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matchingbatbites · 8 months

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"What the fuck did you do?"

Eddie wasn't expecting hostility when he answered Jeff's phone call, his best friend's usual calm demeanor replaced with open annoyance. And yeah, okay, the annoyance itself wasn’t new, but Eddie doesn’t think he’s actually done anything recently to earn it.

"Well-"

"Actually, no. I'll tell you what you did. You retweeted photos of Steve Harrington - internationally beloved heartthrob actor Steve Harrington - along with the caption 'not to sound like a subby slut but GOD I would be his puppy baby boy in a heartbeat'. So I guess the better question is, what the fuck were you thinking, Eddie?"

Eddie's jaw clicks shut because- yeah, he had done that. Had seen those photos of Steve smoking circling the internet and spent god knows how long just staring at them, had curbed the desire to shove his hand down his pants by posting a single thirst tweet about it.

“I was thinking, Jeff, that I'm allowed to post whatever I want to my private fucking twitter, man. I mean it's a free country, isn't a guy allowed to make a horny tweet about a sexy man every now and then?”

“You are, when you actually post it to your private account and not our award winning band's main account.”

No. Oh no. There's no way Eddie actually-

He rips his phone away from his face to open twitter, and realizes two things simultaneously. One, Jeff is right, he had posted it to the band's account. Not on his private, locked, personal account, but on the account that's actually open and free for literally anyone on earth to look at.

The second thing he realizes is that their notifications are currently flooded with responses to Eddie's tweet, somehow racking up into the thousands in the few hours it's been since.

Jesus Christ.

“Eddie?”

The metalhead jerks back into the moment and put Jeff on speaker so he can scroll through the horde of replies, says “Fuck, I fucked up. Are we gonna have to do damage control on this?”

In the mess is a reply from Gareth's own personal account: @ corrodededdie stop tweeting from the band account challenge 🙄🙄🙄

”Maybe. There hasn't been any type of response from Harrington or his people, but they might ask us to take it down if it blows up too much.“

Eddie hums, thinking they might be too little, too late about it blowing up too much, and flips over to his main account so he can reply to Gareth's little jab appropriately. He isn't surprised to see that he has a couple of new messages, probably from other people wondering just what the fuck Eddie was thinking, but when he goes to check them-

He's never been happier that he turned on messages from followers only, because then he would have missed this, missed Steve Harrington's little profile picture beaming up at him from the screen of his phone, along with a new message request.

”Jeff, I gotta go,” he says, not even realizing he's cut the other man off.

“Eddie, what-

”Harrington messaged me. I'll call you back.“

Eddie doesn't wait for a response as he hangs up on Jeff, and his hands definitely aren't shaking as he opens the message from Steve. And listen- Eddie is a fan of the guy, that much should be obvious.

Steve had grown in popularity around the same time Corroded Coffin had; he’d gotten some part in a drama film that had skyrocketed him into stardom, and Eddie fell in love the moment he saw that gorgeous face on the silver screen for the first time. He's never had a chance to interact with the guy, has been in the same place a few times but always missed him, like ships passing in the night, but Eddie's been fine with pining from afar, just like every other person on the planet that's even remotely attracted to men.

Besides, even with how popular Corroded Coffin has gotten over the years - a couple of Grammy’s here, a dozen chart topping metal songs there - Eddie doesn’t expect Steve to just. Know who Eddie is.

With all of this in mind, Eddie is expecting some kind of semi-casual request to take the tweet down, that it's not a good look for his image-

Anything other than what Steve actually sent.

'If you're puppy baby boy, does that make me Master? Or Daddy?'

And Eddie-

Eddie slides down, sinks into his couch cushion as all of the blood in his body suddenly shifts, rushing to fill his dick like it's a fucking race. The phone almost slips out of his hand and he fumbles it briefly before taking a deep breath.

Is Steve serious? He wouldn't send that if he wasn't serious, right?

This could be it, could be Eddie's one chance to impress Steve, to get his foot in the door of Steve's interest. He bites his lip and types out a reply, something quick that he sends before he can change his mind.

‘I’m open to either, actually. Do you have a preference, sir?’

He doesn’t expect the typing indicator to come up immediately, and just knowing that Steve is somewhere right now, typing out a response to Eddie, is enough to have him nearly vibrating in his seat.

‘I’m partial to Daddy, myself.’

Fuck fuck fuck.

Eddie takes a breath, tries to think of a response that isn’t just ‘Please, Daddy, can I sit on your massive dick that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about since that one indie film you did that just had all of your junk out in the open?’

Steve saves him by sending another message.

‘But maybe we could start with Steve, and possibly dinner? Though I’d be happy to see where things go after that.’

He- What-

Eddie must have stopped breathing, because the next time he takes a breath his lungs burn, his mid races because there’s no way Eddie’s long term celebrity crush just asked him on a date. He sits there long enough that the screen goes dark and he scrambles to turn it back on, sees the message still there, real and unchanged.

There’s no way he can say no to this, to Steve, and his hands shake as he types out a response.

‘Dinner would be great. Just name the time and place, Daddy.’

#like everyone else those new pics of joe keery left me kind of #feral. horny. slutty.#so i channeled my feeling a bit #i miiiight do more of this but no promises #steddie #steddie fic #steve harrington #eddie munson #steve x eddie #rockstar eddie munson #actor steve harrington #joey writes #ficlet #fun fact: eddie's tweet was my actual real life message to my friends about those pics

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autisticaradiamegido · 3 months

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day 26

someday if i can figure out how the hell people get these things made i would like to do some little destiny & malice acrylic charms. i think those are so fun. and while i mostly want them for Myself i figure that if i DID figure out the process, i should maybe open up the option to anyone else that might want them, soooo...

informal poll: if i figure out how all that works, would any of y'all be into that, and approximately how many of you?

