#thank u for explaining though :3c

[princekirijo]

I almost wanted to say I'm surprised that you've never heard of a MAP, but I realize that I guess they can be kinda niche jfnfjfnd BUT if you're curious, it stands for "Multi Animator Project" and they're basically big collabs between a number of animators with a specific theme/script, where each person animates to a section of a song, then when they're done it all gets put together!! They've been around for a while, since some time in the early 2010s I believe, and I believe the Warrior Cats fandom is what started them, and warrior cats MAPs are definitely the most common and well known ones, but other fandoms have made some too, plus there's ones for OCs or ones where the animator can choose what media they want to do!!

Ohhh OK I kinda guessed what it was based on like the context of your post but that's really cool! I'll be honest I think I'd seen MAP before but I'd just never really come across it properly 😅

Honestly sounds like a really fun idea thank you for explaining it to me :D

[paingoes]

Rubies

Communication

authors note: kitty uses the word ‘nonverbal’ here in a way that isnt really medically accurate. thats kind of a whole discussion im not gonna get into now but tl;dr delta has selective mutism and autism but he isnt “nonverbal” per se.

(Content: living weapon whumpee, discussion of past captivity, past abuse, discussion of war, (internalized) abuse apologism, dehumanization, emotional whump)

================

katkittykat: hiiiiii :3c

nodiving: hey

He glanced over the top of his laptop screen, across the room where Kitty was curled up on the armchair. She flashed her teeth at him when she smiled. Her nails clicked against the keys when she typed.

katkittykat: this is so smart lowk idk why i didnt think of it sooner

nodiving: yeah

nodiving: i’ve seriously been drafting forum arguments in my head this entire time

nodiving: all of them probably think they won just cause i termed

nodiving: would it be weird if i just pick them back up like nothing happened

katkittykat: ya u might have to let those go tbh

nodiving: :/

It was very hard to type with the cast on. It took him much longer to write than it normally would. Luckily, she didn’t interrupt until she heard the typing stop.

katkittykat: so like whats the deal w u

katkittykat: are u not talking cause ur scared to?

nodiving: no

nodiving: yeah

nodiving: its not that im scared necessarily its just that its very very unnatural for me 

nodiving: it still feels rude and overfamiliar to me even if i know you dont see it that way

nodiving: this is a lot easier thank you

katkittykat: you dont have to talk if it’s uncomfortable !!!

katkittykat: its cool if ur nonverbal we can just keep texting like dis

nodiving: i think i do want to though

nodiving: its just hard

nodiving: please dont like…stop talking to me

nodiving: im trying

katkittykat: u will have to deal w us talking to u FUREVER !!!! >:3c

nodiving: <3

katkittykat: aaaaaaaah <33333

He hesitated a long time before typing the next message.

nodiving: do you think i should have stayed

katkittykat: what???? D:

nodiving: on a purely strategic level it seems like this was not the most optimal outcome

katkittykat: urghhhh 

katkittykat: well on a ~purely strategic level~ im not the best person to ask tbh

katkittykat: like im ngl galatea was NOT prepared for sudden reunification and thats why levon is so pissed at us X)

katkittykat: but it would have been hard no matter what and if the war had gone on we wouldve had to fight along 2 different fronts which is also noooooot good

katkittykat: and if we had to do that. we would have had to fight you! which would have been v v v not good  X(

katkittykat: so idk if there was really a better outcome? and even if there was like

katkittykat: its not ur problem

katkittykat: ur not just a chess piece to be moved around

nodiving: i kind of am though

nodiving: theres obviously been a huge fallout because of this and it feels wrong to write all of it off just because of. my rights or whatever.

nodiving: i feel like i kind of jumped the gun leaving when i did

katkittykat: aw jeez :(

katkittykat: i was curious abt that tbh i assumed there was some final straw for u but i didnt wanna pry obvs

katkittykat: seems like it was bad ?

nodiving: i dont know 

nodiving: i was more scared by the escalation it represented than anything that actually happened so i feel like i may have overreacted a little bit

nodiving: its hard to explain

katkittykat: ur ok! u can talk abt it when ur ready

katkittykat: but fwiw i really doubt you overreacted

nodiving: thank you

katkittykat: if anythin u seem to be kinda? downplaying it????

nodiving: it really wasnt that bad

nodiving: i could have gone longer

katkittykat: idk delta it kinda seems that bad

katkittykat: i think u got used to it

katkittykat: but that doesnt mean it wasnt bad

He gave her a nervous glance from across the room, his hands stilling on the keyboard. He reluctantly began to type again.

nodiving: did you say i didnt have to talk about it

katkittykat: yes!!!! mb

katkittykat: do u wanna play league omg we actually have time now

nodiving: yessssss

===========

nodiving: hi

sunspot: Hi Delta!!!! :)

sunspot: How are you !!!!

nodiving: im ok

nodiving: im sorry i was such a dick to you before 

nodiving: i was looking at the old messages again i feel really bad

sunspot: No you’re totally good! We were being really pushy i get why you were upset

sunspot: We were just worried for you honestly even when we didnt know you that well

sunspot: It was scary when you would just disappear for weeks at a time like that

sunspot: We just wanted to make sure you were safe

sunspot: Still do!

nodiving: thank you 

nodiving: i was scared too

nodiving: can i ask you something

sunspot: Yes please!!!! Yes I thought youd never ask!!!!

nodiving: is levon going to kill me

sunspot: Oh no

sunspot: He explicitly promised me not to

sunspot: Delta please do not tell me you have been worrying about that this entire time

nodiving: it stood out as a distinct possibility 

sunspot: Didnt he promise he wouldnt hurt you?

nodiving: yes

nodiving: you understand why i may be a bit hesitant to take him at his word

sunspot: Yes I guess thats our bad 

sunspot: But i really don’t think he wants that for you

sunspot: Do you think he’d wait for you to heal just to kill you at the end?

nodiving: not sure

sunspot: That was rhetorical! The answer was no.

nodiving: then what

sunspot: a good question

sunspot: I wish I had an answer for you and I really cant apologize enough for putting you in this situation but I'm afraid it could get very messy for a little while

nodiving: messy how

sunspot: In the broadest possible terms

sunspot: They dont really know what to do with you

sunspot: So that is something we are all going to have to figure that out together

=============

LEVON: Kitty.

LEVON: How are you, my sweet?

KITTY: omg hiiiiiii

KITTY: im rlly good actually things r rlly good!

LEVON: Any progress?

KITTY: ya i think so :)

KITTY: hes opening up a little hes still like. v v shy in person? but not as scared i dont think 

KITTY: hes very polite

LEVON: Poor thing.

LEVON: Does he have sensory issues? I hear that’s a big thing with psychics.

KITTY: ummm yeah hes v twitchy. i think he gets his signals crossed a lot but idk if hes aware of it? he just gets all hackle-y at literally nothing sometimes

LEVON: Interesting.

KITTY: how are things back there

LEVON: Well, it’s a shitshow. You’ll find out soon.

KITTY: eek

KITTY: um can i tell u smth

LEVON: Of course.

KITTY: i dont think hes ready yet 

LEVON: You have the rest of the month.

KITTY: no even then i just dont think hes gonna be ready

KITTY: he needs more time

LEVON: I feel like I’ve been more than generous in letting you keep an unsupervised superweapon(!) in your house for two months without disturbance 

LEVON: I’m not saying I’m going to put him through the ringer or anything but he does need to come back to base.

LEVON: You’re coming with him, so I don’t see what the issue is.

KITTY: will we b able to see him then :?

LEVON: Sure.

KITTY: can he room w me :3c

LEVON: Nope.

KITTY: why D:

LEVON: Security reasons. 

KITTY: levon :(

LEVON: This isn’t coming from me.

KITTY: but ur the boss!!!!

LEVON: Yes, but this isn’t an absolute monarchy. I’m still obligated to follow protocol and I’m obligated to listen to other members of the council.

LEVON: Who I should add, are a LOT less okay with this than I am. 

KITTY: ok i get all that but listen like

KITTY: i dont think u understand how fragile he is rn

LEVON: I think you may actually be underestimating him.

KITTY: uh wat do u mean by that

LEVON: He’s held his own within Empire for nineteen years. That’s not for the weak. He can handle a little strain.

KITTY: lol is that what u call it

KITTY: a little strain?

LEVON: Relatively speaking, yes. I’ll do what I can to make it painless for him. Personally, I think he’s innocent.

KITTY: he IS innocent

LEVON: Can you prove it?

KITTY: ITS SUPPOSED TO BE THE OTHER WAY AROUND!!!!

LEVON: That file you sent me. You made it, didn’t you? You’ve seen what’s on there? The casualty count?

KITTY: but thats not his fault!

LEVON: And I agree with you. But that’s what we’re going to have to establish. 

KITTY: but i dont want him to :(((

LEVON: What you want is not necessarily the basis upon which the courts operate.

==========

katkittykat: doing ok????

nodiving: yeah

nodiving: in my room

katkittykat: what do u do in there

nodiving: kinda just been sleeping a lot

nodiving: im really tired all the time i dont know why

nodiving: i didnt use to be

katkittykat: ur sleep debt is probably insaneeeeeee that why

nodiving: yeah

nodiving: im sorry that im like this btw

katkittykat: u dont need to apologize for resting bby theres nothing 2 b sorry for

nodiving: not just that i mean everything

nodiving: i know im not normal 

katkittykat: u rlly rllllly dont need to worry abt that around us i promise we r all freak bitches

katkittykat: i like talking to u tho and i think its ok if u dont realylly feel “normal” right now u dont need to b

katkittykat: u can just b urself and if u dont know who that is rn thats fine too becuz u have the rest of ur life to figure it out

katkittykat: i will still want to hang out w you anyway <3

It took a long time for him to respond. She thought he may have fallen asleep again.

nodiving: why are you being so nice to me

Her turn to hesitate. That was more of an Apollo question — he could explain it ad nauseam. She didn’t know what answer she could possibly give him, if he even really wanted one. 

There was so little she knew about Delta. Each glimpse she got of what his life had been like painted a worse picture of it. They always said he’s been through a lot when anyone asked; it was a convenient euphemism for a whole array of issues. He tried so hard to play his cards close it to his chest. It felt like a betrayal then, the way the signs slipped through. 

nodiving: you dont have to be

She frowned as she slowly tapped at the keyboard.

katkittykat: i wanna be tho

katkittykat: cause i like u

katkittykat: <3

Another moment of silence. She braced herself. There was no way she could try and unpack all of that herself. She hoped she would not have to. She would do it wrong.

nodiving: <3

…………

tags:

@catnykit @snakebites-and-ink @vivulapom @scoundrelwithboba @whatwhump

@pumpkin-spice-whump @deluxewhump @fuckass1000 @fuckcapitalismasshole @defire

@micechomper @writereleaserepeat @aloafofbreadwithanxiety

[6okuto]

YOUR TOUCHSTARVED HCS ARE GOD TIER I DON’T KNOW HOW YOU CAPTURED THEM SO WELL WITH JUST THE DEMO

If you want, could I ask for some with Vere and Kuras?? I feel in love with them in the demo and am in desperate need of more toushstarved content

GENERAL KURAS HCS

gn!reader | ?!!?!! GIGGLES..THANK U THANK U a girl never shares her secrets 😍🤫😘 jk ive shared characterization tips at Some point. KURAS TIME!!! ;3c

has a sense of humour where if you say something silly he Does find it amusing,, he just has a calm + direct demeanor. "can i climb you like a tree" > he blinks because he's caught off guard but smiles anyway. says you could definitely try, but he thinks it might be more effective to just pick you up, no?

the Look the others give him when he says a joke You often say that just...does not match him at all. awesome

he'd get you flowers. not in a bouquet of red roses way but in an i checked the meanings of all of these and personalized it to have your favourite colours and what you mean to me. i'll either explain to you the most devastating story of eternal love and our souls being intertwined or look at you and go :) who's to say what it means? and let you figure it out

next level putting things high up so you have to ask him for help. doesn't try to hide his amusement at all. "odd how it ended up there." ? Yeah i know right

but seriously if you're on the shorter side and you choose to get a chair instead of asking him he's a little upset. and worried. please don't hurt yourself

very serious if you hurt yourself or get sick. if you want to recover fast, let him take care of you. just know he's going to follow some strict rules to make sure you're healing as efficiently as possible

don't let this guy in the kitchen.... his lack of cooking skills make him very appreciative of any home cooked meals, and he knows some pretty good restaurants to make up for it

go ahead and hold onto kuras if you're stuck in a crowd again. like you Can trust him to not lose you, he meant that. but also he won't stop you from reaching for his hand/arm. asks if you're alright before continuing on

get him to relax by laying his head in your lap while you run your fingers through his hair

never minds bending down to kiss you. you can solve ths problem by getting him to sit down and standing between his legs by the way

forehead kisses are a go to!! and a hand on the small of your back

likes when the both of you talk about how your days went in the evening. i think he likes hearing about drama. he remembers names and stories and if he ever sees the person that pissed you off he's. a Little petty/passive-aggressive. he's really good at making it seem like it's accidental though. LOL

you know when you recommend something to someone and they figure out the big twist or mystery so fast you're like wtf. that's kuras. he pretends he doesn't know, especially the first few times, but eventually you just have to take the opportunity to make it a challenge. how fast can he do it y’know.

