#it was a trick question. whoops. I know. Im as surprised as you are

[bigskydreaming]

Who wants to read me wax on about how I finally figured out how to make the plot of my Waveriders sci-fi novel work, and the secret answer was all I needed to do was mash-up the plot of The Goonies with my sky-pirates but swap out the treasure they were looking for with the prison of the megalomaniacal murder goddess that was hidden there two thousand years ago by her ex-girlfriend after the galactic god war that doubled as the most dramatic break-up in the history of the universe.

The 14,000 year old ADHD battle goddess currently masquerading as a pirate joining them on their treasure hunt would like to say for the record that none of these cities were here when she hid her ex's prison on this planet 2000 years ago. So its really not her fault that she can't remember where she put it & needs this crew of misfits and malcontents to find it for her before her ex's religious order of zealots & brood of demigod offspring that never thought she was good enough for their mom anyway find it first and let her out to restart the whole galactic god war that pretty much JUST ended, as far as she's concerned. She is TIRED. She wants to take a NAP.

But nooooooo, the stupid mortals had to look at the literal most inhospitable planet she could find and take it as a CHALLENGE to build an entire civilization right on top of her homicidal ex's temporal tomb, like LITERALLY right on top of it, and now she's stuck playing pirate ship with the most obnoxious mix of idealists and anarchists she's ever seen (and she's been to like, ALL the planets!) in the hopes that they can do a better job retracing her steps from 2000 years ago than she can. Again, in her defense though, she's pretty sure she was the divine equivalent of concussed the whole trip, last time she was here.

And the worst part is, she can't even smite any of the smarmy little fuckers when they annoy her, which happens roughly once every ten minutes, because revealing herself in all her resplendent and terrible glory - while satisfying - would unfortunately qualify as a "tactical error" since broadcasting your location to everyone in the galaxy that you DON'T want finding the thing you're looking for BEFORE you've even found it yourself, is, well, shitty fucking tactics.

Which would be doubly embarrassing in her case, since she basically invented tactics. Like. All of them. Conceptually. Not that that makes the idiot child in charge of this sky-ship any more inclined to listen to her Very Sensible and Smart Suggestions That Would Lead Them To a Decisive and Glorious Triumph Over Their Enemies, since, y'know. She couldn't exactly give him her ACTUAL resumé when applying for the esteemed position of 'glorified deckhand.' The whole incognito thing again. Whoever invented THAT concept needed to be ritually murdered and ripped from the very loom of reality. Immediately. This might actually be the worst trip she's ever been on, and she's literally been to Hell. All the Hells.

Plus if she had given her actual resumé there's no way Captain Infant would've been able to wrap his teeny tiny mortal comprehension around the incomparable list of her legendary exploits, the endless armies of eldritch entities all dead by her hand...see, this is why gods weren't meant to travel in stealth. When there's no one else to rhapsodize about your divine brilliance and you have to do it yourself, you just sound vain. Why are there never any worshippers around when you actually need one?

Aaaaaand now the tedious little fruit flies want her to join them in their card game, because building camaraderie and improving crew morale is either a really big thing with mortals in general these days or maybe just this batch in particular. She's not really sure, and also, she doesn't care. Not when the end result is having to sit through one of the dullest excuses for a game she could imagine, and she's literally imagined entire worlds into existence. Her imagination is NOT the issue here. They're not even playing for souls, just money, so what even is the point?

Honestly, this is why she stopped bothering with mortal friends ten thousand years ago. Its like the complete opposite of that saying 'never a dull moment.' Its all the dull moments. For decades at a time! Which doesn't sound like a long time in the grand scheme of things, obviously, but when you're bored, even decades feel like forever.

Like right now. Ever since she stepped back on this miserable excuse for a backwater planet - and SERIOUSLY, who thinks settling on a GAS GIANT is a good idea, there was a REASON she assumed nobody would ever chance stumbling across Tayana's prison here of all places, and that reason was Logic. And assuming that people have some.

Well, if this whole experience has taught her nothing else, its that she wouldn't be making THAT mistake again.

#lol hey remember how I started this post with a question like 'who wants to read me doing the thing I just did' #it was a trick question. whoops. I know. Im as surprised as you are #kalen writes things sometimes #waveriders #not actually part of the book just me amusing myself whilst celebrating that the plot kerfluffle that #had been giving me so much grief has been smited most verily #huzzah and other utterances of joy and celebration

[bwobgames]

Previous First

"Um, what...?"

"Uh oh"

"Well you see"

"Earlier, I was in my shed like always, when I heard some odd sounds outside! But when I went out, there was nothing at all!

So I left, but I still got the lingering worry. What if some animal got in? I really don't like it when my shed gets disturbed, you know

Last time, a bunny got in! Can you believe it?

I had to get rid of it"

"So, I go back! And guess what I found? My controllers were gone!

Now, I might not be an incredibly influential detective like you, Mr Beebo, but I can guess this wasn't the local wildlife

In fact, by the pair of footprints around the woods, I could even assume your scarf friend here told you some things!

And you two went out there giving me trouble, like always"

"Stealing is wrong, you know"

"... Uh, I think killing is worse, actually"

"If you think we'll give them back, you can start begging"

"Oh, don't worry about it, I just need this one! It's in such a good spot!"

"What, under the bar table or something? Fuck you"

"Ángel calm down"

"Huh?"

Eugene smiles

"Oh, I see"

"I'm afraid you got tricked"

Oliver panics a little

"What? What do you mean?"

"Well, you see

Last time, you guys really surprised me! I mean, you got me killed!

So... I got a little worried

And decided to pull a little trick, just in case

It's always good to be cautious, you know"

"Fucking- get to the point!"

"Haha okay"

"I changed the little stickers for the bomb placement"

"Whoops"

"...Oh"

"Oh fuck"

"What- What is that one then?"

"A really good one"

"The main room

Right under the snacks table

See? A great spot!"

There's silence in the room

"... What?"

"That's... were mom is"

"Yeah! Your mother! This will be her second time dying via bomb

I need more diversity, I know"

"No... She can't... I haven't talked to her..."

"Ah, dont cry, girl. Im really bad with crying children"

Beebo and Ángel start to back up

"Wait a minute there, we haven't finished talking!

I would hate to make you guys forget so quickly after we've bonded so much"

He waves the control around

Literally and figuratively

They stay

"So, any more questions?"

"What's the fucking point of this"

"Ángel, calm down"

"What are you even planning?! Are you just going to keep us here forever?! Like some sort of purgatory?!"

"Please, we can't do anything rash"

"What? Of course not!"

"I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm not a cruel man!

We all make mistakes, and all of you have made some very big mistakes!

But you won't be here forever, I'll let you out eventually

"I'm just going to kill you over and over again until I'm satisfied"

"Only then you'll earn my forgiveness"

"All of you deserve to die for what you've done to me"

"Ah, of course, you guys are not equal. Some sins are bigger than others. Let's see..."

"I think the first one I'll let out is my sister. She's stupid but means well. Im sure she would apologize immediately if given the chance

Of course, apologies mean nothing in the face of utter betrayal, so she needs to die a few times."

"Next would be the reporter girl. She's incredibly annoying, but I guess that's not the worst sin she could've committed.

Still, I love to hear the sound of her voice getting increasingly quieter when she's dying, so she's staying for a bit"

"Next, ugh, my wife. People really hype up being married, you know? You are supposed to be a team, but she never wanted to help me with anything! It was all about her house and her family and her kids and blah blah. She's so selfish, that woman.

But eh, she's pretty useless right now, so it's not like she'll do anything of worth once I free her"

"Now, Owen, that kid is staying for a few weeks at least. Can't believe he would betray me like this, really, I thought he was an exemplary kid!

But no, he wasn't. I'm sure his mother would be glad to get rid of him for some time

He needs to die many, many times, "

"And then, my son. Or what I thought was my son, turns out the fucker ended up being more like his mother! Useless thing. And to think he was going to be in charge of my company once I moved on to other things.

He couldn't even betray me on his own. He needed the help of his little buddies. What a rat.

I will not have a coward as a son.

I need to see him cry more, so he'll stay a while"

"Now, you two troublemakers"

"I'll be honest, I wasn't planning on keeping you for long, Ángel"

"But seeing as you have been a complete pain in the ass in your stay here, you are staying a good while"

"Stubborn bastard"

"Sounds like a waste of time. You can't even kill me"

"Eh, I'm sure with enough tries I will"

"But it's not like I really need to, do I? I just need to get your little friend here, and it hurts you just as much"

Ángel says nothing to that

"And speaking of said little friend, Mr Beebo, I always planned on you staying here until the very end

You've done something really bad, you know?

It got me really mad!

And now, you come here, meddling in everything I do.

Causing trouble everywhere you go

It's like you know exactly how to completely infuriate me

I hate you so much! With all my being!"

Eugene says, smiling

"... The feeling is mutual"

"How sweet. I'm glad! Killing you is always so satisfying"

"And since you two lovebirds insist on staying together, you'll share a sentence"

"How do you say these things and claim you are not a cruel man?"

"Well, it's simple. This might as well never had happened"

"Whenever a loop starts again, everything is okay again! There's no scars, no pain, no memories, no proof.

So, technically, I never killed anybody! I mean, look! You're still standing

Is it really that bad? I am going to let you out eventually

And once you do, it would be like nothing ever happened!

Im just taking a few months of your life

Who knows! Maybe after I forgive you, we could all be friends!"

"That won't happen"

"Oh, dont say that. You won't even remember this conversation. No one will"

He looks at Ángel

"... Well, almost no one. But hey! Nobody's perfect"

Oliver holds Ángel back

"... You didn't mention me. Although I'm not surprised"

"Oh, don't worry! I didn't forget you this time

This is why I wanted to talk

I have an offer to make"

#i am very much trying to make these drawings really nice #but I think I'll have to finish this encounter tomorrow #so this is all today. im going to bed #enjoy the ramblings of a madman #detective beebo

[jincherie]

tentacledipity | five

➛pairing: jimin x reader ➛genre: alien au, space au, soulmate au, wanted au, smut (coming) ➛rating: sfw ➛words: 9k ➛warnings: ➛notes: completely forgot that i hadn’t posted it on here yet !!! sorry !!!  Im also sorry for the blue balls!! There will be relief eventually!! I was actually going to have some at the end of this chapter but uhhh plans change,,, although now i can say there is definitely some relief in the next chapter since that’s the scene i cut off the end of this one

This tale starts, as any good fiction does, with a girl crash landing on a foreign planet. And, like any good fiction, it follows a theme of serendipitous happening, and tentacles. Behold, serendipity and tentacles— or dare we call it…. tentacledipity.

