#none of this is even remotely relevant right now

[paranormal-taters]

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[obeymeluv]

How You Spend the Night Together [Azul, Kalim, Vil]

Not proofread. I stayed up late writing this because I'm off tomorrow. Will proof-read tomorrow. Just wanted to get something out.

Azul had seen paintings of people in love. People being intimate. He'd salvaged unsent notes and journals while hunting for coins in the Coral Sea. He knew the definitions of words like passion and adoration but none of it made sense until he looked at you. You were half asleep, gazing at the aquarium wall built into his Housewarden room.

Taking on the mantle of Housewarden meant embodying the Sea Witch's spirit of benevolence and assuming care of the aquarium wall. As much as he believed creatures of the sea should be free, Azul took aquarium cultivation very seriously. The array of creatures and plants in it were depending on him! Much like Jade and his terrariums, Azul's budget was more flexible when it came to the wall. He and Sam had modified it (with Crowley's permission) so he could actually swim around in said wall when he wanted.

Part of the modifications included remote-controlled ambient lights. They were on a dimmer setting tailored to his own sleep schedule. You were bathed in blues, undertones of crystalline teal, and one of his hearts lurched painfully in his chest (he wasn't sure which one). Your eyes seemed to glow against the patchwork of blues, and all it once it hit him.

This is what the painters felt. It was something that could only be painted because words paled in comparison. Sure, things like adoration were close--certainly relevant--but not perfect.

You were, though.

The sheets piled around you reminded him of seafoam. All rumpled and wild twists. He could almost imagined you'd washed up on shore from the sea. Maybe he saved you from the sea itself.

"Are you reverting?!" you snapped up when he registered in the edge of your vision. He was just standing there, not responding! Suddenly you were throwing the top cover and sheets out of the way. Azul heard you fall. "Do I need to get Floyd? Jade? The potion's in your desk, right?"

"No treasure, I'm fine." Azul laughed, crawling onto the bed to stare over the edge at you. You were hopelessly tangled, one leg still swallowed in the silk. He hauled you up awkwardly, grabbing you by the leg and pulling you up with one hand as you relaxed with a heavy sigh. "Just mesmerized. That's all."

He pulled your leg into his lap, picking at folds in the sheets like he was prepping napkin rolls at his mother's restaurant. The heat of your skin was muffled and he relished the random brushes in the quest to set you free. Your skin was soft against his hands. Funny how he was setting you free when he was utterly trapped by you, hm?

Your leg now free, you laid back with him. Azul placed his glasses on the nearby nightstand, turning to face you and slide down into the sheets in one smooth motion. Yeah he had to squint to see, but getting close to your smile was worth it. "Good night, treasure."

You kissed the bridge of his nose and he wrinkled it reflexively. His eyes were an unfair kind of blue. A blue only Corelians could have, you thought. Your bodies moved together unconsciously, caught in a current of longing to be together after an even longer day. Azul snugged into the hand cupping his cheek as his looped around your waist. Come the morning your legs would be tangled together like something unholy but that was okay.

"Goodnight, Azul."

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

Spending the night with Kalim wasn't just as simple as 'get changed, go to bed.' It usually involved helping Jamil tidy up Scarabia after another party. Jamil insisted time and time again that you didn't need to help, that you were a guest, but you famously told him 'then as a guest, I decide to help' and that was that. He secretly appreciated the help and Kalim found himself admiring your unapologetic assistance.

He didn't know how to describe it but you were like Jamil--fluid and natural to everything. You didn't miss a step cleaning up a room, straightening a pillow as you scooped another plate onto your stack and added a napkin to the wad in your other hand. Kalim trailed behind you like an excited puppy, trying to find something you or Jamil hadn't done so he could contribute.

When you're handed everything you could ever want and have the ability to do whatever you can think of, you don't realize how much you don't know. You don't know how much effort goes into things because it just shows up.

He wanted to show you that he could provide financially and physically. Kalim wanted to learn the independence his family was too scared to give him. Jamil let him do small things now and then but it was hard for the long-haired boy to beat down his lifelong training. His current task was splitting the stack of plates with you--he tried to take the whole stack but you refused because you were competent and stubborn--and taking them into the kitchen to be washed. When Jamil determined there were no more knives left in the sudsy water, Kalim was allowed to wash and dry them with you.

It was the most he'd done in a kitchen, he thought. Aside from chasing his siblings in and out of one or stealing snacks before a banquet. You'd more than proved yourself to Jamil by now; he knew it was safe to leave Kalim in your care while he retired for the night.

It's just as well; Kalim has a habit of sending him away when he wants to be alone with you. He tries to give Jamil as much freedom as he can without either of them getting in trouble. Dishes done and kitchen tidied, you gave him permission to get ready for bed.

He's not sure why that filled him with such excitement but it was like the first time every time. Kalim thought it weird a handful of times, when it would hit him like a spelldrive disk, but it didn't bother him.

It was a happy weird. One that would send him blabbing Jamil's ear off about your potential wedding until he was ready to strangle him.

What if every night was like this?!

Another giggle escapes him--you shush him lest he wake his dormmates--as you pull him into his Housewarden room. It's a massive, beautiful room with arching windows that open onto a balcony. The door is heavy and you shut it as quietly as possible. Moonlight illuminates the room, sliding over the desk and luxurious canopy bed until it touches the bathroom.

You change behind the large curtain framing the windows; it's thick enough to give a suggestion of you but not a peek. Kalim curses softly in his language, looking away from you to free his arm from the now-tangled scarf.

That's what happens when he tries to take off too much at one time.

"You look so pretty, qalbi!" Kalim peppers your face with kisses as you meet him in the middle of the room. You giggle, hugging him and swaying.

"You act like you've never seen it before! You bought it!"

It was some kind of fancy nighttime set popular in the Scalding Sands.

"Still pretty." Kalim hums, his head against your shoulder as you walk him to the bathroom. He undoes the ribbon and bejeweled circlet, revealing messy white hair. You slide a headband onto his head as he places the circlet on a velvet pillow. The sink in his Housewarden bathroom is basically big enough to be a counter! Jewelry holders of all shapes and sizes lead to the faucet, the other side framed with hygiene products.

Kalim can do it with his eyes closed and has done it a million times before but he always stretches the moment. He tilts your head this way and that, tickling your chin and cupping just underneath it as he fashions his ribbon into something that will hold your hair and frame your face. It's supposed to keep your hair safe while you sleep. You open some rose-scented toner pads one of his sisters sent, sticking them on his cheeks and forehead. He returns the favor before setting out a bowl and mixing a handful of things his mother gave him.

"It's for your hands." he's mixing and checking, mixing and checking until he's satisfied. He scoops some in his hands, coats his, and grabs yours. This was a new thing but it very appreciated! He's massaging your hands and you're melting in his. You're very close to sleeping standing up when he turns the water on and washes your hands for you.

You blink awake as he's picking the toner pads off your face. "To bed, hayati, to bed." he takes your super-soft hand and you climb into the bed together. You feel yourself dissolving into the piles of plush pillows, your last conscious thought is Kalim pressing tight against you and being deathly still as Jamil starts to open the door and check on you.

----- ------

An evening with Vil was scheduled but relaxed. It was a result of growing up in auditions and networking. "There's always time for something," he liked to say, "And it's whatever you choose to make time for."

You catch yourself staring at him like the lovesick fool you are, not because he's THE Vil Schoenheit, but because he's made time in his schedule for you. At this point in the evening, Pomfiore has finished dinner and their post-meal stretches. He's done his rounds as Housewarden and checked on his dormmates. Everyone has retired to their rooms for the evening, pursuing whatever their hearts desire.

He leads by example, as a good Housewarden does. His little desire is at the edge of the bed making smoochy eyes at him.

Well...you looked at him like you loved him and that was fine, too. He'd be okay if you actually wanted to give him smoochy eyes. You would if he could be as reckless and free as Rook encouraged. It was a near-daily conversation you weren't aware of. Vil was confident on runway, the stage, and the screen but he couldn't bring himself to kiss you spontaneously or bury you under a mountain of love notes even though it was a constant thought.

He was just too regimented for that. Romance is supposed to be planned and grand, not hasty and rash! The idea of sweeping you into a crushing hug or swatching his lipstick collection all over your face behind a locked door was extremely tempting. He's just at a delicate spot with his career and can't afford to be passionate and free; it may lose deals and get you a lot of unwanted attention.

Vil looks at you over the edge of Perfectly Wicked Potions and Poisons, grinning to himself. His eyes crinkle at the corner and he can't even bring himself to fret. You just inspire that much joy in him. Future crow's feet are a small price to pay for these little moments where he doesn't have to worry about agents, managers, or devout fans.

Like Rook, your presence soothes him. He delights in having you nearby.

"What are you doing, Potato?" Vil tries to focus on the words in front of him but it's not working.

"Just looking at my boyfriend being all relaxed."

It's such a simple answer but there's no crazed-fan gloating in it. It's genuinely touching.

"Relaxed but lacking," he laments, book tilted towards his still-painted lips but careful not to touch. "I'm in need of my Potato."

You giggle, squishing yourself into the padded armchair with him. He laughs, cradling you with one arm as you slide your feet under the other to hang off the chair. The armchair is deep enough that it works. Your back is supported by his arm and the chair, he gets to put his chin on top of your head. Vil plants his elbow gently into your thigh, bringing the book back up to his face. Comforted by warmth and weight, he makes it through a few pages until you knit yourself ever closer and reach behind him to remove the ornate hairclip.

He'd forgotten it was in there, honestly, and it feels good to have his hair down. Vil hums, book threatening to slide out of his hand as you work his scalp gently with one hand. His violet eyes slide shut, head tilting back. "I didn't see anything about wicked potatoes in my book but wicked you are, my darling." Vil murmurs.

"Want me to stop?"

"In the chair? Reluctantly. In the bed? No." Vil summons the energy to put the book down, breezing over to the bed with you in his arms. He taps you on the nose with a painted nail, smirking at you as he disappears to hang his Housewarden outfit up. You close your eyes as he changes, only opening them when he's at the bedside pinching your shoulder gently. It starts a small trade-off of shoulder massages.

His alarm goes off about twenty minutes later. You follow him to the attached bathroom, brushing your teeth as he washes his face. Vil puts undereye patches on the two of you. He relaxes into the bed like he's boneless, content that he's done everything on his schedule for the day.

He's rewarded with completionist's satisfaction. He'd also liked to be rewarded with more hair-playing. Cheeks blooming pink, Vil nudges his head towards you. Half asleep now, you bring your hand up to massage his scalp. "Goodnight, Vil."

"Goodnight, Potato."

[licncourt]

Hello! I'm a newbie to the VC fandom and I realize that some fans have mixed opinions about Anne Rice, some fans like her and her books, but others only like the books but not her. Now the only things I know about the problems some fans had with her is that she hated fanfics writers, some of her writings are very problematic (like sexualizing minors for example) and she didn't take criticism very well, that's all I know. How about you? What do you think about AR?

