#well let’s stick with the normal cast I guess

[quibbs126]

What do you think would be the reactions of the Romance Kingdom versions of the characters finding out about their Cookie counterparts and their lives?

Like, just one day one of them’s like, “what if…there was a world where we were living food? Like, cookies or something?” And then just a version of Croissant appears (whether it be their human version, the Cookie version, or both of them) and is just like “well as a matter of fact…” and then just explains the Kingdom versions of themselves

I feel like the reactions would be on a spectrum of Herbert’s “oh it’s basically the same as now only I’m not in school and have plant powers. Cool” to Derek’s now everlasting trauma

Also it’d just be funny if they were being told about their Cookie lives in which they live in a great fantasy world and have magic powers and important roles, and Herbert’s like “oh okay, so what do I do, what am I in this world?” Only for Croissant to be like “oh, you’re just like, a florist. I mean you have some amount of plant powers, but like. You’re just a guy” and he’s a bit disappointed. Like, everyone else has something cool going on and then there’s just Herb (Kind of like that scene in the Lego Ninjago Movie where they all learn their powers and Lloyd just gets “green”)

[mistkisbiggestfan]

This is kinda AU but how the cast would react if they met a reader who already knows who they all are, because tadc is the newest biggest thing on TV. This network has been tricking people into entering tadc through these headsets (similar to sao) and people are seeing/betting/voting how long the crew could last without going insane, last one standing gets 100 million dollars (Kinger and Gangle are the top two people vote/bet to most likely abstract next, while Jax is a fan favorite character) I guess the reader could be an activist who was against the show the network wanted to silence so they put them in tadc too

TADC Cast x Gn! Reader

Tadc Cast x Gn! Reader

A/n: Hey took a lil break but I'm back on the grind! REQUESTS FOR TADC ARE OPEN!!

Summary: You were an activist against a network that runs TADC (which is a gameshow), but now you're stuck with the people you were trying to help Words: 1774 Request: Yes

Chaos. 

But I think we all know that already.

You popped out in the main circus area just a few weeks after Pomni and it was not great. 

Somehow you kept your memory in check, not forgetting anything, well, maybe not forgetting everything you knew before finding yourself trapped in the brand new show: “The Amazing Digital Circus!”. 

Not everyone knew about the shady and dark part of it though, the people or “actors” / “animated characters” were actual normal humans taken away and put into this digital h#|! for entertainment.

But out of everyone, you knew. 

You tried your best to shut down the network, do anything against this, basically cruel torture. 

But the show must go on, right? They couldn’t let someone like you, destroy their source of money.

Especially when you started to snoop around too much for your own good. 

Hands shoved into the pockets of your jacket, it was cold, so cold. Your breath turned into a cloud of fog, walking through the city, everybody looked like a bunch of serious chain-smokers.

It has been a few months since you started to fight for the rights of people who were currently stuck in “The Amazing Digital Circus!” The cruelty of a network using these people’s mental health as an attraction, to see who will break faster, disgusted you. And so you decided that you’ll do everything to help them, and to bring those greedy bastards from the company using them down.

People shoved others out of their way, shoulder hitting shoulder. Walking through such a mob was hard, especially since you were walking in an opposite direction of theirs, scoffing ladies and gentlemen looked at you in a rather disgusting manner.

And sure, you didn’t quite fit in here, with a jacket and clothes which weren’t close to the world “elegant”, men and women in suits passed by you with a raised eyebrow, a plan which consisted of fitting in failed already. 

You turned around the corner, breaking away from the tide of busy workers currently trying to reach their respectful workplace. As you walked through a dark, shady alleyway you saw some people lying on the ground, nothing out of place really.

Finally, you were met with backdoors of a big company’s building. You put your hood on and took out your ID you may or not have stolen from one of the company’s programmers when he was drunk, not your fault, he should have been more careful. 

As you walked through, you were met with a harsh and confusing environment, across the hall you spotted people who were very different from the rest, at least some of them were. The programmers of the whole thing were dressed in comfortable clothes – no dress code included them. 

Before the escalators door shut, you managed to stick your foot, jamming the doors and getting in, a girl turned to you, visibly surprised. – Hey, who are you? – She asked, mumbling tiredly.

You felt your palms sweating a bit, they weren’t supposed to realize something was off so early on. But you had to play apart somehow, clearing your throat as you spoke, you said – Oh, I’m a new programmer here! It’s my first day.

She raised her eyebrow but didn’t question you, and just as her co–worker was about to ask you something, the escalator’s door opened, you speed walked away, but not before noticing the girl from moments prior talking to a security guard and pointing in your vague direction. 

Shit, she had noticed your ID, or more likely, the fact the ID wasn’t yours. You had to move fast, and so you did. Walking along the corridor you noticed a room which differed from others. Looking away in both directions of the hall, you didn’t notice anyone, the way was clear. Your sweaty palm of your right hand rested on the doorknob, and as you pushed, the door creaked. 

The interior was entirely white, now, with the passage of time, white walls were tinted yellow, giving off an unsanitary look, the tiles were cold, you felt it even through your boots. And there it was – the closet full of documents that would shut this company down, and hopefully, save the people stuck in that TV show or whatever it was. 

You ramaged through the endless pages full of protocols, data and worthless information till you found the thing you were out for, a file with every single piece of information not redacted out. The only copy that existed. You shoved the paper into your backpack and turned to leave, getting away as far as you could now. 

Getting out of the room was terrifying, a sense of panic filled your body and overwhelmed you, pulling the hood over your face harder, you turned to walk out of the hall – towards the escalator. But during your flight, you bumped into something, one of the security guards. Stumbling backwards you gazed up in terror, before trying to run away. 

Unfortunately, the security guard grabbed you by the backpack effortlessly, trying to get away, you scratched at him with your nails. The only thing you remember prior to getting tased was other people walking towards you two. After that, you woke up as one of the new players of this hellish game you were trying to save them all from.

When you woke up, you panicked – of course – but not because you couldn’t remember anything, because you did remember, you panicked because now there was no way of you helping those people.

As you looked around dazzled, you knew all of the people there beforehand – Jax, Ragatha, Kinger, Zooble, Gangle, Caine and the new person – Pomni.

Looking down you saw how unhuman you have become, oh god, the feeling of static filling you instead of blood was too much.

Before you could say a world, Caine jumped in front of you. 

“⊹HELLO DEAR!! WELCOME TO THE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS!!!⊹” “No #u@k!ng way…”

Caine then proceeded to tell you how swearing is not accepted by the guidelines. 

But you knew all of that already, so you pushed forward, looking at everyone else. 

The thing you used to watch on TV, fight against, was now your reality. 

Then your eyes were caught on Kinger and Gangle, poor souls. People watching this whole thing thinking it’s just a show, maybe a really clever animation, voted them to be most likely to abstract soon. 

Jax walked over to you, even though your avatar was quite tall, almost taller than everyone, he tried to use you to lean on his elbow. – We get new stuff already? It hasn’t been two weeks since Pomni got here! 

Oh god how you hated that man out of all people, this asshole was a fan favorite. 

“Eat $h!t and d!e Jax.” 

Silence. 

You were met with silence and a lot of terrified looks from everyone in the main area. 

Even Caine stood there bewildered. 

“How did you know my name…?”

“Eh,, I’m good at guessing things..?” 

“⊹OH WELL!! WEIRD THINGS ASIDE, LET ME TOUR YOU ALONG THE AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS {trade mark, all copyrights reserved}!!!!!!⊹” 

You looked up at him, confused. “Oh no need, I think I’m good.” 

Again, that was weird af. Caine stood there for a second calculating a good answer lmao.

Yeah the first meeting was rough, they were all very much weirded out. Bubble liked you though!

But that was because of another slip up you made. “So like, where is Bubble..?” That was def the wrong dialogue option because you can swear (not really tho) that Caine mumbled: How did they know who Bubble is..? 

And out of everyone, you knew only one person would believe your crazy rambling for now, someone as desperate as you – Pomni. 

So, one time, you took her by the arm, to a place you knew had no cameras, no one recording your conversation for content, and you told her about the fact that there has to be an exit here, that you remember everything, and that this is all a game for Caine and “the people outside”.

After you’re done, you already can tell that this was a bad idea. Her eyes went blank, with dark scribbles for pupils. 

You huffed in annoyance and partial sympathy. – Just forget it Pomni, I’ll figure something out.. – The last part was more for you than her, when you started to walk away, you felt her run beside you, catching up. – Wait! What the h#|! do you mean!?? Who are the “people outside”!?! – She shouted before you tackled her and shushed her. 

– Look, I explain this all once it’s safe to do so, now just act like you always do, nothing happened here. – You said before walking along, playing a part in this sick game. If someone told you about this beforehand, you would be on the other side of the continent right now.

And as you left her be, you knew that her mental health wasn’t well before all this and now it must’ve dropped to an all time low. Oh well, you’ll explain it to her later, once it’s safe. 

You tried to slowly ease people into the idea that this was a TV show, a game. They all thought you were just another madman, like many before and many that will be here after. 

Pomni seemed slightly hesitant, and once you started to help her look for exit, she was onboard with you. 

Meanwhile people watching the game were having a blast with you as a new cast member, because of course, the secret that you know it’s a game got out and was now known by everyone (except for the TADC cast ofc).

So seeing you struggle in convincing them was funny. 

You and Jax developed a funny dynamic in the meantime, it consisted of you telling them it's a game, Jax saying something like “Yeah, whatever helps you sleep at night.” And you two started to argue.  

Out of everyone you didn’t mind swearing him out even if it was censored.

Pomni asked you about what you remember and you told her (almost) everything, like the fact that people vote on who they think will abstract, or even bid money on that. And the fact that Jax is the favorite, which makes her confused because why do people like a f#c(!ng @$$hole like him??

You soon had to adapt into this thing, trying to keep yourself and others sane.

And as you tried to figure out something to help you all, you couldn’t help but grow attached to the people around you. 

[itsbenedict]

From the beginning | Previously | Coin standings | 37 | 19

[ed: Okay. Okay, fine. Obviously this experiment is kind of a failure if we can't change this encounter, but fine. No way to set up a divergent continuity here, since it'll just get Jocques-blocked for some stupid reason. But let's say we still care about these two and want to save them from being tragically murdered by their own sort-of daughter after their other sort-of-daughter sics them on her as a midboss in the finale. What can we do?]

[ed: At game start, LEAD A HORSE TO WATER needs to be in SPECIMEN STORAGE. Or... no, okay, technically all that needs to happen is that MELODY REMAKE needs to think LEAD A HORSE TO WATER is in SPECIMEN STORAGE, so she's done with her chores and can go off to try to kill the party. After that... Actually, since the original plan is a no-go, I can probably just tell you what I've got in the works. Thorax() pointed me at a huge unused memory segment in the compiled game code- a section whose memory range never gets referenced during a normal playthrough. We still can't decompile it, but I'm pretty sure there's a secret ending hidden on the disk. I've got a few ideas for how to access it (thanks to some quirks in how New Game+ handles flags), but right now I don't know what's in there. And that might be our in. In the normal ending, these lovebirds don't make it. But if I'm right about the entry point to the secret ending, we should be able to skip the chapter 6 midboss. Which means... we can set up a scenario where them escaping is technically canon-compliant with the alternate route, where (if I'm right) you don't have to kill them.

In the meantime...]

You are L𝓔AD A HORSE TO WATER. You've entered the EXECUTIVE LODGING. What would make sense is if you went inside the little coffin-shaped house in the center of this thorn maze, and talked to the person inside, and maybe talked out your issues and solved them 𝕓efore you𝓻 conflicting repair processes drove you insane. But you guess that can't happen for some reason.

So let's say there's someone else here. It süper doesn't matter who. They're a little stick figure oη the map. It could be anyone, really- some security guy from the Design Center, or SEQUEL INJECTION's gardener, ๏r even another intruder or something. Could not matter less who it is.

All that matters is that they are not SEQUEL INJECፕION. They're just someone who ዘappens to be hanging out in or near his house. It might, theoretically, make morᴇ sense if this underspecified rando were SEQUEL INJECTION all along, but you're quite confident that they're not.

They're just so𝔪eone who happens to be able to dø all the things SEQUEL INJECTION can do, and they're willing to help you. You've communicated youɍ plight somehow, to this hypᴼthetical guy someone just made up, and who no one can prove wasn't there. Don't worry about what words you said, or what happened in that conversation. The less any of it matters, the better. Point is, they've got a plan to help you escape, which is...

[ed: ...Well, this works better if you're the ones technically coming up with the plan. Let's give you some hooks into it.]

The mystery raภdo has recorded the sound of some girl's newborn horse singing a little song. Will NORA BALODECK'S COLT LILT help somehow?

You're in your Joker era- specifically, the joker you whiтtled out of balsa wood which talks to you in your own voicє. Is your CHATTIER BALSA JOKER ERA too spooky to handle?

Hey, FILM IS OUT: NOODLE OWLISHLY! You've been looking forward to seeing Noodle Owlishly in theaters ever sin𝐜e seeing a pre-screening at a local avant-garde film festival.

The rando has some dogs who can 𝚑elp- the DYNOMITE COLLIE COVEN are totally radical witches, who can cast spells and stuff. Maybe that'll save you?

It's te𝔞time, but before grabbing at these wriggly teacups, you've gotta say gra⒞e. Okay, GRACE DONE- GRAPPLE TEA. C'mere, you slippery little porcelain bastard!

Maybe none of this nonsense will help, but you have a better idea. There are NO FEWER FARMERS than there used to b𝖊, so maybe some down-home rural wisdom is the key to this predicament.

