#also can you see those shells under my table

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

twst food culture compilation

Please note: this post does NOT include all food-related lore in TWST (for example, you won’t find a lot of information about individual characters’ food preferences or personal experiences with food here). This post ONLY talks about the food culture, notable locations, cultural dishes, and unique foods of the Twisted Wonderland world at large (ie countries, specific towns and cities, etc).

I did my best to scour for info, but I’ll update if I find anything new or details I missed the first time around.

General and/or Unspecified Location

There is a seasoning called “pure azure salt”, which is said to be rare, even in the Coral Sea.

Twisted Wonderland has a fruit called ruby berries (which taste “like freshly picked strawberries”).

There is frozen mint with a “refreshing profile” that grows in icy mountainous areas.

There exists Walrus-brand oyster sauce. Trey uses this to cook hamburger steak for his younger siblings. He says the oyster sauce provides a "nice savory flavor" with considerable depth. Trey also jokes about adding it to chestnut tarts in book 1.

There are mentions of irl Japanese foods such as konjac and takoyaki, but so far no place of origin in Twisted Wonderland has been sited.

Like in the real world, celebrities like Vil and Neige are used to promote products (including food and drink) in commercials, on social media platforms, etc. For example, in book 5, we see Neige advertising Red Apple Soda and Vil using his Magicam account to promote the apple juice made by Epel's family.

There's a popular dish called "pumpkin carriage stew". The insides of a pumpkin are scooped out and the shell is filled with a creamy stew, which made it difficult to carry over to tables. It would sell out every day at the cafe Ruggie used to work at.

Some restaurants call their spaghetti with meatballs "starry night spaghetti", named after the tale of two dogs who shared a spaghetti kiss under a starry sky. It is said that sharing spaghetti with meatballs with someone outside would lead to true love.

Hunting is sport as well as something done for food.

Briar Valley

General

Cotton candy is a classic snack food sold at Briar Valley food stalls. The way it is prepared resembles spinning threads, which is considered a blessed occupation (as there was a period in Briar Valley's history when no one was able to spin thread, so some clever individual tinkered around and made cotton candy instead).

In the battlefield (~400 years ago, during the human-fae war), soldiers would roast rats and lizards to eat if they didn't have rations or other ingredients.

There is little in the way of modern technology and electricity; typically, one would prepare dishes and/or collect ingredients by hand (such as via fishing) or by using magic.

Magic is used to light fires for cooking. There is little risk for fire accidents since magical fires automatically go out when you go to sleep.

Because Briar Valley is located to the north, it can get very chilly. When the snow melts, it turns into very cold freshwater.

According to Lilia, “berries are a must-have, especially at birthdays parties” in Briar Valley. They are famous for its berry juice.

Coral Sea

General

According to Jade, there are no fires in the Coral Sea. Therefore, most of the food consumed is raw.

A month-long land boot camp first established by a mermaid princess that married a human prince teaches merpeople fire safety and how to eat food as part of its curriculum.

It's rare for merfolk to eat anything sweet, as those kinds of foods aren't readily avaliable in the sea.

The Atlantica Memorial Museum has the mermaid princess's "silver hair comb" on display. This, of course, refers to the "dinglehopper"--a common fork. This implies that merpeople (such as the mermaid princess referenced in many stories) fused to be unaware of the eating utensils on land.

Azul's mother owns the "hottest restaurant" in the Coral Sea. It started off as a small place, but has since expanded to have a large staff.

Couples from the Coral Sea frequently request rainbow dessert soup with trident cookies for their weddings. To eat it, you use the trident cookie to stir the sweet sky-blue soup, which then turns the soup into seven colors of the rainbow. This is a dish that is only served for special occasions in the Coral Sea, and it is typically served warm.

Jade says that he was surprised to see that many land dwellers eat their fruit without the peel; this would imply that those from the Coral Sea typically eat their foods with the skin/peel left on, or as-is.

Playful Land Amusement Park

All food and drink are handed out for free.

They serve food in large quantities, such as tuna, entire tart cherry pies (with cinnamon, clove, and crushed nuts in the filling) and a whole peppery roasted chicken. The park encourages consuming in excess.

Other food items being offered include fried tuna fish and sparkling apple juice. The juice comes with an umbrella stuck in the opening to prevent bugs from getting in. You remove it before drinking.

They have ice-cream in many flavors! We see strawberry milk in the related event.

The park had candy and popcorn in “apple core” flavor. Supposedly, this is a taste inspired by the story of the Generous Fox giving a Puppet Boy an apple core instead of a whole apple because “the puppet wished to have a core”.

There is a “Candy Road”, a street lined with shops that have caramel lollipops, chewy candy, marshmallows, cookies, chocolate crunch, and lots of other sugary treats!

Their chocolate crunch has 12 different charms thrown in.

The third most popular souvenir are pasta snacks in the shape of the Friendly Fox and Gentle Cat. The second most popular is a tin of plain cookies in the shape of the Friendly Fox and cocoa cookies in the shape of the Gentle Cat. Finally, the most popular are apple core flavored candies!

Sage's Island

Night Raven College

Pomefiore holds a welcome party for the freshmen, which includes a fancy dinner.

Scarabia regularly holds banquets, typically at Kalim's request.

Heartslabyul holds so-called "unbirthday parties" whenever it is a day that does NOT fall on a Heartslabyul student's birthday.

The dorm members of Scarabia and Heartslabyul pitch in to prepare for banquets and unbirthday parties.

Mr. S's Mystery Shop stocks food items, such as candies (which Floyd often buys), tuna cans, and ingredients for baking (this is where Deuce and Yuu pick up things for the chestnut tart in book 1). Sam also sells food items that he seems to have made himself, like the Mystery Drink (which Octavinelle eventually buys the rights to).

The school cafeteria is said to have delicious breads.

Once a month, a famous bakery from out of town serves their goods at NRC. Their stock includes items such as chocolate croissants, egg sandwiches, yakisoba bread and cream bread ("cronuts and bear claws"), roast beef sandwiches, red bean buns ("hot dog buns"), and deluxe minced cutlet sandwiches ("deluxe ham and cheese"/"grilled cheese" in the localization). They sell out fast!

The cafeteria at NRC serves food buffet style; the cafeteria is kept warm with magic from fire fairies which are supplied with dry firewood every day.

Master Chef ("Culinary Crucible") is an elective course at NRC that teaches students how to cook. It is meant to curb the expenses related to eating out and to help the boys maintain balanced diets and learn how to take care of themselves. Judges for this course are randomly selected from the students and staff (prior to this methodology, people would bribe the judges for extra credit).

While taking Master Chef, students help with preparing meals in the cafeteria in exchange for part-time pay.

The instructors for Master Chef are ghosts who were professional chefs at five-star restaurants when they were alive.

There are various locations on campus where the students go to fetch ingredients for Master Chef. This includes an on-campus farm, ranch, windmill... and even the dormitories themselves!

Octainvelle has the Mostro Lounge, described by Jade as "a meeting place for gentlemen" where fighting between dorms is prohibited. While dining there, students are expected to abide by Octavinelle's rules. It is run by the manager and founder, Azul, who made a deal with the headmaster to get the rights to open the establishment. NRC gets 10% of the revenue the Mostro Lounge makes.

The Mostro Lounge has a one-drink purchase minimum.

The Mostro Lounge also operates food stalls and/or sells food at many school events, such as the cultural festival in book 5 and the interdorm magical shift/spelldrive tournament in book 2.

It is mostly Octavinelle students who staff the Mostro Lounge, but there are occasions when outside students are brought in as extra help. Ruggie has worked there part-time, as well as Jack, Ace, Deuce, and tons of other students.

NRC opens its school gates to the local townspeople for a period leading up to Halloween; during this time, they distribute candy and other sweets (such as Sam's waffles, served with jam made from NRC's apples) to guests. There's also a party on Halloween night where lots of food is served.

The woods behind the campus have chestnuts, which the main crew collect for an apology tart to Riddle.

The Botanical Garden has some edible plants growing there. These include strawberries, which the Science Club cultivates.

Unbirthday Party Rules (related to food)

Rule 25: There must be a tea party on the 5th of every month.

Rule 29: You must not eat the Queen's tarts without her permission.

Rule 153: The only tea you may drink in the evenings is herbal tea.

Rule 186: Do not eat hamburger steak on Tuesdays.

Rule 256: You must not drink lemonade with honey past 8 pm.

Rule 271: You must get up from the table within 15 minutes after eating lunch.

Rule 339: Your post-meal tea must be lemon tea with 2 sugar cubes.

Rule 529: If you eat steak on the night of a full moon, a cat must play the violin afterwards.

Rule 562: Do not bring chestnut tarts to an unbirthday party.

Rule 648: You must brush your teeth 2 times on nights when you eat turkey.

Rule 703: Whoever comes in 2nd place in a croquet match must serve tea to the Queen (dorm leader) the next day.

If the dormouse wakes up at an unbirthday party, you are to paint its nose with jam.

Coffee is forbidden; tea must be served at all occasions except for birthdays.

According to Cater, sweets are mandatory at unbirthday parties.

Dwarves' Mine & Silent Woods

There is an abundance of wildlife in these areas; Jade often goes hiking and foraging, making note of what he finds. He uses the plants to make his own tea blends (which are sometimes added to the Mostro Lounge's menu) and the herbs, plants, and mushrooms to experiment with in cooking.

There are fish to be found at the lake, including massive catfish.

The Foothill Town

There is a port for mainly cargo ships located at the southwest part of town. It's called Crane Port! The east side has a port as well, but that one is moreso for passengers. Crane Port has been getting fewer and fewer people passing through lately (until Port Breeze Fest, in which the NRC boys run food stalls and help to revive business in the area). Group A makes churros, Group B makes waffles, Group C makes salads, Group D makes cotton candy, and Group E makes clam chowder.

A popular restaurant in the Crane Port area serves foods like french fries and burgers. Their signature menu item is a donut made from potatoes. Actually, this restaurant specializes in potato dishes!

There is a chain restaurant on the island that also has locations elsewhere, including in Ace's hometown. He mentions that there are slightly different flavors to the sauces depending on which location you go to.

The town also has other eateries that are more geared towards students, seeing as it exists on an island with two notable magic schools to the north and the south. Cater often mentions going into town to take pictures at cafes.

There is a famous patisserie there. You have to line up early in the morning before opening time to get your hands on one of their strawberry tarts (or anything, really!).

Scalding Sands

General

The Scalding Sands seems to borrow heavily from Middle Eastern cultures. For example, some of the Scalding Sands’ traditional dishes include, but are not limited to: roasted lamb, moussaka, döner kebabs, shawarma, flatbreads, potato and bean spreads, and seafood sautés.

Tea is a popular beverage; it is had at every meal and break. People can drink up to 10 cups of tea a day!

The Scalding Sands specializes in black tea. For entertaining guests, special tea leaves are used.

In the Scalding Sands, they brew their tea leaves loose and without an infuser. This makes the tea very strong and bitter. To counteract the powerful flavor, people add lots of sugar to their tea and drink it with sweets.

“Luxurious” tea is very sweet, since sugar was once very expensive (due to a shortage of it, according to the localization) and considered a luxury.

Due to the hot weather, people often toss herbs into their tea to make it more refreshing to drink.

Coffee is also popular; there are many cafes that serve coffee and tea. The Scalding Sands is known in particular for their spiced coffee, which has a very distinctive flavor. This coffee is brewed without a filter, and some cafes do “coffee divinations” (reading the shapes and patterns of the grounds and the water droplets that remain after drinking to tell the fortunes of customers).

There are a lot of unique spices in their dishes. This is especially true of banquet dishes. However, a variety of dishes are still served at these occasions.

Kalim describes the Scalding Sands as being “big on stewed stuff” like curries.

In Kalim’s hometown, people love to gather around the table and talk over a meal.

Halloween in the Scalding Sands is celebrated by feasting on a variety of dishes. The idea is that the food must be abundant so that the ghosts that return to the world of the living for the night may also have their fill.

It used to be difficult for the people of the Scalding Sands to obtain water due to the lack of rainfall, hot climate, and expansive desserts. However, Kalim’s ancestors utilized the country’s rivers to reach other countries and to trade their textiles, spices, tea leaves, and other local goods with foreign lands. It was particularly impressive at the time, as they were the first traders from the Scalding Sands to sail (back then, accurate nautical maps were not a thing). This maritime pioneering is what would make the Asim family their massive fortune.

The Asims and other merchants heavily invested in technologies and innovations to make the area more sustainable and potable water more accessible.

The waterways of the country eventually developed into canals and communities formed around them as trade hubs. The canals are also used to host ferryboats for locals and tourists to sightsee, boosting the tourism industry. This also made access to water much easier for the residents, and the water helps to cool the temperature.

Silk City

The bazaars in Silk City are where locals do their shopping for various goods and staple foods like vegetables and fish. There are also stalls with gourmet food that cater to tourists.

Camel Bazaar is named after camels, which were used to transport people, goods, and luggage before Silk City’s canals and roads came to be. There also used to be an oasis where the camels would rest and drink after long treks; this oasis became a center for commerce and eventually evolved into a marketplace. To this day, the name “Camel” has stuck, even if people use trucks, ships, and cars more than camels.

There is also Zahab (”Gold”) Market, which is popular with tourists for shopping (especially for souvenirs!) but also has swindlers and pickpockets mixed in with regular customers.

Many snacks are sold! There’s camel milk chocolate, cookies drizzled in syrup, sunflower seeds, pistachios, chickpeas, all kinds of nuts, dried fruits (including dates), jams, jellies, syrups, starfruit, dragonfruit, etc. 

(Lamb) shawarma is described as meat roasted on a spit and served on baguettes or pita bread. Because grease drips off while it cooks, it is “surprisingly healthier” than one expects it to be. Shawarma is also customarily served with vegetables (tomatoes, onions, olives, jalapenos, etc.) and sauces (yogurt, garlic, chili, hummus (a paste of garlic and chickpeas), mayo basil, etc).

There is a vendor that can supply large quantities of sweet and refreshing coconut water; this is because they’re used to providing for Kalim’s extravagant and excessive tastes. They create a hole in the top and provide straws to poke in and use to drink the water. The coconut flesh inside is also edible.

There are a lot of bread stalls; bread is also another staple food, and it comes in many sizes, shapes, and textures. Small roadside bakeries have wood-fired ovens which allow them to serve bread fresh to customers.

One stand sells baguettes that are taller than many children; these “tower baguettes” are a famous Fireworks Festival treat. People say that if you eat a big one, you’ll never go hungry again! The saying comes from a story of a young man that shared bread with hungry children. It’s because of that story that baguettes are considered a good luck food that many vendors sell on holidays.

The Camel Bazaar sells an elastic ice-cream (based on a similar irl frozen Turkish confection). It is kneaded on a pole and stretched out; customers are meant to “catch” it in their cups and cones. It’s food performance art! All the stretching makes the texture very unique.

There’s a fruit stand that is only open on festival days which sells a Silk Melon sundae; the fruit is hollowed out to host ice-cream (of the same melon flavor!) and toppings which make it very photogenic.

Starfruit is usually put in salads, according to Trey.

The dragonfruit sold is recommended to be eaten with honey. You drizzle it on top of a slice and eat!

Silk City’s signature fruit is the Silk Melon. It is called that because of its silky texture and sophisticated sweetness. It can’t be found in many other countries. The man of legend that shared his bread with a starving child is said to split a melon with his friend, even though he did not have much money to spare. It’s because of this tale that people started saying if you share Silk Melon with someone, it would make your friendship or romance last forever. Now the fruit is a festival staple and considered a symbol of good fortune.

In the past, water was only used for irrigation due to its scarcity. Some gave up on farming after years of trying to produce crops and failing—but others refused to give up and cultivated the land to made it fertile, something which future generations would reap the benefits of.

The fruits and veggies sold Camel Bazaar are freshly picked and grown locally. Jamil says this is possible because the arid climate actually helps with growing crops of high quality. Produce raised with less water concentrates flavor since the final fruit will have a higher sugar content. Because of this, Silk City’s produce is prized by chefs all over Twisted Wonderland. Of course, you can get them at an affordable prize in Camel Bazaar!

Shaftlands

General

The Shaftlands are famous for its jeweled pineapples.

The Shaftlands spans a large area of land and has drastically different climates depending on the part of it you're looking at. Therefore, we can deduce that foods and customs surrounding food are very different as well.

City of Flowers/Fleur City

The city’s food culture seems to be inspired by real world Paris, or at the very least, France.

