#this feels like going into a coma and waking up 4 years later

[wryyyyn]

(blows dust off this blog) holy shit

[snogards]

I think it's insane that after the final Agni Kai, Zuko was able to tank a hyper-powered lightning bolt (I mean, tank in the way he was still moving after getting hit, even if it was just groans of pain and slight twitching). He just got healed by Katara for about 5 seconds and was A-OK afterward.

When Aang got struck by lightning, he was in a coma for like what? Almost a month? And you're telling me Zuko gets struck by lightning, and 5 minutes later, is walking around like it never happened? Sorry, I can't believe that.

But Sno, you say, Aang was in his most fragile state. Of course, he was in a month long coma after he basically died. Okay, and I think that Zuko being hit by a lightning bolt 100x more powerful than the one Aang got hit by would also put Zuko in a coma; especially because Katara doesn't have the spirit water to bring him back to life. Unlike Aang, Zuko only gets regular water, not magic water, to heal him.

"But, but Zuko redirected it," you say. Uh no, Zuko wasn't grounded, so that shit still hit him like a damn truck. He redirected some of it, but not all of it. I would probably say that it burnt him from the inside out. It's a miracle that in LOK, that man is still kicking it and being a badass in his early 90s. He should have serious heart issues, if not have died in his 70s at the absolute latest. The man should not be kicking ass in the poles. He should be on bed rest.

In conclusion, Zuko should have been in a coma for like at least a year (realistically he should be dead, but this is a kids show where the main characters aren't allowed to die, so I'll let it slide) and I will stand by that.

If you wanna read how the creators could have worked with comatose Zuko, read under the cut. If not, then I hope you enjoyed my little rant. This post got longer than I thought.

Here's how the creators could have dealt with comatose Zuko and the potential storylines our other favorites could have had at the end of book 3 and a majority of the potential and nonexistent book 4:

Aang is having to deal with the consequences of Ozai being left alive, as I'm sure the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribes would not like that fact. As well as their newest Fire Lord currently being in a comatose state. They barely trusted Zuko. Are you telling me they're gonna trust The Dragon of the West? (More on this at the end) And maybe Aang would actually get some character development, unlike in season 3.

I don't think Sokka, Suki, and Toph would have storylines that center Zuko all that much, but they would also definitely be mourning the semi-loss of Zuko along with whatever storyline they get. Maybe Sokka and Suki can have conflict in their relationship now that the war is over and they might physically have to go their own ways. Toph can probably wonder where she can go from here. Will she try and reconcile with her parents again? Will she travel with Aang once Zuko wakes up? Will she stay in the Fire Nation and help Zuko sniff out traitors with her seismic sense? Needless to say, the 3 of them have endless opportunities.

Katara is now dealing with the guilt of not only having put Zuko in that position in the first place, but also not being able to fully heal him (even though he would have done that for anyone, not just her). And if you're a Zutara shipper, like myself, even realizing potential feelings and the conflict that comes with that. Or if we still wanna go through with the canon ending of Kataang, have her navigate her feelings about Aang properly and not whatever that original canon ending was. And if we wanna go the "Katara doesn't need a man" route (my personal favorite despite my shipping tendencies), she could try and navigate where she goes from here, like Toph. Obviously, she'll go back to the Southern Water Tribe and help out there, but what comes after they've recovered? She's not the type to stand by and settle when there are other people who need her help. Will she go to the Earth Kingdom and help rebuild there? Go to the Fire Nation and help out there? Become an ambassador of the Southern Water Tribe to help better relations with the other nations? (My personal favorite) The possibilities are endless for her.

But you know who would be affected the most? Iroh. Not only did he (kinda) lose his nephew, who was his second son, but he now has to deal with the diplomatic repercussions of his past as a general of the Fire Nation. Like I said before, the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribes barely trusted Zuko; no way in hell are they gonna trust the man that laid seige to Ba Sing Se for nearly 2 whole years, regardless if he's the reason the city was freed from Fire Nation control. The pressure Iroh would feel from advisors regarding the fact that his only heir is comatose would increasingly get worse as the months go by. We know that Zuko will wake up, but Iroh and the rest of the cast don't. Iroh is dealing with the fracturing Fire Nation and pressure from the Earth Kingdom and the Water Tribes, all while his son is in a coma. He could see what he was going to have Zuko face by himself with no support around him. What would he do with Ozai? Would be a major question throughout the season.

Of course, in the end, Zuko wakes up because we want a happy ending for them all. But the turmoil we could have gotten in the end would have been *chefs kiss*

[loserdiaz]

fic rec friday fun! 💌

rules: share the links to your wonderful words with the most hits/most kudos/most comments/most bookmarks /most words/least words

tagged by @spotsandsocks @littlebitofdiaz @prince-buck-diaz and @bekkachaos 💗

most hits, most kudos and most bookmarks

and this is when the feeling sinks in ( i don't wanna miss you like this ) mature | 17.4k words

Buck was supposed to come home in a couple months, pretty close to Eddie's birthday. He was finishing his tour with the Navy and then they'll get their happy ending. That's how it was supposed to go.

Then two officers showed up at Eddie's door with a flag and thanking his husband for serving their country.

And everything changed.

2. most comments

believe in one thing (i won't go away) mature | 24k words

"I think— I think we should go to therapy. Together." Eddie says one night and takes Buck completely by surprise. "Therapy? Together?" "Yeah, like, couple's therapy or something. Frank told me he can recommend someone for us." "Eddie…" Buck says slowly, as if he's trying to explain the hardest math problem in the universe to a five year old. "We're not, uh— We're not a couple." "No, I know." Eddie frowns and looks down, fidgeting with the beer in between his hands. "But we're partners." He says, this time a lot lower that Buck barely hears it. "Right?"

or; the one where buck is figuring out stuff after waking up from a coma, eddie misses his best friend and they go to couple's therapy.

3. most words

made my way to a life i would choose | explicit | 26.1k words

In which Eddie transfers from his station to the Dispatch Center to be the LAFD Liaison, change is hard, staying away from Dispatcher Evan Buckley is even harder and not falling in love with the man is god-damned impossible. Eddie makes his way to a life he would choose and to a family who will choose him back. or affectionately called the buddie at dispatch fic <3

4. least words

I'm the one on the phone as you whisper | teen and up | 1.2k words (it has 999 kudos so if someone wanted to go and read it and leave a kudo i wouldn't complain about it 👀)

"Hey, how do you feel about an impromptu romantic date at a fancy restaurant with the love of your life?" He asks once he hears the call has been picked up. There's silence on the other line for longer than it's normal and Buck is about to check if Hen hang up on him when someone finally speaks— and Buck suddenly feels sick to his stomach. "Okay." Says the voice that is certainly not Hen's. The voice that's been haunting Buck's every dream for forever. "Eddie?" Buck chokes out, stuttering and hoping to God it's not him. "Yeah…" Of course it is..Buck looks up at his ceiling again, cursing the damn universe and its awful sense of humor. He's sure its laughing at him at this point. "Why? D-Did you mean to call someone else?"

or: Buck's date cancels but he has already made the restaurant reservation, so he decides to call Hen and ask if she'd like to take Karen there. He dials the wrong number. It all works in the end.

honorary mention to famous buck au bc it might not fit in any of this categories but it's still one of my fave fics i've written:

he never thinks of me (except when i'm on TV) mature | 18.1k words

"I have been in love, yes." He says after the most torturous of seconds. "Would you mind expanding on that?" Buck hesitates for a few seconds and then Eddie sees the exact moment he decides 'fuck it' as he straightens in his seat. "There was this guy in high school. He was my best friend." Wait. Hold on. Eddie freezes. Is Buck— Is Buck talking about him? or: In which Eddie finds out years later that his unrequited feelings for his high school best friend were not actually unrequited, Buck is stupidly famous now and they pine. They get there in the end, they just need to get their timing right. Inspired by the prompt: “you’re famous and just got asked if you were ever in love this should be good– WAIT WHAT."

tagging (no pressure): @monsterrae1 @buddierights @barbiediaz @cowboy-buddie @transbuck @transboybuckley @honestlydarkprincess @bigfootsmom @lesbianmaygrant @maygrantgf @buckitup @the-likesofus @spaceprincessem @alyxmastershipper @elvensorceress @ebdaydreamer @greyacebuckley @starlingbite @lovebuck @mysteriouslyyounggalaxy @911onabc @hippolotamus @shortsighted-owl and anyone else who wants to do it! 💗

[shiftingtomydrs]

descendants rant

Ok idk how to do this so ill just start with myself (or better my parent)

Bcs we all know im a whore for op characters and I really didn’t wanna go basic and just be mals sister or smth I decided to put wanda aka scarlet witch into this universe (basically after the whole no more mutants thing she was banned into the universe by dr strange and professor x or smth yk idk and she tried to get back and that caused some trouble so she was put on the isle of the lost) haha my dad is hades btw but I don’t know it, my mum doesn’t know him either it was more of a ons gone wrong situation

Nowww some stuff about me, my name is scarlet pietra maximoff (yes after Pietro) and im 16 in the first movie. I basically have my mums powers but cant use them on the isle obviously soo idk that I have them until i get to auradon. Also wanda is more like her comic version but since idk the comic events bcs I haven’t read them there are probably inaccuracies lmao. I speak sokovian and exclusively sokovian with my mum and its my first language but English with everyone else. I have red hair in the first movie (but like scarlet red not ginger) and then in the 2nd at the start I have dark auburn / brown hair and in the third I have like dark red hair with like black roots? Idk how to describe it. In the first and 2nd movie I have like red eyes (not in a creepy way) and in the 3rd I get blue eyes, ill say why later.  My main color is red yk scarlet witch and shit and idk what else to say haha but feel free to ask questions

My s/o is ben aka beasty boy (fr I started calling him that before I found out uma calls him that soo yeah I thought I was onto smth only to find out im not the first one who came up with that) and hes the same basically except he also speaks French (I love french speaking men and beauty and the beast takes part in France originally so sue me) idk the timeline is pretty much the same as in the movies except the whole breakup thing at the start of the 2nd movie doesn’t happen

Plot of movie 1: I go with all the other vks (its just 4 but ok) to auradon but except like 1 month to the coronation like in the movies it’s for the whole school year (idk when the coronation was but id say like June or smth) soo from august on. Since my mum is kinda yk abandoning me and being a shit parent bcs shes still grieving and some shit I basically was always around the other 4. Then once there everything kinda plays out like it does in the original movie except for my powers embarrassing me around ben haha idk I think its funny to have my powers go cray cray when im around him (also we dream of each other before we meet bcs *soulmates* but like without seeing faces and stuff). Then mal comes up with the whole love spell thing but it’s a bit different, it only works if the person casting the spell loves the person theyre casting it on (idk I needed an excuse for why mal would let me cast the spell) soo yeah I do the spell and then I basically take mals place for a bit. The whole parent day thing comes up (in the zoom thing they do with the villains my mum doesn’t show up tho) and audreys grandma still grabs mal and stuff and my powers kinda work subconsciously and yk pull them apart and make chad fall into the sleep thing so then everyone hates us (especially me) again and I feel terrible. Coronation day, same thing, love spell gets dissolved bla bla bla. Jane takes the wand, I take the wand from jane, maleficent comes and I give the wand to mal and mal gives it to the fairy godmother, maleficent freezes everyone. Now it strays from the movie basically mal fails to turn maleficent into a lizard like in the movies and she gets also like frozen then I come in and save the day and then fall into like a small coma bcs my powers feed on my life force / energy yk and that was too much. But then I wake up again.

Movie 2: beginning is the same except I replace mal as yk future queen but mal still feels overwhelmed and misunderstood and runs away after the picnic scene (its me and her in the scene, I replace ben in that one). Basically i find out and tell evie and she tells ben and they convince me to stay put while they go get mal bcs yk the coronation thing was scary and im not the most popular over there atm. Ben gets captured, the boys get me to make the wand bcs printing it takes too long, we go back to the isle and we save ben. I use my powers but not that much yk just I know my boundaries. Fast forward to cotillion, uma still spells ben, she turns into a sea monster and I start idk fighting her but since I used so much of my powers the day before already to make the wand and in the fight so yk im nearing the edge of too much. Mal turns into a dragon, ben jumps into the water, does a less y/n pick me version of his speech, uma goes, mal turns back but doesn’t have the big purple dress moment, just a small purple dress moment (like not the big ass gown but more of a cocktail party dress) bcs theres no way shell steal my moment haha

Movie 3: same thing the whole time basically except that when Audrey shows up and spells ben, I go after him immediately and the boys find me while they search for ben in the woods. Mal still gets hades ember (and finds out im her sister during it) and also still promises uma that she’ll free the villains but since shes not the future queen in my dr she doesn’t have jurisdiction to push that through and when I tell that to mal and uma and that I cant just do that uma gets angry and leaves like in the movie. Also since imo the whole ‘we’re not evil anymore and all are happy to go to auradon’ plot doesn’t happen in my dr bcs its stupid haha. In the end I fight with Audrey and get my wandavision scarlet witch transformation moment and yk basically shes agatha and im wanda (she not only took maleficents wand and the crown in my dr but also the darkhold which is still like a dark magic book but without the corruption part, its kinda like the ring from lotr, it corrupts everyone except the owner yk so I don’t get corrupted if I use it but Audrey does) and I absorb hades ember during that thing (Audrey is holding it) which gives me *drum roll* blue eyes. In the end the exchange program will be continued but yk not the barrier lifted bcs the villains are still villains and wanna get revenge (I believe in character development but that whole plot was just stupid af on Disney part sorry not sorry).

some random shit:

i do cheer in auradon in the 2nd movie

i have a friend from my cr i scripted in whos the kid of sisu from raya and the last dragon

my mum and i live in a little cabin on the isle (kinda like the one at the end of wv)

i write music (i have a playlist with songs ive written in my dr if anyone is interested)

i cant swim based just entirely on the fact that the enchanted lake scene in movie 1 can still happen lmao

soo thats it feel free to ask questions (really ask questions, i want questions doesnt matter if ive already answered it or you think its stupid) it got a teeny tiny bit long but who cares lmao

[ridiasfangirlings]

AU where maybe instead of dying, Niki goes into years long coma and when he wakes up, the damage to his brain alters his personality? Like he becomes this super genuinely kind man who doesn't remember much. The doctors tell him about himself and Niki goes on an adventure to reconnect with his family. Imagine he tries to go to Scepter 4 because, "Oh, I have a son!" Fushimi thinks he's hallucinating again or something but nope they let him waltz right through the gates and the squad is like "it's your dad!" And imagine it's post-ROK so he was just finally feeling stable and comfortable with his life at S4 and with Misaki and this was the last thing he needed! I highly doubt he would want to even reconnect.

This explains that one short story AU with the flower shop and good citizen Niki, he has brain damage is that AU (that’s right, the only thing between us and happy Fushimi married to Yata running a flower shop is Niki getting dropped on his head). Imagine Kisa’s reaction to this whole thing, she suddenly has a loving husband and she doesn’t want him. Say instead of dying Niki’s gone into a coma and it’s likely he won’t wake up, Kisa has him moved to like a long term care facility that’s super exclusive but also way out away from the city so she doesn’t have to think about him. I could actually see that being stressful for Fushimi in this AU at least at first, always the worry that Niki will wake up and come looking for him (the jungle hallucinations would become even more traumatizing in this AU too, now that I think about it). Eventually he reaches a point where he just considers Niki dead though, he’s been told Niki won’t ever wake up and he sincerely hopes that’s the case.

