#i'll still try to that one too though :3c

[hugs-and-stabbies]

woof woof woof🐶🐶♥♥

[soursherbat]

LAMB X BISHOP MASTERPOST YEAAAA!!!

(original template link)

this genuinely took me so long but i needed to explore my ship dynamics with ramzi and his bishops! more details under the cut if you want to know more- warning this post is LONG!!!:

[edit: i was obviously rlly sleep deprived while writing this so im editing it for better readability, including using more consistent pronouns for everyone bc reading it back this post. was very hard to parse 💀]

in order, just adding notes and addendums :3c im super sleep deprived so im trying my best but i need to yap about them

ramzi's pronouns are it/he/they!

narinder;

initially a very slow burn relationship, this sheet shows them at their peak. it takes a very long time for the lamb to forgive narinder, and vice versa, but once they're over their differences they're committed.

notes;

he/they for narinder :3c he's bisexual with a preference for masc presenting people! (using he/him for this post)

prefers to be the big spoon but will allow ramzi to take that spot if it really insists on it

reaallly loves to wear the lamb's fleeces and cloaks (the only clothing of theirs that will fit him) but is too proud to directly ask for them

narinder really does not like most people- the only ones he usually socializes with are ramzi and his siblings, possibly a follower he can tolerate for a few minutes. if ramzi is talking to others while narinder is shadowing him he tends to just flick his tail and sulk quietly until his lamb gives him attention again

narinder isn't great with words, he prefers to show ramzi his love with physical affection (in private) and acts of service, while ramzi is more than willing to shower narinder with loving words and acts of devotion

ramzi refuses to confess its feelings to narinder first, full stop. narinder waits and waits, but eventually gives in and tells ramzi how he feels first- ramzi is still feeling bitter and betrayed by narinder, not appreciating them snatching it from its peaceful death to be a tool in his games. they're both incredibly conflicted, it takes a long while for them to work their differences out. its not something that can be solved with a single conversation, but eventually they come to terms with everything that's happened and make amends

ramzi wouldn't actually squash the bug- it'd prefer to just grab it and take it out of whatever space its invaded, narinder will just smack it and be done with it

im just applying the driving one if i ever make a modern au lmfao

narinder cannot cook to save his damn life after being locked up for so long- ramzi had to learn quickly being raised by ratau, i'll be real i dont think that rat knows how to cook

that prickly cat would prefer not to show his love for the lamb in public, but he might sneak a kiss while no one is looking... ramzi however doesn't care, though it does like to fluster narinder a little by flirting while others are around

these two would kill for each other, narinder is practically begging the lamb to let him do so actually- nari is described as the lamb's shadow (affectionately) by most because of how often he's seen just following it around the cult. god help you if you confess your love to the lamb while he's around- though ramzi does get pretty jealous if it sees anyone making eyes at his special kitty...

nari is 4,000 years old virgin to me lmao. ramzi has had a few relationships before narinder, it actually marries shamura before nari- they're not beating the toxic yaoi allegations any time soon they were still battling their resentment around that time

i'll touch on the spicier dynamics in a dedicated post sometime >:3c that'll apply to the rest too-

i wouldn't describe narinder as being awkward, but moreso stoic and lost really. he's also just incredibly pissed off with ramzi, feeling robbed of his rightful status as a god and feeling jealous of everything its built for itself in such a small amount of time- later on he's more flustered than nervous or awkward because that damned lamb wont stop flirting with him

gods help you if narinder even sees you making eyes at the lamb. he's incredibly possessive over his former vessel, its perceived rejection of him made something in him snap and they want to possess it, even if he knows that's not exactly plausible... he's normal, i swear (<-lying) ramzi returns some of that energy, it really does not like followers flirting with its favorite cat- i'll be the first to admit that they've got some toxic codependency going on

-

leshy;

leshy uses any pronouns! he really just don't care that much, same with his sexuality (using he/him for simplicity for this post)

these two fight over who gets to be the big spoon, since they're nearly even in height (leshy tries to argue his branches make him taller) it makes it easier for them to trade big/little spoon positions- but theyre so competitive they end up wrestling over it

leshy can't even see the clothes he's wearing, but he likes the idea of ramzi matching with him, even if he won't directly admit that

ramzi is rarely called by name when leshy is around, it's always 'lambzi', 'lamby', 'cottonball', or any other seemingly sarcastic pet name he can come up with for it- meanwhile ramzi often calls him 'wiggler' or 'wormy'

compared to leshy, ramzi is a little less outgoing. leshy loves to be the center of attention, he loves to pull pranks and cause mischief whenever he can.

ramzi's quick to let leshy know he is loved through any means, though surprisingly leshy is a bit more inconspicuous about showing his affections for his lamb through old traditions it clearly has no clue about but leshy gets a bit of joy watching its confusion (shamura tells it later-)

these two have a pretty easygoing relationship, at first leshy is upset about his lost godhood but he quickly begins to like staying with the lamb when he learns how accommodating and, frankly, extremely chaotic it is- they get along very well and have a teasing, poking and earnestly soft relationship rather early on. leshy admits his feelings first, mainly getting fed up that ramzi hasnt confessed that it obviously likes him by that point

neither of them mind bugs, leshy actually likes them quite a bit. they'd prefer to catch and release rather than smash them

the poor worm is blind of course he cant cook!! he might be able to if he really focused on building muscle memory and focusing his senses but he's honestly just too lazy to bother, heket's cooking is better anyway

leshy doesn't care if anyone is looking, he loves his lamb! he gets a little embarrassed when they know its siblings are around, but she does get a kick out of knowing he's making narinder jealous

ramzi would lay down his life for his precious chaotic grub, it knows leshy is more than capable but it can't help but worry sometimes- leshy knows ramzi can handle itself so he's pretty relaxed about everything, unless ramzi comes home particularly hurt

i like to think leshy was a bachelor in his time... why not?? he's the bishop of chaos, im sure he's started a love triangle intentionally to watch them fight over him- ramzi however is a little less experienced in romance

leshy has not an ounce of awkwardness in his body, ramzi's a little awkward when he says something particularly unhinged but otherwise they match each other's freak a little too well

leshy would never admit to ramzi that the smell of anyone else stuck to his wool makes leshy a little jealous... another reason he likes to lend his clothes to ramzi, really-

-

heket;

she/they/he for heket, she's bisexual with a preference toward women (using she/her for simplicity on this post)

heket is the big spoon, no questions asked. she loves to cradle that lamb in her arms and it is NOT one to complain about that

heket doesnt lend out her clothes very often, but she likes to see how baggy they are on ramzi- she quite likes seeing it wake up wearing her shirts...

ramzi is incredibly formal with heket, usually referring to her by name or some honorific to show its respect (something she appreciates greatly)- meanwhile heket is always referring to the lamb by anything but its name, really

heket's level of social battery depends on the day, some days she would prefer not to speak to anyone, others she's more outgoing

heket shows her affection by making sure ramzi isn't overworking itself, making sure it's eating and sleeping- she knows it can care for itself, but she just wants to protect her lamb.

there's absolutely no way heket would swallow her pride and confess her brewing feelings for ramzi, she waits very patiently for it to finally get its nerve up and admit that it wants to pursue a relationship with her- after (mostly) healing her throat, she doesn't feel so lonely in the cult once her voice returns and she begins to feel conflicted about ramzi... she wants to hate him, but it's doing everything they can to help her siblings and she can't help but respect and admire it for that, she would admit that she would never consider it if she was still a god-

heket thinks bugs are cute, she'll either catch and release them or keep them in a little container for a bit (she's never beating the weird little sister allegations to me)

ramzi's cooking definitely is not as good as heket's, if it cooks a meal the whole cult is asking when it's heket's turn next LMAO-

PDA ruins heket's cool and stoic exterior in her eyes, though she can't just say that to the lamb- she'll gladly give it a hug or a kiss when nobody's looking, though

honestly, ramzi is just protective over all of the bishops. it feels terribly for killing them repeatedly and making them suffer in purgatory, and it never wants to see them suffer again- heket knows the lamb is strong, she's seen it with her own eyes. that doesn't stop her from worrying for it a little when it leaves on a crusade, however...

heket has some relationship experience, though its been a WHILE- forneus and ramzi are her most recent romantic endeavors and she's incredibly awkward about both of them

heket is insanely awkward, she tries to maintain a cool exterior but it's so hard when that damned lamb is so cute and that sweet cat mom is so kind and shaped- whats a woman to do in her situation??

she can get a little bit jealous if her buttons are pushed on the wrong day, but other than that ramzi and heket have a pretty open relationship

-

kallamar;

any pronouns for kallamar! though he/she are most preferred, she's very lax about his gender and loves to experiment (using he/she interchangeably, lamb is referred to by it/its for simplicity)

despite being nearly a full foot and a half taller than ramzi, kallamar loves to be its little spoon! he feels so safe in his lamb's embrace, she would never leave if it was possible

none of her clothes would fit the lamb, but he does have clothing made for it often! he'll be damned if he lets ramzi walk around looking anything less than presentable, even if its naked it must be TASTEFULLY naked- (though his definition of what that means is a bit nebulous. ramzi's convinced he just wants to ogle)

they love to make up pet names for each other, 'mari' and 'kallie' are ramzi's favorites to use for its precious husband. kallamar is particularly fond of calling ramzi his puppy, often flustering it-

kallamar is a YAPPER and she will not shut up about how much he loves her lamb! ramzi doesn't mind it, but she's often talking so much that it can't properly find the words to express it back- so it gives gifts often, knowing how much its wife loves to adorn himself in jewelry and silks!

ramzi is actually a little bit intimidated by kallamar's experience in love and how pretty he is, kallamar ends up making a very dramatic love confession in front of everyone, totally flustering ramzi (though it has to admit it really loves the dedication!)

he is TERRIFIED of bugs kallamar will shriek so loudly if she finds even a small beetle anywhere near her living space- ramzi often finds itself catching the little bugs while kallie screams bloody murder in the corner

kallamar absolutely can cook but he doesn't want the responsibility of cooking entire meals for the whole cult so she intentionally cooks like shit to avoid it- ramzi catches onto that pretty quickly though

these two need to get a ROOM the confessional is NOT to be used in that way!!!

kallamar's overprotective attitude mainly comes from a place of not wanting the lamb's image to be ruined, he'll tend to its makeup and wardrobe, even helping to enforce loyalty amongst its flock to keep its image pristine- and kallamar is just an easy bullying target, ramzi is Very quick to put an end to that!

kallamar is absolutely more experienced than ramzi, though he's no less dedicated to it. it makes their relationship very calm, there's very little tension between them!

ramzi is very awkward around kallamar at first, he's pretty indignant and a bit cruel to it during the first few weeks- once ramzi begins offering him gifts and praise she warms up rather quickly, however. ramzi's disarmingly cute appearance and dirty mouth tends to make kallamar a nervous mess sometimes, though...

there's not a single ounce of jealousy between these two 🧍‍♂️ they both understand that they're dedicated to one another, and can dedicate themselves to others without compromising their bond

