#and yes their quest is to eat things - but their whole deal is to enjoy the simpler things in life. in this dark tragic world | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

Visit Blog

Explore Tumblr blogs with no restrictions, modern design and the best experience.

Fun Fact

28.6 is the average number of monthly visits per US mobile user.

#and yes their quest is to eat things - but their whole deal is to enjoy the simpler things in life. in this dark tragic world

laundrybiscuits · 1 year

Text

(FINE I guess this is a series now. whatever.)

“He’s where,” says Steve.

“Off to see the wizard, my dude.” Argyle passes him a pipe. Steve’s not really sure where it came from or when Argyle packed it, but he’s got manners, so he takes a hit and hands it off to Jonathan.

“Murray,” elaborates Jonathan, on an exhale. “The…you know. Oh wow, I guess you’ve never met Murray either. That’s weird, right? I mean, you were there, you were just…”

“Babysitting, probably,” says Steve. “Wait, why is Eddie meeting this guy?”

Argyle gestures in a big loopy way. It reminds Steve a little bit of how Eddie waves his arms around. “Eddie’s on, like, a spiritual journey. A dream quest, but…real life. The realest.”

“Not spiritual like church,” adds Jonathan. “Like, gay spirit. Is that a thing? Shit, why doesn’t anyone know Murray.”

“I don’t know Murray either, man,” says Argyle.

“Is…Murray a real person?” Steve asks. He doesn’t think it’s an unreasonable question.

“Yes! Jesus. He’s real, okay? Nancy knows Murray, we—yeah. Nancy knows him.” Jonathan looks kind of dour and depressed, but he always sort of looks like that.

“How’s Nancy doing?” Steve doesn’t really want to know, but it seems like the polite thing to say.

“We’re fine,” says Jonathan.

“Okay,” says Steve, who hadn’t asked that at all.

“Everything’s fine,” Jonathan repeats. Argyle reaches over to pat Jonathan on the head, then takes the pipe from Jonathan’s hand.

———

“Hm,” says Murray. It’s hard to tell what he’s thinking behind all the facial hair and glasses. “Okay, I don’t usually do this, but…what the hell. Kiddo, you are way too young to be talking like that. Your life’s not over, and if you’re smart about it, it doesn’t have to be over any time soon.”

Murray sits back on the couch, kicking up his feet. There’s a hole in his left sock.

“You think happily ever after only looks like one thing? That’s the thought of a child. If you really want, you can make some kind of picket fence life for yourself, suburbs and all. But you’re a queer, so that means you don’t have to do that shit because nobody’s expecting you to anymore. You get to decide what matters to you.”

“I don’t know any way to be gay that’s not lonely as hell,” Eddie says.

“That’s because you’re an idiot and an infant,” says Murray gently.

“You don’t have a—a boyfriend.” It comes out a little too sharp and mean, but Eddie’s feeling cornered.

Murray laughs. “Kid, what did I just say? I don’t want a damn boyfriend. Some guy coming over here all the time, eating my food? Hell no. We’re degenerate homos, we get to decide what to keep and what to shove down the god damn garbage disposal. I got some arrangements in place, and that’s the way I like it. The whole lovey-dovey romance shit isn’t for me.”

Eddie draws his legs up, wrapping his arms around his shins. His boots are probably leaving marks on the couch, but Murray can deal. “I think it…I think that is for me. I want that to be for me. Um. In general.”

Murray actually tilts his head down to give Eddie a scathing look over the top of his glasses. “No shit, Joan Jett. Your whole ooh please push past my defenses to prove you love me schtick is visible from space.”

“Fuck,” says Eddie, knocking his head against his knees. He closes his eyes, humiliated beyond words, feeling scooped-out and awful.

“C’mon, it’s not that bad.” Eddie feels a tap on his arm, and when he looks up, Murray’s holding out a glass with about an inch of amber liquid in it. “We all go through something like that. It’s a rite of passage, just like it is to get so wasted you throw up on the stranger you dragged into a club bathroom. You’ll do that too. You’re gonna be messy and embarrassing anyway, so just enjoy the ride. And take the damn Talisker, it’ll help.”

Eddie takes the damn Talisker and knocks it back in one go, just to be an ass. Murray rolls his eyes but pours him another one.

“Ah, practical shit…” Murray scratches at his beard thoughtfully. “Been a while since I had to do this. Poppers are great, don’t overdo ‘em. Splurge on the fancy medical lube if you want but Vaseline or Crisco’ll do the trick just fine. And listen up, kitten, because you can ignore everything else that comes outta my mouth, but you can’t ignore this: always wrap it up. I mean always. I don’t care if he’s your soulmate, I don’t care if it kills the mood, I don’t care if he says he’s a blushing goddamn virgin. If he doesn’t want to wear a rubber, he doesn’t care if you live or die.”

Murray looks down at his own glass. For the first time, Eddie thinks he looks—tired.

“I know there’s probably a big part of you that doesn’t care if you live or die, either. But you gotta remember there’s people who do. The kid who sent you to me. He doesn’t want to go to your funeral.”

“Yeah,” Eddie says. It comes out too quiet; he swallows and tries again. “Yeah. I know. I’ve—been to funerals too.”

Murray barks out a surprised laugh. “God, you have, haven’t you? Think I was almost thirty, my first time. I’m sorry, Joan Jett, this isn’t a great time to be young and gay. Go make friends with some dykes, they’ll keep you sane.”

Eddie, who has held Robin’s hair back as she ralphed into a bucket after losing a Peeps-eating competition with Steve, has his doubts, but he just nods.

Murray looks at him for a moment, then takes his face between two big hands and kisses him on the forehead. It feels neither sexual nor familial, but something beyond all of the easy categories Eddie’s known.

“Now piss off,” Murray says. “Don’t get some crazy idea that this means we’re friends, or that you can start coming around whenever you feel like it.”

“So, just Tuesdays, Thursdays, and every other Sunday,” says Eddie, and ducks out before Murray can start cussing at him.

———

See, Eddie’s little crush on Steve is meant to be purely recreational. It’s fun to crush on unavailable guys he knows—way more fun than celebrities or whatever. It’s just nice, to feel his heart speed up a little when Steve’s around, safe in the certain knowledge that he’s never going to do a damn thing about it. It even feels good to hurt a little bit over it, achy and sharp, like pushing on a bruise.

Yeah, Eddie knows he’s a little fucked up. But he figures this is harmless enough: a secret little vice that nobody’s ever going to know about.

Apparently, everybody knows.

“Um,” says Jonathan, wide-eyed. “Was it…supposed to be a secret?”

“Yes,” hisses Eddie. “Because this is Hawkins, Indiana, and I don’t want to fucking die. Did we or did we not just have a conversation about the many and various perils this whole thing entails.”

“My dude, if you don’t want it to be, like, public knowledge, maybe don’t flirt with him so much?”

“Betrayal!” Eddie gasps, staggering around like he’s been stabbed in the back, because he fucking has. “An unjust hit by Argyle the Assassin.”

“Argyle the Assistant,” says Argyle. “I’m assisting you, bro.”

“I don’t flirt with Steve!” Eddie screeches. “We’re friends! I flirt with you two dickwads more than I do with Steve, because I don’t flirt with Steve!”

“You really do,” says Jonathan apologetically. “Kind of…a lot. Remember when we were out by the quarry, and you kept calling him princess.”

“As a joke!”

“Ohhh yeah,” says Argyle. “That was the day you, like…took his jacket, right?”

“I was cold!”

Jonathan grins. “Is that why you kept asking him how it looked on you?”

“As…a joke,” says Eddie, weakly. He’s starting to remember that it might’ve been even worse; the words do I look pretty in your clothes, Stevie may or may not have been uttered.

“Hey, man, it’s no biggie. That was a million years ago and he didn’t say anything, so you’re free and clear. Totally righteous.” Argyle throws an arm around Eddie, who curls into him sulkily. Argyle’s tall and solid and kinda hot, so it’s a real shame Eddie can’t crush on him instead.

Eddie sighs. “If Jonathan weren’t here, I’d ask you to make out with me until I felt better,” he says.

“What,” says Jonathan. “You can’t—I mean, you can, and I, uh—support you? Should I leave?”

“Aw,” says Argyle, and ruffles Eddie’s hair. “That’s sweet, dude. If Jonathan weren’t here, I would.”

“What is happening,” says Jonathan. “I’m gonna—should I leave? I’m gonna leave.”

Eddie whines, “No, c’mon, stay, we’ll do that seance. That’ll make me feel better too. Maybe we can resurrect my deceased heterosexuality.”

They don’t manage to raise any ghosts or any heterosexualities, but it does make Eddie feel a little better anyway.

#cw: reference to the AIDS crisis #fic: young man what do you wanna be #yup that's the new title. yup it's from the YMCA song by the Village People.#1) it's a gay disco standard 2) it represents the level of seriousness with which you should treat this series #I genuinely do not know if this will ever be posted on AO3 because I'm putting so little effort into making it a coherent story #instead of a vehicle for eddie + jargyle interactions #ALSO I do not actually know if pipes were super common in the 80s. I did zero research on any part of this. just go with it shhh

264 notes · View notes

alostlittleriverlotus · 2 months

Text

the pure fucking hell of having NPD and OCPD. Like. Yes. Perfectionism means love and lack of working or perfecting your work means you are opening yourself up to hatred, isolation, and everything you fear.

I'm so bad at explaining it. But like. I sit here. And deal with perfectionism from two separate disorders. That makes something as simple as playing RELAXING VIDEO GAMES stressful as fuck. Animal Crossing, Ooblets, Stardew Valley? No. If everything isn't perfect and I do my absolute best, I am a failure and will lose fucking everything within my grasp.

I'm still learning about my OCPD and how it affects me since it mingles with my narcissism a lot, but oh my god, it is so fucking obvious whenever I play literally ANY fucking video game. The relaxing cozy ones are obvious, but it's in RPGs and any "quest-based" games as well. Minutes feel too fast and ADHD and dissociation only worsens it. Plus my mind is crowded and busy.

So basically even my comfort games are exceptionally stressful for me and it's exhausting. And I'm REALLY trying to unlearn that. It just gets hard when I need to buy EVERYTHING, but can't earn enough money in the limited in game day or end up getting distracted and forgetting cause I have to do another task that I think of as I pass by it. I really have to teach myself to fucking enjoy relaxing down time. When all I have is down time cause I'm fucking disabled and isolated as fuck. Not to mention if OCD gets in the way especially with the little rituals I have to do or else shit gets bad which only wastes more seconds.

Narcissism + OCPD is a hellish combination. Perfectionism in either on their own is already hell. Group them together and it's suffering. Fucking hell.

As I unpack my OCPD and begin to explore disorders one by one, I focus on one trait that affects me at the time. And right now? It's the work obsessions/keeping busy and the perfectionism of OCPD. Especially since I'm disabled and unable to do physical work (cleaning, unpacking, an actual job, anything like that) or any other productive activity (drawing or writing) so I often turn to video games for a sense of productivity and it can be exceptionally relaxing. But I so often slip into that "maximize everything" mode. I know other people tend to do that too especially with like Stardew Valley, but like...having PDs with it is just hellish. Cause it's so natural to you and now without some other outlet for this such as school or work or even cleaning or writing, you turn to your comforts. And it eats away at you. I've just been experiencing it a lot lately and it's made it really difficult to play games especially since I never know what to play and feel like I'm missing a lot of stuff and it just sits with me as this huge discomforting, unsafe feeling. And it's so fucking distinct. And then with perfectionism being tied to my self worth with narcissism, that means if I'm not doing stuff, I cannot be loved and it worsens my mental state and self esteem. Plus the whole societal push of this shit doesn't help. I'm usually pretty good at undoing the ableist shit of "You have to work to be useful or else youre lazy" since I focus a lot on self care with my deteriorating physical state. But dude. Sometimes it gets to me. Like I cannot be mentally stable. There is so much fucking trauma packed into this bad boy. So many issues and so many disorder experiences that wax and wane cause of symptom holding alters or specific triggers for them to pop out.

Hell. Life is hell. And this is the recent mentally ill thing getting to me lately.

6 notes · View notes

dream-meister-translations · 2 years

Text

DATEN QUEST EVENT PART 2

━

CROW : Oh, see that huge tree? That was one of landmarks! EMMA : The compass seems to be working fine as well. Seems like we're headed in the right direction. Departing from Maden Castle, we were making our way through a dense forest, toward the ruins, with Crow in the lead. CROW : I’m seeing footprints here and there. We’re not the only explorers heading to the ruins.

CINIS : As expected of an esteemed explorer like yourself. You seem a natural at this kind of thing.

Through the headset, I can hear the voice of Cinis back in his castle.

CROW : Yeah, just leave it to me! Gotta say it again, this outfit looks awesome!

*FLASHBACK* CROW : I finished getting dressed like you said. EMMA : What are you wearing? CINIS : Well done, let the adventure begin! MIKAGE : Why do I gotta go...

CINIS : These clothes are samples of the gaming gear we’re developing. EVAN : Gaming gear? CINIS : Clothes made specifically for fully immersing yourself in video games. The clothes were sent to the Demon King by the telegraph engineer of the Mechanics' Guild, with a note saying, "I want you to test these." EMMA : But, this isn't a game. This is a genuine exploration? CINIS : I was asked to monitor the communication function of the outfit, which is still in it’s prototype stage and can be used to communicate remotely with other players. CROW : I see. So with with these devices, you can still help solve the riddle without needing to come to the ruin.

CINIS : Yes. I am joining you remotely from my magical castle, my illustrious servants!

*END FLASHBACK*

CROW : It's so durable and easy to move around in, it'd be a real shame to only use these things for playing games! CINIS : "Hmmm, okay. I'll let the developer know." MIKAGE : ...I still don't get why I'm here... EVAN : Same... MIKOTO : A foolish statement, Mikage! It is only natural for a vassal to follow his Lord!

MIKAGE : Mikoto-Sama has an overwhelming presence no matter what he wears... Could you move away from me a little? I’m getting dizzy. MIKOTO : Kuhahaha, don't praise me so! CROW : Evan looks damn good too, doesn't he? I think this gear’s really gonna help us out! EVAN : I didn't dress like this because I wanted to! Welck insisted on it! WELCK : It's nice to have everyone together♪ Like an expedition! EMMA : (Welck has been alone all his life, so I guess he’s really enjoying this...) WELCK : Whoa, what's that? Look at that strange mushroom!

CROW : That is a poisonous mushroom, so be careful. I remember eating one with Itsuki once. We were laughing for three whole days straight!

EVAN : It was stupid.

WELCK : What!? How could such a cute little thing be so scary and dangerous?

EMMA : (This is kind of relaxing, actually...)

While I was smiling at Welck’s enthusiastic curiosity, Mikage unexpectedly threw a kunai into the grass.

MIKAGE : You can't be too carefree, it's dangerous.

Mikage carefully parts the grass, showing us his prey.

MIKAGE : See, he’s a big one, too.

EMMA : A snake!?

CROW : That's a white-bellied black snake, isn't it? It’s bite causes your body to go numb, and leaves you paralyzed for days. MIKAGE : Yeah. We don't want to have to deal with that. MIKOTO : Oh, you have behaved well as a vassal, slaughtering those who oppose me! I commend you! MIKAGE : Well, Mikoto-Sama, it’s not like you could actually get bitten if you didn’t materialize. CINIS : Servants, to clarify, has anyone been bitten? EMMA : No, everything is fine. CINIS : Good... That’s good... EMMA : What's up?

CINIS : Nothing... I was just thinking about how much fun you all seem to be having... EMMA : (He sounds so lonely...) EMMA : Once we get inside the ruins, we’ll be needing your help. I’m looking forward to working with you then, okay? CROW : Yeah. We’re counting on you! CINIS : Of course. I'll show you why I'm the Demon King.

MIKAGE : Hey. Since we're all just hanging out, can I ask what the point of this whole thing is? I want to get this done and go back home as soon as possible.

CROW : What exactly are we looking for in the ruins? The atmosphere and architecture suggests the ruins belong to the ancient dynasty of Daten. CINIS : Few documents remain concerning the ancient dynasties of Daten, and many remain a mystery. In fact, to this day, no one is even sure if the ancient dynasty itself ever even existed. MIKAGE : This sounds like another tedious tale.... EVAN : You guys seem to be excited, but don't you think it's odd? The ruins are located close to the capital. So why were they only discovered now?

EMMA : Hmmm. From what I heard from the federation, the roads are so well maintained that very few people will actually risk taking a path as dangerous as this... And they believe what few have, failed to find it because of just how deep it is into the forest. MIKAGE : I hate to agree with the twinkly fairy over there, but it does seem really suspicious... EVAN : Don't you start, tsun tsun! EMMA : Yeah, Crow and I were talking about how there must have been another reason why we never found it before...

CROW : But well, that's part of what makes it so intriguing and worth exploring. CINIS : Hmmm. Agreed. MIKOTO : What’s that? I see something! WELCK : Oh, that's...... CROW : Those are the ruins we’re looking for!

#yumekuro #yumekuro translations #ymkr #ymkr translation #dream meister and the recollected black fairy #Dream meister translations #ymkr daten quest #daten quest #otome #daten2

14 notes · View notes

unpretty · 2 years

Text

astielle asks with spoilers up to chapter 32!

anonymous asked:

as someone who enjoys the thing everyone's saying "what the fuck" about, I for one am delighted. thank you for the nightmares, Kitty

anonymous asked:

So many great things this chapter! The Storm Prince! Minnows Boys!! The description of a dish that had me going, "This?? Doesn't sound appetizing? At all??" All of it is so good, thanks for another banger

@gutterdaughter asked:

chapter 31 made me suddenly feel like i was seeing the Matrix. like i can perfectly envision this exact horseshit endgame fetch quest that needs the ultra rarest ingredient from each of the food minigames. and then you complete it and it took you 10 real time hours and it spits out a food item that gives no benefits, its just a developer joke about how fucking stupid it would be to just put all the rich people shit in one dish, who puts gold leaf on a pizza. and you're like, thanks yoko taro.

you have to assume that every guide mentions multiple times that you don't have to do this unless you're trying to get 100% because there isn't even an achievement for it. everyone's so mad there's no cheevo for this.

anonymous asked:

hello, re: asimovsideburns' ask about black drakonis' gender & whole vibe being representative of lynette: screaming crying sobbing my life is ruined im emo // also: the stardew island vibes of this sidequest were off the charts and I fucking loved it // also also: "you hated me. you liked the face" broke my whole damn heart.

anonymous asked:

A: Aww! Pink truffles! So cute! B: Actually they're only pink because they're STAINED with BLOOD. A: D:

anonymous asked:

Okay, so it seems I'm not the only one whose attention was caught by “they’re eating her” and YES my thoughts also turned to Black Drakonis. (Sidenote, love how she's distinguished from Ari's White/Moonlight Drakonis even though she's THE ONLY ONE usually.) BUT there IS another very significant HER who is missing. Someone associated with seas (possibly also storms?)... and Leonas. So....

anonymous asked:

i'm still thinking about "they're eating her," and props to the commenters who suggested Black Drakonis because that absolutely had not occurred to me, BUT it did make me think of another possibility. i am reminded of the fairy king's comment about eating Leonas' extra magic, and Leonas talking about how wells of magic form, and the island being surrounded by storms that seem to impact Leonas specifically... Cyrnae?

anonymous asked:

It surprised me that everyone thought the her was black drakonis - i had assumed it was leonas' fucking MOM! Like, she's a PIRATE SEA WITCH QUEEN, they're on an ISLAND WITH STORMS ... I assumed Leland flesh puppeted her there and buried her corpse. And. You know. I really Hope its black drakonis actually

@and-then-he-melted asked:

Am currently imagining that to really capture the open world rpg feel 'decompressing' goes on for 5-10 years, everyone gets used to either the hero popping through with the monster and the heir, or the hero popping through with an unknown blonde sun-witch and a white tauril both wearing excessively large hats to hide their faces (depending on the local political situation)

genuinely thought about how goddamn funny it would be to just throw in a massive timeskip with only vague references to all the sidequests they did, but that would mean either they deal with their issues off-screen (unacceptable) or else they spend like five years just not dealing with it at all (plausible actually)

@d-a-f-punk asked:

chapters 30 and 31 have such a calm before the storm feeling and on the one hand I'm so worried that the monster city is about to get besieged and on the other hand I can't wait to see what kind of absolute home alone nonsense the brutelings built

@nightshadeis asked:

I Am So Upset About The Lost They're babies!!

they're just little guys

@shadowedseas asked:

How am I supposed to sleep after that? Undead children trapped eternally in an underground prison shaped like a missile silo, I'm sure THAT won't haunt my dreams. Were they made on purpose? Some kind of ritual undead creation by sunpriests? Who put the fake sword there? What did Vaelon do there? What the ever-loving hell? Between this and the storm island trees eating someone this story is becoming less porn and more nightmare fuel.

it's like they say, one man's porn is another man's nightmare fuel

anonymous asked:

Thank you for the exceptionally creepy chapter! Since you are doing lore: 1) have we seen if the Heir's blessing has a concrete effect, like the other two's blessings (like the existence of other monsters and the fact they get reincarnated together)? 2) How were the monsters able to move the Sunshield and the Starshield after Lynette and Valeon died?

the only concrete effect of lynette's blessing is the nature of the circumstances of the heir/guardian's birth (they are always born with something that is theirs to protect)

karzarul had to be the one who moved them! whether or not he came up with a workaround to avoid it burning him the entire time is left as an exercise for the reader

anonymous asked:

Yessss! Finally some moon-cult/moon-cultist things! I'm so curious!

anonymous asked:

Okay, but the children WERE alive, unless Undead can learn to read... right?

parchment/paper could be written on or interacted with in a way that would make it clear if they'd been used, but there isn't any way of telling if any of the tablets or toys were actually used after they'd been left there

@thegayknee asked:

I'm loving Astielle, but I'm feeling kind of stupid because I had no idea what was going on in the last chapter. Was I supposed to get it, or is the reader to be confused until the pieces come together in a later chapter

there was. a LOT happening. hopefully things will get clearer as we go! as the person writing it i am not a good judge of how much anyone should be able to figure out already, hahaha

@becauseforoncethisisme asked:

I have no idea where the hell the Lost worldbuilding is headed but I am INTERESTED

@emilise284 asked:

Minnow taking them into the temple without explaining anything about the Lost made me really sympathize with my followers in Skyrim. Like yes *I* have played the game before and know there are draugr and the wiki tells me about the evil necromancers in this cave but poor Lydia has to be like, "hey, dragonborn? What the fuck. I've never seen so many Falmer in my LIFE. The last cave just had a bear and this one holds the most famous vampire in the world???" (Great chapter, 10/10)

"stop asking me why we're here like it's my fault, this is just where the quest marker is pointing"

@themaidenisdeath asked:

THERE ARE MOTHERFUCKING ZOMBIES NOW????? Okay, I have a legitimate question, and I don't mean to make it sound judgey or anything bc I'm in too deep now, and I'm gonna go on reading no matter what. But I just wanna know, for the record. Do you... know where this is going? Do you know how each plotline ends? Also, even through the Astielle!apocalypseverse, you managed to make me awwwww at this: "She is the one who spoke to me. She is the one I understand. No Goddess bound me to her; I bound myself from the first.” Serious Wuthering Heights vibes with "he's more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same". THEIR CONNECTION IS WHAT WISHED HIM TO LIFE I'm going insane

i think i know how it ends! mostly! i ended up being wrong about what was up with the undead when i first implied they existed in chapter like, 22ish? it think that was the first time, the catacombs mostly seemed like normal catacombs aside from leonas talking to skulls so i don't think that counts.

anonymous asked:

Ok firstly comparative linguistics and archaeology is my jam so jot that down. Love this chapter what amazing worldbuildig. But i see why youve been lamenting the need for lore haha cant wait to see where this goes!

having to double-check if i ever mentioned the ruined temple being in a different country (or literally anything about it at all) was so goddamn stressful why do i not take notes

@kingfisherblues asked:

What's the fuss about! It's just a good chapter featuring linguistics and necessary funerary practices. Nothing to be sad about at all. Just some thinkers. It's fine. (Teasing aside, I love the new direction of lore, it's great.)

anonymous asked:

HELL yes. That's certified good as hell undead lore.

