#needed humans to come up with plans for him

[foone]

So, Laika. I see people talking about her recently because it's been 67 years...

But I want to clear up some things:

1. She died for political reasons

2. They did not know how to bring her back.

3. If they'd planned to bring her back, it wouldn't have worked.

To explain: Laika was in Sputnik 2. The launch window for Sputnik 2 was chosen so it'd be the 40th anniversary of the October Revolution, which meant the rocket designers had less than four weeks to design the rocket & capsule. Politicians wanting to have a good PR of a cool space rocket story also influenced the Challenger disaster: politicians always want results faster, and space does not respect haste.

Secondly, this was the SECOND ARTIFICIAL SATELLITE EVER. No one in the world knew how to safely return anything to earth, so from the moment launching a dog was chosen, it was always going to be a one way trip. They tried to make it as comfortable as possible for the dog, yes, but they knew if they launched anything it wouldn't come back. They didn't even know if she'd survive in space? Can animals live in the low-gravity high-radiation environment of space? We didn't know if it was even possible before Laika!

Thirdly: if they had planned to bring her back, it wouldn't have worked. They planned for her to have seven days of food, and the last days of food was poisoned. She'd be gently euthanized.

It didn't work. The rocket core didn't properly detach from the capsule, which fucked the thermal regulation. The capsule overheated, and she died within 5-7 hours of the launch.

If they'd planned some elaborate untested return system, it would have activated after the seven days of the planned orbits. Laika would have been long dead by then.

My point is not to say they did nothing wrong (even one of the scientists who designed Sputnik 2 has said it wasn't worth it: they didn't learn anything useful from sending Laika up), but that you shouldn't misunderstand the context. This was a highly experimental launch, it was politically motivated, and even if they'd tried to bring Laika back, she'd have ended up dead.

And the scientists knew that last bit was likely the case when they decided to do this! They knew they didn't know how to bring animals back to the earth, so they didn't try. If they'd tried, the same result would mostly happen: a dead dog in space.

It wasn't just a matter of "not caring" about her life. They thought this could be a useful contribution to science, the first animal in space... They were wrong. And they were always regretful that Laika died for science, especially since they got so little from it.

All future launches with animals were designed to be returned to earth, and those helped pave the way for humans in space. Dogs were used to to test the Vostok spacecraft that later carried Yuri Gagarin to orbit, making him the first man in space.

My point is that they were never uncaring of the safety of Laika: they thought this was the best of a bad situation and then it got worse. This experiment was not repeated and Laika was mourned. If you need to blame anyone, blame Khrushchev.

[yes-these-obsessions-are-healthy]

Like I said, it would've been great to point out Solas's hypocrisy and meanness, but we never got that. It was a huge missed opportunity to show that he was bigoted and small-minded despite him holding himself up as being this wise and esoteric person. He couldn't let go of the fact that shit changes, the MEANING of things change, and the fact that he is holding onto the old meaning is what is allowing that meaning to bother him so much. I guess it's difficult since he personally saw how vallaslin operated and the lengths he and the rebels went to free people so they'd never be marked again, only to see the Dalish put the marks on again in a 'misguided' attempt to honor their heritage, but I liken it to reclamation. The Dalish can do it because they are that marginalized group, and honestly whatever the marginalized group wants, how they want to define themselves, is up to them and them alone because they're alive. In all the fanfiction I've read of Solas and Lavellan, one of the biggest sticking points is Lavellan beating Solas over the head with a stick and telling him to stop being bigoted and to let Dalish define themselves. 'Who gives a shit what the gods did back then. We're no less people for not doing as our ancestors did.' THAT should've been addressed and explored much more in Veilguard, not this sudden abandonment of the gods and "Ok the gods are bad" <-- ok but you still wear vallaslin and you don't discuss what this means for you, so what's the point to write Dalish in Veilguard as being against the gods? You're now left with.... what? What are you left with? A people that have this culture with a huge empty space where ancestor worship once resided? What happens because of that? Again, so many missed opportunities to actually fix the arguments that Solas and the writers incidentally or unintentionally or ignorantly posited without offering US the audience a chance to refute those points, because again, I've read tons of Solasmancers who have written what are essentially dissertations of "Solas you're wrong and you need to sit down, shut up, and listen to us actual Dalish. We are survivors. Perhaps there are some things we should fix in our worldview (like not hating Fen'Harel so much), but there's shit that we also maintain. The refusal to submit to masters but ourselves. Our independence and freedom above all. Better to die free than to live under heel of humans." This can very well be used as refutation for those who try to apologize for the Spanish or colonization of Africa, the vacuum of power and empire creating a black hole that allowed many to fall through the cracks. The answer people often come to is "Maybe the empire should return" instead of the most obvious logical answer which is "Or maybe we should be doing all we can to return rights and liberties and opportunities to those who were disenfranchised." Veilguard could've been a phenomenal opportunity to convince Solas to give up his plans and actually help the modern elves, to actually reflect the ongoing conversations between colonizer and colonized, but they decided nah, let's just go with Solas bad, Evanuris Big Bads now, p.s. let's put all the nuance and subtlety and pigheadedness of Solas on the wayside and not interact with it and just let it sit in the pot until the very end of the game when we're reminded that oh, Solas is still really gungho about this tear down the Veil shit, there's no way he can be convinced otherwise now.

For all of the superficial "care" Dragon Age has taken toward representation and against bigotry, I still maintain that the cruelest thing the writers did was the complete obliteration of elven/Dalish culture.

To have the marginalized, enslaved, diaspora race trying to hold on and reconnect with their heritage for 2.5 games, only for you to turn around and say "Actually their gods and people were the evil slavers all along and they've been giving themselves slave markings because they're so ignorant and don't know any better" is... nauseating to me.

Maybe I'm taking it too personally. But it's giving "you people sold yourselves into slavery." "Their barbaric religion is actually full of monsters and demon worship."

I was holding out hope this would turn out not to be true, or at least their would be some pushback or alternative perspective from other elven NPCs. It looks like that is not the case. And for that reason - I'm out.

(But if I say Solas espouses textbook fascist ideology couched in the rhetoric of liberation because the writers don't understand what liberation is, I'm the bad guy lol.)

[petew21-blog]

Go on and possess me

Hi, my name is Ethan Baker. I'm about to graduate this year at my high school. Me and friend, Matthew, are gonna go to the same university so I'm really excited to go. Unfortunately my girlfriend, Betty, is gonna go to a uni in a different state. I really love her and we spoke about long distance, but ever since I mentioned, that I wouldn't go to the same uni as her, I started to feel that she was sort of slipping away from me. I truly love her, so I started working out and even joined the football team. She seemed proud of me, but there was still tension between us. We still want to fix our relationship, but I don't know what else to do.

Monday 7 PM

Ethan was chilling in his room, watching Tiktoks when his sister, Chloe, suddenly stormed into the room with a weird grin on her face.

Chloe:"Sup, twerp"

Ethan:"You need something? No? Piss off."

Chloe got close to him and sat on the bed. "Oh, don't be like that. I come in peace. Actually, I was thinking you could give me a review of my new bra." she took off her shirt and squeezed her breast while looking at Ethan. "It makes them look nice doesn't it?"

Ehtan:"What the fuck, Chloe?!?"

Chloe:"Oh Ethan. How I miss a human touch on my tits. I need someone to fondle them, to kiss them." she got close to shove herself against Ethan, but he moved away quickly and jumped off the bed, clearly weirded out.

Ethan:"What the hell is wrong with you? Are you NUTS?"

Chloe started laughing hysterically, but it wasn't her usual laugh. "Dude, I can't believe I managed to prank you. You should see your face."

Ethan:"Chloe? What is going on?"

Chloe:"Man, It's ME! Matt! I found a ring and I got the power to possess someone. First I possesed our dog and couldn't get out for hours. I really wanted to let you know, but I accidentally possesed Chloe. So I thought I'd mess with you a bit."

Ethan:"This is not possible. If... if you're really Matt, tell me something Chloe wouldn't know."

Matt:"Let's see. Party in the cabin, truth or dare. You were dared to make out with me in front of everyone, but you chickened out. But later in the evening when we were alone and drunk, we made out. But you claimed you're not a homo. Haha."

Ethan:"Fuck. Matt? How the fuck is this possible? Is it reversible?"

Matt:"I don't know, but I managed to get out of our dog, so let's see." Chloe’s face made a grin as if she was really trying to concentrate. Suddenly a figure trying to get out of her body appeared. And after a few seconds Matt stood behind Chloe.

Chloe looked around confused:"How did I get here?"

Matt:"You came to scream at us for being loud."

Chloe:"Right. Yeah, stay quiet you idiots." she left not noticing that her shirt was missing

Ethan:"Why doesn't she care?"

Matt:"Don't know, but I had this feeling after leaving her body, that I can manipulate her memories for a while."

Ethan:"Holy shit. I can't believe it. You have a super power. Can you imagine what we can do with that? You can erase our bad grades as our teacher, you can send us money as some millionaire."

Matt:"Or I can possess a hot chick and you can fuck me."

Ethan:"That's disturbing, man. Besides I am loyal to Betty."

Matt:"Right. The girl that won't allow you to fuck her."

Ethan:"Shut up. At least I have a girlfriend. Let's talk about your power."

The two spend hours in Ethan's room trying to come up with a plan how to improve their lives. Their main concern was to get revenge on a bully, posses teachers to get better grades and maybe later on get some cool stuff as well.

Matt looked concerned:"Ethan, I'm not really sure about possessing a guy."

Ethan:"Why?"

Matt:"Possesing a dog was easy. Your sister was a bit of an accident, but she struggled too. So I'm worried that a strong guy would be able to resist me."

Ethan:"I guess you'll have to try and see."

Matt:"I might have a better idea." Matt looked deep into Ethan's eyes.

Ethan:"No, way. I'm not letting you possess me. I know what kind of a pervert you are."

Matt:"Come on, I need to practice. And what a better chance to do it than fail later on?"

Ethan thought about it for a while. "Fine. But you'll let me see what you're doing or leave me if it won't be possible. Ok?"

Matt:"Deal"

The two of them got up and stood across each other.

Matt had a grin on his face, while Ethan didn't seem really pleased with the idea of his friend controlling his body.

Matt:"Ready?"

Ethan:"Seriously, no touching."

Matt:"Promise"

Matt stepped against Ethan and dived into him. Ethan felt as if some force was trying to pressure him from all sides. He tried to resist, but it was so much stronger.

He didn't know what happened in the following moments, but a flash from his phone "woke him up".

Ethan:"What the... Matt. Matt?!?" he heard his voice, but he didn't see his mouth move

Ethan's body posed in front of the mirror taking a photo with his shirt off

Matt:"Finally. I didn't know how to wake you up. I knew the flash would help."

Ethan:"And my shirt off would help you how?"

Matt:"I thought if I'd do anything you wouldn't agree with, it would wake you."

Ethan:"Right. Am I really suppose to believe that?"

Matt:"Maybe I just checked myself out in the mirror, just to look at your football body. I haven't even got the chance to flex yet. All I noticed was your nice figure and your tight ass jeans. Honestly, looking good bro."

Ethan:"Thanks. At least someone thinks so. Jesus, this is so weird. Seeing my body move without me controlling it."

Matt:"Can you feel anything?"