-

shamura;

they/it for mura! i feel that they enjoy experimenting with their clothing in relation to their gender, but they prefer neutral pronouns (using they/them for mura and he/him for ramzi for readability)

these two take turns on who gets to be the big spoon, though usually shamura claims that spot

shamura loves to weave clothes for ramzi! they enjoy seeing his face light up when they incorporate designs ramzi has shown them that sheep often wore, wanting to keep that memory alive for him

they're pretty formal at first, but the two of them can't help but call each other by loving nicknames once they've become comfortable with each other- ramzi often calls shamura 'softie' or 'dearest'

shamura prefers to keep to themself, though they've grown rather attached to webber. they've basically adopted the little creature, that's their son...

once clarity has returned to shamura through ramzi's healing, they have a better grasp on their words- but they still struggle to word their feelings a lot of the time. they try their best, but they find it easier to give gifts or show their affections with physical intimacy when words fail them

shamura is incredibly paranoid and wary of ramzi's presence when they're first indoctrinated, until they finally break bread and reach an understanding, shamura doesn't even consider the lamb could feel anything but hatred and resentment toward them. they assume that he wants revenge, but learns that he just wants to help them- it takes a bit longer for the fear to truly leave shamura, but when they never feel that dagger in their back, they begin to soften he clearly isnt lying to them, he's helped all of their siblings become as happy as he can- and he asks nothing in return of them? it feels too good to be true, but they can't help but trust him eventually ramzi confesses first, and is initially (softly) rejected... but theyre not entirely opposed! mainly conflicted, for a while-

they both love bugs, obviously- though sometimes ramzi gets bitten while trying to show shamura the little spiders he's captured

shamura likes to cook but they prefer liquid only foods- it's not horrible, but sometimes they want more variety

shamura is a bit shy about their relationship with the lamb, they're the least experienced with this sort of thing out of all of the bishops- war and reason have no room for love and compassion, after all. they're learning, with ramzi's help

if someone even LOOKS at ramzi the wrong way, shamura is the first to come to the lamb's defense. both a form of devotion, claiming ramzi as their charge they'd guard with their life, and a form of facing their grief- they'd ended ramzi's life once, they don't want to see it hurt anymore

these two match each other's freak so well its scary- you dont wanna see what happens in the mating tent when these two are in there!!

after shamura's initial wariness and shortness with ramzi fades, they become incredibly shy and awkward- they don't know how to navigate all these new feelings, and they don't really know who to turn to for advice

shamura is very possessive of their lamb- they were the first to be wed by him, after all- not to mention i personally think them being a spider influences this quite a bit,

WOAW THATS IT!!! holy shit thats a lot of text.... anyway if u have any questions abt any of them or want more clarification feel free to send me asks i love to yap abt them all <3

oh boy im not looking forward to putting all the tags on this

[flowerakatsuka]

i may have gone too hard with one of kuroba's youkai au designs.

( this version of them is meant to be a katawaguruma. )

* rubbing my gay little hands together * there's been some interesting developments in both kuroba's youkai & denki mystery aus.

[stellamancer]

actually my niku ……. do you have any thoughts to share about your selfships’ midnight routines? :3c in general? like roast and nikooj and roadkill (and dead meat coughs coughs) and etc….. what do you do before bed? do they lull you to sleep? what would they do if you chose to sleep on the couch…..? pls share with the hungry mice 🐭🎤

MIDNIGHT... i am never up at that time what do you mean (pretends i was not up til 5am local time today).

to be perfectly honest, i am the absolute worst when it comes to following any sort of routine on my own. i literally space out on my computer for xx amount of hours, during which i will eat dinner, and then i will go to bed where i am on my phone for a little before actually going to sleep.

nikooj and roadkill are a little more... unstructured to say the least, with nikooj literally being like... there is almost no routine. which is hilarious when it's the only selfship where living together is part of the lore lmao. but you know what isn't? actually dating in full lmaooo. it's still in the will they or won't they phase. which. makes sense given, well you know (pretends i don't have a spicy comm of that). nikooj tends to be up later though, but i'm usually asleep first. gojo is a freak who watches me sleep. next question.

there's a little more... routine for roadkill because uramichi goes to the gym after he's done with work and he works untill i get off and he comes and gets me from work. he drinks less when i move in lmao, though i tell him it's fine if he still wants to drink. we take turns making dinner and then it's kind of parallel play situation til a bit before bed. i'm honestly surprised when i find out he has a simple skin care routine he does before bed (btw as MUCH as i like to think gojo has a routine himself, i think it's funnier if he just slaps water on his face and calls it good) and so i try to do one too. i have an easier time getting to sleep than uramichi does, like far more easy, so i'm usually lulling him to sleep. like i will hold his hand to help him feel at ease! i couldn't decide to go sleep on the couch. i fear he would spiral. but if i did i would be coming back very quickly and apologizing for it.

OKAY NOW FOR THE CONTROL FREAKS.

part of me is like where i the difference? but i think that suguru is less direct than sunday is about things.

so like, it's past what suguru thinks is an acceptable dinner time and he just gently taps my shoulder and smiles and asks if i've had dinner yet (he knows the answer) and pulls me from whatever i'm doing to eat dinner. subtly reminds me to get off the computer and go wash my face by closing the book he's reading and heading into the bedroom a bit before bedtime. i think honestly suguru has me trained like a dog or something.

it's about the same with sunday, except instead of asking if i've had dinner it's more 'it's getting late you should eat dinner' and coming into the bathroom to do the skincare routine with me (i sometimes do not take the proper amount of time). sunday will also make sure i put my phone away so i don't get sucked into being on it much later than i should. if i have trouble sleeping i'll ask him to yap about something. anything really. i like his voice. owo

anyway, it's laughable to think either of them would even allow me the thought of sleeping on the couch. even if i try to wait once they've fallen asleep, the second i try to get up there is an iron clad grip on my wrist. or. if they're suspecting it around my waist. T_T

i might make an excuse and try to lie about it and say i'm going to the bathroom... but suguru conceals a threat in his words when he tells me to not get lost and sunday will call me out on the lie.

[judesmoonbeauty]

merry christmas! 🎄🎁✨ can you brainrot a little (or a lot…?) about jude, nica, or both in the answer to this ask? :3c

Merry belated christmas anon! Thank you for such a sweet ask. There's spoilers involved, sooo....

˗ˏˋ 🍒 ˎˊ˗ As for Nica: Twice now he has said lines such as, "I've been raised right or I've had a good upbringing," and I've kinda like just given him the side-eye each time he's said that. Like "Uh-huh, okay, sure let's roll with that," but we all know that's not true or at least wasn't true for a time.

And with lore hints in the recent event of the twins being potentially abducted and used as test subjects for cursed experiments (most likely the victims of abuse too), I'm wondering if he says things like this to throw others off the trail about his past, is trying to convince himself that he had a good upbringing to cope with trauma; or IF Darius was the one that rescued the twins from that horrible place (assuming this is the case), could he be referring to the "upbringing" he would've received after being rescued?

....Or sadly, he is referring to potential domestic abuse as his "good upbringing"?

I'm very excited to learn more about the twins past, and to peer into that colder, more harsh side of Nica. (My weakness.) Still, I love watching his interactions with Kate overall, and love seeing him genuinely drop his guard with her and laugh as well. I think his route is going to be very good, from what I've seen of him so far.

˗ˏˋ⌛ˎˊ˗ As for Jude: A lot. I think about him 24/7, I'm obsessed. My mind jumps around with him so much that I can't even keep up lmao. Things like getting into bar fights with him, getting scolded by Victor along with him for doing something we shouldn't have, all the way to domestic life like dates, how would he interact with my tiny tiny nieces irl, curling up in bed together, having breakfast together, etc. But, um, I'll keep it brief....

His current election event story, there's this part where Jude mentions that he now that he's with Kate he doesn't feel as refreshed when he tramples down rotten nobles and such, and that it's only when he tortures and teases Kate, that he truly feels satisfied. This is HUGE. This is similar to what he says in his Halloween story.....all the feelings of satisfaction he gets from torturing others is nothing in comparison to satisfaction he gets from doing so with Kate. Of course, Jude absolutely curses (loves) and adores Kate!!

But now, I'm curious to know how his character will continue to develop going forward. Of course, that doesn't mean that Jude will stop getting revenge on others, or that others will stop seeking revenge on him. He is destined to die hating the world under this endless cycle of revenge, but how do I put this......does that mean in future events (depending on the setting), after Jude's taken care of his enemies, he will seek out Kate for some smexy "torture" sessions??? YES PLS.

It's not all about that though, I look forward to seeing more of their banter and his teasing her and spoiling her. Ugh....he's such a good boyfriend to her.

Overall, Jude has finally found happiness, and I can't wait to see how he continues to realize all the ways that Kate's presence is affecting him for the better. I think, regardless of who our faves are, it's so heart-warming to see them gain a measure of relief and happiness. Don't you? ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

[lunarleonardo]

So you write a lot of fanfiction uwu… but do you read any fic too? ;3c

Ik you don’t have public bookmarks but do you have any saiouma fic recommendations?? Can be whump or not but!! I’m curious!!/gen

Plus we need something to tide us over while we wait for new chapters!!/lh (its ok if not please don’t feel pressured to!!!!!)

I'll be honest... I don't know how bookmarks work. I never use them. I have a big google doc where I link every fic I enjoy and save stuff from there. I didn't know ao3 bookmarks could even Be private @_@;??? It took me like 30 minutes trying to figure out how to make a series. I feel like a 70 year old man using the internet for the first time trying to do anything on ao3

I went over some general fics I liked here, but Saiouma fics... qwq oohh ones that I enjoy are so difficult to find, much less LONGFICS like what I do. I started writing because whump was so agonizingly scarce in the Shuichi tag (i also have major character death filtered out so maybe thats why but still ( ￣-￣)). Umm let me check my library!!

ok so there's "a faith most particular" by defectivehero. It's 2k words, short and sweet and fluffy. It makes me laugh. I like the idea of Kokichi doing stupid nonsense like this. It's cute ^w^

There's this mer fic! It's called "A Song of Sacrifice" by SomeoneSpoopy. Kokichi is a siren! And he can't read. It's awesome B) I also love love love mer fics in general and speaking of mer fics

"Where the Music Meets the Ocean" by paris_23. I'll be one hundred percent honest I almost stopped reading this because I wasn't really clicking with their characterization at first, but then I reached the end of chapter 1 and fell in love. I love how Teruteru is there. I love the ending. I love how funny mental visual of Lifeguard Kokichi is. This fic is the reason I want to write a mer fic but struggle to because every idea I have comes from this (/pos). Worth the read, it made me feel nostalgic for a life I've never had

I think I mentioned Hoarding Humans on the last post... still one of my all time favorites. Okay here's another shorter one,, I reread it a lot when I'm in Stasis and it makes me feel better. Do mind the trigger warnings though, "Sleepless" by ToxicPineapple. Short and sweet and Shuichi trenches. Absolutely peak

I do NOT remember if I mentioned this one last time but I'll recommend it again cus it's that good, "Steps from Your Pulse" by A_Viscari. I like the whole "postgame Kokichi with claustrophobia" thing but this fic gave me a whole new perspective and I Looove it!! ♪ヽ(´▽｀)/

"you're in love and i'm unlucky" by Holy crap it's defectivehero again I didn't even notice O_O ok umm basically Shuichi is the one who falls into the floorboard like the absolute AMATEUR he is. I love caretaker!Kokichi so much I'm so insane over them

I skimmed through my entire library and that's.. kind of. all i have. q_q Other ones are either really old and thus kind of lacking in...grammatical correctness... also "shumai" causes me physical pain and i can only endure it in so many fics LOL. So I think I'm just picky ;_;

[lovelyhan]

SVT HARD HOUR

Maybe a SVT member and their partner are in a relationship where the rest of the members (and the world) thinks the SVT member is the lead in the relationship but in reality their partner is.

