash, the strangers eyes opened, in a panic, he punched Ramos and dashed off the bed, fast.)

"Woah hey! We're not here to fight!" (You put up your hands.) "My friend just fixed you up, see?"

"Like I blinding believe that!!" (Said, Polaris? Yeah Polaris, that's right- wait.)

<Focus.>

(Ramos grumbled and got off the floor, holding their chest.) "Hey! That hurt!"

(Just talk.) "I promised Wren that we could help! That's your friend, right?"

"Yeah, friend." (Polaris backed up into the corner, looking between you and Ramos.) ". . . You know Wren?"

<Do you remember what Wren was like?> "Of course! Though I don't think he liked me very much."

"He's just dumb like that." <He pouted, looking away.> "Yeah, I'm Polaris. Who are you anyway?"

"Siffrin, savior of Vaugarde at your service~" (You say with a little bow.) "And this is Ramos, they're traveling with me and my party."

"You said blinding earlier?" (Ramos interrupts. Right, his accent sounded familiar.)

(Polaris blinked.) ". . . Uh, yeah? I did?"

{Ask it.} "Where are you from?"

"I-" {He stops, and looks away.} ". . . It doesn't matter."

<He's like us.>

(Yeah. . . You glance at Ramos, then take a seat on the floor.)

". . You woke up on a beach, probably in a boat, right? And you couldn't remember anything?"

(The look Polaris gave you was one of insanity and shock. He paused, then sat down.) ". . . How'd you know."

"Well, that's what happened to me." {Are we really doing this? Again, he's a stranger.}

(We have to! We were so confused for so long, and, if we can help. . .)

{Null?}

<. . . I'm with Siffrin.>

{Fine.}

(Alright, you breathe in, and out. You know the story. You know it. Don't focus on it. Just talk without conscious input.)

(Just, talk.)

"I, I was having dinner, and I didn't want to eat my veggies."

(Polaris and Ramos are looking at you, waiting.)

"And, I wanted to get back at my parents. So, I took our small boat, went out, and when I looked back. . ."

(. . . . . . . .)

"Well?" (Ramos asks. Polaris looks sad.)

(Huh-? What were you talking about?)

"I couldn't make anything out." <You took over.> "It slipped from the mind. The more you look, the harder it is to see. A cruel joke, right?"

<No one laughed.>

". . . I woke up knowing nothing. Life was a blur. Just, wandering-"

"Like driftwood on the waves." <Polaris cuts you off.>

"Huh?" (Ramos asks.)

"That's what my teacher used to say." (He rubbed his shoulder.) "They were nice, they said I went through life like driftwood on the waves."

<Huh. That sounded familiar.>

"What did they teach?" (You ask.)

". . . Huh?" (He looked up. Confused.) "What'd who teach?"

(You and Ramos look at eachother. Stars. . .) "It's alright. Forget it."

(. . . . The uncomfortable silence is broken by Ramos.) "Uh. . . Soooo how'd you end up with those two?"

"Vixul and Wren?" (He pinched the bridge of his nose.) "Bleh, Vixul showed up in the town I was in, I got a weird feeling I knew her so, I just followed her. A bit later we met Wren and he tagged along."

"Well, did Vixul know you?" (You ask.)

"I, don't know." (He rubbed his head.) "She. . . Blinding- she's only ever said 'iTs coMpLiCatEd' and left it at that! She knew my NAME! I didn't even know my name!!!"

"She. . ." (You're looking at Ramos, what is going on?)

"Polaris, she told me my name's Polaris. Never told me how, never told me why. Just, that it's Polaris."

(There's an even longer and more uncomfortable silence. How is that possible? Who the hell is she?)

{She's a prime suspect is who she is.}

<Why? Why would she mind craft her own traveling companion. Why wouldn't she mind craft us, either.>

{We could be mind crafted already and not even realize-}

(That's not what I mean! We can't place her accent, she says she's from somewhere impossible to guess, she's strong, she knew Polaris' name even though he's from the island, so, who is she!)

{. . . . . . . I don't trust her.}

<Do you trust anyone?>

{Do you?}

(Okay that's enough. You stand up.) "Listen, we're looking for the person who started this mind craft stuff, do you know if anything weird happened? Or. . ."

"Huh? Oh, uh. . ." (He scrunched his face up trying to think.) "Big, buff looking guy touched me and my head got weird."

"How weird?" (Asked Ramos)

"You know that feeling of someone looking over your shoulder? Uhm, that. Kinda." (He crossed his arms.) "Then I was knocked out, so."

"That was Wren." (You add.)

"Of course it was, blinding-"

(There was a crash and a scream from downstairs.)

[ashsimpsalot]

Home to home (Monkey Man Kid X Reader)

A/n: that scene where his ptsd got triggered.

Related to beedi with my cheeni

didn't know what to tittle this so it's based in the song I listened to while I'm wriitng:

He can't breathe

He can't breathe

Fuck!

He can't fucking breathe!

In through the nose. Out through mouth, Kid.

Breathe, you big baffoon! You've done this before, a million fucking time, BREATHE!

"Fuck!" he raged next to the dumpster, his throat is closing up. He feels his lungs falling apart. Stupid cigarettes!

Fuck this can't be it, this can't be how he goes.

He looks down at what he assumes to be his hands, are they? They're too blurry, shit is it his hands shaking making them blurry? Is it his eyes?

He needs to breathe

He needs to fucking breathe

He needs to

He needs..

You

He needs you

Kid reached into his back pocket, feeling a cold metal object against his fingertips he just fished them out. Hoping that it is his phone. By pure luck he tried searching for you contact number, pressing the phone to his ear desperately after

He hears it ring

Fuck what time is it?

How long has it been?

A month? Two months? Since he told you his stupid desire to seek out his mother's murderers?

'you can't do this to me, Kid. We fought so fucking hard! Remember? The orphanage, the poverty. We were homeless at some point! You can't-you can't up and leave when we're finally stable like this,'

he remembers your frantic eyes searching into his empty ones. You're desperate to keep him in this life, this dream you two built together. The guilt of surviving yet not avenging his mother's death left a heavy feeling in his chest, so heavy he spent weeks on the bed, barely leaving, eating, taking care of himself. It was you, you took care of him.

And he decided to get on his feet and throw everything out for revenge.

Ungrateful bastard.

He hears the phone rang. Why is it still ringing? You wouldn't have the heart to leave him hanging... Right?

'I swear, Kid, I won't search for you if you step out of that door.' fuck that's right, you swore-

"hello?" your voice drowsy with sleep. He can imagine it, your hair spilled everywhere on that floral pillow, sleeping in one of his big shirt with only some shorts under. Eyes barely open.

"hello? Don't play with me right now, I'm sleepy as fuck." the irritation in your voice makes it clear that you didn't open your eyes to see the caller ID.

He called your name, fighting against the dryness of his throat.

