#also…… if I…… theoretically…. linked to their fic…..would people read it…..?

[imogenkol]

SHIP: If I Had A Heart — Imogen Kol x Bix Caleen (star wars)

[template]

#ship insp: if i had a heart #oc insp: Imogen Kol #yeah… I did them again ahsjsja #I’m having a shitty night and they’re my therapy #love at first sight for Imogen cause she very much wanted Bix when she first saw her but had no concept of what love is lmao #also…… if I…… theoretically…. linked to their fic…..would people read it…..? #I have like three chapters posted ao3 already but I’m shy about posting writing on here now

[anistarrose]

Lup's terms of endearment

[Plain text: "Lup's terms of endearment". End plain text.]

Lup is a character that it takes a lot of practice for me to write, but there's a particular calling card for Lup that jumps out both from her canon dialogue and from fanon, right? We all know it: Lup absolutely loves to call people "babe".

But... when I'm writing her, I also end up wondering if I'm overusing any given signature vocative, or other element of her speech. After all, fanfic writers, myself very much included, are always looking for quick effective ways to make characters sound like themselves — and in a case of a character like Lup, peppering in a "babe" often seems to work like a charm in terms of making her more Lup-like, especially if you're writing Blupjeans.

The thing about this vocative-centric, vocabulary-centric approach to character voice is that it can, at least theoretically, lead to us overdoing it, and overshooting how the amount that Lup would use "babe" in canon. Which isn't a big deal, it's just fic — but I'm very hyperfixated and I love Lup very much, so I wanted to break down a some of when, where, and why she uses "babe" and other terms of endearment, as well as other little nuances I noticed.

Continuing under the cut, but the tl;dr is: Lup absolutely calls people "babe" a lot, but it's not exclusively romantic, it can be either sincere or teasing in tone, and she tends to do so more as time goes on, not so much at the start of the century.

(Partially inspired by and overlapping with the contents of this post (link) by @keplercryptids!)

"Babe"

[Plaintext: "Babe". End plaintext.]

Lup (to Barry): Don’t blow yourself up, babe, I’m sure your beautiful body’s gonna get killed by the Hunger soon enough.

-Ep. 67: Story and Song Part 1.

Lup (to Barry): Babe, I love you more than life and undeath itself, but let’s get somewhere safe first, so we can really savor this tender reunion.

-Ep. 67: Story and Song Part 1.

Lup: Taako, Barry and I got this. You gotta keep trying babe, I know you can do this.

-Ep. 68: Story and Song Part 2.

Lup (to Barry): Hear that, babe? We're legends.

-Ep. 68: Story and Song Part 2.

Lup (to Barry): I’m about to smooch your fucking brains out, babe.

-Ep. 69: Story and Song Part 3.

Lup (to Barry, during heist planning): We’re good, babe.

-Live in Nashville!

The first thing that jumps out at me is how back-loaded, for lack of a better term, the use of "babe" is among all Lup's appearances. It's part of one of her most iconic lines from Story and Song, but she doesn't drop a single "babe" throughout the whole The Stolen Century! Go up and read those lines again — pre-Story and Song, there's not a single one!

I have a few conjectures here that might explain this. First, on a Doyalist level, one could attribute this to small sample size (Lup just doesn't have that much dialogue relative to her thematic presence), and/or to Griffin himself still feeling out her character in the first few episodes that she appeared in.

But on a Watsonian level: I'm purely speculating, but I wonder if it was a nickname she that first started using (or at least, using with regularity) for Barry at some point well into the establishment of their relationship, and from there, it bled out into platonic contexts too. Speaking of which, the fact that she predominantly uses it for Barry doesn't stop her from using it for Taako — in fact, though it only comes up once, it's in a very sincere moment of encouragement (as Taako struggles to transmute all of Phandalin into sapphire).

On that note, if there's anything I'll personally admit to wanting to see more of in fic, it's more of Lup using "babe" in platonic/familial contexts! It's hard to extrapolate from canon if this is a "just Taako" thing, an "any close platonic bond" thing, or an "anyone whatsoever" thing, but I just think it's so cute! (And I'd personally vibe check it as realistic for her to say to other IPRE crewmates, for example — but I'm possibly biased, as a Lup and Magnus friendship writer/enjoyer.)

Lastly on the topic of "babe," it comes up in a variety of contexts, but as alluded to above, it can be sincere or teasing — of which the teasing can, but doesn't necessarily, overlap with flirting.

Specifically, Lup uses "babe" twice while gently, lightheartedly questioning Barry's decisions or priorities, like his intent to blow himself up. It also comes up in teasing or flirtatious moments within emotionally charged moments, like the reunion, or when she gets her body back. It's just not exclusively used for deflating tension — see her sheer confidence in the "we're legends" line and how she revels in it, for example.

All in all, "babe" is clearly one of Lup's go-to all-purpose words, and I like that it shows her voice evolving over time, whether or not that was intentional by Griffin. "Babe" is by far the most worth analyzing of Lup's terms of endearment, but we'll also talk about:

"Dear"

[Plain text: "Dear". End plain text.]

Lup: We need to make sure our friends in the ethereal plane aren’t listening. Taako, could you do the honors and shoo them away? Taako: Go away! Lup: Dear, you need to Blink.

-Ep. 66, The Stolen Century Part 7.

Lup: Lucretia, dear, I’ve already forgotten about the whole thing. Oh, uh! [Smiling] Sorry, bad choice of words.

-Ep. 68, Story and Song Part 2.

With the obligatory caveat that we have an even smaller sample size here, it jumps out at me that Lup only ever uses "dear" in teasing contexts, reacting to mistakes both big and small. But it's also a word she uses to emphasize love and forgiveness — especially communicating that she won't breeze past a mistake like it didn't happen, but also isn't going to maintain hostility over it, which we see with Lucretia.

(You can even make an argument that Lup teasing Taako with a "dear" is at least a little tension-defusing too, because that scene happens in the leadup to Lup and Barry presenting the Relic plan. But it's less clear there if she's using it consciously with that purpose.)

Miscellaneous: "Honey," "Bud," "(My) Man"

[Plain text: "Miscellaneous". End plain text.]

Barry: I mean um… the Conservatories, I guess, for obvious reasons. Lup: Oh, oh sure, honey, that was a… that was a good one but, man, the food in Tesseralia though, like. It's hard to beat that.

-Ep. 66: The Stolen Century Part 6

Lup (to Magnus): What are you- why? [Laughs] We need to get- we need to- we gotta bounce. Look up. Look up, bud. It’s, it’s the Big H. It’s time to roll.

-Ep. 64: The Stolen Century Part 5.

Taako: Am I…? I’m not going to lose you again. Lup: Never. Never again, bud.

-Ep. 68, Story and Song Part 2.

Lup: So, uh, Davenport, bud, kinda curious why you’d, uh, decided to come back out here after you wrote us about all the ghost-based dangers you encountered, my man, didn’t you consider that we’d be coming to collect for, you know, the goddess of death?

-Live in San Francisco!

Now, a few more odds and ends for the sake of completeness! The first thing I noticed is that she calls Barry "honey" while teasing him a little bit, as they compare their favorite cycles (though I don't think she's necessarily lying, either) — overall very similar to how she uses "babe" in playful contexts sometimes, or how she uses "dear" with Taako or Lucretia.

"Bud" is for Taako, Magnus, and Davenport! Like "babe," it seems to be a very multi-purpose vocative — ranging from questioning her friends' judgment, all the way to deeply sincere moments. (Taako seems to bring out the sincerity more than anyone, unsurprisingly.)

Lastly, "Man" is used both as a general filler word/emphasizing word without necessarily filling in for a name or subject, or alternatively, transforms into "my man" exactly once when talking to Davenport. That one's interesting to me because "my man" is something associated a lot more with Taako — and specifically, used by Taako with people he likes and trusts (link), though it may or may not actually be a serious context.

Merle (giving Taako some shitty kelp shoes):  There’s a lot of give in kelp and if they’re too small, get ‘em wet and they’ll get bigger and these— These are for you. Taako (pretending he won't immediately cast Levitate on them): Oh, well, thank you, my man. These are just beautiful!

-Ep. 62: The Stolen Century Part 3.

Taako: Barry, I— You got all the time in the world, my man.

-Ep. 62: The Stolen Century Part 3.

To compare and contrast, Lup's only known "my man" is deployed against Davenport when she's kind of questioning his judgment, but he's obviously a person she likes. If you'll let me speculate, I wouldn't be shocked if Lup overheard Taako hit Davenport with plenty of "my man"-s over the course of the Stolen Century — just a guess, but it's something I'd really like to believe in, because the twins influencing each other's speaking styles is just so cute.

And that's all! This was an exercise I undertook to get better at writing Lup, but I always really intended to post it too, so I hope it was interesting and insightful — I knew it definitely left me with a new appreciation for how Lup's way of speaking evolves over time, in particular!

#taz #taz balance #taz balance spoilers #lup taaco #blupjeans #taz meta

[evablueblanket]

Will you tell me about an LU character you love and why you love them? Please please please ramble on and on! It's my favorite! I get so many fun ideas when people gush about their favorites.

