#i guess this is also a cat behavior study??

[iffondrels-library]

I LOVE giving these heroes big honkin ears. What's that? They're for hearing the gods? Nah I gonna make em scrunkly. Just absolutely ripped to shit like feral cats. They react the same way, too. Observe.

[saturnsbabyboii]

🫧My experience being friends with the Moon signs 🫧

-Please remember that this is not a reflection of everyone with said placement. The behaviors of a single asshole aren't that of the many (sometimes). Also, I don't/didn't have friends with all Moons. Some would have one person or no specific person, and rather so, I'll be giving general observations.

🫧Taurus Moon🫧

Friend #1: Kind, loving, generous, thoughtful, quiet, slow, and internalizes everything. She is one of my closest friends ever. She is practically the father figure of the group, helping everyone out, protecting them, advocating, giving advice, and making sure that they're set and good. Picky with her friends, many of them are people she has known since childhood, and most are her cousins with very few that aren't related to her. Tech and cyber expert. A big animal and nature lover. She loves her space and peace, she is slow to return texts, hates calls, and has the social battery of a sloth. Good singing voice. Loves video games, and is OBSESSED with whatever she has an interest in. Overall, her emotions are well-regulated, however, as an Earth Moon she rationalizes herself and stays pretty chill, even when she needs to pipe up.

Friend #2: Obsessive, jealous, sensual, persistent, indulgent yet very frugal, and stubborn af. A big-time foodie, he does have quite the appetite. Good singing voice too. Always at the clearance section of 'Bath and Body Works'. Thrifty. Got to have three of the same body spray. Candle queen. Trust issues with a very paranoid outlook on things. A bit greedy. Always asking people to buy them things. Very sexual. Cares for his younger sisters and loves his family and friends.

Friend #3: Big-time nerd. Memes are his only talking reference. Great singing voice and can imitate voices very well. Shy extrovert. Loves animations and even studied to be an animator and designer. Hugger. Big animal lover (he legit has what seems like a zoo of pets at home).

Friend #4: Obsessed with history (especially medieval history). All about death and our relationship with mortality. A literal cat. Isn't afraid to get her hands dirty. Goes all in on a subject of interest. Has the same appearance and sense of style as always.

I find Taurus Moons to be very comforting and a joy to be around. They defiantly bring a sense of stability to the relationship, mainly because they're predictable. Not in the "boring" sense but rather that they're people of clear and simple emotions no matter how grand they're in expression, it's pretty clear what they feel, how they feel, and why; Basically, there's no catch or an underbelly to their emotions. Other qualities I have found was that they're pretty aloof, they hate to be intimate with people they barely know, and they actually like fast-paced relationships (only if they really like you), they love to dress simply but chic, and they do have a well known "thing". They always got that "thing" you associate with them and they have it for comfort, like a kid with a blanket or a toy. They also love animals, pastels, the color brown, and karaoke. Hates confrontation and always second guesses their gut feeling. They're also very stubborn and in general, find it much harder to break out of habitual cycles of disconnecting and detachment when shit gets real.

🫧Gemini Moon🫧

Friend #1: Very smart. Great writer and lyricist. Talented musician and singer. Loves people. A bit timid about being in the spotlight. Loves to connect with others over interests, especially art and social issues. Great dresser. Romantic. Bends too fast. Dislikes confrontation but would stand up for a loved one. Bad judge of character (always attracts cheaters and assholes).

Friend #2: Certified L.A.B (lying ass bitch). Says shit for the sake of saying shit. Fake trauma bonding. Leeches off of people. Toxic. Abusive. Always with abusers. Manipulative and hateful. Been around the block. Would do anything for validation. Makes up stories about others to play the role of the victim. (Very likely she has a cluster B personality disorder and no Gemini Moon would claim her.)

I think I have experienced two extremes of this moon, with one being highly and continuously evolving and the other being consistently trash. I am fond of the energy that Gemini has on the moon. There's this innocence that they possess at the core, and it could be the purest and most genuine thing or the biggest fabrication in history. Nonetheless, I do love to be around them and the energy they bring to a relationship. It is always lively, fresh, and new, they'll always come up with something to do with you, and always find a way to spend time and be close to you. They definitely give mixed signals since they tend to be a bit playful, especially in their platonic relationships, and they are very touchy. They're bold and outspoken generally about how they feel. They're less guarded and more likely to share and talk about their problems and their opinions. In contrast, they would rather die than open up about their deep true emotions.

🫧Cancer Moon🫧

Talking about their ex was their favorite pastime. Never misses an important function. Celebrations and social events were considered important. The person that would want to go somewhere but then gets upset because things did not go how they imagined they would. Ruminates on past events and feelings. Vents a lot but also gives you the space to do so. Strong stan on temporary emotions and circumstances. Feels how she feels and doesn't care how others perceive her for it, or what they think about it. Low key ferocious (I live for it though). The only person I know that isn't afraid to publicly voice their boundaries when crossed.

I don't think I met another Cancer Moon besides this person, and we became friends only because we were together in similar classes at uni. Overall, I would say from what I have observed, her relationships with her friends were always great and seemed pretty solid. Romantically though, sis was very challenged, and I don't think it was totally her date's fault. She is an acquired taste and she knows what she wants. Seems very hung up on the idea of meeting expectations and fighting an imaginary clock to get THE perfect life. Good luck with that.

🫧Leo Moon🫧

Creative. Self-motivated. A visionary. The definition of an untamable person. Careful of who they keep company. Lives for an adventure. All about self-expressing, being authentic, and breaking the system. Great philosophical talker. Has true parental instincts. Very comfortable with themselves. Sexual. Great body-mind attunement. Good at mirroring others.

I have heard/read a lot of shit spewing about this placement, but I have to say that I do love to meet them. They're a breath of fresh air. Although I get how they can give an impression of a know it all "I am better than you" life dula, I never detect malice in their approach and usually they're more than respectful if you talk to them about it. They carry the weight of life with such ease, and I envy their perseverance. They definitely love to live life to the fullest. They have their select few friends that they have for a lifetime and like to keep it that way.

🫧Virgo Moon🫧

Never been friends with a Virgo Moon, although not for lack of trying but they themselves are quite apprehensive of bonds with people. They're close to their family and the friends they have they got to know them through school, work, or because they had no other option than to be around you. A molded chaos, and an organized mess. Life runs much faster for them and there's never enough time to finish anything. Despite their tendency to give everything a sense of debilitating urgency, they aren't hypochondriacs. Being strong and well functioning is important to them, as such they take good care of their bodies and surroundings. Oddly spiritual with a devolution to routine rituals. Their emotions are well hidden, they have the hardest exterior to crack. However, they're avid about mental health and wellness. I have also noticed that they tend to lash out, uncharacteristic of them, when they're overwhelmed or feel cornered.

🫧Libra Moon🫧

Friend #1: Very sweet. Bad Bitch™. Always looks good. Best dancer I know. Craves love and relationships. Attracts drama. They are very close to their family. Heavily underestimated. "Legally Blond" but Elle is a Latina that studies medicine. Loves astrology. Takes care of their friendships. Always on the go. Meeting new people all the time.

Friend #2: Pushover. Non-confrontational yet very aggressive. Easily frustrated. Closed minded to different interests. A bit extreme and abrasive. HATES astrology. LOVES the show 'Friends'. Self-critical. Insecure.

A placement that perfectly embodies Libra. Heavenly body and presence. Indecisive as hell. Always stuck in bad relationships. Head is always in the clouds. Romanticizing everything. Walking like they're being filmed. I would say there is an emphasis on companionship and finding "the one" throughout their lives, plus drama is second nature. They might be used to drama so much so that they lose sense of their boundaries and self, in turn making them vulnerable to manipulation and abuse. Their "all about me" era is like no other and is a true turning point in their lives. They seem to thrive when are surrounded by masculinity and masculine people, or overall very competitive and cut-throat environment. They use being underestimated to their advantage.

🫧Scorpio Moon🫧

"Me, myself and I". Paranoid as hell. Big spender. Artistic. Good at portrait sketching. Dresses well. Loves drama. Is the drama. Tone deaf. Low-key ungrateful. An immense sense of self-importance. Passive aggressive. PETTY. Mature exterior with very childish interests. Hypercritical of everything, including themselves.

"Jesus take the wheel" was made as a phrase for dealing with a Scorpio Moon. I get the fragility and being highly emotional and sensitive, that I read about. However, I mostly find them to be disagreeable and pensive. You never know what is the truth, so I assume everything is a lie, and if it's the truth then there must be a catch. They would wake up and the day already sucks. They love to surround themselves with expensive things. It's uncomfortable to be around a placement that seems to believe their own projections and preconceived notions of others rather than getting to know people, or maybe just mind their own business. I would say though that having a Scorpio Moon is probably unpleasant, but I have seen worse happen to other placements with "favorable" moons. And of course, I am talking about the ones that I have met and not every single Scorpio Moon out there.

🫧Sagittarius Moon🫧

Friend #1: Life of the party (actually the life of life). Loves to laugh. Comfortable with everyone. Always hype. Smokes like a chimney. Either brave or stupid. Hype. Frequent dealings with older guys. No chills. Loves to play with friends. Car hangouts over going into places. Funny on the outside, sad on the inside.

Friend #2: Very smart. Tarot mogul. Always a good time. Great convorsaitonlist. A softie. Very sensitive. Expressive.

Friend #3: Would cut a bitch. A true ride or die. A person you want to be on her good side. An unofficial dominatrix. Sweet but feisty. Loves her cat. Always lit. Would do anything for her friends. A good bullshit detector.

A favorite of mine, it is very hard not to like a Sag moon. They're so caring of others and are always making sure that you're good and having a good time. They're the type of person to trust if you're in a bar or a club. I would say that there is a very sad side to them under all that happiness. They're always anxious, which is probably why they don't sleep or eat very well. They also get a lot of migraines. If they open up then they really really really trust you (which is important to them since they can vibe and hang out with anyone but barely trust). They usually have a much calmer Earth sun best friend. I would say that they act much older than their when young but then seem to stay stuck on childish cycles of defensiveness and escapism as they get older.

