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catpriciousmarjara · 4 months

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DP x DC: Dick's Totally Normal Date?

Inspired by that one juju sanpo where Yuuji thought Megumi was being hit on and he, Nobara, and Gojo pull out their ridiculous Formation B to drive away the potential date. And I thought, 'this, but batfam, but veer wildly to the left, with DP'. So here you go.

Third floor study, Wayne Manor

"Thank you all coming on such short notice", Tim said, eyes serious, one hand on the pile of documents on the table.

His siblings nodded at him, faces grave, except for Duke who just looked confused.

"I'm sure all of you already know why this meeting was called-

"I don't actually know why we are here", Duke interrupted.

He was thoroughly ignored.

-and are just waiting for confirmation. But the wait is now over. I have here the results."

His siblings all leaned forward, except for Cass who was too chill for that, apprehension radiating through their frames. Though Duke was more confused than apprehensive.

Tim sighed. "It's true. Dick is dating."

Gasps ran through the group.

Tim dropped the bigger bomb. "And its not a redhead."

Jason cursed as he leaned back in his chair, face directed at the ceiling exasperatedly. Steph brought a fist down on the table, shaking her head. Cass simply placed an elbow on arm of her chair, chin supported by the back of her hand. Damian just scoffed.

Duke looked at all of them still trying to see what the issue was and why they were even here doing this. Tired of being out of the loop the young man decided to just go ahead and bite the bullet.

"Question!", he began,"Why is Dick dating someone a problem?"

They all stared at him.

Jason raised an eyebrow. "Dude, he dated a witch king that tried to make us all into creepy dolls just a year and a half ago. The bastard almost turned everyone in Gotham into literal hamster plushies when they broke up."

"His immediate rebound after that relationship was the alien that tried to hunt him for sport", Steph contributed helpfully.

Jason waved an arm towards her while looking Duke, as if asking him why he wasn't getting the point.

And Duke...really wasn't getting the point. In fact he seemed to be getting even more confused.

"Dick's a habitual monsterfucker, old news, so what? And it isn't as if every single one of you haven't had some kind of romantic relationship with non-humans before. Even Damian's dated Jon! Besides Heira did not turn us all into hamsters. That was a joke. Aaaand Ga-va'se is a great guy and he definitely wasn't a rebound. Also he and Dick broke up really amicably and they still meet up for boba and he gives us really cool alien shit so I don't know why you guys don't like him."

"Duke, Ga-va'se hunted us for sport", Tim said from the side.

"That was because we were in his hunting grounds! Plus he apologized for that!", Duke defended his alien buddy. The guy was really nice! What was their hang up with him? Sure he was a bit murderous but hey, Duke dared his siblings to find one person from each of their social circles who wasn't a bit murderous and insane. Sure he hunted them for the better part of five days in a terrifying alien jungle a galaxy away from home but that was honestly their fault for intruding on the hunting grounds of his people in the first place. Plus it was all a misunderstanding!

"I agree with Thomas", Damian said as he thumbed through the files Tim had distributed among them. Across from him Cass was doing the same thing, rapidly turning the pages. "Partially at least. The Yautja was a worthy candidate for Grayson's hand-

"You just like him because he got you that sword, Demon Spawn", Jason drawled in that assholish tone of his that never failed to incense Damian.

-Shut it Todd! Ahem. As I was saying Ga-va'se was worthy but Heira was an imbecile. Unfortunately there are more Heiras in Grayson's romantic history than Ga-va'ses so it would be prudent for all of us to remain vigilant", the youngest member of the Wayne family finished, closing the file decidedly. "Especially if his current choice isn't a redhead."

Duke had to ask. "Again whats up with the hair colour thing?"

Tim looked at Steph pointedly. "Officer Stephanie Brown please proceed with orientation."

A truly terrifying grin bloomed on Steph's face. She stood up from her chair and walked to the wall, pulling down a projector screen. A click of a button and it came alive, with what looked like an honest to god power-point presentation on Dick's dating life. Tim slid Duke an brochure of all things.

"Dick's choice of romantic partners can be classified into three categories", she began as if she was a lecturer. She was even wearing glasses. "Redheads, which everyone and their third aunt's weird dog knows about, morally ambiguous older men, and extremely dangerous non-humans. There are outliers of course, and overlaps, but generally he tends to keep his choices confined to these groups. Turn to page 3 please."

Duke dutifully turned to page 3, which looked like it contained profiles of the various people Dick's dated in the past. If it was any other family this would be a gross invasion of privacy.

"Exhibit A- Barbara Gordon, great taste, mostly downhill from here I'm afraid. Exhibit B-Slade Wilson aka The Terminator, no I'm not kidding, the entire thing is weird and toxic. And Exhibit C-the weird eldritch thing Dick dated two years ago who I'm pretty sure is Cthulhu's actual cousin who made us all taste colours for a week straight."

"Deathstroke?", Duke exclaimed, weirded out.

Jason raised an eyebrow. "Thats who bothered you? Not Cthulhu's cousin?"

Duke huffed. "Their name is Umh'uidrritl and I know where to draw the line."

Tim side-eyed him. "On a whiteboard with an old marker maybe."

"Hey!"

"Back to my very important power-point that no one else is going to interrupt-",Steph said as she glowered at them, "-mapping Dick's dating history shows us that the more volatile of his partners tend to cause trouble post-breakup. A deeper investigation would reveal that while his harem of redheads mainly just stir up delicious, juicy drama, hot tea and angst all around baby, bless their souls, his harem of morally ambiguous older men, and harem of extremely dangerous non-human entities tend to lean towards more destructive reactions. While the former is content with kidnapping and threatening and the assorted standard yandere meltdowns-

"Yandere?", Damian murmured.

Jason just snorted.

-the latter likes to cause damage on a larger scale". The blonde gestured with a flourish and a new slide popped up.

"Exhibit A- That time Gotham almost got gobbled up like a light snack by that space whale pet of the Ryagonian emperor. Exhibit B- That time a Fairy Queen tried to spirit Dick away and almost put the entire city into an enchanted coma, which was honestly kinda festive, I'd never been more well rested. Exhibit C- That entire thing with the tentacles that we are all better off without revisiting."

Everybody in the room blanched at that last one. Duke nodded his head at their reactions. The ink really was hard to get off of clothes.

The screen went dark and she pulled the cord at the bottom, the projector screen rolling up. The blonde turned to them with a smug and satisfied expression on her face.

"In conclusion, despite there being no biological connection between them, and the fact that romantic and sexual preferences are not genetically inherited, Dick has managed to acquire Bruce's proclivity for an interesting dating life, which we all did if we're being honest. Its just that while Bruce dates across the law, Dick dates across realms and his romantic entanglements often happen to be so above our pay grade that its ridiculous. Data has shown that redheads cause the least amount of property damage so whenever he dates non-redheads, we have to keep an eye on the tea-I mean an eye on the situation."

She sat back in her chair with a satisfied air. "Questions?"

"Yes", Tim said miserably. "Did you have to bring Bruce into this? Like ew."

"I had to, yeah!", Steph replied cheerily. "You stole my croissant alienfucker!"

"Excuse you the alien fucks me thank you very much!"

Jason almost gagged. "TMI Timbo TMI!"

Duke frantically gestured at Damian. "Damian's right here!"

The boy in question just looked supremely unimpressed. "I was raised by assassins Thomas."

"Where's Cass?", asked Steph, munching on a packet of chips she produced from somewhere.

"Left this clown fest to assist Pennyworth in drugging father so that he can actually rest."

"Ah", said the whole room. Each one individually resolving to go to Bruce's room and get blackmail pics later. Sibling solidarity at its finest.

"Back to the matter at hand", said Tim, "Dick dating a possibly dangerous entity even remotely around the time frame when the Joker turned up dead is a red flag. And that's why our secret society is meeting today."

"Okay one, you think Dick's new boyfriend offed Joker? Two, this is a secret society?", asked Duke, his earlier confusion now fully evolving into resignation.

"I already filled out your documentation."

"What?"

"Don't worry. Everything's in order."

"Thats not...you know what? Thanks Tim."

"You're welcome!"

Steph chortled at the entire exchange and almost choked on her chips. Karma.

Jason leaned back with his hands behind his head.

"You know, if this guy merked the clown, and has no evil plans or something...I'm all for him actually. Guy has my vote. If they get married I might even decide not to embarrass Dickie at the wedding", he said while Steph hacked up a lung in the background.

"Be that as it may Todd, we still need to monitor the situation. If this Daniel did have anything to do with the Joker's death, then he is a dangerous individual who could pose a threat to Grayson", remarked the young Robin, and then as an add-on, "...and Gotham."

Duke sighed. There really was no escaping this was there? "So what do we have on the guy?", he asked Tim.

"Page 4. Name-Daniel Nightingale, prefers to be called Dan. Father, Vladimir Masters. Mother, Daniella Nightingale. Sister, Danielle Nightingale. Brother and sister are apparently vacationing-

"In Gotham?!, Duke asked horrified.

-and Dan met Dick during a Halloween Party in Bludhaven-

"In Bludhaven?!", Steph asked appalled.

"Why was a supposedly vacationing wealthy European in Bludhaven for Halloween?", Jason asked with a frown.

"European?!", Damian asked scandalized.

-And they hit it right off. As of now, they have been dating for five months and the relationship looks to be going strong. While the records seem legitimate, something's off about them. Also the Joker turned up dead on Valentine's Day. So my verdict...sus."

There was a bout of thoughtful silence.

Then.

"Daniella, Daniel, and Danielle? What the fuck? What are they? Clones?" asked an incredulous Jason, aghast at the unoriginality.

Duke scrutinized the provided photos closely. "Whoa, this Master's guy's genes really stood no chance! They all really could be clones for real."

Steph whistled. "He ripped!"

They stared at her. She sipped her boba unrepentantly.

"What? I'm right! He ripped!"

She was indeed right. He was ripped.

Duke put the file down. "So what's the plan? Do we just follow him around till we find out what he is or something?"

"Okay so the next week Gotham's got a week long 'Joker is Dead' carnival planned-

"Another one?", Damian asked surprised.

"We deserve it", both Jason and Steph reply vehemently.

-and Dick said Dan's taking him to the fair every single day of the celebration. If everything goes according to plan, we can sneak our way into the organizers, stall owners, ride operators whatnot and do some tests to figure Daniel Nightingale out. And if he's normal trouble we prepare for the breakup meltdown. If he's a different sort of trouble we deal with it."

"We gotta be careful though". Steph obnoxiously slurped her boba. "Or else Dick will deal with us."

They all shuddered in fear. Dick Grayson could be a mean bitch when it came to revenge.

"We'll just have to execute it well. Thomas will be adequate for the job. The rest of you fools will just have to step up, especially you Drake", Damian said as he crossed his arms across his chest, nose up imperiously.

The two robins, red and regular, sneered at each other.

Jason 'hmpfed'. "Sounds good enough. If that's it I'm gonna go. I got shit to do". He stood up from his chair and stretched, a symphony of cracking sounds coming from his spine. "Shit I'm old."

"You're just gonna re-watch Pride and Prejudice 2005 again". Tim also stood up, even more concerning popping sounds coming from his spine.

"Damn right I am", said the crime lord as he ambled out of the room.

Steph also got out of her chair and started collecting her trash, Alfred would kill he if she didn't. "I'm all in on this plan Timtam! Clown's dead, Gotham's finally calmed down, I went to bed early...No way I'm letting some ripped Adonis mess with my peace and quiet no matter how mouthwateringly swole he is! And he is swole!" With that she also swept out of the room.