I (think) I've said this before, but I am not the most analytical/observ person ever so most of what I say is probably kinda shallow :') BUT THIS IS MY RAMBLE SO OH WELL

Okay so recently, I've been on a Warriors kick. I just super love how like, everyone portrays him! Most see him as big brother shaped, which I super love. His background is just so vastly different than every other Link, which serves as a very cool contrast imo

The way @somer-writes makes Twi and Wars idiodic brothers is like, my favorite ever. I love love love LOVE how he writes Wars and Twi it's so insane the comedy that unfolds when they're just messing around xD

Warriors has this air, this *vibe* which I'm just super drawn too, I think it's just how my personality vs his works (you could theoretically draw *some* parallels with Sokka from ATLA, at least the way they each hold themselves I'd say. Also big bro stuff) (ALSO how both of them are portrayed as 'smart', which is a trait I typically relate too in characters)

When I like a character though, it's more based on the different types of relationships everyone writes them as though, I'd say. Wars and Time and Wind have this super intriguing bond that I think is cool to see how everyone interprets it! For the most part people write them as they're all aware of the War of Ages and whatnot, which lead to some nice fluff and/or angst. But when there's some time paradoxes, it makes it every so more tragic and it's really interesting to see how that can get written. I recall a fic (I FORGOT THE TITLE AND THE AUTHOR NOO) where Wars was teaching Wind medic stuff, but it was like a year before Wind meets Wars in the war. So Wars is all "sob this is why Wind is such a good medic? *Bc I taught him?*" THIS IS SO COOL AND INTERESTING

Also when there's War of Ages fics that have Time/Mask being a stupid child (/aff) they're just super hilarious. There's a series out there that has the Fierce Deity (sorry forgot the author again xD) act as Wars parent figure/older brother figure and it's just really funny to me bc ofc Wars would be a stupid overworking idiot. Loser smh

Four is also another one of the sillies that live in my brain, and I kinda wish there were more fics on how they interact. Though, if I'm being real idk how they really would cause they don't really have the same synergy as any other Links. I just like my favorites to interact, but I super understand how they wouldn't ^^

Small side bit on serious Wars (the biggest example is "Call Them Brothers" by wutheringmights which I'm almost 100% certain you've read that already cause it's soooo long and it's SO GOOD AHH) and ugh I wish I could pay attention more to get every complexity that this Wars has but the brain kinda hates me. I think it makes a lot of sense for Wars to have a grittier characterization, war does that to people. The entire fic is so visceral to me, I just vividly remember reading the flashback section about the long winter, and I don't even know how to really describe it xD

Wars has such a broad range of emotion, if one were to put him under and microscope and study him there would be SO MUCH.

HAVE I TALKED ABOUT THE AESTHETIC

HES THE FUCKING PRETTY BOY OF THE GROUP AND THAT'S SO VALUBLE TO ME FOR NO REAL REASON

Ik Wild is seen as the one with like, outfits and Legend has his jewlery, BUT WARS HAS HIS FUCKING SCARF. THERES SO MANY POSTS ABOUT WARS AND HIS EMOTIONAL SUPPORT SCARF AND I AM SO FUCKING FOR IT YOU HAVE NO IDEA

THE SHADE OF BLUE IS AWESOME, ITS SO COOL, ITS SO COOL HES SO COOL RAHHHH

*oops tehe I rambled like a lot* ty for this opportunity :D I'm super glad I decided to type this on my laptop and not my phone xD

#EvaBlue Rambles #like a lot #EvaBlue Answers #linked universe warriors #linked universe wars #linked universe #lu wars #lu warriors #I love rambling #this was super fun #tyyyy ily skip #you're a very cool person

[aprillikesthings]

oh god oh god

HEY GUESS WHAT I'm down to the last two episodes of She-Ra in my rewatch

On a related note, should you desire to read them all starting from s1ep1 for some godforsaken reason, here's the link. Please be amused at my claims that I would not do this for every episode and my repeated attempts to cut back on how much I copy/paste dialogue and/or explain the entire plot instead of just making jokes and commentary

If, somehow, you are New Here, I've been rewatching all of the 2018 She-Ra, ostensibly for fic-writing reasons as I had forgotten huge quantities of the plot. I have since become deeply obsessed, as one does.

I make a lot of adult jokes, random asides, references to other things, commentary, and a lot of cursing and crying. I love Catradora and I love Catra especially and have a tendency to add a screenshot every time they so much as look at each other. It seems silly to warn for spoilers at this point, but yeah, this is a RE-watch. It's just that I forgot a lot of it because I watched it the first time as it was coming out (pun intended). The shit I did remember is so fucking random tho lol

The last time I tried to do a two-parter in one post the number of times I had to reblog it because tumblr only allows 30 images per post got real stupid, so while I do still assume I will have to reblog multiple times per episode, I'm doing each episode separately.

HERE WE GOOOOO

s5 ep12 Heart (pt 1)

jfc i'm full of adrenaline lol

Also I have a beer, it's a citrus IPA because I live in Portland and it's required by law

(not really I just genuinely like them. that and IPA's that taste like gnawing on a douglas fir. also fruit sours.)

LOL I was so anxious I looked away from this post and consumed most of my beer this is gonna be hilarious

ALSO my goal is to finish these two episodes before the Easter Vigil service tomorrow night at 8pm

Theoretically I should be able to watch two episodes of TV in a day and a half, right? AHAHA

Bow should play Wonderwall

she always looks so soft with her hair down

but also having that thing just floating in front of your chest like that has gotta feel weird

ON A RELATED NOTE I know I made the joke in the last episode about how many people have the failsafe as a tattoo but the PROBLEM is that now I literally LIVE with a tattoo artist whose work I like--I already have two tattoos they've done, here and here, and the temptation is extremely high?? but I don't have any other obvious fandom-related tattoos (unless you count the title of a Björk song) so it feels weird to start with this one???? Like I don't have any LoTR or BBC Sherlock or SU or K/DA tattoos (to list off a bunch of fandoms I was devastatingly obsessed with at the time) so getting one for THIS fandom feels kinda weird. But like, also, if I got it kinda small on one wrist it would look kinda cool and be a nice loud DID U KNOW I'M GAY kinda thing. Gyahhh.

She's struggling to do She-Ra, and I'm sitting here YELLING because IT'S BECAUSE CATRA LEFT and UGH I want to murder Shadow Weaver

(eyyyy I won't have to, ha ha oh god)

Oh she manages to transform anyway. Without making any noise or glowing lights, just pop, She-Ra

awwww but also lol

related aside but like, every culture that figured out bows and arrows invented at least one kind of string instrument. Literally archers just fidgeting with their bows and going "oh this makes a nice sound, what if I put more strings on this thing." So many different places and cultures invented things like a guitar or like a harp or like a violin. But also I want to know who the FUCK figured out the hurdy-gurdy??? oh my god I just looked up the hurdy-gurdy and I'm cracking up because one of the earliest depictions of it is from the 1100's, in the Santiago de Compostela cathedral. A place I have been. Because I did the Camino last year.

oh right plot

I would like to take a moment and be grateful for the people who put together the transcripts on the fandom wiki for saving me typing up long bits of lore-heavy dialogue

She-Ra: "Prime is getting closer every day to figuring out how to access the Heart of Etheria. If he succeeds, he can use it to destroy worlds, galaxies, maybe even the entire universe. The Failsafe is our only chance at stopping him."

"His hold over them grows stronger every day they're chipped. If we don't free them now, we might lose them forever. Prime holds every advantage in this fight. He'll be ready for us. But we have a plan. Entrapta?" Entrapta: "I finally succeeded in cracking Prime's signal pattern. If I get access to his Spire network, I can use it to broadcast a jamming frequency that will disable all of the chips on Etheria, freeing everyone at once!" She-Ra: I need you all to get Entrapta to the Spire and keep Prime's forces distracted while she jams the signal."

"We're going to make sure that Prime can never hurt anyone ever again. We're ending this today. For good."

oh lord so Shadow Weaver is still there, sulking and looking away, and she looks over at her and starts almost losing She-Ra and being Adora again

have I mentioned how much I hate Shadow Weaver >:(

Adora goes outside...and looks around. I know who she's looking for. *sobs into a pillow*

NO. she's LOOKING for her GIRLFRIEND

I made that joke and then Glimmer literally says "Any sign of Catra?" I have to remember that at this point in the story literally everyone knows how in love they both are. Except them. Of course.

Adora: "She's not coming back." ;_;

Adora: I mean you don't have to come with me this could be dangerous Bow: the fuck are you talking about of course we're going

And she turns into She-Ra again, roll intro

Okay so they go to the Crystal Castle thing where Light Hope was

it doesn't look so good

but also that's creepy

anyway they tell the hologram (not Light Hope, the other one) that they're looking for the Heart of Etheria and that they're Friends of Mara. She-Ra gets scanned and then a door opens into a passageway. Bow and Glimmer take her hands and they walk into the hall but:

she's still looking for someone

I have to deal with another episode and change of her looking for Catra ghghggh this hurts meeeee

OH SO OF COURSE they literally switch to showing us Catra

bahaha okay so she sits up and looks behind her kind of sadly, and Melog just skids to a stop so hard they throw Catra off

And Melog looks at Catra like she's fucking nuts. Catra's like, wtf is wrong with you??? and Melog looks back like BITCH WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU??? Catra what did you think was going to happen when you got a therapy animal that can literally read your moods. Melog knows you're being a dumbass and has NO reason to pretend to believe your surface "I don't give a shit" act!!

Melog does airplane ears at that. And then just pounces Catra.

Time for pressure! Just like a real therapy animal. Big weighted blanket!

oh shit I forgot about this bit

Catra just immediately starts crying.

Catra: "You saw what happened! Adora chose Shadow Weaver, okay? Not me!"

*sobs into hands* you useless fucking dumbass that is your abysmally low self-esteem talking literally every living semi-sentient thing in the galaxy knows Adora's in love with you EXCEPT YOU

I can get frustrated with AU fics where these two both pull this "but what if she doesn't like me back" thing for ages while everyone around them is face-palming in frustration, but like. You have to admit. It's accurate to canon.

(It's also accurate to lesbians in general, lbh. Either fucking on the first date or doing the "but what if she's not into me" thing for months-to-years. Sometimes both, including in some of the fics I've written, heyooooo.)

Melog purrs and licks her face. A clone approaches and they both go invisible and then follow it.

MEANWHILE

the rest of the rebellion is attacking Horde Prime's ship thing

Wrong Hordak helps Entrapta get into the spire. The whole point of this fight (which I didn't bother screenshotting lol) is to give Entrapta time to disconnect everyone's chips from Horde Prime.