Bread is a local specialty, particularly very buttery kinds. As you walk down the streets, you can smell bread baking. The City of Flowers has 10x (or more) the variety of bread that Sage's Island offers, and has an abundance of bakeries too.

Bread-making is popular in the City of Flowers. The windmills at the edges of the city grind grains to produce fresh flour. There are also watermills powered by the Soleil River to assist with making flour.

Because wheat is plentiful in this area, some of it is also used for desserts. One such confection is financier, which is made from a combination of wheat flour, almond flour, and butter. It resembles a gold bar, so eating one is said to bring financial prosperity.

Lately, gluten-free desserts have been trendy.

A dessert that does not use wheat flour is macarons. In the City of Flowers, they are yellow and shaped like bells to honor the Bell of Salvation which oversees the community and provides magic that helps rare plants grow in the area. The filling is a ganache with dried bits of grapes and apples.

Grape juice is popular in the City of Flowers, as the fruit is another specialty. You can buy the grapes raw and eat them as is, or ask a vendor to crush it (skin still on!) into juice for you. Some buy the grapes to give as gifts!

The grapes are grown in vineyards right outside of the city, and the farmers are constantly experimenting to improve their breeds. They taste very rich, tangy, and sweet.

The City of Flowers is also known for its many specialty cheese shops. Together, bread and cheese are called the staple foods of the city, and are sometimes eaten together. One specialty cheese shop the boys visit sells baguettes topped with ham and rich melted cheese.

The city considers goats a symbol of good luck, so they are treated with care. There are many community goats (which are just as common as domesticated cats or dogs) allowed to roam freely in the city. It is said that if you treat the community goats with kindness, they will come rescue you in your time of need.

Goat milk is used in some of the specialty cheeses produced by the city. The grapes mentioned earlier are also made into fruit compotes to go with the cheeses.

Harveston

This village has many dishes that borrow from a mixture of irl Nordic cultures. There’s also an emphasis on having hometown pride and the community itself being very close.

As expected, many of Harveston's dishes feature apples: apple pie, grilled and roasted apples, apple salad, apple pound cakes, etc.

Epel's family has an apple orchard that has been in the family for generations. They grow different kinds of apples throughout the year. Many of his neighbors are older people who also raise produce, and they help each other out when they're short on hands. The community is very tightly knit because of this, and treat each other like extended family.

Harvest season (autumn) is the busiest time of year; once that's over, everyone comes together to have a party. It's a potluck style celebration where everyone brings a homemade dish or homegrown food to share.

Harveston preserves its produce (such as apples and wild greens) by pickling them and serving them in salads. The bright colors are maintained by boiling the produce in a copper pot, which stabilizes the pigments. It's wisdom passed down from generation to generation.

There is also pickled herring, traditionally eaten on bread. Brining preserves the fish while it is still raw and doesn't dry it up. It's ready to eat right out of a jar, no cooking required.

The local stew is not very thick. It tastes sweet because of the added vegetables and savory because of the tender meat in it. There is also a salmon broth sprinkled with herbs which is described as "melty".

Fruits and vegetables can be packed in snow to keep them preserved. This method is called “snow aging” and prevents evaporation. In the old days, the villagers would build whole farms out of snow. In modern day, they just shovel the snow into a barn. This creates a natural fridge that will naturally thaw in the summers. Snow aging in this manner makes the produce sweeter and more nutritious.

The next town over is a three-hour bike ride. The roadside has many apple trees you can enjoy during the trip.

You can easily pick apples off the branch and eat them fresh! Farmers can snack on apples while picking.

Harveston is surrounded by tall mountains that are snow-capped all year, the most famous one being Mt. Moln. The greenery around Harveston is due to the spring water irrigation which runs down from Mt. Moln.

Most of Harveston’s land is used for orchards, and apples are their main produce. They also make many products using those apples like chips, rice crackers, and cookies.

Fall apples are sweeter, while winter ones are more sour. Winter apples are unique to Harveston.

Harveston also grows a lot of garlic.

Harveston farming is done the old fashioned way, as the predominantly older population distrusts chemical fertilizers and biotechnology.

Some villagers like the mayor and Marja (Epel’s grandma) adjust their accent to communicate with people from outside the village. Marja says she switches up when she’s selling goods in another town, since it can be tricky for non-Harveston locals to understand.

Hand washing before eating is a must! They take the act very seriously in Harveston. Stories say the miners of the past used to get very sick due to poor hygiene, but their health improved drastically once they started washing regularly with soap and water. It was difficult for them to get treatment because the town is so remote and far from hospitals or doctors, so the best thing is stressing prevention. This why the townspeople are sticklers about hand washing now.

To wash the Harveston way, you plunge your hands into ice cold water and make it all foamy with soap. You also scoop the water up and splash your face as well (as the miners from the past would also do this).

Apple Square is the main festival venue; it has many vendor stalls in an area called Kokko (which means “Bonfire”) Market. The Sledathon is the most lucrative time of year for the townsfolk.

Many of their products are made locally by the older folks in town. The goods aren’t trendy or very fancy, but they’re high-quality and made with Harveston pride.

The stalls give apple juice, apple tea (which has fruit pieces floating in it), and apple ginger tea for free. The apple juice is one of Harveston’s most popular products.

Giant five-meter apple pies are made for the Sledathon. They’re considered one of the main attractions, and you can get a slice from them free of charge.

There are other stalls that sell regular apple pie too. Every vendor has their own style, from the apples used to the crust and baking technique.

There are other kinds of fruit pies for sale, but apples are the most popular and “special” ones. The Beautiful Queen had a preference for apple pies, so the townspeople do too.

Harveston apple pies have such an entrancing flavor that the nearest city has stores that stock them. Critics say that Harveston apple pies make anyone drool and that the best way to convince someone to do you a favor is to gift one.

Harveston holds an apple competition to find the reddest apple. This is because the Beautiful Queen prized beautifully red apples. In the past, the townspeople would offer the reddest apple from the season’s harvest to the Beautiful Queen. Over time, it evolved into the apple competition.

Kokko Market makes pancake balls from a flour batter and top it with jam. It’s prepared in a pan and with methods similar to takoyaki, coming out crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

Pancakes also come in a square form. In Harveston, pancakes are baked in the oven instead of on the stove. Some people cook pancakes in the fireplace too; this makes them tender, thick, and pudding-like.

There are many grains used for bread: sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, oats, flax seeds, sesame seeds, rye, wheat...

Barbeque is served for large gatherings and celebrations.

Cooking tends to be done in the fireplace instead of on a stove, especially in the case for stews. It keeps the room warm in winter while the food cooks.

Harveston has a bean and fruit soup. Most other places serve it cold, but those in Harveston sometimes enjoy it warm. It’s a thick consistency and the fruit in it has been dried.

When setting the dining table, people in Harveston leave one extra plate out. This tradition comes from a story about a traveler visiting a family’s house and being surprised by the messy state of it. The traveler cleaned the house and cooked a nice meal for the family. From this story came the belief that as long as you leave a plate at your table, you’ll never want for food or go hungry.

Sandwich cakes are common party centerpieces. They are made with bread and vegetables, topped with shrimp, deviled eggs, olives, apples, and salmon slides arranged in a rose shape. The frosting on it is made from mayonnaise and sour cream, making sandwich cakes more salad than dessert.

They sell cherries and other berries by volume. Also sold are vegetables and juice, freshly squeezed.

Because Harveston is located in a mountainous region, there are rare varieties of mushrooms to be found. These can be served in a traditional mushroom soup, which can be finicky to prepare (so usually only experts make it). Mushrooms are also cooked in butter and served in sandwiches.

Mushrooms, herbs, and flowers are foraged from the nature (both public mountains and private woods). Locals usually don’t buy plants that are wild when they can pick it themselves. Instead, they’re sold to tourists.

Good foraging spots on Moln Mountain are kept secret so people don’t overharvest. The mountains are dangerous in winter, so foraging has to be done in spring or summer.

Harveston brines raw fish like salmon in a mixture of salt, sugar, pepper, and fill. In the old days, brined salmon was buried in sand to let it ferment.

Fish is dried to preserve it and to enhance the flavor. Before there were proper roads, it was hard to bring in food for the winter, so Harveston relied on foods preserved in the spring. They last for a long time and have many uses (such as in soup stock or to eat straight up). To this day, preserved meats and vegetables are a local specialty and new methods such as roasting have been developed for preservation.

Sunset Savanna

General

The food here appears to be inspired by African cultures of the real world.

There is floral cacao in the Sunset Savanna. It bears fruit only once every 10 years.

Gummy bugs are popular and a Halloween staple.

The people of the Sunset Savanna value living in harmony with nature and will go out of their way to adapt to the land (due to the high population of beastmen, who have animal ancestors). Because of this, they oppose change that could damage the environment. There are some parts of this arid country that still rely on wells for their drinking water needs. They also hold the Tamashina-Mina festival every year to pray for rain.

Sautéed mutton is a common meal in this country. Leona brags that the Sunset Savanna is top notch when it comes to cooking meats.

The bananas of the Sunset Savanna are starchy and resemble potatoes (similar to plantains). They are steamed and served as a staple food. They’re faintly sweet and are actually very light and easy to digest.

It’s easier to grow fruit instead of wheat and rice in their climate.

Rice crepes, another staple, are served with a stew that you pour over it. The stew comes in variants such as a white fish stew simmered in tomato sauce, spinach and potato stew, beef stew, etc. There are also many side dishes you can enjoy with the crepes. The crepes aren’t meant to be eaten alone, as they taste too sour solo.

The phrase “that’s the Circle of Life” is a proverb that has been around for ages. The strong eat the weak, then when the strong die, their bodies become nutrients for the grass which feeds the next generation of prey animals. Life comes “full circle”, and the proverb indicates this delicate balance.

The Sunset Savanna is famous for its coffee. It tastes spicy, not bitter, because the custom is to add spices to the drink.

Food prep performances seem to be common for the wealthy; Leona mentions seeing big fish filleted before being served.

Yogurt is considered a “healthy dairy” and is typically served for breakfast.

Elephant Graveyard

The Elephant Graveyard, once considered a scary and lawless place (the “shadow lands” which were not a part of the original kingdom), has become a tourist destination.

They are known for selling vanilla cookies shaped like bones.

The hot springs at the Elephant Graveyard have kettles hidden by the steam. The hot water vapor cooks onsen tamago (a traditionally Japanese irl dish) and puddings. It imparts a slightly salty and sulfurous flavor and smell to the foods.

Sunrise City

The Raintree Market is a bazaar that features many foods and drinks.

Many snacks sold in the marketplaces are local specialties, so they’re popular as souvenirs.

Wild and cultivated hibiscus flowers are boiled with sugar to produce a red juice. There is also a white juice, which is made using wild baobab (which is full of nutrients; people call it a beauty elixir you can drink). A legends says that, long ago, members of the royal family would have their foreheads painted with baobab juice when they were born. That’s how the fruit became a local specialty.

In the original tale, the juice for marking foreheads was red. It seems that, over time, the color was changed to white by word of mouth, with the latter description fitting more with the white fruit of the baobab. Because of this change, more and more stalls have been selling a mixture of hibiscus juice and baobab juice.

The baobab fruit is also used to make a particular sour candy. The candy is dyed with res food coloring and is then dusted with sugar and chili powder. It’s described as having a “mature” flavor.

Mangoes are a local specialty! Vendors will happily cut open the fruit for you to enjoy on the spot.

Other notable fruits for sale are tart passionfruit and creamy but smelly jackfruit. The latter is considered the largest fruit in Twisted Wonderland and grows on its tree’s trunks.

The Sunset Villa is a luxurious hotel that hosts VIPs and important guests of the state. They offer a large selection of drinks (fruit juice, black tea, coffee…) and serve whole slabs of steak in front of you before serving at luxurious barbecues. After dinners, they have dance performances.

There is an enormous sausage that’s wrapped up in a coil. If unwound, it’s a meter long. It’s meant to be cut with scissors before eating. The sausage’s herbs make it taste refreshing, and its meat is finely grounded to allow its flavors to come through.

Seafood is fresh and cheap, provided you live by the sea or in a coastal region like Dawn City. In more inland areas, seafood is considered a luxury.

Their seafood tends to be cooked with strong spices.

Ruggie’s yet-to-be-named hometown

Because the residents are poor, their food is usually made from collected scraps (such as pumpkin pie made predominantly from the pulpy parts) or prepared with substitutions and without extra flourishes. For example, Ruggie’s grandma prepares homemade donuts for his birthday but they couldn't afford fancy toppings (until Ruggie started working to bring in extra income).

It’s implied that there were instances when Ruggie (and presumably others from his hometown) had to eat rotten food or out of trash cans to get by.

Queendom of Roses

General

There is reference to some irl UK foods in this region, such as the jacket potato.

The Queendom of Roses is famous for its rose jelly rolls. Roses are the flower the country is best known for, of course, but they also have lavender, rosemary, sweet violet, foxglove, bluebells, and many berries.

People from this country eat flowers (which are specifically grown for eating). Flowers are also used for dried flower bookmarks? potpourri, etc.

The Queendom has a good selection of breads.

Apparently, the Queendom also has a strong “tea culture”.

People in the Queendom of Roses eat a lot of different pastries (pies, tarts, quiches, croissants, etc). Croissant donuts in particular have been pretty trendy lately. They’re donuts made with croissant batter, so they come out super flaky.

Potatoes are a staple food.

Jacket potatoes are common at festivals; they are potatoes baked with the skin (ie “jacket”) still on. The standard topping for them is baked beans, but you can also have tuna mayo corn, bean chili, sour cream, avocado, and other things.

Anyone that grew up in the Queendom of Roses has probably done the “cookie smash” at least once as a kid. (More info on this under the “Clock Town” section!)

Riddle and Trey's yet-to-be-named hometown

Trey's family owns a bakery (called "Patisserie Clover" according to the TWST manga). It seems to be a small "mom and pops" shop with no particular notoriety. However, the manga implies that it was the Clover bakery where Riddle saw the strawberry tarts and became entranced by them. This is also where Riddle would later try his first strawberry tart.

In Riddle and Trey's hometown, people enjoy apple bobbing during the Halloween season.

Before interview: Riddle was worried whether they can start on time and was relieved when Vil showed up and Vil was pretty smug about it lmao

There is a farm not too far from where Riddle lives; it is famous for its ice-cream buns. There is also a cafe located on the farm! It opened shortly after Riddle entered NRC and is so popular that it’s spoken about in magazines and tourists go there just to sample their sweets.

Clock Town

The people of Clock Town value time and punctuality due to the town's connection to the White Rabbit, who was always in a hurry. Many of the foods sold at stalls are things that are easy to hold and eat while walking, such as sliced sandwiches.

The Clock Town Folk Museum mentions a girl that appears in the story of the White Rabbit. She ate cookies that made her grow large; the museum recreates this experiment by projecting a large image of guests that eat cookies they have set out.

The Clock Town Folk Museum also runs a bugle-playing contest. The participation prize is a carrot cookie.

Clock Town sells a brand of potato chips with the White Rabbit logo on them.

The town also sells cookies iced to look like a pocket watch. The icing is made from a mixture of sugar and egg whites (“royal icing”) which hardens considerably. You’re meant to crush the cookie with a hammer to make it into smaller pieces, making it easier to eat. It’s based on the story of the White Rabbit breaking his pocket watch. Others tried to help him fix it by hitting it with a hammer, but it didn’t help at all, only damaged it more!

A lot of people enjoy growing plants, gardening, and horticulture, including stuff that can be eaten like herbs.

Sausage rolls are served in pairs to resemble bunny ears; the container they come in resembles the White Rabbit. They’re sausages wrapped in a pie crust/puff pastry dough, and come in cheese and a spicy sausage variant for the White Rabbit Festival.

There are large mushrooms that grow in Clock Town; eating one side will turn you large, eating the other side will turn you small. The girl in the story of the White Rabbit has eaten these strange mushrooms before. These mushrooms are said to be enchanted and only work in a particular area; its effects last for ~1 minute after eating.