#day 26 #year 5 #my ocs #destiny chainsaw #malice winterfang #i know i've said i don't really like the idea of commissions and this isnt like a PROMISE or anything #i still have a lot of research to do before i commit to a shop of any kind #BUT. i think like a redbubble or something in that vein might be a manageable project #i mention stickers specifically because that seems like a very manageable thing to produce and ship even if i didnt go through like #a service to do so #particularly because i dont think id get a TON of orders for my niche OCs lol #but if i got some practice with something small like this it MIIIIGHT help me build up to making things for a larger market like...#say... well you know what i'm about over here lmao #we've basically all but gotten the official blessings of the powers that be to make homestuck merch without fear of reprisal at this point #ANYWAY that would be a ways off and be a much MUCH bigger project both artistically and in terms of like #me learning how Online Commerce works from the seller end.#BUT I HAVE BEEN CONSIDERING IT. and it seems to me that it would at least be relatively simple to sell like. prints of old art maybe #i dunno! like i said i'll see how the poll shakes out while i do a bit more research

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mommybard · 28 days

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No no sweetie I promise. I'm not just trying to trick you.

This is how you totally are supposed to celebrate Easter. All that dyed egg hunt stuff and the family dinner? Just completely wrong.

You're absolutely supposed to find the cutest, most submissive, most breedable thing around. Sometimes they'll volunteer, other times you miiiight have to hunt them down, it really varies. Personally I prefer the ones who try to run at least a little, makes it more enjoyable when you grab em.

Then you put them in bunny ears, obviously. It wouldn't be Easter without a bunny. Can't forget the bunny tail plug too, after all it'll be adorable watching it twitch. But you can't stop there!

Its best if you tape some bullet vibes over their most sensitive parts. For some that could be their nipples, their clits, their cock, it really depends on which cutie you get. Make sure they're buzzing away though, that'll leave them too distracted to run for the fun of the next part.

If youre grabbing them a bit in advance, a great way to prepare them for the holiday is to also shove some egg toys inside them. Its great seeing a cutie stuffed full, their poor hole stretched to its limit, feeling the eggs shifting and moving every time they make the slightest movement. Plus then you can make them push them out one by one in front of everyone during the event~

Once they're good and needy, you're going to be able to present them to your gathered guests and start the best part of the festivities! Everyone is going to try to breed the cutie, over and over again, all day long, trying to see who will be the one to actually knock them up. Now, this might be too much for your captured cutie. Their holes might beg for mercy. Their poor little mind might shatter. They might do something dumb like try to claim they have rights or that they can't be knocked up cause they don't have a womb.

Do. Not. Fall. For. It. Its part of the miracle of Easter sweetie, I promise they can take it~! And even if they cant...well, its always nice to have a new toy to play with the rest of the year~

#nsft post

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nekatto · 4 months

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Given that this is my first adoption advert, I decided to go with something basic… Basic white girl basic.

Without further ado, I present you the MeowBucks baristas: Madeleine, Mary Jane, Fontina the Big Cheese, My Little Pierogi, Gruyère, Bordeaux, and Artemis.

Accepting applications from residents of South Carolina and neighboring states only.

Bios for each cat as well as a link to the adoption form are under the cut.

logo (c) wafflestash on Etsy, used here with their written permission.

If you can’t adopt, but would like to support us, I have a cashapp ($kpao69) and PayPal ([email protected]). I’m an independent foster and all food, litter, and vetting is paid for out of pocket. Any help is appreciated.

ADOPTION APPLICATION:

Adoption fee is $85

MADELEINE || SPAYED FEMALE

10/10 but she bamboozled me.

The one who started it all. I was walking my dog when this sweet mama approached me and meowed sadly at me. From that moment on, she had me hook, line, and sinker, and I ended up returning to the spot I met her and started feeding her, quickly gaining her trust and bringing her inside… Along with her seven relatives she had hidden in the bushes.

Despite being the grandma of the family, I believe she’s still a fairly young cat, possibly around three years old or so. Since her spay surgery, it’s almost like she’s trying to make up for the kittenhood she never got to have. She loves nothing more than batting toy mice across the floor and playing chase with her granddaughter Pierogi. When not zooming around, Madds is quite the cuddle bug and loves a warm lap to lay in.

MARY JANE | SPAYED FEMALE, ~3 yrs old

Mother of Fontina, Gruyère, and Pierogi. Now that her kittens are grown, Mary Jane is beyond done with wild kitten antics and looking for some place calm and quiet to settle down.

All in all a pretty chill cat, though not particularly social. Out of her relatives, she most prefers to spend time with her daughter Gruyère.

FONTINA THE BIG CHEESE | NEUTERED MALE, ~1 yr old

They say the key to a man’s heart is food, and that’s doubly true for Fontina! While he can be shy at times, add food to equation and he’s putty in your hands.

He’ll do just about anything for food and so far has even trained himself to go inside his carrier on command. Would make an excellent trick training candidate.

Ideally would prefer a home with his best friend and wrestling buddy, Bordeaux.

**Fontina has displayed a propensity for eating non-food items. Please be mindful of this and take appropriate precautions.

