#i sure am picky for someone who's so used to getting scraps | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

dev-nxbody-h3re · 2 years ago

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i am unable to make a coherent thought right now. i need another au to think about. i need to create lore. how do i satiate this feeling.

With a new AU of course.

So have you guys seen *cough cough* The My Little Pony Equestria Girls movies? No? Yes? Well it doesn't matter. Because I'm going to explain my MLPEG AU.

This one actually starts with Evan. He's Princess Twilight Sparkle. Or, well, Prince Evan. He's the Prince of Childhood Innocence or something, idk.

So the before part doesn't really matter, but Elizabeth (who takes the place of Sunset Shimmer) steals Evan's magic crown. Obviously big no no. So Evan goes through the portal and is human and not pony. Helpy is Spike.

There, Evan meets Gabriel (taking the place of Applejack), Jeremy (Rainbow dash), Susie (Fluttershy), Fritz (Pinkie Pie), and Cassidy (Rarity). He does his friendship thing and Elizabeth takes the crown and transforms into Scrap Baby.

The MCI pony up and beat her ass with friendship, turning her back into Lizzy. They have a heart to heart and Evan goes back to Ponyville.

And then the second movie :)

My favorite movie :)

RAINBOW MOTHERFUCKING ROCKS. FUCK YEAH!!

So, Elizabeth is the outcast of the school now. The MCI are doing their best to help her, but it's difficult. Then, just like in Rainbow Rocks, we cut to a small cafe. People are arguing, and there's a faint green mist on the floor. We pan up to find four teenagers sitting in a booth, singing.

"Ugh, are you sure this is worth it? I hate eating fast food." One of them pouts, flipping their hood back to reveal black hair, dyed blue at the front. This is James.

"We take what we can get, James." Another flips their hood back, and they're Taylor, their hair coiled in a long braid. "We can't be picky."

"Doesn't mean it's good. It's just not enough anymore." A third pulls their hood down, and brown hair reveals Matthew.

The last opens their mouth to talk, but the friendship beams from Equestria Girls is shown in the background. All four of them gasp.

"Equestrian magic.." The last pulls their hood down, and they're Michael Afton, eyes shining with hunger.

He turns to his fellow Sirens and opens his mouth, the screen cutting to black.

Blah blah blah, boring band things. Anyway, the Sirens are defeated in a cool ass song. Their Siren forms are just their representative masks (Bonnie, Chica, Freddy, and Foxy respectively).

But their gems aren't destroyed, so Michael pulls them back and they run off.

And then the Friendship Games!

Instead of SciTwi being here, Crystal Prep's star student is one Jeremy Fitzgerald. Because I can't not have him.

He's wanting to pursue a higher education, but needs a scholarship to do so. He discovers magic and becomes enamored with it, trying to understand it with the help of a little doohickey circle thing.

He finds the portal, and sucks the magic right out of it and Elizabeth. He gets scared and gets on the bus.

Throughout the movie, their magic is depleted one by one.

They're all getting desperate. They need to win the games and everything is going wrong, and they can't even contact Evan. Elizabeth makes a decision, and during an intermission she goes out from the school.

The games continue on. The magic Jeremy has is getting harder and harder to contain, and Unleash the Magic happens. He releases the magic and turns into (wait, can you guess) Nightmare Mangle. What a shocker. Look, when there's only one thing the guy is known for you gotta use it.

He becomes obsessed with magic, and starts destroying everything a la Midnight Sparkle.

Everything is almost broken, until someone shouts.

"HEY!" It gains Nightmare Mangle's attention. "What do you think you're doing?!"

It's Michael. He looks different- more mature, bolder, more confident, whatever. But it's undoubtedly Michael.

Nightmare Mangle cackles. "Who do you think you are? A hero? Why even try when the world is breaking at my very presence?" He gestures to the gaping holes in the ground and in the air, which are slowly but surely growing.

"This isn't the right way to get what you want. Trust me, I'd know." Michael chuckles, clutching at the gem worn around his neck.

"What do you know of ambition? Is all you have to say meaningless words and promises of redemption?"

He clicks his tongue. "Well, I certainly know whatever the hell you're doing is giving off a lot of negative energy. And stop talking so poetically, you're not that kind of villain."

"Oh? Then, pray, what kind of villain am I?"

Michael doesn't look impressed, kicking a stone into the vast sky of the portals. "A lousy one."

This sends Nightmare Mangle into a rage, flying at Michael. The Siren hums a little tune and a giant fox is barreling into Jeremy.

All this time, Elizabeth is searching for the magic circle thing. Eventually she finds it while Michael distracts Jeremy, and does the Sunset Shimmer Friendship Games power up to try and talk down Jeremy.

Michael is eventually knocked out by Jeremy, and Elizabeth gains his attention.

They start fighting, and start beam attacking each other. Jeremy almost wins were it not for a blue rabbit kicking him away.

Nightmare Mangle growls and looks at James, who's standing over Michael's unconscious body protectively.

"You didn't think he came alone, did you? You're a fucking moron!"

While he's distracted with James, Elizabeth seals up the portals. The magic circle thingy is laying on the ground, and Taylor picks it up. They whistle, gaining Lizzy's attention, and they throw it up to her.

"Take his magic back! It's corrupting him!" They yell, narrowly dodging a beam.

Lizzy opens the pendant and points it at Jeremy, who claws at himself to keep the magic but is drained, falling in a heap on the floor.

She depowers and goes over to him. He's barely conscious, but shivering and shaking.

Matthew comes up to them, staring down at Jeremy thoughtfully. "He almost died, you know. That much magic in a person who hasn't had any before is dangerous."

Elizabeth sighed. "I know."

Jeremy is taken to the hospital for examination, and the MCI reconvenes near the school doors. The Sirens are with them too.

"Thank you for helping us, Mike. I think we would've died without you guys." Elizabeth brings Michael into a hug.

The MCI is confused. They tried to enslave the entire world last time they saw them and now Elizabeth is treating their leader as her brother?

"It's no problem. Just a thank you for helping us out."

Turns out Elizabeth had been visiting them and talking with them, and apparently had even convinced them to join the good side. They hardly ever used their Siren powers for anything malicious, usually just saving them for party tricks or real emergencies.

And then we get to Camp Everfree. The Sirens have re-enrolled in Canterlot High, and Jeremy has kind of joined their little clique. Turns out that having the magic of six borderline pony gods in a dude at once has some lingering effects, so Jeremy's learning to control his new magic. He's terrified he's going to slip back into Nightmare Mangle, but the reassurance from his ten (10!!) new friends can only go so far before he breaks.

Michael is determined to give his friends the most normal field trip of their lives. No magic weirdness, no powerups, no Siren junk, no nothing. Just being teenagers out in the woods.

Of course nothing can ever go to plan and Jeremy's magic starts misbehaving. The others are also having trouble with their powers, and the only people who know how to control it are the Sirens and Evan. So Cassidy finds a way to contact Evan, and he shows up.

"Hey, weren't you.."

"Yeah, trying to enslave humanity? That was a couple months ago, keep up."

So, they try and work on their magic, but a being known as Vanny Everfree shows up and wreaks havoc. (It's just their camp counselor, Vanessa A., using magic rocks she found in a cave.)

They have to power up to save the camp, but Jeremy's terrified. They try managing without him, but they are quickly overpowered.

Jeremy is forced to do a magical girl transformation, and it goes better than he hoped.

The Sirens are pretty useless here, so they're tasked with keeping people safe.

They do power explosion beams, raise money for the camp, and go on their merry way.

And they live happily ever after, fighting pony magic and being awesome.

That's it

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superbdragoncollection-stuff · 4 years ago

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Thoughts on Separate Tides and Allergen Representation; an Essay

“No appleblood. I spent the money on gryphon eggs for Luz. There’s not a lot she can digest here, so I make sure I have her favorites around.”

“Because you stuck with me, you lost your magic! You almost got turned to stone, and now you can’t even afford your appleblood because you’re worried about what I need to eat!”

This episode had a very surprising, and very sweet display of allergen representation. I really appreciate Luz’s issues and anxieties in this episode. While it’s presented in a fantasy way, when she explains how upset she is about her food restrictions, it speaks to a real issue affecting people with allergies and digestive problems. As someone with a food allergy growing up, the moments really spoke to me. I have Celiac Disease, which means that my body can’t digest gluten, a protein in wheat. I can eat the stuff physically, and the symptoms aren’t obvious like a peanut allergy. This makes it difficult to detect. The way it manifests is that my stomach can’t digest the protein. It will go through my small intestine, and tear up the lining of the organ that absorbs food, and what remains of the lining has a hard time absorbing other nutrients, causing me to essentially starve. These symptoms don’t appear immediately, taking days, weeks, or even months to register, making it even more difficult to detect. While gluten is something health nuts are obsessed with lately, it is a very real threat to people with my condition. My food can’t share the same plate, can’t share the same space; if they even so much as come into contact I have to scrap the whole meal just for safety’s sake. When I was younger, before I was diagnosed, I didn’t grow an inch for two years because my body had gone into maintaining the bare minimum needed for survival. My bones think they’re younger than they actually are. When I was diagnosed and I recovered, I grew a lot. What spoke to me in this episode was Luz’s discomfort and distress at Eda’s money troubles when it comes to food. It wasn’t a joke, it wasn’t mean, it was really meaningful, it’s a fact of life. It’s much like how Eda’s condition was treated in the first episode she appeared, just a part of life. Gluten free food is expensive, finding places that won’t actively poison me is exhausting, and I’m constantly worried about cross contamination. Even a few crumbs can be a problem. Frequently I will feel like a burden, like I’m being pedantic even though this is vital to my health. I cannot live off food with gluten, I will die. Yet it still feels as if I’m a burden. I’m right there with Luz; hearing people having to talk about our food sensitivities, and having to accommodate us, even if it's in a loving way like Eda said, is upsetting. I’m also going to guess that like me, Luz is also a picky eater even amongst stuff she can eat. On school trips, I always needed special treatment; it tended to be something that I don’t care for even if it was gluten free, or dry sandwiches I brought from home while my peers chowed down on pizza. I remember the looks everyone gave me. I have to explain to every single restaurant I find my condition. Even if they’re understanding, it’s a pain. Luz has been confirmed to be neurodivergent, and I am right there with her as well. It takes an immense amount of mental energy to find restaurants, to find the right menus, find the ones with the right accommodations. Food can’t even be cooked in the same fryer if I want to avoid cross-contamination. It’s terrifying and upsetting to constantly have to go to the front of the line and ask for what feels like conspicuous special treatment. As a neurodivergent person, social anxiety makes this so much worse. I constantly fear the cooks are cursing me under their breath for inconveniencing them, I fear that people behind me are whispering and that any moment a hand will land on my shoulder and demand I get to the back of the line with everyone else. Sometimes I will get food that I simply don’t like, or hasn’t been cooked right. Asking to have it fixed is terrifying, and I fear the people around me even more. Luz may not be super poor on Earth, but she voiced a lot of anxieties and frustration that people like me have. I'm from a well off family that could afford the additional expense of gluten free food, but I can’t imagine what a nightmare it is for real families who can’t afford gluten free food, or who can’t even

afford a diagnosis. To add insult to injury, many people will mock or dismiss us as being liars, pedantic, or just picky. It is a common thing to mock people with gluten free preferences; the Angry Birds movie made fun of it. I hear people complain about how expensive the food is even if they don’t have to eat it. People will offer me bread even after I explain to them what it will do to me. Dennys seems to have adopted a chain-wide proclamation to refuse to accommodate gluten free people. I have not eaten there in three years, because we experienced serious food problems in restaurants in Virginia and Vermont. Virtually every time I entered a Dennys three years ago, I would ask for a plate of plain and simple chicken that normally comes with toast, and I ask them to remove that; somehow, they would always screw up the order by putting glutinous bread right on top and ruining the whole meal. Yes, we are that sensitive to contamination. If it even touches the food the meal is ruined. Once, it was understandable because the waiter had been awake for eighteen hours. The other times were not. I saw the waiters argue with the other staff, I had a manager once come out to explain my own disease to me, even as two pieces of toast just sat there stewing on my chicken. That feeling of being a burden, of hearing people argue about trying to help you, stings very much. Some people will assume that we just don’t like wheat; I’ve heard horror stories of people trying to “prove” someone didn’t have Celiac Disease by secretly putting it in their food. The fact that we don’t go into anaphylactic shock when we consume it makes this a common problem as it leads them to assume it’s not an issue. It being a fad diet has also made my life worse; I have to constantly specify that I am not just gluten free, that I have an actual medical condition. I have to carry cards in my wallet to explain the situation. It feels like the world around me conspires to keep me from being healthy. And it feels like the world hates people like me for it. The best representation I’ve ever gotten for Celiac Disease was a CollegeHumor sketch. Most of the time, allergen representation is a joke, even if it’s informative and not meant to be mean. The Owl House breaks that trend with these two little exchanges. “No appleblood. I spent the money on gryphon eggs for Luz. There’s not a lot she can digest here, so I make sure I have her favorites around.” “Because you stuck with me, you lost your magic! You almost got turned to stone, and now you can’t even afford your appleblood because you’re worried about what I need to eat!” Luz’s snap at Eda about her food sensitivities is something I feel. I don’t often get allergen representation like this, especially any as loving and kind as this. Even to family, who love and support me, I can feel like a burden, as if there’s something wrong with me that is somehow my fault, and not the fault of a genetic disease dating back thousands of years. It’s deeply upsetting and frustrating to experience this. No matter who it comes from, it hurts a lot. I’m glad The Owl House captured this feeling perfectly. It’s good to know I’m not alone here. I’m glad to see representation where facts of my life aren’t seen as a joke.

#the owl house #the owl house spoilers #toh luz #toh season 2 #toh season 2 spoilers #luz noceda #allergens #allergen representation #celiac disease

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evolutionsvoid · 3 years ago

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"Before you even say anything, here is a hundred pieces. You let me stay and they're all yours. I just....I just need a drink. A real drink! Please, its been a long day and nowhere else lets me in! I promise I won't make trouble and I will make sure they don't either. Thank you, kind sir, thank you so much. I am at wits end here and need something strong to keep me sane. I will have two steins of your strongest stuff, and also a plate of chicken gizzards and any other junk meat you got. Organs, cartilage, whatever you got, they ain't picky. Here's your coin for that, and you can keep the change if you are willing to hear me vent. Ah, you barkeeps are a godsend! You hear our woes and grant the cure. Bottoms up to that!" "Ah! Just what I needed! You would not believe what I got to put up with! This little...well, I guess it will make more sense to you if I start at the beginning. Should be pretty obvious that I am sort of a magic fellow. Was always interested in it at a young age, thought it was the greatest stuff in the world. I dreamed of shooting hellfire from my hands, lifting houses with my mind and flying with nothing more than a word. So when I was shown to have a knack for the magics and whatnot, I was ecstatic. When I learned what magic really was, that kind of killed the mood. Dusty books and ancient scrolls, all bound by a mountain of rules and laws. You can't do this without having that, you aren't allowed to cast until your level thirty whatever and no spells during off hours! And when we were allowed to use magic, it was the lamest stuff imaginable! Learn to lift a quill! Learn to sprout a seed! Make something change color! What a bore! I was ready to leave it all when I found a group who shared my misery. They hated all the paperwork and fancy doodads, and sought to get their hands on real magic. The second I heard that, I was all about it. Long story short, I wound up joining a group of warlocks and took up their lifestyle. At the time, I didn't regret it at all. I finally got to use some real deal magic, and do all the things those stuffy mages said were 'primitive' and 'uncouth.' Bunch of snobs, they turn their noses up at using sacrifices and blood magic, but then are totally fine with imprisoning someone for centuries for casting the wrong spell on the wrong day! What's so bad about the occasional ritual and sacrifice? Spill some blood here, take a heart out there and you get yourself the power of the gods! Sounds like a fair deal to me! They all whine about torturing and killing, but isn't that what human society is? Aren't all our achievements built on suffering and bone? Cripes, where would the two of us be if there wasn't human misery! Eh, don't give me that look, I am sure you've heard worse..." "Anyways, all that is well and good, but there is one thing every warlock needs to achieve their true potential: a pact. You got to contact some ancient entity and join there team to get the real good stuff. Common trash always freaks out about making pacts with demons and 'selling your soul,' but that's how you get places. You don't get to wield absolute power until you sign your name on the right human skin scroll. I wanted a piece of that, and so did my brothers, but we weren't going to sell our selves to just any demon. We wanted something with real weight, an entity that no one else could even rival. If we joined with Glar'Blax the Horrible like every other warlock, what good would that do us? So we spent ages scouring the land for the perfect host, some being that nobody else had joined with and one that could grant us magic this realm had never seen! After a while, it seemed like a lost cause. We came up with zip. Nada. Nothing. But fate guided our hands and we found a tattered scrap that spoke of the Slavering Void, the Abyssal Queen of Want, the very Empress of Oblivion! Word of her hadn't been spoken in centuries, and relics of hers were said to have been destroyed long ago. This was an entity that hadn't been mentioned in this realm for thousands of years! And we had a lead! Right then and there, we decided she would be the perfect host. It was too perfect to pass up! To be the servant of the Empress of Oblivion! The whole world would tremble at our power! We used all that we had to follow the trail and track down that ancient tome, but we finally located it. With it in hand, we would be able to summon her and sign the pact. Ultimate power would be ours, but sharing it started to sound a little bothersome. What good was it if a bunch of other losers had it as well? In the end, I was the only one to make it out of that wretched temple, the rest of those fools honorably sacrificed themselves to fill the bellies of her rotted guardians. With that, the book was mine and soon the power to bring this land to its knees would also belong to me. How naive I was..."