So then many years later Niki defies medical science and does indeed wake up, but he has no memories and his personality is drastically affected due to the traumatic brain injury. Can you imagine the doctors telling Kisa that he may become violent or childish, he may end up someone who has no empathy, and Kisa’s like he didn’t need a traumatic brain injury for that. What happens though is Niki is now a nice, thoughtful, kind man, he doesn’t like seeing others hurt and he even wants to use his intelligence to help people. He’s all nervous and shy meeting his wife and Kisa can’t believe this is really her husband, imagine him taking a sincere interest in her career and she keeps waiting for the other shoe to drop. Niki gets to go home with like a care helper for a while and Kisa still largely avoids him but Niki’s so busy rediscovering his previous life that he barely notices, instead he just wants to reconnect with his whole family — which, of course, is when he learns about his precious son.

Kisa I assume knows Fushimi’s with S4 and even if she didn’t Niki does research until he finds out. He decides to go visit his son, all excited to meet the boy who looks just like him. By this point I assume someone has told him that pre-brain injury he was a piece of trash so he knows he’s a bit estranged from his son but still, he wants to meet Fushimi and apologize for his past self at least. Nobody at S4 knows that Fushimi’s dad is a touchy subject and since they look so alike when Niki shows up at headquarters it’s immediately clear that he isn’t lying about being Fushimi’s dad. Fushimi meanwhile is finishing up some work when Akiyama comes by to say his dad is asking for him and Fushimi just immediately freezes, going deathly pale. Akiyama notices that reaction and wonders if they should tell Niki to come back later when Niki himself walks in and greets Fushimi.

I just imagine Fushimi immediately pulling a knife and Akiyama has to stop him, like Fushimi-san wait this is your dad. Fushimi is breathing hard and his eyes are dilated, snapping at Akiyama to get out and take Niki with him. Niki says he understands Fushimi’s reaction — well, not entirely, he doesn’t remember anything, but he’s sure they can talk this out. I imagine Fushimi would just be entirely disbelieving of the whole ‘traumatic brain injury’ thing, even calling the hospital doesn’t convince him and he has to actually hack into their files before he feels even vaguely calm. Niki is being patient and caring about it too, like he leaves his contact info with Fushimi and says if Fushimi wants to talk he would love to talk. 

Even knowing about the brain injury I think this would be tough on Fushimi, this ghost of his past that he thought he overcame coming back. He feels like everything was just starting to get good again and he was almost starting to believe that things could stay good, and now in waltzes his worst nightmare — and his nightmare doesn’t remember him, and wants to reconnect. Fushimi is like vaguely aware that ‘this’ Niki isn’t really the guy who abused him but at the same time it is, he will never be able to look at Niki’s face and not see the guy who laughed at his pain. Ultimately I think Fushimi wouldn’t want to reconnect and would tell Niki to leave him alone, there’s just too much trauma there for Fushimi to reconcile even if ‘this’ Niki is a kinder person. I think he would maybe want to take this moment to finally get out what he’s always been holding in, I could see Yata or Munakata urging Fushimi to use this moment to say his feelings honestly to Niki just so they won’t continue to haunt him. Fushimi manages to tell Niki at least some of what the old Niki did and makes it clear he doesn’t need a dad now, he doesn’t need this back in his life, he’s trying to move on and he can’t do that if he’s still tied in any way to that man’s ghost.

[nilsavatar]

PHOENIX | 3. UNIL

Unil: ['u.nil]  dream All credits for adult Neteyam go to @cinetrix

Status: CHAPTER 3 (3/?)

Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 4

Parings: Neteyam x Fem!UnknownOriginsNa’vi!Reader

Genre/Warnings: ANGST, sorrow, mentions of nearly death, romance, adventure, soulmate love, destined lovers, possible suggestive content NSFW/MDNI later on, no use of Y/N, clans never seen in films yet. All characters are AGED-UP.

Summary: During the battle with the SeaDragon, gunfire struck Neteyam’s heart. A mortal wound that heals itself under the astonished eyes of his brother, as if the Great Mother still did not want him with her. She has other plans for Toruk Makto's eldest son.  Nevertheless, his body is weak, and he falls into a slumber from which he can no longer wake up. His vital signs are stable, yet Neteyam is slowly slipping away. He is waiting. Waiting for the girl who has been appearing in his dreams since he went into a coma.

Chapter Summary: The Festival of Lights was approaching. It was a time of gladness for the Tawkami, the most anticipated celebration of the year. As the panopyras reached their peak and spores invaded the forest, love bloomed in the air. The perfect opportunity to confess one's feelings. At such an idyllic moment, the incipit of an upheaval began to make its way into Mi'niri's heart. Starting with her dreams.

Little note: OMG! This was the most nerve-wracking chapter I have ever done. A nightmare from start to finish, it never seemed to reach the light at the end of the tunnel. I rewrote it so many times, yet it never seemed good enough, and the editing was exhausting. I would add pieces, then take them out, then add them back in. As time passed, the frustration increased, and I knew there were people who were waiting for the update but whom I didn't want to disappoint. So I hope with all my heart that this endless wait was worth it. Thank you so so much🥰

If you want to be tagged in the next chapters, please just write it in the comments. I’ll gladly add y'all💕

Word Count: 9.5k

Masterlist - Request a fic

3. UNIL

“Look at her and her odd mount. They're not like us.” “She’s been rejected by her own parents, as it has been from the forest.”

The day it all began, the sky was a brilliant blue, with a few wispy clouds threatening to mar the otherwise perfect morning. Alpha Centauri’s gentleness cast a beautiful interplay of light and shadow on the jungle floor, adding an ethereal quality to the forest. Its timid warmth teased her skin as she sprinted to escape the vile draught that swept over her as soon as she had given the viperwolf cubs one last pat. 

“Oe zene hivum. Hayalovay, nantangtsyìp. Makto zong.” (I must go. Until next time, puppies. Take care.)

The forest was a riot of colors: in shades of green, yellow, and brown. The clearing was rife with the scent of fallen leaves, which had littered the ground until forming small clusters around the mammoth trunk barks covered with mosses, lichens, and meandering creepers. She heard their crunch beneath her feet as she rushed through the damp soil.

The chill of the previous night’s downpour seemed to cling to her skin, every movement sending shivers down her spine. And the tension in her tired muscles mingled with the blood pounding in her ears. She adjusted her bow and increased her pace, peering at the blanket of grey-white clouds blocking the shy dawn’s pinkish glow. A few of its rays challenged the dome-shaped cumulus, rapidly growing to form a compact body, presaging dismal, harsh weather.

Get a move on, she admonished herself to run faster. Time was running out. She was almost at her destination and adamant not to get caught in the rain so close to her goal, no matter what. It lay just beyond the bend. A little rain wouldn’t deter her. Her pulse raced in time with the frenetic pace of her strides, occasionally stumbling under the bow’s weight that did not stay in rhythm.

A few lone drops plummeted innocently, in the distance already reverberated the faint echoes of the impending storm. Loud enough to overpower the agitated voices and scurrying of the prolemuris rushing for cover. 

The monsoon season had begun. Who knows whether the viperwolf pack had found refuge? Were the puppies safe and sound in the warmth?

Freeing her shoulders from the bow’s string that crossed her chest, she smoothed the fringes of woven fabric that veiled her breasts and anchored to her biceps. Her ample neckline, adorned with minuscule bronze beads, flaunted a prominent teal stone that hung beautifully from her slender neck. Tiny fragments bedecked the middle of her top, resting gingerly on the sternum. A delicate repetition of the masterpiece.

With a snort, she lit a small fire and cleaned herself up at the underground spring at the back of the cavern. She revived her auburn hair and inspected herself from head to toe in the mirror of water, still not entirely used to those new accessories. They suited her, she had to admit. Gave her a much more mature, more adult air. Gifts from Kiokä to congratulate on completing the rituals.

Maybe I shouldn’t have accepted them, she told herself, fearing it might give the wrong ideas.

“Without the chief’s son tag, I’d be a jeweler. I'm always on the lookout for the weirdest materials to create something new. When I see objects others might think are just a leaf or rock, my mind starts drawing.” He scratched his throat. “You pop up in my mind in those situations. I picture you wearing the final product every single time. You are my muse.”

She definitely shouldn’t have accepted them... As she enjoyed the tickle of the water, she heard footsteps approaching. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a figure darting through the shadows, a large dagger in one hand and a strange contraption in the other. “Why's it not working?” he muttered.  Without a second thought, Mi’niri ducked to the ground, yanking the weapon she wore at her loincloth, ready to defend herself. The boy dropped the knife and raised both arms above his head. “Mawey, mawey. Didn't mean to scare you,” he said, all worked up. “I got caught in the storm.” Now that she looked better, she could see his shins covered with dirt and small leaves, feet blackened by mud. “My bad didn’t know this place was already taken.”

Her pearly inquiring eyes darted over him, scanning every detail of his singular appearance. On the beaded choker that covered a solid portion of his neck, the midsection of which caught up towards his chest, then on the cuff that encircled his deltoid. Both objects were crafted using a technique she had never seen before, leaving her in awe.  “You’re Omatikaya,” she stoned, giving him one last look before putting the knife back. The cummerbund he wore was an intricate weave of colors that could only belong to the Blue Flute, symbolizing his unwavering loyalty. The cornerstone of the clan's beliefs and practices. A gift to warriors who passed the Uniltaron (Dream Hunt).  “You’re quite far from home.”  ”Frankly, I have no clue how I ended up here. I was flying my ikran, but I must have fallen off. Even if I have no idea how. Never happened to me," he said and left it at that before asking: “And you?”  “Me?” She arched an eyebrow.  “What’s your clan? I’ve never seen Na’vi like you.”  Embarrassment washed over her, and she couldn't help but blush as she looked down.  There really was no end to it all.  “Tawkami”. Her voice faded, and he found it difficult to comprehend her hushed words, now barely above a whisper. Despite cursing himself for making things awkward, he couldn't help but admire her beauty as she blushed. Eywa's handiwork.

What are you doing here in the woods, by yourself?” he questioned as he sat down.  She wasn't sure what sort of answer he expected, or why she felt compelled to be friendly with him, to be fair. He was a complete stranger.  “My usual - exploring, playing with animals.” “Playing with animals? Do you do it on the regular?” "Whenever I can. I enjoy being in their company.”  Intrigued by her response, he hummed a tune under his breath. To him, the forest was a stunning ecosystem best experienced from a distance. Beyond one's line of vision, dangers lurked in every direction. Being part of this triumphant circle meant it had a hand in the clan's survival, providing them with shelter and sustenance. However, he much preferred to appreciate its true scale and magnificence from atop his ikran. To soar above the treetops with a bird’s-eye view of the dark, luxuriant foliage below, stretching out before him, revealing its secrets.  Viewing it from the ground just wasn’t the same - it did not give the same feeling of freedom and relief as the sky. A safer, clearer place compared to the damp and musty forest floor, with its uneven terrain and hidden traps. Mi’niri resisted the urge to ask him what his indistinct hum meant. Silence descended on the pair, and she savored the placid expression on the young man’s face. He made eye contact with her, but it was brief as she immediately averted her eyes.  They chattered about anything and everything until a distant murmur rang through the cave's mouth and silenced them, rising in sound. “They’re calling for you”. Strangely, he didn’t want her to walk off, but he knew he couldn't prevent it. She had to wake up, eventually.  “Take care,” he said, with a pit in his stomach.  She beamed at him, “You too”. When she smiled, he saw a glimpse of her true personality shine through. Her smile was warm and inviting. He found himself looking forward to seeing it again, as he decided he liked her smiling face.

She drowsily opened her eyes, taking a moment to register her surroundings before realizing a blurry figure was shaking her. “Niri. Niri, wake up,” was her father’s voice, “Selyao’s out here.”  “What?” she asked groggily. Sílron’zem sneered, “You forgot about the Festival of Lights already? You’re supposed to help her.”

Shit.

As they walked among the groups of clan mates, her attention was split between her friend and their chores. They chatted and laughed together, enjoying that festive and cheerful moment - an occasion dear to the Tawkami.

The Festival of Lights was held once a year, when the panopyra stem's tips lit up, creating a hypnotizing bloom that lured in the spores of its fellows. An auspicious time when young Na’vi seeking a mate wore such tips as an attractant and aphrodisiac. A demonstration of one’s intentions. Couples exchanged garlands to express their love as a symbol of unity before the People. Traditionally, wedding ceremonies take place during this season.

Selyao's eyes roamed over, searching for a cozy spot to settle down. Meanwhile, she babbled animatedly about how her parents insisted she finds a mate now that her age allowed so she could fulfill her role within the clan.  “Do they even realize I’m just in my early twenties?” she lamented. “They’re like, ‘If you don’t find one on your own, we’ll set one up for you’. Can’t believe how outdated they are!”  A mumbling escaped Mi’niri’s lips just to feign involvement in the conversation. She assumed she was doing a decent job, thanks to nods of the head interspersed with a few monosyllables when required. When a break in her soliloquy called for them.

“Don’t get me wrong, I'm single and ready to mingle. I wanna fall head over heels. I'm just not ready to be tied down. Not gonna close any doors just yet. I mean, what if I screw up and pick the wrong one? What if we don't click? I gotta be absolutely positive before making the biggest decision in my life.” “Same here.” “I need to find someone for the Festival, anyway.  Just to get them off my back for a bit,” she grunted in frustration.

As much as she sympathized with her, that situation was utterly unfamiliar to Mi’niri. Their parents couldn’t have been more at odds.  The firsts were traditionalists, strict, unaware of their daughter's rebellious spirit. She regularly indulged in clandestine liaisons that often overlooked chastity.  The others, instead, adopted a warm and modern approach, built on communication and trust with their daughter. And above all, on a total acceptance of the nature that characterized each family member. They would never have imposed a man on Mi’niri against her will, nor would they have pushed her to embark on a path she hadn't chosen for herself.

Normally, she would have been more active in the discussion, striving to be a good friend and give her the support she needed. But that afternoon, she was elsewhere. Scattered among the little fragments of the dream whenever she allowed her mind to wander. So crystal clear and palpable she couldn’t shake the feeling even after waking up. Lucid. Almost as if it could be mistaken for a memory that she could reach out and touch. She still seemed to smell the musky aroma of his skin, perfumed by the damp veil of rain. Strong, earthy notes spiced the air creating a pleasant fragrance all around. If she had squinted her eyelids and inhaled hard, she would have been able to visualize his slender, tall figure.  It almost felt like she was living it all over again. The sinews tugged on his trained muscles.  The glint of bewilderment in his beautiful golden eyes.  The tepid breath blown against her neck when he'd sat at her side.

That was just the beginning of a succession of dreams she met him in. No matter how much the scenarios changed, he remained a constant. So much so that by now, when she went to bed, she expected to find him. Nonetheless, it was the first one that stuck in her mind. Like when Dewram came into her life, the same destabilizing feeling resurfaced. Nagging and impossible to shake off. Like a stubborn dark cloud that refused to move, her worries congested her thoughts.

“Mawey.”

A chill ran down her spine as she craned her neck towards the dense wall of trees and listened for any sounds. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, her heart racing. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something was watching her. Searching for any sign of movement, she scanned the vegetation in a frenzy, and the other girl could sense her tension mounting. ” Why so serious?” With a playful smile, Selyao leaned forward and waved a dancing attire, enjoying the jingle of the hems. Her sly grin only intensified as she met Mi’niri’s glare, and she tilted her head; eyes sparkling mischievously. It was roughly contagious, and she had to bite her lip to keep from smiling. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she mumbled, reluctantly grabbing the fabric. “Do we really have to do this?” Selyao gave her an eloquent look. “We gotta make use of all this beauty, don’t we?”  Her razor-sharp sarcasm was often ambiguous. Determining the subtle boundary between simple lightheartedness and cloaked earnestness was no mean feat. Especially in recent times, it has been veering towards the latter. The barbs had been getting more and more stinging and poisoned ever since a certain Na’vi had taken to circling Mi’niri like a bee around a flower. “Eywa blessed us with this too. Taking part in the honorary dances is a way to show gratitude.”