? glitter eyeshadow. give it a thought and come back to me.

morning person who gets breakfast for you by the time you're up

giving me words of affirmation and quality time vibes. inviting you out whenever he isn't working and making sure you know you're a priority... casually saying some kind of sincere, poetic praise..

sort of a dry texter but you know what. he's supportive. boyfriend who doesn't know what game you've started and are now incoherently ranting about but does his best to guess and support u. looks up the wiki to read about the characters and plot on his own time

when the game has a secret and kuras Offers a Suggestion. a Guess. and he's right. and ur like OMG :D and he :). pretends he didn't look it up because you told him you were stuck yesterday

[crownedinmarigolds]

Question about khanni and the cool lore implications:

Would her creation make her something of a revnant or dhampir? Do yall have a name for it in your homebrew games?

Further cool question? If im following the timeline correctly, shes created between 1990s-2000s- do u think any work got out that thinbloods were a key to make hybrids?

As you know, fan of your blurbos and in the process of making my own wod timeline with friends!

Ahhh what interesting questions....! So while we're still fully werkin' it all out ourselves, here's what @thesixthplaneteer and I say about the situation: From what we've been reading up, Kahanni is probably very close to a dhampir but without restrictions, according to book. Though because of V5 no longer having dhampir (yet?) she's probably closest to a Thinblood? But also not. She essentially is a living vampire who can bond, Embrace, make new disciplines if she desires... From what sixthplaneteer has conceptualized: Kahn is a Ushebti (SETITE MAGICCC) construct made of flesh, given life through necromancy and Thinblood alchemy. She was grown in her mother's womb from start to finish and was born... obviously a TON of magic and blood had to happen. She was born in 2000! (In the older lore a Garou was also born in 2000 kind of like this as well, so we call them Apocalypse Twins haha!) And no - unless there was a SIGNIFICANT breach in trust - this news was kept extremely on the downlow within Harrakhty's inner circle. Many see Kahn as the second coming of Set and they would not allow any rumors to discredit her. Setites are incredibly secretive as is with their goings-ons, so this hopefully wouldn't be an issue they dealt with. Nyth and Noa when doing this for them are probably the only outsiders who know what went down. After Kahn was born, Harri and Pari went on a very long "away from the temple" sabbatical, not unlike them, and twenty years later returned with a full grown woman. So many followers would not have watched Kahanni grow up. Kahn DOES have a soul as well, so as a Ushebti construct, even if you were to fully explain how she was born, she more than likely would not crumble like a normal construct. She's a person, they just used similar magics in the process! Also: Kahn is basically Harri's twin, pre-Embrace. She grows tall like him, she's muscular and confident. She has some of her mother's striking features but she is all Harri. Setite Magic was used to change his appearance back in the late 1800s, so the two do not seem as similar as they would be if he looked as he was first Embraced. Thank you for asking!! :0 I'm so curious as to what you have in mind. :3c Bonus sketch of the family together!

[iwakuraz]

hello can i ask you about your ocs? your art of them is so cool, i’d love to know more about them

:0 YES!!!! THANK U SM thats so nice of you!!! going on a rant under the cut hehe. hope u do not mind that super bad at explaining so its all just me saying random stuff ajshdj. sorry about that

SO STARTING WITH THESE TWO

the one with buns is called rue and shes an oc I've had since like 2020 ,, shes kinda rude and mean but shes also pretty gay w/ the other character next to her. I think I'm gonna call the other girl paige? but I haven't reallyyyy decided on a name yet! one thing about me is that I'm pretty bad at naming characters. I named her after this one old art website I used as a kid though, the website was called 'paigeeworld'. dunno how many people remember paigeeworld but I do. and paige is def the kinda person to go on art websites like paigeeworld and deviantart. so thats why I'm thinking of using that name. also I named rue after the flower rue

I have a story for them vaguely planned out in my head but I need to flesh it out more. I have the ending planned out but uh. the other parts of the story? yeah. I only have those vaguely decided. they're pretty fucked up tho and .yeah . they make eachother worse probably.

rues birthday is 18th august, paiges birthday is 6th of june. these dates do mean something! paiges birthday is the same day that paigeeworld originally announced their closure (I think?) but rues birthday is something a bit more personal 2 me. their story isn't really connected with any of my other ocs, they're sorta just chilling. I started making a fun silly comic thing with them a bit ago but have barely gotten anything done with that cause school. :[

in my head, paige sorta reminds me of the stummy book song 'we all fall down'. thats why I gave her a cup. bc haha get it...... we're all just drinking out of cups waiting for the day when we can't get enough,,, I think her character item is gonna be a cup. always has a cup of like milkshake or something. yum I love milkshake. a song that I associate with rue is 'please tell me mr wonder' by siinamota. and rues character items is her plush of a bear and a bunny! her plushies are alive btw and talk to her sometimes. but I should probably draw her with her plushies more because right now I only have a slightly old animation of her with them. blehhh

there is another oc who is relevant to these two, her name is rini. but I haven't done a proper drawing of her in a while,, I have a drawing of her from 2022 and I am not showing that. rini is in the same class as paige and rue tho. shes the class representative

next here is dot. shes the mascot of my neocities site but I like her quite a lot :] shes a pretty big nerd I think. nerd bunny. her main source of literature consumption is reading old instruction manuals on how to use windows 98.

OKAY NOW TALKIGN ABOUT VIN MY FRIEND VIN!!!! definitely the oc I've posted about the most. full name is vincent but you can call him vin for short, or vinny for medium. I named him after the car seat headrest song vincent. his favourite food is salt packets (the type you get in restaurants) and his favourite beverage is vinegar. VINegar. I like him a Lot and hes basicallyyy my fursona :3 hes a lonely sad teenage cat and I love him so much!!! he doesn't talk a lot, but I think he communicates through likee his tamagotchi or something. again this is another character I have a story planned out for vaguely but I should flesh him out a lot more. I think right now I'm more just using him to represent myself. just know he is very very special to me -w-

AND. do u see the cat on the left. I think I will name them pepper. they're meant to contrast with vin, I think they're rlly energetic and fun and yeah!!!! :3c <- basically they are that emoticon! been trying to think of a name for pepper forever. I'm thinking maybe the name pepper will work. like yeah sure. I don't think they'd enjoy spicy food so they wouldn't like peppers. thats why I think pepper is the perfect name for them. peppers favourite food is probably dip dab? or whatever those things are called? yknow those weird lollipops you can get that come in a packet full of these weird powder thing and you're meant to dip the lolly into the powder? thats what pepper would eat

this is (tama)rini!!!! tamarini. basically the bunny version of the rini oc I mentioned earlier and then said nothing about! they collect tamagotchis and are very very very normal about tamagotchi. she looks sorta similar to dot, but thats not intentional. I just like the colour purple and I also like bunnies.

there are SOME others but these are my favourite ocs right now. holds them in my hands and shakes them.

[para-socialist]

hello i am so curious about your ocs :3c

HI DEN thank u so much for asking!! sorry it took so long to answer lol

when i say “my OCs” sometimes i am talking about guys i have written 50k words of content about and sometimes i am talking about guys who only exist in my head LMFAO

my oldest OC i still think about regularly was originally a killjoy oc based on billie joe armstrong. here is vintage art i made of him (circa 6th grade age 12)

but then i think i changed his personality and appearance so much and then also changed the lore of the world he’s in from the danger days universe so much he kinda just became his Own Guy. his name is Saint he’s a traumatized bisexual himbo 👍 he’s missing an eye and he has a cat 👍

i can’t see myself ever properly writing something about him - like, this is one of those things where it’s very much just something that lives in my head. i love the world building i’ve done though idk!! i just don’t know what medium i would ever want to tell this story in :(

but basically america is fractured into like, city states all with varying levels of dystopia and fascism, with what used to be california controlling most of the country. most of the cities are surrounded by walls with armed guards and no one can get in or out (with exceptions) and the areas between the cities are completely lawless and self governed and have various Dangers depending on what happened there during the war that fucked up the country.

there��s a spot in the mojave desert that’s basically a dumping ground for anyone california deems a threat to the government. they’re tortured for information (or publicly just to make an example of them), experimented on, and then left to die. saint is one of these people but he’s found in the desert by a girl named neon and they have fun chaotic bisexual adventures in the wasteland while they try to get to vegas

you can see why this is never being published it’s very derivative and me personally i think it’s obvious that the idea was originally conceived by me when i was 13 lol. fun to think about though

anyway i’m talking about this and not the actual novel i’m writing because this is so much more interesting. and i have not been doing much writing lately and i have completely changed the plot and focus of it within the last few months to the point where i’m just stressed when i think about it. and i think i need to just write a New Thing instead of trying to finish something i started 3 years ago.

but it’s following a guy trying to figure out why his famous folk musician ex fuckbuddy bought his childhood home and then burned it down with himself in it. he’s doing this by going around the country and trying to get the full story from people who were close to his ex. except a lot of them are dead or insane and hated this guy who is now dead and can’t defend himself.

i. i was going to end this here. but i found something i thought i forgot about.

my fucking 90s boy band OCs i made as a joke and then fell in love with

but i’ll put a read more because this requires SO MUCH EXPLAINING and i have a lot of pictures

how do i even start. so basically when i was like 17 i was planning on being a music journalist. i was going to major in communications at portland state university and then covid happened so i never went to college. i was planning on starting a music blog and i was like oh i need practice writing about music. what if i uh. what if i made a fake boy band and wrote a bunch of fake interviews and reviews about them???

so it was kind of a role playing thing with a bunch of friends but we weren’t role playing as though we were the characters. we were making album covers using sims. we were telling the entire story of this universe through like, fake interviews written with our characters and writing, i shit you not, entire wikipedia articles 10k+ words each about each of their albums and tours.

here is their lore from what i remember.

Chester Coleman (left): gay. outed circa 2004. guitarist. the only one who ended up sort of normal

Cliff Coleman (middle): lead singer. scientologist. homophobic but eventually reconnects with Chester. he ends up being assassinated i’m not sure why i think i just wanted to kill him

Clive Coleman: token emo. heroin addict? i think he dies too? leaves the band to become an actor and make weird avant garde films that are all a metaphor for him being nonbinary. he has twins whose nicknames are Reef and Beef????????? you can see why i eventually had to stop doing this it went off the rails. however i have two screenshots of him from the sims that i think are the best screenshots i’ve ever taken

also he played drums he was actually soooo cute can you see i like making tortured musicians.

i never actually played the sims normally with them btw i spent HOURS on all these screenshots though. i also made animations so i could make music videos and fancams. what a strange period of my life. how could anyone have known i was mentally ill

[kittycatcock]

"i need to know everything u think about me doing to u" oh okay o/////////o well i guess i'd better tell you about this embarrassing one too. imagine: you've invited me over to your place to "hang out" (for whatever you wish to take that to mean :3c) and, the way we have it planned, we're meant to hang out for most of the day, maybe hit up some restaurants or the movies, do..... whatever..... at your place, and then i'll probably leave as it starts to get dark. what i don't know, though, is that you've got some secret plans for us.

it's getting on the later side, and we've just finished having dinner at your place. i thank you again for having me over, and we have a nice little moment :3 however i then excuse myself to go use the bathroom. you offer to show me where it is, which confuses me. i've already used it a couple of times throughout the day, remember? you already showed me where it is. you insist, so while i think it's odd, i don't argue and let you go ahead.

you reach the door to the bathroom and stand in the entrance. "here it is!" you proclaim. "i can see that....." i say. it's right where it was before. i reach the door as well and wait for you to step out so i can go in. you do not. we have a few seconds of uneasy silence. "umm. kitty?" i ask. "do you think you could. ummm. well it's just that. you're sort of blocking the doorway." you nod and smile. you are in fact doing that, and you acknowledge it. "could you... please move? i. i was hoping to. get in there?" i'm more confused than ever, as well as more anxious. i really need to pee; you got me a suspiciously large drink with dinner, which i hadn't pointed out so as not to be rude, but it's really hitting me hard now.

you ask me what the matter is. "i... i just. need to pee." i get a little bashful at having to state it in such certain terms, but i'm earnestly trying to clear up whatever unusual communication malfunction seems to be happening here. you tell me that's okay, i can go right ahead. you don't move an inch. i shift uncomfortably, both from the conversation and the building pressure inside me. i'm not sure what to do.

seeing my indecision, you tell me again that i'm free to go whenever i wish, maybe even sounding a little weary, as though i'm the one putting on a charade here. "kitty, please," i say. "i don't know what the issue is here. i just need to get right past you, into the bathroom. i... i have to go really bad, and i don't know why you're keeping me out here. if this keeps up, i'll literally just end up pissing my pants. is that what you......" i trail off, because your expression changes as i'm talking. you start looking reallyyyy excited, and you puff up as if to make sure once and for all that the door is completely blocked. it finally clicks.