— posted; 01.12.2019 // ↞ prev. || five || next ↠

“What are you doing?”

If anyone asked, you would tell them that you were the picture of grace as you got the absolute life scared out of you. The reality was, however, that you let out a sharp, squeaky scream wherein your voice broke and you pretty much tumbled like a mannequin with recently oiled joints out of the tree you’d been climbing before you were so rudely startled.

You weren’t far enough from the ground to break anything with your fall, but you were far enough that you were pretty sure you bruised your ass from the impact. A whimper escaped you at the sharp, deep ache in your gluteus maximus that resulted, and when you looked up to see the cause of your startle you almost shat yourself once more. Of course, you’d heard his voice and subconsciously known who it was the second he spoke, but seeing Jimin looming over you with an expression that was a cross between concerned and incredibly amused really made the belated realisation sink in. Another fright doing harm to your poor, weak heart. Your time on this planet was going to come to an end due to someone scaring you to death, one day.

Wait just a second…

By thinking that, did you just subconsciously presume you weren’t ever going to leave, or…? You reeled for a moment, an odd feeling coming to life inside you. That was extremely out of character for you, and you probably needed to see a doctor or something. Or maybe go annoy Yoongi so you could get some sense knocked back into you.

The soft sound that resulted from Jimin shifting his weight from foot to foot on the grass brought you back to the present moment and you let out a pained, sheepish laugh. Right, he asked you a question. What were you doing? You didn’t really remember, to be honest. Possibly a cause for concern, but who could blame you for a little momentary memory loss when faced with a being as fine as Jimin was? The answer was absolutely no one and you’d defend that to your grave.

“Uhh…” you floundered for an answer that wouldn’t make you look like a complete idiot, and came up empty. Well, humiliating truth it was. “To be honest? I just wanted to climb the tree. I wasn’t stealing the fruits, I promise.”

Jimin’s brow rose, marks flushing soft periwinkle. “These trees are in the more open sectors of the royal gardens, taking one of the fruits wouldn’t be stealing. Although…”

He wrinkled his nose, directing his gaze to the incriminating fruit that hung, bulbous and bright pink, from one of the upper-middle branches, looking thoroughly disgusted. “I wouldn’t recommend it, unless you enjoy being violently sick for several days. They are kind of poisonous, for kelkie and humans alike.”

You made a face at that, giving the fruit the stink eye for the audacity it had to almost trick you with its pretty, appealing outside. How dare it—pink means yummy, not poison! The nerve.

“Noted,” you said, gulping. A beat passed before you turned to the male suddenly, eyes narrowed as you recalled something. “Wait, how did you know I was there? And how did you get over here so fast? If you’re going to flash-step over here and scare the shit out of me, you could at least catch me. I mean, I wouldn’t complain.”

Jimin’s head tilted, full lips tugging. “Noted,” he remarked, clowning you unabashedly. “I’ll be sure to save you the fall and yank you from the tree myself next time.”

At that, you couldn’t help the sudden laugh that tore out of you—the sound of it made his lips twitch further. He waited for you to calm a little before he continued.

“And if you must know, I was going for a brief walk. You’re actually in my gardens right now, petal.”

You balked, a flush of embarrassment rushing to heat your cheeks. Oh. So that’s what that short wall you’d jumped over while exploring had meant. Huh. Perhaps you were a little stupid; then again, that knowledge wasn’t really anything new.

Prior to this, you’d been a little preoccupied with your throbbing ass, but now, as you sat and gazed up at the magnetic form that was Jimin, you were suddenly reminded of the conversation from the other day with Joy and other raunchy parties. Your gaze flicked to his sides on instinct before you caught yourself and tore it away, averting it to the foliage to be safe. If you stare at his back he’s going to know you know, dumbass!

“O-oh, am I? Whoops, my bad,” you tried to distract yourself with a too-soon attempt at climbing back to your feet. You wobbled, voice shooting up in alarm, “To be fair though there’s no way to know these are your gardens, like, where’s the sign? You should reall—YAH OH MY!”

When you wobbled again a second time, barely a split second away from toppling off your wobbly legs and back onto your throbbing behind, Jimin’s hand shot to grasp your wrist and in one fell swoop he yanked you from your tentative crouch to standing. In the process he, overestimating your level of resistance, ended up hauling you straight into his chest. He barely stumbled as you knocked into him, your arms shooting out to wrap around him on instinct. An embarrassing instinct in actuality, but certainly not one you were about to complain about.

A beat of silence passed while you caught up to the sudden turn of events before you pulled your head back from where it had been resting over his shoulder. Utilising the fact your arms had ended up looped around his waist, you tightened your hold around him and pressed your hands firmly against his spine. You felt the hitch of his breath against your chest. When you grew brave enough to allow your eyes to stray to his face, they caught his own—deep, dark pools of molten cocoa, pupils almost swallowing his iris’ whole, hypnotised you for a moment. Even meeting his gaze like this made your lungs constrict and your heart jump in unison with your stomach. Giddy, excited—a sudden sense of shyness tickled the back of your neck but it was far overpowered by the deep, instinctive urge to push him a little. You wanted to play.

When he said nothing, you allowed your lips to twitch into a big, dumb grin— a courteous moment’s warning for what you were about to do—and then you moved your hands to his shoulder blades before pressing your fingertips in and dragging them down either side of his spine. He went rigid, yet the muscles of his back still yielded to the teasing pressure of your fingertips. Further down his back, about mid way, you felt your fingertips catch on something even through the shirt and Jimin jerked, a low rumble sounding in the back of his throat as a shudder ran through the entirety of his body.

You didn’t get all the way down his back before you pulled away, heart racing a little too fast from the sudden intensity of his gaze as it burned into you, as a result of your teasing. You hadn’t noticed his grip earlier but now you were painfully aware of the firm hold he had on your waist, fingers gripping with just enough pressure that your stomach flipped like you were a mere schoolgirl back on Earth.

As steamy as the moment was turning out to be, it was broken by a very sudden, very sharp and very loud noise—

One that sounded suspiciously like a dog.

Jerking away from Jimin at the sound of a rough bark, in either fear or surprise you didn’t really know, you spun to face the source. You were instantly rooted to the spot in shock.

Holy shit, that was a massive dog.

Well, calling it a dog might have been a bit of an insult. Whatever it was, with whatever canine resemblance it had, it was absolutely beautiful and nothing short of majestic. Instantly, you were in absolute awe and standing in a state of reverence.

The beast was over five feet tall and gave Jimin a run for his money, his entire coat the deepest space blue you’d ever seen that bled into a plethora of deep rose and cerulean that seemed to change as the strands shifted in the wind. It was incredibly canine in its features, resembling something between a wolf or a fox from earth but much, much bigger—the angled face, the mischievous eyes that hid an underlying danger. Around its eyes and down its muzzle, the same peculiar rose-aquamarine blend painted beautiful, mesmerising markings.

Something shifted out of the corner of your eyes, and when your gaze followed it, it took you a moment to realise you were looking at not one, but two big fluffy tails. Contrary to the dog-like appearance of the beast, the tails swayed playfully and in a much more feline manner. It was as though it was trying to hypnotise you with the movement, and you were only saved from falling into the trap by the sound of another soft yap.

You squeaked, jumping in what you were sure was a mixture of fright and excitement this time—although, to be fair, the line between the two emotions was awfully thin these days.

“Oh my god,” you choked, sounding very much like you were going to cry and honestly? You might have been about to. “Puppy!”

At the sound of the pure joy in your voice, it was as though a switch had been flipped in the creature that, until then, had just been standing there, looking incredibly majestic and incredibly intimidating. As though it could sense that you weren’t afraid, it immediately dropped into a crouch, behind wiggling and tongue hanging out of its mouth, before it pounced forward and you met the ground once more.

This time, with Jimin in tow.

The beast was so massive that instead of only tackling you, it had managed to catch both you and Jimin in one go. The aforementioned male was now pressed to the ground next to you as the two of you received a barrage of sloppy licks from the creature in between excited yapping and melodic trill noises. You couldn’t help the delighted squeal that escaped your lips, your hands coming up to scratch and rub behind the creature’s large, triangular ears. They flicked and vibrated instantly at your motions, and the beast moved its attention solely to you. Meaning, you got a face full of alien dog tongue and spit.

“Meanie!” Jimin gasped, attempting to sit up and somehow managing despite the incredible weight of the beast. “Off, now, Meanie! #$%#$!”

Jimin rattled something else off in kelkoe and to your complete and utter surprise, the canine creature pulled back immediately and sat down on its haunches, tongue still lolling out of its elongated maw as its head flicked between the two of you and its tails lashed excitedly behind it. Somewhat dazed and a little upset at the lack of happy dog-creature within arms reach, you struggled into a sitting position yourself, unable to tear your eyes from the animal before you.

“What is that? He’s so beautiful…” you found yourself asking before you even realised, eyes wide. You heard Jimin make a surprised noise, and turned to see him looking at you strangely.

“You are not afraid?” he queried, head tilting like he couldn’t make sense of your reaction. You watched as his marks swirled through several different colours before settling on light, playful blue.

“No?” you replied, equally as confused at his reaction. “Why would I be? I love dogs!”

“Dogs…” Jimin mumbled to himself for a moment, eyes unfocused, before he let out a soft noise and turned to you.  “Are dogs creatures on Earth? Do you have Ina there too?”

“Ina?” you repeated, turning your gaze back to the animal who was, by the way, still waiting patiently in place like the best boy you had ever seen. “Is that what this creature is?”

Jimin nodded, and after surveying you a moment longer he rose to his feet, dusting off his (very shapely) behind as he did so. A smile tugged his lips as he looked over at the animal in question. “This is Meanie, my Ina.”

He then parted from your side to move over to the creature, wrapping an arm over his massive shoulders and reaching up to scratch behind his ear. Meanie’s hind leg began thumping against the ground in glee at the movement, head rolling to press affectionately against the side of Jimin’s own. You watched on in awe, fingers absolutely itching to join Jimin in giving this good boy the pets he deserved.

“Your Ina? He’s your pet?” you asked, watching the interaction and the softness of Jimin’s countenance with increasing fondness. Even so, a part of you felt oddly betrayed. You’d been here how long and hadn’t known there were giant dogs roaming about willy nilly? An absolute travesty!

Meanie’s head whipped from where it was laying against Jimin’s, and to your complete and utter surprise he then proceeded to give you the stink eye. Jimin let out a loud, tinkling laugh.