"I'll update Cass!", she shouted from the corridor.

Damian had already disappeared. This left Tim and Duke alone in the room. When Tim also made to leave, Duke finally managed to break through the disbelieving fugue this entire meeting had pulled him under.

"So where's the plan Tim?"

"Oh", said the sleep deprived vigilante, already halfway out the door, "I emailed it you already."

And then there was one.

Duke just stood there processing that last sentence for a long two minutes. He sighed.

"So this meeting could've been an email."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dick is rather adventurous in his dating life. Helen of Troy vibes.

The entire operation reveals nothing suspicious. According to all the tests known to man and bat kind, Daniel 'I prefer Dan' Nightingale is a completely normal member of the Homo sapiens species. Not even a metagene. Just generously swole.

Duke being half immortal doesn't really get his siblings' reservations against some of Dick's exes. He doesn't realize that beings like Umh'uidrritl, who was not Cthulhu's cousin but a distant relative by the way, give most people incomprehensible nightmares. He on the other hand thought that Umh'uidrritl and his pet colossal hydrothermal squid were perfectly lovely. Though he and Damian high-key root for their Yautja friend.

There is absolutely no romantic relationship between Vlad and Danny. Dan and Danielle are just little shits who just love the horrified expression that overtakes Danny's face every time he sees their IDs for vacation time. To be clear its the Vlad part that horrifies him, he rocks as Daniella. Vlad, who is reformed here, is also horrified at this. Which is why the two little shits do it. Also the DP characters are all aged up. Could be by a few years, could be by millennia. They haven't deigned to reveal that to me.

Bruce spend the entire week under Alfred's careful supervision, getting rest and relaxation. He had spa days with Clark and Diana. He slept ten hours. He felt energetic in the morning. He hummed a cheerful tune. It was disgusting. He remained blissfully unaware of his eldest son's latest romantic adventure. Good for him.

Alfred thinks Ga-va'se was a splendid young man and that Umh'uidrritl was a lovely partner. He just wishes Master Dick would stop dragging in ruffians like that ill-mannered Heira every now and then. Truly a son of Master Bruce that one. What about that wonderful demon boy from a few years ago Master Dick? Mezarel was it? Oh he was sealed away, was he? Well bat your eyelashes at that man Constantine you and Master Bruce keep around and try to get that boy back will you? Such a well mannered young devil he was!

Alfred becomes that mother-in-law that never truly accepts Dan completely, still holding out hope for Mezarel to make a comeback. I've heard harems are wonderful this time of year Master Dick. A second husband would do you some good!

Dan finds this hilarious. His family does as well. Alfred also likes Dan. They have a weird understanding.

Cass likes most of Dick's exes. Except for Heira. Everybody hates Heira. Although Duke kinda likes him but even sunshine boy has his limits.

Yes the bat-siblings are doing this only for the safety of Gotham, not to also low-key annoy their big brother at all.

Yes Dan and Dick were aware of the hi-jinks.

Yes Cass did think they should just ask Dick.

Yes Dick is aware of who and what Dan is. He met him at a supernatural Samhain gala he literally stumbled into. He just rolled with it, celebrating the end of the harvest with the decidedly non-human revelers, and not only ate the food there but also drunk flirt with Dan.

Dan said, 'You're stupid. I like that in a human' and saved him from being stolen away by some very interested entities. It was the start of a beautiful relationship. Dani sometimes calls them the 'tits and ass duo' and she's right.

Danny is just happy that Dan found someone he loves and could keep up with him. He almost felt like a proud mother at their wedding and then had an existential crisis about it.

The family does find out Dan's real identity. It was after Dick accepted his proposal and it was hilarious. Jason meets Jazz at the wedding. He thinks he got infected with Dick's redhead fetish.

Yes this is all for my Dick/Dan propaganda. I hope you're not immune.

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lilac-multifandom-multishipper · 3 months

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TWST Characters as Things People I Know Have Said

(brainrot warning, yes everyone i know is insane, no i cannot help)

Deuce (about Ace): He likes me, but he thinks I’m braindead.

Floyd: House biology, the layout, it’s the same thing. It’s where the house keeps its organs.

Azul (fondling a stack of cash): MMM. LET ME TAMPER WITH POLICE EVIDENCE. MMMMMMM.

Kalim: *starts laughing* Jamil: Cease and desist.

Cater: Ortho, play Five Nights at Freddy’s by The Living Tombstone.

Idia: *starts head banging erratically*

Ortho: Nii-san, can you explain the William Afton lore to me?

Riddle (to Ace): I can only collar you once a day, or else you’ll get more brain damage than you already have.

Floyd: I think when I grow up, I’m going to be in an asylum.

Sebek: I hope your crops go unwatered!

Silver: I…I HOPE YOUR CATS GO BARE IN THE WINTER!

Sebek: wh

Sebek: WHAT DOES THAT MEAN!??

Lilia (popping down from the ceiling with a proud smile): It means that he hopes they either lose their fur or their flesh.

Sebek: WHAT.

Lilia: I have full health and I am going to be a slay queen.

Ace (to Cater, lying through his teeth): I am not a boy-kisser! I am not a boy-kisser!

Kalim: If you light something on fire in the Queendom of Roses, will it burn?

Epel: I barked at Headmage Crowley.

Vil: Well, no one’s head fell off, so I’m calling that a success.

Azul (to Floyd): Stop twerking on my bed!

Jack (panicking): BE QUIET OR I’M GOING TO STUFF SO MUCH NUTMEG IN YOU THAT YOU PASS OUT.

Ruggie: Leona. It’s okay to be emo.

Rook: It is better to live among trash than to live among corpses.

Jamil (to Kalim): You don’t just eat lotion!

Yuu: Since FurryCon is coming up-

Ace: Jack needs to go!

Jack (with a long-suffering sigh): I’m not going to FurryCon!

Jade: I wanna crunch it!

Trey: NO WE’RE NOT CRUNCHING HANDS

Epel (with the first-years): We’re not eating grandma! They’re arguing about how grandma would taste!

Lilia: Malleus, did you know that you’re supposed to put perfume in your mouth? It makes your armpits yummy.

Jade: Floyd has been possessed by a demon for fifteen minutes.

Malleus: Floor candles are displeasing.

Ruggie: Can I be a liquid?

Leona: I don’t know. That depends, what’s your melting point?

Jack: *looks over, disturbed*

Ace: I attract women like a dead animal attracts flies.

Cater (to Idia, playfully): Did you just call me UN-POGGERS? YOU SOGGY HAMSTER!

Ortho: Trein-sensei is an uwu girl!

Ace: AHH! DO NOT SQUEEZE MY CAKE!

Trey (explaining a book): …so, he has, like, some kind of dwarfism…

Ace: *points at Riddle*

Idia: This is why the Seven wanted us to wear Crocs and socks.

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marlynnofmany · 11 months

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Racetracking

“The good news,” announced the gravelly voice of Mimi the tentacle alien, “Is that this model defaults to zero-g when it breaks.” He led the way down the corridor with tentacle slaps instead of footsteps, which managed to sound exasperated.

I had the brief thought that he was louder than Mur and Wio when he walked, possibly because he spent so much time in the engine room where everything was noisy. But I put that thought aside. I had a pretty good idea what the bad news was.

“The bad news,” Mimi grumbled, “Is that the carrying cage that these high-paying customers insisted on is so broken that I can’t fix it. Even with the right tools.”

“So we have animals in zero-g,” I said.

Mimi waved a tentacle in a way that I privately found hilarious. “We just took off! Just! It’s like they’re trying to frame us for damages!”

I looked at him in alarm. “Are we sure they’re not?”

He made a dismissive motion, still walking. “That’s what the cameras in the storage holds are for. There’s proof that no one dropped it or whatever. And I think Captain Sunlight is already talking to them about it, which is a conversation I do not envy her.”

I winced. “Yeah. Which animals? It’s just one of the carriers, right?”

“The little ones. I dunno what they’re called. They were alive when I left, but they looked pretty upset.”

That didn’t narrow it down. As the ship’s resident animal expert, I’d had a look at each of the half-dozen life support chambers that passed for carriers among the rich folks. Each of them held a different type of little furry whatsit in wild colors. Each was sealed with its own supply of air and gravity — or at least it was supposed to be.

I couldn’t hear any distressed noises yet, but when Mimi poked the button for the door, it slid open to a chorus of muffled squeaks.

The six chambers were lined up in a row, on display in the center of the room, with nothing close enough to so much as touch them. Five held animals calmly nosing around the bottom.

One held a whirling tornado of blue fur.

I dashed over to peer through the glass, hands dancing uncertainly. I shouldn’t touch it, shouldn’t open it. But—!

…But.

I looked closer. “They’re running.” I dropped my hands and stared.

Mimi plopped down next to me. “Is that bad?”

“No, it’s just — Look at them! They’re doing this on purpose!” I started to smile as I realized why the squeaks sounded familiar. “They’ve made their own hamster wheel.”

“A what now?” Mimi wanted to know.

I gestured vaguely. “It’s an exercise thing for animals like this where I’m from. A wheel that they run inside of, and it keeps spinning. These guys—” I pointed at the chamber. “—Have created their own.”

“Uh-HUH.” Mimi tilted his head to watch the antics, which were slowing down as they noticed us. “That is a strange reaction to zero-gravity.”

“I’ve heard of mice that did that, actually,” I said as a memory surfaced. “It took them a while to make a game of it. I wonder if this isn’t the first time the carrier’s gravity has gone screwy.”

Mimi held a curl of tentacle thoughtfully to his face. “That is an interesting data point. The captain will want to know.” He lowered it. “And if you’re sure these things aren’t about to die of organ explosion or whatever, then we should go tell her.”

The blue furry things — which did honestly look a lot like mice — had settled down to some more even-tempered bumping around in there. None were limping as far as I could tell, and none had been knocked unconscious or worse.

“I think they’re okay,” I said, looking closely. “The food dispenser is closed, thankfully, so there aren’t any pellets or globs of water floating about. They just got a bit of excitement.”

Mimi levered himself off the floor. “They’re not the only ones,” he grumbled. “Annoying little meatsticks must be in cahoots with the rich jerks, trying to make our lives harder. Why would they even do that?”

I gave the chamber one last look, then stood and followed him toward the door. “I dunno, it looks like fun. Probably a lot of animals would enjoy that if they knew it was an option.”

Mimi stared at me with one large eye. “Animals from your planet.”

“Well, yeah. Probably others too.”

He made a wet-sounding snort of skepticism and led the way into the hall.

I followed, smiling. “Come on, it looks like fun. I was just thinking it would be neat to try in a zero-g room, though flat walls wouldn’t be as good as curved ones.”

“Your planet’s full of weirdos. You know that, right?”

