#like its being stuck between feeling old AND young simultaneously like as a baby why would i want to have my own baby 😭

[trash-iest]

Another year closer to 25 🤡

#this is so depressing 😭 #because i dont wanna graduate and i dont wanna move out for mba and shadi AND ADULTING JUST FEELS SO REAL WITH EACH PASSING YEAR #I JUST WANT TO STOP AGEING OR AN APOCALYPSE THAT ENDS EVERYTHING BECAUSE GROWING UP IS SO OVERWHELMING #just the fact that im in my twenties and not a teenager anymore is SO HARD TO DIGEST LIKE HOW DID THAT HAPPEN WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN #IM SORRY I WAS TOO BUSY BEING NUMB AND DEPRESSED TO REALISE I WAS GROWING UP AND I DONT EVEN REMEMBER MY 20TH FROM LAST YEAR WHICH IS SOON #GONNA BE 2 YEARS AGO AND THEN ILL BE 30 IN A FEW YEARS AND ALL OF THIS—MY LIFE— WILL FEEL LIKE A BLUR LIKE HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN #im deleting my tumblr on my 25th birthday. thats it #also a very serious question (istg im not being cocky) how do people in their early 20's decide they wanna get married or have kids #because oh boy its like everyone's getting married young and having babies like how do you feel youre ready because that is some MAJOR LIFE #ALTERING SHIT #HOW DO U WRAP YOUR HEAD AROUND IT #HOW DO U FALL IN LOVE AND KNOW THIS IS THE RIGHT PERSON GOOD GOD LIFE IS NOT THAT EASY BUT PLEASE SHARE LIFE HACKS AS TO HOW YOU FIGURED IT #ALL OUT #like anytime i think about shadi its like no im too selfish to share my personal space with another person and then having to interact with #their family is all SO FKING DRAINING ESP WHEN YOURE NATURALLY NOT A PEOPLE'S PERSON #like how do people not get the urge to runaway before their wedding because holyshit my 19 year old self couldnt deal with all that #responsiblity and neither can this 21 year old #like its being stuck between feeling old AND young simultaneously like as a baby why would i want to have my own baby 😭 #and oh god the pain that comes with it makes me envy men SO BAD #like its so easy for u to say oh yeah lets have a baby and its gonna be shared responsibility BUT YOUR BODY DOESNT GO THROUGH HELL FOR THE #NEXT 9MTHS AND EVEN AFTER THAT I KNOW MY BODY WONT BE THE SAME AND SUE ME BUT IM NOT LOSING THIS FIGURE AND THEN FEEL SHIT ABOUT MYSELF WHEN #I DRESS UP WHILE YOURE OUT THERE CHEATING ON ME WITH OTHER WOMEN #i know not all men do that but knowing my luck i know i wont be ending up with the exception so fuck marriage and kids and having a family #and then he gets to excel at his career while i raise this kid and then few years down the lane when I consider getting a job again ill be #way behind in my field and i cant be financially independent. how do housewives not feel miserable? how do u make peace with catering to a #family #ZINDAGI KYUN AKELE NAHI GUZAR SAKTE BHAI LIKE IM ALREADY SO USED TO BEING ON MY OWN I DONT FEEL THE NEED FOR A HUSBAND OR BABY #WHY IS THAT THE ULTIMATE SETTLEMENT WHY CANT IT BE A GOOD JOB AFTER MBA #at this point the only way out of all that is death before 25 and im manifesting that for the next 4 years #i missed ranting on tumblr so much omg this feels heavenly

[manonblaqkbeak]

Midnight Cravings

so, i actually wrote most of this in july but never finished it and decided to fix it up for todays prompt bc i was feeling a lil lazy lol. and i think its one of my faves, especially the ending.

2.2k words

cw: none

enjoy!! :)

It was just past two in the morning and Aelin was wide awake. Not due to a mountain of paperwork, or a nightmare or one of her kids needing her. Aelin was wide awake because she was absolutely starving.

The type of starving it felt like she'd never eaten a day in her life. Like her stomach was going to eat itself.

Her stomach growled again, louder than before, and beside her, his voice muffled, Rowan asked, “Is that your stomach or the wind outside?”

“Shut up,” Aelin mumbled, as her stomach continued its song. Gods, why was she so hungry? She practically devoured the fruits in the fruit bowl just before bed, she had a healthy serving of dinner, and a large slice of chocolate torte for dessert.

But here she was, close to eating her damned pillow to sate her starvation.

Aelin glanced over towards her mate, his back to her, and she shuffled closer, resting her chin on his shoulder.

“Rowan,” she started to say, but Rowan cut her off.

“I'm not going to the kitchens.”

She pouted, although he couldn't see her. “Please?” she knew that if she used her manners, then he would do just about anything.

But it didn't work. Not just yet. “There's some fruit in the bowl.”

“I ate them all.” He sighed heavily, knowing that he was losing this conversation. “Please? I am your mate, your wife, the mother of your children.”

Rowan snorted. “Really? I was starting to suspect that the three silver-haired children were Lorcan's.”

Her hunger nearly disappeared at the thought of that. “Don't be gross.” Reaching over, Aelin kissed the tip of his ear, smiling as he shuddered in pleasure as she nibbled on it. “Please?”

Rowan sighed heavily, knowing that he lost, and Aelin barely hid her smile. “I'll go,” he said. “But only if you join me.”

Her smile did disappear at that. “But the bed is so warm.”

“Exactly. If I have to leave it, so do you.”

“Fine,” she mumbled reluctantly, but quickly perked up, realising that she would be getting food. Rowan was a much better cook than her. Aelin used to have basic cooking skills, but with being Queen and then becoming a mother, she never cooked anymore and really had no need to; not with multiple cooks under the palace roof. She did try a few years ago as a treat for her family, but everything turned into a crisp and wasn't even suitable for the dogs in the kennels.

Scrambling out of bed, the Queen and King of Terrasen tied on their robes and put on their slippers. Aelin loved the sight of Rowan looking so domestic, it was ridiculous how much she loved it.

Since Isolde was only six months old and far too young to be left behind, Rowan put her in the wooden carrier to take with them into the kitchens, their movements silent as the grave as they transferred their youngest from her crib and into the crafty carrier—Isolde was the only one of their children that slept soundlessly through the night at such a young age, and loathed to be woken up. As Rowan did that, Aelin checked in on Alder in his room, their son a little over three years old, but he slept like a log and Aelin knew that he wouldn't wake up at any point when they were gone.

As they left their chambers, Aelin nearly ruined all their good work and almost woke up their other children when she bit out a curse at the sudden leg cramp that shot up her right calf. Rowan glanced at her, asking if she was okay, and after a moment she was, although she was left a little dazed at the suddenness of it all.

Aelin's legs had been cramping randomly of late, but she didn't notice anything of concern. If it continued, she would go to Magnolia and see if anything could be done about it. The last thing Aelin needed was to fall ill, she had far too many things to do with winter arriving in a few weeks. She did know that if anything was wrong with her, that she could rely on Rowan completely.

Aelin's stomach growled for the umpteenth time, the sound lasting for a good minute before it settled. Isolde fidgeted in her sleep, but did not wake.

“I think your stomach was just trying to talk to me.”

“It was,” Aelin agreed. “It said that we need to hurry the hell up or it's going to disintegrate.”

“We better do as it says then. It'd be cruel to subject Terrasen to a hungry Queen. No one should suffer as I do when you're starving.”

“You make me sound horrible.”

“You are,” he said, humour dancing in his dark eyes. “And not just when you're hungry.”

Aelin mumbled under her breath. Rowan decided to pretend not to hear her, even as he fought a smile.

After what felt like an eternity, they reached the kitchens, Rowan placing Isolde onto the counter closest to them. Aelin rushed towards the bowls of fruit, grabbing an apple and a pear, eating the fruits simultaneously. She missed the small, private smile Rowan gave her as he went to the pantry, asking her what she was in the mood for, one eye on their child. But still, she slept and Rowan for a moment, wished that all of their children had been like that, but knew that there was no point in complaining when they all slept quietly now.

“Something filling,” was all Aelin could think of to say. But after a moment decided on an omelette, filled with bacon, mushrooms, onion, red bell-peppers and carrot. As she and Rowan prepped the ingredients—with Rowan wanting his own omelette—Aelin contemplated in silence, her brows furrowed as she chopped up the carrots.

“What are you thinking about, Fireheart?” Rowan asked when he noticed his wife's expression.

“Just trying to remember the last time I was this hungry. I've been like this for at least a week and a half.”

“I've noticed. You haven't had this big of an appetite for a good number of years.”

She didn't comment on that, lost in her own world. “And my legs have been cramping lately too. I haven't injured myself. Have I been sleeping in strange positions?”

“No, you're sleeping just fine.”

Her frown deepened. “Maybe I'm just stressed for the winter preparations.”

“Possibly, I know that you worry a lot for the people during winter.” They both did, as the winters in Terrasen were brutal. Each year there was always a small number of people that passed due to the cold for a number of reasons. When those lists made their way in Aelin's hands, it always hit her hard, her guilt a palpable thing, even after Rowan would tell her that it was in no way her fault.

But that wasn't the reasons for her consuming hunger and leg cramps—Rowan had noticed the change in her scent weeks ago and when he noticed, he thought that Aelin would too. But she was completely oblivious and he didn't want to spoil the surprise, although it was getting harder each day not to say something.

However, he couldn't help but count back the weeks to the day of conception. He was fairly certain that it was when Aelin had been reading a particularly steamy novel on the window seat in their sitting room and jumped on him like they had never had sex before when he had come to ask if she was joining him in bed.

It would fit in with list of unusual places they have conceived their children. Elentiya had been in the library (either in the archives or in Aelin and Rowan's private nook, neither were sure), Norrin against an oak tree (which they discovered after they have calmed down that the Little Folk had watched the entire encounter, with Aelin becoming stuck between wanting to laugh or hide under a rock), Alder against one of the many palace chimneys, and Isolde in a linen closet.

Maybe one day they would conceive a child in their bed like most people did.

They got to cooking, with Rowan standing behind Aelin and guiding her with the wooden spoon and plating their midnight meal before it burned into a crisp. Isolde babbled in her sleep as the sounds of cooking reached her, but still slept. It wouldn't be long, however, until she woke up to be fed. Aelin placed their youngest by her feet as they sat down at the small dining table in the far corner of the kitchen where the workers took their breaks.

The smile on Aelin's face as she bit into the fluffy omelette was certainly worth being woken up in the middle of the night.

However, her fork stilled in mid-air when she was halfway done when realisation dawned on her.

Finally.

“I'm pregnant,” was all she said, her Ashryver eyes growing wide. Rowan didn't bother to hide his smile. This was why he didn't say anything. It was always worth it when she revealed those beautiful words to him. “Rowan, I'm pregnant. The last time I was this hungry was when I was pregnant with Alder and the leg cramps are from Norrin's pregnancy. And all the fruit I can't stop eating is just like when I was pregnant with Isolde. How haven't I noticed anything?”

“You've been busy,” Rowan said, reaching over to take her hands in his and kissed her fingers.

“You knew, didn't you?” Aelin asked, her eyes narrowed just slightly.

“I may have noticed.”

“You should have told me.”

“I like it better when you come to the realisation yourself,” he said simply.

Aelin shot out of her seat and sat on his lap, a pretty smile gracing her face as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, her fingers playing the the hair at the nape of his neck. Rowan wound his arms around her waist and kissed her on the cheeks, the tips of her nose, the corner of her lips and then her mouth.

Aelin hummed contentedly and kissed him back. When they broke apart, she rested her forehead against his.

“We're insane.”

Rowan laughed deeply at the sudden statement. “What makes you say that?”

“We're having a fifth baby. Lorcan and Elide only have three and I always thought that they'd have at least a dozen, but they don't and we're about to have five. That's insane. We're insane.”

“We are, but I like that about us,” he said, kissing her again. Her face was open and soft, her eyes dancing with happiness, but he still found himself asking, “Are you okay with it?”

“Of course I am, buzzard. More than words can say.” Aelin kissed him to emphasise that fact, his hand reaching down onto her belly and was content to stay like that forever. She couldn’t believe how lucky she was. She always thought that she’d just have one child, maybe two, but to have five was something she never dreamed of.

Isolde finally decided to wake up and scream her displeasure at being hungry. Aelin was off him in an instant, cooing at their daughter as Aelin sat back in her seat and fed not just herself, but Isolde at the same time. His mate was spectacular at multitasking like that.

They couldn't wait to meet their fifth child.

X X X X X X

Rowan was surprised that his children hadn't kicked down the doors to the bedchamber with how excited they were. Even little Isolde was a ball of energy and she was by far their most quiet child. Rowan lead them to their mother, reminding them that they had to be quiet and gentle, because mama had just gone through a long process of bringing in their new sibling into the world.

They entered the bedchamber and Aelin greeted them with a tired but loving smile telling them to come meet their new sister, the kids went onto the bed, surrounding Aelin and the baby, happiness and wonderment in their eyes as they took in the little bundle of joy, her silver hair stark against her lightly tanned skin. She had opened her eyes briefly during her first feeding and Aelin had groaned playfully when she spotted that they were pine-green, muttering how of course I labour for a whole day to give birth to another you. But he knew that she didn't care if she was born with green hair and yellow eyes, Aelin loved her immensely.

“What's her name, mama?” Elentiya asked softly, carefully trailing a finger down her sisters cheek.

“Elowynn-Yrene.” Rowan would never forget the pure joy in Yrene's eyes when Aelin asked if the healer would give them her blessing to grace their child with her name, as a thank you for all the years of coming down and helping Aelin, for eradicating Erawan, and for being a great friend to both of them. It had taken them a few minutes to convince their friend, citing that the honour was far too much, but Yrene eventually said "yes".

“That's pretty,” Alder supplied, a wide smile on his face. Aelin kissed his temple and thanked him for his kind words.

Aelin moved her eyes from Alder to Rowan, smiling as her mate stood there, taking them in.

His family, their family. Never did he think he would be so blessed to have this.

His and Aelin's children; the most beautiful thing Rowan had ever seen.

Rowan went and joined his family on the bed, the smile on his face one of Aelin's favourites.

#rowaelin #rowaelinmonth #my work

[monkey-network]

Crash Bandicoot the Series Episodes

52 Episodes; To stop N Tropy and Cortex’s Plan Z that puts reality in jeopardy, Crash and Coco must travel between dimensions to gather crystals necessary. Along the way, the duo meets familiar faces and it’s a guess of whether they’re friend or foe. Then again for Crash, an enemy’s just a friend you haven’t made yet.

Method of the Marsupials: Spelunking down an ancient temple, Coco slowly feels inferior compared to Crash’s spontaneity always lucking out. Then again, Crash has never been one without his sister.

The Titanfields and Mucoltants: A chase after a baby mutant leads to a universe where two different clans have been feuding for generations and it’s up to the Bandicoots to finally put an end to it, or make the fighting feel different.

Crash Cultivation: Our siblings split up momentarily and Crash’s adventure involves helping a farmer confront a curse that prevents anything from growing on his land.

In My Element: Coco’s adventure is a puzzle room, literally a room full of puzzles she has to solve to get out. She’s having a blast, but comes to realize that the joy could be endless.

Breakfasticoot: Taking a break from gathering the crystals, Crash decides to go into the morning wilderness to get his sister breakfast in bed. Needless to say, it isn’t easy for our unbreakable hero.

Tense Theory: In order to get the next crystal, Coco needs to show that she can relax like her brother.

Tales as Old as Tiny: The Bandicoots encounter Tiny Tiger, depressed and very lacking in muscle. Crash wants to help, leading to the two entering the wildcat’s mind.

Minuscule Madness (Part 1): The Bandicoots reach a dimension that has everyone in it out to kill them. The problem is that the “everyone” are too small to be noticeable by the duo.

Minuscule Madness (Part 2): Crash’s body has been invaded by the small people and Coco must figure out how to save her bro before he dies or the small people die first due to Crash’s surprisingly volatile insides.

Jake and the Crashman: Crash is split from Coco and is thrust into a noir story involving wumpa fruit, cars, and a hidden conspiracy.

War the Game: Crash and Coco face off against a supercomputer possessing a crystal where losing will mean the end of that world, the heart and mind of our Bandicoot siblings truly at unity this episode.

Coco Kaijuu: The next dimension our siblings enter have them transformed into giant monsters and while Coco wants to be peaceful towards the civilians, Crash is having fun with his new form which unleashes a force trying to stop them.