"oh my god." is all i can say at first. "oh my god, is that... you WANT that??? you...." i can't even say it, i'm so embarrassed. my face turns bright red, my eyes get big, and i back up a step. that drink wasn't as big as it was for no reason, apparently. "kitty, that's... come on. you can't.... you can't do that to me," i whine. you can, and you tell me as much. your place, your rules, and right now you're ruling that if i have to go, i've only got one option when it comes to location.

i try to bargain, and think of what else i could give you in return for being spared from this indignity. "what if... ummm. if i bark for you? if i bark really cute on all fours, will you please let me use the bathroom instead of..... that?" you pretend to think about it, and tell me "maybe :3." i'm less than reassured, but i'm also desperate, so i get down on my hands and knees. "woof woof woof, arf arf ruff ruff ruff!!!" all i get from you is laughter, and you explain that dogs don't use toilets like people, so why should you allow me that privilege? i don't have an answer.

i start to get a little frustrated. "yeah? well... w-what if i just forced my way right past you? what then? gonna stop me?" you tell me that i'm too pathetic to do that. i go for it anyway, trying to duck under your left arm and get past. i don't even make it to the doorframe before you grab me by the neck and pin me to the wall, growling and telling me not to test your patience. i immediately crumble, whimpering and apologizing and promising not to pull anything like that again. lucky for you, you also startle me enough that my sense of control is beat out by base instinct, and a small wet spot on my pants quickly expands and soaks me. i immediately start crying from humiliation, and you get to revel in the absolute fucking sight of what you've made out of me, humiliating me even further by making fun.

cut to a little bit later, when i'm getting cleaned up. you finally let me through the door to use the shower. since i wasn't planning on Any Of This, i don't have any backup clothes, so you generously give me a set of yours to borrow. you also insist on "helping" with certain parts of clean-up, which is distracting enough on its own, but one of the genuinely nice parts is that you help wash my hair. not directly related to play, but it's sweet and i enjoy it a lot in the moment.....

when the sun goes down and we're finished with all, i start to think about how sad i am to be leaving. you look at me with confusion, asking (although it doesn't really sound like a question) if i'm not staying the night. i hesitate, not wanting to impose but very much liking the sound of that. you don't wait for an answer, and get us set up in the bedroom for the night. as we huddle in bed, the final piece of your plan becomes clear: now that i'm dressed in your clothes and have had my hair washed with your shampoo, i smell like you from head to toe, a sign of your possession of me. you get your paws around me, satisfied to have entirely marked me as yours as we drift to sleep.

(you're 100% free to refrain from publishing if you prefer, i won't mind, but either way that's what i'm thinking about!! sorry it's really long. blushes hard. love you kitty <3)

🐶 <girl who realized she's into this type of stuff like literally an hour ago

O//////O this is so unbelievably hott.. theres no way i could keep this to myself, my little 🐶. everyone, imagine how cute our dear 🐶 here would be, face burnt red, eyes full of big tears, all embarrassed for having an accident inside like a bad dog. thats what id be after with my mean little kitty plans here i think ;3 after a nice little day together, seeing u be soooooo humiliated for being a bad dog, bc ur a good dog ofc! but good dogs dont have accidents inside. the cognitive dissonance would be enough to fry ur little doggy brain, and that would be just. an irresistible sight to me. why i think i would concoct a whole mean plan just to see that <3

also.. imagining umm helping u clean up in the shower tho too 0w0 giving u the full pity voice to distract u while my paws lather ur fur "its okay puppy, really. we all have accidents, don't we?" reassuring u of how much of a good dog u really are despite what happened, while refusing to acknowledge any paw i had in making it happen hehe ;3c (umm touching boobs soapey in the shower Also this is a must.)

but then after all that embarrassment, despite u knowing what kitty made u do, somehow ur eager to stay just one night. but just one night and ull be marked as mine, stuck with kittys scent 0w0. and ull be wrapped in her soft arms drifting off soundly, but u just cant be sure of what other plans kitty may have tucked away for u :3 <3

[sunsetshifting]

hii! how are u?

so i have a few questions <3

1. I wanna script me and the people in my dr don’t age at all at a certain year but i feel like i have to get specific and explain why it works that way. Do you have any advice / recommendations?

2. Is it true that all the realities are completely separate from one another and none of them are an “original” reality? Because I’d really like for it to be that way since i see it as really cool + comforting :D

3. If i script something like “__ is the exact same in my dr as it is in my cr” would it work? or would it be basing my dr off of my cr rn?

4. do i have to specify anything? like the details of the world and all that

have a great day!! i hope this isn’t too much to answer, i find comfort in your responses and your account in general <3

I'm doing really good!! Thanks for asking^^ :3c

I'm happy to answer any questions you might have, but I'll be chucking 3/4 of them under the cut, just to make it easier to scroll through for people trying to scroll my blog^^

You actually don't have to be specific about why this is, but if you want to, I have a few ideas! First idea is, of course, just scripting that people don't visibly/physically age after a certain point, or if they do, it's delayed by quite a bit (this pairs nicely with scripting extended lifespans^ which is something I do semi-often.) You could also script that visible age is tied to specific milestones (like how it works in Undertale, wherein monsters don't age past a certain point/die unless they have children.) Again, though, you don't actually have to specify why or how people don't age, as it would already be considered totally normal/understandable if you simply scripted in that that was how things already worked. An example of this in action would be similar to how some people script that periods don't exist. Nobody within the DR wonders where they are, or why they don't happen! It's simply the norm.~ .

"Is it true that all the realities are completely separate from one another and none of them are an “original” reality?"

. 2. From my view, yes! All realities, no matter how overlapping or similar, are all disconnected from one another in the sense that there is no 'original' reality amongst them. This isn't to say, however, that you or I are completely detached from these realities. Far from it! Whilst the realities are disconnected from one another, they still occupy the same space as one another. We are just as close to our DRs as we are to our OR/CR.

This one is a little trickier to give an example for, as the concept can be hard to wrap one's head around at first glance. The way a lot of people choose to view DRs is that they are physically or mentally distant from themselves, as if there is some quantifiable distance preventing them from being in direct contact with their DR. This, however, is not the case! Your consciousness is constantly overlapping with other versions of your consciousness across DRs (hence why some people even end up shifting accidentally), so much so that during a shifting attempt, you are typically only seconds away from shifting completely. Often, however, people are held back by their limiting beliefs, or their fears (not to say you can't shift with these, you absolutely can, it's just harder.)

All that to say that yes, all realities are separate, but not all realities are distant from one another.^^

.

"If i script something like “__ is the exact same in my dr as it is in my cr” would it work? or would it be basing my dr off of my cr rn?"

.

3. Yes, scripting like that will work! :) Scripting is not as all-or-nothing as some people might worry that it is. You can totally just take what you like, and leave what you don't!^^

An example is smth I actually scripted today! I scripted that I maintain my distinctive birthmark (on my ankle, looks pretty neat!) across all my DRs/DR selves. I could have a completely different appearance, with a DR utterly unconnected to my OR, but I can still maintain one or two (or however many I wanted, tbh) aspects from my OR/CR!

.

"do i have to specify anything? like the details of the world and all that"

.

4. You can be as vague or as specific as you'd like with your script! Your subconscious will pretty much always fill in the gaps, as it already knows perfectly well where you're intending to go. Even so, if you're worried, you can just script like "everything is like it is in X media" or "everything is how I envision it." Of course, things are liable to be a bit more unexpected/prone to surprising you the more vague you are, but most often not in any major ways.

An example being if you were to script a Stardew Valley DR, and you weren't super specific beyond being in Pelican Town. In all likelihood, everything will still be laid out the same, with the same people, and the same sort of atmosphere. It's not as if you'll accidentally shift to a version where everyone is evil, or where the environment would be hostile.

If there are specific things you'd like to add on, though, that aren't typically part of canon/the reality's normal rules, I do recommend scripting those specifically, just as a precaution! (Example, scripting in a yearly dance at UA or RAD.)

.

You have a great day, too! <33 It was really fun answering all these questions! It really makes me happy that people can take comfort in my account and the answers I try to provide <3 /gen

If you need clarification on anything, don't hesitate to send in a follow-up ask, okay? I'm happy to help in any way that I can!

<3 Happy Shifting! <3

[partyinthemysterymachine]

hey there! can i please request that in the next goomt chapter (69), if there are sex scenes could we get told when they start and end? I really do want to read the chap, but would like to evade that kind of content. thank u

hi there!! really funny you bring this up, actually!! LOL, and i'll explain why :3

FIRST OFF: no sex scenes occur in ch69 😔 i know, i know..... IT'S TRAGIC 😩😩😩😭😭😭 but Unfortunately™️, We're Just Not At That Point Yet At All 😔 i'm so sorry everyone i'm disappointing me too 😩😔😔😔😔

secondly!! thanks for bringing this up because while GOOMT will be getting sexually explicit in the future, it's not going to be happening anytime soon.

when it does, i will for SURE be updating the tags accordingly of course, and i already plan to slap a full warning in the author's notes of the chapter it first happens.

i've started to casually gather feedback among friends as to whether or not i should warn in every chapter there will be sex; and right now, the feedback is mixed. but again, i don't expect there to be any explicit content happening anytime soon, i do plan to formally broach the topic to the masses on my blog the closer i get to anticipating a Raunchy Scene, so i can sort of figure out the best method of approach for everyone and also what i'd want to say in that first disclaimer.

one thing i can say for certain is this: character (and sub-plot, so to speak) development WILL BE occurring in many future sex scenes, and i will NOT be offering any sort of summaries to those who do not read them.

i will also not be giving any sort of warning in the middle of the chapter of upcoming sex. some chapters may even begin with sex; others might have some naughtiness sprinkled in, or may possibly end with it.

i want you to know that i understand your concerns about wanting to avoid the sexually explicit stuff, and i really do sympathize and respect where you're coming from; but unfortunately, i cannot give any other warnings about sexually explicit content in chapters (such as bracketed warnings during the chapter) other than warning for it in the author's notes at the start of a chapter.

i'm sorry if this is disappointing for you, although i really hope that you understand my decision. but again: i do plan to seriously pitch the topic to the masses as to whether or not i should warn in the beginning author's notes of every chapter to sexually explicit content within, or simply ONE umbrella warning/disclaimer in the first chapter it happens, to expect it at any point in the future without warning. we are not anywhere near that though, so no worries.

thank you so much for approaching me about your concerns, because i really, really do want to hear them! if you have any other questions or concerns about this or anything else, please don't hesitate to send me another ask :3c

i hope u are having a good day and that you stay cool, healthy, and safe out there!! cheers mate :3c!! 💖💖💖

[whataphantasia]

ugh ok that poll i reblogged made me listen to UUFO again and i didnt realize it's been like a few months since i listened to it in full FKKEDN (ok this got long so it's under a cut now)

every song ive just been going "OMG I LOVE THIS SONG" DJAKDJEK IM NORMAL IM NORMAL

i know its cringe to like a camellia album this much but uufo is like. a culmination of a LOT of the things i like, and all of camellias experience leading up to that point yk.. and so much love and effort went into it from so many different people.. auuuughhh

every part of the album comes together... i LOVE albums with a theme and this one is PARANORMAL OCCURENCES and URBAN LEGENDS and shit ITS EVERYTHING I LOVE!! the different pieces of album art... ufo girl... wauuuu wauuuu cries sobs

idc if its uncritical and cringe to love every song i do what i want. i dont rly care abt if a song is structurally good as long as it makes me happy it goes hard (and all of them make me happy)

the website.. so pretty...

ok im gonna go to bed after doinf this but heres a few tracks i want to ramble abt (i wish i could do all of the tracks but i wont (FOR NOW...))

for the longest time buzzbox was my favorite song LOL. it was one of my first songs on the album and the russian bass/hardcore mix is just SO good. idk why i liked it so much honestly, its not rly what i LISTEN to yk. i have a fond memory of making my geometry teacher listen to it in 10th grade and she never let me pick a class song again. SHE LIKED EDM TOO I THOUGHT SHE'D GET IT </33

obviously ghoul is amazing. no notes. everyone loves that song.

