#u probably meant people having a battle royal over them

[dovewingkinnie]

battle royale of the wives!! 😈

if my wives fought for me in a battle royal this is how it would go

[uncoordinated-house-cat]

pls rant about nicholas ii 👀

dude i am so glad u asked. i mean, u didn’t ask for the entire rant about both russian revolutions, but here u are anyway. (but also im a teenager history student so this is very biased and i checked most of my facts but not all of them so don’t quote me and if a history person who actually knows what they’re doing finds a mistake don’t @ me) ok so nicholas ii was an absolute ********** and had an iq of -1000 and he was still super convinced that he could run all of russia, which is like a freaking huge country with millions of people who are super poor (peasants made up 85% of the population in 1905 when the first revolution happened, the number of people below the poverty line was probably way higher when the actual revolution happened and he got overthrown but bitch had it cOMING) 

so here’s the thing. nick, a spoiled child who let’s say is twelve years old when his dad alexander dies of assassination (omg i googled the dates and HE WAS TWELVE I WAS RIGHT FHDSJKLAFHSD) has been told, since he was a tiny but no less annoying baby, that he was amazing and very smart and was absolutely entitled to rule all of russia and he was like ‘hell yeah bro this is my divine right wahoo guess i don’t have to pay attention in my ‘how to be a good leader’ lessons cos god chose me to be the tsar so i already am one #thuglife’ 

so he met this girl named alix, who was princess of somewhere irrelevant and incredibly religious (and also deluded but that becomes important later) and he falls in love with her and they get married, which is nice but probably not a good long-term decision because through her friend, nick meets rasputin (and i love the ra ra rasputin song but rasputin was very very problematic) and that’s one of the many, many, many stupid things he does that makes literally every single person in russia (again, lots of people) mad at him. but nick is in love, and he marries alix, and this is all very nice if russia was a substantially smaller and easier country to run and nick was actually a competent leader then maybe there wouldn’t have been a revolution! but alas, this was not the case. 

so as we all know, russia is fucking enormous. for people who have never looked at a map in their entire life, this is russia

and it has more landmass than several continents put together. chonky boi. and the capital city where the royal family lives? well, you’d assume it’s somewhere in the middle ish, since russia’s such a huge country and you kinda need to be in the middle in order to have literally any idea what’s going on and stop your people from revolting under your freaking nose, so put it in the middle. 

but nOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. they put the capital in st. petersburg, a place that’s like five minutes drive from finland, estona, latvia, ukraine (although that would probably take a while but u get the point) and LITERALLY NOWHERE NEAR ANYWHERE IN RUSSIA. ARGH. 

i’m pretty sure the reasoning for this was ‘it’s been there since forever and everything was fine then so we don’t need to change it’ cos back when russia was actually a country-sized country instead of the mammoth it is now (we’re talking 1539, and by country-sized country it was still bigger than most of western europe put together), the country was all the way over to the left, where st. petersburg is, so they probably had the capital there foreeeeeeever. even after they expanded and became mcfreaking enormous bc sOmEoNe (not naming names *cough cough* ivan the terrible *cough cough*) decided it would be an awesome idea to have some expansionist policy, yay, and now we’ve ended up with this monstrosity. and while you might think that having a big country is great, it’s not. here’s why:

- so many people. soooo many people

- how u gonna keep track of all of them?? it takes like 8 years to get from one side of this bad boy to the other

- since nobody can control russia cos of all the land and all the people, the culture just goes absolutely backward. the peasants are too poor to afford food, let alone an education, and it’s not as if nicky is gonna build free public schools or raise wages or anything, lol, so the collective russian mindset is a bit of a dumpsterfire

- if, say, a revolution were to happen, which of course it can’t hahaha everybody know’s nick’s the divine ruler and overthrowing him wouldn’t be possible cos everyone’s so thrilled with their life in a very cold place with no food, awful policies, terrible wages and working conditions and a tsar who cares more about hanging out with his family than actually doing his duty as leader of the biggest country in the world?? then the tsar wOULDN’T KNOW THE REVOLUTION WAS HAPPENING UNTIL IT WAS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY AND SOMEONE WAS HOLDING A GUN TO HIS STUPID TINY PEABRAIN HEAD

and nick did not do a lot to help the russian people to live unproblematic, non-poverty-stricken lives. in the early 1900s, there was a big move to the cities cos everyone was moving to the cities which meant there were more educated people getting jobs or going to university and going ‘hey, our wages are shit, nobody has any food and it seems like the tsar is doing a really bad job and just living in the lap of luxury while his entire country suffers?? should we do something about this??’

but he did do something. oh, boy. nicky, looking at all his ancestors going ‘bro aren’t u gonna expand the country that’s literally the one thing russia is good at u can’t break our streak’ went and conquered siberia. then he built a railway, cos he needed a water outlet for trade and stuff. he called it the trans-siberian railway. he wanted to make it really big, and cross over into manchuria, so he had a bit of a war with china which he won and then he built the railway in manchuria. 

meanwhile, japan has been practising their war tactics a lot recently and while they don’t have much of a reputation in the west (like at all, nobody takes them seriously) and they also want to expand and flex their fighting skills a bit, they cross into manchuria and are like ‘i want this land. gimme’ and nick is like ‘nah fam i’m good’ and japan is like ‘>:( one last warning’ and nick is like ‘lol ur country is tiny and my country is huge have u seen all these buff russian soldiers i have guarding the railway i could crush u with my boot’ and then the japanese launch a surprise attack! on the russian squadron at port arthur. nick made the pikachu face, then the russo-japanese war started. 

uh oh, bad decision! looks like the russians are losing and even tho there’s lots of them there are more japanese and they have better battle tactics, so nick sends more soldiers. thing is, everyone in russia is already super poor so they can’t afford to have the [relatively] healthy, working men go off to war and die, cos that’s not practical at all and now they have even less money and food. fast forward, russia loses the war, nick makes the pikachu face again, stays in his nice mansion while the rest of russia starts going ‘grrr’ as well as ‘brrrr’.

and then this dude called gapon who’s a nice priest guy goes to petition the tsar to have better working conditions, fairer wages, a bunch of other stuff but they’re all very fair and reasonable. nick is like ‘nooooo!!’ and his uncle is like ‘nOoOoO!!!!!!1!!!’ and orders the army to shoot the peaceful protesters, so it gets called bloody sunday. this makes everyone really unhappy again, and it’s called the russian revolution of 1905 cos there are a lot of strikes and even while nick is like ‘haha this isn't happening’ they don’t reeeally accomplish much bc nick stays on the throne, and the russians are very mad but not mad or coordinated enough to overthrow the autocracy. there was this new parliament thingo called the duma, because nick’s only competent political adviser, count witte, was like ‘bro u literally have no choice but to form a new democratic government’ and nick was like ‘oh ok what if i made a government but it’s not really democratic or effective bc they have very limited power’ and witte was like ‘nick nO’ and nick was like ‘hehe nick yes’ and the duma was formed

--fast forward to 1917-- *time vworp noises*

so russia is poor. again. everyone is mad. again. all the men have been sent off to war. again. this time, it’s because of world war 1! 

and yikes, the russian army have it bad. like seriously, those dude were suffering lots and lots. very ouchy, no food, too cold, everyone is dying. it wasn’t great.

nick was like ‘hmm this war seems to be going well anyway look at my children aren’t they cute one of them broke an expensive vase today that’s so funny!!!’ (i made that up but he really didn’t care much and spent a lot of money u get the gist)

lots of strikes are happening. nobody is happy, and this time there are actually some organised people who can channel the rage into a revolution that might actually get something done this time. 

by the way, rasputin has turned up!! *cue the ra ras*

so rasputin introduces himself to some lady who’s a friend of alix, and alix, being super religious and super deluded and also having a sick son -

oh yeah, she had like five kids (was it five? not sure it was a lot) and the first four of them were girls and she was like ‘oh my god who’s gonna rule the country i have to have a boy’ and then she finally had a boy and his name was alexei and everything was great until they discovered that he had haemophilia, which is a hereditary illness that means ur skin is super weak or smth and whenever u, like, bump a table and u would normally get a little bruise, instead u start bleeding like you’ve been shot and yeah it was super problematic and it meant alexei was constantly sick and bleeding

- and so alix said to rasputin, who proclaimed to heal people like he was basically jesus, ‘yo dude can u pls heal my son it’s pretty urgent ngl’ and rasputin was like ‘uh huh lemme just take a look at him’ and he had a check up with alexei who somehow healed?? i don’t know how, he just sorta did, (he still had the haemophilia but alix was convinced it was gone for good) and so she turned into rasputin’s Number One Fan and started spouting all his very false religious conspiracy theories and made him a very important member of politics which was Not Good

and then count witte, the sensible one, was like ‘hmm this rasputin fellow seems kinda shady also he has thousands of STIs i don’t think it’s a good look if ur wife is hanging out with him all the time bc there are lots of rumours and he just seems super sketchy i reckon we should get rid of him’ and nick was like ‘no U’

he just uno reverse-carded him. witte tried to investigate rasputin and then nick was like ‘hmm i guess i’ll dissolve the duma cos ur being annoying’ and witte resigned like two days later. fair. if i had to deal with nick on a daily basis, there would probably be a lot of punching (of him, by me, in case u couldn’t tell bc im full of rage)

and there were a lot of rumours going around about alix & rasputin (which was kinda fair, because they hung out all the time and rasputin was a very sus person) so alix’s credibility was questioned and she was accused of selling secrets to the enemy, which was a bit dramatic (im pretty sure it was because she came from germany, and she was called ‘the german woman’ by a lot of the public)

--- also this isn’t very relevant to nick but i thought it was incredibly funny how rasputin died and it was time for a break from all that serious stuff so ~INTERLUDE~ --- 

note: start listen to rasputin by boney m cos this is where it gets hilarious (and the song also narrates his assassination lol)

so nobody liked rasputin. he had a lot of sex with pretty much everyone, he was very religious but also spouted a lot of nonsense, he was involved in some very dubious stuff and he was in favour of a lot of policies that the general public did not want at all. so a lot of people tried to murder him. and nearly all of them failed!! turns out, rasputin is really difficult to assassinate. there were a bunch of attempts on his life, all failed, before this one dude was like ‘bro i gotta put a stop to this’ so he invited rasputin to his house cos he was rsaputin’s bud (his name was yusupov btw)

dude gave him some cakes. they were laced with cyanide (poison) and rasputin was like cronch cronch, nom nom. did not die. ate a lot of cake. 

yusupov was like ?????????????

gave him some wine. wine was also poisoned. rasputin was like ‘dude this wine is good where can i get some more’ and he drank three glasses of it. the wine was poisoned with cyanide as well, btw. and the doctors who had helped plan this had carefully put enough cyanide in each glass to kill SEVERAL MEN. still not dead somehow???? 

so yusupov went ‘ok time for plan c’ and shot him. rasputin was like ‘ow’ and fell over. yusupov checked his pulse, there was now, he was like ‘ok good job’

and then while they were discussing their cover story upstairs, yusupov went back down to check on rasputin’s body and dude was sTILL ALIVE.

so they shot him again, tied him up, shot him one more time for good measure (and they shot him in the forehead at some point but apparently he was still alive???) and then they threw him into a frozen river. where he died of hypothermia, after having consumed enough cyanide to kill dozens of men and being shot three times, one of which was literally in his head. hhhh.

*sigh of relief* he finally died. fINALLY. the dudes who assassinated him got exiled but nothing worse than that because everyone in russia was like ‘well someone had to do it’

~~END OF INTERLUDE~~

now shit is getting rEAL. i mean, not for nick, obviously. but everyone else is like ‘ohmygosh rasputin is dead we actually got something done yay!!!’ 

so it’s february 1917 in petrograd. nick is on holiday with his family 800km away with literally no idea what’s going on. 15 million russians were away at war, and 1.7 million had died. lots of strikes and protests are happening. bIG protests. people were breaking into stores to get food, because of the awful food shortages, and it was very very cold so everyone was slightly extra mad. the police shot at some of the people who had gotten up onto the rooftops, so they protests turned into riots. all the people who were on strike from work joined the riots, and the women workers who had come out for international women’s day marched around the nearby factories and got another 50,000 people (including students and teachers) to join the riots (which was A Lot) and by the 25th of february the riots had gotten so big that pretty much every business in petrograd was shut down. literally everyone was rioting. 

the tsar was like ‘hmm that doesn’t look good’ and ordered his army to shut the riots down. there were about 180k troops in the city, but only about 12k were actually able to fight bc the rest of them were all injured from the war. they didn’t want to suppress the riots by force bc a lot of women were in the crowds (guess chivalry isn’t dead?) so when the tsar was like ‘no u gotta do it’ the troops were like ‘fuck u’ and either joined the riots or yeeted outta there. hooray!! 

the tsar was like ‘ok everything is under control’ (partly bc his official informant gave him the wrong info rip) and didn’t accede to any of the rioter’s demandsor do anything for a while. and here’s the thing. the tsar’s cabinet sent a telegram to nick saying ‘bro u gotta resign, we’re literally on the verge of revolution’ and nick read it, wrote ‘lol’ in his diary and refused to answer. 

the next day, there was another telegram saying ‘bro, u GOTTA resign. the revolution is happening now. if u don’t resign, the entire monarchy will be overthrown and ur reign will be o-v-e-r’ 

and nick wrote an entry in his diary saying ‘what nonsense is this? i can’t believe they’re sending me telegrams about this rubbish, as if i’m going to do anything’ (and im paraphrasing bc i don’t have my book w me but he definitely used the word “nonsense” and wrote a bunch of awful stuff about it) 

the next day, nick got another telegram that basically said ‘welp. country’s over. good while it lasted, revolution is happening now and it’s too late for you to do anything about it bc u didn’t listen to my numerous warnings to resign’ and nick was like ‘wait should i... do something about this??? hmm... yeah!! i’ll go up to petrograd and show ‘em who’s boss!! can’t defeat the absolute power of the tsar, huzzah!!’ 

and he went up to petrograd and got arrested. he had no choice but to abdicate, adn then he and the rest of his family were put under house arrest. there was a bit of an argument about whether they should be exiled to some western country, but all the western europeans were like ‘we don’t want nick u can keep him’ so they put him under house arrest in one of his palaces, where nick pretty much just chilled out with his family until they were all executed because everyone in russia was still very mad at them. 

(and in 1981 nick and his family were recognised as ‘martyred saints’, which is fine for the rest of them but nick absolutely did not deserve it)

thus concludes my very, very long rant. i spent way too long writing this, but my history teacher would be proud of me.

[rosesanthology]

Across time | Akaashi Keiji x F!reader [soulmate!AU]

for this one i tried a little bit of world building to put more context into some stuff as i suck at accurate and realistic historical aeras, this ended up being WAY longer than planned oof also YES i 100% took the well idea from Inuyasha👉🏽👈🏽

- Moeru Fukuro means blazing owl

- au where the reader finds themselves enamored far beyond the limits of alternate timeline and universes

[Tags] : @raevaioli @chenle @lcaita and @lceiji

- it was all because of a stupid dare

- it's a shame you agreed to do anything when more than 50$ were on the line (O.O)

- your friends from high school thought it seemed like SUCH  a good idea to dare you to spend 3 hours in the woods next to your house in exchange for 60$

- the 3 hours of course starting from midnight

- but you weren't one to back down from that kind of stuff

- no sir

- the only thing you had to do was to wait by the abandoned well surrounded by trees without anything to distract you (you trusted them with your phone anyway)

- tonight wasn't even that cold anyway

-so here you were, waiting for time to pass as you listened to the sounds around you

- you found it absolutly mesmerizing, how everything around you had its own identity through the sounds made

- you had always felt calmer in moments like these, by yourself at nighttime, just taking everything in

- you had been to this well many times before, the old lady who lived accross from your appartment told you that it was used as  a wishing well most of the time

- she spoke of how many people through the times had thrown coins into the unsettling darkness of the pit and wished for true love and stuff like that

- the other day, you had found her there and she told you about how that very same well helped her meet her soulmate

- you hardly believed her

- the wishing part ? Okay. It's a normal thing to throw coins into fountains and wells and pray for things. But soulmates ? That seemed like a reach

- so you felt pretty dumb for staring into the dark pit of most likely freezing water as intensely

- you also felt pretty dumb for making sure that you brought a coin with you on this outting

- okay maybe......the idea of finding your soulmate was not so repulsive.... (◡‿◡✿)

- you didn't hope it would work too hard but still.....just sayin that it would be nice

- so, you threw the coin, listening to its sound as it came in contact with the water at the bottom after a long fall and you started praying

- "i don't really know how this is supposed to be done but....if the stories are true can i please meet the love of my life ? If not possible i also accept checks and cash (▰˘◡˘▰)"

- you didn't really mean the money part

- but you know.....getting rich isn't that bad

- at that moment you felt smart for bringing a hoodie because ???? The wind was extremely strong all of a sudden like ?? Sheesh

- you were about to sit down and cuddle into your hoodie for warmth but then u SWORE U HEARD A VOICE COMING FROM THE WELL

- and you aint crazy but you're about dumb enough to lean your head above the opening to hear better

- i think you know where this is going....

- the wind's strength had you tumbling down the well in no time

- time seemed to slow down as you plummeted toward the surface of the water

- soon you came in contact with it, cold soaking your clothes and hurting all the way to your bones. You could see the moon thru the suprisingly clear water as well as the bubbles from your last reserve of air, all this caused you to pass out.

