#if you have ideas let me know uuuuugh

[pansexualkiba]

i swear the worst part of fakemon is coming up with names. i have the following pokemon concepts:

Beetle larvae that, depending on the Cavern it evolves in, gains a new stat setup and secondary type, kinda like Wormadam but less forgiving.

Small flying type that's literally just one of the Quimbaya artifacts with big cartoon eyes that floats around the "Starlight Caverns" (gemstone-laden cave biome that's hazardous to be in not from lack of oxygen but because some of those gems are spiders that produce fiberglass silk). the evil team thinks these guys are proof of ancient aliens but they literally aren't they're just Some Guys.

aforementioned fiberglass gem spiders, who outright just eat the little oopart guys.

A pokemon based on the Atlantic Tarpon, an ocean fish that's called the "silver king" because it looks full on metallic (like pictures do not do it justice, it looks like a hunk of metal in real life). the pokemon is essentially an artificial life form designed to withstand deep-sea pressures in the Ocean Caverns

Literally the entire Starter lines except for the final forms (Gullinheim, Hadaloch, Krakenthic)

and i can't come up WITH NAMES. it's insane because when i was doing my other fan region i literally did names before the rest of the concept for half of them this is so HARD-

[mj0702]

This one goes out to Monk... please let me know where to file it in the Sidelinelist♥️♥️

“Do I really have to go with you to Sweden?” you whined for the fifth time since dinner started

“Yes Bubs... All of us are going and...” Lucy sighed out

“Mapí isn't” you interrupted her quickly

“And you know there's absolutely ZERO chance that you'll stay here with Mapí for four days...” Ona pointed out sweetly as she got some more fried potatoes on her plate “.. and if you don't want to listen to us you'll listen to Alexia... or Keira”

“That's not fair!” you exclaimed

“Yeah well... you're underage and as your guardian I say you have to come with us... it's just four days anyway...” your sister said flatly

“It's Sweden” you pointed out upset

“Yes... beautiful country” Lucy said before stuffing some meat into her mouth

“It's DECEMBER” you exclaimed getting frustrated that Lucy apparently didn't get your point

“I'm well aware... look Bubs... we just have two games left this year... Rosengård and a home game then we have Christmas break and we'll go back to England for a few days okay” your sister said understanding your frustration but there was nothing she could do about it

“I don't want to go Sweden in December” you whined again Ona snorting quietly “... it's fucking freezing there... it's like... the north pole of Europe”

“Bubs...” Lucy groaned “... there's nothing I can do about it... you can stay in the Hotel if you want to but I won't leave you in Barcelona for four days without someone looking after you”

“Uuuuugh” you groaned loudly throwing up your arms

“Bebita... we'll make sure you stay warm okay” Ona chuckled at your dramatic demeanour

“If you make me run Batlle I make sure you flee the country within four days of being back in Spain” you grumbled standing up angrily

“We aren't done with dinner” your sister said “... sit your ass back down”

“I'm done” you yelled from the hallway stomping towards your room

“Y/n Tough...” Lucy started to yell now getting angry too until she felt Onas hand on her arm calming her down

“I'll talk to her later...” the blonde spaniard said softly “... she's at an age where's no fun to travel with your sister, her girlfriend and her sisters ex... and Alexia”

“I know...” your sister huffed “... but she can't just fuck off whenever she feels like it – I raised her better... Keira raised her better”

“She's 16 Luce...” Ona smiled “... of course she's revolting a bit... you need to keep a cool head and sit it out... she loves you but she's also a teenager”

“Sometimes it's so hard” Lucy sighed before yelling “STOP PLAYING BALL IN YOUR ROOM.... GO OUTSIDE!!!”

“I know... but we're in this together okay” the blonde grabbed her girlfriends hand “... and you have Keira as back-up... and Alexia and the whole Team.... she's very much loved and we all see how amazing you are with her – and it's okay if you need a break Luce... you have more than enough support so you can take that break whenever you need it”

“Hey Luce” you suddenly skitted around the corner interrupting the sweet moment your sister had with her girlfriend “Lucy Lucy Lucy Lucy Lucy Lucy”

“Yes??” Lucy looked at you expectantly

“I found a solution” you said happily

“I'm all ears” your sister looked at you with a blank face

“Jenni” you just said smiling at her hopefully

“Jenni??” Lucy asked confused

“Hermoso” you clarified

“Absolutely NOT” your sister exclaimed looking at you bewildered

“Why???” you asked annoyed

“I'm NOT putting you onto a 15 hour flight where you have at least ONE layover...” Lucy was still more than stunned “... not with you and your anxiety and lack of orientation while I fly into a complete different direction... absolutely not.. no... you can scratch that idea”

“I could take Mapí...” you tried again but the raised eyebrow from your sister told you everything you needed to know so you exclaimed upset “You're SO unfair... ugh... I hate you”

“Bebita” now Ona said in a scolding tone

“What?” you snapped

“Apologize... now” the spaniard said quickly

“You are not my mother” you sneered “... I don't...”

“I may not be your mother but this IS my house – my house my rules... we had this discussion before” Ona interrupted you quickly “You know you can basically do whatever you want but there are boundaries and rules... and even if you don't mean it and it's a heat of the moment thing... I won't accept you telling someone you hate them”

“M sorry Luce...” you grumbled ashamed standing there like a kid who got caught with their hand in a cookie jar “I just...”

“I know Bubs...” Lucy sighed “... I need you there okay... I need to know you're okay... I wouldn't be able to concentrate if you're on a flight to Mexico... I promise if you want you can visit Jenni start of next year okay... we'll find a way... just not... this time”

“Okay..” you said a little sad

“Come here Bubs” your sister said softly opened her arms

“Have to pack” you mumbled and Lucy knew you tried to get away from the situation because you felt guilty about what you said to her

“Can wait for another five minutes... come here” Lucy said softly but a little firmer

You slowly shuffled over and Lucy pulled you down into her lap

“It's all good Bubs...” your sister mumbled against your hair as you curled into her body “.... thank you for apologizing”

“It's the spaniards fault” you mumbled against Lucys shoulder which made your sister chuckle

“She can be quiet...” Lucy started

“... annoying” you provided

“... strict” your sister laughed lowly when her girlfriends head whipped around giving you two a shocked look

“Love you Luce” you mumbled feeling how your whole system relaxed

“Love you too Bubs” Lucy smiled pressing a soft kiss to your hairline

“BUBS!!!” your sister yelled down the hallway “ALEXIA IS HERE!!! GET YOUR ASS IN GEAR!!!!”

“I... where are my Air Pods??” you asked stressed running into the living room for the third time

“In your backpack.. come on” Ona calmly said holding up your shoes

“My tablet” you raced back into your room

“Bebita... I packed all your PED in the backpack... also all your devices are charged...” the spaniard said calmly stopping your running about by grabbing the back of your shirt “... now shoes and let's go”

“I'll freeze to death in just a shirt... I need me jacket... and me hat... Lucy can I wear my City skully... Pleeeeeeeease Lucy” you spoke a million miles an hour and both of the adults know it was your nerves

“Bubs... it has 20 degrees outside... you don't need a jacket and a woolly...” your sister stayed calm hoping it would calm you down too

“In freaking Sweden I will” you exclaimed trying to run off again getting another jacket

“We have everything packed okay... We packed two jacket for you AND Ona talked to the kit department to pack an extra too... we also got some Barca hats for you... different styles... you can choose..” Lucy explained after Ona held you back again “Shoes and off we go”

“Are you sure... I can take me City jacket...” you bit your lip distressed

“105% sure Bubs...” your sister said softly “We have blankets too... AND if you feel like it you can stay in the Hotel in bed”

“Okay...” you mumbled

“Good... now come on... I'm pretty sure Keira already got you that donut she promised you” your sister smiled and gently pushed you out of the door taking half the bags while Ona took the other half

“Lucy I'm bored” you whined lowly leaning over the aisle trying to wake your sister up “Lucy”

“Go to sleep Bubs” your sister mumbled still asleep herself

“But I'm bored” you whispered

“Close your eyes and sleep” Lucy mumbled again and you knew you wouldn't get far so you tried someone else

“Ona.... Ona” you whisper yelled

“Dorm Bebita” the blonde spaniard mumbled just like Lucy being asleep

“Ugh...” you rolled your eyes “... Keira... Keira I'm bored”

“Come here Bitsy...” Keira subconcussionly opened her arms inviting you in to lay down with her – perks of flying first class you guessed

“.... this is boring” you whined as you climbed over Aitanas sleeping frame to lay down with Keira

“Ssssshhhh Bits...” the englishwoman hushed you gently “... relax...”

“But that's so boring...” you whined right next to Keiras ear

“What do you want to do Bits?” Keira sighed knowing you wouldn't settle anytime soon

“I don't know... this sucks” you grumbled

“Can you tell me what you feel right now?” the blonde spoke lowly not to wake any teammates

“It's boring... and my body is all icky” you said not even able to keep your feet still

“I know being stuck on a plane for eight hours plus isn't ideal for you but we can't do anything right now....” Keira sighed – she knew there was a possibility that your need for movement would kick in and it could've turn into a eight hour flight of hell but she hoped the opposite would be the case but since there was no time to power you out before the team headed for the airport she knew the chance of a calm relaxing flight was about zero

“I hate this flight” you grumbled as Keira tried to calm you down by scratching your neck and baby hairs lightly

“I know Bebita...” the englishwoman said softly “... I know.... just relax okay...”

“I can't...” you whined and started to wriggle around kicking Aitana by accident who shot into a sitting position scared out of her mind swearing loudly in spanish waking up half the team by default

“M sorry” you said shyly when half the teams eyes where on you – Lucy kept on snoring of course subconcussionly knowing Keira was there looking after you

“What happened?” Alexia asked blinking a few times

“She kickeded me...” Aitana exclaimed “out of nothing”

“I didn't mean to” you said ashamed starting to fidget with your finger “los silence Tana”

“First... lo siento” Alexia rolled her eyes “... and secondly... what you mean you didn't mean to kick Aitana”

“It's her ADHD....” Keira said trying to stop your fidgeting by gently taking your hands in hers “... being locked in a confined space for hours makes her fidget-y and squirm-y... she just needs to run it out but... plane...”

“Oh...” Alexia looked surprised and confused “... I didn't know she has..”

“ADHD? Yeah... not something she parades around.. nor do we... we got it under control with the medication and regularly exercise and even if she'll never admit it even meditation helps since it gives her something to focus on” the blonde englishwoman said as you squirmed in her arms kicking Aitana a second time

“I'm sorry...” Alexia said a little lost

“What for... she still is the same amazing person.. she's still y/n Bronze...” Keira smiled when you finally settled your attention on Keiras hands more specific her rings

“How can we help?” Alexia asked as she watched you with a fond smile on her face

“Treat her normally....” the blonde englishwoman shrugged her shoulders “Bitsy... you need to get back to your seat... we're going to land soon”

“But Keiraaaaaa” you whined

“I know... we can walk around a little as soon as we are at the hotel okay” Keira spoke softly

“Can I wake Lucy up??” you suddenly perked up

“Don't break her... we have a Champions League game in two days” the blonde said firmly

“I mean... she doesn't need her nose for playing” you grinned

“No Bitsy...” Keira warned you immediately catching on what your plan was “... wake her up like a normal person”

“Aw maaaan...” you whined

“Bubs... come on.. we can kick around a little if you want” Lucy yelled over wearing her warm up kit with gloves scarf and a hat

You didn't even bother to respond just bringing your hand out under the four blankets to flip her off before your hand quickly disappeared under the multiple layers again

“Vamos Cari... it'll warm you up a bit” Alexia jogged passed and your only action was to sink deeper into the seat pulling the blankets up over your nose

“You want a hot water bottle Bits?” Keira now ask crouching down in front of your seat rubbing her hands over your covered knees

“Yeah please” you mumbled out from under your blankets

“What happened to you?? You're english...” your sister teased you stopping next to Keira taking a sip of tea out of her bottle

“I'm Scottish” you grumbled “... not scandinavianish”

“It's not THAT cold Bubs” Lucy rolled her eye a little

“There was snow this morning Lucy... SNOW” you exclaimed just as Keira shoved a hot water bottle between your body and the blankets “Tweedledee and Tweedledumb might have been happy never have seen snow before but you and I know... when there's snow it's FREEZING... literally FREEZING”

“You wanna go back to the hotel? I can ask someone from the staff...” your sister said softly feeling you didn't exaggerate

“No...” you grumbled “... want cuddles”

“Let me get changed and then we cuddle okay?” Lucy pushed your Barca woolly heat over your eyes before disappearing into the tunnel

“Oy Swedish ref... could you please make some sensible decisions!!!!” you yelled as you shot off Lucys lap “... your monarchy makes the right decision so why can't you???”

“Bubs” Lucy said her voice strained as she pulled you back into the seat next to her “... you can't just yell at the ref”

“Oh but I can... especially when she makes stupid decisions” you shrugged your shoulders “OY!! YOU REALLY WANT TO TEST ME PATIENCE EH??!!!!”

“Okay... you said enough...” your sister slapped her hand over your mouth when the ref send you a angry glare

“youknowI'mrightshe'sbloodyshit” you said your voice muffled by Lucys hand

“Plan was actually that I come on second half but I'll talk to Jona that I can't... you're too.... you today” Lucy said but felt how you started to calm down again

“Alexia..” Lucy jogged after her capitan while you chased after Piña laughing loudly

“Sí?” the blonde spaniard stopped at the tunnel entrance

“If Jona still wants to put me on... can you have an eye on Bubs? She's a little... aggressive today” your sister rubbed your neck

“Of course... and I think whole Malmö heard her today...” Alexia chuckled before she looked out on the pitch “... Claudia Piña!! Stop running the Cariño over!! You are a professional!!”

“Ella ho va començar!!!!” Piña yelled back pouting a little

“No m'importa, atura-ho!!!” Alexia yelled and pointed down the hallway “Vamos!”

You laughed loudly when Piña trotted past her capitan quickly her head hung low – your laugh died in your throat when Alexia looked expectantly at you

“tu també!” the capitan nodded her head towards the locker room

“I didn't do anything!!!” you yelled from the kick off point

“VAMOS!” Alexia yelled and pointed towards the tunnel and you quickly trotted towards her

“Are you okay Cari?” Alexia asked for the twenties time 15 minutes into second half

“It's cold...” you whimpered pulling another blanket over the five already covering you

“Oh Cariño...” the blonde sighed “... come here”

“I don't wanna move” you mumbled under your blankets wearing two sweaters and a jacket already

“Here” Alexia said pulling off her own jacket helping you putting it on

“But now you're cold” you said bewildered but Alexia just smiled

“It's okay.... don't want you to get sick” the blonde smiled

“Gracias La Reina” you smirked knowing she hates that nickname

“Carful Princesa... I can make you run laps” Alexia said flatly raising an eyebrow in your direction

She didn't know now – but this jacket would be your most treasured object and many years later you would tell your niece about how the legendary La Reina got a cold just before Christmas because she gave teenage you her Barcelona jacket

[aealzx]

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Prologue | AO3

Previous Next

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“So… why did you volunteer yourself?” Stephanie asked once the other three had left, watching Jason move to sit on the floor and lean against the wall next to Jazz while Leslie gave her a check up as well.

