#okay. maybe you're not literally doing a magical cure but. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

turtletimewriting · 1 year

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Omg omg can you do number 8 with Lee Donnie and Ler Leo? I know Donnie’s the one who speaks logically and all but I think it would be hilarious if Leo used that line to tease Donnie for the way Don usually talks logically and scientifically lolll. You don’t have to ofc! Have a great day :)))

Hells yeah I can! I read it and genuinely thought of it being a Ler Leo so this was fun to write!

“Why are you embarrassed to admit that you’re ticklish?? It’s a perfectly natural physiological response. The nerve endings in your skin are supposed to send alerts to the brain that trigger a response of laughter”

Here's the prompt list if you want to suggest stuff! Would love to write some more. This prompt list is so interesting!!

Here's the previous prompt I was given if you're interested.

Listen this is kinda a weird set up for this prompt but hey ho. I wrote it. Sorry for the long wait!!

_._._

Leo took his role as the gang's doctor very seriously. From kissing booboos when he was a little kid to using Donnie to illegally download medical textbooks, he took a great pride in making sure he could look after his family no matter what happened to them. This was all made difficult considering they didn't match the anatomy of the bodies in the textbooks but that just meant he got to carry a cool clipboard of all his brother's notes. In all his years as Dr Leon, he knew how to handle anything.

Including if his brother was an idiot and dropped an entire tank engine on to his foot.

He had never made a cast and he was trying to hide how excited he was to finally try this out, but by Donnie's deadpan death glare, he probably wasn't succeeding.

"Okay, so it should be fully set?" He asked as he tapped against the firm plaster. It felt pretty solid. God if he managed to do this on his first try then he's truly an untouchable god.

"Am I meant to have my compression sock still on under the cast?"

Uh oh. Oh no. Was it? Was that okay? Will the sock like mess up his foot some more. The cast has already set!

"Uhhhhh..."

"Leo!" He cried out.

"What! I don't know how to do this! They don't exactly make books like 'oh here's how to make your own leg cast to magically cure broken legs'!"

"Literally yes they do!"

"Uhh, maybe we can just pull it out?"

"From under the cast!" Donnie yelled with too much attitude for someone who could've spoken up earlier.

"Yeah? I should be able to get like... a chopstick under the cast and use that to poke it out?" He immediately launched up from sitting by Donnie to raid the kitchen. He snatched a butter knife, a chopstick and Splinter's back scratcher. One of them had to help? Right? Please let this work because Donnie will literally never let him live this down if he doesn't.

"You're serious!"

"Yes!" Leo yelled out louder to assert dominance, "Are you helping me or not!"

He grabbed the chopstick and stuck it into the top of the cast where his toes were sticking out.

"AH! Some waharning please!" Donnie flinched like he had been electrocuted.

"Warning, I need to dig out your dumb dumb sock," Leo snapped.

He could feel the sock there. This very tiny slight resistance when pushing the stick in. With some wriggling he managed to feel the sock to catch. It was slowly starting to be pushed down. Maybe he can push it down, there would be no way to pull it out even though it would easier to go out that way. Oh well, whatever works at this point. He went to hand Donnie the butter knife so he could help but stopped.

Donnie looked tense as all hell. Like if he relaxed even a tiny part for a single second then he'd explode. He was biting his lip violently. Banging his fist into the chair.

"Uhh, you okay there hermano?"

"Just get this over!" Donnie growled. He jolted forward as if to stop him.

"Are you okay?" Leo withdraw the stick, if this was hurting him then they'd all just have to deal with his sock being trapped.

"doN'T REMOVE IT!" Donnie shrieked, throwing his head back.

Leo panicked and stopped everything. "What's going on!" He asked not at all hysterically.

"Nothing!" Donnie shrieked like a sea gull.

"Okay????" Leo slowly pushed the sock down further while making direct eye contact. Donnie jolted again with a harsh shiver down his back. His leg twitched wildly under his soft grip. "Don! If this is hurting then just say! None of this is a big deal." Probably.

"No..." Donnie looked completely beyond embarrassed.

Like the time he had found Donnie talking to the computer chip he was working on. More embarrassed than the time he found the self insert slash atomic lass fanfiction.

"Bro?" He asked, starting to feel his stomach flop in worry.

"It's nothing!"

"It's clearly not nothing!"

"It's not a big deaAH!"

"See it's a big deal!"

"Don't move it!"

"Then what's the problem!" Leo yelped, they were practically screaming at each other. It was a sheer miracle that none of the others had come in to investigate. But then again, this is usually how their bonding went.

"It tickles, okay!" Donnie shouted to the heavens.

Oh thank god. Leo could actually feel himself go boneless with relief. "Oh, that's it?" He grabbed the stick and now violently poke the stick further into the cast to push his sock out. "Why are you embarrassed to admit that you’re ticklish?? It’s a perfectly natural physiological response. The nerve endings in your skin are supposed to send alerts to the brain that trigger a response of laughter."

Donnie was back to pounding the chair. "stOP TALKING ABOUT IT!"

"It's a natural response. Society will tell you that you'll grow out of it but it's just a physiological reaction-"

"AAAAH! Stop dohoing it! Go slower! AH. AHAH."

"-There's no shame or embarrassment. Everyone's a little ticklish. It's all okay."

"Stop! Stop! Stohop talking about it!"

But just like the older brother he was (which he is, thank you very much, ignore all propaganda otherwise), he had sensed weakness. And that sock was very tricky. He totally needed to wiggle the chopstick from side to side. To make sure all the sock was being pushed down.

Donnie bite into his wrist.

"As a doctor, I can tell you in full confidence that it's perfectly natural to be ticklish. Healthy, even! I've had a few ticklish patients in my day." He carefully and slowly drew the stick back up. "You might find it better to laugh. There's no judgement here."

Now he was just waiting for Donnie to break and by the bright shade of neon red he was turning, it wouldn't be much longer until he did.

"I didn't even realise you were still ticklish. I can note that on your file so that I know in future to be gentle when handling sensitive areas. I guess it would make sense you're still ticklish. And your feet were always a bad spot, weren't they. Well, it's all okay."

"AAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA! AHAHAHAHAHAHAA!" Finally Donnie cackled. His head thrown back with the sheer power of the crawling tickle under his cast. The feeling of his sock slipping down somehow making it feel more embarrassing. The tingles left by the stick lingering and building all over the top of each other. A tickle that wouldn't fade. He couldn't even scratch it away since there was a stupid dumb dumb cast in the way.

"It's perfectly natural. Now sit still," Leo teased with the smuggest of grins.

#rottmnt #tickling #tickle fic #tickle prompt #tastybluesprite #lee donnie #ler leo

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bu-blegh-ost · 1 year

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IT'S 3 AM AND I HAVE A FUN IDEA.

Okay picture this. After Black Sea the Albatrio decides to tackle the problem of the big tree that makes Jay's mum die. They get their crew together and set sails towards the centre of the world again, in search for a way to see it and cure it. Save Jay's mum and all that. And as they sail they suddenly get bumped by another boat, size similar to Alphatross. They look over and who do they see? Jayson motherfucking Ferin, sailing the same goddamn way as they do. So it turns out that after the fated 100th episode encounter Jayson learned abt his wife's condition and took a leave. This entire time when the gang was Black seaing he was doing research and finally found a way to fix everything. He took a small navy ship and settled alone, but turns out it is hard to man a ship yourself, even if you're a one-man army. So reluctantly Jayson Ferin and Riptide Pirates settle for an uncomfortable truce and join forces to save Jay's mum. Could you imagine the comedic possibilities?

Gillion and Jayson basically entering this hilarious rivalry of sorts. Gill eyeing that DAMN Whalebone Sword still stuck inside of Jayson, trying to repeatedly take it out or awkwardly explaining the value of the weapon and how cool it would be if he could just kinda give it back. And Jayson Has none of it cause that DAMN fish always talking and annoying him, jumping around, always there to hype Jay up against him. At this point he's just so sick of Gill, he keeps the sword inside him AND on display on purpose and Gill knows it and it pisses him off even further. They fucking compete to do more badass shit together and Gill makes it a personal goal to make this Man emote in Rage before they Reach their destination.

Chip, who Jayson barely saw or acknowledged throughout both of their meetings trying to talk to Jayson and he's just like "And who are you again?" And that just fucking gets Chip into a frenzy cause how could he not know him at this point??? "Hello??? Chip? Captain of the Riptide Pirates? The capitainest of them all? Anything? I'm cool like the other guys I swear, it's not my fault I was busy fighting a piss wizard instead of you okay? Fuck, piss wizard sounds so lame but it wasn't okay?! Bshshsjsjs nevermind bye!" XD And he also tries to do cool shit around Jayson so he can see him in action this time, cause he just can't take it that Jay's dad Has neutral feelings about him.

And Jay? Oh Jay. I imagine my girl goofing and having fun with her Boys. Her family. And I imagine her looking towards Jayson observing them from time to time. Maybe his gaze is Stern. Maybe uninterested. Maybe a bit longing. And maybe for a second she becomes that small girl, cowering under this gaze, feeling stupid for wasting time doing ridiculous things no proper navy solider would do, but then she shakes it off, looks at Jayson with a stare just as unwavering as his own and she goes back to having fun with Chip and Gill, because facing this gaze is not so scary anymore. Jay's own eyes scream "Look at the family I made. Look how proud I am of them. Look what you lost. I chose them, they chose me. They made me who I am and they made me believe that I do not need to fear you." And maybe Jay also tries to do cool shit in front of her dad, just so she can show him how far she's come without him. Honestly I feel like this entire trip is a massive show-off fest to establish dominance and that's hilarious to me.

Also literally any interaction Earl may have with Jayson. Holy shit. I feel like this is a forbidden fruit no one should be allowed to imagine.

Also if Drey is still on the ship, he pretends he isn't. My Man just hides in the barrel for DAYS. Not risking that shit xD

But also I'd like to think that by the end of it all, once the tree is saved Jayson would leave peacefully, with no attempt at capturing anyone. And it won't be that they are magically on the same side, no. But he'd leave with respect for them. Respect for Gill, his resolve and willingness to always stand by his dauther no matter what, respect for Chip once he realizes that the moment Chip drops his acts and starts being himself and ordering the crew in the time of crisis, he's one of the best leader he's ever seen, and respect for Jay because he finally sees that his little bird grew to be one of the most powerful people he Had ever known. That maybe he was the one severing his little bird's wings. That perhaps she made a good choice for herself. That perhaps he finally understands.

#jrwi riptide #just roll with it #gillion tidestrider #gillion jrwi #jay jrwi #chip #chip jrwi #jayson ferin #thoughts that don't let me sleep #help #for real tho pls tell me you guys see the potential of this too #like this would be such a fun arc #i'll go sleep now #but probably i'll just be thinking abt this more #this took and hour to write wth

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lightandwinged · 2 days

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Update? Update.

Everywhere else people know what's going on, like actually know, I don't really talk about my feelings too much because it's mostly like... why are you going all in on your emotions, Abby, when all of this big stuff is happening to your family and you're just reacting to it over here, cheering your family on and offering a little bit of help, but you're not physically there all the time like your mom is, so you should shut up or go back to giving us daily updates or something.

The sister update goes that because US health insurance is stupid, her insurance yoinked her out of rehab after less than two weeks and said either she could go to a long term rehab facility (they were only going to pay for literal nursing homes that didn't offer rehab, just old people that smell like urine) or she could go home. And since the former would've been a miserable death sentence, she came home and my 67-year-old mother has been taking over all of her care, from the normal hair brushing down to tube feeding and everything in between. She's getting very little in the way of therapy, but she is getting therapy, but it makes me really want next year's Poseidon sacrifice to be some health insurance execs.

Which is to say that I do care. A lot. I don't think I'd be having such big emotions if I didn't care. And the emotions have broken into three categories.

The first is the immediate trauma category, and that's mostly resolving. For the first ~3 weeks after, I was kind of living life in this frosted snowglobe and watching my family go through the motions while I performed a pantomime of being me. I honestly was on the verge of losing it and eventually, the cure wound up being, of all things, a day at the beach. Cliche, I know, but it was like... maybe the cure for everything is salt water or something. It was just peaceful, nobody was around, nobody was demanding things of me or them. I was present for the family I chose instead of having to be on demand for my parents and sister. And it was a reset and it worked. And it broke that snowglobe, so I'm a lot better where that's concerned. Still having days of pantomiming, but they're fewer and farther betweener.

Then there's the related but longer lasting trauma response where the thought of going to my parents' house is apparently triggering me. I was talking about it with my therapist yesterday and suddenly... well, it wasn't a flashback, more of a flash something. Just images of Bad, my parents and my sister all collapsed on the floor, and because it was the end of therapy, I didn't know what to make of it, but BOY DID IT FUCK ME UP THE REST OF THE DAY. I have dealt with triggers before, but this one was intense, probably because the situation was Right The Fuck There.

All of this to say: I am super not okay. I have therapists though, one about day to day shit and one about long term shit, and they're helping.

The long term shit has unearthed Stuff. My sister has always been pretty unwell... she had seizures as a baby, always had something legitimate going on with her health, that kind of thing. One of my first memories is of being in a hospital children's waiting area while she was being treated nearby and falling in love with this toy stove there. It had knobs that you could turn, and when you turned them, the burners went from black to red. I couldn't have been more than three years old, and it was just pure magic to me.