OOPARTS IS A BONUS TRACK ON THIS ALBUM. OOPARTS. OF COURSE IT'S GOOD

speaking of the muzzle facing.. god idk. the melodic metal undertones. i LOVE a big variety in musical textures and this song just SCRATCHES my DAMN BRAIN. the part where it goes *metal guitar riff* *oingo boingo ass scratching noises* ANDJWJDJEJD IM NORMAL (at 1:37)

POLYBIUS GB IS SO GOOD. the way every section of the song builds on eachother AUGH. the final drop with the chiptune/extratone. CAMELLIA AND HIS EXTRATONEY FINAL DROPS ARE SO GOOD WAUUU WAAAA

a lot of what i feel abt polybius gb ALSO applies to final blenderman!!!! except final blenderman has WAYY more electric guitar YEAHHHH!! camellia final drops. the shift from rock guitar to chiptune melody, and an extratoneish finale,, reminds me a bit of million pp actually? haha. it miiiight be my favorite song? it outranked buzzbox a while ago but tbh this place might be slipping for like, the muzzle facing.

i actually didnt like myths you forgot as much as the other tracks when i first listened to it.. idk why? maybe bc it was a little slower? past me has no taste bc this track is so layered. and good. thanks toby fox

artcore is usually an "eh, its good" for me (i have a lot of artcore i enjoy, like fallen symphony) but #1f1e33 is different.. just felt like pointing it out (esp since this album has a longer version of it) like! i never felt BORED! every section builds! and has interesting auditory textures! lol. ig thats how u keep my attention (not that "being boring" is inherently bad ofc)

i have really fond memories of listening to microwave-proof cat in like, 10th/9th grade... sighh that song is so fun. the main melody's texture is just so bouncy. kisses it.

OKAY. DAMN. its 3. i need to go to bed. i'd love to continue rambling abt this though. maybe later.

as of right now my favorite camellia song (outside of this album) is parallel universe shifter :3c yeah, like, his most recent 7 minute song. of course its good. idk just.. it has all the things i like in it. i'd love to be able to one day make music like this song specifically. but point is, it has all of my favorite musical things.. in it. idk how to explain it. the name too. its super personal to me LOL. and the references and callbacks in the song. so tasty

ig another 8+ track edm album i like is also good evening hollowood... can you tell i love paranormal/halloween themed albums. JK LOL the songs in that album have nothing to do with that. while im talking abt t+pazolite i like ponko2 girlish too.. maybe ill dedicate a post to that if i get bored.

OK FOR REAL NOW ILL STOP. BYE

[hibernationsuit-remade]

Tobias + 𝐏𝐄𝐎𝐏𝐋𝐄.

🤔 THINKING FACE — what are some of your oc's quirks/mannerisms?

🧐 FACE WITH MONOCLE — is your oc more logical or emotional?

😥 SAD BUT RELIEVED FACE — is your oc prone to getting stressed out, or is it easy for them to keep their cool?

😓 DOWNCAST FACE WITH SWEAT — is your oc open-minded or stubborn? are they inquisitive or do they prefer to keep to their bubble of knowledge?

😞 DISAPPOINTED FACE — does your oc attract others, or do they tend to be left alone?

:3c

OOOOH YEAH THANK YOU!!!!

🤔 THINKING FACE — what are some of your oc's quirks/mannerisms?

Expressive body language. He uses his hands so much while talking, he's definitely accidentally hit them on shelves or tables while explaining something skfkgkgkgk

He tends to pace around the room when he's thinking of something, sometimes even talking out loud if he's really deep in his thoughts hehehe :-) (unless it's personal/emotions related thoughts bc in this case he turns quiet and just...sits still.

Sometimes Toby tends to like, fidget with things he's holding, like pens or anything small. If there's nothing around, he fidgets with his wedding ring (which is not helpful at all during the game bc it's. well. stuck on the fucking ship).

🧐 FACE WITH MONOCLE — is your oc more logical or emotional?

He's somewhere in the middle, I'd say! Maybe mote logical-leaning, but emotions can affect his decisions too!

😥 SAD BUT RELIEVED FACE — is your oc prone to getting stressed out, or is it easy for them to keep their cool?

He's so used to it that his "awfully stressed out" threshold is, well, very high. He only starts to actually feel stressful once there's several things creating stress and/or something big and bad (tm) is happening.

Thing is, he's also very good at hiding his stress, which is why most people only notice it when he's so stressed that he can't handle it anymore :'))) Klara is able to see through him quite easily though.

😓 DOWNCAST FACE WITH SWEAT — is your oc open-minded or stubborn? are they inquisitive or do they prefer to keep to their bubble of knowledge?

Mostly open-minded unless he has strong opinions on something (for example, ethical questions, society related stuff hehe).

He loves learning new stuff, will talk to you for long just to hear what u think <3

😞 DISAPPOINTED FACE — does your oc attract others, or do they tend to be left alone?

in game he has max charm and i like to keep it part of his character so dfjfjfjfk he definitely attracts people! Is it the brown eyes, the smile on his face or being funny/optimistic? Who knows.

details about ocs ask game

[albatris]

happy blorbo blursday! may I near some Alex facts?

hi hello? hi. I'm several actual months late but I was wandering through my drafts and was like, oh, today is the day I am going to finally answer this apparently. wahoo surprise motivation time

anyway thank you for the blorbo blursday ask n sorry I'm so late with it ahaha

Alex facts! I can offer Alex facts <3

so, I have a bunch of posts where I explain a tonne of stuff about Alex n its personality n its backstory n history with Quinn in excruciating detail and many paragraphs and I will not subject you to this level of in depth writings, but I will give you some Basic Rundown Of Alex In General facts then I will give u some other random Alex facts, because I can c:

the Alex overview:

full name Alexis Anders.... possible joke full name Alexis Alexander Anders..... making it Alex Alexander Anders. did its parents think this would be funny

they were fucking right, it is funny

it/its pronouns with extra special friends, he/him for everybody else

aromantic and in a queerplatonic relationship with best friend Quinn. not asexual. sexuality is shrug emoji, though

kind and compassionate, firm and diplomatic...... has a reputation among most for being warm-hearted but stoic

the most petty spiteful pissed-off chaotically stubborn bastard on the planet, but you are unlikely to actually notice this unless you're very very close to it and can pick up on some very specific subtle cues. like. Alex is a genuinely wonderful, gentle, morally-upstanding person. Alex is also a huge bitch (affectionate)

fatally allergic to sunlight

once fucked off to an abandoned house in the wilderness for three months to fistfight vampire god, isolating itself from society and refusing to feed on humans, enduring near-constant agony, mind-manipulation and gaslighting from the Garble, and starvation

(the general consensus is that vampire god didn't give a fuck, and Alex would have eventually just died there, but man, idk. idk. it's Alex. I think there's a chance no matter how slim that the Garble might have flinched first)

a personal injuries lawyer! for some of the year, at least! during the winter and autumn, it lives in Melberra City, Melberra, where the weather leans towards rainy and cloudy most days and Alex is free to go about its day job with no issues :3c during sunny summer and spring, Alex returns to Darwelaide and a nocturnal sleeping pattern, n hangs out with Quinn n does some freelance work

an intensely private person and incredibly picky when it comes to friends and who it opens up to, but this is not to be confused with coldness, standoffishness or sombreness

Very Very Very Very Very Fucking Tall

gentle and adverse to physical violence but will floor a motherfucker in a debate (for profit or fun)

does not want to be a vampire. hates being a vampire. doesn't wanna eat people. yearns to be human again. mourns the life it had to leave behind

is a vampire nonetheless, however, and tries to balance out its various moral crises by hunting down and killing almost exclusively vicious, despicable human predators society will never hold accountable for their cruelty

is a fucking pro at goofy sleight of hand magic lmao

has a huge greenhouse full of herbs and flowers and veggies and other such wonderful things because Hobbies Are Good For One's Health! and is constantly trying to pan boxes of fresh produce off to whoever will take them because it grows way more than it can realistically use itself, n it's very proud of its greenhouse and wants to share :3

n now extra Alex dot points that don't belong in an overview but r fun nonetheless

the neighbourhood kids have a bunch of very hush-hush rumours between them that Alex is a vampire, 'cause it hardly ever comes outside during the daytime and its windows are all boarded up to keep sunlight out. they're right, yeah, but this is, like. goofy little kid games. it is a topic for them to play make believe with, mostly, and get over-imaginative about

the kids are not NOT scared of the idea that Alex might be a vampire, but also whenever Alex is around on Halloween it has the best candy so they will dutifully protect its secret lmao. also it helped one of their mums out with a whole workers compensation asbestos thing one time so is probably not, like, an evil vampire

(but yes, the general story around the suburb is just that Alex has a medical condition that results in extreme sun sensitivity)

Alex does canonically possess a conspiracy-theory-looking murder pinboard for planning for and researching its targets. Alex used to use a notebook but Quinn was like "no no no where's your DRAMA where's your PIZZAZZ your AESTHETIC you MUST let me help you make a murder pinboard" and Alex decided it would allow this (it seemed like appropriate enrichment for its chaotic best friend and might keep them out of trouble for a bit)

Alex's tarot card is Temperance

Alex is terrible with animals and pretends this doesn't make it sad

Alex is the only ordinary vampire in the story capable of using its blood for hypnotism!

Alex is the only vampire in the story, ordinary or otherwise, capable of using its blood for healing others as well as itself!

Alex will and often does sleep on its own, but likes to have company n only ever really sleeps comfortably and deeply next to Quinn, and later Nat

as far as vampires go, Alex has fuckin godlike levels of self-control and even seasoned vampire hunters like Zeke can rarely pick up on the fact that it's a vampire

and the most important Alex fact of all

it deserves a little kiss on the forehead and a warm mug of coffee with lots of cream and sugar <3

[stuff-from-the-void-matron]

Laurel Wreaths & Animal Teeth (4)

(c!Technoblade x fem!Reader)

(people seem to like this for now but remember, no reblogs/comments then i’m gonna assume people lost interest. so show u enjoy this please!! <3 also someone drew fanart of Reader, check it out at the bottom! :3c)

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

“Come ON Wilbur! Come with me to check out the huge village I found the other week!” shouted Tommy while making sure to get in his older brother’s way as much as possible. He figured if Wilbur was focused on him and not whatever ‘super important’ shit he was busy with then he’d join him.

Wilbur meanwhile was doing everything he could to sidestep and ignore said younger brother. Now usually he’d humor the much younger boy but Wilbur was sorta busy at the moment. There’s been murmurs of unrest within the L’manburg territory lately since new faces have joined their country. 

Apparently they weren’t happy about the fact that Wilbur was a self appointed president, and likened him to a dictator because of it since no one got a say in his leadership role. Which Wilbur thought was highly unfair. He’d fought tooth and nail for his country, so they could have and enjoy all the freedoms to do as they pleased without Dream and his cronies breathing down their necks.

Everything he did he did for his country. But he didn’t want them to see him as some unsympathetic tyrant who didn’t listen to his people. He’s not Dream, he actually listens when they speak, even when they say they don’t like his self appointed role as president. So yes, Wilbur was sort of busy with more important things than goofing off and finding some random village. But instead of snapping he just sighed and said,

“Tommy, I’m working. We’re supposed to be running a country, remember?”