Rip Roo Ca-Choo: Ripper Roo is alone after his original defeat from Crash, rejected by Cortex and with no direction. He then sees Crash again and becomes determined to exact his revenge.

Crash the Bachelor: A hopeless romantic Skunk finds love when Crash is the one being that isn’t driven away by his putrid stench. And while Crash enjoys being friends, our bandicoot doesn’t care about getting closer.

Tawna Comes to Tango: Dimension hopping Pirate Tawna shows up to help our Bandicoots win the crystal at a casino but her love of risk soon gets in the way.

Bookbrain: Our new trio visit the library where a crystal’s hidden and the former two decide to get Crash into more advanced reading. Crash loves it at first, but when the three discover the comic book section, it’s a challenge to keep that and Crash separate.

Animal House: Crash, Coco, and Tawna have to strengthen their teamwork to face a chicken, a monkey, and a shiny jellyfish in order to get the crystal.

Ghostdusters: Tawna doesn’t believe in ghosts, but a trek through a haunted house suddenly has her scared sneezing. The three try to make their way in and out, but finding the crystal will mean cleaning things up.

Crashket Ball: A game so complicated for Tawna and Coco leads to Crash helping them understand things his way.

Why Love Him: Tawna is separated from her friends into another dimension and stumbles across a dejected Crash that’s been through what she went through long ago in her dimension. She tries to cheer him up, and comes to realize what she saw in him originally.

The Messiness of Music: Our trio have to confront N Gin in a music contest in three days but instruments aren’t their forte, Crash and Tawna can’t and won’t sing, and Coco is overwhelmed in making the best song. However, music doesn’t have to be flawless to feel good.

Crashcading Fury: Crash wakes up angry and on destructive rampage for the next crystal. A scared Coco and Tawna do what they can, desperately trying to get their more cool, easy-going buddy back. 

Lunchtime: Crash, Coco, and Tawna have the chance to relax and get sandwiches and the Komodo brothers are sent out to kill them.

Ahoy Baby: A young group of aliens claim Tawna as their mom and she joyously comes to teach them how to live her way.

The House of N (Part 1): Knowing the trio’s progress, Cortex comes up with the idea of bringing multiple versions of himself to come up with ideas in stopping them.

The House of N (Part 2): A battle of the one true Neo Cortex ensues, leading to our main scientist at odds with himself of where everything went wrong.

Aku Uka Alone: Uka Uka and Aku Aku mentally link and argue over the faith they have in their hero/villains.

Dream Reaper: In this silent but musical episode, N Tropy sends a villain capable of killing people while they’re dreaming to the trio, only for our villain to underestimate all three’s imaginative capabilities.

Pace and Test: Crash is challenged to a simultaneous physical and academic exam for a crystal which is where his sister and bestie put their all into making him the best of both worlds.

Ferally Feud: Crash and Tawna get into an argument, leading Coco to try moderating and sees why she loves them both.

It Takes a Bandicoot to Save a Village: Former chief Papu Papu asks Crash to help rebuild his village after Cortex’s meddling might force them to leave the island.

Crate Minds Think Alike: Cortex manages to weaken the trio to the point where they can’t bash crates anymore, leading to them pushing each other to get stronger in the real way.

Dial D for Dingo: Meeting up with an old chum at his “established” restaurant, the Bandicoots take a stand when health inspectors have come to shut down the place by ANY means.

Two Times Tropy: While Cortex is out, N Tropy and his female alternate are working on repairs but are ignorantly making things worse with their constant ego stroking.

Crash The Banditoon: The trio reach a blank dimension where things feel different, more animated and that’s saying something. Crash isn’t complaining though.

Juicy Juiced: A special wumpa Crash finds gives the trio enhanced ability but at the cost of sleeping for days. So they keep eating it in order to come up with an antidote to null the effects at the risk of an eternal sleep.

Lab Rat Revolution: The trio arrive at a place populated by a majority of Brio’s rejects and helps them get revenge.

Wayback Brio: An encounter with N. Brio has him and Coco stuck in a cavern. While Crash and Tawna figure out a way to their freedom, the two inside are forced to rewalk their former relationship.

The Skinner (Halloween Special): Crash is possessed by an evil spirit that’s known for desiring the skin of its victim, unbeknownst to Tawna and Coco though, an unstable spirit can’t control an unstable body.

You’re a Bad Man, Dr. Cortex: Cortex arrives in a dimension where he’s the leader of the world, only this version is a good guy. Naturally he replaces the other Cortex and tries to spin the world into his image, but is conflicted that he’ll destroy a utopia he technically made himself.

Nurse Bandicoot: Coco catches a high fever after a trip through the arctic dimension, and the others do what they can for her. Crash surprisingly takes things slow while Tawna is frantic in making things better.

Do Mursupials Dream of Magic Sheep?: Crash suddenly gets nightmares and it affects him while awake. One night, a figure appears in his dream and the two adventure to found out how to resolves these bitter feelings.

Cocomotion: A trip to the future has Coco visit a successful version of herself. As such, it’s the age old case between future versus family. 

Crunched Kindness (1/2 Hour Christmas Special): Infiltrating Cortex’s castle, the trio frees a disheveled Crunch Bandicoot and helps him see the beauty of the world.

High School Bandicoot: The Trio are stuck in a video game dating sim where Crash has to win in one go or get deleted forever.

Fishing for Crystals: A fish eats a crystal, a bigger fish eats the little and so on, forcing our heroes to fish differently in the effort to get it back.

Continue?: Crash finds himself alone in a dreary world where it turns out he's dead. He meets a little possum girl and her big bodyguard as they help him uncover a way back to life.

The Trials of Crash Bandicoot: Crash is framed for multiple interdimensional crimes in space court, all of which are Cortex’s doings, and while Coco and Tawna play defense, everyone he’s encounter over the series comes to either his aid or prosecution, and Cortex has something up his sleeve, Crash himself is seemingly out cold during everything.

The Dimmer of Hope: After the events of the previous episode, Cortex has all the crystals and the trio’s banished to the end of the universe. All feels lost, so all that’s left to do is reminisce of the adventures the three got to have.

The Dimensional Dance (Part 1): Cortex and the N Tropys have everything set for multiversal domination but argue over how they want to do things. Meanwhile the trio get back to reality and figure out a way to destroy the crystals. 

The Dimensional Dance (Part 2): Crash has absorbed all of the power of the reality machine to make a universe in his own image. Tawna, Coco, the N Tropys, and Cortex are aware and find out that this won’t be stable for much longer and have to save Crash to reverse the effects.

The Never Ending Story (Series Finale): Crash is alone again, not dead, this time in a plane outside all existence and, given the chance to speak for the first time, reflects on his life and everything he got to have to a being he’s familiar with.

#crash bandicoot #coco bandicoot #tawna bandicoot #crunch bandicoot #neo cortex #n. brio #crash bandicoot 4 #crash 4 #video games #cartoons #long post #fake episodes #fanfiction #dumb

[polarishq]

Meet IRIS WEI-REYNOLDS They are TWENTY-FOUR years old and hail from HONG KONG, CHINA and LONDON, UK.. Iris embodies the constellation, TUCANA. They use she/her pronouns. Their faceclaim is NATASHA LIU BORDIZZO.

Tucana reminds me of overpriced lattes, dresses ripped on chain link fences, Cartier bracelets, the simultaneous flashing of a dozen cameras, a blue checkmark on Twitter, Sephora receipts stuck inside paperback novels to mark your spot, jet lag, glasses worn only in the comfort of your own home, being left on read, and grief buried so deep inside it might tear you open from the inside out.

BIOGRAPHY

Nothing about Iris’ life is how it ought to have been. She was supposed to be... well, not necessarily normal. But she was at least meant to be human. Like her parents, like her grandparents, like every single member of her family dating as far back as she can find. Born the only child to two high-ranking foreign service employees, Iris’ childhood was spent bouncing between Hong Kong and the UK, depending on what international crisis needed the most attention that week. Not that she minded the constant turbulence. If anything, Iris thrived on it. She was surrounded by the rich and powerful from a young age — she knows fuck all about politics, but she can tell you which foreign diplomats are all in the same autoerotic asphyxiation sex cult, and she has an entire groupchat alongside friends back home dedicated to finding out which country’s world leader has the best chance of being a lizard person. Adolescence was spent running around foreign cities with the the children of the internationally renowned, diving through back alleys and climbing fences to escape their handlers just because they could. So, Iris’ life wasn’t normal by most standards. But it was hers.

In hindsight, Iris does start to question certain strange things that would happen around her. Bird always seemed to be there, no matter where she went. Objects that she misplaced would appear as soon as she started feeling frustrated enough. So many dreams about flying that she would swear waking up was like being dropped onto her bed from a great height. To put it frank though, Iris was (and still remains) a bit of a spoiled brat. She never paid attention to those things because she was much more focused on drinking peach schnapp’s on top of her Honk Kong penthouse apartment at 3am with the French ambassador’s son, or using a friend’s connections to take a private jet to Seoul just to go to the hottest new night club. Maybe they were acts of rebellion, maybe Iris was just another disillusioned rich kid. For the longest time, magic was just something that existed in the fairy tale books her mom used to read to her (before she became too busy and before Iris’ primary source of contact with her parents was FaceTime chats).

The day her sense of normalcy changed was any other Thursday, in September of 2019. In a shocking turn of events, the entire family was all in London at the same time and had spent three whole days together. It was nice, in a way Iris hadn’t experienced in years. They’d been on their way to Heathrow for her parents to catch their respective flights when their car was unexpectedly side-swept by another. Iris remembers the initial impact and the feeling of being thrown from the car (though it wasn’t forceful — it felt like she had was being carried away by the wind rather than pushed by the blow). She recalls lying on the concrete with people running around her in a panic, the sound of sirens in the background, and a flock of birds that kept landing around where she lay. When she fully came to her senses, she was in the hospital, with a broken collarbone and covered in cuts but, as the doctor bluntly told her, “alive by some miracle”. Her parents, however, were not as fortunate.

Recovering from her injuries took time. Recovering from her parents is something Iris doesn’t think will ever come. For weeks after their passing, she reacted in anger, lashing out at the people who gave what she perceived to be fake sympathy or looks when they thought she wasn’t paying attention.  In her mourning, she never noticed the strange mark that had appeared on her hip following the accident. It wasn’t until two months afterwards, soon after she returned to her apartment in Hong Kong, that she came home to find someone waiting for her. When they said they had news for her, she immediately kicked them in the knees. But, long story short, the stranger informed her that there was a spot at Polaris waiting for her. Then, and only then, did they inform Iris about the existence of magic, in the world and in her. Understandably Iris was prepared to call the cops on them, but when they used magic to create a small fireworks display in her kitchen... well, seeing is believing.

Iris has always been a little bit impulsive, a little bit reckless, and a little too caught up in her own emotions to think something through. Her decision to go to Polaris wasn’t so much based on her wanting to learn her powers, but more so her wanting to get far away from anyone who might remind her of how things have changed. She told her friends and extended family that she was moving to America, leaving out the part about her attending a school for magic because what the actual fuck kind of conversation would that have been. And honestly, being a witch is... kind of cool. She’s still trying to get used to being a witch and everything that comes with it, and her rich political daughter mindset does make it hard for her to really connect with people outside of her own social circle, but she’s at least where she should be. Plus, knowing that she might one day be able to fly is pretty fucking cool.

INCLINATION

Tucana, the Toucan, isn’t exactly known as the most well-respected constellation. It’s magic isn’t the strongest, and the majority of its power tends to come from outside stimuli rather than internal. Those gifted with the powers of Tucana have a particularly strong bond with birds of all kinds. It’s said that the phrase “a little birdy told me” stems from a Tucana. These individuals are protected by birds and, in many cases, understand their flight patterns and their sounds as a means of communication. They receive messages and warnings from these little flighty friends that, while not granting them any strong offensive or defensive magic, does grand them the power of bird divination. Plus, to make up for them being seen as a bit of a joke compared to other constellations, Tucana grants its users the power of flight once they’ve reached their full potential.

CONNECTIONS

Artificial Sugar Baby: Iris grew up with money as the main source of happiness and so, as an adult, that’s primarily how she shows her affection. This is someone who Iris views as a friend, which automatically means she wants to shower them in gifts. They are also someone who grew up in a much lower socioeconomic class than Iris so, by extension, Iris feels the need to compensate by showering them in even more gifts. Oh, you’re sad? You’re also poor? Let me get you a diamond tennis bracelet, would you like silver or rose gold? Nevermind, I got you both. The matching earrings should arrive tomorrow.

Little Rich Bitch Fighter: Most of the people Iris spent time with prior to coming to Polaris were those just as disconnected as she was. Now that she’s here, she’s learning to interact with people who didn’t have access to family friend’s private plane growing up. She’s made friends while at Polaris and tries to get along, but this is someone who doesn’t like Iris’ ignorance and disconnect, and they make no secret of it. In response, Iris is fully aware that they hate her, but she’s too much of an egoist to really understand why. She’s also not about to outright ask them, so instead she showers them with overly friendly remarks and niceness. Not because its genuine, but because she is a petty hoe.

Mentor: Simple. Iris just started attending Polaris in January 2020, and didn’t know she was a witch before that, so this is someone who tries to show her the ropes. They can either be an air magic user or someone skilled in divination. Either way, Iris would fall flat on her face without them.

Penned by Jeanne ★

#tucana. #air. #taken. #jeanne. #student.

[mlpdestinyverse]

“Paralleled”

Feat.  Astral Dusk, Terra Rosa

To help her son make friends, Sunset Shimmer brings Astral Dusk on a camping trip in the human universe. There, he’s introduced to human Twilight’s energetic daughter, Terra Rosa. And while the two discover their similarities and forge a friendship, Astral becomes a little too aware of their differences...to the point of questioning if they will last.

Story and Description Under The Cut (this is a long one!)