“Oh, it’s been said before.”

~~~

Thanks to this post for inspiration! It was too good an idea to pass up.

Anyways, this is the ongoing backstory adventures of the main character from this book. But you probably already knew that.

#toldja I'd find a way to use it in a story #short one today #posted early #gonna be traveling during my usual posting time #my writing #the Token Human #humans are weird #humans are space orcs #haso #hfy #eiad #zero-g #animals #in spaaace #science fiction #short stories #zero-gravity hamster wheels

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cherr-22 · 5 months

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TNGDH 30

“Cashew. Stay still for a moment.”

The time has come.

My sluggish body which had been lazily lying on top of the sawdust to enjoy the warm light of the electric lamp was helplessly lifted by Kyle’s rough hands.

He picked me up more carefully than usual and took my measurements with a tape measure he got from who-knows-where.

―Squeak. (Sigh.)

I stretched out my arms and watched Kyle work with full concentration. His hands and arms were wrapped in bandages and yet on his day off, he was doing this instead of resting.

Just rest. Stay lying down on your bed.

I burrowed myself among the yarn and, with a sour expression on my face, read the book Kyle laid out, <Try making one yourself! 79 styles of hamster clothes>.

Well, I read it and closed my eyes shut in cringe.

The outfit Kyle chose to make was a pink cape with a large strawberry embroidered on the back. I turned my head to try to pretend I didn’t see it.

I knew it. I shouldn’t have given him this book. At the very least, I should’ve looked over it before giving it to him.

At that time, I was fooled by the viral marketing of the system that said [You can keep fluffy hamster clothes in your inventory and use them at your disposal!].

[d=====(￣▽￣*)b]

Why are you so happy.

I huffed and kicked towards the system window. Kyle must’ve thought I was fighting with the air, so he stopped for a moment and gently stroked my body.

“Wait a bit even if you’re bored. I’ll finish this up quickly.”

And then I was given an almond.

With a sigh, I laid down on my side and watched Kyle while nibbling on the almond.

‘Well. It’s already happened, so what can I do anyways.’

When I asked the system, it said that if I used ‘Summon’ to turn into a human, the clothes would also grow bigger to suit me. Anyways, isn’t it better to wear at least a cloak than to be naked when you’re in a hurry?

The problem was Kyle’s crafting abilities.

‘……Is that really clothes? Not something else?’

I scrunched my face as I watched him make what looked like a dish scrub. The dishes would become so clean if I used that. Anyways, it meant that I couldn’t wear that.

Then, a knock and the voice of a knight came from outside the door.

“Pardon my intrusion.”

“No. Don’t come in.”

Kyle raised his voice as his fingers slipped. The large door slightly opened a crack before closing again.

“……Are you busy at the moment?”

“Coming into the study is prohibited unless someone has died. Do not come to me for trivial reasons!”

Kyle’s voice was firm.

‘Why are you talking like that? You’re just knitting hamster clothes.’

Even if it’s you, I bet you don’t want your subordinates to see this, huh…….

The knight outside raised his voice sharply and shouted, “Yes sir!” before walking away.

With that, it should be silent without anyone else’s disturbance for a while. The poor knight would tell everyone in the castle to not go into the study even if they’re dying.

I scratched my stomach and checked the system window. Kyle continued to concentrate on knitting.

[Currently Possessing Hearts ｜ ❤×14]

Your skills are atrocious but as long as you are enjoying it…

‘Your happiness will soon be my happiness, I suppose.’

As the ball of yarn grew smaller and smaller, the number of Hearts increased. I buried myself into the pile of yarn and fell asleep due to the warmth.

The system window flashed in my blurred vision.

[Kyle Jane Meinhardt. Approximately 50 days left from the expected time of death.]

I jumped when I saw the previous 15 days increased by over a month. I stared at it blankly and then slowly closed my eyes again.

50 days isn’t long either, but at least we would get through this winter. Long enough to see the spring in this desolate North together with him.

When I woke up, I was in the hamster house.

I yawned lazily while stroking my pressed cheeks from lying down on it for too long. I checked my body.

‘Whew…….’

Luckily, he didn’t make me wear anything while I was asleep.

It seemed he finished making the clothes before I fell asleep, but didn’t make me wear it due to its poor quality. I patted my chest in relief and sat on the swing.

‘The problem is the Miracle Points…….’

I opened the system window and checked the amount of points I had.

[Current Miracle Value 19.0%]

‘I sure used a lot.’

I sighed.

With this, ‘Summon’ was only an hour long. It would have to be at least two hours for me to use it comfortably…… just how exactly did I go around with 30 minutes in the past? I’m like a frog who can’t imagine what it was like to not be able to hop around on land when it was just a tadpole……

[=3 =3 =3]

I know. I know. I just ran around back then.

The first time I stole Kyle’s shirt and the second time I wore a maid outfit. Nobody knew about the shirt, but even Kyle found out that I stole a maid outfit. And to mistakingly make myself known as a pet pervert……

―…….

I let out a single tear drop as I turned my head up towards the ceiling.

Thinking back, wasn’t the dish scrub Kyle made actually luxurious piece of clothing personally made by the Grand Duke? Even if I wouldn’t know which hole to fit my arms through. Even if the neck was so tight I could barely breathe.

……Never mind. It’s not okay.

I shook my head to chase away the random thoughts. That’s not what was important now.

―Squeak! (My Miracle Points!)

That’s the problem!

[＼（〇_ｏ）／]

I ignored the surprised system and got off the swing. Then I paced around the hamster house to think.

In the first place, saving a person’s life wasn’t the only miracle that existed in this world.

I was too focused on increasing Kyle’s lifespan that I didn’t notice. The number went up when I made the relationship between him and Sen closer.

In other words, the points would go up if the future changes for the better.

If death was the fate of all living beings, then the least we could do is to choose to live a better life.

I hugged a doll Kyle gave me and laid down together with it.

[_(:з)∠)_]

No matter how much I think about it, I wouldn’t be able to come to a conclusion.

It was during times like this that we must resort to magic.

### Not actual magic, but a chant to avoid responsibilities

I’ll leave tomorrow’s problems to tomorrow’s me.

Even if there were no solutions now, if you continue to push forward and live on, things would always work out some way or another. People who failed to do so would fall, just like the people of this land.

In <Winter’s Heart>, the Blake estate slowly went into decline after losing Kyle.

The surviving demonic beasts caused the people to leave the estate in fear and the supply routes cut off, making it a land near impossible to live in.

What was it? There was a description said by the people who left the Blake estate in the second half of the novel. It was…….

[An abandoned castle haunted by frost ghosts. That was what people called the frozen castle.]

That’s right. A castle haunted by ghosts.

I raised my head and took a look around the warm interior. I could feel the sincerity of the people who cared for this castle everywhere I looked.

Now that I think of it, even Sen and her colleagues seemed to enjoy working at the castle. Kyle was not an overpowering monarch, but rather, someone who was like family. Kyle, the maids, the knights, and all the other workers of this castle.

That was why I was more concerned. If I failed to save Kyle, what would happen to all these people?

“Sigh…….”

I scratched the back of my head and walked along the corridor.

I wondered if I grew attached to this place after spending time here. I wished for the people here to not only rely on Kyle, but to also find a way to survive the winters even without Kyle.

That way, even if the central pillar collapsed, the rest of the pillars would not collapse. Of course, I planned to save Kyle at all costs too.

“Whew. Catching this took a long time.”

“It’s difficult to catch a flying demonic beast.”

As I walked down the hallway, I came face-to-face with soldiers holding bird-like beasts in their hands.

“Oh! It’s the demonic beast specialist! Are you feeling alright?”

“Huh? Oh yes, yes! I’m alright. I’m feeling better than ever, in fact.”

“I’ve heard you returned but…… wow, to actually survive the fall from a cliff like that is incredible.”

I was confused for a moment since I couldn’t recognize them due to the dust covering all over them. Having a closer look, I saw that they were one of the new knights who had gone on the reconnaissance.

“Are you returning from somewhere?”

“We came back from hunting demonic beasts. They weren’t particularly dangerous, but they were still a bother to the village…….”

One of the knights held up the beast in their hands for me to see. A plump body with white feathers..

‘Hmm.’

So, it’s a duck.

No matter how I look at it…… it’s a duck.

They say it’s a demonic beast, but to me it was just a plump duck.

Wait. ……ducks?

“Wait, hold on. What do you plan to do with that?”

“Umm…… I suppose we would just bake or fry it and then eat it?”

Bake? Fry? Not boiling it to warm yourself up with a nice hot soup?

Now that they mentioned it, everything here was either baked or fried. They were delicious, but at the same time they were too oily. In the Blake estate where the temperature was low all year round, won’t soup dishes be a better choice? Were there no soup recipes here?

“Please give that to me. I will cook it for you.”

“……Yes?”

I guided the two dirty knights to the kitchen and rolled up my sleeves after receiving permission to use the kitchen from the maids.

I had a whole 7 years of experience living alone. I could easily make some baeksuk in an instant.

### Korean dish where a whole chicken seasoned with rice and medicinal herbs (in this case a duck) is braised

I took a knife and cut off the duck’s neck. Then, I prepped everything I needed to be able to put the duck into a boiling pot of water.

For your information, I learned this at a part-time job. He was a trash boss who refused to even pay me the minimum hourly wage, but I still learned a lot from him. Especially on how to report non-payment of hourly wages to the Labor Office.

“Should I throw this away……?”

I was inserting rice into the duck’s stomach when the knight next to me held up a pile of feathers that he helped pluck.

“No, how could you throw away such precious duck feathers! Do the Northerners not get cold at all? We must make clothes out of them!”

Since ancient times, the best parka has always been duck down parkas.

I carefully took care of the basket full of duck feathers. I took them to the maids and tried my best to explain to them using both words and body language. Collect this amount of feathers and quilt it to make the clothes warmer to wear.

Indeed, the maids have been taking care of the Blake estate for a long time. They quickly realized my intentions and gathered in groups of twos or threes before they started sewing excitedly.

All my hardships in my past life were becoming helpful in one way or another, huh.

While I looked at the scene with pride, the knights shouted that the water was boiling. I quickly returned to the kitchen.

It almost felt like a holiday due to how crowded it was, making me feel strangely ticklish and warm inside.

--------------------------------------------------------

Previous Chapter / Next Chapter

#tngdh

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numbraerys · 1 year

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Optimus Prime x Megatron fic recs!!

Homesick For A Memory by Eisengrave, Maelikki - [M, 9k w., Bay Movies]

Even Primes can lose their faith. But sometimes, their failed Protectors make good on their word given long ago.

(weird little fixit for AoE because we stan a protective Megatron and an Optimus who is finally tired of his human hamsters. Also, homecoming.)

~ugly crying, screaming on my pillow, rolling around on the floor

The Silver Lining by GeminiWishes - [Teen and up, 38k w., Transformers Animated 2007]:

After Optimus was expelled from the Autobot Academy, he had no sense of what to do or where to go. Desperate for purpose, he ends up on a mining crew that travels the galaxy. But when their ship is attacked, Optimus' life will change forever.

Whether or not he'll be able to handle those changes is yet to be determined.

~I ran around my room on all fours reading this

Some Kind Of Forever by auri_mynonys (FAVE) - [E, 8625 w., TFP]:

A chance meeting in a bar near the Pits brings Orion Pax and Megatronus together.

~I freaking love this fic, I'm so glad it was one of the first I ever read

Adeste Fideles by Legitconcrusher (FAVE) [Teen and up, TFP, 57,632+ w, ongoing]:

“Oh, indulge me, Optimus. How many times have you answered your desire’s calls to walk among these pitiful creatures…in the flesh?”