@roboticabirdie asked:

i LOVE the concept of sun zombies so much holy shit

@halfdeadfriedrice asked:

I have strong feelings about Minnow POV (not JUST for the sweet sweet hit of a character who isn't acknowledging their feelings it's just reflected in their uncharacteristic actions) but I really!! "I need to take my boyfriends to the creepy temple so they can tell me what's the thing that's out of place. Is it a single piece of paper? A stone out of place? The hordes of zombie children? The alphabet?" It's SO MUCH in the BEST WAY

furtherly, upon reread: 1. implications about NEW Undead that Minnow has seen is, frankly, unsettling, given that the corpses downstairs start at 1000 years old? The entire construction is.. unsettling. 2. taking a moment to hate the king for, "real children, the ones that don’t have a soul eternal." 3. Minnow taking a moment to think, "I need to get Leonas a swooshy cloak so he can make more dramatic exits" was gr9 4. TREE FEELINGS

@01d55 asked:

So, Karzarul has never seen Undead before. It follows he's never tried his magic kill-anything bow on them before. I reason he's also immune to the sunlight draining, on account of not having any sunlight in him.

anonymous asked:

Everyone is all "kitty wtf" and I'm just here like "OOOHHHHH I thought the Moon made whole bodies into zombies it but aktually the Sun zealots made the Moon cultists handle their bullshit and that, frankly, is just rude"

@ivylaughed asked:

I have CONCERNS about the people who worship the sun empire. Can we talk death cult??? Literally???????

starting to think these sun guys might be problematic

anonymous asked:

Sunsweet is a brand name that allows its owner, some kind of plum growers' association, to differentiate their unsweetened prunes from whatever the compression was like when they started the brand. Or something like that. Probably. Anyway, Sundead.

askjdhaskjd

@makadragontamer asked:

First of all, you're welcome for the what the fuck chain second of all HOLY SHIT I LOVED 32!!! The INSTANT they found the toy I was like "oh no I'm not gonna like this" and then they found the early reader cards and I was like "OH NO IM REALLY NOT GONNA LIKE THIS" and it was SO GOOD the atmosphere the tension building the fact that minnow is SO unsettled and upset and she can't explain herself and, like, honestly POOR ELIAS I feel like a youtuber does a let's play of his game in the interest of ~completion~ cause they've done the rest of the games and people look back and go "okay the game sucks but the concept FUCKS" and there's a fanfic niche that's LITERALLY just his thoughts as he places the star sword in this fucked up undead nursery Also. Like. The Lore of the sun goddess just going "aren't bodies supposed to, like, move and shit?" and creating these really sad zombies and they bit about the EYES GOD that's such a tasty concept. I can't Really form thoughts about the kids beyond "how tragic that they never got to live and aren't allowed to die" Anyway, internal screaming now external screaming good chapter 10/10 excellent angst

@valence-positive asked:

In the context of the new chapter.... this happened to Jonys! Like Aimon didn't invent a terrible sun-reanimation, he found a hack to speed up the process. And maybe control him so thats its own thing but it still 😳 Aimon must have seen the temple - what could it have possibly been like when Vaelon went to make the door?? LOTS of thoughts about this chapter

@revirag asked:

Kitty. Kitty! KITTY!! OUCH. this chapter HURT. great job with creating the atmosphere and setting the crumbs, i really enjoyed reading it. I loved when Ari showed off his intelligence, how some things so natural to him are so alien to the other two. Poor Minnow and Leonas.. Many hard things to face here. Poor babies, i want to hug them. Loved Ari's reaction to Leonas's 'minute'. After so many deaths of course he would have a reaction to it (even if it was most often the hero who killed him.)

@onceuponymous asked:

There being *so many* unwanted children who became changelings might be subject to the opposite of survivorship bias (kids from many different generations would stay the same age and all end up grouped in the same place and time), but being so certain of how there will be families who don't want their kids from such a young age probably did something to Minnow's perception of the world. (at least she was primed to distrust Leland?)

@onceuponymous asked:

"Nothing breeds that lives forever." It took me until a reread this morning to parse that this was saying the immortality blessing comes with infertility (which would explain why Leonas never got anyone pregananant)

leonas probably wasn't being particularly cooperative with his father's plans, in fairness

but since it applies to anything that lives forever, it also isn't a matter of their being specifically targeted or anything

anonymous asked:

Obviously a chapter filled with revelations, big fan. And this is definitely an important emotional moment for Leonas. Cannot Help but notice however, in the context of kink taxonomy hell, that you have made it impossible for anyone to get pregnant. My squicks are impossible, btw. It’s Canon. Lore even.

found family is mandatory and no one gets to have kids except phil. and unfortunately leland i guess.

anonymous asked:

Am I seriously the first person to go "YESSSSSSSSSS COMPARATIVE LINGUISTICS"? Because that was awesome

i had to invent a word for the punctuation mark i invented. i didn't even explain it. i just threw that out there and everyone has to accept it now.

@onceuponymous asked:

"Paracoronis" [No Google results] is this a made-up orthographical symbol that's part of the extensive lore backstory of which there will be scant mention in the work itself?

YUP THAT'S THE ONE

#original #astielleblogging

102 notes · View notes

succulentsunrise · 3 years

Text

A Chance of Courage

- Small talks, small actions and small decisions lead to something momentous.

My piece for the YamiChar Week, Day 2! It is both a stand-alone and a continuation to my Day 1 fic 🥰

Edit: I've added a small directory!

Day 1 | All | Day 3

It is funny how sometimes even the smallest things can become an obsession in one’s mind. For Charlotte Roselei, this was the meeting she had had with Yami Sukehiro in the gardens a week prior. A cordial, common meeting - but the substance of it empty. Her mind kept replaying that meeting, her heart aching and leaping into conclusions. She knew that the more she thought about it, the more she was adding things into the scene. More meaningful stares. More subtle hints. The reality was probably something more reasonable.

“Sis?” Sol’s voice woke her up from her thoughts.

Charlotte turned towards the younger woman, straightening her back and trying to concentrate on her surroundings. They were sitting together outside, in the garden. Ah - that was why her thoughts had turned to the meeting again. The thought distracted her once more. She was in some aspect conscious that Sol was talking to her, but she found it difficult to concentrate on that. Sharing a moment like this with Yami would be impossible. He wasn’t the type of man to sit outside and read poetry. Charlotte liked poetry. It was proper and beautiful and oh - so romantic. She blinked, trying to listen to Sol again. What a beautiful morning it was…

“Sis, you’re not listening.”

The accusation wasn’t without reason, causing Charlotte to look slightly embarrassed and apologetic. She spoke gently, her eyes lowering down to the poetry book on her lap.

“My apologies, Sol.”

“What’s on your mind?” Sol asked, her young face painted with curiosity.

It would be too embarrassing to tell. Too difficult to tell to Sol. Charlotte shook her head with a small smile.

“I was wondering what inspired these authors to write so beautifully,” she lied.

“They probably couldn’t say what they wanted out loud, y’know,” Sol laughed with a grin.

Charlotte considered her for a moment. Sol was a vibrant person, full of life and brashness. She didn’t stop to consider things yet. She lived in the moment. Charlotte knew Sol looked up to her. Sol was still easily impressionable. Any opinion Charlotte presented, she echoed louder and coarser. Yes, Sol wasn’t refined, not like a noble. Perhaps it was what endeared her to Charlotte. Perhaps she liked coarse people. People like Sol and Yami. They both disarmed the wall of thorns she had built in her quest for control over her own magic.

They probably couldn’t say what they wanted out loud.

Charlotte found it a rather apt remark. Perhaps she should write one? No. Yami wouldn’t understand anything about poetry, and in any case, it would be rather too embarrassing. It was already embarrassing to try to come to terms with the fact that the ruffian had stolen her heart. With a sigh, Charlotte shook her head.

“You do not admire the ingeniousness of the poets,” she remarked to Sol. “Perhaps because you always have the right words for everything.”

Sol laughed a little more, its gay sound ringing in the air.

“I’ve got the words, alright, but sometimes they come out wrong! Or sometimes I mean to say something, but I say something else instead, something that I wasn’t supposed to say at all!”

“That’s because you speak quicker than you think,” Charlotte suggested, turning back to her poetry book.

Sol didn’t seem to mind her comment, and instead returned to her own project. She had decided to try embroidering on Charlotte’s insistence. So far, she seemed to be somewhat frustrated by the actual process, though delighted by the results.

Later that evening, Charlotte visited the marketplace at the Royal Capital. She never quite liked these trips. There were too many shouts, too many men staring, too many awed sighs. She steeled her face into a cold stare to keep people from approaching her and simply strode towards her destination: an antiquarian bookshop. It was a gold mine for old poetry books, and she had become a regular there by now. Her visit there was simple and sweet. The shopkeeper recommended a new arrival - a rather old poetry book by a rather old poet. Flipping through the pages, Charlotte had approved of its contents and taken it. Then, business concluded, she left. As she glanced around herself on the road, her gaze picked up a familiar figure far in the distance. The combination of dark hair, black cloak and the relaxed style of walking was impossible to not recognize. Yami. Next to him was one of his subordinates - Charlotte couldn’t quite remember his name. She considered for a moment going after them and talking, but her pride won over. She wouldn’t know what to say. In any case, it was too embarrassing, running after a man. Charlotte turned to the opposite direction, deciding to take the long way home. This time she tried specifically not to think of Yami. She avoided the parks of the Royal Capital with the exact purpose of not remembering their meeting. She kept the poetry book she had just bought out of her sight and she stopped herself from wondering about what Yami was doing here. She tried to concentrate on the other people wandering around: a group of young girls giggling and whispering in a group, several workers sitting together on a break, young children running across the street…

It was an impulse that made Charlotte stop at a street food vendor. She wasn’t especially hungry, but it had passed enough time from the last time she had eaten. A sweet smell had caught her attention, and the sight of the first berries of the year had enthralled her. She happily bought a snack and found herself a place nearby to eat it. Then, Charlotte sunk to her thoughts once more. She should’ve taken Sol with, most likely. Sol would’ve liked such a sweet snack. It’d be difficult to take one with, though. Would it stay good - and if she took one, wouldn’t she need to buy the whole squad some? No, it was too much trouble. Charlotte leaned her face to her hand and sighed. She’d just have to bring Sol here some other time. She couldn’t take the whole squad. For now she would just enjoy the atmosphere of the city, eat her little snack and go home. There were still some reports to be written. Charlotte’s thoughts became immediately busy with planning. She’d first write that one, then turn to the mission business - and then there was that case of misconduct from one of the girls. Yes, that would be very important to investigate. She would make sure there was something in that accusation before she’d let it slip through her fingers.

A series of voices caught Charlotte’s attention as she pondered her duties.

“--it’s great for all tastes, Captain!” a warm, insistent tone explained, half-apologetic, half-excited. “You could bring anyone here and they’d find what they’d like!”

The young man speaking was dressed in greens - Charlotte recognized him immediately as that subordinate of Yami’s. Her gaze moved quickly next to the man. Yes, Yami was with him. Scratching the back of his neck as he was squinting at the street vendor’s food, he seemed unimpressed and unwilling to be there.

“Just get what you want, and let’s go,” she heard Yami grunt.

It was clear they were here because of the subordinate. Somehow, while Charlotte had tried to avoid them, they had run to Charlotte. She felt a slight flush come to her face. Yami moved away from the vendor, waiting at the side for the subordinate to pick what he wanted. Charlotte stood up, impulse taking over. Several things jumped in her mind: the meeting, the fact that poets couldn’t say what they wanted, the fact that Yami was right there and that Yami was coarse like Sol, and that Sol spoke quicker than she thought. They didn’t make much sense like that, but they were what drove Charlotte to walk up to Yami.

“Oh, hey.”

Yami’s greeting expressed his surprise well. The eyes that stared at her were shrouded in that dumb gaze. Charlotte spoke fast and breathily, forgetting to draw air while speaking. She didn’t want the subordinate to hear.

“I was wondering if you’d meet me tomorrow evening.”

“Tomorrow?”

Yami’s gaze flickered to the skies. He scratched his cheek.

“Look at you,” he then answered, and Charlotte could swear there was a playful twinkle in his eyes. “Sure.”

“Tomorrow then. Let’s say at six, at the--”

“--at the Grove,” Yami interrupted with a smirk.

Charlotte’s composure faltered, the stream of words sputtering to an end. She felt her face become fully red as she tried to regain her ability to speak. The Grove? It wasn’t the one she had planned to suggest, but it was an alright dining place. Not as fine as she had thought of - but it wasn’t that big of a deal. Perhaps because she hadn’t planned it out properly yet. From the corner of her eye, she saw Yami’s subordinate turn to look for his captain. She didn’t want him to see this.

“Cat got your tongue? The establishment not good enough?” Yami teased.

Yes, it was teasing. Charlotte could recognize it, even when his expression looked hurt and insulted. He had perfected that look.

“It’s fine,” Charlotte muttered, embarrassed and caught off-guard.

Yami smiled.

It was a smug smile.

Charlotte whirled around and went back to where she had been sitting, picking up her things and leaving with her half-eaten snack. She couldn’t bear to stay there any longer. No, she needed to go and work on the reports.

That was - if she could concentrate on them after this.

#Yami Sukehiro #Charlotte Roselei #black clover #yamichar #yamichar week 2021 #yamichar week

53 notes · View notes

anonymous-tals · 3 years

Text

Oops, I wrote a 5 page Mythic Quest fanfic instead of doing my homework...

I was bored so I wrote a story about if Brad helped David pack up for moving apartments. This is definitely centered around mental illness/mental health whatnot but no specifics of anything are discussed.

TW: Implication of eating disorders/disordered eating, implication of depression whatnot

Anyways, I hope the story is enjoyable. I don’t know if it’s any good but I had an enjoyable time writing it.

The Move

The week was coming to a close and Brad was finishing up his work for the day. Warm sunlight poured through the windows, indicating the sun was setting.

“Hey, Brad!” Brad turned to see David standing in his doorway. “Can’t wait for tomorrow!” Looking around cautiously, Brad stood up and walked over to David.

“Let’s keep this under wraps, ok? I can’t have anyone thinking I’m a nice person.”

“Well, I think you’re a nice person!”

“Shut up. Just keep this on the down-low. I just needed an excuse to get some activity of sorts in.”

“Packing up for a move can be quite exhausting. Make sure to have a good breakfast. Or, even better! I’ll make us breakfast! How do you feel about pancakes?” Brad rolled his eyes before walking back over to his desk.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, David.”

“I’ll take that as a yes on the pancakes.” David walked away, cheerfully while Brad sighed, going back to work.

…

Ding dong! It was exactly 10:00 a.m. when David heard the doorbell to his apartment sound out. He rushed over to the panel and pressed the speaker button.

“Brad, is that you?”

“Who else would it be?”

“Well, sometimes it’s people trying to convince me to join their religion but I just ignore them-”

“That was a rhetorical question, David. Let me in.”

“Ok. I’m in room 203.”

It was about a minute before David heard a knock on his door. He rushed over and opened it to see Brad, looking exhausted.

“You good, man? You look like you’re going to pass out. It’s only one flight of stairs.”

“I’m fine, David. Now, let’s get started.”

“Wait just one second there, bud!”, David said, rushing off down the narrow hallway. Brad peered down the hallways as sounds of clattering echoed through the apartment. Brad then turned to the rest of the apartment that he could see. It was a mess. A fire hazard, for sure. It looked like a mess that could only accumulate after weeks upon weeks of not cleaning. Suddenly, David rushed back holding two plates. “You almost forgot about breakfast!” Brad stared at the pancakes, not moving. David gestured one of the plates towards him. “Any day now!” Brad reached out and delicately took the plate from David’s hand. “Great! Now, how about we sit over there!” David pointed towards a couch in a small living room area that was quite cluttered. Books and knick-knacks were strewn about haphazardly. “Sorry, it’s not always this messy. I’ve just been trying to sort through things so everything is all over the place.”, David laughed. Brad was still staring down at the pancakes as an awkward silence filled the room. “Ooookay, then. Let’s go!”

They headed over to the couch and they sat down, placing the plates on a small, magazine-covered coffee table. David carelessly pushed the magazines onto the floor. He started eating while Brad poked at the pancakes with his fork and looked around the room.

“You know, for not having food in your mouth, you’re awfully quiet!”

“Mhmmm.”, Brad said, acknowledging David speaking without giving him anything to work with.

“Well…” David tried to think of something interesting to talk about but he couldn’t. “Anything fun coming up for you?” Brad didn’t respond, now staring intently at the pancakes. “You can eat them, man. They are yours for the devouring!”, David chuckled.

“You know, I’m not hungry. Where’s your kitchen?”

“You sure? I have some other stuff if you want something else.”

“No, I’m good.”

“Ok, um, it’s right down the hall. The second doorway.” Brad stood up without another word and beelined to the kitchen, disappearing out of David’s line of sight. David could hear the sound of scraping followed by thumps and crinkly plastic. “You can just put it in the fridge!” Brad didn’t respond. David sighed before going back to eating his pancakes, Brad returning not long after.

“So, when are we going to get to packing up these boxes?”, said Brad, seemingly more energized than before. He had started bouncing his leg impatiently.

“Well, look who’s eager to help!”

“That’s what I’m here for. And I’m planning on catching a movie later so I want this all to be done sooner rather than later.”

“Oh, really? What movie? I really enjoy comedies. Like this one-” Just then, Brad interrupted him before he could finish his sentence.

“It’s a documentary about cheetahs and their role in the ecosystem.” David nodded.

“Oh… Mhmm, I see. Interesting.” David sat there, unsure of how to continue commenting on that. Despite David’s clear lack of interest, Brad continued.

“It’s really interesting to see the ruthlessness of nature and the wild and how everything plays a part in keeping life evolving and growing and just existing. You know what I mean?” There was a spark in Brad’s eyes that David only saw when Brad got a good deal in a sale. David gave a small nod.

“Oh, for sure… Well, I mean, no, but that’s very interesting.”

“It really is.” Brad didn’t seem to acknowledge David’s lack of knowledge or interest in what he was saying. He was just fully lost in thought. Suddenly, he seemed to come back to reality, as if he was escaping from a trance. “Well, um, anyway, let’s get working.”

“Perfect timing, too! I just finished my pancakes. Let me just take this to the kitchen and we can get this show on the road!” David and Brad both stood up and David headed to the kitchen to put his dish in the sink. It only took him a couple of seconds but by the time he came back, he saw Brad was looking at himself in a small mirror that hung by the door. David paused before brushing it off. “Ok, let’s get this thing started!” Brad spun around, caught off guard. It was as if he’d forgotten that he wasn’t the only one here.

“Right.” Brad seemed a bit out of it, as he’d been not long before. “Where do we start?”

“I guess we can start at different sections.”, said David. You can start over there…”, said David pointing to the corner of the living space. “… and I’ll start over here!”, he said, pointing to a bookshelf next to the TV, not too far from where Brad would be working. “Let me get the boxes!” David rushed down the hall and Brad walked over to the area that he’d be covering. He noticed an odor growing stronger as he approached it. His nose crinkled as he peered around the mess. He suddenly came upon what looked to be a Chinese takeout box.

“I’m starting to wonder if he’s ever cleaned this place.”, Brad said to himself. David reappeared with two boxes.

“Ready to rock and roll?”

“Sure.”, Brad paused. “When’s the last time you cleaned?”

“Oh, very recently. As I said, I’ve just been sorting through things and-”

“Really? Because the amount of mold on this old takeout seems to indicate otherwise.” David walked over to where Brad was standing.

“Oh, uh… I must’ve, um, missed that. I’ll get a garbage bag.”

David cleaned up the rotting food and they both sat down to get to work. Brad started picking up items and placing them in the box. It was silent between the two of them. Brad would’ve spoken but he didn’t know what to say so he kept quiet. He placed things carefully in the box, using the space as efficiently as possible. He fit one last item in the box before turning to David.

“Hey, where’s the tape?” Suddenly, a puzzled expression grew on Brad’s face. David’s box was empty. He just sat there, tapping his finger on the side of the box. “David?” Suddenly, David jolted his head up.

“Huh, oh, uhh…” David picked up an item, pretending that he had been being productive the whole time. “The tape?”

“Yes, David. The tape.”

“It should be on the coffee table.” Brad scooted over to the coffee table and shuffled the items around before turning to David.

“I don’t see it.” David was quiet. His face looked tired yet he hadn’t even done anything yet. Brad sighed and moved closer to David. “You ok?” David looked at the ground and fidgeted with a coaster that had somehow made its way onto the floor.

“I’ve been trying to pack for weeks now but I just keep putting it off and putting it off. I’ve just been so tired and I can’t do anything but I’ve been trying. I want to do it but I can’t! I’ve barely had the motivation to clean, as you can see. Once I get home, I just am so drained. The thing is, I don’t even do anything at work! I just stand around. I’m useless.” David spoke quickly and his speech got shakier and shakier as he spoke. “I thought having a friend here would help me but I just can’t do it. I can’t do anything right.”, David said, flopping over and burying his head in his lap.

Brad sat there, watching his boss break down in front of him. He’d seen David have panic attacks before but nothing ever like this. Nothing this depressing. In an attempt to comfort him, Brad patted him on the back.

“Hey, man, you aren’t useless!” Brad paused. “I understand how you feel, though.”

“You do?”, David sniffled, poking his head up.

“Yes…and that’s as far as I’m going to go into it.”, Brad said quickly. They sat in silence for a moment, David sitting back up. His eyes were glazed over.

“You can just leave if you want, Brad. I wanted this to be fun but I ruined this whole thing.”

“I never expect anything I do with you to be fun so you didn’t let down my expectations.” Brad started to regret making that kind of joke but David seemed to find it funny, a small smile forming on his face. “I’d be happy to stay and help.”

“Really?”, said David.

“Really. Now, I’m going to go look for the tape and I’ll be right back. You just relax and I’ll work on packing your stuff up.” David nodded before looking back to the box.

Brad searched around, eventually finding the tape in a drawer and grabbing another box on the way back to the living area. As he entered the room, he saw David still staring at his box except, now, there was an item in there: a book.

“Hey! Look at you go!”, Brad said, reaching out his hand for a high five. David weakly tapped his hand before going back to staring at his box. Brad walked over to his side of the room and started packing stuff up.

…

Brad placed tape down on the last box before sitting back and sighing. He looked at the clock on the wall of David’s bedroom. 11:49 p.m. He stood himself up, placing his hand on the dresser next to him to steady himself. Yawning, he entered the living room to find David lying on the couch.

“I did it! Your stuff is all packed and ready to go.”

“Thanks, man. I owe you. Really. I can’t begin to describe how much this means to me.” Brad gave a tired smile. They were quiet for a moment. “You want anything? It’s good!”, said David, raising his plate of chicken, rice and mixed vegetables. Brad shook his head.

“No, I’m good.” David looked at him puzzled.

“Have you eaten anything today?”

“I’m just not that hungry. I’m not a very hungry person, David.”

“Yah… I know.” David looked at him, a mixture of confusion and concern was expressed on his face. Silence filled the room again.

“Well, I think I better head home.”

“Home?”, said David, turning fully towards Brad. “What about your movie?”

“Oh, it played hours ago. Sometime around 6. I thought we-… I’d be done by then.”

“What?! Why didn’t you go?”

“I don’t know. You needed help moving! … Shut up.”

“I’m sorry, Brad. If I had helped, you probably wouldn’t have missed your movie.” David flopped down onto his back. “I’m just a waste of people’s time, aren’t I?”

“Jeez, man. Calm down.”, Brad said, sitting down next to him. “You know how I am. If I wanted to leave, I would’ve left. I was happy to help, ok?”

“You sure?”, David said, propping himself up and meeting Brad’s eyes.

“Yes. I’m sure.” David smiled.

“You know, Brad, deep down, you are a nice person.”

“Don’t you dare repeat those words to anyone or else I will not hesitate to destroy you.”

“Got it.” Brad then stood up.

“Well, I’m going to go so…”

“Ah, yah. Goodbye, Brad!”

Brad walked over to and opened the door when David spoke.

“Hey, promise me you’ll eat something when you get home, ok?”, David said, with a smile.

“Sure… I promise.”, said Brad, giving a weak smile before it fell to a tired expression. “Bye.”

The door closed and David let himself fall back down onto the couch. He looked around at all the boxes. His apartment was barren except for the furniture. Guilt from not helping still lingered but his appreciation and gratefulness topped whatever guilt was left. David thought about getting up and going to his bed but he was too tired. He reached for the remote and put on a random channel and lay his head down. Today was the last day in his apartment. The last month or so had been rough but David was just glad that the last real memory that he’d made here was not entirely horrible. As he thought, David slowly closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

#mythic quest fanfic #mythic quest #brad bakshi #david brittlesbee #so i can write 5 pages of a fanfic #but not write what would probably be a one page article for journalism?#ok brain #you do you i guess #tw ed

26 notes · View notes

hiccanna-tidbits · 3 years

Note

*kicking at your door, smashing it* DING DONG

Hello! 🥰🌸

from "Questions You Should Be Able To Answer For Any OTP" 1,3,4,5,9 and 10 for moanida!😅💜 But you can answer all of them or only few of them is it's too much ahaha

Ily, take care!!