Sunset Shimmer had shared many fascinating stories about her old home with her son over the years. According to her, this wouldn't be Astral Dusk's first time visiting the dimension beyond the Crystal Mirror in Princess Twilight's possession. While he couldn't fully recall his earliest memories as a toddler, Astral did have the faintest memory of being carried into a world with sights so similar to his own yet simultaneously unfamiliar and strange for the young colt. Or...boy, as Astral Dusk was there. It was a rather sudden idea proposed by his mother; a two-week-long camping trip planned and prepared a few weeks ahead of time for fall break. The fact that his mother would throw together such an impromptu trip in autumn instead of waiting until spring or summer was beyond him. Sunset Shimmer had been eager and insistent when she initially brought up her plans to him. They would be visiting old friends of hers who owned the very camp they would be visiting. But more importantly, there was someone she wanted him to meet. That vague tidbit did nothing to help Astral with his nerves or the uncomfortable twinge of uncertainty in his stomach. His father opting out of going, volunteering to stay behind and watch over his baby sister instead, didn't help either. But to say he wasn't even a little curious of the alternate world his mother once dwelled in would be a lie... The closer the day of the trip came, the more Astral noticed his mother scribbling in her magic journal. It was no doubt for the other, "alternate" Twilight Sparkle, the one who was neither a master of magic nor a princess. That alone was a concept that baffled him. His mother explained how communication and timing were vital when crossing between worlds. Having someone as a look-out on the other side helped avoid detection from the other inhabitants. Also according to his mother, even if it meant an early visit, Astral would come to appreciate having extra time to adjust to his "altered body" before leaping into full-blown dimensional-hopping adventures. With that said, and with two days remaining before the start of the camping trip, Astral wasn't sure what to expect when he pressed up close to his mother, bracing himself while stepping into the rippling, doorway-like mirror. On the first day - once Astral had learned that trotting around on four limbs wasn't quite appropriate for a human, nor was it proper to ogle the long, wiggly digits that stuck out of his flabby "hands" - the boy was able to acknowledge the lady who was waiting for them. She had bright pink curly locks and a smile so wide it would have been intimidating if his mother hadn't been so ecstatic to see her. If that hadn't been enough to give away the lady's identity, then the welcoming canon of sprinkle-flavored confetti sure did. The human Pinkie Pie practically pranced around as she led Astral and Sunset around the city, cheerfully introducing him to each and every store, and nook, and...tree. And rock, though that might have just been her older sister's pet? It was never made clear. The whole time, Astral found one of his hands clinging onto the fabric of his mother's sleeve, nervous of every passing human because why, why were they so tall and looming and vertical. How could they constantly stay balanced on their hind legs when he could barely go a few steps without almost toppling over himself? Thankfully the longer the group walked around the city, the more familiar he became with his new legs. And at the end of the trek, the two women brought the boy to a diner and rewarded him with ice cream. Familiar tasting ice cream, topped with...confetti-flavored sprinkles. Huh. The second day came. After Astral and Sunset had returned home to rest before diving back into the mirror, a different friend of his mother's took time out of her schedule to meet with them. Her light pink hair was pulled back into a long ponytail and she offered him a much softer, kinder smile. The moment he was brought into a shelter full of friendly animals, almost all the stress and caution Astral had felt building within himself melted away. For literal hours as his mother and her friend chatted, the boy practiced making use of his tiny flat hands to pet every willing creature within his reach. And as he did, Astral wondered if a world that lacked magical beasts yet kept the existence of rabbits and kittens could really be all that bad. Then came the third day, the official start of their camping trip. He and Sunset carried saddlebags and two duffel bags as they once again stepped hoof into the portal. But on the other side was a completely new sight standing just a few yards away. A surprising one at that. His mother hadn't been joking about there being a second Twilight Sparkle, though this human Twilight noticeably wore glasses and had shorter hair. And despite this Twilight lacking the regality his alicorn princess possessed, something about the way her expression lit up, as well as the warmth of her welcoming smile, struck close to home. "Welcome, you guys! It's so great to see you!" Astral didn't get a chance to process a response. His teal eyes shifted down and he found two different colored eyes blinking back at him. Another kid around his age stood beside "Ms. Twilight" (as Sunset informed him to call her, for the sake of differentiating). Their round freckled face was framed with short curls of purple and light green hair. Tightly clutching a panda-like backpack within their arms, the kid stared back at him with a mix of wide-eyed disbelief and awe. Astral's mother leaned down to his level then, giving him a playful smirk. "Surprise~" Before the boy could shoot Sunset a questioning look, Ms. Twilight chuckled and also bent down to her kid's height. "You guys were just babies when you met for the first time! But we both thought now was a better time than ever to get you two to know each other." Ms. Twilight placed her hand on the other kid's shoulder. "As you might know Astral, I'm Twilight Sparkle! And this..." Glancing over at the child with warm eyes, the older lady gently squeezed their shoulder. "Is my daughter, Terra Rosa. Terra, this is Ms. Shimmer's son, Astral Dusk. The one I told you about?" Neither children said anything as they gazed at one another. Astral shifted, awkwardness beginning to settle in. "Uh...hi-" Terra Rosa suddenly advanced forward, her eyes honed in on him. Her small legs briskly moved with the sound of her shoes tapping against the paved path before she stopped right in front of him. Up-close it was evident that the girl was brimming with wonder and excitement that her slightly shorter body could barely contain. With her arms still hugging her backpack against her chest, Terra Rosa's one green and one violet eye were both rounded as she whispered loudly to him. "Did you really just come from another world?" Astral wasn't sure how to respond other than to nervously swallow and nod. That apparently was all Terra needed to release a noise that was between a squeak and a squeal. The girl hid half of her face behind her backpack, her visible eyes sparkling at him as she half-squealed out, "That's so cool...!" The conversation ended there when the two adults herded him and Terra Rosa into some strange metal carriage. Before he knew it, the group of four were beginning their near two-hour drive to the designated camping site. While initially fascinated by the traveling machine's fast speeds and the view outside of its windows, Astral quickly found himself feeling queasy. He opted to sit back and stare at the back of his mother's seat as she conversed with Ms. Twilight, who steered the vehicle with some sort of wheel mechanism. Every so often Terra's swinging legs beside him would catch his attention and he would glance over at her. Each time he'd then see her perk up and give him a small, enthusiastic wave. After looking at his own hand and unfurling his fingers, he managed a self-conscious smile and returned the gesture. That earned him a wide grin from the girl. Soon they were driving underneath a sign and straight into a wide field of grass, dotted with benches and various other structures. It stretched out into a shimmering lake while evergreens framed its remaining sides, and the vibrant sight of nature nearly took the boy's breath away. When he had first heard the name "Camp Everfree", he had imagined something much drearier and scarier, like the Everfree Forest back in Equestria. Nothing quite as lush and colorful as this. As he exited the vehicle, Astral was almost too distracted by the tall conifers and the smell of pine to notice someone new approaching. That is until Terra hopped in place and exclaimed, "We're back, dad!" A tall man with swooping green hair and soft green eyes grinned at the group, placing his hands on his hips once he reached them. "I can see that~" The man's face brightened as Sunset walked over and greeted him with a playful fist bump, one that he returned. "Well if it isn't Sunset Shimmer herself! Welcome back to our humble abode!" He waved his thick eyebrows in a worm-like dance. "Missed me much?" Sunset snerked, playfully rolling her eyes. "Good to see you never change, Timber." When the man's attention shifted down to Astral, the boy found himself awkwardly gripping onto the straps of the "backpack" his saddlebag had transformed into. "And I'd recognize that head of hair anywhere! You probably don't remember me, but I," he jutted a thumb towards himself, winking. "Am Timber Spruce~ I have a master's degree in dad jokes and I own this camp with my older sister! She's out on holiday right now, but hey, that just means we get the camp all to ourselves! And that means-" "-no, it does NOT mean making makeshift bunk beds or eating everything in her fridge." Twilight finished, crossing her arms with a knowing smirk. Timber's shoulders slumped and he sighed dramatically. "Welp, I tried, kids..." He perked back up just as quickly. "Well, even if we can't eat everything in Gloriosa's fridge, I can happily say that lunch is almost done! And I promise it's vegetarian-" "Oh, oh!" Astral turned to see Terra heartily waving her hand in the air, standing on the tips of her toes. "Can I show Astral around 'til lunch is done?! Pretty please? I wanna show him all of my favorite spots!" Twilight chuckled. "Well, maybe after lunch, sweetie. But I'm not so sure about you two exploring the forest-" "Aw come on, Twi!" Timber Spruce sidled up next to his daughter and placed a hand on top of her head. He smirked and playfully wagged a finger at his wife. "You know Terri knows most of this place like the back of her hand! She's got her ol' dad's inner compass~ And a literal one in her backpack, if that helps." Terra giggled as Timber mussed her hair. He smiled down at her. "As long as they only visit the places I've shown Ter' and follow the forest trails, they'll be fine." "Mhm!" Terra cheerfully pumped her fists. "I got this! I promise!" While Twilight appeared hesitant, Sunset lightly elbowed her friend and smiled. "Well, I'm okay with it if Mr. Woodsman over there is. Two smart kids teaming up shouldn't be too destructive. Hopefully." A few beats more and Twilight sighed with resignation. "Okay, okay...but lunch first." Terra Rosa beamed and began to rock back and forth on her shoes. She innocently fluttered her eyelashes. "'Kay! But I guess until lunch is ready, me and Astral will have to just..." Snapping her fingers, Terra pointed at her dad with a bright grin. "Spruce up~?" Astral was at a loss as he watched the deepest pride fill Timber's expression. He too snapped his fingers and pointed back, followed by a father-daughter chorus of "EYYY!". Twilight rubbed her eyes underneath her glasses, softly whispering "oh my God". Sunset snickered, and Astral just barely caught her whispering to her friend "I see who she takes after." A lettuce and tomato sandwich later (with Terra nearly bolting out the door once he was finished, jumping from foot to foot as she waited for him outside), Astral stood from one of the benches in the cafeteria and headed towards the door. He didn't get a chance to reach it before his mother approached him. She once again leaned down to his height, smiling. "Have fun but be careful, okay? You guys can explore as much as you want as long as you come home before the sun sets." Sunset briefly looked over her shoulder at Twilight and Timber cleaning up the kitchen - the man most likely telling a cheesy joke that earned him a towel smack - before meeting Astral's matching teal eyes. "Hey, can you do me a favor honey? Just...watch out for Terra." her eyes softened. "She doesn't look it, but she has pretty bad asthma and it can make her have trouble breathing if she wears herself out. Just make sure she doesn't overdo it and run around too much, alright? I'm sure Twilight and Timber would appreciate it." Astral looked over his shoulder at the girl still waiting for him. She was grasping the straps of the backpack now on her back, nonchalantly kicking at the ground in wait. Nodding softly, he turned back to his mother and smiled confidently. "Alright. I can do that." ---- As Astral wheezed, nearly tripping as he fought to keep up with the spritely girl, he realized he, in fact, could not do that. He thought matching her brisk pace while she showed him around the campgrounds had been a challenge for legs he was still adapting to. But the moment she had finished showing him the very last inch of the area, she gave one eager "follow me!", ran off to the nearest forest trail, and then...the chase began. "H-hey, slow down!" he called out, the girl momentarily stopping to look back at him. The lower half of her face was now covered by a white face mask she originally had been wearing around her neck, decorated with a pattern of pink and blue flowers. "You're not supposed to be running so much!" The girl giggled, walking backward as Astral neared her. "Naw, it's fine! A lil bit of running is suppose' to be good for me! I just can't run A LOT-a lot. And I've got my inhaler and mask anyway, so!" She threw him a cheery thumbs-up. "It's all under control! Mom just gets all worried about, like, everything." As if Astral didn't have enough reason to doubt, he jumped as Terra ran off the dirt trail and straight into the brush. He hurriedly shifted his weight to follow her with even more concern. "Wait, why are we going off the path?!" "We're taking the scenic route!" she half-laughed out yards ahead of him. Though his legs felt sore, Astral made an effort to dodge as many trunks and bushes as he could. Up ahead, Terra paused by a boulder, placing one hand on her hip while holding the other above her forehead. She squinted and hummed loudly before merrily pointing in a direction. "Come on, this way!" She ran off just as she was within arms-reach of Astral. Huffing, he forced himself to turn and weakly continued his pursuit. "S-seriously! Can you please slow- AAH!" Astral felt his leg buckle and soon he was tumbling to the ground face first. He narrowly managed to catch himself with his arms, hissing softly as stray roots and rocks dug into his skin. His ears caught a soft gasp, and as he worked to push himself back up, there was a sound of quick footsteps running back towards him before Terra's form was leaning down and holding his arm. Looking up, her eyes were wide with worry. "Are you okay?!" "Y-yeah..." he murmured. A quick glance over his hands and thankfully, all he could see was dirt and small scratches. "I'm okay." Terra kept her hand on his arm as he stood back up. She frowned and watched him guiltily. "S-sorry...I just wanted to..." Astral noticed her trail off and glance behind her, towards the direction she had been heading. "It's...alright." Astral offered. Even if he hadn't appreciated the cat and mouse chase, he could tell the girl was at least being sincere. Unexpectedly, Terra reached out and grabbed his hand, squeezing it within her own. When he met her eyes she pulled down her mask and smiled kindly at him. "I'll make it up to you! Let's walk together this time!" While surprising, there was also immense gratitude as Terra trod carefully and allowed Astral to walk at his own desired pace. Unlike earlier, the girl frequently spared a glance at him, as if to make sure he was alright as she led him. Within minutes the two were stepping into a small verdant clearing amongst the trees where a small stream was cutting through. Blinking at the sunlight shining directly onto them, Astral noticed that scattered around the brilliant green grass were patches of small pink flowers. "Ta-dah! Welcome to one of my favorite spots ever!" Terra skipped ahead of him, hopping to stand right next to the flowers. She gestured wildly at them, appearing excited as she looked at him expectantly. "Guess what these are called! C'mon, you wouldn't believe it!" "I dunno...?" Astral began hesitantly, eyeing the girl in confusion. "What?" "Asters!" Astral Dusk blinked, and Terra's grin stretched from ear-to-ear. "What kinda coinkidink is that?! Aster? Astral? It's like it was meant to be!" Astral moved to stand by her, crouching down to take a good look at the flowers. With how tiny and delicate they appeared, the boy was careful as he reached out and gently touched the thin petals curiously. "What d'you think?" The question caught Astral off guard. Terra had also crouched down with her hands on her knees and she stared at him with hopeful eyes, awaiting his answer. Returning his attention to the flowers, he noted just how soft and smooth they were to the touch, and how mesmerizing their pastel coloration was beneath the sunlight. Astral felt himself smile. "They're...really pretty." Terra Rosa suddenly jumped to her feet, appearing giddy as she pumped her fists into the air and yelled, "YESS, nailed it! I knew you'd like it!" Terra bounced once and landed back into a crouching position, beaming at him. "Hey, did you know 'aster' means 'star'?! So your name probably means something like that too!" "Really...?" Astral murmured, genuinely interested in the random fact. As if encouraged by his response, Terra nodded eagerly. "Yep yep! And the cool thing about flowers is that they have all sorts of secret meanings too! And the meaning can change depending on the color!" Terra pouted to herself. "Don't know what asters mean though...but um, they're perennials so they can grow even when it's fall! And they can even be used for medicine that helps with breathing stuff, like what I have! Not that I've ever eaten one..." She paused. "...n-never thought about it, either." "Wow...that's pretty cool." Astral tilted his head. "You sure know a lot about them." Terra's eyes lit up. "Of course! I love plants!" In one quick movement, Terra removed her backpack and reached inside to pull out a green leather-bound book. She swiftly placed it on the ground and opened to a random page, revealing what Astral realized was a pressed flower. Without thinking he reached out and turned a page, which showed yet another unfamiliar pressed specimen. If he looked close enough, he could make out small notes and doodles on the opposite page of each plant, listing fun facts, blooming times, uses, and even scientific classifications. Astral stared in astonishment. 'This is...' "Oh and another cool thing!" Terra began, glancing up at the pines around them. "Trees that lose their leaves during fall are called deciduous trees, and they lose their leaves because less sun means not enough photosynthesis, which keeps them green! In other words, they end up changing colors all because the weather makes them hungry." She blankly stared off into the distance. "What a mood." Astral chuckled, nodding in agreement. The response to her humor seemed to delight her. "Sounds like it. So...is this your special talent?" Terra's confusion was apparent. "My what?" "Your talent." Astral frowned. "You know, what you're really good at, and what'll become your destined job one day?" The girl hummed thoughtfully. "Mmm, maybe! I'm good at learning a bunch of stuff, but I like learning about plants the most! Maybe I can be a scientist and do a ton of cool experiments on them one day, kinda like my mom!" That feeling of familiarity returned, and Astral nodded with intrigue. "Yeah, you'd probably be really good at it! I'm kind of the same..." He shifted and sat himself on the ground, pulling his backpack into his lap. He hesitated when he gripped the zipper. '...what if this just ends like every other time?' "Yeah?" Astral didn't expect to see the girl plop down on the ground herself, holding her ankles while leaning forward curiously. She stared back and forth between his face and the bag in his hands, anticipating his next move. It was more attention than he would have expected from her. From anyone, really. Feeling a bit of courage, the boy opened his bag and pulled out a drawstring bag. He emptied it before her and watched as her eyes blew open at the gems that tumbled out. "You like plants. And I really like gems." "These are real?!" Terra all but shouted in disbelief. She practically threw herself on her stomach, bringing her face up close to the multi-colored jewels. It was the last reaction the boy would have expected. "I...y-yes?" "Aren't these things, like, super rare?! How did you get your hands on so many?!" "Rare?" Astral laughed. "Some of them are, but I also have a bunch of common ones," he separated a few of the stones, pointing at each with his hand. "Like this chartreuse. And this diamond-" "DIAMOND?!" Terra squeaked, quickly picking up the piece of gem to inspect it. "Y-yeah!" Astral shot her a look of confusion. "Are they not common here? We have a gem cave just outside of our town full of these things." "No freaking way!" Terra stared at him in bewilderment "These things cost hundreds to thousands of dollars! And you can just go into some cave and pick one up?!" "Thousands-?!" Astral sputtered. He didn't have a clue what a dollar was, but if it was anything close to the gold bits back home, then his mind was absolutely reeling. "Either diamonds are rarer here than in Equestria, or whoever is selling them is a greedy fraud!" "Seriously?" Terra groaned, holding her head in her small hands. "Why are we like this...the diamond industry is truly a dark place..." "A-anyway!!" Astral forced, hurriedly tossing his more common gems back into his bag. He pushed a different one towards her. "Here! I think you'll like this one-" "Oh my gosh, that's so pretty!" Terra gasped, reaching out for the stone and holding it high above her. "Is this an opal?" Astral's eyes shot open. "You can tell?" "Yeah, opals have lots of pretty colors, right~? I like'im 'cause they're usually white and pink and blue and I love that color combo!" Terra turned the gem around in her hand, enraptured. "But this one looks even shinier?" "It's a crystal opal!" Astral answered instantly, maybe a bit too eagerly. But when was he ever going to find another kid who knew even a little bit about gems? "I-it has a more transparent look than normal opals. And the colors come from a reflection of scattered light from the silica spheres they're made out of. The size of the spheres affect the colors you see." "That's so cool..." Terra whispered, and for the first time in a long while, Astral felt genuine joy and excitement bubble up inside him. "I'm...I'm glad you like it." Astral nervously fiddled with the drawstring bag in his lap. He could be pushing his luck by talking more. The girl could easily interrupt him at any point, or lose interest, just like every other kid he had ever shared his interest with. Yet something pushed him. "My dad's a gem hunter and goes on trips to gather gems from all over Equestria. He brings back a gem for me every time so I can add it to my collection." Mismatched eyes sparkled at him. "That's seriously so awesome, Astral! Holy geez, you're lucky!" Astral lifted his head and felt a euphoric fluttering in his chest. "You really think so...?" Terra hummed enthusiastically. "Sure do! My dad does the same thing with flowers he randomly finds, so we can press them together! But that's almost nothing compared to these! Cause..." Terra turned to look at the journal next to her. "I just...collect a bunch of dead plants and put them in a book." There was a long pause. Astral noticed the girl's eyebrows slowly draw in. Her shoulders fell as if something was slowly sinking in. "Huh...maybe that's why people think it's boring." Terra's words struck something in Astral, and he spoke up before he even knew it. "That's not true!" Terra seemed surprised by his response, and Astral frowned as he pressed on. "I like my gems, but your flowers are just as interesting, you know?" He reached out and pulled the journal towards him, turning to the first page. There, a dried aster laid, faded but preserved with great care. "It's cool because you know so much about all of these, and you care enough to remember it all. There's a bunch of things to learn and share, just like with gems." Astral felt his own shoulders slump, gazing over at the gems just next to him. "And I guess...because gems are so common in Equestria, ponies can't see why they're so interesting to me beyond the pretty appearance. So whenever I talk about them with any of the other kids, they either get confused or they stop listening at some point." "Wait, you too?" Terra scooted forward, gazing at Astral in complete bafflement. "The kids at my school do the same thing with me! They'll think my flowers are pretty, but the moment I start sharing my awesome fun facts, it's like I can't get 'em to care enough or pay attention, y'know?" Her nose crinkled. "And then they look at me all weird the more I talk..." "Yes. I...I do." Astral's hands clenched in his lap, as phantoms of those feelings returned to him. The disappointment, the hurt. The memories of gushing and looking up, only to discover he was being ignored time and time again. Quietly he lowered his head, his voice coming out soft. "I know how that feels. It's...why I don't really have friends back home." Astral almost immediately winced as he realized he let himself get a little too emotional. Before he could say anything else, two hands abruptly grasped his cheeks, forcing him to look up. Terra's large eyes met his. "Welp, guess we're friends now!" He blinked once. Twice. "...wha?" Terra shone that toothy grin of hers at him. "I get it now! My mom and your mom made us meet because we both know how much kids suck!...just kidding! Not all kids suck...I have a few friends who don't mind when I talk about plant stuff, but even they don't completely get it all the time." She pouted. "Not even my plant-jokes, Astral! They're really missing out! But anyway, if your horse-people won't listen, then I will! We can listen to each other!" Opening and closing his mouth, Astral was at a loss for words. With little to say, the boy managed our a meager, "Okay..." There was a pause, as well as the smallest upward quirk of his lips. "...and we're ponies, by the way." Terra giggled. "Ponies, horses, Equus caballus; they're from the same tree, Astral!" A hum sounded from her mouth. "Speaking of names...now that we're friends, I need to give you a nickname!" With a cross of her arms, Terra leaned from one side to the other, shutting her eyes in concentration. "Astral Dusk...Astraaaal...Aaas- nope. Nope, can't do that one!" Astral watched silently as Terra mumbled inaudibly to herself. A second later her eyes were shooting open and a dramatic gasp escaped her. Astral barely had enough time to react before Terra threw herself at him. He yelped, having nearly fallen backward if he hadn't caught himself with his hands. "Dusky!" she declared, her arms hugging Astral's neck. "Ellie, Sunny, and now Dusky! I say it works~!" While Astral could only assume the other names belonged to other friends of hers, something warm began filling his chest at the sound of his new nickname. Somehow, even if they had just met, there was something hopeful in it. Like the start of...something. Timidly, he wrapped one of his arms around the girl's back. "...yeah. Yeah, it does." ------------------------------------- The following week passed without a hitch. After their initial exploration, the two children spent most of their time with the adults in the group, who arranged various games and activities for the five of them to enjoy together (though Terra sulked as Twilight denied her request to try out the rock-climbing wall). There were paper lantern crafts and smores around the campfire. Terra's father, Timber 'Picasso-of-noodles' Spruce, even challenged everyone to a macaroni art contest, one that his artistic mother easily bested them all at. The more fun-filled days that passed, the more Astral began to feel a little at home. On the eighth day of the trip, some grown-up time between the three parents gave both Astral and Terra Rosa free time to use as they pleased. It was Timber Spruce's idea to throw together a scavenger hunt list for the children, to help them engage in teamwork while having fun. And Astral was having fun! ...before Terra pulled a disappearing act on him in the middle of the forest. "Terra...?" he nervously called out, moving in the direction she had run off in. When he was met with no answer, Astral continued to tread slowly and carefully, looking from side to side with growing worry. The paper in his hands crumpled as he unconsciously clutched it. A rustling of leaves above met his sensitive ears, quickly followed by the sight of an up-side-down Terra with her arms dangling downward. "Boo~" Astral stumbled back and dropped his paper, too shocked to even make a sound. He took in the full picture of Terra Rosa with her legs hooked over a