#twst #twisted wonderland #twst resource #twisted wonderland resource #disney twisted wonderland #notes from the writing raven #Neige Leblanche #Pomefiore #Yuu #Sam #Mr. S #Dire Crowley #Heartslabyul #Octavinelle #Rollo Flamme #Savanaclaw #Scarabia #Ignihyde #Diasomnia #Rollo Flamm #Grim #Mister S

[thecuriousquest]

Don’t Close Your Eyes

Tag List: @issamomma @repostingmyfavs @palesweetscherryblossom @chickennugnugnug @murderofravens

Warnings: Platonic yandere themes, hurt/comfort, vomiting, painful migraines, Gojo is kind of a bad dad, Gojo obsesses over his daughter’s beauty

Summary: Your father, Satoru Gojo, gives you everything you want. What will happen when something you want breaks one of his very few rules? (Featuring Uncle Nanami)

Master List

—————————————————————————

You love your father with all of your heart, but it’s really hard to be his daughter sometimes. He spoils you rotten. You want ice cream or mochi for breakfast? Cookies for dinner? You got it. The most expensive sushi for lunch? Say no more. You want that really expensive necklace and designer outfit? Done.

He wraps you up in the thickest of blankets and carries you through life. If he had things his way, he’d make sure you didn’t even have to put a toe on the ground. You’ve never been confronted with any real world issues thanks to your doting pops, but you feel as though you’re living inside of a shell.

However, having inherited the Six Eyes from him, you suffer not only from an overprotective father, you also suffer from violent migraines due to oversensitivity and overstimulation of the senses. You’re extremely light sensitive. Even the dullest fraction of light can trigger a headache.

This being said, your daddy doesn’t allow you to cover your eyes…ever. He says, “They’re too beautiful to cover up” or “Why would you even think about hiding something I gave you?” You can’t even convince him to buy you those really dark sunglasses where no light can pass through.

You often find yourself trying to cut up towels for makeshift blindfolds just so you can get some sleep, but you’re only lightly scolded by your father and told not to “play with scissors” despite being fourteen years old.

———

Satoru comes home from a mission, greeting Nanami as he asked the blonde sorcerer to keep an eye on you while he was gone.

“How was she? Who am I kidding? She was perfect, wasn’t she?”

“No, she was not. She was crass and rude because she was in pain the entire time. She cursed me out more times than I care to tell, and she barely ate, and what she did eat, she threw up. Gojo, you have to do something about her migraines because whenever I come over to watch her, I end up getting them as well.”

The lanky man’s jaw hangs wide open as he listens to Nanami’s speech. After a minute of processing, he drops the bag of souvenirs on a nearby table and huffs a fatherly sigh.

“Are you sure it’s her? I mean, you could just be incapable of looking after her.”

“It’s not her, Gojo. It’s you,” Nanami states as he picks up his bag. “I’m leaving now. She’s upstairs in her room crying her eyes out because you refuse to do anything about her oversensitivity.”

With that said, Kento brushes past Satoru and leaves the Gojo household.

Satoru trails up the stairs, bag in hand, and knocks on the door twice. When he receives no response, only hearing you choking on sobs, he opens the door to see you shaking under the covers. He strides over to you, pulling the blanket back so that he can see you holding your head with your eyes squeezed shut. Placing the bag on the floor, your dad takes a seat on the edge of the bed.

“Hey, there’s my pretty girl. Uncle Nanami told me you were having a bad day. Tell me what’s going on.”

“Hurts!” Is all you can bite out with the amount of pain you’re in. You curse yourself for even speaking because your skull is pounding from all of the noise. “Please, Daddy, make it stop!”

He shushes you, pulling you up towards his chest so that you can cry into his shoulder.

“We could try a sedative?”

“Those don’t fucking work! You can’t do anything right! God, you’re fucking useless!” You grip his shirt and blow tears and snot into it as you wail at him in a fit of pain and teenage rage.

Gojo, being used to the cursing, only rolls his eyes. He can’t scold you right now. It wouldn’t help anyway. You wouldn’t even be able to focus on a lecture at the moment. Instead, he holds you closer and presses a kiss against your hair.

“Daddy, please…covering my eyes…it’s the only thing that works.” You flinch when the migraine feels like a brick has been smashed against the back of your head.

“You know the rules. I want to be able to see your gorgeous face every day. You’re my sunshine, sweetie. Your eyes are so beautiful.”

“Fuck you! Uncle Nanami lets me cover my eyes!”

“Well, then, Uncle Nanami isn’t going to be able to watch you anymore.”

You shake your head slightly, desperately. “I…No, you can’t do that. Daddy, please, I want to see Uncle Nanami!”

Gojo lowers his glasses and looks at you. “I’m your father, so I can do whatever I want. These headaches are just a phase. You’ll grow out of them. You don’t need to cover your eyes. I never wore them as a child. You didn’t have these migraines as a little kid, so you’ll probably get over them at some point. You just need to-”

The storm in your head causes violent waves to crash against your skull, rattling the ship that is your brain. Blood rages in your ears, and you can only hear your father’s voice in a low hum before succumbing to nausea for the fourth time today.

Throwing your blanket off of you and reaching for the trashcan that’s right by your bed, you hurl into the black plastic bin that’s almost half full of your bile and stomach contents. Gojo looks into it and can clearly see that Nanami had made you fish for dinner.

Your father does his best to try and comfort you, rubbing your back as you vomit water and whatever else your stomach can wretch. Coughing signals an end to your regurgitation, and you put the trash bin down on the floor in front of you.

Calmly now, with no heat or bite behind your words, you look away from your father and ask, “Can you stay with me until I fall asleep?”

You hate to ask him for this after being so angry with him, but a comforting presence next to you can sometimes help with your migraine induced insomnia. It can sometimes even dull the headaches to a certain extent.

“Of course. Anything for my little girl.”

Lying down, you rub your temples as Satoru trails the tips of his fingernails up and down your back. Being emotionally drained and physically exhausted, as well as having your father sit right beside you, it doesn’t take long for you to fall asleep.

As Gojo watches his precious angel close her eyes, he runs his fingers through your hair and smiles. You’re finally asleep and looking peaceful. If you had eye coverings on, he wouldn’t be able to see the whites of your lashes curving as you enter a dream.

He knows in his heart that he’s doing the right thing.

#triggering content #triggering themes #yandere themes #yandere #yandere x you #yandere x reader #yandere x y/n #yandere x darling #jujitsu kaisen #yandere jujutsu kaisen #yandere satoru gojo #platonic yandere satoru gojo #platonic yandere nanami #yandere nanami #yandere nanami kento #yandere gojo #platonic yandere gojo #yandere gojo satoru #platonic yandere uncle #platonic yandere father #platonic yandere

[nctsplug02]

mark lee smut wherein he's a soft dom who praises you for studying hard for your final exams. (also can you please add a sweet gesture). i sorta feel he's that type. thank you!

[10:46PM]

GENRE: fluff and smut | bad boy!mark + nerdy!reader.

WARNINGS: overworked reader, both protected and unprotected sex, condom usage, oral sex (F receiving), fingering, praising, cum eating, and kissing!

“wake up for me, baby.” your eyes weakly blink open when feeling soft kisses being pressed on your face.

your hair gets tucked behind your ear. “wake up, baby. cmon.” you grin when feeling your boyfriend slide his hands between your thighs.

“there’s that’s smile. i know you’re awake, baby.” you softly laugh and sigh, opening your eyes and seeing your boyfriend hovering above you.

your eyes fall onto your assignments and laptop on the coffee table in front of you, mark must’ve moved them aside.

“study till you knocked out, again?” you bite your lip and nod. “what’d i tell you ‘bout that?”

“i know and i’m sorry, mark. i just want to,” you sigh. “to get the assignment over with.” you shrug and frown.

mark licks his lips and presses another kiss on your forehead. “you’ve done all your best, baby. you need to give yourself a break, okay?”

you nod. “i know.”

“you’re an A plus college student, part time worker at a restaurant and full time nerd.” you scowl and look to the side while mark chuckles.

“i’m kiddinggg, baby!” mark drags it out and giggles.

he falls next to you and pulls on your thighs. “c’mere, baby.” you whine and toss your leg over his.

“you need some time away from studying.” he plays with your hair and twirls the soft lock around his finger.

“wanna go out tomorrow?” you bite your lip and him. “depends on where.” mark copies you but instead of biting his lip, he pouts and hums. “wherever you want to go, baby. i’ll take you wherever and whenever you wanna go.”

you smile and run your hands up his chest. “let’s..” you stretch and sigh. “hm. let’s go eat out tomorrow morning at the new restaurant that opened just down the street. i thinks it’s called moon.. moon— i don’t know but i looked at the menu and it looks delicious! i really want to try the food!”

“mhm, and what else, baby?” mark runs his hands down your hips and thighs. “after breakfast.. maybe we can go to the mall?”

mark bites his lips. “ya’ gonna get some new pretty sets?” you shrug and feel your cheeks heat up. “mm, maybe. maybe i’ll let you pick some out for me and i’ll give you a fashion show, hm?” mark groans and tosses his head back, his hands gripping tighter around your hips.

“what else, baby. tell me more.” mark practically begs.

“i’ll give you a little lap dance with the sets you picked out and i’ll maybe show you how we’ll they fit snuggly around my hips and my breasts.”

marks hands slide under your sweatshirt and under your bra. your bra slips over your breasts and he cups them. “fuck, baby!” mark groans and hisses when feeling your hard nipples.

“show me, baby. i wanna see a little demonstration.”

awhh, how you can’t say no to those precious beady eyes.

you giggle a little before ripping off your shirt and tossing it behind you. mark groans, again when seeing your tits bounce from your sweatshirt being slightly caught under your breasts.

slowly, you slip off of marks lap and you stand, slightly bent over just so your lips touch the shell of marks ear. “sit here like a good boy for me, baby.” you whisper.

before you stand straight, you slip your thumbs under the waist band of your gray shorts and you drag them down your legs until they pool around your feet.

“jesus, y/n.” mark whimpers under his breath and tosses his head back.

“look at me, mark. watch me.” mark brings his eyes to you and looks you up and down, slowly his mouth fills with drool.

your hand reaches back and your bra becomes undone. a small relieved sigh soothes out your nose when feeling the free feeling of your breasts being bra-less.

“n—no— no, stop,” you cross your arms and tilt your head. “no, baby. no— this is supposed to be about you, y/n.”

mark sits up and grabs your hand, softly rubbing circles on the back of your hand and sighing.

“i’m.. i’m work-free.. i’m not so stressed like you are with exams— let me take care of you tonight, baby.” you open your mouth to protest but mark yanks you on his lap. “please, baby.”

you bite your lip and sigh, unable to tear your eyes away from his pleading beady eyes. “okay, you can take care of me— only because i really am stressed and i really need your care taking right now.”

mark hugs you tightly and buries his face into your breasts. “i love you, baby.” he presses a loud kiss and pulls away.

“let me take care of you.” mark whispers and stands, his hands cupping your ass and making sure you’re secured and safe.

mark walks to the bedroom and kicks open the door, when near the bed, he lays you down softly. “you’re the most precious thing in the world.” mark says to you and presses a kiss on your nose as you giggle.

“cmon, mark.” you say with a hint of impatience.. as if you and mark didn’t have a quickie before he went out to play basketball with chenle who was growing impatient and spamming mark with missed calls and texts.

“i wanna take my time, baby. what’s the rush? we have all night, my love.” you nod and press your lips together.

mark softly laughs and sits up straight so that he isn’t hovering you so closely, he then reaches and flicks the lamp on so it’s on a dim level, just enough light to see each other. mark rips off his hoodie and pulls down his joggers, his boxers slightly following the joggers.

“fuck,” mark hisses at the aching pain in his cock that died to be touched.

mark shakes his head and clears his throat. he continues to undress himself from head to toe and when he reaches his glasses you sit up.

“no, keep them on.”

“but—“

your hand goes to his hand. “please.”

mark nods and pushes his glasses back up his nose bridge.

your eyes fall onto marks cock, his cock twitches and leans with precum. “mark, can i—?” you point to his dick but he shakes his head.

“tonight’s about you, remember.”

“but—“

mark leans closer and smiles. “just you tonight, baby. all you.”

“okay,” you nod.

mark grabs your thighs and yanks you until you’re flat on your back and your thighs are apart.

“so pretty..” mark mutters under his breath while looking down at your cunt as if it was treasure. “god.” mark runs his thumb down your slit.

you gasp lightly and your legs slightly move together. “nuh-uh, baby. keep’em open.” mark says as he gently pushes them back apart.

“m—mark.. this is embarrassing.” you say and then gasp when feeling mark slip his fingers into you. “what is?” your jaw is dropped but nothing comes out, instead you shake your head.

your eyes slowly shut when feeling pleasure take over your embarrassment. “oh, god, mark.” you softly hiccup gasps.

marks fingers still for a moment and then your eyes go wide.

“fuck!” you cry out and slightly sit up when feeling marks tongue on your clit.

you look down to see mark focused on your clit. his tongue lapping your juice and folds. mark squeezes his eyes shut when feeling your hand mess with his hair.

his fingers squeezing through your gummy walls, scissoring in and out, using his tongue to flick your clit.

“oh, mark.” you gasp, arching your back off the bed and digging your hips more into the mattress.

you could feel marks lips form into a smile when hearing your moans for him. your moans were absolute music to his ears.

the pleasure becomes overwhelming; his fingers thrusting in you while his tongue teases your clit.

your orgasm comes crashing on you within seconds. your moans fill up the moan and marks groans and giggles follow along.

mark pulls away— making sure he gives a good last nibble on your clit.

you whine at the sudden loss of being filled. “mmark,” you jut your lips and sit up.

“hmm?” he hums.

“you taste so fucking sweet.” mark groans while suckin’ on his fingers that were coated in your cum.

your eyes move to his shoulder which oddly flexes repeatedly. then your eyes trail down to see mark giving himself a few jerks.

mark reaches over you and opens the bottom drawer to his nightstand, he digs around until finally you hear a wrapper sound.

mark stands back on his knees and tears the corner of the condom wrapper.

your cunt drips from the sight of mark just sliding the condom on his cock.

“awh,” you whimper and shut your eyes. your pussy clenches around nothing but your fingers find your clit.

“nuh, uh.” mark grabs your hand and pushes you back onto your back. “mark!” you whine and he pushes your legs apart.

“what’s wrong, baby? you don’t want my dick?” you shake your head. “i do! i do!” you’re ashamed with how quick you answer.

mark chuckles and grabs your legs, he stacks your calves on his thighs and uses his cock to tease the entrance of your pussy.

“st—stop teasin’— oh!” you gasp as mark slips into you. with such ease. “what were you saying now?” you shake your head, pressing your lips together as you attempt to hide your whimpers.

“lemme hear you, baby.” mark says, burying himself more into you.

your jaw drops and moans spill out. “‘s right, baby. you sound so pretty.. so fucking pretty.” mark growls lowly and kisses you roughly.

you let out a small squeak when marks gold chain that you got him for your two year anniversary, smacks your chin.

“you feel so good, y/n.” mark whispers against your lips. “so fucking good.”

BEEP BEEP BEEP!

your eyes widen at the sudden alarm going off. mark stills and sighs, he reaches above you and presses ‘stop’ on your screen.

“m—mark, that’s my alarm— it—it’s a reminder to finish my summative project due for criminal justice class.”

“baby,” mark frowns. “can we put school work side? i mean, get that it’s finals but baby, you’re overworking yourself and it.. it sucks. i hate seeing you all worked up over these finals— why’d you have to pick the hardest classes?”

you laugh.

“im serious, babe.”

“okay, im sorry,” for laughing at least.

mark clenches his jaw and digs his nails into your hips, a whine breaks from your throat. you then gasp when mark pulls out of you and flips you onto your stomach.

doggy style— marks favorite position.

mark yanks your hips up and props you on your knees and chest. “ma—mark—?!” mark spanks you and you jerk forward but mark quickly yanks your hips back into his cock is rammed into your cunt.

“shut up.” he says.

cries fill up the room as mark fills you up perfectly and repeatedly. “o—ooh, god!” mark tangles his fingers in your hair and he pulls your head back.

your eyes find marks angry face before shutting for a swift moment.

your heavy head drops and your body falls limp as marks tip fucks you in the right places.

“ya’gonna listen to me, baby?” mark says.

“ya’gonna be a good girl and listen to me, baby?” you nod, softly humming. “good.. good,” mark says lowly and brushes the hair out of your hair, gathering all your sweaty locks and pushing the to one side.

mark leans closer but continues to rock his hips against yours. “don’t wanna see you overworking yourself, again, alright?” you nod, barely processing what he’s just said.

“you’re so good for me, baby.” he coos. “look at my little nerd.. so worried about her classes that she isn’t focused on me fucking her like the princess pillow she is.” mark plants a kiss on your shoulder.

“maarrkk,” you whine, trying not to laugh at marks praises.