"I was so excited when the ritual worked, when that connection between our realms opened up. To see a fraction of her form, to hear her very voice! It was like all my childhood dreams were coming true! I don't think I breathed once as I went on and on about swearing myself to her and being her eternal servant. I praised her, bowed to her and used every piece of flattery I could think of to win her over. When she said she would consider this pact, my heart nearly exploded in my chest. At last! All that I dreamed of! But first, she had some questions. I didn't think it odd at the time, nearly every pact has to have some agreement. I figured she was just getting an idea of how much power to give me, or how I could best serve her agenda of destruction and hunger. I barely listened to the questions, I agreed to everything and said I would be the best vessel ever. 'How good are you in a position of authority?' The absolute best, my Queen! 'Are you good with disciplining others when needed?' None shall escape my justice, just say the word! 'Can you combat retaliation? Are you able to hold up to pressure?' I am an unbreakable wall for you, my Empress, none shall get in your way! And so on and so on. I said what she wanted to hear, confident I would be granted everything I ever wanted. At last, she deemed me worthy and said I would wield the most precious thing to her! Oh, here it comes! Infinite power! The might of gods! The very maw of the cosmos! And what do I get? This little WORM!"

"She drops off this slug of hers and starts laying out the rules to me, all while I stand there speechless. They eat at this time, they go to bed at this time and no more than three treats between meals! Make sure they eat their special food and no staying up late! Here is their carrier, their toys and favorite plushie, and I packed extra snacks. Contact me through here if there is trouble, but until then Mommy needs to get some rest. And POOF! That was it! No super magic for me! No immortality or power beyond imagine, just this little brat and their list of demands! It's horrible, demeaning, obnoxious! They fuss over their food, they whine when they drop their toys and they hate when I have to enforce curfew! Speaking of food, do you have the...Excellent. Thanks. Here you go you little bugger, now eat up. Also Mommy wants you to eat these carapaces she packed, so you best get to chowing. Don't bellyache to me! Mom said so, so do it! Anyways, I get stuck with this little squid here and no powers to show for it. I think it is an absolutely wretched job, but guess who sold their soul for it?! Me in my infinite genius signed on as an eternal servant for her, without even considering what that could mean. I always assumed you would be their speaker, their hand, a servant to spread their power and influence! But no! She wants me to babysit her kid and probably take out the garbage! Unbelievable! So I have been doomed ever since to lug this squid around, making sure they eat their food, mind their manners and don't go to bed too late. Bad enough when you have to do it with human kids, but this little thing can do more than shout and stomp their feet. They are certainly the child of Oblivion, and Want too! Always want, want, want! I want this, I want that! Gimme, gimme, gimme! And if they don't get what they want, then they throw a fit and start slinging magic and warping reality! Little thing wanted to play with a horse and carriage we rode once and I said no. We had places to be, and if I let them play with it then they would want to take it with us as a toy. End result? Horse implodes into a searing star of blood and unleashes a gravitational wave of gore that leveled the stable and every soul inside it. So I was kicked out of THAT town for eternity! Oh, don't look so worried, they are more agreeable when they are eating. Pushing them around your plate won't make them disappear, you have to eat them! Your mom already got on me for skipping them last week, so please just choke them down so I don't suffer! If you do it, you can have an eye candy for a treat, okay? Good. Cripes!"

"Now I know what you are thinking, that this gig isn't going to last forever. Babysitting is a temporary job, at some point Mom has to come home and take care them herself, right? A couple hours for her to get some alone time and then I am off the hook, right? Yes, but there is a catch there. This gig isn't a permanent one, only when she needs to take care of things or go to the freaking spa or whatnot, but you forget what time frame we are working with here! Humans? Minutes, hours, days. Beasts from beyond? Well, seeing that a century is a power nap for them, I would say I am not going to be relieved of duty for some time! The last time she popped in to check on things was three months ago, and all I got afterwards was a 'I will be back soon!' A time frame would be nice, oh mighty Queen! So until then, I got to tote them around and take care of them, without a moment for myself! You think a creature capable of dissolving buildings would be fine to leave alone for a few minutes, but NOPE! One day, I had had enough of it. All the whining and appeasing was driving me mad, so I called it quits for an hour. Set up a little playpen at the inn, filled it with toys and candy, dropped them inside and went on my way. I just wanted a drink and maybe some relaxation. Something to get that infernal crying out of my head! So I found a bar and made myself a resident. Two drinks turned to three and then six. I was having a wonderful time losing all my senses, when SHE showed up. Get a call inside my skull asking me whats going on. I say everything is fine and they are just down for a nap, so I let them be for just a second. I tried every explanation and excuse, but she cut through all of them. I have no clue why she needs a babysitter if she is so freaking omnipotent! Can't watch your kid yourself, but the second I cut loose, she is on me! Of course she is furious I left them alone for a couple hours, and she decides to teach me a quick lesson. Buddy, you don't know pain until someone opens a gnawing abyss in your chest cavity. Uugh, I swear I can still feel it. Fill these back up for me? You are a fine lad, the best! Drinking around the kid? Oh they don't mind. They are probably twenty times the drinking age anyw- I see you hiding those in your napkin! Eat them or no candy! Every day with this kid, I swear..." "I will say this though, it isn't all bad. Turns out I did get some of that ancient powerful magic I was hoping for from the deal. The catch is that it is all in this little worm. They have the power they inherited from their Mom, and my pact allows me to harness some of it. I get to borrow some of their abilities and magic, and they almost make this torture worth it! I absolutely vaporized one of my old professors at the mage academy without hardly trying! Decades of reading and paperwork, old man, how did those help you then!? When they tried arresting me for obliterating that horse barn, I used some of that power to get away easy! They never knew what hit them! It is exhilarating to wield and incredible to behold, but only when this little brat is in a good mood. Turns out I can't control the power if they won't let me, so if they are in a fuss I get absolute squat. So I got myself a temperamental grimoire here, that only gives me godhood when they have their plushie or if they think it is fun. Not the worse deal, but I sure would like something a bit more reliable! How many scrapes I have had to crawl my way out of because they were in a foul mood at the time! I left their favorite rattle at the inn once, so when I had to deal with a horde of bandits they just gave me guff! Had to use every trick I knew to squeeze out of that disaster! Little monster should be grateful! All the battles we went through with a random amount of magic, and they come out with hardly a scratch each time! You know why? Because I nearly kill myself every time to make sure they don't get hurt! You think Mom was mad when I left them alone for an hour? Imagine what she would do if they got a real injury! A scrape and cut is no big deal for beings like this, but if they get actually hurt, she would pull my soul apart piece by piece! Or maybe she would just take them back and obliterate this entire continent, I got no clue. I just never want to find out!"

"So what does this mean for me? I got no clue. Just got to watch the lil' squid til Mom comes and pick them up. I pray I get a reward at the end of this, though honestly a full night's sleep would be all that I truly want. Whining, crying, constantly needing entertainment...I think I am going to need to join an adventuring guild just to find enough stuff to keep them happy. Maybe if I can get into a band of mercenaries or 'heroes' or whatever, then I can find some relief. Pawn this little thing off on one of them for a few hours so I can finally get some peace! You know any places around here that has something like that? I once thought of a daycare or nursery, but the employees nearly shot me on sight when I showed up. So maybe a group of fools will take me in, with the promise of incredible power that I can provide. Well, only sometimes, but they don't need to know that. Get me one more drink? There's a good man! I can't live without this medicine! And look at that, you finally ate it all! See? That wasn't so terrible! Now here is dessert, but don't tell Mommy. This is a pact between us! You give me power and eat your food, and you get treats! Best deal you can ever make!

So you are saying down by Main Street? On the west or eas- NOW what's the problem!? What? It's Bilefruit flavored! That is your favorite kind of eye candy, why are you fussing?! You don't like Bilefruit!? SINCE WHEN!? You liked it yesterday! It was your favorite, now you hate it?! Oh no you don't! You want another piece, huh? Is that the scheme we are pulling here? Pretend you don't like it so you get an extra helping? Well, that isn't going to work! You eat it or get nothing at all! Your Mom would have me atomized if she heard I was giving you so much candy, so don't gripe! Pouting won't help you, so- hold up whoa whoa KID NO! STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT! BARKEEP! BARKEEP RUN! OH GODS WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM!? CUT THAT OUT! YOU STOP THAT RIGHT NOW! OH GODS I AM SO SORRY, MAN! SEND IT BACK! SEND IT BACK, YOU LITTLE WORM! ACK! WE ARE STILL IN THIS BUILDING, YOU IDIOT, STOP CONTORTING IT! OH GODS! FINE! TAKE THE CANDY! TAKE IT!"

"Welp, banned from this town too. When we are stuck sleeping on the streets, you better not be whining...." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Dahr'Maht, The Endless Watcher" I feel like if I ever played D&D, this would be the nonsense I would try to play as.

#warlock #mage #magic #eldritch #monster #creature #art #drawing

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thegoldendoorknob · 4 years ago

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I don’t normally do tips or guides at all, but as someone who 100% the original Miitopia and am going to 100% switch, I’d like to compile a lot of good Grub farming locations to help others.

If you know any more good spots than what I’ve listed, feel free to reply or tag any more places you know and I’ll edit them in!

+Postgame spoilers below+

So, if you want to farm the best grub in the game, you’ll want to be a cat. This is because you want to use Steal Grub, and then follow up by dying.

Death prevents map enemies and bosses in New Lumos from disappearing, and is essential in farming the best grub. By dine-in-deathing, you can repeat the battle infinitely until everyone’s at cap.

But not everyone wants to go through the pain of making a high-level Cat MC, and so below these big contenders, I’m putting the easier, less-involved grub after them.

____________________________________________________

#1: Snurp Radish

(+ALL)

Snurp Radishes were the big one back in 2017. To farm Snurps, you would have to take a Worried Explorer quest from the Traveler’s Hub, steal the snurp radishes from the boss, and then die.

The Worried Explorer doesn’t always have Delicious Snurps as the boss though, so in that case you will need to be a Lv 50 Cat. When you leave the inn solo, the small map snurps will become their larger variants to match your level.

Even at legendary armor with max stats, Delicious Snurps will deal enough damage to kill you at level 50. Tasty Snurps, however, are a lot harder to die to. For the most efficient farm, 3 Delicious Snurp spawns are the best, but for the desperate, even 1 to farm off of will do.

Be careful if you’re doing Thief-Horse farming, as the total damage might possibly kill the Snurps..

If you can only spawn Tasty Snurps, consider instead...

#2: Ultimate Delicacy**

(+HP/MAG/DEF/SPD)

For your mages that are too picky to eat their greens. I would love to give credit to the 2017 user that mentioned this farm, but the thread seems to be lost to time...

In New Lumos, at the end of every district sits a boss. The one we will be focusing on is the Dark Sun, the boss of the 8th District. The Dark Sun is essentially a retread on the Darkest Lord, who can summon up to 2 Coins into battle

Grub farming the Dark Sun is simple. You run up, steal an Ultimate Delicacy** from the Dark Sun, and then die. You can also steal TWO MORE Ultimate Delicacy**, one each from the coins it summons.

You can only get one UD per coin, killing it and spawning another will not give you any more grub.

So that’s a whopping 3 Ultimate Delicacy** per attempt, if you’re determined. When eaten, they’ll give you roughly 45% stat increase when eaten, even in the 90s, so they’re more than worth the effort.

The catch is that the Dark Sun likes to tactfully put your cat into a nightmare and waste their turns half the time. For this reason, you’ll want to bring one other party member, giving you access to the safe spot to avoid the nightmare status.

________________________________________________________

Locations good for auto-farming:

New Lumos 1st District, Level 3 [Level before the boss]

Hell Dogs, Robojuice, Pixel Grub (+ATK/HP/MAG/DEF)

Quite a good spot for exp grinding, too! 5 Encounters with Cerberus, Robots, and Retroputers help make this level the Riverdeep Cavern of postgame! Just make sure you kill any Cerberus first.

Uncharted Galados, Level 3

Fluffy Omelette, Sandwich, Snake Meunière, Bone Biscuits (+HP/MP/ATK/DEF/MAG)

Nothing too special, but the stage is second-best to the exp yield from snurps totaling up to 27,570 xp, so I come here to change up the grind.

Tschilly Peak, Bottom Right Corner

Roast Griffon, Strata Sundae (+ATK/DEF/SPD)

4 Moles, followed by 2 Griffons. Roast Griffon unfortunately takes up most of the stomach, but one can still throw a strata sundae on top of it for Speed. Good if you’re farming for multiple physical classes at once.

Dark Lord’s Castle, Armory, Top Left Crossroads

Bomble Gum, Sharp Stew (+HP/MP/MAG/DEF)

Known for it’s pre-snurp grind, it’s also a little helpful for getting money and getting some grub scraps.

Wayward Woods, Down and to the right of the Big Chest (Calming Fruit)

Choc Rock, Mushroom Sauté, Bitingly Bitter Tea (+HP/MP/DEF/SPD)

[Go Up, then Go Down]

Don’t let the early Greenhorne level fool you, you can actually get Bitingly Bitter Tea** from the mii traps here, it shocked me too! Better for leveling should you have missed out on the demo’s Riverdeep Cavern grind, but you should still move to better spots when the time comes.

Bigg Forest, First Big Chest

Hobgob Donuts (+ATK/MAG)

Donuts are good for farming early on, though these only come up to one star, so they’ll fall off quickly.

#miitopia #switch #3ds #grub #grub farming

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giant-sketches · 5 years ago

Text

The Library

Awesome! Another short side done for you all to enjoy. This one is completely by me without any kind of prompt attached so I hope it’s just as nice.

In this story Logan is a scholar living in a house on the outskirts of town. He’s been living there for five years now, adding books to his ever growing collection. However, such a long time of isolation has weighed him down and he’ll need a helping hand in getting back on his feet. A tiny hand that is. ;3

This story includes 3 sketches and 1 colored page.

Word Count: 4787 (a long one!)

Disclaimer: isolation, alluring to depression, anxiety, mention of vomiting, kind of steamy

“Thank you again Mr. Logan for helping us find the last herb we needed for healing our father.”

“You’re welcome. Now for my payment please.”

“Yes of course, here you are. This is a story our late grandmother read to us as children. We’ve memorized the tale so we have no need to keep the book around.”

“It's only been collecting dust on the bookshelf. It could use a new home.”

Graciously, Logan took the book and inspected its title; The Prince of Syds. The book was of the fairy-tale variety and told of a Prince that went on many harrowing adventures. The book was of a decent thickness and looked to be an interesting read for the scholar tonight. Casually, Logan hopped back on to his horse and trotted off back to his secluded homestead.

Logan was a recluse that lived a decent distance away from the neighboring towns. There in his comfy abode he collected a variety of literature and stored them all in his personal library. The library consisted of a multitude of genres from mystery, adventure, romance, nonfiction, maps, journals, and more. Logan was never picky when it came to a new read and he was titillated with his current find.

Like a child at Christmas, Logan pulled up a chair to his desk and gingerly turned the cover. Inside the book read a tale of The Prince of Syds that was on a quest to save the princess from the villainous Dragon Witch. While the initial premise may appear cliche, the story had many unexpected twists and turns. One of them being that the actual Dragon Witch was his twin brother that had been kidnapped as a baby and was being controlled by a sorcerer called D.

“Interesting, I had found it curious why this Dragon Witch had not just attacked the kingdom as a whole and only settled for a mere princess we hadn’t previously been introduced to. To think it was the Prince’s brother who was still fighting against the mind control placed on him.”

Logan rubbed his eyes as a tiny yawn escaped his mouth, “I should call it a night and return to my chambers.”

Another yawn, this time more pronounced, caused Logan’s mind to lock onto the idea of sleep. In his haste he simply placed the book onto his ‘to read later’ podium, left wide open. As Logan slumbered the book started imitating a mysterious glow as the pages flipped furiously to the start of the story. Once the book stopped on the page showcasing the Prince character a small hand covered in light stretched out and pulled its remaining parts out of the book. Now free from its bindings a tiny man now stood upon the page in confusion.