"Kid? What time is it? Are you okay? What's going on?" he could hear you waking up by each word you said. "why are you breathing like that, are you hurt?"

He didn't even realise the wheezing he was making.

"can't.. Breathe.." he croaked out.

"Kid? Baby, hey, follow me, huh? Breathe in through your nose, hold, out through your mouth."

He's been repeating that to himself but somehow when you do it, it works, he could finally breathe at least a little. You guided him multiple times until he thinks he's stable enough.

"where are you? Queenie's hotel?" of course you knew, when he told you about his plan he told you everything. No matter how angry you are at him you remember everything he says.

Kid nods before realising you can't see him. "yeah.." he keeps trying to steady his breath. "I'm coming."

"cheeni, no-"

"shut up, I'm coming," he heard the final stern tone in your voice and didn't bother fighting back.

He stayed on the phone the whole time, staring out somewhere, his breathing even but mind is as messy as a jungle. He realised you stayed on the phone too. He only murmured a few words when you asked him where he was

He had no idea how long he was sitting on that curb.

"Kid, hey," your voice reel half of him back into the cold night. You have your hand cupping his cheek, trying to get him to look at you.

"hey, I'm here,"

He sighed when he felt the familiar pattern, a kiss to the forehead, another to the nose and two for the lips. Your fingers buried in his curls. "hey, bandhar, you hear me?" he finally looked at you.

"I saw.. My maa in her." he whispered, eyes locked with yours. You had no idea who he was referring to but you nodded. "okay, come on, baby." you simply said, trying to get him on his own feet. "you finished your shift?"

He simply nodded. Wordlessly got onto his feet, clutching onto your waist.

"I saw maa," his head hung low, curls covering his face, his tall figure that always seems to stand unapologetically is slumped.

You cupped his cheek with one had, brushing your thumb against his cheek.

"bandhar, look at me." you called sweetly, trying to get his attention. He finally lifted his head to look at you, his once slicked back hair had return to their original floof.

Though you do realise his hair is a little dry.

"how about you get on my bike hm? I'll take you home. Get you something to eat, run a cold shower, we'll lay down together and you can tell me about your day." you looked at him, his eyes never left your. Both of your hands had cupped his cheek at this point.

"i can go home?" his vouce sounded so tiny, unlike the man you know. You nodded and planted a kiss on his forehead

"of course baby, anytime," you simply said, heart breaking that he thought you'd be so cruel to deny him of his own home.

He didn't say much the whole ride, just hugged you from behind tightly, buried his face into your neck, letting the wind go through his hair.

Once you're home you guided him by his hand. He just mindlessly followed. You changed him, gave him a cup of water and now end up on the bed with him, his face laying on your stomach, basically draping over you like a blanket.

"I saw her," he whispered, hating how insane he sounded. "heard her screams again," he continues. Running your fingers through his soft hair, you felt guilty, what were you thinking? Letting a man with severe PTSD and survivor guilt roam around by himself after admitting that he has thoughts on revenge? And the fact that he was barely leaving the bed 3 weeks prior. That's an obvious red flag.

You took his hand and kissed his palm, letting him say what he needs to, letting him come back to you as he wants to.

"I'm sorry," you quietly say, caressing his hand. Kid looks up to you confused.

"I should've tried to understand you, instead I blew it out of proportion and argued with you, asking you to choose resulting in you leaving? It's so stupid" you continued.

Kid shook his head, he drew circles on your hip, his head laid back on your stomach. "you have your own issues too. I knew... About your families just up and abandoning you, fleeing the country and stuffs and in a way maybe you see me putting myself at risk as leaving you," his said, eyebrows furrowed, deep in thought.

You hummed, playing with his hair again. Twirling one of the curls that strayed.

"I guess when you meet at an orphanage you just kind of have baggage," you tried joking but he nodded, taking it seriously. "it's true," and he turned to look at you, pushing himself up.

Repeating the pattern you both have been doing since you were 16, just two orphans sneaking kisses around in the orphanage, one kiss on the forehead, one for the nose and twice on the lips.

"im glad I met you, you're the only good thing that came out of this whole thing. You're my anchor, you know that?" he asked, kissing you after. You've missed this, the pressure of his kiss on your lips.

You smiled, caressing his cheek softly. "you're my whole world," you replied, smile flattening. "you promise, you won't leave? You won't take these unnecessary risks?" you cant go through another month of not knowing what he was doing. Worry that he might have fuck with the wrong people and end up dead at the side of the street of Mumbai somewhere.

He nodded and kissed your forehead, his fingers tracing circles on your soft stomach. "I promise, cheeni, I promise,"

[that-ineffable-devil]

So I was thinking about Hell's understaffing problem today while rewatching S2 for the nth time...

I remember wondering "Why the hell is Hell so understaffed?" during my first few watches. I think I even made a post about it somewhere, and I think someone had suggested it was because they were all on Earth tempting humans. That didn't sit right with me, because demons view Crowley's position with envy--posts on Earth are clearly extremely limited--if not completely exclusive.

And then I remembered seeing a post about how empty Heaven is, especially when compared to Hell. Hell is FULL. There's no shortage of people/demons milling about in those awful conditions, while Heaven is clean and crisp and white and sterile and EMPTY. Muriel even remarks on how rarely they see another person.

And then it hit me--as I'm sure it has hit several others by now--of course Hell is understaffed. And it's not because the demons are on Earth. It's because all (or very nearly all) of the human souls are in Hell being tormented.

Furfur tells Shax that they could "have an order from Satan himself" but that he doesn't have the demons they're asking for. It's not because the demons are gone or don't exist, it's because they're all assigned to tormentor duties.

And it reminded me of that scene in S1 where Crowley asks Aziraphale how many first class composers are in Heaven and then lists off some that are in Hell. Aziraphale doesn't give any names--he only remarks that the ones in Hell have already written their music.

Maybe he doesn't list any because there aren't any there. They're all in Hell.

With all that said, there's still 2 things that make me curious about the whole setup. At the end of S1, when our poor International Delivery Guy comes to pick up the artifacts he asks if they believe in life after death. Aziraphale remarks--in a somewhat reluctant tone--"I suppose I must do." That's always struck me as strange when he's a literal angel and is very much aware of the whole Heaven/Hell and how they relate to the human soul thing. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but it feels off.

And then there's the fact that human souls, canonically, go "somewhere very cold" when they die. And Death's appearance/wings give off a vibe that suggests there may be a void-like place that souls go to. God says something about Death's wings looking like a rip in space and filled with glimmers of something that could be stars or "something else entirely" (like souls, perhaps?).

Perhaps Aziraphale's noncommittal answer is because he knows how empty Heaven is, or because he knows souls go somewhere and exist in a way that doesn't, in his mind, constitute "life." Or maybe Aziraphale knows that humans experience some form of an afterlife, but that there's no such thing for celestials/infernals, and perhaps he's a little bitter about it. Or maybe he DOESN'T know whether an afterlife exists for celestials/infernals, because God does enjoy playing ineffable games of Her own devising, and clearly has no issue leaving Her own creations "in the dark" so to speak. And I'm not talking about discorporation here--I'm talking proper angelic/demonic destruction a la hellfire/holy water.