Ethan:"Yeah, I think I can. So far I felt every movement. But I'm not sure if I can feel everything"

Matt took Ethan's index finger, licked it and pushed it into Ethan's ear.

Both of them felt that disgusting feeling.

Ethan:"Why did you do that?"

Matt:"Now we know you feel everything. But if you wanna be sure, I can push it in your ass."

Ethan:"No! Ok, we know what we needed, right? You can leave me now."

Matt smiled mischievously. "We haven't even had any fun like this. It's the first out of many times we're sharing a body, just imagine what it's gonna be like to get drunk, to eat, to take a shit together, to cum or fuck someone."

Ethan:"You're not doing that in my body. Forget about that."

Matt turned to the mirror again and scanned his body.

Matt:"Honestly. What's up with Betty? You look really great, man. I don't know what her problem is." he finished speaking and started unbuttoning his pants.

Ethan:"What are you doing? We had a deal"

Matt:"Relax. I just wanna check you out in your boxers. See what the deal is about." The jeans felt on the floor.

Matt:"Woah. Look at you. Looking good, Ethan. And check out these guns. I really don't understand that bitch. If I were her, I'd fuck you the first chance I'd get."

Ethan:"Don't talk about her like that. She... she just doesn't know what she wants."

The doorbell rang. Chloe went to answer the door.

Chloe screamed.l:"Ethan! It's Betty."

Matt:"Ooooh, this is gonna be fun. LET HER IN!"

Ethan:"Matt, you have to leave. You can't talk to Betty. You'll screw it up for me."

Matt:"Relax. At least we'll see if it's not you she's worried to have sex with."

Ethan:"Matt, don't you dare. You promised."

Matt:"Shhh. No more talking."

Betty:"Who are you talking to?"

Matt:"Hey, honey. No one. Just talking to myself. What's up?"

Betty:"Ethan. I came to talk to you. I didn't want to do it over the phone."

Ethan:"She's gonna break up with me. Fuck."

Betty:"I really thought for a long time about us, but..."

Ethan felt as if a giant weight was lifted from him. It took him a moment, but he could move again. On his own.

Betty:"... but I decided that we should take next step in our relationship."

Ethan wasn't sure, what happened to Matt, but he was really surprised by Betty's response. "Wait, really?"

Betty:"Yes. I'm ready."

Ethan couldn't believe it. It was finally about to happen.

They collapsed on the bed, embracing each other. Ethan started making out with her, while her body pressed on his hardening bulge. Ethan took off her shirt and touched her breasts. Betty touched his hard dick over the boxers amd then slid her hand in his boxers and started jerking him off. Ethan kissed Betty's neck which caused her to moan.

Betty:"Oh yeah. Fuck me."

Ethan:"You're so hot, Betty."

Betty:"Finger me!"

Ethan was shocked by her new horny attitude, but slid his hand down and pushed one finger in.

Betty:"Ohh yeah. That's the stuff, dude."

Ethan:"Dude?!? Matt?!?" Ethan jumped away from him. "What the fuck?! You can't do stuff like this. To me or Betty. This is not right."

Matt was now enjoying his breasts and looking seductively at Ethan. "You know you want to fuck me, Ethan. I have been a bad, bad girl."

Ethan:"No, not like this. I want you to leave. her body"

Matt in Betty's body:"Fine, but I'm not promising anything else this time." Betty's hand reached out to Ethan. The same feeling, but now much stronger took over Ethan.

Ethan body continued to move over to Betty. "You're so hot, Betty. "

Betty looked around confused. She was shocked as she found her own fingers in her vagina and the other hand fondling her breasts. "What... what happened?"

Matt:"You said you were ready and then you threw yourself at me."

Betty:"I... I have to go. I'm... I'm sorry, Ethan. I can't..." she grabbed her stuff and stormed through the door of Ethan's bedroom.

Matt:"You could at least suck me off. Ah... whatever. We don't need her, right Ethan?"

Matt closed the door and approached the mirror.

Matt:"Look at us, Ethan. We are so hot. The abs, the nipples. The hairless body. The muscles. We can have anyone. We can fuck anyone."

Ethan:"Matt, stop this. I know the power is taking over your mind. But I can help you control this. Just leave my body."

Matt:"Ethan, don't worry. I won't do anything you wouldn't do, man. I'm still your friend." an evil grin appeared on Ethan's face.

Matt:"Have you thought about gay sex, Ethan? You would be really popular in the gay community."

Ethan:"You just said you wouldn't do anything I wouldn't..."

Matt:"That's why I'm asking. I'm just checkinh what my options are right now."

Matt:"Well, we still haven't had proper time to explore our new shared body together, right?"

Ethan:"Matt, you have a great body of your own. Or you could take over someone else. Some jock maybe."

Matt:"But I'm you now. I want to get us to know each other better. Don't you want to be better friends? I mean. I could possess your sister again. That would be more fun."

Ethan:"Ok, fine. You can stay. But be respectful. No exploring in my body. I can see you moving my hand close to my dick every second. And stop looking at my body. It's creepy."

Matt turned around from the mirror. His head tilted to the side. "You're no fun, Ethan. We could already be jerking off your nice dick, instead we're having a fight here."

Ethan:"It's really creepy, man. Like... what if I would do the same to you in your body?"

Matt:"That's sounds hot. Come on, man. You know you're excited to try it out."

Ethan didn't reply, which Matt took as an approval and threw off his briefs. As soon as he did he looked back at his reflection.

Matt:"God daaaaaamn, Ethan. Look at yourself. You're a hot piece of meat. It feels amazing to have your body."

Ethan:"...thanks, I guess"

Matt:"And let's take this little guy for a spin."

Ethan:"Yet I'm bigger than you."

Matt:"Bigger, but not the biggest I saw. Oh wow, you're a grower I didn't expect that, it's really getting bigger and it's so hard, oh my god. You should shaved Ethan. It would make it look even bigger."

Ethan:"Matt, this is too gay for me. I don't think I want to continue."

Matt:"Hold on, I'm just about to start." Matt started stroking Ethan's dick. He went slowly first, but the built up hormones in Ethan's body forced him to go faster. Ethan felt a wave of pleasure hit him too. He didn't jerk off very often, so this was pleasant and even more so that someone else was doing it to him, for him. Someone was really appreciating his body.

Ethan:"Fuuuck. Matt. Go faster."

Matt smiled. He sped up and started humping Ethan's palm to the rhytm. Matt couldn't keep his hands off his new body. He kept returning back to his muscles, but what interested him the most were his new sensitive nipples. He stroked them while jerking off.

Matt:"Ethan. I love... your body so much"

Ethan:"I love having you in me too. I want to cum with you. Make me cum, please!!!"

Matt went closer to the mirror. The furious movements of the hand forced him to moan out loud. He was so close.

The stream was impressive. It reached a height that Matt didn't even expect and landed on the mirror.

Matt smiled, all sweaty:"Wow. You're quite a good shot. I would have gone further away from the mirror if I had known that."

Ethan felt the clarity earlier than Matt. He just let his best friend jerk his body off. This was so strange.

Ethan:"So what's the plan for tommorow? Who do you want to possess first?"

Matt:"We should try Jack and bully all his friends as a revenge. What do you think?"

Ethan:"That sounds great. We sho..." Ethan's voice faded from Matt's mind, but Matt didn't seem concerned. He got close to the mirror and looked deep into his new eyes.

Matt:"Sorry, Ethan. But I want to enjoy your body now in more privacy. I'm sure you understand." he kissed his reflection and started licking the mirror, making his way to the cum pouring slowly on the mirror surface.

Matt:"Ew, Ethan. That's for not eating enough sugar. I'll fix that for you. But now I got something to fix for you."

Matt took out Ethan's phone and called Betty. "Hey, Betty. Do you mind If I'd come over? I want to know if you're ok. You were so different before. So fearless and READY. I was really weirded out, but actually happy to see that. Really? Huh. That's strange. Well I can go to your house and we can talk about it. Ok, see you in a few minutes."

Matt locked the phone and headed to the bathroom, where he knew that Ethan had condoms ready.

He approached the mirror. Looked back at himself and said:"Congratulations, Ethan. You're not gonna be a virgin anymore. I'll give Betty a great time. Don't worry. Not like you should worry at all, you can't hear me and it's not like I'd give you your body back anytime soon. Haha."

[lordprettyflackotara]

Follow You || Prologue || Eyeless Jack

syn: Eyeless Jack has found himself becoming more isolated over the years, distancing himself from everyone and everything. He considers himself an unforgivable monster, one that shouldn’t be a burden to anyone else. After leaving Slender’s mansion and wondering aimlessly through the woods, he stumbles upon a drunken girl in danger. After saving you, he finds himself completely infatuated with you. You’re strikingly similar to him, even attending his old college. He battles an internal debate as he falls for you, deciding whether or not to burden you by staying. While Jack fights his internal turmoil, old enemies from an all too familiar college come out to play. Will Jack be able to defeat his oldest enemy? Will he be able to overcome his self conscious fears to save you? You’d better hope so, since the cult for Chernabog is back and you seem like the perfect sacrifice.

tw: depression

a/n: welcome to the beginning my loves. im sinking my teeth into this slow burn novel and plan on spending lots of time crafting it. enjoy :)

There was a certain emptiness that resonated in Jack’s chest. The kind of emptiness one can’t ignore or wash away. The kind that consumed your mind, body, and soul. The kind that Jack couldn’t escape, no matter how hard he tried.

Jack considered himself a very run of the mill person. If you took away the demon that controlled a majority of his life, he wasn’t interesting. On the inside he was still the same nerdy bookworm who loved the art of medicine. He hated that his one true passion was overshadowed by the monster he had become. Leafs crunched beneath his heavy boots, the dim moonlight illuminating his path. Jack spent nights like this, wandering aimlessly in the shadows of the night. He traveled beyond Slender’s forest, into human trails. He didn’t fear being seen, for his mask and ominous jet black hoodie concealed the freak that he was.

It wasn’t as if Jack hadn’t tried. He had tried to get better. To feel better. He did everything he could to flesh out his time. He even went as far as to become the mansion's doctor, signing himself up for twenty four hours a day care for any proxy or creep in need. Most of the time he saw the proxies, who tended to get wounded the most. At first he was fascinated, consumed with the notion that his work would be meaningful in the long run. That maybe with hands-on experience he would be able to complete his college education, even if it wasn’t in the traditional way. Jack soon discovered his wishes were too far from reality, a majority of his efforts being spent restraining himself from devouring the proxies' organs. He had lost count of how many times Masky or Hoodie had stumbled into his lab, with the same stereotypical gunshot wound or stab wound. Their injuries became like clock work to him, the smell of their exposed wounds beginning to not even faze him anymore.

Jack supposed this was a good thing, if he were to ever be around normal humans. He didn’t count on it, his hideous appearance one that would forever restrain him from living any form of a normal life. Jack cringed at the memories of his transition, his face twisting in disgust as he recalled his first moments of being reborn. Slaughtering and terrorizing the cult that had sacrificed him didn’t bother him necessarily, what bothered him was what occurred afterwards. With black tar trailing down his face and mangled flesh in between his teeth, Jack went on to attack and kill any breathing specimen whose heartbeat he would hear. This included many innocent’s houses, ones with babies and children. Jack’s stomach churned at the memory of how hard he had to fight himself to not tear apart the children's chest. At the time Jack had no self control and had no will to form one. It wasn’t until Slenderman found him that he managed to calm down. 

