#yeah maybe it MIGHT be but there are other options can we consider those too please???

[miasudare]

THIS ONE IS IMPORTANT!

This is one of my delusional cotl theories, I worked about a few days for it so don't wait too much. It's very long, just so you know

Today, our subject is the bishops. Though in cult of the lamb wiki's story segment states a few events, no evidence and connection is shown. And considering that wiki pages are written by people, it's not a %100 correct.

Death of bishops

Ever wondered why Narinder is the only bishop you can make a follower before Mystic Sellers appearance? Or why don't the bishops end up with Narinder when they die? Let me tell you.

When we kill a bishop, they don't end in the death realm but end up with Mystic. That's why we can only get them back after being introduced to the seller. They own them.

And Narinder? He already lives in the death realm and if you notice, you don't entirely defeat him until the option segment, his life bar still having a bit of hp. You only hurt with him until he can't fight. When you choose to kill him, he then gets sent to Mystic for us to claim him later on.

Mystic's thoughts

"I recall Leshy. Prior to yourself, he was the last to bargain with me. Adept as he was, he rose quickly to the challenges of Godhood, aided by his siblings. Many were drawn to his chaotic ways."

Mystic Seller seems to observe and know everything that had gone through Leshy's godhood even moments of help from his siblings. Tho, not the first godhood.

"I am not inclined to emotion, the way your kind are. Though if I were, Heket would certainly inspire amusement. She was perhaps the most vicious of them. Wicked beast."

No matter how badly the Mystic Seller spoke of Heket's actions, they seem to find sadistic inspiration in her actions. They do not have characteristics such as emotion, but observation expands their world. Which is weird, because that's probably a look you'd wait for Leshy.

"It did not matter to Kallamar that his ears were lost, for he was never inclined to listen. Foolish though he may have seemed, he wielded the power of his Crown without discrimination."

We all know Kallamar's cowardice. But Mystic does not see this as cowardice and even interprets this fear, which has become a self-protection mechanism, as a strategy. Cause Mystic has no emotions and can't understand fear.

"Shamura and I did not barter much. In truth, they need little from me. Truly, 'twas shame what became of them."

Mystic and Shamura seem to actually talk and have a conversation unlike the other siblings Mystic talks about. And Shamura is the only bishop that Mystic sees higher, thinking that Shamura didn't need them at all.

"A toy for you. Benefactor, comrade, malignant foe... redemption or punishment, 'tis yours to confer as you see fit." Gifts you Narinder as a Follower in his exclusive Follower Form. (Without the immortal trait)

This section is important because Mystic doesn't say anything about Narinder's past. While they normally talk about an event that happened in his siblings' own lives, Narinder doesn't seem to mean much to them. They neither belittle him nor exalt him. Narinder is very unimportant to them.

Now, I'd like to think that Mystic were there. Before the whole argument, it wasn't only the 5 bishops. Mystic saw it, Mystic heard it. Maybe even lived with them. Raised them, even. Mystic Seller, is the creator of them. Yeah. I said it. God of gods. How else can you explain him just replace the very gods you killed and put them back in their purged realms? Or idk, carry the ex god of death by their little tiny winy legs? Literally posses the body of the new god??? Tho, it seems like they are not the same realms anymore as if those places were... Altered.

Shamura. Wanna talk?

Shamura is both refered to as the god of war and god of might, which are quite the opposite of each other.

War, is something that grows from misunderstandings, greed and not thinking straight, which isn't very fit for god of might. And well, that made me think... I think... The bishops didn't/was supposed to have these roles before their fight with Narinder.

"I am not what I once was. Though no longer wise, I am no fool."

Shamura is aware that they are no longer the god of might, yet something another.

So this might mean, before the betrayal, the bishops had opposite godhoods. Or were supposed to have these godhoods.

Kallamar = God of health

Heket = Goddess of abundance

Leshy = God of peace

This makes sense when you consider the people that follow them. Why would someone follow a god who just means nothing but trouble? Even in our cult, we teach people about death and after life, reassure them or teach them. We make sense.

"I introduced him to ideas of change; for my domain is knowledge, and it is ever evolving. An organic state of being for myself, but for him… most unnatural. Death cannot flow backward." -Shamura

This. That green? Yeah that one. That's when Narinder's betrayal happened. Shamura, showed Narinder that there was a way to change things, which Narinder ended up doing so. And what did he do? Death cannot flow backward, he tried to give life. Narinder, the only member in the family that probably ended up with such negative thing as being the god of death, tried to make life.

"Bonds of familial duty, turned instead to chains. Most voracious of appetites, curbed and contained. Most infectious of ideas cut off and cauterised before given chance to rot and spread. Cruel, verily. Alas, what other recourse was given? How does one kill Death? ... Alas. One cannot." -Haro

Haro also seems to confirm this. The infectious ideas said there are, or rather is, Narinder's wish to change. Narinder's idea to change his own godhood. Tho, why would the bishops be so against it?

Notice how Haro has a "fallen" crown? Haro, probably back in the day, was the owner/god of Darkwood at some point. His unused animation also looks a lot like Leshy's transformation animation.

Haro, is possibly the first god that tried to change their godhood. In return, he got punished by loosing his crown and getting expelled from his godhood. This would explain why Leshy is the youngest, because he was a replacement.

"But as millennia wore on, he grew discontent with his role. He began to question. He was gluttonous in his ambition. And in my imprudence I loved him. For it, I lost my mind. For it, he lost his freedom. Can you fathom such betrayal, Lamb?"

Shamura knew what happened to Haro. After showing Narinder that there was a way to change things, they regretted it. Shamura genuinely loved their brother, no matter if it was by blood or by creator. The idea of Narinder might end up like Haro was what made Shamura loose their mind. Killing Narinder wasn't a punishment, it was a way to protect him and the remaining ones. The betrayal Shamura say is not Narinder's hostile acts but rather the way he thinks even tho Shamura had warned him.

Now, i know. I said that Mystic knew it and saw it and blah blah. But Mystic were there after Leshy lost his eye, Heket lost her throat and until Narinder's imprisonment. We can understand this from their dialog of witnessing Leshy and Heket's godhood and them saying "It's a shame what become of them" for Shamura is their disappointment of knowing someone like Shamura have ended up like this (Explained at timeline section)

Haro what do you have to say?

"Eons agone, these lands were rife with gods and their adherents. What befell this pantheon? Alas. 'Tis the nature of beasts to forget, and of Gods to be forgotten. Mayhap they left. Mayhap they slept. Mayhap they devoured and were devoured in turn. Those few who remained spread roots, spun webs, molded this world to meet them and theirs. 'Twere a land of many Gods once. Hundreds. Now..."

(the ones below are theories I can't really prove)

1-Haro, was probably the oldest, along with Shamura, god. He might be one of Mystic's first creation.

2-Haro seems to be talking about fox. Or kinda refers to him. The fox is known for taking Ratau, eating him. So this also makes the fox, or people like the fox known and been around.

3-Hundreds of gods, he says. Currently, we only have 10 (At the bottom) So, there was a class fight.

A little thing about Narinder and the twins. Heaven and hell, does in fact exist in the cotl universe. You can see it in the ascension and sacrifice rituals. Going above and going below. Fly to heaven and dragged to hell.

Which means dead souls are being sorted. Considering the fact that Narinder is restricted to move anywhere, that job ends up with the twins. Baal, obviously with his kind and respectful attitude, works in heaven. Aym, on the other hand, is very aggressive and intimidating so works in hell.

Timeline

A hundred gods, roamed on realms. For various reasons, they died of or how I like to refer, ended up in Mystic's hands.

Mystic created Shamura, Haro, Kallamar and Narinder. Understood them, talked with them.

Allocer and Astaroth were given to Shamura then to Kallamar, to encourage them into godhood and cult culture.

Heket was created, tho wasn't crowned.

Haro lost his godhood by disobeying, altering. This lead to the creation of Leshy.

After creation of Leshy, Mystic was not there to attend and see Leshy and Heket stepping into godhood.

Shamura took care of his siblings and helped them into godhood. Tho it's questionable on how good they managed that.

Agares and Bathin was given by Shamura to Heket and Leshy, to teach them about the same culture.

Shamura introduced Narinder to idea of change. Narinder refused his role as god of death and tried to be god of life.

Shamura knew what would happen to Narinder if the crown giver, Mystic Seller, learned about this. This caused an argument, most likely because Narinder believed that Haro was judged unfairly. So, there it came "see no evil, say no evil, hear no evil, think no evil"

The siblings lost their original godhoods. "If that's my destiny, you're coming down with me" kind of stuff.

Leshy and Heket stepped into godhood by the help of Shamura and Kallamar to be able to protect themselves. (Their rapid transition to godhood explains why they were defeated more easily than Kallamar and Shamura. They are inexperienced gods. If you notice, after the battle of Heket, Kallamar's battle is actually surprisingly difficult and fast.)

Witnesses hid in respective realms.

Mystic Seller came back. Narinder was not present yet what he left behind was. He saw the other bishops. Mystic Seller knew Heket and Leshy as the gods they were know. Not as what they were supposed to be. 

"Five points to a pentagram, five portents of doom, five siblings stood abreast, five gods and one tomb..." Shamura's summarizing of the whole story. Their family and how it doomed. How the remaining bishops and Mystic had to kill Narinder and trap him in after life, the gateway being his tomb.

Shamura learned about the prophecy after a few centuries or more. That lead to the geno¢ide of sheep.

The gateway/tomb of Narinder before defeating bishops. 5 chains, gray ones belonging to bishops and golden one belonging to Mystic Seller.

A basic classification of the types of deities that we have in cotl:

Mystic Seller: Creator, above gods

Mystic Seller's guards: Deities that exist out time and space and work along Mystic Seller, above gods

Narinder: God of death

Shamura: God of war (formerly god of might)

Kallamar: God of pestilence (formerly health)

Heket: Goddess of famine (formerly abundance)

Leshy: God of chaos (formerly peace)

Aym: Disciple of Narinder, demigod (guider of sinners)

Baal: Disciple of Narinder, demigod (guider of winners)

Haro: Ex god, currently a messenger

Chemach: Eldritch Goddess, One of the oldest remaining Goddess. [She (yes Chemach is a girl) has an Eldritch crown and the crown has eyes. Just like the bishops'. This makes her a god considering her ability to turn living into power, essence and remnant to be used for something else afterwards. (relics)]

Clauneck and Kudaii: Gifted with immortality possibly by their sister, or are gods.

Midas: Golden touch asshole king

The fox: Most likely a demon/god from underworld, considering his soul deals and Haro's dialog.

Ratoo: I can't class him but considering he is living without a whole ass organ and still stays alive, he isn't mortal

Nah, it's just what I think of course also, please check my witness theory and Possession too!

If you want to add to this theory, you can by doing a reblog. I'm preparing a crown theory too, so this is kind of a part one! If this gets popular, I might make a video for it, who knows ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

[neoyi]

Sea of Stars DLC, Throes of the Watchmaker ...watched. Time for obsessive commentary. Let's do this, motherfuckers!

Okay, so, I wasn't expecting this game to do anything with Keenathan's name other than as a repeating joke, but apparently it's plot relevant to this DLC oh my GoD.

I wonder if Horloge is inside the big clock located in the Watchmaker's room? When she told us explicitly not to touch it, I just assumed it as part of her nature to be proud and protective of her work; it is a very intricate clock. But maybe it serves as a gateway to another world all along. Which brings up the question: can she travel through time and space?

I will not be using the local 3-player co-op mode because I am a hermit, but I'm vastly curious to see how this will be implemented. I assume they're going by New Super Mario Bros logic in that if anyone is pushed off-screen, they'll probably be bubblized and transported to where the other player characters are.

Circles aesthetics aren't my jam (I never particularly vibe with clowns especially; to me, they all look like gaudy Ronald McDonalds.) But they tend to go hand-in-hand with late 19th century steampunk aesthetics which IS my jam. So, yeah, I have a feeling I'm gonna be taking a lot of screencaps of this game.

GOD, YES! I was sad that the Artificer wouldn't be playable despite his adorable frog robot design really lending himself as a main party member kinda look. Then I found out via the artbook that he would be for the DLC and lo and behold, there's my cutie-patootie froggo! I love him! I can't wait to play him!

Okay, I was really curious how they were going to consider the Resh'an issue since he replaces himself with a puppet late in the game. For that matter, the Garl issue, too, since he dies in the main plot and reviving him is entirely optional (though necessary for true ending.) Would the DLC have accounted for the change or not dependent on where the story would take place? But it seems like they just solved that problem by having only Zale and Valere enter. Which is a shame, because it might mean the rest of the party members don't get to go to Horloge, including any new dialogue from them. Here's hoping we can still explore the place with the other party members after finishing the DLC's plot or something.

For that matter, will the Artificer be a playable character only in the DLC? Or will Sabotage Studio account for the change and place him as a permanent seventh team member?

What, exactly, is Horloge that it can change the rules that forces Zale and Valere to acquire new skills to accommodate their Solar and Lunar magic? Perhaps this land truly is another world that their entire magic system ended up altered because it wasn't compatible with this world. That or someone very powerful (the Puppeteer?) can command such a rule that even the freakin' Solstice Warriors cannot overcome it so easily.

Hey, Pif and Pouf, you two are giving me major Zorn and Thorn vibes. You two start speaking in weird sentence structures and I'mma gonna break out the hammer.