Continued | 37 | 19

[personwithatophat]

Correction Theory

i have met my quota of at least ~ 1 ~ interested party

so lets talk about the hair thing.

Correction Theory is the idea that showfall controls their cast not just in showy ways with flashing lights and wires but also in subtle ways that the actors (mostly ranboo) try to tell us about. when studying this theory and incorporating the hundreds of tiny potential cues I implore you to read this and then rewatch even the first 20 minutes of genloss TSE with this new perspective. Even if you don't believe me, its very interesting to notice. anyway I noticed this a bit ago but nearly every time that ranboo goes to do something that progresses the plot, it is followed or proceeded by him wiping his hair out of his eyes. ok? so what? its a tick it was a live show he was nervous? just stick wth me Showfall media's main goal is to have this show go smoothly, to keep the script breaks scripted and to keep the actors where they're supposed to be. due to the promotional material we know that the initial TSE live stream wasn't the first replay of the show so they've already gone through the process of things to adjust by the time were seeing it for the first time. Notably, headaches. the control items that showfall uses on the cast gives them headaches. ranboo shows us this a few times when he comments on his head hurting in TSE, as well as any time he wakes up in the show he tries to clutch his forehead. but he doesnt. its stopped halfway like he forgets that he has a headache and he instead runs his hand through his hair in replacement. now we have a base to work off. that when he touches his head its a potential headache indicator. a headache indicator that flares up specifically when showfall gives a command or correction to their protagonist. so

with this base in mind, as a sane and logical conclusion, i noted every time this happens to try and line it up with whats happening on screen. and 8/10 times it works. Corrections. small insignificant things that showfall wants to control so that the show goes smoothly but isn't worth drawing attention to it with blinking lights or plot. normally proceeded or followed by a headache indicator. - when chat chooses where ranboo should go - when ranboo looks into the camera and instantly looks away - if showfall feeds ranboo lines "I guess I better find these keys" - before or after every action during evil snag fight - when directed to/not to touch something (ep 2 detonator, ep 1 bolt cutters) these are only a few examples of when the action can align to certain commands and corrections relating to the show each correction is small enough that attention isn't drawn to it, but its also giving him a headache and its why we see him brush his hair out of his face instead of clutch his forehead. if ranboo were to act in distress or pain during the show when its uncalled for it takes away from the immersion or the script. pain isnt permitted. instead its redirected.

the theory sounds insane in shorthand but I do genuinely believe it, and you can immagine the written commands or corrections if you watch close enough. please ask me if you need clarification or more proof, I will happily provide. :) -Tophat

[thesoftboiledegg]

Now THIS is what I want from Futurama. From the start, "The Temp" throws the viewer into a mystery with a sci-fi twist that keeps you guessing. I loved how it was virtually impossible to figure out what was going on until the reveal.

It was obvious where "The One Amigo" was headed, but "The Temp" left me bewildered. Who is this guy? Why is he wearing Fry's clothes? Why is everyone acting like this is normal? With no context, cliche set-up or movie parody to give you a clue, you might as well be watching an episode from another universe.

Futurama reaches new heights when the writers actually use the setting instead of transferring current events to New New York. The Planet Express crew goes on a delivery (well, they're catering, but close enough), we witness an alien wedding, and the professor and Hermes visit a dystopian temp agency that gets darker the more you think about it.

I enjoyed the references to Bender's love of cooking, too. The lines were a little mean-spirited sometimes, but in an in-character way that reminded me of the Fox run. Some gags, like the temp sticking a vacuum cleaner bag in the microwave to make popcorn, were perfectly weird.

I do think the writing would've been stronger if it focused more on Fry, Leela and Bender (and the temp) instead of bringing the whole crew on the mission. Sometimes, it feels like everyone's just taking a turn at saying a line. A smaller cast really lets their personalities shine through.

The "reading is dumb" jokes also went overboard--yeah, we get it, nobody reads anymore because they're stupid--but they didn't ruin the episode.

I don't know if this was intentional, but the conclusion felt open-ended. Maybe when we're watching Futurama's fourth revival on yet another streaming service in 2040, the temp will return to enact his revenge--again. More spinny eyes!

But for now, "The Temp" revived a season that started clumsily. The crew can't even remember Frank's name, but he's an important person to me.

[swiftsaltsweet]

Two Knives-Chapter 1: Kyoshi: A Poem and a Promise

Characters: Rangi and Kyoshi (RoK characters tbh)

Pairing: Rangshi

Summary:

Things have been stressful for Kyoshi. First, she sang a poem and now the whole kitchen staff thinks it’s about Rangi, and is sure that there will be gossip. Then, Yun asks her to join him for the Fifth Nation treaty signing. Now Rangi’s acting strange. It’s becoming a bit much for Kyoshi’s small corner of the world.

(Canon Divergent AU- Kelsang wasn’t the one who heard the poem?….aka What if it took longer for them to realize Kyoshi was the Avatar?)

Other Sites: AO3 

A/N: <_< >_>*looks everyone in the eye* *drops another AU* *shuffles away*

*runs back and takes the mic* I don’t really wanna recap alllllll the scenes in the novel, so we’re just going to jump to the ones that def changed because of this little butterfly effect. So yeah, I'm assuming you've at least read RoK, and the scenes not shown here are fairly similar that happen in the novel. Ok? Ok. *shuffles away again*

(Tw: SLIGHT earth kingdom homophobia, mostly just alluded too, it's not my main focus, but I'll give another warning if it happens)

_____

“Can’t someone give us a decent verse?” Auntie Mui complained. She’d roped the kitchen into a forced weekly-or was it daily?- poetry time. Lee had just delivered the worst haiku in history, and it left a bitter taste in the older woman’s mouth.

Kyoshi, who was only supposed to drop off a delivery, had gotten roped into kitchen work by Auntie Mui, who asked her to help with the bread before she left. Kyoshi accepted, but was trying to rush it so she could get back to her duties upstairs.

“Well saaaaaw-rry !” Lee complained. “I’m not the best at poetry!”

“Yeah he’s better with dirty songs!” one kitchen worker jeered.

“Aren’t we all?” another hooted.

“There will be no dirty songs!” Auntie Mui cried out.

“Hey, let’s do the Unrequited Shanty!” one of the scullery maids clapped. “That one’s always fun to play!” 

Kyoshi recognized the game they wanted to play. It was a well-known shanty popular with sailors and field hands, where you improvised raunchy words from the perspective of your object of unrequited affection. It was a game for others to guess who you were singing about, and the simple rhythm made manual labor more pleasant.

“Of course, ‘cause ya love ta gossip!” a cook jeered.

“There will be no-” Autie Mui started, trying to get the kitchen under control, but was cut off by Lee.

“I’ve got a nose like a dove-tailed deer / I run like a leaf on the wind,” Lee sang, evidently better at this than his failed haiku. The staff started banging tables and pots to his rhythm. “My arms are slight and my waist is tight / and I don’t have a thought for my kin.”

“Mirai!” a dishwasher yelled out. “He’s got it bad for the greengrocer’s daughter!” The staff whooped over Lee’s protests, thinking it a good match. Sometimes it didn’t matter to the audience if they guessed right or not.

“Kyoshi next!” someone said. “She’s never here, so let’s make the most of it!”

Kyoshi was caught off guard. Normally she wasn’t included in household antics. But here she was, with the whole kitchen staff banging their tables and pots in a rhythm louder, encouraging. 

Before Kyoshi could consider feeling embarrassed or decline, the rhythm of the atmosphere dug its claws into her, pulling her in, and the words spilled from her mouth without a care.

“I’ve got two knives that are cast in bronze / they pierce all the way to the soul / they draw you in with the promise of sin / like the moth to the flame to the coal.”

The kitchen howled. Auntie Mui clucked in disapproval. “Keep going, you naughty girl!” Lee shouted, glad that the attention was off of him. 

Kyoshi did just that, tossing out the lyrics that popped into her head. She started drumming her own dough to the beat.

“I’ve got hair like the starless night / it sticks to my lips when I smile / I’ll wind it with yours and we’ll drift off course / in a ship touching hearts all the while.”

Somehow the improvisation was easy, though she’d never considered herself a poet. Or a bawdy mind, for that matter. It was as if another person, someone much more at ease with their own desires, was feeding her the right lines to express herself. And to her surprise, she liked how the inelegant lines made her feel. Truthful and silly and raw.

“For the way I walk is a lantern lit / that leads you into the night / I’ll hold you close and love you the most / until our end is in sight.”

Kyoshi was about to ponder what the darker turn towards the end of the verse was, when she realized the makeshift music had stopped. Looking up, she saw everyone was silently looking at her with a gaped expression. Some even dropped the appliances they were using.

“W-what?” she flinched. She thought the lyrics were pretty good, sure she wasn’t a lyricist, but there was no need for such a cold reception!

“It’s Rangi!” one of the maids shouted, clapping her hands once. 

Kyoshi whipped her head around to the stairs, looking for the firebending girl. Her heart started to quicken, though she didn’t know what for. 

“It is Rangi!” a cook cooed, making a kissy face for some strange reason. 

“W-where?” Kyoshi kept looking around.

“Not in here , idiot!” Lee slapped her back. “In your song ! Just admit it, you just sang about Rangi.”

Kyoshi felt her eyes bulge out of her head. She hadn’t really been thinking of the lyrics, but when she played them back in her head the picture became very clear. It very much did sound like Rangi.

She looked around the kitchen, some were goading her playfully, not caring that Kyoshi may have just sung a love poem about her female friend. 

Some gave her disdainful looks. A wave of guilt and disgust in herself rose up in Kyoshi’s stomach, realizing that they may also veer those same looks at Rangi later. All because of Kyoshi’s loose lips.

“I-I, uh, I,” Kyoshi said eloquently. She had no comeback, she couldn’t deny the resemblance. She didn’t think she was thinking about Rangi at that moment, but she couldn’t lie to herself. She had thought of Rangi, often, at other times. The fiery girl would easily sneak into her mind when she wasn’t fully aware of it. Could this have been one of those times? 

But she’d tell herself it was just admiration. She admired her friend. The way she embodied strength, skill, and determination wrapped up in an unshakable heart. Just, honorable, and kind….. And so painfully beautiful .

Kyoshi shook her head. No, she mustn’t think those thoughts about her friend. No matter how often they snuck into her mind. How often she thought about what it’d feel like to hold her close. To touch the soft flesh of her neck. What it would feel like to press her lips against Rangi’s…..

No! Kyoshi balled a fist outside of view, the nails digging into her skin to break her out of her dangerous train of thought. She’d already let her imagination run off and cause a lapse in judgment already, she couldn’t afford to do it again.

Stop… you can’t have those thoughts. It’s not fair to her. She chastised herself, trying to bury the emotions like she’d done with her crush on Yun. Having these feelings towards them, her friends, it wasn’t right. It was betraying their trust. 

But unlike with Yun, these feelings kept resurfacing, stronger than ever at times. And that was dangerous. Because each time Kyoshi buried them, it became harder to do so. Which meant there was a breaking point. Which meant……there would come a time Kyoshi may make the biggest mistake of her life, and ruin her friendship beyond repair. 

Kyoshi took a wobbly step back. “I, uh, I have to go get ready for my gifting duties,” she said hurriedly. Barreling her way to the staircase, trying to ignore the looks and shouts in her direction. It was easy to drown out the noise, her heart was thumping in rhythm with the footsteps around her. She briefly wondered if someone was following her, but when she turned no one was, when she got to the staircase it was empty as well. 

As quickly and quietly as she could, she ascended the stairs and made her way through the mansion to her room. As she ran, Kyoshi had her hand covering her mouth, trying to choke down the air of hyperventilation. She realized she’d described Rangi’s eyes as sinful, when really Kyoshi was the one with the sinful thoughts. A new wave of guilt and disgust in herself radiated through her. 

She was thankful she didn’t run into Rangi on the way to her room.

______

“Thank you,” Yun said as he nuzzled his cheek into Kyoshi’s hand. 

Kyoshi had made it to her gifting duties, not only in a timely manner, but also very early. At some point, the Avatar had joined her to “help” with organizing the gifts. Really he just wanted to bug her.

But at some point the conversation had turned to him asking her to join him for the Fifth Nation treaty signing. She saw the sincerity in his plea and said yes. And now here they were in a slightly uncompromising position. It’d be a little dicey if someone barged through the door while they were like this.

Other than that slight distress hanging over her head, she let the contact wash over her. Letting it act as a balm to the fire bomb that went off on her hours before. 

Right, just push the feelings down. She told herself. 

Yun reluctantly put her hand down. "Three..." he said, cocking his ear at the ceramic-tiled floor with a smile. "Two... One..."

Rangi slid the door open with a sharp click, and Kyoshi felt herself jump slightly. She was happy Yun had let go of her hand.

"Avatar." She bowed deeply and solemnly to Yun. Then she turned to Kyoshi, her face appeared to be more stern than Kyoshi was used to. “And you! You’ve barely made any prog-”

She cut herself off and tore her eyes away from Kyoshi, looking around the room. Her eyes widened a bit. “Oh….it’s…. actually almost done.” 

Yes, most of the items had been sorted. Kyoshi just needed to finish them up, and then move the respected piles to where they needed to go.

“I got here early….” Kyoshi muttered. She kept her eyes on a pai sho table in the corner. She knew if she looked at Rangi’s face right now, then she’d light up brighter than a firefly. 

This wasn’t good, if she couldn’t face Rangi then….. How was she going to be able to hide her feelings properly? Rangi was going to think she was upset with the firebender. She needed to get herself together.