Jack was the first creep Slenderman found, even if the demon was in figurative pieces. Truthfully Jack’s loyalty to him was founded once the supernatural creature taught him self control in his new form. Jack knew that the entity was far from a good being. Logically he knew he was most likely a science project for the blank faced creature who walked the Earth alone. As time went on and he founded the mansion, his proxies, etc, Jack knew Slendeman wasn’t a good being. He wasn’t some guardian angel. He was a monster who thrived off of power. He may have logically known this, but due to The Operator unintentionally saving Jack from slaughtering hundreds upon hundreds of innocent beings, he was a devoted follower who gave him his loyalty willingly. The Operator was not a fan of Jack’s existential crisis. Although he respected the eyeless man, he could never understand the humanity that stuck with him even in his new form. Jack and him were like opposite sides of a coin, never quite understanding the other but more similar than they truly could comprehend.

Jack shook his shoulders, attempting to stop his thoughts from spiraling again. This is how it always went. The demon would recall his horrific and boring life, then question how it started, then rinse and repeat. Sometimes his wandering thoughts varied to his relationships with others. Like how in an odd way he was fond of the ghost girl Sally or how much he despised hearing Jeff speak for more than ten seconds. Somehow he had landed himself in a position where they were his only friends, even if he couldn’t stand the pale faced killer. 

These late night walks were always just for pondering, Jack trying to get himself on some form of a schedule when it came to his meals. As time progressed he realized there was no way around it and no way over it: he had to consume human organs. He had tried everything. Animal organs, any and all kinds of blood, human food, human organs that were kept at the hospitals nearby. He even tried to starve himself to death. He found that nothing satisfied him more than harvesting fresh organs no matter how much he hated it. No matter how much Jack despised the craving that controlled his life, he was a slave to it. His attempts at starvation were pointless, the demons rampage far worse if he was starving. So Jack tried to be as humane as possible, even if it caused him more physical problems then it may be worth it to others. He killed at the beginning of the week, preserving his meals throughout the week. The rest of the week he spent his time like this, aimlessly pondering and allowing himself to be consumed with his thoughts and regret.

Usually these nights went just like this, uneventful and in the end nothing productive could be said about them. He knew he’d go home, only to have a proxy to patch up or Jeff to bug him to death. While trivial and unamusing, Jack had accepted his fate. He was doomed to an eternity of gore and mundane tasks, just to fill up the endless time. After all, isn’t this what he deserved? Didn’t he deserve to-

Sniff sniff.

Unable to control his nose twitching he froze, the forest seemingly falling silent. Jack inhaled deeply, attempting to place the source of the scent. It wasn’t one he was unfamiliar with, quite the contrary. The sweet metallic scent of human blood flooded his nostrils, the demon inside of him unable to contain its satisfaction just from the mere smell. He turned his head towards the direction of the smell, inhaling once more. Although he should’ve been hauling himself in the opposite direction, Jack couldn’t have been anymore intrigued. A wounded human in this neck of the woods? How far away from civilization could one have mindlessly stumbled? 

More sinister theories began to emerge from the darker parts of his mind the longer he pondered. Were you a victim of violence? Being dumped and left in the forest to rot? Jack shivered at the thought, this time focusing on his acute sense of hearing. To his surprise he only heard one heartbeat, although faint. Before he could stop himself he was hauling his body over to the source. His curiosity had gotten the best of him, all logical and rule following gone out of the window. Jack didn’t enjoy many things about his being, but he did enjoy his speed. With his height and animalistic abilities, his unnatural speed was much faster than any other being he had encountered this far. The metallic scent was a trail he could follow without any trouble, his feet carrying him to his mystery. 

Jack wasn’t sure what he had anticipated on seeing. The blood was fresh, but you weren’t oozing with the stuff either. He came to an abrupt halt at the sight of you, the human in question. In a small clearing with the moonlight’s grace, he was able to make out your small form. A backpack was strapped to your back, your hair tangled and messy. Your makeup was smudged, your knees bleeding from a presumed fall. In your hand was a large stick, one you were struggling to even hold correctly. Your soft doe eyes were narrowed with fierceness, focused on the wild animal before you. A stray coyote, one thin and battling with starvation Jack presumed, was circling you like worthless prey. Jack hadn’t accounted for his affect on the ecosystem of this forest, but perhaps he had gone a little too out of hand with his hunting.

He could make out the coyotes bones through its fur, its teeth snarled as it growled at you. Jack could hear the pounding of your heartbeat, the way it smacked against your ribcage. Although he knew he may be hanged for his crime of exposure, Jack found himself stepping out of the shadows. An animalistic growl brewed in the bottom of his throat, his teeth bared beneath his mask. The coyote’s attention was immediately diverted to the demon, who stood tall and dangerous as he intimidated the animal. The coyote visibly shuddered at the sight of Jack, turning on its heels and darting off into the forest. A small sigh of relief left Jacks lips. He wouldn’t need to traumatize you by tearing apart a live animal before you. His gaze returned to you, your eyes widened with fear. You stumbled backwards, your back hitting the tree.

With each step Jack took towards you he could smell the scent of alcohol getting stronger. Ahh, a drunk college student. “It’s not smart to be here this time of night,” Jack said, his voice deeper than he intended it to be. His noted the way your face relaxed at the sound of his voice. “Who made youuu the ruler of the forest?” You slurred, unsteadily propping yourself up against the tree. Jack cringed at the sight of dirt and filth coating your open wounds on your legs, swallowing as he approached you. “I don’t flatter myself that much. What’d you do to yourself?” He questioned, pointing at your knees. At the sight of his gray skin you stumbled towards him, your touch warm and soft as you grabbed his hand. “Ohhh you have argyria. That must suck,” You mumbled. You must’ve assumed Jack couldn’t hear your comment. Maybe he couldn’t have, if his hearing wasn’t so acute. He hesitated as you examined his skin, seemingly amazed to see it. Arygria did in fact make one’s skin a gray color, but no where near as dark as his. Had you only read about it?

“How do you know what argyria is?” Jack found himself asking. Of course he knew what it was, medicine was his bread and butter. He wasn’t trying to judge you based on appearances, but you were a drunken girl in a skimpy dress in the middle of a forest at a presumed two am. “I study medicine, sir. I’m gonna be a doctor one day!” You proclaimed, a goofy smile spreading across your lips. A college student. It was slowly making sense, even if Jack couldn’t reason why you were stranded in the middle of no where like this. He ignored the way his stomach jumped at being called sir, pulling his hand away. “Thats great. Do you know which direction you came from? You need to go home,” Jack said, diverting the conversation to go in the direction it should go. Maybe he wouldn’t technically be breaking any rules if you didn’t recall this conversation in the morning. That had to count for something, right? You giggled as you put your hand over your eyes, spinning in a circle. You out stretched your arm, extending your pointer finger. 

Jack watched curiously as you drunkenly landed on a random direction when you finally came to some form of a halt. “That way!” You declared, a wide grin on your face. Jack tilted the head to the side as you stumbled in the random direction, awkwardly tripping over your own feet and falling onto the ground. He watched your consciousness slip away, your captivating eyes fluttering shut. Your pulse and heartbeat were still even, your breath not shallow. He tilted his head to the side, studying you as if you were a puppy. He looked both directions, ensuring there were no observers before he picked you up. Carelessly he threw you over his shoulder, carrying you as if you were as light as a feather. Jack had intended on patching you up and being on his way. Truthfully, that was his plan. Little did he know he signed up for far more than he bargained for.

[phoenixeclipse-lmkau]

What if reqder was also a monkey?

How would the first meeting go and would the warlords still be in love with reader at the end?

(And can i be 🎂 anon?)

Yes, you can be 🎂 Anon! I am so glad to have another anon!

As for if Reader was also a monkey. I'd say in this version that if Reader was a monkey, she'd originally be from the Jttw World. She'd be from the same village as Spirit.

Her mother was a monkey demon while her father... let's just say he's not. He's also not human, celestial or demon. I have a plan for him but I'll keep that for later in this version of my au. Should I call it Monkey AU? Hmm… maybe I’ll need another name for it.

Spirit and Reader would be good friends from the get-go and sworn sisters ever since they were young children. In this version Reader is actually more adventurous and reckless. Having grown up in this world she is used to demon attacks, deadly threats and so forth.

She's a fighter willing to protect her only friend even if it means the death of herself.

She would meet Sun and Mac when she reaches Flower Fruit Mountain. Her and Spirit would have gotten there faster because there are two of them fighting their opponents instead of one. Also because Reader is a monkey demon she is welcomed onto the island by the two warlords with open arms, both excited to meet new monkey demons.

(A little backstory/ lore - Marshals Ma and Liu and Generals Beng and Ba are the only monkey demons born to flower fruit mountain, other than Wukong of course. Wukong makes it his mission to invite as many monkey demons to fill the mountain with and most come with him excitedly as they aren’t seen kindly by the humans of the mainland. After Macaque joins Wukong they both make it their mission to make the humans who treated their kind pay dearly, even though not all humans were harsh to them)

Anyways Reader gets to see her sworn sister meet her father and her new family first hand. She is both happy for her sister and slightly disappointed knowing that she wasn’t the only one her friend had now. She liked the feeling of being needed, but doesn’t want to spoil Spirit’s fun. Because of that she goes off to explore the island so her sister can have time meeting her family.

Of course this catches the attention of Macaque. Wukong is the one who trusts most monkey demons almost blindly with little distrust. Macaque on the other hand? No, he has fought and killed others who have threatened his life weather they were of his kind or not.

He has no intention of harming those his mate has chosen to be apart of their kingdom and makes sure to have friendly relations with them. However that doesn’t mean he trusts blindly especially those who have just arrived and haven’t yet accepted Wukong as their king. So following the new troop mates around is something he has made a habit of, but this time Wukong realizes what he’s doing.

After a short talk (Mostly using Wukong’s curiosity against him) the two follow the monkey demoness around. She has no rhythm or reason to her walks and simply looks around curious about her surroundings. When she believes she’s alone she sings softly allowing her voice to float through the air. Both Wukong and Macaque like the private ‘show’ not that they say anything at first.

Then they see her interact with the cubs around the mountain. The cubs that are so cute and adorable as they climb up and down Reader, curious about the newest member of the troop. All the while Reader laughs as she makes sure they don’t fall and grabs fruit from the trees to pass around to the youngsters. She is absolutely loving towards them making sure they are safe and happy. That is when the first smallest spark hits their hearts. Though they easily play it off, after all it’ll disappear after a while… right?

Hours turn into days, days turn into weeks and before they know it, two months have passed. And the small spark has turned into a bright flame that doesn’t die and is hard to hide. No matter how much they try. They can’t help but pay attention to her, they can’t help but absolutely ADORE her.

Now these two are very loyal to each other, but when feelings begin to bloom for this new Monkie demon they end up trying to stay away, unfortunately for them she seems to be a magnet for them. They are drawn to her from her smile to her laugh. When Macaque finds his mate liking this new woman (even though he likes her too) he intends to put an end to it. But when he sees her smile at him he completely freezes and can’t go through with it.

Macaque realizes he loves Reader almost as much as he loves his own mate. Telling his mate however is harder than anything else because his mate, his oh so OBLIVIOUS mate doesn’t realize he LOVES the woman that he does! Macaque remembers what he had to do to get Wukong to believe that he loved him now how is he supposed to get him to realize he loves this woman too!