🫧Capricorn Moon🫧

Friend #1: Artistic and crafty. Resilient. Capable of being very sweet and stern. Good with money, planning, and organizing. Maticolus. Conscious and realistic about their growth and development. Loves animals. Loves to be active in nature. A strong believer in karma.

Friend #2: A true powerhouse. Wonderwoman. My mentor and only real-life role model. An established businesswoman. Rags to riches. Despite having a physical disability she can drive, open pickle jars, do lifts and push up, plus she is a fashion designer that can sew. All of that with one arm. A fighter through and through.

Never had the privilege of being friends with many Capricorn Moons but I have known quite a few and some are very close friends of my family. A rough start in life. They really do take time to peak, however, the glow-up is real. Least spiritual Moon sign. Not egotistical or cold as I read so often. Quite warm and welcoming actually. They might be borderline Darwinists when it comes to the importance of human life and mortality. Believers of hard work and initiative. Lovers and fighters. Silent passion. When young, their relationship with their mother can be described as codependent, and their relationship with their father is strained with a sense of animosity. However, with time the roles seem to slowly reverse. Regardless, their family defenatliy takes precedence throughout their lives. They value respect more than anything else.

🫧Aquarius Moon🫧

Friend #1: Devoted to volunteer work and other people. The "fixer" type. Wants to be needed. Self-help books are all they read. Their interests and style are influenced by the people they're hanging out with. Accidentally (or maybe not) trauma bond with others. Desires to be a leader. Emotions focused. Worries about their reputation a lot. No luck with love. And also in friendship. Many friends, very few that are close, and only one has been consistent so far. Loves to have hangouts with large groups.

Friend #2: Music is their soul. Hippie. Loves acting. "center of attention". Dress based on aesthetics. TikTok addict. Interested in astrology and spirituality. Cold. Performative.

Friend #3: Know-it-all. Bad at expressing themself. No filter. Self-centered. Radical thinking. "Everyone is stupid". Loves to stand out. Learned how to finish a Rubix cube just to show it off. Having low grades is a "red flag" to him. Has a strong desire to be loved, yet none to give it back.

Friend #4: All about the drama and lights. Emotionally explosive at times. Hiding behind a facade. Loves to meet different people. Business savvy. Guarded but would give you their heart once they let it down. Displays emotions as anger when in reality they're scared. Superficial connections to others are more prevalent.

Generally, these people are dynamic and quite sociable. They're people focused in the best and worst ways possible. There is a constant desire to change surroundings (and at times help others change and grow) but they themselves tend to be relatively rigid at the core. Impressionistic (even though they would probably deny it). Self-image is usually not the reality (this could manifest in being overconfident or self-critical). They love to work with their hands a lot and do much better when working with others in comparison to working alone. They are altruistic but aren't attentive to others' desires; as a result, they believe they know better about everything and "what is best" depending on the situation. Imitates emotions rather than naturally expressing them.

🫧Pisces Moon🫧

Another very close friend of mine. Hard to read. Intelligent. People smart. Their friends are family. Uncomfortable with expressing their emotions, yet a good listener. Extroverted introvert. Loves to go out and meet people. Likes to club, going to parties, playing video games, and trying out new things. Loyal. Tough shell, soft heart. Doesn't give a flying fuck about what strangers think of them. Trophy hunter. A very realistic and pragmatic view of the world. Melancholic. They are perceived as troubled when they're just quiet. Low-key altruistic.

This Moon sign is not as bubbly as I have heard about it. They're hard to pinpoint as they usually come off as either Aquarius or Scorpio Moons. They tend to go through much more emotional turmoil, especially as children. They have a floaty feel to them. They feel a lot but nothing at once. They are usually witnesses to harm done to others and suffer losses related to other people rather be it themselves directly, which contributes to a sense of isolation from their peers. They do definitely grow into brave people that face life despite all the baggage they seem to drag around. By far the moon sign that takes the longest to open up honestly and completely, although they do experience spats of anxiety from time to time. Also FOOOOODDDD. They love food and everything that brings them comfort. Vices.

🫧Aries Moon🫧

Very emotional yet not expressive. Dedicated and strong-willed (she is a pediatrician). Hung up on "the one that got away". A true badass. So pretty yet so sad. Her dogs are her babies. Always choosing violence. Femme fatal that drives a Jeep Wrangler.

Emotions that cut deeper than a sword. They seem to compensate for emotional and inner needs with material things and career achievements. Very intimidating when you meet them at first, as they appear put together and quite the expert in their field. They spiral downwards if life doesn't go their way. Personally, I think this moon sign is the most emotionally rigid. Not for their lack of desire to change but rather that they get stuck on what their heart desire and can't seem to see or want anything other than that thing or person that they can't get. They also seem hellbent on trying to control what we can't control, such as the past, other people, and unforeseen misfortune. Highly upkeep on their exterior. Needs some form of vice to process emotions, usually it's smoking and drinking. They tend to be their parents favorite.

[theaveragepsychoticbitch]

Hey there!! Could I request some sfw + nsfw hcs of Poseidon , Buddha , and Nikola Tesla with a cat hybrid! Reader?💕

I've been wanting to do another hybrid readerrr😭thanks for the request <3 I'm not sure if I'm characterizing Mr Kola right, but there's a first for everything! I'll make the SFW and NSFW versions separate, so send another ask just to bookmark it would you?♡

Poseidon, Buddha, Tesla x Cat Hybrid!Reader || SFW || Headcanons || Warnings: Ur, none!

Poseidon♡

The king of the seas is ironically, a cat guy. When he sees you sleeping, tail tucked comfortably into your side with your ears twitching occasionally, a strange feeling comes over him.

You were definitely lesser, and he definitely despises you along with everyone else but... he supposes you may sleep in his private suite.

He somehow doesn't hear you when you point out that you didn't ask to sleep there in the first place.

Rubs your ears subconsciously. They're like a stress reliever for him, and dealing with other gods caused him great amounts of stress. He's embarrassed by it (though he'd die before admitting it) and so whenever he catches himself reaching for you, he has the audacity to get mad at you, and send you away.

Quickly calls for your return though. Which he also is embarrassed by.

Loves when you purr in your sleep. Late at night with nothing and no one to see how his face relaxes as the vibrations hit his chest. One large hand adoringly placed atop your head, he hasn't slept this well in eons.

Buddha ♥︎

His initial impression of you was unhinged; he'd caught you in some sort of... hiss-off with an actual cat. It was far too interesting a sight for him to simply ignore it. So he sat there, for ten good minutes, until you finally emerged victor! He jumped and cheered right along with you, scaring you shitless.

He once managed to spook you and watched as jumped far above his head, shredding the wall as you embedded your claws in it.

Your canines are a strange source of serotonin for him. Sharp as a lion's and strong as one too, you've bit the shit out of him a few times while he was admiring them- only a few weren't on purpose.

Once said "Why do they call them canines when you're a cat? Shouldnt they be felines?"

You bit him for that too.

Nikola Tesla ¤

He wants to figure out how you work. So, so bad.

He entered your life by grabbing you none to gently by the tail, hoping to gain insight from your reaction. While he did gain said insight, he also gained four new scratches on his face.

Pestered you for a long time with questions, none of which you answered. Eventually, advice from Buddha led him to setting up a nice dinner for the two of you- him, with a steak, and you, with a variety of fish and cat treats.

You appreciate the thought... you guess.

Always touching and poking you. He doesn't even realize how odly intimate he gets; holding your hand and playing with your fingers is just him studying how your claws extend. Trailing his fingers down your back is him trying trying to figure out if your tail connects to your spine or your ass. Massaging your ears? Ur, well... he hasn't come up with scientific reasoning for that yet, but he will!

(His excuse is that purring has been proved relaxing for humans, and wants to see if it still works with you. Doesn't know he could have asked Poseidon 🤦🏾‍♀️👀)

Adores when you loaf on him, or "bake bread". He finds the semi-human equivalent of these cat behaviors to be extraordinary, and asks you dozens of "why?" And "how?" questions. When he asks too many, you stop, and don't continue until he promises to be quiet.

--------

A/N: I'm literally a comedic genius guys. Not proofread!

[star--anon]

Do you have any headcanons for thominewt?

this took me several days because I was determined to make this post comically long and I genuinely don't remember why

I also ended up not making it comically long

so uh. sorry

anyway, OH MY GOD SO MANY

Newt is exceptionally good at guessing when Minho and Thomas are trying to hide their pain

and he has no issues with dragging them to bed

Minho probably does stupid shit like "birthday noogies" or whatever, which has inspired a 2v1 of Newt and Thomas VS Minho on April Fools

(Minho still wins, somehow)

Thomas gets dragged into things like astrology and fortune telling by Newt

Every time Minho tries to tell Thomas how stupid astrology is, Newt just scoffs and goes, "Typical Pisces behavior" and drags Thomas away

Minho is not a Pisces. Minho is a Libra.

Thomas calls him an "asymptomatic Libra" and Newt is very quick to jump on that train. Minho hates the both of them so, so much.

Thomas is a Virgo. Newt is a Taurus.

Minho can be turned into putty with enough kisses and hugs and gentle touches. It takes Thomas hours of work, but it's so worth it.

On the weekend, Newt often comes home to a pliant Minho with his face buried in Thomas' chest. Thomas just giggles.

Thomas loves long walks.

Sometimes the three go out together: Thomas strolling down the sidewalk at a leisurely pace; Newt several paces behind, stopping every few seconds to snap a photo of something cool with his fancy camera; Minho several blocks ahead, sprinting like his life depends on it, doubling back whenever he gets too far away.

Thomas and Minho are on piggyback duty if Newt's ankle ever acts up in the middle of a walk

Thomas once fell down trying to pick Newt up, so piggyback duty has mostly been delegated to Minho

Speaking of which, two of the rooms in the house (one of them is Newt's bedroom) are padded with extra insulation to keep it nice and warm during the winter because the cold messes with Newt's ankle

Minho carries heating packs in his pockets at all times and rubs them against Newt's ankle whenever the pain gets unbearable in public

Sometimes it helps, mostly it doesn't. Newt appreciates the effort.

Thomas tries to fight doctors who are reluctant to prescribe medication and/or painkillers.

Thomas studied law and is not afraid to use his Master's.

Newt wanted to get a bird, Minho wanted a dog, and Thomas wanted a cat. They compromised and bought fish.