I do have a post somewhere listing a lot of her controversies that I can’t find rn, but I would say I fall in the mixed feelings camp. Honestly, I’m not sure how you could feel anything else. I will always have a certain amount of admiration for Anne Rice and what she created, very few other authors will ever accomplish what she did. She virtually single-handedly redefined an entire genre with one novel and then revolutionized it again with a second.

I think people forget how groundbreaking IWTV was. Before that, vampires were synonymous with the classic Dracula figure with maybe the Nosferatu film and Carmilla being somewhat known. Vampires who didn’t want to be monsters, vampires who felt a full range of emotions, vampires as sex symbols, vampires who had real lives and relationships, pretty much all of that came from Anne Rice. She gave vampires their humanity and brought them into permanent modern relevancy.

Without her, there would be no Twilight, no Buffy, no Vampire Diaries, no Lost Boys, no True Blood, none of the defining vampire media we have today. The entire archetypes of Tortured Reluctant Vampire, Tragic Child Vampire, and Charming Bad Boy Vampire are her creations, although I would say no one was as successful at crafting these characters as she was. It’s undeniable that IWTV is a top tier modern classic even outside of the vampire genre, it’s a masterwork of Gothic horror and I would argue that TVL is one of the best works of popular fiction out there. It’s not easy to achieve the status and respect that IWTV has garnered in a genre full of historical classics, I’d say only Shirley Jackson and VC Andrews have ever come close.

Anne Rice was, at one point, a true master of her craft, not to mention providing pivotal representation of gay and bisexual characters and relationships before it was even remotely mainstream or beneficial to a creator to do so. She gave us iconic horror media, iconic vampire media, and iconic gay media all in one with the original trilogy. What she did was groundbreaking in multiple ways and changed the course of popular media forever with her talent and insight.

Of course, there are a LOT of issues with Anne Rice, her works and her personally. We know that over the years she was racially insensitive, misogynistic, and somehow even homophobic once in a while. She publicly supported a sex offender, spoke negatively about autistic and mentally ill people, used imperialist rhetoric, and reflected many of those things in her writing. Even in places where it works in the story, we unfortunately know that there was some truth behind it for her. On a personal level, she was known to be spiteful and confrontational at times, even with fans, and was consistently high on the horse about her own success and abilities.

She wasn’t and isn’t a true role model, but she’s an icon and titan of literature for a reason. Anyone who says she just “stumbled into greatness” by accident is wrong. She had something special early on and it’s something uniquely her own. She accomplished feats of character and world building that most authors could only dream of and crafted a story that made a deep impact on the existence of so many people, especially gay people (myself included) at formative times in their lives. I’ve criticized her plenty myself and I think in many ways she squandered the legacy she could have had, but she was the right person at the right time and she created something so much larger than herself. It doesn’t have to be one or the other and I don’t think it should be.

[beemochi-art]

For the Character: twitch 8, thrash 2, nightshade 18, hashtag 20, jawbreaker 21 and slipstream 14.

For the Ship Forte-verse Jazz/prowl D and for the author 🌍

2) First time meeting their best friend

Thrash first time meeting his best friends is when the Malto adopted him. Robby and Mo aren’t just his siblings but his best friends.

HOWEVER! Thrash was ecstatic to meet JB. They are connected to each other through an emotional bond and became friends quickly.

8) First time they took a risk, or the biggest risk they've ever taken

Teaching herself how to fly. None of the autobots fly, Wheeljack tried his best to help her but unfortunately he wasn’t successful at teaching something he doesn’t know. She had to learn herself, and with a lot of practice (and being a bit of an extremist.) she got it.

14) First time facing their fears

Slipstream isn’t necessarily scared of concepts she is instead more scared of certain people. She is afraid of Megatron most of all. She most of the time stayed out of his way. But When Megatron was going to kill Starscream she couldn’t stand by. She shielded Starscream with her body, this decision could have killed her but instead Megatron spared Starscream. She still got hit but at least her dad is alive, though he probably wished he was dead during the beating. Though she faced Megatron she is still scared.

18) First example of real character growth along their journey

(SMALL RANT. I am very upset on the treatment of Nightshade by both the fandom and the writers, l wont start on my issues with the fandom cause those issues aren’t relevant here. I wanted so desperately for Nightshade to be an actual character, and for season one they were but after that it was just over, no more problems, no more contemplating issues. Unfortunately like most Lgbtq characters, they are turned into a place holder, just a box to check on the pandering list. It seems like now nightshade is just the person with the remote that fixes everything, part of the reason why I like Earthspark Expeditions is Nightshades dialogue when you screw up. Nightshade pull no punches on making you feel bad, which is something that happened to me a lot cause I was really bad at those side quests. But even though they weren’t a playable character they still felt like more then a place holder, that bot can be sassy. And I loved it. But alas, it’s probably too much to expect a company to make actual Lgbtq characters like normal character. Regardless I feel like it is important to include lgbtq characters in media)

ANYWAY!! Nightshade came online and was alone, they saw the decepticons destroying everything/ some decepticons seeing Nightshade as vermin and the Autobots fighting back in a brutal way. They recognized that they were a similar species to the cybertronians but renounce they’re ferocity and brutal ways. Nightshade also learn the hard way that humans aren’t that different either. Feeling alone and confused about the world around them, they decided they would just live solitary. Until that option wasn’t available anymore due to the decepticons. Nightshade left with no better option followed Twitch to the Autobot base. Nightshade was stand-offish and sometimes mean. Throughout they’re adventures they learn that the Autobots are here to protect them and may not be right all the time but are trying. Nightshade connected with Bumblebee, they have many similarities. Nightshade also come to sympathies with some cons as well. Nightshade wants gets inspired to want things to change in peaceful way… there has to be a way.

20) First time they felt accepted/welcomed by another character

Hashtag had to be rescued from a M.E.C.H base. Being forced to fight both autobots and decepticons, She was very confused, aggressive and didn’t really know anything. She did know the bots she had an emotional connection with were apart of her in some ways and could be trusted. She didn’t really like humans either, so when Thrash took all the Terrans back to the Malto home she stay around the woods near their home.

It took lots of time but the Terrans as a collective brought her out of her shell and made her feel safe. They told her that technically she was the reason they all were together now. They may have never met if she didn’t call to them.

21) First major change in their life, and how they dealt with it

Jawbreaker leaving the decepticons. He had too. He needed to go find what was calling to him. But that wasn’t the only reason. He knew Megatron is wrong, maybe he was right a long time ago but now it’s wrong. Jb barely understands anything about the War but he has seen people get hurt, he’s been hurt.

Jb took a risk and left without looking back. He mostly keeps to himself about his decision but sometimes struggles with it and wants to go back. He’s not dealing with it too good, but he’s got his siblings to lean on when he needs it. He just hopes those he left behind are doing ok.

D) First kiss

After a couple of dates and Jazz egging Prowl on. Prowl went to kiss him, unfortunately there was more then his nerves getting in the way.

🌍 - First attempt at worldbuilding, or a notable piece of worldbuilding you're proud of

A personal series I have which has OOTALS AND OOTALS of of world building that I am proud of. I love this story and I’ve had it for years, probably one of the early stories I’ve made. It’s called Wolfram.

Tf stuff has definitely helped my world building skill.

[limbuscompanysituations]

How would the sinners react to the reader (who presumably they care about to some degree or another) distorting? I think there's a lot of potential in a reader distorting and the conflict that would bring (especially if the sinners are close to them) and there's almost none of it so...

God these became so long

Faust: She would like to study the phenomenon of distortion, but not like this. Not when the one she cares so much about is involved. Her mind is racing to find the right questions that would lead to answers relevant to this problem. She doesn't want to consider killing them, but she knows very well how these things tend to go. Her team works hunting distortions, after all. Still, there is a chance, a remote possibility that she can revert this. She's a scientist who sticks to hard data, but this time she has to put her faith on something much more abstract: hope.

Yi Sang: He wishes he could have perceived the circumstances that have led to this. He knows an individual does not distort under normal circumstances. He knows a distorted individual is one who was often pushed to the brink of their sanity by an immeasurable amount of suffering. He feels impotent in the face of his dearest's pain, because if he had been a better person, he could have prevented this. It takes all the other sinners' help to make him realize he can still stop them, and that there is a chance to revert the distortion. He needs all the support to actually face them in combat.

Don Quixote: She's shaken and unsure of what to do because she's used to seeing distortions as foes. She heard all the scientific explanations to this occurrence, but in her mind she simplifies it so she can do her job competently. Now she has to come to face the fact that behind every distortion is a person who is dear to someone else. The world is not so black and white with heroes and monsters. The one that takes a monstrous form this time is none other than a person; a human she deeply cares for. She is uncharacteristically serious and sober, and leans on the smarter sinners to solve this issue.

Meursault: He knows it can be reversed and that's the first thing his mind goes to when it happens. He's compartmentalizing it so bad he can't feel his own body. It's do or die, and he doesn't want the latter to be happening to anybody here. If they can undo this, he can begin to unravel the reason for their distortion, but for now he can only think one step ahead. He needs to bring them back, no matter what it takes. Failure is not an option here.

Ryoshu: The trembling of her hand is almost imperceptible as she listens to the explanations the big brained sinners give her. She knows she will have to face them in battle sooner or later, but for the first time in a while her muse fails her. She doesn't want to lift her arm, she doesn't want to use her knowledge of murder to take them down. Ultimately, she doesn't want to cut down the monster her beloved has become. There's no art in taking the life of a distorted creature, no soul in a brainless abomination. She wants them back. She will have them back.

Ishmael: Not only has she read the manuals about this phenomenon, she has also seen it happen many times before. More than that, she knows it's reversible. She's holding onto hope that she knows them well enough to talk them out of it. She raises her shield and mace, gritting her teeth and bracing her heart and mind for what she has to do. If they are to have a chance, she has to strike them down. She doesn't want to do it, but she also doesn't want to see any of the others do it either. She must be the one to neutralize the threat.

Heathcliff: He knows that behind a distorted monster there is a human being going through unimaginable suffering and grief. He's been there, he knows better than any other sinner what goes in a distorted person's head. He's the most hopeful about it, even if he's not looking forward to taking them down in combat. Heathcliff doesn't want to hurt the one he cares about, but he knows it is a necessary part of the process. He won't fail them, no matter what.

Outis: She's dealt with this before many, many times. Her team's the most competent at handling distortions. Of course, they're a bumbling bundle of fools, but still the company trusts them with these missions for a reason. Still, for all the outer confidence she tries to show while she requests permission to order the sinners around, her voice wavers. Her hand trembles when she has to raise her weapon, and the sound of breaking glass when the others take on their ids make her jumpy and tense. Will it really be fine? Are they really enough? As another identity begins to override her mind, she cannot help but ask herself: is she making the right choice?

Hong Lu: His heart is taken by unspeakable sadness, he can barely bring himself to say a word. He's seen distorted people before, and to them it always seemed like the manifestation of nightmares. To him, a distortion is always a physical manifestation of one's nightmares, and he can't help but look up at them and wonder: is this what haunts them in the darkest, coldest nights? Of course they cannot answer him, they're lost to their own grief. Whether they are capable of words, it's impossible to say unless they are confronted. Regardless of the answer, what he knows is that this event will forever haunt his nightmares from now on. He relies on his comrades to help bring them back, but he feels too helpless to lead the charge. He numbs his heart to the task ahead and waits for Dante's orders patiently.