Like it’s really important for him to be seen as the lead so she let’s him be seen as it.

Partner is normally really relaxed about the teasing but one day he takes it too far where she whispered that if he keeps this up, he not gonna like where it’s heading.

He keeps pushing so the members learn who is really the lead.

Hahaha this was a lot more detailed then what I meant. I don’t really have a member in mind. I am gonna be happy with whoever you choose.

Sooo, have fun writing ✍️

@hwanghyunjinenthusiast also asked: Because I love you <3 Also going to try to switch it up lol.

Consider edging Mingyu. You know he'd get all whiney and desperately try to buck his hips up into you when you stay completely still on top of him. Massive hands needily grabbing at your hips. In an attempt to steady himself or encourage you to move, you're not sure.

It'd be so cute how teary-eyed he'd be. His big cock twitching inside of you incessantly but, he'd try his best to hold on. Because he wants to be good for you.

NEEDY — MINGYU

surprise surprise <3 i'm sifting through my inbox for old requests that have been gathering dust since may!! i've been missing mingyu a lot these days so here's a quick drabble :3c

tags: f!reader, sub!mingyu, smut (MINORS DNI)

"is it really such a big deal for you to be the one that calls the shots, gyu?"

a whine is caught in the back of your boyfriend's throat as you drag your finger across the swell of his adam's apple, pinning him in place with a disgruntled stare.

mingyu knows he's been a little...over the top today — making a show of bossing you around just to fool his friends into thinking he's the one that runs this relationship, or whatever bullshit patriarchal nonsense he's got brewing inside his head. normally, you would've played along with his need to be seen as anyone but the big pouty man-puppy he actually is.

however, after making a snide comment that made every one of the boys stare at you warily as if waiting for a violent reaction, you decide that you've had enough of mingyu's big scary dom roleplay.

"i'm better off making dinner for you in the kitchen, huh?" you narrow your eyes, forcing mingyu's chin up as you clench around his aching cock. "now what made you think that, gyu? did you really mean what you said? because i'll be really upset if you did."

"n-no, baby, i was just fooling around," mingyu pleads, large hands digging into your hips as he forces himself not to buck up into the warmth of your cunt. "you know the guys tease me enough as it is, so i was just trying to —"

"be a sexist little shit to your girlfriend?" you finish the rest of the sentence with a disappointed huff. "i know you were just trying to get the guys off your back, but i expected more from you, gyu.

"after all, we both know just how needy you are when i'm the one calling the shots."

he sniffles, tears glistening in his eyes. it's almost adorable. "i'm sorry, baby, i —"

the noise that rumbles in his chest is caught between a groan and a whimper when you lift yourself up on his lap before slamming back down with more force than you typically do. despite the frustration rolling off of you in waves, your boyfriend's big cock still does the job in stemming your irritation from his earlier antics, and with how eager mingyu is to be good for you, you suppose you can forgive him.

that doesn't mean you'll make things any easier for him though.

"if you're really sorry, you'll sit there like a good boy while i get myself off," you coo before establishing a languid pace — riding your boyfriend as you press your foreheads together while you drill every word into his head. "my puppy can do something as simple as that, right?"

"yes. i promise — i promise i'll be good," mingyu mewls adorably, the muscles of his thighs tensing from the sheer effort he's exerting to stay still. "f-fuck, your pussy's so warm, baby."

"i didn't give you permission to start running your mouth, now did i?"

it's hard to miss how his cock twitches inside you — clearly enjoying the way you put him in his place no matter how much he tells his friends otherwise. you simper before leaning down to nip at his lobe, purposely moaning into his ear as you repeatedly slam your hips back down on his.

"i'd tell you that your huge cock is all you're good for but i won't. you know why, gyu?" you whisper as you try not to lose yourself to the delicious stretch of his girth. "that's because i fucking love you. so i suggest — ah, fuck — for you to choose your words carefully next time. got it, puppy?"

despite sounding more and more breathless with each passing second, mingyu thinks it's hot that you're lecturing him while you fuck him into incoherence. he decides then and there that he doesn't give a shit if his friends find out how submissive he actually is — both in the bedroom and your relationship in general.

your big, beefy boyfriend is powerless against you after all.

"'m so close," mingyu sighs as you start kissing down his neck, nimble fingers gliding across his nipples for added stimulus. "wanna cum inside you, baby... can i?"

you don't respond right away — too caught up in chasing after your own pleasure to give him another thought. but mingyu doesn't mind because fuck. you look so sexy like this, tits bouncing with every downward stroke as his big cock batters your cunt.

but just when he's about to feel his orgasm boil over, you lift yourself off your boyfriend's cock. this earns you a desperate whine in protest from mingyu which you promptly shut up by tipping him backwards, forcing him flat on his back before positioning your sopping pussy over his face.

"you think you deserve it after that stunt you pulled?" you chuckle darkly, delighting in the way mingyu's big arms automatically wrap themselves around your thighs to hold you in place. "make me come on your face first, puppy. then i'll think about whether or not i want you to finish inside me tonight."

you'll let him. you'll always let him.

but the fun thing about being with mingyu is that he never really backs down from a challenge.

[madebysoupy]

What relationships are the lads apart of? Whether that be romantic, familial, or friendly?

EEEEEEEEEE HELLO SMILES!!!!!!

That's a good question! It's gonna be a long one, so strap in and continue under the cut!

Birdie has a big friend group, Groose and Pipit being particularly close friends of his. Zelda (Dove) is on another level entirely, his best friend in the whole world - and as of now they're not dating yet, but give them anither year or two

Additionally he was sorta raised by all of skyloft, so the older adults of the island definitely see him as their boy in some compacity. He doesn't see or feel much of a difference there though, it's normal to him

He's in the habit of calling everyone he meets a friend :]

Grasshopper doesn't have a lot of people in his life anymore at the time the comic takes place. Malon is a friend, Zelda (Prophet) he's not too sure how to feel about. Sometimes he sees them as a friend, sometimes he sees them as a or the source of his hurt. And all the family he had, namely Saria and Navi, he lost not too long ago.

I'm sure he'll find out that it's worth it to make friends with new people, but as of now he's too deep in the grief of all he's lost to look up and see that light :[

Her approval is so important to him, but he'll voluntarily walk the plank before he admits that!

Seagull has a great bond with his family of course, his little sister and his grandma mean the world to him. (so much so that he might tear up thinking about them, but you didn't hear that from me 🤫)

His friendship with Tetra is a little more complicated. He's really competitive, and stubbornly set on proving himself to her. Constantly showing off, trying so hard to impress her - he even threw his glasses into the sea after she made a joke about them (and cried about it later because granny gave him those.....)

Choo doesn't really have a family in the traditional sense, but a Link rarely does. Niko is like an uncle to him, and Alfonzo is like the much older brother who was already an adult and moved out before you were born.

Zelda (Boo) is a very close friend of his! They still get up to mischief together - or she still drags him into it. That's probably the relationship that's most surprising to see him in since he's so timid and quiet usually. Boo really knows how to get him out of his shell!

Wolfie used to have a tight knit community around himself, somewhat like Birdie. Uli and Rusl took care of him when he was a toddler and came to Ordon as a refugee from Hyrule. They're still family to him, and Colin is his little brother :]

Nowadays he works and lives in castletown, his closest friends are the stray cats that gather by the bar or sneak into the room Telma let's him pay off with work. Telma herself is like an aunt to him, if he had the guts to verbalize his feelings he technically could confide in her.

There's the regulars who he likes to chat with, and those he'd rather avoid. That fanclub is alive and well........

Even though they had a rocky start, he grew to really enjoy Midna's company and friendship during their adventure together. All things considered he's processed her leaving pretty well. He still thinks of her every once in a while, and in certain moments he really misses her and her quips.

And Ilia..? Oh, Ilia.... The reason he left in the first place........... I'll leave it at that :3c

Apple's closest relationship has to be his uncle. He went through hell just to get him back. He's his rock, always has been!

Apple is very friendly and easy to get along with, he can make friends with just about everyone. He's well liked in Kakariko (nowadays anyway), and he enjoys the community. Him and Zelda (Silk) are good friends as well, he's still invited for tea or festivities and the likes!

He's still working through Marin so let's leave that be for now

Wallflower has no family, but what else is new... With his prickly personality there's not a lot of people who'd stay through that - in fact there's just one, and that's Irene! At the moment they don't hang out often anymore, not like Wallflower's got any motivation for anything, but they used to be close and probably can be again - if he puts in any effort at all

Puzzle doesn't have a whole lot of people in his life that he'd consider close to him. There's Zelda (Peony) and Zelda I (Rosie) who, after the initial awkwardness, became good friends of his. He's definitely closer with Peony, having spent more time together.

Impa is very dear to him. He thinks of her as family, she's the closest he's ever had to one. If something were to happen to her it'd absolutely crush him.

Puzzle would like to make more friends, but finds it difficult as something about him seems to be off putting to people :[ as soon as he opens his mouth he gets nothing but weird looks

Sprout.... Well............

He was really good friends with Zelda (Thistle), at least until she got too busy to hang out anymore. He doesn't blame her, being the princess is a tough job. He'd be lying if he said he didn't miss her though.

Growing up he used to look up to his grandpa, and not only because he was a tall man. Under his loving care Sprout never felt like he was missing anything. And so the gap left after his passing is all the bigger...

I mentioned before that he buried himself in work after his grandfather passed away, he really didn't interact with anyone outside of work. You can imagine how that lead to a horrible case of social anxiety I'm sure :/

Natural consequence of that isolation being a lack of any meaningful relationships in his life, and he hasn't got a clue on how to change that

And finally

Squire's familial relationships are a mixed bag. His mother was a wonderful woman and the parent he looked up to the most, while his relationship with his father is rocky to say the least. While his mother passed away shortly after giving birth to his little sister Maritta he never blamed the little girl for it.

His sister means the world to him, and while away at training he writes her letters every single day.

He's a friendly little guy, however he's not well liked among his fellow trainees at all

His closest friend is his trusty steed Dandelion

And there you have it!! Went a little bit into the backstory of some of them

I'm not sure how much of their individual backstories will actually make it into latl, but in any case I definitely want to make little bonus pages out of them at some point!

