#nothing appeared wrong on the outside but I'm wondering if it has holes in it that cant really be seen and water got trapped inside of it

[johnbleepingzoidberg]

having one of those stay-up-ridiculously-late-to-make-sure-we're-not-dying type of nights

[umbreerie]

𝕺𝖛𝖊𝖗𝖍𝖆𝖚𝖑 ; more thoughts + canon divergence ideas.

Hate to say it but sometimes I find myself agreeing with the horny side of the fandom when they lament the fact that Kai doesn't have cool intricate Yakuza tattoos because oh yeah the aesthetic rips but also can understand why he doesn't both because thats not really a thing for modern Yakuza and also it probably wouldn't be a stretch to imagine Kai's extreme mysophobia makes him less than enthused about being prodded with a needle for hours in a dingy establishment. But, do it for Pops, Kai. ( Then he would, lets go with that. ) We are nothing if not slaves to the aesthetic here.

ANYWAY, another note about him, I'm thinking about AUs / canon divergence and want I wanna do with him post Overhaul Arc beyond what canon did. We know Hori wasted him in an extreme way like make your eyes water type way that almost reduced his insane godmod quirk to a plot hole ━ UNLESS .... Though it is NEVER spoken or really expanded upon in canon, the reason the overhaul quirk could have been written off was because Kai was the only one who could use it. This isn't entirely out of the realms of canon possibility because we have seen there are several quirks that can't be copied or used outside of the bodies of their original owners. In fact, the only two people that seem to have been SMART ENOUGH in the entire MHA world to engineer a way for these type of quirks to work outside an owners body is Kai (With Eri's rewind) and Kyudai Garaki with the rest of his shit. Though this being said, it seems not even Garaki was able to successfully make a copy of overhaul useful outside of the broken version of it Tomura apperently received. ( which is something I still don't think I'll be keeping as a fact in my canon because its one of those things that ended up kind of unnecessary. )

So we could also say that Kai's intelligence and scientific knowledge helped play a part in him being able to use his quirk so well. Without these things, his quirk is useless to everyone else. So yeah, I'm going to say BOTH things to make sense of why his quirk was so underutilized in canon, at least !! But that doesn't fix the armless problem and this is where the canon divergence I've been playing around with @corfides comes in.

Pretty much the whole Nagant thing ended up useless. So we're going do some canon divergence and change the prison break situation for Kai. Instead, Kai is going to be found by Hari and Stain during the prison break and they're going to become a hilarious bumbling threesome of guys who have beef with the heroes AND the villains. Kai wont have gone with Nagant, she'll have gone and done all that on her own since his presence makes literally no difference either way. Kai ends up getting his arms back thanks to Hari and Stain. We've decided this would be as easy as reattaching one because canon has even stated Kai can use his quirk with someone else's hands. This being said.... Kai isn't his old self. Its not exactly clear what happened but Kai appears to have some type of brain damage from his fight. And I'm not one to erase disabilities. This is something thats not really explained in canon outside of an offhanded comment that he "has some screws loose." And other characters wondering what is wrong with him. The running theory is Kai lost it after the LoV cut his arms off but if you actually look back at canon Kai seems to be out of it BEFORE the LoV got to him. Which leads me to think maybe Kai's uh... Distant / scatted, near catatonic state of mind wasn't just brought on by "grief" (which I'll say def worsened it, as I'm also headcanoning he was told Hari was dead so thats on top of him knowing he wouldn't be able to heal pops thus him believing he'd completely lost everything) but that Kai might have actually been suffering side effects from taking multiple 100% punches to the face from Deku's superpowered OFA and that this is actually whats "wrong" with him post Deku fight. Though we know he was rewound by Eri at least twice, the logic of her rewind seems inconsistent. For whatever reason Kai was rewound enough to undo his mergers with his minions but was apperently not rewound enough to heal his injuries ? Thats what we seem to be shown in canon as it doesn't really make sense for Kai to have lost otherwise because though he would have been separated from his mergers, he wouldn't have been out of fighting condition but rather quiet the opposite. So we're just gonna go with Eri's rewind being inconstant at times, especially cause her power was very untrained at this point and her intentions weren't to heal Kai, but rather to stop him, so maybe it was a result of her unconscious wishes shining through that he wasn't healed but just stopped. SO YEAH. ANYWAY. Kai is suffering some type of brain damage. Which is going to effect his memory + other things and how proficient he is with using his quirk. He wont be able to use it as perfectly as he could before. But he can still use it. And he'll be practicing to try and get it at least good enough to fix pops. HOWEVER, we've also talked about Kai and Hari accompanying Stain in his fight against AFO in aide of All Might. Stain's doing it because he's gay for All Might, but Hari and Kai ? They see an opportunity to get in societies good graces and also fuck the League of villains / AFO. So they help with the fight. The outcome is however roughly the same with Stain getting "killed" by AFO but in THIS canon divergence, Kai is able to use overhaul to restore Stain from death. This is a big success moment for him, showing he can indeed heal pops.

This results in Kai, Hari and Stain being offered a type of "pardon" at the end of the war along with other villains / criminals who helped out like Gentle, La Brava and Nagant, though Stain is quirkless. This gives the heroes the opportunity to have Kai use his quirk to do a bit of good for everyone, like not just healing pops and getting chewed out by him, but also help heal some of the more severely injured during the war.

[fionaeevee87]

My Tunic Experience (SPOILERS)

I just got 100% in the game yesterday, and was going to start on Super Mario Wonder today. But instead, I spent most of the day looking up lore videos and reviews. I just cannot seem to leave the world of Tunic yet.

I was in love with the exploration and puzzle elements of this game. Going into this totally blind, I managed to collect every upgrade treasure, every coin, and almost every equipment card (At the very end of the game, while looking up what all of them do, exactly, I somehow learned that there was a secret one not mentioned in the manual! It made fighting the Heir so much easier). I got all but 1 fairy, all but one trophy, and managed to solve the entire Golden Path puzzle all on my own. I felt so bad having to look up the answers to those last few puzzles, but in doing so fell down a fucking rabbit hole like you wouldn't believe.

Did you know that there's an option in Accessibility Settings to make audio puzzles easier? Knowing that sure would have helped in figuring out what's going on with those windchimes outside the Old House.

Were you also bashing your head against the wall trying to figure out what the "60 seconds", "Shhh..." was about on page 51, with the illustration that looked like a star partly underwater next to a piece of paper? (Even as I type this I'm having to boot up Tunic again for reference) The one that, if I was reading page 54's hint correctly, surely holds the final trophy? Apparently, you have to turn off Sound Effects under the Audio options and stand in water for 60 seconds. Doing so will cause a secret message to appear at the bottom of the "Thank you!" note by the devs on page 1 (which bears a similar star symbol). Said message consists of more game language and a drawing of a familiar landmark in the overworld which is shaped like Holy Cross directions. Ah! So that's it! If everything the game taught me so far is correct, I just have to go there and input the directions to get the final gold treasure!...WRONG! At this point, it would be very, VERY handy to know what the note next to the image says. Throughout my journey thus far, I noticed that the game language doesn't appear to be random runic scribblings of a non-language. There are certain shapes that repeat in ways consistent with language which has had some thought put into making it. Furthermore, what of the notes on pages 21 and 54? They appear to be some sort of clue to how you could go about deciphering it, but I couldn't make heads or tails of it.

The game isn't over yet. THE. GAME. ISN'T. OVER. YET.

The game expected me to decode an entire in-game language. A multi-hour task, if you even know where to start (not me!). This is the hardest task this game has asked of me at this point. But thank goodness there's a awesome community of clever Tunic fans that managed to translate this thing (Bravo! <3 <3 <3).

Deeper down the rabbit hole we go! WAHOO!

For the first time, I was able to actually read and understand the story, the descriptions of the Quarry, Ruined Atol, Graveyard, and Cathedral, as well as what they were saying about the bosses I fought and what their deal was. I love the Librarian and how he thinks the Holy Cross is an actual treasure hidden in the Cathedral. He's also the only character aware he's in a game (did you see the drawings of what appeared to be a game cartridge on one of his chalk boards?) But that's all I'll get into on that. This is about the puzzle. Even now I'm getting as distracted from the task as I originally was! As for the puzzle text, after doing all of that you'd surely think it'd just spell it out for you at this point. But you're still no closer to getting that last trophy. It's a riddle:

"The softest feather corrected eleven times departed once more"

What does that even mean? I tried inputting the landmark's directions 11 times, from several points of view. Then tried it 12 times each way because of the "departed once more" line. Nothing happened. I gave up and looked up the answer. "Softest feather" refers to a "down", or soft fluff underneath the feathers of waterfowl (because everyone knows that, right?). "Corrected" refers to being RIGHT, "eleven times." "Departed" means you have LEFT, and 12 is "once more" than 11. Down, right x 11, left x 12. I have my final trophy! I've finally won!

But what about that bright light that appeared in the Trophy Room that appeared after I had collected a certain amount of tropies? What's up with the weird room where symbols in the game's language would appear seemingly at random if I used the Holy Cross? (Why am I not wanting to call it a D-Pad?!)

WILL THIS RIDE EVER END?!!

I go to the translated manual for clues, as there is text written next to the illustration of the trophy room on page 54. It reads:

"For Additional Support & Secrets 1. Find some rare golden statues. 2. Traverse the glow to visit 12 strange beings. 3. Un-sing to the the greatest song, the Song of the Golden Path, as seen from within"

Excitedly, I went to that mysterious room as fast as I could make that little fox go. I stood there, brought up the golden path notes, and input the directions backwards. Nothing. It turns out "from within" also meant as seen from a mirror. I had the right idea, just the wrong angle. I reset the puzzle, looked up and put in the inverted directions, and nothing seemed to happen except for the fact that one of the glyph spaces is blank, with only 11 glyphs showing. Wondering if something is being spelled out, I look up the puzzle solution. I'm correct! It is a...website?

https://doyoufeartheeyesofthefarshore.co/

Tunic has now become an ARG.

Clicking this link takes you to a creepy animated image of a smoky silhouette of what appears to be a squid monster with three eyes colored in the R/G/B color scheme we're used to. Harsh, grating sounds that sound almost like speech and ethereal whispers assaulted my ears. This was the squid-like being who's symbol I've seen everywhere in the game! Here I was stuck. This is where my journey with Tunic ended. I did learn that there was more languages in the music and sounds, and that running the website's sounds through a spectrogram results in the message "We are the Eyes of the Far Shore."

I really did not expect so much to be wrapped inside such a colorful, cute and fluffy package.

I apologize for the long post. I didn't realize how much I had to say about this game! If anyone's made it this far, I appreciate it!

[variousqueerthings]

OH OKAY SO THE THING SURE HAPPENED HUH

THOUGHTS ON THE SPOILER SIDE

SO IT WAS A GHOST STORY ALL ALONG WHICH TO BE FAIR I SHOULD HAVE REALISED BECAUSE THE MOVIE FUCKN! TALKS ABOUT THE GHOSTS! AND SHUTU BELIEVES IN THEM EVEN WHEN OTHERS ARE BEING IRREVERENT!

WHO WILL BE THE FIRST TO DIE AND I WAS LIKE "WELL SHUTU MAY BE SUICIDAL BUT THIS IS A MISDIRECT OF COURSE BECAUSE WE SAW SHUTU AT THE BEGINNING" AND THEN I GOT MISDIRECTED BY THE FAKE MISDIRECT OHOOOO CLEVER FILM YOU

this is technically a new year film, so hey, perfect timing

but also wtf anti-new year film

I was not entirely wrong about the little miss sunshine parallel, but they have a pretty clear set of diverging points!

this movie like: hey someone's gonna die, could it be this sad sad man who is completely falling to pieces after the death of his father? AND THEN IT PLAYS THAT STRAIGHT -- WE'RE IN A TIME WHERE PLAYING IT STRAIGHT IS MORE SHOCKING THAN A PLOTTWIST

OHHH THE GHOST STORY OF IT ALL IM NOT PAST THAT DONT THINK IM PAST THAT

that "I'm fine" screencap has revealed itself to be the most perfect one, both for the character and the way I feel after this ouch

ok ok ok but ALSO I AM SOOOO HAPPY WHEN I GO INTO A MOVIE KNOWING NOTHING and I'm seeing the things it's laying out and it's not trying to trick me, it's laying out these things deliberately and it's rewarding me for picking up on what it's doing -- the loneliness, the toxic masculinity, the violence of neglect and being ignored and openly casually looked down on -- this character gives so many signs to the people around him, at one point his cousin finds him sobbing in a corner and nothing is done

so um... I was comparing this to joyland at times in my head (best movie of all time my most sacred of films) and I was so right to for [spoilers] but this and joyland boy oh boy oh boy

IT'S A GHOST STORY IT'S A FLIPPING GHOST STORY ABOUT HOW A GHOST IS MADE! A GHOST STORY IN HINDSIGHT! DO YOU HEAR ME?? (banging pots and pans)

arrrgh all the hints and clues throughout. the tree. the graveyard. the part where he falls down a literal hole and the wolf appears. on and on and on

I wonder about the setting, which I know very little about -- wikipedia, now I'm on it describes it as "McCluskieganj, Bihar (now in Jharkhand) an old Anglo-Indian town in 1979," which I did wonder about singing auld land syne, but I don't know if that's common throughout India to sing at new year's

equally curious and ignorant on the dynamic with the servants -- whether this is caste-based, how the movie portrayed that dynamic, etc. I felt like it had several scenes that highlighted the casual... I suppose cruelty? but not as sadism or even punishment, simply an "understanding" about who has power and who doesn't. when they were singing auld lang syne upstairs and the camera panned downstairs to show them eating food on the floor with the puppy (equally neglected)

so something about a connection between how shutu is treated that's echoed in the servants and even the dog -- to a lesser extent the child, although she does tend to prefer shutu's company precisely because he's the only one paying attention to her (which is then ironically what he is blamed for failing to do, when he's the only one who up until then has done so properly)

this not to say that the other characters are wholly unsympathetic, I think the film does a good job of making them feel real -- tani's mother goes to pieces when she's lost, and tries to help out in various situations, mimi is an outsider for being "more" foreign and while callous isn't deliberately cruel, so much as someone who's impulsive and often thoughtless, and the three other guys all have moments that show them to be more than "just" bullies (although, youknow, fuck vikram)

it's just that these sorts of environments that foster a need for appearances over authenticity and truth, the illusion of picture-perfect covers anything that isn't quite right by simply... not being allowed to talk about it. whether it's class, caste, mental health issues, bad marriages, or other forms of neglect that become systemic and rotten (oh look, I could also be talking about joyland!) -- and these spaces are, if paired with money, a surface-level glitter of games and easy times and not having to worry about a thing

but also IT'S A GHOST STORY! they'll never forget that this was the place that shutu killed himself, that they were in some way guilty of his death (unless they deliberately shut those thoughts down, but you know it'd come out in other ways), this place is forever haunted

they did talk about how they'd need to move out of that house eventually

alright, as they say, it's been 84 years I am finally watching a death in the gunj! @le-red-queen it is on!

[dxrkluvie]

SHALL WE CHERRY?

JEAN K. x EREN x FEM READER

threesome 18+ smut

Full story available on my ao3. Click here.

Story name : " Shall we cherry? "

If you like my stories, please support me on insta --> @/llllenaj

You: I am bad at first impressions. 

Eren: Do you want me to drive you home?

 

You nodded and let him lead the way. When you reached his car, he held the door open for you. It made you blush lightly. 

When he sat down on the seat next to yours, his shirt lifted a little bit, revealing his well-toned abs. You looked away immediately. 

 

Eren: Are you okay?

You: Yes.

He started driving. The lights were reflecting on his face, you noticed how well sculpted it was. A few hairs were falling on his forehead. 

 

He was just so fine. 

 

You: How old are you? 

Eren: 19. And you?

You: Me too. Thank you for giving me a ride tonight. 

Eren: It's nothing. By the way, the offer still stands.

You: What offer?

Eren: Mushes and wee- WHO GAVE YOU YOUR FUCKING LICENCE FUCKING PIECE OF SCUM?- the boy yelled as the driver in front of you who took a right turn without flashing their indicators. 

You: If you don't cuss on the way, you're doing it wrong.

Eren: I would love to crucify those fuckers. 

You: I wonder if they paid their instructors. 

Eren: Perhaps.

You: I've never done shrooms. What is it like?

Eren: It depends on how much you take. Typically you see the colors a lot more vividly, they're A LOT brighter and sometimes they'd move. Also, you could get an intense body high. It enhances your feelings and messes with your head but in a very beautiful way. 

You: Oh, weird. Have your friends done it?

Eren: Yes. I am not into fake shit. Natural all the way, there's no such thing like dying from weed or mushes. UNLESS you've mistakenly picked the wrong shroom, but I'm not dumb. 

You: I don't know...

Eren: You don't have to be afraid, I will take care of you. 

You: Oh...- you looked down, blushing once more. Being all shy and mushy was so not you. But damn, this charming brat. 

The boy shook his head and looked for his parking spot.

You: Wait, we are here already?

Eren: I assume you were too busy daydreaming.

You: Oh, sorry. 

Eren's phone buzzed. It was a message from Armin saying: 

 

' Hello, Jean drove me home, I would appreciate it if you let me rest for a little while on my own and not come home yet as this whole gathering thing was too much for me. Thank you, Eren.' 

The boy texted back: 

 Okay, is Jean home though?

A: No, he went out.

E: Okay, rest well - he said and drifted away from the parking lot. - Change of plans. If you don't mind.

 

You: What happened? And I do not.

Eren: Something's up with Armin, he's just so sensitive like that. It will be fine. 

You: I don't feel like going home yet...

 

Eren: Where do you want to g- before he could finish, he received a call. It was Jean. 

 

J: Where the hell are you?

E: I should be asking the same. I am in the car with y/n. 

J: Armin kicked me out of the dorm. 

Eren rolled his eyes. 

E: I am not sure what we could do.

 

You, mouthing: Maybe we could try a motel?

 

E: Y/n is suggesting a motel, are you down?

J: Yeah, just give me the address whenever.

E: Okay, cool.

 

They hung up. The boy looked at you, his eyes were beyond stunning. - Why a motel? 

You: You know I am new here, I'd like to see what it is like outside of this city. Just curiosity. 

 

One of your fantasies was to have sex in a motel with a hot stranger. And today's events were working in your favor. You thought it was oddly romantic and you'd always make up fake scenarios in your head where this was happening.  You drove outside of the city for about half an hour. Eren was slowly losing patience. 

Maybe we could try this one? - he suggested, pointing out to a random building. 

You: Sure- you replied, googling the place- it has 4.7/5 stars and breakfast is included. $130 a night. 

Eren: Sure. - he said and got out of the car. Next, he opened the door for you and waited for you to get out, before locking it. 

You found those gestures cute.

When you entered the place, the receptionist gave you a weird look. It made you feel unwelcome. Eren did not bother reacting, he just took out his card out and tapped it on the pin pad.

Room #16 is for you - the old lady spoke - good night.

Eren: Night. 

You walked to the elevator.

It fascinated you how unbothered he was.

