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letters-from-dekarios · 2 months

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aftermath

summary: you, your boyfriend, and your companions just saved the entire world from being turned into giant squid people. now, you have to go back to normal. how do you even do that?

or: you have anxiety over the future and gale comforts you.

word count: 2.3k

tags: sad angst/fluff, gale x gn!reader, tara is also there for a minute <3

As night fell over the city, a calm hush washed over you. This should have been a normal night, circled around the campfire with three of your close companions. You should be mentally preparing for the day to come, what trials you will encounter, and what people you’ll help. But tonight.. tonight was different. With the threat of a mindflayer infection gone, settling into a cozy bed with your boyfriend, Gale, almost felt.. wrong?

Wrong? Why would it be wrong? You’d been dreaming of having this moment together for ages now, and now you’re finally living it! The moonlight danced over your face as you turned to get comfortable, pushing the anxiety away from you with force. But as soon as you tried to close your eyes again, it came washing right back over you.

You turned onto your back once more, staring up at the ceiling with a sigh. You finally had a good, steady home after all those months fighting for it, and yet— you wanted nothing more than the comfort of having a purpose that was more than simply existing in this life.

Part of you wondered if that would ever wear off- perhaps you’d go scaring Gale half to death by seeking out a new adventure and new threats to conquer. The other part of you just wanted to get some damn sleep. And, well, also wondered when you’d settle back into “normal” life again. Could you even grasp that concept long enough to imagine it? After all, you weren’t exactly the ‘normal’ type.

Mindflayer specimens aside, you had changed as a person over the last few months. You were no longer the same as when you were abducted, no longer a simple baldurian trying to get by. You were a hero, known across all of Baldur’s gate— and further— for your acts. Normal didn’t really… exist for you, anymore.

Almost sensing your unease, Tara found her way into the bedroom. You hated to say it, but you found yourself seeing Gale’s comparison more and more every day. It’s a compliment! You almost had to remind yourself of that.

“Mister Dekarios won’t be pleased if he sees you awake,” Tara called from her ledge by the window. You turned to face her, a small smile greeting her presence.

“Mister Dekarios won’t be pleased if he sees those pigeon feathers in your fur, either.” You bantered with the Tressym. Tara had taken a liking to you, and you were rather glad for that.

With a small noise akin to a ‘tisk’, and a nudge to Gale, Tara was off back into the night. If only it were that easy.

It would take Gale a moment to wake, you knew that, so you stood and headed towards the window. Looking out over the city, mostly silent save for the occasional drunkard or merchant, your mind began to wander. Would you be here, now, with the one man you loved most, if it hadn’t been for those mindflayers? Would you ever have even crossed paths? You couldn’t answer that, and you didn’t want to, either.

A breeze slipped through the window, pushing your hair away from your face. You wrapped your arms around yourself, bracing for whatever would come next. What would come next?

Gale finally began to stir, a groan leaving him as he awoke in the dead of night. You pitied the wizard now and then, it was like he could never get enough sleep. Though… was it the age or the tadpoles that did it? You had no idea.

“Love..?” He called out, reaching to his side for you only to find you not there.

“Over here.” You replied, turning your head towards him so he could see you.

He made his way out of the bed, stretching out before stepping towards you. His hand found its way to your lower back, comforting the unspoken worries he could see on your face.

“What’s on your mind?” He asked a familiar question you were always unsure about answering. You might’ve responded ‘a flesh-eating tadpole’ before, but now that joke was obsolete.

“Come on, now, you’ve got something on that pretty little mind of yours— and it isn’t a tadpole this time.” Or, perhaps, Gale would make the joke for you.

“How do you do it?” You asked, turning your face back out to the city.

“Do what?”

“Go back to normal? I mean.. just a few weeks ago we didn’t know if we’d live or die and now.. now we’re supposed to cuddle together without the looming threats over our heads? How do you do it?” Desperation for an answer that would satisfy you lingered in your eyes as you looked up at him. How could he even begin to answer that?

“Darling…” Gale sighed, reaching up to cup your face with one hand. The other, still on your back, ran in a gentle, soothing circle.

“As much as it pains me to say it, there really is no… ‘normal.’ For god’s sake, we had devils chasing our tails and giant squid people trying to take over the world! Normal isn’t achievable for anyone nowadays.” He laughed softly, and though you knew in some part of you that he was right, it wasn’t the answer you wanted.

You pulled your face from his hand, looking back out through the window with your brows furrowed. You could hardly be mad at him for his sensible response, but you wanted more out of his answer.

Yes, logically, there was and never had been a ‘normal’. But it was the concept of normalcy that eased your mind at night. Knowing your daily routine would flow like usual, the baker would always have a fresh loaf for you in exchange for the three potions you prepped the night before (which you’d made in advance with the items you gathered that day on your way to check on your shop. Because of course, you had a shop!), that the librarian would have your books already set aside for you, and the blacksmith would have finished your newly commissioned dagger. Normal wasn’t even the right word for it anymore, it was the routine that kept you going.

“I understand that, Gale.” You replied, unusually cold to be speaking with him. Okay, maybe you were a little mad at him for his response. You knew he meant well, but, still.

“Ouch.” He frowned slightly, lowering his hands from you as he leaned against the frame of the window, his eyes trailing to watch the lights dancing in each home. “What troubles your heart, my love? Be honest with me, not angry.”

“Sorry..” You mumbled as you saw how you hurt him. You took a breath, ran a hand through your hair, and sighed out once more. “It’s just,” you stepped away from the window, gesturing as you tried to put your thoughts together, “before everything, the tadpoles and the mindflayers and the threat of constant death and before everything, I, you, we had lives, right? We both had family or friends we took care of, or a routine we’d settled into after years of careful planning, we had regulars or were regulars, we owned ourselves and our actions for who they were in their entirety, right?”

Gale nodded, allowing you to continue in your rambles. He had to admit he found it quite adorable the faces you made while deep in thought, though he wouldn’t say that aloud right now.

“Why is it so different now? It haunts me knowing I’m just.. supposed to find that all over again. Do that all over again. Everything has changed and yet nothing at all and I’m just supposed to figure it out? Like that? Why can’t things go back to the way they were, and why does it hurt so much knowing it will never be the same?” You asked, your voice cracking towards the end as piles of pain, guilt and fear washed over you.

“Oh, sweetheart..” Gale’s voice grounded you. His soft inflection of a pet name you adored brought you back to him, his arms open as you collapsed into him.

“I’m just so tired… and I can’t even find it in me to rest like this..” You added, allowing him to wrap his strong arms around you. You practically melted into him, despite still being so tense from your emotions.

“I didn’t know how troubled this was making you, my love.” He placed a gentle kiss on the top of your head, holding you tight in his arms. “How long have you been feeling like this, darling?” He asked, pulling back slightly to look down at your face.

You sniffled softly, tears slowly forming in your eyes and falling down your cheeks. You had kept it in for so long that the feeling of not feeling normal had, well, become normal. Letting it out was like dropping three smoke powder barrels down after carrying them from the goblin camp to Ethel’s teahouse because who knew when you might need them.

“A while..”

Gale sighed at your response, pulling back to sit down on the ledge of the window. He pulled you towards him and stood you between his legs, looking up at you with eyes full of worry and love. He took your hands in his own, rubbing his thumbs along your knuckles. “Y/n…” he started, grabbing your attention.

“You’re never going to get that back or find it again if you don’t communicate with me how you’re feeling. I’ve read thousands of books by all the wisest men in the world and yet I still can’t read your mind,” He paused, pursing his lips, “Well, I can, technically speaking. I choose not to. But that’s beside the point here.” He shook his head slightly at his diversion to the subject at hand.

“The point is, my love, I can’t help you, or us, gain or retain any sense of a normal routine if aren’t talking to me about it. It’s not easy by any means, and I don’t blame you for having your reservations about trying to find that again. Neither one of us is the same as how we started before all of this, too. You know that, yes?”

You nodded your head, using that as your response instead of verbally replying. Tears continued to roll down your cheeks as he spoke and you began to realize the true size of this issue.

“Instead of trying to go backward in time, can we agree to move forward together? Tell me, my love, what do you want for us?” He asked, reaching a hand up to your face and wiping a few tears away.

“I don’t… I want..” You had to think about it for a moment— what did you want with him? You never thought you’d get this far, especially since he was supposed to, you know, explode into a giant magical ball of energy (or however he explained it, you never understood that whole thing). And now here you were with him, all threats in your life gone and with the possibility to start anew, not over.

“I want us… I want... I want you. I want to start a life together with you.” You finally replied, sniffling and leaning into his touch.

The moonlight danced across the tears on your face, causing them to glisten and sparkle. Despite the high emotions, Gale couldn’t help in thinking about how pretty you looked at that moment.

“Then let’s start a life together.” He replied instantaneously, nodding his head in agreement with you. He dropped his hand from your cheek to your chin, lowering your head to look at him. “Let’s start a life together and have a million little children and a million Tressyms and—“

You cut him off with your laughter, shaking your head as he went on. Your soft laughs died into giggles and you found yourself leaning down to him, wrapping your arms around his neck.

“What? I’m being serious!” He gasped at your audacity to laugh at the idea of a million miniature Gale’s running around creating Tressyms. His gasp quickly shifted into his signature low chuckle, his arms slipping around your waist while he tugged you into his lap.

“A million children, Gale?” You asked, laughing still as you looked back at him, shaking your head.

“Oh, you’re right. A million and one. Just in case.” He joked, leaning in to rub his nose against yours.

“That’s better..” you giggled, leaning into him as your anxieties washed away. Every day you were more and more thankful that you had him by your side.

“Y/n…” He said softly, looking into your eyes.

“Mhm?” You hummed, running a hand through his hair. Your eyes were focused on his for a moment, then his lips, then his eyes again.

“Promise me you’ll be more open as we go through this together, my love.” His face was serious, and you were forced to focus on him entirely and not the overwhelming desire to kiss him right there.

“I promise.”

“Good.” His serious expression shifted to that trademark grin as he leaned into you, brushing his lips against yours before finally pressing them together. You, of course, returned the kiss with as much gentleness as he had put into it.

It wasn’t long until you were back in bed with him, a weight taken off your shoulders. You were still anxious, of course, but for a different reason this time. Not because you had to figure out how to parent a million children— but because you had a whole future ahead of you with someone who truly, unconditionally loved you and would always be there for you.

You finally drifted off to sleep, comfortably nestled in the arms of your lover. You found yourself dreaming of the life you’d have, no longer pressured by fitting into a mold that stopped fitting you long ago. It was time to create your own mold to grow into, and you knew Gale would be right by your side to help you do that.

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maleyanderecafe · 24 days

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Symptoms of Deceit (Visual Novel)

Created by: strawberry squid

Genre: Horror/Mystery

Symptoms of Deciet has some very fun world building considering that people are generally associated with different animals, along with a yandere of which asks you to stab him to prove his loyalty to you (which we don't do. Coward). This is an r18 demo, so while there are a lot of interesting things that set up the world, it has yet to be completed. Still, I think it's a good start for an interesting world. If you are interested, you can find out more at @symptomsofdeceit.

The story starts out pretty simply with Ariel working at their job as a secretary for Willani Epidemiology Lab. After some clicking around, we learn a bit more about their favorite drinks amongst other things. After looking through their phone and seeing some news about a disease that is affecting sea star based humans. We are then startled by Nalis who scares us playfully. After talking about the disease that is spreading to sea star base humans, our boss, Tremo seems to interrupt, pulling Nalis away from Ariel. Ariel is a bit off put by Tremo's sudden change in personality, seeing as she's almost never acted in such an irritated way however, shrugs it off to the stress she likely has thanks to the new disease.

After work, Ariel leaves and returns to their apartment, meeting a new person who has just moved in. Being a new neighbour, he asks to exchange phone numbers with Ariel.

Accepting this will lead to him introducing himself as Thaumo. While going in, Thaumo offers to walk them to their room, being persistant and worrying that there might be insects or other things going on. Ariel relents and the two go back to their respective rooms where Ariel can text both, one or neither of Thaumo and Nalis (sorry that sentence was kind of confusing). Nalis's responses are more playful and teasing while Thaumo is more sweet and cutesy.

After heading to work, Ariel can choose to text Nalis about being late.

If they do, then Nalis will text back with a cute and funny little emote before arriving on time and giving Ariel their favorite drink.

Ariel spots Tremo and greets her, however when asking about yesterday's conversation with Nalis, Tremo seems very visibly confused and tells Ariel that she didn't talk to Nalis after work at all and leaves, leaving Ariel to be kind of confused. Nearing lunchtime, Ariel spots Nalis passing by and also gets a text from Thaumo. They can either choose to talk to Nalis or text Thaumo back.

Texting Thaumo back will lead to him inviting Ariel to a nearby cafe for pastries. The two will talk about the cat cafe nearby and how even though Thaumo likes cats, they don't tend to like him nor do other animals, despite what kind of cute methods he tries to get them to come to him. The two of them also talk about his biology, learning about his blue blush, three hearts and copper based blood. During this time, Ariel gets a call from Tremo asking about specific documents while he sticks Ariel's fork in his mouth. Unfortunately, this means that Ariel has to go back to work suddenly thanks to the call as someone from the Beuro is there. Unforutnately by the time they get back, Tremo tells him that they have already left, and Ariel seems a bit saddened that they didn't really tell them about it. Ariel is then invited into a group chat with Nalis, Tremo, Thaumo and Dr. Willani, who as it turns out is one of the benefactors of the institution that Ariel works at. Ariel talks to Nalis and after a confusing conversation about the fact that Nalis and Ariel didn't talk the day before, the two talk about BERE whom is going to investigate their workplace.

