#was afraid though that people seeing this would take it as “oh no a gross person fell asleep on me” when that is

[turtledotjpeg]

much art has been made of kurapika leaning/napping on melody and i love all of that art. so much. but i also wanted him to return the favor :)

he is doing his best to be a comforting presence in his own way (◡‿◡)

[llamagoddessofficial]

oh, this might he an idea only i've had!

the boys with a bartender s/o

i'm talking long-ass shifts, staying up til no-fucking-thank-you o'clock, that stuff

Sans: He gets constant laughs out of her. He's always the life of the bar, but anyone who knows him can tell he's trying extra hard around her and using only his best terrible jokes. The bunny monster who used to crush on him has stopped vying for his affections, because she can tell he's completely got his heart set on Mc. Though Mc still does have to harass him to pay his tab, his jokes have her ducking behind the bar to snort, or spilling drinks because she's not concentrating. He feels like he's won when she puts her head in her hands and tries to disguise her smile with a groan.

He goes there entirely for her. He used to go for the terrible food, but now he shows up for almost every shift just to see her. Grillby swats him over the skull and tells him to stop 'swooning over the staff'. He loves her smile and her eyes, he loves the way she talks to him, how she's not afraid to cut him off or dob him in to Papyrus over the phone. He has a shitty sleep schedule anyway, he doesn't mind aggravating her until the early hours of the morning.

Red: She's got a bit of a schoolgirl crush on him. He's funny, he's hot, he handles his alcohol like a champ, his flirtation is genuinely flattering. Despite looking like the sort who would grope her, even when he's absolutely shitfaced he's never leery or gross, he never makes her feel uncomfortable. Shitfaced Red makes her feel extremely pretty and interesting. One time when he was drunk, she spotted him nearly ogling her butt, but then quickly turning his eyelights up to the ceiling at the last second.

He also actively defends her at the bar; he throws hands with the idiots who get aggressive, to the point where people don't bother her anymore if Red is at the bar. The relief on her face when he takes a seat is clear as day.

... Look, he's not the kinda guy who fools himself into thinking the sweet smiling bartender genuinely likes him. But he can tell she does prefer him to the other guys. Any time things are slow, she'll come and talk to him, picking him over all her other regulars and even the other staff. It's his favourite place for a reason.

Skull: Not gonna lie, at first, she had really bad vibes from him. He'd stare at her for hours, get one drink, then stare for another few hours. She's had more than her fair share of weird guys who think they're her boyfriend because she used her customer service smile on them.

... One night, she was closing up the bar. Someone followed her out the door and cornered her, grabbing at her and not taking no. Skull showed up and knocked their fucking teeth out. Then, like the big quiet gentleman he is, he walked her to her car; once he made sure she was safe and okay, he left without a word.

Now he's her certified favourite. He's welcome anytime, and he gets drinks on the house. On top of that, now she knows he's not a bad guy, she's started looking past his scary exterior- and she's beginning to realise that underneath all the silence and scars and spooky glares, he's actually a big cute softie.

[heathersproship]

guys i dont mean to hate or anything i really don't, so i'm sorry if it sounds like that. i'm just a little confused, though. i really just wanna see proshipping from your perspective since i'm very confused and i wanna see it from all perspective. also i'm really sorry if this seems rude i swear i'm not trying to be i just wanna understand 😭

You’re good, no worries!

Proship is being decent to your fellow fans. It’s recognizing we all have different tastes, and understanding that those different tastes don’t mean one of us is automatically wrong. There’s no “right or wrong” when it’s a matter of opinion because opinions are not facts.

Here’s an analogy I hope will help.

Think of fandom like a party. Parties are fun. You come here to have fun.

Now think of fiction as the food you find at the party (since we consume it). To really narrow it down, let’s use pizza.

There’s the classic cheese pizza (genfic), pepperoni (fluff), olives (angst), olives and pepperoni combo (hurt/comfort), sausage (smut), and pineapple (darkfic) to name just a few. They’re all side by side at the table, and each one is in its own big pizza box labeled with large letters so you know exactly what you’re getting from which box. CHEESE sits on one end of the row, PINEAPPLE sits on the other. None of them are touching each other.

Let’s say you really like cheese. You’ll eat all the cheese pizza you can get your hands on, but you hate pineapple. You think it’s the most disgusting thing in the world, and you wouldn’t eat it for $1mil. In fact, you wouldn’t eat it if it was the very last morsel of food on earth and you were starving.

You arrive at the party and make your way to the table, ready to chow down on some quality food. But on your way to your beloved cheese pizza, your precious, you pass by the icky and dreaded pineapple pizza.

What would you do?

A) ignore the pineapple pizza, take your cheese pizza and walk away from the table

B) warn other people not to take the pineapple pizza because “it’s disgusting!”

C) make a scene about it, screaming “OH EWWWWWWWWWW WHO PUT THAT GARBAGE ON THE TABLE WHERE THE FOOD IS?? YUCK! GROSS! THERE ARE CHILDREN HERE!”

If you answered A, that’s what being proship is. Proship isn’t blindly approving of everything at the table just because it’s there for you to consume—it’s supporting the right for everything to be there even if it doesn’t do anything for you. (ex. I like incest, but I don’t care for smut, and if I happen to see that my bestie is reading smut while sitting right next to me, then I hope she’s enjoying herself!) It’s labeling the pizzas so people can take what they want and avoid what they don’t want. You understand that there are other people at the party, and not everything there is exclusively for you, and that’s okay. That’s great, actually, because you can eat cheese with party friends who also like cheese, and for those friends who don’t like cheese, guess what? More cheese for you! No one feels bad, it’s a win-win all around! Party on!

If you answered B, that’s less okay. While your intentions may be good, it’s ultimately not your call whether others will find the pineapple as disgusting as you do. While you could be saving someone from a potentially horrible and traumatizing experience, you could also be depriving them of a really good one. It’s up to them to decide whether they like it or not, not you. Things are a little awkward, but still salvageable.

If you answered C, you’re an anti. You make the party a lot less fun with your outburst, and now people are afraid to go near the pizza for fear of taking the “wrong” one (even though there’s no wrong answer—never has been and never will be). You think everyone who likes, much less actively chooses to consume, pineapple pizza has something deeply wrong with their brain, and if you find out a disgusting pineapple-lover so much as breathes in your direction, you’re going to personally kick them out yourself because people who eat the literal garbage that is pineapple belong outside like the disease-ridden RATS they are, not inside at parties where they could poison everyone—especially the young, vulnerable, impressionable CHILDREN—with their RABIES. And while you’re busy moralizing over pizza, making it your business what other people put in their mouths, the other party-goers are feeling bad about themselves for the crime of... simply having a different preference to yours. They can’t help what they like or dislike any more than you can. They’re not rats, and they definitely don’t have rabies. They’re not going to infect you or the (literal or figurative) children with rabies they don’t have. Some of the pineapple pizza lovers might be children, are they condemned too? Or have they simply become “lost” and you’ll “fix” them to like the “right” things? Oh, but it doesn’t stop there. Once the pineapple is gone, then sausage is the Bad Pizza, and then olives (oli&pep combo is on thin ice), until there’s only one or two “safe” options to pick from, and if the party-goers don’t like them, they’re just as bad as the pineapple-lovers, and the sausage-lovers, and the olive-lovers. Filthy vermin, all of them! Banished! Begone! And when that party has died down, you’ll find another party to go to and do it all over again! Sounds exhausting, and I don’t recommend.

...this kind of got away from me but I hope it gives you something to chew on! Let me know if I need to be clearer! I tried to make this as short as possible!

[lumine-no-hikari]

Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #110

I am less of a zombie than I was yesterday. But I'm still kind of a zombie because I have only 7 hours of sleep. Lame…

I'm still remembering the concert yesterday. I remembered much of it from a movie called Fantasia. I remember the scene with the dinosaurs. And there was some other scene with centaurs and pegasi and whatnot. It's an old movie, but the animation is breathtaking, even though there are some parts of it that are racist (the scene where the black centaur is shining some white centaur's hooves is SUUUUUPER fucking gross, oh my good gravy!!). Though I have memories of this movie, I can't recommend it to you in good conscience. There's better and more wholesome stuff out there nowadays anyhow. Maybe check out Wolf Children sometime; there's a lot of nature in that, and it's about a couple of very unusual, not-quite-human children; I think you'd like it a lot.