“Wha-what is this? Where am I? Just a moment ago I was conversing with my long-lost twin brother and now I’ve suddenly been summoned to this unfamiliar realm filled with giant objects.”

Frantically, the tiny man looked about the darkened room. He searched desperately to find something recognizable, but his eyes failed him. Distort, he huffed loudly,

“I can’t see anything in this darkened place, but I can at least see where I stand. I’m high up, too high to get down from so I shall remain here.”

Frustrated at his own uselessness the tiny man laid himself down on the pages folded beneath him and fell asleep until beams of warm sunlight awoke him. He gave a small yawn as he stretched unaware of the figure looming behind him.

“How peculiar.”

Shocked, the tiny man spun around to face the booming voice that ringed through his ears. Instinctively he yelped and jumped to his feet in order to take a defensive stance, but as he motioned downwards towards his hip a grim realization hit him. He was unarmed as a giant towered over him with peering eyes. Despite his fear he called out to the massive figure,

“Stay back giant fiend! I may be unarmed, but I’ve faced worse in more dire straits!”

Logan raised an eyebrow in response as he leaned in closer allowing his face to catch the light of the sun.

“I can assure you I am no fiend nor am I a giant. You are simply small and…” Logan paused to contemplate. “Actually, what exactly are you?”

“First off I am not a what, but a who. For who I am, I am Prince Roman of Syds!”

Prince of Syds? Is this the character from the book he was reading last night? Quickly, Logan glanced behind Roman to see that the pages had gone blank.

“The pages, what happened to them?”

In one swift movement Logan slammed his hands onto the podium causing Roman to lose his balance and fall on top of the giant hand. Dazed, Roman groaned at the sudden movement as he tried to lift himself back up. He stopped when he realized what he was holding on to and blushed.

“Why are they blank?” Logan was panicked.

Roman snapped out of his thoughts and turned his attention back to the upset giant. He appeared concerned over the book that once housed his being. Even he had no idea what had happened honestly.

“I’m sorry, but even I have no idea what’s going on. All I know is I can’t return though I must be here for a reason.” Roman looked at the giant with pleading eyes, hoping this would calm them.

Logan huffed and raised his hands away in retreat. If this was the case there truly was nothing to be done.

“No need to give such a look, I believe you. Still, since you will be held up here for a time I might as well be a gracious host and make the best of this perplexing situation.”

Logan stepped back and took a deep bow towards the prince. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Your Majesty. My name is Logan the Scholar and this is my home and personal library.”

A library, so that’s where he was. Roman looked around at the now lit room in awe, he had never seen so many different kinds of books. His eyes sparkled with delight as he himself enjoyed a good tale from time-to-time. Excited, Roman turned to ask if they could read one together, Logan however, had already made his way to the door.

“Where are you going?”

“I want to make a record of what’s going on for future reference and historical relevance. I have never heard of a book character coming to life before. You’re an astounding find.”

With that Logan turned the corner towards his room to retrieve his journal. All Roman really pulled from that statement was that his new giant friend found him astonishing. Boredom quickly overcame him as he laid down on his books empty pages and stared at the ceiling. He so wished he could roam about the room and read right now, but alas he was limited by his tiny stature. However, an ominous figure was stealthy creeping its way towards him.

“This truly is an amazing event to watch transpire in person. I must make haste to record what I can of our interactions. There are too many unknowns that could affect how long he will remain here.”

Uncharacteristically Logan gaily retrieved his journal from his nightstand drawer and made his way back down the hall to the library in a hurry. Right before reaching the door an all familiar sound came from behind, ‘meow’. Logan went pale and slammed the door open with a fright,

“ROMAN?!”

Yet, Logan’s fears were unwarranted as his eyes locked on to the adorable scene of the tiny prince cuddling with his uninvited and fluffy guest.

“Oh Logan, you’re back! Look at this adorable beast that has submitted to my charms so willingly. She will make a grand stead for my time being here.”

Oh thank heavens; Logan sighed in relief. For a moment there he feared for the worst.

“Pray tell, what name have you bestowed upon this fair feline?”

“Name? It doesn’t have one. It’s simply a stray that wonders in from time-to-time and I share leftover scraps with.”

“Just a stray, you say. No this cat is indeed yours Logan and as her owner you must grant her a suitable name at once!”

Logan was taken aback by such an absurd command and scoffed at the notion of even following through with it, until another soft meow rang out. Logan twitched slightly as he felt the cats warm fur press up against his pant leg affectionately. Roman looked on with pure delight on his face.

“Yep, she is indeed yours. Now a name if you would Sir Logan.”

Logan’s face scrunched up in embarrassment. To think he had been persuaded so easily by a pretty face and a fluffy tail.

“Cat should suffice.” he groaned.

“CAT?! Are you mad?”

Startled by how loud the tiny man’s voice could carry he jumped back in surprise.

“You’re an intelligent man, surely you can come up with a better name then that!”

“Fine! How about….Jam?”

Logan’s face flushed instantly at such a silly name, yet the cat’s appearance reminded him of marmalade.

“Jam? I like it, quite a cute name coming from someone so stern.” he chuckled.

Right now Logan’s face resembled that of a strawberry as he coughed to move the conversation along.

“Can you tell me the last thing you remember before you were summoned here?” Logan asked as he picked Jam off the floor and carried her back over to his podium.

“I was talking with my long-lost twin brother about a plan to take down the evil sorcerer D and free him from the curse. Next thing I knew this bright light swallowed me whole and I awoke to a darkened room with only strange, and large shapes surrounding me.”

That sounds terrifying and yet this hero found his surroundings safe enough to slumber in?

“Interesting, that correlates perfectly with where I left off with the book.”

“Really? What does that mean then? Will I ever be able to return and finish my story? Wha-what if I’m stuck here forever?”

An unusual sense of guilt washed over Logan as he looked down at the tiny prince. He couldn’t help feeling that somehow this was his fault even if there was no proof for said theory. Regardless he needed to do something to comfort Roman. Gingerly he raised his hand and patted Roman rigidly on the head in an awkward attempt to cease his woes. Roman, however, found the mechanical motion hilarious.

“AHAHAHAHAHA!!!” Roman had slumped over in laughter as he rolled playfully on the podium.

Logan found the reaction jarring as he simply rested his hand down and remained still. Obviously, Roman was now feeling much better, but at what cost to Logan’s pride. Once Roman stopped he could see how distort his giant friend looked and confidently walked over to the resting hand.

“I’m sorry for laughing, Logan. I know you were only trying to comfort me and I appreciate it. I feel much better now.” he said as he wrapped his arms around Logan’s pinky and planted a charming kiss on the knuckle.”

At that moment it was like a dam broke as Logan was overcome with emotions he had locked away. The sensation was so jarring it nearly knocked him out cold. If he hadn’t already been sitting he most certainly would have fallen to his knees. Any longer and he would have melted into a puddle, luckily Roman snapped him back to reality,

“By the way do you live here by yourself? I have yet to hear anyone else walking around or any other noises for that matter.”

It took a moment for Logan to compose himself, but he answered with a cooled down expression.

“You are correct in your assumption. I do indeed live here by myself and I have for many years now. Thus, you have no need to worry about anyone else discovering you are here. I can guarantee your safety Roman.”

Logan smiled the best he could, but it faded quickly as he saw small tears peering out from the corner of Roman’s eyes. Did he say something wrong? What could have been his miscalculation?

“Logan tha-that’s so sad!”

“Sa-sad?”

What was this tiny prince saying? If anything he was the happiest he had been in a long time right now.

“Yes sad, this place is huge and yet there’s NO ONE here? What about friends or family?”

That’s what he meant. Logan put on a cold demeanor as he remembered why he was here.

“No, I have no one like that and that’s just the wa-”

“Don’t lie to me!”

Logan’s fake face shattered in an instant by way of Roman’s concerned words. It would seem he couldn’t feign callousness with this one. He was now an open book.

“Fine, I won’t try that again. Still I’m not good at expressing myself and it’s true that I don’t have any friends or family. Not anymore at least.”

“Anymore? So you did have them once.”

“Yes.”

Roman wiped his tears away and choked down the lump that had formed in his throat. Logan was just like the princess he was sent to save in his story. All alone in the world with no one else there to help her. No, Logan wasn’t fictional, he was real and so was Roman right now! He had a wonderful idea,

“Then let’s go out and make some new ones!”

“Excuse me?”

“If you don’t have any friends then you just need to get out there and make some!”

“I-I don’t know…”

“It will be fine darling. Besides I also want to take a look at your realm before I leave.”

That’s right he was going to leave eventually. A slight pain coursed through Logan's heart. If they didn’t have much time together then maybe going out together was the best idea.

“Alright, but you have to stay close to me and not be seen by anyone.”

“Understood!”

With that Roman bounced with anticipation as he watched Logan’s hand lower down to him. Without hesitation, the tiny prince climbed aboard mesmerized by the site of him resting in a massive palm. His life was now completely in Logan’s hand, but he felt no fear. Carefully, Roman was slipped into Logan’s breast pocket. It was so warm as Roman pressed his back up against Logan’s chest to look up at the opening a few centimeters above him. Logan’s heartbeat pounded vigorously causing his entire body to pulse. The sensation was like nothing he had felt before as it overwhelmed him and he quickly fell forward against the other side of the pocket’s fabric walls.

“Are you doing alright in there?” Logan could feel the abnormal moment and grew worried.

“Yes, I-I’m alright. Just got a little warm is all.”

“I see, if that’s the case then here.”

Logan poked his pointer finger into the opening of the pocket. Roman could tell what Logan was going for as he clung onto the huge amount of flesh and was lifted up. Once his head had reached the lip of the pocket Roman latched himself on. Now he could breathe in the fresh air of the outside world.

“Is this this a town?”

“Yes, it’s the one that’s easiest to walk to and a good place to find magical items and good like spices and tea.”

“Oh so you all have magic in this realm as well?”

Logan paused for a moment before answering.

“Yes we do. Now try your best not to get over excited and pop out of my pocket okay?”

Tenderly this time Logan placed his finger on top of Roman’s head and ruffled his hair. The motion pleased Roman greatly as he blushed deeply. He felt extremely cared for in this moment. Usually he was the one doing the swooning so this was a nice change of pace.

“I’ll never leave your sid-”

Before Roman could finish his confession two loud voices called out from behind the pair,

“LOGAN?!”

Logan froze, he knew exactly who was there. He squeezed his eyes in fear and began to shake nervously. Roman had no idea what was going on, but he fell back into the lower part of the pocket and stretched out his arms in a comforting hug. Logan twitched a bit at the sudden feeling of the prince’s tiny frame pressed up against his. Yet, he found his touch pleasing as he placed his hand over his breast pocket in response. He could feel Roman being squished in between his hand and chest. Roman let out a light giggle at the return hug.

Thanks to Roman’s efforts Logan had calmed down and turned around to speak to the two mysterious figures waiting patiently.

“Patton, Virgil...it’s been awhile. How are you both?”

“Oh my gosh Logan, it really is you!”

“Where have you been? After...well you know, you just disappeared. Some people were even saying you might have died.”

“Yeah, we were so worried!”

“I can’t imagine why? As you can see I am doing quite alright for myself regardless of these so-called rumors.”

“You can’t imagine why...Lo aren’t we your friends?” Patton whispered through teary eyes.

“Geez Logan, we’ve finally been reunited after five years and this is how you act.” Virgil growled.

Logan was visibly agitated. Unclear of what had happened with these three Roman hesitated to step in, but shook his head at the notion of letting this opportunity slip away. Roman tugged at Logan’s shirt to garner his attention. Logan noticed and sharply glanced downwards, but his expression softened as he saw his tiny friend pinching his cheeks upwards in a smile. It didn’t take a genius to see what Roman was getting at.

“You’re right Virgil.”

“I’m sorry did you, mister know it all, say that I’m right?”

“Yes.”

“Wow, I had wondered how you may have changed after all this time. Glad to see you learned some humility during that time.”

“I suppose I have changed, though I can’t say it’s not a recent development. Regardless I’ve had plenty of time...alone to think about my past attitude. I apologize for upsetting you Patton.”

“An apology as well? Now I’m not even sure I’m talking to the same gen-”

“That’s enough Virgil, he apologized after all. I know you’re upset, but…” Patton looked to Logan with a solemn look.

“Lo? Have you been alone this whole time?”

Logan swallowed loudly.

“...I have a cat.” he mumbled.

Patton’s face lit up at the idea of grumpy Logan playing with his cuddly pal, but a cat wasn’t a person. Virgil gave Patton a look of concern and grabbed his hand. Patton smiled and gave a nod.

“Would you like to hang out with us and catch up?”

“Oh I…”

Logan glanced down at his pocket where he took note of Roman’s shallow breathing and reddened face. It wasn’t a good idea to keep him trapped inside his breast pocket for much longer.

“How about I invite you two over to my residence instead? That way you’ll know where I live.”

“That sounds lovely Lo, we’d be honored to come over to your home. Wouldn’t we Virgil.”

“Yeah, it will be nice to catch up and tell you what’s been going on.”

With that the newly formed group took off to the outskirts of town. Once inside Logan’s abode the two were amazed at his collection, but even more astonished he hadn’t lied about the cat. Patton was instantly smitten with the fuzzy creature. After Logan finished up the tour Roman was placed inside his room on top the pillow. There he lied down with his body completely spread and finally relaxed. It had been a long day for the prince and he was understandably exhausted.

“How about you get some rest while I go entertain our guests?”

Roman yawned, “That sounds like a wonderful idea.”

Logan carefully covered Roman with his handkerchief and caressed his face as he whispered, “Sweet dreams.” and tip-toed out of the room.

It wouldn’t be until a couple hours later Roman would wake up as he rolled over to be face-to-face with a slumbering Logan. He was surprised he hadn’t noticed the giant climb into bed, but maybe he was just that tired. Lost in thought Roman continued to stare at the snoozing behemoth. He smirked mischievously as he crawled his way up to the top of the pillow. Logan’s hand was in the way, but if he aimed right he should make it. He tested for any wind resistance and blinked twice to turn on his targeting systems before hurling himself downwards towards Logan’s face. Thankfully, he stuck the landing!

“I certainly have found myself in a peculiar predicament being suddenly transported to this giant land, but I believe this lovely princess right here makes it worthwhile.”

Pressing his lips to Logan’s the prince planted a barrage of kisses on to his sleeping beauty.

“Even if I am never to return, I believe I’ve already found the princess I was meant to save.”

Funny enough, Roman was now unable to make the climb back up the steep hill that was the pillow, but he didn’t mind. He simply made his way to Logan’s hand and squirmed himself between the fingers. Slowly, Roman fell back asleep and dreamed of his beloved.

An entire week flew by as Logan reconnected with his friends from his school days. Roman heard from Logan about what had happened five years ago and what led to his separation from society. It was a tragic tale of him being born without the ability to wield magic, but gifted intellectually. His noble family deemed him worthless and disowned him when he turned sixteen. Determined to prove them wrong he enrolled himself into the Magic Tower. To pass over the casting exam however, he forged his entrance papers by pretending to be a famous magician's apprentice. There at the academy he was deemed a prodigy and his brilliance flourished. Yet, despite his best efforts he was found out and promptly expelled with all his achievements and research being awarded to other promising students.

His entire existence was wiped from the Tower’s records. It was like he never existed in the first place. Having fallen into despair Logan simply thought disappearing was the only logic course of action. After all that’s what everyone wanted wasn’t it? However, that wasn’t true as his two friends had been searching for him this whole time. Once they heard about what the academy had done to Logan they were outraged and exposed the entire thing. The Tower lost its spotless reputation overnight and disbanded. Together Virgil and Patton put together a new institution that enrolled anyone interested in magic regardless of their abilities.

Logan felt like a fool for hiding this entire time without once thinking of looking into how things were developing without him. He had planned to move on, but instead he had become complacent, stewing in his own misery. His friends had helped him finally realize his error in judgement. However, it was Roman that had brought light back into his darkened life. He needed to properly thank him after Patton and Virgil left from their weekly visit.

“He’s doing so much better now. I love seeing him smile like that and he’s got this cute pep in his step too. Gosh, I didn’t think he could get even more beautiful, but he’s full of surprises isn’t he Jam?”

“Meow.”

“I hear you! I’m really happy for him, but...I’m a little jealous of his friends. I wish I could be out there with them chatting and laughing.”

“Meow”

“I know! Logan wants to keep me safe. They don’t visit for long anyway and then the rest of day I have him to myself.”

“Meow”

“Sure our relationship hasn’t changed...at all.”

“Meow”

“What confess?! I couldn’t I-I’m not even real. That’s right I’m nothing but a character from one of his many books.”

