#probably gonna write it for eris week

[ysmtttty]

Azris AU with Azriel as Eris’ bodyguard.

Just Azriel as Eris’ bodyguard.

[mudandmire]

✨WIP Sunday✨

It's not as satisfying as Wednesday, but life and work is a thing so ta-da.

A couple of things:

After a lot of consideration I've decided to change the name of 'Ghost' to 'Once it Slips Through Clenched Teeth.' You can entirely blame the Iliad because I had an assignment based around it and found the quote "once it slips through a man's clenched teeth" and the whole stanza I basically fell in love with but that part in particular? *chefs kiss* I think it fits the story I want to tell better, and honestly going into this I had no idea what to title it so the song I listened to while writing the first chapter or so was the only thing that came to mind. I don't necessarily like having to change the title, but I'm not happy with it being 'Ghost', feels too contemporary, so y'know what? I'm changing it.

Chapter two is on it's way, maybe I'll just use this list to justify myself to myself lol. ANyway, yes chapter two is in the works it's currently 7k and it's. It's gonna be long because I'm not even halfway through yet so bear with me I'm s l o w and writing clever, scheming people is h a r d.

I'm gonna post my Azris Week stuff on ao3. I thought about doing that during the event week but I was a mess and I've also never reached that level of productivity and probably never will again I was on f i r e. So, I'm doing it now :)

So I leave you with this little chapter two snippet (excerpt?) of the fic hereby known as Once it Slips Through Clenched Teeth -

What catches, sinks in, and drags forcefully a memory from the back of his head is the color of his hair: dark. Near black. It curls at the nape of his neck Eris finds as he completely stills to watch him pass. Little swoops of it brushing against the collar of his shirt.

Eris' hand falls to Fir's head instinctively, ignoring the nudge of his nose into his leg.

Dark hair.

A scream rends through his mind, a ripping sensation curling through his chest as he holds back a gasp through a locked jaw.

'Please!' He had heard someone shriek. Cold under his face, cold under his body, cold everywhere.

Eris clutches at his head, the sudden turn of his stomach emptying it completely so those voices, faceless but for a crimson haze, echo into it freely.

There was another one. The one who didn't scream, or beg, or drag him because suddenly the bruised aching along his shoulders and back makes sense.

What was the voice—

'She doesn't even know your name.'

A lash through the air, the sting of remembrance along his bones, his back. Eris stiffens until everything hurts. The memory isn't complete, isn't nearly whole enough to know faces or names.

But—

Touch. He remembers touch like silk dragged over skin. Chills rake through him, as if trying to replicate it. The trees had haloed above his head, stretching impossible, sepia fingers into a watery grey sky. At that point he had figured he was dead already, but the numbing in his feet and hands told him he wasn't quite there yet.

Fir whines, low and distressed as his head presses into Eris's hip. He doesn't move, just lets Eris's hand stay clenched in the fur of his neck.

The picture it made, the trees and the sky, had been broken by a dark head of hair.

Dark like the servant boy, feathered like the wings of a raven, no face under it.

There had to be a face.

Pushing at the dwindling remnants of the memory, he scrambles at the seams of it to find any hint of a facial feature.

"—or lordship?"

Anything. Eris squeezes his eyes further closed, ignoring the wet pressure of Fir's nose digging into his thigh. He runs through the things he knows of this figure; invisible tendrils through the hair, scraping over the voice, but no matter how he angles the picture a face never rises from the dust of it.

Inexplicably—he's angry.

"Your lordship, are you alight?" One of the sentries reaches out to grab his shoulder, a friendly shake to make sure he's not going to fall over.

Eris's eyes open with a flash, flicking his hand away in a dismissive gesture.

...

*gestures wildly* See? See?? I work, I do the thing, I am doing the thing I've just never done the thing before so I'm s low but I try and do the thing f ast because I wish to please the lovelies.

Here's the Iliad quote if anyone's interested:

“I say no wealth is worth my life! Not all they claim

was stored in the depths of Troy, that city built on riches,

in the old days of peace before the sons of Achaea came—

not all the gold held fast in the Archer’s rocky vaults,

in Phoebus Apollo’s house on Pytho’s sheer cliffs!

Cattle and fat sheep can all be had for the raiding,

tripods all for the trading, and tawny-headed stallions.

But a man’s life breath cannot come back again—

no raiders in force, no trading brings it back,

once it slips through a man’s clenched teeth.”

- Achilles' reply to Odysseus

[footballffbarbiex]

player: Mats Hummels words: 1k+ request: Mats Hummels - no pref - 250 - 500 - Them decorating the tree together and she gifts him a new bauble (they have a collection of silly and memorable ones) to tell him they’re gonna have a baby

A/N: ... so this is why it's taking so long for me to write these. I can't abide by the word limit.

A/N 2: in my haste to get this posted, I (wrongly) forgot to thank @percervall for helping when I was getting inside my own head and couldn't think straight.

“I didn’t realise ornaments held so much until you.” Mats says from his sprawled out position on the floor. He’s not a grinch, but he’s not the first one banging down the door to get a tree up and decorated. That being said, he does enjoy seeing the result and though he tries to deny it, he revels in watching her getting excited about the small things. 

“They just capture a moment or two in your life.” she says, holding one in her hands while she scans the tree for the perfect place. She wouldn’t say she had a need for things to be perfect but Mats absolutely would and he takes every opportunity to move some around when she’s annoyed him, just to watch her staring at the tree for far longer than needed trying to work out why it no longer looks right. 

Some have been passed down through generations and obviously hold sentiment to her, some are funny little ones that either Mats himself had picked up or they’d both purchased together once he learnt of her love for decorations, some just simply looked good. Some, like the ones they’ve been looking at today, are from key moments. Like their first christmas together and she’d brought her favourite one to his to put on it to cement her place in his home. Or one that they’d purchased together when they moved into their new home. There’s even a new one today to symbolise his man of the match award, a small tree trinket that she’d picked up as a joke but he had to chuckle when he saw it. 

But that’s not the only new thing for the tree that she’d bought for him. And nerves are building in her belly as the thought of it creeps back in once more. She knows if she doesn’t get it under control, she’s going to go to pieces and the announcement is ruined. She’s wondered how to do this for far too long and figured that since they were now making this a tradition where the two of them both put a bauble on each, that this would be his main bauble to hang. She hasn’t seen him eye any up yet which makes this even better for her to be able to pass him the one she needs him to look at. 

“I think I’ve left my drink in the kitchen, do you mind going to get it for me?” She asks as she places her bauble on the tree. Her hand moves to her stomach, a move that has become so instinctive since she’d see the pregnancy confirmation on the pregnancy test(s) that she’d taken, but also to try and physically settle herself. She’s kept this to herself for a few weeks while she tries to work out what she wants to do and weighing up how he’ll react to the news and now that the time is here, she realises it’s probably the waiting to tell him that’s got her into this anxious state. 

He grumbles as he gets up but he does as she asks. The moment he’s out of the room and she hears him moving away, she goes to where she’s hidden the surprise, retrieves it and puts it in with the other decorations. She needs to remain calm but she heard the way her voice crumbled a little when she asked that question. Mats, for all his dumbass-ery, was quite smart and he knew her better than she liked to admit. It wouldn’t take much more voice wavering for him to figure out something was wrong. 

“I gave it a little sip,” he declares as he walks back into the room. “Had to make sure it was still warm,” he justifies when he catches her expression. She lets him off the hook, but only because of her nerves. 

“Thanks.” she takes a little sip herself once it’s in her hands and she throws a look in the direction of the decorations. “Can you pass me the white one over there please? I’m trying to think where to put it.” She says as nonchalantly as possible. 

She keeps her back to Mats as she hears him rummaging through the packaging until he picks one out. “This one? With the black writing that says…” Mats trails off as he reads it to himself. She wants to turn to look at him, to see what his initial reaction is but she also can’t stand to see if it’s a reaction that’s less than happy. “Baby Hummels coming summer 2024” he repeats, his voice taking a tone that she’s never heard before. 