Lol once inside Entrapta does another one of those "holy shit this stuff looks so cool...OMG FOCUS" things

Back at the Crystal Castle Glimmers like "omg are you scared" and She-Ra says "No, I just hope this works." Liar.

Bow: "It'll be okay. And when we get back, it'll be a whole new world."

this poor girl. she's so heartbroken.

(meanwhile the plot of my fic-in-progress is literally them breaking up. (not forever.) but it's hilarious of me to get SO UPSET over this scene when I'm going to force them to repeat it. like it's a mutual decision in my fic but it doesn't make it hurt any less.)

PFFT I unpaused it, and IMMEDIATELY:

I just said OH SHIT out loud lol

oh god I saw someone talking about this in a youtube video right around when I started my rewatch

It's a hologram, she's not actually there. And Catra goes through multiple other ages, including her kid self, being chipped on Horde Prime's ship, when they were Horde cadets, etc; before going back to looking like she does now.

Adora's sharp little gasp of shock here

Adora goes to touch Catra's hand and the hologram disappears

(good lord she's beautiful here)

And I think I agree with the youtube video: Adora knew she was upset about Catra running off, but this is the moment she specifically realizes she's in love, and it breaks her heart into tiny pieces.

(Hah, I actually say a very similar thing in part of my fic that they mention in the video--that previous to this, she refused to let herself want this or even think about it. "I didn't even realize this was something I could want.")

BUT ALSO so like is this a remnant of Light Hope's programming that tortured them with childhood flashbacks in season one (in order to drive them apart) or what

LOL NO

I know I made this joke before but I'm suing Nate for emotional damages

She-Ra: "We need to be careful. It looks like this place can still project memories."

oof

A still-invisible Catra follows the clone to where Horde Prime's ship is and is visibly terrified and shaking. A clone who might be Hordak turns around with that white in his eyes that means Prime is using him to see, and Catra just tries to be quiet and not move but she's obviously triggered, and I mean that in the literal PTSD sense.

Horde Prime (via Hordak?): "My brothers. The time has come at last. No longer shall She-Ra stand in my way."

oh okay so Horde Prime's actual ship is still in space (just orbiting Etheria I assume) and the planet-side thing is him speaking through one of the clones via the hive mind.

"Begin the acquisition process!"

are they just gonna straight-up drill into it?

apparently yes

the whole area lights up with that sickening green light, including all the lines that characters kept noticing on the ground that looked like some combo of circuit boards and First Ones' writing.

meanwhile, Adora keeps slipping out of being She-Ra for split seconds and is clearly stressing The Fuck Out and possibly walking in the wrong direction in her distress, only to walk into another memory/hologram.

And I've predictably hit the image limit, but 13:30 to go which is better than last night pfft okay gonna reblog

#april rewatches spop #heart pt 1

[hadesknockedupintheunderworld]

Fic Rec Friday!!

No one said I couldn't do it more than once a day!

Todays other fic rec of the day is *drumroll* ...

problems for our future selves

By: @managician

Fandom: Sonic Prime

Ship: Sonic the Hedgehog/Nine the Fox

Rating: G

Chapters: 1/1

Words: 4,792

Link:

ㅤ

Now, you may already recognize this fic title as I have reblogged the official tumblr posting for this fic before and recommended it in the reblog tags.

While not necessarily tagged as such, I have always found this fic to be a bit of a refreshing character study. The author mixes predictions for what was the upcoming S2, self indulgence, and character interpretation in a fic that puts you inside the head of the character Nine. In this case, it explores his feelings and actions post S1 in regards to his goals, his situations, and how he feels about Sonic.

Even with the context of Sonic Prime S2 fresh on the mind, the fic reads as a plausible follow up to the ending of Season 1 if things were to go a bit differently. The interactions Nine has with Sonic, as well as the confusing nature of his feelings towards him, read very realistic to me in the context of the show, and as moments/topics that could theoretically be explored in such a setting. Nine is angry with Sonic, but also feels giddy when it comes to him. He needs Sonic alive if he is to be free from the council, doesn't care about him otherwise, right? And yet, he knows that he does. He feels that it would be easier for him if he did not care about Sonic, especially after how he's shaken up his life and left him behind, but he cannot help but care. He does not know how to feel about (or rather doesn't know if he can handle) the prospect of Sonic dying or the Chaos Council killing him, and yet also doesn't know what he will do if Sonic does come to save him.

As someone who'd hungered for some good Sonine or Nine character analysis around S2's release, this fic absolutely delivered, and it's one I still come back to and read quite a lot. Likewise, as someone who is aroaspec themselves but adores romance I love Sora's take on Sonine's relationship. Nine's confusion about his feelings come from a place of liking a person even though it feels like you shouldn't after everything, yes. Sure, it also comes from a place of inexperience in relationships. But to me it also depicts Nine in the position of not being able to place a relationship as purely platonic or romantic.

But anyways, I digress. This fic is sweet, a little angsty, and a bit bittersweet, and I'd recommend it for those who like stories regarding people trying to work out what a person means to them, and for those seeking Sonine in a canon context. This read is perfect for people who like to come away from a fic thinking about the implications of the characters' actions and taking another dive into their heads. It is also for those not afraid of reading something bittersweet, as the characters themselves aren't sure how to feel or how the future will turn out.

#fic rec friday #sonic prime #sonic the hedgehog #sonine #miles nine prower #nine sonic prime #nine the fox #I hope you don't mind the @ Sora! I knew you had a tumblr and I thought you may want to see if someone recced your fic‚ but I can remove th #@ if you so wish #I also did link your original posting for the fic in this post #I love your fic a whole lot and I thought 'if I'm going to start making rec posts I HAVE to do this one' #Especially since I've been Sonine posting a lot lately I felt like I couldn't do these recs without reccing at least one Sonine fic (and I #also just wanted an excuse to shove your fic in people's faces again😂) #But anyways‚ I hope this leads more people to read your wonderful fic!

[eikaprime]

I know I should have asked this ages ago but, what does Lucky actually look like? (both before and after her tentacles were cut) I've looked through your fic a few times (Still the best thing I've ever read btw) but I'm still unsure

Her ink's a light blue, specifically robin's egg blue, but I'm not gonna fuss about finding that specific ink color for ya. She changes it as she needs to, like most inklings.

For most of the series, she uses one of the default inkling styles, specifically the one known as 'wave': long on one side, short on the other. (Images from the Splatoon Wiki, <https://splatoonwiki.org/wiki/Player_Settings#Hairstyle> )

After her somewhat disastrous tentacut's fixed a little, her tentacles don't have rounded ends or suckers (not enough time/ink to shape the ends properly for one) and the ends just brush the tops of her ears; by the end of (Un)Lucky they may reach the bottoms of her ears.

Height, she starts the series about 4'11 and ends it maybe at 5'1 (two inches over 11 months, still the shortest NSS member). Weight's never given, but she is a serious athlete who plays turf and rank for 8 hours 5 days a week without any problems (and plays more than 8 hours if there's no one there to stop her. And plays less than 8 hours on Mondays, when she also has patrol. And saw a private trainer January-May). She also shows a tendency to cut back on food to save money in early fics, and not eat much to be polite (Lucky Charm, first meeting with the Sepias) or occasionally be denied food as a punishment when at home. With all that, she's probably a muscular twig. Add in how much dodge-rolling and speedwork she does, she must have a build very similar to a professional gymnast.

I've never given Lucky a set skin color. I do picture her as light skinned, but that's at least in part because I live in Whitey White land and am 100% aware I don't know enough about other cultures or what life looks like with another skin color to be comfortable having a Main Character with those challenges. Research, empathy, and hope is enough for secondary characters and background, but I'm well aware I've got prejudices I don't even know about and I'm not inflicting them on the world by mistake.

Now for the complicated part.

For those who aren't aware, Lucky is more than half (more than 3/4) flying squid. In my world, that means she gets flaps. In squid form, those are on her head, positioned similarly to Real Life flying squid's flaps, and she can move them mostly at will to serve as rudders, extra fins, or otherwise assist her. This is part of why she's such a great athlete (though she wouldn't be half as great without all that practice). In kid form, though, they're on her neck. Which brings about some issues.

I picture them somewhat similar to bat wings, but with pure muscle where the bones would be; this allows additional flexibility. They're also attached at the neck at a slight angle, so if they were to flap, they'd propel her forwards/slightly upwards, and a breeze would go behind her/downwards.Here, have some bad art:

In kid form, they wouldn't do that much to help her, though at that size she could theoretically wrap them around a can of soda to carry things. They can give her a bit of extra speed/precision with turns, though. More commonly, since they're not completely under her control--and tend to stiffen or move because of her emotions--they can cause... problems. They cross behind the neck in the back, probably ending roughly where a human's shoulderblades would be. Have more bad art:

There's a reason she tore that turtleneck Callie got her in The Twelve Days Of Squidmas. And why she's very careful with shirts in general. Skin and muscle and ink, plus surprise, does a number on fabric when it moves fast.

In any case, I hope this helps. I've gotten some amazing fanart from people, but I won't link any of it because they didn't say I could, so you get to suffer through my art skills instead.

