#lus's biology rambles

[completelylusingit]

ignoring all the mounting dread, I'm tired so it's time for Half Coherent Biology Facts With Lus

anyone who tells you deerling and sawsbuck are peaceful herbivores are liars, they're surprisingly aggressive, and have been known to partake in things ranging from eating bird pokemon chicks to chewing on human bones

[swinging-stars-from-satellites]

starting to consider that I might actually be loved by people outside my own family

[dejwritesarchived]

Who did you added to the nyc gang

*clears throat* under this thread is only my rambles i did in my notes app, okay? okay. also slightly contains spoilers for sculptures !! so if any of my followers that read sculptures...do not read this if you don't want to it be spoiled for you !!!!

well, we're adding two members to the crew. one is somewhat recruited by shuya..while the other is related to shuya and shao.

1. there's my blasian boo..niko hirota. his father is japanese and his mom is black. he's a computer science major at nyu. he's never met his father, him and mom moved to new york when he was very young. which his mother never mentioned anything about his father. he just assumed he died on something. he's 6'1, with smooth caramel-colored skin (but he also has vitiligo), a shit ton of curly hair, and he's really an introvert. like he rolls his eyes in annoyance at any loud person or sound and would rather stay home trying to solve a rubix cube than go out partying. he's also so quick to remind people his name is spelled with a 'k' and not a 'c'. with shuya being in new york city, he wants to build his own empire. he wants to have a crew just like how his father. he met niko in his biology lab course when dante didn't come to class and he was stuck with the one quiet kid that minded his business the majority of the time. shuya peeped at his last name and instantly knew that the kid was the son of benjiro hirota. a man that shuya's father was close to until he got set up and soon killed. shuya remembered vividly how upset his father was about, gloating about how a good man was taken away from his family. which when the sato's went to pay their respects, benjiro's wife and child were long gone. disappeared as if they didn't even exist. cue shuya basically adopting this boy into the crew as the hacker. dante and shuya stress this boy out! he has so many moments where he stares into an imaginary camera like he's in the office.

2. (she will be getting introduced soon or mentioned) there's lucretia 'lu' sato. she's the cousin of shuya and shao. the only child of shuya and shao's uncle. she's younger than shuya, but older than shao. she has a potty mouth and an even sharper tongue. her father actually got killed when she was twenty-one which technically sparked the tension between the sato's and the yakuma family. she has photo genetic memory which pushed her into the medical career field. however, she got kicked out of medical school because she stabbed her professor that was being inappropriate with her in the leg with a scalpel. technically the yakuza's medic, but sometimes hate it cause everybody be knocking on her door at any times of the night or day. currently wants to fight shuya for totaling her audi last time he was in japan.

[ripleyfm]

              ･ﾟ☀   good   morning   to   everyone   except   those   who   hate   on   legend   of   korra   !   skskskks   i’m   teddy   ,   i’m   a   lil   ole   baby   swinging   back   into   the   rpc   heart   emojis   a   -   blazing   !   this   is   my   lil   sunflower   chaos   seeker   known   as   ripley   ,   a   newer   muse   for   me   but   i’m   really   excited   to   flesh   her   out   here   with   some   extra   spooky   elements   .   i   have   a   god   awful   sense   of   humor   and   too   much   enthusiasm   for   angst   so   tbh   ?   come   get   y’all   PLOTTIN   JUICE   to   distract   me   from   thirsting   over   avatar   kyoshi   !  disc / ord is @𝐤𝐲𝐨𝐬𝐡𝐢 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫 !#6439 since i’ll be mobile for the afternoon !

* [ bruna marquezine + cis female + she / her ] —— have you met tallulah ripley ? they are a twenty-two year old senior currently studying biology & music theory. they live on decker house, and word around campus is that this leo is vibrant + gregarious, as well as hedonistic + philophobic. i wonder if they’ll make it out alive. trailing sand in on the hardwood with bare feet , running late to meetings ( and asking forgiveness with a mere flash of a grin ) , tucking a greta van fleet album among the family collection of concierto classics .

EDIT : wanted and current connections can be found here ! 

youngest   of   four   ,   born   into   an   old   money   surname   ,   her   mother ,  an  international   student  from  sao  paolo  ,  brazil  ,  and  american   father   meet   as   competing   pianists   at   holloway   ,   falling   in   love   ,   marrying   ,   and   beginning   the   next   generation   of   the   ripley   virtuosos   soon   after   graduation   .   her   childhood   is   privileged   and   uneventful   ,   strict   and   stifling   as   early   as   she   can   remember   ,   tallulah   causing   trouble   enough   as   if   to   make   up   for   her   perfectly   behaved   siblings   .

her   father   becomes   one   of   the   most   prolific   modern   composers   of   his   time   ,   and   splits   his   efforts   between   composition   and   teaching   music   theory   at   julliard   as   his   wife   continues   performances   as   a   famed   pianist   .   though   her   siblings   branch   out   into   other   instruments   ,   tallulah   is   the   only   one   stubborn   enough   to   weather   the   callouses   on   her   fingers   ,   figuring   if   she’s   going   to   be   forced   to   play   an   instrument   of   any   type   ,   it’ll   at   least   be   something   she   likes   .   thus   ,   the   only   stringed   instrument   in   the   ripley   household   becomes   hers   as   she   takes   on   the   cello   by   storm   .