I cannot elaborate how fucking cool looking Zale and Valere's clones, the Feral Queen and Narcis King looks.

And it goes without saying how much the Puppeteer looks like the Watchmaker. I'm guessing either a sibling or an alternate version of herself. Safer bet is on the latter if Sabotage Studio games is really leaning on the multiverse thing. The DLC IS called "Throes of the Watchmaker", which means there must be some involvement of her beyond a gatekeeper of a Clock Circus World or something. Like I have read the canon info that she is the Shopkeeper's ancestor, so could this DLC connect those specific dots?

Yes, it's a meme. Yes, it's kind of old and tiring. No, I do not care, I want to see a train getting suplex'd.

[highfantasy-soul]

I think a fundamental misunderstanding of morality is so prevalent in Star Wars discourse and I wish more people would think in complex nuance rather than 'this side is right and if you listen to a single thing the OTHER side says, then you're falling to evilness'.

I don't think Osha listening to Qimir's side of the story and understanding it is 'her seeing she's like this evil person, and so deciding she might as well be evil too!'.

I don't see Qimir as evil. I don't see the jedi as good. So where are we when we analyze character choices?

Fighting for freedom and choice is not inherently evil (see: The Rebel Alliance). You have to dig deeper than 'I don't like the Jedi code' when determining if that person rejecting a super high-control cult is doing so to harm others or simply seek freedom for themselves or the galaxy.

Is it possible to fight against the Jedi for evil reasons? Yeah (see: Palpatine). But that's not the ONLY option.

It feeds into this idea that once you 'identify' the 'good guys' in a situation, you need to back them uncritically and to listen at all to those you're 'identified' as the 'bad guys' means you're falling to corruption and evilness. That's just...a terrible way to 1) engage with media, and 2) engage with the world.

You could have been wrong when you identified the 'good guys'. But if you never listen to the things the 'other' side says, if you dehumanize them to the point where even when they're making valid points, you shut them down simply because 'well, you're the bad guy, so it's physically impossible for you to have any 'right' things to say at all', you stagnate as a person/group and corruption thrives in your ranks and the conflict between you and 'the bad guys' will never end. Not to mention, you miss out on a lot of good philosophy when we're talking about media analysis.

It's about actually looking at what people are saying and doing critically, with as little bias as possible, that will help you make your way to 'the truth' of the matter. If you've decided you're going to put on rose-colored glasses when you look at all the decisions made by 'the good guys' and piss-colored glasses for all actions taken by 'the bad guys', then you're going to miss the actual path forward.

Sometimes, NO ONE is 'the good guy' and sometimes, NO ONE is 'the evil guy'. What we CAN do is look at everything, the effects of their actions, their philosophies, and analyze it dispassionately to try to glean some lessons from it. After all, this is a fake world filled with fake people - acknowledging Qimir might have some valid criticisms of the Jedi order isn't putting a dictator in charge of your real-life country. This isn't a life or death situation here, so maybe take a breath and realize it's ok to sympathize and understand characters in fiction who might have done things we consider to be bad.

But it's also correct to say that the way we conceptualize morality in media CAN impact how we interact with our real world. That's why I think it's so important to expose people to the idea that there isn't a clear 'good side' and clear 'bad side' you can neatly separate all people into in a safe environment such as storytelling. You cannot separate real people into 'orcs' or 'hobbits' in the real world and I think a lot of people with their purity politics are forgetting that. Is it easier to dehumanize those who do things that harm others? Yeah. Is that good storytelling to make a clear and irredeemable enemy? It can be! But it's not the ONLY way to tell a story.

Seriously, look into some more 'lit fic' stories and you'll see that the common 'good vs evil' storytelling of fantasy/fantasy adjacent genres isn't the only way to write a compelling and meaningful story. Everyone can have good traits, everyone can have bad traits, and some traits can flip flop depending on the situation. Most importantly, identifying with the antagonist and certain traits they posses DOES NOT MAKE YOU A BAD PERSON!!!!

I guess the tl;dr of this is that it's ok to not be able to identify the 'good guys' or the 'bad guys' - it's ok to look at the characters and say 'boy, this is messy' and leave your moral judgement at that. There's no law that says you have to correctly identify the perfect people in fiction and if you get it wrong, you're punished somehow. Release yourself of that expectation and I think you'll find engaging with media a much more rewarding and eye-opening experience that can help you learn things about yourself and others that you can take into the real world in a non-combative manner.

Black vs White morality is not the only dynamic available in media and it's time we reminded ourselves of that, especially when looking at Star Wars.

[candy8448]

Nothing like opening my eyes to a new linked universe update

Dawn pt8

My occasional source of dopamine XD

Its very satisfying seeing how all the traveling layers are put on. You can really imagine this scene animated

So a lot of important things were discussed, stuff the fandom have noticed before but its good that jojo finally mentioned them herself:

Shadow is the only this associated with the portals (pg1)

I LOVE how so many traits and experiences of the characters are shown here!!

Wild taking the blame first, he's got one heck a guilt complex (pg2)

We are just hit with everyone's emotions right off the bat and i love that!

I kinda like how blunt Time is

Wars talking about how "helping the wound isn't an option," things they must consider during war (pg3)

Legend trying to lighten the mood again like he always does (pg4)

I like to see how what they think of wolfie has changed now that they know it was twilight. Wars thinking its fine if the animal goes off alone cuz it doesnt understand but now making it clear that he doesn't like it

Secrets are getting in the way (such as wolfie) and hindering their process. Maybe it wouldn't have been so clunky if tgey knew exactly who wolfie is

WARS' SCARF IS BACK BABY! I got so excited when i saw it that page, dont worry guys, he has it back now!

Legend with his puzzle mind :))) my legend-centric brain is happy (pg5)

But his teasing almost boastfullness ("it just got lucky") but then turning in to actual contemplation, i love that he is also taking things seriously

Its actively seeking them out, Hyrule is wary that it will find them, like in his adventure (pg6)

They need to get better at teamwork

Four bringing in the joke about friendly fire. He definetly knows a lot about that (im reading the four swords manga for the first time and am near the begining sooo)

They need to use their arsenal

I just gotta say that i love this shot, very pleasing to my eye for some reason. But im so excited to see how everything goes with this! Im guessing in the near future, they will be taking these but to the extreme that it hinders them so they need to practice or something

Oof poor hyrule so tired of strong monsters, his games were HARD (pg7)

The power up on the sword! Ive seen a post about it before so its cool that they are noticing it, very important too!

I like the firmness with sky and time's ideas of the sword. Even though time says nothing about her we can see it, and the fact that she still sees him as her master (obviously!) It seems like they both need to sort out this dissagreement in order to not impact them even more (Pg8)

I love this especially because i just made a fic about exploring sky's and others' relationship with the master sword

I can't help but think that sky is thinking about more than just this quest in this update and back to his own adventure and maybe ghirahim. More bits in this update also make me think that ("he wants to fight" "yeah, 'cause he wont")

Wind being the one most eagre to fight! And Hyrule being the one most ready to go! I love that!

I was just thinking a few bays ago about what happened to those letters, i guess we get to see now! It seems like it might be one more update before we set off properly again (pg9)

Sky looking so happy about the mail at the end :)))

We really do get a piece of everyone and their personalities in this one

Im so excited for them to be on the road again!

[masterqwertster]

"I didn't believe in magic until I met you" but it's about Callowmoore

Fantasy 3: I didn't believe in magic until I met you Genre Prompt

Fearne is a little bit In Love with Ashton. Maybe.

And it's new, and it's different, but so are a lot of things she's seen and experienced since leaving Ligament Manor for Exandria.

What being a little bit In Love seems to mean is that Fearne is interested in helping Ashton do anything that will make them happy (but maybe no more big, life-changing things without checking in with a third person anymore). She wants other people to see how beautiful and wonderful Ashton is, and to tear apart the people who tore him down in the first place. Fearne wants to steal from them and be stolen from in turn. She wants to collect things that are special to both of them (wants to stuff him in her pocket on occasion, he's so precious. Maybe a little Polymorph would help him fit?) And Fearne is very interested in trapping Ashton in her bedroom and making them fall apart in pleasure.

She's certainly given that last one some extra consideration every time someone else has propositioned her lately.

Because the thing is, Ashton's great, but Fearne's not going to ignore her options for them. She doesn't think he'd want her to ignore her options for him. After all, Ashton flirts around too, and maybe they're a bit of a hypocrite, but not about this, she thinks.

So no, Fearne's not exclusive (she can't imagine ever only loving one single person), and being a little In Love just makes her consider offers a little harder, makes her want to throw in little Ashton-shaped addendums.

Like if Chet invited her for another night of sexcapdes, Fearne's not saying no. But, she might invite Ashton to join them. To see what they look like draped with tan and white furs, to watch them come undone under Chetney's masterful, sexy little hands. That could be really fun.

And if Braius gets over his little "spoken for" hang up, Fearne would like to go down on him. She's pretty sure Ashton would like to ride that bull too, with the way they keep telling Braius he's pretty. It could be fun to have those strong, solid hands pulling on two sets of horns, to clack hooves together and against stone. Fearne thinks Braius could help her paint a very pretty picture out of Ashton.

So yeah, Fearne's a little bit In Love with Ashton, maybe, but she's got a lot of love to share. More than can be given to one person, even if they're a paradox titan.

Honestly, this is not as honed in on the quote/prompt as I'd like, but I read "I didn't believe in magic until I met you" as either for a sort-of Urban Fantasy setting, which doesn't work with Fearne and Ashton as they are both magical entities. Or, it's a The One tilted romance line where one singular character brings a big wonderful change to the life/world of another with their love, which... is not at all how Callomoore reads to me. But I figure it's about time I tried writing a little Callomoore, seeing as it's got indisputable canon action now, so here we are.

[pukanavis]

Ryui Shiramitsu SSR Card Story 「Amidst The Pandemonium」 Track 2

Location: Arataka Amulet Store

Momiji: (...I know he told me to do whatever I want but I didn’t think it’d be this hard. I feel like I’ll prick myself if I’m not careful…)

Ryui: …

Momiji: (I’m not sure if I should ask him a question while he’s trying to focus.)

(Speaking of, Ryui-kun has the technique down perfectly. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt if I just asked him for some tips…)

[Option 1]: Ask him directly.

Momiji: Um, do you have any tips? Ryui: Huh? Why’re you asking. Momiji: I was just admiring your work…I thought you might be able to give me some pointers? Ryui: Pointers? There’s not much to it. We’re not on a time crunch or anything so all I’d recommend is to take it slow. Oh, and don’t panic and knock everything over.

[Option 2]: Try to copy his technique.

Momiji: (Now that I pay closer attention, I can see that he’s holding the elastic between his middle finger and his ring finger.) (Oh, I get it! When you hold it like that it straightens out the end and makes it easier to slide the beads on…!) Ryui: You’re trying to mimic my technique, huh? Not bad. There’s no better hack than just copying what someone else does.

Momiji: Y-Yeah, I’ll try that!

(I was going to attempt to copy Ryui-kun’s technique but it’s pretty hard to get the hang of…)

Ryui: Listen, I’d be out of business if a beginner like you could do a better job than me. It’s basically a given that you're gonna struggle.

Momiji: Urgh, you’re seeing right through me…

(To be fair, chances are that I’m not going to do well on my first try at something…alright, I’m gonna power forward.)

Ryui: Just leave it there when you're done. 

Momiji: You’ve already finished yours…!?

Ryui: ‘Course I have, I’ve racked up way more experience than you.

Momiji: (He was so quick with his hands. The design is stunning too..!)

(He might be harsh with his words but it’s amazing how skilled he is at this type of thing.)

I only have a little bit left to go on mine…!

Ryui: …

Momiji: I-It’s done…!

(It looks like it’s seen better days though…)

Ryui: I mean, you did pretty alright all things considered.

Momiji: You mean it…!?

Ryui: But– you’ve got some improving to do before anything of yours can go up for sale.

Momiji: Yeah, you’re right…

Ryui: Alright, that’s a wrap. I’m firing you now so go ahead and head home.

Momiji: Gotcha! Thanks!

Ryui: …And take this.

Momiji: Aren’t these those luxury raisin cookie sandwiches from Hotel Akura…!?

Ryui: Toi wanted to try them so I picked some up on my way back.

Momiji: Oh, so you want me to give these to Toi for you?

Ryu: Huh? It’s pretty fuckin’ obvious that I’m gonna give them to him! You think I’m giving you a free ticket to see how happy Toi’s gonna be when he gets these?

Momiji: ? Then why’d you give them to me…?

(...Oh, waitーHe didn’t exactly make it easy to understand but did he…get some for me too!?)

Ryui: …That’s your payment for helping out today.

Momiji: Thanks, I appreciate it.

Ryui: Mhm.

Momiji: (Maybe he really is a kind person at heart–just with some bad social skills, that is.)

Momiji: (Let’s see…the next member of the Night Squad that I’ll need to have a word with should be Ryui-kun.)

(I’m guessing I'll be able to find him at Arataka? I’ll stop by and pop my head in.)

Momiji: (Oh, Toi-kun is here too.)

Toi: Ani-sama, thanks a bunch for those raisin cookies! They tasted amazing!

Ryui: That's great to hear. I’m just glad I got to see you smile.

Toi: I’ve been wanting to try out that store for ages but they were always sold out.

Ryui: If you like them then I’ll go back and get you as many as you want.