#splatoon #fanfic #ao3 #ao3 fanfic #agent 4 #lucky #character design #original character #forgive my art #ask and I shall answer #writing

[hua-fei-hua]

sometimes i see posts w/people begging ao3 authors to anon or orphan works instead of deleting them, and like, i get the sentiment, i really do, but i think that there's a bit of nuance to each of these three acts that should be considered a bit more.

all three are a method of disassociating a work to your name, obviously, but orphaning is the only method that permanently revokes an author's agency over the work. deleting is the only method that revokes the reader's right to public access. anonymity is the midway point between these, but i think i can understand why one might choose to delete or orphan instead.

a while back, i was poking around livejournal, and i saw a link to a fic rec on ffn, but when i followed the link, the work had been deleted. through the wayback machine, i found the author n read the explanation on their profile: essentially, while the work had been extremely popular, they felt that it no longer represented the kind of stories they wanted to tell, especially since looking back, a lot of their jokes were in poor taste, and the thought of leaving that up for other people to find was not one they liked. so they deleted it.

a lot of readers also seem to lean on the argument, "there will always be people to whom your work has meant the world; please don't delete it (as it hurts those people)." it seems to hang on the assumption that the author is deleting out of shame, external pressure, or just hatred for their own work, and that they should remember that art has value beyond their own perception. and also don't hurt the readers as collateral.

but sometimes, as dick of a move as it is, the point of taking a fic down is to send a "fuck you" to the readers, because it is a sign of the author's ultimate agency over a fic. one could theoretically place their work into an unrevealed collection and achieve the same effect, and i know that's a thing that happens too, but the point is that the author has control over their own work, and that includes taking it down on their own terms.

my impression of why we have orphaning is bc ao3 was made in a different time, when being in fandom and writing gay porn abt fictional characters could get people fired from jobs and everything, and sometimes, due to wank, people would receive threats on their job based off the fic they wrote. people used to delete out of fear, even though they didn't want to actually take their fic away from the fan community, so ao3 gave us orphaning to remove all association and link back to the author while keeping the work up for others to read or enjoy.

of course people use it for other purposes now, too. sometimes you change fandoms, and the old one was cringe, or problematic, or you just want to start over for other reasons, and you orphan all your prior works. sometimes you have a wip that lost its spark, or has served its purpose to you creatively despite never being finished. to the orphanage with it! basically, my impression of orphaning is that it's for letting go (or preventing your own real-life murder).

anonymity is offered as a solution to those who wish to remain in control of their works whilst also dissociating their name, and that is very much a good solution for people who want to leave up their things but are anxious about orphaning.

but more than that, anonymity offers protection for people with a history of being harassed, yet wish to continue publishing. it offers the ability to thank those who leave appreciation on your works. it lets you surprise people with gifts when you're shy. hell, it can even help with an obsession with hits and kudos, since you have to jump through a few extra hoops to see your stats instead of it being right on your author page.

i guess the point is, these things can broadly overlap when it comes to "what to do with this fic i wrote but don't want on my profile anymore", but there's nuance to each one, and if an author wants to delete a fic bc it best fits their situation, then we should accept that, mourn our losses, and move on.

#long post #sorry i just hate seeing posts on my dash that are like 'GUYS don't DELETE your work when you can ORPHAN or ANONYMIZE it!' #i understand that these might be lesser-known features and it's good to tell people abt it! but sometimes you hate your audience #or the idea of leaving something like that up makes you sick #and like. i get it we all have fics we love that have been deleted w/o warning. that's the author's prerogative. #downloading fics has always been a thing; and an author deleting their fic from ao3 doesn't remove it from your hard drive #if you lost smth w/o a backup then. i guess that's a lesson moving forward. sorry for your loss. #花話

[tobi-smp]

Note: please read this post talking about dark sbi (and dark fic in general) as a genre before starting discourse on this post (if you’re so inclined to do so) [Link]

If nothing else so we’re all on the same page.

but! I would Also like to point out the catch22 that many sbi fic writers face as far as tagging goes.

tagging in dark fiction is very important. it’s important in All fics, both as a sorting tool and as a courtesy to the readers, but the stakes are Upped when the content in a fic carries subject matter that can be upsetting or even triggering. your readers need to be allowed to make informed decisions when they consume your content.

this is also why it sticks out More when there are mistakes in tagging with dark fic, Especially in a fandom like the dream smp where the source material has an abundance of dark themes to delve into and a fan base that has exposed a lot of young people to fanfic and to ao3 specifically for the first time.

I can say from experience (and I do mean a Lot of experience) both with general dsmp fic and dark fic that I don’t think there’s a noticeable discrepancy between people mucking up the tags in one vs the other. but I can Also say from experience that it’s more jarring and potentially Upsetting when the subject matter not being tagged for is on the more extreme end.

so dark fic gets this reputation as being Particularly Bad at tagging (and therefore bad as a genre) when that isn’t particularly true. and it’s difficult to talk about, because part of the core idea is Right. tagging Is, in a way, More Essential here even when it’s a universal courtesy. but it’s also blatantly singling a genre out because it’s not universally appealing enough to have it’s issues filed down like people do for other genres.

but then On The Flip Side, writers of dark fiction will also often be Punished for accurate, robust tagging. sometimes Dramatically so.

I mainly see this happen in two ways.

1: people who treat writing descriptive tags (meaning going into detail about what, exactly, is present within the content of the fic. not in how Specifically it’s worded) as the Same Thing as direct exposure to whatever content may be triggering.

which is something that I can Empathize with, I think we’ve all had instances where we’ve had a full body cringe reading the tags on a fic and have to scroll speedily away, but that’s Obviously Obstructive To The Implementation Of Trigger Warnings.

it’s not fun to see the word “rape” written out but if it’s in a movie then it’s much Better to see it written out in a trigger warning than to find out by watching it yourself.

but still, people will argue that if the tags themselves are objectionable enough (by their own metric of course) then that content just should not exist at all. which can absolutely Discourage people from Giving their content robust trigger warnings and tags.

2: people outright harassing a fic creator because they saw an objectionable tag and made assumptions about what Must Be in the content of the fic.

this is something that’s Particularly problematic within the dark sbi space because it’s a familial relationship being depicted with these dark themes that often times dip into possessive and intense emotions.

which means that misinterpretations of these tags (both willful and accidental) can be used to rather Awful Effect to demonize the author.

this isn’t theoretical either. about a week or two ago discussions on the validity and morality of dark sbi as a genre were brought up again on twitter because people had singled out and harassed an author over the use of a tag.

the tag in question was “non-consensual touching,” which Yes can definitely sound alarming. but that terminology, while loaded, is not inherently sexual or romantic in nature as Consent is not inherently sexual or romantic in nature. teaching your child that they don’t have to hug their aunt if they don’t want to is teaching them consent just the same as teaching your child that they don’t have to have sex if they don’t want to is.

and in this case it Was meant completely platonically in the context of the fic, meaning Hugging and Cuddling. the entire conversation was based on content of the fic that Was Not There, that had been imagined based on tag that is Accurate but not incriminating in the way that it was being presented as.

and yes, it Could have been worded differently (maybe “non-consensual cuddling”? it’s less immediately alarming but also less inclusive) and it Was the work of clumsy wording from a young author, but also that’s exactly it.

when we create an environment where young authors who haven’t done anything Wrong can not only be punished but Mass Shamed extremely publicly for fumbling the wording of a trigger warning because people are actively Looking for reasons to start controversy over this genre then all we do is foster an environment where people Don’t tag.

the content of the fic Did Not contain what it was being accused of, if the author had simply Not done courtesy of trigger tagging for content that Could potentially be upsetting to some people then they wouldn’t have been mass harassed and dog piled, and I absolutely would not blame them for internalizing that fact. but that also makes the community Less Safe overall (at least internally).

so we’ve created this catch22 where dark fic authors are shamed and harassed for not being descriptive Enough with their tags, but Also where dark fic authors can be shamed and harassed for being descriptive about their writing at all. where people are willing to start harassment and smear campaigns without double checking the content of the fic because the tag itself was So Personally Offensive for them to read.

if we want people to foster an environment where dark content can be consumed Safely, where people can make informed decisions before Entering a fic, then we Cannot punish people for broadcasting what’s in their fic to give people the Information With Which To Make Decisions With.

#discourse #dark sbi #long post

[mannatea]

The World Could Be Beautiful, a Tales of Symphonia ‘fic (Chapter 10)

Word Count: 55,229 Summary: After a chance encounter in Izoold, Raine and Regal both get a lot more than they bargained for. (A one-night stand 'fic with consequences.) Chapter Summary: Raine asks a theoretical question of Regal; Lloyd and Colette discuss their exsphere journey with Raine. Pairing/Characters: Regal/Raine, Genis, George, Lloyd, Colette, and assorted OCs as the story requires. Zelos shows up later. Warnings: Blanket warnings for the entire fic: pregnancy (and all that comes with it), discussion/mention of abortion, power imbalance, fantasy racism. Rating: Explicit. (No sex in this chapter.) Genre: Romance/angst/friendship vibes.

The title is the link to Ao3 for Chapter 10! (This is the halfway point in the story!)

Notes (to be read after the chapter) under a cut:

I've always been a bit fascinated with Raine's relationship with Iselia. I feel like it's a place Genis could call home, despite the turbulence of the game, but with Raine's long history of being unwanted and unwelcome it's hard for me to imagine she ever truly feels like she can go back there. I think logically she knows it would be okay, but she can't untangle the way she feels about it.

There's something to be dissected here about how she stayed there way longer than she intended to, and cannot separate that she lived her life there was a lie and any goodwill or comfort received while she was there was sort of...based on the lie and not the reality.

That said, it was the safest she was ever allowed to feel, so it's not hard to think she's sometimes a bit homesick for it, or at least for the kind of life she wished she could have led there.

In this "thought experiment" she posits, Regal mentions that he would have known immediately she was not an elf, and I stole that from the OVA because I love it (and for no other reason). I really liked that detail—that he would know and respect that it was a secret she kept to protect herself and her brother.

--

Lloyd and Colette's journey to find the exspheres and destroy them/render them unusable comes with some interesting conundrums: what do they do when they come across someone who needs their exsphere? When should they shift their focus from mass exsphere sales/production issues to The Individual, and how do you convince other people to give up their exsphere when you yourself are wearing one?

Raine's understanding of the old man Lloyd and Colette talk about comes from a short period in her life where she and young Genis happened upon an abandoned little farmstead and lived there for some months. There was a garden and, in similar fashion to the old man, she tried to protect it so that she and Genis would have food...but she was 14 and there wasn't much she could do against grown adults (who were probably also hungry and wanted that food).