Newt has names for each individual fish, Minho named all of them Guppy, and Thomas' names for the fish change with each conversation.

Newt prefers baggy clothes and often just steals Minho's stuff because Minho is SO FUCKING JACKED- ...because Minho's shoulder span is so much wider than Newt's

the only issue is that Newt is about three inches taller than Minho, so Minho's "big shirts" are like baggy crop tops

Thomas, who is more Newt’s height, starts buying clothes that he knows Newt will like and smirks whenever it disappears.

When the three go shopping together, Newt often shoves clothes that he wants to wear into Minho and Thomas' carts.

Thomas and Minho like to make bets with each other like "He'll take this one within a week."

[azumasoroshi]

minidura chapter 9 react

COLOR PAGE????

COLOR PAGE!!!!

since when did shinra have blue eyes though

actually i just looked up images of him but what fucking color are those?? blue?? gray?? brown??

shinra is benedict cumberbatch i guess

also shinra beating izaya at cards (and especially poker) is hilarious i need more of that

shinra please tell shizaya to kiss. do it for me

THIS IS SO CUTE AHHHHHHHHH

shizuo and izaya agreeing with each other when it comes to preventing shinra from straight up killing them lets go!!!! plus shizuo asking if shinra cheated because izaya lost ashdkgjsdkjghdssd

izaya totally cheated and still lost he's so pathetic <33333

the way he says "then" after that though like. he was actually considering dissection and money laundering PFFF

yes eat lunch together i promise it wont go horribly wrong

they've really never done this in canon though?? maybe i just read too much fanfiction about it

oh i guess they definitely havent done it before 😭

maybe this is a start. maybe they do it every day after this

izaya's cat face is so cute rhfhrgjhhjgh

only shizuo and izaya would be so baffled at the idea of eating lunch together help

like if these were ANY other people they'd be like oh sure why not! not these losers

watch the entire chapter just be them stalling help

THEY FINISH EACH OTHERS SENTENCES!! married couple behavior fr fr (<-delusional)

they havent argued once in this chapter yet so im taking everything i can get ok

the only things that will get shizaya to be on the same wavelength are eating simon's food and being afraid of shinra

THEY'RE SO CUTE!! the holy trio of malewives

i choose to believe that was both of them saying 'shinra shut up'

meals for the family man because they're going to start a family together (<-delusional but like. more than usual)

i sense a food fight incoming

oh yeah this is going on my twitter banner

cant believe we have two whole chapters of shizaya cooking together in the minidura manga. out of ten chapters. probably representative of how the mangaka was cooking fr

SOMEONE REPLACE THIS WITH THE GAY GAY HOMOSEXUAL GAY MEME RIGHT NOW

izaya would be the one out of the two of them to make moe anime girl noises (my entire friend group)

honestly how has shinra not gone insane from dealing with these two for the entirety of high school

scratch that he is insane my bad

it's like herding cats, not because they keep going in opposite directions, but because they keep fighting

of course they disagree on food tastes too. someone's leaving this kitchen with a broken spine

ive just stopped screenshotting and started posting entire pages because everything is gold

"are you that confident in your tongue" i bet you ten bucks that i could find that line in a shizaya smut fanfiction in less than 20 minutes

at least shinra's having fun

married couple behavior for sure. who doesnt bicker while cooking together

oops

shizuo would be good at cooking if izaya wasn't provoking him 😭maybe. idk the milk drinker genes might hinder him actually

for a moment there i thought they were going to have no food at all bgkjgsjsgdk

izaya and shizuo look so cute in the back thoughhhh look at themmm

shinra. shinra why would you say that they're going to kill each other. shinra. SHINRA

oh nvm i guess they were too tired to argue 😭being in forced proximity for this long is literally harder than chasing each other

wait whats that psychology term for it again. group. something. group goal SUBORDINATE GOAL thats it. a goal given to two opposing groups that forces them to cooperate and will usually eventually make them like each other more (it has never worked for shizaya. see the simon chapter) (also excuse the psychology terminology i have my final test in a month or so and this is the only way i can force myself to study)

so cuteeeeeeeeeeeeeee

shinra sitting between them pfft

izaya's cat face actually kills me every time

either the food is amazing or the food is dogshit and i dont know which one would be funnier

LMFAOOOOOOOOOOOO

ok thats better than either of those options

this chapter has literally just been shizuo and izaya Going Through It

"everyone should get along like me and celty" is he saying shizaya should date. yes he is because i said so

also izaya moving even further away from shinra LMFAO he'd rather be in hitting range of shizuo than have to deal with shinra's celty shpeal

there's so many good reaction pictures with shizaya this chapter ill definitely be cutting them out to make into a banner at some point

im convinced this serves as a precious memory for both of them even if they dont realize it >:)

99999/10 chapter i enjoyed every second of it

[v1nnys]

Hi, sweetheart 🌸

I would be interested to know Giulia’s opinion about my ocs/how she would interact with them :D

OMG HIII Thanks for the request!!!💗💗

Matteo: At first glance, Giulia is not hostile towards the Greasers, so Matteo's presence almost seemed indifferent to her, but when she found out that he almost set Derby's hair on fire in revenge for Vance, she couldn't help but feel respect for him and even congratulate him for trying, as she herself also gets along well with Vance. Giulia is usually very observant, so when she noticed his musical taste and his drawings, she can't help but approach him to share her admiration for the same things, even praising his drawings. Giulia would definitely tell him that his neurons would burn out from reading so many adult magazines. Giulia has a certain good opinion of Matteo, he would definitely be in her social circle.

Oliver: Well, as we already know, Giulia doesn't really like preppies despite being one herself, but noticing the lack of arrogance and the apparent silence that always accompanies him when he's alone, she feels interest, much more when she sees him spending a lot of time in the library reading, wondering what his favorite literary genre is. She would definitely approach him and talk to him, but the calm and seriousness that accompanies him makes her doubt. Is this how others feel about her? She thinks they might have a couple of things in common.

Mary: First impression was like O MAY GOD HER HAIR?!?!?!!!! She's still a preppie, so Giulia watches her behaviors to know if it's safe to approach her—it's not that she's scared of her, she just doesn't want to stress herself out trying to socialize. Giulia goes to the school plays because of Cornelius, but Giulia claps and whistles loudly every time the plays are finished, just for Mary and a couple of friends. Giulia shares a lot in common with her, from her love of cats to how she tries to get close to preppies, Giulia would definitely approach her to talk to her and praise her roles in the plays. She would be in Giulia social circle

Margaret: If we're being honest, Giulia wouldn't get too close, she thinks she's very pretty, obviously, but she wouldn't go up to talk to her if it weren't for gossip, or about fashions. Giulia tries to be nice and friendly with most of the preppies, but according to her, Margaret doesn't cooperate. Despite not approaching her, Giulia would be very supportive of her dream of being a model, approaching Margaret to talk about modeling castings in certain places.

Juliet: Giulia definitely loves her, Giulia wouldn't hesitate to approach her one random day and tell her how pretty she looks and how good her clothes look on her. Giulia really likes that she always tries to find the good in even the least nice people. Giulia would recommend romantic novels to Juliet, even lending her a translated copy of "Como agua para chocolate" by Laura Esquivel. If Juliet has that relationship with Ricky, Giulia would not hesitate to advise her. Juliet would be on Giulia social circle

Kate & Fred: These twins are Giulia's Bi panic. When Giulia is forced to attend gym class, she wouldn't hesitate to come up and talk, Giulia would literally play along with Kate when she's flirting with her, Giulia thinks Kate is very funny and Giulia would attend gym classes just to chat with her about anything while they are doing the sport. Regarding Fred, Giulia also has a very positive opinion of him, supporting him to be responsible with his studies even though sports come first to him, she wouldn't approach him, serious and cold men make her nervous, and if he can't be silent, then Giulia couldn't be good company because she wouldn't talk because of nerves.

Giulia would definitely get along well with Kate, she would always tell her things like "your brother is really hot" and I guess Giulia earns a slap.

I HAD SO MUCH FUN WRITING THIS!!! :33

[serendertothesquad]

Seren's Studies: Odd Squad UK -- "Club 37" Episode Followup, Part 1

In the same way that Frasier Crane apparently loves clubbin', the people working on Odd Squad also love clubbin'. I mean seriously, first we get a nightclub that is seemingly all-ages but has only adults in line and not kids, and now we get this.

...Well, okay. Club 37 is not a nightclub. It's a VIP lounge in a nightclub. Different thing.

Either way, let's see if we can get into the club below the break.

Ohhh...another Omar joint. "Lift Off" was fairly good, but I'm not sure if I'm too confident about this one.

Godspeed.

Huh, I guess in Britain they design Jon Arbuckle very differently. I wonder if he's still a cartoonist, though?

See, in "Picture Day" they at least had Otto puke in his mouth.

Do that. That's the good stuff. A gag, even.

Okay...so either these gloves are a British thing, or I need to go to cooking stores more often, because I've never seen this kind of an oven glove.

Yeah...'s what happens when you adopt a lasagna-loving cat, sir.

Well, if the artist was going for "future dummy design", I think they nailed it.

"They have everything in there, even a talking rabbit!"

And I hear they're a Precure fairy mascot, which makes it more special!

See, you know it's not meant to resemble a nightclub because there's no bouncer at the door. All we get is a Security-built keypad of sorts.

Oh, the crackpot in me so wants to pin this as a reference to the pilot, because putting their badges on boxes like what Orli's doing here was used as a teleportation device in lieu of tubes. Only now, it's what agents do to get entry to a room.

I mean...it's the 10th anniversary. No one in either demographic is going to get it. It's perfect!

(Unless these were somehow seen before, and I missed it...)

halfway through the season

only 33 cases solved thus far

yes, i'm pretty sure that includes cold opens

And if it does, y'all can do the math on that.

Club 37 was Opie's idea? What, did she go to a nightclub and point and go "hell yeah, that but for Odd Squad!"

Well...at least now we know why we have the low low entry barrier of 37. And every other club she founded with entry numbers lower than 100. (You know Todd would get into all of them within the span of a day.)

...