tree branch that she freely hung off of above him. The equestrian gawked, not that Terra noticed. She giggled. "See, I dunno why mom won't let me try rock-climbing when I'm so good at-" "H-how are you even- Terra, that's dangerous!" Astral exclaimed in alarm, eyeing her human legs disbelievingly and truly taking in how long and bizarre they were. "Huh?" Terra blinked. Astral flinched as she swung herself up and pulled her whole body back onto the branch. Leaning over its edge, she shot him a bright smile. "Not if you know what you're doing!" "Aren't you scared up there?" "No way!" Crinkling her face to imitate a serious expression, she dropped her voice as low as a seven-year-old could muster. "I ain't scared of nothin'!" The expression cracked and with a snort, she laughed. "It's just some tree climbing, silly! Haven't you ever climbed..." Terra frowned. "Oh. Right. Horse." "Pony...and only those with gravity-defying magic could do something like that..." Astral sighed and crossed his arms nervously. "Can you um...come down? Please?" "Bah okaaay..." With speed and ease Astral couldn't comprehend, the girl made her way back to the ground and hopped up next to him. Playfully pouting, she crossed her own arms to mirror his. "Gee Dusky, for a kid you sure worry a lot!" "I just...wanna be careful." Teal eyes self-consciously lowered to the forest floor. "I don't want anything bad to happen." Terra's cheeks puffed out. "But you deserve to live a little! Try something new and scary sometimes!" Terra cheerily placed her hands behind her back and leaned forward to catch Astral's eye. "You might miss out on something really good if you let fear hold you back, y'know~? My dad says that sometimes!" "Maybe..." Astral looked up into the yellow leaves of Terra's tree, its branches dotted everywhere with clumps of golden berries. "What were you doing up there anyway?" "Oh! Dad put down "Harvest Gold Crabapples" on the list! Which, by the way, you can eat and they're suuuper sour and their seeds are a little poisonous like apple seeds so you shouldn't eat those- but as I was sayin'! I was tryin' to get some fresh ones instead of the ones on the ground!" Her lips pulled down. "...but I uh...forgot...when I went to surprise you...whoops." Confusion washed over Astral's face.. "...that's all? Why didn't you just buck it?" "...buck?" "You know, tree-bucking? Like..." Astral stepped up to the tree, analyzing the thickness of its trunk. Maybe he wasn't of the Apple family, but he was an earth pony, and tree-bucking was what all earth ponies were once known for aside from their connection to nature. Surely he could accomplish something so straight-forward. While he couldn't buck exactly like a pony in his current form, the boy simply opted to pull back his shoe and give one hard kick with all of his might. Seconds later Astral was rolling on the ground, hissing loudly as he held his leg. He could barely make out Terra's fussing beside him in his haze of pain. "Astral, why would you kick a TREE?!" she yelled with pure exasperation. Her hands hovered in front of her, as if unsure of what to do. "I-I know I said to live a little, but not that much!" "W-why are your human hooves so WEAK?!" Astral shouted back, cringing and groaning at the growing pain. "...you mean feet?" "Whatever they're called!" He forced himself to sit up, grumbling incoherent things as he pulled off his shoe and rubbed the aching limb. Terra crouched down next to him and rubbed his back comfortingly. "I dunno, but they're not meant for tree-kicking!" she firmly chided. The burning in his foot seemed to transfer to his face and ears. "I didn't know..." "Well it's okay!" Terra quickly added. She shone him a comforting smile. "Thanks for trying! It's the thought that counts, right?" After a few more moments of nursing his foot, the painful throbbing had died down enough for him to stand back up. When he did, he noticed Terra giving him a thoughtful look. "Um...what is it?" "You...really are a magical pony from another world, huh?" Astral winced. "I...don't have magic like my mom or our princess," he murmured, his voice taking on a more dejected tone than he meant. "But...yeah." Terra tapped her chin. "Have you ever wondered, liiiike...why you're a pony?" The girl was met with a blank, confused stare, and she proceeded to make various hand motions for her explanation, "Okay so, after my mom told me everything she knew about your dimension, me and my dad really sat down and were thinking about it! Like, why of all animals are ponies the main inhabitants of your world? You guys are basically like us but in different horse forms - and even though you guys have a ton of mythological creatures, there are regular ponies like you living normal lives, right? So we had this theory that..." She grabbed the boy by the shoulders, a serious glint entering her wide eyes."Maybe your ancestors were a bunch of magical horse-shaped aliens from space that tried to colonize the earth back when it only had mythological creatures. And then they just established their own society! ...were we close?" Silence fell between the two kids as Astral struggled to grasp a response. "I...I know a lot of our early history has been lost to time, but I'm pretty sure we just came from the ancient alicorns and..." he trailed off, taking a moment to think. "...where did the alicorns come from?" In a Terra-like fashion, the girl threw her arms up into the air. "See?! Totally possible!" "B-but I think it's still going a bit far to call us aliens!" Astral defended, fidgeting. "We're just...ponies. That's all." "Well that's possible too!" Terra agreed, throwing her arms behind her head. "Maybe you guys just happen to be talking horses! That's cool too!" "Right..." Astral mumbled. He could feel an uneasiness settling in his stomach, one that went unnoticed by Terra.  She twirled on her foot and headed towards a small pile of forest items she had set at the base of a tree. "Anyway, let's get this scavenger hunt back on the road!" The boy nodded, remaining wordless while he moved towards the paper he had dropped earlier. As he knelt down, he just barely caught himself as his preoccupied mind nearly had him lean forward to sink his teeth into the half-crumpled sheet. Stiffly, Astral quickly moved his hand towards it. Frustration soon bubbled up in him as he had to mentally give his hand the command to open his fingers and grab it. He followed Terra, watching her trek along with her usual energy. The boy glanced down at his own legs in comparison. He found himself dragging his feet and had to consciously lift his legs more to walk properly. 'I'm so...different from her.' The dissimilarities were beginning to add up in his mind. Terra was energetic and fearless. And he...was careful. Cautious. And so abnormal that he might as well have been a talking animal - an alien - in a human body in her eyes. His understanding of the world was so different from hers. The way he functioned in her world was so different from her. With how much he struggled to keep up with her- to keep up with adapting to her world - now more than ever did he wonder if he could possibly meet her half-way. 'If we're so different...will our friendship even last...?' ------------------------------------- "Come on, Dusky! We're almost there!" "Terra..." Astral began cautiously, letting the girl pull him along as they briskly moved through the trees. It was the day before the end of their camping trip. Above, the sky was just beginning to take on shades of yellow and orange. The sun was descending and they were supposed to be heading back to camp as promised. Terra, unsurprisingly at this point, had other plans. "Can't you tell me where-" "SHH, you'll see!" she grinned back at him, swinging their hands. "In three...two...now!" At the end of her countdown, Terra led him out of the brush and into a small clearing. Astral didn't have to ask to notice the one thing that stood out. Near the other end of the clearing was a large tree, one that towered over all the others in the surrounding area. Terra ran towards it, and with a jolt, Astral followed after her. "This is a cool tree, but..." Astral huffed, stopping to stand next to Terra. The girl tilted her head back in admiration. "Shouldn't we be getting back?" Terra rubbed her hands together, excitement lighting eyes. "Only after you get the best view of the sunset in your entire life!" "Wh-" Even after all their time spent together, Astral went bug-eyed as Terra grabbed onto the lowest branch available and pulled herself up. She held out her hand to him, beaming. "The sunset from the lake is cool and all, but man do you have to see it from up above! It's one of the best things ever!" she extended her hand out further. "Think of it as one last bang before you head home!" Astral bit his lip, glancing between Terra's glimmering eyes and her outstretched hand. Even with the private one-on-one tree-climbing lessons Terra had encouraged over the past few days, apprehension took hold of him. He looked up through the leaves and the way the trunk stretched into the sky. "And you're...sure this is okay?" "Sure it is! I've done this before!" she smiled reassuringly. "And you're almost as good at climbing as me now! We've totally got this!" It would be no surprise to anyone that the idea of letting either of them climb something so tall fed his concerns. Although...there was something in his friend's impassioned eyes, and her aura of confidence, that had some semblance of courage welling up inside of him. Astral mentally prepared himself and exhaled deeply. He firmly took hold of Terra's hand. "Alright..." Terra's grin widened and she helped guide Astral's hand so he could grab onto her current branch. Once he was secure, she pulled herself up to the next. "Just follow my lead, okay? Grab on real tight and get a good grip with your feet, just like we practiced! And watch your step! Oh, and don't look down!" Astral watched Terra continue her ascent. She moved quickly and eagerly. While he took his time following after her, he couldn't help pausing every so often to just observe her worriedly as she hurried to the next branch. 'It's fine...she's done this before...she's got this.' The boy wasn't sure how much time passed before he heard Terra gasp sharply. Astral's head snapped up in alarm. "W-what?!" "We're just in time!" she exclaimed giddily, gazing off into the distance. "Behold, Dusky!" Grunting and heaving himself up one more branch, Astral followed the girl's line of sight. And there, before him, stretched a wide expanse of blue sky above a sea of trees, one that faded beautifully into shades of pastel yellow and orange in the distance. The rolling clouds scattered were a blend of purple and gold while the light of the descending sun created rings of dappled light around the tops of the fall-colored trees, giving them an ethereal glow he had never seen before. The warmth of the sun felt gentle on his face, and as a cool autumn breeze brushed through his hair, Astral realized he had been holding his breath. "This is...incredible." he whispered, clutching the branch below him. Terra sighed from her seat above him, kicking her legs a little while leaning against the tree trunk. "Yeah..." she murmured back. "Thought you'd like it..." "I do..." he agreed. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the picture painted before him. There were no words to describe the mystical feeling he was experiencing. A certain confident voice rang in his mind as he soaked in the sight and the warm rays. '"You might miss out on something really good if you let fear hold you back, y'know~?"' A tender smile stretched across Astral's face. He let out a soft, breathy chuckle. "You were right...this is the best sunset I've ever seen." He laughed. "And a pony princess isn't even controlling it." Terra leaned forward on her branch to glance down at him, grinning. "Nature can be pretty magical even without actual magic, huh~?" Astral shifted, smiling gratefully up at the girl. "Yeah...it really-" CRACK Astral only had a few seconds to process the strange, crackling sounds of something tearing. His confusion gave way to a jolt of cold dread as the branch beneath him jerked. And suddenly, he was falling. For a split second, he was able to see Terra's face contort into one of sheer horror. "ASTR-!" ....... ..... .... ... Astral felt his senses returning to him. The first thing he processed was that he was lying face down on the ground, as still as a stone. There was a horrible aching all throughout his body, but his left arm had searing pain shooting through what felt like every nerve-ending. The second thing he processed was the distant sound of shouting, followed by thumping footsteps racing towards him. "Astral!" Terra Rosa threw herself on her knees beside him. As the darkness edging his vision faded, Astral realized his eyes were slowly opening. Shifting his irises, he was able to find Terra's red face bent over him. Her expression was filled with terror and panic as heavy tears relentlessly slipped down her face. "A-are you okay?!" her voice wobbled out. Reaching out towards him, Terra made an attempt to pull him up. But the action only caused pain to shoot up his left arm. He cried out, and Terra immediately drew her hands back. "My arm..." he hissed. He moved to push himself up with his opposite arm, straining the aching muscles there. However, the slightest movement brought him more shocks of pain, drawing whimpers out of him. Terra once again tried to steady him, holding him by a shoulder. "C-c'mon! We're gonna get you back, okay?!" She insisted, a tremor to her words. Pulling his decent arm around her shoulders, she attempted to help him up. But with every jolt of pain and the heaviness and soreness of his entire body, Astral found it difficult to cooperate enough to strand. "I can't..." he gasped. She knelt back down, allowing him a moment to catch his breath. Panic flooded the girl's face. "W-we have to go! It's gonna get dark soon!" "I can't." "Astral!" He gritted his teeth. "G-go without me. Get m-my mom, and I'll-" "I'M NOT LEAVING YOU HERE!" Astral turned his head to his friend, now realizing her tears were streaming down her face anew. He had expected to see her face twisted in anger, but instead, the most unbridled fear was there. It was in her red puffy eyes and the tremble of her shoulders. With heavy breaths she tightened her hold on him once more, using every ounce of her strength to heave him up. Though he let out another pained cry and tears gathered in his own eyes, he was able to stand on his two feet. "It's g-gonna-" she hiccuped, shifting one of her feet forward. "It's gonna b-be okay. I g-got y-you." The walk was slow with the way Astral dragged his feet, as though there was lead in his legs. Areas of his body stung and ached where his clothes rubbed, and it was a struggle to keep a pace that would keep his injured arm from triggering more ripples of pain. Terra had been wordless, her shuddery breaths and soft sniffling being all the noise drifting between them. The calming pastels of the sky above had given way to dark purples and reds as night slowly settled in. The remaining sun cast long, creeping shadows over the two as they followed a gravel stone path. Astral was sure he noticed Terra's breathing quicken. "Mom! Dad!" Terra cried out, desperation heavy in her voice. Astral couldn't tell if the approaching night had spurred her on, or if they were close enough to camp to gain someone's attention. Every few steps, she called out into the growing darkness. With every attempt, Astral could hear Terra choke on her own words. "MOM! DA-" "Terra?!" "Dad?! Daaad!" Terra wailed out, and in seconds, heavy footsteps rushed them. The light of a flashlight shone over them first, followed by Timber crouching in front of them frantically. "We've been looking all over for you two!" he exclaimed. It didn't take long for the man to analyze them, his expression growing serious. "What happened?" "He's hurt!" Terra fearfully yelled. "He fell from a tree!" Timber nodded, seemingly choosing to save any questions regarding the subject. "Let me tell your mothers that I found you..." The children waited as Timber whipped out his phone. After a few taps on its screen, he quietly spoke to someone on the other end. If he listened close enough, Astral could hear Twilight's voice as well as his mother's answering the man. Pocketing his phone, Terra's father proceeded to pick up and cradle the boy with as much care as possible. Despite this, Astral couldn't hold back a sharp whimper as his arm fell limply. Timber winced, murmuring a soft "hang on buddy..." before carrying him the rest of the way to camp. Almost the moment they exited the trees and light from the camp's main cabins came into view, Astral heard shouts in the distance. His mother was on him first when Timber placed him back down, just outside of the cafeteria. "Tell me where it hurts." she demanded, her face eerily serious and borderline anxious. The boy gingerly touched his left arm, and while she had only meant to inspect it, the feeling of Sunset's hand just barely holding his arm had Astral making a strangled noise. "It may be broken..." Twilight murmured nervously, joining her friend's side. Her expression grew grave. "How did this-" A shrill cry bombarded his hearing. Until then, Astral had felt like he was in a pain-induced haze. But the noise of Terra's hysterical sobbing, as well as the sight of her crouching in on herself and covering her eyes with her fists, jolted him like lightning. "I'm s-sor-" she barely choked out. Her words were cut off by her own sniveling and gasps for breath in between. "I'm s-so sor-sorry-y-" The sternness of her parents seemed to melt away, replaced by a shared concern in their exchanged glance. "Terra..." Twilight began softly, moving to kneel by her and rub her back. "Sweetie, please calm down." Terra shook her head wildly, her cries growing weaker and more muffled the more she curled into her knees. As Astral watched on helplessly, something within him painfully clenched. A realization was dawning on him; that even someone as strong and fearless as Terra Rosa could be terrified. And that...that was his fault. Astral shuffled forward. Despite hearing a quiet protest from his mother, he bit through his pain and crouched in front of his friend. "It's okay Terra..." he murmured gently to her. "It's...it's not your fault." Terra's red, tear-stained face lifted slightly to look at him. Her guilt-ridden expression only made him feel worse. "B-but..." With all eyes turned to him, Astral pressed his lips together. His resolve did not falter as he stumbled back to his feet. "We just...climbed a really tall tree. Together, to watch the sunset. And then my branch broke." He glanced down to his shoes, feeling his face burn from shame and guilt. He could already imagine his mother's disappointment and the scolding he'd most likely face. But no way was he going to let his new friend take the fall alone. Somehow, he could sense Terra's stare on his back. Twilight's sigh broke the short silence "...we can talk about this later. Right now, Astral needs medical attention." Both he and the older woman turned when Terra began to cough excessively between her sniveling. With a worried crease to his brow, Timber unzipped the backpack on his daughter's back and pulled out what Astral could assume was an inhaler. The man offered a comforting smile to the two onlookers. "Twi, you take them to the hospital." Timber's hand landed on Terra's back. "I'll stay here with 'Ter. I've got her covered." There was the slightest bit of hesitance as Twilight eyed her daughter. "...okay." Ms. Twilight stood and offered her best friend an apologetic look. With a sigh, Sunset wrapped an arm around her son. She took over as Astral's crutch as she followed the other woman to her car. ---- A number of hours had passed by the time Astral was released from the hospital, his left arm encased in a white full-arm cast and sling. Hearing the engine of the Spruce family car turn off was almost as great a relief as setting his feet back on the familiar campgrounds was. As he shut his passenger door, the boy found his eyes searching the area. He half expected to not find anything. It was far into the night, and surely Terra and her father would have gone to bed. He was proven wrong as the silhouettes of two shapes sitting together were faintly lit by the fairy lights decorating the gazebo. Both Timber Spruce and Terra had their backs facing the arriving group. When the soft shifting of grass alerted the duo of their approach, only Timber stood up to meet the three. "How'd it go?" he asked, looking between Twilight and Sunset. The latter exhaled deeply, running her fingers back through her hair. "His arm's fractured and he's pretty bruised up," Astral lifted his head, feeling his mother's hand rest on top of it. She gave him a tired, relieved look. "But as long as he rests, he'll be okay." "That's good..." Timber rubbed the back of his neck, averting his eyes regretfully. "I'm really sorry about this, Sunset. Terra told me the whole tree-climbing thing was her idea. She's usually pretty behaved, but I think she got the wrong idea in her head about 'trying new things'." "I should've known..." Twilight murmured solemnly, hugging her own arms. "We won't let this happen again, I promise. For Terra's sake and Astral's." "Is...she in trouble...?" Astral asked hesitantly, his shoulders tense. Sunset sighed, crossing her arms. "I'd say you both are. But we can save our discussion for when we get home tomorrow." While he ducked his head, Sunset's expression softened as she leaned down to his level "Right now, I'm just thankful to every alicorn that it was a broken arm and nothing else. Falling from a tree like that...could have ended so much worse." She cracked the smallest of smiles. "Guess you have some of your father's sturdy genes after all. Celestia knows nothing can take that gem-wall of a stallion down." Astral reflected her smile back. "How's Terra doing?" Twilight spoke up during a pause in the conversation. Timber looked over his shoulder sympathetically at the small form still sitting motionless on the other side of the gazebo. "She's pretty upset with herself. But she's calmed down, and her breathing's back to normal." Twilight seemed to relax at the news. "We talked for a while and I think she's learned her lesson. I know she still needs to be grounded, but..." "Can I talk to her?" "Ah!" Timber smiled warmly at Astral. "You know, Terra would probably appreciate that. She downright begged to stay up until you got back. Stubborn thing..." As he glimpsed at his mother for approval, Astral noticed that the way she was looking at him was oddly tender. Her head motion towards his new friend was all he needed for a go-ahead. Soon he was striding across the grass for the gazebo. He walked around the structure and towards its small stairs, where Terra sat at the top step. She was sitting with her arms wound tightly around her knees, and with her chin resting against them, she tiredly stared out at the lake in the distance. The closer he got to her, the more he could make out the tear lines on her face, and the sight had guilt rising back up within him. Taking a seat beside her, the girl noticeably tightened her posture. Dead silence. Astral waited to give her a chance to talk if she wanted to. When she didn't, he opted to start, albeit awkwardly. "It wasn't too bad. It's um, just a broken arm, and they said kids bones heal faster. So I'll be okay, okay? There's nothing to worry about." Terra softly shook her head, staring at the ground miserably. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to get you hurt. And now you're probably in trouble, too..." Astral shrugged, smiling. "I wanted to climb too, remember? And I think friends take the fall together." He cringed. "Probably not..the best way to word it, but you know what I mean." "...you still want to be friends?" "Huh?" the boy shot her a questioning look. "W-why wouldn't I?" Terra lifted her head off of her knees, her mismatched irises filled with dismay. "'Cause you were supposed to have fun here!! But now I've ruined your whole trip..." A few tears welled back up in her eyes and the girl quickly swiped them away. "I-I wouldn' blame you...if you didn't want to do anything with me anymore" "No way!" Once he had gained Terra's full attention, the boy drew in a deep breath. "This...this is the most fun I've ever had with anyone." Terra's eyes became impossibly wide. She stared at him as though he had lost a few brain cells with his fall. "But you fell from a tree!" she gestured wildly at him. "You broke your arm!" "Yeah, that sucked," he winced, more conscious of his cast. "And I'm uh, never doing something that crazy again...but the sunset and everything else before that was nice." Astral turned his body as much as he could towards Terra, giving her his brightest, sincerest smile. "There were so many fun things I got to do here, and lots that I got to learn about! Like rock-paper-scissors and writing with your hand and...climbing small trees." Terra remained silent and he paused, letting himself gather the thoughts that had been lingering in his mind for a while. He considered them for a moment, and before his friend, he allowed the weight of his thoughts to flow out freely. "I was really worried about coming here when my mom told me about the trip. I was afraid of being a human and doing human things I'd never done before." his single fist tightened in his lap, and he allowed it to excuse him from eye contact. "And I um... was afraid that we would be too different, and that talking to you would be like talking to the kids back home. But now I know that if I'd stayed scared, if I hadn't come here and if I hadn't tried talking to you about the things I liked, I wouldn't have had such a fun time or been able to do all the neat things I did! A-and I wouldn't have made a friend like you. So I'm...I'm glad I came here." "Dusky..." Astral chuckled lightly. "And now I think that maybe...having a lot of differences can be a good thing? Because that just means there's a whole slew of things we can learn from each other!" "...like with gems o-or flowers." While Astral appeared confused at first, Terra managed a laugh and wiped her eyes again. "'C-cause there's lots of different kinds, and there's always something new to share about them, right?" "Ah! Yeah!" Astral sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "But I guess...other than that, I've probably learned more from you than you have from me-" "Huh?!" Terra threw her hands flat on the wooden floor of the gazebo, just to lean in close and gawk at him incredulously. "Are you kidding me?! You taught me about princesses that control the night and day, and a pony race that shakes the fall leaves off your trees, and magical gems so powerful they can open a portal to another world!" Her brows narrowed back. "Your world sounds so cool, Astral. I was afraid you'd think this place wasn't as awesome as yours, and then you wouldn't want to come back... t-that's why I wanted you to have the best time and think this place was just as nice!" "...and that's why you wanted to show me so much." Astral murmured in conclusion. He couldn't help a short laugh. "And I was worried you thought my world was weird." "No! Never!" she asserted, giving him the most serious face she could pull. "Well if it helps...I do want to visit again. So I can learn more about this dimension, and so I can see you if that's o-" "YES, please!" Terra answered excitedly, her eyes much like the lake reflecting the stars. Astral couldn't help but grin at the sight of his friend's spirits returning. "But promise me we won't climb a giant tree again?" he joked. "Y-yeah, promise..." Terra hugged her legs close to her once more. "Dad said there's a difference between being adventurous and doing something risky. So I'll be more careful." She half-heartedly pouted. "He also said I'm not allowed to climb another tree for...'til college." "Sounds fair to me." Astral gently teased, laughing as Terra lightly jabbed at his good arm. After giving him her tightest squint, her face broke out into a grin. "Oh hey!" After some form of realization, Terra eagerly held out her left hand, curling every finger of hers except her smallest. "Why don't we promise on it! A pinkie promise!" Astral tipped his head curiously, looking down at his right hand to copy her. "'Pinkie' like...Pinkie Pie?" His stare became vacant. "...should I be worried?" "Nah silly! 'Pinkie' like your pinkie finger!" She wiggled the digit. "They always make pinkie promises all dramatic on TV, and I dunno why it's even a thing, but hey! It's a new human thing you can try!" Terra reached out with her free hand to hold up Astral's before linking their pinkies together. "So if I promise to be more careful, you gotta promise me you'll come back for sure!" Smiling, Astral squeezed her pinkie back with his. "Okay. I promise." "Good! You better!" Terra beamed and pulled away to lean back on her hands, happily kicking out her legs over the stair steps. "Hope you're ready Dusky, 'cause once someone's my friend, you can bet I'm their friend no matter what! Even if we're standing in two different dimensions we're friends! Got it~?" 'No matter what...' Astral let those words sink deep into him, unsure just how obvious his newfound elation was. He joined his friend in looking out into the starry sky, stretched out as far as the eye could see. Smiling more to himself than anything, his soft murmur joined the calming atmosphere around them. "Yeah...I'd like that."