Because it was ~1987, three-year-old me only had whatever supervision the nearest nurse station could provide. My mom had come to the hospital with our next door neighbor driving, and the neighbor was supporting my mom while the doctors worked on my sister, and I don't begrudge her that. I've had a sick kid. When you have a sick kid, that's your focus.

And three-year-old me had the stove.

(my dad was who knows where. Nobody had cellphones back then because it was 1987. Maybe my mom called him at work or maybe somebody like paged him or something. If he had any way of knowing, he was probably driving to try and get to the hospital or get home, but either way, he wasn't there at all, which was a common theme for my childhood: dad either not present or angry)

And that was a theme, you know? Not anyone's fault, but my sister got sick a lot. She went to the hospital a lot. We went to doctors with her a lot. Therapies, diagnosticians, all sorts of things. When we were all homeschooled, we had hours of some days of the week dedicated to her therapies. And it should have been that way because she needed them, but at the same time, it's like. Neglect that isn't done cruelly is still neglect, and when there are needs not being met...

Well, anyway, that was a breakdown or so.

These are conversations with my therapists, my partners, and my closer friends (and this blog), probably never my mom because she doesn't need more guilt. But fuck me, I hate being THIS level of fucked up about this.

#abby's mental health #or lack thereof

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somber-sapphic · 3 months

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In honor of me not being able to watch the new episode of criminal minds until tomorrow have an over 1k rant on all of the things that annoy me about Spencer Reid:

spoilers for everything. also, I'm entitled to my opinion you're entitled to yours they very well may be different and thats okay <3

also I wrote this months ago at like 4am and will not be editing it so mind the rambling

Spencer Reid never got to be a complete character because the writers insisted on shoving so many different plots on him all at once and dropping their ideas with little to no reason.

I know they do this to most of the characters though I primarily see it with him and Emily -also maybe Rossi but only in the last few seasons- but it specifically bugs me for Reid because I think that so many of these ideas could be really good if they had just stuck with them.

Starting small in season 1: There are a few things here that eventually get lost with the plot that are much smaller but still plot holes that do bug me, someone who obsessively watches my favorite shows for comfort. The thing that I think would make the most sense for them to have continued with was his eidetic memory. They start out with him only being able to remember what he's read, but then it switches back and forth throughout the series between only what he's read or seen or literally everything he's heard.

Season 2: The big one that frustrates me is Reid's addiction. The kidnapping stays as a pretty consistent overall trauma through the show but the addiction that comes from it is basically gone by season 3 which makes me think that it was so pointless for them to include it to begin with. If they already have that overarching trauma of him being kidnapped and tortured, why not pick a different method of torture? If they had actually played it out I think that the addiction could have been really interesting but they swept it under the rug so quickly that it just felt poorly done and like another way to make this character suffer temporarily for basically no reason.

Season 3: Gideon and the note. I know this was more of a team related issue, but Reid found the note it was addressed to him, Gideon was his mentor so I'm counting it here. I don't think it has the same impact and I actually like that he left but yeah counting it because we're counting trauma's here.

Season 4: His dad might be a murderer. Also Minimal Loss but I don't think that one entirely counts because it was more focused on Emily. It was a nice friendship building moment for them though and it's actually one of my favorite episodes

Season 5: shot in the leg, but meh that wasn't a huge deal

Season 6: The fucking headaches. This one especially frustrated me because of how intensely they focused on it in Corazon (6.12.). I looked into it more and I know now that they did this as a potential exit for Gubler's character if he decided not to sign on for the next season. I assume this probably would've lead to a diagnosis like schizophrenia (which is hinted at throughout the whole show) or cancer so that he could leave the team but the way they tried to fix it feels so incomplete. From what I remember the headaches get a bit of attention in the rest of the sixth season and then basically disappear until season eight when Maeve is introduced.

Season 7: I have my issues with the way the JJ thing was handled but that's not nearly as big as the other things, just a pet peeve of mine

Season 8: Now we get Maeve who I strongly believe was thrown in just as a magical cure for Reid's headaches. I think that it was so odd for them to just add in a romantic partner like this since he never really showed much interest in romance besides Layla and that one girl in the bar but I was happy that he found someone even if it felt a bit off kilter. Then they killed Maeve something that I don't think furthered the plot at all. It just reinforces the idea in my mind that she was only written in to explain away his headaches which bugs me for a few different reasons. It really didn't feel like it pushed the plot forward because it just added to his trauma in a way that didn't translate to the rest of the story. To be fair none of the big deaths really seem to impact characters for very long (except Haley's death) but this seemed worse because she literally only existed to fix a 'mistake'.

Season 9: Shot in the neck, almost dies. Shot in the knee wasn't a big deal but shot in the neck very much is. Then he almost gets killed while in the hospital so Garcia has to shoot that guy. Then Blake leaves and those two had a really strong bond which I think was almost on the same level of his and Gideons.

Season 10: Gideon's dead. But that one still felt smaller than others, he definitely suffered during that episodes and maybe for a few others after but not nearly as much. This is also where i start to lose interest in the show a bit because the episodes decline so much. Not to say that there aren't good episodes past seasons 10, just that season 10 is where I truly think it starts to decline.

Season 12: Prison. I hate this season more than any other. That plot line drives me crazy I hate it so much. Cat coming back for another intellectual battle with Reid is fine, but prison was ridiculous. I actually like some of the unsubs in this season so I watch the episodes and skip over the prison parts because I hate it so much. Oh, and he has to kill a guy. Which is of course directly related to prison, but still. Kills a guy. Or almost, I cant remember its late I should be asleep. at this point i think its early.

Season 14: So this is more of a JJ thing, but it's a him thing too because it is. She confesses her love for him in the most stupid and pointless way I've ever seen. I think that part of my issue with this is that they probably could have made sense had the writers set it up better in the beginning. In the first or second season I could see them together or at least visualize a time in which them ending up together was something anyone wanted. (I'm sure people still wanted it no hate to them I just don't personally understand the ship). In all honesty, and this is one I talked to some others about to make sure it wasnt just me being extremely gay, there were more moments of potential romantic tension between JJ and Emily than between JJ and Reid. Oh, also he was kidnapped but that genuinely seems less important compared to the JJ thing.

Season 15: Brain damage for some reason, ngl I didn't watch the last episode because I couldn't stand it anymore.

Also just before someone says it, I love Criminal Minds. I love it so much, it's my comfort show, it brings me so much joy. I even like Reid despite what all of this might sound like. He isn't my favorite character, but love his out of pocket facts and his magic tricks and how good he is with Jack and Henry. It just bothers me that his character was dragged in so many directions seemingly just because fans enjoyed seeing their favorite character tortured. Which I agree with, I just don't think they did a great job at making it coherent at times.

I am likely missing things and idc, this is just what I remembered

#criminal minds thoughts #i just wish they did a better job with him #and the fanatics annoy me #no he's not a baby #hes a whole ass adult with a gun

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muirmarie · 7 months

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hi I love every thought you add to that literal magical healing cock au. That last one about the dad w a terminal illness made me think of whether he'd want to research an actual cure and maybe grapple (perhaps at/with Spock) about how both his instincts feel selfish - to be able to potentially find a cure for others vs to be able to end any harm now. Like the latter seems obvious but considering what happened with his own dad y'know? Also like what level of suffering is ok to let resolve through traditional means and who gets to decide that. It's just such a delish thought experiment of an au

(re: this)

okay but YES, absolutely, I really haven't decided on a what sort of tone I want for the story because on one hand, there IS an inherent comedy to the situation, but on the other hand, I'm sitting here like. If Starfleet finds out, I don't care HOW chill they are, there is ABSOLUTLEY going to be some ambassador on some planet they're trying to get a treaty with with some sick relative that Starfleet would just, like, mention. Like no no no we're not trying to pimp you out, we promise, but also. Here's an interesting fact, huh?

It's one of the main reasons why it HAS to have an end date tbh.

And re: the dad stuff, I don't know if I'll include it because it really is a long diversion, but part of it also is, like. The crewmember (we'll call him Dan, I need a name), he can't just go and ask McCoy, but also? It's his DAD, so he also can't not ask McCoy? And Dan is having like an entire nervous breakdown about it until McCoy finds out through other means and then has to, basically, volunteer? And afterwards he just. Asks the dept heads to just tell him if anyone else is in that same position of just. Torn between two evils? Can't ask him to do that/can't not try to save someone important to them?

But YES re: is he just??? going to go around and sleep with everyone who's got this terminal illness???? is he just letting ppl die every second he's not sleeping with someone???? (also the benefits of being on a five year mission, he can't exactly just quit and become a full time sex healer) (jim reminds him of this very aggressively one night when mccoy is Deep In It)

And YES, like with the main crew he's friends with them, so it's easier! If it's his friend suffering, then offering isn't - they're friends! He's. He's helping out a friend in a specific situation with a time crunch factor! the scenarios i picked are all specifically time crunch or in uhura's case just: prolonged pain. But where exactly is that line?

I also - which I probably won't include because it's a lot heavier than I was thinking I was gonna make this - was thinking of a security officer actually dying, and his bf just. Having a breakdown and basically demanding that McCoy save him? And McCoy has to be like. He's dead. And then he has to grapple with like. What if he wasn't dead. What if he was in a coma. What if -

And then he drinks himself into passing out, tbh.

Also somewhat off-topic, but putting aside the magical healing cock, I do love the idea of crewmembers just coming to McCoy for a second opinion on treatment for their family & friends half a galaxy away? They're like "hey my sister's sick and her doctor said it's ___ but you're you, so can you take a look at her medical records? She already gave permission." Like he's just everyone's on call second opinion whether he likes it or not lmao?

anywho i am indeed extremely torn between having this be mostly silly shenanigans with a layer of angst and some grappling with the inherent coercion, or just like. a LOT of angst and some grappling with the human condition with a layer of silly shenanigans wrapped around it, lmao.

do they keep it from starfleet command? do they not keep it from starfleet command, but kirk and uhura work together to make sure mccoy doesn't get even one (1) msg from them about his condition? does spock sit in mccoy's office while mccoy talks himself into circles, because kirk always interrupts and gets angry, but spock will let mccoy talk himself out, even as he gets into, like, the really fucked up aspects of what he's trying to deal with/what some part of him really does think he should be doing?

like there's two different stories here haha, and i don't know that they fit together, but they're both interesting!

but also dan's parents ask after that "handsome young doctor fella" the entire rest of that 5 year mission lmao, and while dan is UNSPEAKABLY grateful that mccoy saved his dad's life, and mccoy & dan absolutely cannot look each other in the eyes 🙃

i want it to be the lighter story, but BUT there's just a lot to unpack around the edges of it that's hard to ignore!!

#asks #youandthemountains #long post

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veryflirtytransportalate · 6 months

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"Wow. This is going to be a great story! Just wait till you see this in print. You won't regret this, Blue." - Piper

Oh, Piper. Always there. Always chilling. Always ready for whatever. I cannot stand how she is about me stealing stuff, but other than that we get along great. She runs a newspaper with her little sister, although she's been following me because she wants to publish my story. In exchange, she takes some pics for me to post here. We all win.

She and Dogmeat get along really well. I'm actually kind of confused about Dogmeat on the whole. He's... I met him on the road one day out of the blue, and ever since, he's been following me. I'm not saying we met, got to know each other, I literally looked at him and went, "Hey," and he just made himself my dog. I don't feed him. I pet him, stab him with Stim when he needs it, but I don't know where he gets water from. I've never seen him poop. He can take a .303 round like a champ, too. He is also a vicious murderer who attacks anyone I get into a scrap with. That's true friend material right there and also, maybe, a, robot, I'm suddenly realizing. That's cool, actually, robo-dog. Why do Stimpa-eh they work on Nick too, funk it, like anything else makes any sense here.

Honestly, I get why people are falling over themselves to be with me (see: my legs, my torso, my face), but I'm sometimes weirded out by how into me they can get? And it does not take a long time. Preston made me dad of his local cub scouts after knowing me for fifteen minutes. All I'd done up to that point was get high, kill like two dozen dudes in a suit of armor (I think one of them turned into a dragonman but I was pretty up there), and insult his old lady friend right to her face. Hell, Strong Mad can't stand me, and he still spends all day riding my Red Rocket. ...okay hold on, I just meant he hangs out where I told him to, okay, me and Strong Mad aren't... we... well... let me go to the Red Rocket, and take a good hard look at him, and get back to you. There... may be potential there.

(Outfit credits, my thoughts, and a few more shots below the cut.)

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Cait is here too! I use Koozebane's Loving Cait mod (opens in new tab) to change her general vibe some. Piper's hat is Niero's CROSS_MojaveManhunter mod (opens in new tab).

Fallout 4 companions, dude. I've only ever gotten as far as Virgil's cave so I haven't met most of them, but like... bro, they are in rough shape.