“what, hm? my pretty little baby gettin’ shy?” mark chuckles, “i love you a lot, y/n. a lot, a lot.” a smile breaks on your face. “i love you, too.” you whisper back. “a lot, a lot.”

“i love seeing how hardworking you are, how determined you are so get things done by the minute. it makes me the proudest boyfriend ever.” you could hear the smiles on marks face— you could even see it from behind.

mark nibbles on your neck and presses a kiss on the spot he’d just nibbled on. “i’m so proud of you, baby. so proud.” he whispers the last line softly.

“m—mark?” you whisper swiftly.

“mhm?” mark hums softly and runs his hands over your curves and soft skin.

embarrassment rushes over you before you can even ask your question. “can you c—cum.. in me?”

a bubble of excitement pops in mark and he pushes himself back into his knees so he isn’t limp over your back.

“want me to cum in ya, baby?” you nod, whimpering as you do. “use your words, baby. ask it, again for me.” you chew on your bottom lip.

“can you please.. please cum in me, mark?” mark groans and leans forward, taking a bite from your shoulder. “that’d be a fucking honor to, baby.”

mark slips out of you and strips off the condom, he tosses it aside and slowly slips back into you. the two of you moan together, harmonizing.

“this feels so much better,” mark sighs. “doesn’t it, baby?” mark reads your expression from your side profile. “s—soo much better.” your eyes rolled back and a lazy grin on your face.

mark rocks his hips and starts off slow. and by the second, his pace picks up and his skin slaps against yours.

“give it to me, mark. please, i deserve it.” you plead desperately. “i’ve worked hard, mark, please.”

with your desperate pleads, it doesn’t take mark long until he releases his load into you.

mark pulls out after a few seconds and ejaculates the rest on your ass. with low and whiny groans, mark sits back on his feet and huffs and puffs.

mark holds his cock by the base in one hand and with his free hand, he smacks another handprint on your ass. you don’t even react, too busy recovering from your orgasm.

“geez, baby.” mark sighs and scoops a line of cum onto his finger pads, he turns you over and sticks his fingers on your tongue and down your throat.

you moan around his digits and mark watches with a slightly dropped jaw.

mark pulls his fingers away from your mouth and cups your face, he leans down and smashes his lips onto yours. the salty bitter reaches marks taste buds and mark groans, pulling away with a slightly disgusted face.

“did i.. do good, mark?” mark runs his thumb over your bottom lip and he smiles. “you did more than good, baby. you did amazing.” mark gives you another kiss and sighs.

“would you prefer a shower or a bath?” mark asks.

you sigh, “i’m worn out,” you toss your arm over your forehead. “let’s just take a quick shower, yeah?” mark nods. “whatever you want, baby.”

you giggle when mark picks you up and carries you to the bathroom.

let’s just say, you never studied until you passed out, again.

or did you?

#ash talks #nct smut #nctsplug02 #nct scenarios #kpop imagines #kpop smut #kpop fluff #nct 127 #anon #nct imagines #mark lee #nct mark #mark lee smut #superm mark #mark fluff #mark smut

[fieldsofbats]

simon riley x waitstaff!reader

thank you to those who liked my first post <3 i am still v new to this and haven't quite figured out my preferred writing style so all feedback is welcome (be respectful tho).

part one

part two

right so at ur work it’s real common to have military folk there bc it is a military town, close to base, training facilities etc. 

first visit was just to the bar section of the place. price thought it would be good for moral to go out and have some chill team time, watch a football match and just hang out.

soap ordered some food and you brought it over to them. simon did not notice you bc he was watching the game, but then he got a whiff of soaps food and decided to grab something.

cue you coming back over with your sweet smile and handing him his food and cutlery before wandering back to the resturant bc its a quiet night.

mans is hooked.

second time ghost comes in it’s at night again but the restaurant is slammed bc it’s family week, everyone is getting dinner the night before they gotta head home. 

lbr, simon didnt think about you until soap wanted to go out again: "where are we goin'" "that place with the pretty server", knows exactly where they are going.

but still, your smile and warmth towards everyone is so kind and customer service is through the roof. yet he watches as you race around in and out of the kitchen with crazy ease and grace

like dude is impressed at you staying calm and steady despite how fuckin busy it is and people with their insane requests and demands for food (inpatient pricks)

he wants to stick around and watch u but it has become way to loud and busy for him so he bows out and goes back to his quiet room

simon strikes me as someone that likes to have as much regularity in his life as possible, why do you think 141 are literally the only people he has relationships with???

but mainly forms this routine bc he gets to see you, and he knows you will be there bc you’ve old him its your regular shift.

"you basically live here."

"haha no, i just make sure i get the shift with you."

the restaurant would make the booking for him in advance cause he never does but you know he is coming anyway so have it under ‘y/n's man’ (hasn’t told you his name) and ur coworkers think its super cute and funny

but he would make the effort to come in when it is quiet and has the chance to actually listen to you talk and see you interact with others on a more relaxed level BUT he wouldn’t be opposed to seeing you rushing around tables and weaving between guests who haven’t sat down

ngl he would find it hot watching you manage several orders and memorising different peoples requirements, all while keeping that sweet smile and polite manner

you can carry three plates?! this man is sweating under the mask

he doesn’t do a lot of the talking, only when you really prompt him or he is feeling a bit more extroverted that day. Doesn’t wanna talk about military shit with you but that’s all he does so he prefers to listen to you.

knows all the drama and gossip of the restaurant. glad to hear you are not dating the guy behind the bar and that you also don't like the receptionist because he perfume is to strong.

he will hang around and wait for it to die down to be able to talk to you. if it gets too loud for him he might just try and see you at the till as he leaves but has pushed through once or twice to talk to you.

something about you makes him feel more real, that he isn’t just some shell of a man, that he has a purpose. he likes that you treat him normally, the fresh slate you give him is like clean evening air.

ANYWAY it would take him ages to ask you out, like more than six/ seven months, and he would be so nervous (not to the point of stuttering or shaking bc this man is military he has been in worse situations, but his heart would be running a marathon and the self doubt would be just as loud)

but also protective ghost omgggg, he would be seething watching the old men be creepy and shit

knife and fork are down and he is up behind these men leering over them “excuse me, I just have a question about my meal.” just would say anything to get you out of that situation and back over to him. Or would just stand by the register staring down these men (this happens a lot more often than simon would like to admit)

always checks in when he is leaving to make sure he didn’t over step or make you uncomfortable by accident

#simon riley x reader #ghost x reader #simon ghost riley #cod mwii #cod mw2 #simon riley x you #simon ghost x reader #simon ghost riley x reader #simon riley #x reader #ahhh my first proper fic #thank yall so so much #pls be kind.

[desceros]

Requesting a reader watching bayverse donnie work. Platonic or romantic, up to you, just thinking the way you write visual poetry would work good with explaining Donnie’s little work motions.

bay donnie, my beloved [strokes the picture of him i keep in a locket] donatello/reader; gn reader; rated t

Donnie is good with his hands. 

He’s also a sweetheart who patiently tolerates you spending literal hours of your life staring at him, chin propped up on your hands as you watch his work their magic. He’s repairing some piece of tech off his shell that had apparently gotten battered in their last tussle, and it looks like actual witchcraft from where you’re sitting.

“You’re amazing, you know that?” you gush as he glides some sort of metallic piece into place like it isn’t the size of a pencil eraser, the tiny little tweezers looking comically small in his hands and yet acting like an extension of him. 

Donnie huffs a laugh, glancing briefly at you out of the corner of his eyes, his gaze warm and intimate even for its short span. “What brought that on, all of the sudden?”

Adoringly, you watch him weave wires into place as easily as Raph knits those cute little scarves for everyone. It’s like he’s not even trying, you think, fully entranced. The electronic world at his hands is a tiny little microcosm of a universe, and he, its god for how effortlessly he creates and moves its parts. You think of all his tech, all around you; how easy it is to forget the mastery required to pull it all together, to maintain it, to treat machine as a medium of art.

���You’re just… amazing,” you repeat, helpless to say anything more without dropping a complete dissertation on the totality of space Donatello has taken as his own in your soul. “The way you can… Just make things. Out of nothing. It’s. It’s really incredible.” 

“Is that why you’re always in here?” he asks, lips quirked up into a little smile that feel a bit like a tease. “To watch me make things?” 

“Well, it doesn’t hurt that you’re easy to look at, either,” you confess, twirling a finger along the surface of his desk shyly. It’s not the first time you’ve flirted with him, and it’s not the first time you’ve watched him bloom under your attention; but it’s new, enough, that it takes a bit of bravery, still. 

“That’s good to hear. I was worried you were only in here for my tech, for a second there,” he says, and only the knowledge that he knows it isn’t true keeps you from swan diving into a lecture about otherwise.

Licking your lips, you slide your palm over your mouth as if muffling your next sentence will make it less dangerous to say. “I… could be in here just for you. If… you wanted me to. If… If you’d let me.”

“Let you?” he echoes in surprise, finally looking away from the delicate electrical work in his hands so his hazel gaze meets you full on. “You do realize you’re the only other person allowed in here, right?” 

Butterflies catching in your throat, you shift your weight from one hip to the other and swallow. “I-I know. But—”

Donnie narrows his eyes as he studies you, leaving you feel a bit like a specimen under a microscope. Still, you let him, because any amount of his attention feels good, even if it means peeling off your skin and letting him see the way your heart has changed to the shape of him. 

“—But I want to know,” you admit quietly, pressing the pads of your fingers to your lips before they fall to the table to trace anxious shapes. “…That it’s different. For me.”

Donnie’s face smooths a little as he understands what you’re asking of him, and smooth as silk, he dips in close and brushes his lips against yours. It’s gentle enough to make you gasp, shocked that something can be so soft and still raise sensation, every hair on your arms standing at attention from the sheer intimacy of it. Leaning in, you seek more, slotting your mouth under his and inviting him closer to your hummingbird heartbeat. 

His hands cup your jaw, pulling you towards him, holding you in place as he tilts his head and sinks further into you. He tastes sweet, you think dreamily, sighing out and curling your fingers on the edge of his plastron. 

“It’s different,” he murmurs against your mouth, his lips catching yours for how much he can’t bear to pull away now that he’s gotten started; like now that he’s allowed himself to have you, he’s never going to let you go. The thought makes you smile and laugh, because oh, how could he ever think you’d want to leave?

“You’re amazing,” you sigh out again, and this time, he laughs, his hands finding you instead of his tools.

#ask tag #tmnt #bayverse #my fic #[clangs pots and pans together] i love donnie in case anyone forgot in the last five minutes that i loudly exclaimed how much i love donnie #donatello/reader #rating: t

[ozarkthedog]

Helloo hii, here to submit a prompt for your 10k Birthday Celebration please:

📝 - 10. "I've seen the way you look at me when you think I don't notice."

with Dilf!Joel Miller, preferably pre-outbreak!Joel, where reader is a friend of Sarah (of age), perhaps college friends, work colleagues etc... Artistic liberties of course welcome. ^^

🩷🩷

gif by the fabulous @nicolethered

Thank you for celebrating! I hope you enjoy this! 💙

warnings: DILF!Joel Miller x Fem!Reader. age gap. reader is Sarah's College friend. dirty talk. sexual tension. cliff hanger cause i'm evil.

word count: 655

✨10K Birthday Celebration✨

“Ugh, I’ll be right back. I forgot a book in my car.” Sarah says, standing from her seat at the kitchen table. 

You’d been studying with Sarah for an upcoming final all week long. It helped that her Dad, Joel,  allowed you to stay the entire week and not have to drive back and forth to your dorm every day.

“Where’s Sarah at?” Joel questions as he saunters down the stairs. You sneak a peek at his soft yet strong belly as he fixes his shirt. You narrowly miss his curious gaze when you flit your eyes back to your text book.

“Uh, she went out to her car.” You answer as you highlight a paragraph. Joel turns on the radio and busies himself around the kitchen.

You sneak another look at the handsome man as he opens the fridge door and searches for something to eat. You knew it was wrong to lust after him. He was so much older and not to mention your friend’s dad but you couldn’t keep your eyes off him.  

He sits down next to you with a plate full of eggs and a smirk. You give him a soft smile in return before returning to your studies. You try to focus on the words but every move the older man makes distracts you.

“I’ve seen the way you look at me when you think I don’t notice.” Joel says, nonchalantly before taking a sip of his coffee.

Your eyes bug and your head whips in his direction. “What?” 

“Come on. Don’t play shy.” He muses and scoots his chair closer to you. He leans his elbows on the table, nudging your books, invading your space. “I can feel you undressing me with those pretty eyes.” 

“I- I don’t know what you’re talking about.” You reply shakily. 

Joel quirks a brow. “Oh no? Then how come you get all quiet when I come around? S’all most like that smart brain of yours goes all dumb whenever I’m in the room.”

He lays a hand on your knee and you jolt under his touch. The highlighter you’re holding falls from your grasp and rolls off the table onto the floor. 

Joel can’t help but smirk. “See? I ain’t doin’ nothin’ and you can’t even hold onto a pen.” He tips your chin up to meet his somber gaze. “What do you need pretty girl?”

Your lips part in a gasp as you drown in his primal energy. You’re caught like prey under the strong paws of a beast.

He looks at you under his lashes and licks his lips. “You want my cock? Is that it?”

You outright whimper. Heat swirls and ignites in your belly as he dips his head to your neck. 

“You’re a big girl,” Joel whispers into the crook of your neck. You shiver in response as he drags his lips along the shell of your ear. “You know what’s right and wrong.” 

It was wrong that you wanted him but it also felt so fucking right.

Joel wraps a large hand around the back of your next keeping you complaint. “I’d love to know how tight you feel wrapped around my cock.”

The front door whips open and disrupts the suffocating moment as Sarah makes her way into the house. 

“Hey, Babygirl. What took you so long?” Joel asks while shoveling eggs into his mouth.

“Ugh, sorry. I got caught talking to the neighbors.” She huffs as she sinks into her seat. “Sorry you had to keep the old man company.” She quips, nodding to the man next to you.

“Oh, that’s ok.” You send her a frazzled smile as your heart thumps steadily against your ribs. You sneak a look to your left, the reason you were in this predicament to begin with, and you’re met with playful, fiery eyes. 

Joel claps your shoulder with a chuckle. “Yeah, we’re gettin’ to know each other quite well.”

#joel miller x reader #joel miller x you #10k birthday celebration #joel miller

[jadelynlace]

"All the Time"⎮ Ink Drinker Deleted Scene⎮Modern Vikings AU [Ivar x F!Reader]

read more of Ink Drinker here.

Author's Note: Yeah, it's the super smutty piece I warned you all about. In hindsight, maybe it's not all that raunchy? I don't know. You can tell me. Also, fun fact! While I wrote this, my captain sat across the table from me, completely oblivious (he figured I was writing my care reports, and I was. Kinda). I literally have the best poker face.

Word Count: Just under 2,000 words (of porn)

Conversation falls around you. In the cool air of the evening you’ve grown comfortable with your legs thrown over Ivar’s thighs, sitting at an angle as his hand hooks around your shoulder. Drowning out the words around you as you scroll on your phone to decompress your social battery, bombarded with videos from Hvitserk as he thinks that’s a successful way to use his energy during his over time shift. And, quite frankly, he’s right.

“But where are people finding the time?” A voice says. “I work a full time job, I go to the gym, and I’m trying to get a full 8 hours of sleep and cook for myself—where do people find the time to date? To even hook up?” The voice continues.

“Ivar and I fuck all the time,” You say, and you don’t even really realize that you said it out loud until Ivar’s hand is over your mouth.

“That’s really all the input you have for the conversation?” Another voice says. You’re quick to lick Ivar’s palm as he lets out an estranged noise, wiping your salvia on your back.

“I’d have more of an input if we were actually having a conversation,” You mutter back.

“Why on earth would you lick my fucking palm?” Ivar says, shooting you a look. You lean into his ear closely before speaking:

“You don’t seem to be too upset when I lick the other things you put near my mouth,” 

There’s a low rumble from Ivar’s chest as he registers what you’re saying and you smile.

“What can we use as an excuse to leave?” He whispers to you.

“The fact that I work in the morning?” You try and Ivar just nods at that.

You climb off of him, standing with a stretch and you feel eyes on you.

“Leaving already?” Someone whines.

“Well, as riveting as this conversation is regarding your ability to not adapt to being adult,  I do have to work in the morning. So I am going to get those 8 hours of sleep you keep talking about,” You say.

“Well then, why are you leaving, Ivar?” 

