#unless something happened to Cerberus

[roguerambles]

Look, unless it turns out Hades and Persephone cooked Cerberus in a pot and ate him or something, I am fully on board for their hostile takeover of Olympus.

I mean, Zeus is dead and Hera is in the wind, and let's be real their management style really needed some work, let Hades and Persephone take the reins guys--

[the-unified-programs]

Sooo... has anyone ever gotten into a series (video game, TV show, book, whatever) before, somewhat dropped out of it or something along those lines, and then got back into but, like, ten tines more obsessed? Because that kind of just happened to us...

Seriously, when we first heard of the Final Fantasy VII Remake, we were like, "oh, cool! Final Fantasy! We remember playing one of the games when we were young! This one seems cool... don't know anything about it, but it seems neat." So we had pre-ordered it. When we were able to get it, we played it for a bit on and off, before kind of... forgetting about it. We didn't forget the series entirely, no. We still occasionally went online and found stuff about the game, we just... stopped playing for some reason. And then we got the Crisis Core Reunion and played that for a bit before roughly the same thing happened. And we stopped playing either game altogether for bit, but still looked things up online about the series to learn about some characters.

And then it hit us like gosh darn freight train. Like, really freaking hard. All of a sudden we want to play through the games. We literally have 22 posters now that we got today and covered the area of walls by our bed with. Don't know what caused it at all, but uh... there might be some FFVII related stuff being posted by us soon if we feel confident in our abilities to draw humans-

[amxrany]

!! CHAPTER 7 / DIASOMNIA ARC SPOILERS !!

Hi I just got home, so let's get to it (Part 1):

Picking up where we left off, where the main gang meet up with Idia. Sebek thought that all of them were awake in the real world but Idia was like "nah we're still stuck in the dream world"

I completely forgot that Idia barely touches grass (joke) in the main story so he introduces himself to the Silver and Sebek and when Sebek introduces himself Idia got scared cuz of how loud he was 😭

Since Idia's awake, Silver immediately goes on defense thinking that the darkness or even Malleus will attack. But then, Ortho comes on screen (like literally he appears on a monitor) telling the gang that they don't have to worry about that for a while.

Edit: There's this one part I legit forgot to add which I will now cuz it's funny where Silver and Sebek were just sandwiching Idia and Idia's says something along the lines of getting hurt from being squeezed between armor (Sebek) and HARD MUSCLES (Silver) LIKE WE GET IT IDIA WE KNOW WHO YOU ARE

Ortho then explains to the rest about how he managed to escape the dream world and transfer his consciousness to STYX. Although he's not able to conjur Unique Magic because he's not a mage, but rather a humanoid robot, he still has his unique perks (aw that's cute)

Flashback Time: So we have Cerberus Ortho investigating the current situation of Sage Island, trying to prevent the thorns from spreading as well as break through the shield, which is apparently much harder than the open gates of the Underworld. But don't worry guys the Shroud Parents are also there to help him out.

Ortho was given a 20 minute time limit to analyze Malleus's magic, because once those 20 minutes are up he shuts down, which was difficult. UNTIL THE MAN OF THE HOUR MALLEUS APPEARS, who's surprised that Ortho was awake. But Ortho tells Malleus that he simply switched bodies cuz he's an AI, which is something Malleus probably doesn't understand (damn AHAHAHAHAHA)

Knowing that he needed to buy some for the machinery thingies (idk what they're called don't even ask) to collect the needed data, Ortho challenges Malleus. Malleus admires the fact Ortho can keep his sanity for so long, thinking that it's the pinnacle of technology. It was a crazy battle, with Ortho losing one of his dogs

OH MALLEUS I LOVE YOU BUT YOU BITCHHHH (mostly the latter btw)

Ortho's running out of time, with only 30 seconds left and Malleus is about is to put him to sleep. he says he's sorry to his parents NOOOO

BUT SOMETHING HAPPENS, the attack stops; STYX came in just in time to intervene. The Shroud parents uses their drones to attack Malleus's shield and Ortho uses a full blast to get him out of Sage Island and land himself back to STYX and we get this moment of the Shrouds (minus Idia) collapsing into each other's arms.

MALLEUS NO

Ortho regains consciousness after awhile and tells his parents that he's guilty the the two robot dogs were destroyed (oh yeah forgot to mention the other one was destroyed too whoopsie), but Mama Shroud said that they can just repair them and we just have this heartfelt moment in the family.

That is, until Papa Shroud brings up that the magic used by Malleus reminds him of the ancient magic surrounding Grim. Another thing is that it's downright impossible to destroy Malleus's realm from the outside UNLESS Malleus himself disappears. They can't destroy the realm by force either because it will also permamnently lock all victims inside of it. The only thing they can do is to be as persuasive as possible to let Malleus let go of everyone (but trust me when I say I don't think that will work)

So they bring up Maleficia as someone who can persuade Malleus, but Mama Shroud has something else in mind and shows Ortho a live from Idia's dream, which is when he notices something was off. It's possible that she found a way to access everyone's dreams (and let's just say Idia is just like his mum). That;s when Ortho realizes what his mom meant, and that is to find a way to get everyone to wake up and find a way to disrupt the dream world.

Okay Ima end the first part here for now, sorry this took awhile guys I had lots of things to do the moment I got home 😭. But I promise to get things out as quick as I can (I still have a reflection paper to speedrun lmao)

Next: Part 2

[sephirthoughts]

The Ghost of Shinra Manor

Chapter 4 of this

summary: It's been two years-ish since the events of Dirge of Cerberus. Cloud visits his hometown, and investigates a rumor of a ghost, haunting Shinra Manor. If you're surprised by who it turns out to be, you are beyond my power to save, comrade.

tags: g-g-g-ghosts!!! sefikura, sephiroth x cloud, sane!sephiroth (sort of), post advent children, post dirge of cerberus, canon timeline, delusions, intermitten amnesia, low drama, enemies to…whatever the hell they have going on

warnings: references to death, PTSD, child abuse, etc. all of hojo's greatest hits, canon-typical violence

rating: teen and up [BE ADVISED: THIS RATING WILL CHANGE]

Part 4: Resolve

Cloud didn’t check his phone till they were back at the cabin, by which time he’d accumulated a number of alerts.

MISSED CALLS(4): Tifa

MISSED CALL: Barrett

New Messages(5)

He decided to deal with them in order of priority, and opened the messages app first.

Strife: hey what do you know about ghosts

Chadley: Hello, Cloud. It’s good to hear from you. Ghosts aren’t really my area of expertise, unless you’re referring to occurrences of unusual fauna, which are often erroneously reported as ghost sightings. May I ask what this is in regard to?

Strife: like how to identify one and how to get rid of it

Chadley: Hm. There are a number of so-called spirit mediums and exorcists, who claim to be able to detect and communicate with spirits, but since there isn’t an established scientific discipline, I’m afraid the field is fraught with charlatans.

Strife: so there’s no one who knows anything?

Chadley: Don’t lose hope, my friend. It just so happens that an acquaintance of mine is what I would call the world’s foremost lay-expert in spectral phenomena. If there’s anyone who could answer whatever questions you have, it would be him.

Strife: lay-expert?

Chadley: That means he’s highly knowledgeable, but it isn’t his day job.  

Strife: what’s his actual job

Chadley: He works as the concierge for the Haunted Hotel, at the Gold Saucer.

Strife: tell me you’re not talking about that upside-down lunatic bellhop

Chadley: Oh, are you acquainted?

Strife: forget it. i meant someone sane

Chadley: Don’t let his sense of whimsy deter you. That’s his professional persona. He’s actually a very astute and level-headed person. I assure you, there’s no one more knowledgeable in the field.

Strife: really?

Chadley: Indeed. Shall I put you in touch?

Strife: yeah ok

Chadley: Excellent. I’ll give him your contact information. Good luck!

Strife: thanks

Tifa: hey you, just checking in to see how you’re doing. how’s the job going?