Roman looked sadly around the library where he was sitting on top of the desk and snuggling with Jam. He was one of many stories Logan owned, no one special.

“I’m not his happily ever after.”

Spontaneously, the blank book resting on top of the podium was enveloped in a light glow. Roman sprang to his feet in surprise as the light beckoned to him. He knew then that his quest had come to an end. Roman gave a whistle for Jam to carry him up to the podium.

“Thanks girl.”

Roman stroked the bridge of Jam’s nose dismally. Meekly he glanced towards the door hoping Logan may walk into the room any moment now, but no dice. The glowing had become more intense as Roman neared it. This was the end of his story, who knew it’d be a tragedy.

“Goodbye Logan.”

Not able to stall any longer Roman dived into the light and vanished as a gigantic flash spread throughout the entire house.

“What in the world was that?!”

“Ah my eyes!”

“What just happ- no,no,no,no!”

Logan’s stomach dropped at his current thought. He rose from his seat so fast he thought he would vomit as a sickening feeling crept up on him.

“Woah Logan are you okay, You don’t look so well.”

“I’m fine, I just need to go check on something real quick.”

“You are not fine! Why don’t we help you an-”

“NO! Please I-I need to do this alone right now. It’s important, please.”

“Bu-” Patton pulled Virgil back and shook his head.

“We understand Lo, go do what you have to do. We were about the leave anyway.”

“Thank you, both of you.”

With that Logan raced down the hallway and burst through the library door.

“ROMAN?!” no answer.

Logan frantically scanned the room, but all he saw was Jam standing on the podium. What the podium! There he could see Roman’s book with the pages now visible peeking out from underneath the cat. Slowly, Logan dragged his feet to take a closer look and gently shooed away to fluff ball. Sorrowfully, he turned each new page not caring to full read the paragraphs as his tears welled up. The story had changed to his own of finding the prince in his world and asking for his help in ending his isolation. Yet, as Logan reached what should be the end, what he found was another blank page. Too distraught to think about what this might mean he closed the book and clung to it. Pressing its entirety against his chest as he fell to the floor screaming out in pain.

This new found happiness meant nothing to him if he couldn’t spend it with the man he loved.

“Why, why did you have to go? I never got to tell you how I felt! What’s the use of these new emotions if I’m never given the chance to express them?”

Logan continued to weep long into the night. Never once allowing the book to leave his side as he finally tired himself out enough to sleep. Birds chirped per usual as the new morning came. Begrudgingly, Logan groaned as he went to reach for the book he had cuddled with all night only to find it missing. Panicked, he rubbed his puffed up eyes to better focus on his surroundings. Suddenly, he was caught off guard by the touch of the leather backing poking at his face. Logan whipped his head around to see who the perpetrator was that had snatched his book only to be met with an unbelievable sight.

“Ro-Roman?”

The man standing at the foot of the bed was none other than Roman, but he was now the same size as Logan.

“Ho-How is this possible?” Logan was overcome with emotion as tears began streaming down his face.

“Look.” he whispered.

Roman had turned the book to the final page, but this time it wasn’t blank. Instead what appeared on the page was a beautiful illustration of Logan and Roman holding hands and kissing in front of the house. Logan shaking in amazement, took the book from Roman’s grasp and started lovingly at it.

“Seems like I was your happily ever after, after all princess.”

Logan was happy, so happy he didn’t know what to do with all of it. In a bold move he pulled Roman on to the bed and curled himself around him sobbing. He was never going to let his prince go ever again. Roman tucked himself into Logan’s embrace and whispered into his ear,

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

The End

@thought-u-said-dragon-queen @sanderssidestrash27 @nomynameisanon @crystalk17 @notkolaidoscop

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sockablock · 5 years ago

Note

would it be ok to ask for a continuation of the Winter Soldier Molly AU you did last time? if not, can I instead have a Widomauk reunion at a masquerade ball that goes awry? thanks! also congrats on the 5k followers hot dang.

(oh effy it’s so tempting but you can’t just say MASQUERADE and expect me NOT to write that djfhsdjk)

—

Later, years later, so many years later that the road and the grove and the blood on the snow were nothing but lingering, colorless echoes, the Mighty Nein attended a ball.

It had been at Ormid Hass’s suggestion—there’s nothing else like an imperial function for trying to weed out government spies.

So it was really rather a shame that the King had chosen a masquerade gala. All the guests twirling through the ballroom had exquisite masks and veils across their faces, tracing their temples, hiding their eyebrows, draping their noses and wholly covering their features. Occasionally, one noble would lower their visor to eat an hors d'oeuvres or dab delicately at their cheek, but quickly their ornate costume would return, the disguise re-set, the facade readorned.

“Think of it this way,” Fjord had said, while Jester tied a mask to his head, “at least nobody will actually recognize us.”

“You have green skin,” Beau had answered. “Caduceus is literally eight feet tall.”

For him, though, Caleb mused to himself as he drifted past the dancers and tried to name what he was eating, it was really easy to fit in. Red hair might be a bit uncommon, but his plainly lanky build and tendency to stick to corners meant that he’d be out of the general eye. Best to leave everyone to stare at Jester, who was currently tearing apart the dance floor with “Veth.” Fjord had been roped into waltzing with some noblewoman, and Caduceus and Beau were doing a good enough at job socializing and cancelling each other out. No, luckily for Caleb, standing to the side and memorizing what he could of the gentry would suffice. And even better, there didn’t seem to be Archmages present, not unless they’d opted to abandon their ceremonial robes, a very real possibility that Caleb hadn’t decided—

“And what are you doing here, standing alone all by yourself?”

He did manage, at least, not to groan.

He turned, saying, “I really do not see why—”

And stopped. He tried not to stare.

Which was a very difficult task, as the individual before him was…odd, to say the least. They were taller than he was, almost by half a foot, and wore a long, flowing gown that might have been a dress. Their collar rose high, their arms were gloved, and their mask was a strange combined silver visor that drifted down with a thin, flowing veil that obscured the bottom of their face almost entirely. Their eyes were all but hidden from the light, but that was alright because Caleb was busy gawking at the two, enormous ram’s horns curling up from the side of this person’s mask, really an impossible feat of engineering that Caleb himself was almost impressed by—

The stranger cleared their throat.

Caleb felt his cheeks, blissfully hidden, start to warm.

“Entschuldigung,” he quickly muttered. “I did not mean—”

“Oh, no, it’s alright. I dressed up tonight just to get that reaction.”

Caleb cleared his throat. He probably nodded.

“Ah…well, then I am glad to have helped. Excuse me, I will be going to get a drink.”

“So quickly?” The stranger, it sounded like they’d pouted, “and here I was looking forward to a conversation. I’m not that boring, am I?”

“My friend,” Caleb snorted, “you are the least boring person I think I have ever seen. It is just that I am not much for conversation.”

“Is that so?” A flicker, like they’d just raised their eyebrows. “How tragic. I had assumed that you were a dashing nobleman with some stories.”

Caleb choked. “D-dashing?” he repeated incredulously. “Noble, nein, no, again you are mistaken. I am not anyone of good breeding.”

He could’ve sworn that the stranger just snickered. But they quickly answered, “In that case, dear, I’m in good company. I’m not exactly a noble person myself, but I’m trying to find someone who is.”

Caleb wasn’t sure if they’d said “noble-person” or “noble person.” Somehow, he felt that the distinction was important.

“Well,” he said slowly, gaze shifting for just a moment, “you…certainly are in the right place, for that.”

“You’ve never heard of a ‘Tanila Pucine,’ have you?”

Caleb shook his head. “My apologies.”

The stranger just shrugged, and through the veil, came a smile. “No worries. I’ll just keep searching harder.

He nodded, and glanced back one last time. “Well, I wish you all the best in that endeavor. M—Mi…ah…?”

The stranger tilted their head.

“Your name,” Caleb said, and then wondered why he had. “Is there a way you would like me to address you?”

Their mask drifted downwards, staring into Caleb’s.

“I…that is a good question,” they said slowly. “Personally, I’m not really so picky, but the one who knows me best seems to always call me ‘Lucien.’“

They lifted a glove and scratched at their chin. “And as for the title…well, I suppose ‘Mister’ works—”

—calls him Lucien?

Caleb grabbed their hand and yanked them to the side, shoving past dancers and almost smashing a vase of flowers and nearly elbowing a waiter to death. His fingers dug into the stranger’s arm but they didn’t seem to mind, didn’t even fight it, just immediately, easily, let Caleb drag them into a courtyard.

The music was softer here, below the cricket-song. Summer sighed in the breeze of this garden and the moonlight shone on the night-blooming flowers.

Caleb spun around. He threw his mask down.

He gripped the stranger tightly by the shoulders.

“Are you real?” was the first thing that he said.

The stranger chuckled. He said, “I believe so? That’s not a bad line, Mister.”

It took Caleb a moment to begin dissecting that one. As he did, the stranger calmly began reaching down to remove their gloves in the silence.

The first one came off, and his skin was light purple.

“You know, there are better ways than kidnapping to do this. But I’ve got to say, I like your fire, dear.”

Caleb felt his blood freeze. He suddenly stepped back.

The gloves tucked neatly into their belt and the stranger—not so strange—took off their mask.

Those horns weren’t actually part of the visor.

But Caleb knew that.

His gait uneven, arms quaking, he stepped back again.

This was answered with a raised eyebrow, another pout.

“What? Are you only getting cold feet now?”

Shakily, Caleb raised a hand. He pointed. He gaped. Then finally, found the words—

“M—Mollymauk? Mollymauk Tealeaf, is that you?”

Molly stroked his chin. He blinked a few times.

And then his eyes went wide.

“That…that name, wait, that’s—” He shoved his hands into his pockets. There was a second of rifling, loud as thunder, and then he produced a scrap of paper, stained and crumpled—

He shook it around like crazed, astonished flag.

“That’s the—that’s the name—but then—did you write this letter?”

—

Ko-fi in bio✨ | Finished 5k fic prompts right here! 💜 Requests Are CLOSED!

#critical role #critrole #critfic #fic #fanfic #jay writes #jay fills requests #5k fic request #long post #text #HOHOHOHOHO #man its just all about reunions this week huh #widomauk #viciousmaukeries #masquerade ball au

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watchoutforthefanfics · 5 years ago

Text

Your Heart Thine Destined To Be // Part One

Ship: Eventual Logince, Moxiety, and Dukeceit.

Summary: (Arranged Marriage! AU) Okay, sure. Roman’s in the next place for the crown. Okay, SURE. Roman’s not ready for that, and his parents know this too. So, what’s their solution? Have him marry someone who is, because God knows they aren’t going to let Remus have the crown.

Originally was going to be a comic, but my art skills are wack right now. And I need thissss.

Tags: @enragedbees @dante1138 @arc-gx @logan-sanders-enthusiast @nic-is-here

Let me know if you wanna be tagged!

//◇◇◇\

Okay, yes.

Roman was supposed to be at breakfast right now with his two brothers and his parents, at the long dining table. It was his schedule.

But he was out in the lush forest, climbing a tree instead. Which, he believed, is completely understandable, he should be able to miss breakfast to explore.

To be active? They were going to discourage him from being active? Doubtful.

The way the air bubbled onto his skin, the way that the sunrise lit up the sky, it was all so… perfect.

He wasn’t going to miss it for some… breakfast. He had breakfast everyday, this sunrise… it felt like one in a million.

“Roman!” a voice called to him, low from the bellows and he immediately froze –his father–, “What are you doing up there? It’s time for breakfast, you sho-”

“I know, Dad. It’s just-” Roman groaned, holding onto the trunk as his eyes flocked to the sky (which at this point was a beautiful mix of blue and pink), “-look at this sunrise!”

King Gerald, a burly man with a thick beard (more teddy bearish than you’d think), faltered; his voice pausing and his dark eyes running to the sky.

He watched his father light up, eyes twinkling, and lightly wondered to himself, where would he be if he wasn’t crowned King?

Is this what he always wanted?

“It is,” the King murmured, “-quite beautiful, son.”

Roman sighed, “But?”

King Gerald sighed, straightening his posture, “You– We have duties, Roman; you have to learn to stick to your schedule. How are you supposed to-”

Roman froze, he’s going to say it, he doesn’t think I can rule. His heart pounding, he watched him struggle for words, trying to voice his thoughts, but upon matching his eye, fell silent.

“Roman,” the King sighed with a tired smile, “-you will be an excellent King someday, and a King… has priorities. Of which I am the current King, so you’re coming to breakfast. For your dear old Dad’s sake?”

The prince took a longing glance at the horizon, knowing he didn’t want to stay here, but it was his only option, “Fine… but I want a blueberry muffin.”

His father laughed, his deep belly laugh, “Deal, knucklehead.”

^^^

The castle’s dining room was, as assumed, very shiny with soft carpets and polished wood on every surface. Roman almost liked it almost as much as the ballroom, but with just the bare eye, the two would never compare.

His eyes first rested on his mother, who was sitting with poise, with her light hair and tan skin made to perfection. Her eyes, however, held a glare at her son; purely because of the concern, he’d guess.

“Roman,” she spoke with the softest of tones, with an edge ready to bite just awaiting the sign to launch, “Why are you late for breakfast?”

Roman opened his mouth to explain, but his father spoke first, “No worries, darling. It’s all taken care of.”

With a grateful smile to his father, Roman found his eyes fall to his little brother: Patton. He wasn’t much younger, but he definitely looked it. With his chubby cheeks and doll like blue eyes, Roman found his curly hair was something he’d wanted all his life.

“Good morning, Patton!”

“Roman!” Patton smiled, jumping up and pulling him into a hug, as expected.

“Ooh,” Patton squeaked, “-I have something for you! Don’t let me forget.”

“Will do, Patt.”

And finally, his eyes rested on his twin. His forsaken, nothing-like-him-at-all twin, Remus. He wasn’t ugly per say, but he definitely wasn’t upholding the squeaky clean majesty title with his messy hair and makeup 24/7.

“Remus,” he grumbled, trying to avoid eye contact.

Remus didn’t even look up from… whatever he was drawing on the napkin; Roman honestly didn’t want to know.

“Honey,” his father scoffed, straightening out his newspaper, “-look at this! They’re already asking about the new crowning! What is even-”

“Mi amor,” his mother, Madeline, soothed, “-we’ll talk about this later, yes?”

King Gerard, a large broad shouldered man mind you, pouted, “I’m not that old yet.”

“‘Course not, honey-” his mother hummed, “-the magazines are despicable, you know this.”

“So,” his father added, to move on the conversation, “-what’ve you boys been up to?”

Patton spoke first, careful and considerate, “I’ve made flower crowns for everyone! Our gardener helped me pick ones to match you guys! So… yeah.”

Their mother smiled, “That’s so sweet, I’m sure we’ll love it, kiddo.”

After running her fingers through his hair, she faltered, her glance a little dampened, “Remus? What have you done, honey?”

Remus looked up, his eyes wide, and subtle with the look of… appreciation, “Uh, I painted today. It was a roaring Cyclops, attacking a town, and he’s rippin-”

“Re, buddy-” their father coughed, “-how about we stop there? You can tell us later, when we’re not… eating.”

Remus nodded, his face falling just a smidge, “Yes, sir.”

Roman paused, messing with his food on his plate and quietly humming to a tune he’d had stuck in his head for days.

“Roman?” his mother’s sweet voice broke through, “What about you? How are your studies, training, or… Forgive me, what were you working on?”

“My romance novel?” Roman grinned, attention on his food quickly scrapped, “Oh, it’s swell, mother! My characters are coming together so fast, I swear they’ve got a mind of their own.”

“What about your fencing?” the King acquired, with a puzzled look on his worn face. He’d had about two meetings with a few other leaders that morning, or at least that’s what Roman remembered.

“Yes, uh-” Roman nodded, tapping his chin as if he hadn’t remembered every lesson he’d ever had, “- Ms. Maple is doing wonderfully. I feel such great improvement.”

Breakfast was short-lived after that, Patton kept popping in with puns, and his father was bringing up a few things the kingdom had going on in a few weeks.

“Roman, I’ll have you know-” his father chuckled, shaking his head, “-I’ve been contacted by… many suitors for your hand."

Roman rolled his eyes, "Dad, stop!”

His mother chuckled, “You’re a very handsome, young man, it only makes sense!”

Roman blushed up to his ears, “Thank you, Mama. That’s very kind of you, but I wish to be swept off my feet for reasons, other than personal gain.”

“Picky,” Remus muttered, as he drew into his napkin harshly.

Roman rolled his eyes, “Says you. Your standards are bare minimum!”

The King raised an eyebrow, a curious expression glazing his dark eyes, “Standards?”

Remus spoke, simply, “A hot guy.”

Roman began, taking a breath, “Taller than me, blue or green eyes, lovely, cute, shared the same interests… Hmm, he HAS to have the softest hair on this Earth. I don’t make the rules-”

“See,” Remus interrupted him, “-picky bitch.”