While walking home, Ariel runs into Thaumo who is outside and was late to going to the Ariel's workplace before it suddenly started raining. Ariel ends up walking Thaumo back to their apartment and starts to read an article about the CEO of Orca Finance and his tragic accident, only to see Thaumo in this article as well. After going to work, Nalis invites everyone to go to an arcade, though Thaumo seems to fight against this. Ariel can then choose whether to go to the arcade with them or not.

Denying it will have Thaumo visit later in the day with the two talking about the article that Ariel read last night, with Thaumo reassuring that the Orca Fiance (the one supporting their lab) will not pull out their research fund before the two of them go to the lunch room to eat. There, the two end up seeing Nalis in the breakroom and Ariel can feel the tension between them. Ariel can then ask Nalis about his day. After watching Thaumo provoking Nalis, Ariel can also ask about what Thaumo is trying to pull.

Afterwards, it sees Thaumo got kicked out by Nalis and Nalis warns Ariel about a body down in their path, as they think about how the starfish disease is spreading quite quickly. While walking into the alleyway, Ariel recognizes a voice from one of her coworkers at the lab, as well as Nalis, the two of them fighting. Unable to ignore this, Ariel walks into the alleyway, and sees the so called Nalis turn into Thaumo before killing the coworker. Ariel tries to back out, but Nalis promises that he won't hurt Ariel before realizing that they don't remember him. They recount a memory together back when they were children, with him stating it's the reason for his living, as he had nothing else that seemed to matter. Ariel can try to give him some mini therapy, but he will still refuse to let go, even allowing Ariel to stab one of his three hearts, which we don't (coward). He talks about in the past years he's been able to push his body to the point of being able to do things a mimic octopus shouldn't be able to do, such as mimic other's appearances and voices perfectly, not being able to die if Ariel were to stab him in the heart amongst other things. Thaumo ends up letting Ariel go, warning them that if they do try to call for help or the police, Thaumo would end up just getting rid of them.

Ariel ends up going home, and seems to have a really difficult time trying to recall the memories of Thaumo, leading to a headache. Thaumo ends up crawling up into their apartment where you can throw things at him or be angry at him. Depending on actions you can also end up teasing him by sitting in his lap and kissing his cheek or just telling him that you'll walk with him to work. You do get to text him if Ariel decides not to sit in his lap, with an option to threaten to kick has ass or ignore him.

There are some other endings such as favoring Nalis will end with Thaumo breaking into the apartment at the end, only this time as Nalis, and acting as him (or at least, that's what we believe). Nalis will instead force Ariel to swallow drugs. After passing out Nalis (it is actually Nalis, not Thaumo) confesses that he too feels empty and hates the fact that he has feelings for Ariel. He decides to lean into it, and play around with it, hoping that he will get all good and bad emotions directed at him.

As well as attempting to call Nalis, only to have Thaumo catch Ariel, and pretend to be them, getting Nalis to hang up. We learn that he can also spawn tentacles out of him, much like a cuttlefish would. They have to reluctantly get along with Thaumo regardless.

There is an end credit scene where we get to see an event based on the childhood memory that first made Thaumo attached to Ariel. There is a boy that tries to wake Ariel up, only for Thaumo to stop him. The boy is a sea star type, with him seemingly infected by the disease that was talked about throughout the game, even telling Thaumo that he will for sure die. This brings Thaumo happiness then sadness as he is happy that he will be alone with Ariel but is sad that Ariel might be disheartened at this. When looking at Ariel, the boy states he doesn't want to die alone, with Thaumo finding an excuse to kill him as a result.

First of all, I got to say, I love the idea of having each character have a marine animal associated to them, being able to have certain powers that come with that animal is really neat. Even side characters, like the coworker that Thaumo kills has the ability to harden like a sea cucumber (which is his main animal), which really comes to focus. It's nice that the character designs also correspond to that in some way, like Thaumo and Nalis's eyes or blush color being similar to the mimic octopus and cuttlefish respectively. You can tell that this creator really has a love for marine biology, which you can see in this game. It's always really cool when you can feel the love and knowledge of a topic shine through in the game, since you can really feel that they clearly know a lot about it. I think the touch of being able to change the UI color in the beginning is really neat, along with the hearts that hang on the side to indicate how much affection Thaumo and Nalis have for Ariel is a good touch. The ability to choose the kind of backstory you want with Thaumo is always a good way to add some more customization in the game. I am a little worried about the possible scope of this game considering that it seems like there is also female yanderes planned for this game, but I'm sure that has never stopped other yandere game developers. It has a nice cutesy vibe to it thanks to the UI, backgrounds and character designs. Ariel as a main character I feel is nice as well, and I do like that they have a job relating to the main ideas of the game, namely marine animal research. In this case, they are just the front desk, but it is nice to see them interact with other characters in the lab as well. Hopefully we can see more of their interactions, maybe they get to be a lab member in the future? I think that would be cool. I've also heard we get to choose the type of marine animal that we would be associated with in the future. Personally I'd love to have some sort of shark as the animal of choice, but I guess we'll see. I think it could add some interesting abilities to the characters in terms of flavor text or even change how Ariel looks (like different blush colors like the rest of the cast or changes appearances like frown for shark based characters. Listen, I just think sharks are neat.)

Okay, time to start out talking about the two yanderes in this game, Thaumo and Nalis. We'll talk about Thaumo first because he's more prominent in this game as of now. Thaumo as a yandere is very clingy and is willing to be hurt by Ariel, so basically a pathetic meow meow of a yandere, which of course is one of my favorite types of yanderes. He seems to have been trying to find Ariel for a while now and when he does, he turns into various other characters to watch over them. You actually can see this in game, such as when Tremo is acting strangely in the very beginning, seemingly angry at Nalis while complimenting Ariel, or even when Ariel tries to talk to Nalis, only to find that he's been acting very strange. It's a neat detail that you don't really notice too much on your first play through if you're not paying attention, but is cool to see on consequential ones. I do kind of wish it had more significance to the character's actions, other than, "huh, that was weird", but I think for a setup it's pretty neat. We can also see him licking a fork that Ariel was using while they're on the call with Tremo (which was driving me up the wall) and the fact that he actually did allow us to stab him in one of his hearts (even though we didn't, again, coward). He seems very powerful, being able to not only completely mimic not only the appearance but also their voice and demeanor. I'm not sure if that's an inherent thing he can do, where he can just naturally act like the person he's mimicking or if it's something he has to study and watch over for it to work. There's also the fact that he can regenerate his hearts, though if we were to somehow get rid of three of them, it's hard to say whether he would have lived or died in that case. It is also possible that the appearance of Thaumo we see now might not actually be what Thaumo looked like originally. I'm also curious if he was in any way involved with Ariel's memory loss in the past. What exactly makes Thaumo's memory with Ariel so special and why does he consider everything else in his life not as such? It's an interesting mystery.

Nalis on the other hand, we do get to see a lot of him as a friend towards Ariel, but we don't get to see nearly as many yandere moments. We do know that he is aware of Thaumo's ability to take on other people's shapes and forms (which, how does he know this? Who knows.) From what I can tell, he seems to be a reluctant yandere, having initally hated that he had fallen in love with Ariel in the first place, but has decided to go all in and try to get all of their emotions directed onto them, whether good or bad. It's kind of an interesting way of monopolizing all of a lover, at least in terms of a yandere, since I think most of the time yanderes usually prefer having a positive interaction with their love and avoid any bad ones. I'm not sure what his abilities are though (certainly related to a cuttlefish, but what exactly could it be), so perhaps it would be revealed in the future. Would be cool if it is actually in the current demo, it's just not something I knew or noticed. He is very playful towards Ariel while also being protective, coming off as the best friend kind of character, though it does also make me wonder how exactly Nalis fell in love with Ariel in the first place, as well as how demented his real personality is, considering that it seems he had some sort of plan that Ariel "ruined". It was very cool seeing Thaumos pretend to be Nalis in one of the break room scenes, since the sudden change of personality seems to have caught Nalis and Ariel off guard.

Overall, I think this game is a very solid start and has really interesting world building. I think that being able to see how the starfish disease affects the rest of the plot and how exactly the two yanderes Nalis and Thaumo ended up in this position of falling in love with Ariel. The character designs and artwork are all very great and I love the small customization that you can add to the UI. I think it could go one step further and maybe make the UI more marine themed? I dunno, just a thought. If you are interested in this game, please come and check it out.

#Symptoms of Deceit #yandere #male yandere #yandere boy #recommendations #ongoing #visual novel

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solemnarration · 2 years

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the girl with the books | r.l

pairings: remus lupin x reader (she/her pronouns) genre(s): marauder era, strangers to lovers, fluff, humour summary: james and sirius notice that it’s not the books that keep remus in the library, and are determined to know whether you – the object of remus’s affection – return his feelings. word count: 3.0k warning(s): none note: this is a 2022 update of the fic of the same name that i wrote back in 2016! my writing has improved by leaps and bounds and i couldn’t help but edit and improve the fic that a few of you seemed to really love :) i hope you enjoy it if you liked the original, or that you find something new to read

The Hogwarts library was the place where you found the most solace. Even on the few days that the Scottish countryside provided undisturbed sunshine, like today, you preferred to curl up with a book on one of the grand wooden tables. You enjoyed your time in the library; reading fiction or researching different topics that you were curious about. While your friends encouraged you to enjoy the warm day with them, you easily waved them off in favour of the dimly lit library.

Remus Lupin could be found in the library as often as you, except it wasn’t the books that kept him coming back. The sight of you sitting in a corner reading by yourself was enough to draw his attention every few minutes. He couldn’t even help himself, his eyes had no choice in the way they continually found your figure, but he was in no place to complain.

Remus sat with his three best friends at the other end of the library, and they were less than happy to be spending the first sunny day of spring in the library rather than bothering the giant squid in the black lake. Now that the weather was no longer freezing, Sirius and James were desperate to cause some mischief, and Peter was happy to comply.

“What is it that you find so fascinating about a hall full of books?” Sirius inquired, lifting a book up from the table, grimacing at the idea of spending his free time reading, and carelessly dropping it back onto the table.

Remus flinched as the sound resonated throughout the library, capturing your attention as you gave the four friends an inquisitive look. For a moment, Remus held his breath, unable to tear his eyes away from you as you gave him a speck of casual attention. Realising it was just James Potter and his friends messing around, you happily returned to your reading without a second thought.

“It’s not about the books, Padfoot,” Remus snapped quietly, glancing away with reddened cheeks, the heat of your gaze on him still warming his body. “And I didn’t force you to be here,” he reminded.

“Well, no,” Sirius sighed. “But it’s terribly tragic for you to spend the first nice day Hogwarts has seen in-“

“A decade,” James chimed in, exaggerating to help Sirius make a point.

“A decade,” Sirius agreed with a nod. “Inside a hall full of books instead of playing outside with us! As your friend, it’s our duty to convince you to abandon this wretched place and do something more fun.”

“Well said, Padfoot,” James agreed, tall frame spread languidly across three chairs in a makeshift bed. “Dare I say, revolutionary. So, black lake, Moony?”

“I’m perfectly content here, thank you very much,” Remus refused, thoroughly entertained by James and Sirius’s usual dramatics.

“Who could be content in such an oppressive place,” Sirius complained, as if he himself didn’t have good grades and didn’t spend time studying in this very library. “Other than Lily,” he added, recognising the smitten glint in James’s eyes that he got every time he brought her up.

“She’s so responsible, my lovely Lily,” James sighed, pleased with himself. “I’m going to marry that girl, just you wait and see. It’s the only reason I come to the library with her.”

“You come to the library to chat up Lily? No wonder you aren’t dating yet,” Sirius teased. As James and Sirius went back and forth poking fun at each other, Peter pondered Remus’s words.

“If you’re not here for the books, what are you here for?” Peter wondered aloud, causing Sirius and James to glance expectantly at their friend.

Remus rolled his eyes, intending to fabricate a fantastic comeback that would distract his three friends, but even the thought of you caused his stare to drift back to where you were, now getting up to choose a different book to check out of the library.

He loved the way you did that. Even if you finished a book in your time at the library, you always made sure to bring a book with you.

Remus loved the way you did everything, really. He had always liked you, ever since you loaned him a quill when he forgot his during Defence Against the Dark Arts. Even now, it was his favourite class just because it made him think of you.

“Moony?” Sirius waved a hand in front of Remus’s face in an attempt to grab his attention. “Remus, what are you staring at?” he followed Remus’s gaze and saw exactly what he was staring at. “Oh,” he said, finally connecting all the very obvious clues together. “It’s not a what, it’s a who,” Sirius practically giggled with glee.

James’s head snapped in your direction, scrambling to sit up and launch himself next to Sirius in an effort to get a good look at you. This commotion once again drew your attention, leading James and Sirius to act as naturally as they could. They picked up the books stacked in front of them and made a big deal out of reading the text aloud, the act so comical and over-the-top that it couldn’t possibly be convincing.