Tifa: btw denzy managed to fix that old bike they found. he even rode it around today

Tifa: marley took these pics of him aren’t they cute? .img .img .img

Tifa: good news! i just got off the phone with barrett and he’s going to be in town friday. we’re thinking of having a big bbq dinner for everyone at the bar. you’ll be back by then right?

Strife: won’t be back by friday. something came up i have to deal with

Several minutes passed.

Tifa: i guess there’s nothing you can do when a rush job comes up. when do you think you’ll be back?

Strife: can’t say. could be a while

Tifa: oh i see

Tifa: ok well try not to stay gone too long ok? the kids miss you

Cloud was attempting to formulate a human-sounding reply, when his phone lit up with a new notification.

UNKNOWN: greetings cloud! my name is benjamin hopkins. my friend chadley said you’d like my help with some ghost related information. feel free to give me a call any time, and I’d be happy to assist you however I can.

He stared at his phone screen. A bellhop. Named Benjamin Hopkins. What the fuck ever. Of course that weirdo in the mummy bandages would have a weirdo name.

Sephiroth’s high-school AU version was still wearing the Gold Saucer t-shirt, with the addition of a pair of Cloud’s black jeans, which fit him far too well for Cloud’s liking. At the moment, he was sitting at the camp table, staring into space, because Cloud didn’t have any chores for him to do except wash dishes, and he’d done that already.

“Sephiroth,” Cloud said, giving him a start.

Big, blue-green eyes looked up at him, full of hope and trust. “Yes, sir?”

“If you want something to do, why don’t you go out and chop some firewood, before we’re ass-deep in snow. From the look of things, we’re gonna need it.”

Sephiroth jumped up eagerly. “Yes, sir. How much should I get?”

“Just whatever you can cut while I’m on the phone,” Cloud said carelessly. “The axe is hanging up over there. Shed is behind the cabin. I’ll come check on you, when I’m done with my call.”

“Yes, sir. You can count on me.”

“Sephiroth.”

“Mn?”

“Jacket.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And knock off that sir shit. Call me Cloud.”

“Yes, s—Cloud.”

With a sheepish grin, the boy pulled on the old down jacket Cloud had given him, grabbed the axe, and strode out into the snow, full of determination. Cloud stared at the closed door for a full thirty seconds, after he’d gone, and had to physically shake himself out of the reverie.

Seeing Sephiroth this way was wreaking havoc on his emotional state. The child version had been easy. Similar but unfamiliar. Cloud was able to dissociate him from the mental index he had for Sephiroth, and just see a little boy. The adult version was even easier. He was fully familiar and fit neatly into Cloud’s ‘mortal enemy, hated with the fire of a thousand suns’ index.

The teenaged version was more complicated. This was the Sephiroth who had been his idol and hero, when he was the bullied and ostracized poor kid in this tiny shit town. His reason for never giving up, when things seemed hopeless.

This was the Sephiroth he’d fallen in love with, in the innocent and wholehearted sincerity of childhood. The Sephiroth that a part of him, no matter how forcefully denied and deeply buried, still loved.

He clenched his teeth and swallowed the ache in his throat. If some fragment of himself was still idiotic and delusional enough to harbor anything approaching love for Sephiroth, that was just one more reason to quickly figure out how to end him, once and for all. The sooner the man was gone for good, the better. With fresh resolve, he pulled out his phone and dialed the bellhop’s number.

“Benjamin Hopkins, how can I help you?” said the man’s (not quite as deranged as Cloud remembered) voice.

Cloud sighed audibly. “Is that your real fucking name?”

“No, it’s not,” he retorted. “If you must know, my real name is Subject N-2, and thanks for bringing up that very painful memory. Would you like to talk about ghosts, now?”

“Uh. Sorry,” Cloud muttered. “Is this a good time?”

“Good as any. I’m at work, but it’s a pretty slow day, to tell you the truth, so I’m just hanging around.”

Cloud stifled another sigh. “Did you say that because you’re literally hanging upside-down right now?”

“Eh? Have we met before?”

“Couple years ago. My friends and I were looking for rooms at the hotel. One of them may have been a bit…aggressive.”

“Oh…oh! Are you the little blonde who came in with the giant, the vampire, the cowboy aviator, and a robot cat?”

“I’m impressed you remember us.”

“Ah, ha ha. Mr. Strife, how many times do you think I’ve had an arm-mounted minigun shoved in my face, at my place of employment? Just, ballpark estimate.”

Cloud swallowed. “Is it…one time?”

“Ding ding ding! Correct! Just the one time. So yes, I remember you. A man doesn’t tend to forget that kind of character-defining life and death experience.”

“Sorry about that guy. He has anger issues and trust issues and impulse control issues, and also he’s scared of spooky stuff, so he was acting tough to hide it,” Cloud explained, blithely throwing Barrett under the bus. “But, now that I think of it, I remember you seeming pretty chill about the gun. You didn’t even flinch.”

“Ok, you got me,” the bellhop tittered. “I was exaggerating about the character-defining life and death experience stuff. I’ve been through way worse than that.”

“You have?”

“Yes, yes, it’s all part of my tragic backstory. However! It was highly inappropriate of your friend to threaten a member of the hotel staff with a firearm. Imagine if a normal employee had been the one at the counter, instead. They’d have trauma! I’m sorry to be strict, but for the safety and mental health of the staff and guests, I’m afraid Mr. Barrett Wallace is not welcome on Haunted Hotel premises, until further notice. I hope he takes the opportunity to reflect carefully on his actions.”

“Fair enough. I doubt he’d go back there if you dragged him, anyway.”

“Good. Now that’s settled, let’s talk about your ghost problem. What seems to be the trouble?”

“That’s part of the problem,” Cloud said, feeling a little stupid saying any of this out loud. “I’m not even sure it’s a ghost.”

“Ah, say no more. I happen to have my ‘Got Ghosts?’ checklist handy. Why don’t we go through that, first. More often than not, the phenomena people misidentify as evidence of hauntings are perfectly mundane, explainable things.”

“Um. Ok.”

“Do you have any of the following: shadows or other unexplained movement in your peripheral vision?”

“No.”

“Sensation of falling, while seated or lying down?”

“No.”

“Cold spots in the house?”

“This is Nibelheim. The whole house is a cold spot.”

“I’ll go ahead and check no for that one. Voices laughing, or speaking in whispers/low tones?”

“No.”

“Thinking you hear someone call your name, when alone in the house or with others who deny having done so?”

“No.”

“Scratching or tapping on walls or under floors?”

“No.”

“Sound of footsteps, from empty rooms?”

“No.”

“Lights flickering, or inexplicably being turned off?”

“No.”

“Waking up to the certainty that there is a terrifying presence in the room with you, but unable to move or call for help?”

“No.”

“Pets behaving strangely, and/or interacting with something that is not there?”

“No pets.”

“Objects moved to strange locations, cabinets found open, doors opening or shutting on their own, et cetera?”

“Nope.”

There was a pause. “I’m a little confused, Mr. Strife. If none of these things are occurring, what leads you to believe you might have a ghost?”

“I found a dead person—”

“You found a body??”

“No. Let me finish my sentence, will you? I found a person who I know to be dead, except he’s not acting dead, and he was hanging around in an abandoned basement, naked and crying.”

“He was…that’s uh…wow. A lot to unpack. You’re sure he wasn’t just abducted, and presumed dead? Because, to be honest, that’s kind of what it sounds like.”

“I’m sure. I killed him, myself.”

The bellhop choked audibly. “I—I see. And, uh…the person you found in this basement, who resembles the person you killed—”

“Not resembles. It is him. He answers to his name and knew where he was. But he doesn’t remember me. He seems to be having some kind of weird amnesia, where he’s only getting parts of his memory back.”

“And, um. Not to belabor a point,” the bellhop said gingerly, “but, what makes you think he’s a ghost? I mean, apart from the fact that you claim to have killed him and are definitely one-hundred percent certain that he did actually die.”