“...In case any of the kids were up for ungluing themselves from each other long enough to take a shower,” Jason responded as though it were obvious. He actually still had questions he wanted to ask, but the offer for a shower was still an option.

“Wait, you have a shower here?” Tucker’s interest was immediately piqued, head snapping over to look at Jason.

“Dibs,” Sam spoke quickly, raising her hand halfway once more.

The claim for the first shower caused Tucker to gasp, head snapping over to stare at his friend in utter betrayal. “SAM! How could you!” he gaped.

Sam just met his gaze with a neutral stare, not lowering her hand. “Dibs,” she repeated, earning a snicker from Stephanie. None of them could blame the kids for wanting a proper shower, it wasn’t like there had been running water in the abandoned apartment complex they’d been staying in. The entire plate of burritos Stephanie had brought in was also already gone, so they also knew the kids were ready for actual meals again.

“Okay, let me just get the blinds pulled over the windows outside this room, and then I’ll come back to get you for a shower,” Stephanie agreed, amused, but also looked over to Jazz to double check. “If that’s alright with you. I don’t think you’d all fit in there, and I’d rather not move Danny.”

The idea of them being out of sight made Jazz anxious, but she could also understand their want for a good shower. She wanted one too. Baby wipes and rain water could only do so much for them trying to keep everything clean. Danny may have been in some sort of stasis, but they’d still tried to keep the environment around him clean considering he had open wounds. Everyone that was there was being a lot nicer than she first thought they would be though, the unmet expectations were making it hard for her to react quickly. It wasn’t that they made her think they were trying to get them to let their guard down. Jason and Damian had been way too blunt for her to believe that they were trying to be manipulative. Or if they were, they really sucked at it. It was just too unexpected right then. “...Okay,” Jazz agreed, wincing slightly as Leslie dabbed an alcohol swab on a small cut on her arm.

“Yessss,” Sam cheered, earning a small laugh from Danielle as Stephanie left the room to get the windows covered. This was one safehouse that they could relocate if needed, but would rather not have to do so if they could help it. So anything they could do to keep their guests from knowing where it was located was necessary.

And since they had somewhat brought up the topic of reestablishing rules and boundaries, Jazz looked over to Danielle to make sure she understood what was expected before an incident came up. “Dani, can you stay in your human form unless someone needs protection? And stay visible, don’t phase through anything, and no overshadowing. Don’t give them a reason to kick us out by snooping, okay?”

Danielle hadn’t been expecting to essentially be told she was grounded to her room, but a room other than her own, and let out an annoyed groan. “Uuuuugh, fiiine,” she dragged out, shifting forms again and sagging in theatrics. “Just don’t let me get bored,” she pushed, reminding them that Dick had loosely promised to bring them things, and then also added for good measure, “And I’m only going to behave as long as you guys actually help Danny. Got it?”

It was a fair enough trade, and Cass gave a simple thumbs up at the demand. It was too soon to tell how much help they would be for Danny, but they were still a much better resource than being homeless and broke. The Phantom kids seemed to be willing to at least try to let them help at least.

“I think we have some cards somewhere around here. Maybe a board game or two. If not we’ll bring some with the food,” Jason commented, not wanting the kids to get too bored either. There were all kinds of messes caused simply because a teenager was looking for entertainment. And maybe playing some games with them would help them loosen up. 

“Do you have any comics?” Danielle then asked. The games sounded promising, but comics were always nice too for when she had no one to play with.

“...We’ll see,” Jason half agreed, grinning slightly. At least the youngest knew what she liked.

“I’ll take it,” Danielle hummed, leaning back on both hands and kicking her legs slightly as Stephanie returned to beckon Sam to follow her.

“Don’t steal all the hot water!” Tucker called after them as they left the room, despair saturating his tone.

“That’s why I’m going first. You’re the one that takes forever,” Sam retorted, waving her hand dismissively without turning back. It earned a few more snickers before the group left behind settled into a semi uncertain quiet, both from exhaustion and simply not knowing what to talk about with the particular set of people there. The only one who made comments was Leslie, and it was only simple commands to support her checkups.

Eventually Leslie finished making notes on the tablet she had, and turned to look at Jason and Cass. “Aside from Danny the rest of them don’t look too bad. The showers were definitely a good idea, it’ll help clean all the cuts they have. But otherwise get them a good meal and some rest and they should be fine.”

“Good to hear,” Jason acknowledged, planning on letting Bruce and the rest of the team manage the food planning and check in schedule for Leslie. “Just send everything to Oracle. Do you need an escort?”

“No, I’ll manage,” Leslie dismissed, tapping on the tablet to send all the files to Barbara. “I’ll be back after dinner to check on the boy again. Call me sooner if necessary,” she bid, picking her bag up and leaving the room to head back to address other patients that needed her attention.

A few moments after Leslie was gone, Stephanie and Sam returned with the latter wearing a clean pair of spare clothes that had been stashed there. Stephanie seemed to be quite happy about something too, and when Jason saw the shirt Sam was wearing he understood why immediately. That was an old shirt, being memorabilia from Stephanie and Cass’s shared BatGirl uniform. But it was always fun to see fans. Though he did wonder if that was the case or if there was another reason.

“Cool shirt,” Tucker commented when he saw Sam. “What’s with the bat symbol?”

The question caused the three of Batman’s team to pause, Jason realizing he was about to get one of his questions answered. Did Tucker just not recognize the specific symbol? It wasn’t that obscure, he should at least recognize it as something related to Batman. Right?

“Not sure. It was the only black one, so I grabbed it,” Sam responded, tugging the shirt away from her enough to look down at the emblem again, momentarily forgetting what it looked like exactly.

Jason watched Stephanie and Cass’s expressions fall a little, and almost snorted.

“You don’t… know who that symbol is for?” Stephanie asked, sadness starting to creep into her voice at the revelation that Sam had only picked that shirt because it was black.

“Nope,” Sam confirmed, heading over to the stool she’d left before and sitting back down to dab at her hair with the towel. “Should I?”

It caused Stephanie to pause, and then give a shaky laugh, but Jason didn’t miss how Jazz’s gaze moved to look at the red symbol on his own chest, half hidden by his jacket. “N’no! I guess not. It’s a pretty old shirt anyway. No one has seen BatGirl for a while now anyway.” Stephanie shakily dismissed, tucking her disappointment away for later when she could properly express it.

“BatGirl?” Sam repeated, getting a wry grin. “Is there a BatBoy too?”

Another exchange of looks between Cass and Stephanie. Was that a joke? “No. Just Batman and Batwoman,” she answered, deciding to err on the side of Sam being serious.

“Well, there is, but BatBoy never worked with the other bats,” Jason pointed out, amusement saturating his voice.

“That name was from a baseball bat though, not a bat bat,” Stephanie argued.

Jason shrugged at the distinction, but wasn’t able to comment further before Tucker spoke up again. “Okay. So who’s Batman again?”

The three team members stopped to stare at Tucker, having to take a moment to register if he was putting on an act or not. When it was determined he was either impossibly good at pretending, or actually earnest in his question, Jason barked a laugh while Staphanie’s eye twitched. “You’ve been on Gotham for two months, been to the dark net, and are still asking who Batman is?” Jason asked, incredulous.

“What makes you think I was on the darknet?” Tucker defended quickly.

“Where else do people even hear about Lazarus water?” Jason retorted just as fast.

Tucker’s mouth pursed as his eyes scrunched, realizing he wasn’t going to get his way out of that one. “............ Okay,” he relented. Fair point. Good game. “So are we talking about an actual person, or the folktale boogeyman? Because the internet sources aren’t clear on that.”

Jason wheezed slightly at the comparison, filing that away in his mental box of topics to tease Bruce with.

“He’s the one we’re working with to help Danny,” Cass answered this time, feeling just a little miffed after the mutual disappointment she had suffered with Stephanie. Once again Jazz’s eyes flicked to Jason’s symbol, this time in understanding.

The comment caused another pause as Tucker realized he probably shouldn’t make fun of this guy. “...Alright. Cool cool. That answers a lot,” he rambled, hoping his comments didn’t affect the kind of help they were going to receive. “I think I’ll go take that shower now,” he excused, jerking to his feet and waiting momentarily for Stephanie to escort him out of the room.

“I have to ask now,” Jason started once they were out of sight, using this as a way to get another one of his questions in that he’d stayed around in the first place to try and get answered. “Where are you kids from to think Batman was a fairytale?”

He didn’t think that they would take the question well, considering how secretive they were being about other things. But to his pleasure the other two girls just looked at Jazz, who seemed to have relaxed a little more from the more easy going conversations. “...Amity Park,” she answered, watching to see if Jason, or more specifically Cass since she could see at least part of her face, had any sign of recognition before adding, “It’s in Illinois.”

That was unexpected. “That’s quite a ways away,” Jason commented. He’d never heard of Amity Park, but Illinois was definitely not a ‘took a wrong turn at the gas station’ ways away.

“How did you end up in Gotham?” Cass asked now, concern pinching her brows.

The three girls fell silent, but this time it was easy to tell that it wasn’t out of reluctance to share information. The looks they gave each other were more seeking to see if either of them had an answer rather than if they should say it. And Cass and Jason could also see some painful memories hidden in their expressions.

“Dunno,” Danielle finally admitted with a shrug. “We were fighting, then stuff blew up, and next thing we knew we were here.”

Oh, that didn’t sound good. Jason had been suspecting that the event that had led them to Gotham had been what had put Danny in the state he was, but stuff blowing up and relocating people was never a good thing. That was definitely something that was going to be relayed back to the others, and he really hoped they didn’t have to get people outside of their usual team involved.

“My ID and debit card don’t work here either,” Jazz added, sounding a little bitter and some of the prolonged stress starting to resurface. “Everytime we tried to buy something they told me my card was declined. And when I found a bank that happened to have the same name as the one I’m using, they told me my ID was fake.”

“...So you started stealing to get what you needed,” Jason connected. They were good kids in a bad situation. That was all. Jazz didn’t answer, though it didn’t seem to be because she was reluctant to admit they were stealing. She just seemed concerned about something else. “Don’t worry, we won’t turn you in. We usually deal with people who are much worse,” he assured as a subtle prod to get her to reveal what she was worried about.

Jazz gave a mirthless noise of amusement. “...What are you? Some kind of secret government street sweepers?” she asked. It was phrased as a sarcastic jab, but both Cass and Jason heard the secrets that were being hinted at.

Jason just barked a laugh. “Hardly. We’re independent. Sometimes we work with the police, but most of the time they’re pissed off at us too. Can’t imagine wanting to touch anything government related either. I don’t think they’d like me.”

There was a hesitant release in part of what had the girl’s tense, and Cass couldn’t help resting her hand on Danielle’s shoulder. “You are all safe with us,” she assured shortly. She could see it in the way they behaved during this topic. It wasn’t that they were suspicious of conspiracy theories or something similar. They disliked non-public government organizations because of personal experience. They had been hurt by them before.

The girls didn’t respond verbally, but Cass could see the change in their demeanor. They were a little less wary, and a little more hopeful. But that was enough interrogation for now. She knew her team would have plenty to work with from what they already had, and there was no need to stress the kids out further. So now it was on to a batter topic, and Cass took out her phone. “What foods do you like? We will have them prepared for dinner,” she asked, deliberately making her own demeanor more at ease to facilitate a response.

“Ugh, I could definitely go for some roasted butternut squash,” Sam responded almost immediately, sagging slightly on the stool.

“Oo oo! Can I get fried chicken? How much are we allowed to have? Can I have like five chickens?” Danielle asked, raising her hand high and bouncing on the table slightly.

“High metabolism?” Jason asked, just to double check she wasn’t just exaggerating and would actually eat the food if they brought it.

“Mhmm. I bet I could eat way more than you could,” Danielle nodded with a slight challenge.

“I bet you could,” Jason accepted with a chuckle, not even going to bother taking her up on that challenge.

“And the rest?” Cass prompted, typing a message to Alfred on her phone.

“...I’m okay with most anything,” Jazz answered when they looked her way, her hand straying to Danny’s hand again as she couldn’t help thinking of his favorite sandwich.

“Tucker will eat anything meat,” Sam provided for their remaining friend. She had already stolen the first shower from him, she could be nice and make sure he got something nice to eat.

“Got all that?” Jason asked Cass, glad to have a happier note for the kids to focus on now. After Cass gave a thumbs up, Jason shifted to stand again, raising his hands over his head in a mild stretch. “Good. Then let’s see if I can find those cards,” he announced, heading for the door.

“No poker,” Cass spoke up quickly, narrowing her eyes Jason’s way.

“I’m not going to play poker with a bunch of teenagers,” Jason huffed, mildly offended that was the first thing Cass would think of. There were so many other games to play with face cards anyway. And hopefully it would be enough to keep the kids occupied at least until dinner. And while they were on house arrest duty hopefully the others would figure out where these kids had come from, and how to help them. He could take some time while looking for the cards to send his own report to the others at least. Explosion relocation, anti government organization sentiments, non usable ID and debit card. It was starting to sound like they weren’t actually from the United States at all. But knowing their luck, it wasn’t just a case of country hopping. Hopefully they weren’t from a completely different time period or something. That always made things messy. Hopefully this Amity Park was just a tiny village in Illinois that was out of touch with the world compared to a big city like Gotham, and these kids were just country bumpkins that would be easy to get shipped off back home once they were all better.

There was no cost for hoping for an easy solution, even if Jason knew it wasn’t going to happen.

______________________

This is my first time drawing either of these girls X'D Also I hope I got the right symbol for the shirt. I'm new and there's so many symbols

______________________

Tag list: @galaxy-sharks-and-bottled-ships, @starscreamlover, @nerdynonnativenarnian, @dragongoblet, @zeestarfishalien, @bellathecatastrophe, @cj-ghostemoji-destielpie, @asexual-insomniac, @wolfeyedwitch, @tkiesai, @fanaroff, @raven1508, @nebulainajar, @serasvictoria02, @oliocelottafanfics, @honeysuckletook, @omniithe-deer, @wolf-under-the-stars, @gingernutcalo, @that-random-fangirl

[snailsrneat]

"Oh, You came to tell me happy birthday?..Heh, thank you for your consideration."

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁

-----------------------------

HII EVERYONE! So since it's Twyla's Birthday today I thought I'd give everyone a little treat and show off what I've been working on behind the scenes the last couple weeks.

-----------------------------

-----------------------------

The prefect of Ramshackle, popular amongst her peers for her laid back demeanor. She loves the arts and expressing herself through multiple mediums. Specifically through fashion, often choosing to dress in alternative clothing styles. Despite the visual difference, she blends in quite well among the other students. Even with her temperamental companions.