Toi: Yay! Thank you! Next time you go, I want to come with you so that we can try them together.

Momiji: (Those two are always so sweet to each other…Hey—isn’t that the bracelet I made?)

Toi: Oh, is this amulet a new product you’re selling? You picked a pretty eye-catching spot to display it…

Ryui: Ahh, that's just a little custom-made thing.

Toi: It’s a little different from what you usually make but it has a nice style to it!

Momiji: (Despite his criticisms of my bracelet, he displayed it in the front of the store…is this another show of Ryui-kun's kindness, I wonder?)

Back

[shoshiwrites]

Orange sunsets for Jo & Egan? 💚

Friend, this prompt would not exist without you and your Gale senses, @mercurygray's military vehicle expertise, and @junojelli, because I have never driven stick in my entire life, much less a 1940s jeep. Prompt list here.

Bucky Egan/War correspondent OC, also on Ao3!

Somewhere between writing up her latest story and the blue censor’s slashes that render it half as long, she runs out of typewriter ribbon.

She thought she’d been careful — both in the writing and in the paying close attention to her supplies. Jo — reporter Jo, Your Trusty Correspondent Jo, she figures out her own shit. Doesn’t ask for even so much as a pencil. 

She’d thought it was a good piece, too. 

The things she does have to ask about — meals, jeep rides up to Norwich to report on the bombing runs there, woven through with conversations with the civil defense men, almost all of them veterans of the last war — those are careful things, done in uniform and with something in her voice that approximates flattery. Apologies without apologizing. It’s a relief when a Red Cross girl or two offers to go with her, the way they can talk without minding themselves.

Longhand’ll be fine, for a bit.

It’s warm enough to sit outside, in the grass, in the shadow of a Nissen hut. Overcast, as usual, an early summer day. The air smells like pollen, half like the promise of rain. 

“Hey, I know we’re short a few things up here but I think a chair might not be too big an ask.”

She squints up at him in the brightness from behind the clouds. “Major.”

“Seriously, you need a chair?”

“I’m alright, thank you.” It’s not the mud of spring anymore, at least. “Ground’s nice, on a day like this.”

The look that crosses his face seems to be considering a joke. “Where’s the machine?” He means her typewriter, the Underwood portable. Sitting inside.

She makes a noncommittal wave. 

“I’m sure we could figure you one of those too,” he says, even though they both know full well that hot commodities like typewriters aren’t just growing out in the grass. “Sticky keys? Bad spring? Screw loose? Space bar not doing its job? I mean, I’d still read it, but-”

“Nah, just the ribbon.”

“You need a ribbon?”

God, he’s worse than the boys at the office. She laughs, just a little. “Has anyone ever told you you’d make a great copyboy?”

If he were chewing gum right now, it’d be a lazy clack on his back teeth. “Well, not too different than what they’ve got me doing now, if I’m honest.”

“If you’re honest.”

“Jeep’s right there,” he says, even though it’s not. “I mean-”

She weighs her options. Jeep ride. Typewriter ribbon. Maybe even one for Kay or to squirrel away for later. She wonders about ration books and cigarettes, not that she bothers much with anything besides Luckies these days. Small bars of wartime soap, small, pretty tins of hard candy, boiled sweets, they call them here.

On the other hand. No ride. No ribbon. No sweets. The air’s gotten thicker as she’s been sitting here. It sounds nice — careening through the greenery with the wind on her arms. 

And he’d talk the whole time, she knows he will. 

“What’s your afternoon look like?”

“Wide open.”

She highly suspects it’s not. 

“Just the ribbon,” she says.

“Yes, ma’am.”

She’s glad she’s wearing trousers in the passenger seat, the open vehicle, the way she has to hold on to stay in. He’s used to the thing by now, he says, the way it handles, the good noises, the bad ones, the bite of the clutch. The road to Norwich is a straight line, and long, and he shouts over the wind, “oldest Roman road around! ‘S what I heard, at least.”

“And here we are, driving on it!” 

“Yeah!”

The fields run by, the rows of trees, wagons, the Queen Anne’s lace, cow parsley, clusters of daisies. 

“So, what’re you working on?”

She tells him, out here where it feels like they’re the only ones around, in the middle of the afternoon, even if they’re not. And he knows, of course, exactly what she’s talking about, the major who drinks among locals, the ones who tell stories and the ones who don’t. 

He waits outside while she makes her purchase, and then ducks into another store to buy that tin of candy, slipped into her pocket. A magazine too, a small, short thing printed on rough paper. She ought to get him something, for the favor. A beer or a meal would be the real thing, if this wasn’t just an errand. 

They walk back around the corner to where the jeep is parked, and he makes to toss her the keys. “Spin for the lady?”

She looks at him, unable to hide the confusion on her face. 

Even if they let her have a jeep, she couldn’t drive it.

“Would if I could,” she says. “Though I hate to make you take the wheel all the way back, too.”

“Hey, it’s fine, I like this thing. But seriously, you never-?”

She looks at him, maybe a little too long, trying to figure out who he thinks she is. “City girls don’t get a lot of lessons in motoring.” Like it’s 1922 and she’s got a parasol and a skirt that doesn’t let her move. Steelworkers who drink away good wages don’t usually go for nice cars, either. William’s family had cars, plural. The two of them went for drives sometimes, out to the quieter, greener spots around the city. She always felt like she was going to do something wrong, smudge something that had just been polished or cleaned.

“Why don’t you hop in, I’ll show you.”

She looks at him again. “I’m sure the last thing anyone needs is an accident that puts a major out of commission.” And she’s pretty sure her on a ship home would be a welcome relief for at least as many people as she can count on her hands.

He makes a noise of dismissal, good-humored. Kind of a snort. “You’ll be fine.”

“You can tell that to the MPs.”

“Hey, would I tell you that if I didn’t think it was true?”

No, you wouldn’t.

“If I can park a plane, you can drive a jeep.”

She gets in the driver’s seat.

“So right here’s the steering wheel-”

She’s quick enough to bite it back. You know I got to England all by myself, right?

He sees the look on her face, puts his hand up. “Just covering all the bases, Brandt.”

“Steering wheel, roger.”

“Steering wheel-” he points, “shifter. This thing-” he points to the long handle protruding from the dashboard, “parking brake. Don’t worry about that one yet.”

He reaches an arm over, down to the well where her legs are. “Left is the clutch. That’s important. Right foot’s the brake. Also important. Long pedal’s the gas, you guessed it, important, if you wanna get back to base before chow or there’s someone chasin’ you.”

“Who’s chasing me?”

“I don’t know, somebody.” 

“I’ll think something up.”

“You’re the writer, right? Now, you’re gonna start this baby up.” He hands her the keys, fingertips brushing her palm. "First turn that ignition, press the starter-” she does as she’s told, “and give it a little gas.”

It starts, mercifully, with a noise that he doesn’t wince at. “Now, if you wanna go faster than a farm wagon you’re gonna need to switch to second. But, can’t do that without gettin’ to first first.”

She’s fairly certain every window along the lane has someone looking at them, but she can’t worry about that right now. 

“So, shifter’s in neutral, keep your foot on that brake- and the clutch, yep- just like dancin’-” he sees her face, “ok, maybe harder than dancin’, unless it’s a fast song playin’-” The clasp of her watch digs into her wrist against the wheel. “Doin’ great- now, I shoulda had you look at these before we started so I’ll just tell you- you’re gonna push down good on that clutch pedal, take the shifter, like this-” 

She does, rewarded by an ungodly metallic noise and a corresponding smell. Her stomach wobbles. Nothing about his manner changes, except a handwave to get the smell away from his nose. This must be what’s he’s like up there. She’s surprised there hasn’t been a baseball metaphor yet. “You’re fine, just didn’t press hard enough is all. Need to get you some good boots like mine-”

She tries again, and the whole vehicle seems to take a cue from her stomach. “I hope you didn’t have anywhere you needed to be this afternoon.”

“Nope.” It’s clear she doesn’t quite believe that. A beat passes. “...you let me worry about that. Now-”

She reaches for the shifter again, just as he does the same, the tiniest spark of static. How, in this weather? If she didn’t know any better, she’d swear she heard something in his throat. “So I’ll handle this part now, you just focus on the clutch.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll tell you when.”

She nods, tries to look decisive about it.

“Alright- right- now-”

It bites, just like he said it would. 

“BEAUTIFUL!”

It’s almost a laugh, the breath that escape her.

“Now, we’ll try second.”

She doesn’t get too excited, because it stalls out again. But she gets it going out of neutral, to first. He looks proud.

And second gear- the second time- it works.

“Hey, see, you’ve got this!”

“I think steering might also come in handy.”

“You may be right.”

She’s not very graceful about it, but she doesn’t land them in a ditch as she slowly maneuvers onto the main road. “I think you ought to take us back if you want to get there before dark.”

He looks like he’s thinking about it. “Ah, alright. But this ain’t over.”

“Part two?”

“Third gear. On the strip. When we get back.”

“You’re crazy.”

“Kind of a requirement.”

She gets it back down from second, stops it, hands him the keys. She’s shivering a little, back in the passenger seat, from the nerves, energy. He looks over at her and smiles. “Passed part one.”

“How do I stack up?”

“Well, Buck still has me drivin’ him around so, I’d say you’re the top of the class.”

She laughs, from relief, from the fact that it’s still not raining, from the fact that she’s forgotten the typewriter ribbon in the little box in her pocket, from his smile.

“I expect you to keep this thing running while I’m up there,” he says.

She wants to laugh, but the unspoken if hangs heavy, like clouds pregnant with rain. 

“I don’t think that’s allowed,” she says. 

He glances over at her, East Anglia passing them on both sides once again. “Well, I’ll get you permission.”

It’s not even your jeep, she wants to say. It puckers on her tongue, like the cherry-flavored sweets in her other pocket. None of this belongs to us.

By the time they make it back to Thorpe Abbotts, the sky has miraculously cleared, soft and blue, the other side of the afternoon.

“Now, we can just call this practice,” he says. “For the gear shifts.”

Gamely she gets in the driver’s seat again, bolstered by his confidence.

Another stall, again, this time from first to second, but she handles it. No one’s ever accused me of having a bad memory. Quite the opposite, sometimes. 

The sensation of it runs through her arms, her legs. Something new, something she’d learned, something that might actually serve her, and not just what lipsticks to wear and how to dress for the season. Something he’d shared with her.

“I’m glad we’re not in Pittsburgh,” she says. “All the hills.”

“Hey, you’d handle them too. You’re a pro now. More practice than some of us got.” She’s a little afraid of what this looks like, although it’s not like discipline’s been the letter of the day at Thorpe Abbotts. Hardly something she’d write home about, aside from the swagger, the boldness. It meant something to her, though. Professionalism. William never thinks about any of it, she’s sure. “How about trying that third gear?”

“I hope whatever you’re missing right now isn’t too important.”

“Thought I told you to let me worry about that.”

“After dinner,” she says, unsure if she means it.

The next voice belonging to neither of them, low and a little amused, approaching. “Thought we’d have to send out a search party.”

“Just taking Josephine here for a little spin. Driving lesson.”

She shoots him a look. “An errand. I ran out of ribbon.”

“How was it?” Gale still looks faintly amused. “The lesson.”

“I told her if I can park a plane, she can drive a jeep.”

“Your ability to park a plane is questionable at best.” He smiles, just a little, before his expression is measured again. “John, Huglin wants to see you.” He can’t say what about in front of her, obviously. Jo hopes it isn’t about this. Something about what she knows of the colonel might tell her it’s not. Still, she feels guilty.

He leans over conspiratorially. “Jo, I won’t mind too much if you run him over.”

“Nice thing to say about your best friend,” Gale says.

“You’d be walking everywhere if it weren’t for me. Jeeps, bikes-”

“Sure, sure.”

“I’ll let you bring this back where you got it,” she says. “Better than me taking an hour to do the same.”

“After dinner, though?” Her mouth twitches a little. 

“Come on, you’ll be thankin’ me one day.”

“He likes to say that,” says Gale.

If the sky stays clear, it’ll be beautiful. Clear blue until late, and then pink, orange, lemon yellow. Red streaks like the sweets in her pocket, dusted with powdered sugar.

How many sunsets like that could you hope for?

“Alright,” she says. “Keep the keys ready.”

[sailorblossoms-snowbaz]

what if baz had pulled his shit together in fifth year and launched a surprise kiss or a confession of undying love on simon? how do you think simon would have reacted? please write another gorgeous 10k on this

I have actually wondered this, but never got far because I would think "Baz would never do that" and call it a day. I mean, the guy is rolling around with Simon, worrying about whether he can convert someone with "so much saliva" because Simon would just not get his tongue out of Baz's mouth, and he's still reluctant to open up (emotionally, not his mouth, clearly that's not an issue). He's like "Perhaps I'll kiss Simon before dying, since I'm dying anyway" and he's still not kissing him! he's like "I'm going to do it... right now... totally going to do it" and it's Simon beating him to the punch. He's like someone standing in front of a pool, contemplating jumping in, but he's just not jumping until he's literally pushed.

First of all, we can't even begin to define what Simon would do without first defining what Baz is doing.