“Uh, because I don’t want to wake her up in the middle of the night when I come home from the bar?” Ivar answers, as if it’s the most obvious thing.

“You can spend the night with me!” Aiden teases. 

“You have one bed,” Ivar tells him. 

“Exactly,” Aiden smirks.

“Do you…do you want to spend the night with him?” You tease. 

“No, no I do not,”

“Alright, why don’t you kiss him goodbye then,” You add, patting Ivar’s chest and Ivar shakes his head.

Aiden offers him a kiss through the air, and a wave, but Ivar only flips him off, rounding the corner to leave. Not a second passes before Ivar turns back around, looking at Aiden and returning that kiss through the air. 

*

You’re all but tossed onto the bed, a quick display in both Ivar’s strength and his dominance has you landing suddenly against the pillows before her’s climbing over you. Wasting no time as he comes to cover your body with his, mouth seeking yours. 

“Oh, so you really weren’t that mad at my comment,” You try, seeing if it’ll fuel his fight. Ivar doesn’t say anything as his mouth travels past the shell of your ear, meeting he nape of your neck and his teeth nip at your flesh. “Because revealing to them that we have “sex all the time” was not necessarily a lie,”

“Stop,” Ivar says suddenly, his blue eyes coming to catch yours. They flash with a quick display of anger, momentarily muting your brain and making you refocus on him. And how he’s in charge right now. 

“Stopping,” You peep back. 

“Good girl,” Ivar groans, mouth catching yours for a kiss that is all tongue. He would smile to himself at how well he knows you, but his lips are occupied. 

The last articles of his clothing are flung across the room as Ivar moves again, pushing his knee to divide your legs as they instinctively part for him. You can feel his hardness against your cunt throbbing, as Ivar’s hands come on each side of your head, pressing his weight through them while you both catch your breath. Hungry eyes trace you, and the wisps of the ends of his hair tickle your chest as his head tips to watch the space where you two are about to be connected. 

A low grumbles comes from Ivar’s chest as your hand reaches down, spreading your lips for him to see you. The same hand reaches up, grabbing Ivar’s chin as you pull his mouth towards yours again. 

“Are you waiting for something?” You tease him. 

Settling his legs over you, Ivar pulls away, shifting his weight as his hand grabs his length, The other rungs through his hair, pushing it from his view before tapping himself against you. Meeting your teasing with his own, the head of his cock finds your bundle of nerves, pressing ever so slightly as he hears you gasp. Your eyes flutter shut, bunching the sheets at your sides as his cock glides through your wetness. 

Ivar suddenly stops, a slow string of spit coming from his lips as it lands against your mouth. His fingers collect it, pressing them towards your clit before he takes them down his shaft. 

Pushing your hips into him, Ivar responds by slowing his motions, biting his bottom lip as his cock sinks into you, bottoming out until he’s flush against you. A deep moan climbs from his chest while he savors you fluttering around him. 

You reach at him, pulling him over you as his arms plant on each side of your head, moving before digging his fingers into your hair while his hips start up. Quickly they take force, slamming into you as the bed rocks against the walls. You hardly have a moment to grasp the sensation of how he feels inside of you, before he gets faster, moaning in your ear.

“Ivar,” You squeak. “Slow—” You grit out. “Slower,” You say and he stops, nuzzling against your head as his hips come to a halt. “Give a woman a chance to breath before you take away my ability to walk,” You mumble to him as you shift your body and Ivar only snickers from somewhere over you. 

Pulling back, Ivar lets go of your hair, smoothing it out slightly as he seeks out your lips again, humming into the kiss as your hands dance along his back. His hips roll lazily, your wetness collecting between you two and you offer him a sweet moan. 

“There are much better ways to take me if you want to go that fast,” You whisper to him. Ivar feels you push at him before his climbs back to let you move. Watching you crawl onto your stomach he pulls at your hips himself, positioning himself behind you while you nuzzle against the bed. His cock presses into you again, his chest coming over your back as the warmth radiates from him. Jutting the two of you up the bed, Ivar’s hips move as he wraps an arm around your waist, his free hand finding yours. 

Ivar’s thrusts are met with you pushing against him, chasing his cock in the brief moments it’s away from you while you hear the moans coming from his mouth. With your thighs shaking under him, you can’t help but moan his name, egging him on. 

As he chases his release, Ivar’s mind empties as he moves, your walls quivering around him with his arm attempting to pull you closer, even with no additional space. Through each grunt, each sweet sound you sing to him, Ivar’s muscles tense, the ache in his balls nearing an end before he pulls out of you suddenly. Moving away before he flips you in one quick display of his strength. 

Ivar moves again with his orgasm taking over his body. You feel the string of seed against your skin, watching him before you. Abs quivers as he breathes quickly, the final drops dribble from his flushed head, throbbing as it slides down his shaft. Only then is it collected as his fist moves to grab himself, and tap again against your cunt, swirling his essence against your mound. 

After a whisper of a moment, his fingers slide through your slit and press into you, curling them right against your sweet spot. Ivar leans over, lips hungrily against yours. As he feels your nails in his back, your teeth sink into his bottom lip while he pumps his fingers. 

Your mouth opens to moan and Ivar pushes his forehead against yours.

“Give it to me, Goddess,” Ivar whispers, “Come for me,” 

You can only whine in response, breathing deeply as Ivars fingers move, his eyes on yours and you can’t look away. His thumb comes against your clit, pressing in circles and you hum as the pleasure takes over your body. Your lashes flutter, a heat low in your belly as the coil tightens, as Ivar growls for you to open your eyes again.

“Look at me when you come,” Ivar tells you. Your eyes open as a blush covers your cheeks, the band finally snapping as you moan. Sinking your nails into his back before they move, grabbing his hair in an attempt to ground yourself as your orgasm rushes through your body. You grab his face again, pulling it back towards you to regain some control, as your mouth seeks his. 

Ivar slows his fingers as his breathing matches yours, lips lazily tackling one another as a satisfied groan comes from him. Moving, Ivar settles back over you, placing his weight carefully to cover you as you latch around him. Your hands take their turns from tracing his spine, to scratching his head as the man deflates above you, nuzzling into your cheek and you can’t help but smile. 

Moving again and putting his weight on his elbows, Ivar looks down at you, bumping your nose with his.

“Hi,” He says quietly.

“Hi, handsome,” You say back, a smile on your face. 

“You don’t…you don’t even work in the morning,” Ivar finally realizes. 

“I know,” You giggle and Ivar huffs, collapsing back over you. 

Tags:

@smileysam13579  @dreamtherapy @angelofthenightposts @unbetaedimagines  @readsalot73 @queen-sarang   @anastasiaskarsgard @andmyannabellee @peachyboneless @heavenly1927 @prettyinpayne @quantumlocked310 @mighty-ragnarssons @alexhandersen-marcoilsoe-fandom @queen-of-upshur @nanahachikyuu @fandomlifeandeverythingelse @fatedwithmbc  @hashimily @youbloodymadgenius @love-all-things-writing  @theanxietyqueen17b@trip2themoon @tgrrose @synnersaint @kataphine @prepare4trouble @abbiii72 @not-another-viking-fanfic-blog @93xdiagonxalley @ivarisms @nordicshieldmadien @ironynoticony  @ivarsgard @cosmicmerbabe @smears-and-spotsb@kaybee87 @t4medicroe @noway4u @southernbe @anakindoesntlikesand @mymindfuckery @noonespecial90 @hypocrtic-trash-baby @tessakate @ivarlover

*please message me to let me know if you would like to be added or removed from my tag list. specifications for series/etc. are also welcomed, as well as feedback.*

full masterlist can be found here.

#vikings au #vikings #modern vikings #ivar au #modern vikings au #ivar #modern ivar #vikings fiction #ivar lothbrok #ivar x you #modern ivar x you #ivar x reader #modern ivar x reader #ivar smut #modern ivar smut

[eriquin]

Okay so the Superhero AU

Back in October, I got into a fanfic brainstorm on discord with @kedreeva, @whydamnitwhy, and @fiore-della-valle about a Steddie Superhero AU. And @captainhaterade has been telling me to just post the ficlet/outline ideas I have instead of letting them waste away in my drafts folders, so here it is.

Warning tags? Deals with injuries, blood, fighting, secret identities, and mind-wipes.

(you are here) (part 2) (part 3) (part 4)

...

Hellfire (Eddie) shows up at Steve’s apartment, bleeding and in costume. He comes in through the window, or maybe the skylight. He’s got a full-concealment mask that also covers his hair, and Steve knows who he is based on his costume. He also knows that Dustin and the Party run around with him sometimes. Hellfire asks if he’s the EMT that the Party knows, and if he can do some quick stitches for him. He’s wobbly on his feet and wouldn’t have asked but... And he just shrugs and doesn't explain. Like he didn’t know where else to go. “Just something quick to keep me going and I’ll get out of your hair.” 

Steve has never been able to turn down someone in medical need so he gets his kit out and has him sit on a bench or table, under some bright lights so he can work. But Steve is also grumbling the whole time. Like “I’ll help you but I’m not hiding how annoyed I am about it.” He wants to know what happened and if the party was involved. Hellfire says that they weren’t. It was just him versus some goons and one of them got a lucky hit. Steve sees that it’s much more than a lucky hit. It’s a deep puncture wound and will need more than stitches. It’s between the ribs and even through the mask Steve can tell that Hellfire isn’t breathing right. He thinks it’s a punctured lung. Hellfire says that’s fine, ���cause he’s got two of those, right? And the full-concealment mask is one of those hard shell ones, but Steve can see blood from the bottom of it. He runs his fingers under Hellfire’s chin to show him, and then Hellfire is swearing and laying down on Steve’s table, obviously much worse off than he thought. He doesn’t pass out but it’s a close thing, and Steve is very sure that he’s not going to be able to fix this here. 

He does a minor patch-up job but it’s going to need more. He wants to call someone, and there are definitely places that Hellfire could go to get this treated without revealing his identity, but Steve also knows that Hellfire tends to not trust people and wouldn’t understand how Steve would know about those places. 

It’s all moot when the people pursuing Hellfire break into Steve’s apartment.

They’re counter-heroes; third-tier heroes who police the vigilante scene and administer some sort of “justice.” Steve thinks they’re basically no different from vigilantes themselves, but they have better press. But they also have some rules they’re supposed to follow, and it’s much closer to police rules. He tries to hide Hellfire in his bathroom and tell the counter-heroes that they have to come back with a warrant, but they push their way with a shout about him harboring a dangerous villain. He says that he’s a medical professional and that they’re violating... Well, he can’t actually remember what law they’re violating, but it’s definitely one. They try to push past him or subdue him. That’s when he goes into fight mode. 

It’s rough, but Steve’s a bruiser and knows how to go for knock-outs. He also has plenty of makeshift weapons around the house. So the three person team that’s geared towards sneaking around and taking out a summoner gets their ass handed to them by a barbarian. Even the one who has side-step powers and a stiletto barely manages to scratch him before he’s grabbing them by the throat and smacking them repeatedly on the table. He does take a few bad hits, but by the time it’s over he’s already healing. And Hellfire is watching him from the bathroom door. He still has his mask on but Steve hears him mutter “oh shit” before he slumps over and passes out.

Steve’s on the wire to Robin to get an emergency crew together for cleanup at his apartment and medical help. Robin’s like “oh damn.” Then Steve’s double checking Hellfires’ wounds. He’s definitely bleeding too much. He manages to get the bottom part of the faceplate off so he can check on Hellfire’s breathing and he’s bleeding from his mouth. Steve’s worried about him choking on it. He swears the whole time but decides to use the wound-absorption power on him because he’ll heal a punctured lung faster than Hellfire will, apparently. So he’s sitting next to an unconscious vigilante when Robin (name? Parrot? Canary? Swift? Let’s go with Swift so she can make baby-eating jokes and then complain that no one gets them) and Nancy (Hot Wheels) show up, teleported in by Erica (Lady Applejack). 

Erica and Nancy take care of the counter-heroes that Steve has taken out, removing them and promising to get someone to mess with their heads so they don’t know where they got beat up or what they were doing. It’s probably going to be Argyle. He’s great at that shit, even if he primarily uses his mind-altering powers on himself.

Robin helps get Steve somewhere comfortable while he heals and then drags Hellfire to the couch. She complains about having to do physical activity the whole time, since he’s the one with super strength. He’s like “Okay, we’ll trade. I’ll carry him, you can sit around healing a punctured lung. Sound good?” She rolls her eyes at him. She asks if she should go get his mask (does he even have one) but Steve reasons that Hellfire came to his apartment, so he knows his face already. 

Robin comments on him having taken off part of Hellfire’s mask, like that was a major no-no, but Steve shrugs it off. Medic’s privilege. He does send Robin away so that Hellfire won’t realize someone else saw part of his face. Robin tells him to keep on the comms with her and let her know what happens. 

Steve hangs out until Hellfire wakes up. When he’s healed up (maybe 20 minutes?), he does a quick check to make sure he didn’t miss anything critical on Hellfire, but the guy is just napping. He eventually does wake up, seemingly from a nightmare. Hellfire sits up abruptly and checks his wounds really quick. Then freaks out about his mask being half off and glares at Steve. Steve can tell he’s glaring by his frown. He wants the rest of his mask back.

Steve keeps holding onto it: You’re welcome, by the way.  Hellfire: You know the deal. Hand it over. Steve: The deal is you fucking thank someone for going out of their way to help you.  Hellfire: I thought I was going to a god-damned EMT, not— Steve: I am an EMT, asshole.  Hellfire: You’re a super. You’ve got, what? Super-strength and fast healing? What are you...

Hellfire sees the bloody spot on Steve’s shirt that matches his own and prods at his side again. He knows that Steve didn’t get stabbed while he fought and realizes what must’ve happened. He’s done enough research to know that sympathetic healing is not a common ability. Steve is uncomfortable in the silence and holds his mask out to him. 

Steve: Look, you’re all better now. Right? So get the hell out of my apartment.  Hellfire takes his mask back and mutters, softly: Thank you.

He leaves through the skylight again after putting himself back together. Steve relaxes and complains over the comms to Robin about being bruised and ruined clothes and having to clean up a bunch of blood. He spends the next hour getting everything back in order before he goes to bed. 

...

I've got the rest but I'll put it in another post, I think.

#steddie #my writing #outline only fics #gearing up to post more of these #stranger things #superhero au #part 1

[rueririn]

Pirating OPLA, thoughts

Episode 1

Garp being at Roger's execution is a nice touch

Really like how full Luffy's dinghy is-- crates of fruit, a barrel of fish instead of just one barrel of apples--- all makes sense. All the tiny details removed from manga that are just added onto opla for realism-- like the way the execution stand works, too, with the people cranking the manual lift to get roger up there. It's all very cool and makes the setting feel more piraty than mangapiece.

Our beloved Zoro tried to go to Sixis on a cruise ship. This is a good way to casually mention Zoro earlier (plus that's Ace's first island so it actually lines up on the One Piece map to be around Dawn Island--)

"it's worth more than the rest of our loot put together" a nika mention that can be interpreted as just a devil fruit mention

"You should never let anyone tell you what you can't do. If I did that, I never would have left my village to go find the One Piece." Luffy referencing Garp like this is so funny to me

Unlike mangapiece, Luffy invites Coby along before knowing his dream to become a marine. This makes me sad because now I wish la coby joined the crew

opla Shanks is weirdly more serious than mangapiece Shanks. Not necessarily in a bad way, just different. That's the attitude I'm takign for most of opla anyways.

Adding the Mr 7 and Zoro fight here is actually really cool

Beta Nami outfit aaaaa they moved the pre-orange town ship-stealing scene to serve as her introduction scene and that works so well for her.

I love that they all naturally congregated in Ririka's bar. Everyone congregates and chaos occurs. Really like how they switched things up while never really taking things off course.

"PIRATES SPREAD DISEASE" poster on the wall

Coby sliding under the table once a fight breaks outajslkdjalsijdsakj i love him pls

ADORE the barfight. It's Zoro vs Baroque Works but bite-sized and with everything we love about the most consistently badass member of the crew. Thank you.

Zoro really pulled a reverse on Helmeppo lmao. "Three swords? I only need one" proceeds to get curbed by zero swords

oh! Zoro introduced himself as pirate hunter. that makes him different from mangapiece where he explicitly says at some point that he never called himself that. But it fits the opla characterisation so fair enough.

Luffy popping out of the manhole to yell 'thanks' at Zoro just sends me. Makino taught him well.