You grinned to yourself, shaking your head in amusement, and slipped behind a bookshelf to look over the Herbology section. Frank Longbottom had recommended a delightful title on growing Dittany and other healing herbs, and you took the older boy’s recommendations very seriously.

Once you were out of sight, James tossed his book thoughtlessly aside, snatching Remus’s book from his grasp to gain his undivided attention. “Who is that, Moony my dear?” James asked, adjusting his glasses. They had slipped down his nose when he whipped his head around to look at you, and the act had made the boy a little dizzy.

“Who?” Remus asked, knowing that his performance was pitiful and unconvincing, and pretending not to understand regardless of this fact. “What do you mean?”

Frustrated that Remus was lying, and subsequently that he was an absolutely terrible liar, Sirius exclaimed, “The girl you were staring at!”

“Who is that girl? Do you know her?” James asked excitedly, taking a more enthusiastic approach than Sirius in hopes that it would make Remus open up about his crush.

“Girl?” Remus repeated, squinted as if he was giving this conversation a real good thought, before widening his eyes sarcastically. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, sorry boys.”

James and Sirius shared a look – having a silent conversation that Remus would promptly regret keeping them in the dark about his crush – before rolling their eyes and sighing. They had decided it: they were just going to have to catch you when Remus was gone.

A few hours later, it had darkened considerably since you first entered the library, and once you realised that you had been hauled up in the library for a considerable amount of time, you realised how hungry you were. Perhaps camping out in the library all day without a proper lunch wasn’t your best idea, but at least you knew dinner would be ready soon.

Rising, you stretched your legs before collecting all the books you had flicked through that day and moving to stow them back in their original places on the tall Hogwarts library shelves. Most of them were within a reasonable reach, slotting easily into their previous spots as you strolled happily throughout the library. However, one of the books was at a considerably higher place on the shelf, and you couldn’t put it away even on the tips of your toes.

With a huff of frustration, you stood flat on your feet and were about to reach for your wand when someone took the book from your grasp. “Here,” a voice said from behind you. “Let me help you with that!”

You turned just in time to see Sirius Black easily putting your book away for you, his friend James Potter standing nearby with an uncharacteristic spring in his step. Though James and Sirius were always a ball of energy in the classes you shared with them, the grins they sported today were difficult to identify. Perhaps mischievous would be the best way to describe the perfect simpers on their faces.

“Thanks,” you acknowledged his help with furrowed brows, wondering what Sirius and James could possibly be so ecstatic about. When the two boys simply stared at you, unmoving, you figured that they wanted something from you. “Did you two need something?” you asked, their unwavering smiles growing slightly unnerving.

“Oh!” Sirius seemed to realise that they were staring at you, and how disturbing this might be to a girl they had hardly spoken to. “Right! Yes, actually. We wanted to have a word with you.”

“Okay,” you nodded as if this wasn’t unusual. James and Sirius certainly didn’t seem to think their behaviour was odd, so you figured they were harmless on this particular occasion.

“We were just wondering if you knew Remus,” James explained himself, barely keeping still with excitement. “I mean, you do know him, don’t you?”

You nodded, still weary of where the conversation was leading. Sirius and James were known to be pranksters, and you weren’t sure if you were the next victim of one of their jokes. “Yes, I know Remus,” you confirmed. “He’s your friend, right? I speak to him sometimes when we’re in the library at the same time.” When Sirius and James linked hands and started jumping up and down, utter confusion overwhelmed you. “Uh, why do you ask?”

Noticing your discomfort, James and Sirius stopped jumping in favour of smiling at you. “I’m sorry, what was your name again? We share a few classes but between listening to the Professor and keeping James in check it can be hard to keep up,” Sirius said, his natural charisma making him instantly likeable.

“Y/n,” you introduced yourself.

“Nice to meet you, Y/n,” James said politely. “Now, this may seem quite blunt, but we want to set you up with our friend Remus,” he said matter-of-factly, followed by an encouraging nod from Sirius.

Your eyes widened at the confession. “Oh,” you said awkwardly. “I’m not going to lie, I had no idea that’s what you were going to say.”

“We have that effect on people,” said James, nodding sympathetically, as if people often had this reaction to the things they said. “So? What do you say? Give our mate Remus a chance?”

“Oh, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” you shook your head, trying to smile politely.

The smiles on Sirius and James’s faces faded. “Why not?” Sirius inquired, tilting his head to the side as he observed your nervous expression. “Do you not like Remus?”

“Why wouldn’t you like Remus?” James added, appalled and affronted at the mere idea of someone not liking their best friend. “You like reading, don’t you? Well, Remus might even have you beat! He’s the world’s biggest bookworm.”

“Incorrigible,” Sirius agreed. “Can’t get him out of this bloody library. And you aren’t helping, either,” he added.

“I’m not?”

“Of course not!” James exclaimed. “You only keep him here even longer than usual! Even on a day as lovely as this.”

“Perfect for wasting time,” sighed Sirius, lamenting the wonderful day outside they had missed out on. “So, how come you don’t like Remus?”

“That’s not it,” you said hurriedly, struggling to get a word in amongst their quick banter. “It’s just,” you sighed. “Why are you asking me this anyway?” you changed the subject, hoping it would take some of the heat off of you.

Luckily for you, it worked. “Well, Remus seems to have developed a crush on you,” James said casually, as if he wasn’t bearing one of his best friends’ deepest secret. Well, second deepest secret. “It’s really quite adorable. All the typical crush symptoms. You know, longing gazes,” James began listing the many qualities he had noticed in Remus during the last few hours. “Romantic, hopeless sighing whenever you’re around, losing focus, refusing to play with his best friends even on a day as perfect as this.”

“The list goes on!” Sirius exclaimed. You had to smile at the two friends, not only were they quite comical, but they seemed to be buzzing with endless energy. “I think it would benefit you to give Remus a chance. He’s rather attractive, our friend.”

“Though, not as attractive as us,” James added, winking to show that he was joking.

“Well we can’t hold everyone to such impossible standards,” Sirius said sympathetically, nodding to himself. “Still, he’s quite attractive! Charming and kind, too. All the things girls like. So are you in?”

“Well,” you stammered, feeling your face burning with embarrassment when you saw how intently Sirius and James were looking at you.

To save you from your answer, the sound of Remus’s footsteps and voice interrupted your sentence. “What are you boys still doing here,” he froze when he came into view, noticing the way Sirius and James had cornered you. “Y/n?” he asked, the picture of you hanging out with his two best friends nothing short of foreign and unfamiliar. Remus sighed in annoyance when he saw Sirius and James exchange guilty faces. “What have these two told you?” he asked you, already dreading your answer.

“We didn’t tell her much,” Sirius said, quick to defend their actions. “We’ve just been… talking,” he added, purposely leaving out the subject matter. James nodded rigorously, smiling innocently at Remus with visible panic in his eyes.

“I’ll talk to you both later,” Remus said to his friend, tone firm and borderline scolding. Then, he faced you with what looked like an apologetic smile. “Do you need help putting that away?” he asked, nudging his head to the last two books in your arms

You smiled, instantly more comfortable now that Remus was there. With a nod, you left Sirius and James behind in favour of putting your books away. “Listen,” Remus began, gently taking your books and putting them on the correct shelf in the Herbology section. “I’m really sorry for whatever Sirius and James said,” he let out a nervous laugh, easily reaching the high shelves thanks to his tall height.

“Don’t be,” you shrugged, charmed by Remus’s very presence. Something about Remus’s gentle spirit contrasted comfortably with Sirius and James’s craziness, and it settled your heart in a wonderful way. “They meant well, I think,” you smiled up at Remus. “Your friends are really nice.”

“I wouldn’t say nice, perhaps deranged is more accurate,” Remus joked, a pleased smile gracing his lips when you laughed. “But they’re pretty great. I can always count on them to say things I’m too scared to say,” he admitted, trailing off into a comfortable silence.

“I don’t know about them being deranged, but they did have some interesting things to say,” you admitted, fully intending to tease Remus once you realised his friends were telling the truth. He really did have a crush on you. “All about crushes, and longing gazes,” you added, grinning when you saw Remus turn slightly pink at your insinuation.

Remus groaned, lifting his hands to cover his face in embarrassment. “Oh Merlin,” he muttered, nervous laughter bubbling from his mouth. “I’m so sorry! If anything they said made you uncomfortable, I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be,” you shook your head. “I wasn’t uncomfortable. Stunned by the sheer force of their energy? Definitely. But not uncomfortable. I guess it was just hard to believe,” you admitted. “Still is, really.”

“What, that I fancy you?” Remus asked, uncovering his eyes once you assured him that you weren’t upset. “Why is that hard to believe?”

“I don’t know, you’re… Remus Lupin,” you explained terribly. “You’re a Gryffindor and you’re funny and popular. Your friends didn’t even know what my name was and I’ve been in your class for nearly six years now,” you recalled, shrugging your shoulders good-naturedly.

“Sirius and James hardly remember their own names, I wouldn’t take it personally,” Remus wisecracked, though there was a seriousness in his eyes that made you believe his words. “Besides, the trouble is only just starting!” he added. “Now that they know your name, you won’t be able to get rid of them.”

“Sounds terrifying,” you joked back, grinning.

“There’s no escaping those two,” Remus said dramatically. “I’ve been trying to shake them for six years now, but they don’t seem to care.”

“Maybe I should change my name,” you offered.

“Why didn’t I think of that?” Remus burst out, laughing at your banter. You grinned at each other, so absorbed with the other person that you didn’t notice Sirius and James poke their heads around the shelf to eavesdrop on your conversation. “Y/n, do you think,” Remus paused, intimidated by the adorable way in which you turned your head and smiled at him. You were overwhelmingly perfect, and it was really starting to distract the poor boy. “Would you maybe…”

“Would I maybe?” you encouraged.

“Would you maybe want to go to Hogsmeade with me? This upcoming weekend? If you’re not busy that weekend, I mean,” Remus said, barely getting the words out without struggling.

“Oh,” the smile on your face widened almost impossibly so. “I think I might be busy,” Remus’s face dropped, eyes averting to his feet to hide his disappointment. “Changing my name to avoid these two boys I just met. However, their friend is pretty cute, so perhaps I could postpone my plans,” you added quickly, not wanting your joke to go badly.

Remus’s head rose quickly to meet your eyes, a relieved sigh leaving him. “Really?” he asked rhetorically, and before you could confirm your answer, you heard loud cheering come from beside you. Within seconds, James and Sirius leapt out from behind you and tackled Remus into a hug.

“Yeah Remus!”

“That’s our best friend!”

“Our best friend is finally going on a date!”

“Don’t scare her off,” Remus warned, pushing James away as he started peppering kisses across his face. “Seriously, stop it,” he laughed, not meaning a single word.

“No,” Sirius said proudly, pulling you in to join their hug. “Y/n’s just going to have to get used to us.”

You quite liked the sound of that.

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demonoflight · 1 year

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Initially, when I realized the Squid Sisters rotate between all three team colors during the Splatfest instead of sticking to one team, I was pretty amused. Like, what a good way to cover three colors when there are only two Squid Sisters! Also, it’s not their Splatfest...

Ah.

It’s not their Splatfest. They don’t have to pick a team. They don’t have to fight. They can just perform at the Plaza to their hearts’ content and get paid for doing the part of being an idol they actually like, and they don’t have to think or care about the results at all.

It’s Deep Cut’s turn to do all the heavy lifting, and they aren’t falling into the same relationship pitfalls Callie and Marie fell into. This is partially because they’re a bit older than the Squid Sisters were during their time in Inkopolis News (the girls were just 17...), partially because their friendship is inherently different than the cousins’, and partially because the three of them seem to enjoy the competition more than they care about actually winning.

Things really have changed, and I think it’s for the better for everyone.

#splatoon #splatoon 3 #splatfest #squid sisters

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thetygre · 13 days

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Working on a theory about the origins of the Chaos Gods specifically in Warhammer 40k.

Slaanesh was born from the old aeldari empire; that’s a given. So you can think of Slaanesh as being uniquely aeldari, even if Slaanesh is everyone’s problem now.

Now old, old lore states that the other three Chaos Gods are born from humanity, but this has widely been disregarded and abandoned because it’s clearly a cop-out. The only specific piece of data from this bit of lore is that Nurgle was born from humans during the Black Plague.

I’m actually not 100% opposed to this. I like the idea that Nurgle is uniquely related to humans the same way Slaanesh is related to eldar. Humans, being a naturally short lived race, would produce a Chaos God of death and decay reflecting their existential fears about entropy and the nature of time.

This establishes a pattern in 40k; every species with a major warp signature produces a Chaos God, who will carry on inherent traits of their creator species long after that species has been driven to extinction. Ergo, Tzeentch and Khorne were produced by two other, far more ancient alien cultures.

The only hints we can get about these extinct species come from their Chaos Gods’ Greater Daemons. As the Chaos Gods have no real physical form, their Greater Daemons are the most direct manifestations of their power we can experience, and therefore the only way to see any of their creator species traits. In the same way we can extrapolate an eldar from a Keeper of Secrets and a human from a Great Unclean One, we should be able to extrapolate… something from a Changer of Ways and a Bloodthirster.

This actually leads me to the tzaangor.

(These things. The bird people the Thousand Sons use when they don’t feel like getting their Rubric Marines dirty.)

