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#something about being able to explore the world when you have a safe space to come back to
torgawl · 7 months
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it's been like 3 hours and i can't stop thinking about xiao and aether. you guys don't get it. it's the way the heart in qixing is likely referring to aether. it's because aether dedicated his poem and his dreams to xiao. it's because xiao smiled when he heard it. it's the way he's always looking out for aether. it's because even though everything was okay xiao made the effort to be vocal about how worried he was when aether pretended to drown. it's because aether is the only person capapable of persuading xiao, to the point others are aware he would do anything for him only and use it to convince him every chance they get. it's because aether is the only person capable of relieving the pain of xiao's karmic debt, not because of his powers but solely by being a part of xiao's life. it's because during the lantern rite instead of looking at the sky xiao looks at aether. it's because everytime they're together everyone else always comments about how close and fond of each other they are. it's because xiao is the only character aether is able to have alone time with without paimon. it's because as long as aether says his name xiao will always answer his call.
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gffa · 7 months
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Okay, so it was a month since my last BATFAMILY fic recs set, but in my defense a) huge life changes and b) I did a quick count up of how many recs I had built up and it was literally well over a million words. A million words! In one recs set! And this is like the seventh one of these that I've done! And I still have at least a thousand fics on my reader that I haven't started! Because this fandom has seriously not just consumed my brain, but given me absolutely amazing stuff to read that scratches all the itches I desperately have--well, okay, scratches the itch I have for my Dick Grayson Problem, but same thing.
I've really needed some escapism lately and being able to laugh or cry or just sink into a nice, long novella or even novel-length fic has really been a godsend has done a lot to soothe me and help me process feelings that sometimes otherwise can feel too overwhelming to deal with. All while also giving me the exploration of issues or decompression time with the characters' issues that the canon itself doesn't have the space for. So, I hope this list can give others something to read in the way it has given me so much that I've loved and brought me joy or emotional catharsis, because fandom has been really incredible about Bringing The Good Stuff and I want to repay the favor!
BATFAM FIC RECS - BABY DICK IS THE CUTEST FERAL ROBIN I'M NOT HEARING ANY ARGUMENTS: ✦ The Halfway Point by Sugarcookie222, dick & bruce & alfred & clark, 5k     After a miscommunication with Bruce, a 13-year-old Dick runs away. He makes it as far as a diner in a nearby state. Bruce had left to finalize the adoption papers but clearly needs to work on his communication skills. He calls Superman in a panic to help him find Dick.
✦ be safe, they said (be good) by deargalileo, bruce & dick & alfred, 4k     there's a tree in the wayne's backyard. a very specific tree, one that seems to attract daring children like bees to honey. unfortunately for the children, it is not a tree that is suited for climbing. fortunately for the children, they have fathers who are there to stitch them up.
✦ a haunted ballroom by lothIoriens, bruce & dick & alfred, 11.9k wip     When Dick stumbles across the ghosts of Wayne Manor dancing the night away in an abandoned wing of the house, he thinks that, finally, something might be normal again. But the ghosts are nervous, and he doesn't know why. Something is brewing underneath the surface of Wayne Manor, and it's up to Dick to find out what it is—and it's up to Bruce to make sure nothing happens to his charge in the meantime.
✦ Straight On Til Morning by audreycritter, bruce & dick, 1.2k     Bruce wakes Dick up on a school night to show him the sky. It dredges up memories for Dick, and it would be a disaster, except it’s Bruce. And Bruce understands.
✦ (More) Pressing Matters by Syl, bruce & dick, 39.2k     Dick Grayson arrives at Wayne Manor, a cold empty place, shortly after his parents' murder: A re-telling of the Boy Wonder's well-known origin story.
✦ First Action Hero by Goldmonger, bruce & dick & clark & cast, 3.5k     “Jerkwads,” Dick said darkly, taking Clark’s hand. He looked up at him then, dressed smartly in a black suit and tie, and wearing converses with Sonic the Hedgehog on them. “You okay, Uncle Clark?”
✦ Lil Birdy Wants to Fly by lil_taair, bruce & dick, 3.8k     Bruce would have usually appreciated the cheeky smile that was directed at him if his son wasn’t 25 fucking feet off the ground
✦ World's Finest: Fortress of Friendship by WingFeathers, bruce & dick & clark & diana, 6.9k     Finally, Dick talks Bruce into letting him see the Fortress of Solitude – provided that Dick stay safe and out of the way while the Trinity discusses some Secret Important Business about a certain young Amazon. Clark promises that the Fortress will be safe, but is that a promise he can make?
✦ Stolen Son by springfox (dallystrings), bruce & dick & jim, 8.6k     Dick is excited to visit an American mall for the first time, and Bruce struggles to understand the difference between 'guardian' and 'dad'.
✦ Comfort Food by motleyfam, bruce & dick, ~1k     Dick struggles to find his appetite in the aftermath of his parents’ deaths.
✦ The meaning of justice by Fleur_de_Violette, bruce & dick & babs & cast, 4.6k     As Bruce drives toward Gotham Academy, he tries to imagine all the possible reasons for the principal to call him. He has a lot of imagination. Especially when it comes to bad things happening to Dick. Still, his ward being a suspect for attempted murder hadn’t been on his list.
✦ The Question Game by Santana2, dick & bruce, 1.3k     Basketball can be a very enlightening game if you play it right. Little expansion on Robin's part in Downtime
✦ Cat's Eat Birds by Nightwing_DC_2112, dick & bruce & selina & cast, 12k     After a run in with the Scarecrow Robin is separated from Batman fighting off the effects of Crane's Fear Toxin when an unlikely ally steps in to prevent him getting into further trouble.
✦ World's Finest Mini Issue: Happy Birthday by WingFeathers, bruce & dick (& minor clark/bruce & alfred), 1.8k     Bruce hoped for an emergency to get him out of his birthday party. He just didn’t want Dick to be the one in need of help. BATFAM FIC RECS - ADULT BATSON AND BATDAD ARE MY KRYPTONITE, I FOLD LIKE WET CARDBOARD FOR THEM: ✦ Truth Serum is the Worst by JackHawksmoor, dick & bruce, 3.1k     Batman gets dosed with a truth serum and unexpectedly spends most of the time talking about how desperately he loves his children, how awesome they are, and how he wishes he was better at being a father.
✦ Holy Time Travel Fuckery, Batmen by That_One_Curly_Haired_Fangirl, dick & bruce, 4.4k     Batman is dead, and Dick has reluctantly taken up the mantle. So then why are there four Batmen, all clearly Bruce, standing in front of him on this rooftop?
✦ The Waking World by Fairy527, dick & bruce, 2.2k     This isn’t the first time Dick has gone to Bruce after a nightmare. However, this is the first time his nightmare has involved Bruce's murder at his own hands, and it doesn't settle well.
✦ More Alike Than You'll Ever Admit coffeeandchocolate, dick & bruce, 1.2k     Dick Grayson has always been there alongside Batman. So if no one else is going to acknowledge that his first year wearing the cowl was harder, well, he's just going to have to do it himself. After Bruce returns from being lost in time, he and his eldest argue.
✦ Almost, Nearly by CKBookish, dick & bruce & jason & cast, 8.1k     Dick was just supposed to go with him to lunch. He wasn't supposed to get shot. He wasn't supposed to be bleeding out in the pouring rain on the steps of Wayne Enterprises. But then Bruce hadn't expected that sniper and he had seen it far to late. BATFAM FIC RECS - EVERYBODY LOVES DICK: ✦ Behind Granite and Lime by JeanjacketCarf, dick & bruce & jason & tim & barbara & cass, 14.5k wip     Cassandra had noticed. Of course, she noticed. That was the problem, she couldn’t turn it off. She always had to see, always had to know. So she knew when Dick came back from his mission that something was wrong. Or something is off with Dick. Hopefully, it doesn't have anything to do with those murders.
✦ Soup's On by HoodEx, dick & donna, 2k     Taking care of Dick never feels like a burden, it feels like an instinct. And Donna's really good at following her instincts.
✦ to dream away a sleepless night by waffle-wonder (cosmic_croissant), dick & bruce & jason & tim & damian & cass & stephanie & duke, 2.7k     Dick was fine. He was fine. Sure, he was having a little trouble focusing on unlocking his apartment door, but that didn’t mean anything. Or- Dick is exhausted. His family catches him when he falls.
✦ Temporary by daringyounggrayson, bruce & dick & alfred & cast, 14.8k     The double homicide at Haly’s Circus is not Bruce’s first case involving a child, and while there's no overt indication that Bruce should react differently to this case, he supposes that his previous cases did not involve the witness known as Dick Grayson. On the surface, the Grayson case seems like any other gang case, but the more time Bruce spends with the boy, the more he begins to doubt his own instincts.
✦ To the Moving and the Strange by SilverSkiesAtMidnight, dick & bruce & alfred & tim & cast, 6k     Thankfully, Alfred tips his head in acknowledgement. “I do,” he agrees. “I remember a great many things. But I have forgotten things too, and I expect as time goes on, more of them will slip away from me, and it’s entirely possible that I won’t even notice they’re gone. My memories of them will simply be… less.” Dick looks at him, studying the lines of his weathered face. “Does that ever make you feel like... like if you loved them more, you’d remember them?”
✦ better luck nest time by ScarlettSwordMoon, dick & bruce & jason & tim & damian & cass & steph & duke & cast, 47k wip     Feeling as if Dick’s family does not appreciate him enough, an alternate Earth version of Babs turns Dick into a bird. Now each member of the Batfamily must confess something to him if they ever want to see Dick as a human again. AKA The tale of a family and their birb.
✦ deep roots (are not reached by the frost) by fanfictiongreenirises, bruce & dick & jason & tim & damian & cass & cast, de-aged!dick, 85.2k wip     Dick gets reverted to a younger self after being kidnapped on during a case. But this is far from a routine de-aging.
✦ Bludhaven Police Department by Lady_of_Lorule, bruce & dick & jason & tim & barbara & amy & donna & wally & cast, 31.1k     Sgt. Amy Rohrbach learns that her partner, rookie cop Dick Grayson, is not what he seems. Or how Amy finds out that Dick Grayson is the heir to the entire Wayne fortune, the vigilante Nightwing, the leader of the Titans, and meets some of the Batfam and the Titans along the way. BATFAM FIC RECS - DICK AND DAMIAN WERE THE BEST BATMAN & ROBIN, I'M NOT HEARING ARGUMENTS ABOUT THAT EITHER: ✦ Too Many Walls and Not Enough Bridges by CamsthiSky, dick & damian, 3.7k     There's something bothering Damian. Dick's determined to help Damian feel comfortable enough to share it.
✦ All The Small Things by Geeves, dick & damian & bruce & cast, 20.1k     After Bruce's return to the Bat, Dick and Damian have to deal with just being brothers, but things are just a bit too messy to be that easy BATFAM FIC RECS - BATKIDS ALL HAVE MANY SIBLINGS AND THEY'RE ALL PETTY ASSHOLES AND/OR WONDERFUL BABIES AND I LOVE THEM WITH MY WHOLE BEING: ✦ Do-over by mx_chrx99, dick & jason & todd & damian & steph, 6.2k     Jason never really got to do the "family vacation" thing. Neither did Tim, Steph, or Damian. Dick did, but that was ages ago. Now's their chance to make up for lost time.
✦ pick up off the floor by deargalileo, dick & jason & bruce, 3k     there was a lump on Bruce's office floor. a Dickwing shaped lump.
✦ the trials and tribulations of fatherhood by InkpotSprite, bruce & dick & jason & tim, 2k     Dick, Jason and Tim compete to see who was the worst child. The answer surprises them all. On an unrelated note, Bruce is wondering if adoptions are a lifetime deal, or if they can be undone.
✦ A Time To Reflect by Experimental_Muse, bruce & dick & jason & tim & damian & cass & duke & alfred, time travel, 14.5k     Bruce finds himself stuck in the past, and while waiting for the league to pick him up, struggles to get along with his past self. Plus being in a practically empty manor is a bigger adjustment than he'd like to admit. BATFAM FIC RECS - SOMETIMES YOU JUST THINK BRUCE AND DIANA SHOULD KISS IT OUT: ✦ One equal temper of heroic hearts by victoria_p (musesfool), bruce/diana, nsfw, 1.5k     Bruce and Diana reconcile at Nanda Parbat.
✦ Thanksgiving at the Kents by starknjarvis, bruce/diana & cast, 8.9k     Clark convinces Diana to come to the farm for Thanksgiving, and Diana finally gets the chance to meet Bruce's kids. There are far more of them than she had expected.
✦ Escape Artistry by David Hines (hradzka), bruce/diana & cast, 24.2k     Wonder Woman is eager to learn new things. Batman, less so. Primarily JL animated continuity; some comic elements from as far back as the Golden Age. Complete. BATFAM FIC RECS - I WILL DIE ON THE HILL THAT TIM DRAKE'S TRUE LOVE INTEREST IS CONNER KENT AND NOBODY CAN STOP ME, NOT EVEN GOD: ✦ Will you die for (marry) me? by Ididloveyou_once, tim/kon & cassie & bart & cast, 7.8k     Tim sacrifices himself on a mission and lives. Conner hates that. They struggle through the aftermath.
✦ A Saturday Evening by malcyon, tim/kon & clark/lois & jonathan kent/martha kent & kara, 13.8k     Kon invites Tim over for dinner. Tim's not sure if he should have accepted that invitation.
✦ Sending all my love to you by Paintedqueen, tim/kon, 10.9k wip     Conner and Tim get blasted into New Earth where they meet an old friend.
✦ Composed of Us by starlikeknight, tim/kon & bruce & dick & cast, 37.1k wip     Or, a spiralling Tim clones a baby without thinking about the consequences. And there are many, many consequences. BATFAM FIC RECS - I SAY THIS IS A BATFAM REC LIST BUT SOMETIMES YOU JUST GOTTA SHOVE THOSE ASSHOLES OUT OF THE WAY AND READ SOME SUPERFIC: ✦ All these things (that I'll never know) by Paintedqueen, conner & clark & kara & jonathan & implied tim/kon & cast, 12.7k     Kon-El's journey on what it means to be Kryptonian.
✦ birthday bash by yeeyee123, conner & clark & jon & tim/kon, 11.8k     Kon’s pumped that Clark has brought him in to help put together Jon’s 8th birthday party. No really, he is! Just don’t ask him directly about it, or he may need to go leave the room and take a breather. Inhaling helium gas from all those balloons isn’t good for you, you know?
✦ Catching Icarus by Fantasyfire, conner & clark & justice league, 24.8k wip     A bad encounter with magic banishes Superboy into another world. Stranded, the Kryptonian clone must deal with a whole new league and a much different Superman.
✦ Nobody's Child by Kizmet, clark & conner & lois & ma kent & pa kent & cast, 18k     Superboy is deaged. While Young Justice looks for a cure Batman sticks Clark Kent with babysitting duties. BATFAM FIC RECS - TAKE THE ANGST DIAL, TURN IT UP TO ELEVEN, AND BREAK THE KNOB OFF, THAT'S WHAT I'M HERE FOR: ✦ Adeamus by miss_aphelion, bruce & dick & stephanie & damian & jason & tim & clark & cast, 32k     I'll always be there to catch you, Bruce had promised him once. Dick would like to believe it hadn’t been meant as a threat at the time. (or; Bruce takes over Gotham to keep his sons safe, but he’s already trained Dick too well to always protect others first)
✦ Gorgon’s eyes by Fleur_de_Violette, bruce & dick & jason & tim & damian & barbara & cast, 9k     Dick will give time to his family. He’s just came back as Nightwing after being undercover in Spyral; he understands that they won’t forgive him immediately. Except, when an encounter with neurotoxin leaves him completely paralyzed, he has no choice but to rely on them.
✦ bad signal by prismatical, bruce & dick & jason & tim & damian & cass & cast, 38.4k     The rescue mission went well. Nightwing is safe. Everything should be alright. Right?
✦ And The Crown Will Sing by ScarlettSwordMoon, bruce & dick & jason & tim & damian & barbara & cast, read the tags, 84.7k wip     After an encounter with alien technology, Bruce re-evaluates some previously held ideals. Gotham doesn’t need a Knight, she needs a King. Bruce will do whatever it takes to secure his rightful place as ruler of Gotham. He will do whatever it takes to keep his sons by his side. Even if it means breaking them in first. [Dark Bruce Wayne, eventual Dark Batfam]
✦ borderline by TheResurrectionist, bruce & dick & jason & tim & damian & cass & steph, 22.7k wip     A mysterious force connects the Batfamily's minds together.
✦ Parting is all we Know of Heaven by Sword_Kallya, dick & bruce & jason & tim & damian & amy, suicidal ideation, 11.9k     Three months after Batman returns from the timestream, Dick Grayson has disappeared.
✦ Behind Granite and Lime by JeanjacketCarf, dick & bruce & jason & tim & damian & barbara & cass & cast, read the tags, 18k wip     Cassandra had noticed. Of course, she noticed. That was the problem, she couldn’t turn it off. She always had to see, always had to know. So she knew when Dick came back from his mission that something was wrong. Or something is off with Dick. Hopefully, it doesn't have anything to do with those murders.
✦ A Little Out of the Ordinary by dizarys, tim & dick & conner & slade & cast, 1.5k     A boot scraped against stone at the same time pain seared through Tim’s chest, radiating from one sharp, jabbing point. With a gasping wheeze, he tried to grab at it. But his arms refused to move.
✦ Override Two: Family Protocol by zombiesbecrazy, dick & bruce & jason & tim & damian & barbara & cass & cast, talon!dick, 78.3k     When faced with an impossible and inescapable situation, Dick does the only thing left that he can do to save his family. Surrender himself to the Court of Owls to become their Talon in exchange for their lives.
✦ Weekend Commute by CKBookish, bruce & dick & jason & tim & donna & wally & cast, 7.4k     Dick Grayson makes his way home during the first snow fall of the year, when he finds himself confused and cold, miles from home.
✦ What These Hands Have Done by WinterSky101, bruce & dick & jason & tim & damian & cass & steph & alfred & cast, 14k     Dick is mind controlled into attacking his family. Unsurprisingly, he takes the whole thing very badly.
✦ birdsong by ScarlettSwordMoon, bruce & dick & jason & tim & damian & steph & cast, 22.7k     After getting a face full of Scarecrow’s newest toxin, Dick isn’t haunted by his typical nightmares. No. This one has little green pixie boots. AKA Batman: Ego but make it Robin.
✦ New Krypton by Hawkstout, dick & clark & bruce & cast, read the tags, 15.9k wip     Robin is captured by the Kryptonians and put under the care of Kal-El, the man he has known as Superman. Kal-El wants to do his best for Robin and keep the boy safe and healthy. He's fond of him. They were friends once. He hopes that once Robin understands the invasion of his home is for the best that he will grow to see him as a guardian, maybe even as a father. But Robin doesn't need another father. He needs a way to escape.
✦ i was not born to drown by daringyounggrayson, bruce & dick & tim & damian & donna & wally & roy & cast, 25.2k     Or: After getting shot by Doctor Hurt, Dick develops chronic migraines.
✦ Running Headlong into My Arms by gleesquid, bruce/selina & dick & jason & tim & damian & barbara & cass & steph & alfred & cast (& some minor pairings), 54.2k     Bruce doesn’t like to credit one thing for saving his life, but if he did, it would be Haly’s Circus that Friday night in September, just as summer was beginning to die. (He'll always be a sucker for kids with sad eyes, no parents, and more fight than the world knows what to do with.) Or: in a universe where superheroes don't exist, Bruce Wayne finds his family.
✦ Waking In The Night Light by I_Have_To_Get_Off_This_Planet, bruce & dick & jason & tim & cass, 7.1k     Aside from the soft pitter-pattering of rain against the window, it’s quiet in the room. Tranquil, Bruce thinks. Or at least, as tranquil as a hospital room can get. BATFAM FIC RECS - THROW BABY DICK AT BATTISON, C'MON DO IT, IT'LL BE HILARIOUS: ✦ take these broken wings and learn to fly by fishingclocks, dick & bruce & alfred, 49.2k wip     or, How Dick Grayson Burrowed His Way Inextricably into the Heart of Bruce Wayne
✦ A Bat and his Birds by SalParadiseLost, bruce & dick & jason & tim, 3.1k     Bruce Wayne adopts a child on impulse... and then another... and then another. He doesn't know what he's doing, but somehow it doesn't end up too bad except for the fact that his kids think he's a vampire.