- in the capital of the kingdom MoeruFukuro, they were many things ; from kind townfolks, to golden rice paddies and from a gorgeous royal castle to roaming forest demons

- you heard me right

- the lands around were infested by demons and spirited who manifested at night, some benevolant and others not so much

- thankfully for the royal priest Tsukishima's magical talismans placed all around the town, the people could leave in peace, the malignant creatures knowing better than trying to overcome the spells

- the capital could pride itself all around the country for having ones of the most powerful and smart array of people there ever were in addition to being prosperous from the folks' trade businesses

- for example, in the royal palace, you could find as forementionned priest and mage; Tsukishima Kei, legend has it that he was blessed by Kaguya, the goddess of the moon herself in order to have such knowledge of spells

- there was also General Kuroo Tetsurou, who had his fair share of tales and admirers alike, the biggest one being the one in which he had saved a thousand men from a demon by sacrificing himself, earning its respect and protection in battle

- obviously there was the crowned prince, Bokuto Koutaro. Well he might seem a little air headed and childish at first sight but he takes his duties very seriously even if they consist in little things such as gathering the peoples' eventual complaints himself, some people going as far as saying that he is the closest thing to a god on earth

- and then, wherever Bokuto went, it would be near impossible to forget about his right arm and advisor, the wise and renowned astronomer Akaashi Keiji. If Tsukishima had been blessed by the moon goddess then many people believed that Akaashi was the one who tought Omoikane, god of wisdom and intelligence himself, everything he knew. He was everything people wished they were, calm, good looking, creative, reasonable and intelligent beyond mesure. No wonder he was the one Bokuto trusted the most by his side

- studying the sky also brought Akaashi much knowledge on seasons and the movements of stars and such, providing help to both the people and Tsukishima

- Akaashi did not live in the castle however, well technically yes but he did have a workshop of his own a bit farther in the territory, where he could dedicate himself to staring at the night sky he loved so very very much from his makeshift observatory/rooftop

- he also had a lovely well near his observation tower that Tsukishima had passive agressively insisted on cleansing for him (>.<)

- so there he was, in this particularly enchanting night

- something about that full moon, shining stars and clear sky just about almost got some tears out of him

- but he was interrupted when he heard a low growl from beneath his observation tower

- naturally he looked down to where it came from and saw a fire fox spirit inching suspiciously close to an unconscious girl on the ground near the well

- the demons avoided the talismans yes but that far from the heart of the city trickster spirits and ghouls could just about do as much chaos as they pleased

- rushing to get down, Akaashi took his bow and arrows ready to get rid of the spirit and make sure the girl, no matter how strange her clothes looked like, was safe

- it was fast work, his arrows reaped through the night air seemingly at lighting speed and quickly made the spirit disappear

- muttering a small banishing prayer he picked up the passed out girl and brought her on top of his observatory

- she was dry but she was still shivering from the cold

- "she must not be used to the cold" thought the young astronomer, taking off his haori to put on top of her frame and sitting down next to her, looking downwards at her now relaxed features

- he did not know why he brought her up there but right now it just felt right. So he went on with looking at the sky, resting his hands flat on the ground near his sides

- you were awake, enough to feel a warmth next to you but not enough to open your eyes yet

- you thought that you'd fallen asleep after making the wish and that your friends had carried you back to your room or something

- but it was to cold to be true

- you peaked slightly from between your lashes and were met with a GORGEOUS night sky

- usually in your city, the sky was too polluted to be able to see that many

- and the full moon seemed closer than usual, bewitching, enchanting, almost asking you to come to her, so in a way you did

- now fully awake, you outstretched your hand toward the celestial body, not really thinking in the moment

- "you're awake ! How are you feeling ?" said a silvery soft voice, almost similar to a whisper

- so similar you thought that you were still dreaming as it was the same one you've heard before imagining falling into the well

- your train of thought was quickly cut short by the feeling of warm hands around your own outstreched one

- oh this was definitly real

- you sat up im a swift movement, looking around you and only seeing trees and rice paddies, as well as the lights of a town in the distance

- you almost didn't hear the man's voice over your own rapidly beating heart

- almost

- "Everything's okay now, calm down" he said, probably noticing your panic and rubbing his thumb over your knuckles

- his words seemed to immediatly sink into your very soul at the second they came out of his mouth, and worst is that you thought that if it meant to be marked in such a way you would be glad to have your soul inked all over with just his words

- but you still didn't know him so you kept that thought to yourself

- "who are you and where am i ?" Your voice was so shaky and your mind so foggy that you weren't even sure if they ever made it out of your throat

- but Akaashi heard you loud and clearer than anything before, just touching your hand had seemed like such a common task but the needle like sensation that ran up his whole arm begged to differ, he regained his composure fast though

- "my name's Akaashi Keiji and you're in the kingdom of MoeruFukuro" he made sure to speak as softly as possible, never letting go of your hand, fearing that maybe, if he let go you would disappear back into the wind

- ".....my name's Y/N L/N....listen i don't think im supposed to be here- well more like...now"

- "what do you mean ?"

- and so you explained to him how you actually came from the 21st century in what you could only assume to be another timeline and universe, trying to sound as calm as possible

- because well, you weren't dumb, and castle as "cool and fantasy anime looking like that" were not so common

- Akaashi kept drinking in your voice, painfully aware of every movement of your face, every little speaking quirk and tones, never breaking contact

- he was fast in reassuring you on his own world, he spoke of his life, of his friends and of the castle, not leaving out the fact that demons and spirits were a common factor, carefully choosing his phrasing and explaining with the most concise words

- explaining so well that you felt as if you already knew all these things, deep in yourself

- and time passed

- you soon found yourself laying on you back, fingers still intertwined with the royal astronomer, talking about your lives, as if you were desperatly but as easily as breathing trying to make the other remember your existence, trying to get a part of your souls back

- the silence of the night made your voices reach the other in an almost pieircing melody, the deep blue and silver sky as your only witness of this moment

- "so you're an astronomer right.....why do you like the stars so much Keiji ?"

- oh man did he love hearing you say his name, it sounded like the rarest music he's ever heard coming from you

- "i guess it just comes easily to me....i've never felt lonely in the castle, my friends are supportive and strong even though i've never been particularly good with people....when i come here for reasons other than work and stare at the sky, it feels like im finally walking in my own feelings, finally able to search for something that i somehow always wanted..."

- he turned to your face and swore that he saw many more stars in your eyes than he has in his whole life and continued on

- " it feels- it felt like trying to find a part myself that had been fragmented and thrown into the universe....a part of myself that was very much more human than i thought"

- "oh" was all you could muster between that and the flood of feelings that was inside your heart

- you felt like you were running out of time.

- you felt like you had to make the most out of this precise instant.

- you suddenly jerked up, making Akaashi jump at the sudden move

- he sat up with you, facing you, unsure of what  that was all about

- " Keiji !" You said, full of determination despite the advanced hour of the night, and when he nodded and smiled, humming slightly as response you took it as your greenlight to continue

- " Let's find each other again ! Whether it be in this life or another ! We're bounded together now and im sure whichever gods brought me to you will make it happen again no matter what. So you have to promise me before it's too late....don't forget about me !"

- Akaashi's eyes bore into yours with as much intensity as yours and returning the smile you wore on your face

- he let go off your hand for the first time that night and you felt as if an invisible countdown just started somewhere

- he took of a teal and marine blue colored thread bracelet that he wore and put in on your wrist, it had a small crescent moon symbol made of nacre on it....how in character

- how....him

- "there. That way i won't ever forget you. I sure hope you don't forget about me either"

- the last thing your remembered was the gorgeous yet so undoubtfully sad smile of the astronomer before waking up, warm, in your own bed

- you looked around in a hurry and little did you know, you were back into your appartment's bedroom

- you figured it was just a dream

- and yet your heart was still beating against your ribcage and tears were stinging your eyes

- you looked at your phone to check the time since the sun had already went up and your eyes fell on the bracelet you were wearing on your wrist

- you wasted no time in DASHING out of your appartment straight to the old lady's, well too aware that what had happened last night was definitely not a dream

- as you rung the doorbell you were too busy trying to calm your heart that was still trying to beat out of your chest to hear an all too familiar voice from inside the appartment saying "i'll take this"

- the door opened and you almost fainted

- "hi ! Im Akaashi Keiji your new neighbor from next door.....have we met before ?"

[kanene-yaaay]

Reasons to Smile

Kanene's Notes: 

Reasons to smile:

Today wasn't a sunny day, and I wake up early, which was pretty cool so that way I had time to finally finish my fanfic and post it. Oh, I have internet, and this is also awesome, since I can show this fanfic and talk with you all because of it. And the fun thing about Sun is that is okay the fact that it wasn't showing up a lot today because you guys alone are enough to light up my day and warm my heart. So thank you for being here and being so strong in these tough times, my lollipop!

Warnings, fun facts, random things and stuff:

* Roman!Patton and Ler!Patton/Ler!Virgil/Ler!Roman (It can be seen as Romantic or Platonic LAMP/CALM). 

*Hmmm… This is a Tickle-Fanfic! If you don’t like this kind of stuff, please look for another blog, there are plenty of amazing art in this site!! ‘u’).

* Something around 4.500 words. -w-)b.

* Sorry for any spelling, pontuation and grammar mistakes! Any advice is very very welcome!

* I'm very happy I finally managed to finalize this fanfiction! I made an personal goal to make to each one of the Light Sides a tickle fic focused on them specifically (Virgil = Vulnerable; Logan = It started when... ; Patton = Patton has a secret) and that was the last one! I'm already starting another project which I hope to post soon, so donut worry! I will be opening my Ask Box for prompts, however I will make a post about it, soon! <3

* E a versão em português brasileiro! 

* Masterpost in case you wanna see my others works! <3

*Thankys for reading, my lollipops! Watch a fun video, read a good story, talk with the one that you love and drink water! Byeioo!~

                          [~*~]

Roman felt he was the least heroic hero from all the Mind Palace. It was horrible, like a sensation which seemed to start in his chest, in that deepest part of him where the soul is, and began to spread through all his body. First his throat, making it dry and with tons and tons of lost words never said, then it went to his stomach, leading it to weight as much as his legs, which didn’t felt have any strength left to stand or move in any direction; his eyes looked as dikes about to broke and flood everything in they way, and, in the end, he didn’t felt any cold, however this didn’t stopped him from drow himself in tons of comforters and teddy bears just like he currently was.

As he said before: Not even a drop of heroism.

 The soft, warm pile moved some time later as the prince emerged from it, not completely healed, but at least a little better after the nap he had. His hand moved with a flourish in the air, summoning Crofter’s, because he was addicted to this jelly after the musical video, and started to eat, feeling his face getting dirty with his own clumsy actions already inserted in his being.

 Jelly on his face, messy hair, tired, sleepy eyes… Yep, definitely these were the ‘royal days’ which any Fairy Tale ever utter. None chapter mentioning, explaining how were the thousands of days in the tower waiting, dreaming; not a page dedicated to the lonely afternoons wandering through the forest in seek of a beauty lady with skin pale as snow, or even some phrases about the months surrounded and arrested in himself that Maui had to struggle and neither three or four verses about all the sleepless nights watered in guilty that the Beast had gone through.

 Perhaps, it was because in the end…

 - Nobody cares that much. - The words sounded even tougher when left his lips and Roman felt himself squirm as if it had inflicted a physical blow. He shook his head, knowing very well the bottomless well he was burying himself into.

 He took a deep breath and opened the desk drawer picking up the old-looking folder, with a single draw of a feather outlined with glitter in its cape. He leaned on the bed’s headboard and opened the emergency folder for ‘heroic moments not so heroic of life’ as he liked to call it.

 There were all that intimate stories. The ones we do just for ourselves. The arts in which we are inserted in the world that we chose in the way we wish… Stories with a plot very much deeper that the one traced on papers and the chats and scenes which that had already been turned over, reinvented and transformed again and again and again in the mind of the creative aspect. Took a good sip of air and released slowly in the paper with doodles at the edges. The traces and dialogues started to float from them and dance in the wind, recreating, reorganizing and materializing themselves in the characters, places and contexts previously determined. His trace was light and clear, seeming to flow slightly and naturally with the wind as his room began to take a form of a magnificent forest.

 Roman observed the stories unfold before him, sporadically remembering the jokes he had written much longer ago and the trail each action leaded the character. He remembered also the ideas he had when wrote every single one of these words and how much happy he was just by the simple fact he was putting them on lines, without even realizing it Roman found himself with a small smile finding way to his features along with some salty drops pioneering trails down his cheeks and his hand centimeters away from the holograms, doomed to his destiny of always being capable to have any scenario, character and plot at his fingertips, but nothing more than that.

 His not so optimal thoughts were pulled out of him when laughter and teasing cut the place and almost automatically made a pleasant shivers ran across his body. Now a real smile took over his face without he even noticing it, his eyes attentive to every detail of the protagonist being pinned in the floor and attacked by his other two friends.

 Not a common attack, of course, because Roman could be anything but ‘common’. That, as the majority of the stories, which were in that folder, was a story developed around… tickling.

 So, nothing more fair than the principal character, being the hurried and naturally inattentive adventurer who he was (and because in the last day he had a problematic night) didn’t noticed that, when he went to land the ship he forgot to do the necessary procedures before it (he would need to question Logan about the functions from a ship’s painel control later) and because of that the automobile suffered severe damage by the time it hit the ground. Then, nothing more fair than, while the ship was being repaired, both of his best friends tickled him by the same amount of time (which, sure, was a lie, because they would stop immediately when noticed his ‘victim’ had researched his limit. However, the merely possibility of that happens and the teasing they directed towards him about this only made the entire situation more ticklish and playful.)

 (What? It was like said: the thing put on the paper is only the beginning of the whole iceberg behind the plot.)

 When a story was over, the words returned floating to the paper where they belonged, the scribbles being again fixed, and then Roman took another one and brought it to life, sometimes closing his eyes in order to concentrate even more on the laughter and try to visualize fingers dancing in his most ticklish spots.

 Just the thoughts about it leaded to ghost sensations ran across his entire spine. The papers fell with each story that ended and floated gracefully to the ground, because, later he would busy himself with the task of tidying up all that mess.

 Later.

 (~*~)  

He left his room, already having organized it and saved his little folder back to its original place (one story was missing, probably lost in some corner of his forest. He would care about this another day, though. He was tireeeeeed.). He was interrupted some quick times by Thomas seeking to discuss new goals and dreams they could perceive in the next moths and someday in the future, which made him to be late for the dinner and, consequently, his entire routine after meal, and it was for that reason which at ten at night the aspect of passion and creativity was washing his clothes for the next video, that may or may not would be in the morning. Something which made him almost pray to not rain in the next day so he wouldn’t need to take his vestments to dry in the forest in his room. 

 Since it was almost IMPOSSIBLE to find anything by own will and not literally tripping over them (Not that this ever happened before with his teddy bear which went there to take some sunlight after a particularly strong storm in the Mind Place. Pffff. Of course not. Prince doesn’t stumble, or have teddy bear neither!! Who told you that??)  in that indomitable world just as the creativity...

 Wait…

 Ah, that was why this world was his room and he is the aspect of creativity and… aaahh! Now the things made sense...

 My goshly gosh, now he was beginning to look for logic in the pieces of his routine. OK. Red alert. Abort Mission! Sad days made him WAY too philosophical and like Logan. Abort Mission!

 His foot leaded him to the living room, letting the washing machine do its job, his mind in a battle to decide which Disney to watch and which ones had duration just a bit longer than the washing process. His eyes landed in the television and his body froze for a piece of second.

 “Reasons to smile today”

 That's what the paper stuck to the device's screen said. It was a notebook’s common paper, the words scribbled a bit stronger than the necessary amount, however this wasn’t the cause of the guardian of dreams and passion stop in the way to his happiness.

 And yes what that phrase meant.

 It was a Logan’s idea (amaze!) which emerged in a particularly difficult period for Thomas.

 It was really simple, to be honest: every day all the sides got together, more specifically in the breakfast, and told at least one reason to smile and look forward that day. Usually it was Patton who listed more than half of the reasons in almost every meetings, them being memories, peoples or places, e that constantly managed to rip out a good smile and that warm, cozy feeling in their chest.

 But, when the moral aspect was feeling too much down for the activity, Roman always jumped with a good future, those where all their dreams were accomplished, Logan always brought some good memories and neutral facts and Virgil always came with someone. One supported the other and vice versa.

 Those were really tough moments, nevertheless also were the moments which consolidated them as a famILY.

 The royal member held de paper, the entire room bathed in a silence in which he could swear to amplificate his heartbeats. It was possible to notice there was something written in the back of it, so he turned it.

 “Your unwavering courage.”

 The lights went off and two hands digged in his sides, a scream getting stuck in his throat and his reflexes to punch what touched him was equally restrained by THAT specific sensation.

 - NAHAHAHAHAHA! – His laughter was quick to fill each piece of the silent before installed in the place, his own hands swinging from left to right without really managing to do something, completely different from the ones which attacked him, each single finger mixing between wriggling, kneading, trembling and giving an extra special attention to every inch it could research. He quivered, his legs weakening with the flow of laughter. - WHOHOHOHOHOHOOHOHOHOHOHOHO I-I-IS - A particularly mean poke in his lowest rib made his voice to fail, a new shade of blush painting his features. - ACK! - An amused snort could be heard from behind him, the tickling fingers found the new sound interesting and now spent their time slowly spidering up and down his ribs. Light, quick and crazy tickles dancing and spreading with each touch. - nahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

 He knew this game, knew how to play it. He just needed to find out who was attacking him. Whilst his squirming, his hands tried to hold or touch anything from who was behind him. A hint. Any hint.

 Roman grabbed a wrist. It was uncovered, but there was fabric right behind it. Just one of them wore clothes long-sleeved - His thoughts seemed to run and vanish as fast as the squeaks and yelps between his hearty laughter - Just one of them wore vestments long-sleeved…

 The unknown wrist released itself from his hold, quickly deviating its attention to his upper ribs. His legs weakened and he fell in the ground, the tickling following all his moves and don’t stopping to attack him with light kneads and pinches, even with all his fighting.

 - Anahahahahahahahah-anahahahahaha!!! - His eyes closed in attempt to focus for the name slip already, but his laughter seemed to control all his breath and mind. -ANXIEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHETY! NAHAhahahaha!!

 The fingers slowed down, almost stopping, which allowed the aspirant of royalty finally take some deep quick, delightful breathes, his low and wobbly giggles intertwined with fast squeals being fed up by two index fingers that still poking and lightly teasing that exact spot that connect his armpits and ribs.

 - Thahahahahank Beyohohohohcé.

 - Tsc. - The purple aspect clicked his tongue and even though everything was bathed into darkness, Roman could perfectly imagine the expression in the other’s face. A sharp look. A marvelous smirk. Uh oh - We work with names here, Squeaky Princey.

 F U C-

 - Nononohohoho! wAHAHAHAHAHAIT- He even attempted to escape, sure, but was already giggling even before the hands came back to his sides in full speed. His laughter exploded from his lips, his legs and arms also dancing and struggling without any real effort and his eyes closing tightly.

 This jerk had told his name a few days ago and KNEW that none of them has get used to call him by that yet. He  k n e w.

 - YOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOUR STUHUHUHUHUUHUHUHP-NO! WHAHAHAHAHAHA-WHAHAHAHAHAIT!! - Snort. More high-pinched uncontrollable laughter. Squeal. More laughter. Did one of them belong to the emo side or did he imagined it? - LEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHET ME T-T-THIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHINK!!!

 Roman could feel the name in the tip of his tongue, somewhere between his loud and attention demanding crackles. Yes, right there, between his bright, mesmerizing smile and that warmth in his chest that seemed to spread through all across his face. He felt like would melt at any moment. Since when his smile could get this big?

 - VIRHIHIHIHIHIHIHIGIL!!! IT IHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIS VIRGIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIL!!!

 - Ding ding ding. – The lights went on again and the royal aspect deposited his hands on the floor, his remain giggles flowing from his mouth as those butterflies and that cozy sensation kept flying in his stomach. - Strike.

 - Yohohohou will feel my rahahahahag- However, when he turned, blushed features and teary eyes, to see the fear in his enemy's face as he uttered his promise of vengeance, the prince only found nothing. A gigantic piece of void where the purple one should be standing. The sheet preserved itself in the ground, calm and plain, in the same position he had left it, as it mocked about all the mess that happened seconds ago.

 - Who are you looking at, subject? - But the sparkles in his eyes removed any heat of his words.

He went to the laundry and now headed to his room. Being completely honest, he didn't felt a single drop of will to sleep right now, the previous ‘attack’ continued as a mystery. Of course, they all were extremely close, but... tickles? It have been a long time since this artifice was used among them. It was something almost as old as that phrase or that game…

 Ok. Something was smelling really strange here.

 Maybe it was his new cologne which- No, wait, Roman! Focus, focus!

 Maybe it was…

 An adventure.

 And what kind of royalty he would be if he denied an adventure?

 Unsheathed his sword and kept his track to his room, confident and brave footsteps echoing in the hallway.

 A quick and muffled ‘thump’ could be heard from his room, which automatically activated all the instincts from the extra side, because of that, in a matter of few seconds the wooden object was already being thrown in the ground by a smiley Roman, who managed to support himself in the only feet that didn’t hurted, since apparently, knocking -ha!- a door down with one (or more, shhh) kick can have consequences (How he was supposed to know?).

 - BOW TO YOUR PRINCE AND MAY I DECIDE TO SPARE YOU! - His heroic pose was totally ignored, because the place was empty. His eyes analyzed each corner and each shadow, without really finding anything that give the slightest tip that any other life being beyond him even stepped there. 

 And then his gaze bumped in a shiny, polished black shoe, half completely hidden under his bed, making a danger joyful grin to spread in his features. All his shoes were Disney tematic and had their own day and outfit and any of them had this shade of black.

 (Maybe the Ursula’s one was the one that looked more like, but even with this in mind it was very distinguishable the difference between a dark-purple and a basic dark, please!)