practicing   cello   is   perhaps   the   only   thing   lu   truly   commits   herself   to   —   charming   and   sociable   as   she   may   be   ,   her   selectiveness   with   her   efforts   makes   her   sluggish   with   schoolwork   as   if   to   give   her   family   a   hard   time   .   her   siblings   ,   all   honor   scholars   and   first   chairs   at   their   respective   instruments   ,   pick   on   her   for   her   unmotivated   wild   child   ways   at   the   encouragement   of   her   mother   .   the   only   person   who   takes   the   time   to   sit   with   tallulah   and   keep   her   on   track   is   her   ever   -   tired   (   but   endlessly   generous   )   father   .

her   world   is   turned   upside   down   her   freshman   year   when   her   father’s   occasional   stumble   turns   into   a   more   regular   struggle   to   keep   his   balance   ,   an   ultimate   diagnosis   of   a   degenerative   disease   rattling   their   family   as   they   know   it   .   tallulah   ,   wild   and   only   tamed   by   the   kindness   of   one   man   ,   starts   acting   out   in   an   effort   to   ignore   the   world   around   her   .   the   rift   between   herself   and   her   family   only   multiplies   when   she   discovers   her   mother   having   an   affair   as   her   father’s   health   continues   to   decline   .

he   passes   away   on   a   vacation   he   and   tallulah   take   to   the   ripley   summer   beach   house   ,   something   they   had   done   to   have   some   quiet   time   together   away   from   the   judgement   of   her   siblings   .   having   to   be   the   one   to   break   the   news   to   the   family   ,   she   feels   herself   shut   down   and   lose   whatever   desire   she   had   left   to   live   the   perfect   life   her   mother   and   siblings   tried   to   force   on   her   .

she   starts   going   almost   exclusively   by   her   surname   ,   making   it   into   holloway   more   as   a   favor   to   her   family’s   generous   donations   to   the   music   program   than   on   grades   .   she’s   barely   hanging   on   by   her   involvement   in   the   university’s   symphonic   orchestra   ,   where   she’s   a   first   chair   cellist   that   shows   up   late   to   every   damn   rehearsal   and   somehow   can   cold   sightread   well   enough   to   piss   everyone   off   ksksksk   .

given   this   ,   she’s   only   minoring   in   music   theory   to   stay   in   the   orchestra   ,   and   partially   to   feel   close   to   her   dad   .   though   her   dream   is   to   write   music   scores   for   films   ,   she’s   majoring   in   biology   to   have   a   respectable   backup   plan   .   if   she   can’t   do   music   forever   ,   she’ll   disappear   onto   a   beach   somewhere   in   costa   rica   and   be   a   marine   biologist   and   never   be   heard   from   again   lmao

PERSONALITY   :   ripley   is   happiest   shotgunning   a   white   claw   before   piling   into   the   squad   car   and   calling   aux   immediately   !   loves   her   friends   and   sees   her   circle   as   found   family   that   she   would   do   anything   for   .   

she’s   laid   back   and   observant   ,   one   of   the   quieter   in   the   group   as   she   tries   to   suss   you   out   but   is   the   first   to   approach   a   newbie   and   act   as   if   you’ve   been   friends   for   ages   .   she   makes   an   active   effort   to   not   judge   others   on   the   basis   of   first   impressions   and   tends   to   be   rather   open   minded   when   meeting   others   ,   which   makes   her   a   sort   of   universal   friend   -   to   -   all   ;   given   this   ,  when  wronged  ,  she’s   a   stubborn   little   shit   and   though   she   wont   let   them   live   rent   free   in   that   headspace   ,   she’ll   go   full   send   to   making   sure   they’re   aware   they   don’t   exist   to   her   !  

she   hates   petty   drama   and   tends   to   skirt   most   responsibility   by   sweet   -   talking   her   way   out   of   things   ,   giving   the   impression   that   she   can   be   lazy   or   unmotivated   .   this   is   true   to   some   extent   ,   such   as   with   her   grades   or   her   timeliness   ,   but   those   who   strike   the   right   balance   will   see   a   side   of   ripley   that   is   laser   focused   ,   whether   its   drunken   ramblings   about   the   brilliance   of   the   chord   progressions   on   fleetwood   mac’s   rumors   or   an   astute   observation   about   the   emotion   behind   a   certain   cello   movement   .   though   she   prefers   to   skip   the   hard   thinking   and   just   enjoy   the   moment   ,   ripley’s   admittedly   a   clever   girl   ,   simply   needing   the   right   push   to   unlock   her   truest   potential   .  

she’s   incredibly   relaxed   (   sometimes   a   bit   too   much   for   the   preference   of   some   )   and   tends   to   try   and   avoid   over   -   complicating   issues   in   order   to   not   have   to   face   them   .   especially   considering   the   infidelity   of   her   mother   ,   ripley   is   a   staunch   believer   that   relationships   are   a   waste   of   time   and   is   the   annoying   bitch   who   argues   that   being   in   love   is   a   scam   made   up   by   the   simps   to   feel   valid   !  

acts   as   if   she   isn’t   FULL   of   feelings   and   emotions   24/7   n   listens   to   emo   70’s   power   ballads   when   the   person   she   likes   doesnt   confess   their   love   for   her   under   the   moonlight   like   they   were   supposed   to   in   her   fantasy   …….   smh   .   she’s   too   busy   trying   to   be   ~cool   and   effortless~   that   she   sometimes   sabotages   the   things   that   would   bring   her   the   most   happiness   ,   then   blaming   herself   in   a   vicious   cycle   that   just   leaves   her   trying   to   distract   herself   w   crazy   antics   to   avoid   focusing   on   her   feelings   .