She didn't die but she knows it wasn't because she picked herself up by the bootstraps or anything; she just got lucky.

She never had a lot of opportunity to be kind to others, having never had much excess, but I like the idea of her being able to see Lloyd and Colette try to make the world kinder.

--

LLOYD'S POEM. Shut up don't touch me don't look at me. I crafted this idea so carefully. I imagine Lloyd was a bit of a goof in class, trying to "not take assignments seriously" but this almost always backfired on him because Raine could still see the potential there.

And I think Lloyd is best at art and expression through art forms! ;)

Anyway when I was in middle school we had to do a writing assignment where the story had to start with "Almost" (and then an event), and I tried to be cheeky about it and wrote a story called "Almost Mowed Over" (about a blade of grass who narrowly avoids being mowed over LOL) because I thought the assignment was so dumb. Then my ass got picked to compete in Power of the Pen? So. I was channeling that energy here. LOL

But in a more wholesome way!

--

COLETTE AND REGAL. COLETTE AND REGAL. I love their friendship! Sometimes Colette can be a bit silly and goofy but I love the idea of her getting to live for herself and growing and maturing because of that.

I don't know what people expected from a girl who thought she was going to die at 16. If she took things too seriously she'd just be depressed all the time. I love her silly side. But I also wanted to explore how she and Lloyd might struggle sometimes with nightmares and other problems. Normally they talk to one another about these things, but I firmly believe everyone needs friends who exist outside of their romantic relationship, so Colette leans a little on Regal here...and finds the knowledge that he also struggles with this to some degree to be cathartic. Like, oh, it's not just us! We're not alone!

#tales of symphonia #regal bryant #raine sage #regal x raine #mannafics

[randomidiocyncrazies]

N P T Y!

thanks for the ask! i kinda went ham on the AU question lol

N - Name three things you wish you saw more of in your main fandom (or a fandom of choice).

oof this is hard! the thing is. i'm an extremely fickle mistress, so i don't really have a 'main' fandom? also i think most of what i want from fandom is extremely generic (more gen fic, more femslash, more AUs with interesting worldbuilding, more rarepairs etc etc) and most of my specific comments are aimed more at the source material than at the fandom

(that said, if anyone writes political intrigue and/or the mundane stuff of nation building about the Kree/Skrull Alliance please please please link! there's so much story potential there..............)

P - Invent a random AU for any fandom (we always need more ideas).

okay so i LOVE most AUs, but my favorite are well-done roleswaps (by which i mean the characters' core personalities are intact, it's just that their circumstances have changed). I mean... i still lowkey think about the Persona 4 adult investigation team AU a friend and I talked about almost 10 years ago lol

(oh! speaking of the Persona franchise, i've always kind of wondered what would happen if P4 protag moved to Sumaru City after P4 and gets Jun Kashihara from Persona 2 as his homeroom teacher, and one way or another accidentally triggers a way for Nyarlathotep to return (most likely with P4 protag coming into contact with Tatsuya by chance through Jun)—after all, the theme of Persona 4 is to lift the fog of deceit, but not all truths should be remembered... though I guess this isn't really AU since it could theoretically happen as long as you handwave the mechanics about how personas/Nyarly and Philemon work)

my other pet AU is the Appmon Utena AU because narratives about roles and agency fascinate me! (appmon and utena endgame spoilers in linked posts)

as for something that I'm mostly making up right now........... uhhhh Loveless AU for Oda and Aoki from 2.43 Seiin High School Men's Volleyball Team, but only about the concept of Fighter-Sacrifice pairs and not... everything else (I have not read Loveless but it's got A Reputation)—mostly because i think it'd be so interesting if their pair name is "Selfless", seeing as Oda tends to think of himself as selfish in the novel, while Aoki's speech about "no need to thank me, I'm doing this because of ulterior motives" and his utter devotion to Oda's cause makes me kiiinda feral. (and from what little i understand about the general power dynamics of Fighters and Sacrifices, i think it makes sense for Oda to be the Sacrifice and Aoki the Fighter? idk)

i haven't thought of why they're marked, since they're meant to be Just Some Guys in 2.43 (i.e. not one of the star players on the team)

T - Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending? 

i'm not willing to die on this hill, but i have this entire elaborate headcanon about Euanthe from Counter/WEIGHT having a dead fiance and them being essentially an anti-stratus due to the programming language disconnect between the Divines and the Apostolisian mechs. both are just something i pulled completely out of my ass tho (note: Twilight Mirage is the last sci-fi season from friends at the table that i've completed)

as for something i'm slightly more willing to die defending: Yukiko and Chie from Persona 4 lived on takeout for like 4 months after they got their own place, before grudgingly learning how to cook at the Inaba community center (also Yosuke heckles them about it and sends shitty pics of his humble homemade dishes at ridiculous hours to taunt them about it—at least, that's how they interpret his gesture

and i mean. they aren't entirely wrong about that.)

Y - What are your secondhand fandoms (i.e., fandoms you aren’t in personally but are tangentially familiar with because your friends/people on your dash are in them)?

oh boy most popular media is like that for me... i feel like ORV is one of these even though i did read some of it? (and i mean. i do plan on reading past ch 75 of ORV one of these days.) i've heard stuff about SVSSS (about a rarepair/side character) and the Owl House seems interesting from the general impression i get from my dash

I guess i also. learned about SPN on tumblr (and know more than I want to, even though in the grand scheme of things it's not much at all)

[ask prompts here!]

#replies #Anonymous

[edoro]

Questions for fic writers: 9, 16, 26, 41

9. How do you find new fic to read? - every day, several times a day, i check my ao3 dashboard to see if i got any new comments, and then i hit the Hunter | The Golden Guard (The Owl House) tag and see if any new Hunter fics have been posted that i want to read.

sometimes people will recommend me fics that do not specifically involve him as a tagged character, and every so often i venture out of my current fandom fixation into a new one, but i pretty much always have a particular character or grouping of characters that i want to read about, so i primarily sort by character tags.

16. What’s an AU you would love to read (or have read and loved)? - i really love the Tag Team TOH au, and in general the entire concept of "what if Belos ended up getting Luz before Eda did?"

TOH specifically is also a canon that i think makes for a fascinating adaptation into a more mundane realistic setting - i also really love the fic Clawthorne's Landing, which is a mundane human au where Hunter runs away from his abusive uncle and ends up working at a farm run by Lilith in exchange for room and board. it's such a specialized little look into the author's personal area of experience and i love when aus show me a new way of looking at the world that i haven't experienced before!

i also theoretically enjoy the idea of like, social worker aus, where characters end up encountering Hunter specifically bc he gets removed from his uncle's custody due to various horrific abuses, but i have yet to find one that i actually like reading in practice.

i would also absolutely LOVE to see some kind of au where somehow Belos ends up dying before the Day of Unity and Hunter ends up on the throne, because i love me some tasty political intrigue. i want the full ASOIAF treatment here.

26. Would you rather write a fic that had no dialogue or one that was only dialogue? - oh, probably no dialogue. it's entirely possible i have WRITTEN fics with no dialogue? actually, Become Ungovernable comes pretty close because the only dialogue in it is a brief flashback to the canon scene that happens immediately before the fic starts.

but yeah i'd definitely find it much easier to write environmental descriptions or meandering internal monologue rather than all dialogue.

41. Link a fic that made you think, “Wow, I want to write like that.” - oooh gosh well tbqh every time i read a well-written fic i have a minor crisis of feeling like because that isn't my personal exact style, I Must Be Doing It Wrong, but!

The_Resurrection_3D has written a handful of TOH fics which are all my favorite entries in the "wow, there is something Fucking Wrong with Philip Wittebane" genre, and i love his style a lot. it's poetically gorgeous and communicates quite a lot with relatively few words (a thing i am very much not capable of lmao) and i also really admire the way he plays with style and structure and format.

i also really love the fic what we are is the sum of a thousand lies because of, specifically, how absolutely fucking funny it is, while still feeling very in-character. written humor can be hard! i like to think i'm funny but that's really up to peer review, right? anyway though, the sort of wryly understated ridiculousness of the entire situation and the verbal exchanges here, contrasting with but never undermining or overshadowing the emotional impact of the situation itself, are just very good and something i definitely strive for myself.

#ask game #asks #fic recs

[cheeriecherry]

more characters maybe + potentially moving blogs

If I were to expand the five somethings prompts to other characters as well, who would you guys most want to read about?

This is theoretical though. I’m only considering expanding the character list to Beyond Just Viktor, but if I can get a feel for who you guys might want to request, then I can potentially do some deep dives into character studies.

News: I am slowly recovering from illness, and slowly working on fics!

About the ‘moving blogs’ thing. So this blog where I post all my fics is a Side Blog - meaning I can’t reply to any of you guys when you leave cute messages on my fics. But I really really want to! I want to engage with this sweet little community we’ve got, but I’m Chronically Nervous about people knowing who I actually am.

I have my face and name on my main blog, and so many random posts, old stuff, and people I know in real life. I know we’re all weird little goblins here on this site, and I love that for us; I also still struggle with letting people see my ‘cringe’ interests - they’re not cringe, I’m just absolutely terrified of judgement, and that’s another reason why I like having a separate fic blog. I’m able to sort of like, I dunno, compartmentalize my stress?

Fandom is stressful, and I have -in the past- had interactions with some not so nice people. And I love writing, but I also fear being judged for my creations, even though they’re just harmless fun. Having a separate space for my fics, and working under an alias, allows me to do the writing I enjoy without taking personally any snide remarks that might come.

All this to say: people scare me and I want some anonymity while still being able to engage with you guys and do some goofs.

So again this is still something I’m only considering, but would you guys be cool with this blog moving over to another account? Not closing, or deleting anything, just. Reposting everything over in one big go (or several small goes), leaving links to the new blog, and basically letting cobwebs collect on the current blog.

