#like every one of my siblings and i have weird little encounter stories

[pyreshe]

not my house being fucking haunted 😭

[notmyprey]

Annon sent me an ask with a lot of Ninjagº sfw vore prompts, and this one caught my eye specifically, and I want to dedicate a post to it.

I dont have time to draw much, but yall can have a short story-

(Also, wanna preface this with: no, I dont ship Lloyd and Kai. They have a sibling bond imo, and idk it'd be kinda weird with the age gap for a lot of the show. But I'm not gonna send hate to those who do see it like that. Just know this is written with a sibling bond in mind.

Also, this is written abt Lloyd after he grew up and matured a bit. So like- season 5+ Lloyd)

Click

The sound was faint, yet Lloyd knew exactly what it meant. Drop, cover, and prey to the gods it wasn't aimed towards you. Not even a moment after he dove behind the nearest bolder did he hear the thundering boom followed by the bright flash. Wind rushed past him, throwing ash and debris his way. The deafening sound echoed through his very core. It never seemed to end, his body left still shaking minutes after it was done. The cavern bounced the noise, rolling it off one wall and onto the next. It felt like it lasted ages within the few minutes it actually occurred.

The fighting, the punching, the swords, and the guns, all of these never fazed him. But explosions? Those were his weaknesses. His mind would always race back to his past and, consequently, his father. Lloyd didnt know exactly why it reminded him of his dad, but the fact that, like his father, an explosion would hurt anyone, even those on its own side, seemed to be a part of it.

The cavern soon quieted down, but his fear did not. The images of his father still fresh in his mind. He shook his head, trying to snap himself out of the haze he was in.

Him and Kai had gone into a cavern alone since there were 3 diverging paths. Up until now, we had only encountered arrow traps and small pits. But this? This was a new threat.

Was it over, the blast? He wondered, slowly inching towards the edge of the rock. He turned his head, looking for the brightness that would signal it was not over, yet all he was met with was dark.

He peered his head around the bolder, scanning for any sight of Kai. The smoke and ash coated his vision, making it ever more difficult to locate him. After a moment, though, he spotted Kai's fiery red suit. No matter how quickly he wanted to rush over to him, he needed to keep low as to breathe in the least amount of smoke, and he needed to scan for any more explosive traps. So, as such, he slowly inched his way along the cave floor.

By the time he made it to Kai, he could see Kai was in bad condition. His breathing was uneven, meaning he probably breathed in a lot of smoke and ash, and although he didn't seem to have any burns, he still had a lot of cuts and bruises from flying rocks.

Lloyd turned his gaze upward once more, showing the smoke had mostly cleared now. Normally, he would call Cole, Zane, or even Kai over, and one of them would be able to swallow whoever was hurt down. But now, there was no one else but him and the now injured Kai.

He forced his head back towards Kai, who had now opened his eyes. "Hey," Lloyd started, unsure of how to even approach this, "uh... how are you feeling."

A small smile tugged at Kai's lips, even through the pain. "I-", he devolved into a short coughing fit but slowly gained his ability to speak once more, "I have been better." He had to stop to take a breath after every word, something that worried Lloyd further.

Lloyd nodded and continued to fumble over his words. "I... I think it's maybe best... maybe if I..."

"It's ok, do what you have to do, kid." Kai gave a weak but reassuring smile, which gave Lloyd that little extra confidence he needed to continue. Kai knew what had to happen, and Lloyd did too. Kai couldn't stay on the ground here, and Lloyd couldn't carry him either for fear of hurting him further.

Taking a deep breath in, Lloyd stretched his arms out above Kai, holding his palms down, and his fingers stretched out as well. He softly recited the words taught to him. He himself had only done this twice before, but both times were in a controlled setting, and neither times had he actually been the one to eat the person that was shrunken down. Green light fluttered down from his palms, brushing downward with grace. As he finished, he saw Kai quickly start to shrink down.

Soon, Kai was a bit shorter than Lloyds hand from top to bottom. It was strange, seeing Kai so small and fragile. In his mind, Kai was his stronger older brother, the one who had always taken care of him. And now, Lloyd had to be the one to take care of Kai.

He pried Kai off the ground, gently rolling him into his hands and carefully curling his fingers a bit to create a barrier so Kai wouldn't roll immediately off his hands. He lifted Kai to his face, prompting a small groan to come from Kai, who was probably in a lot of pain now that the adrenaline was wearing off.

Now that he was face to face with Kai, Lloyd felt the need to say something. Cole and Jay normally said some sort of joke before eating someone, and Zane normally comforted them, but Kai, he would say something motivational. Perhaps that's why Lloyd always gave so many motivational speeches before missions.

Right now, though, as he thought on what to say, he found that he couldn't really say anything. He was speechless. He couldn't find the words to say to make Kai more comfortable. So he didn't. Instead, he gently brought Kai to his chest, giving him a sort of hug, and held him there for a moment. Kai's breathing slowed, and just for a moment, it felt as though everything was alright again.

Lloyd brought Kai back up to his face, smiling once more before gathering up the courage to open his mouth.

He maneuvered his hands, allowing him to slowly slide Kai onto his tongue. Immediately, Lloyd tasted blood and ashes on Kai's suit. He had to stop himself from gagging. Fighting every instinct that told Lloyd not to eat Kai, he slid him further into his mouth. Finally, only Kai's feet remained outside his lips, but due to how small his mouth is, he couldn't slip them inside without beginning to swallow Kai first. No matter what he did, Lloyd couldn't seem to get any saliva on Kai, his mouth joining in on telling him not to eat what his body must think is poison.

Regaurdless, he took a loud, thick swallow. Although it didn't do much, it did succeed in sending Kai's head into his throat and Kai's feet into his mouth. He promptly clamped his mouth shut behind him and desperately tried to get any amount of saliva in his dry mouth to coat Kai with.

It was horriblely uncomfortable having just a small portion of Kai in his throat. It kept triggering his need to swallow, but he couldn't yet. He knew he needed Kai to be at least lightly coated in drool to get him down, as learned from Jay not doing that once and nearly choking. Finally, after what seemed like too long, his mouth decided to cooperate, drenching Kai in thick goopy saliva.

He gave in to the instinct to swallow, almost happy to get rid of the unpleasant feeling of having someone on the edge of his throat. Kai slipped deeper into Lloyds throat, his muscles idly helping him along. With each gulp, Kai slipped further out of his mouth until finally he was gone. Now, a great lump sat in the middle of his throat. As he continued swallowing, Kai drifted deeper and deeper within him. When Kai went past his heart, he couldn't help but stop breathing for a moment.

After a bit longer, Kai drifted even further down and now was nearing his stomach. Lloyd braced himself. All of his brothers had told him this was the strangest part, but what he felt no amount of his brothers describing could ever replicate. At first, the feeling was sickening. A sudden bout of pressure built up inside his stomach, and it wasn't exactly pleasant. But after that initial sickness came the feeling similar to a hug.

He could feel Kai pressing against his stomach much more than he had originally thought he would have been able to feel. His stomach stretched a bit to accommodate for Kai's presence, and it didn't feel unnatural. As the last of Kai finally slipped into his stomach, Lloyd brought his hand up to his middle.

Gently, he pressed where he felt Kai, and to his surprise, Kai, although weakly, pressed back. This small pressure sent a strange shiver up his spine. He was able to keep Kai safe, ever so so safe. Nothing could get to Kai without going through him first. All those years of Kai helping him, he was finally able to start to pay him back.

Not being able to help the small smile that tugged at his lips, Lloyd got up, continuing on down the cave in search of their mission.

So yah, sorry I kinda took the turn of, whether Lloyd wants to or not- but yeah I still loved this prompt and idk I may make more stories based off of this prompt alone lol.

[tyrantisterror]

My Personal History with My Good Friend, Satan

My first encounter with The Devil - that I can remember, at least - came when I was about three or so. My mom liked to borrow VHS tapes from libraries to show me and my siblings a lot, and one of the libraries she used was the one at our church. It was a small and obviously very religion-centric collection, but it left a notable mark on me - like, that's where I saw this weird, kinda shitty cartoon version of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe which might be responsible for irreconcilably fucking up my taste in women? I just have this distinct memory of watching the scene where Edmund is tempted by the White Witch and thinking, "Yeah, he's making the right call." If anything I was frustrated that he hesitated - three year old me was already simping for this woman. Just imagine a child channeling Ernie Hudson in Ghostbusters and growling, "When a terrifying and beautiful woman offers you candy and a private sleigh ride, you say YES!" and that's basically me as a kid.

Where was I? Right, Satan. So, the other video from that library I remember was this cartoon retelling of Bible stories, and really I just remember the Adam and Eve part. The temptation scene had this huge, super gnarly-looking demonic red snake in it, and he was so cool and badass and I was already predisposed to like snakes anyway, so of course he was my instant favorite. But, like almost all media featuring reptiles that captured my little child heart, he turned out to be the bad guy - literally The Devil, in this case - and was punished at the end of the story. And that pissed me off.

Sometime shortly thereafter - or at least that's how I remember it, this was over thirty years ago so things might be smushed closer together than they really were by the fog of ages - some of the kids in my preschool chastised me for liking snakes. "Don't you know the devil is a snake? Snakes are evil!" I remembered the movie, and it made me angry.

Because snakes aren't evil, and as a kid I knew that because my parents taught me it. Snakes were just animals, they don't know right from wrong, and to call them evil it to judge them for what they are, not what they do. That experience taught me a very important lesson: The Devil is a tool to make people hate the innocent. And as I'd later learn, snakes were far from the only innocents people would vilify because of a demonic association.

The second time I met the devil came a few years later, when I was six or seven or so. My Grampa and Grams liked to take us up North to Mackinac City and the Upper Peninsula each summer, and I have a lot of fond memories of those trips, but there was one in particular that's relevant to this discussion. We saw a sign for a "laser light show" in the shopping district, and I got to stay up late to see it with my family. The show in question was basically a cartoon projected into the night sky adapting the song The Devil Went Down to Georgia. It was super primitive and hokey and cornball and terrible and I loved every second of it. I was enchanted, absolutely delighted with the spectacle and the silly song where the devil was less a force of evil and more a comically bumbling inept supervillain - one of my favorite archetypes, even back then. So that's the second lesson about the devil I learned: The Devil can be fun sometimes.

Now, Godzilla, one of the few reptile characters I encountered as a kid who didn't end up a villain (at least not in the first movie of his I saw, Godzilla vs. Megalon), had already set me on the path to loving monsters of all stripes and, by extension, horror fiction in general, so as I grew up I had many more encounters with the devil. But while I warmed up quickly to most monster archetypes, like vampires, zombies, werewolves, etc., I always felt dismissive of demons. It kind of coincided with me becoming disillusioned with Christianity as a whole, in fact. A story about fighting evil, Christian-style demons is ultimately an allegory for fighting evil as defined by Christianity, and Christianity's definition of what evil is, well, sucks. It's bad! They got some things right, but some things horribly wrong. The devil is the tool Christianity uses to make you hate the innocent, and I struggled to enjoy a lot of demon stories because of that. Still do with some, in fact.

There were exceptions, of course - I loved The Evil Dead series as soon as I saw it at too-early-of-an-age, but then, the demons in it aren't super Christian. They aren't repelled by holy water or crucifixes or prayer, and in fact God and Jesus barely get mentioned in the series and never come up as a potential solution. They're kind of secular as demons go, and maybe that made them easier to stomach. But overall, demons ranked pretty low in the hierarchy of monsters to me - they were too tainted by the religion that spawned them for me to enjoy.

Until college, anyway. I quietly renounced my faith during my Freshmen year, and then, as if seeking one last chance at redemption in my eyes, the devil came to me again the following year. That's when I had a class on Medieval literature, and was exposed to far older devil stories than I had ever seen before. And Medieval devils kick ass. They have so much more personality and variety than I had come to expect, and some are downright affable, even sympathetic to a degree. It was one of many moments in college when I realized there was much more to a topic I'd previously written off as boring and trite.

This is when I read Dante's The Divine Comedy and Milton's Paradise Lost and Marlowe's Faust and Ben Johnson's The Devil Is An Ass. It's when I read early Gothic Horror novels like Matthew Gregory Lewis's The Monk, and dived into The Twilight Zone, which has more than a few episodes that are updates of medieval-style devil folktales in a more modern (i.e. 1960's) setting. And so many of these works presented the Devil not as a stand-in for everything Christianity hates, but as a person - a deeply flawed person, yes, but a person with actual wants and feelings and thoughts of his own, a person who was interesting and compelling - and sometimes funny, and sometimes charming, and sometimes really sad. There was, dare I say... sympathy for the devil growing in my heart.

In the last year of my undergraduate studies, I attended my college's yearly Medieval Studies Congress, where people from all over the world came to Kalamazoo just to share their research papers on medieval history and literature. One girl's thesis paper was on the subject of "rueful devils," i.e. depictions of demons in literature where they wanted to repent their sins and redeem themselves, which uniformly ended with the devils' hopes being dashed as they could not fully repent. This idea... possessed me. The idea that the devil could repent, or at least try to - that there could be hope even in the most debauched sinner. It was such a good narrative trope in my eyes - why did it die out centuries ago?

Well, because the church didn't like it, you see. If the devil can repent - if the Absolute King of Evil can choose to become a good person - then he's not very useful as a tool to make people hate the innocent anymore. The devil MUST be "pure evil" to work as intended. A rueful devil, a repentant devil, a devil that can be redeemed, forces us to be more forgiving and kind. It forces us to be better. It prevents us from hating people because an old book says so. And some people just couldn't have that, and so the trope died.

...

After I got my bachelor's degree, I entered the job market and, after applying to fifty different places or so, was finally hired as a high school english teacher about two weeks before the school year started. Said school year was the worst year of my life. Like, I've had extreme self loathing issues and suicidal ideation since, like, sixth grade, but holy shit it was NEVER as bad as it was in that nine month stretch between 2012 and 2013. There was this bridge I had to cross on the way to work each morning, and about two months in the job was so stressful that part of my morning routine was thinking, "You know, if I just swerve to the right, this can all be over and I'll never have to worry again." About halfway in I began drastically losing weight despite not changing my diet or getting more exercise and it was so traumatic that to this day whenever my weight starts to drop my initial reaction is dread rather than excitement. I impulse bought the first two Kung-Fu Panda movies and, after watching each for the first time and crying hideously, proceeded to watch them on repeat for an entire weekend while sobbing myself hoarse for reasons I couldn't comprehend at the time.

I was in Hell. And the devil met me there.

I started writing a story during that year. I didn't get very far, just a couple chapters, but it was one of the few things that gave me a sense of accomplishment. Despite all the stress and sadness and misery, I made something. It was a story about demons, and Hell, and trying to make your life better even when the world around you seems deadset on making you suffer as much as possible.

When my bosses called me into their office at the end of that year and told me that I had to quit my job so the assistant principal could take my teaching position and survive the downsizing they'd get next year, and that if I didn't quit they'd give me the lowest teacher evaluation they could and make it supremely difficult for me to get hired elsewhere... I was relieved. I'd been let out of Hell. After a handful of months left to finish out the year, I was free.

And then I went home, with nothing. No job, no desire to pursue the career for which I'd spent five years and an ungodly amount of money getting a degree to pursue, no nest egg, nothing. Nothing except a few chapters of a book.

The years that followed were hard. I did a lot of temp work, it took me a very long time to find something that worked for me. I may have left the worst year of my life, but there was still a lot of misery waiting for me. And through it all, I felt the need to accomplish... something, ANYTHING. I had to make something to prove I had a reason to exist, even if it was something that only had value to me.

With three years of work, those chapters became my first novel, No Sympathies: A Tale of Those Who Trespass Against Us. It was about the devil, and Hell, and finding salvation even when things seem inescapably bleak. It was my first novel, and now, eight years later, it's the first of five.

The devil saved my life. He saw me at my lowest, lifted me up, whispered, "It'll be ok. You have to keep going. I'll be with you, but you have to keep going," and goddammit, he kept me from swerving right.

That's when I learned the greatest truth about the devil, at least to me. The devil is a tool to make people hate the innocent, yes, this is true, but because of that, the devil can be a savior for the broken, the beaten, and the damned. You can feel like you're worthless, wretched, and doomed. But if the devil can rise from Hell, if the devil can choose to change, if people are willing to pray for the one sinner who needs it most - then there's hope for you too, isn't there?