The tzaangor’s presence in 40k is a leftover; they’re here because they’re in Warhammer Fantasy, and we need to flesh out Tzeentch’s armies, so in they go. Their explanation makes sense in Fantasy - they’re just another type of beastman. But beastmen aren’t really a thing in 40k, or at least they haven’t been for a few editions.

So that gets me thinking about the tzaangor, their similarities to Changers of Ways, and Tzeentch. I don’t think tzaangor in 40k are just some random mutants; I think they’re primitive leftovers of whatever species made Tzeentch. The similarities between the tzaangor and Changer of Ways are too obvious. (Like yes, duh; the tzaangor are derived from the Changers, but bear with me here.)

My theory is that whatever this species was, they were pioneers of the Warp itself. They harnessed it in a way not even the Old Ones had during the War in Heaven. They may even have been the creators of Warp travel, or something like it. They achieved a transcendental, almost godlike amount of power from harnessing the energy of the empyrean.

And then you know how the story goes; more power than mortal beings are meant to know blah blah blah, absolute knowledge is absolute power and absolute power corrupts absolutely yadda yadda yadda, and then the next thing you know Tzeentch has been born. And Tzeentch keeps the leftovers of his creator race around for one of a hundred different reasons; anything can be justified with Tzeentch by it being part of one of his master plans or split personalities.

What’s left now of the tzaangor are Chaos-ridden mutants hustled around by the new power in the universe; humans. They’re still surprisingly intelligent, but comparatively primitive next to their species in its prime. I like to imagine that since the species was so psychically gifted, Tzeentch’s birth wiped their intellects in an instant, like Slaanesh and the Fall of the Eldar. Just a lethal psychic shockwave that decimated billions, Watchmen squid style. It’s taken millennia for the tzaangor to redevelop their current level of intellect, and they live in fear with the constant knowledge that Tzeentch can take it away again at any time.

Now as for Khorne! …I got nothing. I think, by his nature as the god of bloodshed and murder, Khorne completely wiped out his progenitor species. He did not quit halfway through like the other Chaos Gods. The only thing I can assume about them is that, as Khorne is the oldest Chaos God, they were ancient. Maybe even older than the Old Ones and Necrons. If the War in Heaven wasn’t enough to create Khorne, then I’d like to know what was. Like, this was the Cain species; the first species to really get into warfare and unrestrained violence. They might not even have known the Warp existed until Khorne came screaming out of it. And that species is remembered now as the ground floor of the Skull Throne.

Anyway, that’s that screed scooped out of my brain.

#warhammer 40k #warhammer 40000 #chaos #chaos daemons #chaos space marines #chaos gods #tzeentch #khorne #slaanesh #nurgle #long post

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artbyblastweave · 23 days

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Curious if you'd say you've ever seen a superhero work that genuinely deserved the alt-history genre classifier, and otherwise at what point its even possible to use it vs going 'this has decades of in-universe history but doesn't deserve to be called alt-history for [REASONS]'

Only one I can think of off-hand that has enough granulated timeline-development would be Wild Cards, but curious if you think others qualify and/or if you think WC doesn't qualify

I can't really comment on Wild Cards extensively (haven't read that much of it) but I can comment on a few other works. To briefly be the guy who talks about the same three works all the time:

Watchmen I think totally qualifies- Nixon is on his fifth term, electric cars are ubiquitous due to Dr. Manhattan's ability to synthesize lithium, Vietnam is the 51st state, the zeitgeist is consumed by pirate comics, and everyone in New York got murdered by a giant fake squid. And superheroes are real.

Unfortunately I also have to note that The Boys flirted with this; among other things, superheroic "intervention" resulted in the Brooklyn Bridge getting destroyed during 9/11, Prescott Bush and some of the other Business plot guys got wiped out during an attempted superheroic field test in World War 2, The War on Terror is being fought primarily in Pakistan, and Dakota Bob is president because George Bush Jr. killed himself playing with a chainsaw. The fact that none of this really pans out into a tangibly different society is deliberate, as part of the comic's drumbeat that superheroes, while roundly bad, also fundamentally don't matter, and are at best able to make things bad in different ways without really changing the shape of the structures that produced them.

Worm is in kind of a weird spot here- it objectively is an alternate history, countless things are different, whole nations are gone, we see a lot of alterations to the culture- but it gives limited airtime to a lot of the specifics of how things got to where they are, beyond the broad clusterfuck generated by the parahumans. To some extent, the fact that the world is radically different is downplayed until the back half because society at the start of the story is Stepford-smiling through an immanent apocalypse- and, you know, the immanent apocalypse is ultimately kind of the relevant difference from our world. But on the whole, I doubt there's a really tight worldbuilding document documenting all the ripple effects on the dramatis personae of history. The story's pretty vague about, for example, what the American presidential lineup has been since Reagan, what electoral politics look like in a world of Capes. It's vague about basically everything else in that nitty-gritty, concrete-details vein.

I do think that all of these, Worm in particular, highlight a major issue you're gonna run into when trying to do alternate universe stuff with capes, and it's that, first of all, doing really robust, thoughtful and fleshed-out alternate history is already really fucking hard, requiring a strong command of the history and culture of maybe up to the entire world, depending on the scope of your project- and superhero stuff already suffers from really strong American provincialism, so the depictions can get stupid fast if you aren't careful. Then on top of that the nature of the cape genre is that you're going to be following a pretty pared-down central cast; authorial and audience bandwidth will be tied up with what's going on with these specific guys over the course of their story, which can get in the way of a birds-eye view of their world, unless you're specifically structuring the story in a way to dodge that issue (which, you know, I get the impression Wild Cards did.)

I also think a commonality in the above works is that a lot of the alt-history changes are instrumental, included not as the result of the author trying to hyper specifically model falling dominoes from a specific point of change, but because they help the work to make its point. I doubt Alan Moore has a one-hundred-page forum thread detailing the fallout of America winning the Vietnam War, but such a thing would be beside the point- which is that God being an American Agent would fuck shit up geopolitically, regardless of the specifics. I mean a lot of this is vibes-based already, right? In objective terms the MCU has been an alternate history for years, but it doesn't claim that label, doesn't market itself as such, so it isn't. I think it comes down to whether you decide to wear that outfit on the runway, and how well it hangs on you once you've opened yourself to judgement on those grounds.

#thoughts #meta #anyway if a World War Z style mockumentary about the superhuman age doesn't exist I'm gonna have to write it #ask #asks #worm #watchmen #parahumans #the boys

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marlynnofmany · 1 year

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Troublemakers and Pestcatchers

I had just finished saying “Don’t let her claw you,” when the cat’s paw connected with the waving head frills of my crewmate.

“Ow, that’s sharp!” Blip exclaimed, pulling her head back to a safe distance while her brother pointed and laughed. I didn’t see any blood, so that was good.

“I did mention the claws,” I said patiently, adjusting my hold on the barely-a-kitten who was intensely fascinated by all the motion in the hallway. I’d brought her out with harness and leash, taking turns acclimating the cats to more than just my room on the ship. So far they were doing well. Only clawing the really tempting stuff.

“You should know better than that!” Blop said, waggling his own fins from a safe distance. He made broad gestures with both arms, filling the space with muscles and flowy blue silks. “Don’t stick your face next to the tiny predator!”

“It didn’t hurt before!” Blip objected. She folded beefy arms in indignance, stepping farther away when this earned another swipe at her sleeve.

I caught the kitten’s paw and gave it a gentle squeeze. “The claws only stick out when they want them to,” I said. “See?”

The Frillian twins crowded close despite everything, and were quietly impressed. I let up on the squeezing but kept hold of the paw. When the twins stepped back, I stroked the kitten and murmured praises for holding still.

This one was my favorite, not that I would admit such a thing when the plans were clear that I had to find homes for all of them soon. I’d made sure to give them simple names for the most part, since their new humans would likely rename them. While the mom cat was Tapestry and the gray one was Mimi (named after our engineer), the others got names like Cloudy, Classy, and Casserole.

This one was Telly. Short for Teleporter Malfunction. Because she was one of the very few chimera cats I’d met in person: her face was a perfect split between orange with a golden eye, and black with a piercing blue eye. The rest of her fur was a fascinating mix of the two. I’d explained the rarity of embryos fusing in the womb to more than one alien crewmate, but none of them seemed to appreciate the striking beauty. All the cats were weird little predators to them.

“Have you found homes for more yet?” Blop asked. “There’s not many humans at this stop, but maybe at the next?”

I nodded. “I called ahead to put the word out to somebody I know, and I may have a taker for a couple at once at the big station. Soon I won’t have to kitten-proof my quarters anymore.”

“Have they fallen on your face while you sleep?” Blip asked with a grin.

“No,” I said, “Because I put a proper shelf there, instead of just the pipes. And more shelves so they can climb up without knocking anything off the wall.”

Blip nodded. “Wise.”

The intercom binged at that point, with the captain calling me specifically to help load up our next cargo. She didn’t specify why, but we all knew. I was the animal expert. This cargo had hooves.

“Have fun!” Blop said.

“Best of luck!” Blip added.

“Thanks,” I said. “C’mon Telly, back to the room with you.” I took my leave and returned the kitten to her family, most of whom were napping on my bed, then I hurried off to the cargo bay.

It was space goats again. Not the exact same ones, thankfully, since those had been masterful escape artists, but only time would tell if these were just as bad.

At least there’s only three of them, I thought as I joined Captain Sunlight and Mur. It sure would be nice if somebody provided their own livestock carrier, though. Mur was holding three leashes in three different tentacles, looking like a particularly grumpy squid while the captain finished signing for the delivery. The space goats ambled in circles, sticking their long necks in every direction and fondling anything within reach with the field of orange tentacles on their backs. It still looked like fur at a glance, even though I knew better. A very confusing glance.

“It’s a pleasure doing business with you,” said Captain Sunlight with a nod of her scaly yellow face. The delivery person, another Heatseeker with green scales, nodded back and took his leave. “Say hi to the family for me!” Captain Sunlight called after him. He waved. She hit the button to shut the cargo hatch.

It was a bit loud in closing, and the three goats immediately sent up a chorus of whining bleats that echoed through the ship.

Captain Sunlight’s tail drooped. “This is going to be a long trip,” she said. “Let’s get them to the pen. Are the vent covers still in place?”

“Oh yes,” Mur said firmly. “Fused the bars myself. And I checked the camera too.”

“Good,” said the captain.

“Here’s to a trip with no shenanigans,” I said. “Do you want me to carry the supplies?” I gestured to the box of food with a red ball that looked like a dog toy on top.

“I’ll handle those.” Mur thrust the leashes toward me. “You take these. I’m tired of being licked.”

I couldn’t argue that. My reach was longer and so were my legs; these beasties were small bundles of trouble. And of course they didn’t want to go. Not when they could do a maypole tangle of leashes around my legs instead.

“Is that an enrichment toy, by any chance?” I asked, stepping over yet another leash.

Captain Sunlight plucked it off the box and held it out to me. Definitely a dog toy. I held all three leashes tightly in one hand long enough to toss it down the hall. “Hey goats! Fetch!”

Tangled leashes or not, they ran for it. I did my best to keep up, with Mur and Captain Sunlight following behind me, trusting that I knew what I was doing.

I was definitely making some of this up as I went, but they didn’t need to know that. Alien creatures or not, these were still animals, and I knew animals. Reasonably well.

The ball rolled to a stop before we reached the right storage hold, and I managed to hold the goats back long enough to elbow the door-opener button, then kick the ball through. They bounced in eagerly, rebounding off three crates and getting more excited by the second.

While two of them were having a hilarious tentacle slapfight over the ball, and the other was chewing on it, I got the door open to the large clear pen that dominated the room. A nudge of the ball with one shoe was enough to get everybody moving into it. Throwing dignity to the winds, I knelt by the door, holding it mostly shut with one knee, but open enough for my arms to fit through and unhook the leashes. The goats bounced in excitement. None tried to climb my face to freedom, and I shut the door in triumph.

“Success!” I announced to Mur, holding the leashes up.

“Well done,” he said. “You get to put those back on when it’s time to offload them.”

“Ugh,” was all I had to say to that.

Mur chuckled as he stowed the box of food in a low cubby. “You know, the nicer models of that pen come with an airlock.”

“And they cost as much as a new set of thrusters,” said Captain Sunlight from the door. “Good thing we’ve got you to stand at the ready with a capture net instead, right?”

Mur sighed. “I look forward to it.”

The rubber ball thwapped against the wall of the pen, followed by tiny hooves. I turned see that these three had picked up the knack of skating across the anti-climb surface even faster than the last ones had. “Quick learners,” I said.

Mur just sighed again.

“I’ll keep an eye on that camera from the cockpit,” said Captain Sunlight. “Be ready to come running if they pry the bars off or something.”

“They will not,” Mur said, jabbing a tentacle in the direction of the goats, as if they were listening instead of enacting an elaborate low-grav roller derby.

“Here’s hoping,” I said. “Are we ready for takeoff?”

“Just about,” said the captain. “I’m going to check in with Kavlae now. We should be in the air soon.”

She left, and we followed, with the goats having a grand old time behind us. Blip and Blop peered through the open door in curiosity.

“That looks like a handful!” said Blip.

“Who spilled food?” asked Blop.

“What?” Mur demanded, spinning in place.

I spotted the pile of food pellets, right next to the bin Mur had just carried in.