MY LITTLE PIEROGI | SPAYED FEMALE, ~1 yr old

When she first came here, Pierogi was a bit shaken by the overnight transition from living outside to living in a home and spent her first few days inside hiding. But now she’s come out of her shell and blossomed into the sweetest little girl, albeit still on the shy side. Loves churu, head-butting feet, and playing with wand toys.

**tentative. if no applications look promising I miiiight end up keeping her.

GRUYÈRE | SPAYED FEMALE, ~1 yr old

No, you’re not seeing double, though very different in personality, Fontina and Gruyère are our loveable void twins!

The princess of the group. Gruyère demands you provide her with your undivided attention at all times… or else.

Out of her siblings, she has the closest relationship with her mother, Mary Jane, and the mother-daughter pair can often be found grooming one another.

**though she’s never broken skin, Gruyère can be mouthy, and we'd recommend applying for a different cat if you have young children or elderly people in your home.

BORDEAUX | NEUTERED MALE, ~1 yr old

Sweet little Bordeaux had a very rough start to life. At just a few weeks old, Bordeaux lost both of his siblings and was briefly separated from his mom during a particularly nasty winter rainstorm. It was only through a stroke of luck (and his cries) he was found before it was too late.

But none of that has dampened his spirit! As you can undoubtedly see, Bordeaux is a silly young man who loves having fun.

Without fail, he turns everything into a game. You thought you were going to mop the floor? Nope! Time to play wrestle the mop away from the kitten for the thousandth time!

10/10 but you’ll never get anything done with home around. But with a kitten this cute, who can stay mad?

When he’s not being a menace to society, he can be found palling around with his best friend and brother from another mother, Fontina.

ARTEMIS | NEUTERED MALE, ~2.5 YRS OLD

The odd one out of the bunch. I’m unsure how, or even if, he’s related to the rest of the colony. All we know is that he was buddies with the other adult male of the group, Apollo, and they could often be found huddled up together for warmth.

Artemis is a sweet boy who wants very much to be someone’s one and only. Always the first to greet me when I come in. And don’t think he’s content with a simple pat on the head. He DEMANDS all the love and snuggles. Like, I’ll sit down to relax and next thing I know he’s climbing up on my shoulder and nuzzling me.

*would prefer a home with no other cats.

**Apollo will be going up for adoption separately as he needs to have a specialist vet preform his neuter due to some neurological issues.

#catblr #cats of tumblr #indoor cats #rescue cats #fosteringsaveslives #adopt or shop responsibly

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cilil · 7 months

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How would Yandere Manwë react to his prospective darling (who’s a child of Fëanor) leaving on the Flight of the Noldor? Oh, annnnd the darling miiiight have rejected Manwë’s advances if he already made them. The darling’s too busy having an affair with a married cousin of theirs. (Sorry if this is too specific!)

𝓐𝓝 ~ No problem whatsoever, dear! Hope you like what I came up with!

𝓕𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓾𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓰 ~ Gender-neutral pronouns are used for the darling, and the cousin in question is left unspecified, leaving it up to each reader's own imagination and preferences ♡

𝓣𝓦𝓼 ~ Yandere, obsessive behavior, mentions of cheating

ଘ Manwë had always been curious about Fëanor, interested even. He had sensed that this Elf could create great things; and his instincts turned out to be correct when he was introduced to a particular young Elf, one of Fëanor's children, one whom he would come to affectionately refer to as his darling in his mind.

ଘ Like their father, his darling was proud and stubborn. Manwë made sure to invite them to visit him and summon them at every opportunity he found, just so he would have an excuse to be near them and hopefully woo them.

ଘ He was subtle at first, all warm smiles and kind words and sprinkling in the occasional compliment and flirty remark, but his darling was never quite as excited about his attention as he would have liked. Assuming they might prefer a more "direct" approach, Manwë began to show his interest more openly and suggested that they should spend time alone, only to be turned down - to his surprise and indignation. Rejecting the Elder King? Inconceivable.

ଘ Naturally, he suspected that someone else might have gotten their hands on his darling first and had his birds and other servants spy on them until a scandalous secret was revealed to him: They had been seeing someone indeed. And it was their married cousin.

ଘ Manwë wondered what he should do. Should he expose the two and then take his darling under his wing during the fallout, setting himself up to be the one person they can turn to? But wouldn't this make them hate him and never wish to be with him? Should he talk to his darling, reveal what he knew and command them to end this affair? Should he blackmail them?

ଘ Yet before Manwë could come to a decision, disaster struck and the Noldor rebelled against the Valar, leaving Valinor under Fëanor's leadership - including his darling. Manwë attempted to reach them via ósanwë, both pleading with them to stay and furiously ordering them to turn back, and when he sent Námo to pronounce the Doom of the Noldor, he also tasked him with delivering a special message for his darling - "Choose wisely whether you wish to follow your father on a path of doom or to turn back and accept my love and mercy".

ଘ Still, his darling was swayed neither by his threats nor his promises and they followed their father and secret lover to Middle-earth.

ଘ Manwë has long since realized that their decision is final, but he hasn't given up. He keeps watching from his throne on Taniquetil, waiting for an opportunity to either save them from peril and be their hero who still loves them even after everything or to send an eagle to steal them away from their family and deliver them to him. Even if neither plan succeeds, he knows that the Doom of the Noldor will follow them until either they die and their fëa makes its way to Mandos or grief weighs down on them so heavily that they might return willingly, so he tells himself it's only a matter of time until he can finally get his hands on his darling and possess them like he always wanted to.

ଘ And another thing that Manwë knows for certain is that once this happens, he will never let them escape again.