RANDOM BLURBS :    hates   men   n   regrets   all   attraction   to   them   .   thinks   all   women   r   too   good   for   her   .   convinced   she   will   be   a   useless   bisexual   forced   2   be   forever   alone

plays   guitar   as   a   mental   break   from   cello   and   loves   it   .   i’m   still   deciding   a   vc   for   her 

knows   the   beaches   in   maine   are   cold   af   but   wants   to   go   every   weekend   anyways

drives   the   most   impractical   soft   shell   jeep   which   sucks   in   the   east   coast   wind   and   snow   and   yet   it   is   somehow   exactly   an   embodiment   of   Her   Brand tm

like   5′9   tall   and   hates   wearing   real   people   shoes   she   said   berks   or   nOTHIN

wishes   she   could   go   vegan   but   is   so   bad   at   keeping   track   of   her   meals   she’d   forget   instantly   and   down   a   20   pack   of   chicken   nugget

too   mellow   &   apathetic   to   be   a   chaotic   neutral   but   too   adventurous   to   be   a   true   neutral   so   she   lives   somewhere   in   that   lawless   grey   space   skskskks

acts   REAL   california   for   someone   who   grew   up   exclusively   on   the   east   coast   ....   hm   .....   🤔

grew  up  disconnected  from  brazilian  culture  due  to  her  mom's  whitewashing  and  she  resents  it  greatly  .  can  understand  scattered  portuguese  but  took  spanish  in  high  school  so  that's  as  close  to  the  language  as  she'll  get  .  wants  to  take  lessons  online  tho  !

inspos r lila from umbrella academy , wynonna earp , beverly marsh from it , michelle manlon from derry girls , korra from lok , adora from she ra and the pop ,  and that ugly yellow overtone used in outer banks  💖 skskskks 

[dcmaurys]

i picture it, soft (and i ache)

or, lucas is in love with eliott. it takes eliott a while to figure it out. | (1.5k), ao3

“i think i might like her, lu.”

whenever eliott meets someone new, lucas is the first person to know.

this time, it’s a girl who lent eliott her tattered copy of a salinger book a month ago. lucas remembers eliott bounding up behind him, eyes bright and hopeful, telling him about the girl with pretty eyes and a smile like sunshine.

see, eliott has always been hopelessly, hopelessly romantic. (this starry-eyed boy with eyes that turn into half-moons when he smiles.)

he has these grand ideas about what love is and what love should be, sticky-sweet, naïve, and endearing, punctuated by forlorn sighs and wistful eyes.

he’s going to break lucas’ heart one day.

“i’m gonna ask her out.”

lucas’ head whips up at the words. he finds eliott worrying his lip with his fingers, eyes so, so blue in the lowlight. lucas’ hands might shake a little when he reaches up to squeeze eliott’s arm, but he smiles just the same. “that’s. that’s great, eliott.”

he feels the tired brag of his heart in his chest. it’s fine. he’s fine.

–

lucas thinks it might be in his best interest to avoid eliott for a bit.

things have been going really well with him and lucille, and while it makes lucas happy to see his best friend constantly smiling and laughing, he isn’t going to lie and say it doesn’t kill him.

he isn’t going to lie and say he doesn’t wish it was him that eliott came home to, sometimes.

in the tv shows lucas watches, pining fruitlessly is romanticized so much, you wouldn’t think it’d be this painful. lucas has lived through it enough to know that it doesn’t get any better, really. it doesn’t fuel or motivate him, doesn’t make him pour himself into his school work in an effort to bury the hopeless feeling.

it just hurts.

so lucas slips away, gradually. enough that eliott doesn’t notice it, the first few weeks. it’s self-preservation, really. it’s self-care.

–

eliott: hi lu

eliott: i know you’re probably busy with school so sorry if im bothering you

eliott: just. i miss you a lot

eliott: text me back sometime yeah? just so i know you’re alright

–

eliott’s waiting for him when lucas gets out of biology, a couple of days later. eliott’s eyes are trained on the ground, his fingernails bitten raw, and lucas wants to reach out and touch so badly that he aches with it. eliott’s eyes meet his before he can give it a second thought.

when he steps towards lucas, it’s slow. tentative. his smile doesn’t reach his eyes and lucas misses the warmth of it—how, if genuine, it’d turn the cold blue of eliott’s gaze into crinkly, crescent moons.

“hi,” lucas says. his voice is quiet and it breaks a little.

“hey, stranger.”

there’s a teasing lilt to eliott’s voice–one that’s gone the second he scans lucas’ features. it’s enough to make lucas feel bad, almost, for not smiling back. he hates when eliott turns unsure of himself like this.

“are things alright?” and, right. eliott’s definitely nervous. the tone of his voice is enough for lucas to look up at him, wide-eyed.

it hurts when he’s met with the way eliott’s hair turns into a soft halo around his head in the warmth of the afternoon sun.

it hurts because he’s beautiful, even when he’s breaking lucas’ heart.

“is—is your mom okay?”

“mhm,” lucas nods and looks away again, stares at the scuffed white of his sneakers. “i’ve been visiting her a lot. she’s doing really good.”