Cait's storyline I think lays it out the best, which is to say, is one of the worst: it combines a desire to tell a deeply empathetic story of sorrow and trauma and regret and redemption, but that desire is so mishandled and poorly considered that it feels more like an insult to people who have lived experiences similar to her's - if you've ever been told 'you're so brave' by someone and suddenly felt a not terribly intense form of insulted, that's the exact emotional response I think this combination elicits. Her description of the physiological and mental effects of her intoxicated lifestyle feels like only a rough impression of what long-term functional intoxication feels like in the body, she doesn't follow the rules of addiction the player does, her story has to actively ignore the magical addiction cures around every corner*, but then plops a science-magic chair McGuffin into play with the same 'it's an instant cure' handwaving that the rest of the game already does as a deus ex machina to a story that could have been about the redemptive power of self-forgiveness, and there's not even time to mention that the story of the Vault you find the chair in implies that a group of addicts would turn kill mode over a single stash of drugs so fast that they'd storm in and murder an entire therapy group in their chairs, implying a discovery to murder timeline of less than an hour, and the fact that someone signed off on the only Irish character in all of Fallout just to have her be defined by violence and addiction and red hair and an accent feels funking nasty. Irish people in post apocalyptic Boston? Super fun. Thematic. Represents the reality of Boston and would have been an excellent addition! But Cait... the elements of her story could have been something really powerful to explore in a second person narrative, but instead, the writing placed on top of her damages the cohesiveness of the world in every place it touches.

We're all on the same page here**, and literally all of the characters are like this, although most other companions don't have narratives nearly so long or with nearly such personal themes (thank goodness). Nick is a hardboiled detective who smokes cigarettes. He does not have lungs. He also has memories of his previous life? I never do his quest. Piper is a scrappy reporter lady. She is upbeat and supportive and cares about her sister. The end. Codsworth is a robot who is a butler. Mr. Handycock is a ghoul dressed like a red coat, and, in his free time, something like a character. McGravy is a merc and a lazy Fallout 3 callback. Strong Mad is just Fawkes again but worse, which is ridiculous when we could have had Fawkes be the lazy call back, or another lazy call back, I guess. Danse is the words "semper fi" injection molded into a human shape (with a hot face). Preston is... actually a fun combo of dorky dude in a bad situation with good intentions, Preston gets... ugh, as much of a pass as I'll give anyone, even though he holds the terrible distinction of radiant quest giver. You never wanna be the radiant quest giver, okay, even Mike Rowe wouldn't do that dirty job. Lucky for him I kind of like the radiant quests, but that's only because the un-radiant quests usually have writing in them, and I have a hard limit on the amount of Fallout 4 writing I can stomach (I can't remember if I've ever through mods or whatever gotten to the Institute but I remember the cutscene with Father where you meet him and I Just... oh wow... if... if I was in a class, and someone presented that scene as a project, I'd be so embarrassed for them).

I downloaded a few mod companions (the super mutant lady, an Enclave general, and someone else, I forget), but they don't quite fit in with the general mood I'm trying to tweak Fallout 4 into: this Cowboy Bebop-esque colorful and bombastic adventure world with weird tech and sexy badasses.

I'm going to keep trying to Collect 'Um All! but... I don't have high hopes.

< Previous > . . . < Next >

*Addictol, which I carry on me at all times, doctors, who are in every town we stop at, a special tea from the chemistry station, or a funking omelet can cure addiction and if you don't believe me well than (opens in new tab) - your move, funko.

**Oh my gosh I just Googled "why is cait irish fallout 4" and the top answer suggested by Google was "The reason Cait has a (terrible, stereotypical) 'Irish' accent is because Bethesda didn't stop to think about how little sense it would make." YES, JUST RIP THEM APART. Oh, internet, you weird commercialized corpse of a thing - thank you so much, that made my day.

#fallout #fallout 4 #fo4 #fallout mods #reshade #fallout original character #screen archery #Youtube

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erstwhilesparrow · 9 months

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okay last time i thought about this my conclusion was wither rose alliance we know the devil au doesn't work but i think it might work approximately fine or even good. i think it might actually just be wra wktd isn't something i personally care to write. HOWEVER. i do like considering how the [group of three where it's two vs one] breaks down so excellently for them. look:

fwhip + gem vs sausage: literally just canon. sausage making deals with / possessed by the demon, which is on one side "this guy you loved and trusted as a dear friend is messing with powers clearly beyond his control and maybe threatening to hurt you and/or start war(s)," and on the other side is "your friends can see that you're getting stronger and don't like that" OR "your friends can kind of tell something is up and that you in your quest for power landed in some shit you're not sure you can get out of on your own, but your situation just keeps getting worse and you can't or don't know how to talk about it and everything you do only alienates them more."

gem + sausage vs fwhip: magic guys / people who have reputation for magical or physical prowess vs guy who has to make his own tech to keep up -- fwhip as self-described tinkerer and alchemist. you can also do gender things about the way fwhip goes for One Of Approximately Three Fantasy Archetypes For Men (tm) because sausage already has "proud leader guy" and "mage guy". something about struggling for recognition of your abilities / talents when it comes so easy to the other two. AND fwhip isn't there when sausage gets 'cured' -- again, shut out of magic while it gives the other two some kind of common ground, even if that common ground is a little fucked up. that one beat where sausage and gem point weapons at each other and fwhip hops back and forth between them chanting, "three best friends! three best friends!" to try to deescalate.

sausage + fwhip vs gem: the thing gem is constantly doing in her pov where she treats fwhip and sausage both as allies she needs to appease / [do work to keep on the good side of] so they'll help her when danger comes, or at least not do as much to hurt her specifically. this one also has gender things baked into it. also something maybe to gem being the only one of the three who, like, Does Book-Smarts in that way? both of them refusing to give her anything but joking most of the time? that intense loneliness she references multiple times only made worse by how neither side of this really seems to know how to connect to the other.

it's... something about how each of them always thinks the other two have something over them? i need to think on this more. loneliness and power.

#sparrowsong #i dunno man i got blindsided by wra feelings #i have GOT to pick up that wra fic again at some point

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becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys · 2 years

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Hello, multiply disabled person here, and I have a lot of thoughts about your werewolves! To start with: anything that magically cures a disability, even temporarily, is immediately sketch and makes me personally uncomfortable. This is because a lot of disabled folk don't *want* to be cured. I'm autistic with chronic pain. I have ADHD and learning disabilities. I'm three anxiety disorders in a trench coat.All of these are tied up in my nervous system in one way or another. I'd love to be without my chronic pain and anxiety, but never at the expense of my autism or my ADHD, because those two are absolutely central to my identity as a person. I don't want them cured. (And there's growing evidence that fibromyalgia and ADHD may be linked somehow--literally the best treatment for my fibro is my ADHD medication--so the chances of curing that hecking with my neurotype is HIGH.) But if you mess around with changing up my nervous system at all, chances are you'd mess around with those. Possibly in unpredictable ways. So if I were a werewolf, and growing a whole new wolfy nervous system when I shifted was gonna impact anything with my disabilities, I... would not want to shift. I'd hate it. I don't want to do that. But if I had any CHOICE in the matter, if I could keep my neurotype and selectively reduce or eliminate my pain? Yeah, sure, that could be okay? Maybe it's a bit like the trans werewolves, where what you *want* and how you see yourself impacts the results? Also consider the inverse of phantom limb syndrome if you go with "in wolf form, you grow back limbs you've lost." Someone's so used to *not* having an arm or a leg that they keep forgetting they have it now and it makes them clumsy. And what about folk who were born with an atypical assortment of limbs? They've never known themselves any different. Would they WANT to be a wolf with the full number of legs and such? What about people who were born without an entire sense? Will they suddenly obtain that sense as a wolf? Would they even be able to process it? (If I'm remembering correctly, there have been studies on this, and most Deaf and Blind folk who later in life get medical interventions to give them a lil bit of the sense they've never had actually don't enjoy it.) So basically what I'm saying is... you may have to consider each kind of disability in turn, find out what the community of folks with that disability feel about their disability and if they'd like a fix for it or not, and if yes, if that fix is a *medical intervention* or *social change.* Because a lot of us actually really don't want our disabilities to be cured or fixed or magically handwaved away. A lot of us don't even consider ourselves disabled by the medical model of disability. Don't try to fix what isn't broken. We hate when you do that. And if you do alleviate some disabilities in wolf form, be very, very careful about how the person in question feels about it. If they end up always wanting to stay in wolf form because they hate their disabled human life so much? That's overdone, offensive, and harmful to the disability community. Stay far, far away from that. Our lives are full and rich and absolutely worth living, and so many narratives out there paint us as tragic and pitiful and it makes me so mad.

Yes, you're absolutely right - there won't be a one-size-fits-all answer here, because disabilities cover such an absurdly broad spectrum.

Love some of these points, too, like being clumsy when suddenly having extra limbs that you're used to not having and the like. That is a very fun concept to play with in this setting.

Thank you so much for this! Super useful, especially the red flags to avoid.

#blood and silver #disabilities #long post #asks

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gildedmuse · 3 years

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Law: A Life In Review

(With Annotations By A Snarky Bitch Who Spends Way Too Much Of Her Time Thinking About This Mess Of A Boy)

[Oh, okay. So Law bought this coat solely so he could go around pretending to be a bad-ass sneaky ninja. And he slapped a bright orange smile face on it because.... *Sigh* Well, because Law. What do you expect? The boy has his Swordsmen Drama he's got to keep up, and in Law's case, that means claiming and marking every piece of property, all his crewmates, and any sweater any ex-partner of his wasn't smart enough to take back before Law broke up with them.]

Chapter One, Part II: Who Knew Amber Lead Syndrome Was So Easy To Cure!

Law then searches his body for the Amber Lead and, after finding it on his liver, he removes his liver from his body.

..... Okay, so the poison was in his liver; makes sense. I mean, I don't know exactly how lead poisoning works but I would guess a build up in the blood and liver.

However, I am almost CERTAIN, that of curing the disease was as easy as, say, A FUCKING LIVER TRANSPLANT, then one of the dozen of fully trained, apparently highly skilled, ADULT SPECIALIST who worked at the hospital alongside his parents would have, I don't know, maybe given it a go? Like, they were desperate for any sort of solution, their children and neighbors and loved ones were dying and not a SINGLE FUCKING ONE thought, hey, maybe this toxin, whatever it is, is going through our liver.

"WTF? The syndrome is clearly infecting your brain, Doctor Williams. We all know that this is the result of exposure to amber lead, a substance that is actually highly toxic and has been sinking into our drinking water and built into the walls of our houses. This must be caused by a build up of whatever chemical in the Amber Lead is so toxic. Why would that have anything to do with the liver? Everyone knows the liver is where you store anger, hatred and other negative emotions."

"God, Williams, did you even go to med school!?"

[I know what you're thinking. "Wait, so you're surprised to learn it's basically just Lead Poison?" Only, you know, pictured: not the fuck how lead poison works.]

Using the medical knowledge taught to him by his parents, he removes the lead from his liver and puts it back in his body before falling asleep.

Law wakes up in a house, and sees that his skin has cleared up.

I'm pretty certain if you remove all the cancer cells from, say, your intestines, the ones that have formed on your gallbladder don't magically heal up.

Also, can't livers regrow? So if anything, if ALS is located in the liver, and cleansing the toxins from the liver relieves all other signs and symptoms, those people would be comparatively very lucky

You know if they hadn't been mass murdered already.

But like.... That's all Law does and it works!

The only difference is he doesn't have to like carefully slice parts of the liver away, or replace of with a piece of a heathy liver from someone else. He just yanks the poison straight on our of there! And literally THE NEXT MORNING all those white patches are gone.

Got to say, it almost makes it sound as though if only they found a liver donor and did a transplant on Lami, she would have been out of bed with a healthy complexion within two weeks.

Though I suppose everyone else in town's liver was too damaged to help. Not because of the Amber Lead, they all just seem like they were drunk as hell. Throwing parades in the middle of a city destroying pandemic? What is wrong with you people?

[Sorry, Law, we can't save your sister.... I mean, we COULD, but that would mean not doing those end of shift vodka shots every night so THAT ain't happening.]

I mean, unless the theory is that he needed to have just a basic cursory medical knowledge - toxins go through the liver! - and the actual heavy lifting was done by the ope ope no mi. Which, hey, I suppose it's nice knowing at least ONE of the characters in One Piece is an actual medically licenced doctor. Even if it is a piece of fruit.

[Fun Fact, this inanimate magical fruit has attended more university level medical lessons than Chopper, Marco, and Law combined.]

An old man named Wolf greets him, and Law is initially suspicious that Wolf will betray him to Doflamingo.

Paranoid much Law? Good. As you should be.

However, Wolf does not hold allegiance toward anyone and is very hospitable to Law, wanting to know how he got here in return for having rescued him from the cave.

Good to know at least someone (thing?) has one.

This is weirdly worded..... Like did he offer Law more clothes, food, water, shelter and then say, "but before I help pull you back from the very brink of death itself, you must pay back my hospitality by my answering my question."

Only even then, you can't just like, do a long transplant and magically fix someone. Like, the whole reason it gets more dangerous through the passing generations due to the fact that the toxin is building up more and more and so is causing more and more correlate health issues. You can't just remove the toxin and have everything be okay, because it is simply the catalyst causing all these related health issues.

Or was he like, "how did you end up in here? What happened? Wait, you're not from this island. Geez kid, what have you been through?" I kind of want it to be that one, both because it's more natural, bit also because it would say something about Law's mental state and perspective that after all those years with Doffy, he simply assumes that as the man is doing him a favour, he will want something in return. Even if really the man is just saying what most anyone would having found a kid in such terrible conditions.