-----------------------------

This is Twyla's new (and final) design! Let's talk about her little bit.

She's technically twisted from two different characters. Them being Bruno, from Encanto, and the three Fates from Hercules.

The three Fates are actually where I got the idea to give her the hobby of sewing, because I wanted her to have an association with string. Also they inspired the name of her unique magic magic.

Bruno mostly inspired her unique magic (like how it works and what it does) as well as parts of her personality and design.

Specifically he inspired her hoodie.

Aside from that though, design wise I also was inspire by other popular cartoon characters like The Hex Girls from Scooby-Doo, and Gwen from Total Drama.

I specifically wanted to go with a more grunge or goth aesthetic, mostly because we don't really see said aesthetics explored much through the canon cast, so it would give a good visual difference. Also she just matched ramshackle more.

But let's get to some actual character facts shall we?

Twyla is left-handed, but is slightly ambidextrous when it comes to using her hands for anything other than writing.

Her favorite food is pancakes, when asked why she just blinked and shrugged. "I dunno' know. Just make me feel like a little kid again."

Her least favorite food is Brussel-Sprouts, which she also allergic to.

She's been known to have several hobbies including sewing, drawing, designing, reading, writing, scrapbooking, photography, gaming, and baking.

It is also good to note that she has ADHD and it's hard to keep her attention one thing for long periods of time.

Atleast when it comes to things like school work. Her hobbies take up most of her free time.

She has lilapsiphobia, or the intense fear of tornadoes and hurricanes. She developed it due to a traumatic event during her childhood.

She is an orphan with a deceased mother and a "missing" father.

She use to work many different jobs when in the foster care system, ranging from an unground boxer to maid at a maid cafe.

She was in the fostercare system for a long time, until she turned sixteen. Which is when her inheritance kicked in and allowed her to move back in to her childhood home.

Until 6 months later when she was transported into Twst.

Her favorite flowers are Holly-Hocks.

She has been given many different nicknames by the rest of the cast bit to her the strangest happens to be what Vil calls her "French Fry#1"

Speaking of nicknames, Floyd often refers to her as "Manatee" or "Manny-Chan".

Let's hear some of her homescreen voicelines.

"Oh, hey, you look tired. Do you need take a break in the guest room?"

"OH! Shit. Forgot that I had homework for Trein today. *Sigh* I guess I'll just have to do it during Alchemy today."

"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm just drawing while waiting for class to start. You can join me if you'd like!"

"*Huff* *Huff*, huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine. Just, uhm, got distracted watching the squirrels and I had to run to make sure I wasn't late is all. Don't worry."

"Where's Grim? I don't know, probably off committing crimes against humanity...AGAIN."

"Uuuuugh, Crowley keeps bugging me about some stupid fight between a Pomefiore and Savannaclaw student. Why can't people at this school just learn to make up on their own?"

"Ramshackle dorm actually has some pretty neat history if you can find some of the old N.R.C. school books. Did you know that Ramshackle has never had a housewarden? Only ever Prefects."

"Man, if I have to hear Ace and Deuce bicker about something dumb one more time I think I might actually commit murder."

"Heh, Azuls flustered face is so funny. He's makes it so easy to want to bully him I almost can't stop myself."

"Leona I swear to fu- Oh! You're not Leona...don't worry about what I was just about to say, okay?"

-----------------------------

*flops down face down on mattress*

Ahdhskahsshskajsjakshdbxhsusa..

Idk man my brain is tired and overworked. Also say happy birthday to me, it's my birthday I've been working hard.

[darkx-the-dragon-kn1ght]

Chapter 10- Part 1

Here we are, here in Coral Ward…for all of twenty seconds. Back to Obsidia Ward!

In the meantime, let’s actually take a look at this TMX. Is it really just a glorified HM, or is there more to it than that?

Huh- odd…its description is no different from Cut’s usual description, and yet it says none of the party members can learn it? That doesn’t seem right, I’m pretty sure at least one or two of those Pokémon are capable of learning Cut. Hmm…maybe it really is more like an item, somehow, and I can just…use it?

There’s a tree right over here by the gates to the Wasteland, so we can easily test that.

Huh, okay, I can’t just…use it. So I do need to have a Pokémon learn it, like an HM?

Oh! Oh- now my Pokémon can learn it? I…don’t even know why it’s programmed like that, or maybe it was a glitch?

But, uuuuh…I don't want these TMXs to just be HMs again, though. Maybe I can just…put them on my Pokémon as an…extra thing…? Like, not in the four move slots? I know how unrealistic this sounds, but let me have hope, please, please-

Heartbreaking. So, the conclusion I draw from all of this is: TMXs really are just HMs, huh?

Literally, like- besides the name change and I’m guessing the ability to naturally forget them like any other move (I think that’s why they’re called TMXs), these are functionally the same as HMs- moves that are required to navigate the overworld outside of battle. That’s…uuuuugh- 

I just…ugh, I’m so disappointed, I was really hoping the TMXs would be different and not just glorified HMs. Seriously, does anyone really like the HMs? Are there unironically people out there who got upset when the HMs were phased out in Gen VII (or, rather, their out-of-battle functions)? Of all the QOL changes this game uses (TMs not being single-use, the Field Indicators, the possibility of trade evolutions being Stone ones instead, etc.), why did HMs need to stay?

Well, I refuse to put one of these moves on my main Pokémon. I’ll consider it for Surf and Waterfall and Fly and maybe Dive, but that’s it- with the other moves, knowing how difficult this game is, it's too much of a risk, I need the team to have all the decent moves they can get. We’ll put it on a different Pokémon instead- one who’s gonna be making a bit of a comeback…

Nibble’s back, and this time she’s gonna be our chainsaw! Swapping out Whiskers for Nibble is only temporary- once we don’t need Cut anymore, she’ll be back. 

So now, with that, uh…rant done (apologies for that), let’s test out Cut for real.

Haha…hahaha…AHAHAHAHA! THE TREES DON’T STAND A CHANCE!

AHAHAHAHAHA- oh and the animation doesn’t play each time so it’s even more quick and satisfying! HAHAHAHA-

Man, we’re gonna be cleaning up the ward in no time! Oh hey, this guy’s new-

Welp, shoulda guessed we’d get pulled into another battle, alright then-

In any case, leaving Glare out against a Ground-type is an awful idea, so let’s send in Bloom instead.

One single Magical Leaf is all it will take to delete this Barboach off the face of the Earth-

Now, a Spinda? That, Glare can handle.

The usual special should work, I think- GlareTM, and then maybe Screech, and then we start oH DEAR IT KNOWS PSYBEAM-

Okay, uuuh, Plan B- send in Prong while Spinda is too paralyzed to move!

Let’s see what Bug Bite can do, Prong should be good against more Psybeams-

…I mean, she may not take much damage, but that’s not ideal. No matter- I’m sure she’ll be able to hit through it, right?

Eeuugh, she was…not. Uh- second time’s the charm?

And I gotta go kill more trees with Nibble, so I guess we’re both busy!

Anyways, since I don’t want to use resources so soon, let’s just use the Pokémon Center down in Coral before continuing on again.

…Oh, yeah, the Cut trees do respawn when you leave an area. I mean, at least we’ll get more fun with the Nibble Chainsaw- though, it also turns out the animation does play again, but only the first time you use a TMX move in an area, not the subsequent times after it.

Previous

[hornball-house]

"This is a reward" (Lemon)

This is for all the people who wanted me to write that 39 lemon, you're fucking welcome, pervs

🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋

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

39's POV:

I haven't moved from the couch in a few hours. Everyone is busy & I'm just sat here by myself. As of late, I've been feeling hornier then I normally do & I have no idea why. I sigh in boredom & just flop down onto my side, since it's the only thing I can do right now. A few seconds later, I grab one of the pillows behind me & just hug it close to my chest & some of my face. That was when......things started acting up again.

"Hmm......" All I could let out was a small groan. I feel slightly embarrassed getting like this right out in the open like some loser. But, at the same time, it just gets me even more excited if someone might see me. I think this might be from muscle memory because my hand starts to slighter down to my package but not down into my jeans, & starts scratching it. My face squishes into the pillow I'm hugging & all I can bring myself to let out are faint mutters. I try so hard to hold back & not let it out, but sometimes my hands just have a mind of their own. & for whatever reason, the same girl just shows up in my head every time. The exact same girl who almost gives me a bloody heart attack when she comes in to tell me something.

"Hey, 39!"

I immediately stop what I was doing & jerk up, throwing the pillow off me in the process. "Uhhh! H-hey, Zoey! You need anything?" I say, trying to act cool & forget what I was doing just a second ago. "No, I just wanted to let you know I'm gonna be out for a bit. Just kinda in the mood to treat myself, y'know?" Zoey says as chipper as she always is. "'Treat myself.....'" I think in the back of my head. "Oh sure, that's cool. Guess you've been focusing on Dorky & worrying about her so much that you just kinda need a break, huh?" I say. "Yeah, I guess that's one way of putting it. I'll be back in maybe an hour or two. See you soon!" Zoey calls out as she walks out waving to me. I wave back with a smirk as the sound of the door closing is heard. After realizing she's gone, I hang my head over my legs & hold my face in my hands, embarrassed as all hell.

"Goddammit! Why do I always have to do this??? I'm such a disgusting bastard!"

I curse out loud, wanting to punch myself in the nose right now. My best friend for three years, the same girl that saved me back in the old studio & gave me a home, my friends back, a new life, & a sense of hope that things would be okay, shows up in my head whenever I'm having a wank. Fucking shameful! Well, at least I held it together. That was when I realized my boxers started feeling a little......."damp", to put it lightly. Once I realized it, I slap my hands to my dick & I turn bright blue instantly. "Okay, I'm taking this to the bathroom." I say as I dart up from the couch & head to the downstairs bathroom.

--------------

(Meanwhile, in the bathroom...)

--------------

39's POV:

I did this enough times to learn to lock the door behind me so as soon as I head in, I lock the door & sit on the toilet. "Uuuuugh....I hate my life." I groan to myself. I'm a little scared to see the damage, but I start to undo the button on my trousers & pull them off a bit, but not down to my ankles & maybe just stopping at my knees. I do the same thing to my undergarments shortly after.

I get teased alot about me having a small dick since "the shorter the temper, the smaller the penis" or some bullshit like that. I can't even begin to tell you how many times 75 has done that with me. Funny thing is, I in truth have a pretty big one. Ask Tammy, she's seen it before so she can defend me on it.

"Auugh, man. What am I gonna do with myself?" I mumble. This was just getting pathetic. I'm a grown 20 year old, hiding in the bathroom while sitting on the toilet, my trousers & boxers down on my knees as I'm staring down at it. Seeing it all propped up & stiff. I'm pretty sure I saw it twitch a few times, too.

Eventually, my body just has a mind of its own & I take off one of my fingerless gloves & push it in the pocket on my jacket. Then, my hand starts to slither down to it again & starts playing with it & messing with the head, causing me to quietly squeak & whine a bit. When I pull my hand back, a light grey, gooey liquid was on my hand & a little bit of my fingers, dripping off & onto the tile. It had a slight oil smell but the same feeling & texture as the typical jizz you're familiar with. Because, in my animatronic form, that's what it was & looked like to me.

"Oh, wow. Just look at me." I quietly chuckle to myself. I stare at my hand for a couple seconds before bringing it closer to me. Curiosity gets the best of me as I sniff my hand a bit. Still had that oil smell to it. A part of me kinda wanted to lick it for no reason even though it had fucking oil mixed into it. & I was about to before I snapped myself out of it. "Ugh, what the fuck are ya doing right now?! Get your mind out of the fucking gutter for once in your life, 39!" I scream to myself, violently flailing my hand around shaking the light grey off. At this point, I was a glasses wearing teal bunny stuck between a rock in a hard place. It was almost as if an angel & devil appeared on my shoulders trying to make me take one of their sides on what to do.

"Aww, what's the matter mate? You're not going soft, are you? Since your friend down there clearly isn't. You're the only one here, & you got the door locked, so just go for it since you're already so bricked up & horny! No one's gonna care!" The little devil snarled at me, as cocky & dirty as he can be.

"Are you insane?! You can't masturbate all the time, it's not good for you! It's going to fall off, at this rate! Just clean yourself up & head back out to do something for a few hours." The little angel said to me in a disappointed tone of voice.

I just sat there, in a conflicted, blue-faced, sweaty, already sticky mess. I kept looking down at it & a few seconds later, I make a decision. ".......I might as well just get it out of the way before Zoey gets back." I sigh to myself as I hear the devil laugh in triumph & the angel groan in defeat by my answer. I didn't really care anymore, though, since I said to myself.....

"This is a reward for holding it in as well as I did out there."

Before I knew it, my hand grabs my member & starts going for it, rubbing & stroking it. It starts off slow, but does get a little faster. I'm already making alot of quiet noises the more I rub it, that just grabbing it is making me dizzy & my brain shut down.

I tend to hold my orgasms & climaxes in until I physically can't anymore, so when they finally happen, my orgasms are extremely intense & I'm gushing out nothing but light grey fluids for God only knows how long. Let's just say that post-nut clarity really puts me out of it for a while.

Just as I pick up the pace a bit more, I get that image of her in my head again. Only this time, I start to mumble her name but quickly stop myself before I can fully get it out as I slap my other hand to my mouth. I'd never forgive myself if I yelled Zoey's name while I was going at it. I'm so sorry you're friends with a disgusting scumbag like me, Zoey! After coming back to my senses a bit, I lower my hand from my mouth & tightly grip my shirt as I start going a little faster with my other hand. It doesn't take long for my breathing to get quicker & more rapid.

"Uugh.....haah.......Fuck.....I-I gotta be quiet.....People can still- Ahh~! Hear me outside....." I manage to breathe out. I got dark grey oil tears in my eyes for trying to keep them in, or at least try to be quiet.

Me sitting in the bathroom already shaking & panting, moving my hand carefully knowing that someone might hear me. Even though no one could get in, I still don't know how to feel about someone hearing me. But, then again, these are the people I've known for years, even long before I became an animatronic, so they probably heard me masturbate at least once or twice. & yet the thought of someone hearing me......just makes me go faster & I start getting a little louder. My brain stopped working, at this point. Now I don't give a fuck on what happens next. I hold in all the orgasms I can, cuz I hitch my breath every time I do. I don't remember how many I held in but I'm pretty sure it was about four, maybe five of them. I don't tend to count, though, I just kinda guestimate.

I must've done something or hit a certain spot on it because the quiet moaning I was trying to keep down in my throat quickly got louder & louder before it eventually turned into a screaming holler. I don't remember the last time I moaned this loud in all my life, it's honestly a miracle no one heard me.

By this point, I was just a puddle. My back is all stiff, all the strength moves down to my legs & feet, my entire body is on fire, my bun ears are drooped down & my tail is rapidly wiggling, I'm sweating bullets head to toe, my head gets thrown back uncontrollably, & I'm just there screaming & moaning my lungs out.