As a bonus for making it this far I'll say again that three of the lads are actually related! I tried to imply it visually too by having them share a physical trait :3c

[crystalninjaphoenix]

Where Lightning Strikes

Fantasy Masks AU: Chapter Forty-Five

A JSE Fanfic

Believe it or not, we're actually getting pretty close to the end of this story. It didn't hit me personally until I started writing this chapter and then I was like "oh... wow." Crazy, right? I'll warn you now, this chapter ends on a cliffhanger because it got pretty long. Anyway, the five guys race out of the Wyldwood to warn the other Masked Phantoms about the King coming for them. A battle eventually breaks out. Wonder what'll happen next :3c Enjoy the chapter!

Previous Part | | From the Start | More AU | Read on AO3: CrystalNinjaPhoenix

Taglist: @brokentimewatch

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The group didn’t say a word as they traveled through the Wyldwood. Chase hardly noticed the changing scenery around them. Even as they passed through an area with bright orange fruit in the tree boughs, even as they hopped over a stream that whispered like a voice beneath them. Dead silence surrounded them as they hurried east as quickly as they could. They were all thinking the same thing. Worried about what would happen if they didn’t beat the King to the camp on the cliffs.

The sky slowly darkened into night, but they didn’t stop  like they usually did. They kept walking. Draco meowed at them, a whiny sound, and wove between their legs like he was trying to trip them up. They all tried to ignore him, but eventually Marvin stopped and sighed. “He’s trying to get us to rest for the night.”

“Should we, though?” Henrik asked. “We know that the King and his warriors have horses. We do not. If we rest for too long, they will beat us there.”

“But if we run ourselves into the ground, we won’t be able to help once we get there,” Jackie muttered. “Maybe we can... maybe we can keep going for a little bit?”

Chase nodded, and he saw Jameson do the same. They glanced at each other, identical nervous expressions on their faces. “Do you have any oracle clues that might help us, Jair?” Chase asked.

No, but I have a feeling, he replied.

“What sort of feeling?” Chase asked.

Jameson frowned. I don’t know. It’s just... Maybe I’m just nervous, and need to get there soon.

“You’re picturing all the things that could go wrong, aren’t you?” Marvin said. “Walking some more might take your mind off that.” He started forward, only to stumble. “Damn it, Draco! I couldn’t see you down there!” Draco meows another whiny meow in response.

“He is being very insistent,” Henrik chuckled.

Marvin bent down and scooped Draco up. “Sorry, fluffy boy. I promise we’ll stop to rest soon, but we need to get there as quickly as we can.”

“Let’s not walk for too long, though,” Chase said slowly. He glanced up towards the sky—or more specifically, the tree branches blocking out the sky. “It’s hard to tell how much time has passed with the sky not visible. It could be easy to stay up too late, especially since these glowing plants still provide enough light for us to see.”

“We’ll be careful,” Jackie said. “King Sam already got on me for pushing too hard. I can’t let him down.”

The group fell silent once again as they continued to walk. But eventually, the exhaustion of walking quickly all day caught up to them, and they had to stop to rest. “Just two more days,” Henrik said quietly. “If we move as soon as the light starts to appear through the trees, we might be able to shorten it to one and a half.”

They set up their usual watch shifts and then all tried to sleep. And though the anxiety of racing the King tried to keep them awake, the long day of action and movement had exhausted them, and they all fell asleep eventually.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day was more silence, more urgency. They almost didn’t have breakfast, since Marvin pointed out how they never got hungry while in the Wyldwood, but Henrik insisted that they at least eat a little. After all, they didn’t know if the lack of hunger was because they didn’t need food, or because the Wyldwood was simply suppressing the feeling. So they compromised on eating while they walked. The bread and dried meat they’d brought tasted like nothing in Chase’s mouth. Worse than nothing. It tasted like tree bark.

They didn’t have as much light as they wanted. It seemed that the sky was still cloudy, which they all took as a bad sign. But luckily, the little sunlight that made its way through was still enough to see, especially with the natural glow of the Wyldwood helping it out.

As they walked, Chase pulled out the piece of vellum with the banishment chant they’d come up with. He scanned the words over and over, then tested himself by closing his eyes and trying to recall them. He did this over and over again until the chant was engrained into his mind. Then he took a break. Then he tried to recall the chant, tested his knowledge against the written word, found that he’d been slightly off, and started reading the chant repeatedly again.

They sped up over the course of the day until they were almost running. Once they realized what they were doing, they slowed their pace down again to conserve energy... but then slowly started running again. That went in a cycle all day, until it started getting dark and they naturally went down to a walk so that they wouldn’t trip. Draco tried to block their way again, but Marvin grabbed him and carried him until they were ready to sleep.

“We’ll be there tomorrow for sure, won’t we?” Jackie said.

“Yes... if all goes well,” Marvin agreed.

Chase swallowed a lump in his throat. “What... what do we do if... if we’re not there in time?”

Don’t even bring that up! Jameson said, going pale.

“No, he is right,” Henrik said quietly. “Having hope is good, but if we do not prepare for everything, we will be too panicked.” His eye twitched slightly. “But we must not focus on the worst scenario too much. Th-this stress is... already making my symptoms worse.”

“Oh, really?” Chase blinked. “You seem to be handling it better than you did on the river ride to camp.”

“The mood soothing drink is helping,” Henrik muttered. “But... especially when I am up on watch at night...” He took a shaky breath. “But that is beside the point.”

“Hey, it’s always good to know when a friend needs something,” Jackie said. “And now we know that you need to be relatively... not stressed.”

“Not too much, though,” Henrik hurriedly said. “Because we must be prepared.”

Jameson took a deep breath. He nodded. If the King gets there before we do... he’ll no doubt wreak havoc on the camp. In that case, we can only do what we can to get people out of there and drive the warriors back. And keep ourselves safe, of course. I forgot to ask, but do we have a place to meet up with everyone if something goes wrong? Like how you all went to the Cliffs once Wyvernlair was attacked?

“Yes, we have a spot,” Jackie said. “We go north, to the base of the Dragonteeth Mountains.”

“That’s good to know.” Chase let out a sigh of relief. “So if worst comes to worst, we make our way north.”

“I think this is the best we can come up with right now,” Marvin said. “We can talk more tomorrow, after we’ve gotten some sleep.”

The others all muttered their agreement, then set up their watch shifts and tried to get some rest. Just like the night before, the exhaustion caused them to drift off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The clouds persisted into the morning of their seventh day. They seemed to hang even lower in the sky than previously. There was no conversation, only movement. Hurrying across the vivid green grass of the Wyldwood—

Until, about halfway through the morning, they reached the border. The hard line where the Wyldwood met the normal forest. The regular woods looked dull and colorless compared to the Wyldwood they’d spent two weeks walking through. Chase blinked wildly, feeling like the magical light of the glowing plants had imprinted onto his eyes, leaving streaks of an afterimage.

“Oh!” Marvin gasped. “It’s—it’s so strange to see.” He stopped momentarily, then rushed forward, following after Draco who was already running for the border. “Hey! Draco! Wait up!”

The others glanced at each other, then hurried after him. “We did manage to cut some time off the journey by staying up late,” Henrik muttered. “Now we only have to get out of the forest and towards the camp. That will not take too long.”

No time to waste! Jameson said, pushing himself forward.

Though they’d left behind the silence of the Wyldwood, the normal, nonmagical forest was still eerily silent. The quiet put Chase on edge once he realized what was happening. It was never good when the forest went quiet. It usually meant there were predators around. 

The sky was still cloudy, a lid of gray pressing down on the world. They ran faster and faster, gaining speed as they all worried about what was happening at camp.

Things started to look familiar. Then the trees began to thin. Then they burst out into the empty field around the cliffs, the salty smell of the sea slapping their faces. “There!” Jackie gasped, pointing. “Camp!”

The tents were set up, and they could see the movement of people going about their business. Everything looked... fine.

“No time to waste!” Henrik repeated Jameson’s words from earlier, and all of them ran forward.

A crowd gathered at the edge of camp, watching them approach. Some Phantoms called out friendly greetings, but they quickly fell silent, taking in the fear and urgency on the five’s faces. “Where are all the branch leaders?!” Jackie shouted as soon as they were in earshot. “Tell them to meet at the central tent! And everyone else—start packing! We have to move! We’e been discovered again!”

The crowd immediately sprung into action, scattering like birds at the sound of a bowstring snapping. Some of them ran off to their personal tents, preparing to gather their things. Others started shouting out for the leaders—Holly, Lukas, Tripp, Nemet, Anna. Chase ran up to the nearest person and grabbed them. “The kids,” he gasped, breathing heavily. “Where are they? A-are they okay?!”

“The two children? Oh, they’re fine, I’m sure... sir?” The Phantom glanced up at the antlers on Chase’s mask, confused at how they glinted in the faint sun coming through the clouds.

“Do you know where they are?” Chase insisted.

“No, sorry. Um, they’re your kids, right? Maybe check your tent?”

Chase nodded. He’d only spent one night in a tent in this camp, so he wasn’t quite sure where it was. But he was pretty sure it was out on the edge somewhere. He ran in the direction he thought was right, looking around, passing by people who were hurrying in the same direction. The news that they needed to leave was spreading quickly.

“Hey! Chase!” Someone suddenly grabbed his arm, pulling him to a stop. It was Vsevna, looking down at Chase with worry in his eyes—but Chase wasn’t his main concern. “You all are back, yes? Where is Henrik?”

“Uh... I-I don’t know, I think he went to the central tent,” Chase said.

Vsevna nodded. “Thank you.” He let go and hurried over towards the center of camp, easily dodging others coming the opposite way.

Chase kept going forward. “Amabel! Quentin!” He shouted, calling for them. “Amy! Quen! Where are you?! We need to go!” All these tents looked the same! “Amabel! Quentin! Where are you?!”

He was remembering another time he ran about looking for them. He remembered the flames, then the darkness of the forest. The frantic feeling. The bone-deep fear and panic as he went deeper and deeper into the trees. This wasn’t the same! This wasn’t the same! He knew they were here! He knew they were safe here somewhere! He just had to fight back the terror threatening to overtake him, latching onto him from the memories of that night—

“Dad?” One of the tent flaps opened up, and a small face peeked out.

“Quentin!” Chase skidded to a halt and ran over to him. “There you are! Is Amabel in there with you—yea, there she is.” He laughed as Amabel also poked her head out.

“What’s going on, Dad?” Amabel asked. “Is something wrong?”

Chase sighed. “Something went bad, but if we move fast, everything will be fine. Do you two have anything you need to pack up?”

“Um... I don’t think so?” Amabel said. “Just these bedrolls that these Phantoms gave us. Oh! And this!” She reached back into the tent and pulled out a small bow, perfectly sized for her—though honestly, a bit shoddily-made. “That Lukas guy found this for me!”