YEAH BOIIII

Coffee shop AU: Who is the barista, and who frequents the coffee shop?

I'm just imagining Moana being a barista at some hole-in-the-wall authentic Polynesian coffee place by the beach, and of course Merida because she damn well needs her caffeine in the morning or she'll pass out, and Rapunzel insists on starting these fucking Squad Beach Days early. Merida was honestly willing to take the first cup of coffee she could get when the gang first went into town, but uhhhhhh oh GOD that girl behind the counter is cute!!! Merida starts "ending up" in there quite a lot, although initially she can barely string a coherent sentence together in front of that cute barista and can't make eye contact for more than half a second. Extroverted as she can be, Merida dissolves into an absolute mess as soon as a pretty girl is involved XD

Merida also pretends to only like black coffee to make herself seem tough, but in reality she kind of hates it and prefers sugar-laden lattes and sweet teas. After a while, when she and Mo have established kind of a friendship, and Merida can have an conversation with Mo without imploding and making an idiot of herself, Mo notices Mer making a face every time she sips her Plain Black Coffee and kinda smirks and is like “You know, there’s no shame in adding sweeteners. I mean, for god’s sake, my favorite drink here is the blonde vanilla coconut latte, and I’m still pretty tough.” Merida is just like “OH THANK GOD” and finally admits that she’d much rather be ordering an Irish crème, toffee, buttered rum, cinnamon, or caramel latte. If the seasonal flavor selection offers any apple-accented or apple pie-esque lattes, Merida’s all about that shit, too! Probably the most “intense” drink Merida actually enjoys is a pretty spicy cinnamon latte. She ends up ordering this pretty frequently to impress Moana with her spice tolerance, even though she really doesn’t need to.

Also, in case there’s any question about it--yes, Moana absolutely memorizes Merida’s orders! Moana also memorizes what flavor syrups Merida seems to like best (i.e. spicy cinnamon, apple pie, caramel, toffee, butterscotch) and gives them extra shots of them in her drinks. When the manager complains about all of Merida’s favorite flavor syrups running out frequently, Moana is like “Oh nooooo, I have no idea why THAT could be! That’s terrible!”

Rivals to lovers AU: Who takes their rivalry seriously, and who is half in it just to push the other’s buttons?

I love the idea of them having a super-petty sports rivalry in a modern AU! Merida strikes me as being competitive as hell, so I’m betting anything she’d be the one to take it way too seriously and get increasingly annoyed with Moana outdoing her, while Mo kind of gives in and indulges Mer but is also secretly amused and kind of flattered that Mer is like...that into their rivalry. Moana’s just like *Regina George voice* “Why are you so OBSESSED with me???”

Like maybe in a modern-day college AU, Merida has been the star of her college’s archery team basically since freshman year. She wins the championships!!! She gets the trophies!!! She’s very well-known within the tiny niche community that is college archery!!! Then, come junior year, this girl in Merida’s year who Merida’s never even SEEN before shows up out of nowhere and makes the cut for the team. She’s honestly way better than she has any right to be (like judging by how she is with that harpoon gun, Moana’s aim is pretty damn good) and is constantly stealing the spotlight, and Merida is a very angry lass. Like it seems like no matter what she does, Moana can always one-up her, and Merida wants to tear her hair out in frustration. Doesn’t help that every time Moana does ridiculously good on a drill and gets 7 bullseyes in a row or some shit, she’s insufferably smug and cocky about it. Merida very-nearly throws a fit every time Mo outdoes her, and Moana honestly finds the whole thing pretty amusing. She’s sort of flattered that apparently only she can get such dramatic reactions out of Mer, and that just tempts her to push Mer’s buttons all the more.

Then, come the annual Big Archery Tournament Finals! As usual, Merida’s college’s team wins--although this time, it’s through a combination of Merida’s and Moana’s skills rather than just Merida kicking archery ass for like 2 hours straight. On the individual evaluations, Moana scores higher than Merida, but only by a little bit. Merida is, of course, extremely salty, but she’s also grudgingly grateful that Moana being there was able to give their team a definitive edge in the competition.

Afterwards, the team goes out for celebratory drinks. After probably 3 drinks too many, Moana finally works up the courage to try and actually like...have a straight conversation with Merida for once, instead of just communicating with passive-aggressive show-offery. She wanders over, sits next to Mer at the bar, and half-slurredly asks if she can declare a truce just for one night, in honor of their kind-of-teamwork winning the tournament. Merida is also a few drinks in, so she’s just like “sure, fuck it, maybe yer not so bad after all. Now prove to me you’re not a pain in the arse!”

They chat for a while, and it turns out Moana is actually pretty easygoing and fun to talk to when she’s not mega-flexing with her archery skills. After a few more drinks, Moana is like “...can I tell you something?” and Merida’s like “why not?”

And then Moana just goes bright red and looks away and admits that the whole reason she got into archery and boosted up her skills enough to join the team in the first place was because she saw Merida making like 50 bullseyes at the previous year’s tournament, and developed a huge crush on her--to the point where she did all this extra-ass shit just so she could join the archery team and get to know Merida better. Also, every instance of Moana acting smug and cocky after acing a drill or perfectly hitting a target? It was honestly because she was trying to impress and show off to Merida, and also because she’s awkward as hell and has no idea how to actually flirt without being joke-mean and joke-cocky. Merida, a much more emotional drunk than she will ever admit, starts crying and gets super apologetic, because oh god, she was being so mean and rude to this girl who only ever thought she was cool and wanted to impress her from the jump??? How COULD she??? Moana lowkey loses her shit laughing because how mad Merida got at being upstaged was honestly kind of hilarious, and she was actually really flattered that Merida was, again, that obsessed with their rivalry. It made Moana feel weirdly special that only she could get to Merida that much, and she honestly liked the attention, even if it...wasn’t the most positive XD And Merida starts laughing, too, because she’ll admit that in hindsight, this whole thing feels a little ridiculous, and extracurricular college archery really isn’t that big of a deal.

Finally, Merida just rolls her eyes and says “C’mere, yeh bloody show-off yeh” and grabs Moana by the front of her archery uniform and smooches her!!! The entire archery team hoots and hollers because OH SHIT, DAT GAY!!! Merida holds out her other hand and flips the entire team off, which honestly just makes them cheer more.

Enemies to lovers AU: Which one switches sides?

Depends a lot on the conflict, I think! Maybe a war breaks out in an AU where someone other than Moana is chosen to return the Heart of Te Fiti--I’m gonna say Tui, for irony’s sake! Moana and Sina take over as co-chiefs while he’s gone, but he takes significantly longer than Moana did in the quest, so Moana’s tribe is eventually forced to flee Motunui to find new fishing grounds before their island is overtaken by darkness. The people of Motunui sail across the world, trying to find a new place to call home. Unfortunately, every time they find a habitable place, it’s already occupied, and the people who live there are uninterested in sharing their already-scarce food.

Eventually they stumble upon Dunbroch, far enough away from Motunui that the seas aren’t affected by the spreading darkness, and fish are plentiful. Naturally, Moana’s tribe sets up a camp on the shores and starts catching as many fish as they can, hoping they’ve finally found a place where they can have enough to eat again. Unfortunately Fergus and Elinor aren’t too crazy about this, and are like “yo, these oceans and these fish and other game belong to the people of Dunbroch and you gotta leave” and Sina and Moana are like “Pls we don’t have any place to go and we’ve been barely eating for a long-ass time, can’t you spare some food?” and Fergus and Elinor are like “sorry bro, it’s almost winter and we have our own entire kingdom to look after, we don’t need more mouths to feed. You gotta be on your way or shit’s gonna get real.”

So Moana thinks this sounds sketch as fuck because like...there’s an entire forest full of deer, rabbits, and other game, and they have NO food they can spare??? That night, Sina sends Moana to spy on the kingdom, since she can be pretty sneaky when she wants. Moana manages to climb the castle battlements and watch through a window, and she sees a bunch of people enjoying a massive feast in a huge dining hall. Her eyes are particularly drawn to a girl about her age with a head full of bright, fiery curls, wearing a nice dark green dress and gorging herself on pastries adorned with white icing and raspberries.

Moana heads back and tells Sina “actually it looks like these assholes have PLENTY of food to spare, and they just want to keep it all for themselves” and Sina is like “well shit...why don’t we raid their food store, then??? They’ve gotta have one somewhere!” And so the Motunui village storms Castle Dunbroch at dawn, catching them almost completely by surprise.

The first thing Moana does is seek out the redheaded pastry girl, whom she’s developed a particular disdain for. When she rushes her, she’s surprised that the ginger girl whips around and immediately sends an arrow sailing into her shoulder. When Moana gets close, the redheaded girl pulls out a sword. Moana takes out a long, sharpened wooden spear made from a particularly tough oar.

She turns out to be much more competent than Moana expected, especially for someone who was shamelessly shoving sweets into her mouth not 7 hours earlier.

They go toe to toe Raya-and-Namaari style, and the redheaded girl admittedly gives Moana a run for her money. The longer the battle goes on, the more Moana’s rage grows. She taunts the redheaded girl the entire time, calling her a spoiled, selfish brat who’d rather gorge herself with all the sugar in the world than share even one grain of it. Merida, who hasn’t exactly heard good things about these people from her parents, is just like “well, you’re no better, showing up and thinking you can just steal what belongs to Dunbroch and we won’t put up a fight!”

And thus the war begins. Motunui is never quite strong enough to get through the guards and raid the food stores, and Dunbroch is never quite strong enough to fully drive Motunui out of the kingdom. Fergus and Moana are both far too stubborn to surrender (despite the fact that Sina is kind of ready to), and so the battles continue. Casualties start to pile up. Dunbroch seeks help from the other clans, but they refuse--they did not take their leaders’ sons being scorned by the Dunbroch princess lightly.

Over and over, Moana can’t help but be drawn to the redheaded girl. She realizes after a few battles that this girl isn’t just anymore, but the Dunbroch princess--her resemblance to the king and his protectiveness over her can’t be a coincidence. It only makes Moana hate her more--but time and time again, she isn’t able to get the better of the princess. Moana can fight hard, and she can be vicious--but so, she’s discovering, can the Dunbroch girl. The princess is clever and cunning, and underestimating her has almost gotten Moana a blade in the throat one too many times.

Merida would be the one to change sides eventually, I think (wooo! Finally got to the actual question!). Once she finds out her parents didn’t tell her the whole truth about their first meeting with the Motunui village and sorta fudged what happened, Merida is livid that they turned away people who needed help. She said if she had known there were people who were tired and hungry and just needed a place to rest, she would have gladly given up some of her own meals for them! To prove this, she gathers up her dinner--plus some apples and some pastries she was going to have for dessert--and puts it in a basket, taking it to the Motunui camp as a peace offering. Moana ambushes her and very nearly slices the basket in half, if only because Moana was convinced it was filled with venemous snakes. After some bickering, Moana finally snatches the food away and, after testing it to make sure it wasn’t poisoned, brings it to Sina.

Unfortunately, one basket of food isn’t enough to feed the village, and the fighting continues. Merida tries to convince her parents to share their food stores with Motunui, but they still refuse, saying they need those stores for their own people and the Motunui people killed any chance of goodwill they might get when they attacked. Determined not to see people starve, Merida starts stealing from the reserve herself and sneaking the food out to the Motunui camp. Moana is feeling a lot more kindly towards Merida at this point, and feels a little bad about being so quick to judge her initially.

Eventually, Fergus and Elinor notice the food in the stores going missing, and figure some of the Motunui villagers must be running stealth operations to sneak in and get it. Dunbroch launches a full-scale attack on Montunui--while Merida is at their camp sneaking them food, in fact. Fergus makes a beeline for Moana. Word has gotten out by now of the times she managed to spy on the castle, so her sneakiness is well-known--and Fergus is all but certain she’s the thief. He charges at her with his sword, aimed to kill, when his own daughter steps in the way.

He barely manages to stop himself, but he does just in time. Merida admits she was stealing the food the whole time, and she can’t let Fergus hurt Moana. Fergus demands to know why, and Merida tearfully admits “Because I love her!”

Fergus, in a rage, takes out his sword again and charges Merida. Swords clash between father and daughter, and Merida looks like she’s just about to be overpowered. Moana can see the fear and betrayal in her eyes, appalled that her father would actually contemplate hurting her.

Not wanting to see whether he actually would, Moana steps in and helps Merida to fend Fergus off. “Enough!” she screams. “How can you live with yourself? My father risked his life to try to save his daughter and his people--and you’re willing to fight yours because she doesn’t agree with all this senseless violence?! You make me sick! I’m standing with Merida, because...because I love her too. I’ll leave if you want, but I want this to end.”

This finally snaps Fergus out of it, and he and Elinor decide that maybe the fighting has gone on long enough--and maybe it’s not worth it anymore, if it’s pitting them against their own daughter now. They end up trying to work out something with Motunui. Establishing a peace treaty and figuring out how to proceed forward is a long and messy process, but everyone is willing to put in the work--for the sake of Merida and Moana, if for nothing else.

Soulmate AU: Who is eager to meet their soulmate? Who absolutely does not want to meet their soulmate?

Neither of them want to meet their soulmate XD Merida has just been repulsed by the idea of marriage and commitment since she was young, mainly because she can’t not see it as just a means of taking her freedom away and making her be subservient to someone. Besides, given the, um...heteronormative culture of Dunbroch and all, she assumes she’ll get not just stuck with, but cosmically bound to a man and that idea just...doesn’t do anything but fill her with unadulterated disgust XD Like please no, she’s perfectly happy to go where she pleases when she pleases with no one but Angus for company. The last thing she needs is some stuck-up, snot-nosed boy telling her what she can and can’t do.

Moana has similar concerns, although maybe a bit less extreme. She’s mainly worried that when she meets her soulmate and, as per expectation, marries them, she’ll be expected to “mature” into a full adult and fully embrace her responsibilities as chief, leaving behind her childhood dreams of exploring the ocean. Same as Merida, she’s worried the person she’s destined for will tie her down and prevent her from exploring and going on the adventures she craves so badly. She’s also, like Merida, worried she’ll get stuck with some lame, boring dude who she’ll be destined for because...he loves her!!! And will be really nice to her!!! But will not stimulate or interest her in any way whatsoever!!! And Moana is pretty uninterested in romance and dating regardless, so the idea of any kind of romantic partner who she’d hypothetically have to run crazy ideas by before just doing them doesn’t sound too appealing to her. Like, she’s happy where she is and having her friends and family for company, what does she need an SO for??? It just feels like the whole “soulmate” business is just the universe attempting to give her a babysitter, and Moana ain’t about that. She can do things on her own, dammit!!! And what makes the great elder love gods think she wants another person to keep track of on her escapades, anyways?!? It’s enough effort keeping herself safe without worrying about someone else!

Imagine their shocked delight when each finds out their soulmate is a) a girl and b) a girl arguably just as chaotic, adventurous, and rebellious as they are!!! They meet and they’re like “huh...maybe the universe wasn’t being some big dumb fucking idiot binding us together after all. I can work with this!!!”

Pirate AU: Who is the pirate? Who is the member of the royal family who did not sign up for this?

Merida is the pirate! Or at least...the one who becomes a pirate first! XD Maybe to escape her betrothal she steals a ship and flees Dunbroch, and BOOM trouble on the High Seas time!!! Eventually she sails to the south Pacific on her naval escapades, and stumbles on Motunui. When she finds out Moana is a chief’s daughter, she naturally kidnaps her and holds her for ransom--because screw it, she hasn’t successfully pillaged any merchant ships recently and she needs some cash. But instead of being like “Noooo take me home!” Moana is like “Actually this fucks, I’ve always wanted to sail the ocean anyways and my dad wouldn’t let me before, so you’ve accidentally given me an avenue to achieve my dreams!!! Thank you!!!” And Merida realizes that a first mate would actually be a lot more useful in the long run than a handful of hostage money, so she just kind of shrugs like “aight, yer on the crew.”

Merida is a bit salty because Moana takes to the pirate lifestyle excellently--so much so that before long, she’s arguably a better pirate than Merida XD While Merida is a bit cranky about being outdone in the art of piracy, she also can’t help but admire Moana’s natural aptitude for sailing and propensity for mischief on the High Seas!!!

Their ship is called “The Arrow,” and Merida definitely uses her bow during pirate-to-pirate combat! She teaches Moana how to shoot a bow, but discovers Mo is pretty nifty with a harpoon gun as well!

Childhood best friends AU: Which one was super obviously in love with the other the whole time? Who was oblivious until they were older?

Oooooh, this is a fun one!!! Admittedly I don’t usually think about these girls in a Childhood Friends to Lovers AU (very possibly due to...geographical constraints lol) so this’ll be a cool thought experiment!

SO in order to fix my unfortunate geographical constraints, I’m gonna say that this is an AU where the people of Motunui were wayfinders from the jump, and while voyaging (admittedly a LONG way), they stumbled upon Dunbroch. Moana’s parents and Merida’s parents immediately hit it off, and established a political alliance of sorts.

Moana, meanwhile, pulled the classic “little girl on vacation/at an event immediately seeks out other little girl and becomes best friends with her.” Moana and Merida naturally also hit it off immediately, and are both pretty bummed out when Tui and Sina want to leave and continue voyaging and such. However, they make plans to visit as frequently as they can and Merida and Moana are super hyped about this! They both always get extremely excited for said visits, and Little Moana nearly falls off the front of her family’s boat several times because she’s leaning over so far and squinting so hard to try and see Dunbroch.

I love the idea that Moana was the one who was totally smitten from the jump, to the point where it took her years to realize she was aspec because she was like “Of course I can fall in love!!! I’m in love with Merida!!!” She just didn’t realize most people have romantic inclinations toward more than one person over the course of their lives XD

It absolutely does not help that Merida is extremely romance-repulsed when they’re kids--mainly because she associates romance in general with being docile and acting stupid to impress some annoying macho guy, and that thought kinda makes her want to puke. That, and given how, er...heteronormative things are in Dunbroch, it doesn’t reall occur to her that romancing girls is like...an option. So poor Moana has always kind of resigned herself to thinking she has no chance with Merida, and keeps her feelings under pretty tight lock since she doesn’t want to ruin their close friendship and all and she doubts Merida even swings that way.

THEN when they’re in their early teens, Merida is like “hmmm...I wonder what it would be like to kiss Moana?” but then IMMEDIATELY feels weird for thinking that and tells absolutely no one. She’s definitely starting to feel something a little different than just platonic friendship though, and of course she’s also convinced Moana only sees her as a friend and probably doesn’t like girls.

Then one day they’re wrestling around out in the woods, like they have since they were little, and at one point Merida leans down and just impulsively kisses Moana. She’s super flustered and apologetic afterwards, but Moana just stares in shock before being like “holy shit, I never thought you’d actually want me too. Holy shit!!!!” After that, they start secret-dating and everyone around just thinks they’re still “very good friends” XD

When Merida turns 16 and gets the news of her betrothal, she’s devastated. It takes her several days to process her emotions, and several times she tries to protest to her mother, but Elinor steamrolls her and talks over her at every turn. Finally, when Merida can get a word in edgewise, she tearfully bursts out that she can’t go through with this because she loves Moana. Elinor, traditionally-minded woman that she is, is horrified by this.

When Fergus finds out, he GOES OFF at Elinor and sticks up for Merida. He basically says that she’s their daughter and they should want her to be happy, and they should be happy for her that she did find someone she loves, even if it’s a bit...unconventional.

Later, at the betrothal ceremony, Merida picks an archery contest for the suitors with the hopes of cheating the system and winning her own hand. Imagine her surprise when Moana rushes in late with a makeshift bow on her hip, shouting “I am Moana of Motunui, and I’ll be shooting for the princess’s hand as well!”

Luckily, due to Moana’s years and years of informal archery training from Merida herself, the other suitors really don’t stand a chance.

It turns out that Elinor and Fergus set this whole thing up, deciding in the end that their daughter should at least be able to marry who she loves if she had to get looped into a political marriage. And honestly, they weren’t going to say no to a stronger alliance with Motunui at the end of the day. Merida is so pleasantly shocked by the whole thing that she forgets to be mad about the fact that she’s still being pressured into a marriage pretty young XD Luckily, Moana has no intention of trying to hold Merida back or take her freedom away! Their relationship really barely changes after they officially become wives, and they’re still just as in love as they’ve basically always been.

As for the issue of heirs, Elinor and Fergus just make Merida’s brothers the heirs of Dunbroch, and Tui and Sina are fine with Moana and Merida choosing an heir for Motunui who isn’t necessarily their biological child. Neither Moana nor Merida are crazy about the “leaders have to be from the chief/monarch’s bloodline” rule anyways, so they’re more than fine with this!

This is in reference to this post! Still answering these questions for Moanida and Hiccanna, if I haven’t done so already!

@takaraphoenix come get your daily dose of Moanida!

#moanida #moana x merida #merida x moana #disney femslash #otp questions #merida #moana #moanaxmerida #meridaxmoana #moarida #merana #meridana #moana waialiki #merida dunbroch #rotbtd #brave #crossover

16 notes · View notes

thiswasinevitableid · 3 years

Note

Hii uhhh this is for mermay, but it's not one of the fills so please feel free to ignore this if it doesn't catch your interest!!

Idea;; within a mostly-canon setting, Duck is turned into a merperson (probably while they're trying to deal with one of the abominations, but that part's flexible) and has to deal with it while still trying to like,, function. He gets a magic disguise, but hijinks ensue.

Here you go! I attached this to "Summer rain" and another mermay prompt. It's SFW

The last time he went flying through the air and into the water while fighting an abomination, he almost died. So he’s none too pleased when he surfaces from being chucked in Lake Brahe.

“What the fuck Indrid?!”

“I’m so sorry” Mothman flaps above him, both sets of hands tapping together anxiously, “I promise this is for the best but I’ll admit the exact process might have been overkill.”

“You fuckin’ think??” Duck kicks towards shore, grabbing his hat as it tries to float away, “the others are still back there with that thing. And I fuckin hate bein’ chucked into things without warnin.”

“I don’t think there are people who do enjoy such things.” Indrid alights on the shore Duck is swimming towards.

“Well then don’t fuckin do them.”

“It is for your own good, Duck Newton.”

“Yeah, heard that one before.” He hits shallow water, wades to shore trying to shake his hat dry, “now c’mon, fly me back so we can-”

His legs crumple, sending him face first into the lake. Crawling is no good, his whole body contorting and shaking, his throat and lungs burning. He claws at the pebbles and sand, coming away with fistfuls, grabbing for something, anything, to pull him from the water, as if reaching shore will free him from the pain wracking his body.

The world is coming in photo negative now, flashes of color that don’t make sense, the crack of his bones filling his ears. He might he crying, the pain is too deep to tell what else he’s feeling or doing.

“Help” he rasps into the night air.

Human hands cup his face, guide his aching head down across bony legs, “It will not last much longer.”

“Am” he gasps, feels the Sylph turn their bodies for some unknown purpose, breathing easier after he does, “am I gonna die.”

“No. And before you ask, your powers would not have done much for you if you still had them.”

“Fuck” he whimpers.

“Agreed.” Indrid strokes his hair, “five more seconds. Four, three, two, one.”

Duck passes out before Indrid can say anything else. He’s roused by the footfalls of combat boots and wingtips down the beach.

“Duck, Indrid-OH HOLY SHIT!”

“He’s not-”

“No, Ned, he is very much alive. Had I not moved him when I did, he would have suffocated before you could get him to any water.”

“Thank god.” Ned must be by his head.

“Aubrey, can, can you, it hurts-”

“Ummmmm” His friend sounds like she’s trying to come up with a comforting explanation, “which part of your tail hurts?”

Duck sits bolt upright, then falls back into Indrid’s arms, staring at the deep green and silver tail where his legs should be.

“Well….fuck.”

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

“How are you doing?” Indrid, red glasses glinting and pink and yellow sweater hanging off his tall frame, perches on a rock.

“Great. I’m a regular, breakable dipshit who turned into a fuckin merman without warnin, I had to have Barclay call work and tell ‘em I got a flu so they won’t fire me for disppearin, anything my friends bring me to eat gets soggy, and I ain’t seen my cat in three days.”