I'm already leaking & dripping. My hand is all dirty again, but it doesn't matter. I'm already about to pop & I even did a little bit twice & maybe even three times, but they were so little I barely even noticed them. It wasn't until the big one happened that really made me all foggy in the head. I was vibrating at this point, I knew I had to stop but I didn't want to. Until...

"AAAAAAAAHHH~~~~!!!" 💙💙💙💙💙

Yep. I basically blew up when I finally came officially. Afterwards, I was panting heavily, & had tears in my eyes again. I shiver a little bit since I suddenly went cold when I was done. Heaving & panting still, I look down at my hand to see sweat & my animatronic fluids on it & the rest being on the bathroom tile. I pull my hand back from my friend, only to have a string of jizz connecting them together. Not even bothering to clean it up right now, I let it fall to the side of the toilet I was sitting on & rest my head on the back of it, breathing heavily in an exhausted state as my eyes are shut but I can tell I'm looking up to the ceiling, occasionally feeling a little twitch on my legs. I guess I'm more of a pervert then I thought.

~~~~~~~~~~~~Timeskip~~~~~~~~~~~~

Zoey's POV:

"Hey, 39! I'm back!"

I call out to 39 as I re-enter my house, in a great mood. I walk to the couch & I see him there yet again, only this time he acted a little different. "Hey, you. Have you been there the whole time I was gone?" I teasingly ask him. He stayed quiet & didn't say anything. The only thing he did to respond to my question is shake his head. This got me a little worried. "You okay, buddy?" I ask him. He nods & tiredly smiles at me. Then, he just ruffles my hair with his hand like he always does, reassuring me he's okay. He looked like he was about to pass out, so I assumed he was gonna take a nap & just leave him there, rubbing his arm a bit before I go. "Well, okay. Just let me know if you need anything." I say as I smile warmly at him & make my way to the bathroom to pee.

When I get there, I close the door behind me & sit down, sighing at the satisfying & fun time I had earlier. Everything looked normal, but then I notice a small trickle of something light grey on the side from me. I didn't know what it was for a second, but the thought quickly came to me on what happened & my face suddenly went hot & went from pale to as red as my hair. Guess that also gave me an idea on why 39 suddenly looked so exhausted & didn't speak when I came back, either. After a while, I just hold my head in one of my hands while my face is all red with embarrassment.

".......For God sake, 39, you naughty bunny. Didn't even clean it up, either."

[yuujispinkhair]

I wanna send you a tiktok but tumblr doesn't let me put links into asks. Uuuuugh how do I do iiiit?

Aaaahh I have no idea tbh how that works 😂 But can you maybe just copy the link and paste it? So I can copy and paste it to my webbrowser. I prefer that anyways because I’m scared to click links if it isn’t from someone I know 😭💗

[aclanby-anyothername]

a clan by any other name.

prev | info | next greenleaf, year 1. moon 5.

content warning: animal injury - minor, blood.

the gentle rain was a welcome sight. its clouds blocked out the harsh, late greenleaf sun, and a gentle breeze danced through the air.

there was enough kill to last for now, but the paws insisted on hunting regardless. they set off into the nearby woods, not nearly as lush as the grand forest that once cloaked the area a long, long time ago, but it was the best hunting ground they had. dustcloud, as overly protective as ever, had tagged along.

mothpaw: "hey breezepaw, wanna see who can catch the most?"

breezepaw: "… sure!"

creekpaw: "uuuuugh, the trees here don't have a lot of leaves. i'm getting soaked. can we pleeeease go back to camp?"

amberpaw: "no, this is good training."

dustcloud: "if amberpaw goes back with you, then sure. i don't think it's safe to go back home by yourself …"

amberpaw: "i'm not doing that."

creekpaw: grumble grumble complain

creekpaw was onto something. an hour passed, then another, and the group had nothing to show for their efforts.

mothpaw: "UUUUUUGH! we haven't caught ANYTHING! this sucks!"

breezepaw: "i bet all of the prey's trying to avoid the rain, too …"

amberpaw: "we'll keep going until we find something."

creekpaw: "what? no way! it's been hours!"

amberpaw: "we need to be able to hunt in any condition. it doesn't matter how long it takes."

dustcloud: "no, amberpaw. part of being a warrior is knowing when to save your energy. i think it's time to head back."

amberpaw: "…"

mothpaw: "i have an idea! let's race to see who can get back to camp fastest. that way, we can get out of the rain, and we can practice our running!"

dustcloud: "i don't think that's a g - "

but mothpaw was already sprinting away.

mothpaw: "winner gets their pick of the kill pile!"

creekpawpaw: "oh no, you always take the best ones! slow down!"

creekpaw went sprinting after her. dustcloud sighed.

dustcloud: "those two, i swear … huh? where did amberpaw go?"

dustcloud look around, only to see her silhouette disappearing into the underbrush. she had never been especially competitive, but maybe mothpaw's 'training' idea inspired her?

breezepaw: "… i guess it's just you and me?"

breezepaw came to sit next to dustcloud, a sheepish smile on his face.

dustcloud: "uh … did you want to go after them, too? i wouldn't blame you."

breezepaw shook his head

breezepaw: "i … i'm okay."

breezepaw looked down, avoiding dustcloud's gaze.

dustcloud: "you know … even with them having a head start, you could probably beat them. you're the fastest one of us by far."

breezepaw looked up, his sheepish smile now with a twinge of sadness.

breezepaw: "you don't have to say that just to make me feel better … i know i'm your weakest apprentice."

dustcloud: (where did that come from? i've never heard him say anything like that.)

"now hold on, i -"

breezepaw: "mothpaw is so fearless … creekpaw is so smart … and amberpaw is so strong. they're all so cool. compared to them, i … well, you know."

dustcloud didn't know what to say. he had no idea breezepaw had felt that way, and he was unsure if further compliments would only make him withdraw further.

breezepaw: "you don't have to say anything, it's okay. i've known that for a while now, and … it's okay. as long as i can help them, even if i can't do much, i'm happy."

dustcloud: "… breezepaw, none of that is true. when i said you were the fastest of us, i wasn't lying."

"besides that … don't sell yourself short. if you're ever unhappy with your skills, you always have room to learn and improve."

breezepaw: "i don't know …"

dustcloud: (he's always been so mature for his age. sometimes i forget he's still just a kid.)

dustcloud: "… did you know i was the worst hunter in my family?"

breezepaw: "no way! now i KNOW you're just trying to cheer me up."

dustcloud: "i'm serious!"

the memories came back to him little by little. he tried not to think back on those times. he felt a twinge of pain, but of comfort, too.

dustcloud: "i was the baby of my litter, always crying and hiding behind my mother when i got scared … even once i became an apprentice, i always felt so out of place."

"my mentor tried hard to get me to come out of my shell, but it wasn't enough. i think she was relieved once i became a warrior, just so she could leave me alone again, haha."

"once i was a warrior, i was given all of the easiest tasks. i think everyone thought i couldn't handle anything more, and i certainly did nothing to prove otherwise."

"it was a relief, even. i didn't like hunting … i could eat prey just fine, but i always felt so bad for killing it."

breezepaw: "that's … really? i never would've thought that …"

dustcloud: "haha, yeah … once i was on my own, though, i had to get better, and so i did. and here i am now."

breezepaw was quiet for some time, flipping over the same pebble over and over again with his paw, seemingly lost in thought. dustcloud did not press him any further.

the rain eventually began to pick up, and the thin canopy of trees was no longer enough to keep them dry. wordlessly, the two began to walk back to camp.

it was breezepaw who broke the silence.

breezepaw: "… do you think i can become a good warrior? i don't like to hunt, and i get scared easily, but … i want to do everything i can for them. i … i really love them."

dustcloud smiled. he must have resonated with what dustcloud said, after all.

dustcloud: "… you remind me of myself at your age."

breezepaw: "w-what? where did that come from?"

dustcloud: "… you will be a great warrior, breezepaw."

their conversation was punctuated by screaming from up ahead, and breezepaw and dustcloud froze, eyes locked together in mutual terror.

amberpaw: "MOTHPAW, NO!"

their legs with quicker than their heads, and they took off towards the sound without a second thought.

dustcloud really wasn't lying. breezepaw rounded the corner instantly, and he wasn't too far behind. mothpaw was on the ground, her leg twisted at an unnatural angle. creekpaw and amberpaw looked on in horror.

dustcloud: "WHAT HAPPENED?"

creekpaw spoke quickly, his words blending together.

creekpaw: "we all caught up to each other on this big rock then amberpaw slipped and i ran into her then mothpaw ran into me amberpaw and i almost fell off the rock but we caught ourselves but mothpaw -"

amberpaw: "- it's her ankle. she hit it against the rock on the way down … i'm sorry!"

creekpaw: "it's not your fault, amberpaw! it was her idea to race in the first place -"

mothpaw: "can you PLEASE just be nice for once in your miserable life?! ouch ouch ouch ouch …"

creekpaw: "…"

dustcloud: "i'm no medicine cat, but …" (dammit, why couldn't i have been a medicine cat?!)

"… i think it's just a sprain. as long as you don't walk too much until then, you should be okay in a half-moon or so."

mothpaw: "A HALF-MOON?! no! that's not fair!"

dustcloud: "mothpaw … i'm so sorry."

breezepaw: "h-here! mothpaw, let me help you get up. you can lean against me on the walk home. try not to put too much pressure on your leg, okay?"

mothpaw: "okay, i can try … o-oww …"

mothpaw rose to her feet slowly. she stumbled and nearly fell over again, but breezepaw was able to catch her in time, cushioning her fall with his side.

mothpaw: "t-thanks …"

breezepaw, who had been so self assured a moment ago, looked bashful once again.

breezepaw: "we'll walk slowly, okay?"

they went on ahead, leaving the rest of the group behind, all in different stages of shock.

dustcloud: "dammit …"

creekpaw: "…"

amberpaw: "… we should follow them."

creekpaw: "yeah …"

dustcloud: "…"

they walked back to camp in a silence only occasionally broken by mothpaw's whimpers of pain, their fur heavy with rain.

dustcloud: (if we were a real clan, she could be seen by a medicine cat, and she would be taken care of … where can i find a medicine cat in a place like this?!)

(what if … what if next time it's more than a sprain? i can't bear to think of it …)

(mothpaw, i'm sorry …)

dustcloud did not find reprieve from his guilt in his dreams that night.

elder: "please cooperate. you know what must be done."

???: "DISAPPEAR!"

???: "DIE, WRETCHED BEAST!"

elder: "you, the beast that brings total ruin … perish."

prev | info | next

[vaguely-concerned]

Rhapsody on Seven Days Rhapsody

zenigata has canonically trained his ears to recognize the sound of the fiat starting up. fiat whisperer. fhsjadfask I love you pops (he's mostly here for comic relief in this one but by god he does it so well)

honestly the subtitle of this special could be 'polycule scheduling problems' (also incontrovertible proof that if it ever really came down to it fujiko would 100% get goemon in the divorce. fujigoe folks come get your good fucking food)

- a particularly upsetting jigen's evil exes situation in this one, but at least the dude is arguably kind of handsome and quite clever this time so I guess there's always that. somehow it's so sad to me that the thing he offers (and knows jigen won't turn down) is to 'fix their relationship'. uuuuugh you just know this guy would sometimes stroke his hair and smile at him while they were fucking and jigen's poor fucked up love starved brain looked at that very barest veneer of human care and decency, however feigned, and went and decided that meant he owes him.

in some ways this dude's much worse because he's not stupid or just plain nuts, tho. like jigen honey I know this is not your strongest suit at the best of times but self respect, buddy, don't let people push your buttons like this ;___;

- a lady plants an impassioned surprise kiss on jigen in a flashback near the beginning and HE DOESN'T EVEN TAKE HIS HANDS OUT OF HIS POCKETS AT ANY POINT OF IT fkjhdsjklasfsdaljkh iconic (he did clearly care about her but proooobably not in quite the same way as she did for him huh lol)

yes. indeed. this did happen. more than once, in fact. this whole special is SPECTACULARLY gay, which I know is a high bar indeed for a lupin installment. some of it is in the form of gay jokes but it didn't feel like particularly malicious ones as these things go this time around, if you see what I mean. also fuck you I'm not taking it as jokes it's just nice to have on-screen confirmation that lupin is into goemon's tits as much as fujiko's (great content for most pairings in this tbh)

- this is of course an incredibly silly stupid story, as all lupin iii stories are, and don't let the fact that I found it very entertaining fool you into thinking otherwise, but it feels like there's something real and quite sweet in the running theme around heaven and hell in this one, especially when lupin and jigen have that reconciliation conversation where, I don't know... all the dread and deadness is taken out of it by that sense of looking at someone like 'I know I'm going to hell in the end, but that's okay because I'm going there with you and as long as it's the two of us we could make even that a fucking party'. like yeah, I think that's what it's all about when you get right down to it, that kind of partnership.

(also jigen's stone cold "you can't" in response to riat trying one last ditch guilt trip *chef kiss*. again -- this idea of both heaven and hell as lonely places vs. what lupin and jigen talk about ever so indirectly in that scene after the fire, tho. thoughts. emotions.)

- goemon and taking down a helicopter name a more iconic duo (possibly 'zenigata and crashing them' gets close)

how am I supposed to not be ready to lay down my life for him at a moment's notice. what do you want from me. am I fashioned from cold unfeeling steel? is my heart a lump of ice? am I to remain unmoved by him using a high squeaky voice to make the puppet go 'hai!'????

- this one has some GREAT lupin characterization for me. it's the perfect blend of silliness and competence (and occasional straight up ruthlessness). the god of failing upwards and having fun the whole face-planting way

- still thinking about how, when lupin shoots jigen's hat off in their standoff, it's treated as more of a disarming than if he'd actually, y'know, disarmed him. that part is also the only time you see jigen's eyes in this entire special, I'm pretty sure, which is really emphasized by all the close ups during the scenes where he's realizing just how fucked up his employers are and you don't get access to his eyes at all. sort of like a mix of emotional vulnerability + helping him see clearly again going on here, especially since it's heavily hinted riat brings out old bad habits in him (namely numbness, near-fatal levels of unassertiveness and a light sprinkle of suicidality, what a cocktail).

WHAT A FUCKING POWER MOVE!! Lupin really went 'I stole your diamond, I stole your hostage, most importantly I stole your man and unlike you I'm gonna treat him right... and I did it all without wearing any pants (they're in custody. zenigata's got them)'

the way riat keeps talking about lupin in relation to jigen is so funny tho he is one step away from pulling out the 'don't worry I'll get you back to the ol' ball and chain in one piece by the weekend buddy' card

- I'm still cracking up about the fact that lupin made jigen come with him to the store where he was planning to buy ice (as in frozen water) and nothing else, apparently just because he wanted the company, and all he seems to have needed to do was go 'hey jigen c'mon I need you for something let's go' with no further explanation lmao. you needy lil shit lupin <3 (adorable to just have them have a cute domestic conversation as they walk through a comically bad neighbourhood haha, lupin's infodumping about an extremely niche yet intense current interest of his while jigen both follows along and offhandedly averts a robbery, and the situation has the definite vibe that this type of conversation happens regularly between them)