“Really? Hah, that’s nice of him.” Chase smiled slightly. “Alright, let’s roll up those bedrolls, then we have to get you all to safety. We’re heading north, the others should know where specifically.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Henrik!” Vsevna burst through the entrance to the central tent.

“Vsevna!” Henrik looked up, gasping. “You—what are you doing here?!”

“I wanted to see you, that is what I am doing here!” Vsevna said.

“O-oh.” Henrik blinked. “Well… thank you. I-I am fine, as you can see.”

Jackie, Marvin, Jameson, and Henrik were all busy trying to pack up everything kept in the central tent. Mostly maps and other bits of parchment and vellum. The other three looked over at Vsevna curiously. “Hey, Vsevna, have you seen any of the branch leaders on the way here?” Jackie asked.

“No,” Vsevna shook his head. “I am sorry. But I am sure they are on the way, I heard others shouting for them. Is there anything I can do to help while I am here?”

Actually, is your ship nearby? Jameson asked. Perhaps we can pack up things and send them there. Maybe people too.

“Great idea, Jair!” Marvin said.

Vsevna nodded. “The Serpent’s Wake can carry a lot of people in case of emergency. It will not be comfortable, but it will be better than the alternative. Are we all right to assume that the King’s warriors are on their way?”

“Not just them,” Henrik said. “But the King himself, too.”

Marvin lifted up the canvas edge of the tent and peered out. “It’s getting really dark out there for this time of day,” he muttered. “It looks like a storm is coming.”

“That gathered really quickly,” Jackie said nervously. “We have to hurry! Where in the world are the others?!”

As he asked that, another person hurried through the tent entrance. “Nemet is packing up the medical supplies,” Holly said as she approached. “She heard that we were moving and thought she should get a head start on that. Not sure about any of the others, though.”

Jackie cursed under his breath. “Well, hopefully they’re doing the same. We don’t know how much time we have before the King gets here. I’m betting not nearly as much as we’d like.”

Thunder rumbled across the sky, and a split second later light flashed through the canvas, bright enough to light everything up in detail. Vsevna inhaled sharply. “Everyone, out of the tent!”

Jameson looked confused. Why?

“No time to protest!” Henrik said. “Everyone get out!”

They all ran for the entrance, rushing out in confused hurry—

CRAKK!!

The sound split the air. Light flashed all around them, followed by a rush of heat. Burning rubble flew past them. Marvin yelped as a bit of it smacked against his shoulder, which he quickly pushed away. Smaller clumps of dirt from the ground pelted them as well. 

The central tent had been struck by lightning. Now it was burning.

“He’s close,” Marvin said quietly.

“All our records... gone,” Jackie whispered, staring at the bonfire before them.

Jameson shook his head. No time to mourn. We have to get out of here!

“R-right!” Jackie snapped himself out of it. “Abandon the camp! Just run! Try to get to the ship or run out north!”

“Jackie!” A voice shouted. The group turned to the side, looking in unison. Tripp was rushing forward, breathing heavily. “Oh, all the rest of you, too! A party of horses is approaching from the northeast. The forest is on fire behind them!”

“What?!” Henrik gasped.

Vsevna cursed heavily in a variety of languages. “Tell everyone to get down to the coast! To the ship!”

“The King,” Marvin whispered. “We have to hold him off so the rest of the Phantoms can escape.”

Jackie nodded, determined. “Henrik, Jameson, you direct everyone to the ship. Marvin, Tripp, Holly, let’s go stall these guys.”

Marvin and the other two nodded in unison, and the four of them ran forward, heading northeast. In the distance, there was an orange glow. The fire Tripp had mentioned.

Jameson looked at Henrik with worry. Do you know where Chase went?

“N-no, I saw him run off, but...” Henrik trailed off. 

I bet he’s looking for his kids, Jameson said. Do you know where they might be?

“The little ones have been spending a lot of time in one of the tents,” Vsevna said. “They have made a little home in there. I can show you the way?”

Jameson shook his head. Just tell me the way, I’ll go look for them. You two start shepherding people towards the ship!

Henrik and Vsevna glanced at each other, then both looked at Jameson and nodded. “Be safe,” Henrik said. Vsevna pointed in the direction he thought the children—and therefore Chase—would be.

Of course. Thank you. Jameson smiled, then ran off. He had a bad feeling about this... 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thunder crashed. Once, then twice, in rapid succession. “Whoa!” Chase gasped, watching as a bolt of white light flashed down from the heavens.

“Was that lightning?!” Quentin asked. “I-it was so close!” Amabel grabbed onto his hand, pushing him behind her protectively.

“It’ll be okay as long as we get out of here,” Chase assured them. But—that bolt had hit the direct center of camp. There might’ve been people caught in that blast. “Come on. We’re going north.” He grabbed Amabel’s hand and rushed forward. “Do you guys need me to carry you?”

“No, we can keep up, Dad!” Amabel said, and Quentin nodded, determined.

Chase nodded back. “Alright, if you’re sure.” He ran, though not as fast as he could have. He wanted to make sure he wouldn’t lose the two of them in the crowd.

“Dad! Look!” Quentin pointed. “Is that fire?”

“Huh?” Chase stalled for a moment. His eyes followed Quentin’s gesture—and he gasped. In the distance, he saw the forest—the forest they’d come from, the forest connected to the Wyldwood—glowing and casting smoke into the air. It was a small fire so far, but something like that would spread rapidly. “Damn it,” he cursed. “We have to circle around to the west.” When did that fire happen?! Was it caused by that first lightning strike? No, it was too big for that. The most likely explanation was that it was made by humans—and he knew what that meant.

Other Phantoms were running forward as well, trying to get out of camp, many of them carrying bags on their backs or from their shoulders, weapons in hand. Ready to flee, but also ready to attack any enemies they might run into. But... up ahead, others were running back into camp, shouting something. “Not that way!” “Horses on the horizon!” “Warriors bearing the royal crest!”

What?!

“D-Dad?” Quentin looked up at him with wide eyes. Amabel did too, though she was trying to keep a stiff upper lip.

“We—we go around,” Chase said. “This way.” He turned sharply right, pulling the kids along with him. Now they were heading directly west. Hopefully they could avoid the warriors, it didn’t seem like there were that many of them in the Wyldwood!

And yet, out in the distance, barely seen under the darkness of the thick, low-hanging clouds... a dark, morphing shape was quickly approaching. A rumbling sound approached, though this time it wasn’t thunder, merely a sound pretending to be it. Hoofbeats. Countless hoofbeats. There was no way. How were there this many warriors approaching?! Had there been others waiting outside the Wyldwood?

From the front of the dark shape of the horses, a zap of greenish lightning arched forward, soaring through the air in an instant and crashing down on one of the tents. Sparks and flames flew. Phantoms shouted in alarm. One of them who’d been caught a bit close to the blast patted their sleeves down, putting out fire that had grown from some of the sparks. “Stay close to me!” Chase shouted, pulling Quentin and Amabel near.

Another arch of lightning, hitting a different area of camp. That was the King, wasn’t it? It was him, and he wasn’t holding back.

Quentin was starting to lag behind, panting heavily. Chase leaned over and scooped him up into his arms, moving Amabel’s hand to hold onto his belt. “Don’t let go,” he said, and the family continued to run. The flames from the tents were spreading quickly to the other tents. Unnaturally so: the tents weren’t that close together. But nonetheless, the world around them was growing bright orange, smoke starting to fill the air. Quentin was coughing, burying his face in Chase’s shirt.

Soon—much too soon—the horses came into view, galloping towards the camp with no regard for the flames, or for the tents, or for the people. Some Phantoms stopped trying to flee and raised their weapons, planning to cut through the warriors. Chase’s stomach dropped. He began veering off course, veering to the south, trying to keep the kids safe from the coming horde for as long as possible. They had to watch out for the cliffs, though.

...the cliffs.

The forest on fire in the background.

The King’s arrival, both him and Chase in the same location.

Chase stumbled for a moment. No... was this... the moment? Was this the environment in Jameson’s vision? But—but—the children! They weren’t supposed to be here! He was supposed to keep them safe! He couldn’t confront the King now!

“Dad?” Amabel asked, worried.

“I’m fine,” he said quietly. “Come on.” They had to get away from—!

In an instant, the warriors were upon them, horses trampling the grass around them. Chase yelped and stopped short, pulling Amabel back just as a blade swiped through the air in front of her—aimed for Chase, but at the right height to slash across her face if he hadn’t acted quickly. He let out a shaky breath, and ran around one of the unburned tents, taking Amabel and Quentin with him, hiding from sight. As soon as the first wave of horses has cleared up, they’d bolt.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The warriors arrived quickly. By the time Marvin, Jackie, and the others reached the edge of camp, the horses were already upon them—and there were much more of them than expected! “What in the fucking world?!” Marvin cursed. “Where did they all come from?!”

“No time to worry about it!” Jackie drew his swords. “We have to delay them.”

“Aye.” Tripp cracked his knuckles. “Sorcerers! Sorcerers!” He shouted out to the other Phantoms, causing a couple to come rushing. “Let’s make this terrain difficult for these bastards!” He stomped on the ground, and the earth rumbled, spires of rock shooting into the air. One of the horses ran right into one, moving too fast to stop. The other sorcerers did similar things, making the ground rocky or soft and mire-like.

One of the warriors managed to break through the barrier. They swiped downwards at Jackie, but he quickly parried, deflecting the blade. Holly drew her own blade and stabbed upwards at the warrior, landing a glancing blow.

Marvin started throwing magic spells at the horses, conjuring up a shield at his back so that nobody could surprise him. Jackie ran forward, slashing wildly, aiming for the horses’ legs, keeping low so as to avoid sword slashes from above. Holly and Tripp joined in as well, attacking with their weapon and magic. “Try to hold a line!” Jackie shouted.

Other Phantoms, upon seeing their leaders fighting, were trying to do the same. The sorcerers were bending fire from the tents and throwing it in the warriors’ faces. Arrows began flying through the air, knocking warriors from their horses. It was hard to make out anything in the stark lighting. Everything was dark, the sun blocked from the sky, the firelight casting deep shadows. If it wasn’t for the way the white Phantom masks stood out, reflecting the light, it would’ve been difficult to tell who was friend and who was foe.

A warrior came rushing forward, leaping from their horse and shouting a battle cry as they brought an axe down on Marvin’s shield. Marvin cried out in pain as the shield shattered instantly. The warrior began to swing it around, but then an arrow—larger than normal—flew threw the air and pierced his back, knocking him down. “Marvin! Jackie!” Lukas shouted from somewhere in the crowd. “Where are the others who went to the forest?!”

Neither of them answered right away, immediately caught up in another fight each. Jackie kicked down a warrior then slammed the hilt of his sword against the back of their head, knocking them out. “Not sure about Jameson and Chase!” He shouted back. “Looking for the kids! Henrik and Vsevna are taking people down to the ocean!”

“The ocean?! Ah, the ship!”

“Yea!” Marvin ducked a swinging blade. Draco yowled and jumped at the warrior who attacked him, clawing at their face. “We’re buying people time to get there!”