“He’s pale. Like, corpse pale. His body is ice-cold. All of it gets kind of transparent, sometimes, but mostly his hands and feet. He has trouble touching things, without his fingers going right through them. And sometimes, when he talks, he fades in and out, like a radio.”

The sound of a pencil scratching, from the other end of the line said enough, so Cloud continued.

“Normal lighting hurts his eyes, so I have to use a gas lantern or just the fireplace. He doesn’t seem to see very well, or maybe he’s just seeing things that aren’t real. Less than two hours ago, I watched him walk straight through a solid wall of stone that he insisted wasn’t there. Also, when I found him yesterday, he was an adult. When I woke up this morning, he was a little kid. Now he’s a teenager.”

There was a beat of silence.

“Mr. Strife—”

“Cloud.”

“Cloud. If you would go this far, just to play some kind of mean-spirited prank—”

“Do I seem like the type of person who plays pranks, Benjamin?”

“Not really,” he conceded. “If anything, you seem to be the 'broody edgelord who takes himself way too seriously' type.”

“That’s not…inaccurate. So, can you help me, or not?”

Benjamin let out a long breath. “Hoo, boy. Let me be honest with you, I thought I was prepared, but none of my usual checklists cover anything like this. That said, your guy actually sounds a lot like a ghost. There are inconsistencies, but if what you’re telling me is the truth, I can’t think of any other explanation. Um. Let me look something up, real quick.”

“Sure, take your time.”

There was another lengthy pause in which Benjamin muttered to himself and Cloud heard pages turning.

“Alright, found it. So, the Cetra believed that the spirits of human beings could be temporarily unable to enter the lifestream, for a number of different reasons. A spirit can’t inhabit its dead body, though, so they show up as disembodied entities, mostly resembling intangible wisps of light. These are what people would commonly call ghosts.”

“But mine’s not an intangible wisp, or whatever,” Cloud pointed out. “He’s actually pretty solid. I even carried him a few times.”

“Right. Hence the inconsistency. The only stories of ghosts being able to take physical bodies and walk around interacting with living people, are from ancient oral traditions, and those were supposedly the spirits of demigods.”

“Ok, back up. Forget about the body thing, for now. What are the reasons someone could be unable to enter the lifestream?”

“Strong resentment, unfinished business, promises to keep—any kind of attachment so strong that it keeps them hanging on, past their time.”

“So, if it was that, what would we do about it?”

“Supposedly, the attachment has to be resolved, then the spirit can be freed and enter the lifestream. For humans. For the demigods…that’s a different story. They were considered to be corrupt beings, so they were rejected permanently. Pretty sad, if you ask me.”

“Corrupt how?”

“Well, demigods are the offspring of humans and gods, which is a big ontological no-no. Gods can’t die, and can’t enter the lifestream, but that’s a whole other thing. The children of an eternal god and a mortal human, therefore, are stuck between worlds. Their bodies can die, but their spirits can’t ascend to godhood, and they can’t join the lifestream either, so they just linger. Some of them go mad and turn into malicious entities, that spread plague and disaster and war, and some just gradually lose themselves, fading but never disappearing. Like Zeno’s paradox, but with existence, instead of infinitely shrinking distances.”

“Shit. That is pretty sad.”

“Yeah, man. Have you studied any mythology? Like, ninety percent of it is a huge bummer.”

“There’s another thing. I attacked him with a sword, when I first saw him. He wasn’t hurt at all, but the attacks backlashed on me, really badly. I’m still recovering from the internal injuries. What could cause that?”

“Huh,” Benjamin said thoughtfully. “A sword attack certainly shouldn’t be able to harm a ghost, but how does it backlash?”

“It wasn’t the blade I hit him with. It was a directed energy spell, using the blade as a catalyst.”

“You used a mana-based attack on the alleged ghost, and it backlashed on you? Holy shit.”

“What?”

“Well, in my experience—I mean, my experience researching ghost-related phenomena, obviously—untethered human souls are extremely fragile. An energy spell should have scattered it, if not destroyed it completely. I’ve never heard of one defending itself, let alone being able to harm a living person.”

“Fuck.”

“Yeah. So, to be on the safe side, maybe don’t do that anymore. In the meantime, are there any other extremely significant details that you haven’t bothered to bring up, yet? Because, I’d really like to just hear it all at once, if that’s ok.”

“Just a few things. He has these memory flashbacks, he gets caught in. He can bring me into them, but he doesn’t know how. It’s happened a few times. Also, when we were sleeping, last night, I dreamed a bunch of random pieces of his memories.”

“You believe he’s a ghost, and you went to sleep, in the same room with him?”

“I just said sleeping. Why do you assume we were in the same room?”

“Were you?”

“Yes. What does it matter?”

“I’m impressed, is all. You’re a different breed than most huma—ahem—most people, aren’t you.”

“He was a lot scarier alive. That’s why I want to figure out how to kill him permanently, as soon as possible.”

“Without killing yourself along with him, you mean.”

“Sure.”

“O…kay. Anything else you haven’t mentioned?”

Cloud opened his mouth to tell Benjamin about the pain in his chest, that had been growing since he approached Nibelheim, and how it had gotten unbearable when Sephiroth started to fade, earlier, but for some reason, he became extremely reluctant to talk about it. “Uh. No, that’s all.”

“Alrighty,” Benjamin said cheerfully. “I’m gonna have to do a little research and get back to you, because, um. Ha ha. I’ve never heard of anything like this situation, in my life.”

“Right. Well, thanks for doing this. I appreciate it.”

“Anything for a friend of Chadley. Hey, just out of curiosity, where’s your ghost, now? You didn’t talk about all of this in front of him, right?”

“No, I sent him out to chop firewood, so we could talk.”

“You sent him to chop firewood. And he just…obeyed you?”

“Yeah. He’s been cooperative, the whole time.”

“Wow. Are you sure you don’t want to keep him? Joking, joking. Oop, got some customers. It was nice talking to you! Bye!”

“See ya,” Cloud replied, but the man had already hung up.

What a strange person. Which, upon mature consideration, was rather unsurprising, for an upside-down bellhop at the Haunted Hotel, who dressed like a mummy for work, and studied ghosts in his free time. Despite all that, Cloud felt inclined to trust him. There was something familiar and reliable, in his aura. Like they’d already known each other.

Cloud’s hyper-tuned hearing didn’t detect any chopping, outside the cabin, so he went out to see how Sephiroth was faring. Fat snowflakes were falling heavily, and the world was still and silent, the way it only gets, when everything is muffled under several inches of snow.

Sephiroth was nowhere in sight, so Cloud went around to the back and stopped short. The woodshed door was wide open, and what appeared to be smoke was billowing out into the cold air.

“Fuck—Sephiroth!” he exclaimed, dashing for the shed.

The boy popped his head out. “Cloud? What’s wrong?”

“What’s going on?” Cloud asked, confused. “What is all this…steam?”

“I filled the shed all the way up, and now I’m using a desiccation spell, to dry the wood out, so it’ll burn better and it won’t rot,” Sephiroth explained brightly.

Cloud peered into the shed, and saw the neatly and tightly stacked wood, already split and free of twigs and foliage. Sure enough, there was a thin layer of yellowish light on all of it, and it was cheerfully releasing steam, like a huge stack of fresh baked buns.

“What about the wood that was already in here?”

“I moved it all to the woodpile, at the front of the cabin.” Misunderstanding Cloud’s expression, Sephiroth’s face fell, “I—I’m sorry, I know you didn’t tell me to do that, but I thought—”

“No, it’s ok,” Cloud interrupted. “I was just surprised that you worked so fast. You did everything right. Good job.”

The beautiful boy lit up like a firework, at that little bit of praise, nearly annihilating Cloud on the spot.

His cheeks and nose were touched with pink, from all the exercise in the cold, which only made him look even sweeter and more innocent, as he beamed up at him. If only he could’ve stayed this way. If only he hadn’t been tortured and horribly abused, until he became the very monster he’d always feared he was.