“No, Meanie is not a pet. He is my companion.” Jimin’s smile didn’t leave as he turned his gaze from the creature, to you, then back again. “The people of my clan have very strong bonds with the Ina. From birth, we are paired with an Ina pup, and form a connection with them as we grow up.”

You rose to your feet as you listened to him, advancing slowly—although, it was more for just in case than anything, since Meanie seemed to have forgotten about your offense and had since resumed laying his head on Jimin. The creature seemed to be an absolute softie, and it tickled you that his name was Meanie when he seemed to be such a gentle soul.

“That’s so cool!” you said, mindful of not being too loud. “You two have a connection? Can you hear each other’s thoughts?”

Jimin shot you a look of surprise, smiling with something akin to pride. “Yes, actually. Although, I think that he is better attuned to my thoughts than I am to his—I mostly hear him when he is hungry, or lonely. Isn’t that right, pupa?”

The dog—you’d already resigned to recognising him as that in your head for convenience’s sake— had the nerve to roll his eyes, turning his oversized head to give you a look that had too much exasperation within it for you to take seriously. You snorted, and Jimin grinned. His eyes caught the way your fingers twitched, and he gestured to Meanie.

“You can pet him, he won’t mind. He is a sucker for it, actually. Don’t tell him that I told you.”

The dog huffed, but you caught his eye on you expectantly. Laughing once more, you sidled closer and allowed your fingers to sink into the long fur at the back of his neck. It was thick, downy, yet silken and smooth as you ran your fingers through it. It took more effort than expected to delve them deep enough to be able to deliver a good scratch, but when you finally made it the reaction Meanie gave was worth it. He wobbled, swaying towards Jimin before wobbling again at another scratch of your nails against his skin and swaying back towards you.

A surprised squeak escaped you as he sagged against you completely, your arms coming up to embrace him around his thick neck, hands still scratching where they could. “Meanie! You cutie! You’re so cute and handsome, wah, what are we gonna do with you?! I’ve never seen a puppy so handsome in my life…”

You pressed your face into his fur, feeling his resulting amused rumble and happy trill against your skin. “I’m—I don’t think I’m ever gonna let go. I can’t. You’ve beaten me, Meanie. I’m defeated. You have my heart.”

You didn’t know if these Ina creatures could laugh, but it sure felt like they could. Jimin, too, let out a soft chuckle. It was silent a moment before his smooth tone sounded in the air once more.

“Are you still hungry, petal?”

The pet name made heat blossom across your face, and you were thankful that the thick fur of the animal you currently had it buried in shielded it from view. Yes, you came onto Jimin on the daily, but that didn’t mean you weren’t allowed to have a little shame every now and then. Gotta keep yourself grounded, after all.

“I’m always hungry,” you said, trying not to voice how unreasonably embarrassed you were. Meanie made what sounded like a noise of agreement, and Jimin snorted in response.

“Then follow me,” he said, “You are already in my gardens, you may as well come further in for some lunch. I have some fruits that are actually edible.”

You pulled your face from Meanie’s fluffy neck, at first preparing to fire something sassy back but instead settling for a bright smile when you realised just how empty your stomach was feeling. Well, it was empty enough earlier that you’d attempted to climb a tree for some fruit, so you weren’t doing that great to begin with, arguably.

“Fine, since you insist,” you shot back playfully, hands still idly scratching the oversized pup before you. He was appreciative, if his happy rumbling was anything to go by. It was like there was a motor that thrummed to life deep in his chest, vibrating against your body where it was pressed to his. God, you loved animals. So easy to read and get along with.

Jimin’s lips pursed before being tugged into an amused smile, the male turning on his heel and beginning to walk away. “Well, if you’d be so kind as to follow—my rooms are right this way. Come, Meanie. If she tries to slip away, drag her back.”

Jimin was joking (you hoped), and Meanie seemed to realise so (you hoped), so you weren’t as alarmed as you might have been if anyone else directed a creature like Meanie to essentially prevent you from running away.

Which you weren’t going to do, by the way. You didn’t know if Jimin really thought you would, but you’d be surprised if it was the case since you were so open and vocal about your interest in him.

Meanie nudged his head into your shoulder, and it was only then that you realised you'd been staring absently at Jimin's retreating form a little too long. Taking the hint, you reached to rub behind one of the creatures tall, pointy ears and he gave an approving huff as he began to prompt you after his companion.

To be honest, you were expecting a longer trip than what you got; it was barely a minute later that you were emerging from the vibrant greens, blues and iridescent hues of the gardens and encroaching upon a path, and then the familiar material of the palace walls came into view. Jimin made a beeline for a gap in the wall, which you realised was actually a large doorway housing two large double-doors, each embedded with two large, glassy windows. It surprised you to see the material, since you'd noticed a lot of the windows in the palace had nothing at all guarding them, but you supposed that being on the ground floor and so close to gardens and forestry, you wouldn't want anything unsavoury crawling in.

Even though you followed the kelkie inside the room without question, it didn't click until you were several paces into it that it was his room. It was large, very spacious and somewhat minimally decorated. His bed was to the left wall adjacent to the doorway you'd just come through, mattress bigger than some of the ones you'd seen in the guest wing and blocked off by thin gossamer-looking material that spilt from the ceiling, partly obscuring the gleam of silken sheets and blankets. Jimin was the type to make his bed every day, it seemed, and it shouldn't have made you, a being that left a trail of mess and chaos behind you by accident everywhere you went, more attracted to him but it did. Somehow, it did. You thought that at this point you were honestly so far gone he could probably confess to sucking his thumb as he slept and you'd take it in stride without even so much as batting a lash.

"Woah," you muttered without realising, eyes sweeping over his room and taking in each and every detail you could. You were in his room, damn it, and it might not have been under the circumstances you really wished-- not to say they wouldn't hopefully come true one day-- but damn it if you were going to squander the opportunity for some more insight into who he really is. "Nice crib."

The alien shot you an odd, curious look at that, head tilting for a moment before he returned to whatever he was doing before you spoke-- which, it seemed, was taking a bowl of curiously coloured fruits and a jug from a table against the wall to the right of the room. He shook his head, evidently deciding he didn't need to know what the word 'crib' meant (you'd seen the question in his eyes), and turned from the table to begin making his way over. You hadn't realised before, but next to the doorway you'd come through was a small table of medium width, the obsidian-like stone polished and gleaming in the light from the doorway. Two plush cushions sat on the floor, and on top of the table was a small cube pot made of the same material as the table in a lighter shade, an endearingly flowering plant sprouting from the soil within.

Jimin moved and placed the bowl there, along with the jug, and gestured for you to take a seat while he went back to the other table to retrieve something else-- you realised after he pulled whatever he was looking for from a cupboard there that it was actually cups. Following his direction without even thinking, you plopped down on the cushion and narrowly avoided banging your knee on the edge of the table, thankful that Jimin's back was currently to you since you hadn't pulled the most attractive of expressions at your near-miss. There was a huff from behind you, reminding you of Meanie's presence, and you turned just in time to see the gigantic creature flopping down on the other side of the room; there was something there on the floor, like a thin mattress, that was covered in soft throws and blankets. The canine creature settled down and nestled into the fabrics, curling up endearingly and letting out a huff as he relaxed. He looked ready to sleep, but his lidded eyes remained open and flicked occasionally from you to the alien now approaching where you were seated.

"These are the fruits you can eat," he said, apparently still very tickled by what he'd caught you doing earlier. Fine, if it made him that happy then you supposed you'd just have to accept the blow to your pride. You were glad your limited brain cell count amused him.

“Excellent,” you said, wriggling in your seat somewhat excitedly. “I’m starving. They’ve banned me from the kitchens, you know. It’s only for a week and it’s only been a day but it’s rough, man.”

Jimin looked like he was trying very hard not to burst into laughter, a somewhat incredulous yet unsurprised expression morphing his features.  “You got banned from the kitchens? What on Kilkea did you do? You practically live there.”

“I know,” you sighed, scratching the back of your neck as you averted your gaze. “They got sick of me walking in all the time. Apparently it interrupts their groove.”

Jimin’s head tilted, but he looked like he wasn’t going to question it. Admittedly, you felt a bit insulted. You couldn’t tell him that the real reason you’d been banned was because you kept singing and nearly set the entire kitchen ablaze when you attempted to make earth cookies yesterday, though. So there you sat, accepting it as his opinion of you no doubt grew more comfortable where it sat at rock bottom.

Jimin placed the cups onto the table, taking his seat more gracefully than you anticipated after nearly falling and impaling your knee on the corner yourself. Well, some people were just born graceful, you supposed. You don’t know whether he saw the nervous way you eyed the fruits or whether he was just so used to you by now that he knew you were kind of useless, but he took a fruit—purple-tinged and very juicy looking—and went about peeling it much like you would a mandarin, before plopping it before you on the table and picking up one for himself.

Delighted and perhaps a little too eager to taste the fruit considering its insides were blue, you picked it up and broke it into the sections it naturally grew in. It wasn’t long before the first piece was in your mouth, teeth piercing it and causing tart, but overall sweet flavour to sink into your tongue. A surprised noise left you before you could stop it, quickly followed by a hum of approval in explanation. Jimin hid his smile by shoving a piece of the fruit in his mouth too.

“If that’s the case, I am surprised it took you this long to get banned,” he mused, poking fun at you once more. You sent him a half-hearted glare, popping another slice in your mouth to resist firing back too quickly. The flavour of this fruit was quite addictive, actually. The perfect balance of sweet and sour, with no unsavoury aftertaste.

“Excuse me?” you blurted as soon as you swallowed your mouthful. “They love me in there, they’ve practically adopted me at this point. Jeonghan says I’m like a daughter to him.”

Jimin rolled his eyes but couldn’t help his smile. It seemed both of you were well-aware of the pastry-chef’s—who you’d actually originally thought was younger than you— overdramatic tendencies. “If Jeonghan adopted everyone he said he would, then this whole castle would be under his care.”

You couldn’t help but laugh at that, even hearing Meanie huff in amusement in the corner. “You’re not wrong.”

You were expecting Jimin to stay silent a little longer, having seen him pick up another piece of fruit, but he surprised you and spoke in the next moment, the piece still uneaten in his grasp.

“On that note, there is something I have to discuss with you.” Jimin’s eyes met yours as he slipped the fruit into his mouth. When you sent him a questioning look, he continued. “Jongin and Jongdae are no longer watching you.”

Oh, that was something you knew already. Your first instinct was to believe you were about to get into trouble—which didn’t seem unlikely, since the two guards weren’t shy about blaming you and your many escape attempts for the relief of their duties in watching you.