Mur scowled. “That wasn’t leaking a minute ago.” He tentacle-walked over to glare down at the offending bin. Then he made a noise that was probably a swear word. It sounded more like a fart to my Earthling ears, but either way, it was rude in polite society.

And when I got close, I saw why. “Those are toothmarks,” I said.

“Toothmarks that appeared while we were standing here,” Mur said, pulling the box out and opening the lid just a crack. Nothing jumped out. He opened it all the way, then shut it and began looking through the cubbies. “Everybody grab a flashlight, and shut the door,” he instructed.

I hit the button while Blip and Blop hurried to a supply cabinet. “Any guess what we’re looking for? Is this station known for pests?”

Before Mur could answer, Blip called, “No, but they are!” She pointed at the space goats.

Learning something every day, I thought. “What kind?” I asked.

“Little fast things the same color as their backwhips.” Blip held her fingers apart for size. Dinky. “Grabbers for holding on, and they’re really good at chewing through stuff.”

“Great,” I said. “Hey, did we not scan these guys on acceptance?”

Mur shoved a crate aside, punctuating his sentences with effort. “No. Old client. Trusted friend. In a hurry. Gonna scan ‘em in the air. Never had a problem before!”

Blop shone a light into a far corner. “Captain’s gonna have strong words for that friend as soon as she hears.”

“Should we tell her now?” I asked.

“There!” shouted Blip, launching herself fist-first across the room to where something zipped along, an orangeish blur. She dealt the floor a mighty hammerblow with bodyslam to follow, but fell just inches shy. The thing scuttled to the door where it wriggled through a tiny gap that I hadn’t realized was there.

Blip pounded the floor again, then scrambled to the button that Mur was already pressing. Judging by the exclamations and lack of further violence, they didn’t see a trace of it out in the hall.

“Now we tell the captain,” Mur said. “I’ll go. Keep the door shut, and look for more.”

I looked back at the goats. “We should get Eggskin’s medscanner in here right away.”

“On it,” Blip said. She exchanged nods with her brother, then shut the door from outside.

Blop tossed me a flashlight. I caught it and started looking near the doorway. “I’m surprised there’s a gap here,” I said. “Did the door shut on something?” It looked slightly warped.

“There’s a long story to that,” Blop said, head in a cabinet. He stepped back and moved on. “But it can be summarized as ‘Pockap.’”

“Ah. Gotcha.” The former captain of this ship was an endless source of grievances even now. He’d probably wanted to run a power cord into the hall or something, and dented the door on purpose.

“There!” Blop yelled, then did a series of angry stomps the led to nothing more than probably some annoying echoes in the engine room. “Where’d it go?”

“I don’t see it,” I said, moving closer and shining my light around. The goats in the pen were bleating in excitement, but a glance showed them just watching us, which wasn’t helpful. “I’m pretty sure there’s a better way to do this.”

“Like what?” Blop asked.

Before I could explain my bright idea to him, Eggskin arrived with the medscanner that I hadn’t fully learned to use yet. Blip towered over the little Heatseeker, talking a mile a minute about the pests. Eggskin ignored her and went right for the pen, the picture of businesslike efficiency with booger-yellow scales. Eggskin was both the medic and the cook, very levelheaded.

“Hm. It’s a good thing this pen closes with a tighter seal than that door,” they said, nodding toward the entrance without looking away from the screen. “All three of them are carrying multiple external parasites.”

Various exclamations of displeasure filled the air just as Captain Sunlight joined us. “How many?” she asked as the door shut behind her.

“In this pen? Fourteen,” said Eggskin calmly. “Outside, I can’t say.”

“I saw one over there,” Blop rushed to say. “Plus the one the got out.”

“I’m pretty sure I saw it in the lounge as I passed,” said Blip, pointing to the right.

Mur said, “I feel like we would have noticed if any dropped off between here and the cargo bay.”

A distant shriek echoed from the hallway to the left. Paint yelled, “What was that?? There was a thing!”

Mur draped a tentacle over his face. “Or I could be wrong.”

I winced in sympathy, remembering Paint’s phobia of small scuttling things, and tendency to hyperventilate. “Do we have a way of catching these animals that I don’t know about?”

There was a heartbeat of silence, then Blip said “Smashing,” Blop said “Squishing” and Captain Sunlight said “Not a good one.”

“Next question,” I said, turning to Eggskin. “The medscanner has records from when we scanned the cats. Can you tell me if these pests would be toxic for them to eat? Or at least bite?”

There was a lot of conversation at that point, but I ignored most of it while Eggskin tapped buttons on the medscanner. They answered promptly. “Nontoxic. Assuming the cats don’t try to swallow any bones or such, I see no problems.”

“Excellent. Captain!” I turned and stood at attention. “Permission to put my roomful of tiny predators to their time-honored use.”

“With supervision, my permission is granted,” she said. “Just don’t make any new problems.”

“Understood! One room at a time, starting here.”

Captain Sunlight nodded. “Proceed. Everyone else, help by guiding the tiny predators, not by smashing.”

Blip and Blop grumbled, “Understood.”

“I can help narrow things down,” Eggskin said, waving the medscanner.

“I’ll check the camera records to see if I can spot when any jumped off,” Mur volunteered.

“And I’ll inform the rest of the crew,” said Captain Sunlight. “Blip and Blop, you guard the door to prevent any further spread of the problem.”

“On it!”

Everyone split and got to work. I returned to my room and scooped surprised kittens into the carrier with promises of exciting new toys to chase. They didn’t understand me, of course, but that had never stopped me before.

“You too, Mama Kitty,” I said to Tapestry as I lifted her from her nap spot on the bed. She protested sleepily, but there was enough space in the carrier for everyone.

I grabbed a bag of cat treats in case I needed bribes, then carried the awkward load back to the storage hold.

And there, I got to show my alien crewmates why humans had brought cats into their homes in the first place.

“Did you see that jump??” Blip exclaimed. “Right up the wall, then turning to land on its feet!”

“Oh, cats are masters at landing on their feet,” I said proudly.

A squeak and a scuffle behind a crate caught my attention, then Tapestry proudly trotted out with a small orange shape in her mouth. She dropped it in front of two kittens, who watched intensely. It wiggled, and she demonstrated pouncing technique.

They caught on quickly.

They also caught four of the pests in the storage hold, two in the lounge, one in the cargo bay, and five in the kitchen. And they found a pen someone had lost behind a table, batting it out into the open like the best of toys.

I doled out treats every time they caught something (ushering them away from decorations and electronics), and showered them with praise. All the crewmates were appreciative, even the ones like Trrili who had joked that the cats looked like food.

“Mighty predator,” Trrili said to Casserole, holding out the tip of her pincher arm to sniff. “You do your ancestors proud. And I hear you are skilled in attacking your human’s ankles with no warning; well done.”

I smiled. “This one’s a master of stealth, that’s for sure. Did I tell you about their larger cousins that have been known to kill humans by jumping out of trees at them from behind?”

“Magnificent,” said the terrifying bug alien, who was herself fond of jumping out at coworkers for fun.

“That they are,” I agreed.

Eggskin appeared at the doorway with the medscanner and did a sweep of the room. “All clear!” they announced. “I can safely say that every escaped pest on this ship has been dealt with.”

“What about those still on the hosts?” asked Captain Sunlight.

“I’ve administered a repellant to the animals in the holding pen,” Eggskin said. “To great success.”

“Did you need help keeping them from getting out the door?” I asked anxiously. “You could have called me.”

“Oh no, I just threw it in the vent,” Eggskin said. “It’s a gas thing. Perfect for this kind of pen, really, since it didn’t dissipate right away. All the pests loosened their hold, and got shaken off to the floor by some lively dancing by the host animals.”

“It wasn’t bad for them, right?” I asked.

“Not at all. Made for them. This is one of many things I keep on hand for animal cargos.” Eggskin turned to the captain. “We should bill the client for a replacement, by the way.”

“Oh yes,” Captain Sunlight said. “We will definitely be doing that.”

Something rolled past my foot that I recognized as one of Blip and Blop’s favorite shrimp sticks. A two-toned blur of fur tackled it and gnawed with vigor. Out in the hall, I heard Blip enthusing over another cat’s speed. We’d relaxed the “one room at a time” rule now that the whole crew had turned out to watch the kittens.

Telly trotted up to me with the shrimp stick in her mouth, showing off her catch. I scooped her up and gave her scritches, then held the stick for her to chew on.

“You know,” the captain said, “If for some reason it might be hard to find homes for all of them, it might not be a bad thing to have a pest-catcher onboard.”

I smiled. “They’ve certainly served my people well.”

“And they’re cute and fluffy? I understand that is a bonus.”

“Oh, for sure. One of the best.”

“Well then,” Captain Sunlight said. “See that they behave themselves, and who knows what the future holds?”