 His footsteps leaded him quietly, a perfect contrast with all the shouting from pieces of time ago. He slowly bent down, prepared to grab the shoe and whoever was wearing it and…

 - HA! YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD TRICK M- Good point: The shoe came easily out. Bad point: it was because it was empty, which was the reason for his glorious victory statement being, and and very rudely by the way, interrupted. Roman indignantly scoffed; he refused to let the victory escape so easily through his fingers! He was the embodiment of dreams, persistence and hope and he. wouldn’t. give. up. so. easily!!

 Inflated by his own enthusiasm, the royal side knelt down, noticing only a paper on the floor in a place a little further under his bed. Just a little crawl was necessary to solve the problem, with a gleam of determination in his glare Roman firmly held the hint, excitedly bouncing his legs, the only part of his body that wasn’t covered by the furniture.

 "Your persistence and mind of an untamed nature."

 Before he could even process a bit more the meaning contained in the words, which apparently were a continuation from previous paper, the prince felt a strong arm embrace his ankles, his shoes being removed with a slowly calm that didn’t related with the adrenaline which exploded in himself and now across his arteries. His ‘mind of an untamed nature’ understanding exactly what was about to happen and finding zero ways to run away from his fate.

 - NO!!! Don’t you dare!! - One of his shoes fell with a muffled hit on the ground. - I-I… hehehe…! - Giggles began to took over his throat. His other shoe fell as well, a cold, excited shiver ran down his spine. - No!! - A finger lightly positioned itself in the exact center of his feet, all his nerves vibrated in expectation. - NononononNo!

 The finger started to scratched softly, its nail slided without a single bit of hurry across his feet in a move that went from the tip of his toes to his heel, just to add another finger in the movement and calmly repeat the pattern over and over and over and over… Until all his five stupid tickly fingers were tickling him.

 Roman tried to escape from the gap in his ankle, his eyes as tighten as his lips, refusing to brake his barrier.

 The one who ‘attacked’ changed his technique a few times, going from circular motions to quick scribbles, however, he hasn’t rewarded with more than some muffled squeaks and snorts from the other. The fingers moved away, giving Prince time enough to recover profusely his breath, almost don’t hearing the soft humming which filled the air for some little pieces of heartbeats.

 Roman already had the name in the tip of his tongue. The letter alone was enough of a clue, albeit… the possibility to finish with the playing caused a part of himself to quiver sadly. He didn’t wished to end with this moment… No… In truth…

 He didn’t wanted this feeling to end. A feeling that made him excited, electric, feeling like he could run fifty kilometers nonstop. This sentiment, which automatically produced a smile in his features and made he really believes, realizes that he was…

 Was loved.

 Perhaps it was this the reason that his mouth opened even before his brain processed his provocation, challenger tune that impregnated his next words:

 - Há! My dear enemy! Your faux fighting techniques would never be able to defeat a prince like mí! - The creativity side could feel the anticipation, the danger sign glowing in a bright red, and launched his final card: his cocky laughter (and extremely natural. Of course, he never trained hours and hour in a diversity of tunes and expressions in front of his mirror. Humpft. Of course not. That was one of princes’ natural gifts.) of victory.

 The same that was interrupted seconds after by the twenty nails that scratched the absurdly, extremely ticklish skin under his toes. Roman could swear that not even in his years of theater he managed to achieve this high tune.

 - Ohohohohoh! NohohohohohOHOHOHOhohohoho! – His head shook desperately, his legs bouncing and fight for their lives and freedom, his laughter, now breathless and full of half pleas of mercy, dancing through his room.

 A part of himself, one which wasn’t maddened with all this tickling, all the fingers that attacked merciless every little centimeter of his feet and his reverberated laughter, fought against his flight instincts, leading the whole scribbles, pokes and wriggles to find the minimum of resistance as possible (Not that the Tickler will ever know it, sure.)

 - PLEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEEE - A nail found a very particularly sensible spot right under his big toe releasing a series of snorts and yelps throughout his already uncontrollable, wobbly laughter. The tickling was unbearable, but in a very different, more lightly, way than the previous attack, and that was making him crazy. - PleasepleasepleAHAHAHAHAHAHAHSEHEHEHE!! NAHAHAHAhahahahHAHAHAHahahahahaHAHAHAHA!!

 Roman persisted for a few more seconds, his entire body, despite the tickles being focused in just one place, squirmed. He only allowed the name to slip for his tongue when his laughter and giggles, it depended from the spot and apparently his ‘enemy’ wasn’t satisfied in choose just one, started to steal his breath. His hand hit the cold floor of his room.

 - LOGAN!!! IHIHIHIHIHIHIHIT IS Lohohohhohohohogan!!

 The tickles were decreasing until finally stop, making the tingles in his soles not as intense as the that took over his ribs and sides before in the living room. Roman, in the exact moment, which felt the gap in his ankle to weaken, pulled his feet closer, rubbing them.

 - Undoubtedly correct. - It could be his tickled mind pranking him, but the dreamer could swear he heard a hint of amusement in the other’s voice. It didn’t took longer for the prince to catch the characteristic sound of sinking, which resulted him quickly attempting to get out of under the bed to reach the one with glasses, after all, their battle hadn’t  ended yet!!

 - Wait right there! Don’t you freaking dare to- And, once again, his sentence was interrupted. Now for a little snort that flied from his lips when the logic aspect ran softly his fingers at his feet, making the prince to retract in defense, giving him time enough to disappear with a smirk, half joyful and half cocky, adorning his face.

 Roman really tried to be angry, but how much heated was his features and how much euphoric he was in the moment proved this action to be a little more difficult, which definitely wouldn’t aplacate his future revenge, of course.

 Now, though, his only plan was to take a shower and then sleep. For that he forced his tired body to get up and head his bathroom, part smiling and part yawning. He opened his door and stretched, feeling his bones to crack and muscles to relax.

 And then his gaze found the paper stuck in the mirror above his sink, his instinct screaming in a red alert for knowing very well the next step in this game.

 - NO! - Maybe it was the tiredness, however, before he could turn around to try to stop the attack a pair of hands hit in his armpits, something that made his legs automatically to fail and every and any coherent thought be tossed away from his brain to a far far away. The laughter already falling in great waterfalls from his mouth.

 - PAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHADREHEHE! - His real laughter, that specific one that only appears when his most ticklish spot is being attacked with the most ruthless tickles, was loud, thunderous  and definitely an easy sound to be noticed from miles away, Roman almost could feel his blush to spread across his neck just imagining Logan and Virgil smiling as heard him reverberate around the house.  – NAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

 - Ooooooh? - Patton’s playfully tune would be definitely impossible to hear if he wasn’t so close of his ears, his words leading to even more tickles and shivers in the other. - It seems that our little pretty prince here is ticklish? Coothie coothie coo! Oh, no! What are you gonna do? Huh? Huh? What our powerful, brave Prince Roman will do to escape from the Tickle Monster? Huh? Huh? Kitty Kitty Coo! My dear and ticklish prince!!

 - NOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO TEASIHIHIHIHIHIHIIHIHING, PAHAHAHAHAHATTON!

 The creativity’s embodiment trashed back and forth, his head shaking, perhaps in attempts to remove all the red in his face, maybe trying to dislodge those fingers that poked, kneaded, drummed and tickled every available skin they could research. Tears began to accumulate in the corner of his eyes,

 And, even with all his effort, his conscient parte still struggled against his instincts to escape and making him to get as close to the moral aspect as possible, almost laying on him.

 - But how could I ever stop when knowing that this give me access to all these cute squeals? - A poke in the right place and Roman exemplified his words. Patton giggled. - Not mentioning this wonderful and melodious laugher, Roman! It is adorable!!! - The paternal side seemed as happy as he did, the royalty aspirant could feel their laughter in harmony, and maybe (maybe, only!) his heart had melted a little. Or it was just his tears falling from his eyes, his mind was a mess, okay? Don’t ask for details nor logic.

 His laughter, high pinch squeals, snorts and breathless giggles endured for some more minutes before Roman pushed himself forward, laughing a plea to stop, which the one who wears cardigan promptly answered. They leaned against the wall, feeling the cold of the concrete aplacate the heat of the remaining giggles.

 For some seconds both stayed in silence, calming down.

 - Whahahat did you write?

 - Huh? - Patton blinked a few times, leaving his thoughts and staring the other with a stunning smile.

 - In the paper. I couldn’t read… And I expected a honest attack from you, padre! Attacking enemies from behind is very immoral!

 - Hehehehe! - Genuine smile, hands up as an act of surrender. - Anything goes in love and war.

 - Really bold words for someone so close from my fingers! - Roman showed an evil grin, punctuating each one of his words with pokes in the other’s belly, making him squirming in a sea of quick giggles, pushing his hands.

 - You stop right there, mister! - Protested, his glare assuming a paternal glint. - Tomorrow we have a video to record and we need to sleep early! Thomas will need his creativity radiant and rested!

 The prince whined, hands moving in exaggerated gestures and laying dramatically on the floor, following with his eyes as a smiling Patton stood up and pulled the paper from the mirror.

 - Ah! I wrote: ‘Your golden heart!’, but I think I should have written about your stories! - Roman felt his blood freeze, a quick flashback from the morning passing before his eyes. The holograms, flying scenarios, sheets falling, Thomas calling him to do something, the lost paper… - They’re amazing and give really ncredible ideas.

 His face suddenly looked as if it had been set on fire and for the first time in a long time the prince found himself speechless while the one with the glasses deposited the paper in his hands, kissed his forehead, wishing ‘Good night~’ before getting out, humming softly and disappeared from the other’s vision.

 Roman buried his face in his hands, grunting in frustration, which wasn’t too much easy to do when a smile from ear to ear looked to be stuck in his features.

 Yes, they had gave him a plenty of reasons to smile.

 Maybe it was for that reason that most of the stories didn’t told about these days, these moments… Perhaps because they were from such great and strong heroism that it was almost impossible to be entirely put in just one plot.

 And it was for that reason that Roman, while sitting on his bed, pencil and paper in hands, wanted to be the first one to do so.

[tumblunni]

MAN OKAY IM MAKING A SELF INDULGENT KINGDOM HEARTS SONA

Probably the only main reason i havent made another one since i was a kid is cos i never really wanted to be a keyblade master. Even as a kid i always hated "they are just all magically born evil because darkness energy" as a trope. Whenever an evil guy had minions who were all "mindless and evill" and you were supposed to mow them down in droves because of it, i always felt like they seemed LESS evil, yknow? Like youre canonically stating that theyre NOT evil! Theyre dangerous, yeah, but you just said that they dont have complex cognitive thought or ability to choose their own actions. Theyrr just being USED for evil, by the guy whos the real evil! Theyre like guard dogs who were abused into dangerness and if they cant be rehibilitated then its sad, yknow? Poor heartless!! And seriously how can they make them have such cute designs and not expect us to see them that way!!

So yeah i hate that canonically the heartless are all evil and canonically everyone good has to destroy the heartless, like its the entire damn point of a keyblade so i couldnt even touch one without being forced to slay the cutebabs! And KHDDD was great with the long awaited addition of CUTE BABS GOOD GUY MONSTERS YOU CAN HUG, although they were a whole new species of monster and its still canon that heartless are all evil and the equally as annoying canon that all good/remotely sentient Nobodies look like regular humans instead of the cute patoots they once was. THE CUTE PATOOT THAT NEVER WAS!!!! Srsly the low level Dusk is my fave design in the whole series its such a good squiggle boye

OKAY OKAY SO MY POINT IS

If i was gonna make a normal khsona itd have to be either specifically a Dream Eater trainer keyblade weilder whose entire story is about pet raising and none of the fightng evil, or an Organization member because theyre the only sympathetic monsters even if they dont look monstery anymore. Even though obviously rationally my self insert in anything would always be a good guy cos i am a very soft boyo who is too much of a wimp to do the slightest evil. But alas all the best characters are evil and the monsters look so cute aaaa!!

SO OKAY my ULTIMATE self indulgent khsona would be ME AM ANSEM NOW

Me as a heartless researcher who hugs all the heartless and becomes a heartless and then we heartlessly heartfully hug! Cos seriously it is a true fact that i would be a good guy but also if someone came up to me and was like "hey its totally possible to BECOME one of the cute monsters" id be like "oh noooo dammit i guess im evil now" *shrugs in heartless* But i wouldnt really do anything evil i'd just run like.. Old friends senior heartless sanctuary. Just make a big nice house for all my monsters and bake them cakes everyday. I WOULD LEARN TO COOK FOR THEM!!!! So if that makes me evil then i guess i am evil, dammit!! "Oh nooo we dont wanna get our souls stolen and turn into really fabulous cute designs with amazing supernatural powers" well you are WRONG okay. Just my most self indulgent everything idea is just *points at the evilest beastie* im gonna lovv and cherish that! *takes a running leap into a ballpit of Darkballs* SERIOUSLY DARKBALLS ARE SOME OF THE CUTEST AND ALL THEIR ANIMATIONS ARE SO CUTE WHY IS EVERY HEARTLESS SO CUTE AND SO ANIMATED WHY ARE THEY THE MOST DIDNEY THING IN DIDNEY WHY DID THE NEW GAME ADD A HEARTLESS WHOSE JUST A BIG PUDDING WITH A FACE HOW AM I MEANT TO NOT LOVE THAT hhhh

So yeah khsona bunni is some librarian mothafucker who does Deep Darkness Research but is also the nice goofy good guy sort of mad scientist, like the nutty professor or something. I'd probably be the comic relief on some team of actual villains, thats the only way id really be any threat to anyone. But i'd also totally be The Mom Friend and itd be like u guys are having some serious battle and then i call up Mr Big Villain mid battle like HEY YO COME JOIN KARAOKE WITH ME AND THE HEARTLESS and then hes like "damn man can we have a rain check on the whole end of the world thing?"

Like lol another self indulgent oc thing would be "power to be friends with all the fave villains and they are my friend and we hug". Like an all star teamup of just specifically all bunni's fave KH and didney villains and then also they never fight anyone and we just enjoy slice of life friendship antics. Like Kuja and Ursula would be so cool!! Cos theyre both similar personality yet Kuja had experience manipulating a more loser-y lady who looked a lot like ursula so i can expect he'd underestimate her and try his queen brahne plan again and maybe get outsmarted? And maybe theyd be locked in an eternal battle of two masterminds trying to manipulate each other and along the way they somehow end up accidentally forming a mentor student or mom and son relationship? Like ursula is the better version of garland and she helps kuja heal from his childhood trauma and also in the process maybe he helps her heal from whatever ambiguous backstory event led to her being ostracized from her royal family and such. THEY WOULDNT BE BAD IF THEY HAD HUGS OK let me believe this!! And also of course theyre both the big gay/trans coded dramatic fashion person from their respective stories, so srsly there could be so much awesomeness from the combination of The Two Most Stylish Of Two Worlds! Also i wonder how Kuja would even work in a khified version? Like maybe terra still exists as a separate world in kh world rules and it has a plan to destroy and take over gaia in the same way as the original ff9. Or maybe take some of kuja's other plot points and go from there? Like with how he disguised himself as a treno noble and how he eas created by garland to be an "angel of death", maybe in this world he's a shapeshifter Nobody assassin who infiltrates different worlds and corrupts important people to help garland destroy them? But since he's a very complex experiment and complex = humanoid in this universe, it could be an excuse for him becoming sentient over time and having a plot similar to repliku wanting to be a real human. And i dunno maybe zidane is his "brother" because he's the heartless made from the same original dead guy, who was discarded as a failed experiment? Like it could be interesting to see both of them as villains on the same side, and actually have a close relationship as loving brothers. And theres even already a monkey type heartless! And i dunno maybe the plot of garland creating the genomes infiltrator heartless and then kuja going on to create black mages still black mages? Like he still makes Vivi cos seriously its SO WEIRD that the heartless are based on black mages and then of all things they decided that Vivi would be the ONLY ff9 character allowed to appear in the whole kh series and itd just be in the role of "normal human kid". But they didnt even change his design!! He still looks like a heartless!! Why does nobody question why fredbob mcnormalson doesnt have a face!! So itd make much more sense if he was still a heartless and he's just a good one who wants to be a real boy BUT COS THE WORLD SAYS ALL HEARTLESS ARE EVIL I CANT HAVE THAT. Theyre all evil and only extra evil people get to be humanoid types! Boooo! So kuja doing Special Experiment Science could explain there being at least one special heartless thats not evil. And i dunno, kuja sends vivi out on his first test mission to infiltrate and destroy twilight town but whoops instead he becomes everyone's favourite baby brother! Like he's about to devour some dude's soul and then seifer and co come in and yell at the victim like DUDE ARE U BULLYING THIS POOR TINY CHILD and they drag off this poor very confused heartless in a hug and now he's Lost Forever I Guess. Kuja: damn he tasted icecream i'll never get him back!

Look ok i really like Villains Who Are Not Bad and i will constantly make Villains Who Are Not Bad and nothing will ever be better than Villains Who Are Not Bad

My khsona is Good Heartless who hugs Good Heartless in a team of Good Heartless and also brings in other cameo characters to become Good Heartless ok yes the end hell yea hugs n such

TYHE BEST OCS IS HUGS OCS OK

[queezleposts]

Paladins Patch 1.3 Thoughts

So now that it’s a bit after the fact, I figure I might as well organize my thoughts more about the upcoming patch! Everything is under the cut, and I apologize in advance to mobile users. The patch notes for 1.3 are already up if you’re interested.

The Emote Wheel, and Gold Sinks

Okay so first off, just the addition of being able to equip multiple emotes and sprays on its own is such a good addition! But also as one of those folks currently sitting on a mountain of gold right now, we REALLY needed this sort of gold sink:

From the looks of it to upgrade to each additional slot for both sprays and emotes, the amount of gold will be:

Slot 2: 50,000g

Slot 3: 100,000g

Slot 4: 150,000g

Which works really well for me. Fernando has so many good emotes, I can’t be expected to pick just one! Speaking of Fernando though -

Please excuse the quality of this image but my BOY is using his SHIELD like a SURFBOARD! I don’t care if its Battle Pass exclusive, I WANT IT

...Okay back on topic. I’m not sure if you have to unlock these additional slots for each champion on their own, or if its a universal unlock yet - only PTS will tell. I honestly have enough gold that I’d probably be set either way though...we really needed a gold sink that doesn’t revolve around buying champion levels. I only buy champion levels if I want to unlock their talents, but nothing beyond that. No sir, I like to EARN my gold skins!

The other gold purchasable addition to the game is additional language announcer packs - 25,000g each. I think we’re definitely going to see someone playing champions of a specific nationality along with their respective announcer pack in youtube videos. So, Fernando with the spanish announcer pack for example. It just seems like an inevitable thing that’s gonna happen, haha

New Map, New Queues

So first off, the separation of TDM and Onslaught and the reintroduction of multiqueue are GREAT and I’m happy to see this happen. It looks like Snowfall Junction will also be added to the TDM queue, so that will be interesting to see how it works out. More importantly, the Rise of Furia event map isn’t going entirely to waste; I really love the look of the modded version outfitted for a classic TDM match, and the creation of points of interest with the spawned pickup that gives you a full ult charge sounds neat on its own as well. A sort of objective in an objectiveless game mode if you will.

The fact that the old Throne Area at the top of the Spire during the event will still be accessed from the custom match lobbies is just the icing on top.

I honestly would love to see more of an emphasis on new map additions over new champion additions in the future. We really are in sore need of new maps. Hell, I’d love to see the reintroduction of the test map queue just on its own.

Balance and In Game Adjustments

Fusillade Nerf: Both necessary AND welcome!

Cherish Nerf: I’m gonna miss that extra burst, but I can also see why this was necessary.

BUCC: It’s a bit of a mixed bag here, isn’t here? Self Sustain nerfed, but buffs to his ensnare as well. Then you have the reload changes; kinda makes me wonder if he’s one of those champs that’s going to receive yet another rekit later in the future because these tunes he always receives tend to be all over the place.