“So...not good then?”

Duck raises an eyebrow. Indrid smiles, not his usual confident, casual one. He looks unsure, which is in and of itself kind of unnerving.

“No, Indrid. Not good at all.”

“Ah. Apologies, I sometimes have trouble parsing certain tones.”

Duck swims closer, “Sorry.”

“It’s quite alright. You have every reason to be angry and upset. Even with me.”

“Pretty sure you didn’t curse me.”

“No. But had I moved faster, gotten to you all sooner, you would not have been in it’s path at all.”

It’s so matter of fact. The same way Indrid talks about anything troubling.

“Certainly my most newsworthy failure”

“Had you not arrived at the cottonwood, it would have been rather bad for me.”

“Oh, don’t worry about the eye. It hurt, but I have felt far worse.”

“And I have yet more bad news; while I can make a charm that will allow you to be in your human form for up to six hours at a time, the properties of that abomination mean eventually you’ll have to return to water.”

There’s a flicker in the smile, so swift Duck wonders if it’s only because his eyes are no longer human, slit pupiled instead of round, that he sees it at all. Or if it’s because this is the first time they haven’t been surrounded by heat, noise, or danger.

“Indrid, you know I don’t blame you, right?”

“Of course, Duck. I was merely being thorough in my apology.” Now it’s his normal, wide smile, but too tight across his teeth.

“He was before my time.” Vincent grins as he sets the DVDs on a well-dusted shelf, “though if Woodbridge is anything like he is now, I doubt they got along. The other ministers say he was...determined when he left. Like he could conquer any challenge earth presented during his quest."

Indrid’s glasses slip down his nose and he pushes them up before Duck gets even a glance at his eyes, “Now, where did I put that pin…” He pats his pockets, freezes when Duck manages to set a hand on his shin.

“Indrid, I mean it. Didn’t blame you then, don’t blame you now. Hell, from the sound of it you saved my ass, big time. So, uh, what I’m tryin to say is thanks. For lookin out for me.”

He squeezes in what he hopes is a friendly fashion. Indrid chirps, once, face losing all trace of eeriness. Then he schools it back to normal.

“You’re welcome. Punching aside, I’m quite fond of you. I’m going to use this for your charm, if that’s alright.” A souvenir pin from the Monongahela's tenth anniversary sits between slender fingers.

“Holy shit, I been lookin for that for ages. I, uh, I try to-”

“Collect them, yes. I saw that in a conversation between you and Juno. I was going to give this to you anyway, goodness knows it took awhile to find it in the trailer, but now it can serve a greater purpose.” With that, he pulls a folded piece of paper from his pocket. Duck’s image unfolds before them, Indrid smoothing it out and setting it on the rock as he begins working. Duck watches with interest, notices the process is much slower than it was when Indrid disguised Billy.

“Am I harder to get right than Ryan Gosling?”

“Yes. Well, not technically, no, but with Billy I just needed him to look human. I need you to look like, well, you. Such a fine specimen requires the utmost care.”

Duck’s about to toss back his usual line he gives to guys who compliment him, then realizes flirting with the Mothman might be weird, or that Indrid may not have meant it as anything more than some clinical, Sylph observation of humans. He tries to distract himself by swimming, but his tail still won’t do what he wants much of the time.

“You’ll have greater success on your back.” Indrid says without looking up.

He’s right, and Duck manages to swim without difficulty, tail shimmering in the sunset. The one time he glances at his friend, Indrid is staring at swaying and rippling in the water.

When the Sylph finally calls that he’s done, Duck speeds to the rock, let’s Indrid pin the charm to the collar of his undershirt that he keeps wearing because he’s still a human, dammit, just one with an inconvenient tail and he’s not gonna start skinny-dipping in a national forest. Again.

Duck flails when legs replace his tail, Indrid’s hand grabbing his a moment before he needs it to and helping him onto dry land.

“Satisfactory?”

“It’s fuckin perfect!”

“Wonderful!” Indrid claps his hands together, “what would you like to do? I may need to escort you for the first day, to be certain there’s no flaw in the charm.”

Duck studies the pink light tracing the angles of Indrid’s face, “Wanna meet my cat? She looks like a bobcat that lost a bar fight, but she’s sweet as can be.”

Indrid’s grin turns genuine for the first time all day, “I would like nothing better.”

The mothman becomes a staple of his life after that. With the charm, he’s able to help the Pine Guard track and slay the abomination, go to work, look after his house, and generally convince anyone not in the know that he’s totally fine. But he has to return to the lake every day, spends his mornings and nights there, even his lunch breaks when he knows he needs to give the charm a break then. It’s far enough away that he’s in no danger of being seen by civilians, but at least once Indrid had to fly him to it before they ran out of time (and Aubrey had to teleport them there, which made him nauseous).

Indrid keeps him company, sometimes with the others and sometimes on his own. He finds waterproof cards and games, listens to Duck talk about work and tells him about his travels. At first he worries Indrid is only doing it out of guilt, but as the weeks go by he comes to see that Indrid likes him. He laughs at his jokes, gives him as close to his full attention as he can, even scratches his scales with his mothed-out claws when they start driving Duck crazy with itchiness.

His friend always goes home to sleep, which is why, as Duck is drifting on his back, half snoozing and half star-gazing, the red eyes high in a tree come as a surprise. He’s on the other end of the lake, doesn’t seem to see Duck as he spreads his wings and flaps into the air. Then he nosedives, pulling up before he hits the water and then skimming across it in broad strokes. He shoots upward, spins, and then repeats the routine.

Duck’s seen him fly during fights and to escape the Cottonwood. Never like this, never so free and graceful. It’s such a joyful sight, makes Duck wish he had wings of his own so he could join him, dance across the stars and their reflections.

He swims towards Indrid, begins mirroring him on a whim, twisting, diving, and leaping as best he can in time with the cryptids flight. Pushes his tail to carry him faster, farther, all for the sake of keeping pace with the beautiful monster in the sky.

Surfacing after a particularly giant splash, a voice lilts down from the sky.

“Race you to the other side.”

Duck loses, but only just, cackles when Indrid buzzes him so closely he can feel the tickle of his feathers. When the mothman finally lands Duck swims to him, scooting up on land so he can watch Indrid fluff and clean his feathers.

“I come to this lake to practice flying without fear of being seen. I assumed you were asleep but, ah” his antenna twitch, “I’m glad you weren’t.”

Duck stretches, moans happily when Indrid gently glides his claws up his tail, “Me too.”

“Same time tomorrow night?” Soft hope flutters between them.

“Yeah.” He grins up at the cryptid, “bring your A-game, I’m gonna carb load tomorrow mornin so I can kick your butt.”

“I look forward to it.”

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

It’s been a month and a half since he transformed, which puts them smack in summer thunderstorm season. Duck’s used to it, though he’s more than a little nervous about what will happen if lightning hits the lake. Luckily, tonight it’s just soft summer rain instead of electricity and drops the size of robin eggs.

Indrid isn’t faring as well. The rain droops his antenna, compresses his fluff until Duck can see he’s still a twig under all those feathers. He shivers, chirrs in discomfort and shakes off his wings, but stays put on his favorite rock.

“There a reason you ain’t just turnin human? Could put on a raincoat that way.”

“I” Indrid sneezes, “I want you to feel comfortable. It can be so unpleasant, feeling like the only non-human in a place.”

Duck swims to the rock, flicking his tail up and down as he float, “You’re always changin form to make me comfortable.”

“Yes. Because I want you to not be unnerved by me.”

“But what about what you want?”

A feathery shrug, “That doesn’t matter.”

“Drid-”

Red eyes glare at him, “I am well aware of how I look, Duck. What people think of me. Would you have spent even a fraction of the time you have with me if your transformation had not forced it?”

“Y-fu-uh-I mean not no?” He sinks into the water as resignation becomes visible on Indrid’s inhuman features.

“I’m glad for our friendship, Duck. And I don’t doubt that you’re fond of me now. But please don’t pretend I was your first choice for company.”

“I mean...you weren’t. But that’s because we barely knew each other, hell, you only got back to town three months ago.” Duck takes the hand nearest him, “if this happened to me now? You might be the first person I’d want lookin out for me.”

Indrid chirrs, dips his head down to rub his cheek against Duck’s hand. Suddenly he wants nothing as badly as he wants to get Indrid warm and dry so he can run his fingers through every inch of those feathers.

“May I turn human?’

“Of course. Means you can come swimmin with me.”

Indrid, now in a tank top and yoga pants, cocks his head, “Why?”

“It’ll be fun?”

“My kind are not the strongest of swimmers.”

“Good thing I got a tail and gills, then. Besides, you’ll stop feelin as sticky from the humidity if you’re in the water.”

Indrid pulls off his shirt and pants, revealing duck-patterned boxers, and cautiously wades into the lake.

“Ooohhhh, that is so much better” his sighs, too blissed-out to notice the sudden drop, and only just manages to grab his glasses before going under. Duck zips forward, hoisting him easily into an embrace as he splutters.

“Blechhh, I despise the taste of lake water.” He clings to Duck, skinny legs teasingly tense around his tail.

Duck rubs his tail up and down his inner legs soothingly, “you, uh, want somethin to get rid of the taste?”

“Please.” Indrid smirks, clearly expecting a goof. When Duck tips his glasses up his forehead, he goes stone still.

“Can I kiss you?”

“This was not in any of the timelines.”

“Just came to me now. And that ain’t an answer.”

Indrid nods, tips his face forward to bring their lips together. Duck sighs, floats lazily backwards as Indrid slips his tongue between his lips. When they part, there are more stars in his eyes than in the whole milky way.

“Do you want some good news?” Indrid nuzzles his neck with an adorable trill.

“Lay it on me.”

“The futures just shifted; Aubrey and Janelle will have a cure for your condition tomorrow.”

“Hell yeah.” Duck flips them upright, Indrid “eeping” and holding tighter, “can’t wait to stop worryin’ about whether I’m gonna start suffocatin on land. And, uh” he nips Indrid’s lower lip, forgetting about his sharpened teeth until the Sylph lets out a little moan, “if you ain’t busy tomorrow night, like to take you on a date.”

Indrid beams, “I’d like that so very much. Though I will admit, I’m going to miss how this looks on you.” He squeezes his thighs around Duck’s tail.

“You can always whip me up one if we wanna, uh, relive the fun parts of this experience.”

“True. And with that in mind, my sweet; how do you feel about wings?”

#indruck #indrid cold/Duck Newton #taz amnesty #mermay #mermay fills

25 notes · View notes

rosepetalwings · 3 years

Text

DESSERTRUNE

okay, looks like people are interested in my AU dessertrune so..... please enjoy the upcoming jumble of words i've strung together to explain this au!

(TRIGGER WARNING - This is a horror AU and will deal with dark and disturbing topics, including gore, murder, and even cannibalism, intended to disturb the viewer. The post will be tagged with the appropriate tags to warn for such things but please do not read if such things will affect you negatively. Please stay safe and enjoy something else that may bring you joy, for you are worth it. 🖤)

Story

There's giggly chattering amongst the more naive and imaginative students of Hometown's school of a world in the shadows made of saccharine enchantment and wonder... Taffy trees and frosted fields and sweet smiles from the saccharine people that inhabit this magical land. How terrible it is to know that their innocent dreams are but sugar coated nightmares.

But all is not lost.

For you see, Legend tells of 3 brave young heroes from the Light banishing the Angel’s Confections from the land which promise to bring ruin to them all. To rid the Dark of its extra Fountain and the curious candies that have sprung up in ostentatious billboards and flashy, loud ads all through the Dark World is the Heroes’ Quest; a quest that may consume them whole.

Locations

Light World

Everything in the Light World is mostly untouched, save for the bunker which sports an odd little sticker for some strange candy... Curious when you consider the sticker's brightness and newness against the bunker's weathered and dilapidated age. Probably just some kid with new stickers wandering where they shouldn't have been.

Dark World

????? - Dark and haunting, this muted pink area sports rock candy jewels that glint strangely in the shadows that bathe the area. Best to keep moving along, judging by the strange iridescent sludge that pool around everywhere here and open mouthed grinning puzzles that seem to giggle quietly at you specifically...

Castle Town - A break from the burnt bubblegum-pink, there is an empty town that surrounds a lonely castle. It is dark, and so very quiet, but completely untouched by the sludge from before. Abandoned? Or, perhaps it is so lonely a location, everyone overlooks it.

Field - A long field of pastel purple grass and luscious strawberry pink-red trees with tall buildings off in the horizon... There’s an overwhelming scent of fruit punch on the breeze and- oh! It seems a “Lancer” has left up signage everywhere, warning others in a childish scrawl to not eat from the candy stalls that advertise so loudly and brightly on every path... "The taste of happiness!" the wrapper proclaims. Upon meeting him, there’s a sense that he is perhaps not the most upstanding child with how much he loves to call himself a villain... But- perhaps he has a point, with how the candy seems to beckon the observer with its bright, happy colors... Would you believe this mischievous young lad?

The Scarlet Forest - The smell of sweet fruit punch fades out into spicy cinnamon as the crimson trees seem to grow brighter. A few fallen leaves float on by with the wind as their vehicle, and the stalls from before disappear... Smaller strip malls and buildings abound here... Though there is a large store that calls to each Darkner that approaches with bright neon signs. “Come and see the new line of Halberd Inc. treats!” the dark-circled greeter cries out with a smile so big it looks like it aches, "New improved formula! 150% more sweetness packed in!!" and the huge line of much too eager Darkners that queue up for a taste of the reformulated sweets cheer cacophonously...

Great Board - The smell of licorice envelopes the air in the Great Board, which in and of itself, is filled to the brim with billboards and bright lights and neon signs and weathered posters out the wazoo. It is a smog ridden area, lit only by the blinding neon lights that guide the way up to the castle. There's a small maze of a city here, before the Factory. It's gritty, and dingy, and it smells like a burning dumpster fire there but it is a small bit of respite before trekking elsewhere... Perhaps one could stop at the Boardway Theater, where there's a quaint little horror musical about a killer barber. Song about having "a little ponman", the Halberd Inc. papers last said.

The Factory - Halberd Inc.'s core production facility. Every facet of it is highly secured, contained, and protected. It employs almost every Darkner in the area, in some form or another. If they do not work in the production line, they work in transportation of the products. If they do not transport Halberd Inc. products, they sell the products. Or advertise. Halberd Inc. is inescapable. Halberd Inc. loves you. Halberd Inc. provides for you. Working for Halberd Inc. is happiness. Don't you want to be happy? Feel all sweet inside? The cagey silver-haired assistant hugging his clipboard a little too tightly too his chest doesn't seem all that happy. Maybe if one presses the stressed man, he'll give up the dark secret of this sordid manufacturer... And, quickly, do inform him of where his adopted(?) son has tarried off to.

Characters

Lightners

Kris - The hero of our tale. A quiet kid, normally. Though, normally not so quiet as when they enter the Dark World. They enter a world of sweets and yet their mouth is taken from them, replaced only with a thin, red smile against the purple of their mixed berry gummy flesh. They have no mouth and they must scream.

Susie - A rude girl that's about as tough as leather. ...Makes sense as to why her hide becomes fruit leather, in the Dark World. About as sweet too, deep down. Hard to convince her away from not just absolutely wolfing down all the free food around her though. But... she does listen to Lancer's warnings, thankfully.

Noelle, Asriel, Alphys, Undyne, Toriel, Asgore, Sans, Papyrus - Unchanged. Speculate on what you'd like with them. Though I have thoughts here and there for "sweets" versions of them.

Darkners

Ralsei - A fluffy boy that smells like toothpaste. He'll correct you that it's spearmint that you're picking up and then offer you some sugar free gum. Or an apple. Or some celery. As a healthy snack.

Lancer - The bad guy! ...Or so he says, as he continues to help you through this strange, saccharine world. Just kind of seems like a little kid that means well... A little, jawbreaker-looking kid, with how round he is and the paint splatters from all the signs he makes all over his clothes. ...Are those meant to be there or not?

Seam - The local shopkeep. This purple rock candy feline knows much about this old world and how very terribly the world has been corrupted since the rise of Halberd Inc. Stay a while to keep out from the not-so-fresh air and ask about all the nitty-gritty details, Seam certainly won't mind.

Rouxls - Rex Halberd's right hand man, a frigid blue raspberry slushie of a Kaard and a yes man if ever there was one. Though, only to keep the peace and his life. He only trusts the CEO of Halberd Inc. as far as he can throw him, now that he knows what the candy contains. (He almost throws up every time he thinks about it.) He wants to see the company crash and burn and run away with Lancer to build anew but he's powerless to do so. Rex owns just about everything Rouxls knows... And if Rex doesn't own it yet, he will. A little help or direction for this hopeless assistant would be appreciated.

Jevil - Must be quite the sucker to have searched this far down in the Factory. This swirling lollipop man with a harlequin smile only laughs uncontrollably as you near the bloodied vat of... candy(?) within the room. He was locked in here a while ago and forgotten for the crime of upsetting the CEO with silly games. He wishes to open your mind, see the real truth of this world... Or kill you in the process. Either or.

King - The Rex Halberd. CEO. Father. Friend. Leader. And the most awful person alive. He has more money than most would ever see in 100 lifetimes. He would dangle his own son off of the roof of his factory building. And he would more than happily consume his own products because, just like his workers and his family, the Darkners' bodies used to create his sweets are nothing more than something for him to use and discard when they have become worthless. Kick this dude's fucking ass.

#deltarune #dessertrune #utdr #safeutdr #horrorrune #gore #death #cannibalism #murder #long post #kris #susie #ralsei #lancer #rouxls #rouxls kaard #kris dreemurr #noelle

31 notes · View notes

p1nkwitch · 3 years

Text

The actual conversation this time @nonbinaryeye

Almost there.

Your name is PETER LUK-

No, we are not doing this.

Peter sits in Oliver's land overseeing what he has to do, Annabelle was very specific about it, and the amount of time he would have before things get out of hand, once he uses the needles to scratch that thing, is counted.

Still he stalls, swinging his legs back and forth just appreciating the view from his spot. Peter feels truly nothing right now, not about his impending death or anything in particular. He is stalling because there is one thing left he has to do and he is wondering if he will do it.

From under his shirt he takes out the necklace with all of their wedding rings, he stares at it a little bit, before he dangles it over the edge of the building. The world is quiet and muffled, like it has never been before.

Peter thought that he knew forsaken well, being raised for it, but here it was even more intoxicating. He recalls vaguely Elias explain to him that because the amount of living creatures in the game is so small compared to the earth, and some of the things that live here are not developed enough to fear most of what their entities represent, they started to feed more from them while at the same time amping up their powers.

That plus their fight with the horrorterrors above made them more dangerous.The game was collapsing from the force of the supernatural things that followed them trying to survive by messing with it from the inside.

Finally what Annabelle said came to mind too, that they would be bringing them too in their trip to the new session. Peter thinks that it makes no sense. If they were getting so bad here, would it not make sense to drop them to die while they ran? Not that he would want to exist without forsaken by his side, god's no, he would rather burn on this planet than to do that, he wouldn't even know what to do.

Still those are all thoughts for those who like to overthink and speculate, he merely wants to see the place a little before death, his grip on the necklace slackens, but he doesn't drop it yet.

He cant.

Because there is one last thing he has to do before that.

FORSAKENTUNDRA started pestering WATCHERSCROWN and BEATINGHEART

FT: Hello

WC: THERE YOU ARE!! DO YOU KNOW HOW MAD I AM RIGHT NOW??

BH: Peter what the everloving hell!! Where were you?! How could no one find you!!!!

FT: Did Annabelle and Simon get there yet?

WC: DO NOT IGNORE ME PETER LUKAS OR SO HELP ME

BH: No, you three are the only ones missing , we haven't seen Simon since yesterday when he teleported out of the meeting. What is going on??

WC: You reached God Tier!!

FT: I did and no thanks to you, considering you pretty much left me for dead after your archivist killed me. Anyways, they will tell you, once they get there I'm supposed to start this whole thing.

FT: Hopefully it all ends soon.

BH: End what soon? Peter?? We did try to find you, but you were gone!

WC: Peter what did Annabelle tell you? Whatever she said is merely manipulation. You should know better, that's how she got all of us to play in the first place!

FT: She didn't lie, in fact she was right in what she told me.

FT: You are all so busy trying to stop it, but it's sort of pointless at this rate. The entities messed it all up beyond repair, maybe if we were quicker and didn't take so long it would be a different story, but as it stands.

FT: We are kind of doomed.

WC: You are not being funny.

FT: I wasn't trying to be.

BH: Peter even still there aren't any other choices to be done.

FT: There is, you should know it, that's your entire point after all. Be a guide and all that. What would have happened to you? If we won? Do you split up and I get my cat back and you go back to being a dusty old corpse in the basement of the institute?

FT: Ah If only, but it doesn't work like that does it? No, i'm stuck with the lesser and fake version of one regency bastard. Your only charm is that you remind me too much of my cat to want to get rid of you.

BH: …..

WC: Peter what the bloody hell is wrong with you-?!

FT: Not much. Anyways I just wanted to have the last word for once in our marriages.

FT: So shut the fuck up Jonah.

WC: !!!!

FT: You were the worst thing that could happen to me. Made me lonely? Sure, but not worth the effort, not worth the years of dealing with your brand of power, perhaps you think the same of me and that's.. that's actually right. Better even.

FT: You know, i actually thought that i loved you? In whatever capacity there was for us to have that. We fought, we split up, we made up and made out. Rinse and repeat.

FT: There were a few good things true, but now I realize that out of the two of us, you were always the one with the advantage, which was unfair. Let's say this is the last divorce, no papers no nothing, albeit it probably would be more akin to becoming a widow. Enjoy the new world.

WC: What the HELL?!

FT: Im throwing away the rings, i can't bring myself to care anymore.

WC: Peter I don't care what the hell is wrong with you, the moment I see you I'm breaking your spine on sight. What do you think you are playing at here huh? Oh look at you throwing a temper tantrum, if you could take your head out of that bloody fog of yours it would be delightful! But unfortunately you are the single handedly more dense human on this rock.

WC: Do i need to spell out to you, how much you are being an unreasonable ungrateful, dumpster fire of an avatar?!

BH: Elias

WC: Do i need to remind you who you are speaking with and what i will do once i find you? I'm going to shove so many memories of people into your thick head.

BH: ELIAS

WC: WHAT!?

FT: I hate you.

FT: No, that would mean I care about you still, no I don't care about you anymore i'm finally at the place i should be and i'm finally getting what i always dreamed off. You can both shove off to the new session once im done with this and fuck off to go and get another stupid idiot to serve you. I pray you have the decency to pick someone not from my family if they exist in the new earth.

FT: But i doubt it, you are a terrible creature and so am i, but i think that out of the two of us at the very least i was loyal, something you could never be. Do you know why I died by your archivist? I refused to answer what your plan about him was.

FT: You told me to help you while you were dying to reach your quest bed and I did, you wanted me to replace you and look after the institute I did. We made bets and games, but ultimately I always did what you asked. And I know you would never do the same, you just can't, because you don't want to.

FT: Im tired of this little stupid game between us, it has gone for too long and it has no winner. I'm tired of you. I have never mattered to you beyond what i could offer and that was fine, but then it wasnt and yes.

FT: I got jealous of your stupid sprite. That finally made me realize the truth, i dont matter and i never did. Not to you or anyone, so for that i shall thank you. You finally made me reach true loneliness.

FT: But still, even then that feeling has sort of faded away by now too, a lot of things faded away really. If you could be kind enough to do me one favour, it would be to tell Martin that it would all go to him once this is over, the forsaken will cling to him next if I'm gone. Maybe it just eats him, it would serve his boyfriend right for killing me first.

FT: I don't care about you Jonah, not anymore. Either of you. Please do not contact me ever again, albeit i wont be alive much longer for you to try to.

FORSAKENTUNDRA is offline.

WC: Peter come back here now! How- HOW DARE YOU??

#tmastuck #magnusstuck #mm just a few more and we are back on the lighhearted ones #but yes this is what sets Elias off in the one i did before

10 notes · View notes

nicad13 · 3 years

Text

The Case for the Larger Universe

I’ve been happy with the inclusion of other characters from the larger Star Wars universe in The Mandalorian, the primary reason being that we learn so much more about Din and Grogu this way. Working backwards:

Ahsoka Tano: On top of learning Grogu’s name, we learn a ton of other things about him that only a Jedi could learn and translate for Din. All about his past, his attachment to Din, and the fear he feels. Ahsoka, specifically, is the best mouthpiece to discuss the dangers of mixing powerful Jedi with fear and severing their attachments. She saw it firsthand with Anakin. All she knows from Jedi training is based on taking kids away from their families, and she knows she can’t separate Din and Grogu. The choice of incorporating her character here is flawless.