In fact, I'm considering as I think about how to answer this... Baz notes Simon is taking his cues from him after sex (he was also taking cues during sex, and actually he goes on to do so in most aspects of their relationship) but hasn't Simon always been taking cues from Baz? I think this can tie into his lack of autonomy, his lack of understanding of his feelings, and his familiarity with hostility. He understands anger. It might be the one feeling he understands the most. So when he meets Baz, he's like "this guy hates me?? well I guess I'm gonna hate him too >:c" "he's DISGUSTED by me?? well, I think he's a creep who only has two (2) emotions! >:c") (yeah, I imagine him making that face). If something changes on Baz's end, and he externalizes it and/or communicates it to Simon (as opposed to just thinking it while giving away nothing), Simon would continue to take his cues from him as well.

However, to have Baz in 5th year, or to know that it's even an option to not see him as a villain, would probably have been too much for Simon, Too confusing. Too destabilizing. If such feelings are already too much for his 18-year-old self, what chance does 15-year-old Simon, at the height of his angsty teenage dumbasery, have? (to be clear, I don't think he's a dumbass for not understanding his feelings, or that he's one in general, I think he's a dumbass for telling everyone who would listen that Baz is a vampire. Like, what did he think it was going to happen to Baz, if he was believed? Fucking nothing, because he wasn't using his brain). (Also: part of the reason it drives me insane when people don't get Simon wasn't into Agatha is that I think Simon not being in love or attracted to her is actually crucial to explain why they get together. As in, not having those feelings [among other things] is precisely why he dated her – not feeling those things made it all feel deceptively “manageable,” even if that created other problems. His feelings for Baz are too much for him, too intense and overwhelming, hence why he's regularly losing his shit around him [unable to leave him alone] even before he identifies them.)

On the other hand... does Simon actually grow, mentally and emotionally, between 5th and 8th year? Or does he stall in a particular place until he's forced out of it, kicking and screaming, his growth only made possible once he "gets off the map" with the events of CO? I wonder this because, well. Maybe the reaction of 15-year-old Simon wouldn't be too different from how he reacts at 18. When we meet him, he's still on the same type of “delusional bullshit” he would have been at the ages he was in some of the memories he shares. He's still clinging on to the thoughts and feelings of his 11-year-old self when he should know better. Maybe it's just not possible for him to grow at all, while he still lives under the structure that allows him to not process things and to just do what he's told, until he's pretty much forced out of the structure.

And this takes us back to Baz. A confession from him would certainly murder Simon's structure. But how does Baz say it? how does he show himself? Is he vulnerable? Is he in pain? Is he letting Simon in? I mean, when Simon catches him in the catacombs, Baz gets on the offensive. He's confrontational, he's not being "clear enough" in what he's communicating to Simon, so Simon doesn't know how to react. And when Simon is lost, he defaults to the familiarity of anger. But had Baz been clear in "I'm thinking of my mom and feeling like a monster and sad and suicidal" Simon would have completely changed his tune. In some ways, it does get to some part of Simon that Baz is sad in very concerning ways, even if he doesn't get anything else, which is why he's unable to go back to the catacombs. It's why he keeps hearing that song...

Those very same elements appear again in the forest scene, and how does Simon respond? He kisses him. And when Simon kisses him, it's impossible not to realize he wants him. When he's touching him before this, it's impossible to not keep looking for way to touch him again...

I think, if Baz is ever telling him for the first time, it's a very painful and vulnerable thing. That's exactly what it is, in canon. Simon is breaking up with him and Baz, heartbroken and feeling like it doesn't matter, says "I love you." He adds something that's absolutely devastating for Simon ("I'm the first thing you ever gave up on") and leaves. If Baz is saying it in 5th year, I can perhaps picture it like that. I can't picture a Baz who is "pulling it together and giving Simon a love confession" because that's a different person and it makes the question pointless – under no circumstances is Baz pulling his shit together to just say it, he fears too much, he's too committed to "protect himself," even at his own expense. And again, Simon, who exists without processing, responds to what he picks up from him (or what he thinks he's picking up from him). We know how Simon responds to Baz letting his wall down and showing his pain and vulnerability. He kisses him. He shows up at his door, asking to be taken back, practically on his knees. I don't think 5th-year Baz would ever say it, but if he does, it's going to be a very painful thing that would leave Simon no choice but to feel. It would absolutely devastate him. Simon's exact reaction depends heavily on what's happening, but in general: he would be confused. It would likely affect his magic. He's never able to leave Baz's alone, I think he would be even less capable of leaving Baz's alone here. Like his reaction in awtwb, it might take some hours, maybe a whole day or two, and some conversations with other people for him to even get to a true reaction.

The more I think about it, the more I think "how would Simon react" isn't the right question, but how would you sustain this situation. I mean, the immediate reaction is probably just that pikachu reaction image (:O) but get him alone with Baz, and tell him he has permission to see him as anything other than an enemy, and Simon is already trying to touch him (and even before, he was trying to touch him via fighting). He goes from bumping him, to putting his hand on his shoulder, to firmly touching his back, to grabbing his hands in like... a single day. He escalates very fast. "He was just giving him magic in some of those" I mean, that just makes it gayer. Penny establishes the importance of magical compatibility between lovers and that Simon isn't a touchy person, yet here we are.

This is probably going to be a separate post, but as much as Baz is the one who figures out his feelings first, it's Simon who's climbing Baz like a tree lighting fast with practically nothing. He figures he wants Baz as he kisses him. He asks him to be his boyfriend before figuring out his feelings for Baz. He's saying he wants to and likes being boyfriends so much better than fighting, that he doesn't want to be enemies or on opposing sides at all while believing the war is still going on. I don't think Simon would respond negatively to Baz opening up to him because he literally never does. He responds negatively when Baz does the opposite as he's pulling out his thorny defenses and pushing Simon away. I don't think it would have taken long for Simon to be all over Baz (in a gay way, not in a confrontationally gay way, as he used to be during those years). I think Simon would be confused as fuck, as this would push him to ask questions about himself he wouldn't be ready for, but he's still engaging in a kissing session that lasts an entire night after thinking "I don't understand shit" isn't he? He's not ever doing that "but Baz is a villain, what if this is plot" bit when Baz is actually being vulnerable, as he would have to be to confess. I discard Simon going "Is he plotting??" about a confession, because the manner in which Baz would confess wouldn't leave room for that.

It's also important to consider whether Simon is already in a relationship with Agatha when Baz "confesses." If he is, that complicates it because even when Simon is feeling (even if he's not identifying such feelings) that he wants to break up, he doesn't want to be the one who does it. If he isn't dating her, the expectation that he should would weigh on him as well. (Worth mentioning that Simon faces dating Agatha like it's a job he has to do, and at some point it feels like a routine – you can tell in the way he forgets he's no longer dating her and immediately goes, "anyway" after remembering... one of those instances is when he's kissing Baz and he has a second where he feels bad for Agatha before remembering they're not dating anymore. Which tells you that dating her wouldn't have stoped him from kissing Baz, even if he feels bad about it). Regardless, Simon would choose Baz, because he always does (if you're thinking about Simon not going to the numpties with Baz because he just discovered he's the humdrum, I wouldn't count it. It's like in awtwb when Baz discovers the Phippa thing and literally tells a Simon who's in shambles after Smith fails to restore his magic "I'm sorry love, I know your problem is important but I'm literally incapable of focussing on anything else until I fix this" – it's the exact same thing Simon is feeling towards the end of CO). When Simon feels like he's going to lose him, he's pushed to act (WS being the exception partly because Simon feels like a burden and like Baz is with him not because he still wants him but out of duty, which changes everything). But to have them figure this out at this point would be too difficult. Too painful. (Not that not figuring it out isn’t terribly painful anyway – there’s no escaping pain here)

The thing isn't really Simon's reaction – all things considered, that might be easier to put together than what would come after, given all the external factors. The thing is the mage (and not even war, as we have established that the war doesn't stop Simon from telling Baz they don't have to fight, he just wants to be boyfriends) and perhaps Simon worrying about fulfilling expectations in ways that suffocate him, in ways he doesn't know how to fight off because he's not used to making decisions by and for himself outside of combat and survival, and you definitely don't want the cocktail of emotions this would cause when he's in possession of his crazy magic. He does figure out how to fight this, but I think Baz is right when he says they figured it out at the right time – crucially, the strongest forces that would keep them separated are gone shortly after they get together. The thing is a million things, externally and emotionally, that would come into play if they go off script. And the mage is just too alive here, as opposed to fucking dead, which is both how we want and need him to be for Simon to have a better chance at making any type of choice in his life, heal and move on. He has too much control over Simon's life. But this is about reaction, not what happens after – at that point we might as well write fanfiction (I'm kinda already are with this post, anyway)

[popcorn-plots]

who you say you are

i feel like shit so here we are

possible TW for discussions of periods and everything that happens during them, like bleeding through three layers of clothing (that was a wonderful night)

Stephen hated his periods. He hated the general feeling of unwellness during that week, and he hated having to clean blood out of everything after he inevitably bled through.. everything. The worst part about it, however, wasn't even the blood. It was the dysphoria. It was the fact that every month, his period would bring the lies of his mind, telling him that he wasn't a real man and never would be. That he was weak for whining about it.

That he was never Stephen and he never would be. That he was too feminine, or that he was never 'good enough' to pass as a man. The worst was his mind telling him that he'd always be a girl, that deep down... he was never Stephen in the first place. He was just little Lucy, trying on her dad's shirt.

On those days, Stephen would curl up on his bed, clutching a hot water bottle. Cloak would hold him as he sobbed, telling himself over and over again, like a mantra, that his name was Stephen Strange. On those days, he would ask Wong not to bother him, despite every fiber of his being yearning to be held, begging for someone to call him handsome and take away the pain.

He didn't think that Wong knew. He was near-positive that Wong had no idea that Stephen was trans. As far as the other sorcerer knew, Stephen was just another man. A man with a broken soul to match his broken hands and scarred chest.

~

It was one of those days (Dark Days, Stephen called them) when Stephen was in his room, clutching a pillow to his chest. A second was between his legs, pressed to his crotch. It was surprisingly helpful when dealing with cramps, the pressure on his lower abdomen easing the discomfort. Unfortunately, he had forgotten his heading pad in the library from when he last used it and when he finally needed it again, he was too comfortable to get it.

Magic was out of the option as well considering just how horrible he felt between the pain, dysphoria, and his hands. It was a bad hand day, because of course, and he really didn't want to move. Which, unfortunately, meant breathing through the pain and trying not to cry.

Eventually, he managed to fall into a light sleep, nodding off then jolting awake again. He woke up in a way that jarred his hands and he groaned. It might be time to sacrifice his comfort for some much-desired relief.

He was mentally preparing himself to climb out of bed when there was a knock at the door. "Stephen?"

Stephen blinked. "..Wong..?"

"You left your heating pad in the library." Wong announced.

Stephen sighed. "I know. Leave me alone."

"I warmed it up for you. I thought you might need it. May I come in?" Stephen didn't respond. Wong had found his heating pad and warmed it up for him. For a second, Stephen wondered if Wong knew, but he had hidden it so well-- "Stephen?"

"...yeah. you can come in."

There was a click as the doorknob turned, then Wong was walking across the room in brisk strides, stopping in front of the nest of blankets that was Stephen Strange. "Here." he set the heating pad down near Stephen's hands. "I also have tea and some of your painkillers. It's raining today."

Stephen let out a shaky breath. Maybe Wong was just looking out for his hands. That would explain it, right? But Wong was never so... caring. Aside from his the week after Everest and his usual quiet help when Stephen needed to handle large stacks of books.

"You're paler than usual. If you turned yourself into a vampire on accident, I will kill you again." Stephen huffed.

"I'm not a vampire."

Wong reached out a hand and felt Stephen's forehead. Stephen nearly froze at the contact, but didn't say anything. He tried to look anywhere but Wong until the hand was gone. "You're not running a temperature."

"I'm trans." Stephen found himself blurting out.

Wong looked at him. Blinked. "Do you need any supplies?"

Supplies...?

"Pads, tampons? You disappear in your room once every four weeks, only coming out for food and when you do, you look horrible. Deathly pale, hunched over as if in pain, it wasn't hard to figure out."

Stephen looked up at his friend. Wong had taken a seat in the armchair next to Stephen's bed -- one of the large library chairs that had found itself in Stephen's room after a few too many vigils of Wong's when Stephen found himself injured.

"You... you never said anything."

"If you wanted me to know, you would have told me when the time was right."

"You... always made my favorite meals."

Wong huffed a rare smile. "I have never menstruated, but I can sympathy. I have a sister. She was always... vocal with.. everything. I did what I could to make her feel better."

Stephen smiled. "It sounds like you love her."

"Very much." Wong was smiling ever so slightly. Stephen found that watching Wong smile seemed to take the pain away.

"What's her name?"

"Li." It was soft, spoken just above a whisper. "You'd like her."

"Li. Pretty name." Stephen sighed. "Mine was-- is--"

"Stephen."

Stephen paused. He stared at Wong. Wong stared back. "Your name is Stephen. You are Stephen Strange. Do not give me your dead name. It is dead for a reason. You are who you say you are, not what someone else wants you to be. You told me on your very first day that your name is Stephen Strange. That is who you are. If you wish for me to use a different name, then I will. I respect you, and I will respect you, whoever you decide to be."

Stephen swallowed, tears pricking his eyes. He refused to let himself cry in front of Wong, of all people. Wong looked at him again and nodded. "You are Stephen Strange. Remember that."

Before he knew it, Wong had closed the door behind him and Stephen was sobbing into his pillow.