Mi’niri batted her lashes. The way her eyes crinkled at the corners said everything she needed to know. “What didn't you like about my speech? Honoring Nawna Sa’nok or just acknowledging you’re a stunner?” She was actually having fun pretending to be understanding. “We're friends. Your job is to boost my self-esteem.” “You're only friend,” she corrected her. “And no. My job is to tell you like it is. Flattering you be that of your muntxa (mate).”  Talk about a deadly stare...  “Well? Nobody wants to be alone forever.” “Sel, I don’t —. ” “I don’t get that kind of attention,” she aped her voice. “You don’t, huh? If you weren’t so elusive, you’d realize otherwise. Raso, ‘Ipäe, Eyrep - she listed - ... Kiokä.” Mi’niri’s lips twisted in disdain at the mention. “I don't get what the issue is. He’s the dream guy - good-looking, kind, and respectful, pampers you with gifts fit for royalty.” 

If only she had the slightest idea about the boy in her dreams.

“And, oh yeah, he’s the Olo’eyktan’s son. I mean, he's the perfect fit. Actually, he’s more than perfect. He’s amazing.” “You hit the nail on the head! He's the Olo’eyktan’s son. He wants to be sure he's next in line.”

The people chattering was so loud she could barely hear herself think. Whispers that her ears screened out. People had mixed reactions to her parents. Some felt sorry for them, while others admired their resilience. Yet, all universally agreed the Olo'eyktan would make her his heir instead of his own son and betroth them at the Annual Festival of Lights.  “Look at her and her odd mount. They’re not like us.” “She’s been rejected by her own parents, as it has been from the forest.”

Faced with the possibility of losing his birthright, Kiokä surprised many by remaining calm and composed. But just as Mi’niri did not possess the skills to follow in her parents’ footsteps, Kiokä couldn’t lead the people. He didn’t have the fundamental charisma of a leader, nor did he summon the innate respect the girl exuded at the mere sway of her hips as she walked. She had a confident posture, back straight and head high, as she strolled among the people. The same proud look of the slinth that accompanied her like a shadow.

Oh, how Kiokä adored seeing her gait, especially when in front of him. It enchanted him how the flowers she wore seemed to be a part of her, with their stems intertwining all over her body. They twisted and turned around her narrow waist, down her legs and arms. He couldn’t take his eyes off her as if entranced. Dewram’s striking colors accentuated the achromasia of her complexion. That very light grey that so lovingly clashed amidst the mass of blue bodies.  But what indeed made her distinctive was the cascading, wavy copper-red hair that tumbled down her back. The ends about caressing the base of her slender tail. Not to mention those large opalescent eyes with a few hints of pale magenta around the pupil. Often her expression was stony. The slight disproportion of her bud lips gave her a pouty look that suited her damn well, though never as much as her occasional smile. Usually sketchy, but enough to grant her face a fresh gleam.

How he wanted to make her laugh. Watch her mouth open in the widest of smiles. Wait for that hint of light to explode into her eyes. See the mask of the unreachable Olo’eykte yield and tell himself that he caused it.

Yes, he wouldn’t have minded at all finding out that the rumors were true, because he was already hopelessly infatuated with her. How could he not be? Mi’niri was everything an ordinary Tawkami girl wasn’t. One of a kind. Perfect in her diversity.  And if they weren’t, he would make them come true. He would reveal his intentions at the Festival of Lights, officially court her, and lead the clan to success together. Peace and prosperity as foretold. He could already picture her dressed in the most glittering ceremonial accouterments, standing under the purple glow of the village giant tawtsngal, as she recited her promises in a newfound shyness. He would love and cherish her, care for her forever.

What he could not foresee, however, was that Nawna Sa’nok’s plans differed from his own.

“Niri... Don’t listen to those stupid rumors. Sure, no one deserves the title more than you. You are Txumre’ Makto! But you passed Iknimaya long ago. If that was their plan, they would have told you. Besides, Kiokä loves you. He's been hanging onto your every word since we were kids.” “Whatever.” “Well, well, well, look who's coming this way,” she said under her breath. A subtle smile surfaced on her plump lips.

Mi’niri turned. A calm expression masked the inner storm within her, only to see Kiokä stomping resolutely down the path leading to the clearing. As their eyes locked, she could sense jitters that took her aback; it was strange to see him so... nervous? Yet he stood tall in front of them. Even though he looked intimidated, his towering presence made him stand out, thanks to his unwavering determination. The unrelenting sun beamed straight into his face, showing off his impatience with an unmistakable smirk he couldn’t hide. Ironic, given his usual composure. 

“Morning, girls. Sel,” he addressed her with a little nod, and then his gaze settled on Mi’niri’s features. The sickly sweet way he pronounced her name was almost enough to make her lose her lunch, but she maintained an indifferent demeanor. “Mind a quick talk?” He extended his hand, but the sly wink that followed made her hesitant to take it. Just like when he offered her the necklace, she felt a sense of discomfort crept up again.  What is he up to? She overlooked the prickly sensation on her skin and accepted his hand, letting him guide her through the overgrown thicket. He headed towards the tranquil stream as if he was eager to escape the commotion of the boisterous laughter and prying eyes, the sound of rushing water drowning out the noise of the party preparations. The music was so loud that it made the earth shake beneath her, but eventually, it became nothing more than a faint buzz. 

Carefully, he cleared the path of thorns and twigs, ensuring she wouldn't get scratched as if she was made of glass. Kiokä was like that: gentle and well-mannered. However, his mild smile disguised something else that he rarely showed to anyone but her. Something that gave her butterflies in her stomach, but not in a good way. She didn’t strive to be with him at all, but here we were with a hint of nausea gripping the pit of her abdomen.

“Shall we sit?” he smiled lazily, escorting her to a group of rocks outlining the shore. He trailed his hand up her arm, feeling the smoothness of her skin before reaching her shoulder, leaving goosebumps in its wake. Mi'niri gave him a quizzical expression, wondering about the meaning of the gesture, which seemed out of place.  The gesture itself didn't bother her much. She wasn’t the kind of person who eschewed physical contact as long as it remained respectful and friendly. Still, the way he had grabbed her, with that firm but caressing and, at times, impudent touch, as if he was trying to communicate something else through his actions, made her terribly aware of their excessive proximity. Something was off in that hesitation to break away, and she could sense his awe. It left her feeling both bewildered and curious.

She couldn’t help but dwell on his effigy. Kiokä was definitely taller than her, with broad shoulders, a solid build, and a sharp facial structure. Although he was an affable and helpful guy, his protruding, gaunt cheekbones, serious expression, and assertive personality gave him an intimidating appearance.

Finally, the boy left her, distancing himself just enough to allow her to breathe normally again. 

They exchanged a few curt words before bringing up the real reason he wanted to talk to her.

"I don't even know where to start," he chuckled. His chin resting on the back of his closed-fisted fingers, his head tilted, not missing her single movement. He watched as she hooked one leg over the other and circled her knee with crossed fingers - an obvious position of closure - long locks fell across her chest, reaching her thigh. That uncomfortable feeling of narrowness returned, and, out of nowhere, she felt how much the other’s presence oppressed her. His ego filling all the space in an asphyxiating way.

Mi’niri nervously moistened her suddenly dry lips, wondering if being close to Kiokä had always troubled her this much. Something changed since those uncomfortable rumors had started to circulate. Peeking out, she saw how the boy was staring at her mouth, her throat rising and falling as she swallowed.

“You look superb in this necklace. I knew the stone was meant for you the moment I saw it.” A polite smile soon faded away, when his index finger brushed against the embroidery on her jewelry. Dangerously close to her collarbone skin. She moved away, turning to stare at him. Eyes as sharp as knives flashed in those of the boy, who seemed to read in them all the unease she was feeling. His back straightened, and his honeyed eyes pointed ahead toward the river. He clutched the bag hanging from his tewng guiltily. “Sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable.”

A heavy burden fell on her chest, and her breathing slowed almost to a halt, following the mournful movement with which Kiokä’s gaze fell on his own hands. A shiver ran down her spine at the thought of binding herself inextricably to him. A shiver of horror.  She often wondered if the sentiment he repeatedly boasted was authentic or only a mutual sense of obligation that bound them together. An accommodation dictated by loyalty and habit, as well as by a dose of physical attraction that he had never hidden.

His fingers sank into his pouch as he fumbled with something inside. A slight tinkle vibrated in the air with each indolent swing of the ikran claw that served as a pendant, tied to the handle with a sort of plastic-looking cord. His midnight dreadlocks, left loose, framed the increasingly masculine and father-like facial features. By now, very little of Tsahìk could be glimpsed. 

The time for confrontation had come, and Mi’niri wasn’t ready at all.

“I reckon something is missing.” “Meaning?” He handed her a bracelet made of the same irregular, polished stones she wore around her neck. And, adding nothing else, fastened it to her wrist, which overlapped with the one she was already wearing. As if to erase the memory of her unknown mother and the dark past that haunted her. "Perfect now," he said, in a depth she didn't expect. His gaze softened with a faint, closed-mouthed smile as he stroked the back of her hand with his thumb, examining how his creation stressed her complexion.

Too bad that adjective didn’t match her personality at all. “What did I do to earn it this time around?” ” Why do I need a reason to give you a gift?” ” That's just how it's been ‘til now - she knew him far too well to be charmed - I'm not buying that your gesture is meaningless.” Nobody does anything for nothing, regardless of the genuineness behind it. Kiokä was no exception. “You just can’t make it easy for me,” he chortled. “I might sound stupid, but you probably know where this is going. Though you want to hear me say it.” Mi’niri stared at him, tired of the back-and-forth. It was time to set the record straight, despite the knowledge that everything would change. That she would lose him. Her defender, her only supporter outside her family. "It's a woo present," he confessed. “Not that the others weren’t, but I let my indecisiveness make you assume they were something else. I can’t keep my feelings for you quiet anymore.” He stared at her for a long minute, taking both her hands in his. 

“Oel ngati kameie.”

She shook her head doggedly, reassuring herself that it must have been a terrible misunderstanding, a sick prank. “Believe me, Niri. I see you. I know you don't think highly of yourself. But, Eywa, you know I have done nothing else since we were kids and you were hiding behind your dad's legs,” he said, making her look away. “You got someone to go to the Festival of Lights with?” “You should already know the answer.” He sketched a conciliatory smile, but one that still leaked an aura of triumph, “Come with me”  "That's probably not a good idea, Kio," she shrugged and said. She could tell he didn’t agree with her by the deep furrow of his brow. I don't see why it's a big deal to show us together. I don’t expect us to unite by the end of the season. However, I think it’s appropriate to deepen our relationship now that we are grown-ups. Let's take our sweet time to get to know each other better. I'll wait until you're ready to be my Olo’eykte, no matter how long it takes.” “What did you say?” she asked in a whiff. A hiss so close to the threatening sounds Dewram made when someone from outside the Yawäa family approached him; whether it was an elder unaware of his presence or an overly curious child. Always alert. Guardedness and wariness were traits shared by both knight and mount. “That I will wait.” “After that.” “That I wish you to be my Olo’eykte.” His words were meant to be romantic, but to the girl, they confirmed her suspicions. “I don’t think you’re aiming to be Tsahìk any more than I’m aiming to be Olo’eyktan,” he chuckled at his own joke. After all, their clan wasn't so restrictive about the distribution of roles. It had already happened that Olo’eyktan and Tsahìk weren't a mated pair. Here, the only novelty would be a female clan leader. Although it had already occurred in other populations such as among the Ikran People of the Eastern Sea.

“Ah, that's why,” she figured. “You want me to be your mate to escape the burden of being the clan leader but still keep your status? Isn't that what everyone's expecting, anyway? ‘Cause you are the clan prince, and I’m Txumre’ Makto. Nothing out of the ordinary. It’s just how things go.” Massaging her forehead, she turned away from him, signaling the end of the conversation on her part. It took Kiokä a few seconds to register the accusation. His thin amber eyes took on the same coldness as resin when it solidifies; encapsulating a poor insect, now mute and still as gems. His eyelids tightened a little, enough to instill some consternation.  “What do you mean by that?” The tone was caustic and detached. “That you don’t really want me. You’re doing this for the clan,” she reiterated, unwilling to let herself be frightened and give him up. If he wanted her as a companion, he'd to prove he could stand up to her.

Not that it would have changed anything. She did not reciprocate.

As she considered their friendship over the years, she was transported back to the carefree days of childhood. Whenever she thought of Kiokä, she felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude. He’d given her the confidence to face any challenge that came her way. Countless hours had been spent in each other's company, sharing their wildest dreams and ideas about the future. With him, she felt a sense of belonging that she had only ever felt with Selyao.  There had been a time when she had tried to convince herself she could grow to love him at one point. She had gazed at him expectantly, hoping to feel a spark that would confirm he was the one, a sign that would confirm he was the missing piece she had been searching for. She had been eagerly anticipating that feeling to develop, so when she noticed a change in how the boy interacted with her, she felt like she was on cloud nine.

Happiness faded away quickly, like a shooting star.  It didn't take long for her to understand that the feeling of agitation she experienced in his presence was more unpleasant than she first believed.  But Mi’niri silenced the growing annoyance that gradually invaded her. She believed love was a journey, not a destination, something that could be cultivated with time and effort. By focusing on what made her feel good, she could learn to cherish even the most difficult aspects of a relationship. A skill that could be honed like any other.

Alas, it wasn’t so. Nothing about Kiokä could shake her. Not in that way. She cared for him. Admired him. Yet that childlike affection between the two adolescents remained as such: a childhood memory.

“No! My love for you is true, Niri. I’m crazy about you. I never had eyes but for you. Look,” he exposed the songcord hanging from the waistband of his loincloth to the sunlight, taking between his strong fingers a particular bean. She recognized it right away. “It is a fragment of your pendant. When I found it, your face peeped out like a thunderbolt. I added it to my songcord that day, so I’d always remember the moment I met my better half.” “You’re wrong. You only found an illusion.” “Explain yourself,” he demanded. “No use in explaining to ears that won't listen.”

As she crossed the clearing, heavy footsteps heeled her out. She barely had time to register what was happening before she was seized by the wrist, spun around, and slammed into the rough surface of a log. Her head swam with a slight dizziness. “Hey, don’t just walk away. I deserve to know.” His voice leaked a dull pain that made her jerk abruptly, meeting his friend's now furious irises. A distraught gleam flashed in them, in a mix of sadness and anger. The inflection in his voice whipped her like an anvil. And there, trapped between the tree and the man’s chest, Mi’niri could feel his mournful gaze weighing heavily on her. So small and helpless.  So guilty. Mi’niri closed her eyes and focused solely on the surrounding sounds, filtering out all the other senses.  An unexplained sense of tranquility spread throughout her entire body soon after. She felt it relax along with her lungs, inhaling and exhaling regularly once more. The beating of her heart slowed down into long pulsations, punctuating the flow of her blood through her arteries like a metronome. And the erubescence that had crept up her cheeks subsided, revealing the unflappable nature of her being.  The rustling of leaves and chirping of birds.  The sound of the nearby stream.

The nearby stream. Kyokä.

As much as she wished the conversation wasn’t happening, the feeling of his hand holding hers kept her present in the moment. Oddly, his touch was somehow reassuring. It gave her the strength to face the situation. She looked at him. The sight of the sun filtering through the trees stressed the start of anxiety making its way across that no longer inscrutable face. Finally, the grip on her wrist loosen as she read the sorrow in his eyes, building like a wave about to engulf them, a looming tsunami.