Demons are creatures of rebellion - against God, against nature, against the powers that be, against doom and damnation itself. They were made to be a tool to hurt the innocent, but that's not what they have to be. Devils can lift us up, because no matter how far you fall, no one can say whether it's the end for you except you.

...I would like to point out that I am being figurative here. The devil does not literally exist, at least not in my view of things. He's a fictional character, nothing more. But he's a prolific fictional character, and how we portray him can say so much about us. And, to me, he is a dear friend, despite being imaginary, because the devil was there for me when I was low, and it was on his wings that I rose from doom.

...again, figuratively, not literally.

[lopaak]

In Stars and Time, Aion, Mirages and Thoughts

Launching a game you were awaiting for long is always weird to live ; you're in a special time frame, an Eon you're aware you'll only live once.

In the case of In Stars and Time, it's also partly because once your finish the game, once your fixation will be over, you know you'll look back a few days or weeks before and realize your life changed in such little time.

Eon, or Aion as I will be referring to, one of the three divinity of Time in ancient Greece, represents the Time of eras, cycles, where Past and Future cohabit like lines on a globe, both parallel and meeting at every pole.

While there is Kronos the linear, unstoppable Time, and Kairos the Time of the moment and opportunity you'll get once, Aion is a Time that takes from both of its siblings.

Aion only happens once, as a specific time frame, a frame constructed by the events within it. Yet it is also a Time you live through during which Kronos' linearity makes you suffer, inexorably, makes you love and appreciate things nearby, makes you fear the end.

Yet it is also a Time in which countless opportunities are presented to you, as Kairos' influence washes over every ounce of Time thrown by the Universe.

Another specificity of Aion is that it is the only of these 3 divinities that has an existence within space, not just Time. It was originally used for astronomical time, to measure the cycle of astronomical objects, of Stars.

So here I was, playing a game about loops, unavoidable cycles of repeating events, while myself being in an Aion, aware of the ephemeral aspect of my emotional playthrough.

So, what about In Stars and Time?

It was a great game, standing in that huge rift between imperfect game and perfect piece. So great actually that this small essay is, unlike my digression about Aion might suggest, about this game!

A professional reviewer making an article on the game might be more interesting and especially, better written than a silly 18yo tumblr user though. Read at your own risk. Spoilers ahead btw!

But, since I'm making this, let's start with the basics, I imagine? The art direction is really, really good. The design of the characters is both cute and distinctive, and the (mostly!) black & white aspect of the game fits the characters and the story really well! Some still art of the characters during the hangouts and at the end of the game brought tears to my 4am-completely-dry eyes.

As an rpg, ISAT does the job well for me. The traditional medieval rpg endgame place, the castle, in this game the 'House of Change', is where most of your gameplay will take place, in 3 different floors. Which starts in the beginning as a map to go up the floors to encounter the King later evolves into a labyrinthine experience as in act 3 and 4 you have to go back in rooms hinted at you by an NPC, by your helper-companion Loop, or by deduction, to get some items, go back to another floor, go to the spawn village, over and over again.

That is where my only negative criticism of the game stands ; Acts 3 and 4 felt sometimes too confusing, hard or complicated, finding the items to advance in the story almost felt more as a burden than a fun detective exploration game. The moments of fun in these were talking with your friends about the discoveries and then going back to the village to talk with Loop. And all that was inevitably done so by Siffrin dying or being frozen in time, which wasn't making all that job any more fun.

BUT! Because most criticisms need a 'BUT', that was also experiencing, what Siffrin, our main silly hat character, was living, and thousands of times less strongly. In this specific case, the slight frustration or annoyance i got by looping to certain floors to get books and all that fuss was completely justified, as the ending would make less sense without it, and Siffrin's development as a character would be pretty meaningless, because they would have went through way less.

Act 5, where Siffrin "slightly" loses it because of everything he went through in the previous acts, is only meaningful because while what we as players might have found annoying, he as a character suffered his heart and mind through it. Every time you decided to step on a banana peel to loop up in the House, Siffrin had to die and fake their feelings to their friends once more. Every time you found slightly annoying that you had to fight a specific enemy (Sadness) again, Siffrin was living it.

About fighting! I felt the battles as really fun, satisfying and never really getting boring? Some criticisms I've seen say that fighting Sadnesses is boring, either too easy or too hard, that it's not fun... But personally i really enjoyed it!

First because, the art of the Sadnesses is like. reallyanotherlevelofdope. I found each Sadness' design amazingly cool. Many of them have this silliness to them, whether in their pose or in their expression, yet they are all crying, and, as their name implies, anything they experience is nothing but sadness. At a point where sometimes, despite hurting them in the process, you almost feel like you're freeing them when defeating them.

And well, the moving patterned background art during the battle is super duper cool as well! As someone who loves patterns of any kind, i found all of them really cool looking. Each Sadness has a background different tied to them!

Secondly on why i liked the battles, this won't be a long point but : simply, the combat system is fun! The rock-paper-scissor aspect, the different Crafts, the jackpot mechanic, all that was pretty fun.

And thirdly, the MUSIC!!! The music playing during the battles is really good and makes them more fun. And that brings me to another point on why I love ISAT : the OST. Which is my next paragraph, how fortunate.

THE OST!!!! Composed by Studio Thumpy Puppy, the soundtrack of the game is stunning! stunningly good! The genre of music i listen to the most surely is videogame ost (I'm even listening to that rn), and the soundtracks of games is something I always pay great attention to and an aspect that really hammers the nail (or nails the hammer?) when it comes to me loving a game. Every track of this ost from the King theme down to the rock-paper-scissor tutorial kid tune is of genuine amazing quality. I can only recommend giving it a listen if you're not interested in the game, and supporting the composer on Bandcamp if you can! The ost is a great fit to the event currently happening in the game, and sometimes really feels as if you were in the place of Siffrin, reflecting their mental state. For example, during Act 5, when everything about the music takes a drastic change and becomes darker, fitting the game and Siffrin's current state.

Oh, did I mention Siffrin's feelings? Makes me realize I haven't talked much about our main character yet. Oh well! Here I go. And that is where I'm gonna spoil!!

Siffrin, the silly hat wizard (wizards are not real, urgh, i mean traveler) is who you play as in ISAT. Every moment you experience is from Siffrin's perspective. He's a traveler (uses he/they!) from another country, unknown even by him at the beginning of the game. Eventually as the game progresses, they realize the land they came from was a land north of the country in which ISAT takes place, Vauguard. That land disappeared years ago, and everyone sort of forgot about it. The characters know there was an island north of Vauguard, but forgot everything about it. Trying to read its language or saying its name out loud gives a headache, if you can even remember the name. A big chunk of the game is about remembrance, Siffrin wanting and trying to remember that name, as he himself forgot. Siffrin is a deeply introvert person, scared when people touch them yet touch starved, have a hard time talking about their feelings, and much more (I'll go into it more when I'll talk about the story and do the essay part of this post). Most aspects of their personality, the topics of depression and trauma he went/is going through, as well as him being asexual makes me relate a lot to him.

However Siffrin is far from being the only multilayered and complex character in ISAT.

AND!!!! Here is when I took a break from ISAT.

A few weeks ago, I started writing this essay and eventually took a break, heh. It gave me time to think more about this silly sad game :)

I wondered whether I should rewrite everything or continue where I left off, and if you're reading this, well it means I decided to continue!!! SO here I am, continuing this essay, however moving the direction a little. I'm easing back on the review aspect and going full-on essay. Let's gooo~ wowee

When there's a topic tough to talk about because of its complexity, I ask myself : why do I want to talk about it? It eases the process to reflect on why I'm doing what I'm doing. But for some topics there's another level of complexity, thanks to, oh well, the emotional attachment there is to it ; and one of these topics is ISAT.

In what lens should I analyze ISAT? Under what light? What zoom level on the microscope? What aperture size? What focus? And perhaps the most important question ; should I use anti flare and damaging equipment? Should my picture of In Stars and Time be burnt, as looking as Stars entails. I think I'm going to look straight into the Stars and let my pupils burn, let this text get consumed, because if this text were to exist in the grand scheme of ISAT, I imagine it would get consumed either way.

Let's think. I'm closing my eyes now. No spider on my neck, no croissant in sight. Thoughts merge with C418's beautiful composition on his album "Excursions".

On the horizon, a plethora of games, shows, movies or artists that will impact my life in more ways than I can imagine at this moment. On the ground, in the sand, In Stars and Time lies, an artifact in the photographic sense, and an Artifact in the sense that it will stay with me, like many did in the past, still impacting what I'm writing right now. I pick up the cartridge..or the..steam key(?), slowly blow off the sand and rise my hand to look at it under the scorching sun. It won't be an easy task. But it wasn't for the past Artifacts either.

So ; In Stars and Time is an incredibly hard object of analysis, both because of its nature and because of my attachment to it. That's for certain. Now, it's far from impossible and nothing's impossible anyways when you have all the time in the world. A lens that I feel necessary to use when analyzing In Stars and Time is the lens of the dispossession of one's identity. Siffrin is forcefully separated from what made them who they are now, forcefully separated from the impending victory and freedom.

Cultural dispossession is something that I can't say I relate myself but is something that had a definite impact on my family, something that I could witness in the eyes of a loved one back a few years ago, someone who was reminiscing their earlier memories as a way to survive in a brain getting used and fatigued. Memories that I could not all write down, as Time was getting close. One day, a bit over three years ago, these eyes closed and with that ended a flow of mental souvenirs.

ISAT made me think about that person a lot. It feels that throughout In Stars and Time, at least to me, grief was treated in a way that I've never seen before. Grief is everywhere, but subtly? It is just a car you see driving next to you during a trip on a long highway. You can't really read its license plate but, do you need to? Do you need to know where that car is from, in what country, what state was it bought? Do you need to know where it is going? No you don't. But sometimes you wish you could know. (Note ; writing this makes me think about this song)

I left all my luggage in the last station. I lost them. Moving on.

Grief is also present as a fear of something that might have already happened, in the character of Bonnie. They did not lose their sister but what if? What if it was too late? 'Siffrin, what if they could never go back because of you? Because of me?'

Siffrin witnessing Bonnie being murdered was one of the most terrifying experience while playing the game. I don't know if Sif can ever recover after that in the future, but my headcanon says so. Thinking about that event makes me ...sick.

Bonnie is, despite their age, one hell of a strong character, for many reasons. Because their final hit can be an absolute bop. Because they make super duper good snacks. Because they're here. They crawled to escape the curse, walked with no gear nor water for days before meeting the crew. All this time, they stayed strong. They kept advancing, in the hope of finding something, anything to help.

And they did. I can see them right now, in this desert, looking at this cartridge. The scorching sun is freezing cold, so I'll keep moving to heat myself at least a bit. I have to continue.

Difference is constructed.

Mirabelle is, in a lot of ways, the other main character. She created the party, she saves everyone's life, she beats the King. It's tough to be more 'main character' than this. At least it is by most fictional adventure standards. She's very unique anyways, but is it a weakness to be unique? Obviously not; except in the house of Change? Tough to say, but needless to say, she has a very dyptical (i made that word up, let's say, "dual") relationship with the House and with her fellow housemaidens. She loves being where she is, she loves her place in the House, she loves her beliefs. But she's scared whether she is the right person, because the reality is that she wasn't "chosen" by the Change God, because there are expectations she cannot (or is repulsed to) fulfill due to being on the aroace spectrum.

That is also something I related a lot with! And the message about religion and more specifically belief is really healthy. To believe is not necessarily to make compromises, it is also to believe in yourself, as apart of whichever deity, able to change, able to be who you are.

I think her fears are very relatable, to many people. To an inattentive eye, it could make her a pretty consensual character when it comes to her personality. A character that everyone can like, she's the nice one, all that. But that'd be falling for the trap she's in herself.

Mirabelle is way more complex than what she may look like, a sweet housemaiden who is nice and caring, here for others, who fits her name really well (to be fair, Mirabelle does suit her alot, but not just bc of the sweetness and all that). She has a strength other characters don't necessarily have ; a strength that is in-game represented by her shield ability and the fact that she deals the final blow to the King. But it's a strength that deeply, is tough to explain and that other people will likely do better than me. A strength tied to her belief in Change, tied to her care towards the people of Vauguard, but also tied to her believing in herself. She seem unsure of herself and, arguably she is in many situations, but when the moment is important she knows what to do and she's sure of that.

In the end of the day ; Mirabelle is aware that she doubts her strength, and knows that she can fight those doubts.

And, as I see in the distance a faraway light illuminating the sky, making day look like night, I understand that a shield, far, far away, is resonating for countries around. In another land that is mere mirages for me, they're celebrating.

I don't want this essay to look review-y too much so I won't go around analyzing Isabeau and Odile like I did previously with the others ; plus, patterns get quickly boring. Nah.

There is a ton to say about Isabeau and Odile though. However I've been thinking about how to express my feelings and essaying on them, and I can't find the words. Which granted I'm no journalist, no professional reviewer, but I feel like any inability to write about the things I love is a form of weakness for me. Just for me though, if, that makes sense, oh, well, okay,. If people read this and are interested in my thoughts about them, I'll definitely try my best to go in depth in another essay, specifically about the whole roaster ; Bonnie, Isabeau, Mirabelle, Odile and Sif! (and another one!) They're in alphabetical order! (not the essay).

I will try for now tho, to at least express a bit my feelings on them two. Isabeau is a beautifully written character. I really see his personality as a glimmer in the party. He's brave and strong, but so romantic and kind-hearted. Like Mirabelle, he may seem like a pretty consensual character that is a bit stereotypical ; the buff guy with a heart of moss. But! Like her, he is much much more complex than what meets the eye of someone casually glancing at a ISAT 100% No Commentary video by "theFullGameplayGuy" or some other name (made them up). (No hate towards these channels. They're lifesavers sometimes. Thanks thefullgameplayguy or any no commentary gameplay channel.)

Got distracted but, like the script of a film being created on set, I decided to not delete my distractions. Makes the essay more me!

Odile. Odile is a character that I found so very intriguing since I played ISAT's "prototype", Start again: A prologue. She talks less compared to the others, she's much older, mysteriously scientific and scientifically mysterious. She's lesbi- oh sorry that's a headcanon. . . Um, so, she's very intriguing, especially until her hangout event where you learn much more about her, her past, her life, what brought her here. She has a personality that is quite hard to get at first, but a really cool and sweet one. When I played the game and had to choose the wish in the first minutes, I actually chose the one with Odile! And the reason is exactly this intriguing personality, her mysterious veil of Craft and Science, and my interest for Ka Bue (the country she came from).

All these characters will stuck with me for a long, long time. While playing, I saw myself in each of them at least a bit. Few games made me feel represented with an array of different characters, all shaped in the small world they're coded in, yet near infinitely complex.

Now I know what you may be thinking. I'm not forgetting Loop!!! I actually thought a lot whether I should include them here and decided that I will include them in that other essay I'll make if it interests people, because they are a WHOLE other level of layers and as much as I love writing this, it's a very big piece I can't really tackle in the middle of an overall essay about the game.

In Stars and Time is one of these games. One of these art pieces that will have a lasting on my life. In the continuity of games such as Undertale/Deltarune, fnaf (yeaa it's a franchise), The Stanley Parable, Stardew Valley, Bad End Theater, Life is Strange, If Found, or more recently q.u.q and Stories Untold, and much much more ; this game will change my perception and apprehension of things, and will continue to influence me over the time, over all my future creative projects. (id recommend to check all the games i mentioned that you haven't heard of!!) It will follow me, for the better, in my creative process. So thank you Armor Game Studio, thank you Studio Thumpy Puppy, and thank you the creator, Insertdisc5!

So ; as I'm nearing the end of this, I wonder what it is. I called it an essay for a lack of better words, but I honestly don't know if I'm qualified to write something and call it an essay. And it's definitely not a review either. But it started as one, a bit! Though i don't want to make a review. So I don't really know! But oh well.

Also, remember the three Time in ancient Greece? I think a lot about its ties to the game, but again, that would be too long and especially, too hard for me to explain with words..?. Everything interconnects, everything meets everywhere, everything, on all ends and all thoughts. And ISAT is now part of a cobweb bigger than worlds, words and concepts. I might, tho, try to write about it, one day.