You: Did you see that?

Eren: She's probably sick of random teens renting a place to party/fuck, cause they don't have their own places yet. 

You laughed - I will give it to your cash. 

Jean called again. The phone call consisted of him asking for the location, and Eren simply giving it to him followed by the questions '' Should I bring cherries and alcohol? '' to which Eren answered ''yes'' and hung up. 

 

While you were walking past the other rooms, you could hear noises of all sorts. Sweet moaning, people fighting, loud music, and people yelling. 

Eren unlocked the door slowly. You stood behind him, carefully observing his hand movements. It was oddly arousing. His hands were big and had some veins slightly popping out. 

The smell of his expensive cologne was spreading into the air. He took his tie off and threw it across the room. The same happened to the hair tie that held his hair up. 

Neither of you was talking. 

You sat on the bed, and he did the same. Both of you had your backs turned on one another. 

15 minutes passed in silence when Jean suddenly opened the door with a bang. 

Jean: HELLOOOOOOOO!

Eren: Ew.

Jean: Get lost - the boy shook his head and placed the bag he carried with him on one of the nightstands- I brought what you wanted me to. 

Eren: So, shall we cherry? -  he asked, no one in particular. 

You: What is that? 

Jean: Kind of like a drinking game but not exactly. The rules are really simple. You dip a cherry in vodka and place it in-between your lips. The other person has to take the cherry without touching your lips OR they'll have to give you oral.

You looked away, squeezing your eyes and lips. 

Jean: All good?

Eren: It's fun. You don't have to, though.

Jean: Yeah if it's not something you think you could have fun with.

You: No I would actually try that.

Eren: Oh? - his tone changed. The boy took one of the already washed cherries. Jean handed him a plastic cup where he poured some vodka and dipped the fruit in it. He placed it on top of your lips and you aimed to eat it right away.

Jean: You broke the rule.

You: Fuck, I am sorry it wasn't intentional. 

Eren: It's okay. How did it taste?

You: Sweet and slightly bitter. 

His eyes narrowed at you. It almost looked like he was putting a lot of effort into getting the fruit in between his lips, that you've been dying to taste for a while.

You leaned closer to him and he purposefully pushed the cherry away with his tongue - Oh shit it fell. 

You: This was on purpose.

The boy placed his hand at the back of your head- I will give you a head if you want.

Jean: Can I join?

You nodded, embarrassed.

Another thing that has been a common fantasy of yours was to be fucked by two guys, but you never thought it would ever become reality.

Eren slid your right leg up. Jean did the same with your left one.

You laid on the bed, breathing heavily.

Jean lowered his voice, making it appear huskier - Relax, baby girl, you'll enjoy that tongue.

Eren lazily lifted your dress up, and Jean slid your pants down.

Both of them were taking turns to kiss on both of your thighs. You could feel your skin get more sensitive after every touch.

Blood rushed down and you felt warmth between your hips.

Jean spread your pussy open using his middle and index finger & Eren gave your throbbing clit a slow teasing lick.

Jean: She's getting wetter it's so hot.

Eren: I know.

This small dirty talk was causing your thirst for them to grow.

Eren: She is dying to get her hole licked, aren't you, y/n?

You let out a loud ' yes ' & shortly afterward you felt both of their tongues lick up and down on both of your pussy lips.

It made your toes curl.

Eren's finger started to slowly pump in and out of your hole as Jean's tongue was eagerly gliding up and down on your wet cunt.

The room got filled with your sweet " ah's " and "oh's".

At one point you felt both of their tongues battling one another across your clit and it was nearly leaving you breathless. 

The boys stopped and looked up at you.

Eren: Have you done this before?

You: As in a threesome?

He nodded. You replied with a '' no '. 

Eren: How is it going so far?

You: Amazing. I actually want to return the favor. 

Both of them stood up. 

Now you were off the bed, kneeling before them. You could see the lust in their eyes. Especially Jean's. 

Both of your hands took a place on both of their dicks. They were gently stroking them as your mouth was giving them licks and sucks on their tips, going from Jean's cock to Eren's back and forth, in a pattern. 

One thing you've noticed was that Eren was tenser, his body language was more indicative. He was rock hard, his pupils were dilated and he was thrusting in your mouth slightly when given the chance. 

As for Jean - he was more vocal. He'd let out some quiet groans here and there and you would occasionally hear some ' fuck yes '.

Eren: Go lay down. 

You did as ordered.

Jean: Hold on - the boy said and laid down first, leaning against the bed frame - you can lay on me.

You hesitated for a bit. Eren walked up to you, lifted your chin up, and kissed you. His hands slid down to your boobs and squeezed them gently. His thumbs massaged on your nipples. It made you wetter. 

" Okay... " you said and crawled on top of him, having him face your back. 

Jean placed his hand around your neck and kissed on it - Have you done anal? - he asked, whispering. 

You: No. 

Jean: Would you be interested? 

You: Yes. 

He placed his thumb on your lips, you licked it. 

Jean: Shitt...- he grunted and slid both of his hands down on your body, as yours were surrounded his, supporting your whole upper half. Your legs spread open and Eren made his way to you once again. 

His lips were on top of your clit, sucking and licking on it. 

His thumb moved down to your asshole and he carefully massaged on it in circles. He stopped for a second and looked at you - I am going to insert it in... - the boy spoke quietly while doing so.

Your body tensed up. You felt full but in a good way.

To your pleasant surprise, he was good at giving oral and a bit more gentle than his friend was.

Jean: Should I stick it in? I want to fuck you so hard, y/n.

You: Go for it.

Eren got on top of both of you. He leaned forward to give you a passionate kiss. He did the same to Jean. You noticed how attractive he looked up-close.

You: Fuck that's so hot...

Eren's cock slid inside your wet pussy as for Jean's, in your back entrance. Slowly.

You moaned as both of them started to push themselves inside you.

Eren was about an inch and a half bigger than Jean. It made you leak. He smirked - You're that wet for me?

You: Yes - you whispered against his lips and kissed him.

Both of them started thrusting inside your holes at a quicker pace.

You moaned loudly and leaked a bit more.

The pressure was building up rather quicker than you expected it to as your sweet spots were stimulated at the same time.

You: Fuck I'll squirt all over you.

Eren stopped moving and placed his lips on your neck, slowly kissing down on you.

His tongue teased your nipples. They hardened even more. Every touch of his, or Jean's was making your skin more sensitive.

The view of you and Eren indulging made Jean stop for a second as well and enjoy the show.

Your hips moved against Eren's.

He bit on your lower lip - That eager, huh?

You: Yes...

Jean's hands were firmly holding your butt, viciously slamming it down on his while Eren was filling you up from the front.

You were nearly reaching your climax and soon you squirted.

Both of them mentioned how hot this was.

You giggled a bit. - I am pretty sure we will ruin the mattress.

Eren: Who gives a shit...

Jean: Y/n...

You: Yes?

Jean: Can I cum in you?

You: Yeah...it should be okay.

Eren stopped and took a chair, sitting in front of both of you.

Jean used you for his own pleasure, as for Jaeger - for his entertainment.

He began to jerk off to the view of you being fucked.

Your hole was tight and it made Jean cum instantly.

Eren: Oh shit... -

You: Can I get off? - you asked Jean.

He said ' yes '. Before leaving though, you gave him a kiss, which he returned.

Next, your lips transferred to Eren's. He held the back of your head. Your fingers ran through his hair. Your eyes locked.

You: Do you need help?

Eren: Sure.

Once again, you kneeled down. Your tongue licked on his whole length. Your mouth was on his balls now, taking each one in as your hand was stroking him.

His breathing got heavier and his precum leaked.

You: Are you enjoying that?

Eren: Very much so fuck...

You: Cum for me, Eren.

The boy grunted and shot out a few loads - Enough! - he said and gently pushed you away.

You looked at him.

Eren: You should try sex on shrooms, it makes everything × 10 better.

You: I don't see why I wouldn't.

You blushed. Both of your wildest dreams have combined in one in just one night and you felt somewhat satisfied. Both- sexually and emotionally.

Eren: How are you accepting what just happened?- the boy asked as he stood up and handed everyone a tissue.

[barsformars]

Tricky

//

g - fluff, slighttttttt angst, suggestive

p - san x reader

w.c - 1.9k

t.w - san touching reader's naked body

c - san takes care of you when you get injured and are left all alone at home. the catch is? both of you obviously have feelings for each other but.....san

a.n - uusjsjjs this was requested through private message! im sorry it took so long lmao uh, this is just 1.9k of plotless words nothing will be solved by the end of the story so its almost like word vomit???

t.l - @closer-stars @jeongyunhoed @fairyofdusk

//

"It's not funny," you snarled at the pink haired boy who seemed to be overly amused at this situation in which both your arms were put in slings. You had slipped over a puddle of water, and that had sent you flying down the small flight of stairs right outside the taekwondo dojang, resulting in two dislocated shoulders. San pressed his lips firmly into a tight line to stop the corners of them from quirking up. On one hand, he does feel really bad, but if he said you didn't look ridiculously hilarious right now, he'd be lying. "I wonder who was on the verge of tears earlier on."

"That's because you were in so much pain I felt so bad for having asked you over for a sparring session!" San defended himself, a small pout forming as he did so. "At least the body and shin guards saved you from breaking your bones."

Once the elevator reached your floor, San pressed on the button to hold them open while keeping a close eye on you as you slowly exited. You've never noticed how much arm or shoulder action happens when you walk, until now.

It was only when you stepped through your front door and noticed your roommate's house slippers still sitting on the bottom of the shoe rack do you remember that they were out on a business trip. Being alone at home right now wasn't an option for you when you couldn't do anything by yourself, but your roommate wouldn't be back till next week. You didn't want to burden any of your other friends so late in the night, you had no choice but to rely on San.

But things...are always a little trickier with him.

"I can only stay for tonight," San sighed as he placed his phone down on the coffee table. You don't know if it was a sigh of relief or one of frustration; he had pleaded over the phone for ten minutes. "But my manager said that they can send someone over to help you out for the next few days."

"It's alright, I'll ask Jimin for help tomorrow. If they aren't available, I'll let you know, yea?" San nods, though rather reluctantly. He trusts that you'll be able to take care of yourself, except physically for now at least.

San holds you by the waist to support you as you got up from the couch, keeping an arm wrapped around it as he brought you to the bathroom. "Please tell me you have a bathtub."

"I insisted on having one, glad it's finally of actual use."

"Oh yeah."

As you soaked in the warm bath that San had ran for you, you couldn't help but think of everything that has been happening between the two of you. The lingering touches, the jokes with double meanings, the way he gazes at you so softly, and the sudden tension that fills up the atmosphere following all those. San hasn't put a title over what this relationship was, and you've been too afraid to take the lead even though you knew that friends don't act like that towards one another. You didn't want to pressure him, he already has a lot on his plate. But he ought to give you an answer soon if he's about to see you in your most vulnerable state, right?

There comes another knock on the door, the tenth one in the whole duration of your bath. "I was being serious when I said don't try to act tough and do everything alone." The knocking continued on non-stop until you replied.

"You're an impatient one, aren't you?" You joked. "I'm done, I need help getting out."

"Not impatient, just worried." You hear his back leave the door for a moment as he stood up from the floor. And as politely as he could be while intruding into your private space, San pushed open the toilet door gently and stepped in after informing you first. You couldn't stop the giggle from escaping your throat when you took sight of him, his eyes shut close in consideration that you might not want him seeing you naked.

"Oh, you're laughing? At me?" San asked in disbelief as he pulled his arms that were searching for the wall back and rested his hands on his hips, a playful smile growing on his face. "Why are you laughing?"

"Because you're cute," you cooed, much to his dismay.

"I'm not cute!" San argued, his eyes now open and glaring at you, still rather adorably. But before you could tease him any further, San practically stomped his way to the bathtub, leaning down to your eye level as his arms gripped onto the sides. "Don't mistake my manners for cuteness, I'm not." He said, almost with a growl, as he reached into the water and wrapped his strong arms around your torso, pulling you up so that you could stand. Taking pride in the way your eyes widened in surprise, San couldn't help but smirk before giving you a quick peck on your forehead. "You're cute."

Once he got you out of the bathtub, San tried his best to not look at your body as he dried you up with a towel while you stood there blankly, still at a complete loss for words. "You're so rude," you told San after finally able to process whatever just happened a minute ago. The boy merely raised his eyebrows, his lips pursed. "Taking advantage of my injuries to show off your strength when you know how I feel about it."

"Well, you're not stupid, you know how I feel about you. It's only normal I act cool a little," San replied nonchalantly but you could tell that he was too afraid to look you in the eye. "Come on, let's go get you dressed."

"Also, just thought that you should know...." San paused for a moment to make sure that you dried your feet properly on the mat before continuing. "I almost patted your bare ass earlier on." You can't even blame him. With how touchy he and his members are, you aren't even surprised that touching people's butt has become their second nature. But even then, he really didn't have to tell you.

"TMI dude."

San had been watching YouTube tutorials on how to put on shirts with a dislocated shoulder while waiting for you to wash up earlier on. You wouldn't have known either if he wasn't showing off all the knowledge that he had learnt less than half an hour ago by trying to convince you quite passionately, and with demonstrations, about why a dress shirt would be much easier to put on than a t-shirt, especially in your case.

"I will. I will wear dress shirts until my shoulders recover," you sighed heavily in defeat. "But just for tonight, can you help me with a t-shirt? I want to sleep comfortably even if it's just for tonight."

This time it was San's turn to sigh as he reached out to pinch your cheek. "I already told you that it will hurt."

"Make it not hurt then." You shook your head so that he would let go.

"Just sleep naked then," San mumbled under his breath but loud enough for you to hear, causing you to scowl at the boy. He catches your expression and sticks his tongue out at you. "Am I wrong?"

"T-shirt," you stated firmly, refusing to comply even when you knew San only had the best intentions for you in mind. You already don't think you could sleep with two injured shoulders, much less with your crush staying the night with you, and definitely even much lesser with an uncomfortable sleeping outfit. "Or I'll bite you." Those words becoming a reality became much more probable when his dimples makes an appearance once again, resembling the dent on a mochi when you press into it with a finger.

"I don't think that's a wise idea right now, maybe next time-" he gave you a gentle boop on the top of your nose with his finger-"now, your majesty, may I help you put on your gold thread shirt made from silk of the finest quality on so that both me and you can be spared from getting ourselves into a tricky situation?" If you could throw a punch at San right now, you would, but all you could do right now was to sit on the bed quietly and accept the teasing. And also whatever San was about to do to help you put on the shirt.

You wonder if it's too late to change your choice of clothing after San kneels down behind you on the bed, his chest and toned abdomen almost plastered onto your back as he reached over your shoulders to grab your forearms. "I need you to put your arms a little closer together, we'll have to try to get both through the sleeves together," he explained clearly and waited for your nod before he moved your arms as cautiously as he could, his eyes studying every twitch of your facial expression to check for discomfort or pain. "Tell me if it hurts okay? Don't act tough, I keep telling you that but please, please don't act tough."

All you could manage was a soft "mhm", your throat feeling too tight for proper words to come out of your mouth. You wonder if San, like how you could feel the warmth of his hands and body, could feel the heat radiating off your cheeks too. "I'm going to pull both sleeves up now, it may hurt a little," San warned, one hand coming up to pat your head affectionately before he gripped onto the sleeves again. Even with how gentle he was being, a wince still manages to escape from you, putting a pause on San's actions as he tilt his head to look at you. "I'm sorry, it will be over soon." You nodded, fully trusting him.

Though there were still a couple more times your shoulders hurt before the sleeves were fully through, the little apology he makes every time that happens comforts you, and also, makes your heart beats embarrassingly fast. Getting your head through the hole was a much easier feat and it didn't take long before your shirt was on.

San got off your bed to fetch his backpack and for a moment you thought that he was going to pull out the painkillers that you were prescribed with but instead, he took out two boxes of shoulder brace. "When did you even get that?" You asked, amused and touched at the same time. The shoulder slings the hospital had put you in was terribly uncomfortable and while the brace may not be way better, it was still better than the sling.

"When you were getting your x-ray done," San replied with a proud smile.

"Aw, I would give you a pat on your head if I could."

Upon hearing that, San practically shoved his pink hair into your face as he bent down. "You can kiss me on my head."

"I will bite you."

[queenxxxsupreme]

I was wondering if you could write something with a plus sized reader? It can be any of the witchers and/or Jaskier (although I think esk, lam, & jask would work best). Can be more focused on them finding the reader attractive/hot? I see lots of fics and headcannons abt plus size readers that are all about insecurities and finding the reader beautiful and aethestically pleasing. I'm plus size and I think I am beautiful, just not... attractive. looking hot and looking pretty/beautiful are different. idk if that makes sense I just want someone to think I'm hot. It can be NSFW or funny and fluffy. if you aren't comfortable writing this that's cool too. I just really like your writing. You have created a really welcoming community/page and I felt comfortable enough asking. I appreciate it so much. Thank you. 💜

A/N: I love this ask!!! Though I’m not sure I followed the prompt properly…. :( I wanted to do Lambert very badly which is part of the reason why it took so long to do but I couldn’t make it work with the prompt so I ended up doing Jaskier. I hope you liked it babe!

Warnings: no smut but Jaskier is a cheeky bastard and suggests NSFW 18+ things so if you aren’t into that please don’t read! also mentions of poor self image but Jaskier makes it better

***

You watched the tailor and seamstress murmur to each other in a language you didn’t understand. The seamstress said something, gesturing to the skirt you wore. Then she looked back at the tailor who shook his head disapprovingly. 

Their eyes seemed to drill holes into you. You suddenly felt so stupid for letting Jaskier talk you into coming to this expensive shop to be professionally fitted for a dress to match his outfit for the gala in two nights. 

But he was just so excited about the gala. It was the first time you’d be meeting the famed Geralt of Rivia as well as a few of Jaskier’s other friends he had met on his journeys with the witcher. 

You felt saddened that he was so eager to take you to the gala. Surely you'd only make him look like a fool in front of his friends and comrades. 

“Dear? Are you listening?” Jaskier placed his hand on the back of your calf as he moved around the stool you were balanced upon. 

You brought your eyes down to him. 

“Hm? Oh, erm, yes. Of course, I-I was.” 

He frowned. 

“No, you’ve got something else on your mind. What is it?”

You shook your head, smoothing out the material to your dress. 

“Nothing, Jask. It’s fine.”

“Tell me, please.” He reached up to take your hand in his, brushing his thumb along your knuckles. 

You kept your eyes on him for a few moments before looking in the direction of the seamstress and tailor. They no longer looked at you but they were still gesturing in your direction. 

“It’s just silly, Jaskier.” You shook your head. 

“You look upset, darling. It’s not silly if it’s upsetting you. Step down for a second, my sweet.” Jaskier held your hand as you stepped down from the stool. He tucked a piece of your hair behind your ear, looking at you with furrowed brows. “Please tell me. Did something happen?”

You shook your head, chewing on the inside of your cheek. 

“Can you understand what they’re saying?”