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cheesus-doodles · 10 months
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Star-Crossed by Choice
Yandere Raihan & Leon with Champion Darling
Pokemon SwSh and SV Crossover
Masterlist
been a hot minute since i've posted, so please enjoy this brainrot that has been eating away at my brain - i know its not the usual TR but gotta get it out somehow. next on the menu would (finally) be A Friend in Me!
cw: use of female pronouns twice
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The pokeballs hidden deep within the depths of your bag wriggled impatiently, and you giggled at the sensation against your back. You couldn’t blame them for wanting to escape from the confines of their balls, not with the hum of life that filled the air of the small town of Cortondo. But this was neither the right time or space. It had been some time since you dared to let them out for a breath of fresh air and to stretch their limbs after all, and you silently promised both them and yourself that you would the moment the opportunity arises. 
The evening was a welcomed relief from the scorching heat of the afternoon that had left you drenched in sweat - the air was crisp and fresh, just dry enough to lift the sweat from your panting skin but not enough to suck all moisture away. A far cry from the humid day under the blistering sun; much unlike what your usual day would be like spent wandering and exploring new grounds, you instead had been forced to duck into the air-conditioned shops for a break. Strolling down cobbled pathways, the little colored flags that stretched from rooftop to rooftop waved invitingly at visitors from all corners of Paldea, the calls of shopkeepers adding to the general hustle and bustle as the town came alive once more, the sun sinking ever lower towards the horizon. 
Your heart wrenched, the pain in your chest sharp. Despite your urge to shrink away from the masses of people, all the eyes you could feel watching you, there was no denying that you missed this. You missed being free. Just being able to walk through town without a care in the world, without anyone hovering over you, one arm slung tightly around your shoulders. Not having to constantly worry about your Pokemon friends getting hurt because of something stupid that was your fault. You never thought you would have ever been able to get a second chance at freedom, to start all over again from scratch; that brazen escape you had risked your life and limbs on seemed to have paid off, though you had to turn your thoughts to the present to stop the tears from welling at the thought of everything and everyone you left behind.
Amidst the crowds of students all dressed in the same Uva Academy uniform as you, out and about and eager to discover when their own ‘Treasure Hunt’ leads them to, you felt secure. You felt like you blended in for once. Maybe it had been worth it, changing both your hairstyle and color, making sure to dress down and look down. Maybe you could be safe here.
“Hey!” A call of your name cut through the commotion of the crowd like a knife through butter. You jolted as one hand came flying down to smack you on your shoulder. Whirling round, you came face to face with those excited orange eyes framed by three signature green strands of hair.  “I thought you’d never come!” The president of the student council was as enthusiastic and energetic as ever, not seeming to have noticed your startle, instead beginning to shake you by both shoulders as she all but shouted her questions at you. “Which gym have you defeated? How strong are your Pokemon? Do you want to battle?”
You opened your mouth, but as usual, no words seemed to come out. Perhaps it was the crowd, everyone else around the two of you that is. You had managed a few words to the friendly Nemona previously, back when you parted ways at Mesagoza; a rare and unusual occurrence, given how your throat usually opts to clam up in front of anyone but your parents, but it just goes to show you have come to trust the loudmouth girl. Your social anxiety didn’t quite show around her like it did everyone else. 
Lifting both hands in a surrender and placating manner, it was beyond you how you manage to calm the other down, before reaching into your pocket to shyly show your friend the two badges that you had obtained so far in all the days you had been wandering. It wasn’t much you knew, and it wasn’t much on purpose. After all that had happened to you back in Galar, you were afraid to go down the League route again, let alone touch anything that had the word ‘Champion’ in it with a fifty-foot pole. 
To your surprise, Nemona was elated. “WOW! You already got two? I knew you had potential!”
You blinked, confused. Wouldn’t she have expected more badges? Was she just hiding her disappointment? The Champion-ranked trainer didn’t give you even a minute to breathe though, hooking one arm through yours and starting to drag you towards the nearest restaurant. “I want to hear ALL about it, you understand?” There was no time to finish your thoughts as you had to scuttle to keep up with her incredibly quick walking pace, and the two of you disappeared from the streets and into the depths of some place you couldn’t catch the name of.
Outside, a different story was unfurling, a pair of teal eyes was fixed firmly on the doorway that you had just disappeared through from beneath the shade of a hoodie, a frown pulling at his usually upturned lips. From across the street and with most of his deceptively lean self hidden behind a wall, there was no doubt in his mind that it was you. A restaurant was no place to cause a commotion, Raihan knew; who knows what you could resort to if cornered? You had escaped once, what was going to stop you from running again? He had waited and waited for this moment despite not being a patient man, but perhaps it wasn’t a bad idea to let you enjoy your last hour of freedom. There would be the rest of eternity with you after all, and he didn’t intend on letting you run wild again.
One tanned hand reaching up to pull his hoodie further down his face, Raihan leaned back against the wall, bringing his cold drink up to his lips. Soon.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl, with each second feeling more like years passing by. The crowds of students of varying ages, all clad similarly in that signature purple uniform, drifted past where he stood like a gentle wave, the town slowly clearing of people as the minutes ticked by. The sun that had once ruled the sky had now fully set, sinking past the distant mountain horizon with a grand burst of colors; the evening rays had been the herald for the star full of skies that now twinkled above. Yet the Galar Dragon gym leader kept waiting. Even if his eyes drifted away from the building, to gaze at the empty distance and wonder of the different Pokemon that wandered this region, or to scan the throngs of people for threats, there was no activity in or out of the restaurant that he missed. All the while, all Raihan could do was recall the night you had disappeared again and again in his head as he glared down at anyone who dared venture too near: the sheer horror of finding you missing from your room in the morning, your confiscated Pokeballs gone from their secured box. The feeling of his gut dropping straight out the bottom when he couldn’t find you after tearing the entire estate apart, his own Pokemon returning empty-handed after he had sent them out to track you down in a sheer moment of desperation.
Never again would he let himself feel that way. Never.
You finally reappeared through the doorway long after his patience had worn out, but instead of the usual annoyance turned anger, the tanned man felt his breath hitch. You looked so very different yet at the same time, so very familiar. What a sight for sore eyes. The way you stood beside your new friend, huddled as close as you dared go, those doe eyes of yours fixed on a random spot on the ground. Small smile pulling at your lips as you fidgeted with the hem of the shirt of your school uniform, listening carefully to everything your energetic companion was spewing at you.
There was nothing you could change about yourself that would be able to hide you away from him: not changing your hairstyle, your hair color, the type of clothes you wear or even the color of your eyes.
But all his joy at seeing you once more was instantly wiped away when he had to witness you lifting your eyes to meet the other’s. And the anger that raged in his chest igniting once more at the sight of your lips moving - almost as if you were speaking. Sure there was no one else but the two of you lingering on the porch of the now-dark restaurant, but you never spoke to anyone but Hop. Not to him, not even to your Pokemon in the presence of another. Selectively mute, was what your all-too innocent mother had happily informed the gym leader when he had paid her a visit to collect some clothes from your house. Even Raihan himself never had the privilege of hearing your sweet voice in person. 
So who was this bastard? 
Watching as you stepped off the curb and back onto cobblestoned streets, there was no time like the present - with the dwindling masses and the shops closed or closing. Raihan pushed off the wall, both hands sliding into the front pockets of his jacket, each stride bringing closer and closer to your little duo. You never even noticed.
The unease you had in your gut had been growing for a while. You couldn’t quite pinpoint what caused that feeling, but it certainly was shared by your Pokemon, their balls having wriggled restlessly all evening where you had hidden them in the depth of your bag. But being out with Nemona gave you a sense of security, and despite your better your judgment, you had pushed the nagging voice to the back of your head. It was probably nothing.
Until it wasn’t.
“So there you are, lil champ,” came that all too familiar drawl. You froze mid-step as a long shadow fell over you. You knew that voice, and you knew it too well for your own liking. The hairs on the back of your neck instantly stood on end as the smile fell from your face. “Never thought you’d go all the way back to school just to hide from me.”
There was no answer from you, but Raihan just kept speaking as if he didn’t notice. “Have to say you fit right in though. You do still have a lot to learn, don’t ya?” You didn’t have to turn to look to know who it was standing behind you, cold sweat already beading at your forehead as you stared down at the pavement, your eyes quavering. No way. There was no way he could have already found you. You thought- you thought you had made it far enough. You thought you were safe. 
“You thought you were safe?” It was as if the man in the dragon hoodie towering over you could read your thoughts - no, in his presence, there was no doubt that your mind was like an open book. “That we would never be able to find you because you ran overseas?” Those deceivingly downturned eyes glared a hole into your back, his lazy smile deceptively kind. “Aren’t ya going to say anything?”
Your new friend seemed to have taken notice of the sudden fear that washed over your entire posture, and in an instant, you were pushed behind her back, Nemona’s gloved hand going almost threateningly to the Pokeballs that hung by her belt. “Excuse me, but who are you?” The usually bubbly voice you had come to know was suddenly firm, every bit of enthusiasm having faded away into this serious side you had only encountered once. 
The Galar Dragon gym leader was hardly intimidated by those orange eyes, ignoring her as his dragon-like gaze continued to stare you down, the pressure alone from the fixation enough to force you to freeze. “Can’t even look at me, huh? Rude.” He knew you couldn’t. Raihan of all people knew better than most you couldn’t meet his gaze. The only response that left your lips was a whimper, your figure starting to quaver as the tears welled at the corner of your eyes.
But the annoying girl with the three strands of green hair butted in again, this time withdrawing a Pokeball to fully hold in her hand with the other arm wrapping comfortingly around your shoulders. “You are scaring my friend, and I do not appreciate that. Please leave.”
Raihan’s eyes finally slipped to the little insect, that razor-sharp gaze losing any and all interest. “And who are you?”
“Nemona, president of the Uva Academy student council and Champion-ranked trainer.” She announced, and the tanned man almost groaned out loud. Of all the places to possibly find you at, of course you had chosen the company of another champion. 
‎‎‎
Though it was a third voice that finally shattered your heart and any hope of escape you had left. “Champion?” The voice rang out from the darkness of the unlit side street. “I thought you were done with champions.” The pounding of heavy footsteps, and that unmistakably mob of long purple hair emerged into the dull light of the overhead streetlight. Just when you thought your heart couldn’t sink any further, your poor beating organ simply opting to fall straight out from your chest. Leon.
If Leon was here...
Nemona’s grip on you only tightened. “Who are you?” She demanded again, putting herself directly between you and the two men. You wanted to thank her, to say something, to say anything, but all you could do was tremble, your feet rooted to the ground no matter how much you screamed at yourself to move. No way - no way. How did they find you? “What do you want?”
There was no escape. You were trapped.
Her question was answered by the whispers of the gathering stragglers that still wandered the otherwise quiet streets of Cortondo, though the growing number of eyeballs didn’t help you feel anymore at ease. 
“Isn’t that… Leon and Raihan?”
“From Galar?”
“World number 1 and 7?! But what are they doing here?”
“Who’s that with Nemona?”
Your stomach churned, and you could feel the bile starting to rise through your throat. Leave. You wanted to leave. To run. To be anywhere but here.
The student council president was quick to realize that there was a lot more to you that she didn’t know, and that orange gaze, slowly but surely, turned on you. The reassuring grip she had on your shoulders never left, and Nemona gave you a tight squeeze. “What’s going on?” She whispered to you, but in the dead silence that suddenly fell over the night, everyone could hear her loud and clear. And what do these Master-Class trainers want with you? Was the unspoken question you heard loud and clear.
A single heartbeat of silence.
“Turn around, Galar Champion,” Leon ordered. There was no room in his tone for anything but absolute obedience, and against your will, you obeyed. Hesistantingly, shuffle by shuffle, you turned to face them, though your eyes remained firmly fixed on the ground, trembling hands gripped so tight that your knuckles were white.
Nemona’s eyebrows shot through the roof, and her voice pitched. “Galar Champion?!” And the growing crowd broke into a new round of frenzies whispers, every eyeball now on you, scanning you up and down in disbelief. 
A little thing like you? Champion?
“Never told you huh?” Raihan crowed. “That she had an entire team of Pokemon that could run at Champion League levels?”
Leon only continued to study your form mutely as Raihan continued to taunt Nemona with his knowledge, those once-friendly yellow eyes now almost seeming to glow in the dare as they peered straight into your soul. Taking a single step in your direction, it was enough to have you shrink away, your eyes flying shut and your shoulders hitching up. Almost as if you were expecting to take a hit from the former Galar Champion.
“So you have our Champion, and we’ll like her back. Please.” Finished the tanned man. Baring those sharp teeth, the smile that pulled at those lips was anything but friendly, Raihan once more turning his gaze back on you.
“Are you ready to come home?”
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neptunes-sol-angel · 1 year
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Pick the picture(s) that you're drawn to the most, then scroll down for its corresponding message about you stand out in your lovers' eyes, your toxic traits in love, and what about you sexually, do your romantic interests' find unforgettable.
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Pile One ♡
What makes your love irreplaceable?
Alexis Isley - Into Orbit
"Cold hands, warm heart" Your touch is something that your lovers (past, present, and future) fail to find in someone else. It permeates their mind how you're able to reach them in ways that are both tangible and intangible. There's a pattern with the partners that you attract. Before you, they carried this eeriness around them, something that made them feel broken to pieces. To them, they see you as this mad scientist that electrifies them to back to life. A provider with a mystique that's so enchanting and profound as they witness you making the impossible, possible. They find it surreal the way that you meet their needs without them having to verbalize it. When it's emotional—they can find themselves being a sentimental person wanting to accompany their woes with loneliness and space as a sign of strength, but when you're close to them, it becomes a remedy for their sorrows that they felt like they couldn't speak about without being misunderstood or dismissed. Even the chemistry is unmatched, as you both fluent the same humor, but most importantly, you make their peculiarities feel like a commonality, moreover, a reason to be comfortable in this world with themselves. When it's physical; they explore a new meaning of intimacy, as they're welcomed by your hands. The texture of them feels like being caressed by rose petals, velvety to the fingers, but invigorating for the spirit. It's your clasp that makes them, normalize the acceptance of affection, trust that closeness can be a safe antidote, know that they can be confident in their endeavors and in the face of adversity, and understand that the love you have for them isn't an illusion. When it's spiritual—you make them rethink about what they consider "monstrosities". You're angelic in their eyes, but you make sure to assert that there's no place for inferiority or superiority complexes. You embed in their minds that the good that they see in you, can also be found in them, as well as the shadowy traits that they feel like only them alone, can carry. Your presence is a serene, telepathic whisper, that snaps them out of the whirlpool of fears about themselves, an awakening for them to realize that what seems lost or irreparable does not warrant them unlovable.
What are your toxic traits in love?
You could mean well with your attentiveness and affection for others, but unconsciously, you may not be aware of how much you emotionally manipulate others in order to be this precise in making yourself someone that they can be receptive to. Another one, is the martyr complex that you may have, feeling as if you can be the main support system in your romantic interests' lives, which in the end, damages the connection as it becomes held together by codependency, and brings the worst out of your ego and self esteem. The perfectionism with cripple you into believing that your worth lies in being everything for another person, or the love dissipates into possessiveness on both ends, giving "love" because you expect it to be an admission for the other person to only want you, and for the other person to be threatened by you giving your love or just genuine generosity to other people because of stinginess, or failure to realize to the love that they lack in themselves. With love, you want to be absolutely consumed by it, and when you do, you want your partners to be consumed by yours entirely. You could be drawn to only being interested in romantic relationships where passion and emotions are unshackledly intense; especially when it comes to terms involving spiritual connections. You could strongly desire finding a soulmate/twinflame or a connection that "feels" like one, because you have the idea that soul contracts equate to having ownership over a person. This could make you a hopeless romantic that makes you lose the "plot" or the "point" of when something no longer becomes love anymore, but something poisonous. You get caught up with the magic that you feel over someone, or caught up with the magic that you could experience with another person.
What's unforgettable about you sexually?
I see your lovers being double stimulated by you. This pile could attract a lot of munchers, because I'm getting the way that you taste, is an instant aphrodisiac. They can't just package you in a Tupperware bowl and and devour you whenever, so they make sure to savor the encounter longer, by giving you oral sex like you're the last meal they'll ever eat. There isn't anything inherently submissive, or dominant, about the sex you and your partners have because I'm getting that you also bring equity in not just a romantic sense, but sexually too. You find ways where you're both mutually pleasing each other simultaneously, but no one is doing more or less work than the other. Your hands are brought up again in this, by your lovers reminiscing about the way that they feel on their skin. Even their sexual needs feel like you're meeting them telepathically, but this could be the way that you utilize eye contact with the person, knowing where to touch, when to touch, and how to touch during the sexual encounter. I feel like what makes sex with you unforgettable, is the way that you're able to satiate your person with only foreplay. Even when you're in the receiving end for oral sex, it could be the way that you grab their hair during the act, that arouses them, or positions like '69' where you're both able to pleasure each other that the same time. Your hands are again like the holy grail, but it's really sensation play that just want to indulge in, where you aren't just having a rough quickie and then it's done, you're slowly making love by exploring all five senses.
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Pile Two ♡
What makes your love irreplaceable?
Minnie Riperton - Baby This Love I Have
You don't half ass anything when it comes to expressing your love through gifts and support. You guys are special at home economics, using every bit of what you have to make something stable and amazing. Effort is just something that you won't waste, and you make sure to look out for everyone. I feel like in romance, your love is like the giants in the solar system, strong, abundant, and reliable—because what your partners (past, present, future) found in you that they can't find in anyone else, is certainty that your love stretches beyond just one thing, which could make them think that you're the perfect person to create a home and start a family with. There's a lot of fertile energy that you have, which could manifest in creativity, because with the gifts that you give to your partners, I'm seeing that they all come from the heart, than simply how much money you've spent. Your gifts to them could be all made by yourself; jewelry, clothing, but also cooking. But you could also in general be "the gift that keeps on giving" with the quality time that you spend with them. Like for instance, being around you, could open them to new perspectives or bring a change to what they thought would be their preferences. They could love how open you are with teaching them the do the things that they feel like they aren't confident about or your interests that differ from theirs. They feel taken cared of by you too, and love how much of a nurturer you are, or you teach them how to nurture their passions and allow their dreams to exist and grow into something more. You could also make your lovers change their minds about wanting kids, or they could just really be in love with the idea of raising kids, if it means you could be the other parent. I feel also feel like witnessing your ambition and love for the things in life outside of what's traditional or being able to find so many good things about life, is what triggers something unique in them that they've never felt with anyone else. You guys could be amazing intention setters, because your love is felt and illuminated in everything that you touch. You could be a soulful cook/baker, but this could also represent how much you infuse or season liveliness into your home, the meals that you cook for your loved ones, the encouragement and comfort that another person needs, the jokes you tell, the advice you give, and any other physical representation that makes your person know that they are appreciated. I taste blueberry waffles, so your love is irreplaceable for your partners because it's a contagious boost. Watching you be in love with living, activates something spiritual in them, to grow and aim for something larger in life besides just revolving around mundane things like chasing money and boring careers.
What are your toxic traits in love?
You are multi-talented, but you could be restless with the idea that you need to have more in order to give to someone, but this feeling of being inadequate could rub off on your partners, they could feel like you expect more from them such as wanting them to be someone that they're not. If you're not with a person that prioritizes their career a lot, then you could be the one that neglects your partner by spending too much time on your career. You have your own personality, beliefs, and wishes, which is an admirable thing, but could create a lot of arguments in your relationships where you aren't compromising for the other person, or you're very dismissive with what the the other person is trying to explain to you. With your insecurities, this could make you prone to making assumptions about what your person thinks about you, or push them away because you have the misconception that someone else would be a better fit for them or that you don't deserve them. In general, I'm getting a lot of indulging in the things that don't matter, like possibly being too concerned about who your partners have dealt with in the past and being in competition with those who aren't in their present life. Your partners feeling unequipped for you, is their personal work that they need to handle on their own, but there are times where you can be demeaning.
What's unforgettable about you sexually?