- warning that there is some very questionable stuff around an underage female character in this one and while I think they don't quite cross the line into completely heinous territory with it, it did make me a bit uncomfortable in places so, y'know, mind how you go etc.

let's do as the special and end on this

[sergeantsporks]

Whatever It Takes

Rating: Teen and Up, Gen

TW: Self-harm, attempted suicide, emotional manipulation

“While I’ve got you here, want to hear the complete history of wild magic? I’m sure you’ll find it very interesting, considering that you’re old enough to have lived through it.”

“I am not, you little brat. Shut your mouth, I don’t want to listen to your voice.” “Yeah? What if I don’t want to shut up? What if I feel like singing?"

Hunter is a difficult prisoner to keep, and Lilith and Eda are about to find that out the hard way.

Ao3

Ch 2/4: Prisoner

Ch 1

Eda perched on a chair, watching her new prisoner. “When do you think he’ll wake up?”

Lilith finished tying Hunter to a chair with a roll of her eyes. “If I hit him hard enough, not for a while.”

“Should we… try to wake him up?”

“Titan’s veins, Edalyn, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this anxious before.”

“I’ve never kept a coven head tied up in my basement before!” Eda peered at him. “What does he even eat?”

“Nothing. He photosynthesizes. I don’t know, Eda, probably the same thing we eat. He’s a witch, after all.”

“He’s a powerless witch. What if they have human diets?”

“I—this is ridiculous. Keeping prisoners isn’t that scary, I’ll walk you through it.”

Eda squinted at her sister. “Oh, yeah. Sometimes I forget that you were…” she rolled a hand. “A horrible person.”

“Hmph.”

Hunter groaned, and Eda grinned. “Guess you didn’t hit him hard enough.”

Hunter’s eyes shot open, and he glanced around wildly, kicking his feet and straining against his bonds. “Wha—where-?”

His kicking knocked over the chair, and he fell backwards with a crash. “Ow.”

Eda snorted. “Behold, the mighty head of the emperor’s coven.”

“Oh, great. It’s you.”

Eda picked the chair up, flicking Hunter’s head. “YYYYYep. Nice to see you too, nerd.”

He shook his head, as if trying to clear it. “Ugh—Darius! What happened to him?! Where’d he go?!”

Lilith studied her nails. “He left you high and dry. He didn’t care if we captured or killed you. You know how it is.”

“Is this the part where you try to convince me to, as we say in the coven, pull a Lilith, betray the emperor horribly, and end up sad and lonely?”

“They do not say that!”

“I don’t want you on our side,” Eda interrupted, shooting her sister a “don’t react” look, “I wouldn’t trust you for a second. I want you to tell me what happened to Raine Whispers.”

Hunter leaned back as best he could while tied up, looking bored. “The emperor killed them slowly and painfully. Next question?”

Eda’s heart stuttered dangerously in her chest. “Liar,” she snarled, “Your precious emperor hasn’t appointed a new coven head yet—so Raine’s still alive. Where are they?!”

Hunter clicked his tongue. “Let’s see… coven head prisoner, coven head prisoner, mmmmmm doesn’t ring any bells.”

Lilith put a hand on Eda’s shoulder as she growled. “Oh, Hunter. Your bravado isn’t fooling anyone. You know how the emperor’s coven works as well as I. No one is coming for you. There is no holding out until rescue, because there will be no rescue. Don’t make this harder on yourself than it has to be—who are you even keeping quiet for? An emperor who doesn’t care enough about you to come for you? Just tell us what you know about the bard coven head.”

He rocked back and forth in the chair, looking up at the ceiling, unconcerned. “Or what? You’ll torture me?”

Lilith raised an eyebrow. “If that’s what you want.” She turned to go. “Excuse me. I need to gather a few things.” She strode back up the basement stairs, leaving Eda and Hunter alone.

Eda rocked back and forth on her heels. “So… how’s that portal coming along? Got enough titan’s blood?

“I’m not telling you that.”

“Mmm.” Eda clicked her tongue. What did Lilith need that was taking this long? “Soooooo… what now?”

“This is the first time you’ve taken a prisoner, isn’t it.”

“No!”

“Uh-huh. Alright. While I’ve got you here, want to hear the complete history of wild magic? I’m sure you’ll find it very interesting, considering that you’re old enough to have lived through it.”

“I am not, you little brat. Shut your mouth, I don’t want to listen to your voice.”

“Yeah? What if I don’t want to shut up? What if I feel like singing? Oh titan’s heart, oh titan’s heart,” he started howling in an off-key voice, “we the covens are loyal to thee!”

“UUUUUGH,” Eda groaned, “Stop that, or I’m going to gag you!”

“We pledge our lives, our magics, our hearts to yours! When you call, we heed your voice!”

Eda stormed up the stairs, slamming the door behind her. “That kid is the most annoying creature in existence!” Her sister was lying on the couch, reading a book, and Eda leaned on the back of the couch, looking down at her. “What are you doing? I thought you were getting something?”

“No. I just want him to think I am. Let him sweat and squirm. Let him think about all of the horrible things I might be planning to do to him.”

“Let him freak himself out. Devious, Lili.”

“Oh, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Let him imagine the worst. But now that you’ve come up, too, we can just… leave him.”

“I’m not sure how that—”

“Leave him alone long enough, and he’ll start to wonder if we’re coming back. He’ll start to wonder if we had to leave for some reason, and we left him. He’ll start thinking that if we did have to leave, there’s no one to let him out. That he’s trapped down there. At first he’ll tell himself not to worry, that we’ll come back down for him eventually. Then, as time wears on, and he has no idea how long it’s been, he���ll start calling for help, thinking we’re gone.”

“And that’s when we go down?” Eda interjected, “When he’ll be happy to see us?”

“No, Edalyn. We wait for him to stop calling. We wait for him to give up, thinking that no one will come for him. We let him wallow in the fear that he’ll starve down there, tied up, and then, then we return.”

Eda scooted away from her sister. “… have I ever mentioned how incredibly glad I am that you changed sides?”

“You could stand to mention it more.”

“You’re not gonna… actually torture him, are you?”

“Physically? I wasn’t planning on it, no, why, do you want me to?”

“Titan! Lilith, no!”

Lilith shrugged. “To each their own. He’s probably not feeling too well—a blow to the head is no joke, and neither was that spell he took for Darius. He’ll spill.”

“He seemed fine to me. Just as annoying as ever.”

“It’s an act. Bravado. He’s hurt, he was just flat-out betrayed and abandoned by the person he was protecting, and he’s captured with no hope of rescue, because he knows that’s not how the emperor’s coven works. He’s a resilient pest, but all of that will take its toll quickly. Give him a few hours, and he’ll crack.” Lilith hesitated. “But… Eda… about rescuing Raine, should they still be alive…”

“What?”

“I’m just… not entirely certain it’s the best plan.”

“I can’t just leave them!”

“I know you don’t want to, but… we have the upper hand over Belos at the moment. We have his right hand, a coven leader, in our grasp. We’ve put his day of unity plans to a grinding halt. We go running off on a hare-brained rescue mission? If one of us gets caught, it’s all over.”

A new plan quietly clicked into place in Eda’s head. “We have the coven head. We have the right hand of Belos. Why not make a trade? His precious golden brat for Raine! Either way, we end up with a coven head, so we won’t be giving up our advantage, but this way, we’ll have Raine, who will fight with us, instead of the brat tied up in my basement!”

Lilith sat bolt upright on the couch. “Are you insane?” she hissed, “You want to try to ransom him back?! Edalyn, an attempt to negotiate with the emperor will go very, very badly! Let’s say we achieve the best case scenario, let’s say Belos agrees to the trade and we get Raine back. The emperor will not stop hunting us down. When I was attempting to capture you, it was just that—capture. If you try to make a deal, trade hostages? Belos will want you dead. Even having kidnapped the golden guard is risky—for now, Hunter could be anywhere, no one knows we took him. But if Belos finds out? We may as well start writing our obituaries now.”

“Fine.” Eda growled in frustration. “It’s just—I don’t want to leave them, if they are alive! It just doesn’t feel right.”

“I know. We just have to be patient. And after the Day of Unity passes, we can go after them. I promise I will help you retrieve Raine.”

“Helloooooo?” Hunter’s voice called up from the basement, “Are we gonna get this interrogation going, or what? I’ve got places to be!”

Lilith motioned for Eda to stay quiet. “Here we go,” she whispered.

“Traitor? Crazy owl lady? You there?”

Eda head a scraping noise, as if Hunter was dragging the chair he was tied to across the floor. There was a pause, then, “Titan, there’s stairs. Helloooooo?” Another pause. “Okay, I’m going to escape now! Anyone up there to stop me? No? Okay!”

“Should we go down there?” Eda murmured to Lilith. Her sister shook her head.

“He can’t get out of that chair, you heard him about the stairs.”

“I mean it! I’m breaking out of here! Oh, look, I’ve got the ropes off! No? Nobody?” Then, a little more quietly, “Guess they’re gone.”

Eda heard a lot of thumping, and then an ‘ow.’ She snorted softly. “Sounds like he’s knocked himself over again.”

Lilith pulled her away from the basement door and into the kitchen. “Give him a bit.” She started flipping through one of Eda’s potion books. “Any chance one of these has a truth potion recipe in here?”

“No, but I think there’s a knockout potion somewhere. If he keeps trying to sing, I might use it.”

Lilith snorted. “Right. I’ll go ahead and brew that. Forget feeding it to him, if I have to talk to him for much longer, I’m going to want it for myself. Where do you keep your sleeping nettles?”

“Cupboard by the trashcan, do NOT let Hooty know where they are.” Eda paced the kitchen. “What if he is in the middle of escaping?”

“He’s concussed, has short little legs and no staff. He won’t get far.”

Eda snapped her fingers. “No staff! Where’s his little palisman, I didn’t see it!”

Lilith stopped mid-stir. “Palisman?! Him?!”

“Yeah, he has a little cardinal palisman.”

“Belos hates wild magic! Do you know what it took for me to keep a hold of my palisman?! You’re telling me that Hunter hasn’t just got a palisman, he’s hiding it from Belos?”

“I guess. What’s the big deal?”

Lilith laughed. “Oh, he is in for it when Belos finds out! See if he’s still the favorite then!”

“…Lili, you’re not in the emperor’s coven anymore.”

Her sister resumed stirring her potion. “I know that.”

“And we aren’t going to use Hunter’s palisman as leverage against him, okay? I want more info about Raine, but I’m not going to threaten an innocent palisman to get it.”

“Fine.” Lilith set her spoon down. “I think it’s about time we check in on him. Let’s see how much he’s panicking.

When they got down the basement stairs, Hunter was asleep. Eda snorted, setting the chair upright again. “So much for that idea.”

“You have got to be kidding me!” Lilith growled.

Hunter opened his eyes with a smug look that Eda was relatively certain meant he’d never actually been asleep. “Oh, hey, when did you guys get here? Hope I didn’t keep you waiting.”

Lilith lunged towards Hunter, and Eda had to hold her back. “You are a horrible, conniving little brat, and if I never saw you again, I could die happy!”

“Oooo, might want to watch that temper, Lilith, isn’t that how you got beaten by your sister so many times?”

Lilith’s nostrils flared, and she stopped trying to get past Eda, taking a deep breath and smoothing her hair. “Laugh all you want, brat. I may be out of the coven, but at least I chose to go. Unlike you.”

“I’m not leaving the coven. I’m going to get out of here, and I’m going to go back, and y’know what, I’m going to drag both of you with me, and this time we’ll finish the petrification process.”

Lilith chuckled. “Oh, Hunter. You don’t really think you can go back, do you? Not after you failed like this.”

For the first time since he’d gotten here, fear flashed in Hunter’s eyes. “I didn’t fail,” he said defensively, “Darius got away—I protected him from your assassination plot. I completed my mission—you failed.”

“But you were captured,” Lilith said softly, leaning in close to him, “Of course you carried out your mission—but you’ve still failed the emperor. You lost. To us. How humiliating.”

“I only lost because that coward Darius used me as a meat shield,” Hunter snarled, “It wasn’t my fault!”

Lilith laughed softly, pulling away. “Do you really think the emperor will accept that excuse? You know as well as I that you cannot blame others for your own mediocracy.”

The shift in Hunter’s attitude… Eda wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. Lilith had gone from dancing to Hunter’s tune and rising to his taunts to playing the flute herself. Hunter was a marionette on her strings. She grabbed her sister’s arm. “Hey, Lili? A word?”

She pulled Lilith upstairs, shutting the door so that Hunter couldn’t hear them. “What was that?!” she hissed.

“I know how the emperor’s coven works. I know how Belos works. I know how he treats people—you could hurt Hunter physically all you wanted, and he wouldn’t give up anything.”

“So you play mind games with him, Lili? That’s just cruel. Did you see his face when you said he’d failed Belos? That wasn’t just worry, that was terror. You really freaked him out, and I don’t like how you’re going about this.”

Lilith pointed at the door. “I’ve seen hardened demons break down at the idea that they’ve been left locked up with no hope of anyone ever coming for them. Do you want to know why it didn’t work on him, Eda? Because he was trained in the exact same torture methods I was. He’s the head of the emperor’s coven at age sixteen. Do you know how you get there? It isn’t by being an innocent kid, I can tell you that. Neither of us could kill him. But he’s dangerous, and Belos is the only one who could ever keep him in control. You heard him! He would drag us to our own petrification in a heartbeat! So if I have to invoke his fear of Belos to keep him from hurting you or I, I will!”

“Lilith—”

“When you first met him, he threatened King to get you and Luz to do what he wanted. He is not some cute little witchling who will roll over for belly rubs, he’s a lethal, dangerously unstable individual who is dead loyal to Belos and will stop at nothing to please him.”

“Okay, okay. I get it. It still doesn’t feel right, Lilith. And I don’t think it’ll make him crack.”

“Oh, please, he was about to be putty in my hands.”

“You make him scared of what Belos will do to him because he failed? He’ll just start thinking about how much worse it will be for him if he gives up information. No more head games, Lilith. I don’t like it, and I don’t like how much you’re acting like you did when you were in the coven.”

“Yes, because it’s effective. Good luck getting any information out of him.”

Eda grabbed her sister’s hands. “I don’t want to win by losing you. I’m not going to risk you reverting to your coven ways like that—you’ve come so far, and it’s not fair to put you in a situation where you’ll backslide.” Eda squeezed her eyes shut, turning her face away. “You were right. Raine will have to wait.” It felt like a betrayal just saying it, but she couldn’t say anything else—Raine had risked everything to make sure that she, at least, could get away. Throwing that away based off of information they got from Hunter of all people would be disrespectful of their sacrifice. “We just need to ride out this storm. No more interrogations—we’re not going to just let him go, but we’re not going to hurt him, either. Okay?”

“If that’s what you want.”

Eda plucked a feather off of her sister’s arm. “This isn’t helping you—it’s making you worse. So trust me, Lilith—it is what I want.”

Xxx

Darius growled, kicking at a burned clump of vines. Of course the Golden Guard wasn’t here—he hadn’t really expected him to be, but it would have been nice. Right. Well, he could do a grueling search of the area—or worse, call in Eberwolf to help track the Golden Guard down.

Oooooor he could interrogate the last people to have seen him—his would-be assassins. He hadn’t seen their faces—the smokescreen had ensured that. But he had thought he’d heard a familiar voice.

Darius turned towards the Clawthorne estate. It wasn’t much, but it was a start.

Ch 3

[a-snow-decahedron]

Hi! I hope that you're doing well. For the Send Me a Character meme, would you like to talk about Flowey? Thank you!

FLOWEYYY It's always a good time to talk about him ngngnlf

First impression