A few hours later, Stephen woke up feeling a hundred times better than before. He decided to find his way to the kitchen for dinner, now that the cramps had disappeared.

He found Wong at the stove, making friend rice. Wong's go-to comfort food that had quickly become Stephen's as well."

"Thank you." Stephen whispered. Wong responded by dishing Stephen and himself a large helping of rice.

"Of course, Stephen."

[ponchcronch]

Oh Poncho, a deep analysis of the green hedgehog’s psyche is exactly what I’m looking for and I will be thrilled for that day when that’s all unleashed. 

I also wonder, only because I see nobody else talking about this, if you can, are you able to share briefly on what did Zobotnik mean by remolding Scourge into a force of good? 

It’s just the way he phrased that, made me think Scourge was going to be USED as a living weapon of some sorts. This is a version of Eggman after all.

And it’s those choice of words that made me had a thought about…,I know IDW and Archie have two different continuities, but Kit’s line from issue 56 comes up because of those kind of intentions. (And people do compare Surge to Scourge a lot, y’know how it goes.) 

“All that matters is what we can do. How can you change us. So you can prove your way is right.” 

While it can be argued how it’s not exactly true in IDW’s case, I think it was gonna be actually true in Scourge’s case had they succeeded in his rehabilitation. It’s not about him becoming a good person or even resolving his clear mental issues. That therapy was “optional”. He’s always been labeled as the Evil or Anti Sonic. Why actually change him? The Zone cops have been shown to leave certain things the way they are even if detrimental for some universal balance.  *issue 197

We just never get to see what these supposed reformed criminals look like, and Zouge’s therapy seems to rarely stick considering how quickly the inmates seem to resort back to their own ways despite months of “progress”. 

I might be looking too deeply and too literally into the lines myself, but still, the implications.

Oh yeah, thanks for the meme btw. 

Personally, I don’t think Zobotnik was ever molding Scourge to be a force of good; I mean, look at the tactics. He basically encouraged other inmates to beat the crap outta scourge until he was mentally broken. That’s not how you rehabilitate someone; that’s how you make someone a soldier, like you said.

What probably messed me up the most about that arc is how close zobotnik got to basically brainwashing him.

I mean, man’s support system was already trash, and he was pushed far enough to not trust the little support he had. If Fiona wasn’t able to talk him out of it (aka boost his ego), he might have been stuck in a baddd situation.

Scourge is also the perfect candidate for that kind of manipulation; he’s got a fragile ego and he can’t handle the kind of humiliation he was going through.

But considering Zobotnik, I have a neat theory… in that arc, you can see a great bit of tension between Zonic and Zobotnik. Zonic is top zone cop, and Zobotnik is just a warden (dude obviously wants more power). Maybe that’s why zobotnik was ‘rehabilitating’ scourge—he was the first alternate sonic that ended up in zone jail and he wanted to use his power to take over. Idk.

God now I’m imagining this as an au.. my brain… scourge in an enerjak like situation would destroy me bro

[5567i82]

I know it's a little late for this, but let's discuss the soaking wet nyannyan toa...! It's fun. So, for now, let's start with the interrogation voice drama.

Toa: You didn't give me a command to talk yet. What unclear instructions!

Toa: W-wah! That's the senpai’s power, I see now… I beg, don't punish me…

Ego: Is this a joke?

Toa: No, no, I'm genuinely an idiot and scared of punishment.

When he says that orders are important to him, it is clear that there was a command from above. ＝Is there a hierarchical relationship? Maybe. Maybe.

Toa, maybe, but I don't think he was able to stop because he was told to do it by his superiors.

I think I was being used. The side that was being exploited by the boss. If I disobeyed, I would lose my place.

Ego: Crime of… being a bad friend?

Toa: Yeah.

Toa: Fine, fine… Hm-m… I can let people copy my homework, but I can't explain the material to them. I'm not hardworking, so my free hours last the whole day and I'm always ready to spend time together or talk, but whenever I'm present, I can't do anything. I don't know what to say to support the other person, I'm too much of a coward to help, I don't voice out my opinions, the way I express my emotions is weird. There are a lot of things to list.

It's a bit of a stretch of the imagination, but I think Toa was reasonably close to both the victim and the assailant. They don't seem to be best friends, but I get the sense that he interacted with both of them.

So the perpetrator (the orderly?senpai?) started bullying the victim. I think Toa turned a blind eye to the victim's bullying because he couldn't disobey.

Toa: The verdict… I don't know. Those voting options have so much personality in them. If I were to choose what describes me, it'd be a Bystander. Someone who is not even in the interaction…

So what I am trying to say is that I don't agree with your opinion that he is the perpetrator because he missed the bullying and did nothing😇

Why do we consider him a perpetrator?

The situation is similar to Muu's trial, but like Muu, I don't think he was the cause of the bullying, nor did he facilitate it.

Sure, he may not have tried to save them from the bullying, but he was in a situation where he might lose his place if he crossed the line.

He is still a child, and I don't think his actions alone have changed the situation in any way. As far as I am concerned, he is more of a victim.

@tsumigram

[toon-tales]

Hey, how are you doing? I hope you’re doing well!

I have a question.

Do you think Branch remembers the reason why Floyd left for was because of sole career Floyd wanted to?

I mean Branch was like 2 years old, it can’t be a few months because we saw Baby Poppy who was most likely, several months old, too young to remember anything. (Not counting Tiny Diamond or other babies we saw in Trolls 2)

Also he remembers them was probably his grandma tells him about them to make sure he knows and have some photos (I know those photos were gone as was seen at Trolls Tree with Branch and Poppy in his old pod. (I wonder why but I guess we never knew why)

That talk between Floyd and Branch was like only few minutes, Branch with his brothers were bigger and important to him especially that childhood hideout which was turned into the bunker and his vest. He probably remembered the promise, Floyd made, it was serious and important promise.

I’m just curious because I’m working on a story.

Little kids can forget about small things or things.

So I’m not sure if Branch remembered why Floyd left or he would’ve forgotten about their little talk. He was too young.

I’m shocked that he remembers his brothers but not Viva, I guess he might have forgotten about Viva after those years because Viva was never mentioned at all as if she doesn’t exist. (I know she wasn’t planned until Trolls 3)

Hiya! Hope you're having a great day too!

Ok, so, I know it's annoying not giving a straightforward answer, but pleass, deal with me

Here's the thing: the movie opens with the flashback of baby Branch nervous from his first show, and ends with baby Branch saying "Bye, see you later", then slowly shifts to Branch listening to the old records.

Now, we don't know if this is supposed to be a normal flashback or Branch's flashback. Add to that, we don't even know Branch's age at the time

Let's take it from the top! Poppy was basically a baby during the escape from the Troll Tree, while Branch was a kid, since his grandma got eaten by a bergen, so that means they were still at the Troll Tree, meaning that, indeed, he wasn't a baby, and a while passed since the breakup

Still, though, we don't know Branch's age

But later, when John Dory shows up, Branch says, "So we can attempt to sing something we’ve only tried once and failed so miserably at that we broke up and never talked to each other again." And that means that he does remember the incident, but how old was he, still?

Now, in the first movie, Poppy says that they haven't seen the Bergens in twenty years, which means that the breakup happened twenty years ago, if not more, considering the timeline between Trolls and Twt, and there's a already a month difference between Twt and Tbt, since Tiny Diamond is a month old, and was born in Twt

So, how old was baby Branch? According to the Brozone website, Branch was born on the 2nd of January, 1999, as said by Floyd, making him 24 by 2023, making him 4 by the time they broke up. BUT since the latest update was made by John Dory on the 10th of March, 1999, then that means that they broke up when Branch was, what, two months old? And it makes slight sense since the escape happened a while after the breakup, and there's a noticeable age gap of probably two or three years between Branch and Poppy if we assume Poppy was two by the escape. Heck, maybe she wasn't even born by the breakup

Anyway, the Trolls timeline doesn't even make sense! So, yeah, you can totes use any of the options you want, whether you want Branch four years old or two months old. Cause, well, you have Tiny, who literally hatched rapping, and on the other hand, you have Poppy, who barely talked when she was still a baby. See? Nothing makes sense!

The thing is that most people like to portray newly-hatched trolls as normal babies, because cuteness! So if you'll go with the normal babies portray, that would make Branch about 4 or five by the breakup, since he can talk very well and does remember what happened

Though maybe he doesn't remember all the details, because in the argument scene in Rhonda, Branch didn't throw any accusations except the one of them leaving. So I don't think he remembers all the details about them, but he does remember the promise, since it turned out to be his flashback

Omg, that was loooong! So sorry for that! Anyway, hope it was helpful, and if anyone wants to add or comment on anything, feel free!

[a-babe-without-a-name]

Sister Lovers, Water Brothers

Chapter Three: The Clock Starts

Masterlist

Steve wasn’t happy with the way Munson was treating one of his kids. So unhappy in fact, that he forces himself into their club leader’s van to see what he’s getting up to with Chrissy Cunningham, and maybe it’s a good thing he’s so paranoid because it might just save her life.

Or, the one where Chrissy doesn’t die in the Munson trailer, and, despite the world-ending, the king(former) and queen(current) of Hawkins High cannot take their eyes off Eddie Munson

Read on AO3

Lucas didn’t know why he decided to stay another night at Benny’s, but that’s where he woke up. The old diner was empty when Lucas sat up on the old mattress, but he could hear voices out in the parking lot. He groaned as he pulled himself up to a standing position, his back sore from the way he slept. Lucas couldn’t help but feel gross at the idea of being in his dirty clothes still. More than a day old and without a proper shower everything about him felt grimy. He’d be relieved to finally get into his own house soon.

Outside he found Jason, Andy, and Patrick loading up the back of Jason’s 4-Runner with seemingly random items.

“Well well,” Andy said, waving around a heavy  pipe wrench, “Look who’s decided to join us.”

“What’re you guys doing?” Lucas asked, confused as to what was happening.

“We’re gearing up,” Patrick said, tossing a heavy canvas bag into the open trunk.

“Preparing for the hunt,” Andy added, lifting the pipe wrench above his head like it was obvious.

Lucas immediately knew this was bad news. He was used to demogorgons and mind flayers and supernatural violence, but this made him sick. The only other time he had ever seen anyone near his age act like this was when Billy came for them, for him, and one of those two times he wasn’t even human anymore.

“Hey man, relax,” Jason stepped in, clocking Lucas’s nerves immediately, and placed a hand on Lucas’s shoulder, “We’re not killers like Eddie. We just want to talk to him, get him to admit his crime.”

“Yeah, a little friendly neighborhood chat,” Andy added, with a smile that made Lucas want to curl up or run away or hit him.

“Hey, you didn’t know Anne,” Jason said, turning serious, “if you’re not up to this, you can go home. There’s no judgment. You’ll still be one of us, alright?

At this moment, Lucas knew he didn’t want to be one of them anymore. He even wished he had ditched the game to play at Hellfire. But he also knew that he had an opportunity here to help his friend. He knew enough about Eddie that he was sure he could throw these boys, who he used to consider friends, off his trail. Maybe not forever, but long enough to buy Eddie some time.

“No. I’m good,” Lucas nodded, hoping his lying wasn’t obvious, “I want to help.”

“Alright,” Jason didn’t seem to see through him, he patted Lucas on the shoulder and turned back to his car, “Let’s capture us a freak!”

*

Everyone was up the next morning, anxiously waiting for something to happen. Steve could only keep them under his thumb for so long, and now the kids were demanding they all pile into the back of Eddie’s van and go check out the crime scene. Eddie himself wasn’t helping either, the guy wanted to see his uncle and a change of clothes but was unwilling to even consider the options in Steve's closet.

“Fine!” Steve relented after Robin also joined in on the begging, “But we’re not taking that death trap in my garage.” Eddie raised his arms placating,

“Saves me the gas.”

“And you two are staying here,” he told Max and Dustin. The declaration was met with disappointed whines, but Steve had made up his mind. “It is an active crime scene guys. Both attacks from this Vecna guy happened at the trailer park, I’m not bringing you.” Before Dustin could continue to complain, Chrissy spoke up,

“I’ll stay here too. If it’s connected to the location I probably shouldn’t go back.” Steve shrugged in agreement, and Robin patted her on the shoulder, before there was a lull in conversation. Steve wasn’t used to getting the kid to agree to anything that easily. Dustin started to open his mouth but Eddie stepped between him and Max with a hand clasped on each of their shoulders.

“Lord Harrington has spoken,” he declared in a cartoonishly official voice, “Don’t burn down the castle.” Then with a reassuring smile back towards Chrissy he shoved his way out the door to be the first one in the car, Robin and Steve close behind him.

As they rolled up to Eddie’s trailer, they were surprised to see one Nancy Wheeler standing by the picnic tables. Even from a distance the irritation around her eyes was clear, she had been crying for hours. Steve killed the engine and rushed out of the car over to her. He was relieved to see her, to no longer feel like everyone was looking to him for answers.

“Nancy? What’s going on? Why are you-”

“You need to get out of here,” She cut him off, her gaze focused on Eddie where he was getting out of the back seat.

“What?”