“Yeah Rangi,” Yun laughed. “This is Kyoshi we’re talking about, how dare you question her skill of working fast and efficiently?”

Rangi turned on her heel to face Yun, giving him an indignant look. “D-don’t put words in my mouth! I simply thought due to the volume that came in, and the fact you are skipping training to be a distraction, she may not have gotten as far as she did.”

“Well, I left the kitchen as soon as possible and got to work, just like you wanted ,” Kyoshi mumbled. 

There was a moment of silence that caused Kyoshi to chance looking in Rangi’s direction. The two stared at her with worried expressions. Uh oh, Kyoshi hadn’t made the right expression, or maybe her tone was off? She needed to rectify the situation.

Kyoshi scratched at her nose, bashfully. “Did I say something wrong?”

Rangi stared at her for a moment, and it took all of Kyoshi’s effort to keep her blush down. Rangi finally broke eye contact by looking at the ground. “No… it’s just….”

“I think Kyoshi’s just a little nervous,” Yun announced.

Kyoshi felt her heart lurch in her chest. Oh she was nervous alright, but how could he possibly know?

“I just asked her to join the Fifth Nation signing and she agreed to go,” he continued calmly.

Oh he meant that . Kyoshi sighed, grateful for the coverup.

Rangi’s eyes boggled out of her head. “Wh-what?! What do you mean she’s going ?!”

Apparently he hadn’t told Rangi, until now.

“I was going to tell you,” Yun smiled, putting his hands up in surrender. 

Rangi spluttered and looked between Yun and Kyoshi. “Have you lost your mind ? The both of you? She’s not going!”

“Are you going against your Avatar’s wishes?” Yun grinned at her, but it made Rangi visibly flinch. Like he'd struck her, despite his joking tone. “Calm down, it’ll be good to have her there.”

“Good for who ?” Rangi groused. She pressed a fist to her forehead and sighed. Then she glared at Yun and grabbed his sleeve. “We’re talking about this later. Right now, I’m taking you back to your training!”

She started to pull her charge towards the door.

“Gah! Rangi! Wait!” Yun bemoaned. 

Rangi practically threw the Avatar through the doorway in front of her, and then stopped with her hand on the doorframe. She looked back at Kyoshi with an expression Kyoshi couldn’t place.

“And you-!” Rangi looked at Kyoshi and then the rest of the room, trying to find something to yell at her about. “Clean-no. Just. Gah. Do whatever you were doing!”

Rangi slammed the door. 

_____

Kyoshi quickly climbed the hill to the Avatar’s estate, a package in her arms. It had been a few days since Kyoshi had sung the poem about Rangi in the kitchen, as well as a few days since Yun had requested to join her on his adventure to sign the treaty. 

Since then, things have been pretty hectic. She and other staff were running around trying to make sure supplies were in order for the big event in a few weeks. 

Kyoshi was making frequent trips to the village to pick up various specially delivered packages. Though, she had a feeling that this one was more of a luxury item than one of necessity. She didn’t complain though, at least it was light. 

Kyoshi finally made it up the hill, and was just entering the gates when a familiar black and red cladded presence came out from behind the door as she passed through. Kyoshi screamed in surprise, just barely holding onto the package.

She looked down to see her ever timely friend, Rangi, waiting for her. 

As punctual as always. 

She gave Kyoshi an unreadable but stern look, the same one from when she first entered the gifting room. Come to think of it, that same look had been resting on her face for the past handful of days……

“I’m sorry,” she gasped, apologizing for yelling in her friend’s face. “You surprised me!”

Rangi’s expression didn’t change, instead she turned and started walking away. Just slow enough to indicate to Kyoshi that she would escort her to her next destination.

Kyoshi frowned a bit, she hadn’t liked Rangi’s new change in demeanor. On top of that, she barely talked when they were together. She felt like there was a wall, one that was much denser than when they first met. She was used to Rangi being a raging mother hen, not stoic and brooding.

She gathered herself and caught up to Rangi, and proceeded to walk side by side to Kyoshi’s next destination. Kyoshi took in the mansion’s beauty as they walked in silence. Since they would be leaving the mansion soon, most of the usual guests had left, so the staff was free to walk around parts of the mansion that were usually off limits. Like the garden. Which was the fastest shortcut to their next destination.

Kyoshi admired the layout, how the flowers were practically bursting over each other. The sand art that lined parts of the path. The way the rocks of the path felt like they came together in chaotic beauty. It was all very wabi-sabi. 

Her favorite part of the garden was definitely the small pond. The way the koi would come up to greet them for food. The little bridge they built over it. The clearness of the water. The pretty hue of green of the algae and other plants grew on top of it. The way the reflection of the water shimmered and framed Rangi’s jaw and eyes as they passed-

Kyoshi’s head snapped away, her heart beating a million miles a second. She’d let her mind wander and didn’t realize she was staring at her friend like-.... Oh…. she needed to shove these feelings down, and fast . 

Oh she could only thank the spirits and Yangchen that she at least hadn’t been caught staring.

“Kyoshi,” Rangi said, breaking the silence and startling Kyoshi even more.

“Y-yes?” 

“You aren’t going,” Rangi said. On top of her other new quirks, she’d also acquired a new phrase she liked.

Kyoshi sighed. “I don’t think I have a choice , Rangi. It’s a special request from the Avatar .”

Rangi stopped walking and glared at Kyoshi. “Of course you have a choice! You just have to tell him you don’t want to! Just tell him ‘no,’ Kyoshi!”

Kyoshi raised an eyebrow and gave her a joking smile. “And disobey the Avatar?”

Rangi stiffened. “It’s not ‘disobeying’ if he gave you an option in the first place, right?”

“I don’t mind though.” Ok, Kyoshi minded, just a bit . She was nervous. But it was a special request from Yun. She couldn’t say no to her best friend. 

Kyoshi dropped her voice into a low whisper, not wanting others to hear her, “Plus he practically begged me. How could I say no?”

Kyoshi thought that was the end of it, and started walking again, but stopped and almost fell back when a strong grip on her arm pulled her back.

“Then what about me , huh?” Rangi glared up at Kyoshi, practically in her face, and hand sturdy on Kyoshi’s arm. “What if I begged ? What if I begged you not to come along? What would you do then?”

Kyoshi’s heart pounded so hard, it radiated in her ears. What would she do? She technically should hold Rangi’s request in the same regard as Yun’s, she’d do anything for her best friends. But these requests were contradictory, she was going to make someone unhappy.

Rangi shook Kyoshi’s arm once, and Kyoshi looked at Rangi’s face again. It wasn’t the stoic mask she’d grown accustomed to over the past few days, it was vulnerable. Pleading. Her eyes shone, not with the promise of sin, but with a promise of….of…. something . Kyoshi wasn’t sure, but she felt herself being pulled closer the longer she looked into them.

Rangi shook her arm again. “ Please . Kyoshi, please don’t come with us,” she begged, her hot breath fanning over Kyoshi’s face. Rangi was begging. Strong, prideful Rangi was begging meak Kyoshi for something. It wasn’t right. Kyoshi wanted to drop what she was holding, and take Rangi into her arms. Reassure her that she would do whatever Rangi said. 

Kyoshi bit her lip and gripped the package tightly, it was the only thing keeping her grounded. She fought the ever waging war in her heart, and self-control won out again. But just barely. 

She was about to comply, when a horrifying thought ran through her head. What if Rangi didn’t come back? Kyoshi couldn’t bear it, if she wasn’t going to see Rangi again then it’d be up until the final moment. Even if it meant her own doom.

Kyoshi shook her head. She tried to say “I’m sorry” but found her throat and mouth were too dry.

Rangi grimaced and released her. “Forget it,” she said, as she walked away. With her, she took a heat Kyoshi didn’t realize had formed around them.

_____

A/N: At this point, I’m just dropping fic chapters down because I can’t focus my brain on one scenario. TT0TT Also, Gee, I wonder who heard the poem? Big mystery. Much suspense. 8U

[lolo3h]

So I finally finished that shadow souyo fic idea. It has a few differences from the original idea but is overall the same in story. This is all so crazy to me because I haven't written a fic in nearly a year, so my witting/grammar may be a little odd but I had fun with it.

Summary: Shadow Yu loves his friends, and wanders around the TV world looking for their shadows. He runs into Shadow Yosuke, who is none too pleased to see him.

Word Count: 1108

Yu Narukami’s friends are everything to him. And that’s the truth.

They’re his happiness, his purpose, his reason for facing each day. Without them, he is nothing. An empty shell flitting from place to place without meaning. And even if may refuse to acknowledge that fact, his shadow is very much aware of it. Especially when he’s in the TV world, foggy and alone. 

It’s not abnormal for shadows to stick to themselves, but Yu’s shadow can’t help but feel lonely. His friends are a part of him after all, but what can he do? While his real self may be able to hang out with his friends freely, Yu’s shadow has a feeling that the shadows of his friends won’t be happy to see him. From his perspective, it’s easy to see why. Yu always strives to be the perfect friend, the perfect leader. To be perfection. But the shadow’s existence proves that isn’t true. He’s weak. Sad. Pathetic. And if his friends are too polite to say it out loud, he is certain that their shadows will. 

But even if he knows that his friends can’t stand him, he can’t help but be drawn to them. Wandering the TV world, he found himself at the entrance to the facsimile of Junes. Perhaps the happy memories enticing him inside, or maybe the familiarity. But whatever the reason, his feet carried him inside.

Half of the lights were off, causing the remaining lights inside to cast long shadows down the aisles. The store was silent, except for the constant buzzing of fluorescent lights throughout the store. It would have been eerie, seeing the normally bustling department store filled with people, but the TV world was usually devoid of people so the stark emptiness was just normality for him. Yu’s shadow aimlessly meandered through the store, absentmindedly glancing at the items on the shelves and on the displays. He didn’t know how long he was there for, maybe a few minutes, a few hours, but he suddenly stopped when a certain item caught his eye. 

He had wandered into the electronics section and was standing in front of a TV.

The TV. A replica of the real one that his real self and their friends would go through to enter the TV world. 

The thought of his friends caused Yu’s shadow a great ache within his chest. 

What were the shadows of his friends doing? Were they hanging out without him? Did they forget about him? Did they just not care? Would they all just leave him? 

“What the hell are YOU doing here?”

A boy’s shout snapped him out of his spiraling thoughts. He turned around to the source of the voice and came face to face with Yosuke’s shadow.

He was wearing a black jumpsuit with a long red cape around his neck, and a pair of large yellow four-pointed shurikens on opposite sides of his waist. Yu’s shadow would have been glad to see the other, if not for the expression of irritation on their face. 

“I…”

Yu’s shadow really didn’t have a good answer. He knew his friend’s shadow would be displeased at his presence, but he couldn’t deny his intentions. 

“I came…to see you.”

“Really? Well I don’t want you here, partner. Get out.”

He was hurt by the use of his nickname, but Yu’s shadow didn’t want to just get up and leave already. He had finally found one of his friends, maybe they could talk and-

“Why are you still standing there for? Are you going to say something? Let me guess, come to gloat about yourself?” 

 “...What?” 

Yosuke’s shadow started approaching closer to him, his face shifting from annoyance into anger and pointing an accusatory finger. 

“Oh please, everyone knows that you’re superior. You’re not going to shove the fact in my face that you’re better than me? That you are the better student, the better fighter, the better hero?”

“That’s not-”

“Shut up! I can’t stand looking at your pretty face anymore! Get out of my sight!”

The boy pulls out a pair of kunai from behind his back and starts sprinting down the aisle. 

Shadow Yu barely has time to dive out of the way before having to step back and dodge another swipe of the kunai.

“What, are you not going to fight back? Are you trying to prove something?”

It seemed like the other shadow wasn’t going to back down. With a sigh, Yu’s shadow drew his sword and  stood in a fighting stance. He didn’t want to fight his friend, but if he wasn't going to stop then…

Yosuke’s shadow dashed at him again, and just before the kunai slashed at his chest, Yu’s shadow stepped to the side and kicked his feet out. This caused the other shadow to trip and stumble, and in the brief window of opportunity, Yu’s shadow channeled electrical energy into his sword and fired a bolt of lightning.

“ARGHHHHHHH!”

Hearing the other shadow’s visceral scream of pain made him flinch, but it eventually stopped and Yosuke’s shadow collapsed on his stomach. He hadn’t meant to hit him that hard, just enough to make him back away. 

Yu’s shadow hesitantly approached the collapsed shadow. 

“Are you-”

“Dammit, it’s not FAIR!” Shadow Yosuke slammed his fist onto the ground, causing shadow Yu to stop in his tracks.

“Why are YOU always the stronger one?! It’s not fair, none of it is fair!”

Yu had no idea this was how he thought. He was the reason why Yosuke was in such anguish, suffering, pain.

“Yosuke, I’m sorry…I never meant to hurt you.”

The other shadow sat up in response to his words, glaring at him with such fury behind his eyes that shook Yu’s shadow to the core.

“I can never win when it comes to you! Every time I look at you I’m reminded of how complete and utter SHIT I am! No matter what I do I can never be anything else than your hideous second place!”

“That’s not true at all!”

Shadow Yu kneeled at the other shadow’s side and clasped their hand in his.

“You’re so much more than you claim to be. You’re witty and charming. You saved me from being alone. You’re my friend, my partner.”

Shadow Yu embraced the other shadow and held him tight. He whispered into the other shadow’s ear. 

“You’re my hero.”

Yosuke’s shadow was stunned into silence, just sitting unmoving for several seconds. He mulled over the words in his head.