“Please, Niri!” Hearing his lips murmur that nickname so sadly brought down all her defenses. Vulnerability was the one thing Mi’niri loathed displaying. She bottled up her moods, pushed them back into the furthest corner of her being, where they bubbled and swelled until erupting in a column of gas. Like accumulated hydrogen in a magma chamber. Ash and lapilli, flowing down the destroyed flanks of the caldera, overwhelmed everything that crossed their path, leaving nothing but fertile ground for the new generation of vegetation. An ecosystem that would be wiped out at the next burst.

While she looked past the boy’s shoulder, she struggled to resist the urge to spit out the truth. Don’t answer, she commanded herself, but her tongue was already disobeying. No, I’ll speak my mind once and for all. Even though she didn’t want things to escalate, she had to be honest. She tentatively returned to look at him. His eyes as shiny as gems and as dark as the cloudy sky of the dream where she had met the mysterious Omatikaya. “I don’t feel the same.”

Kiokä was forlorn and unable to find the words to respond, which gave Mi’niri an opening to carry on with her speech. She just had to turn a blind eye to the suffering etched on his face. And what better push than focusing on the clan’s venomous gossip? Their heated voices echoed inside her, reminding her why she was supposed to leave him sitting on the rock alone. Her blood boiled with anger. Her voice was becoming apathetic and detached as she hurled all the pent-up resentment at him.

He did not understand her. He did not see her.

Having a place in the community was something he took for granted. Never knowing what it was like to feel excluded, never experiencing what it meant to not belong. Oblivious to the feeling that comes with putting in effort, only to be seen as an unwelcome outsider. An outcast, a freak with no actual family, no connections to anyone - unquestionably not to the Tawkami clan. Her grey skin a constant reminder that she had to work twice as hard as others just to earn a fraction of what they did. No matter if they respect her and considered her at the extremes of a chosen one, she always sensed a certain detachment behind their friendly smiles. Like an inconvenient relative, an unwanted visitor who refused to leave. The only thing that gave her value in the eyes of the people was Dewram, which was all she really had.

Kiokä couldn’t comprehend the meaning of having nothing to cling onto as an identifier, except one singular thing. The feeling of being lost. The longing for that one thing that would give you a sense of purpose every morning. That one thing that made life worth living. Frustration hit her like a ton of bricks as she realize it wasn’t a new sensation. She couldn’t help but wonder if it had always been there, lurking beneath the surface of their relationship, eating away at their bond. She refused to believe it, but deep down, she knew it had been there all along, slowly tearing them apart. Wished that clinging to what was harmonious in their friendship was enough.

Very little, she should admit. 

“And you don’t feel anything either.”

He stood frozen, his arms limp at his sides, powerless against the biting cold of her eyes. Mi’niri seized the opportunity presented by his hesitation to slip out of that position and run away. The vegetation swallowed her up, and she was left alone with the weight of Kiokä's gaze. Heavy and unrelenting. It bore down on her, even as she disappeared into the foliage, piercing her head, but she didn’t give up, zooming even faster toward home. She had to shed those garments that appeared to scorch her, that adornment that appeared to strangle her.

Something slipped along her wrist in her haste. The light thud of the fall muffled by the cushiony grass.

Mi’niri took refuge in the most isolated spot in the clearing, hidden from unwelcome glances. She was sitting on a large root, in the shade of the broad, iridescent eyaye leaves. Shimmering drops of nectar released an enveloping fragrance that invaded the space, spreading in graceful invisible waves with each flick of the foraging birds’ wings. Convinced that she was finally alone, she let out a silent, liberating cry; frustration and suffering now mastered that normally unflappable candied face. 

“You look tired.” Someone sat by her side, running his warm palm between her shoulder blades, down her back, and then up the back of her neck, massaging her gently. Strangely, she did not flinch, as if expecting that attention. As if she knew she would find him there. The stranger didn’t speak, said nothing so as not to upset her further, and let her vent. With her, words were often superfluous, creating distance, forcing her to give meaning to an inner flow that she preferred to keep her own; she wasn’t temperamentally inclined to sharing, preferring to handle the emotions she felt in her own way, in the intimacy of herself. Although it was, in most cases, deleterious and exhausting; gripped by regrets, unexpressed desires, and, on this specific occasion, even some remorse. 

A feather hovered in the air, gliding lightly in the open palm of the boy. He then turned it over in his fingers, studying its cyan-greenish veins that divided it into tiny sections. A few brown flecks mottled it at the edges, although the fuchsia of the tip was predominant and in sharp contrast to the white of the base. He arranged the stem behind Mi’niri’s ear along with a strand of her hair, exposing the delicate profile of her face, the pale right cheek, and the high cheekbone, accentuating the elongated slit of her eyes. He contemplated how much the feather colors complimented her face. 

She was ashamed of her appearance, the mark of an outcast life, but to the boy, it was beautiful. It made her one of a kind. Her complexion could have been even in the humans’ range; in his eyes, Mi’niri would have been the most beautiful girl in Eywa’eveng anyway.

“Eventually, you’ll have to talk about it.”

She looked up at him, her bulbs swollen, flushed, and glowing. A rosy tinge of shame crossed her cheeks and nose, and the young man wondered what the source of that sad expression was. The villainy with which she had pressed Kiokä by venting her dissatisfactions on him? The exposure of his secret love? His gesture? 

He smiled at the idea, but it was but a lukewarm smile, a mockery, all too aware that nothing he said or did would have any effect. Kiokä probably could have disappeared, and she would not have noticed.

“I was cruel before,” was the first thing she said since they had reached there, at the foot of that majestic tree, her voice croaking from crying. He could do nothing but sigh, the facts commenting on themselves. “What’s wrong with me?” “Nothing is wrong with you.” “Then why am I like this?”

He hesitated for a moment before answering. But by now, dabbing the wound had become useless. Sometimes you need to leave it open and exposed to the sun for it to heal from the infection.  “Because you can’t resign yourself,” he sentenced laconically, “I understand, you know? I’m in the same situation as you,” he sketched a wry grin, “I’ve always let others define me, choose for me. To tell me how I should have been, what I should have done.” 

The wrinkled look he gave her was so sad and dark, she felt as if she had looked out into two gloomy mirrored wells that opened a pathway to the depths of the underworld. There was nothing left of his bravado and amusing conceit, not even an iota. They were totally absent in that amber eye. And on that suddenly apathetic face, even the shadow of his usual cheeky, crafty smirk had disappeared. “I had to be shot for them to realize how hard they had been on me.” 

Mi’niri winced in pain at that confession and looked away, suddenly exposed, naked. “Did you ever think of telling them?” He chuckled, widening his legs out on the bed of leaves and stretching his body backward to fill himself with the golden warmth of the foliage above their heads. “At least a million times,” he admitted, “Once I even had the urge to rant, amidst everyone, so exhausted was I of shouldering responsibilities that weren't mine. But it probably wouldn’t have changed anything.” The boy blew out a quick sigh as he continued, “I even tried to undertake trainings so heavy that they didn’t give me the material time to look after my brothers. At least I would have the excuse. But my thoughts always came back to them, together with an excruciating guilt. I’m the eldest, it’s my job to stand in for our parents.” “That’s not true. It’s not your place to educate them.” 

It wasn’t part of her personality to dispense advice, still, she felt the burden of having to do so; to at least try to console him as he had done with her countless times, including this one. It was funny to talk to each other like that with a stranger whom moreover she met only in her dreams and whose name she did not even know.  Confronting each other about the injustices that had plagued them from an early age, as if they had shared them as if they had always been there to back each other up.

“When are you going to tell me who you are?”

He turned again to look at her, the eyes that were staring at her at that moment, and that the faint sunlight filtering through the foliage dotted with golden straws, differed from they had been a moment ago: tremendously confident and determined, the same ones she used to meet. The girl clutched her shoulders, prey to an unmotivated anxiety that sprang directly from her gut, from her core. As if the young man who sat beside her had unexpectedly changed before her without her being able to do anything to prevent it. He looked so different, so adult and distant, yet so close, and for a second he seemed unrecognizable to her.  He took her hand and brought it to his chest. When her petite palm collided with his pectoral, she could feel beneath the scar of the gunshot, beneath the warmth of his skin, the accelerated, almost frightened beat of the heart muscle. 

“I’m already doing it.” 

At those words, Mi’niri clenched her fingers tighter, so tightly that her nails rubbed the outline of the healed wound. And, for an instant, it felt as if she had squeezed his heart for real. 

Evening had long since settled over the landscape and it was dark outside. The cooler air of mid-season was surrendering to the more sultry temperatures of early summer. So too was the cyclical pattern of constellations giving way to a less star-laden but brighter sky, thanks to the lengthening days. The celestial vault would have been marvelous had it not been veiled by the shimmering evanescence of the moons; three shining, perfect orbs that flooded the space below with an impalpable, milky glow.  A light breeze rustled through the tents, its murmurs humming on the thick rocky walls of the gorge where the village resided. Channeling into the thick valley, it carried in dense sweet whiffs the scent of the panopyras - now in full bloom.  In the distance, the muted crackling of tree branches brushing against each other and the faint swaying of lianas could be heard. Sounds that mingled with the rustling of the lanterns that decorated the winding lanes - already installed for the festival that was to be held soon, and which this year would have an even more bitter taste for Mi’niri.

Ideal weather for a night hike, she thought, hugging herself in her shawl as she crossed the silent, sleepy path. There was only a candle to light it; the flame flickered with each step of the girl, illuminating her diaphanous face with a faint, warm light and casting eerie shadows on the ground. Mi’niri barely glanced at them, a shiver slipping down her spine as darkness threatened to engulf everything. She had a very bad feeling.

She looked around one last time, on the alert, before peeling back the drape that served as a door, as if something was watching her intently. A nocturnal predator ready to ambush her. But even after entering the tent and closing the drape behind her, she couldn’t allow herself to feel relieved.

It was never a good sign to be summoned by the Olo’eyktan. Especially at that hour.  Whatever he wanted to tell her, whatever he wanted to order her to do, was not to be overheard by prying ears.

“I've been watching her for three years,” she heard the clan leader’s unmistakable voice mutter, “She, and that beast of hers that always accompanies her.”

Dewran, she corrected him, refusing to speak, to disrespect the man who so often sinned the same error against her brother in spirit. She saw it in the way she watched him walk by her side when they passed. The same eyes the people reserved for her, burning into her like slow-flowing lava on the slopes of a volcano. The strange orphan of mysterious origins.

The first Txumre’ Makto in history. Someone fearsome, whose opinion could change the fate of many. ‘For it was Eywa’s will’, Tsahìk declared that fateful day.

“Something extraordinary awaits her. Something that will deliver immense torment, just as annihilating as the venom of her spirit brother, but that will culminate in profound shift and perpetual unity.”

“That gaze, that resoluteness in the eyes, is essential for a leader. What I seek in my successor. And Kiokä...” The silence that followed was more powerful than any words could ever be, and Mi'niri was left feeling a lump form in her throat.  Hearing the way his name was spoken was like a poison-tipped arrow, piercing her heart with painful accuracy. It had been a full two weeks since she last talked to him. More or less since his confession. Now things were pretty awkward and tense between the two. Truth be told, she was keeping her distance. Avoiding him like the plague - like she was the plague. Mi’niri couldn’t risk running into each other, knowing he wasn’t willing to forgive and forget. They wouldn’t return to normal this time. His shifty eyes never failed to betray him whenever they sat at opposite ends of the hearth during communal meals. When he walked past her, she couldn't help but notice how he held himself with an air of superiority, refusing to acknowledge her presence. Mi’niri was well aware she could expect nothing more from him. She'd hurt him, broken his heart, wounded his pride. Kiokä needed time to heal. They both needed it. Most of all, they needed to ask themselves what they both wanted and sought for themselves. Besides, even if Kiokä had intended to move on from yet another wronging, meeting by chance was unlikely because of their restrictive commitments.  Thank goodness. It incensed her to realize how tangled her existence had become in a mere afternoon.

“You're a smart, diligent lad, a real go-getter. But although you were raised to inherit my title, you don’t have the spirit to lead the people. Perhaps in peacetime that may have sufficed, but not with the resurgence of the ketuwong (aliens).”

Fully understanding where he was going with this, a grimace eluded her. I don’t have that spirit either, she wanted to shout, already feeling the responsibility that came with the title weighing down on her. I got nothing you're looking for.

“Shadow is about to fall upon us. We need a powerful leader capable of making arduous decisions.” “Ma muntxatan (husband), our son is still young. He still has time to prove himself to the people.” From behind a partition peeped Tsahìk, a reproachful look towards her spouse. “That is not the Great Mother's will. We have already broached the subject. Kiokä is a troubled, disoriented boy who shoulders the duty of his lost brother.” There’s a mournful note in the woman’s voice at the mention of her first son. The thanator attack that had claimed the life of their loved one many years ago was still fresh in their minds, a deep scar on the hearts of the clan. “He has no desire to be Olo’eyktan, rather, his true calling is in art. His love for it surpasses any ambition. Nevertheless, he picked this girl as his chosen mate,” he pointed at her, “And Eywa also favored her. That must carry some implication.” “Assuredly, my dear, but her responses are not here to be sought. She is on the cusp of something remarkable.”

What was that sentence trying to say? What am I searching for?

The man let out a distressed chuckle, sensing the same veto in his wife's eyes that he had seen in his son's as he grew up. A son who renounced to pursue his own future out of fear. Who dreaded the thought of letting down his people, of never measuring up to the clan’s expectations. Failure was a constant worry, always present in his thoughts. He lacked the confidence to see the greatness that lay dormant within him. A merit that was so impressive, it could only be outshone by a second, even more dazzling one.

“Mi’niri is averse to being appointed as Olo’eykte or Tsahìk.”  Not for the Tawkami, at least. Tsahìk knew from the very start that the girl’s path wouldn’t be the same as her son’s, leading her down a separate road. A unique journey to undertake. With too many questions as her guides, she will leave behind the clan that never felt like home.

About what was in store for the girl, the goddess had been silent. Yet, the woman was sure she’d find her place in the world thanks to the deity's serene giggle whenever questioned. Mi'niri would find joy, harmony, and meaning, even in the face of darkness and pain. She would find love.

It was unreasonable to demand a girl with a tendency towards solitude to assume the reins of the masses. Just as it was ignominious to disregard the signs of Nawna Sa’nok. “Soon Kiokä will find her Tsahìk.” The man sighed, “I am getting old, ‘evan (boy [colloquial]). The Tawkami must be in the right hands, and it's up to me to ensure it happens. Embrace your destiny, it's time to fulfill it.” “How do you know this is my destiny?”  A flick of a cough interrupted the conversation.

“Have a sit.” The rider's mask obscured the man's expression, but she could tell he was studying her carefully. With his gnarled hands entwined at his chin, he tapped his index finger against his thin upper lip in contemplation. His sunken eyes were devoid of any emotion, and his calm, calculating tone conveyed only a thinly veiled sense of distrust.  His algidness did not surprise her. Kindness was not one of his hallmarks. Although he’d never harmed a hair on her head and, indeed, seemed to carry her on his palm, she had never felt completely at ease in his presence. He used to look at her as if he constantly kept her under scrutiny, dissecting every little detail of her being. As if he was waiting for her to mess up. Yet the girl had shown no compunction in the face of his severity and had never stopped seeking his approval by devoting herself to the clan’s well-being. She wanted to make him proud, almost as if he were a close relative, a mentor. So, as she had always done, she obeyed the man and took a seat at the other end of the massive wooden table, on which a topographical map was resting. The man stared at it for a long time before straightening his torso and exhaling heavily. 