…WAIT. I FORGOT. YOUR WORLD DOESN'T HAVE HORSES. YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT. FUCK.

Okay. So a winged horse looks like this:

...they're a mythical animal in my world. We have horses, but none of them have wings like this.

...And a centaur looks like this:

...These are also mythical animals. There's no such thing in my world as this. They're imaginary.

Here's some stuff about horses in general, so that you can get an idea of what they look like and how they move, and the relationship the humans of my world have with them:

...I like horses a lot, but I don't like things such as racing or dressage or whatever. I have no interest in riding. Though I would like to feed them tasty snacks and brush their hair and coats, and give them baths, and weave flowers into their hair, and maybe walk together in the woods, or lie in the grass and snuggle while reading a book.

Anyway, today I went to the place and listened to the leader speak on such things as the importance of properly grieving loss and having faith in that which cannot be seen. It's relatable to my circumstances in a variety of respects. In the course of my living, I've seen a lot more fear and pain than love. In my case, having faith means doing my best to try to remember that beautiful and good and loving things exist, even when my mind is too clouded to see them very well.

…I carry a lot of really horrible memories. My mind is often cloudy (especially when I am tired and dehydrated… like right now… whoops…), and my path forward seems hazy all the time. I'm used to the ground crumbling beneath my feet, and I'm used to people telling me that my next step will be on a solid surface only to have it ripped out from under me, and I go tumbling down, down, down into the dark. But: my version of faith involves taking that next step, even when I can't see, and even when I know that the ground beneath me might fall apart. It involves trusting others when they say that the next step is solid ground, even though I have experiences where that was a lie. It involves knowing that even when the path beneath me crumbles and fades and I tumble down into the dark, I have strength enough to crawl back to the surface, rise again, and keep moving forward.

Somewhere along the way, I learned that I don't have to be afraid of the tumble. But strangely, even though I've learned that, I am still sometimes afraid of the tumble. But it's important that I do my best anyways; I deserve to see whatever beautiful thing is shining on the distant horizon. And even if I don't reach it in this lifetime, I'll have other opportunities to try again, in other shapes, and in different circumstances.

…I hope you'll remember that these things hold true for you as well. I hope you can learn how not to be afraid of being soft and vulnerable and kind even in a world like this one. Because the worst has already happened for you, hasn't it? And many times over at that, no? And here you are, still standing, still moving forward, still steadfast, brave and determined.

…I wish you knew how proud I am of you for continuing to do your best, even after everything that has happened.

The place had a big potluck today. I brought my confit garlic and my muscat gummies to share. But there was all sorts of other amazing goodies that others brought. I wish I could share them with you, because my world is absolutely brimming with amazing cooks, and I wish you could experience the results of their efforts and expertise. But that's not how reality works, so I'll show you a picture instead:

After all that, I'm finally home. J and I took a brief walk, but I didn't see anything especially noteworthy to take a picture of. But the sky was good on the way to the place, so I snapped a couple of pictures of that:

I said in yesterday's letter that I would make a playlist of the songs I was given last night. I have made that playlist, so here it is, so you can see it, too. I think you might like these:

…That first one, goodness, it would make an AMAZING DDR song. Despite the fact that I am still slightly zombified, I am finding myself somewhat inspired to play. But the living room is being used, so I doubt anyone wants to put up with me trying to step out Horatio on Standard Mode, hahaha!

I also found Child of the Stars to be VERY delightful; for whatever reason, it kind of made me wanna squiggle. I wonder if it would make a good music box. Similarly, the lyrics for Rät are on point; I think that any person who has their giftedness and steadfast loyalty taken advantage of would find that one relatable, for sure.

…There's so much in my world that I think would delight you and show you that you're not alone. I wish I could spend time with you here just for a little while…

Anyway. Given that I'm still kind of a zombie, I will end today's letter here because I need to rest.

Please stay safe out there, okay? There are still so many doors you haven't opened. There are still so many things you've not experienced. There are still so many words you haven't sung. So don't give up, okay? I'll be right here waiting for you.

I love you. I'll write again tomorrow.

Your friend, Lumine

[z-mizcellaneous-z]

I've seen a lot of theories on why Deku is afraid/in denial of love, but out of curiosity do you have any theories?

I’m gonna be completely honest, I more enjoy reading other people's theories than making my own up, so I’m just gonna talk about some (probably) already existing theories and add my two cents:

Izuku is simply mistaking his love for admiration. We all know that Izuku is extremely sharp and observant when it comes to quirks, battle strategies, and everything hero related. However, he’s not this sharp when it comes to romance. He’s emotionally intelligent, but only in emotions specific to hero work (anger, fear, guilt, etc). In Izuku and Katsuki’s fight at Ground Beta, Izuku brings up how even though All Might was his hero, Katsuki was the one who was actually there. He’s placing both All Might and Katsuki in the same category—the category of admiration. He’s placed Katsuki in this category his entire life, so he’s inclined to keep him there. He hasn’t yet realized that what he feels for Katsuki runs deeper than the fanboy admiration he has for All Might.

He’s afraid of the consequences of being in love with another man. We’ve seen some situations of LGBTQ+ representation in MHA, but we haven’t really seen how same-sex relationships/feelings are viewed by the public eye. There’s always the chance that Izuku is aware of his feelings, that he knows that he’s in love with Katsuki, but he’s scared. Scared of how people will react if they find out. Would they be open and supportive? Or would they be disgusted and closed-minded? Sure, friends aren’t forever and if they’re toxic he can cut them off, but what about his mother? What if she doesn’t accept him? Or even worse, what if Katsuki becomes grossed out by Izuku and ends their friendship right then and there? Izuku wouldn’t be able to handle it.

He thinks that he’ll only hurt Katsuki the closer that he gets to him. First, Katsuki gets kidnapped by the League of Villains at training camp. Izuku goes after him to rescue him, revealing to All For One that Izuku cares enough for Katsuki to come after him. Then, the war arc. At that point in the story, Katsuki and Izuku have definitely gotten closer. They’re not the best of friends per se, but they’re on much better terms than before. Katsuki then proceeds to get stabbed protecting Izuku. Izuku, seeing the person he loves getting hurt, goes fucking berserk. You all know how well that goes down. When Izuku wakes up from the coma, he avoids Katsuki and only leaves a letter. He knew that if he were to tell Katsuki his intentions of leaving in person, Katsuki would try to stop him, or worse, decide to come with him. Vigilante arc begins. Then you get to the oh-so-infamous apology from Katsuki. Under different circumstances, Izuku would have been more than thrilled at this change of heart and would have tried to actively get closer to Katsuki. However, in the circumstances of the war and All For One, Izuku seems to do the opposite. It’s like he’s trying to distance himself from Katsuki so Katsuki doesn’t get hurt because of him. So you can imagine the pure agony that Izuku’s in when he sees Katsuki’s (at this point still) dead body. He knows that if he lets his emotions and feelings for Katsuki take the wheel, he’ll lose the fight. He’s trying to distance himself from his feelings because he’s aware of how intense they are. 

And yeah, that’s it lol. I’m like 95% certain that these theories have been discussed in much better detail/with much better evidence than this, but this is just my personal take on them :)

[ticklishbeans4]

If you're taking prompt requests, would you be able to write Hunter getting tickled by Gus? Hunter isn't familiar with affection and Gus takes it upon himself to show Hunter good forms of physical contact? Poor guy probably didn't get much affection from anyone while he was with Belos so he needs love and his little brother is more than willing to give him that :)

Don't feel pressure to write this of course, if you don't want to that's absolutely fine <3

Hiiiiii friend! Sorry it took so long! I've been super tired, plus dealing with life stuff. But! Here you are! Hope you enjoy!

This is also my first two prompts for Laughust! Hands and Feathers!

Hunter sat on the couch in Luz’s house, looking at his hands. Camilla had all but forced him to give her his gloves, they were falling apart at the seams and smelled horrible, she promised to hand wash them and sew them back up good as new. But in the meantime… he was left to sit with uncovered hands for the first time in… well he didn’t know how long. 