The aforementioned boy let out an aggravated sigh, he knows they have a duty to L’Manburg, he’s not stupid! But he also knows they need to be allowed to have some fun now and again too! Or they’ll go crazy! And Tommy was sure Wilbur would go mad if he stayed cooped up inside all the time working! So this was his way of dragging his brother out for his own good.

But Wilbur was being especially stubborn (wonder where Tommy got it…) and was refusing to budge. 

“I don’t have time right now Tommy! Ask Tubbo or Fundy to tag along. I’m sure they’d love to go vandalize a village with you,” Wilbur distractedly said as he wrote down some notes in one of his books. 

Tommy was tired of fighting Wilbur on this and decided to hell with it, he’d just take the L this time. So he scoffed and said “Whatever” in the most pissed off teen voice he could physically summon and turned away from Wilbur and stormed out of the brunet president’s house, making sure to slam the wooden door as hard as he could on his way out. 

It seemed like all Wilbur did was mope around and WORK since they’d won independence from the Dream SMP. What the hell was the point of even FIGHTING for said freedom if Wilbur wasn’t even going to enjoy it?? 

Tommy pushed those thoughts away and went to search out Tubbo, he could always count on his best friend to follow him into some mischief! Unlike SOME people. And thankfully it didn’t take the rambunctious blond long to find his friend, and with a grin he ran and jumped on the shorter boy, making him yelp in shock and nearly fall. But then Tubbo saw who it was and started laughing and shoving the taller boy away half heartedly. But after goofing around a bit Tommy remembers why he’d searched out Tubbo in the first place.

“Oi Tubbo, come with me to this weird village I found the other week. I was gonna explore it when I found it but Wilbur said there was an emergency and I had to leave before I could,” he said as they both walked along the main path.

“Yeah sure, but why was it ‘weird’? Was it one of those ones that’s built somewhere stupid like half on a cliff?” Tubbo asked with a laugh. 

The two laughed and Tommy explained that the village just looked different? Like there was no cobble! Which was ridiculous because in his opinion that was the best part of villages was all the cobble buildings. Not that he was biased or anything like an American. 

But Tubbo just laughed and said sure, they could go check it out. He didn’t have anything else important to do today anyways. Tommy gave a triumphant ‘yeah!!’ because at least he got ONE of his friends to not be a total loser and go out to have some good old fashioned fun with him. 

Tubbo told him to lead the way so they were off.

-0-

Many blocks away in your village you were getting out of your ‘shower’, which was really just a waterfall hidden by thick trees and hanging vines behind your temple home. But it was the best shower you’d ever used thanks to how the water fell over you in huge sheets. You’d honestly stay in it for hours if you didn’t hate being bored just standing there. But you did get bored, so you got out and began drying off.

Once you were dry you started getting dressed in your usual outfit, then once done you paused before reaching down to grab the newest item of your outfit..

Your mask.

...

After your… horn discovery the week before you’d just laid in bed all day for a couple days. Not leaving your temple for any reason, not even to shower or eat. You’d have been feeling worse if you’d actually needed food but thankfully you didn’t, so when you finally got your ass in gear and got up to bathe you only felt marginally like shit. At least you had until you went to go bathe…...

But on that first day up you’d just stared at yourself in the reflection of the water and sighed. You didn’t have the urge to cry anymore, so that was a good thing. But you also weren’t a fan of the new horns or glowing eyes you’d had since ending up here. You weren’t even sure what KIND of horns these were?? And… call you crazy but you SWEAR they were bigger than they were before your stint laying in bed..

They’d only been little nubs before, not even as big as your thumb! But now they were at least five inches long and sort of splitting at the tips? It looked weird and honestly felt even weirder what with that velvety texture covering them. You made the foolish mistake of grumbling to yourself, 

“Things couldn’t get weirder, right?”

And as if the universe heard you… you discovered a new ‘appendage’ on your body while you started to wash your body off. You’d been lost in thought, just scrubbing yourself with a soapy washcloth when you’d started reaching around to wash your back, your washcloth brushed against something protruding from the base of your spine, right above your ass. This time you didn’t start panicking, you think you were still worn out from the days previous, so instead of freaking out you just slowly craned your neck around to see if you could glimpse the...thing.

A tail. 

You blinked, shocked but also.. confused? What in the absolute fuck? Why? When?? This time there was no sobbing or breakdown, you were honestly just puzzled. Are you ever going to STOP growing animal traits or what? Under any other circumstances you might even call the tail cute. It was small, probably just smaller than your hand and about the same shape too. And the majority of the top of it was the same color as your hair, but the sides (and underside after you got curious enough to look under it) were a soft white. With how you were in water the tail looked rather unimpressive and you couldn’t identify what kind of tail it was, but if it was at all connected to the horns then maybe deer? Or caribou? Reindeer? The last two seemed more likely since those animals’ females actually grew antlers you think. 

Having to adjust to all this new shit practically every other day was giving you a headache. With a tired sigh you rubbed the area around the base of your antlers, soothed slightly by how the action dulled your headache. But you couldn’t ignore the issue at hand, so you swallowed down your unease and instead just decided since you couldn’t control these… unnatural features then.. well, you’d just cover them up or since that wasn’t possible for the horns now you’d just disguise them?

You’d been stumped for a while on how to even DO that but eventually you’d gone down to the village to feed the animals and you’d watched the armorer leave his house to get started working for the day. And you’d noticed the mask he wore pushed up on his forehead. That’s when the idea for a mask hit you. But you didn’t know how to make or even craft a mask, so you’d gone to the armorer and asked him about it. It was hard to grasp what he was saying clearly but after the months living with the villagers you’d picked up some stuff and could understand them some.

So you let him show you how to make a standard iron mask like his, though the first one he’d made hadn’t fit you in the end so he’d made a second after tweaking the size a bit so it’d fit your face right, since your face shapes weren’t the same. But you were thankful and said so after you put it on. Though the eye holes still revealed your eyes, which you didn’t like. You asked how hard it would be to put reflective lenses in them to prevent your eyes from being seen.

That question turned into the armorer calling over the cartographer, the stonemason, and the shepherd oddly enough to help him out. They were murmuring and crowding around the armorer’s workstation while you watched from the edge of the porch where you sat idly. You didn’t want to hover over them like some busybody, so you sat patiently to see what they came up with together. 

And after a while your patience was rewarded when they came over to show you the fruit of their collaboration. And it surprised you how gorgeous it was, which wasn’t fair since you had 4 skill masters working on it together for you.

The mask was actually very beautiful. 

It was a white half mask that only covered your eyes, forehead, and upper nose/cheeks but left the lower half of your face bare. And you think it was simply painted white because it felt about as heavy as iron, but the part that amazed you was how it almost looked Venetian in design. On the forehead of the mask was a golden sun, and golden floral swirls came from the corners of the mask and curled near the cheeks and sides of the sun on the forehead, making the mask look elegant and almost vintage.

But the best parts in your opinion were the glass lenses in the eye holes. They were reflective and the same colors as your banner! You don’t know how the villagers did it but the edges of the lens were a goldish orange and the color faded into a violet in the center. You worried you wouldn’t be able to see through them but when you put the mask on you realized the lens only gave things a VERY slight blue/grey tint. So slight in fact that you could fully ignore it if you wanted. 

And the second best part was some of the floral swirls actually swirled UP past the top edge of the mask and rested against your horns, giving the illusion that they were somehow part of the mask. Actually with the mask on you could almost trick yourself into thinking you were just wearing a cool looking Mardi Gras mask! 

You clapped your hands in glee and couldn’t help the excited sound you let out as you gushed and told them it was perfect! They all let out bashful happy murmurs and generally looked shyly pleased with your praise. You tried to give them each some emeralds but they refused to take them, grunting and shaking their heads each time you attempted to push the gems towards them. Eventually you gave up and resigned to accepting the mask as a gift, but you’d definitely do something nice for them later, to make up for their hard work.

…

You’d taken to wearing the mask at all times when not in the privacy of your temple. Which wasn’t very hard to get accustomed to. The mask was lightweight and the lenses honestly helped shield your eyes from the glare of the sun so win/win. And it also made your horns, in your opinion at least, less in your face. Which was good because they were definitely still growing. You could tell. And the split in the tip was now more pronounced, making you wonder if they were like… reindeer antlers? It would fit with the tail currently growing out the base of your spine, said tail that now looked REALLY like a fluffy little deer tail since the hair/fur on it had dried. 

One good thing was that your tail wasn’t long or huge and could actually be hidden relatively easily under a shawl you tied around your waist. So that was one less thing to worry about. Though your life would infinitely be easier if you didn’t have to deal with all this inhuman bullshit. But you supposed life wasn’t fair and expecting it to be was foolish. 

“At least I’m not part some weird animal like an aardvark or something…” you mumble to yourself, trying to view this whole thing in a ‘glass half full’ sort of way. 

You’d decided to relax and unwind from your recent discovery by just taking things easy for a while. First day since you got the mask and such you just chilled and started a small farm for yourself. You didn’t need the food but the process of building the farm and toiling the earth and then sowing the seeds was actually pretty therapeutic. The repetition of it all was pretty calming. Just you, your gardening tools, and the earth beneath your feet.

The days following were pretty much the same. You’d tend your garden first thing in the morning after your shower, then you’d go off to find something else easy to fill your time. You took up feeding the animals, making flower boxes and planters around the town to make it more colorful, potion brewing, and even fishing. Which was what you were doing right now actually.

You were sitting on the edge of the pond next to your temple, bare legs in the cool water and your back resting against the side of another grass block, an enchanted fishing rod you’d traded the town fisherman for sitting stuck in the ground next to you while you relaxed. The day was actually quite beautiful and nice. Sun streamed down over you from between the bamboo behind you, fluffy fat bees buzzed overhead as they hunted lazily for pollen, and you were close to dozing off.

“Hnn! Hnn! Hnnn!!”

At least you would have dozed off if you hadn’t heard one of the villagers sorta freaking out. You looked up and saw one of the farmers panickedly shuffling about at the top of the small hill to your left. You wondered if zombies got into the village again? But no it was sunny out, they’d be burning if they did. Illagers maybe? But how would they have gotten around the bamboo and prickly berry bushes?? Well there wasn’t anything else for you to do than do see what was wrong.

You put away your fishing rod, got up and dusted yourself off before hurrying up the hill after the villager. You trailed after them down the lantern lit path but so far didn’t see anything, but you perked up when you heard telltale sounds of one of the iron golems fighting something and taking damage. That put some urgency in your gait and soon you were running to see what was going on. You rush past the fletcher’s home and then the cartographer’s right after but nothing. Then you finally round the corner where the market is set up and see at the very end of the path next to the cleric’s church is the altercation. 

You sprint down the path, yelling for the villager’s to stay inside until you ring the town bell as you run past them. You hear the doors slam closed behind you and you manage to get to the problem right as your iron golem gives one last cry before getting poofed. You gasp sadly and then glare when you hear cheering. A blond boy that was shorter than you hopped down from a dirt block tower and scooped up the fallen iron ingots the poor iron golem dropped upon its death.

You were so pissed that you ignored the nagging feeling in the back of your focus that said this kid looked familiar. It wasn’t until he finally turned to look at you that it hit you. Holy shit this kid looked… and sounded.. like that minecraft youtuber, TommyInnit.. Like eerily so. You’re glad you’re wearing your mask so he can’t see the deer in headlights (*ba-dun-ts*) look on your face at the sight of him. And your shock didn’t fade with him speaking. If anything it reinforced the idea that this kid was weirdly reminiscent of that youtuber. 

“Holy fuck! You are a MASSIVE woman. Wait, who the fuck are you?!” he said in a loud tone of voice as he looked up at you. It made your eyebrows furrow. You were NOT that big! He was just short! You even crossed your arms and told him so, which earned a snicker from the little brown haired boy in dark green overalls next to him. The blond boy scoffed, looked fully offended, snarked back that you were about the same height as a ‘bloody fuckin’ iron golem!’ so yes you were huge.

You glared at the little TommyInnit look alike and instead of arguing about your height you started scolding both boys, which they hadn’t really.. expected? At least from the surprised looks on their faces (which still had the roundness that came from baby fat). The brunet rubbed his elbow and sort of toed the dirt under his feet while the blond crossed his arms and almost looked to be pouting from the scolding.