“Of course.” Jaskier nodded. “They’re talking about putting ruffles in your skirt. Alma thinks a few would be a good idea to add some at the bottom but Derion is completely against the very thought of ruffles.”

You could practically feel the weight lift off of your shoulders. You almost laughed. 

“Really?”

“I know. I don’t think ruffles are a good idea, but Alma is an incredibly talented seamstress. She has an eye for creating beauties. But sadly ruffles will not be happening today.” Jaskier waved the two over. “With all do respect to you, darling Alma, I think we should pass on the ruffles this time.”

“Bastard.” Alma swatted her hand in his direction. 

“Let’s move on from the skirt.” Derion waved his hand dismissively. “For the bust. It’s the most important part. It will take Alma hours to bead together intricate detailing to match your doublet, Master Julian. She needs to know how you’d like it done in order to begin working.” 

“Right.” Jaskier placed his hand on the small of your back. “I’m thinking a rather cheeky neckline. Perhaps an off the shoulder neckline that goes a little deeper than what’s traditionally seen.”

“Jaskier!” Your cheeks flushed as you looked at him. 

“Darling, it will be absolutely fantastic! Show a bit of your chest off! Show everyone how sexy you are.”

“Jaskier.”

“It appears as though you have yet to come to an agreement on a top.” Derion spoke, looking between you two. “When my lady decides on what style of top she’d like, please do let us know. Until then, Alma, let’s continue with the skirt while they chat.” 

You watched the two move towards the desk off to the side of the room. 

“Jaskier–,”

“Just picture this, my love.” Jaskier cut you off, his hand leaving your back as he moved to stand in front of you. “The corset is supporting your bust, holding the girls up and putting them on display–,”

“For the entire gala to see?” You widened your eyes. “What are you trying to do? Make your friends think I’m some strumpet?”

“No! No! Of course not! I think you’d look sexy like that.” Jaskier put his hand on your hip. “And the corset will accentuate your figure–,”

“The figure I don’t have.” You turned away from him, making your way towards the chairs that sat near the windows. You were thankful the curtains were drawn. This gave you some privacy from the outside world. 

“What? That’s ridiculous. You have a figure. A marvelous one at that.” Jaskier followed behind you. 

“I have the same figure as an apple, Jaskier. Or a pumkin. Round and-and large and just.... There’s nothing you should be so eager to show off at the gala.” You sat down in one of the seats, your voice quivering as you fought to keep your emotions at bay. 

Jaskier knelt down in front of you, his hands taking yours in his own. His touch, calloused from years of playing instruments, was warm as he gave you a squeeze. 

He didn’t know what to say at first. He was upset with himself for having not noticed that you were uncomfortable earlier. He was upset with himself for making you uncomfortable.

“Love-,”

“And don’t- Jaskier, please don’t try to tell me I’m not.” You whispered, unable to meet his gaze as tears blurred your vision. “I know I am. If you deny it, it’ll be like denying that the sky is blue or that-that grass is green.”

Jaskier nodded softly, understanding your words. He let the silence sit between you for a few more moments. He reached up to wipe your cheeks. Then he moved to sit in the seat next to you, keeping your hands in his.

“You know, my favorite shade of blue is just after the sun sets.” He murmured. “It’s dark and it’s ominous, but it’s stunning to see planets begin to show even though the sun hasn’t set yet. It’s like they’re beginning to come out of hiding. And my favorite shade of green is much more specific than that. Do you remember that time we laid in the lupin field just outside of Cintra all day?”

“Of course I remember that.” You sniffled, a little smile coming to your lips. “You read and sang to me all day. It was a beautiful day.”

“That day is my favorite shade of green.” Jaskier rubbed the back of your hand. He leaned in to kiss the corner of your eye. “And that night…. That night was when I realized my favorite shade of blue, you know?”

Your heart began to race a little quicker. That evening in the lupine field had been rather romantic and intimate. It was one of your favorite memories with the bard. 

Jaskier took a deep breath, looking across the room to the seamstress and tailor for a moment to make sure they were occupied with something else. 

“Dear heart, you know I would make sure the dress they create makes you look nothing short of the goddess you are.”

“I-I don’t…. I don’t have that same faith, Jaskier.” You shook your head, looking away from him to one of the paintings on the wall. It was of a beautiful woman in a stunning violet dress. She was thinner than you and the dress she wore made sure to show what curves she had off.

“You don’t have faith in me?” He asked softly.

“I don’t have faith in myself. You keep saying I’m going to look sexy and that you want to put me on display-,”

“Y/N, I was only joking. I’m so sorry if it made you uncomfortable. I meant absolutely no harm by it.” Jaskier put his hand on your knee. “I just- My gods, Y/N. The very idea of you in the dress I envision. Everyone is going to be fucking staring. On second thought, perhaps it wouldn’t be a good idea to put you in a dress similar to that. In the off chance that I’d be able to take my eyes off of you, I’d have to fight anyone who dared to look at you.”

He wore the biggest grin on his lips and you knew he meant well by it. He really did. But your stomach churned at the thought.

“They’ll be staring because I’ll look absolutely ridiculous.” You turned your head away from him. “Ladies like me weren’t made for galas and ballgowns.”

“I happen to think you are perfect for a ballgown, my dear.” He leaned over to kiss your ear. “I know you don’t see it, but you are absolutely sexy. Hell, if I had a say in it, you wouldn’t even be wearing a gown. But there are going to be other people there and I can’t have anyone else seeing your gorgeous body.” 

Your cheeks flushed.

“Can I offer you a little deal? A peace treaty?” Jaskier suggested. You looked at him, meeting his blue gaze. “They have a dress cut similar to the one I’d like to be made for you. Can you try it on for me before we make any decisions today?”

You nodded your head, letting out a little breath. You would at least try it on and let him see how ridiculous you’d look. If you proved him wrong now, maybe he’d listen to you in the future. 

“Will it fit me?”

“They can make it work for you so you can at least get an idea of the style.”

“Okay.”

“Excellent.” He gave you a kiss on the temple before going across the room to Alma and Derion. He spoke to them in the language you didn’t know. It was a beautiful language. As he said the words he had the ability to make it sound otherworldly. How could one man, a human no less, make words sound angelic? 

Derion and Alma left the room together. Jaskier clasped his hands behind his back, leaned forward to watch where they had disappeared. Alma returned moments later alone. In her hands she held a dress. 

The dress was dark green but that was all you could tell.

“I’ll give you a moment to get dressed. Take good care of her, Alma.”

“I will. You worry about yourself, Master Julian.” Alma waved him away. 

You wanted to object, to say that you could get dressed by yourself, but you knew very well you wouldn’t be able to. You didn’t want to rip the dress. The material was probably more expensive than you could afford. 

“Take off your dress, darling.” Alma placed the dress over a nearby chair. “I’ll grab pins so that we can pin the dress in place.”

“Pin?” You repeated. “In place?”

“Yes, darling. It wasn’t made for your body. We need to make the dress work for your figure so we do that by manipulating the fabric with pins. Don’t worry, you won’t feel a thing.”

***

Alma called for Jaskier after the dress was situated properly on you. 

You nervously moved back and forth as you shifted your weight from one foot to the other to get a better look in the mirror. 

The dress fit you decently. It was loose fitting in the chest but Alma fixed that with pins. She pinned a few other spots too but they were in the back so you couldn’t see all that well. 

The material was a beautiful emerald green silk with darker green embroidery around the bust. The off the shoulder neckline wasn’t terribly low in the middle where it dipped down, but it was lower cut than what you would usually wear. 

“Now remember, darling. The corset will be tighter on you and be providing support.” Alma spoke as she moved around the stool you were resting on. 

“My gods, Y/N! I love it!” Jaskier clapped his hands together. “Just wait until we get it in the blue to match my doublet!”

“Alma!” Derion called for Alma. 

Alma excused herself, leaving you alone with Jaskier. 

He moved around the stool, admiring the dress on you. 

“Before I lose myself in my own thoughts, love, what do you think?” Jasier clasped his hands together and held them near his mouth. 

You looked back to the mirror, shifting a little. 

“I don’t…. hate it as much as I thought I would.” You admitted. 

“But do you like it? Are you comfortable with the style? Be completely honest with my, darling. If you aren’t, there is no worry at all! I’ll have them make a style you are comfortable in. I want you to be comfortable first. No matter what you wear you will be absolutely gorgeous and breathtaking and I will be ripping the dress off of you come the end of the night.”

“Jaskier.” You scolded. He gave you a cheeky smile. “I do like the cut and I like the off the shoulder part, but perhaps if we could add sleeves to it?”

“Of course! Oh that would be stunning! I’ll let Alma and Derion know. Anything else you want to add or take away?”

“I don’t think so.” You looked back to the mirror. “I think I’ll like it more once it’s in the blue. I do like the green, but the blue will match your doublet for the gala. And the green makes me sort of feel like a melon.”

Jaskier frowned.

“I wish you’d stop comparing yourself to fruits.” 

“Would you rather a toad? ‘Cause I look like one of those in this dark green too. A rather large toad.”

“If you are a toad, then what would that make me?” He held his hand out for you so he could assist you in stepping down from the stool.

“My pretty princess.” You giggled. 

“Hmm. Well you are the sexiest toad I have ever seen.” He pulled you into his arms. “But I rather like calling you a fruit. You taste just like one-,”

“Jaskier!”

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If your name is in italics, it wouldn’t let me tag you :(

[the-coffee-story]

Rise of the Forest God

Chapter 2 - The Forest God

When Agatha came over to visit the next day, she found herself baffled when Alice opened the door with a wide smile.

"Agatha, you won't believe what happened!" She was giddy. "Oh, it's so wonderful!"

Agatha furrowed her brows and tried to peer her head past her shoulders and into the space between the doorway. "What is it?"

"He's back!"

"Who?"

"Eustace!"

"What?!"

"Come and see for yourself!" Alice excitedly jumped up and down and took her by the hand. "He's still weak, and he won't speak, but he's here!!!"

"Alice, that's-"

"Come with me!" She dragged her along to the living room, excitedly murmuring the whole way.

Agatha froze in the doorway, mouth slightly agape.

It was him, undoubtedly, but even as he raised his head and turned it to them, he didn't look like he was still among the living. His skin was white and mottled, and he was sitting so still he looked like a corpse at first. His face was empty of any expression or life, as if his soul had been left behind somewhere far away. "Eustace, look, Agatha's here!" Alice was beaming, skipping over to the still figure.

Agatha felt the blood draining from her face.

Whatever was going on, this was not natural. And yet Alice was as joyful as she hadn't been in months. Agatha was torn. Should she tell her to leave him? What had happened to him? Or should she let it be?

"I-"

"Yes, I know, he looks exhausted." Alice's voice was soft as she sat down next to her silent husband. She softly stroked the back of his hand. "But he's going to be fine again, aren't you, Eustace?"

His chapped, white-blue lips moved, only slightly, but no sound came out. His face was as expressionless as that of a deadman.

Agatha shivered, and took a stray step back. She couldn't bear to be within his presence any longer. "Well, I... I wish you two the best of luck with th-that then... I just remembered I still need to fix my husband's coat, he ripped a hole in it again, he's so clumsy..." She laughed nervously. "I'll see you then... goodbye!"

With that she rushed out.

***

"Zombie." The child grinned.

"Don't interrupt me." The mother gently booped her child's nose.

***

Months had passed. At first Eustace's miraculous return was nothing but a rumour, but then Alice began bringing him outside, and soon everyone knew that something had happened. By the time it was summer, despite whispers of witchcraft and unholy entities, the majority of townsfolk had simply accepted the strange pair. There wasn't much else to do.

It was a warm summer afternoon. The sun was drowning the world in a deep golden glow and the birch trees were softly swaying in the wind like it was singing them to sleep. Alice and Eustace were sitting in the garden and she was making a flower crown for him. He still hadn't said a word since his return, but it didn't stop her from trying. She loved him. She loved him so much.

She put the crown on his head and adjusted it a little. "There. Isn't it lovely?"

He turned his head a little, then reached out a bony hand to feel the soft petals between his fingers. The ghost of a smile was barely visible on his pale lips. Alice smiled and snuggled up to him, wrapping an arm around his thin frame and gently placing her hand on his. She closed her eyes. "I love you."

She heard someone call her name and looked up. Agatha was standing by the old wooden fence and waving. "Alice, can you come over for a minute?"

"I'll be right back, dearest," she told Eustace. Then she got up, brushed the grass off her dress and ran over to the fence. "I'm coming!"

Agatha's face was serious. "Alice, I wanted to warn you."

"What is it? If you're talking about the apple tree don't worry, I already cut the branch before it could break off and hurt someo-"

"The shepherd was found dead in the forest."

Alice paled. "My God. What happened?"

"Something tore him up. Nobody knows what it could have been."

"A wolf? A bear?"

"Something worse." Agatha's brown eyes were narrow, and stared into the garden just in front of her.. "Where was Eustace last night?"

"Well, he went outside to catch some air at around midnight..." Alice's heterochromatic eyes widened. "Good God, he could've gotten himself killed! I'll make sure to tell him not to do that!"

"Alice, don't you think-"

"My God, thank you for the warning Agatha, he could've come to harm..."

"Alice!", Agatha suddenly snapped, grabbing her arm before she could turn and run back. "Come back to your senses! Whatever that...that thing is, it's not your husband!"

"He just needs some time!", she pleaded, flinching her arm away. "He's going to be alright! He just needs a bit of patience and care, and then it's all going to be alright!"

"Alice, he is literally a rotting corpse, it's time to just let it go!"

"He needs me!!"

They both glanced over at the young man sitting, alone, in the thick grass. He was still wearing the flower crown and softly swaying back and forth with the dancing trees. There was even some kind of tiny smile still plastered to his pale lips.

"Alice, this is madness," Agatha muttered, more to herself, if anything.

"Give me some time," the younger woman pleaded, voice cracking softly. "I swear, he's going to make it."

"This feels like something that shouldn't be messed with, Alice-"

"He'll be fine."

"Are you saying that because you believe it, or because you want to believe it?"

Alice hesitated. "Because I love him."

Agatha sighed, and paused. It felt wrong. Everything felt so wrong. Agatha knew, somewhere deep down, she needed to help the grieving woman. This... thing wasn't her husband. No, she was going to help her, no matter if it shattered her healing heart back In two. But right now... She just couldn't bring herself to do it.

"Alright... be careful, dear," was all she could mutter. She kissed her on the cheek and pulled her into a hug, not daring to let her go. "Eustace!" He clumsily raised his head. "You better damn well appreciate what Alice is doing for you!"

He nodded, but his pale face was still empty of any expression. He looked like an empty shell, someone that once held such life and humanity, but now something different masqueraded inside.

A few days had passed. The shepherd was buried and mourned for. But, one day soon after there was another crowd carrying something from the woods.

"What's going on?", Alice asked a little boy as the procession passed by. "What happened?"

"Oh, they found the milkman dead in the woods." He shrugged. "Intestines all over the place."

Agatha quickly appeared by Alice's side, fury in her face. "It happened again! Something is going on here and I'm sure your husband has something to do with it!"

"Agatha, please...!" Alice bit her lip, looking at her battered shoes. "He's not hurting anyone."

"Enough is enough!"

Suddenly a weak sound escaped Eustace's mouth. He bit his lip and tried again.

"Agatha.... please.... don't shout....at Alice."

Despite it all, Alice's face lit up and she threw her arms around him, trying anything to pull her mind away from the gathering crowd passing them. "You're speaking again!"

"Not...her fault....."

Agatha clenched he fist and took a firm step forward, glaring at the pair. "Eustace, you're hiding something."

"Agatha, please...", Alice pleaded, drawing her arms from around Eustace's thin waist.

But the older woman just turned and walked away.

On that evening while Alice was preparing dinner Eustace went out into the garden to catch some air. He returned when the sun had just sunk behind the net of emerald trees, the red sky reflecting on his white hair and giving him an ethereal appearance. He looked otherworldly.

Alice hugged him in the doorway and buried her face in his jacket. "I love you. My darling."

But suddenly she heard a woman screaming down the street.

"Something must have happened," Alice whispered, pulling him inside. "Let's close the door."

Darkness had quickly cast it's shadow over the village. But outside people gathered, with torches and pitchforks, a demonic mob, hoarsely screaming obscenities at the top of their lungs. Then someone knocked hard on the door.

"He killed my husband!", Agatha screamed from outside the house. "That evil creature killed my husband, let me in, Alice!"

"No!", Alice screamed. "It wasn't him...it can't have been him!"

"We'll break the damn door if we have to!"

"I won't let you hurt him!" Alice was sobbing. She ran back to the table and hugged Eustace, her long dark hair falling over his shoulder like a waterfall. She cradled him in her arms. "I won't let them hurt you, my darling. Just you wait. You'll be fine again. I promise."

Eustace raised his head a little and his ashen lips moved. She came closer and he whispered something, barely understandable and raspy.

"I love you...run..."

She hugged him and cried. "I love you... I won't run anywhere, I'll stay with you... I love you...!"

"Please...run..."

"I love you...!"

Suddenly he froze. Then his slender hand reached for his blindfold and pulled it away. And when he opened his eyes and glanced up, Alice was met with the full force of his golden gaze, like the sun on a summer evening in the forest.

The door broke down with a sickening crunch, and the mob flooded inside.

Eustace was sitting on the floor, Alice's head resting in his lap. Her beige dress was soaked in vermilion blood, and her beautiful dark hair surrounded her pale face like a halo of shadows. Her eyes were wide open in wonder and an expression of love was frozen on her face. She was dead.

Eustace was wearing his blindfold again. When he raised his head his lips moved. "Run... please..."

***

"And what then??"

The woman smiled. "They captured him. They decided to make sure he wouldn't ever return from the grave again, so they built him a coffin of iron, with locks and chains around it, and buried him deep in the woods, praying that no one would ever release him." She gently booped the child's nose. "Now good night, Miss Walther."

[kezibun]

A storm of a hunt part 3

Part 1

Previous

Next

You hesitantly tell him your name, maybe he was actually just being nice?

"Huh… cool name..." He mumbles.

A waft of coldness crawls over your skin, making goose bumps rise. You can't stop the shiver that follows it.

 "Oh shoot." Papyrus sighs. "That damn heater." 

He stands up, then kicks the little heater a few times and presses the button, but nothing happens. He seems to give up on the heater and you watch him as he walks over to the box labelled torture. Your whole body is tense but you keep you're eye on him as he rummages through the box. He's looking for something that you can be sure of.

 After all this was he really going to hurt you? After what's been said? What will he find in there? What does he want? Maybe he's looking for something to tie you up with. 

 He's just playing some kind of sick game again, like everyone else in this hell hole. You shouldn't trust anyone, not even down here. You just can't especially since all you've been met with is manipulation, lies and treachery. 

Maybe now you could try to escape, slip away while his back is turned. But as you try and sit up, a sharp pain burns in your side, there is no way you're going anywhere while you're in this agony. You sit back down and instinctively hold your injuries, not that it helps. Why does everything hurt worse once you've had a minute to rest?

 Papyrus comes over with something. It looks like a big metal tin. How Is he going to hurt you with this?