Rodion: She feels cold, like it's the coldest winter night. She's sure it's only herself though. She cracks a joke about how the weather changed, and tries to smile but everybody knows how hard she's faking it. She's shaken, and among all the low blows life has given her, this is the one that bends her spirit near its breaking point. She tries to keep her smile up, in spite of the deep pain she feels in her chest. She knows if she isn't careful, she'll be the next to distort here. For a moment she wonders if that wouldn't be the preferrable route. After all, then they both could be together again as monsters.

Sinclair: This can't be real, right? This must be a mirror dungeon or something. His mind is being tested, that's all. It is definitely not real. Because after all the suffering he had to face through his journey in hell, why's it that he has to go through this too? Has he not gone through enough punishment to pay for his sins? No. No, maybe not. The mistakes of his frivolous, youthful, immature mind are yet to be paid for, and this is why he has to witness a person so dear to him distort. Deep inside he can't help but feel a deep anger and hatred towards life and this unfair world he finds himself in. He will save them, no matter the cost. He will save them, and FUCK YOU WORLD YOU WON'T TAKE THIS FROM ME. YOU WON'T TAKE ANYBODY ELSE FROM ME. DON'T FUCK WITH ME!

Gregor: Of course some shit like this had to happen eventually. He sort of saw the signs of a greater darkness hiding in their heart before, but he could never... bring it up. He knows that somehow, he's half responsible for their pain. If he was a better man, he would have stopped it in time, but now he has to see them become something else; something out of control. He trusts the others to come up with a solution that could bring the person he treasures so much back, but he's resigned himself to observing and following orders. The best he can do here is let others take over for him. He could never do anything right on his own. He's sorry, deeply so, but knows that his sorrow won't change a thing.

[mysecretlittlelibrary]

What To Get A 19 Year Old Boy For His Birthday...

Pairing: Platonic! Peter Parker & Reader; Reader x Bucky (but that's not really plot relevant)

Word Count: 2.4k

Warnings: none as usual, you yell at Strange lol

Genre: super fluff

Summary: You happen to be the only person who still remembers Peter Parker exists and you are not about to hang him out to dry. So what happens when you take Peter in and basically become his guardian? Well- nothing is simple where super-teens are involved, but you and Peter can certainly handle whatever comes your way. Right?

***

You from to yourself, feeling like you're forgetting something even though you're just watching TV with Bucky. There's nothing to forget that you can-

"Oh shit-" You gasp sitting up suddenly. Bucky grabs the remote and turns the volume down.

"What?" He frowns shifting to look at you.

"I just realized Peter's birthday's next week and I haven't even thought of what to get him or what to do or-"

"Take a breath y/n. You still have a week." Bucky reminds you with a hand on your shoulder.

"What do I get a nineteen year old boy for his birthday?" You turn to him.

"Why are you asking me?" He blinks.

"You're a guy!"

"I'm a hundred and seven?! I haven't been nineteen in like eighty years, do you really think I would have any idea what a modern teen would want? I can guarantee my interests at nineteen were far different." He scoffs.

"Well what did you want at nineteen?" You ask.

"To avoid another world war?" He shrugs and your mouth drops open.

"I can't fucking stand you." You laugh shoving him lightly.

"Oh come on, how could I resist?!"

"You're so irritating! Be serious." You say fighting giggles.

"Alright, alright, what's the kid interested in?"

"I dunno, comic books, video games, nerdy stuff?" You shrug.

"I've never seen him play video games before." Bucky frowns.

"He plays them on his computer."

"He doesn't have a gaming system of some sort?"

"No?"

"Do you own one?"

"No."

"So get him one of those and a couple of games." Bucky shrugs.

"That's a great idea! And you said you wouldn't know what to get him." You smile.

"I'm sure you could've figured that out."

"You'll come shopping with me won't you? I have no idea what games to get for him honestly."

"How about you take care of the system and I'll worry about the games. Split the cost of this birthday thing."

"What do you mean you're going to worry about the games?" You frown.

"Just trust me. How much is the system anyway?"

"Probably three, maybe four hundred dollars. Depends."

"Sheesh. That's- pricier than I expected honestly." He hums.

"Yeah they can get pretty up there." You shrug.

"Alright then if you buy the system I'll take the kid out and get him an equivalent in games."

"You really wanna spend $600 on his birthday?" You blink.

"I mean he's lost his entire family and he never goes anywhere or talks of friends, we're probably the only people he's going to get gifts from. We can take some of the money from the Stark account." Bucky says. When Tony died there were a couple of accounts set up in your name to take over Avengers related expenses. One to be used for the team's avenging related tasks and one to help the team with personal affects- mostly Thor since he'll likely never have a job here but he's not here that much these days anyway.

"I don't want to get into the habit of using that money, in case of an emergency." You say.

"Baby, you're a witch and I'm a super soldier I can't imagine there will be many emergencies where that money is our only solution. Stark died and we ended up with enough money to change our tax bracket. Six hundred dollars would hardly make a dent and if ever we're in a situation where we do have to use that money for an emergency and we find ourselves $600 short I'm sure neither of us will look back and say 'if only we hadn't given that kid we're responsible for a great birthday gift he loved'." Bucky says.

"Very well, we'll use the Stark account and do it big for him." You say.

"There- now you can stop panicking about his birthday." Bucky pulls you back into his side and turns the volume back up on the TV. You don't point out to Bucky how it seems he's bonded with Peter a bit. At least to some degree since he's suddenly advocating for a big birthday gift for him. You know he'll deny it if you bring it up so you simply smile to yourself at the thought and settle back into his chest. You'll head to the store tomorrow to pick up a console and some birthday supplies.

*~*~*

"Bucky can you grab the candles from the bedroom please baby? They should be in the bag on my desk." You shout while carefully removing the plastic covering from Peter's birthday cake.

"On it!" Bucky calls back from the living room. Moments later, he hands you the opened candles.

"Thank you for opening them." You kiss his cheek and carefully stick the 1 and 9 on the cake without disturbing the Happy Birthday Peter written in blue frosting.

"How long do you think it'll take him to come back?" Bucky asks.

"I only asked him to get some salt, he should be opening the door any minute now." You shrug. "Do you think he suspects anything?"

"Nah, I'll bet when you didn't wish him happy birthday this morning or make anything special for breakfast that he assumed we didn't know or weren't going to make a big deal about it."

"Oh- I hope he's not moping through the streets thinking we forgot." You frown.

"I mean I don't-" Bucky stops suddenly. "He's coming down the hall, light the candles." He tells you. You grab the lighter and quickly light the candles, lifting the cake just as the handle turns.

"Hey. Got the salt you asked for-"

"Happy Birthday Peter!!" You shout when he enters the kitchen.

"Happy birthday kid." Bucky nods.

"You remembered my birthday?"

"Of course I did sweetie! Make a wish." You walk the cake over to him and hold it out for him to blow out the candles. He looks between you and Bucky a couple of times before closing his eyes and blowing out the candles quickly.

"Yay!" You say setting the cake on the counter.

"Thanks guys- I- I kinda thought you'd miss it."

"Nonsense! How could I? Oh and before I forget, your gift." You float the prettily wrapped box from behind the island, into the Peter's hands.

"What is it?"

"You know the point of wrapping a gift is for you to unwrap it in order to find out what's in it." Bucky tells him.

"I know- but I thought maybe you'd tell me anyway." Peter shrugs.

"No way! That ruins the surprise! Open it." You clap excitedly.

"Alright alright." Peter says. He quickly tears off the wrapping paper and his mouth drops open when he fully reveals the box. "You got me an Xbox?" His voice is full of disbelief but you can't say for sure if that's good or not.

"Do you like it?" You ask.

"A-are you kidding?! This is like the best gift I've ever gotten!" Peter says throwing his arms around you. You hug him back relieved that the gift was a success.

"I'm glad! Bucky and I had no idea what to get you." You chuckle.

"You did great." He says.

"This is only the first half of the gift technically. A console needs games, so I'm taking you out to buy some." Bucky adds.

"No way- you don't have to this is already plenty I-I mean these things aren't cheap I don't wanna take advantage of-"

"It's not a question kid, we're going. After lunch." Bucky cuts him off.

"Really? Today?" Peter blinks at him.

"You wanna be able to set that thing up or not?"

"We'll go after lunch." Peter nods. "Are you coming with us y/n?"

"I can't hon I've got some errands to run." You say.

"I hoped we'd all be together for my birthday."

"Don't worry, we'll all be back for dinner together."

"Oh, okay, that's fine then."

He's probably nervous about spending extended time alone with Bucky but you think it'll be good for them to find common ground that's not contingent on you. Obviously, they're capable of coordinating if your anniversary is any indicator. You want to give them the chance to build on that.

In the meanwhile, you have something of equal importance to take care of. You push open the heavy doors to Stephen Strange's lair. He doesn't call it that, and he rather hates it when you do, but that's basically what it is.

"Strange!" You shout.

"Y/n! Hello, to what do I owe this visit?" He asks floating down to meet you. You walk up to him and smack your palm against his forehead. "I guess this isn't a friendly visit then." He hisses rubbing his forehead.

"Not quite." You roll your eyes. A quick succession of hand gestures completes the spell that unlocks Stephen's memories of Peter. He takes a sharp breath as his memories return.

"You know- there are less painful ways do that spell." He says after a moment.

"There are also more painful ways to do that spell be glad I just tapped your forehead." You say.

"Tapped is a bit of an understatement, don't you think?"

"I wanted to beat your ass. Count your blessings I didn't come in here and do that."

"I assume this is about Peter, then?" Stephen sighs.

"Help me with the math here, a 17-year-old comes to you and says 'I want to alter reality' and you don't consider- not doing that?"

"Well hang on I definitely warned him it was a bad idea but he was insistent that it was ruining his life."

"Dude he was 17. A 17 year old will think the world is ending because his best friend moves away before senior year of high school. Granted he's dealt with some pretty intense adult troubles but he's still just a kid and you're like pushing 50 he isn't the responsible party in that situation." You say.

"Watch it, pushing 50 is an exaggeration." Stephen points.

"Not. The point. You altered the very fabric of time and space not once, but twice at the behest of a child."

"It wouldn't have been twice if he hadn't totally screwed up the first one."

"You're the sorcerer not him. It was your spell. Your responsibility." You say.

"Hey he kept adding caveats in the middle of my casting and magic is tricky enough as is without that."

"I know how tricky magic is, which is why I wouldn't have an untrained teenager be part of casting a spell of that magnitude in the first place! It was a bad decision on your part and in the end you got to walk away as if it never even happened. And that might be even more egregious, you completely abandoned the kid after all that chaos."

"Well not completely, I knew the probability of you being unaffected by the spell and thus stepping in was almost 100%."

"Almost 100 isn't 100 and that's still abandoning. The moment you decided to do that spell for him you took on a responsibility." You say.

"So what was I supposed to do? Simply take him in?" He scoffs.