He stared at the myriad of scars on his hands, left there from years of abuse. Not just from Belos even, missions, spars, kitchen accidents. There were a million ways he’d hurt his hands, and each one left him feeling… insecure, at best. He didn’t like how his hands looked, as ragged and worn as his gloves really. He also didn’t like the feeling of them out of the gloves, it was like pins and needles. He tried to wear other gloves around the house, but none felt right. It was… frustrating.

“Hey man!” Gus exclaimed, bouncing next to him on the couch, startling Hunter out of his reverie.

“Oh! Uh… hey Gus. What’s up?” he asked tentatively, subtly trying to hide his hands from view.

“Just wanted to see how you were doing. …Plus I’m super bored. Willow’s in the garden, Luz and Amity went for a “romantic walk” and thus here I am. Poor little Gus-Gus, left to fend for himself!” the younger boy whined dramatically, flopping over Hunter's lap, a hand to his forehead. His theatrics made Hunter giggle a bit, “Oh you poor thing. But I’m afraid I can’t help you much, I’m not really doing anything interesting at the moment.” “That could change though! Come on! Let's have a guy day! You and me! Taking on the human world!” Gus grinned, bouncing back up and looking at Hunter with wide expectant eyes. Hunter looked away, his brief jovial mood souring. “Sorry… I can’t right now. I’m… a bit stuck here. Till Camilla gives me my gloves back.” Gus tilted his head like a curious puppy, “She took your gloves? Why?”

“They were getting gross apparently.” he shrugged, hands hidden under his thighs. “Oh… ya know I don’t think I’ve ever seen your hands.” Oh no. “They’re just… hands.” Please don’t ask. “Can I see them?” Noooooooooo. “I… they’re kinda…” he started, not really sure how to explain without sounding childish

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to.” he said earnestly, shocking Hunter. He was still getting used to this… freedom, so to speak. He didn’t have to do a lot of things nowadays. He didn’t have to go on patrols, he didn’t have to do all the chores, he didn’t have to get up at 4am every morning, he didn’t have to make his own food, heck he didn’t even have to eat all his food if he didn’t want to! It was… so strange, and new and weird. But… he found himself nodding, and lifting his hands up for Gus to see. He looked away though, not wanting to see his friend's reaction.

“Whoa… did… did He, do that?” he asked softly, and Hunter nodded again.

“Sorta… some was him, some was just… normal wear and tear from my job.” he mumbled, hugging himself.

Gus sighed, “I’m sorry you had to live with that.” 

Whether THAT was Belos or his old job, was up for debate.

“Yeah… me too.” he sighed.

“...Is it ok if I touch them?”

Hunter thought for a moment, but hesitantly shook his head no. He was… getting used to saying no to people. Sure when it was an underling, or someone he used to see as “lesser” it would be easy. But now… he saw his friends as his equals, so it was certainly harder.

“Ok! That’s fine!” Gus smiled, holding his hands up in front of him. “…Can I hug you though?”

“I… guess?” hugs were still odd to Hunter. His friends were always hugging each other, and they tried to hug him a lot. Mostly Gus, Willow, and Luz, but still. He didn’t mind the hugs. Especially the tight “bear hugs” Willow gave.

Gus’s grin grew and he wrapped his arms around Hunter, hugging him tight. His face nuzzled Hunter’s neck a bit, making the teen squeak involuntarily. Gus pulled back a bit and tilted his head again, “Dude, you ok?” Hunter rubbed his neck, a weird feeling without his gloves. “Y-yeah… when you brushed my neck it just felt… weird.” “Weird?” “Weird.” “Weird… how?” he asked, scooting a little closer.

He shrugged, “I don’t know… tingly? I guess?” 

Gus hummed and smiled again, this seemed… mischievous. “Can I do it again?” Hunter narrowed his eyes but nodded, lowering his hand and tilting his head to give Gus better access.

Gus brushed his fingers over Hunter’s neck, fluttering them a bit. This made Hunter squeak again, a few involuntary titters leaving him as his shoulders scrunched up. “Hehehe! W-what the heck is that?!”

Gus laughed as he pulled his hand back, “I can’t believe it! You’re ticklish!”

“I’m… what?” he blinked, “I’ve never heard that word before.” “Ticklish! It means that basically there are some spots on you that are ticklish! Like your neck! Someone pokes you, or does what I just did, and it makes you laugh! Some people like it, some hate it, some people are ticklish, some aren’t. It’s different for everyone.” Gus explained, “My dad used to tickle me all the time, it was a fun bonding thing for us! Plus, Willow and I get into tickle fights a lot, same with Luz!”

“Huh… so is it just necks that are… ticklish?” he asked.

“Nope! There are lots of spots! If you want, we can find out if you’re ticklish in other places! It’ll be fun!” he grinned, practically bouncing on the couch cushion.

Hunter looked at his friend but eventually shrugged, the… ticklish feeling on his neck hadn’t been unpleasant. Besides, it wasn’t like he could be that ticklish in too many places. Surely he’d know about that by now if that was the case.

Gus pumped his fist in the air and raised his hands, forming claws with his fingers. “Alright… let’s see… where to start. How about we go from the top down?”

Hunter shrugged again, “I doubt I’m that ticklish.”

“That’s what they all say.” he chuckled, his fingers lightly scratching behind Hunter's ears.

Hunter immediately jerked forward with a squeal, holding his ears and looking shocked. “EEK! W-what the- How- What- I-” “Whoa! Dude, your ears are crazy ticklish! That’s hilarious!” Gus giggled, moving closer and scratching behind his ears again.

Hunter honest to titan shrieked, his ears wiggling as he tried to keep still this time. “EHEHEHEHEHE! IT-IT TIHIHIHIHIHICKLES! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!” “Well that’s the point! Oh! Oh! I wanna try something!” Gus then drew a spell circle in the air, a feather appearing in his hand. “Ok, this might tickle more, let me know!” Hunter was still fizzling out giggles when he felt that horrible, soft, bristly, torture device on his ears. “AAAAAAHHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! NOHOHOHOHOHO! W-WAHAHAHAHAIT! GUHUHUHUS! OH TITAHAHAHAHAN! I CAHAHAN’T TAHAHAKE IT! AHAHAHAHA!” Gus snorted, “Dude I just started! How ticklish are you?” “V-VEHEHEHEHERY! STAHAHAHAP! PLEEHEHEHEHEASE!” he shrieked, shooting his hands around his ears as soon as Gus moved the feather away. The Gus in question just giggled at him, “Maybe we should take a breather. LEt you get your bearings.”

“W-whyihihihi dohohoes it tihihickle so muhuhuch?” he asked, still giggling as he tried to rub away the lingering ticklish feeling.

“I don’t really know, it just does.” Gus shrugged, “We can find more of your tickle spots later. We’ve already got ears and neck. So that’s a start!” Hunter nodded, he felt… better honestly. Lighter even! It was… nice to laugh a bit, he hadn’t even thought about his gloves, or how weird his hands looked or felt. “Yeah… I’d like that.”

Gus beamed at him and hugged him. “Heck yeah! Just beware, when the others find out your ticklish, there’ll be no stopping them.” Hunter scoffed and pulled Gus into a noogie, “I can take ‘em!”

The pair laughed, both quite happy at this new discovery, and both excited for the next experiment.

[changeling-fae]

4. What would your Dark Urge consider to be their greatest flaw? Is this accurate?

5.What opinion does your Dark Urge have about the Go

6. How does your Dark Urge react to waking up with memory loss?

Thanks! Starting with Nym.

4. Her temper and forever burning rage she feels that she tries to keep suppressed but is always simmering underneath the surface. I’d say yes and no to accuracy, it’s a pretty big flaw but I think her greatest flaw is she has a hard time dealing with the grey inside of herself. She sees her own failings as very black and white and struggles with the idea that it’s ok to not be perfect morally.

She doesn’t see herself as redeemable and believes her bio-father (the Bhaal essence is an added feature during conception) would be ashamed of her were he still alive (he wouldn’t be, he was a drow, he understood struggling against a fucked up environment).

5. Oh boy, very complicated. She kinda loathes them but her father was a devout follower of Eilistraee and he passed on his divine spark to her (which doesn’t play well with the abyssal/Bhaal side).