His mother gasped, but Roman would bet she wasn’t as surprised as you’d assume, “Remus Mich Elliott! You did not just speak like that at the table.”

“Yeah,” Roman hummed, muttering, “-plus, you’re the bitch, bitch.”

“Roman Chase Elliott! I can’t believe you two! No more talking at this table, until you can gather your manners, boys. Right, G?”

Roman’s eyes wafted over to his father’s, his face was flushed and he was hunched over, trying desperately to hold back laughter.

His mother sighed, “You boys are… Patton, are you done with your meal? If so, I say we take a trip to the gardens. Pull some new flowers for the vases I received yesterday?”

Patton smiled, “I’d love to, Mama.”

In a blink, the two were walking out of the dining room with interlocking arms.

It was quiet for a second, then a minute, and then his father finally spoke.

“Is she gone?”

“I-” Roman glanced towards the doorway they had exited through, “I think so, Pops.”

It was in that moment, his father slipped into a body-throwing laughing fit with a red flushed face, and soon Roman felt his own smile squirming up onto his lips.

In just a few seconds, the whole table was full of excess laughing, to a point that the staff had come to check in on them at least 10 times in the past 30 minutes.

“Alright,” the King raised from his seat, wiping his eyes, “-that’s enough playing around. You two, head off to your room.”

Roman paused, his face switching in the quickest of blinks, “But, I thought-”

“Ah, ah, ah-” their father shook his fingers, “-both of you know that Patton, nor your mother, like those words. You both knew better.”

“Father-” Remus groaned, in tune with a sigh of his own.

“Nope,” he shook his head, “-go to your room until lunch, and then apologize to your mother immediately after.”

The twins rolled their eyes, each muttering a disgruntled, “Yes, sir.”

Roman sighed, making his way up the stairs to a place without the sunshine in the morning. He could open up his window, he’d thought, but wouldn’t be the same view from that tree.

He was furious, the kind of furious you’d get when you couldn’t get ice cream as a kid, but he wouldn’t stomp or throw a tantrum. Not that he was past that.

It was just that his hair was styled to perfection, and he was not doing that disservice to the Earth to lose it.

So, he just made his way up there with every inch of pettiness he could put into his walk. Which, he’d learned to do quite well.

With a dash and a skip, Roman arrived at the dark oak door -edged with an art design he’d carved just a few years ago.

It was a shield, painted red and yellow, with a castle and the beautiful sun; he’d made it out of pure spite, just because Remus had said he couldn’t.

But, he’d actually loved the design. So, he began to incorporate it throughout his art -the knights he drew held it on their arm, flags on castles were woven with it in a shimmering fabric, outfits adorned the symbol, faces had it painted on their cheeks, and sometimes, he just drew the landscape on it with simple colors and dazzling visuals.

With blink to refocus, Roman pushed open his door, a feeling of urgency suddenly hitting him there as he stood. In a few quick steps, his eyes were blessed with the tower view of the sun beautifully raised in the sky.

He’d always loved the color blue. It had held so many different interpretations, so many different emotions.

Of course, red always had a place in his heart, but blue? It was calm and urgent, like ocean waves and yet also like, a thunderstorm. It could make him float off into a world of wonders, and quietly he would stay there, dreaming of a world where everything was relaxed… and he’d have no impending future.

That woke him up from the dream, the idea that he’d be destined to take care of the kingdom… His eyes shifted from the fluffy clouds above, to the beige-stoned buildings below.

It was beautiful, yes. Flowers sprouted in gardens, scattered throughout every lawn they could be. The roofs were varied, each dressed in a unique trim, that matched up with a unique family –unique people– in each home.

One day, he’d be responsible for them all, all the children giggling through the street, all the hard workers reaching to make ends meet, all the parents who’d had so much life to live, all the elders who chatted away with stories of the past, all the people who deserved… so much better than him.

#ts logince #royalty au #sanders sides fan fiction #watchoutwriting #ts roman #ts patton #ts remus #yourheartthinedestinedtobe

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ehstarwar · 4 years ago

Text

by chance or natures changing course (1/1)

Dating had never been an area where Rey excelled.

And it had been made unfathomably harder when she met a certain Mr. Darcy-esque man. Her beautiful, sweet, unattainable roommate, Ben.

Based on @reylo_prompts: Rey joins tinder after a long long dry spell due to her flatmate Kylo’s derision, they argue about why and in a fit of jealousy Kylo screams out ‘use me instead”.

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 5.4K

Read on AO3

A/N: thank you to @reylo_prompts for this amazing spark of inspiration!! we stan two (2) idiot space babes who just wanna get freaky ٩(♡ε♡ )۶

The echo of her footsteps in the hallway is loud even to her. She’s not stomping, she’s sulking. Shitty Date #7 is only one in a never ending list of spectacularly awful experiences Rey has been forced to endure as of late.

#7 was late, a picky eater, of the ‘forgotten his wallet’ variety, had breath that smelled suspiciously of rotten eggs, and had STILL attempted to get her to come home with him. Rey would have loved to utilize the feminine rage that had accumulated through a life of womanhood, but her kind demeanor still prevailed. A meek ‘oh, I can’t! I’ve got an early start tomorrow!’ was given and semi-accepted before shuffling off to the bus station before he could give the whole ‘we should do this again’ spiel.

It was disappointing, to say the least.

Not as disappointing as #2 who had been an excellent candidate up until she found out he was the head of the Young Republicans of Chandrilla or #5 who didn’t show up until the movie was halfway over and at the rest of her popcorn.

Dating had never been an area where Rey excelled.

And it had been made unfathomably harder when she met a certain Mr. Darcy-esque man, who liked to cook, to clean, to debate her favorite TV shows until they’re both blue in the face, went to the gym and didn’t post about it, actually tipped when ever they went out to eat, used better shampoo than any female in her life. Her beautiful, sweet, unattainable roommate, Ben.

Ben, who didn’t even flinch when she closed the front door too hard or tugged her scarf off with too much force. He just continued standing over the pot on the stove, rhythmically stirring whatever was creating a delicious aroma though the house.

“You’re back early,” He states, still not turned. Rey humphs indignantly and sits at the bar, watching him work.

“A dud,” She says, “an utter dud.” Rey can see the muscles in his back shift and she just knows he’s smirking.

“Someone probably should have warned you about that.”

Rey sighs and rolls her eyes. “Just because Kaydel suggested I go out with him does not warrant suspicion. She has impeccable taste with her boyfriends!”

Ben adds a bit of a spice she cannot pronounce before taking the pot off the stove to cool. When Ben turns around he’s wearing the smirk Rey knew he would be, and a dish cloth tossed over his shoulder like he’s the young, innovative chef at a restaurant that will gain tons of clout on instagram.

“Kaydel’s boyfriends are always top notch because she keeps the good ones for herself. If she sets you up with a guy that has even the possibility of being worthy, it will have been a missed opportunity for her. So,” He gestures, “you get the scraps she doesn’t want.”

“Kaydel is not that cold hearted.”

“She’s an opportunist; it’s different.”

Rey sighs. Ben wordlessly grabs too bowls from the cabinet and pours each of them a generous helping of what looks to be tomato soup. Rey doesn’t have to have a bite to know it’s delicious.

They eat in relative silence before making their way to the couch. Rey only kicks off her ‘fancy shoes’, still clad in her date attire, but Ben is wearing his daily uniform but still looks like he could’ve walked right out of a Ralph Lauren spread. It would be more infuriating if he weren’t so good to look at.

They watch some inane comedy that neither of them particularly enjoy the content of, but rather the vicious comments they can make on individuals lives that will in no way affect the world around them.

“That hair looks like it’s come straight from the 80’s.”

“He must have really stretched his resume when he added ‘singer’ on there.”

“I make more in a day than what they clearly spent on their entire CGI budget.”

It’s a good way to unwind and get out all the venom without actually damaging anything. On occasion, there is a seemingly bad movies that actually end up giving the small bit of joy and thoughtfulness that makes them actually enjoy it for the content, but those are less fun.

But this particular movie does give Rey a devious idea.

“I should do that,” She say, after a few minutes of silence. Ben continues to watch, but does look confused.

“Do what?” He questions.

“Get Tinder. Try to find a good lay the up-to-date way.”

Ben immediately shifts to glare at her.

“Do be unreasonable.”

Rey faces him, confused.

“Unreasonable?” She repeats.

“You don’t need Tinder.” Ben turns back to the TV and adjusts his sitting position.

“I’m not sure if you’ve been made aware, but I’ve just been on the worst dating trend I’ve ever been on since I’ve started dating! In all honesty, it’s a little unreasonable I’m not already on there!”

Ben scoffs. “Tinder is finding someone to fuck, not to date. There are too many weirdos who just assume its for hook-ups.”

“There are plenty of weirdos out there already! I’ve even been on dates with them! I can handle a few creeps on an app.”

“At least the guys you’ve gone out with have been known and recommend by friends, so they’re not total strangers. You meet a guy off a dating app and there’s no way to make sure he’s who he says he is.”

“I’m not gonna end up on Catfished, Ben. There are plenty of normal men looking for a quick romp before being on their way, and this may be the path I use to find them.”

Ben dramatically rolls his eyes before standing up and stalking into the kitchen. Rey quickly follows him, determined to get to the bottom of his reluctance of her plan for some unknown reason.

“Why don’t you think getting Tinder is a good plan, give me an honest answer,” She asks him once they’re in the kitchen together. Ben has started clearing their plates and cleaning them in the sink with more force than necessary.

“I’ve just given you my reason, I don’t think I need to repeat myself,” He scoffs, making Rey see red.

“It’s not a good reason, but whatever. If you think friend recommendations are so much better than Tinder, then tell me who you choose.” Rey all but stomps her foot as she glares at Ben who has his eyes trained on the soapy water in the sink.

“I don’t have any good recommendations,” He says through gritted teeth.

“That’s ridiculous, Benjamin. You work for First Order! It’s practically bursting with young, ambitious men who I just know would be down for a one night stand!”

“The people who work at First Order are monsters,” Ben says. A hard scrub on one of the bowls makes a splash of water drench his shirt and get soap in his hair that had fallen in his eyes.

“What about Armie? What about you? Do you really think you’re a monster?” She practically shouts at him.

Ben’s head snaps up. “Yes I am.” He says it with such conviction that part of Rey’s heart aches.

It’s clear that this conversation has devolved into something much deeper and Rey isn’t sure either of them are in the right head space to continue down the path before them. Instead, Rey opts to roll her eyes and lift her arms in defeat.

“You’re not a monster, Ben but you are a bit of a dumbass. All I want is to get fucked to relieve some of the tension that has clearly infiltrated this conversation, and you can’t even offer one measly name up to help you ‘best friend’ out. I just don’t have-”

“Just use me!”

The air in the house stills.

Rey stands in the middle of the kitchen, feeling a bit in shock, staring back at Ben who seems equally surprised. He doesn’t speak any more, not to take back or clarify or say ‘ha! made ya look!’

They stand there, in silence, letting the words hang in the balance.

“…What?” Rey finally asks, voice light and low and for a moment she’s not sure he even heard her.

“Use me. If you want,” He says, still not moving.

Rey has to avert her eyes, because looking at Ben right now is too much. Ben, who cooks her food when she comes home from a bad date. Ben, who covers her part of the rent when money is too tight and never asks her to pay him back. Ben, who is so beautiful it hurts to look at but still somehow believes he’s a monster. Ben, who just offered himself up to Rey on a silver platter after she spent the better part of the last 10 minutes yelling at him.

“For sex?” She asks redundantly.

“For sex.” he responds.

Rey picks at her finger nails, eyes still downcast.

“Rey,” The way he says her name feels different now and makes her look up, “do you want that?” Ben is good at hiding his emotions, aways shrouded behind a mask of indifference or anger. Right now, his face seems impassive as he waits for her to respond, but Rey can tell there’s fear there. It’s subtle, and Rey may be the only person in the galaxy to recognize its presence, but it’s there.

She nods. A small breath of relief escapes his lips.

Ben resumes washing the dishes, confusing Rey. She stands there, looking at him putter around the kitchen until it’s clean enough for his standsrds, then walks right past her and down the hall. Like a new puppy, she follows him, trailing him and stopping at his door that he’s walked into.

It’s open and Ben sitting on the edge of the bed removing his shoes. Rey stands awkwardly in the doorway, not trusting her voice enough to ask him what was going on.

She looks at his bed, large and imposing (much like it’s owner), and a new sensation trickles down her spine. He’s going to fuck me on this bed she thinks. It’s only then she notices how the anticipation just from the last few minutes has made her… damp.

“Rey, are you going to come in?” He asks her, standing again.

“Do you want me to?”

He smirks.

“Get on the bed.” It’s a command, not a question. She does as he says, pulling herself on her knees in the middle of the bed, still fully dressed. She stares back at Ben as he watches her climb. When she stills, he speaks again.

“What are you comfortable with?” He asks. Rey bites her lip as she tries to think of anything Ben could do to her now that she wouldn’t welcome with open arms. She comes up blank.

“Anything.”

He cocks his head as he appraises her, making Rey feel like her skin is on fire and the wetness in her underwear become significantly greater.

“Anything?” He repeats. She nods. “Then why don’t you tell me what need me to do to you.”

“I need you to fuck me,” She says without hesitation, gaining a small chuckle from him.

“That much I know. What else?” He pulls his shirt off in one swift motion, leaving his chest bare and still slight damp from where the water splashed on him. Her mouth goes dry. “Use your words, Rey,” He chides as he goes to unbuckle his belt.

“Your fingers…” She begins as she watches the digits maneuver with elegance out of the metal belt buckle.

“What about them?” He asks as his pants fall and he steps out of him. Only his underwear is left now, and Rey can see the more than impressive bulge held behind the black material.

She thinks of the dildo she invested a whole months worth of income in that she theorized was the exact size of him. She was wrong.

“I want you… to get me off. With your fingers. And your…” Her cheeks flame as she is unable to finish the sentence.

“Say it, Rey.”

“I want you to get me off with… your cock.”

Ben looks all too smug for being the least dressed in the room. She can see the thrill of satisfaction he got from hearing her words and it in turn thrills her as well. His eyes rake over her again and she’s suddenly self conscious.

“Take off your dress,” He says. She follows instantly, tossing it to the side of the room, leaving her only in a bra, panties, and stockings. They’re black and sparkly and Rey hopes it makes her look more enticing to him.

Ben’s hand grabs her by the ankle when she’s done, and gently pulls her closer to the edge of the bed, where he still stands.

“So… my fingers, my cock… what about my mouth?” He asks, using his pointer finger to trace up her leg, over her hips and stomach, around her pert nipple that sticks out through the fabric, and up to her chin.

“That too.”

“Where?” He whispers, lowering his face right in front of hers.

“Anywhere,” She breaths.

His lips connect with hers in the next breath. Soft, chaste kisses, planted neatly on her lips as her arms come up to his shoulders. She pulls him closer as he deepens the kiss, tongue slipping into her mouth with no resistance. Ben kisses her like he’s dependent on it to breathe, like his whole existence was conjured so that he could be in this exact position. There is teeth clashing and nose bumping but it only make the kiss that much hotter.

He guides her further onto the bed, pulling her up with him as he spreads out above her. Her legs have parted naturally, letting him slot between her. She feels the warm boxer fabric rub against the tension of her stocking and wishes that he’d told her to get naked. She whines into his mouth, but he swallows it up.

His hands go to the elastic of her stocking and attempt to pull them off her legs. They’re hard to get off when you’re full attention in on them, but now it seems impossible. They catch on the swells of her hips before Ben tears them off her.

Oh well, she think, they would’ve gotten a run in them anyways.

His hands run up and down her legs, palms nearly encompassing a whole thigh in one. His lips move to the column of her throat, planting wet, hot kisses down to her chest. Rey lies boneless beneath him, letting Ben do what he wills. His thumb traces the crotch of her panties suddenly, making her jump. Ben shushes her as his body comes over hers like a weighted blanket.

His fingers tease her soaked undergarments, making Rey whine for more. She arches into him when his hand falls away, and she chases his touch.

“Ben…” She cries, sounding pathetic even to her own ears.

“Hmm?” He makes a noise into her chest as his tongue traces the outline of her nipple through the scrappy material of her bra.

“Want… more… said you’d… fuck me…” She mewls. All at once, Ben pulls back from her, but keeps his hands on her torso, holding her down.

“And you greedy little thing said you wanted my fingers and my cock.”

Rey full on pouts, using everything in her arsenal for this one.

“Then why haven’t you given me one of them?” The smugness from Ben’s face drops as his lips crash on hers. Rey feels his hand go to cup her core before ripping off her underwear just like her stockings.

Well… they were impractical anyways.