“In that case, I’ll let Nemet know!” Another large arrow flew through the air,  then Lukas’s voice faded away. 

Marvin glanced around. He conjured up a rope of white magic—then lit it on fire. Perhaps not the best idea to add to the flames around them, but more and more warriors were pouring in, dismounting from horses that were either injured or unable to continue through the fire and magically-made obstacles. He had to do something! He took a deep breath, then let out a loud yell, spinning in a circle. The flaming rope whipped around, knocking over some warriors and forcing others to back up. Now that the space around him was clear, he ran forward. Towards Jackie, who was fighting off a pair of warriors. Marvin sent out a bolt of magic to help him, knocking one down. Jackie soon took care of the other, glancing back at Marvin. “Thanks,” he breathed.

“Where’s the King?” Marvin asked. “Have you seen him yet?!”

“No—I think he’s sending in the warriors first. But he’s definitely here. Most of these warriors are wearing helmets, and I’m pretty sure those ones are his inner circle.” Jackie deflected another swipe from a warrior passing by, running wildly through camp. He almost went after them, but saw that Holly was able to stop them easily. “Why?”

“Haven’t you noticed the lightning?” Marvin asked. “It’s green! That’s not normal! He’s burning down the camp, we have to stop him!”

Jackie nodded. “Of course. He’ll be hanging back. We’ll have to carve a path through the warriors to find him. Have a way to do that?”

Marvin bit his lip, thinking. Then he gestured for Draco to come closer. As soon as the cat was close enough, he pulled magic from his focus and wrapped it around Jackie, Draco, and himself. A bubble-like shield. “I’m pouring all my power into this now,” he said. “If we just charge forward, they won’t be able to stop us!” Indeed, an arrow bounced off the shield only a second after he said that.

“...worth a shot, I suppose,” Jackie said. “If we can make a path through the warriors, others can follow us.” He looked around at the Phantoms fighting, then whistled for attention. Many of them looked towards him, and Jackie pointed forward with his sword—northeast, the direction the warriors had come from. Then he looked at Marvin and nodded. “I trust you.”

For some reason, Marvin’s eyes got really watery. The acrid smoke must’ve been able to penetrate the shield. That must have been the reason. He nodded back at Jackie. “Let’s go.”

And with a loud battle cry, the two of them charged forward.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Everyone down! Be careful!” Henrik yelled, gesturing for people to hurry towards the path down the cliffs. The path was difficult enough under the best of circumstances, but now it was dark, and there were the unnerving sounds of battle all around them—shouts of pain and rage, clanking metal, heavy thuds, the rumbling of sorcery moving the earth. Everyone had to be extremely careful. But not too much. Otherwise, a bottleneck would quickly form.

Vsevna whistled, pulling aside one of the magic-wielders. After a series of quick questions, the magic-wielder began shooting lights into the air, flashing in a quick pattern. Henrik recognized that as ship signals. They were telling the crew on the Serpent’s Wake to send out boats. All of them. Now. 

“Vsevna, do you need your axe back?” Henrik suddenly asked.

“What?” Vsevna glanced at him, confused. “No, later! You may need it!”

“Right, r-right, silly question.” Henrik nodded. There was a high-pitched ringing in his ears. And beneath it... whispers. Very distracting whispers. He could swear that there were twice as many shadows in the crowd than there should be. Damn it! This was not the time for symptoms! He had to focus. “E-everyone! This way! This way!”

“Henrik!” A voice shouted. Henrik didn’t hear it at first—or, he did, but it blended into the ringing and whispering so much that he paid it no mind. “Henrik! Henrik!” A figure suddenly rushed at him!

Immediately, Henrik drew the axe from his back, planning to swing it—but then he realized who it was as they stopped nearby. “Nemet! There you are!”

Nemet nodded. She was holding an axe in one hand and dragging a box in another, all sorts of bags and boxes strapped to her body and rendering her silhouette unrecognizable. Behind her were a handful of others in a similar situation. “We rescued as many medical supplies as we could. Some doctors are staying to help fight and heal people. The rest of us are moving the supplies and getting the sick and injured to safety.”

“Yes, yes, of course!” Henrik nodded. “D-down the path. Be careful!” He stepped to the side. “They should be sending boats out any moment.”

Nemet gestured for others to go in front of her. Doctors accompanied the patients, helping them down the steep path. Some of these people had been injured or come down with an illness before the attack, but Henrik saw a handful with burns from the flames, many of them being half-carried. He swallowed a lump in his throat. “Nemet, go with them,” he said. “You have to keep this all organized.”

“You are the head doctor, Henrik!” Nemet pointed out. “You should go!”

“I cannot! Not while more injuries might come in! I must guide them! A-and I... I must know how the others are faring!”

Nemet shook her head stubbornly. “I can do that for you.”

“No, please, you get to safety!” Henrik’s voice cracked. He glanced at Vsevna. “Y-you too, Vsevna. Your crew will need you.”

“I cannot abandon you!” Vsevna insisted.

“You know you cannot abandon your ship, either! That is not what a captain does!” Henrik looked back and forth between them. “Both of you, get to safety. Please. I-I cannot...” He trailed off.

“You cannot lose us?” Vsevna asked... though it wasn’t a question meant to be answered. He already knew. “And do you think we want to lose you?”

Henrik started. “I-I—”

“Sova, do not think so lowly of yourself,” Vsevna whispered. “Your four friends will want you to be safe. And if you are to speak to me of my duty as a captain, I must remind you of your duty as this place’s head doctor. Nemet is right. You should go, you know the most and the others will all listen to you. They need you.”

Henrik hesitated. Then he took a deep breath. “Nemet, give me your supplies, I will carry them down.” His voice was so quiet that it was almost drowned out by the noise. Nemet knew what he said, though, and started unstrapping her bags and boxes. “Y-you look after the four of them, though. Promise me.”

“I promise, Henrik.” Nemet nodded. “Now get out of here. Vsevna will be down eventually.”

“I will,” Vsevna confirmed.

Henrik smiled at the two of them. Then, despite the nerves in his stomach, despite his heart screaming at him to stay, to make sure the others are safe, telling him that he had to go back, that he had to do something to make up for all his shortcomings... he started to walk down the path to the beach.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The initial wave of warriors had faded, but there were still so many of them. Chase didn’t dare leave the hiding place he’d found, in between the canvas folds of a half-fallen tent, to run out into the open. He couldn’t put his kids in danger like that. He had to protect them above all else!

But they were running out of time. The longer they lingered, the more risk of being discovered. Chase took a deep breath. No one was paying attention now. They had to go! “Now!” he whispered, and darted out into the open, holding Quentin tight to him. Amabel clung to his belt, keeping up easily for now, but he could hear her breathing becoming more and more ragged as they sprinted across the burning camp Ash and smoke filled the air. With the dark gray clouds in the sky, it was hard to tell what was going on, but Chase knew how to run in a straight line, and that was all they needed! He was sure they were approaching the west edge of camp now!

And then a figure rushed out of the smoke, swinging a large curved blade. Chase yelped and turned around, protecting Quentin but feeling the blade slice across his own back. He turned back to see a warrior pulling back the blade for a stab at him. Quickly, he ducked low to the ground, twisting away to protect Quentin again. Amabel cried out, then tackled the warrior’s legs. She was trying to knock him down, but the warrior was much too sturdy. All they did was stumble. They looked down at her and raised the blade—

“NOOO!” The scream leapt from Chase’s mouth like a living thing with a will of its own. He dropped Quentin and tackled the warrior. Again, they proved sturdy, but he was able to grab onto their wrist, twisting it and squeezing it until their hand spasmed and dropped the blade on their own. But then—something hit his stomach, knocking the breath out of him. He immediately fell to his knees, gasping for air. The warrior had punched him with their other hand. They quickly picked up their sword and then went for a stab aimed at Chase’s throat—

THUNK! An arrow sprouted from the warrior’s back. They stumbled, looking around. And at that moment, Amabel and Quentin attacked. Amabel picked up her little brother and threw him at the warrior. He hit their chest, arms wrapping around their throat. The weight of a small child being thrown was enough to finally knock down the now-distracted warrior.

A whistle pierced the air. Chase looked around for the source of it. Jameson! His bow was strung and out; he was the source of the arrow. Jameson gestured for the family to follow him. Chase nodded and quickly scooped up Quentin, throwing him over his shoulder and then picking up Amabel and holding her close to his chest. They both yelped as he did this, but he was already running towards Jameson.

They sprinted through a section of thick smoke and emerged on the other side coughing. But they must’ve gotten past the main conflict, because there was no one on this side of the smoke, and only a few tents. Yes! They’ve reached the edge of camp! But as Chase glanced around, he saw more horsebound riders, too close for comfort. They didn’t seem to have noticed anything yet, though, so he quickly put a tent between him and them, setting the kids down once there. Jameson hurried over. Are you all safe? Unhurt? he asked.

“We’re all fine, Jameson, thank you,” Chase said. “I-I have to get these kids to safety.”

“We’re fine, Dad,” Amabel said, though her face was pale as a sheet.

“This is no place for children your age,” Chase said firmly. “We’re going to head straight this way. It’s open, but it’s also dark, so hopefully they won’t notice if we move slowly enough and keep low to the ground. Hopefully, we’ll... w-we’ll get... away...” He trailed off slowly, that thought from earlier coming back to him.

“Dad?” Quentin tugged on Chase’s shirt. “Is everything okay?”

Chase? Jameson asked.

Chase took a deep breath and looked over at him. “Jameson... I have a question. This... situation. We’ve found ourselves in. Is it... familiar to you?”

Jameson tilted his head. What do you mean?

“The cliffs,” Chase said quietly. “The fire. The King being here. Is it... is it like your...?”

Jameson realized what Chase was asking. He gasped out loud, color draining from his face, and he looked back over his shoulder towards the conflict. For a moment, he was silent. Chase, he finally said. This... this might be it. No, I... I think you’re right. I think this is it.

Chase went pale. He shook his head. “No. N-no, it can’t be.”

Why not? Jameson asked.

“Because I can’t fight the King now!” Chase protested. “Not when I have my kids to look after!”

“Whoa! Dad, you’re going to fight the King?!” Amabel gasped.

“Well—I’m supposed to,” Chase said. “Jameson, he’s a—” He stopped, hesitating.

I see the future, Jameson said. And I know that your dad here can defeat the king. I’ve seen him do it, while on a cliff’s edge with a burning forest in the distance.

Quentin gasped. “Dad? Dad can do that?!”

“I...” Chase swallowed a lump in his throat. “No, I-I can’t.”

“Why not?” Quentin asked, confused. 

“Because I have to make sure you get to safety,” Chase said. “I’m your father. I need to protect you above all else.”

Amabel and Quentin glanced at each other, and then Amabel stepped forward. “If you defeat the King... Mom will go back to normal, right?” she asked.

Chase felt his stomach drop. “Well... I don’t... I-I think so?”

“And so will everyone else from home?” Amabel asked.

“Y-yea.”

“Then you have to do it, Dad,” she said firmly.