Law reveals where he came from, although he declines to mention eating the Ope Ope no Mi.

At least something Corazon said actually got through. I'm surprised when Corazon mentioned how many people were searching for this fruit, and how he needed to be careful because if people knew he ate it they would come after him for his power, that Law didn't understand it to mean he should hide himself on the most remote corner of the world and kill himself so that the fruit would regrow in a place no one would find it. Finally, he has completed the mission Corazon set him!

Wolf offers to let Law stay with him until he has an objective in life, although he will have to work for him in return. Wolf reveals that he is an inventor, although none of his inventions work, and Law will have the risky task of testing how dangerous his inventions are.

Just.... How can two sentences be filled with so much fuckery?

Like, for starters, I'm assuming the summary left our the part where Wolf asked Law deep, probing questions about his purpose in life and where he could see himself in ten years. Still, that means the conversation was like:

Wolf: Damn kid, you look like death. I could help you, but in return, you have to tell me how you got here and in such bad state.

Law: Hmm, I'm suspicious of this offer, but I suppose I'm not in a position to bargain. Very well, I was with a man who was being chased by the feared pirate Donquixote Doflamingo. He finally caught up with us and murdered my da- my guardian, but before Doflamingo showed up da- the man had hidden me away and instructed me to escape to the next island and find the nearest town. I did so, but I wasn't about to approach them asking for help whole in such a weakened state, travelling alone, and having no knowledge of this place or the people who reside here. Instead I found this cave, and took shealter here as I needed a place both out of the elements and somewhere that I could hide from Doflamingo, as he more than likely has his minions scourging all the nearby islands in an attempt to take me captive.

Wolf: Wow, kid, that is quite the story, and a hell of an adventure for a boy so young to have all on his own. Really, having gone through that at such young age, I have to kind of wonder.... Do you even have a reason to live?

Law: .... Excuse me?

Wolf: I just mean that's a lot of stress for such young kid, and not once in that long tale you spin did you mention how you imagined your future would one day play out.

Law: The fuck, because I was telling you about a crazy, powerful, unprincipled piece of shit who is actively haunting me down! It's hardly the time to talk about potential colleges I should apply to!

Wolf: You haven't even picked out a college yet? Kid, I can't let you just leave when you clearly have no clear plan for what you want to do with your future. Your blood would be on my hands.

So then he offers Law a place to stay and probably at the same time they're both like, "but you can't stay for free/but you won't let me stay for free" so Wolf tells him that while he is perfectly fine giving Law shealter and food and all that until he can work out what his bed dream is, Law will have to earn his keep by acting as Wolf's assistant.

Wolf: And it won't be the kind of simple chores a rich non-artic circle brat like you must be use to! I happen to be an inventor.

Law: What kind of things do you invent?

Wolf: All kinds of useful things. A self steering mechanism that can navigate the grand line without a map or a log pose or even a single living soul on board, a bed that can convert into a safe room during emergencies like pirate raids or fires and even floats in the event of a flood, a shovel that can dig through anything with easy - a man can dig right through the toughest stone without breaking a sweat. And that was all just the last two weeks. My older stuff is even better. Practically found of this small, four person sized ship that sails on wind currents instead of waves. It can get you around the entire globe in under half the time than if you're navigating the ocean, and it can pass right over the calm belts and the red line without danger. I call it an aero-boat!

Law: That's-!!! I can only imagine how useful it must be, allowing people to travel faster, further, and safer! How is the air not filled with them!? Are you unable to find certain material!? Did the government force you to shut down production!? Why do you live out here in the middle of nowhere!? Surely, people must be bidding in the millions to-

Wolf: Alright so quick disclaimer: The self steer tends to end up stuck in a loop and insist there are islands where there aren't, the bed has a minor flaw where when it closes up, it can't be reopened and also there is no fresh air supply (I lost so many hamsters to that one....), The hammer can dig throw stone but if you push it through soft sand it shatters into millions of pieces, and the aero-boat has a minor flaw where the engine will drop out of the craft after about two minutes into flight..... If you're lucky. Mostly it will just burst into flames.

Law: ..... So..... None of those things actually work then?

Wolf: They work! Just not as well as they are meant to.

Law: .... So you're not an inventor at all. You're just a really bad builder who takes a lot of potentially useful parts and turns them into dangerous and unusable junk.

Wolf: No, no, I INVENTED them..I came up with the idea, at least! It's just the designs that gave failed.

Law: So are you crazy or just like the least competent person ever?

Wolf: But! You'll never get bored! Not with all the constant threats to your safety and your life, seeing as how most of my inventions do tend to turn out far more dangerous than I originally intended.

Law: Dude! My safety is under constant threat NOW! Did you not hear about the insane pirate who captains over an entire criminal organization and who gladly murdered his own brother in cold blood to try and find me!? I thought you wanted to help me!?

Wolf: I do! I want to help you follow your dream! Once you figure it out, that is. Assuming the automatic house cleaner doesn't kill you first. Yeah, yeah, or that insane pirate friend of yours. You think you're more than old enough to know we all have homicidal, ability using pirates trying to kill us. My inventions are far more unique. And dangerous.

Law: !!!!!

Wolf literally went from, "here kid, let me help you" to, "but in exchange you must assist me at my work inside my Death Cabin!"

And yet, it was still easily the best offer Laws ever got so...

(If Wolf had just offered for Law to stay free of charge or work, Law would have yeeted himself outta there thinking he was going to be taken advantage for. Risking his life for rent and food probably seemed pretty fair to him. -- Katrin)

Law has a happy life with Wolf, and on occasional hunting trips, the inventor shows skill with a rifle.

I mean, it says "Happy" but Law has just suffered six major traumas in less than five years while also witnessing untold acts of violence and deprivation. Also, it's Law, so it's hard for me to imagine he wasn't a LITTLE bitchy/sassy with this supposed inventor who couldn't invent a fucking pair of reading glasses without them maiming at least four test dummies. Then again, given all that has happened, maybe getting frustrated and upset at Wolf's utter incompetence helped keep Law's mind from becoming trapped in his own despair and fear. Maybe a happy Law is a Law who is bitching about how of COURSE the automatic locking door didn't work - why the hell would Garakuta-ya attach a fucking GUILLOTINE to it? Hey, find your bliss, kid, whatever that may be.

Law asks him how he became so skilled, but Wolf only says that he learned it sometime in the past.

Oh, mysterious past... Hey! Who wants to bet it involved a female character - likely in a caretaker role - who USE to be apart of Wolf's life but ISN'T now, due to Death By Male Character Advancement?

Haha, I'm kidding. We don't take bets on foregone conclusions.

Also, this guy made Law his assistant knowing how dangerous the work was, the on top of it, took one look at this kid dressed in black and animal prints who slinks into shadows and stands there silently glowering and thinks, yep, he'll make a great hunting buddy. Absolutely no way anything could possibly go wrong in this dark forest, me with a gun and Law somewhere behind me, probably.

(It's not as if baby!Law was giving off tiny serial killer vibes or anything without even trying and even when in the best of moods he could manage in that period of his life. It's not as if tiny!Law didn't learn to use a rifle thinking of Doffy's head on the other end of the gun mounted on each and every target, only occasionally swapping it out for Vergo's head, no of course not! -- Katrin)

Wolf goes to the market once a week to sell his inventions and vegetables [...]

His life endangering, failed inventions and his veggies, but not the meat from those hunting trips despite his prowess with a rifle. Those kills? Those aren't for food or money. That's just to silence his blood lust a few more days...

[...] and while left behind on one of these occasions Law goes on a walk. While in the forest, he spots two boys, Shachi and Penguin, beating up a polar bear named Bepo. After noticing Law, Shachi and Penguin confront him, but Law activates Room around them in response.

Law: I must keep the fact that I have the ope ope no mi a secret!

Also Law: ROOOOM!

He lifts two rocks into the air and uses Shambles to switch them with Shachi and Penguin, and they fall to the ground and get knocked out.

Law: *in the middle of a fight, upon seeing two heavy rocks that he could easily use as weapons* I have the perfect plan.

Also, how can this supposed operation room fruit come with a default "teleporting objects according to your will" ability but not, oh, some kind of anesthesia that would knock people out instantly? What kind of operation rooms did his parents even work in? Barnum's Amazing Three Ring Hospital?

(I feel like switching on the 'levitate and switch stuff' setting but not the 'anaesthesia' setting is less the op op no mi and more Law not being very inclined to peacefully put people into a sleep they can recover for while feeling high and relaxed. He's not that nice.)

(I mean, we know that canonically Law was like "fuck anaesthesia" when he operated on Luffy, so he clearly doesn't believe in it. -- Katrin)

Bepo thanks Law, saying that he hoped he could have become friends with the boys assaulting him. He reveals that he came from Zou in the New World [...]

As if Law wasn't immediately like, "we hat so you just approached them to make friends? What fucking sea do you come from cause it sure as hell isn't this one.

[...] and had left to try to find his older brother Zepo who had disappeared.

Had died. Had died and been killed and had the last years of his life stolen and his soul sucked out of his body.

But, hey, Bepo's gonna end up with a nakama because of it! 🧡 🐻‍❄️ 🧡

However, he had accidentally boarded a ship going to the North Blue and ended up here, and he wants to learn navigation to make it back to Zou.

So we know Zou is on the back of a giant elephant, we saw how steep the climb up and down was. When it says "Bepo left" does it mean Bepo was sitting at the edge of Zou eating the snacks his mom had packed him, singing a little silly song about all the different types of monks as he leans over, peering down through the clouds, and while doing so dropped one of his fried dumplings And without thinking reached out to grab it - oh, no, his lunch snack! Splash!

At which point he was miles below where anyone on Zou could see him, treading water, unable to get anyone's attention...... Oh, and his dumping got all soggy, not that he doesn't eat it anyway. And at some point while swimming to desperately try and keep up with Zunisha, when he happens to spot a chunk of ice because it's the grand line and weather is weird. Oh, look, the perfect place to curl up for a nap.

And when he wakes up he's being pulled up aboard some scary looking ship with a bunch of strange, smelly hairless monkey mins and before he can even ask of they could follow that giant elephant - that's where he lives - or if they had maybe met Zepo. He's Bepo's older brother and he hasn't been home in months and - hey, owe! Why are they pushing so much! Oh, they're giving Bepo a room, that's nice but he does really - slam, lock.

These pirates are gonna get so drunk celebrating their good luck. The second the saw the whatever he was curled up on the ice they knew immediately they could either eat it or sell it. Good news whichever one it turned out to be, as far as they're concerned.

Law tells Bepo to come with him, and the two of them go back to Wolf's house. After hearing Bepo's story, Wolf agrees to take him in as well, so long as he works.

Okay, it's starting to feel like Wolf only listens to their sad backstories to make sure no one is like likely to miss them and come poking around. I mean, what's the point in having all these child slave as if they're parents come and swoop them away right as you're really getting them trained to be good at doing random arrows and flying knives?

(Honestly, Wolf taking in children like that is HELLA suspicious. -- Katrin)

In which case a like 9 year old Bepo would have had to climb aboard a ship headed to North Blue and the crew has to like him enough not to throw his stowaway ass right back in the sea but not enough to help him get back to Zou or even just dropped him off before they crossed the calm belt so he was at least still on the right see.

Yeah, no, he was cubnapped. Plain and simple.

One night when they are in bed, Bepo asks Law why he took him in. Law does not have an answer, but realizes that although losing everyone on Flevance caused him to become distant from the world, the kindness of Corazon and now Wolf has started making him believe in people again.

Hey, so, it's really great that Wolf didn't immediately sell Law out to Doffy and also has given him a place to stay in exchange for a few mere hours of life endangering child labour, but let's not go putting him on the same level as Corazon.

Like, yeah, Corazon literally sacrificed his life to try and help Law, and that made him feel a flicker of human emotion again, but he still needed that extra push of an inventor so incompetent that he would be charged with willful murder before manslaughter who wouldn't sell him out to a man it sounds like would definitely torture and kill the kid in exchange for him working at Wolf's Hut Of Death for free. That's when Law finally remembered what it meant to be kind.

A month later, Law and Bepo see an explosion in the forest, and find Shachi and Penguin severely injured. They were on the verge of death after being attacked by a boar, and Penguin's right arm had been blown off. Law and Bepo race the two of them to Wolf's farm, and Law has Bepo stop their bleeding.

...

Just what?

So like,

Why did Penguin have a bomb on him? Or did the boat blow it off? Is this like a Wolf made boar?

What were these two boys doing just wandering around in the woods? Holding hands probably.

Law this is exactly what your power is actually met for. But, no, let's not call a room NOW. Instead, Bepo, grab the two boys, Law will grab the arm, then they'll hurry back through the forest to Wolf's farm where Law will then order Bepo - who again is nine and also has even less medical training than Law, not too mention no magical doctoring fruit abilities and furring polar bear paws are hardly the most sanitary things to have near open wounds - to stop Penguin's bleeding. A feat it feels like Law should have easily been able to pull off with two hand gestures and some awkward English

I mean, come on, Trafalgar! This is your chance to use the power of the Ope Ope no mi for some actual emergency ope-ing!

*sigh*

What's the french for, "But, being a fucking idiot who had to make a big dramatic scene out of everything, Law decided it would be better to go on foot."