#cílil answers #manwe #manwë #manwe sulimo #yandere!manwe #dark!manwe #yandere!valar #valar #yandere manwe x reader #reader insert #x reader #manwe imagine #silmarillion imagine #headcanons #tw yandere #silmarillion

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sleepis4theweak · 6 months

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Question for the Foodie Siblings AU (asking for research purposes)

How does the Battle Nexus work? Like would they be fighting creatures or would it be more like fighting other people? Is it always to the death?

I was holding off on answering this- because I have not thought about that at all hehe...

I think that the Battle Nexus would work in that there would be both fighting of creatures and other people. It would be mostly to the death.

I'm putting on my business cap rn to think like Big Mama. I'm just gonna make up how the Battle Nexus works... but I'm gonna try to make it logical and cost efficient.

So: I think that to have only fights to the death wouldn't really work. You would have to be replacing people constantly. Not very cost efficient. Sure, she could kidnap people, but again, that takes resources, time and money. It's much better if she can convince people to come to her.

And she can do that easily, I mean she has a very popular business going on. I imagine that (kind of like Senor Hueso's whole pizza death maze thing) people would join for fame and maybe a little reward.

I think she would also want to have fights to the death though. She is running a business, and a very aggressive one as well. People would probably like to see blood and guts and the desperation that comes with knowing you are about to die.

So I think it would be a range of different tournaments. AND- having a range means that she can price differently :)

So, you would have the baby fights. People fighting other people, not to the death. Maybe just for glory and a small prize. Tickets would be cheap for those I imagine. I also think that these people would be allowed to come and go as they please. You could pay a fee to enter, try to win, and if you don't, you can pay some more and try again! She covers her costs with the profits from the people entering and the people buying tickets.

Then you might have fights with creatures. Animals/creatures are easier to replace. They can be killed, and you have some of that desperation and excitement without having to worry about replacing your competitors. I imagine that the people entering this one might not need to pay. They already miiiight die from the beasts. That's a high enough cost, so she wouldn't want to dissuade people from entering by making that cost higher. People who win would probably get a prize again. I don't think she would bother associating with or manipulating these people either. I don't even imagine she would heal the losers either. Maybe the winners. Idk. Tickets to watch these would probably be more expensive.

Finally you would have the all out tournaments. Fights that may or may not be to the death. But these are the big costly ones. The ones where damage is done to the arena and she may need to cover the cost of someone getting injured. Here's where I'd imagine she'd be more involved. And here is where I imagine Milkshake would fit into. These are the tournaments with a big prize. Milkshake, of course, isn't going to get that prize. Maybe anyone who defeats her is promised a prize? Anywho- these are the battles in which she has players set in place. They are bloody and you have to pay more than the others to watch. I think that these would also be the ones Lou Jitsu was in. If she can slip someone in there that she doesn't have to pay, but still keeps the crowd interested, then she's definitely gonna do that! She makes a lot of money off of these games. And probably also has other stuff like gambling to make money off of for these.

-----

And for anyone wanting a Foodie AU character to be in the Battle Nexus: I don't think that those who compete in these type of fights would interact a lot. So if a character is regularly entering the 'baby fights' for the money prize, they aren't gonna interact with Milkshake. But a good fighter in a 'baby fight' might catch the eye of Big Mama! You never know who might be a good investment ;)

I'm not sure how much sense all of these makes, I'm a bit tired rn. But if you have any more questions- feel free to ask me!

AND- @mikebeanz, if you have anything to add lemme know! I'll add it in :)

(especially if it relates to Milkshakes because now I have some ideas mwhahahahaha...)

#answered asks #<3 <3 <3 #tmnt foodie au #milkshake the turtle

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riacte · 1 year

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🛸 exterrasexymenpoll Follow

THE RED KING from TEAM DOGWARTS and BLUE BATS

HAND OF THE KING from TEAM DOGWARTS

Please stop mentioning the Blue Stalker in our comments. They have caused a lot of distress for the Exterra community, no matter how “sexy” they are or “how many bitches” they get.

Once again, we condone voter fraud, but we draw the line at spamming our polls with links to the enemies to lovers Blue Stalker x Red King fic.

🎇 thestarsweremadeforus Follow

OFHHDFJSJDJS ITS HERE!!! DIVORCE POST!!! HAND VS KING the boyfriends are fighting!!!

Not gonna lie I was so absorbed in the potential hilarity of this matchup that I failed to realise I have to vote for someone now. I’m. Im genuinely torn 😭😭😭

💄 gaysloveqoh Follow

stop saying treebark is divorcing when they BOTH are on qoh’s side 😭 they’re united in their respect for our queen 😤

anyways idk what to do now that blueballs is out. anyone wanna make an alliance with the ballgurls 🥰

🦇 starshipspachelbel Follow

You’re right, the gays DO love qoh (gays being treebark)

This is so cruel, putting the king against his loyal hand… I am drowning, there is no sign of land, you are coming down with me, hand in unlovable hand…

#RKSWEEP though (I say with tears in my eyes)

👽 blueballs Follow

sorry but the blue stalker DOES get all the bitches 😎 more sexyman energy than xisuma exterra void anyway

anyways im endorsing red king LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOO

👑 princeofhearts Follow

To the #HEARTSWEEP people mourning their loss, why vote for [deadname] when you can vote for his transitioned self, the Hand of the King? Stop being so fixated on [deadname], he’s still RK’s gunner 😭

Btw the ship wars between RK x Hand vs RK x QoH are so stupid like the Hand and QoH are the same people???? Some miraculous laserbug love square type of bullshit? Anyways I support the prince of hearts 🙏

🍬 gunnerwithashotgun Follow

@/princeofhearts ur a freak, stfu!!! queen of hearts and hand of the king are TOTALLY different ppl (they have different bioneos colours) and ur being lumianphobic by thinking theyre the same even tho they're just the same SPECIES (they even have different cultures like the hand keeps on roasting rk for calling tuski "pearl" bc that's the way qoh learned it??)