Call me lazy for not expanding on some topics but it's tough to produce allthat for my tiny brain!! I really want to go further but you know. Eh

As for me, I continue walking in the sand. In the erased steps of someone of more importance, I go forward toward the unknown with a new piece in the forever expanding puzzle of a life ; a piece called In Stars and Time.

[deeptrashwitch]

So, I have a three hour break before the next class and my mind doesn't want to sleep and neither wants to do my damn homework. My best next option until I get home? Use picrew to create moments and little stories about my boys, also to make them the nearest as possible to how I imagined them.

It'll be as usual on rank order.

Alicia:

Nicolás took the picture and sent it to Edward. It was during a leave where the three siblings were together, and Camila showed Alicia an old video from their childhood. About an old joke she did during middle school, puting dye not only inside a shampoo bottle, but also inside a bowl where there were some clothes.

The problem? She did it to Alicia, and Alicia didn't know. In that moment she was thinking on selling Camila and adopt a cat, at least the cat is more adorable that her little sister.

Luke:

Francis took the photo. This boy...he was looking at his future wife. Elizabeth was inside the cafeteria where the team went during a free afternoon, and Luke just loved how she looked, her smile and her attitude. He went to talk with her that very same day, and that started their love story.

Meanwhile, Elijah and Jackson were stopping Noah to go and kill the Lieutenant. It happens that Elizabeth is Noah's little sister, and he is an overprotective brother. And what were the rest of them doing? Just watching the drama.

Jackson:

This one was Luke who took it. Jackson was looking at Noah and Elliot doing experiments, he was preparing himself to a long day inside the bay. And the worst part was...it was a Sunday, at 4 A.M.

He reconsidered his job in that moment, but Edward bribed him with Alexander's biscuits and he just took some and went to work.

Edward:

Speak of the devil. The photo was taken by Alicia during a leave where they had to take care of some kids. Everything was good during the morning, but the kids were scared of her and they ended chasing him around all day screaming and more. Isn't needed to say, but Eddie was dying inside and wanted to throw himself through a window.

That made him sure that patience wasn't his kind of virtue. At least not for kids.

Noah:

Elliot took the photo. This little shit was experimenting inside his workshop because he was bored, and he brought Elliot with him. It was moments before they started with their doing.

And the bandage was result of him trying to shave himself after a no sleep night, it's surprisingly usual, so he was even proud (to Jackson and Marcus worries) that it was only one bandage this time. Everyone is questioning what the hell is wrong with him, but it's not like they are sane either.

Elijah:

Marcus took it by surprise, that's why the weird expression. Actually he was trying to take a video of Elijah singing, but it didn't went well and was discovered. He chased him to make him delete the photo, and when Noah saw it...he said that he looked like a lunatic or something.

No doubts, Elijah threw him a shoe once he heard him laugh.

Nicholas:

This was taken by Alexander after an office day. It's weird find him with glasses, and he used it to rest his eyes. Nicholas was amused but accepted to let Alexander take the picture, it probably will be the only one like that.

Jackson found it and he says that Nicholas remind him to a movie character, but doesn't remember the name. Everytime they encounter eachother during a break, both start to say every name that como to mind, but until now...none is correct.

Marcus:

Keyra, his wife, took the photo. It was something they did for their anniversary, they would take pictures of eachother and then make a collage with it, writing a phrase about that year. And since Keyra's hobby is photography, the pictures she took were the best, and it was fun for her to use her husband as a model.

They still have the collage, hung on the living room wall, beside their wedding photos.

Alexander:

Ahh Alexander...the kind giant of the team. Elijah took the photo first time in the morning, and he was surprisingly on a good mood. That day he brought with him some mini cakes and cookies, and during the breakfast he was telling stories about the leave.

It was just a day, but by the afternoon everyone had the photo and were happy about it. He just laughed a bit when he heard about it, and got a little embarassed and shy.

Elliot:

Chaos incarnate. This one is a bit cocky boy, but they learned to lead with him during their usual time. He's something similar to a gremlin just behind Noah, and that day he posed under the promise of a puzzle (probably his favorite thing in the world to be honest) that he wanted since a long time. The problem was that it was hidden.

Where? Inside Luke's workshop. No needs to say, the Lieutenant was furious when he found out they were looking inside his place and made a disaster on it. On the other hand Alicia just sighed before stopping Luke of commiting a crime.

It doesn't let me put any more images, so I'll continue this on a reblog. And it was just when I was about to show Francis and Dominique ;-;

[loosesodamarble]

Ooo more you say 👀? May I ask again for 3, 4, and 5 for the Oto-may ask game please 🥰?

Yay~! More questions for me to answer and talk about!

3) Funny moment

Ah..... Ahaha... AHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA!

Okay, I want to share not just a funny moment. But by far the funniest moment I've encountered across the otomes I've played because. Buckle up folks is it a weird one!

Our scene takes place in Winter's Wish: Spirits of Edo.

In this world, everyday items can take on human forms as Formfolk/Vessels (the difference doesn't matter for now). One of these tools-turned-humans is the love interest Ohtaro.

And then we have our heroine, Suzuno. She has special powers that let her see emotions and purify monsters born of negative emotions. In Ohtaro, she also gains the ability to see into someone's past by performing intimate acts.

Suzuno gets some flashbacks and figures out that Ohtaro is connected to her mother (he was a belonging of the mother's). And so to learn the full truth, she finds Ohtaro in a field and just...

Goes for the kiss, right then and there.

And the thing is, the flashback lasts as long as the kiss does. The text of the game outright says that Suzuno "comes back to reality" and she's still kissing Ohtaro when that happens. So my brain now has the image of Suzuno and Ohtaro making out sloppy style just so Suzuno can learn about her mom.

That alone is funny enough.

But it gets funnier because...

Y'ALL! EVERYONE ELSE WAS WATCHING THEM!

Now Kyoshiro likely means that the team has been watching Suzuno and Ohtaro's interactions for the past several days. But I also imagine that they followed Suzuno to the field and saw her and Ohtaro making out for who knows how long.

They just let it happen and only stepped in after they were done making out down memory lane.

PEAK COMEDY IN MY OPINION!

4) Most annoying character

Not to hate a child character... But Ru from Variable Barricade can shut up. I'm trying to focus on Shion being a loving and doting suitor and then Ru comes barreling in like "senpai! Please help me get hired by the photographer that you used to model for!"

I know the kid wants to be famous and is trying to network. But goodness gracious, why must he be present in the route? I still don't get why he's there. I think the route could function just fine since Hibari can still insist that Shion go back to his old job and he can make a drama of it. ALL WITHOUT THE CHILD THERE!

But no. I have to put up with the kid.

It's not that I don't like child characters who appear in otomes. I adore Nadia (Virche Evermore) and Kariya (Cafe Enchante). But maybe it's because Nadia is literally integral to Lucas's life while Kariya consistently involves himself in every route. And then Ru is a random internet celebrity showing up in Shion's route and it's so ugh to me.

LIKE NO! SHUT UP, RU! SHION AND I ARE HAVING A MOMENT!

5) Sad moment

Hngh... (sniffles and wipes tears) Lucas... My man... He's abso-fucking-lutely hated by the writers because WHY CAN'T HE BE HAPPY?!?!?!?

The scene where the story flashes back to Lucas's past... Oof. Lucas ran away from home with his sister Nadia when he was 14 and her 4. She was sick and on the verge of death. No doctor could figure it out. Most agreed she was doomed to die. And the siblings' parents figured that the only way to let her live would be to clone her which... is a problem for various reasons.

So Lucas just picks up little Nadia and walks off with her, desperate to find help anywhere. They get caught in the rain and Lucas laments how he and his baby sister can't live normal lives. That the conditions of their birth were a cruel trial from God.

It's really not fair knowing that all Lucas wanted for him and his sister was a normal life and since the very beginning, all they really had was each other. Not even their parents had their backs.

It breaks my heart...

[aannonn]

i just read the saddest ava. comic ever and im sad

sOOoOo I decided to share the headcanons that I have so far about the ColorGang because they makes me happy;33333

for anyone who wants to read the comic.. warning: sad/bad ending. Don't take this the wrong way btw. I genuinely really loved reading this comic!

ColorGang!

╰┈➤ I always had that lil' headcanon in my head that ; even though TSC may act like one of the oldest most of the time, he's actually the youngest of the group.

﹌﹌﹌I mean- the StickFight game presented in the series felt like it existed looooong before TSC was even created, so I guess, chronologically and theoretically, RYGB are older than TSC in a certain way, though I like to think they are all the exact same age.

╰┈➤ From Oldest to Youngest, for me it's like that ; Yellow, Blue, Green, Red & The Second Coming!

(Lil' update: Apparently, I heard that Alan Becker confirmed that TSC is a lil' more older than them? So, I changed my headcanon and now from Oldest to Youngest it's actually; The Second Coming, Yellow, Blue, Green & Red! If that ends up being false - because I haven't found the video where Alan says this yet - I'll go back to my old headcanon, probably.)

﹌﹌﹌They are all the same age, but some of them were created minutes before the other. In TSC's case.. One(1) year after RYGB were already created.

﹌﹌﹌They are all ten to thirteen(10-13) years old. (Based/Inspired on that one video where DJ asked how old they were ever since their creation, and Alan responded with 10, 12, 13! lol)

╰┈➤ TSC is often called Orange by his friends and even by Alan, so he feels kinda weird whenever someone calls him 'The Second Coming'. He doesn't mind beind called 'Second' or 'Sec' though.

﹌﹌﹌'TSC' just sounds too vague, and 'The Second Coming' It's such a long name, so he prefers to either be called 'Orange', 'Second', or 'Sec'.

╰┈➤ Red loves all kind of animals and insects. One time, he brought home (aka. Alan's desktop) a gigantic centipede from Minecraft, which scared everyone in the group and even Alan, which led to Red eventually having to return it to Minecraft…

﹌﹌﹌This incident led Alan to never download Minecraft mods that contain giant centipedes again.

╰┈➤ The ColorGang all have PTSD from the last encounter with The Dark Lord. They do not want to lose each other again, much less feel the pain of being deleted again.

﹌﹌﹌They are also now terrified of giant red spiders or anything that may resembles a red spider.

﹌﹌﹌Because of that, they have sleepovers every weekend now! Mainly due to the nightmares everyone has been having ever since that day, so they decided to schedule a sleepover every weekend so everyone could have fun and then platonically cuddle. 🎔

﹌﹌﹌It worked pretty well, and even after they stopped having those nightmares, they are all still having sleepovers together because yes. 🎔

﹌﹌﹌Alan sometimes joins them with his cursor of course, but only when he doesn't have anything planned to do in the morning. Which is.. pretty rare, sadly. But they will treasure every moment.

╰┈➤ I like to think that Alan basically adopted the RYGB at this point, so they are all technically step-siblings, since I also like to think that Second is Alan's child, as he is Alan's creation.

╰┈➤ Green is a prankster. You cannot tell me he isn't because he for sure is. He just gives me those vibes man

╰┈➤ Yellow has very good sleep schedules, despite what a big(?) part of the fandom says. Sometimes he can get carried away and end up staying up all night, though.

╰┈➤ Despite being the youngest, Second acts like the 'mom' of the group. He just gives me those vibes fr

╰┈➤ Blue really loves reading and writing stories. Once, he even wrote an entire story based on the Little Red Riding Hood as he added his friends to the story.

﹌﹌﹌I must say, the group loves hearing Blue's stories, and he loves telling stories to his friends. 🎔

﹌﹌﹌Sometimes he tells animal stories to help Red sleep. It sounds silly and childish, but it's comforting for Red to hear Blue's calming voice, while it's comforting for Blue to tell stories to the sticks(they are sticks not people so-) he loves so much, especially knowing that they love his stories too.

╰┈➤ Red is the most emotional of the group, although he is also one of the strongest mentally.

(Lil' Update: Changed opinions! Now Blue is the most emotional one of the group, while Red is still one of the strongest mentally.)

(Lil' Update2: Changed opinions again-! Now both Blue and Red are the most emotional ones of the group.)

╰┈➤ Sometimes they all treat Second like a "baby", just to playfully annoy him. (Inspired on this lil' comic!)

╰┈➤ Not a headcanon, but they are all canonly silly;333

Welp! That's all the headcanons that I have so far-

I may change my mind about some, though. Maybeeee-

Welp! I think that's it..?

Cya u all in my next post! Goodbye! <3

[fadebolt]

This is an interesting question, one that I never really thought about.

The iterator option is definitely the weirdest one, as that would essentially require the devs to make an entire new game. Rain World's standard format of this action-survival-platformer kind of game simply wouldn't be doable with an iterator being the playable character (unless we're doing some weird, 'off the strings' shenanigans). I'm frankly not sure what that new game might look like, but I imagine it would be a pure strategy oriented game, with little to no reflexes or mechanical skills being required (like Plague Inc), or perhaps it would be a collection of mini games, or maybe it would be a game about investigations, or a multiplayer social deduction game, where you have to find the Sliverists that are secretly working on circumventing the self destruction taboo. There's quite a lot of potential there, and I would be interested to see what others could cook up. However, there's also a possibility that I might not enjoy the new game as much as I enjoyed Rain World. And the whole concept of 'Iterator puppets walking around with the Slugcats' is something I'd rather see in fan AUs, and not in the official material.

Another weird one is the Scavenger Chieftain, and I honestly think that one might actually work. Yeah, anyone who tried Safari knows how janky the controls can feel for non-Slugcat creatures, so the devs should probably refine the controls of the King, before releasing the campaign. And if they do that, then we're gonna find ourselves with a character that has a ton of potential. Artificer's campaign left us with many open ended questions about this guy, as the only thing we saw is them sitting on their throne, before we attacked and killed them. And Five Pebbles doesn't acknowledge their existence in any of his dialogues, even when Artificer returns with the mask. This gives the devs a boatload of freedom, when it comes to exploring the character and its journey, as the only things they have to keep in mind are the stuff the Chieftain will possess, and the fact that it'll end up in the Metropolis throne room. When it comes to the lists of 'stuff to remember while making a prequel', this is undoubtedly one of the shortest. So yeah, I'd be interested in seeing a campaign about their story, even though I know how it ends.

And as for the two Slugcats within the poll, they both sound interesting, though my opinions on them differ quite a lot.

From what I heard about Judge, they were meant to be a really powerful spear-thrower (I'm guessing their spear throwing strength would be somewhere between Hunter and non-exhausted Gourmand), that also has some kind of connection to the void, who is trying to survive in a world that is filled to the brim with Rot. And like… I'm sorry, but that just doesn't sound like a campaign I'd want to play. The Long Legs Family are honestly some of the least fun enemies to face in the entire game, with Proto DLLs being my number 1 most hated creature from every single one that was ever added to RW. They're also not really possible to fight with spears, so I really don't like the idea of having them as the main enemy for a spear-centric Slugcat (whereas The Rot region made perfect sense for Rivulet, and their campaign). Aaaaaand you also have Saint filling the role of the Slugcat that has connections to the Void. And Watcher is getting added soon-ish, who is also implied to have both Void connections, and a campaign/world with a bunch of Rot. So I really don't see what we could get out of Judge, unless the devs would decide heavily rework their concept.

The third sibling from Survivor and Monk's family, on the other hand… now that one has potential. It's implied that the Slugcats of the Outer Expanse have migrated to the west, so a campaign about them could show parts of the world we've never seen before, and maybe, we'll even get to encounter Unparalleled Innocence! One thing to note is that cool and whacky abilities wouldn't really make sense on the guy, since both of its siblings are characterized as fairly basic Slugcats, that don't really have anything special that they can do. So if this scug would have a bunch of unique powers, like the Downpour Slugcats, then it would end up feeling rather jarring. They can still have small changes, like how Monk has different stats than Survivor, as well as karma gates that put their requirement to 1/1 after the first passage. Things like that can work, but they're not as fun to use, as the craziness of the Downpour scugs - so the campaign has to be carried by its new regions, rooms, music, story, and creatures (should the devs decide to add some). Thankfully, these aspects of RW have generally been pretty amazing, both in vanilla and DP, so I have faith that this campaign would end up being pretty awesome as well.