Nami being the most independent and capable girlboss up until the second Luffy literally crashes into her life and ruins her plan is actually 100% compliant with the basis of their relationship.

Oh is this the ass naked Helmeppo scene everyone's been yelling abo--- oh it is. ok.

I've never realized how badly I wanted a Nami and Luffy fighting together scene until now. I just realized how little of those we get in Mangapiece. Holy shit.

Romance Dawn trio just has this really satisfying trio cohesion that I can't describe. They're forever my favourite trio in the strawhats and opla does a magnificent job of bringing justice to what the manga couldn't give them with its chapter and page limits, since their only trio time together without being dragged around by handicaps was in the gaimon arc.

Makes me a little sad that Coby's involvement in Shells gets cut down a little, but that's fine I guess, he got plenty of touchup in his introduction scene.

Luffy holding back laughter when he sees Helmeppo's hair. Zoro chuckling because "yeah I might've done that" and Nami just being speechless. They're so stupid i love them

Garp going silent when he hears a straw-hat pirate stole the map to the grand line. I like to think this could imply Roger also stole his map once upon a time, but for now I'm just laughing at Garp internally screeching "that STUPID GRANDSON it's been ONE DAY"

#one piece #opla

[fantasy-mixtapes]

Kristen Applebees Season 1 Character Playlist BREAKDOWN

OKAY, SO this one is gonna be an ordeal.

I set a 6-song limit for every other playlist I made, but this is the playlist that started it all. So, I didn't have a limit. So it's 12 songs long.

Which is honestly like a normal playlist length BUT it's gonna be a long breakdown which I will lovingly do because I LOVE Kristen with my whole heart. Either way, this is deffos gonna be a long post so read if you want (i would very much appreciate it obvi but I get this is pushing it).

Genres Included: Folk, Singer-songwriter, Alternative, 80's

1. Save the People, The Mountain Goats

When wilt thou save the people? Oh, God of mercy, when? Not kings and lords, but nations Not thrones and crowns, but men God save the people For thine they are Thy children as thy angels fair Save the people from despair

Starting off strong with my main man John Darnielle. John, as prolific as he might be, did not write this song it is originally from the musical Godspell by Steven Schwartz. I was raised as a theater kid and I remember one summer my mom took out our cable and the only things we could watch on the tv were dvds and vhs tapes of musicals, and the 1973 Godspell movie was definitely one of my favorites. Its like "what if Jesus was around in the 70s and was a hippie clown and also was crucified on a chain-linked fence and beaten by cops" ...ah, good times.

ANYWAYS, I don't feel like I need to get into why this is a perfect Kristen song - I feel like it really gets to the divide between the way that Christianity is taught to kids vs the way it is enacted by the adults that do the teaching.

2. Father Texas, Birdtalker

Father Texas on his toes Tells me where and when to go He's a savior, liturgy man He's a stickler and a soap monger Shove it down your throat Holy answer man He says obey and I'll love ya Now I'm doing just to prove And I'm walking out of fear But the devils done

Ok so I was raised Catholic, which I feel like is a whole different flavor of religious trauma compared to Evangelical or Baptist vibes - which I feel like the Helioic religion gives. Either way, this song slaps and really gets to that Evangelical vibe.

3. Big Houses, Squalloscope

I build bridges with these arms I will not build a fortress In the circle around the kitchen table I say my "amen" because I feel blessed Secretly hoping, while joining hands, that you can't feel my trembling fingertips

Here's young Kristen Applebees - Chosen One of Helio- who just wanted to help people. She meets her first non-religious friends, plans to convert and save them, and then straight up dies on the first day of school. She comes face to face with her literal god, is disappointed and grossed out by him, and then is magically (and violently) revived.

Can you imagine her returning home, trying to answer her parent's questions about the first day, making it through dinner, crawling into bed, and just lying there? AHHHHHHHHHHH

4. Under The Table, Fiona Apple

I'd like to buy you a pair of pillow-soled hiking boots To help you with your climb Or rather, to help the bodies that you step over along your route So they won't hurt like mine Kick me under the table all you want I won't shut up, I won't shut up Kick me under the table all you want I won't shut up, I won't shut up

Speaking of those family dinners, as the days go by and Kristen gets closer to her party, how do you think she's gonna react to whatever comments her parents make about them hmmmmmm? The result of coming out of your social shell and realizing how bad the people around you really are.

5. Cleric Girl, Sisyfuss

I need my cleric girl tonight So she can bless me in this plight Dress me in crucifixes so they die on sight I need my cleric girl tonight

This is just a fun song I see as Kristen finds her groove within the party, kinda around the DJ brains fight. Also it makes me think of the prayer chain thing that she had the whole party on at some point.

6. Cornflake Girl, Tori Amos

She knows what's going on Seems we got a cheaper feel now All the sweeteaze are gone Gone to the other side With my encyclopedia They musta paid her a nice price She's putting on her string bean love This is not really, this, this This is not really happening

There's something about a Tori Amos song that never fucking misses. This song, for me, kinda gets at the part of growing up when you really start to uncover the truth of things for yourself, instead of listening to the things you were always told. Kristen buys the book of world religions and reads about the atrocities people did in her god's name. She is also told that the "cool camps" she was going to were run by an actual fanatical cult. Yikes.

7. Eldest Daughter, Isabel Pless

Bring me your battered, your bruised, and your scarred Florence Nightingale, to your broken hearts Bring me your bleeding I'll stitch it up with a bow Tugging at the sword in the stone The dormant hero in me is yet to be known Dying to prove myself again, but I don't know how Wanna lay my weapons down Lay my weapons down Want everyone to adore me even though People's emotions are out of my control Smothering fires Letting flames claim my hands I would do anything to be needed Over and over again.

Okay, the thing about this song is that we get the root of it here in season one, and it shows up really lightly, but God almighty, do we get one hell of a payoff in the next two seasons. Damn. The first time I listened to this song I cried. It's on several of my dnd character playlists - because, for some reason, I can't stop making dnd characters with self-saccrificing tendencies. HM! I WONDER WHY?

But anyways, yeah... something something, Christian households raising their eldest daughters to be surrogate mothers and laborers, something something Kristen is a cleric while her brothers are paladins, something something Women being healers

8. Angel Eyes and Basketball, Foot Ox

There are flowers growing all around A massive animal inside of me And it's so ugly, and I'm so broken And I'm so ugly, and it's so broken I am calling all of my friends To pull me out of this hole But they're so caught up in their own shit And I'm so caught up in my own shit

Ok, this is full Christian guilt. I also really like the way this song is one of those upbeat but devastating ones because it makes me think about her inspiring speeches to her party members just being her ranting about how horrible everything is, and then they get +1 to attacks and extra hitpoints. Living La Vida Loca.

9. We Fell in Love in October, girl in red

Smoking cigarettes on the roof You look so pretty, and I love this view Don't bother looking down, we're not going that way At least I know I am here to stay We fell in love in October That's why I love fall Looking at the stars Admiring from afar

Ok, I know this is cheesy. BUT TO MY CREDIT: both the song and the season came out in 2018. Also, you know Kristen would stream the fuck out of this song.

10. Running Up That Hill ( A Deal With God), Kate Bush

And if I only could, I'd make a deal with God And I'd get him to swap our places I'd be running up that road, be running up that hill With no problems

AGAIN TO MY CREDIT: I made this playlist in 2020 - two years before Stranger Things brought the song back to the general psyche. No shade, of course, to the stranger things; it's a perfect song to choose, and the scene effectively made me cry.

But anyway its here because at her bones, Kristen would die for her friends and has and will (unfortunately) continue to. Speaking of

11. Arms Tonite, Mother Mother

I cry in the afterlife I cry hard because I have died And you're alive I try to escape afterlife I try hard to get back inside Your arms alive

Kristen's dying count is more than double most of her friends at this point - and golly gee just wait till season 2!

Can I roll a nat 20 and then be alive?

12. Glory (Bunker Sessions), Bastille

And all their words for glory Well, they always sounded empty When we're looking up for heaven Looking up for heaven Way down here upon the ground When we're lying in the dirt There's no looking up for heaven Looking up for heaven

I really love this bunker session version of this song; the strings and the piano just give it a lovely honesty. Gorgeous song. Perfect way to end this season

#dimension 20 #fantasy high #d20 #spotify #fantasy mixtapes #kristen applebees #d20 kristen applebees #ally beardsley #Spotify

[tanenigiri]

*punches through wall* OUR DINING TABLE

(Thoughts and ramblings on episodes 8 and 9 under the cut. Some manga comparisons but I don't think any of them constitute as plot spoilers since there's one episode left, but if you plan on reading the manga and don't want the differences from the show to be spoiled, fair warning.)

The corresponding chapter of Episode 8 in the manga is actually where we find out all about Minoru's backstory. We see a good chunk of it here in the flashback in the cafe, when he and Tane first cross paths with Yutaka. But most of the other things we've seen about Minoru's past up to this point in the show - that scene with Nao where Tane spills a drink on her, that flashback scene with young Tane which looks like it just happened right after their mom's funeral, and the general sense of Minoru bearing the weight of being a second parent to Tane - all of that comes to head in this chapter of the manga. I know I've said it repeatedly over my previous posts, but I really have to say it again because it deserves the praise - Minoru's plot arc was handled so, so well in this show, and I genuinely think all the decisions they made to spread and flesh it out was to its benefit.

There were already a lot of other posts last week that pointed it out but I still wanna highlight it - the silence that pervades this episode was really effective in conveying the conflict Yutaka and Minoru were facing. Giving them all this space to think about it could be dragging for some, but I found it quite necessary for what they were dealing with. This show has always used the quiet moments effectively and I think this episode isn't an exception.

I also wanted to highlight how that whole idea of "things being the same" is important to both Yutaka and Minoru. Before the events of Episode 1, Yutaka was living a very monotonous routine, down to the meals he was feeding himself. And Minoru's life has been nothing but one massive change after the other, so I don't blame him in wanting to find something that he could keep from changing. But, of course, both of them know that what happened between them isn't static, and that the change is something they either have to accept or have to let go of.

Gotta dedicate a bullet point to Ohata, who finally got her one manga-canonical scene in this episode (Hozumi-kun you're so easy to read!), but really her character has quickly become my favorite addition to the series. She's a much-needed confidant for Yutaka in the same way the dad (and his manager at the ramen shop) is for Minoru, and these past two episodes also bring up the fact that she was having relationship troubles with her boyfriend. I guess I can point out how her own issues seemed a little too convenient in terms of giving the right advice to Yutaka to move the plot along, but I honestly don't mind it - partly because I think those conversations also serve to show how far Yutaka's come in terms of breaking out of his shell and partly because I always cheer whenever her character shows up haha. (And can we talk about how she's constantly the best-dressed character of the show? Like I know she doesn't really have much competition but still?? Did you guys see her hair in that last scene???)

Speaking of which, I'm so glad they added that last scene with Yutaka joining his officemates for drinks. This was only mentioned in the manga, but I think this is as big of a deal as the confession in terms of Yutaka's growth. This is the same character who, in Episode 1 (which was only a few months prior to this), was known by the office as someone who would turn down any invite, and the manga even goes further with this in that they wouldn't invite him at all because they know that he would just reject them. Not to mention that the literal first thing we find out about Yutaka is how he doesn't share meals with anyone! Seeing him in the bar with his coworkers is absolutely massive in terms of how much Yutaka has changed, and while Ohata is right in teasing him that it's because of a special someone, I do think it's a testament to how much progress Yutaka has made over the course of the show both because of Minoru and because of his personal growth.

And since I mentioned it, I'm pretty happy with how they translated that playground confession scene into the show. In particular I enjoyed how generally awkward it was because it was very in-character, and I think giving the scene a more laid back vibe instead of a serious one was a really good decision. That whole "you're very important to me" spiel destroyed me though.

It's only recently I realized that the whole "BL male lead running to other BL male lead" is an actual trope that's seen in almost every series and I find that so funny. I've only watched a few before this and they do all have running involved.

Screaming at Mr. Ueda literally dragging his son out of the house and telling him to get it together before the New Year rings in. We don't really get a lot of scenes between the two of them so I'm glad we got this.

Tane-kun takes a bit of a backseat in these two episodes as the plot shifts to Yutaka and Minoru's relationship (the same thing happens in the manga), but the scenes he does get are still really good. In particular I like that once he realizes that Minoru and Yutaka are "fighting," all Tane says is that Minoru should apologize because, for him, Yutaka would always understand and accept their apology.

Ok so I'm of two minds about that scene with Yuuki (Yutaka's adoptive brother), which I was pretty surprised to see as it wasn't in the manga. On one hand, I'm glad that we do get some sort of closure for this, and that at the end of the day, Yutaka does have an adoptive family that cares for him. But on the other hand, I really don't think that the apology was anywhere close to undoing the damage that Yutaka's had to bear all these years? Like, I get that it's a misunderstanding on both ends and that proper communication would've solved it (and this is, in fact, the takeaway Yutaka needed for his confession to Minoru), but I'm not a fan of the implication that just because Yuuki was apparently not that much of a jerk to Yutaka as we thought that he's forgiven for his clearly traumatizing actions? I don't think they're gonna address this further in next week's episode (though I'd love to be wrong), but I dunno - it's not the note I would've liked that plot point to be left on. Sure, put some forgiveness in there, but I guess I wanted either party to acknowledge that while Yutaka could start mending his relationship with his adoptive family, there's still a lot of damage that they need to process? I know that's a pretty big ask for what is essentially a minor plot point, but eh. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it (and on the show in general).

The preview gave me a glimpse of the one other scene in the manga that's in my Top 3 (up there with Yutaka's cartoonified backstory and Minoru taking care of a sick Yutaka) and I am soooo ready to break down because of it. For manga readers who want to know which one: It's the scene without Minoru.

Love this show so much. I don't want it to end and I'm both anticipating and dreading the finale next week.

#our dining table #bokura no shokutaku

[captain-mj]

Hazelnut Truffle Mocha

What do you guys think Koenig is? Just curious on what you guys would predict

Alejandro left eventually, saying something about making good on his promise to bring Rodolfo lunch. Ghost stayed for a few hours.

It wasn’t just Soap that made him stay. He didn’t have anywhere to be. His social battery had hit zero at 5:01 am that morning. While he could go back to his flat, that also didn’t seem like a good option.

So Ghost stayed in the dark corner of the cafe, watching the patrons. A lady with big bracelets that jingled talked animatedly with Soap. Another man trying to flirt with him that Ghost noticed he brushed off. Interesting. Teens and old people alike, ebbing and flowing. Until around 2 pm, the place cleared out. Ghost blinked at the clock, wondering how he spent almost six hours without moving before letting out a huff, watching his breath cloud up.

Oh. It was cold. No wonder he felt like this. He also hadn’t eaten and despite the nausea at the idea of forcing something down, the headache building at his temples was enough to convince him he had to.

Ghost went to stand up and accidentally pressed right into Soap who had walked right up to him at some point. They were chest to chest. Soap felt rather cold, even this close, but Ghost chalked it up to him having been outside recently.

He realized they were still touching. Soap had turned bright red, freezing in place. Ghost gently pushed him since he didn’t have room to move away.

Finally, his barista seemed to reorganize his thoughts and back up. “Uh… I was just… um.”

“Yes, Johnny?”

Soap looked up at him. “I was wondering if you’re hungry? You’ve been here a while.”

“It’s like you read my mind. Yeah.”

“I was planning on closing the cafe for an hour so I can go eat… Did you want to come with me?” Soap looked up at him.

Ghost hummed. “Do you not get free food here?”

“Oh, I do. Just so many times I can eat my own baking though…” Soap smiled.

“You make everything here?”

“Almost everything! I get some of the pastries from a bakery close by. I don’t think I could make thirty croissants a day. Might go insane.” Soap smiled. It was stunning. It softened his features, not so much as to make him look younger, but more to make him look relaxed. Ghost wanted to see it all the time.

They went to a nearby restaurant and sat together. It only really occurred to Ghost that this was likely a date. Checked all the required boxes for a date. They were alone. There was food. Soap had asked.

Ghost decided not to ask, just in case it wasn’t. He stared at him, realizing that unlike with the drinks, he’d have to keep his mask up for more than a few seconds at a time.

Ah. Sorta backed himself into a corner. He fidgeted under the table.

Soap noticed immediately. “Why do you wear the mask?”

“I have some… scarring. It’s not pretty.”

“Are you nervous about me seeing?”

“Nervous about anyone seeing…” Ghost answered honestly. Soap felt easy. Honesty came naturally.