Okay, I'm replaying this scene again and I will once again bring up if sleeping is Omar's schtick the way Tim's schtick is time travel and if the man needs to go see a doctor. There's me enjoying reading and writing about sleeping characters because it offers insight into their personalities and behaviors, and then there's me shoving it into everything I ever write ever. Which I do not do, no matter how tired I am.

Please seek help, Omar.

You know how there are people who will stand outside of a door, waiting for someone to open it on the other side, and then they rush right in?

I wonder what would happen if one of them tried it right now. Would a big Smash-Bros-like hand appear and throw them out?

"I've never had my caricature done."

Well if you were in a carto- *bonk*

NOW HOW IN THE MCFUCK DID THEY GET A MAN UP HERE TO DRAW CARICATURES IN A GODDAMN WATERFALL. HOW. H O W . YOU GONNA EXPLAIN THAT SHIT OMAR OR NOT. C'MON BRUH.

*sly smile*

Amanda the Adventurer but it's Orli the Adventurer.

...One-way ticket to hell.

I have no regrets.

"the jackies" had precinct 13579 play serious and unrealistic catchup with orville's precinct

these guys have only four cases

And both episodes are 11 minutes, mind you. Orli has Flash powers. This should be a nonissue.

WWWWWWHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAEEEEEEEEEEEEET???????

A MONTAGE SONG????

WE'RE GETTING A MONTAGE SONG FOR THIS SHIT?!?!?!

AND...AND IT'S A BANGER?!?!?!?!?!?!

Omar...man...the sleeping problem still persists. But bless you, man. Bless you.

The song's incomplete.

But bless you.

ohwowtheepisodeissolvedin4minutesbutwegot7minutesremainingwhatdooooooooooooooooooooo- *explodes*

...Okay, I was going to say something about the lack of excitement in here, but then I realized there are other clubs with cooler stuff.

Hold up...Agent Odette?

But didn't we get an Ode- ahhhh yes. In Season 3.

Yeah, this recycling surprises me none, and no, this is not the same agent, before you ask.

"Phillip's the friendlest unicorn you'll ever meet."

*long deep sigh*

Y'know, given Hasbro's...ah...dire financial straits at the moment for MLP amid news over G5 ending and Tell Your Tale's cancellation, I feel they could really benefit from some advertising in Odd Squad.

Instead we get yet another missed opportunity when I've been angling for another MLP reference in this show for 8 years with Tim's tweets to Lauren Faust and Meghan McCarthy on strings. Is it really that fucking hard when other kids shows have made references and gotten away with it scot-free?

"I love unicorns!"

Huh. Never pinned Ozzie as a brony, in all honesty.

I also never pinned Orli as dropping the words "coat hick." What the fuck is a "coat hick"?

...

That's not what she's saying, is it.

"Unicorns are proud, majestic, lemon-scented!"

If they're scented like lemons, no wonder some agents eat them.

That being said, I both love and hate that this random-ass Odd Squad UK episode just gave me another fic idea when there are ten million FiMFic contests I want to enter and a ton of fics I still need to write. I don't do this shit so people can pay me money, Omar. I do this shit as a hobby. If I wanna start up a Patreon or a Ko-fi one of these days, I'll call you.

Isn't there an Amanda the Adventurer 2 coming out?

Because if so...this speaks for itself.

IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM, SCOOTER-POLICE-BASED OFFENSES ARE CONSIDERED ESPECIALLY HEINOUS. IN BRI- oh fuck no...no, I can't finish that. I'm laughing too hard.

Simple solution: make the barrier for entry "X or more". So for example, Orli and Ozzie could get into Club 34 because they have solved 34 or more cases. Not exactly 34. 34 or more.

This is about as stupid as express checkout cashiers harping on you for including only three items above the limit. And they're small things. Like...I dunno...Reese's cups or something.

"Why don't you just unsolve some cases?"

Wh...okay, and this is about as stupid as people doing community service for theft and then going right back and stealing the same item again. Doesn't make sense, right? Neither does this shit.

The entire purpose of Odd Squad is to get rid of oddness and keep up normalcy. Victims' lives should not be put on the line and they should not have their odd problems and illnesses re-applied just so Ozzie can go see a non-MLP unicorn that some innocent agent will probably eat down the line. It's borderline stupid, and frankly, it's really out of character for these two.

Especially for Ozzie, since he's a guy who loves to help people.

Behold: an episode that is pushing me more and more towards just dropping everything and walking out.

And I haven't done that since "Odd Together Now". But this is cutting it close.

Seriously, why do we need an IT agent whose entire point is to undo agents' hard work and cause harm to victims? Are they lashing out after telling someone they need to turn it off and on again too many times? Are they angry at all the misplaced code there is?

It...oy. It makes no fucking sense. At least "Lift Off" actually made sense in terms of plot. This one...it's terrible.

(On to Part 2!)

[sanisse]

lay my heart down with the rest at his feet (read on AO3)

Pairing: Elrond/Gil-Galad

Fandom: The Rings of Power

Spice level: 🌶🌶🌶🌶🌶 (ghost pepper)

Tags/warnings: power dynamics, Dom/sub undertones, explicit consent, very minor dacryphilia, very minor verbal humiliation, rough sex, oral sex, rimming, aftercare — also includes references to Eldritch peredhel & maia typical levels of obsessive behavior

Gift for: @thesolarangel 💕💕

Elrond needs to get taken apart a bit. Gil-Galad is more than happy to oblige 😏

(Surprise I guess I’m unmasking my actual AO3 on this one)

-

Elrond’s finding it embarrassingly difficult to focus on the conversation at hand. He and Gil-Galad are taking their customary end-of-the-day turn about the king’s garden as Elrond gives Gil-Galad a basic report of all that day’s comings and goings — all the little affairs at court that Gil-Galad likes to keep apprised of but doesn’t have the time to attend to personally. Elrond will pause here and there to ask his advice on how to handle a matter. Gil-Galad will give his opinion: stated firmly as always, but lately his advice has softened, drifting away from direct commands on how he would like a certain concern handled. More and more, he leaves things up to Elrond’s discretion. It makes Elrond happier than he can express that Gil-Galad trusts his judgment like this.

Their conversation lulls. Elrond steals glances up at Gil-Galad as they walk when he feels certain Gil-Galad isn’t looking. He admires the way he glides, fluid as a great cat, across the path. Admires the way his eyes glint like steel in the evening light, sharp and strong. Admires how easily Gil-Galad carries Aeglos with him. The spear is huge but he holds it effortlessly, tucking it close to his body as he drifts into thought. Elrond’s eyes travel to Gil-Galad’s hands: ring-bedecked and clever. To that steady grip. Elrond wants that grip wrapped around his hip, digging into his flesh. Wants it as a fist in his hair, a vice around his throat.

He swallows and quickly looks away.

“You have something you wish to say?” Gil-Galad prompts.

Elrond can feel how red his cheeks are turning and refuses to look up at him, instead studying the trees. “No, my king.”

“Indeed,” Gil-Galad says, and nothing more.

There is a note of humor in his voice. Barely detectable.

Gil-Galad goes on after another stretch of silence: “You seem distracted today.”

“I apologize.”

“Would you like to go back to my chambers?”

Elrond pauses. Stops walking entirely, boots crunching on the gravel walk. Gil-Galad turns to look at him and sees the way Elrond ducks his head, trying to disguise a little smile. Then, Gil-Galad steps into his space and takes his chin, drawing Elrond’s gaze up to his own.

“You are not particularly subtle with your glances,” he says. And there: a real smile crosses Gil-Galad’s face.

Elrond stomach quivers at the warmth in Gil-Galad’s expression. He turns even redder and breathes a laugh. “No, I never did have an ounce of guile.”

It has been a while since the two of them have spent any time with each other in any sort of personal way. Elrond’s heart quickens at the thought of what Gil-Galad might have in store for him, and at this: at how close Gil-Galad is standing to him, at the way he is still holding Elrond’s chin, commanding his attention.

(He does not have to command it. Elrond adores him. Loves looking at him. Loves the ground Gil-Galad walks on. Loves. Loves. Loves. Something in him sees Gil-Galad and says: follow, obey, worship, adore, enchant ensnare ensnare ensnare; my king; MY king and no one else’s – sometimes he’s dizzy with how Gil-Galad radiates presence and power, enigmatic, magnetic, half-hypnotic in his authority.)

They are staring at each other, Elrond and Gil-Galad. Quietly, Gil-Galad whispers: “Release me, please, Elrond.”

Elrond lets out an embarrassed laugh and looks away.

“Take me?” Elrond asks softly. “I would like that very much.”

Greedy little thing, Gil-Galad thinks fondly. How can he resist?

Gil-Galad places a hand on the small of Elrond’s back, undemanding but assertive as ever, and together they go to Gil-Galad’s chambers. Elrond is the one to shut the door behind them and lock it. When he turns back, Gil-Galad steps once more into his space, takes his face in both hands, and pulls him in for a kiss.

Gil-Galad's kisses are consuming, far more teeth than tongue; he swallows the whimper that bubbles up from Elrond’s lips. When they part, they’re both panting. Already Elrond looks so debauched, hair falling into his eyes, chest heaving, that plush pink mouth bruising. Divine. Elrond leans up —almost on tiptoes— locking his hands around Gil-Galad’s wrists.

“Again.”

“Are you commanding your king?” Gil-Galad teases.

Elrond’s eyes burn as he looks up at him. He doesn’t say anything, but once again Gil-Galad is rooted to the spot as if Elrond’s pinned him there by his feet, and so Gil-Galad leans down to capture his mouth again, sucks on his bottom lip and then sinks his teeth into it, and relishes the way Elrond whimpers again and presses the whole length of his body along the whole length of Gil-Galad’s like he wants to slip inside his skin and live there... or perhaps swallow him whole.

Gil-Galad shifts his grip, grabbing a handful of Elrond’s ass and wrapping his other hand around Elrond’s throat. He doesn’t squeeze, he just holds him that way, pushes his head to the side and drags his mouth along Elrond’s square jaw, scrapes his teeth over it, bites his ear, says: sweet thing, you’re going to be so good for me. You are always so good for me.