“I’ll keep a close eye on them,” I said, looking down at the kitten in my arms. It was definitely the shrimp dust, but she kind of winked at me. I winked back. I could see many good times ahead of us.

~~~

The ongoing backstory of the main character from this book. More to come!

#my writing #the Token Human #this one's a long one #back by popular demand: Blip & Blop and the space goats #animal shenanigans #cats #humans are weird #haso #hfy #eiad #posted later than usual because life is busy #but I doubt anyone other than me is keeping track #anyways; enjoy

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ninapi · 11 months

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┊┊┊✧ ⁺ ⁺╚══ Sound Pillar ╝

Premise: A broken man, a shattered dream and purpose. Retirement made Tengen feel useless, a rather confident man shatters to the ground, new resolution and sense of one self blooms from it as he meets the right person at the right moment.

Word count: 4551

Warning: spoilers, the story takes place in between and after the manga’s original timeline. Just a tiny bit suggestive, because Tengen lol.

Note: This is in a way linked to my previous Giyuu story (link here if you're interested).

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Uzui Tengen won over the upper moon six.

So why did it feel like he lost?

He lost many things that day, his position as the sound pillar, his arm, even one of his beautiful eyes, but most importantly, his ego got bruised. They won, yes, but at a very high cost.

There was no other option than to retire, to leave his beloved demon corps behind.

Once again, he was forced out of his predetermined way of living, first out of his shinobi village, now the corps.

He felt empty, lost, useless.

His sense of self had been shattered once more without the promise of a brighter future.

Last time he lost his family, his house, his identity, but won his three wives, his companions, his new family, it wasn’t a bad deal. But this time, what did he win? He got one moon killed, that’s all. If it would have been Muzan this would be a different story, but it was just an upper moon, a lower one in ranks at that to make it all worse.

Wasn’t he supposed to be strong? Were his muscles all good for nothing? All his training and knowledge? Now it would all go to waste.

Lost in his own misery, Tengen found solace in alcohol. He wasn’t particularly fond of the beverage nor proud of himself for turning to the easy way out, but he needed something that could make him forget the emptiness of his heart.

Tengen was a regular patron at a family owned izakaya downtown. The old man made the best side dishes he’s tried in his life, that plus the stories of his youth as a retired demon slayer would always bring a smile to his face, he somehow felt like the father figure he never had, he was kind, experienced, wise, he always knew how to make him feel better regardless of the struggle. So, he decided it would be a good time to pay the old man a visit.

He would always sit at the counter, order a drink or two and just enjoy the evening. However, he had already been drinking that day and his appearance wasn’t as well kept as it normally is. He was still wearing a bandage over his lost eye and refused to leave his uniform behind just yet.

When he arrived, there were only a couple of customers sitting way over the back of the shop, the counter was completely empty, all for him like he liked it, though the old man wasn’t in sight. He assumed he was in the kitchen and went over to his usual stool.

A young woman came out of the back trying her best to balance three dishes at once, startling Tengen who was awfully close to the entrance door. “I’m so sorry sir. I will take your order in a second!”, scrambling over to the back table, she handed over the food delicately placed on the plates and brought over some refills for their beer.

“Excuse me for the delay, my father hurt his leg yesterday and I offered to take over his place until he recovers, I’m still trying to get the hang of this. What can I get for you?” his crestfallen expression made your stomach sink, he wasn’t pleased, he even looked upset, maybe you talked too much and he didn’t want to be bothered.

“That’s a shame, I came here just to talk with the old man. He always knows how to lift my spirits. I’ll have a beer though if you don’t mind. Maybe something to munch on as well.” his tone was softer than you expected, his voice alluring and raw, you could hear the drawl of alcohol mixed in it, but he looked pretty sober still.

“Sure! I dried out some squid it pairs perfectly with this new brew we have, let me get you some right away.” your enthusiasm and welcoming smile calmed his nerves, he was disappointed that he wouldn’t get to talk with his old friend, but this wasn’t half bad, you did take after him, he could see the resemblance.

He knew he had a daughter, but this was the first time he’s seen you. Your father married a younger woman right after retiring from the corps, Tengen met your mother once and he remembers teasing the old man for marrying such a hottie, he had it in him, he was still good looking for his age, muscles still present from his rigorous training and he wished to be like him when he got older. But never really expected his daughter to be around his age and this pretty, it was quite the shock.

Everything was delightful, not only the squid and the beer prototype but your company. He almost even forgot he was feeling down, you were just as chatty as your father, cheerful, knew how to make him laugh, it was an unexpected turn for the night.

“So, you are the famous Uzui-sama? I’ve heard so much about you from my father. It’s such a pleasure to finally meet you!” he suddenly feels his heart drop, he talks too much and is aware of everything he’s told your father, he knows about his three wives, he knows about his bad habits. He’s never been ashamed of having three wives, not even once in his life, until this day.

He somehow wishes he was a normal guy in his early twenties, someone with the luxury of getting to know you better.

“Have you now. All good things I hope.” he tried to mask his uneasiness with his usual sassy attitude, hoping for the best. Even if he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to wish for something of the sort.

“Yes! I’ve heard of your legendary fights with scary demons and even about how handsome you were. Not everyone can have three wives after all.” your cheeky smile made him choke with his drink, he was hoping the old man hadn’t mention them, that damn sneaky geezer.

“Hmm…well it doesn’t really have anything to do with my good looks, mind you. That is the norm for Shinobi households. The head of your family chooses three women for you when you turn fifteen and you’re supposed to bring lots of heirs for the clan. I did run away before that could happen though.” this new piece of information made your eyes gleam for some reason, and he didn’t miss the relieved expression on your delicate face, even if it lasted less than a second.

“I see. So, are they more like sisters? Or are they functional wives?” there was a soft shade of pink dusting your beautiful cheeks at the implications behind the question, one of your fingers was twirling around your locks in an almost shy flirty kind of way. It was bolder than he expected, he liked how flamboyant that was.

“Sisters…huh. Never thought about it that way. I guess you can say one of them is, she’s kind of grumpy, always fights with everyone but she’s a wonderful shinobi. Then we have one that’s like a mother figure to all, she’s the one that cooks and keeps the house in order, we all respect her. And the last one is more like a pet, clingy, cute, cries a lot, gives everyone headaches.” a long sigh came out of him after he recounts his daily life. None of them sounded like the type of wife you feared the most, interesting.

Your giggles brought him back to reality, they were like music to his depressed ears, “Doesn’t sound too different from my own house. Though, we don’t have a pet.”

“Are you…I mean…do you have your own family, or do you still live with your parents?” the alcohol was completely out of his system by now, his mood changing completely for something he was not hoping to see today.

“I live with my parents. I know I’m a little old for that but I’m still waiting for the right one, if you know what I mean.” your eyes were beautiful, the low light of the bar area just accentuated their natural glow even more, your lips looked so plush and full, kissable was the only way to describe them. He was suddenly very aware of the fact that the shop was completely empty now, he was the last customer of the night and was probably time for him to leave as well. A pity.

“Yeah, I know what you mean. I may have three wives, but not by choice. Can’t say I’ve been in love before. Don’t get me wrong, I love my wives, they’re my family. It’s just that you know that young love experience? Sneaking out to meet each other, first kisses, all that, yeah, never had it.” you were nodding in thought, even if his situation was pretty unrelatable, you could understand the feeling as you’ve always craved the same thing, therefore rejecting any possibility of an arranged marriage.

“It’s difficult to come by if you ask me. Everyone I know gets married for convenience. Love is a rare occurrence these days. It’s why I admire my parents. They didn’t care for how society would see them, father being on the older side and all, but they’re as happy and in love as teenagers regardless of what others might say.”

“Your father is an awesome man, he deserves nothing but the best.” the smile you gave him made his heart explode in a very flamboyant way, leaving him breathless.

“Thank you for your kind words, Uzui-sama. Even if it pains me, I’m afraid we must continue this wonderful conversation another day. It’s getting pretty late and there’s been rumors of demons around the area, father forbid me to keep the shop open until late.”

This alerted Tengen, he was in no condition to protect you if the worse was to happen, it couldn’t be risked. The feeling of being useless crept back into his chest, a feeling he’s been neglecting for the past few hours. Your cheerfulness was contagious, you’ve managed to make him feel alive again, to forget who he was, what tied him to his depressive state, you’ve managed to make him feel like just a man in a bar meeting a beautiful woman for the first time, he was livid. But reality was very different and it crashed hard on him like a bucket of icy cold water.

“You better go then, sadly your protector for the night has become a useless man. Wouldn’t want to put you in danger if I can no longer protect you.” his eyes turned dark, his expression falling. Making your way around the counter, you rested your hand on top of his, offering comfort. “You’re not useless, Uzui-sama. I’ve seen my father behead a demon with a spoon. Just because you lost an arm doesn’t mean you’re useless. Pretty sure you could protect me without a struggle if it was necessary. Besides, I’m not a maiden that needs to be protected, I know my way around, believe it or not.” the teasing tone in your voice made Tengen’s grin return, you were a handful there was no doubt about that.

“Call me Tengen, beautiful.” the soft look in his eyes took your breath away, he was perfection even if half of his face was covered in bandages.

He left the shop with a smile on his face, his worries all shoved down a drain. It amused him how just talking to you for a few hours could make such a difference in the way he sees the world. He didn’t feel useless anymore, you were right, this was just an obstacle it wasn’t the end of the world. Having just one eye was better than not having any, he just had to find a way to look even more flamboyant than ever to make up for the loss, easypeasy.

His heart was still racing, his chest felt warm.

That night he sent his wives to their own room, he had a lot to think about.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

It’s been four days since your last encounter. Tengen was doing his best to restrain himself and stay home, he didn’t want to seem easy or to come across as pushy, but he couldn’t take it anymore, he had to see you even if it was just for a few minutes, even if it was just through a window, anything would do.

“Uzui-sama! What a pleasure to have you back this soon. My daughter told me of your last visit, it’s a shame I was bedridden that day.” your father had now resumed his duties, sending Tengen into a nervous breakdown, he never expected him to be back this soon. Would he ever get to see you again? Is not like he knows where you live.

“Old man! You’re back already? Shouldn’t you be resting? I heard you hurt your leg. Rest is important to heal, I’m sure you know that.” there was a knowing smirk on your father’s face, he knew where this was coming from.

“I’m fine really, it doesn’t even hurt any more. Shouldn’t bother my lovely daughter for this, it gets bad when men get drunk and try to touch her, sadly it happens very often.” Tengen’s face went feral, he was seeing red at this point, wishing he had his swords with him, “They did WHAT? Tell me who they are, I will kill them all and feed them to stray dogs.” this made your father chuckle, he saw the look on your face when you were telling him about his visit, your happy sway the next morning while you prepared breakfast, it’s something he can identify quite well, and he could see it reflected in Tengen’s face too.

“If I knew who they were, they would be dead already Uzui-sama.”

“Good point. Do tell me if anyone even dares to look at her the wrong way, I can help exterminating pests.” the venom in his words was comical, he was so angry, and he’s only met you once.

“Will do, please come inside, I will prepare something for you.”

“Don’t worry about me old man, it’s too early for a drink, I was just passing by and wanted to say hello.” he was about to continue with his life when he heard his favorite little voice from afar.

“FATHER!!” you were running after him slowly, dragging a ridiculously large bag full of potatoes, he said he wanted to switch the menu around but forgot to bring with him the main ingredients.

“(Y/N) my love, what is it? Oh! How could I forget the potatoes? I’m certainly getting old.” your face was red from exertion, your breath ragged from the little race.

“Let me carry those for you, they look heavy.” Tengen got the bag up with his good hand like if it was weightless, causing your eyes to dart up to your savior.

“Tengen-sama! I didn’t know you’d be here. How have you been?” you were mentally cursing at yourself for not choosing something nicer to wear, you didn’t even fix your hair as you were just going to drop the potatoes in the shop and head back to your house.

“Well, I didn’t know I would be either, but it happened that way. I’ve been good, how about you? Missing me much?” this made you blush, smiling up at the man in front of you, you had in fact, but never expected him to ask such a question. Your father cleared his throat, making the bubble you two had created pop, you both forgot he was even there.

“Come inside Uzui-sama, seems like your plans for the day have changed.” your father was a sneaky man, he knew what was going on and shouldn’t be endorsing it, but he’s never seen you smile like that.

“Yeah, I guess I can stay for a bit.”

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The sun had set and Tengen was still in your shop, though, instead of being in the counter where he usually was, he was now sneaking into the kitchen where you were pealing potatoes for your father.

It startled you at first, his hand coming over to cover your mouth to keep you from making any noise. “Tengen-sama?” your voice was muffled against the palm of his hand, making him chuckle.

“Shhh…the old man will hear us.” he was closing the door, scooting closer to you in the tight space.

“Do you need something?” the closeness was making you sweat with anticipation, he was towering over you, his eyes slightly hooded lost in your face. “I missed you…couldn’t get you out of my head, that’s why I came…” your heart was racing so fast you feared he could hear it from where he was.

“I did too, Tengen-sama. But we should probably don’t act on these feeli-“ he cut you short slamming his lips against yours, instantly letting a small whimper out. Your lips tasted wonderfully, they were so soft, so warm, just like he imagined they would be but even better than his wildest fantasy. Your hands came to lace around his neck, pulling him impossibly closer to your body, taking in all he had to offer.

You both knew this was wrong, but none of you could avoid it any longer.

“Tengen-sama…what about your wives…?” you were mumbling against his lips in between kisses, his hand tugging on your kimono trying to expose as much skin as possible without getting you undressed. He just needed to kiss every inch of you, right now.

“What about them? They’ll love you…who wouldn’t? You’re gorgeous, kind, overall lovely…they might even try to steal you away…” his needy panting was driving you insane and you wished desperately your father wasn’t behind that flimsy door.

You held him by his shoulders, doing your best to stop his ministrations, this was a bad idea. “Tengen-sama, we can’t do this here.” he was now holding you up in his arm, keeping you trapped against the wall while he kissed down your neck. “Shall we go to my house then, doll? Don’t think I can live a day more without you…” his words were making you feel drunk, you needed this man as much as he needed you, but this was not the place for that.

“Ok….” Your voice was nothing but a breathless whisper and you were not sure this was such a good idea either; your father wouldn’t be there, but three unknown possibly threatening women would.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

The walk over to his state was unbearable, the heat was overwhelming outside and inside of you. Tengen threw you over his shoulder in despair and ran over the town to speed up the process as his insides were also melting.

Without even announcing his arrival, he got into the house from his bedroom’s window, throwing you on his bed and devouring you for hours on.

It was an experience, that much was a fact.