Thank you all for taking the time to read!

#you guys can answer in replies #or drop an answer in an ask #i have anon available #i know some of you have social anxiety (myself included) #cherry updates

[liminalpsych-in-teyvat]

Notes for A Matter of Duty - Chapter 5: The night wind's sigh

Thoma's Vision quest has the quote: "Ten years ago, when the Yashiro Commission's Kamisato Clan was losing its power. Kamisato Ayato, who was embroiled in the dispute over the succession rights of the clan due to the death of both parents…"

The Hiiragi family (Kanjou Commission) and the Kujou family (Tenryou Commission) have subordinate clans who assist them in their Commission work. That's called out specifically in Ayato's story quest and in Raiden's story quest. Theoretically, the Kamisato family also has subordinate clans (the Kaedehara Clan was one such family), but none of them are named. The only NPC serving the Yashiro Commission who has a family name is Madarame Hyakubei (the one in the Kamisato Estate who handles reputation quests).

So I had to make up some more subordinate families, and some relatives, because otherwise who else would be a candidate for succession of the Kamisato Clan? We only know about Ayato and Ayaka and their deceased parents; no other relatives are mentioned.

Hopefully the political infodump wasn't too tedious! I will now return to your regularly scheduled porn in Chapter 6.

No research links this time, because it was all just me poring through the Genshin wiki. For hours.

Summary of the fic itself with content warnings, tags, etc so you can decide if you want to read it or not before you click on the link.

A Matter of Duty

"Back then, I had no choice but to accept the position I was in. While I desperately looked around for powerful supporters, I endured smear campaigns and attempts to exploit me. I had no other choice… I didn't mind what became of me, but my family… No one can ever be allowed to trample over my precious family."

How Ayato secured powerful supporters, endured exploitation, and weathered the storm of the years following the death of his parents… and how Thoma helped him contend with a bunch of self-serving, degenerate public officials.

And how, after much stilted fumbling and well-intended sacrifice, they learned the truth of one another's hearts.

Note: Mind the tags. More specific content warnings will be given at the beginning of each chapter, and the story tags will be updated as needed. All characters involved in any sex scenes are adults.

Rating: Explicit. It's porn with plot. Porn as a vehicle for plot, or plot as a vehicle for porn, you can interpret it either way. (I prefer: porn and plot as a vehicle for ~feels~)

Tags that I'm not actually turning into tags here, but it gives you an idea of what you're in for: Kamisato Ayato/Thoma (Genshin Impact), dubious consent but not between Ayato and Thoma, slow burn, sex ed, first time, self-sacrifice, humiliation, exhibitionism, oral sex, anal sex, bdsm, bad bdsm etiquette, rough sex, breath play, impact play, bondage, service kink, abuse, sadism, codependency, shame, guilt, jealousy, possessiveness, trauma, ptsd, dissociation, political sex work, or sex work for political maneuvering, or political survival sex work if that’s a thing, exploitation, blackmail, political machinations, political intrigue, no aftercare, maybe someday some aftercare, hurt/comfort, mostly hurt for a long time but eventually comfort, oblivious disaster gays, for such socially savvy people they are terrible at personal relationships, dominant Ayato, submissive Thoma, top Ayato, bottom Thoma, Ayato is incredibly parentified, Thoma has no sense of self-preservation, self-sacrifice isn't a contest but don't tell Ayato and Thoma that, it's like the snipe-the-check game at restaurants but with sex and politics, Kushiel's Impact, no really this was in my drafts for the longest time as Kusheline Thomato Fic, everyone's an adult in this timeline except Ayaka, she gets protected at all costs, original characters out of necessity, finding appropriate existing Inazuma npcs for some of these roles was impossible, no beta we die like ayato's parents

Full fic: https://archiveofourown.org/works/47604337?view_full_work=true

Chapter 5: The night wind's sigh: Thoma gives his report, learns more about the political situation, and finally puts together some painful puzzle pieces.

Chapter contains: allusions to sex work, vague allusions to past dubious consent, hangover, arguing, angst, and politics. (Relatively mild chapter, really, compared to the others.)

#writing this chapter was like pulling my own teeth #hopefully the next one will go faster #hopefully my momentum isn't slowing down too much #kamisato ayato #thoma #ayathoma #thomato #genshin impact #genshin fanfic #ayato #a matter of duty #AMOD chapter 5 #my writing

[borkthemork]

is there a directors commentary on Quantum Mechanics from your Beyond the Music Box collection ?

Oooo, I haven't touched this one in a hot second, I definitely could! So if anyone is curious about the drabble they're talking about, I'll be putting a link to it in here, and under the "Read More" I shall discuss the process I did with creating it overall.

So, back when Temple Frogs came out, the implication of Marcy's journal had intrigued me the moment Anne pulled it up on screen, and of course a great deal of authors had also noticed the same too!

The fact she had Marcy's journal since the beginning, that she perused through and learned to translate runes, was enough to get my brain whirring and I had to work on it.

With Quantum Mechanics, I started writing at 1 AM. I couldn't stop thinking about Anne and how I could format the whole drabble to exemplify a specific weariness — a weariness of having the world weighed down upon your shoulders, of a sleep deprivation that was haunted by your mistakes and worries that couldn't be alleviated.

Since I was sleep-deprived at that time, I was in the mindset that helped accompany that feeling. In knowing that my awareness was impaired, I started to focus heavily on blurring the reality that Anne was in.

Anne Boonchuy was tired before A Fight at the Museum's end revelation. She studied whatever she could to understand how to get back to Amphibia, to the point she researched books, lectures, and videos that were out of her realm of common knowledge. That is dedication. That is a girl set on a goal, and since I had been researching physics stuff in my personal time, I let that rub into the beginning rambles of Marcy too to help with the whole atmosphere of it!

Marcy's voice has been a favorite of mine to explore. I had practice in writing with it during my time with my other fic Falling Down Dry, and since I had similar questions to Amphibia's world, I allowed myself to turn all this jargon into what Marcy probably would've said. That this world is so hypothetically insane and opens up so many ideas and theoretical to our current understanding of science that not many people think about.

Of course, I am merely an amateur, so information could be inaccurate. However, that wouldn't be a problem since Marcy is a kid, and kids can be inaccurate occasionally, haha.

But in using this beginning, I was able to transition to Anne's mindset pretty well. Marcy is speaking to her through the journal. By giving Marcy the format to talk, where the only distinction is the italics and is meshing to the narrative's prose, then the reality bending becomes easier for Anne's perspective to exploit.

When one is tired and doing research, there comes this futile slog in trying to find answers. For Anne, I wanted to describe it pretty well in her writing style. Season 3A had implied to the audience that Anne is tired, even Escape to Amphibia compounded this with how quick Anne was to break down over feeling powerless over her capabilities.

Anne Boonchuy, by all means, worked really hard to get to this point. Like, what was she supposed to do in this situation? The audience could go "Oh yeah they'll definitely get back home" but Anne doesn't know that.

In her reality, she had to take initiative and research so many ways to return to her other home, and I'll always emphasize the feeling of cycling back to the same place or theme, which is kind of why a great deal of my drabbles like attempting to bring their stories back to a familiar place by the end of the day.

Akin to a "The end is engrained in the beginning" type of shizz.

One of the important things I try to bring to the table with Anne would be that this girl is stubborn, so unbelievably stubborn.

Even if there are points where she wanted to give up, she had this internal anxiety in her that wants to keep her on the go. She is going to try even if it sounds stupid, and even with her growth and more maternal protection state, Anne never stopped believing in people and doing what she believed was right.

And it's depressing to think about how much she had to think about Marcy and Sasha.

It's depressing to theorize about Anne losing self-awareness from sleep deprivation, and in wanting to see Marcy again — to hear her through the journal — she started to imagine what it would be like for Marcy to sit beside her. To help her in the journey for a way home.

That the journal truly was a medium for Anne to reassure herself that Marcy's soul was still apparent through the texts.

It took a second rewrite to get the type of drabble I wanted, and I posted it at 3 AM before I went to sleep, but I do believe that Quantum Mechanics hit that part in me that wanted to see Anne's grieving process.

I wanted to see her think about Marcy, about how much Marcy's betrayal and potential death muddled the way she functioned in a subtle yet obvious way, and I hope the story was able to show that!

#asks #amphibia #goofylaffytaffy

[aminiatureworld]

A Little Rest II

Characters: Xiao, Zhongli, gn!reader

Word Count: 2,104 

Warnings: Swearing

Premise: Sometimes life is just unbearably tiring. And a comforting shoulder can be the perfect substitute pillow. In which the reader falls asleep on their partner.

Author’s Note: Second part!!! I realize the first didn’t get a ton of traction, unfortunately, but hopefully, this’ll still be welcomed. I realize since most of these are basically pseudo fics, would you guys prefer it to be bullet-pointed or paragraphed? I’m just wondering if one format is easier or more pleasant to read than the other. 

Also, adepti’s rules and personal needs are kinda nebulous to me so I sort of made them up myself. Watches also weren’t a thing until the 1800s, and specifically didn’t really become a thing in China until the mid-20th century. But this is fantasy so I do what I want.

Xiao

You loved Xiao more than you could say. Every little moment spent with him made your heart flutter, every habit of his that you’d noticed, every little way he revealed his soul to you.

It seemed so improbable to you sometimes, than an adeptus, someone so very disconnected from the world of humans, should choose to love you. Although Xiao would never let you think you were any lesser than him, would never let his nature put you down, you were still somewhat in awe of the whole setup, and little reminders of his adepti status often brought you back to when you two had first begun to fall in love, when Xiao had explained that he didn’t quite understand the human way of life.

And one of those things that he didn’t understand appeared to be the concept of sleep itself.