“Oh. Yep,” you bit your lip, a bit of nervous laughter trickling out. You wondered whether it would be a safer bet to play dumb about it. “I haven’t seen them in a while? Are they alright? I almost miss them.”

Jimin’s lips quirked like he was trying not to smile. “They are no longer watching you because I relieved them of that duty.”

You paused, trying to follow where he was going with this. Ah, so it was his doing? Okay. But were you in trouble or not…? He had better tell you soon, because you were about to break into a nervous sweat.

“Uh, do you want an apology?” you asked, risking a shot in the dark. Jimin blinked at you for a moment before a sudden laugh came tumbling out of him.

“No, there’s no need for an apology,” he managed through his chuckles. “At least, not to me. I am only mentioning it because you are still going to be under someone’s care, it just will not be theirs.”

“Okay, well, in that case I feel I should tell you that I might have needed ‘monitoring’ when I first got here, yeah, maybe, but now I’m perfectly fine wandering on my own! If you want I’ll even promise to bother Namjoon or Yoongi if I need help or something, but I don’t think I need—” you paused mid-defensive-rant, another thought occurring to you that seemed to override the first—a shred of fear wormed its way into your tone as you sought to verify your sudden concerns. “Wait, whose care?”

Jimin plucked another piece of fruit from the rest, plopping it into his mouth and answering you somewhat nonchalantly and without so much as a blink. “Mine.”

“Well I don’t want Seokjin’s—wait, what?” You were thankful you didn’t have anything in your mouth just then because you definitely would have choked on it in your shock. “C-come again?”

“You heard me,” Jimin said, a sly look to his eyes. His marks were flushed an all-too-cheeky plum. “You’re too slippery for me to delegate the task to anyone else, so I will be the one watching you. We only have one kitchen, after all, we can’t afford to have it in flames.”

Your cheeks flushed suddenly with heat, the sensation of more of the humiliating type than the flustered. Oh, so he already knew of yesterday’s escapades. Oops. Still, that aside, you were already struggling to come to terms with what he’d told you. He was going to be watching you from now on? Like, in person? Or in a more ‘eyes in the walls’ kind of way? You didn’t know which was worse, to be honest. Was this the end of your freedom? Wait, but on the flip side…. More time spent with Jimin. Holy crap, you probably shouldn’t have been as excited as you were beginning to feel. Down, you swatted the butterflies in your stomach, down girls!

“O-oh,” you managed, still attempting to regulate the mess that had suddenly exploded in your brain. You didn’t have enough mental RAM for this. “I see. Well…”

In a desperate bid to claim back your cool and swagger, you plopped another piece of fruit in your mouth and raised your brows. Poor timing, but it seemed your dignity defence system had been activated.

“Good luck to you, then! I won’t be tied down! I will remain as slippery as ever and I’ll wish you luck in your efforts to catch me—fruitless, as they will be!”

And then you smacked your fingers on the table, grabbing the cup and taking a hearty sip. For all the bravado you’d just shown, you felt any semblance of normalcy you’d just mustered go flying out the window when you caught Jimin’s gaze and saw the challenge simmering in their depths, his marks tinted jade.

Well, maybe you should have waited until after tea time to challenge the Kelkie who was much, much faster and stronger than you.

x     x     x     x     x

 “So that’s what he said, right, and yet… here I am! I’m too good, I didn’t even leave a trail for him to follow! He should have known better than to think he could catch me… pfft.”

At the silence that followed your words, you paused in your current activity and turned to the male beside you, who in turn simply stood and blinked at you for a moment. Expectantly, you allowed him a moment to muster a response.

“So… you didn’t want to be stuck under my care and yet here you are, chatting away with me the second you slip free of Jimin’s watch?” Seokjin asked, expression telling you he was attempting to understand your reasoning and coming up blank. For a moment, you yourself were stumped for a response—you hadn’t thought of it that way! Your idiot was showing— you made a quick recovery though.

“That was the only thing you got from all I told you?” you queried, before shaking your head and clicking your tongue. “Why do I even bother? I should have gone to annoy Yoongi instead.”

Seokjin seemed to be ignoring you—or at least, what you were saying. He continued like you hadn’t just said anything at all.

“Also, as someone who, and this is a direct quote, ‘wants to climb Jimin like a tree’ at every possible opportunity, isn’t running from him somewhat counterintuitive? I mean, you currently have the perfect excuse to be near him and you are bragging about running away…?” Seokjin’s head tilted, eyes squinting at you as his fingers played with the decorations currently in his hold. He’d made far more progress with his side of the wall than you had, considering you’d spent more time talking than hanging. It was something your teachers had always commented on in school, so you weren’t that surprised in honesty.

You sputtered, several holes having been poked ruthlessly and mercilessly in your logic and your pride. Seokjin, the poker, seemed somewhat pleased at your current stuttering state.  As the pokee in this situation, you were anything but pleased.

“What? No! It’s not counterintuitive!” you warbled, grabbing one of the decorative pieces and slapping it onto some adhesive on the wall. You felt your cheeks heat, shoulders pinching up in embarrassment. “Shut up!”

Even while facing in another direction, you could feel Seokjin as he rolled his eyes.

“Always asking for the flame when she cannot even handle the heat, tsk tsk tsk,” Seokjin uttered, taking the opportunity to click his tongue at you. You bristled but couldn’t form a response, considering he was right. Humiliatingly, despite all your efforts to get closer to Jimin, now that you finally had the perfect excuse to be around him all the time, it was like too much all at once. You were just one woman! And a horny one at that. The people around here should know better than to take the randy things that come out of your mouth at face value.

“I CAN HANDLE IT!” Your outburst was somewhat indignant and left you feeling somewhat like a child, but you didn’t have time to dwell on it. “Just… after an adjustment period. I suddenly went from nothing of something to a lot of something! Give me a break, man, I’ve only got a few cells left up here and they’re on their last legs.”

Seokjin hummed, narrowing his eyes at your head. “I did think that I heard less rattling up there than usual.”

Resisting the urge to hiss at him, you soothed your hackles and decided to change the topic to something that didn’t threaten to give you a heart attack or death-by-shame. “Also, when am I going to be allowed to know about this all-secret event that’s taking place? It’s been so long! And I’m helping you set up, so it must be soon. Surely not all of these people are here helping set up without even knowing…?”

Seokjin didn’t even blink as he responded. “Oh, they know. Actually, you’ve been allowed to know for a while… I think at this point you’re the only one that doesn’t know.”

You blinked, squinting as his words sunk in. “Hey—what? That’s not fair! Why can’t I know? Seokjin! Tell me!”

Mirth played in the kelkie’s eyes as he shot you a look from the side, marks flushed playful lilac. “No way. It’s much more amusing letting you sit and wonder.”

You stared at him, mouth open in shock. This jerk was really just going to let you sit and rot, huh?! Something akin to betrayal began to fill you, a petulant glare slipping onto your face.

“Seokjin!” It was meant to be reprimanding but it came out more like a whine. “Come on, please tell me? I deserve to know! Especially considering it’s just—it’s only—how far away is it, again?”

“It’s in a little less than a week’s time,” Seokjin answered easily, adhering another of the decorations to the wall. They were pretty little things, thin and about the size of your palm but they felt like slices of crystal and glimmered as you would expect such an item to. “You’re actually expected to attend. I believe Joy has even procured a dress for you and has plans for your hair.”

“Oh, I’m invited?” Momentarily touched, you couldn’t help the turn your thoughts took, a smile slipping onto your face before you remembered your stance and wiped it off. “That’s so nice of y—wait! If I’m going then I need to know what the event actually is, Seokjin! Please tell me!”

As you might have predicted, the kelkie was having far too much fun teasing you to be anywhere close to telling you what you want to know. He snorted as he went about sticking another decoration up, pausing afterwards to scan the room and check up on the other decorating jobs being completed by palace workers. When his eyes got to you and looked over how behind you were, he frowned.

“Isn’t the element of the unknown such a thrilling thing, though?” he asked, clearly making fun of you still. “Besides, you don’t need to know to have fun—”

“Seokjinnnnn,” you were outright whining now, the remainder of your dignity having fled you where you stood on top of a stool in one of the great halls in the palace. You wanted to know so badly—for weeks you’d been wondering what was going on! By this point you were growing a little desperate. “Please? Please tell me? Oh please please please—”

Seokjin rolled his eyes and cut you off before your dramatic arm motions could make you fall off the stool. “What do I get out of telling you, though? Currently I’m getting a lot of entertainment out of not telling you, so why should I give that up?”

You gaped at him, bastard!

“You jerk!” you exclaimed, before quickly thinking better of it and backtracking. “Okay, fine. If you tell me I’ll… uh… I’ll stop visiting the kitchens and making a mess all the time.”

Seokjin gave you an amused look. “I know you’ve already been banned from there.”

With a groan of frustration, you threw your hands into the air, just barely catching your balance before you toppled. “Fine! I’ll—I’ll stop wasting your time and calling for you whenever I get bored! I’ll call, I don’t know… I’ll call Yoongi instead.”

Seokjin’s head tilted as he pondered the offer, mulling it over carefully. A moment later he flashed you a smile. “Not the best but it is a start! I will tell you something in exchange for that promise—I want you to promise me, by the way. Out loud. I know that you are slippery.”

You let out a huff, holding down the whines that wanted to escape. Something was better than nothing! If you had something to go off, you could just go and pressure someone else for the answer to the rest of it. With that in mind, you squashed down the minor offence that rose at the fact your reputation as ‘slippery’ had preceded you to such an extent, and forced out the words that would get you what you wanted.

“Do… I have to?” You let out a breath from the effort, wincing. It went against your nature to verbally trap yourself! You had a phobia of contracts!

“Yes.” Seokjin said, deadpan. “Repeat after me, ‘Seokjin, I promise that I will never again call you when—‘”

“Never?!” you interjected, appalled. “Isn’t that a bit hasty—”

“Do you want to know?” the male cut you off, brows raised. He rested a hand on his hip and the sudden movement of his body made the inky locks atop his head shift, flopping across his forehead. “If so, say it.”

Pushing down the remainders of your pride was more difficult than usual, but somehow you managed it. Grumbling, you smacked another decoration onto the wall, watching it fall to the floor in disdain because there wasn’t enough adhesive.

“Fine. Seokjin, I promise that I will never again call you when I am bored. I will… call someone else… instead…”

It might have been like he was trying to bleed water from a rock, but Seokjin couldn’t have looked more smug or pleased with himself—even despite how admittedly lacklustre your promise was.