It’s only now that she turns, eyes raking over him to see his body language. He’s standing there with it in his hands, unable to look away from it, fingers gently stroking over the words written in acrylic pen. She wants to disturb him, wants to ask what his thoughts are but she knows oh too well what it felt like to see those two lines on the test. This was his test. 

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“How sure?” Only now does he look at her face. 

“Quite sure. I took five that first day and I’ve taken two weekly ones since.”

“You’ve known for two weeks?” He asks quietly. 

“I needed to get to 6 weeks for it to be classed as a pregnancy. Anything before then is…”

“Right.” Mats nods and looks back at the bauble.

“Are you ok with that?” she nervously asks. 

“We both agreed for you to come off your pill months ago. Yeah, I think I’m ok with it,” he grins and pulls her into a hug. “Our last Christmas as a two. Hey there, Mama.”

And even though it’s a name that she’s thrown around to herself, saying it softly as she’s stroked over her stomach which, thanks to the increase in hormones, has made her lower belly a little more bloated and giving her a false belief that this is her bump.

“Hey there daddy.”

_

It's worth noting here that week 12 is generally considered the safe week for pregnancies, the week where you can tell people because the rates in which you can miscarry drop with each week.

Week 24 means that your baby has a chance of survival should they be born early.

However, in order for your pregnancy to be classed as a pregnancy, you need to get to week 6. I know this first hand. This is when they can perform an ultrasound scan.

So while it may seem in the fic that she means week 6 is the "safe" week, it just means that she can now be classed as pregnant from a medical perspective.

[practically-an-x-man]

This isnt TST but an idea I had: Your OCs and their plus ones are all going to a halloween party and they come to you for extreme hollywood level makeup/effects/costuming. What do they get transformed into.

Bonus if you wanna write a fic/ramble: After the party you find out you're a Super whose powers are transformstions. All those partygoers are now really what you made their makeup/costumes for...

Ooooooh, thank you!! This will be fun!

Think I'm gonna skip that bonus part, just don't have the mental energy for it right now, but it's a cool idea!!

Talk Shop Tuesday (I'm still counting it lol)

Rae & Warren W: Honestly, I think they'd just be like "gimme the scariest thing you got", they're both pretty daring and adventurous people who are down for just about anything

Robin & Peter M: Frankenstein (it's frahnk-en-steen!) and the Creature from Young Frankenstein, Robin's favorite movie

Madison & Alex: They'd pay extra for all-night makeup service, they've got a plan. Both appear at the party looking completely normal, dressed in fairly plain clothes. Halfway through, they disappear - when they come back, Madison's a little scratched up, Alex has patches of fur and Wolfman claws, and both their clothes are torn. By the end of the party, they both disappear again, and later Madison is found on the floor of the kitchen, covered in blood and gruesome wounds with Bravo (her wolfdog) standing over her looking menacing.

Ophelia & Peter P: Oh, they don't need me. They both show up in intentionally-shitty costumes of the other's hero persona, having independently decided to try and fuck with each other in the exact same way.

Gia & Kate: Assuming Gia would even agree to going to a party in the first place... I could see them going as classic Goosebumps monsters. Gia's the humanoid plant from Stay Out of the Basement, Kate's a scarecrow from They're Alive! Alternatively, I could see them as a genderbent/WLW Seymour and Audrey from Little Shop of Horrors, with Gia's clover mixed in with her prop Twoey (ok ok, that's partially bc it gives Gia an excuse to have her clover with her and fend off a little of that anxiety... but mostly because Gia as a character is based on Seymour originally and I think it's playfully ironic)

Jasper & Kyle: Frank N' Furter and Rocky, of course! Kyle brings a robe since it would get a little uncomfortable to just wear the Speedo the whole time, but he does wear it.... the things people do for love, lol

Kestrel & Warren B: Warren's the only one who needs a costume, Kestrel will just shift into what fits with the theme. And honestly, with that freedom, it could be just about anything. Probably something Indiana Jones-themed, since they're Warren's favorite movies.

Katherine & Ahk: Honestly, Kat would probably just revisit her Bastet costume from that first Halloween party and clean it up a little, and Ahk would wear what he normally wears.

Quinn & Billy: I can't imagine Quinn would want particularly heavy makeup, since she would have to have to deal with removing it all after the party (when she's already tired and in pain from being on her feet). Maybe Morticia and Gomez Addams? That would be fun, and if Quinn wears her platforms she can really make the height difference pop (she's 6'3" without heels, Billy is 5'11"). And of course, Billy's so undeniably smitten he doesn't even need to act the part of Gomez.

Eris & Rick: Hm... tough question. On the one hand, I could see Eris getting really into it, spending weeks putting together the perfect costume only for it to be some historical figure that nobody besides them even really remembers. On the other hand, I could see them being pretty open about it, and willing to follow Rick's lead with whatever costume he decides on - as one of Eris' little hidden gestures of how much they care about him. Sorry this one's a non-answer, I just can't really think of something specific for them.

Nikoletta & Abner: Honestly, I don't know that they're the type for costumes. Neither of them really grew up in an environment where they celebrated Halloween much (save perhaps for Nikoletta being exposed to all the tourists flocking to New Orleans for the holiday), so there's not really nostalgia in dressing up, and they wouldn't be motivated to spend their hard-earned and limited money on costumes or makeup. I could see them agreeing to a group costume (probably at Harley's insistance), but they wouldn't come up with anything on their own.

Jimmy & Lars: Honestly, it would be fun enough just to play up the whole Ghostbusters thing. They're something of local celebrities, but with Lars being more of a behind-the-scenes guy and Jimmy being... well, a ghost that doesn't look like a ghost, everyone just thinks it's a damn good costume until they demonstrate the reality of it. If Lars can get his idea for a painless proton stream worked out in time, he'll make a spectacular show of "catching" Jimmy. If he can't, he'll just make a spectacular show of missing.

Spider (pre-apocalypse, attends alone): Would show up with a detailed sketch of a monster of his own devising, something super creative and super creepy. Hell, he's probably got four-leg stilts and an articulated costume tail of his own, just to add to the effect - he's a film guy, he takes Halloween seriously!

[mahoushoujotechsupport]

ok weeks later i am finally continuing my gwitch rewatch lolz. time for episode 12.... someone PLEASE tell tumblr to stop erasing my posts just as im about to hit post and not being able to undo it because i had the longest write up and now here i am.... rewriting again and trying to remember what i'd written. i'm gonna scream lmao

this part feels so awful now that the series is over and thinking back on ep 24. miorine just comes to, all to see the doors closed and hear suletta's screams and sophie's gunshots on the other side. no doubt in my mind this girl probably dealt with awful nightmares about suletta dying after quiet zero

i know prospera did use this as another XP level up for aerial, but jeez, imagine how much confidence she has in suletta and eri to be able to say something like this. like not just that suletta will go to aerial, but that together they can take on the attackers who at the time prospera didn't know shit about

lmao i dont think ive ever felt so confidently about something that id bet my whole life ln it

ad stella universe is crazy because i can only think the big liberatarian ancap society is some silicon valley fascist's wet dream because how else do you explain the business management girl knowing 1337 hacker skills

stupid asshole

sophie and norea are such tragic characters to me goddamn. like how often were they practicing their piloting to be able to be good enough to join on a mission like this? were they upping their permet score during practice too?

and why exactly is it them who pilot the lfriths instead of someone else from DoF? we never really get a clear answer on why it has to be the teenage girls when later on we see there's a ton of grown men around. i think given what else we know of ad stella, though, it doesn't matter much when we have asticassia as a school for the elite that basically serves for furthering earthian oppression be it by force (ie. see guel's original plans for joining dominicus) or just continuing to further the spoils of space capitalism

when you think of it that way, i don't see DoF any different than say palestinians fighting back against oppression from IDF forces. unless you're a racist fuck, you can't blame palestinian kids for throwing rocks at IDF soldiers, so i can't really blame norea and sophie for joining the fight

to quote fanon:

National liberation, national renaissance, the restoration of nationhood to the people, commonwealth: whatever may be the headings used or the new formulas introduced, decolonization is always a violent phenomenon.