Looks like we're going to find out next chapter.

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jimilter · 2 years

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what that anon means is you're not that good of a writer for people to follow but you know your way around. friends connections cliques to boost you n ur ego. vice versa. kiss their ass you kiss theirs back. it is fascinating! all the tumblr politics

Not a single doubt in my mind that you're the same anon with a different typography. Why? Because I don't believe you're useless enough to support another useless idiot's uselessness. Or...are you? Whoops. 🤡

Putting aside the illogical aspects for later, I wanna first discuss a very important question I always come back to: why the obsession with me? I mean, I'm flattered you observe me closely enough to take note of all the apparent "ass kissing" I do, but seriously. If you're not literate enough to really understand my writing (because you would fucking pee your pants before calling it "not that good" if you weren't illiterate, my guy), why come here at all, kid?

Is it perhaps... Jealousy? That no one notices you? Or wants to talk to you? Or, like, takes interest in your life? So you wanna tell me what you think are facts about me and feel good about it? Oh, my. 😔

Or maybe you're so supremely useless in life that this is the best use of your time for you. Huh. Extremely sad, but not incurable. No, I'm not judging, just observing. Will talk about a cure at the end, alright?

For now, time to move to the logic analysis of your very overconfident statements: the point made by the previous Dick Anon was that "people don't follow me for my writing." Which implies that there is another reason why they follow me. Which, by your logic, translates to wanting to be my..."friend, connection and clique," did you call it? So by your spectacular claim, you're trying to tell me my 4-digits follower count just wants to learn the ropes of ass kissing from me so that they can make friends too. Right?

Oh, wow...

Tell me honestly, anon, are you projecting, honey? Is ass kissing the only way for you to make friends in your life? Is that why you don't understand friendships?

Okay, I don't wanna psychoanalyze you, that's your therapist's job. (I hope you have one bec you need one, my guy.) I just want to pray for your sanity in the real world, kid.

Because my concern is how much important you've made Tumblr in your life. Like. It's an anonymous platform of anonymous people who write fanfiction for a group of real men they'll never meet irl. Do you realize what that sounds like in the real world? Embarrassing and delusional. Five people here know my face and three of them know my voice bec I truly want to remain inconspicuous and not be found writing smut by potential future employers, thank you. "Tumblr politics" like seriously? What are you, a third grader?

Go out and look at the world around you, kid. Real problems and real issues need resolving. Inflation is fucking insane and people still don't have a Covid-19 medicine that is fully inert. Do not let your braincells melt away by stalking me like a hawk, go to school and become a normal human. And that's the cure for your demented view of the world. Education. Honestly, it works like magic and cures everything! Try it, sometime.

After you're educated enough, maybe you'll be good enough to understand my immaculate writing? I have my doubts but I'm nothing but generous with my kindness, so I'll hold out hope for you. Yeah.

Gotta go back to studying bec I feel like I have to be literate enough for both of us, kid. Quick, stop being illiterate so I can stop worrying about you!

#smh #c: ask #anon #dick anon 😪#no read more cut bec jinnie <3

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thebonggirll · 4 years

Text

chapter nine

< previous: chapter eight

It didn't take them long to pack. Percy decided to leave the Minotaur horn in his cabin, which left him only an extra change of clothes and a toothbrush to stuff in a backpack Grover had found for him. Y/N ran to her cabin and started packing her clothes and weapons (arrows and knives) in a hurry.

A girl in her cabin, Ruby, who was reading a book saw her and asked, "Wait, you're going? I thought...Annabeth was going?"

Y/N sighed and said, "Uh yeah, we...both are going."

"Thats-"

"-not safe, I know. But...I have questions that needs to be answered."

"Are you sure it's not because of the new boy?" Y/N glared at the brunette but she continued, "Hey, we all noticed how much you were spending time with him. Are you...like...feeling insecure? Because Annabeth is going?"

Y/N felt her heart stop for a moment. She never thought of it like that. But she shouldn't be bothered...even if they started liking each other...right? She knew there was some kind of weird tension the moment they started talking to each other. Yes, they did fight a lot but still..no one can deny the fact that there was some tension. Or maybe it was just because Annabeth says Athena and Poseidon dislike each other, so they also hate each other, but are actually friends? Okay, she realized that this was gonna take some time, so she quickly packed up her bag and walked out of her cabin.

"You're going too?" Another voice boomed. It was an undetermined kid too, namely Harris. "...honestly, I kind of...I guess we all kind of know why you want to go so we won't stop you." He smiled looking at her confused face, "Uh, just take care of yourself. You can be a bit clumsy. And uh-" He took off a silver necklace which had a half-moon symbol and gave it to her.

"Harris?" she took the necklace slowly from his hand, questioning his motive.

"Look, I've...lost my will to look for my real parent. But it's nice to see you get a chance. I just wanted," he blushed and brushed his hair back, "I wanted you to take this and remember all of us undetermined kids. Just...find your dad, ask for answers. If you get to see him, it would feel a bit better for all of us. Maybe it would just...give all of us some hope."

Y/N clutched the necklace and wore it, "I will do it!" She smiled and gave him a quick hug. Harris chuckled as he watched the girl run away with her backpack.

She arrived the camp store where the trio were waiting for her. Annabeth did not look happy. Ofcourse she planned for only three people, and that didn't include her. So she didn't really have anything to say to her. Y/N just hoped that she would try to forgive her for her rash decision later. Percy looked indifferent while Grover looked nervous. She couldn't pinpoint whether he was pissed with her too...uh they were pissed with her too.

The camp store loaned them one hundred dollars in mortal money and twenty golden drachmas. These coins were as big as Girl Scout cookies and had images of various Greek gods stamped on one side and the Empire State Building on the other. The ancient mortal drachmas had been silver, but Olympians never used less than pure gold. The coins might come in handy for non-mortal transactions-whatever that meant.

Chiron gave the half-bloods each a canteen of nectar and a Ziploc bag full of ambrosia squares, to be used only in emergencies, if they were seriously hurt. It was god food, Chiron reminded them. It would cure them of almost any injury, but it was lethal to mortals. Too much of it would make a half-blood very, very feverish. An overdose would burn them up, literally.

Annabeth was bringing her magic Yankees cap, which she told had been a fourteenth-birthday present from her mom. She carried a book on famous classical architecture, written in Ancient Greek, to read when she got bored, and a long bronze knife, hidden in her shirt sleeve.

Grover wore his fake feet and his pants to pass as human. He wore a green rasta-style cap, because when it rained his curly hair flattened and you could just see the tips of his horns. His bright orange backpack was full of scrap metal and apples to snack on. In his pocket was a set of reed pipes his daddy goat had carved for him, even though he only knew two songs: Mozart's Piano Concerto no. 12 and Hilary Duff's "So Yesterday," both of which sounded pretty bad on reed pipes.

They waved good-bye to the other campers, took one last look at the strawberry fields, the ocean, and the Big House, then hiked up Half-Blood Hill to the tall pine tree that used to be Thalia, daughter of Zeus.

Chiron was waiting for them in his wheelchair. Next to him stood the camp's head of security. He had eyes all over his body so he could never be surprised. Today, though, he was wearing a chauffeur's uniform, so one could only see extra peepers on his hands, face and neck.

"This is Argus," Chiron told, "He will drive you into the city, and, er, well, keep an eye on things."

They heard footsteps behind them.

Luke came running up the hill, carrying a pair of basketball shoes.

"Hey!" he panted. "Glad I caught you."

Annabeth blushed, the way she always did when Luke was around.

"Just wanted to say good luck," Luke told Percy. "And I thought...um, maybe you could use these." He handed him the sneakers, which looked pretty normal.

Luke said, "Maia!"

White bird's wings sprouted out of the heels, startling Percy so much that he dropped them. The shoes flapped around on the ground until the wings folded up and disappeared.

"Awesome!" Grover said.

Luke smiled. "Those served me well when I was on my quest. Gift from Dad. Of course, I don't use them much these days...." His expression turned sad.

Percy had been afraid that Luke might resent him for getting so much attention the last few days. But here he was giving him a magic gift.... It made him blush almost as much as Annabeth.

"Hey, man," Percy said, "Thanks."

"Listen, Percy..." Luke looked uncomfortable. "A lot of hopes are riding on you. So just...kill some monsters for me, okay?"

They shook hands. Luke patted Grover's head between his horns, patted Y/N on her back and then gave a good-bye hug to Annabeth, who looked like she might pass out.

After Luke was gone, Percy told her, "You're hyperventilating." Y/N chuckled lightly.

"Am not," Annabeth said.

"You let him capture the flag instead of you, didn't you?"

"Oh...why do I want to go anywhere with you, Percy?"

She stomped down the other side of the hill, where a white SUV waited on the shoulder of the road. Argus followed, jingling his car keys. Y/N couldn't help but think about it again - the weird atmosphere around them, ofcourse.

Percy picked up the flying shoes and had a sudden bad feeling. He looked at Chiron. "I won't be able to use these, will I?"

He shook his head. "Luke meant well, Percy. But taking to the air...that would not be wise for you."

Percy nodded, disappointed, but then got an idea. "Hey, Grover. You want a magic item?"

His eyes lit up. "Me?"

Pretty soon he'd laced the sneakers over his fake feet, and the world's first flying goat boy was ready for launch.

"Maia!" he shouted.

He got off the ground okay, but then fell over sideways so his backpack dragged through the grass. The winged shoes kept bucking up and down like tiny broncos.

"Practice," Chiron called after him. "You just need practice!"

"Aaaaa!" Grover went flying sideways down the hill like a possessed lawn mower, heading toward the van.

Y/N rushed behind him, trying to catch him.

For the first time, the quest felt real. They were actually leaving Half-Blood Hill, heading west with no adult supervision, no backup plan, not even a cell phone.

When they got to the bottom of the hill, they looked back. Under the pine tree that used to be Thalia, daughter of Zeus, Chiron was now standing in full horse-man form, holding his bow high in salute. Just your typical summer-camp send-off by your typical centaur.

Argus drove them out of the countryside and into western Long Island. It felt weird to be on a highway again, Annabeth and Grover sitting next to Y/N as if they were normal carpoolers, while Percy sat next to Argus. After six months at Half-Blood Hill, the real world seemed like a fantasy. Y/N found herself staring at every McDonald's, every kid in the back of his parents' car, every billboard and shopping mall.

"So far so good," Percy told Annabeth. "Ten miles and not a single monster."

She gave him an irritated look. "It's bad luck to talk that way, seaweed brain."

"Remind me again-why do you hate me so much?"

"I don't hate you."

"Could've fooled me."

She folded her cap of invisibility. "Look...we're just not supposed to get along, okay? Our parents are rivals."

"Why?"

She sighed. "How many reasons do you want? One time my mom caught Poseidon with his girlfriend in Athena's temple, which is hugely disrespectful. Another time, Athena and Poseidon competed to be the patron god for the city of Athens. Your dad created some stupid saltwater spring for his gift. My mom created the olive tree. The people saw that her gift was better, so they named the city after her."

"They must really like olives."

"Oh, forget it."

"Now, if she'd invented pizza-that I could understand."

"I said, forget it!"

In the front seat, Argus smiled. He didn't say anything, but one blue eye on the side of his neck winked at Percy.

Y/N shifted uncomfortably on her seat. She was aware that they were still not talking to her. Did she mess it up? No, she knew no amount of personal grudge should come in between when it comes to such an important quest. But she didn't expect Percy to be mad at her. She wanted to tag along to find her father, sure but...truthfully she was afraid to let all of her friends go away on such a dangerous quest. Ofcourse she knew she would be left out but she was mainly worried about them. She just wanted her healing abilities to work on them when they needed it.

Traffic slowed them down in Queens. By the time they got into Manhattan it was sunset and starting to rain.

Argus dropped them at the Greyhound Station on the Upper East Side, Taped to a mailbox was a soggy flyer with Percy's picture on it: HAVE YOU SEEN THIS BOY?

He ripped it down before the others could notice.

Argus unloaded their bags, made sure they got their bus tickets, then drove away, the eye on the back of his hand opening to watch them as he pulled out of the parking lot.

The rain kept coming down.

They got restless waiting for the bus and decided to play some Hacky Sack with one of Grover's apples. Annabeth was unbelievable. She could bounce the apple off her knee, her elbow, her shoulder, whatever. Percy wasn't too bad but Y/N. She hit her head multiple times after which Annabeth decided in case of Y/N "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" doesn't apply, and it was better to keep it away from her. Y/N though was glad that they were finally talking to her. Maybe, she was just overthinking about it.

The game ended when Percy tossed the apple toward Grover and it got too close to his mouth. In one mega goat bite, the Hacky Sack disappeared-core, stem, and all.

Grover blushed. He tried to apologize, but they were all too busy cracking up.

Finally the bus came. As they stood in line to board, Grover started looking around, sniffing the air like he smelled his favorite school cafeteria delicacy-enchiladas.

"What is it?" Percy asked.

"I don't know," he said tensely. "Maybe it's nothing."

But he could tell it wasn't nothing. Percy started looking over his shoulder, too.

He was relieved when they finally got on board and found seats together in the back of the bus. They stowed their backpacks. Annabeth kept slapping her Yankees cap nervously against her thigh.