“Excellent!” he cheered, smearing more adhesive on the wall and pasting a decoration where you had attempted to just moments ago. “Now, do know that if you go back on your word it is a punishable offence. I’m thinking…” He tapped his chin, eyes averted in thought as his marks shimmered blue. “No pudding for at least three months.”

Despite the fact it was only a threat and you weren’t actually being punished with that, you felt panic well up within you. Damn, he’s good. You gulped. “I-I won’t… Don’t you even know me, Seokjin? My honour… my integrity…. Renowned across the galaxy.”

Seokjin rolled his eyes so heavily you worried for a split second they were going to drop from his skull. “Of course. As we all know.”

You huffed, taking it in stride considering he was about to finally tell you what you’d been wanting to know for weeks now. Making a rare wise choice, you decided to clamp your mouth shut and wait for Seokjin to enlighten you. It seemed to work in your favour, as Seokjin too is a man that enjoys talking and the second you provided a conversational gap for him he was inclined to fill it.

“It’s for the King and Queen,” Seokjin said, placing some adhesive on the wall in front of you in an unspoken prompt to get back to work. “They’re back from their leave soon, but that’s not the only reason we are celebrating.”

Seokjin turned, meeting your gaze with a fond look in his eye coupled with a hint of excitement, both of which you presumed were directed at the royal couple. “They’re expecting, you see, and since the Queen is human, it has broken an unfortunate cycle that has plagued the royal line for centuries. After what happened to the King’s late parents… the people are overjoyed they won’t have to see that again.”

Curiousity instantly bubbled and burned within you, but at the same time…. You almost felt like it wasn’t your place to ask about whatever happened. It didn’t affect you, so you reasoned you should probably leave it for now. Besides, you felt like you’d find out eventually. Instead, you focused your thoughts onto the other parts of what he’d told you. Piece by piece, it sunk in.

“I almost forgot the Queen is human,” you muttered, filling space while your brain processed—it finished barely a moment later and you looked to Seokjin with wide eyes as realisation smacked you in the face several times. “Wait, she’s pregnant?! But they’re—so humans and kelkies can—?!”

Amused, and looking like he apparently expected a reaction like this from you, Seokjin snorted. “Well, we weren’t sure. But apparently so.”

“Huh. That’s really lovely, everyone must be super excited for them,” you said, a billion thoughts whirring through your mind at once. One made itself a little more known than the others, and an odd feeling filled your chest.

Seokjin seemed to tell you were attempting to try and word something, and gave you a moment to put it together. You couldn’t look him in the eye as you spoke, for once feeling oddly and uncharacteristically vulnerable.

“She chose to stay, then… Was it an easy choice?” You didn’t even know why you’d asked it, but it made it’s way out of your mouth nonetheless.

The kelkie gave you a curious look, but otherwise didn’t question you. “Well, for her… She wasn’t going to, at first. There were a few other crucial factors that influenced her decision, for a while. But ultimately, once they cleared… she chose what was going to make her happiest. I recall she once told me she felt surprisingly at home, here. Not long after arriving, she found herself wanting to stay.”

At his words, you weren’t sure how you were supposed to feel. Your entire life there has been something in a constant state of unrest within you. You’ve hopped from job to job, world to world, life to life. None have fit, and none have soothed that flighty feeling inside any better than the last. You almost grow tired of it; sometimes you’ve found yourself wondering if this is how you’re going to live the remainder of your years, never settling, never finding somewhere you feel truly at home. Earth was where you were born, but it wasn’t a home to you. None of the groups you’d ever found your way to had ever felt like the perfect fit. You’ve never once felt inclined to stay at the places you have been, or entertained the notion past that of a stray thought.

But his words gave you pause, because for the first time in your life the feeling inside you had changed, and you were beginning to realise its new form.

It was in such stark contrast to who you knew yourself to be, that it actually frightened you, a little. This feeling had a few names and you were afraid to utter any of them.

“You’ve been a lot of places across the galaxy, lived many different ways,” Seokjin’s head tilted, eyes soft, inquisitive. “Was there nowhere that you found yourself wishing to stay?”

Of course, it would be perfectly in character for you to fire back something witty and funny, but you felt oddly vacant, for the barest moment. You met his gaze without thinking, and wondered if he could see the vulnerability as it revealed itself bit by bit within you.

“No, there wasn’t anywhere I wanted to stay.” You paused, swallowing. “But, I mean, being capricious is kind of my thing, you know? I gotta stay on brand.”

Seokjin smiled, before shaking his head.

“It is okay to want to stay, you know. You don’t even have to have a reason.” The male’s eyes were kind as they met your own, and you felt your chest clench. “There is a place for you here, if you decide you want it.”

His words touched you, but in the process stirred up an entire storm of untouched thoughts and emotions within you, the type that blended in together and blurred the lines that bound them. You were nowhere near ready to delve into them right now. Ignoring the surprising prick in your eyes, you shot him a smile. “Thank you for that, Seokjin. I… I think I will just need to think on it.”

He nodded, soft look remaining before it took a different turn and his marks flushed playful blue. His gaze was on you, before it caught something over your shoulder and his eyes widened incrementally. He schooled his expression so quickly after that you weren’t sure if it had actually happened. “Don’t think too hard on it, though. You’ll overwork the few cells that you have left.”

At the return of the bickering air you were so familiar with, you slipped right back into it with ease—anything to distract from the thoughts he’d unearthed with his kind words. “Excuse me? There mightn’t be many of them but they pull their weight! My brain cells might be overworked and underpaid but damn it if they don’t get the job done—”

You were ready to keep going, you really were, you had about thirty seconds more content to burn through, but in the worst plot twist of the century you didn’t get to continue. So quickly you almost didn’t see it, Seokjin shifted in his stance on the floor, bracing one hand on the wall. You didn’t even have time to finish wondering why before you found out—the hard way.

Too quick to counter, Seokjin’s foot flew out, making harsh contact with the stool you were precariously perched on. Immediately, inevitably, you were sent tumbling and the bucket of adhesive and decorations on your arm was sent flying off to god knew where. Truly, your hubris in wanting to stand in a cool pose on the stool was to blame for how unsteady and ready to fall you were.

A few things happened rapidly; first, you fell through the air, narrowly saved from a humiliating death-by-head-bump by Seokjin’s lightning fast reflexes. He ended up catching you in a pose that reminded you of when you were dancing with someone and they dipped you—your hair was probably brushing the floor, and Seokjin’s face was much, much closer than you ever expected to see it. Second, there was the loud sound of your stool clattering onto the ground. Third, there was a round of gasps that you figured sounded because you fell.

Well, it wouldn’t be the first time you were wrong in assuming everything was about you.

You blinked, the realisation that Seokjin knocked you off the stool sinking in and instantly riling you up—you were about to open your mouth and chew him out when a third, and final, sound echoed through the room. A sharp CLANG, and then the distinct sound of hollow metal rolling across the floor. It gave you pause, the sound occurring much later than it should have—it should have dropped straight to the ground, right?

A sense of dread beginning to curl within you, you dared to turn your head and peer to the side, where your back had been facing earlier. At once, you realised you were dead.

The alien love of your life stood in the doorway to the room, a mere few metres away, which should make you either giddy or overjoyed, but it was the sight of gooey adhesive dripping thickly down his face from where it had pooled in his hair that prevented such a reaction. Your bucket rolled around by his feet, some decorations joining it on the ground and others stuck in the glue that was quickly becoming acquainted with Jimin’s entire front.

His eyes had been closed, presumably on reflex, but they opened after a hand rose to wipe the thick goo from them—thankfully, it hadn’t reached his actual eyes. The dark pools flitted about the room before landing on you; his marks stained dark, dark red, and after scanning your form and witnessing the debacle around you, turned deep, murky green.

You might have been stupid, but even you knew when death was about to grab you in its clutches. You scrambled, trying to get out of Seokjin’s grip but failing miserably—oh, so he’s your executioner, huh? Bastard. And right after you bonded, too.

“y/n.” You jolted like you’d been electrocuted, eyes whipping back to Jimin; something burned in his gaze that made your stomach drop and legs wobble, even while he was covered in goo. He took two slow, long steps until he was close enough that just the three of you could hear him speak—his voice when he did, low and raspy as it was, made you shiver. “My room. Midmoon, tonight. If you are not ready then the punishment for making such a mess of preparations for such an important event will worsen. Don’t force my hand on that, petal.”

His gaze bore into you for a long, potent moment after he spoke, before it flicked to where Seokjin had his hold on you, jaw clenching so hard you saw his temple shift. Eyes harder and burning more intensely than before, he delivered you one last look—a very decidedly pissed one—before he turned on his heel and stalked from the room, beginning to wipe away adhesive as he went.

For a few seconds after he disappeared, you simply hung in place, in a state of shock. The sound of Seokjin’s amused snort brought you back, however, and instantly you recalled exactly who was to blame for your newly scheduled death.

“You rat,” you hissed, glaring at him. “How could you?! Now I’m going to die! Oh you know what, if I hadn’t just promised yo—OW! SEOKJIN!”

Mercilessly, the male released his hold, you dropped, and an instant pain shot through your behind. Why was it that you were always falling on your ass in this palace?! God! It hurts so damn much!

“The day is coming to an end, y/n,” Seokjin said, straightening and looking very much unapologetic and entirely too humoured. “You better go get ready.”

Realising just how late into the afternoon it had gotten, you scrambled to your feet, panicked and affronted. Deciding you couldn’t afford to stay and bicker if you were going to flee the solar system in time, you settled for a glare and flipped Seokjin the bird, uncaring whether he understood it.

“I hate you!” you exclaimed as you turned and started to flee. “I’m ending this friendship, Seokjin! After this don’t even look at me, traitor!”

Seokjin’s rare, squeaky laughter breached the air as you left, the sound chasing you down the hall mockingly.

If you didn’t die tonight, you were going to kill him for trying to kill you.

↞ prev. || five || next ↠

::[ please lmk what you think! & pls consider buying me a kofi if you’d like to support me in some way! <3 ]::

#jimin x reader #jimin series #bts series #jimin smut #bts smut #jimin fic #bts fic #alien au #space au #bts au #alien jimin #alien jimin x reader #reader insert #my work #wanted #tentacledipity #soulmate au #fated mates au #fantasy au #sci fi au

[cinebration]

Choose Where (Victor Zsasz x Reader) [Part 2]

So apparently more of this story needed to be written. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. More parts to come if y’all want.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11

Tagged: @im-just-one-of-the-avengers​; let me know if you’d like me not to tag you for future parts.

Warnings: cutting, mutilation, language

Turns out you inherited your father’s penchant for pissing people off. The wrong people.