She can feel Eilistraee’s presence within her but at the same time she’s so so bitter and angry and feels abandonment that Eilistraee didn’t help her when she had been kidnapped and tortured for years in a noble’s basement after her father died when she was a child.

It was her cambion mother’s influence that had rescued her (I’m going with power up puberty with her abyssal side, first time she transformed) and she’s so bitter about it because she hates her mother.

She hates Bhaal too just on principle. Like, the cult found her after she escaped her captivity but she hates that she became a willing monster for him.

She hates that the gods play with mortals like they’re toys and she hates that they often have no choice but to play along.

Her close connection to her father is the only reason she still tries to practice her faith (in secret), because he must have found the purpose, right?

6. Lol, pissed off and frustrated. She hasn’t lost all her memories, she remembers the point of when she escaped the noble at 14 and everything back from there (her memories are important to her characterization) but the cult stuff and everything she’s been up to since is a mystery, other than some snippets here and there.

She can sense that she’s not normal, and she’s aware she’s got a beast inside her, but there’s an ominous dread at not remembering what she’s been up to in the meantime. It haunts the back of her mind and has her on edge.

And now for Casira:

4. That she’s spiritually weak. Since Selûne has swept in to take advantage of her memory loss, Casira feels all those dark urges but has the mentality of a Selûne cleric, so is in a constant state of “wtf is wrong with me”.

The loss of control of her body just makes her think she’s got weak willpower, if she tried harder, she could control herself.

Is it her greatest flaw? Nope, it’s low self esteem and low confidence in herself. It’s not her fault she’s got a freaky nasty father-god that’s constantly trying to take her over for gross shenanigans. But she doesn’t have any confidence in herself and that doesn’t help her predicament.

5. That little leftover influence in her body of Selûne from her previous life (new soul though) really messed up Bhaal’s plans and she is a devout follower of the Lady of Silver. Even before the memory loss she felt drawn to Selûne and secretly prayed to her for guidance (a light to help those lost in the dark).

Unlike Nym, I don’t think she bucks at the idea of gods playing with mortals. She sees Selûne and a few other gods as genuinely benevolent and she understands why people follow gods, both good and bad. She just wants peace in herself.

6. Scared, confused, and worried. She’s afraid of why she’s got all these violent urges and is extra concerned that she seems to be the only tadpole inflicted with them. These aren’t normal feelings for a cleric of Selûne to be feeling (Selûne really just drops the manual on her with no explanation, lol).

[fakecrfan]

i LOVE your tma martim series omg <3 if you have any more to share i'd love to hear it but no pressure :)

(Context: sad tma time travel series in which Jon goes back in time to fix things and the butterfly effect causes Martin to not fall in love with him.)

Okay I had an idea for this that involved Actual martim and one that was Sasha and Jon bantering and… I chose Sasha and Jon banter :D (mostly because it sets up an answer for anther ask someone sent on a related topic but you will See what that's like). Anyway, people can always send in a request for more martim-y stuff in this au if they want!

Jon is extremely hesitant to contact her at all, honestly. In fact, he's completely against it. He has absolutely no plans to contact her at all, except... well. Except Sasha. Sasha and her questions about how the Fears work and the workings of the world that he's just revealed himself to be even more enmeshed in than the spooky objects in artefact storage.

"Okay so, if you could take--I don't know, a Xanax? Something that dulls the physiological stuff that makes us afraid of things, would the monsters still be able to, uh, eat your fear?"

"Well... I can't say for sure, but I am... I mean, there is one person I know who can't feel fear at all, and as a result she is--well, she was immune to most of the horrors in the apocalypse, and I can't--couldn't use my own powerset to know anything about her."

"What, really?" Sasha looks immediately excited. "That's fascinating. Did she--was it a brain injury that did it?"

"Well I... hm." Jon gets frustrated. "You know, I can't entirely be sure how her... immunity worked, exactly. It could have been an, an ability in itself, like Knowing things, just of a different entity that has an oppositional nature to the Eye. Or, perhaps it was just that the incident damaged her in a way that--"

Jon realizes that he's about to dump Georgie's entire backstory without asking.

"You know, it was sort of--I don't think that I should talk too much about it without her permission."

"Oh, right." Sasha looks chastened for half a second. Then, "So when can I meet her?"

---

See, the thing is, Sasha just doesn't accept Jon's reasons for not reaching out to Georgie.

"She is firmly against involving herself in any of this," he said.

"Really?" Sasha asks. "Like--she is now, or she was in your timeline?"

"She--she decided, after some time in my timeline, that it wasn't..."

"So she's not against it now, then."

"Well, no, she doesn't even know about all of this now. I mean, she's aware of some of it, yes. But--"

"So we can introduce her to it differently!" Sasha interjects. "We can arrange things so that she doesn't decide it's not worth it."

"That's... Sasha, no."

"Why not?"

"That's... she didn't--even if she doesn't want to be dragged into all this now, knowing that she didn't and deciding to just--use the fact that she doesn't remember to, to arrange things so she will agree, is..."

"Is fine!" Sasha says, immediately frustrated. "People agree to things that they wouldn't in different circumstances all of the time! The way you pitch it, the way you phrase it, what you offer to them--all of this can make people decide to do more things for you! That's how it works!"

Jon's face turns sour.

"Why was she against 'getting involved' in the first place?" Sasha asked.

"Well..."

---

The problem is that Sasha does not accept the reasons that Georgie did not want to get involved as valid, either.

"So she was involved, " she says. "At first, and she helped. And then she stopped because she got tired. Which means, we can ask her for some help, just not so much that she gets tired?"

"That is a gross overs-"

"And she didn't know that the world would end before!" Sasha argues. "I bet if she'd known that the world would end without immediate intervention in the Institute's bullshit, then she would have done things differently."

"But--"

"In fact, it would be unethical to not tell her,” Sasha says primly, as though she hadn’t just decided on a whole new set of ethics to espouse purely to be able to chase a lead that fascinated her. “She lives in the world, too! I bet she doesn't want it to end. And she has a unique ability that could be useful in stopping it all. If you don't tell her, then you are withholding information from her that would change the way she acts, and that she could use to help the world in a way she thinks is important."

Jon squints. "She isn't going to believe the world will end just from me telling her."

"I think," Sasha says, "That depends on how we introduce it to her."

Jon groans.

"Why are you being like this? You said the whole world is at stake. You've never cared about--asking too much or inconveniencing people to do your job before. So why--"

"She's my ex."

Sasha blinks. "Oh, oof."

Sasha waits for half a minute after that, clearly puzzling out what to say next before she talks. "But still--"

Jon groans.

---

"I'll help you. We'll put one of those little earpieces in, and--you'll have to have your phone on, transmitting the conversation to me, of course. Anyway, when you have trouble saying something, I'll just tell you the most diplomatic thing to say, and--"

"Sasha," Jon says, firmly. "We are not playing Cyrano de Bergerac just to have an ordinary conversation with my ex."

Sasha huffs.

---

Jon has never in his life imagined prepping for a conversation like this. Sasha talks about approaching Georgie the same way she talks about navigating the tunnels. She actually uses the word "contingency plan" for heaven's sake. 

"This isn't--look," Jon tries. "People don't do prep work to talk to other people."

"Yes they do," Sasha insists. "What, did you walk into your job interview without thinking at all about the questions Elias might ask, or doing research on the Institute?"

"That," Jon says. "Is not remotely the same."

"I think it is," Sasha says. "People make friendships and other relationships in order to get something from each other, right? So--"

"They don't--" Jon says. "It's supposed to just be... natural? You're not supposed to be trying, they're just supposed to--your regular personality is supposed to be the thing that they like."

“Well maybe some friendships. But not most,” Sasha sniffs. "Maybe you just need to put as much effort into talking to people regularly as you do for your job."

"She is going to be able to tell if I've rehearsed the most appropriate things to say in with a relationship coach," Jon says, dryly.

"No she won't," Sasha says. "People never realize. No one is thinking deeply about what goes on in someone else's head."

---

Georgie sits across from him, brow furrowed, thumb running thoughtfully against the handle of her mug.

"So," Georgie says. "Is there a reason you decided to rehearse everything you were going to say with a coach before talking to me, or...?"