“You must be wondering why I wanted you here,” he finally spoke. His deep voice reverberated in her rib cage, causing her to flinch.  Her imperceptible nod was enough for him to continue, “Sky People.”

For the past three years, new stars had appeared in the sky, closer and brighter than the others had ever been. They disappeared and reappeared in the blackness of the cosmos like lighthouses in the night. A flickering artificial light that each time it went out brought devastation to new corners of the wondrous satellite on which they lived. The forests crackled and hissed as the smell of smoke filled the air and tongues of fire licked at everything in sight. Animals’ desperate cries filled the air as they tried to escape the flames, but many were not fast enough. The streams shriveled up and disappeared, leaving behind a barren, lifeless landscape. The once vibrant scenery now reduced to a charred wasteland. Clans had to migrate. Seeking refuge, they abandoned the homelands of their forefathers and ventured into the depths of uncharted wilderness, where even the Na’vi had not yet tread.

The Tawkami's valley was a natural fortress, surrounded by high mountains and dense vegetation that stretched for miles. The rock's jagged edges were a testament to the force of the ancient glacier that carved it. Finding them was a hard task for outsiders. Complice the immune response in the Hallelujah Mountains, which, however, was triggered with increasing frequency - directly proportional to the incessant human incursions.

That apparent serenity, that somehow permanent peace, would not last much longer. The Earthlings became bolder with each passing day. The heinousness they were guilty of preceded them. Only death and destruction followed their passage. From coastal settlements to the southeasternmost archipelagos, villages were being razed to the ground.  As the platoons advanced into the rainforest to protect Bridgehead supply lines found Omatikaya warriors as the sole active resistance, the RDA unleashed its new abomination. 

The recombined soldiers.

Their target was one. Jake Sully.

The conflict was inching closer, and they knew it was only a matter of time before it would have a global impact. Plundering and raiding were no longer enough for the Terrestrials. What they wanted was to conquer, usurp the Na’vi of their birthright, steal their lands, and make them their new planet. Colonise and enslave in exchange for the salvation of a species that should have perished, but persisted, like weeds that never die out.

“What is it, Father?” Kiokä’s voice had a tinge of bitterness in it as he spoke, his eyes staring fixedly at the man, never settling on her. Lopsided once. Mi’niri remained composed, refusing to be disturbed by the hint of indifference with which he had expressed himself. Bordering on annoyance.

“Ikran in the colors of the Metkayina.”

Reef populations flying? Since when? What were they up to in the woods? What were they after?

His son’s nostrils flared as surprise mixed with indignation. At that precise moment, he couldn’t have been further from his well-known composure as he approached her, finally meeting her gaze. “Why’d she come here?” The girl held her ground and stared back at him. She pushed him away, the sound of his pleading voice still ringing in her ears. Niri realized he was hurt, but it didn’t excuse how unfairly he was treating her. ”We’ll come up with a strategy.” ”That's not what I asked,” he objected. The father narrowed his eyes. “To be Txumre’ Makto does?” Kiokä’s anger wavered, replaced by a flicker of uncertainty. His brow furrowed as he tried to make sense of the situation. “Have they violated our borders?” “Not yet,” he warned. Her voice emitted a deep, growling tone from the back of his throat. The Olo’eyktan anger softened, replaced by concern, though skepticism still lingered in his voice.  “But why? What’s the reason for them invading our airspace?” “That is what we must find out before they reach Greenhome. Gather the best warriors and interrogate them. Make them talk.”

Notes: All the info about the clans I mention and the characters' names of said clans are from games side stories and other official sources. Since they haven't appeared in the movies yet, I take them as canon until James Cameron will state otherwise.

Blue Flute: another name for Omatikaya.

Panopyra: nicknamed the love flower by Terran scientists, is an unusual life-form that has characteristics reminiscent of a jellyfish. It doesn’t resemble any taxonomic plant group found on Earth and appears to represent a new evolution line toward a primitive nervous system. Sensory tissue and a saprophytic lifestyle, where nutrition is obtained from decayed organic matter and dead organisms, place this species somewhere between plants, animals, and fungi so it can be categorized as zooplantae. It is an epiphyte and typically grows attached to other plants, sometimes high in the canopy. Normal plant gravitropic responses are missing in the panopyra. Instead of growing toward or against gravity, the vinelike stems sense and grow toward prey, which in turn are attracted by slight electric signals emanating from the plant's stems. Once an animal approaches the panopyra it is further lured by the nutrient-rich water trapped in the cuplike plant body. This double attractant system results in abundant food for the panopyra, which has no need to make its own food through photosynthesis. The water is collected from dew and fog, which condenses and runs down into the cup-shaped body. The Na'vi collect the liquid that catches in the body and use it for a nutritious and healing drink. The flexible stems are used for making nets, traps, and other woven items. The growing tips of the stems with their sensory cells are said to be an attractant and aphrodisiac and often worn by young Na'vi who are looking for a mate.

Tawtsngal: Na’vi name of panopyra.

Ikran People of the Eastern Sea: Tayrangi Clan.

Yawäa family: Mi'niri's family

@scorpiomoon-444 @wh0rezs @sweetdayme4427 @gknj9495 @lovelyygirl8 @artnz-13

[acidmatze]

I’ll be there for you (Yes, like the Friends theme) Chapter 6

Summary: After being in a coma for two years Vash wakes up, not being able to remember Anything that has happened since he was “a teenager”. How is he gonna adapt to living in a world so strange and unfamilliar? (vaguely TriStamp timeline post ep 12) By watching a weird action movie and doing nordic walking. Warnings: None Word count: 4.1k Chapters: 1 2 3 4 5

Meeting the psychologist was relatively unspectacular.

Her office is in the hallway of group 3 as well and has a small space for couches and a bookshelf, kinda like a waiting room at the doctor's office.

Her name is Mrs. Fischer and for now she just wanted to get to know Vash better. Which was interesting since Vash barely knows himself.

„Sounds like a great goal for your rehab then! Getting to know yourself more. Im gonna write this down right now.“

Lunch was a bit awkward at first cuz Chelsea immediately yelled, before Vash could even sit down at the table: „Wait! How is he supposed to cut his meat? Should I cut it for you? I can do that!“

And then Vash had to awkwardly wiggle himself out of this but Nancy thankfully intervened.

„I'm just gonna call Villa Peony and ask if they got some cutlery left we can borrow and then later order our own. Oh man I can't believe I forgot to do that the whole time...“ In the hospital the nurses already cut his food before he got it which truthfully made him feel like he's already thousand years old and grey.

But he felt equally awkward when Nancy eventually returned and handed him a fork that was also a knife.

All while Chelsea was basically frothing at the mouth and vibrating on her chair from wanting to cut his food so badly.

Vash figured he would eventually get used to this and it was a hundred times better than having someone else cut his food. He wasn't a toddler anymore. And not an old man yet either.

Once Chelsea had calmed down lunch resumed like normal.

Steven asking Vash polite questions about himself and sharing a bit of additional information about everything that was going on today.

Melvin then told everything there was to tell about Deinocheirus.

This wasn't really something anyone else on the table was interested in but everyone nodded along anyway.

Physical therapy was quite okay.

Mr. Cruz („Oh no, please just call me Diego!“) had to admit that he didn't really had much experience with amputees but he would try his best to find some exercises that Vash can do.

He did however note that Vash's amputation must've been some time ago.

Since Vash's memories cut off at 15 and at that point he still had both arms it must've been after that but before he was done growing.

For today Diego showed Vash some balance exercises since Vash said he felt unsteady sometimes.

He wasn't really used to almost a whole arm missing and even though he obviously had mastered Walking In A Straight Line by now he couldn't balance on one foot.

Or stand with his eyes closed. Or put more weight onto one foot than the other without almost falling over to the side.

Diego also wanted Vash to build up strength on his left arm again so he tied one end of a rubber band around it and the other end around a balancing pole on the wall and told him to pull it back.

Vash felt a bit stupid doing that.

„I can't use my left arm much anyway. Why do I have to train it?“

„Because it's still your arm even if there's less of it. Also it's not just the arm there's also the entire shoulder and shoulder blade and your back. And it would look weird if one arm is muscular and one arm is skinny. But mostly it's because you will find uses for your left arm and it needs to be up for the task. I can tell that before your coma you were really fit and strong. That includes your left arm. Let's see if we can go back to that level.“

Whatever Vash had looked like before he now was rather skinny without either much fat nor muscle mass to him. Which is something that Diego expected.

How was he supposed to put on weight if he couldn't eat or muscles if he wasn't able to move?

Vash only remembered himself as being on the more skinny side so he had no idea what his adult body Used to look like.

He can't imagine himself looking any different than this.

And now he's back in his room splashing water in his face and hoping that he manages to cool down a bit before nordic walking.

Melvin, who has the room to the left, is listening loudly to music. Techno, or something.

Vash still needs to listen to more music to get a solid grasp on all the different kinds there are.

To the right of him is Steven's room who either isn't around right now or just super quiet.

He seems like someone who is just very quiet though.

He is also the oldest in group, having turned 35 just last week.

Then counter clockwise there is Anna's room who managed to not say a single word so far and then Chelsea's room.

When Vash came back from physical therapy he heard her talking to someone on the phone but now there also was silence.

The music stops. Melvin is walking around in his room.

And then gunshots but in very low audio quality.

Seems like he's playing a game now.

At least Vash Hopes that the noises come from a game.

Vash looks out of his window.

From here he really cannot see any desert, just buildings and trees everywhere.

It's as if he's in an entirely different world now.

The window is slightly open and a warm breeze is coming in but its not hot by any means. Vash cannot smell any sand in the air either.

His dorm is standing right next to the fence so he can see into the backyard of a house that doesn't belong to the organisation grounds.

He can see the building of the fire brigade. Further back there's a rather high apartment building, towering over the sea of small family homes and row houses.

Vash can also see the church way back.

Earlier he also heard its bells.

He has never been to church, as far as he knows and doesn't really believe in anything

and yet the bells had felt strangely familiar.

If he leans a lot to the right he can catch a glimpse of the electricity poles above the train tracks in the distance.

Trains are another thing he has never seen before.

According to Steven they are really new though. They showed up first when he himself was still a kid and then gained growing popularity in the past 5 years as a more reliable and faster alternative to the aging sand steamers.

Each sand steamer needs to be powered by a plant so only a very limited number can be produced and they can't operate as frequent as trains either in order to not to stress the plants too much while trains have none of these limitations.

Yeah they can carry fewer people each but unlike sand steamers they can go nonstop and several trains can be put on the same route so in the long run their capacity is dozens of times larger.

A sand steamer needs up to 4 days to cross the sand ocean while a train does it in one and a half so the remaining sand steamers are slowly being phased out in favour of trains.

Even busses seem like a more viable alternative despite taking just as long.

At least they dont use up all the plants.

„There will always be some sand steamers, I guess,“ Steven had said „Just for nostalgia's sake and also because they have become such an iconic image. But they will probably be used as tourist attractions and run on historic lines instead.“

So what should Vash do with his time now?

He has a tablet and a phone but it seems that many others here have a TV and consoles or a laptop and such things.

Or they collect other things to occupy themselves with when there's nothing to do.

Melvin told Vash after lunch about a few stores that are within walking distance and he mentioned an electronics store so maybe once Vash has gotten a bit of money he should pay it a visit. Someone knocks on Vash's door.

„Yo Vash it's me, Chelsea! We got nordic walking now! Come downstairs!“

Vash jolts.

Wow he really got into deep thought here for a bit. How did an hour pass this fast?

He quickly changes T shirts and then hurries downstairs.

Funnily, the nordic walking group is led by Mrs. Fischer.

Chelsea spots Vash and then drags him further outside into the frontyard.

Several others are already here and looking for the right walking sticks.

„Mrs. Fischer! Mrs. Fischer! How is Vash gonna do this?“ Mrs. Fischer looks up from helping someone else picking out the right equipment and putting it on.

Vash really doesn't like being in the spotlight like this.

Luckily most others don't care about The New Guy.

„Ah well we can just put the sling around your arm and make sure its nice and tight. And we just use the longest stick for your left arm then and a shorter one for your right. And then we'll see if that works out for you and if not then we will find another solution.“ Mrs. Fischer explains while doing exactly that.

„So how does that feel for you?“ „Odd.“ Vash answers „But I have no idea what its supposed to feel like so I guess thats normal.“

„Let's find out then!“

Mrs. Fischer then explains Vash what he has to do while helping him with his right-hand stick.

How walking can be so complicated is beyond him but who knows, maybe this ends up being fun for him? At least its outside and he has been itching to move around more which wasn't a possibility in the hospital.

„Okay now guys! Is everyone here? Where's Joe?“

Mrs. Fischer does a quick roll call.

Turns out, everyone is here except for Joe which no one has seen since lunch.

Mrs. Fischer lets out a sigh.

„We can't wait until His Highness graces us with his presence or we'll be standing here all day. Let's go! We take the route around the biodome today.“

To his great dismay, Vash has to quickly realise that whatever stamina he might have had before, there is not much left of it now.

It takes about two minutes until he's already sweating and it's not the heat of the two suns for once.

Two more minutes and he's lightly panting and to make matters even worse the road goes slightly uphill now.

He's almost at the end of the group, only a handful others are slower than him.

Chelsea joins yet again.

„Huh? You're so skinny I thought you would be way ahead of us.“

„I was in a coma for two years..“ Vash wheezes.

„Ah that explains a lot. I'm just really out of shape cuz I hate sports. 'But Chelsea' they say 'It will be so amazing for your mental health if you're outside more often.' they say. Blaaaaaargh.“

She badly mimicks Mrs. Fischer.

Can't be That out of shape if she can manage to talk so much without even breaking into sweat, Vash thinks.

They are out of the residential area mostly. Only a few houses here and there. The majority is pastures for Thomases and „fields“ where people try to grow grass until the soil is fertile enough to grow other things.

Then they arrive at the biodome which is an absolute massive structure that sticks out like a sore thumb between all the other more organic buildings and fields.

Vash can't see inside from here but he notices that the air around it seems so much cleaner than before. There's also a faint sweet smell, like flowers.

Well, there probably Are flowers inside so that explains it.

They pass the biodome after a minute and the air that was clear and cool now turns warm and a bit stuffy again.

Like a room that needs to be aired out badly.

But by far not as bad as the middle of the desert.

Vash remembers that sometimes when he was outside for too long he would blow his nose and find sand in the tissue.

Sand in his clothes. His hair. His room. His bed.

„I really wanna work at the biodome!“

Vash looks back at Chelsea.

„I always wanted to work at one. Maybe I can do an internship there. I keep forgetting to ask about it though. This one even has animals like cows and sheep!“

The good thing about Chelsea is that Vash doesn't need to verbally answer, just nod, so he can focus on breathing and not keeling over from the exertion.

„I worked at a Thomas ranch once but that wasn't quite the same and it was outside of the city and taking the bus there took so long I had to get up at 5am and was home around 6. Ugh... The Thomases were really cute though but one bit me once.“

Yeah, they tend to do that sometimes.

At least now its going downhill for a bit.

Mrs. Fischer has noticed that Vash is having trouble keeping up with the majority of the flock so she falls back a bit to meet up with him.

„Is everything alright with you?“

„Yeah..“ Vash says, clearly still out of breath, „I'm just really out of shape.“

Something is coming up in the back of his mind.

The sensation of sand going up to his ankles and walking for hours until the suns go down. Boots slowly filling up with sand. Casually talking to someone next to him as if this isn't one of the most exhausting things someone can do.

If he was able to do this before the coma he clearly couldn't do it now anymore.

At least for the time being.

„Just focus on breathing. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Keep a steady rhythm when walking. Maybe sing your favourite song in your head. We are taking the shorter route as well today and will be back soon.“

Once they are back Vash definitely needs to take a shower first.