“that’s really—that’s great, lucas. i’m glad.”

he hears eliott heave out a sigh of relief, and his heart twinges at the sound of it, his fingers itching to reach out and clutch at his chest like some lovesick fool.

eliott, oblivious as he is, is earnest enough to ask about lucas’ mom before anything else.

lucas misses him so much he could scream.

there’s a pause in their conversation that lucas is grateful for—a pause lucas wishes would last longer then it does. eliott breaks it after a moment, voice hesitant and soft.

“are we okay?”

and he sounds heartbroken, is the thing. and lucas is, too.

he gathers up all the courage he can muster to look at him one more time, nod absent and smile small. “yeah, eliott. we’re okay.”

–

a week later, lucas finds eliott pacing in front of the door to lucas’ apartment complex, phone in his hand. lucas freezes at the sight of him, brows furrowed, lips bitten red.

eliott doesn’t see him. he’s too engrossed in his phone to look at anything else. lucas watches from afar as eliott’s fingers falter just before his thumb presses a button, watches as eliott’s eyes close out of frustration, a soft sigh leaving his lips.

when he finally presses call a few moments later, lucas feels his own phone buzz in his hand, and.

it’s him eliott’s calling.

he’s too confused by the principle of it that he lets the call go to voicemail, absently, stupidly. when he looks back up, he sees eliott’s face crumple at the rejected call. he watches as eliott closes in on himself, little by little, shoulders hunched and fingers shooting up to worry his bottom lip.

and, like. lucas isn’t sure if he likes this–likes the way eliott’s gone and made himself small, over lucas, of all people.

before he knows it, he’s bounding up the sidewalk, gathering eliott’s entirely too tall body into his arms, because he can’t help it, really. one sad look on eliott’s face and lucas is ready to spread himself thin, ready to crumple into a heap at eliott’s feet.

“lucas,” eliott mumbles, breathless.

slowly, his arms spider around lucas’ torso, warm and familiar enough that lucas feels himself burrow into it. lucas folds into him because it’s all he knows to do. it’s all he ever will if he could.

“i was about to call you.”

lucas pulls away, thumb running circles into the crook of eliott’s arm. “yeah?” he says, dumbly.

he’s a little embarrassed by the softness in his own voice—knows eliott has definitely noticed it with the way his face eases into a smile, eyes soft and helplessly fond. “yeah. i was going to tell you—i think i figured it out.”

lucas’ brows furrow, head tilting a bit. “figured what out?”

“i drew lucille something a few days ago. she kept bugging me about the sketches i have on my walls, asking if i’d ever draw her someday. so i drew her a fox—because foxes are clever and quick on their feet like her, you know?”

the mention of lucille’s name makes lucas’ heart close in on itself like a fist, but eliott goes on, eyes unreadable, grip on lucas firm like an anchor.

“she uh. she hated it. she kept telling me she didn’t get it. i guess she wanted me to make this hyper-realistic drawing of her or something, and i—“

“i remembered the first time we hung out, you know? you asked me what i would draw you as and i almost drove myself insane thinking about the answer. then i gave you this drawing of a hedgehog, because your hair has a life of it’s own, really, like a hedgehog’s spikes, and then you gave me this, like. this huge smile, like it was the best thing you’ve ever seen. like it was something out of the louvre instead of a badly drawn sketch on the back of an old math test.”

eliott is rambling. lucas’ mouth is dry. “eliott, i don’t—“

“i’m saying you get me, lucas. you’re so patient with me, and you actually care about the shitty drawings i make, and you’re so fucking gorgeous, everything about you, really—and i. it took me a drawing of a fucking fox to realize, but i really, really like you, lucas. i like you so much.”

and lucas—surely, lucas is dreaming. because he’s wished for so long that this would happen, would drive himself crazy dreaming about something half as much as whatever this is, right now.

“lucas?” eliott laughs nervously, eyes imploring, and earnest, and so, so blue. “please say something. i’m dying here.”

lucas surges up to kiss him before he can say anything else.

see, eliott has always been hopelessly, hopelessly romantic.

he has these grand ideas about what love is and what love should be, sticky-sweet, naïve, and endearing, punctuated by forlorn sighs and wistful eyes.

but when lucas laughs into the kiss, their teeth knocking together, urgent, and messy, and so fucking perfect eliott could die, eliott thinks, yeah.

maybe he’s just hopeless for this boy.

[prince-claremont-diaz]

Whatever We Become

Summary: In Lucas’ final year of high school before he has to face the real world, he comes across the new identical twins, Eliott and Leo. Needless to say, Lucas falls head over heels for both of them. 

Or The twin au absolutely no one asked for

Word count: 2.5k

Ao3 version

Chapter Nine: Trust Me

The next morning, Lucas woke up to the sound of a car horn going off outside his window, a bright light glaring into the room. Groaning, Lucas rolled over in bed to face the window, which he saw was open and with the curtains drawn open. Yawning and rubbing his eyes with the heels of his palms, Lucas slowly sat up in bed, blinking around the room. The spot next to him in bed was slightly messy and slept in, the covers seemingly tossed to one side like someone had been there and left.

Eliott was gone.

Sighing, Lucas climbed out of bed, pulling the nearest shirt over his head and making his way through the house. He could hear familiar voices talking and laughing and a strange cooking smell filled his nostrils as he rounded the corner to find Manon and Mika making crepes on the stove. Lucas leaned against the doorway into the kitchen, clearing his throat.

“Oh! You’re up!” Mika exclaimed cheerfully, turning away from the stove to lean back against the countertop, smiling knowingly at Lucas. “We met your boyfriend not long ago, by the way,” Mika added.