___________________________________________________

And from then on, Terra and Astral found a lifelong friend in one another (more to be seen of that in an upcoming art dump!)

#eqg #equestria girls #Sunset Shimmer #Twilight Sparkle #scitwi #mlp #mlp art #mlp oc #My Little Pony #astral dusk #terra rosa #destinyverse #story

[jeonsdear]

It’s you - (IX)

↬ Parts:  I , II, III, IV, V , VI, VII, VIII, X, XI

↬ Pairing: Jeon Jungkook x Reader (oc: female)

↬ Genre: college!au, noona!reader, soulmate!au, fluff, angst, smut

↬ Rating: sfw

↬ Warnings: salvia (lol)

↬ Accompanying song:  HENRY 헨리 ‘It’s You’ (Live Ver.) (check out the                                    spotify version too!)

↬ Chapter Summary: 

Jungkook couldn’t help but to throw his friends a panicked look and his panic only grew as Yoongi’s face was plastered by a shit-eating grin.

“Y/n! We were just about to play a game in one of the rooms back there. Grab some bottles of beer, will you?“

↬ Notes: Hey! Here’s the 9h part. Hope you enjoy, loves. Also, have you seen the fake love comback stages? I’m shook. Goodbye wow. Also do the roman numbers confuse you or is it okay?  ♡ And please let me know what you think, that’s a great motivation for writing - and I love talking to you.  Likes and especially reblogs are always appreciated ♡     —  Read this part on AO3 if that’s easier for you —  English isn’t my first language so excuse any mistakes  —  I track jeonsdear fanfiction (follow the tag for updates)

↬ Word Count: 3.0 K

When you are not fed love on a silver spoon you learn to lick it off knives.