In which Optimus shares with his greatest foe, and former friend - Megatron, the one time a year he allows himself to feel amid the throes of their War within a Christmas market.

The angsty slow burn Christmas AU no one asked for.

~absolutely wonderful to read and incredible writing♡♡♡♡

Gaining Perspective by Dragonlingdar [Teen and up, BayVerse, 105,732 w., Ongoing]:

Megatron and Optimus are turned into humans by a prototype weapon Starscream uses against them. In order for Megatron to get his revenge and Optimus to free himself of Megatron, they must reclaim their original bodies. However, will they still be Optimus Prime and Megatron by the time they do?

~I hyperfixated on this fic for a whole month after finishing it

Contact by auri_mynonys (FAVE) [E, 98,747 w., TFP]:

Orion Pax knows there's a word for what Megatronus means to him. He just can't quite put his finger on what it is.

Which is probably how he missed the moment where he asked Megatronus to marry him.

~Slow Burn♡♡♡♡♡

Plus One by auri_mynonys [E, 64631 w., TFP]:

Megatronus has a party to attend. A high-caste date will lend him status in the eyes of his fellow gladiators, and Orion Pax is all too happy to play the part...

~this fic was infuriating to read, I loved every second of it

Songs Of Metal And Sparks by EbonyAura [Teen and up, 58,741 w., Rock n' Roll AU, TFP]:

Imagine the Transformers Prime universe where war is nonexistent, and instead of the Autobot and Decepticon factions, it's the Autobot and Decepticon rock bands.

Imagine that both bands are nearly world famous, yet have no idea the other exists.

Imagine that Cybertron's festival of music is approaching, and with it, the chance for a lucky upcoming band to go on a world tour.

Imagine that both bands, ecstatic for the chance to finally reach world fame, are going to the festival.

~this cured my teenage heart that didn't get to read nice cute stuff like this

Optimus Prime Is Destined To Die!! by Chuzillla [G, 86,146 w, ongoing]:

Orion Pax is your typical archivist from a functionalist free universe and lives a peaceful life, but after dying tragically in a transport incident he’s reincarnated as Optimus Prime of the hit action novel Songs of the Spark, the beautiful but aloof eldest prince of the Prime lineage...who is a pathetic side character doomed to die a tragic death at the hands of the tyrannical Duke Megatron.

Of course his darling little brother Rodimus Prime is the precious hero and puts an end to Megatron’s reign, but Orion has no intention of dying a pathetic death! No! Not again! He wants to live damnit! So begins the attempts of a pax-turned-prime turning over a new leaf in the hope of living another day. Little does he know there’s a bit more to Optimus than a pathetic side character…

~I love this fic so. damn. much.

Lunch Date by Chuzilla [Teen and up, 6,000+ w, Earthspark, crack]:

With a new cafe opening at G.H.O.S.T headquarters, Optimus invites Megatron to try something new.

~fluffy and funny♡♡♡

At First Sight by Lyricality (FAVE) [M, 27,000+ w.]:

Optimus is the last of the Primes; Megatron is the greatest of Kaon's gladiatorial warriors. Their shared destiny - Optimus is certain - just needs a push in the correct direction.

~help I got obsessed with this fic and I can't get out

To give (in) by 0 (only_elsewhere) [FAVE][M, 10,000+ w, Earthspark]:

After the war, Optimus confesses.

~aaashhksdkkklkosljdhjh

Victory Condition by astolat [E, 37,000+ w, TF Gen1]

“Do you want me to tell you a story?” Megatron said mockingly. “You won’t like it, Prime. It’s not a very nice one.”

~cave in fic with poetry and the heart wrenching story of Megatron's origins - my beloved

Cooking Off by zuzeca [E, 2000 w., IDW G1]:

Megatron and Optimus find themselves in an awkward position and learn some extremely personal information about each other.

~ Good reading ;)

#megaop #fic recs #transformers #Optimus prime x Megatron #megatron x optimus prime #Transformers fic recs #megop #I'm always adding new fics i find

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mirisss · 1 year

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Fangs, Claws, and Kisses

Genre: Hybrid au, college/university au,

Tiger Hoshi x Hamster reader

Wordcount ≈ 3.2k

Warning: reader gets bullied, Hoshi being very protective, Hoshi sort of threatening someone (they deserve it though), it’s implied that Hoshi, among some of the others, has been in fights, please let me know if I should add anything else

Please reblog!

Third person POV

Kwon Soonyoung, aka, Hosh, is one of the most popular people at Pledis University. He’s well known for his great dance skills, his energy, his looks, and also… for being relentless against anyone who is mean toward anyone he cares about. Hoshi is a tiger hybrid, a big cat with sharp claws. As long as you stay on his good side, he’s just as cuddly as a teddy-bear but make one wrong move and it’s the last thing you do. Hoshi can be very territorial, especially toward his beloved girlfriend, (Y/n). A cute hamster hybrid. (Y/n) is quite small in stature, timid too, very smart, and to bullies, an easy target. How these two began dating? Well, let’s just say that Hoshi saw (Y/n) one day and he fell in love. He then spent 4 months becoming friends with her and then finally asking her out, to which she said yes as she too had fallen in love with the tiger.

(Y/n) was often scared of walking around the hallways of the university on her own, afraid that one of her bullies would do something to her. The only time she truly felt safe was when she was enveloped in the warm embrace of her boyfriend, with him nothing bad could happen. At least, that’s how she felt. Usually, she would tell Soonyoung about anyone who bothered her and he would talk with them, after that they wouldn’t bother her again. But with these bullies, (Y/n) didn’t dare tell him. When it was just one person, it was fine to let Hoshi take care of it but now we’re talking about more than 10. (Y/n) didn’t want him to get hurt so she thought it would be better to keep it secret. Which went quite well for about 2 months. Hoshi didn’t notice (Y/n) being a bit more skittish around campus as when she was with him, she was calm. The tiger is her safe space. The problem was, as previously mentioned when she was alone. For two months, as soon as she was alone - which she mostly was unless she was hanging out with her boyfriend, sometimes one of his friends would go with her if their classes were close to each other - her bullies would crowd around her, saying mean things about until she was crying. But that was fine. As long as Hoshi didn’t find out. But now, after two months of mental torture, the bullies were bored so they found new ways to entertain themselves. They began throwing things at (Y/n), which then turned into pushes, punches, and kicking. This is when (Y/n) could no longer hide the torment from her boyfriend.

Hoshi and three of his friends were in their designated dance room deciding on what song they would use for their new assignment. The four boys always teamed up whenever they could. Being best friends and knowing each other’s dance skills to a T really helped them and made it easy for them to work efficiently. (Y/n) was supposed to join them in the dance room at 3 pm to watch them work and then go home with Hoshi at 5 pm. Hoshi kept looking at the clock, becoming more and more worried as the clock hit 3, then it became 3.15, to 3.30, and still no (Y/n). Not a single person had even been close to the door, Soonyoung had strained his ears trying to hear his beloved hamster girlfriend’s footsteps, but to no avail.

“Hyung, if you’re so worried why don’t you try calling her?” “I don’t want to pressure her, what if she’s just talking to a friend or something? And I call her, worried, she already deals with my possessive self enough, she doesn’t need me acting paranoid too,” The young lion, aka Chan, tried to help Hoshi to calm down but it didn’t help so he looked over to the panther and the leopard for help. Jun walked over, his black ears twitching noticeably in his blonde hair, his tail swishing behind him. “Soon, breathe, if (Y/n) hasn’t shown up nor contacted you before 4, we’ll all go and look for her. Okay?” “Okay, 30 more minutes… I can wait for 30 minutes,” And so the four boys got back in formation and began going over the few steps they had already decided on. 5 minutes later, the door to the practice room was opened and the small hamster hybrid stepped inside. All four boys could smell the fear and distress on her. Hoshi ran up to (Y/n) and looked down at her, full of worry. “Baby, what’s happened? What’s wrong?” (Y/n) tried to hold the tears at bay, but her attempts were futile, the second Hoshi’s hands touched her shoulders she broke down. Her tears streamed down her face like rivers, her whole body shivering. “It’s, it’s nothing,” Soonyoung enveloped (Y/n) in a tight hug, partly to comfort her and partly to see if he could find any scents on her that could help him figure out what had happened. Soonyoung found 2 scents that he recognized, but what really made his blood boil, was the bruises that littered (Y/n)’s back. He knew for a fact that she didn’t have them this morning, as he may or may not have spent the entire night with her - naked - so the bruises were new. Hoshi couldn’t help the angry growl that rumbled in his chest. “What happened? Don’t lie to me, please (Y/n),” Soonyoung lightly pulled (Y/n) with him to the center of the room and sat down on the floor with her, still keeping her close to give her comfort. “Do you want us to leave?” Minghao asked in a soft voice, not wanting to make it worse for the crying girl. Hoshi carefully looked at (Y/n) waiting to see what she decided, to which he found her giving a tiny shake of her head. “No, she wants you to stay,” “Okay, we’ll stay, but if you want us to leave we will be gone in a second,” Hoshi looked back at his girlfriend after giving his friends a thankful smile. “Baby, please. I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s happened” “I didn’t want to worry you, so I didn’t say anything, but it just kept getting worse,” “What did?” “They, at first it was just words, and it was fine, but then they began throwing things at me and now they’re pushing, punching, and kicking me,” Hoshi let out a loud growl, but he wasn’t alone, the other three boys also growled, they all felt protective of their friend’s girlfriend. She was their friend too after all, so why wouldn’t they? “Who?” Hoshi’s voice was rough, laced with anger that anyone would dare to do these things to his beloved girlfriend. (Y/n) named all the names she could remember at the spot, there were more that she couldn’t remember at the moment but it was enough for Hoshi to at least go after these people for now. He’ll take the others later. “You can always tell me these things, (Y/n), you know I love protecting you. It makes me happy when you rely on me. I just want you to be happy and safe,” “But, they’re so many of them. I don’t want you to get hurt,” Soonyoung’s heart skipped a beat at the look in (Y/n)’s eyes, so full of love and worry for him. “Honey, I’m not stupid. I wouldn’t confront them on my own if I knew there were gonna be too many of them. Besides, I know that all the boys would come with me if I even mentioned that someone had dared look at you the wrong way, not to mention actually hurt you.” “He’s right you know, no one messes with our pack, and you’re a part of it,” Dino said as he came closer to the pair on the floor. Dino was probably the one that (Y/n) felt closest to after Hoshi, she had spent a lot of time with the maknae and he was very considerate of her, all of them were, but Dino just made her feel safe in a similar way to Hoshi. “What if any of you get hurt?” Jun and Minghao walked over too, deciding that it was okay to do so by the shift of Hoshi’s aura becoming a little more relaxed as (Y/n)’s crying slowed down. “You don’t have to worry about us, we’re big boys, besides, compared to us, the people you mentioned aren’t nearly as agile, smart, or strong. I’d bet that if Seungcheol-hyung even looked at them they’d run away in fear. I think, one of them actually kneeled in fear of Jihoon last week because he glared at them for being loud in the cafeteria,” Jun spoke in a playful and cocky, yet reassuring tone. “You don’t have to worry about us, you should worry about what mr. Tiger here is going to do to them, I think we might need a medic on standby,” Minghao said in a teasing tone as he nudged Soonyoung’s shoulder, which earned him a low growl. (Y/n) looked around at the four big cat hybrids who were trying to make her feel better. Never once, had she been scared of them even though it was literally in her instincts to be. “Thank you,” Soonyoung wiped the half-dried tears away from her face as she had now stopped crying, feeling safe in her boyfriend’s arms and the presence of their friends.