Soooooo, what am I choosing? Well, I did a ranking on the 'upgraded creature variant' poll, so let's do that here, too! ~ On the lowest spot is Judge. While it does sound like a cool character in theory, I really don't see what it could add to the game, that hasn't already been explored - either through official material, or mods. And I'm certain this sentiment will age phenomenally, once Watcher comes out. ~ Next up are the Iterators, the ones who are the most volatile, due to their inability to function well with Rain World's general gameplay. They have potential to be great, but their campaign/game could also end up as something I'll have 0 interest in. It really just depends on the direction the devs will end up going. ~ And the next spot is… a tie! Yeah, but I unfortunately can't vote for two options, so I will stick with the Scavenger Chieftain. ~ That's mainly because it seems rather difficult to design the third sibling's campaign in a way, where it would be a new and enjoyable experience for the people who are already skilled at the game, as they wouldn't have many new things new to learn (no complex crafting, no weird movement mechanics, and no new diets to get used to). ~ The Scavenger, on the other hand, is guaranteed to feel new and refreshing, since we've never got a Scavenger campaign before! There is a sense of uncertainty to how well that could work, but I would love to play it, even if it wouldn't end up on the same level of quality as the Slugcat campaigns.

which of these characters that will likely never get a campaign would you like to play as most?

scav king

third sibling (surv/monk’s family)

any iterator

judge (cut downpour character)

[wondereads]

Personal Review (07/10/22)

Skandar and the Unicorn Thief by A. F. Steadman

Why am I reviewing this book?

This book really piqued my interest. I've always loved children's books, but this one is a little special. Why? This author got a seven-figure deal for this one and was signed for a movie deal before it was released. I really wanted to see if it was that good. Also, the B&N exclusive had sprayed edges, so you know I snatched that up.

Plot 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10

A little over a decade ago, an island between Wales and Ireland made itself known to the world. On that island, unicorns exist, but they aren't the cute characters we're familiar with. They're violent and bloodthirsty and can only be controlled by their destined riders or else they go wild. The Island needs more riders, so every year children from the Mainland take an exam to see if they could be a unicorn rider, and this year, it's finally Skandar's turn.

Was the plot fun and engaging? Yes. Was it original? Not really. I would never say I was bored during this book, but it was fairly predictable in almost everything. Each of the unicorns and their riders gets a special element, but Skandar has the ~special, secret fifth element~ that everyone thinks is evil. The emphasis on certain people and their history makes it pretty obvious who the Weaver truly is. Also, I know, I know this is a children's book, but it's hard to suspend my disbelief to the point that I could buy four thirteen-year-olds breaking into a high-security prison. There were a lot of things about the plot and the character's decisions that seemed way too convenient.

The worldbuilding itself was pretty interesting. I liked that, despite the target audience, the unicorns were pretty horrific. However, I do have one nitpicky complaint. They are not unicorns! They are alicorns! They have wings! Know your mythology! Anyways. The spirit element was intriguing, but I hope the later books introduce some limitations to it because right now it seems way too powerful.

The plot wasn't necessarily bad, but it reads very much like a typical, chosen-one, magical school story with really nothing new.

Characters 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10

To be honest, the characters in this book were ridiculously flat. The lack of character development is shocking. However, on the other hand, the relationships were very strong, especially between Skandar and Scoundrel's Luck and Skandar and his sister, Kenna.

Let's start with Skandar. He's...nice, but he fits very neatly into the in-over-his-head, perpetually confused protagonist. There wasn't really anything new about him, and he felt more like someone for the audience to watch through rather than a character of his own. I did like his friend group, especially Mitchell. I always tend to enjoy a friendship between people who were originally antagonistic towards each other. However, the friend group's beginning made no sense. Within maybe an hour max of meeting each other, Bobby, Flo, and Mitchell (sort-of) decide to break the law and help Skandar sneak into the training program. Like, I get not wanting to be responsible for the potential imprisonment/death of another kid, but it's really convenient that Skandar just happened to encounter the three kids that will keep his secret.

I did really enjoy the relationship between Skandar and Scoundrel, his unicorn, because it felt like they were genuinely close. Honestly, Scoundrel was the most interesting character for me which certainly says something. I also think the dynamic between Skandar and Kenna as close siblings where one achieves the other's dream, is very interesting with a lot of potential. However, not much was done with it this book.

As for the villain, the Weaver, the motivations were very weird. On one hand, the revenge plot was good and I liked it, but then it somehow turned into world domination which just felt over-dramatic and overplayed.

Writing Style 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10

The writing was pretty average. There were good descriptions of the characters and setting. For example, I had a clear idea of what every character looked like within a chapter or two of their introduction. The way the Island and its various locations were described definitely made me want to see it in person. However, there wasn't really anything that particularly stood out to me. This is probably a result of being a college student and reading a middle-grade book, but it did feel a little simplistic at times.

Overall 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10

I think this book will do very well. However, I do not think it lives up to the hype. For a book being promoted as the next Harry Potter/Percy Jackson, I was expecting something pretty groundbreaking, but it feels just like any other middle-grade book. There are just a lot of very typical tropes crammed into this book like the author hoped they could use those to substitute a complex plot. Not that these tropes can't be done well (go read Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger), but it just doesn't do anything new and make the story fall flat in this case. I did enjoy reading this book, and it was definitely a fun, fantasy romp, but it just doesn't live up to the hype whatsoever.

The Author

A. F. Steadman: British, previously worked in law, Skandar and the Unicorn Thief is her debut novel

The Reviewer

My name is Wonderose; I try to post a review every week, and I do themed recommendations every once in a while. I take suggestions! Check out my about me post for more!

[scarletwinterxx]

End to Start pt. 3 - Jaehyun AU

Hello lovelies! this part took awhile to write but she’s here, i hope you like it! I enjoy reading your feedbacks😊🤍

For my other works you can check them out here, and for my other story series’ you can check them out here.

taglist: @the-universe-in-you-jjh @undevotedfangirl @dumplingley @halbae​​

All works are copyrighted ©scarletwinterxx 2020 . Do not repost, re-write without the permission of author.

PREV || NEXT

“But like how rich is he?”

“Rich enough to buy this building three four times over” you mumbled, not really paying much attention to Jungwoo and more on the cake you’re trying to decorate

“And you broke up with him? Wah noona” you looked over at him with a glare, signaling him to shut up. 

It was the day after the gala, you were supposed to take the day off but you’d rather keep yourself busy than overthink at home. Thus why you’re here now at the cafe with a very nosy Jungwoo beside you with his 100 questions after finding out you dated the Jung Jaehyun. 

“I’m three seconds away from kicking you out of this store permanently” 

“That’s the third time I heard that, this month” he smiled at you, walking back to the kitchen to grab the other pastries to be displayed. It’s still pretty early and it’s the weekend so you don’t expect that many people right now.

“So is he the guy you dated when you were in college?”

“Yes”

“You didn’t say he owned a big company”

“Are we playing 20 questions right now? Go serve the customers” you pushed him to the side when you heard the bell right, going back to what you were doing and letting Jungwoo deal with it. 

“Goodmorning, what can I get you today?”

“Two iced americano please”

Hold up, you know that voice. You don’t even have to look up to see who it was, “Is that all? Would you like to try some of our cakes and pastries? It’s good to pair with the coffee” Jungwoo said, still clueless about who he’s currently talking to 

“Is that green tea with pistachio? I’ll take a slice of that” it just so happens it was the cake you were currently setting up. 

“Sure thing, is that all?” After taking his order, the guy walked to a vacant table. 

“Noona, should I set you up with that guy? He was looking at you, plus he looks handsome and rich”

“Jungwoo”

“Mhm?”

“Shut up”

 You were preparing the order when the bell rang again, “Goodmorning, welcome to the cafe” Jungwoo greeted happily. 

“Oh, looks like he’s with someone” that made you halt for a second but quickly shaking it away. Passing the tray over to Jungwoo, “Here, go serve this and please stop being nosy”.

Jaehyun wanted to visit the cafe for some time now, but he didn’t want it to seem like he’s stalking you. He already knew you know how to bake, your cookies were his favorite. You used to bake those for him after exams as a way to cheer him up.

He didn’t know the first time he’ll be visiting here is when he’s about to break-up with his current ‘girlfriend’, with you standing only a few meters away. But after last night’s gala, Chungha called him suddenly asking if they could talk. 

“Here’s your order, is there anything else I could get you?” Jungwoo asked him and Chunga but the girl just shook her head with a smile, “Really? green tea cake? Your taste is so weird sometimes” she chuckled at the sight of cake on the table

“It’s one of the more unique flavors, we also have a chocolate one. It’s our bestseller” Jungwoo added, “Maybe later, thanks” 

After Jungwoo walked away, the two were left alone to talk. 

“Go on, just say it”

“You don’t have to act all tough all the time you know” 

His eyes landing on hers, as if he was telling her to just get on with it. “We had a good run” she chuckled, “What will your parents say when the word gets out?” Jaehyun asked. He might seem like a cold guy but he does still have some empathy left in him,

“I’ll deal with it. Happiness comes at a price, it just took me this long to realize I’m willing to pay for it no matter what the cost. Maybe you should too”

Jaehyun can’t help but look over at you, you were having a conversation with the guy that took his order and was laughing at something he said. Jaehyun’s gaze made Chungha look over at the side too, in that moment she knew

“So that’s her?”

“No” he cleared his throat before drinking his coffee, “You know you can’t lie that good, not to me atleast. Or her it looks like. Word of advice though, if she’s worth it just do it”

You were doing your best to ignore the two people on the far side of your cafe, Jaehyun and the girl looked like they were having a very serious conversation. When the girl stood up you immediately busied yourself again, then someone was standing infront of the counter on the other side. 

“I heard the chocolate cake is the best seller here” she said, her voice gentle and sweet. She seems like a lovely lady. 

“Yea, and the chocolate chip cookies too. Would you like to try it?” you asked her with a smile of your own

“I’ll take both to go” you packed the treats yourself, passing it over to her as she hand you her payment

“Green tea cake, sounds different” she chuckled, looking at the cake with a single slice missing “Oh yea, I just like trying out flavors here and there”

“What are you talking about? You always make that, if you want to try something new, you can order that. We always have extra” Jungwoo butted in, “Will keep that in mind, my friend loves that flavor”

“Oh, friend” Jungwoo said then looking over at you, “Thanks by the way” the lady said then walked out the door. 

“Friend” Jungwoo repeated with a wicked grin on

“Stop”

“But this is your chance at finally landing someone! Jihyo may be bad at setting you up maybe I can”

“No-”

“Let’s just try, see he’s walking over here”

“I said-” “Uh can I have this cake to go, please? I’ll also get the rest of it” Jaehyun said  looking back and forth between you and Jungwoo

“Sure, would that be all?” you asked as if you didn’t know him

“Uhm so my boss here-” you elbowed him on the stomach, trying to stop him from continuing. “I’m here! Sorry I’m a bit late, class finished later than I thought” Sungchan announced as he enter the shop, making the three of you look over at the tall boy

“Oh, hyung what are you doing here?” he asked Jaehyun when he spotted him, “You two know each other?” Jungwoo asked from beside you

Then it clicked, you almost wanted to slap yourself. How can you be so stupid, you’re not sure. 

“You’re related, how come I never put that together” you looked back and forth between the two

“You two know each other?” Sungchan asked back, “Something like that” Jaehyun mumbled. That made Jungwoo look over at you then Jaehyun then at you again, “Oh, Jung Sungchan. then you must be-”

After that stressful encounter, you chose to just call it an early day and leave the boys at the cafe. Jaehyun didn’t say much afterwards, just waited for his order then left with a few words said to his younger brother. 

Add that to the list of things you were thinking about. After the gala yesterday, after seeing Jaehyun’s mom again you can’t help but overthink about things again. A big part of you itching to do what you’ve always been meaning to do, something you wish you never did. 

Unable to stop yourself, you opened the door of your closet and rummaged through until you find the box stashed inside. Stuffing it in your bag before shruging your coat on, took your keys and drove off. 

You've only been at their place once, that was the first and last time. 

It’s what you see in movies, the typical huge mansion rich people have in movies. The Jungs were no exception, their home looked like something straight out of a magazine. Until now you feel like you shouldn’t be here. 

Parking your car on the driveway, you walked towards the front door. Knocking twice and wait for someone to open the door, when it did it was just the person you wanted to see, 

“Can we talk?”

Jaehyun didn’t expect the turn of events this day had, after finding out his youngest sibling works part time at your cafe ofcourse he had to know more. Telling Sungchan he’ll wait until his shift is over to drive him home. 

“You didn’t tell me you work at the cafe”

“Why? would you stop me just like mom?” the younger one asked, he knew what his brother meant.  With their mother there’s almost little to no room for freedom, their lives were planned out for them. As kids they were told what they should be when they grow up, expectations they had to meet, things they needed to accomplish. 

“No, it’s close to my office. You could’ve just worked for me” he answered, the older brother tone gone

“Then what’s the point? Like I said, I wanted to atleast see the world on my own before mom and dad stops me. Or atleast until college” Sungchan mumbles

“If you don’t want to study the course mom and dad are making you study just tell me, I’ll help you”

“Why? They’ll just get mad at you too”

“Then they can be both mad at us, don’t make the same stupid mistakes I did. Don’t take too long to decide that this isn’t the life you don’t want to live. Just... just be you. If they won’t have that, then you’ll have me” he sincerely said, meaning every word he just said. 

He wished he had someone to say that to him back then, in a way he did. You told him that. 

Even if the world is against him, he’ll have your hand to hold on to. 

“So, how did you know Y/N noona?”

“We went to same college” he answered, keeping it brief. After that Sungchan didn’t ask anymore questions. When they finally arrived at their home, there’s an unfamiliar car on the driveway. Assuming that it was one of their parent’s visitor,

“Are you staying the night?” Sungchan ask as they walk towards the house, “No, just came to talk to mom about something”

“Okay, well see you later” the two brothers went their own ways, Sungchan skipping up the stairs to his room while Jaehyun walk around the house looking for his mom. 

What he didn’t expect was to see who she was talking to, they were at the foyer, sitting at opposite sides of the table. 

“Even when I didn’t have anything to my name, I never touched a cent in that envelope. I’m ashamed I even took in the first place, that was my mistake. And I’m still paying for it until now, you got what you wanted. Jaehyun hates me”

You were talking about him with his mother? 

What envelop were you talking about?

“Then why did you take it?”

“Because it was the only way you’ll stop, I thought if I took the money and disappeared you would atleast spare him, you’d let him live the way he wants to. I don’t care if he’s angry at me, he has every right to be” you answered, no sign of intimidation or fear in your voice. 

But he does hear the pain, and he hated it. 

“Your son is worth more than whatever you give me, that money is bitter reminder of my lowest point. But even then, I’d rather starve and have no roof over my head than spend a single cent you gave me. It’s up to you if you tell him what you did, I think we’re way past the point of going back anyways. He can’t even stand being in the same room as me. One way or another, you got what you wanted. All I want is my peace, I don’t want that with me anymore, I don’t want to keep that in the corner of my closet like the monster I’m too scared to face”

Jaehyun was trying to take all of your words in, struggling to process the truth he just accidently uncovered. 

All those years he thought you left him because you didn’t love him was in fact not what really happened, His mother, surprisingly but not really, manipulated his life yet again. 

“All of the money is still in there, I haven’t touched that since then. I was just waiting for the day I could finally give it back to you. I’m pretty sure you don’t need it, but neither do I” you said your final words then rose from your seat. 

When you turned around to leave the place you didn’t expect to see the person standing by the door, a gasp leaving Mrs. Jung’s mouth

“Jaehyun” she said but his gaze was on you

You didn’t have to ask him, you already knew he heard it. How much? probably enough judging by the look on his face. 

You looked at him with same intense stare, trying to say your apologies without saying anything at all. It feels like there’s this weight lifted off of you after you gave the envelope containing the money back to his mom. Like this time you can look him in the eyes without thinking about the money stashed away in your closet.

There are still questions floating in his mind, you could tell. But Jaehyun didn’t look as troubled as he should be, even with the overwhelming amount of questions in his head he knew this time it would be okay. You were the only answer he needed.