Apparently, the same people, what with Roman screaming into your face. He filled your vision, red-faced, veins and tendons leaping against his skin. Spittle flew onto your face as he shouted.

“That’s my fucking money!” He tore through his hair, turning away from you, looking to Zsasz for support. “I can’t believe you gave it to Bruce Wayne of all people!”

“Wayne Industries,” you corrected.

His hand smacked across your face. Stars burst in your vision, heat flaring through your cheek. Gritting your teeth, you stared back at him. The sting of the slap had you fighting the watering of your eyes.

“Same fucking thing,” he snarled. “Of all the assholes in the city—”

“It was a sound investment.”

He pivoted. “Zsasz, do you hear this? Maybe I should have let you cut her tongue out.”

It didn’t surprise you that Zsasz had told Roman the threat he had given you at your first encounter, not with how close the two of them were. But the reminder of that threat sent a shock of dread through you. If Roman ordered, there was nothing to stop Zsasz from following through.

“You don’t make investments for me. I hired you to be a fucking bookkeeper—”

“Accountant.”

Another slap. Copper blossomed on your tongue, your lip burning.

“Not another fucking word,” Roman hissed. Raking another hand through his hair, he stepped back, frowned as he glared at you. “I think it’s time you lose your face. It’s ruined anyway with that.” He flapped a hand at your still-puckered scar. “Deal with it, Zsasz.”

Zsasz’s gaze shifted to you. The usual mischief and glee in his eyes were missing, replaced with something more guarded.

“If you’d actually listened to me, Sionis,” you said, eyeing Zsasz as he slowly approached, “you’d know that I turned a 135-percent profit from that investment—”

“I swear to God—”

“—and I bought you a piece of the Wayne Industries board with it. You’ll be fed information and even have someone representing your interests.”

Zsasz stopped in front of you, blocking Roman from view. His hand curled around your bicep, gripping hard enough to leave an impression. You stared into his hard eyes. That he wasn’t grinning gave you hope even as he pulled the knife from his pocket.

“Wait, Zsasz.” Roman asked from behind Zsasz’s back, “What kind of representation?”

You leaned forward into what little personal space Zsasz retained, peering over his shoulder. His head turned slightly, enough for his breath to ghost over your cheek.

“Wayne Industries controls key parts of the city,” you answered too quickly for your liking. “Parts you don’t have access to. Now you do, and more or less legitimately, too.”

Roman’s eyes lit up, the rage evaporating instantly. “They’re mine?”

“More or less.”

“Is it more or less?”

You hesitated. The board representative, without more proper investment, would only acquiesce to two of Roman’s demands at most. Had you not been caught so soon, you would have properly cultivated the contact with strategic acquisitions. But now…

Zsasz’s hand tightened on your bicep. “More,” he whispered. It was hardly more than a breath drifting into your ear.

“More,” you said. “Definitely more.”

Roman whooped, unable to contain his delight. “What’d I tell you, Zsasz? She’s useful! No face-off surgery today.”

Emboldened, you added, “But you’ll have to let me be in charge of the books and funds.”

A hiss sounded low in your ear.

Roman’s lips twisted. “Why the fuck—”

“Because I can do more magic—and the board member won’t talk to you. He can’t risk it.”

Choking with exasperation, Roman stormed from the room, griping about the situation. As the door swung shut behind him, his voice boomed, “You stay, woman. But teach her a lesson, Zsasz!”

His grumbling remained audible until he reached the first floor. Silence reigned in his absence. Both you and Zsasz remained quiet, as though afraid to break it.

“Another cut?” you finally asked.

“It’s what I do,” he answered. He wiggled the knife between his thumb and index finger. “Where?”

You frowned. “I get to choose again?”

He nodded. “Somewhere Roman can see it.”

You weren’t sure you could handle another one on your face. Not so soon, at least. Thinking fast, you glanced down. You wore modest shirts that didn’t reveal much more than your collarbone.

“Here,” you said. You dragged your finger across your left clavicle.

He murmured something beneath his breath that may have been “Good choice.” You weren’t sure if it was a good thing that he liked the location. He turned you suddenly, your back against his chest.

Past midnight, the world outside was black, moonless. The uncurtained windows reflected your own image back to you, a ghostly version of yourself, Zsasz right behind you.

“So you can’t pull away,” he murmured.

The knife sliced slowly through your skin, right down to the bone. Biting back a cry, you grunted instead, unable to prevent Zsasz from feeling you tense. His breath quickened, uneven against your neck. The knife’s pressure disappeared.

You sagged, Zsasz holding you up. Opening your eyes, you stared down. The slash started low on your chest, ending an inch over your clavicle. It was longer and less straight than the one on your face, but you had more skin for it.

“Strike two,” you hissed.

Zsasz let you go. Staggering a step away from him, you remained slightly doubled over, the pain excruciating. You cursed.

“You were asking for it,” Zsasz said, watching you carefully. He shook his head. “The trick to Roman is convincing him your idea is actually his.”

“You’re joking.”

“Do you really think the face-off shit was his idea? It was mine, but I let him think it was his.”

You scrutinized the look on his face. “You know, if it came down to you and him, he’d choose himself.”

“I know.”

“You’re nothing more than a pet to him.”

“Better than being food like you.”

“Then why did you help me?”

“You ask a lot of fucking questions.”

“I have a right to know.”

“You should be grateful you’re still alive.”

You laughed ruefully. “Some existence I’m living, letting you carve me up.”

Zsasz stared up at the ceiling, hissed through his teeth. When he met your gaze, his own was unwavering. Zsasz’s gaze hardened. “It’s my job to protect Roman, even if it’s from himself. He’s…capable of becoming a god. He just needs some guidance.”

Shaking your head, you turned away. “I was wrong. Some existence you’re living, shoving your nose up his ass.”

His hand clamped down on your shoulder, spinning you back around to face him, his grip sure to leave bruises. Fire burned deep in his eyes, lips peeling away from his teeth in a snarl. “I don’t have to explain myself to you.”

Clenching your jaw, you glared at him. “Let go. You’ve already inflicted your pain on me for today.”

He blinked, his grip suddenly slack. Taking the opportunity, you pulled back, putting as much distance between yourself and him as possible. Between the slaps to your face, the new cut across your collarbone, and his squeezing, your nerve endings were on fire, each pain point stacked.

He watched you retreat, a shadow flickering across his face. With a hiss through his teeth, he stormed from the room.

You sagged into the nearest chair, legs finally giving out as your grip on your fear loosened. Inhaling shakily, you dragged your hand over your face.

The door suddenly opened, a bleached-blonde head popping out through the gap. “I’ll…”

You looked up to see Zsasz standing fully in the doorway, a deep crease marring his brow. “What?”

“I…” Moistening his lips, he found his words. “I’ll convince Roman he suggested that you do that acquisition scheme.”

Frowning, your brain foggy from the adrenaline cooldown and the pain, you merely stared at him. Something was eluding you, but you couldn’t grasp it.

“Thanks,” you managed to say.

He nodded. “It’s learn fast or die around here.”

You stayed seated a few minutes after he had left, pondering his words. What did he care if you died?

The fresh wound throbbed in response.

#Victor Zsasz x Reader #Victor Zsasz #Victor Zsasz imagine #Chris Messina #Chris Messina imagine #Roman Sionis #Ewan McGregor #birds of prey #birds of prey and the fantabulous emancipation of one harley quinn #bop #zsasz imagine #zsasz #bop zsasz

[souljournaler]

I’m gonna reach out to that cop-looking entity and channel the message

i’ll put my communications in bold

immediate update, i can’t seem to get a lock on them. i remember their outfit, but each time i try to imagine it, their form underneath the outfit shifts. sometimes they are shorter, sometimes they are tall, sometimes they are lean, sometimes they are broad. they are always quiet, but i can sense they feel something under their masks.

my bias says again, astral cops. magic fasc. the fact that their masks were so featureless and shiny, and the military-ish uniform? Black pvc is A Look, i gotta admit, but it looks so hella fasc-y & cop-ish

let’s see if i can get any of them to talk

they dont expect me to go straight for seeing through their eyes. i’ll put my feet in their feet and feel them in their own shoes and it makes them leap. i get kicked out immediately. i think it’s hilarious. i dont think they agree.

they dont even know why theyre there, they are just following orders. many are not even lucid until i disrupt them and then we both get kicked.

some of them are awake while their energy is out busting ppl’s dream bubbles! not like breaking them, but like a cop would bust someone, but literally in people’s dreams and astral spaces

they look for cracks.

oh whoops someone is getting me back!! time to channel

who is this

how did you find me

where are you

open your eyes

are you real

wow hm ok, well, they weren’t very strong, just very startled. they cant stay focused now that they’re awake. i think they felt my presence though. oops lmao

someone has been looking for me. maybe not me, but something/someone like me

they have a higher voice, dark hair, tan skin, extremely slick & neat bun, dark brown eyes. their favorite hair accessory are navy or grey scrunchies. big ROTC vibes. innate magical talent but doesn’t know how to use their power which has become more intrusive on their everyday life over the past few years. they live in a nice house post-2000s construction or remodeled then, mostly tidy, workout equipment, house plants, white walls & light tile floors. Black gym bag. didn’t have time to take their grandma’s powers & practices seriously.

who are you

why are you looking for me

i was told to find you

who told you to find me

my grandma, i think

did you bust my dream a few weeks ago?

no. what?

who are you?

i cant hear their name cuz honestly i dont want to know but i heard Lieutenant. it’s really hard to stay focused cuz im hella distracted in my workspace rn

wow you’re really strong

thanks. wait what do you mean?

you keep finding our connection again

you keep diverting

ok. that’s true. well, what can you tell me about the 

wow i got distracted, just got some kinda good news oh wow they’re pulling me back

where do you keep going

another channel

what’s that mean

you’re channeling baybee

what’s that mean

sixth sense henny

welcome to clairaudience. hearing shit.

they cut the connection

no they didn’t lol they’re back

wym hearing shit

spirit realm baybee. did u just have a weird dream?

ooh the connection has cut out again

i think they’re having a lil moment. their call feels like someone pinching my deltoids lol. they do seem kinda cop-ish the way i saw them just now. i wonder if we’re on the same earth.

woop they’re reaching again.

what do you want?

what do you want?

you first

who are you

Look, Lt. you have some powers. your grandma didn’t get to tell you about them.

wym?

sorry, i can’t tell you anything else. you seem kinda cop-ish, no offense. it’s harshing my vibe.

wym cop-ish

no offense

wym cop-ish

u ask a lot of questions i dont rly have answers to. look, i saw someone dressed like this in my dream right as i was waking up. do you know them?