- Frantz Fanon, "Concerning Violence," The Wretched of the Earth

i really do wish they hadn't just sidelined DoF entirely lol if you subscribe even a smidgen to anti-colonialism, its hard not to sympathize with them and shaddiq/grassley girls. and here theyre actually fighting for a just cause and are deserving of sympathy unlike 0079’s fakeout with zeon.

flipping the UC spacenoid/earth dichotomy so that earthians are the exploited class is just good shit when you consider what fuckers like musk want to do lol and its not as set in stone as exploitation only happens on earth either. mercury sounds like an abandoned appalachian mining town at this point with people lured out by jobs and then left to fend for themselves once permet was found elsewhere and their utility to the spacian capitalist class has run dry. and though i take this one with a grain of salt because we never get hard confirmation or denial, the elans were supposedly spacians (norea calls him a spacian even after finding out el5n’s not the real elan and he doesnt say one way or the other).

enough marxist ramblings, here's a cool shot of lfrith ur

whoever added this, i love them

as much as i don't trust bandai with sulemio unless they reverse the mess they've made for themselves.... i just want to fucking know more about notrette so bad!!!!!!!!!!!!

badass shot of lfrith thorn to go with the ur one earlier

snitch boy starts his snitch arc

the whole way guel killing vim plays out felt like it was gonna lead to something cool at the time... it makes me even more mad now knowing that it very likely is all an homage to zeta and kamille stealing the mk-ii and then later watching his mom die lol (ffs we even have the guel episode later on stealing its title from a zeta episode). guel's entire character just leaves such a bad taste in my mouth with everything thats happened recently

to think that 15 mins later she'd just be all ditzy over pancakeing a man after basically peeing her pants here

prospera shooting a gun at quiet zero >>> prospera shooting a gun at plant quetta

this show and this fucking pose, man lmao

AERIAL REBUILD is going to be stuck in my head all night because of this episode.... but look at how fucking cool she looks!!!

okouchi if this is a line you wrote, you, sir, are a troll... her face now is literally just :<

if you have the rebuild aerial and you don't have her posed like this, then what are you even doing?

i still feel like secelia and rouji for sure had no idea how powerful aerial's gund-bit gun was in episode 17. like norea is scared shitless here and tells sophie and olcott to get the fuck away. we have olcott telling us that even though it has school regulations on, it's strong as fuck

that said, i don't think guel was in mortal danger given that the school restrictions don't let them aim at cockpits or whatever, but it sure would've fucked up the darilbalde

oh this line hurts lol

i don't think i ever paused on this frame before lol i really hope peil hags master plan here wasn't just to have el5n get all rapey like he does later on. i mean, probably not and that was moreso el5n's desparate attempts to stay alive given he barely gets a chance to do anything before school shootings 1 and 2 bring everything to shit

comparing this frame versus suletta inside calibarn in ep 24 and suletta is still just a baby at this point in the show lmao she looks like a little teddy bear vs kakkoii ikemen suletta

paused on this frame and it honestly looks cool as hell lmao

and we made it to THE scene

you know, as i said in prior rewatch posts, i had been watching via GJM's fansubs at this point and was gonna wait for them to release their version of episode 12... however, that same suletta sunday i logged on to twitter and immediately got spoiled on this scene lmao so i needed to find out what the fuck happened and stopped waiting on fansubs (i did rewatch later on)

it really is such an amazingly well done scene though like goddamn lol

now that the show's over, i do kind of wonder if there could have been something other than this to become the spark of tension between suletta and miorine. with the exception of sophie (which arguably was more eri's victim than suletta's), suletta never kills anyone again in the show. her final fight ends up being against the gund nodes being commanded by eri lol so she just fights unmanned drones. it's an interesting decision considering the gundam franchise as a whole

i know it's meant to contrast against shaddiq's by any means necessary approach and prospera's willingness to do the same if someone tries to hinder her plans to help eri... but i really just can't get behind the whole violence is always bad no exceptions message behind the show. i do appreciate that shaddiq's plan basically still came to fruition and that it ends up being an in-world analogue to nationalization of industry. and it's really a cherry on top to have sabina call out whether that was for the best - not just that they nationalized industry but that nothing else was done to stop those who don't agree with what miorine did. history has given us countless examples of countries that nationalize various industries just for the united states military to come in and make some shit up and stage a coup and hand over said industry to whatever shithead capitalists were being piss babies about it at the time

lmao i know we're all mad about a lot of the yuri being left on the table because of bandai execs, but i wonder how much of the anti-capitalist message got left on there too. they really had a chance to make guel a real hero and he's just... not lol. episode 15 makes me mad not because it's a guel episode but because nothing ever actually came from DoF existing. like what was the point?

if they just wanted to humanize DoF a bit and introduce the kid that guel and kenanji run into later on, that could have taken half an episode given the insane pacing they chose to go by during the 2nd cour

regardless, i'll still savor little bits here and there

ok lmao i feel like my original post was way better than this and it took me double the time now to make this post but whatever. gonna try to get through some more eps this weekend

[secret-third-thing]

For the ask game… 👻 or 💥

(Or, if you’ve already gotten those, dealers choice!)

HEY <3

I'll answer 💥 again cause I have so many little changes I want to make to canon. And this may be a bit controversial? idk

I really wish Sarah had kept more of Lucien's sarcasm/wit. I understand he's (probably) depressed. And I 1000% know what it's like to be depressed, but the transformation from snarky bestie to wet noodle really disappointed me. I think it's fair to have him more subdued, but he's not going to be a bit sassy? And ESP with the BoE? I miss this for him and hope he gets to outwardly show more joy in the future.

Gonna dealers choice this next one:

🤖 Are non-fandom friends aware that you write fanfic?

I picked this because it's hilarious. Yes. It's actually something I had to disclose to my workplace for legality reasons. So my boss knows and is very supportive. During Eris Week he rented a meeting room for me to use lol. Also my irl best friends know and will regularly read my fics without knowing who anyone is. It's pretty funny.

[redr0sewrites]

Any the dragon prince imagines on the way I need my fix of your TDP imagines I am going crazy?! XD

yea! i have an aaravos smut coming that i did like a teaser for a while ago, and i have some aaravos reqs in my inbox along with a platonic soren req :)

honestly ive been prioritizing my honkai star rail writings over writing for tdp and acotar, which were my original interests, and while i really do enjoy writing for hsr i kinda want to start writing for tdp and acotar more simply bc i have just been more into those lately. DONT GET ME WROMG, IM STILL WRITING FOR HSR! i just have been so caught up in writing for it that i ended up burning myself out and im probably just gonna be posting short fics and stuff for a while :) overall, more is def coming and im excited for some of the stuff in my drafts and inbox!

also i completely forgot ab eris vanserra week and i have to finish all the acotar and eris stuff thats been rotting in my drafts since i was sick aaaa

[autumnalwalker]

Empty Names - 5 - Rite of First Refusal

Author's Note: I'm not quite sure how I ended up writing two chapters in a row of "Two friends have dinner together and discuss future employment," but here we are. But also, worldbuilding! Finally getting to see that Crossherd place that's been mentioned a few times before now. Word Count: 3,293 Content Warning: Expressions of fear of potential injury and death while doing dangerous work. Reference to past injuries that required hospital visits, but not details.

<-Previous Chapter Masterpost Next Chapter->

People often speak of places having a life and personality of their own.  Traits molded by but independent of their inhabitants.  And like most living things, places can dream.  And like most dreams, strange and wonderful things can result from them being shared.  