Bo-Katan Kryze: We learn that Din was raised by a religious cult from someone who was once one of the leaders of that cult. (Yes, it’s a cult. Read up on Death Watch at Wookieepedia. They are Bad People.) Din flies the fundamentalist flag high in his reaction to Bo-Katan removing her helmet: “There is only one Way.” (Remember that this is the guy who chose to die for his religion over letting Cara take the helmet off to treat a head wound.) His whole belief system has just been threatened and he’s pissed. He’s also told the highest-ranking Mandalorian that she’s not Mandalorian and he has no clue. We learn just how lost Din is with regard to his upbringing, and he’s clueless about the foundations of Mandalorian history. Bo-Katan is the best choice to bring these revelations about – she knows exactly how bad Death Watch was, and has come to a bit of a reckoning with that past. I’m eager to see what Din does with this knowledge.

Frog Lady: While not a pre-existing character, Din’s side-quest for her was instructive for him in terms of the example she sets on how to be a parent. She’s a fierce motivator when the going gets tough, forgives Grogu when he eats a bunch of her eggs, saves Grogu from the spiders in the cockpit, and generally handles herself like a champ in dangerous circumstances. (I love her so much.) I think Din got an eyeful when he saw her reunion with her husband – he knows how hard they’ve fought for this moment, and now they finally get to be a family again. I have to wonder how hard this plucked at his heartstrings.

Cobb Vanth: Harder to say what Cobb specifically brings to this, though we learn a fair amount about how Din is capable of handling other violent cultures in peaceful ways from his dealings with the Tusken Raiders. A small part of me is murmuring something about “how to part with armor,” but I’m not sure how much volume I want to give that.

Getting to know these characters, particularly Ahsoka and Bo-Katan, through Clone Wars and Rebels is worth your time. If you lack access to those, Wookieepedia is a good resource. The thing to keep in mind with Dave Filoni is that he is a living, breathing Star Wars archive. While you don’t necessarily have to be familiar with the larger Star Wars universe to enjoy The Mandalorian, that familiarity will enhance your enjoyment of it, and that’s fair.

Keep in mind that we have a few more episodes of this season to go, and we’ve been teased that they’re going to be an “emotional roller-coaster.” Season 1 was criticized for having stand-alone episodes that didn’t seem to lend themselves to an overall plot until the last two went back and rounded many of those points up. I’m expecting something similar for Season 2. The big one, for me, will be if Din has done any further processing on Death Watch/helmet rules, and how that may relate to his interactions with Grogu and whether he will truly accept him as his son. We see so little about what goes on in Din’s head, and that is precisely why we thirst so much for it. A delicate balance to be sure, but one to keep in mind.

My own opinion is that Din’s placement of Grogu with the Jedi is the side-quest. The real journey is his traversal of The Way. This can only happen if he is challenged by the larger universe, and I’m eager to watch it unfold.

#the mandalorian #din djarin #grogu #spoilers

33 notes · View notes

some-dr-writings · 4 years

Text

Kiibo X SHSL Survivalist (reader insert) One-shot: Anything You Can Do, I Can’t Do Better

Instead of sitting around waiting for a request I’ve decided to take it upon myself to take hold of my fate, yet again, and kick off this blog with an imagine and one-shot. This is the one-shot. I hope you enjoy.

Though class had yet to begin, Kiibo found himself standing by the window of said room, watching the hordes of teens come marching through the campus. It was several stories above ground level, so he was able to get a good view of the front of the campus. It was an illogical endeavor really. Even if he had spotted his friend, it wouldn’t make them be by his side any sooner. Yet there he was glancing out searching for them.

The Ultimate Survivalist had left with Rantaro two months ago to go on one of his trips, this time to Ittoqqortoormiit in Greenland, one of the most remote towns in the world. Supposedly getting there was quite the quest itself, a guide being a necessity to get there. Should one get lost, who better than the Ultimate Survivalist to have by one’s side. They were supposed to have returned a month ago. Still neither had appeared, even with the bells threatening to toll any minuet now, signaling the start of class.

Though Kiibo himself should have been taking his seat, he was unable to keep still, pacing around. ‘Where are they? Why aren’t they here yet? Did something happen to them? What is taking them so long? Are they safe?’ Those questions seemed to be the only thoughts that could form in his mind. The Ultimate Survivalist was his best friend after all, it was only natural he’d be worried, right? Especially after having no contact for a little over two months, of course he was worried.

Suddenly the tap, tap, tapping of a pencil against his desk snapped him from his thoughts. “Survivalist!” Pure relief seeped from his tone, seeing his dear friend standing before him. “Wait, why is your leg broken!?” A cast covered the whole thing, and in their hands a pair of crutches. After a sigh escaped them, a nervous chuckle seeped out. “Yeah, on the way back from Ittoqqortoormiit a sudden snow storm hit, separating Rantaro and I from our guide, and during the confusion I… may… sort of have… uh…” Kiibo knew them hesitating like this never meant anything good. “g-gotten trampled by someone’s dog sled. BUT I’m alright so you don’t need to worry about me!” They pumped a fist into the air as if that would prove their point, but in the process almost fell over before swiftly regaining their balance. “Here Survivalist, have a seat, please.” The Survivalist practically fell onto the seat Kiibo had pulled out for them. “But enough about me, catch me up on everything I missed out on, Kiibo.”

With his dear friend finally returned to his side, the day seemed to flash by and before Kiibo knew it, the school day had already come to an end. The whole time his thoughts were still on his friend, wondering what they were going to do after class. It seemed that they always spent every second of everyday training and exercising, rarely did they ever do anything else. “Survivalist, why don’t we go to the library to study together?” Looking up to the robot they saw he held a hand out to them. “Oh, sorry Kiibo, but I’m going to my dorm room to work on my own. I have lots to get done after all.” For a moment Kiibo paused, perplexed by the statement. “Are you sure about that? I can help you catch up with all that you missed! It will be no problem for me.” They lightly shook their head. “I’ll be fine, Kiibo. Thank you though.” Using the desk for support they stood up, leaving the classroom surprisingly quickly. Seemed that even with an injury they weren’t slowing down for anything. It did Kiibo’s heart good to see they hadn’t changed one bit, even with such a setback.

The next day Kiibo found himself in a similar position as the last but instead of the window, he kept looking towards the door. The evening prior he came to the conclusion that even if they didn’t want it, it would be best that Survivalist had some assistance with their studies. Even before leaving for that trip they often struggled with schoolwork and having been gone for so long, catching up would be all the more difficult. At the very least if they would not accept Kiibo’s assistance, they needed someone to tutor them. And so there he sat, looking towards the door. Then finally they appeared.

“Survivalist? You’re pale and panting, what happened?” Quickly he pulled out a seat for them. “Heh, I may need some better pain meds. No big deal though, I’m going to have a chat with the Ultimate Pharmacist and see if she can give me anything.” Taking his own seat, Kiibo nodded in agreement. “That sounds like the best course of action. Speaking of best courses of action, I wish to speak to you abou-” Before Kiibo could even finish the bells tolled, signaling for class to begin… It was fine, Kiibo would just speak with them later.

The moment the bells for break rang out the Survivalist stood from their seat and were somehow already by the door. “Wait, Survivalist! Allow me to accompany you. You’re going to the Ultimate Pharmacist’s lab, correct?” “Heh, yeah, I’d love for you to come along.” Seeing their smile with the crow’s feet in the corners of their eyes made the most pleasant and warm feeling to weld up under Kiibo’s breast plate. In that moment Kiibo realized just how much he missed this person.

“Uh, I believe their lab is on the… fifth floor?” Quickly flipping through the small handbook, the Survivalist searched for the map of the school. “Here, let me handle that. You need to focus on walking with your crutches.” Dismissively they waved a hand at Kiibo before continuing to slowly hobble along down the hall. “I got this. You don’t need to worry about me. Surviving and being independent is literally my specialty. Super High School Level Survivalist, remember?” There was this laughter in their tone which bubbled through, revealing the comment held no malicious intent and was simply a tease. Although as if on que the moment those words had finished slipping out from their lips their footing slipped out from under them, and they were suddenly getting very intimately acquainted with the floor. “Survivalist! Are you alright? How is your leg?” Kiibo kneeled before them, collecting their fallen items. Their breath hitched and quaked, almost sounding as if it were being cut off at times. With a groan they propped themselves with an arm and lightly rubbed their slightly stinging face. “Y-yeah, I’m fine.” They reached out looking for something to brace themselves on. “Surv-Hey, wa-AAAH” It was too late, with a loud crash Kiibo too got acquainted with the floor. “Kiibo! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to use you as support, I thought you were a locker or something! And I guess I forgot you just have the strength of an old man. I’m so sorry! You okay!?” “Yes, I’m alright. It takes a lot more than that to hurt me.” Though Kiibo said that so confidently he still looked wounded, his pride being what was afflicted most likely.

As they walked once more, Kiibo made sure he was in charge of the map and that they were walking at a slower pace much to the Survivalist chagrin. “I only fell because I was looking at the book. We can go faster now.” “No, absolutely not. You are injured enough as it is and putting any strain on that leg will only worsen your condition. Besides, at our pace we will make it there in plenty of time before class starts again.” “Uuugh, not that it matters anyway. We can just be as late as we want to in this place. And I’m not going to go to class if I have no reason to anymore!” Kiibo raised a brow at the comment. “No reason to anymore?” “Yeah. I don’t need to go to class if you’re here and not there.” “… Survivalist, what does my location have anything to do with-” “Hey, there’s the lab! It has to be the door with the pills and beaker painted on it!” Picking up their pace they practically skipped to the door. “Hey, wait! What does my location have anything to do with attending class? And more importantly, slow down you’ll fall again!” The Survivalist couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of the slightly flustered robot.

Feeling their footing getting wobbly they threw themselves at the door for support. When they tried twisting the handle, they found the door was locked. “Oh, is no one here?” Kiibo audibly huffed, showing his disapproval at the Survivalist’s behavior before responding. “It appears so. I suppose they could be somewhere else.” “That’s pretty rarer in this place. Most everyone is so passionate about their talent that they can’t stand to do anything else.” “Survivalist, that’s just you.” “Yeah, so.” “Survivalist, not everyone is willing to skip meals to keep exercising and rock climbing in their lab.” “Well, then everyone else should just get more passionate about their talent.” “Not to your extreme, you do so to the point of it being unhealthy!” “Kiibo, it’s fine.” “No, it’s not, humans need to eat regularly!” “And I do! Eating is very important for survival you know! I just skipped the one day because I was so excited to test out my repaired lab!”

Placing their hands on the door they adjusted themself so they could get a better view through the window finding the lights were off in the room beyond it. “Well, if not here, where else could they be?” “Their classroom perhaps? Or their dorm room would be the other two most logical places to look next.” Suddenly a third, unfamiliar voice chirped up. “Excuse me, but are you looking for the Ultimate Pharmacist?” The Survivalist eagerly turned to them. “Yes! Know where they are?” “Oh, sorry, but she’s sick today.” Both the Survivalist and Kiibo looked to one another in suspicion. “The Ultimate Pharmacist got sick?... Maybe it was a good thing I didn’t get medicine from her.” “I’m not so sure about that, Survivalist. As odd as it sounds, all humans are susceptible to getting sick. And though rumors should not be taken at face value I have heard many accounts of her drugs working wonders.” “Kiibo you’re so lucky! You never get sick! It’s not fair!” Placing his hands on his hips Kiibo looked awfully smug and proud. “Well, let’s see if I can get something from the nurse’s office.” “This sounds like a reasonable plan.”

And with that said they were off for the nurse’s office. This time Kiibo making absolutely sure that the Survivalist did not rush off ahead. Once there they found there was no one but the Super High School Level Health Committee Member fallen on the ground in a rather precarious position. “WWWAAAAAHHH! I’m so sorry!” She quickly scrambled onto her feet. “U-um, what’s your ailment?” “My broken leg hurts. Have any pain meds you could give me?” “U-um, I need your medical file first, what’s your name?” “… I’m the Ultimate Survivalist.” “Okay, have a seat on the bed as I go get it.” “I actually have a doctor’s note.” They pulled out a piece of paper from their pocket and handed it to the girl. “It says how powerful of pain meds I can get; I think? I don’t understand half of the jargon on it.” With a nod she passed the note back and made her way for the giant cabinet filled to bursting with pill bottles.

Having only searched for a few minutes the girl fell down again. The Survivalist and Kiibo both came to the conclusion that it’d likely take her a while to get the medicine. Wiping some sweat off their brow they looked over their shoulder towards the window behind themself. “It’s awfully warm here. Should we close the window curtains or open the window?” “O-oh, I’m so sorry! The air conditioning broke! But It will be repaired by tomorrow!” “Ugh.” Taking a glance to his friend, Kiibo pondered whether or not he should ask them that question… It couldn’t hurt to ask, right? “Uh, Survivalist, would you embrace me for a moment?” “What?” Kiibo stiffened under their confused gaze. “I believe I can alleviate you of this issue with a function of mine!” “Okay!” “Huh-AH!” Kiibo was tackled into a hug, but thankfully not with enough force to knock him over. Being so close to the robot the Survivalist could hear a light humming come from him. “Hmm? You’re suddenly so cold!” “Yes! I have internal fans for cooling off my more delicate parts, but while you were away Miu gave me an upgrade that allows me to control my outer layer’s temperature.” It was quite odd feeling Kiibo’s freezing form but seeing his cheeks flushed with a fiery hot red.

Eventually the medicine was gotten and- “Just a single pill, and it’s hardly done anything!” They groaned, burying their face into the notebook that was placed before them. “I understand you’re upset, but please, pay attention. You can keep complaining about it, but it won’t make anything better.” Sitting back up the rows upon rows of bookshelves that were lined up behind Kiibo caught their eye. “Look, Kiibo, I’m going to level with you. I only agreed to study with you ‘cause I thought this’d lull me to sleep so I could sleep through the pain, but that hasn’t happened yet, so let me complain! It’s the only solace I have left!” Kiibo simply gave his friend a deadpan stare. “… Survivalist, enough with the theatrics please. You missed a lot and I sincerely doubt you can get work with your survivalist skills alone, so you need a full high school education.” “Okay, okay. I’ll stop. Where were we?” “We just sat down.” “UUUGGGGHHHH! Can’t we go for a run or something?” As if instinctively with how instantaneously he did so, Kiibo made an ‘X’ sign with his arms and shook his head. “No. Absolutely not! Not in your condition! We are going to take it easy and not partake in any strenuous activity.” The Survivalist sighed, knowing their friend was right… but that didn’t increase their motivation to do this anymore so.

Finally, they took a closer look at the notebook that was passed to them moments ago. The handwriting was extremely neat, not a line out of place, and not an eraser mark or any blemish could be found on a single page. As pretty as it all was, the Survivalist immediately noticed something off with the notes. “Kiibo, did you literally write everything that was said in class?” “Yes? Do you not do the same when taking notes?” “… Kiibo.” “What!? What’s with that look!?” They gently facepalmed themself before pinching the bridge of their nose. “… Well, now I know why you always look like a mad man when taking notes.” “What’s wrong!?” “Boy, you just need the important stuff, not literally everything… Though, you are a robot, so I suppose you’d have a better memory than a human. Wait but then why take notes a-” “Survivalist! I thought you were better than to stoop to the low of making such robophobic remarks!” “How was that robophobic!? It was a compliment! I was saying you have a good memory!” “Bold and robophobic of you to assume I have a good memory!” “… how do I even respond to that.” “Yes, my memory is sharper than humans’, every memory of mine is a perfect reflection of what truly happened, but that does not mean I remember absolutely everything! My memory banks do not have the capacity to do so. Dr. Idabashi specifically created me in such a way where I have the average memory storage capacity of a human, but all my memories are completely accurate, that is the only difference! Memories that are deemed to be the least important compared to others are deleted!” “Okay, let’s do an experiment then. What day is today?” “Wednesday.” “The date?” “15th of July.” “Who am I?” “My best friend, the Survivalist.” “… Aw… Thank you…” “Though I may have to reconsider that given your blatant robophobia.” “Hey! I’m trying to prove my innocence right now!” “I fail to see how th-” “What time did my plane to Greenland depart at?” “5th of May, at 6:00 was when it was supposed to depart but due to, and I quote “stupid delays, like seriously I should hope that planes are able to fly let alone take off in wind. Also, that was said sarcastically Kiibo, please don’t think I’d actually complain about safety.” it left two hours late at about 8:09 instead.” “AH-HAH! See! You have a much better memory than a human! No person would bother to remember all that over a phone call!”

Ah… no person huh…

“…”

no person would…

“Hmm?”

I suppose recalling such a trivial detail is ridiculous.

“Kiibo?”

I suppose their exact words aren’t all that important either, just the message it conveyed.

“Hello? Kiibo?”

… This is just like looking out the window before.

“Uhh, Kiibo? You okay, buddy?”

Or even before then when I counted down the seconds till the date they were to return.

“Kiibo, you just staring off into space like this is kinda worrying me.”

A person… would not do that… but I di-

“KIIBO!” “AAHHH! Survivalist!?” They were leaning over the table, their breath heavy, their hands on his shoulders, holding them in a firm grip. “What are you doing! You’re putting pressure on your broken leg!” Quickly Kiibo pushed them back, though it didn’t do much and they simply sat back on their own. “Thank goodness, you scared me there for a moment.” “Scared you!? You’re the one being reckless!” “Well you just shut off or something?! What the heck was I supposed to do? Scooch out of the chair, get my crutches, and hobble all the way around this stupid long table? Hell no! That would have taken far too long! What if you were over heating or whatever else can just freeze a robot like that! If you needed help, I wouldn’t take my sweet-ass time!” After a moment, a small sigh escaped Kiibo.

Maybe… maybe it was just an accidental robophobic remark. They are still pale, and their breathing is unstable, maybe the pain is making it so that they can’t think straight. I should be more lenient on them.

At least, that was what Kiibo kept telling himself in his mind, but… thinking of all the possibilities, a part of him couldn’t help but doubt his own reasoning.

“Anyway, we’ve gotten way off track! We’re supposed to be studying right now. Here, just let me tutor you.” Kiibo quickly made his way around the table and sat beside the Survivalist. “So, let’s get started!”

And that they did. “Uh, so I would now divide the twelve?” “No, Survivalist, you need to multiply by three to get X then you divide by the twelve.” “Huh? Wait but then what about the five from the beginning, we still haven’t done anything with it.” “No, it’ll come back later.” “Really?” “Yes, just ignore it for now.” “This is hopeless. We’ve been at this for hours and I still don’t understand!” “It’s only been an hour.” “Can we take a break, please?” “Yes it-” Kiibo was then suddenly interrupted when everything around began to violently shake. “Earthquake!?” As the lights in the room began to flicker moments later the Survivalist and Kiibo ducked under the table, placing a hand on a leg of the table and their free arm over the back of their neck. All around them booming and crashing sounds rang out. Even with bracing themselves they could feel the table they hid under sliding about.

When that loud rumbling and thumping ended, when the quaking finally stopped the pair stayed hidden under the table, but when no aftershock came, they took a look around at the damage. “Survivalist, is my vision malfunctioning or is the room pitch black?” “No, the lights must have gotten busted. Eh, no big deal. This is certainly much better than a cave-in… unless a bookshelf fell in front of the door then I guess this is kinda like a cave-in. Eh, still better since I know there aren’t any sink holes here. Here, take my hand. I’ve already memorized the layout of this place.” “There’s no need for that! I have a function that is perfect for just this occasion! Besides, there are probably so many books scattered on the floor, it wouldn’t do for you to lead the way, only to slip and fall over.” “HEY! I’m the Ultimate Survivalist! I can take care of myself in a situation like this even with an injury, thank you very much!... Though using your flashlight function is the best idea for now… Tch, I can already see that smirk on your face.” “You can?” “In my mind. I know you! You always get so haughty when your special functions are useful.” “Heh! Survivalist, close your eyes, just in case, I don’t want to blind you.” “Go ahead, eyes closed!” “… Okay, you can open now.” It was a bit of a strain on the eyes given how extraordinarily bright Kiibo’s flashlight eyes were, but they certainly come in handy. Taking a quick glance around they could see many of the heavy bookshelves had toppled over and all the books in them were strewn about making the place look as if it were ransacked. “Huh?” That was all they could see before the eye lights suddenly shut off that is. “Kiibo?” “Uh, u-uh… It… it appears the lights broke.” “What, how?... Wait! Did they break when I accidently slammed you into the ground before?” “W-what!? No! I’m not that fragile!” “Well, it’s fine, I can just use my phone.” WHAT!? Absolutely not! Don’t compare me to such a simple machine!” “I’m not! You and a phone are nothing alike! The phone doesn’t have confidence issues.” “Hey, I don’t have confidence issues!” “Boy, you do! Don’t even kid yourself.” Even if there was that lovable and irritable teasing tone, Kiibo really didn’t care for those comments. “Just give me a moment, I’ll have my eyes on in a flash!” “Oh? In a flash you say?” “Yes! Just… come on…” “I’m just gonna use the phone.” “No, you don-” “Too late! Let’s go now and get to the field before we get in trouble for not following the earthquake procedure.” Thankfully for Kiibo since he was still hidden in shadow the Survivalist couldn’t see how the robot glared so intensely at the small device in their hand.

After having finally escaped the room and getting to the field outside of the school they had to go through the usual rigmarole of making sure each and every person was present and accounted for, an especially exhausting task considering it was the middle of summer. Thankfully for the Survivalist, Kiibo was willing to use his cooling function to make the process just a bit more bearable.

A heavy sigh of relief escaped the Survivalist having heard the count was finally finished. They took out their phone, checking the time as they leaned into Kiibo’s back a little more, loving that cooling feeling amongst the heat. “Heh, hey Kiibo guess what.” “Uh… I don’t know, what?” “Class ended ten minutes ago.” “Class is over? Huh, am I still going to get a maintenance check today?” “Maintenance check?” Wrapping their arms around Kiibo, they nuzzled into him wanting to keep cool while speaking with him. And they also wanted to see the red that spread across his cheeks. “Yes, I was to visit Miu in her lab after class today for a maintenance check.” “Oh, go see her then. And make sure she fixes your eyes.” Taking the crutches Kiibo was holding the Survivalist took a few steps back. “I don’t know, I was thinking about delaying it to another day.” “What! Why!? I probably broke your flashlight eyes! You’re hurt, you need to get fixed!” “Well…” Kiibo took a moment to collect himself, wanting to word his feelings clearly. “You were gone for months, I missed you, and you are hurt too. I don’t want to just leave you but in your current state you really shouldn’t be walking too much more, you got out of breath just getting to this field from the library, I don’t think dragging you around to Miu’s lab then to wherever else we’d go after would be good for you.” So tenderly they smiled at hearing those words. “Kiibo, we have the rest of our lives to hang out. Go get that check-up with Iruma and come see me when you’re all better and no sooner! Besides even if I’m hurt, I can be good on my own! You don’t have to worry about me! Do you think this is the first time I broke a bone?” A light, hearty chuckle bubbled up from deep in Kiibo’s chest. “Knowing you, I’d be more surprised if you never have before.” “See! I know what I’m doing. So, go get healed up buddy, we’ll see each other later.” “… Where will you be?” “My dorm probably, or maybe my lab since it’s so roomy, at least much more so than the tiny dorm.” “… Alright, you’ve convinced me. I’ll see you later.” Giving Kiibo a pat on the back they disappeared into the crowd.

Thankfully for Kiibo, Miu was always more than ready to do some work on him. “Hey, Kiibo, are you sure you don’t want any new functions? I can give you some real bal-” “Nope! I’m fine. I don’t need any more additional functions. But Miu, must we go through this conversation every time I get a maintenance check?” … And that was the last thing Kiibo remembered. One moment Miu was pinned against him doing her work then in the next she was sitting at a table fiddling with something. “Miu? What happened?” “For fuck’s sake, finally!” She spun around on the chair, adjusting her goggles. “You were out for so long I thought you were having one hell of a wet dream. Anyway, some dip shit after shock happened and you shut down due to your maintenance failsafe.” Taking a quick glance around the room he saw how many of the items were knocked over, even a shelf. “You’re all done so you can go if you want.” “Thank you so much Miu! But how big was the aftershock?” “Huh? The aftershock? Why the fuck would you want to know that?” “Please just tell me Miu.” “It was about the same.” A feeling of absolute dread weighed on Kiibo. Immediately he sprinted out of the room.