“My height isn’t the issue here! The issue is you two barging into my village, killing one of my iron golems, stealing the loot from it, and scaring my poor villagers!! What in the hell were you two thinking?” 

The blond tried to cut in, to defend himself but he barely got out the first syllable before you held up your hand to signal for him to silence himself as you snapped,

“I do NOT wanna hear it! You treat others this way?? Like they’re nothing, like their possessions and peace of mind don’t mean a damn thing?! Shame on you both!!” 

By the end the two boys looked properly scolded. The brunet wondered if THIS is what it felt like to get scolded by one’s mother, and if it was then he’d like to avoid it for the remainder of his life. And the blond meanwhile actually didn’t have anything to say, or more accurately he didn’t know what to say to not feel like he was in massive trouble.

You meanwhile were just annoyed at this point, so you held you hand out (causing both boys to give you wondering looks) before you demanded the iron ingots that the blond stole from your slain iron golem. He got all in a huff, saying he earned them and they were just ingots- but you slapped that train of thought down with an angry,

“EARNED?? More like STOLE! After you killed my iron golem! Now give them back! I have to use them to make a new golem to protect this village.”

The blond sputtered, face blooming red at being blatantly called out on his theft, before muttering in embarrassment and pulling the ingots out and practically tossing them at you. You caught them and returned them to your inventory before shaking your head at the two and saying they should leave if their only goal in your village was to kill and destroy property. The small brunet quickly spoke up and said,

“No wait, we didn’t come just to mess stuff up! We came cuz Tommy said he found this place last week and it wasn’t the usual village so we wanted to explore it.”

Your stomach churned at the name.. Tommy. This was getting weird again. Way too fucking weird. But you resisted clenching your teeth anxiously like you wanted, instead you raised an eyebrow they couldn’t see and shot back,

“Oh yeah? And how did that escalate into killing my iron golem?”

This time it was ‘Tommy’ who cut in and said it had been an accident! They’d apparently been looking around when Tubbo (you felt queasy now after hearing that name too…) started fighting a spider and Tommy came over to help him, but in the process he accidentally hit the iron golem, who got pissed and smacked him.

“I ran from the thing and towered up three blocks! I knew it wouldn’t let up so I had to kill it! S’not my fault the bastard was holding a grudge!!” Tommy said heatedly, arms still crossed defiantly.

You wanted to rub your temples in exasperation but couldn’t without removing your mask. And like hell you were showing these kids your weirdo inhuman eyes. Though… if they really were the characters from.. the videos you got hooked on? Honestly this whole thing was 10 times weirder than the stupid glowy eyes or even the horns or tail.. Like this has to be proof you’re really dreaming or in a coma or something. What other logical explanation could there BE? These kids aren’t real. Nothing here is. It CAN’T be. The real people behind these… minecraft characters? They’re not here. In this place.

Before you could do a kickflip off the edge of your sanity into a full on mental breakdown you took in a calming breath and pushed those thoughts away until you were alone to give it the proper attention. And maybe so you could have your panic attack in peace and quiet. But right now you had two kids causing ruckus in your village. So you just said,

“Yeah alright, fine. I’ll forgive you both THIS TIME. But don’t make a habit of causing trouble in my village. And you can look around and explore, just don’t steal anything or hurt any of my villagers or animals. Got it?”

The two boys nodded, happy to not have you giving them that Angry Adult Tone anymore. So you turned and started walking back to the middle of the village, calling for them to come on. You had to ring the village center bell to tell everyone everything was okay.

Both boys shared a glance before Tubbo smiled and started jogging after you, Tommy right behind him, both curious about you and your village.

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

(a/n: YOOO SOMEONE DREW READER FANART AND IT’S FUCKING BOMB DUDES CHECK IT OUT!!  (Reader looking heavenly~) uwu)

@salinesoot​ @lady-bee-fechin​ @kacchasu​ @putridjoy​ @lunawritesstories​ @galaxypankitty3030​ ​ @paradigmax​ @zachariethememerie​ @killmewithafanfic @trinity-1002107 @hufflepuff-demigod @truthdaze @exorcisms-with-elmo @redbloodtea @heythereimhaylz @olyink @jackalopedoodles​ @nikkineeky​ @artsimatsu​​

[adhduskull]

Bro danny phantom is so cool n stuff, infodump man!!!! Just,, yeet ur feelings about it. I love fanart n stuff of danny so gimy ur thoughts on it!!!

!!!!

Well, so first off I have a whole sideblog for it @superphlyduskull :3c if ur interested

Second this is straight up like. The most invested I've ever been in a fandom tbh, it's the first time I've posted anything and the first time I've attempted fanfiction!! (tho I haven't finished or posted anything yet) I recently thought up a headcanon that ghosts see more of the light spectrum than we do and that thats also how they become invisible, by only reflecting light humans can't see. I'd like to make a little fic abt it I think! Maybe one where a bunch of bugs follow him around bc I think it'd be cute

I think what really gets me about this fandom is the potential for worldbuilding. The show did close to fuck all in terms of exploring its own lore, but there were hints everywhere of how the world might work, and it's SO FUN to play with!! It leads to so many interpretations that are all equally plausible! Plus the huge amount of AUs inspired just by the source material... the way it lends itself to crossovers super easily as well, considering Clockwork has sent Danny into a different universe in the show (yknow, to stop the timeline where his family and friends and teacher die because he cheated on a test, eventually leading to him destroying the world...... there are some interesting morals in the show)

The angst potential is also insane, and I'm actually interacting with angst a lot more in this fandom than I usually would bc its so beautifully handled a lot of the time. Between identity reveals going wrong and the Guys in White getting a hold of him and Vlad being a shitbag to Danny being the GHOST KING

Ghost King Danny is probably one of my favorite AUs, I think partially bc its really fun to explore how insane it is for poor Danny to be saddled with this huge responsibility, and also to see how much power that gives him? Like on the one hand thats too much for a kid his age to handle and I feel like I might be projecting a bit since I was responsible for more than I would've liked from a young age, but also it reeeally spices up identity reveal scenarios and can save him too much grief in others bc depending on the take, a huge amount of the ghost zone has his back!! Like uhhh No, you are NOT going to mess with our King, [insert possible antagonist here]

It's also super fun to think of what ghost culture might be like, as well as just how ghosts work! We see glimpses in the show, but again, nothing is explored much? I love the universally accepted headcanon that ghosts have a vital organ called a core (though how it works varies greatly from person to person), and the idea that there are multiple ways a ghost forms (like from a being dying, or just forming from ectoplasm and strong emotions or big concepts, or being straight up born??). I've also seen the idea that a lot of ghosts don't really mean harm to Danny and that ghost culture is generally more violent bc they're not as squishy as humans!

Also!! There's gonna be a new graphic novel which is sick as hell! We don't know much more than that, but hopefully Nickolodeon doesn't mess too much with the creative team, because I'm really interested to see where they take it (especially since I think bitch fartman doesn't have any say in decisions? I'm not sure on that tho). Either way it's new content and I'm excited to see where the fandom goes with it too!

I have also realized the reason I don't infodump much is because I'm terrible at explaining things and trip over my words and am hard to follow lmao, particularly in person. You'd think that as an actor I'd be a little better with words but naaah lmao. I need to rehearse them for them to come out right apparently

Anyway idk how coherent that was but if u ever want to hear me ramble about dp feel free to send me more asks! Esp on my sideblog, I'm Always down down yell abt it!! Thank u for sending me that ask btw, it was really nice to do a bit of infodumping!!!💜💜💜

[multi-lefaiye]

hi hello hi! I'm thinkin... hm... 19 and 16 for arthur/noah, 28 for markus/juno aaaaaand... 8 and 10 for the roach polycule since I can't resist asking about them hehe :3c

hi hi hello!!! :D yes thank you!!!! i love them,, also omg yes the roach polycule,,,, thank u for asking!!!!

Arthur/Noah:

How do they silently/subtly express their love for each other?

Oh, there are SO many ways, but to keep this from getting TOO long I'll just list one or two for each of them.

Arthur is very much the kind of person who expresses affection through action. I think the way he'd most often express subtle affection for Noah is by doing little things for him, like helping him clean or getting him his favorite food. Actually one of my favorite parts of the confession scene with these two is like,,, Arthur ordered food for them both, and he made sure to get Noah's favorite b/c he knew Noah had a rough day. Arthur is a sweetheart.

Noah, meanwhile, is a bit like a cat in some ways. I think he's very much the type who subtly expresses affection by just spending time with someone, either cuddling up with them or just hanging out without saying anything. I think a common occurrence with these two would just be like. Arthur and Noah sitting together on the couch, Arthur playing his videogames and Noah typing away on his laptop. Just enjoying each other's company.

(Now and then Noah leans over to see what Arthur's doing and ask him questions about it, because even if Noah doesn't understand Pokemon, he likes how enthusiastically Arthur explains it.)

What’s their favorite “domestic bliss” moment? Do they cook/clean together? Do they like to go out shopping together?

Oh they absolutely cook and clean together whenever they can!! It doesn't always work out with their schedules, especially after they get married, but they try to whenever they can. If they can't cook together, they usually operate on the system of like... whoever doesn't cook is the one who cleans up afterward (though usually they both end up helping there too).

I'm a firm believer also in the intimacy (not even necessarily romantic) of going to the grocery store with someone. So I imagine that's something they would really enjoy doing, especially early in their relationship.

Markus/Juno:

What’s something that reminds them of their partner(s)? Do they have anything on them daily as a reminder (a photo, phone background, tattoo, clothing/accessory, etc)?

Time to be sad on main-

Anyway I think Juno carries a few reminders of Markus with them, the most significant of which that comes to mind immediately is an old lighter. It doesn't really work anymore, but it's a nice one that he gave them a few years or so into knowing each other. I think it'd even be a family heirloom, given to him by his father or grandfather--he decided to give it to them because he doesn't have anyone else to pass it on to. Juno keeps it in their pocket, and when they're overwhelmed or anxious, fiddling with it calms them down.

As for things Markus would have to remind him of Juno... that's something I'm gonna have to think about, hmm :3c

The Roach Polycule:

Do they have any favorite activities to do together?

I think they have a lot of things they'd like to do together, but one thing that I love thinking about is the idea of them setting aside a night each week, whenever possible, to spend time together and do whatever one of them wants to do. They rotate each time, and it's a great way to bond and hang out. They'll have movie nights, game nights, and much more! Just spending time together is fun <3

One thing that I think they do semi-often is have like. Little competitions. Like they'll play Mario Kart or something, and it will very quickly get out of hand. Oliver isn't very competitive, but Roach and Vincent very much are. He thinks it's fun to watch them go FERAL.

Who drives and who picks out the music?

Roach is the only one in the polycule who is not allowed to drive under any circumstances. They've never been in a bad accident, but it's been close enough that Oliver (as gently and lovingly as possible) insists on driving. That's okay, though, because that means Roach always picks the music <3 Oliver has definitely developed a fondness for vaporwave after listening to them blast it while he's driving.

Vincent, meanwhile, usually gets relegated to the backseat whenever they're all in the car together. He made one too many jokes about Roach needing a booster seat b/c they're short, and now they won't let him sit in the front. Sometimes, though, they'll let him pick the music, because they're very nice and forgiving that way.

(Oliver thinks this whole thing is hilarious.)

[aimeelouart]

WHAT. oh my god diff anon but i loved the snippet with ur protag but also HOW CLD U THROW HER TO HOJO.. UR VERY OWN CHILD /j anyway very excited to see u talk abt ur setting and lora more i like the her

>:3c Shall we have a part two of this self-indulgent SSC crossover, then?

Lora wasn’t missing for long, but she was missing long enough. They found her in the labs, floating curled-up in an empty holding tank⁠. The glass and metal was all melted to slag around her, but she didn’t seem aware. Her whole body was glowing like liquid steel, eyes open wide and mouth slack as bluish-white light poured from the inside of her throat. The bodies of unlucky lab technicians littered the ground around the tank.

Science had finally tried to meddle in something truly beyond their grasp.

They found Hojo, too, burned to near unrecognizability and leaning up against a control panel. He was muttering deliriously to himself, breath rasping like sandpaper down his damaged throat. “Magnif...icent...like...the power...she’s…”

Sephiroth stared at him coldly. He couldn’t put Masamune through the wretch’s body without consequences⁠...but he could leave him to die. So he stepped over the body of his father and moved to the computer by the control panel, pulling up the information he needed. 