Or at least that’s the most common theory on how Crossherd came to be: The collective wistful dream of every small town that could have been a metropolis if only history had gone a little differently.  

These days it’s the largest and most connected-to pocket dimension in North America.  A shortcut across the continent for those in the know.  A transfer hub for travelers using the anchor world to ease the hop between realities.  A petri dish for imported magic and homegrown science to cross-contaminate and give birth to innovations both yearned for and unexpected.  A forest of concrete and chrome and color paradoxically vaster and less populated than its “real world” counterparts whose mystique its dreaming parents sought to capture.  A dialectical mess of half the population running translation charms at all times yet still unable to agree on whether to pronounce it as “Cross-Herd” or “Cros-Sherd.”

And yet, if you know where to look, those small town roots still show through.  Turn down the right alleys and linger on the right empty streets and you just might find a place like ’s Diner.  The name on the sign in front of the possessive ’s changes every week and the cook’s accent changes every day, but the waitstaff always remembers your last visit.  Even if it’s their first day on the job.  No matter the crowd there’s always a cozy booth waiting for you.  Just don’t think too hard about the floor plan or the fact that no one’s actually seen the inside of the kitchen.  

The endemic paradox of deep-seated nostalgia and ever-shifting novelty made ’s Diner Eris’s favorite restaurant from the first time she walked in.  So of course it’s here she brings her friend and soon-to-be-coworker to celebrate.

“I still don’t get how you order the same thing every time we come here,” she says once the waiter is out of casual earshot.  “The menu’s literally different every time.”

“I get what I know I like,” Lacuna replies from across the table with a shrug.  “The consistency is nice.”

“That’s not what I - but you know what?  That too.  We’re supposed to be celebrating.  Live a little!  Working together with professionals, traveling, doing good, and not to mention practically a blank check on equipment requests.  This is gonna be awesome!”

Lacuna gives a soft chuckle at Eris’s enthusiastic gesticulating followed by a sigh.  “Yeah.  Yeah, you’re right.  Maybe I’ll get a slice of pie or something after for dessert.”

Eris grins wide.  “That’s the spirit!”  She says in what barely qualifies as an inside voice.  A moment passes and the grin fades.  She leans forward, elbows on the table.  “But seriously,” she continues, more softly now, “what’s bugging you sis?”

“I… What gave it away?”

“You’ve been sighing all afternoon.”

“Oh.  I have?  I hadn’t noticed.”

“Yeah, that’s a thing you do.  A lot.  Worlds’ worst Poker face.  It’s endearing, really.”

“Thanks?”

“You’re welcome.  But between that and the hoodie you may as well be wearing a neon sign saying ‘I’m stressed out.’  That thing’s like a security blanket for you.”

“Oh…”

“Hey, nothing to be ashamed of.  We’ve all got something.  And dressing like a cute meme is probably healthier than some of the stupid shit I’ve done.”

“Ugh, I never should have shown you that part of the Internet.”

“Too late.  I’m thoroughly corrupted with the Internet brain rot and it’s all your fault.  I hope you’re happy.”

“Heh.”  Lacuna touches her fingers to her forehead and shakes her head in mock exasperation.  “You’re the worst, you know that?”

“Would you have it any other way?’

“No.”

“But yeah, anyway,  if you don’t want to talk about it, that’s cool too.”

“Thanks.  I appreciate it.  It’s not that I don’t want to.  It’s just…”  Lacuna breaks off her approximation of eye contact as the sentence fades halfway through.

Eris waits in silence for her friend to find the words.  She’s learned the hard way that interjecting here to prompt Lacuna  would only be more frustrating.  Concern’s starting to creep in though.  For all her trying to keep things upbeat, it’s been a good while since the last time she saw Lacuna let something eat at her like this.  Not since that time she called her up in the middle of the night asking for a ride to Doc’s.

“Here you go ladies.”

Eris and Lacuna look up in unison to see the waiter’s returned.

“Tonight’s special for you,” he slides a plate of something fried, unidentified, and between two buns in front of Eris.  “And your usual,” he finishes as he places a pile of fries, cheese, and gravy in front of Lacuna.

Eris notices the waiter shiver as he walks away.  Poor guy must be new.  Implanted memories are always a trip.  She makes a mental note to leave an extra tip later.

“Is it just me,”  Lacuna finally speaks up, “or does this place listen in on people’s conversations and time the food to it?”

“Oh, it definitely does.”

“Creepy.”

“Eh, I kinda like it.”

“You would.”

“It’d be worse if it was a person, but it's a building, you know?”

“A psychic, debatably sentient, ideological construct of an archetype.”

“Someone’s been doing her research.”

“Enough to know it's creepy.”

“But you still come here.”

“The food’s good enough to outweigh the creep factor.”  Lacuna shoves a forkful of gravy-covered-cheese curd in her mouth for emphasis.

“And again I ask: How do you keep ordering that?  I don’t even see it on the menu most of the times we come here.”

“Uns un ostalja,” Lacuna says around another mouthful of food.  She swallows and tries again.  “I’m pretty sure this place runs on nostalgia and tailors the menus.”

“Nostalgia?  You’re not even Canadian.”

“Family trip as a kid.  Visited my aunt up in Vermont then drove across the border to Quebec with her.  Good times.”

“That the trans aunt you mentioned a while back?”

Lacuna nods.  “Somehow didn’t realize it until after I came out to my folks.  Turns out my mom having been through it all with her sister as teenagers makes the process a lot easier.  Also, I’m like sixty percent certain that she’s a witch of some kind.  Just not sure how to bring it up yet without risking a Masquerade breach.”

“That’s all cool, but how’s my getting something different every time fit in with your nostalgia theory?”

Lacuna shrugs.  “You were a trucker for a while, right?  First job after leaving home?  Maybe it’s got something to do with that.”

Eris eyes her sandwich, searching for hints of familiarity.  “Maybe…”

The rest of the meal continues in relative silence.  Mouths too full for talking.  Eris’s mind begins to wander as she tries to recall if she’s ever had a wild boar sandwich before.  Or maybe she just saw it on a menu somewhere and meant to get it during a next time that never happened.  That train of thought comes to a halt when she hears Lacuna’s fork clink down on the plate, finished.  She swallows her current mouthful and takes a sip of her drink.

“What was it that you told them?”  Lacuna finally breaks the silence.  Not so much looking at Eris as past her.  “Road I mean.  About me.”

Not where Eris thought that conversation was going to go when it inevitably came back around.  She rubs the back of her neck as she takes a moment to think.

“After he gave me the pitch for this team he’s putting together,” she begins, “we got to talking about who else was going to be on board, and he said he was still looking for a ‘tech guy’ - finger quotes and all - and asked if I knew anyone.  I remembered you were in the market again, so I told him how the company you were working for on some sort of advanced AI thing got bought out by some big corp and you chose to walk instead of working for them.  Said you were the best programmer I know.”

“Eris, I’m the only programmer you know.”

“And while I’ve got no idea what you’re saying half the time you go on about it, I can tell that you do, and that you really care about what you’re working on.”

“What I was working on.”

“Sorry.  Sore spot?”

“Just a bit.  Also, ‘he’?”

“Road’s fluid about that.  And they were he at the time so, eh.” Eris shrugs.  “I try to handle that on an individual basis, and Road said something along the lines of ‘whatever fits in the moment’ when I asked them about it.

“Anyway, when I told them-slash-him about you he said that he remembered you.  They said some stuff about you having natural talent and being the kind of person to run towards problems to solve them instead of away to safety.”

“More like having dumb luck and being sleep deprived enough for my self-preservation tendencies to be shot.”

“You’re selling yourself short again.  Whatever it was you did, you made enough of an impression that I didn’t even have to say all that much before Road jumped all over the idea and said that he’d call you first chance he got.  Which was apparently before I even got home that night.”

The conversation hangs.

“Why do you ask?” Eris asks.