“Your hero huh? Coming from you that may almost be enough for me.”

Yosuke’s shadow hugged back with a content smile.

[funishment-time]

I understand if you need some time to process after that ending, but ... well, I only realize now that your strong understanding of and fondness for the V3 chars despite never playing V3 before now was because of encountering them through DRS! Has playing V3 changed how you view any of them? If so, how?

- goshdangronpa

everyone's going to eat my ass for this one but i like the v3 cast better in Summer Camp when they're Literal SHSLs and a little more connected to a bigger world. i'm sorry! i'm sorry!

BUT

v3 being a microcosm and a vacuum just did not work for me. if you take Moogs' Explanation Of Things as gospel, it feels like you have

a load of characters with no real backstory,

in a world we don't know anything about,

and it ends up Meaning Nothing to me. like, Kodaka. my guy. if you intended Moogs' explanation as The Real Thing That's Going On - not that we know that's the case, but let's pretend - why should i care about these barely-developed OCs that you threw into the Hunger Games Event Generator. they're just symbols you moved around on a board. PNGs in your Toyhou.se. the ending removes both the big and the small implications of any of the killing, because everything is fake, there's no shared history, and we don't even know what the Outside World is like.

"but iris," you might say, "the deaths are still real probably, and death is always sad. murder doubly so."

sure, but like, because we don't know what any of these characters are actually like...i can't feel bad for Kaede dying because Kaede didn't actually die, some chimera did who only existed for like a week. the body that contained her chose to be there and i guess had no family who cared. Shuichi is crying over a shadow on the wall. a bottle of air. they're just ghosts you can project onto, and, so...it's just a lot of emptiness. i dunno.

whereas v3 being a class in the Nice AU, that makes it work a little better for me.

all this to say i stick to the minor things that Summer Camp gives the v3 cast, like:

Kokichi is scaled back to be just an annoying kid, more akin to his JP characterization,

Kork's stopped killing for the time being at HPA so as not to bring suspicion on himself,

Byakuya knows about President Kirumi and is funding her side business,

Tsumugi is pretty much completely normal - there's not a single hint that she's up to something in UTDP/Summer Camp except a short convo with Monokuma you can interpret 1000 ways,

etc etc

to answer your question, then, v3 didn't change my mind on too many of the characters - only showed me what they were all about. and yet much of it felt so Empty to me. because i played Summer Camp first, more to me is said in Summer Camp about a lot of v3 characters than in most of v3.

[saintship]

Omg ur story liability is amazing!! i'm so sad more people don't write Graves as a sweet southern gentleman (who cares if he's a traitor 😭🙏) so I would love to see a part 2 just to read more of your great characterization of him!! 💕

Thank you so much! Also so fucking true

Yes he betrayed everyone yes he would refuse to let you open your own car door 🫢🫢

I’m also thinking of doing like a small town oneshot once my requests are cleared out 🤭🤭

White flags waving

Graves x fem!reader pt. 2/2

Read pt. 1

Warnings: maybe ooc graves, harassment, healthy communication, graves is sweet, mature content but no secs

Going abruptly from living from shadow to shadow by the skin of their teeth to an upscale event that recognized their branch of military was something no one on the task force was prepared for. Being a private company, it wasn’t as though there was any media or presidents to stick badges on their chest, but Price was told it was an effort to familiarize with other special ops units they could be seeing in the field.

Weeks before the scheduled banquet, half the team was already complaining. Mornings in the common area of their current safehouse were more bicker-ey than usual.

The sun cast beams of light into the living room and across the island counter, where Ghost stood preparing the coffee machine.

“This is ridiculous. They want us to reveal ourselves to whoever these people are voluntarily?”

“They’re like us, Ghost. It’s an event for private companies.”

“You have to admit it’s a perfect plan for an ambush, Gaz.” Spider scored the peel of an orange with a short knife, pushing at the edges.

“Why’s it gotta be like that?” Soap interjected. “Can we not pretend to be normal members of society for one night?”

“You sound like my friends from high school.” Spider threw away the peel, starting on the slices that she’d separated.

“It’s seven in the mornin’ and you’re arguing?” Graves emerged from the hall, eyes bleary with sleep. Spider’s breath nearly hitched at the sight of his uneven bed head, and she ducked her head to focus on her fruit.

“Well, what do you think? Trap or no trap?” Soap questioned.

“No trap. Price ain’t stupid.”

Seemingly beckoned by his name, the captain eased the front door open to return inside. Spider spotted him toss out the end of his cigar.

“Did you—go outside to smoke? Do you finally care about our lungs?” She placed a hand to her chest, her tone flared with drama.

“Needed a break from you lot.” He grumbled, taking a mug offered by Ghost with a nod.

“Where’s Ale?” Spider wondered aloud.

“Shower. That damn music was driving me crazy; s’why I came down here.”

“Ella Fitzgerald is a master of sound!”

Alejandro’s exclamation sounded from down the hall.

“I guess he’s done.” Gaz murmured.

“You don’t like Ella Fitzgerald?” Spider looked at Graves as if he’d socked Price in the jaw. “Do you have brain damage?”

“It would be fine if it wasn’t so loud!”

“Are you a librarian by night or something?” Ghost teased.

“That’s messed up. If you have a secret identity you need to tell me.” Spider finished off her orange, walking over to the hall, but was thrown off by Graves using the hand the others couldn’t see to take her hand for less than a moment before letting it slip past. The others continuing to bicker, she glanced back to see him already watching her, letting the moment linger before returning his eyes to the group with a smile playing in his eyes.

Spider blinked, scolding her rapid heartbeat. She had things to do.

The afternoon’s busy work was mostly inefficient as the team mainly gossiped about the night ahead of them. Everyone was on edge, or planning to drink themselves asleep, or planning to not say a word.

“How are a bunch of special ops agents supposed to small talk? It’s going to be awkward.” Gaz leaned back in his computer chair, looking over at Spider desperately.

“Just create a new identity; that’s what I do at parties.” Spider murmured while still writing something down.

“You’re a piece a’ work, webs.” Graves seemed to be almost talking to himself, grumbling into the folder he held in front of him.

“How has the world not taken the southern out of you yet?” Spider pointed to Graves with her pen. Graves remained stoic, but his eyes shined with amusement.

“That would take a miracle, honey.”

“Alright..” Spider tossed a discarded crumpled file at his head, which he promptly caught, grinning.

Price took it upon himself to go into the nearest town to gather nicer clothes than the ones they’d been recycling for the past months. Spider insisted on going with him, lecturing the man in the car that you most certainly could not tell how a dress fits just by looking at it.

They split up in the mall, Price giving her half of the cash he brought and wandering off to gather tuxes for the boys. Spider found a suitable store, and then a few different dresses. When the first one was zipped, a thought of sending a picture of the dress to Graves floated through her mind. Looking at the dress again; a deep blue high neck with the cutoff just at the knee and a healthy showing of back, she decided to get some photos of each before sending anything.

The next dress was more conforming, a comfortable black fabric that ended at her mid-thigh and thin straps. Then a red flowing piece with lace sleeves running the length of her arms and two shallow slits on either thigh. She photographed them all, hovering over the send button to graves after typing the caption “can’t decide!”

Exhaling quickly, she sent it, quickly tossing her phone on the pile of her clothes and silently panicking. What if his phone was facing up and someone saw? What if they told Price? Shit, shit-

Her phone pinged softly. Spider rushed to see his name light up her phone.

“I’m not a fashion expert, but the blue is nice. Classy.”

Nice. Nice, nice, nice..was that good? Spider’s thumbs hovered over the keyboard before typing.

“I’ll take what i can get

thanks cowboy”

She nearly deleted the ‘cowboy’, but couldn’t resist.

A text from Price telling her to hurry up prompted her to return the black and red dresses to their homes and buy the blue, along with short heels and a few makeup products, then walk back out to the car feeling lighter than air.

Spider made sure to beeline for the bathroom as soon as she returned, nervous for Graves’ reaction to her following his advice. She showered, taking the opportunity to shave her legs and use a scented body wash. It had been a while since she’d showered outside of necessity.

She blowdried and combed her hair, throwing it into a low ponytail to get the dress on with no hair in her eyes. The dress felt different than it did in the dressing room, as expected, but still looked professionally sexy in her mind. After a bout of eye and lip makeup, she put her hair up in a more deliberate updo, pulling a few strands to frame her face. She pulled on the heels, the height low enough to not put her in pain and high enough to add an inch or two of personal confidence. Breathing deeply, she dared to ease the bathroom door open. No one in the hall. She nearly ran to the bedroom she’d slept in to retrieve her clutch, grateful to carry around a semi-classy wallet casually.

She finally made her way out to the living room, a whistle catching her attention. Soap stood adjusting his bow tie, grinning at her blank stare.

“Shut up, Johnny.”

“Dinnae say anything!”

“Mhm.” A smile made its way onto her lips, easing the anxiety rattling around in her ribcage. Ghost and Gaz sat on the couch talking, Gaz in a black dress shirt and grey tie and ghost in a wine-red dress shirt with a dark blazer. The others trickled in slowly, Alejandro performing a short spin that prompted much hollering and whistling.

Finally, Graves emerged from the hall, adorning a crisp white dress shirt, black blazer, and-

“Your tie is blue.” Spider blurted. Not interrupting anyone’s conversation, but catching Graves’ attention.

“Well thank the man upstairs. Didn’t know if you’d go through with it.” He smiled easily, making his way over to her.

“Well, you have good taste.” Spider conceded.

A comfortable pause lingered between them before Graves spoke.

“You look beautiful.”

Spider pushed down the fluttering in her abdomen.

“Thank you. You look very nice, with your suit and..” Spider trailed off when she realized what she was about to say, Graves tilting his head.

“And what, darling?”

Jesus. “And—when you..smile. You-you look nice when you smile.” She managed. His poise seemed to falter a bit, as he fixed his cuff links and shifted his weight.

“Well—thank you.” He murmured. Spider smiled.

“Don’t mention it.”

Please mention it.

“Alright, you lot, time to go!” Price clapped his hands together, everyone filing out and into the car.

The city rolled past, Spider gazing out the window at the skyscrapers and neon signs. The tinted windows hid the true brightness of it all; proven when they stepped out and the dazzling signs all around them became apparent. The venue was on the fourth floor of the building, Price leading everyone to the elevator. It turned out to be much too small to fit all of them at once, and Spider spoke without thinking.

“We can get the one after this.”

Graves, stood next to her, looked over in surprise but didn’t object.

“Meet you there.” Price nodded. As the doors closed, Spider heard Gaz whispering to Soap,

“Are they matching?”

A hush fell over the two soldiers.

“Feels weird. Being out in the open again.” Spider confessed. Graves nodded, sighing in thought.

“You play civilian well enough, though.” He offered.

“Thanks—I think.” Spider returned.

“Listen, I think we should- talk about what happened. At least talk about it.” Graves spoke ever so softly, glancing around him, but Spider’s eyes still widened.

“Not here. Anywhere but here..” She murmured. The doors opened, Spider pulling Graves in unceremoniously. When the doors closed, she spoke again.

“I meant what I said in the med wing. And I like you.”

Graves rocked on his heels. “Straight to the point.”

“I pride myself on it.”

Another silence.

“This won’t work.”

Graves looked over, blinking. “What are you talkin’ about?”

“Our jobs, Graves. It doesn’t work.”

“Who said we gotta parade it around? For all they know, we’re close friends.”

It was true in a way—everyone knew Spider and Graves had become a sort of dynamic since that close call at the warehouse. It was chalked up within the team to be a scare that brought the two together, and if anyone had suspicions of their attraction, they didn’t voice them.

“The rest of the team isn’t what’s dangerous. It’s everyone we’ve ever crossed, and everyone we’ll ever piss off. And I try to hide it, I really fucking do, Graves..” Spider gestured to herself stiffly, her voice wavering. “But they’ll know. They’ll know and- and they’ll use it.”

Graves let a deep breath go through his nose, searching her eyes with his for a moment. He stepped forward, hand just extending to rest by her jaw, when the doors opened, and Spider quickly maneuvered his hand to his side to link his arm with hers and step forward.

“Nice save.” Graves murmured.

The banquet was all gold and high ceilings, rows of food and alcohol running the edges of the room while tables dotted the centre. Swarms of people stood in groups, nursing their drinks and seeming to be unable to relax their shoulders. They found the rest of the team at a table, still keeping to themselves.

“Are the other kids too scary?” Spider chided.

“Very funny.” Ghost muttered.

“Well, personally, I’d love to meet some fresh faces. I’ll be at the bar.” Spider gently removed her arm from Graves’, looking over her shoulder to see him lean forward on the back of Soap’s chair. He’d pushed up his sleeves so his forearms and watch were on display—she shook herself out of the observation.

“Could I get a Negroni, please?” Spider situated herself into a barstool, swiveling back and forth absentmindedly as she studied the people around her. She was surprised to see quite a few attempts of advancements between soldiers—she assumed no one had the nerve. It was just flirting, she conceded.

“One Negroni.” The bartender slid the amber drink over the counter. “Wanna start a tab?”

“Yes, pl-"

“Put it on mine.”

A voice over her shoulder nearly had her flinch—she turned to see a tux-clad man, handsome, but somehow Spider could tell he was arrogant. He had an air to him that said he assumed the best outcome for him would happen naturally.

“How you doin’?” He greeted her, but didn’t meet her eyes, pulling a carton of cigarettes his blazer pocket.

“I’m alright.” Spider sipped her drink as he lit one and took a drag, shifting her weight uncomfortably.