And as for the cold... Well... Perhaps it's a void. Perhaps it's space. Or, perhaps... Hell has frozen over.

[teamoon7]

So, after the last chapter

I've seen multiple theories so I want to know what most people think

(Click bellow if you wanna read my long rambles about it lol)

I actually am having very mixed opinions/theories on this?

(I'll also write some concerns over the course of the story and etc in the middle, so be warned if you don't like to read this type of thing)

It makes total sense for Kafka to sacrifice himself and even die here, because in a way, he already kinda accomplished his main goal- he DID fight alongside Mina in this final battle (and even acted like a captain while mina was his support), so his arc already had some kind of closure. Also, 8's whole purpose of existing will kinda be fulfilled the moment they manage to defeat the great kaiju (Idk if it has a name lol), so it's death would also make total sense for the narrative. Plus saying something is irreversible only to, chapters after, show that actually there WAS a secret way to reverse all of this, kinda makes the whole "it was irreversible" thing pointless, and I don't think they'd want to go for that.

At the same time, I'm pretty sure it was said in an interview that Matsumoto doesn't like being too cruel in the story? Plus we only had one major character death up until now lol, not a single important death in this final arc, and I can't really remember any characters that had something irreversible and tragic happen to them in the whole story (most close we got to that was when hoshina almost lost his arm but actually didn't), so with what we had up until now I'm not sure if it's likely that we'll have a depressing ending?

I really have no idea if they're gonna keep the "things are kinda tragic but most characters won't get TOO traumatized or injured" thing or if they'll actually make the most important character have a tragic ending

I also don't know if we have any information on how many chapters we have left, because I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that the manga is close to ending... So if we have a big enough amount of chapters left, I think it would be more likely that this whole thing with Kafka would at least be resolved in some sort of way, with him surviving and being able to still live a happy life somehow. If we actually only have a few chapter left (like idk, 12-20) I don't think we even would have enough time to develop and reverse this, so I think it'd be more likely for him to die.

I also saw recently the "he'll be turned into a weapon for mina to use" theory and it actually makes so much sense because mina is the only major character that didn't have any arc getting a full suit weapon and learning how to use it, so it would be a nice way to give her a weapon that actually has a VERY important connection to her (bc a character as important as her can't be the only one to be left out and not get a numbered suit, right???). It would be very tragic but also very cool

(If I'm being honest, I kinda wanted them to go for the cliche "Kafka goes berserk and everyone has to tragically fight him, but everyone just can't KILL him because they all just love him so much, so in the middle of the fight they manage to actually just contain him somehow so they don't HAVE to kill him, and they all try to find a solution to somehow still keep him alive" because I'm just a sucker for this type of thing and for characters being emotional lol, but I don't think that's happening)

Anyway, if they go with any of the tragic endings, I just hope the characters will suffer SO I CAN SUFFER TOGETHER WITH THEM

Pls Matsumoto, make them cry, make them go through grief (even the most unlikely ones like hoshina, mina and maybe even Narumi), make ME cry together with them- it would just be so sad (not in a positive way lol) if they mourned over this for like one or 2 chapters and then everyone gets ok after this 😭 if there WILL be drama, I want the drama to actually last and have big impacts, to actually show that the characters CARED, pretty pls 🙏

[sadist1224]

There is no limit to my desire Mafia!141 AU

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Mafia!141 AU, in which you wake up tied to a chair, in the middle of some warehouse with chains and hooks suspended from the ceiling. You're not panicking, no. You've been held hostage enough times to understand the complexity of your situation.

First of all, you try to determine your physical condition, noting that the old wound on your hip is aching, and there is an unpleasant crust on your cheek and cheekbone, most likely from blood.

Now you remember what happened. Yes, you were being chased. You were knocked to the ground and hit on the head. But it seems that you also managed to land several blows on the attacker.

After that, you begin to look around the space around you, noting that it is quite dark and damp here. Out of the corner of your ear you can hear a noise like water. Given the size of the hangar, the dampness and the noise of the water, you realize that you are somewhere near the shipyard.

Very far from the bar. Foreign territory. Mafia. Of course, 141 and Los Vaqueros are not the only gangs in your city. It is large enough for several groupings. Oh, if only you were still a police officer…

You pull your hands out, realizing that they are tied with ropes, tight enough to be able to break free. After a while, the sound of footsteps attracts you. This is a group of people, and not a small one.

A lamp turns on with a loud click above you, but it is high enough for a moderately dim light. I can see you now. You still can't tell the kidnappers apart, even though you're pretty sure they're right in front of you.

"You don't seem scared." - says one of them. From the small shadows, you assume there are five of them.

"Should I?" - you answer calmly, looking at the dark man in front of you. So far, you can clearly see only leather shoes and perfectly pressed trousers in dark gray.

The man in front of you is grinning.

"Koenig, turn on the light, please." - he says the same thing, and a second later several more lamps light up.

You don't have to squint. The light is still dim enough. But now you can definitely see them all. Five men in front of you, in suits that cost several times more than your salary. Three of them have masks over their faces. The person who communicated with you stands openly, the sleeves of his shirt are casually rolled up to the elbows, and the vest fits tightly around the waist.

And all five of them, bastards, are so attractive.

But if before that, it seemed to you that the men in front of you were tall, then the person who approached them from behind was almost a head taller than all of them. An obscure black cloth covered his face, leaving only his blue eyes visible. He looked at you incredulously, with a squint. You think he doesn't like you.

"And why do you need me?" - you decide to break the silence. Anyway, all six of them are examining you like an antique toy on a Christmas tree.

The Cortaks who kidnapped you in order to get to know you! To get acquainted! Your jaw almost fell to the floor, and their leader just laughed at your shocked expression!

He introduced himself as Axel, and he was incredibly curious about why 141 and Los Vaqueros were hanging around in a no-man's-land.

Axel, who is not at all embarrassed by your swearing in their direction, but only orders you to untie the hands of a man named Nobody. He apologizes for the damage he caused you, saying that their goal was only to grab you, not hurt you, but you turned out to be more glib than they imagined.

Axel introduces you to Horangi, Hutch, Nobody, Kruger and Koenig himself, who caught you.

Koenig, who can't handle your withering look at him and turns away in embarrassment.

He didn't want to hit you! Especially in the face! But seeing what you're capable of at the bar, he realized it wasn't going to be easy. A job is a job. But, God, that bruise on your face and the split cheekbone. He feels bad enough as it is. And then there's you with your look full of anger.

Damn, he'd like to meet you. In a normal way, like ordinary people, but now it seems you won't let him in.