“Well...  I...  You know...  Haven’t actually accepted Road’s offer yet.”

“Oh?”  That one syllable is all Eris can think of as she wonders to herself if she should have seen this coming.

“Some of the stuff they were saying…  They were throwing out words like ‘hacker’ and ‘artificer’ and ‘magi-tech’.  Like they’d gotten the idea into their head that I was some kind of action movie cyberpunk net wizard and I’m just.  So.  Very.  Not.”

“And you told them that?”

“Tried to anyway.  Said that I don’t ‘hack’ things.  Just because I’m a programmer, that doesn’t mean I do cybersecurity.  You wouldn’t call a plumber to change the locks on your house.  You know?”

“The apartment maintenance guy does both.”

“Okay, bad analogy.  Also, Jim’s awesome enough to probably be an outlier.  But you get my point, right?”

“Sure.”

“But I’m not sure Road does.  Even after I tried to explain, they toned it down a bit but were still talking me up enough that I couldn’t help but feel they’re overestimating me.”  Lacuna lets out the longest sigh of the night.  “It would be wrong of me to jump into this unqualified.  Especially when…  well, I’ve seen how you wind up on nights I need to help you back to your apartment.  Or to Doc.”

“Well, I doubt you’d actually be in the field, and if you did end up there somehow, there’s no way Road or I would let anything happen to you.”

“But what if I let something happen to you?!”

Lacuna cringes at the volume of her own outburst and looks over her shoulder in embarrassment.  Thankfully, ’s Diner looks to have inserted a dozen or so empty booths between the two of them and the next party over at some point in the conversation.

Well, damn.  Eris has known her friend since Lacuna first came Backstage, and this is the first time she’s ever heard the slender woman raise her voice.

“Lacuna, look at me,” Eris says after recovering from her surprise enough to keep her voice low and even.  “That’s not going to happen.”

“You can’t know tha-”

“Trust me,” Eris cuts her off, “that’s not going to happen.  I know Road can be… like that… when they’re trying to psych people up, but I wouldn’t have recommended you if I thought they were going to ask anything of you that you weren’t capable of.  And even if you two have different ideas right now of where your strengths lie, I trust that you’ll find a way to help that you can do.  And yeah, sometimes we’ll get hurt, that’s part of the job, but it won’t be your fault.”

“I still don’t know if I should.”

“But you want to.”

Lacuna slumps back into the booth and sighs.  She doesn’t look up from her hands as she says, “Yes.  I wouldn’t be so torn up about it if I didn’t.  When… back when Road first brought me Backstage I told myself that this was going to be a new start.  That I was going to start doing something good and meaningful with my life.  And until our project got bought out, I really thought I was.  And then Road comes back into my life with this offer and it’s not at all the same thing, but it’s still something that could help people and make a difference.”

“Then do it.”

“But -”

“Do it.  Stop underestimating yourself and go out and take what you want and don’t look back.  Whatever comes of it is going to be better than spending your life looking back and asking ‘what if?’  That’s how I do things and just look and how I turned out.”  Eris flings her arms wide for emphasis.  When Lacuna looks up, she flexes and pulls an exaggerated grin.  Lacuna smiles faintly in return.

“Heh.  Fine.  I’ll believe in the you that believes in me.”

Eris laughs.  “That’s right you absolute nerd.  Show me that fighting spirit.”

“Oh, I’m the nerd, am I?  Says the woman who replied to the reference with a reference.”

“You started it.  Besides, you’re the one who made me watch that show in the first place.”

“Made you?  We watched the first two episodes together and then you called me up the next day telling me how you’d binged the whole thing after I left.”

“Fun times.”  Eris shrugs.  “Oh hey, the waiter’s coming back.  You want me to ask for the check?”

“Actually, I think I will get that pie.”

*******

As the two of them exit ’s Diner, Eris is pleased to see her friend in a better mood than when they arrived.  The walk back to their exit bridge is uneventful save for a brief stop to watch a one-man-band on a street corner.  The one man’s band in this case being five separate instruments floating in the air and seemingly playing themselves while the street mage conducts.  Eris shakes her head, bemused while Lacuna stares at the performance in delight.  One would think she’d be used to this sort of thing by now.  Then again, it’s not like she ever goes anywhere without Eris dragging her along except the shortest possible path between their apartment complex, the office she’d been working at, and the corner grocer closest to their usual bridge.

The rest of the walk back is spent in casual back and forth banter that quickly morphs into Lacuna rambling on about the book series she’s currently reading.  That suits Eris just fine; easier to keep an eye out for threats along the way.  Not that she actually expects any - it’s a safe part of town, just like anywhere else in Crossherd she ever brings Lacuna along with her to - but habits from a decade of monster hunting die hard.  And perhaps one or two alleyways they cut down aren’t ones she’d want her friend traversing alone.  Lacuna might have a couple inches of height on her, but Eris has literally seen her knocked over by a stiff breeze.  Meanwhile, a sharp glare from the woman who wrestles werewolves into submission as a hobby has proven a sufficient deterrent in the past to send any curious bottom-feeders scuttling back down the nearest storm drain.  Not that Lacuna’s ever noticed, bless her oblivious heart.

Like most bridges in and out of Crossherd, their exit point’s a subtle one, just as easy to miss as it is to head down on accident.  The only sign of its special status is a small stenciled image of a bridge graffitied onto the wall next to a fenced-in empty lot.  As the two of them pass through the open gate of the fence they drop their conversation, keep their eyes fixed on the ground, and let their minds drift until the late-night bustle of the city fades out.  When they look back up they’re standing in an empty lot behind a Huddle House, back in the mundane world a block from their apartment complex.

It’s Lacuna who breaks the silence of the last stretch of their return home, asking “By the way, what’s up with that guy who contacted us after Road’s offer asking for ‘equipment requests for this new business venture’?”

“Oh, Sullivan?”

“I think that’s what the email said, yeah.”

“I’ll admit, I’m not entirely sure what his deal is.  I only briefly met him the once on a job Road was helping me with.  Apparently the two of them go way back.  Got the impression he does a lot of info gathering for Road.  Like, he’s the reason they’ve got such an uncanny knack for showing up just when they're needed.”

“Huh… guess he’s probably one of the other people Road mentioned being on this team.”

“Either that or just bankrolling the whole operation.  From what I hear, he’s absolutely loaded.  Old money shit.”

“That would explain the blank check for a budget, I guess.”

The conversation pauses momentarily as they reach the apartment complex gate and enter the code to open it.

“Although,” Eris picks back up as they cross the lamplit parking lot to their building, “I have heard some weird rumors about him when I tried asking around.”

“What kind of weird?” Lacuna asks after a moment’s hesitation.

“The big one’s that he used to be some kind of hitman.  And that he married some bigwig sorceress to steal her secrets and no one’s heard from her since.”  Eris shrugs.  “Can’t say I put much stock in either of them.  Just doesn’t seem like the kind of guy Road would roll with, you know?”

“Yeah… I mean, you know Road better than I do, but… okay, it’s sort of embarrassing to say, but when they saved me and when they were showing me around Crossherd for the first time, they had this aura about them.  Like they were some hero who’d just stepped out of a story.”

Eris leans against the railing of the stairwell they’ve stopped in.  They’re on Lacuna’s floor now.

“You’re actually not the first to say that.  More than a few guys I know in the monster hunting gig were originally brought Backstage by Road, and they all came away with the same impression.  At least two of them have admitted to getting into the biz to try to copy them.”

“Really?  I wouldn’t have guessed,” Lacuna says.  She’s looking down at the floor again.  

“Yeah.  And I’ll admit I’ve gotten a similar vibe myself the few times I’ve worked with them.  Strict no killing rule.  Encouraging speeches.  Putting saving people above catching the monster.  All the classic hero stuff.”  Hard not to feel like a punch-happy brute in comparison, Eris refrains from adding.