Bug Fixes:

Grumpy Bomb no longer deals 3x damage to Shields: AS A FERNANDO MAIN, THANK YOU

Overall audio fixes: these were a long time coming, I especially noticed the Mal’Damba one brought up.

Fixed an issue where Furia’s Wrings of Wrath Projectiles were sometimes tracking and moving through walls: Thank u lord.

Seems like a lot of map collision bug fixes went through too

Misc:

You know that thing where you’re making a Loadout, the queue pops, then you get sad because you can’t finish the loadout before the match? Now you can – until all the other players have accepted!

This is a quality of life change that I sorely needed considering how many times this has happened to me, lol.

Skins + Battle Pass

So the Battle Pass looks to have more concrete stuff this time around though they did up the buy in price - from 500 to 600 crystals. So, some skin reviews.

Crimson Serpent Mount

I actually kinda dig this mount; its nice to have another non-horse addition, and the fire trail effects are also neat.

Makoa – Akuma Skin

While the fact that there are elements that remind of Bowser is pretty fun to me, this is overall not a skin that suits my personal tastes. It feels too overdesigned, too cluttered, too clunky, too many unnecessary spikes everywhere. I guess I’m just not...too into edgy aesthetic skins though overall so I’m biased here.

Cassie – Dragoncaller Skin

When the visuals for her first dropped with the splash art for the new mount, I deadass thought this was going to be a Lian skin because of the hair and the royal vibe, but no it’s...Cassie. Honestly this feels more like Cassie cosplaying Lian more than anything, right down to the voice pack. Seriously the voice pack has HUGE Lian vibes to it, its the high born haughtiness. I guess if you’re into that, this is your skin. I do admit though, Dragon Ziggs is pretty cute, and the crossbow is alright.

Mal’Damba – Shadow Lord Skin

CONGRATULATIONS TO HI REZ FOR BEING COMPLETELY INCAPABLE SO FAR OF PUTTING OUT MAL DAMBA SKINS THAT I DON’T LIKE. This skin goes so against what kind of aesthetics I usually go for, it’s very “edge” but my snake boy pulls it off and I love him. The only downside is that the voice pack is very generic and is definitely outclassed by all of Mal’Damba’s other voice packs by far. It’s situations like this that really make me wish they added voice pack customization back so that I could equip his halloween voice pack with this skin.

Oh also who gave snek a knife?

If I get this battle pass it will be purely for the Fernando emote and this Mal’Damba skin, and I suppose the mount as well.

New Champion: Koga

Okay so visually? I don’t find Koga appealing at all. The colors just clash so much, especially that orange, and once again this is a character with Too Much Stuff and Clutter. Visually a lot with Koga gets lost to me; again, it’s just...too much. Sometimes, less...is more. As to his recolors, I do like the concept they’re continuing with in terms of recolors having slight tweaks to the model; in this instance, its the recolored version not including Koga’s mask:

It would be neat if we had multiple gold purchasable recolors for champions like we used to outside of masteries, but that ain’t happening anytime soon. That’s visuals though; kit wise, I do dig what he brings.

I think the concept of working off a resource meter for all abilities instead of using cooldowns is interesting, and his mobility looks super fun. While I am dissapointed that his claws serve no melee functionality outside of his ultimate, I do like the way their attacks tie in similarity with Zhins flame sword attacks. I was hoping for another weapon switch champion along the lines of Strix, but the way the claws function as a weapon switch is much more of a set time focused thing, since using your claws eats up resource meter. He has a talent right off the bat that restores energy when he uses his submachine gun, and if I had to guess that’s probably one of his talents that’s going to get a future nerf. Again, that’s just if I had to guess.

Seeing Koga’s passive wall climb ability and his dash is a bit dissapointing in some ways though, since much of his mobility is things people have suggested in the past for Skye in terms of a rekit. Before Koga, it was Skye that was our resident Ninja Themed champion. The woman wears kunais, uses stealth and smoke bombs, she’s clearly meant to evoke a stealthy ninja assassin in terms of how she operates. While we already know Skye will receive a visual reworking first before we see any rekit, its still going to be a hard pill to swallow for most Skye mains out there. Speaking of Skye, we did see her visual revamp teased during the Koga trailer:

I am NOT a fan of this wristbow redesign. If Koga is meant to evoke a more aggro ninja archtype, than Skye is meant to evoke a more stealthy one; besides that, Skye has always struck me as the more sleek and elegant type. This giant cumbersome crossbow she’s wielding here just DOES NOT fit the bill. Well, at least we know for sure that she’s still going to be purble (the lighting in these screenshots is affected by a firey background so its a bit misleading color wise).

I can also definitely see Maeve mains being salty though; while Street Justice has been the talk of the town, that talent really has been the ONLY thing going for her, as her base kit and mobility has been nerfed multiple times. When you look at Maeve’s large cooldowns and compare them to Koga’s resource meter, its quite the disparity. What I’m trying to say is, Maeve and Skye mains should stand in solidarity against this injustice and maybe commiserate in a bar over drinks later I guess.

I feel pretty positive about the new additions overall though, and I’m kind of looking forward to this patch which is nice for a change. Let me know your thoughts too!

[marmolita]

belonging, ch1 (kink week day 1)

Heeeeeeey there!  So I wanted to write a chaptered fic for @ffxv-kink-week​ but then I ran out of time, but then, I wanted to do it anyway, so I started writing a sequel to my other D/s-verse fic heart and soul.  If you haven’t read that one, all you need to know for this is that it’s D/s-verse, Noct is a dom, and Iggy and Gladio are his collared subs.  Once I get a bit farther along I’ll start posting to AO3, but for now, here it is on tumblr!  For the kink week day 1 prompt of authority kinks.

Title: belonging  Pairings: Noctis/Prompto, Noctis/Ignis/Gladio, eventual OT4  Rating: Explicit  Words: ~2300 Warnings: none, at least none in this chapter

Teaser: Prompto taps his phone, rewinding the clip to the beginning to play again. Bless IBC for always putting news clips online right away, because after watching the live feed of the Kingsglaive swearing-in ceremony Prompto immediately wanted to watch it again.  And again.  And again, and okay, maybe he's got one hand in his pants while he's watching it but Noct looks so good all dressed up.

"It'll be the exhibition match on Thursday afternoon, then the swearing-in ceremony Friday evening, then the banquet right after," Ignis says, thumbing through email on his phone as he pulls on his clothes. "Gladio, I assume you'll have His Highness in top form for the exhibition?"

"'Course I will. He's been training with the Glaives for the last couple weeks, right Noct?" Gladio prods Noctis with the ball of his foot, and Noctis swats him away.

Laying back on the pillows, Noctis says, "As long as I don't have to go against Nyx I'll be fine. That guy could kick Gladio's ass."

"Yes, well. I'm sure he'd let you win for show anyway," Ignis replies as he buttons up his shirt.

"I don't want to win for show -- that wouldn't help with the whole filling-in-for-my-dad in the ceremony. People already think I'm too young, or too weak, or too . . . whatever."

Ignis sits on the bed next to him, setting a hand on Noct's knee through the blanket. "Don't worry about what they think. You're going to do just fine."

"You think so?"

Ignis leans in and kisses him, soft and light. "I know so."

*

The exhibition is in the courtyard, with bleachers erected on both sides. Gladio eyes the crowd briefly, then turns to survey the arena. "Don't forget the Glaives can warp just as well as you can," he murmurs in Noct's ear. "You can't just warp out of the way and think you'll be able to hang out and catch your breath."

"Right," Noctis says, and Gladio can read his nerves in his tone of voice.

"You're fast, and you're flexible. The magic is yours, it's not borrowed. If you want to swap weapons you can probably do it faster than they can. Don't forget to watch your back, and watch your left side -- they probably know you're a little weaker there."

"Got it." Noctis is clenching and unclenching his hands, like he's ready to pull his blade from the ether, but his eyes are still darting around the crowd. Gladio steps in front of him to block his view, forcing Noctis to look up at him.

"You got this," he says. "Even if you lose, you're gonna put up a good fight and show 'em what you can do."

Noctis takes a deep breath, holds it, then lets it out. "Thanks," he says, and Gladio claps him on the shoulder.

In the middle of the arena, Drautos raises his arm and the crowd falls quiet. "Ladies, Gentlemen . . . new recruits," he says expansively, "thank you all for coming. Today we'll see a demonstration of the power of the Crystal, and the power of the Kingsglaive. His Royal Highness Prince Noctis will battle one of our fiercest warriors." Noctis takes another breath, and Gladio can see his public mask settle into place. He walks out into the arena, smiling and waving.

"Now," Drautos says, "let us see who his opponent shall be."

An assistant brings out a bowl full of scraps of paper and holds it out to Noctis, who reaches in and selects one. Noctis looks at the paper for a moment, his face carefully blank, then announces, "Nyx Ulric." Shit.

The audience bursts into applause and Nyx takes the field, grinning. Drautos backs away to the sidelines, and Noctis summons his Engine Blade in a shower of sparks. Nyx makes the first move, throwing his short blade and warping straight for Noctis. Noctis phases through the attack, then swings hard, nearly connecting before Nyx warps away again.

To a layman, what follows is just a blur of blue sparks and phase shadows, clashing blades and flying kicks. To Gladio, it's Noctis putting in his best effort and having it be just enough to keep him on his feet, barely dodging each of Nyx's attacks. Their weapons clash together a few times, but the fight is mostly a series of fast warps as the two of them flicker from one end of the arena to the other.

Noctis throws his sword up so it rams into a high post, warping to hang from it briefly, then as Nyx starts to follow him, Noctis yanks the sword from the post, lets it dissolve back into the ether, and pulls out a javelin instead. He throws, warps, executes a mid-air backflip, and dives down toward Nyx with the javelin in his hand. For a moment, Gladio's breath catches as he thinks Noctis might just pull this off.

But then, Nyx throws up a crystalline shield, and Noct's attack is blocked entirely. Before his feet hit the ground, Nyx drops the shield and swings, his blade slicing into Noct's arm.

"First blood to Ulric!" Drautos calls. Both men drop their weapons and step back, breathing hard. Gladio's heart is in his throat, waiting to see how Noctis will take his loss. But Noctis ignores the blood running down his arm and turns to Nyx with a smile. Nyx executes a perfect bow, and when he rises, Noctis extends a hand to him, which Nyx clasps firmly.

"Lucis is honored by your skill," Noctis says, loud enough to carry to the crowd. "May all the new recruits grow as strong as you."

"The honor is mine, Your Highness," Nyx replies, appropriately deferential like he never is in training.

Drautos reminds everyone of the ceremony to be held the next day, and the crowd begins to file out as a page brings a potion to heal Noct's arm. By the time Gladio gets to his side, any sign of the injury is gone.

Noctis keeps his polite smile on until they're alone in the locker room, then sinks onto the bench with a groan. "Damn it," he says, slamming his fist into his thigh, "why did it have to be Nyx?"

"Hey, that aerial attack with the javelin was quick thinking," Gladio says, tossing Noctis a towel. "You did good."

"I got my ass handed to me," Noctis grouses.

"But you did it well. Iggy's gonna be proud of you for how you handled that."

"I'm supposed to swear in the new recruits tomorrow but all they're gonna be thinking is, 'Why should we swear our allegiance to this kid?' Ugh. Remind me why Dad can't do this again?"

Gladio sighs. "His Majesty is tied up with the ambassador from Accordo. You know that."

"Ugh," Noctis says again, slamming the door to the shower stall on his way in.

*

Noctis is still fuming when he flops into his bed after dinner. Ignis and Gladio have gone home, since Noctis is too tired and cranky to be good company despite Ignis's best efforts. Spending the night alone isn't unusual -- Gladio only stays over rarely, and Ignis often prefers an earlier bedtime and can't sleep with Noctis still awake. Some day, Noctis will get a place with enough bedrooms for all of them to be comfortable, but in the meantime this works well enough.

He rolls onto his back and flings an arm over his eyes. His mind keeps replaying the fight, searching for everywhere he could have done something differently. Of course now that it's over he can easily see a hundred opportunities he missed, but it's too late now.

His phone chimes and he groans and wrestles it out of the pocket of his jeans.

Hey buddy, the text from Prompto says, saw a clip of your fight w glaive, those moves were awesome!

Noctis's face does something between a smile and a grimace. Nyx kicked my ass, he types back.

[Prompto] u kidding bro he's like the biggest war hero and ur 18 of course he did [Prompto] u looked awesome tho, flipping around and stuff [Prompto] flexible ~.~

He laughs at that, imagining the way Prompto is probably wiggling his eyebrows, and types back, lol u make it sound way sexier than it was.

The return message comes right away: ur always sexy. Noctis can't help the little thrill that runs through him; Prompto has been dropping hints that he's interested for a while now, but he always backtracks before making anything clear, leaving Noctis to wonder whether he ever really meant it at all. Speaking of which . . .

[Prompto] I mean [Prompto] the whole royal authority thing, bet it really works for you w Iggy and Gladio

Noctis types out does it work for you? but then hesitates over the send button and ends up erasing it.

[Noctis] guess so [Noctis] sometimes I just want to be me

He sighs, thinking of the royal duties waiting for him in the morning.

[Noctis] gotta do the swearing in ceremony tomorrow bc dad is busy [Noctis] rather be playing kings knight w you

[Prompto] the night is young, and your phone is already in your hand

Noctis grins and opens the app.

*

The ceremony is held in the throne room, with the recruits lined up in formation and Noctis standing in front of the throne. He holds himself tall, and nobody would know that only minutes before Ignis was adjusting the drape of his cape and fixing his tie and cufflinks while Noctis frantically repeated his speech over and over.

"On behalf of my father, the king, I welcome you all to the Kingsglaive. Today you join the ranks of Lucis's most elite warriors, and begin your service to the people and the Crown." Noctis's voice is strong, and Ignis sees a hint of his father in the tilt of his chin. He hesitates for a barely detectable moment, then says, "Are you ready to pledge your loyalty?"

As one, the recruits fall to their knees and bow their heads, a hush falling over the room as Noctis descends the stairs. He approaches the first recruit and lays his hand on the back of her head. "I give myself in service to the Crown and the Crystal," she says, "and pledge to use the power granted to me to protect the people of Lucis."

"Do you give your life to the Crown?" Noctis asks. Normally, with Regis performing the ceremony, the line would be, do you give your life to me? but Noctis had felt it would be disingenuous, and Ignis finds he rather agrees.

"I do."

His hand slides around the side of her head and cups her chin, lifting her face. "Then rise, and join the ranks of the Kingsglaive." The recruit stands, and Ignis can see the shine in her eyes as she rises. Noctis smiles at her before moving on to the next recruit. The ceremony is repeated for the whole group, Noctis receiving one oath after another, until they're all standing.

As the audience bursts into applause, Noctis ascends the stairs again. When he reaches the throne, he materializes his sword and swings it high above his head, then spins it in a flashy circle and slams the point down into the floor in front of him, in the crack left there by this very same ceremony in the past. "The Crystal welcomes you, as do the people of Lucis," he says strongly, and the newly minted Glaives cross their fists over their chests and bow.

The applause is thunderous, and when it finally starts to die down, Noctis banishes his sword and makes his way down the stairs. Ignis meets him at the bottom as the recruits and the audience begin to file out of the chamber. "Well done, Your Highness," he says.

"You think so? My sword has nothing on Dad's armiger."

"You saw the look in the recruits' eyes. They were proud to be swearing their loyalty to you."

"To my dad," Noctis corrects.

"It may have been him in intent, but it was you in practice. I remember swearing my own oath of loyalty to you, you know."

Noctis laughs. "You mean when we were kids?"

"We may have been children, but I've always taken it seriously."

Looking at him with a small smile playing at his lips, Noctis says, "Me too."

"Well then," Ignis says, "I believe the banquet is ready to begin."

*

Prompto taps his phone, rewinding the clip to the beginning to play again. Bless IBC for always putting news clips online right away, because after watching the live feed of the glaive swearing-in ceremony Prompto immediately wanted to watch it again.

And again.

And again, and okay, maybe he's got one hand in his pants while he's watching it but Noct looks so good all dressed up. Even the ridiculous cape lends him an air of authority.

Are you ready to pledge your loyalty? Noct asks in the video, and Prompto's hand tightens on his cock. There was a time when he hesitated to jerk off to photos and videos of his friend, but these days he's accepted the fact that his feelings aren't going away any time soon and he can still be a good friend to Noct despite wanting to suck down his dick until he chokes.

Do you give your life to the Crown? Noct asks, and Prompto breathes, "I do," as he jerks himself faster. The clip is almost to the end, and he bites his lip as Noct ascends the stairs, then gasps, "fuck, fuck, fuck," when Noct materializes a sword and swings it around his head. He comes as the sword slams into the ground, the camera catching the steely glint in Noct's blue eyes, the hard set of his mouth, the perfect fall of hair over his forehead. He looks like a king, and Prompto would gladly lay down his life for him.

As the clip finishes, he pushes weakly at his pants, shoving them down to keep them out of the mess. He doesn't feel guilty for jerking off to Noct, but sometimes he feels guilty for how much he likes it when Noct acts like the royalty he is, because he's still got the texts on his phone saying sometimes I just want to be me.