Fingers trace her folds, always managing to avoid brushing over her clit with a precision that is making Rey crazed. She’s about to chide him, taunt Ben for not giving her what she’d been promised when he sticks one into her the same time his thumb pushes on her clit. Rey has to bite the inside of her cheek from screaming too loud.

“So wet for me… dripping all over yourself like a little whore…” He says. Rey could cry. How does this man know the right buttons to push? How can he say exactly the right thing that makes Rey loose it? She can’t think of how he knows she likes this because he’s pushing in a second finger just behind the first.

Ben moans against her lips. “If two is a stretch… my cock might ruin you.”

“Please,” She begs, “… want you to ruin me.”

Ben grunts as he works faster, rocking her on his fingers just like it would be if he was fucking her. Just like it would be when he’s fucking her. He’s promised, hasn’t he?

Rey feels all the tell-tale signs of an approaching orgasm, in significantly less time than it takes for her to get herself there. It would be a little humiliating if it didn’t feel so. fucking. good.

“You’re gonna be a good little whore for me… right? You’re gonna… you’re gonna come all over daddy’s hand? Hmmm?” He questions into her skin. Rey’s nails dig into the meet of his shoulder, brought to the brink of nirvana when she hears the name.

“Yes… Yes daddy… gonna be so good… good for you..” Her voice is breathless and light and her body feels like a live wire. His thumb works incessantly on her, and when the third finger breeches her opening, Rey is lost.

Her hands grip any part of Ben they can find purchase on, her chest bowing into his, head thrown back and eyes closed in ecstasy. Her body trembles beneath his, but his fingers still push into her in a rhythmic pattern. He works her through it, muttering praises and endearments like ‘so good for daddy’ or ‘take what you need sweetheart.’

Rey thinks this must be what it feels like the first time you experience a hard drug. An addiction blooms in her body with the first taste, and she hasn’t really even touched Ben yet.

Ben lays her on the bed, adjusting her so that she’s on a pillow and her hair is fanned out. Rey feels her cunt pulse, and knows that despite her organs, her body is no where near done. Ben looks like he feels the same.

His hands massage her body, running from the tips of her toes to her hair line. When his paws come up to the only piece of fabric still adorning her body, Rey places her hands on his.

“No these, please… bra’s are hard to find…” Rey tells Ben. While he seems displeased that he’s not able to display another manly bravado of ripping more clothes off her, he does resign himself to reaching under her, unhooking the fabric, and guiding her out of the bra. When he tosses it off the bed, Rey snatching his hand and brings it to her mouth, placing sloppy kisses on it in lieu of thanks.

The scratchy material of his boxers rubs agains the side of her thighs, where he’s resting between, remind them both that there’s one more thing to shed. Ben looks at her, waiting for something, but Rey keeps laving his hands with her wet kisses.

Something grows dark in his eyes when he speaks again.

“If we do this…” he starts, “it can’t be undone.” It’s a loaded statement that is able to say so much with so little. A talent of Ben’s that Rey will forever be in awe of.

“I know,” She whispers against his skin.

Whatever he was waiting for, that must have been it. Ben quickly stands, rids himself of his boxers and climbs right back between her legs, like he never left at all.

If his cock was impressive though his underwear, it was a damn knock out without them. Rey really doesn’t mean to stare, but my god, Ben is packing.

“A stretch?” She questions, eyes lifting to his. Ben nods. Rey gulps.

Her hand tentatively reaches out, fingers tracing the light dusting of a happy trail that leads to him. He’s hard, achingly so. Tip red and angry and Rey wants so badly to suck him, but she knows that’s not what tonight is. Her fingers gently tap on his head, feeling the small drops of precome gathered there, watching the tacky fluid stick between her fingertips.

Ben’s hand goes to wrap around his base, holding himself as his cock twitches beneath her touch.

“You can play with it, or I can fuck you,” Ben challenges her.

“Not both?” Rey teases.

“Not right now.”

She leans back, looking up at Ben and admiring him like he had been able to do so much. She considers herself, debating whether pulling him to orgasm with her hand the same way he did to her would be as satisfying as him doing the thing that brought them here in the first place. She decides that not right now will mean that later tonight she can have her fun, so she opts for the second option.

“You did say you’d fuck me.”

“I did.”

“I think you should do that… for now.”

Ben grins. His hands dart out to her hips and pull her around so that she’s on her stomach, ass pushed in the air. The sudden movement causes the air to be knocked out of her lungs, but it would’ve escaped anyways when his palm strikes her ass.

“That’s for making me wait,” He tells her. Rey can’t help to moan when she feels his palm go to soothe the reddened skin. She pushes her ass towards him, hoping that he’ll take the hint.

“You’re gonna be a good girl for daddy? You’re gonna let me fuck you full of my come?” He says. Rey bites a pillow as she just barely refrains spinning around, shoving him back and dropping down on his cock.

“Words, sweetheart,” Ben reminds her.

“Yes!” She squeaks out. “I’ll be a good girl for you, daddy… please just- just-”

“Tell me,” He says as she feel’s his cock trace her outer folds. Her hips angle back trying to make him enter her.

“… Please fuck me, daddy.”

Ben pushes into her as soon as the words leave her mouth. He’s slow, letting her adjust to him when he finally bottoms out. Rey bites into the pillow even harder. She can hear Ben’s pants above her and can feel the tension in his hands that now hold her hips.

“… Tell me when you’re good, baby.” Ben sounds as breathless as she’s sure she would if she had the capability of speech at the moment. Ben is deathly still within her, but Rey adjust and wiggles herself, earning choked moans and growls from him.

“Good, daddy… so good,” She finally says, earning a sigh of relief from Ben as he instantly begins to move. His hips rock into hers, shallow at first, before setting a steady pace. She mewls beneath him, trying to move her hips to meet his in time.

Ben falls forward, chest falling onto her back, and his mouth going to her shoulder. Rey snakes a hand up towards his head, fingers curing themselves though his hair. His mouth kisses and bites at her shoulder as his hip begin to move harder, making a slapping sound with every thrust.

“You’re gonna… come for me, okay? You gotta come on me, baby. I gotta know what it feels like,” He mumbles on her skin. Rey nods as her other hand goes to hold over his on her hip, and guide it to her center, just above where his cock is sliding into her. Ben instantly gets the message, finger dexterously going to circle at her clit.

Rey feels her knees shake with effort as his cock moves so deeply within her. He’s the biggest she’s ever had, ever will have, and he reaches parts inside of her Rey wasn’t sure existed. His whole body rest above her, not crushing her, but holding her. Making her feel safe within his embrace so that he could do whatever he wanted to. The feeling of being under Ben as pounds into her is delicious and exhilarating and terrifying all at once.

Her head is such a mixture of emotions and ecstasy that Rey almost doesn’t recognize the orgasm as it approaches her. She gasps when she realizes that the tingling sensation starting to spark at her fingertips mean that she’s nearing the peak again.

“Daddy… Ben… I’m… I’m gonna…”

“I know, Rey. I need to feel it, please. Come on me, baby, please…” Ben begs.

Her whole body clenches when she comes, forcing Ben to make a choking sound at the sensation of her cunt squeezing the life out of his cock. He comes almost in time with her, spilling hotly within her. He grunts and holds her as tightly as possible as he pumps the last of himself within her.

Rey can feel the sweat of their bodies coating her back, but she feels his face rest on her upper back and plant kisses along her spine. It seemed almost too intimate of a moment for her brain to process, and she’s almost grateful that she wasn’t eating Ben come. Seeing that while feeling it would throw Rey off a cliff she didn’t even know she’d climbed.

They hold their positions for a moment, letting Ben give the rest of his come to her waiting cunt. Rey feels his hands move again, maneuvering them to lay on their sides, Ben still firmly planted within Rey.

His hands stroke her sides as their breathing returns to normal.

Rey can’t remember a time when she ever felt this safe after sex. Like there was no where else in the world Ben wanted to be other than right here. It was intoxicating.

After a while, she’s worried he’s fallen asleep (or that she would if she remained sedentary any longer), so she calls out for him softly.

“Ben?”

“Hm?” The vibrations from his voice reverberate down her spine.

“Are you awake?” She asks.

“… Yeah.” She can hear the small smile in his voice.

“Good… I didn’t want to wake you when I…” She trails off, trying to think of a not-gross way to phrase this.

“When you got off my dick and let my come spill out of you?” He provides. Despite what they’ve just done, Rey blushes.

“Yeah.”

Ben adjust them so that she’s back on her front, and he’s sitting on his haunches. He slowly pulls out his softening cock, and Rey clenches hard so that the mad rush of fluids don’t coat his bedspread. There’s also a small voice inside her head thats saying ‘he want’s you to keep it’ but Rey totally ignores it.

“Stay,” Ben commands, getting up from the bed. She ears the flick of a light switch, the running of water, before he comes back getting back onto the bed, and stroking her puffy core with a warm cloth.

Rey relaxes as he cleans her, stroking her cunt with such care and kindness, you almost wouldn’t believe he was the one pounding into it with abandon not so long ago.

She feels him get off the bed again to dispose of the cloth before sliding next to her and practically holding her body up to turn her. He settles them down, him lying on his back with Rey draped over one side of him, legs spread between one of his. Her head lies in the crook of his neck, hand holding onto his chest and his plays with the ends of her hair on her back.

They lay like this is what they do every night. With such normalcy and established routine that makes Rey’s chest feel fuzzy. There is a gnawing question on her mind, so she’s asks him before he actually does fall asleep.

“How did you know what I was into? I mean… some of it’s pretty common but others are… not,” She says, fingers tracing the muscles in his chest.

“You read fan fiction in public settings, including on our couch, beside me. I didn’t have to pry too hard,” Ben tells her. His voice vibrates though his whole body, making her buzz in a delicious way.

“… I didn’t know you could see that…” She mumbles. Ben laughs lightly.

“It has been very… informative.” Rey scoffs, making him laugh further. When the settle down and the silence returns, Rey can tell there’s something on the tip of his tongue.

“Ben?” She asks.

“Yeah?”

“You can ask me anything, you know.”

More silence.

“… Is this… something you wanted? You can be honest,” He tells her.

“I think I’m actually the one who asked you, if I recall correctly.”

“No, I mean… with me. I know I wasn’t exactly what you were hoping for tonight and I-”

Rey shoots up to look at Ben. It’s the first time he’s been below her all night, and Rey is able to stare down at his breathtakingly beautiful face, glowing in the moonlight. He’s beautiful to her, always is and aways will be, but there’s a vulnerability in his face right now that makes Rey realize that she’s in control right now. That this is one of those life-altering moments that will inevitably change the world in ways she can’t fathom depending on what she does.

“I may have hoped for something else in the beginning,” Rey starts, “but, Ben, you’re exactly what I wanted.”

The smile that breaks across his face melts Rey and she knows she’s made the right choice.

Brunch is never a dull affair with their friend group. They keep it interesting with gossip or life-changing announcements or the occasional group activity. This particular brunch Ben and Rey are attending is par for the course, going smoothly at the groups favorite eatery in Chandrila. Rose, Hux, and Kaydel are currently arguing over which breakfast carb is superior, pancakes or waffles. Phasma is checking emails while flawlessly being able to keep up with every conversation at the table. Poe, Finn, and Jannah are discussing if the couple two tables over is breaking up or just fighting.

It’s the normal routine for everyone.

Except, of course, Ben and Rey.

They’re sitting next to each other, which my itself isn’t totally unusual, but instead of Rey wishing she was the fork Ben grasps so tightly or the glass that gets to feel the plushness of his lips, she’s content where she it. Ben has his hand holding onto her upper thigh, just teasing at the hemline with his finger tips. His shoe knocks into hers, calves brushing together.

They’re sitting so close, she can feel the heat radiating off his body. She’ll blame that for the blush staining her cheeks.

“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh!” Kaydel suddenly squeals, making Rey stop mid bite of her waffle/pancake/french toast combination that Ben said was ‘ungodly.’ “Rey, I totally forgot, but how was your date the other night with… um, what’s his name…” She tries to think of #7’s name. It takes Rey an embarrassing amount of time to remember it herself.

“Ugh, you mean Snap? It went… alright, I guess,” She tells the table, now all eyes on her. Ben squeezes her thigh harshly for a moment.

“Oh, you poor thing!” Kaydel says. “He seemed like such a nice guy. Why didn’t it work out?” She questioned further. Rey didn’t have to look at Ben to know he was smirking.

“Um, I was… he just… not my type, ya know?” Rey deflects.

“Then what is your type? I’m sure Kaydel would like to know so she can curate her recommendations better,” Ben says. Rey slaps his stomach.

“Actually, I don’t need anymore… suggestion.” The energy at the table shifts, and Rey gets a devious idea.

“Oh my god, peanut, did you find someone?” Finn asks, garnering the attention of everyone, even Phasma who tries to stay out of this type of conversation as much as possible.

“Yeah, I did.”

Squeels of joy erupt from around the table as a barrage of questions suddenly spill from everyones lips.

“Does he live here?”

“Is he rich?”

“Do we know him?”

“What’s he do for a living?” “Tell us about him!”

Rey smiles. “Well, I really like him but there is one problem.”

“What?” Ben barks up, suddenly. She turns to look at him, giving him the sweetest expression she can muster, the one that makes him melt like butter.

“He’s got a really small dick.”

Ben chokes on his grits.

—

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aliceslantern · 5 years ago

Text

Beyond this Existence: New Life, short 20--Storied

Recovery is a tedious, nonlinear process. Demyx, Ienzo, and the others living in Radiant Garden's castle have to learn to come to terms with their pasts and their memories, learn to grow, and begin to understand what, exactly, it means to be human. While there is unexpected joy in this, there is also unexpected sorrow. A series of oneshots set after Beyond this Existence.

Current short: “Storied.” Ienzo and Ansem attempt to repair their bond.

Read it on FF.net/ on AO3

---

Ienzo and Ansem were still getting used to one another. It was not at all like the halcyon days of his childhood; the ebb and flow of tension was a near constant.

Ienzo knew that really he should be more bitter towards the others, rather than Ansem; but he could not reconcile the feelings towards anyone else. Maybe it had something to do with their relationship with his Nobody? A child’s feelings were not necessarily logical, as much as he had thought he was an intelligent one; it was a stone in a river, causing infinite ripples.

He wanted desperately for things to be better between them, but there was so much muck to wade through; the collective mistakes of their pasts. It was one thing to want to forgive and forget; another to put in the work.

Ansem was waiting for him one afternoon, in his quarters. It seemed to be a neutral ground; it was one of the few spaces they'd spent time together that was not mired in bad memory. "I found a rather delightful brand of tea when I was out shopping. I do think you'll enjoy it."

"I'm sure I will. I'm not so picky. As long as it is warm." He was so much more sensitive to temperature than he used to be.

For a while they sat by the window, watching the pale sunshine. Ienzo found the tea to be a bit too citrusy and sharp for his tastes, but he was able to get it down without much fuss.

"I appreciate you coming to spend time with me," Ansem said. "I'm sure you have more pressing, and more desirable, things on your plate."

"It is my pleasure. I… know we want to get to know one another again."

"Indeed." Ansem took another drink, a longer one. "How are you, Ienzo?"

"I am faring… decently." He did not want to bring up his breakdown in front of Even… or, in fact, the one he'd had in front of Aeleus. Goodness. "To borrow a phrase Demyx uses, "a bitch be going through it.""

Ansem chuckled. "And things are going well on that front?"

"Well, yes," he said. "I feel… quite attached."

"I'm glad you have someone you can rely on."

"Things between him and I are not so complicated. At least, not as they are between the rest of us. If I may be so candid."

"Yes?"

To tell such naked truths was still difficult. "Ma--Ansem." Ansem insisted they be on a first name basis. "I did not think this would ever be something I'd experience. The ways we hurt people in the past, using their bonds against them… it all makes so much more sense. I can feel the pain and regret so much more acutely. If someone had done to me what I did to them, I'd be… shattered." Ansem opened his mouth; Ienzo interrupted him. "Before you say this is not my fault. I know this. Yet, there's the survivor's guilt, on top of what happened after all that. There is so much more to my past than those few awful months."

Ansen sighed heavily, and folded his hands tightly in his lap. "I realize this."

"We mustn't dance around it anymore. I did not metamorphose from the child you remember into the adult sitting across from you. There was a point when I was someone else. As were you, if I recall correctly."

Ansem shook his head. "DiZ," he said softly. "I believe I… understand what you're speaking of. I did not simply emerge from the darkness eleven years later. I dug myself out of it the only way I knew how--I embraced it."

Ienzo crossed his legs, letting the silence stretch for a few moments, running his eyes along the patterns in the worn carpet. "To a degree, some of what we did, we did to survive," he said slowly. "Neither of us could have possibly escaped those situations otherwise. I… for the sake of my sanity… had to believe wholeheartedly in what they did. In what I did. For the sake of the greater good. Knowledge. The potential for humanity, for a better world." He hadn't quite let himself go to this place in his mind, even all these months after he'd woken.