“I see…” Lacuna says without looking up.  “Urgh, it’s late.  I should head to bed.  Thanks for taking me out tonight.  Had a good time.”  The last few sentences come out all in one breath before Lacuna takes her leave of the stairwell.

“No prob.  Sleep well.”  Eris gives a short wave before adding “And sis?”

Lacuna lingers in the door dividing stairwell and hall, looking back over her shoulder.

“Whatever you decide,” Eris says, “we’re still cool.”

<-Previous Chapter Masterpost Next Chapter->

[ginandtobacco]

about me <3

you can feel free to call me sapph — she/her or they/them idrc — twenty-two — i love reading almost all genres but right now i'm deep in an acotar phase (if you couldn't tell)

hmmm my favorite book right now is probably martyr! by kaveh akbar or madame bovary don't make me pick — can you tell i don't know what's interesting about me — i love the artist john singer sargent and i will be writing a modern au fic just to be able to mention him mark my words

oh yes, writing, that's why i'm here — i have some very serious eris brainrot right now and i need to get it out of my head — hence why i created this account five minutes ago, to give me somewhere to post it — idk what i'm gonna write probably (definitely) a lot of angst — but i started writing some eris week stuff already so

feel free to be all up in my inbox im a yapper — also i'll make a masterlist maybe, if i every figure out how to do that

oh yeah minors dni my name is literally a play on a brand of gin — i am an adult please don't be here — thank you

[writtenonreceipts]

1 and 3 for new phone, who dis?

aaahh! Thanks for asking! <3<3<3

Start to finish, how long did it take to plan and write? Did you take breaks during the process? >>For this one....I think it took a solid 3 months? And I Definitely took breaks. The first quarter of it, I busted out pretty quick and then around the point of Lucien's mild drunken misadventures I kinda froze up in how I wanted to play that out. It probably would have helped if I did plan it out, lol. But after I worked through a few things I finished it up in a solid week!

3. Did the idea change at all by the time the fic was complete? >>YES! Especially the ending. Since I cannot plan to save my life, I struggled a bit with how to get the ending to work properly. If I'd had more time, there would have been a few more relevant changes. But of the notable changes, having Elain go to Feyre's EXPO and Lucien drag everyone there, that was the biggest one, I needed to tie things off quickly because I knew I didn't have time to make a part three. And Eris! I don't usually write him/he's not my fave, but he's slowly been growing on me thanks to other writers in the fandom. ANYWAYS. I included him! He was gonna be the cat and real sass pants that puked in Lucien's shoes all the time...alas. I'll need to write another story featuring Flea I suppose...

>>even more fic writer asks!<<

[endergirlplayz]

Character study??

ok so the post 8 just reblogged inspired me to post a short writing peice I made about a year ago that's just pink 243 and blue 312 hanging out (btw if ppl like this I'll finish the second one I started lol)

Btw this is what the characters look like(p.s apologies for bad writing I wrote this a year ago)

I woke up at 730 am on a Friday. I have a day off from work today so I planned to meet my friend pink243 at the coffe shop. I sat up from my pink bed and looked out my large window. The lights from the outer ceiling looked extra bright. I wish our planet had stars at night like other instead after 10 pm all the lights on the roofs of the eri station would go dark. I got up and fixed my long Blue hair by putting it up in clips. And gest dressed for the day. I wear a blue tank top and matching shorts, it is always warm enough you can wear things like that on eri. I Double check that I had worn my silver heart necklace. I put some shoes in before pink3 stopped me " hey are you gonna eat before you leave?"She asked "oh, no ill get some food at the coffe shop" I replied. Pink3 sighed, normally I dint see her in the mornings cause her work started earlier than mine. She is like a mom to me, the closest thing I've had, anyway. She's so cool shes a teacher at the spirit high-school of magic. As one of the oldest spirits in eri She teaches animal magic,the magic she desighned and founded, to other students at my old high school. I was kind a glad to br out of there school was rough for me, I was frieny and tried to be nice but I wasn't very pretty, and Always did my makeup all funny, I just dont wear makeup anymore. I hopped out the front door of our house gently running my hand along the railings on our porch before quickly walking to the coffee shop. When I arrived pink 243 was already there waiting for me. She was sitting at her table. Wearing a eri fashioned jumpsuit. I didn't wear clothes that fit eris fashion style much. Other planets fashion was Far less futuristic and way more comfy. I walked up to my friend and sat at the table next to her. "Hello" she said, waving shyly.i waved back " so, pink, what did you do this week, i really like your hair by the way" she blushed a little at the complement. "Thank you. I've been writing an essay on our history" she replied. Pink 243 has always been pretty blunt, it make it hard for her to find friends in school, she rarely even talked to me when She first moved to this segment of eri, now she's probably the best friend I've ever had. I smile at my awkward friend " that sounds interesting. You should show me sometimes" I smiled "mabey, but I wish I could write about familiar magic." Pinks always been facinated by familiar care. She's even told me she'd like to go into a work field of studying them. I also find them neat but not nearly as much as she does. I'm more ineterst3d in robotics and intend to go I totally feild when i get accepted into one of eris collages. "Do you mabey wanna grab some food from inside?" I asked, remembering why we cane here in the first place. "Yes, let's go" pink 243 replied. Today is gonna be a good day. I just know it.

[seburath-aryes-ancunin]

It's 2024!

Since I'm not too much in the D2 fandom I'll probably change my name again.

I do have a few things, resolutions if you please, that I'd like to share for the new year. Nothing too terrible to be honest.

I'll like to draw or sketch something at least once a week. Ive been bad in art block because Ive just been been in a stale part of my life lately. It's nothing to do with my relationships or all that. Ive just been stuck....I think drawing would help me out.

Id like to do the same with writing. It's been even longer than I wrote something. I don't personally care if it's typing on my iPad or writing in a notebook. I just wanna do it to get out of my stalemate with life.

Build a better cosplay. In February (1st to the 4th) I'll be going to Megacon in Orlando. I'm gonna try to go as Pomni (but with a twist) but besides that, I'd like to make some 2.0s of some of my other cosplays. I do have Murtagh (my DaD fursuit) I need to make more room in or make a better head of but RN I wanna focus on cosplay. I'd like to maybe try making my Tiefling/dragonborn Aryes (pronounced like Eris) or even Astarion.

I'd like to try to be more active if I can and lose some weight. Nothing too dramatic as I do have a few health issues (mental and physical) that prevent me from going absolute HAM on this one but I'll try where I can.

DRIVE. I'd like to try to get my damn car fixed so I can get my license. IM GONNA BE 30 THIS YEAR. And before anyone asks, this is actually the first time since I moved here 10 years ago that I have a stable enough car (the last one I had like 7 years ago was a dud and the people that sold it to use knew this and just wanted money). It's nothing too bad and I can fix it myself (with mom's help).

Get out of the house more. That's self explanatory. I need to stop being a shut-in.

Try new food. I love to eat but I wanna try new things too

Learn that it's ok to fail things. Something I was never taught was that it's ok to fail. There was always the big hype for me to succeed and to be good at what I do that no one ever told me it's ok to fail. It's ok that I didn't do it perfectly. It's ok that I didn't get it done. I can try again or now I know that's a bit beyond what I can do.

Take more pictures. Memories.

Enjoy life and be less depressed.

Yeah, as always there's always normal goals like 'Play better videogames' or 'go to the Beach' but those aren't really New Year's resolutions for me. They are just normal things I do everyday.

But I thought I'd just share those with everyone as well as the small update. I'll still be around and as always I'm still on Twitter (I'm not calling it X, f-u Elon) and I do streams on Twitch every now and then. Anyways, have a happy new year guys!

[dumbangrypuppet]

Tried to sleep early yk but here I am at 1 am because I went to bed too early.

ANYWAY

I promised my little brain I was gonna stop thinking about Comet for a while, (my dumb little dude.)

And when watching YouTube, I got reminded of the Adventure Time Episode, "Thanks for the Crabapples, Giuseppe!"