“Wh-what?!” Chase gasped. “I-I can’t just leave you out here! Not with warriors nearby.”

Jameson briefly put a hand on Chase’s shoulder. I’ll look after them, Chase.

“You don’t have to worry about us!” Quentin said. “If you defeat the bad guy, then all this will stop anyway!”

“That’s not—not exactly how it works,” Chase said slowly. “I-I think.” He wasn’t sure what would happen after the King was defeated. Would all his enchantments disappear? Or would they remain until Jack dispelled them?

...Jack...

Jack was still a prisoner in his own body. And he would continue to be... until that spirit was taken care of.

And everyone else—everyone who had been enchanted. The spirit would never release his hold on them willingly. They would remain under his spell until he was defeated.

And the enchanted warriors would continue to come after his family... after his children. 

Could he really defeat an evil spirit?

Well... there was only one way to find out, wasn’t there?

Chase took a deep breath. He looked at Jameson. “Protect them.”

Jameson nodded solemnly. I’ll guard them with my life. I swear. He bowed his head a little. Good luck. Make the future happen.

Chase gave him a wavering smile. “Don’t add pressure to it.” Then he looked at Amabel and Quentin. “I’ll be—I-I’ll try to be right back. You’re going to go out west. Keep to the coastline, with the ocean in sight. That way, I’ll know which direction to head to find you.”

“We won’t go too far, Dad,” Amabel said.

Jameson nodded. I’ll keep them within sight of the fire. While we were on the ship, I spotted  an outcropping of rock not too far from here, that will probably be a good place to wait.

“Rock outcropping. Got it.” Chase nodded. “I’ll... I’ll see you all soon.” He knelt down in front of the kids and wrapped them both in a tight hug. “I love you. So much.”

“We love you too, Dad!” Quentin said.

“Yeah, we love you!” Amabel agreed.

Chase closed his eyes, trying to seal this moment in his memory forever. The King had separated him from his family in the first place. That was what started all this. Now, he was being separated from them again. But he was doing it willingly. He was doing it... to end this. 

He opened his eyes again and stood up. He looked at Jameson. “I love you too... brother.”

Jameson blinked, surprised. Then he immediately started tearing up. And I love you as well, brother, he said, hands shaking. Good luck.

“Good luck.” Chase bowed his head. Jameson bowed his head back, then took the two kids by the hands and led them away, heading into the safety of darkness.

Chase watched them go for a moment. He saw Quentin glance back at him and wave, and he waved back. Amabel didn’t look. But he knew that didn’t mean she didn’t care. He waited until their figures started to blend into the shadows. Then he turned back around, to the smoke and the fire. He took a deep breath, covered his nose and mouth with his shirt, and plunged back into the smoke.

[fishermcn]

👤+ sam's parents :3c its his turn to yap!

@henosiis // a friend fondly met at the long-traveled crossroads, or a foe bitterly dashed against now bloodied stones? // accepting.

For the life of him, as sea-bitten and bitterly short that his dreams always promise him it'll be, Soot can't rightly recall the last time he's ever been so godsdamned content. There are fresh scrapes across his knuckles that are all but guaranteed to become scars by the way they ache whenever his grip on the bottle shifts, there are fresh horrors awaiting him on that endless sea and sky ever since they'd broken both storm and altar alongside the sea-sworn slain, and yet somehow it still feels as though he can finally breathe for the first time in bloody years.

Happiness is almost bizarre in the way it's hanging about his slight shoulders, as ill-fitting as a child's rain cloak on someone as worn down and wary as he. Yet there's no other way to describe how he's feeling in this moment, just listening to Liz speak more than she ever has during their time together over their pilfered bottles of absolutely dogshit grog. About the evening, about some of her scars and the things that wrought them, even about her mentor turned adopted da... Soot's been so taken with this disarming of herself that when it comes to an end with the finishing off of her bottle and a certain hoarseness to her voice (one that makes his guts squirm in a way he chalks up firmly to his own overindulgence to drink), there's nothing to do but speak up himself.

Anything to keep this moment of comfort, of something alive for a little while longer. To make the dream go on even a minute more.

Breaking into the quiet before it can fully settle, Soot takes a decent swallow from his own bottle before whistling and tossing it Liz's way with only a mild cough. "Josiah, Ruth." His throat aches from all the gabbing he's already done this late into the evening, and that's without including the havoc he'd probably wrecked on himself trying to roar out a shanty (singing, how long had it been since he'd last sang of all the damned things--!) amidst the raucous cheering and drunken revelry of the evening. "M'own parents, they were. Reared me up in Wrotbored. Quiet town on th'water, calm mostly. Peaceful."

Queen be damned. Been more than seventeen years and still he can remember some things about them so clearly. If it's a mistake bringing them up like that small part knotted up next to his fickle heart is insisting, then why does his mouth run away from him so quickly and so earnestly? "Da were a sulfur miner. Not a big man, suppose, but always seemed it. Had a face like carved from stone, seemed like, with bushy brows'n brown eyes good f'shutting up folks without needin' words. Strong hands too, calloused'n hard from picking all day." He's staring at his own stained hands now, wondering how they'd compare if held up to his if all those years between them were suddenly shed. "Used t'come home smellin' rank, covered head t'toe in yellow. Always late t'dinner, always tired..." Despite himself, Soot chuckles fondly, leaning back into a hay bale with a muffled whump. "Always smiled, though. Would wash up, give ma a quick twirl 'round th'kitchen 'fore chasin' me 'round th'house." With a pitched down tone, he rattles out a growl with an amused light crinkling his flinty eyes and a shake of a fist. "Run all ya like, tadpole, I'll catch ya all the same!" There's a grin, an honest-to-gods grin tugging at his thin lips as he lets his head settle against the hay bale with a wrinkled nose. "Never let them long shifts keep'm down. Made time for us both. Taught me t'fish on them days he weren't toiling away."

That drink-inspired cheer, that laughter and seemingly untapped well of life, seems to slowly drain from Soot's expression as the cough he'd no doubt been fighting back to say that piece of his at last wreaks havoc upon him. It's about a solid minute or three of shaking shoulders and wet hacking into a ratty sleeve of his garment before he can even catch a decent breath, and by then there's a far more familiar weariness to the lines of his face. Still, something fond crosses his grey gaze as he scratches idly at his jaw. "Ma weren't so different neither. Seamstress, she were. Could do ya up a pair o'breeches with cleaner stitches than any sod I've seen 'round these parts. Helped her out plenty back then, hauling 'round her rolls o'fabric or hauling off clothes'n linens 'round town." He blinks a few times, and it's plain to see that wherever he's looking is far and away from here and now. "Got her eyes, I did. Hair too, not quite th'same color though." There's a hoarseness in his throat too now, especially given Liz's attention on his person now even as he sighs. When had he taken a handful of his own hair, shaggy as it'd grown? "Smiled like th'sunrise, seemed. Weren't as old as da, but had them lines 'round her eyes from all her smiling. Had hands that were nicked'n marked from all them years poking herself but were still soft-like, poking m'face and getting me t'grin right along."

It costs Soot dearly, this. If not in how suddenly raw his throat feels and how much more hoarse he's become even before another hideous coughing fit ruthlessly seizes him, then in the yawning ache that's now woken up to begin savaging him from within his thin chest. How long buried they'd been, how out of mind, that the grief and loss of them both could still hurt him so keenly... "Seen them burns, yeah?" He doesn't think he needs to show them off, but the scars stretched across the upper planes of his back suddenly itch now that they've been mentioned. "Lost them both that same day. Same day I earned this cough'n this heart o'mine."

Too much, the sober part of him will no doubt scream upon waking the following morning, amidst the splitting headache and the gut-wrenching nausea accompanying the sunrise. You've shown too much of yourself, fucking fool that you are.

Tonight though, in this moment soon ending and dream soon woken from, Soot doesn't mind.

"Sounds like he were right about ya," he murmurs, eyes beginning to grow heavy. "Stenvarr. Wouldn't have made it this far without ya. Just hope mine are thinking 'bout me th'same way."

[senjuushi]

I'm in a comfort mood rn so how about master gently helping some boys of your choice through a panic attack? with copious amounts of cuddles and soft things after ofc

I'll pick some cute ones~ ;3c

. . .

Ghost

When he panics, Ghost tries to make himself disappear. Even if he trusts you enough to want comfort, he doesn't dare make even more of a burden of himself by asking for it. Still, he'll cling if you get close, hiding his face against your shoulder or chest because it's so painfully embarrassing to be seen when he's like this. You're a blessedly kind Master for going out of your way to comfort him, even when he's too overwhelmed and afraid to face it.

Arisaka

At first, Arisaka just seems confused that you're trying to comfort him at all. He tends not to notice a building panic attack until the dissociation hits, so it seems odd that Master is suddenly so concerned about him. When the panic properly kicks in, though, you're left with a limp, doll-like body to move around, blankly obedient to whatever you guide him to do. However, for some reason, being held in your lap makes him break down and cry.

Hachikyu

His immediate assumption is that you're going to punish him, or at the very least, make fun of him for acting so pathetic. Normally, Hachikyu can more or less contain his panic until he's alone, where it's safe to break down. It's hard to believe you're actually trying to comfort him— at least, it is until you're rubbing his back and assuring him he's not in trouble. The comfort is straight out of his most desperate fantasies of having someone who cares.

Muku

His panic attacks are sudden and violent, reducing him to little more than survival instincts and raw fear. He'll flinch away if you get too close, bracing for some imagined blow long before it comes. Just sitting with him helps— letting him hold your hand, guiding his fingers away when his attempts at muffling himself get too rough, and so on. When it's over, he'll be utterly exhausted, and even more pliant to whatever directions you give.

Like2

When he's in the middle of a panic attack, Like2 tends to lash out. He feels awful and uncute like that already, and the fear of being seen at his worst makes him want to push you away before that agonizing rejection can come. And yet, his prickly attitude falls apart as soon as you're holding him— once the opportunity for comfort is in front of him, he can't hold back. You're letting this happen, even offering it, so it's fine for him to be clingy, right?

[fonulyn]

Ohhh both those prompt lists you reblogged sound so good I had such trouble picking just one fjdska :'^) But, maybe for my beloved Nivannedy brainrot, I could ask for the Sleepy prompts 41, "Sleep. I'll keep you safe." :3c?

(for these!)

-

"How fucking long will it take for them to get here?" Piers asked, but despite his tangible frustration his voice was just tired, filled with the kind of exhaustion that he couldn't even begin to try to hide. His cheeks were burning up, his eyes glassy with the fever, and he hadn't been able to properly walk for hours now.

That was why they'd holed up in the safest place they'd come up with, Leon barricading the door after them, hoping with all his might nothing bigger was out there to attack them. It would hold lickers and run-of-the-mill zombies but if a very determined tyrant appeared from somewhere then it wouldn't be much of a hindrance.