Starting your senior year at college you promised yourself to make the most of it. But after watching your best friend taking her boyfriend Jungkook for granted and your own soulmate drowning in despair, you find yourself caught in a web of lies and heartbreak. How can you believe in love when the one destined for you doesn’t want you?

read my stories here request imagines, reactions and text messages here find me on archive of our own here

You could feel Jungkook’s glare from across the room. The tall boy leaning against the dark walls of Professor Lee’s office seemed to try burning holes into the side of your head. But you ignored his irritated huffs and instead focused on the insane plan Mr. Lee so enthusiastically rambled on about.

“You are going to dress up nicely. Mingle with the people and Mr. Jeon should use his charms for future connections. Miss y/s/n, you are a senior, everybody is going to expect you to set your foot properly into politics about now anyway.“

“And what about my charm?“

“What charm?“, piped up the annoyed voice from across the room. Your eyes shot daggers at Junkook, already deciding you wouldn’t share your favourite blanket with him tonight.

“Use your charm as well, Miss.“

“With all due respect, Professor. I don’t see how this is going to get us any kind of information about a possible soulmate archive.“

Ever since you had agreed to the old man’s plan, you knew why you were doing it. Essentially to protect Jungkook from his own stupidity. You still thought sneaking your way into politics would be no use.

“And I don’t understand why you involved Y/n in this, Professor.“

Mr. Lee let heaved a long sigh and rubbed the bridge of his nose that was decorated with the imprints of his round glasses.

“Because Miss y/s/n is a well-known figure in local politics already. “

“Don’t you think I should be involved when you decide to find out my soulmate’s identity?“

Crossing your arms over your chest you turned your body to Jungkook as he took two steps towards you.

“Besides, who gave you the right to dig into my business?“

Jungkook quite audibly growled at you and a guarded expression took over his face.

“The right of being your best friend. I have to live with your sorry ass every day. And just because you are not questioning the system doesn’t mean I don’t. “

“I didn’t force you to live with my sorry ass. You can move out anytime.“

Jungkook had the audacity to roll his eyes at you before he turned towards the old man who had watched the scene with interest while taking notes.

“She doesn’t even want to find out the truth. I’m sure we can find someone else with…connections.“

You stretched your arm to pinch the skin around his elbow.

“And who is supposed to protect you? You’re most likely going to get yourself evicted because of sticking your stupidly cute nose in business people get killed for.“

You didn’t expect his deep belly laugh and even Mr. Lee had his eyebrows raised at his student when he doubled over from laughing.

“Protecting me? You're a girl.“

The old man shot you an excusing look but you had had enough. You didn’t even fully understand his anger, but arguing with a sexist phrase wasn’t something you were willing to accept.

“Well, this girl is going to make sure you’re not drowning in an unfamiliar environment, and this girl is sleeping on the couch tonight.“

You grabbed the bag hanging over the rest of a very old velvety chair and threw it over your shoulder.

“I have a 5 thousand words essay to write, goodbye Professor Lee.“

The man only held up one of his hands and watched you storm out of his office.

The stupidity of men was visible in every generation, he mused as he watched his male student huff in annoyance.

At first he had tried to keep it a secret from Jungkook. The reason why he had brought you into the team at first didn’t seem too important and easy to disguise. But somewhere along the lines he had realized that his explanation of your presence had too many loopholes. So fearing his true attention with this project might be discovered, ruining all the work he had done so far, he had stuck with the surface truth of his motivations to bring you into the team.

And really, observing the two young people in a natural environment had proven to be extremely beneficial.

So with a small smile he stood up from the chair that was about to wreck his bad back forever, and motioned for Jungkook to leave.

“I know you have an evening class, Jungkook. You should go before you’re too late.“

And with a small bow Jungkook left.

 --

 It was quarter past 1 in the morning when you realized that you didn’t have to sleep on the sofa because Jungkook still hadn’t come home.

While a defeated sigh you shut off your laptop and rubbed your temples. You hadn’t meant what you said about sleeping on the sofa. Not only because you hadn’t had nightmares since sharing a bed with Jungkook, but because you adored falling asleep next to him. It just felt right. And you tried not to dwell on that too much.

But there was still Yeonseo, and as you stood up from the spot on the floor you had sat on you realized that that was where he probably was staying for the night.

You knew the coil in your stomach was jealousy. Not exclusively jealousy, but you had developed a certain kind of possessiveness towards your best friend. You had grown so close that it was only naturally to fear his loss.  And that was the threat his girlfriend embodied.

At least that was what you’ve been telling yourself.

Without thinking about it, you picked up your phone to check whether you had any messages from him.

You didn’t.

For a hot second you thought about calling him but you growled in frustration at your hideousness. You had no right to demand him to be home and you sure as well weren’t a baby who needed their stuffed animal to sleep.

Despite your affirmations you didn’t sleep that night.

 --

 Over the course of the next week a new kind of tension found its peak between you two.

Jungkook’s grunts filled the gym as he worked his already sore back muscles. But the burn in his muscles overshadowed the burn in his heart and the irritation coursing through his veins. Apparently his soulmate was in a similar mood to him, making the fire inside him ten times worse.

So he tried working it out. With heavy weights and sweat coating his entire body. A few days ago he had tried letting some steam off through rough sex, but somehow it had left him even more aggravated.

He was pissed at himself and he didn’t even know why. But he can’t get the hurt in your eyes out of his head when he came home in the morning after a night at his girlfriend’s.

God, he felt dirty. Dirty and frustrated.

So when his hyung’s had suggested going to that terrible frat party, he had jumped on the chance to get you off his mind.

He realized that that was a hopeless wish when he walked into the crowed livingroom full of drunk college students just to spy you sitting on his classmate's lap.

What the hell.

You were dressed in a short skirt paired with knee-high boots and a red blouse. You looked absolutely gorgeous, but that didn’t make that boy’s hands on your thigh acceptable.

Jimin followed Jungkook’s eyes and he grabbed his sleeve to keep him from storming away.

“Don’t.“

“Let go of me, Hyung.“

“So you can rip her off that dude’s lap? She’s been looking at you with daggers in her eyes the whole week. She’s going to kill you. What the hell have you done?“

Jungkook growled and ripped his arm from his friend’s hold.

“Nothing.“

He felt Yoongi’s hand on his shoulder and his deep voice filled his ear when he moved his head closer to his.

“You two have been dancing around each other for weeks now. Fuck it out.“

“Yoongi!“

Taehyung sounded absolutely horrified and Jungkook was sure his face showcased the same emotion.

“He isn’t wrong.“, Jimin chuckled as he shrugged his shoulders and caught your eyes from across the room. A smirk played on his lips as he watched you making your way towards him and his friends. Jungkook, oblivious to your approach, rolled his eyes and huffed.

“Don’t even dare think this, Yoongi.“

“Think what?“, your sweet voice peeped up and the boys all turned around.

Jungkook couldn’t help but to throw his friends a panicked look and his panic only grew as Yoongi’s face was plastered by a shit-eating grin.

“Y/n! We were just about to play a game in one of the rooms back there. Grab some bottles of beer, will you?“

You raised your eyebrows at the older boy before throwing Jungkook a questioning look when you saw him squirm.

“Uhm Hyung, what game?“

“The kissing game. Collect some of your friends as well.“

It was almost comically how both your’s and Jungkook’s eyes simultaneously widened in presentiment and Jimin had to keep from laughing when his friend’s hand automatically found yours and suddenly all the anger between you two was forgotten when your eyes met in mutual understanding.

Yoongi apparently picked up on his friend’s intentions as well and before anyone could run away he had you both pushing towards the room he had been talking about earlier.

You struggled against his hold but it was no use – 7 minutes later you were sat in a circle on the floor with Jungkook’s friend and some of yours. The girls were buzzing in the prospect of getting to kiss the boys and especially your friend Sunghee couldn’t keep her eyes off Seokjin. You watched as he winked at her and almost scoffed as she turned bright red. You elbowed him into the side before throwing him a warning glance, but he only smirked.

Jungkook sat across from you and you could feel his eyes on you. You knew exactly how this would end and so did he. So why were his eyes glistening with anticipation?

“What game exactly are we playing?“, one of the girls piped up while handing around the bottles of beer. You wrapped your fingers around the cold beverage but otherwise didn’t bother to open it.

“Too hot.“, Yoongi said. “Do you all know the rules?“

He was met with collective head shaking so he started to explain: “We will let a bottle decide the couples. This couple has to kiss without stopping or touching each other. The one who touches the other first, loses. The winner?“, he smirked before continuing, “gets to do whatever he wants to the loser and get’s to exit the game. If not, the winner gets to play against the other winners. Resulting in one person winning.“

Yoongi made sure everyone understood the rules before he chuckled mischievously and added “Make it as steamy as possible. This is about being the best kisser in this group.“

“Fuck, I hope I get Jungkook. I’ve heard he’s fun to kiss.“, a girl whispered and another one giggled.

“I might lose willingly if that means I can touch those abs.“

Your low growl shut them up and you were busy killing Yoongi in your imagination. You were positive you were about to win this game, knowing there wasn’t a single guy you’d really enjoy kissing beside Jungkook. And the universe couldn’t possibly be that cruel, right?

But then again, one of these girls would get to kiss him and the thought alone made you angry.

“But some of us aren’t single.“, you randomly threw into the conversation and all eyes laid on you as you were being a party bummer.

“She won’t mind.“, Jungkook’s voice cut in and his eyes were challenging when you frowned at him.

You really, really didn’t want him kissing anyone but you.

“Alright then let’s get started!“

Yoongi laid a bottle in the circle and looked up. “Let’s see who the first players are.“

 The bottle took four spins to land on you.

Your eyes were trained on the spinning bottle and the only noise came from Jimin who was distinctively murmuring Jungkook’s name. In the corner of your eyes you saw Yoongi leaning forward in anticipation and suddenly the room erupted in yells and laughter.

The universe, in fact, was cruel.

You didn’t even have to look up to know the bottle had landed on Jungkook but when you did, his eyes were widened in shock. Yoongi silenced the room as he smirked at you two before motioning to get it on.

“Are you gonna go through with it, Jungkookie?“

Taehyung’s words ripped him out of his thoughts and a certain kind of want took over his mind and body. Here was the truth: He wanted to kiss you. God, he had been dreaming about it for a while now. But when would he ever be able to get a taste without any consequences? This game was perfect to explore forbidden waters and he was planning on winning this one. He was damned if he didn’t manage to make you want him for once. But when he searched your eyes in consent he noticed the longing in them and his eyes dropped down to where you bit your lip.

“If y/n is okay with it.“, he said with a voice dropping lower in excitement.

You only nodded slowly before clearing your throat and sitting up upright, faking confidence.

“Sure.“, you said nonchalantly, but your emotions were running havoc. While you were dreading kissing Jungkook you were also longing to kiss him. And if his eyes were anything to go by, so did he.

You both looked around before shuffling towards each other while the others moved backwards to give you enough space.

You gulped as you felt Jungkook’s hand on your thighs pulling you closer to him, a light smile playing on his lips as he noticed how nervous you were. Then he placed his hands on either side of your legs, making sure he wasn’t touching you.

“Noona?“

He wet his lips with the tip of his tongue.

“Hm?“

“Have fun losing.“

The start of your protest was cut short when he moved his face close to yours and his dark doe eyes starred into yours. He was so close you could count his thick eyelashes and his breath fanned over your slightly opened lips. You gulped as Jungkook’s eyes fluttered shut and then you felt his plush lips brush gently over your own. Your eyes closed at the unfamiliar contact and your whole body shivered at the softness of his lips as he increased the pressure.

Since there was no time limit, Jungkook made sure to savour the moment of feeling your lips against his for the very first time. And he loved it. He loved it way too much. Your shaky breath had him moving again, placing another soft kiss against the swell of your lips before catching your lower lip between his teeth and slightly pulling at it. Then he caressed the abused lip with his tongue and suddenly you sprung into action, biting his lip and whispering his name before forcing his lips apart with your tongue.

The low whine that filled the room was unmistakenly male and both of you tilted your heads to deepen the kiss. What had started off as a careful and testing kiss, turned into a passionate one as your tongues battled for dominance. Your hands twitched at your sides, longing to bury themselves into his soft hair, but you wanted him to lose. You wanted him to moan. Just once you wanted him to moan your name, and not Yeonseo’s.

So you let go of your reservation and you kissed him how you had wanted to for a very long time. It wasn’t just lust but affection. And you wanted to him to feel it. But somewhere in that was also anger and the whole irritation you both had felt for the last week.

Your breaths were ragged and uneven as Jungkook leaned even closer to you. He felt like his head was swimming, he wanted to swallow you, taste you, mould together. A mewl escaped you as you pulled at his bottom lip, struggling with keeping your hands to yourself and your body flooded with heat as you finally heard his high-pitched moan.

Jungkook felt way too hot in his skin and it bordered on torture keeping his hands to himself. He wanted them all over your body. In your hair, on your waist, everywhere.

“Oh fuck.“, he murmured in realization and somewhere someone in the room laughed amused at the pained exclamation.

He didn’t stop kissing you. Even during his breathy moans and whispers, your lips kept on moving together and he could have sworn his heart was about to burst with all these emotions. He felt overwhelmed as if he could feel your emotions as well. He imagined he could feel the goosebumps on your skin as he sucked your tongue into his mouth, taking over the kiss. He didn’t want to stop kissing you, oh no, but he wanted to take this to somewhere else. With fewer eyes prying on you two.

And he was determined to win.

So he put all the dominance he had in his bones into the kiss and could feel you melt into him. And suddenly he felt your fingers in his hair and your body pressed against his and he was about to laugh in triumph when he realized that his hands were already grabbing your waist.

Coming up for air, you two starred at each other, slowly blinking away the daze and realizing that the only one chuckling was Yoongi. Jungkook couldn’t tear his eyes away from yours and just in that moment he realized what you two were doing here. But he couldn’t find it in himself to care. Neither of you could blame alcohol for the want in your eyes and you knew it. This wasn’t solely physical either, Jungkook realized, as your fingers drifted from his hair sidewards to caress his cheeks. The grip on your waist tightened as he almost purred under your caress, eyes fluttering shut before they bore down into yours once again.

“I guess you both lost.“, Yoongi teased with amusement latched in his voice as the air was pregnant with astonishment.

“No, Hyung, I think both won.“

Complications.

You have won tons more of complications.

#btscreatorsnet #armiesnet #networkbangtan #bts imagines #jungkook imagines #jeon jungkook imagines #bangtan imagines #kpop imagines #bts #bangtan #jungkook #jeon jungkook #bts soulmate au #jungkook soulmate au #bts college au #jungkook college au #bts fluff #bts angst #jungkook fluff #jungkook angst #party games #bts writings #writings #jungkook writins #mine #jeonsdear fanfiction

[theclaravoyant]

She... plays softball. Plays for the other team, as it were.

a Skimmons Coffee Shop AU, ft. happily platonic FitzSimmons, and ever-helpful gayngel & captain shipper Bobbi Morse

taking a leaf from the wonderful @the-nerdy-stjarna’s book to re-release an old fic with a new banner for @aosadvent2017 prompt “food”. I love Coffee Shop AUs, I have one for every occasion, but this one seemed especially fitting as I wrote the fic itself for last year’s @skimmonssecretsanta.

Rated G/T. ~3600wd. the original fic post is here, you can read it on AO3 here, or below. Enjoy!

-

Swinging my way, Baby?

It was a Tuesday afternoon, when it had first happened.

A Tuesday, around 3:30 in the afternoon. When recounting later, she was unable to consistently say what month, let alone what date, because it had begun just like every other Tuesday, and had continued much the same, save for a moment of lightning in the middle.

Jemma Simmons, aspiring PhD, was meeting up with Fitz for Chem study, just like every other Tuesday afternoon. She wasn’t running late, because she never did, but surprisingly, Fitz was already there, and talking to another girl. A girl whose face Jemma had memorised from across the classroom, but had never seen up close like this before. A girl whose name she probably knew, but couldn’t pick out of a lineup, for all the face was familiar to her. A girl with sharp black eyes, a quick smile, and a tank top bearing shoulders that made Jemma’s knees quake.

With considerably less smoothness and dignity than she might have liked, Jemma feigned indifference to Fitz’ visitor. She took her usual seat at the large library table and began separating out her books and notes with precision. Still, she couldn’t help peeking every now and then, up at where Fitz and his friend were talking. Her hair was short, about shoulder length, and flared about her face, bouncing as she spoke or animatedly responded. Her bag was slung over one shoulder, and one of Jemma’s covert glances caught her hitching the bag up, causing the muscles of her shoulder to ripple. Jemma’s face flushed at that, and she buried her nose in her books until Fitz and the girl parted ways and he came to sit down.