Axel offers to take you to your neighborhood, where they could drop you off, but you just snort, refusing. You're not going with the bandits who kidnapped you! Even if they just wanted to get to know each other! You tell them something caustic in the likeness: "If you really wanted to get to know each other, you could just ask them out, gentlemen, damn it!", which amuses Axel again.

The man walks you to the exit, staying close to you. You don't even let him call a taxi and walk to the nearest bus stop.

That's it! And you're good! Axel knew how tense his team was when 141 suddenly began to get active in the no-man's-land, and what was his surprise when people informed him about a certain barmaid who pointed a gun at the face of the Soap! Oh, damn, he wanted to meet you. And his boys, too. A civilian who challenged one of the most dangerous factions in the city! Yes, anyone will be interested in it! Therefore, Cortak needs to act quickly, maybe get you on their side, make you their spy?

Kruger and No One who at first did not believe in your steadfast fearless nature, considering you another "girl from the alley" who dared to show her teeth. They were sure that if they scared you, you would immediately curl up and cry. Imagine their surprise when you didn't live up to expectations?

Hutch was just curious, as was his commander. He didn't have expectations, but you definitely made him laugh.

And the Horangs? This guy realized in the bar that you're not an easy thing. Of course, he saw the impression you made on his great friend. And he also understood how difficult it would be for Koenig now. As soon as his reaction to you is noticed by others, he will not be able to avoid jokes and ridicule, especially from Kruger. these two will get rid of the word altogether. But Horangi will try to help his socially anxious friend in any way he can.

Koenig, who wants to fall into the ground. The giant didn't dare look at you before he left, and something told him that you definitely weren't looking in his direction. Oh, he's going to have to figure out how to apologize. And be sure, it will happen soon.

[pillowspace]

Hello! I know i'm a bit late now but i just caught up on Celestial Sundown and I love your writing! I was looking through the tag and saw the ask you answered about probably not continuing it but willing to answer questions. If you still plan on not finishing it could you share what you had planned for it? Specifically i'm curious about what eclipse was going to do (or at least what they planned on doing) with y/n in the next chapter, but if you feel like sharing what you had planned for the rest of the story I would love to hear that too!

Weather you answer this or not i hope you have a great day/night!

It's a bit hard to gather all the memories considering I lost my file with my plans in it when I switched phones (eh idc, it was all messy anyway), but let me think ummm!

Eclipse was going to drag Y/N off... they'd carry them towards Sun's general direction because Y/N's struggling to walk, but then eventually Eclipse would also start struggling to walk as they would get all goopy and just generally Unwell. So Eclipse would sit Y/N down somewhere by the trees and they'd talk. Ah-! Notably, I believe there wassss... a scene where Y/N asks if Eclipse is talking about "Sun," though by just simply asking "Sun?". Because Sunna (Eclipse's sun half) also technically went by the name Sun, Eclipse would sort of freeze up and Stare, before Y/N elaborates on what they're asking and Eclipse gets a little bitter to learn that the god of Day would go by the name "Sun" of all names. It feels a tad bit disrespectful, even if the children are the ones who nicknamed them that.

After a bit of tense conversation, they'd move on to walking again, and I think Sun was meant to find them. Things don't really work out for Eclipse due to the fact that Eclipse is currently more injured than Sun is, so in a last ditch effort, Eclipse brings Y/N to the Celestial Realm, which of course freaks Y/N out the second they realize what's happening. It wouldn't be exploratory though, only brief, as they would end up appearing in a dark room within the castle Eclipse resides in. Something about the air would feel different though, wrong. Eclipse would leave Y/N there to go recover or get something for them, whichever it was. Thennn... Vanny/Vanessa/whatever would have appeared, telling Y/N that they're not supposed to be here yet, they'd talk a tiny bit, and then she would send Y/N back home? Sorry, I don't remember much of the specifics of that conversation?? Upon appearing back home, Y/N would then feel nauseous and somehow deeply Wrong, like briefly being outside of their own realm then returning suddenly made them realize just how much it feels like the air is outright rejecting them. But that the Celestial Realm also didn't feel much better either. Y/N doesn't have much time to think about it before Sun is there at their side. From there, Sun would work on treating them for the next few days, in a bit of a mirror to how Y/N had treated Sun at one point. I... cannot recall if Y/N also grew sick or if it was just the injuries.

Oh! Right! During the conversation with Eclipse, I believe Eclipse mentioned the fact that um... gosh, I don't know, um um um. Either that they had intended to kill Sun, that Sun was injured enough that he would have died had Y/N not meddled with it, or that Eclipse would have returned after having woken up to deal a killing blow if again Y/N hadn't treated him. SOMETHING along the lines of "Sun would be dead if it weren't for you." Y/N would eventually bring this up to Sun after mostly recovering, and it would sort of unintentionally burst any wiggle room Sun had in physically being able to pretend that he had a normal debt and not a life debt. I've mentioned this once, but there's a very big difference between a debt and a life debt. If you have a life debt, the person involved sort of... Owns you. They can demand anything of you, and you wouldn't be able to refuse. A life debt is also extremely hard to get rid of. It's seen in Celestial Realm's cultures that having a life debt with a human is very bad and leads to gods being forced into their lowliest position, like a pet on a leash that can be demanded to do anything practically. Sun panics the moment they lose their little shield of "well I COULD have lived without you...!" Even if the two of them want to trust each other, they don't trust each other ENOUGH for a life debt to not cause Sun fear. Upon realizing why Sun is suddenly so freaked out, Y/N quickly reshapes their speech habits to not have any commanding language. Over the next little while, Y/N would build trust up with Sun again and assure him again and again that they would never demand anything of him, and that this life debt hasn't changed anything for them. They didn't want anything before, and they don't want anything now. No matter how easy it would be.

That's less just NEXT chapter, and more what the next few chapters would've probably been. Of course, there was way more plans for the general storyline, but I... I wouldn't really know where to begin with all that without a specific question, and this answer's gotten long enough already.

You have a great day/night too!!!

[jamisonwritestf2trash]

Ello

I am a mutual but i am embarrassed about self shipping so we go anon

If you are comfortable with it could i request the mercs with a trans man/nonbinary on their period? Like if they comfort you and how, what their reaction is (if they find it gross, if their confused as hell)

Thank youu

TF2 Mercs Comforting A Trans Man/Nonbinary Person On Their Period!

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Hello Secret Mutual! Of course you can ask this, it's really cute! You asked the right guy, too, because I am a transgender. Anyways, would you believe this is my second x reader ask? Uh, I hope you don't mind that I used my lgbtq+ headcanons for this! Also, I assumed by comfort you meant general comfort but also dysphoria, I hope I didn't go off ask with that assumption

————————————————————In case you were wondering, none of these guys would be embarrassed or refuse to buy pads/tampons/any other period products for you. And even if they were embarrassed, they'd do it anyway. I will die on this hill. There's also a myriad of period products in the base already, probably all old, but they're still there. Also, none of them will find it or you gross! Some of them might not really understand what a period is, but when they figure it out, they will never make you feel like it or you are gross. Periods are natural, and at the base, no one needs to feel ashamed!