"i know people who play Undertale distrust flowers i bet im gonna do the same but let's pretend i'm going blind- Oh crap." He's so mean and awful and uuuuugh once i finished the game i felt like he was the type of character you're supposed to prove wrong.

Now, the stuff he says if you spare him in neutral routes got me intrigued and well, they pushed me to look more into him.

Impression now

He's so important to me! I think his arc and ideals are so interesting to explore. I LOOOVE the way that he's an example of what a player would try to do with the power of resets and loads. I honestly just wished we got to see more of him mid game, but I guess getting glimpses of his influence is good too. I did walk on him stalking Frisk on my first playthrough.

Favorite moment

No Mercy conversation in New Home. All of it. The transition between his first life and his second, the tragedy of it, the way his views are affected by the paths he's explored. God I love that so much.

Idea for a story

Him piecing together how the world has changed after his death, him calling out other characters... And another with him questioning his identity and his choices. Like, if you could pick any route, which route is more authentic to yourself? I'd love to read or make a story to explore the dillution of identity brought by the multiple routes and attempts.

Unpopular opinion

He does not need a soul or be able to have feelings to be saved and live a good life. As much as the idea of saving Asriel is attractive, I don't like it when that it undoes who he became when he was a flower. I just look at the dialogue he has if you try to do a true reset and cannot see him as just a shell of what he once was. He's changed, sure, but the route to recovery doen't have to be about reverting who he was. I think accepting that is a lot better and welcoming to those who have trouble understanding other's feelings too.

Favorite relationship

I'm intrigued by his friendship with Papyrus. I think it's a genuine friendship, at least, he genuinely cares about Papyrus enough to know about him more than the average person. Papyrus would make him better to.

Alphys is also an interesting one, because she Would recognize him as a product of her experiments. God that would be so messed up. I would love to read more about that.

Favorite headcanon

He plays drums, he can have multiple limbs and he's gonna use them to be loud and obnoxious. But he could be a great drummer eventually so, good for him. He lurks on the surface, but doesn't wanna face most of the main cast, except maybe Frisk and Papyrus.

[adultswim2021]

Robot Chicken #21: “Suck It” | April 2, 2006 – 11:30PM | S02E01

Uuuuugh I thought that after watching Minoriteam that I'd have a newfound appreciation for Robot Chicken. No such luck, this show still makes me scowl performatively, even though I'm sitting in my bedroom by myself. It is a nasty show.

We start out with a “previously on” that continues the story of the last sketch of season one where Robot Chicken gets canceled. Keith Crawford reprises his role as, well, Keith Crawford. Mike Lazzo shows up with a jury of Adult Swim peers (Peter Griffin, Space Ghost, and Master Shake, all voiced by their actual guys). But then some kind of Superman 2 vortex happens and Seth goes back in time to the moment he offends Keith and is granted a reprieve. So we get more of this dreck. Great.

I guess now I talk about the more notable sketches. The first is one about post 9/11 paranoia about terrorists. It's not particularly insightful, but it's a fair distillation of what that time was like. The idea that anything other than a completely right-wing response was the only reasonable response, and that rejecting jingoistic patriotism is a path to being blown up by our brown enemies, etc etc. It's a little dorm-room mind-blower stuff, but whatever man, a lot of post 9/11 satire has fared worse. I guess I respect this sketch even though I didn't laugh.

There's a sketch I don't actually want to talk about, it's called “The Six Million Peso Man”, use your imagination. There's a sketch about a zombie skater who is mean to skateboarders? I don't know man, I liked the imagery of teens skateboarding in a cemetery but I bristle when a comedy character is named (something) McGee. You need to save “McGee” for a sexist nickname for a girl whose body parts you are fetishizing. Titty McGee, Assy McGee—WHOOPS. NEVERMIND

The last sketch is Mr. and Mrs. Brady, like that movie Mr. and Mrs. Smith, a movie that seemed to capture a lot of people's imaginations back in this day. Too many parodies!!! I found myself really admiring the miniature work done for this; the idea of creating the Brady house in miniature must've been really cool. Too bad the sketch is basically worthless. Again, use your imagination.

EPHEMERA CORNER:

Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos (March 28, 2006)

I’ve already remarked on the irony selections of the 5AM timeslot by Adult Swim with shows like this, and I basically was able to match them all up with sorta relevant shows when I do EPHEMERA CORNER entries. This sorta goes with Robot Chicken because lets face it, Chuck Norris jokes and Robot Chicken are very much in the same league. Gary Coleman, a show about an angel gets matched up with Moral Orel because of heavenly themes. And Harlem Globetrotters got matched up with Boondocks because I don’t wanna say why out loud.

I’m not actually going to talk about this show in any significant way, sorry everyone. Anyway, remember “Chuck Norris facts”? I did a cursory google search and was pleasantly surprised to see some record of the origin of them. They actually originated from the Something Awful forums and were originally about Vin Diesel in response to his movie The Pacifier. They were adapted into being about Chuck Norris. Conan O’Brien’s running bits about Walker: Texas Ranger also played a part in the viral popularity of the Chuck Norris facts. I remember when they first blew up outside of Something Awful.

I honestly thought they were good, well-written, funny jokes but I usually resist trends, so I usually focused my scorn on more shallow aspects of them like creating a bandwagon around Chuck Norris. There were a few moments where people would bring them up at parties and quote them heavily and boy, did I not like that. I likened it to quoting Monty Python or something. The worst iteration came from a special edition DVD of the movie Road House, where Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier were inexplicably given a commentary track where, when there was a lull, they’d read Chuck Norris facts and make them be about Dalton, regardless if it made sense or not.

MAIL BAG:

Why do you listen to self-admitted "racist ass nazi podcasts"? Why not listen to something like Comedy Bang Bang where the characters are the stars? Do you listen to Sam Hyde's podcast? Did you know the characters are the stars on Comedy Bang Bang? Did you know despite allegations of being "difficult," Scott Auckerman is a nice guy off the set if you don't give him a reason to hate you? Any last words, playboy, before I blow your head off?

I am sorta exaggerating, that’s just my funny way of referring to a podcast that sometimes cheekily uses slurs in a very teenager-kinda way. I’m talking, of course, about Pod Save America. I didn’t know Sam Hyde has a podcast. I will have to check it out.

Comedy Bang Bang... now there’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time. Damn. I got in on the ground floor of that show and I THINK that one of the early episodes might actually by my own recording of it? They used to broadcast the show live as internet radio and podcast them later and I remember one time Scott posted a thing online where he said their recording of the show failed so it wasn’t gonna be podcasted, and I was able to send him my recording. Some other episodes were supplied by other fans in this early days, I think. I went through the early episodes recently and heard a tell-tale audio error that used to plague my recordings back then and it all came flooding back to me.

Anyway, once in a blue moon I’ll listen to Comedy Bang Bang but I think I’ve lost my taste for it and shows like it. I don’t think it’s bad, I just can’t get into it anymore. Too much comedy!

[feminaexlux]

Dragon, Viper, Tiger

Tossing my hat back in the ring for @lovebugs-and-snakecharmers AU sprint challenge!. I went with the Thief/Heist AU since I’d been kicking this idea around for a while.

I gave myself an arbitrary editing deadline of 6pm so I hope it both makes sense and reads alright, but shrugs

Hope you enjoy! Find on AO3 here :)

⁂

Viper was sometimes glad he had a longer running gait than the woman on his tail only a few meters behind. He put his long legs to use and leapt up onto a couple of filing cabinets, scrambled up to the bare industrial support beams of the so called modern office building he’d broken into, and jumped over the dividing wall via the exposed ceiling.

Post-Modern styled offices just lent themselves so well to the good old B&E.

The wiring crisscrossing through the exposed ceiling allowed him to occasionally cut the telecommunication lines in his hasty exit, which was great in trying to prevent any of the security cameras from tracking him. If he also took out the internet lines that was just an added bonus, since that’d probably slow down anyone trying to access the proprietary blueprint he pilfered. He just needed to buy some time.

He probably could have gotten out a few minutes ago since he already had the memcube in his pocket, but this was really the only opportunity he had to see Officer MDC in action. Oh, nice, there she was, waiting for him in her combat stance at his specified exit point. Even at 5 foot nothing she’d landed him on his ass waaaay too many times, but honestly he loved the challenge of facing her. She always had new tricks up her sleeve.

But so did he, with some of the info that Tiger kept leaving him. Like, for instance, even if MDC had gotten the EMP disruption lace installed in her gloves, it could easily be counteracted and redirected by the additional aluminum alloy mesh Dragon had added as the inner lining to his wetware, so the memcube wouldn’t be completely fried if MDC did manage to land a hit (and she usually did). The only problem was trying to find where to ground the pulse… But the priority order was, as ever, keeping his identity safe, then getting the payload, then trying to escape unscathed. Paris PD’s Special Circumstances wasn’t ever going to figure out his identity (unless he died), nor would they get to know that the same general producer for their own tech was his boss (unless he died).

Viper didn’t relish the idea of dying, so he’d been doing his best at avoiding that particular outcome. He’d done well so far, even if he did come out of MDC encounters with more bruises and scars than when he went in. He had landed in front of Marinette and smiled. She rolled her eyes at him. And before he knew it, she had launched herself at him with her classic opener: a roundhouse kick to his solar plexus.

⁂

Viper slid underneath the food truck and unlatched a hidden panel, hauling himself through the opening feet first as quietly as he could. He toed the hatch closed behind him but caught it with his fingers before it made impact. He couldn’t give up the game now by being loud, that’d be so, so lame. He heard the gravel get scraped below his temporary entombment and he knew it was Marinette. She felt at the truck’s undercarriage and probed for any particular weaknesses or different materials and he heard her muffled voice as she worked with her TIKKI AI to scan any infrared signals and find any potential structural modifications done to the vehicle.

Here’s to hoping that Markov did its job correctly, he thought. Otherwise they’d be out of a job… and a food truck.

A few minutes later he heard her curse and slam an open palm against the undercarriage in frustration. “I know you’re in here, Viper!” she yelled.

“Ma'am?” He heard another voice chime in. “Why are you under our truck?”

⁂

A very cramped 3 hours later after a thorough inspection and nearly complete teardown of the food truck, Viper finally popped the floor panel and took in some fresh air. Well, relatively fresh, it smelled like greasy food all around him. The truck was already on the highway, having been released from the PD’s temporary impounding for being present at the scene and potentially housing a wanted criminal. The scans came up with nothing, the truck’s workers came up clean through the ID system, the truck’s visit and movements were tracked and scheduled and above board.

The actual food truck owners were unaware of his presence, which was just the way he liked it. He stretched his legs out a bit after being folded up into such a tiny space for so long. It was the sole disadvantage of having long legs, but he was the best in class at his job for all the contortion required. Plus he wasn’t claustrophobic like Tiger was. Speaking of… he checked his watch.

ur late, asshole

cg again? u simp

special 4u 0xdeadbeef

Oooof course. He could always count on his sister for ribbing on his infatuation with Cafe Girl, their codename for Marinette. He took one last relatively fresh breath of air and went back into hiding, sealing the latch shut. He listened for the engine knock signature: 4, 5, 1, 4, 2, 5, 5, 6, opened the bottom panel, dropped onto the street with his camouflage on, and kicked the panel closed before the truck took off. A bus drove over him and he hitched a ride, holding on underneath for 4 blocks, then rolled into the gutter drain.

⁂

It was a pretty quiet evening at Cafe Orriko, a cozy little cafe that had some steadfast regulars. One of Luka’s favorite hangouts due to the owners letting him lounge around and play his acoustic without complaint. There’d been another reason Luka loved this particular cafe, though.

Nathaniel heard the door chime and looked up, smiling at the newcomer. “Hey welcome to–oh hey Mar–oh shit MARC WE HAVE A CODE PINK!” There was a hastily tossed pillow from Marc that Nathaniel covered with a tea towel and passed to Marinette. She pulled up the pillow to her face and screamed into it for a good 20 seconds. Nath grimaced. “Bad day?”

She lowered the pillow. “Stupid fucking Viper I swear I will rip him in half and tear him to fucking shreds once I finally get my hands on him!”

Luka chuckled, having stopped playing his guitar when he noticed that Marinette had come in. “Careful, sounds like he might like that,” he winked.

“Uuuuugh,” Marinette groaned. “Thank you, Nath. Just… just gimme my usual, please.” She looked pretty dejected this time, handing back the pillow and tea towel, walking to Luka’s couch, and plopping down next to him. “Please, Luka, could you play me something soothing?”

“Anything for you,” he said, starting up an easy tune. “I know you can’t talk a lot about your work, but… what went wrong today?”

“Nnng, just… just I knew where he was and we still didn’t get him. He’s like a fucking ghost, he just… disappears! Poof!” She usually discussed what was already covered on the nightly news broadcasts, just to be safe.

“Then he’s pretty good,” Luka said neutrally enough, but hid a smirk behind a cough when Marinette gave him the stink eye.

“He only needs to fail once,” Marinette huffed. “He can’t always have luck on his side.” Marc came by with her salted caramel hot chocolate. “Thanks, Marc,” she sighed, relaxing a little bit as she took a sip of the steaming hot drink.

Luka set a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “You’ll get him one day, I know it.”

“I’d still have my work cut out for me. I have to find the Dragon after him,” Marinette groaned again. “And Adrien’s still obsessed with that stupid Fencer lady so he’s no help.” Marinette shut her eyes tight and shook her head. “But enough about that. How are you, Luka? I’m glad I was able to run into you today.”

Luka wasn’t going to mention that she’d already run into him earlier as the one and only Viper. “It was going alright, but it’s better now that you’re here,” he smiled. Marinette blushed a little and smiled back, nudging his shoulder with hers. “Sorry about your rough day though,” he added quickly.

Marinette shrugged. “It’s work. It’s… it’s so weird what the Syndicate goes for, it’s not even like… anything really valuable? I swear they’re doing it just to mess with us and wreak havoc.”

“You haven’t figured out a pattern?” Luka asked. Marinette made a zipping motion across her mouth. “Oh, right. Sorry.”

She shrugged again. “No more talk about work, please. I’d just… like to hear you play, if that’s alright?”

“Yeah, no problem,” he chuckled.

She closed her eyes as he started playing the guitar again, something soft and pleasant that reminded him of her. She leaned her head against his shoulder while he played and he felt his heart beating faster.