“Munson, get him out of here. Are you kidding me?” Nancy hissed, running away from Steve to shove Eddie bodily back into the car. “The cops they’re… they’re looking for Fred, but they’re mostly looking for him,” She frantically explained, pointing at Eddie hunched in the back seat of Steve’s car. “I’m serious, I don't have time to explain, just-” Nancy was cut off by the screech of the Munson’s screen door as Wayne stepped outside. Seeing his uncle, Eddie tried to shove past her, but Steve stood in his way. “No!” she shouted, frantically looking around, then evenly. “No, look, with Anne dead and two kids missing, You’re their scapegoat, Munson. So get the hell out of here before the cops get back.”

“Okay,” Steve agreed easily, trying to mediate. He held up a hand, asking Eddie to reason, and asked, “Okay?” He hated asking Eddie for this, could see the hurt in his eyes as he tracked his uncle desperate to go to him.

“Yeah, fine,” he huffed, sinking further into the back seat not meeting either of their eyes and instead watching where his uncle was tapping a cigarette out of his pack on their doorstep.

Just as quickly as they arrived, Steve was peeling back out of the trailer park, Nancy hanging back to wait for news on Fred.

Once they were out of sight, Nancy turned back to where Wayne was watching her, nervously fidgeting with his lighter.

“Ms. Wheeler,” he greeted her, eyes flicking between her and where the car had just been.

“Morning, any news on Fred?” He shook his head, still waiting for an explanation. Nancy gave in quickly, “He’s alright with them, they’ll keep him safe, but he shouldn’t be here.”

“We can agree on that,” He accepted, comforted to know his boy was safe if not home.

*

“You're saying that this thing that killed Fred and Anne, that attacked Chrissy, it's from the Upside Down?” Nancy asked, sitting at Steve’s table and nursing a soda only hours after she had shouted them out of the trailer park.

“It appears so,” Eddie said, still unable to believe that he was going along with this.

“Our working theory is that he attacks with a spell or a curse,” Dustin explained

“Now, whether or not he's doing the bidding of the Mind Flayer or just loves killing teens, we don't know.”

“There’s no connection though,’ Nancy said, brows furrowing in frustration. “Fred, Anne, and Chrissy. I mean, why them?”

“Maybe they were just in the wrong place,” Dustin suggested, “The demogorgon was drawn by blood right? Maybe something is luring the attacks?”

“There is something about that place,” Nancy admitted. “Fred started acting weird the second we got there.”

“Acting weird as in…” Robin egged on.

“Scared, on edge, upset,” Nancy offered. 

“Just like Chrissy,” Steve said. He thought it was odd that she had barely asked anything of Chrissy, despite being the one who experienced the curse.

“What?” the girl in question wrinkled her nose at him, and everyone else turned, confused.

“After the game, before you got cursed,” Steve rushed to explain, trying not to upset her again, “you were pissed at me when I- well I mean it makes sense that you were, sorry, I just thought-”

“No you’re right,” Chrissy agreed, “I was on edge, cause I was already cursed,” she reminded them, “I had a vision or a-a spell, at school that day in the bathroom.” Max pointedly avoided eye contact. “I saw him, and it was like he was right there pounding on the stall door, demanding to be let in, but then just disappeared. I felt like I was going crazy.”

“Serial killers stalk their prey before they strike, right?” Robin thought out loud, “So, this Vecman... Vecna had to track his victims first, wear them down.”

“Dunno about you, but if I saw some freaky wizard monster, I would mention it to someone,” Steve said, pointedly looking to Chrissy for suggestions.

“I didn’t, I went…to Eddie” Chrissy cringed then remembered, “But I saw Ms. Kelley too! I didn’t tell her about the visions, I was worried she’d send me away or tell my parents, but I mentioned the things he was saying.” She trailed off for a moment, getting lost in her own thoughts before recentering, “but maybe someone else did. Tell her, I mean.”

Before anyone could answer, the phone started ringing. 

Still not having heard back from the Byers, or Lucas, Steve eagerly picked it up,

“This is Steve.” The rest of their group watched him from the kitchen, easily able to hear his side of the conversation.

“Just who I was looking for,” a voice he didn’t recognize greeted. “It’s Jason. Carver.”

“Oh, uh, yeah,” Steve fumbled, trying to remember if they’d ever talked outside of practice. “Can I help you with something?”

“You don’t happen to know Munson do you? You know ‘the Freak’?” Jason goaded. Something like 24 hours ago Steve would have been able to say no and mean it, but now he looked over Eddie. He was watching Steve back, waiting to hear who was calling crouched on one of the dining chairs with an entire box of cereal in his lap. He grabbed a handful and ate it messily out of his hand, and Steve couldn’t help but want to scold him, want Eddie to talk back and get him to laugh. Steve certainly knew Eddie Munson now and wanted to know him better every passing second.

“No can’t say that I do,” he said instead,  concern growing on his face as he continued to watch Eddie. Noticing his gaze, Eddie pulled away from the withering look and glanced behind him as if it could be meant for someone else. 

“Who is it?” Dustin asked, growing impatient. “Did the Byers finally call back?” He shoved his way into Steve's space and tried to take the phone, but he easily held it too high for the kid to reach.

“Cool it, Henderson,” he warned with a wagging finger.

“Henderson?” Jason asked, clearly interested, “Not Dustin Henderson?”

“I- I mean, why?” Steve struggled to piece together what Jason was after. 

“I heard Henderson knows Munson, and I know for a fact that ‘freak’ hurt my sister, and probably has Chrissy too, so if you know anything-”

“I don’t,” Steve insisted. Then continued unconvincingly. “What reason would I have to talk to that…loser?” he cringed even as he spoke, and mouthed an apology afterward to Eddie who pointed to himself and mined back “Who? Me?” He then proceeded to mock-cry and blow his nose into an invisible handkerchief.

“I don’t know, but someone saw you following him to the theater yesterday. I just want to talk to him, do you know where he is?” Jason continued to push.

“Look man, I’m really sorry to hear about your sister, but I can’t help you. I don’t know anything about Eddie. I-”

“You know his name.”

“Jason, man,” Steve sighed, trying to stay cool.

“Jason?” Chriss breathed out, shocked.

“I really am sorry, but I’ve got to go. There’s uh… someone at the door,” Steve finished lamely.

“Harrington-” he called threateningly down the line, but Steve couldn’t be bothered to listen.

“Alright, bye,” he said cheerfully and hung up the phone. “Eddie, you've got to get out of here.” The man in question didn’t bother arguing, just nodded his head frantically in agreement.  “Alright time to move. You got somewhere you can go to hide?”

“Yeah,” Eddie agreed easily, “My uh… boss has a house out on Lover’s Lake. I crash there sometimes and it’s pretty secluded.”

“Is Jason coming here?” Chrissy asked, her voice raising in panic as she looked to Steve, “I… I can’t be around him, he won’t understand. He’ll force me to go home.”

“You can go with Eddie,” Dustin suggested, oddly cheerful. Steve shot him a questioning look but he just rolled his eyes.

“Perfect,” Nancy said, breaking the moment, “I’ll drop you two off, and then I’ve got something to check on.”

“Something you want to share with the rest of us?” Robin questioned. She was still weary of the Wheeler girl. Actually, her brother too, neither of them were particularly nice to Steve.

“I don't wanna waste your time,” Nancy smiled with faux politeness, “It's a real shot in the dark.” 

“Yeah, okay. Are you out of your mind?” Steve asked, failing to land a joke and just showing how worried he was. “Flying solo with Vecna on the loose? No, it's too dangerous…” Steve thought about offering to go with her but really wasn’t in the mood to deal with the tension that loomed large whenever he was around Nancy. He looked to everyone else, was taking a head count when Max added in,

“I can go talk to Ms. Kelley, see if anyone else told her about seeing Vecna.”

“Yeah,” Steve agreed even as he rubbed at his forehead feeling a headache coming on. “Great idea kid, guess I’ll take you and Dustin can tag along-”

“Hey!”

“Robin, stick with Nancy. If we’re splitting up, we're sticking together.” Only as he said it did Steve hear how silly it sounded, but he couldn’t bring himself to care right then. Eddie and Dustin chuckled, only half attempting to hide it. “Whatever, just get to the cars,” then repeated when no one moved, “get in the car!

“Always the babysitter,” Robin sing-songed, as she slid past him and into the passenger's seat of Nancy’s.

“Always the goddamn babysitter!”

Chrissy slid into the backseat of Nancy’s Mercury. Robin was in front of her and Eddie joined Chrissy in the back. 

“Where am I taking you two?” Nancy asked, looking in the rearview at Eddie while putting her hair up. 

“Head south towards Lover’s Lake until we hit Coal Mill Road, it runs East-West and cuts through any of the roads, I’ll let you know where to go when we get there.”

“Okay, cool,” Nancy replied shortly, backing out of Steve’s driveway and getting onto the road.

Eddie leaned over to Chrissy, speaking low so only she could hear, “I’m actually horrible at giving directions, so we’ll see how this goes.”

He grimaced, sucking air through his teeth before laughing. Chrissy giggled, her face still close to his. 

“We’re doomed,” She whispered back before pulling away and leaning back in her seat, shaking her head. She couldn’t help but catch the disapproving look Nancy shot her in the rearview. Chrissy found herself wishing Steve had driven them or let Eddie take them in his own van.

Eddie leaned back, relaxing in his seat and watching the woods of Loch Nora pass by as they drove. Chrissy had found herself being relieved every time Eddie looked away from her these past few days, glad she could look at him without being caught. She wasn’t sure if she should be more embarrassed by the unabashed staring or the fact that she had never really noticed him in school. She allowed herself some grace on her ignorance of Eddie Munson, seeing as she had been in a long-term relationship that, at one point, she was very happy in. 

He was pretty, though, she’d admit it if she was asked. He had a nice face, a good smile, and pretty eyes. She felt dumb thinking it, but it was true. It wasn’t even a growing feeling. From the moment she relaxed enough to really see him when they met in the woods she thought he was one of the prettiest boys she had ever seen. In this moment she let her eyes wander, across him. Pretending to nonchalantly look out the window on his side. His arm was up, head resting on his arm as he looked down his nose at the scenery. She followed the line of his unruly hair down to his shoulders, his jacket fitting against him perfectly from years of wear. His knees were apart, taking up as much room as he could in the backseat without encroaching into Chrissy’s space. She hated herself for thinking that she let him. 

She forced herself to look away, biting the inside of her cheek. She had a boyfriend, she needed to cool it. But, looking wouldn’t do any harm, though, right? 

She decided to allow herself one more glance at him, looking over and trying to pass it off as a yawn, when she noticed something else about him.

“Hey,” She whispered, though Robin was too busy chattering away at Nancy for either of them to notice, He turned, raising an eyebrow at her, “Put your seatbelt on.”

Eddie laughed, shaking his head at her. “Really? After all of this weird shit and you’re worried about me wearing a seatbelt.”

“Yeah, you wanna go through all of this just to die in a car crash?” Chrissy asked, “That’s lame.”

“I’ll be fine,” He insisted.

Chrissy stared at him for a moment with narrowed eyes. She thought about how he had smoked the cigarette out of her hand the other night and hoped she was brave enough to do something similar without looking like an idiot.

“Fine.” Chrissy unbuckled her own seatbelt.

“You not wearing yours isn't going to get me to where mine,” Eddie insisted.

Instead of responding, Chrissy slid into the middle seat. She turned to face him and reached across his body, making his eyes go wide at their closeness. She grabbed the buckle near his shoulder and dragged it to her, pulling it across his chest and locking it into place next to his hip. 

“There,” She said with a pleasant smile, patting his chest where the belt was lying, “All safe now.”

Without saying anything else she slid back to her seat and redid her own seat belt, content at the way he wasn’t able to conjure a comeback.

It wasn’t long before the car reached Coal Mill Road and Eddie had to lean forward to instruct Nancy on how to get to where they needed to be. His directions were filled with “ums” and “I think” and a lot of “oh shit, not that way”, but they made it to the house on the lake eventually.

When the car parked, Eddie undid his belt and leaned practically all the way into the front seat, “Thanks Wheeler, I really appreciate your help. Sorry for the horrible directions.” 

Chrissy could tell she had been on the verge of a freakout, but luckily Eddie’s apology seemed to cool her down at least a few degrees.

“I’m gonna make sure the key is where it normally is,” Eddie said, opening his door, “I’ll be right back.”

Chrissy went to get out of the side of the car when Eddie stopped her, “Wait, you stay here until I give the signal that it’s clear.” and then to Nancy, “If any weird shit happens just go, okay, I’ll be fine.”

Chrissy frowned but didn’t argue. She didn’t think this was one she’d win. 

The three girls watched as Eddie closed the door and jogged towards the side of the house. As soon as the door was closed, Nancy rounded on Chrissy.

“Don’t you have a boyfriend?” She asked abruptly, turning in her seat to look at Chrissy.

“What?” Chrissy was taken off guard by the question. 

“You’re dating Jason Carver, right? You have been since we were sophomores.” Nancy pointed out, “So what’s all this?”

“All of what?” Chrissy didn’t expect Nancy to be so observant, and she definitely didn’t expect her to be so… bold.

“All of this!” Nancy gestured, “The giggling and the seatbelt and, oh god, the staring .”

“Nancy-” Robin tried to cut in, uncomfortable with the sudden tension.

“There’s a monster after you, several people are dead, including your boyfriend's sister, and you’re flirting like  your life depends on it,” Nancy said, “I just don’t get it.”

“Well, I wouldn’t expect you to.” Chrissy bit back, “You have no fucking idea what it’s like to be in my position right now, so no. You wouldn’t just get it.”