Elrond nods, clinging to fistfuls of Gil-Galad’s gold robe in an effort just to stay upright. His brain’s starting to buzz in his skull like he’s drunk as he turns weightless, liquid, as the world narrows to this room, to the space between their bodies, to Gil. Gil. Gil. This is all he has wanted all day, and Gil-Galad is giving it to him. He wants Gil-Galad to tear him apart at the seams so he doesn’t have to think for an hour or two. Gil-Galad knows how to do it, can split him straight to pieces in his hands and then fit him back together again. Like metal refined in a furnace: the stress, the anxiety, the little bothersome decisions Elrond might otherwise obsess over — they will melt out of him like dross. Burned away, leaving him fresh and new, with a clear head and a body that sings.

When his knees buckle, Gil-Galad releases him so Elrond can sink down to the floor. He folds himself against the lush rug, and the sight is almost too much for Gil-Galad to bear. Elrond’s blue gown fans around him like a midday sky as he looks up with those luminous, star-flecked gray eyes. Mouth slightly parted. Cheeks spotted with poppies. Gil-Galad reaches down to trace the shape of his bottom lip with the pad of his thumb and groans when Elrond locks his mouth around him and sucks. Gil runs his thumb over Elrond’s teeth, presses down on his tongue, pushes in as deep as he can into that wet, willing heat and feels light-headed.

When he pulls his thumb free, Elrond whines at the loss and Gil-Galad's eyes glitter. He admonishes: “Be patient."

Elrond answers that by reaching up to palm Gil-Galad through the fabric of his robe and squeeze, delighted to find how hard he is already. He wants to take him out, to feel the grounding weight of him on his tongue.

Gil-Galad hisses, hips stuttering. “Wicked thing.”

“I want to taste you,” Elrond says. His own cock twitches at the thought.

Gil-Galad nods, indulgent, lets Elrond part his robe and unlace his trousers and take him out at last. For a second, Elrond just sits there on his heels, admiring, wanting, mouth watering. Then he tucks his hands behind his back and simply mouths him, darts his tongue out to lick at the vein on the underside, glides in to kiss Gil-Galad’s thigh, to nuzzle closer still, breath hot and ghosting along Gil-Galad's skin until Gil-Galad’s so hard his stomach hurts.

“Please,” Gil-Galad whispers, voice strained and rough.

It will never stop being intoxicating. The rush that floods through Elrond at how Gil-Galad, mighty in power and scion of kings, will turn to putty in his hands. All of Lindon may belong to Gil-Galad. All of Gil-Galad belongs to Elrond.

Elrond obliges him, draws back up, admires the bead of moisture that has welled up on the cherry-red head and darts in to lick it up, relishes the taste and the way it makes Gil-Galad hiss again. Then, he engulfs him.

For a moment, all Gil-Galad can do is simply toss his head back and feel. He tilts his hips, slides along Elrond’s tongue. Elrond mewls around him and sinks down further until Gil-Galad hits the back of his mouth. Then further still. Tilting his head until he finds that perfect angle that lets Gil-Galad’s cock slip right down his throat.

Gil has to grip onto Elrond’s hair just to steady himself. A curl has fallen into Elrond’s eyes. He pushes it back for him with fingers that tremble with desire. Elrond swallows around him, lets his throat seize and clench and relishes the pleased sound, the whispered: good boy, that shoots straight down his spine to his cock and makes him ache.

Gil-Galad traces the shape of Elrond’s face with the crook of his finger. Takes in the sleek lines of his body, the way his mouth stretches around his cock, and demands: “Look at me.”

Elrond obeys. Gil-Galad moans again for how his eyes glitter with stars and unshed tears. He grips Elrond’s hair again and slides deeper still, makes Elrond take him to the root, coaches: “Breathe through your nose, good, gwinig. Good. How pretty you look like this.”

When Elrond’s eyes flutter shut, Gil-Galad’s grip in his hair tightens. “Do not look away from me,” he scolds.

The way Gil’s tone drops sends a sweet shiver down Elrond’s spine. He whines something apologetic, stuffed full as he is, and opens his eyes again.

Gil-Galad releases him to let Elrond set his own pace. Lets him take it slowly, rhythmically, almost meditative in how languid it is. Elrond’s eyes turn glassy as he focuses on this task and this task alone, head emptying, warmth stealing over him like an eiderdown blanket.

Gil-Galad simply relaxes into it, lets himself float on the pleasure. As Elrond works him, Gil-Galad shells himself of his rings, slipping them from his fingers one-by-one, setting them on the bedside table. With each heavy clink of metal against wood, the tension at the base of Elrond’s spine grows. He’s imagining it: how well Gil-Galad can fill him with his fingers alone.

Gil-Galad comes down his throat without warning and Elrond drinks him down. Stays there as long as Gil-Galad bids him to. Lets him soften in his mouth while Gil-Galad sinks his hands back in his hair and pets it, lets Gil-Galad harden again. His knees will bruise. He doesn’t care.

“Look at me,” Gil-Galad commands again.

Their eyes lock. Gil-Galad stabs forward. Elrond chokes.

This time, Gil-Galad doesn’t give him time to breathe. He just fucks his throat, makes Elrond take it, watches how his eyes glaze and turn hazy with lust, welling up with every single delicious spasm of his throat around Gil-Galad’s cock. Elrond’s spine to turns to jelly. He just tips back further still, gracious, welcoming, mewling when he can, mind turning razor-sharp to focus on nothing but breathing through his nose and accepting what his king will give.

Gil-Galad comes the second time with a shout and a litany of praise. Elrond swallows just the same, half-choking on it, writhing, hips canting up into the air despite his best efforts to keep still. He doesn’t need to try and seek any friction. Gil-Galad will give him exactly what he needs, exactly when he needs it. He always does. Elrond knows he is in capable hands, so he surrenders to the need coursing through him, simply rides each heartbeat that pulses like a hammerstroke in his cock.

Gil-Galad releases him to breathe at last. Elrond coughs. Gil-Galad coos and strokes his face, rubbing at the tears streaking down his cheeks, says it again: you’re doing so well. So good for me.

Elrond floats.

Gil-Galad asks him something that he doesn’t quite register over the way his brain scrambles and buzzes. Gil-Galad asks it again. Then sinks down to the floor next to him, crouching, says: “Gwinig,” and then: “Elrond.”

Elrond tries to focus on his voice. Gil-Galad offers him a smile and then says: “Use your words. I need to hear you talk. Do you wish to be fucked tonight?”

Elrond lets out a long, filthy noise at that.

“Words, elig nín,” Gil-Galad insists.

Elrond fishes for his voice. It takes him a long time and he can see the way Gil-Galad’s face darkens with concern, and Elrond knows that if he can’t give him an answer then they’ll go no further, but he also knows he’ll die if Gil-Galad doesn’t give him what he wants right fucking now.

“Fuck me, Ereinion. Please.”

The expression on Gil-Galad’s face softens with relief. He drags Elrond up to his feet, claims him for another kiss, and then half-tosses him onto the huge bed. He climbs on after him, stripping off layers as he goes. Elrond makes quick work of his own gown and lets it fall, forgotten, amidst the rest of the carnage of fabric and bedding. Elrond gasps and laughs when Gil-Galad grabs him by hips to tug him to his hands and knees. Gil-Galad yanks his trousers off him, settles down to his elbows, and then Elrond has to drop his head and bite down on the duvet when Gil-Galad spreads his cheeks and presses the flat of his tongue to Elrond’s hole.

The sounds Elrond makes are exquisite and all the sweeter for how he’s so wound up and loud he tries to muffle them, to be good. Gil-Galad works him open with his tongue and hand until Elrond can take four of his fingers and he’s dripping, clenching around him, glistening with spit, rim puffy and pink and gorgeous.

Gil-Galad sits back on his heels and strokes himself, just admiring for a moment, imagining what it’s going to be like to sink inside his herald at last. Elrond always takes him so well.

Elrond, by now, has dissolved into half-tearful begging. He feels empty and wanton , collapsed down against the mattress, trying to do his best to be patient, but rocking into the silk duvet despite himself just for a bit of friction. He yelps when Gil-Galad brings his hand down on his ass with a sharp crack and admonishes him, once again, to be patient.

“So greedy,” Gil-Galad teases. He reaches for the bottle of lubricant in the bedside drawer and pours a generous stream directly onto Elrond’s hole and pushes it inside.

Elrond flushes red and moans, says it again: “Please—“

Gil-Galad climbs on top of him, drapes Elrond’s body with his own, and eases inside him at last.

For a second he just stays there, just barely inside, and strokes Elrond's hair, rubs circles on his hip. Soothes: “Deep breath in through your nose, elig. Out through your mouth.”

It’s so hard to focus. Gil-Galad’s splitting him apart already. Elrond’s dizzy with it. But he whines and tries. When Gil-Galad feels him relax a bit more, he pushes in deeper. Lets him adjust. Repeats it in little thrusts until he’s fully seated inside of him and Elrond’s trembling, moaning again, body gilded with sweat and perfect.

“How good you feel,” Gil-Galad tells him. “Like you were made for me.”

“Yours, always.” Elrond babbles back, half incoherent.

That makes Gil-Galad snap his hips.

Finally, Elrond thinks. Elbereth above, finally!

No one fucks him the way his king can. No one consumes him like this with reckless abandon. Gil-Galad sets a near-feverish pace that has Elrond screaming to the ceiling until Gil-Galad wraps a hand around his throat and cuts off his air. And then he’s weightless again. Immaterial. Nothing matters but Gil-Galad and how utterly full Elrond is. The pleasure shoots through him like a spike of lightning every time Gil-Galad hits that spot just there. It's so rough that it almost hurts: the way he drives into Elrond’s prostate again and again and again until he can hardly see from how good it is, can’t do anything but feel as the pain mingles with the praise falling from Gil-Galad’s lips. Elrond can’t really understand what he’s saying anymore but it doesn’t matter. Somewhere in the middle, Gil-Galad hauls him upright by his hair and demands imperiously: “ Is this what you wanted?” And Elrond manages to laugh, to say yes, yes, thank you, thank you, thank you—

“Come, Elig.”

Elrond shoots straight up into the atmosphere.

He thinks he blacks out for a second. He only barely registers the long, pleased moan that Gil-Galad spills into his hair as he hits his peak, too.