It wasn’t that Xiao didn’t know what sleep was. Nor was he unable to sleep, he once told you. Theoretically he could sit down and take a nap much like any normal human. It was more that he didn’t need to sleep, and didn’t see the need to do something that took up so much time and left one so vulnerable.

Not that he didn’t pay attention to your needs; he wasn’t about to disrupt your sleep schedule on purpose, in fact you often joked that Xiao cared more about your rest than you did. It was only that, after spending so many years simply not thinking about things like sleep, it became hard for him to suddenly remember that he had a partner who needed said sleep every day. And a day was oh so short in Xiao’s mind.

It was a beautiful evening at the Wangshu Inn. The air was warm without being stifling and a breeze blew, light and cool. You were on the roof with Xiao, the place that had become your normal meeting spot. For as much as Xiao adored you with every fiber of his soul, he was still an adeptus, and his comfort level around most humans was that of an anxious cat – always ready to bolt.

Besides, the roof of the Inn was such a lovely place to relax. You gazed at Xiao’s profile as he looked up at the stars, noticing the way that the wind ruffled his hair slightly, the way his posture seemed so relaxed, so comfortable. One of his hands was clasping yours, fingers linked together, his palm nice and warm; the other pointed out constellations to you, each bearing a story, some which had long been forgotten by the residents of Liyue.

It wasn’t often that Xiao was so talkative, so open. Although he still barely mentioned his past – keeping that part of himself shut away with only the occasional crack through which you might learn of his sorrows – he’d become much more willing to disclose his everyday thoughts to you, as well as share stories that he knew. The latter was something you always loved to listen to, not just because the stories he told were always interesting and so full of life, but also because they gave you the sense of knowing him better, something that always made you happy.

Unfortunately, tonight was one night where, though you were more than happy to listen to Xiao talk about the stars, you were kind of dying of fatigue. A headache slipped in and out of your consciousness, and you found it more and more difficult to concentrate on Xiao’s words, finding they were all melting together into some semi-coherent monologue.

Your fatigue must’ve been very apparent, for when Xiao glanced over at you his whole demeanor changed; the carefree look on his face was gone, replaced with one of slight confusion and definitive worry. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine!” You shook your head. “Just a bit tired, that’s all.”

“Then you should rest.” Xiao squeezed your hand slightly before moving to stand up. However, as tired as you were, you cared more about spending time with him, and weren’t about to cut said time short.

“Wait!” You exclaimed, causing Xiao to pause, looking at you in a puzzled way. You smiled, slightly sheepish, but pressed forward. “I’ll be fine. If you don’t mind though, may I, uh, may I lay my head on your shoulder.” You gazed up at him, but inside you were struck with the urge to suddenly look away. Xiao was still a bit reticent with affection, not that it bothered you. He’d told you that he was simply unused to it, not averse to it. You weren’t about to pressure him into anything though, no matter the cause, and thus you waited for his response, hoping your expression conveyed that it’d be perfectly fine if he declined.

Your worries proved to be without ground however, for Xiao’s expression grew only fonder. Lying back down he gestured towards you. You gladly scooted closer to him, laying your head on his shoulder, hand once more in his. “You were saying about the boar constellation.” You murmured.

Xiao smiled, kissing the top of your head, before once more going on speaking about the stars. You smiled too, allowing his stories to carry you off to sleep, your head already swirling with half formed dreams about creatures who walked among the stars.

Xiao listened to your breathing even out, still talking a little after it seemed you’d dozed off, making sure that the sudden stop of his voice didn’t wake you up.

Gazing down at your peaceful face he pondered for a moment how much his life had changed so quickly. Even a month ago the idea that he would become friends with a human seemed impossible, much less that he would fall in love with one.

When he’d first met you it was as if something that had been frozen inside him for a long time began to thaw. He was terrified at first, terrified of you, terrified of himself, terrified of the unknown that loomed before him like a vast chasm. It had taken every ounce of courage to hold your hand at first, and every ounce of courage for every step after that.

But he would do it again if he had to, for being with you was the best part of his long, often cruel life. And he would do anything to protect you, anything to make sure you were comfortable and happy and healthy.

“Goodnight.” He spoke softly. Up above the stars kept silent vigil along with him. Tomorrow would be a bright new day, but for now he was simply going to enjoy the moment he’d been given with you.

 Zhongli

For someone who’d lived thousands of years, you’d think Zhongli would remember that tea had to be decaffeinated sometimes.

Not that you could really blame him for forgetting. After all it’s not like he needed to pay attention to whether or not his tea was caffeinated. To one of the Seven sleep was something more akin to a perk than a necessity. Sure, it was nice to sleep. But it’s not like Zhongli was going to feel regret if he accidentally downed five cups of tea right before midnight and spent the rest of night starting at the ceiling, wondering where he went wrong.

Unfortunately, you were definitively not a god, and did, in fact, need sleep. So, when you found yourself staring out the window at 5 am, having long come to the conclusion that sleep was just not going to happen, the emotion going through your mind was something more akin to: “Oh. Fuck.”

This turned into an “Oh you’ve got to be fucking kidding me” when you saw the list of your daily commissions. Yeah, someone had to go to Jueyun Karst and Qingyun Peak to collect Cor Lapis, and considering your relationship with Zhongli and the adepti it should’ve been unsurprising that you were going to be the one to do it. But your sleep addled brain was having a difficult time processing things logically, and all you saw when you looked at the list Katheryne gave you was the fact that today was going to hurt.

Your prediction turned out to be only too true. No adepti came to ask why you were mining outside their front doors – honestly what would you even respond to something like that – but the amount of treasure hunters that ran into you began to feel less like a likely coincidence, considering the location, and more like a targeted attack. Thankfully there was nothing you couldn’t handle, but by the end of your expedition you were more than ready to go home and take a nap.

Hurrying through the rest of your day, barely responding to the people you interacted with, by the time you’d finally finished up with your adventuring duties you felt like the most irritated person on the planet.

Arriving home, throwing your pack haphazardly onto the floor you almost tripped and fell flat on your face in your hurry to get to the bedroom. Not bothering to take off your adventuring gear you threw yourself onto the bed and quickly found yourself lost in long overdue sleep.

Zhongli glanced at his watch, frowning as he saw the lateness of the hour. The sun was already beginning to set, and though he’d walked as fast as possible, he still found himself feeling vaguely guilty about being so late. You two hadn’t spoken much in the morning, you’d seemed a bit restless and hurried out right after breakfast, so Zhongli was anxious to spend as much time with you after work as possible.

“Darling?” He called out, walking into the home you two shared. He glanced around uncertainly, surprised that you hadn’t greeted him at the door. The sight of your pack sprawled about the hallway only made him more confused, and vaguely alarmed, and he hurried down the hall, checking each room to see if you were there.

His worry immediately faded upon seeing you, curled up above the covers, evidently fast asleep. Unsure as to whether or not to wake you up he instead headed towards the kitchen, thinking you might like something when you got up.

You woke up in the dark, something that surprised you. You’d been out for a long time. Seeing that the door had been opened you shuffled down the hall, still a bit groggy from the extended nap you’d just taken.

Zhongli smiled as you entered the kitchen. “Did you have a good nap my darling?” He asked, kissing you on the forehead. You nodded sleepily, propping yourself up by your elbows on the counter. Zhongli chuckled. “Here, something to warm you up.”

Yours eyes widened as the cup of tea was placed in front of you. For a moment there was silence, then you glanced back at him.

“Zhongli?”

“Yes?”

“Uhm, is this tea, well, does it by any chance have caffeine in it?”

The look on Zhongli’s face was enough to make you burst into giggles. Perplexion melted into realization, which evidently caused some sort of embarrassment, for the former god blushed a bright shade of red before bringing his hand to cover his mouth.

“Ah, I see. That’s why you were so tired this morning.”

“It’s alright.” You finally replied, the initial fit of giggles having passed. “I know that you don’t have to think about these sorts of things normally. Only me making the same mistake two times in a row would be a bit hilarious, wouldn’t you think” You placed a kiss on Zhongli’s cheek, finally causing him to calm down a bit.

“I suppose you’re right. I’m sorry. Next time I promise to pay more attention.”

“Thank you.” You smiled, fatigue coming back after the initial burst of energy. Leaning into Zhongli’s neck you sighed slightly.

“Still tired?” Zhongli asked, voice soft and caring.

“Yeah, a bit.” You admitted. Zhongli nodded, before scooping you up.

Carrying you over to the couch you both settled in a bit. Zhongli began humming a sort of lullaby, and you smiled despite yourself. “You’re too good for me.” You mumbled.

“Nonsense.” Came Zhongli’s reply, just as full of love and affection. “You’re too good for me. And I won’t hear otherwise.”

“If you say so.” You replied, too tired to really fire back, already drifting off.

“I do. It’s only the truth.” And with that he began to hum again. As you fell asleep one last thought lingered in your mind.

If such contentment comes from staying up too late, then I’d be glad to do it again.

#I was today years old when I realize Xiao's VN is Soma from Food Wars #I can never unhear it #That show is my guilty pleasure #anyways... yeah #I hope people like this #xiao #zhongli #xiao x reader #zhongli x reader #genshin impact #genshin impact fanfiction #scenarios #my writing

[remmushound]

Rise boys = Raphael, Leonardo, Donatello, and Michelangelo. Bay boys = Donnie, Raph, Mikey, and Leo.

This is a fic to lead into a Bayverse/Riseverse crossover! This is also an opening to make any requests for the bay/Rise interactions! I’m also accepting bay requests separate from the crossover! @brightlotusmoon

Link to second part: https://remmushound.tumblr.com/post/645470221504839680/brightlotusmoon-part-2-of-the-bayrise

The alarms sounded in the lair in the early morning, while Donnie was still in REM sleep and Mikey still wrapped himself snuggly in his blankets. When Raph still hugged the bear he always denied he owned and while even Leo still hadn’t woke to take advantage of the day. The only occupant of the lair that was awake was an old rat in the dojo, taking advantage of his son’s absence to meditate on current issues that worried his mind.