He kneels on the floor, setting the tin down, he's filled it with wood and sticks. Then he snaps his fingers over it, an orange spark floats down settling on a twig, it fizzles briefly as it sets alight. The fire is slow to grow but it already feels warmer than the small space heater. The flames grow and dance as they cast an amber glow. You're mesmerised for a moment.

"Do your injuries still hurt?" His question snaps you out of it.

"Yeah, those traps did quite the number on me." You say with a nervous laugh. 

"Let me check your HP."

"Wa-"

In that second the world around goes dark, an encounter? You feel fear creep over you, this wasn't good. 

"-It…."

Damn is he going to fight you? Or just check you like he said? If this was going to be like any of the other monsters you'd encountered before? you're sure it won't be fun.

You look over to your HP. There's something weird about it, it doesn't seem right, and that makes your stomach churn with even more nerves. You don't know what's wrong but It can't be good.

 He stares at you intently for a second.

'Papyrus cheeked your stats he doesn't seem happy with what he sees.' 

It's your turn now. His name is yellow, you know what that means. You're tempted to take a peek at his stats but you really don't have the energy right now and you're pretty sure he won't appreciate it. You are definitely not up for a fight, so you choose mercy. Everything fades back to normal. That wasn't so bad.

He then just walks out, leaving you behind and alone. The only sounds that keep you company are the crackling fire in front of you and the howling wind outside. 

You sigh and huddle up by said fire, pulling the jacket around you again as you wonder what on earth he saw that he didn't like. You hope whatever it was won't get you hurt. How did you ever end up in this situation? If only you could remember.

 You feel the warmth of the fire almost wrap around you as it seeps in and you finally start to thaw. Your toes almost sting like pins and needles as the feeling starts coming back to them. 

It wasn't long though until Papyrus was back, he entered silently like he'd just appeared in the room.

He holds a brown paper bag out to you, "Eat this." 

You take the bag, inside is a donut with black icing and a purple cobweb design on top. You usually would have been suspicious of such a gift, just in case it was poisoned. But at this point you don't really care, you're just happy to get some food. All you can do now is sort of trust him right? as much as you might dislike it. What other choice do you have?

"Thanks." 

You take a bite of the donut, the first flavour you get is sugar, it's very sweet, there also seems to be a bit of a spiced flavour then you taste the weirdest thing, you're hit with a faintly meaty flavour like chicken, mixed with a slightly fishy taste? and there's a dubious crunch to it. Then following it is a sandy texture that tastes smokey, but it's all then taken over by the alcoholic aftertaste that hits next. Despite the weirdness it's actually pretty good, better than snail pie to say the least, possibly the second best thing you've eaten since falling down here, the first being that candy that kept you alive through the ruins. You finish off the whole donut.

Wait. A sudden strange feeling washes over you, you feel the urge to check your stats. Did you just level up? That's kinda mysterious but cool, why would that have happened?

He then sits in front of you.

"What are you doing?" You ask.

"Your wound…How's it?"

"It um... feels a little better."

"Let me check it?" He asks.

You pause and take a moment to think. "I… don't know…" Is the only reply you could conjure up.

"It's ok."

He pulls the jacket off your shoulder.

"Hey don't." You grab his wrist.

He takes your hand and moves it off his wrist with a scowl. Then he pushes your ripped top up enough to see your wound. 

You flinch as his cold phalanges brush against your skin. 

"Sorry." He mutters, but he doesn't stop what he's doing, he looks over your badly wrapped wounds.

Now that he's so close you notice how his cheekbones seem to have a faint rusty glow to them, and he's actually pretty cute. No you can't be thinking like that. He's a skeleton monster that just hunted you down in a snowstorm, and scared you half to death. Not to mention you're now in his torture shed.

"The trap had some magic that stops it healing. I'm gonna to treat it. Can I… um...?" He gestures to your injuries and you fill in the gap.

You think for a minute… Is it smart to let him treat you? Probably not. But it might be your only chance, if anything he's saying is true.

"I did a pretty shoddy job with wrapping it up didn't I? Just be careful... I'd rather not die today you know…" You mumbled. Maybe that hint was a little too obvious, you feel like you basically just yelled please don't kill me. Would it be better to just beg for your life? Would that get you anywhere? Could you let go of what little pride you have left?

"You're lucky. I... can't have you dying yet." He takes his phone out and gets a first aid kit from his inventory. "Could ya hold your shirt up?" 

You do as he asks and hold up your top, the cool air is sharp to your newly exposed skin, you can't help but shiver some more.

"You humans sure feel the cold don't ya?"

Is he trying to strike up a conversation? Or just making an oddball comment?

Either way you don't really answer him… 

And with that he quickly warms his hands over the fire before he ever so carefully unwraps your bloody makeshift bandage. You watch his every move carefully, making sure there's no foul play. He then gets out a small round pot from the first aid kit, it's white with a green symbol on the lid.

"This'll sting but it'll help."

He applies the light green cream, it has a peculiar scent that can only be described as warm and kind, but it feels like he's just rubbed nettles over your flesh, that means it's working right? For you're benefit you hope. He then wraps your wound up, it's not too tight but definitely tighter then whatever you'd managed before. He pulls his jacket back around you. 

"You should try and get some sleep." He pats your head before he sits down next to you. 

"Are you staying?" 

"Yeah. Rest. I'll stay guard."

"Why are you helping me?" You query.

"It's complicated." He huffs. "No more chit chat. Just sleep already." He pulls the hood over your face roughly.

"Ok." You yawn as you lean into the corner of the shed, the wooden wall is cold and hardly an ideal pillow but you are so tired it barely bothers you, you close your eyes and soon enough you're asleep. 

. . .

"MUTT! have you lost your mind?" 

"Hush M'lord, They're sleepin'."

"YES SLEEPING AND NOT DEAD." 

"I can't kill em." 

You open your eyes slightly, stirring awake from the commotion and loud voices. 

You see Papyrus and the other skeleton, his brother?

"Then let me at the darn human." He snaps.

"M'lord you can't." Papyrus stops his brother from getting closer.

"AND WHY NOT!?"

"I told you. I need to figure it out. Trust me."

"You're going soft, don't forget your duty Papyrus! You have a week! NO THREE DAYS! Figure out whatever the heck you need to then get rid of that pest, that rodent." He starts walking off. "If Alphys finds out, I'm dead, this will be the end of my malevolent career. The Queen will have our heads for this! YOU KNOW THAT RIGHT?" He huffs as he storms out. 

You're still so tired… your eyelids are too heavy to keep open… With this new silence you can't stay awake for even a second more.

[nightshadeshadow123]

Paw prints on the Agent's heart🐾part 4:

Alex Danvers x reader🔫🐾

Sorry for the slow progress of the story guys.

Tag list:

@retro-aesthe @blackluthxr @samustar @aznblossom @ibe-anne @lezzzbehonesthere

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"Not so tough now aye Princessa?" You chuckeld into her ear, not failing to notice her breath hitch and heart beat picking up a pace.

"Midnight. We meet again." Came her reply, trying to keep still in your hold.

"Mhm, what a pleasurable coincident." You purred. You'll admit that you did find her very attractive, and the way she seem to shiver when your lips ghosted ever so slightly against her ear and they way your breath fanned against the back of her neck had her hair raising had you smirking devilishly.

"Enjoying yourself Princessa?" You cooed.

"In your dreams, bad wolf." Alex breated out, hands now firm on the arm around her neck.

Kara stepped closer this time, keeping a tentantive eye on you.

"(Y/N), you can let her go now. She means no harm." Kara assured. "And you can come with us now."

"Meh, where's the fun in letting her go. She doesn't seem to mind it either." You chuckled at them.

Kara looked to Alex and with that distrataction you whispered an inaudible thing in her ear and shoved her towards Kara.

Kara let's out a spueek but easily caught her sister, helping her to stand upright.

"Well playtime was fun but I'm afraid I must go, see ya later querida." You winked at Alex before turning into wolf form and running off into the shadows of the night.

They both stood dumbfounded and baffled, trying to process what have just happened.

"What just happened?" Kara managed to get out, looking at her sister.

Alex stood wide-eyed, before calming down.

"Just...woah. I don't even know." Alex breated out.

Kara suddenly amusedly smirk at her sister.

"Oh, you like her." Kara laughed heartily at her sisters perplexed expression.

"I....do not!" Alex yelped, trying to hide the blush rising towards her cheecks.

Kara laughed even harder at this. "You so do have a crush."

Alex playfully shoved her. "Shut up blondie."

"What did she whisper in your ear?" Kara asked, a smug look on her face.

"N-nothing." Alex blushed, glaring at Kara.

"Oh Rao, am I hearing wedding bells?" Kara bursted out laughing.

Alex glared even harder at her. "Shut up!" And this time punshed her shoulder lightly.

"And how do you know her real name?" Alex questioned Kara.

"Well, turns out she's my childhood friend from Krypton. That's why she looked familiar." Kara explained, standing infront of her sister.

Alex smiled at her sister. "Woah, that's nice. You aren't so alone anymore."

Kara smiled back. "Yeah, I'm glad she survived. I was heartbroken when I thought she have died with Kryptons destruction."

"Are all Kryptonians so foward and flirty." Alex smirked.

This time it was Kara's turn to blush. "Ehehe, not everyone, just males and Alpha females."

"Ha, knew you were a bottom." Alex laughed, causing Kara to elbow her playfully.

"So that means she's an Alpha wolf?" Alex suddenly asked.

"Yep, she is. Born pure Alpha. Why you asking? You wanna be her bottom Omega. Or are you a top." Kara wiggled her eyebrows, giving her a cheecky smile when her blush returned full on.

"You Kryptonians or so unbelievable." Alex grumbles, arms folded.

"And just so you know, Krytonians eat alot so make enough food for us all."

"KARA!" Alex yelled. "She haven't even joined and you talk like this."

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Alex, Kara and J'onn were in the main computer room at the DEO facility, talking about the wolf they now know as (Y/N).

"I still believe that she'd join us if we keep on trying. We can't give up now." Kara said, determination in her voice.

"I agree with Kara." Alex smiled at her sister.

J'onn nodded. "I know. She've been through a lot and it might take her time to fully trust us. But we have to prove to her that we aren't like CADMUS." He explained.

Just when he went to talk more Winn came running from his desk frantically, almost bouncing with excitement.

"Please tell me good news Winn." J'onn looked at Winn, waiting to hear what he have to say.

"Sir, I've find a way we can know who've helped (Y/N) escape. But the file is located at one of their hideouts." Winn explained.

J'onn narrowed his eyes, rubbing at his chin in thought. "Well just give me the location then and I'll work out a plan."

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"Agent Danvers. I have a new mission for you if you are up for it." J'onn fell into step next to Alex that is busy talking.

Both Alex and Kara's attention snapped towards him, greeting him.

"A new mission? What is it Sir?" Alex asked eagerly, just wanting to do something fun other than be stuck listening to Winn's weird theories he seem to have lately.

He held a piece of paper out towards Alex. "I want you to go search this location. One of CADMUS hideouts. Apparently it holds the information of the wolf we need. We can learn who helped her escape, her abilities, strength, weakness etc. But this is a stealth mission, just sneak in and get the info then get out."

"Hell yeah, I'm up for this mission." Alex accepted eagerly.

J'onn give her a small smile. "But just be careful Alex. You are our best agent. We can't afford to loose you. I would've send someone else out but I only trust you with this."

Alex nodded at him, giving him an assuring smile. "I'll try my best Sir."

J'onn gave her a pat on the shoulder. "Suit up and get ready to leave. We need that info as soon. I'm going to have a freak fit if we have to clear up onther mess CADMUS made." With that he left the room.

"I would have loved to go and help you out but Miss Grant will have my head if I do plan her famous Gala tonight then I also have to attend said gala." Kara grumbels.

"You go do that sis, it's only a sneak in mission and get the info then get out. I can handle that." Alex assured her, nudging Kara's side.

Kara smiled softly at her sister, pulling her into a hug before flying off in a hury.

Alex immediately went to get ready, already dressed in her DEO outfit, hostering two pistols at either side of her just in case something goes wrong with the mission and she might have to defend herself.

"Let's hope this is worth a shot." Alex said to herself once outside the building, getting onto her bike.

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"Oh, how orginal." Alex muttered under her breath when arriving at the location, seeying it's an abandoned warehouse.

Taking a quick scan over the place, Alex could see a few guards guarding around the eerie warehouse, unsetilling drilling sounds filling the slightly windy dark air along with the sounds of hammers on metal as a few guards make small talk off in the distance.

"Sir, I don't think this is just a regular abandoned warehouse." Alex said through her ear piece to J'onn, the few hair on her arm raising.

"Agent Danvers, what do you mean? Winn said it wasn't a big deal." J'onn ask in concern and confusion.

"This place is dark and eerily creepy but it seems like an active place, they are certaintly doing something very bad here." Alex explained softly.

"That sounds?" J'onn asked knowingly after catching the faint sound, imagining just how much harder it must sound in person. "I wonder what secret dark stuff they are up to this time. I'll have Winn make more scans over the place."

"Yeah, he clearly must have missed something when he scanned the place." Alex agreed, making sure to stay hidden and keeping an eye out for any guards that might be guarding near.

"Agent Danvers, you can come back to the DEO. Leave that place."

"No Sir. We are so close to getting the information. I can't just throw that away just because of an creepy warehouse." Alex firmly said despite the fear that slowly grips her heart.

J'onn let's out a heavy sigh, knowing it's useless to try and argue with the stuborn agent.

"Alex...just please be careful." J'onn said worriedly making Alex sinceriley smile to herself.

"Will do."

"Come back to us alive and in one piece Agent Danvers." J'onn chuckled out, greately worried about her.

"I'll try my absolute best Sir." Alex assured."I must get going."

"Be safe. If anything goes south don't hesitate to alert me or your sister. Don't try to take on too many danger yourself. You aren't invincible like Kara or me." J'onn said in a stern voice.

"Yes Sir. I know but just know I'll try my best." With that she disconnected the earpiece.

Alex quickly but silently found a way to sneak down from the low cliff she was on, hiding behind what appears to be broken weapon that's mounted in a wall, peeking around the corner and scanning for guards, spotting one near.

Alex let out a soft huff, looking at the dirty ground, spotting a medium sized rock, bending down to quickly grab it and pressing herself back against the wall.

"This better work." Alex said softly under her breath, clutching the rock tightly before she threw it against an empty tank with a hole in a good few feet at the guards left, creating a clank sound, immediately gaining the guard near hers attention.

Alex held in her breath as the guard slowly walked in the direction where the sound came from, gun pointed and ready to shoot, one hand going to active his ear piece but he didn't get far before Alex sneaked up behind him, hitting him behind the head to knock him out, letting out the breath she was holding in as the guard lay passed out.

She dragged him behind the wall she first used, making sure he wouldn't be spotted before she dashed to the side of the warehouse, hiding behind everything she could, keeping an eye out for more guards but spotted none, figuring that most have went to talk with the other two guards that were talking and joking loudly.

Alex noticed rusted faint blue stairs at the side of the warehouse that led to an second floor entrance.

"And there's my way in." Alex said to herself softly, palm pressed against the cold metal container she's hiding behind as she did another quick scan of her surroundings before she made a fast paced run for the stairs, hands gripping the cold metal railings as she softly made her way up them, the hairs on her neck raising as the sounds grow even louder now accompanied by an eerie faint shimmering swooch sound that grows louder with each step.

Alex lifted her hand to the rusty knob, pushing it open when realizing it isn't locked, making sure there aren't any guards nearby before entering.

"Some security they are." Alex said sarcasticaly.

She kept hidden in the dark corners, trying to focus on the task at hand instead of the awful steely stence of blood that fills the air, even noticing said dried blood along the rusty floor, making her even more on edge.

Upon walking past a huge crate she could see various alien weapons, a few barrels with a glimmering green substance in, cages with dead alien people in that makes her pull a distsgusted face, briefly closing her brown eyes in sympathy for the aliens before moving to look over the railing that goes down to the first floor, spotting more weapons, guards, diffrent substance in racks of vails and more cages filled with aliens with some tied down to chairs while the scientist were performing diffrent opperations on them, dread filling her heart and rage at the people for doing such things.

Alex spotted a blue cube office near the corner on the other side of the stairs.

"Bingo." Alex said to herself, having a good guess that the information she came for must be in there.

When she went to take a step down the stairs she was suddenly knocked down the few stairs by a force from behind, landing on the rusty cold hard floor with a loud yelp.

"Well, well. What have we here? A lost DEO girl scout." A male said in a manic voice as he stepped down the stairs making Alex flinced at every clank the man's dirty boots made against the metal stairs.

Alex pused her palms against the floor, trying to get up but another man came from behind, kicking her back down with his foot, keeping it pressed down on her back hard as the barrel of the the other guard's gun pressed against her forehead, growling lowly when the guard behind her yank her head up with her hair, forcing her to look up at the one that have pushed her down the stairs, a sinister scowl/smirk present as he kept his gun against her temple.

"Time for some fun." The other one snickered, grip tightening on her hair.

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Whoop another cliffhanger for ya'll lovies. Sorry for the long wait, it took me a damn long time to get insperation to finish the chapter, hope you guys enjoy it.

[gascon-en-exil]

I'm genuinely curious about your "Black Eagles most to least favourite" list.

Here you are.

#1: Hubert

Could there be any other? I remember back when there was a promo introducing the house retainers (well, Lorenz for the Deer) and everyone was saying that Hubert looked so obviously evil that there had to be some deeper explanation, that someone who took design cues from a two-dimensional villain like Fates’s Iago couldn’t possibly be Edelgard’s retainer. Then the game came out, and we all realized that Hubert was exactly as advertised and then some: a cold and calculating murderer and war criminal with his fingerprints all over almost every terrible thing that happens over the course of the story, as comfortable with chloroform and a razor as dark magic and down to perform unspeakable experiments on innocent civilians to turn them into war machines and then backstab his co-conspirators because he will suffer no rivals for his title of the Most Evil Man in Fòdlan. And yep, he looks like Dracula and Severus Snape had a one-night stand and their mpreg love child went to an anime convention...but when Ferdinand looks at Hubert he sees Mr. Darcy and the Phantom of the Opera and Edward Cullen/Christian Grey, and soon enough that snake in Hubert’s breeches will be singing quite the aria indeed. You do you, Ferdinand.

Ok, I’ve already rambled at length on Hubert’s bisexuality and the interesting things it reveals about both him and his two primary love interests, but I do also have to admire the sheer audacity both of Hubert as an incel/Nice Guy-flavored romantic false lead for Edelgard who never had a serious chance because of the self-insert fantasy and of the decision to follow that up with a trope-laden queer romance that perfectly counterbalances Hubert’s attraction to Edelgard and puts Ferdinand firmly in the place he was destined to occupy by choosing to side with the Empire. It’s nearly as outrageous as just how casually evil Hubert gets to be, as well as the immense potential for dark humor that lies with that. You have to bend over backwards to say that Hubert isn’t unapologetically, irredeemably evil, and if you try there will be significantly more fans just waiting to tell you that you’re wrong - myself included. He’s the Manfroy to Edelgard’s Arvis but so much than that, and I look forward to the point in the CF postgame where he effectively takes over the Empire in true evil chancellor fashion and unleashes the full extent of his horrors upon Fòdlan. He somehow got even better in the DLC too despite being absent from CS and getting no new supports, because the Abyssians in CF just can’t stop talking about his nefarious antics down there. I just can’t get enough of how good this guy is at being bad, and I love that FE gave us exactly what was advertised here.