[galimatios]

fear thy fortune chatlog notes

thinking abt the underdeveloped au i have in that weird off color fantasy universe that i realized is probably similar in ways to bloodborne even before i knew abt bloodbornes plot but this is nice bc i can solidify parts of it and i can probably also combine it with the knights au i have

OK I FORGOT TO PUT A CW HERE BUT CW FOR ABUSE MENT AND GORE MENT

somewhere located in present day west asia slash east europe theres a country divided into numerous states in which princes and princesses (princex (poc)/princen/etc for gender neutral options) are perpetually in contest with eachother for the right to be the divine ruler of the country

monarchy is not guided by blood, rather the church is responsible for finding the chosen candidates via prophecy, fururesight, dream interpretation, etc, and these kids are taken from their homes and reared as royalty the nature of this country is ... severe. pain is a gift, proof that one is alive. much ceremony is based in sacrifice, bloodspill, bloodsports, and pain endurance. magic as practiced by the church is extremely powerful in terms of healing so almost all wounds can be healed provided the heart still beats its essentially one big huge freakish cult of a country that has customs that seem barbaric to outsiders

the divine ruler of each state is the princens, though more often than not their councils do most of the governing with the princen merely being a puppet figurehead. they go through rigorous training to sharpen their minds and endurance against all types of pain, so training includes physical, mental, emotional trials in which the princen is supposed to keep a clear mind, concentrate on mediation or some mantra, bearing whatever is thrown at them. additionally they receive the best training in both combat and politics as well as magic. not all princen can withstand the requirements ofc so they.. vary quite a bit in terms of stability/constitution. its a p sick system even without the knights added in bc thats super messed up

the knights essentially belong to their princens in heart body mind and soul, and each princen receives exactly one knight soulbound to them. they also undergo the same scouting process once the princen is identified, and they undergo similar training except theyre also essentially brainwashed into believing their entire purpose in life is to serve and protect their princen no matter what. obviously this aint healthy! knights delude themselves into it so hard theyll fight for the system that literally abuses them! but thats how cults work

that being said knights are extremely powerful. they act as the sole bodyguard of their princen and believe me you dont want to get inbetween a knight and their prince. they are known especially for their brutality when their lords are threatened. it is extremely common for limbs to be lost in skirmishes btwn assailants and a knight

this takes us to the games! which are essentially gladiator coliseum type bloodsport contests between knights of different princens. its a pretty big affair like how the Olympics are for us so the fanfare the cheering the everything is all there i prob dont need to describe it in detail but its very violent. its considered practice for the knights before the true battle-royale type event thats even BIGGER bc it determines who becomes god-king of the country. this time the princen join their knights in the battlefield and basically whoever is left standing is the new king

is it worth it? probably not bc i think being king actually means being killed to be sent up to the heavens bc god kings dont need bodies any longer in truth the entire debacle is a distraction set up by the church to keep the country under its own control. its super corrupt. the council behind every princen is actually made up of high ranking church members that convene regularly to manipulate the politics of the region

but thats mostly the governing sphere of this world. the commonfolk are removed from most of this violence aside from the indoctrination by the church and the messed up religion they practice. a lot of the belief system here relies on this concept of karma and fate over free will. fate is oppressive, cannot be changed, but god do they try that belief ties into how princen and knights are fated to be pairs, how princen are fated to either ascend to godhood or die trying

but there is one way to manipulate fates in this world there exists in independent of the church a monastery that practices the art of transferring karma. think of karma as a type of currency that can be spent, saved, used, etc. lots of good karma may be distributed amongst loved ones via a ritual headed by a monk, or bad karma can be "paid off" essentially. the amount of good/bad karma a person has directly affects their fortune and luck. this practice is more or less outlawed by the church but the monastery is slowly gaining power over the commonfolk and the church mostly leaves the poor folk to rot anyway- their agenda mostly concerns the monarchy

altho i can definitely see tensions rising with the witch hunting as influenced by the church. particularly nefarious visions may result in blame being thrown around and commoners getting killed for crimes they have yet to commit and thats thanks to the teachings of the church

anyway as of rn though the monastery is still pretty small but it is an old, ancient organization with magic that runs far deeper than the magic of the church. it is a much more subtle magic- monks practice little offensive magic (they are a nonviolent sort anyway) but the ability to exchange karma is rare and has far more reaching impact in the long run i imagine they have strongholds further to the east but anyway theres one trump card the monastic order has

a subsection of the order is dedicated to the keeping of miracles. and miracles are... monsters! they are semi-physical manifestations of literal suffering and the sheer emotional energy provided by them is enough to give miracles the power to.. well. perform miracles.

when a person dies in anguish, there is a chance that their bodies will not decompose the way they are meant to. instead they slowly dissipate, bodies turning coal black and ashen to the touch. these cannot be disposed of the normal way (curses, contamination, all kinds of horrible things happen) so instead these corpses get locked up inside brick cells within the monastery

once, one of these was opened only to reveal that the bodies were gone- only a humming, massive shadow that seemed to move as if made of flies or soot combined. and it spoke, too. this was the first miracle created it was discovered then that these creatures had immense power but could not leave the rooms they were imprisoned in, touch sunlight, and similarly they could not die

imagine like the witchs nightmares in pmmm and you get what its like to be a soul trapped in a miracle. u get to relive ur worst fears and regrets forever. it suck miracles also cannot direct their powers towards their own will, only the will of others. ofc they are still monsters and exact a price for their services, whatever it may be.

a meeting with a miracle does not come cheap or without consequence, bc although miracles can be performed, karma always rebalances itself in the end. monks tasked with guarding and curating the miracles are called gatekeepers and are often someone close to one of the souls trapped in the vortex anyway i think thats the basics of everything in there... i got an au w cyrus as a prince and alex as his knight and instead of sticking around for their inevitable deaths the pair run off into the countryside far far away

actually i think something went wrong in the ceremony. cyrus and alex win godkingship of then... something goes wrong. probably the whole die-to-ascend thing is a secret kept from the princen and the public and. alex does a thing a knight should not do a refuses to let the ceremony continue. and im p sure as soon as cyrus learns of the truth hes like haha well fuck that

then they spend the rest of their days actually experiencing what life is like outside of a freakish cult and my fucking feels

i think.. meanwhile the monastic order grows in influence and power making them the enemy of the church... and jonah (yonah in this au) sacrifices himself to the miracle containing his brother in order to give the miracle a corporal form. which means august and company now have a physical conduit for all that power they had.

bad news for the church! bc august was unrightfully killed bc of a prophecy saying that hed become a huge threat and a killer

funny how prophecies work!

so now hes out for blood and he probably uses his own charisma and power to stage a coup against the church and basically the country goes to hell and i think at this point cyrus thinks. i got out of there alive. i need to do something about this. so he and alex probably join in and become arbiters of the game esp since cyrus and alex were probably the best synced, most skilled prince/knight duo the church had seen up to that date so theyre very powerful. ofc theyre still only two people so i really wonder how theyll step in btwn these two opposing parties

augusts side isnt good either bc august... is only out for revenge and self interest. he has no interest in fixing the country or helping anyone in fact once august is firmly seated on the throne of power he probably declares himself god-king anyway the end game probably looks like augusts body (which is jonahs body) being destroyed and the miracle contained in it finally put to rest jonahs soul must have something to do with the exorcism process- theyve tried to exorcise miracles before and only ended up upsetting it into violent outbursts anyway thats enough rambling from me time to paste this all into a blog post

god what if august picked keith to be his knight. thats messed up. keiths so easy to manipulate and hed be such a wildcard of a knight. he has more magic potential than alex and hes faster on his feet. im imagining bloodlust frenzy almost hyena-like behavior. also i mostly just want to see keith being violent and evil and i have an outfit in mind that would look great with a little splash of red

think like minimalistic ouji but like all black and keith with knives and serving a clearly twisted (even more than usual bc of the miracle’s influence) august

god even better the aftermath of augusts death TIME FOR THE FUCKING FEELS TO KICK IN BC now Keith has no purpose/he FAILED to protect his king WHICH WAS HIS ONLY PURPOSE IN LIFE then alex coming in with cy and just no, you have inherent worth. what happened wasn't right im upset this is how alex and keith become family in this au

miracles i think in this case are definitely more of a means to an end i think narratively ie jonahs brother being killed and augusts soul being trapped within it- tho i think its a good tie-in into how the severe paranoid cultish way the society works ends up producing a lot of People Dying In Extreme Anguish

almost a buildup of sickness so to say.. a plague of the soul that's a cool avenue to go down tbh the idea that miracles are more like viruses spreading misfortune in the long run for some quick gain in this life but bc karma always collects her debts if i throw in some nice reincarnation that would effectively damn someone in their next life... that implies that this story may need to expand across different generations

mechanics being so much bullshit has happened in this country it houses multiple miracles whereas elsewhere its like one, or none, very few in their histories except possibly during wartime and famine

since magic is Exists in this it makes sense that the emotional energy combined w ambient energy would manifest in some kind of grotesque Being

oh no thats maybe why the church is manipulating things by purposely generating that emotional trauma in its society its producing unprecedented amounts of energy they can utilize as magic power oh  no thats super bad august would definitely take advantage of that bc hed definitely figure the truth out once hes back to being alive

im upset bc i think they use princens and knights to specifically create emotional energy

energy released upon death which typically happens after a knight/prince duo has been chosen... then the resulting STRONG ass char plague on their bodies are collected to make artifacts? yes

gems created from the ashen plague are embedded into a huge mandala that actually ... is the god-king itself

[savdadc]

      She wouldn't believe he was dead until she saw his body with her own two eyes.

      It was in her nature to rebel, be it against people or ideas. The idea that Ghetsis was dead didn't sit well with her for reasons that weren't based on logic, but feeling. So she rejected it. It didn't matter what anyone said, she was going to find him.

      She was going back to Unova.

      Augustine was far more understanding than she'd expected him to be given the circumstances. He was the only one she'd told aside from Malva where she was going, and the latter was the only one who knew why.

      They'd spoken via Holo Caster shortly after the initial announcement that Ghetsis had been assassinated by some unknown assailant was broadcast. Interpol was denying any sort of involvement, but had released an official statement saying that were looking into the claims to separate the fact from fiction. It had given her some hope to see that there were conflicting reports, some more exaggerated than the last. She'd told Malva that she'd be leaving on the first flight from Lumiose to Castelia City that same night.

      At least she had someone she could talk to about things. Liz couldn't imagine not having Malva in her life in some shape or form. They were both equally supportive of one another's potentially disastrous life choices to an extent.

      They kept each other's secrets safe, and Liz didn't even want to think of how she would be with no one there to tell hers to. It had been Malva who had called her to check on her, who had encouraged her to pull herself up from the collapsed heap on the ground, and ultimately was what kept her from shutting down completely.

      Death was a fact of life, one that Liz knew awaited her at the end of hers. She readily accepted her own, whenever that time came, but she defied the notion that someone else she loved could be taken from her seemingly overnight. Just like that.

      It wasn't fair. Death wasn't fair. For the first time in a long time, she was happy. Did Death know just how cruel it was? Did Death know loss? Did it feel anything other than the gratification of sating its own gluttonous appetite, gorging itself on the souls of the dead, and the grief of the living?

      Ghetsis probably didn't deserve all the consideration she gave him, but it was still hers to give. He was an awful human being, and she didn't disagree that the world was safer and better off without him, but she wasn't. If she was the only person who saw the man he was as opposed to the monster he wanted to be revered as, then so be it.

      Unova hadn't changed much from the last time she'd been there. Her home region was one of change, always evolving -- acclimating as the world around it shifted. Just as she had when she'd returned with Ghetsis three months prior, she felt as much a stranger there as she did then.

      The plane ticket she'd purchased online had been one way. The flight itself had only been a few short hours, but the time difference had set her to arrive in Unova in the early morning hours. It wasn't exactly ideal given that the next ferry running from Castelia City to Undella Town wouldn't arrive until 8:30 AM. She had some money for a night's stay at a motel, but it would be cheaper to spend the night at the Pokemon Center.

      The experience took her back to her days as a trainer, traveling from place to place, battling trainers, and earning gym badges. It was a bittersweet feeling. The cots were still uncomfortable, and come morning the bathrooms were crowded. She'd done the smart thing and had woke up early to take a shower, but by the time she finished there were at least 10 other women in the restroom with her getting ready to start their day.

      After a quick breakfast consisting of a bagel and coffee, she gathered her things and headed down to the docks. She had brief flashes of déjà vu as she waited for the ferry to arrive of being much younger, more innocent if not downright naive, waiting until the coast was clear so that she could sneak aboard the Royal Unova. She'd almost gotten caught, she remembered, and she'd had to sleep down in the cargo hold, but she'd snuck up on deck few times. It had been careless of her, but she hadn't cared, not back then. It was /bizarre/ to think of how much she'd changed over the past 10 years.

      Absently, Liz looked down at her arm. Her bruising had gone down quite a bit, but for the sake of her personal comfort she had packed some longer sleeved button ups to cover the larger hand print she kept hidden beneath partially rolled up red plaid. She left it unbuttoned, revealing the white camisole underneath. The denim shorts she'd chosen were comfortable and suited to traveling, as were the brown hiking boots on her feet. Her hair was pulled back in a rare, somewhat messy ponytail, the same bag she'd taken with her that day she ran away from home slung over her shoulder.

      At exactly 8:35 AM, the ferry arrived. She felt... jittery as she boarded, anxious. She was one step closer to knowing for herself whether or not Ghetsis was alive, and all she could think of was how afraid she was. It was an understandable fear at least, considering, but it wasn't like her.

      She hadn't felt like herself since her argument with Ghetsis. Again, it was understandable. The anxiety she felt, the vulnerability, the way her chest tightened whenever she thought how the last thing she'd ever said to him was how much of a bastard she thought he was. Granted, he'd deserved it at the time, but now? Now it just made her feel sick inside.

      When the ferry finally arrived in Undella Town, it was well past noon, and Harmonia Castle was still a good distance away. Traveling by foot wasn't an option, and neither was waiting for the next bus to Opelucid City. That left her with only one other option.

      Back at the Castelia City Pokemon Center, Liz had withdrawn a single Pokemon from her PC. That Pokemon now resided in the pokeball in her hand.

      " Come on out, Boat! "

      Despite what the name implied, " Boat " was not, in fact, a boat. Boat was, in actuality, a Fearow. Boat had been one of the first Pokemon Liz had ever caught, and by far the most difficult to raise.

      The pair had met when Boat was still a Spearow. The Pidgey line was preferred by trainers over Spearow and Fearow due to their trainability, making them ideal for trainers just starting out. Had Liz known that at the time, she wouldn't have spent a day and half trying to capture Boat.

      The unfortunate nickname was given to her then Spearow out of spite. No other reason, just pure, unadulterated, spite for the fact that Boat refused to listen to anything she said. She'd be pecked, scratched, squawked out for no particular reason other than Boat knew that she could. Then, one day, out of the blue, Boat went from untrainable to one of her most reliable partners. To this day, Liz still didn't know what had changed between them, but hadn't questioned it. Boat, being Boat, refused to respond to anything other than the name Liz had given her.

      Boat greeted her trainer with a series of trills and other vocalizations that meant she was happy, including a grooming attempt that resulted in Liz's ponytail looking even messier than before. Liz didn't mind, letting Boat do as she pleased for a time until Liz caught her attention with a brush over her fingers along the feathers of Boat's neck.

      " That's my girl, huh? I missed you, too. " Said Liz, rubbing the underside of the Fearow's chin where she knew she liked it best. " Yeah, you're a good girl, aren't you? Hey, Boat? I'm going to need you to fly me somewhere, okay? "

      Years; it had been years since Liz had flown on the back of a Pokemon. Fearow had relatively large wingspans, and could fly great distances before becoming tired. Even then, Boat had never actually set foot in Unova, and was understandably excited to not only see her trainer again after a long separation, but to fly with her. Despite being well trained, Boat still had a tendency to do whatever it was Boat wanted to do, and because of that Liz spent a good hour getting the Fearow to calm down before they went anywhere.

      Harmonia Castle was located to the north, the path hidden amongst the dense forest that kept it from being easily discovered. By flying there, she wouldn't have to try and navigate through the woods by herself, and it would save time that she couldn't afford to waste.

      Aside from an unexpected updraft and some occasional screaming on Liz's part, it wasn't a bad takeoff. Boat had tried to make things more interesting by insisting on going one way while they needed to another, but with some correction they soared through the Unovan skies with relative ease, passing by clouds and flocks of Pidove or Swanna. It was the most amazing feeling to feel the wind in her hair, and being able to barely make out the houses and people below them.

      Flying was a freedom that bird Pokemon had that Liz would always envy, but at least this way she could experience that freedom for herself.

      From so up high, Liz could make out Opelucid City as they flew past, and beyond that, the forest. It was so dense that she couldn't even see past the tops of the trees. In the distance, she could just barely make out the castle; they were almost there.

      If it wasn't for the downpour that came seemingly out of nowhere, they would have made it.

      If not for the sudden flashes of lightning, Boat wouldn't have been startled enough to throw her trainer off of her, sending her plummeting down into the forest below.

      It was nothing short of a miracle that she'd survived the fall. Boat had done her best to catch her, but the rain had made difficult to see. The forest had saved her, catching her it its branches. Liz was, for the most part, unharmed, but her hair now was home to twigs and leaves, her arms and leg and face covered in scrapes and scratches. All things considered, she was lucky to be alive.

      The tree she'd landed in was tall. Too tall to climb down on her own, and letting gravity handle things was asking for something to be broken. The entire time, Liz couldn't help but thing all of this could have been avoided if Ghetsis wasn't so terrible with modern technology. A simple phone call was all it would have taken for her to know whether or not the rumors of his death were true.

      Ghetsis never made anything simple.

      When Boat found her, the Fearow seemed shaken, flapping her wings, making sharp, panicked trills. It took some time, but Liz managed to calm her enough to return her to her pokeball. Liz reached for her bag, setting aside Boat's pokeball in favor of Toto's.

      It was risky, but in the end having Toto catch her was the most efficient way of getting down from the tree. Her Feraligatr was strong, and could easily handle catching a 150 pound woman. Once she was safely on the ground, Liz recalled Toto.

      Toto had never really taken to Ghetsis, and their argument and the bruise on her arm had done little to improve his opinion of him. The last thing Liz needed in the event that Ghetsis was alive was for her seven foot, 350 pound alligator to attack him. Given the close calls they'd already had, and Lerna and Toto's attempts to tear each other apart, she didn't doubt that he would.

      Now it was just her, alone, and lost in unfamiliar territory. She didn't even know if she'd been dropped anywhere near Harmonia Castle or not, and according to her Holo Caster, there wasn't any signal in the area.

      Perfect.

      For a while, Liz continued to walk north with very little idea as to where she was going. The forest was eerily quiet, save for the cries of Pokemon and the rain as it formed puddles on the forest floor, and the splashed against the leaves of trees and foliage.

      Soaking wet and frustrated with herself, after about half an hour of aimless wandering, Liz decided to take a much needed break, taking a seat on a soggy log. It wasn't very comfortable, but was preferable to the ground.

      A sudden rustling noise from behind her caused her to jump, head snapping in the direction of the sound. She watched and waited, and eventually was greeted by a familiar, if unexpected face.

      She looked at it, and it looked her, it's red eyes staring back at her through the hallowed stump that composed its head. At first, Liz didn't think that the Phantump that emerged from the brush was the same one she'd spotted around the castle during her initial visit to Unova with Ghetsis. Ghetsis had told her that the Phantump she'd seen wandering the castle grounds lived in the area. Liz remembered thinking how much it bothered her to see it then.

      Phantump were said to be the spirit's of children who died while lost in the woods. Their spirits inhabited rotten tree stumps, giving them their name. They also acted very childlike, particularly with older trainers, and back in Kalos Liz recalled seeing a few holding hands with theirs. It wasn't the fact that it was a ghost that bothered her. What bothered her was the thought of a child dying, only to become a Pokemon. Phantump were also used missing children's cases to help locate the bodies of murder victims. The theory behind that way of thinking was that, if the child's body was nearby, a Phantump would appear in the area, helping local police to find the remains. Liz didn't like to think about it too much, but it did work, even if some found the practice to be controversial.

      The Phantump continued to stare at her, almost as thought it knew her, or at least recognized her. Gently, so as not to startle it, Liz spoke to it.

      " I didn't expect to see you around here. I thought you only stayed by the castle. Are you lost, too? " She spoke to it like she would any child, and though it didn't seem capable of responding to her words, to did float a little closer to where she sat, placing a small, stumpy little hand on her thigh. Liz didn't really know what to say to it, but it seemed concerned.

      " I'm okay, " she told it, hoping to sound reassuring. " But I am lost. I fell. " She pointed upward toward the sky, and then a thought occurred to her.

      " Do you think you could lead me back to the castle? I don't know how to get there from here. I'm looking for Ghetsis. " It was worth a try at least. What did she have to lose?

      It looked up at her again, tilting its head to one side before floating away from her, disappearing out of sight behind a tree. Liz's first thought was that this wasn't the same Phantump from the castle at all, and that she was back to square one. Surprisingly, however, the Phantump peeked its head out from behind the tree, looking as thought it were waiting for something.

      Liz rose to her feet, her shoes making a wet squelching sound as she did. " Do you want me to follow you? " She asked it, and it floated back up to her, holding its hand out. Somewhat reluctantly, Liz took it. It was cold, like one would expect of a ghost, but it seemed... happy when she did.

      " I'm going to take that as a ' yes '. " The Phantump smiled.

      They'd been walking for what felt like hours. Well, she walked, and Phantump just floated, leading the way. They had a very one-sided conversation, with Liz asking it questions like: How long had it lived at the castle? Did it remember being human? And so on. It didn't really answer, and so Liz stopped asking. The longer they walked with seemingly no end to the lush overgrowth that surrounded them, the more Liz felt like maybe she'd walked right into a trap.

      And then she saw it: A clearing, and there, in the center of that clearing, Harmonia Castle. No sooner did they reach it, Liz stopped in her tracks, fear gripping her. She didn't know what to expect. What if Ghetsis really was dead? Or, if he was alive, what if he didn't want to see her? What if this, all of it, had just been a huge waste of time?