You guys could be very sexual beings, but not as giving with your body, even if you are in a relationship with someone because I'm picking up mostly your past partners living in regret over fumbling you in some way and are left with frustrations over what they could of had with you sexually. If you're into the occult, they could feel as if you did something un-natural to them. Like you bewitched them for wasting your time in some way, and you get them back by stealing their heart and arousement for eternity. For the people that you actually do have or had sex with, it's your dominance that they never seem to forget about. How you deviously take control over what positions to be in and when and how they will cum. There's something here about your legs, that you tease them with but I'm also getting a lot about scissoring, or wrestling to be on top by flipping your person over with your legs. Maybe you have thick thighs, or your partners feel very comforted by them because I'm seeing positions where they're tightly involved and around their bodies. Your partners could also find your face too beautiful to not be seen in every position, so even if you're turned around when your face is supposed to be the other away, your partners could literally grab/grip your hair, neck, or chin to make sure that they have them angled to where they can see your face. Your partners could also love to have sex with you outdoors, I'm specifically getting during the night time, because of how much they love the way the moonlight or stars glisten on your skin. There's also something about water, not the shower sex kind, but I'm talking bodies of it. This could mean sex on the beach, or literal pool/hot tub/ocean/lake sex. This could also be interpreted as positions where deep penetration is involved, or you being a person that they've felt the closest with in sex, because it feels powerfully tantric.
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Pile Three ♡
What makes your love irreplaceable?
The Marías - Care for You
I feel like you're so someone who loves the chase. Your lovers find you irreplaceable because they feel like you're someone that they're not supposed to have. Something about your love to them feels very seductive and illegal, but drives an animalistic urge to fight the odds to get the taste of something bittersweet. This pile is so strange? Like this is supposed to be about love, but the energy of this spread is densely intoxicating 💀 What's going on? I feel that this pile has a way with their lovers that is strongly arbitrary...because this is more about what people are willing to sacrifice for you just because they want to be with you, rather than why. Even if you're not the kind of person that wants to deal with romantic relationships, or is very strict with who you choose to commit to which makes your relationship history slim to none, your inaccessibility puts others in a trance. Maybe it's their lack of experience in love in general, but for some reason, you trigger a curiosity in them, the kind that would potentially kill the cat, but it's a type of unknown that they feel the need to venture. This feels a lot like love at first sight because I keep thinking of "Look at her -- I would die for her. I would kill for her. Either way -- what bliss", this is unique for them because what they determine is unexplainable, must be an eternal love, so then they conclude that this strong passion that they have for you is something that's worth and should be fought for to be attained. But this could also mean, your love stands out the most amongst their other partners (past, present, future) because it's the first that they've felt like they should expend all of their resources over. You could be "the one" to a lot of people, but definitely the one that gets away from many. I feel like you aren't the person that gets dumped. You're the person that does the dumping. Unless you break up with a person, they'll be with you till death.
What are your toxic traits in love?
You could be a runner. You run away from having relationships with people maybe out of fear or the fact that you're not interested. This a blockage for you in love, but what makes it toxic, is how you don't convey to people that you want nothing to do with them. I feel like you could really hurt others when you ghost them and make them feel like they weren't worthy of an explanation, because it leaves them in shambles emotionally and mentally. There's also something about indulging over people's obsession with you, even when it's clearly deteriorating them from the inside, or exposing you to unnecessary drama. Your toxic traits could also stem from loving too much of the chase because it gives you an ego boost, some kind of validation at the expense of other people's feelings being toyed with. You cannot control how magnetizing you are, but changing the direction is something that you do have power over. You can become the mermaid or you can either become the siren that lures people to a potential 'death' if you don't assert proper and healthy boundaries. The chemistry that people feel for you shouldn't be abused because you have nothing more to prove, people love you just because, you don't need to have them go through extreme measures to make yourself feel desirable.
What's unforgettable about you sexually?
How you draw people in, is what makes you the most unforgettable. I feel like foreplay and the actual act isn't necessary, there's something here about the way that you dance and strip tease that's iconic. But even during sexual encounters, it's how fluid your body movements are that's really memorable and unmatched. I'm getting a lot of cyber sex. Props, Webcams, and lingerie. I was going to say sexting, but this feels different, a little more visual. Your lovers could really just love watching you, like it pleases them more to watch you play with yourself, perform for them, or even have sex with others in front of them. If the last part resonates, then that could be the reason why I'm getting more messages about your toxic traits. There's this feeling of not wanting to be in a relationship, or throwing your relationships away because they aren't giving enough. I'm literally getting an image of your partner being on their knees, praising you during sexual encounters, so this could represent how much people simp for you but sometimes it's still not enough. If you feel like their attention is elsewhere or that their eyes aren't on you all of the time, then you could do things to make them jealous. There's this misconception of feeling like your partners don't love you, when they really wants what's best for you, even if it means them turning the relationship into something more open because I'm seeing the jealousy tactics backfiring. Like it either doesn't work and they'd want to figure out what the issue is, or it actually does work but it turns into something explosive instead of giving you what you want. You could be very demanding, or give off the impression to your lovers that you're someone who's high maintenance. This could really frustrate them, but in the end they compromise. If that part resonates, then you really need to check in with your self love to help you recognize what is already in front of you, do not make your partners feel like prisoners.
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I didn't expect a post about a dating sim x click & point adventure game with The Beasts to be this popular but. . .
*random gestures*
So here you go, some thoughts & features that could be added to this weird fangame I conjured up!
(tw: long)
~General~
The world that the player teleported into heavily mirrors the land of beast yeast, complete with each of the landmarks which the beasts resign in. One exception however is at the center of this mysterious land is a forest of silver trees, which surround a strange alter of six stone standing pads, five little stones around a much larger stone in the middle (wonder what that's about?)
Somewhere amidst the silver woods is a mysterious grove, a grove filled with lilies. If adventurous enough, the player can explore the grove, but be warned, for not only do the scent of lilies cause drowsiness and the possibility of passing out, but lilies aren't the only thing that the land houses. The grove is peerless maze, so the player must enter with caution
The story length will be similar to how Obey Me is set up (divided into different chapters) with the first three to four chapters introducing the Beasts
There's no "canonical" choice of who'll you'll end up with, that's entirely up to the player. Another choice the player will have is whether the relationships can be platonic or romantic
Although many MCs are mostly left blank slates, I want the player in the sort of grey area between having an actual personality but leaving details vague enough to leave people guessing. Think the MC from "Obey Me" crossed with Yuu from "Twisted Wonderland" And you know many MCs are often nice and kind-hearted, well sorta throw that out the window bc we're doing something special(snarky, sarcastic, brutality honest, and filled with trust issues)
There's only snippets of what the player physically looks like(trust me, this'll be important later)
It's also important that the player has zero memory of entering the world they were basically isekaed into, something which the beasts learn one way or another. . .
The player will receive several petnames from the beasts, ranging from simple ones like "dear" or "sweetheart," to petnames relating to mice and other rodents(ie: "Little Mouse," "Pika," even "Pipsqueak")
In the game, the day-night cycle plays a big role in the gameplay. You'll be allowed to roam and explore as much as you want, but at night, you're given the choice of whether you should go to bed or keep exploring. If the player chooses to continue exploring, they'll be met with an energy meter, which increases when you sleep and decreases when you don't. With a full bar, the player can explore a total of five times, and once that meter runs out, they get too exhausted and fall asleep
Now would be a good time to mention the player's different bedrooms. They rotate based on the location, but they're meant to be a sort of safe space for the player, it's also the area where they pick up an important item: A journal
The journal functions very similarly to a scribble board and an actual notebook but serves one purpose, to allow the player to take notes on certain puzzles. Different puzzles are scattered across the landmarks, some are extremely difficult and require one to jot notes
I also like to think the player would receive a variety of tools during their journey and will each be essential. Which would lead the player to carry a bag to hold said items
For the purpose of the story, the player is able to respawn if they die. Remember the alter in the silver tree forest, they wake up there like nothing happened, although they do still retain the memories of said death
The player will engage in several minigames, the most common of them being a cooking style game where you prepare meals and ones where your using certain tools. Whilst the click & point portion consists of the player exploring the different areas & interacting with their surroundings
As a bonus, the player is gifted different outfits from the beasts, each one corresponding to the beast, their interests, and their theme
~Shadow Milk~
In the many eyes of Shadow Milk, the player is the only cookie he's seen in a while, so it's obvious he'd want them to be his audience, if you ever so chose to be. They get the option of asking more & trying to convince him on letting them have a turn in performing, which he'll have different reactions to
*You're reading the scripts of one of Shadow Milk's plays, in awe at the material. You compliment his work, making him all the more flattered*
"Oh I love acting! Your script is amazing, could I try acting some things out?"
*Hearing the question, Shadow Milk snatches the script from your hands. He almost snaps at you*
"What? No, of course not!"
"I'm sorry my dear, I adore your praise but. . . we've already established who the audience is! It's the key tool of any actor's career, and without that, we'd just be two actors with no one to entertain. . ."
"Besides, I think you'd have trouble trying to impress such a seasoned performer like myself~"
Despite his condescending comments, he slowly begins to let you act out small skits as their relationship with him becomes stronger, and he begins to cave
Shadow Milk has several references to acting, the stage, and plays, it would be a sin to not give this man a rhythm game. Similar to already existing rhythm games like "Rhythm Heaven" or the rhythm game portion in "Obey Me"
Every task, no matter how minimal or simple, becomes way more difficult with Shadow Milk. If you're just as much as a theater kid as he is, his need for literally everything to be a grand, exaggerated, obnoxious spectacle, especially around the player, is strong. Half the time, things don't go his way & he winds up making a mess, messes which the player is forced to clean up
Also, most everything he does requires a quick "costume change" thems the rules. He's cooking you breakfast? He's wearing a bright pink apron with frills and a heart-shaped pocket. You get hurt and scrape your knee? Here comes Dr. Shadow Milk in his doctor's uniform and stethoscope. The two of you are getting ready for bed? You'll be seeing him in striped pajamas, an extremely long nightrobe, fuzzy slippers and a sleep mask, including hair curlers
There will absolutely be no sneaking out on his domain, not on his watch! Shadow Milk, with his abilities, is a living security system, and reacts heavily to sound. So one snap of a twig or step on some creaking floorboards and it's over!
"*Ahem!*"
*A freakishly familiar voice is heard from behind you. Breaking into a sweat, you slowly turn around, the smallest part of you wished it wasn't who you thought it was. . . But as luck would have it, you didn't know any other crazy entertainers. . . Sure enough, it was exactly who'd you expected to see, Shadow Milk stood in front of you, arms crossed and everything*
"Just where do you think you're going?"
*You try playing it cool, although sweating a bit*
"Oh hey Shadow. . . I was just about to head out and-"
"Head out? At this time?!"
"I-I'm not gonna be gone for too long! I'll come right back after promise- *ah!*"
*Shadow Milk had already scooped you up, carrying you bridal style*
"That's quite enough! I can't have my only audience member getting drowsy during one of my shows, now can I?~"
*You were embarrassed beyond belief, even more once he started walking you to your room, and abruptly boops you on the nose*
"It's off to bed with you little mousey!~"
". . . ok(;w;). . ."
He takes much pride & joy in inconveniencing the player, purely for his own entertainment. What makes it worse is that he'll always find some sort of excuse, saying how it's "to punish them" and "to teach them how to do it right," just some of the lies they have to deal with
And that's not all, you think he started there? nope! He started lying to the player the second the two of them met. Seeing the player scared and alone in his domain, he didn't miss an opportunity to mess with the player's head. Fortunately, this does change as you begin to get closer with him, he starts being more open with the player
The outfit Shadow Milk gives the player is, although the tackiest thing on earthbread(if the player decides that it is), the most practical of the outfits they'll receive. It has a sort of German fairytale vibe to it, covered head to toe in ruffles, lace, bells, overly detailed designs, and of course, colored blue. It looks like, feels like, and is a costume, but despite its cheesy appearance, it's easy to run & move in
Out of all the beasts, Shadow Milk is the one who cares the most for the player's physical well-being. He's always making sure the player's eating enough, getting sleep, and most importantly, is happily entertained. It's been far too long since he was able to put on his plays, and he's gonna make sure they have the ability to sit through them
All and all, Shadow Milk is a well-meaning, all be it annoying, roommate
~Eternal Sugar~
She was always keen on learning most of the trickster's secrets, so finding out about the player, she became both upset yet understanding. Shadow Milk was the Cookie of Deceit after all
Regardless, Eternal Sugar found it quite unfair of him to keep them all to himself, and took it upon herself to steal the player away, via using one of her clouds
*While wandering by yourself within Shadow Milk's domain, you peer up at the unearthly, but normally blue sky, to see what seemed to be clouds suspiciously hovering over you*
Bewildered and curious, the player has the decision of either ignoring it or checking it out, but each will end in the clouds scooping up the player and taking them, all the way to Eternal Sugar Cookie
First meeting the player, she's admittingly unimpressed with what she sees, to think something so important to them would be reduced to such a simple creature. . ? But that mindset quickly changes as she discovers how adorable the player is, and just how naive they are. . .
She views the player as some sort of pet, spoiling them with all the goodies they can ever want, to a point where its almost overwhelming
*On a table, a large platter of sweets is set in front of you; you're almost tooken back by the sheer size of the dish, it was almost half the size of the table! Just sitting next to you was Eternal Sugar, smiling almost amusingly at your reaction*
"U-Uh. . . Is this all for me. . ?"
*She giggled*
"Of course it is dear! What sort of guest would you be if you didn't receive such delicacies?"
*Eternal Sugar picks up a sweet from the platter and holds it close to your mouth*
"Now, open wide~"
Unlike the other beasts, Eternal Sugar has the habit of babying the player, so like Shadow Milk, every simple task becomes way more difficult with her around. She'll make sure they won't be able to lift a finger!
Her associative minigame fits her sort of style, a memory game using cards, similar to the many games you can find on those "Kid-friendly Newgrounds" websites
Another thing worth noting is her clingy nature. Everywhere the player goes, Eternal Sugar has to follow, which does make things more difficult and affects progress. The prime definition of a space invader
It gets even worse during the night cycle, where she often insists on sleeping in the same bed as the player. Despite this, night is the only time the player will be able to get anything done. Just know that when they got back to bed and woke up the next morning, they'll have a sweet surprise waiting for them
*Morning light shines onto your face as it creeps into the rest of the room. You groan, awoken by your natural alarm clock, and begin to yawn & stretch, a part of you wished you slept in a bit longer. But as you try to get out of bed, you feel a weight on your right hand, better yet, you feel an entire section of the bed being weighed down by some unknown force. Turning around, you quickly discover why*
"E-Eternal Sugar Cookie! What are you-?!"
*There, covering a good half of the bed, Eternal Sugar Cookie was peacefully snoozing, clutching your hand. In your failed attempts at yelling at her & pulling your hand away were left to no avail, she had no intent on moving, nor letting go, making you all the more flustered*
"Ms. Eternal Sugar Cookie, please!- Let me go! I need-"
*She merely lifted one eye, only half awake and ready to sleep the rest of the day away*
"Awh~ but little mouse, it's so early!~ Can't you stay just a bit longer?~"
*She smiles at your flustered expression*
"But I have stuff to do! Please, you have to let me- *ah!-* h-hey!"
*Too busy trying to escape, you failed to notice her grip getting tighter, pulling you back down your now shared bed*
"Sleep a little more with me, won't you? There's no rush~"
"O-ok, fine then, but only for a couple more minutes, but that's it!"
*She giggled*
"Deal~"
Throughout their stay, the player only gets small snippets of Eternal Sugar's true personality. If the player chose to question her sickly sweet demeanor, she'd get defensive real fast, asking them why they would even question something like that. If angered, she becomes pushy, demanding, especially when the player doesn't do what she says
It becomes increasingly clear when Eternal Sugar gives you a new outfit, since the one you're wearing (aka the outfit Shadow Milk gave you) didn't fit her style, believing that you should wear something more flowy. She actually offers several different outfits for the player, and although nice, they're. . . let's just say not so family friendly; try as they might to reject her offers, she'll get upset and more persistent, nonetheless; this however does change as the story goes on, she becomes more understanding. Luckily, the two manage to make a compromise, Eternal Sugar offers the player a much simpler pink dress, with bows, lace, and ribbons. Despite being much to the player's liking(if that's what the player chooses), she begins to whine about it, saying how it could've been so much more; not to mention, both the ribbons and lace constantly get stuck on things if they aren't careful
The only time the player's able to really see Eternal Sugar's true colors is when Shadow Milk shows up, who's not all too happy about her basically kidnapping the player. Whilst they ventured alone, he made the mistake of taking his eyes off them for a second, last thing he knew they were snatched by some clouds and whisked away into the sky, which he immediately starts chasing after them. He knew exactly who was responsible. Unlike Shadow Milk, Eternal Sugar does a much better job of keeping her composure, playing dumb and refraining from acting out of character around the player. But once Shadow Milk insults her fake personality, all hell breaks loose
"Well, well, well, if it isn't my dear friend. . .?~ Eternal Sugar Cookie. . !"
*Shadow Milk had snuck in through an open window. Before you could even do anything, Eternal Sugar had already pulled you to her side, forcing you to sit in the lavish and comfortable sofa she was lounging on. He made his way towards her, with his usual wide smile; from the corner of your eye, you could barely see an eye twitch and, was he gritting his teeth? It didn't look like it, but he was seething with rage*
"Oh, Shadow Milk Cookie!~ for what do I owe the pleasure?~"
"How lovely of you to ask!~ You see, you just so happen to have something that belongs to me!"
*Shadow Milk then stares back at you, startling you a bit with his crazed expression. Although Eternal Sugar seemed unfazed, her grip on you only became tighter as the trickster started speaking to you*
"Little mousey, there you are!~ Oh I was so worried, thank goodness you're safe!~"
"I am so, so, sorry to have kept you waiting~ believe me, it's a long story!~"
"*Ah!* And what happened to the little dress I gave you?! I mean you still look cute, but you'd look so much better before and- oh! almost got off track for a second!~ *haha!*"
"Alrighty, I think it's time for me and my little mousey to get go-"
"You're leaving with them? Now what would be the purpose in that?~"
*She quickly shifted from her lounging position to a sitting position, pulling you closer toward her, and flustering you more. You see the trickster's eye twitch more, noticing just a crack in his character*
"*hehe-* what did you say. . ?!"
"I've tooken quite the liking to 'your' little mouse!~ Besides, you keeping them all to your self. . ? Extremely unfair of you!~"
*She then draped her arms around you, your face was getting redder by the second*
"Surely they'll be much happier here, isn't that right little mouse?~"
"Well, *uhh-* actually. . ."
"Then it's settled!~ The little mouse will be staying with me!~"
*They proceeded to argue back and forth, Shadow Milk's played up character was falling apart at the seams, losing a drop of his patience with every word the "angel" said. Eternal Sugar found herself quite entertained with the trickster getting angrier and angrier. All the while, you didn't know what to do, clearly neither of them were going to let you leave, or you know, let you get a single word in. So you were placed in a very awkward situation, stuck between an angel cookie who wasn't keen on you leaving, and a jester who was trying to get you back through gritted teeth*
"Listen, I'm the one who saw them first, they were found in my domain, therefore, they're mine! So if you would be so kind as to return them to me. . !"
*She proceeded to hold you closer, practically cuddling you, was she trying to make him even angrier?!*
"Oh but we're having so much fun!~ They'd much prefer it here than that over-the-top spiral you call a tower. . !"
*Insulting his domain was the nail in the coffin. It looked like he'd finally snapped, any ounce of patience he had before was completely out the window. Using his magic, he wrapped up your hands in some mysterious string, pulling you forward and out of Eternal Sugar's reach, greatly shocking and scaring the heck out of you. Once you were back in his arms, Shadow Milk pushed you behind him, and looking back at Eternal Sugar, she'd gotten up from the sofa, it seemed like she was starting to crack as well*
"Oh!~ So that's how we're gonna play *huh?!* Then I'll lend you this: do you really think they'd want to stay with a tooth-rotting prick like yourself?!"
*She began to clutch her fists, her eyes widen in a mix of shock and anger*
". . ?! What did you just call me. . ?!"
"Oh don't you give me that! little miss 'sweet & innocent angel!' unlike myself, people can see your fake persona from a mile away!~"
"And with how long they had to stay with you. . . I'm surprised my poor little mousey hasn't gotten sick and vomited from the spoiling and smothering they had to withstand!"
*That was all it took for her, she broke faster than he did, the wings on her back got bigger, Eternal Sugar's eyes glowed with rage*
". . . how dare you. . !"
"HOW DARE YOU!!"