He was unstoppable and so were you apparently.

The girls noticed something was off, even if you muffled every possible sound coming out of you, Tengen didn’t, and he was living his best life.

He’s never enjoyed himself this much, didn’t even think it would be this different. He’s been with many women before, his wives included, but you, you were a treat that he couldn’t get enough of.

He kept you in his room for days, it was just not an option for you to leave. Not like you wanted to anyways.

But this wasn’t just lust. This was intimacy as its best.

He would lay his head on your lap while you played with his hair, hearing him retell his stories of grater days.

You would feed each other while cuddling on his floor.

Shared multiple baths.

Even got to decorate his eyepatch with the remains of his old headband jewels that he had laying around in his room.

At this point it was pretty obvious to the rest that he had a woman in his room. But Suma was the only one bothered by this. Hina and Makio had accepted that this would eventually happen at some point, they’ve messed around with others as well with Tenge’s authorization, this wasn’t a strict household, they all could do whatever they pleased. But this was the first time Tengen brought a woman home. It was an indication that you were important, this meant serious business and they had no saying in this.

“Baby…why don’t you stay here for good? You know…be my wife maybe? I don’t think I can send you back to your parents’ house after all this…” his face was buried in the softness of your chest, unwilling to let go of you.

“Tengen…you already have a wife…three actually.”

“And? They have their own room, you can stay here with me if it bothers you. I’m sure you can all become good friends, they’re nice girls I promise.” Littering kisses over your exposed skin, he was in heaven, needed to sway you to his side.

“I don’t know Tengen…I mean I would marry you for sure, there’s no doubt there. But this isn’t a normal situation, and you know that. I’m not telling you to choose or anything, I just…I don’t know…” anxiety was filling his lungs, he’s never felt such attachment towards someone. Sure he was afraid of loosing his wives to the upper moon, but this was different. He felt like he needed you by his side, you made him want to continue living even after reaching such a low point. You made him laugh, you made him love.

“Baby please…give us a chance. I promise I’ll make you the happiest woman…”

You agreed to meet the girls and he was right, they were all lovely, even Suma who seemingly hated you was a nice girl.

Hina welcomed you to the family with her arms open and you could quickly see who was who based on the descriptions previously given by Tengen. They were lovely and accepted you as part of the group practically as soon as they saw you. Suma sulked for weeks as you were deemed Tengen’s one true love, she loved her husband dearly, so she felt a little betrayed unlike the rest that were happy the family was growing.

Your father had already accepted you would be sharing your husband, he wasn’t as bothered as your mother was, but they weren’t a conventional couple either, so they accepted him, nonetheless.

And so, you became a new addition to the Uzui household.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Life was chaotic to say the least.

Tengen honored his promise making you sleep with him in the master bedroom while the others slept in their own. He would still go to their room often, but your place was pretty much stablished among them.

You four were all his wives, but you were his woman.

This was further confirmed when you were the one he decided to impregnate.

The thought of having offspring terrified him, he couldn’t help to think of the bloodbath his family had to suffer under his father’s own commands.

But you made him want to experience fatherhood. He would be following your father’s steps, not his. He would be the best dad there is and you would be one to carry his first child.

Once pregnant not even Suma could resist how cute you were all round and fluffy. They spoiled you rotten constantly, you had the best food there was, the bigger portions. Tengen was over the moon and would carry you everywhere afraid of anything bad happening to his child.

Your first born was welcomed to this world surrounded by warmth and reaching an immense number of hearts.

Tomioka Giyuu, Tengen’s friend was invited by him for the big day, he was so proud of his lovely wife he wanted the entire universe to come and see his beautiful newborn. Of course, he never thought his friend would hog his child as soon as he was born. The first face your son ever saw was not yours nor your husbands, not even his grandparents but an old friend.

Tengen was in charge of naming his first born. He wanted something flashy, something that screamed power. So, he went for ‘Shingen’, promising you would be able to name the next one.

He quickly became the little prince of the house.

Adored little Shingen was surrounded by beautiful women from the day he was born onward, what could be more flamboyant than that.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Time Skip~

You’ve been living as a family of eight for quite some time now, even if it was tempting to bring more lovely children to this world, the household was anything but quiet already.

Suma had gone in a rant a while back, she was hurt, felt unloved. She wanted to provide Tengen with a child as well, wanted to be loved as she used to before you came to the house. The rift between you two was unavoidable. Tengen refused to leave any of them pregnant without your consent and you had to agree just to shut her up, it was quite aggravating, and it was upsetting Shingen who kept on begging for a sibling. He did want one, but from his mother and father, he just didn’t understand his dysfunctional home, he was too young for that.

A little girl was born from her rant, and she not only looked like her mother but acted just like her too.

It drove things to a still point and you were considering leaving the house with your son. But you loved your husband too much for your own good, you just couldn’t muster the strength to do it.

Shingen’s temper was growing sour, he disliked the current living arrangements way too much as he was used to being the center of attention.

His father thought giving him the little sibling he used to ask for so often would alleviate his load, bring his cheerful flamboyant son back, and magically, it worked.

When Tenya came to this world, Shingen went back to his soft loving nature, the four of you lived in Tengen’s room and he felt safe there, it was your family’s own little home within the house, your happy place.

Tenya was now the center of attention, and he was fine with that, at least it was his actual brother, and he loved him, he was all he ever wished to have and for a second thought he would never.

He feared his family would collapse, that his father would choose one of the other women and make them the main wife, it terrified him being replaced, having that annoying kid take his rightful place. He loved his father so much, looked up to him, he was everything for Shingen. Having a brother was his way of securing his place in the house, he wouldn’t want to go with someone else if there was a new baby in your little family, right? Proud of developing the perfect plan, he looked more like Tengen as days went on.

Suma had asked for your forgiveness and you two went back to being friends, your son however, would never.

The air around the house was tense and more often than not you wanted to run away from there.

This was your decision, you knew it would be hard, sharing your one true love was not something everyone could do, but you didn’t regret it. Tengen loves you, you know it, the world knows it, he gave you your beloved sons, you were happy regardless of the confrontations and attention seeking displays.

A letter had arrived from the Ubuyashiki mansion to celebrate Kiriya-sama’s coming of age ceremony and everyone was invited, even the children.

Tengen was particularly looking forward to seeing his pillar friends and get to brag about his beautiful big family.

His household was unconventional. Troublesome. Loud.

He brought war into his own house, but he found true love in the process. He was a new man, a respected husband and father.

Life would continue with its hardships but having you and the gang by his side was all he needed for the rest of his days.

But he had to fix the mess he got himself into.

▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄▀▄

Tagged babes: @doumadono

Masterlist Next Chapter

#kimetsu no yaiba #demon slayer #demon slayer fanfic #kimetsu no yaiba fanfic #demon slayer x you #demon slayer x y/n #demon slayer x female reader #demon slayer hashira #uzui x y/n #demon slayer uzui #tengen uzui #uzui x you #uzui tengen #demon slayer tengen #tengen x reader #tengen fluff #kimetsu daddies #might be controversial but I honestly think nobody would happily share their husband majority of Tengen fics are full of bs

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vxlentinescookies · 5 days

Note

Can I’m have cream unicorn cookie pure vanilla cookie and latte and dark cacao cookie x reader who is extremely overprotective over sorbet shark cookie and peppermint cookie and squid ink cookie and ask them if they can adopt them please sorbet and squid ink they have being alone in the ocean for years and peppermint is orphan they deserve a family so much please make it super wholesome headcanons please

→ ❛From the Sea with Love❜

→ Characters; Cream Unicorn Cookie, Pure Vanilla Cookie, Latte Cookie & Dark Cacao Cookie → Quote ; N/A → Genre ; Headcanons → A/N ; Sorry it took me so long to get to this, I've been a bit burnt out so im taking it easy, but i hope you like it!

Cream Unicorn Cookie

“You’ll always have a home with us, little cookies”

They’re one of the gentle cookies who will be ecstatic to take care of young ones with you, after all, they have done so since ages!

Will be there by your side if you need any help dealing with meltdowns or simply understanding some of them! Im very sure that Cream Unicorn knows its way along language barriers

One of their favorite times of the day is spending time with you all, sleeping together in a cuddle pile.

While not overprotective, they know that certain adventures can be dangerous, especially for Sorbet Shark cookie, yet, its sure they can handle themselves.

Pure Vanilla Cookie

“I never expected to be a father so soon, but with you by my side, im more than happy to be one”

Also one of the gentle cookies who will be ecstatic to take care of young ones by your side, though in this case, its because Pure Vanilla always dreamed of having kids with you!

Will read a lot on how to take care of kids, might even end up becoming a bit overprotective at times, so its best to let them know that its ok to tone it down a bit, they’re not going to hurt themselves!

Along the last hc, he will resort to Dark Cacao at times for help on parenting, after all, Dark Cacao is the ancient with a kid.

Overall a good parent, will gladly stay with you by the sea shore to take care of your adopted children.

Latte Cookie

“Well, I never expected to become a mother so soon, but if its with you, my dear, then I have no objections”

Eager to step into this new stage of life with you by their side, after all, parenting cant be all that different from teaching, right?

Well, it quite isnt like that. She realizes that rather quickly.

Will, regardless, do her best at taking care of your new children, but knows that there’s so much that can be done, as they’ve already gained a semblance of independence.

Will remind you to take care of yourself, still, as she dosent want you to overwork yourself, or stop caring for yourself in favor of others.

Dark Cacao Cookie

“This time, it’ll be different, I promise.”

Is a bit adamant on taking in new children because of what happened with Dark Choco, but he trusts you with reassurances that this time it’ll be different.

Does his best as a (now second time) father to them, taking care and nurturing them

Accepts though, the fact that these three are mostly independent, so that makes things a bit easier on him.

Will still watch over them with you, and help you tone it down whenever you become too overprotective. These kids have gained their independence, allow them to be children.

#🌙;stellar headcanons #cream unicorn cookie x reader #pure vanilla cookie x reader #latte cookie x reader #dark cacao cookie x reader #cookie run x reader #cookie run ovenbreak x reader #crob x reader #cookie run kingdom x reader #crk x reader

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squidsponge · 1 year

Text

Sims 4 CC: Bo-Katan and Mandalorian Nite Owl Armor Set

Beskar for all!

After years of being tired of seeing poor Bo stuck in Boba's ill fitting armor, while being impaled with a rocket she doesn't canonically wear, much misery in blender was had to ensure that bespoke armor for your Mandalorian ladies is finally here!

In a star system where pink martinis flow like molten steel, one woman, who was totally supposed to get her own armor in season five before Disney bought Lucasfilm (the design was awesome), and her sister took what little intel they could scrape from the son of a time traveling himbo in gleaming beskar, and decided to bury the hatchet.

Did a terrible fate befall the Wren family during The Great Purge, causing Sabine to shed her armor and forlornly grow her hair out?

Din really has no idea who that is, sorry-

But in a better galaxy where Jango's sons all have a different explanation for what happened to the beloved Chancellor of the Republic and the only Duchess is a woman who is happy to grant her sister control over Mandalore's defenses if it means no more of Koska's bottomless rootbeer floats, we'll never find out.

I'll be making a version of the armor with rain ponchos, as well as a set of forehead braids for Koska and finishing up Bo's headset, so stay tuned for that :)

MANDALORIAN NITE OWL ARMOR SET

New Meshes, three different armor styles

Handpainted textures

Everyday, formal, athletic, party, hot and cold weather, and Batuu

Can be found in outerwear and jumpsuits

Helmets are in brimless hats

Custom thumbnails to make them easy to find

Public on June 23/23

DOWNLOAD

You can follow the squid's cc tag for more updates :)

@beskarblondie

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hexalianrebel-blackfeathers · 3 months

Text

Squid Surge

Panda’s Notes: We all know Olivia Octavius is prime ler material, but in 6 whole years, I haven't seen a thing. So here's a thing. >w< Blame @carrie-tate for this one. I love this picture.

[Ao3] || [Cookies Found: 0] || [Commissions] || [Ko-fi]

There’s something about staring into the pulsating epicenter of an interdimensional rift that changes you.

There’s something about losing your lab’s main source of funding that changes you too, but that’s neither here nor there.

The last few months were spent on research. Peter Parker had reportedly been 26 years old when he died…Spiderman had only appeared in the city about a decade ago, give or take. It had been barely a year after that first appearance when she and Spiderman became recurring enemies.

Sixteen years old. Maybe seventeen. She’d been fighting over and over—reworking and redesigning machine after machine—to fight a child. It was a bit funny, to say the least; in fact, it explained a lot. His terrible humor; his exaggerated voices for those first few years; his…unorthodox plans.

…She would miss him. In a sense, of course.

The universe is a funny thing though. Hardly a day after Peter was gone, three entirely different Spider-characters had given her a hell of a fight in the woods just outside of Alchemax. One of them being a nearly-identical—not counting the obvious difference in age—Peter Parker, and another with the ability to turn completely invisible. Now, that was something.

The one with the invisibility power; he’d first appeared in the Alchemax building alongside that second Peter, in a terrible store-bought spider suit and barely able to use his ability consistently. It was kind of adorable, like watching a kitten’s first attempts to climb. In the heat of the chase, it touched something human deep inside of her—She’d have to make a note to fix that—and she couldn’t help teasing him a bit in the moment.

The next day had been the collider’s final one. Six Spiders in total, five of which disappeared through the fluctuating rifts. She’d made the mistake of believing the smallest one—who showed up in a black-and-red suit after showing off his invisibility—was a seventh variant, but it’d only lasted a moment. The others had recognized him; they were so happy to see him. It might have felt nice to kill him, in that moment.

But she hadn’t; she honestly didn’t fully remember what happened. She awoke on a hard surface, her pneumatic arms clutching for purchase on something. Blood was running down her face and some bone somewhere was definitely broken. The whole chamber was filled with light in colors she had never imagined. The air was being pulled toward one of the portal generators; the temperature shifted wildly as everything swirled, and for just a fleeting moment, she had a glimpse into a web of something infinite and indescribable.

So, yeah. Minor Existential Quandary. No big deal. Not an issue at all.

Recovery was an interesting time spent between different casts and braces, readjusting actuators and programs. No one took much notice; lying low between the chaotic moments was something she took a sort of pride in. The news droned on in the background every time; the word on the street was a particular, brand-new black-suit Spiderman. She was curious about him; she admired his sacrifice. But days turned to weeks, turned to months. He didn’t disappear; he didn’t falter; if anything, he was improving quickly for such a small thing. He was supposed to be here, in this dimension.

That brings us back to this. She’d wracked her brain trying to remember that night. The whole week had become a bit fuzzy with the head injury, but something stuck about. Miles. Spoken like a name. She’d heard it a few times during the encounters they’d had. They were all just so talkative, weren’t they?