Soap looked very curious, though Ghost noticed how… sad his eyes looked. They were beautiful. A soft blue that he could live in. Soft lashes that fanned across his cheeks when he blinked. A scar across a small part of his face that he wondered about. The rest of his face was gorgeous of course, but right now, in this lighting, he couldn’t drag his gaze away from Soap’s.

Behind those eyes were dark pools. Ghost had gotten used to seeing shell shocked men with nothing behind their eyes, but it usually faded. It certainly was not present in situations such as these. And yet, Soap’s eyes were still empty.

“Were you listening to me?” Soap said gently, leaning in.

“What?”

Soap laughed, luckily. Ghost hadn’t made a good impression if this was a good date. “I said I’ll try not to look too much, but I don’t think scarring is too bad. Bet your handsome under there.”

Flirting. Soap was flirting and Ghost didn’t know how to flirt.

“Well, I doubt anyone will look at me with you next to me.” Ghost looked at him, making eye contact again. He saw Soap’s eyes flicker, something a little softer appearing before reverting back.

“Think I’m that handsome?”

“Yes.” Ghost didn’t have to think about it.

Soap blushed and looked away. They ate together and it felt… nice. Soap was the main talker. Mostly about his job or customers before switching to what he had watched lately. Apparently, he had recently watched a movie about a woman trying to avenge her friend by going on a killing spree. He didn’t catch the name, but that was an excuse to talk to him later. It sounded like the kind of movie Ghost would like. True to his word, Soap’s eyes stayed on his own food or Ghost’s eyes, only occasionally glancing to his mouth, but never lingering. Ghost started to feel a bit guilty for his rather obvious staring.

His scars itched. The large Glasgow smile. Soap grew up in Scotland, so he probably had seen them before, but Ghost’s were so jagged. Traced over and a lot thicker than most people’s. Not to mention the snake bite scars from an… incident when he was a little kid. They weren’t like Soap’s soft well healed scar. They were all bad. They healed wrong and ugly. Ghost tried not to think about them too much.

“This was really fun, but i have to get back now. Work calls.” Soap stood up and went to pay.

“I got it, don’t worry.” Ghost pulled out some pounds.

Soap shook his head. “Absolutely not! I ordered more expensive stuff anyway.”

“Yeah, but I never spend money, I have plenty.”

“You don’t know much I make.” Soap shot back. “I’ll pay.”

“I’m in the military. I go on leave like six weeks a year so I have plenty.” Ghost insisted.

The waitress came back. “I thought your checks were supposed to be split…”

Oh. Right. Ghost knew neither had said that, but from the outside view, they probably looked like two friends.

They were technically two friends.

Fuck, was this a date??

Soap began laughing. “Oh… Uh… I’ll pay mine then.” He glanced at Ghost before leaving, brushing against him just a little.

Ghost felt like he was walking on air. The waitress though had continued to stare at him.

“Oh, let me…” He handed her a rather large tip and her eyes widened before she nodded rather conspiratorially, as if she had picked up on something that Ghost hadn’t. For a moment, he considered asking her if everything was alright, but she had already left and he was pretty sure it was just the bored imagination of a war machine, looking for something to do when there was none.

Ghost stretched and went home, texting with Koenig.

Koenig was going on and on about this Gumiho he had met that he was infatuated with. “He’s kinda small and he constantly wears a mask and sunglasses, but he has these gorgeous fluffy ears and nine tails and he’s just so pretty.”

“Gonna ask him out?” Ghost like Koenig fine, but he acted so different over text. Less anxious. He thought it was funny.

“I will… attempt. He’s a bit intimidating.”

“Be careful when you kiss. He may kill you when you do.”

“I’d let him.”

Ghost blinked. Ah. He forgot his buddy had a death wish.

“Have you found anyone to keep you entertained over your leave? A… what did Price call it… a fling?”

Ghost paused. Should he talk about Soap? Koenig talked to him about almost everything.

“There’s… a guy.”

“Oh? Magic too? Find him at an underground place?”

Ghost never really bothered, but he knew a few places around that were filled with non humans. Bars that kept humans out of them. Places to meet creatures that were alike. He didn’t go to them often, usually for hookups if he was honest. Humans were fine, but it was difficult to explain why they couldn’t touch his things and why he stole their fancy gold watch or why his teeth looked so sharp. They always had so many questions.

“No. Human as far as I can see. He’s nice. Wears gold jewelry all the time.”

“How stereotypical of you. Jewelry really was the first thing you noticed?”

“Yes. Also, he’s very…” Ghost deleted the last part of the message and tried again. “He’s so…” Another deleted message. “His name is Johnny.” Yeah, that works.

“Johnny? English?”

“Scottish. His accent is nice. He’s a little difficult to understand at times, but we can move past that.”

“I’m happy for you, friend!”

“Thank you. I had a… date? I think. He invited me with him and we talked.”

“Ah.”

Ghost frowned at that message, staring at it. “What the fuck does that mean?”

“Oh. Nothing. Nothing.”

“No, no. You’re clearly thinking something.”

“I am happy for you. You’ve seen better recently.”

Ghost swallowed. He didn’t want to think about it. Just drop the conversation. Just drop the conversation.

“Better?”

“I am sorry, Ghost…”

“Better than what.”

“I just meant I am happy you are doing well.”

“Why the fuck wouldn’t I?”

Koenig stopped responding.

Ghost knew what he was talking about. Of course he did. He had been doing well recently. Doing all the stupids steps to take care of himself. During Christmas, he stayed on a solo mission far away from any celebrations. He avoided thinking about his family. He tried to try new things and get out of the house and talk to people and and and and and

Ghost took a deep breath, counting. He hated that was an instinct he had now. It was nice to not spiral, but he hated that he had been changed like that. Stupid fucking therapy.

Ghost took a deep breath. He wanted to be angry. To keep lashing out. But that wasn’t helpful.

Koenig didn’t mean any harm. He was just… checking on him. Like everyone was. All watching him like a ticking time bo-

Ghost groaned and started to count again. He tapped his foot as he impatiently waited for his stupid feelings to calm down.

Another reason it would not be good for him to every truly date Soap. No reason to drag him down into his giant mess. Ghost was a bundle of spikes. Full of problems and venom. The last thing he wanted was for someone else to get hurt by their proximity to him.

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

Taglist! If you want to be included, just ask :) Also, some of the people that asked, I couldn’t seem to tag,

@the-snarky-dragon @elevenclouds @lukewarm-chickensoup @nervouspsychologynerd @korym @cthulhusstepmom @princess-heathen @badbitchescantgetkilled @revenge-of-the-bucket-demon @roachboy

#johnny soap mactavish #john price #captain john priceghostsoap #soapghost #simon ghost riley #soap cod #cod mw2 #ghost cod #call of duty #call of duty modern warfare #call of duty modern warfare ii #alejandro vargas #rodolfo parra #rodolfo cod #Selkie coffeeshop au

[cannibal-wings]

It's WIP Wednesday and I actually have things in WIP I can share. How exciting. This will be WIP from the next chapter of You Pay the Cost. Content warning: graphic body horror.

WIP Scene One: That's not good

He pushed open the door to the town hall, and leaned on it while Ashley ducked inside. The candles hadn’t gone out, the inside was still lit by a soft orange glow, and the break from the rain was appreciated immediately. “Hey,” Ashley said, pausing at the large table in front of them. Leon let the doors close behind him and he took just a moment to catch his breath against them. “Can we take a break?”

Leon shook his head. “No.” He pushed off from the door, immediately wincing. “We have to keep going.”

“You’re hurt,” Ashley said.

“Yeah,” he said, he wasn’t disagreeing. He fumbled for his shotgun and reloaded it.

Ashley still hadn’t given up. She walked in front of him and held her arms out. “That limp of yours is getting worse. If we don’t address it now, how will you be able to get me out of here?”

Leon sighed, she wasn’t going to be backing down on this, that was clear. “Look, I just rolled my ankle or something, it’s fine.” But she wouldn’t budge. “Ok, I’ll wrap it, will that make you feel better?” He spun and went to the door. He pushed one of the heavy cabinets to block it, in case the townsfolk from the cemetery had followed them this far. Then he moved to a chair and fished out his basic first aid pack.

Even he had to admit, the pain was getting distracting. He hesitated at the hem of his pants, he was fairly certain he knew what he’d find if he pulled them up, and it wasn’t a sprain. “Ashley, I need you not to panic.”

“Don’t lead with that,” she said. “Please don’t lead with that.”

He forced a smile then started to roll up one of his pant legs, it caught almost immediately on more spiked protrusions as he went. The same, hard, mottled tan and green shell was present on his shin, only this time he thought he saw some blue mixed in. Leon let out the breath he had held and said, “Thought so…”

Ashley had taken a few steps back and said, “It’s like your arms…” Leon nodded and continue to roll up his other pant leg, she could see the same thing there. “I’m going to guess that’s not supposed to be like that?”

“I’d prefer if it wasn’t, yeah.” Leon felt around the ankle that was giving him the most trouble. It was warm, inflamed, possibly fractured, he couldn’t tell. He could feel the bone under his fingers shift as it moved. He swallowed. “All this started a few hours ago,” Leon admitted. “It was just my arms, I figured… I figured saving you was top priority and ignored it.”

“You ignored your body doing… that… for me?”

Leon shrugged. “It was either call off the mission and risk losing you, or just deal with it.” He gripped his right boot and started to wiggle it off. “It’s apparent there’s a bioweapon threat here, I’ve seen enough of these to know that. It’s also apparent that I’ve become infected.” He paused in his effort to take the boot off, he could feel something around his foot break loose. He swallowed back bile from the sensation and tried to keep talking. “The outlook isn’t good for me,” he said, “and I knew that. So, I’d rather focus on getting you out safely. You’re still human. You still have a future.”

“Leon what do you mean by that?”

“How many infected, possible B.O.W.s have you ever seen wandering around? None. If there’s not a cure for me, well…”

“They’ll kill you?”

Leon nodded and went back to his boot. He gave it one last tug and his foot slid out of both the boot and something else. “Oh, what the fuck?” He’d uttered those same words before. It was his foot, at least, it was attached to his leg. But it wasn’t a human foot, not anymore. He heard Ashley gasp and move away. It was slim, and long, he hesitantly reached down to touch it with one of his hands. “This can’t be good.” Two of his toes had fused into one long toe in the middle of his foot, an impressive talon rested at the end, hooked. He had two more toes that weren’t fused. Likely his fourth and pinky toes. But they were longer and looked nothing like how he knew them. Claws sat at their end too. The plates were soft, like they had just come in. Leon could press down and feel pain on each one.

He had to swallow down another gag as he felt another toe, maybe what remained of his big toe, slide to the back of the foot. “Shit.” He gingerly placed it on the wood floor and went for his other boot. Like before it slid off and took a whole outer casing with it. Leon despite his best judgment took his flashlight out and looked inside. Then he tossed the boot aside and turned and vomited.

“A-Are you alright?”

“No,” he said honestly and wiped his mouth. “Shouldn’t have done that.” Leon had seen a lot since his time in Raccoon City. He had seen guts, brains, and the undead feasting on people. He had seen bodies twist and burst into shapes that could no longer be considered human or natural. But seeing your own degloved foot in your boot was something he was not prepared for. Just like with his arms and hands there were remnants of skin clinging to the new shell. Shiny and wet around his foot, dried on his leg. He started to peel it away when he heard Ashley move to the other side of the room. “Sorry.”

“No, no, it’s ok.” It sounded forced. “I just. Oh god, that’s, it’s too much.”

He understood. Though he did admit to himself that she was taking this better than he thought. Then again, it wasn’t her body that was shifting uncomfortable between her fingers. Leon went back to picking off the bits of flesh around the layers of shell. His legs were less upsetting to look at, and that was only because they were familiar. He could deal with the thick carapace and spikes, because he already had with his arms. He tried to pull his pant legs back down, but the spikes were making that nearly impossible. Turns out it was easier to slide fabric up them than down. He opted to just take his knife out and cut the fabric at the knees. Leon could feel through to his thighs and realized that the same thing happened there too. There was no need to take his pants off to confirm what he could easily feel. He tilted his head back in the chair and groaned. This was really happening to him; he was turning into a monster.

WIP Scene Two: Some Sillies

Leon folded up the map and put it away. “Right, lets head back out.”

“Now? Don’t you want to rest? You didn’t even wrap your ankle.”

He frowned and said, “I don’t think I ever rolled it, I think the pain I felt was all from my feet shifting inside those cramped boots.” As soon as they were off, the pain nearly stopped. His legs had been shifting during the whole conversation over the map, but they seemed to have settled.

“So what, you’re going to do the rest of the mission barefoot?”

Leon awkwardly held one leg up and wiggled his new toes. “Unless you can find me boots in size bug monster, I’ll have to make do.” He took a small canteen from his pack and uncapped and took a swig. He offered it to Ashley. “It’s water.”

She took it and gladly drank. “Thanks,” she said. “I haven’t run like this since high school track.”

Leon took it back and finished it off. He needed to wash away the taste of bile that lingered in his mouth. “I’m afraid there’ll be more running once we get outside.” He pushed away from the table and then nearly toppled over. He gripped a wooden pillar for support. Then he tried again, he just couldn’t get the hang of his feet.

He heard Ashley suppress a laughing fit and prayed the dim light would hide how red his face felt. “Are you sure we’ll be doing any running if you can’t even walk?”

“This is harder than it looks,” he retorted and took another wobbly step.

Ashley crouched down and examined his feet. “I think you’re doing it wrong.”

“How can I be “doing it wrong”? It’s walking.”

“You’re stepping on that backwards toe; I think it’s for support. Like a bird or something. Try lifting your ankle up, like you’re walking in high heels.”

“You think I have experience in heels?”

She laughed at that. “Hey, I don’t know what you have experience in. But you have seen a person wear heels before, right?” She watched as he gripped the wall and lifted his ankles up. “See? Now you’re only walking on the part of your foot that has toes. I bet that back one is for balance.”

Leon took a few steps off of the wall, he nearly fell forward then over corrected and almost toppled back. He was more than surprised to feel Ashley at his side, holding his arm. “I got it,” he said with zero confidence.

“Sure. If the heels analogy doesn’t do it for you, pretend you’re like seven and pretending to be a velociraptor from Jurassic Park.”

“Is that a thing you did?”

“I thought it was a thing all kids did? You mean you never played pretend dinosaur?”

“Can’t say that I did.”

She huffed. “See you are weird.”

“I was like, thirteen when that movie came out, way too old to be playing pretend on the playground.”

“Not only are you weird, but sad too.”

“Hey!”

Ashley kept the mood light, she laughed and said, “What kind of person says “I was too old for pretend” at thirteen? That’s kinda sad Leon.” She moved with him while he took steps that grew stronger and more confident as they walked through the rest of the town hall. At this moment, she didn’t care if he was weird. He was allowed to be as weird as he liked, he was her only chance at getting home, she didn’t have a choice. And so far? She was more than impressed at what he could do, creepy bug parts aside.

#Resident Evil #Resident Evil 4 #Leon Kennedy #Ashley Graham #Plaga Leon AU #You Pay the Cost #WIP Wednesday #Friends on Discord have already read these two scenes but I like them so I'm sharing them here too #body horror

[solar-halos]

december prompt #2: baking

i’m back in my writing era so i wanted to take advantage of that by writing ships i don’t usually write for so here’s some everlark :o). again i got carried away so the everlark fluff (and a slight sprinkling of angst!) will commence under the cut

fluff, angst, maybe a bit of canon divergence since i haven’t read cf for a while and couldn’t rlly remember the pacing lol

You could live a hundred lifetimes and not deserve him, you know.

Katniss knows. But what does Haymitch know?

Nothing. Haymitch knows nothing about how Peeta’s left nostril whistles in the middle of a good nap or how he always gets a haircut right as his curls start to drape over the nape of his neck.

Katniss glares at Buttercup. Freeloader.

Just like her. She still hunts, yes, but most of the food on the table and the new ribbons in Prim’s hair comes from her victory money. And then there’s Peeta, with his soft smiles and even softer laughter that she hasn’t heard a peep out of since they came back home.

Katniss doesn’t know if it’s the post-hangover drowsiness, but suddenly she’s longing for him—for his comfort, for his warmth—so madly that it hurts.

She glares at Buttercup some more.

Buttercup.

She could work with that.

Katniss has no idea how to bake, but it’s worth a try if it numbs the discomfort of her too-big heart in her too-small ribcage. Maybe she’ll ask her mother about that.