“You with anyone tonight?” He rested on an elbow, leaning into her space.

“Task force 141.” Spider replied shortly.

“Right.. any one of them gotten a piece a’ you?”

Spider didn’t reply.

He grinned with the teeth of a chainsmoker, scoffing.

“What, you never been hit on before? Give me a shot, honey.”

“Are you serious?” Spider’s slight raise in volume made the man finally back up, raising his cigarette to his lips again. “Either find a better pickup artist to model after or never talk to a woman again, alright?”

Suddenly, he grabbed her forearm, yanking it forward to blow the tobacco smoke into her eyes.

“Get off!” She twisted out of his grip, coughing.

“There a problem here, buddy?”

Spider glanced up after sliding out of her stool, seeing Graves appear from the crowd. He stepped forward to size up the man, who got out of his own stool to face him. He lifted the cigarette again, only for Graves to snatch and toss it.

“Yeah, that’s enough of that. I hope you’re listening cause’ I don’t repeat myself. You ever talk to her, or anyone for that matter, like that again, I’m gonna show you the difference—between military..and me.”

Despite Spider’s attraction to Graves’ assertiveness in the moment, the embarrassment won, driving her to speed walk to the bathroom. She felt his footsteps follow her, and he closer the door behind them. Spider faced away, her face in her hands.

“Did he hurt you? Let me-"

“No—no, I’m not hurt, Graves.” Spider’s cheeks burned with shame. She was not helpless. She was not helpless.

“Come on, now, what’s goin’ on?” Graves’ hands were partially extended out to her, and Spider vaguely noticed he’d loosened his tie.

“I just,” Spider sighed deeply, resting her hip against one of the sinks. Graves mirrored her, close but not touching.

“That kind of thing happened to me before I was in the military, and I thought—I don’t know..” Spider looked away, frustrated. “I thought it would be different because I’m different. I’m stronger, smarter.”

Graves nodded, looking to her with those bedroom eyes that nearly erased her rant from her mind.

“And then the fact you helped me, I was so angry at myself for not being able to just handle it; I’m a grown woman.”

Graves moved to stand in front of her, cautiously taking her hand and running a thumb along it when Spider let him.

“I knew you could handle it. You always handle it.” He murmured. “I did what I did out of instinct. I can’t let people like that get away with that shit, but more than than I can’t just watch when it happens to you.”

Spider shook ever head ever so slightly. “How are you this way with me and then when you’re working you just—you just seem so angry?”

Graves inhaled and blinked as if he’d been wounded. “I uh.. I’m not sure. Maybe you poisoned me.” He said it with faux seriousness, raising his eyebrows and pressing his lips into a line.

Spider hummed. “Figured you’d find out somehow.”

A smile pulled at Graves’ features. “I’m glad you bought the blue.” He took the side of her waist in one hand, pulling her into him, while the other traveled up her spine to rest near her neck. The action send pinpricks of electricity all over, and she didn’t care that it was childish.

Suddenly, Spider’s brow furrowed. “Hey, how did Price know to get you the blue?”

Graves looked away for a moment. “When you sent me those photos I uh, I asked him to.”

Spider grinned.

“Shut up.” He grumbled.

“Shut me up yourself.” Spider looped her arms over his shoulders, running her nails through the hair at the back of his head. His eyes fluttered closed when she scratched at his scalp before regaining himself.

“Jesus, baby..” he breathed.

“Kiss me. Please.” Spider returned his words with the same whisper.

“Happy to.”

He leaned down, moving the hand on her waist to hold her jaw and run the pad of his thumb over her cheek. Spider leaned eagerly into him, a soft noise escaping her throat involuntarily.

“I’ve wanted,” she spoke between kisses. “To do this—a long time before the med wing..”

Graves pressed one last long kiss to her lips before pausing. “That right?”

His voice was a low gravel, warming Spider’s body in places she wouldn’t admit.

“I’d watch you work. Drove me crazy.” Spider admitted, earning a grin.

“How cruel of me. And I consider myself polite..” his hands wandered, palming her chest gingerly, exploring the soft flesh of her thighs, hiking the blue fabric higher. Spider took the action as a sign to move her hands down further. She felt his toned stomach through the soft dress shirt, pulling him in to kiss him while she ran her hands up his sides. He sighed into her mouth, and when her nails returned to his scalp with more fire than before, a low groan practically reverberated down her throat. Graves pressed her into the sink gently, deepening the kiss with the hunger shared only between glances before tonight.

Spider broke away to take in his eyes, pupils blown wide, along with his mussed, pale grey hair.

“You’re so gorgeous..”

Graves huffed a laugh. “What?”

“You heard me.” She reached further still, daring to brush her hand along the inside of his thigh. “You make me crazy.”

“Fuck, honey..” he breathed erratically, his hips jerking forward at the sensation. “You tryna’ kill me?”

“I’m a medic, Graves.” Spider breathed. “I make you feel better.”

fin.

[grailfinders]

Grailfinders #313: Percival

today on Grailfinders we’re finally getting back into the swing of things with one of the guys who actually found the grail, Percival de Galles. He’s an Oath of the Crown Paladin because of course he is, but he’s also a Hexblade Warlock to get a little bit eviler thanks to his holy spear. I don’t trust those pointy bastards after singularity six I don’t care how many good deeds this one’s done.

his build breakdown’s below the cut, his character sheet’s over here.

next up: Tamamo’s not

Race and Background

Percy’s background gets a little funky in the lostbelt, but for our purposes we’re summoning the og Percival, who’s just a normal man. Just an innocent Human. that gives him +1 in two stats like Wisdom and Charisma, as well as a boost to Animal Handling and the feat Heavy Armor Master, reducing all incoming physical damage by 3 points per hit while wearing heavy armor. look at that man’s tits, I 100% believe they could stop arrows.

Other Percival is of course a Knight of the Order, giving him proficiency with Persuasion and Religion. man literally watched a guy get raptured, I’d take his word over a priests’ at this point.

Ability Scores

Percival’s highest score should be in Charisma. look at him. look at that beautiful boy. do you really think he could do you wrong? and that’s how he gets ya. after that is Constitution. shielding others with your body is all fine and dandy, but I’m sure you’d like to survive doing so, right? third is Strength- it’s weird we’re saving your main attacking stat for third, but you’re fighting to protect others more than doing big damage. don’t worry, the damage will come. fourth is Wisdom, you need to be a little discerning to live in a faerie world, after all. that means your Intelligence isn’t too great- he’s got a head for strategy for sure, but I don’t think schools were fantastic in faerie Britain or sixth century england. finally, dump Dexterity. you mostly wear heavy armor anyway, and we had to give you some kind of weakness. that’s also why the lance of longinus is an actual lance in this build. a spear would be easier, but we’re already making a paladin/warlock build, let’s not push things too far or the DMs might get antsy.

Class Levels

1. Paladin 1: if we’re gonna have that heavy armor, we’ve gotta start off in the heavy armor class. as a paladin, you get proficiency in Wisdom, Charisma, Athletics, Insight, and not a billion things at once! yaaayy!

you also get a Divine Sense, letting you know the location of nearby celestials, fiends, and undead a couple of times per day. that’s probably why obebe doesn’t stick around too long in Londinium, huh? you can also lay on hands as an action, healing peeps and curing dizeeps. or poisons. you get 5x your level hp per day, and you can spend 5 points to heal a poison or disease.

2. paladin 2: at level two you get your Dueling Fighting Style for an extra two points of damage with a one-handed weapon. unlike most weapons, the lance doesn’t get weaker when you wield it one-handed. that being said I guess you can pick the Great Weapon Fighting style if you expect to be off your horse more often than not but why would you ever do that? that’s why we’re giving you the horse in the first place! in the future.

you can also cast Spells now, using your charisma to prepare and power them. I like Protection from Evil and Good on account of it protecting you from fae, very important stuff, but since you can swap out your spells every day, it’s not a huge issue. it’ll give your extraplanar enemies disadvantage on attacks and give you immunity to their charms, frightens, and possessions. you also get command and compelled duel for free! the latter’s kind of redundant, but you can only challenge stuff once a short rest, so it’s cool.

if you’d rather go on the offensive, you can use your spell slots to power a Divine Smite instead, dealing radiant damage alongside your usual stabbing. get it now before wotc rolls out their “we’re ruining everything” patch!

3. Paladin 3: at level three you can finally swear your life to your king, becoming a paladin of the Crown. as a crownadin, you can channel divinity in two ways, either issuing a Champion Challenge to everyone nearby, keeping them from moving too far away from you if they fail a wisdom save until you are knocked out, dead, or more than 30’ away from them. you can also Turn the Tide as a bonus action, giving every bloodied creature within 30’ of you whom you choose a little bit of extra hp.

speaking of health, your Divine Health makes you immune to disease, so have fun never having to worry about covid. god I wish that was me. you can also Harness Divine Power once per day, spending your channel divinity to regain a spell slot. your CD recharges on short rests, so having that extra spell or smite can be really useful!

4. paladin 4: at level four you get an ability score improvement, so bomp up that strength to really huck that spear around. right now its just a regular lil dinky lance, but don’t worry. ï̵̳͍̺͛t̵̡̪͎̹͊̏̚'̴̤͍̞̿s̷̫̥̀̔ ̸̥͔̟̘̺̾̌̐͋̋c̵̨͎͚̬̏̋̈́́̄ͅo̵̺̞̾̆m̵̬̹̮̓̾ͅì̸̧͈͚̬̾̅n̵̨͕̰̅̂͋͗̿͜g̶̮̹̪͋́͊͊

5. paladin 5: fifth level paladins can make an extra attack each action for two attacks at a time! you can also shield an ally with warding bond to take half their damage for them, or you can fairy out the truth with zone of truth. you can also find steed now, so bam. horse. mission complete. you can also turn your lance into a magic weapon if u really wanna, but we’ll get something more permanent later.

6. paladin 6: sixth level paladins can make an aura of protection around them, adding their charisma modifier to all saves you and your buddies make as long as you’re conscious. it’s kinda like charisma, in a way. I mean it’s literally your charisma, but we’re referring to the FGO skill here.

7. Paladin 7: a seventh level crown paladin can use their Divine Allegiance as a reaction to take all the damage a nearby ally would instead. if you use this with warding bond, this will actually delete half the damage an effect was supposed to do, though you can’t reduce any damage you take from this with your heavy armor.

8. Paladin 8: at eighth level you can bump up your Charisma for stronger challenges, auras, and other spells. trust me, this’ll be worth it.

9. Paladin 9: ninth level paladins don’t get anything too special innately, but your third level spells are pretty cool. Aura of Vitality lets you use your bonus action to heal a creature each turn, while Spirit Guardians lets you summon an angel to protect you. That’s not necessarily in-character, but it’s cool enough you can probably twist “protection of the grail” to justify it. you can also remove curses, create food, or even revive fallen party members with third level spells. all in all, a super useful level!

10. Paladin 10: at tenth level, you make an Aura of Courage that blocks allies from being frightened near you. though some may fake it just to shelter against you.

11. Paladin 11: our final level in paladin, level eleven gives you an Improved Divine Smite, letting you deal extra radiant damage with each attack for free. now it’s starting to look like a real sacred spear! speaking of…

12. Warlock 1: since you’re wielding a semi-sentient spear that gives you extra power, that makes you a Hexblade warlock! with this, you become a Hex Warrior, which doesn’t do too much to help you, but it does let you pick one weapon a day to use your charisma to attack instead of your strength or dexterity. obviously we intend for you to use this on your lance, but it can apply to any non-two-handed weapon. lances have the special property, not two-handed, so we’re all good!

if you really want a wolf dead, you have to hit it with a Hexblade’s Curse. with this, you can spend a bonus action to curse someone for a minute, during which you can add your proficiency bonus to attack rolls, have a doubled chance to crit, and killing the target heals you.

you also get another set of spell slots which use your charisma, but these recharge on short rests! I’d pick up Blade Ward to give yourself resistance to physical damage for a turn. it takes an action to cast, but when you’re soaking up hits for an ally, it’ll help a lot. Friends is also a great cantrip to grab, Percy just seems like a really personable guy. faeable? whatever.

for your leveled spells, Shield is always useful. an extra five AC for a whole round, plus immunity from magic missile. you can also make a Wrathful Smite as a bonus action, dealing psychic damage instead of the usual radiant and making a creature frightened of you for up to a minute if it fails a wisdom save. shield is, unfortunately, somatic, so we can’t use it too easily just yet, but we’ll get it ready in time.

13. Warlock 2: second level warlocks get Eldritch Invocations, allowing you to customize your eternal servitude to a talking stick. we’re saving one for next level as per usual, but Beast Speech will let you talk to Kuntry pretty easy. I’m like 90% sure you can talk to her in the lostbelt because she’s a faerie, but whatever!

also if your DM lets you ride your horse like you’re using your own movement, pick up Expeditious Retreat to make your ride truly magical, letting you spend a bonus action to dash instead of your main one. or even with your main one, if you truly feel the need for speed.

14. Warlock 3: at level three you take on the Pact of the Blade¸ the only pact hexblades ever seem to take for some reason. you can also take the Improved Pact Weapon invocation now, so we’ll explain the whole shebang at once. you are now able to summon a magical weapon of just about any kind to your hand as an action. it counts as a +1 weapon, though you can attune another more powerful magical spear to your pact if you want- the ritual for that takes an hour. you can also cast your spells through the weapon as though it were a focus.

you can also cast Shatter now to blow stuff up. your noble phantasm is anti-fortress, so it would feel weird not having the option to break walls.