“Come on, we’re going home to take care of these bruises. And then I’m calling the others so we can prepare a meeting with these scumbags tomorrow,” Hoshi’s tail kept swishing angrily behind him, truthfully he wanted to storm over to the group of bullies immediately but he held himself back, (Y/n) was more important right now. “I’m sorry I disrupted your practice time,” “Don’t worry about that, we weren’t doing much anyway. You’re more important anyway,” (Y/n) stood up, feeling a little shaky from everything that had happened, her body was sore from the beating, and she was exhausted from crying and panicking. “I got you, darling. Don’t worry. You can lean on me,” Soonyoung said as he carefully laid his arm around her waist to give her support and comfort.

The next morning, (Y/n) was told that Seungkwan was on his way over to walk her to school as Hoshi needed to leave early but he didn’t want her going with him or alone. (Y/n) knew, that Hoshi didn’t want her going with him because he and the other boys were going to have a talk with her bullies and he didn’t want her to see that. 30 minutes later, a knock was heard and (Y/n) opened to door to be met with a smiling red panda, also known as Boo Seungkwan. “Good morning, (Y/n). How are you this fine morning?” “My back is still hurting from yesterday, that’s where they landed the most kicks and punches, but it’s not as bad as I thought it would be. Other than that, I’m fine, how are you?” “I’m good, do you want to stop by and get a coffee on the way? We’re not in a hurry or anything,” “Yeah I’d like that,” “Let’s go! I’ll text DK to tell him to meet us there” Seungkwan and DK were two of the few none predators in the group so (Y/n) naturally felt a connection to them, mostly though it was because of their kind and easy-going personalities.

* At the college campus *

Hoshi, Seungcheol, Jihoon, Wonwoo, Mingyu, Vernon, Dino, Jun, Jeonghan, Joshua, and Minghao were the 11 chosen to handle this confrontation. Joshua, Wonwoo, and Minghao were mainly there to be mediators, they are the best at staying level headed in these situations whilst most of the others prefer to act first and think second. Those three could definitely fight if they needed to, but they preferred a more civil way of solving problems when possible. The group moved almost as one as they stalked toward the group sitting around a table in the backyard of the college. Anyone who saw them quickly moved out of their way and hoped the group wasn’t heading for them as their auras screamed authority and anger. As Hoshi and Seungcheol, who had been leading the group, came to a stop in front of the bullies they both cleared their throats to announce their presence - though the bullies had already heard them and seen them. The leader of their group, Hanbin, turned around and tried to sound confident as he faced the tiger and the wolf. “What?” Hoshi growled at him, showing off his fangs, Cheol did the same thing before he nudged Hoshi’s arm. “I heard that you’ve been bullying (Y/n), I’m giving you one chance to admit it right now, if you do that and then apologize to her and then promise to leave her alone, I’ll forget about it. But if you don’t,” Hoshi paused before he once again showed off his fangs, and his sharp claws, before also looking to his sides where 10 0f his friends stood all glaring at Hanbin and his group. “Well, I don’t think you want to know what would happen then,” Hoshi finished by giving him a smile so fake even a blind person could have seen it. Hanbin wanted to seem like he wasn’t scared, but anyone could tell that he was literally shaking in fear. It was natural really, Hanbin was a domestic dog breed and he was facing a wolf hybrid with a very strong alpha aura, a furious tiger hybrid, and 9 other scary guys who could easily take on anyone in his own group without breaking a sweat. “I’m sorry. I promise I’ll apologize. Please, just don’t hurt us,” Hanbin got down on his knees begging for forgiveness. “Call, DK, and Boo, and tell them it’s safe to bring her to campus now,” Seungcheol instructed as he still glared at Hanbin. Joshua called up the pair who was supposed to keep (Y/n) occupied and away from campus in case the meeting took a turn for the worse.

* At the café *

“(Y/n), (Y/n), how about we go shopping tomorrow? I saw a really pretty dress the other day that I think would look super good on you for the ball,” Just as (Y/n) was about to answer DK, Seungkwan’s phone rang on the table, the ID showing it was Joshua. “Hey Shua-hyung, mm okay. Alright, yes, the backyard. Yes, mm. We’re coming, bye-bye,” Dokyeom and (Y/n) looked at Seungkwan with curious eyes, “The meeting is over, they want us to come to the backyard of campus so that those idiots can apologize to you,” (Y/n) nodded. Even though she didn’t really want to meet them she knew that this was part of their punishment from Hoshi. So the trio got up from their table and began walking to campus, it wasn’t too far. They would be there in 5 minutes. “Did Joshua say anything about whether or not they actually got in a fight?” “No, but he seemed calm so I don’t think they had to fight,” “That’s good then,” As the trio came closer to their group of friends they all saw the group who had been bullying (Y/n) kneeling on the ground in front of their friends with embarrassed looks on their faces. “Baby!” Hoshi turned around as soon as he heard the trio’s footsteps and ran up to them to envelop his girlfriend in a hug and peppered her face with kisses. No, Hoshi was not scared of showing affection in public - he’s territorial, and he actually loves doing it. “There are some people here who have something to say to you,” Hoshi walked toward the kneeling group with (Y/n) as he kept an arm around her waist. As they stopped right in front of Hanbin, Hoshi once again cleared his throat to signal Hanbin to start his apology. “I’m so sorry (Y/n). I’ve behaved like an idiot, and I’m so sorry for everything I have said and done to you. I don’t even deserve to breathe the same air as you, that’s how insignificant I am because of what I have done. I promise to become a better person and I will never ever bother you again,” Hanbin spoke with a waver in his voice, not because he didn’t mean what he said, but because he was afraid it wouldn’t be enough for Hoshi to let him go. “Thank you for apologizing. I’m glad you’re going to stop bullying me, and anyone else, but I won’t forgive you. What you did to me wasn’t okay, I’m glad you realise it too but I can’t just forgive you. Because you’re only apologizing out of fear for my boyfriend and our friends, not because you realized that your actions were wrong on your own. Because of that, I can’t forgive you,” Hoshi was proud of (Y/n) for speaking so confidently and expressing her own anger with the hybrid who had bullied her. Never before had she been this sure or confident in front of someone who wasn’t Hoshi. Having him and the other 12 boys with her made her feel safe enough to actually speak her mind. Cheol looked over at Hoshi with a questioning look to which Hoshi answered with a nod. “Now scatter. If I hear about any of you saying or doing anything malicious to anyone ever again, I’ll come for you,” Seungcheol growled out a threatening warning to the group to which they all cowered away, and as soon as they stood up they ran away.

“There, now you don’t have to worry about them anymore. Also, (Y/n), darling, I know I might seem annoying for this but please don’t go anywhere on your own anymore. My heart can’t take any more worrying about you. It doesn’t have to be me but just bring at least one of us with you, please. I don’t want you to get hurt,” “Alright if it makes you feel better. It actually makes me feel safer too,” Soonyoung gently put one of his hands on one of (Y/n)’s cheeks before leaning in and giving her a loving kiss. “I love you,” “I love you too,” “Horanghae,” (Y/n) just giggled at her boyfriend as he made a cute face and pose to go with his personalized I love you.

Please reblog! Also, requests are open!

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qiutls · 10 months

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TNGDH 008

I climbed on Sen's palm and looked around.

Since Kyle is busy searching with his eyes wide open, this girl should head straight over to his study. Earlier, I couldn't take a good look on the way here because I was in a hurry to run away, so I should take this chance to learn.

That way tomorrow, I can use "Summon" at the storage room and wear Kyle's clothes that I hid, then I can go to the opposite room from the study.

The point is that I can only specify the location for "Summon" to be within 10m radius. Of course, I have to get more clothes. It's so damn cold, it isn't called the North for a reason.

"Sen, where are you going?"

A maid who was moving a laundry basket called Sen. The place I was hiding in, seemed to be where the servants do the laundry.

"I found it!"

Sen lifted me up proudly, and I carefully held onto her palm with my body in case I slip. Hey, don't raise me up so high, I can't see anything.

"I guess it wasn't that shy. It even seemed nice. It's so cute looking around trying to find the way back."

After hearing that, the maids gathered around her and said, 'I envy you,' 'It must be cute,' 'I want to raise one too,' and etcetera. If you wrote their words and arranged them in one line, it seemed like it would even reach Busan.

I burrowed my face in Sen's palm feeling ashamed.

'... Was I too obvious while looking around?'

I'll get weary if I'm too self-conscious.

"Can you take me with you?"

A maid who seemed to be close with Sen approached me with her eyes shining. How dare you put your spoon into someone else's bowl. No, hmph. Is this decision up to Serena?

― Squeak [ Get lost! ]

She was visibly embarrassed when I started squeaking and stretching out of Sen's palm.

"Ack! What's wrong with it? Wasn't it very quiet just a while ago..."

― Squeak! Squeak! [ You foolish human! You want to share the merit, how greedy! ]

Were you fated to be Serena, the best woman in the empire? Of course, I must've messed up that fate but anyways... Why do you need Kyle's favorable impression!

Right then, a low voice rang behind us.

"Cashew Nut."

"G-grand Duke!"

This ghostlike bastard. He found me so easily.

Kyle's eyes which were tinted with red turned to look at me, then he frowned slightly... That action made everyone feel more intimidated. Seriously, his looks are enough to win a battle.

Hey! Why won't you smile. Didn't you find me already. I don't even have a single scratch on my body. Don't make the atmosphere too heavy, don't you feel sorry for these maids.

Speaking of them, among all the maids, only Sen wasn't shaking with fear, and even turned towards Kyle.

"Your Highness, I've found the beast as you've commanded."

Kyle tried to reach out to me but stopped when he saw me sitting comfortably on Sen's hand.

"... I guess it's comfortable staying with you."

"That, Your Highness..."

"Will you come to my study with me?"

Sen looked down at me for a moment, stroked my back with her thumb and nodded. The other maids have went back to their original positions and could only glance.

After arriving at the study, Kyle tried to put me inside the hamster house.

Of course, I tried my best to resist. You said we would sleep together today! How can you give me freedom then take it away like this, you cheating bastard!

Sadly, Kyle seemed to have misunderstood my actions.

"It seems like it really likes you."

"I guess it does, Your Highness."

Sen smiled slightly, with a hint of embarrassment and happiness. However, she still put me firmly inside the hamster house.

"You have to go in. It's bad to leave the house so recklessly. You made His Highness worried."

But, I'll be back after 30 minutes anyways. I was just taking a quick walk.

"I'll make it up to you."

Kyle said after closing the ceiling of the hamster house. Sen only stared at him, so he added.

"I thought it would be hard to find. I had that hunch after the magicians said they couldn't track its mana. But thanks to you, I was able to easily find Cashew Nut..."

"....."

"Tell me what you want. I swear on the name the Grand Duke of Blake, I will grant you anything you wish."

Sen's eyes turned to me, who was leaning on the wheel. She seemed to be troubled.

Her eyes were filled with both longing and resignation then it turned to melancholy for a moment, but it quickly snapped back to her usual look.

"It's alright, Your Highness, there's no need."

Sen replied in a firm voice.

"What I wish for is something Your Highness cannot grant, so I'll handle it myself. Please just know that I have done my best, and if there comes to be a day in this castle where I face injustice, I just hope that Your Highness is willing to lend a hand."

"Interesting."

Kyle leaned back onto the sofa and spoke slowly.

"Is there a wish that cannot be granted within this territory of mine?"

Hey, don't fight with a maid and her wish. I mumbled while washing my dirty paws in the water bowl.

'... By the way, what could Sen's wish be?'

To marry Belial? Anyway, I don't remember what the ending of the story was but I remember these two were in love with each other. And isn't it a common ending for novels for the leads to live happily ever after. This ending is basically a national rule.

But... It's impossible to fall in love with Belial here in the north, which is a long way from the Imperial City, maybe her wish is to raise her status?

Then a system window popped up.

[ Revenge. ]

'Revenge?'

Sen's wish is revenge?

[ Serena's only wish is revenge. ]