      The Phantump seemed to notice her distress, and waited, but when she didn't move, it gave her an impatient tug, which was enough to snap Liz from her thoughts.

      " I'm sorry, " she apologized, giving it's hand a little squeeze back, gently, of course. " Sometimes adults just think too much. Thank you for helping me, Phantump. "

      At this, Phantump let go of her hand, and like a little child floated in circles around her, smiling. Liz found the site both mildly unsettling as well as endearing, and before she could say anything else, it disappeared back into the woods once more. Once more, Liz was alone.

      The castle looked almost foreboding as it towered over her in the distance. The rain didn't help, nor did the angry dark mass of clouds that hung overhead. She pressed forward, unsure of what she'd find, if anything. She looked like a mess, looked how she felt, but she didn't care.

      At least the rain would wash away her tears.

[doodleimprovement]

Shared Traits

Hey look I wrote another ficlet

So, this one is also in the Secretary AU, and is also centered on Gaster and Tuffet’s strange co-existence. I promise the next one witll be about the actual baby blaster in this Baby Blaster AU ^u^;

Characters: Tuffet, Gaster, with minimal Sans and Papyrus (Grillby is mentioned in passing, along with Asgore and a few others)

Rating: Gen

Warnings: Mentions of Horrors of war and PTSD. Nightmares.

Word Count: 1413

Remembering the war was fun for no monster. There was no fondness there. No victorious battles or legendary heroic figures. All there was, was the shedding of human blood, and the disbursement of monster dust. As the years went on, more and more of the veterans died, whether from falling down or from their magic simply running out.

The war's aftermath left no one unscathed, from the warriors to the civilians.

And having been both, Gaster often found his scope of thought widened.

He'd been the royal alchemist when the war broke out, and spent most of his time developing high power potions before his own magic was put to use during the final months of the war. He saw the devastation from both ends, and he knew how it affected both sides.

So when Tuffet scrambled awake one night, moving so much she'd woken him up, he wasn't surprised.

This had been the third or fourth time she'd woken up in the 6 months of her living with him since Sans and Papyrus were “born”. So, while he wasn't used to it per se, he wasn't surprised either.

She was shaking, sitting up and watching her hands tremble.

He never asked what the nightmares were about

Safe to assume they were about the war

He had never seen her in action, but the stories of her and her small battalion were close to legend- particularly among the royal guard. They seemed to love the idea of a small and demure looking monster interrogating humans with inhumane torture and hanging them when they failed to produce information

She was a brutal ice queen whom they loved to idolize. He knew that much.

But It had completely tarnished her kind reputation

And the king's refusal to correct his people and condemn the exaggerated versions of her story - for the sake of “morale” - left a bad taste in his mouth.

As she sat up in bed, panting heavily, holding herself  with a few hands and staring ahead, he got up himself, cautious about touching her “... Do you want me to get you some tea?”

She just nodded

He exited into the kitchen, getting the kettle going

He couldn’t pretend he understood her feelings, but he hoped he could empathize. The entirely of the underground has been on edge for years and years, and she’d only come out of her self imposed isolation about 3 or four years ago. God only knows what she did for those several hundred years in isolation. It took Grillby nearly 10 years of constant visiting and persistence to get her to see a professional, and even longer for her to emerge into the public eye. Grillby had told him all about it after she’d moved in. It only felt right that he knew, didn’t it?

They weren’t in a relationship or anything, but they were definitely a little more than friends

Partners, maybe? It didn’t matter

Once the tea had steeped, he walked into the room, where she’d relaxed considerably, but still aimlessly started ahead. He walked to her side of the bed, grabbing her glasses off the side table and putting them on her face. She muttered a ‘thanks’ as she took the cup and immediately inhaled the scent of the Revel Lilies that grew aside the mushrooms in Waterfall. It wasn’t lavender, but it’d do.

“... Do you want to talk about it?” He asked, getting back on his side of the king size bed

“ … Do you?”

He wasn’t sure how to answer that

She didn’t go to bed for another 15 or so minutes, lying down after finishing the tea and staring at the ceiling. She put her glasses back on the table and turned towards him.

“You think they’ll ever stop?” She asked, her voice muted with exhaustion

“.... I don’t think so, but I think they’ll lessen” He answered honestly. He stared up at the ceilng and felt her pulling herself into his side. He didn’t mind

Feeling someone close usually helped him too

----

Like tonight.

He didn’t remember details about the dreams. He rarely ever did. He only recalled that were was a plethora of red and grey, and a sudden splash of blue, orange, and purple. Those colors were always there. Always blasting at him in sudden spurts that scared him unbelievably rigid

But tonight had him flailing, sitting up, grasping is head with a few fingers reaching into the gaping hole in his skull.

He made no sound, his eyes blazing bright violet as things about the room started to float. Tuffet had been jostled awake by the sudden fit, and looked about, seeing him seething, wheezing, sparking with defensive magics.

“Wingding. Winding!” She softly called, trying to keep quiet for the sake of both him and the twins sleeping in the next room. The crying of toddlers would not help this situation at all.

She was barely heard. Like a whisper

“Why did he make me do this….” He muttered

“Wing, please” She gently put hand on his shoulder, another grabbing the lower part of his arm, and yet another on his back. He didn’t even react.

“Why did he make me kill them… it wasn’t fair.. I wasn’t meant for that” His voice cracked

Tuffet couldn’t help the deep sigh that came from her.

“No one is meant for warfare. . .  “ She responded, partially to him, and a little bit to herself. “But we did what we did because we thought it would save our kind… or at least… give them a few more days  of sunshine.”

“We accomplished nothing…..” “... The eldermage… he wanted me…. All those lives….”

“.... Hindsight is 20/20, Wingding…”

“... The eldermage… He wanted me…. All those lives….” Tuffet shushed him. Using more hands to gather the skeleton in a hug. “Its okay, Wingding… Those days are long over… You don’t have to work so hard anymore… You have a steady job, two wonderful sons… Hell you’ve even got me, for what it's worth” She chuckled just a tad, relaxing as the purple glow faded and he leaned limply into her.

There was silence for a long while, before a crying was heard.

“... Someone needs food” “... Which one?” Wingding asked, before a similar cry started up, overlapping the first

“Both” Tuffet sighed, letting go of him, and letting him stand. He adjusted his night shirt.

“.... Thank you, Tuffet”

“Don’t even mention it, Wing.” She waved off, following him into the twins room. 

They were crying in their cradle, both in their bipedal forms grabbing at the bars with fat, glowing tears on their cheekbones. Sans reached for his father and Tuffet grabbed Papyrus, who gripped her tightly and whimpered into her sleep shirt. Gaster grabbed Sans, who ended up doing the same.

 The two of them walked into the kitchen and spend a few moments heating up some oatmeal for them to eat, but as the microwave hummed, the boys started to calm. By the time the two minutes were over and the oatmeal was done, they’d stopped crying and were just tired, slumped over.

Tuffet looked a tad perplexed, gently bouncing Papyrus in her arms “... Guess they just needed some attention?” She reasoned. Gaster, having no counter, agreed quietly. 

The two walked back to their bedroom and - after making sure the boys were good and sleepy, placed them back in their cradle with a blanket over them. The adults walked back into the bedroom, and slipped into bed. 

Tuffet put her glasses on the side table “.... Think we should call out of work tomorrow?” Gaster asked, looking over at his alarm clock, lighting up a very early 3:30 AM

“... If you want” She offered. He pressed a few buttons on his screen before lying back down, staring at the ceiling. Tuffet was already turned away from him, trying to fall back to sleep.

“.... Could I hold you?” He asked, almost meekly. She turned to look back at him, and didn’t even sigh. She just scooted over, and a pair of skeletal arms found purchase. It’d probably be uncomfortable for most, but he was pretty warm, he managed to snake his arm right in the crease of her hip, so there was minimal discomfort “... Thank you”

“Good night, Wingding” She muttered, feeling herself finally fall into sleep.

He followed suit quickly, visions of his sons playing in the sunshine. All of monsterkind - Tuffet on his right - following suit, filling his dreams

[oh-mother-of-darkness]

asks (9)

Anonymous said: if you have the time, could we maybe please have your absolute /worst/ headcanons about Dick mourning Damian? before/during Spyral? btw u are an absolute gift :*

Shoot I meant to put this one into the fic today too. Oh well. Damian and Dick angst is here

Anonymous said: everytime I see something about damian it reminds me of you

The highest praise I’ve ever received :’)

Anonymous said: do you know of other batblogs that don't do ships?

Uhhhhhh I don’t think so? I can’t think of anyone else that’s entirely ship-free, but frankly I don’t follow very many people. How bout this? If any of y'all ARE ship-free, reply in the notes. That way we’ll know :)

Anonymous said: Song recs: "Centuries" by Fall Out Boy (Justice League), "Remember The Name" by Fort Minor ft. Styles of Beyond (this is THE Batfam song!), "Counting Stars" by OneRepublic (Dick), "All The Right Moves" by OneRepublic (Batkids), "Tiptoe" by Imagine Dragons (Batkids), "Warrior" by Beth Crowley (Batgirls), "Shatter Me" by Lindsey Stirling ft. Lzzy Hale (Babs), "Disarm" by The Civil Wars (Jason), "Demons" by Imagine Dragons (Jason), "Afterlife" by Ingrid Michaelson (Batkids).

Oooooooh thank you these are very nice! I hadn’t heard most of them

Anonymous said: Batfam/kids song recs! "Renegades" by X-Ambassadors, "When The Darkness Comes" by Colbie Caillat, "Royals" and "Rule the World" by Lorde, "Midnight" and "Fix You" by Coldplay and "Bad Blood" by Bastille. Also for Dick: "Pompeii" by Bastille and "Hopeless Wanderer" by Mumford & Sons.

Thanks! Idk if this was one person or two, but please continue to send me music, y'all, I like it

Anonymous said: no need to be batfamily centric, what comics would you recommend for someone getting into comics now?

Red Robin (2009)

Batgirl (2009)

Batman and Robin (2009)

Batman and Robin (2011)

Robin: Son of Batman (2015)

Batman: Under the Red Hood

Batman: The Black Mirror

Batman: The Court of Owls

Batman: Death of the Family

Good enough for a start? I don’t read a lot outside the batfamily titles, I’m afraid

Anonymous said: Omg I love your writing. Can I request Damian and Jason fighting about Damian and Jon's missions?

Hm I’m a lil backlogged just now, but I think there’s a pretty good chance that Jon will show up eventually. Just probably not real soon :/

Anonymous said: I'm new to the DC comic world, but I'm a bit curious as to how fans feel/reacted about one thing: Talia drugging and taking advantage of Bruce? Do fans feel the same about that as they would if that had happened to a female character? Was it a big deal? I was shocked to find out it had happened, and want to know how other fans feel. Did the writers ever later address it?

Oh boy

In my experience there are two schools of thought:

1) People that like Talia and choose to use the older version of canon, where Bruce and Talia were in love and the rape never happened

2) People that hate Talia

As always, I’d prefer not to say which side I come down on, and I won’t answer any personal questions related to Talia. It’s a bit of a hot button topic, and I prefer to avoid conflict. Thank you. Let’s continue.

Here’s the thing, anon-- Damian was created by a writer named Grant Morrison in 2006. Before that, there was a storyline where Bruce and Talia had a baby, and she gave him up for adoption without telling him. Historically, Bruce and Talia’s relationship has been pretty straightforward: they liked each other, and any romantic interactions were consensual. 

Morrison changed that. I can’t say for certain why, but you can read a bit more about my opinion of him over here. In Morrison’s version, Damian was conceived by rape, for eugenic purposes; they were trying to create the ideal heir from al Ghul and Wayne DNA.

Talia drugged Bruce’s drink, and yes, that is absolutely rape. No doubt about it. Rape. It’s disgusting and unnecessary, and it doesn’t really make sense, considering the thirty-five years of material that came before Morrison’s Talia. 

Because of that, it’s a divisive topic. There are a lot of people who argue that since Talia’s actions were out of character for her (and since Morrison went on to make her do other out of character things, like murdering her own son) the rape should be removed from canon. Those folks generally substitute the older storyline where Bruce and Talia were in love. 

That kind of thinking really isn't that uncommon for comic fans because the way comic canon is constructed-- multiple writers with varying skill levels who frequently produce overlapping or contradictory accounts of the same events-- presents us with multiple versions to choose from. A small and unrelated example: in his original version, Tim Drake dropped out of high school before graduation. In the n52, he graduated early. I prefer the older version, so even when I read the n52, I think of Tim as a high school drop out.

There are also canon story lines that I just don’t acknowledge, Battle for the Cowl being the easiest example. I know that the characterization is awful, so I pretend it never happened.

Morrison dramatically changed who Talia is as a character, not just at that specific point, but continually from 2006 to 2013. Since he retired, Talia has been shifting back to her older incarnation (again, see the link from above). You’re going to find a lot of folks who are happy with that, and those are likely to be the same people that edit the rape out of Talia’s history. 

You’re also going to find folks on the other side of the issue-- people that acknowledge the rape and believe that it would be wrong to edit it out of history. Morrison’s Talia, while mischaracterized, has been around for a long time with some very dramatic effects. Damian’s redemption storyline, death, resurrection, and general personality all depend on Talia’s action while Morrison was writing her-- if you choose to ignore all of that, Damian as we know him can’t exist, and he’s been a giant part of the general bat canon for the last eleven years. 

Beyond that, rape and filicide are awful, horrifying crimes, and they both happened within Talia’s canon. They’re the current version. They haven’t been retconned. As a matter of fact, Morrison isn’t the only one circulating that version-- the recent animated movies about Damian explicitly include the rape, and those began in 2014. 

You also made an excellent point when you asked about gender-- male rape victims are treated incredibly poorly in fiction and life, and I think it’s fair to argue that ignoring Bruce’s canonical rape contributes to that. Bruce isn’t the only member of the batfamily with this issue either. Dick was raped by Tarantula in 2002 (he asked her not to touch him, he was in shock and immobile, and she had sex with him anyway), and that writer (Devon Grayson) didn’t even call it rape. Would the rape of either of those men be treated differently if they were women? I don’t know. I can’t really answer a hypothetical. But it’s worth thinking about.

When it comes to Talia, I’d say my experience with general opinion has been about a 50/50 split? That being said, I am very young, and I’ve only been in this game for five years. I can’t tell you how any of this went over in 2006 because I was a ten year old at the time, and I don’t think I know anyone older who could tell me.

As far as writers go... I don’t recall Bruce’s emotional state being addressed in any way. Most of the time, writers don’t directly talk about it. Some of them seem to lean towards the earlier version by framing Bruce and Talia as a love story; however, that doesn’t mean that by omitting the rape, they retcon it. People are raped by their partners or spouses all the time. Saying that Bruce loved Talia doesn’t automatically erase the rape. Implying that Bruce and Talia had consensual sex before or after Damian’s conception doesn’t automatically erase the rape. Frankly it would be very hard to retcon, since there would have to be some kind of statement within the dialogue denying any kind of drugging. 

I don’t know if any of this will ever be addressed, but I’ve written a lot more than I meant to now, so I’m going to stop. I hope I answered all your questions. If I didn’t, you could try sending me a message instead of an ask, and we can talk more about it in private

@another-nameless-person said: The CTC story reminds me so much of my own family omg. I am so happy I'm not the only one with a big family who does this too. I'm so happy I've since moved out of my moms and can stash my own junk food at home lol

Right? I’m only just now kicking the habit of hiding my food. I also recently realized that I’m allowed to drink directly from the bottles now, which is fun

@coredesignixandnekonee said: Do you think, in a world where Nightwing knows Starfire, Oracle, Miss Martian, Red Arrow/Arsenal, and Kid Flash (Wally West1) that there's a "red headed friends of Robin/Nightwing" club where they hang out and complain about him with tea and cookies?

Wally, dipping Oreos in his milk: listen guys I know for a fact he isn’t sleeping and I think we’re gonna have to make him. Whose turn is it

[imaginegladions]

I was just reading a v good gladion x reader fic somewhere on the internet, however one of the chapters turned into nsfw (as adults i guess) and even though it wasn't badly written i'm asexual and kind of need to forget about it. XD pls send fluff!!. Can you make a hc about their relationship, if it wasn't focussed specifically on the physical aspect of love, but more mentally bonding / gentle hugging etc? If you don't mind at least. (:

I totally hear you. I’m not asexual I think but I also don’t  really see the appeal of nsfw (which is why I wouldn’t write any unless people ask for it and even then it needs to be tasteful XD). I didn’t know that you meant so I based some of these off stuff I see from my parents.

RELATIONSHIP HEADCANONS: 

Being in a relationship with Gladion means dealing with those Family Issues.

Your relationship with Lillie is fine of course bc she’s super nice.

Your friendship with her actually ends up drawing both siblings closer together and it’s really sweet watching Gladion come out of his shell and finally opening up to her again not feeling like the older brother that has to hide all his pain from Lillie.

His pain though is yours too so you’d have to be really strong for him.

On the plus side, he’s strong for you too, because he knows the burden of responsibility.

If you feel like your role as Alola’s champion and saviour is too much to carry Gladion knows, he always knows somehow, and will drag you out of the League and give you a night off where you both just let off steam.

Letting off steam activities include: walks in Malie Garden, Battle Royale, or just plain laying about eating junk food lazily grooming your Pokémon together.

Gladion is actually very considerate and very easily picks up on your moods so he knows exactly when you both need space.

He’s not comfortable about pda in general but he’s v comfy with gift giving!

Like, you’d probably arrive at the League only to find like pots of flowers around your Champion seat (Gladiolus Flowers of course what a dork).

ALLLLL the Gracidea flowersssss.

You don’t really like shopping but Gladion likes to watch you try on new clothes and try new food just as much as he likes to watch you go to new places and discover new Pokémon. He likes the way you light up.

If he catches any Pokémon that remind him of you he totally gives you those Poké.

All the non-edgy Pokémon go to you tbh.

You have like five Luvdisc and one shiny Luvdisc. I get it Gladion you love me v much. So much, all the Luvdisc freaking flock to you. XD

You get mail from Aether via his Golbat all the time. Odd short messages like what you want for dinner or if the Elite Four are still stubborn about having teams of only one type of Poké.

Goes with you everywhere to complete your Pokédex probably.

If you’re into fitness, he would run and train your Pokémon with you early in the morning claiming he won’t be beat by your Pokémon but really he just likes spending time with you.

Is actually very good at braiding and hair styling, he’s also good at make-up. Probably does your eye-liner in the mornings.

All his clothes are just a little loose on you so they’re perfect for when you’re lazing about or short trips to the League.

In your spare time, you both go to the beach to see if you can toss any Pyukumuku back into the ocean for fun and always always end up tossing each other into the water.

Calling him Flower Boy.

Him calling you The Joker (because of that blank smile face). 

Being his girl/boyfriend makes you an honorary Team Skull member so no one dares mess with you.

Team Skull actually likes you better than him. He doesn’t really care for them but it’s cute seeing the Grunts crowd around you and glare at anyone who dares look at you wrong.

Plumeria is like “Wife/Husband that girl/ boy now.”

When you defeat the Elite Four with just bug types you become like Guzma’s fave. Gladion gets a little irritated that you’re spending all this time with Team Skull. XD

He flips out when they give you the Team Skull uniform, like no pls put on something else anything else here have my hoodie.

Possessively shoves his hoodie over your head. :”>

God Bless Him he loves you so.

And so does his doggo.

SO supportive of all your ideas on how to improve the League and Trial facilities. Gives great feedback on rules you can implement. 

Donates all of Lusamine’s frozen Pokémon so you can hand them out to new trainers who are just starting their Island Challenge.

You encourage him to take the Island Challenge too and properly challenge the League.

He’s like an unofficial Trial Captain kind of. When he’s free he hangs out at Victory Road, no one gets to you without beating him first.