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Um, light TW for gender dysphoria mentions? Nothing serious, just what the title implies. Lots of comfort and validation, though! Also uses of the words pussy and uterus!

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Demo is probably confused for like five minutes and then has a lightbulb moment,

"Oh, yeah, I remember being on the rag, hurt like hell. Medic can fix that if ya want. He took mine years ago." He had follicular cysts and good god was he thrilled to never have that pain again. (He's just like me fr!) Assuming you don't trust Medic, hate surgeries, can't get it removed, or just don't want it removed, he's understanding of your choice to keep it, and will try his best to be comforting. Anything you'll need, he'll manage to find. Heating pads? He's got them somewhere, he's sure. PMS pills? He's on his way to the lab to get them from Medic for you. If you have dysphoria from your period, he's also really good at providing comfort for that. If you're a trans man, he'll tell you you're plenty masculine and one of the strongest men he knows. If you're nonbinary he'll assure you that a little bit of blood every month doesn't change anything and that your identity is still valid as hell. He would fist fight your dysphoria if he could.

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Engie is more surprised than anything. Not in a bad way! Here's the thing, he straight up forgets about periods once he got his uterus taken out. My man had PCOS, and once he no longer had to deal with unbearable cramps and sickness every month, he just never thought about it again. He's super quick to comfort you, though. In a similar vein to Demo, he'll tell you about Medic removing his. Again, I am very respectful of your choice. He will do his best to make you super comfortable and keep you happy. He'll make you special heating pads! He'll also bring you anything you need. I cannot stress this enough. When it comes to dysphoria, you will get called an insane amount of pet names. All validating your identity, of course. He understands the feeling of dysphoria and will do anything to ease the pain and sadness that comes with it. Lots of cuddles from him too btw.

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Heavy is confused. Not by periods. This man grew up with three sisters. He knows what a period is by now. No, he's confused by you getting a period. He's not mean, of course! He's just going to ask you a lot of questions because he's probably just interested. He'll do whatever you need him to do to make it easier for you. He knows his sisters were miserable during their time, and he can't imagine how bad it is for you to have to deal with a period and dysphoria. Speaking of dysphoria, he doesn't really know what to say but also manages to say everything you need to hear at the same time? Like he assures you in no uncertain terms that you are super valid and no less of a man or person and that you are you and you're valid. He hugs you a lot! If you seem even the slightest bit sad, he's giving you a hug.

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Medic is probably the best when it comes to dealing with periods. He understands dysphoria and knows how to ease your pain. The second you feel pain, he's handing you hot tea and pain medication. He keeps you in his lab while he works to keep an eye on you and sends Archimedes and his other doves over to comfort you whenever he can't. He tracks your period purely to make sure he can have anything you might need on hand day of. He's always willing to remind you of how scientifically you're gender has nothing to do with those pesky organs. Lots of compliments on your body if you're a trans man, commenting on how masculine you are. If you're nonbinary he's complimenting your resilience and strength. Honestly, he's great. Points taken off, though, because he wants your uterus for his ever growing organ collection, but he will respect your choices with minimal pestering.

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Scout is confused all around. He doesn't get it. So you have to explain periods to him, then you have to explain being trans to him, and then you have to explain both together before it finally clicks in his mind. He's immediately supportive. Maybe to supportive. If you ask him to get period products you'll get hit with the "Alright babe, I'm in the pad isle, what's ur pussy size?" And if you make the mistake of not answering in the first five minutes he buys so many boxes of pads and tampons. You're sitting in bed clutching your stomach, and he comes in the room to dump at least seven boxes of pads and tampons on you. Hey, what he lacks for in understanding, he makes up for by being able to make you laugh so hard you forget the period cramps. You'll never feel dysphoria if he has any say in it. He will do anything to distract you from bad thoughts and will validate you until his voice wears out.

(HE'S LIKE THIS WHEN HE FIRST LEARNS WHAT A PERIOD IS 😭)

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Sniper doesn't care that you have a period and doesn't care that you're trans. That sounds really mean, but I swear it's not like that. Periods are normal, and you shouldn't feel weird about them, so when it's your time of the month, he'll support you in whatever way you need, but he'll act very nonchalant about it all. With you being trans he reassures you that he doesn't care about how you were born and that you shouldn't either because your body doesn't define the person you are. Basically, this man is so supportive but in a really calm kind of way. But just because he acts all chill and nonchalant doesn't mean he isn't worried. Oh no, this man appears to be calm and collected, but he's really upset that you have to go through this. You might find yourself on the receiving end of hugs and kisses whenever you look particularly sad.

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Considering his ass is on the support team, Spy is not very supportive. Well, not supportive emotionally. Physically, he'll bring you the best of whatever you need or want. He's more than happy to kill someone to get you something nice, just to see you light up or (happy) cry out of appreciation. Emotionally, however, he's not mean, but he thinks you're being ridiculous with the things you say. He wants to provide you comfort, but he really doesn't understand why you feel so dysphoric and doesn't even know where to start. He'll just reassure you he loves and cares for you. Speaks softly to you and talks more than he normally does if you prod him. Who knows, he might even sing for you or tell you stories while you lay in bed with cramps if that would make you feel better.

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Soldier is confused, but he's got the right spirit. In a similar vein to Scout, has asked what your pussy size is at least once, and has at least bought nine boxes of period products. He really just wants to be helpful and make you feel better. He'll gladly get anything you need, from heating pads to chocolate he's already getting it the second you even thought about it. I'd you feel dysphoric, he'll remind you that you're an American!! (even if you aren't 😭) And you're an amazing person. So, who cares how you were born? What matters is the person you are today! Less screaming than normal, especially if you get migraines or just headaches in general. He's still really loud, and your head will still probably throb, but he's trying. It takes him a while to go from his normal 100% volume to a normal speaking volume but the effort really shows. Most of the time though, he might just lay with you and listen to you talk, if you're in any mood to. Or just take a nap with you. Literally anything you want to do, he'll do, as long as he can do it with you.

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Pyro knows. Like 100% knows. They experience it every month and deal with pain and gender dysphoria. (They're the only merc who has a uterus and period, actually! They're MTF and underwent the surgeries only to realize their agender, they now have a complicated relationship with their gender where they love their body but dislike their uterus and want it removed but at the same time value their uterus) Anyways, this isn't a Pyro post so moving on! So, you two would probably sync up and deal with it together. Pyro would most likely focus on you to help them ignore their symptoms and dysphoria. They love helping you and caring for you. They have a big heated blanket that you can share to help ease pain, and they have as much chocolate as you need to make you feel better. Lots of hugs and cuddles, too! They'll talk to you for hours about their issues with gender dysphoria if you let them, always returning the favor to let you rant back at them. Finding their own way to assure you the feel the same and that you both need to realize that a blood cycle can't and won't ever define you or your gender.