Specifically, just the poem. And boy. Did I start crying.

What if when Comet dies, he wrote a poem like that for Eris and Hazel?

(btw if you don't know what poem I'm talking about here it is.)

"These are not my tear drops, daughter dear, but just a sheen of dew that lingers here, past other fields where other fathers lie, who kept their daughters better far than I."

IM GONNA CRY. (I say, as if I haven't cried over this silly fictional man and his situation for weeks)

Anyway, if you feel like crying over this man too, here's some angst I wrote for him from an RP.

And here I go, ranting about the parallels between Simon and Comet.

Thank you Adventure Time for giving me ideas that tear my heart out again and again

(also, I need to draw Comet and Simon meeting, they'd get along fast.)

Like okay. I will literally spell it out for you

Both Simon and Comet literally tried to give up their lives (well Comet is actually doing so, he doesn't have a cosmic god of chaos for girlfriend to stop him and make him see reason) for people they barely knew.

Simon with "wanting" to become Ice King again to save an entire universe,

Comet with giving up his soul, his entire life to a demon so that the town he resides in can be protected from a giant threat.

(Comet resides in a fictional town called Uverney. Every resident there is a monster or creature of some kind, and Uverney is meant to be a sanctuary for monsters. But now, there's a group of monster hunters going into the town, and it's not gonna end well.)

Simon doesn't tell Fionna what's gonna actually happen to him when he puts on the crown. Though I don't think this is from selfishness or anything of the sort, perhaps he just doesn't wanna think about it. But STILL!!

Comet doesn't tell his daughters about the deal, or what the price was, he keeps the fact that once it's all over, he's going to die to HIMSELF. He sold his soul to protect an entire town, full of people he barely knows. (I should also mention, he's literally in the dumps right now for a multitude of reasons, the big one being that his coffee shop had been burned down the night before.)

Simon feels his life has no worth or purpose. People literally liked him better when he was consumed by the madness of the crown.

Comet also feels his life has no worth, and now no purpose. If you read the images above, it mentions things he's lost.

Comet lost his dad at 13, after a demon possessed his body and used it to kill his father. He lost friends because not only were they scared of him, but once his dad was gone, he had to move in with his mother. There his only friends were his brother and sister, who cut off contact after Comet turned 18 and left to pursue music.

If you saw my other post about this stupid silly man, you'll know that didn't go well either.

He fell in love with one of the roadie's, a man named Avery. They knew each other for three months, and Comet thought he was in love.

He was, but Avery wasn't.

No, Avery wasn't even a real person, a real name, instead it was a fake name created by the demon Amon, and all he wanted from comet was to use his body as a vessel. (I probably haven't explained or made it clear, Comet is a trans man.)

So this tragic little guy!! He's just. Torn apart! He's got nobody, nothing!! He never lets anyone in again, he tells himself not to fall in love anymore because all that does is hurt him.

(which totally sucks because Comet is absolutely husband material btw)

So yeah. Dumb little witch man. Hates himself a lot.

Yeah.

I SPENT 30 MINUTES WRITING THIS???!

jesus

Hold on edit time because now I have more.

BOTH SIMON AND COMET DONT FOCUS ON THE GOOD THEY'VE CAUSED EITHER!

Simon should have realized that his existence was important after Vampire World, because without Simon there to protect Marceline, the world gets run over by vampires.

Comet doesn't think about all the good he's done for others!! I'll just bring up some events from the rp and some from the canon story.

He finds a girl in the forest with the help of his 4 year old daughter at the time, takes her in and takes care of her. 9 years later, this girl is Eris and her and Hazel are like peas in a pod bro.

(WHICH HERE IS WHERE I'LL MENTION, THERES AN ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE WHERE COMET DOESNT FIND ERIS, AND GUESS WHAT HAPPENS?? SHE BECOMES THE ANGEL OF DEATH!!)

Comet finds two hobos living behind his café, and what does he do? He gives them a job. (this action has consequences later because they're the indirect reason his café burns down later)

Eris finds a kid in her flower pot and another in the forest who needs help?? She uses her teachings from Comet to take them in and help them just as what was done for her.

Comet teaches both Eris and Hazel how to properly use magic to protect themselves.

A bloodied girl shows up on the front porch to his house? Comet brings her in, patches her up, makes her HOT CHOCOLATE AND SOME SANDWICHES, and EVEN OFFERS HER A PLACE TO STAY IN HIS HOME until she can get back on her feet.

He is a good person, even if he thinks he isn't.

Just like Simon, he is important, and if he didn't exist or wasn't around, there would be terrible consequences.

[campbluelake]

On My Way | Eri | Epilogue

Enclosed inside a battered, slightly torn envelope is a letter— thankfully untarnished in spite of the envelope’s worn exterior. The contents are written in large, clumsy handwriting, and included is a postcard of the Tokyo Tower.

Dear Max,

Told you I’d keep my promise, right?

Hopefully this letter didn’t take real long to get to you. I dunno how they get mail where it needs to go, especially if it’s gotta cross the ocean and shit. It took forever to get explain to the guy at the post office here your address was a legit place in America too. Maybe ‘cause it’s so rurel rural?

Anyway, I’m back in Japan for a bit! I planned on going back to Audie’s place after, but I figured I gotta at least see my parents after all this. So I’m gonna hang with them for awhile before going back to America.

Which I think was the right thing to do, even if it wasn’t what I wanted to do, you feel me?? I think I’m getting better at that— doing what I should, even if it’s hard.

My folks were a goddamn wreck when I saw them. And I guess even Sporto’s parents made a real fuss over us being missing?? I think he wants to cut them outta his life though, which is probably good. I mean, I’m pretty sure they’re finally warming up to me, but they’re still total assholes in general.

But he got to see my parents too, and my dad actually cried when he hugged us. Don’t tell anyone, but I started crying too.

Maybe it’s easier for you ‘cause your mom is literally the earth, but I think a lotta humans have rough relationships with their parents. 

And siblings too, now that I think about it. My little sister Etsuko and me had a real long talk the night after I got back. Turns out she never hated me in the first place, and just wanted me to like her. Like, holy shit, right???

I think Sporto knew about this, ‘cause he got this knowing look when I told him what happened. That bastard… He’s an only child, so he doesn’t know how hard it can be. Especially when you’re the oldest!!

Wait, speaking of, do you got any siblings? If your mom is the earth, does that mean all trees are your siblings? And that’d make you one of the oldest, right? So maybe you’ll get me.

Someday you gotta come to Japan and try our food. My dad insists on making mochi every new years, so maybe you can come for that?? And take a swing at it yourself!! Don’t worry about being weak either, ‘cause my dad’s a toothpick too. Usually I’m the one to haveta hit the mochi.

I never thought I’d say it, but I’m actually happy to be home. Fucked up, right?

I hope you and Sayacchi have settled into your new place, by the way. Lemme know if you see any cool animals around, yeah? And not Sayacchi’s porswaas porsaws poorswahs (spelling?) but like actual bears or deer or whatever.

I’ll write to ya again soon!! And feel free to write back too, okay?

Your friend,

Eri

The next envelope is sent from a different address— this one in America. On the envelope are the outline of mouse ears, which also show up on the letter paper themselves. Slipped in among the pages is a Polaroid photo of Eri and Audie wearing Mickey Mouse headbands, a costumed Pluto sandwiched between them.

Dear Max,

GREETINGS FROM DISNEY WORLD!!!

Fuck, I’ve always wanted to say that!!! :)

Me and Audie just got back last week!! I’m up at her place now. Gonna crash with her for awhile and figure out what to do next with my life. Like, after graduating college or whatever.

I dunno if you’ve been to Disney yet, but you gotta make Sayacchi take you if not. It’s like, the pinnickel pinnicel pinnacle of human creativity and stuff!!  Plus it’s a real good date spot too!