[the image of the outfit from my vision]

no i don’t really recognize that.

okay, that’s all i wanted to know. i thought about them and something clicked our energy together. i wasn’t really looking for anything else.

[they showed me my image back] i don’t think i’ve seen them.

i see an image of a dream where they are wearing that outfit and they see themself in a mirror and take their helmet off. they are surprised to see themself underneath.

are you recording me?

no

im lying, im recording this.

i can’t do this right now

ok bye.

i tried to close the link

why the hell did you record that?

you need to be more careful about what you share on a psychic link.

i’m seeing the flash from their dream again

why is that bothering you?

i don’t know

it feels normal. but scary.

what’s scary about it?

i don’t know. just... the mask makes me faceless. and i’m taking it off because i want to see myself.

why did you redact that part?

quit asking too many questions.

ok.

who are you?

you can call me whatever.

that’s not gonna work

no it’ll be like odysseus calling himself nobody, that’s cool

i’m not doing that. that means i’m polyphemus

oh my gods you know epic poetry, that’s cool

of course, we all had to read it in school

yeah i guess that’s true.

why are you trying to trick me?

because im assuming you’re a cop. just cuz u have powers doesnt mean i can trust u.

should i not trust u either?

no u can trust me if u want. but like, honestly, it’s up to u and ur discretion.

okay.

i’m still recording this

what dude what the fuck

sorry. i’m going to close this channel now. it’s been nice! bye!

where are you going?

they’re holding the channel open

hey i’m talking to you

who are you

im closing the channel

hm. okay. well. okay. honestly i ran out of energy at the end there but they kept putting their foot in the door to the channel. ppl with innate power can be scary cuz they don’t know how strong they can be. i bet that person is gonna feel hella tired later.

they tried the channel again a couple times but i’ve closed my personal channel for a little bit so they keep hitting it like a wall.

wait

who are you

why did you contact me like this

what am i supposed to do now?

idk fam, have yourself a lil moment tho

i’ll let yall know if i hear anything new but im gonna submit this post now

#journal #chan #msg

[comicteaparty]

May 24th, 2018 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party chat that occurred on May 24th, 2018, from 5PM - 7PM PDT.  The chat focused on Nwain by Terrana Cliff.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

COMIC TEA PARTY START!

Good day everyone~! This week’s Comic Tea Party is now officially beginning~! Today we are discussing Nwain by Terrana Cliff~! (http://nwain.com/) For those new or in need of a reminder, discussions about the comic are freeform, so please feel free to bring up whatever you wish. However, every 30 minutes I will be dropping in a discussion question to help those who would like a prompt. These questions are totally OPTIONAL to answer, and you can pay them no mind if you wish. If you miss out on any though, they’ll be pinned for the duration of the chat once they’re posted~! Remember, constructive criticism is allowed, but the primary focus here is to have fun and appreciate the amazing comics that the community makes~! As a bonus, each chat a top comment will be picked and featured in the archives and on an ad for CTP! All that being said, let’s get started and have a great discussion!

QUESTION 1. What is your favorite scene in the comic so far and why?

not my favorite but i do want to say of all the animated scenes i really liked the opening few pages best. i forget what page it was but there is a shot of nwain on a cliff and the animation pans up to show the town. i thought between the lighting, the motion, and everything else, it was immensely beautiful and breathtaking.

snuffysam

the opening shots were beautiful, for sure

i forget the page number, but there was a page where you could click on the different locations and get a little interaction. that was super cool

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

yeah i remember that! i have to say that was definitely the most creative page. cause man, cannot imagine the work that went into that one

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I have two takes on this, which can be seen somewhat independent from the animation style... a favourite scene and a best scene.

My favourite scene was probably the one where she first did the teleporting and actually phased between the panels. Super cool. Sticks in my head.

snuffysam

the teleporting panels are all great

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

What I'd say was the best scene was when Nwain was put in the stockade near the start and offered up the line "what are you in for"... I felt like it captured the comic excellently. She does something heroic, but due to circumstances, ends up in trouble for it, and yet there's humour to be found in the situation too.

And yes, the animation style with the panning blows my mind. I know the one with the clicking on locations that you meant - just, whoa. You could even click on them again and they'd retract. Mind blowing.

snuffysam

putting aside the artistic talent and effort put into the comic - the technical skill is extremely impressive. getting all these different pages working is a huge feat. like, there's not a single bug to be found

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I can see why it takes a month to put together a couple pages. Even that feels fast.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Greetings!

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I think there was one panel once where the dialogue ran off the edges. I couldn't tell if that was intentional.

I shouldn't be nitpicky.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i really liked the stockade scene cause i think it demonstrates nwain's imperfections as a person. like shes not this perfect, stoic, and regal knight. shes just this person who has some fighting skills, makes some boo-boos in life.

hey super~!

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Nwain often seem to be messing up, honestly. But it's done in such a way that it's easy to relate to, like, I might've done the same thing in her place.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

tbf some of the messups arent really her fault. like a lot of stuff at the tournament makes sense cause shes not from the time period. how was she supposed to know some game rule was declared illegal O_O

my favorite scene is actually probably the one where she throws the favor and uses it to win the race. because it was the scene that i didnt know where it was going to go. i knew she was going to aim for the favor, but i didnt know for what purpose. was she going to go for it seriously? use it to take over the world? and then she used it as a distraction and laughs were had

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Well, yeah, true, it's rather situational/owing to circumstance. Still, she ends up needing to apologize.

Hm, I wasn't sure she was going for it until she did, and as soon as RoyalPerson (I suck at names) said it was the oldest trick, I was like, ahh clever.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

wait a second math how is your favorite scene not that one where they said a bunch of puns

snuffysam

OMG that scene!!!

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Heh. I did like the cloud puns, but I don't call that a mist opportunity.

I think my favourite LINE would be "pun pals". Did not see that coming.

Also, Princess G, fave character.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i was surprised how many puns they could make for clouds XD

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Water you talking about?

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Late, but hey Rebel!

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

since you brought up fave character, i really like the magician.

snuffysam

i love mousebot. she's a friend.

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

The magician's really interesting! Is he (for lack of a better pronoun) an artificial life form?

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

yeah thats what im understanding about the far listeners. that theyre robots. or at least one character called them robots. either way i think theyre the most interesting people so far. and of course mousebot is adorable

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

(It's weird, using "it" feels impersonal, because of society. Fascinating use of gender in the comic, incidentally. Lots of backstory there.)

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Also can I just say, I love that the comic has animated bits every now and then

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I like how the magician was going to bring in these life forms as champions and they have this big off button. "Why do they even have that?"

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

QUESTION 2. Nwain’s home, Sundial City, has been lost to the present world for almost 200 years. What do you think happened to the city that caused it to disappear in the present day? Was it something the city folk did, or was it some sort of natural disaster? Do you think Nwain will be able to reach Sundial City? If so, what do you think Nwain will find? Will there be people there, or will only ruins be left? Speaking of Sundial City, do you think the events hinted at in Nwain’s past have something to do with the city’s current state? If so, how do you believe they factor in?

snuffysam

well, they liked to experiment with time travel

i think the city just... left, somehow

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I feel like the City just kind of cut themselves off from the rest of civilization. (A bit like Tarn Vedra in the "Andromeda" universe, if anyone's seen that show.) Possibly accidentally (owing to the whole time silk problem) but yeah. Unless they're out of phase.

Meaning they're making some great phasers.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

when you say left, are you saying that maybe they time traveled the entire city and like, the city hasnt shown up yet cause it went a bit farther in the future than nwain? cause that was my pulled out of the hat theory.

snuffysam

yeah that's what i'm thinking. currently it's 200 years in the future. the city went to, like, 1000 years in the future

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Interesting. I hadn't considered that as a possibility.

snuffysam

or maybe the city went to one minute in the past, then ran into itself and exploded

whoops

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

There must be some residual effects left behind though, since that's what the Magician was able to read with his device.

I've done that with my time travel stories. Good times.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i feel like the time silk has to have something to do with the city's disappearance. since i mean, its not like nwain was purposely trying to travel with time. idk if it could time travel the whole city, though id believe it if it time traveled a lot of the people. if there were any left. cause i mean nwain left after that place pretty much burned down or something from the flashbacks. so maybe there was just so little left its inconsequential

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Seems like the "magic" they knew back then was pretty damn dangerous too though. Maybe in trying to rebuild the city after the fire they cut a few corners and whoops, we kinda sealed ourselves off like Sleeping Beauty or something.

snuffysam

the city going away for centuries is kind of sleeping beauty-esque, huh?

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

There is that too, I suppose.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

does this mean nwain is the prince who has to roll on up and smack it awake?

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Yeah, as for Nwain returning... I don't see that happening. Because I feel like that would end the story. She has no real desire to return, and we never saw her leave (except in flashback) so narratively speaking, it's in the past (literally). Bringing it forward feels like it would bookend the whole thing, somehow.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i do want to call shenanigans on sundial city's magic being more dangerous though. that seems like one of those stigmas that comes about because nobody knows what happened to the city. so thus they blame a scapegoat and it just becomes a common accepted fact with no basis.

snuffysam

i think she'll try to figure out what happened, but i don't think she cares to return yeah

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i think shes gonna at least find the city in the present though. i think shell give up on time travel tho. unless she tries and whoops, winds up even further in the future

the subtitle of this comic is "the knight who wandered dream" and that makes me wonder if this is gonna be the comic that fully embraces the "it was all a dream cliche"

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Except Nwain herself was pointing out that safety's a necessity with magic when doing the tutoring, and had a story of someone who befell bad things.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

yes but my point is i doubt its more dangerous

than current magic

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I don't see time travel being a major component. Unless it becomes a factor in those portals somehow too.

snuffysam

"dream" is something to do with the magic i think? like inside the worms was dreamstuff or whatever it was called?

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Ehhh, fair, might just be different dangerous, but I still think that could have played a hand in things.

snuffysam

so perhaps she gets trapped in the dream world at some point?

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I feel like it's too random to be a dream. Like, why would Nwain dream that board game rules became illegal?

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i doubt its a dream. but i feel like the title has gotta be something

oh

maybe

they tried to teleport the city

and it got stuck in the inbetween

snuffysam

i feel like the story has been foreshadowing someone or something getting stuck in the inbetween

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Maybe she is the dream.

Everything is just a figment of Shade's imagination.