And then find something to eat.

It takes another ten minutes to get back to the dorm and when they do Vash is ready to collapse there and then.

„Did you have fun?“ Mrs. Fischer asks.

„I don't know yet.“ Vash wheezes.

Two hours later and he has showered and eaten something and feels somewhat alive again.

Now Vash is lying on his bed and contemplating on what to do. How to spend the rest of his day.

Some people from his dorm, including Melvin and Anna, have gone to the local burger place in the neighbourhood but Vash doesn't have any money yet so he couldn't go.

The suns are already low above the horizon and douse the room in a warm orange colour.

Now that its getting cooler outside Vash could open his window fully and a nice breeze is coming in.

Some people from another dorm can be heard playing football outside.

Leaves are rustling in the breeze, which is a noise Vash still isn't used to.

Another noise he is even less used to is birdsong.

There's a bird sitting on the windowsill of the neighbour's house and singing it's little heart out.

Another bird from a bit further away answers.

Vash can also hear the faint rumbling of cars and someone is really revving their engine.

Someone is starting to mow their lawn.

There are so many noises going on at once.

And they are completely different from the hospital.

All those noises sounded hectic and unnatural.

And on the ship were barely any noises at all.

The machines were quiet the computers were quiet the Plants were quiet and even the people mostly talked in hushed voices. Luida and Brad were the two only ones who were openly loud and made attempts to make the place feel alive.

This changed when they got the first geodome going and also managed to get more people out of their cryosleep and some of these people were kids who looked like they were as old as Vash.

Or rather, he looked as if he was as old as them.

Things got a lot more lively on the ship then. The kids didn't even care that Vash was growing faster than them. They called him Brother.

They would play hide and seek together and tag and pick flowers and draw things and Luida would read stories for them under the trees even when Vash already could read himself.

Vash blinks.

He wonders what happened then. What happened and why did he leave the ship and how did he get here?

Someone is driving by on a motorcycle and somehow that piques his interest for some reason.

Does he have a connection to bikes?

„Jesus Christ, Spikey! You never got car sick so why does my bike suddenly make you throw up?“

„Maybe if you wouldn't drive like you drank all the whiskey on the planet I wouldn't be sick.“

„Well, do it yourself then. Let's see how that turns out.“

Huh. Where did that come from?

It certainly snapped Vash out of getting homesick, that's for sure.

Playing with the kids in the biodome feels like it was basically yesterday but also eons in the past.

After all, it was indeed almost 150 years ago.

There's so much stuff to catch up on.

For example, who was that guy in this sudden flash of memory? Is he still alive? It seemed like he was close enough to Vash that they could just bicker like that. They probably had spend a significant amount of time together.

What was his name...? Something.. with an animal. There was an animal in his name...

Someone suddenly knocks on the door.

„Hey Vash it's me, Melvin! Wanna watch a movie? You shouldn't be all alone in your room when you're new. Too many thoughts and all.“

Well, he is not wrong.

So Vash gets up again and decides that watching a movie doesn't sound so bad.

The living room is a slightly musty-smelling room with big windows a large table in the back a few cupboards with books and games in them and of course a large L-shaped couch a coffee table and a TV.

Boxes with fries and burgers are scattered across the coffee table. So are a few big cola bottles and red plastic cups.

Everyone from Vash's group is there plus a few from the other two groups.

One of them is lazily sprawled out in front of the TV and eating fries.

He has blue hair and for a second an exclamation mark goes off in Vash's head but vanishes immediately again.

„Just get cozy anywhere. We thought we bring burgers and stuff for everyone and have a nice movie night.“ Melvin explains.

Vash sits down next to Steven and feels a bit.. misplaced.

He never watched a movie. Well, as far as he can remember, which doesn't say much.

When was the last time Vash had a burger?

He and Nai had them for their first birthday and Luida also made them a few times but not very often.

Vash grabs a box and takes the burger out and takes a bite.

Huh that tastes totally different than the ones Luida made.

It tastes.. a lot better.

Not that Luida's were bad but this has much more flavour.

„I got my hands on the new Revengeancers movie. Has anyone seen that already?“ Melvin asks.

Everyone shakes their heads.

Steven groans.

„I was hoping you had a Good movie or something. I heard that one is pretty dumb.“

„Oh I'm so sorry, I will get one about quantum physics just for you.“

A few people giggle and Steven groans again.

„Just... just put it on. I will survive.“

Ten minutes into the movie as Vash unwraps and chomps down on his third burger (double cheese double beef) the blue-haired guy turns around and stares suspiciously at him.

„Hmm..?“

Did he eat too much? Vash is surprised himself. He already ate dinner two hours ago and now he basically inhaled three burgers in barely ten minutes.

But that's not the reason the guy is staring.

„You look familiar. You look like Vash the Stampede.“

Now Everyone has turned around and stares at Vash.

„He sure does!!“ Chelsea yells and takes out her phone and then basically smooshes Vash's face with it.

„Look! Look!“

There's a wanted poster on the display. It already looks a bit yellowed and faded but it unmistakenly says „Vash the Stampede Dead or Alive 60,000,000,000$$“ Vash counts the zeroes.

„60 Billion???“ he exclains in shock.

„Yup. Levelled the entire city of July. It's a miracle anyone survived.“ Chelsea confirms.

„My uncle lives in one of the towns surrounding July and he said that night it looked like a spiral of bright light was going up to the sky and then a ball of the same light fell down and it was like ten thousand suns. And once the light was gone the city was gone with it.“

Vash can just blink in horror.

That was supposed to be him? Why would he destroy an entire city? He's not a villain!

The blue haired guy chimes in again.

„But it makes no sense. Why would he have done that?“ Yeah, exactly!

The guy digs in his pockets and also digs out a phone and shows everyone a photo. It looks even older than the one Chelsea has.

„My grandpa met Vash! About 40 or so years ago. He helped digging a well in his village so they wouldn't have to rely on other towns for water.“

On the photo was unmistakenly Vash standing next to a tall lanky guy with a ponytail in front of a well. Vash was flashing a peace sign and grinning.

„Huh? 40 years ago? Wouldn't Vash be like... 60 or whatever now?“ Melvin asks.

Everyone looks back at Vash who's just sitting there.

„You don't like 60. You look like... 22 or something.“

Vash rubs the back of his head nervously. Oh man, this is awkward.

„Well... ahah... ha... I suppose that could be me though. I don't think Vash is a super common name. But it can't remember anything past being 15.“ Chelsea scoots closer, so close that she's almost sitting on his lap now and stares at him.

„There is No Way that you are 60.“

Vash lifts his hand so she can't get even closer.

„I.. I have no explanation for this that doesn't sound insane. But I am a Plant.“

It's not like he could've hidden that forever. Better to say it right away. Then either everyone knows or nobody will believe him, think he's completely out there and beyond help and he has made his life here utter hell.

Silence.

„Yeah sure. And I got a secret identity as a pop star. The name Chelsea is fake and I'm actually Tara Olson from November City and the leader of the girl group Twinkle Star.“

Steven who had been silent the entire time now gently pushes Chelsea away and also gets closer to Vash.

„It's not like we can't see for ourselves if he's lying or not. My father is a Plant Specialist and says there's a foolproof way to find out.“

And sure enough, he's shining his way too bright phone LED directly into Vash's eyes.

Everyone gasps.

Vash can only assume what they are seeing. He actually has never seen the markings in his eyes himself. For all he knows they could be spelling „Fuck you“.

„Holy shit what?? He's really a Plant!“ Melvin screams.

„Whooooooaaaaaaaaah....“

Chelsea wants to creep closer again but Steven holds her back.

„He's not some zoo animal you can just gawk at. Have some manners.“

Steven puts his phone back.

„So. This proves that he's saying the truth. Can we now focus on the movie?“

„Huuuuuuuh? But I have so many questions!“

„And I want to watch that movie now, so quiet please.“

Vash will be eternally grateful to Steven for keeping everyone from bombarding him with questions he probably wouldn't have an answer to.

[devondespresso]

hi today we're thinking about Dustins parental (figures) trauma (because i love him)

like Dustin now has experienced 4 different instances of an older brother figure running into danger to protect him and every time said older brother figure got more and more injured

the first day Dustin meets Steve, Steve leaves the bus with the demodogs to be bait and comes back a bit shaken and with a couple scratches but basically unharmed. hes doing this to protect all the kids but at this point he's known Dustin the longest (maybe an hour or so more but still they had actual conversations in that hour)

then they're at the Byers and Steve fights B*lly for Lucas (and Max i think because he was officially there to take her home) and we hear the kids screaming at B*lly, specifically we hear Dustin scream "you're gonna kill him" and Steve very obviously has a concussion afterwards

then theres season 3. Steve and Robin hold the door while Dustin and Erica escape through vents and when they meet up again both teenagers are drugged and Steve has a black eye, bloody nose, and a split lip and is covered in blood and sweat and thats just what you can see (he mentions ears ringing, difficulty breathing and feeling like his eye is going to fall out, all of which probably comes up later off-screen because hes doing a lot of strenuous activity for someone in his condition)

and then Eddie. Eddie who was asked by Steve to look out for him and Eddie who made sure Dustin got through the portal safely before risking his own safety to help the team. Eddie who so far in canon (duffers please bring him back) died in Dustins arms and kept a smile on his face in his excruciating death to try and ease the blow it'd have on him

and even if you write aus where Eddie does live he's frequently in the hospital for several months or in a coma

now Dustins a child, he's in middle school during all of steves sacrifices and in his freshman year of highschool for Eddie's. He doesn't have a present father and while his mother is very loving she's not the most emotionally stable

and when you think about it, Dustin doesn't really have any parental figure that is 100% stable for him to rely on

His mother gets very stressed and panics a lot (which is fair because shes a presumably single working mom and joyce is in a similar situation but regardless it does put stress on their kids), and we see Dustin immediately stepping up to comfort his mom when their cat Mews is "missing" despite having to see and clean up his cats dead body alone from out of his bedroom

Steve is a relatively emotionally stable figure for him with lots of confident advice and its confirmed that Steves a very safe person for him to go to with both upside down and normal problems

but Steve has gotten hurt A Lot and often times the responsibility of taking care of him falls on Dustin (and I'd go as far as to say Dustin takes on this role himself based on how hes used to taking care of his mom). Dustins the one holding an ice pack to Steve's head when he wakes up in B*llys car and he's mostly the one looking after Steve and Robin while they're drugged. Steve is emotionally safe, but Dustin does have to worry about his safety pretty often (he so easily could've died in season 3 just from repeated head injuries alone)

Then with Eddie its clear Dustin looks up to him as a role model of this cool guy who doesn't care what others think of him, but then Eddie gets involved with the upside down. they meet in the boathouse we see Dustin immediately stepping up to calm him down and help him work through the upside down trauma (and to protect Steve who's once again in physical danger) (and then Eddie dies later so hes not really stable in either aspect rip)

So aside from the upside down trauma having the kids have to grow up too fast and having their childhoods taken away (and this definitely applies to all the kids and teens but we're talking about dusty today), Dustins a character that is consistently looking for a stable parental figure and consistently loosing the stability he finds in them. Which leads him to have to step up, shelf his own emotions, and be a source of stability for his parental figures instead.

i know its wishful thinking at best to hope for a comedic character to have their trauma properly addressed in this show, but id really like to see Dustin struggling with some of this

he probably feels responsible for a lot of shit that happened especially to Steve and Eddie because he was there to witness their injuries and they both got injured to protect him

maybe he struggles talking about certain things with steve despite him remaining emotionally safe because his experiences with comforting his mom and Eddie makes him assume thats normal. maybe hes afraid hes going to wake up one day and Steve will be dead.

maybe he puts himself down the same path steves on now, not his highschool jock path but the self-sacrificing hero path. maybe the party will be in some sort of trouble with no adults around and he'll put himself between the party and the danger because he feels responsible for making sure they're ok.

we've already seen he feels the need to mediate conflict with his friends (mike and lucas's fight in season 1 and asking eddie to postpone hellfire on lucas's behalf) and that he admires Steve's hero stunts (fighting the demodogs in season 2 Dustin says hes awesome when max comments hes insane)

i just want to see people talk about Dustins relationship with responsibility and the lack of stability in his life. i also grew up being The Responsible Friend in my friend group and its fucking exhausting. I just want my guy to get a break, maybe some assurance that Steves not going to fucking die and maybe a moment where he can just let go of tge stress hes holding onto (i don't know tbh if i knew how to fix this feeling i wouldn't need therapy lol)

[sir-arlieosaurus-lung-struggler]

the holidays are always really fucking weird, i dont like many of them but specifically December is just- ew

Anyway ill just thro my mini pitty party real quick:

These song explains how I feel about christmas time *perfectly*

Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas by mother mother (christmas playlist)

From heres basically a trauma dump about being in the hospital, but i typically talk about this in a tone more like "oh yea! i nearly died lmao"

When i was like, just turning 6 I had 💫pneumonia💫 & needed to go to the 💫hospital💫. So I spent like, 12/11-31/15 in the hospital. along the way i had these treats happen (not really in order, 💜=story from family member, ❤=i actually remember this)

💜being diagnosed by my sisters 16 yo boyfriend by looking at my gums, whereas medical staff took 4 days

❤Some mcdonalds, cool auntys banana bread, jello & making popin cookin sets w/ my older sister

💜a 5 day medically induced coma

lung surgery therefor cool fuckin scars on my back (WHICH I CANT FUCKING SHOW ANYONE CAUSE I WAS CURSED W/ TITS AND 2/3 ARE UNDER MY BRA)

💜waking up from said coma periodically only to say "im scared" w/ my mom trying to comfort me but i had ear shit going on

💜Finnaly actually woke up, yelled "IM DEAD", which is reportadly the scariest shit my dad has ever heard, my mom asks if i hurt, i say yes, she like "ur not dead honey" again i was 6 & in & out of a coma 😂 (idk why but I've always found that story funny)

💜my parents being thretened w/ truancy by my dumbass school

❤Christmas, I had *2* mini christmas trees in my hospital room 💅 1 was cool but my cool uncle & aunty got me a pink 1 which I still have to this day as a lamp

💜only trusting 1 of my doctors cause he looked like my grandfather who'd been deceased for 2years at that point

❤💜going on walks around the kids floor in a wheelchair & stealing a little gingerbread beanie baby ornament but they didnt care so they just let me keep it & i still have it somehwere.

💜my mom met a lady who had a son who was a few months old & they didnt expect to live past a couple weeks but he *did* (more on that later)

💜had food in the cafeteria and i proceeded to rub the pizza i got *into my hair*. My response? "Its just cheese" my family and I quote that to this day lmao.

💜being reverted to a toddler for a good minute (someone asked my age i said i was 3, i was not) & needing to relearn walking, talking, the little bit of reading i knew & getting into a shower w/out being scared of being pulled down the drain

❤said dude who asked my age worked at the hospital cafeteria & we visited him after most of my appointments. miss u uncle (that was what he went by), wish u well. Dont know where he since covid cause the part of the building cafeteria was in was torn down.