The moment his heart began to soften, a surge of black bitterness rose up in Cloud’s throat to choke him. How could Sephiroth ever have been like this? He was always beautiful, but he couldn’t have been innocent and sweet, even at this age. He was already a cold-blooded killer, after all. It must be a deception, to manipulate him.

“You look sad,” Sephiroth said. “Is everything alright?”

“You’re turning pink.”

“Am I?” Sephiroth reached up to touch his cheeks, self-consciously.

“Yeah. But why?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re dead,” Cloud said flatly. “You don’t have blood. So how would your cheeks flush from being cold?”

The boy’s eyes suddenly went hazy and unfocused. “I’m…I’m dead.”

Sure enough, the flush of color drained from his face, leaving his skin waxen white; so translucent, that his veins were visible in his cheeks, as faint, bluish lines. His whole person seemed to wither, and become greyer and duller.

Cloud immediately regretted listening to that bitter part of himself, and lashing out at the boy. Whatever evil Sephiroth had done, this child hadn’t done it, yet.

“Seph…I’m sorry,” he said, gingerly patting the boy’s shoulder. “I shouldn’t have talked to you that way.”

Sephiroth’s skin instantly began to brighten, again, and that dead, grey cast fell away. But now his eyes were dewy and pink-rimmed. “Wh—why did you call me that?”

“What?”

“You called me Seph.”

“Isn’t that how people usually shorten your name?”

“I don’t know.” Two big, round tears rolled down his rosy cheeks. “No one ever has.”

Cloud was utterly at a loss, so he just patted the boy’s shoulder again. “Come on, don’t cry. Let’s go inside. You’re covered in snow.”

They hung up their coats on the hooks by the door, and kicked the snow off their boots, which they set by the fire, to dry. While Sephiroth put more wood on, Cloud was assessing the food supply, in case this storm lasted a while. He wasn’t too worried, though. He’d stocked up well on canned and dry goods, had plenty of fish in the freezer, and could always hunt.

It was no problem for him to traverse the route into town in extreme weather, but that wouldn’t do a lot of good if the town was too snowed in to function. If worse came to worst, he’d go over and clear the main roads. That was work that would be long and arduous for an entire crew of regular people, but with his strength and fire spells, wasn’t even difficult. He’d done it before.

While Sephiroth was bathing, Cloud toasted up some simple, grilled cheese sandwiches, on the skillet, which he cut into triangles. Then he got out a saucepan and began to heat up some milk.

The heavy snow put him in mind of winters with his mother, in their little house, and the rare luxury that was hot cocoa. He didn’t have peppermint sticks or marshmallows, so he sprinkled a little cinnamon on top.

He was just pouring it into the mugs, when Sephiroth came out, in those old sweatpants and another of Cloud’s t-shirts. He’d pulled his damp, chin-length hair back into a mini-ponytail at the base of his skull, which looked ridiculously cute.

“Dinner,” Cloud said.

Sephiroth sat dutifully at the camp table. “What’s this brown stuff?” he asked, wrinkling his nose at the mug Cloud set in front of him.

“Cinnamon.”

“And we drink it?”

“If you want. You don’t have to.”

Sephiroth reached for the mug, which his solid-looking fingers picked up with no trouble. Putting it to his lips, he took a cautious little sip. He froze for a beat. Then his eyes went round and starry and he sucked down every last drop of the warm, creamy cocoa, smacking his lips and ‘mm-ing’ delightedly between slurps.

Cloud nearly spit his own cocoa out, laughing, at the tragic face he made, when he realized his mug was empty. “You like it, huh?”

Sephiroth nodded vigorously. “Mn! I love it! I want to drink cinnamon all the time!”

“It’s called hot cocoa,” Cloud corrected. “Cinnamon is just the stuff sprinkled on top.”

“Hot cocoa,” Sephiroth repeated. “What is it made of?”

“My mom made it with chopped up chocolate and sugar, but I just use the tinned mix. There’s more in the saucepan, if you want.”

Sephiroth’s expression became grave. “Your mother taught you to make this?”

“Yeah.”

“And you’re sharing it with me?”

“Looks that way.”

“Thank you,” Sephiroth said, dipping his head, as Cloud poured more cocoa into his mug. “I feel very honored.”

“It’s just hot cocoa. I’m sure everyone’s moms made it for them.”

“My mother…would have made this for me?”

“Probably.”

Sephiroth fell silent, looking reverent and reflective, as he slowly sipped the cocoa, this time, carefully savoring every mouthful, seemingly lost in his own little world. He didn’t touch the grilled cheese, but Cloud hadn’t expected him to. He was surprised enough that the boy was able to drink the cocoa. He ate both grilled cheese sandwiches, himself, without remarking on it, then went to take his shower.

When he came out again, Sephiroth had washed the dishes and tidied up the kitchen. Cloud had never thought of Sephiroth as someone who would be able or willing to undertake such mundane tasks. He’d only seen the lofty and beautiful hero, standing at the vanguard, sword in hand, sweeping away enemies like chaff on the wind.

This ghost, however, was turning out to be quite the cheerful little domestic helper, willing to do whatever task was at hand, and very good at everything he put is hand to. He’d even piled more wood onto the fire, swept the floor, and tied up the garbage in a neat little bundle, by the door, to be carried away.

Cloud lay down in his bed, but seeing the teenaged boy curled up on the rug, by the fire, wrapped in his one blanket, was too much for his conscience.

“Seph,” he said. “It’s too cold to sleep on the floor. We can share the bed.”

The boy looked up timidly. “Are…are you sure?”

“Yeah, come on. If you get sick, it’ll just be more trouble for me.”

Thus reassured, Sephiroth hurried over in his blanket and threw it over the top of the others, then shimmied in under the covers.

“Oh,” he breathed. “Your bed is so soft!”

Cloud squinted. “Is it?”

“It’s the softest bed I’ve ever been in! It’s amazing!”

“It’s just a futon on a wood frame.”

“What’s a futon?”

“It’s um…a Wutaian mattress.”

For what seemed like a very long time, Cloud lay stiffly on his back, staring up at firelight dancing on the ceiling, and carefully avoiding touching the boy, who was writhing and wriggling about, like he had fleas. At long last, he seemed to get comfortable and settle down. But just as Cloud was closing his eyes to drift off—

“Cloud?”

“Hm.”

“Why does your hair stick up like that, but mine hangs down?”

“Dunno. This is just the way it is.”

“Can I…can I touch it?”

Cloud eyed him dubiously. “Can you touch it? I mean…I don’t know why you want to, but I guess so.”

Sephiroth reached out and delicately prodded the blonde spikes. “It feels just like my hair. I thought it would be more like goat hair.”

“What? Why goat hair?” Cloud scowled.

Sephiroth grinned and kept petting his head, absently scooting closer, till their knees touched.

Cloud’s stomach fluttered nervously, in spite of himself. Yes, he was an adult now, but this was his first love, after all. In his mind, he was suddenly eleven years old again, gazing at a Shinra recruitment poster he’d kept secreted away in his bedroom, daydreaming about what it would feel like to kiss those perfect lips.

“Ok, time to sleep,” he said abruptly, turning onto his side, with his back to Sephiroth.

“Goodnight, Cloud,” Sephiroth whispered, after a few minutes had passed.

“Goodnight, Seph. Now, no more talking.”

THE AUTHOR HAS SOMETHING TO SAY credit to @soundcrusher for the bellhop's name and backstory, which they let me borrow for this fic 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

ao3

[freshthoughts2020]

Hey Mama, Chill Out!

Hey Mama, Chill Out!

November 18, 2024

The Viral Video: King Von’s BM Takes a Stand

A video of King Von’s BM has been making waves online after she pulled her son off the football team. The reason? The coach told her son, “Stop crying, or I’ll put you with the cheerleaders.” While the statement sounds crazy—especially directed at a child—Ms. Kema, you’re learning what every Black mother who puts their kids in sports eventually does: football is a different beast.