Not Sen, but Serena's.

The system was still calling her Serena and not Sen.

Does that mean, she's still fated to be Serena.

Even if the fate of transmigration was changed, the part of her becoming empress seems to not have changed. This made me feel strange. I blinked and looked up at Sen.

'What the hell happened to you.'

It felt really strange to think that the novel I read is someone's vivid life and not just a few lines typed on paper.

"By the way."

Kyle called Sen's attention quietly and she looked back at him calmly, not afraid of his aura a single bit. Seems like her liver is big.

*Koreans equate the liver to what English equates the heart to bigger heart / liver = more courageous*

"Your face looks familiar."

Sen flinched and her shoulders stiffened, her strong appearance seemed to crumble right there and then. Her green eyes which had been calm all this time shook and her lower lip turned pale for a moment.

But she quickly recovered, she turned her head towards me and closed her eyes tightly. The moment she opened them, she smiled and it looked so natural, making me think twice whether the expression I saw earlier was a moment of illusion.

"I'm not even a maid that's in charge of Your Highness, how could I look familiar?"

"But... It seems like we have met before?"

Your Highness, the Grand Duke, that's such an old-fashioned comment.

Sen replied with a meaningful smile.

"I am one of your subjects. Besides, I'm a maid working in this castle, so it's natural that my face is familiar."

"Yes, I suppose so."

Kyle seemed to move on without much thought on the problem.

Come to think of it, Kyle was quite obsessed with Serena in the original version of the novel. But what was the reason? There must have been a good reason to be obsessed with someone who you could not even see in your territory...

It was not easy to remember all the content of the novel because there was so much happening, it's a good thing that the system helps most of the time.

"What's your name?"

"Sen, Your Highness."

"Alright, Sen."

Kyle thought of something then looked at me.

No, don't look so friendly, maintain your dignity as a solemn and grand person. Don't suddenly open the door and lift me up and shower me with kisses.

"I'll cut back on your work a little, so can you come and check on Cashew Nut from time to time?"

Sen was undeniably shocked at the unexpected request.

"Cashew Nut, this magical beast?"

*might use demonic & magical interchangeably since sometimes the characters mention the word in obvious demeaning tone and sometimes it's neutral like this one.*

"Yeah it seems to like being around you. Originally, I was the only one it met here at the study all day, and it must have felt lonely because I was away preparing for the festival. I think it might have run away in frustration..."

Well, that's not such a bad decision. I'll take it.

The first part of the original revolved around Serena, Belial and Kyle. Right now, since Belial is at the Imperial City, it can't be helped that I can only increase the miracle value by changing Kyle & Serena's fates.

Unfortunately, I have to spend most of the day as a hamster so it's better if they are the ones to approach me.

Sen turned towards where I was again, and I slowly approached the wall that was near her and put my hands up against it. I didn't forget to wink either. I used up all my sincerity for this fanservice.

"... I'll do it!"

Sen called out as if she was possessed.

"I-I mean, I've never taken care of a mouse, no a h-hamster, but I've raised a dog before... I'll study hard to learn how to take care of it! I-"

"It's not just a hamster, it's a magical beast."

Just like this, Sen became my second guardian.

Both of you please get along well. Don't be too obsessed, okay? Don't fight each other for my affection alright?

After Sen left the study, Kyle looked at me in the hamster house for a long time. He looks like he was dying to take me out, but wouldn't dare to do so hastily.

'Were you that shocked to lose me once.'

But I couldn't help it either. If you came back to a strange man on the bed naked, and the hamster was gone, the situation would be a lot worse.

Then a rumor will spread that Your Highness, who is not married, has a taste for men. Of course, I couldn't let that happen.

In any case, it's a difficult situation, I also would not take out a hamster outside of the cage if there's a single chance it might run away again.

Should I pretend to be depressed for a while. No, this isn't my fault, it's all because of this "Summon" skill. Why didn't you explain the details of the skill to me first!

[ (อิ_อี;;;) ]

'Anyways... Tomorrow, it should be fine right?'

The clothes were hidden well, so I'll use "Summon" in that location and take a look at the situation in the castle. It's time for the festival anways so it wouldn't look weird to see a stranger walking around.

'Before that... I'll have to get some pants and shoes.'

If I keep walking barefoot all this time in this freezing weather, all my toes will fall off.

novel ⠀✿⠀ next

#tngdh

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objecthusbandry · 8 months

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keeping objects as pets #1: backpacks!

hi there! in this series, i’ll be going over basic descriptions of commonly-kept object species (and some rare ones too!), facts about them, why you might want one as a pet, their basic needs and necessities provided you want to house one, and things you should NEVER do. to start, we’re going with backpacks! backpacks are a great starter object in my opinion because they’re both hardy and also very friendly creatures. alright, let’s get started!

description

backpacks are a common domesticated object species. their limbs are typically fabric- or leather-like, commonly (but not always) furred, with powerful digitigrade legs built for running and walking long distances. each hindpaw has three toes with non-retractable claws. their forepaws have four fingers with semi-retractable claws and thin pads. the first finger on each forepaw is somewhat comparable to human thumbs, though this is a case of convergent evolution and they are not ‘true’ thumbs. body shape does not vary too much; subspecies include school backpacks, hiking backpacks, travel backpacks and rucksacks, among others. colors can be anything you can imagine, as can patterns. their bodies, when not mimicking leather, typically have a very thin, fine layer of fur.

facts about backpacks

backpacks in the wild are pack animals. they live together generally in groups of four to six, but sometimes will stay with only one other object, or in even larger packs. a group of backpacks is called a carry. backpacks are omnivores, and have been observed in the wild eating a wide variety of things such as fruits, small rodents, grubs, fish, and even carrion. as far as object biologists can tell, backpacks evolved so many compartments as a way to store food during the winter. think a squirrel’s hoard of nuts, if the hoard was inside its body! or perhaps like a hamster’s cheeks cranked up to eleven. while they’ve evolved past the need for using these pockets out of necessity, they still enjoy collecting treats such as berries and seeds to be stored away for later.

why as a pet?

i’m often asked why i believe backpacks are the ideal beginner species, and i have no idea where to start because the reasons are so numerous and vast. fortunately i have time to think about this here!

backpacks, by nature, are a social species and need companionship to function. without at least one carrymate, they will become severely depressed. this means that, provided a backpack accepts you into its carry, you can function as that carrymate, and the relationship is mutually beneficial. backpacks are known to be naturally bold, loving, affectionate objects. they aren’t strangers to cuddling and grooming each other, so if you like a pet that you can hold and hug, backpacks are both the perfect size and shape in addition to being loving in nature! not only that, their body language is unusually easy to read, even for beginners to object keeping. their charming, docile personalities make them great housemates if you have other objects as well. they typically live peacefully with non-object pets such as dogs and cats, and may bond with other pets if you have them. they do well with children as well.

housing necessities + do’s and dont’s

if you’ve decided a backpack is the right companion for you, wonderful! i’ll use this section to tell you what you need in order to make your house object-friendly as well as their basic needs to be happy and healthy.

firstly, backpacks needs lots of space; if you can’t walk your backpack every single day for at least 30 minutes and you don’t have an open fenced-in yard, you absolutely cannot have a backpack for a pet. they will get bored and this may lead to self-destructive actions in an attempt to entertain themselves.

outdoor-only backpacks, despite what some may tell you, are bad. why? because they are natural climbers and will escape pens if left alone for long enough.

backpacks are a naturally curious species, and will often take things they find interesting or valuable to be put in their pockets. before bed each day you absolutely MUST open each pocket, inspect carefully, and close back. i’ve had friends who’ve never had an object before ask me why things kept going missing and why their backpack was so sluggish and withdrawn, only to have a massive amount of ‘stolen’ things stuck in their pockets where they can no longer reach them. this can lead to sickness, depression, agitation, and even death if allowed to happen for a prolonged period of months.

that’s all! hopefully this helps educate anyone who is considering this species!

#speculative biology #spec bio #spec evo #speculative evolution #object shows #osc #backpacks #species info #object husbandry #object biology #hfjone #hfjone liam

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dragons-bones · 8 months

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FFXIV Write Entry #5: Levin Deals

Prompt: barbarous || Master Post || On AO3

“You are completely lacking manners,” Aymeric said, voice dry and flat. “Utterly bereft of decorum and good sense.”

Affronted, Ixion snorted.

“Don’t you sass me, sir.”

Behind him in her lounging chair, Synnove stifled a laugh. Aymeric pointed at her without looking. “And you stay out of this!”

Synnove stopped bothering trying to hide her amusement at that.

The yard and its garden—both the myriad flowers and the kitchen garden—were typically Synnove’s domain at her Cedarwood home, but over the years, Aymeric had developed an affinity for tending the kitchen garden. The simplicity of digging in the soil, trimming back the herbs in their pots, keeping the rows of vegetables free of weeds, even readying the empty beds for winter, were chores that soothed his mind when the work of governance set him on edge. His developed green thumb proved useful, too, now that Synnove was still in recovery from her injuries and horrific aethershock sustained from the Final Day; she simply couldn’t do most of the work of keeping her home in order until she regained more of her strength.

His lady was also horribly indulgent of the overgrown colt that constantly snuck through the skies all the way from Gyr Abania to eat his vegetables.

Aymeric used the same finger he had pointed at Synnove to jab Ixion’s muzzle. The great unicorn jerked his head back with another snort, and glared at him with one baleful red eye.

Aymeric had regularly faced the might of the Dravanian Horde his adult life, and now regularly butted heads with the worst sorts of nobles and politicians in Ishgard. A spoiled unicorn, living legend or not, was not going to cow him.

Amandina, perched between Ixion’s ears and with only her head visible above the fluff of his mane, chittered, He says your dam was a hamster and your sire smelt of elderberries. Papa, what’s a hamster?

(Synnove’s laughter turned to outright cackling.)

“My mama was a saint and my da a gentleman, and I’ll thank you to leave the questions of my parentage out of this discussion,” Aymeric bit out, crossing his arms.

Ixion whickered, dipping his head, and Amandina peeped, He says sorry!

(Trust one the carbunclets to figure out how to communicate with a god’s steed or a Mhachi experiment or whatever Ixion actually was via “sympathetic aetherial resonance” as Synnove had put it, and we’re both levin! as Amandina had said.)

Sighing, Aymeric dragged his hand down his face. He’d been at this for over half a bell now, since discovering Ixion rampaging among the tomatoes and beets and radishes. And Ixion had been decimating the kitchen garden on a semi-regular basis for a few years now. It was far too late to actually put a stop to this, but he wasn’t going to let Rhalgr’s steed rule the roost.

Therefore: compromise.

He set his gaze on Ixion again and said, firm, “I’ll set aside one row of vegetables of your choice if you leave the rest of the kitchen garden alone.”

Ixion flicked an ear and pawed the ground. Once, twice, thrice, four times, five.

Aymeric clucked his tongue and shook his head. “No. Two.”

Ixion pinned his ears back and flared his nostrils.

Aymeric raised an eyebrow.