One day, when the jig was up, he’d love to take her out for dinner. Assuming, of course, that he hadn’t been torn to pieces by her hands.

[since0202]

Chapter 25: Clear

Grace had no idea how or when she made it home. The rest of the day was a blur or spent unconscious or spent recasting to the stupid, same old place in the middle of the forest. 

The next conscious moment she recalled with clarity was waking up in her bed to muffled voices: Edward and Bella. The last thing she clearly heard was Bella saying “—tried everything! He’s not answering.” before Edward gently hushed her indicating that Grace was awake. 

She knew they were talking about her but didn’t care and as she drifted off back to sleep, she heard Edward mutter, “We’ll find him.” 

Grace woke the next morning, the day before the fight was expected to happen, and felt oddly lighter. She didn’t feel better, but a weight had lifted off of her. Maybe seeing Paul had been a good thing and she could work on letting him go too. At this thought though, Grace sucked in a painful breath and took her time getting up and out of bed. Too soon. 

Once out of bed, she pulled her long hair out of her face into a presentable ponytail, some jean shorts and a white baggy t-shirt. She headed down the steps to the smell of breakfast cooking in the kitchen. As she rounded the corner, Charlie sat at the little dining table finishing his breakfast, decked out in his fishing gear. Sue Clearwater was packing their provisions into a small cooler to take with them on their 2-day trip to Fraser River to get them out of  the area for the fight. Bella was taking no chances. 

Grace leaned against the door frame and crossed her arms watching Bella push a massive amount of scrambled eggs around in the pan. Bacon was cooking on the back stove, she must have cooked an entire slab, the pan was overflowing.  

“Hey,” Grace said in a small voice. 

“Hey! You’re up! Hungry?” Bella gestured to the food. Grace nodded lightly and eyed the pan. 

“That’s a lot of food,” Grace raised an eyebrow. 

“Good, cos I’m starving,” a warm, comforting voice carrying a hint of a smile came from the other side of the kitchen that connected into the living room. 

“Jacob.” Grace whispered, her eyes connecting with his before bounding over to him and crashing her body into his. She wrapped her arms around his upper chest and under his arms like a child hugs an adult, but she didn’t care. Everything had felt so cold since she and Paul had separated and now, warmth rushed through her body causing her to shiver with relief. 

Jacob eagerly wrapped his arms over her shoulders and down around her back, leaning forward to whisper softly in her ear, “You okay?” 

Grace tried so hard to hold it together in that moment but she couldn’t help a sob from escaping her throat. She clasped her hand around her right wrist behind his back and pulled tightly into him, trying to squelch any sounds from escaping her lips with his body. Her tears wetted his dark blue shirt and he just held her there gently swaying her back and forth. 

“You got this?” Charlie put a hand on Jake’s shoulder as he held his tackle box in his other hand. 

“I got this,” Jake said confidently. 

Charlie smoothed Grace’s hair down absently for a moment and then headed toward the door. 

“Have fun!” Bella called behind them.

“We will!” Sue said to the sound of the screen door clapping shut behind them. Grace took deep steady breaths as she continued to hold onto Jake, loosening her grip ever so slightly and laying her left cheek to his clothed chest. Her body had ached so long for that warmth and she felt something in her mending ever so slightly. She didn’t feel whole just yet, but Jake being there took some of the pain off of her that she had tried so hard to release when she saw Paul yesterday. 

“Let’s eat, yeah?” he said and dipped his head to look at her face. She nodded, still breathing heavily, tears having stained her cheeks despite her best efforts. Jacob cupped her right cheek in his hand and wiped the tears with his calloused thumb before giving her a reassuring smile. He walked her over to the kitchen table and she slumped into the chair across from him. Bella set some plates down in front of each of them and spread jam across her toast, taking a seat facing the small window. Grace looked at her food for a second still trying to come back down for her emotional high. Things swam in front of her, her head foggy. 

“Grace, eat.” Jake said before digging in, giving her a worried look. She straightened up a little and moved over her plate, slowly taking bites and sitting back in her chair to chew. When she looked to her right over Bella’s shoulder, Edward was sauntering in. 

“That’s new,” he said, gesturing to Grace eating. “Took you long enough.” He jabbed at Jake. 

Jacob returned the comment with a scathing look. “You know you didn’t have to tackle me. If I’d known I was being summoned, I would have come.” 

“Keep your phone on then and I won’t have to come looking for you next time.” Edward said jovially. 

“Anyways, the plan is to get you two into the mountains. Seth will be there as a guard, but with Bella’s scent placed everywhere in the clearing, it shouldn’t be difficult to keep the vampires there.”

“Wait what?” Grace said, trying to clear the fog in her brain. 

“We need Bella away from the area, but not so far enough away that I can’t get to her if I need to,” Edward replied smoothly. Bella watched Grace’s face carefully. 

“You’ll need to recast you and Bella to the location,” Jake said, staring at her seriously. Grace looked from Edward to Jake. 

“So you’re going to leave her there with Seth?” Grace felt dumb. “No offense but if something were to get to Bella, Seth isn’t the best defense just yet.” 

“You’ll be there to protect her. If danger pops up, you can easily recast her away to another location.” Edward said simply. 

“That doesn’t make any sense. I’ll be in the clearing with everyone else,” the fog persisted but she was slowly coming to a realization. 

“No.” Jake said firmly, “You won’t. We’re not risking you to an army of newborn vampires. You’ll be away, safe in an isolated location with Bella.” 

“The fuck I am,” Grace said dropping her fork with a clatter on her plate. 

“Grace,” Bella pleaded. 

“No. I’m not letting you guys do this without me. Edward can stay with Bella,” Grace pointed at Edward, like a child accusing a sibling. He let out a scoff. Jake glared at Grace. “What?!” she said, voice raised. Okay, she was a little emotionally uneven right now, she’d admit, but that wasn’t an excuse to box her out of the fight. 

“Forgot how stubborn you were,” Jake said casually, returning to shovelling eggs and bacon into his mouth. Grace rolled her eyes and looked back to Edward. 

“I’ll get her there but I’m not staying, so figure something else out.” Grace said definitively, crossing her arms. 

“You’ll have to talk to Sam then,” Edward replied, digging in his heels and keeping his voice curt. 

“Oooh, I’m so scared.” Grace taunted. Bella had her head in her hands now. “I can do more than just recast you know.” Jake looked at her suddenly giving her a warning look. Edward waited to hear more but Grace decided not to offer additional information, squirming a little under Jake’s look. 

“Grace, I’d feel better if you were with me. I don’t want you in the fight as much as Edward, but at least if you’re there I’ll know we’re safe together.” Bella said softly. Grace rested her eyes on her uncrossing her arms and leaning forward to Bella.

“I understand, but I can’t leave them out there,” she motioned to Jake. 

“You can and you will,” Jake said between mouthfuls. Grace glared at him. Now she was careening toward annoyance at his presence even though when he left she knew the cold would return. “Because Sam’s gonna make you.” Jake gave her a knowing, harsh look. 

Grace tightened at this, her whole body starting to shake and shimmer. Her emotions were on a hairpin trigger as it were. She heard an echo of her name as someone, maybe Jake, maybe Bella, called out to her before she recast. Then, she was in the same thicket of wood she’d ended up in the past few days.

Again.

She was standing in the fern covered ground, as if she had just been dropped there. She threw her head back and let out a low groan: 

“Uuuuugh, why?! Why am I here?” she asked no one. 

Fine. If something was bringing her here, she needed to figure out what it was. She surveyed the densely vegetated area and picked a direction, taking large steps over the choke of ferns, vines, and brush. Grace could hear the ocean nearby and the birds trilled and dove above her high in the trees. After a few minutes walking through the trees, she came to a clearing. 

Grace audibly gasped. The clearing she had come into was actually a cove. She faced the side of an old dilapidated house that faced out toward the lapping waves in the large oval shaped cove. She stepped out of the brush toward the moss covered home. The roof was sagging on one side and it definitely had weathered more than one storm. 

Grace came around to the front of the home and tentatively tested the porch steps. It led up to a wide and deep covered porch. It seemed okay but she tread lightly anyway. The house was on the small side but breathtaking with wide old windows laid into the front that reflected the ocean at her. She tried the door and it swung open easily. 

Abandoned. Empty.

When she crossed the threshold, she felt that familiar rush move through her that she now recognized as a signal of change, a shift in her destiny, the page turning. She took a deep breath and stood in the doorway all at once feeling alone, but home. 

Grace zipped close the duffel bag she was meant to bring with her to the campsite. 

“You know where you’re going?” Sam said standing next to her in the clearing. Bella was finishing up rubbing her blood on everything and Grace grimaced at the coppery smell that lingered around. 

“Yes.” she said with a huff, shouldering the bag and looking up at him. She zipped up her coat. Even in the warm May weather, it would be quite a bit cooler up the mountain. 

“Just listen for Jake’s voice and you’ll be able to see if a threat is coming, okay?” Sam said, fully acknowledging that she was more directly linked with Jacob from afar than him. 

“Okay. Anything else?” Grace said. He’d already given her the Alpha order that she wasn’t allowed to join the fight under any circumstances. To which she had almost lunged at him for before Jacob put a hand defensively around her. He waited for her to look at him in the eyes before he said. 

“Nope, just stay put with Bella until we give the all clear. Understood?” He thought he’d just toss on an extra dose of the alpha just in case the first one hadn’t sunk in. Grace bit the inside of her cheek, irritated and gave a curt. 

“Mmmhmm,” before turning to see Jake and Bella approaching. Edward left his family’s group to come and say goodbye to Bella. 

“Ready?” Jake said. Grace, hands on her hips nodded again and Jake ran a hand down her arm before nodding at her, “Everything’s going to be okay.” He hesitated before jogging off with Sam to look at her just a little bit longer. Grace held back the emotion threatening to spill out and bounced her leg nervously. 

“I know. Be careful,” she edged out. Jacob nodded and looked over her shoulder at Edward, signaling his was off and then he turned to leave. The pull in her stomach jerked toward him as he ran and Grace winced. 

Grace turned to Bella who held out her hand after giving Edward one last long kiss. 

“Stay together,” he said strongly before Grace had heard enough and recast them easily to their targeted destination. Edward had gone ahead and set up their campsite earlier the night before. Grace dropped the duffel bag near the tent and turned to look at Bella. 

“Well. This will be fun.” Grace said sarcastically. 

“Thank you for staying with me,” Bella said softly. Grace immediately melted some. 

“I know. Of course. I’m sorry I’m just…” Grace faltered. 

“It’s okay. I know the feeling.” Bella could see that Grace was trying to keep it together despite everything that had just happened over the last week. “It’ll take time to feel okay again. At least I think it will? Jacob was the only thing that could make me feel slightly better afterward.” She said shoving her hands in her pockets. 

“Same,” Grace breathed. 

“Two peas in a pod.” Bella joked. 

As the night drew on, Grace and Bella settled into their sleeping bags around the campfire where they had roasted some peppers and warmed up some of Emily’s homemade vegetarian soup made special for Bella. They had zipped their sleeping bags together and were huddled under it spooning soup into their mouth when Seth bounded up the hill. 

Grace could feel him coming early on as she listened for Jake, but she still acted surprised when he appeared. 

“Seth-a-rino!” She said happily clanking her bowl of soup with Bella’s. “The party starts!” 

Are you drunk? She could hear Seth ask jokingly.

“What? Of course not.” Grace said, confused. Bella looked at Grace curiously since she hadn’t heard what Seth had said, but she waved her off. Seth acknowledged her weird mood swing and came to sit beside them in his wolf form. He radiated hotter than the bonfire ahead of them. 

“What do you think it’s gonna be like tomorrow?” Grace asked Bella. “You’ve had way more encounters with vicious vampires than I have to be fair.” Bella nodded at this. 

“I’m not sure. A few vampires is one thing, but an entire army of newborns? I was in an entire ancient den of probably the most dangerous vampires in the world and I still couldn’t tell you. But I know it will probably be terrifying.” 

Grace breathed out, listening for echoes in the distance. Voices calling out to her in rounds, but no one did. Seth’s even wolf puffs of breath indicated he had fallen asleep. Grace watched the flames of the fire until they died down to an ashen burn before nudging a sleeping Bella awake to go sleep in the tent. 

The morning of the fight dawned on Grace excruciatingly slowly. She paced up and down the side hill training her ear for Jacob. She heard echoing voices that didn’t say much, just communicated how excited, how pumped, how scared or nervous they were for the fight to start. They were meant to stay on the eastern part of the forest and slowly surround once the vampires had been drawn into Bella’s blood-soaked clearing. 

Alice confirmed with Edward who relayed to Sam that the newborns were on their way and would be there soon. The message echoed down the line. Grace felt a lump form in her throat as she repeated over and over again so Jacob would hear her. 

Be careful. Be careful. Please be careful. 

She was surprised by the volley of answers calling out to her. 

We will. 

We’ve got this.

Stay put. 

They won’t know what hits them. 

Can’t wait to take them down. 

They’re the ones that should be careful. 

Let’s rock this shit.

Grace laughed a little, reassured by the confident voices and closed her eyes to try and see through Jacob’s eyes what was happening. The image flickered off and on for her—she hadn’t practiced this form of communication as much with him. But she was able to see that they were falling into formation and the sickening smell of the vampires was growing as they descended on the clearing. 

The Cullen’s stood ready. Grace felt a warm hand in hers and felt Bella beside her, leaning in like she could hear what was happening too, but watching Grace’s face for cues. 

“They’re here.” Grace echoed and she saw, horrifyingly, as the newborns stomped into the clearing. The Cullens didn’t hesitate intercepting them as the huge throng of 23 strong newborns launched at them. They volleyed for two minutes, mostly ducking and moving out of the newborns way to get them deeper into the clearing and buy the wolves time to surround the clearing and then--

Grace heard the command from Sam to charge in and she tightened her hold on Bella’s hand. 

“What? What?!” Bella asked frantic clutching Grace’s hand back. Grace focused and shook her head. She followed Jacob’s sight through the throng. He lunged and ripped and tore at each newborn that came into close contact. 

Then he careened back, changing course and lunging across the field over bodies and bodies fighting to intercept and pull a newborn that had clung to Embry’s back. He and Sam ran rings around the group, trying to keep up but—

“They’re outnumbered.” Grace breathed. And then, she saw the red head, Victoria, move into the field, frantically searching and locking eyes with Edward across the field. Edward was on her in a second and they were locked in an exchange of blows. Edward tossed her across the field and Quil went to intercept but got flung back by a large newborn that crunched him into a tree. 