The player obviously gets the choice of trying to stop the fight or slipping away, the following events escalating faster or slower depending on which they choose. Things escalate to a point where Eternal Sugar just snatched them and attempted to fly away with the player, which led to Shadow Milk using his magical strings to pull them back, entering the two of them in an intense game of tug of war with the player. And the force of both sides was so strong. . . It ended up ripping the player in half
So, Eternal Sugar Cookie, kinda pushy at times and very clingy all the time, but a sweetheart nonetheless
~Mystic Flour~
Getting ripped in half by two powerful beings. . . not something you would easily forget. . . You'd expect this to be game over, right? well, wrong, cause upon miraculously waking up, not only do you find yourself on top a strange alter, but face to face with Mystic Flour Cookie
Seeing the clouds of Eternal Sugar Cookie's cloud soaring past her land, she immediately could tell that something was a mist, and strolling through the silver forest and finding the player laying on the strange alter, her suspicions were correct
At first, she couldn't believe it, a cookie, in their world?! But after a proper meeting with the player and asking how they ended up on the alter, she became a bit more pitiful, going on to invite them to her domain, such a clueless cookie shouldn't be left alone!
But talking about what was basically their death is pretty traumatizing, so the player is given the choice of whether to straight up lie, or give some part of the truth
"So, you have no memory of how you ended up on this alter. . ? Nothing at all?"
*Your voice was strained, you didn't want to tell her the full truth*
"N-no, not a lot. . ."
*Mystic Flour then proceeds to grasp both your cheeks, pulling you close to her face, much to your slight embarrassment*
"Oh, you poor thing! You must be so lost, so confused. . ."
*It was that moment when an idea sprung into her, an idea that may help the both of you. . .*
"How about you come with me?~ Surely you'll be much safer!~"
*Try as you might to decline her offer, she just becomes more insistent. She was giving decent points however, you were lost and confused, not to mention trapped in this witch-forsaken place, and the only two "cookies" you knew killed you, accidently or not, you couldn't decide. . . Eventually, after lots of convincing and growing tired, you finally cave, accepting her offer*
"Ok, fine, I'll go with you"
"Oh good! Well, come along then!~"
*Gently, Mystic Flour took your hand, pulling you off the alter, and guiding you through the silver woods*
Mystic Flour had already made herself sound quite trustworthy, but of course, this can't be without some sort of catch. . . Though she looks caring on the outside, she sees the player as a mere tool, a stepping stool for something much greater. Her methods of getting information is much more subtle
Both minigames mentioned before required some sort of skill, Mystic Flour's is no exception. Similar to classic video game "Snake," the player's goal is to fill the respected area using dragons instead of snakes (wonder why?)
Pretty much the minute the two of them enter her domain, she basically gives them free range to do whatever. She doesn't really care if the player wanders too far or gets into spaces they shouldn't. But she will let you know when it's time to head back
*As the sun starts to set, you continue to search about the area like a curious child, you hardly noticed Mystic Flour standing just behind you*
"Little pika, dear it's time to head back!~"
*Hearing her voice yelling out to you so suddenly just barely startled you, but you gained back your composure once you see her warm smile*
"Oh! Hi Mystic Flour Cookie! Just give me a second, I have to check a few more things!"
*It wasn't like you weren't going to listen to her orders, you just had a bit more to do. But watching you get farther & farther away from her; Mystic Flour saw it differently. Already making her way toward you, she proceeded to scoop you into her arms, startling you and plastering blush onto your face, as she started walking you back herself*
"*ah!*W-Wait! Mystic Flour Cookie, I wasn't done ye-!"
"I know, I know, dear, you have your little tasks!~ But you'll have so much time to do them tomorrow, so please, might we head back? I'm sure the food is getting cold!"
*With you being in her grasp and your legs being very much off the ground, there wasn't really a choice to keep going. You could've kicked and screamed, but there were doubts that'd even work. . . And so, with no other options, you let her take you away, which sucked, but hey, at least you have yummy food waiting for you!*
Mystic Flour has the sheer amount of enthusiasm as an overly supportive mother, she has not a clue of what the player is doing but they're doing great! But like some mothers, she tries a more "hands off" approach as a way to set rules, intentionally not telling the player helpful information just for the sake of them learning it themselves
She does, however, provide them with all the materials to do so: a bedtime routine, plenty of food, and a warm winter outfit. Speaking of which, due to the wintery background, Mystic Flour gives them an outfit most suitable to withstand the cold, something heavy, but also angelic, a nun like dress colored a soft yellow, complete with black counterparts. The only downside is that defending the player from the cold is its only purpose, for it is much too heavy anywhere else and unbearable in hotter areas
Unlike the other beasts mentioned, Mystic Flour has no interest in forming a genuine relationship with the player. To her, you only serve one purpose, finding her escape (whatever that means) and is more direct into reaching her goal. She creates a false sense of security between the two of them, then when the time is right, uses that bond to her advantage. Fortunately, this behavior does change as the story continues, and Mystic Flour becomes more interested, and attached, to the player, but for now, her methods remain neutral
This becomes more apparent as Mystic Flour tries getting information out of the player in a sort of therapeutic way, sitting them down and letting them speak about their troubles, starting with the obvious. . .
"And. . . that's pretty much what happen. . ."
*You laid atop the much larger cookie, your head resting on her lap as she lightly massaged your hair. You rub your hands uncomfortably, as if waiting for bad news, your throat felt strained. Sandwiched between two angry beings, getting pulled into the sky then ripped in two, these were memories you weren't ready to revisit, especially with someone you've met only a few moments ago. . . At the same time, was holding this deep inside healthy? You saw life flash before your eyes, seconds before being split in half. . . Besides, you were already holding onto so much. . . would it hurt to let go of some. . . You felt Mystic Flour let go of your hair as she began running her hand on your face*
"Oh you, poor, poor, dear. . ."
"I am so sorry you had to be apart of. . . that. . ."
*Although you couldn't see her face, she sounded genuinely sorry for you, which was quite refreshing considering everything you've been through so far*
"They can be rather selfish at times, only thinking about themselves. . . You're lucky you've ended up with me!~"
*You laughed at her remark, trying to brighten up the mood, despite still feeling, well, you didn't know what to feel at that point. . .*
"*Heh* Yeah. . . I guess you're right. . ."
*Unannounced to you, Mystic Flour smiled to herself, her plan was working swimmingly. . . Having brought you to a docile state, it was more than a better time to gather the information she'd been longing for. . .*
"If you would allow me to. . . may I ask you something else?"
*You think for a minute, it was only one question, what harm could it do. . .*
"*Uh* sure. . . what is it?"
"Well little pika, you see-"
*Before the words could fall out of her mouth, there was a sudden loud BANG noise from outside. Respectfully, this startles you, making you flinch, but Mystic Flour didn't seem to move. . . Looking back up, you were finally able to see her face, she seemed irritated, annoyed. Gently, she lifted your head off her lap, resting you onto your knees, confused, you turn to her and saw that she was already standing, looking down upon you. She mumbled something under her breath*
"*Ugh* At a time like this. . ?!"
"Just a moment pika. . . I have to handle something. . ."
Mystic Flour considers herself to be the mother figure of the beasts, and although uncompassionate at times, she plays her role well
~Burning Spice~
(Literally the most perfect segway!~)
All it took was Shadow Milk and Eternal Sugar fighting for Burning Spice Cookie to want a part of the action. Last where we left off with them, the two managed to split the player in half, insides and everything, and were now freaking out over their (very much dead) body, whilst arguing over whose fault it was. By sheer coincidence, did Burning Spice decide to check up on Eternal Sugar, and catches site of the two yelling at each other
Burning Spice hasn't met the player, doesn't know who they are nor what they look like, but he took immediate interest in them after seeing how they affected the two other beasts. If just their mutilated body was enough to cause them to start screaming and crying like little kids, who knows what else they could do. . .
Already, he was making assumptions of what kind of person they'd be, perhaps the player was someone strong and intimidating, someone perfect to be his sparring partner, and continues to deny any sort of actual description of them
Him, Shadow Milk, Eternal Sugar had mostly worked together in their search for the player, but the millisecond they found out they were with Mystic Flour, the race was on. . . Which takes us to now, where Burning Spice appears first, causing a massive scene with his abilities in an attempt to lure her out
*Alerted by the sudden destruction just outside, Mystic Flour rushed to her outer balcony, irritated like this had happened before. . . She knew exactly who the culprit was, and sure enough, there he was, sitting casually atop the balcony's railing, Burning Spice greeted her with a sinister look on his face. She had already prepared herself, immediately knowing that something was about to go down*
"There she is, Misty! Long time no see!"
"Burning Spice Cookie. . . what brings you here. . ?"
"*Oh!* I think you know exactly why I'm here!"
*Getting off the railing, he walked toward his comrade, having no use in making a big deal out of it. Mystic Flour, although slightly surprised, saw it as a sort of threat, only further did she stand her ground*
"Ya see, a little birdie told me that you've been hiding a shiny new treasure from us. And I, of course, thought it'd be too good to be true. . . So I decided to drop by to take a look for myself. . !"
*He tried walking around her to reach the balcony's entrance, but before he could take another step, Mystic Flour stopped him, she wouldn't back down that easily. . .*
"There is no such thing. . . whatever is in my possession is none of your business. . !"
*In her defensive state, Burning Spice's persistence only grew, now patting her shoulder almost reassuringly*
"Hey, c'mon Misty!~ we're buddies, pals! Letting me get a tiny sneak peek shouldn't be a problem!"
"Say, how about this? You let me see what you're hiding, and I promise, I won't tell the others, I'll even let ya keep it! So what do ya say?~"
*Not even seconds after he said that, he immediately tried pushing past Mystic Flour as if she'd already answered his question. Of course, she shut that down almost instantly, even pushing him back, something which he doesn't really take well. His eyes widened, she set him off by just that push alone. She could bluntly tell he was lying, only using their relationship as an excuse, so she didn't let him any closer*
"Burning Spice Cookie, we've known each other for eons, do you really think I wouldn't be able to recognize one of your petty excuses. . . ?! "
"If you knew better, you'd be wise enough to leave, for this so-called treasure you're after, I know nothing about!"
*Pushing and telling him to leave. . . yep, that'll do it. . . Burning Spice broke into laughter as his hair began to glow warms shades of red, orange, and yellow, moving like a sea of flames*
"*HA HA HA HAHAHA!* *Oh!* Misty, ya might just make me angry!"
*His tone quickly shifts from trigger-happy to overall threatening once he'd opened his eyes, now just as bright as his hair, he marches towards Mystic Flour, who was all the more irritated and unfazed*
"And you. . . don't wanna make me angry. . !"
"Make you angry?! *Heh!* Didn't know it was so easy to mess with that small brain of yours!"
*It isn't long before the two engage in full on battle, both sides being equally matched in some way. While this was all happening, you were completely unaware; being inside exploring, you're none the wiser of the destruction going on outside*
Eventually, Burning Spice does manage to bust his way inside, and upon actually seeing the player in their simple state, he couldn't be more disappointed, to think Shadow Milk and Eternal Sugar's bickering would be caused by such a boring little cookie(but those two do fight over a lot of things, so-)
He'd almost considered leaving them, but Burning Spice would rather leave with something than nothing, so taking his losses he hoists up the player over his shoulder and makes, a not so quiet, escape. Much to Mystic Flour's dismay and the player's protests (or cries for help depending on what they choose)
Burning Spice sees the player like how a general sees a soldier. He thinks they're weak, bland, and more notably boring, and wants to, in his words, "spice them up." Because of this, he is unnecessarily harsh, working the player to the bone and expecting them to "get up" when they get too tired
*How long has it been. . ? An hour? Two hours? At that point you didn't know, but all you did know is that it felt like an eternity since Burning Spice started your so called "training." Back and forth, you were forced to run with heavy rocks on your back whilst following him, who was doing the same. All the while he'd yell at you to pick up the pace as encouragement. . .You huffed and panted*
"*Hah**hah. . .* Burning Spice Cookie, please, can't we stop for. . . just a minute. . ?"
*It was the only time he'd turn back at you, what a ridiculous ask!*
"What?! Definitely not! ya still got a lot to go, pipsqueak!"
*You couldn't go on any longer. A mess of sweat and sore bones, you plummet to the ground, numb to the rocks currently on your back, you wanted rest, at least for a minute. . . Burning Spice only reached a good distance away before noticing you were far, far behind. He ran back to you, but not because he was worried*
"Ay! Pipsqueak, what's the holdup?!"
*He crouched down, better viewing your shriveled up body, far too weak to keep going. Despite the obvious, Burning Spice still tried getting you to stand, poking, even attempting to pull you off the ground, but you won't budge. . .*
"C'mon! Quit acting like Eternal Sugar Cookie and get moving!"
"Please. . . let me rest. . ."
*Your sweat could've well stained the ground if it were cool enough. . . You were stubborn & refused to get up, becoming a puddle of flesh. Realizing that you weren't moving, he, grudgingly, decides to do what was best, but first he had to move you somewhere more suitable to your needs*
"*Ugh* Alright! Fine! I'll let you outta this, only once!"
*Swiftly brushing the rocks off your back, he scoops you up and onto his shoulder, no way would he let you die right then and there. You suddenly feel the biggest weight being literally lifted off your shoulders, thanking whatever was out there for this moment*
"I'll let you rest, but not here!"
"*Heh* Thank you. . ."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever!"
Everything Burning Spice does, he expects the player to do the same, no matter how difficult. But will give them the benefit of the doubt when the player gets too tired to keep going, much to his annoyance
He's active and moving 24/7, that's why Burning Spice's minigame is directly based on "Super Mario Bros" where the player runs about collecting items, attacking enemies, etc.
If the player is talking to him, he'll most entirely talk about himself, boosting his ego, even throwing insults at the other beasts, which is both annoying and ironic because he does the exact same things that they do. That being said, it's important to never get mad at him or give him attitude because it will work him up, for better or worse. . .
The player can easily get information from him due to his blunt honesty. When talking about the other beasts, he'll always give bits of helpful information about them, some that can be extremely helpful in the future
Similar to Mystic Flour, Burning Spice gives the player free range to do whatever, the only difference is that Burning Spice sets up these "training sessions" on random occasions without notifying the player firsthand, and expects them to drop everything to train with him. This exhausts the player, causing them to only be able to do things during the day, when they've required enough rest
*Stumbling into the room Burning Spice gave you, you flop onto the bed, nestling your head against your pillow, relived. You were finally able to rest your jelly legs, sore running around and doing tasks. But you turn to your side, something catches your eye. . . On the single window of your room, you noticed what looked to be a slip of paper. Despite being entirely drained, your curiosity got the better of you, and slipping from the bed, you make your way toward the windowsill, now realizing how out of place from the rest of the room, appearing more of a light lilac than any of the reds and oranges. You questioned if even came from the place, and upon proper examination, your suspicions seemed correct. . . This was no mere paper, but a letter! Curiosities only felt more rapid as you opened, revealing not only short message crafted in cursive, but a beautiful illustration of a rose*
"Small Rodent, have you been faring well within our world? Have you been eating, sleeping well? I hope the others hadn't been too cruel towards you. . . Word of mouth does not travel fast here, so I apologize if I arrive to you late. . . I wish to reach you soon. . ."
"From- Silent Salt Cookie"
"Small Rodent. . ?"
*Reading through the passage, you took a few seconds to process, hoping that whoever sent it wasn't suggesting what you thought they were suggesting, cause if you got kidnapped one more time. . .-*
"Aye! Pipsqueak!!"
*Burning Spice had, without warning, busted into the room, no time for internal dialogue now! With milliseconds to think, you swiftly hide the letter behind your back, not before confronting the brute for his sudden excursion of your privacy*
"B-Burning Spice Cookie?! What are you doing here?!-"
"What?~ I can't check on my little pipsqueak, can't I?~"
*Again with the nickname. .?! Blushing rapidly, you couldn't tell whether you were annoyed, angry, or just plain embarrassed. . . Burning Spice laughed boastingly, always amused by your expressions*
"*HAHAHAH!~* Ya never fail to entertain me, pipsqueak!~"
*Then he noticed the arms behind your back. . .*
"Say, whatcha got there? Ya hiding something from me?"
*Shoot! the letter was still in your hands! Only seeing this as more of a reason to keep it hidden, you play it cool for as much as possible*
"I-It's nothing! W-What are you talking about?!*hehe*"
*Burning Spice just saw your actions as even more suspicious, he might be a barbarian, but he isn't stupid. He attempted turning you around to see what exactly you were keeping from him, all the while you were trying to dodge him, cold sweat beginning to run down your forehead*
"Are ya sure? Cause *uh* ya starting to look pretty sweaty there. . ."
"Oh!- this?! *Uhh. . .* I'm just, tired! from all the training today *haha!*"
*You two do this dance a bit, with you becoming doubly irritated the more Burning Spice tried seeing what you're hiding, getting additionally irritated while Burning Spice looked completely willing to tear your front open, asking and reinsuring you, again and again to get a little looksee. And you thought Shadow Milk was nosy?! Annoying and driven to your breaking point, you practically yell at him-*
"IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS, OK?!"
*Hearing those words fall out of your mouth, Burning Spice is beyond tooken aback, clearly, he didn't like being told what to do. You quickly gasp to yourself, slamming your mouth closed with a free hand upon realizing what you've just said, how could you be so stupid?! With the letter still in your other hand, you decide the best course of action was to crumble up the paper, that letter was the least of your worries now anyway. . .*
"Did. . .Did you just yell at me. . ?!"
*You gulped, your sweat becoming increasingly apparent as the brute looked seconds away from having steam shoot out his ears. He proceeds to get unnervingly close, practically towering over you. . .Didn't think it would end this way. . .*
"That. . . Is. . ."
"Great!!!"
"Ya getting spicier by the minute!"
*Burning Spice grabbed both your shoulders, and shook them with excitement, much to your bewilderment. The way his tone can just shift was both jarring and impressive. After a bit of violent shaking and surviving what would've been another death experience, he eventually lets go, not before giving you a hardy slap to the back whilst laughing, dang near knocking you off your feet and the letter out of your hand*
"*HA! HA!* Ya know what!? Take the rest of the day off! I wanna see my hard work!"
*He happily marches out of the room, leaving you in a rather messed up state*
"Be sure to get all the rest ya need! Ya gonna need it for tomorrow!"
*Burning Spice leaves the room, shutting the door, the second he was out of sight, you took the biggest sigh of relief. That was close, way too close! Like you practically dodged a bullet! You pull back out the crumbled-up letter and tried to fix it, somewhat regretting your decision of almost destroying it before. You had to be more careful next time*
During this entire scene, the player must be extra careful around Burning Spice, because despite how it's played, there's a route where he discovered the letter while they're asleep, and he's not too pleased with having Silent Salt trying to contact them, promptly getting so angry he burns the letter to ashes
That being said, Burning Spice, though seeming like a rage-filled brute who fights first and asks questions later, he's never threatening nor outright violent to the player, unless its a final resort. The player is a much-needed piece in a, all be it complex, puzzle, even if they don't even know it, and in order for them to work is through gaining their trust. But don't think that this is a good thing, there are many times where he could've hurt them yet actively chose not to
He immediately got to work constructing another outfit for the player cause in his own words, "there's no way ya staying here looking like that!" And the outfit he gives them perfectly reflects his ego, slick black clothing, paired with red barbaric accents, and brightly colored armor, making the player look like a mini version of himself. It's good enough for the endless training they have to do, but it's clear that some parts of the outfit were put together at the last second and were made from the minimal sewing Burning Spice learned. And if wanting to be honest, it's kinda ugly. . . Overall, it's the player's least favorite of the outfits given (if they decide it is)
Every hour, it feels like Burning Spice is always learning something new about the player, to him at least. Because of this, he celebrates every accomplishment they make with lavished (and very spicy) feasts, no matter how small they might be. Not exactly the best prize for basically being slaved away constantly to a point of exhaustion, but he doesn't need to know that. The only downside to this is that he's loud, like really loud, so loud in fact, he can't hear any other voices but his own, making him clearly oblivious to a certain someone stealing away the player(-again)
So Burning Spice, a not-so great roommate, but a pretty good personal trainer
~Silent Salt~
Ever since leaving Shadow Milk's site, someone else had been watching the player for some time, someone who wasn't too distant from the player, none other than the silent knight themself, Silent Salt Cookie
Once they found out about the player, there wasn't an ounce of disbelief nor hesitation that got into their head, they only had one goal in mind, and that was getting the player out of the other beasts' hands. But like a hungry wolf with its meal, they knew it wouldn't be easy. The other beasts always kept the player at arm's length, even with the leisure they receive, those four always made sure they were watched. And so they waited, and waited, and waited. . . In till they had the right moment to strike
Normally the beasts would be more direct when approaching the player, probably showing some pity towards them, not before whisking them away, Silent Salt on the other hand had a more different approach. They'd leave small letters for the player, all written in cursive and paired with a beautifully drawn illustration which they constructed themselves. Silent Salt essentially gives the player a bread crumb trail, preparing them for what was to come as to not spook them later
"Last one to get back to the base goes stale!"