"Well when you take away his entire support system with a spell that is the least you can do Strange."

"He knew the consequences, and it all worked out fine. He's got you now." He shrugs.

"I wonder if you just don't hear yourself speak or if you truly struggle with emotional intelligence so severely." You take a moment to really look at him as if the answer will come to you if you stare at him for long enough. "Whatever, I didn't come here just to yell at you."

"Really? I couldn't have guessed that."

"Today is Peter's birthday. I came to fix your memories so you could send him a birthday card." You say.

"Why would I do that?" He frowns.

"Because your botched spell resulted in the death of his only remaining living relative? We're all he's got."

"Hey I fixed that situation to the best of my ability."

"And it didn't bring his aunt back. It also cost him every relationship he's ever developed. Send him a damn card. Today." You spin around and walk back towards the door. "Be glad I won't drop him on your doorstep. He doesn't deserve that punishment." You scoff, waving the doors open and heading back towards your own apartment to get started on dinner. 

"So how did game shopping go?" You ask Bucky and Peter once you're all sat eating dinner.

"Oh we got way more than I would've expected. Mr. Bucky was overly generous I just hope it's clear how greatful I am."

"You've thanked me at least 10 times in the last hour. You've been more than clear kid. It's your birthday so you can stop now."

"I'm glad you had a nice time." You chuckle.

"What did you get up to while we were out baby?" Bucky asks.

"Just some errands nothing interesting." You shrug.

"Nothing interesting?" He raises an eyebrow.

"A little of this a little of that. My to-do list never ends really. Some shopping, I hit the bank, made some visits. You know how it goes."

"I dunno about you but that sounds rather suspicious to me Peter." Bucky turns to him.

"Definitely." Peter nods.

"I clearly made a mistake letting you two spend the afternoon together." You roll your eyes grabbing yours and Peter's now empty plates.

"We will discover your secrets y/n." Bucky warns.

"Good luck with that." You chuckle kissing Bucky's temple before walking the dishes over to the sink.

"Oh no you don't, you cooked, I'll do the dishes." Bucky wraps his hands around your waist and moves you from in front of the sink.

"Fine fine, Petey you want help setting up your Xbox then?" You ask.

"Sure! Is it okay to set it up in my room?"

"Of course it is. It's your thing. Plus if you end up playing all day long I don't want you taking over my living room." You tap his shoulder.

"Cool." He chuckles.

It doesn't take you long to set up the system in his room, it's just a matter of plugging in it and then the rest is for him to do on his own, make an account and such. You're just about to leave his room when a small portal appears in front of him.

"Peter. Happy birthday." Strange says reaching through with a card. You hold back a smile as Peter takes the card with obvious shock on his face.

"T-thanks Mr. Strange." Peter says. Stephen nods and closes the portal without another word.

"I didn't think he remembered me." Peter blinks at you.

"The world works in mysterious was huh." You ruffle Peter's hair. "I'll leave you to get used to your new toy." You add before exiting his room and joining Buckyin the living room.

"Okay, so where did you go today? Really?"

"Honestly I had to go yell at Strange for some magic related things." You say.

"What did he do?"

"It's complicated. Let's just say it'll be a while before I leave our timeline in his hands if ever again." You muse.

"Ah is that why you didn't bring it up at dinner? So the kid doesn't ask about Strange?"

"Yeah basically." You shrug. You're sure Bucky means in terms of Peter not knowing that you're an Avenger or whatever but seeing as you can't explain the real reason you didn't want to talk about it at dinner you see no reason to correct him at the moment. Eventually you'll give him all the details, but today has been good for all of you, you'd like to end on a high.

***

Tagged Users: @mrsbuckybarnes1917 @buchi91

[thebalmasque]

Finding A Spellbook: II

Ed

After admiring himself for a while, Ed grew bored. Not bored with his new form (he couldn't get enough of it) but rather with the prospect of just looking at himself in the mirror. The initial fun of just being transformed had started to wear off. And besides, what he wanted to do this for was to do something fun as a new him.

“I should go out like this right? Or would it be too risky?” Ed talked to himself. “I mean, worst case I’d end up running into him.”

After pondering the subject he decided to risk it. He began going through his things before he remembered none of his clothes would even remotely fit him. Luke was a few sizes too big. Which meant he would have to borrow more of Luke’s clothes. Ushering a mental apology to his roommate, he invaded his room again to rummage for something to wear.

Rummaging through Luke’s things was a pain. Most of the stuff he usually wore was either dirty or mixed inside a laundry pile. Finding a pair of socks, underwear, and a clean shirt and pants proved more work than he’d imagined but it would be worth it. As he started to take off his sweatpants, it occurred to him… would he transform back?

He consulted Ryzam’s Journal but found nothing in the relevant chapter that stated what would happen if he removed Luke’s clothing. He did find a note on how to transform back but it didn’t mention anything that addressed his question after skimming it.

“I guess I’ll be the first one to find out… great…” Ed sighed. Standing in front of the mirror again, he closed his eyes and dropped Luke’s sweatpants. He waited for the feeling of transformation to run its course through his body again but when he opened his eyes again, he found he was still Luke.

Grinning widely like an idiot, he grabbed a pen and made his first annotation in the journal.

“You will stay transformed even after you remove the borrowed item. Effects seem to last indefinitely.”

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

Safe in the knowledge that the transformation would last, Ed proceeded to take a shower as Luke. While Luke’s musky scent was a turn on for him, he didn’t want to attract unnecessary attention when he went out.

He loved showering in Luke’s body. He got to explore him in a whole new way beyond just jerking off. He got to rub his hands all over with purpose. His soap lathered hands scrubbed every inch of himself. His arm, his pits, his back. He focused on all the details he’d missed when he was initially lost in the ecstasy of transformation such as the fact that he was uncut now and the arm tattoo he’d never noticed his roommate had. Luke’s nipples were also so sensitive. The electric sensation that went through his body when he pinched them was more intense than his own original self. He took extra time to clean his new uncut cock and play with his taint. He loved cleaning his new hairy ass and toying with his hole that was more stretched out than what he expected

“Fuck Luke you’re amazing.”

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

A month after Ed and Luke had moved in, they had agreed to share their locations with each other in case one ever lost their phone or had to cover for the other. It hadn’t been brought up very often, but Luke did make an effort to avoid bringing his dates over when Ed was at their place. Ed sometimes stalked him just out of curiosity. But he was very glad they had now as he knew where it was safe to to go while transformed as Luke.

Ed eyed himself in the mirror and practiced standing. He wondered where he should go while as Luke. The real Luke was at the Casa Blanca, the most popular club in town. It made sense he’d be there. That’s where all the frat bros and serious clubbers went to drink and find hook ups. Ed himself had gone once or twice with Luke and his friends but it really wasn’t his scene. He wanted to be socially extroverted and a clubber but the idea was more appealing than the actual reality to him.

Still, maybe as Luke it’d be different.

Ed went through Luke’s things trying to find something to wear. With Luke at Casa Blanca, he was better off avoiding that side of town but he could still hit the park maybe. Try a soft open for the brand new him.

He went through Luke’s drawers, closet, and clean (he hoped) clothe piles to piece together an outfit. All the while he made some other interesting discoveries. Yep. After investigating Luke’s room, he found the collection of toys and gay porn magazines.

“Way to go Luke. Never thought you were the type.” Ed inspected the toys more closely and picked out the fleshlight, admiring it with a grin.

“Bet ‘I’ve’ shot so many loads in here. I wonder what you thought about hehe.” Ed said to himself. “I probably think about hot guys too. But I won’t waste my cum here tonight. I’ll get myself an actual man.”

He began dressing in Luke’s clothing. He selected a casual sporty style that he’d often seen Luke wear. It was boring and basic but he just needed to fit in. A pair of sweatpants, a t shirt and a hoodie on top.

“Looking good sexy. All the girls and boys will be so horny for me. Hehe.” He told himself before heading out.

[2-the-moon-and-2-saturn]

who we are (and what we’ve done — chapter 10

Events unfold painstakingly slowly.

Then again, that’s probably to be expected when one selects vaginal delivery as their preferred method of childbirth.

If she were using her logical brain, Lena would remember the countless books she read, both from terrestrial and Kryptonian literature, regarding this very moment that will change her life forever. She would think about the fact that these so-called ‘natural’ births (though at this moment, it feels like there is nothing remotely natural about it) typically result in a faster recovery time, which increases her chances of being active sooner and in less pain in the future.

If she were thinking with her emotional brain, Lena would remind herself that she actually chose this, among other things, because she did want the experience, because she wanted to be with her baby through everything since the very beginning, and something in her made this kind of birthing process just feel right.

But none of those scenarios are relevant right now, because Lena does not feel like she is thinking with any brain at all. In fact, her entire brain seems to be dedicated to signaling to her that pushing a baby past her vagina is supposed to hurt (as if she could ever forget).

So all of her well-researched arguments and all of her well-thought out reasons and all of her well-meaning wife’s attempts at comfort suddenly are irrelevant at the momentz Lena finds herself wanting to scream out a litany of all the swear words known to humans and Kryptonians alike, and curse nature or a god or something else that decided that in order to procreate, a person must go through this.

She tries to ignore the fact that the citizens of Argo actually advocated for her to just use the matrix, as has been done for so long, it’s become tradition. Nevermind that Kara offered to carry the child and Lena decided against it.

Right now, she doesn’t even care about the warm and cozy look they’d shared when she first went into labor, knowing that they were going to become moms, together, and nothing about it might ever feel real. Nothing else is relevant, because she’s bringing new fucking life into this world and so she gets to be as bitter and snappy and irrational as she’d like.

And then she is born; six pounds and two ounces of dreams Lena had never dared hope for. Pruney pink skin and fuzzy dark hair, the evidence of a life she had never thought to be meant for her. It’s not like motherhood has ever been a particular vocation of Lena’s, who always thought of herself as a fun aunt rather than a person who raises a child- she definitely has other ambitions in life.

But motherhood is still something she’s wanted, and can’t really believe her little girl is finally here.

Kara cuts the umbilical cord and the nurse cleans their daughter up, then places her in Lena’s arms.Such a beautiful thing — the way this tiny baby with powerful lungs that create the most ear-piercing screams simply becomes entirely content just because of skin-to-skin contact with her. Lena. Lena, who has never felt unconditionally, effortlessly, important to anyone.

The details of what happens next are hazy, probably due to the exhaustion of a seventeen-hour long labor. She thinks she feels lips on her forehead, and maybe the image of Kara’s megawatt smile in contrast with the tears in her eyes, her voice whispering sweet everythings like, “You did it”, “I love you so much”, and, “We’re officially moms”.

There’s something she’s receiving guidance on, and then her baby has latched onto her nipple, and then Lena is falling into the most peaceful sleep she has ever had.

She doesn’t dream — that wasn’t really even in the realm of possibility, considering all that her body has been through in the past day and the remnants of pain medicine in her veins.

She doesn’t dream, but in the next couple of days, she will imagine that if she did, the contents of it would, for a change, be very pleasant. That they would be a compilation of all the best, happiest moments in her life during the past five years.