His ears jerked to attention as the nirvana of his mind was jarred with Donnie’s warning alarm. He was to his feet in an instant, and soon from their rooms came his sons one by one. Leo first, like always, closely followed by Donnie, and then Raph, and last Mikey.

“Dude, who turned on the screaming?”

“Talk to me Don.”

“Working on it!” Donnie was already at his desk, working a mile a minute to pull up the camera from where the alarm originated. “Got it— wait, that’s not right.”

“What is it?” As usually, Leo was hovering over Donnie’s shoulder and looking at the screen.

“Just looks like black to me.” Raph grunted from where he stood, a more respectable distance away.

“Yeah— it is— somethings up with the cameras.”

“What, they broke?”

“No, someone turned them off— and the only way they could do that is to hack into the camera’s systems—.”

“Which obviously didn't happen.” Leo said, “Could someone be covering the screen a different way?”

“Well, I mean, I guess, but—”

“Alright, then lets move out— try to get a better idea of what we’re dealing with here.”

“Don’t gotta tell me twice.”

Leo held out his arm to stop Raph from running off immediately. “Careful, Raph. This could just be a sewer worker in over his head.”

“Yeah. Or it could be the Shredder.” Raph growled.

“Exactly. So be ready, but quiet. No use exposing ourselves if we don’t need to.”

Leo made the motion and Raph took point and was the first down the slide that took them out of the lair. Mikey was after him quickly. “Don’t worry, I’m a professional!” Mikey waved jazz hands.

“So am I.” Leo shoved Mikey down the slide after Raph. “Don, you next.”

“Arlight, but Leo I really think—”

Leo shoved Donnie into the tube the moment he got within sliding distance, and then gave it a few seconds before jumping in after him. The slide was a steep one, more like a straight drop than anything else, and eventually curving into a slope and then a tunnel. For a moment during the decent, Leo felt his shell leave the wall, and he braced himself for the jostling that came when he hit the curve straight on. He could see all three brothers in front of him in varying stages of the slide, Mikey making every attempt to loop around the length of the tunnel as many times as possible, which kindled his speed enough that he was dangerously close to colliding with Raph. He did another loop, narrowly avoiding the older turtle as he took the lead

“SNOOZE YOU LOSE, RAPH!”

“Mikey! Stop breaking formation!”

“Woah—“

Raph had to put on a quick break as he almost ran into Mikey’s shell, and the momentum made him spin around and slow. Before he could right himself, Donnie started to panic and tried to avoid raph by sliding over the walls as Mikey had, but it wasn’t fast enough and collided into Raph’s plastron.

“WATCH IT DONNIE!”

“THIS WASN’T MY INTENTION!”

“OUT OF THE WAY!” Leo just barely escaped another collision by doing the same move as Mikey, dodging the backup of his brothers as he sped after Mikey.

It took another half a minute for Raph and Donnie to detangle from each other, still sliding all the while.

“Move your arm!”

“Ow, that’s my leg—“

“I don’t care what it is, I’m gonna break it!”

“I’m trying— oh, my glasses—“

“Get offa me Don!”

“I’m struggling just as much as you are!”

Finally, Donnie got himself separated and held his position by digging his staff into the stone to defy the rushing water. He waited until Raphael had turned the corner before he let himself go once more to rush after him.

~~~~~

“Get back here.” Leo growled and grabbed Mikey the moment he caught up, turning the smaller turtle to face him.

“Ah— mercy—!”

“What’s up with breaking formation?”

Raph arrived, flying out of the slide and into the lower section of sewer, landing hard behind them.

“I coulda crushed you!” Raph gave Mikey a harsh shove.

“Hey hey hey, chillax, my dudes!” Mikey tried, holding his hands up in defeat. “I didn't mean to!”

“That’s not an excuse!”

Leo heard Donnie fly out and breathed a sigh. That was all of them.

“Guys, Quit fighting!” Donnie tried to get between them and Mikey. “We’re not alone here, remember?”

“Right.” Leo huffed, and made a motion for the brothers to follow him. “Remember— stick to the shadows and if we do find something, wait for my command before you do anything. Think you can handle that, Mikey?”

“What? I could do that in my sleep, bruh! I’m a shadow! You’re think I’m over here— hwa ha!” He fliped around Leo waving his nunchaku, “—but I’m really—over here!”

Leo prodded the handle of his sword into Mikey’s stomach to quiet him before he took the lead in climbing up the tube that led to the higher section of sewer. The walls were slick and lined with a thick layer of sludge, so getting a grip was difficult, but not impossible. Every so often he’d look down to make sure his brothers were following after him— Mikey, Donnie, and Raph in that order. If they were to fall, each brother would be able to catch the ones on top of him— Mikey could hold Leo, but if he fell then Donnie could catch both Mikey and Leo, and if all three fell, then Raph was at the bottom as backup.

Leo stopped as he reached the surface, just barely peeking his nose up over the edge. All he saw was dark sewer, and after a minute of searching every shadow and potential hiding space, he felt a sharp prod.

“Ow!”

“Move it!” Mikey insisted impatiently, “I don’t wanna look at your butt all day!”

Leo growled and retaliated with a careful kick to Mikey’s shoulder before pulling himselfup finally through the tunnel. He took another look around before turning to give his brothers the signal to follow, but Mikey was already through and Donnie was halfway out.

Leo made a ‘really guys?” motion and sighed, just letting the misdemeanor pass as his three brothers joined him in the dark tunnel.

“See anything Don?”

Donnie hummed and pulled his goggles down over his face to get a better view in the dark.

“Hm. Not picking up any heat signatures besides ours, but there’s splash marks on the walls higher than the current should be able to reach.”

“Meaning?”

“Something’s been splashing around here recently— the amount of residue is too big to be a rat. It could be a dog maybe, but that wouldn’t explain the camera…”

“Dude, it’s like, totally an aligator.”

“No it’s not.” Raph nudged his baby brother.

“No, dude, it totally is! I read about it once!”

“There are no gators in the sewer Mike.”

“Actually, there’s reports of gators living in the tunnels as far back as the nineteen twenties. The story goes that people would buy baby gators when they were small and cute and abandon them when they got too big to be kept in an apartment. The fascinating part is that the city actually rescues up to a hundred alligators a year from exotic breeders or incompetant owners with no liscence.”

“Donnie—“

“Though theoretically they could survive in the sewers for a short time, long-term survival would be highly improbable given cold tempatures and the bacteria in human feces. The only reason we can survive down here is because—“

“DONNIE.” Leo said, this time louder, “The alarm?”

“Oh. Right.” Donnie cleared his throat, looking away sadly as his rant went unfinished. “I… am detecting trace amounts of mutagen, but that could just be cross-contamination from one of us or Splinter. I’m sure someone would have told us if Bebop or Rocksteady escaped.”

There came a noise. A loud, jarring noise like the snap of metal. Each brother had their weapons ready before the sound even stopped echoing, dropping into their respective defense stances as they stared down the side of the tunnel that the noise came from. Nothing happened. A minute passed. Nothing.

“Think they left—?” Mikey was shushed thrice.

Leo gave the motion for his team to follow him as he lead the way down the tunnel.

“It could be an ambush.” Donnie whispered to Leo as they approached.

“If it is, we’ll be prepared—“

Leo held out his hand to stop his brothers as the sound started up again. It took a second, but eventually Leo took notice that it wasn’t the same sound. This time it wasn’t metal snapping, it was more like groaning. Like someone had taken two metal pipes and twisted them together. And there were footsteps— heavy, slow footsteps in uneven intervals.

“What in the world…?”

Leo squinted when a figure made itself known. It looked amost like a spider, with a massive, spiked body and five and a half legs. It seemed to have two heads each moving separately of the other, and the noises it made sounded like something under great strain or in pain. It swayed unsteadly before them and tried to take a step forward.

“Stop right there!” Leo commanded to the beast, holding his katana in its direction.

The monster seemed to understand., and it stopped.

“Leo, that’s—“

Leo shushed Donnie.

“But it’s—“

The figure tried to move toward them again and Leo flashed his sword in another threat. “I said stay back!”

“LEO!” Donnie didn't give Leo the chance to say anything, pulling up his goggles and flicking a flashlight on the creature. “Look…”

The creature— or more like creatures— flinched at the light shined in their faces. Of the six legs Leo had thought he’d seen, only two of them proved to be real, and the one creature turned out to be two. The smaller one was on the bottom, supporting a second, larger creature on his back. Leo, Raph, and Mikey all gasped and withdrew in their shock, but Donnie held steadfast and kept the light trained on the enemy.

The smaller creature was a dark green with stripes of purple streaking across him, purple armor torn and some lost all together. He only had one kneepad and both of his sock peices were soaked dark and torn. His elbow pads remained mostly untouched, and his hands were bare. Technology littered his body— goggles on his head and a tablet on his arm and a belt and shoulder straps that supported a massive shield over his back— over his shell. From the armor came four metal arms, one of them broken and the rest straining to support the immense weight on top of him.

The larger was big enough to cover his carrier almost like a blanket, hiding a majority of the small turtle beneath his massive plastron and bulking arms. He might have been a lighter shade of green— it was hard to tell in the lighting, and even then it hardly mattered. The only evidence the great beast was still living was the fact that he was moving his head around, just slightly. Thick streams of crimson bubbled forth from a gaping wound in his carapace, bleeding out and covering him in streams of shiny red that dripped down his arms and side and onto his companion. He gave the slightest groan at the light shining on him and tried to open his eyes.

“What the fuuuuu…?” Leo gaped.

The purple-clad mutant looked weakly to the four with tired, terrified eyes. “Help…”

He collapsed into the sewage.

#rise raphael #bayverse raph #bayverse leo #tmnt bayverse #bayverse donnie #bayverse mikey #rottmnt donnie #tmnt crossover