Ixion’s ears slowly half-perked again, and he pawed at the ground. Once, twice, thrice, four times.

Aymeric shook his head once more. “Two, final offer.”

Ixion grumbled, tossing his head (Amandina squealed in delight), then turned his head to look him straight on with one eye. He raised his hoof up, set it down. And, after another moment of thought, pawed at the ground. Once. Twice. Thrice.

Aymeric made a show of narrowing his eyes and tapping his chin, even as mentally he patted himself on the back. Three had been his initial thought, but the intelligent man did not let his opponent know his full hand in a negotiation. “Acceptable,” he finally said, and held out his hand.

Ixion tapped his palm with his horn. Deal sealed.

Synnove clapped behind him. Amandina cheered, then peeped as Ixion did a victorious piaffe as though he was the winner, Papa? What’s a hamster?

PREVIOUS || NEXT

#ffxivwrite2023 #final fantasy xiv #ffxiv #ixion #aymeric de borel #aymeric x wol #aymeric x synnove #oc: synnove greywolfe #synnove's carbuncles #dt's writing

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drifting-pieces-blog-blog · 2 months

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Breaking down the comics: Soldiers (Punisher Annual #2: Knight Fall)

You guys. YOU GUYS.

I am so excited to bring you this next one for SO MANY REASONS.

The first reason is that this is the FIRST Moon Knight comic I ever read.

And this comic os pure WTFer set off an obsession that has directed the course of my life for over ten years now.

Marc Spector: Moon Knight

Punisher Annual #2: Knight Fall. 1989

Written by: Mike Baron

Art by: Bill Reinhold

Gerbil: Tom DeFalco

(Tom is the editor in chief for Marvel at the time)

We got ourselves a Punisher Annual with a Moon Knight guest appearance!

Now I’ve talked about guest appearances again and again and again. It usually means that the guest star is going to show up HUGE on the cover with some dramatic depiction in an attempt to lure in more new readers to the title comic.

But look at this comic cover. This isn’t Moon Knight showing up to save the day or in a little blurb bubble or box. He’s battling Frank! This looks more like a cross-over style comic! Those always depict the main character FIGHTING the other guest star! And damn if this cover isn’t amazing. Look at those two locked in close quarter combat! And that dagger! This might be a Punisher comic, but Moon Knight isn’t about to roll over!

Now, as we all have come to expect, when you have a crossover for the first time, the two characters always spend the first couple pages fighting in some misunderstanding before they make up and team together to fight the real bad guys. But Punisher takes no quarter and Moon Knight is grumpy at best.

Alright, so we open up on a Long Island Petshop where a Mr. Morton is purchasing Gerbils for their kids.

For those that do not know, a Gerbil is about the size of a large mouse with a long tufted tail and kangaroo like hind feet. They're fast, bite hard, and are fun. (I used to own them as a kid for many years and loved them).

They actually aren’t that well known, even though you can always find them in pet shops next to the hamsters. I wonder why they chose gerbil over say, mice or rats or hamsters. I get the feeling there was some inside joke among the writers here.

…..Oh.

Snake guy. Got it.

MARC.

Marc… “That man just ate a gerbil! Why does it set off all my emergency alarm bells?”

Marc…

So... After that... Marc calls up Frenchie on his radio and tells him that he's tailing a car and gives him details on the vehicle.

"Oui, Marc, what's up?"

"I'm not sure... Maybe nothing."

MARC SPECTOR. You just watched a man eat a gerbil in a pet shop....WHOLE. What do you mean 'Nothing'?!

He tails the car to an old run down mansion .

"That's the old Borgwardt estate--It's been taken over by something called Save Our Society... Time to head home."

Frenchie confirms the car info with Marc. It is registered to the SOS non-profit agency that is privately funded by physicians.

"Sort of an east coast version of the Betty Ford Clinic. Why would a man eat a gerbil?"

Marc… You have fought werewolves. You fought a literal rat king. We’ve seen you fight ghosts and get your ass handed to you by a snake.

AND WHAT ARE YOU WEARING!? Does Steven know you’re wearing his clothes?

He asks Frenchie to dig into the petstore's files and get him a credit card for the guy that ate the gerbil and an address.

Meanwhile, we meander on over to the star of our show:

"Punisher's War Journal-- I've been on the trail of Ralph Newton, a junkie who makes a living ripping off old ladies' social security checks. Two weeks ago he pushed a seventy year old woman down a flight of stairs and she died. Newton seemed to have disappeared, butt now I have a lead--This shooting gallery in the Bronx."

For those of you unaware of the Punisher, here's a brief howdy-do for you!

The Punisher, AKA, Frank Castle. Originally a VietNam vet who came back with a little PTSD. His family (wife and child) were murdered by the mafia and Frank decided he'd had enough of evil in the world. He makes it his life's work to hunt down and kill anyone that makes it a living to hurt people.

Historically, the other heroes (ESPECIALLY DareDevil and Captain America) despise Frank and often rally the other heroes to try to hunt him down and stop him from continuing his war on crime.

He got his start in a Spider-Man comic of all places and branched out from there.

Frank is a pretty gruff and serious man and depending on who is writing him and what series you are reading, he can be pretty violent.

War Journal was a very popular series where he drives around in his Battle Van and writes about his missions. It works nicely because Frank isn’t much of a social man. So if you rely on the story conversations, like in all the other comics, you aren’t going to get much. But having him writing things down in his journal you get a beautiful narration that reads like a Noir film and you also get a fantastic way to get to know Frank and how he thinks. I appreciate it.

Often when Frank meets up with other heroes, there is a fight with them telling him he's wrong for killing and them eventually trying to stop him.

Now, we know he's going to meet up with Marc in this. And I am so excited for you guys to see this epic encounter.

So we see Frank in his usual attire walk up to a safe house and knock on the door.

He gets the guy to open the door posing as a seller.

Yeah. By now, everyone knows what it means when they see that skull design.

"Junkies. I swear they don't feel pain. You've got to break something before they stop coming at you."

Frank shoots all but one. He tells the remaining guy he's looking for Newton.

Lucky for the junkie he says he last saw Newton going into a rehab clinic saying he was going to get straight.

So Frank heads up to the clinic. It's a Save Our Society clinic.

"The place reeks of sweat and stale cigarettes, ashtrays filled to overflowing."

Man that's good Noir.

Frank walks up to the main desk (in his street clothes, which just means he put on a turtle neck and a coat).

"Department of social services. I'm here to verify our use of federal funds."

"I'm sorry, sir. There must be some mistake. This clinic is privately funded --we receive no federal funds."

"*SIGH* Sounds like another department screw-up. Could I speak to your director?"

(What works about this is that no one actually knows what Frank Castle looks like! He doesn’t need a disguise. Everyone knows him by what he wears. They see the giant skull and the guns. It WORKS. And Frank is surprisingly good at acting. He knows the system.)

He's told that the director isn't in. She's Leona Hiss. (Hiss? Really? We're going there?)

Frank heads to get info from Microchip. Hey! Microchip! I missed him!

Microchip was Frank's old tech guy. He was the man in the van that would give Frank info and hack into things for him.

I'd say they were good friends...But Frank doesn't have friends. I'd give you spoilers on what eventually happens to Microchip but... It's kinda a BIG spoiler and maybe someone here wants to head on over into Punisher land. So I'll leave it at that. (I came to Moon Knight from Punisher land. It was all thanks to this crossover comic… so I guess their ploy really does work sometimes.)

Anyways... Microchip looks up this Leona Hiss person.

A widow of an anesthesiologist who started the clinics to help drug addicts. He goes on and on and tells Frank it "Smells like a smoke screen. All her life, the lady shuns publicity. Now all of a sudden she's a big philanthropist?"

Man, look at that light and shadow in the first panel. This art team is amazing.

Frank sets up position on a roof across from the clinic.

"Clock Street's eerily alive at two A.M. I see a knife fight, several drug deals...Lights are burning in the clinic but no one's entered or left. There are guards on the roof. Better move.

I take position a block away, behind the clinic. I can easily make my way back over the rooftops--Nobody's watching back here. Overhead, a faint Whoosh. Some kind of high-tech chopper."

Oh boy. Oh boy. Oh boy.

(This art. This art is SLAYING.)

Oh man. Look at this meet up. Frank and his shotgun, Moon Knight facing him down.

They know who each other are! Every time Moon Knight meets up with someone he has to introduce himself! No one knows who he is! But Frank knows him. And Moon Knight doesn’t call him Frank. He knows who he is dealing with.

Oh man, that cover called for such an epic showdown. Both ex-marines. Both know how to handle themselves.

Uh.

“I presume we’re both interested in Save Our Society.”

“Right this afternoon I saw a man eat a gerbil. He came from here.”

“What’s his name?”

"Helmut Snead. He used a solen credit card. Six feet, brown eyes, scar above his left eye."

"Ralph Newton--A Junkie Murderer. What's he doing on Long Island?"

"I don't know--But he didn't look like a junkie. I want to know how he got out of the South Bronx and into a fancy clinic."

"How would you take this guy out?"

WHAT IS HAPPENING.

This is incredible. You have no idea.

Frank doesn't have friends. Frank doesn't do team-ups. Frank is brutal and tells it like it is.

And this isn't Frank being the victim to a new writer making nice in someone else's ball park. This is a PUNISHER comic. Moon Knight is the visitor.

And on that note... MARC doesn't have friends. MARC doesn't play well with others. We literally just came off of him being a part of the West Coast Avengers and leaving because he doesn't team well!

And here these two are, meeting for the first time and being BFF.

In fact, the fact that they already know who one another is despite never meeting means that they have heard others talk about them. And when people talk about the Punisher or Moon Knight, they generally don't have good things to say!

So these two heard "Yeah he's a brutal lunatic" they went "I gotta meet this chap."

I can't stress enough how amazing this is.

Frank is even asking Moon Knight to show how he'd take down a guy. He wants to see how Moon Knight works. And Moon Knight is letting Frank go first.

THIS in itself is amazing. Why? Because we have two highly skilled specialists from a high combat militarized zone that were both known for ambush settings and traps.

They know everything about this building isn't reading right, they have seen some guards and they don't know what's going on inside. So they are essentially walking into an unknown through a closed space doorway into a stairwell with numerous blind spots and possibilities for traps/ambushes.

If it were anyone else, Marc would go first to clear the way and possibly take that first hit because he knows he can take it.

BUT. If you REALLY look at it, Frank is older than Marc. Frank went to 'Nam. Frank has been at this longer and has turned New York into his own personal jungle.

He offers Frank the lead out of respect AND because he knows and Frank knows that if anything is out of the ordinary, Frank will spot it FIRST and deal with it.

This is grade A military tactics and my lord it’s beautiful.

And you know what?

Frank’s history is that he was team leader. And when Marc gives him lead, Frank takes it and Marc RESPECTS him. They are both used to working in this sort of setting.

And when you think about it, Marc was NEVER the leader. He followed other people. Bushman was his leader. Marc joined other groups and let other people tell him what to do. If he didn’t like it, he went off and joined a new group.

So when Frank says “Hold it….!” he is treading Marc like an officer under him and he has now automatically accepted Marc as following him and thus putting him under his protection. This is beautiful. I could wax on about this all day you guys.

Uh… Back to the comic. So… Frank spots a Black Mamba that’s sluggish from being in a cold setting.

Marc makes light chatter (he’s kinda of a goof and light chatter is what he does.) Frank quiets him. He knows there’s trouble ahead.

In the next room, we find a junky going through withdrawal and begging the doc to hurry up.

The 'doctor' injects him with something just as Frank and Marc bust in.

"Hello, Ralph. I didn't know you had a license to practice medicine... And only last week you were a lousy junkie..."

"Punisher!"

"Drop the needle."

"I don't think so.... SSSST!"