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I love these guys so much. It's insane. Also, I love this ask, I want to shake it around in my teeth like a dog. Anyways! I swear I'm normal. I hope you like this Anon :)

[stuck-in-the-ghost-zone]

what happens to nhw after muse? like, publicity wise. especially regarding ashe. idk if you talked about it before or not, i remember seeing things about like. nhw tv appearances and such, but i don't remember if there was anything specifically regarding the pr nightmare of a boy getting mused and going on a murder spree like a localized natural disaster

do they make him go on tv and talk about it? do they rebrand? both? what happens here. i mean it would suck for ashe no matter what probably but yeha

OH NY GOD. I FORGOT I NEVER ANSWERED THIS IM SO SORRY. in my defense i got sick and my brain has been goop since like. sunday. not even going to put this one under a cut everyone gets to see my muse ramblings (muse musings. ha)

ANYWAY. SO. FIRST OFF. nobody knows who he is !!!! to the general public, muse and auxiliary are two different people, and like... there's not really anything there to tie them together. aux's costume was so like bulky full coverage that his identity was Very much hidden, and muse like.... doesn't hide his face at all, but at the same time he's not Ashe because ashe doesn't dress like that or do his hair or makeup like that so. even though his face is on full display I don't think anyone other than his family/friends would make that immediate connection either

obviously like... the prt knows what happened, because of course the wards needed to tell them. publicity-wise, as far as the public is concerned, auxiliary was killed. aux is dead. you remember that one interlude from Vista's pov where she had to look at the greyed out memorial images of the wards who were killed in the leviathan battle? yeah imagine one of those for aux. as far as anyone else knows he died in the fight with overlord (lmao. not like anyone could distinguish identifiable corpses from that mess anyway)

we have played with the idea a few times about a few different topics that there's a subsection of conspiracy theorists on parahumans online that actually connect the dots and get everything right (aux and muse being the same person, Tide and magma being made from the endbringers, etc etc stuff like that that isn't supposed to be public knowledge) but it's extremely funny if they're just a weird fringe group of freaks so nobody ever takes them seriously

the idea that after ashe gets back from being mused and has to go on TV about it makes me so fucking SICK btw that's such a horrid scenario oh my god. I made such a face at that. torture for him!

anyway what actually happens after he gets back from being mused is like.... nothing? really? Trickster takes Mal in exchange for ashe and then they just kind of disappear. and they're left in this horrible paranoid calm period. adn because theyre also gone i think people just assume that either muse went with them or also got killed in that final battle. unsure which option is worse, ashe hearing people talk about muse like hes still out there somewhere (ouch!) or talking about muse like he was killed by his friends (actually now that i type this out i think ashe would prefer this option so much more. man. he has so many issues) it takes ashe a loooong long long time to even consider using his powers again much less entertain the idea of going back to hero work, so it's not really like... an issue? for a bit? we haven't rlly nailed down that period of time yet but I would assume the prt has him under some sort of loose supervision until it's decided that he's not an active threat anymore and he gets to fucking REST for a little bit ! we're intentionally leaving late game nhw a little loose rn because I know I personally just really wanna see how s3 of pd turns out before we nail down anything too solid bc if there's one thing i love about nhw it's referencing back to things happening in canon and making them so much worse ^_^ but I think we've talked about ashe potentially going back to hero stuff eventually under a new name. and nobody can say shit because if a cape has a new name that means they're a different person and nobody can say anything (cough cough looks at armsmaster/defiant) !!!

[stormyoceans]

Sleepover ask -

PuenTalay headcanon, at Properly Old. Not forties, not fifties. But like... 70+.

😘 go!

DIDN'T EXACTLY PLAN TO CRY MY HEART OUT ON THIS FINE FRIDAY NIGHT BUT NO YEAH I CAN DO THAT SURE WHY NOT IT'S GOOD IT'S FINE IM FINE IM DEFINITELY NOT ALREADY TEARING UP OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT

basically this is the thing im sensitive about. so i took some of the headcanons i already had about this and tried to write them a little bit better, but i feel like they might be..both too specific and yet not specific enough at the same time ;;;;;;; still, i hope they can be at least an interesting read!!!!

SO HERE GOES NOTHING

it feels kinda silly to start with this but. they have matching pill organizers: blue for talay, pink for puen;

talay has diabetes and high blood pressure (too many sweets), puen has arthritis;

talay also has to go back wearing glasses because of presbyopia, while puen somehow still manages to have better eyesight than him;

don't ask me why, but i always loved the idea of puen eventually starting a garden in their yard (i blame the pink trumpet tree and the lotuses) and now not even his aching bones can keep him away from his veggies and his flowers;

when they were younger, puen was always the one getting up late and trying to keep talay in bed, but as they grew older their habits somehow switched: puen would usually wake up at dawn, and after staring at talay snugged closely against him and marveling at how their bodies still fit together perfectly after all those years (soft paunches and weary muscles and fine bones and all), he would throw on a dressing gown and slip into a pair of rubber boots to go putter around the garden;

talay would wake up some time later and slowly make breakfast before calling puen back inside to eat together;

when puen's arthritis gets bad, talay gently holds puen's hands in his own and rubs the thin, speckled, slightly gnarled skin with ointment, before pressing a kiss on top of them;

puen still loves to take baths, loves to sink in the hot water with all his creaking joints and let himself relax for a while. talay can't join him in the tub anymore, which is a pity, but he's always there to help puen out, to wrap a towel around him and pat him dry;

despite his worries, puen still has a full head of hair, but it's all gray now. talay has less gray hair but more lines on his face, especially around the eyes (puen loves them);

technically they're both retired, but puen still writes from time to time, especially children's books, and talay has learned he actually enjoys painting quite a lot (and even sold a couple of his works);

im fully convinced they would adopt a kid some time after the our skyy's events, but by now the kid would have grown up and started their own family, and while of course they're very close and puentalay are wonderful grandparents (or even great grandparents!!!!!!), not long after their kid went to college, puen started to brought in stray cats and never really stopped after that (talay did try to stop it the very first time, but it's hard to say no to puen, especially when he's holding a tiny kitten he just saved from the streets) [also no matter how many cats they had throughout the years, they all somehow fell in love with talay. talay always jokes that it's because puen is a cat himself];

one morning, talay gets out on the porch to call puen for breakfast and suddenly he can't speak. there’s a painful buzzing in his head and a strange sagging feeling on his face, and when he tries to call puen's name his mouth doesn't cooperate. somewhere in the distance, their new stray, a tabby who loves to follow puen around in the garden, is meowing almost desperately. the last thing talay remembers is puen's pale face and puen's arms wrapped around him;

talay's had a very mild stroke, but thankfully there was no damage. with some rehabilitation and some adjustments of his meds, he is back walking and talking and cooking and painting like before. puen gets stricter with their diet tho, and he insists they go for a walk every day. in the past, he had sometimes joked around pretending to feel sick or to forget about stuff just to tease talay. now, he doesn't find it funny anymore. they aren't able to talk about their fears, but they don't need to speak out loud to understand each other. some nights they just spend hours kissing, slow and purposeful and certain, focusing on what makes them alive: the cadence of their breaths, the tremble of their bellies, the clutch of their fingers;

they don't really talk much about the alternate universe anymore, not because they don't remember it or no longer think about the people they met there, but because they've built a life and a family in their own, and they like to believe that so did everyone on the other side too. sometimes tho, when it's late and they're lying in bed together, fingers entwined and foreheads touching, talay would asks "in our next life, do you think we’ll find each other again?”, and every single time puen would whisper fiercely, holding talay so tightly it almost hurt, "i found you across universes, i'll find you across lives too";

there was a time when they both thought they would spend the rest of their lives alone. then, they found each others