Suddenly he stopped himself, remembering that he has a phone. He quickly shot the Survivalist a text asking if they were all right. The earthquake was large enough to knock over the giant bookshelves in the library, it likely had enough force to knock over much of the equipment in the Survivalist’s lab. The place was like a fusion of the harshest environments and a personal gym. Likely anything that could have fallen over would already have done so in the first earthquake, but it was possible that some of the even bigger equipment could have come loose in the first quake and then actually toppled over in the aftershock… Right on top of the Survivalist! If they weren’t hurt Kiibo would have no reason to worry, but they could hardly even walk in-

Nope! NO! Kiibo shook his head trying to stop thinking of such things. Dwelling on the possibilities would do nothing to help them and just make him worry and in an unfocused state he’d be even less of help to the Survivalist! Now in an all-out sprint Kiibo charged for the Super High School Level Survivalist’s lab. Once there he discovered the lights were shut off and the door was locked. The dorm, he ran for their dorm room.

The moment he reached it he knocked on the door discovering it was unlocked. “Survivalist?” He got no response. “Uh… Survivalist, are you in there?” Kiibo stood there but still got no response. Recalling he sent them a text he checked his phone, finding he got no reply. “I’m coming in now!” Kiibo tried opening the door but found something blocked the way. “S-Survivalist! Are you in there?” He froze when taking a peek past the door. He was only able to see a little bit given how little the door opened but he saw his friend face down on the ground. “SURVIVALIST!” They didn’t move. Kiibo pushed the door open with all his might. He had to open it! He NEEDED to open this STUPID DOOR! HE NEEDED TO OPEN IT RIGHT NOW! “SURVIVALIST!” Taking several steps back he dashed into the door slamming into it. It didn’t budge. It seemed doing this caused a glitch and Kiibo fell to his knees. Why? WHY CAN’T HE HELP THEM!? WHY CAN’T HE GET TO THEM!? Wait, the phone! Kiibo whipped out his phone and raced to the contacts. “Gokuhara! Gokuhara, where are you?!” There were some shuffling noises on the other line before Kiibo got an answer. “Gonta is at his lab. But Kiibo sounds so worried, what happened?” “It’s Survivalist. I think they’re hurt; they’re just laying on the ground not responding, but I can’t get into their dorm, something is blocking it. They need help right now!” “Survivalist is hurt! Gonta be there right away!” Then the call ended.

A soft thud rang out as Kiibo just dropped his head and his forehead hit the door that stood just inches before him.

…

All was silent except for the soft humming of those fans just barely being able to keep Kiibo from overheating. Why can’t he help them? Even with all these functions that were inside of him, he couldn’t do a thing to get to them. All he could do was wait and think. Think about asking Dr. Idabashi if Kiibo could have a failsafe function where in emergencies he could be much stronger than a senior citizen. Think about how if only he had better functions. Think about that if he got too many more functions, his body would have to be changed, how it was possible he wouldn’t be recognizable. Think about how he was only useful with those functions and nothing else. Think about how these functions though useful are probably what make him be seen as… as not a person. Think about how maybe, if he didn’t have flashlight eyes, or a perfect memory, or the ability of willfully changing his external temperature he’d be accepted. Maybe, without all his functions and if he were given the strength of an average teenager he’d be seen as more than a human shaped Swiss Army Knife. Maybe… he’d actually be helpful. Maybe he could be beside his friend. Maybe he’d… they’d…

Kiibo tried telling himself that thinking such thoughts was not going to help the situation, but he found no reason to stop this process either, so he continued.

“Kiibo! Gonta is going to open the door so Gonta needs you to move!” Without a second thought Kiibo jumped to his feet and backed up. Effortlessly Gonta pushed the door open. Kiibo dashed past the giant man and dove straight into the room. Thousands of scenarios ran through his head, but what he saw was not one he even thought to consider. There they were, earbuds in, the volume on full blast, a small folded towel clenched between their teeth… DOING PUSHUPS!

“What are you doing!?” With a single swift tug, the earbuds came out, finally getting their attention. “Heevo? En v-” “Oh! No! You are going to answer my questions first.” Having the strength of an elderly man Kiibo was not able to physically stop the Survivalist so instead he ripped the sheets and pillows off the bed and placed them all in a crumpled heap under them. “Survivalist, you can’t put pressure on your leg like this, what are you doing?” Guiltily his friend looked behind themself for a moment before looking back to Kiibo and taking the small towel out of their mouth. “Uhh… push-ups?” “… What, no! Why are you doing this, you’re just hurting yourself.” Suddenly Gonta towered over Kiibo, looking down at the Survivalist absolutely worried and scared. “Survivalist? You’re okay? Kiibo told Gonta you were very seriously hurt!” Before the Survivalist could question the situation Kiibo came to a blood boiling realization. “Wait… This is why you wanted the pain medicine!? No wonder your leg is hurting! You did this yesterday too, didn’t you!” Unable to look the concerned robot in the eye, they instead looked to the wall. They were absolutely out of breath, even gasping at times. “I… Just let me explain.” Kiibo didn’t dare move, simply waiting for this ‘explanation’. Gonta helped the Survivalist get into a more comfortable position before they began to speak, shakily hugging themself. “Look… You probably figured it out by now, but Rantaro and I were late getting back because we were caught in the snowstorm. My leg broke around the time the storm began, so by the time I got to a hospital, maybe a week later, it was really messed up. I was forced to stay there several weeks because of it! And Because I was in a hospital, I wasn’t allowed to move at all! Kiibo, if I don’t keep moving and exercising, I’ll become weak! I’ve already been forced to rest for so long, I’ve lost so much progress! I can’t just do nothing anymore! I need to get my strength back!” “I still don’t understand. You’re making your injury even worse, forcing you to rest even longer. You’re hurting yourself!” “Well, yes, but at least I’m doing something and not nothing!” “Survivalist, your arguments make no logical sense. For now, let’s get you to the nurse’s office an-” “NO! You don’t need to do that, I’m fine, please don’t tell the nurse!” Sitting up just a bit too quickly the Survivalist yelped out, clutching their hands on the cast. Their entire form trembled, tears percolating in the corners of their eyes as they doubled over. “Judging by that reaction I believe you need to seek help right away.” “Gonta will carry Survivalist to the nurse!” Before they could further protest Kiibo and Gonta ran with them cradled in Gonta’s arms.

After explaining what had happened to the nurse and Super High School Level Health Committee Member, Kiibo and Gonta were asked to stay out of the room as to not get in the way of the examination. Understanding though a little reluctant Kiibo stayed away. At least this gave him the opportunity to more closely examine his friend’s words instead of telling them their reasoning made no sense. Though he didn’t do so for to long. “Gonta’s worried about the Survivalist. Gonta’s not sure what happened to them, but they looked bad.” “Oh, yes, Gokuhara. Thank you so much for your help.” “Gonta is always ready to help a friend! And it’s the gentlemanly thing to do!” “I think they should be alright now, so you can go if you want to.” “Ah, well…” Gonta’s eyes lingered on the door before looking back to Kiibo. “Gonta’s worried, but Gonta doesn’t know much about this and doesn’t want to get in the way, so maybe it would be better if Gonta left.” “I’ll call if we need you again.” “Yes, please do! Bye Kiibo.” “Bye Gokuhara.” And Kiibo was left alone again.

He found his eyes drawn to the window; the sun was setting. Kiibo wondered how late it was… How long had it been? If he had been stronger, would they have gotten help sooner? Could Kiibo have stopped them from further injuring themself? If Kiibo wasn’t so fragile and needed maintenance maybe he could have stopped them from acting so recklessly. “Oh, good you’re still here.” It was the nurse. “Yes I am.” “Would you be a dear and get the Survivalist’s wheelchair for me? They really shouldn’t be using those crutches when they have such bruised ribs and lungs.” “Bruised ribs and lungs? They never mentioned that. And a wheelchair? They have one?”

Sure enough, when he went back to their room, he found a disassembled wheelchair in a corner. Upon seeing the thing Kiibo came to a conclusion he found preposterous, but it was the only logical answer. Whatever pushed his friend to do pushups with their various injuries was the same that compelled them to use crutches they bought instead of a wheelchair given to them by the hospital. “Survivalist just what is making you do this?” When he had gotten back, he was told the Survivalist would be staying overnight for observation. So he was indirectly being told to scram. Unfortunately, he didn’t understand this at first just standing outside of the room waiting for his friend before directly being told to just leave.

It was night by the time Kiibo got back to his dorm room. Under normal circumstances Kiibo would study, go to sleep mode or shutdown and recharge, but this was not a normal night. He simply laid on the bed just staring at the ceiling. He needed to figure out some things. His emotions just kept swirling around and he couldn’t tell what they were. Mad, happy, relieved, scared? He had no idea what he was feeling and towards who. Was it himself, or them, or both? And… did he mean it? Everything he thought when sitting at their door. Did he truly believe all that? In that moment all he truly knew was… everything hurt, so, so much.

The next morning, sitting at his desk he found himself in the same position prior, just looking at the door, waiting for the Survivalist to show up. Of all things Kiibo just wanted to talk to them, to just figure out why they were doing what they did. Why they downplayed their injuries and out right omitted some? Did they have even more he wasn’t privy too? He just wanted to focus on them… Then the bells rang. They still hadn’t shown up. Kiibo waited a little longer in case they did show up and were just late. Half an hour in and Kiibo shot up his hand, saying that he was leaving class. Kiibo then immediately dashed for the nurse’s office. But when he arrived only the Ultimate Health Committee Member was there. “Excuse me, but where’s the Survivalist?” “Oh, they were discharged this morning. I even brought them to their dorm room. They should be resting in bed.” Was the Survivalist actually resting? Not wanting to risk his friend doing something foolish and accidently further injuring themself Kiibo ran as quickly as he could to their dorm.

As he did so something caught his attention, almost causing him to trip over himself. The door to the Super High School Level Light Music Club Member’s lab was open, and he heard the Survivalist singing? Taking a peek inside he found himself in a world for the brightest lights and the darkest shadows. The owner of the room wailed away on her guitar beside the Survivalist who was sitting on their wheelchair with a microphone in hand. Side by side they were on a stage, a myriad of bright colors flashed over them, a huge contrast to the blank black that was the rest of the room.

All too quickly the song had come to an end and the moment it did the Survivalist and Kiibo locked eyes. “Survivalist? Why aren’t you at class? I… When you never showed up, I got worried. I thought your injury may be worse than what you told me prior.” The musician jumped up to Kiibo with a hand raised. “Oh, oh! Ibuki knows! Survivalist asked Ibuki to train with them! Train in a way that wouldn’t hurt their leg!” Kiibo simply looked at his friend in complete bafflement. Even when they were completely out of breath, they tried speaking. “Well… okay, look…” “OOOOOH! Ibuki knows!” The musician hopped back up on stage and quickly helped the Survivalist get down. “Ibuki suddenly remembered she promise to hang out with a friend right now! Bye you two!” And just like that she was gone. She probably felt the stagnant, awkward air that surrounded the two.

“… You were right. Training like that with injuries was dumb but…” They paused for a moment trying to figure out how to verbalize this whirlwind of emotions. “You know how this school works. We’re here because we’re Ultimates. We’re here to improve our skills and become the best at our craft. Hell, they care so little about grades and stuff and only on talents we don’t even have to show up to class, that’s how we’re able to be here right now! But like THIS, I… I can’t.” Looking the robot directly in the eyes, they showed Kiibo the aw and fear that was rooted deep inside themself. “Kiibo, I wish I was like you.” That comment caught him completely off guard. “I… Well, I am the Ultimate Robot, the culmination of Dr. Idabashi’s work, but what exactly do you mean?” “Kiibo, once you get an improvement or new function you get to keep it forever! When I take a break for even one day my muscles and body lose some of the improvement I had gained yesterday or even more. I have to constantly push myself lest my skills and body get rusty from lack of use for even a short time and getting back to the high proficiency I was at before is so extremely difficult. The human body is ridiculously temperamental and decays so quickly when not in use, while you don’t have to worry about such things. And I even have to focus on specific parts and not just my whole body, like singing to increase lung capacity. That’s all I can do now aside from weightlifting. And Kiibo the improvements you can gain are limited only by the imagination while the human body is much more restrictive. You, you could fly, or get x-ray vision, or I don’t know! You could even have a built in ray gun or something, but me, a human, even if I wanted any of that, I can’t, there’s no way for me to be able to do any of that, but with the right parts and whatever, you could! You can be so much greater than me or anyone else at this school! Kiibo you are amazing! Even not taking possibilities into consideration you are amazing! You… you’re amazing Kiibo.” That spark of aw that was in their eyes quickly faded, leaving only a pained expression. “Look at me, I can’t even properly be a survivalist in this state. While you, even if you get hurt, you can be fixed and be properly working much sooner while I have to just be broken for four months! You, you were able to get fixed and I… I couldn’t stand just doing nothing seeing you! I want to be fixed just like you! It’s why I ignored your text! I-I couldn’t stop for even a moment, I have to get better, I don’t want to fall behind!” “Survivalist…” Their body and breath quaked and wavered. Their hands were clenched into fists. They couldn’t bear to look Kiibo in the eyes anymore, not wanting their rage and jealousy to taint their view of him. Ever since they got back Kiibo had been nothing but kind, constantly doing whatever he could to help them. How could he be so kind? How was he so amazing without even trying? How could they want to hurt him with such a petty act? “… My singing is lacking, dangerous as Shuichi puts it. Even if I practice it won’t get better. I want to improve, but I can’t. The only way I can, would be with help from someone like Miu or Dr. Idabashi. I…” Feeling those feelings and thoughts from the night prior welding up again, Kiibo placed a hand on his chest as if trying to press them down as to not overflow. After all, his friend didn’t need to hear of such things in that moment. “I am a robot, I can never improve myself on my own, but you can! I find that to be an amazing ability, but even more so is how you work so hard for that. Yes, what you did was rash, but how you so fervently chase after improvement has always impressed me, even from the day we met… The moment I existed, I have had one goal, one function, to be the embodiment of human curiosity. In pursuit of that goal I’ve learned a great many things about others and myself and… I’ve come to learn that you are the Survivalist. You’ve made it through much worse situations time and time again. It may be difficult, but you’ll make it through this, and you’ll come out better than before!” The Survivalist simply stared at him. They didn’t say or do anything for what felt like an eternity. Then their expression shifted, but Kiibo never saw another like it. He had no idea what it meant, if it was good or bad, hurt or joy. Then they spoke, but their voice was so quiet and their lips just barely formed the words Kiibo almost missed it. “… survivalist, huh.” “Is something the matter?” “… Let’s just get to class, alright? I’ve missed enough schoolwork as it is.” “O-oh! Certainly! Let’s go!”

Kiibo found himself looking back at that day quite often, in particular those last few moments. He just couldn’t figure out what it meant. Since that conversation the Survivalist wasn’t quite the same. They were a bit quieter and calmer. They also didn’t try anything rash. It was likely due to accepting that they had to just stop and not train much outside of a very select few exercises.

Months passed and there they were in the middle of November. The wind blew past sending a chill through the air. Walking beside the Survivalist Kiibo saw how they stopped spinning those wheels for a moment and shivered. “Is it cold out now?” “Nah, just a little chilly.” All around the world was baren and only the warmest of colors were spread across the ground and carried along by the wintery wind. “We should be expecting snow soon. Perhaps you should put on warmer clothing?” “I’m fine Kiibo.” Taking a step closer to them he placed the back of his hand against their cheek, the action causing Kiibo’s own cheeks to light up with the same bright colors as the fallen leaves. “Ahh, nice and warm.” “If you think the warmth of my hand feels nice, I would highly suggest that you at least get a scarf.” “Kiibo you don’t need to babysit me. I’m fine, truly… I guess I should be thanking you though.” “Hmm?” They stopped and turned to face the open horizon where forest covered mountains stood. Eventually, Kiibo turned to face the view as well, instead of his companion. “You’ve been looking after me this whole time like that. Even when I do something stupid you try to help me… I wish I could thank you somehow, but… I don’t know how too. I can’t see myself being helpful to you in any way unless I dedicated myself to robotics and offered to do maintenance for you.” “You don’t need to do that. Just… j-just keep spending time with me like this. This is a-all I could ever ask for.” “Heh, really? That’s all. Kiibo, you need to learn how to take advantage of opportunities better!” “W-what!?” The Survivalist couldn’t hold in their laughter at seeing how flustered their companion had become so quickly. “Yeah! Me being with you is a given, obviously we’re going to hang out so you should have asked for something less likely, like… Uh… OH, I know! You could have asked me to do what ever you told me to for a day, so I’d actually do things like get a scarf!” “Survivalist you should be taking care of yourself on your own without my say so.” “Excuse me! I do take care of myself! The only reason why you feel like my babysitter is because you follow me everywhere, even to my check-ups at the hospital!” “I don’t feel like your babysitter. You just say I babysit you a lot of the time.” “Ugh, whatever! My point still stands.” Kiibo felt an overwhelming joy course through him seeing the Survivalist banter with him like this. Moments like this became so scant after that conversation in the music room.

“… So winter’s gonna get here soon. I wonder what being in a wheelchair in the snow will be like. I bet it sucks.” “You won’t have to deal with it for long though. You’ll finally be able to get your cast off in three weeks. Just in time for the holidays and winter break!” “Yeah that’ll be… be nice I suppose…” At the end of their sentence the Survivalist trailed off, their voice becoming quiet. “Is something the matter?” “N-no, no. I just got lost in thought for a moment there. Anyway, I’m guessing you’ll go be with Dr. Idabashi?” “Yes, he practically insisted that I come back home for it.” “… That must be nice.” “What about you? Visiting family?” “… I don’t…” “Survivalist?” “Ah- Sorry, sorry. I’m not doing anything exciting. Just staying here and training. I need to build up my talent as much as I can before our finals. Building up my muscles in time for that will take a long time and will be very difficult. I’ll probably have to even skip class for a while, maybe even for the rest of the school year to even catch up!” Seeing that strained, forced smile felt so unnerving to Kiibo. “Survivalist, is something wrong?” “… Uh… OH! Look!” They pointed upward. Small white dots speckled the view of the gray sky as they twirled and spun about. “Ah, snow. Now I must insist that you get a scarf.” “Fine, fine. Let’s go… RACE YOU THERE!” Before Kiibo could respond the Survivalist was already far down the path, kicking up the leaves and snow as they went. “Slow down! You’re going to fall over!”

And then, for Kiibo at least those weeks flew right by and before he knew it, it was winter, and there he sat on pins and needles in the waiting room. It was finally the day that the Survivalist would get that cast off! Kiibo kept an eye on those doors, prepared to leap out of his seat and catch the Survivalist before they could run and jump around and injure themself. He could already imagine them running straight for the lab the moment they get back to the campus. It was certainly going to be a handful for a while, but Kiibo couldn’t wait to see the Survivalist back in action. Then, when the doors opened, the moment he saw it was his friend, Kiibo raced up to them. “Heh, glad to see you too Kiibo. I’m all set so we can go straight back to school.” “Okay!” Expecting his friend to immediately bolt Kiibo braced himself to stop them, but they held up a cane to him. “Uh, mind taking this? It’s throwing off my balance.” “… Alright.” Slowly they took a few steps forward, shaking like a newborn deer. A few times they almost fell but they were able to catch themself. “How come you’re just standing there? Let’s go!” “Oh, yes! But, are you sure you shouldn’t be using the cane?” “No! I need to build up my muscles and train. I can’t climb or run if I can’t even walk! The cane would just be a crutch. This may be hard, but I’ll be able to walk normally sooner instead of relying on that thing.” “… If you fall, I must insist that you use the cane.” “So don’t fall, got it!”

The world around them was completely and utterly caked in white, the only splashes of color were from the people who walked past. Kiibo’s gaze was locked onto the person beside him; the puffs of fog that seeped from their every breath, the crimson which dusted their cheeks and tips of their ears, their gloved hands which were held out searching from support despite none being wanted. “Did the doctors say anything about your other injuries?” “When I can walk, I can exercise. That’s all I needed to know, and I didn’t bother remembering anything else they said unless it had to do with physical therapy.” “… I see.” After a few more steps they suddenly came to a stop. “Kiibo.” “Yes?” “I’m sorry.” “What ever for? There’s too many reasons to count.” They chuckled, lifting up the downcast mood which seemed to surround them. “Someone’s feeling sassy today.” Sighing, they pulled up their scarf to cover their face just a bit more. “For not telling you how injured I truly was when I got back. I knew you’d be worried and insist I rest, but… I wanted to still push myself and regain my strength. I was panicking then and… I’m still scared now. Trying to train and seeing truly just how much I’ve deteriorated… I’m scared, but that fear was and is no excuse to hold back the truth. I’m sorry.” A cold wind rushed past causing them to hug themself and shiver. “Survivalist… I’m glad you see your faults in past actions, and thank you for apologizing… I truly was worried and scared for you then. So, you’ll be completely honest with me from now on, alright?” “Yeah, as long as you do the same. I don’t want this becoming one sided and I just dump all my issues on you… You can tell me about any troubles you’re having, okay.” “Yeah, I will. And since we’re being completely honest there is something I-I’d like to say.” Kiibo’s cheeks suddenly flushed and he kept looking at anything other than his companion. “W-well… I realize that you want to walk without assistance, but… uh… Y-you look rather cold and I… would want to… warm you up? B-by holding your hand.” “Ah… sure.” Kiibo made a small squeak like noise as he froze in place hearing the reply. “O-oh, okay.” Hesitantly he reached his hand out to their own. The pads of their fingers just barely touched, and the palms of their hands hovered apart. The Survivalist looked to Kiibo, hearing how his internal fans were working on overdrive despite there being the crisp cold air which surrounded them. Gently the Survivalist slid their fingers next to Kiibo’s and curled them down, closing the distance between their palms. Moments later Kiibo followed suit. “You okay, Kiibo?” “Y-yes! I’m fine!” The Survivalist then placed their hands into their coat pockets, pulling their companion closer and causing him to make some sputtering noises. “What about this? You alright with it?” “A-ah, uh, y-yea- yeah! A-absolutely!” The heat which radiated from the robot was a familiar warmth, the kind one could only find on summer days which tingled the skin. A lovely warmth.

For the next few days Kiibo and the Survivalist walked side by side, hand in hand, not daring to leave the other. Quickly the Survivalist was walking around like nothing had happened. Seeing this, Kiibo was not surprised that they had not shown up to class, they did say that when they could walk, they would go back to training. By the time class had come to an end Kiibo had decided to check up on them. Before they got injured the Survivalist was always so health conscience, always making sure they took breaks when needed and always ate the healthiest of meals. Kiibo also knew how reckless they could be so he wouldn’t be surprised of they had not taken any breaks either. And so, he made his way for their lab. Sure enough the door was unlocked signaling that someone was inside and the he found the Survivalist panting and running on a treadmill. “Hey, Survivalist. Have you taken any breaks today? You look rather worn out.” “Y-yeah.”

The next day the Survivalist didn’t show up to class again. When Kiibo went to visit them, they basically had the exact same interaction, only difference being the Survivalist was doing curl-ups. And the next day, and the day after and the day after that, it was all the same. By the morning of the eighth day Kiibo decided to just spend the day with them. Admittedly having been so close for five months Kiibo missed being with them, and even before they were injured, they’d hang out with Kiibo no matter how much they were training. There were even times where they dragged the unsuspecting robot into a week long camping trip in the mountains without any equipment, teaching him how to hunt or find north or to tell the difference between poison ivy to other plants or how to make a tent with nothing but tree branches or how to make a raft or how to make tools or food from every single part of an animal or even how to just stop, breathe, look at the stars and not think a thing at all. Now they were just held up in their lab.

As the Ultimate Survivalist and from having been on several survivalist expeditions with them, Kiibo knew they woke up when the sun raised and slept when the sun set so Kiibo tried to catch them at their dorm room when the sun rose, but… No one appeared. Did they go on an expedition and he just wasn’t told? Did they decide to sleep in their lab so they could start training as soon as possible? Well, there was only one way to find out so off Kiibo went to the lab. Upon reaching it Kiibo found the door to be unlocked. So they did stay there all night? Then he spotted them laying on the ground… They hadn’t woken up yet? It must have been because there were no windows in the room, and they couldn’t see the sun. Their skin was almost snow white and sweat dripped off of them. Kiibo placed a hand on their shoulder and gently rocked them. “Survivalist? Wake up, please.” They didn’t respond. “Survivalist! You need to wake up now!” Still no response. “Survivalist!” Not this again! Why this again!? At least he could get past the damn door this time around.