Kara on one knee, flushed cheeks and held breath

as she waited for the answer that would solidify a bond they’d already known, in their hearts, to be true long before they actually realized it.

The butterflies in her own stomach when the woman she loves kissed her, deep and soft and all-encompassing, in the middle of the terrain where a house would be built to suit their every need. A place to grow old in. A place to belong. A place to call her home.

The glow of the stars when they left Earth, because Krypton’s technology would enable them to safely make a child from two ovocytes and, furthermore, guarantee Lena wouldn’t suffer with the super-strong kicks, once the time for those came.

Allura and Zor-El’s excitement to see her and introduce her to the society of Argo as the brilliant scientist who captured their daughter’s heart.

The moment two ovocytes became a zygote, and that cell split into two, split into four, split into a baby grown inside of her, a baby she loved from the moment they decided to have her.

Kara’s smile. Kara’s smile. Kara’s smile — all along and, most importantly, always matching her own.

Lena will have time to think about all of that in the days to come, when her breasts hurt from being fed on and her head hurts from a new kind of sleep deprivation and her heart hurts because she never thought it could contain this much happiness.

She will reflect on it, and all that’s led her to this, and she will find herself thinking, for the first time, while looking at this little bundle of hope, that she’s managed to build a beautiful life for herself, and that the best is yet to come.

And she will smile as she cries about that, too.

[fastcardotmp3]

Nancy & Mike | no CW | 1k words ***In my heart this is part of the METAMORPHOSES universe but none of that is really relevant to reading it I just wanted you to know

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Nancy's not even out of the car yet when he starts demanding things of her, which shouldn't be surprising but is definitely also not exactly called for. She just got back to Hawkins. It's Thanksgiving.

Mike can can it for a minute.

"Did you get more shrill while I was away?" she asks with a deadpanned tone and a sharp lift of her brows in his direction as she climbs out of the driver's seat and moves around to the trunk for her bag.

Four days, she'll be here.

Just four days and then it's home free back to-- Well. As it turns out, to--

"You've been living in Indy?" Mike hisses, chasing her step for step, hand gripping the hatchback as soon as she has it open so they're hidden from the windows over the kitchen sink where their mother is probably watching and waiting, but also so she can't close it and end this conversation.

"Who told you that?" she can't meet his eye. It's not a choice, she can't do it.

"Not you, that's for sure," he snarks.

It's a kind of guilt-inducing thing, as if she doesn't feel guilty enough already, as if the pressure she puts on herself hasn't always been the greatest pressure she could possibly be leveled with.

"Are you gonna tell them?" he jerks his chin towards the house, barely letting his eyes leave her face like he's watching for cracks in her armor to form so he can start swinging more accurately.

"I take it you haven't already, then?" she lets her surprise show, tries and probably fails to hide the relief.

Mike purses his lips, works his jaw, and huffs out a breath like he's exasperated when Nancy knows he's probably just hurt. He always gets particularly pointed when he's hurting.

She's gotten pretty good at being able to tell when it's her fault.

"You usually have a reason for lying," he says, some of the put-upon sharpness leaving his tone, but all of the frustration still there in the firm grip of his hand keeping the trunk open. She has to look up to watch his face shift. God, when did he grow up so much? "It's usually a bullshit reason, but a reason all the same. I guess."

Nancy takes a gamble and peeks towards the front of the house, this house where she grew up in more ways than one, this house where she was a kid pretending at adulthood and this house where she washed blood from her hair when she really did become it.

Their mother is, predictably, craning her neck to get a peek right back at them, and Nancy exhales with the weight of it. The weight of all of it, really.

"I left Emerson," she admits flatly, crossing her arms more out of self-soothing than defensiveness at this point.

"No shit."

"I fucked up, is that what you wanna hear?" Nancy snaps, something thick at the back of her throat, something strong wrapping around it and pinning her to the wall-- "I couldn't hack it and I fucked it all up and now I'm fetching coffees for real journalists while living in a house that doesn't have my name on the lease because I couldn't do it, Mike. Alright?"

There's not a lot about Mike Wheeler that could be labeled as soft, at least not from Nancy's perspective. From the time they were old enough to hold dissenting opinions, they were doing it, grappling for the remote and fighting over the last cookie and simultaneously keeping each other's secrets while holding them over their heads.

That's the dynamic Nancy is comfortable with, the snarky little brother who gets in the way and has an inflated ego to rival some grown men she's suffered, but something about that dynamic falters here.

Tears burning at the back of her eyes, his face goes blurred for a moment, and when she blinks them away?

"Oh--"

A hug. He's big and gangly these days, and it's not the sort of affection they've ever offered each other outside of smile for the camera! hug your brother! pretend you like each other! but Nancy finds that beyond the initial shock it's almost... nice.

"You were really far away," he mutters, all strung together and quick like he's hoping maybe she won't hear the admission at all but just loud enough for it to have all those anxieties in her chest turning her stomach in a brand new way.

Fondness. For her brother. Who would've thought?

"I was too far away," she agrees. She hugs him back. "Indy is better."

He doesn't say anything to agree with that, but the abrupt pulling away and clear of his throat, the dodging of her gaze, the grabbing of her suitcase for her and yanking it out of the trunk-- it's more a language she understands.

Because they've been bickering since they could talk, they've been prickly and combative since day one, but there's always been a part of Nancy who knows they love each other.

No more secrets, they had promised once, and she's failed at that more than she cares to admit, they both have. Maybe her own fresh start, her own escape from the path expected of her out in Boston, maybe it can be a fresh start for them too.

"Mike," she puts a hand on his arm to stop him before he can run away entirely. "I can't tell them yet," a nod towards the house, "I will, but not yet, okay?"

There's a look on his face, like maybe he understands that sentiment better than she realizes. It's something to potentially bring up during her stay back in time in this place.

"Yeah, I got it," he shrugs. "It's not a bad thing though, you not being there anymore. For the record."

"You think?"

"Sure," he starts dragging her suitcase towards the front door and tosses, "just don't fucking lie to me again," over his shoulder in parting.

Nancy breathes deep.

She shuts the trunk and locks the car.

No more secrets.

She's older now; she can do it this time.

[orassian]

/ FOREIGN SYSTEM OVERRIDE DETECTED / / ATTEMPTING REMOTE SHUTDOWN PROTOCOL / / REMOTE SHUTDOWN FAILED: ERROR CODE SSE-RO/0 / / ATTEMPTING STUTDOWN OF RURAL PSI-NETWORKS / / SHUTDOWN SUCCESSFUL / / REBOOTING / / RURAL PSI-NETWORKS ONLINE AND OPERATIONAL / / ATTEMPTING STUTDOWN OF RURAL PSI-NETWORKS / / SHUTDOWN FAILED: REASON UNKNOWN - ERROR 501-DR / / ATTEMPTING STUTDOWN OF URBAN PSI-NETWORKS / / SHUTDOWN FAILED: REASON UNKNOWN - ERROR SE/318 / / TRIANGULATING ORIGIN OF TRANSMISSION / / > Returned Transmission Vector: / > - SB01AL, Orassian Order of Templars / > - RYN7A4, Alari Interstellar Commonwealth / > - R1PDN9, Unclaimed Sector / > - BN264L, Raxing Oligarchy / > - V07KNA, Unclaimed Sector / > - D58KA1, Vegvian Nomad Fleet / > - 001L39, The Elepharchy / ORIGIN POINT TRIANGULATION UNSUCCESSFUL / / HOMING ONTO THE INCOMING TRANSMISSION / / ENABLING CATCH PROTOCOLS FOR VISUAL FEED /

Good evening, Orassian nation. It's 'People's News Republic' once again, delivering to you only the most relevant and unbiased news on the authoritarianism propagated by the Matrirachy.

Today's news coverage concerns the city of Atasaŋ, known for its significance as a mining region for the Orassian economy, where minerals are extracted and purified. There is a lot to unpack here, so let's dive into it.

The entire city, as are many others on Prophet's Promise, is at a full on riot. Civilian protesters are torching military conscription offices where mandatory service for male citizens was being arranged and training centers for aspiring Sisterhood of the Matriarchy. The whole city is on fire and the Matriarch's cloned enforcers are struggling immensely with the situation.

We have an exclusive live interview with one of the protesters. For the purpose of protecting the identities of the interviewer and the Interviewee, their names and likeness have been concealed. Reporter, you can take the stage now.

/ DIVERTING TO ENCRYPTED FREQUENCY /

[ REPORTER ] : Yshiradh, Mr. ▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓. We're glad you could give us some of your time. [ INTERVIEWEE ] : Heard about your agency from my colleagues, but we can't talk about it at work or we'd get arrested. They say it's better than any state news network. [ REPORTER ] : Yes, we do strive for unbiased coverage of important events the current government wouldn't dare to give light to. [ INTERVIEWEE ] : Hold up, I hope I won't get into trouble for this... [ REPORTER ] : Worry not, your face will be concealed in the finished cut. Tell us, please, what has personally spurred you and your peers to protest? [ INTERVIEWEE ] : Damn Matron Council racked up household taxes honest workers in no way can't pay, plus I heard they usin' clones to do their dirty work--them Enforcers recently and ▓▓▓. If that wasn't bad enough, they're keeping them on leash with mind-control or somethin', so the poor sods ain't got no say in what they do or even think... ▓▓▓. (harsh slur) [ REPORTER ] : So, economical woes with the administration of the government, plus personal disagreements were the reason, is that right? No political ones? [ INTERVIEWEE ] : I recently ganged up with buddies on [Popular Psi-Messaging Interface App in Orassian space] in a group, 'Orassian Liberation Front' they called? Anyways, we coordinated our stuff through that psi-net and it's massive, you know. At least a few dozen million people is on it. [ REPORTER ] : So, that's how you managed to get the supplies for incendiary cocktails and received instructions on what to target directly? [ INTERVIEWEE ] : Yeah, we got 'em good! At least none of my relatives gonna get conscripted into any ▓▓▓ the Matriarchy is doing, and if the government repairs those, we just gonna torch 'em again. (Loud sounds of shots are heard on the live feed and cries of people on the streets to flee.) [ INTERVIEWEE ] : ▓▓▓, they're firin' on us! Get down, ▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓ quick! Cover!

(The interview was cut short by gunfires from the law enforcement.)

/ DIVERTING TO MAIN FREQUENCY /

We're receiving word from our reporters on site that the Matriarchy's Enforcers have opened fire on civilians as a final measure. At least seven people have been killed and twelve in critical condition! The fact that they can even consider such a course of action and actually do it... Despicable.

Our agency will contact all respective divisions within the 'Insurgent Priesthood Organization'--they have the best doctors available who will ensure that the protesters harmed by law enforcement will be protected and kept safe from the Enforcers' paws.

Our last commentary after a tragic incident like this relates again to the city of Atasaŋ. Its mayor, Dhir H'Oumukh, has recently been forced to resign and is now facing a felony sentence of fifteen years after openly criticizing the Matron Council.

His story as a previously popular electoral candidate last year have hit the city's community by storm, and no doubt was the catalyst for open riots. His fate at national court still is uncertain, as he remains in custody of law enforcement.