[emberunderscore]

ranting about chapter titles of my prison duo fic for 1000+ words

so all of the titles of my prison duo fic (the sun and the night sky) are names of flowers. i had the fun idea and then i couldn't stop because i started a pattern and i refused to break the pattern unless it was important story wise (i'll get to that)

so here's a master list of all the first 10 chapters, their titles, what the flowers mean and why i chose them!

spoiler warning - go read my fic if you haven't already! (and if you don't want to but still wanna read this tw: talking about eating disorders)

Daffodils > Daffodils - new beginnings and rebirth In this chapter Icarus is handing over the title of Quixis to hc!Sherbert, they get to go home but they've changed so much they're practically a different person. not only did their eye change back, making them whole again, they've seen so much happen across the multiverse, watched other versions make mistakes and just watched them all live. they've learned from their lives. going home after about 200-250 years will be like being reborn for them, its a new beginning. especially because no one remembers them, not even the world itself, not even the records.

Forget-me-nots and Yellow Roses > Forget me nots - rememberance, and a symbol of memory loss/dementia Icarus meets with people they've known, Rae, Violet (also Isla, but they dont remember her, they didn't get their memories of the resets fully back). No one remembers them, Rae thought they died as a child. Near the end of the chapter Caspian gets home, he knows Icarus, and he reveals he never forgot them. He restores the memories of Rae and Violet, hence rememberance. They're getting remembered. > Yellow Roses - happiness, friendship, a way of saying "you make me happy" Icarus and Violet are friends in this universe, both of them have wanted it to be more for so long but they've both been too scared to lose the other to say anything. So they are really close friends, and Icarus is just so happy Centross remembers them that they don't mind that they're just friends, they can't bring themself to want them to be more when there was even a moment where they thought they'd never get what they had before back because even if they were to start again, they'd never be as close as they were. They both went through so much and they went through a lot of it together. They were both so shitty to each other but they stayed close despite it, they forgave each other despite it. So Icarus is happy with friendship, and Centross does make them happy.

Bluebells and Lavender > Bluebells - constancy, gratitude, everlasting love Centross is their constant, he's been there all three resets that they remember. He's always been there, and as Sherb (the actual real one) has mentioned before that Icarus' whole emotional state is tied to him. When they're fighting, they're spiraling, when they're happy they're happy, when (they think) he's dead they're deteriotation, and doing everything to bring him back. They're so grateful that they have him, and he's their rock. And of course they have always loved him, and him them. Everlasting love is so self explanatory they're GAY and LOVE EACH OTHER forever and ever > Lavender - silence, devotion, calmness and serenity Icarus says to much about Quixis stuff and shuts down, they go silent. Centross is devoted to helping them calm down and get somewhere safe, "One thing he knew was he was not leaving their side until they were sober" look how devoted he is look at him, he cares so much!!!! Centross helps them calm down, and get calm enough to fall asleep, they feel safe and calm around him.

Yellow Roses and Lily of the Valley > Yellow Roses - cowardice, sickness and mental illness These have appeared already, but they also have negative meanings, the repeated use of them now in their negative symbolism shows a shift in the tone of the story. This is the chapter they have breakfast with Ghaae+ household, they are unable to eat the food and dissociate during the meal, they end up leaving early, blaming it on a hangover - this part shows the cowardice, running away from their problem and hiding/running away. And the sickness and mental illness serve as a way to show that this is the beginnings of an eating disorder showing. > Lily of the Valley - sadness, pain, loss and death (+ poisonous) This shows the negatives of the breakfast, paired with the yellow roses the title of the chapter shows how Icarus' developing mental illness is already poisoning parts of their life. (thanking Vex for finding these flowers they're so good and they work so well and i struggled so hard with finding flowers with bad meanings <3)

Cornflowers and White Anemone > Cornflowers - symbol of hope, c!Ocie's favourite Yeah i just picked cornflowers cause i think they're c!Ocies fav and if im wrong its because i associate them with her or smth. Also symbol of hope!! its important because- > White Anemone - expectations, anticipation and undying love Violet wants to ask Ocie if he can date Ic but he wants to give her time to process the memories first (bc she hated them for a while there), he'll still love her and he'll always love them. While he's not with them he's anxious to get back to them, to make sure they're ok. Back with Icarus there are some unspoken expectations for them to eat, something they aren't able to do, specifically there's the scene Violet sits on the floor and tried to get them eat some bread, they end up dropping it on the floor so its inedible. Anticipation also works as this chapter is left on a cliffhanger, Centross asks Icarus if they're doing okay.

Orange Lillies > Orange Lillies - hatred, pride, disdain and contempt (+ they only live for a few weeks) Hatred, disdain and contempt are all emotions Icarus directs towards themself and their own body. They look at themself for the first time and see how underweight they are, they hate how they look and they hate themself. The pride symbolizm is irony, they should be feeling proud after managing to eat but they don't, it's a taunting meaning.

A Single Daffodil... > Singular Daffodil - misfortune A daffodil on its own represents differently than multiple, you might notice that all of the chapter titles are pluralises, including the use of Daffodils in the first one. In this chapter Icarus throws up for the the first time in the fic and they also faint in the second section. Which leads to Centross finding about their difficulties eating (neither of them know that it's an eating disorder, so they never use those words for it). It has the elipses at the end to show its split into two chapters.

...and Purple Hyacinth > Purple Hyacinth - Sorrow and a desire for forgivness All of the two days this chapter follows are not super happy for the both of them, near the end Icarus claims they've finished their house and that they plan to stay there. This leads Centross to go on a small tangent about how they didn't make a farm and they don't have any food, he tells them that they could die (pretty sorrowful if you ask me). Icarus feels the need to apologise for making him look after them.