❤and after all that later and i got releaced on new years eve :>

results:

From there forward i had a 20-30minute nebulizer to do every 4 hours (which my parents had to wake up at like 2am for a half hour for), 2 twice daily inhailers, 2 nasil sprays, "the tire" (tastes like shit and makes me feel anxious) (that isnt even all of it my mom counted 8 meds at one point) and i slowly dropped them year by year till they had me down to just rescue inhailer as needed & if my lungs r really shit for a min i go on the tire. (Tire=prednisolone but what 6 year old is remembering that name lol)

specialist appointments every week, then 2 weeks, then every month, 3 months, 6 months, now im at checkup every year and check in as needed

"Look whos inside again" by bo burnham is my life in a nutshell

To this day the smell of a consentrated area of hand sanatizer just has me stop in my tracks lol.

seeing a picture of tiny me on my parents facebook feed yearly of me unconscious in a hospital bed w/ tubes in mah face

couple of close friend i met post hospital (keep in mind i was like 7) didn't believe me so i ran around the playground cursing them the fuck out (never did get in trouble for that 😂) ((I still talk to 1 of them shes cool))

Idk where to put this but about that kid I was talking about before, I found out last year around this time he had just died- of 💫pneumonia💫. yea that fucked me up for a good minute, he was around 6 too which didn't help, I never even met the kid and I still had a weird form of survivors guilt.

Anyway have a merry fucking christmas i really dont get this holiday lol, treat yourself kindly, feel free to be the grinch you are and explain in detail why u hate the holidays u arent alone lol

[chidoroki]

182 Days of TPN - Day 140

Chapter 140: "I'm Here!"

Being reminded of the current date makes me think of just how little of the entire story we actually get to see. Starting from Conny's shipment on the 12th of October 2045 where we see pretty much everything until Norman's shipment on November 3rd until it jumps a bit to January 15th for Ray's "birthday." After the escape, we see all the stuff leading up to Goldy Pond's destruction on the 29th but then we skip another month until Emma wakes up from her coma. Couple weeks go by before that big timeskip starts when the Cuvitidala squad heads out early March, with the rare shelter visits we see during flashbacks, but the story doesn't pick up for us again til mid/late October 2047 when we got the shelter exploding, followed by the several day journey to the paradise hideout, and everything else bringing us to this moment. It ends with the kids finally crossing over to the human world a week later and then we're hit with another two year timeskip to the day Emma is found. I just think it's kinda wild how much we love this series and these kids despite only seeing a couple months of their lives within a story that takes place over 4-5ish years. Can you imagine if we were given more content?

Proud mom moment as precious daughter notices how baffled my son is as he rambles over the various possibilities of this complex cube and gets him to relax and remain hopeful within seconds with little effort.

When you usually offer your hand to someone, your palm is facing upwards, correct? So to this day I still believe it was Ray who held out his hand first here. It's a tiny detail that doesn't matter too much but nonetheless, it still warms my heart. Not even trying to go full on RE fangirl right now, but the fact Emma was just the one to reassure him that everything was gonna be fine and Ray decides right after to believe her and provide support to her in return is just real sweet to me, alright?

Bro I feel so bad for Ray. He went through all that trouble wandering the Seven Walls, facing his personal demons, dealing with an unimaginable amount of stress and sorta going through a mid-life crisis and he ends up getting kicked out! All that for nothing! I'm sure if he wasn't in a total panic over Emma's whereabouts that he'd be so pissed off.

Ch181 missed an opportunity to have Ray react this same way once he found Emma. It would frighten the poor girl sure, but perhaps it could've jogged some memories too since Ray shouted similar words to her towards her back in ch137.

I feel like I'm repeating myself (though can't remember exactly from which chapter, or somewhere else), but since no demon language is actually used in the anime, I have no choice to filter in something else in my head whenever I see someone speak His name. I could be nice and just call him demon god, or Scribbles as the fandom affectionately calls him, but unfortunately for Him, my mind filters to more rude name. Let's just say that bastard is one of the nicer ones (therefore reading such harsh names in the character's voice, like Emma's, is hilarious to me).

I'm still proud my boy was so close to figuring everything out! Aaah! I forget where it was mentioned, but Shirai said that if Ray had the chance to attempt the Seven Walls again, he would be able to reach the day & night, right? Not that I would think he would actually volunteer to suffer through all that craziness again though.

As much as I dislike the demon god, I'm not at all thrilled He was given one frame during that s2 finale slideshow. The fact that she alone was able to reach the day & night is simply amazing, no doubt one of her greatest feats, and yet the anime decides to just have her appear there without enduring any of the trials necessary to reach this sacred place. Emma making a new promise so her family can live a better life is one of, if not, the biggest goals of the whole story and the second season decides it's best to have this meeting last a couple seconds at most. It makes me so twisted.

Favorite panel/moment:

I honestly wish we got to see him break out into these intense rambling sessions more often, though I suppose it shows just how insane the Seven Walls are since Ray only became a mumbling mess at the sight of this cube and nothing else during the story.

[blackdevilwhitedemon]

Short OMARI fic idea (LOVED ONE COMES BACK W R O N G)

WAIT LET ME COOK!

Okay so besides that Mari lives Au fic I'm writing rn I have another Omori au fic (it's crack treated srsly so I wanna keep it to myself until I finish it) which long story short is good ending Sunny still jumps bc he thinks his friends can only start healing w/o him there and he wakes up in an OMARI AU where Sunny was in a coma. And there's a lot of different and weird shit so Sunny's way out of his head. It's clear that this is a different reality, not a different timeline.

ANYWAY HERE'S THE BRAIN ROT!!!

So, I've seen quite a few fics where Mari just comes back out of nowhere (usually her grave) and whoever she bumps into first is just hella chill w/ her being back alive after 4 years and they wanna show her off to everyone else??? Like, no shade to the fics, I just didn't find myself particularly liking thos fics and I don't think I finished any.

So I read one where good ending Sunny still jumps and wakes up in an OMARI AU. Basil found him and while he said he killed himself but he also said he went missing (on 2nd read realized Basil was half convincing himself of the latter thing) but it made me think.

I fucking love fiction where someone dies and only one or small amount know this for sure and then that person comes back but SOMETHING IS DEEPLY WRONG. Like,,,yas sign me the fuck up!!! You can do so much w/ that!!!

So this one also is good ending Sunny still jumps and wakes up in an OMARI AU but!!!! Sunny is fucking dead in that one. Our Sunny isn't meant to be here. So in the OMARI AU, Mari shoved/causes Sunny to fall down the stairs and she's weeping over his body trying to get him to wake in as she's in shook and hasn't registered his neck snapped. Hero walks in at this time and sees what's going and realizes quick that, Sunny isn't breathing, he has no pulse.

So he gets Mari to go with him into the woods and they bury him deep in the woods. Ofc she's in shock and dissociating the whole time while Hero is panicking, to parallel Sunny and Basil in the base game.

He get Mari to claim she woke up later than she was supposed to and looked around the house for her brother only to discover the backdoor was open. And that Hero even tried to help look for him. Everyone else thinks Sunny ran away while the teens know what they did and keep quite about it.

A year passes and that's when our Sunny get dumped into this world. He's all dirty and raggedy and wearing clothes he doesn't recognize. He's in the woods and makes his way back to town. Basil (ig? I just know I want one of the younger kids to find him bc they just think he went missing) finds him and is all ecstatic. Treating him and stuff and bombing him with questions. Our Sunny figures out p soon of what's up and that he's not where he should be, but doesn't reveal himself bc who the fuck will believe him? He can't just tell the truth. So he pretends he just...doesn't remember what's he's been up to for the last year. Just a missing persons who came back with no memories of what happened when they were gone. He's know he's heard about cases like that.

Sunny puts on an act of being frustrated and scared that he has this gap in his memories and that he feels like he's dead. Feels like he isn't real and that this isn't real. (Maybe some of his real feelings leaks thorough which makes it all the more convincing.)

So yadda yadda, everyone's over the moon to see he's back and the adults drop the whole 'where've you been?' and 'what happened?' just assuming xyz. Don't look a gifted horse in the mouth.

But Mari...when she sees him she loses it bc I KILLED HIM HES DEAD WE BURIED HIM WE BURIED HIM WE BURIED HIM WE BURIED HIM.

Sunny is happy to just,,,be around a Mari again and acts all clingy while Mari is trying to act normal about it but is terrified inside bc WHAT IS THIS WHO IS HE WHAT IS THIS IN FRONT OF ME IT CANT BE HIM WEBURIEDHIM.

She later come to a conclusion (this scene is why I wanna write this fic in the first place) as she's having a meltdown(?) breakdown(?) to Hero on the phone. At first she thought just maybe that this Sunny was some ghost here to haunt them, or was undead. But the supernatural isn't real so the only logic conclusion she can jump to is 'HE WAS ALIVE AND WE BURIED HIM. OH MY GOD HERO HE WAS ALIVE AND WE BURIED HIM. WE BURIED SUNNY.' She basically is convinced they were wrong about him being dead or maybe just somehow his heart restarted and WE BURIED HIM WE BURIED HIM HE WAS ALIVE AND WE BURIED HIM.

She thinks that Sunny was alive the whole time and woke up after they buried him and dug out of his own grave and the shock of all that made him forget things and just wander off. She think someone probs picked him up (he was found in unfamiliar clothes after all) and finally the shock or mental block finally dropped and he instinctively went back home and doesn't remember what happened to him during the shock state/mental block he had.

Hero on the other hand, isn't convinced that it's Sunny. He knows that happened. He's wasn't breathing, there was no pulse. He held him, he buried him.

That wasn't Sunny.

Hero think's our Sunny is a ghost here to haunt them, then maybe an undead and lastly lands on: SOMETHING IS WEARING HIS SKIN WEARING HIS FACE USING HIS VOICE THAT ISN'T SUNNY SUNNY IS DEAD I BURIED HIM IN THE WOODS LAST YEAR.

HOW DARE YOU LOOK LIKE HIM HOW DARE YOU

So for the last chapter he wants to convince Mari she's wrong. That that thing isn't Sunny. And he wants validation. So he treks into the woods to where they buried him and digs and dig and digs and dig and digs until there's blood. His blood.

And he finds it. Bones. Human bones. Fabric hidden deep in the dirt.

THAT THING WASN'T SUNNY. HE'S RIGHT HERE WHERE I BURIED HIM.

oh god

He turns to look towards town.

its in the house with mari...

OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD THAT THING'S IN THE HOUSE WITH MARI

MARI MARI MARI MARI MARI MARI MARI MARI MARI MARI MARI MARI MARI MARI MARI

Is the only thing he's think as he books it back to town.

And that's the end of the fic. It just stops there. I did say I wanted this to be a short fic. Also sorry this post is sloppy and not that cohesive like my last one but I'm writing this as I go late at night and just wanted to air out my brain rot.

I'm aiming for 5 chapters (won't be adding much filler to this) and I know for sure that it won't go to 10. Probs wanna finish it first, then post the dang thing but it's probs only gonna take me a month to write.

[aylinaliens]

Top five angst-with-a-happy-ending K-dramas!

angst with a happy ending is my FAVORITE i love it when a drama emotionally breaks me and then give me cute fluff at the end 🥰

1. Come and Hug Me

this drama truly has one of the most messed up plots out there. the FLs parents/brother were murdered by the MLs parents. i know what you’re thinking: how could this ever be a happy ending? well, there is. these two characters who went through literal hell together gets their happy ending and it’s WELL deserved. the journey is long and difficult and angsty. despite all of that the bond between the leads is actually the the sweetest thing ever. na mu and na moo were dealt the worst cards out there but they remained kind, loving, sweet, and caring. watching come & hug me felt like being punched and hugged at the same time.

2. Flower of Evil

this d r a m a. it’s so angsty and painful and intense. the FL and ML are already married & parents so the angst it delivers hits way harder. the FL is a homicide detective who, unbeknownst to her, marries a man with a dark dark past. she starts to investigate a string of murders that took place 15 years ago and starts to think that maybe her husband was the killer. the ML acts like perfect husband and father (his relationship with his daughter is so wholesome) but…is it real? or is it all pretend? flower of evil is full of pain and betrayal but it still manages to have a happy ending.

3. When the Camellia Blooms

the angst that WTCB gave us was unreal and so bittersweet but the ending was *chefs kiss*. dongbaek is a single mother who honestly is just trying to survive in a small town. she has to deal with prejudice and judgement at every turn. she ends up meeting youngshik, a police officer, who immediately falls head over heels. he’s so enchanted and amazed by dongbaek & is willing to raise her son. youngshik is a literal golden retriever so when things get angsty it HURTS. be aware that this does have a big side plot about a serial killer. it takes a lot of fighting and work for these two (three if you count her son). some of the side characters were infuriating but these two were cuties.

4. Just Between Lovers

yet another drama that feels like a punch to the face and a hug at the same time. this drama deals heavily with trauma and grief and survivors guilt. the FL and ML were both there as teens when the accident happened and lost people they loved. years later they cross paths and have to learn to navigate their feelings and trauma together. it’s angsty and a tearjerker but it’s also so sweet.

5. Thirty but Seventeen

Miss Shin Hyesun is the queen of angst with a happy ending trope (for the most part idk what happened with mr. queen). 30 but 17 is criminally underrated. when the FL is 17 she gets into an accident and is in a coma. the ML feels responsible for it so he closes himself off emotionally. 13 years later, the FL wakes up and crosses paths with the ML. neither remember each other though which leads to ✨angst✨. this drama is so heartwarming but also sad. it’s not as painful as the others but it certainly hurts. not only is it angsty but it also uses the cohabitation trope. it’s so cute GO WATCH THIS DRAMA EVERYONE.

Ask me my TOP FIVE anything

[jpbradley]

JP aten't ded [pancreatitis update]

So for those who don't know me; in 2022 I almost died of pancreatitis, it was a bad time. I was put in a coma and was saved by the hard work of the doctors, nurses and support staff of the NHS. I spent 4 1/2 months in hospital relearning how to walk and eat and over the past year have had a bunch of cool complications from that event.

We never really found out the cause and since then pancreatitis has continued to loom over me. Every time I eat and feel anything unexpected in my abdomen I am hypervigilant that my pancreatitis is returning and that I'll be hospitalised again.

Last week that fear became a reality. That also might end up being a good thing.

My experience of pancreatitis begins with back pain. I'm pushing 40 by this point and back pain is hardly uncommon for people my age, but this is constant, cannot be relieved by changing position and ultimately feels like a knife being driven into a tight knot in the back. This persists until it becomes impossible to sleep through the discomfort.

This is the symptom that woke me up last week. In the middle of the night I felt it combined with a stabbing pain in my abdomen, followed by vomiting; and remembered with terrible clarity the weeks of that pain I endured before my first admission. I woke my wife and, terrified, resolved to go to A&E.

At the hospital we went through the standard gamut of blood tests which confirmed that something was going on, and I sat in urgent treatment waiting for a bed to free up. The NHS is an institution under resourced by a government that seeks to destroy it and replace it with medical insurance that would force most working class people into debt so crushing they could never escape it.

As such the wait is long, and I spend a good chunk of it on the floor in a side room because every other position is worse. They don't have an answer for what I have yet (spoilers; it's pancreatitis) and so they can't prescribe pain relief. So I wait. My wife waits with me and I have to look up at her stricken face as she looks down at me powerless to do anything to help.

Being ill sucks and the toll it takes on the people who love you is terrible.

Eventually I have a CT scan (abdominal pelvis with contrast for you radiology fans out there) and a while later am moved into a cubicle where a doctor finally administers IV morphine. The feeling is fuzzy, the relief immediate. My abdomen still hurts a lot, the muscles strained from the vomiting, but the tension I had been unable to release from my body flows out of me and I fall asleep.

At one point I wake up and my wife is asleep in the chair beside me with her head laid by my side on the gurney. I feel grateful and guilty for putting her through this.

From there I eventually get moved to a surgical unit. It's here that we learn that after over a year of speculation we finally have a root cause for my pancreatitis; gall stones. Getting in early and not waiting until my condition for worse means we caught the gallbladder in the act. Motherf-

Sometimes the gallbladder produces stones and sometimes those stones interact with the pancreatic duct, causing the pancreas to decide the world is ending and move all of it's stocks into burning the gaff down. Their own gaff, where they fucking live. It is a dumb and anxious organ. I can relate.