It’s a game where intensity rules. And Ms. Kema isn’t your average football mom—she’s got military experience. You know she’s been talked to greasy before! But football has a culture where the threshold for B.S. is higher than usual. Yes, the coach was an adult and her son is a child, but that’s just how football operates. It’s a hard pill to swallow.

Who Made Football So Toxic?

Who knows. To play football at any level, you have to be borderline insane. Think about it: running at top speed in armor to tackle someone, risking serious injuries? Nuts, beloved!

From day one, I knew football wasn’t for me. We used to play street football on concrete—no helmets, no pads. Satan himself had our minds in a chokehold back then. Even when we played in the grass, I got hit so hard one day I ended up at Henry Ford Hospital that night. I remember lying there thinking, “Cuz, why didn’t I just stay inside and watch Dragon Ball Z today?!”

Family Flashback: My Brother’s Hilarious Hazing

Ms. Kema’s experience reminded me of when my brother played football for King High School in 9th grade. He got hazed so badly one day, he came home with no underwear and broken glasses. I couldn’t tell if my brother had just come from school or Hades itself! He looked like he had wrestled Cerberus.

My mom was furious. She called my dad and half our family—ready to storm the school and run fades on Coach Reynolds and his staff. But the men in our family had to tell her, “Angie, this is football. It’s not abuse; it’s just what happens.” That’s the crazy normal you accept with this sport.

Now, unless the coach is dog-smacking your son, spitting in his face, or doing something truly out-of-pocket, you might just have to take it on the chin—figuratively, of course.

Kiyan’s College Decision: Lessons from La La

Watching clips of Kiyan’s college decision, I noticed La La said she told Melo that Kiyan could do anything except football. She knew what awaited her son on that field—CTE lurking in the shadows.

So to all the parents, especially moms, who love to parade around as “Boy Mom of the Year” and want clout for taking their sons to practice: chill out when those coaches go in on your kids. Football ain’t ballet, beloved.

As Snoop Dogg said, “You knew the job was dangerous when you took it.”

Visit: gettothecorner.com Follow on Twitter: @OnlyOneJaevonn

[walkingtalkingscreen]

There Is No Good Start - Part 4

Summary: After waking up 15 years in the future,BAMF!Jungkook tries to hide his secret past as a hunter, only to catch the eye of the strongest hunter group in the nation. BTS prepares themselves to introduce the doe-eyed college junior to the world of hunters, only…why is this one strangely self-sufficient? a.k.a. the dungeonandhuntersAU no one asked for (but i wanted it anyway so here we are) featuring. a-time-traveling-jungkook. a-very-confused-but-still-overpowered-jungkook. old-man-but-maknae-vibes-jungkook. and-an-unnecessarily-but-well-meaning-overprotective-bts

post: another meeting #4

the concept: 0.1 the meetings: 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4

”Sorry. Didn’t mean to wake you," Jungkook muttered before quietly shutting the door behind him.

When he entered his dorm, he wasn’t expecting his roommate to be asleep already. Or maybe Jungkook was just getting too used to staying out late for work. It was hard to tell.

“It’s fine,” the blanket mound yawned. “I was waiting for you anyway.”

It was nice, Jungkook supposed, having a roommate who cared so much. But that’s just how Taehyung naturally was. The curly-haired zoology student was always looking out for him. Always there to answer even the weirdest of Jungkook’s questions. When they had been put together as roommates, Taehyung had immediately adopted Jungkook, claiming them to be brothers-in-all-but-blood. Twins, the ‘older’ had joked, through their (previously) shared black hair and now shared bedroom. (Apparently, anything shared, traumatic dungeon experiences included, can do that to most people. Or maybe just in Taehyung’s mind, at least.)

“You didn't have to stay up for me. I know you have an early day tomorrow.”

”But what if something happened to you? I know you started taking more hours at the cafe, but anything can happen at this time at night,” Taehyung murmured sleepily. 

“I’m always careful. And if anything happens, you’re the first person I’ll call.”

”Promise?”

”Promise. You should go get some rest. Unless you want to pass out during your exams tomorrow.”

”Ugh. Don’t remind me. I really hate math.” 

“I know. Go sleep, Taehyung.”

”Night, night….” This roommate had barely finished replying before dozing off again.

As soon as he could hear Taehyung’s heartbeat relax, the smile melted from Jungkook’s face. It was at times like these he wished he could let his guard down around him more. But every time Jungkook glanced at the corner, it was almost impossible to ignore his roommate’s summon just standing there. 

Taehyung’s companion (or stalker, maybe? Who even knows?) was almost always in the room, no matter what. Waiting. Watching. Guarding. It was a ghostly behemoth, taking on the form of a menacing, albeit slightly miniature, cerberus. With menacing glowing eyes, and fur that melted into shadows, the invisible enchantment surrounding it was the only thing keeping it from scaring untrained civilians. 

Unfortunately for Jungkook’s case, that just meant it was getting hard to ignore the wispy silhouette constantly trailing after his roommate. Which was why Jungkook had resorted to staying around the dorms less and less, if only to keep himself from slipping up. Was it wrong of him to avoid someone’s nature, when it was clear that Taehyung didn’t ask for it either? 

It wasn’t Taehyung’s fault, Jungkook knew. When they had started rooming together last year, Jungkook could tell the guy was still normal, if a bit too friendly. But that all changed last semester when Taehyung had gone on break, only to return a (now bleach-blond) hunter. And a pretty powerful one at that, too. 

Creature summoners like Taehyung were pretty rare, Jungkook knew. They were usually the only ones who could understand beasts, making them a highly sought-after party member in dungeons. It was also why most kept their abilities secret, lest they get poached by teams wanting a summoner for themselves.

When Jungkook was still an active hunter, there weren’t a lot of creature summoners yet. And none who could summon anything as powerful as Taehyung’s own familiar. So when he was sent to raid dungeons full of beasts, Jungkook usually got by killing everything inside. But violence wasn’t always rewarded, meaning Jungkook didn’t always max out on the loot. (It also meant he didn't always get to save everyone either.)

“You probably make it really easy for him,” Jungkook surmised, noticing the way the shadow hybrid’s ears twitched at his words. “Lucky guy.”

He didn’t dare spill anything more, lest the shadow chimera realize Jungkook was actually talking about it and its summoner. It wouldn’t do for either Taehyung or his new partner to figure out Jungkook's secret. 

(Time would only tell, however, if Taehyung ever realizes that Jungkook had already figured out his.)

[thedevillionaire]

Oh this list has me thinking thoughts!! Can I get 3, 5, 15, 18, and 25 for my ❤️Cerberus, please and thank you!

Of course, absolutely! 💞 And thank you too, of course, for the asks!

3. does your oc usually have a lot of warning before they sneeze, or does a sneeze tend to sneak up on them? does it depend on anything?

Cerberus has solidly decent warning time, as a rule. Hell, as a very regular employer of the raised index finger "wait" signal, he's usually well aware of oncoming snz. He knows what's coming lol. But, yeah, it's not always. Intense allergic reaction can take him by surprise at times. It's definitely a rarity that he gets no warning, though. He's way more build-up/prep inclined than its opposite.

5. is your oc allergic to anything they haven't encountered yet and don't know about? is here!

15. does the sound, volume, or force of your oc's sneeze change depending on what's causing it at all?

It...can, though the most likely thing to change all three - and particularly the latter two - is if whatever the cause is doesn't let up. He will consciously moderate his force less if it's a fit that is not stopping, godsdammit, and he wants this Done. With. Now. In so many aspects of his life, Cerberus is driven by successful achieving of an endgoal, and this is...one of those aspects lol. He actually has reasonable success with this. It's more likely to work for him than stifling, anyway. His sound is heavier, deeper, when it's a cold as opposed to allergies, too, though only the people who know him particularly well or intimately would pick up on it. So Kia can always tell, obviously. 💘

18. what are some circumstances in which your oc really would not mind sneezing?