Elrond’s limbs give out and he melts like snow in Gil-Galad's arms. Gil-Galad simply lets him stay there, clenching around his softening cock, riding through the last aftershocks, watching him as Elrond’s hair smokes like ink and his eyes bleed starlight into the dim light of the room.

They’re both tacky and the room smells of sex, but they can clean up in a bit. Gil-Galad just slips out of him at last and eases Elrond to his back on the mattress. He doesn’t mind when Elrond locks his arms around his neck and whines.

“I am not going anywhere,” he reassures. "Be at peace."

Elrond’s forehead smooths at that. His eyes slip shut. His breathing slows.

Slowly, slowly, he begins to coalesce.

When his eyes finally open again, they are once more quicksilver and kind.

Gil-Galad’s mouth turns up in a soft smile.

“There you are.”

Elrond stretches. Yawns. Gil-Galad gets up to go to the washbasin in the bathroom to wet a cloth and then sits back on the edge of the bed to wipe the cooling sweat from Elrond’s body, to clean the seed dripping out from between his legs, Elrond’s own splattered on his stomach. Elrond reclines, feline, and submits to it without complaint.

“You were in quite deep,” Gil-Galad remarks.

Elrond nods. He feels stripped down and utterly gelatinous, sore in all the best places. “Thank you.”

Gil-Galad discards the washcloth and pats Elrond’s hip with another one of those barely-there smiles and an affectionate hum.

That makes Elrond blush. He truly is back: the unassuming herald who sometimes wonders how he managed to capture the attention of his king. Hopelessly devoted. Soft beyond measure.

“Shall we have a bath?” Gil-Galad asks.

Elrond lazily reaches for him and weakly chuckles: “Please.”

Gil-Galad collects him. Together, they wash each other’s hair and just soak for a bit in relaxed silence. Elrond stays close to him, pressing up against him at every turn — Gil-Galad does not begrudge him this. He is always like this after they’ve had one of these nights.

He’s sleepy, too. Demands to be held after they’re out of the bath and the sheets have been changed. Gil-Galad obliges him, simply asking that he not face him directly — only because he finds that peculiar way of sleeping Elrond has with his eyes closed to be a little uncanny. Elrond doesn’t really have any objections at the stipulation. It gives him an excuse to bury his head in the crook of Gil-Galad’s neck anyway.

They stay like that, entwined, the rest of the night.

[annbourbon]

New point on my DNI list: No men allowed.

⚠️⚠️⚠️TW: Gross, language, and some mentions of incest⚠️⚠️⚠️

I'm angry... cause seriously... I know. I'm supposedly smart. And somehow I still have to fail at such simple tasks like blocking assholes. Because I'd like to think that they are more than this shit show. I tried to talk like they're human beings. I was so wrong...

I'm done though. Seriously.

Next time, you already know why I'm being a bitch:

And this;;;;

And then they ask why someone would prefer to be ace or aroace...

Well if my options are between this kind of stuff and being alone with my cats, reading manhwas, books, or watching movies, and listening to Taylor Swift music? Guess who's going to win? ✨

See? This is why fictional characters or boyfriends inside a videogame are way better than you. Grow up 🪴 touch grass. Try to interact irl.

😑 I'm saying this because it's not just one, but happens almost every day on almost every social media I have. Including on the ones that are supposed to be for studying languages. So I'm putting Men on my DNI list. And yes. I'll be behaving like a Bitch from now on with people who are like this, and I'm not even going to apologize. I cannot trust you or respect this behavior. And yes I'm aware that there's going to be people who are like nOt AlL mEn.

1. IDK all men, just the ones that talk to me like this.

2. IDC.

3. IDGAF.

Behave or I'm blocking you. I don't exist for you. I don't exist to please you.

I have been stalked, blackmailed, gaslight, harassed among many other things for years. I refuse to have another year like this. I'm not a manic pixie dream girl. (Yes. Several guys have been projecting on me and calling me that.)

Me, having things I like or love doesn't mean you're invited to interact with it. I can like smuts, and I'm not behaving like a dog. Even my dog behaves better than y'all and it's not neutered. So you don't have an excuse 🥱

I'm a real person, with flaws and I'm sick of you and I'm done interacting with you or treating you like you're a human being if you don't treat me like one.

You can block me if that's what you're into because we're not going to be progressing further. Also, I'm not allowing asks or DM's anymore due to the harassment I've been receiving from all these toxic men, even slut and whore shaming me. WTF? Get a grip!

**Obviously this is going to be pretty interesting to use in a story... 🤭

End of the rant.

[higurehige]

hi hello. been 5000 years since I have been tagged in much. uwu thank you @spadefish in return i slaaap uuuuh @duskdragonxiii @etakeh @vampiremasochist annnd @ponyacci (chose 2 of these based on activity feed but still important non-the-less! I hope you guys are all well even if we are but strangers in this wide blue world. Obvs feel free to ignore if you want to)

1. Are you named after anyone? A country singer. Course no one really thinks of her when they hear my name.

2. When was the last time you cried? Hrmmmm. Iunno probably 2 months ago over cirque du freak book series. I cry over books a lot.

3. Do you have kids? I am the kid. Do the 9 cats in my house count? On a serious note - no and I don't plan to. I have far too many problems and raising a kid would just wind up with me placing at least HALF of those problems on them. No. This curse ends with me. I don't think I'd even feel comfortable helping raise someone elses kid if we were in a relationship.

4. What sports do you play/have you played? I picked up archery recently! That's cool. I don't go as often as I should bc it's a bit expensive...but...yea! Archerys cool. Working on learning both recurve and compound. recurve for funsies and compound for hunting. (I just want an excuse to go sit out in the woods for hours on end doing fuck all and maybe, possibly bringing home some meat too)

5. Do you use sarcasm? Not often. I'm pretty blunt and no matter how hard I try to control myself I end up sounding like that one guy from guardians of the galaxy "Nothing goes over my head. I would catch it"

6. What is the first thing you notice about people? -shrug- Their face? I guess? Or whatever color they're wearing. Maybe their shoes. Idk...I'm terrible at facial recognition so I go ape trying to compensate for this.

7. What's your eye color? Green

8. Scary movies or happy endings? (both good but probably horror lean)

9. Any talents? Depends what you count as a talent. Born with? Insane observational skills? Uh I can eat actual rotten and moldy food and not get sick? Uuuuuuh. Hmmm....I can dilate my pupils at will? I can bend my legs freaky directions but not freaky enough to look like a contortionist. naturally good with animals I guess? Idk, nothing to write home about.

10. Where were you born? South Haven Michigan

11. What are your hobbies? Reading, drawing, writing (lol to both of these), gardening (i live in an apartment so I cant really do like...vegetable gardening but, I got plants! =3), studying various animals (and bugs), studying plants, photography, I come and go out of other hobbies, honestly. Adhd moments of "wow that looks cool" doing it once and never again....I'm trying, chief.

12. Do you have any pets? Avery (black cat), Diva and squeakers (twin solid gray cats), Baguatte (orange boi), Tiny man (gray stripy fella), Shaggy (not really MY cat, he's just some stray but....-sigh- he is sleeping in my house rn so I GUESS. (brother to Tiny man I think. very similar appearances). then there's weasle and skunk. (also cats) Do the assassin bugs i just bought for my garden count as pets? bc I have assassin bugs in my plants now =3

13. How tall are you? 5'4 ish and built like a brick.

14. Favorite subject in school? Didn't have a good time in school, so I hated all of it. Excelled at English and reading classes.

15. Dream job? Biology field. I want to get paid to study animal/insect behaviors and write papers on them. As it is I am just doing this shit for free lol

[dxrknessembr8ced]

Being a pet owner change me guys like yeah I was into biology and speculative biology and animals before I own a pet but after my sister adopt mimi my fascination with life and animals on the planet become more frequent and also more explosive as I study animal behaviors including my cat and have adapt those behavior patterns on some of the characters in the stuff I write on. Guess you can call me John hammond.

[reds-burrow]

it's interesting that you think of badger as "dog" and snake as "cat", because to me, my snake loyalty to my people manifests itself as very dog-like loyalty. I'm not disagreeing with you, I genuinely think it's interesting!

(This ask is in response to this post.)

Is there a difference in loyalty? I guess cats are generally more independent and subtle in their attachment than dogs. But as far as actual loyalty and devotion, perhaps I’ve simply met different cats than you, but once they devote themselves to someone, I’ve seen cats be as intensely loyal as dogs (and science supports this). When I said Dog and Cat are good alternatives for Badger and Snake respectively, I wasn’t talking about just loyalty, but other behaviors. My apologies for the confusion; I never fully explained my thoughts.

The first part of it has to do with how dogs live in packs, while cats do not. In a sense, dogs are naturally community minded. So, like how the well-being of the community comes before personal wants for Badgers, most dogs can learn to take commands and do what their humans expect from them even if they'd rather jump on the dinner table and eat everything. Cats, however, will do what pleases them before they’ll listen to their human, like how Snakes will prioritize their personal wants. Oftentimes those wants are to take care of their people, just as you can have incredibly friendly, cuddly cats. But it's difficult to get a healthy Snake or a cat to do something that they don't want to without an alternative incentive.

There’s also the fact that many cats are pickier about who they get close to, which I see as reflective of Snake Primaries and their vetting process. You have to earn a cat’s affection, just as you do with Snake Primaries. There’s a reason being chosen by a cat feels similar to being chosen by a Snake. On the other hand, for Badgers, there is already a base sense of loyalty to others, even strangers, simply because they are people, which I find is more similar to how dogs latch onto people. A recent study has suggested that the friendliness that dogs exhibit, a key part of their domestication, came from a similar genetic mutation as what causes Williams syndrome in humans, a disease that (to oversimplify) causes people to look at everyone as a friend. Meanwhile, cats domesticated themselves because they recognized that being around humans gave them an advantage: humans store grain, grain attracts rodents, and rodents make a good meal.

And… It’s not what your ask is about, but if you'll indulge me, I'd like to explain my thoughts on the Secondaries. Yes, Snake and Badger were selected as the HP mascots specifically with the Secondaries in mind, but I think I can make a decent argument for Cat and Dog.