Fortunately for Macaque, Wukong knows what love feels like. After all he feels love for Macaque so when he feels the oh so familiar feeling for Reader, well he KNOWS. It does take the two quite a while to actually talk to each other about their feelings though. They don’t want the other to go into a jealous rage and kill their new darling after all.

They do eventually talk and when they do? Well Reader realizes they are giving her more attention but doesn’t really think much of it… until she decides it’s time to leave to travel. Reader doesn’t like to be cooped up for too long especially Monkey!Reader she likes to travel. Unfortunately for her, when she goes to tell the Monkey King and his mate goodbye, well… she doesn’t get the chance to leave the mountain.

Hehe! I loved this ask. Now mind you this is my first idea for monkey!Reader. I also have another version that I have deemed Stone Monkie! Reader, though maybe not the same ‘stone’ as you may think. She was NOT born from stone. There is a different reason she is called Stone Monkie!Reader.

Hearts, comments and asks are always appreciated. Sorry this took so long 🎂 Anon. But I do love this ask. This is basically a headcanon quick version of a small fic now that I look at it. Hope you’re okay with that!

Edit: Added Monkie!Reader Lmk Au/ Monkie!Reader Au tag

[goldentail-readswarriorcats]

HFAHSAFgSJasgjh

I'm normal about Bive wdy--Trivia

Bive is currently the elevator NPC that enters the elevator from the most floors, coming from 5 floors, the second being Reddy coming from 2.

Players are able to get the "BRAIN WASHER" by spraying her with Spray Bottle.

Bive has three currently uploaded UGC items: "Bive Hairball Head", "Bive Spectacles", and "Bive Teeth". A fourth accessory is planned, in which it'll be the hair on its own without the tuff in front.

Bive was originally going to be named "Scag" back when Scag wasn't conceptualized.

One of Bive's alternative official renders is a reference to the Spirit Phone album by Lemon Demon.[1]

Her name is pronounced "bye-vuh/Bīv".[2]

One of Bive's April Fools idle dialogue lines is most likely a reference to this infamous tweet.

Bive’s glasses glow in the dark. It is unknown if this is intentional.

Bive is voiced by BARB1ESPACE.[3]

Bive makes an appearance in a crossover with another game, PHIGHTING!, as the skin "Bivekit".

Bive may be getting a remodel alongside, or after Split.[4]

Bive refuses to accept the Kitty item, as she knows Split doesn't like cats.[5]

The "Shwaffle House" location that Bive occasionally mentions in dialogue is planned to be added to the game.[6]

Bive is a self-appointed detective and a conspiracy theorist.[7]

She comes up with all of her conspiracy theories herself.[8]

Bive is made completely out of hair.[9]

Her bones are made out of highly condensed hair.

The only parts of her that isn't made of hair is her nervous system and partially her muscles.

Cutting her hair wouldn't hurt her, unless a nerve was hit.[10]

She doesn't mind that she is a "hair monster".[11]

According to Yeuc_c in stage, Bive weighs roughly the same as an average person due to how dense her hair is.

When wet, her hair flattens out.[12]

She would be a safety hazard if she came into contact with static.[13]

She feels like horse hair. [citation needed]

Bive was a lab accident.[14]

The lab she was made in was heavily associated with MR.[15]

She has a little bit of human DNA.[16]

She was never a child, she was always a hairball monster.[17]

It has been confirmed by Yeuc_c that Bive and Split have feelings for each other.[18]

They are not in a relationship, according to TheCanvasCreature[19]; however, it has been confirmed by Yeuc_c[20] that they will eventually confess their love to each other.

They can still be shipped with other characters.[21]

Bive worries about Split often.[22]

Bive hates MR.[23]

She knows things about it that others do not.

Bive does not trust Enphoso.[24]

She also doesn't trust DrRETRO.[25]

She does not trust Pest at all, and given the chance, she would run away from him as fast as possible.[26]

Despite this, Bive and Pest would work together under a common enemy.[27]

Bive is scared of Scary Mike.[28]

She ends up on the Funny Maze floor due to her floor-hopping.

Bive was attacked by Jaoba before, but escaped.[29]

Bive was banned from Glorp N' Go, after she stole batter and ran off.[30]

She stole the batter in order to break into buildings, as the yeast extracted from it can be used to eat away and replace glass, so she can enter through windows without them shattering.[31]

Bive is dressed in stolen clothing.

She would wear anything, if she believes it wouldn't get her hurt, but she isn't too picky about style.[32]

Bive is dealing with a very real stalker situation.[33]

Bive is uncomfortable and afraid of the "eye tree", due to its association with a "very evil thing".[34]

Bive has reason to what she says. She has seen a lot of horrific things and doesn't know how to emotionally handle it.[35]

Judging by Bive's dialogues, she seems to have some sort of trauma regarding the lab she was made in.

As stated by Yeucc on stream, this will be elaborated more in future updates. [citation needed]

Bive doesn't have a house.[36]

Bive is 5'9.[37]

Bive is m-spec, though she does not identify with any specific sexuality.[38]

Bive listens to most of whatever is playing on her radio. She does not trust a fair amount of radio stations.[39]

She despises the country pop music genre, as she believes it is made to trick people into buying red pickup trucks. She is concerned specifically about bright colors of vehicles, since she believes it allows the clown militia's cars to blend in with normal vehicles easier.[40]

Bive would be into lost media, and talk about it like a murder case.[41]

Bive is lactose-intolerant.

Despite this, dialogue between her and Split shows that she still ate at an ice cream parlor with her, indicating that she either had lactose-free ice cream and it wasn't stated, or ate the ice cream with lactose anyway.

Bive is not good at singing.[42]

Bive is the most likely to get a lobotomy; however, it would be unwillingly.[43]

Bive cooks mold over an open flame and cuts it up to use it as seasoning.[44]

Bive doesn't have a favourite instrument, but she wouldn't trust pianos.[45]

According to dialogue between Split and Spud!, Bive likes forests. She describes them as "always calm and natural" until those darn aliens arrive.

Bive considers hygiene "arbitrary", according to dialogue with Gnarpy.

She doesn't use shampoo, conditioner, or any kind of soap.[10]

She is the worst-smelling in Regretevator. [citation needed]

As stated by Yeucc on stream, she smells like wet dog. [citation needed]

Bive is easily startled by loud noises.[40][46]

Bive has very excellent focus when she is heavily concentrating on something.[40]

Bive only likes specific types of math, mainly geometry.[47]

If there was a zombie apocalypse, Bive would most likely thrive.[48]

Alt under the cut

[aethesfaelibrarae]

Mouthwashing has given me a lot of brain worms and we've got thoughts—time to share them with the hungry void that is Tumblr. One of the last places I'm 90% certain my words won't show up stolen or regurgitated by machine.

Warning for spoilers about the game and rambling!

I believe that Mouthwashing is a modern-day Lolita. The storytelling is similar, in that, almost against their own better judgement and will, the audience finds themselves thinking like our unreliable narrator(s).

Most people.. Sorry, some people have cottoned on to the fact that Anya's personality is not that of a scared, timid and ultimately, useless nurse and she's been in fight or flight response for months now with no other choice but to fawn. As someone who has been in a similar situation for only one day a week for months, the fear only got worse, the longer I went without support. And the things that she does in the background.. No doubt similar to the way that Daisuke kept track of their food supply was brushed over and unsung.. So is the fact that Anya has been keeping a severe burn victim—with 4th degree burns so severe, any treatment we currently have is experimental and expensive.. If the pain does not kill you first—she's been keeping Curly alive for months with no help and incredibly minimal supplies. (I personally think that Anya probably was on the side of giving him an easier death or maybe even suggested a gentler way of giving him medicine—but (sterile) syringes in space? Limited water? An especially dismissive Swansea and go with the flow Daisuke?.. Easier to try and give Jimmy what he wants.)

But. I believe that people overlook the ways in which Catastrophe Jim's perspective on Curly twists our own. Pre-Crash Curly exists upon a pedestal—a good man, better than Jimmy could ever hope to be; a good, well-liked captain. Well-off, better looking (I say this because of the similarities in how Jimmy mentally views himself in similar shape and age as Curly) and still reaching for more. For better. People catch the underlying jealous and resentment for the life that Jimmy wants at all cost but.. They miss the pedestal. The miss the fact that if Jimmy says that Curly's better than he is, a good and better Captain.. That means that Curly is doing the bare fucking minimum: keeping them all alive year after year. Curly is a nice captain with the capacity to soothe over minor issues and keep a cool head and keep the crew on schedule.. But he is not a good one. He's not even a good person. Not really. Jimmy thinks of him as a good person, puts him on this pedestal that he's foaming at the mouth with excitement to pull him off of. Dirty the golden boy and spit on his silver-threaded bootstraps once and for all.

Except.. What evidence do we have that Curly is especially liked or respected? Where is this cheering crew? Where is Curly good?

Curly is a human, at the end of the day.

And.. Which comes to my more complicated and no doubt contriversal take... Curly is also a victim of Jimmy stuck in fawn response. This doesn't absolve him of the ways in which he failed the crew but Anya especially by letting Jimmy run amok and failing to take any action while he still had the chance. He stood by when Anya begins to hint at something beneath the shiny veneer of a happy tight-knit crew and most damningly, he stood by as Jimothy entered the cockpit immediately after suggesting a plan to kill everyone aboard.

I genuinely.. Genuinely.. Don't know what he thought would happen.

But he does take action.. And his last action is what makes he and Anya swap places. Except.. Not truly.

Yes, they are in similar situations—vulnerable to the whims of a psychotic madman with an inferiority complex and their plight largely ignored by the crew; a necessary sacrifice to keep the peace.. Just until safe harbor—but where Anya begins to gain autonomy and some relief from Jimmy no longer having a need for her.. Curly finds himself the center of Jimmy's world.

And that is not a great place to be in.

Curly is systemically isolated (bad-mouthed to the crew over and over again, berated publicly, blamed for an awful accident that Jimmy caused) and his torture and abuse mirrors the continuous, silent medical, emotional and physical abuse that many disabled people face. And almost in a worse way, his voice is stolen from him and used in such insidious inspiration porn.. A lot of people think that he actually said those things.

But we won't know. And if he did say these things.. Why does Jimmy only seem to (mis)understand them in the final acts? Recalling them in Curly's voice but not as the Captain but as a savior, his last charitable act to wipe the ledger of blood clean.

Jimmy doesn't want to see Curly better. He likes feeling useful. He enjoys having Curly watch him and in the same breath, he loathes it. He wants Curly's judgement. He wants Curly's praise. He wants.. Everything that makes Curly Curly.

Curly as a silent observer isn't remarked on often.. Nor is the fact that more than likely, the others heard Curly's sobs of pain from the medbay. But Curly is very conscious, very aware and very alone in his thoughts.

There's a point in which the perspective changes during Swansea's mercy killing—a gift that no one offers Curly—and once again, Curly is stuck watching all of his mistakes play out, one after the other. Unable to do anything but laugh.

But is it a laugh or a sob? Jimmy doesn't care and neither does the player—what's important is the objective: the gun. 739. Click. He steps over Anya's body like it's not even there and runs away.

We don't find out what set Swansea off—maybe Jimmy couldn't help himself and said something about Daisuke or Anya that blamed them. Maybe it was something else. Curly watches on. Helplessly.