“Sorry I’m late,” he greeted, scooting his chair in and scrabbling to pull his notes and books out of his bag to catch up with Jemma.

“It’s no problem.” It was a nice view. Jemma bit her lip, and instead tried, with a casualness that was on second thoughts, too forced to have been worth the pretence, asked, “who was that?”

“Who?” Fitz glanced over his shoulder. “Oh, Daisy. Yeah. Daisy Johnson, you know, she’s in Computing with me. She was just after some help with a Physics assignment.”

“Oh. So. She’s not – I mean…You don’t…like her?”

Fitz laughed.

“I used to have a crush on her, actually,” he explained, amused by the memory. “We almost went to the middle-school dance together. ‘Cept turns out she, you know, plays softball.”

“Softball! Of course!” Just in time, she stopped herself from commenting on how those arms would be wasted on anything else. But still, Fitz shook his head.

“No, I mean – well, yes, she does play softball. And football, actually. But I mean she, you know. Plays softball. Plays for the other team, as it were.“

“Oh. Right. Right. Yes. I’m with you now. I follow. I – yes.”

Smooth, Jemma. She stuck her nose into the nearest book and hoped she wasn’t sweating as profusely as it was starting to feel like she was.

And then it happened. The bolt of lightning. The realisation that she might, in all honesty, have an iota of a chance. It was like flicking a switch, turning a fleeting fantasy into a blooming, consuming desire in the blink of an eye. Situational affection? A mind-boggling if temporary crush? Or cupid’s arrow through her heart, turning everything Daisy into diamonds in an effort to lure Jemma into a love story for the ages? Not knowing was half the fun of it. And more than half the terror.

“Why do you ask?” Fitz wondered after a moment. “Do you like her?”

Jemma fidgeted in her seat.

“I was just thinking about trying out myself,” she said, as smooth a derailment as she could hope for under the circumstances. “For softball, I mean.”

Fitz snorted. “I’d like to see that.”

Jemma slapped her pen onto the desk.

“I totally could!”

“I’m sure you could! I just don’t think it’s your style. Hideous uniforms, pointless running around in circles, lots of sweating and effort for no discernable reason –“

“Except fitness! And – and fun! And teamwork! And competition, you know I love competition –“

Soon enough the argument shifted away from Daisy, and even from softball, and onto the two of them challenging each other’s sporting abilities and willingness to suffer hard work and dirt. Jemma’s crush didn’t fade though. It only took a back seat. For a few hours, she even had herself convinced that she should indeed pick up a bat and try out.

Eventually, of course – and for which Jemma was eternally grateful - the heady optimism of inspiration faded and she realised that she had neither the skill, nor the money, nor even the desire to try out for softball, or any other kind of sport really. She would never be able to maintain it, if nothing else. Plus, her running around getting sweaty and failing at everything was, to say the least, not nearly as alluring as she would like to come across. Instead, after a few days of denial and indecision, she picked herself up and sought out Carter’s, the café where most of the campus’s sports and arts – and queer – communities were reputed to hang out. Being a hard science student who spent most of her time across campus these days, Jemma had not been to Carter’s for some time. It was not as she remembered it, and as she walked in, a combination of nerves, surprise and marvel took her breath away.

Only a few steps through the door, Jemma’s purposeful stride faded into a slow turn, like a young woman in a film arriving in The Big City. She stared so wide and for so long she felt like a freshman. She probably looked like one too, but she couldn’t help it. The place was decked out like a 1950s milkshake bar or diner, right down to the stools at the lunch bar, juke box in the corner, and musk-candy colour scheme of pink and green. Not to mention, the pillbox hats and matching collared uniforms that the feminist in Jemma was a little ashamed to admit, made her heart flutter. It felt like she had stepped back in time, or at least into one of those handcrafted, overly perfect horror-movie villages in Florida where nothing was ever as it seemed.

A chill ran down her spine at the sudden expectation that something might jump out at her. Nothing did, but she was unceremoniously dropped out of her timeless bubble and into a world where she should, by all accounts, order something or sit down. One look at the tall, muscled blonde behind the counter, making fiercely cheerful eye contact with her latest customer and smiling that familiar smile, told Jemma she was not up for that yet. So she sat, simply grabbing for the nearest empty table and pulling out her notebook and anatomy textbook. She’d come in here to eat – or at least, that’s what she had been planning to tell anyone who asked – but there was always work to be done.

Soon enough, in fact, she was so absorbed in her readings that she didn’t even notice the true reason for her presence there slip in through the door.

Daisy Johnson.

-

Carter’s had been a staple of Daisy’s college life. Situated between the gym and the theatre, it was where some of the most interesting people gathered, and where many of the girls on her team – both literally, and euphemistically – worked and hung out. Being near the theatre as it was, and relatively near the food and design schools, Carter’s tended to go through renovations a lot. Its latest incarnation resembled a 1950s diner and aside from its renewal of her love for Back to the Future, Daisy didn’t care for it all that much. She was hoping for something more outrageous next, like a Wild West saloon, or some kind of situation in which everybody wore rollerblades. But for now, at least the food was good and the milkshakes – and the uniforms, of course – were widely celebrated.

“Lookin’ good, Bobbi,” Daisy greeted, as she dropped into the stool nearest the cash register. Barbara was today’s resident supervisor’s intensely loathed full name, and in the spirit of the vintage theme under which she currently worked, she had easily heard it more times in the past three months than in the three years before that. Even so, Daisy had to bite her lip to stop herself bringing it up for a laugh. Bobbi glared, and Daisy beamed innocently and ducked her head below the counter for a moment, trying to reach simultaneously for her purse, and for the pastries under the cover beside the register.

Bobbi rolled her eyes good-naturedly, and lifted the cover for Daisy’s blindly reaching hand.

“Pink or sprinkles?” Bobbi asked.

“Surprise me.”

Bobbi handed Daisy a pink one with rainbow sprinkles, just as Daisy’s head reappeared over the counter. Her eyes widened at Bobbi’s selection and she took a large bite, humming in satisfaction through the mouthful of donut.

“Ah, you know just how I like it.”

Bobbi eyed her with an exaggerated expression of disgust as Daisy fished out coins from her purse, the donut now dangling from her mouth where she had sunk her teeth into it in order to free up her hands.

“Not if you like it like that, I don’t,” Bobbi remarked.

“Shut up.”

Daisy took the donut out of her mouth and added a coffee to her order, but as she did so, looked over her shoulder. It had just now clicked in her brain that she had recognised somebody when she’d come in. Somebody who didn’t usually come here, and who fit in a little too well, with her A-line skirt and pastel colours, and the way she kept twirling her fingers in her stray lock of hair.

“Oh my god.”

Daisy swung back around to the counter and ducked, wishing she had a menu or something to cover her face, though that hardly would have been less conspicuous. Blushing furiously, Daisy tried to recover by taking a sip of her coffee, and burnt her tongue instead. She cursed herself as Bobbi asked, inevitably,

“Who’s that?”

“A girl. Just a girl. No biggie.” Coffee, coffee. Ouch! Damn it.

“No biggie because she barely reaches my elbow?” Bobbi speculated. “Or no biggie in the lesser known, ‘if I hide behind this menu and she never sees me I’ll never have to confront my feelings,’ sense of ‘no biggie.’”

Daisy sighed.

“Ah, I really hope you become a fully fledged bartender one day,” she said, resignation in her tone. “Your talents are wasted here.”

Bobbi pouted, and reached for a towel just so that she could brush it across the counter and lean on it dramatically.

“So this girl, huh?” she inquired.

Daisy sighed again. Feelings confrontation time. “Her name is Jemma, she’s in my Physics class.“

“You take Physics?”

“Yes. What did you think I was taking?”

“The Science of Harry Potter?” Bobbi suggested. Daisy glared.

“Don’t even joke about that. I would kill.”

Bobbi smiled, and prompted: “So, Physics.”

“So Physics. Anyway. She’s there and she’s pretty and, well, I thought that was the end of the story…“

“Buuuuut…“

“Iiiiiiif you’d let me finish….but see, I’d thought she was with Fitz. I’d just assumed. Only, I mentioned something about it - y’know, them – to him today and I’m pretty sure he’ll still be laughing at graduation. They’re just friends! So totally friends! Kinda weirdly close friends, but still!”

“So why the long face?”

“I got my hopes up for a bit. But then I remembered. Jemma’s had certified boyfriends. Milton, Will. So I’m back where I started. At least I was. Til just now. And she’s here. I mean…do you think she knows? About this place?”

Daisy raked her hands through her hair, anxious, only to find Bobbi smirking, a mischievous glint of victory in her eyes.

“Oh, sweetie, she knows,” Bobbi assured Daisy. “And as for that ‘certified boyfriends’ thing…she’s had certified girlfriends too.”

Daisy’s eyes narrowed.

“Me!” Bobbi confirmed, with a flourish. “She’s a bit of a Bambi but don’t be fooled. That girl can go.”

“So what happened with you two?” Daisy wondered. Bobbi shrugged, her expression softening.

“We were both high achievers,” she explained, “and both in the same field. Competing for attention, grants, grades… Neither of us wanted to compromise and well, too much competition stops being fun. It put a strain on us and luckily, we stepped out before we snapped. No hard feelings. Some that suck, of course, but we don’t hate each other, so that’s a plus.”

“Hmph.” Daisy’s shoulders slumped, and she resumed picking at her donut, pensive and somewhat put out.

“Hmph?” Bobbi repeated, curious.

“Well, Jemma’s still a high achiever. She probably wouldn’t have time for me anyway. It’s just going to collapse, it’s not – Never mind, I’ll just get over it.”

Bobbi shook her head, made a note on a cup, and passed it to the coffee girl without taking her eyes off Daisy for more than a moment.

“There’s only one way to know for sure,” she insisted. Daisy moped, but Bobbi slapped down an apricot danish in a napkin and drew her attention.

“Ask. The girl. Out,” Bobbi commanded. “Bring her something, make her laugh, get a conversation going. Come on, Daisy, I don’t have to coach you.”

“I don’t even know what she likes!” Daisy whined, though her defenses were falling left right and centre. “I could get her an Americano, that’s what I have- but then, what does that say about what I think about her? Or me? Cheap, basic, unoriginal. Great. But then if I get her something else, something fancier, she might not like it, or she could be allergic. Or tea? Maybe she likes tea. I mean she’s English, they must like tea right? No, that’s ridiculous. Not all English people like tea. So what then?”

Daisy met Bobbi’s eyes, desperate.

“As the ex, it is my duty to let you work all this out on your own, young Padawan,” Bobbi informed her sagely. But before Daisy could give up, Bobbi received her secret order from the coffee girl and pushed it across the counter to Daisy, alongside the apricot danish. Bobbi met her confused glance with a wink, and added: “As your best friend, it’s my duty to wingman you to the best of my ability. It’s a fine line.”

“You’re fantastic. I love you.”

“Ah, save it for Bambi!” Bobbi shooed Daisy away from the counter and Daisy went, gleefully, singing in her head, over to Jemma’s table. She had a moment to take in the dusky pinks and browns of Jemma’s outfit, and the way the light seemed to fall softer on her, and then Jemma looked up.

“I’m sorry,” she said, “can I help you?”

And just like that, the moment was gone, evaporated by the sudden grip of panic.

-

Jemma looked up, and she could have sworn her heart skipped a beat. Here was Daisy, so close her eyes were sparkling, and with an absent smile on her face like she didn’t have to think about it. And with an apricot danish in one hand, and what appeared to be a chai latte – though the label was partially covered – in the other. Jemma’s stomach rumbled. It was like a vision from the gods.

“I – I’m sorry,” she stammered, snapping herself out of her distraction. “Ah, can I help you?”

“Um. Yes. Maybe.” Don’t look at Bobbi, don’t look at Bobbi. It had been far too long since she’d had a proper date, especially with someone like Jemma. And even though Bobbi had promised, Daisy still wasn’t sure…

“I was wondering…”

Make her laugh.

“Did you swallow a magnet?”

Jemma blinked. “What?”

“Did you swallow a magnet?” Daisy repeated, her mouth bone-dry all of a sudden. “Because…you’re attractive.”

Jemma snorted. “That’s terrible.”

“I know,” Daisy groaned.

“No, I love it!”

“Really? Because I’ve got plenty more.” Daisy cleared her throat and leaned into the cheese, listing off pick-up lines in a variety of voices as she slid into the seat next to Jemma’s. “’Baby, I’ve got my ion you.’ ‘What’s your sine?’ ‘Are you full of berillium, gold and titanium? Because you are B-E-A-U-Ti-ful.’”

Jemma snorted again and curled up, giggling.

“Ten points for delivery,” she awarded.

“Oh! Speaking of delivery, these are for you.” Daisy pushed the gifts across the table, and Jemma bet into the danish with relish.

“Thank you, my favourite!”

“I had help,” Daisy confessed with a smirk. “A little birdie told me.” Jemma raised an eyebrow over Daisy’s shoulder at Bobbi, who shrugged innocently and went about wiping down and rearranging the counter.

“Well, are you having anything? I don’t have my little birdie on me today, but I’d be happy to return the favour.”

“Not a favour,” Daisy insisted. “A gift. A…hm, a –“

“A date?” Jemma grinned broadly. “With me? Really?”

“Wait, did you not get that?” Daisy frowned.

“No,” Jemma replied sarcastically, “the string of pick-up lines was completely lost on me. Yes, of course I got it! I just thought it was sweet how you got all flustered. I’ve been too intimidated to speak to you all year.”

“Intimidated?” Daisy laughed. “Why?”

“Because…” Jemma blushed. “You’ve swallowed a magnet.”

“Aw! That’s terrible!” Daisy crooned, flattered, as if the word terrible was sweet.

“I know!” Jemma moaned, but she couldn’t help smiling. “I couldn’t even remember your name until the other day, I’ve just been sitting in class pining all year!”

“You should’ve asked Fitz to hook us up! Does he know? About you?”

“Yes! I don’t know why I didn’t think of that. I guess it still feels a little weird to talk to people about it. It’s strange being bi, I feel like I’m faking it half the time. Plus, I mean, I didn’t even know that you were – that you could even be interested until he told me. Oh, I hope you don’t mind about that, by the way.”

Daisy shrugged. “I’ve already told him I’m cool with it. I’m pretty out.”

“Oh. Good.”

“Obviously not out enough, though, if you didn’t pick up on it. I should start wearing rainbow flags to school…or plaid, at least. I could rock some plaid, don’t you think?”

“You already play softball!”

“I do roller-derby too, actually,” Daisy added. Jemma’s eyes widened.

“I have always wanted to try that!”

“It’s a load of fun. You will get the crap beaten out of you though.”

Jemma’s eyes lit up immediately.

“Any gruesome injury stories?”

“Ew! We’re eating!”

“Well, I’m eating,” Jemma corrected. “And I’m a bio student. I’m used to it.”

“You fascinate me,” Daisy said, more sincere than she had been expecting. Belatedly, she realised Jemma was right and that she still did not have her food with her. She glanced over her shoulder at it, and saw the coffee and donut and her bag still by the counter.

“Um. I’ll be right back.“

Bobbi met her eyes pointedly, and pushed the coffee and donut across the counter with a salacious sparkle.

“I’ll bring you guys a lunch menu later.”

“Shut up,” Daisy scoffed, blushing.

She returned to Jemma’s table, to find Jemma eagerly awaiting her arrival.

“We don’t have to talk about gory injuries if you don’t want to,” Jemma clarified. “I can be a bit gross. Sorry.”

“No, it’s okay. I have some killer stories! I just like to keep my blood and bones separate from my icing and sprinkles.”

“Fair enough. We’ll just have to find something different to talk about, then.”

Jemma pulled her anatomy notebook toward her and Daisy frowned, confused. Shouldn’t they be heading away from blood and bones? But as she watched, Jemma turned to a blank page, tore off a corner and started writing on it. A phone number.

“Just in case you wanted to tell me those stories some other time,” she explained as she slid it over to Daisy.

“Can’t wait!”

“But for now, blood-free, hm?” Jemma mused. “Well, okay, let’s start at the beginning.”

She held out her hand for a shake.

“Jemma Simmons. Biochemistry.”

“Daisy Johnson. Counterterrorism.”