For tonight, that is all. Our agency urges you to stay vigilant and keep your relatives safe in any way you can. If you believe you are in direct danger from the authorities, contact the OLF, the IPO, or even other interstellar states for asylum, shelter, and means to defend yourselves. Brace for the future's hardships and struggles.

This has been 'People's News Republic'.

Truth to the people. Endless rest to the fallen.

/ TRANSMISSION END /

[cosmossystem]

3, 5, 9, and 26 for the introject ask game :3c

~ a very anonymous bat <3

OMg so sorry i just realized u sent this and then i said i would switch out to someone else (who is actually a fictive) and then i forgot. ok so here's that 💙

yo hi babe<3

fictive ask game

3. How connected do you feel to your source?

mm me personally maybe like a 3-4/10. like i am him in the most conceptual sense but in the same way you feel connected to your childhood yknow. i was there but thats not really who i am right now you feel?

im as middle-of-the-road as we get on the subject tho because some of us swing wildly in either other direction lol. i just dont particularly gaf about my source. hes me from before this life, thats all.

5. What do you think of your source's fandom?

its dogshit. hence why im (poorly) anonymous. next question

9. What do you think are your biggest differences from/similarities to your source?

quite a bit changed (gonna be a tiny bit vague here to prevent doxxing myself). i still look pretty much the same, except older, and i have wings now which is the biggest visual change. in terms of personality i dont have the same skillset and most of my interests have grown. most of what is different i attribute to either our collective lack of interest at my creation (ie previous hobbies) or simply growing up (ie personality). similarities though, again i look the same, and i still talk the same way and have most of the same values/virtues/traumas/etc.

i think maybe the biggest change now is that i grew up to be the kind of person i wanted to be; laid-back, more confident and relaxed and with better coping skills and emotional control. thats all stuff i used to dream of having and i pretty much got there. i used to deal pretty heavily with guilt surrounding being hypersexual and for a little bit, i was the system punchline, so now to be so comfortable in that sexuality and being better accepted for it is nice. im horny and confident and charismatic and intelligent and i like myself. none of that was stuff i had in my source. for what its worth, i think im literally the only member who genuinely likes themself and is confident in their identity, so thats something.

26. Talk about anything you want, relevant to the rest of the questions or not!

on the subject of fictive identity i feel very much like even though i know my source self came first, its coincidence that i ended up being so much like him. because when i was introjected i did not act even remotely like him. i was active in the fandom for a few years after but that didnt really affect my personality much. it was only maybe about 4 years ago that i truly started feeling like myself and i had detached myself from my source at that point.

i think for us this is the way to go because the more we try to engage ourselves in fandom, the more we internalize the fanon version of ourselves and compare ourselves to it and get upset when we are nothing like it. theres exceptions of course (we have 2 fictives that we actively engage in the fandom for) and i also think absorbing canon/fanon is very necessary to our 'new headmate process', that is the process of a member first showing up and forming a solid identity (ill go more into this in a different post.) but generally speaking i think it does more harm than good to try and engage in fanon, especially for some of us who are incredibly controversial figures like 🥚 jam is.

-red

[watchthosewristrockets]

This will be a long post. There are a lot of disparate but interconnected thoughts. i want to talk about ads.

The main core of my thoughts is this: All internet advertising must have a hide & do not show me again option. This should be a human right and absolutely inalienable. more below

the internet was supposed to add to and improve human life. If the internet is to become a necessity to conduct ones life, i.e. for banking, bills and proving identity, advertising has to have its priority de-escalated. the internet must serve people first and make money second. it is now a utility, yet its access is treated as a luxury. because it does not provide something physical and tangible like water or electrical current, instead providing access to the human network of information and exchange, it is seen as optional. sure, you cannot eat or drink internet to stay alive, but you need it to pay your water bill or buy groceries or apply for a job in society as it exists right now.

It isn't enough to have "ad preferences" because they are more often than not just flat out ignored and require handing over more personal info to activate, to then just be ignored anyway. People would self select what they don't want to see and in doing so, only allow ads that are benign, or even, heaven forbid, actually relevant to them. for example, i dont want gambling ads. gambling does not appear as a specific topic in google, or metas, ad personalisation menus. nor is it specifically searchable. it is deliberately obfuscated. if i had a serious problem with gambling, i feel i would have no choice other than to delete my accounts entirely to avoid the topic. sure, you "might" see "fewer" ads of these topics of you disable ad personalisation, but why the weasel words? Might? fewer? not fucking good enough. Will and none. No excuses. All ads and their servings are tracked in order to change advertisers per impression, dont play fucking coy. it can work the opposite way, and if google & others are going to insist on persistently tracking people and what they see in the name of ad revenue, they can fucking well track what they dont want to see at the same time. thats just the cost of doing business.

Attitude to ads is hostility. almost all websites are entirely unusable or intolerable without some form of ad blocker. increased take-up of ad blockers as intensified the density of ads on websites, creating a vicious cycle of intensification that, in the end, only punishes the users who tolerated ads in the first place. is this really what all this was supposed to lead to? websites bloated with megabytes worth of trackers and analytics to convert decimal percentage points into, like sales? of who the fuck cares? fucking really? adblockers aren't stealing away business. they make the internet usable and palatable to human decency. they give agency and respect back to people.

people are so absolutely exhausted of being advertised to. ad campaigns are becoming more inidious, sticking their tendrils in to ever deeper layers of the human condition to pierce through the last layer of advertising numbness that they themselves created. any and all attemepts to "organically" market anything are now so blatantly obvious because any method that is even remotely respectful to human beings has now been discarded as ineffective, and only the insidious remain. testimonials are useless. reviews meaningless. any human element is suspect. advertisers do not trust consumers to make decisions, consumers do not trust any more, period.

Anyone who plays video games knows about ("micro")transactions. (I refuse to call them microtransactions. there is nothing "micro" about them. they are additional transactions. they are purchases. all purchases are monetary exchanges whether they are $5.99, $59.99, or $599.99. they all use the same valid legal tender. purchasing groceries is not a list of "micro"transactions. using the prefix "micro-" is a deliberate psychological trick to shrink their significance. I digress.) the function to hide and never show an ad should obviously also extend to games. i meant ALL internet advertising. i'm never buying extra shit, you can't change this, dont show it to me, dont waste our time. simple as that.

At present, i am constantly bombarded with ads for gambling, dating services, and discount online retailers. i'm not exposing myself here either, i don't search for or participate in anything tangentially related to any of these topics. anybody who would spend even five minutes talking to me in person would quickly find out that all three of these things are areas of entirely zero interest to me. my mind cannot be changed. it would take a fundamental shift in my entire character and belief system. i am completely uninterested in these areas and cannot be convinced otherwise. therefore, these ads are ineffective. they are wastes of time and bandwidth.

I shudder to think of the wasted server uptime, energy cost, bandwidth waste, and battery drain that advertising has seemingly entitled itself to, thieving it all from the devices of people who have to actually work and earn money to access internet service in the first place. when i visit and request a webpage, i want that webpage and nothing else. your advertisement is entirely unwelcome and unwanted. i dont pay for a phone and/or internet connection for YOU to sneak in when i briefly open the door and dare to venture forth. you are a noxious fart hitching a ride on the delightful breeze blowing through my briefly opened door. fuck the absolute, full, entire way off.

for any "but what about" or "what if" scenarios that may come up: don't care. the right to hide and block any and all ads is entirely that and it should extend to every human being. life is too short and precious to be a fucking analytic data point in some fucked up algorithm.

[fantastic-mr-corvid]

Rametto dressed as the [English] Beat's logo 'The Beat Girl'. His and then the original's colour pallet's.

just a quick doodle bc i finalized his stand power and when i realised it was all about reflections i knew i had to call it 'mirror in the bathroom' after the song by the [english] Beat of the same name. i have now been listening to the song on loop for hours.

a lot of details on their stand under the cut:

'Mirror in the Bathroom' doesn't have a humanoid physical form, instead showing as a blue glow/tint on objects affected by its stand power, and in its 'Gems'.

Mirror works through reflections and light, with three skills:

Perception: the user can 'perceive' [see and hear] through a reflective object, as if he was in the same place as the object, as long as that object is in line of sight, This ability can extend its range by 'bouncing' off other reflective objects, allowing him to 'perceive' further away, in exchange for using more stand power & having a worse 'connection'.

E.g. In a restaurant, using the reflections of wine glasses to 'perceive' right next to an important conversation, from the other side of the room. another use is seeing multiple angles of a fight, spreading perception over a large amount of reflective surface to be aware of what you opponent[s] are doing

Recording: if a reflective object has been imbued with stand power, it can record and later replay what it has seen/heard.

E.g. imbuing the shiny metal of a tin of cookies with stand power then replaying it hours later to find out who's been eating them.

Reflection: if a reflective object is damaged, it can reflect that damage back at the person/object showing in its reflection

E.g. if someone is walking in front of a store window, damaging the window where the reflected hand is to hurt the person.

'Gems' look like blue shiny gemstones backed in silver [his earrings], and can be used as power amplifiers or as remote reflective surfaces. they can be created from any reflective object, but work best at a small size.

E.g. placing a gem then moving several blocks away, the user can still 'perceive' through it. Instead of having to stay 'connected' through reflections/physical contact with an object set to record, a gem can be placed next to it and used to power the recording.

i haven't solidified exact ranges/strength/limitations bc that takes brain power, but there is a limit of stand power, and 'gems' can work as stores of it/amplifiers. bc the level of perception/recording/damage can be varied its hard to give a solid or even rough number for all the options.

only sound/only vision can be chosen, and the perceived sound/images can either be very strong, if they are in a safe place, or there but not overwhelming, for when moving or fighting and awareness around the body is nessasery.

if power runs out or concentration is broken [normally relevant when recording] the object/gem will crack and dull, becoming unusable again.

while the reflect damage ability is fairly powerful, its definitely a how you use it power. in a straight up fight he would struggle to stand on his own against a more combat oriented stand, but if able to think and given a little time he can outsmart a lot of users.

main uses: eavesdropping, snooping around, recording conversations & actions, doing untraceable damage, being aware over a large distance, tracking people.

[edited in] my trying to fucking figure out its stats:

Power: C/B [i haven't solidified the level of damage reflect does]

Speed: A [stand ability transmits sound/images to the user near the speed of light]

Range: None[the actual stand bc its an ability] or B [the average range of its ability ~50 meter's, but this can be extended]

Durability: None [ability] [D durability for the Gems]

Precision: A [its performs constant calculations based on the speed of light and angle of refraction, it needs some aim but can largely do it itself]

Development potential: B/C [he has learned a lot about his stand, but it also has a lot of ways he can use it]

[soraka-in-warhammer40k]

Betrayer (HH Vol. 24)

I completly understand now how people keep this specific author in such high regard. This must have been one of my fastest reads throughout the Heresy so far. My only complaint, really, as always with Heresy books, is the bullshit style-choice for the cover:

You would think this book is about Lorgar and Angron going totally ham on Ultramarines, and yeah that does happen, but this is not what its about. Like, I get it, the mace-swing makes for a nice composition, but all these covers feel like such low-effort shovelware.