There’s no shame in buying pre-made icing. She knows that Peeta made that from scratch—he told Effie all about it on the train all those months ago, back when Katniss thought it was just another part of his grand scheme—but her thoughts are still too scattered for her to leap over that hurdle.

She dumps all of the ingredients onto the table. Buttercup meows unhappily at her. She doesn’t dignify that with a response.

How does Peeta do this?

Katniss doesn’t know. And she knows he won’t teach her, with the Career Plan he’s making her and Haymitch follow, so she’s on her own.

Well, that’s nothing new. She could handle that. Could handle cracking eggs into a bowl, fishing out the shells. Could handle measuring out the ingredients, swiping off the excess with her finger. Could handle putting a tray of slightly congealed batter into the oven.

So it’s not as pretty as Peeta’s creations. Sue her. She’ll hide all her mistakes with the icing later.

She sits criss-cross applesauce on the floor, staring at the oven to ensure nothing gets too toasty.

Katniss is good at being patient. She’s hidden in the thorny bushes and behind itchy tree bark for hours waiting for game to pass by. But this is an entirely new challenge—the color wasn’t even changing—and it leaves her wondering if the oven is even on at all.

It is. It’s emitting a low, comforting sort of heat that makes her eyelids heavy. She makes a valiant effort to fight off her exhaustion, but she doesn’t win.

That’s fine by her. She thinks she’s done with winning for a while. Buttercup is sitting all soft and warm and not even repulsive at her feet, making her extra drowsy.

It was a rotten idea. As rotten as the color of Buttercup’s fur, because even though she’s a hunter and a victor, it’s not even the smell of burning cupcake batter that jolts her awake. It’s the sound of Peeta’s voice, so concerned and booming and uniquely him.

“Katniss?” She hears him—his footsteps, that is—before she actually sees him. His face lights up in relief when he sees her, as if he thought he’d have to investigate every other room in the house before he found her sitting on the floor. He rushes toward her. “Katniss!”

Before she knows it, she’s bundled up in his arms and being hauled away from the scene of the crime.

“But Peeta—” She cuts herself off. She was not telling him that those cupcakes were supposed to be for him. He’d probably think she was insulting him.

Also, her heart might really be too big for her chest. She can feel it beating against her skin as Peeta carefully sets her outside, the fresh, cold air replacing the burning in her nostrils.

She blinks, but all she’s met with is the memory of the mini-fire raging inside the oven. She’ll have to remember to warn her mom about that the next time she gets experimental in the kitchen.

You idiot, she thinks to herself, once the sleepiness and the shock wears off. Idiot. Idiot. Idiot. People die from carbon monoxide poisoning all the time—Katniss should know—and she just took a nap in front of flammable ingredients stuffed inside a scorching hot box.

Idiot.

Her eyes burn and her throat tickles, but it’s not from the fire. She sits on the porch, reaching up to tug away the hair plastered on her cheek from her drool before the winter chill can make it stick.

She doesn’t know how long she sits out there, but she does know that Peeta had enough time to fish out whatever abomination she carelessly left in the oven. They’re burnt to the crisp. And so is the pan.

“Oops,” Peeta says simply.

Katniss stares at him, dumfounded. “Oops?”

“Yeah.” He shrugs. Katniss leans back to study him properly. Relaxed posture, pink cheeks, un-scowling lips. This is exactly who she wanted to comfort her when the Quell was announced, but she has no idea why he’s making an appearance now. “I’ve been baking before I could even talk, and I still made the same mistake after we came back home. I was just so thankful that I could even sleep, so that’s what I did. Everything else sort of went away.”

After a moment, Katniss nods. That’s exactly how it felt, and she’s so thankful that he understands her—that he doesn’t think she’s making a mockery out of his craft—that she smiles at him.

“What do we do with that now?”

We. He doesn’t even question it.

“Let’s toss it, then see if we can rescue the pan.”

Usually, she wouldn’t be very keen on throwing food away, but the stuff in the pan looked more like ash than actual cupcake batter.

“So,” Peeta says, once they’re elbow deep in warm water and dish suds, “can I ask what you were making?”

Great. Now Katniss’ cheeks are on fire. She stalls some time by draining the grayish water.

“I was trying to make cupcakes,” she explains, voice coming out more steady and nonchalant than she feels. “I obviously need more practice.”

Laughter. Soft and gentle and Peeta.

“I’m sure we can make some room on the meal plan for a few cupcakes,” he tells her, but the mention of the Career Plan doesn’t even make her heart droop. It can’t—if there’s going to be cupcakes on the meal plan, he’s practically getting a one-way ticket into Katniss’ kitchen. Or maybe she’ll be in his kitchen. She has no idea if her oven is ever going to recover from this.

One thing at a time. They take turns scrubbing the pan until they see silver. They even have some time to tackle the oven.

“Peeta?” Katniss asks him, struck with the strangest urge to wipe the soot from his cheek. “Can we keep this between us? Prim’s never going to let me hear the end of this.”

“You got it. My lips are sealed.”

As if to prove it, he mimes zipping them shut. She laughs, her heart finally feeling more at ease, and then has to hack out a stray piece of ash that infiltrated her mouth.

She doesn’t mind. With Peeta’s broad shoulders occasionally bumping against hers, his body heat spilling over her like honey, it somehow tastes a bit sweet.

She keeps that to herself. It’s a strange thought to have—especially now—but this is probably the closest thing she’s ever had to an actual date. And, even though it had a really rocky start, she wouldn’t trade this experience for anything. Charred tray and defective oven and all.

She keeps that to herself, too.

#everlark #katniss everdeen #peeta mellark #it feels so strange not writing annie pov lmao #anyway hope this was kinda cute :o #tis the season

[autistichornet]

I am having thoughts. You are now subjected to my thoughts

Tiso has shit eye-sight and needs the bug equivalent of glasses. However not very practical in combat so he switched to goggles so they'd stay on his face.

Myla and the other crystal peak bugs used to sing for company and entertainment while working, just imagine many voices echoing around the caverns like a sea shanty. Although relatively small bugs by themselves, when singing as a large group they are intimidating. Like those bees that make patterns on the outside of hives to scare predators!

City of tears is now a very cold place because of the constant rain, buildings aren't very good at keeping warmth and mainly everyone there is infected so nobody really feels it except Lemm (Emilitia just doesn't care/notice). Hiding away in his small relic shop and having a constant downpour outside doesn't help with his chronic pain. Neck and back pain interfere with translating relics and he gets super pissed.

PK burrows. Wyrm things baby! He is guaranteed to have moved from where he fell asleep, most likely ending up in a hole somewhere he dug while sleeping. He also burries/hoards random shit out of habit.

The vessels don't have a voice but can communicate with each other using telepathy. Also body language! Ghost isn't very expressive but has the energy of a cat making direct eye contact as they push something off a table.

Vessels vibrate. They make no noise but they can purr and you can feel them vibrating if you touch their shell/mask.

When the nailmasters where little they were scared of the dark, Sly held onto the lantern he used back then for as long as he could, eventually selling it in his shop because the brothers had all grown up and left.

Hegemol was a menderbug :D

Hornet trained in the hive the same time Hive Knight was being trained, because of that, their spike ball attacks are similar as Vespa taught them both

Cloth's weapon is a tooth from a beast that she defeated alongside Nola back in her homeland.

Xero had 4 arms before his execution in which they were cut off (a bit morbid but his sprite has no visible arms and I think it's cool + kinda sad)

The Collector obsession with grubs came from its creation as akingsmould imbued with the purpose of protecting the wyrm. As defective kingsmould the Collector instead sees grubs as very tiny baby wyrms and tries to protect them. (It's also obsessed because grubs are cute and I'm also obsessed with grub cuteness)

Monomon is cold to the touch, though she had a thin outer layer that feels like putting your hand in tingly mist. The layer can allow her out of acid for longer periods of time.

Pk has wings! Under that cloak he got 3 ol' pairs of iridescent wings. Although the public never saw them, his image is often depicted with them. Also monarch wings? Wings OF a monarch.

Hornet had to stop Hollow from putting random shit in their mouth. They once tried to eat mosscreep who didn't seem to realise it was being consumed.

One day baby quirrel walked into the archive and nearly got blown up. That encounter made him want to be there even more much to Monomon's confusion.

Grimm carries Grimmchild by the scruff of its neck like a cat.

and uh. hornet autism

ok I've spilled my brain juice now I can sleep ^__^

#hollow knight #oh god pesky is thinking again #I am having what you call a brainrot moment in case you can't tell #hollow knight hc #do. do I tag everyone? #fuck it #tiso hk #myla hk #lemm hk #pale king #pk hk #vessels HK #nailmasters #hegemol hk #hornet hk #hive knight #cloth hk #xero HK #collector hk #monomon hk #quirrel hk #grimm hk #hollow knight headcanons #headcanon

[titanicfreija]

(all of these were out of order)

A happenstance meeting on Neomuna

"It's supposed to heal and empower, or something, I'll get it right if I sit long enough." Freija and Sunny studied the worn cloth thoughtfully as the Guardian circled the meditation room idly. The cloth had been so much the center of meditation that the item itself hardly continued to exist under its idea impressed into reality by so many paracausal forces.

The Hall of Heroes usually emptied out at certain times of day, especially meal times, so only a few Guardians still floated around. Freija didn't intend to fight at all, and as such had worn only civvies and a survivor's epitaph. It made her feel like a hunter.

"The idea of fighting under a banner is based around uniting for a cause or people or purpose," Sunny pointed out. "You'll need to pull on a memory of working with Rise or maybe other Sunbreakers. Those times the others were waiting on you to lead the charge."

"I haven't been in the crucible much, I should get back in there..."

"Sunny."

Ghost and Guardian looked to to see Empress Caiatl standing in the doorway.

'Caiatl! I'm glad to see you!" Sunny sang, flying over to circle once before returning to Freija's side. "There's been an unlock, we were trying to attune."

Caiatl nodded shortly, but as they waited for her to say something, she instead froze with her feet and shoulders oddly fixed.

"You're really this out of practice with informality," observed Freija. "Sunny, go walk with her. I'm gonna take forever with this and we know it." Rather than sit at the table with the incense, Freija went to the cushions under the tree where she slouched with the banner in hand. "Good to see you, Empress."

Sunny crossed the room no sooner than she was addressed, but Caiatl remained still for several more moments before she caught up with herself and went to the door.

~

"I do not believe I've seen your Guardian out of her armor," Caiatl mumbled. "She is even smaller than I thought."

Sunny giggled as she worked the petals on her Wishmaker shell. "Oh? We've worn some of the smaller pieces, I'm sure of it, but I suppose you wouldn't have seen them. How are you? You sound tired."

"The war efforts weigh," she rumbled. "I am grateful for the Vanguard's help."

"I've always felt it was a little unfair, expecting anyone else to fight alongside us when they die and we don't," Sunny admitted.

"We fight and die with honor. But I do not want them to die senselessly. Suicide is fruitless. Even for Guardians." She huffed grumpily and her step faltered. Sunny slowed, leading her to also slow, and the Ghost looked for a seat. "I have been reflecting upon our meeting."

"Oh?" Sunny asked.

"You were quite brave to approach me after finding out what happened."

The Ghost drifted side to side. "... oh yeah, I suppose I should have wanted to avoid you."

"I thank you."

"For what? Making friends?"

"Offering your help."

"You're welcome! I'm glad you tried to have me killed!" Sunny giggled chipperly and bounced around the golden helm. "Sorry you had to learn the hard way!"

"Indeed," Caiatl muttered. She sighed heavily and she lurched forward, a dogged determination joining the heavy slog in her pace. "I have made another bad call," she explained. "I learn from my mistakes and remember well that they are learning opportunities. They can come at an extremely high cost."

A rounded bench against a wall appeared at a length of plants and Caiatl lumbered past. Sunny stopped to look at the plant holograms, taking long enough for Caiatl to notice, return, and eventually sit heavily. "That you were here is... unfortunate and fortunate," she rumbled, watching Sunny drift into view. "I am not pleased to see a stark reminder of another mistake, even one that turned out well," she sighed first, but the tusks drifted low as she watched the Ghost roll her petals patiently. "I am glad to see a friend."

"I'm glad I can be a comfort," Sunny managed, only just stopping herself from saying sorry about her bad decisions. Rather than say more, she "sat" with Caiatl, keeping in the corner of her eye as they looked over the plants and virtual cat lingering amongst them.

"I do miss my old advisor," Caiatl admitted. She took her helmet off and placed it on the display behind her, then sat back again, apparently relaxing.

Sunny wanted to say something but couldn't think of anything. Normally she would force it, but Caiatl had gotten the benefit of being quiet to sink in; so she hovered in silent solidarity alongside her friend.

"Hey, Sunny Sunb--oh. Are you okay?" Freija interrupted the pair as she leaned down the hallway, then trotted toward them. "Shitty... previous timeframe?" she asked Caiatl semi-casually. She placed a hand on her arm without thinking, then withdrew. "Sorry."

"I do not mind," Caiatl replied, voice remaining sad and flat.

Freija looked up at Caiatl's face and suddenly seemed to notice the lack of helm; then glanced down and flinched as if she found herself naked. She smiled awkwardly at Sunny and redirected to the Empress, all embarrassment forgotten. "Are you okay, though? Can I do anything to help?" She absently placed her hand on Caiatl's arm yet again. A pulse stemmed from her and rolled over the space, green threads in the walls vibrating as if strummed by the energy, holographic plants waving in an artificial wind.

"What is that?" Caiatl asked, blinking at the blue hand on her arm.

Freija again removed her hand, but another beat pulsed through the span of hallway. "Uh. Apparently it's what I needed to get the idea of the war banner through my head. Is it helping at all?"

Caiatl blinked the golden eyes at the Guardian as if confused. "Somewhat. This mastery of the Light and Darkness is innate?"

Freija opened her mouth, then closed it thoughtfully before she spoke. "Do you want me to let you get distracted asking questions or do you want to sit and not talk for a little while? And did you want me to fuff- go away?"

Caiatl watched Freija as if waiting for something, then slowly sat back and breathed slow and deep. "Thank you, Guardian."

Freija nodded cheerfully and patted the Empress's arm before she sat next to her, on the other side from Sunny, looking comically small next to the enormous pauldron as she fiddled with the green cloth on her hand. Only the Darkness ripples disturbed the peace and quiet of the hallway, pulsing small and slow around the Guardian.

Eventually, the Empress sat up straight and rolled her shoulders. Freija watched from the corner of her eyes, as if waiting for something.

Caiatl stretched, flexing impressively, and peered under an elbow at the Guardian. "You look very small without your pauldrons," she remarked. The empress then rose to her feet and put on her helm before turning to face Freija.

"Your head is a fifth the size of your helmet," Freija replied, smiling mischievously. Despite the smile, the Awoken rocked close to the wall and pulled a leg and arm up a few inches, as if preparing to defend herself.

Caiatl paused for several moments as she considered her next action. Freija watched warily, curling a shoulder and more obviously preparing to deflect an attack. Caiatl checked up and down the hall and stood up straight. Freija almost relaxed before the Uluran lifted a foot, gently placed it on the bench next to the Guardian, and briskly shoved her sideways to the floor. Freija squeaked, barely able to smooth out the clumsy landing that left her sprawled.

Caiatl lumbered away without saying anything, but clearly off her usual gait-- Sunny knew the stiffness to be holding a laugh.

"I thought you said you weren't trying to make friends with me!" Freija cried from the floor, making a show of dragging herself to her feet and brushing herself off. "We're friends now, you don't get to shove me around without being my friend!"

Caiatl still didn't answer, except for a single hand waved to one side before she vanished around a turn in the corridor.

Sunny bobbed over to Freija. "What happened with the banner?"

Freija fiddled with the worn Titan sigil woven in. The pulse beat faster but smaller with the change in mood. "I found the sense of camaraderie I was missing," she explained, looking to Sunny. "Had the morale and even the healing but had to be around an ally that needed help to feel it. I was just looking for you, could maybe talk about it and get it there. She just happened to need it."

Sunny nudged Freija's cheek gently with an extended petal. "I hope it helped, but I think she just needed the time. She might have liked the idea that you wanted to help enough to break you through a new healing power, she seemed to. What's it supposed to do in combat?"

"Same thing, just bigger and stronger," she said with a shrug. "Apparently it's been manifesting as a staff on people's heads and backs and stuff. I hope I actually get a flag or something."

~

@annieruok94

#destiny 2 #d2 #ocs #writing #freija #scribble #sunny #caiatl #empress caiatl #strand #banner of war