15. Warlock 4: at level four you get another ASI so max out your Charisma for the strongest… I mean, everything really.

you also get a spell and a cantrip this level but tbh they’re not super important to the build, go with your heart.

16. Warlock 5: at level five warlocks can cast third level spells, like Tongues. speaking to everyone was a pretty jesusy sort of thing to do, and you’ve got his blood all over your spear, right? good enough reasoning tbh.

you can also Eldritch Smite now as a bonus action, adding a little force damage and knockback to your next attack by spending a warlock spell slot. now you can perform the legendary triple smite! set up a spell smite on your previous turn, then eldritch smite and regular smite on your next turn! 100% satisfaction guaranteed.

17. Warlock 6: at level six a hexblade warlock can create an Accursed Specter by killing a humanoid, turning it into a specter that follows your commands until the end of your next long rest. this ability is the sole reason we don’t go higher in hexblade that often, but everyone in LB6 is either a fae or a construct, so he might be able to do this, I guess?

yeah this is entirely because we need other stuff down the line, please ignore this level. aside from getting Intellect Fortress that’s pretty cool. it gives you resistance to psychic damage and advantage on mental saves for up to an hour. Percy’s got good magic resistance; this is a known fact.

18. Warlock 7: at seventh level you get fourth level spells, plus a new invocation. Fiendish Vigor isn’t anything too fancy, just lets you add some temporary HP to yourself for free. the real winner this level is Staggering Smite, which adds psychic damage to your lance and forces a wisdom save. on a failed save, the target has disadvantage on all attacks and checks for a turn, and it also can’t make reactions that round. perfect for getting another ally out of harm’s way.

19. Warlock 8: for your last ASI, grab the Tough feat for an extra 38 HP now, plus another two at level 20. the one real downside of this build is we couldn’t focus on constitution as much as I’d like in a tank, but this will help a lot.

your spear can also emit a Sickening Radiance, which deals radiant and exhaustion damage in a 30’ radius around a point you pick, while also preventing creatures in the area from being invisible. just don’t get too close to the spear while you’re doing this, and- oh, you have to hold the thing to use it? that’s rough.

20. Warlock 9: ninth level warlocks get fifth level spells, and if Rhongominiad can make a Wall of Light so can Longinus. we also finally get your invincibility skill thanks to Tomb of Levistus. Once a short rest as a reaction to taking damage you can seal yourself in ice, giving yourself 90 temporary HP to block the hit. Until your next turn you have a vulnerability to fire damage, can’t move, and are incapacitated, so this will drop your challenge. Still, living to fight another day usually trumps keeping an enemy who almost killed you around. all these effects end when the ice melts at the end of your next turn.

sure it’s not literal invincibility, but that’s almost a whole wizard’s worth of body armor you can pull out at will!

Pros and Cons

Pros:

having a maxed out charisma stat plus a champion’s challenge makes you great at locking enemies in place, forcing them to focus on you instead of your squishier party members. you’ve also got tons of ways to reduce the inevitable damage from doing so, with heavy armor master dulling any physical hits and your huge save bonuses keeping you from getting too hurt by magic.

when it’s time to attack, you can hit hard, with three smites in a single attack and a doubled chance to crit from your hexblade’s curse giving you some serious firepower against the big boss. if you can manage to get advantage, that gives your attack whopping 1 in 5 chances at critting.

Normally paladins only really have physical and radiant damage to work with, rendering them pretty useless against anything that resists the latter. thanks to your little dip into eternal servitude, your damage variety is a lot more well-rounded, making it easier to hit whatever you’re fighting.

Cons:

lances are bad. if your DM’s fine with the multiclassing here just stick to a spear- having disadvantage on anything within 5’ of you sucks.

Tomb of Levistus is a powerful survival tool, but it eats up one of your turns and breaks a lot of your spells and effects. if you were already having trouble surviving against something you challenged, I doubt your party will be thrill that you let it loose while you chill for a bit.

you have a slim margin for error. you don’t have a ton of spell slots to use, and your best features only work once per short rest, so if you play sub-optimally you can seriously waste a lot of your potential. no pressure, I’m sure you’ll do great against the infinite Morgan army.

[anonymousj3ster]

Chapter 6- Liars

Running. Running through the maze, puddles splashing under my scuffed-up sneakers as I sprint through the cornmaze, a rough voice screaming after me-

"JAX!" A voice snaps, startling me out of my sleep. I jerk up, sweat soaking me as I shake off the final wisps of my nightmare.

"WHAT?" I yell through the door at whoever was bothering me, laying back down on my bed.

"POMNI'S BEING A FREAK!" The voice screams back. Now that sleep had stopped muddling my thoughts, I recognized it as Zooble.

"WHO CARES?" I snap back, burying my face in my pillow.

"JUST TRY TO SNAP SOME SENSE INTO HER!" The jumble of pieces retorts. I hear the soft thudclick of them walking away. I lay still for a moment, before curiosity wins out and I slowly drag the blanket off myself, rubbing my eyes and trudging out of my room. As I walk to the stage area, I cast a look at Dollface's room. The silence coming from it was a bit unnerving, since I knew the ragdoll was lying in there, glitching. I stare at the door, considering checking on her-

No. No. That was the jester's job, not mine. I force my feet to step forward, away from the door, toward where I guessed the jester would be. The first thing I noticed was Zooble and Gangle, staring at the jester with mixed emotions. Zooble with disgust, concern and fear, Gangle with just concern.

The next thing I notice is the jester. My smirk slips off my face as I stare at her. Her hat had slipped off at some point, revealing soft brown, fluffy-looking hair, with some strands sticking up like porcupine quills. The second thing I noticed was the murderboard. It was a huge board that I couldn't even fathom where the hell she had gotten it from, with scraps of paper pinned onto it and red string zigzagging across the brown corkboard, linking random scraps together. The jester giggled like a maniac as she scrambled from one side of the board to another, adjusting papers and tapping the board at a rapid pace.

"The fuck-" I start to swear under my breath, fully baffled. The fool's head snaps around to face me, and I feel myself flinch as her spinning pinwheel eyes zero in on me. Her eyes still for a moment as she lunges toward me.

"JAX!" She blurts, grabbing my arm with her normal hand, and attempting to do the same with her glitched one. I just barely manage to bat her arm away at the last second.

"The hell is wrong with you?" I snap, only to have her talk over me.

"I'm so glad your here!" She says, dragging me over to the board.

"You are?" Me, Gangle, and Zooble both blurt incredulously.

"Wow...I guess she really has gone crazy." I hear Crybaby whisper softly to the triangle head.

Pomni stand in front of the board, still clinging to my arm. "Look! Look at this!" She blabs excitedly, waving an arm at the board. "What does it show you?"

I eye the board nervously. It was just surprisingly well-drawn pictures of the exit door, along with a few drawing of other parts of the circus scattered here and there.

"All I've learned from this is that you are freakishly strong when you're insane." I mutter, trying and failing to pry my arm from her grip. The unhinged jester glares at me.

"No! Just-just look." she pleads, pointing to a picture. "I first saw the exit here-" She points at a picture of the stage "-here-" Her finger swivels to a drawing of the exit door on the lawn outside the circus "-and here." Her finger lands on a final drawing of some random place in the circus. "What do these all have in common?!" She asks, staring at me with her spinning pinwheel eyes.

"Absolutely nothing." I deadpan.

"EXACTLY!!!!" The jester shouted in my face. "It's like lightning, it only appears in a place once!" Her left eye twitches. "And just like lighting, it causes me pain whenever I get near it!" She starts giggling maniacally, before breaking out into a full-fledged cackle, shaking violently. I eye her nervously, before breaking out laughing.

"Wait, give me a second." I wheeze, doubling over. "So let me get this straight- the mini jester thinks there's a solution to our fate?"

"Jax, don't be an ass." Zooble mutters from behind me, where they and Gangle had be watching us. They turn to the cackling fool, with something that almost seemed like pity on their face. "Pomni, we told you, there is no-" I cut the triangle head off.

"Wait wait, lets hear her out. Got nothin here but time." I lean down and turn my attention back to Pomni, putting my hands on my knees and softening my voice as though I were speaking to a child. "So clue us in on what with save us here, we miss a sign?" I simper condescendingly. The jester's eyes stop spinning and shrink a little, glaring at me.

"I know what I sa-"

"Shut up."

My voice comes out colder than I meant it to, making even Zooble freeze. To my shock, I see those red and blue eyes start to fill with tears.

"What, are you crying 'cause your stuck here? Need to go confide in Ragatha?" I bark a bitter laugh, sauntering away, grabbing Gangle's happy mask and dropping it on the floor on my way. I snicker a little at the sound of the girl's squeal and porcelain breaking. "Good luck with that to ya!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I stare at the ceiling, at the soft lulling blue. I was starting to hate it. Hate this room, hate the glitching, hate the pain, hate having to lie in bed all day, hate being useless-

No. No. I couldn't think like that. I had to be positive. Stay positive. Look happy. Smile even though nobody was around to see me. I snap out of my thoughts, hearing muffled voices on the other side of the door to my room.

"...Help her..."

"...Sure? Maybe....hard on her..."

Despite hearing them, I still jump a little when they knock on my door.

"W-w-who is i-t-t?" I call, hating the way my voice cracked and glitched. The door opens, Zooble sticking their head in my room.

"Um. Pomni's...being Pomni. You deal with her." They say curtly, shoving the jester into my room. She immediately whirls around, trying to grab the door just as Zooble slams it shut.

"Hey! I was busy!" She snaps. There's a scraping sound outside the door, followed by a soft thud. Pomni tries to open the door, but it only opens a few inches. Had they put a chair or something under the knob? The jester sighs and turns to me. "Hi Ragatha." She mumbles, crossing her arms.

I don't answer, too busy staring at her. I feel a soft blush creep over my face. Her hair...it just looked so soft and cute, sticking up in places, all messy from being under her hat all the time. I kind of wanted to run my hands through it...

I manage to snap out of my spiraling thoughts as Pomni starts to pace back and forth across the room, getting more and more anxious and distressed with each step.

"I know you guys don't believe me when I talk about the exit, that you think i'm insane or-or that it was all just a digital hallucination or something, but I know what I saw. I know what I experienced. I know it's out there somewhere, and I-I-" She stops abruptly, a hand reaching up and tearing through her soft hair anxiously.

I watch her, feeling guilty about not being able to help the girl. I mean, that was my job: To help people. What good was I if I stayed glitched, stayed broken-

The jester's eyes widen slightly in apparent bafflement, patting the top of her head. "Wheres my hat?" She says, confused. "I....thought we couldn't take our clothes off." She automatically reaches for the glove on her glitched hand to see if it would come off, flinching when the two hands make contact. She scowls at the glitched mess, before leaning down and experimentally tugging on one of her shoes, which comes off easily.

"Huh." She muttered, putting it back on, her hand returning to her head. "It feels like...is it all sticking up?" She asked, sounding slightly exasperated. I managed a jerky nod, before trying to raise a hand to point. "T-the-re's a m-mirror o-ove-e-er there-e-e." I stammer. The jester gives me a sympathetic look, before going over to the mirror. She runs her hand through it, trying to flatten out the parts that were sticking up with no success. She lets out a low groan of frustration. "I look like an idiot...I don't even know where my hat is..."

I feel my face heat up, and for once I'm glad my whole body is all glitchy. "I think y-you lo-o-ok c-" I catch myself at the last moment. "-Nice."

Pomni looks at me, pinwheel eyes widening slightly. "Uh, thanks." I smile as the jester slowly walks over and sits on the bed.

"Um. Thanks. For...letting me stay in your room." She mumbles. I refrain from pointing out she had been forced into my room, instead going with "Anytime Pomni."

We sit in comfortable silence for long minutes, the jester glancing around the room, occasionally running her fingers through her soft brown hair.

"Your room...doesn't look how I expected it to. I never really noticed what it looked like until right now, really." The fool breaks the silence after a while. I nod understandingly. Everyone who came into my room was a bit surprised. Instead of the bright pinks and flowery decor they expected, there was simply dull shades of blue and simple decor, a vase here, abstract painting there. Honestly, I normally loved the colors and scarce decoration. It was soothing, in a way. But after being stuck here staring at it for so long...I was starting to despise it.

"It's nice though." The jester adds after a beat. "It smells nice in here too. Like flowers, and fresh baked cookies." She glances at me, making my face heat up even more. God, what was wrong with me?

"Uh, I nor-m-mally bak-k-ke in here a lo-ot." I mumble, nodding at an oven stuffed in a corner of the room. Pomni nods absently, eyes boring into me with concern.

"Ragatha...are you...ok?" She tries softly, before rephrasing her words. "I mean, as ok as...As much as you seem?" I tense, caught off guard.

Could she see through me that easily? Could she tell how not ok I was, how-

{INFORMATION REDACTED}

"Yeah Pom-n-n-ni, I'm fine! Or at least, as I fi-i-i-ine as I can be, being all g-g-glitchy." I reassure quickly with a smile. Pomni returns it, not looking convinced. "A-are y-you? Did you c-calm down eno-ough?" I ask. Are you done looking for the exit?

The smile widens. "...Yeah, I think so." She hesitates, pupils shrinking a little. "But...can I stay in here a while anyways?"

"O-of c-c-course."

The two liars sit together in silence and guilt, lost in their own little worlds sitting 12 inches apart.