Notice the dude on the bottom right. He's not even LOOKING AT THE TWO GUYS ABOUT TO KILL HIM. The Heresy covers in general always feel like such low effort, when a smart stylized image could have captured the book as a whole much better. Anyways, this book is definetly not about who murders who, it's about Angron, a broken man, and the potentially only family-member that might give a shit about him, which is Lorgar - and mirroring those two brothers, it's also about Kharn (not yet named Betrayer) and Argel Tal, a World Eater and a Word Bearer respectively.

Angron is dieing. The nails are slowly killing him, and Lorgar attempts to save him along with his original mission, which is "shroud Ultramar into a man-made warpstorm fueled by the genocide of dozens of worlds to cut the Ultramarines off for the Siege of Terra". The way he managed to combine these goals however is... well... Lorgar might really, from the bottom of his heart, genuinely care for his brutish brother. But Lorgar is also of the "I will manipulate you for your own good" type of person, who is absolutely hardcountered by Angron's thick skull which takes ages of working on the man to get him even remotely walking into the direction you want him to. Their dynamic is quite entertaining, Lorgar's frustration is just so understandable.

Angron on his own is a broken mess of a person. There's not much to say about it, and he's essentially a force of nature that brings murder and mindless rage wherever he goes - by his own words he is already dead. Whatever is here now is essentially the world's longest suicide note that, much to his own dismay, will drag on for at least another 10.000 years. He has his moments in the book, as he is definetly not a mindless animal and still capable of some seriously baller lines, but he's definetly not the star among the cast.

Lorgar meanwhile is a much more interesting character in the book, mostly for the fact how you realize that there is a difference between "serving Chaos" and "serving the Gods". Those two things CAN go together, but they do not have to. What's interesting is that he and Erebus do definetly not see eye-to-eye. He even tried to have the guy killed by Kharn in the end by just giving the World Eater a tiny information that just made the man go into absolute murder-mode.

Which is interesting, because Kharn might be one of the least murder-y World Eaters there is. Note that I said "World Eaters" here and not "War Hounds" (the old name). That distinction is quite relevant in this story. Just like Angron on his own he does not exactly carry the narrative, he's not as absolutely insane or reckless as someone like Sevatar (and that guy manages it without the nails even). He is more of a calm observer that finds his legion-brothers generally less interesting than hanging out with Argel Tal.

Oh and Argel Tal... we met him in "The First Heretic", but I'd like to avoid spoilers here. Let's just say that his bickering dynamic with Kharn is a smaller mirror to their Primarchs' interaction. They are essentially a married couple at that point if you ask me, except none of them has realized it yet.

There's also the support cast around the Legion Audax and Lotara, but they are not the focus here. They are nice to have around however, and none of their segment feels like weird filler. Overall a great book, and I hope there's more of ADB in the Heresy as I go to the next volumes.

[thebigcjart]

Here's Vriska! Lot to talk about with her, she's very relevant to everybody's character arcs.

Vriska is a member of the Noble Ferring Caste, and her mother, House Lady Araxie Serket does not let her forget it. Lady Araxie demands perfection, and she demands pawns. And even though Vriska is unfortunately impure, she is Fortunately a Spinner.

Lady Araxie is personally disgusted to be seen with her child, but the house needs to have a clear line of succession and so she puts on a face of House Serket pride in public, but behind closed doors?

Vriska's role in the House is that of a Snapper. Something that Noble Houses do in Scadrialternia is having a bunch of ill-bred children with inconsequential house servants or Terris steward/esses in hopes of producing a Misting or Ferring that the public doesn't know about and therefore they don't have to treat them fairly; they get agents with powers that are loyal to their Noble House and don't have to participate in stuff like House politics or human rights. Snappers are people who go to the young bastard children who failed to be born Ferrings and give them a specific mix of all 16 Allomantic metals, then inflict great physical trauma to them with the aim that they will Snap into being a Misting of some kind, and they can tell what kind of Misting they are by what metal they end up burning. Vriska's punishment for being born wrong is beating her bastard first second and third cousins for failing to be at least like her. This is where a good chunk of her superiority complex comes from. It also is very traumatic for her, obviously.

Vriska stores Fortune inside Chromium and can tap it later for a boost of luck and good karma. So, it would be Fortunate for House Serket should she succeed in Snapping them, and it would be Fortunate for her so that she does not incur further wrath from her mother. Her Chromiumminds are full forearm bracers that are actually quite thick; a testament to her physical strength.

During a feud with Terezi in her early childhood, she made Terezi snap into being a Tineye, causing Terezi to blind. Terezi got her back at some point after by sneaking into her room replacing one of her Chromiumminds with a duplicate she got from a mysterious figure (this figure IS important, is NOT from Scadrialternia, and will only come back wayy later in the plot of the AU) made of a metal that can detonate remotely through some esoteric mechanism not understood (magic system from a different Shardworld). Vriska put her first one on and began storing Fortune, as she usually does, then put on the fake. Terezi detonated it once she heard Vriska comment on it (using her Tin-enhanced hearing from an explosion-safe distance). The explosion was big enough to take off Vriska's left arm completely, and the shrapnel also got her left eye. She escaped House Serket and got to House Zahhak where Equius could fix her. Equius was going to give her some healing ability or Allomantic Pewter, but Vriska was tapping all of the Fortune she had as fast as she could that the universe decided the best thing would be for Equius to accidentally grab the wrong Spike, and give her a Chromium Spike; giving Vriska a solid chunk of Spiritual Destiny. The Spike was just an experiment for Equius' curiosity, and not intended to be used, but now it is Vriska's Destiny to do... something. Whatever it is, Vriska can't die until it is done, thus ensuring her narrative relevance. Equius isn't a roboticist in this AU though, so her arm is gone for good.

The chat client they use is called Palpuller. Her Pullhandle is anvilsGrasp. This extends the metaphor of her catchphrase "irons in the fire" to convey that she is caught in the grasp of the anvil and is being forged into something new; something better. It also is because she is like a smith herself, being the one who "hammers" the children of her House to forge them into something better as well. Its all the significance of her canon trollhandle with none of the spiders. Even though spiders are the still the House Serket coat of arms.

Her typing quirk is replacing "b" and "eight sounds" with the number 8; multiplying vowels and ending punctuation by 8 for emphasis; using 4 colons for 8-eyed emoticons; and replacing vowels with 8s more liberally when highly emotional.

The symbol on her suit jacket is that of Duralumin, which is the Steel Alphabet symbol for "S", indicating House Serket. She wears a necklace with the symbol for the Tuner, because after talking to Kanaya for a bit, she is drawn to the idea of being proud of her Terris heritage, being a Ferring. She listens to Kanaya talk about Terris myths and legends, and finds wonder with the idea, eventually growing to become a firm believer in the Shelter (and also following Karkat once they meet). The image is of her during the 12 teaming up, long after she leaves House Serket, so she didn't look like that growing up.

House Zahhak insisted on keeping Vriska until she was well enough to be transferred back to the care of House Serket, and her recovery was long and painful. Her mother never visited her, and she had to be tended to by nurses who regularly had to ask Equius about Hemalurgical care. During this time, she became pen pals with Kanaya and started to learn more about Terris culture. It was also during this time she learned that she was trans, and she even had visions of herself--a woman--in the future killing a god. her mother finally came to visit her, she deemed that Vriska was no longer allowed to be seen in public, and that the Spike in her eye made her a freak. Vriska received a package from Kanaya containing the personal journal of her ancestor, the Mindfang. Now that was the kind of woman Vriska wanted to be. Her mother made sure to confiscate her Chromiumminds so that "no more misfortune would come of them" but really it was to separate Vriska from her only source of power. Fortunately for Vriska, the Spike running through her skull is solid Chromium, and she spent every moment she could stand storing Fortune.

Once she could move, Vriska learned that Lady Araxie told the court that she had died. Vriska was livid, and made her way to whatever ball was being held in the House. She was tapping Fortune so that no one found her stumbling through the halls. She made her way to the ballroom, and everyone froze once she made it to the central speaking platform to confront her mother in the middle of a toast. She, with almost every high-ranking Noble in attendance, publicly put her abusive mother on blast for every way she has ever been wronged and went on about the achievements of the Mindfang and the Tuner from Terris lore. Vriska--who had now publicly come out as Vriska--Serket officially disowned Lady Araxie as her mother. Her mother's reaction? Calling a bodyguard to return Vriska (who's gender she fully disregarded) to her bed to rest. Vriska was still tapping her vast storage of Fortune, so no one moved. Vriska, blind in one eye from a Spike and blind in the other from rage, ripped the bandages off of her arm and tackled Araxie. She pinned her to the ground with her knees, wrapping her bloody bandages around Araxie's neck with her arm, and pulling them tight with her teeth, strangling her to death. Vriska looked at the stunned crowd, spit on Araxie's corpse, then left House Serket for good. Not a single damn person followed her.

After that, she went to Kanaya, who took her in and redressed her wounds. She kept the suitjacket she once wore because it now was a symbol of the Mindfang to her. Vriska at some point leads Sollux to believe that... something (I havent quite figured out what) was going on at Aradia's place, which leads him to destroy her house with Allomancy unaware that she was still inside. Vriska also before her injuries started beefing with Tavros and pushed him off a cliff. Generally, Vriska is the reason a lot of things go wrong for a lot of people. But also she's integral to the plot of the AU because she can get people in and out of the Condese's palace and is great at interrogation, and even is the one to bring Karkat to kill the Condese.

Some silly quotes:

GC: W3 W3R3 SUPPOS3D TO B3 L1K3 4 V1G1L4NT3 DUO D1SP3NS1NG JUST1C3 GC: 4ND YOU COULD T4K3 TH3 B4D GUYS 4ND G3T YOUR FRUSTR4T1ONS OUT GC: BUT 1NST34D YOU JUST T4RG3T3D 3V3RYON3 TH4T W4S 4 SK44 GC: 4ND L13D 4ND L13D 4ND L13D AG: Yeah, those were the days. AG: I mean, days full of mist8kes and r8gret! AG: But it was still a lot of fun. Watching you dismantle those petty crime g8ngs full of thugs and coinshots AG: Without even having the Metallic Art I aw8kened in you! Wow. 1GC: M3H AG: Come oooooooon! AG: What do I have to do here? GC: 1 DUNNO AG: Well if you want to know what I think, you should start changing your tune. AG: Cause even though you got all these highfalutin morals and fancy reserv8tions, you know as well as me that a killer is a killer is a killer! AG: There 8n't no ch8nging your ways for good, and one d8y you're going to flail that silly l8ttle cane of yours and not find n8thin to 8ump into, and fall f8ce first into the ash ag8in. AG: And you're going to do something t8rri8le to some8ody and wish you could t8ke it 8ack 8ut you c8n't!!!!!!!! AG: And then you'll work hard to win 8ack their trust, and you'll try and try and tr8, and you'll see how hard it is! AG: You'll seeeeeeee!