#2: Ferdinand

Now here’s a case of the opposite, where what’s on the packaging didn’t prepare me for what was to come. If I remarked on Ferdinand at all during pre-release it was only to think that he might be part of a Christmas knight duo with Sylvain since the game looked like it wouldn’t have one of those. Early on there wasn’t much else to be said about Ferdinand; he was like Claude in that his popularity ran off a meme (except just the one rather than several), and in appearance and personality he was basically Lorenz with less ridiculous hair. But then came his supports, and his post-timeskip look, and suddenly Ferdinand blossomed into the subtext-laden fem with very bizarre taste in men - see above - that he could have only dreamed of being if he’d stuck to such well-trod ground as the Christmas knight archetype. We learn of his love for opera, his complicated relationship with his father, his worship of the hot mess diva Manuela and how he learned swordplay specifically to imitate her roles on the stage, and - yes - how some backhanded compliments and expensive gifts of tea turn him into a blushing Regency heroine. It all casts his unusually rote romances with women in a performative light (as opposed to Lorenz who is similarly performative but seems genuinely interested in the marriage market), to say nothing of his one-sided rivalry with Edelgard that brushes against jealousy over Hubert’s devotion to her more often than against romantic attraction to her, and that toys around with gendered behavior in a manner complementary to Edelgard’s own bucking of the gender status quo.

And while not to the same extent as Felix, I do appreciate that Ferdinand has two distinct arcs depending on the route - and unlike some who feel that one or the other detracts from his character as a whole I personally find that they complement each other well. In SS and if recruited to AM and VW he makes the hard choice to oppose his homeland, spending the timeskip waging a solitary battle against the Empire with his private militia and then joining back up with Byleth’s army at Garreg Mach because he knows Edelgard is in the wrong even as it pains him to depose the Adrestian emperor and leave his own status uncertain...not to mention fight Hubert, which merits a curious boss conversation as well as some extra lines in SS (plus the infamous Huge Hole™ remark that I will never stop referencing because it is hilarious) that, while not elevating Ferdibert anywhere near the level of Dimidue in terms of cross-route canon endorsement, nonetheless are suggestive of something deeper between them that exists even if they find themselves on opposite sides of a war. In CF by contrast Ferdinand gives into his craving for the title and holdings that Edelgard has just stripped from his father and embraces nationalism and his long-held ideal of what the office of the prime minister should to do as a means of justifying the Empire’s conquests. Of course in the process he also succumbs to Hubert’s, er, charms(?) and becomes the charismatic bureaucrat who is presumably saddled with the task of putting a positive spin on the Empire’s dystopian atrocities while Edelgard and Hubert do all the actual work...and Hubert does all the actual actual work, which includes a lot of murder and kidnapping and all manner of other things that he doesn’t share with his pretty lover and about which Ferdinand quickly learns not to ask. Two Jewels of the Empire, indeed.

#3-4: Edelgard and Dorothea

I go back and forth on these so I’m not going to bother putting them in a definitive order, particularly because I like them for very different reasons that are difficult to compare. For Edelgard, it would be most accurate to say that I enjoy her potential much more than her execution; she gets some meaty material to work with as a lord and as the driving antagonist of the whole game outside of CF, and while I still prefer Micaiah for female lords there’s something darkly satisfying about her need for control and domination and her utter refusal to compromise or remain stagnant...except where Byleth is concerned, and Edeleth drags her down so badly that it would be painful if I cared more about that type of strong female character. Had the game axed the self-insert obsession (even if that meant axing her bisexuality along with it) and focused on her experiences during the Insurrection as the source of her worldview and motivations I’d be inclined to like the final product far more, because that’s a hell of a lot more in line with what she actually does and conveniently also maps to the life of a real world ruler with whom I’m relatively familiar and whom history regards in appropriately ambivalent terms.

Dorothea on the other hand is someone I can relate to on a more personal level, mostly as a sex worker. She’s similar to Primrose from Octopath Traveler, both of them prostitutes and playing coy with the implications of the RPG dancer class archetype, although Primrose hits a few more of my buttons for being former nobility and being motivated by revenge. Then again, I fully understand Dorothea���s anxieties about growing old without a man to take care of her, even if she loses me (and Yuri picks up from where she leaves off) when she dips into lesbianism as an alternative option. She’s got her ups and downs for me - I love that she brings up incest kink with Caspar as opposed to this series’s usual outright incest, while I love less her strange Ferdinand supports that are suspended oddly between friendship and romance and...something else undefinable - and I don’t have much to say on her life as an opera diva except that it doesn’t surprise me in the slightest that she’s been turning tricks on the side and even got a sugar daddy to pay her way into the academy. Theatre and sex work have always gone hand-in-hand like that.

#5-7: Linhardt, Caspar, and Petra

This is why I couldn’t make up a list like this for the Lions or Deer, because most of their students would be in big clumps like this. I have no strong opinions on any of these characters; they each have their moments, but not enough to elevate them to where I actively like them or drop them down into real dislike. I suppose you could say I’m disappointed by how Caspar and Linhardt are visual allusions to Ike/Soren who do absolutely nothing else with that similarity except eloping in their paired ending...which is preceded by virtually nothing in the way of real chemistry. If I enjoy them for anything in particular it’s Linhardt’s wit and Caspar’s occasional bouts of emotional vulnerability, like his mini-arc in AM where he has to deal with his feelings surrounding Randolph’s death and then later gets an apology from Dimitri for it.

Petra is awkward all around as the game dances around her delicate political situation, and I also happen to agree with the VA who (if I recall) thought the character should have some sort of accent but wasn’t allowed to do one. (If anyone is wondering, based on her last name and Brigid being an island nation I headcanon it as a Celtic-derived culture, but as with my personal reading of Dedue and Duscur I know that doesn’t play well to the fandom at large).  All in all Petra feels like a more self-aware rendition of the exotic swordswoman archetype begun by Ayra in Jugdral, but there’s clearly still some work to be done on that front.

#8: Bernadetta

Ugh. With apologies to @capriciouscorvid for explaining how even unintentional disability representation can be taken as a positive, I just don’t see how Bernadetta’s character could possibly be considered a good thing when she’s so grating in almost all of her supports and most of her story and exploration presence outside of CF. All the screaming and high-pitched pronouncements of impending death get very old very quickly, and the part where she’s meant to be romantically appealing in her neediness and isolation is as lost on me as it would have been had it stemmed instead from a massive rack. Her supposedly sympathetic backstory doesn’t help much either, as it leaves me mostly with the thought that her father is an idiot because his methods obviously did not make her suitable to be a good wife. I also don’t care for how she’s one of several characters used to soften Jeritza (and that the way she does so is I think rather insulting to people with social anxiety, to liken it to a compulsion to commit murder), or even worse that people point to her Hubert support to try and say that he’s not such a bad guy and they’d be total besties just like Ferdinand and Dorothea (another pairing that doesn’t exactly scream BFFs). I mean, really....

[kira-7]

This is my Good Omens Secret Santa, created by @mabsgatos, for @ineffablesociety, hope you like it! And good holidays!

Spooky Christmas

(aka This tree is on fire!, a new single release by Alek Keychains, this Christmas, on iToon)

Aziraphale doesn't hide a smile when, while he's reading Mr. Wordsworth's words, he can perceive a well known aura; without thinking about it, the angel starts a mental countdown... Three... Two...

"Angel!"

One. Still too fast. Oh well, Aziraphale raised up, puts the book upon the shelf and reaches the living room, where Crowley is waiting for him, hardly to contain the excitement about something.

"Hello, dear. Have you done something very evil today?"

Crowley nods and quickly approaches his angel, "You have no idea," he snaps his fingers to miracle a black jacket, a red hat and a grey scarf worn by Aziraphale, "Hurry, angel, or we'll be late!"

"What? But--Crowley, I'm in the middle of a declaration of love," the blond angel tries to protest, showing to the demon a book he was reading a few minutes ago.

"Y-yeah, so you juss-just... Do you want to remain here, while outside Evil Forces are spreading like snakes of shadow, surpassing the-- the... Urgh... The army of good, or what else you want to call it?!"

Aziraphale watches Crowley without worrying, he is relaxed and peaceful, "My dear," he starts, "We both know you don't want to hurt anyone, just because it isn't funny, according to what you said two years ago in that Manor, at Tadfield."

Crowley doesn't give up, he has another ace in the hole, he crawls near the chair and hisses tempter in the angel's ear,

"And if I sssay you I booked a table in that restaurant, the one you wanted to try, because it has the most delicious macarons in the world, will you come with me, angel?"

That malicious voice, and a dinner invitation, Crowley knows well how to use his skills, foul fiend... Aziraphale turns his head to look into Crowley's eyes, and unconsciously he holds his breath, "Anywhere you want, darling," the angel answers with a soft smile, causing a self-combustion to Crowley.

"Err-O-ngh-o-ok, right, yes... Well, must we go!"

The demon runs away a few meters from Aziraphale, and leads him to the Bentley, which radio spreads Freddie Mercury's voice who thanks God because it is Christmas.

When they arrive, the two creatures ahead to Trafalgar Square, Aziraphale follows Crowley, the demon seems sure of which direction to take, until they reach a white iron table, placed under a fir Christmas tree, its lights are off yet.

"Oh, this is for us?," Aziraphale asks, watching Crowley sits in one of the two chairs, then he sits too.

"Only the best for you, angel," he smirks, "A front row seat for the best show of the century! Do you want a glass of wine?"

"A cup of cocoa it's--" the angel stops when a white cup of chocolate appears in front of him, "Thanks," he says with a lovely smile.

Crowley looks away while he's drinking his glass, then watches at his watch, impatient.

"What are we waiting for, darling?"

"Soon you'll see, it will begin in less of ten minutes."

The angel starts to drink, and is thrilled to see all couples sitting waiting for something, and probably the angel understands what it is.

"Did your evil plan consist in bringing me outside to see the lighting of the tree, of this tree above us?"

It is good to see Crowley running his hand through his hair to suppress his nervousness, the angel stretches his hand to hold the demon's, "I like it, thanks!"

The demon blushes, and he is going to start saying something, when a small choir of children begins to sing O Holy night, to demon's surprise. Someone proposed the mayor to call it, because God would have been glad to receive such a gift from pure creatures like children.

"The mayor listened my suggestion," Aziraphale says, looking emotionally at those lovely children, "They're wonderful, are they, sweetheart?"

Crowley doesn't pay attention at those children, he prefers to observe the profile of his angel, longing that smile for himself, looking at that tiny tear run along angel's cheek, "Ye, yea, nn--" he answers, resting the chin on a fist, "Beautiful."

Then Aziraphale turns to see Crowley and notices a little smile on his face and feels a bit nervous to be under that demonic gaze.

"Something's wrong?"

"Oh no, nothing, my dear, it's just... I... I feel cold actually."

Crowley raises an eyebrow, not convinced, "Should I miracle a more padded jacket?"

"No, I will be fine, really. Don't worry!"

An awkward silence rises between the two creatures, it's a bit odd, it didn't happen anymore after the Armageddon't, until in this moment; both of them find easy to speak and see each other every day, but they know, deep down, there is something they both prefer to not talk about, they know what are the other's feelings, of course they do, it would be silly if they hadn't made it... Both of them are afraid to put in words these feelings, and yet they feel the need to put them in words...

At the end of the song, the tree lights above them come on, coloring the two supernatural creatures' faces in red, blue, green and yellow, there are a lot of lights, maybe a million, and because of that Crowley smirks.

"Ah! He followed my idea! What a fool man! Totally."

"What? What did you said to tempt him, Crowley?"

The demon points to the tree and answers, "I simply told him that if he wanted to become the most famous mayor in the world, he should perhaps put some more light on the tree, nothing more."

"Oh my Lord," Aziraphale gasps, holding a breath, "This will not end well, I feel it!"

If the angels is worried, Crowley is laughing with so much pleasure, humans are always funny! In fact, ten minutes later, the too many lights start to overheat, until the tree catches fire, making everyone run away, screaming and afraid. Is there any casualties? Of course not, it would not been fun otherwise, by pure miracle everything was saved, except the poor tree that had been unfortunately chosen for that role. Oh well, it will be better next year.

Aziraphale and Crowley sit on a bench near Trafalgar Square, observing firemen while they are trying to suppress the flames; Aziraphale looks sad for that poor tree, it doesn't deserve an end like this.

"Oh, c'mon, angel, there are so many trees destroyed by humanity's madness, one more doesn't make the difference."

The angel nods sadly, a bit convinced by that discourse, "I guess you're right, but--" he decides to rest his head on Crowley's right shoulder, closings his eyes, "You don't need to create such a show for a date, a simple question is enough, I will answer always yes."

The demon is tense, not knowing how to behave, and with great difficulty he manages to hold the celestial creature close to him, while he mumbles a "Maybe you are right".

"Thank you for this, dear, it was funny."

Crowley gets the strength to press his lips on those blond hair, followed by his sharp cheekbone, looking in front of him.

"Spooky Holidays, angel."

"Happy Holidays, love."

[bigskydreaming]

Hi! I'm new to your blog but found a few posts that were about a JayTom ship, and I was wondering who Tom was? And also you've mentioned in a couple of posts the idea of Jason having a lineup of Titans in his age range and you talked about the Ray and Damage in one. Do you have a whole lineup in mind for them and if so, is there a post on that somewhere?

LOL man, I really need to start pulling all my posts about JayTom and Jay’s lineup of Titans together for some kind of a masterlist, so thanks for the reminder haha. Like, I saw this ask and thought of various posts to point you towards but ugh, I don’t know where any of them are.

Anyway, so. The Tom of JayTom. Aka my ideal ship for Robin!Jason in the series of one-shots about an AU where Jason doesn’t go to Ethiopia in ADITF and thus never dies, that’s kinda grown out of that of a one-shot I started as a writing commission a couple months ago, if anyone else remembers that….the one that was like ‘what if Jason called Dick after the Garzonas incident and Dick sided with Jason’…that one. 

Which then snowballed into ‘well, then I could give Jason his own lineup of Titans who are in the same age range as like a younger gen learning from Dick’s generations of Titans but still older than Tim’s generation of YJ and then eventual Titans.’

Sigh. Oh, me. Right! So! Anyway! Tom in JayTom is Thomas Bronson, the son of JSA member Ted Grant, aka Wildcat. 

Tom and Jason have never ever interacted in canon as far as I know, as I don’t think Tom’s ever appeared outside of JSA and Jason never appeared in that book either before or after his death. BUT by the magic of winging it and Canon Has Not Definitively Contradicted Me, I think the two of them are feasibly in the same age range, so I’m going with them both being fifteen when they meet here.

Tom’s a scrappy, street smart, attitude throwing teenager with daddy issues of his own, lol, thanks to Ted’s general non-existence in his life, for most of it….and he’s also tiny, like, 5′6″ and 135 lbs even at the end of his teenage years. LMAO, I honestly don’t remember, but I think that might be the whole basis of this ship for me, or where it originated. Like, I happened across Tom’s stats as listed on one of the DC wiki sites, and was like, lol oh, he and Robin!Jason could be pint-sized punks together! And then from there, I had the inevitable thought “okay but now make them gay” and then from there I fell into my usual trap of “oh no, it was supposed to be a joke but now I’m taking it seriously and seriously pondering how it could seriously work.”

And then from there it consumed my brain and devoured my life. I swear, it was Dick/Kyle all over again. Ugh, my brain is so problematic.

So anyway, this is Tom:

He’s a werepanther, he can shapeshift into a panther form to fight, which brings up an interesting facet of his character and something I think could be really fun to play off Jason and his own issues…because Tom hates fighting. HATES it. Will run from a fight at any given opportunity rather than engage….but its not because he’s a coward, or doesn’t have heroic instincts of his own, and its not even because he’s not GOOD at fighting.

Its that he’s scared of himself, and scared of hurting whoever he’s fighting…at least more than he means to. Because he has trouble controlling his shift when in fights. His panther form just comes out in response to his own amped up levels of aggression. The fight or flight response for him is actually more like “flight or turn into a raging whirlwind of clawed and fanged fury that can’t stop won’t stop until he’s definitively won his fight….which by extension, usually means his opponent is currently bleeding out on the ground from a few dozen deep claw marks because Panther!Tom’s claws and fangs are SHARP.”

Now pair this fear of his own power with Tom’s natural belligerence and problems with authority at certain points in his life, AND his desire to follow in his hero father’s footsteps as well as his resentment and giving himself grief every time he realizes he even has that desire, because he doesn’t owe his deadbeat dad shit and can’t stand that he nevertheless admires him in a lot of ways and still feels a desire to prove himself to him…

Then pair him up with Jason during his Robin years, going through similar issues and emotions as well as a comparable dynamic with Bruce as him not dying in Ethiopia nevertheless changes nothing about the two of them likely clashing more and more over their views on how to deal with criminals and the appropriate levels of aggression when dealing with them….

And that right there, IMO, is super strong potential for a dynamic couple with a lot in common and yet occasional clashes of their own due to different opinions on which direction to go in so as to address those shared issues…but who likely would never hesitate for a second before backing each other up and presenting a united front against anyone else who tried to give one or the other shit for any reason whatsoever.

Also, I have vastly amused myself with the thought (and the occasional post here and there) of Ted and Bruce continually glowering at each other and blaming each other’s son for being a bad influence on their son, who has never done anything wrong in their life ever, CLEARLY (even if Bruce had actually just grounded Jason the day before. Whatever. Ted doesn’t need to know that).

Anyway, so that’s the JayTom I reference now and then. I’ve always maintained that Jason could really benefit from having a stronger support system of friends distinct to him and not sharing similar dynamics with any of his siblings, so then I was like, well if Jay doesn’t die, and I have him and Dick closer in this AU than they’re usually written as being, plausibly Jason would spend a lot of time at the Tower to get away from Bruce and his own fights with him. 

With Dick being more than able to relate to trouble dealing with Bruce and thus happy to lend a sympathetic ear….and eventually maybe express to Bruce that it might do them both some good for Jason to make more friends his own age and have some normal routines that took him out of the house and Gotham enough that he and Bruce don’t constantly feel like they’re breathing down each other’s necks and keeping tension a constant thing between them. A little space now and then could benefit them both, give them chances to cool off after their fights and actually MISS each other before readdressing the issues.

So then I could see the Titans kinda sending out invitations/recruiting various teen heroes around Jason’s age that they’d all maybe had their eyes on for awhile as kids who could benefit from the same kind of team unity/group support that helped them so much when they were that age just a few years ago themselves.