“Mika!” Manon chastised, elbowing Mika in the side and looking apologetically over her shoulder.

“What? Were we supposed to pretend we didn’t see Eliott leaving the flat after staying the night?” Mika asked, eyebrows raised, sticking his face in Manon’s. She rolled her eyes, pushing him away with her hand on his forehead. Huffing, Mika stomped the few steps to the small table in the kitchen, pouting as he dropped into the seat. “She’s never any fun,” he muttered, leaning his elbows on the table.

Manon sighed, flipped the pancake on its other side, followed by a satisfying sizzle. Moving the pan a little, Manon looked back over her shoulder at Lucas once again. “Eliott wanted to apologise for disappearing so soon, but he got a call from his brother to come home,” Manon explained simply, tipped another pancake onto the plate by the stove. “But he said he’ll probably see you in school on Monday.”

Lucas nodded, settling down into the seat across from Mika. “He really did look sad to be leaving you. He was practically pouting!” Mika added, leaning back against the wall in his chair.

“I’m sure he was, Mika. And he was also carrying a giant blue fish that can speak Portuguese,” Lucas deadpanned, rolling his eyes. Manon snickered, pouring more batter into the pan.

Mika gasped, looking utterly betrayed. “How dare you!” he yelped, getting up from his seat, chair hitting the wall, “Nobody in this house appreciates me at all!” Huffing dramatically, shoulders drawn back, Mika began to march heavily out of the room. He nearly took out poor Lisa on his way.

“Mika, would you stop shouting? I’m trying to sleep,” she whined, stepping into the kitchen to grab a glass of water.

“See what I mean?!” Mika screeched, followed shortly by a slam of his bedroom door.

With everyone else finally gone, Manon and Lucas were left in the amicable silence, only broken by the sizzling of the crepes on the stove and the occasional chirping of birds outside their window. Lucas sighed lightly, drumming his fingers on the tabletop and reaching out to thumb one of the petals of the flowers set in a vase in the centre of the table.

A few minutes later, Manon finished making crepes and shut off the stove. She separated out the many crepes onto various plates, carrying two over to the table along with chocolate syrup, honey, sugar, lemon and cream.

“So, you and Eliott, huh?” Manon finally asked while she squeezed a lemon slice over her own crepe and folding it over itself. She gave him a knowing smile as she reached for the sugar, smirking.

Lucas huffed, kicking her shin under the table while he reached for the chocolate syrup. “We literally just kissed last night and then we came here. Nothing more than that,” Lucas explained, practically drowning his poor crepes.

“You just kissed? Nothing more?” she asked suggestively, taking a first bite of her crepes, raising her eyebrows questioningly.

“You're worse than Mika!” he accused, using a spoon to plop a heap of cream onto his crepe, earning a look from his friend. “I swear nothing else happened, okay? The guy left anyway, so i don't even know if he wants anything serious or not,” he added, pouring another dollop of cream. He was a sugar fiend and he knew it.

“You're going to get a cavity at this rate,” Manon stated, rolling her eyes. “And you can't know that. I saw Eliott when he left and he looked devastated to be leaving. If you ask me, he definitely wants something serious, Lu.” She put down her knife and fork and reached over the table to squeeze Lucas’ hands gently, smiling fondly, head tilted to the side. “It can't hurt to see where it goes. It would be nice to see you smiling regularly for once.”

Lucas nodded, unsure of how else to reply. Instead, he simply folded over his crepe and dug in, squirting cream everywhere in the process. He looked up at Manon and after a few seconds, they both burst into a fit of giggles.

Lucas had almost forgotten how much he liked Manon’s company.

◇

On Monday at school, Lucas had Biology first thing. He was unpacking his backpack at the table, unusually early for once, when Imane hurried in, dropping her bag onto the desk and heaving a sigh. She looked quite nice that day,if Lucas was being honest, dressed in an olive green jumper, blue jeans and her hair wrapped up in a brightly coloured floral headband.

Nevertheless, she looked stressed beyond relief.

“You good?” Lucas asked, tilting his head and knitting his eyebrows with concern. She was now sitting in her seat, bag still unpacked and her face in her hands. “Imane?”

Imane looked sideways, blinking in confusion as though she hadn't seen him. “Yeah, sorry. My brother was up all night long fighting with my parents about his job, so I didn't sleep very well,” she explained, finally opening up her backpack and pulling out her work for that class.

“Good morning, class,” their teacher announced as she walked into the room, smiling at the class and going over to her computer to take attendance.

“So, do anything nice this weekend?” Imane asked conversationally, flicking half-heartedly through her biology notebook.

Lucas choked on some spit, sputtering uselessly. Imane paused her fiddling and looked at him incredulously, eyebrows raised high. “Uh, not much, no,” he choked out in reply, clearing his throat, “Yann came over yesterday so we played video games, but nothing else out of the ordinary at all.”

Imane did not look convinced, leaning closer to him with a deep frown on her face. “That sure sounds like something you would say if you had done something out of the ordinary,” she accused, tilting her head and rotating her wrist to gesture for him to spill it.

“And what would someone say if they hadn't done anything out of the ordinary?”

Imane shrugged, mocking confusion. “I dunno. Maybe they wouldn't choke upon being asked a casual question and then overcompensate their reply?” she suggested, smiling innocently. “Oh, do go on, dear Lucas. Spill the beans before you choke to death,” she teased, poking him in the side and making him squirm away, barely containing the squeak that threatened to break loose.