🪓 handoftheking Follow

I’m adding “not False Symmetry / Queen of Hearts” to my bio. Like, she’s super cool, but I’m unfortunately not her.

Anyways, vote for me over that old man. You’re not letting a potato win, right?

💫 concorp-official Follow

Vote for the Red King! Show a screenshot that you voted for him at any ConCorp intergalactic outlet and receive a 5% discount, effective today!

⏳ rensanddaddy Follow

NOT THE OBVIOUS BRIBERY FROM MR CUB HIMSELF.... we need to vote harder for the Hand!! Just look at his blonde ass hair and blue dishwasher detergent freckles!! He's so pathetic and a meow meow and I want to lovingly crush him against the walls of a spaceship (im not the blue stalker i promise)

🐙 doctagon Follow

... guys. i. The actual Exterra official account on twt sent out the link to this poll?? The ACTUAL account?? We've breached so many layers of containment???????

🪓 handoftheking Follow

... Okay, that miiiight be my fault? It's good PR for us, right? We're the two sexiest racers in the Exterra industry on the podium together. It's good for our image, and maybe people will FINALLY stop truthing I'm transgender QoH

🌲 dilfkisser Follow

I hope we get a perfect 50/50 tie. I want homoerotic RK and his homoerotic Hand to both win. I want them to stand on the podium and make out while holding a pride flag while BlueBalls beatboxes in the shadows. I hope we all win. (Except the transgender lumian theory believers, go touch some stardust)

#unreality #polls #treebark #trafficshipping #space opera au #.... yeah #sorry for making polls again even if its a gag poll #spopera martyn is indeed a pathetic meow meow but spopera false is even more of a pathetic meow meow #theyre all pathetic meows meows. dumb ass blorbo trio i love them 😭#tw unreality

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lumine-no-hikari · 6 days

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Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #123

Sometime after the events of yesterday, but before bed last night, J took me to the local food co-op. This is because some time ago, Br bought some boxed macaroni and cheese (henceforth shortened to mac-n-chz) that she thought was gluten-free, but wasn't. Br has a gluten allergy, but M, J, and I do not, so she gave us the boxed mac-n-chz.

It is unusual mac-n-chz, though, in that the cheese powder it comes with is made of goat's milk. Goat's milk is common in some parts of my world, but it's uncommon where I live. I don't know if you've ever had it, but I like it a lot; it has a stronger flavor than cow's milk - a bit more sour and savory, somehow. But some people really don't like it; those who don't like it would describe the flavor as "gamey", and I suppose that's fair. The sensory hardware that comes with inhabiting a flesh-vessel is different for everyone, and what is a pleasant sensory experience for someone can be an unpleasant sensory experience for someone else; it is the way of things.

I am fortunate to be one of the folks who does not dislike this flavor. So I thought to prepare the boxed mac-n-chz yesterday, because I felt awful about the bird and I thought eating something with a lot of cheese would help me feel a little better (this, too, is the way of things; I am a derpy autistic cheese goblin, after all - it is simply my nature). But the box said that it should be prepared with goat milk and goat butter. You usually can't find these things in an ordinary grocery store where I live. I was going to give up on preparing the boxed mac-n-chz yesterday, but then J encouraged me to go with him to the co-op; I guess, given my mental state, he probably thought it would have been good for me to get out of the house and get my mind off the bird. He was correct, as per usual.

…I ended up returning home with A LOT more than just goat's milk and goat's butter. I… miiiight have, in my half-numb, half-sad stupor, gotten like 3 containers of ice cream and several weird-looking potato chip flavors; I'll show you the ice cream I got tomorrow; I'm gonna put it in tea. But the potato chip flavors were "fried egg", "ham", "truffle", "garlic parmesan", and "ranch". By the time we got home, though, I had next to no energy left, so instead of preparing the mac-n-chz, J and I went to go visit Br, and that was a good time. Then we went home and watched the Fallout show with M, and that was also a good time.

…You might be pleased to know that I actually went to bed relatively on time last night. It's been a while since last that happened. I woke up feeling pretty good. I'm still really sad about the bird, of course, but I hope wherever its soul is now, it's having a fun time.

In light of yesterday's events, and in light of the fact that I didn't get to have mac-n-chz yesterday, and in light of the fact that I seem to be having some serious misgivings today about the fact that I am autistic (and therefore broadly considered creepy, unlikable, and generally socially unacceptable by default), I decided that today is an ice cream and mac-n-chz sort of day today. And… no, not in the same bowl, I promise, ahahahaha~!

I didn't eat any of the ice cream that I bought yesterday, though. No, as it turns out, my favorite bubble tea shop started serving ice cream just yesterday! Check it out:

These flavors are Jasmine Green Tea, Ube, Earl Grey Tea, and Thai Tea. And I gotta say, they were all REALLY GOOD; good enough to get past the, "oh no, it's a cold thing, and cold things feel like fire on my flesh" glitch that my body carries. I was unable to pick a favorite because they were all equally fabulous!