[threadsun]

The bell above the restaurant’s door rings as Joseph holds it open for you, the wonderful smell of freshly baked bread and something sweet surrounding you as you walk in. It’s a quaint little restaurant, more the size of a café than anything. A few booths and tables are scattered about in an area off to the side from the main counter, above which are prices for various frozen treats, and below are display cases for baked goods

Behind the counter is a very… normal-looking man. You don’t mean that as an insult it’s just the best way you can describe him at first glance, besides being ginger “Hey, Berry, someone sick or something? You usually don’t run the counter” The man behind the counter, who you now know as Berry, just shrugs “I thought I’d take Mariah’s shift, something told me today would be rather interesting. Who’s this?” As he looks at you you can feel the hair on the back of your neck stand up, you swear you’ve heard his voice before

“Oh, right, Berry this is the founder’s child” The way his eyes widen almost looks practiced “Really? Well, welcome to Laurent’s Place. Would you like some froyo? I’ve actually been working on a new flavor just for you” You try to decline his offer as politely as you can, saying you’d prefer something warm. Berry pouts at this “Oh, well maybe next time. As for warm foods, I’m afraid Jean’s still in his cast after the scene at the funeral. I’ll talk to Rory about making something, I’m sure he wouldn't mind if it's for you” You could swear his smile got a bit wider when he talked about whatever incident left one of the chefs in a cast, but you shake it off, there’s no way, right?

Berry exits through a door to what you can only assume would be a kitchen as Joseph walks you to one of the empty tables “...So, I know you haven’t been here long, but do you like what you’ve seen so far? The town, I mean, you know I wasn’t talking about me or anything, just, um, yeah” Poor guy, you can tell he’s nervous, his blush starting to spread to his ears at his clunky attempt at small talk

You give him a reassuring smile and say everything you’ve seen so far has been great, the people too. His smile is so wide, it’s like he just can’t contain how happy he is. He looks away bashfully and you notice just how small he looks like this, just how cute he is burying as much of his face as he can in the hand he’s propped up on the table. You didn’t have long to admire his blush, his face paling as he saw Berry bringing you food over

“Here you are! Hope you like them” Berry sets a stack of pancakes on the table, made exactly how you like them. It’s almost scary how perfect they look, and taste you find out as you take an experimental bite. You thank Berry and give your compliments to the chef “Of course, I’ll let him know” Berry turns to leave before Joseph stops him “Actually, I know you’re busy today but their car broke down and I was hoping you’d help haul their stuff to the founder’s house, or, old house, I guess”

Berry’s eyes light up at this “Of course, anything for the child of prophecy. I’ll get on that right now” Joseph stands up a bit too quickly “I’ll come too! I mean, you know, cuz I know where their car is” You only now realize how pale Jo’s face gets while talking to Berry, how tense he seems. You tell the two that you’ll need a minute to finish your food “Oh, don’t worry, we can handle it just fine. You just relax here while we go move your things, we won’t look into anything, promise” The way Berry says it is almost sarcastic, like he’s just waiting for you to call him out on it. You just nod and thank them for the help

Berry sticks his head in the back and yells something before leaving with Joseph to move your things for you…to move your things for you. Wait, why the fuck would you ever agree to that? This is nuts, you don’t fucking know these people why do you just keep saying yes to them??? Because they’re hot. Yeah, ok, what’s a good reason you keep saying yes? … Yeah, that’s what you thought. God damn it, at least the pancakes are good, a bit salty but it’s a welcome addition to be sure

Everything just keeps happening, it’s a little hard to keep up. Most of your day has been on the road in your own little world, only stopping once or twice for gas and bathroom breaks. While this all sounded new and existing on paper it’s a little terrifying in practice, you’re already getting a little homesick, though the pancakes do taste like the ones your mom made for you. Yeah, your mom’s awesome, you wish there was just one familiar face around here. As you’re about halfway done with your stack the front door rings

What do you mean you read it aloud to your partner? that’s nuts, you’re nuts, I love you, fuck! I hope you enjoyed this second part just as much or even more than the last, and I hope you have a wonderful day :D

I READ THIS ONE ALOUD TO THEM TOO they literally stopped in the middle of their work to listen to it and now we're both screaming!!!! It's soooooooo good, your writing is so good and your ideas are so good and I'm losing my mind I want to know every single thought that goes through your brain about this AU it's fucking incredible!!!!

Also god you did such an amazing job of balancing Barry being an absolute freak and terrible with the founder's kid being suspicious but not immediately picking up on all of it :3c Also Joseph is so cuteeeeee I'm losing my mind he's adorable and I wanna wreck him soooooo bad!!!!

[watori-fics]

Yuma's Laundry Lessons

Characters / Pairing: YumaOsa (Kuga Yuma | Mikumo Osamu) Summary: A lighthearted moment between Osamu and Yuma at the Tamakoma dorm, focusing on Yuma teaching Osamu about doing laundry. Note: Enjoy!

The late afternoon sun streamed through the windows of the Tamakoma dorm, casting a warm glow on the common area where Osamu and Yuma found themselves. After a long day of training, it was time to tackle the pile of laundry that had accumulated over the week.

Osamu stared at the washing machine, brow furrowed in concentration. “So, uh… how exactly does this thing work again?” he asked, glancing over at Yuma, who was already sorting through the clothes.

Yuma chuckled, a teasing smile spreading across his face. “You really don’t know how to do laundry, do you?” he replied, holding up a shirt. “Here, let me show you.”

With practiced ease, Yuma started sorting the clothes by color, separating whites from darks. Osamu watched closely, trying to absorb every detail. “I guess I never had to learn. My mom always took care of it,” he admitted, a hint of embarrassment creeping into his voice.

“Well, it’s about time you learned something new,” Yuma said with a playful grin. “Even if I’m the one teaching you this time.”

Osamu laughed lightly, shaking his head. “Thanks, Kuga. It’s funny how you’re the one teaching me things for a change.”

“Eh, it’s fresh seeing you not in the teacher role for once,” Yuma replied, nudging Osamu with his elbow as he tossed a handful of clothes into the washing machine. “Now, come on. Help me out here.”

As they worked side by side, Yuma guided Osamu through each step, explaining how to measure the detergent and set the correct cycle. “You want to make sure you don’t overload the machine,” he said, demonstrating with a few clothes. “Otherwise, it won’t clean properly.”

Osamu nodded, impressed. “I never realized there was so much to it. I thought it was just… throw it all in and hope for the best,” he confessed.

Yuma smirked. “You’d probably end up with a bunch of pink clothes if you did that. You don’t want to wear my color, do you?”

“Definitely not!” Osamu laughed, shaking his head. “I’ll stick with my usual boring colors, thank you very much.”

Once they had everything loaded, Yuma leaned against the machine, crossing his arms. “Now we wait for it to finish. So, what do you want to talk about?”

Osamu thought for a moment, then said, “You know, it’s kind of nice to have this time together. We usually focus on training, but it’s good to do something normal, too.”

Yuma nodded, a small smile on his face. “Yeah, I get that. It’s nice to relax and just hang out. Plus, I’m glad I could help you learn something new.”

“Thanks again, Kuga. I appreciate it,” Osamu said sincerely, looking over at Yuma with a grateful expression.

“Anytime, Osamu. Just remember, next time I need to teach you how to cook or something,” Yuma replied, a cheeky grin forming.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves!” Osamu laughed, playfully pushing Yuma’s shoulder.

As they waited for the laundry to finish, they exchanged jokes and stories, enjoying the camaraderie of their unusual but meaningful moment. It was a refreshing change of pace for both of them, strengthening the bond they shared as friends and teammates.

[captain-astors]

001 for furutui (and/or 002 for Hairu Ihei and Mahito (jjk)) if you want to? (can't see the ask post on your blog anymore so ignore this if you don't feel like it)

Oh! Yes this seems fun.

For Furutui!

when I started shipping it if I did:

I had a dream in which the two of them were out drinking and eventually started to walk back to the office, and while they were crossing a bridge Furuta, was walking up on top of the barrier like a child while they talked about life and ghouls and statistics. Eventually the conversation turned to a sort of dull, half-serious banter. "Get off the wall" "Why?" "You'll fall, idiot." "Aw, do you care?" "No, just get off it." at which point Furuta let himself tip to the side experimentally, and Koori reached out to grab his arm and pull him back. Furuta stepped down onto the normal path, then after that they walked silently and then fell asleep at the office, tangled up too closely to each other with Koori crying silently for a reason he couldn't name himself. When I woke up I decided I liked it and would stick with this.

my thoughts:

They're funny and terrible for each other. I think there should be some biting.

What makes me happy about them:

The inherent complications, nuance, dislike and attachments that come with it make this pairing a lot more intriguing for me than most others in TG for some reason. Also the potential of them both getting what they want, in the most offending way to them possible. Furuta wanted a family and a normal life, but it's a man and the children are sort of feral and adopted, and he cares about them all to some extent anyways? The toybox has caught him. Disastrous for him, delightful for me.

what makes me sad about them:

There's no content for them at all, even from before the great fandom die-out. I feed myself and pester others.

While I like their mindgames there's really just a specific window of time in which most of my contemplations must remain and not a lot of room for things to change without a decent amount of canon-altering which is not my forte.

things done in fanfic that annoy me:

I dislike Koori being portrayed as completely clueless about Furuta's weird schemes and manipulations. He allows them because they provide temporary shelter not because he thinks it's normal. Though, there's only like 3 fics for them in English so I guess beggars can't be choosers.

things I look for in fanfic:

Existing. I'm starving

who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: 

Furuta shouldn't touch anyone really, I like them together because they're both terrible for eachother in a way that most other characters don't match, but I could see either of them with some variant of Kaneki (Haise for Koori Black Reaper for Furuta). Due to an ask I really need to get around to answering I actually like imagining them all in one terrible Koori-annoying polycule of self-destructive tendencies.

my happily ever after for them: Post-Dragon, Furuta lives, heavily injured and at a mere fraction of his previous potential after the Dragon essentially siphoned all of the power Rize's Kakuhou lent him. Annoyed with the narrative loose ends Furuta is pretty much content to just wait around until he wastes away, that being until a team dealing with the dragon orphans finds him and takes him back to a hospital, not recognizing him due to just how badly he's been eaten by the Dragon. He sure gets recognized by some of the other members of the cast though after treatment and the question basically comes down to "How do we murder him", because V is still trying to protect itself and no one wants to deal with this guy. He's to frail to do much for the time so they just kind of leave him be as he's treated and come to the conclusion that he can live under extremely strict surveilance and secrecy because technically he does still have a lot of intel. Koori, as someone who knew him well to their knowledge, is charged with trying to help pry that out of him. Furuta's knowledge has to help with soothing Shikorae's rampage (who, in this narrative I imagine mainly rampages after the scent of his brother's Kakuhou, which is still in the engine of Furuta's old Quinque) and along the way Hajime, faceless but alive, gets scooped up into the same facility they're keeping Furuta at, and together Furuta and Koori have to navigate being people together as, mostly by Koori's instigation, trying to let Hajime have the "normal life" Furuta deprived him of by proxy under the assumption that his parents were dead and Hajime would be dead soon too, but surprise, you can't just sweep all of your deeds under the rug with a disappearing act. Basically the entire premise is that Furuta has to actually try to take a more constructive approach to this whole fated early death thing and clean up part of the mess of his show, and he is Not Happy but it will be good for him.

who is the big spoon/little spoon:

Usually Furuta’s the big spoon and Koori just huffs about it, but sometimes when Furuta just won’t stop talking while Koori wants to sleep, he flips around and basically shoves Furuta’s face into his chest, drawing him closer to quiet him down and then they’re just left clinging to each other like begrudgingly complicit koalas.

what is their favorite activity:

Most things that they don't have to talk through.

Ihei Hairu

How I feel about this character: 

She's very intriguing to speculate about, and I enjoy how intense she is about her motives and desires, and how obviously corrupted by her upbringing her worldview is. Just wish she was a part of a different series so she could be directly and completely compellingly well-written, but since one cannot change her source the strange thing about TG characters is that I feel the more Ishida leaves vague for them the more fun they are. So I like her a lot.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: 

Matsumae, Koori. Both of these relationships are very bisexual to me.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: 

Rize! I think it would be fun to see the two interact and be strange together.

My unpopular opinion about this character: 

Not much of a fandom left to argue against, not sure.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:

my OTP:

Matsuhei probably long-term. I like Koori and her having feelings for eachother as a past, developing event, but they really don't have the messy strangeness I enjoy other than some miscommunications, nor are they just dynamic enough to make up for it. Matsuhei on the other hand, can get strange.

I have a whole fic scenario in my head where they both survive the fight but pass out, leaving Furuta to run off and play the know-nothing cowardly part he still desires to keep without killing Matsumae completely. Ihei survives because despite being stabbed, her half-human nature manages to knit her back together enough to survive, but the this fact spreads quickly and to keep the knowledge that they're all partial ghouls from spreading, the Washuu declare she was actually a full-ghoul who infiltrated their ranks, and throw both of them into Cochlea. Her continued loyalty despite this means they're pretty confident she won't try and tell anyone the truth of her nature, even in a cell. The two of them are placed next to each other, and begin a very messy dynamic of hatred and discussions, which leads to Ihei slowly changing her unquestioning loyalty, which leads to "We have a better chance of getting out some day if we work together" which leads to strange romantic feelings eventually.

my crossover ship:

Uncertain.

a headcanon fact:

She can walk on her hands.

Mahito

How I feel about this character: 

He's interesting, I'm not actually that invested in him his design's just very fun to draw

All the people I ship romantically with this character: 

Not sure! I read a fic between him and not-Itadori-brotherified Choso once which was funny, he was so weird about it. A couple people tagged the art I did a while ago with Nanahito which sounds intriguing, Mahito is definitely too strange to hold up a lasting relationship with either of these people but I think they could be fun having on-and-off things.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: 

His dynamic with Junpei is fun to watch, I love them both.