Ansem squeezed his hand. "Peace, Ienzo."

"I know." He took a breath, feeling the sharp lump in his throat. "If you would bear with me, I… would like to follow this train of thought. I think I need to." Ienzo took a moment to compose himself. "We engineered the fall of worlds," he said, with difficulty. "We manipulated those in power--using the same techniques we used here. It really can take so little to make or break a heart. And who do you think was at the center of this? The planning, the strategies? It was another puzzle, Ansem. And you know I love puzzles. Perhaps I did not kill anyone with my bare hands, but that likely would have been a mercy compared to what I did do." He found it difficult to look up. "The illusions were capable of so much more than frippery, self-defense. Show someone their greatest fears, or their deepest insecurities, and they'll eat out of your palm." He looked down to his own hands, which were trembling. "The most disturbing thing about all this was that I enjoyed the power. The sensation that I had their minds in my hands, that I could influence… whatever I wished. I said I only used that power for the greater good, but I believe I deluded myself into submission."

Ansem looked more sad than anything. "I did not… realize the extent to which they controlled you."

Ienzo could feel his face reddening. "It wasn't all them, Ansem. This you must understand. I committed… atrocities. Puppet or not, there was a point where I should have known better. Where I should have realized--" His voice was starting to break.

Ansem stood; for a moment Ienzo thought he might leave, his expression was unreadable. He crossed over to Ienzo in his chair and embraced him.

Ienzo took a sharp breath, a few strangely cool tears breaking through. A shuddering sob cut through him.

"Oh, my boy," Ansem said. "Are we not all guilty in some way? Every single one of us have done horrific things we regret--including your beloved. And you do not despise him for it, do you?"

"...No," he said at last, still crying freely.

"We are all atoning in our own ways. You mustn't despise yourself for it, either."

"I am trying."

"I know. You are excelling at it… as you do for everything you devote yourself to." Ansem stroked his hair. It was an oddly familiar gesture.

Ienzo tried to pull himself together. He realized he was clinging to Ansem, and let go. He dried his eyes quickly. "I… apologize."

"Whatever for?" Ansem smiled a little. "I shouldn't mind to take care of you. I have years to make up for."

"There is no point mourning what could have been. All there is… is now." He sat back a little, and Ansem returned to his chair.

"...Indeed."

What was left of Ienzo's tea was cold by now, but he needed it to soothe himself. "...Will you tell me? About what it meant to be DiZ?"

Ansem frowned. "I am not… proud of those days," he admitted. "As you said, I had the best intentions." This he said with malice. "Reeling with the unkempt trauma of the darkness, I only had rage. I was angry--with my wayward apprentices--with you."

Ienzo smiled.

Ansem seemed befuddled. “Why is it you have this reaction?”

“I was angry with you too. It’s good to know our feelings were reciprocated.”

Ansem laughed a little, but after a moment, he sobered. “I was selfish,” he said. “I sought vengeance, mostly for myself, and for my pride. I… believed that Nobodies did not deserve to exist, therefore justifying my abuse of Roxas in the digital Twilight Town, and also of Naminé. That poor girl’s life has really been nothing but horror, and Roxas didn’t fare much better.”

“If it’s any consolation, they are both flourishing,” Ienzo said politely.

“This I know--no thanks to me.” He smiled sadly. “I used them as pawns--and while I believed, like you said, that I was working for the greater good, to save Sora from the mess he ended up in after Castle Oblivion, how is my exploitation of them any better than anything you did in the Organization?” A pause. “Ienzo, we have both made mistakes. But we’ve learned. Once I… collect myself, I hope to devote my life to atonement.”

Ienzo considered this. He’d gathered from the scraps of information he’d had what Ansem had been up to, a year or so ago. He had a feeling there were still pieces of the story he was withholding; namely, the previous ten or so years he’d spent in the realm of darkness. “How are you faring?”

Ansem thought about it. “Better than I was, on the whole,” he said. “I do… write a lot. It helps to make sense of these things once they’re on paper. I doubt these memoirs are very palatable.”

“I do not need to see them, unless you wish to share them.”

“Perhaps someday.” There was a significant pause in the conversation, long enough that Ienzo wondered if it were impolite to excuse himself. But then Ansem added, “You’ve walked the realm of darkness, have you not?”

“Many times.”

“Did you ever… feel anything? Oh, that’s a vague query. Let me think.” He put a hand under his chin. “Rather, did it manipulate the way you saw things?”

Ienzo blinked, then squinted through the veil of his ever-weakening memory. “I cannot be certain, if I’m being honest,” he admitted. “Nobodies do not… experience emotion in the same way humans do, if they do at all. Even when I became older, and theoretically began to grow a heart, it was very… matter-of-fact. If I experienced any instances of ill temper while moving through it, I likely attributed it to something else.” He tried to think. “It takes a spark, and more than that, nurturing, to allow a heart to be that sensitive to such things.”

Ansem nodded slowly. “This… numbness. How much of it was your biology, how much of it was manipulation, and how much of it was the sheer level of trauma inflicted upon you?”

For a moment, Ienzo skimmed Zexion’s memories. In context, it made much more sense for Xemnas’s ideology that they were unfeeling, and therefore inferior (or superior, depending on the day) to take root. “Apples, oranges, pears,” he mumbled.

“Beg pardon?”

“It’s essentially tit for tat. Regardless of how exactly it happened, I did not feel much of anything. Versus now, when I feel… everything. ”

Ansem chuckled. “Making up for lost time.”

“So it seems.” He settled back a bit more comfortably in the chair. “I’m teaching myself to not mind these feelings. In the beginning--that is to say, my new life as Ienzo--I forced myself to exist in a false spectrum of logic and emotion. But that is simply impossible. I will feel regardless of how well I try to reason through it.”

Ansem leaned forward a little. “I hate to cause offense, but this is all rather psychologically fascinating.”

“It is.” He paused. “Some of these feelings, such as love, or joy, are intoxicating. But on the other hand… the guilt, the fear, the existential dread… is equally overwhelming.”

He twisted his scarf in one hand. “To a degree I feel the same. My numbness was deliberate, instead of biological. I used my anger to bolster myself against the pain of the betrayal.”

“I am sorry.” The words left him almost unconsciously.

Ansem squeezed his hand. “You were not at fault, dear Ienzo. At that moment in time you were so manipulated you could not have known better.”

“I know this.” He looked up, again fighting tears. “I still apologize.” He took a breath to smother the urge. “Do you still feel much… bitterness, towards the others?”

This question seemed to catch Ansem off guard. “We are not as… plastic, as you are,” he said. “I believe we need to process what this all means to us before we can begin to understand what we feel towards one another. I’m sure they all feel remorse, in their own way, perhaps more intensely than I can conceive.”

“But do you?”

Ansem scratched his beard. “How can I not? I trusted these men with my mind, my heart--and they took everything I worked towards and perverted it. I know they were under Xehanort’s influence, and had I not so foolishly taken him in we might be in a very different place. All the same, it is hard not to see that… when I look at them. It is hard to trust them.”

“Yes,” Ienzo said.

He let Ansem digest this for several minutes. Finally, he said, “I do thank you for sharing all this with me. I realize it is not easy to trust me, either.”

“It is becoming easier each day,” Ienzo admitted. “That day you called me your… son. Do you feel that way, despite everything that’s happened?”

Ansem seemed to not know how to answer the question; he hesitated. “Legally speaking, I was your father.”

“The law no longer exists as it once was. And I am grown.”

He thought about it. “I… would like to,” he admitted, with some embarrassment. “I’ve done nothing but made your life difficult save for a few moments of tenderness. But I care for you deeply, Ienzo.”

“I… feel the same.”

Ansem smiled; it seemed more genuine now.

Ienzo met his eyes. “I’m still… learning about the concept of family,” he said. “I know it’s what we once were. Not just you and I, but… all of us.”

Ansem scoffed. “A motley crew.”

“Yes. And among the many things Demyx has helped me realize, I… want nothing more than to have that again.”

He nodded. He seemed to relax a little, looking into his already-drained teacup as if it might spontaneously refill. “I admit, when I found out about the two of you I was… hesitant. Not as a critique of your orientation--never that--but because, well, we were all reeling badly. I did not see… what was compatible in the long term, and the last thing you needed on top of everything else was heartbreak.”

Ienzo took a deep breath.

“But now that I’ve gotten to know him as well… I think you truly balance one another out.”

“Thank you. I appreciate that.”

“I suppose I figured I was entitled to defend you, to make decisions for you. Alas, I am not.” He laughed.

“No, you’re not.” But he said this with humor. “This will… take time.”

“Indeed. Though it seems that things will only get better from here on out.”

“I should hope so, after all the trouble we’ve gone through.” Ienzo shook his head, to himself mostly; “trouble” was putting it lightly. “Well. I believe I should go start dinner. Would you like to join us?”

This startled him. “That would be… quite nice.”

#beyond this existence: new life #ienzo #ansem the wise #beyond this existence

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queen-writing-sideblog · 5 years ago

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Coffee and Cigarettes

Chapter One

This is the little surprise I was talking about, first chapter of my first fic!! Thank you to all of you so, so, so much for 100 followers (I know I’m a bit late, but it took me a minute to finish, so.. shhhh), but thank you all so, so much for sticking along for all of this. I know I haven’t been updating as much recently, but now that this is finished, I’ll be a lot better about it, I promise, I hope you enjoy!!!!!

Staff dating wasn’t against the rules. It was… slightly frowned upon by some of the board members, but it wasn’t against the rules. That hadn’t been an issue for Roger for the three years he had been working there, so he hadn’t thought anything was going to change when the school hired a replacement for the teacher that had taught engineering and wood shop.

Boy had he been wrong.

They wouldn’t normally cross paths. While their classrooms were in similar parts of the building, teachers didn’t tend to wander around the school because, obviously, they were working. That wasn’t how they ended up meeting, though.

No, the very first time Roger met Mr. Deacon was in the break room when he turned around too fast and accidentally hit him with a muffin and almost spilled coffee on him.

What a fantastic, completely Rogeresque way to meet someone.

To his defense, it was before seven o’clock in the morning, nearly an hour before school was due to start, and he’d been up late the night before, grading the last minute summer work that had been submitted to him minutes before the deadline.

Stupid slackers.

Then again, that had been him when he was in high school, so he didn’t really have much room to talk.

And regardless of how little sleep he’d gotten, there he was, bright an early. For all the work and extra hours teachers put in, they didn’t get paid nearly enough, so he in the mornings, his breakfast off of the coffee and assorted, slightly stale breakfast items that resided there.

His slightly stale breakfast item that was now a shower of crumbs coating the shirt of a complete stranger.

“Oh! Oh, I am so sorry, mate, really, I-”

“Oh, no, no, you’re alright. It’s early. Looks like you haven’t had a sip of coffee yet either, so I’ll let it slide this time around.”

As soon as the air around them lightened up a bit and he let himself relax, it struck him how… easy on the eyes this stranger was.

“Ah, right, right, I’ll take my free pass and be more careful next time. I’m Roger Taylor, by the way. I teach biology. Room 137.”

“Oh, alright, hello, Mr. Taylor. I’m John Deacon, I teach engineering and woodshop and… I’m in room…” he dug a piece of paper out of his pocket, “room number 146.”

“Ah, so you’re the new guy that’s replacing old Bernes.”

“Would appear so.”

“Well, I already like you better. He was a creep.”

“Was he, now? Well, I might be a bit biased in saying this, but I don’t believe I’m much of a creep, so I do hope that helps.” He offered a gap toothed smile and Roger felt something unfamiliar bubbling up in the pit of his stomach.

“Well, you’re already much, much, much better than he is.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

They stood there for a moment in silence, sipping their coffee before one of them spoke again.

“So. Where’d you come from. Somewhere… North, I’m thinking?”

“Wow, look at you. Yeah. Up in the midlands, Oadby, actually.”

“Really? And how’s that? Living there, I mean.”

“Dull. Very dull. Very boring. Not a lot of stuff going on up there. I wouldn’t recommend visiting. There isn’t much to do, the people are too nice to not be hiding anything, and most of the hotels have rats.”

“I’ll keep that in mind next time I’m going on holiday, ‘cuz that’s something teachers do so often.”

The comment earned him a little laugh and another one of those smiles, and something so simple shouldn’t have made him as happy as it was.

He was man enough to admit that he pretty things, attractive people. He was also man enough to admit that John happened to fall under this column. Which meant he was able to convince himself it was the mild adrenaline rush that came from making an attractive person laugh.

Like when he picked up women -or men, he wasn’t really picky- at bars and made them smile and laugh and blush.

Except for the fact that this was his new coworker, they were in a teacher’s lounge in a high school, and he didn’t have the intention of going home with him. Because that would be entirely unprofessional and he didn’t want to do it either.

Alright, maybe if the setting was different, he might. But that meant alcohol would be involved, as well as a location that was much more likely to foster raw, sexual attraction.

Seven in the morning in a break room in a high school packed with other teachers, crappy coffee, and assorted bread products was neither the time nor the place.

And it seemed that it wasn’t going to be much of an issue, just a passing thought.

Which it was.

For now at least.

Over the course of the following weeks, Roger found himself and John becoming more and more friendly. He’d begun to worm his way into his little friend group, clicking almost instantly with Freddie, and bonding over some science geek stuff with Brian. He fit in like the fourth piece to their puzzle.

It was nice, meeting someone who he worked with that was good for more than discussion on the woes of being a teacher.

Sure, he’d had Brian and Freddie before, but it was nice to have a third friend, and to no longer be the ‘baby’ of the group.

(Normally whenever it was brought up, he was quickly mention the fact that he was twenty-six years old now, but it was quickly dismissed in favor of making fun of him.)

And John, he had come to find, was actually a rather interesting person. He loved music, but he didn’t think he could sing, so he stuck to the instruments. Specifically the stringed sort. He apparently had a bass, an electric, an acoustic, and a rhythm guitar at home, as well as a keyboard. That he offered lessons to bring in some extra money and because it was something he enjoyed doing. That music was a passion of his, and he’d been into it since he was younger, fell in love with the records his father would bring home every once in a blue moon and found that that aspect of his story was similar to Roger’s.

He’d learned that he’d been a tinkerer ever since he could hold a screw driver. Making magic out of scraps by age ten, which could have been a profession on it’s own, but he’d fallen in love with teaching and had gotten his masters in that after getting his bachelor of science in electronics. That he was still a tinkerer and he would buy bits and pieces of this and that when his budget allowed to make little things and that he had never once called a repairman because he’d always been able to fix the issue himself. How he would fix neighbors broken down appliances for free just because he wanted to. He’d even offered to come look at Roger’s busted air conditioning unit sometime.

That he had a sister named Julie, that she was seventeen and was preparing for her A levels, that she was very bright and that he was a very proud big brother. That he was a mama’s boy, spoke to her every other day on the phone. That when he was growing up, he’d taken over the typical ‘man of the house’ role since his father passed when he was young, that he didn’t get all sad and weepy when talking about his dad, just got a nostalgic, fond look in his eyes. That he’d just gotten a puppy named Eleanor and a ferret named Robert. An odd combination, Roger thought, but who was he to judge when all he had were a few fish.

Needless to say, he’d learned a lot about him in the short span of time they’d known each other in and he found him to be rather intriguing.

They’d slowly become the sort of teachers that bothered each other during prep periods. John would come bug him when he was doing notes and Roger would throw popcorn at him when he was trying to teach. It was nice, he thought.

Roger had finally given in to John’s offers and invited him over to have a look at the air conditioner. It was much cheaper than calling an electrician and John had insisted he didn’t mind, so he’d decided it wasn’t such a bad idea. And he wasn’t sure how much longer he could deal with keeping all his windows open and using a fan in its place. He was becoming a baked potato in his own home.

When John had gotten there, they’d exchanged pleasantries before Roger had led him to the source of irritation and he’d gone straight to work.

The conversation kept up while John.. well, Roger wasn’t quite sure what it was he was doing, actually, but.. That was besides the point. He was fixing the stupid AC unit for him and now Roger wouldn’t die of heatstroke or something stupid like that.

He’d take a break every once in a while to have a drink and wipe the sweat off his forehead before diving back into his work. It was a nice almost silence they lapsed into, with an occasional joke, or comment, or John asking Roger to grab him a drink if he wouldn’t mind. It was certainly much better than the awkward work around that would be involved with a repairman and not nearly as expensive either.

It took a little while, but eventually Roger heard the familiar whir of the air conditioning unit kicking on.

“You’re a miracle worker, Deaks!”

“Ah, nah… just a fan that fell loose and some mixed up wires, is all. Nothing, really.”

“I could kiss you.”