[oneoftheprettynerds]

Devout Worshipper: Dark! Peter Parker x Professor!Reader

A/N: So this girl here tried something else. I’ve been wanting to upload since long but this got delayed a lot and now I have several WIPs but finished this first. Sorry not proofread. I’m still discovering my writing style and my forte and thank you for staying and witnessing my experiments! Wear safety goggles please.

Summary: The best of all the educators yet, both smart and stunning, became Peter’s mentor in university. Peter grew too much of a liking for her, from a clingy scholar to her devout worshipper.

WARNING: STORY AHEAD HAS NON-CON, KIDNAPPING, POSSIBLE DRUGGING, UNHEALTHY BEHAVIOUR, OBSESSION. DNI IF TRIGGERED.

You sat on the teacher’s desk, going through the latest thesis published by Dr. Banner last week. He had given you one of the several copies and asked you to go through it and your judgement on it. The classroom was slowly filling in as the scholars stacked in, their buzzes growing loud with each passing trice.

You were on the last paragraph of your current page when a slight thump made you break out of your stupor, you tilted your head up to find a brawny youngster leaning in front of you, with his hand planted beside your ass on the ebony desk. He had blonde locks with grey eyes and was definitely a sports’ team captain, basketball you believed, who had his own posse of wannabes behind him.

You kept the paper down in your lap and met his eyes again with an inquiring look. “Yes?”

“You seem new. Me and my guys will save you a seat at the back, so come there when your little reading session is over, babe.” He said smugly, his eyes brimming with mischievousness as they dipped to your cleavage not-so-subtly and stood there gawking while he awaited your response.

You paused to see the whole class had gone quiet watching your encounter with the jock. You gave him a sickly-sweet smile as you nodded shyly for show and he tapped your knee with his other hand before leaving. As soon as his back faced you, you rolled your eyes so hard at his antics you heard the first-benchers gasp. You could still hear him talking to his ‘friends’, “I love myself a badass girl like her.”

You returned to your thesis but before you could finish the last few sentences, the bell rung and you had to stop. Thanks blondie.

You got down from the desk, jumping on your black heels as you made your way over to the door, closing it as lock clicked into place.

The entire class was watching you with quizzical glances as you stood in front of your desk this time and wrung your hands together, “Good morning class and congratulation on making it to your second year in college, I will be your mentor and also your lecturer for biology for this semester and for those who pass, also their next one.” The entire class’ jaw slackened and you giggled lightly as waited for them to digest the news, and then told them your name.

“I know a lot of you see science itself as a chore but since you’ve already taken it, I suggest you try to pay attention as you will have to study it anyways. However, because I can relate to your struggles, I will try my best to be a companion or advisor, whichever way you prefer it, and help you get through the class with flying colours hopefully. So, ask me anything, no matter how stupid or absurd you believe your doubt or query is. I’ll answer as many times as you ask and trust me when I say that I am a woman of my word. You have any questions for the semester?” You finished with a bright smile on your face as you saw the students in the front relax slightly. At least you had their approval.

“Ma’am” The blonde kid started without raising his hand, stressing the word unnecessarily as he and his horde sniggered at some stupid inside joke, and continued, “Can I have your number?”

Some of the students gulped while the others leaned forward interested in your response. That kid thought he could fluster you by putting you in a weird spot. He smirked arrogantly, leaning back in his chair as you raised your eyebrows.

“That, Mr.?” You paused as you lingered for his answer, which came almost immediately.

“Flash Thompson, but you can call me whatever you want baby.”

His friends hooted at his pickup line, some praising his smoothness while some high-fived him.

“That, Mr. Thompson, is an excellent example of the stupid questions I mentioned formerly. Thank you for helping me make it clearer to the rest of the class, an extra point for you in the first grading assignment.”

His face fell as his jaw ticked and you turned to face the rest of the class again, “Though I suppose I will give you my number but for emergency purposes only, you can contact me on my e-mail though which I will be using most frequently. You are supposed to mail me majority of your papers this semester and the grading pattern is expected to change this time around but I will inform you of that when the time for the first assignment comes around. Any other questions, and if possible, a bit wiser ones?”

Peter knew he liked you that day. You were attractive and stunning, yes, that too in the natural way, without make-up and tight clothes. But of course, there was more to you than that, you were smart and witty, hence a young lecturer in this esteemed college and you being a science enthusiast as well was like chocolate chips on top of a well baked dessert. You were spirited and jaunty and your sardonic and sassy replies were never degrading or humiliating. The five-year difference between you and the class made you their elder sibling rather than professor.

The first benchers worshipped your intellect while the last benchers adored your sarcasm. Everyone could see how you gave your all to teach, every trick for learning, showing real skeletons and organs in formalin, easily becoming the favourite mentor ever. You could easily be labelled as the university’s crush of the year.

But Peter soon began to despise that. The perverted comments by the students and jealous, snarky remarks by the plastics irked him. He was enraged by the geeks admiring you but baffled all the more by the strange palette of emotions he had never suffered before.

The sheer envy he was sinking in had never even surfaced while he dated Liz or MJ. For him you were a Goddess, tons divine than his exes or any other female for that matter, who should be properly worshipped and treasured.

He knew these sentiments weren’t right, but in this twisted world where he had combatted with unnatural beings and seen unimaginable horrors, he began to believe morality is just fiction used by the herd of inferior men to hold back the few superior men.

It was the last day before spring break and no matter how much your pupils loved you, it wasn’t enough for them to not get distracted and murmur around. Only half of your entire class’s strength came and that half somehow managed to create more ruckus than usual. Even you were minutes late, not in the mood to teach this aloof and uninterested batch of youngsters.

You sat on the table and crossed your legs, which was somewhat your habit that you weren’t really proud of but continued to indulge in nonetheless, and cleared your throat times to catch the attention of the unmindfully fantasizing students.

The baritone of the males and shrieky pitches of the females made you clutch your head. You were sure going to end with disprin at the end of day. You clapped loudly and effectively so, gathered the class’s attention, but by the roll of their eyes and glares on their faces, you deduced they weren’t happy. Who would have thought?

“Okay, before you all slaughter me to the netherworld with your lethal gazes, let me make it clear that no teaching will commence today.” The class hollered appreciatively and whistled, while you paused to let them do so. Teaching on the last day before a vacation was like speaking to yourself only but with the consequence of your name being added to several hitlists.

“I’ll distribute the graded assignments submitted last Thursday and then, since I’m required to clock thirty minutes of educating at the bare minimum, we can play something, maybe you have some talents to show, principles to mock or some gossip to attend to.” The college kids laughed at your poor joke, perhaps too thrilled for their break that nothing could make their mood sour. “We’ll see accordingly, but first, raise your hand when I say your name, I want to learn at least the names of the students who bothered to come to uni on the concluding day.”

You distributed the papers back, making sure to associate each name with a face and the students took them stuffing it straight inside, not bothering to check their scoring and possibly wreck their mood.

“Peter Parker?” A hand raised in the second last row shyly, a flustered boy with glasses on his nose and a hoodie covering his head. He barely made eye contact and you smiled at his nervy, edgy form hoping to ease him a bit. Your heels sounded heavy against the few stairs as you made your way to the back, the class buzzing with laughs as students barely paid you any heed.

The draught of epinephrine Peter felt was unlike anything he had ever felt before, nothing like the anxiety on the battlefield or the excessive sweating while impressing Mr. Stark. The apprehension he felt was decuple that.

It’s not like he had never talked to you afore, he constantly asked clever doubts, which he knew the answer to already, of course, to make an impression on you, but that was with a two feet and 7.5 inches of teacher’s desk in between. Yes, he measured. He had even made sure a couple times, let’s be honest, more than several times that his Goddess had arrived her fascinating abode safely.

But this time, they’d be hardly half a foot apart and the anticipation was tearing him apart. He did want her close, in all ways possible, but was he ready enough to not make a fool of himself? All his previous conversations were thought out meticulously and beforehand but was ready for a spontaneous interaction?

“Good job, Smart Cookie.” You mused at Peter with a wink and dropped the paper on his desk as he looked at you with those innocent, doe-eyes of his, his cheeks and nose a tad bit rouge.

Peter’s hearing ability got lost as the sound of his heart pumping blood filled his tympanum. He could only watch you retreat back to the front of the class, your hips swaying invitingly in that damned black pencil skirt as you called another person’s name.

Smart Cookie was his favourite nickname now.

It was pretty late when you left the university premises, finishing up all you had to and even preparing for your first week of teaching after vacation because you knew how procrastinating errands went.

You couldn’t almost believe how you were on the adult end of things, making sure and guiding other people. With the job, came a lot of obligations that you had to fulfil and being responsible was hard, really demanding. You suddenly had a lot of reverence for all the teachers in your life, from kindergarten to your degrees.

You were on a sabbatical from research temporarily, signing a teaching contract for three years minimum and you were satisfies with the refreshment. Interacting young, curious minds was almost like a recreational activity you indulged in free time and the various angles they approached science at even taught you something. The scholars found it in themselves to even question well-established biology.

Slightly humming, you made a mental checklist of what all was left to do for your solo, self-discovering trip the next week. All that you should pack, clothes according to the weather in the hills and enough emergency eatables. Maybe you could revisit the work-in-progress papers of yours or maybe it would be a leisure excursion only.

Only you never made it to your flight.

 The pounding of your head made a thrumming noise in your head, increasing its tempo and volume with each passing instant. Your eyelids felt heavy and opening them felt like a chore, which even more difficult considering the light that flooded your vision with every bit they opened. Your senses felt overwhelmed being burdened and strained with their everyday tasks after what you assumed to be at least hours of inactivity.

The sudden spike of pain shooting in your head made you jerk your hand to clutch your throbbing forehead, only to fail and find your hands bounded to something. They weren’t cuffed or shackled, nothing dug in your wrist either. Maybe a rope but the texture wasn’t rough enough. After what felt like minutes, you opened your eyes and sat up, as straight as your confined self could, and looked around.

The room was shades of grey and blue, a giant bed was where you were sitting. The giant ceiling to floor windows beside you, cast enough moonlight in the bedroom for you to see the entire bedroom. The view outside was so picturesque, that you had been gawking were you not afraid of your surroundings. You could discern you were high up, with how small the vehicles looked and another wave terror ran through you.

A white desk with a blue chair had a laptop atop it, also sitting beside several books. You would have noticed them being your subject and recommendation but you were scanning your brain as to how you landed here. With your vision now clearer, you saw your restraints to be like silk but no matter how hard you pulled, they didn’t snap.

You were full on panicking and staring wide eyed when the laptop entered your vision again. There was no other electronic except it and you calmed yourself to think rationally. Deep breaths, in and out. Your best bet right now was to hope that the laptop was connected to someone’s wifi.

You slid off the edge of the bed and tried to cut the weird silk ropes with bedside table’s corner. It took some time but you succeeded, your hands freed from the poster of the bed as you made your way towards the laptop, after checking the locked door of course.

Another wave of panic ran through you when the laptop wasn’t connected to anything and all available connections were password protected. You noticed the laptop to be brand new, and of a very expensive company that was out of your budget. You also noticed the OS was very different, not the usual Windows you ran. Your AI Cortana in this overpriced gadget, was named Karen.

You still refused to wait for your captor to show up and snooped to find something on the laptop, anything. There was no profile of the owner but you did manage to find at least three GB of videos and images.

Your hands froze and eyes widened when you saw the security footage of your building’s outside, the little bakery’s neon sign confirming the location. The videos were the same, of you entering and exiting every day, just the dates on the videos varied.

Another folder had clips with the same dates, but they were in the lobby of your apartment, your potted plants outside your door the affirmation again. It showed you getting milks and newspaper every morning, ordering take out several days and placing the garbage bags outside.

The earliest date in each folder was after your first month of moving here, second week of teaching probably.

When you opened the third folder, as the video started your hands covered your mouth as you tried your best to hold back the sob and making a noise. The screen showed two camera screens, both inside your apartment. The first showed the living room clearly and your kitchen and you concluded it to be behind some article on the bookshelf.

The other screen showed your bedroom.

You could still see the floral bedsheet with the white quilt atop it. Your red suitcase that you took out from the storage for your trip this morning, resting beside the wall. Your lamp switched on from when you mayhap left it on, already late for the last day of work. As the time hit 12 AM at the bottom of the screen, the video ended and played again. There were even more folders and you wondered how far would the surveillance go, till your bathroom?

Your abductor had live footage of your house being sent to his laptop and that scared you shitless. This was not a random crime, that ransom could end. You were here for something, some sick purpose you didn’t even know. Was this a hate crime? Would you even make it-

“I really wish you hadn’t looked there.”

The deep, familiar voice amplified your fear and you turned your head slowly, almost comically to look at him. Another gasp escaped your lips as you found warm eyes of your student and brows furrowed in confusion and fear when you saw the deranged lust in his eyes. Was this some sick prank?

“What am I doing here and what is this?” You gestured to the screen playing footages of the inside of your house. Seeing someone familiar and the probability of this being a prank should have calmed you somewhat but the revolting trick and the strange darkness in the boy’s eyes made you even more wary.

As he took a step closer, you hastily climbed out of the chair and backed away, nearing the bed again as he locked the door and closed in on you. He made a move to snatch you and you jumped to the other side of the bed barely missing him by an inch. You reached for the door hoping to find it unlocked but it didn’t even budge.

You pulled even harder while being painfully aware of how that kid from your class just sat on the bed and observed, having the utmost confidence in the door. Your frenzied state got a jump-scare when a female voice broke the silence, “Authorization to access locked doors is granted to Mr. Parker only, please refrain from damaging the property, Mam.”

So some tech-boy with a rich background is set on you?

“Please sit on the bed and I’ll explain, please.”

His doe eyes would have fooled you were you not extremely aware of your environment due to the adrenaline coursing through your arteries. He was an exceptionally good actor, you had to give him that. You prided yourself to be an excellent judge of character and here this guy had deceived you for three months.

The AI called him Parker, what was his name again?

Patrick? Peyton? Peter? Yes, Peter Parker.

“Peter?” You softly called out and his eyes widened as a blush crept up to his cheeks as he relished the fact that you remembered his name. You sighed internally, praying that this was a case of a harmless crush gone wrong and he was just innocently hopeful. The image of his dark, lust covered eyes crossed your mind to make an argument but you pushed it aside to calm your nerves and stay as relaxed as you possibly could with all that was happening.

“I know that this is all a big misunderstanding but you are really scaring me here. Can you please at least let me out of this room to somewhere open?” You looked at him, hoping to talk him down and get out. You didn’t think he would hurt you but you weren’t willing to take any chances with this maniacal youngster either.

“I’m sorry but I can’t do that, you’ll run.”

Of course, you’ll run, who wouldn’t?

“Peter, boy, listen to me-”

“No, you listen to me! I admit the situation isn’t ideal and you’re probably terrified because of your meddling but this is all for you! I’m here to protect you! The world out there isn’t safe and your heavenly self needs to be resuscitated.”

“Peter, you’re not making any sense. I’m an adult, older than you and you need to understand boundaries-”

“I’ve seen the way of the world, trust me, in fact, far more than you have! Did you know that raping and murdering women on Asgard is considered a common crime? How Hydra is kidnapping young, bright women to exploit them for breeding projects? How the Red Skull resurfaced and his ideals now include eradicating women from Earth as well?”

“Pete-”

“No, you don’t know! You are just blissfully unaware of this world, so oblivious you don’t even how know the perverted and debauched comments your own class makes?”

His outburst frightened you as you felt yourself losing control of the situation, maybe you never were in control. But now the unleashed fury on Peter’s face told you that had triggered an irrevocable topic.

“Calm down, it’s alright.” You said quietly, hoping to ease him again but his steps towards made you back up yourself to the other side of the bed.

“You, You are still scared of me, aren’t you? You still don’t understand, do you? I’ll show you, show you how much I worship you, the true extent of my devotion.” Every ludicrous declaration of his bit away your hope of getting out.

As he approached you again from the foot of the bed, you jumped across the bed again, hoping to reprise your stunt from before. However, your jumping halted midway as something glued your right wrist to the headboard and you jerked due to inertia of movement. As your eyes looked to your hand, the same silky rope met your vision.