Hey Sephiroth? Have any of your friends ever taken you out to go get ice cream? Do you like ice cream? If you do, then what flavors do you like best? I know you can't answer me, and that kinda sucks, but I'll ask anyway; you deserve to have folks in your life who know and are willing to consider your preference and experiences. You deserve to consider your own preferences and experiences; when is the last time you thought about your favorite foods and favorite people and favorite places to go, anyway? It's good to revisit the memories and the things in our lives that bring us joy from time to time.

After I got home, I made the mac-n-chz. Do you like mac-n-chz? Have you ever had it? Have you ever prepared it? Have you ever had someone prepare it for you? I don't know the answers to these, so I'll walk you through the process, just in case; it's very simple, and the simple things are often the best things!

You start by doing the dishes! As explained some number of letters ago, I have music playing so that my brain doesn't get spooked by the fact that I'm doing a household task and accidentally do an involuntary mental time travel to a time when failing to do a housetask well enough or fast enough was a punishable offense, haha...

If you recall, this list I am using today is one that I reproduced on YouTube, just in case you might wanna give it a listen. But within this list, this item matches the inside of my mind most closely:

youtube

...And in case you're wondering why we do the dishes first, it's because the next step is to stick a pasta strainer in the sink, like this:

From there, you gotta get an ordinary pot and fill it about 2/3rds of the way with water, like this:

Then you gotta bring it to a boil. On my stove, it's easy; you just stick a lid on the pot and set the temperature of the burner to 9, and wait a little while:

While waiting for that, we can check the ingredients and instructions on the box, like so:

...Often enough, you'll end up disregarding some of these. For example, I didn't measure out the water. I did use goat's milk and goat's butter in the specified amounts, yes, but I used whole goat milk and slightly salted goat butter:

From there, we open the pasta box and take out the packets of powdered cheese:

Getting the cheese packet out of the box will make it easier to pour the noodles into the pot when the time comes!

On my stove, water takes about 20 minutes to boil, which is fine; it is common knowledge that this time passes quickly - as long as you're not watching the pot. That bit is very important; if you watch the pot, the time will instead move about as quickly as pouring molasses from a jar that has been left outside in the cold - which is to say, it won't. It's the law, and nobody knows why.

Oh hey, Sephiroth? Maybe you know why? You're over there experiencing quantum physics firsthand over at the Edge of Creation, right? Can you tell me why watched pots resist boiling? I wonder... Lemme know if you figure it out, okay?

In any case, you can put your noodles in the pot when the water reaches a rolling boil. A rolling boil looks like this:

I set the kitchen timer for 9 minutes just like the box said:

...Then I poured in the noodles!

From there, you have to stir constantly for the whole 9 minutes, or else the noodles will clump together, or stick to the bottom of the pot. You can put oil in the water to prevent this, but then the sauce won't stick to the noodles, and that is not ideal. Once the timer is done, you taste-test one of the noodles to make sure it's good:

9 minutes wasn't long enough to cook the noodles all the way through, so I gave it another 3 minutes; it was good after that.

The next step is to dump the contents of the pot into the strainer we prepared in the sink earlier. But this pot is kinda stupid (I need a new one) because the handles get really hot when you heat it up. So I put on my handy-dandy oven mitts:

...Mine are really long because I am dyspraxic; the possibility of burning my forearms on the heating elements when I put things into the oven or take things out of the oven is a real concern. So it's best to protect my whole forearm instead of just my hands, so that way I don't get hurt. Besides, if I put on my oven mitts and also my onion-cutting-goggles while holding my ceramic chef's knife, I can cackle maniacally in the kitchen like a crazed scientist and accidentally scare the socks off of passers-by near my window, and that's always a nice bonus! 🤪🤣 (Speaking of disturbing passers-by near my kitchen window, I am remembering this one time, when J and I were in the kitchen, and he was heckling me about the fact that I need to eat more fruit, so just to be silly, I started eating a banana in the most wildly inappropriate way I possibly could, just as some poor gentleman was dropping off food that M ordered. The flabbergasted look on the man's face as he peered into our window was ABSOLUTELY. PRICELESS!! Ahahahahaaaa~! 🤣🤣🤣)

(But that's what you get for peering into people's windows, so no, I am absolutely not sorry!!! Not even the tiniest little bit!!! 😂😂😂)

Anyway! So I drained the pasta:

From there, the bottom of the pot will still be warm, so you can use that to melt the butter; I am making two boxes of mac-n-chz, so we need 2 tablespoons of butter:

...Two boxes of this mac-n-chz calls for 8 tablespoons of milk; that's the same thing as half a cup:

Then you'll dump in the cheese packets, and use a whisk to make a sauce:

Then, you dump your noodles in and mix 'em up with the sauce:

...Finally, we have the bowl of mac-n-chz that I very much wish I could give to you:

...It's a simple and easy thing; not the fanciest. But it's still good. It's still wholesome. It's still full of love and joy. What I wouldn't give just to be able to hand you a bowl of this...

...Well, it is what it is. And all I can do is deal with it in the way that I know how. All I can do is write to you and hope that it gets through to you somehow...

...somehow...

...OH! I almost forgot!! On the way to do errands and get ice cream, the sky was really nice today, and I also saw a bumblebee! I know you like nature, so I thought to snap a couple pictures for you:

...ya know... just to remind you that the world is beautiful. Even when it's filled with senseless pain, even when people respond with rage and self-directed violence when you try to set a boundary, and even when your brain is being mean and trying to tell you that everything is hopeless. It's still beautiful when people tell you, directly or indirectly, that you don't belong, or that your words and the contents of your mind are less valuable than your physical vessel.