He huffed out a laugh. “Think I’ll pass.”

“How can I repay you?”

“Oh, no, you don’t have to do that.”

“Well.. I can at least buy you dinner.”

“Well…”

“I’ll get takeaway and you and I can watch a movie.”

“Yeah. alright. Fine.”

“What catches your fancy tonight, Sir Deacon?”

“Sir?” He cocked an eyebrow at him.

“Just go with it.”

“Alright, well.. How does Chinese sound?”

“His highness shall be dining on the finest Asian cuisine tonight.”

“The finest, huh?”

“Or the cheapest.”

“Perfect.”

Roger ended up calling in to order the takeout and decided to let John find something for them to watch. He was mildly surprised when he plopped down on the couch and the TV was playing the opening credits to Peter Pan.

“A Disney man, huh?”

“Shut up. They’re good movies, believe it or not.”

“Okay, okay, okay, I won’t make fun of you. It just… you don’t seem the type.”

“Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.”

“Touché.”

“I am not often what meets the eye.”

“Is that so?”

“It is so.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, then.”

“Good.”

John ended up staying much later than Roger had thought he would. By the time he checked the clock, it was already half past ten. He opted not to say anything about it, though, because he did rather like John’s company. He had a good sense of humor and he liked to point out the flaws of and make fun of poorly made movies which Roger had discovered when they’d come across some old movie that seemed like it had a budget of forty dollars.

By now, though, they’d lulled into a comfortable silence like it had been before, only interjected by an occasional joke or comment.

By the time they got to the end of that movie, it was even later. Obviously. Because that’s how the flow of time worked. But it was late enough that Roger was tired, and by the looks of it, so was his company.

“I should get going.” He stretched his arms above his head. “Work tomorrow and all.”

“Stay.”

“Are you sure that’s-”

“I mean, here. Like… on the couch. It’s late, you’re tired, you shouldn’t be driving. We can carpool tomorrow.”

“I don’t have anything to wear.”

“You can borrow something of mine.”

“I don’t have a toothbrush or anything. I don’t think I’ll be borrowing that from you.”

“I’ve got an extra in the cupboard.”

John gave him a skeptical look and for a minute Roger was worried he was going to say no.

“Yeah, alright, fine.”

“Great. I’ll grab you a pillow, the blankets are next to the couch.” He gestured in the general direction they were in before going off to get a pillow from his bed.

John was doing something on his phone when he got back, presumably texting his neighbor, asking her to keep the dog overnight, something he’d heard him mumbling to himself about when he was walking away.

“Oi. Watch that,” He grumbled, setting the pillow down at the edge of the bed.

“I remind you that you are a guest here and I can kick you out at any moment.”

“Fine.” He plopped down on the couch, tugging the blanket over himself and folding up his knees to fit onto the couch.

“Goodnight, Mr. Deacon.”

“Goodnight, Mr. Taylor.”

When Roger got up at three in the morning to get a glass of water, he nearly jumped out of his skin at the body draped across his couch before remembering it was just John. As he was pouring his glass of water, he took note that when John wasn’t all curled into a ball, he was much too tall for the couch. Part of his legs hung over the edge of the couch, all the way up to his knees, and an arm was dangling over the side of the couch and he’d miraculously knocked the blanket off and into the middle of the room.

Without much thought, he bent down to scoop the blanket up and draped it over John, who made a soft, sleepy noise in response.

The… domestic nature of it all made something warm and fuzzy climb up his rib cage and wrap around his heart which startled him more than the thought of a stranger in his flat. He pushed them down quickly, going back to bed and leaving the untouched glass of water on the coffee table where he’d set it down earlier.

The next morning, Roger learned that you got places much faster when you used the carpool lane, and that John fancied cars nearly as much as he did,complaining about some of nicer cars that weren’t taken care of well as they took turns naming models and makes of the cars on the road.

(Which I will not be doing because while I am all for researching for things, I do not understand much about cars at all, and… yeah. No thank you. Sorry).

When they got to school together, Brian happened to be coming into the building as well, offering a raised eyebrow in regards to the fact that they’d obviously come to school together and the shirt John was wearing was one Roger had been wearing on Friday.

When they got into the break room, John went to get coffee and Brian cornered him.

“Please tell me you didn’t sleep with him.”

“Excuse me?”

“He’s wearing your clothes, Rog, and you carpooled.”

“I did not sleep with him. He came over to fix my air conditioner, stayed over too late and I let him sleep on the couch.”

“That’s all?”

“Jesus, Bri. I’m not stupid, that would be a bad idea, even I know that.”

“Okay, okay, fine.”

When John got back, he couldn’t help but think he certainly wouldn’t have minded if that happened.

And, yeah. Maybe he was a bit screwed.

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canyouhearthelight · 6 years ago

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The Miys, Ch. 27

A little tension in this chapter, but then again, given what’s going on, everyone is tense.

I have the story written through Chapter 36, after which I will start working in the new characters that were announced last night. I think, once we get through the next 3 chapters or so, that you’ll agree there is some need for them....

My conversation with Xiomara regarding Maverick’s eating habits – or lack thereof – was more exhausting than expected. Having never spent much of her life around anyone who was not neurotypical, her method of ‘handling’ us was essentially to foist us off on any willing person and trusting them to keep it out of her sight. On the opposite side of that, I had grown up the most neurotypical person in my family, and made an entire career out of getting the best results possible out of people who spent their entire lives being told they were less. After about five minutes, I started to worry my teeth were going to break from grinding them together so hard.

“Xiomara,” I growled. “You can’t just expect someone else to work with anyone you don’t understand. You get better results out of your people when you acknowledge your differences and leverage their strengths. That also means that you have to watch out for their weaknesses.”

She scoffed. “You don’t even use that word. Don’t you mean ‘opportunities for improvement’?” she asked snarkily.

“This isn’t a skillset he can work on, Xio! It makes absolute perfect sense in his mind to go days without food rather than asking for something he actually will eat!”

“He was in the military,” she ground out. “He’s had to just eat what was given to him before.”

“Yeah, he was,” I cried, exasperated. “I got his service medical records from Grey. Maverick was hospitalized fourteen times for malnutrition before he was given geriatric vitamins. His weight was dangerously low at nearly every medical appointment before he learned to essentially bloat himself with liquids before physicals so he wouldn’t be force-fed anymore. He could have killed himself with hyponatremia!” I held up a hand and took a few deep breaths to calm down. “Look, all I am asking is that you do not allow him to fly until he has Antoine Costa, Grey Hodenson, or myself confirm he has consumed the amount of calories he is going to be prescribed. That’s it!”

“Maverick is a grown man, and you want me to require a doctor’s note to let him do his job!? This is too much, even for you, Sophia,” she sighed. “He’s pretty much the only pilot we have who can maneuver the ship. We need him.”

I wracked my brain trying to figure out how to get through to her. “How many times have you ended a meeting in the middle of a sentence and sent me to my quarters with an escort because you knew I would keep working if you didn’t?”

“That’s different, you passed out. Twice. Right in my office.”

“Exactly. ‘You take care of everyone but yourself.’ That’s what you said, right?” She looked away, embarrassed. “And don’t think I don’t know that Tyche isn’t the only one siccing Zach on me with food six times a day. This is the same thing, just more serious. Maverick legitimately doesn’t know that it isn’t normal to go days or weeks without eating anything but vitamins and protein shakes. His entire life has been that way, because people refuse to understand him and try to make him into someone he isn’t. I don’t understand why you are being so stubborn about this! Honestly!”

“And I don’t understand why you are coddling a grown man who is a picky eater!”

Click. There it was.

“You think he’s just being a picky eater? Seriously?” I asked, struggling not to laugh. “Cheese and rice, Xiomara. Didn’t you hear him when I got in his face over how he talked about Derek? He’s autistic, Xio. Well, sorta. He has Asperger’s. This isn’t him being a ‘picky eater’, this is his soul trying to eject itself into another dimension because something is ‘wrong’. I’m going to make sure we have foods he can eat, you literally just have to tell him either ‘no’ or send him to get one of us to confirm he actually ate. That’s all.”

“Fine,” she relented, hands up. “I’ll enforce this, but I still don’t agree with it. However, you and Grey apparently think this is a major deal, at least if he’s being given a prescription to eat, so I’m going to defer to you two.”

“All I ask,” I confirmed placatingly. “When does he need to be here for relocation to Meenie?”

“Preferably within the hour, so we can get everything re-calibrated if we need to.”

“I’ll make sure he’s here, I promise. Antoine already went to get soup, since Maverick hasn’t eaten in at least the time we’ve been on this level. Since we had to scrap the food that was already here, Noah is going to pick up dinner early and test everything before we’re allowed to eat anything, so the migraines should stop and we can have coffee.” I wiggled my bottle of water at her in an attempt to change the subject to something less charged.

“Whoever did this was clever, I give them that,” she stretched her neck and huffed. “If the only two people who weren’t affected are also the only two who have documented reasons not to eat anything, that means they’re just as looped up as the rest of us.”

I nodded in agreement. “Harder to find the person drugging everyone if they look like a victim, too. It makes sense. That, and messing around with the sensors in such a major way: the corridors leading to the storage room from every possible direction, damaging the spare parts… do we think the same person damaged the ones already in place, too?”

She shrugged. “It’s possible. I’ve discussed the likelihood with Noah, and they say it may be the case. We have some information that I don’t feel comfortable discussing up here.” She looked meaningfully around the room, able to see nearly every single person present from where she stood.

I glanced around before shrugging and agreeing. “Okay, let me go find Arantxa so I can show her how to choose a menu. Apparently she feels she has done a poor job the last few days.”

“That was her?” Xiomara shuddered playfully, earlier hostility completely gone. “Help us, Sophie-Wan Kenobi, you’re our only hope.”

I threw my hands up. “Ugh! It wasn’t that bad!”

“Everything that comes from the consoles is vegetarian, Sophia, because all the proteins are synthetic. Yesterday was entirely unnecessary.”

“I never said it wasn’t, just that it could have been worse, okay?”

“If it had been worse, I would make her a suspect because clearly she would be trying to kill us,” Xiomara joked. I laughed before waving her off and heading back to the table that had been unofficially designated as being reserved for my staff and family. Arantxa was staring at her data screen, while Antoine and Tyche were encouraging Maverick to eat slowly and not drink straight from the bowl. Surprisingly, Derek had a bowl of miso soup in front of him, but with no tofu, which was explained when I noticed an awful lot of tofu in Maverick’s.

“You must really like tofu,” I joked at the pilot as I sat down.

He just shrugged. “I don’t mind it, but Derek apparently hates it, so I scooped all his into mine.”

I glanced at my sister, who just shook her head. “Maverick offered him some, and the second Derek wrinkled his nose, hot shot over there just went ‘Whoops, tofu’s squishy’, fished it all out, then handed it back and assured him the rest is broth. He seems to like it okay.”

<It’s okay,> Derek confirmed. <I like how it feels. Warm and smooth.>

Huh. Cool, another food Derek liked. “We can definitely have miso soup brought in more often, it’s a pretty popular food if I remember correctly.”

“It’s for breakfast,” I barely heard Maverick whisper. “Dad always had it for breakfast, but Auntie wouldn’t let me have any until I ate my rice and natto.” He started to tremble as tears rolled down his face. “I don’t like natto,” he gulped.

As smoothly as possible so I wouldn’t startle him, I stood up and circled around the table. “Hey,” I said softly, brushing the tears from his face. “I think the soup is salty enough, Maverick. You don’t want to add any more.” He sniffed and nodded his head, but tears kept coming. “Besides, I’ve tried natto, and I don’t blame you. It smells bad, the texture is gross, and it tastes like coffee with blue cheese added to it.”

“Oh you have got to be kidding me,” my sister exclaimed, looking faintly green.

Maverick shook his head and smiled slightly, rubbing his face. “It’s really gross, but I had to eat it because she said it was good for me.”

<You won’t make him eat that, will you?> Derek asked urgently, looking slightly panicked.

“Ew! No! I can’t even stand to be in the same room as the stuff, how would I force him to eat it?” I turned to Maverick. “No natto, I promise. You never have to eat it if you don’t want to. What about the rice? Was that good or bad?”

“No rice,” he whispered.

“Okay, no rice. That’s fine. I eat it a lot, but usually for lunch or dinner, and you don’t have to eat it either, that’s okay.” I was starting to feel like his issue with some foods had nothing to do with the texture, after watching a normally cocky loudmouth be reduced to tears at the mere concept of a specific meal. “We can still do miso soup with breakfast, if you like. And… crepes?” I glanced around at Antoine, my sister, and my friend for confirmation. “He likes savory crepes, Tych,” I told her.

“Ooo! Miso soup and savory crepes would be really good!” she lit up genuinely. “Maybe spinach and mushroom? That would pair well I think.” Antoine nodded in agreement, a thoughtful look on his face.

When Maverick nodded, I let out a breath I didn’t know I had been holding. “Okay, so we can start there for breakfast tomorrow. Different kinds of crepes, some savory, some sweet. Miso soup, scrambled and boiled eggs on the side, as many different cheeses as we can get while avoiding the pungent ones. Greens. Toast, butter, and we’ll figure out a selection of jams, although one should be lingonberry to go with the crepes. That should cover pretty much everyone. Teas, coffee, water, and juices.”

“The tomato sangria again?” my sister asked hopefully.

“Definitely,” I laughed.

Arantxa scrunched up her nose as she finished inputting the list. “This is all over the place. How does that all go together?”

I shook my head. “Right. I’m supposed to be actually teaching this, not just doing it. Sorry. Um, yeah. So, a lot of cultures eat vegetables with breakfast, and some people just don’t like sweet foods, so vegetables and savories. Other people really prefer sweets for breakfast, so sweet crepes, toast, jams and jellies. Most cultures like cheeses any time of day, so those are always a good idea when you’re planning a meal and need to fill it out some. Then the drinks: you almost always want to include that exact list of beverages, just make sure the juices compliment what you are serving overall. Since everything on that list is pretty ‘bright’ from a flavor perspective, which usually means ‘fresh’, the sangria will go well, but we’ll pick at least one non-citrus since some people aren’t fond of it. We still have to fine-tune it, picking out which crepes, which jams, all that stuff, but it’s a good basis.”

“I have to go,” Maverick interjected, tilting his bowl so both Antoine and I could see it was empty.

I nodded, and Antoine stood before I could. “I will take him to Xiomara so she knows he is cleared to fly,” he patted my shoulder. “You ladies focus on what we need to do to keep everyone calm. Derek, don’t forget you need to come make sure everything is still calibrated.” With that, all three of the men at the table headed off.

“How are we supposed to keep everyone calm?” I complained. “We don’t even know exactly what is going on. The sensors were damaged, the replacements destroyed…. Rants, did Derek and Zach ever figure out who messed with the sensors in the halls?”

She shook her head, dark hair flying. “Unfortunately not. All they could figure out is that whatever caused it wasn’t done all at once. When Derek tried to trace it backwards, he was led to over thirty different terminals total. He said something about either a group of people involved, or something called a ‘spoof’?”

“Someone spoofing the source,” I clarified, only half to her. “What about Miys? These are their systems we’re talking about, they have to be more familiar. Did they find anything different?”

She shook her head again. “They only confirmed what Derek and Zach found. All of them are waiting for records of who accessed those consoles from 24 hours before the first access occurred until 24 hours after so they can try to narrow down the list. But, if it’s a group, I don’t know if that will help.”

“Investigations have to start somewhere,” I sighed. “Tyche, anybody got too much downtime right now?”

“Just us,” she remarked wryly. “All of the pilots who were brought up here are either on rotation as drone pilots or navigators, with the exceptions being Maverick and Evan since they are actually the ones responsible for moving the boat until we can get everything back on line. Pranav and his assistant are taking twelve-hour turns keeping track of minute camera adjustments necessary to make sure Maverick and Evan still have the clearest field of vision, along with managing the rest of his department remotely. Xiomara and Grey are riding herd on the flight crew in back to back shifts while also looking into the investigation as much as possible from here. Their assistants are filling in for them on the day to day stuff. Eino is still running education remotely, with his assistant as support. Huynh and his assistant are overseeing the finishing of sleeping space and the permanent installation of the bathrooms, while also trying to coordinate the construction of the diving platforms in BioLab 2.”

I tilted my head back with a groan. “Which leaves us. I still need to update the ship on what happened with the drugs. Tych, I hate to ask, but can you start drafting that while I go over the breakfast menu with Rants? That way, while she is trying to set one up for lunch, she can pick your brain and I can broadcast the update, start answering questions, and Zach can isolate and loop each question I answer until we have some FAQs, just like Arantxa did last time. Is that good for everyone?” I got nods from both women, and took a deep breath. “Okay, let’s get started.”

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#the miys #scifi #humans are weird #original fiction #humans are space orcs #earth is space australia #aliens #apocalypse

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