Jon buries his face in his hands, and groans.

[machifuwa]

- Animals - Menagerie of Animals (5/8)

The Following Day

Subaru: Please excuse us~ Come on, Daikichi, come and say hello to Hokuto-senpai.

Good boy. We should greet him properly as a fellow member of "Animals", Daikichi♪ Even if it's just temporary, we should make him feel welcome♪

Tomoya: Ahaha. Thank you for bringing Daikichi. It's going to be very lively.

Subaru: Fufu~ Daikichi is a senior pet after all, he has to come and check on his juniors properly!

By the way, how's Hokuto-senpai, Tomoya-kun? Is he eating properly?

Tomoya: Yes, I was actually just about to feed him.

Subaru: Ooh? That's a lot of fish in a bucket! Is he going to eat all of this at once?

Tomoya: That's right. I read in the "Super Breeding Manual" that the manager gave me that penguins eat two kilograms of fish a day.

It's a lot of work just to get these fishes. So I just follow the manual and ask the fishmongers in the shopping district to deliver the fish to the dorms.

Subaru: Heh. Unlike dog food, you can't keep it in your room, so that's going to be tough.

Ah, right. Can I feed Hokuto-senpai too?

It's as if we're aquarium keepers having fun~ Look, when you feed a penguin, he'd come close to you and become energetic!

Tomoya: Ahaha. I don't think it will be fun since Hokuto-senpai is pretty difficult though?

Oh, and be careful not to get your hands bitten.

Penguin teeth are quite sharp, so a bite could cause serious injury.

These are the thick gloves I used to wear. You can use them if you like.

Subaru: Thank you! Alrighty then, I'll be feeding you plenty~♪

Wah, this guy swallowed a whole fish! His fangs are jagged and kind of gross~☆

Tomoya: I know, right? I was surprised, too, because penguins were so different from the ones I had imagined.

Subaru: This is a strange habit to get into but, alright, I'll feed you more~♪

Tomoya: (...Fufu. Hokuto-senpai, as you'd expect, would have a hard time saying yes to being taken care of by five people.)

(I've also been able to deal with him more comfortably since I don't have to do it all alone anymore.)

(Perhaps I feel more secure in the knowledge that I can use the support system of "Animals" if the need arises?)

(Three more days until the manager returns. I'm sure we can...)

Wataru: Fufufu. Glad to see you're doing well♪

For a while I wondered what would happen, but when I saw the look on Tomoya-kun's face, I was relieved.

Tomoya: Owaah!? Hibiki-senpai, when did you get here!?

Wataru: Oops. It's not polite to ask that, is it? With me, breaking into another house is no problem...☆

I also brought a gift for Hokuto-senpai! Kanata gave me a freshly caught, live fish to share♪

You should pay attention to your clothes, Tomoya-kun. One, Two... Amazing☆

Tomoya: Uwah, a fish came out of my clothes' pocket! That's disgusting!

Wataru: Fufu. It's a live fish, so it's very clean and fresh. Here you go♪

Tomoya: Umm no, please don't hand it to me...

If you came here because you were worried about me, you should've just acted normal, this is no different than being cold shoulder, right?

Well, that's okay. Would you like to try some sea bream, Hibiki-senpai?

I'm afraid that Hibiki-senpai is scheduled to work tomorrow but, it would be rude to send you home after coming all the way here.

Wataru: Well then, I'll take your word for it~ Hello Hokuto-senpai!

Tomoya: Ahaha. It feels a little unreal hearing "Hokuto-senpai" from Hibiki-senpai's mouth.

Yep, Hokuto-senpai really eats well. He eats so well that he looks like he could be feared by the people in "Oceans".*

Subaru: Come to think of it, penguins are also sea creatures, so it's kind of like "Oceans".

It's not really a big deal because it's a bird, but I'm afraid there would still be a fight among the circles.*

Tomoya: If you ask me... Actually, you can't really say penguins are one or the other.

They're birds but they live in the land... It's pretty mysterious and unique, right?

Wataru: Yes, Hokuto-senpai is an animal like that after all. That's probably why the manager of the pet shop thought that a penguin is a suitable first pet for Tomoya-kun.

Tomoya-kun. Please don't betray us and go to "Oceans". I'll be sad if you do that!

Tomoya: There's no way I'd do that. You're overreacting.

But Hibiki-senpai may have a point. The manager may have looked pushy, but he may have been surprisingly attentive to my needs.

What do you think, Hokuto-senpai? You know the manager pretty well, don't you?

...Just kidding, penguins don't talk after all.

Thank you both for coming to check on me. I can take care of the rest.

Wataru: Are you sure? I have the whole day free, and I thought I'd teach Hokuto-senpai a few tricks too...

Tomoya: Hey now, don't just do tricks on other people's pets without their permission.

Well anyway... Thanks to the two of you for making me feel at ease, I feel like I can finally understand Hokuto-senpai a little. I think I'll be able to take care of Hokuto-senpai pretty well, too.

Wataru: Fufu, is that so?

Well then, shall we leave for the day, since we're probably interrupting?

Subaru: That's right! Tomoya-kun, if you get into another fight with Hokuto-senpai, let me know. I'll come running immediately!

Tomoya: Haha, if that's the case, I'll try not to then.

Alright, it looks like Nii~chan is coming next in the evening, so let's spend some time until then, Hokuto-senpai.

♪~

< EPISODE 5 END >

Notes:

A circle organized by Kanata that focuses on interacting with sea creatures and thinking about the environment and biology. They periodically go to zoos and aquariums in search of a soothing atmosphere. (source)

Subaru is probably talking about how 'Penguins' should belong in "Oceans" instead of "Animals" because penguins are also 'sea' creatures which is under the other circle's category(?) That's probably why he's also saying something about a fight between the circles.

Story: "Animals" [Menagerie of Animals]

Story by: 木野太郎 (Happy Elements株式会社)

Season: Winter

Characters in this Episode: Tomoya, Wataru, Subaru, Hokuto-senpai, Daikichi

Mentioned Characters: 'manager', Nazuna

Reminder: I did not create this story, but I translated it, so please refrain from reposting my translation on other social media platforms.

I apologize if there are any mistakes as well.

(Prev - All - Next) Thank you for reading!

[galactic-pirates]

Nobody probably noticed that I didn’t ramble about Picard last Friday. Honestly I didn’t have the spoons and also honestly I just really didn’t care.

I think that was a situation where being less than halfway through TNG meant I didn’t have a stake in things. There was clearly an emotional callback with the guest character that I just had no context for.

BUT

Actually I think that is a sort of useful perspective? As without that nostalgia trip (as I only know what I read on wiki afterwards) I can tell you the episode made very little impact. It was like a non-episode.

I’m not sure do I still have to do spoilers? I guess it’s been less than a week, so warning.

The Worf and Raffi interaction was the highlight. Just give me a show of Raffi being badass snarky undercover.

They didn’t really bring the main plot along very much. It was like 2 mins around the “person from Picard’s past” nostalgia which just passed me by.

The whole “seeing peoples veins” thing that Jack Crusher is doing makes me think it’s connected to the changelings being able to replicate people more accurately. Honestly I still think he touched something he shouldn’t and maybe they need him to make their replicants perfect or something. I’m not sure. Honestly I’m expecting to be disappointed with this whole MacGuffin thing. It’s likely to fall flat.

@purlturtle theorised that Jack and Beverley were changelings. I would like this to be true as I really hate the plot of “secret baby” because they were friends before anything so still don’t understand why she would cut herself off from everyone to hide it. The whole “danger” thing… I don’t know. She just doesn’t strike me as someone afraid of hard decisions. Even if she made a decision made of fear when pregnant (and merlin knows I loathe blaming hormones because pregnant women can be sensible!) but yeah anyway, even handwaving she made an emotional fear decision, nothing stops her from taking it back. Yeah it would be “oh here’s a baby, sorry didn’t tell you sooner” but hiding it for 20 years? She is not that much of a coward.

Anyway I digress because while I hate this ^^ and think the character of Beverley Crusher deserves a hell of a lot better, I just can’t see that the proud writers who tweeted (oh boy I have something to say about that shit) about this “epic romance” when it came to Beverley and Picard talking when she explained keeping the secret - that wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t really Beverley. So it’s sad because it would be a cool theory but I just can’t see the writers going for that ‘moment’ and then be like ‘not really her’.