Dogs are pack hunters and display alloparenting. That means they work together, specifically that they invest in each other, taking care of each other’s pups and sharing food resources. I’d argue this is similar to how Badger Secondaries invest in people. Also, most dogs exhibit joy in being given a job to do. Their hard work can vary from actual jobs (service dogs, search and rescue, livestock guardian, etc.) to performing the tricks their humans ask of them.

Cats, however, will do what is easiest to get what they want. A study showed that when given the choice between performing a task to get a treat and simply taking the treat, cats chose the latter. This might sound like the obvious choice, but many animals, including canines, prefer performing a task to get their food, a behavior called contrafeeloading. But cats? They are happy to freeload, even if they’re active and intelligent enough to solve the presented food puzzle.

Then there’s the fact that both cats and dogs have shaped their behavior to better communicate with humans. For dogs, these are mainly instinctual behaviors or literal changes to their form, built into their species over thousands of years, like understanding human pointing from birth and evolving expressive eyebrows to better communicate their feelings to humans. Meanwhile, cats learn to continue meowing past kittenhood, depending on their situation, by reading their humans' reactions. Feral cats don’t meow at the same rate as house cats because adult cats generally communicate through smells instead of sounds. Meowing is something cats developed for humans.

Anyway, I understand if you still consider your loyalty to look more dog-like. Perhaps the subtle affections of cats aren't your style. But I hope you enjoy this alternative way of thinking about things!

[moontheoretist]

Glitches or not, this makes NPC feel real

People started talking recently that Gale's romance is glitchy. That a lot of non-male players didn't even notice because it felt real to us to be hit on a guy involuntarily and being asked to choose between him and others when we didn't even date him. To me, however, this glitch either never happened or I bypassed him. My male MC was very nice to Gale. They're both Wizards, they have their own world of magic to talk to about. But he never came onto him, at all. We had more or less flirty conversations sometimes, yes, but he never made me choose between him and Astarion. I guess I was just playing in a way that gave him the impression that my MC was interested a little bit, but not committed to that interest very much. He just helplessly pins.

Like, for example, I played Mystra's scene as a romantic one. I picked the line with a kiss and he liked it. But then the choices I made later, even though I never explicitly rejected him, affected his behavior.

I didn't feed him artifacts as if he was a starving man. Each time I waited till he asks for artifact first and gave it to him then. And only 1 per every ask he makes. So technically I only gave him 2 artifacts, because he only asked me twice, and the second time he asked, it already didn't work. He said it didn't sate the weave, asked for a time to think, and then next time we talked he told me to not give him more because it stopped working. He was listed during Grove Party scene as possible romance, and during the party I had more or less only suggestive dialogues, but I guess asking him if he likes belly rubs was less romantic than the other two options (I'm autistic, I assumed it was not romantic at all, he just told me his cat hates belly rubs, and I was like "well, if you were in her place would you like them?"). I was surprised that he misconstrued such a line as a flirting line, but he also said that it's a conversation for another time, and that was it. Then I went to Astarion and picked him when my MC went to sleep, they had their romantic night. Since then, Gale and my MC are in this state of going around each other in circles, because my MC devoted himself to Astarion pretty early on thanks to doing some stuff that skyrocketed Astarion's approval instantly (I was so shocked when he suddenly decided to breach the relationship topic, because I were so sure he hated my MC for being goody-two-shoes, but well, killing monster hunter gives you a huge boost), so now it kind of looks like Gale has feelings for my MC, but isn't brave enough to speak about it.

So from my perspective, his behavior is completely normal. And yet I hear that he hits on people when explicitly rejected, so there must be a glitch somewhere in the romance. It just never happened to me.

Also, as a person very well versed in game studies I feel like Gale acting like that is very interesting from a game design perspective, because it gives him agency and makes him feel real. Yes, it also makes people annoyed at him and reminds them of men in real life a little too much. I can understand that. In real life his behavior would creep me out, but because it's a game and because I apparently must have played my cards right, he just feels like a very responsive NPC and I feel like it's nice to see NPC behave as real people rather than waiting for player's input to do anything romantic at all.

Funnily though, Lae'zel hit on my MC on her own and I rejected her, because I play my MC as a gay man. She was not pleased but took it in stride. I didn't get the feeling she resents him. Then during Grove Party she made a reference to her confession by saying "What a pity I won't be able to taste you" and I was like... I laughed because it looked like she holds a grudge against him now xD

My approval with Shadowheart is the highest of all companions, and yet she never came at me, because my MC respected her boundaries and never asked her to reveal the secrets she had. He only asked when the situation forced him, but let Shadowheart get away with being cagey and not reveal anything, and that apparently made her feel safe around him to the point her approval is now on exceptional, and she still doesn't hit on him because I still didn't pick any options that would trigger drinking the wine at night cutscene. So she is my bestie now. We are two besties with dark secrets now, wohoo.

Karlach hit on my MC early, and I needed to turn her down, because damn, gay man right (I love her tho, I'm romancing her on another playthrough for sure). It's funny that my MC whom I play as gay man was hit on by exactly 3 people and none of them was Gale. He never explicitly hit on my MC. I just got dialogue options that were flirty, which indicated that there is an interest there from Gale. But maybe because I played early access and tried to romance him in then (I still remember people talking how hard it is to trigger his romance in EA. Funny that now it's too easy) I know which dialogues are considered more or less romantic and somehow avoided giving him false hope.

Edit:

Hilarious I just opened the game to check my approval ratings with all the companions and... Gale's approval isn't there xD Neither in the regular form nor in the numerical form in the detailed view.

I wonder if that's why my Gale behaved so normally xD

Update: It turned out his "normal behavior" was a bug too.

[shadowmaat]

IS it free speech? At what cost?

The substack bullshit is only the latest in a long line of companies choosing profit over people. As has become familiar, they cite the excuse of "free speech" as the reason why they won't deplatform (or demonetize) Nazis.

Where I'm having trouble is how "free speech" fits into things like this. First of all, censorship is done by a government, not a privately owned company. I also have issues with using "free speech" to excuse a multitude of crimes. Hate speech hurts. Doesn't matter if it contains "specific threats" or not, the words and the attitudes behind it are meant to cause harm and they do. Is speech of that type really free when it comes at the cost of the safety of others?

Hate groups, death cults, and other extremists are taking full advantage of the First Amendment and it seems like a lot of corporations are letting them get away with it by using the broadest possible definition of part of that Amendment.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

Substack, Twitter, Meta, etc. are not part of Congress. They are not establishing national laws. They are supposed to be upholding a code of conduct for the people who choose to use their platform; a code that every user must agree to before they can post.

The problem is that they're not really doing that. Or at least they're being very selective of what bits they consider an actionable violation and what bits are just "free speech."

Calling on people to rise up and kill a CEO or political figure would almost certainly be ruled a violation, but calling on people to rise up and exterminate an entire group, well, I guess that isn't specific enough.

If someone hasn't published a study yet about how corporate "morality" is tied directly to their profit margins, I hope one get published soon because we all know that's what this is about: money. Violent extremists bring in a whole lot of dividends, so the CEOs aren't going to ban them. Gotta think of the shareholders, right?

I understand that it isn't always a black-and-white situation, and I know those kind of moral judgement calls can be tricky at times, but sometimes it's very obvious who's in the wrong. Pretending that banning one hate group will "set a bad precedent" and be used to try and ban other, benign groups is bullshit. Even if there IS a chance that someone would try to use that to try and get, like, the National Puppyhuggers Club banned, so what? It's the company's decision. So unless the Puppyhuggers are going around advocating for cat lovers to be put to death or sent to conversion camps so they can learn to love puppies instead, I don't think it's going to be an issue.

I also know there's an issue of "how do you define hate speech?" but again, even if something like that can be weaponized it doesn't mean you should just... not do anything.

I'm tired of people getting away with abhorrent behavior in the name of "free speech." Or deliberately spreading misinformation because "free speech." I know morals are anathema in the corporate world, but FFS people, grow a spine.

[queenofzan]

one thing that really grinds my gears about the koko and other apes “being taught” “asl” thing is that

it was actually such a poorly-designed experiment that it taught us literally fuck-all about anything, and yet it was hyped so hard and then failed so bad (because it was an extremely poorly-designed experiment) that people are like “oh there’s no point in exploring this further”

methodological problems i, a fucking theatre major, hobbyist linguist, and pet owner can immediately name:

1. the people “teaching” a language to the apes were not native signers. they were not even fluent. HOW CAN YOU TEACH A LANGUAGE YOU DON’T KNOW TO ANYONE OR ANYTHING.

2. in humans, there seems to be a cutoff age/development stage for learning language fluently. this is hard to know for sure because it is hella unethical to design experiments for, and arguably unethical to study anyone who has been deprived of language due to, that only happening in circumstances of extreme abuse. now, it does seem like researchers were aware of this possibility, and tried to start teaching apes sign at a young age, but they didn’t try to teach older apes in order to have a comparison. how useful is this data, then? even if they had been fluent sign speakers, they literally had no control and therefore no way to know if there was a meaningful difference between language acquisition in other apes by age. given what we know about human language acquisition, whether or not there is a difference at all in the capabilities of apes based on age of exposure to sign language would be very useful information about the efficacy of these experiments.

3. few if any of these animals were in an environment that resembled typical ones for their species. stressed animals do not learn or behave the way unstressed animals do. in fact, we know that humans are markedly worse at learning things and acquiring new skills in stressful environments. we have to be very heavily conditioned to even function in high-stress environments like space or battlefields. what, exactly, do you expect a chimp living in a human home without other chimps to teach you about chimpanzee capabilities?