There's something to be said about the black screens and the static that occurs when Jimmy hurts Curly or kills Swansea—like he's cutting the memory off before the guilt can get to him. And it's the same thing I'd like to bring up about Curly's voice. Yes, it takes a lot to speak without lips.. Or from what it looks like a tongue.. But there are more noises Curly can make. Noises that can refute Jimmy.

And in the same way that he's at the precipice of something so terrifying he keeps returning to the same spot that's slowly killing him, he's learned that fighting is useless.

It's 2 months after the crash when see Jimmy's perspective again, after all. And while Anya's requests for help seem to be new.. Who's to say that the beatings are?

The worse type of abuse is the type that leaves no bruises. After all, Curly cries all the time in pain.. What's the difference here?

To cycle back to my original point in this.. I don't see a lot of people consider Post-Crash Curly's living hell as another facet of Jimmy's abuse going unchecked by the people around him as anything other than comeuppance. As Karma. And it's the coldest take I've seen from the fandom so far. Allow me to reheat it up for you: disability so severe that you must rely on others is not divine punishment. It's not just desserts. Just as disabled people are your infantilazed, idealized, inspirational iron woobie that can take pain and push through it.. They are also not being punished by the divine. They are humans and sometimes shit just happens and it sucks.

The way that Jimmy views Post-Crash Curly as a saving prop.. Proof that he can indeed fix it.. is so normalized that as the audience, it can be something that you aim to achieve–one of the earliest and easiest achievements you can get is opening and closing Curly's mouth like a mannequin.

There's a relief that we share when Curly shuts up. There's a shutdown in empathy when Jimmy brutalizes him. Up until we can no longer look away.

Because Jimmy can no longer look away. And that is the chilling part of all this. Jimmy gets away with it—all of it—because of the crew's inability to overcome their own apathetic acceptance of the monster in their midst.

Just like most people accept the main character from Lolita as a gentleman, the crew accepts Jimmy as a guy. A little rough and short-tempered but what do you expect from blue collar work? Hold your nose, it'll be over in a year. In 8 months. In 10. Soon. It'll be over soon.

I can't help but worry if Jimmy weren't so bad at being likable and if he were even a smidgen of the charismatic mastermind, he so clearly wants to be..

We'd have another Valentino on our hands.

Mouthwashing is a horror that I can't help but devour. FEAST, indeed.

[starryinkart]

{CLICK FOR BETTER QUALITY!}

(Re-blogs are appreciated!)

START HERE -> PREVIOUS PAGE -> NEXT PAGE (COMING NEXT SUNDAY!)

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Artist Note:

Hey guys! It's been a minute, hasn't it? I’m so SO sorry for taking so long on this page, ALOT has happened in the last month and I’ve been very busy, but things seem to be balancing out so I’m back! As you can probably tell, the second page was VERY detailed and needed ALOT more time in the oven than the others previously, and from now on I will give a heads up when this is the case on my future pages! I loved drawing these two though and hope to do more in the future!

The next chapter of Absolutely is coming, as well as the Pilot for the YouTube show is coming along nicely! The next page of Totality should be coming next Sunday back on schedule! I’m glad to be back guys! Just be patient alittle longer! Now time to update my The Darkness You Hold comic! 🤭

———

N doesn’t seem to be doing too well right now…is there anything left that can snap him out of his blinding rage and loneliness? Let’s hope so…or Copper 9 might be in a bit of trouble…

_____

Here’s the synopsis!:

Barely escaping the mass destruction of Copper 9, as well as losing Uzi to the Absolute Solver, N, V, J, Khan, Lizzy and Thad find their way through the galaxy to the Earth-like planet “Jericho”; where they look for refuge and plan to fight back. Their new goal, stop the solver from destroying the last remaining human colonized planet by any means necessary, find JCJENSON and report their findings. It shouldn’t be THAT hard…right?

_____

The idea is to have pages coming out every Sunday @ around 7 pm US EST or every 2 Sundays (if life gets busy or a page takes longer than expected, I will let you guys know!)

I hope you guys really enjoy this comic, as well as the character development I have planned for it! Enjoy! <3

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

< COMIC CONTENTS >

COMIC COVER < Get Comic Synopsis HERE!

The ASTRA Family INFO

SNEAK PEAK #1

ASTRA REFERENCES #1

(MORE COMING SOON!)

[ramblings-of-a-chaotic-neutral]

Hello everyone! I'm back with a (kinda late) spooky au! This is the monster-themed au that won the last poll, so here we go!

In this au, set in season 4 (post-Aithusa), where, after feeling Aithusa call to him from within her egg, Merlin could now sense dragon eggs.

Since dragons mated every year and laid multiple eggs each time, and there were only so many dragonlords around to hatch them, there were hundreds of dragon eggs hidden around Albion, waiting for a dragonlord to get close enough for them to call out to, yearning for the world outside of their shells. And since the dragonlords were nearly wiped out in the purge, those hundreds of eggs were still hidden, still waiting for a dragonlord to call them into life.

And now that Merlin can recognize their calls and knows how to call them forth them their eggs, he collects and hatches as many dragon eggs as he can, determined to bring the magical creatures back to their former glory.

And this goes fairly smoothly, except for one issue: he needs a place to hide all of them. They're all still so young, despite growing rather quickly, and the world is still hostile towards dragons, not seeing them as the majestic creatures of wonder that they are.

So, Merlin finds a hidden place for all of them to nest: an underground cave system beneath a mountain. It was near enough to Camelot that he could visit frequently, and the tunnels were large enough for all of them to have their own space, even as the number of baby dragons grew from five, to ten, to twenty, to well over seventy baby dragons took refuge inside the caves.

Aithusa was delighted by each new baby sibling Merlin brought to her in the caves, and she took care of them as best she could. (Kilgharrah, the rubbish babysitter, was not invited to the nests, as he would surely fill the babies' heads with all sort of nonsense about hating humans.)

And so, Merlin kept this up for well over a year, hatching dragons and bringing them to the nests, where he would be bombarded by baby dragons looking to cuddle with their egg-father. He loved spending time with all of them, but he worried about them too. What would happen when grew too large for the caves? Where would they go? Would they be safe?

But as the young dragons grew, they were content to stay in their hidden sanctuary, keeping each other company and eagerly awaiting their egg-father's sporadic visits. They especially enjoyed his stories of Camelot and his golden king. They loved to imagine the man their father was describing, a man with gold for hair and jewels for eyes. He must be the greatest treasure in all the lands! It was no wonder their great and powerful dragonlord kept him safe in his hoard!

And it went on like this for several years, up until Morgana heard rumors of strange growls and reports of terrible beasts coming from the caves underneath the White Mountains. Upon hearing these rumors and sensing with her magic that were was a small army of powerful magical beasts within the caves, she came up with the brilliant plan of luring Arthur, Merlin, and the knights into these tunnels and trapping them there. Those beasts, whatever they were, would surely make quick work of all of them!

Her plan, of course, succeeds. After all, she knew that using a knight as bait would lure all of them into the caves, and then using her magic to collapse all of the exits was simple work. As she walked away from the mountain, she cackled with furious glee. At long last, all of her enemies were doomed! Camelot was hers for the taking!

Meanwhile, underneath the mountain, Arthur, Merlin, and the knights were all trapped. While they hadn't run into any of the monsters Morgana had mentioned, they could hear growls echoing off of the stone walls, heralding their doom getting closer and closer.

(The growling, translated from dragontongue: Papa! Papa! Papa's back!)

As the sounds of the ferocious growling grew closer and closer, they could see the shadows of the beasts approaching on the walls of the cave. They were enormous, with wings and claws! Arthur and the knights all drew their swords, ready to fight to the end against a mob of these horrid beasts.

As the monsters came into view, the shocked gasp came from the group. Before them was an impossible sight, dozens of dragons, each as long as two men and as tall as Percival!

(Merlin gasped at the sight because his babies had suddenly hit growth spurts! They were so much bigger than the last time he saw them!)

Arthur and all his knights braced themselves for what would be a devastating attack from the monsters, when suddenly, to their horror, Merlin ran out in front of them!

"Merlin! This is no time for your sacrificial idiocy! Get back behind us!"

But Merlin didn't even glance back at them, h simply ran forwards towards the beasts!

Arthur gave out a heart-wrenching cry as the monsters pounced on his friend, their razor-sharp claws tearing through his skin and their horrid jaws opening to bite at his flesh.

(Merlin, meanwhile, was being cuddled and playfully licked by his dragons, who took great care to keep their claws and teeth away from their egg-father's soft human skin.)

With a savage and anguished war cry, Arthur ran forward, sword in hand, praying that Merlin was still in one piece. Jolted out of their horror by Arthur's cry, the other knights follow, ready to slay these monsters and save Merlin from their grasp!

The dragons, who recognize Arthur from Merlin's descriptions of him, dart forward, excited to finally meet the golden king that their lord talks so much about! The golden king was as radiant as their lord said he was, and he even gave a play roar and charged at them! He wanted to play and be their friend!

His strange gray hand-fang stung a little bit when it hit their scales, but it hurt no more than their siblings' claws when they were play-fighting together.

The young dragons had a great time playing with all their new friends, who gave play roars and hit them with those strange gray fangs. Their new friends were so fast too, not letting the dragons hit them easily.

This went on for a while, until Aithusa become too excited by all of the play fighting and accidentally knocked the golden king down too hard, knocking the air out of him.

Aithusa whined apologetically as she walked over to him, opening her mouth so that she could breath her healing breath on him, when he suddenly grabbed his grey-fang and aimed it at her open mouth, ready to strike. Aithusa flinched back in surprise, but the golden king's movement was halted by a call from her lord.

"STOP!"

Everyone, knights and dragons alike, froze at the order, even though the command had not been given in dragontongue. Aithusa whined in apology again. She hadn't meant to hurt her lord's king! She had just forgotten he was less sturdy than her siblings!

"Merlin! You're alright! Come quickly, we must leave before these beasts... why is that dragon nuzzling you like an overgrown housecat?"

Merlin gave Arthur his most innocent look, but it wasn't very convincing. Sighing, Merlin wrapped his arms around Aithusa's neck and hugged her, which caused her to start purring with joy, much to the knights' shock.

"Well, you see, I kinda... found a dragon egg out in the woods one day? And I couldn't just leave it all by itself, anything could have happened to it, so I put it somewhere safe! And then, it hatched! And I couldn't just leave the poor baby to fend for herself, so I brought her here, where I thought she'd be safe and not bother anyone. But then I couldn't just leave her alone here, so I came back to visit her and bring her food!

And then, I started finding more dragon eggs and brought all of them here and took care of them!"

Merlin finished his rushed explanation with a smile, hoping that Arthur would just buy it and not ask any questions, like how Merlin found any dragon eggs in the first place. By the end of his explanation, Arthur had gone from alarmed to completely exasperated.

"So what you mean to tell me, Merlin, is that you found dragon eggs, and, instead of killing them before they could become threats, chose to raise them like they were stray kittens instead?"

Arthur's tone indicated that yes, he had bought Merlin's lie, and yes, he also thought Merlin was a much bigger idiot than he did before.

Merlin just nodded, praying to anyone that would listen that none of the knights would possess any critical thinking skills and start poking holes in Merlin's hastily made-up story.

Merlin's fears were alleviated when Gwaine began laughing hysterically, walked fearlessly between the dragons, and clasped a hand on Merlin's shoulder.