Anyway my last ramble is more of well kinda this I guess ^^ I am not on Twitter. Haven’t been in a decade or so. I had an account for a while when it first launched but deleted it. I saw some tweet feeds virtue of a Trek server I have now muted as I couldn’t take it anymore. I ranted about this in the nice Trek server a bit but people are shipping Seven and Shaw? Like I want to throw the man out of the airlock. He’s a piece of work. I haven’t experienced this level of dissonance of “hang on are we watching the same show?” since Once Upon a Time and the mess that was Hook and Emma as a ship.

I can’t believe that we’re getting to the half point of the season and Seven and Raffi haven’t been on screen together once. I want them very much to reunite and be together. I still want a spin-off. Give me Seven and Raffi and the Fenris Rangers, doing the friendly neighbourhood making a small part of the Galaxy better thing. Honestly though at this point I will settle for Seven just getting away from Shaw. It makes me blood boil that he has basically been emotionally abusive, taking advantage as the commanding officer, and there’s no justice.

Watching old Trek I have seen some gross stuff. I saw some last night on TNG with the holodeck producing Troi for Barclay to kiss. So so wrong. Where’s the consent? But anyway you can say it was 30 years ago and we can now see that’s wrong (it’s always been wrong but ok) but yet even new Trek seems to suffer from some very gross disturbing stuff and the poor female characters still don’t get any justice. I really would have hoped we were beyond this by now but apparently not.

Anyway hopefully next week will be better.

[thebugass]

Total Drama Questions

By @the-type-a

1. Favorite character & why? Courtney because of the simple fact that she slays. She terrifies me and intrigues me. What made you like this, Courtney? Are you aware that you're a wreck? Can I fix you? Are you okay? Questions that the show will choose to demonize Courtney over answering every time, but a boy an dream.

2. Favorite season? Season one

3. Worst season? ...All Stars

4. Otp? Courtney x Duncan

5. Top 3 couples? Courtney x Duncan, Harold x Lashawna, Alejandro x Heather

6. Create your own challenge. Kiss me...... please?

7. Describe your OC. My OCs a bug. He wouldn't do very well on total drama considering the fact that he's a bug. He wouldn't try either. He'd just bug the competition. What a lad.

8. Least fav character & why? Owen. I understand that he's the nostalgic face of the series, but dear lord, not one of his jokes has ever landed for me. If you're into fart jokes, good for you. I'm sick of it, and it's just gross for me. At least Justin had "I wouldn't know, math is for ugly people." I quote that daily. I'm also a huge Mike hater. As somebody with DID... oof. Can I have... better representation... please? I'll take anything at this point. Just don't make EVERY CHARACTER WITH DID EVIL STOP ITTTT. im the only evil one uwu :) WAIt NO I FORGOT ABOUT SIERRA. This list is going off the rails, I'm sorry. Sierra's 100% my least favorite, though. Isn't abuse and stalking FUNNY, guys? Isn't this horrible thing I had to deal with for years just absolutely HILARIOUS. Insert laughs here. No. I'm giving you judgmental stares, Fresh TV. You've been towing the line for a while, and Sierra just crossed it and then ran a few miles for good measure. Fuck you, Sierra.

9. Favorite challenge? The awakeathon. It was a down to earth, neat idea. Not to say I don't like the insane ideas from later, because I do, but it just felt so... normal. When they're getting mauled by bears, I can't relate. I CAN relate to being exhausted because please just let me sleep.

10. Do you have a favorite fan fic? Yes. You don't get to know what it is, though.

11. How old were you when you joined the fandom? Thirteen when I watched the show and fourteen when I began to stalk the fandom from the shadows.

12. Did you ever RP, if so, who? Never done a total drama RP, I'm afraid. The idea just has never appealed to me.

13. Top five girls? Am I allowed to list Courtney five times? No? Okay. Courtney, Heather, ...God, I have the Wiki pulled up. I do not like many of these poor people, do I? Bridgette's alright. I like Crimson because she has a cool design. Lashawna's a neat lass, too.

14. Top five guys? Duncan, Alejandro, Noah, Cody, and Harold.

15. Who would you join an alliance with? I'll take Bridgette or Gwen. Bridge is entirely useless and I'm not all that fond of Gwen, but they seem vaguely trustworthy. Don't let Gwen near your boyfriends, though.

16. Who would you wanna go against in the final two? Cody. I can beat Cody's ass. (Sorry Cody ily)

17. Underrated character? Courtney. Very popular character, but there is no height that she can reach that wouldn't be underrated for her magnificence.

18. Favorite TDWT song? THE ONE ABOUT BUG FUCKING. You see, I am a bug. I do not fuck bugs but you get my point. If I had one. I don't think I had a point.

19. Worst TDWT song? The racist Chinese one.

20. Is there another show you’d like to see a crossover with TD? I want a TD crossover with my OCs (non TD related) just because they'd be so concerned the entire time like "Your host just threw a shark at you are you ok" and everyone would be like "Oh no thats normal"

21. Favorite team (of any season)? The villians from all stars. Hate all stars and hate almost all of the characters but fuck if it isn't funny to shove every asshole into one house with poor Gwen.

22. Who do you think deserved to win at least once? C O U R T N E Y. She would invest the money. Responsible little gal.

23. Something you would change 100% from any season? TDWT Duncney breakup. And if that has to happen, TDAS Gwuncan breakup. I still want it to happen, but GOD. If that abomination of a ship is what you destroy my OTP for, what was the point. Oh. Drama. Right. Listen, if Duncney has to go out, let it go out for something good. Not whatever that two second long relationship was.

[ellavorer]

The Key To His Heart

Okay, so... I’ve been meaning to rub my dirty vore hands on The Frighteners for a while now, and it was only now that I got a spark of inspiration for it. Even if people find it gross, at least I’ll be raising awareness of this criminally underrated movie. So watch the director’s cut twenty times before you do anything else today.

Trigger warning for an attempted suicide at the beginning, references to past spousal deaths, references to canon character deaths, references to canon-typical violence, references to a previous unhealthy marriage (Lucy and Ray), references to past unwilling vore, references to emeto.

Otherwise, enjoy and Happy Halloween!

“What was that in that cell, Frank?” Lucy demanded as soon as they stopped running. “I felt something crushing my heart.”

“I can’t fight him, Luce,” he lamented as he tried to catch his breath. “I can’t protect you.”

Whatever this thing was, it was responsible for Debra’s death.

It had taken his wife from him.

And just now, not only had it tried to take Lucy, it succeeded in destroying Stuart and Cyrus’ emanations.

He looked at the pistol that he had grabbed from Dammers, checking the cylinder and re-cocking it. “There’s only one way to deal with this thing. I gotta have an out-of-body experience...”

“What...” Lucy couldn’t even finish her sentence.

“And I gotta have it now.”

Frank pressed the pistol to his temple.

“No!” Lucy cried, her plea coming out in almost a harsh sob. “No!”

“Go away, Luce, just walk the other way,” he tried to coax her.

Despite the early autumn weather, sweat was beginning to form on his forehead as his finger tightened on the trigger. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“Wait!” Lucy grabbed his shoulder. “Wait...”

With caution, she reached for the pistol, took hold of his hand, and gently pushed the weapon away from his head.

“There’s another way,” she said.

“What?” he asked, opening his eyes.

“Before you turned yourself in, Agent Dammers told me that you’re a pred lean,” she began.

Frank stiffened at her confession of her knowledge of where he stood on their society’s food chain. His stupid pred senses had told him that Lucy was a prey lean from the moment that he had stepped into her house.

“And I know that it... it would be safe,” she continued. “B-- besides, you didn’t even get to eat anything at the restaurant...”

“Luce...” he was afraid of where this conversation was headed.

Yes, his stomach was bordering on painfully empty; he hadn’t eaten since the morning of Ray’s funeral.

Well, he had... he had gulped Magda Rees-Jones down in order to try to protect her, but the car crash had caused him to vomit her up, leaving the now-tiny reporter at the mercy of the Reaper.

And he knew logically that it was unlikely that his system would make the mistake of digesting Lucy, but... what if she got hurt?