Lucas sighed, looking around the room to see if anyone was listening. “Okay, fine. But you need to promise not to tell anyone,” he whispered, still looking around for any listeners.

“You're not pregnant, are you?” Imane asked, feigning shock. Upon being shot with daggers by the other boy, she relented and said sincerely, “Okay, I promise.”

“After school on Friday, I ran into Eliott on my way to the bus stop,” he murmured, “And we went to some pizza place and—”

Imane cut him off, saying, “Ah, yes, my brother said he thought he saw you. He said you left soon after, though.”

Lucas swallowed, thinking back to that moment in the restaurant when Eliott had seen the two boys walking in and almost immediately decided to hurry out of there. Lucas made a mental note to self to ask about that later. “I knew I recognised him from somewhere,” Lucas replied, snapping his fingers together. This earned a shush from his teacher and various eyes on them. So much for avoiding attention. Lucas leaned closer to Imane again, lowering his voice even further. “Anyway, after we left the restaurant…” he paused, looking around one last time, “We kissed.”

Imane sat up straight, eyes going wide as saucers and her eyebrows almost going off her face. “Seriously?” she asked, a smile in her tone already. Lucas nodded bashfully. “I knew you were flirting with someone,” she said, elbowing her friend in the side a few times, smiling knowingly.

“But it isn't, like, official or anything,” Lucas pointed out, feeling his gut twist at the uncertainty of the situation, however nice the kisses had been. “He left before I got up and I haven't seen or heard from him since.”

Imane rolled her eyes. “You slept with him?” she asked, eyes wide once again.

“I didn't. Well, technically yes, but in the completely innocent sense. We've only kissed. That's all.” He was rambling at this point, he knew it, but Lucas couldn't care enough to stop. “But then by the time I got up the next morning, he was gone and he hasn't messaged me since then. Maybe he doesn't want anything serious with me.” Lucas finished his rant and leaned his elbows on the table, chewing on one of his nails as he looked at Imane, awaiting a reply.

Imane scoffed. “Trust me, Lucas. Eliott will want something serious, I can pretty much guarantee that,” she insisted, a tone of certainty evident in her voice. And then, as if their conversation had never happened, she opened both her own and Lucas’ textbooks to the right pages and began reading the required texts.

◇

Lucas was standing alone in the lunch queue, drumming his fingers on his thighs and looking over the options when he felt someone poking him in the side. Lucas flinched away, banging his elbow into the side and gasping, only to find a laughing Eliott by his side.

“Hey,” Eliott said lightly, nodding his head in greeting.

Lucas matched his smile, scooting over to allow Eliott to join him in the queue. “Hey,” he replied, scanning the food displays.

Eliott brushed past him to reach for one of the sandwiches in the display saying, “I wanted to apologise for leaving you so suddenly the other day. There was a bit of family drama and I was so caught up in it I didn't have a chance to look at my phone at all.”

Lucas smiled softly, grabbing a salad from the lunch counter and placing it on his tray. “It's fine. Manon said Leo called you,” Lucas replied, pushing his tray down the queue and taking another few steps forward.

“Still, I felt bad for leaving you like that,” Eliott replied, stepping along with Lucas. He leaned down to whisper right in Lucas' ear, breath hot against his skin. “There must be some way I can make up for it.” Lucas’ whole face burned bright scarlet and he looked up at Eliott, eyes wide at Eliott's borderline suggestive comment.

Lucas cleared his throat, stumbling through the queue again after missing a good few other students making their way into the cafeteria with their lunches. “I think I have some ideas…” Lucas replied, handing one of the cafeteria ladies a couple of euros to pay for his lunch and thanking her for the change.

“Oh yeah?” Eliott asked, pulling out his wallet. Lucas lingered around behind the cash point, wiggling his eyebrows with a smirk. Eliott fell into step with Lucas as he started to make his way over to the table where Yann and Arthur were sitting across from each other, bickering about something. “Text me when you have any good ideas,” Eliott added as he sat down beside Yann and Lucas settled next to Arthur.

“Good ideas for what?” Arthur asked, turning away from his argument with Yann in favour of some gossip from his friends.

Across the table, Eliott and Lucas shared a look and replied together, “Nothing.” This only caused them to fall into a fit of childish giggles and some strange looks from their friends.

“You guys are weird,” Yann commented, turning back to Arthur. “But seriously, Arthur, Toy Story 2 was not the best Toy Story.” Lucas, who had just shoveled a forkful of salad into his mouth, promptly choked at Yann's comment, coughing out several leaves and shredded carrots.

“Uh, it so clearly was, Yann. It was an underrated masterpiece,” Arthur shot back, reaching for the water jug on the table to hand to Lucas, and gesturing wildly, “We meet Jessie for the first time and that scene when Woody gets a makeover? Absolute cinematic perfection. Tell them, guys.” Arthur looked expectantly between Eliott and Lucas.

Lucas shrugged. “I barely remember the second one. I prefer Toy Story 3,” he replied, glancing back at Eliott. Yann was wearing a proud grin, reaching over the table to give Lucas a fist bump.

“But, Eliott, surely you agree with me, right?”

“Sorry, Arthur. The third is the best Toy Story,” Eliott replied apologetically. Arthur sat up straight, jaw dropping in horror and betrayal.

At that instant, Basile appeared from behind carrying a tray of food. “Ooh, are we talking about Toy Story? The second is the best one,” Basile said excitedly, plopping down beside Lucas.