"My friend, I knew you were a special kind of crazy for putting up with Arthur all these years, but this! This beats any insane stunt you've done before! You've just tamed dragons, you madman! Hell, you've got them all wrapped around your finger by the looks of it!"

Gwaine, amazed and almost giddy, looked around at the dragons, who were contently cuddling up around Merlin now, tired from all of the play fighting.

Merlin rubbed the back of his neck, nervous and slightly embarrassed at all of the attention. The other knights looked on in wonder as Merlin told the dragons to go off the sleep in the nest, and they all listened. He really had tamed them!

Merlin turned and gave Arthur, who was still looked at Merlin with frustration and disbelief, a nervous smile.

"So, uh, it's probably a bit late to be asking this, but do you think I can keep them in Camelot?"

And that's all for now! I had a lot of fun writing about Merlin army of baby dragons! Please let me know if you'd like a continuation of this!

And, as always, thank you for reading through my ramblings!

[ultramaga]

"The dude had illegal pets" There's a small fine, and the circumstance was such that it should have been ignored. He didn't domesticate a wild animal, he rescued animals as he does normally, and the investigation actually put animals at risk as he was forced to neglect them for five hours. It's also perfectly legal to have those animals as pets elsewhere. The rabies claim is bullshit, unless rabies only appears in States where the State wants them to. Rabies in squirrels is very rare, this was an animal which was live-streamed and well documented, and an application was in the works for it to be licensed anyway. It was shot because The State wanted it shot. No reasonable person could say that that animal was a rabies risk, and it has to be asked, why was someone handling it without the proper equipment if rabies was a reasonable thing to fear at that time. The answer is, of course, they didn't fear rabies, and just wanted to kill.

"this is not some evil government thing" If the State bashes down your door at 3am and holds you for five hours for something which at worst is a finable offense, then kill your animals.

While raccoons are known vectors for rabies, squirrels rarely get rabies, according to the CDC. In fact, a human has never contracted rabies from a squirrel in the U.S., the D.C. Department of Health said.

... people licensed as wildlife rehabilitators can legally care for them in New York as long as they plan to release them back into the wild once they are well. It's not clear whether Longo had gone through or begun the process of becoming a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, but he had also established a nonprofit called P'Nuts Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary.

Releasing them would never have worked as they were rescue animals and they would simply have starved to death. If it was an issue, they could easily have been shipped to one of the many States where it is perfectly legal to keep them as pets, as people know there's no rational fear that they will mutate.

Peanut grew a massive fanbase over seven years, amassing more than 600,000 followers on Instagram. The pet squirrel gained popularity as the Longos posted videos of the P'Nut interacting with them, creating a loyal fan base that connected with their stories. As such, Peanut was the least likely squirrel in the history of squirrelkind to spontaneously acquire rabies. 600,000 people were watching him, and nobody noticed any symptoms, nor were there any special circumstances where he might have come in contact with a rabies carrier.

Pictured: Peanut, after being buried in the Sematary for a bit.

https://www.agriculture.gov.au/about/news/new-biosecurity-measures-keep-rabies-out-of-australia

"some cats or dogs entering Australia will need to undergo 30 days quarantine at our Post Entry Quarantine facility in Victoria."

Thirty days. Does any sane person think those animals had not been quarantined for a little bit longer than thirty days? No, The State wanted to throw its weight around, and so it did what it did - because it could. “Catch-22,” the old woman repeated, rocking her head up and down. “Catch-22. Catch-22 says they have a right to do anything we can’t stop them from doing.” “What the hell are you talking about?” Yossarian shouted at her in bewildered, furious protest. “How did you know it was Catch-22? Who the hell told you it was Catch-22?” “The soldiers with the hard white hats and clubs. The girls were crying. ‘Did we do anything wrong?’ they said. The men said no and pushed them away out the door with the ends of their clubs. ‘Then why are you chasing us out?’ the girls said. ‘Catch-22,’ the men said. ‘What right do you have?’ the girls said. ‘Catch-22,’ the men said. All they kept saying was ‘Catch-22, Catch-22.’ What does it mean, Catch-22? What is Catch-22?” “Didn’t they show it to you?” Yossarian demanded, stamping about in anger and distress. “Didn’t you even make them read it?” “They don’t have to show us Catch-22,” the old woman answered. “The law says they don’t have to.” “What law says they don’t have to?” “Catch-22.”

Let's see...they threaten a guy's girlfriend, they break into his home with a SWAT team, they take his pet and then kill said pet, yeah I can understand how people are pissed off over this kind of government overreach and abuse. And all done by a Democrat-elected police chief and state government, no less...

[ckret2]

Hey, I've been off for a while so I don't know if anyone's asked you this before or not, but I need some help with writing and you're the only smart person I could think of right now... 😭

How can you come up with such great plot ideas?? Like, how can you just come up with a plan and go like "yeah that's gonna happen because he did this to do that." How tf do I even word that? Like, for example, when Bill escaped the mystery shack so Ford wouldn't oof him for good. Like you came up with such a complex yet amazing plan for how they could escape. WHY ARE YOU SO SMART GIVE ME YOUR BRAIN POWER. I had the thought that it took you a while, like maybe years to plan something like this. Idk for how long you were planning on starting this fic, but as someone who wants to start their own manga, and is also heavily inspired by bungo stray dogs, I need help cause I suck at writing. I'm only good for midly funny jokes and somewhat good art (but I have time to improve on that.) Also I'm sorry if this does not make sense 😭 idk how else to word it...

Honestly... the answer is "I come up with plots by spending a lot of time thinking about them" LMAO.

specifically for that plot arc? I sorta came up with it in three phases, a few months apart. Simplifying pages & pages worth of discord chats:

Phase 1 was "well OBVIOUSLY the humans initially want Bill dead right? And OBVIOUSLY Bill wants to escape right? So it would only make sense to have a plotline where they're ready to kill him and he has to escape. Either he can succeed by himself... or, maybe some of the humans change their minds and don't want him dead. That'd show some major character development. That might be cool for the end of the fic."

Phase 2 was "I have two ideas that would make for a REALLY cool dramatic ending of the fic, either Bill's escape or [BIG SECRET], which is cooler? Definitely [BIG SECRET], that's DRAMATIC, that's HUGE, that's GOING PLACES. But the character development from him escaping would be really big. How do I have both?

"Maybe have him escape early in the fic... And I can use Bill trying to escape as the inciting event to give him more freedom to hang out in town, which is a huge goal of mine that needs to happen as early in the fic as possible. But then I'd need to justify why he'd come back.

"Maybe Mabel helps him escape; and then finds out no one wants to hurt him anymore and pleas with him to come back; because them sparing him would be huge character development on their part, but BILL coming back because MABEL ASKED would be even BIGGER character development on his part. But I also want Ford to have a turning point here too. Maybe he also helps with the escape somehow? Maybe it's a SURPRISE that he helps, and that's why the situation has changed enough that Mabel asks Bill to come back. So he's coming back for both of them. Now I just need a reason for Ford to change his mind."

Phase 3 was "while plotting other plots I came up with the reason why Ford no longer immediately fears Bill might kill them all AND a reason why Ford might think Bill has a chance of changing for the better. Now I just need to make up the details of how Bill escapes, what he does while he's out, etc etc. shrinking flashlight, excuse for mabel to leave town, excuse for her to stop BEFORE she leaves town to set Bill free, where's Bill go that keeps him in the area, if his choice is between miserably camping or going back to the shack then there's no emotional impact if he chooses to go back when he knows it's safe, so what can I do to make leaving seem as appealing as possible to Bill so it hits harder when he stays solely for friendship..." this phase was the easiest part.

I didn't start plotting this fic at all until after I made this post. These three phases all happened from like late spring 2023 to I think fall/winter 2023. I don't remember when I plotted phase 3, except that it was AT LEAST before I started posting the locked bathroom plot—because I had Mabel win concert tickets and mentioned her using the size-changing flashlight specifically to set them up for the escape plot.

So, looking at the above? Here's my advice, with more examples from how I do my own ploting:

— Know your character goals, before everything else. "I want the characters to want Bill to stay alive." "(which means I want them to stop hating him AND stop fearing him AT LEAST enough that execution seems like a worse choice than captivity)." "I want Bill to decide he wants to stay near his new friends more than he wants to run off and do evil." "(If this is early in his character development, the power of friendship won't be enough to convince him to stay; so I also need to come up with some evil he can get up to without leaving town.)" "I want Bill to get more freedom to move around the town because half my ideas depend on it." "I want Bill to befriend Mabel." "I want Bill to hook up with Ford." "I want Bill to keep trying to get back into his body no matter what." Etc.

— Usually, you don't come up with plots by going "what would be cool?" and trying to pull ideas out of thin air. You come up with plots by going "what do I want my characters to go through emotionally?" (becoming friends, learning to feel remorse, trying to change forms, etc)

... and then going "well, what kind of thing would need to happen to make that happen?" (To become friends, the two characters need to do things together that make them like each other—which means I need to come up with events that would show each of them why the other's likable, and if need be I need to come up with an excuse to FORCE them to participate in that event together)

... and THEN going "so what physical circumstances do I need to engineer to make that happen?" (Mabel befriends Bill by trying to help him feel better. Why's he need to feel better? He hates his body. How is this hatred expressed (and it needs to be a way Mabel can do something about)? Maybe he'll give himself a shitty haircut. How can she help fix it, it could take years for him to regrow that hair? Well... let's make up a magical way to instantly regrow hair. What's silly enough?)

You take your character goal and then specifically craft something cool around it.

— if you DO happen to come up with a random cool event first... remember what your character goals are. And go, "how would this event serve those goals? What can I put in this event to push one of my other objectives forward?

— when you're working on one part of the story, you always remember what you wanna do in other parts of the story.

When I was plotting early events in the fic, I knew that before the escape plot Ford needed to stop fearing Bill would kill him—and I decided the only way that could happen would be if Bill saved Ford's life, with NO benefit to himself, at great personal risk, knowing it would make his own situation worse, for no reason except that Ford would continue to live—and that seed grew into the entirety of the eclipse arc.

When I had Ford make indirect contact with Bill's cult at the crystal shop and I asked myself what the payoff could be from that event, I also knew I'd need something to tempt Bill to leave town in the escape plot—so that became the cult's role in the fic.

When I needed something silly for Mabel to do in town to prevent her from coming home and finding Bill locked in the bathroom, I already knew I'd need a reason for her to leave town for a couple days to disguise Bill's escape—so I had her win concert tickets in Portland.

When I was writing Bill having his mini emotional breakdown in chapter 39, I already knew I'd be writing a series of flashbacks where Soos thinks over all the terrible things Bill's been through—so when I wrote Bill trying to avoid going outside during the eclipse, I wrote in Bill giving Soos info that would help protecting the townsfolk.

When I wrote the beach episode, I already knew that in future chapters I want Robbie to try to recruit Bill into his emo band, and I want Bill to develop a complex vicarious worship relationship with the local teens' ironic Bill cult—so I had the goth half of Wendy's friend group swing by to have a positive reaction to his pyramid bricks sunburn and let him try to present himself as a fellow goth kid.

When I wrote the summerween plot, I already knew Mr. What's-His-Face gets a plotline way later in the fic—so I used summerween as an excuse for the Trickster's and Mr. WHF's mutual friends to swing by and foreshadow Mr. WHF's eventual arrival.