“Chris-” Robin started.

“Thank you for the ride, Nancy.” Chrissy said, opening the door without waiting for Eddie, “I’ll see you later, Robin, good luck.”

Chrissy slammed the car door, storming off in the direction that Eddie disappeared, unable to hold back the angry tears that were streaming down her face. Not paying attention, she slammed into Eddie’s chest.

“Hey, I thought I asked you to stay-” It only took a moment for Eddie to notice the state Chrissy was in, he grabbed her by the arms, looking her over like she was physically hurt “Woah, woah Chrissy are you okay? What happened? Where’s Robin and Nancy?”

Chrissy tried to wipe away the tears that wouldn’t stop, “I’m- I’m fine.” She tried, the tightness in her throat betraying her.

“Hey, easy,” Eddie said, trying to calm her down, and then realizing that they were standing out in the open, “Let’s go inside, okay.”

He didn’t wait for her to respond, instead, he just steered her a few feet to the door and then into the house, bolting it behind them,

“I’m sorry,” Chrissy sighed, trying to take a deep breath that kept hitching, “Nancy Wheeler is such a fucking bitch.”

“C’mere,” Eddie said, pulling Chrissy to him without thinking. She leaned into him, wrapping her arms around his middle and clinging to him as he rubbed a hand across her back. He rested his chin against her head, “If there is one thing that will always be true and that Hawkins High will always know, it’s the fact that Nancy Wheeler is, and always has been, a raging fucking bitch.”

He felt Chrissy laugh against his chest, glad he was able to make her feel at least a little bit better. When she felt she had calmed down enough Chrissy reluctantly peeled herself away from Eddie’s body. He brought his hands up to her face, wiping away the tears that lingered there. He held her face for a moment making her look at him as he leaned down, “Hey, listen, Nancy Wheeler is a bitch, and you, Little Miss Sunshine, are not. And that’s all that matters, okay?”

Chrissy nodded, taking a deep steady breath, balancing herself, and taking a step back. She looked around for the first time since stepping into the building.

“This is your… boss's house?” Chrissy asked, looking around the house they were in. It seemed abandoned and… dusty. When she spotted the glass bong on the kitchen table it clicked, “Oooh, your boss the drug dealer.” 

“Technically,” Eddie said, raising his hands in defense, “I’m the dealer, he’s the supplier.”

“Is there a difference?” Chrissy asked, stepping further into the house. 

“Well, yeah,” Eddie said, tossing old beer cans into the trash, “I get caught and I spend the night in lockup then the cops look the other way while I sell to their kids. Rick gets caught, and he ends up at Plainfield Correctional.”

It was clear that when Rick was toted off to prison, he hadn’t been expecting it. Weeks old dishes were sitting in the sink and Eddie imagined the state of the fridge was appalling. Eddie did his best to clean up, tossing what he deemed unsalvageable into the trash and wiping up the counters as Chrissy wandered around the house. Eddie swiped the bong off the table, pouring the nasty water out, filling it with hot water, and leaving it to soak. 

When Eddie deemed the kitchen clean enough to not be a biohazard he found Chrissy in the living room, looking at photos on the wall. The living room was decently clean, certainly not as gross as the kitchen, save for the skin mags Rick had left on the coffee table. Eddie snatched them up, careful to hold them by the corners, and tossed them behind the couch. 

Eddie fidgeted looking around and realizing this was the first moment of downtime there had been that wasn’t filled by kids or panic. He headed for the tv sitting across the room.

“Wanna watch something?” He asked Chrissy, reading over the spines of the tapes on Rick’s shelf.

“Oh, sure.” Chrissy turned away from the wall of photos and walked over to Eddie. She leaned into his space, reading with him.

“Have you seen The Hobbit?” Eddie asked, looking at her from the corner of his eye when he spotted the tape. 

Chrissy smiled, reaching forward and pulling the movie off the shelf, “It’s my little brother’s favorite. He made us watch it until the tape wore out when he was a toddler.”

She handed him the tape, having to tilt her head back to look up at him with how close they were, “I’d never admit it, but it was my favorite at the time, too.”

Eddie gleefully took the tape from her, popping it into the VHS player and getting the TV turned on.

“I didn’t know you had a brother,” Eddie said, flipping through until he got to the right setting while Chrissy went and sat on the couch behind him.

“Yeah, Ryan, he’s 11.” Chrissy explained as Eddie came back to the couch, “He’s kinda like you actually, he loves that one band… um, Metallica? Right? That’s the name? Our parents hate it.”

“Sounds like a cool kid,” Eddie said, and then noticed the sad look on Chrissy’s face, “You miss him?”

“Yeah,” She pouted, “but he left for a boy scout trip the day before all this started luckily.”

“A Boy Scout who likes Metallica?” Eddie mused, “Interesting. Well, that’s good that he’s away. By the time he gets back, this will all be done and over with.”

“Ah, look who’s glass half full now,” Chrissy teased, leaning back into the couch as the movie started. 

After a moment, Eddie yawned, stretching his arms up and casually putting one over Chrissy’s shoulders, pointedly not looking at her. She glanced at his hand next to her arm, and narrowed her eyes up at him, smirking. 

“You’re impossible.” She sighed, but slid closer and leaned into his chest, letting herself forget about the fucked up shit that’s been going on and just be for a moment.

*

Steve and Dustin watched Ms. Kelley let Max into her house, knowing all they could do was wait. From the driver seat, Steve let Dustin know she made it in.

“Yeah, I know, I’m missing collar bones, not eyes,” he snarked back. Steve nodded in acknowledgment of the dig, but his eyes were still locked on the door Max had disappeared through. Not wasting any time Dustin asked, “So…when are we going to talk about it?”

“Huh? Sorry, talk about what?”

“Whenever you went insane and forgot to mention that you and Robin are basically already married?” Dustin elaborated, or mostly made up. They both knew that their friendship didn’t look exactly normal from the outside or the inside he guessed. He knew they acted like a couple, but that mostly had to do with the fact they couldn't stand the thought of not seeing each other for a few hours at most.

“First of all that’s not at all what is going on,” Steve scoffed, wishing Robin was here to deny it herself, so Steve could stop thinking of all the reasons why they shouldn’t date. The most obvious was her being a lesbian, but an encroaching second was the lingering thought of holding Eddie Munson’s ringed hand.

“Pretty sure that’s exactly what’s happening. Eddie and Chrissy wer-”

“Eddie and Chrissy!” Steve snapped his fingers and pointed, “That’s something for you to talk about!”

“What are you jealous of Eddie too?”

“I’m not jealous of anyone! Robin and I are just friends, Nance and I are over, and as for Chrissy…I think Munson’s got her covered,” Steve admitted bitterly. “Okay?” he asked, hoping Dustin could for once in his life just drop it. He thought he had missed this feeling, the first notes of excitement that came with developing crushing, but Dustin was quickly pulverizing those. Steve had never had any intention of getting the little twerp so fixated on his love life, but then maybe he shouldn’t have tried to give him tips on girls. He would really like someone to be able to give him tips right now, mostly on how to stop thinking of your child-friends other older male friends and the way he laughed. 

“Okay?!” he insisted again, but Dustin kept smirking like he knew better than Steve. “I don’t want to find any of them in the morning with their eyes sucked out of their skull by this Vecna creep!”

“You’re like bright red in the face right now,” Dustin giggled, and Steve knew he was but defended himself anyway.

“I’m not. I don’t want to talk about it,” he admitted looking back out the window, definitely not trying to ride his blush as it continued to creep up his cheeks. How could he ever tell Dustin about this? He didn’t have time to worry about it right now. “I’ll punch you so hard in the face that your teeth fall back out,” he threatened, panicking over recent revelations rising in an inopportune moment.

“Woah,” Dustin frowned, then told Steve, “too far.” They met eyes, and Steve gauged the emotion on his friend's face. He didn’t look horribly hurt, and he’d let him know but still, Steve had to push down the guilt. He was better than that now.

“Not cool, I’m sorry,” he said.

“Not cool,” Dustin agreed, but let it go and accepted Steve's olive branch of a fist bump.

Only a moment later, Max was rushing back out of Ms. Kelley’s house and yelling for him to drive.

They skidded down the road. He wondered how he got himself into this position, at the command of several entitled children.

 Rushing to the school at Max’s whim, the crackle of the walkie caught Steve off guard.

Lucas’s voice came through, and Steve felt himself relax, at least a little bit. The kid continued to explain he’d been with Jason and his other teammates, and that they were convinced Eddie killed Anne and must have Chrissy too. Confirmation of Jason’s threats from earlier that morning was frightening, but Steve was glad they got out of his house.

“Lucas you’re so behind it’s ridiculous,” Max let him know. “Just meet us at the School. We’ll explain later.”

“I- I can’t,” he admitted sadly, “I think some back shit is about to go down.”

“What are you talking about?” Max asked, “What bad shit?” but no answer came, no matter how many times Max called Lucas’s name down the line, and soon enough they were at the school.

Max practically sprinted down the hall toward Ms. Kelley’s office, leaving Dustin and Steve in her wake. She could hear them talking over the walkie with Robin and Nancy, but she wasn’t close enough to hear what they were actually saying. When she finally reached the office, she checked both ways before shoving the stolen keys into the lock, as if the cops were going to materialize in the hallway. She knew this was probably the most illegal thing she had ever done, but at this point she didn't care; she needed answers and this was the only way to get them.

The boys caught up to her by the time she got the door unlocked. The door opened easily, all three of their flashlights illuminating the room. Max made a beeline for the familiar filing cabinets, opening up the top drawer and immediately flipping through the C names. Max was able to immediately find Carver, Anne, but noticed something else as well.

“Holy shit,” she said to herself.

“Found it?” Dustin asked, dropping whatever dumb thing he was talking about with Steve.

“Yeah, and not just Anne’s file.” She pulled what she was looking at out, holding it up for Steve and Dustin to see, “Fred was seeing Ms. Kelley, too.”

They looked at each other, realizing this ran deeper than they expected. Max pulled out Anne and Fred’s files, she saw Chrissy’s but dedicated that whatever was in there, Chrissy could tell them herself. Max sat down, opening up Anne’s file while Dustin held the flashlight over her shoulder for her to read. 

Aside from Anne’s transcript and personal details, the file was fairly empty, only about a visit or two’s worth of notes. Max had seen her own file a few times and it was stacked thick from months of forced sessions. Whatever Anne had been going through,  she only recently decided to bring it up with Ms. Kelley.

The first session notes were brief, only what seemed to be a description of Anne’s immediate problems: Past trauma, terrible nightmares, difficulty sleeping, and headaches. The familiarity of the symptoms made Max uneasy. 

“Can I see Fred’s file?” She asked, looking around the desk for it. Steve was quick to scoop it off the end of the desk and hand it to her, leaning over her shoulder as she read.

Max couldn’t help but to picture herself as she began to read through Fred’s file. Severe headaches, nosebleeds, and constant nightmares stemming from past trauma. She thought of the bottles of Advil she had been going through lately and the way she had been waking up on the verge of tears every night multiple times a night for the past week, Billy’s name rushing past her lips. She remembered the nosebleed she got during her geometry test a few days ago, and then again last night while brushing her teeth. 

Max’s heart sank, her chest tightening as she began to make connections between herself, Fred, Ally, and presumably Chrissy as well. She was next. She was part of this. Her name being called by Dustin was lost on her as someone, no, something else began to call out to her. Blind to her friends she had walked in with, Max stood up from the desk, unable to help herself from following the voice.

The heavy ticking of a clock pounded in Max’s ears as she walked out of the office, her lone flashlight the only source of light in the dark hall. It chimed suddenly, making her jump as the sound echoed around her. She continued to follow the sound, taking slow steps as she turned the corner. At the end of the hallway, she saw a huge grandfather clock, impossibly embedded in the cinderblock wall of the hallway. It chimed again, louder and longer this time. She took slow hesitant steps, trying to get closer to investigate. Every few seconds the clock would chime again, each one louder and more aggressive than the last. She was close enough to see the details on the heavy pendulum when the clock chimed a final time, ringing out with it, the voice called “Max,” a final time.