Grace sucked in a deep breath and tensed. Jake was there in a second to pull the newborn down and Quil quickly rejoined the fight, shaken but undeterred. The newborns were fast, just as Jasper had described, and they were outpacing the wolves and the Cullens were having trouble keeping up. Each time one of the wolves pulled a newborn to the ground, a Cullen would come to try and pull the newborn apart, but frustratingly, the newborns would wiggle free and dart away more often than not and continue the tireless fight. After ten minutes of this, Their numbers had barely diminished. 

Grace was growing worried as the wolves continued, their senses dialed to ten. But she knew it wouldn’t last forever. They’d get tired and then they’d be in trouble. Jacob was having more success taking some newborns down but when Paul was suddenly knocked from his feet, Grace couldn’t help but yell out in pain as the newborn came down on top of him, snapping his collarbone. Paul yelped and Grace snapped her eyes open. The alpha order melted away and she felt it’s release.

“Grace wait!” Bella said seeing a dangerous look in her eye. Seth whimpered and tried pleading too. 

You’re supposed to stay with me and Bella, Grace. Sam said, remember?

“Stay here, Seth.” Grace was calm, she felt the air move easily around her as she recast and heard a rushing sound, a change as she reappeared directly in the middle of the clearing, the fight raging around her. She knew she had to do something, but no sooner had she got there than suddenly, the newborns froze and their gaze snapped to her. The Cullens and wolves instantly moved to try and tackle the temporarily distracted newborns but it caused them to move faster, surrounding Grace in their fury. 

She smelled very very good to them, temporarily overpowering Bella’s scent in the clearing. Her heartbeat echoed in their newly defined ears. They were drawn to her like moths to a particularly lit flame. 

Bait. She was bait. Fuck. 

Grace hadn’t anticipated this reaction and braced herself for the onslaught not sure what to do next. The wolves dashed toward her, somehow in this moment outpacing the vampires as adrenaline shot through them at seeing Grace there. They made a crushing circle around Grace facing the newborns. Furious voices filled her head as the wolves cursed at her for being there. 

Jesus, Grace. 

You couldn’t just stay put. 

I swear to fucking god if we die, I’m gonna be so pissed. 

As the newborns crushed in on top of the wolves and the Cullens tried to pull them off from the outside, Grace saw an opening. She had to act fast. 

She recast outside of the tight circle of snapping, growling, shattering, and bludgeoning and moved quickly around the edge of the circle. 

She reached through one of the Cullen’s arms, Emmett by the size of it, and onto a newborn they had. She yelled “Let go!” and they did. Grace recast carrying the newborn out of the crush just a few feet from the circle. Then in one swift motion she pulled her energy up, hardened it, and smashed it down toward the ground as hard as she could onto the unsuspecting newborn that had been sprawled out on the grass, cleanly severing it’s head and smashing it’s arms in the process. 

Satisfied with this result, she repeated it more times than she could keep up with, constantly recasting in and around the circle, pulling newborn after newborn free and smashing them to bits on the ground. The Cullens, catching on, broke from the circle and picked up the mess of limbs and threw it on a waiting fire. The wolves were able to push the diminished crowd of newborns back as Grace moved quickly. The rest seemed easy.

Grace saw Edward out of the corner of her eye give her a menacing look and take off through the trees. She had left Bella alone and unprotected. She tried to shout after him but the momentary distraction had given a newborn the opening they needed to crash into Grace, tackling her from around the waist and smashing her against a tree. 

Blood poured from her mouth at the force of the impact and she temporarily slumped to the ground after the newborn had pulled back, hand raised to bash in her skull no doubt. But that blow never came—Jacob and Paul crashed through the clearing, one going for the head, the other going for the body and ripped the newborn to literal shreds, not stopping until he was practically dust. 

Grace picked herself up and leaned back against the tree taking deep gulping breaths, the blood soaking the front of her shirt. She tried to assess her internal injuries but in her heightened state was unable to focus on one point of pain long enough before it subsided. Jake and Paul stood guard in front of her scanning the field as the others took down newborn after newborn. The wolves were taking the rest down 2-1. 

Her eyes widened as she heard a distance, echoing voice rise up through the back of her head.

Grace! Grace help!

 “Seth!” Grace recast, envisioning the campsite and holding onto Seth’s form in her mind. 

Jacob and Paul swung around to where she had stood, eyes wide, before jumping back in to take care of the rest of them at Sam’s command. When Grace recast at the campsite, her eyes widened as she took in the scene.

Edward was on his knees, held by Victoria at the throat as another blonde newborn held him down. Bella was screaming and about to launch toward them but Grace was faster. Seth was mid-air when she recast and slid into the blonde’s legs like she was sliding into homebase, knocking him unexpectedly off his feet. Seth grabbed his head in his mouth and tore it cleanly from his shoulders. 

Grace tossed the beheaded body aside and Seth had at it. Edward was able to get on his feet, and take Victoria down to the ground. Grace strode over, lifted her leg as high as she could and brought it down with a satisfying crunch into Victoria’s face. She ground her heel into her neck, severing it from her body. Edward flicked open a lighter and threw it on the bonfire, stacking Victoria’s body on the blaze and immediately crossed to Bella. Grace tossed the severed head and limbs of the blonde vampire on as well, her breathing raspy and uneven.

“Grace?” Bella said, concerned as Edward wrapped his arms around her pulling her into him. 

Blood covered Grace’s shirt but she didn’t feel injured. She must be in shock. Then a scene flickered in front of her eyes. Leah spotted a newborn hiding in the trees and went after it. Her takedown was messy and the newborn quickly got his arms around her. Whimpering and calling out for help, the pack snapped into action. Sam cried out “Leah!” desperately trying to reach her.

But Jacob got there first, pulling the vampire off. He stumbled in his haste to free Leah and the newborn got the upper hand again, quickly wrapping his arms around Jacob. Grace heard a sickening crunch and screamed, recasting into the clearing as she saw Jake’s body fall to the ground. 

Every piece of energy she felt around her roiled and built up in the ground beneath her like an unconscious call. She realized her scream was echoing and pushing out around her and in the next moment, the energy like a hot, crashing wave moved out from around her and pushed everything in the clearing away, including the wolves and the Cullen’s who were thrown into the forest. The newborn who had been poised above Jacob felt the full force of it and slammed back into a tree, cracking his head at the neck so it was almost severed but not quite. Jacob’s body was untouched. 

Trees fell from the impact of the energy and crashed into the ground like giant booming dominoes. Grace quickly ran to Jacob who had unphased in his agony before passing out. 

“Jake?!” she yelled in a broken sob. 

The others were on her in a second crowding around Jacob. Paul put his arms under Grace’s shoulders and hoisted her back away from Jacob despite her screams and clawing forward to get to him. The pack quickly and carefully picked him up walking out of the clearing. She heard a muffled sound and saw Carlisle shout something at them. But she was losing consciousness. 

The massive amount of energy she had expelled to clear their battleground had drained everything from her. Paul caught her under the knees as she buckled and let herself get swallowed up in the darkness, the noise and rush still crashing around in her head.

[hasquetzorkukudoneanythingwrong]

Lights, Camera, Lucha!

After being briefed by Romani (somehow...?) About the teeny tiny Caribbean Hollywood singularity, Rex and his main servant Quetzalcoatl along with Mash Kyrielight reported to the library to talk with Murasaki

(Wtf is with the timeline anyways?)

Quetz: Hola Murasaki! Master Rex and his main servant, Quetzalcoatl along with miss Mash Kyrielight are here!

Murasaki: oh! Good to see you! I'm just getting the script ready... won't be much longer.

Rex: cool...

Murasaki: actually, Mash I have a role that you'd be perfect for!

Mash: oh! I'm more then ready to play!

Rex: actually... can you let us know what the movie is?

Murasaki: hmm? Oh of course Lord Rex.

After explaining the general synopsis of the film.

Rex: hmmm... nope!

Murasaki: no?! What do you mean no?

Rex: I don't think that's a good enough film. Besides, what's mi corazon gonna do the whole time? She should included... in fact she should be the Star!

Murasaki: I mean... I can rewrite it a bit with her in mind...

Rex: actually! I'll help rewrite it completely!

Murasaki: is that necessary? We're kind of tight on time!

Rex: I actually have the perfect film in mind already!

Murasaki: really?!

Rex: yup! I kind of think of these things on my own often.

After some rewrites, they came with a completely different script!

Murasaki: do modern people enjoy this kind of film?

Rex: of course! It's super popular! And can have amazing results when done right!

Quetzalcoatl took a look at the script

Quetz: mi amor! This script actually seems amazing! I'm excited to play this starring role!

Rex: hell yeah!

Murasaki: this does mean we must recast completely. I am not certain the previous actors will be able to fill the new roles.

Rex: it'll be fine! Given the circumstances the proper servants will agree to it.

Murasaki: if you say so...

Mash: hey! Isn't that Moriarty over there?

Rex: huh, he's talking with Nursery Rhyme.

Quetz: mmhmm, anyways! Ignoring that!

Mash: should we really be ignoring him like that?

Murasaki: he seems like he may be a bit distressed actually.

Quetz, sarcastically: oh noooooo.... how unfortunate....

Mash: is everything OK Lady Quetzalcoatl?

Quetz: I'm sorry but I'm not over him trying to KILL MY HUSBAND WITH A METEOR!

Rex: also, Lady would technically be disrespectful since she's a literal goddess.

Murasaki, frantic: oh no! I didn't mean to offend!

Mash: he looks really troubled now

Rex: maybe we should go over there.

Quetz: uuuuugh...fine. but I'm not going, and I won't let mi amor go either!

She says this as she grabs onto Rex.

Rex, not even fighting it: guess you guys gotta handle it.

After Mash and Murasaki go over there, eventually Nursery Rhyme is seen leaving, then Mash comes over to Rex and Quetz.

Mash: Murasaki offered to let Mr. Moriarty join, but we need your ok.

Quetz: No!

Mash: that's a bit harsh

James, from over yonder: I'M SORRY OK!

Quetz: SORRY DOESN'T EVEN BEGIN TO MAKE UP FOR IT!

Mash: maybe you can decide the roll at least?

Quetz: how about a random minion I beat up?!

James: *offended gasp!*

Quetz: gasp all you want!

Rex: he could be a notable minion? With a name? I could fit that in.

Quetz: suuuuure....! So long as I can harm him!

James: will letting you hurt me finally absolve me of that particular sin!?

Quetz: Nah! But I'll feel a lil better!

James: ugh...

Rex: ya really can't blame her... that was kinda traumatizing.

So the new script was written and Rex and Quetz were to go on and film this amazing and so much better film!

A/N: so yeah, after @hasspartacusdoneanythingwrong mentioned the idea, Quetz will now be the star of the film. It's a completely new film. I do have a vague idea, but kinda wanna see how the event proper goes down first before I continue on with that.

Tags

@hasishtardoneanythingwrong @hasereshdoneanythingwrong @haspaulbunyandoneanythingwrong @haskamadoneanythingwrong @hasbbdoneanythingwrong @hasnightingaledoneanythingwrong @renmeo @kazmetic @grievouslyxorvia

[historicfailure]

Hello! Hopefully, that health issue of yours is not something serious and it will pass soon ♥️

So, I do have a question, and actually, I had a few of them but I narrowed them down to just two! It's one more writing-related and one more personal (if it's okay with you, of course)! 😁

So, the writing related: what do you find the most difficult in the process of creating the story? I mean from the moment that the idea clicks in your head, to the moment of publishing it/posting the final chapter. What is the most difficult thing in the whole process?

And second, what hobbies/passions (besides writing wonderful works) do you have on a daily basis? I remember that you play games sometimes and collect notebooks (is it weird that I remember those things? I hope not >.< I tend to remember little too many details like those about people that I like >.< Uuuuugh... It really sounds weird... T-T) ^^'

Love ya & take care!

♥️

Hey there! :D

Yeah, it's not something serious and fingers crossed, it will pass soon >-< It's just annoying tbh.

Oh my! I mean, just throw all your questions at me, I certainly don't mind! It will only take me a bit because I want to give every ask enough attention ^^

The most difficult thing in writing... I would say, for me it's "how to get from Point A to point B, C, D... and to Point Z". How to connect the different stations in the fic. In most cases, that would be:

How do the characters fall in love with each other realistically?

As I say time and time again, I want to at least try to write realistic ways of falling in love. It won't work out every time, especially when there are fantasy-themes involved (aka for example Hanahaki or let's say, supernatural forces). Anyway, from the point of meeting (which sometimes falls away when the parties involved know each other already) up until the point they confess/come clean and sometimes even longer, there are steps making the two characters falling in love with each other. Again, realistically.

Let's face it, most, if not all characters I write for are in some kind emotionally stunted. I don't claim that the way I write them is the ultimate true way to write them, but I just think their problems make the characters more approachable/relatable. At the same time, these problems need to be taken into account when approaching the different steps of the characters getting to know each other.

For example, if Character A is into listening to people ramble about things they like, and Character B was traumatized by smth in their past and doesn't share their passions anymore. You sure as hell can bet I need to include some scenes about

a) A either asking or noticing that B never talks about their passions with them

b) B admiting they don't like to share their passions

c) A trying to make them comfortable enough that they do

d) B either confessing what happened that they don't share their passions any longer with other people OR sharing testingly some passions with A

...

and so on. You can see that alone this simple example can branch out infinitely, as I didn't touch upon on all the possibilities for angst or fluff or anything in between which could happen. And how to realistically get to those different stations, so that it feels natural, filling the gaps in between, I think that is the hardest for me to do.

Wow. That was long winded ^^'' Sorry for that one.

And my hobbies apart from writing? I knit a little bit when I have the time. Just some simple stuff, for example a scarf for a two different friends, and right now I'm working at a blanket for myself ^^

Also, playing games is indeed one of my other hobbies. Predominantly, that would be Overwatch (and let's face it, the community is dead until OW 2 comes out, or another major huge update), Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, Genshin Impact (yes, I went down that route finally. No, I won't explain myself), Animal Crossing for the Switch, all Pokemon games over the years, and some Zelda sprinkled in between ^^ It's incredibly that you remembered that! <3

And yessss, notebooks >-< sigh, my passion. I have to restrain myself to go into any stores with office supplies, okay? The temptations are everywhere.

Also, I bought two plants some weeks ago! One is an Aloe Vera and the other an Echeviera, both succulents. I hope I can keep them alive and thriving, bought them special earth and everything.

And even though I can't do it that much at the moment to lack of tools, I love to bake! The sweet sweet temptation of sugar >-< Cakes or cookies, just... urgh. I love to have some hard rock playing when I bake, as well? Which is more of a weird little quirk than anything xD

GOsh, this answer grew longer than expected! Thank you so much for sending in this ask, it was lots of fun to answer! :D