And the 'Doctor' suddenly has a snake tongue and snake eyes.

This bodes well.

Frank opens fire on his target and it hardly phases him.

"What have we stumbled into? They move slowly but they don't feel any pain." Moon Knight calls out while pummeling one of the snake guys.

"It's the cold. [....] Reptiles. The colder it gets, the slower they move. You saw Ralph eat a gerbil--Snakes eat gerbils. This place looks like a herpetology lab."

Very astute Frank.

They manage to take down all the snake guys and Moon Knight asks if he recognizes any of them.

Frank recognizes a couple of them as crackheads and various junkies.

They find Ralph to be a card carrier for S.O.S.

"Last week he's a junkie with an armful of holes and this week he's front man for a fancy long island cure club."

"I think we know where to go next. Why don't you come with me in the chopper?"

"Thanks, I will."

(WHY ARE THEY SO POLITE TO ONE ANOTHER. IT'S SO OVER THE TOP.)

So... Frank takes a ride in Marc's chopper.

"Nice set-up. How do you keep the engines so quiet?"

"It's a new kind of fiberglass packing."

And they arrive back at the mansion.

"Come on in--I've got a war room. We'll do a little digging."

"This place is a little ostentatious, don't you think?"

"There are so many private choppers flying in and out of the neighborhood nobody notices mine--Especially at night. The surrounding mansions and trees also cover our entrances and exits from the concealed hangar."

I don't think that's what he meant by ostentatious, Marc.

Inside, Frank, Marc, and Frenchie stand around a table with some maps.

Marc tells Frank about the Borwardt estate he initially tracked snake man to earlier.

"I ran a check on cult leaders and you'll never guess who was released from a federal prison last month--Viper."

Frenchie tells Frank who Viper is.

"She used to head up zat facist group Hydra, zen she went solo. She was busted in connection with the so-called snake riot in washington last year...[....] A mass hallucination where people believed they turned into snakes. I also learned that Viper was recently sprung from prison by a Dr. Tyrone."

We head on over to SOS where we see a green lady, "Madam Viper".

She is in a room of snake men who are 'newly converted'.

They say they are hungry and Viper tells them that they have "a rabbit, five hamsters and a gerbil. We'll have to make another run to the pet store soon."

She has a bit of a thing for hitting people with a whip and demanding that they all call her 'Madame Viper'.

She is then informed that the other clinic was hit and that Newton is dead.

She sends the new snake men out to the yard for guard duty. She's pretty sure SHIELD is out to get her. Which makes sense since she worked for Hydra.

Unfortunately for her, it's far from shield.

Overhead, we find the Moon Copter flying by and Moon Knight drops in with his cape and Frank drops in on a glider.

The guards immediately open fire on them and Frank returns fire.

FRANK. DO NOT ENCOURAGE HIM.

….I don’t know if I should count this as a window dive or not. It’s tempting. I’m not going to count it. He decides to abstain from window entrance for once.

Unfortunately for Frank, he runs in without checking around and Marc isn't there to watch his six.

Madam Viper jumps him and injects him with a serum.

Now... Unfortunately for her... Frank has never responded well to drugs of any sort. He's got a history of this not going well for people that try to drug Frank Castle.

He doesn't go down.

In fact, it actually makes him go a little berserk. A berserk Frank Castle is NEVER something anyone wants to face.

He’s doing fine.

She makes a run for it.

Elsewhere, Moon Knight is fighting his own snake man army.

"Lets of gunfire and then it stopped! The time to start worrying about Punisher is when the gunfire stops.

Viper injects one of her larger helpers turning him into a very large and strong snake man.

Moon Knight faces off with the big snake guy. His usual methods of just 'hit it as hard as I can' doesn't work. They don't feel pain thanks to the drugs.

He's wearing a heat pack to keep him moving so Moon Knight decides to take this outside and....WINDOW! WE GOT A WINDOW!

I mean… This one was legit. And he was exiting with a good reason… But I’m still counting it.

Heat pack removed and out in the cold air, the lizard guy goes down easy.

Moon Knight goes to find the Punisher now.

He finds a room full of bodies and Frank in the middle having a lovely hallucination time.

In the window outside, Marc watches a rocket thing take off with Viper escaping in it to fight another day.

Marc manages to distract frank with his crescent darts, moving them around and letting the light reflect off of them in a hypnotic way. This lets him get close enough to take away Frank's gun.

At this point, Frank calms down and the adrenalin that was coursing through his system and probably helping to stave off the toxic affects of the drugs wears off.

Frank goes into convulsions and Moon Knight moves to get him out of there. Not to mention the cops are starting to show up and they need to leave.

The cops have never been fans of Punisher (Despite what the right wing wants you to think when they put punisher logos on their giant trucks) and Frank has never liked the cops. Time to leave!

Marc takes Frank back to his mansion and puts him to bed.

I kid you not.

This... This is a thing that happens a lot. He did the same thing to Jack Russel. Just... Take the drugged up guy home and let him sleep it off in his big bed in the mansion.

Frank has a rough night, hallucinating and putting up a big of a fight but he sleeps it off.

The next day, he wakes up feeling a bit better.

And it ends here. Frank heading off to his next mission and Marc casual as hell as he watches his new buddy leave.

Again I’m going to say it. WHAT.

You don’t understand just HOW bizarre this issue was. ON BOTH SIDES. Frank was so…NICE… Marc was so amendable! They acted like long lost friends! WHAT WAS WITH THE CONSTANT REFERENCES TO GERBILS?! Why does Marc keep putting drugged up men in his bed? Why was he wearing Steven’s clothes? I have so many questions.

And from this casual weird encounter… An obsession was born.

ALRIGHT. Let’s talk about why this works. (This is gonna get long. You can stop here if you don't want to hear me ramble and are just here for the comics).

In the Marvel universe (616), we have a lot of veterans of different wars.

WWII has Captain America, Bucky, and Nick Fury

Vietnam has Frank Castle.

Wolverine....a lot of wars. All the wars. Every war.

Apparently Charles Xavier was in the Korean war (I didn't know that)

Ben Grimm was in the Marines before his space accident (Awww. Another thing for him to bond with Marc over.)

Then of course you have Carol Danvers who worked for the CIA in the cold war.

Rhodes (War Machine) who was in Afghanistan and Vietnam.

There are a LOT of veterans of different wars and different time periods (Marvel time is a soup).

The initial problem was which war. And this is where we are going to once more step onto the Drifting Pieces History soap box.

We all know the saying “There’s no good war”. But that’s not right. Not according to politics and public opinion.

To be a veteran of WWII was a noble and good thing. You fought a clear cut enemy, (nothing worse than a Nazi) liberated suppressed people, and most important, you came home a winner.

What’s that? There was another war? In Korea? Never heard of that one. We totally didn’t go to Korea and fail miserably and we certainly aren’t going to talk about what happened over there.

Oh look, Vietnam! The first publicly broadcasted war. Not like “The Whole World is Watching”. Oh no, the average citizen is suddenly getting their first look at what happens in war. Oh no, it’s not as nice and pretty as it’s supposed to be. No one talked about the atrocities that were committed by the good guys in WWII! And the Korean War certainly didn’t happen.

This was the first war where American soldiers came home and were shunned. They were booed. They lost their jobs, lost their homes, and lost their families. Disgraced and forgotten by their country and their people.

So we have nice shiny Captain America. A literal representation of the good of America and ideal soldier, punching Nazi and saving people in WWII.

Then we have Frank Castle, a dirty soldier from Vietnam. I’m sure people screamed “Baby killer” at him fresh off the plane. What’s that? Frank served THREE tours in Vietnam?! He was the sole survivor of a huge ambush? He was awarded the Medal of Honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Navy Cross, Silver and Bronze stars, and four Purple Hearts? That don’t mean shit to the average citizen that only cares about two things: 1. We lost. 2. We shouldn’t have been there in the first place.

So he comes home, one of the best Marines in the business, and he’s got nothing.

He gets married to a sweetheart, has two kids (a little girl and boy), and settles in living an ideal life. A quiet life. Too quiet. Frank’s got a little PTSD going on and he was very good at what he did. He didn’t want to leave. He was good over there. He was respected. He was needed.

But he’s doing the best he can. Until that’s taken away from him in an event he’d seen over and over again in war. Blazing gun fire and his family is gone.

He gets revenge. But there’s a problem. He isn’t seen as a loving family man that takes down the people that murdered his kids and wife. He’s seen as a violent ex-soldier from Vietnam that’s gone crazy and is shooting up the place.

They say that for Frank, “the war never ended. It just changed missions.”

And all these other Heroes that are also veterans? They came from good wars. Captain America spouts speeches of being a Good Soldier at Frank. He doesn’t know what it’s like to question if the bad guy really is the bad guy.

If Frank hadn’t of been such a family man, he would have made an amazing mercenary. The best there was.

But then you have Marc Spector. He went to war to escape trauma. He was good. He was VERY good at what he did. And dollars to donuts, he heard about another Marine that was also very good named Francis Castiglione.

But Marc could only be good so long as it wasn’t obvious that his mental illness was a thing. Even if he lied signing up for the military, when he took the jobs working for SHIELD and the CIA, they HAD to know about his history in the mental hospital. But the second he starts to dissociate in public, he’s kicked out. Can’t have a mentally ill person hanging out around all those weapons, right? I’m sure that’s what they told themselves as they kicked him to the curb.

Marc could have gone home here. He’d have been a disgraced hero, sitting on the side of the road on a Veteran hat asking for change. But Marc was still running. He didn’t have a childhood sweetheart waiting for him. He had trauma.

So Marc carries on the mission and he’s GOOD. And he’s a follower. He likes being told what to do. It prevents him from thinking and taking responsibility. If people get hurt, it isn’t his fault.

Now Frank is very thorough. There’s a chance that the first time he hears about a new Superhero showing up in Manhattan he immediately looks into it. He’s got access to SHIELD info. He finds out who Marc Spector is and he sees another soldier that was let down by his country. Another soldier that was looking to make a wrong right despite how the war went.

And Marc? Frank’s a hero. He’s tough. He does what needs to be done to keep people safe. Frank’s a leader and he takes care of his soldiers.

They look at one another and see soldiers struggling to find their place here in the normal life again because they never HAD normal lives to begin with.

Moon Knight is the only one who can probably understand where Frank is coming from and not judge him.

Much later on in the comics, when Moon Knight is desperately trying to fit in with the Avengers and be a better hero, we see him come up against Frank again. Frank understands what Moon Knight is trying to do and he asks him if he really thinks it’s going to work.

And despite how everything else was going in that particular run (a lot. A lot was going), it was a very real moment. Frank saw through him. I’ll get more into it later when we eventually get there. But man… These two together both make me so happy and also break my heart.

ANYWAY. Uh… Long extended explanation over! I love this issue with my whole everything.

This writer? This artist? Why couldn’t THEY have been the ones to take over the Marc Spector run? They get it! Look how pretty they make him! Look at all that cape action!

They even get the dichotomy of Marc in this time. We may not have STEVEN, but did you see the way Marc was dressed in the mansion? How very Steven -esque. Even the way he treats Frank at the end there.

UGH I could go on about this all day. I’m going to stop here before I write a dissertation. I HAVE FEELINGS ABOUT THIS OKAY.

#Moon Knight #Moon Knight comics #Analyzing the comics #Marc Spector #Jake Lockley #Steven Grant #Frank Castle #The Punisher #They deserve to be friends #These two disasters #Why was there so much Gerbil in this #I love this issue #I could wax poetry about it all day #Two reviews in one day? Spoiling you

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