Any time you have a gap in the story, you fill it by asking yourself, "Well, what's something I want to do later in the story that I haven't set up yet?" and stuff in something that pushes forward one of those goals.

Or, tl;dr: I come up with plots by spending a lot of time thinking about them.

[loveswrites]

Living Hell Poly Cullens X Reader

Time it took me: 2 hours

Word count: 1240

To My Love's~ I hope you guys liked it!

Love <3

“Your love has truly made my life a living hell.”

“Wait what?” Edward said, confused by your words. The two of you had been walking in the woods in silence because you just needed a break from.. Everything.

“Not just you, Alice, Emmett, and the rest.” You sighed as you stepped on an orange leaf that looked like the perfect crunchy fall leaf. Just for it to not crunch. If you weren’t already irritated you were now. 

“A living hell huh?” Edward questioned back to himself but you knew he expected an answer from you.

“I want things I didn’t before. Like the other week, Alice took Rose, Esme and I to France to go shopping and just like that every Tuesday that’s all I want to do.” You spoke with the sound of tears in the back of your throat.

The moment those words came out of your mouth the walking next to you paused. Confused, you turned around to see Edward standing a few steps behind you with a dumbfounded look on his face that only turned into a sly smirk when you tilted your head to question why he stopped.

“Any other reason you feel like we’ve made your life a living hell?” He questioned. Blinking at him you nodded.

“Go ahead. Tell me.” He smiled.

“Fine. You and Jasper for example you guys took me out at night a few weeks ago to see this beautiful waterfall out of state and now everynight before I go to sleep I yearn to fall asleep to the sounds of that very waterfall.” You finished with a pout. 

Edwarded hummed in response as he walked closer to you. You turned around thinking you both were about to resume your walk but Edward had different plans. Grabbing you from behind Edward sweeps you off your feet making you squeal in shock. Squeezing your eyes shut and before you knew it you were back on your feet. Wobbling you put both hands on your head in attempts to stop the spinning and dropped to a fetal position.

And softly you whispered.

“I am sick of you cold brick hoes throwing my equilibrium off.”

“Heyy I thought you liked the cold.” You heard no one but the one and only Emmett say. 

“Why are we back here?” You whispered trying to keep yourself from throwing up. You had already been mentally trying to deal with the fact that you feel like you're peeing on yourself with no control. And the cramps that came every five minutes like contractions. Now this.

“I want you to tell everyone else what you just told me outside.” Edward said and soon after you heard more footsteps come into the room.

“That I want to sleep by a waterfall?” You questioned wincing as a cramp came through like a lightning strike. 

“I booked the flights already.” Alice spoke to which you could only hear still having your eyes closed.

“That’s not the first part baby.” Edward spoke softly with a smile in his voice.

“That y’all make my life a living hell?” You answered.

“Yeah that one.”

“Us?!” You could only assume Rose shouted.

“Yes y'all! And can you lower your voice? It's loud in here.” You requested.

“Are we the vampires or is she?” Jasper snickered.

“The heightened senses are for another reason Jasper.” The supernatural doctor voiced. 

“Smell her.” 

“Ew.” You frowned.

“She smells the sa-. Ohh..” 

“Oh my god.” You rolled over to just lay face first on the floor. This was the most embarrassing thing ever. You can just smell me and be like oh yeah she’s bleeding that’s cool. You thought to yourself.

“That’s why she’s been moody all day. I thought she was still mad at me from yesterday.” Emmett laughed out.

“Oh I didn’t forget! I’m still mad!” You yelled out sitting up forgetting about any dizziness to defend yourself.

“It's been more than 24 hours!” He yelled back. 

“You're not even human and yet you ate all my snacks?! How does that even make sense to you?! Someone explain it to me please!” You yelled still mad Emmett ate your favorite snack. After a long day of well.. Living all you wanted to do was lay in bed with your love’s and eat the snack you had been craving since you woke up but had saved for later. If you knew big back here was going to devour them you would’ve eaten all of them at 5 am that morning. 

“I was hungry!” He yelled back making the rest of the room snicker.

“You were just eating to eat fatty!” You yelled throwing the closest thing to you which was an empty candy wrapper at him. 

“Hey! No need to body shame, this is all muscle baby.” Emmett smirked. Making you roll your eyes.

“See. Hell.” You stated to Edward pointing to Emmett making him laugh.

“What do you mean by hell though?” Rose questioned brushing a piece of her hair behind her ear. You knew she genuinely wanted an answer. 

“By hell I mean you do so many nice things for me it.. It makes me expect them. Sometimes I find myself expecting these things from you guys and when it doesn’t happen I can sometimes get disappointed that you can’t read my mind.” You finished snickering at the same time as Edward.

“So we make your life a living hell because we treat you the way you deserve to be?” Carlisle asked.

“Yes A living hell because I want it all the time.” You nodded.

“By living hell do you mean you want a little extra more love today?” Esme asked.

“I mean.. Hell doesn’t always have to be hot you know?”

With those words you were set for the night.

Laying in the big california king sized bed your loves had bought so you all could lay in bed together and it not be.. So difficult. It’s still difficult, you can’t even lie. But that’s what always brings a smile to your face. Hearing Emmett and Alice fuss over whose foot is on whose and Rose just straight up kicking Edwards leg off of her to which he says..

“Rose, I wasn't even touching you.” 

“It was close enough.” Rose bites rolling her eyes.

“I can’t find that one show we’ve been watching.” Jasper whispers to himself as he clicked through the Hulu acc to find the show you all have been watching together.

“It’s on Netflix Jasper.” Esme says to which Jasper nodded in response. 

You let out a soft hum as Carlisle laid your head on his chest gently stroking your hair. Your eyes slowly fluttered close. 

“You deserve all the love in the world beautiful. You deserve even more than what we give you, understand?” He spoke softly, making you nod in response. 

“We love you so much and even if you feel like it’s too much to ask just know we feel it’s not enough. We wish to give a thousand times more than what we do now.” Carlisle continued Softly kissing your forehead. 

“Is that even possible?” You questioned.

“We attend to show you that it is for the rest of our lives pretty.” Jasper answered kissing your hand that he only held previously. 

The night was full of soft touches, belly rubs, snacks and movies. 

These were the times you found priceless. And these are the times you yearn for.

[winxanity-ii]

⌜Godly Things | Chapter 01 Chapter 01 | favored⌟

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Eileithyia rushed through the marble halls of Olympus, her breath coming in short, labored pants. A silver torch flickered in her grasp, the flames matching the intensity of her frantic heartbeats.

She was a striking figure—her dark hair tied beneath a kerchief, the embroidered peplos of pinkish-red flowed behind her like a stream. The wreath adorning her head shifted as she ran, her lips muttering prayers to herself—each word an urgent, unyielding reminder.

No, no, no... I'm going to be late, she thought, a fearful frown etched on her face.

Eileithyia had a purpose today—a life hung in the balance, and she was supposed to be there. As the goddess of childbirth, her presence was crucial.

The birth couldn't conclude without her.

She had seen centuries of births, had delivered souls into the harsh yet beautiful realm of humanity, and she had never been late.

Not once. Yet, this evening had not gone as planned.

Ate—the goddess of mischief, ruin, and destruction—had decided otherwise.

She had taken it upon herself to set a thousand small obstacles in Eileithyia's path—misplaced tools, disruptions among the mortals, inexplicable detours. A labyrinth of mischief that made her late—far later than she'd ever imagined possible.

Annoyances. Delays. Each a thread that tangled itself around Eileithyia's feet, keeping her from where she needed to be. The weight of her tardiness bore down on her chest, a gnawing fear taking root within her.

By the time she arrived on Earth, it was far too late.

She arrived to a quaint carriage, situated alone under a starlit sky. Its windows glowed softly in the night, and inside, she could hear the low murmurs of those gathered.

The humble room she entered was dark, the shadows deep, illuminated only by the glow of her torch. And at the center of it all sat a woman, her skin a warm sepia, her dark hair pulled away from her tear-streaked face.

"Nooo!" The woman sobbed, her face buried into a bundle of cloth that she cradled to her chest.

Eileithyia's heart sank as she ventured silently along the walls of the room, She observed the scene before her, her chest aching.

Eileithyia moved along the walls of the room, unseen and unheard, her presence cloaked from mortal eyes. Her heart broke for what she saw: the woman was crying, her face twisted in a sorrow that needed no words to explain.

Beside her sat a young man, his blond locks disheveled, his hands trembling as he gently held his wife.

"Aleka, my love...," he whispered, his voice a soft rasp that shattered the silence. He held her, and she clung to him as if she could drown her sorrow in his embrace.

"I-I can't... it hurts, Kairo," she whimpered, tears streaming freely, her body still trembling with pain, her lower body coated in blood.

The room was shrouded in somber silence, broken only by Aleka's soft cries and the muffled movements of the midwives as they cleaned up the remnants of the birth that had gone so terribly wrong.

The atmosphere weighed heavily with sorrow, grief, and the undeniable finality of death.

Eileithyia walked closer to the grieving parents, her heart aching with each step.

She peered down, her heart fracturing further at the sight of the stillborn child. The infant lay so small and delicate in her mother's arms, her tiny features illuminated by the flickering torchlight.

She was perfect—round cheeks, a delicate button nose, tiny lips formed in an innocent pout, like a rosebud just beginning to bloom.

A beautiful soul, taken far too soon, Eileithyia thought, her fingers reaching to trace the baby's soft cheek, committing every detail to memory.

With a soft hum, Eileithyia leaned over, her torch casting a glow that seemed to wrap around the infant like a final embrace; her fingers brushed Aleka's arm in a silent farewell before she lifted the child from her mother's grasp, cradling her in her arms.

Stepping back from the grieving parents, Eileithyia kept her gaze lowered, her steps quiet and deliberate. She knew her path—she would descend into the Underworld, where the souls of the dead found rest.

It wasn't fair, but it was life.

As she walked away, the parents' anguished cries softened, fading into the distance. The baby's body felt heavier in her arms as she began the descent, the air thickening around her with the scent of earth and ancient mist.

Before she could cross the threshold into the underworld, a servant burst into the room.

"Wait!"

Eileithyia paused, glancing over her shoulder to see a servant running towards the grieving parents; he was out of breath, his eyes wild with urgency, his voice stammering as he spoke.

In his hands, he held a small, glowing flower—its petals shimmering with an ethereal light, as though capturing the very essence of dawn within its delicate form.

"A-a prophecy," he gasped, as the midwives turned to face him, "from Delphi. This is a sacred flower, blessed by Apollo himself. It is said to have grown in Apollo's sacred groves, glowing with a golden light, and its essence has the power to bring a soul back from the edge of death. But it must be used swiftly—before the child is taken beyond the threshold of the Underworld!"

The servant's head turned, almost supernaturally, his gaze distant but unwavering. It was as though his eyes pierced the veil between mortal and divine, locking onto Eileithyia.

For a heartbeat, Eileithyia paused, her steps faltering as she felt the weight of his stare. It was almost as if he could see her—an ethereal figure, a goddess holding a child who had yet to fully cross into death.

She glanced down at the small bundle, her heart torn between sorrow and an instinctive sense of duty, before looking back up, determination setting into her expression; she would wait.