You did not have the time or the wits to ponder over the fluid, about how your abductor shot it or how it wouldn’t budge no matter how hard you pulled. A hand on your ankle prompted you to try one last time as you screamed as loud as you could, for as long as your lungs allowed.

“It won’t work, Mr. Stark got me a soundproofed apartment. Pretty cool, right?”

A sob wracked through your entire frame as the tears descended, the frustration and hopelessness and dread, all attacking you at once. Your legs kicked and flexed and when your left fist swung, he restrained all your limbs after dodging, of course.

“I just want to love you, is it too much too ask?” He asked in a quiet whisper, his hands undressing you cloth by cloth; first unzipping the side of your pencil skirt and unwrapping it, then unbuttoning your blouse. When he brought out a pocket knife, your eyes instinctively closed, a “Please don’t hurt me” falling from your lips.

“Never.” He replied with absolute assurance.

The blade cut through your blouse first, leaving you in your garments while Peter sat back on his knees to admire you. You’ve been flattered with the adoration in his eyes had you not gone through the mayhem that you had.

His hand caressed your curves, feeling the soft skin underneath as he took his time admiring you, committing each feature to memory while your tears poured, your eyes never leaving the knife he held.

The blade invaded your privacy once again as it took away your last pieces of defense, leaving you utterly nude and your cries wreaked havoc in the otherwise quiet room. Your eyes found Peter face and you noticed his eyes twinkling in admiration trailing up and down your body several times. His disciple complex was scaring you, you almost bordered considering his Goddess belief.

“So stunning.” He whispered as he came down to kiss you, his lips meeting yours in this bruising embrace of both your mouths and as he began to undress himself simultaneously, his dramatics became the least of your concerns. The thought of the inevitable future made home in your mind and gave you one last bout of courage to try and fight.

The restraints on your limbs didn’t even budge and every fleck of hope deserted your body when you saw the chiseled abs on his scarred torso, his biceps bulging and silently warning you into staying put. He made quick work of his remaining outfit and his hard, angry member was bigger than you had anticipated.

You had not expected a stereotypical nerd to be packing, with muscles and brawns, hardly to even expect him to be the largest among the ones you had ever experienced.

“Please don’t.” You mumbled, defeated, knowing he would not listen. You closed your eyes expecting the intrusion to get it over with. You were caught off handed when you felt him shift and devour into your pussy. He feasted like a man famished, his tongue leaving no area unlapped. The sparks in your abdomen made you queasy and giddy at the same time, you could barely open your eyes due to the intensity of his actions and when he added two of his shockingly calloused fingers, you let go of the coil in mere seconds.

Your limbs sat limp while your vision whitened, your mind foggy and hazy, deprived of all sensibility. When his thick thighs rested on top of yours, your gaze ascended to meet his already staring pupils, the warm, honey brown orbs now a black abyss. You couldn’t even protest in your blissful state as lined himself and entered your cavern, which was lubricated enough courtesy of him.

The stretch burned but as he rocked himself and thrusted with a rhythm, the pleasure started building from scratch. Each push was sturdier than the last and every spot he hit managed to make your breath hitch. Your hands and legs freed as the fluid perhaps melted but the last of your energy was being used by you to stay conscious. When he descended to kiss you once again and trailed kisses to your collarbone, your hands held onto him for support, his biceps providing anchor to you, made of pure muscle.

His teeth bruised your skin as he lightly bit your neck, reaching his end and releasing his load. The warmth that filled you made you let go, his orgasm encouraging another one from you.

Your eyes drooped, your body filled with exhaustion due to all the struggling as you curled in to your side and wrapped your arms around yourself, trying to forget your abductor and the forceful, mind shattering ecstasy you felt. Your refused to think about the guilt and the uncertainty of your impending doom in the hands of this maniacal student of yours. You just wished for sleep, for some peace alone.

The wish of yours was not granted when you felt Peter slide behind you, his hand wrapping around your middle as if you were lover. You still gave into slumber, but not before feeling him peck your shoulder with a promise.

“This devotee of yours will worship you forever and always, Goddess.”

[novelmonger]

American Girls Premiere 2 - It makes me so happy to know that there's someone out there who's played this hidden gem from my childhood! :') I got it during the height of my interest in American Girl dolls, when I would spend countless hours just flipping through the catalogue and daydreaming about what it would be like to have some of those pretty dolls and their pretty toys. (I eventually got Samantha and then proceeded to hardly ever play with her because I knew she cost like $90 @_@) Anyway, this is a game where you can make little stage plays with the original six American Girls (and other characters from their books). There are backdrops, props, music, sound effects, and various actions you can direct the actors to do. You can record yourself doing the voices, or have the computer read what you type into a text box. It's a glorious specimen of the mid-90s - you have to switch discs to access all the content, the characters are all live actors and you can totally see a blue outline from them being recorded against a bluescreen, there are glitches galore, and the text-to-speech voices sound like they've gone through a blender. But there are endless possibilities of what you can do - and trust me, my siblings and I explored quite a few of them ;) One of these days I should see if I can emulate it somehow, just for nostalgia's sake.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - Honestly, one of the most disappointing entries in the franchise for me, but that's mostly because I wanted another Ocarina of Time and it did not deliver. I liked certain things about the story, like the Twilight Realm and Link being turned into a wolf, but wanted more of that and less of those annoying kids and the assault upon the ears that is the wolf howling. It did manage to have some cool items and a really epic final battle, though! And Midna is the second-best companion in the series.

Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask - I really liked this one! Totally didn't need to be on the 3DS, though XD I remember really liking the puzzles, I thought the story was particularly good, and I really liked the music. (I mean...I like the music in all of these games, but the carnival/circus-sounding vibes are really nice in this one.)

A Bird Story - Oh yay, someone has played this one! I thought for sure it wouldn't get any votes, since it's a oneshot in the middle of a somewhat obscure indie game series ^^' A cute little introduction (or supplement) to the characters and setting of Finding Paradise. Not necessary, but nice to have.

Alan Wake's American Nightmare - Long before Alan Wake 2 was a twinkle in the developers' eyes, this game brought the conclusion to the wonderful story of Alan Wake! I love the way this ended the story, and now I'm a little nervous as to whether Alan Wake 2 will mess up the satisfaction of this ending. In terms of gameplay, this game felt easier and not as good of a game as the original Alan Wake, especially because the nature of it is that you have to keep on going back to the beginning and replaying the same events over and over again. They manage to keep things interesting, as you discover more and more about this weird...pocket dimension? thing? But you can't escape the knowledge that you're stuck in a time loop, basically. I loved the Old Gods of Asgard song featured in it, though, and I applaud the decision to have important cutscenes be filmed live-action instead of the awful facial animation of the original game >_< Should have been that way from the beginning. Mr. Scratch is also one of the most delightfully horrible villains I've ever encountered. I think this game is a must-play for anyone who plays the first Alan Wake.

Celeste - I'm not surprised this won! Celeste is just such a solid platformer. The controls are so satisfying and responsive. It's blisteringly challenging but also surprisingly forgiving - you die a lot, but every time you die you immediately respawn at the beginning of that room/frame, so you never have to replay much to progress. The graphics are gorgeous, in a lovely pixelated style with bright colors and cute shapes and whimsical animation. The music is beautiful and so calming and/or uplifting, so even though your fingers are moving as fast as they possibly can, your heart rate stays even and I, at least, never felt panicky the way I might if the music was frenetic. Celeste is about a girl climbing a mountain, and in the process facing her mental hangups and the things that are holding her back. And everything in the game feels like it's purposely tailored to encourage you to keep going, keep trying, until you make it to the summit with her. There are so many games that feel like they hate the player, or at least are trying to keep you from progressing unless you beat it into submission. So it's really cool to play a game where you feel like the whole thing is designed to keep pushing you upward and help you overcome it.

Evoland - Aw, I was hoping this one might get more votes, but I suppose it is a pretty obscure game. It's a short and simple game that basically parodies some of the most popular franchises, like Super Mario and Final Fantasy. There are lots of references to things, some of which I'm sure I missed. My favorite thing about the game was how you sort of progress through the history of video games, in a way - you start out in a world that's black and white, with no music, and everything is 2D and very pixelated. As you continue, you gradually unlock various features like the soundtrack, colors, and eventually even 3D graphics. The story itself is pretty simple and standard for fantasy games, but it's all very cute, and I had a lot of fun with the jokes and references.

Fran Bow - Whoa, how did this obscure gem beat Twilight Princess?! :O I figured it wouldn't get very many votes, but I guess I underestimated the popularity of a stylish indie horror game like this. (It fits into an interesting subgenre of stories about a dark-haired girl with a black cat - like Coraline or May Bird.) You play as a girl who is in an insane asylum after she saw her parents being murdered. Fran is trying to get out and reunite with her black cat, Mr. Midnight. Since she suffers from mental illness and hallucinations, you can never be quite sure which of the fantastical places and people you encounter are real, and which might simply be a result of her mental illness. The hallucinations are pretty creepy, but the story the game tells is actually quite beautiful and intriguing. Aw, this is making me want to play it again!

Arbitrarily-Chosen Video Game Tournament, Round 1.13

Welcome to the Arbitrarily-Chosen Video Game Tournament, where we will find out which of the games I've played is the best game of all time!

Why? Don't ask. Just vote and reblog!

[moccawithsugar]

Few random notes about The Tower of Nero

(Spoilers ahead)

Nico. My poor boy Nico. Getting therapy from Mr. D was something I did not expect, but I’m glad he’s doing it. My baby deserves happiness.

The brotherly relationship between Dionysus and Apollo was something I did not expect either. I think I can finally understand better the god of wine and I’m glad for that.

Rachel and her brush will always be iconic.

Will is adorable. And the way he shines and then Apollo’s like “I’m so proud” and Will is there too flushed like “it’s not that I graduated med school with honors” and Apollo being a good dad for him like “I’ll be proud when you do that too” and I’m here like aawwwwww. But really, the fact that Apollo is proud that his son can shine is everything.

Will and Nico. They are so different and get along so good like wow. It’s amazing how they’re so perfect for each other. They know each other so much and they love each other so much and I love them so much.

There were two battle at camp Jupiter? Well, Percy and Annabeth are gonna stay in NYC. The battle is in NYC this time? Then Percy and Annabeth are going to San Francisco 😅 My babies deserve a rest.

Stelle is going to rule the world some day.

The cows... That was... so weird...

Also they mentioned Venezuela and I’m so happy for it.

Nico can kill just by touching people... WOW.

Meg is a little queen.

Her encounter with Nero was so heartbreaking but she was so brave...

Poor Lu.

“Nobody hits my boyfriend and nobody kills my dad”. Again: I love you, Will.

Apollo being sweet with his children was adorable. The compliment to Kayla and the cute little talk with Austin made me cry.

Also the other three new kids in the Apollo cabin meeting their dad. And Austin introducing them to Apollo like “they are the children you sired years ago, you probably don’t remember but now you do, you’re welcome” 😅 Also how do they know they’re Apollo’s children? He couldn’t have claimed them. Another god did for him? They’re just too good with arrows or medicine and make it too easy to deduce?

The other gods can watch him in a proyector in the hearth’s fire... Like, since when have them been watching him and laughing and betting against him? Since his trials started? That is so cruel, they’ve known Apollo for thousands of years. Hermes disappointed me so much, I really liked him. I expected no less from Ares tho. Also Poseidon was just there bored to the core and yawning like... You had that punishment before once too! And with Apollo! You know how it feels, you should care. I want to think maybe he was just too tired (if gods can get tired) because of the rebuilding of his palace but honestly what are the odds? The decline in Poseidon’s character is very sad.

Apollo walking to Python almost unarmed and alone was so brave. He couldn’t have gone like that in the first book and I’m so proud of him, he has grown so much.

“I missed the shot. Don’t even pretend to be surprised” I was not, Lester. At least you tried.

RIP THE ARROW OF DODONA! IT WAS A FAITHFUL PROJECTILE TO THE END! APOLLO MUST FALL BUT HE WILL RISE AGAIN!!!! HAIL HIS LAST PROPHECY!

Ehh did I mention Artemis? No? Well... ARTEMIS ARTEMIS ARTEMIS ARTEMIS ARTEMIS!!! The best goddess!! She was so worried 🥺 begging Zeus to forgive Apollo 😭 and screaming to Aphrodite... She’s so awesome I just can’t.

The description of how Apollo and Python fall to chaos was amazing. I never thought Rick would touch the subject of Chaos but it was great. The perfect end for Python and (of course) the perfect timing for the goddess of Stix to appear. At least she saw that Apollo has really learned the lesson. He must be true to all his promises from now on, specially the most important ones. He will remember. And the fact that Zeus can’t see to the Chaos? Sweet.

The way Apollo wept in his sister’s shoulder broke me. Poor guy, he has been through too much. And Artemis was there just so happy that he’s back and well and alive :’) she’s the best. “Not a cuddler, my sister. But she allowed me to hold her hands” aaawwwwww. Also the way she dressed him up into a dress was the most sibling-relationship-thing I’ve ever seen in a god/goddess 😅

“The gods awaited” is such a good phrase. Almost as good as “Release the Kraken!”.

I can’t stop thinking about the image of the tiny gods with Mickey Mouse voice “Welcome to Olympus!” 😂😂😂

“Wisdom, comes in handy” omg Athena.

If I thought before that Zeus was bad well now he seems even worse.

Why was Hera crying over Jason? Was she really grieving? Why? Doesn’t she hate every one of Zeus’s children? What did I miss?

The fact that Zeus doesn’t care about his son’s death 😒

Apollo visiting every single one of his demigods friends :’)

Hazel and Frank are finally free of their curses and living life like never before :’) I’m so happy for them.

Reyna seems so happy now with her bff Thalia hunting that damn fox. Also “no puedes decirle mamacita a una mujer, ¿entendiste?” was perfect 😅 I need more of Reyna and Leo speaking in Spanish.

Calypso enjoying school? Adorable :3

How doesn’t Apollo know if Georgie is his daughter or not? He’s a god now, he should now. He knew Thalia’s age just by looking at her, just saying.

I need lots of stories about the Hunters of Artemis, specially about what happened at the end with that fox.

The fact that Apollo knew Artemis was the only one there actually happy to have him back... And the wink at the end... I’m just obsessed with these twins ok?

Apollo bringing blue cookies to Percy was adorable. And Percy doesn’t know what to study, he just knows it has to be something with the ocean. I’m glad to see he doesn’t think about his phobia anymore. And Apollo’s concern about if Percy and Annabeth were going to share a bedroom or no 😅 hilarious. But that’s none of your business, Apollo. Annabeth told you herself.

Piper is bi! 😱 She’s finally happy (even missing Jason tho, don’t misunderstand me) with her partner and Apollo is so happy for her and she’s so happy for him and wow :’) too much cuteness.

The part with Meg was the most emotional. He even appeared a unicorn for her. “Will you come back?” “Always. The sun always comes back” and that’s the last sentence he says and it’s so beautiful 😭

The last paragraph killed me. It does every time I re-read it. Apollo I want you to know that I’m smiling on you too. Specially on sunny days. I’m very proud of you. We’re friends now indeed, and I’m glad for it.

[dontcallmecarrie]

Downward Descending

the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and every villain is the hero of his own story. 

Justin Hammer didn’t consider himself a good man. 

Kind? Yes. But not good.

aka thanks, commenter, I blame the plot twist my brain came up with on you because I had zero inspiration for this AU up until I saw your comment

probably won’t make sense if you didn’t read part one to this mess and heads up, the protagonist becomes a villain here. Under the cut because it ran away on me, again.

.

Above all things, Justin Hammer was a realist. 

Kind of hard not to be, considering; between their [fading] memories of another world, and the life they’d been stuck with this round as the heir of Hammer Industries, they’d never really had a chance to get their head in the clouds.

Other people could dream of a better future, and he really did wish them all the best— but in the meantime, he had work to do.

.

Justin didn’t understand these people. 

Sometimes, he wondered if he ever would.

.

Justin didn’t think much of his family: oh, sure, they were loaded, but...well, for obvious reasons, he didn’t think very highly of some— okay, most— of their parenting choices.

Look, some people just aren’t meant to be parents, okay? But at least they try and give a damn.

These guys didn’t even bother.