As the last passengers got on, Annabeth clamped her hand onto his knee. "Percy."

An old lady had just boarded the bus. She wore a crumpled velvet dress, lace gloves, and a shapeless orange-knit hat that shadowed her face, and she carried a big paisley purse. When she tilted her head up, her black eyes glittered, and his heart skipped a beat.

It was Mrs. Dodds as Percy recognised. Older, more withered, but definitely the same evil face.

He scrunched down in his seat.

Behind her came two more old ladies: one in a green hat, one in a purple hat. Otherwise they looked exactly like Mrs. Dodds-same gnarled hands, paisley handbags, wrinkled velvet dresses. Triplet demon grandmothers.

They sat in the front row, right behind the driver. The two on the aisle crossed their legs over the walkway, making an X. It was casual enough, but it sent a clear message: nobody leaves.

Ofcourse Y/N wasn't dumb. When she noticed Annabeth stopped moving and held Percy she immediately knew something was wrong. Annabeth's face showed it all. She noticed the weird three ladies get in and she could recognise the vibe - something not mortal.

The bus pulled out of the station, and they headed through the slick streets of Manhattan. "She didn't stay dead long," Percy said, trying to keep his voice from quivering. "I thought you said they could be dispelled for a lifetime."

"I said if you're lucky," Annabeth said. "You're obviously not."

"All three of them," Grover whimpered. "Di immortales!"

"The what?" Y/N asked nervously.

"It's okay," Annabeth said, obviously thinking hard. "The Furies. The three worst monsters from the Underworld. No problem. No problem. We'll just slip out the windows."

"They don't open," Grover moaned.

"A back exit?" she suggested.

There wasn't one. Even if there had been, it wouldn't have helped. By that time, they were on Ninth Avenue, heading for the Lincoln Tunnel.

"They won't attack us with witnesses around," Percy said. "Will they?"

"Mortals don't have good eyes," Annabeth reminded. "Their brains can only process what they see through the Mist."

"They'll see three old ladies killing us, won't they?"

She thought about it. "Hard to say. But we can't count on mortals for help. Maybe an emergency exit in the roof...?"

They hit the Lincoln Tunnel, and the bus went dark except for the running lights down the aisle. It was eerily quiet without the sound of the rain.

Mrs. Dodds got up. In a flat voice, as if she'd rehearsed it, she announced to the whole bus: "I need to use the rest-room."

"So do I," said the second sister.

"So do I," said the third sister.

They all started coming down the aisle.

"I've got it," Annabeth said. "Percy, take my hat."

"What?"

"You're the one they want. Turn invisible and go up the aisle. Let them pass you. Maybe you can get to the front and get away."

"But you guys-"

"There's an outside chance they might not notice us," Annabeth said. "You're a son of one of the Big Three. Your smell might be overpowering."

"I can't just leave you."

"Don't worry about us," Grover said. "Go!"

"Just go, we know what to do!" Y/N said. Oh she didn't know what but the boy looked like he was about to cry. The least she wanted is to calm him down so their plan could run smoothly...yeah, it's gonna be hard.

Percy took the Yankees cap and put it on. When he looked down, his body wasn't there anymore.

He started creeping up the aisle. He managed to get up ten rows, then ducked into an empty seat just as the Furies walked past.

Mrs. Dodds stopped, sniffing, and looked straight at him. His heart was pounding.

Apparently she didn't see anything. She and her sisters kept going.

Percy was free. He made it to the front of the bus. They were almost through the Lincoln Tunnel now. He was about to press the emergency stop button when they heard hideous wailing from the back row.

The old ladies were not old ladies anymore. Their faces were still the same but their bodies had shriveled into leathery brown hag bodies with bat's wings and hands and feet like gargoyle claws. Their handbags had turned into fiery whips.

The Furies surrounded Grover, Annabeth and Y/N, lashing their whips, hissing: "Where is it? Where?"

The other people on the bus were screaming, cowering in their seats. They saw something, all right.

"He's not here!" Annabeth yelled. "He's gone!"

The Furies raised their whips.

Annabeth drew her bronze knife. Grover grabbed a tin can from his snack bag and prepared to throw it. Y/N pulled her bow and arrow, just in case the knife in her pocket doesn't work.

The bus driver was distracted, trying to see what was going on in his rearview mirror.

Still invisible, Percy grabbed the wheel from him and jerked it to the left. Everybody howled as they were thrown to the right, and heard the sound of three Furies smashing against the windows.

"Hey!" the driver yelled. "Hey-whoa!"

They wrestled for the wheel. The bus slammed against the side of the tunnel, grinding metal, throwing sparks a mile behind us.

They careened out of the Lincoln Tunnel and back into the rainstorm, people and monsters tossed around the bus, cars plowed aside like bowling pins.

Somehow the driver found an exit. They shot off the highway, through half a dozen traffic lights, and ended up barreling down one of those New Jersey rural roads where you can't believe there's so much nothing right across the river from New York. There were woods to the left, the Hudson River to the right, and the driver seemed to be veering toward the river.

Another great idea: he hit the emergency brake.

The bus wailed, spun a full circle on the wet asphalt, and crashed into the trees. The emergency lights came on. The door flew open. The bus driver was the first one out, the passengers yelling as they stampeded after him. Percy stepped into the driver's seat and let them pass.

The Furies regained their balance. They lashed their whips at Annabeth while she waved her knife and yelled in Ancient Greek, telling them to back off. Grover threw tin cans. Y/N was already swinging the knife she kept in her pocket.

He looked at the open doorway. Percy was free to go, but he couldn't leave his friends. He took off the invisible cap and yelled, "Hey!"

The Furies turned, baring their yellow fangs at him, and the exit suddenly seemed like an excellent idea. Mrs. Dodds stalked up the aisle, just as she used to do in class, about to deliver his F- math test. Every time she flicked her whip, red flames danced along the barbed leather.

Her two ugly sisters hopped on top of the seats on either side of her and crawled toward him like huge nasty lizards.

"Perseus Jackson," Mrs. Dodds said, in an accent that was definitely from somewhere farther south than Georgia. "You have offended the gods. You shall die."

"I liked you better as a math teacher," he told her.

She growled.

Annabeth, Y/N and Grover moved up behind the Furies cautiously, looking for an opening.

Percy took the ballpoint pen out of his pocket and uncapped it. Riptide elongated into a shimmering double-edged sword.

The Furies hesitated.

Mrs. Dodds had felt Riptide's blade before. She obviously didn't like seeing it again.

"Submit now," she hissed. "And you will not suffer eternal torment."

"Nice try," he told her.

"Percy, look out!" Annabeth cried.

Mrs. Dodds lashed her whip around his sword hand while the Furies on the either side lunged at him.

He stuck the Fury on the left with the sword's hilt, sending her toppling backward into a seat. He turned and sliced the Fury on the right. As soon as the blade connected with her neck, she screamed and exploded into dust. Annabeth got Mrs. Dodds in a wrestler's hold and yanked her backward while Grover ripped the whip out of her hands, Y/N shot her bow at Mrs. Dodds which she aimed at her heart, but because she moved around too much, it struck on her shoulder instead. Along with a string of curses she also heard a deafening screech from it. Yes, it injured her, but the arrow was supposed to work like Percy's right? She was supposed to turn to dust but she didn't.

"Ow!" Grover yelled. "Ow! Hot! Hot!"

Mrs. Dodds was trying to get Annabeth off her back. She kicked, clawed, hissed and bit, but Annabeth held on while Grover got Mrs. Dodds's legs tied up in her own whip. Finally they both shoved her backward into the aisle. Mrs. Dodds tried to get up, but she didn't have room to flap her bat wings, so she kept falling down.

"Zeus will destroy you!" she promised. "Hades will have your soul!"

Thunder shook the bus. The hair rose on the back of their neck.

"Get out!" Annabeth yelled. "Now!"

They rushed outside and found the other passengers wandering around in a daze, arguing with the driver, or running around in circles yelling, "We're going to die!" A Hawaiian-shirted tourist with a camera snapped his photograph before Percy could recap his sword.

"Our bags!" Grover realized. "We left our-"

BOOOOOM!

The windows of the bus exploded as the passengers ran for cover. Lightning shredded a huge crater in the roof, but an angry wail from inside told them Mrs. Dodds was not yet dead.

"Run!" Annabeth said. "She's calling for reinforcements! We have to get out of here!"

They plunged into the woods as the rain poured down, the bus in flames behind.

Y/N who was running confused, wondered if the gift from Chiron really worked. It was supposed to right? He wouldn't lie to her ofcourse. Was she not using it correctly?

Questions filled her mind, as the path before them had nothing but darkness ahead.

next: chapter ten >

book one: the lightning thief

percy jackson x reader series

MASTERLIST

Tags: @the-natureofme @jumpingtrainsandflyingskies @idk-bye-no

#percy jackson x reader #percy jackson #percy and annabeth #percabeth #percy jackson and the lightning thief #percy x annabeth #annabeth pjo #annabeth chase #annabeth x luke #pjoverse #pjo apollo #pjo

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normal-thoughts-official · 4 years

Note

Ok so some of your content implies immortal Alec and I was wondering how you thought it would happen? I've read a few things where Clary creates a rune/uses the alliance rune to make him immortal (but I don't think you're a real big fan of her) so I wanna hear your thoughts and also maybe Magnus's reaction

hoooooo boy i am GLAD YOU ASKED because i have a whole ass au that i have like. basically all the plot down but my stupid brain can’t turn into a fic so i guess im gonna shove it here and GOODBYE FOREVER

(also, about the clary thing: it’s complicated diaushduaih because i kind of really hate her in canon but i also accepted fanon clary into my life? mostly because i unfortunately can’t help but ship clizzy, but anyway, i kinda disassociate clary from canon. so i’m not really against the idea that she makes a rune or something, but i do think this idea is more interesting. or maybe it isn’t but then i guess that’s your personal problem because well, you did ask lol im jk btw)

okay so i have one word for you: seelies. hot diggity damn do i fucking love seelies or what

so you know how seelies are the offspring of demons and angels? and there’s this whole thing about demon blood and angel blood not mixing well at all? well, i was thinking, how the fuck does that work. and i came to the conclusion that whatever stronger parent they had’s blood would like, tame the other or whatever, you know? but then what if they had equally strong - or equally weak - parents? like a child of an archangel and a prince of hell, what the fuck happens then? or alternatively the child of some angel janitor and a minor demon, would they even have enough magic?

so i figured if that happens it’s like as if a seelie has an autoimmune disease - their body is fighting itself constantly. for those who have very strong parents, this means that they are decaying quickly, and usually won’t be able to like, survive for long if they don’t do something. for those who have weaker parents, it usually means they’re weak

so these seelies are actually born mortal, and for the ones with stronger parents, pretty much with a lifespan of like, a few days before they end up dying due to the autoimmunity. so what happens for those is, they have this Cool Ritual that makes them immortal and solves all their problems

basically what happens is: seelies are one with nature, correct? but they’re also, like, individuals. so they have their own magic, their own energy, their own life source. right? so what happens to these seelies is, they tie this life/magic source of theirs to that of the universe. they basically become one with the universe fully, instead of just guarding it and being connected to it, they are literally tied to it, so much so that their magic and the world’s magic is one and the same. basically their life is fed by the same source that feeds all life, even mortal ones, and that source is endless, so they become immortal. it’s not a cure per se, since it doesn’t really stop their blood from fighting itself, but it does solve the problem because it has endless energy to keep doing it. and after going through this magical ritual, they become basically the strongest seelies around, because they have access to very strong demonic and angelic magic and the like, natural source of the world. so that’s pretty cool

and this whole thing is like. absolutely top secret, no one but the seelies knows how it works or even that it exists. especially because the seelies used to be basically closed off to outside influences, besides the very few representants they had going to the realms (like meliorn)

meliorn is one of those super powerful seelies, a child of an archangel and a prince of hell, who has gone through this ritual. which is one of the many reasons they’re, you know, a super powerful and respected Seelie Knight, sent to deal directly with shadowhunters and the highest threats they have to deal with, all by themself. no one would be crazy to go against them, because they are extremely powerful. it’s also why they had, to seelie standarts, been given a slap to the wrist for taking clary to twi - i mean, they didn’t even lose their position in a super trusted and highly important job, really? like yes they were tortured and don’t get me wrong, that was fucking awful dude, but i feel like the seelie queen could have been a lot more cruel, could have taken away their job (it would make sense to since they basically committed treason by seelie law) or exiled them, or maybe even killed them. but they got “just” a physical punishment. that’s. weird to say the least

so that’s why, because meliorn actually has a lot of leverage and importance. they have a rare condition, a lot of power that most seelies can’t dream of, and they are extremely smart and have knowledge of the culture of our realm, which most seelies don’t since their realm is closed to outsiders. the seelies can’t afford to lose them. and they know that, too, which is why they went so hard to help clary and take her to twi in the first place - they knew that they would be punished, but that it wouldn’t actually risk their position, or their influence

anyway! with the previous seelie queen gone, i like to think that meliorn becomes the new seelie queen (random hc that no one asked for: since i refuse to believe that seelies have any concept of gender, i think the position is called “seelie queen” because outsiders took a look at the first seelie queen, who’s very cis female-presenting, and were like “ah, is that your queen?” and to seelies that basically translates to just “monarch” in whatever their language is, so they were just like yeah sure. and so the position is called that and they don’t even know that it’s supposed to be gendered and that to outsiders meliorn would probably be called seelie king, they are just like “i am the new seelie queen” and no one of course is going to fucking question why they didn’t gender the position, especially considering how fragile relations with the seelie realm are) or at least is given like, an important position or something. like tbh i don’t stan monarchy so :/ but anyway the point is, meliorn is super powerful, they are super smart, they have knowledge of the mundane, shadowhunter and etc cultures - and after the whole previous fiasco with the jonathan thing and the seelies having been basically kept from the other realms, despite the fact that as parts of nature, seelies should be able to wander between them as they please, i think they would want to start a radically new external policy, and who better than meliorn to help them do it? so yeah i think they would choose meliorn to be their queen. besides, they love the seelies more than anything. they might have disobeyed seelie law, but that was to like, save a whole ass realm lmao, but they’ve always had the seelies best interests at heart, hell, they were willing to be tortured twice for them. so i think they would be well liked, and want this new position, and treasure it not as a display of power, but as an opportunity to lead the people they love into better times