The radiation pouring from the little outworlder child was frankly staggering. If it wasn’t for the protective shields around this section of the room, Hojo would have been long dead. More’s the pity, though the shields were also protecting the Firsts at the moment.

“What do we do?” Genesis asked as he looked at Lora’s glowing form. “What did he even do to get her in that state?”

“Is there anything we can do without getting burned to a crisp?” Angeal said, looking between the temperature readout and the molten state of the holding tank.

“At a distance, maybe” Sephiroth replied, leaning away from the screen and tilting his head a little. “Let us start with the obvious.” He flicked on the intercom. “Ameliora Octavia Perdel,” he said, enunciating each name clearly. “Do you remember my voice? It’s Sephiroth. Genesis, Angeal, and I are all here. You are safe now, but we can’t reach you until you calm down.”

The radiation levels dipped slightly.

Genesis bumped Sephiroth away with his shoulder. “Princess,” he crooned. “Princess, what mess did you get into, hmm? That all looks quite exhausting. Why don’t we tone it down a bit more?”

This time, she blinked and uncurled a little, legs dipping toward the floor.

Angeal went next. Maybe hearing all their voices individually was the key factor. “Just listen to my voice, Lora. Can you see where you are? I know it must be scary, but we can’t come get you until you calm down.”

The radiation levels fell rapidly, matched by the way her skin’s unnatural luminance dimmed. Her mouth was moving, eyes blinking rapidly. Steam hissed off her cheeks as she started to cry. Delicately, her feet touched the melted floor of the cage. The second the radiation levels had fallen enough to be safe (safe for a SOLDIER) they left the shielded vestibule behind and ran into the room. 

The air was stiflingly hot, like an oven, and had an odd metallic tang to it. The hairs on their arms stood on end. Sephiroth darted forward as the last of the glow faded from Lora’s skin and quickly pulled her out of the molten tank. Her clothing was gone (taken or destroyed?) , and he wasn’t sure if her unprotected skin would burn against the metal. His boots left thin layers of melted rubber as he stepped quickly in and out.

Wordless, Genesis stripped off his coat and together they wrapped her in it. She still felt unnaturally hot, like a soldier pulled from the desert with heatstroke. Her eyes were wide and blank, irises glowing even when the rest of her didn’t. Odd green sparks danced within her pupils. Her lips were still moving as she murmured fretfully, but the language she spoke was incomprehensible to them.

Angeal glanced at the burned corpses. “Shhh, close your eyes for a minute, Lora.” When she didn’t respond, he frowned and held his hand over her eyes⁠, walking beside Sephiroth. He didn't cover them all the way⁠—didn’t block the light⁠—but he made sure she wouldn’t see the bodies.

And as they passed out of the room, Hojo’s rasping voice stuttered, stalled, and at last fell silent.

—

Cloud had fallen asleep almost as soon as the Firsts had gotten their hands on him again. He wasn’t too upset, actually—he’d accomplished all his goals this time around. But he was a bit miffed when he woke up with a little girl’s sleeping face just a few feet from his.

He sat up quickly, scooting backward a little. She didn’t wake, and after a few seconds he recognized her as the odd child who’d helped him escape. What the hell was she doing here in—he glanced around—Sephiroth’s bed? 

Gaia, was she here because he’d accepted her ‘help?’ He’d assumed they would just get her back to her parents.

The door opened and Angeal poked his head in, one finger raised to his lips. He gestured to the girl, then motioned Cloud toward him. When they were out in the hallway, Cloud harshly whispered, “why’s she here?” with a suspicious glare.

Angeal rolled his eyes a little and herded him away from the door, not responding until they were in the kitchen. “Her name is Lora, and she’s here for much the same reason you are. No one else could safely keep her.”

“Okay, first off I don’t need to be kept,” he said, glaring as he took a chair. “You just think I do. Second off, why?”

Genesis sauntered in and answered for Angeal. “Because she has strange and frankly inconceivable abilities, Cloud. Beyond that, we are not keeping her forever, merely waiting for her parents to find her.”

“Theoretically,” Angeal muttered, tending to the food on the stove. It smelled like stir-fry.

Sephiroth arrived to join the conversation as well. “Given what we have seen, do you really find it so unlikely that her Grandfather would be capable of similar feats? I am inclined to doubt nothing, at this point.”

Cloud was baffled. Feats? Abilities? He’d given the kid a chunk of his hair in exchange for her providing a distraction—she’d claimed something about ‘needing it for the spell.’ Had she...meant something real by that?

Genesis noticed his baffled expression. “Lora doesn’t need materia to do magic,” he explained succinctly. “There are some other things too, but that’s the gist of it.”

Cloud paled. Alright, maybe it really was better if they kept her here. He didn’t even want to think about what would happen if Hojo got his hands on her.

Sephiroth was staring at him intently. “Hojo is dead.”

Every thought went right out the window. “What?”

“Hojo is dead. He’s never going to hurt anyone else again.”

How? His lips moved, but he made no sound. The damned Professor had been at the top of his list of things to take care of, what could possibly have taken him out before Cloud could even try?

Angeal lowered his voice enough that no one but a SOLDIER had any hope of making out his words. “Lora killed him, and we are not going to tell her that, understand?” For the first time, a very serious, protective look was aimed at Cloud for someone else’s sake. “She’s not like you, Cloud. She was protected from the whole world until she came to Midgar.”

“...right,” he said numbly. “I’d never hurt a kid.”

All three of them gave him Looks at that, but he was spared the commentary by a distressed, high-pitched whine from the direction of the bedroom. Genesis vanished from the kitchen in the space of a breath. When he came back, it was with the girl bundled up in a blanket, sniffling into his shoulder.

“It’s alright, darling,” Genesis was...crooning. Cloud was vaguely glad that particular tone (in that particular intensity) had never been aimed at him. He might have bitten the man’s fingers off. It seemed to be working on the actual seven-year-old though. “Shh...you’re fine. You’re safe. Don’t you want to come out and meet Cloud properly?”

Still sniffling, she raised her head and turned to Cloud. She looked groggy and miserable, eyes red-rimmed and teary, but when she saw him her face lit up.

“D’you do it?” She asked in a sleep-roughened voice, smiling. “Your task?”

“Uh,” he blinked. “Yeah. I did. Thanks for the help.”

She beamed, forgetting her tears entirely. “Welcome. It’s important to always follow your Virtue.”

He had a feeling he was missing a lot of the context of that statement, but he thought he’d gotten the gist. “Yeah.”

When they ate dinner she sat in Angeal's lap, still bundled up in the blanket. Half way through her plate⁠—her proportions were hilariously tiny compared to the four enhanced SOLDIERs⁠—she made a face and pushed it away.

“What’s wrong, Lora?” Genesis asked.

“Hurts,” she said, rubbing at the center of her chest. “Can’t eat any more.” She looked like she was on the verge of tears again.

“Okay, that’s alright. Do you want to go sit on the couch and watch something until we’re all done eating?”

“Yes please,” she said, sliding to the floor and taking Genesis’s hand.

Cloud frowned thoughtfully at his plate as he listened to her settle down on the couch as Genesis turned the tv to some inane children’s cartoon. When the redhead returned, Cloud quirked an eyebrow at him. “Is she okay?” he asked, too low for her to overhear.

His expression sobered. He shook his head. “What she did to...survive the lab...it damaged her in a manner we simply have no way of understanding. She thinks it won’t be permanent, and I suspect she may be right, but for now the pain comes and goes. It would hurt her enormously to use magic as well, though she has yet to slip up in that regard.”

“Poor kid,” Cloud murmured.

That earned him a bit of an eye-roll from Genesis before the man continued. “Healing energy does seem to help her, however. If she’s in pain and we’re unavailable, can I count on you to cast a Cure on her?”

Cloud frowned at him and crossed his arms over his chest. “Listen, I know I fight you guys a lot, but do you really think I’d hurt a kid? Or ignore one in pain?” It made him very uncomfortable that they seemed to think he would.

The Firsts exchanged a glance between themselves. “Cloud, you are absolutely unpredictable to us,” Angeal said eventually. “But you’re right, and I’m sorry we insulted you like that.”

Cloud sighed and went back to his food. “It’s whatever.”

Ugh. He’d been a kid for too long if he was starting to use phrases like that.

⁠—

They watched a movie after dinner, some mindless family film with a plot that was about as substantial as cotton candy. Cloud didn’t much care, but when Angeal said it would make Lora happy he sighed and relented. He absolutely refused to share the couch, though, claiming one of the armchairs before anyone else could ‘accidentally’ maneuver him into arms reach.

To be honest, he spent most of the movie’s run time watching Lora anyway. She was just so...weird. For one thing, she did everything in her power to make sure she was being held at all times. If one of the adults had to move, or got tired, she shamelessly transferred herself to someone else’s lap.

Sephiroth ended up with her for most of the night, looking about as content as Cloud had ever seen him as he let her snuggle close to his chest. They only had to pause the movie once as she whined and curled around her chest. All three of the Firsts had mastered Cures on them, and it wasn’t difficult to see why they needed them.

“Are most kids like that?” he ended up asking Angeal once the movie had ended. Lora was fast asleep, knuckles curled into her mouth, as Sephiroth got up off the couch and carried her to bed.

“Like what?” the dark-haired man asked, cocking a brow.

“...touchy?” Because he couldn’t remember Marlene ever being quite so demanding, and Denzel certainly wasn’t.

In the kitchen, Genesis stifled a laugh. Angeal looked amused as well. “Ah, no,” he said. “I wondered too, but after asking around a bit it turns out you and Lora are just on polar opposite ends of the spectrum.” He grinned a little. “You…avoid touch and distrust everyone; she demands touch and trusts implicitly.”

Cloud frowned. He could get away with being extreme because he wasn’t actually what he appeared, but the way Angeal described the kid’s tendencies sounded downright dangerous. “That’s not safe.”

Angeal sobered abruptly. “She’s starting to learn that too.”

Cloud winced. Yeah. Hojo would have that effect, wouldn’t he. Poor kiddo.

⁠— 

Today was the first day since Cloud had gotten back that all three of the Firsts would be busy, which meant that he and their cross-dimensional princess house guest would be dropped off to be babysat (ugh) by the entire Turk department.

Yes, the entire department. That one was his own fault.

He wasn’t all that upset, actually. He had some snooping to do for his next task, and Veld was a very strange and accommodating person to Cloud’s...eccentric behavior. He swore the man was using him as a training program, but had yet to find definitive proof.

Lora, on the other hand…

Cloud walked straight into Tseng’s office and flopped down on the couch, pulling out his handheld gaming system. Sephiroth had to be well out of range before he could begin his kind-of-sort-of extended espionage battle with the Turks. Lora lingered half-behind the silver-haired man, clutching his hand with both of hers as she looked around nervously.

“Come on,” Sephiroth coaxed, looking down at her. “Don’t you want to go play with Cloud?”

“No,” she mumbled, pressing against his leg. She eyed Tseng, who was watching the proceedings with an expression of (to Cloud’s eyes) carefully curated warmth.

“Yes,” he countered. “Besides, you like Tseng. You’re going to have plenty of fun with him and the other Turks, and I promise they’ll keep you safe.”

She looked up at him and adopted puppy eyes that would have put Zack’s to shame, huge and pleading. “Can’t I just come with you? Please?”

Sephiroth visibly wavered, and Cloud had to press his lips together hard to keep from laughing outright. What was it about big, tough soldier-types being the weakest to little girls’ puppy eyes? He’d been an absolute sucker for Marlene’s before Barret had finally let him in on the secret to resisting (physically looking away, apparently).

But Sephiroth, to his credit, gathered his resolve and told her, “no, you can’t come with me on mission. It’s not safe.”

Her pleading stare turned to a pout. “But I have a lot of magic! I could help!”

“I’m sure you could,” he said, which was probably actually true though Cloud had yet to see a firsthand demonstration, “but your parents and grandfather would be very upset if they found out, wouldn’t they?”

She narrowed her eyes a little. “Papa’s taken me on campaign before.”

He arched his eyebrows. “On the front lines?”

Lora’s scowl was answer enough. Sephiroth released her hand and plucked her up off the floor, carrying her over to the couch. Very, very reluctantly, she released her grip from around his neck and let him put her down beside Cloud.

“You’ll be fine,” he promised, patting her head briefly. “Tell Tseng or Veld when your chest starts hurting, alright?”