“See?”

Lucas laughed, patting Arthur's hand and commenting, “Arthur, I think that tells you who's actually right.” Both Arthur and Basile looked scandalised, causing the other three boys to fall into fits of guffaws and teases.

Lucas caught sight of Eliott as they teased Basile and saw him typing something into his phone for a second. As he slipped his phone into his back pocket, he caught Lucas’ eye and smiled widely, wiggling his eyebrows. In Lucas’ own back pocket, he felt his phone vibrate and pulled it out to read under the table.

Eliott: You’re cute when you laugh. I like it.

Lucas gaped at his message, face setting his cheeks on fire and looked back at Eliott. With all the air of innocence, Eliott beamed at Lucas and then turned to Yann to agree with one of his comments about Basile’s striped t-shirt he was always wearing.

Lucas sighed, looking around at the boys at the table all laughing and talking together easily and in that moment, he knew Eliott was there to stay regardless of his relationship status with Lucas.

[notcrypticbutcoy]

Hi Lu, (it's me, the girl who's 'constantly' telling you she sketches images from your fanfics on deviantArt! - And since I cant stop - I s e r i o u s l y can't stop, because your FWW is amazing) A question popped up in my head while I was sketching: Have you pictured the shape/"form" of the wings? Are they all the same in shape or do they vary from person to person too, like the coloration? Yes, I am a detail nerd in depth. Thank you for your amazing writing!

I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR SOMEONE TO ASK ME THIS!!! I have done SO much research on birds and bird wings and feathers and the general anatomy of birds and it is so fascinating, I’ve learnt to much. So, warning, long post – but lots of fun diagrams and pretty pictures and birds! 

So I have this massive folder of pictures I’ve saved about birds and wings – the first thing in my folder is this:

I know, right? Talk about stereotypical. 

It gets better. This is not what I image the wings in FWW to be. I found this information online about the four basic types of bird wings, along with some examples. If you don’t like reading lots of text, then just look at the diagrams – it all makes sense! 

Some more diagrams with a little more info to help us decide which wings are most appropriate:

So at this point, I immediately rule out the high-speed and dynamic soaring wings. Shadowhunters are warriors. They fight, they’re going to want to be able to manoeuvre in small spaces, stay mostly in place when hovering, and take-off/land quickly. So, elliptical wings or high lift wings? 

More info needed!

(I know they’re calling them different things in these diagrams, but you can see what they correlate to from the shapes) So, that bit about elliptical wings being slow over distance concerns me a little bit – being chased by a persistent demon? You’re gonna need to fly fast for longer than a quick sprint. 

So I did a bit of research into specific birds, and I was really struggling to find something that fit, until I suddenly thought – owls!! Owls are hunters – they fly bloody fast, they’re incredibly powerful and effective predators, and they can manoeuvre pretty well. Sure enough:

Their wings appear to be a bit of a cross between the elliptical wings and the high-soaring wings mentioned in the first few diagrams, with a lean towards the slightly sleeker high-soaring wings. I also really liked that bit in the diagram above about the fringe of feathers at the rear that muffles the sound of flight. Certainly sounds like a useful advantage for a Shadowhunter, no?!

So I would base my basic FWW-style wing on owl wings. However, size would definitely vary between characters – Jace and Alec are going to have larger wings than Clary and Isabelle, for example, because they have more weight to carry. 

Also, much like body types lend people towards different activities - for example, long-distance runners are usually much skinnier than sprinters, partly due to nurture and partly due to nature - I would imagine the same applies to wings in the FWW verse. Shadowhunters with slightly shorter, thicker wings are going to be better at manoeuvring, but not so good at long flight, so probably wouldn’t use long distance weapons regularly. 

Someone like Alec uses a bow and arrow, so he’s going to want to be able to rise up high fairly quickly, but quick, close-quarter manoeuvres a little less important than they would be for someone like Jace, who always uses some kind of seraph blade/sword and doesn’t use any long-range weapons. So Alec’s wings are likely to be more towards the high-lift end of the spectrum than Jace’s, which would probably be more elliptical. 

So, much like taller people tend to be better at the long-jump, I would think that Shadowhunters with slightly shorter but wider wings are going to be naturally more inclined to specialise in close-range combat – and vice versa.

I’m a bit of a biology nerd so I love talking about all this kind of stuff, so if anyone has made it to the end of this post without dying of boredom and still has questions, please ask!! 

Thank you so much for asking, and letting me ramble on about wings for a bit, haha! 

Also, maximwolf on DeviantArt has some absolutely amazing human-avian diagrams here all about their biology -- anatomy, customs like wing grooming, how wings change with age, etc. Obviously, all theoretical, but some of it is so well thought out and jusr genuinely incredible, it’s well worth a look!

[imagineelrios]

Each of the people in Elgang comforting Apostasia in their own way ;;

Elsword sits next to Ain andrambles about inane things, trying to take Apostasia’s mind offwhatever he’s overthinking.  And it works.  Ain pays attention toElsword’s soothing voice more than his own hissing thoughts.

Aisha awkwardly lets Ainknow that there’s precedent for something like this happening topriests before, and there’s a possible cure.  Ain knows it won’t work– he’s not a priest, after all – but he’s warmed that Aishacares.

Rena is gentle withApostasia, offering him tea, a listening ear to rant to, a gentleshoulder to cry on.  Ain finds himself coming into her room late atnight and letting her hold him.