"Burning Spice Cookie! Wait up!"
*You two were only trying to get back. . . nothing too special, yet of course, Burning Spice just had to turn it into a game of tag, didn't he?! Already tired from the day's activities, you struggled to move forward, and the barbarian is way ahead. Despite how unfair, annoying, and exhausting it was, you sighed, it wasn't the first time he did this. . . As you forced your body further, all you cared about was getting rest. You never understood why Burning Spice pushed your body to such lengths, but if there was one other reason to keep going it was to spite him. But as you were about halfway there, an unknown force suddenly grabbed your arm and pulled you to the side, you yelped, why does everyone here like grabbing you!?*
"*AH!* W-What the!?-"
*Pulled into an unnoticed corner, you practically swing yourself around, already having a good idea of just who decided to yank you out of the way, and you got what you wished for. . . Hovering over your tiny body, was the silent knight themself, quiet and unmoving, looking down at you. . . You jump back a bit startled, those training sessions are sounding a lot better right now. . . Although frozen with fear, it didn't take long to realize that something wasn't right. Sure, they appeared in front of you but that was merely it, just standing there, menacingly, almost like a statue. Your fear quickly dissolves into pure confusion as you stare back at them, the moment shifting into awkward silence. You already had a decent idea of who this fellow might be, and decided to use it as a way to break the barrier between you two*
"*Um. . .* Hi. . ."
"Y-You're Silent Salt Cookie, right. . ?"
*It took them a second to respond, and by "respond" they actually crouched down and got extremely close to your face, adding to your bewilderment, and barely managing to keep your composure*
"*ah!-* I'm gonna take that as a yes. . !"
*As a result of being thrown around so much, you practically knew what was next, but seeing the knight so still felt alien to you, and almost refreshing. . ? Like you were happy to just not be snatched for once, as morbid as that sounds. Oh but no, that's not right, who's to say that this fellow was to be trusted. You make the bold choice to ask them more questions, but before another word could fall out of your mouth. . .*
"Aye Pipsqueak! What's the hold up!?"
It's a no-brainer that Burning Spice finally noticed the player's absence, they have the rightful decision of running to him or yelling out, which Silent Salt covers their mouth and attempts to take them away(what a surprise!) The second route, however, the player's (4th) kidnapping is put on display for Burning Spice, who did not handle the situation well. He immediately rushes in to save them, but Silent Salt was much too swift for him. All the while, the player attempts to save themselves; trying to kick, scream, and squirm their way to freedom, but nothing works, they were a knight after all. Enraged, Burning Spice yells at Silent Salt that he'll get revenge, and he won't be alone. . !
(And before we go on any further, I personally like to hc that Silent Salt is both mute and deaf because 1. it matches with the new ancient heroes since Pure Vanilla is heavily implied to be blind; and 2. it'd make sense that the witches would want to make a disabled cookie. During their pre-corruption days, the five virtues also had to be role models for the cookies, thus they had to, at some extent, be relatable. So giving one of the virtues something that other cookies can relate to makes sense. Oh and as a bonus, Silent Salt is completely fluent in ASL and is fairly good at lip reading; Shadow Milk and Mystic Flour are also fluent in ASL and often act as their mouth pieces. Ok moving on!)
You'd think that the player wouldn't trust Silent Salt from the jump, given the circumstances & that this happened to them so many other times, and yet. . . Silent Salt was the only one to be considerate of the player's feelings before performing the act, they knew the player would be scared, if not terrified, of them, especially when you consider their appearance and quiet nature; thus they planted the letter to let them know. So although this doesn't mean the player fully trusts them, it is a step into the right path
How they view the player is a complete mystery, unlike the other beasts, it isn't just spelled out in ink. Instead, the player has to focus on their interactions and certain body language, since they can't speak
Similarly to Eternal Sugar, Silent Salt will often give the player gifts in an attempt to gain their trust. The main difference on the other hand was that those gifts were much smaller scale than what Eternal Sugar gave them, but still feel more thought out and genuine
*Lilac-colored curtain draped over large windows, comfortable sitting, and a bed that resembled a soft marshmallow, you had to admit, for living in a wasteland, they sure knew a thing or two about decor. But as you admired your new bedroom, you get a sudden knock on the door, and opening it a crack, you see Silent Salt, they appeared to be holding a few things*
"Oh! Silent Salt Cookie! What brings you-"
*Fully opening the door revealed what they were holding, a bouquet of beautifully made paper flowers in one hand, and a sliver tin, filled with salted chocolates in the other. Seeing the gifts, you were pleasantly surprised, not just by the tin of sweets but the paper flowers, so true to life and clearly made by them, you were amazed by the fact they were able to pull something like that off*
"Wow! are these for me?"
*The knight nodded their head, handing both gifts to you. Despite how small the gesture was, you still felt a tiny bit overwhelmed, the smallest hint of blush creeped onto your face*
"T-Thank you! They're lovely!"
Silent Salt was & still somewhat is known for their skills with a sword, thus the reason why their minigame is based on "Fruit Ninja." The player, instead of slicing fruit, is made to cut different pieces of paper according to a dotted line, in an attempt to mimic Silent Salt's paper flowers
While out exploring and doing tasks, Silent Salt will actually partner up with the player & help them, which is already a massive change from the player's other beast encounters. Either they'd find ways to stretch the task out even longer, or just not help at all, so having them there is a huge change of pace. They're always by the player's side, because of this, they can come off as clingy at times
They, like most of the beasts, give the player free range to do whatever, but is quick to set boundaries. The player isn't allowed to go into certain areas without their supervision, especially at night
*Lightly tracking your steps across cold floors, you carefully tiptoe through the Silent domain, moonlight streaking onto every nook and cranny acted as your only light source, which you tried to use to your advantage, the last thing you wanted was to be caught. But when you turned the corner, guess who you unceremoniously bumped into. . ? Pressed into their chest, you abruptly backed away startled & flustered realizing who it was, Silent Salt just looked at you, just like before*
"*Ah!-* Silent Salt Cookie. . ! It's not what you think. . !"
"I-I just have a few other things to do, that's all!-"
*The silent knight only stood there, arms crossed, making their stance all the more stern. You already had a good idea of what was going on in their head, no amount of convincing would change your fate. So with a sigh, you started heading back to your room, not before Silent Salt gently scoops you up, refusing to let you touch the floor, and carried you there themself. Blushing rapidly, you beg and plead for them to put you down, but failed miserably; why does everyone like carrying you so much. . ?*
Silent Salt treats the player like they're the most fragile thing on Earthbread, handling them with care and, with their position as a knight, more than happy to cater to their every need and desire
Due to their disability and limitations in lip reading, talking to them is difficult, creating this communication barrier between them and the player. This, however, doesn't stop the two of them from trying to fix the issue
That being said, Silent Salt most definitely wants to teach the player ASL so they can communicate easier. They made sure they'd take their time, teaching them all they need to know, starting with letters, to phrases, to full sentences. Even if the player struggles to learn at first, they're extremely patient with them, teaching things one step at a time
If it wasn't already obvious, Silent Salt is very delicate with their hands, due to their precise skills with a sword. Because of this, they picked up quite a few hobbies, like painting and drawing, clearly showed by the letter they made the player before, and surprisingly, braiding hair
*Slowly, the silent knight carefully overlapped strand after strand of hair from your head into beautiful braids. They put special care into each braid, constantly checking with you to make sure they were comfortable, even going the extra mile of creating more paper flowers to infuse into the braids. Sitting in front of the bedroom's vanity mirror, you were in awe at how perfect the braids were, your hair practically became an art project! Looking back at them, you couldn't see their face, but you could tell Silent Salt was genuinely enjoying themself, how they added flower after flower, even sometimes placing one directly onto your head; because well, why not? It was moments like this that made you think back to when you first met, back to when their silence felt alien to you, and how you were so unwilling to cooperate. . . Yes, you still didn't fully trust the knight, all of this just felt too perfect, almost too good to be true even, but it does. After placing the last flower, they were finally done, the braids were wrapped around your head and tied in the back with a purple ribbon*
If the hairstyle doesn't make them feel like royalty, then don't worry, Silent Salt had them covered. Cause not soon after doing their hair, they presented their outfit, which looked more like a gorgeous gown than any regular dress. Everything about it was perfect, the long white silk trin that partly touched the floor, the bow around the waste that matched your hair, the simple purple accents, its ruffled layers, everything. But possibly the most radiant part of the gown was these beautiful sewn in embroideries, each more beautiful than the last, all throughout. This was the straw that broke that camel's back, such actions of kindness couldn't go unrewarded; so through ASL, the player is able to sign phrases "thank you" and "sorry," to which Silent Salt immediately accepts. Quite a shame the player couldn't do more. . . The only two downside one could think of is that it strongly resembled a wedding dress, which can give the wrong ideas fast; also the gown length gives the possibility of tripping, but that's a simple price to pay
The relationship between the player and Silent Salt is mostly through action, and to some extent, physical touch. The player is always finding new and creative ways to repay them for everything they've done, often finding themselves cooking or cleaning for them, even gifting them drawings and paper creations they made themselves. Silent Salt does find this sweet and charming, but as a knight, they really have no desires. They crave the simpler things, like holding hands, learning ASL, or just being together in general. No amount of wasted paper would change that
Unfortunately, as stated before, not everything can be too blissful. . . Silent Salt is regularly shown to be extremely overprotective of the player, which does make sense considering their role; Silent Salt is a knight, keeping the innocent safe is their job, and the fact that the other beasts were also after them only made them double down on protecting them. Now, Silent Salt, before meeting the player, had no plans of escape, at least even they think of, in fact, became increasingly fond of their surroundings. . . Only when they learned the player did they start to reconsider. . . with a new opportunity, they couldn't simply pass it up. . .
Because of this, they've developed a 6th sense(or 5th or 4th) whenever they felt the player was in danger. Silent Salt can pick up signals of danger from miles away, and acts quickly ensure their safety, so imagine the player's surprise and confusion when being rushed somewhere else
*Everything was a blur. . . One second ago you and Silent Salt were spending time together per usual, before you knew it you were being pulled into your room, and Silent Salt was doing repeated checks on the door and windows, making sure they were locked. Confused, you try to stop them in their tracks, to get some sort of answer, but all they did was clutch both your hands tightly, looking you directly in the eyes; before abruptly letting go, telling you to never, for any reason, open the door or windows till they came back, then disappears, leaving you in a state of flustered shock. Even if completely unexpected on your end, it became increasingly clear why Silent Salt acted the way they did. . . with a battle axe, guess who was waiting just outside. . ?*
"Salty! right on time!~ It's been awhile, hasn't it?~"
*The knight merely stood there, sword in hand with a tight grip. They already knew what the brute was saying, him placing the axe's handle on the back of his neck as he began to walk towards them*
"Honestly, I'm pretty surprised Salty!~ Out of everybody here, it's you who'd be dumb enough to steal from me, me!"
"Cause when I think of stealing, I usually think of Shadow Milk Cookie, maybe Eternal Sugar Cookie if what we're after is really worth fighting for, but you?! *HA!* Didn't think of ya as the taking type!~"
"*Hmm. . .* I like it! You know I always love a good surprise?~"
*With every step he took, Silent Salt only further stood their ground, having already pulled their sword out from the dirt and getting into a battle stance. Upon reading their body language, his grin only got bigger, he knew exactly what was doing and actively stirred the pot. He put his hands up as he backed away in a condescending yet reassuring tone*
"*Woah!-* *Woah!-* Easy there buddy!~ Now I know what it looks like, but I promise, I didn't come here to cause trouble. . ."
"Instead, I'm looking for a little. . . exchange. . ."
*Burning Spice proceeded to hold his axe behind his back to make himself appear more innocent. All the while Silent Salt didn't once get out of their battle-ready mindset*
"Now I know I can be a little. . . hectic at times, but for this I'm willing to make one exception. . ."
"Say, I won't leave a scratch on your place, if you return what you've stole from me. . !"
"A simple deal, really!- You get out of this with no causalities, and I leave with that little cookie in tow!~ So what do ya say. . ?"
*Silent Salt was only getting parts of the Burning Spice's so called "deal," and already, they were not having it. . ! With just a blink of an eye, Silent Salt went from guarding their domain to holding the tip of their blade at Burning Spice's throat, as if they teleported, they were that fast. . ! Along with Shadow Milk's lies, none of the beasts were dumb enough to fall for one of his exchanges! The knight was clearly provoked; exactly what the brute wanted, so he kicked back far enough to pull his axe out from his back. Though the kick was strong, Silent Salt was still able to hold their ground, using their sword to keep their footing. There was a battle-hungry look in his eyes*
"*HA HA!* You just love surprising me, don't ya Salty?!"
*He then stretched his neck and shoulders, tense bones popped at the motion. Then proceeded to do his battle stance*
"Whatever! Wouldn't have worked anyway! Besides, no one gets dumber around here, right?! *HA!*"
"But one thing's for sure. . . Doesn't matter how tough you act. . . I'm not leaving without my pipsqueak. . !"
*His tone shifted to slight anger as his hair turned into bright flames. Having weapons drawn, it's clear as day as neither was willing to do what the other wanted, nor give in. Both had goals set in stone and willing to follow through with them; but just before they could actually strike at one and other. . .*
"*Yoo-hoo~* Up here!~"
"Apologizes for being so late you two, we've bumped into some. . . causalities. . ."
*In from above, flew in Eternal Sugar atop one of her clouds as Mystic Flour floated beside her, landing onto opposites of the brute and knight, creating this strange box. Burning Spice became all the happier, being the violence-obsessed cookie he was, this just maybe the fight more interesting for him. While Silent Salt was as stern as ever, despite being outnumbered*
"Misty! Sugar! Welcome to the party!! Just when things were starting to get interesting!~"
"*Ugh* Don't overexcite yourself Burning Spice Cookie, some of us only want this to be over with. . !"
*She has a quick glance at the beasts around her, just as annoyed of as before*
"So . . . I assume we all know about our new. . . 'inhabitant,' yes?"
*The silent knight nodded*
"*Pfft* *Uh Duh!-* What's was ya first clue?!"
"That's right! It's been far too long since I've seen another cookie, and when I finally find one, they're snatched from my hands!"
"Oh my poor little mouse!~ They must've been so lonely since they were taken away from me!"
"Being pushed and pulled by some brute and locked away by some scary knight?!~ What can be worse?!"
*Eternal Sugar whined and whined, nitpicking everything that she deemed "cruel treatment," and although most of the things said were true, Burning Spice couldn't help but take offense*
"Aye! What do ya mean by 'pushing and pulling around?!' I have you know I treat them with utmost respect and care!"
"*HA!* You call your so called 'training' of yours respect and care?! Don't make me laugh!"
"Unlike you, I provide my little mouse with everything they could ever need, everything they desire. . ! I make them happy! All your training does is ruin their perfect mind and body!"
*She looked over to her two other comrades*
"At least I can be assured that those two actually kept them safe, otherwise, I wouldn't know what I'd do. . ."
"Even Shadow Milk Cookie takes better care of my little mouse. . ."
*That's when most of the group realized a crucial detail, where the heck was Shadow Milk?! Unannounced to them, Mystic Flour already had a good idea of where he was, but waited to answer. . .*
"Oh yeah! Shadow Milk Cookie isn't here! Where is the guy anyway?!"
"When we found out the pika was being kept here, we came as soon as possible. But it wasn't long before Shadow Milk separated from us; we tried to pursue him but by then, he was already gone. . ."
"Perhaps we should wait for him. . .Knowing him, he likely has something planned. . !"
*With Shadow Milk being the smartest of their group, waiting for him seemed like the safest option, after all he was known for his tricks, who knows what he could be planning. Yet the brute and angel, who always had something to say, didn't have the patience for such. . .*
"And let him get another chance on stealing my little mouse away again?! Absolutely not!!"
"Yeah Misty, not having Shadow Milk Cookie around means less of us to get through, even if it is kinda boring! *HA HA!*"
"Wouldn't want his filth to rub off on my pipsqueak. . !"
*Eternal Sugar gasped in surprise and utter disgust*
"'Your' Pipsqueak?! are you delusional?! Clearly they're mine!!"
*Burning Spice cracked his knuckles, as he puffed his chest*
"Oh yeah?! Then why don't ya prove it?!"
*Mystic Flour groaned in irritation, if her eyes were open she would have definitely rolled them, this charade was going too far*
"*Ugh* You two are bickering like children! Could you at least not treat them like some object?! It's likely that the pika will return to me or Silent Salt Cookie, at least we don't see them as a mere pet. . !"
*Silent Salt nodded in agreement*
"And yet, I think we all know what we're really after. . . "
*With that sentence alone, it made Burning Spice and Eternal Sugar as quiet as Silent Salt was. . . The whole area was hushed, quiet enough to hear a pin drop. . .The four beasts side eyed each other, as if ready to duel; evidence was undeniably clear, they wanted to use you. . .for something? After keeping their running mouths shut for what felt like decades, Burning Spice finally breaks the silence, drawing his weapon, his patience was already dissolved. . .*
"Alright, that's it! We all want the cookie, and just sitting around isn't gonna help!"
"So, let's settle this. . . once and for all. . !"
"Agreed!"
"*Ugh* Suppose we should get this over with. . !"
*As Silent Salt drew their sword, the battle had began. The four played sides, the three of them trying to barge their way in, and Silent Salt trying to keep them out; and despite how unfair the fight seemed, not only were they evenly matched, but they all were fighting for themselves, for their own selfish goals, all of which surrounded getting to you. . . Speaking of that, you were once more left in the dark, spared from the situation. Not to say you aren't curious about what was going on either, in fact you were completely willing to open the windows to look outside if Silent Salt didn't tell you to keep them closed. Laying on top of the marshmallow bed, you stare up at the ceiling in boredom and something else. You received another to be alone with your thoughts, really rekindle and wonder. . . What the hell was going on?! First you were teleported to this strange place, then you were kidnapped five times, then you basically died and came back to life? Nothing about your situation was normal! Not to mention the cookies you're trapped with, if you can even call them "cookies" what even were they? You didn't know anything about them, what to feel about them, let alone if you could trust them or not. . . Questions were swimming in your head like fish upstream, feelings fighting for control in till. . .*
"*AH HAHAHAHA!~* no matter what, the story always stays the same!~"
*You hear a voice, a squeaky, arrogant, yet oh so voice. . . You look around in surprise, was that who you thought it was?!*
"That's right!~ The hero has arrived!~"
". . .To save his damsel in distress!~"
*CRASH!*
*Destroying one of the windows, bursts in the self-proclaimed trickster himself, Shadow Milk Cookie, the suddenness of the action making you fall off your bed startled and almost near giving you a heart attack. When hitting the ground, he did a quick barrel roll before landing on one knee in a sort of "ta-da!" position, acting like he didn't ruin a perfectly good glass plane, and much to your bewilderment. You quickly get up and stand towards him*
"S-Shadow Milk?! Are you ok?!"
"Awh~ Look at you!~ worrying for lil'ol me!~"
"I'm perfectly fine my little mousey!~ Absolutely splendid!~"
*You knew you should've expected a reaction like that from him of all cookies, but it didn't stop you from going dumbfounded*
"You just jumped in through a closed window!!"
*He then went on this long, overexaggerated, winded speech about how much he missed you, how you two had been separated for far too long, what lengths he had to go through just to get to you, but you were wise enough to know that he was partly spewing out lies. . . Mystic Flour knew he had a plan, and had a plan he did! whilst everyone else was occupied, he'd snuck in through a back window, unbelievable how such a cheap tactic was able to work. . . It wasn't long for Shadow Milk to notice the beautiful dress you were wearing, and lights up with glee, zipping toward you, and scaring you once more*
"And might I add, that is quite a marvelous gown you have on!~ *AH!* It makes you look so much more like a proper damsel!~ who made it?!"
"Well-. . ."