"I wish I knew," Leon said, checking his gun. Three bullets. Fucking fantastic. Maybe Piers still had a few in his rifle but he was in no shape to actually use it. Guilt immediately washed through Leon. If he hadn't asked for backup, Piers wouldn't have been here, and his leg wouldn't look like fucking minced meat.

Piers inhaled sharply, leaning back against the wall. There wasn't much in the room except a couple of desks, nothing comfortable, not even a single pillow or something to make Piers feel a little better. Their last first aid spray had been used hours ago, so there was literally nothing except hope and good wishes.

"You should rest," Leon said, hating how his voice sounded. He was going to cry any second, and he couldn't, he wouldn't, he didn't have that luxury when Piers was the one nearly bleeding right next to him. If Leon knew anything about injuries he wasn't going to die from it but he might end up losing the leg.

"You need help," Piers argued. Yet when Leon sat down next to him, he let his head fall against Leon's shoulder, his eyes already closed. "You could just leave me here," he said, slurring his words a little. "Go find help. Get to safety."

"Bold of you to assume I'd ever leave you," Leon scoffed. "For better and for worse, right?" He slipped an arm around Piers, hugging him against his side. "Sleep. I'll keep you safe."

Piers made a sleepy sound. "Will you still love me when I'm one-legged, too?"

Leon was pretty sure it was a shitty attempt at a joke. He wasn't laughing, though. Instead he buried his face into Piers' hair, closing his eyes for a second. "Nothing in this world can stop me from loving you," he whispered, as if it was a secret, as if there was anyone there to hear them.

Next to him, Piers had slipped unconscious.

Leon stayed awake, counting seconds until help arrived.

[ambrosiagourmet]

i'd love your analysis and opinions of the lovely izutsumi (izutsumi) for the character meme :3c

Izutsumiiii~

First impression

Once again tbh my impression of her was formed from Fandom Osmosis before I actually encountered her. In this case: The Best Take on a Catgirl Ever

Impression now

Yeah hi this ask is what prompted me to write this post about my thoughts on Izutsumi's role in the story

Anyway in addition to that... I love her. I really appreciate how her trauma and coping mechanisms are handled, and I adore the Cat of it all. Some of my favorite panels are just the ones where Izutsumi is in the background doing cat things. She's got so much spirit and she grows so much and she's got so much future ahead of her... ahh... Izutsumi...

Favorite moment

I was going to say the entirety of the succubus fight, especially the two hearts bit. And that probably IS my favorite moment, but I'm going to highlight this detail instead bc it's easy to miss and so beloved:

She wipes their faces clean and gets her kitty hairs all over them....

Idea for a story

Hmmm... I mean really any kind of post-canon exploration of her would be so good. There are already at least a couple of good oneshots I've seen doing that, but honestly I'd love something LONG and just... about her figuring herself out. How she decides where to fit in, what she does with her relationships, what she does with her freedom.

I guess really what I'm thinking of is something that captures the "healing isn't linear" experience of trying to move on from as much trauma grief and isolation as Izutsumi has experienced. I think a story where she has room to backslide and move forward and fail and apologize and forgive herself and forgive the people around her... those ups and downs would be cool to see played out in full.

Unpopular opinion

??? She's kitty. We all are in agreement on this one, I think

Favorite relationship

Okay this is actually hard because on the surface level it's definitely of course her and Marcille. BUT... I have also been really enjoying revisiting tidbits of her and Senshi (especially the way he makes her food the chapter when she joins...), and I want to explore more of her and Laios too...

I'll still just stick with her and Marcille though, because they are very sweet and fun and good.

Favorite headcanon

I can't track it down right now, but there is a bonus comic doodle that's like "what was everyone doing at 13?" and Izutsumi's response is like. Pshh?? 13? That was four years ago how am I supposed to remember" and like. My girl has SO many trauma repressed memory issues. [Izutsumi voice] what to do mean you guys have clear memories before 15.

[x-v0id-x]

How would Kaito react if darling asked to see their friends and family?? (¯▿¯)

Like... The Stockholm syndrome is fully there, and they love Kaito!! Truly, they do!

But, um... They miss the people in their old life. What then? Would he consider letting darling out, even for just a little bit?

Ouuu I was prepared for this one :3c

<3 So..Kaito's plan worked, you love him and you both are living happily in.. well you don't quite know where, but you two are together and Kaito keeps you safe!

<3 When I say that Kaito has planned for every single possibility,, I mean every single possibility. This very situation was of course one of them.

<3 At first, there's the usual: You want to see your friends and/or family? Don't you know how dangerous that is? The reason he has you here is because he's been trying so hard to protect you. If you go out there he doesn't know what could happen to you.

<3 He might also be a little grumpy that you're thinking of other people and spending time with them ╥﹏╥

<3 He'd tell you no at first, explaining just how these bad people know your friends and family. They'd expect you to run to them soon. They'll find you and take you where no one, not even him, can find you. He's just trying to tell scare you about all the facts, somewhat hoping you'd let them go. You can have anything you want here! So long as that doesn't involve going out.

<3 But then he sees his darling's face fall, the sadness of knowing you may never get to see anyone you cared for for possibly a long, long time really gets to you. Kaito hates seeing it, but he can't risk you out. Not when you've already been reported as missing and he's been hiding all of his tracks flawlessly so far. Outside people can't be trusted with you, not even your friends and family. They'll take you away from him. He can't have that.

<3 Kaito would sigh, stroking your hair and give you a kiss, "Don't expect anything. I'm doing all of this for you." Your face falls a bit more, and he now presses his finger under your chin. "I'll see what I can do." Your face lights up, it's not that you don't love Kaito anymore, quite the opposite actually! You promised you'd come right back and be sure to be as careful as possible. "I said don't expect anything." That still didn't diminish your hopes, thought maybe that wasn't for the best.

<3 Then, some time after, Kaito came to you with an envelop. He told you for now it was too dangerous for you to be out with someone those bad men expect you to be with, but a way they can't quite track you,, is with letters. Phone calls or texts are traceable by those men, and Kaito didn't want to risk putting you in danger. Kaito gave you the letter, and it was by one of your family! It was in their handwriting and everything! They expressed their concern for you, but if you're safe that's all they care about, urging you to write back to them. Kaito would give you whatever you needed to make a letter back, and things followed from there!

<3 Your friends wrote to you, your family wrote to you, and they all responded when you'd write letters to them. Even if you wanted to see them, at least you could talk to them! Kaito was always helping deliver them back and forth, you were always grateful to him.

<3 Though one day.. you didn't get a letter back. Kaito went out to get the response but your friends and family hadn't written one yet.. it made you a little sad, but you had Kaito to spend time with! The letter only came a few days later than normal after all!

<3 But then this pattern kept getting.. worse. The letters wouldn't come for days, then weeks, then months. You would increasingly send more to try and remind them, and Kaito would always promise to talk to them, but they still didn't come. Kaito came in one day, seeming frustrated. More than usual. He held your hands while telling you your family and friends no longer wanted to write to you. They were tired of talking to you that way and were happy with wherever you were seeing as you seemed so happy there. Kaito told you he tried to insist but they wouldn't listen to him and insisted he leave.

<3 It felt horrible, you lost a lot of energy for that week. You missed them, even if you love the life you have now, it wasn't exactly the same. But Kaito still helped you. He'd bring you anything you needed and would lay down with you when you couldn't get up.

<3 But then you felt frustrated. How could they turn their back on you like that? it wasn't good for you to mourn over people who seemed to no longer care for you. Kaito promised that he'd always stay with you, regardless of what anyone else says.

<3 Slowly, you got better, and you worked towards putting everything behind you.

<3 It was good too, Kaito worked so hard to make sure he copied your friends and family's handwriting perfectly. It got a little tiring having to write those letters over and over again until they were perfect. <3

[ozmodai]

saw peridu in ur post abt ur first fantroll and got flashbacks lmfao I remember them being a pretty common sight in ur twitter gallery for a bit. of ur teals pyrroh is my fav tho...oh when the secretive one is a little :3....but on the topic of teals, can I ask what blood castes you like the most? are there any you feel have untapped potential regarding official/fantrolls :3c?

LOL MAN yeah. i still adore peridu, i'm just obsessed with my other teals and their story right now (especially pyrroh even though he's actually even a side character compared to rorzak and valtra).

my favorite caste is... SHOCKINGLY... teals!!!!!!!!!

i like the color a lot, i like a lot of the official tealbloods, i like trying to think of how they would cope in a system that locks them into one job that's basically "do or die" to uphold that corrupt system, et cetera. i think they have a lot going on to be explored more working within range of that restriction!!

after them, i can't help but also enjoy clowns and because of a buddy, i have a soft spot for jades as well. burgundies are also pretty awesome >:]

honestly, i like all of the castes but i do feel a sense of lacking motivation for olivebloods! they're sort of in limbo to me, not having a defined role for them like the other midbloods or being low enough on the hemospectrum that they'd struggle too hard within the empire, so it feels like they're sort of. free to do whatever! i wish there was more i could get from them outside of "cat", but maybe i'll get to explore more on that myself with my own alternian olives sometime

[tixdixl]

@twst-the-night-away on main here! What would your OCs (or one OC of your choice) think of Juniper? You seem to have taken an interest in my silly coyote :3c

AAAAA!! Hihi and thank you for this!! Yes, I really like Juniper- among others as well ^^~

So I gotta start off with Sefu. They're both freshmen. They're both Savannahclaw. But I think Sefu wouldn't mind Juniper too much, as long as she doesn't get too close to Leona. Her excitable canine energy can be... a lot, sure... but they're sure Juniper's energy could easily be redirected with a little... push. Sefu has a tendancy of taunting and being a bit sassy with other folks, especially if they believe themself to be superior, and I can see that potentially clashing with Juniper's vibe. The yandere is also VERY territorial and competitive, so if that's something Juniper pays any mind to, I can see that being a potential clash as well. That said, if Juniper DID try to befriend Sefu, I can't guarantee how that would go down, but it would be FASCINATING to see her try.

In a total change of pace, I think Vex would see Juniper's energy and would really want to get to know her. See, Vex hasn't had a lot of opportunities to meet and hang out with a lot of beastmen, so they are terminally curious about the differences between beastmen, between beastmen and humans, between beastmen and fae-- if Juniper is open to conversations, Vex has a lot of questions. And I'll apologize in advance if her questions are a bit misplaced. They were sheltered as a kid and are still learning what is/isnt okay to ask other folks.

Xiáng is a very go-with-the-flow kinda dude. He might take a minute to adjust to her energy, because of his curse and dissociation. But if he is able to retain any sort of grounding, I can definitely see him vibing with Juniper. He doesn't mind Jack- though that's a different convo for a different time- so a friend of Jack's is prolly good people. Prolly. Maybe. Perhaps.

I think Emil is a case of... if they were able to interact, I bet they'd probably get along. He is a very soft extrovert and it's difficult to piss him off on principle. The only difficulty I can forsee is the fact that Emil got banned from going to Savannahclaw? But if that's a non-issue, then yeah! I can definitely see them getting along!!

Hope these are okay!! And if you ever wanna expand/explore these any more, I'm so down. :D