This is the vast majority of the time, actually. Cerberus, who - despite what my content here might suggest - only rarely gets sick and has just a few specific allergies, doesn't pay any real attention to everyday, 'usual' sneezing. One of my favourite qualities of his, actually, is that he will quite regularly sneeze for no apparent reason, not foreshadowing or signalling anything other than something briefly irritated his nose enough for it to cause a sneeze (or two, maybe even three if I'm extra lucky lol) and then...that's it. It doesn't make for good fic content but the sheer amount I watch this happen in my head is SIGNIFICANT. 🤣🤣 Anyway. He's not concerned about sneezing in day-to-day life, in pretty much any circumstance, unless it's more than incidental. And that changes things.

And 25. what's your favorite sneeze situation to put this oc in, and why? is here!

[bittyfromquotev]

(surprised this is even up.)

Hey. Yeah bro. You’re jumping to conclusions.

Also since when are people not allowed to block you????? Blocking is not a bad thing.

I definitely agree with the other two (whose names I’ve blacked out). If Lux/Cerberus was really sending/allowing people to harass you I’d be one of them. Either that or I’d have called him out on it because I don’t like harassment.

It’s not happening bro. Think for a moment instead of trying to still engrave the thought that Lux is evil after having a civil conversation where he kept his word into your and others’ brains.

Unless something else concerning happens this is my last analysis regarding the Cerberus situation.

[clericofshadows]

find the words! these will mostly be from WIPs I have in my drafts :)

tagged by @breadedsinner

tagging: not sure who to tag, so if you see this and want to participate, feel free!

your words are fear, risen, victory, insight

Word 1, Dark: (from a WIP)

Regis shut off his omnitool and sat down at his desk, head in his hands. Seeing Chakwas and Joker for a moment felt like a victory, finally someone he could trust on his side, someone who he knew had his back.

But a small, dark part of him despised that they thought Cerberus was the answer after everything that had happened, everything that they witnessed.  He doesn’t know if he could even trust them, truly.

It was a terrifying thought.

The only man he could trust right now was supposedly still with the Alliance, but Regis was afraid to contact him onboard this ship, knowing that his picture sat innocently on his desk.

A threat, a reminder, and a way to say that Cerberus knows about him. A way to say that they know who he loves and will do anything for.

If he finds out who put that picture there, who gave them that moment between them, they will meet the Butcher of Torfan.

A picture taken by Tali before Ilos, of Regis and Kaidan touching their foreheads together, temporarily switching their scarves for the mission.

Something only his crew should have, and yet, it ended up in Cerberus's hands...

Word 2, Fluffy: (from a WIP)

There was something so pleasant about waking up with Kaidan's arms wrapped around him, even knowing that the mission that awaited them could be their last.

Regis didn't want to move, didn't want to disturb these beloved moments of peace, but Kaidan started to stir anyway, slowing opening his eyes with a groan.

"Is it already morning, Regis?" he asked, not letting go of Regis just yet.

"Afraid so." He moved to run his hands through Kaidan's curly hair, fluffing it out before moving in for a kiss. "Ilos awaits."

Word 3, Embrace: (from a posted fic: late night conversations)

“I never made that decision lightly.” He looked away.  “I embraced it, but ultimately, it has pinned me as someone who will get the job done, no matter the cost.  While that may be true sometimes, it’s something I try to avoid.”  He sighed.  “But yes, I imagine he had a certain image of me.”

“I gave the order knowing damn well it was the only way out.  I took the fall so everyone else would survive, while I became the monster.  The demon.  The Butcher.  But the families of the dead know what I did for them, what I sacrificed to make sure they got what they deserved.  The thing is?  I wasn’t the only one in support of it, but I made damn sure that the Alliance thought it was only me.  And look what it gave me.  Scars, a path to N7, and a title that makes my mother hate me even more.”

Word 4, Slow: (from a WIP)

“Listen, you know what I want out of you.  Either you tell me where I can contact Kaidan, or I will find some alternative way to contact him,” Regis said, leaning against the railing in the office.  “I have no allies, no one I can turn to, and it is utter hell for me knowing what logo is debasing my ship.”

“You know I cannot do that.  The mission he’s on is classified, and you, for all intents and purposes, are now someone that the Alliance cannot trust,” Anderson replied.  “My hands are tied.”

Regis frowned.  “Then what the hell am I even here for? I didn't accept the Normandy, hell even the Spectre position, to be stuck unable to do a goddamn thing."

Anderson gave him an unimpressed look.  “You are on your own, Shepard, whether you like it or not.  Unless you turn yourself in, there’s nothing I can do except let you do what Cerberus wants you to do.” Regis felt his corona rise underneath his skin.  “I just woke up from being dead for two fucking years, Anderson!  I was dead!  Meat and goddamn tubes!  And somehow, I’m here, not knowing if I’m even still the man who I claim to be!  I have my armor, yet it feels wrong.  My biotics are more responsive than ever, but I feel so fucking slow and sluggish while using them, as if I was back at BAaT!   And I will die before letting the Illusive Man use me as his personal dog.”  He growled out.  “I’m only doing this because the Collectors are a clear threat, and I’m going to burn every resource Cerberus gives me to make sure my mission succeeds and try to destroy them in the process.  So, I’ll say it again: Either I contact him and jeopardize him, or you get me in contact with someone who can.”

[wingsofthesun]

The fact that Miranda's Shadow Broker dossier brings up the fact that he planned to kill TIM and destroy Cerberus is something so interesting.

Like, imagine if this had happened, the Shadow Broker set the plan in motion before the events of the DLC, and it's either completed or too far along for Liara to stop even if she wanted to, and the assassination actually succeeds.

It probably wouldn't completely kill off Cerberus- unless the Shadow Broker had plans to kill Petrovsky and other major leaders they're probably going to survive- but it would definitely fracture the entire organization, especially as the various cells are kept isolated from each other.

But imagine how that would turn out come 3. TIM organizing Cerberus was part of the reason why Cerberus is such a threat during the game. (The rest is plot convenience, but that's another story.) TIM being killed, that would change the entire game. Some Cerberus cells might still join the Reapers thanks to indoctrination, but others? Some of them might end up causing trouble on their own, some of them might try to fight the Reapers on their own, and maybe others just try for amnesty with the Alliance.

...I kind of want to see this, actually.

[dragonflight203]

Mass Effect 3 replay, part one of Leviathan:

-I heavily debated whether to do the Leviathan DLC after Thessia or Horizon, but settled for Thessia.

Once Horizon starts, Shepard’s pretty much in the endgame.

After Thessia Shepard’s still at loose ends. They only have a tentative location for where Kai Leng went, and Cerberus doesn’t know that.

Dr. Bryson’s Lab

-If you go renegade, Bryson says Shepard discovered the Prothean Beacon.

Incorrect: The scientists on Eden Prime did. Shepard’s just the one that activated it.

(And ME3 never shows the vision Shepard received. Interesting with how much time Shepard spends around Javik. ME2 squeezed it in.)

-No one has any questions about a synthetic just showing up claiming they saw a C-Sec alert and will provide assistance to Shepard.

Edi passes on the Citadel by pretending to be Joker’s disability assistance device.

She’s clearly not performing the same task for Shepard and is more advanced than a regular VI.

I’m just going to handwave this by saying C-Sec knows Commander Shepard is a spectre and are turning a blind eye to the blantant AI they have with them.

-When interrogating Hadley, the Leviathan Orb is often framed behind him.

Nice touch, since that’s what indoctrinated him.

-My initial instict was indoctrination must be causing headaches for C-Sec.

It sounds like a free pass to commit any crime; if you’re indoctrinated, you can’t help yourself.

However, you’re also likely to spend the rest of your life in jail. The indoctrinated are far too dangerous to leave free.

It might also result in automatic execution if the war becomes dire enough.

So while I’m sure people are claiming it to avoid justice, false claims are probably not as rampant as I first assumed.

-The Leviathans keep saying “The darkness cannot be breached” through Hadley, and I don’t know what they expect that to accomplish. It’s not going to stop Shepard from hunting them down.