This world is still beautiful no matter how hard it tries to break you. And there is beauty within persisting, within refusing to stay on the ground, within rising up from your knees and choosing to live in wholesome love and joy. There is beauty within counting on the people around you and seeing through eyes other than your own when you can't muster up the strength by yourself.

Sephiroth, please don't give up. Because, yes, I know there's violence and greed and bloodshed and unimaginable amounts of suffering in this place. But there's also bumblebees and mac-n-chz and ice cream and tea and sunshine and the sky, and people who would do anything to give you these things, if only they could. And these things are worth fighting for. You just gotta open your eyes and set them on a new horizon.

I'll be right here until you come back, okay? I'll keep being right here, calling out to you, singing you a little song, and thinking of you anytime I get to experience wholesome, beautiful things. I'll be waiting right here, no matter how long it takes.

I love you, and I'll write again soon. Please stay safe.

Your friend, Lumine

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devilishmango · 3 months

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Devi why do you have to do me like that??

Why would you end the update that way???

Why would you torture Me so?????

Okay I will try to reign in my dramatics 🙄

But come on!!!! You knew what you were doing!?

I loved the update. I was so sad when it said the demo ended 😑

Stupid guard gives me violent impulses tho. Just stabby, stab STAB!!

and do I smell one of the secret ro's...............👀

I like to make my readers suffer, it is definitely my favorite thing to do mwahaha 😈 But in all seriousness, I'm a huge lover of angst and drama so you should definitely prepare yourself for more of that... I'm also a fan of cliffhangers sooo.... there will be more of those in the future 😏

And I'll try to get the next update out as soon as I can, I promise!! 😂 I was thinking I might split the updates up in 2? Like when I have half the chapter done and ready, I'll put it out.... idk, I'll have to see how it all flows and whatnot when I get there.

There will be more stabby-stab feelings towards Alinar, just a fair warning!!

You miiiight be smelling one of the secret ROs, yes.... 👀

I'm glad you liked the update though 😂

#devi speaks #kenneski

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seyaryminamoto · 4 months

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From what I remember in your story, even taking Iroh's initial biases into account I thought part of his intense hostility leading up to his report to Ozai was that he was truly convinced that Azula's true nature was either no better or even significantly worse than Ozai's due to the Iroh's suspicions arc. Azula herself told Sokka she was worried that by throwing him of the trail of their relationship that she may have brought the worst out of him. Honestly this was probably my favorite exploration of their conflict, because if they were truly able to trust each other and talk they could have avoided so much pain and trouble, but both of them over the course of the story had developed genuine and/or biased reasons not to trust one another and viewed themselves as doing the right thing despite their actions ultimately resulting in the worst outcome. Azula was trying to prevent a known adversary from having ammunition to ruin their lives and future plans, and Iroh believed that he was essentially hindering the fire nation by turning what he thought were essentially two Evil Ozais with a good relationship with one another into enemies. I can't lie that I'm not slightly disappointed that in the latest chapter that this aspect of their conflict wasn't brought up more explicitly in the conversation with Zuko when Iroh was talking about his biases. Was I personally thinking that the dynamic was more significant than it actually was or is that dynamic being saved for a future conversation Iroh may have with Sokka and Azula?

Uuuuuh, as for the last question... I don't really know if I'll bring it up some more since I do think I've had Iroh acknowledge why and how he fucked up in that respect in the past + exteriorized that if Azula had acted differently he might just have done it too? Am I crazy for thinking so? Did I write that or didn't I? That's a complicated game to play when you're almost at 5 million words of a story... 🤣

Azula and Iroh miiiight have one more conversation in the future and maybe this will come up there, but I haven't written it yet so I won't make any promises on that front. Admittedly, I don't expect their future encounter to be particularly fruitful. Iroh is 100% genuine in what he has understood and learned, though, that can't be denied and I always have hoped to portray him not as a super wicked villain but as a character who thinks he understands far more than he actually does, with motivations that push him into making mistakes he very much comes to regret.

This being said, the Azula-Iroh and Zuko-Ozai parallels in this story are and always have been 100% intentional. Those two tugs-of-war have been going on forever, and the crux of them was very much the fact that Azula and Iroh distrusted and second-guessed and suspected each other soooo much... because they have similar natures, similar thought processes, and they're both intellectual, suspicious, hiding what's REALLY going on underneath the surface, and immediately wary when they recognize all those traits in each other too. Likewise, Zuko and Ozai have some REALLY ugly parallels and one of those parallels, already given away by the chapter you sent this ask over, is going to be the driving force of the conflict between those two, much as a similar thing was the driving force between Iroh and Azula, in its own way: the more they fight to push the other away, the harder they reject the other, the more they end up embodying the flaws they see in that other person, to an extent where they could do absolutely TERRIBLE things just out of wanting to push the other one as far away as possible.