She nodded sullenly, curling up into a ball on the couch, and he left. She huffed sulkily when he was out of sight. Eventually, she leaned over to watch Cloud play his game and he obligingly tilted the screen so she could see easier. He kept half an eye on her and half an eye on the clock.

Maybe thirty minutes after Sephiroth left, around the time Cloud was certain he had also left the Tower, Lora crossed her arms over her chest and hunched her shoulders up around her ears. He was familiar with that tell by now⁠—her chest was starting to hurt. But instead of asking Tseng for a Cure, she shot him a single nervous look and didn’t say anything.

Aw, kid, he thought.

Lucky Tseng wasn’t an idiot. “Lora,” he called with a deliberate gentleness.

She looked up, lips pressed into a wary line. “...yeah?”

“Does your chest hurt?”

“...no.” She curled up into a ball, mumbling the denial into her knees. “Doesn’t hurt.”

It was a bald-faced lie. Tseng looked, for a second, genuinely sad, then his expression shifted as he considered how to respond. Cloud paused his game, curious how this would play out. Would he call her on the lie? Trick her into being honest?

“Alright,” he said eventually, “tell me when it does.”

“‘Kay.”

Cloud scowled at him. Lora would have to say something eventually, once the pain grew too much, but that also meant letting her hurt until she caved. He would have accepted that tactic against himself, but Lora was little. She didn’t deserve that.

When Tseng quirked a brow at his glare, Cloud rolled his eyes and heaved an inaudible sigh. Why was it he had to do everything around here?

He switched the game off and set it aside, pulling his legs up so that his position mirrored Lora’s, then lowered his voice to a level that Tseng would still be able to hear, but Lora would think was too quiet. “Hey,” he said. “I know your chest hurts.”

“Doesn’t,” she said, raising her face just enough so that her eyes peeked over her knees.

“What are you scared of?” he asked. “Sephiroth said you could trust Tseng, right? And you trust Sephiroth. They wouldn’t hurt you. It’s safe to tell them.”

She narrowed her golden eyes a touch, spine straightening, and Cloud suddenly remembered youth and naivete were not the same as stupidity. “You don’t trust them,” she accused. “You don’t trust anyone.”

He bit back a groan. “I...don’t,” he agreed. “But you should.”

Lora looked outright irritated now, one hand rubbing absent-minded circles over her sternum. “Why? Why, if they wouldn’t hurt us?”

“You and I are...different,” he said slowly. Gaia, he very much regretted getting into this conversation, but it was too late now. "They wouldn't hurt me, but they don't understand what I am, and that means that even if they mean well...I can’t trust them to do what’s best for me.”

The look she gave him was highly skeptical, so he sighed and added, “I would definitely trust them to cast a Cure on me, okay? So you should too. Everyone is sad when you’re hurting.”

“What if I’d rather hurt?” she snapped. “This hurts less than⁠—” she cut off, blinking rapidly against sudden tears, and yeah, he knew that feeling. Poor kiddo. At least he’d been almost an adult when Hojo had gotten him into the lab.

“No one wants to hurt, Princess,” he said, patting her knee. “C’mon, it’s not that big a deal. I’d be right here the whole time.”

“You want to hurt,” she said, but it looked like he was finally starting to wear her down. “You hurt all the time and you never tell anyone.”

Cloud blinked at her in surprise. “What?”

Lora looked uncommonly serious in that moment. “You hurt all the time. I can tell. I can’t look at the Strings without hurting⁠—” she was still rubbing at her chest “—but my pa...passive? My passive sight still works and you’re like…” She brushed her fingers against just over his heart. “...jagged. Jagged black and purple thread, fraying all over.” Her voice dropped to barely a breath of sound. “It hurts to look at.”

Cloud jerked away, startled and alarmed, and brought his hands close to his chest. “I⁠—”

She sniffled, the pain finally getting to her. “If you get to hurt, I get to hurt,” she insisted stubbornly. He suspected it had more to do with sticking to her guns by this point than any actual desire to endure pain.

“I...Lora, you don’t...have to hurt. They can help you. That’s...that’s why you should ask.”

“But you do?” she fired back, swiping at her eyes. “You have to hurt? They can help you too!”

“No,” he whispered, briefly shutting his eyes against her innocent, righteous indignation. How had the argument shifted around on him, especially given that he was a twenty-three-year-old gown-ass man and she was seven? “No, Lora. They can’t help me.” He took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. Too much dangerous information to be discussing while in Tseng’s office. He was stupid to have let it get this far. “Would you let me cast a Cure on you?”

She looked at Tseng, who was going his level best to fade into the paperwork and pretend he wasn’t even there. Then she looked back and narrowed her eyes at him. He recognized that look as the ‘I’m going to dig in my heels until you give in’ look that Marlene was so fond of. “No,” she said. “Not unless you stop hurting too.”

This time he did groan aloud. “I⁠—Princess, that’s not…” She folded her arms across her chest, knees shifting to sit criss-cross on the couch cushions. He tossed his hands up. “Fine, I’ll let Tseng cast a Cure on me too, okay? Would that make you happy?”

She offered him a watery, triumphant smile and immediately flopped over to curl up in a ball. “Yeah.”

He got up, jaw clenched, and stalked over to Tseng’s desk. The man looked up, expression betraying nothing. “What is it, Cloud?” he asked, as if he hadn’t heard every single word.

“Lora will let me cast on her if you cast on me first,” he ground out, irritated. “Not that it’ll do anything since I am fine.”

“Of course,” Tseng agreed, that lying motherfucker. He pulled a Cure out of his desk, then checked to make sure Lora was watching before casting...a full Curaga. Overkill. Cloud snatched the materia up and went back to the couch, irritation cooling as he saw the way the kid was shaking and trying in vain to blink back tears.

“Here,” he said, laying a hand on her head of wild red curls and casting a Curaga of his own. “Better?”

She rolled onto her back and smiled at him. “Yes. Thank you.” Then she frowned. “But...you’re still…?”

“I told you, kiddo,” he said with a shake of his head. “They can’t help me like they can help you.”

⁠—

Cloud got up shortly after that exchange and said “I’m going to the bathroom,” which everyone except Lora knew by now was the opening salvo of their espionage battle. He handed his gaming system to the Princess so that she’d be entertained and left, several Turks following after him.

Here we go, he thought, a little smirk curving his lips up.

Except, less than thirty minutes later, when he was squirming through the vents, he heard Reno yelling, which was...not usually part of their game. Puzzled, he stopped and listened.

“Hey! Cloud! Listen, I know you’re having fun, but little Princess is freaking out and you need to get to Tseng’s office ASAP! She’s⁠—listen, she thinks we did something to you and we’re all worried she might try to use her magic and hurt herself. Please.”

Cloud groaned and let his head thunk down onto the metal beneath him. He should have anticipated this. With a sigh, he squirmed around and quickly reversed course, popping out of a vent near but not right in front of where Reno had been shouting.

“Alright, I’m going” he called, loud enough for the redhead to hear, and ran for Tseng’s office.

He burst in to find Lora perched on the back of the couch, staring down Tseng, who was sitting on the floor trying to placate her. She gasped when she caught sight of him and promptly lost her balance, falling onto the cushions with an oof!

“You’re okay!” she said, scrambling up and launching herself at him.

“I’m fine,” he said, staggering a little as she cannonballed into his torso. “What, were you worried about me?”

“Yes!” she said, upset. “Where were you? I thought they’d...that they’d…”

Cloud sighed, unable to hold on to his irritation in the face of a little girl on the verge of tears. Damn his daddy instincts. He picked her up and carried her back to the couch, well aware of how ridiculous that must have looked. He had to deal with this now, for her sake and everyone else’s. Hopefully the conversation wouldn't veer into dangerously exposed territory this time.

“You were scared I’d been taken away, right? Lora, I’m...very hard to take. By anyone. I got away from Seph and Ange and Gen the first time you met me, remember?”

She looked uncertain, keeping hold of one of his wrists. “I...know,” she said. “Where were you?”

“I was⁠—” inspiration struck. He knew exactly how to fix this, or at least begin to fix it. “Well, I was breaking the rules.”

Lora’s eyes widened. For a second, he saw exactly what he was hoping for: curiosity and longing. A split second later it was eaten away by anxiety, but now that he knew it was there, he could draw it out again. “You shouldn’t break the rules,” she said. “What if they’d taken you?”

“I’m hard to take,” he repeated patiently. “And you know what? If you broke the rules, Lora, it would be okay, because you’re hard to take too.”

She blinked at him, uncomprehending. “But...no, he...it was easy to take me,” she whispered, trying to blink back tears.

“Only because you didn’t know you couldn’t trust him,” Cloud said. “Look, you trust Gen and Seph and Ange, right?” She nodded. “Okay, why?”

“Because...they got me out,” she said slowly, tense and miserable as she re-lived that memory.

“They saved you, which is proof that they don’t want you hurt and proof that you can trust them,” he summarized. She nodded again. “But they told you that you can trust Tseng, right? Why don’t you trust him too?”

Lora stared at him helplessly. He knew this was a lot to ask of a seven-year-old (a real one) but she was smart. She would get it if he helped her along a little bit.

“Is it because you don’t have any proof that they’re like our Firsts?”

“Yeah,” she whispered, throwing a glance at Tseng, who was holding absolutely still and carefully not looking at them.

“Do you want to trust them? Because Seph said so?” He suspected she did, at least. He suspected she wanted to go back to trusting everyone, but didn’t know how.

“...yeah.”

“Okay. You want to trust them, but you don’t have any proof, so you feel scared because they might try to take you. Lora, what if I told you that they couldn’t take you even if they tried?”

She blinked at him, head tilting in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“If you had known that the Frog-Faced Bastard⁠—” she cracked a little smile at that “—was going to take you, would you have gone with him?”

She recoiled. “No!”

“What would you have done?”

“I would have⁠— I would have frozen him solid and ran away!”

“That’s right. You would have defended yourself. So if Tseng tried to take you, would you defend yourself?”

The light of realization dawned in her eyes. “It...it would hurt,” she said, rubbing her chest with her free hand.

“But you would do it?” he prodded. “And you have a lot of magic, Princess. Magic that they don’t understand. Even if it hurt you could get away, couldn’t you? And then Seph and Gen and Ange would come kick Tseng’s butt, right?”

He smiled as he watched the anxiety drain out of her eyes, a kind of relieved joy taking its place. “Yeah,” she said, smiling back at him. “Yeah!”

“So you don’t have to trust the Turks yet,” he said. “You can just act like you do until they prove that you can trust them, because even if they tried to hurt you they couldn’t.”

⁠—

Angeal was the first back and thus the one to pick up Cloud and Lora from the Turks. He was directed to Veld’s office, which was something of a surprise, and was told that Cloud was currently out ‘playing’ with some of the others, which was not a surprise. Tseng had been keeping them all more or less abreast of the kids’ activities, including two very interesting and concerning conversations.

Despite hearing about the progress Cloud had made in teaching Lora about trust and self-defense, Angeal still found his eyebrows arching when he entered Veld’s office and found the little princess dozing in the Turk’s lap. That wasn’t just progress⁠—that was nearly a full recovery back to the fearless child they first met.

“Hewley,” Veld said without looking up from his work. He was writing with one hand, the other arm wrapped around Lora.

“Veld,” he said back, smiling. “I hope she wasn’t too much trouble?”

The Turk didn’t smile, but something in the corners of his eyes gave him away. He was pleased. Very pleased. “Oh, I’m afraid she was,” he said. “Very troublesome. She and Cloud raised quite a ruckus before he tricked her into coming here and pinning me down.”

Angeal laughed. “Did he? That does sound like Cloud.” He grinned, knowing that they⁠ (and the whole of the Turks, probably⁠) were both pleased by the knowledge that Lora had been a handful. Cloud was just...Cloud, and he would always do what he wanted.

He rounded the desk and Veld passed Lora off to him. Unsurprisingly, she didn’t wake⁠—the girl slept like a rock, even after the lab when her hours asleep far surpassed her hours awake. “How many times did she need a Cure.”

“Twice,” said Veld, looking at his PHS. “Cloud cast one this morning, I cast the other near lunch.” Which meant she would probably wake up hurting again before dinner. Angeal nodded, shifting her on his hip. “Cloud’s back with Tseng,” Veld added before he could ask, checking his PHS.

“Of course. Well, thank you.”

“My pleasure. Really.”