Not when their heir turned out to be a normal kid instead of a once-in-a-generation child prodigy and genius [no hard feelings, though, Stark]. 

Eh. Whatever. 

Might’ve been for the best, actually; at least it was him and not some other poor kid who got stuck with dealing with all the crushing expectations and comparisons to a frankly impossible ideal, and at least they didn’t try to pull any of that shit with his little sister because if they had then...he wasn’t sure what he would’ve done, but it would not have been pretty.

[they were an older sibling twice over. some things were etched into their soul.]

.

It wasn’t like Justin had set out to quasi-adopt just about everyone remotely his age, okay? It just sort of...happened. 

Okay, look, it’s not his fault everyone his generation looks like a kid to him, they’re all brats and for some reason, all their parents came in different flavors of shitty because their IQs were sky-high but their collective emotional intelligence wouldn’t have filled a teaspoon so looks like it was up to him to step up.

Look, it made perfect sense at the time!

.

Sometimes, it’s funny how Justin is the most mature person in the room. Other times, it’s just pathetic.

Especially when it’s two grown men half a second from duking it out while in public, like they weren’t supposed to be setting an example for their kids.

Justin couldn’t help his dark look at the spectacle, even as he ushered Stark and Pym to the buffet tables on the other side of the room, all the while trying to keep the conversation light. He didn’t really have the time for hobbies, not with all the private tutors his parents kept foisting on him, but it was still nice to hear what other people his age got up to. 

...unless said kid was Stark, in which case they all got regaled with an overenthusiastic spiel on something that went way over Justin’s head but hey, he’d had plenty of practice nodding along to Steph’s chatter so this was nothing.

.

Looking back, it’s kind of sad how something as simple as giving half a damn was enough for Stark to consider them lifelong friends.

Even sadder, because Justin hadn’t even realized it at the time; he’s just been his usual self.

But apparently, that was enough for some people, was significant enough to be remembered even decades later— long after Justin himself had forgotten all about the encounter.

.

There weren’t a lot of things Justin put actual effort in. 

Emotionally, that is; he was not afraid from hard work, never had been, but there was a world of difference between brushing up on engineering terms and being there for someone. 

Not like his mother, who’d apparently thought giving birth to him and his sister was enough involvement in his life, and proceeded to spend all her time in the Bahamas whenever she had the chance. Not for his father, who constantly tried to make him into something he was not, and finding him wanting [when he wasn’t being a sexist piece of shit who regularly cheated on his wife, anyway, but that was a whole other mess entirely].

But maybe that’s why he tried to be kind, why he tried to be there for the people around him.

...oh, and apparently he’d been known for giving good advice in boarding school to anyone who asked. Which was weird, but whatever. At least he’d helped?

.

Justin tried to be a good older sibling. Really, he did, trying to be as supportive as he could be of Steph as he could.

Sometimes, though, that landed him in some...interesting situations.

Such as her infamous ‘fashion design’ phase, which lasted for five very memorable months, during which he wore even her most dubious of creations without complaint even though he really, really couldn’t pull off that particular shade of orange. 

There were probably pictures still floating around, actually, but he was in no particular hurry to dig them up.

Not that he was ashamed, because he’d like to think he pulled off some of those combinations remarkably well, but... well, if it were anyone other than his sister asking, he probably wouldn’t have done it.

Goodness knew how long it’d taken for some of the other guys at boarding school to look him in the eye afterwards. 

.

Several decades in, and Justin Hammer had yet to express interest in anyone.

Oh, he was perfectly polite and charming to everyone; courteous and charismatic, but...well.

'Gentleman’, some called him; ‘in the closet’, dismissed others with a scoff.

The truth was somewhere in between: Justin couldn’t help but see everyone his age or younger as kids, and between that, his natural older sibling instincts, and his own personal issues with his body that came and went, well...

At least Stark was always a good distraction, nobody paid attention to him when the guy was around. 

.

Justin worked at his company long before he became its CEO. 

It was a bit awkward at first, because everyone seemed to be uncomfortable with the idea of the boss’ kid looking over their shoulders, but once they saw he did good work and pulled his weight [and didn’t regularly make tasteless jokes about kitchens or whatever bullshit his old man was up to these days], things picked up the pace.

He bounced between departments a bit because he wanted to get a better feel for the company, and it was during his brief foray in the marketing department that he came across something that gave him pause.

Now, he knew Hammer Industries followed federal guidelines on who they did and didn’t sell to, officially, but...there were a few grey areas sometimes. 

Normally, it wasn’t something he’d have blinked at, but he recognized the names on this particular proposal.

“Von Doom? Latveria? Geez, Victor, what’ve you been up to?”

.

Once upon a time, there had been a boy who appreciated silence when studying during a time when most children his age were anything but.

So when another brat showed up, he hadn’t exactly been happy about it at first. 

But they were quiet, and seemed to prefer to keep their nose in their book, and so they’d come to a wordless agreement to share the space. 

For over three years, they studied together and shared exasperated looks when the other brats got loud, and so it was that a friendship was born.

It wasn’t until they stopped showing up one day that Justin learned that there was turmoil in that student’s country that’d forced them to go back, and only then that he learned his silent studymate’s name.

.

An unusual childhood friendship wasn’t much to go off of.

But it was something.

And knowing what he did about Victor, and the pull his country had in the international sphere... it was a risky gamble, but he was fairly certain he could pull it off.

So Justin quietly but firmly took that particular proposal from the ‘reject’ pile, and took it to his father to look over.

He was still fairly new at this, but he knew how to play the game. It was a risky gamble, but if this panned out, they’d have a significantly stronger foothold in places their rivals couldn’t even dream.

Worst comes to worse, well... everyone was so focused on what was going down in Yugoslavia, it wasn’t like they’d particularly care if a few shipments went missing, now, would they?

It wasn’t pretty, but then, Justin wouldn’t get anywhere in the world if he was afraid of getting his hands dirty.

.

Latveria’s reputation as an unstable country ended when the scion of one of their most eminent families went and united its people, kicking out all of the outside factions vying for territory as he did.

Then he promptly turned around and revitalized its economy, infrastructure, and gods knows what else because seemingly overnight, Latveria turned into one of the richest countries on the planet. 

Sitting back in his chair, Justin smiled as he put down the newspaper.

“Huh. Sounds like someone’s been busy.”

.

He got a very slick cell phone via courier, not long after that. 

That, and a slip of paper with a simple ‘Thanks’ in Victor’s signature scrawl.

.

Years passed.

Years passed, and shit went down, but no matter what hurdles life threw his way, Justin powered through them nonetheless.

Like when his little sister had a kid and their parents freaked out because she wasn’t married, and then freaked out even more when little Timmy turned out to be on the spectrum and Justin wasn’t remotely surprised when she cut all contact with them after that.

Goodness knew he’d have done the same long ago, after all the shit they’d pulled over the years.

He was just happy she chose to keep him in her life, and that Timmy seemed to really like him as an uncle. 

.

Stark was a bona fide hero, was talking about privatizing world peace. 

Justin wished him the best of luck.

But...well, he hadn’t been the one to propose their rivalry, but if Stark wasn’t in the industry to compete against, then... oh, bother.

Looks like he’d have to change up his plans.

.

Stark was acting weird. Well, weirder, he’d never really been able to understand him in the first place.

“What’s wrong?” Justin asked as he pulled him to the side. Sure, it was probably rude to ignore the gala’s host, but he did not like the look in Stark’s eyes, no matter how bright his smile was.

“Hey, Justin! How’ve you been? Long time no see, but—”

“You’re not okay.” He said, making sure his tone brooked no argument because he knew Stark, had known him since they were kids and he was not okay.

It was like a switch flipped: Stark’s smile vanished, and he reached out towards him for a moment before he sighed and were those tears in his eyes? “Yeah, you could say that.”

.

The government wanted to take Stark’s super-fancy suit, and...this, he could work with. Somehow.

Damn it, he’d need to tweak some of his plans even more...

.

For a few seconds, Stark looked very betrayed when he caught sight of him in the courtroom. 

Then his face went blank in the way Justin had long known to be his ‘I am screaming internally but I refuse to let the cameras see’ look, and he felt bad for him even as he submitted his own findings to their audience.

To be honest, they were a long ways off from developing anything close to what Stark already had in hand, but it never hurt to be prepared for the future. If one man could do it, what was to stop another?

They were all lucky Stark was a good man who didn’t abuse his power.

Justin was no hero, but if lightning were to strike twice...better him than a potential threat.

Besides— Stark needed competition if he didn’t want to stagnate. Who knows? Hopefully, they’d be able to push each other to greater heights.

.

Ivan Vanko was a dangerous man. Just as brilliant as Stark, but with an edge that could only have been gained from a hard life.

Dealing with him would be like playing with fire, Justin just knew it.

[Like knew like, after all.]

But he knew people, knew how to work them, and considering that little display at the race track?

He could work with this.

.

It takes a handful of phone calls to put out all the fires from the past few days. 

Perk of being a well-known and respected figure in the defense industry, Justin supposed; Stark’d once mentioned his contact list was classified six ways to Sunday, so really, having a few senators on speed-dial was nothing. 

He had to do some extra sweet-talking to calm down some of the generals, and may or may not have made mention to some of his older contracts to get Stern to ease up, but whatever.

.

Why he was invited to Stark’s birthday celebration, he didn’t know. 

But he brought a bottle of apple cider and champagne anyway, because why the hell not.

.

This party was really, really not his style.

So when he was pulled aside by the man of the hour, he raised an eyebrow when he noticed he was out of his suit and— wait.

Justin whipped back to where the piece of equipment that had been the source of all this mess was dancing on the table, while Tony was in a rumpled suit not three feet from him.

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me.”

.

Stark looked like shit. 

...and was apparently dying, because he’d passed up Justin’s offer at a toast, even though it had been an inside joke for almost as long as they could remember.

Also, he’d looked stricken when Justin had tried to joke about it, that was another pretty big clue.

They weren’t normally one for hugs, but this time they didn’t hesitate to offer— and so felt very very awkward when the closest thing they had to a childhood frenemy proceeded to break down in their arms.

Justin’s older sibling instincts flared to life and they tried to murmur reassurances the best they could, but.

Wasn’t like there was much they could say, now, could they?

Stark was dying, and there was nothing they could do about it. 

Something inside Justin was screaming, and the part of him that wasn’t trying to be there for someone absently wondered why...then he noticed what he was saying, and kicked himself for not paying attention earlier.

“—ever give up, I’m here, know you are not alone—”

Geez. Talk about sappy, normally they only got like this around their sister or nephew.

But whatever it was they’d said, it apparently helped. 

Or something, because Stark was honest-to-goodness crying but after a few minutes, started to calm down and pull himself together.

“I’m so, so sorry about this—” Stark started, and Justin cut in.

“Don’t be, looks like you needed it.” And he clearly had; already he looked a lot better than before.

“I...should get back to the party, shouldn’t I?” Ah, looks like Justin wasn’t the only one feeling awkward now.

“It’s gone on for a while, and you look pretty tired. You sure you don’t want to wrap it up instead?”

“...yeah, that’s... probably a good idea. See you around, Justin. Hopefully.”

“See you later, Stark.” 

.

Stark apparently invented a new element in his basement. 

He knew this, because Stark called him up to say he wasn’t dying anymore. 

Once he hung up, he felt torn between immense relief, and exasperation that he’d need to rewrite his plans again.

.

...aaand kinda ran out of steam again. Long story short, yes, this is the AU where Justin Hammer maybe sort of becomes the Lex Luthor of the universe and may or may not end up accidentally creating a League of Evil of sorts because he’s frenemies with Tony and Victor von Doom ends up having a similar dynamic with some grad student and Ivan has some really good ideas and loves sticking it to the man. 

Said club only grows when the Avengers Initiative forms, and Loki escapes custody and joins for the sole purpose of pranking Thor and giving Fury a headache and Justin may or may not end up getting a crush somewhere along the way.

No, I’m not sure how we got here either.

[lady-z-writes]

What Lies Beneath - Chapter 3

Heisenberg x fem!reader fic

Summary: A trip to a neighboring village introduces Heisenberg to Reader – a Cadou experiment that didn’t quite meet Miranda’s standards. Reader was told to stay away from the Lords – as her powers will only make them weaker – but there’s something alluring about this rugged man, especially when he’s between her thighs.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

In which Reader and Heisy indulge. Smut below the cut:

“I’m not a witch,” she’s giggling as he juggles three of her crystals.

“She hides out in the woods, has a shit ton of crystals and weird old books, has knowledge she won’t share…? Yeah. Witch.”

They’re almost done with the bottle of whiskey, but she’s assured him she has another. Though, she probably won’t partake anymore because she’s tipsy and he’s looking really good sitting on her couch like that.

And this is so not allowed. He’s forbidden. This little meet-up is against everything Miranda has programmed into her. It’s not safe.

But for who?

“Listen, buttercup, I came all this way for answers and you’ve barely come through. Playtime’s over. Answer me or I’ll start breaking shit.”

[Y/N] groans. “If I answer, will you leave?”

He quirks an eyebrow. “Do you really want me to?”

She doesn’t reply he notices. He’s intrigued about where this will go.

“What do you want to know?”

“Well, for one, what do you know of the other Cadou experiments in this village?”

She stills. “Like I said before: many beings live here, Heisenberg, but few fruitful experiments. We were all cast out for not being valuable enough.”

“That isn’t what I asked you, is it?” he leans forward, rests his elbows on his knees, looks menacing.

She nods sternly, but hesitates. “I only know of two…and then a rumor.”

“Rumor?”

“Two live in the village, far away from me for obvious reasons. The other I’ve never met.”

“Not the most social thing, are you?” he jokes.

“It’s not just that. It’s an old lore – long before I arrived. There’s a haunted manor up in the mountains – they say inside there are creatures worse than Wendigo; dark spirits of this land before we populated it. The others believe it’s a fellow experiment.”

“And no one’s been up to check?”

Chills run through her. “No one I’ve encountered. I went up to see if the manor even stands.” He gives her a look that reads, ‘and?’ to which she nods.

“I hardly believe in ghost stories.”

“Oh, it’s so unbelievable? You got overtaken by a Dryad’s pheromones. You and your ‘siblings’ have been experimented on and now have powers. I could go on…”

He shrugs. “Ghosts just seem a little…unrealistic.” [Y/N] sighs, frustrated, which only makes Heisenberg laugh. “What of the others?”

“The other two have powers, unlike my lack-there-of,” she shakes her head, irritated that she just saps other energies instead of doing anything useful. “One is a healer – but it’s mostly small-scale stuff, nothing that Miranda found helpful. The other can use invisibility.”

Heisenberg hums, considering these powers. How Miranda picked the four lords and not these inhabitants, he wonders what her thought process was…

“And are they friends of yours?”

“Not exactly.” She shakes her head. “You got your answers, now I think you should go.”

“Do you now?” he’s standing as he speaks. “Do you really?” a beat of silence. “Why such a hurry?”

“It’s not safe,” she quietly replies.

“No? For who? Me? Sweetheart, I can take care of myself – powers or not. And I’m not leaving in that storm. So, looks like we’re bunking together tonight.” He’s towering over her at this point and she shifts her legs slightly, eyes wide. “What’s it gonna be? Leave me wanting or indulge?”

With him staring at her like that, she knows what she wants – but she knows she shouldn’t. Feeding into those pheromones will only make them overtake him – potentially last longer.

She stands, almost knocking him over with how abrupt she is, and her lips meet his in yet another heated kiss. The rumbling growl he releases makes her stomach flip as she places her hands on his shoulders. In a swift movement, she urges him to move and when the backs of his knees hit the edge of the couch, he topples down, dragging her with him. [Y/N] straddles his thighs, breathless for a moment as he reaches to start undressing her.

Heisenberg can’t help his wandering hands – can’t wait any longer to touch her.

When she’s topless in his lap, he breaks away from their kisses to admire her tits. Moments later, he’s pressing his mouth to her left nipple, his hands cupping and kneading her right breast. The moans coming from her only encourage him to keep at it and he’s quite enjoying her moving in his lap like she is.

“Oh, fuck, Heisenberg…” she’s panting.

His teeth gently graze across her nipple when he feels her hands travel between them and start unbuttoning and unclasping his garments.