DISCLAIMER: i’m not saying that seelies bad or whatever, okay. tbh i do understand perfectly why they would want to close off their realm with the very real threat that shadowhunters presented, and i wouldn’t be dying to integrate with shadowhunter society either, especially considering that their idea of integration was just genocide and assimilation and the destruction of their culture. okay? but in the process, the seelie law and realm became cruel, first and foremost, towards seelies themselves, and the banishment of them from other realms is. very bad. and after the whole jonathan and valentine thing, the shadow society as a whole is being reconstructed, so what better time to try and create new alliances that won’t implicate into attempts of assimilation, etnocide and so on. it’s a new bet, basically, one that is only possible because shadowhunter society is also in shambles after the near destruction of the world, and this means that seelies have more leverage to try and build something new without yielding to them. and it’s a SLOW process, one that takes years and always has the seelies best interest’s, not the shadowhunter’s or anyone else’s, at heart, okay? and it implicates in shadowhunters giving them many concessions, and the strongest alliances between them are and will always be with the other downworlders - this is also something they are working on, making the different downworlder cultures closer and stronger politically, aiding each other mutually and helping each other reach their political goals. together, the downworlder societies are unbeatable, and the shadowhunters basically have no choice but to accept their demands, especially after so much destruction. plus, at least some of them are slightly more willing to. but it’s mostly a vicious political battle that takes all of them years, not to say decades, to settle

but the fact that the seelies are willing to do it and getting stronger relationships with warlocks and vampires and werewolves (and hoo here i come with my “maia and raphael start a vampires/werewolves alliance” hc because look that rivalry thing is STUPID and i want to see downworlder societies coming closer together and healing after being very obviously pitted against each other due to shadowhunter supremacy) is also what, well, allows the whole thing to happen. they are powerful, and the shadowhunters have no way of taking them on a war, much less now that their forces are well, fragile to say the least

in short! they have leverage now. and that makes it possible for them to try a new external policy that wasn’t in the table before, and their main interest in doing that is helping themselves, because seelies are tired of living in constant fear in a basically military state where they’re confined to the same realm despite them being supposed to be guardians of all of them. like that’s gotta affect their mental health, if they’re one with nature, wouldn’t being kept away from it be like being isolated from your loved ones? isn’t that deprivation? so like. this is about them, not the shadowhunters and how great their society is and how much they want to be a part of them, okay

anyway! so the seelies have designed a plan (because under meliorn’s rule everyone participates in political decisions because hmmm *checks notes* i said so) to make stronger alliances with the other downworlders. the first thing they offer them all is a little token of alliance. to vampires, they offer the possibility of becoming a dayligher - something they can easily do with their angel magic, not to mention, you know, blood -; to werewolves, magical amulets that help them keep their wolf under control, not turning without meaning to and being able to live a relatively normal life if they so choose; and to warlocks, knowledge of seelie magic

and of course magnus in particular eats that shit right UP because he’s a naturally curious person and a genius and a physichist and holy shit i love him so fucking much. seelies have so much more knowledge of physics and magic and their natural workings, so much so that it makes him dizzy because hell, the possibilities, and all the shit he can learn, okay. all this knowledge that was currently being kept away, and the warlocks get to learn about it (or well, part of it. obviously the seelies aren’t going to go around spilling EVERYTHING to them all at once before they even know if their token is accepted and whatnot. but they do teach those who are interested a lot of stuff, maybe create some sort of seelie-warlock magical school/course/programme/look you GET IT to strengthen their relationships as a whole?? boy i eat that shit UP). he’s just losing his mind here

super cute to think about alec coming home to find a very disheveled magnus surrounded by books and notes, hair and clothes rumpled and just a whole mess as he excitedly reads and writes and runs around to get a different book and draw parallels, okay. and alec smiles and has to be like “have you eaten?” and magnus looks up from his books all suddenly like “hm? oh hello alexander, i didn’t see you there”, “have you eaten?” “i don’t remember” “okay, i’ll make you something, you can keep reading” and magnus smiling all like “thank you” and diving right back into the notes in Super Hyperfocus + Hyperfixation Mode as he figures out, like, a thousand new spells (obviously warlocks can’t use seelie magic because they come from different sources they don’t have access to, but like, the knowledge is enough for them to create so much new stuff okay), btw. but anyway, ANYWAY

and to shadowhunters the seelies offer, i dont know, a soggy cheeto or something faiojdsajdasj look it’s not like the seelies owe them so they basically offer a truce and maybe authorization to explore certain parts of the seelie realm in small guarded groups? i dont know, in exchange for them and all other downworlders having a power and a vote in the new shadowhunter laws, and the whole proccess of reconstruction of their society. and the shadowhunters agree, after vicious infighting of course

so anyway years pass and things are blossoming, downworlder societies are stronger than ever and phucking florishing dude, shadowhunters suck less, seelies finally get to wander around like they’ve been wanting to for centuries, there’s been some neato cultural exchange, magnus is still figuring out spells and shit at an alarming rate to anyone who doesn’t know what a goddamn genius he is. and shadowhunter society is- well, changing, but there’s a kind of cultural war going on, you know, with such a strong shift in paradigm so sudden. the changes in schooling and shit that were brought on by the new accords kind of ensure that the newest generations are getting a very different view and education, but there’s still a lot of infighting from shadowhunters who want to undo all that hard work, which is of course still fragile because it’s only starting

and alec of course takes a primary role in that fight, being the greatest representative of the progressive shadowhunters’ (?) and their downworlder allies’ interests, inside shadowhunter society. like don’t get me wrong it’s not like he’s leading the downworlders, the downworlders are doing all that hard work so they can get their own destiny back into their own hands and not be led by shadowhunters anymore, but within shadowhunter society, alec is a leader and their greatest ally slash eye in the inside, defending the policies that downworlders create and letting them know what is going on inside of the clave. basically preparing a cultural war. you get it

so naturally alec is a threat to conservative shadowhunters and they’re trying to strip him off his runes all the time, and there’s even been a few (quickly failed) assassination attempts, you know, the whole. drama. and he plays an important role for this whole game, and magnus has been studying the whole immortality ritual thing, and yeah, the seelies offer to put him through the ritual

it’s a matter of political leverage (and okay maybe a personal favor to meliorn’s dear friend magnus, but like, mostly political leverage). first of all, making alec immortal gives him a lot of power within shadowhunter society, not unlike meliorn and being the child of super powerful parents. second of all, no need to worry about assassination attempts, they can’t fucking kill him! third of all, clear message - alec has powerful allies, way more powerful than the shadowhunters can dream of, and if shadowhunter society is willing to create real, lasting equality with downworlders, they have a lot to gain. if not, they have a lot to lose, because the seelies have literal power over life and death. also, alec better watch his step, too, because, you know. he owes them that one. they are not stupid, they know alec has been looking for a way of becoming immortal for years now, know how much he desires this. it’s also about keeping his loyalty, and making sure he doesn’t forget, he’s supposed to be their ally too

and there are a lot of like, security things in place. alec will not be able to see or hear anything, he will not be taught how the ritual works (not even warlocks know that yet), he will not be taught about its forces, it will happen in the seelie realm and he will go alone, and no other shadowhunter will be granted that unless the seelies themselves offer at a later time, you know, etc etc. they list off things and precautions he has to agree to for like, half an hour, and honestly they could have added “alec will have to eat a piece of the moon” and alec would be like “okay fine great let’s do this”

magnus is fucking terrified

first, because well, they have never attempted to do that on someone who isn’t a seelie, and while they have figured out a pretty damn good understanding of how it works and are pretty sure it should go smoothly, there’s no way to actually tell. it might not work. alec might regret it. does he really want this? to become immortal? he doesn’t have to say yes, and magnus will not be upset, because he would never, ever demand such a huge sacrifice from him-

and alec’s like “nope i want this let’s go” which only terrifies magnus more because it feels like he’s being impulsive, you know? and he doesn’t know if there’s any turning back from this. but alec is like “magnus, when have i ever been impulsive? i’m not impulsive, i’m just sure of what i want, and there’s no reason to dwell on it because that’s already done.” alec is an expert at dwelling on things, and when he makes a decision, it’s because that part has already been thoroughly done, with every single possible argument being exhausted and taken apart minuciously and careful. there’s no room for doubt anymore, because if there had even a spectre of it, alec would still be ruminating. he doesn’t make a decision until he’s sure, but by god, once he makes it, he is sure, and nothing will stop him

so he reassures magnus of that (“hey, look at me. i’m not doing this on a whim. i have been looking for something like this for years. i’ve given it a lot of thought. besides, the seelies reasoning is good, too; i do want to have the time to dedicate myself to these changes, to building a new society, and with that, i can do it. there’s so much i want to live and see and do, magnus. and i want to do it by your side, yes, always, forever, but it’s not just about that. this is my decision. i’m not doing it for you. you won’t owe me anything because of it. you won’t have to make it up for it. because i’m doing it for myself. okay?”) and magnus kind of chokes up and hugs him and cries because he’s so overwhelmed by everything, the fear and the adoration and the relief of knowing that alec isn’t doing this just because of him, because if he had, magnus would forever feel like he was ruining his life, like he was indebted, like he would have to make up for it. but alec wants this. truly. and he doesn’t have to- worry anymore, this constant weight in his head, that tells him this has an expiration date, you’re gonna lose him. look at how much time you’re wasting with all of this, he’ll be gone before you even notice. there’ll be no turning back, and you’ll regret it forever. and fuck it’s just- so much, okay

so alec hugs him and they repeat to each other, i love you, i love you, i love you, and the next day, alec accepts the seelies’ offer.

and magnus is- fuck, terrified, because he can’t even go with him, can’t even watch. there’s nothing he can do but wait

but everything goes relatively smoothly and alec emerges from the seelie realm exactly as before, no change to be noted, not even when magnus scanned him with his magic - it’s all still there. still a shadowhunter, still the same runes, the same face, the same hazel eyes, the same smile and voice, and when he hugs and kisses magnus, it feels like just the same

and then i suppose alec can now, like, talk to trees or something, since he’s connected to the whole force of nature and whatnot. i don’t think he would be able to use magic, because like i said, he’s still the same and a shadowhunter so it’s more that his angelic magic is stronger? but he’s fucking immortal dude, and he can like talk to trees, which is at the very least funny as hell (cracky images of alec discussing with some shadowhunter asshole and he’s like, even your SUCCULENT is tired of you!! but i digress)

anyway the point is, it works both in the sense of immortal alec, baby! and the whole political leverage thing, and they basically revolutionize all of shadowhunter society and alec lives to see the results of that besides magnus, and meliorn is the greatest seelie queen ever, and the downworlder societies are all happy and blossoming and getting their best life, and everyone is happy, and the bigoted shadowhunters die and are hated by their own plants. the end

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dalgonachan · 5 years

Text

Kiss It Better

member: Mingyu x reader

genre: fluff with a dash of angst, live-in partners, non-idol au (?)

warnings: swearing, mentions of injuries, mentions of alcohol, suggestive content

prompt: there's no doubt his kisses were all you needed to feel a whole lot better

word count: 1735

a/n: i had a hard time choosing what gif to put so pls don’t kill me

The comfort of lying in bed lessens the throbbing pain in your head. With eyes shut and breaths evened out, you try to keep your focus on achieving the state of relaxation you need. The silence, however, only seems to amplify the throbbing; you groan through clenched teeth.

"How much does it hurt?" The sound of Mingyu's husky voice fills your ears.

You want to tell him that your head feels like exploding, that you want to bang your head straight on a wall, that it hurt so much worse than hell. Instead, the pain restrains you from saying any more than two words.

"A lot." You reply weakly.

The bed dips and you feel Mingyu shuffling by your side. His hand rests warmly on your cheek for him to caress, then it trails upwards to your hair and runs his fingers through it. You let out a shaky sigh as you relished in the gentleness of his touch. Somehow, it helps you tolerate the headache.

"My poor baby," Mingyu mutters before placing a chaste kiss to your forehead.

"May you feel better soon, (Y/n)."

His hand stops to rest on your shoulder and you feel him scoot closer to press your foreheads together. A small smile forms on your lips, an expression that showed your content towards Mingyu's sweet little action. There was no doubt he had a healing kiss because, at that moment, you could feel the pain slowly subsiding.