The trainers actually have to go up Victory Road when he’s at Aether because if everyone had to beat him then not a lot of people would be able to Challenge you lets be honest. XD

You and he visit Lusamine once a month, at first it was just you since Gladion pleaded business with the Aether Foundation.

Eventually though, he decides to come with you and you are honestly so proud of him for it.

All four of you cry the first time Lusamine and him talk and she calls out to him softly and thanks you, it’s all very heartwarming and Lusamine is so grateful to you for taking such good care of her kids she’s defo approved of you wife/husband that girl/boy son or I will make u do it myself.

At home, you both cook mostly because while Gladion knows the basics you have more experience with harder dishes watching your mom but cutting things and actually computing cooking time? Yeah, Gladion can handle the mechanics. 

All chores are handled together unless one of you is busy.

You have about 30 minutes each of allotted time before bed to unload everything that’s troubled both of you that day.

Overall, you keep each other sane and Gladion is very dependable but you also pick up in the places he can’t cover. 

[pokemontrashfiveever-blog]

Lillie’s visit home

Idk where all my energy for shipping Lillie and Hau came from, but here it is

“No, the sign goes over there!” Mina yelled waving her hands at Sophocles and Kiawe. The surprise Welcome Home party for Lillie was being set up by the trial captains. Of course Hala and the Professor agreed the artist of the captains should be in charge of decoration. The only problem was, Mina didn’t know how to communicate as an effective leader.

Kiawe looked at her, the fire type trainer visibly very annoyed, “You told us to put it here not even five minutes ago!” He yelled, “I’m tired of moving this stupid thing around, just pick a place already!” Sophocles looked on as the two bantered, wishing he could get back to building something. Seeing the arguing teens, Burnet walked up to them.

“Alright what’s the problem?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Hala and Professor Kukui put me in charge, and these two idiots refuse to listen.” Mina said calmly.

“Alright, that’s it!” Kiawe barked, jumping of the ladder.

“Oh my god, where is Kukui when you need him” Burnet muttered as she held the two apart.

Xxx

Hau sat on the edge of the rock wall at the ferry terminal, waiting for Lillie’s ship. He could see the ship in the sea, slowly making it’s way to port. He reached into his pocket, pulling out the small object Lillie had given him just before she left. It wasn’t much, but it meant the world to him; it gave him the strength he needed to complete the island challenge. Looking at it, he thought back to all the adventure he, Sun, and Lillie had had. He shoved it in his pocket, hearing footsteps coming from behind him.

“Howsit, going cuz?” Kukui asked, dropping down to sit next to Hau. He had left set up in the hands of the captains to look for the young man.

“Nervous.” Hau said flatly. It’d been almost three years since he’d seen Lillie, of course he’d heard from her and video chatted her but… it’s not the same as in person.

Kukui chuckled, “Why would you be nervous? It’s just Lillie.” He was purposely prodding. Hau wore his feelings on his sleeve without even realizing it. It was obvious to anyone who knew Hau and talked to him that he liked Lillie. Any conversation, he’d find a way to say “Just like Lillie!” or “I wonder what Lillie would have thought of you doing that” (That was mostly focused towards Sun), he always wanted to talk about her.

“Can I tell you a secret?”

“Hau, you can tell me anything.”

“I like her… I have for a while.”

Kukui smirked, glad Hau had finally told him. “Don’t sweat it cuz. You should probably tell her how you feel this time around though. I know you meant to the first time she left.” Kukui said looking at him.

“Well uh… is it that obvious?”

Kukui let out a hearty laugh, “Hoo boy, you have no idea. But, it’s one of your best traits.” Hau looked at the professor questioningly, “You have love for everyone and you’re not afraid to show it. Not everyone’s like that these days.”

Hau smiled, looking off at the ferry, “Oi, it’s getting ready to dock.” he exclaimed, jumping up to run over to the other side of the port

“Woah wait up, you’re not the only one excited to see her!” Kukui chuckled chasing after him. He easily caught up to Hau, standing and watching them take care of the ropes. Hau was excited, unable to stand still as the ferry pulled in. “Lillie!” Kukui yelled, seeing the girl on deck.

“Hi professor! Hi Hau!” She called, waving her hand. “Alola!”

“Alola, Lillie!” Hau answered, doing the Alolan wave.

She ran off the ferry, getting a huge bear hug from the Professor, “I missed you all so much!” She cried, tears beginning to run down her face. Kukui set her down, allowing her to run to Hau, “Oh Hau, I missed you!” She said.

Hau hugged her back tightly, “Aw come on, there’s no need to cry” he said.

“Wait,” Lillie sniffled, pulling away to look at Hau, “You’re taller than me now! And you’re almost as tall as Kukui too!”

“Hey, he’ll always be a shrimp in my eyes,” Kukui laughed, ruffling Hau’s hair. Hau playfully batted his hands away. “What are we waiting for! Everyone’s dying to see you! Especially Burnet, she probably misses you the most.”

“Is Sun around? I need to tell him something.” Hau stiffened up, not liking the sound of that.

“He had some champion stuff to get to, he’ll be around in a bit.” Hau said, shrugging off his jealousy.

“I’m going to go on ahead, Hau why don’t you keep Lillie busy for a bit.” Kukui hinted, knowing that the party wasn’t going to be ready yet.

“Ok Prof, we’ll just go to the shopping center for a bit.” Hau said.

“Sounds good, see you guys soon.”

Kukui walked off, headed up to Iki town. “So Hau, how have things been around here?” Lillie asked. As they walked in the opposite direction.

“It’s been pretty good. Ever since the Pokemon League opened up, we’ve gotten a lot more tourists and trainers; pretty fun to battle everyone.” He explained. They walked in silence for a bit, reaching the square. Hau was muttering under his breath, thinking.

“Hau, are you speaking Alolan?” Lillie asked.

“Oh, uh.. No?”

“Yes, you were, don’t lie to me.” She said, playfully shoving him. “What were you saying?”

“Everything I’m too scared to say to your face.” Hau said sheepishly.

Lillie blushed, “Oh…”

“Lillie?” A voice said interrupting her.

“Gladion?” She asked.

The boy ran up to her, hugging her tightly, “Oh man, I forgot you were coming here today!”

“Yeah, I was just going to show her the new mall and walk around until about sunset.” Hau said, putting emphasis on sunset. Gladion nodded over Lillie’s shoulder, knowing that they needed to stall so her party was set up.

“You’ve changed” Lillie smiled.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Gladion questioned as they pulled away from their hug.

“You’re not all dark and gloomy anymore. You seem happier.” She pointed out, “Who’s the girl?”

“What? There’s uh, there’s no girl Lillie.” Gladion chuckled nervously.

“Oh there’s a girl alright.” Hau assured. Gladion gave Hau a death glare, telling him to shut up or face the consequences. “It’s Acer-” Gladion clamped his hand over Hau’s mouth, mufflng the rest of the name, but it was too late.

“Acerola!” Lillie said happily, “I knew it!”

Gladion blushed, “Alright I’ll see you later, I’m gonna go do a thing.” He said walking away.

Xxx

They went into the shopping center, Hau showed Lillie all the new shops and latest Alolan trends. A few hours later, they emerged. Hau holding all three of Lillie’s bags. “Come on, let’s head to Iki town” Hau said.

Xxx

The sun was setting against the horizon as hau and Lillie made their way up the hill to Iki town. The silence between them was a comfortable one, but very unlike Hau.

“Hau, what’s on your mind?” Lille pondered.

“It’s nothing really.” He lied, looking at the ground.

Lillie stopped and put a hand on his shoulder forcing him to look at her, “Hau,” She said, he looked at her, “You know you can tell me anything, right?”

“I know, I just-”

“ALOLA LILLIE!” A mass of voices shouted from within Iki Town; neither of them realized they had just entered the road. Lillie smiled, the captains ran to her, enveloping her in a group hug.

“Lillie, it’s great to see you again!” Mallow yelled. Hau stepped away, allowing everyone to say hello to her.

“Hi everyone, is Sun here yet?”

“Course I am, I wouldn’t miss this for anything!” He called from within the mass of people surrounding her. He squeezed his way through everyone, giving her a hug, “Missed having you on all my adventures”

“Alright, let’s begin with the celebrations!” Hala called from the battle platform.

Xxx

The night had went on, there was amazingly good food and even better entertainment. The Masked Royal made an appearance, Hau the first person to battle him. And he had kicked his butt. Sun said he didn’t want to bother, he was beyond such things.

“Sun, can we sneak away for a sec?” Lillie asked him.

“Yeah, of course.” he told her.

They walked a bit into Mahalo trail. “Sun I don’t know how to tell you this… The professor in the other region asked me to, but you’re not going to like it.”

“What is it?”

“Your dad… He’s gone.” Lillie said sadly.

“Wait what?” Sun was horrified, “What… what happened to him?”

“He went crazy… it was almost like he had a run in with an Ultrabeast, his body was full of toxins. No one really knows what happened for sure.”  Sun looked off into space, tears slowly falling from his eyes. “I’m so sorry”

“It’s alright… I think I’m going to go home for now and be with my mom for a bit.” He said, “Catch up with you tomorrow, yeah?”

“Of course, I’m here if you need me ok?” She said, giving him a tight hug. He pulled away, walking down the trail.

Lillie sat and thought for a moment, before following. Now it was time to take care of Hau.

When she got back, the celebration had begun to slow… Or at least turn into a slow dance. She looked at her “adoptive parents” Burnet and Kukui  (They were everyone’s adoptive parents at this point) as they slowly danced. Burnet’s laugh like music as she laughed at her husband’s attempt at slow dancing. “Hey Lillie.” Hau said from next to her, “What’s wrong with Sun?” He asked.

“It’s a family thing, I’m sure he’ll tell you when he’s ready.” She said.

“Ok, I got it.” He said. He swayed back and forth nervously, “So uh… do you want to dance?”

“I’d love to Hau.” She smiled.

She linked her arm in his, allowing him to lead her to the floor. He put his hands on her waist as she slid her hands up his shoulders. “You’re tense” she giggled. Hau blushed.

“Do you want to know what I was saying back at the mall?” He asked her.

“Yeah, it’d be nice to know.” She shrugged.

“ E Kipa mai e ku’u alola. Ku’u pa ‘ana ka la ‘oe. Ko alola makamae e ipo. Alola au ia oe, Nau ko ‘u Alola, No kau a kau.”

“What does it mean?” Lillie asked.

“Aw come on, I didn’t say I’d translate it.”

“Hau, please? Nothing ends up how you think it will… Take the risk.” Lillie told him. She had a feeling what he wanted to tell her, but she didn’t expect it to be so lengthy.

“It means ‘Come to me my love. You are my sun. You are so precious, sweetheart; I love you. My love is your’s for eternity.” Hau blushed.

“You’ve been holding that in for a while, haven’t you?” She asked.

“Yeah, I have… I really do like you Lillie, I’d like us to be more than friends.”

Lillie giggled,” it’s about time you said it Hau.” She placed a soft kiss on his cheek.

And so, they danced the rest of the night, only having a care for being in each other’s arms.

Moral of the story: don’t be afraid to tell your crush you like them, cause things don’t always play out as you’d expect them to.

[monster-mum]

Tricks of the trade

Being a child was a lot of fun, being an adult is not as much fun. Sure, there are some positives like driving, staying out as late as you want and not getting grounded every five minutes, that might just be specific to me, but the cons are the icing on the cake as far growing up is concerned. Paying bills, cooking, cleaning, cooking, generally taking care of the universe, as well as getting grey hairs and wrinkles and cooking are just the tip of the ice burg.  I think many of us took being a kid for granted, youth is most definitely wasted on the young. I would be an awesome kid if I could go back and do it again, I mean I did a pretty good job the first time around but there is definitely room for improvement. No two people’s childhoods were the same but one thing I think everyone has in common is the big bag of tricks we all used on our parents. Whether it was becoming severely dehydrated about half an hour after bedtime or pretending not to hear our parents calling us in when we were out playing, we all had our things. I can remember thinking myself very clever and original for all the tricks I used to pull on my Mum and Dad. I felt confident that I was the first child ever to do these things, even though my parents would tell me they did the same things when they were my age, I thought it was all bravado. That was until I had our biggest monster, Steven, and I quickly learnt that not only was I not original in my manipulations but I was not particularly clever at delivering them.

 I can remember one time me and my mum had a falling out. Allegedly, yes allegedly, I had graffitied a wall around the corner from our house. It was no Picasso but I had signed my name at the bottom nevertheless. As I said above, I was not particularly clever at times. This meant I was in big trouble. I was grounded. I hated being grounded, it sucked. It wasn’t until I got older that I realised that it was likely that my Mum didn’t enjoy grounding me either, and not just because parents generally don’t like having to discipline or tell their kids off. I can remember being told I was grounded to my room, except for to use the bathroom obviously. It drove me mad being in my room. It was a tiny room and was pretty rubbish on all accounts as far as bedrooms go. There was no chance I would disobey though as that could result in an extended sentence. So, I came up with a plan. I was bored, fed-up and irritable, so that meant my Mum should feel something similar. Now my Mum’s rules said that I wasn’t allowed out of my room, but there was nothing about being silent or having the door closed in said rules. I sat along the line between my room and the hallway with the door open and I began to sing very loudly and not particularly tunefully either. I decided this wasn’t enough, so I began to bang on the floor with my feet and on the cupboard with my hand. It didn’t feel like too long had passed when my Mum ordered me out of the house. Success! Victory!

 Another of my ‘tricks’ was to ‘run away.’ I know that this is probably hard to believe but I was grounded quite regularly as a child and teenager, shocking I know! Thinking that my Mum was over reacting about whatever I had allegedly done, I would ‘run away.’ This involved me packing a bag, usually containing a couple of books and maybe a change of clothes, I would tell my Mum I had had enough and was running away. “Would you like a lift to the train station or bus station?” she would ask. No fricking way Mum! If she dropped me at either station it was going to be a long walk home and there was no way I was dealing with that. I had no intention of running away and didn’t she know it. This was a game between us. So off I went, running away on foot. I’d go and hang out with my friends all day and then when I got hungry I would head home. Dinner was usually around five so I made sure to be back by then. There was never a time when there wasn’t enough food prepared for me to eat too, it was almost as if she knew I’d be back. My brother was not quite so good at this game. One time he was in trouble, he rarely got told off, he was the good child. Anyway, somehow he’d managed to get into trouble and for once I had nothing to do with it. He declared proud and bold “I am running away!” Our Mum responded with the usual question of station drop offs and the silly boy said “yes please.” So off Mum and Andrew go heading to the train station, she drops him off and pulls away. From what I was told he had a bit of a meltdown which ended in him apologising and begging to come home. He obviously did not realise that Mum had no intention of abandoning him at the station. I don’t think he ran away again. Funny boy.

 I know that I have this kind of thing to look forward to with my three monsters. Steven tests the boundaries every now and then. His favourite thing to do is pretend he can’t hear us. Unfortunately for Steven we had his hearing tested a few months back. It turns out he has really good hearing so we know full well he can hear us, as does Steven, which explains the smirk on his face when I say “Steven, I know you can hear me because we had your hearing tested and you have super hearing.” He is a lot easier to talk around, Lyla is a completely different kettle of fish.

 I’ve spoken about Lyla before and how unique she is, she is also stubborn and very clever in the art of manipulation and all things related to it. She is a lot like me when I was younger. Lyla will argue black is white with you just because she can, it can be pretty exhausting at times, but it is marvellous how her mind works.

 Set scene: We’re running late (as usual) so I’ve asked the kids to get themselves into the car. I get to the car with Lachlan and find that Steven is sat in his seat with his belt on reading a book, meanwhile Lyla is sat in the driver’s seat pressing every button and pulling every lever she can. I clip Lachlan in and walk around to begin what I am hoping is going to be a quick and straightforward Lyla extraction from the driver’s seat.

 Me: “Lyla come on we’re in a rush, get into the back please and into your seat.”

 Lyla: “No I’m going to drive.”

 Me: “Lyla Please get into your seat.”

 Lyla: smiles and laughs, uh oh “No!” she then reaches over and slams the door closed.

 Oh good, she’s in one of these moods. I take a deep breath, maybe a different approach will work. I open the car door.

 Me: “Lyla, come on please. I asked you in the house to come out and get into your seat and you haven’t done that have you?”

 Lyla: “No you didn’t.”

 Me: “Yes I did.”

 Lyla: Looking at me as though I am a completely ridiculous person “No you didn’t Mummy.” She sits up and tries to turn the steering wheel “Actually I am going to change my name, I am now Rainbow Dash”

 Me: “That’s a lovely name Lyla…”

 Lyla: “My name is Rainbow Dash not Lyla!”

 Me: “Okay Lyla, I mean Rainbow Dash. You have a very beautiful name.”

 She puffs up looking chuffed with herself.

 Lyla: “I know.”

 So modest.

 Me: “Okay Rainbow Dash, beautiful unicorn, princess queen of rainbows can you move into your royal seat in the back next to Steven please?”

 Lyla: “Mummy, I am actually a queen in real life you know.”

 Me: “Oh wow. That must be fun. Would her royal highness like to sit in her royal car seat?” I step back and bow. I will win this battle she is only four how hard can it be to outwit a four-year-old.

 Lyla smiles and relishes in the compliments. Oooooh I am winning! Ha! I am Queen of dealing with kids!

  BANG!

 Lyla slams the car door and laughs at me while I am mid bow, she then tries to lock the car, luckily she doesn’t know how. I look in the back to check on Steven and Lachlan trying to see what they are making of their insane sister. Those poor boys. I squash my face against the window and see that Lachlan is asleep and Steven looks to be oblivious to all the goings on. All of a sudden Steven glances up from his book and see’s Lyla in the front, he appears confused and looks around finally noticing me with my smooshed up face against the window. He smiles, waves and then points at Lyla in the driver’s seat mouthing “Lyla’s in the front Mummy!” Cheers Steven! Geez this child, I wish I could switch off the way he does. I mouth “I know”, he then responds with “She can’t drive.” Good point Steven, silly me for attempting to let my unstable four-year-old drive our car. What was I thinking? Pushing my desperate need to say “Reeeeeealllly” in the most sarcastic voice known to man I go with “Okay” and two thumbs up. Just as I am about to ask for his help he puts his head back down and continues to read. I take a couple of deep breaths and say my dealing with Lyla mantra of “I am the adult, she is the child, I am the adult, she is the child” and add a “you can do this” to boost my confidence.

 I open the car door, again.

 Lyla: “Oh hello. Who are you?”

 Urgh!

 Me: “Oh hello, I am Mummy and I am here to drive you to Steven’s art club. Shall I help you into your special seat in the back next to Steven?”

 Lyla: “No. I am going to drive but Mummy I am going to let you sit in the front next to me because you are a good, clever Mummy and it’s a special treat.”

 Gee thanks four-year-old me.

 Me: “Lyla…”

 Lyla: “My name is RAINBOW DASH!”

 Me: “…sorry, Rainbow Dash. You can’t drive as you can’t reach the peddles.”

 Lyla: “I don’t need to reach the peddles.”

 Me: “You need to use the peddles to drive.”

 Lyla: “No you don’t”

 Me: “Yes you do.”

 Lyla: “Nope.”

 I suddenly flashback to a moment two years earlier. Lyla and I were arguing about her getting in the car when my friend Emily walked past on her way to work laughing at me. “Why are you arguing with a two-year-old?” She said. Good point Emily! Why am I arguing with a two-year-old?

 Why am I arguing with a four-year-old? This is one of Lyla’s clever tricks to use on me, Chris and any other adult who falls for it.  She gets you to argue the point with her, so much so that you don’t even realise you are doing it. That and trying to keep up with her name changes you end up mentally multitasking. It’s exhausting.

 “I am the adult, she is the child. We’ve got this.” (Apparently there is more than one person in my brain?).