Dandelions? > Dandelions - Hope, healing and resilience Icarus is doing a lot better in this chapter, they've made a lot of improvement really quickly and Centross is really proud of them for it, he has hope that they'll continue to improve. > ? This chapter is from Violet's point of view. The question mark is put there to tell the reader that something is wrong, that things are not as they seem. The reader not being able to see Icarus' thought or view of anything is intentional as they are in fact not doing okay. They are not getting better, they're trying to pretend to be better. For Centross. To make him trust them and make him happy.

Colorblind Not a flower. Remember when I said I didn't want to break the pattern of flower chapter titles unless it was important story wise? Yeah. This is where its important Icarus succesfully fooled Centross into thinking they were okay, and he lets them be alone that night. They know they're not okay but they don't want to get better at this point. This is their rock bottom. They punch the mirror in their bathroom out of disgust of their body and face, they faint from the motion, falling into the mirror and onto a pile of broken glass. They are left bleeding out on the floor of their bathroom, behind a locked door.

The title of this chapter comes from a song i listened to on loop to write most of the Icarus chapters, though it is available on spotify one of the creators is not a good guy and i don't want him to get money from it. The song is Empty by Jaiden Animations (wonderful and perfect) and Boyinaband <- hes the icky one, there are re-uploads of the song on youtube. it is a really good song (and the music video is cool)

Empty is a song about Jaiden's personal experience with an eating disorder, so it's very fitting. The title comes from the line "I know it's wrong but just because you know you're colorblind doesn't mean you can see the colors" The whole bit with them looking in the mirror is inspired by the line "I'm looking but I can't see myself" They look into their mirror but they don't see their own face, only Fables, and every other version of themself.

Colorblind also works really well against the flower chapters, because flowers are colourful, so colorblind means they can't see the colours of the flowers, and the colours are very important when it comes to symbolizm, they can't see them. It means that they look back on the week since they've got back and they can't see it for what it is. They actually can't remember most of it, i don't think this would ever come up in the fic outright but Icarus doesn't remember most of their days, all of them sort of blur together and they can't rememeber what thing happened on what day. This is a result of both their disocation and lack of eating leaving them disorented.

[littlesparklight]

Since I wanted something I could arrange for myself and only have what I wanted on it, I made some Trojan war relevant maps!

There's nothing truly amazing here, except, I suppose, that I put the Achaean camp down by what's now called Besic Bay. Usually the camp is placed up at the spur (Sigeion), with the wall going straight across the narrowest point. But apparently some scholars (especially some German ones) like to put it down by the bay. Archaeologically, there was a harbour/settlement here. (I briefly considered settling the camp a little higher up on the coast, around where there in at least modern day is another harbour settlement, but I liked the idea of the bay and the archaeological connection. Plus, the bay would be the most obvious point of approach/landing when coming from Tenedos.)

I also put the fortification/rampart the Trojans made for Herakles further south than it's traditionally placed. My reasoning, aside from the fact that I'd already moved the Achaean camp, was that at least in Caroline Alexander's translation it says they built that protection for Herakles "towards the plain". So that's where I put it, but still adjacent to the traditional location. (This is where the pro-Achaean gods are seated in Book 21-22; Kallikolone is where the pro-Trojan gods are seated.)

As I understand it, the whole outflow of the Skamander and probably the Simoeis, too, would make the area closest to Troy too marshy and closed-up for a harbour. I still have let them have a small one, because I wanted to. But the main one is/was down where the Achaeans now have their camp.

The map of the camp is angled as it is to try and show its "actual" alignment/placement along the shore. Makes it easier (most of all for myself haha) to visualize how it's oriented towards the plain (and, further away, towards Troy).

I'm pretty sure it's not Official Canon that each of the gates have at least one tower, or the main gates two; the only tower we know of is the right-hand one, that Menestheus is stationed at. But it made sense to me that if one gate had at least one tower, the others would as well. The ships have been spaced out as they have not just because there are so many of them but because it doesn't make sense to me that the Trojans would be running THROUGH the actual "settled" camp to get to the ships; hence, I've put them in rows. (And even like this, I'm absolutely certain that, just as the Iliad says, the ships would be taking up even more space along the shore. There's too many of them.)

This map is absolutely basing itself on the one(s) that appear in Jenny Strauss Clay's Homer's Trojan Theater, but I've made some elaborations, especially for/around the assembly area and the middle space.

Too, what's also (partially) taken from that book is how/where the named camps in red are placed in comparison to each other. Which, however, is based on the Iliad and I was doing some of that myself. But the schematic in the book made it easier, so I don't want to pretend I didn't use it. The only place I ignored Clay's arrangement was with Menestheus and DIomedes; she has them the other way around (which is why they're not in red).

The reason for where everyone else is placed between the three Iliad-assured ones (Ajax, Odysseus, Achilles) is Vibes, Baby. And they have to be SOMEWHERE between the ones we know, after all.

The names within simple parantheses are where the Catalogue of Ships (generally) mentions other/subcommanders. I didn't bother to go hunting for them anywhere else in the text. Achilles' other commanders aren't mentioned in the Catalogue, of course, but they were easy to remember. The names that are in parantheses within the other parenthesis are presumed to be attached to these people. Demophon and Akamas aren't mentioned in the Iliad but are in other and later works clearly present, and were put with Elephenor after Menestheus got Athens after the Dioskouroi got Helen back. Palamedes, as Nauplion falls within Diomedes' control, I've headcanoned/assumed was one of his commanders, not someone in command of his own force of ships and men.

The gray names denote leaders of contingents that died early war - Thersander during the attack on Teuthrania in Mysia, and Protesilaos during the landing at Troy. (And while he's not included, the Cretan Lycomedes that is mentioned in the Catalogue of Women as a suitor of Helen I headcanon also died during the attack on Theuthrania, so that Idomeneus absorbed his land/cities and thus ships into his own forces.)

Troy! Pretty self-explanatory I think, though a few notes;

The gate stones by the south/middle citadel gate are "real" (and a feature of Hittite cities/religious thought). There was cultic activity performed in a building in the city-side part of my sacred district, which is why I put it on that side of the citadel and the city. It's also believed that the building I made the shrine of Ganymedes had cultic activity as well, so it seemed fitting! The water cave and the well are both archaeologically real; a city needs to have water supply inside its walls, after all. I took inspiration from the Iliad's mention of (outside the walls) hot and cold springs attached to the Skamander and put them inside the walls instead. (Or, if you will, they have outflows inside as well as where the Iliad has them outside.)

Some other myth-related art that draws from the real city puts the Scaean Gates up where I put my (headcanon-named) Hellespontine gate, because for the real Troy that gate ended up the largest one. But it made more sense to me to put the Scaean gates where I've put them, though that's far from the citadel itself; being up on the walls there would give a better view of the plain.

Considering that Troy has two courses of walls, I rather headcanon that the Wooden Horse was placed in the square I put south of the sacred district in the city. Close to the citadel walls but not inside, and as close to the temple of Athena as they could come (I put hers on the inside of the citadel walls).