Hot oil spatters out of the pan and lands on your arm, the brief scalding sensation making you yelp and hop away from the stove. Earlier today, you had asked Mingyu if he could teach you to cook which he immediately (and enthusiastically) complied. Now, he was laughing at you for being too afraid to come near the stove after being exposed to minuscule droplets of oil and a harmless burn.

"Stop laughing at me, you little shit!" You barked, but he only cackled even louder. "That actually hurt! I don't understand how you're able to withstand it."

"You're just weak." He teased and you glared at him. "Now come back here, you little shit. We're not done yet."

You shook your head and backed away. "Nuh-uh."

"Quit being such a scaredy-cat." It only took Mingyu a single stride for him to reach your arm and tug you back to his side. "You're all grown up already. You need to learn how to cook so that you can feed yourself without needing anybody's help."

"But it's so hot and my arm still hurts!" You whined, pouting at him while pointing at the spot the oil had hit.

"(Y/n), I literally don't see anything wrong with it." He said as he took you by the wrist and examined your arm.

"But it hurts." You insisted.

With an exasperated sigh, he pulled your arm next to his face and grazed his lips over the skin you claimed to have gotten burnt before turning to you and grumbling, "You're such a baby."

You flash him a cheeky grin. "But I'm your baby."

Sometimes, his kisses were all you needed even when unnecessary.

It takes a while before you finally decide what you're in the mood to wear. Grabbing your clothes, you toss them onto the bed while shutting the closet doors when—

"YAAA!" Mingyu jumps out of hiding and scares you shitless.

Startled, you shriek and accidentally bump into the closet. You don't need the loud thud to tell you how hard the impact was because you've already fallen to the floor while cradling your knee.

"Oh my god! Are you okay?!" Mingyu hurriedly gets down to your side, regret and worry on his face as he looks down at your writhing figure.

"You fucking son of a bitch, do I look like I'm okay?!" You yell and it takes everything in you to stop yourself from slapping him. "I'm going to get a bad bruise and it's all your fault!"

"I'm really sorry. I didn't mean for you to get hurt." He sounds so genuinely apologetic that it washes away all your anger. "I'm going to get some ice. Just stay here, okay?"

With that, he leaves the room and you listen to the echo of his footsteps trudging down the stairs.

"I don't think I'm going anywhere, Mingyu." You mutter with a chuckle as you manage to get off the ground and prop yourself on the bed.

Lifting your leg, you observe the dark-hued discoloration beginning to bloom on your knee. The swelling pain makes you cringe and you bite down on your lip to keep from hissing. Soon, Mingyu returns with an ice pack in hand and he kneels before you to place it on the fresh bruise. The sharp coldness on the injury causes your lips to knit into nothing but a thin line on your visage.

"I'm sorry, (Y/n)." He says, looking up at you with sad puppy eyes, pouting all the while with his lower lip jutting out.

"It's alright. You didn't mean it." You shrug nonchalantly, brushing his forehead free from hair then flicking it. "Just don't do it again, you idiot."

He flinches back in surprise, then nods while grinning sheepishly. "Yes, yes. I won't. I'm sorry."

Seconds later, Mingyu lifts the ice pack away to look at the bruise forming on your skin; you grimace at the sight of red and purple clotting right below the surface. Carefully, he lowers his lips until they delicately make contact with your knee. You don't feel anything due to the numbness caused by the ice, but you're pretty sure that kiss was just as good as any remedy—maybe, even better.

Soreness; it's the first thing you feel throughout your entire body when you wake up. The urge to immerse yourself in a hot shower reels your head off the pillow, but you wince halfway through sitting up by a twinge on your shoulder. To make things worse, the supposedly short-lived pain eventually flares into a nonstop stinging sensation. Wondering what the hell was bothering you so early in the morning, you look over to check on it and discover a huge hickey just right above your shoulder blade.

Last night was a blur thanks to all the alcohol, but you can still clearly recall making love with Mingyu. His canines were something you were fully aware of, but you had absolutely no idea how damn hard he could bite. You trace your fingers over the love mark and let out a whimper, partly out of shock and of pain.

Just then, your attention shifts to the man lying next to you who's stirred from his sleep. You watch him stretch out his arms and legs as he heaves a long and deep yawn. It takes a while before his eyes flutter open and he sees you staring, a silly smile lighting up his already handsome features to greet you good morning. However, the smile drops when he sees you rubbing the area he had bitten and instantly, he's up to take a look at it too.

"Does it hurt that bad?" Mingyu asks, furrowing his brows.

"Pretty much, yeah." You try to sound as casual as possible to make him less worried about it. "Hickeys last for only a few days though, so it's nothing."

He doesn't say anything, but the disapproving frown on his face speaks for himself. Seconds later, his strong arms wrap you in warmth as he pecks the skin he had nipped the night before. The desire of a hot shower is long forgotten as the two of you retreat into the covers once again.

It wasn't supposed to be much of a big deal, yet here you were bawling your eyes out on the couch. You were caught in the pounding rain on the way home and in your rush, failed to notice that you had dropped the keyring Mingyu had given you years ago. Most people would simply shrug it off and get on with their lives, but for you, that Mickey Mouse keyring possessed great sentimental value; it served as a reminder of the time you and Mingyu celebrated your first anniversary as a couple.

Back then, he had surprised you a few days before that you were going on a trip to Hong Kong Disneyland. The sudden announcement made your jaw drop from utter disbelief, especially because of the fact that he had paid so much and you were going out of the country just to celebrate your first anniversary together. It was a one week vacation, but the events in Disneyland were the only memories that stayed with you after you left Hong Kong. You had so much fun that Mingyu decided to buy you the keyring as a souvenir and you've never stopped using it ever since... until you lost it out of pure carelessness.

"It's alright, (Y/n). Look at me, I'm not mad at all." Mingyu said, trying to console you from your distress.

"But you gave that to me on our first year together and... and... now, it's gone forever!" You wailed in between hiccups caused by ceaseless sobbing. "I probably look like an idiot for crying over a keyring, but I'm an even bigger idiot for losing it!"

Your lament makes you cry even harder as Mingyu encases you into a soothing hug. It successfully pacifies your sadness and soon enough, your bawling gradually turns into sniffles.

"Are you still upset about it?" Mingyu puts his hands on either side of your face to wipe away your tears with his thumbs.

"Yeah." You respond in a quavering voice.

"Will it be possible for me to kiss it better?" He asks; his eyes are focused on you, but you catch them flicker to your lips for a split second.

It was a simple and innocent question, yet it was more than enough to lift your spirits. You smile at him affectionately and lightly giggle. "Well, there was never a time your kisses never worked, so go ahead."

He grins mirthfully, a charming sight adorning his gorgeous visage, making you fall for him ten times over again. Without further ado, your lips touch and it sparks a feeling so magical that you melt into each other. Your heartbeat quickens the same way your breaths do and in that blissful moment, you could already feel him curing you of melancholy.

#seventeen #seventeenimagine #seventeen scenarios #seventeenfluff #svt #seventeen mingyu #kim mingyu #mingyu #seventeen kim mingyu #kim mingyu imagines #mingyu imagines #kim mingyu x reader #mingyu x reader #kpop imagines #fluff #seventeen x reader #seventeen imagines #genderneutral

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cockabeetle · 5 years

Text

Haunting, chapter 2

Ended up writing a second part

We'll see where it goes

AO3 link here,

~○~

Lev winced, waiting for the princess to yell at him. She'd frozen; stock still, eyes closed, seemingly even holding her breath. He was... waiting for her to blow up at him. For being difficult, for being useless, for failing his missions... for anything, really. Instead, after what felt like eternity but was probably only just a handful of minutes, Talia took in a breath and sat down heavily in front of him.

"Report for me, one last time." That... wasn't what he expected. He sat up a little straighter, crossing his legs properly and fixing his posture. Losing that teasing turn to his expression.

"...His majesty was controlled into believing he was freed, and I was given contact with him without knowing that. I... believed his orders overrode those of your sister, and went to Iris to follow through on them. I... thought the spy might have been her aunt, if I were being honest. Gramorr had figured out I was a spy, myself, and... when the plan with Iris failed, he killed me after I got Iris back to earth. I woke up on earth, and at first I thought he banished me here. And then I looked down, and realized I wasn't solid, and... well." Talia snorted.

"I assume you told Izira anything pertinent you found out about Gramorr or the Twins?"

"Of course I did. Praxina can't read well, by the way. She has to be given orders verbally or she won't bother learning them. I think she's got Luestum."

"Loo... what?"

"Loo-ez-tuhm. It's uh. A voltan word for when words dance around the page without a spell? It's some kind of brain problem. There are spells to cure it, but only if it's caught before you hit shanila." Talia blinks at him, before shaking her head slowly.

"Thank you. Alright. So... you died after protecting Iris? I... thank you. We..." she trails off, and Lev holds up a hand.

"You'd be lost without her, I know. You need her for the gems and to win the war and end this. I know. Plus she's..."

"Almost sickeningly sweet? The nicest Melzor you could meet?"

"Uh, no? Have you met her? She's got a worse bark than Li'l Jank! She talks so much smack, it's impressive!" Talia laughs, head thrown back. It's full-bodied and loud and real. Lev hasn't heard anything like it in years.

"She's a Melzor! Of course she's snappy! But... she's so startlingly nice, Little Lion. Haven't you noticed?" If he could, Lev would flush at the old nickname. He ducks his head, smiling a little.

"I guess." Talia grins at him.

"So, all we have to do is figure out what you feel you didn't accomplish. Did you have any life goals you never met? Some expectation you fell short of?" Lev blanched, head whipping up to stare at her.

"Uh."

"Don't be embarrassed! I can't exactly help you if you're too shy to tell me anything!"

"Oh, that's real reassuring, princess!"

Talia pouts at him. Lev holds firm, arms crossed, looking away. He's not going to just! Spill his secrets, his insecurities, his life's shortcomings. Hell no. Not happening. He will not just... roll over and make himself vulnerable. He's dead! He's as vulnerable as he's willing to get right now. Talia groans, and reaches out to flick his arm. It connects, but it doesn't feel like... like a touch. It feels like a jolt of magic or lightning across his skin. He jumps. Talia sticks her tongue out, clearly thinking.

"If you won't tell me, how am I supposed to help you? Don't you want to move on?" Her hair has fallen into her face, eyebrows knit together as she worries her lip between her teeth.

"I don't know, Princess. I. I don't even know what 'moving on' means! Why would I want to risk that, when this seems fine enough right now?"

"Because-!" Talia pauses, eyes flicking around to try and put words to her thoughts.

"Because if you don't move on, you'll start to wither away! Deteriorating without your magic to keep you grounded. It... it could happen so fast, on this planet... there's no ambient magic for you to pull from..." Talia trails off, hiding behind her hair now. Lev thinks.

"Well. That's not entirely true? I can sense a little magic around, coming from something that isn't you or the other princesses. And... if I skim a bit off of Iris I'm sure no one will notice. She leaks magic constantly, I could almost see it before, and now..." it's like a blazing inferno of energy around her. He'd been disgruntled and annoyed by it when he first woke up, it had been much too bright! Talia shrugged.

"That's only prolonging the inevitable, Largitio. You should be able to figure that out." She's still hiding. Lev huffs.

"Maybe it's a good idea to prolong things a bit! I can't just-!" He flounders, trying to think of a proper phrase, still a little flustered from her calling him 'treasure' in xerin. Or had she called him 'spoiled'? He's not good with that language, okay?

"I can't just open up to someone I haven't spoken to in literal years, Talia! I've spent so long keeping all of my thoughts, opinions, and plans close to my chest. You can't expect me to just... bare my heart now, when I've just died for it." Talia looks up then, still clearly insecure, but also hopeful.

"Then... we get to know each other again, and I'll figure out how to help you as we do?" She sounded so small. Lev huffs, turning away.

"Sure, whatever, let's... let's start over, Miss Imperiata." Talia gasped, offended.

"I am not bossy! Or imperious! Take that back, you snake!"

"I thought I was a lion!" He laughed, grinning as she smacked his arm, the same lightning-tingles following each brush of her hand to his arm and shoulder.

Talia groaned then, mirth lost almost as soon as it appeared. Lev didn't pout at the loss, he was just... confused.

"How am I going to keep from getting distracted around you? Auriana and Iris are going to come back soon..." Lev blinked.

"I'd have thought you'd tell them outright?"

"Well... if it were just Auriana and I, it might be something I'd bring up. But she's got a terrible track record of blabbing about my sight and acting like I'm really as creepy as those rumors said. And Iris..." Talia trails off, biting her thumbnail in thought.

"Iris might not know you died, and definitely wasn't aware you were our spy. If I brought you up... I don't know whether she'd be distraught or not. And she definitely wouldn't be happy to hear about you." Lev grumbled a little.

"You fake betray someone one time..."

"Loyalty is important to her, don't pretend it isn't important to you." Talia frowned at him. Lev frowned back.

"Isn't loyalty important to you, Princess?"

#lolirock #talia (lolirock)#lev (lolirock)#i've been begging for people to do cool things with talia and her ghost powers for 2 years #ghosts #conversation #dialogue heavy #haunting #chapter 2 #enjoy #voltan language #xerin language #melzors headcanon #melzors mention

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