Which leads me to where I am now which is….I still haven’t settled on a solid lineup, because I came up with too many choices, lol. Basically, my parameters were I wanted characters who could feasibly be said to be in the same age range as Jason and Tom, and didn’t have super strong associations with any other characters that would create any kind of conflict with them being on a Titans team at this point in the timeline instead. And because I’m all about my thematics, I wanted them all to have certain root issues in common that they could all bond over and actually, y’know, support each other with and through. 

(The same way I think Dick’s generation of Titans actually has certain distinct themes and issues that almost all of them share and can relate to in varying ways, which I think has a lot to do with how quickly and fully they all bonded and why they created such lasting friendships and teams between them. But that’s a whole other post, lol.)

So the central shared issues I decided to focus on for Jason’s age group of Titans were: teen/young heroes from abusive homes or runaways, ones with issues and fears stemming from and regarding their own powers or tempers, etc, and misfits who were regarded warily by other or older heroes and considered potentially able to end up on either side of the hero/villain line in the sand.

Which Dick’s generation of Titans, which of course includes Raven, Kory, etc, would not be in agreement with that last part, and thus be all the more likely to recruit these specific teen heroes and be like nyah, nyah, watch how with our help and oh yeah, SUPPORT, they all become the best damn heroes that ever did heroically hero. Suck it, JLA-holes!

(And then Donna would be like, not you Diana, you know we’re cool, its just I gotta do the team solidarity thing and Dick, Garth and Roy are still being Displeased with their mentors/dads at the moment, and also we’re all kinda ticked you guys stole Wally. Btw, we’re stealing the new Green Lantern kid, because Revenge and stuff. He’s ours now, you snooze, you lose).

 So, Jason’s lineup of Titans will consist of some of the following, I’m just not 100% sure which yet, because I have to whittle down the list.

1) Jason (nominally mentored by Dick, but the latter just calls it an excuse for brother bonding time and neither of them make much reference ever to having any kind of actual mentor/protégé relationship like I see the rest of Jay’s lineup having. Plus, Jason unique from the rest already has a mentor in Bruce anyway, so his situation and reasons for being part of this team aren’t quite the same from the others, especially as one of my reasons for this AU was always addressing the issues I have with Bruce’s parenting before the canon event point of Jason’s death, and like…..so like, Bruce does get better once Dick calls out some of his shit with Jason based on his own experiences with Bruce and then later Jason returns the favor by calling out Bruce for taking Dick for granted and no longer putting in the same effort connecting with his eldest and being an actual PARENT to him like he used to).

2) Tom Bronson/Tomcat (who else would act as his personal mentor other than Gar aka Beast Boy aka Changeling, the shapeshifter extraordinaire?)

3) Grant Emerson/Damage (recruited by Roy and his personal protégéand likely BFFs with Jason IMO, as I think their temperaments are complete opposites but Grant’s the kind of kid who would roll his eyes and dolefully follow his troublemaking best friend Jay into likely danger, because his power to blow things up really comes in handy with the kind of scrapes Jason gets himself into and this in turn is a really handy thing to point out in the aftermath of pulling Jason’s butt out of a scrape and then gloating but in the totally mature and “I’m much too nice to actually be gloating, you must be mistaken about what’s happening here” manner in which I see that going down. And in terms of the parameters I mentioned, Grant grew up bounced around abusive foster homes, is watched like a hawk by various groups and heroes because of the huge catastrophic potential of his powers, which he has his own fears about, and also he has no idea who his parents are either, and I imagine him and Jason going on a ‘find out who our real parents are roadtrip’ after graduation or something).

4) Ray Terrill/The Ray (potentially recruited by Kory and her personal protégé. He was briefly a member of Tim’s Young Justice team, but part of the reason he was never that close with the other members was he was a little bit older, just a couple years or so, but enough to put him squarely in Jason’s age range. Also comes from an abusive home, and spent the majority of his childhood living in complete darkness because his asshole uncle told him he had the same powers as his father which meant sunlight would be harmful to him and make him dangerous to be around. When in reality, like his dad, Ray’s powers are fueled by sunlight and he’s like a living solar battery, keeping him afraid to leave the dark was just meant to keep him passive and powerless. Even knowing his uncle lied now, Ray still has long had fears about his own powers, unable to totally shake the fears his uncle instilled in him).

5) Todd Rice/Obsidian (potentially recruited by Raven and her personal protégé. He and his twin sister Jenny-Lynn Hayden are probably a bit older than the rest of this team, but their ages aren’t definitively linked to any points in the DC timeline, so there’s no real conflict between handwaving them as aged down to be right around the same ages as the others. Todd and Jenny-Lynn are the twin children of original Green Lantern Alan Scott aka Sentinel, and the DC villainness Thorn. They grew up in separate foster homes though with Alan unaware of their existence for most of their childhoods. Todd’s childhood was notoriously rough, with him having several abusive foster parents. He’s canonically gay and mentally ill/neurodivergent, which several of his foster homes targeted him for. In addition, his shadow powers are tied to a dark dimension that’s said to prey on his mental state and led to occasional times where he’s been a villain briefly, and at all times his powers are regarded fearfully by most people and with him shunned and avoided because of them. All of which I think makes Raven an ideal mentor for him).

6) Jenny-Lynn Hayden/Jade (Todd’s twin sister, even though they didn’t grow up together for the most part. Honestly, she doesn’t share in a lot of the issues the rest of the team prospects do, and had a relatively good childhood before her powers developed and she found her brother and they started operating as heroes together. But upon learning who her brother and dad are, she’s always been committed to growing closer with them, so I think anywhere Todd goes in this AU, she’d definitely follow, and its not like the team can’t benefit from a heavy hitter like her, let alone more girls. Not totally sure who I picture as most mentoring her in specific, probably because I don’t see her as being recruited per se, so much as just going with Todd when recruited….but I’m thinking maybe Garth, actually. Garth has a lot of range and versatility with his powers and magic, which makes him ideal for mentoring someone who not only has the same powers as a Green Lantern, limited only by her imagination…..but who also might benefit from being mentored by someone who ISN’T a Green Lantern because she doesn’t share their traditional weaknesses and thus she’d be best off training with someone whose own techniques and instincts aren’t geared around weaknesses that are literally irrelevant to her powerset).

7) Courtney Mason/Anima (A metahuman runaway who was almost sacrificed by a cult before her powers kicked in….she’s also right in the same age range as Ray, Grant and Jason, and has briefly been a member of a couple Titans lineups but never for long and usually only for big event stories. But she fits the runaway/rough home environment parameter as well as fear of her own powers….she absorbs life energy from people and animals and can potentially kill them by draining too much. She also has a separate power that’s basically a connection to an other-dimensional spirit called the Animus that she can summon forth and unleash on her enemies. I’m thinking she’d make a good recruit/protégé for Jericho actually, for a number of reasons).

8) Cynthia Reynolds/Fantasia (? Maybe? Not sure yet. Not her actual codename, but her actual codename is a slur, so I’m def gonna make up a new one, I just haven’t 100% settled on what it is yet. Suck it, DC. She’s most known for being a member of Justice League Detroit along with Steel, Vibe and the Ray, but she’s the right age range to end up recruited to be a Titan here instead, like Ray. Also is a runaway from an abusive home, and often deals with mistrust and suspicion due to her illusion powers. Perfect recruit/protégé for Lilith, IMO).

9) Cisco Ramone/Vibe (Also created as a teenage hero to be part of the Justice League Detroit lineup, which makes him the right age range and he’s another runaway. The nature of his powers makes him a good fit to be a recruit/protégéof Mal Duncan/Herald).

10) Amy Allen/Bombshell (Totally self-indulgent on my part given that I basically would ignore the vast majority of her storylines and writing, which I think suck. She was in the Titans stories revolving around Tim’s generation of the team, but she was always stated to be a few years older than the rest, like in her late teens when the majority were probably sixteen, so I think she’s a good fit for this age range. Also had a crappy home life and parents, and her powers are hugely destructive in certain applications…she basically has the same powerset as Captain Atom, though she’s never had any kind of official mentor or sidekick relationship with him. Also, I think Captain Atom is an asshat and a dillhole and he sucks, but I do like his powers, so reinterpreting Amy as a character who doesn’t suck and playing around with her powers instead is solid decision making on my part and renders Captain Atom irrelevant now. I think I shall kill him. Because I can do that. Anyway, I think she doesn’t need him as a mentor but could make a good recruit/protégé for Leonid/Red Star).

11) Carla Moretti/Cinder (Odd choice, given that she’s only ever really been used as a villainous member of Deathstroke’s anti-Titans team and was easily in her twenties at the time. Pyrokinetic who happily makes bonfires out of her enemies but written with zero attempts at nuance, like a total one note villain framed as having long since abandoned her own humanity….which bugged the crap out of me, as she was given a super angsty backstory of childhood sexual abuse and that’s just ‘why she’s like this’ and I have a deep seeded loathing for asshole writers writing survivors as villains and just blaming their casual homicidal ways on their abuse while serving up said villains to just be punching bags or dominoes for the heroes to knock down on their way to the Boss Fight. So I do have inclinations towards making an actual Titan out of her, like with Amy, because surprise surprise, both these characters being written shittily and one note was the work of the same writer, shocking. So I’d just handwave her down to the right age range and have her recruited/mentored by Donna, probably…more due to me thinking Donna would be the best person to help her deal with stuff because she’s mastered the art of avoiding avoidance via having Dick Grayson as a BFF. So with them its not really because Carla needs mentoring with her powers specifically. Idk, Carla anyway you slice it I think has a lot of rage, and Donna knows what to do with that. Written right, Donna’s not a character who judges or shames a victim or survivor for being angry…she gets angry with them, and helps them find options for what to do with that now.) 

12) Hero Cruz (Lesser known Titan, has a device called the Dial H device that lets him turn into a different hero with different powers depending on the setting he puts it on. Basically Ben 10, but Hero came first. Doesn’t really fit most of the parameters, other than being around the right age range, and not even sure who would make a good mentor for him though I wanna say Vic, but not totally decided yet. Mostly I just like him and think he’s underused, so whatever).

There’s also a few other candidates that I have mostly ruled out but not totally. I thought about using the aged up version of Chris Kent, and just introduce him earlier than he showed up in canon. And then Kara/Supergirl could be his mentor because I kinda handwave her into Dick’s generation of Titans anyway, even though it was the alien Matrix version of Linda Danvers that was the only Supergirl ever on the team. Whatever. She should have been a Titan all along anyway. But also Chris would fit the team well as he had an abusive childhood as well, at his dad General Zod’s hands, and again, I just like the character. 

Thought of including Virgil Hawkins/Static too, even though I think he’s closer to Tim’s age range. And again, just another character I’m a fan of and think is underused, but he would definitely be an odd man out in this group because like….he comes from a happy, healthy, loving home and family, and he loves his powers. So he would constantly be just like nodding his head along while his teammates talk and like ugh that sucks, but 10/10 absolutely can not relate, my parents are awesome.  Same with Natasha Irons/Steel, who really would have to be handwaved to even be in the right age range, and again has a happy loving home environment and a superhero uncle of her own so its not like she needs a Titan mentor…..but I kinda wanna see Karen Beecher/Bumblebee take her under her wing anyway, and have them be science nerds together.

Also pretty much the only reason I ruled out Connor Hawke too, as he doesn’t really match the rest of the team in any of the parameters except for feasibly being right at the upper edge of the same age range. But again, I just love the character. 

So I’m probably gonna end up throwing at least one of these other characters in there anyway, lol. I do know myself).

Anyway. So that’s Jason’s lineup of Titans, or at least the candidates as they exist bouncing around in my head now. Also, they’re pretty much Team “Everyone is Gay Except For When They’re Bi.” Which, granted, is basically how I view Dick’s generation of Titans, but with them I have to be like Make It So, in my brain, whereas with this group like….canon’s actually done the work for me for the most part lol. Ray is gay, Todd Rice is gay, Courtney is bi, Hero is gay. And I can’t actually find anything confirmed Tom was stated to be gay somewhere in canon, but I SWEAR he was, like, ugh this is bugging me.

But anyway. That’s that about all of that.

[cheshiresense]

so i'm curious about the hunger au. how do the other arcos decided that they like tsuna?

Uhhhh this will probably require some jumping around since I definitely haven’t thought about most of the details in this AU. Also, I feel like it’ll take a lot to actually get to the point where all the arcobaleno like Tsuna. So how about I just write a bit of POV for a few of the other arcobaleno of when they first learn about Tsuna.

Edit: Ugh, Colonello’s bit turned long, so you only get him and Viper in this one, and like three lines of Lal.

Pinglist: @yoshifics @bewarethemandragora @runeofluna @selenedreamwalker @hypnos28 @verticallychallengedintrovert @fandommaniac2401 @lovingempress @cynthia-of-the-wallflowers @shadowsofmoonracer @pairp @warriorofbooks @charlottedabookworm @lyra689​ @sheyrenawyrsabane @sora-the-empress @xadriannax @yumeniai @arrysa @lirial89-fanfiction @skysong246 @caiahat @grimreaper19 @arosethornbyanyothername @mtkiseki @kaminoko-x @nesskyru @tatarako @parklena42 @zibeth-a @aerdnanocte @timegrenades @healingmichiko @shiko-rae @soraofmelody @fandoms-make-the-world-go-round @north-peach @yannilicious @wolfsrainrules 

Viper:

Viper doesn’t leave. They should, they know they should. Reborn may have lost his mind (again), but Viper knows better than to fall for this song and dance a second time.

But logic of all things makes them hesitate. They hover there, right outside this barrier made of Sky Flames stronger than anything Viper’s ever felt. They think about Reborn, and yes, the hitman’s always been quick with his threats, but not… not like he was earlier, all desperation and urgency and stone-cold certainty.

He would’ve shot Viper dead right then and there if Viper hadn’t complied, and for Reborn of all people - who’d arguably felt Luce’s betrayal deepest - to turn on his fellow Arcobaleno, and for the Sky Arcobaleno at that, after everything they’ve suffered, it makes Viper wonder.

Reborn was always a bit of a fool about Luce, before they found out the truth. But he isn’t stupid, and the greatest hitman in the world didn’t get to be that by making the same mistake twice.

So Viper hesitates, because logic says Reborn should be on the other side of the planet right now. Logic says he would’ve warned the rest of them as soon as he found out.

Logic says that even if the new Sky Arcobaleno only learned how to feed off his elements’ Flames after he met Reborn, Viper would’ve still started feeling the violation again months ago. Everyone knows when Reborn was sent to train the last eligible Nono-approved Vongola heir.

But they didn’t. Nothing’s changed since Luce died.

And Viper needs to know why.

Just a quick look, they tell themselves as they slip through the hole they made for Reborn. Just a quick look to see what’s wrong - because clearly something has to be wrong with Iemitsu’s son, he’s not acting like the Sky Arcobaleno at all - but after that, Viper would leave, as quickly as they can book the first flight out of Japan, even if they’re overcharged.

They follow the tug of Reborn’s Pacifier up to one of the bedrooms, and they enter just in time to witness Reborn all but force-feeding a piece of his Sun core to Tsunayoshi Sawada.

Viper is an assassin for the Varia, their stomach might as well be cast-iron. They still think they might just hurl.

“Get out if you can’t stomach it,” Reborn orders, because of course he saw Viper come in. He hasn’t looked away from the frail-looking husk of a boy on the bed though, and there’s something, something in the way Reborn has a hand on the boy’s pulse even as he prods the Sky into a more comfortable position that makes Viper feel like they’re intruding.

And normally, that wouldn’t bother them. But this time, they float back out of the room without a word, closing the door for good measure. When they close their eyes, they don’t even have to focus particularly hard to feel the Sun-Sky bond a mere few feet away, strong and bright and bursting with power, nothing like the brittle links of rot and decay that their bonds with Luce had been reduced to from the moment she betrayed them.

Viper takes a deep breath and - for now - pushes aside the hair-trigger instinct to flee.

They do not leave. They settle against the far wall and wait.

Colonello:

It feels like both forever and not long enough since the last time Colonello saw any of his fellow Arcobaleno. On one hand, most of the time when they gathered together in the past, it was to either visit Luce, discuss half-heartedly whether any of them had found a way to break the Curse, or check in with each other to see if they’d discovered who the new Sky Arcobaleno is. On the other, Colonello hasn’t had a decent workout in ages. Reborn’s appearance at least promises some high-level sparring.

Reborn with Viper though… That’s a new one.

He waits for them to find him, the way they usually do when they’re in Mafia Land, but hours go by, and as far as Colonello has heard from the grapevine, both Reborn and Viper remain in the civilian sector where relatives of mafiosi usually frequent. It’s where the… calmer rides are found, along with food and drink and other entertainment facilities that don’t involve an overabundance of violence.

What in the world would Reborn and Viper be doing over there?

Colonello finishes delivering his routine ass-kicking to the latest batch of  overconfident mafiosi attempting one of his obstacle courses, and then his curiosity wins out, and he tells his men that he’s going on break early.

He finds them easily enough, although he wonders briefly why his Pacifier doesn’t glow. That’s  easily forgotten when he spots them, and he can only stare for a long moment. They’re at one of those ridiculous game booths where you have to shoot balloons with one of those plastic dart gun to win prizes. The whole thing’s undoubtedly rigged, but Reborn - who’s wielding the shitty gun - is popping balloons like no tomorrow while Viper hovers menacingly nearby, staring down the poor bastard who’s manning the booth. Colonello doesn’t doubt that they’ve received a discount per round.

And… there’s a boy. Colonello can only see his back from where he’s perched in a nearby tree, but he’s thin as a rake, small and harmless, couldn’t possibly be over the age of eight. He’s standing beside Reborn, giggling at whatever disparaging remark Reborn is saying about either the gun or the game or maybe the dismal attempts to manipulate how many people would be able to win anything. The hitman pops the last balloon, tosses the gun down with a disdainful sniff, and then turns to the boy and gestures at the prizes.

The boy comes back with three stuffed animals - a chameleon that looks remarkably like Reborn’s Leon, a floppy-looking salamander, and an oversized lion. He gives the chameleon to Reborn, who rolls his eyes but takes it and somehow manages to hold it without looking like an idiot. The salamander goes to Viper, who visibly heaves a long-suffering sigh but accepts the thing all the same, making it float beside them and even seemingly come to life with a few well-placed illusions so that it hisses at anybody who wanders too close to the group. The boy hugs the lion, looking bafflingly happy about the stuffed toy. It isn’t even that well-made, in Colonello’s opinion.

What the heck is going on?

They turn as a group, drifting towards the rollercoaster ride nearby, which just so happens to be in Colonello’s direction. He gets one clear look at the boy’s face - Sawada’s kid, slated to be Vongola Decimo, that’s right, Reborn was going to train him - and then he’s practically blindsided by the innocuous-looking pacifier hanging around the kid’s neck, wrapped in a chain and not glowing but unmistakeable.

What the fuck.

He subconsciously takes a step back and then goes crashing to the ground because he forgot he was in a tree. Even more unfortunately, the noise definitely serves to draw the attention of both the other Arcobaleno and Sawada’s kid - the Sky Arcobaleno, Colonello thinks rather hysterically - and before Colonello can really think about it, he’s reaching for his rifle.