“Not yet,” he snaps at her, causing her to halt, tense up. “Sit.” He points beside him on the couch. She follows orders sheepishly. “Now I want you to get undressed for me,” he nods toward her pants. He waits. “Do I need to repeat myself?” he’s suddenly calm.

“No, sir. Sorry,” is her reply.

Erection already pressing against the zip of his pants, he greedily watches [Y/N] strip for him. She’s hurried, not knowing how he’ll respond if she takes her time. He involuntarily lifts his hips when he sees her laid out completely bare for him. His hand squeezes his hardened dick, slightly stroking it overtop his pants.

[Y/N] shouldn’t have started this, she knows it. His aggression is arousing, but she knows he could overpower her easily. She could get hurt. Yet she doesn’t stop.

Watching her hands trail over her naked thighs, Heisenberg nods toward her again.

“I want to watch you touch yourself,” he demands.

“You first,” she practically whispers out.

This time she’s met with a smirk. “Cheeky…” he starts undoing all his straps and his belt, his snap and zip, and shoves his pants down just enough to comfortably pull out his engorged cock.

[Y/N] inhales sharply at how big he is. His right hand grips himself as his left caresses her thigh. Gloveless fingers trace over her pussy – spreading her lips and barely touching her opening to see just how wet she is already.

He grabs her hand then, pulls it between her legs, starts stroking himself. [Y/N] dips a delicate middle finger inside herself, biting back a moan at finally having some sort of stimulation.

Heisenberg tastes her wetness on his finger, hums at the delicacy. The doe-eyed way she’s looking at him while she fingers herself makes his dick twitch.

“How long do I have to wait to feel you?” she asks tentatively.

“Not until you cum.”

“W-what?”

“I want you dripping when you slide down on my cock.”

She wants to argue, but she sees his hand slowing the pace and she worries this will end before they’ve even started anything. [Y/N] arches her finger inside of herself, uses her free hand to play with her clit.

Heisenberg can wait a while longer, considering he came earlier. Though, the scene before him is way better than anything his brain concocted an hour ago. [Y/N] so needy for him, so desperate to serve and please; it’s nice to be wanted.

[Y/N] wants to whine as Heisenberg slowly strokes his cock. His forearm muscles flexing as his pace quickens, the slightly wavering breath he lets out as he traces his thumb over his tip…it’s so intriguing. She wants to learn him – see what he likes, what makes him sweat.

Watching him watch her is something she never thought would happen – especially with a Lord. It’s kind of flattering, kind of making her power-trip a little; but she swallows that down in case he wouldn’t take kindly to that.

“Mmm, Heisenberg, I-I’m close,” she breaks him away from his fixation on her cunt. “Can I…?”

He narrows his eyes, but knows that he’s at the point of breaking too – wanting so badly to feel her pulsing around him.

“Fine. If you don’t cum on my cock right fucking now, you don’t get to all night.”

[Y/N] scrambles to get up, slide her finger from herself, return to straddling him. Heisenberg grips her hips and shoves her down onto his shaft.

A loud gasp echoes in the room as she impales herself on top of him. She’s so fucking tight with how close she is and Heisenberg takes a moment to try to regain composure.

Within seconds, she’s raising and lowering herself on him in a desperate attempt to reach her peak. Heisenberg is surprised she can get tighter around his cock, but she does, right before he feels her fluttering around him – a cluster of loud gasps and moans overtaking her. [Y/N]’s fingers bury themselves into his shirt, her head thrown back as he kisses down her naked chest, pops a nipple into his mouth just to overstimulate her for the fun of it.

When she comes down, he instantly flips her on her back, adjusts himself on the cushion so he can pound into her.

“So good, kitten. Fuck, so Goddamn good. Your little cunt gripping me like this makes me want to fill you up.” He huffs out as she gasps against his chest. “So, where am I cumming, toots? Your belly?” He stops speaking as he groans, huffs out a few breaths. “These gorgeous fuckin’ tits?” he speaks through clenched teeth. “Inside of you?” When he says that last little bit, she’s gripping at him harder, her moans louder. “Ah…you’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

He’s hypervigilant; so focused on every sensation, it’s a little more overwhelming than he’d anticipated. It’d been a long time since he’d participated in anything sexual with another – a villager here or there – but he’s sure the pheromones have something to do with how overwhelming to the senses this all is.

[Y/N] is reaching for him then, pulling his head down so she can meet his lips again. Meeting him thrust-for-thrust, [Y/N] cries out his name, begging him to slow down but he can’t. He can’t because he’s chasing that high; his orgasm nearing and – fuck – is hers too?

“We don’t quit now, I can’t promise I’ll be able to stop, buttercup,” he rasps out.

[Y/N]’s eyes are open, pupils blown wide as she shoves him off her. He’s shocked and a little pissed off until she crawls on top of him, urging him back so his head is against the armrest. She slides down on his cock and he’s gripping at her hips so tight his knuckles are ghost white.

“You bitch,” he huffs out.

“You like it, stop pretending you don’t,” she mocks, riding him slow to tease him. “Figured we needed to slow things down if you were gonna last,” her sentence is punctuated with a breathy sigh.

“You act as if this is the last time we’re doing this tonight,” he chuckles.

“I can’t get you to leave, can I?”

“You clearly don’t want me to leave. I’ve got this poison; you’re just worked up for a Lord.”

Now she quickens the pace and Heisenberg’s back arches off the couch.

“Keep using that excuse,” her words come out in gasps, working herself toward another orgasm. “You haven’t been fucked like this in how long, sir?” the way she whispers this coupled with the sensation of her bouncing on his cock like this…

“Get off,” he speaks through clenched teeth.

“Oh, I will…” she whines.

Fingers gripping into her harder, he clenches his jaw. “No,” he grunts. “I mean…”

“You’re close?” at that, he can only nod, breath caught in his throat, trying to hold back. “Good.”

An unclouded mind, he’d think better than cumming inside her but now it’s all he wants. A few moans escape him as he pulls her tightly against him with every thrust, bottoming out with her on top.

When he feels her tightening around him once more, he huffs out a few breaths before closing his eyes and fucking up into her. The orgasm knocks the wind out of him, [Y/N] moaning from the feeling of his slick warmth filling her up. Heisenberg continues to slam into her sloppily, making her take every damn drop of him.

As he’s coming down and overly-sensitive, [Y/N] keeps riding him until she reaches her peak once again. Half-lidded eyes watching the way her body moves, Heisenberg tenses at the over-stimulation.

When [Y/N] is done, she collapses on top of him – all breathy moans and open-mouthed kisses.

“I guess you can stay,” she laughs.

“So fuckin’ generous,” his hands trace up her body. “And so fuckin’ mouthy when you’re in the thick of it.”

He seems humored and she’s embarrassed.

“I’m sorry, I…-”

“I’ve got plans for you,” he laughs

She can’t help the excitement bubbling in her throat. It’s going to be a wild night…

[saphirered]

Hey! I hope you’re doing well. You’re writing is always great and I get excited when I see you’ve posted something new. Would you consider writing a little something with platonic Caduceus and reader where they have similar personalities and interests, but different backgrounds? Maybe the reader doesn’t have any family to speak of? I’m open to any character class or race :) thank you!

I’m doing well. I’m glad you like my writing and thank you. It’s really nice to hear people get excited when I post new things. I never expected people to like it at all 🙈.  I hope you like the way this one turned out 😘

You were typical city folk. Born and raised in the heights of civilisation; the pride and joy of the Law Bearer Erathis herself. Raised at the temple of the Raven Queen as a foundling the clergy were the only parental figures you knew and they were hardly parents. Your relationship with them is less of a parent-child dynamic. They were your caretakers and supported which is more than a lot of people can say but you missed out on parental pride, love and the ability to confide in someone in such a way. You missed out on the relation with siblings. No running around the hallways of the temple, no secrets between just you and them, no protective older sibling or a younger one that gets away with everything. You had no weird aunt or uncle to tell you ridiculous stories or take you on adventures every so often like the books you’d read as a child. 

Your childhood never bothered you because it was good and happy, just in a different way. You found a mother figure in the Matron. You’d get dreams sometimes, waking up with a single black feather on your pillow. She gave you an appreciation of all things living. Death is a sacred thing but it’s the life that counts. You made it your goal to nourish that what needs a little extra attention and preserve what can be saved before its time, conforming to the natural order. The Matron of Ravens taught you death is just as sacred as life and so you valued it and vowed to upkeep her commandments and preserve that natural order of life and death. 

As a child you spent much time within the public parks and gardens. You had an affinity unrivalled. Making flowers blossom in spring and keeping the branches and roots healthy during the colder months, curing diseases, healing ailments as well as returning to the earth what once came from it upon the passing. When you were old enough these habits carried over to ‘living things’; a term you had to disagree with because all that grows lives. You became part of the clergy and continued your life within the temple of the Raven Queen. 

You were never confined to the temple life. Your work took you far and wide, your expertise wanted by the many. You had tended to the ailments of kings as you had commoner, treating no different. You had tended to the pristine gardens of royalty as you had the fields of a farmer. In the eyes of the natural order all lives are equal in the end and so you treated them in life. 

When a group of strangers came knocking at your door looking for an expert you were surprised by the colourful bunch on your doorstep but heard them out regardless. You were faced with the story of a cursed forest, a sanctuary of the natural order to be disturbed, a family missing and a new one found. A story of beacons of endless stars, possibilities and souls of the preserved to be reborn, conflict, war and death. Stories of salvation, resurrection, a fight to preserve the natural order and save the lives of the many. Stories far and wide yet to be told.

You were needed. Your expertise was needed and when a raven landed on your windowsill staring at you, studying you and awaiting your response you knew it was time to leave behind the life you knew and venture into a strange new world of adventure and the unknown. How could you turn them down? Your help was needed and while the venture might be a bit longer and much riskier than your usual ones, the task remained the same. You’d travel with the Mighty Nein for a while and aid them for however long they needed you. 

You grew to love the Mighty Nein like the family you never had but you have to say from the very beginning you felt a natural gravitation towards the colourful firbolg, a radiance akin to that of the life you vowed to preserve. Caduceus did not hide he felt a same sort of gravitation towards you. The two of you were often paired together on watches or went out together to stock up on supplies for the road, spell components and the likes. The two of you while at first glance are day and night, as your respective deities are when compared, but those who look closer know you are in a way, one and the same. 

You’re sitting on the jungle floor eyes closed listening to the nocturnal critters make their way through, searching for food, hunting and finding their hideouts, burrows and nests before the sun rises and morning comes. A smile on your face, as you take everything in over the soft snoring and slight twisting and turning of some of the Nein. You hear someone sitting down next to you. 

“Good morning.” You say peaking through one eye seeing the pink haired firbolg cup of tea in hand. The two of you had always been and probably always will be the early risers of the group. Old habits? Perhaps so.

“Ah, it is, isn’t it?” He offers you a cup of tea. You take it with a quick thanks blowing away the steam and cool it down a little before you take a sip. A good cup of tea never fails to wake you up properly. 

“How are you feeling? Getting closer to where the Wild Mother has been sending you?” The two of you look out seeing the first light barely bleed through the trees. Caduceus waits a little before speaking, contemplating his answer. His brow furrows. 

“I’m unsure.” Caduceus mentally retreats just a little bit, watching his expression you can see the thoughts rush through his head. You know he worries for his family and how you might find them. A lot is unsure at these times. You can only hope for the best and prepare for the worst but you have faith. 

“You’re worried, for your family. For what might have become of them?” He gives you a bit of a smile and nods. It’s clear Caduceus hasn’t directly been faced with the notion of mortality in this sense close to home whereas in any other situation he’d be fine. 

“I’ve been waiting to see them for a long time. While I trust the Wild Mother’s path, I can’t help but find myself doubting if they are well.” You try to find a way to best approach his concerns and ease his mind. The words of comfort either of you would offer to those coming into your respective places of worship do not apply to this situation nor would they be particularly helpful. You’re not dealing with the dead, just the possibility of death of loved ones. 

“You trust her path and you believe she’s at your side?” You ask deep in thought as a light breeze rushes through out of nowhere. The Wild Mother must be listening. Caduceus relaxes a bit more knowing she’s there. Despite what some may think, the breeze may just tell you what you need to know.

“Yes. I believe so.” He smiles watching the leaves blow, the breeze being carried away into the distance of the early morning jungle, a couple of birds scattering as it comes along. 

You take a moment, close your eyes and reach out your senses sending a little prayer to the Raven Queen. You’re met with a sense of warmth, a soft cawing of a raven flying away and a small light in the darkness. 

“Then they’ll be alright in the end. I don’t sense my Matron’s presence in relation to you. You’ll be reunited with your family once more.” You interpret the signs she shows you. While they might not be a certainty you have faith she would not let you down.

“That’s nice.” You return to staring into the jungle in comfortable silence for a while. 

“What do you miss the most? About home and your family I mean.” You ask a bit out of the blue but you couldn’t help yourself wondering with everything drawing closer and the uncertainty of how you’ll find the Stone family, and what you’ll encounter there. 

“Old habits. The people. The simplicity of life. I’d say the piece and quiet but that wouldn’t be entirely true. Just different kind of noise. You know what I mean.” Caduceus reminisces, dopey smile returning at the memory of his family. You’ve heard some of the tales of his shenanigans when it comes to his siblings. He’s confided in you and you vowed to keep those a secret. Who knew Caduceus could be quite the prankster?

“I don’t actually. I never had a family like yours. The Mighty Nein is the closest I’ve ever gotten to the meaning of a family.” You look over to the sleeping shapes. You wouldn’t trade them for the world but can’t deny it’s still not the same. The others can attest to that. 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I apologise if I offended you.” You smile at him. You’d stated before you loved your found ‘family’, the clergy but they were never your real family. It just hadn’t come up your dynamic with them was not the same as a more typical even dysfunctional family. 

“It’s quite alright. I never knew my birth family. I knew the clergy at my temple and that’s alright. I always wondered what it would be like to have parents to confide in, siblings to spend time with, perhaps even share interests with and people who love me unconditionally, people like me but also not. Do you get what I mean?” Caduceus nods in agreement and thinks for a second.

“I understand. Though you might come to take back the part about wanting to spend more time with siblings. They’ll grow on you like ivy in places you don’t want it.” He laughs a little and you join him. 

“They can’t be that bad.” You joke the both of you laughing as quietly as you can trying not to wake the others up. 

“I’d love to meet your family. From what you’ve told they’re wonderful.” 

“They are, in their own ways but don’t tell Calliope I said that.” Caduceus bumps your shoulder and you bump back finishing the last of your tea. You’ve heard enough tales of Calliope to know you better not tell her or she might never let Caduceus forget he admitted it so openly to someone else outside of the family. 

“I’m sure they’d like you too. If you wanted to you could come back to the Blooming Grove with us one day. Clarabelle always wanted another sibling. She thinks Calliope is a bit too stoic. The two of you would make great friends.” Caduceus finishes his tea and you’re a little taken aback. You look for any kind of jest. He must be joking right?

“You’re serious?” Caduceus laughs a little at your reaction. 

“Unless you don’t want to. I think you’ll fit in right along. Our ancestor used to be a champion of the Raven Queen. She might appreciate the return of a new Clay. Not by blood but by heart.” You recall the story he once told about the champions Stone, Dust and Clay of the Matron. You feel a pull in your heart out of nowhere and swear you hear a raven’s caw in the back of your mind. She’d be satisfied. 

“I’d like that very much if they’ll have me.” With Caduceus reassurance his family would very much like you and get along with you you’d see where this would go. Perhaps you would become an unofficial Clay. Your friends are just your chosen family after all so why should it be different? 

You’ll see where your path leads and you’ll stick with Caduceus until either of you grow tired of each other. Not that either of you see that happen. You’ve grown thick as thieves to the point where you could call yourselves siblings. If the two of you claiming yourselves siblings extends into his family then you’d love nothing more. 

A place. A purpose. A home. You’ll have to put the world back into tune first but once the Matron and the Mother call you both home you’ll stick to the path until homeward bound you both be. Both of you lost in thought come to the same conclusion. Caduceus pours the both of you some new tea, cooling it down a bit you both take a sip.

“That’s nice.” You say in unison watching the nocturnal critters go to sleep and the early risers come out and go about their daily business.