The result was that a few days ago I had a very sexy cholecystectomy. As you can guess that's them taking the gallbladder out, in this case via keyhole surgery which has left me very tender but massively reduced my time to discharge from hospital. The doctor on ward rounds gave me the option of discharge the following day before he went away and spoke with his consultant who said; "Have you seen his history? Not a fucking chance, tell him he's staying" (I assume).

So is that it? Gallbladder gone and pancreatitis no more? Well- Maybe.

Pancreatitis isn't well understood. Gallstones are indicated and the most likely cause of pancreatitis in me. Other causes could be alcohol; which some doctors love to bring up as their pet theory, or cholesterol. Studies are ongoing into pancreatitis (my medical records are part of one of them) to understand the causes and also the varied survival rates among severe pancreatitis sufferers. So with that said there is a possibility it could return and despite everything I have to be constantly vigilant to make sure I am ready if it does.

Which brings us to the last thing I want to talk about, which is living with pancreatitis.

On the grand scale of things my living adjustment for pancreatitis is quite tolerable; I have to take synthetic pancreatin with every meal which allows my body to process things like fat and complex carbohydrates. I also no longer have a gall bladder, this means my body doesn't have a reserve of bile which is used to break down fat as it passes into the large intestine. As such for the next few weeks I need to be on a low fat diet and slowly introduce fats to build up a tolerance.

More difficult for me is the uncertainty around my body. I've never lived a particularly healthy life but before my illness I at least felt like I understood it. Where it hurt, what was wrong, how to know how to communicate that. These days my stomach gurgles and I find myself performing an itinerary of everything I've eaten to see if there's something in there that might cause me to suddenly collapse.

The uncertainty is draining but the vigilance I feel is worth it, and if there's one thing to take away from all of this it's; if you can please don't wait until it's unbearable to get help, please go early if you can and if it's nothing at least rule it out.

If you read all of this; thank you! I really appreciate it.

I just needed to get it out somewhere and because resources can be a little difficult to find/confusing about pancreatitis please feel free to ask if you have any questions and I will answer as best I can about my experience with the illness.

[denimbex1986]

'Before starring in Peaky Blinders and Oppenheimer, Cillian Murphy was just a young theater actor in Cork, Ireland. His part in the 1996 play Disco Pigs earned him a role in its 2001 film adaptation—and Murphy's career ascended from there. Director Danny Boyle was so impressed by Disco Pigs that he gave Murphy the lead role in the post-apocalyptic thriller 28 Days Later. Murphy then appeared in The Wind That Shakes the Barley, which (at the time) became the all-time highest-grossing Irish independent film.

Later on, Murphy became one of Christopher Nolan's favorite returning actors, appearing in Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, Inception, Dunkirk, and now, Oppenheimer. Throughout his career, the Irish actor has stayed clear of the celebrity scene, but his few interviews have revealed a keen sense of humor. "I haven't created any controversy," he once told The Sunday Times about how he purposely lives a life that keeps him out of the tabloids. "I don't sleep around. I don't go and fall down drunk."

Although Oppenheimer is by far one of Murphy's best performances, the following roundup consists of the actor's greatest roles, including Peaky Blinders, A Quiet Place Part II, and Sunshine. If you remain shocked by Oppenheimer, or are still waiting for the Peaky Binders film, this is the list for you.

1. Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer features Cillian Murphy's best performance so far. The film may have received the Barbenheimer box-office boost, but the Christopher Nolan-directed film's critical acclaim has proved it to be s a success on its own merits. Embodying one of history's most controversial figures, Murphy was so emaciated that he reportedly ate just "an almond every day."

2. Peaky Blinders

OK, so Peaky Blinders isn't a movie—but it's about to be! Before Oppennheimer, the British period crime drama was Murphy's most-famous gig. Murphy played gang leader Tommy Shelby for six season, with a movie on the way.

3. Batman Begins

Murphy brought us the first live-action appearance of the scientist Scarecrow in Batman Begins—the first of Nolan's acclaimed Batman trilogy. Though the character returns in the much-lauded The Dark Knight, he features as the main villain in Begins.

4. 28 Days Later

Waking up to an apocalypse is never a good feeling. The Walking Dead may have done it back in 2003, but 28 Days Later had Cillian Murphy exit a coma, only to be greeted by fast-moving, homicidal infected people. The Last of Us who?

5. A Quiet Place Part II

Murphy joined A Quiet Place Part II as a survivor who lost his entire family to the creatures. At the time, he told Total Film that his character Emmett, "represents where the heart of the world lies right now," which is, "finally feeling like they've all given up."

6. Inception

Murphy plays Inception's main target, Robert Michael Fischer. Leonardo DiCaprio and his crew spend most of the entire film within Fischer's dreamscape, convincing him to destroy his father's company.

7. In Time

In Time depicts a future where time is the main currency, with people paying minutes and seconds for food, rent, and medicine. Run out of time and you die. When Will Salas (Justin Timberlake) receives an influx of cash, Timekeeper Raymond Leon (Cillian Murphy) is sent to investigate him.

8. Sunshine

Another Cillian Murphy role about a guy reckoning with the power of a massive bomb! Sunshine depicts a group of astronauts in the year 2057 who are on a dangerous mission to reignite the dying sun.

9. Disco Pigs

One of Murphy's earliest on-screen roles, Disco Pigs portrays two teenage friends who call each other "Pig" and "Runt" as they grow up together in Cork, Ireland. But everything changes when they turn 17 years old.

10. The Wind That Shakes The Barley

Another Murphy-led film about two brothers from Cork, The Wind That Shakes the Barley is an Irish Independence film that won the Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival.

11. Red Eye

In Red Eye, Murphy plays an airline flight's worst nightmare: an international assassin who calls himself Jackson Rippner. Can't be more obvious than that!

12. Dunkirk

In Dunkirk—which marked yet another collaboration between Nolan and Murphy—the actor plays a "Shivering Soldier," as the credits reveal, who is the catalyst for the crew's tension at sea.'

[fourseasonsfigs]

Sweet Shenping

Here we have the Junzhe Extended Universe (JZEU) pair known as Shenping - Gong Jun's character Lin Shen (Dream Garden) x Zhang Zhehan's character Huang Weiping (the unaired Retro Detective).

Dream Garden is a 16-episode romantic drama that aired in 2021 (post Word of Honor). Gong Jun plays Dr. Lin Shen, a professional psychologist. I watched it with English subs on Viki (available free in lower quality - it's also available elsewhere), and surprised myself by thoroughly enjoying it. I now want to be best friends with Xiao Xiao, the lead actress! I definitely recommend it.

Retro Detective is a drama that Zhang Zhehan filmed after Word of Honor. He plays a police detective named Huang Weiping, who falls into a coma and wakes up 20 years later, somehow physically still the same age but lost and confused by the modern era.

I have full confidence we'll see this one day, and I'm looking forward to it.

Pingping's pose here is endlessly amusing to me. Lin Shen's professorial outfit is a pretty standard suit, but a faithful recreation to the drama.

Fig on fig violence is never the answer, Pingping.

That's a little better. Point the gun away from the nice Dr. Lin.

As a side note, this fig set was flagged by the warehouse for the toy gun, and the shipping lines were restricted. It was fine, since I send all my figs via air (vs sea lines etc), but I was surprised. I asked customer service about it and they said it's very strict, anything that looks like a weapon gets flagged. Sure enough, the bow and arrow with a later fig set was also flagged.

I love Zhehan's mane of hair here. Also very faithful to the drama:

Here's a close up on Pingping's outfit - they did a great job with the detailing on the stripes and with his coat.

The box packaging. Wow, the chains and bars are pretty heavy duty here, gentlemen.

Lin Shen hasn't gotten nearly enough love in this post, so here we go with a Lin Shen compilation that Gong Jun's studio released. Why it's x3, I don't know.

Alright, that's a wrap! Gentlemen, thank you for your time -

No, no pointing guns out in the middle of the street like that! It's broad daylight!

Uh, a creepy run down building is not an improvement. And I feel like there's some kind of intense backstory going on here...

No, a night time street is not an improvement either. Pingping, put the gun down, there's no need to keep escalating this. I'm sure you can both talk whatever is going on out -

Boys?

BOYS. NO.

Material: PVC

Fig Count: 45

Diorama Count: 4

Snowglobe Count: 1

Rating: Explosive

[link back to Master Fig Index for more posts]

[mithrilbookofmystery]

📓 👁👁

OK SO *slams down 30k words of draft* I know the original ask post said to talk about a fic I haven't written but haunts me, but believe me, this is fic is not written. We're like not even a quarter of the way through, most of this doc is notes, this fic have been haunting me since last june or so send help

So anyways. This is "the fic I'll never write" which I do have a tag about as you might have noticed, it's one of the very few things I have a tag for on here that's how much it's haunting me. I'm never going to publish this fic also, tho that's mainly bc A) it's way too fucking long B) the fandom and ship are both obscure as hell and C) its also embarrassing 😣 cringe is dead except when it's me and my fanned fictions. That being said, I'm calling the two guys A and B for simplicity's sake.

A and B hate each other's guts. They were friends once, but had a very big falling out with hurt feelings and bad miscommunications all around and basically they vowed to never talk to each other again. And then one day A wakes up and realizes that 1) his house got moved into while he was asleep(he is very ??? over this given that he was in the middle of moving in the day before; his house was basically empty 8 hours ago and now it is Not) and 2) B is coming over for lunch to pick up his stuff(????? This is even MORE confusing bc A is getting the vibe all of a sudden that they were in a relationship together? Which doesn't make sense bc he's not gay. Wait. Is he gay? What the fuck is going on???)

B comes over and they have a very stilted lunch (where it seems like B feels like something is off, too, but hes not saying anything...), B takes his stuff and leaves, and A spends the rest of the week alone in this house that he has both lived in for years and also Has Not and very confused about this new life he suddenly has.

And then A wakes up in a castle as the trusted advisor to the king in a medieval fantasy world and he is EVEN MORE CONFUSED THAN BEFORE!

Also the King is B. Great.

A spends a lot longer here than in the last universe (like 3/4 of a year), long enough for a magical war to come and pass, some character development shit to happen, and also for the King (who, again, is B) to fall in battle (and it's the one they win the war in too, RIP) and go into a Magical Nightmare Coma (bc they were warring with magical nightmare beasts). This is Bad, for a variety of reasons.

Now A is conflicted abt this bc B is his friend, bit also very much not, but that doesn't mean he wants him to die, but also the A of this universe, the advisor, is starting to get the idea to kill the king to get the throne... His death would be easy to explain away, given the circumstances...

A, instead, goes to find magicians to break the curse. This is the first good thing hes done all fic lmao

B wakes up, the kingdom throws a party, and that night, B tells A about how Something Strange has happened to him - he's not from here. From this world. He's from somewhere else, somewhere Different and in the Future but with no magic and he doesn't know how he got here or got to be possessing the king's body but he's been here for past like 3/4 of the year now and hes sorry for acting strangely if he has but he doesn't really know what to do-

A tells B that he's in the same boat, because he is. B realizes that this A is his A and he hates his A. So. B says some things he'll probably regret later bc being mean is the best defense he's learned against A's general air of uncaring-ness for the effects of his /j "jokes" (they're not jokes, half the time they're just mean, but anyways), and storms off.

The next day, A wakes up in a submarine. He thinks he is going to scream.

They go through....,,., a lot of universes. I think it's over 25 rn but idk. Some are shorter than others, the longest is like a year and a half but we'll get to that. The general arcs are:

1. The beginning bit (Just Broke Up, King/Advisor, Deep Sea Biologists (that ones just an excuse to stick them in a small space for a while to duke it out lmao), Astronauts (kinda same premise as last one but there's a third party now), Musicians, Wild West, Minecraft, Wizards, Desert Island (to quote the notes there, "they duke it out but calmer now"), semi-back in their home universe but something's Off, Superhero(B)/Supervillain(A))

In this part they start off hating each other, but slowly warm up to each other again by the Wizard universe (they're wizards there <3). They recognize that they're each other's only constant in this mess, so in the Desert Island 'verse, they agree to try and find each other right away in each new universe they wake up in (instead of messing around for a while before accidentally stumbling into each other like they'd done before). They debate about the versions of themselves they're possessing, with A very adamant about not changing each universe's lives too much, while B is willing to throw that out the window if keeping the status quo endangers each other. He's starting to like A as a friend again and doesn't want to have to tiptoe around him to compensate for this other life that was thrust upon him, sue him. This comes to a head at the end of the superhero verse when A foils his own plan to save B's life, revealing his own identity to the press in the process - VERY much changing the status quo of this A's life. B is very very confused and conflicted abt this but we don't know how A feels bc its B's POV this chapter.

Also it's worth noting that B still gets nightmares from getting attacked by a nightmare beast monster thing, and he will continue having them for the rest of the fic. They get a heck of a lot worse in the next one <3 and he doesn't tell A abt them until like 3 years into this bullshit

Also also they are so homesick already god bless

2. The Death Universes (the death universes) (this is the year and a half one btw)

They wake up in separate universes where the other is dead bc I love inflicting characters with hardships and problems and trauma <3

They get therapy in these ones too which helps them to like accept blame and shit when it comes to their old argument but also not blame themselves completely and break and also hold each other accountable more and in healthier ways

3. Post-Death bits AKA the rest of the fic p much (its like over half the fic I'm not listing all these out)

Points of interest:

- they reunite and are so so happy about it that they become codependent

- they go to a BOTW AU and B is Link and has amnesia but not just the B from the BOTW universe has it, the original B has it also and he. He fucking going through it man

- bc of the whole amnesia thing B starts thinking of himself where he's not really the B of whichever universe but hes also not really the original B either (tho that's always usually the one more in control each time); the two have kind of merged together, and each new universe creates a new version of B

- he goes with that for a while until it gives him an existential crisis and OG B starts maintaining his independence again

- anyways then they get more codependent <3 fruity edition

- they start to realize they're getting codependent and go :/ uh oh oopsie poopsie

- why did I say that I'm sorry

- anyways they try to homebrew some therapy for themselves but given their situation it's not exactly.. uh.... But tbh it's the best they got right now ngl. it works well enough

- it helps that the universe right after they agree to Spend Some Time Apart™️ they wind up in one where they physically cannot meet each other until they get to the end of it and have to make new friends along the way (Dead Gods AU my beloved....... <3)

- they get to a universe where they're Dads and Gay and Married and go 😳

- they only get fruitier from here

And then it vaguely ends around there. I don't really want to ever write an ending for it, if only bc it feels cheap to end it before they get home but also writing them going home feels wrong, but also, again, I'm never publishing this so I'm not too pressed about it

Saying that, I do want to share some bits from the scenes I have actually written that I'm proud of :3 A is red and B is blue. Sometimes the versions of themselves from a universe will have a different name and I do differentiate between the two; when that happens, the alternate universe versions will have a lighter color than OG A or B. Some of them aren't the same size so you'll have to tap the pics to read all of it

Their fight in the first universe, where they don't really know what's going on but they do know they have just recently broken up and are still very hurt abt that

P much the only scene written for the Superhero AU bit, mainly bc I know I cannot top this

There's a bit of a jump in their conversation between these two, but I hope it still makes sense. Mid-part 3, around the time when B's having his existential crisis and right when they start being fruity. (Pastel/Punk AU also High School AU but it's like the weird teen movie version of high school - they're a little weirded out by it lol)

And ofc Dead Gods AU my beloved <3

Also I made a playlist. They're not really in any particular order story-wise, and some remind me of the story more than others, but yeah :)

When I tell you this story fuckgin HAUNTS me bro......