The next moments were but a blur. Kiibo remembered what happed. He remembered calling the nurse’s office. He remembered the nurse getting there and checking them, finding out they had fainted from exhaustion. He remembered Gonta being called to carry them to their room. He remembered all that, but it just happened, like he was watching some T.V. show. It wasn’t real, he was just a third-party observer, and yet, there he was, sitting on the edge of their bed, just waiting for them to wake up. He didn’t have to stay, the nurse said they only needed rest and nothing more, and yet… Kiibo couldn’t keep himself away. What had the Survivalist done to themselves this time?! They were smarter than this he thought! Yes, they were reckless, but not to the point of stupidity, were they!? They were fine now! They could train properly now, so what was wrong!? Why were they hurting themself again!? What was wrong? What could it be? They said they’d be honest, that they wouldn’t hide anything, so WHY DID THEY DO THIS!? Why? “why…”

Did they just say that to placate me like some child? Or… or did the promise mean nothing to them? Were they just saying some words to an inanimate object? Was… was that all that moment meant to them? Did this not matter? Do I not matter to them? I suppose a person would keep their promise to another person, but to something not a person… is that all they see me as?

“K-Kiibo?” “Survivalist!” Sitting up they looked around in confusion. “What happened? Why am I here?” There was a slight panic in their tone and with Kiibo already in an emotional state placed him very off kilter. “You fainted.” “What!? But, but I just got started working out after a break! I should have been fine!” “You weren’t pushing yourself?” “No!” “There’s nothing wrong you haven’t told me?” “I-I didn’t think so!” Though those words placed a part of Kiibo at ease the sheer fear emanating from the Survivalist shook him. “I should have been fine! I have to be fine! I-I’ve been training for days building up myself to my normal pace! I wasn’t even halfway there, and I faint!?” Their breathing quickened, and their pupils dilated. “No. Nonononoonoonononono! I can’t be this far behind! There’s only two and a half months till finals! I can’t be this far behind! I, I can’t! I CAN’T CATCH UP IN ONLY TWO AND A HALF MONTHS!” “Survivalist calm down. Breathe.” “This can’t be happening! It can’t be!” “Survivalist, everything is alright.” “No! No, it’s not alright! I can’t be this far behind! I can’t fail! I’m losing everything! I-If I can’t pass the finals, If I can’t prove I’ve improved this past year I’ll be kicked out! If I’m kicked out, I can’t be anything! I’ll just be left on the streets to rot and die! What the hell will I be then!? If I’m not recognized as the Ultimate Survivalist, then what am I!?” Their breathing became this warped choked out laughter that echoed through the small room. Tears cascaded from their eyes as their entire body trembled. “Survivali-” “Exactly! There, right there! You just called me Survivalist! Kiibo, what’s my name!?” “… your name?” Kiibo thought but couldn’t remember anything. “W-what?” He manually searched though all his memory files. “I forgot your name!?” “N-no. That’s it. I don’t have a name! I’m just the Survivalist! A-and if I’m not the Survivalist, who am I!? If I don’t even have a name, I can’t be anything or anyone else! What do I have if I’m not the Survivalist!? If I’m not the Ultimate survivalist I’m not anything, not even a person, I’m just nothing! I’m a failure! I’ll be completely useless and worthless! I’m just going to be jobless and die! I can’t go anywhere else! I don’t even know if I have a name! I don’t know if I have a family! I don’t even know if I have a favorite color! I don’t know anything about myself! I only know how to be the Survivalist! Nothing else! Only that! What will happen to me if I’m kicked out!? I-If I IF I CAN’T BE THE UNTIMATE SURVIVALIST WHAT AM I!? WHAT DO I HAVE!? WHO EVEN AM I!? WHO AM I!?” They tried speaking more but their words just kept getting caught on spit and tears. In the end all they could do was cry and wail till their voice broke and shattered into nothing. Nothing, nothing just and endless void of nothing.

Suddenly, in that moment, everything clicked and fit together perfectly like a jigsaw puzzle. Why they always pushed themself to train before the accident, why they were so desperate to train after it, why they…

Kiibo had no idea what to do at all. All he knew in that moment was just that he wanted to help and support you in any way you needed.

Amongst the panic, the fear, the tears and screaming for dear life something cut through. So tenderly he placed his hands atop his friend’s then squeezed them as tightly as he could. Though metal they were undeniably warm. “… My friend. Please look at me.” Seeing those eyes flicker towards him for even a moment was enough for Kiibo. “Being the ‘Ultimate Survivalist’ is not all you have. You have me, this friendship, your work ethic and determination. The ‘Super High School Level Survivalist’ is not all you are. You are you.” “what?” Though your mind was racing your breathing slowed just the smallest bit. You needed to slow down. You were desperate to truly hear his words. You could hear them. He spoke slowly and clearly but you wanted to understand them, not just hear them. Finally, you let go of the quilt you had clutched so tightly to the point of ripping it with how deeply you had dug your nails into it and you held his hands. You focused on Kiibo, and only him. You felt all the separate pieces of metal that made his fingers and palms. How only on his right hand, in the middle of his palm was this circular engraving with a slant through it. How when you squeezed his hands, he did the same to you. You… “You are just you. You are nothing more, nothing less than you. And you are an amazing person who I cherish and am so glad I can call my ‘friend’. You may be my friend but most importantly you are you. You are entirely what got you into this academy in the first place. You are just you and only you, so you can keep yourself here if you want to. But you don’t have too. That’s something I’ve always found so incredible about you. You can do whatever you want because you were strong enough to get yourself to this point in the first place. And you don’t have to have one sole objective in life. I know being a survivalist is all you know but that doesn’t mean it defines you. No matter what happens, if you pass the finals or not, I know you will be alright because you are not only a survivalist or the ultimate survivalist. You are just a person and a person is not just one sole thing. You are not just one sole thing. You and other people can do and be whatever you want. I know you’re scared now. You probably feel lost, but for right now, please take a moment to breathe. You’ve been focusing on this for almost half a year now, and it’s understandable. You clearly want this if you’ve stuck it out for so long. And I’m not saying you shouldn’t try to keep your title as the Super high School level Survivalist. I just want you to know that it’s not all you are or all you have. You have me, our friendship, you’re my friend, but most importantly you are you, nothing else. The world is not coming to an end. Even should the worst happen, and you get kicked out, you still have yourself and you will keep living. And even if the best happens and you keep your title, it’s not all you are. You are you, and that’s it.”

Your heart felt as if it were lodged in your throat. Tears threatened to pour from your eyes. You couldn’t stop your hands from shaking yet… Yet you could breathe. It felt like you were breathing for the very first time. It hurt, each and every breath was heavy and so raspy. With each breath you could feel it scratching your throat. But you were breathing. You were here. You were actually here. Though blurry you could see the room. You could see the wooden desk against the wall adjacent to you. You could see wooden floorboards and the blue quilt with white sheets. You could see Kiibo. You could see his spiky white hair, and his blue-gray eyes. You could see the tender concern in them. you could see his smile, how his lips quivered seeing you crying again… You tried seeing more but everything was too blurry now. You could feel his soft warmth, how it seemed to surround you in a tight secure embrace. You’re here now. For so long, ever since the accident everything felt wrong. Everything was out of control and there was nothing you could do, like you were reading some book or watching a movie. Like life just kept moving on and you were dragged along. Like you were some third party watching from the outside, like you were not even here. But you were now. You were here… And you felt so exhausted. Your entire body felt so heavy. Slowly, you leaned forward, resting your head on Kiibos’ shoulder. Yes, it wasn’t the most comfortable, but it was warm. You could feel it and know you were still here. You are here.

“My friend?” Kiibo felt how very quickly more and more of your weight was leaning on to him. Knowing he wasn’t strong enough to keep you up, Kiibo gently pushed you back, placing you back into bed. Tears percolated in the corners of your half-lidded eyes. Your eyelids kept drooping lower and lower. Gently Kiibo placed a hand on your cheek, with his thumb wiping those tear streaks away. He then pulled up the quilt and sheets. “kiibo” You shifted ‘till one of your hands were free. “O-oh.” Despite feeling himself overheating Kiibo took your hand into his own, intertwining your fingers. You then pulled your hand back, also pulling Kiibo closer. He laid next to you… Your breaths were so small and shallow now. Absolutely sound asleep. All that must have taken such a toll on you. Kiibo was glad to finally see you take a break.

Then suddenly everything hit him. How he held your hands without asking you, him caressing your cheek, tucking you into bed, and now laying on a bed with you in it… Internally he was screaming in an entire whirlwind of emotions as his entire face turned beat red. What was he doing!? Kiibo took advantage of his friend when you were in an emotionally vulnerable state, and a part of him liked it! He was a horrible person! … At least that’s what Kiibo was thinking as he laid frozen beside you as you unconsciously pulled him closer to you with the smallest of smiles curled on your lips.

When you woke up you found no trace of exhaustion, in fact, you felt refreshed. Sitting up with a stretch you felt the bed shift. “Kiibo?” The robot’s face was completely flushed and for a moment you were confused as to why until you realized you were holding his hand as you stretched, pulling him so close to you, you were only inches apart. “Kiibo! I’m sorry!” Immediately you let go and Kiibo backed up, but only a little bit. “No, my friend, I should be apologizing!” “Kiibo, how long has it been.” “Huh? It’s been a full twenty-four hours.” “… Was I holding your hand the whole time?” “… Y-yes.” “So, I should be the one apologizing, not you. You still get so flustered from physical contact, and I held your hand for so long. I made you uncomfortable, didn’t I?” “N-no! You don’t need to! It’s okay! I… liked it. WAIT! No, that’s not what I wanted to say I-” “Awww! Kiibo, do you have a crush on me?” “I-I That- May we please discuss this later!” “Okay, okay. No teasing. You want to say something?”

Kiibo took a moment to compose himself. Despite this his cheeks were still tinted red and his internal fans were on full blast. “My friend, while here I did a lot of thinking and I’ve come to realize that… I am a robot, and as a robot, I can do things humans can’t do. I can get modifications and new functions. I could get functions to moderate your heart rate, blood sugar levels, and many other vitals. With a sensor on your wrist and one over your heart I can keep track of such things and I can process them much faster than any equipment in the medical field thanks to Dr. Idabashi’s and Miu’s engineering. With this information I can help you! You can work and I’ll keep track of everything else. I can see when you will faint and stop you just before it would happen, and then we can keep pushing past that threshold in small increments and make sure you are making progress each time you go train. This way you won’t have to do any guess work or push yourself to the point of exhaustion again! I can truly help you! What do you think of this?” “Uh, what I think?” Kiibo simply gave you a nod in reply. “… I don’t know about this. I mean, I appreciate the sentiment and it would be very useful but… It feels wrong.” “How does this feel wrong?” “I mean… What do you think about this? I know you thought about this for a while, but those functions would solely be for me. Would you be comfortable with that? When you got new functions before they weren’t solely for another person, were they? You’re so kind, at times I worry you might sacrifice yourself for another and not take your own feelings into consideration. You stayed by my side the whole time my leg was recovering, you always walked with me when I was trying to train my leg, and you were even with me after I fainted and guided me and held my hand through my panic. You are a person too, so you shouldn’t do something just because it’s useful to someone else.”

Kiibo sat there, not moving. The light from the window behind you shone on Kiibo, reflecting off of him and light up the room. “… you see me as a person?” Kiibo still had hardly moved, only parting his lips just enough to form the words. “Uh, yeah? You’re my best friend. Of course, I see you as a person.” “My friend, please let me embrace you!” “Kiibo!?” Your friend looked to be on the verge of tears and his body shook, something you didn’t think a robot could do. “No.” You then pulled Kiibo into a hug. “We both get to embrace.” So tightly and securely Kiibo held you. Burying his face into the crook of your neck, you could feel the heat from his blush radiating off of him. “… It’s settled then. I’m getting Miu to install the new functions and make the sensors as soon as possible.” “You’re absolutely sure?” “Affirmatively!” “… You’re too kind, Kiibo. But I just want to make sure you’re absolutely sure. It may take me a long time to get back to how I used to be.” “All the more reason then. I want you to be happy. And… a-and I want to be with you to see that happiness for myself. I want to be able to be by your side for years to come. Even if it takes years, I won’t mind because I’ll be with you. I told you before, didn’t I? … All I want is to spend time with you… And I’d love to stay by your side after you get back to your old strength. I’ll stay with you for as long as you’ll have me.” “…” For once it was your turn to blush. “… Uh… would it be silly to say I’m already practicing for what it might be like to have the new functions? Because I can feel your heart beating so quickly right now.” You wondered how one person could be so sweet and kind as you tried hiding your blushing face against Kiibo’s frame.

49 notes · View notes

chappedandfadedvds · 3 years

Text

Dec 20th, Sunday 11:15

Jens turned, pulled the blanket up over his face, as he could feel the sun shining into his face. It was so warm and comfortable, he didn’t wished to wake up. But he probably should as he heard someone step on one of the creaking floor boards. The person drew their breath in sharply, when Jens sat up, rubbing his eyes awake, before he opened them to find his boyfriend staring apologetic back at him.

„Hey sorry, I didn’t wanted to wake you.“

„You didn’t, all good.“ „What time is it?“ He yawned, stretching his arms above his head, he felt oddly at peace. Everything was quiet and when he turned his head to his left he could see the sun rays slip through the snow covered trees. He only know really remembered were he was.

„Eleven or something.“ Lucas answered, whispering a little yes under his breath as he pulled his gloves from his bag.

„What?“

He looked a little bewildred, grabbing for his phone from beside his pillow to see that Lucas hasn’t been lying. Jens tried really hard to think about the last morning he got to sleep until he woke by himself, if it wasn’t for nightmares or the urge to cry after racing thoughts.

„Yeah, I thought I’d let you sleep in. You derserve it.“

Only then did Jens notice Lucas’s oddly reddish tinted hands, when he sat down at the edge of the bed to lean over to kiss the still sleepy older boy, with awful bedhair and no idea what to do next other than pull himself a little closer.

„I love you.“ Jens whispered against the soft lips pressing back on his, before he leaned his his forehead against the younger boy’s very cold one. Was Lucas freezing or something?

„I love you, too.“ His boyfriend happily replied, before he pecked another small kiss on the corner on Jens’s lips, before he rose to his feet. „I’m going to head back down, but you can stay longer if you want to. I told the others that you were feeling exhausted from yesterday’s trip and a little bit of headache. Lame answer, I know, but I panicked.“

Jens shook his head, smiling at his silly boyfriend, who grinned at him as he turned to leave their room. It was probably time to for him to start the day as well. He wanted to go out and enjoy at least the couple of hours that they wouldn’t sit in the dark of the winter.

„You getting up?“

„Yeah.“ He nodded, pushing the blankets away, as Lucas opened the door. The wodden floor boards weren’t as cold as Jens had expected them to be under bare feet and the oven dark in the corner. It didn’t mean he immediately grabbed for his socks and a hoodie to throw on. It definitely was a little colder than home in Belgium, Jens felt. They had thought about turning on the oven last night, but it had been late and both of them had practically fallen dead asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows.

„Perfect. If you hurry, you may be able to see these idiots trying to fit the tree through the front door.“ Lucas peeked his head around the door, still overly cheerful. It probably did him just as good to have gotten away from everything as well. And the Jens registred what he had been told.

„Tree?“

„Oh, yes. It was glorious. Sander, Moyo and Senne went out to cut down a christmas tree. You know, to decorate after lunch. They were so bad at it. Luca and me had a great time laughing from the side on the porch.“

„I can imagine.“ Jens replied much amused by the picture forming in his head. This could only end in chaos, Jens was a little sad to have not been able to see it himself, but perhaps Lucas was right and he at least could enjoy the last moments of their friends’s struggle. „Go on, I’ll be down in five.“

„Alright, I’ll see if I can find Robbe somewhere.“ Lucas said, and then his head was gone, when Jens called out for him, looking back out of the window, as he stood by the bed.

„Lucas?“

„Yea?“ Apparently the boy hadn’t rushed to get away, as his head was back at the same spot, his body hidden behind the wooden door. There was a light frown on his face though now. A little bit of worry spreading across his expression. Jens didn’t wanted that.

„Let’s go for a little walk later?“

This was better. Lucas’s smile crept back onto his lips, as he nodded at the suggestion. And then his boyfriend was gone, steps quickly putting distance between his boyfriend and their room.

Jens yawned ones more, but got changed and down within the given five minutes or so. The first thing that caought his eyes, was a trail of pine needles, dirt and half melted snow, leaving puddles. A lot of voices filled the house, that came alive, where it had remained rather silent upstairs. There was a warm feeling to it, that Jens couldn’t quite put into words. But it felt good to hear all his friends laughing and arguing and having normal conversation.

And even thought he couldn’t witness his friends heaving in a large tree, he could at least enjoy Moyo trying his best to hold up the tree, while Sander and Senne loudly discussed how to best secure the whole thing, to be able to decorate it afterwards.

„You are all doing great!“ Milan cheered at the boys, from where he sat at the dinning table next to Zoë and Yasmina. Jens decided that they were probably the best people to ask.

„Have you seen Lucas, somewhere?“ Jens actually had expected to see his boyfriend around as well, but couldn’t see him, not even outside and the door was shut. Put then Lucas had searched for his gloves, so maybe had gone out?

„Good morning to you too. That exhausted, huh?“ Milan wore a look on his face, that certainly coudln’t be read as innocent as he wiggled his brows at him. This was probably something he needed to deal with a lot from now on. It was a little amusing, but he didn’t wanted to add fuel to the fire.

So Jens sighed, rolling his eyes at the oldest between them. Zoe and Yasmina thankfully seemed oblivious to their exchange, as the girls were busy trying to figure out, where they had seen his boyfriend.

„I think he went with Robbe, Luca and Jana on the search for decorations to hang up. Lights, and tree decorations mainly. They said something about a basement, I think.“ Zoë replied, a relaxed smile on her lips, as she nipped from her coffee mug, her attention briefy shifting towards the three boys almost being crushed by a falling tree.

„They are going to kill themselves at this rate.“ Yasmina sighed, Moyo flipping her off, as he was back on tree holding duty, loudly yelled at by Sander for doing a poor job.

Jens felt oddly warmed by the thought that Lucas fitted in so well with them. It had worried him a little yesterday, when everyone was talking over each other and all with Jana, catching up, throwing in old momeories and jokes. Lucas sat through it all with a smile and interest, but he had looked lost to the situation, as he couldn’t really join in with them. Jens had tried to explain a couple of references here and there, but it was not much of a help. So he felt much better to hear that Lucas figured out himself how to fit in, while Jens had slept through the whole morning.

It reminded him, that he probably should get something small to eat and perhaps follow Zoë ’s example and get himself a some coffee.

It was also the moment that the lost four firends reappeared carrying two very large boxes labeled christmas.

„Finally, you rose from the dead!“ Jana loudly shouted from halfway across the room, leaving Robbe and Lucas to carry the decorations, while she joined Jens in his quest for coffee.

„Jens, you have to help us though with the lights, we wanted to put some on the porch and the windows.“

„Sure, let me just grab something to eat.“ Jens agreed to Robbe, dropping the box by the end of the dinning table, Yasmina eager to open it up and pull out all the things inside to spread them across the wooden surface.

__ __ __ tagged: @odi-et-amo85, @tayspots

#week 9 #wtfock #skam #vds #jens stoffels #lucas van der heijden #chapped and faded #christmas week #skamholidayevent

8 notes · View notes

revchainsaw · 3 years

Text

Buffy: the Vampire Slayer (1997)

Season 1

Hello and Welcome back my creepy congregation! We will be taking todays service from the Big Screen into your living room for our first Personal Devotional. That's Right! We're reviewing full seasons of television series now and what better way to bring the spirit of the genre film to the idiots lantern that with the 90s Television sensation and all around love letter to the horror genre, Buffy the Vampire Slayer!

The Message

Regardless of how one may feel about Mr. Whedon we can't deny how much we love Buffy Summers and the Kids who live and die in Sunnydale! Season one of Buffy was a spin off/reboot of the earlier film and an attempt by Whedon to course correct the franchise by breathing a little charm and attention into the subject matter.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Season 1) focuses on Buffy Summers, a not so typical California high school student who, due to the events of the movie, has been relocated to Sunnydale High. Buffy is not just a cute, athletic, teenage girl looking to enjoy the prime of her life, though she is those things, she is also the Slayer, an anointed warrior who has been reincarnated throughout the generations to protect our vulnerable weak human world from the forces of evil; particularly Vampires. Buffy is a sort of supernatural Captain America, that is a peak human being, but instead of Nazi Science she was born with her powers.

Joining Buffy are; High School outcasts Willow and Xander (a nerd and a nice guy respectively), The ridiculously sexy librarian Rupert Giles (her mentor, guardian, high school librarian, and all around precious papa bear), Jenny Calendar (a technopagan computer teacher armed with all the mystery an ignorant 90s boomer could attribute to the internet), Angel (Spoiler: He's a Vampire, but he's a good guy. A hunky, broody, good guy vampire love interest), and her loving but entirely oblivious mother. The Scoobies as they have come to be called aid Buffy in her quest to protect Sunnydale from Dark Forces.

And Speaking of those Dark Forces, they are primarily vampires, led by the Master; an ancient vampire who resembles to some degree Nosferatu and a Bat, a look that Guillermo Del Toro would later perfect in his own series the Strain. The Master seeks to fulfill an ancient prophecy that would open the Hellmouth (a portal to hell, exactly what it sounds like) and free him in order that he and his kind should conquer the world.

The first season is fairly short consisting of the following adventures.

1. Welcome to the Hellmouth - Buffy moves to Sunnydale seeking to leave her Vampire ways behind, but the vampires just won't let her catch a break.

2. The Harvest - Vampire Shenanigans continues. Buffy learns of the Master.

3. Witch - A fellow Cheerleader is possessed by her witchy mom.

4. Teachers Pet - Buffy vs Giant Mantis

5. Never Kill a Boy on the First Date - Buffy vs the Anointed One (Not Really)

6. The Pack - Buffy vs Hyena Possessed High School Bullies

7. Angel - Buffy vs Angel but actually Darla

8. I, Robot ... you, Jane - Buffy vs Internet Demon

9. The Puppet Show - Buffy and Sid the Dummy vs Organ Harvesting Demon

10. Nightmares - Buffy has bad dreams

11. Out of Mind, Out of Sight - Buffy vs Invisible Nerd

12. Prophecy Girl - Buffy vs The Master (also Buffy Dies)

Overall the short season, while not allowing for too much world building, kept the show to a format that allowed very little filler. So although we mostly only get vampires as villains, we don't have enough time to really be bored of it. Some of the shows dynamics and cultural concerns definitely date the series but overall Season 1 of Buffy is definitely not a difficult watch, and can be enjoyed over and over again.

Let's get to the Benediction:

Best Character: Slay Girl, Slay!

As far as season one goes the titular Buffy Summers is the best character. Sarah Michelle Gellar is absolutely charismatic in the lead role and though at times she may seem selfish or reckless it makes perfect sense for the character. The character is allowed to be weak, to be selfish, and to be unlikeable. She avoids the foibles of a Luke Skywalker or a Harry Potter. She joins the ranks of primary protagonists who are not constantly outshined by their supporting cast. I believe when Buffy is sad, I believe when she throws a punch, I believe she struggles with her destiny. The only thing I don't believe is how ditsy she let's on.

Best Actor: Head's Up!

Anthony Stewart Head. Head as Giles is just fantastic. His balance of frustration with Buffy and genuinely parental concern is heartwarming and absolutely makes Giles one of the warmest father figures in television history.

Best Episode: A 'Master'ful Finale

It all builds up to Prophecy Girl and for good reason. Television shows often have mini-finale's at the end of their first seasons because the teams behind the series are not sure they will have a chance to tell more of their story. For that reason you can see just the first season of most television series and feel like you've heard the whole deal. I wish this habit was kept up in other seasons as we wouldn't still be wondering what the hell happened to Joel at the end of the Santa Clarita Diet. Buffy is no exception to this phenomenon and therefor attempted to tie up much of it's narrative in Prophecy Girl. While that often means big bads will be dispatched, I think it's a small price to pay for not winding up in a cliff hanger. Buffy and Giles just shine in this episode, Angel is given a more heroic role, Willow finally values herself as she should and Xander stops being a fucking horrible human being for once. This episode really satisfies in all areas.