Oh, I like that theory, Rebel. Only lost people can find the City.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

yeah i mean its at least a specific detail to mention. thats theres an inbetween. and sundial city is the missing thing right now.

snuffysam

it's something that's been mentioned multiple times too

rule of writing. setup, reminder, payoff

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

regardless tho i think nwain is....not gonna find any people at the city.

and have to accept lonliness

snuffysam

yeah i think they're all dead

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

They were all turned into catgirls. Or catyith. Or catomith.

snuffysam

if they all teleported into the inbetween and didn't time travel, they've been cut off for centuries

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

But for them, maybe only a few months.

snuffysam

is that how the inbetween works?

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

D'you think they were the ones keeping the Crimson Empire in check?

It seems to have flourished since that time.

I have no idea how anything works.

snuffysam

the crimson empire didn't exist at all back when sundial city was around

maybe they were preventing any one power from rising up? i dunno though

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

the crimson empire is sundial city. they just changed their name after that fire. were reborn like a phoenix and left their old life behind. but they dont want anyone to know so they erased their past and hid the city

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I was never great at politics.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

more seriously, if the inbetween is like a dream realm i could buy that time doesnt function like in the real world

snuffysam

they took the city and pushed it somewhere else

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

But did they build this city on rock and roll?

snuffysam

that would make sense, rebel. it's also possible that time passes faster in the inbetween, so it's been 10000 years for the citizens

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

We don't know the lifespan of people either.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

QUESTION 3. In order to earn star maps, Nwain’s current dilemma is participating in the Tournament at Lacefort. However, numerous ups and downs have occurred during the course of the story. Who do you believe will be the ultimate victor of the tournament, or do you think something will prevent the tournament from concluding? Will Nwain earn the favor of the Margravine, whether by accident or on purpose? If Nwain does earn the favor, what do you think may happen? Will things go as the Magician predicted or will the Margravine have a change of heart? Do you think the tournament will end with Nwain getting the star maps, or will something drastically alter that course of action?

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Nwain having the favour is awkward. If she doesn't end up with it, all I can think is that she gave it back to Margravine in secret. Meaning... she has to marry herself? IDK.

snuffysam

now, that all depends on the difference between holding the napkin and actually having margravine's favor

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Owlgirl/Penny has a whole plot that needs to happen at some point though. So I feel star maps are inevitable.

snuffysam

like, margravine does seem to like nwain somewhat? though mostly as entertainment i think

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Oh, right, I suppose the favour could be rejected. Well, Nwain's more than a novelty now, she can teleport people and all.

snuffysam

probably not on a mass scale, though she can do some teaching

and watch as they all make the same mistake that sundial city probably did

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i do feel the story has been building up the margravine's like for nwain a lot. so i could see the favour not being rejected somehow. and then ya know, the entire political system being uprooted and there being massive strife. and then the magician headdesking wondering what horrors they brought upon the world

snuffysam

yeah or worse, someone else gets the favor, and margravine rejects it because she prefers nwain

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

The favour of the month.

Maybe they can spin it as a way to stop the drought.

snuffysam

well i guess that would work? since nwain having favor with margravine means the magician gets closer to making that water deal

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

now thats a path i could see happening more. someone else gets the favor and the margravine is like "nah nwain is way cooler did you see how she teleported me."

ah!

i could not actually remember why the magician was there tbh XD cause we havent gotten to see much of the dealing for that water deal

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Also all the tears of joy shed over two ladies in love.

snuffysam

one lady and one laidth

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Truth, my bad.

I show my age at my difficulty coming to grips with the gender fluidity.

I love how it's just this matter of fact thing though.

snuffysam

that's just how her culture be. still not great because adult laidths don't have that great of a standing in sundial society

or, didn't, i suppose

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

yeah whatever nwain's social standing, its a new day and a new life

as for who wins the tournament, i feel like nwain is too far behind in points. unless they give it to her cause she helped with the elemental giant situation thing

snuffysam

how many rounds are left?

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Don't forget the person with the favour gets two additional points.

I believe this was the last round. Because they said they'd settle up the favour thing at the end of it.

Of course, I don't know how many points you get for coming in second and stuff, if any.

snuffysam

she won the race iirc, and i don't think anyone has more than three points. so that means she won

...assuming she counts as having the favor

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

idk. this is assuming all events are awarded equally. not to mention how do they deal with teams? like...a team event seems like a poor last event. XD cause youd have to know you were already going to lose by that point and that makes for poor team members

snuffysam

the rules really weren't explained. but that's fair because we're seeing this from nwain's point of view. and she was just pushed into the ring and told to do her best.

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Which reminds me. She has a ring. So she was married once. That could throw a wrench into everything. (Did she even hear the Magician say 'marriage' that one time? Seemed like no.)

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

That can only go so well IMO

snuffysam

nwain was?

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

yes. nwain was married but i think her family died in the first?

fire

i can spell

snuffysam

well then, good news

marriage is done

so that problem's solved

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

maybe not tho

at the very least

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

They're stuck "in between".

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

when shes asked "hey were you married?" she says "i was."

so she considers it past tense at least

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

That has a familiar ring to it.

snuffysam

most marriages aren't designed to last past the 200 year mark

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I wonder if she was married to another yith.

snuffysam

it's possible

given the social standing thing especially

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

QUESTION 4. At current, Nwain is focused on helping two individuals: Owlgirl and Princess Joza. In regards to the former, do you think Nwain’s idea of taking Owlgirl to see the harpies will work out? If not, what exactly will go wrong? Assuming it goes wrong, what do you think the two will do then? Will Owlgirl stay in her current form, or will Nwain find a way to fix her? In regards to Princess Joza, do you think Joza will be able to learn the magic Nwain is teaching? Given how dangerous the magic is, though, do you think Joza learning it is a good idea? Lastly, do you think there will be political fallout for Nwain teaching Joza, or will everything be fine?

snuffysam

Joza is 100% going to mess something up

she's not an idiot, but she does seem moderately reckless

just a bit

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Everything will not be fine. But it will go pear shaped in unexpected ways.

Joza is eager.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

im not sure if id say joza seems reckless, but i do think joza is overly bold and overconfident

snuffysam

yeah, that's what i meant. overconfident

anyway, as for what the fallout will be - been a while since nwain's been in the stockades

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

When they're in the city, they're over everything.

The Penny storyline has been very much in the background. I'm starting to feel like it's a side quest.

snuffysam

it does kind of have that aura about it. a villager mentioned penny offhandedly. nwain came across her by accident. and she'll get around to helping her once she's done with this tournament business.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

yeah i agree it feels like a side quest. but that almost makes me suspicious itll amount to more somehow. tho im not sure what

maybe the harpies know the truth about sundial city

and thats what this is an important questline

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Maybe the harpies can teach them to play harps and they form a touring band?

Along with the cymbals on that one car.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

i dont think the harpies know how to plays harps O_O alas

im actually seriously assuming theyre dead XD and that owlgirl is gonna be stuck with nwain forever

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Hope that'll be owl right with her.

snuffysam

that would suck if everyone was wrongly afraid of the giant owls, and then they all died before they could be redeemed

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

maybe the giant owls are the people of sundial city

nwain journeyed for nothing

they were there all along

snuffysam

that would explain the shield symbol

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

That'd be a hoot.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

Owlet you keep making your owl puns.

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

One of the things I like, btw, with the animation style is how sometimes random extra panels appear. Like a bonus. The one coming to mind is when Joza's learning magic and there's the worry about the random snakes.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Don't give a hoot

snuffysam

it's always cute when that happens

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I gotta go owl in.

snuffysam

besides looking cool, the animated panels make it so that you don't know any of the actions that happen ahead of time

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Could there be random ladders with the random snakes?

snuffysam

which can lead to some funny moments

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Powel Up

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

snuffy: That's true, interesting point I hadn't considered!

I sometimes just marvel at how people blink and stuff.

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

on the downside tho the animations make referencing things hard cause you gotta remember which panels had which story bits. so can take a while to find things sometime. XD

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I'm pretty good at remembering stuff like that. ^.^

Actually, when I first saw it I thought 'oh, neat, some panels will animate'... but it's ALL of 'em.

The little circles help with knowing to click on too, not just the blue borders.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Yea thats understandable, Rebel

and good for ya Math

snuffysam

i do like the little circles that show the dialogue progression. the comic really excels with UI design along with everything else

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

^^

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

yeah, technically speaking its executed very well. i found the interface to be pretty intuitive for getting through the panels.

snuffysam

i can't even imagine how much time/effort it takes to do each page, but dang is it worth it

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

It give it a creative edge over your usual comic

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

ah so since i didnt say it before, i actually think nwain might suffer some political fallout for teaching joza magic. at the very least i can see a plot line where joza goes to the crimson empire and joza's mom throws a fit XD

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Not saying every comic should have things like animations and interactive elements

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

It's one of those things that really takes advantage of the digital medium. You can't exactly do that with a regular comic book.

snuffysam

i think nwain has the potential to cause political turmoil every time she takes a breath

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Rebel, yeah, I agree. Though it could be that it gets Joza out of trouble, like if she'd been able to teleport away from the crazy snowball.

So perhaps all is forgiven.

Snuffy: Truth. It's a skill.

snuffysam

she has a tendency to drop the ball a bit. or at least, there's a tendency for the ball to be dropped in her vicinity.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

yea

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

yeah. i doubt nwain will be in serious trouble or anything. just gonna get an afternoon in the stockades again O_O

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

I also like the nickname Spoony.

Superjustingo of ✨Time🕑&Space☄✨

Agreed with ya there(edited)

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

It's soup-er.

MathTans the Pun 👑Prince👑

Anyway, guessing the current arc will wrap soon, be interesting to see what happens. Impressed how long the comic's been going too, years!

✨🐱 RebelVampire 🐱✨

COMIC TEA PARTY END!

Unfortunately, the scheduled Comic Tea Party time is now up~! Thank you everyone so much for reading and joining this week’s chat~! We want to give a special thank you to Terrana Cliff, as well, for making Nwain and volunteering it for our reading queue. If you liked the comic, please be sure to support Terrana Cliff’s efforts however you’re able to. All that being said, if you would like to continue discussing this week’s comic, we highly encourage you to do so~!

For next week, Comic Tea Party will focus on Dawn of the Dad by AnitaComics. As always, please use the next several days to read as much of the comic as you would like. We hope to see you next Thursday on May 31st from 5PM to 7PM PDT for the chat~! Until then, happy reading~! Comic: https://tapas.io/series/Dawn-of-the-Dad

#ctparchive #comics #webcomics #indie comics #comic chat #comic discussion #bookclub #comic bookclub #webcomic bookclub #start faire #startfaire #comic tea party #ctp #nwain #terrana cliff