4. focusing on apes to the exclusion of other animals that might actually be better candidates simply because they are close to us evolutionarily, rather than behaviorally or socially. i know everyone was crazy about apes in the 70s and 80s, but other social animals that demonstrate clear communication not only among their close group but across disparate groups (eg, elephants or cetaceans) would also be good candidates for study. yeah, adapting or creating a language to use with elephants would be harder than adapting or creating one to communicate with something with hands, but you can’t pretend elephants don’t have the fine motor control to rival humans’. (i will give the 70s and 80s scientists a pass on trying to talk to cetaceans because there are additional barriers there)

idk man, studying animal communication and possible cross-species communication is so obviously useful that it’s really weird to me people gave up because the first few attempts were so fucking bad. like, okay, it is unlikely that the average person on the street is ever going to be able to communicate a complex idea to a non-human animal they are not already familiar with. i guess that makes it less exciting to some people?

but i’m way less concerned about attempting to study language acquisition and language acquisition cutoffs in animals who are not going to be deprived of something necessary for their neurological function! and considering our shared evolutionary history, combined with the much greater capacity for neurological scanning we have now, literally any data about whether or not there is a cutoff date for successfully acquiring a language (to the extent that animal is capable of) would be extremely valuable!

also, having non-domesticated species to compare to our experiments with pet animals like cats and dogs would be very useful! we know that domestication does affect brain activity, and being able to make more accurate guesses about whether or not that includes linguistic development would be great! again: having control data to compare other experiments to is useful in and of itself, even if it turns out other apes can’t learn language in a way comparable to humans!

i just. augh.

even setting aside the ableism that obviously underpins the decision not to have d/Deaf people involved in teaching sign languages to non-human animals (which we shouldn’t, as that is the most crucial element of the experiment) these “experiments” were so poorly designed as to not count as science, and the questionable results obtained from these shoddy experiments are now used as an excuse to deny funding and redirect research into a really interesting and potentially useful field!!!

[savebatswingaus]

Scratchcraft Oneshot - Saltyy wing fic

Summary:

Foxy deals with leaving the season 2 world for the next. ...oh and Saltyy is there too I guess.   (Doesn't make a whole lot of sense if you don't know this fandom or at least watch Scratchcraft.)

Notes:

Just a short little oneshot I wrote as a goodbye to season two. (And because my 39 pages of over the summer social studies work is much more difficult than I expected it to be.)

Fic below the cut or in the link in the title. :)

Foxy sighed and laid down their head. They felt tired, and had no way to fight it. (Besides sleeping of course, but who honestly wants to do that?) They felt their tail flick against the familiar orange blankets on their bed, they tried to ignore it at first, but it soon grew into some sort of pattern. Some familiar beat that they wished they knew the words too. It was a nice background for lyrics (that, they reminded themselves, didn’t exist) but it wasn’t a nice background noise for sleeping. 

They sat up, fox-like ears twitching as they physically held their tail down. It just didn’t want to stay still! Which was fine most of the time, but when they were trying to relax and fall asleep, they would have expected their brain to have stopped the movements of all their body parts. 

They sat that way for a while, blankets ruffled around their (slightly shaking) body as they held their tail. It’s fur was fluffed up, and they could feel the hair on their head and ears also puffing up with it. Foxy hissed slightly and pushed their hands further into the fluffy appendage, they felt their claws extend out of their fingers but only cared when pricking pain formed in their tail.

Instantly, their ears snapped back and they jerked their hands away, yowling at a volume that most definitely disturbed the villagers left in the area. As it was, a blush was already forming on their face from the fact that they had just accidentally stabbed their own tail, they didn’t need other people to be worried about them. 

Foxy groaned and sat up, ears slightly less flattened now, but still definitely turned back. Their tail was still fluffed up, and the sight of a few hairs caught under their nails was enough to make them chuckle softly. 

Swinging their legs over the side of their bed, they stared thoughtfully at the orange and black hairs. The sight of them stuck under the nails reminded them of how lucky they were to have retractable claws. Sure, there was no real reason they were so happy to have the strange nails, but wasn’t it good enough that they found them cool? The way that when not retracted, they looked close enough to a regular human’s nails (if not a bit sharp) but when out, their true power became known.

They stood fully and stretched, their arms above their head as far as they could go, and felt their tail bristle out fully before relaxing back behind them. The feeling of the fur sinking back into place was familiar and welcome, especially with the (now dull) pain locked beneath it. 

Foxy yawned as they let their arms flop down by their sides, their formerly gritted teeth happy to be apart from each other once more. Well, at least now that they felt awake, they didn’t have to struggle to fall asleep anymore, right? ...they hoped that was the case.

Sighing, they made their way to the door, tail brushing gently against the floor as their two pet foxes wound around their legs. Normally such behavior would only be expected of cats, they mused, opening the door, but I guess being ‘sort of’ a fox helps them feel more comfortable.  

They stepped outside the house into the night and took a long sniff of the air. It smelled crisp and fresh, with the exception of the smoke rising from the nearby campfires. But, as they made their way to sit next to one, they supposed that it fit the scene. A village in a spruce forest, surrounded by darkness and monsters, but able to keep all that away because of the crackling flames that comforted it. (That and the torches placed haphazardly around. Campfires only did so much.)

Foxy shook out their shoulders and wrapped their tail around their knees as they watched the fire. First it blew right, the left, and then right again… but it somehow never left the ring of wood placed lovingly around it. They blinked, their eyes beginning to burn with the heat caused by being near a fire. But even with that discomfort, it beat laying, unsleeping, in a bed that would seem to let them sleep. Briefly, they wondered how long they would get to stay here. Them and their group of friends did leave for new land the next day.

They leaned back and groaned. If they were leaving tomorrow morning, they should definitely be getting a good night's rest, but with how uncomfortable they had been in their bed, they supposed it was going to be a less than perfect start of the journey. 

Foxy turned their gaze up to the heavens, eyes still shining slightly with the tears caused by staring directly into a fire. Up above, past the whispering branches of trees and friendly billowing smoke, they saw them. The stars. They were so beautiful, shining with the brightness of a thousand far away suns. If only it were safe to take the flames away from the ground below, letting monsters run rampant in the village, that way, they could see the stars in their true glory. 

They reached a hand up, claws reflecting orange light from the nearby campfire as they twitched towards the stars. Of course, if it were dark in the village, they could see just fine, but the few villagers that still lived here would not be a fan of it. (Especially since none of them were very good at fighting close range, Foxy included. They would pick a firework over a sword any day.)

They felt themself begin to slip off the log below them, eyes growing heavy and tiredness finally began to take hold of them. Just a quick little nap below the stars wouldn’t hurt anything… right? They knew this was not strictly true, monsters might not be able to sneak up quite as well in the light, but it didn’t mean they would stay away from a sleeping fox hybrid. 

Did they really care though? It wasn’t as if this world had some sort of stitching in it, letting lives be just one. They yawned tiredly and laid down in the grass next to the log. That was the second thing they were glad to have here. The lack of ticks. Sure, some bugs still walked the ground, but ticks didn’t exist here. And, as they closed their eyes, they hoped that whatever the next land they came to was, it gave that same courtesy. 

- -  -     -               -                            -

They blinked, eyes opening peacefully to the blue sky above. It appeared that monsters had not gotten them in the night. Maybe sleeping so close to a fire, and basically under a log, had something to do with it. Foxy turned their gaze to the campfire, not at all surprised to see it still burning merrily along. It was quite like it really. Ever since Storm had become a god, which was, admittedly, not that long ago, campfires had refused to go out even underwater. (They had always kept up in the rain before, maybe the ocean was the next logical step?) At first, they had wondered why that was the first thing he had done with his newfound powers, but had quickly concluded that maybe fire was just a thing that would look cool underwater.

They sat up, head narrowly missing the log that they had slept next to. (As it was, one of their ears brushed it.) Noticing two foxes curled up under a nearby tree, they paused. These were their pets, and they might never be seeing them again. It was only fair to disappear and mysteriously as they had appeared. Sure it hadn’t really been that mysterious, but they still guessed that departing in silence was a kind thing. 

Struggling to their feet, Foxy stood. They glanced up to the sky, which white clouds drifted lazy across. With a spark of sadness they realised that this was a nice day, it’s a shame that we’ll all have to leave soon. They thought to themself, holding their tail manually as they stepped away from the fire, there was no need to look like a fool as they left their sleeping place. 

“Hey Foxy!” 

Foxy jumped and whirled around, not exactly happy to hear the sounds of their pets waking up, or happy to see the person who caused that. (It wasn’t that they weren’t happy to see him, it’s just that this friend being all the way out here meant that it was going to be time to leave soon.)

“Hi Saltyy,” they sighed, their voice sounding slightly high-pitched compared to the other’s. It was kind of like a fox’s voice, slightly yippy, but all the more expressive because of that. 

“Did you see my landing?” Saltyy boasted, his chest puffed out with pride. Ever since his wings had been strong enough to lift off, he had not shut up about his flying. It was fair, Foxy supposed, nodding and picking up a torch absentmindedly. When Foxy had first figured out that other people didn’t have retractable nails, they had been quite excited to show their friends. (Even though they had all seen it before.)

“Was it a good landing?” Asked Saltyy, now looking slightly worried at he folded his wings behind him. 

At this question, Foxy nodded and smiled, choosing to speak only after the pleasant motions were taken care of, “It was a very good landing! I’m just a bit busy saying goodbye to my foxes,” 

“Oh,” They would almost hear the slight deflating of their friend. He hadn’t thought of that. (Which was fine, because Foxy hadn’t really been planning on doing so until that moment.)

They leaned down to the foxes curling around their legs, picking up one and rubbing their nose to it’s. The pet wagged its tail slightly and Foxy felt their own shift from side to side slightly. They hugged the pet to their chest and whispered something into its ear, a goodbye that they didn’t want anyone to hear because of how soppy it was, and set it down. After waiting for Saltyy to stop giggling to himself, likely because they had wagged their tail, they repeated the process for the other fox. 

They wiped away a tear, and, tail sagging to the ground, gestured for the foxes to go. The two animals stared up at them, looking slightly confused, but they spoke. “Come on, be free now,” they whispered, a sad smile forcing its way across their face, “It’s what you were meant to be,” 

The foxes looked at each other, and then back at Foxy. The animals made eye contact with them for a moment, before yipping joyfully and bounding off into the woods. Foxy smiled as they watched them, orange eyes blurring as tears threatened to fall. 

But, before they could, a noisy, but altogether very nice, voice piped up behind them. “That was really sweet of you,” it said. Foxy turned to see Saltyy standing just a bit closer to them than he had been before. It would have been sort of weird if it wasn’t for the very genuine tone in his former statement.

“Thank you,” they smiled, tail going into a bit more of a natural position as they felt themself relax, “It was the right thing to do,” 

Notes:

Hope you enjoyed! >^-^< Leave a comment and/or kudos if you feel like it. (I like to beg for validation. /hj)