*He cuts you off before another word could come out of your mouth*
"-Oh, no, no, no, wait!- don't tell me, Silent Salt Cookie made this, didn't they?~"
"*AH!* It's such a no brainer!~ They make such amazing things, of course they'd make something this cute!~ I'm a little jealous!~ *hehehe!~*"
"*Whew!~* Okay, I think we had enough excitement for one day, hadn't we?~"
*He abruptly grabs your arm and pulls you close, startling you as blush begins to creep up your cheeks*
"Time to go home!~"
*It was the mention of "home" that threw you into a loop, what did he mean by "go home?!" Shocked, you pulled yourself away from the trickster, causing surprise and slight annoyance on his end*
"H-Home?! What are you talking about?!"
"Oh, you ask such silly questions, I'm taking you with me! Back to my humble abode!~"
Obviously, going back to the guy that had the player turned into two halves, is something that they aren't fully ready to do, thus are given the choice to go with him or not; to which both have different, yet very grim results. . . If they say yes, Shadow Milk Cookie will carry them out of Silent Salt's domain, not before being founded out by the other beasts, causing the player to be caught up within the drama, eventually getting stabbed through the chest from all the excitement. . ! On the other hand, if they say no, Shadow Milk with become more persuasive toward the player, reminding them of their time spent apart. If they deny him enough times, his patience begins to wane as his persona falls apart. Becoming more demanding till he snaps, forcing the player to leave with him; but it was already too late, as the other beasts had shown up, who aren't too happy about his late arrival, and chaos ensues, leading to the player getting decapitated. . !(Woooo-)
~Final~
The player ends up back at the top of the altar in the Silver Forest, completely passed out from the shock. All the beasts, after freaking out over their dead body, head there in a heartbeat, arguing over who'd be the one to take the player home, till Mystic Flour decides enough is enough, ending the argument and declaring the Shadow Milk should be the one to take in the player since he found them first, further saying that arguing wouldn't get them anywhere and wants to start a meeting before anyone else could argue back. . . Fast forward to Shadow Milk's base, the player is getting some well needed rest as the beasts are discussing what to do next, although it isn't entirely apparent that they remember how they got there, having them around could be beneficial to their much bigger goals. After a bit of talking, Shadow Milk conjures up a wonderfully, awful, idea. . . keeping the player as their hostage. . . Think about it! From the outside world, they already have reputations for being cold and cruel monsters, if they found out they had a cookie with them, they'd go nuts! Plus, who'd be more inclined to get involved? None other than the new Guardian Of The Seal, and Ancient Hero herself, White Lily Cookie. . . Long story short, they all agree with the plan, as it will guarantee their escape, and check on the player not long after, who was still passed out
*In your dormant state, you lay unconscious as all five beasts watched you, each of them claimed a corner of the bed. As they watched, Silent Salt noticed a slight twitching in your hand, and instinctively embraced theirs into yours, rubbing their thumb on your wrist. Not everybody took it well, cause Eternal Sugar shooed their hand away just a few seconds later*
"*Ugh* Get your hands away from them, you're ruining their slumber. . !"
*She turns back to you as her mood shifts from annoyance to gentle delight*
"Awh~ They look so precious!~"
*Burning Spice leaned forward on the bed to get a better look at you, he seemed upset*
"How long are they gonna be like this. . ? It's been awhile now. . ."
"Roughly a few hours, but I believe they will be awake by tomorrow. . . Poor thing, must have scared them quite a lot "
". . . I think it'd be wise to not tell the pika about our plan, after all, we did get this far with them"
"Right you are, my dear comrade!~"
"If it were to get out that we were keeping them for our own sake, it'd surely shatter any trust we might have, and we don't want them defying us, now do we?~"
*The other beasts agreed*
"*hehehehe!* So it's settled!~"
*Running a hand up your arm, the trickster looked back at you with his signature smile*
"*Hehehehe!*Oh be sure to get all the rest you need, my little mousey!~"
"Cause you'll be in for quite the performance!~"
And that's pretty much how the story begins, the player is their little doll for the time being, none the wiser about the beasts' plans for hostage type deal with The Guardian Of The Seal
(holy crap we're almost done, guess it's time to talk about some background and bonus info)
~Background~
You are playing as the new resident of the Faerie Kingdom, a half-faerie who grew up in Crispia. There, they are known for two things, having cookie genetics and being kinda an a*s, everything makes them unique compared to other faeries, especially the lack of wings on their back, and their personality isn't exactly a pocket of sunshine either. So throw that in a blender, and you got yourself unnecessary fame that many don't want. The player receives the full "little sibling treatment" with faeries being overbearing and constantly getting doted on. Which, of course, sucks, day by day, no matter where they go, they can't escape it! The only escape they have from it all is their day job, working as the librarian's assistant is when they could finally have some peace and quiet, alongside the librarian, who became the player's good friend
Ok! Bonus Stuff!
With the player's kidnapping and life within the Silver Kingdom, a few bonus relationships the player can have are with Silverbell, Mercury Knight, Pure Vanilla, and of course White Lily. SB and Mercury are like childhood friends/crushes, having met the player before the events of the main game, making the player more acquainted toward them. White Lily and Pure Vanilla on the other hand, take a parental role, acting as the player's protectors much later in the game. Both are relatively more alien to the player, especially White Lily, but the two quickly insert themselves, insisting that they only want to keep the player safe(which makes sense considering their mission is to protect Cookiekind, and the player certainly counts) Out of the two, it's White Lily we end up getting the closest with(a mother + child bond if you will), as Guardian Of The Seal, she was horrified to find out the player was being held hostage by the beasts, and wanted to do anything in her power to save them. She also took a liking to their personality (which's fine I guess???)
It may not look like it, but this game is all about choice. It's about the ideas and importance of choice, how decisions affect your life, how even bigger decisions are often made by selfish people, and (I'm probably gonna get publicly executed for this!-) how a democracy should be handled, because let's be honest, we need a better one. . . We'll see plenty examples of a bad democracy among the beasts, as Shadow Milk, the proclaimed "leader" constantly makes choices for others, in reality only thinking about himself; it's through the player he learns to give the others a say in the matter. Speaking of which, it's the player's choices that will have the most impact as the story continues, like how most games do, the only difference is that the game provides a much wider buffet of choices, making the opportunities endless!
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If you're reading this then, Congratulations!
You Made It To The End!
Here's A Trophy!🏆(for both me and you cause omfg this took FOREVER! I'm happy with the final result but like- I never thought this would take like 5 weeks to make ;w;)
If I could go back in time, I would've definitely made this shorter. . !
If you any other ideas for this strange fangame, then feel free to let me know!~
Ok, bye!~^^
*decomposes into the soil*
130 notes · View notes
httpstes · 1 year
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The beauty each sign holds Pt.1
(Aries-Virgo)
✧・゚: *✧・゚:* ✧・゚: *✧・゚:* ✧・゚: *✧・゚: ✧・゚: *✧
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ꕥ Aries placements are electric and fiery in the way they approach life. They’re ecstatic nature is shown to all quite easily however it is only once you’re in a deep connection with these individuals that you are able to see beyond the surface. You are able to see beyond their spontaneous fun-loving nature. Deep down Aries placements stay loyal to those they consider their loved ones, and so as such, once you have an Aries placement who loves you, they won’t leave. Sure there can be banters and lively disputes along the way, but an Aries can get over these things as fast as they came. Therefore they don’t hold onto the past. They understand that regret, guilt and grief may not ever fade away, and so the only thing they can really do is keep moving forward. The only moment that is important to them is the here and now, so they like to cherish every second of it before it soon becomes a memory. This is why these people hold so much beauty. They have the ability to let go, move on, and continue with life, all the while striving for exciting moments that thrill them.
ꕥ Taurus placements are unmoving yet beautiful. They are the standing rock blocking the rivers path that won’t cease to move. They hold the natural beauty you see in the world. Mother earths living embodiment of nature and peace. These individuals can make you feel so safe and relaxed, you won’t even know that their spell is being undone upon you. Taurus placements hold this elegant poise with the way they walk. Their physical being entices others to come be around them, they let the world know they are a safe space for those that aren’t so lucky. It’s in the way they speak to you, how they care for you and love you that these individuals shine. Taurus placements will go to the ends of the earth for their loved ones, however in saying this they wont just drop everything then and there. These individuals know their worth and won’t waste their time on someone who doesn’t appreciate them. This is what I truly find beautiful about them. The fact that they are able to love and give so much to others while also maintaining boundaries and loving themselves equally is something a lot of people struggle with. Taurus placements might start off in life dealing with people who use them for things, who take advantage of their kindness. However as taurus placements grow they learn how to give to others as well as giving back to themselves. These individuals have learnt the balance between self-love and their love to the world, and because of this they won’t settle for something that they know is not good for them.
ꕥ Gemini placements contradict themselves over and over again. This can cause an internal struggle especially in terms of opinions and beliefs however I believe this is something extremely useful. Gemini placements get bored, they want to try everything possible that’s offered to them in this life time. They are here simply to learn, explore and understand. Their curious nature is what I find beautiful in Gemini placements. Geminis need constant stimulation in everything. In love, school, work, you name it! They like when things are entertaining and if no one is entertaining them, they’re gonna entertain themselves. I really dislike when people call Geminis flaky or cheaters. This really narrows down the beautiful and youthful spirit these individuals have. Geminis are so much more than those negative archetypes. They hold so much intelligence and wisdom of the most random things and it’s so cute. I love hearing these people ramble, reading their well written stories, the jokes they crack at the most unfortunate of times, i simply love taking in anything that they produce. This is because it gives me the slightest glimpse into the mind of these individuals. A gemini’s mind can be..all sorts of things, it can be super dark at times while other times they’re brainstorming the next best thing. Either way their minds deserve to be treasured, obviously by those that can handle it. Many assume gemini placements are complex, this is true, however there is so much beauty and grace that is held within that complexity.
ꕥ Cancer placements are so so sweet. Truly divine beings full of love. They came here to nurture and heal those who felt unsafe in their homes, who weren’t accepted or welcomed. Cancerians don’t just care for you, they notice every little thing about you and they treasure it. Every small detail, they will remember. This is because cancerians strongest emotions come from nostalgia and love, and so when you’re considered a loved one to these individuals, just know you have won in life as you will never meet someone more devoted than them. Stereotypes lead people to believe that cancers are the literal personification of the word saccharine. A individual who is sickeningly sweet, over-emotional, and overly sentimental. While what I explained denotes cancerians as sentimental and loving, they don’t do it without reason. Something that I believe is overlooked is that cancers are symbolised by the crab. A animal with a hard shell, said to be a symbol of defence, having the ability to be resilient and valiant. Though cancerians are beautiful delicate beings, there is this heroism that is naturally in their nature. Because of this they are attracted to the darker apsects of life. They want to save and heal those around them by defending them endlessly even if it’s wrong. They’re loyalty is almost comparable to a martian ruled individual’s idea of loyalty. They have this soft, cunning nature about them that effortlessly captivates those in their presence, and yet they also have so much will to fight and protect themselves and their loved ones. I am enamoured with a cancerians ability to know when to fight and when to nurture and love. They do this unknowingly as everything they do is lead by intuition, and for some reason this makes me love them more.
ꕥ Leo placements are born into this world adorned with jewels and gold. It does not matter if they experienced the limelight at a young age or if they had their light dimmed by those around them, it always comes to them no matter what. Leos are faithful to a fault. The luminaries are considered to be loyal, this of course goes for Solarian beings too. Leos are loyal to their family, their friends, their beliefs and morals, and most importantly, themselves. Leos can expect attention from all walks of life. They make heads turn walking down the street, entering a store, buying groceries, and waiting for a bus. Anything these individuals do, whether simple or extravagant, subconsciously take the attention away from what they’re doing, and onto them. Because of this, people are either enamored with or envy leo individuals. Some may wonder why they have it so easy, why they can easily charm those around them with little to no effort. But don’t be fooled by this facade some of them have built up. Behind closed doors, Leos are finally able to be free from the spotlight that follows them around. With the admiration leos receive, people may put them on such a high pedestal that they invalidate some of the terrible experiences leo placements have gone through because "it simply can’t be that bad" considering how beautiful and powerful these beings are. Leos have big hearts, and so they don’t have it in them to harshly explain some of the faults being glorified to such an extent can have on one’s mental health. I truly adore Leo placements but I understand that they don’t have it as easy as it is made out to seem. They are the sun, the light in people's lives, and if the sun's light were to dim or disappear so does all life around them. The sun may shine forever, but it does not mean it doesn’t ever get tired from the multiple aspects of life they have to entertain and keep alive. I feel for Leo placements with all the expectations and praise put upon them.
ꕥ Virgo placements are the nimble fairies of the earth. They guide those who are lost in this vast forest of a world we live in. Virgos live to serve others, they truly are humble beings who are unselfish and this overlooked fact is what makes them so much more pleasant to be around. Not only are they humble but they are so precise in everything they do! Virgos truly are the people you want to go to for whenever you need help in any matter or situation, because regardless if they’re nervous or not, they will put up a front to make sure those around them feel safe and secure. In saying this everything they do for their loved ones is done with so much love and thought. When they are asked of something, they put all their attention to it and have the precision of a doctor, wanting to make sure that what they’re doing is beyond your expectations. In fact there is this almost melancholic beauty within the way they hold themselves and the judgement they whole heartedly pursue for not only others but for themselves as well. Virgos are quick thinkers and can be very methodical, however in saying this, I think it’s safe to say these individuals can be stuck in their heads sometimes. They may find comfortability in the space they have created within their own minds, though when things turn south this space they have created could easily turn against them. Their own mind will turn against them. Because of this, Virgos tend to have this quick, nervous energy. However even this aspect of them is so, so endearing.
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✧・゚: *✧・゚:* ✧・゚: *✧・゚:* ✧・゚: *✧・゚:* ✧・゚: *✧・゚:* ✧・゚: *✧・゚:*
The second part is not coming out any time soon but i’m working on it! As always thankyou for reading :D
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liyawritesss · 2 months
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ᖴᒪOᗯEᖇᔕ Iᑎ ᗷᒪOOᗰ - ᐯᗩᒪEᑎTIᑎEᔕ ᗪᖇᗩᗷᗷᒪEᔕ
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Day 18 - Gift Giving
- Sentiment - Ekko, the Boy Savior - Arcane: League of Legends
- In which Ekko gifts you a necklace to commemorate the two years you've been together.
- Check out more prompts and other activities on the Flowers In Bloom Event Masterlist!
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Ekko knows what love is.
He may not be able to talk about it in the right words, but he knows through actions that without a shadow of a doubt, he has love. He was loved by Benzo, taken in by the older off the streets of the undercity and given the space to explore his inventive genius. He was loved by his friends, of whom he hung out with on a daily basis, playing pranks and digging through scraps and making the best out of their dim childhoods. And Ekko has loved, despite the hate bestowed upon him by the many people he’d encountered in his eighteen years of surviving.
He’d loved once, a love as pure and innocent and strong as any he’d ever felt before; his first love that was doomed before it could even come to fruition.
His second love was not a person, but rather, an idea. A dream that plagued his mind every day and every night, begging to be realized. It was a feverish love, strong and erratic and determined, giving birth to what became the only safe place in all of the Lanes for the children of Zaun to have some semblance of a safe childhood, one he could only dream of as a child, but was proud he could provide to others.
His third love caught him by surprise. It crept up on him like a thief in the night; slow, sweet, daunting, consuming him whole before he had a fighting chance. He became guilty of the longing stares, the daydreams, the lack of efficient words, because while he thought he couldn’t love again - because in this new world, daring to do so meant a very close meeting with death itself - there you were, in all your glory, daring to challenge him. And succeed, you did.
Ekko’s strong admiration for you knew no bounds; your grace was something he could never get enough of. While he exuded a bruteness that was required for survival outside the walls of the sanctuary, with you, the boyish grin from his youth painted his lips so often that a lot of his comrades questioned if he was under a spell of sorts. He was happy, happier than he’d ever been, happy as one could be in a city that knows no peace.
For the longest time, Ekko didn’t know how to express his affections for you. He thought that you deserved the world, but there was only so much his hands could make. That was, until he came across the jackpot of a lifetime - a nugget of gold he found on one of his many late night junkyard raids, discarded seemingly without a care. To an overpriced Piltie, the slightly tarnished mineral was deemed trash; to those of the Underground, a find like this was treasure beyond belief.
Rough and calloused hands handled the metal carefully, the dark soot that covered his fingertips showing the hard work he put into mending the mineral into a fine pendant. On the front was an engraving of the tree in which the sanctuary surrounded, the very beacon of light that the two of you found in the darkness of everything. On the back, both of your initials, bounded together in metal just as the two of you were for life.
Being an inventor, Ekko had made many things with his hand, but never did he think he could conjure something so small, so dainty and fragile looking, but perhaps it was possible due to the love he had harbored in his heart. It was that evening, when he gifted the necklace to you, that he realized that even the most damaged of hands and hearts could create beautiful things, if they have enough love to do it.
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Special Tags: @intotherumiverse for indulging in my Ekko obsession c:
If you enjoyed, please leave a like, comment, and reblog for others to see! And don’t be shy to send in a request!
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saintsenara · 1 month
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Been reading through your ship asks and cackling at your responses for the better part of the last hour, so I thought I’d ask some of my own! Alright, here we go:
Sybill Trelawney/Barty Crouch Jr.
Molly Weasley/Sirius Black
Igor Karkaroff/Severus Snape
Great-Aunt Muriel/Arabella Figg
thanks anon, great choices. it's always a pleasure to meet someone with taste.
barty crouch jr./sybill trelawney
yes, one hundred percent.
we know that "moody" was committed to searching every teacher's office [such a method actor, he walked so lady gaga in house of gucci could run], and trelawney's was definitely given a thorough going over [behave] so that barty could report back to the gaffer that the prophecy wasn't just gathering dust in her filing cabinets.
and - well - she's starved for company, isn't she? it's the easiest thing in the world for her to suggest that they crack open a bottle of sherry and complain about what a knob snape is.
plus, she's canonically not very good at divination, so she's bound to miss that her tealeaves have arranged themselves into a red flag.
sirius black/molly weasley
obviously, the easy way round this pairing is to make it a sort of hate-sex thing, in which molly and sirius fire themselves up for a night of passion by arguing over who's right about harry. the easy-and-also-degenerate way round it is to connect it to sirius'... complicated relationship with his mother...
but a hill i'll die on is that this fandom really overestimates the tension between molly and sirius in order of the phoenix [and also, to be quite frank, that she's in the right...], and that their relationship can actually be explored really interestingly without the idea that they hate each other.
while we know that molly conducts missions for the order, her primary role in the period 1995-1998 is a domestic one. she's the person who is responsible for things like making grimmauld place habitable, or for feeding the collected members of the order. the importance of domestic and caring work within resistance and revolutionary organisations is really overlooked - because of misogyny! - but it's something which is absolutely vital to those organisations being able to carry out their aims.
and the series does actually show us this - even if unintentionally. order meetings frequently take place in the kitchen around mealtimes. the domestic spaces of grimmauld place and the burrow serve not only as organisational bases but also as centres of support and community for order members [tonks coming round to see molly for tea and sympathy; lupin being asked to christmas at the burrow; snape's refusal to eat with the order being considered further evidence that he's a prick, and so on]. the difficulty molly has with bringing grimmauld place under control serves as a metaphor for the order's struggle against voldemort.
which brings us to sirius during order of the phoenix.
one of the things i think is often overlooked when we think about sirius' depression and feelings of uselessness while he's confined to grimmauld place is that these stem from him holding the belief that the only viable way of helping the war effort is to take a combat role. one of sirius' great tragedies is that he's reckless and self-destructive - and part of how this manifests is that he can only see value in being someone who fights, who's out and about, and who's putting himself at risk for the cause. he's unable to consider himself useful to the order outside of that context - which is why he chafes so much against the idea that staying in the house and remaining safe is crucial work, in that the very fact of him living protects harry.
you can do so much with the idea that - once the kids are back at school - the only people rattling around grimmauld place all day every day are molly and sirius, and that she spends her time trying to chivvy him into recognising that the domestic labour she'd quite like his help with is really the only thing holding the rag-tag order together. he's not going to give a shit at first, but he can learn...
and food and love exist on both sides of a coin marked comfort, don't they?
igor karkaroff/severus snape
i mean, this one's basically canon, isn't it? karkaroff's always sneaking around trying to catch snape on his own in cupboards so he can have a look at his forearm-length snake [tattoo]. it's giving "hooked up once but only one of them realises it wasn't going anywhere".
arabella figg/muriel prewett
yes. they broke up when one of mrs figg's cats pissed on that goblin-made tiara.