If anything, it should pique curiousity since the Reapers normally don’t speak through the indoctrinated. They’re either mentally destroyed like a husk or have their minds clouded like Saren and TIM. They’re not used as a puppet like Hadley.

-Hmm. So this starts with Bryson hunting down what killed the Leviathan of Dis. Reapers started following his teams, which is a clue that he’s onto something.

Somehow, this ends with finding the creators of the Reapers. That was not on anyone’s radar.

I’d like more detail on how that happened. Presumably the Leviathans were not the ones that created the weapon that took out the Leviathan of Dis. So how does this end in finding them?

Unless they guided the ones that did so? But even then, how did that create a trail that led back to the Leviathans?

-There’s a huge piece of Sovereign in the lab.

I dearly hope that the tech it’s encased in is proven to prevent indoctrination, but I’m not placing much faith in that. How is that something you’d even learn?

-Bryson suggests that the Leviathans may have influenced the rachni during the rachni war, rather than the Reapers.

That would fit with the hesistance of the rachni in ME2 to state they were definitively influenced by the Reapers. It was deliberately left vague then.

I do think this is a retcon since the Leviathan DLC was created after base ME3, but it slots in nicely with existing lore.

-It already feels pushed to have Dr. Bryson refer to what destroyed the Reaper corpse on Dis as the real Leviathan of Dis.

Having a batarian say the exact same in a recording is excessive. That phrasing is just not natural. A more natural phrasing would be, say, that they want to find the Leviathan Killer.

Kyzil

-Lihrat – Vorcha ships are often commanded by other species to make up for the lack of experience vorcha have due to their short lifespans.

I understand the logic, but it still doesn’t quite sit right. If true, shouldn’t all military ships be commanded by asari or krogan?

Aysur

-Arvuna – Why are the human colonies on this moon alienated from the Council?

The description just glosses over that.

[storyhaunt-a]

#STORYHAUNT.

a writing & roleplay blog, dedicated to several characters across sources. placing focus on original characters. mutuals only, and will exclusively interact with those who are 20+. basic rp etiquette applies. portrayed by vincent (he/him, 21+). rules and muses below the cut.

written in affiliation with … @proditeur, @redemnation, @cloistress

RULES.

this blog is 18+, and only interacts with muns who are 20 years of age and older. mature and otherwise triggering themes will be present on this blog, including but not limited to; general violence, discussion of mental health, and gore. i will rarely write anything intimate in nature, though the motivation may occasionally arise. all topics will be tagged accordingly. if you need anything specific tagged, or i forget to properly tuck something away, just shoot me a message and i'll take care of that.

i generally do not follow duplicates. this one may be a bit harder to keep up with, due to the fact that i will not be broadcasting my canon muses, but nevertheless, i am still going to be cautious when it comes to blogs which write the same characters as i do. miscommunications happen all too frequently in the rpc, and i would rather avoid potential drama altogether.

if you're going to unfollow me, i ask that you at least soft block. i will extend the same courtesy to you, unless your rules specifically state to hard block.

i am slow. there are going to be frequent bouts of inactivity, and writing will not happen every day. writing, being on this blog, it's a hobby, and i am an adult with a million and one responsibilities to prioritize above it.

i will not interact with anything that has to do with the boys, hazbin hotel, or disney star wars. there may be an extreme few exceptions for the utmost latter, but otherwise, i have no interest in touching or writing any of these things.

MUSES.

D&D.

amaris nightsong / jergalspawn, 'tiefling'. sorcerer. he/him.

andras / bhaalspawn, 'tiefling' (werewolf). cleric. he/they.

ateras / bhaalspawn, 'tiefling'. sorcerer. they/them.

kaedis / dragonborn. sorcerer. he/him.

rivalt stormblade / half-elf (undead). warlock. he/him.

seòras / half-elf. warlock. he/him.

the dark urge / dragonborn. sorcerer. it/its.

x'yra / drow. sorcerer. she/her.

FFXIV.

day breaker / hrothgar. she/her.

t'khot ndai / miqo'te. he/him.

DRAGON AGE.

amiyr tabris / elf. rogue, assassin. he/him.

calwyn mahariel / elf. archer. she/her.

hawke shrakaah / ?. rogue. he/they.

jace hawke / human. mage, apostate. he/him.

COMICS.

artemiy / cerberus. operative, freelance agent. he/him.

roman costea / wraith. vigilante, anti-hero. he/him.

STAR WARS.

atyur'os'eko, 'rose' / chiss. operative, aristocra. he/him.

havok / human. spy, operative. he/him.

kal tizaara / mirialan. force-user. he/him.

koa khel-halcyon / human. jedi. he/him.

n'aji karval / mirialan. jedi. he/him.

varik sunrider / human. dark jedi, bounty hunter. he/him.

URBAN FANTASY.

avallach 'bigby' kenward / the spirit king. he/him.

malahki rosewood / paranormal investigator, detective (werewolf). he/him.

mircea van helsing / monster hunter. he/him.

james yeung / sorcerer. he/him.

keva / vampire. he/they.

lucas greenwood / ?. he/him.

susan pendragon / eldritch knight. she/her.

CENTER-RING.

dhamrys alveron / rhaggar. he/him.

gwenaith / erynai. she/her.

kaarstelis, 'stella' / goddess. she/they/it.

rýsir fel / rhaggar, gyryth. he/they/it.

[oddballtumbles]

Building a Percy Jackson OC in my head right now. Have not read the books in years, I plan to reread them, just can’t right now. But this just WON’T leave me alone.

(Adult language and shit btw)

Daughter of Hephaestus, her mom met him in her early 20s, girl is 7/12, mom was pregnant 7 times, multiple sets of twins. ALL of them are kids of Hephaestus, their house is basically warded against monsters because by the time the second set of twins were on their way, Mom had enough and made Hephaestus deal with it. Hades now has a state of the art fetch machine for Cerberus, and monsters don’t bother her family until she dies. (Spoiler alert, Momma achieves minor godhood eventually due to popular demand and the invention of … something I haven’t decided yet; but it accidentally causes no monsters to be able to go after her bloodline. EVER lol)

Daughter is NOT an engineer (most of her siblings are engineers, tech developers, etc) but is thorough in SASS, and is more of a tinker type. The kind of person who knows random stuff and always carries ducktape but is more likely to only quick fix then refer you to professional than actually fix the problem. Just because the crack is taped doesn’t mean the bucket is fixed.

Specific interaction that keeps popping in my head:

Aphrodite (mad about long relationship with her husband, taking it out on the child of said relationship that happens to be in front of her)

Daughter (full of sass and absolutely fucking done with any and all dieties who think they are above the modern world just because they deign to exist within it occasionally. She has read the texts and watched the OSP videos. Nope)

A: I can’t believe anyone would even last that long! What could there possibly be to interest her in him???

D: idk but I can tell you that she likes the chair. Admittedly if she sat in it less there’d be less of us soooo.

A: please I be he’s only paying attention because she is the only one to look back.

D: well seeing as I’m a combo of both of them and when I went to camp everyone tried to send me to your cabin I’m not sure what that says about your poor taste. Or maybe eyesight?

A: are you calling me old?

D: you are literally older than Greece. What do you want me to do with that?

A: you-

D: look I’m just going to say this. If you paid even half as much attention to the husband you say you don’t want as you do to the lover you jerk around like an angry chihuahua, I probably wouldn’t be in your face sassing you.

A: Zeus arranged-

D: Oh please don’t get me started on that slut. We will be here longer than my mother’s been pregnant. Idk why Hera doesn’t just divorce the walking penis. It is a thing that exists! Also her taking out her rage on the kids and victims of his philandering is just avoiding the problem and causing more grief for the rest of us. If it’s some sort role play they are doing, nobody else is consenting the involvement, they both need to stop.

(Shocked silence.)

D: oh please, I cannot be the first to come up with that.

A: I’m not sure whether to smite you or give you a job.