Best Villain: Sweet, Sweetheart Killer

It's such a shame that Darla was killed so early on in the franchise. She is such a great presence on the screen that she overshadows all the villains that play alongside her, even the Master. I would have loved to have seen an alternate season where she offs the old coot and assumes the role of big bad much like Spike does in Season 2. Lucky for everyone that Darla is featured throughout the show in flashbacks and I hear she is even resurrected in Angel. Also, for Scott Pilgrim fans I feel like she and Envy Adams are very much sympatico. Maybe if they reboot Buffy all my dreams will come true.

I'd also like to take this time to recommend the song Angels and Darlas by Say Hi! It's pretty good.

Best Monster Design: Internet Troll!

While I can't speak for where the money in Season 1 of Buffy went, I can say that at least some decent cash was spent on both the forms of Moloch the Corruptor from the Episode "I, Robot ... You, Jane". Moloch was pretty wicked looking as a machine toward the end of the episode, he looked like a Mortal Kombat villain, but it's the green scales and ram horns the actor is sporting at the beginning of the episode that really catches the eye. In fact, I'm feeling compelled to hunt down any Moloch the Corruptor merch that may be out there on the internet. It's certainly no mystery why the demon's face is featured prominently in the theme song. It just looks great! Good job to the make up department there.

Most WTF moment: "Pack"s a Punch on Principle

While not the greatest episode in season one "the Pack" is certainly worth the watch if for no other reason than the horror is kicked up when a group of high school students under the influence of a malevolent Hyena God, decide that the School Mascot is not enough to satisfy their bloodlust turn on the principal, and yes, THEY EAT HIM. I remember being completely caught of guard the first time I saw that scene, and it kickstarted the running gag of Sunnydale high principles meeting their demise in horrific ways.

Worst Character: No More Mr. Nice Guy

When I was in college I often felt bad for Xander. The funny guy who just had no luck with women. He was sarcastic but had a big heart, and used a horny gimmick to mask his loneliness, or so I thought. But now I am older, I am wiser, I have known the touch of another human being and I have to say that Xander Harris is a really scummy fellow. I don't remember thinking so poorly and I wonder if the character develops a more nuanced view of women as the show goes on. As it stands there's barely a point in the series that Xander does not view the female cast as objects for him to enjoy or be embittered towards for one reason or another. It's not charming, it's foul. Xander Harris of season one is absolutely a terrorist attack waiting to happen, if Buffy had happened today it would be much more concerning to see someone so embittered, horny, and entitled to womens time and energy as Xander Harris. Dude is one step away from pulling an Elliot Rogers. Calm down buddy and maybe actually listen to a woman and you may find you aren't as much of a 'nice guy' as you think.

Worst Episode(s): If you're not first ...

It's a toss up on this one. Season One of Buffy is actually so short and concise that the 'Monster of the Week' episodes will have to be up for grabs as the worst episode by default, but even they are pretty watchable and don't warrant the vitriol a "worst" dub usually entails. I'd say there is not a worst episode of season one, just some episodes that aren't as good as the rest. In that vain, take your pick from "Witch", "Out of Mind, Out of Sight", or "The Puppet Show". However, I'd be doing a disservice to those episodes not to mention that each one of them takes what could just be a basic Buffy Vs (insert Villain), and does something unique and interesting with the idea. The villain of "Witch" actually turns out to be a has been cheerleader actually possessing the body of her innocent daughter to relive her glory years, The Invisible Girl is actually the victim of social cruelty, her peers disinterest in her manifesting in her condition becoming quite literal and she is picked up by the military in the end, then the Puppet show, well, it's just about the stupidest most absurd thing that could possibly happen and it's completely unafraid of that fact.

Summary:

Buffy The Vampire Slayer (Season 1) is not the most groundbreaking TV, but it is absolutely evident why the show was such a phenomenon. Season 1 is particularly rewatchable. It does not demand too much investment or attention, but it will get it from you, especially on a first viewing. It's not afraid to take itself absolutely seriously or to plant it's tongue firmly in it's cheeks. It is to a degree a product of it's time, but in many other aspects feels timeless.

Overall Grade: B

#Buffy #Buffy the Vampire Slayer #Vampire #Horror #Television #Series #TV #television series #Grade B #B #90s #1990s #1997 #wilde 1997 #buffy btvs #Moloch #Demon #Monster of the Week #Season 1 #(B)

6 notes · View notes

virtualpiratementality · 4 years

Text

Avoiding Death is my Specialty

Hi guys! So the blog @incorrectfairytailquotesx on Tumblr has inspired a number of one shots from me. This is one that came to me from a quote they posted from the Percy Jackson series. I’m not too happy with the ending and may post an edited version, but for now, enjoy! :)

5/6/20 update- was going through old stories and wanted to update this one. Can be read separately, or as a prequel to ‘Flowers’ and then ‘Starry Date’. Will also be posted on ff.net

If you like it please share or leave a comment, constructive criticism welcome :)

~~~~~~

“Avoiding death is my specialty.”

Natsu Dragneel(Percy Jackson)

~~~~~~

“Come onn, Natsu,” I groaned, pulling the pink haired boy by the rest of the way off of the train. He collapsed onto the ground and I huffed, crossing my arms. “This is our first S-class mission. Well, officially. We can’t be late!” I said anxiously.

“Relax, Lucy” the puddle that was Natsu groaned. “The guy doesn’t live that far away,” he said before finally starting to push himself off of the ground. “And besides–when have we ever been on time?” He said, his attempt to grin cheekily at me ruined by the still green tint on his cheeks. I rolled my eyes before letting out a calming breath. Natsu was right about him not living too far away, at least.

“Aye!” Happy cried, flying around our heads. He stopped and clung onto me, “please can we eat first!? I haven’t eaten since breakfast!” He pleaded.

I glanced quickly at my watch, we did still have a little less than an hour before we needed to be at the requester’s house. “Yess,” I groaned. “Quickly, though, go fly ahead and find somewhere! We don’t have too long” I warned him.

“Thanks, Lucy!” He chirped before flying off towards the busier looking roads.

“I wish Gray or Erza could have come along with us,” I told Natsu as we slowly followed after, frowning.

“Why would you want Ice brains here!? And I’m just as strong as Erza!” He said, letting out a puff of fire.

“Of course you are,” I said, letting out a light laugh. “But this is our first S class mission, and it would make me more comfortable if we had more people…” I fretted.

“We’re a team!” Natsu exclaimed. “ And you know what that means?” I arched my eyebrow in an invitation. “That we’ll get through it together, Luce. Always.” He finished adamantly.

“You’re right!” I replied, sending him a soft smile. “We’ll finish this mission up and be back home in no time!”

“And anyways, it’s not our first S class quest!” He said, and I rolled my eyes already knowing what he was going to say. “The first was Galuna Island!”

“Yeah, and look at how well that turned out,” I said, letting out an unladylike snort. “Erza and Gray had to come help!”

“Well they did, but we could have done it without them!” He persisted.

“You’re right, of course we could have,” I said in a placating tone.

“NATSU! LUCY!” We looked towards the right where we could hear Happy’s voice and saw him hovering in front of a restaurant decorated with fishing nets and traps and lures. I scrunched up my nose and Natsu laughed at me.

“Are you regretting letting him pick the spot?” He teased, nudging my arm.

“Maybe a little bit…”

Lunch was, as always, a noisy and messy affair. We ended up getting to the contacts house on time, if not slightly out of breath. “See?” Natsu beamed. “Told ya we’d be fine!” I glared at him, gasping, as he knocked on the door.

“Jeez, Luce,” Happy started. “I think you need to get in better shape when we get home!” My growl was cut off as the door opened. I straightened up to greet the man at the door.

“Hello! Are you Jiro?” I questioned with a friendly smile on my face.

“Yes! Are you the team from Fairy Tail I was told would be coming?” He asked politely.

“Sure am!” Natsu replied enthusiastically, both of us presenting our guild marks. “And we’re ready to kick some bandit ass!” My polite smile became strained as Natsu spoke and I did a mental slap to my forehead. Jiro, however, thankfully just laughed and invited us into his house.

“I’m happy you made it here safely,” he said, face grave. “From what I understand they increased the difficulty of my request.” He said, before continuing on to explain at the nods of our head that we were aware of this. “Just a few days ago, I discovered that there were far more bandits than I first believed making their home on my land. It’s far too dangerous for me to go out there anymore, which is a problem for my family. I use that land to feed them, we have a large garden and when there is need, we hunt. With the recent bandit problem, however…” He trailed off.

“You haven’t been able to feed your family,” I responded gently. “We understand. We’ll take care of this problem so you won’t have to worry anymore,” I said assuredly.

“Thank you!” He said gratefully. “Please, go when you are ready and be careful. They’re scattered on the land throughout the day.” We nodded in understanding before heading out the door.

“You ready to get started!?” Natsu asked. “Got your keys, whip?”

“Of course I do,” I responded, scoffing. “Let’s go! I’d like to be done today or tomorrow to head back.” I added, and Natsu nodded, agreeing before we headed towards where Jiro had directed us.

We didn’t talk as we wandered our way through the land, making our way through the wooded area, listening intently to the sounds that surrounded us. We sent Happy ahead to scout, and he came back about ten minutes later beckoning us to follow him. We followed along stealthily, stopping at every twig crack and bush rustle. Soon we found ourselves crouching outside of a huge clearing with a garden in the middle and a large number of tents set up in the fields surrounding the garden.

I felt Natsu’s breath on my ear, and held in a squeak of surprise. “Luce,” he barely whispered, and I felt an involuntary shiver go through me at the feel of his breath on my ear. “I think it would be better to split up right now, go around to the right while I go left, we’ll do a head count and meet up on the other side.” I nodded in agreement.

It’s common for people to think that Natsu isn’t exactly a planner. Normally they would be correct, his impulsivity and love of just jumping in when we’re with our whole team is often the cause of too many of our troubles, but with how many of us there are with the full team, especially with how strong everyone is, it allows for more freedom.

However, when just us, Natsu tended to be much more careful, following a checklist and making a plan, even if he doesn’t always follow it. I used to think that it was because I wasn’t the best fighter, however I had been training with our team for quite some time now and had been getting stronger. I wasn’t going to complain however, I always enjoyed having a plan.

“Sounds good,” I replied. “just please be careful!” He gave me a ‘who, me?’ look that made me roll my eyes before we went our separate ways.

I unhooked my whip as I crept around the edge of the camp, careful for any leaves or twigs that may be on the ground. I was about halfway around with a head count of 14 when I heard heavy footsteps accompanied by a branch snap. I whirled around, crouching lower to the ground, one leg bent under me, the other stretched out. He hadn’t seen me yet and I took the opportunity to hide better as he wandered out of the camp.

I bit my lip, wondering if I should try to take him down now. If I could do it quietly, it would be one less person. If I took too long, it could alert the camp someone was here…I worried my lip between my teeth. Then again, if he woke up before Natsu and I had finished with a plan he could warn the camp and they would be more prepared…I let out a frustrated scream in my mind before pouting and waited for him to leave. Too many ‘what ifs’ for now.

It didn’t take me long to finish my circuit and meet Natsu at the other end. In total, we had a count of about thirty.

“I can cause a distraction on the other side and while their backs are turned we can jump em!” He whispered enthusiastically. I laughed and nodded.

“Seems like the best way to go, hopefully we’ll take a few down before they realize we’re even here!” I agreed. He grinned maniacally and with a barely noticeable flick of the wrist, called a ball of fire to his hand. Taking aim, he shot the fireball towards one of the tents in the middle. The man sitting in front shot up and frantically tried to put his tent out while the others near him started laughing and jeering. Until the fire spread and another tent caught on fire. Then another. More and more people were migrating over to frantically try and help put them out before it continued to spread.

Natsu glanced over and I grinned, giving him a thumbs up. I had equipped my Taurus Star Dress at this point and was ready to go! I felt the familiar feeling of my heartbeat picking up, and the excitement starting to build right before a fight. At my thumbs up, Natsu jumped into the clearing, incapacitating people left and right.

I jumped into the fray, cracking my whip and bringing people down, focusing on trying to keep anyone from sneaking up to Natsu or overwhelming him. My whip wrapped around ankles, wrists and necks, dragging them to the ground. Taurus’ Dress was the best for situations like this, increasing my strength when it was needed. Soon enough, however, the bandits understood what was going on and turned their attention from the burning tents to us and I knew the real thing would help a great deal. Grabbing for my keys, I called Taurus to come help us fight.

I had a few people coming just for me, but it seemed most of the bandits had deemed Natsu as the main threat, which only made things all the more easier for us. Natsu was enjoying himself a bit too much, cackling as he took people out with his flaming fists. Shaking my head and smiling, I kept fighting. We quickly fell into a pattern, me dragging someone away from Natsu when I could and Taurus knocking them out. Things were looking good for us!

Funny how it only takes a split second for things to change.

Out of nowhere, I felt something grab my legs. Looking down, I noticed vines and roots had clung to them and they were firmly holding me in place. I gave a few experimental tugs, but they were quickly climbing up my body, making it impossible to move. Taurus noticed what was happening and stopped swinging at the bandits, turning to help me before being entrapped in his own roots. “Luuuucy!” He called, hacking at his own restraints.

“I’m fine, Taurus! Go back!” I commanded. He looked at me hesitantly. “Go! I can call you again if I need you!” I said urgently, watching the vines quickly wrap up him. He grudgingly nodded.

“Yes, Luuucy. Stay safe!” He said before disappearing, the roots still molded in the position of his legs.

What was this!? No one had reported there being mages in with the bandits! I thought furiously. I couldn’t take the time to dwell on it, however. They were here, and we had to deal with them. I quickly began scanning for them as I switched outfits.

“Star Dress-Cancer!” I called, glancing over to check on Natsu. Natsu also had roots starting to reach towards him. He was throwing fire at his own restraints as well as other people, trying to keep them at bay. Happy was pulling on the back of his vest as he attacked the roots, trying to pull him free.

“Natsuuuu!” He cried.

I unsheathed the swords that came with the Cancer form and started to try and cut the roots away. It didn’t seem to matter how quickly I cut, and the roots were too thick to cut through in a single stroke and when I did manage to cut one more vine, two more seemed to pop up in its place.

Looking around frantically I tried to pinpoint the magic user. The roots were already up to my waist and reaching out to try and grab my wrists. “Natsu!” I cried desperately, pointing to the man who I had found to be controlling the roots. His hands palm down, back against the trees and eyes closed. His long dark hair loosely tied up and he seemed to almost meld with the tree behind him.

He paused his onslaught of fire to look in the direction, giving me a sharp nod. He pulled his arm back and gathered up a ball of fire. I went back to fighting the roots, trying to cut the ones grabbing my hands away. The ones around me were up to my chest now and had immobilized me. They drew around my shoulders before working back down, drawing my arms close to my body and squeezing tight, leaving it much harder for me to breathe as I struggled fruitlessly to get out.

I looked up at a burst of raw red power coming from the opposite direction, and screamed as it headed towards Natsu. Although the roots hadn’t immobilized the top half of his body, he still couldn’t move out of the way. It hit him in the back like an arrow and I watched in horror as his eyes went wide. As his flames died out. The roots quickly disintegrated away as he fell, allowing him to hit the ground, face forward. I saw the blood pouring from the wound in his back. He struggled to his knees but was hit by the magic - formed arrow again. And again and again and again. I couldn’t see anything else as I looked into his eyes and saw the pain there. I didn’t even notice Happy collapsing a few feet away, staring at Natsu in shock.

“NATSU!” I yelled, trying to fight back the tears. “STOP IT!” I screamed desperately at the man who was coming up behind him. His red eyes-the same color as that awful magic-had a strange glow and his face held a manic smile. Not like the one Natsu wore when excited - no this was a twisted manic, eyes holding no passion or warmth. His dark hair was cut short, flying every which way. He stood tall over Natsu, looking down on him. I lost the battle, and tears broke through, also coming from an angry desperation to get to him. He looked up towards me. “Natsu…” I whispered, my voice breaking as I saw the fire start to die out of his eyes, his eyelids slowly closing.

“Natsu!” I cried louder. “Wake up, Natsu, there are still asses to kick!” I yelled desperately, tears continuing to spill. Nothing. There was no movement at all. His back looked like a pincushion and I couldn’t see any of his skin. His blood was dripping down his body, soaking into the dirt on the ground. His eyes, which had just been alight with excitement and determination…then pain, were closed now. “NATSU!” I screamed in agony.

“Awh, how sad,” The red eyed man cooed. “But don’t worry, you’ll soon be joining him.”

“I will get out of here,” I growled to the stranger . “I will and I swear to Mavis it doesn’t matter if you’re gone I’m going to destroy you”

“Oh please,” He sneered. “Do you know how many times I've heard declarations of revenge?” He asked, eyes seeming to grow more wild, a dangerous aura beginning to surround him. “And do you know how many failed? Well...I’m still here, aren’t I?” He asked with a nasty smirk. “Do you even know who I am?” He asked gleefully.

“I don’t need to know who you are!” I spat back. “I don’t give a shit who you are! I’m not them, and I swear you will regret hurting Natsu!” I declared forcefully.

“I guess I’d better just dispose of you as well then,” he sneered, bringing his arm back. I stared defiantly at him even as an arrow formed in between his thumb and first two fingers.

“WAAAAAAAHHHHHHH” it was then that I came back to my senses and noticed Happy dive bombing the red-eyed man. Tears were running down his face and Happy dodged the man’s swats faster than I’d ever seen him move.

“HAPPY! HAPPY GO FIND HELP!” I screamed. “GO GET A DOCTOR! I’ll have them gone by the time you get back.” He seemed to snap out of the red haze he was in and flew up high. He nodded at me and turned to fly off. Before I could even blink he was gone.

The red eyed man made his way towards the mage restraining me and laughed. “My roots aren’t nothin to mess with, girlie.” He smirked at me.

“It’s a good thing I’m not either,” I said, smirking right back. Closing my eyes I took a deep breath as I let my anger, my hatred for these two men who were trying to rip away the heart of Fairy Tail. Rip away the soul of the man who had shown me an adventure I didn’t even know I needed.

In that moment, I felt it. The bright, gentle magic that lived inside of me. I breathed in, concentrating, and funneled my adrenaline, anger and hurt into that well. I then breathed out, relaxing. “Star Dress-Leo” I whispered and the magic took hold. My magic grew, and I felt more powerful. I opened my eyes, staring at them before saying in a louder, clearer voice. “Regulas burst!” My magic burst out in a nova, disintegrating the ties and allowing me to move again. Before they could utter a word I grabbed three keys, slashing them through the air.

“Open! Gates of the Earth! Capricorn, Taurus, Virgo!”

A bright light flashed in the clearing, leaving behind the three spirits.

For the first time, I saw fear entering the eyes of the mages. “Th-three spirits?” A nasty grin spread across my face, and I felt a pang of panic at first about how much I was enjoying their fear.

Capricorn and Taurus immediately attacked the men, striking so fast they didn’t even have time to draw their power. They were hit with an onslaught of fists and feet, giving Virgo time to dig a trap behind them. Already I could feel my adrenaline - fueled power start to recede. I clung on desperately as Taurus and Capricorn fought and tried to knock the men back into the trap. Gripping my whip I joined the fray. With the three of us physically attacking, the red-eyed man and the root manipulator were soon overwhelmed and even with them fighting back, It didn’t take long before the two men were knocked out.

My vision became blurry and I fell to my knees, keeping hold of my magic as my spirits pulled the men into the dirt hole that Virgo had created. They sealed them there, the only things above ground being their heads.

“Virgo, Taurus, go back. I will stay here with Lady Lucy until Happy comes with help. I will use my own power to stay here” Capricorn instructed. They nodded to him, understanding that it had taken a lot of magic to open and keep open the three celestial gates. I didn’t hear much else as the spots went blurry and my vision darkened. I felt the pull on my power lessen and finally relaxed.

When I woke up it was to a room that I didn’t recognize. I could hear murmuring in the background, along with the crackling of a fire. My head pounded and I felt week. I wracked my brain, trying to remember what happened. I slowly opened my eyes, and was thankfully met with dim and took in my surroundings.

I turned to my right and gasped, seeing Natsu on another cot. His eyes were blurry light. I rapidly blinked, trying to rid myself of the blurriness. Another throb of pain hit my head and I groaned, using an insane amount of strength just to bring my heavy arms up to my head.

“...Lucy?” I sucked in a breath and my heart stuttered as I heard the voice and everything came rushing back. Pushing aside my own pain, I looked up to see a sight that filled my heart with warmth.

Natsu was sitting in a bed next to me, Happy clinging to him and crying. Natsu was petting him as he hugged him back.

“Natsu?” I whispered. He looked up and gave me a huge grin, but I could see the relief in his eyes.

“Lucy! Welcome back to the land of the living!” He said teasingly.

“What happened!? I thought you were dead!” I said tearfully, sitting up slowly to assess any damage. I swung my legs off the bed to face him, planting my feet on the floor.

“Oh, Natsu!” I exclaimed, relieved. I flung myself at him, stumbling between the beds and wrapping my arms around him, squishing Happy between us. He hissed and threw one arm back against his bed to brace us, while the other came up around my waist to hug me to him. Tears of relief were making their way down my face as I clung to him.

“Hey!” Happy protested, squished between us.

“And you!” I exclaimed. “I ended up passing out I guess,” I said sheepishly. “what happened?”

Wiggling out from between us, Happy started to explain. “I came back to town to find Jiro and told him to get a doctor and go find you guys in the clearing with the farm. Then I flew as fast as I could to get Wendy and brought her and Carla here! I knew Natsu would need her help. Your goat-man said that you had just fainted from using too much magic. And now Wendy’s sleeping in the other room cuz Carla said she used too much of her magic.” He said. I grabbed him and hugged him tight to my chest, where I was still against Natsu.

“You’re a hero, Happy! Without you we’d probably still be out there, and Natsu could’ve been…” I trailed off, not even wanting to finish the sentence. “Oh, Natsu…” I said, turning back to him. “I was so worried. I thought I’d lost you, and…and I don’t know what I would’ve done. You…you have no idea what that would’ve done to me, “ I choked out, trying to hold back even more tears.

“Oh Luce, didn’t you know?” I looked at him quizzically. Didn’t I know what? Was there some kind of dragon slayer thing he hadn’t told me about? “Avoiding death is my specialty!” He finished cheekily.

I groaned and smacked my forehead onto his chest. I could feel him laugh as he tightened his arm around my waist, his other hand coming up to run through my hair.

“I’m glad you’re okay, Luce. I don’t know what happened out there and you’ll have to fill me in, but i’m just so happy that you’re okay.” He said, voice strained. I froze as I felt him place a kiss on the top of my head. My heart raced and warred with my mind.

He doesn’t think of you like that, he’s just happy you’re okay!

But who kisses their friends!? I’ve been in trouble plenty of times and Gray’s never kissed me!

My thoughts were cut short as the door banged open, and I shot back and quickly stood, blocking Natsu from whoever had burst in. I took a defensive stance, one hand flitting around my waist attempting to find my whip, before remembering my injuries. I swayed on my feet as I fought through a dizzy spell, and tried to focus on who had come through.

“Lucy! Natsu!” A commanding voice rang through the room and I relaxed as I felt Natsu put his feet on the ground and put one arm around my waist, and another grabbing my wrist to steady me.

“I am here to help!” Erza declared, hands on hips and requipped into a nurses outfit. I snorted as she walked over to me, and helped me over to my bed. “Doctor’s orders, you are both to stay in bed until tomorrow.” She lectured strictly.

She was followed in by Gray, “I knew we should have gone with you, flame for brains.” He scoffed, but I could see the underlying worry and rolled my eyes.

“WHAT!?” Natsu yelled. “We handled it just fine, and when I was down Lucy kicked ass! We didn’t need you!” He shot back and I blushed, ducking my head.

“NO FIGHTING” Erza roared, and both boys shrunk away meekly.

I shook my head in exasperation and looked towards Natsu. We shared a smile before I sunk back into my bend, lending half an ear to Erza’s continued lecture as I started to sink back into a sleep.

Even if Natsu doesn’t think of me that way, at least he cares. And as long as I’m with Fairy Tail I'm surrounded by my family and that’s all that matters.

That was my last thought before I gave in to sleep.

#fairytail #nalu #ft nalu

23 notes · View notes

Last Seen Blogs

sinfulsecretsjojo

Immortal Nut [TM]

4pour1000-blog

4 pour 1000

reighndeer

trinisiren

itsallaboutthequestions

Untitled

buttfrovski

nuh uh