From there, they launched into a lively conversation, swinging from favourite foods and seasons of the year to mockeries of dating advertisements, anecdotes, relatives and ancestors, life goals and hobbies and home and everything in between. They had lunch, and then Jemma walked Daisy to class, and grinned at nothing and rocked on her heels and shivered with delight after Daisy went inside. Daisy had given Jemma her number too, and Jemma rolled and flipped the paper between her fingers gleefully. It had been a long time since she’d had a date with someone special, lost track of time, kept them on her mind. It had been a long time since she’d felt this sort of chemistry with anyone, or had it reciprocated so enthusiastically or with a warmth and vibrancy that reminded her this is real.

Jemma ambled toward home without a rush, floating on the high of her blissfully, unexpectedly successful day. She sat on the train, barely but contentedly containing the urge to introduce herself to everyone that walked on with, “hi, I’m Jemma Simmons, I have a girlfriend. She’s amazing.” Then, as they pulled away from the station at last, her phone buzzed. A message from Daisy.

Remind me to show you a proper bat grip tomorrow. McLean Field, 9am.

Jemma smiled so wide she had to bite her lip to contain it, and proceeded to spend most of the rest of the trip home entering their next date, with care and flourish, into her diary.

#skimmons #bioquake #aospositivitynet #aosfemslash #buskidsnet #aosficnet2 #aosadvent2017 #prompt: food #clara's fic tag

[junker-town]

Every animal face-off in BBC’s ‘Seven Worlds, One Planet,’ rated

Universal Images Group via Getty

The BBC’s Natural History unit is the stuff of legends. They have been producing beautifully-shot, innovative nature documentaries since before most of us were born, and with the weight of the BBC behind them their productions are only getting better. David Attenborough is a natural treasure in his own right, a brilliant presenter blessed with a voice that is now the gold standard for documentary narration.

All of this you know and don’t need to get from a sports website. But while Attenborough’s new show, Seven Worlds, One Planet, is being reviewed elsewhere, nobody else is willing to ask the most important question about it. Is this sports? And, if so, how sports?

SB Nation has you covered. We’ll grade each scene of each episode for aesthetics, competitiveness and difficulty, and give the definitive answer on what the world desperately wants to know: whether or not what we’ve just seen is sports.

Episode 1: Antarctica

Scene 1: Weddell Seals

You just can’t beat a good cuddle #SevenWorldsOnePlanet pic.twitter.com/2mwzbLN2UG

— BBC Earth (@BBCEarth) October 27, 2019

The Weddell seal is one of the most ridiculous, depressing creatures on the planet. It is, as far as I know, the most southerly-living mammal, staying close to the Antarctic landmass even in deep winter. Since it’s a seal, it needs to breathe air, and so it spends all winter gnawing away at the ice to prevent its breathing holes from freezing over. Chewing ice all your life is a good way of wearing your teeth down quickly, and when that happens, no more breathing. Weddell seals, as Attenborough says, die young.

Why do they live like this? It’s simple: spending winter on the Antarctic ice shelves means that there are no predators able to interfere with the breeding season (which technically takes place in ‘spring’, but if any spring deserves scare quotes ...). Of course, that also means their pups are born into the most brutal environment in the world, and until they learn to swim, they’re left exposed to storms.

Seal pups have their mothers for protection against the worst of the blizzards, but when a storm gets bad enough, the adults are forced to seek shelter underwater. The babies then have to fend for themselves against the howling fury of an Antarctic storm. This seems unpleasant.

Aesthetics: 5/10

Seals are cute, but not very sporty, especially if we see them mostly out of the water, where they’re at their worst. And Weddell Seals, while philosophically impressive, are not the most visually appealing pinniped.

Also they spend most of the time in a blizzard, which dampens the appeal. And there’s video of a seal birth. There has never, in the entire history of the world, been an aesthetically appealing birth.

Difficulty: 10/10

If you tried to do what those newborn seals did, you would die 100 percent of the time. I don’t care how tough you think you are: you’d be dead. Maximum difficulty points.

Competitiveness: 0/10

‘Baby seal vs. blizzard’ isn’t really a competition, and it’s not like they’re fighting each other. NB: Would watch baby seals fight each other. Think of the floof.

Overall: 15/30

Not sports. Incredible, but not sports.

Scene 2: King Penguins

Ahhh that relatable feeling of a giant ball of fluff stuck in your mouth. #SevenWorldsOnePlanet pic.twitter.com/kI7nLTsyHM

— BBC Earth (@BBCEarth) October 27, 2019

Half a million penguins jam themselves onto one beach on the island of South Georgia to raise their chicks. When the parents go off to fish, the chicks are meant to stay where they’ve been left. But sometimes they don’t! Naughty penguins!

Honestly, it’s hard to know what to make of king penguins. They’re beautiful, graceful animals (well, the adults are), despite what Herman Melville might have to say about general penguinkind in his Encantadas:

What outlandish beings are these? … Their bodies are grotesquely misshapen; their bills short; their feet seemingly legless; while the members at their sides are neither fin, wing, nor arm. And truly neither fish, flesh, nor fowl is the penguin … without exception the most ambiguous and least lovely creature yet discovered by man. As if ashamed of her failure, Nature keeps this ungainly child hidden away at the ends of the earth.

But kings suffer when there are emperors about, and there’s no exception here. King penguins are like emperor penguins except smaller and shittier, and as a result it’s hard to take them seriously. Naughty penguins.

Aesthetics: 8/10

More floof balls! Except this time there are more of them and they’re not being absolutely battered by a blizzard, which improves things. Also, they sometimes chase smaller floof balls, and that’s fun.

Difficulty: 5/10

The penguin chicks’ jobs involve standing still and waiting for their parents to come back. This sounds easy, but y’all can’t even sit there for like 10 minutes without checking your phones, so ...

Also, a bonus point for one of the penguins being enough of a badass to peck an elephant seal. Incredible.

Competitiveness: 2/10

Getting lost is annoying, but not competitive. I guess at one point they have a mild battle over a small ball of fluff?

Overall: 15/30

Not sports either.

Scene 3: Elephant Seals

Just two giant roly sea doggos having a disagreement, nothing to see here. #SevenWorldsOnePlanet pic.twitter.com/dtt7bub88A

— BBC Earth (@BBCEarth) October 27, 2019

Find me a nature documentary about the Antarctic without footage of male elephant seals FUCKING EACH OTHER UP. That’s right. There are none. Elephant seals can weigh up 8,000 pounds and get to 20 feet long. They are angry, hefty and horny, and they hate each other. They express this hatred through squaring up to one another and engaging in teeth-bared body-slamming, and it gets extremely bloody. Even though they’re protected by a layer of blubber almost 10 inches thick, elephant seals frequently hurt each other very badly.

This all leads to some good television and you’d be a fool not to take advantage of it. The BBC are not fools.

Aesthetics: 7/10

If you’re into big hefty boys going at it, go ahead and give this scene an extra point. But heft alone does not a perfect scene make, and the sheer gracelessness of an elephant seal battle means we’re going to have to ding it some points.

Difficulty: 10/10

Imagine being fallen on by a four-ton seal. Now imagine that seal has huge teeth and is simultaneously trying to tear your neck open with them. Another scene which would definitely kill you, me, and everyone else who might ever read this.

Competitiveness: 9/10

An all-out fight over breeding rights between two monster seals? Yes. Yes, this is the good stuff. It’s not the best or longest elephant seal battle ever recorded, but there has never been a bad one.

Overall: 26/30

Definitely sports.

Scene 4: Humpback banquet

Ahhh yes the ye olde spiral, bubble, snatchy-grab fishing method. #SevenWorldsOnePlanet pic.twitter.com/XUfF3GfJQ1

— BBC Earth (@BBCEarth) October 27, 2019

Humpback whales might not be the biggest whales in the ocean, but they’re probably the most interesting. Their social behaviour is (or seems) more interesting than the rorquals, and their hunting behaviour is also extremely cool. Here a shoal of humpbacks is concentrating a swarm of krill by using ‘bubble netting’. Since krill won’t swim through the bubbles they breathe out, the whales can control their movement, which makes them easier to eat.

This is a short scene, but it’s worth including.

Aesthetics: 9/10

I’ll be the first to admit it: I’m a whale person. Not, like, physically: the flippers would make typing difficult. But I’ve always loved whales. They’re huge, beautiful, and they do cool shit like make bubble spirals in the ocean. And these are particularly good bubble spirals.

Difficulty: 8/10

I can also blow bubbles underwater, but I imagine I’d be practicing for Gladwellian hours before I got good enough to herd krill. Also, imagine trying to fit that many in your mouth at once. Challenging.

Competitiveness: 2/10

I have to admit that a half-inch shrimp thing vs. a whale is not much of a fight, even if there are billions of the little fuckers.

Overall: 21/30

Probably sports? In my ideal world, synchronised bubble-netting would have a place at the Olympics.

Scene 5: Grey-Headed Albatross

All by myself...don’t wanna be, all by myself #SevenWorldsOnePlanet pic.twitter.com/sBQqSu2ojk

— BBC Earth (@BBCEarth) October 27, 2019

Albatross? Albatrosses? Pluralising these things is annoying. Anyway, the scene. As it turns out, climate change is messing with, well, the climate, and that has had the effect of increasing wind speed on storms in the Southern Ocean, and making those storms more frequent.

Grey-headed albatross(es) breed right in the path of these storms, and that means that when chicks are left alone they have to hunker down in their nests against the fury of 70 mph winds. Unsurprisingly, many fail. And if they’re blown out of their nests, thanks to a twist of evolution, their parents don’t recognise them until they get back in. And that means they’re on their own until they can climb back. Are baby birds good at climbing? Reader, baby birds are not good at climbing.

Attenborough tells us that this particular grey-headed albatross colony is going through a massive decline. I believe it.

Aesthetics: 5/10

I’ve seen cuter fluffballs. In this very show, even! A bonus point for the adults being so beautiful, though. Seagulls may be ugly as sin, but make them large enough to glide and suddenly you have yourself some majesty.

Difficulty: 6/10

Ok, the windchill would be unpleasant, but I could climb into those nests.

Competitiveness: 8/10

The chicks are struggling against their own tiredness and lack of climbing ability. Is transcending yourself the core of all competition? Probably.

Overall: 19/30

Possibly sports? Mostly sad, to be honest. Here we have the Ottawa Senators of the natural world.

Scene 6: Gentoo Penguin vs. Orcas

A desperate dash, this penguin must use all its acrobatics in an attempt to evade the orca. #SevenWorldsOnePlanet pic.twitter.com/WhNEFuhRtJ

— BBC Earth (@BBCEarth) October 27, 2019

Oh, my God. This is possibly the coolest thing I have ever seen. Penguins are incredible underwater. They’re agile, smart and fast. Killer whales, however, are faster and smarter, which means the only possible hope a penguin chased by a whale has is to use its advantage in maneuvering to somehow find an escape route.

The cinematography in this scene is exquisite. As the chase is right up at the surface, with the penguin frequently jumping out of the water and right over the whales, drone footage lets us see the whole thing play out from above, giving us a full-field perspective on a dogfight which would make a WW2 fighter ace whistle in appreciation. This is unbelievable.

Unfortunately it’s also four orcas against one penguin. So, uh, you know how it ends.

Aesthetics: 10/10

I would hang this scene on my living room wall, and then stare at it for several hours a day. The sheer power of the orcas combined with the dazzling agility of the penguin and the overhead view makes this scene extraordinary even for a BBC nature production.

Difficulty: 10/10

Those underwater cuts! The repeated jumpings-over of whales. This is nature at its most difficult. That poor, heroic little penguin.

Competitiveness: 5/10

All right, so four big whales against one penguin is not much of a fight.

Overall: 25/30

Definitely sports. And although it’s tempting to ding it because of the lack of competitiveness, some of y’all will sit through the Patriots playing the Dolphins.

Scene 7: Gentoo Penguin vs. Leopard Seals

Me attempting to make friends #SevenWorldsOnePlanet pic.twitter.com/UixNpVVJkg

— BBC Earth (@BBCEarth) October 27, 2019

Melville would enjoy the role mid-sized penguins serve in the Antarctic food chain. They sit in the middle, eating small fish and krill and in turn being eaten in large amounts by the continent’s coolest predators. We’ve already seen orcas, so now it’s time for leopard seals to get in on the action.

Leopard seals are vicious things. They’re 10 feet long and their jaws are almost crocodilian, evoking thoroughly un-seal-like feelings when you look at the rows of big, interlocking and very lethal teeth. They like eating penguins. And, like the albatross chicks, climate change isn’t helping the gentoos — the region’s glaciers are falling apart, leaving acres of ‘brash’ ice between the penguin colonies and the open ocean. This ice is hard for the penguins to navigate, and perfect for an ambush predator.

The penguins have to scrabble over blocks of ice that could crush and kill them while being stalked from below by a hungry monster seal. That sounds like a bad day to me!

Aesthetics: 6/10

We’ve seen Weddell seals and elephant seals, but leopard seals are very different and altogether nastier critters. They’re not without their charms, though, and watching a top predator at work is sort of fun. Even if they’re extremely brutal.

One mark off for the bit where both penguin and seal end up on an iceberg. Neither is anything but ridiculous-looking out of the water.

Difficulty: 9/10

Depending on your point of view, this is either very easy — the penguins are sitting ducks — or very hard. Trying to scrabble through the floating ice to get to open water looks utterly miserable.

Competitiveness: 6/10

Some of these penguins put up a pretty impressive, and pretty surprising fight. Good work, little critters.

Overall: 21/30

Probably sports? Swimming is a sport. Climbing is a sport. Ice-scrabbling ... not a sport, yet, but we’re open-minded here.

Scene 8: Under the ice

Sorry, can’t right now, bit tied down. #SevenWorldsOnePlanet pic.twitter.com/HqHlcVnv6B

— BBC Earth (@BBCEarth) October 27, 2019

Below the Antarctic ice, conditions are surprisingly friendly, and inveterate drama plays out in slow motion. Starfish and urchins are chased by huge predatory worms. Blind nudibranchs search for mates in miniature forests of sponges and anemones. Those anemones are hunted by jellyfish — or so the jellyfish thinks, anyway.

Aesthetics: 4/10

Cool, in a creepy, slow-motion way.

Difficulty: 2/10

Looking for food and mates must be quite hard when you can’t move very quickly and you can’t see very well.

Competitiveness: 2/10

Jellyfish vs. anemone is an interesting but quite one-sided battle.

Overall: 8/30

Not sports at all. Getting a look under the Antarctic ice is neat anyway.

Scene 9: Right whales

“They were so trusting and inquisitive that they swam right up to the whaler’s boats. And the whalers called them ‘right whales’ because they were the right whales to hunt.” #SevenWorldsOnePlanet pic.twitter.com/KU8bBA7BF0

— BBC Earth (@BBCEarth) October 27, 2019

20th Century whaling, which happened on an industrial scale, nearly wiped out every species of great whale. And southern right whales, the easiest, slowest, most-inquisitive targets, were hit the hardest. 99.9 percent of the population was killed — but frankly it’s a wonder any of them survived at all.

In the years since the whaling moratorium, however, the tiny fraction of survivors has proved robust enough to begin a small, fragile recovery. It’s grim times on the planet, and hope is nice to have.

I assume you were expecting a Melville quote here, and a rather gloomy southern right whale (still gloomier after it has its head removed) does indeed make an appearance in Moby-Dick. But, friends, I refuse to be that predictable.

Aesthetics: 2/10

Right whales are ugly, ponderous things, devoid of the grandeur of rorquals and humpbacks. And the bay in which this scene is shot is also too murky for good filming.

Difficulty: 0/10

Nothing happens!

Competitiveness: 0/10

Nothing happens!

Overall: 2/30

Pretty much the least sports possible. But a) it’s good to hear that the whale population is starting to recover and b) there was still more action than in that San Francisco-Washington game a few weeks back.

Overall sports tally: Some of this is sports

Two are definitely sports, three probablies, and four nos. That’s not a bad rate, and to be honest it’s a fantastic nature show and you should watch it, even if you’re mostly in it for the sports. Also, and I don’t want this to sound like a throwaway note at the end of an article, even though it is: CLIMATE CHANGE IS TERRIBLE AND WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. AS A COLLECTIVE, NOT JUST INDIVIDUALS. ME COMPOSTING DOESN’T SEEM TO BE DOING SHIT. Thanks.