[sentience-if]

(content warning: cancer mention. but the cancer patient will very likely be fine. this isn't a sad story at all. it's the opposite of sad actually. but content warning any way as a precaution for other people and any possible triggers)

only telling you this for you to laugh at, im with the other Anons who are saying "this is NOT me pressuring you", i refuse

but i have a 13 year-old cousin who has been undergoing cancer treatments and is pretty close to remission! love that for her! and since she is a minor in the U.S.A., she qualifies for the Make A Wish Foundation. but my cousin is very indecisive and also overly considerate of others, and her parents have been telling her "no, that can't be your Wish" because she keeps trying to use it on other people or the family. we want her to use it on herself. and yes she has already been to both Disneyland and Disneyworld so she won't be using her Wish on that

but like my cousin is also both the most intentionally and unintentionally (hard to tell with her) funniest person i know. so this may become a running gag and she might straight up never use her Wish just to keep the gag going forever at this rate

whiCH AS A HILARIOUS EXAMPLE OF EXACTLY FUCKING THIS she asked me why i was snickering tonight. and i explained about your game (and how, no, she cannot play until she is older because i think the game is a little too scary for her) and how you have poly options and your askbox currently has Io/Connie/Val in it which you refuse to do and how funny you are about saying "no" to the ship

and she asked "do YOU want those three to get together?"

and i said "i think so, yeah. but i also respect the creator's-" and my cousin didn't even leT ME FINISH, SHE JUST WENT, IN THE CALMEST VOICE WITH THE STRAIGHTEST FACE "do you want me to use my Wish on making that happen?" AS IF SHE WAS ASKING ME IF I WOULD LIKE SOME FUCKING WATER WHILE SHE WAS HEADED FOR THE GOD DAMNED KITCHEN

i, of course, screeched said "no" overly loud in a completely reasonable tone of voice to her insane fucking idea generous offer

and she just shrugged and went "if you're sure" and asked what else i was playing lately. it was hard to answer her because i was cracking up since almost dying laughing but trying to stiffle it..... at..... at just the absurdity of what had just happened between her and me and also just the hypothetical future of the Make A Wish Foundation having to contact you to see if you can fulfill her Wish. would have been fucking CRAZY alternate timeline, what the hell

any way. i do not think she was serious (....again, though, it is hard to tell with her,,) and she has been swatted away from the possibility since it is another "don't use your Wish on other people, use it for something YOU want!" pitch of her's and i will definitely have back-up from her parents in the unlikely scenario she is persistant (you will not be contacted by Make A Wish, i promise lol). also, keep her in your thoughts and prayers and all that, but as a reminder that this is not an unhappy story: the doctors are very sure her cancer will go into remission since her's has been reacting so well to the treatment. there is very little need to worry about her at this point, she just has a couple months left of treatment and then we wait to see if anything comes back or not during the next year and if it doesnt then she'll officially be in remission, and then after 5 years of remission then the cancer will be considered fully gone (fingers crossed! she's a strong kid and her body has reacted really well to her treatments, so we have lots of hope for her) maybe one day she will figure out how to use her Wish on herself. or maybe she will keep this joke going forever, heaven have mercy on her poor parents' patience lol

just thought her wild antics and running joke would make you laugh. once again, this was absolutely not me pressuring you about Io/Connie/Val. you do what you want. it is your game. but FUCK can you imagine if i let her??? (which i would never. but it is funny to think about.) jesus h christ, she is something else. the funny little gremlin, i love her. any way have a good day/night!

can she use her wish to become president bc I'd vote for her

[merp-blerp]

EVEN FREAKING MORE Things about Cinderella's Castle I'm excited about already as a big Cinderella fan

Part One, Part Two, Part Three (This)

I could not watch the whole 12-hour stream, so forgive me for forgetting or excluding anything.

I had no clue this show was leaked. I'm glad I didn't see it. This fandom’s seemingly on the smaller size, but we're pretty respectful to the creators from what I've seen and I think that's great. Funny that Jeff leaked it. 😆

YEAH LET’S GO FOURTEEN LIMBED FAIRY QUEEN!!! Maybe. Of course, no pressure. Praying Mantises scare me, to the point where I'm not going to look it up to see if I spelled that right, so it's a pretty perfect inspiration for a pretty-but-terrifying fairy queen. At least for me. I didn't know they came in purple, I'm too busy running away from them.

The “great grey days” I believe it was called. An event with the trolls where the sun was blocked out. Wonder what that has to do with anything coming forth in the Lands That Are stories. Kinda reminds me of the death of the dinosaurs.

"Starlight" has been mentioned in some of the lyrics released so far and I wonder what that is. I suspect a type of magic. Probably "good" or "light" magic, just based on the good associations I have with the word starlight, but maybe that will be subversive. Or maybe it'll be good, but misinterpreted as bad magic. Who knows. All we can do is wait.

I was thinking about the Fairy Queen and how she might be treated in the story. Ella's mother was killed for witchcraft, so I wonder if Fairy Queen will also be sought out for witchcraft, hence why she sings about Ella's mother in "Ash to Ash" like she knew her or of her struggle. Or maybe the town will see her differently than whoever they think are witches. The name "Fairy Queen of Sweet Dreams" doesn't sound like she's considered a witch, but things can be subverted in stories. I wonder exactly what in the town's minds makes up the difference between good and bad magic users if there is one to them.

I know it's probably just my knee-jerk reaction to think bad characters can have more to them, but I mildly feel bad about the trolls getting hunted. I know they're supposed to all be bad human killers, but I can't wrap my head around them all being bad and deserving of their entire species being wiped out at this point in time. I don't know… THINK ABOUT THE IMPLICATIONS!

I wonder if characters from potential upcoming Lands That Are shows will meet ones from this show in the future and so on, like the Hatchetverse. Btw, what are we calling this world exactly? The Landsverse? The Castleverse? The latter seems like the best option to me as the Langs have been calling them “castle stories”.

I’m so curious about what other fairytales might be adapted for the Lands That Are. I feel like lesser-known fairytales, like Donkeyskin or Bluebeard for example, would be interesting, and the base versions of those stories in particular seem to fit the darker tones of Lands That Are. More well-known stories would be great too of course, and are a bit more likely to happen if I'm being realistic. But maybe they could combine lesser-known stories with more-known ones, either combining the plotlines to make one story or in a style like Into The Woods; for example: Beauty and the Beast + Bluebeard. Lowkey wanna write that myself if they don't.

I'm so glad Starkid decided to do a series of fairytales! I feel like the world is starved of genuine fairytale stories these days.

I'm excited to learn more about Ella’s two un-named friends. Nick and Matt seemed to love writing them, so I can't wait to see what they're about. I also can’t wait to see Crumb and Sir Hop’s relationship, it sounds really cute.

Ella’s oak tree reminds me of Into The Wood so much (and whichever version of Cinderella Into The Woods pulled that from). If they do little subtle tributes to other versions of Cinderella that would make me really happy. I admit, when I hear of any new "reimagining" of Cinderella I get nervous that it'll go the girlboss route in a way that isn't actually inspired, almost seeming ashamed to be a fairytale story and teasing past versions or it's source material for not being girlboss or "sensical" enough. Happened with Amazon's Cinderella. But I trust Starkid a hell of a lot more with reimagining in an actually meaningful way that isn't embedded with internalized sexism or whatever some reimagined fairytales have going on.

The mockup of the set!!! It looks so beautiful. Everyone who has the opportunity to see this show live is going to be so lucky I bet! I'm not jealous at all. Unrelated, but it vaguely reminds me of the Max Reinhardt Spring Awakening set.

A little nice to put the sapphic Ella hopes to semi-rest. Any ships will be “up to interpretation” and maybe that's for the best for this show, as Ella escaping her abusive home will presumably be the main focus. And that's my favorite—and I think the most important aspect of any Cinderella story anyway. I've seen some hopes for aroace Ella and those are really important too. Let's try to not fight over which sexuality Ella (and maybe other characters) "is", as it doesn't seem like there will be a canon answer, so there's no point in arguing with the wall; many people could possibly see themselves in Ella once Cinderella's Castle is released and that's a beautiful thing. And at the end of the day, all non-cis—heterosexual people are lacking in representation one way or another, so let's try not to play oppression olympics.

[dairy-farmer]

Back at it again with my dropping Ficlet propts/question/thingies in you ask booooox~

But! Here we are! And consider~ what do you get when you combine Tim Puss (delightful) with Bat independence and paranoia(not delightful) AND that good, good Wayne CEO type money?

A "streamlined" sex process! "Efficiency", if you will! Letting OTHER PEOPLE? See him NAKED and VULNERABLE? Not in THIS good Bat household! They could be diseased! Or reporters! Or BOTH! Might even be some convoluted scheme to knock him up by Ra's, who STILL has not let that idea go and is STILL being weird about it!

Hmmmm, yeah, no thank you! He has vigilante ass kicking to do.

Yet? He also would like The Orgasms. He USED to have Trusted Teammates for that. USED too. Things are still weird with Kon and Bart. And Cassie? No. Things are to complicated. He wants fun not FEELINGS.

So he makes do at first. Usual things. But THEN? He saves this really sweet dominatrix from the Riddler and takes her home while the others put Nygma back in jail... and??? What are THOSE? He spends like... an HOUR learning about ALL the Interesting Options that exsist out there because apparently? Her Sub works for a retailer! They get a discount.

Which? He, Timothy Drake-Wayne, will not need~

But that Sybian? Oh hell yes he will. If it works out, he might buy one for every safe house. He's a Wayne. They DO have "Fuck You" money, after all, why NOT go big? But of course... "unusual purchases" a thing that is Forever Flagged on all cards of the monetary kind~

Bruce is paranoid and also pathologically incapable of just TALKING to his kids unless someone has nearly died recently. So really... how ELSE is he supposed to feel like a part of their lives and know what they're up too? Support them?

Get THERAPY? Talk to them on the PHONE? He'd give them AND himself a heart attack. Probably die. No thank you. No, no, boundaries stomping and stalking it is. I snoop because I caaaare~ now excuse me while I check your credit cards....

Which leads him to his current problem. He sits at his computer and cold sweats. Rereads the line. May.....maybe it's for an investigation? Surely. His stoic baby boy is not... not doing The Sex...

BUT WHAT IF HE IS??! With WHO? T..This would SUGGEST-... But can he be CERTAIN?! What if it's KINKY sex!? Oh god. Tim, no! This isn't like you! ( :T ya, let's go with that Bruce. That's DEFINITELY the truth as far as Tim wants You, his Mentor, to be aware off. What is this *checks medical text book* Pe Nis, you speak off? *Bats Bambi eyes while the teammates he has 1000% slept with look on incredulously*) Who is putting you up to this?!

Bat Gasp! What if they're PRESSURING him into this? Those BASTARDS. Bruce will BREAK them! *seethes in Bat Fury* But how can he get Tim to confide in him? *begins plotting*

And it SPIRALS. Because Bruce forgets to close his " research" (stalking) meaning? Who still lives with him? That's right! Damian wanders in, wondering why his father is Losing His Shit(tm). Snoops. Goes "ha, ha, Drake needs sex toys! Wait.... what IS a... *googles* *puts dots together* *was unaware but now is SO HYPER AWARE IT PHYSICALLY HURTS* Oh. Oh No."

Because now he CANT stop imagining it? It HAUNTS him. Not just the Thought of Tim ON the device... but the ways Damian could TORMENT him with it. Conquer him with it. Tie him up and watch him fall apart. See his defiant, mulish expression crumble to teary eyed begging. Make him suck Damian. Maybe leave him there ANYWAY! A...and he could... could- *genetic AL Ghul desire to defeat your greatest rival, fuck them, then preferably put a baby in them: Unlocked*

Now of course... TWO different Bats are acting Sus. Dick notices. Bruce? Meh, it's Tuesday. But Damian too? What has transpired here? He goes digging. Can't find anything. He should ask Tim. He swings by. Maybe this could be a could chance to mend some fences, unburn a few of those bridge...s..... *gets EYEFUL* OH.

And Tim? Holy shit the motors on this thing. The WORLD could end and he wouldn't notice right then. He's making noises he'll never admit too. It's his third time TODAY. He's a MESS. Does not notice Dick buffering in the doorway. Or backing out quietly.

Dick... goes home. Calmly takes a shower. Turns off his phone. Drags out the case from beneath his bed. And goes to TOWN on himself like he's trying to break something. It was one thing to know... intellectually... but? He has NEVER wanted to pound someone in half so badly in his LIFE.

And just? The shenanigans? Bruce confronting Tim. Him managing to convince JASON there is some creep out there pressuring "straight laced little Timmy" into depraved KINKY sex he's not comfortable with ("oh if only his big strong brother Jason would saaaave him" he's probably saying, crying into his pillows, as the imagined asshole boyfriend drinks cheap beer. "I'm so sad and scaaaared. He's hurting me and no one caaaares. He's gonna put a baby in me then skip town! Has fifteen other lovers on the side!") So of course *gun noises* No Today, Satan!

Them showing up while Tim is NAKED. Dick trying to head them off. Damian there because he's TOTALLY here to help and not oggle the puss, really. No one is letting Tim up to "storm off". That's not why he wants up! He's STILL ON THE SYBIAN YOU ASSHOLES! But they keep yelling over each other and interrupting HIM until? Oops! Nother orgasm~ this time with an AUDIENCE.

It's the best and worst day of Tim's life. He's had dreams like this. But NOW? Bruce is CONVINCED. Tim is baffled. Somehow even Dick has bought into it. Apparently the crappy kinky sex boyfriend that never was... has started conditioning his body for exhibitionism? General lewdness? Tim can't get a clear answer over the outrage.

But he is informed he Does Not Need the man. Must leave him at once. He isn't treating Tim properly and people who act like this don't TRUELY love him. Not like they do.

You know what? Fuck it, thinks Tim. Who's day has been weird, sexy, unsexy, and might be Really Awesome in just a few moments. Go big or go home. Witness Me. *teary Bambi eyes* "But... but he DOES love me~ and... and I would be So Alone with out him! He's right, no one could EVER want someone like meeee~~~"

And holy shit that actually works. Thank God they're pretty, because all these men are dumb as hell. He's gonna have to invent a fake scumbag ex. Maybe lead it back to Ra's. But first? His bed room is THAT way and he is but a poor waifish thing~ in need of love and fuckies~ pay attention to him.

tim being all 'im poor sad little slut 🥺 a poor sweet little boy that just needs attention 🥺 and love 🥺 and fuckies in my pussy 🥺🥺🥺' and using it to manipulate his family because they sabotage and ruin his other opportunities to get dick is so good 😭😭😭!!!!1