Hacking into databases wasn’t necessarily a strong suit of hers. Not to say that it’s hard, but it’s nowhere as easy as robotics. Miles is an interesting name to search for too, all things considered. Not common enough for her to scrap the search entirely—Like Peter, funny enough—but not so rare that the hunt was a simple handful of clicks. And she adored a good puzzle.

Now, how to narrow this down… If the precedent held true, the kid would be under 20 years old. Great. That removes…40% of the results. That’s still a few dozen in the area though, less puzzling now and more downright luck.

…Olivia doesn’t really believe much in luck. What she does believe in is probability. Such as, if someone were to, say, spread an itty-bitty little rumor through the proverbial criminal grapevine about a new secret project Doc Ock was working on; well, then the probability that such information would get to Spiderman was nearly 100%. And then, the probability that Spiderman would simply have to infiltrate Alchemax to confirm such a rumor was…

Actually, that brings us to the present. The brace on her leg kept the occasional aches from distracting her; the one on her wrist had just become a habit from weeks of routine. She stood in her personal lab, making a few final calibrations. Frankly, the timing was impeccable. The tablet beside her, showing schematics and diagnostics for the mechanism on the table, had a small grid of dots in one corner that shifted from green to red in a sort of line before only one dot stayed red. She tapped the grid, making it the focal program on the screen, and she smirked to herself as she lifted the apparatus enough for it to attach itself onto her back. It felt lighter; less metal hidden in the tubes definitely helped. The arms lifted her weight off the floor easily; that part hadn’t needed any changing.

“One last thing.” She finally spoke, pulling her glasses off while one of the arms passed her goggles into her hand. “I’ll need to test the new program; it’d be so nice to have some assistance~” She pressed the red dot on the tablet, and a loud hiss suddenly came from the ceiling behind her, quickly followed by a startled yelp. She turned with a grin, finding a flailing partial-silhouette made of fire suppressant powder. “How nice of you to drop in, Spider-Man.” She taunted playfully, lashing an arm across the room toward him.

He dodged to one side, perching himself on a table as he let himself become visible again. “I-I—How…?” He stammered out, ducking away from another arm trying to grab him.

“It’s a temperature detector, sweetie, not a person detector. In fact, I had to increase its sensitivity just for you!”

He glared at her—Don’t ask how she can tell—before lunging to one side and attempting to rush at her. She had lifted herself up and backwards to stand on the workbench, and Spider-man flinched as all four arms lashed toward him. He fired off a web, attempting to pull himself out of the way, but she managed to catch him by one ankle and drag him close enough for another arm to coil around his wrist. The claw shoved into his hand, blocking the trigger on that web shooter as he flailed nervously.

“Huh, the speed adjustments paid off too.” She grinned, tapping her chin as she watched Spiderman grab at the plastic tubing.

“This is the secret project I heard so much about?” He let out a huff, and she could feel the air tingle as sparks started to jump off of him. “Can’t say I’m impressed.”

Her smirk didn’t falter at all. “Sorry, Miles; I made a point to keep this design completely insulated from electricity.”

He froze up completely. Oh. She actually hadn’t meant to let that slip so early. But given his reaction…

“I don’t—” He tried to speak, but the new anxiety was dripping from his voice.

“So that is your name!” Olivia laughed. “Honestly, you Spiders really should work on keeping your mouths shut during these little fights.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Octavius.” He growled, looking away and prying harder at the claw on his wrist.

She eyed him skeptically, shaking her head. “You can play tough if you want, but I do have to tell you: You were wrong earlier; my secret project is actually this little program.” She emphasized the statement by running the command, leaning casually on the workbench as she was set back on the floor. Two of the remaining arms moved suddenly, the claws squeezing gently at his sides. The reaction was instant and, frankly, hilarious.

Spiderman let out a panicked sort of noise, his free hand grabbing at one of the offending claws. “A-Aye, watch it; tell your vacuum tubes to keep their hands to themselves!”

Olivia let herself chuckle, twirling her finger casually in the air as the claw on his other side mimicked the motion. “Oh, come on now, Spiderman; you think I’ve never heard that one before?” She taunted, smirking as she watched him squirm. “Besides, it’s not like they’re doing anything; you’re fine.”

She waved her hand dismissively, pretending to turn her attention elsewhere while both claws suddenly moved faster. The gentle squeezes became very purposeful kneading from his hips to his ribcage, and Spiderman—Miles—kicked wildly as a startled laugh managed to escape. Olivia glanced back at him, crossing her arms and hoping her sarcasm didn’t show too much. “You still alright up there?”

Miles was definitely glaring at her if his tone was any hint. “You’re doing this on purpose…” He tried to growl, but it sounded a lot more like stifled giggling.

“Doing what~? I’m not doing a thing. The program is just a maintenance tool. Keeps all the joints working, like cracking your knuckles.” She tapped her chin. “Unless, of course…”

“Shut up.” He snarled, trying to scrunch himself up as both claws crawled tauntingly slow up his sides.

“…You’re ticklish.”

There was a beat of silence as they stared at each other, and electricity jumped off of Miles’ hands again.

Olivia sneered as she let the claws strike; one of them resumed the pattern of squeezing up his side while the other tickled mercilessly under the arm he was dangling by. And wow, it really shouldn’t be this easy; this was just unfair. Miles actually burst out laughing, his escape efforts redoubling in the form of much more aggressive kicks. Olivia simply kept her distance, chuckling as she pulled the tablet on her desk closer to make a few notes.

Reaction times were good; pressure calibration seemed accurate; minute motions were apparently quite realistic, if that squealing was anything to go by.

“Are you having fun?” She taunted, reaching to sneak a poke on his stomach and snickering when he nearly connected a kick through his laughter. “I think this is fun. Now…” She tapped her chin as she examined her notes…

Logic and Opportunity… In a situation where a problem is presented, these two will balance in some way. Most people, when an opportunity presents itself, will try to logic out the surrounding circumstances to decide if the opportunity is truly worth taking at the time. A computer, however, gathers all the logical information it has, determines an optimal solution, and when an opportunity to perform that solution appears—

…This is all to say that Olivia finally lashed out with her remaining actuator, the claw snatching Spiderman’s mask off of his face.

Oh…This feeling again.

Spiderman—Miles—looked shocked for a second, the momentary joy in his eyes giving way to a panic that was…primal, to say the least. Fear that everything was going to fall away. The sight of impending death, and the knowledge that you aren’t ready.

Olivia hesitated. There’s something about staring into the eyes of the kid you had made deliberate plans and attempts to kill that changes you.

Both of them were frozen; his face was hard—determined—but it didn’t disguise the tears that threatened to fall from his eyes. His mind was completely blank.

What was she thinking? She realized quite suddenly that she hadn’t fixed that pesky humanity. His face softened as she thought; her expression must have changed.

What had actually changed was that her arms had lowered him closer to the floor, the grips of the claws loosening enough for—Right, they were fighting. He wrenched his hand, opening the claw on his wrist enough to pull free, and he broke into a sprint the second he hit the floor. She reflexively pulled herself out of the way, stumbling slightly as her legs hit the workbench. Olivia looked quickly around the room, only to find herself alone. His mask had fallen to the floor; he wouldn’t leave without it. She was about to adjust her goggles to shift filters, but a familiar crackling over her shoulder caught her attention. She felt a hard shove, most of the electricity absorbed by the apparatus as the arms moved to keep her from falling. Static tingled through her shoulders as she turned to face the boy standing poised on her desk. She could handle this; she just needed to focus.

[ERROR!]

The message flashed in the corner of her vision, and Miles squinted at her, apparently spotting the backwards text through her goggles. She fell suddenly to her own feet, the actuators shifting as the device on her back sparked. A dull ache shot through her spine; they weren’t responding to the neural link. Not really a great time for that, but nothing she hasn’t dealt with before.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t prepared for two of the claws to start tickling her sides, and Miles stifled a laugh at the giggling snort that escaped her. Yeah, actually, forget that poignant revelation she just had; she’s still going to kill him.

“You little brat!” She barely managed to get out, her tone nowhere near as accusatory as she’d wanted through her own growing laughter.

He stepped back slightly when she staggered forward, and he crouched on the desk, resting his chin on one hand as he watched her crumble with a slight smirk. “Y’know, you’re right; this is kind of fun.”

Now, he was the one to hesitate, not that she was able to focus fully on him or anything. She heard his web shooter fire, and the mask was snatched off of the floor. There was a faint tapping before he gave an exasperated sigh. “¿Cómo encuentras algo?” He huffed before, suddenly, the actuators went mostly still. They still spasmed occasionally, and when they attempted to retract back into the apparatus just left three of them deflating on the floor.

[EMERGENCY OVERRIDE ACTIVATED, SHUTTING DOWN]

She’d barely caught sight of the message through the slight haze in her eyes just before her goggles darkened and deactivated. She took the time to catch her breath before she pushed herself up, one of her hands moving to rub her side as the giggles faded away. Spiderman was gone, as far as she could tell—Smart kid—but her glasses had been webbed to the ceiling. Smug little brat.

Olivia fished one of her many spare pairs out of a drawer on her workbench, sighing as she pulled the tablet closer and flicked through the different programs. A thirty-character access code later, she was scrolling back through the security footage for this room. One of the angles had a crystal-clear shot of Miles’ face. The ideas that must have been running through his head to put that much fear in his eyes…

No one else had access to these records until the security backup at the end of the night. Olivia valued her privacy more often than not.

Logic and Opportunity. When a situation presents itself, a computer will logic out a solution and perform immediately when the opportunity arises.

Olivia took a deep breath, held it, and let it out. She deleted the footage.

A dot on the grid program shifted subtly from red to green, and she smiled.

There’s something about humanity that changes you.

#tickling #a panda writes a thing #miles morales #olivia octavius #spiderverse tickle #itsv tickle #atsv tickling

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simp999 · 5 days

Text

A New Home Ch. 36

Various Splatoon Manga x Skilled! Isekai'd! Reader

Wc: 1.1k

Back to the Start! Previous Next

And the fight began. It was gruesome. The only chance you ever got to take a breath to yourself was when you were battling Prince, because he was the only one with any sympathy. They kept you on your toes the whole time.

You noticed your weapon was flooding out much more ink- you hadn't thought to practice with it since, not wanting to waste your energy before the big match- but that was a mistake, because you were wasting time grabbing ink when you didn't need it- resulting in getting yourself splatted once again.

In the first 30 seconds, Tasha was the only one to get a splat on your team- but she was held at bay because she needed to keep her distance to stay alive. Leo began getting exhausted, Milo's smile faltered, and Tasha's brows furrowed, all the while you were all sweating buckets.

It surely wasn't easy, but you didn't want to believe it was impossible just yet. You swiftly looked back at Tasha, offering her a nod. All of you used your specials at the same time, aiming for Emperor. He got frustrated when he stepped in some of your ink, shouting out something you were sure would have sounded different if one, he weren't the "king", and two, this wasn't a kid-friendly manga. That's it, you might just have to play dirty.

You and Leo both bolted towards Emperor, Leo aiming for his feet to get them stuck in your ink, and you aiming for him. Edging jr. was taken care of by Tasha, but you had to continue watching out for-

Damn it, she got Leo. Now it was you versus Emperor.

You heard another splat- it was Prince down this time. Amazing job, Tasha. The fight seemed to be almost evenly matched, slightly in their favor. You just needed to take down Emperor. It was now a minute in, and the ink was around 50-45 in their favor if you had to guess. Ink-filled sweat dripped down the sides of your face, but you'd gotten used to it over time.

It was scary. But it was fun. Knowing that there was a possibility of taking down this asshole of a squid.

He shouted at prince when he got splatted again, distracting himself. You charged towards him, foreheads almost touching as you attacked relentlessly from a much too close range. It didn't matter if you used a long ranged weapon - you noticed it was more painful when you attacked up close. And here? Yeah, you wanted it to be.

He grunted in pain when you finally got a good hit in, and he let out a pained smirk as he winced. The others were being taken care of by your family. N-pacer was down thanks to the three of them, and they had Leo and Tasha on Edging Jr. Milo was on Prince, keeping his distance. Tasha would fire at Prince every once in a while to remind him not to get in her territory, which Milo was in.

You all fought your hardest, exceeding even your own expectations. Your skilled reaction times came in handy, just barely keeping up with team monarch.

There were now 30 seconds left, and you were still stuck before Emperor. He had a wide smirk written across his face, knowing he could take you down if he made this 1v1 last long enough.

You were running low on ink.

But that meant he was too.

You wondered what gear abilities he had.

10.

The crowd shouted.

Sweat nearly dripped into your eyes, no time to wipe it.

You kept him on his toes.

You slipped.

You recovered just in time to dodge an attack.

His brows furrowed further once he realised you stood a chance at winning, Your color ink on his side of the map.

His footing is perfect.

You hear Leo holler in the distance, then a splat.

You Raise your weapon up one last time, right to his chest.

Your color ink explodes out before you.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

A score of 49.3 to 48.7 is shown before you.

In your favor.

You looked over at the opposing team with a determined grin. But it fell when you saw Prince's tears as he looked towards Emperor for reassurance. He glared at his younger brother.

What an-

He walked over to him, and hid Prince with his coat from the crowd. Was it to hide his weakness or to reassure his brother, you couldn't tell.

Until he finally wrapped his jacket around Prince. He pet his tentacles, too.

You stood dumbfounded, completely lost. Either way, out of respect for good sportsmanship, you walked over to Emperor. You shook his hand silently.

Then you turned to face Prince, and your expression completely softened.

"You fought impressively, Prince. You're a very skilled individual."

He sniffled and wiped his tears as he shook your hand and smiled. Such a sweet boy.

"...Can we still be friends?"

Your eyes widened and you tilted your head in confusion. Nonetheless, you nodded.

"Of course."

You pause for a moment, reconsidering Emperor's personality. You had gained a slight respect for him, you decided.

"Can we battle again some day?"

He looked at his elder brother.

The two of you glared at each other for a moment, but then his gaze grew softer. He nodded upwards at you.

He respected your strength.

Emperor wasn't quite as he seemed after all. Maybe all you had to do was beat him to show you were on the same level first.

You weren't quite ready to call him of all people a friend, possibly more of a rival. But you'd be glad to spend more time in his and his team's presence, growing stronger.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Your team was flooded by fans, separating you from your family. At least they seemed happy. You smiled.

It didn't take long before you spotted a Yellow-green inkling. Your grin widened out of happiness-

But he was frowning. Was he jealous that you won and not him? No, he was that sore of a loser. You didn't have much time to spend looking into the crow, but you had noticed that he and the S4 were missing from the crowd roughly halfway through the match.

You hissed out in pain as he roughly grabbed you by the arm, dragging you away from the crowd and into an alley. The S4 were all there, glaring you down.

No, they couldn't possibly be jealous. Come on now.

You furrowed your brows in confusion. Why were they mad? You won. You fought for them, and won.

"Who the hell are you."

Rider began, his voice monotone.

It rose with slight anger:

"You're not from Calamari county, are you."

He knew.

Next Part

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