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wistfulcynic · 26 days
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gonna go off a bit on the subject of the "he's me fr" school of character analysis. Because while it's absolutely fine and good even to relate to fictional characters and see aspects of yourself in them, it's also important to recognise the difference between your interpretation based on your experiences and what is actually shown on the page or screen.
humans are primed to recognise patterns. We are strongly inclined to contextualise things to suit our existing worldviews. We don't like contradiction and we don't like things we don't understand. It's so natural for us then to reframe anything we find confusing or contradictory that we often don't even notice we are doing it.
this is bad! This is dangerous! This is how you get bigotry and hatred!
a lot of people reframe things they don't understand (other races, cultures, religions, genders) into Other and Other is frequently Bad or even Evil. It's relatively easy to spot when other people do this and to understand that it is wrong. But surely, you may then say to yourself, if i am reframing things into what is familiar to me that's good, right? i'm Relating and that's a positive thing!
and i guess, yes and no. Yes because finding connection can be validating and because there's a reason that representation in media is so important--that reason being largely because it gives a wider range of people the opportunity to see others like them on screens and in pages. But also that act of relating to something you know is in fact an act of bias. You are biased in favour of recognising that thing because it is You. It's important to you as part of your identity but you should be aware that this can lead you to overcompensate and to misinterpret things because you are seeking that connection so intensely. And honestly i think this is also fine so long as you are able to recognise the difference.
there's a difference between saying "i identify in X way and demonstrate Y characteristic. This fictional character demonstrates Y characteristic therefore i am going to interpret them as identifying in X way" and saying "this character MUST OBVIOUSLY identify in X way because I DO and I SAID SO and this is now a VALID TEXTUAL INTERPRETATION."
maybe it is. Maybe it also isn't. Maybe Y characteristic is something that supports many different interpretations and "because they're totally me and i said so" is neither a strong argument nor a healthy way to process the world.
let me give a real world example. i am acespec, something i didn't understand until relatively recently and definitely couldn't have defined when i was in college because that was like 1997 and the language i needed really didn't exist then. Or at least it didn't exist in my corner of the american midwest. Anyway. i had a friend in college who was gay. He had come out at 18, which in the late 90s rural midwest was a big fucking deal. He was very proud of his identity, to the point of being aggressive about it and one of his big things was trying to encourage other people to explore their own sexual identities.
which is fine, right? Good, even. People should be able to do that and his intention was to be a safe space for his friends. His intentions were good! What wasn't good was the way he absolutely targeted me as someone who didn't date and didn't "chase men" <-this was literally the way he phrased it to me. He said "you don't chase men and you don't want to date them therefore you are a lesbian just admit it."
he absolutely would not accept that i wasn't gay too. He used to get mad at me for arguing with him about it. The way his world was framed you were either gay or straight (reminding folks this was the 90s) and so if you weren't demonstrating Accepted Straight Behaviour, ie dating and lots of sex, that must mean you were closeted gay and should just come out already, otherwise what are you some sort of homophobe?
he wasn't able to recognise that his interpretation of the characteristics i showed were not the only possible interpretation. Even if i weren't acespec i could just not have met anyone i was interested in! (this was also true). There were at least half a dozen other explanations for it but he insisted his was the only way because it was His identity and His experience and he was i think genuinely trying to relate to me on that level. Instead he ended up alienating me because i knew the choice wasn't as simple as "gay or closeted and probably homophobic" but there was absolutely no convincing him of that.
obviously there is a difference between what he did and fictional character analysis. Obviously fictional characters are not going to be hurt by people interpreting them as whatever the way i was hurt by my friend's behaviour. But i put it to you that the same inability to differentiate between what is real and what is your own interpretation based on your personal biases is a negative thing and something people need to be aware of. If you are capable of imposing traits on fictional people based on your own identity and recognising that doesn't necessarily mean they have those traits then great, more power to you, go forth and fanfic. But if you interpret a character in X way and genuinely, deeply believe that your interpretation is the only right and valid one based on nothing more than your own experiences then i strongly urge you to examine your biases and learn to do textual character analysis. For yourself, for your own metacognition skills, but also for the people around you. Believing you are right and there is no other way to think is the quickest path to intolerance and hatred that there is.
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jadereylove · 1 year
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Hi! Can you make an headcannon about how Kenny is with his girlfriend? the way he act and all that please ! <3
Hello ! Here's my headcannon:
How Kenny is with his girlfriend :
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Kenny is a very affectionate person, and he wants his girlfriend to feel loved and appreciated at all times. He might do this by giving her hugs, kisses, and other physical signs of affection. He also makes an effort to tell her how he feels through words, whether it's by saying "I love you" often, or by leaving her sweet notes or messages. He wants to make sure that she knows just how much she means to him, and that he is grateful to have her in his life.
Kenny's girlfriend might be stressed about his career as a wrestler because she is worried that he could get hurt. So he might try to reassure her by explaining the safety measures that are in place to protect wrestlers during matches and training. Additionally, he might try to find ways to involve her in his wrestling career, whether it's by taking her to matches, introducing her to his colleagues and friends in the wrestling world, or simply talking to her about what he does and why he enjoys it. By helping her understand more about his passion and what it means to him, he might be able to help her see it in a more positive light.
Kenny and his girlfriend may have a noticeable difference in height, with Kenny being taller and his girlfriend being shorter. This might be something that is particularly noticeable when they are standing next to each other. Despite this difference in height, Kenny might find this dynamic between them very cute and endearing. He might enjoy the way that his girlfriend has to look up at him, or he might find it amusing when she has to stand on her tiptoes to give him a kiss. He might also appreciate the way that their size difference adds to the playful and affectionate nature of their relationship. It's possible that Kenny might tease his girlfriend about her size in a playful and affectionate way. He might make jokes about her being small or petite, or he might playfully pick her up or lift her up in the air as a way of showing her how strong he is. This teasing might be a way for Kenny to show his girlfriend that he loves and adores her, even though she is smaller than him. It might also be a way for him to express his sense of protectiveness over her, as he might feel a strong desire to take care of her and make sure she is safe and well.
As a supportive partner, Kenny might do everything he can to encourage his girlfriend to pursue her passions and dreams. This might involve offering her words of encouragement and motivation, helping her to make a plan or set goals, or simply being there to listen and offer emotional support.
He is patient and understanding, even when she is upset or stressed. When his girlfriend is upset or stressed, Kenny might offer a listening ear and allow her to speak without interrupting or judging her. He might be able to provide a safe and supportive space for her to express her feelings and work through her emotions, which can help her feel seen and validated.
It's possible that Kenny is very affectionate and tactile with his girlfriend, and that he enjoys expressing his love and affection through physical touch. This might mean that he is always holding her hand, giving her hugs, or kissing her on the cheek or forehead. He might also enjoy cuddling with her and being physically close, whether it's watching a movie on the couch or simply sitting together and talking.
Kenny enjoys pleasing his girlfriend and making her feel good. This might mean that he is attentive to her needs and desires and is willing to put effort into making sure she is satisfied and happy. He might be affectionate and attentive during intimacy, and he might be open to trying new things or exploring different ways of pleasing her.
Hope you enjoyed !
"If you have any suggestions for headcanon/fanfictions about Kenny Omega, ask me!"
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thedrarrylibrarian · 10 months
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Several people have been kind enough to let me publish their thoughts on fandom, community, and queerness to celebrate Pride in the Library. Today's piece is a conversation between @academicdisasterfic and his boyfriend, @saintgarbanzo. If you missed it, @saintgarbanzo organized a fundraiser to help support @academicdisasterfic with funds for top-surgery. This fundraiser has met its goal, and is referenced to throughout their conversation.
In this conversation, @saintgarbanzo is chickpea in bold, and @academicdisasterfic is rooney, in regular text.
chickpea: ok baby. let's talk about the gift economy in fandom. it’s something that's part of our politics but many of us struggle with feeling like our worth is tied to our production, even in fandom. has your fundraising experience changed your understanding of those concepts for you?
rooney: Short answer: yes.
Long answer: I think part of what drew me to fanfiction in the first place was a complete divide from capitalism. It’s such a relief in this world of productivity culture. I started writing purely because I loved it and I never thought anyone would read my fics. But then people did, and that meant everything to me. After this fundraiser, I truly understand why the gift economy is so imperative to fandom. People are doing me a favour by donating to my surgery, reading my fics, or writing fics that I love to read. It still feels overwhelming to have as much support as I did. I haven’t processed it at all, I can’t actually fathom it, and I initially had this dread about how I was never going to be able to repay the fandom for what it did for me - it’s not true for all trans men, but for me, this surgery will save my life. But fic saved me too, and I know the same applies to many. When I thought about it like that, I realised that I would do the same thing for anyone here, and it would make me happy to do it. I’d never think they had to pay off that debt. The difference between capitalism and the gift economy is that one is about power and competition, and the other is about the cyclical nature of community. Debts don’t exist, because we don’t give from a finite pool of resources. We give to each other from an endless pool of infinite possibilities.
chickpea: i had that same realization. initially the only way we felt comfortable asking for help was by offering an exchange, but then the exchange wasn't really necessary. everyone just offered up their resources–money but also their time and talent and attention. i go back and forth between feeling guilty/indebted and trying to remind myself that this is how communities are supposed to function and i can feel grateful without feeling guilty. 
you talked about fandom's resistance to capitalism being an initial draw. what about its queerness? my first fandom interactions were very much based in fandom being a safe place to explore queerness. i want to hear about the relationship between your gender realizations and this community.
rooney: You know, I didn’t even think about it in that way - it was more, “I need a queer space, I want it to be a creative space”. It was so apparent to me, even before I knew I was trans, that whatever community I invested in had to have queerness at its core. Back in 2010 when I was figuring out my sexuality, fandom and shipping on Tumblr became really important to me, so I already knew it was there and when I started to explore it, that’s when a lot of gender stuff happened.
I think so many trans people have a more nuanced relationship with their body than is portrayed as the mainstream trans narrative of just being born in the wrong body. I worked very hard before learning I was trans to love and respect my body, and I’d never call it wrong. But reading about queer men fall in love was truly a lightning bolt moment. I’d always felt like an outsider in sapphic spaces - I’m bi/pan/whatever so I do really love women and femmes, that was never the issue - but I realised that I wanted my partners to be perceiving me differently, that I wanted to be treated as a queer man. I think the transgression and fight against purity culture in fandom was so crucial to it - the feelings of displacement and disconnection aren’t articulated the same way in published literature. One of my first fandom friends was @softlystarstruck who writes amazing trans characters with a variety of bodies and sexualities and genders. That sort of representation, of bodies coming together in all those different ways, specifically in sex, made me feel like there was hope - that transness and pleasure aren’t incongruent but born of the same instinct. We have to desire the things that will bring us joy.
chickpea: i love you
rooney: i love you too baby
chickpea: i love that you talked about displacement within queer communities. we've all seen and experienced queerphobia and racism, the demands for productivity, toxicity, discourse that's both helpful and harmful etc. you're someone in fandom who i really admire for the way you acknowledge and navigate the problematic parts of fandom while still focusing on building community in a healthy and joyful way.
can you talk a little bit about being a trans man who consciously decides to stay in hp fandom?
i’ve definitely struggled with my participation here and your fundraiser has brought up those arguments for me again, because we've harnessed this really material and transformative help for you as a trans person, that was carried pretty much entirely by this community.
rooney: Ooft, the big question. 
First off I have to make it clear that I completely understand trans people who don’t want to engage with the HP fandom, because it’s a fucking hard moral and ethical quandary to navigate. But also, I don’t think anyone, including other trans people, should judge those of us who find the inherent transgression of fandom empowering and freeing. That’s my go to answer.
I understand the ethical problems of HP and its fandom. The series is just flagrantly racist. It’s heteronormative, homophobic, and all around “ethically mean spirited”, as Ursula Le Guin so eloquently put it. But it’s still something that I loved, and more importantly, the fandom is so strong not in spite of the series' flaws, but because of them. The more broken it is, the more there is to fix - and we’ve put in Desi Harry and Black Hermione, we’ve written whole essays on why Wolfstar is canon, we’ve taken terrible things like “house elves love to be enslaved” and written complex, thoughtful interpretations of the relationship between oppressor and oppressed. We’ve fucked with it all. Some hasn’t gone far enough, particularly in regards to the way we think about and portray people of colour. But overall, we’ve improved upon something without a single cent from that work going to J.K. Rowling. I find people in this fandom have had a much deeper understanding of the problems in the series for the longest, because we examine it so critically and closely.
No one’s perfect, but we’re all trying - at least, most of us are - and we’re doing things that make the lives of trans people and other marginalised people better. And I’m a trans person who can attest to that, and I know you are too. Universal maxims like “any engagement with HP is transphobic!” don’t even begin to understand what fandom is, what it does, and why it exists. (Those universal maxims also tend to be hugely influenced by Western morality and the legacy of Christianity)
And yes - my fundraiser, and how this community came together to support a trans person in need, really shows all of it in a tangible way. The people here are here to support and uplift those who need it.
chickpea; i often fall into the trap of feeling like if my resistance doesn't transform my oppressors then it doesn't count. i’ve written posts about racism in fandom and a lot of times i still approach it from the position of like, how do i make this palatable, if i just say it with the perfect tone then it will be more approachable and i'll like, convert the racists. i write it with the idea that i have to reach the unreachable. but over and over what i see is that those posts strengthen the people already on my side. and i think it's the same when we're talking about the effects on queer people of engaging with hp. like, a lot of times the argument is that our silly little stories don't translate into real resistance, because people think of "real" resistance as legislative changes and boycotts, as efforts that transform and educate or punish oppressors. and our trans fanfic isn't convincing any terfs that they're miserable pieces of shit. but it bolsters other trans people. it supports us as individuals in this community. i think that the emphasis on whether or not hp fandom engagement translates to "real world" resistance focuses too much on that idea of reaching the unreachable people. we're here and we're doing it for each other, and i *know* it's effective because every queer person i've met in this community has a story of being strengthened by a fic, or a post, or an illustration.
i want to bring it back to joyfulness  in fandom. how has it encouraged you to cultivate more joy for yourself and others?
rooney: Honestly, I think that idea about remembering who we’re actually doing this for is so important. And also I believe we can plant seeds for change through joy. Because here’s the thing - change doesn’t originate from someone signing a piece of paper enacting legislation. That’s an important part, but that person enacts legislation because they represent their communities. Communities who believe joy is possible are stronger, because they have something to fight for. Joy is essential to resistance. I want to reach my community with my words and make them strong. And perhaps then those sentiments will reach further, because we will feel supported by each other and capable in our own lives of challenging bigotry and violence, knowing we are not alone. I am convinced that is how change happens. 
But I don’t just want to be happy so I can fight better. I want to cultivate joy because I deserve it, because I’m a person. Transphobic rhetoric dehumanises trans people, and that disconnect from our humanity can be internalised; perhaps we don’t feel worthy of indulgence, frivolity, the whimsical and beautiful and luxurious parts of life. Fuck that. Every human deserves access to joy. Treating myself cruelly will not change anything about me - depriving myself of joy when I fuck up doesn’t make me fuck up less the next time, and it doesn’t help the people affected by said fuck up. But treating myself well, indulging my creativity and dreaming and desires, actually does change me. It makes me better to the people around me, and better to myself, which means I have more energy for others and myself, which means I give more - it’s the gift economy, it’s cyclical. 
So fandom just makes me happy because it does. I love watching these dumb boys in love. And rather than try and analyse that or judge it, I let myself accept it, and go with it, purely because it’s joyful and life affirming and connects me with the world in a new and beautiful way. It’s really just the power of storytelling, I think - it calls to something primal in us. Maybe it reminds us that we’re humans in this world that wants us to be more like machines.
Fandom makes me joyful because it reminds me of my humanity, I think. With every fic I read or gorgeous artwork it’s like I’m accessing this part of my humanness that I have to keep segmented and separate from my work life, my life where I have to so much of the time be productive and disciplined. Here, I feel all of my flaws acutely and deeply, and all of my wonders, and it’s soul deep. How wonderful to be a human and to feel so keenly - how preferable to a life of trying to stay in the boring, lonely middle.
chickpea: your soulful intellectual rigor is very attractive
rooney: i think that’s my favorite thing you’ve ever said to me.
chickpea: a lot of times i have to frame my self-care and creative work in terms of resistance because that's the only way i can allow myself to have it. but you are so fundamentally right. cultivating joy isn't only for the collective, it's for me. i need to think about pleasure and joy less as a fuck you to the people trying to crush me, and more as a gift. giving yourself that gift of joy really does give that gift to others, and that's such a beautiful, community building action. 
thank you for the reminder that being in community is about engaging with our humanity. it's a perfect conclusion to our whole discussion. humanity is gorgeous and gross and so is fandom and stories are reflections of that, and those reflections are so special to so many of us.
thank you for letting me trick you into processing your feelings. 
rooney: for the record i encourage all of your attempts to trick me into processing my feelings. 
Thank you both for joining me in the Library. I loved what you both had to say about fandom being a gift of joy to ourselves and community being a gift we give to each other. Thank you so much for the privilege of reading your conversation as a way to celebrate Pride in the Library.
If you want more @academicdisasterfic, be sure to check out his work on AO3! I particularly love his fic like the sun came out, because it so accurately portrays the way people who truly love each other treat each other - with gentleness and kindness and patience.
If you want more @saintgarbanzo, be sure to check out his work on AO3 as well! I love Sweeten to Taste because I'm always a sucker for a beautiful food description, and also because I love the thoughtful and nuanced discussions Harry and Draco have in this fic about justice and forgiveness and what we all deserve even when we've been wronged and when we have wronged others.
🏳️‍🌈 Lots of Love and Happy Pride! 🏳️‍🌈
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tadc-ragatha · 7 months
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I’ve been lurking around your account for a bit so may I suggest a head canon?
Caine says to Pomni that he doesn’t know what’s out there in the void, implying that he doesn’t know how to get the contestants OUT, only knowing how to let them IN the circus. He shows this when he was able to bring Pomni back from the void. I also have a feeling there’s a bigger antagonist in the background hidden, which is not Caine, since the creators of TADC confirmed it. It’d been kinda cool and sad when Caine finds out reader went into the void by accident when exploring the circus, with reader being returned to the circus safe and sound by Caine
Ooh, that's interesting! Since we still don't really know anything I can't give you any suggestions or back you up that much, but I think it's a cool theory! And I mean the Caine only being able to bring people in, because the having-a-bigger-villain part is 100% happening (surely).
I guess it might have to do with the never-ending labyrinth of offices? Like, again, I'm no theory person, but he does say about wanting to have the "exit" ready for people hence why he never showed it. But that could also be me missing an important detail and completely messing up. Because, like, that scene where he's wiggling his fingers and staring off into space didn't read like "I have to hide my surprise!" to me.
If anything, maybe he doesn't want the contestants to leave? Like, he kind of presents himself as a god of sorts, so maybe he's lonely? Sick of being stuck with NPCs? Or maybe, since he's an AI, he's been programmed to keep the humans in the digital world for as long as possible. And the exit was a testing thing for workers/whatever who needed to get out. Or maybe, just maybe, the workers couldn't actually get out, and abstracted because of it (maybe Kinger's the only remaining worker, stuck with the knowledge and memories of what happened to his coworkers--especially Queener!).
My guess for the "big bad" of the series is C&A, whatever that stands for (the corporation seen in the office segment).
As for your mention of the reader, I'm assuming you'd like me to make headcanons for a scenario in which the reader finds some portal or something to the void and nearly gets out but is sucked back into the world. I'll make that in a separate post sometime (though be warned, it won't be accurate to future canon at all).
Anyways, Pomni's face really said it all huh. She'd come so close to getting out, faced the trigger that got her stuck in the digital circus in the first place, and then next thing she knows she's stuck in the void again! I felt so bad for her. Like, she was so convinced she was gonna get out--nobody believed her either--and then she hears Caine telling the group his "exit" was an unfinished surprise! The poor woman.
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queen-of-the-avengers · 2 months
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New World Order: Part Four
Pairing: Zombie!Steve Rogers x Vampire!Fem!Reader
Word Count: ~2.2k
Warnings: angst, minor fluff at the end
Summary: Operation: Cure isn't going as well as you thought it would, but you're not going to give up until you have the humans on your side. You're getting Steve back whether you have help or not.
New World Order Masterlist
Squares Filled: “not bad for the end of the world” (2021) for @star-spangled-bingo
Author’s Note: any and all comments are appreciated <3
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Operation: Cure isn’t going as well as you hoped. Getting into a human camp is proving to be much harder than you thought it was going to be. They take protection very seriously and built walls only you can climb over. If you were to do that, they’d know you’re a vampire and shoot at you until you died. The main entrances are blocked by guards who have scanners that can detect the vampire and zombie virus.