D: I’ve never been smote before! Unless we count that time in the metallurgy which we do not talk to mom about. I came back fine! Barely even counts!

——————

Idk if I want her to have a Greek name or just a random one. I feel like she would get along with PJ-Dionysius in a “let’s drink and get high” kinda way.

She definitely has slept in all the cabins for no reason other than she broke in and felt like it.

Occasionally Hermes feels like she might be threatening his job a little, especially when she worked as a courier with heelies and a skateboard.

She’s ace by the way. Probably aro too, which is why she has no fear in front of Aphrodite.

[thedevillionaire]

Both Cerberus and Kia Please!

is your oc allergic to anything they haven't encountered yet and don't know about?

what surprisingly wouldn't make your oc sneeze?

what is your oc's preferred method for covering their sneezes, and why do they prefer this method?

how would your oc respond if they accidentally sneezed on someone?

Absolutely! And thank you for the asks! 💕

5. is your oc allergic to anything they haven't encountered yet and don't know about?

I can be kind of a smartass for Cerberus about this and say "depends at which point in his timeline I answer", because there was a long time where he had no idea about the birch bark issue, just due to never really encountering it. Of course he's well aware of that these days. As far as anything else...well, not to my knowledge. There's always a chance for this, though. "Haven't encountered yet" gives a lot of scope, after all. 😉 And Kia, who so far in my experience doesn't have any allergies of note, would fall under the same "haven't encountered yet" umbrella. The "unknown until it is known" kind of deal again.

2. what surprisingly wouldn't make your oc sneeze?

Hmm...I'm going to answer for them both in one go here, because I can't think of anything for either of them where I'd be surprised at a lack of reaction. For Kia, there's nothing that I can specifically pinpoint and think "wow, can't believe that didn't make her sneeze", and for Cerberus, he is very deliciously predictable in that the things that I'd expect to make him sneeze pretty much always do. If this question is geared towards, say, common allergens that they don't react to, though? (Which has just occurred to me, lol) No animal allergies, at all, for either. I don't think it's a surprise, as such, but it is a common allergy source, so...I'll go with that.

8. what is your oc's preferred method for covering their sneezes, and why do they prefer this method?

Given the availability and the...build-up preparation time, Cerberus will opt for tissues every time. Failing that, and presuming he's neither carrying a handkerchief nor has the option to Create one, he's definitely a cover-with-crooked-elbow type - and if he's able and space allows, he'll turn away along with it. He's fastidious about covering and, although not germophobic, he's very hygiene-conscious and will choose the best covering option he has in whatever given circumstances. Kia's a little more lax about this and doesn't really have a preference, as such. Probably bended elbow also. She's someone who tends to have tissues with her, but uses them after the fact, not so much for actually covering with, unless she's sick.

12. how would your oc respond if they accidentally sneezed on someone?

The likelihood of this happening with Cerberus is really small. For a start, you'd need to be close enough to him in the first place for the situation to even arise, and with most people...they're just not. And even if the proximity thing isn't an issue, he's rarely taken so much by surprise by a sneeze that he'd be unable to not 'get' the other person (who is almost certainly Kia, let's face it, haha). However. If it did happen, he'd be immediately apologetic and I'd expect openly exasperated with himself about it, too. If he's just flat-out too ill to do anything about it - such as at the height of the icestrike - Kia doesn't mind, really. And he'd still apologise. Aww. There's definitely a higher chance this could happen with Kia. If she was taken by surprise in a social circumstance, sort of thing, it's absolutely a possibility. Presuming she's not sick, she'd almost certainly be mildly embarrassed but also laugh about it. She'd also apologise - it's not something she'd mean to do, after all.

[swaps55]

WIP Whenever

I am two scenes and an epilogue away from finishing Fugue, so have a snippet. Sorry it's short. Almost everything in the next couple of chapters contains BIG spoilers. ~

Muriel Aslany scowls at the bunker door once it shuts behind Alenko and Pendergrass. By the time they finally called it quits last night Alenko seemed to have shaken off whatever had been eating at him, but it sure is hard to tell these days.

The Alenko she used to know wore everything on his shirtsleeves unless they were playing poker. This Alenko…well, the one she used to know is still there. She just has to dig deeper to find him, and Beaudoin was the one who knew where to put the shovel.

He also knew what to do when a problem couldn’t be solved with a gun and a full ammo block. Turns out the hardest part of protecting a squad isn’t from bullets, but bullets are what she understands.

She scans the area just how Červenka taught her. Shepard was better at a lot of things than a lot of people, but stealth recon wasn’t one of them. Červenka knew her shit, though, and now Aslany knows hers. That’s something she can bring to this wounded squad, anyway.

If Cerberus is here, she’s going to fucking find them.

They almost lost Alenko once to a terrorist group that went too far, and she’ll go straight to hell before it happens again on her watch.

Shepard had taught her that.

[springbloomer]

Another Companion

CHARACTERS: Lucifer, Mammon, Leviathan, Satan, Asmodeus, Beelzebub, and Belphegor

Disclaimer⚠️ Characters mentioned are from the otome game Obey me! and none of this is cannon from the actual game. Enjoy!

You just so happened to stumble upon the idea, nothing more. Obviously, you needed to confront all seven demon brothers about this if you wanted it that badly. Now you visited all of them one by one to talk about getting a dog.

Lucifer

First questions you why you want one

Asks if his brothers were involved with the thought

Requests a detailed and informative list of reasons why you want one

Will probably be slightly offended for Cerberus (face it, unless we ask Solomon for some magic or charm for us to even touch the three headed beast, I think I prefer a different kind of canine friend) (no offense to Cerberus ✌️)

Will find other reasons to protest because accidents could happen with the new dog around (he was also thinking about that forbidden book Satan keeps, though I know he personally wants to see Mammon switch bodies with the dog, poor guy😭)

Maybe after some begging, he says he'll try to bring it up to Diavolo for approval

Mammon

Questions why you want one

Also questions if his presence was not good enough for you (or if it was because he wasn't always around enough)

The thought of a stinking dog walking around his room kind of scared him and said that it'll probably find a way to his precious baby (his credit card, Goldie 🙄) and slobber all over it/ her

You begged, and now he feels bad for saying no, so he said he'll tell you some specific ones that are allowed and more preferred by him himself

Leviathan

Probably thought about some other dog, most likely a virtual one from one of the games from Akuzon (or something like that)

Also concerned if the dog would find it's way into his room and mess up his anime figures

The same as Mammon, Levi gave you a specified breed that only he would allow to roam in the House of Lamentation

As long as it's disciplined and well trained, he's alright with having a dog around

Satan

Since he's a cat person, he refused to even speak the word 'dog'

But you wanted one so bad you started being a nuisance to him by endlessly begging

That was a big mistake, now you've pissed off the Avatar of Wrath 😐 (you better run and hide)

You thought it was an obvious no from him, but later in the day he said he'll think about it more thoroughly

Asmodeus

He was surprisingly on board with the thought of having a cute puppy and rambled nonstop on how he could do all sorts of makeovers with it.

But afterwards, he's considered the cons in having one (shedding, smell, etc.)

Like the others, he's preferred and specified a few breeds allowed around him

He also requested you to apply lotion on his back...

Beelzebub

The only thought that came to his mind when you mentioned it: "is it edible?"

You explain to him that getting a dog was like Cerberus's case; for companionship and comfort, and NOT to be eaten

He got disappointed when he heard he couldn't eat it, but he was actually curious and wanted to get one right away

"Can I eat it if it misbehaves?"

Belphegor

At first, he couldn't care less about having one

But after giving it more thought, he told you that he didn't want to be woken up by a dog's tongue whenever he's asleep

When you told him that you'll make sure that it doesn't piss him off, he's still not sure.

Like Satan, he'll give it some thought and ask Lucifer about it too.

In all honesty, he just wanted to get back to sleep

Now you wait on what Diavolo and Lucifer think. Would they consider a Papillon or a Samoyed?