Raven offers Ain the thinghe wishes he had most when he was all alone and hurting in the Nasodcapsules.  Companionship.  It takes time, but eventually Ain findshimself chuckling at Raven’s deadpan humor.

Eve studies Ain, and offersto replace the corrupted parts of his body with metal.  She feels badthat she can’t help, and can’t really offer emotional solace.  Ain isnot comforted.

Chung sees his father in Ainin some ways, but doesn’t know why Ain is just giving in.  He triesto persuade Ain that the Goddess hasn’t abandoned him.  Ain doesn’thave the heart to break this boy’s innocence.

Ara doesn’t ask foranything, doesn’t want anything from Ain, just protects him asfiercely as she would protect her brother.  She doesn’t judge him forgiving in.  She knows the call of the darkness can be tempting.

Elesis, as any path butCrimson Avenger, tries to draw Ain out of his protective shell andinto the group.  Crimson Avenger, however, cries with Ain as they’retormented by their respective demons – the Shade for Elesis, Henirfor Ain.  They’re both about the same ratio ofhelplessness-to-superior power, and Crimson Avenger is actuallybetter for comforting Ain than anyone else.

Add awkwardly designspainkillers for Ain.  He’s not good at biology, so they don’t reallywork, but Ain appreciates the effort.

Lu offers to help Ainthrough the transition with a bit of demon magic.  Ain usuallyrefuses, but when the pain gets really bad, he accepts.

Ciel knows how it feels,having your body slowly be corrupted, especially as Demonio.  Hegives Ain cookies and companionship.

[completelylusingit]

yknow while we're talkin about deerling and sawsbuck, up until a couple decades ago they were quite a menace in alot of places. they didn't have alot of natural predators left so they overgrazed like crazy

but with successful reintroductions of lycanroc and liepard numbers back up, that's largely been brought back under control

[completelylusingit]

wait not a lot of predators left? reintroduction??

oh yeah, for centuries lycanroc were preemptively killed to protect livestock

that's actually why you mainly see them in alola, they used to be pretty widespread, but in most places they were hunted to near-extinction cuz people thought they were dangerous, but weren't in that region.

but preservation efforts have really helped up their numbers, largely since the 80s

[completelylusingit]

like, one thing I never think I'll get over about pokemon is their extreme developmental plasticity

based on the environmental conditions they're raised in, their size and ability can differ by a factor of 3 of more

alot of wild populations of palpitoad, for example, can be tiny, like pick up in your hands like a hamburger tiny, but in captivity, or in aggressive wild populations with alot of resources, they can be as tall as a small child

nature is nuts, ain't it?

and now that I've got my account back you get to be inundated with my random fun facts from classes

[completelylusingit]

hiya! name's Lus

I go by he/him pronouns, I'm 19, queer and proud of that, and currently majoring in ecology at Nimbasa University, in my sophomore year.

I've previously completed the unovan league challenge, minus the elite four.

I still battle casually though, so if you wanna try me, be my guest.

currently with me I have: - Oli, samurott, he/him - Dusky, purrloin, he/him - Fenrir, growlithe, she/her back home is: - Zapdos, ampharos, she/her - Melvin, lucario, he/him - Sweetpea, espeon, he/him

I need to retake it but here's my current trainer card:

(ooc below the cut)

WE'RE BACKKKKK

call me Luna, they/them, I also run @nacrenecitygardening!

Pelipper/musharna mail + variants are: on

Magic anons/mystery gift/union circle are: off

both muse and mod are adults, you know the drill, flirt if you want I don't care, but blatant nsfw won't be featured.

anyone can interact, at my discretion.

the tag #lus's biology rambles is when he talks about pokemon and nature facts pulling from his knowledge as an ecology major

I want to state it clearly:

this blog is going to be high stakes. the main themes will be altered perception of reality, psychological horror, and paranoia there will be meta elements and occasion unnerving imagery, and occasionally human and pokemon harm

everythng will be tagged and marked accordingly, but if you can't handle that, then perhaps it's better if you steer clear.

that said, there will be no true unreality or full fourth wall breaks, never will it be in question that his reality is real or will it be fully acknowledged that this is a work of fiction.

let's all just enjoy our stay, yeah?

[completelylusingit]

also patrats are full-on omnivores. I've seen a video of one hunting down ekans without a damn care

they're skittish but alot tougher than you'd expect

ignoring all the mounting dread, I'm tired so it's time for Half Coherent Biology Facts With Lus

anyone who tells you deerling and sawsbuck are peaceful herbivores are liars, they're surprisingly aggressive, and have been known to partake in things ranging from eating bird pokemon chicks to chewing on human bones

[completelylusingit]

well their antlers aren't horns, there's no keratin sheath, it's just straight-up bone stickin out of their head. I'm guessing the main reason it doesn't break is cuz they stab with it as opposed to like. bashing like a gogoat, and bone is pretty strong

Tho you are kinda right about it being reinforced with plants, unlike other cervids, sawsbuck antlers are reinforced with lignin, the stuff that makes wood strong, it gives it that bark-y texture and makes it stronger during their fighting contests between males

And they don't heal, they shed about halfway through winter and regrow in the summer, so even if it did somehow break they'd just drop it

ignoring all the mounting dread, I'm tired so it's time for Half Coherent Biology Facts With Lus

anyone who tells you deerling and sawsbuck are peaceful herbivores are liars, they're surprisingly aggressive, and have been known to partake in things ranging from eating bird pokemon chicks to chewing on human bones