One scan of your eye, and they’d know your bloody secret. 
If you’re going to get in, you have to find a weak spot and sneak in. Every camp has one or two, and every camp has those rebellious groups who will sneak out to either raid empty stores or explore the dead world on their own. It’s not safe for humans to be out by themselves but that was then. This is now.
After days of scouring the outside of a camp, you find a spot that is most likely going to be your only access point. The break in the barbed wires goes straight into tunnels that lead right into the heart of the camp. To get a feel of what you might be walking into, you and Steve are in a skyscraper next door that overlooks the entire camp. With your enhanced vision, you’re able to see everything and everyone go about their lives.
There is one person you’re watching in particular because she is going to be the only one who might be able to help you… if she hasn’t already forgotten you.
You sigh and lean against the broken window you’re looking out of. Is this a bad idea? Should you just give up on this hope of a cure? No, Steve has come so far, he’s getting a lot better. He still has trouble talking but he doesn’t stutter anymore. He just has a hard time saying certain words. The other zombies have made progress just by watching you and Steve. The cure is out there and it’s up to the humans if they want to believe in one or not.
“Are you okay?” Steve asks.
“Just thinking. I hope this works.”
“Me too.”
“Not bad for the end of the world,” you comment and observe the broken world. “My sister is in there. She made it to a safe camp. It’s been years since I’ve seen her. I hope she remembers me.”
“Family will always stick together,” Steve stutters.
“Yeah,” you whisper and look away from the camp. “Well, if we’re going to sneak inside, we have to do something about your look. You’re doing a lot better but you still look dead. Luckily, I have makeup for you.”
“No.”
“Yes,” you smile. “I was saving it for a date but being a vampire kind of ruins the mood. Now, it’s for you.”
You jump away from the window and pull Steve closer to you. It’s dark outside still, but your enhanced vision makes it easier to see what you’re doing to him. You’ve collected different kinds of makeup over the years so you have a shade that would match Steve if he had blood circulating through his veins. You put blush on his cheeks and some contour to make it seem like he is alive.
“I’d say I did a pretty good job.” You grab a shattered piece of reflective glass and hold it up to him. “What do you think?”
“It’s good, I think,” he smiles crookedly.
“Great. I found the opening. I know where my sister is. We should go now before it’s sunset. It’ll be easier to blend in.”
“Okay,” he nods.
You and Steve make your way to the ground level and walk over to the space where the barbed wire is broken. You peel back the wire to make the opening bigger for you two to sneak through. Steve goes first and you follow shortly after, hissing in pain when one of the spikes cuts your arm.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, just got cut.” You look at your arm and see the wound closing instantly. “I’m okay. Come on.” You take the lead and head down the musty tunnel until you get to the other end. People pass by it without a care in the world but you’re going to try and blend in a smooch as possible. “Don’t make eye contact with anyone. Try to look alive.”
“Okay,” he nods.
You move the wooden board out of the way and quickly get out, helping Steve do the same. People pass by without a second glance so this kind of behavior might be normal here. You put the hood over your head and stick your hands in your pockets as you try and find your sister. You two had such a great relationship that you’re somewhat confident she will believe you if you tell her about Steve.
You keep Steve close as you look for your sister and find her near one of the military camps inside. Each human camp has a military base that is the front line if something were to happen. They send out their soldiers for food, medicine, and anything they might need on the outside. They raid neighborhoods and take down anyone who shows slight signs of being infected.
“Amanda,” you hiss quietly. She looks up at hearing her name but doesn't see you yet. “Over here.”
She looks over at you and gasps loudly. She apologizes to the men around her and scurries over to you.
“Oh, my God! Y/N! Where the hell have you been? I thought you died!” She pulls you in for a hug but freezes when she feels you against her. Vampires are naturally cold to the touch and she can feel how cold you are through your clothes. “Did you… die?”
“Amanda, I need your help.”
“Are you…?”
“Please, Mandy. Can we talk in private?”
Amanda looks at Steve in suspicion and then at you with the same look. She nods and takes you off to the side away from the military men.
“Where have you been this whole time?”
You have to trust her. This is where you tell her everything that happened to you from the moment you got killed to meeting Steve after all this time to working with him for months. She doesn’t say anything and listens to your every word. If she doesn’t believe you or starts shooting, you’ll run from here and never come back. This is your only shot. No other human is going to take the time to listen to you.
“You died?” she whispers.
“Yeah, I did. I promise I am not going to hurt anyone here. Steve won’t hurt anyone either. He’s curing himself. All of them are. Mandy, there is a whole community of zombies out there who are curing themselves because of Steve and I. We can cure them if only we give them a chance to. You have to believe me.”
“I do,” she nods. “Wow, I never knew something like this was possible.”
“Me either. Is there anyone you can talk to here who can help? This will only work if we get everyone on board.”
“My boyfriend is the military leader. Let me talk to him.”
Mandy leaves you two to go talk to her boyfriend but you and Steve follow her so he can get a chance to see him. He’s busy talking with his fellow soldiers about an attack they think is coming. They’ve been noticing the zombies banding together so they assume the worst when really, you’ve been helping them be in touch with their inner humanity.
“Issac? Hey, can I talk to you for a second?”
“I told you to stay inside, Amanda.”
“I know but I really have to talk to you.”
He sighs and excuses himself so he can give her his full attention. He notices you behind her and immediately glares. He knows everyone in this camp and he has not seen you around before today.
“Who is she?”
“That’s Y/N, my sister. I told you about her.”
“You said she was dead.”
“I thought she was.”
“How did you get in here? I know everyone who passes through my front door.”
“Listen, we think the zombies are curing themselves.”
“Curing themselves? No, they are not curing themselves. They take what they want and destroy lives. They killed your parents, they killed my sister, and they will kill us if we’re not careful.”
“Issac, they are curing themselves. You just have to trust me on this. This virus, this disease is something we’re not familiar with. I think we give them a chance, they can turn back to humans.”
“No offense to you, Y/N, but I don’t have to believe shit. Now, I don’t know how you got in here but get the hell out of my camp.”
Issac steps around you to leave when he almost crashes into Steve. Steve backs up and smooths down his shirt nervously to make himself more presentable. Issac narrows his eyes in suspicion and looks him up and down.
“Who are you?”
“That’s Steve, my boyfriend,” you state.
He takes a step back and crosses his arms.
“I didn’t ask you. I asked him. Who are you?” Steve becomes super nervous and stutters pretty badly but can’t actually say a word. “You’re a zombie?”
You step closer to him and Issac to prevent something bad from happening.
“I need you to listen to me. I triggered something in him that triggered something in all of them.” Issac whips out his gun, shoves you to the side, shoves his gun in Steve’s face, and pins him to the wall. “No!”
“Now he’s triggered something in me.”
“We want to help,” Steve stuttered.
“They don’t want to attack. They want to help,” Amanda says.
“We’re getting better,” Steve pleads.
“No, things don’t get better. Things get worse. People get bit, they get infected, then I shoot them in the head. That’s what happened to my sister, and that’s what gonna happen to him,” Issac glares.
Issac raises his gun to Steve’s head but you grab Issac’s wrist tightly. Veins appear underneath your eyes and your fangs slide out from your gums.
“I’m sorry but I can’t let you do that.” You squeeze his wrist enough to make him drop the gun in pain. You look at Steve who has wide eyes. “Go. Get back to where we came in. I’m right behind you.”
Steve knows you have super speed and can catch up to him easily so he immediately runs back to the tunnels. Once you know he is a safe distance from Issac, you let go of his wrist.
“I’m sorry,” Amanda frowns.
“Don’t be. I tried. I’ll see you later.” You use your super speed to head back to Steve who just got to the tunnels. “Man, that could have gone a lot better.”
“I’m sorry,” Steve sighs.
“Don’t be. It’s not your fault. Humans are scared and when they’re scared, they lash out. We’ll have to try again.” Suddenly, the alarms start blaring and lights light up the entire tunnel. Shit, they’re coming for you. “Run!”
You take Steve’s hand and run as fast as he can to the other end of the tunnel. You don’t care that the barbed wire cuts you when you pass through it, but you make sure Steve doesn’t get cut. Now that you’re out, you can go anywhere and hide but once the humans have their mind set on something, they’ll finish it until the end.
Issac and his soldiers find the entry point that leads into the outside world and comes in drones. The other zombies are waiting for your return but see Issac and his army come rushing behind you. They start shooting but you push Steve out of the way so he doesn’t get hit. The other zombies don’t want to turn and run since you taught them to fight for themselves. Instead of fleeing, you turn to the humans with your vampire face out.
You don’t want to hurt any of them but you do need to teach them a lesson. Issac raises his gun and shoots at you but you use your speed to get away from the bullet. Instead of hitting you like it should have, the bullet goes into Steve’s shoulder.
“Ow!” Steve gasps and falls to the ground.
“Steve!” You rush over to your boyfriend and kneel on the ground to make sure he is alright. The first thing you smell is blood, and you know it’s not yours since you didn't get shot. “Wait! He’s bleeding! You shot him and he’s bleeding!” Issac and his armies stop and stare at you and Steve. “Zombies don’t bleed. I told you they’re curing themselves!”
“I’m bleeding.”
You look in Steve’s eyes and see life. They are a much brighter blue than before and so full of life that it makes you cry.
“He’s bleeding. He’s not dead anymore,” you cry and look at Issac. “We can help them--all of them.”
The zombies have a cure waiting for them at the end of the road while you’ll still be stuck like this. You’re not sure if you’ll ever be cured but you’ll help them if you can; you’ll do anything. It all starts with Steve.
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Follow my library blog @aqueenslibrary​​​​​​ where I reblog all my stories, so you can put notifications on there without the extra stuff :)
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mountain-lion-gremlin · 3 months
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a good reason to leave for me:
i honestly think it would be safer for me and therians to not be in the same space sometimes haha. P-shifting isn't safe for many and it can really hurt others.
Although I would love to stay, I know that it's probably safer for everyone to no longer teach it and keep to myself about things that involve how to shift and such.
P-shifting isn't a joke and can harm people who suffer from mental issues and other things of that sort. Its just not safe to teach in a large public space. It's something only some can stomach and be safe while doing. Plus some communities that are too unregulated exist and may mess with people's reality and how they perceive it. Some are too open to allow people to start p-shifting right off the bat and it's just too dangerous that way. (including those that say "oh just wait you will shift eventually but you cant control it at all" those are even worse.)
Theres a very good reason why newer communities are very apprehensive about teaching, or telling, or allowing new people who know nothing about it just hop in and start shifting. Usually if you are coming to the "learning" community (as in, you are following steps laid out by others to understand your identity) there is guidelines, there are warnings, etc. It's just too risky to not follow these guidelines and not listen to the warnings.
Dont start p-shifting right when you find out. Take the time to start a journal. Understand that what you are getting into isn't something that will make you cool or quirky. You risk your mental health if you are not careful. You have to be born to be a p-shifter. You must first mental shift before you can even think about p-shifting. P-shifting is not easy and will take years to even get to a point where you start getting somewhere physically.
The list goes on. When someone who is teaching shifting slacks in saying these things, you can harm someone. It takes a very long time to even get to the point where you may be ready to p-shift. Some never will p-shift. You have to accept these realities too. Not to mention how some older guides, although effective, can be so incredibly risky. (Such as completely shutting out the world and being an animal 24/7. Some people just take it too far and do it too early and ruin themselves.) Its just not worth it sometimes.
Thats why I'm leaving Tumblr. Too open, not safe for neither me nor others looking in. I know I usually don't have these sorts of posts, but I just saw someone in an anon saying how unstable their reality and they were after lurking in the community and it just.... its just so hard to see. Nobody deserves that sort of mental torture. Sometimes I forget that p-shifting actually can be dangerous to some if nobody teaches how important it is to regulate yourself, check in on yourself, and remember that p-shifting isn't for the faint of heart.
It's only for those who have spent so much time over years of their journey, exploring themselves, askong questions, taking breaks, questioning themselves so many times, and checking in, to finally be able to claim that they are able to p-shift. (There is so much more to it than that obviously.) My fourth year of shifting is coming up, and after so long I might be ready to leave the online community permanently and start my journey. (of physically shifting i mean. I spend more time teaching others rather than doing the practice itself right now lol. When i say p-shifting im trying to refer to the whole process, but really talking about the mental shifting and phantom shifting etc. Sorry if its been unclear, many know the whole community as "p-shifters" when in reality "p-shifters" are only those who havw actually preformed a p-shift. I havent yet in my conscious memory so i just call myself a shifter or nonhuman.)
Please be safe. Please, if you are curious about the p-shifting community, remember that it is a mixed bag and not for everyone. As always any community can be a mixed bag, but p-shifting "learning" communities can spiral and be too lax on the warnings and importance of these warnings.
Thats all. (make sure to read all tags fully too.)
#please be safe#if you are interested in p-shifting feel free to approach me but I'm not going to be as open as i used to be#this whole post isn't to claim that the p-shifting community is incredibly dangerous#i can be full of the most amazing kind people#the only issue is people forget how dangerous it can be to not remember the warnings that follow the community#many young people toss them aside because they think it's gatekeepers or a “cool kids only club”#(like i did)#but it's for safety and making sure you take it slow enough so that you can back out without being permanently damaged#p-shift#I will always tell anyone interested that you have to spend time researching thinking evaluating the list goes on#And it's nobody's fault#when you've been a p-shifter for a long time (like me) you forget the warnings that you followed in the beginning that protected you#from spiraling mental issues depression etc.#p-shifting can be done and practiced safely#hey i did it and I'm doing fine. I've lived with it for so long and don't hold onto it like a lifeline anymore#it's more of an aspect of my identity#im just trying to help others understand that it can be fun and safe but it's not something to joke with or play with#it is something that is serious and if the warnings are ignored usually very risky.#bro it's like rock climbing almost#“WEAR THE HARNESS. If you fall you won't plummet to your death!! Remember rules ABC and you will be okay!!”#it's sort of the same thing in that matter.#we do unsafe things all of the time but since we know the dangers and the warnings we will go about to be much safer in practicing it#Im just trying to say p-shifting from the “learning” side of it - these warnings should be heeded and taught.#Or else you get whats been happening lately with people wandering into places that are too lax with teaching the dangers#and people are traumatized and damaged from it#Many new people who I've seen wander onto my Amino don't even really know that there is even a process before p-shifting itself#it's scary and I'm afraid even more people will have to deal with the rough bumpy road of understanding that they aren't p-shifters#yeah so uh#this might not get any likes or anything but I still wanted to put this out there.#Please don't crop this and use this for out of context hate against p-shifting and p-shifters
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helloo :) 
i’m new to your blog and I really like it! i saw that ur open to asks? 
there’s been something on my mind recently. i appreciate any advice you have. 
for some time now, there have been a lot of derogatory autism-jokes, misinformation, stereotypes circulating around my school. as part of a “c.a.s” related venture (service-as-action towards my community), I want to do something about this, as it’s really bothering me. 
as to why it’s bothering me, im really affected by injustice and ignorance in the world, it’s something I find hard to let go of. and I think I might be audhd or in some way neurodivergent and I guess advocating/learning about neurodiversity has become one of my special interests.
all that aside, I’m unsure how to approach this. I feel like simply holding a “psa” that explains what autism is and de-bunks stereotypes isn’t realistically going to help change the minds of a bunch of teenagers and stop the hate. What can I actually do by myself to create change in some manner? 
tysmm:)    (also, if you can see my username, id appreciate it if it wasn’t shared with your audience.)
Greetings & I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your incredible ask. /g
The world needs more awareness & more non-ableist information about autism & we need to stop the hate & injustice & ignorance against us. Not all autistic people are able to raise their voices against the system because of many reasons, which is why we have to stand together as a whole - including every autistic person, taking different perspectives in (e.g. non-speaking autistics are often excluded, which is SO wrong in SO MANY ways). I could write another million words about it.
Yes, I think simply giving a lecture is not the solution to get heard & listened to. It's difficult to give a specific advice here, but if you are already part of a group that wants to change something or at least give support - that's something.
If you are autistic & safe 'to be like you are', consider the following, because that is what I do.
Unmask your traits, explore them & express them. TAKE UP SPACE. Be open with your struggles, respect your way of being & your way of experiencing the world. It's hard work, even if you are supported. //I was not supported & I was not able to disclose that I am autistic at first & I still am not able to publicly, but I still try to advocate for my needs & try to build my confidence.//
Talk about your traits. Start a blog online about it. If you can, raise awareness in some way, like I do. It can comfort others & maybe inspire (that is what I wish for with my work). If you can't do that (which is totally valid), support the people who do so, share their work. Also do tons of research, get as much knowledge as you can so you can fight stereotypes.
If you want to support us, work with us. Support us. Stop hate & bullying when you see it. Stop negative talk about autism when you hear it. Make existing ableism visible.
Also, if you want to support us & you're not autistic yourself:
Respect our need for accomodations & reasonable adjustments
Support us & RESPECT US when we are not masking, support & respect the ones who can't mask, the ones that are non-verbal, the ones with other disabilities - RESPECT THE WHOLE SPECTRUM
Support us when we can't work or be 'productive'
Listen to us & believe us when we tell about our experiences
Support us when we struggle to communicate, when we miss cues & don't assume we're rude
Do not belittle us, regardless of how high our support needs is - they can change from day to day
Do not JUDGE us for not living according to the standard allistics are used to.
Instead, try to make the world more accessible for us.
I hope I was able to give some input! (I definitely haven't covered all)
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the-casbah-way · 7 months
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down then left octavius vs canon octavius
i think it's safe to assume that most people would say the version of octavius i've invented for down then left is vastly different to the octavius we see in the films, and i can see why. canon octavius is loud, brave, confident, and generally a very fun and cheerful little guy. down then left octavius is, well, none of those things. or at least a lot of people probably see it that way. the thing i love about aus, though, is the fact that it's the perfect opportunity for a writer to explore one of my favourite concepts; being a product of your environment. your physical surroundings, the people you interact with, and in this case even the time period you're in, are intrinsic to who you are, to some extent. octavius was simply meant to be in ancient rome. it's just where he belongs. it's where he fits. his role as a military leader - and one operating under an empire trademarked by active and offensive territorial expansion, at that - is what gives him the chance to truly thrive, and put to use the traits we don't always see in down then left octavius. natural leadership, confidence, and bravery. when you remove someone like that from his intended time period and stick him in a world dominated by computers, late stage capitalism, and repetitive mundane responsibilities, it's no wonder we no longer see him as the same person. in a way, down then left octavius' job as the manager of a big company does showcase his abilities as a natural leader. we don't really get to see this in action but there are definitely hints of it, and we can obviously assume that it's there since he's been able to work his way up to the position he's in now. but how can we expect down then left octavius to be confident, for example, when he's living in a world that has no use for his positive traits? he's supposed to be doing something far bigger, far more long-term and with a far clearer cause than a mediocre office job. if down then left octavius had a chance to do something he actually enjoyed - and was actually good at, most importantly - he'd arguably be just as confident as canon octavius. there are signs of this token confidence throughout the fic, if you look for them; octavius' ability to stand up for himself or other people without a second thought, his tendency to naturally assume he's correct in his thoughts and opinions, his brashness and bluntness with complete strangers like the angry man in the bar. it's there, it's just not happening in the right environment for it to really flourish in a way that's particularly noticeable. we don't have canon octavius' backstory, so for all we know it could be very different or equally very similar to that of down then left octavius, who grew up not only closeted and emotionally neglected, but also with no real outlet in which he could really channel any of his passion or natural abilities and positive characteristics. the main difference here is that when you add all this into an environment with very little space for self-expression or discovery, almost no healthy human connections, and a world that no longer values the qualities needed to be an ancient roman imperator, you end up with a repressed, awkward, mentally-ill loser who seems so fundamentally out of place wherever he steps foot that it's hard to believe he was meant for this timeline at all. the museum gives canon octavius not only somewhere he can still dress, behave and live like he may have done in ancient rome, but also a place where he can be himself and be understood and cared for; something down then left octavius has never had. if i've done my job as a writer correctly then hopefully the more we get to knpw down then left octavius, the more we start to realise that he still has all of canon octavius' qualities in him somewhere, even if we have to dig deep to find them. he is capable of laughing and having fun; he is capable of being sweet and kind and forming meaningful relationships; he is confident, and loud, and silly. it's the world around him that's changed here, not octavius himself
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