The father, Kairo, looked at the servant with suspicion, his face hardening. His voice was edged with both desperation and anger as he asked, "What is the cost? A life saved by the gods always comes with a price, doesn't it?"

The servant hesitated, his gaze flickering, clearly struggling with the burden of the answer. The tension in the room was palpable as the father repeated, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "Tell me, what's the price? Or are you just here to give us false hope?"

Swallowing nervously, the servant finally spoke, his voice trembling. "The oracle says that the child will carry the weight of Apollo's favor—a debt that may come due at any time, with no guarantees of what the gods might ask."

The room fell into a heavy silence, the air almost too thick to breathe.

Aleka's gaze met Kairo's, her eyes filled with tears, wide with both fear and desperate hope. She looked at her husband, searching his face for guidance.

Kairo stared back at her, the love for his wife evident in the way his hardened features softened ever so slightly.

Kairo finally lowered his gaze, looking down at their stillborn daughter. She looked so peaceful, her tiny form held in her mother's embrace.

His throat tightened, the pain of the decision weighing on him, but he knew there was no choice—only a chance to give their daughter the life she deserved.

He nodded, his eyes filled with determination and love as he whispered, "Do it."

Aleka let out a shaky breath, her trembling voice joining his. "Yes... do it. Whatever the cost, we will bear it."

The midwives moved with urgency, retrieving all the materials needed for an impromptu salve. The flower's petals glowed with a gentle golden light, and its aroma filled the room with warmth and magic.

The servant cradled it reverently, before crushing it in his hands, the glowing powder falling into a small dish.

With practiced hands, the midwives mixed it into a poultice, and applied it gently to the baby's lips, her chest, and her tiny forehead.

For a long moment, nothing happened. The room was silent, the air thick with anticipation, Aleka and Kairo holding their breaths.

Eileithyia paused, her hands trembling, her eyes never leaving the babe in her arms.

And then—a miracle.

The baby in Eileithyia's arms squirmed, her eyes opening wide. The goddess stared down, her heart swelling with relief and wonder.

A small, smoky puff enveloped the baby, and before Eileithyia could react, the infant vanished from her arms.

Over the veil separating mortal and divine, a sharp, piercing cry filled the once-silent room. Aleka gasped, her head snapping up as the bundle in her arms moved, the baby's eyes open, her cries loud and full of life.

Through her sobs, Aleka cried out her daughter's name, "____" her voice trembling with joy as she held her daughter close. Kairo, too, let out a shaky breath, his eyes wide with disbelief, his hands moving to wrap around both his wife and child.

The baby was alive, saved by the flower—a favor of Apollo himself, bestowed only upon those whose fate had caught his eye.

Eileithyia watched quietly from the shadows, her heart heavy and hopeful at once.

She knew what this meant. This child was touched by the gods.

And the gods... the gods did not simply forget those who had been touched by their favor.

As the infant settled into her mother's embrace, Eileithyia whispered to herself, her voice a soft promise that disappeared into the night.

"May the gods be kind to you, child. For their favor is not always a blessing."

A/N: now, for my long-awaited fic! hope you guys enjoy what i have planned ❤️❤️😩, also if not known, this will be post-EPIC, so after odysseus returns...

[pines-troz]

Gravity Falls & Pinky and The Brain Crossover AU

Brain takes Pinky up to Gravity Falls to find the necessary amount of unicorn hair needed for his latest plan.

The mice are exploring the forest when they come across two human kids and their pet pig who are unfazed by the talking rodents.

When Brain asks them about the whereabouts of the unicorns, Mabel immediately tells him that they’re big jerks and Dipper adds that they have leftover unicorn hair at the Mystery Shack. So the twins bring the mice back home and become fast friends.

Pinky loves the kids. He loves singing BABBA with Dipper and doing arts and crafts with Mabel and goofing off with the two of them.

Brain also appreciates their company, but does not want to admit it. He even admires the kids; Dipper for his intellect, sarcasm, and bravery. Mabel for her creativity, kindness, and exuberant energy.

Dipper loves showing the mice his journal entries and the silly shows on the Gravity Falls public access channel. Mabel loves giving the mice her signature Mabel Juice (Pinky loves it, Brain not so much) and knits tiny sweaters for them.

Ford is fascinated by the mice. He constantly takes notes on them and interviews them at any chance he gets and is impressed with Brain’s inventions.

Stan initially saw the mice as perfect additions for the Mystery Shack’s exhibit, but backed out when Brain suggested that the Shack should form a union.

When traveling, the mice often hitch a ride either on top of Dipper’s hat or on Waddles, riding him like a horse.

The mice enjoy Gravity Falls. Their favorite places in town are Greasy’s Diner, the forests, but the Mystery Shack is their number one pick as it’s the homiest place they ever resided in.

[vladdyissues]

something i noticed and wanted a second opinion on but there's something really interesting i noticed watching s1 again: vlad has all the power and control as a human, we've seen that established over and over again but

he's kinda. not got that as a ghost. he's powerful, sure. and he's got all kinds of artifacts he's been hunting down. but then you have Poindexter and Skulker calling Danny the halfa, or one of a kind, respectively, when Vlad's been operating for nearly 20 years. no other ghosts seem to acknowledge him if they can help it, no one talks to or about him if they can help it, DEFINITELY no one would come to his aid freely if he didn't pass the ball to some other ghost (such as DANNY, the kid in operation for maybe a year and a half by series' end). especially interesting because Skulker works for Vlad more than once, we know they know of each other, but it's Danny who's the worthy prey. there are ghosts that seem to do regular work for him but they all seem notably weak compared to the ones Danny usually fights

it just really sticks out to me that this dynamic could be totally reversed as ghosts and it feels like Vlad is constantly trying to make it so Danny doesn't notice

goblinhoursinsomniaramblings asked: addendum to ask now the sleep gremlins knocked me out for an hour or two: -what i meant by power and control was mainly soft power (fame/connections/fortune/accomplishments) which all have RADICALLY different definitions in the ghost zone, seems like -what i mean by constantly trying to keep him from noticing is: every time danny catches onto vlad, the insults to his human side tick up (bad grades, age difference, being related to Jack, etc). of particular note is Reign Storm, with his parting shot about chess feeling like bluster given everything Danny had just pulled off

Those are some really poignant observations. I think a lot of it, especially this,

but then you have Poindexter and Skulker calling Danny the halfa, or one of a kind, respectively, when Vlad's been operating for nearly 20 years

just boils down to slapdash writing and planning, and if not that, then a need for Danny to be as special and unique and MC as possible. Although it opens an avenue for a lot of really interesting headcanons about Vlad's initial transformation when he was in college—if it even happened then, which I don't think it did. It's not like he was immediately turned into a ghost in front of Jack and Maddie; he didn't even lose consciousness, as was the case with Danny.

Maybe his transformation was more gradual, especially seeing as he was blasted by a much smaller portal—but it also could have been much more powerful, concentrated emission—and only from the neck up*. Did he look like Plasmius from the get-go, or was the look something he had to build over the next twenty years? Or if his ghost half immediately took on the appearance of Plasmius, perhaps that would lead the rest of the ghosts in the Zone to believe he was fully ghost?

*I think this is where a lot of the "Danny is the One True Halfa because he received a full-body dose of radiation and Vlad is only partial ghost" fan theories come from.

Of all the humanoid spectral entities, Danny still appears the most mortal, at least in terms of a normal skin tone, so maybe that's another reason why he received the label of "halfa" while Plasmius was able to keep his status more ambiguous. Or at least only share it with his minions and mercs.

Pariah was pretty surprised.

his parting shot about chess feeling like bluster given everything Danny had just pulled off

Exactly. I think he was impressed by Danny—after all, he successfully copied Vlad's duplication technique for the first time (come on, he had to feel a little bit of pride; the boy he wanted to be his son copying his moves? Implementing them successfully? A chip off the old block. Vlad was smiling and smug for the rest of the episode). The little gloating jab he made as Danny passed out was as mild as they come. Danny's taken worse insults from his friends and family.

He's literally making this face ⁀▽⁀ like, come on.

[skeletboi]

Part 4 of the Intridimensional au! Fic this time because I do what I want.

_________________________

Ford waved goodbye to Fiddleford and made his way towards his boarding flight. He honestly had no idea what he was getting into, but Fiddleford had struck down every one of his excuses and booked a flight for him. He couldn't think of any other reason to not go aside from just flat out telling Fiddleford about Bill, but he still wasn't ready for that conversation.

He definitely wasn't ready to see Stanley again either, but Fiddleford was right, he couldn't ignore a call like the one he had gotten. He hoped it was all just a misunderstanding, that Stanley had gotten drunk or high and was just being dramatic, but his gut told him otherwise. Maybe it was something about the sincerity and pain in Stanley’s voice, or maybe it was just the suddenness of the call. Ford didn't know. He would just have to find out.

He boarded the plane easily enough and took his seat. It was already after 8:00pm and they wouldn't be landing until after 10:00pm, so he could at least try and get some sleep before dealing with whatever was waiting for him in New Mexico. He was asleep before they reached cruising altitude. 

He opened his eyes what seemed like only moments later and found himself in a familiar blue void. 

“Hiya, Fordsie! Isn't it a bit hard to work on a portal from 10,000 feet in the air?!” 

Ford looked up to see Bill floating a few feet in front of him.

“My Muse! I apologize, something came up. I plan to be back in Oregon tomorrow, so the portal is still on schedule!”

“Right! I heard all about it! The dumb version of you got himself in some trouble, huh?! Shouldn't be that big of a surprise! I say just let him learn his lesson! Who needs him?!”

“I promise this won't get in our way, but he is still my brother. I can't just let him…”

“Die?! Why not?! He ruined your life! Now he's ruining his own!”

Ford winced at the word ‘die’. He may still be mad at Stanley, and he was stressed about leaving the portal project at such a crucial time, but this wasn't like when Stan got kicked out ten years ago. This was something more, and he would never forgive himself if he didn't at least try to help.

“Well-” Ford sighed. “I'm not sure how to explain this, Bill. I just can't leave him to…”

“Die?! Don't be so afraid of that word! Humans are dying all the time! It's what your kind is best at! Hah! But don't you worry, you still got a while left!”

Ford frowned as Bill floated closer, narrowing his eye like he was considering something.

“Fine, Fordsie.” Bill said after a moment. “Go help that wannabe pirate, hah! Just don't let it take too long! You have a portal to finish!”

“Thank you, my muse. I promise I won't let him distract me. I just have to make sure he's alive.” Ford said, smiling.

“Yeah, yeah! Just keep him away from the portal! You know what happened last time he got too close to one of your projects! Hah!”

Ford grimaced, but nodded. 

“Good! Just don't come cryin’ to me if he's already dead! Hah! Byee!”

Ford woke with a start, nearly hitting the passenger next to him.

“Sorry!” he said quickly.

The passenger just frowned and scooted slightly away from him. Ford hid his hands in his jacket pockets and turned to stare out the window. It was probably best to stay awake for the remainder of the flight.

_____________________

This is some first draft material, friends. I didn't even try to read back over it. I might one day, but not today!

The next part will also be fic, then maybe more comics... Who knows! I don't!

This is obviously all backstory as to how they all ended up in Gravity Falls together, but there will actually be going into the portal and portal adventures eventually.

Once I have a bit more content I will post all of it on ao3 to make it easier to follow!

Again, this is Part 4!

Part 3 here!

Part 5 here!