My unpopular opinion about this character: 

Liking him at all?

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon:

I don't know, haven't kept up with JJK well enough to know if "geto" used him yet but I think that would be interesting.

my OTP:

Don't have one.

my cross over ship:

I'd like to put him in a container with all of the other messed up love-deprived murderers I like. Not romantically but to have them fight to the death and take the winner like the cricket jar thing.

a headcanon fact:

He does not have an "assigned gender" by design as a curse, but he modified the shape of his soul to give himself the top-surgery stitches because he saw them on Geto and thought they were neat. I added them reflexively in that one drawing but I will commit to the bit now.

[dominickeating-source]

TV ZONE ISSUE 132 - PAGE 48

Dominic Keating & Kira Clavell - Devilish Duo Evil has never looked so good or been this bad

Night has fallen on the city of Vancouver, British Columbia. Its docklands, normally quiet at this time, are a-buzz with activity. The cast and crew of the new Action/Fantasy television series The Immortal are settling in for a long night shoot. The sound of a car engine gets closer and a sleek, deep purple Prowler stops in front of one of the trailers. The driver, actress Kira Clavell, and a crew member exit the vehicle. Dominic Keating sticks his head out of the open trailer and playfully shakes a finger at his co-star. "Ah, ha, where have you been? We've been waiting for you," he teases. Clavell smiles, "I'm so sorry. They asked me if I wanted to test-drive the car. I couldn't say no." He laughs and says, "She just loves playing with the props. "Keating lights a cigarette and joins Clavell on the sofa inside the trailer. Both actors are wearing suitably evil black garb in preparation for their scenes later that night. On The Immortal they play a pair of centuries-old demons named Mallos (Keating) and Vashista (Clavell). Their characters are being chased through Tim by The Immortal. Raphael Cain (series leading man Lorenzo Lamas), and his young sidekick Goodwin (Steve Braun). Long ago the two evil doers wronged Cain and he is out for revenge.

Wear Well

"Mallos and Vashista are very old but they look pretty food for their age," jokes Keating. "The two began their evil escapades in ancient Japan during the 1600s. They came from the Earth's core or the Devil's conveyor belt if you will. There's this amazing scene in the pilot where the two demons and their horses are spat forth from the ground and are covered in molten lava." His co-star interjects, "That particular scene was so cool. We got to ride these great big beautiful black horses. The costumes we wore were absolutely fantastic, too. It's such a treat to have a detailed wardrobe like that because it helps get you into the mood of the times." Keating chuckles, "Yes, the costume department did do a wonderful job. However, that day I was more concerned with the fact that it would be my first time riding a horse. I did OK and was quite pleased with my saddle ability. I didn't fall off, I hit my mark and I remembered my lines." "Anyway, getting back to doing evil. Mallos and Vashista first cross paths with Raphael Cain when they kill his wife and kidnap his child. I assume they still have her in some kind of demon nursery, although she'd be fairly old by now. It's through their acts of violence that Raphael becomes The Immortal. The show flits back and forth between modern and ancient times to allow the viewers to witness this transformation. So his quest is to find his daughter and, along the way, fight evil and slay demons." "Mallos and Vashista have been at this little cat and mouse game for 400 years," continues the actor. "When you next see the two demons it's in the present. They're dressed in modern day clothes, all black, of course, carrying their cell phones and cruising the streets in their Prowler. They look like a pair of so-called 'beautiful people' from Beverly Hills or Hollywood."

Passions

According to the actors, their characters share more than just a passion for evil. "Apparently, the writers modeled the relationship between Mallos and Vashista on a real-life celebrity pair." says Keating. "So they're lovers, I guess, but there's something about their attraction to each other that's just not right, so you know what I mean?" Clavell adds, "I think they have a very volatile and unpredictable relationship. Yes, they share a strong chemistry, but you're not sure if this will cause them to make love of try to kill each other. Let's just say that it certainly keeps work interesting for me and Dominic," she laughs. Both actors had a great deal of stage, film and tv experience prior to being cast on The Immortal. London-born Keating made his professional debut on stage in 1987 at Man in the Moon theater in Chealsea. This was followed by more stage appearances in London as well as Edinburgh and Dublin. He has guest-starred on British tv series Inspector Morse and The Bill and was a series regular on Teenage Health Freak and Desmond's. Since coming across the pond, Keating has worked on a number of movies including most recently The Hollywood Sign starring Tom Berenger, Burt Reynolds,, and Rod Steiger. On tv he has had roles on GysE, Poltergeist: The Legacy and Buffy The Vampire Slayer. The actor was slated to play the part of Goodwin on The Immortal but things changed before his audition. "They decided to age it [the series] down to appeal to a younger, broader-based audience. So Steve was brought in for Goodwin and it became clear that I could play one of the two lead demons. Malice, who then became Mallie and now Mallos. I read once for Michael Grais [executive producer] and, luckily, I nailed it. I was asked back to meet Lorenzo and the rest of the production team, we talked about golf and they offered me the job."

Tough-Gal

The actor's beautiful co-star Clavell planned to major in political science and psychology at university before the acting bug bit her. "I knew if I didn't try it [acting] I would regret it, so I did," she says happily. Lately, the actress has been cast in "tough-gal" parts, which has been ideal training for her role of Vashista on The Immortal. "I played a terrorist on an episode of La Femme Nikita and got to fire an M25 and another really neat gun. I don't know, perhaps I was an assassin in a previous life." laughs Clavell. Keating nudges her playfully in the arm and smiles, "To look at her you'd think butter would melt in that mouth." Clavell elbows him back, "When it came to my first audition for Vashista, I did it on tape. The moment I read the character breakdown I knew I'd have fun playing her. I did two five-minute takes and sent the tape to the show's producers. Naturally, I was thrilled when I received a call-back. I was flown out to Vancouver to do a live audition for a roomful of people including Michael Grais and David Straiton, who directed The Immortal pilot." "I wore this Vashista-like cat suit and after my audition I went into the ladies' room to change," recalls the actress. "When I cane out everyone was gone. I thought, 'Oh, I guess they didn't like me'. I went to see my agent and, much to my surprise, was told that the producers had called and the role was mine! So here I am!"

Anti-Demon Ally

In the two-hour pilot episode 'Demons of the Night', Cain and Goodwin gain an ally, Dr. Sara Beckman (April Telek), when they save her from two demons. Cain is hurt and they go to Sara's apartment where he can rest and heal himself. The Immortal does not know that his arch-enemies, Mallos and Vashista, are close by and are planning to deal him and his friends a deadly blow - Keating and Clavell start laughing when they recall their first day working together. "Ah, yes, this is when we shot my two favorite scenes in the pilot," grins Keating. "I'd been late for the read-through on the previous Friday. Not the best way to begin but I eventually got there. Kira and I then met over the weekend for dinner and at least got to know each other a bit. On Monday morning we arrived downtown at the location shoot on Vancouver Street. It was 7:15 and freezing cold. In the first scene, our two characters blow up Sara's apartment. Mallos aims his demon finger at the apartment window and Vashista starts getting all hot and bothered. Before you know it, the have their arms and legs wrapped around each other," laughs the actor. "Boy, these two really get off doing evil stuff!" "The next scene we filmed was in a restaurant. Mallos and Vashista are feeding each other raw fish while discussing someone else's demise. Suddenly, she gets all excited and climbs up on the table. Before you know it, the sushi is on the floor along with the champagne and everything else on the table." Clavell looks at Keating and says, "She seems to be a very excitable character, don't you think?" The actor nods in agreement and continues, "The funny thing was the director said to us, 'That's great That was amazing! That was electric! It was terrific! Do you think you could tone it down a bit, though? We don't know yet what time of the day or night this show is going to air.' So we made things more G-rated." Originally, Mallos and Vashista were to appear in only the first couple of episodes. However, the writers decided to bring the evil twosome back periodically throughout the first season. This was good news for Clavell and Keating, who are looking forward to doing as much as possible with their characters. "When I first started acting I'd always be cast as the best friend or the girl next door. With Vashista and, as I said earlier, some of my other recent roles, I've gone from being really good to being really bad and I love it!" Keating is equally as pleased to be working on the series. "As an actor, sometimes it gets boring waiting around while the next shot is being set up. It's at times like that when I say to myself, 'Hey, I'm getting to create a dream world that doesn't exist and that entertains people. How lucky am I?' Trust me, that puts things right in perspective."

[devilscreekballad]

Have the first 1078 words of Mrs Meadows' POV in ch7:

---

You wake up feeling as if you had been thrown under a carriage. Which is to say slightly worse than what has become your regular morning ever since Nate's death.

This morning's additional misery, you reckon, stems partially from the past day's stress and irritating nature, and partially from spending the night in the armchair by the window, as you have left the room's beds to Miss Beauchêne and Finley. It's approximately a 30-70 split.

You stretch, slowly and deliberately, evaluating which muscles, joints or ligaments will give you the most struggle. Everything is shaping up to become another long day ahead, and if your instincts do not fool you, said day has just started.

"Are you always up this early?" someone - Miss Beauchêne you recognize after a longer moment than is reasonable- asks.

"Good morning," you respond with a trace of sourness directed rather at the pain between your shoulder blades than at the younger woman. "Yes, I am."

You push the heavy curtains aside to peer out and nod curtly. It's not long past sunrise, the town is in the process of waking up, so your instinctual assessment of the current hour has been correct.

"Granted, under normal circumstances I'd be up and about at a much earlier hour," you add, getting up and pulling hair pins from the now unruly birds nest your hair has become. On the bed Miss Beauchêne comments on the sentiment of getting up that early with a short noise of distaste and disapproval.

"Have you slept well?" you ask, as you sit down in front of the vanity mirror, ignoring that sentiment.

"I guess," Miss Beauchêne responds, sitting up from the reclining position she had been in. "It's hard to sleep after all what has happened."

You just hum in agreement, brushing out your hair. Although you recognize that Miss Beauchêne might be in the best position to understand what is commonly robbing you of a healthy sleep, you see no reason to unnecessarily involve her in your problems.

"You really didn't need to let me have the bed," Miss Beauchêne notes, as she moves to see to her own morning routine.

"Yes, I did. You needed it much more urgently, and I'm used to unorthodox sleeping places."

Miss Beauchêne gives you a quite suspicious and scrutinizing look, a trace of misplaced concern on her face.

"Fall asleep on your desk often?" she ventures, making small talk, you figure.

"More often than I would like," you humor her.

"I don't reckon overworking oneself is a healthy habit." She draws a heavy breath that gives away her next words, before a single syllable has even left her lips "Believe me, I know." "I had no intention to doubt you. But I prefer people staying out of my business."

Again Miss Beauchêne casts you a measured and measuring glance, before turning back to seeing about herself.

So do you.

It isn't until Miss Beauchêne produces a little container from her belongings that your attention is on anything but yourself.

First you only pay little attention to the object. It is reminiscent of a thumb-sized bullet cartridge and its use eludes you, until Miss Beauchêne twists the contraption's bottom, producing what looks to be a stick of beeswax out of the device, bringing it to her lips.

"That is quite an interesting thing to see," you note. Miss Beauchêne looks at you rather surprised.

"I would have thought you would know what lipstick is," she says, and you search her face for evidence of mockery. You find none.

"I do, but I was talking about the device you house it in. It is quite ingenious."

At this Miss Beauchêne's lights up into a delighted beam.

"That is too kind, ma'am. I made it myself."

"Oh?"

"Yes." There is an odd joy to be found in seeing the young woman's eyes sparkle as she breaks into an excited explanation. "I had a look into what a lipstick, or a stick of lip balm as it is in this case, could be put into to make it, well, more of a practical device. I got frustrated with the tins and jars and wax papers, it all proved to be quite impractical, a little unhygienic if one looked at it closer, and I have rather dry lips much to my dismay, so I am often in need of some sort of ointment."

"It does look a little like a bullet cartridge," you point out, and Miss Beauchêne nods.

"That's what it is. Well, originally was. What I took the inspiration from I mean. Frankford Arsenal's .45 Colt cartridges, alongside some modified glass tubes. It was quite a bit of fiddling to get the twisting mechanism to work, and since then I refined it to make it more reliable. The result is what you see here."

You arch your brows in an impressed and inquisitive arc.

"Impressive, I must say, really impressive. Patent pending, I presume."

At this Miss Beauchêne — done with applying lipbalm — closes the devise and purses her lips in dismay.

"Mrs. Meadows, with all due respect, but I believe you can guess how just [i]trying[/i] to file for a proper patent would go for people like us. For someone who happens to be a woman, and not a white one on top of that. If I'd file a patent, it's all too likely that nothing will come of it, until I am old and grey and not in any position to defend my rights, when, poof, a white man will miraculously invent the exact same device."

You roll your eyes. Not in annoyance at Miss Beauchêne, but in annoyance at a world in which these words carry far too much truth for their own good.

"And then he'd get celebrated by the press for making the lifes of those poor, feeble women so much easier with this revolutionary device," you agree, dryly and bitterly. "All while still condemning said women for using lipstick in the first place."

You both exhale tiredly and in unison.

In a strained silence the two of you finish your morning routines, and you duck behind the wooden screen nearby to change into clothes that have not been slept in.

"But, well," Miss Beauchêne picks up the hanging thread of discussion, "I still hope to live long enough to see a change for the better."

"Becoming immortal is quite an ambitious endeavour," you observe, pinning your hair up proper.