That’s all he gets to do though before a handgun has been leveled between his eyes and the chilly weight of Viper’s Flames lurk just at the edge of his senses, as much a threat as it is a warning, ready to attack.

And the boy, Sawada’s kid, the Sky Arcobaleno, hangs back behind them, peering anxiously at Colonello in a way that sets off every last one of his fight-or-flight instincts.

“What the hell, kora?!” He snaps as soon as he finds his voice. “Do you know who that is? What’s wrong with you two?!”

Colonello can’t quite make out Viper’s expression with that hood of theirs but he can practically taste their disapproval.

“I told you we should’ve gone to a different amusement park,” The illusionist says to Reborn.

Reborn doesn’t take his eyes off Colonello but he retorts without missing a beat, “You also said your chains would ensure this moron wouldn’t notice we’re here.”

“I said the chains would prevent him from tracking us with the Pacifiers,” Viper snipes back flatly. “And they did. It’s not my fault he’s actually decent at his job.”

Right. That’s enough.

Colonello bats the gun aside and flips backwards onto his feet. “Get that thing outta my face!” He snarls, keeping one eye out for Viper’s illusions. Reborn doesn’t look particularly impressed, but he also looks like he’s willing to let Colonello say his piece. “What the hell’s going on, kora? That’s the Sky Arcobaleno!”

“Shout it a little louder,” Reborn mutters irritably. “The other end of the island didn’t hear you.”

But other than that, there’s no… reaction. Reborn and Viper are hanging around the Sky like they’re perfectly aware of who he is and also perfectly content with it.

Colonello doesn’t get it. He knows he’s not as smart as Reborn or even Viper, but this should be pretty damn simple, right? It’s the Sky Arcobaleno. They can’t kill him, but they should all be doing their utmost to warn the others and then scatter, preferably before the boy figures out how to eat their Flames.

He swallows and takes another step back. He can’t- He can’t do this again. If it was just him, that would be- well, not fine, but he’d be able to tolerate it. But Lal. Lal, who looks at him sometimes like she wants to hate him but only really hates herself, who shoulders guilt like it’s her due, even though it was Colonello’s choice through and through, and he’d do it again, every time, if it means sparing her.

He doesn’t want to be fed on again, of course he doesn’t, but more than that, he doesn’t want to see Lal’s expression when it happens. He knows there’s nowhere on the planet he can go where the Sky Arcobaleno won’t be able to get at his Flames, but they’d agreed, hadn’t they? A while back, during one of their get-togethers to talk about what they’d do if they found the new Sky. And they’d agreed they would warn each other and do their utmost to stay away from the Sky Arcobaleno, in the hopes that if whoever it is never actually meets any of them, they wouldn’t be able to realize they can feed on their Flames or maybe learn how to do it to begin with.

This is very much not warning each other, let alone staying the fuck away from the Sky Arcobaleno. So Colonello doesn’t get what’s happening, because out of all of them, Reborn hated Luce most, in the end, and Viper was probably the most bitter about placing their trust in the wrong person, the one time they allowed themselves to trust. It makes no sense for these two to just be… hanging out with the Sky Arcobaleno, and at a fucking fun park of all places. Has the Sky done something to them? Luce could never force them to like her, not after she and Checkerface revealed everything, but she could order them about if she wanted to, in addition to feeding from them whenever.

(It was perhaps her one kindness to them - she ordered them back every now and then, gathered them all together once in a while for a fuller meal because distance didn’t do shit to stop her from taking their Flames but proximity did allow her to take more, faster, but she never ordered them to stay.)

Maybe this Sky Arcobaleno can though? Reborn and Viper aren’t acting any differently - aside from the whole associating with the Sky Arcobaleno - but-

“Hey, idiot,” Reborn interrupts, somehow sounding both bored and annoyed. “As amusing as it is to watch you panic, there’s nothing to panic about.”

Colonello snorts with disbelief, darting another look at the Sky Arcobaleno, who for some reason looks a little miserable now, and he’s shuffled back several steps. “You do remember the Sky Arcobaleno eats-”

“You don’t have to worry about that,” Viper cuts him off this time. Their voice lacks inflection as usual, and Colonello would’ve mistaken it for disinterest or dismissal if not for the very watchful presence of their Flames. For an illusionist, Viper’s never been particularly subtle when he isn’t actively trying to be. “Tsunayoshi hasn’t touched your Flames in all these years; he isn’t about to start now.”

“He’s the Rain Arcobaleno by the way, Tsuna,” Reborn adds, glancing back at the Sky. “Even if he’s also a moron.”

Colonello bristles. That’s just bullshit. Between the three of them, he is not the one acting fucking weird.

And to his utter shock, the Sky Arcobaleno actually rolls his eyes a little and takes a step forward, only to pause when Colonello immediately tenses again. The kid’s expression falls but he only says to Reborn and Viper, “Don’t act like you two weren’t running scared too.”

Reborn scoffs, and Viper makes a moue of offense, but neither exactly protests.

“I still approached you,” Reborn points out, almost smugly of all things, like it’s something to be proud of. “I was first.”

“Yeah, but you’re a little crazy like that, Reborn,” the Sky says. Fondly, if Colonello isn’t mistaken.

“And besides, you were first only because you didn’t know what the Nono was sending you to,” Viper interjects, tone dry as the desert. “You aren’t special. Our situations were the same.”

Reborn turns glinting black eyes on Viper. “I was still first.”

Viper sneers back, cloak fluttering around them, but before they can snark something back, because apparently that’s a thing now, the kid sighs, “Oh my god, guys, stop. I like you both, and it doesn’t matter who came first. Reborn, your ego’s gonna get too big for this island.”

Reborn turns his gun on the Sky and fires, but only water of all things comes out of it, leaving the kid spluttering and laughing at the same time. But he also stops poking at Viper, who snorts softly before whipping out a handkerchief for the Sky.

Vaguely, Colonello wonders if he’s come down with something. Or maybe he’s been drugged? Is he hallucinating? Dreaming?

“Anyway, let’s just go,” The Sky suggests once he’s wiped away most of the water. He smiles, the expression warm in a way that startles Colonello. “Thanks for bringing me here. It was really fun.” And then he glances apologetically at Colonello. “We didn’t mean to intrude though. We’ll leave now.”

Reborn scoffs again even as his gun transforms back into Leon and hops back onto his fedora. “We’re hardly intruding. Last time I checked, Mafia Land didn’t belong to Colonello.” He sighs when the kid frowns at him. “But fine, it’s almost time for dinner anyway, and it’s better if we do that somewhere private.”

As if on cue, Viper whips out a phone and begins tapping away. “There’s a five-star hotel with decent prices in one of the coastal cities nearby.” Somehow, they look particularly sinister for a moment without twitching a finger. “I’m sure they’ll even be happy to give us a discount.”

The kid looks away briefly, not quite able to hide an exasperated smile. “Alright, let’s go then. Is there a beach nearby? I’ve never been to a beach before.”

Reborn looks torn between pity and contempt, and yet somehow both emotions come out soft when he directs them at the Sky. “And yet you live on an island.”

The kid pouts.

“I’ll book a room with an ocean view,” is all Viper says, but they also float over to the boy and settle down on his head while the stuffed salamander toy coils itself around his shoulders.

And just like that, they’re leaving. Neither Viper nor Reborn gives Colonello a second glance, but the Sky offers an awkward wave and an even more awkward smile, something sad in his expression before he too turns away.

They’re long gone - Colonello can’t even sense them anymore - before he manages to move. He heads back to his apartment in a daze, half-thinking he must’ve imagined the whole bizarre encounter.

He checks his Flames. Still there, unmolested since Luce died.

He’s shaky as he fumbles for his phone, and he almost hangs up as he waits for Lal to pick up.

If- If there’s nothing wrong, should he worry her about this at all?

But then the line connects, and Lal’s brisk voice answers, and it’s too late to change his mind.

“Lal,” Colonello greets, inwardly grimacing at how hoarse he sounds. He clears his throat. “I- I’ve found the Sky Arcobaleno.”

Lal goes dead silent. He can’t even hear her breathe anymore.

“He was at Mafia Land today, kora.” He continues. “But he didn’t- Lal, he didn’t even try to eat my Flames. And he wasn’t alone. Reborn and Viper were with him. And I think-” He casts his mind back, and now that he’s had the time to digest the entire unexpected confrontation, something in him is certain, “They have a bond with him, Lal. Not like with Luce. They’re his Guardians, kora. Real Guardians. I think Reborn’s bond with him is stronger, but I could sense Viper’s too. I don’t know why, I don’t know how they can stand it, but they’re his.”

In the end, after a long, strained silence that seems to stretch on forever, Lal asks only one question. “Who?”

And Colonello can’t help the bark of laughter that escapes him, because if ever there was a thing called Fate, “Tsunayoshi Sawada. The Vongola Young Lion’s kid. And their future Decimo hopeful. Not so hopeful anymore.”

Lal Mirch:

Lal hangs up. She gives herself five minutes to put her racing thoughts in order, calms herself down as much as she thinks is possible at this point in time, and then she goes hunting.

She doesn’t so much find her target as she does greet him with her Flames so thick in the air that Iemitsu half-leaps out of his desk chair where he’s been snoring away over a pile of paperwork, hand at his gun before he catches sight of her.

Lal very carefully rests her hands on his desk even as she pins him with an unblinking, uncompromising glare.

Iemitsu shrinks back, just a little. “U- Uh, Lal? Is something wrong?”

Is something wrong. Hah.

“What,” Lal hisses through gritted teeth. “The fuck have you not fucking told us about your son, Iemitsu?!”

[fantastic-nonsense]

I'm sorry you're disappointed in TLJ. TBH, having followed you for awhile, I've come to expect you to be disappointed is almost everything. I'm sure part of it is you being hyperbolic, but you seem to have such a grand vision for them and then you always seem so disheartened when it comes. Hype never lives up to reality. The crowd sourced speculation will always be better. Maybe lower your expectations for these things so you can enjoy them? The way you about talk all about it sounds exhausting.

Okay, I’ve let this sit in my inbox all afternoon while I thought about it, and here’s what I have to say:

Yes, about 75% of my reactions are hyperbolic. It’s been sort of an evolution in how I express myself on this site, but the long and short of it is that I am very bad at masking emotional investment in things over the internet and thus just decided to embrace it. Additionally, as an English major and an extremely analytical person by nature, I tend to talk more about the things I didn’t like or thought could have been handled better even when I love something or liked it overall. Does that make me sound like a generally negative person about things I claim to love at times? Absolutely, and I’m sorry that it sometimes comes off that way, because make no mistake: I love these pieces of media. I love the characters and I love the story concepts and I want them to do justice to both the characters and the plot arcs involved…which is also often why I appear to care more about what writers/creators did wrong than what they did right. 

I also have zero issues duking it out with people I disagree with about things. I’m a person who loves arguing for fun…that is also going to color the content that appears on this blog because arguments are, in a lot of ways, negative and often involve me debating people who violently disagree with me on any number of topics. However, anyone who has followed me long enough (say…4 years or so) will intimately know the level of utter burnout and emotional exhaustion that happened to me in regards to the Legend of Korra fandom and my complete non-desire to engage in any substantial amount of argument on any level for months afterwards, and how I engage in infinitely less fandom wank and debate in general since I left the Korra fandom; except for occasional extended conversations, debates, and pieces of meta, I generally stick to short, snarky comments or a bunch of shady posts on a subject and then let it go. Have I gotten involved in serious fandom drama since then? Yes. Was it anywhere near the same extent? No.

In terms of my grand expectations and exhaustion, I think my ultimate problem is less that I have exceedingly grand expectations and more that some franchises manage to dash multiple hopes at once while simultaneously dealing poorly with things I had already braced for (aka, I expected TLJ to sideline Finn and I had braced myself for disappointing Luke characterization for months, but I didn’t expect to have to deal with both of those things on top of everything else that is apparently coming in this movie). Like The Kenobi Theory was a potshot in the dark and I knew that and was perfectly fine with it not happening, so that was never a problem for me either; it’s just the combination of all of the various aspects of the plot together that are…bad for me.

I can easily deal with one or two serious issues in a piece of media that I otherwise love (Wonder Woman, for example, where I had serious issues with literally every bit of mythology in that movie but loved the movie overall, or The Force Awakens, which despite my occasional meta and discussion about shallowness and plot holes I actually love quite a lot), but when that media seems sort of….intent on crushing any hope I had of quality writing and satisfying narrative arcs, it’s difficult, you know?

For Star Wars specifically, I think that for me, it’s the only franchise outside of something like Harry Potter able to be such an emotional trigger button. I’ve been majorly invested in the fandom for over ten years, since I was almost twelve years old. I practically lived and breathed the series for about six months as a teenager, and even when I moved on to other things, it was always there. When I look at what I consider my “base level fandoms” (aka, the fandoms I always return to if there’s nothing else on my mind at the time), there are three: Harry Potter, DC Comics, and Star Wars. And while I have exceedingly low expectations of anything related to comics ever because of all the shit I’ve read and been through with those characters (my reaction to anything that happens in comics now is basically just that one vine that’s like “this again? give it a rest buddy”), I think to have such a narrative disappointment come out of something that is one of my three base fandoms is difficult. Like…I’m going to deal with it just fine (like lol, I’m not emotionally traumatized or anything, just angry), but it’s disappointing in the way that opening your Christmas presents on Christmas morning and finding a pair of socks instead of that Barbie Doll you saw at Walmart is. And I’m going to deal with it how I always do: snarky comments, shade, occasional arguments, genuine anger, and then moving on.

I appreciate you being concerned for my emotional wellbeing and for bringing up how my words may make me look to those who follow me, but I think the bottom line is that I’m perfectly fine, just disappointed in most media as a whole right now. I would like to leave off on a positive note, so I’ll leave you with the reassurance that generally I am much happier about a piece of media than I may seem to be due to my general tendency to talk more about things I didn’t like rather than things I liked and that IRL, I am actually a solid realist with optimistic tendencies rather than the pessimist I may sometimes seem to be online.

[spiritedxmakorrian]

Something Entirely New

Here’s my entry for the Makorra Spring Project! A Steven Universe AU if it wasn’t already clear enough. Love my rocks. TwT This is a rough idea of a full AU fic I plan to write along with the other mods in themakorrasociety sometime in the future. Its plot is centered around a theory that weighs on certain events in SU, so there’s a 50/50 chance of it coming into fruition. But for now, I have an idea of how Mako and Korra’s experience fusing for the first time is like! ^.^

Ngl, this was probably by far the hardest fic I’ve ever written. Do you know how hard it is to write a fusion? Especially when its a new one? *cri*

Despite that, I’m very pleased with the outcome and I hope you all love it as much as the MSPP!

Enjoy!~

P.S.: Gems names! :3

Korra - Aquamarine Zircon - Mako Nephrite - Lin

 W-wha…?

What happened?

Why is everything so… short?

“Aqua… Are you o--?” Zircon cut himself off, shocked at the new sound he made.

“I'm… I feel… Huh?” Aquamarine blinked a few times, glancing around at their surroundings. Still at the beach. Freshly-made glass shooting upwards from the sand a little ways from them and signs of struggle near the cliff, but still the beach. And yet… something was… off. “Zircon--”

“Is that you?” Zircon interrupted their in shock and slight panic. He crawled toward the shoreline, exhausted from the previous argument. “Or is that…”

“Me?”

Silence floated above them as they stared into the water, the rippling silhouette of a curvaceous feminine figure with long, shaggy hair seeming to be staring back. The figure stood as stiff as they did…

Almost as if...

“Aqua! What the hell?! Did you just--?!”

Aqua scowled grimly. “Me?! You did this!”

An angry yet shocked look crossed Zircon’s face. “But I did nothing!”

As they went back and forth, they managed to stumble toward the glass in the sand. They each peered into it to see their reflection.

The reflection they encountered was the same feminine figure, but in full detail. Their hair was almost a clear white with messy streaks of pale blue, their skin holding the same shade of blue. They wore a grayish-white dress with a few ragged holes in it. The only thing that stood out were their eyes, which were a dark blue with clear flecks of reddish-brown. An aquamarine gem was settled on their sternum and a zircon gem was underneath her right wrist.

“This is us…” Aqua awkwardly lifted a hand to touch the warm glass, her reflection wearing the same expression of disbelief. “What… happened…?”

The last fifteen minutes seemed like a blur before, but now everything started coming back to them; Aquamarine and Zircon were screaming at each other… Aqua accidentally blasted a hole into their makeshift home they fit into the rocky caverns on the beach. Zircon blew up at Aqua for ruining the only materials for proper shelter they had. She barked back just as boldly, icy blue eyes burning into fiery orange. They got into each other's faces, one just as loud as the other... Zircon was the one to notice the rocks that tilted haphazardously from Aqua’s blast finally cave in, barreling toward them… Instinct drove him to push her out of the way, then a flash of white light appeared between and around them. Then… nothing.

“Zircon… Did we…? What… what are we?” Aqua pressed her hand to either side of her head.

Zircon closed their eyes and exhaled, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Calm down. We’re a fusion--”

“You say it like it's normal!” Aqua cut her eyes at him, shocked contempt flashing behind her irises as her fists clenched. “Fusions aren’t exactly a welcome guest! On top of that, we’re on a mission! We are not supposed to be… this!” She motioned to their new form.

He frowned in annoyance, his arm falling to his side. “No, we aren’t,” he sighed. “We have to get to Nephrite; she'll fix this--”

“How?! The city’s packed with elite corps soldiers! We’re never gonna get through like this!”

“We will if you just follow my lead.”

“Why your lead?” Aqua raised a brow in distaste.

“Because you obviously aren’t the most levelheaded about this.”

“I am levelheaded!”

They clumsily got to their feet as they argued back and forth, but it proved unfruitful as their lack of focus caused them to plop back down in the sand. Right… They were sharing legs now.

Zircon let out a long sigh and stared into the sky. “Aqua… I can't believe I'm saying this, but we're gonna have to work together on this.”

Aqua’s eyes narrowed in annoyance, though a patch of light pink tinged their cheeks. “Urgh… Fine.”

With that, they got to their shared knees and began to unsteadily balance on them as they rose off their bottom. They planted one of their feet on the ground, then two, and rose their bottom upwards as they straightened their legs. With a grunt, they pushed against the sand and got to their feet, where they began to tremble, and Aqua started to panic at the lack of total control she had to prevent tipping over.

“Relax, just relax,” Zircon murmured. “Just work with me, okay?”

Aqua took a deep breath and followed his movements carefully. They soon stopped trembling and stood straight. They sighed and threw their arms out and then upward to stretch.

“Alright, now that we’ve gotten standing up out of the way, what about walking?” Aqua asked.

“Huh…” Zircon looked down at his feet, staring hard as if they’d move on their own if he did. “Uh… Let’s try right foot... Right…” He managed to wiggle the toes on said foot. “... foot…”

They both lifted the foot, wobbling briefly before bringing it forward. “Ha…” They did the same with their left foot, their eyes lighting up at the successful attempt. “Haha! We’re doing it!” Aqua exclaimed.

Zircon’s excited grin faded into a curious, yet focused one. “Okay, we’re getting somewhere. Just keep it up. Right, left, right--”

Aqua scoffed. “I know how to walk, Zircon!”