EB: i think if you feel bad, it just means you have Honor. which is good, right? AG: No. That's not how it works. AG: I'm supposed to 8e just fine with it. AG: This was sort of like a test, and I'm afraid I might 8e failing. EB: how was it like a test? AG: Well, it was the first time I really hurt some8ody. EB: ok. AG: W8! Ok, that's not really true. What I meant was, it was the first time I beat some8ody I cared a8out. EB: so… EB: you beat up other people, that you didn't care about? AG: Yes. Sort of a lot, actually. 8ut there was a really good reason for that! EB: hm. how many? EB: or… do i want to know… AG: Oh, it doesn't matter. Pro8a8ly up to a hundred m8bye. EB: uhhhhhhhh. EB: stormfather… AG: Rusts, I know how this sounds! 8ut I had to listen to her. My mother I mean. I've 8asically 8een playing this role as a Snapper my whole life. It is what she raised me to do. EB: i guess that is why you didn't get along with her? AG: Hell yes. EB: i see. EB: still, that is a LOT of violence. Almighty above… AG: Yeah, 8ut I never felt anything a8out it. It was just normal life for me. EB: but then you finally hurt someone you liked, and… EB: not so cool anymore? AG: Yeah. OH! AG: Ok, that's not quite right. I also almost paralyzed one of my current friends 8efore all this. AG: Man, I always forget a8out him, he's so useless! EB: uh. AG: It c8me 8ack around eventually, 8ecause the spike that s8ved him wasn't able to 8e used on me when I 8lew up. AG: So I guess we're even! EB: … AG: 8ut man. That was years ago. AG: I think I had a really juvenile attitude a8out hurting people 8ack then. I think I was trying too hard? AG: I was always really o8sessed with 8eing the 8est at stuff, and I guess I was trying to 8e precocious in that respect as well, and prove to everyone how 8rutal I could be. AG: 8ut I was such a confused kid! I didn't know anything a8out what 8eating people within an inch of their lives really means. I was trying to fake it, and it caused me nothing 8ut pro8lems. EB: i guess i had no idea how different we really were. EB: what i am hearing is seriously scaring the shit out of me! AG: Yeah, I know. I wish we didn't have to 8e so different. I'm just trying to 8e honest with you, 8ecause like I said, I have nowhere else to go. EB: ok, well i appreciate the honesty. EB: so… if killing isn't exactly wrong, then what is it? EB: what do you mean by "what killing really means"? AG: I guess I have to admit I don't actually know that much a8out Rosharans either! AG: Other than that you are all a8out honor and promises and seem to 8e on a healthier planet, and think hurting others totally sucks. AG: I really have no clue what it means to grow up as a commoner, either. AG: 8ut I do know what it means grow up as a No8le, and what's expected of us. EB: what does it mean? AG: When a No8le comes of age, you 8etter 8elieve it means they're going to start playing dirty. AG: It's what we do as a Class. We are very effective social conquerors, and as such, we practically domin8 our soci8ty. EB: ...i may know something about that. EB: the alethi are kind of known for their warmongering. or… used to.AG: The ones that don't learn to 8e ruthless? They're going to get dominated, dismantled, and 8ecome powerless. AG: And the reality is, it can happen to any No8le House if the Lord or Lady is weak. That's just life for us. EB: that sounds terrible! EB: i would like to be culturally sensitive, but we're working on dismantling exactly that system on our planet. i hope you don't want to continue that. EB: i have started to really like you guys! AG: Well, thanks John. That's nice of you to say. 8ut let's face it, it doesn't rusting matter anymore, since our whole planet is dying! AG: May8e for the 8est, when you think a8out it. EB: :( AG: 8ut at least the cosmere gave us some purpose 8efore wiping us out, right? AG: At least we got the chance to learn a8out you, all they away across those twinkly stars you get to see every night. EB: yeah, that's true.

Homestuck Beta Trolls X Mistborn AU

Spoilers for Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn series. This is what powers I think the beta trolls would have if they were born on Scadrial

Aradia Megido - Gold or Electrum Misting

Allomancy: ‘Augur’ (Gold: see own Past), ‘Oracle’ (Electrum: see own Future)

Hemalurgy: Cadmium (Placement Unknown: Gold or Electrum Allomancy

It is unknown what her original misting ability was, but the spike from Equius gave her the other one

Tavros Nitram - Cadmium Ferring

Feruchemy: Gasper (Cadmium: Breath), “Bloodmaker” (Gold: Health)

Hemalurgy: Gold (Between Ribs: Gold Feruchemy)

Cadmium compounder; Vriska makes fun of him for having a ‘useless ability’, but doesn’t see the potential that storing breath has. Equius provides him with healing powers to fix his legs through hemalurgy.

Sollux Captor - Born powerless

Allomancy: “Coinshot” (Steel: Push metal) “Lurcher” (Iron: Pull metal)

Hemalurgy: Steel X2 (Left and Right Orbit: Iron and Steel Allomancy)

These spikes were not given by Equius, but instead were applied in a “freak acciident” involving a “jaiilbroken beehiive”.

Karkat Vantas - Copper/Duralumin Twinborn (mutant)

Allomancy: Smoker (Copper: Hide Allomancy)

Feruchemy: Connector (Duralumin: Connection)

I’m not exactly sure why being a natural twin-born is bad in Scadrialternian society, but it is and Karkat’s gotta hide it. Also the castes follow a natural Misting-Ferring-Powerless-Misting-Ferring-Powerless pattern, and Karkat’s caste breaks that so it was completely eradicated through eugenics so im pretty sure he’s the only one.

Nepeta Leijon - Steel Ferring

Feruchemy: Steelrunner (Steel: Physical Speed)

Nothing special, just run-of-the-steel-mill feruchemy.

Kanaya Maryam - Chromium Misting

Allomancy: Leecher (Chromium: wipe allomantic reserves of target)

Her caste is supposed to be powerless, like Equius', but much like how she's a rainbow drinker in canon, she is somehow a misting in this AU. Snapped after Eridan shot her half to death with his “poison wwand strike” (toxic chromium bullets). He did not know that these bullets were Allomantically viable, and neither knew that she would be able to burn chromium. She uses this to sap Gamzee of his massive Zinc reserves, causing him to be distracted long enough for her to kill Eridan.

Terezi Pyrope - Tin misting - Tin Savant

Allomancy: Scout (Tin: Increases senses)

Terezi and Gamzee are the only Savants on the team, which forms the basis of their bond and later kismesitude on whatever this au’s equivalent of the meteor is. She snapped during a feud with Vriska, which left her blind, but she has been flaring tin for so many sweeps that she can basically assemble visual data through her other senses.

Vriska Serket - Cadmium Ferring

Feruchemy: Spinner (Cadmium: Fortune)

Hemalurgy: Left Eye (Cadmium: Destiny)

Forced Equius to use Hemalurgy on her to heal her during a feud with Terezi, but she was tapping Fortune so hard that Equius managed to select the wrong spike and gave her Destiny instead of some healing ability, which is apparently good luck according to the spiritual realm? It’s destiny to be relevant forever I guess so she can’t really die until the plot demands it. She also has Kelsier’s weird metal vision allowing her to peep into the spiritual realm just a little bit. She ended up having her arm fully amputated due to her spirit not being able to accept another spike. Equius in this au isn’t exactly a roboticist, so she won’t get a replacement arm until wayy later down the line.

Equius Zahhak - born powerless

Allomancy: Thug (Pewter: Strength)

Hemalurgy: Between ribs (Steel: Allomantic pewter)

Equius is a Hemalurgist, who was born without allomancy or feruchemy (much like the rest of his caste). He gave himself pewter to make future hemalurgy easier for him (pushing spikes into/through people is physically intensive). He has also given powers to Aradia, Tavros, and Vriska so far.

Gamzee Makara - Zinc Rioter - Zinc Savant

Allomancy: Rioter (Zinc: Riot)

As a Zinc savant, he is so used to being able to fuck with people’s emotions on a whim that he has no idea how to handle empathy without it. He has a very carefree attitude because if someone is saying/doing something he doesn’t like, he can just Allomantic them away. This also means that everyone around him naturally swell with anger and frustration, which leads to the events of the meteor. Rioters and soothers can also gain control of hemalurgic constructs, so I imagine he could take over any hemalurgy users in the party at a whim.

Eridan Ampora - Electrum “Ferring” (Full Feruchemist)

Feruchemy: Pinnacle (Electrum: Determination)

Eridan, like others in his caste, is a full feruchemist, but unlike his other caste members, he only believes that he has one ability.

Feferi Peixes - Mistborn

Allomancy: Mistborn

Feferi, like all others in her caste, is a Mistborn. The Condese is too, actually.

EDIT: Various bits of phrasing and removed the mature label (I have no idea why I wasn't able to before)

[hydrangeawise]

It's been a week of work, but here is another screeching post about El Cazador de la Bruja because I finally have the energy & time to watch it again the way it's supposed to be watched (with a buddy so that you can yell at each other in the chat during the episode)!

EP22 was something, alright! We got Ellis lovingly looking at a flute that suspiciously looked like the one kid Nadie had in Ellis', uh I don't know what it was exactly when she went through the door and into the corn field so maybe, vision(?). And Camera Guy has been acting more off than ever which apparently is because Glasses Guy remote controls him via his bracelet. Which is honestly kind of weird because now I'm asking myself which of his actions were his own and which were the one's Glasses Guy made him do. Maybe it's hard to tell because they do seem to enable each other's creepiness after all!

I can't quite believe that Ricardo got injured by a puma, mostly because I think he'd be experienced and skilled enough to avoid that (and to avoid worrying Lirio!), but it doesn't really matter because the puma coincidentally* fled in the way Nadie and Ellis were pointed. What a coincidence*! And then the scene at the ruins happened, and man, I kind of get the feeling that Glasses Guy is some sort of religious fanatic with the way he recited whatever text it was that Ellis also said during her witch experience (and didn't her voice sound quite uncanny when she did it, like getting possessed or something even though Blue-eyes said something about her soul being released**). I do want to highlight quite clearly and loudly how much I enjoyed Ellis blasting Camera Guy to wherever he landed! Excellent use of the power! Let me also say quite clearly that I'M SO FUCKING WORRIED FOR NADIE! I'M SO FUCKING WORRIED FOR BOTH OF THE GIRLS! Especially with the preview!! None of this looks like a fun time is about to be had by everyone! I'm also so worried that Blue-eyes noted that Glasses Guy made his move because - how much influence and power does that guy have?! How does it work?! (Also, Melissa probably knew that he wasn't exactly the best person around and still stayed with him so I feel kind of eh about her, but she didn't deserve to be left behind like that!) Oh, and with the design on Glasses Guy's gun, it's pretty much confirmed that he was the one who killed the doctor, right? At least I'm pretty sure that the marking on the gun is what we've seen in Ellis' flashbacks of the scene.

*I'm pretty sure it's not a coincidence. The question rather seem to be: who made it happen and how and why?

**I do have hmmm not exactly questions, but I wonder if this whole thing about "release of the soul" is relevant in connection to Ellis being an artificial witch. I mean, I don't think (or at least I don't remember) that she's supposed to be soulless due to her artificial creation, but hmm. Hmm. I guess I'll see!