 Me: “Right Lyla it’s time to go. I’ve asked very nicely and now I have to use my Mummy voice. You guys know how much I hate doing that, so come on please get into the back of the car.”

 Lyla: “Okay Mummy, because you said please.”

 I’m pretty sure I said please before but I am not going to open that can of worms. I get my clever wee girl strapped tightly into her seat, triple checking she can’t get out. I close the door and climb into the driver’s seat, get my belt on and turn the car on.

 Steven: his head still in his book “Mummy, are we there yet?”

 I lower my head to the steering wheel and press my forehead against it. With Lachlan’s gentle snores, Steven’s question and Lyla restrained like a feral beast into her chair, I begin to countdown the hours to bedtime.

 Me: “Only six hours and counting.”

 Steven: “What’s six hours Mummy?”

 Me: “You guy’s bedtime.”

 Steven: smiling “That’s aaaaaages away Mummy”

 Me: Silently sobbing into the steering wheel “I know.”

[bublp0pr]

When i get too excited writing a youtube comment on a Disbelief OST compilation and end up with this...

I like how LONG this is. Like, i imagine if you did have a megalovania-style encounter with Papyrus it would just keep going and going and going for like three hour's worth of unique gameplay and Papyrus would just keep on fighting and laugh at you. I mean, with all his phone calls, OF COURSE he'd have the most unique fight dialogue to use on us too, right? 

 "YOU'RE EVEN LAZIER THAN MY BROTHER!! WHO NEEDS SLEEP?!!"  "OH. BUT THAT'S RIGHT! HE'LL NEVER MISS A SHIFT AGAIN. BECAUSE YOU K I L L E D HIM DIDN'T YOU?!!" 

 "UNDYNE AND I WOULD TRAIN FOR HOURS! THIS IS NOTHING!!!" "REMEMBER HER?? SHE'S THE ONE WHO TAUGHT ME HOW TO DO THIS!!!" 

"WHAT? TIRED ALREADY?!! YOU HAVEN'T EVEN FACED MY SPECIAL ATTACK YET!!"  "SURIVE ANOTHER FIFTY ROUNDS AND I MIGHT SHOW YOU HUMAN!! NYEH HEH HEH!" 

"I BELIEVE ANYONE CAN BE A BETTER PERSON IF THEY JUST TRY!!!" "B U T  Y O U ' R E   N O T  J U S T  A N Y O N E,   A R E   Y O U?" 

 "IT'S CLEAR YOU CAN'T DEFEAT ME! THEREFORE I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS ELECT TO GRANT YOU PITY!!"  "NOW'S YOUR CHANCE TO ACCPET MY MERCY... AND LET ME KILL YOU BEOFRE I MAKE YOUR LIFE A LIVING HELL!!!" 

 "I'M SURE YOU'LL HIT ME SOME SOME DAY HUMAN!! I BELIEVE IN YOU, REMEMBER!!" "OH WAIT... THAT WAS BEFORE YOU KILLED MY BROTHER, WASN'T IT??" "THAT'S RIGHT..."  "N O   O N E   B E L I E V E S   I N   Y O U   A N Y M O R E." 

 "NYEH HEH HEH!! WOWEE HUMAN! AFTER ALL MY DODGING YOU FINALLY HIT ME!!!" "WHAT?? DID YOU FORGET I HAD 680 HP?!! 679 ATTACKS TO GO!! NYEH HEH HEH HEH!"  "...HEH!" 

"WHAT? YOU'RE ASKING WHY AREN'T YOUR ATTACKS DOING MORE DAMAGE? HUMAN..." "I LET PEOPLE HURT ME BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT FRIENDS DO! HURT EACHOTHER VIOLENTLY IN BATTLE!!!"  "...AND I DON'T E V E R WANT TO BE YOUR FRIEND." 

 "YOUR ATTACKS HIDE YOUR HIDDEN AFFECTION FOR MY GREATNESS YOU EMOTIONAL CACTUS!" "DON'T WASTE YOUR DENIALS ON ME!" 

 "IT MUST REALLY HURT KNOWING THAT I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE DECIDED YOU DO NOT DESERVE ME TO BECOME YOUR COOL NEW FRIEND!!"  "G O O D.  I   H O P E   Y O U   S U F F E R." 

"I AM A SKELETON WITH STANDARDS!" "AND KILLING EVERYONE I KNOW AND LOVE IS BENEATH MY STANDARDS HUMAN!!!" 

 "HUMAN, YOU DISAPPOINT ME. YOUR ATTACKS HAVE NO CREATIVITY! THE METHOD IS SO DIRECT!" "NO CLASS AT ALL!!" 

 "NORMALLY, MY PUZZLES ALWAYS HOLD EVEN THE TINIEST CHANCE OF VICTORY!!" "HERE... IN THIS FIGHT..." "T H E R E  I S  N O  C H A N C E  O F  W I N N I N G  A T  A L L." 

"SANS TRIED TO WARN ME YOU CAN REPEAT A FIGHT AGAIN AND AGAIN UNTIL YOU WIN!" "WELL THEN, CAN YOU REMEMBER THREE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY FOUR DIFFERENT ATTACKS IN A ROW?!!" 

"YOU'RE BLUE NOW! THAT'S MY ATTACK!" "AND SOON YOUR FACE WILL TURN BLUE WITH BRUISES TOO!!!" 

 "YOU SEEM TO BE RUNNING OUT OF HEALING ITEMS HUMAN!! UNFORTUNATELY FOR YOU..." "IN THIS FIGHT..." "I WILL NOT BE PROVIDING YOU WITH REFRESHMENTS!!! NYEHEHEHEHEHEHEH HEH HEH!!" 

 "THIS FIGHT IS EASIER THAN A CROSSWORD PUZZLE!!!"  

"I USED TO THINK SANS PUNS WERE THE WORST THING THIS WORLD HAD TO OFFER..." "BUT I WOULD RATHER HAVE SANS BACK AND LISTEN TO A THOUSAND PUNS THAN FACE ANOTHER SECOND WITH YOU!!!" 

"HUMAN... IF YOU REALLY CAN RESET THIS WORLD. THEN PLEASE..." "JUST BRING MY BROTHER BACK TO ME!" 

 "I USED TO THINK YOU THAT IF YOU TRIED, YOU COULD DO A LITTLE BETTER." "NOW I REALISE, THE ONLY GOOD THING LEFT FOR YOU IS TO LET ME KILL YOU!!!" 

 "I USED TO BE SO CONFUSED WHEN UNDYNE SPOKE ABOUT A VICTORY THAT DIDN'T INVOLVE CAPTURE..." "NOW I FINALLY SEE WHAT SHE MEANT BY THAT." 

"NOW THAT EVERYONE IS DEAD, I GUESS I'LL NEVER HAVE A DOUBLE DIGIT FOLLOWER COUNT..." "I SUPPOSE COOLSKELETON95 WILL HAVE TO BE CONTENT WITH BLOCKING ONE MORE TROLL INSTEAD!!!" 

"THE WAY YOU DODGE MY ATTACKS HUMAN..." "YOU'RE GREASIER THAN EVEN THAT EVEN GRILLBYS YOU PIECE OF FILTH!!!" 

 "SOMETIMES, I CAN STILL SMELL THE SCENT OF DIRTY SOCK..." "THAT'S YOU SANS, ISN'T IT?" 

"BROTHER... FORGIVE ME FOR NOT FULFILLING MY DUTIES AND PROTECTING YOU." "I HAVE FAILED YOU..." "...NO!" "I AM STILL PAPYRUS! FUTURE MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD! UNPARALLELED SPAGHETTORE!!" "FOR YOU SANS, I WILL AVENGE YOUR DEATH AND DEFEAT THIS THREAT!!!" 

"HUMAN, NORMALLY DO NOT CONDONE SUCH LAZY BEHAVIOUR, BUT IN THIS CASE..." "SURRENDER AND EXECUTION IS YOUR ONLY OPTION!!" 

"NYEH HEH HEH. REMEMBER WHEN I TRIED TO CAPTURE YOU???" "BOY, THOSE WERE SIMPLER TIMES, HUH?!" "TOO BAD YOU NEVER EVEN GAVE MY PUZZLES A CHANCE!!!" 

"WHAT DID SANS USED TO CALL IT? HAVING A 'BAD TIME'?" "THEN HUMAN! I SHALL PROVIDE YOU WITH THIS EXPERIENCE THAT WILL BE CONSIDERED 'BAD'!!!" "SOUND LIKE FUN? BECAUSE... THE AMOUNT OF FUN YOU WILL PROBABLY HAVE..." "IS ACTUALLY RATHER SMALL I THINK." 

"SNOWDIN IS SO QUIET NOW." "NOW THAT EVERYONE WHO LIVED THERE HAD TO RUN FOR THEIR LIVES." 

"I CAN'T BELIEVE I WAS SO FOOLISH TO TRUST YOU HUMAN! TO THINK THAT YOU COULD BE BETTER..." "NOW I SEE THAT THERE WAS NEVER GOOD IN YOU TO BEGIN WITH!!!" 

"NYEH HEH HEH! ARE YOU SLOWING DOWN HUMAN?" "WHY? THE FUN'S JUST STARTING!!!" 

"I CAN DO THIS ALL DAY YOU FREAKING WEIRDO!" 

"HMMM. I WONDER IF OUR PET ROCK IS GETTING HUNGRY..." "DON'T WORRY ROCK! I WILL FEED YOU AS SOON AS I'VE FINISHED OBLITERATING THIS HUMAN!!!" 

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU WERE EXPECTING HUMAN, BUT I'M NOT STOPPING!" 

"THIS IS FINALLY A CHANCE FOR ME TO TRY OUT ALL MY BATTLE SCENARIOS!" "YEARS OF NIGHTS PLANNING OUT ATTACKS..." "BOY! THERE SURE ARE A LOT OF THEM AREN'T THERE?!!" 

"ARE MY ATTACKS TOO EASY FOR YOU HUMAN? YOU SHOULD HAVE SAID SO!" "I WILL STOP GOING EASY ON YOU THEN...!!!" 

"BEHOLD! I HUNTED DOWN THAT ANNOYING DOG AND HAVE FOUND MY SPECIAL ATTACK!!!" 

"COME NOW HUMAN, YOU DIDN'T HONESTLY THINK SANS WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO COULD SUMMON BLASTERS, DID YOU???" 

"HE ALWAYS WAYS SUCH A LAZY BONES. KEEPING THE BLASTERS 'STATIONARY'..." "DOESN'T HE KNOW MOVING TARGETS ARE MUCH HARDER TO AVOID?!!!" 

"NYEH! ANOTHER HIT!!" "ONLY 678 MORE TRIES TO KILL YOU THEN!!!" 

"PERHAPS I SHOULD STOP PLAYING SPORTSMAN LIKE..." "I NEVER ENJOYED USING 'SHORTCUTS' WHEN YOU CAN DO THE SAME THING WITH A PULSE OF HEALTHY EXERCISE..." "BUT TO PRESERVE MY STRENGTH I SUPPOSE THAT'S A SACRIFICE I'LL HAVE TO MAKE!" 

"ARE YOU OK HUMAN? THERE'S THIS REALLY ANNOYED LOOK ON YOUR FACE..." "AND TRUST ME, IT'S NOT GOING AWAY ANY TIME SOON!!!" 

"MAYBE ALL THIS TIME, I SHOULD HAVE STOPPED BELIEVING IN YOU..." "AND BELIEVED IN MYSELF INSTEAD!!!" 

*MERCY  *FLEE 

 Papyrus suddenly appears next to you. 

"WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?!! I'M NOT FINISHED WITH YOU YET. YOU DIRTY BROTHER KILLER!!!"  

...this is never going to stop is it?  QUITTING... 

Resetting over and over to get new dialogue is fun. But you can have too much of a good thing... ;D

[allabroadau]

In hindsight, we probably did have too many stops scheduled during our trip through Cambodia. Two weeks and six stops, so at the last minute – and I mean the last – we woke up and decided that instead of leaving that day for Kampon Chnang, we’d head straight for Siem Reap, cut out a full day’s travel and spend an extra 24 hours exploring temples, markets and Pub Street.

We’d already travelled through Phnomh Penh, Kampot and Sihanoukville and prior to that my sister, Julie, and I had spent three weeks travelling through Uganda. In truth we were exhausted – being on the road can do that to you. It sounds so easy when you’re sitting on your comfy couch in your living room at home, you want to fit everything in, and the distances look so close.

But then reality hits, you start travelling and remember that even the simplest things like just going to the toilet or getting a bottle of water can require thought and planning akin to invading a hostile territory with nothing more than a 10-year-old map and a lighter.

We’d travelled to Kratie from Sihanoukville, sure that it would take just a few hours to get from one town to the next afterall, Cambodia is really not that big – it took 12 hours.

The first bus we boarded was ok, yes we were confused about our seating arrangements and had to move but we were pleasantly surprised that it was a large bus with passably comfortable seats. A few hours later we arrived in Phnomh Penh. We sat waiting for those that were leaving the bus here to hop off, relaxed with the knowledge we still had a distance to go to our final destination.

But then we were told to get off the bus, that this bus wasn’t actually going to Kratie. We weren’t told this through official sources, of course. The bus driver had just up and left, letting us all figure it out for ourselves. But soon the whisper went around.

We disembarked, and were pounced upon by a local more than willing to help us out. I smelled a scam, held my bags just a little closer. We were directed to a window, but our helpful local got there first and found out where we were meant to be. Next thing we were loaded, luggage and all, on to two tuk tuks and sent on our way. We never did see our helper again and he never did ask for money.

We pulled up beside two minivans and were directed onto one of them.

Confusion reigned, Ade was told to sit in the front seat, Julie, Pete and I nestled into the back. We relaxed a little – sure, the back was packed full of boxes and now our bags had been jammed in too, one of the back seats couldn’t go back fully as there was simply too much stuff in the way, but at least there was plenty of room inside for us. Or so we thought.

Four more people piled into the three remaining seats – even the back seat that didn’t go back completely was now occupied. At least one of them was very drunk, none of them spoke English, but they all wanted to engage with us.

Ade offered to move into the back, but once again the driver told him to sit in the front.

And then we were off. We crisscrossed our way across Cambodia, making various stops along the way – pick up some eggs here, drop something off there, buy some turnips here.

We finally arrived at Kratie, just in time for the last boat across to the island we were staying on.

The island – Koh Trong – is in the middle of the Mekong Delta. It is very rural, very traditional and very quiet.

We piled onto the long boat – our bags dumped with other backpacks, shopping bags, the odd bike and a motorbike – and made the short $US1 trek across the river.

Once on the island we took motorbikes to our accommodation – it really was all modes of transport in one day. The only thing missing was a flight.

Our accommodation in Kratie was basic – no wifi, no airconditioning, solar powered. It was stifling hot at night so Ade and I slept on wet towels to cool us down. But it was beautiful – traditional teak buildings set in the Cambodian jungle.

Julie was violently ill all night – we never did find out why – so her and Pete hung out at the hotel while Ade and I took the boat back across to Kratie to check out the markets. It was a short look around, there really wasn’t much to see – so much better staying on the island which was calm and peaceful instead of the chaos that ensued on the mainland.

When we got back to our accommodation, Julie was feeling a little better, that or her FOMO had kicked into gear, so the four of us hired motorbikes – and drivers – to take us on a tour around the island.

For $US5 we rode to the other end of Koh Trong – with a short stop to see a local turtle along the way – and settled in to watch the sunset over the floating villages.

We sat on the banks of our island watching the villagers going about their daily lives and stared in wonder as they lit a fire amidst the 30 or so teak homes all set in the middle of the Mekong. The homes were connected to each other by a series of walkways. From there we rode back past the villagers’ homes, past the temple and the monastery and back to our accommodation.

Without the stops it would probably take about half an hour to ride around the island, and the ride gives an interesting insight into the way the locals live. Other than bikes the main modes of transport on the island are mini horse and carts (and when I say mini, I mean the size of a large dog) and pushbike.

From here we had planned to go on to Kampon Chnang by bus, but after our experience getting to Kratie we figured it was better to fork out the money for a taxi and head straight to Siem Reap instead.

It was worth it – comfort and our only stop was for lunch!

And so we arrived in Siem Reap and finally made it to those temples! And the markets and Pub Street!

It’s hard not to love Angkor Wat for the sheer size of it. And seeing something in person that you’ve seen represented in images so frequently is always quite thrilling. But I would have to say it wasn’t my favourite of the temples. I loved the Tomb Raider temple – Prah Tom.

There is something about the way the trees continue to grow up through the walls of this ancient temple that makes it really interesting – a good reminder that nature can’t be contained, we can try and tame it, try and control it, but in the end it will find a way through.

We spent three days exploring the temples. On the first day we were picked up early for an organised tour to see the temples at sunrise. We joined just about every other tourist in Cambodia to get that one shot of the buildings reflected in the lake at the temple entrance.

Unfortunately Ade was quite sick and while he battled the crowds to get a shot with as few tourists in it as possible, he wasn’t happy with the outcome so we had to go back – anything for a good sunrise shot! We tried again, this time on our own with just our Tuk Tuk driver Mr U, but again Ade fell ill and didn’t even make it out the door. In the end we went at sunset. Mr U took us to the back of the temple, where the number of tourists could be counted on one hand and were outnumbered by the monkeys.

The sunset was beautiful and the temple peaceful.

On our first night in Siem Reap we watched while a little boy drove his remote control car along Pub Street. We were sitting in a pub, of course, watching him play in the street when next thing a Tuk Tuk driver ran over the car. The driver laughed about it. We were all outraged. Ade got straight up and went to see if we could buy the boy a new one, he looked so sad – the boy, not Ade.

Apparently he had bought the car from the market and it would cost $5 to buy a new one. Ade was going to go with the boy to the market, but decided instead to just give him the money.

We did half wonder whether it was a scam, but we didn’t see the boy again and didn’t think much more about it until we discovered the boy’s father was one of the street vendors selling books from a cart around Pub Street. We had seen him a couple of times, he had lost his legs in a landmine explosion. We bought three books from him and looked forward to seeing his smiling face whenever we were in Pub Street, which, let’s be honest, was pretty much every night. He told us his son was visiting family but had indeed replaced his car with the money Ade had given him.

It’s devastating to see the ongoing impact of the Khmer Rouge all through Cambodia. There are victims of landmines throughout the country – singing, begging, selling books – anything to make a living. And these are the people who survived; up to a quarter of the population was killed in the four years Pol Pot was in charge.

Yet despite what they have been through, or perhaps because of it, the Cambodian people are very friendly, their smiles so warm and welcoming.

Someone told us they would “steal the milk from your coffee”. But we didn’t find that.

We kept looking out for the scams, expecting to be ripped off, but it never came. Sure, a lot of people wanted to sell us stuff, wanted us to give them money, but the locals we met had a warmth that was infectious and a smile that shone through every pore in their faces.

Fast Facts

We stayed at Arun Mekong Guest House on Koh Trong for two nights and Rose Royal Hotel in Siem Reap for six nights.

Was it long enough? We had plenty of time to explore the things we wanted to see in Siem Reap, including three trips to the temples. Two nights was long enough in Koh Trung, unless you want to go dolphin watching.

Highlights? Pra Thom temple, watching the sunset over the floating village of Koh Trung, chatting to the locals.

Join @AllabroadAU on Instagram for more travel inspiration.

[instashow]

Tuk tuks, boats, buses and bikes – the long trek to Angkor Wat In hindsight, we probably did have too many stops scheduled during our trip through Cambodia. Two weeks and six stops, so at the last minute – and I mean the last - we woke up and decided that instead of leaving that day for Kampon Chnang, we’d head straight for Siem Reap, cut out a full day’s travel and spend an extra 24 hours exploring temples, markets and Pub Street.