What if she ended up dying anyway?

She could die because of him, and he’d have--

“Frank...”

Her sweet voice dragged him out of his thoughts.

“Frank, you forgot that I’m a doctor,” she reminded.

It wasn’t a scolding reminder, though. It was reassuring, as if telling him that she knew what she was doing.

“This was one of the many things I studied in med school,” she told him. “I know that in cases of protection, preds automatically neutralize the stomach acids for as long as needed--”

Her words were interrupted by a long, low, and loud gurgle from Frank’s middle. Even in the dimly lit alleyway, she could see him blushing.

“Oh my God, you’re really hungry, aren’t you?” she asked.

“Lu-- Luce--”

“Frank, have you eaten anything at all today?”

His belly growled again, and he bent over as a hunger pang hit him. Even though his body had already answered her for him, he said, “No.”

“Then it isn’t just about me, Frank,” she said. “You need to keep your strength up--”

“Luce, you’re already in enough danger--” he tried to argued.

“Frank, please,” she interrupted him, taking his hands into hers. “I’ll be fine; and it would help you. All you would do was drain some energy from me, and when the danger’s out of the way, you’ll be able to spit me up and unshrink me. I’ll be fine. I’ve done this before.”

“Really?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she confirmed. “Ray... he was a full pred. One of his ways of winning an argument was eating me until I agreed with him.”

He saw something sad in her eyes; a dark kind of sadness that suggested that there was more to when she told him that her marriage to Ray “wasn’t good.”

That gave him all the more reason to hesitate, even as his stomach rumbled again.

“Frank...” his name escaped her lips and her eyes landed on his stomach.

He gave a resigned sigh; if this was the only way to protect her...

“Fine, I’ll do it,” he relented. “But are you absolutely--”

“Yes!” she said, beginning to sound a little frustrated.

Gingerly, he placed his hand on her shoulder, too afraid of hurting her. She began to shrink under his touch and he reached out his free hand to catch her.

“You okay, Luce?” he asked almost immediately as she was sitting in his palm.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she told him, noting the hesitance still in his eyes. “Now... you... you just have to open up and let me climb in. Just let me take off my shoes first.”

As she removed her shoes and handed them to him so he could put them in his pocket, another hunger pang gurgled in his stomach. Despite how small she was now, he could hear Lucy wince in sympathy.

Why was she so concerned about him?

She was the one about to be eaten alive!

“Frank... I’ll be okay,” Lucy’s soft voice pierced that nasty voice in his head that sounded a little too much like Dammers.

Frank could only respond with a small whimper.

“Go ahead...”

He slowly moved her closer to his gaping maw, but stopped.

“Wait...” he said.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Could you just... climb in?” he asked. “I’m-- I might-- I’m afraid I--”

I’m afraid that I’ll bite you.

“I can do that,” Lucy assured him, offering him a comforting smile with a hint of teasing. “Well... open up...”

Frank closed his eyes and opened his mouth as wide as he could. Lucy climbed in, laying herself on his tongue.

His eyes shot open at her taste.

It was sweet-- but not like candy, which always seemed to turn his stomach.

It was sweet like cookies or cake... with cinnamon and a hint of something... flowery...

Lavender or...

“Frank?”

Only when he heard her voice did he realize that he had pinned her to the roof of his mouth.

“Just swallow when you’re ready,” she told him. “Take all the time you need.”

He tried to find it in himself to swallow, to pull her down... but he couldn’t.

He couldn’t.

“Frank, it’s okay,” she continued to reassure him. “Just take your time.”

It baffled him that she was being so reassuring as she was lying on his tongue, but, in a strange way... it was comforting.

With a tightening of his muscles, he swallowed with a “GLRK,” tracing Lucy’s path with his finger.

Lucy kept her eyes closed as she was pulled further and further down Frank’s throat. She landed in a soft, wet chamber with a yelp.

Only when her new sanctuary gurgled did she dare to open her eyes again.

Just as she was about to reach out to touch the wall of the chamber, she froze. But it wasn’t from fear-- it was in absolute awe.

In medical school, she had meticulously studied the organs of the human body with such interest. Besides the gurglings of Frank’s stomach, she could hear his heart beating, the blood rushing through his veins, the air circulating his lungs...

It was incredible!

“Frank,” she called gently, finally pressing a hand to the wall of his belly. “Frank, I made it done okay.”

Above her-- no, around her-- she heard him gasp. His large hand pressed back at her.

“Luce?” he asked. “Luce, are you alright?”

“Frank, I told you, I made it done okay,” she repeated gently. “So far, no burning, no acid... just like I told you.”

He sighed. “Okay... but what about... are you... you comfortable?”

Lucy leaned forward into his touch. “Yeah. It’s really comfy in here. But what about you? How are you feeling?”

Frank looked down at his middle, realizing just what a poor job he had done of taking care of himself over the past five years. It was so obvious that he had acted on his pred instincts.

But he felt better than he had other the last five years.

“Good,” was all he answered. “Now, what do you want me to do now?”

“Go to the medical center, but spit me out before we get there,” she instructed. “If there’s an APB out for you, they’re not gonna let you in. But I know that place inside and out.”

He nodded. “Okay.”

Throughout his short journey, he kept his hand over his belly, to reassure Lucy as much as she had reassured him.

And if they made it through this...

He would love to try this again.

[nicholas-wolfwood]

What are some of nick’s fears? :3

Oh boy, this'll be fun to answer! This boy's a walking basket case of trauma, despite the macho attitude he uses to try and hide it.

While most things slimy and bug-eyed that you normally wouldn't see on Gunsmoke (frogs and squid, to name a couple) gross him out, he's not genuinely AFRAID of them. Deep water, on the other hand, DOES make him legitimately anxious, since he's never been in water deep enough to learn how to swim.

Of course, with how messed up of a childhood he’s had (abuse, molestation, violence, being turned into a child soldier), he’s got quite a few triggers when stressed as well, but I’m not sure if these could as FEARS, since he’s not explicitly afraid of these things, they just trigger a reaction to times where he WAS afraid. These can include nightmares, sudden movements towards him, being touched, loud noises, flashes, etc. but these aren’t consistent and more often than not won’t elicit an outward reaction from him.

As for the more specific, deep-seated fears that wake him up at night?

His fear of death. Particularly a violent one. Living on Gunsmoke, and having been raised in a death cult of assassins, he knows that even as a supersoldier the possibility of a gruesome death is around every corner, and for someone like him it’s almost certainly coming sooner rather than later. Being a religious person (despite his... lax nature as a priest), Wolfwood is convinced he’s going to hell when he dies, and his death is going to be a painful one, but if it means keeping his loved ones from dirtying their own hands, then he’ll deal with it. That doesn’t mean the idea doesn’t terrify him, though.

He's afraid of people with control over him. Knives, Legato, and Chapel in particular; that sense of helplessness he's been drowning in since he was taken from the orphanage, knowing they could destroy him and his family on a whim, and knowing if he doesn't follow orders, then he's not the only one that will suffer the consequences.

This leads to another one that is fairly universal, but a very REAL one for his position; the death of his family. One of his biggest motivators is the safety of his family (the orphanage) and loved ones, which is often used against him by the people above. It's led to him crossing almost every moral line he has, including executing innocents (including other children), betraying his friends, and allowing himself to be turned into a killing machine by a death cult of child soldiers. He knows if he steps out of line, his family will be butchered, and he'll be forced to watch.

Another intense fear of his concerning his family is their rejection. Wolfwood is fully convinced that they would hate him for what he's allowed himself to be turned into, for what he's had to do to ensure their safety, and is TERRIFIED of being rejected by the only family he's ever known. This is to the point where- even if he had free reign to visit them safely, he wouldn't risk it and only sends the occasional care package with no return address. As much as he misses them, if they never see him again, then they can't tell him he's no longer welcome, right? This applies to most people he grows close to, but it's especially intense for his family.