Zircon simply rolled his eyes. “Yeah, but we don’t. Just bear with me so we can get the hang of it.”

“True…”

They began walking forward steadily, stumbling and falling a few times. After several tries walking back and forth along the shore, they perfected their walk enough to look like they knew what they were doing.

“Alright,” Aqua huffed in satisfaction. “Next phase?”

“Swimming to the docks?”

“Lovely.”

_________________________

Nephrite sifted through the panels of her holographic logbook, boredom finally catching up to her as much as her officers. It was a slow day; the city that was normally so restless was now in a stagnant state of calm. There were no emergencies as of late and the only time there was a call was when one of the topazes she put on city patrol updated her on the current state of the borders or a bismuth asking if the new metal cord gauntlets sent for her officers were up to par or if they needed some work.

She definitely wasn’t used to this. She even silently hoped something outrageous like a breach would happen soon.

She sighed and continued going through her panels. The logbook was full of images of prosecuted gems either fusions or gems in direct contact from Homeworld, about fifty on each panel and each gem with their current status below their image. The glowing workspace blurred before her as she swiped a finger to the left, eyes skimming over the statuses. Most of them held a flashing red stamp spelling out “SHATTERED” in block letters. Some had a yellow stamp spelling out “POOFED” and indicated court trial dates.

Nephrite wasn’t too fond of the majority being red stamps, but it wasn’t her place to object.

A small green blur caught her eye and she stopped the panels for a moment to look at the gem associated with it. There was a single green stamp amongst the red and yellow, spelling out “LEGALIZED”. Above this stamp was a picture of a zircon, sneering at the camera. Nephrite let out a small chuckle at the image, her mind tracing back to the day it was taken.

***

The camera’s flash consumed half of the mostly empty room, possibly blinding the poor zircon whose picture was being taken. Although she… he tried to play it off with a deeper scowl, Nephrite noticed he blinked a few times so his eyes could adjust. The amethysts who had him by the forearm jerked him away from the camera and pulled in front of Nephrite.

He clearly put up a fight, she thought to herself, seeing as the two amethysts struggled a bit to hold him still. Strong for an off-color…

Off-colors were gems who had a trait or more that made their natural function near impossible, in turn making them useless for the purpose of war. This was unacceptable in gem society-- at least, at this point in time, Nephrite added silently to herself-- and therefore these gems must be shattered.

But looking at this zircon, who was labeled as such when he was taken in, she didn’t see anything wrong with him. Well, it was strange this specific gem had to be referred to as “he” and he was… clearly built differently than most other gems, but she didn’t consider him an off-color as two of her elite corps soldiers explained to her over the radio.

“He was found roaming an abandoned zircon Kindergarten by Homeworld,” one amethyst began to list off. “Apparently all were shattered by them, but this one managed to make it. He may still have connection with Homeworld--”

“I don’t have any connection with--” The zircon was cut off with a sharp cuff to the head by the amethyst as she continued.

“There was nothing on him suggesting as such, but the location of this Kindergarten was too far outside of our territory to be ours. The elite ordered us to bring him to you for shattering.”

The zircon pulled against his captors. “Let me go!” he demanded.

Nephrite frowned at the angry gem, wondering what could be done with him. She was concerned he could very well be a ploy for Homeworld, but didn’t understand what made him a threat to her city. Compared to other zircons, he was a bit more lean and taller than what his gem is supposed to look like. And his strength was more than she expected from a supposed off-color. It was like he was meant to be an entirely different gem, like a quartz soldier or a beryl warrior.

She couldn’t help but see some potential in him.

“Would you like to do the honors, ma’am?”

Nephrite examined the zircon silently with her hard gaze, his own slowly becoming fearful the longer her eyes bore into him. Finally she ordered, “Poof him.”

The amethysts were taken aback by her decision. “Wait, what? Just a poofing?”

Even the zircon was shocked. “What are you going to do to me?”

Nephrite’s expression was unchanging from its default sternness. “I have a position for you,” she told him. “A guard for the elite. Of course, you will have to be put on trial according to customs, but I have my ways of keeping you from being shattered.” She didn’t give him enough time to even recover as she summoned her weapon-- a katar gauntlet-- from her gem settled in her palm and jabbed it into his stomach. She watched as he stiffened with a grunt and his physical form dissipated, his gem falling with a dull clatter to the ground.

He’d thank her later.

***

Nephrite smiled at the memory, remembering how his training went after his trial deemed him fit to stay in the city. He was rather stubborn at first to handle; Nephrite had to poof him several times a week whenever he became difficult. Zircon soon adjusted himself to his training and his progression sped up phenomenally. He knew how to properly harness and use his own weapon, which turned out to be a sai, and all procedures to make sure an elite was well protected when they were down. He was the best soldier Nephrite has ever trained.

He was presented with his first elite-- one in training, to be specific-- about six months ago, an aquamarine around a similar skill level as he was. She was more stubborn and brash than he was, which Nephrite thought was a perfect start for Zircon; she would be lying if she said she did this out of revenge. Their relationship, as expected, was rocky and tumultuous. Arguing, fighting, snide remarks and unwillingness to cooperate when the other was involved. Although over the months they’ve gotten a bit better, Nephrite decided to send them on a week-long mission to the abandoned island she often used as a lookout for the elite corps to test their team-building skills by assisting the patrol in border watching, nothing too serious as this was just a test. It’s been four days and she only hoped they didn’t shatter each other by now, though she wouldn’t be surprised if they did.

Her radio suddenly began beeping on the corner of her desk and she groaned. If this is another border update, I swear… She hit the speaker button and responded, “Chief Nephrite here.”

“There’s a hole drilled into the ground underneath the docks,” reported the topaz on the other end, “but there’s no other trace of anyone getting in.”

Nephrite frowned, though she was partially relieved to have something to do. “I’m amping up the security within the city. You track down where the hole leads to and go from there.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Click.

______________

“Of all the places we could’ve gotten in through, did it have to be the sewer?” Zircon crinkled his nose at the stench he was forced to endure for the last five minutes.

“I know.” Aquamarine coughed several times and inhaled deeply once they scurried out of the sewers and dove into a nearby alleyway, “but we’d attract less attention this way. No one could hear us.”

“Point,” Zircon huffed soon after catching his breath. “Okay, how are we getting out from here?”

“I thought you were team captain,” she teased.

“You’d counter me if I even tried,” he pointed. “Now where do you think we should go?”

Aqua was unfazed and smirked. “Well, it wouldn’t hurt to travel by roof.”

“By roof?”

Aqua jabbed a thumb in the direction of the roof of one of the buildings they were beside. “If we just stick to the roofs, we’ll get to the Elite Headquarters in no time.”

“You think we won’t get caught?”

“I am an elite,” Aqua reasoned with a wink. “I know my way around.”

Zircon shrugged. “I can’t argue with that.”

Aqua’s smirk grew wider. “Awesome.”

They climbed the old pipe-- slow, but steady-- and crouched low once they got on the roof. Zircon felt himself matching Aqua’s movements with ease, their shared form moving with more swiftness than their unsure pattern of motions before. He couldn’t help but feel the struggle he exhibited through this pattern since he and Aqua fused dissipating as they crawled along the long roof. Strangely enough, he registered her contribution in controlling a more complex physical form as being less of a burden the more he moved with her than against her.

Strange…

Aqua then experienced a sudden wave of uneasiness. She frowned, her gaze shifting to the side. “Strange?”

Zircon blinked a few times in surprise, briefly amazed that Aqua knew what was going on through his mind, but then he rolled his eyes at himself. Of course she’d pick up his thoughts; they were their thoughts. “Err… It’s fine.”

Aqua snickered a bit. “You know that response only works on a select few people, not including me,” she teased.

Zircon cleared his throat, feeling a warmth spread across the bridge of his nose. “Erm… I think it’s safe to assume that you feel it, too… right?”

She let out a choked sound that could’ve been a soft gasp. She didn’t know why she was so surprised when they were sharing one form. “... Lucky assumption,” she murmured, unusually embarrassed to give a simple “yes”.

“Heh…” He fell quiet, not sure how to continue.

“You think it’s strange?” Worry overcame her… then the both of them.

“N-no! It’s fine. I just… I didn’t expect to feel so… comfortable as a fusion.”

“Me neither…”

Silence swallowed the air around them for a few beats, then Aqua piped up in a quiet voice, “You saved me…”

Zircon paused, the both of them at the edge of the roof. “Yeah?”

“That’s kinda how it happened, right?” she reminded him. “You saved me from being crushed.”

Zircon almost forgot about that. He didn’t think of it before through the shock of fusing, but realizing it now, he’s bewildered at how easily he pushed it aside. How naturally he took action to throw himself in front of her when he saw the ledge collapsing. “Yeah… I guess something came over me,” he replied.

A genuine smile came upon Aqua’s face, stomach tying itself in knots. “Thank you,” she told him.

She sensed that stomach-knotting sensation being reciprocated by Zircon, who hesitated for a moment before saying, “You’re… you’re welcome…”

Krrrrrr…

Their form stiffened at the sound of the old boards beneath them. Before they could react, however, they were sent plummeting through the roof and through a rickety table. Nothing about their landing was gracious.

Crap!

They scrambled to their knees, scanning the room they landed in. Luckily, it was an abandoned building and no one seemed to have been wandering inside and no other sound filled the room besides their heavy panting. As soon as they caught their breath, they got to their feet.

“Heh…” That was a close one,” Zircon sighed.

“Yeah,” Aqua agreed. “I’m amazed--”

Before he could finish, a pink laser beam blasted through the wall to their right, blazing just past their face to the opposite end of the room. They whipped around and saw an elite corps soldier already shouting orders to her group to grab them. The burly team rushed at them, each armed with a unique weapon save for the ones at the front, who wielded metal cord gauntlets and shot the cords in their direction.

Instinct took over and their form leapt out of the way, ducking in a corner at first and then towards the door when the second wave of metal cords flew towards them.

“You were gonna say you’re amazed no one heard us, right?” Zircon sneered.

“Jinxing is a part of life!” Aqua insisted. “Everyone does it!”

They skidded out of the door and bolted down the street, their feet just barely touching the ground. Looking above them, they saw there were already hovercrafts on the scene, flying after them as well, flinging metal discs that grazed their arms and legs.

“After that gem!” the head soldier ordered.

More cords were sent their way as well as laser beams and other various ammo. They ducked underneath parked mini ships and dove through crowds of gems in passing, but they couldn’t lose any of the elite behind them. Glancing back, they saw that a few managed to close in on them and attack, throwing spears, the amount doubling in mid attack. They faced ahead of them and saw there was a large ship passing through, moving slow down the street with no sign of speeding up. Feeling the presence of the spears advancing toward the back of their neck, their fusion leapt upward in one great bound, the spears just missing their ankle and piercing into the side of the ship. To both Aqua and Zircon’s surprise, they manipulated the air around them as they shot into the air, unconsciously creating a platform below their feet.

“Woah!” Aqua exclaimed.

They quickly realized how unsteady the platform was as they zoomed through the air, almost falling off a few times after some misplaced steps on the board, but they soon found balance and soared over the city smoothly.

“We got a hoverboard!” Aqua continued. “Look at this!” She laughed ecstatically as she picked up speed.

Zircon just stared blankly ahead of him as they cut fast corners around the tall buildings to lose the elites, unable to fathom what just occurred. “A hoverboard…? We just made a hoverboard out of thin air… literally...”

“I know, right? They can’t even catch us now!” she cackled. She turned to taunt the team of elites behind them, but saw a boulder-sized rock barreling straight for them. “Duck!”

They dodged the rock and looked ahead to focus on their path, but was met with a street lamp. They were moving so fast it was impossible for them to stop themselves from crashing face first into the post, their hoverboard released into the air. They, along with the lamp, flew another couple of yards before skidding down into another alley and crashing into a garbage bin filled with old, rusted metal and other mechanical parts rendered useless.

Underneath the pile of rejected machinery, another white glow emerged before gradually dimming down. Next to come from this pile were Aqua and Zircon.

“Ugh… We need to learn to drive first,” murmured Aqua.

Zircon shook his head, head pounding from the impact. “Ditto.” He lifted a hand to his head and turned to face Aqua… Wait… Aqua? He was able to see her physical form, sitting up and rubbing her shoulder. His eyes widened as he stared at himself, looking over his arms and legs and body. “Aqua, we’re--”

“Unfused?!” Aqua picked up on the realization as quickly as he did her eyes glittering as she turned to him.

“Finally!”

“Yes!”

The two threw their arms around each other in relief, laughing with glee at the feeling of being in their own bodies again. However, their celebration was short-lived at the sound of hovercrafts overhead and the thumping of heavy footsteps just around the corner. It was obvious escape was not a choice anymore.

The elite corps leader had her team block the entryway to the alley and approached the two gems. She opened her mouth wide to boom out another order when she took another look at the culprits.

“Aquamarine?” With a disbelieving glance at Zircon, she let out a comical sputter and pointed at him “You fused?! And with him of all people?!”

Zircon narrowed his eyes at her. Shoddy brick…

Aqua got to her feet and shot a cross look at the leader. “I did,” she confirmed with a mocking, spiteful grin. “Nice to see your deductive skills are working just fine, Onyx.”

Onyx visibly fumed. “You were sent to do important survey work and you’re fraternizing with your guard,” she growled. Her dark gray cheeks burned white, unable to comprehend the idea of what she witnessed. “I’d expect this from you, but you are an elite gem! You should know better than to sink this low.”

“As if you didn’t consider me as scum already.” Aqua rolled her eyes.

“Why you--?!” Onyx clenched her fists in frustration before loosening them and huffing. She opted to turn her attention to Zircon. “And you! Disgusting excuse for a guard! I knew you weren’t going to take your job seriously from the get-go. What makes you think you would get away with this?!”

Zircon flared up and got to his feet as well. “It wasn’t my intention--”

Onyx jabbed him in his chest, eyes glaring down at him. “And why should I take your word for it?” she challenged him.

Before Zircon could make a move, Aqua moved closer to his side almost protectively. “Because I can vouch for him,” she spat. “You know, as an ‘elite gem’.” She mocked the corps leader’s airy tone as she brought up the term.

Onyx growled at that, but ignored and summoned her short range spear eyeing Zircon. “Enough of this!” she barked. “What you did was inexcusable! I’m sure Nephrite will be disgusted enough to approve of my shattering you!” With that, she grabbed Zircon by the arm and prepared to pierce through his gem.

“No!”

Zircon felt a weight rush into his side and twisted his eyes shut. When he opened them, however, he saw that he was now taller than Onyx. Looking down, he saw his skin was pale blue once again. Their skin.

Aqua…?

Their fusion glared down at Onyx in a calm fury, now wielding a ring sword of ice in the hand Onyx didn’t have a hold of. They slammed the blade into Onyx’s shield, causing her to release her grip and double backwards. They towered over her with the ring sword held in front of them and threatened, “If you kill him, you kill me, too.”

Zircon could believe the intense rage radiating throughout his being now. He’s never known Aqua to be this angry, nonetheless able to feel it. Aqua… What are you doing?

An rough and almost lighthearted response came to him. You save me, I save you.

The light blue blush that came across their fusion’s face went unnoticed by Onyx and her team, lost to the fire in their dark blue eyes. Onyx shuddered, trying to gather her words.

“Er… H-hey, let’s not be too hasty,” she stammered. “I can’t shatter an aquamarine… You know that’s mutiny on my part, right?”

“Try me,” was the fusion’s cold reply.

Onyx chuckled nervously. “And that’s totally fine! Completely fine! Fine, fine, fine!” She stuttered over her words, eyes shifting from side to side. “Uhm… hey, you know what? I-I’ll let you go, is that what you want? Huh? What do you want?” Beads of sweat trickled down her temple.

The fusion took a few slow steps forward, leaned in so they were at eye level with Onyx, and demanded in a menacing tone, “Take me to Nephrite.”

__________________

Nephrite has been getting repetitive calls of a disturbance downtown for ten minutes and she’s been trying to contact her corps officers to get on the scene, but none answered their radio. Her officers never failed to answer their chief at any time, so hearing so much ado about a commotion in such a short amount of time and what seemed to be nothing done to remedy it frustrated her to no end. She slammed a hand on the table and pushed herself out of her chair to head for the door’s entrance panel, deciding to take it upon herself to settle things, when the door slid open on its own.

Behind it stood Onyx and her elite officers. Heading them was a rather tall gem in a ragged dress and unruly hair.

Nephrite gazed at the gem in awe and disbelief, whereas the gem gave her a very nervous grin. Then her look of amazement turned into one of exhaustion and slight annoyance. “Of course.” She ushered the new gem in and ordered her elites to stay outside. Walking away and facing the window behind her, the only thing she had to say was, “You had one job…”

The gem began hastily giving out explanations that conflicted with each other. “We were doing what we were supposed to do-- there was a rock-- but we didn’t know how to unfuse-- couldn’t let anyone see us-- the dumb clod out there wouldn’t--”

“At once, please.” Nephrite felt more and more fatigued by the second.

The fusion stopped in their tracks and paused for a few beats, opening their mouth and hesitating for another moment, then began to say. “... Zircon saved Aqua from being shattered by the crumbling rocks on the lookout island and they became… me.” They stopped for a moment, registering their own words before continuing. “I tried to sneak through the city so I wouldn’t get caught for who I am. I ended up getting caught anyways and along the way I became Zircon and Aqua. Onyx was the one to suggest shattering Zircon for creating me, but Aqua fused with him to protect him and so the both of them could get to you in one piece.”

Nephrite tilted her chin up in acknowledgement. “I see…”

The fusion let out a heavy sigh. “... Look, I know I’m not supposed to exist. I know this could’ve gotten Zircon and Aqua in a whole mess of trouble… but now that I’m here and you know who I am… could you please give them another chance? This was never their intention. I was just… an accident.” They fell silent and looked away, unsure of how else to put it.

Despite the confession, the corner of Nephrite’s mouth quirked upward into a very faint, very brief smile. She walked over to the fusion and rested a hand on their shoulder, silent for a while before telling them, “You aren’t an accident, Chalcedony Quartz.”

The fusion’s eyes widened at the name. Chalcedony… that’s what we… I am.

“If anything you’re a work of heart,” Nephrite continued. “It’s normal to feel this way, but you are more a miracle than an accident.”

Chalcedony stared at her for a moment, then they cracked a small smile. “Going soft on us, are we?” they asked.

Nephrite stiffened, her nose crinkling in distaste. “Wh--?!” Her brows furrowed. “Why don’t you get back to your post?!”

“Like this?”

“At least you’re a form of cooperation,” she huffed. She opened up a panel on her desk, typing up a new file. “Now I’ve gotta have you legalized as well,” she muttered under her breath.

Chalcedony’s eyes lit up. “You’re covering me?”

“Don’t get too excited. It’s not instant,” Nephrite warned them. “And it was inevitable anyways if I’m going to have you two working together.”

“Yes! Thank you! This is awesome!”

Nephrite groaned as the fusion proceeded to pace and bound around happily in her office. At least they were working better together.