I’m super glad to be back with Audie, even if saying bye to my family was weirdly hard this time around. She has a real cute dog, and her best friend Nene is super nice. She taught me about plants, so I think you two would get along!

Shit, speaking of, I got super exciting news!!

I’M GONNA BE A MOM!!!

To a baby cactus!!!

It’s my first time taking care of something that ain’t a Tanagotchi, but Nene gave me a lotta info, so I’m gonna raise this cactus to be the most badass little guy around!!!

Audie is real excited too, as the co-mom! But maybe that’s ‘cause she likes seeing me excited?? I dunno…

Love is weird, huh?

Like, I know a lotta fucked up shit happened at camp, but I’m happy so much good came outta it too. Kinda like life, now that I think about it…

Man, I’m getting real deep, aren’t I??

Speaking of good, have you heard from any of the others lately? I try to keep in contact with them, but it’s hard when we’re scattered all over, yeah?

Though between you and me, I kinda wanna throw a reunion. 

Do you think that’d be a good idea?? I know there’s some bad blood between people, but nothing they couldn’t work past, right? Or at the very least, set aside so we can have a cookout. I wanna have a BBQ next summer!!!

Lemme know what you think, okay?

Your pal,

Eri

The last letter to have arrived is tucked away inside a manilla envelope. 

Also inside are several photos this time— multiple of a small cactus in a pot (each labeled ‘JERRY’ on the back), a photo of Audie playing guitar (labeled ‘isn’t she pretty???’), one of Eri playing piano (labeled ‘she found out I took a photo and got me back :(‘), one of Kyousuke and Niko dozing off together (‘loverboys <3’), and one of Eri and Kyousuke posing together in front of a grove of trees (‘saw some trees and thought of you!!’).

Additionally, something else is in the envelope— a Tamagotchi, still in its packaging. Taped to it is a note reading, ‘SEE LETTER!!’

Dear Max,

Long time no see!!!

Or uh… long time no write!!!

Sorry about that! I know it’s been a couple months already… I guess life happens real fast sometimes, you know?

Really, I bet you know even better than me, being immortal and all, huh?

But to make up for it, I included some of my favorite photos I’ve taken recently (plus one by Audie)!!! Someday we gotta meet up again so we can take photos together too, yeah??

I know we write to each other a lot, but I miss being with you in-person— or, uh, in-mothperson.

Anyway, I’m sure you’re wondering about the Tamagotchi!

I dunno if your member, but me and Lyds and Suzy all got Tamas. And raising Jerry (that’s my cactus) got me thinking, “Hey, I bet Max would like a Tamagotchi.”

It’s another pinnical pinnacle of human creativity!! It’s a virtual pet you raise by pressing the buttons on the screen. I’m sure Sayacchi can help ya set it up if you need help getting started!!

Growing up, I wasn’t allowed to have pets, so I settled for Tamas. They live basically forever if you keep them alive too. Like even now, I still got Air Bud…!! I dunno if you remember him, but he’s my Tama. I kept him alive all through camp. Ain’t that cool??

So I figured it’d be a real neat thing for you to try!! Humans can be super creative, huh?

Anyway, lemme know how being a Tamagotchi parent goes!! And don’t feel bad if you fuck up the first few times— it can be hard!

But as long as you keep giving it your best shot, you’ll be okay!! :)

Thanks for always giving it your best shot in life too, yeah? I’m stoked we can be friends even now!

Huh… does that make me the Tama??

It’d be sick if I am! ‘Cause I know I’d be in good hands :)

Love ya, dude!!! 

Your bestie,

Eri

P.S. Hopefully we can get that reunion planned out soon!!

[sungtaro]

looks like tumblr swallowed my ask, again. i'm gonna write it, again. i'm sorry it's gonna be long this time i just have so much to talk about i hope you don't mind

but yeah anyway first of all i'm so happy you had a nice august and enjoyed your time!! i'm also sending you all the luck for the move and that everything goes well!!

my august was really fun, bunch of meet ups with friends and little outings with my family :) though my trip was the highlight, as expected lol i loved brighton so so so much. i'm usually someone who gets pretty homesick the first day/evening away but this time??? nothing. i instantly felt so happy and at home in that city and i had an amazing week there. my sibling and i already got plans to visit again next year lol

i'm really excited for september too!! i got movie night plans with my friends, we want to watch all the animated barbie movies, there are plans with my sibling and the childhood bestie, and things in my family are looking up too!! my mum is starting her new job soon, my brother's just started his last year of school, i have some plans and ideas for the future... things are looking up :)

though there are two things i'm most looking forward to: one is meeting my internet bestie (who's german too and lives only around three hours away but we never had the time to actually meet until now) and two is seeing 5sos live at the end of the month!!! it might sound sappy but i've been a fan of them for almost nine years now and them and their music have been with me through some of the toughest times of my life. to finally see them in concert is probably gonna be a life-changing night. i am so so excited for it.

naur i'm sorry what happens is i lose the notification 😭 i always try to leave it so i remember to come back and answer but i end up checking my inbox when i get other asks, it gets buried and then i just have nothing reminding me that i have messages to answer and then i wake up in a cold sweat when randomly my brain is like ERI U FORGOT TO GO BACK TO THAT ASK so i'm sorry adkjsgnsfjgb but thank you for sending again feel free to like . send me a DM if i keep you waiting in the future so you don't have to rewrite your messages !

aw i'm so happy you had such a good experience on your trip, and your september plans sound so fun !! i hope you and your bestie have a great time when you meet, it's the best when you can finally take a friendship offline. and aw i'm jealous you're seeing 5sos !! i saw them literalllyyyy opening for one direction in 2014 (😭) but their music has only gotten better and cooler since then, i bet the show will be awesome.

i'm glad to hear you and your loved ones are all doing well and have so much good stuff on the horizon ! hoping for a lucky and lovely month for all of us 💗

[linskywords]

Would you ever consider writing a Little Mermaid hockey AU? I love your fairy tale AUs! ❤️

Ooooh this is so fun! Okay, as you probably know, I love me a good mostly-hockey-with-light-magical-realism AU, so probably what I'd do is say that Patrick (it's gotta be Patrick; is anyone more of a Disney prince than Jonny?) is from a family of...not quite selkies, exactly, but something like that. They live at the edge of Lake Erie, on land like a normal human family, but they have to spend a certain amount of time in the water of the lake in order to survive. So Patrick grows up playing hockey at a high level but knows he could never be in the NHL because he can't go more than a week without the lake. The OHL is fine -- London is on Lake Erie, and they don't travel for more than a few days at a time. But the NHL would be impossible. Even if he gets drafted by Buffalo or Detroit, he's gonna have to say no.

But then he meets Jonny. Later than he did in real life, because he can't go away for a whole summer in Pennsylvania. Maybe they end up on the ice together at a tournament when Patrick's 17 or 18, not even on the same team but they've both snuck onto the rink for some extra practice and this guy is just...wow. Patrick's never played with anyone who makes him feel like this. Who plays with him so seamlessly, who bears down on the puck with such perfect intensity, who laughs and makes the breath catch in Patrick's throat. Patrick already wanted to play in the NHL and now it's all he can think about. Getting to the NHL, and getting to play with Jonny. And so he decides to try something dangerous.

His parents have always warned them against swimming too far towards the center of the lake. There's something there, something more powerful than they are, something that can never leave the lake at all -- something that can make things happen for you, if the price is right. Patrick swims out to see it and asks for what he wants: to play in the NHL on the same team as Jonny, to play out long careers together. And the creature agrees -- but only if Patrick can get Jonny to kiss him before their first season is out. Otherwise, Patrick will come back at the end of that first year and spend eternity as foam on the waves of Lake Erie.

But Jonny's an NHL player, Patrick says. He can't go around kissing guys; that's not how it works. Too bad, the creature says. That's the deal: Patrick can take it, or he can go back to Buffalo and resign himself to a life without the NHL and without Jonny.

Patrick takes it.