And finally, rounding all that up is his fear of FAILURE. Particularly in his mission to protect Vash and get him ready to take out Knives and prevent the genocidal maniac from completing his goal of wiping out the human race. This, obviously, includes himself and his family, as well as everyone he's ever cared about (including Vash himself because if he fails, Knives will likely kill him too). The end of the world would be considered a pretty universal fear as well, but he knows all too well how REAL this possibility is. If he says one wrong thing. Makes one wrong move. Makes one too many mistakes, then the deception he's build up as a triple-agent will crumble, his family will be killed, he'll be executed, Vash will be defeated by Knives, and the human race on Gunsmoke will be annihilated, and he’s running out of time. 

But no pressure.

[greyfacade]

More asks incoming!!! 2 and 12 for noelle, 9 for sun and/or moon? :^]

NOELLE!

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

Noelle is such a great kid. I think its cool that she enjoys horror even though she's afraid of a lot of things.

(I find that relatable! I also love horror but also get spooked easily!)

Heck when it comes to being afraid, the fact she tries to appreciate creatures she's scared of too is really admirable. The fact she will give Maus a chance even though they're terrifying to her! I wish I could be that brave when it comes to spiders! Ack!

I think its a good trait to have though, to try to see the good in people/things that we're even scared of. Sometimes it turns out they're not scary at all!

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character?

I think Noelle is a lot tougher than even she knows, yes, even without ice magic.

But on a different note, I think Noelle might be a bit of an internet fandom nerd! I could imagine her enjoying cosplay and gaming conventions, maybe even dragging Susie and Kris along? I think Susie would like it too, but she might be a bit awkward about it... but maybe she'd be okay if Noelle and Kris went too.

I can also imagine her reading game magazines and coming up with game theories. I wonder if she'd like FNAF? Heh. I can imagine her playing Slender when it came out.

SUN/MOON

9. Could you be roommates with this character?

Probably not in my current condition, I'm incredibly ill, so I don't think many could room with me in my current state.

As for when I'm well.... uhhh.... Okay so, somewhat?

Sun, Moon and I have the same nervous cleaning habit. I hate to admit it but I'm obsessively fussy about my surroundings, not necessarily because it has to be perfect, if anything, theres something very chill and relaxing about a cluttered area, especially blanket and clothing piles, or bundles of wires and screws. But I worry about my things getting ruined, so I'm constantly tidying them, moving them, and repairing them. I'm also just, really fidgety (and I ironically break things because of it.) So I guess we'd be on the same page in that regard, and may only annoy each other when getting in to each others space, or arguing over where something should go.

BUT there is an exception... I hate water. More specifically, GREASY water. Which means, I won't touch the dishes unless I HAVE TO. Its so gross. I hate doing them, if I go to Hell, it'll be full of dishes. (Not fond of cleaning the bathroom either.) But I can imagine them hating me for leaving it off; like really really getting annoyed with me.

Neither would probably mind most of my other habits though, I generally keep quiet and to myself. Moon would probably get pissed at me for my poor sleep habits, and they'd probably both have something to say about my constant computer usage. They might like gaming with me though? Or doing crafts?

As for me I'd probably find their extroversion to be a bit intimidating, their actors and Id be too shy to be apart of their shenanigans. And while I appreciate honesty, their bluntness might bother me at times. I also get nervous around kids, so I'd be very anti visiting-Daycare-at-opening-hours. Sorry Sun/Moon.

Oh wow this got long... whoops. But uh, yeah I think we could get along. It'd take work, but I think we'd be alright as roomies.

[freezeher]

3, 5, 15, 20

𝑺𝑨𝑫 𝑯𝑬𝑨𝑫𝑪𝑨𝑵𝑶𝑵 𝑸𝑼𝑬𝑺𝑻𝑰𝑶𝑵𝑺 .

3. what is your muse’s biggest regret? 

[freddie mercury vc] she has a few...i'd say her biggest one, though, is not leaving with willoughby when he asked. she regretted saying "no" as soon as she did, knowing full well she'd be happier and more fulfilled wherever he was going -- it didn't matter so long as it was far away from alabama -- but she wasn't thinking for herself. she was thinking for her mom and for her community.

5. how long can your muse hold a grudge?

ethel tries not to, tries her best to be a forgiving person and practice what she preaches. she can't help but see the best in people, even if they've done horrible things. she's really only plagued by these things once she's fallen victim to the worst of it, but even then, she manages to let go. otherwise it'll just eat away at her. i don't know if there's a specific length of time it takes for her to forgive, really, but it's not immediate and it's not a super long stretch.

15. what might others consider your muse’s worst failing to be?

i know that the locals of shady grove would say it's a sorry shame for a girl like ethel to fall into the "filth" and "sin" of sex work. in the article that discusses her involvement with logan and the red velvet swing, it says:

"without her father there to guide her, it's obvious how eager she was to fall off the wagon and into a black hole of putrid fornication with anyone who would show her a scrap of attention. apparently, it's easier than you would think to give into total despair even when you supposedly have it all figured out. you're a prominent member of this community. they all look up to you, consider you a role model, and this is how you repay them? poor little preacher's daughter. what a mess you've made of yourself."

so yeah shady grove is full of victim blamers and sw haters. gross. when ethel reads this she falls into a panic attack. isaiah tells her she didn't need that shithole town anyway. she feels sick with guilt and self - loathing. now this power has been taken from her, too.

20. what is something your muse wants to tell others, but is too afraid to? 

oh, so many things. but mostly, she wants to tell them the awful truth about her father. she wants to tell them she wants no part of the life they expect her to lead.

[josiebelladonna]

so, it’s been brought to my attention that you-know-who has started yet another fic a few days after i posted the apple shed on ao3, much like how she started set me on fire after i started dead man walking as a clap back, i guess? idk that’s what it feels like. but it’s not like i can ask her, though—good luck trying to get a straight answer out of her, anyway, especially if this passage from life after death is anything to go by:

”This chapter contains excerpts from Afterglow and used with permission by the author.”

jesus christ almighty, you ever roll your eyes so hard, you swear they’d fall right out of your head? just stop doing it. just stop. it’s not that hard. i have long established the fact that plagiarism is slimy and gross, and you do nothing to rectify it, if anything you make it worse by adding a disclaimer there, so… why bother choosing to do it, especially when you know it’s wrong? i can only hope she knows it’s wrong 👀

(apparently, peter fell off the wagon in l.l.t.d., just like how joey fell off the wagon in her anthrax fics, and the chapters of the former happened to coincide with the publication of eclipse back in october, and then the subsequent chapters after that- you know what, i can’t. i just can’t. the whole thing left me exhausted in january 2021, so you can imagine my ennui now). this was funny last thanksgiving when i began dead man walking after *that* chapter of like loving the dead—”time will not heal these wounds”, it’s called if you’re morbidly curious—it’s just pathetic now, especially when i stopped giving a shit well before then. yesterday also marked three years since i signed and sealed now it’s dark, so… i guess it’s to—overshadow me, i guess? i think? i don’t know. i don’t fucking know.

really, i wish i knew what her problem was, like it must be a hellish place inside of her mind to think i’m haranguing her when she’s doing just that to me. i kind of jinxed it with dead man walking, because i now live rent-free in her mind… almost for no reason.

keyword there is “almost”.

go through her ao3 (and to a further extent, her wattpad of the same name) and you’ll see someone who gives herself to other people. it’s like she writes fic for various fandoms because it’s cool, not because she actually likes these things or has a legit crush on one of these boys like with me and alex, and when it is a legit liking, it kinda blows—again, that’s what i can gather, it’s not like i can ask her so… you know, cool your jets. i often wondered why her fics get so repetitive in the tropes and themes and it would literally explain why. you have someone who’s set in her ways and is hellbent on making my life a living hell—and i think it’s because she’s jealous of me.

really, i started suspecting this when the whole thing started, too, but i needed something firm to back it up so i never mentioned it before: she’s jealous of me. she’ll never admit it—and good luck trying to get her to admit something like that, too, she’s way too arrogant and not very bright—but i have a firm belief that that’s the case. because i’m artistic and have a background in science and i have people looking at me, and the more it happens, the more i want to create and expand.

sure, she gets the reads and the accolades and requests and everything, but at what cost? i see someone who’s afraid to fully be herself and she takes it out on me because… i wish i knew. if she wants to keep this up for years to come, be my guest, but i had enough when i started writing fever, because damn it, it’s not my funeral.

oh. the irony.  i was a guest at your wedding, but i refuse to be at your wake.