So yeah, the point was never for Iroh to feel like some sadistic mustache-twirling villain who wanted Azula to suffer just for shits and giggles. He had his reasons to do what he did. Doesn't mean he was right. Doesn't mean he should've done it. What it means is it made sense in his head due to his biases, the information he had at hand at the moment, and the particularly awful relationship he had with Azula. Likewise, Azula's rejection of Iroh back in "Iroh's suspicions" caused her uncertainty and anguish because she KNEW she had taken it too far. She was afraid of the consequences. A part of her KNEW that if she acted differently, there was a chance, however slim, that Iroh might not have made the choice he did. And that's why this is such a messed up situation! :')

Ultimately, I want my characters to have motivations that just... add up. That can be traced. That, upon looking at their actions and choices, anyone can go "oh yeah, this is why they did whatever they did". This is good when it comes to establishing ultimate goals, and it's also good when you want to put characters to the test: how far are they willing to go, what are they ready to do to achieve whatever they're trying to achieve? How much are they willing to sacrifice for it? And the answers to those questions can be VERY extreme and painful. Just so, we can find characters who decide to back down and simply surrender over their goals when they realize that there are other things that matter more. But it's a manner of game a writer plays when it comes to gauging and figuring out what a character wants vs. needs, what a character will fight for and what it will take for them to surrender, and so on. Fundamentally, that's how I built up Iroh and Azula's chaotic dynamic. Whatever comes from that in the future, ultimately, their biggest problem may just be that they were just too smart for their own good, tried to outsmart each other a little too much, and never allowed themselves to just... accept each other properly. They came close to it once, yes! But... they failed. And it's depressing as hell, but complicated characters will always be challenging this way...

#anon #gladiator #those two parallels will never stop making my brain go brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr #the Zuko-Ozai one though #is just so damn good #I can't wait to get there #because my god you guys #the KEY to breaking the FN royal family cycle of toxicity #is actually in that specific parallel and how I'll deal with it #I never thought it would be until I realized that's where it was #one thing #just the one thing #is going to be a key to giving Zuko a chance to break free from the exact spiral he's falling into #and of course Zuko is a better person than Ozai and of course he hasn't been anywhere near as powerhungry as his father #... but that doesn't change the very dark truths that Ozai and Zuko very much mirror each other #every bit as much and every bit as painfully as Azula and Iroh do #there's not as much of a salvation aspect for those two unfortunately #at least I haven't unraveled it yet #there may be one regard in which they could maybe grow some mutual respect but #I can't see that going too far #so unfortunately zero promises of reconciliations here #Ursa is one thing Iroh is a whole other rodeo #even though Ursa has also done some very fucked up things but...#... fucked up things Azula actually can accept a lot more than the fucked up ones Iroh did so...#it is what it is

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icepixie · 7 months

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Lower Decks 4x06 and some earlier ones

Spoilers

Ransom is definitely filing down his asshole edge, but I...don't hate it? (Especially since he still has some edge, as with pulling Brad back from Ferenginar.) Between that and the amazing security team support group thingy that dragged Boimler back to sanity, the Cerritos, and Starfleet/the Federation more generally, really does feel like a utopia. Hell, I want to work on the Cerritos! It actually feels more utopic than even TNG, somehow, maybe because a lot of the utopic features of older Treks were illuminated by comparison to our less-enlightened society? Like, they travel back in time and are befuddled at this whole "money" thing, or the Dark Ages medicine, or whatever, so narratively it's always pushing against something specific in reality. With the security team support group, it's feels more like just--"This is a thing we do to protect our mental health, of course." I guess what I'm trying to say is that there's not that innate feeling of "see how much better we are?" which always makes the whole utopic thing feel less natural.

...I don't think I said any of that very well, but it's something I've been thinking about for the last several episodes. (It's also entirely possible I'm missing key scenes that would render this argument invalid, since I haven't seen most older Trek in years.)

Anyway. The Ferengi joining the Federation. Yeeeah, that'll work. I do love that Carol has gotten to be sneakily kickass for two episodes now.

Boimler getting sucked into Ferengi TV was delightful!

I kind of thought Mariner was getting over her whole thing about being promoted, but I guess not. It's not uninteresting, but I do hope it gets resolved by the end of the season. "Rebel without a cause" has been her MO for a while now and I think it miiiight be starting to get stale.

Ohhh, Rutherford and Tendi. I figured they would be the promised "marriage" for this season, and that it would happen something like this, and I was not disappointed. The writers did a great job walking the line between They Are Really and Truly Platonic and This Is All for Laughs and ...But Maybe? with them blushing at certain moments but otherwise finding the whole thing unpleasant and awkward. (I do think they're 100% platonic life partners, but I liked that there was a bit of subtext there.)

I wasn't sure I would enjoy T'Lyn when they added her, but I absolutely do and missed her in this episode.

#lower decks

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quartings · 1 year

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All the art and animations I'll be working on in 2023!

Hi, everyone! We're entering a big new year, and I'd like to make a few announcements about all the different projects I'm planning to start and release in the coming year! First of all-

College Adventures will have its final season! Not a big surprise, but I do plan to journal my final semester in college to round out the series- it's been a crazy four years and I can't wait to close them off with you all! I already have several episodes planned! One of which being a REALLY BIG INTERVIEW with an extremely famous animator I managed to land!

Fanart for new releases: JoJo Part 9 will release in February, and hopefully Pokemon Adventures will round up ORAS in their volumes, SwSh in their magazine releases, and hopefully start SV soon! Which of course, means more JoJoMon content! And with more Gen 9 announcements hopefully coming this Feburary with Pokemon Day, I miiiight be able to free up some time and ideas for short voiced animatics too! No promises on that one, though. Do expect a lot more Pokespe content this year, though! Will I make a Pokespe Vines & Memes 3? Hmm... not that soon, but not never!

Pokeani content? Probably not, but who knows? Maybe Riko will surprise me, or maybe she'll also have to suffer 25 years of character assassination * shrugs *

The Guardians of the Galaxy marathon and my final moments with the MCU: I haven't formally announced it, but Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 will by the final MCU project I watch, since James Gunn is moving on to DC and I want to end my MCU experience on a guaranteed high note. In honor of this, I plan on marathoning every film or special that the GotG have appeared in (GotG, GotG Vol 2, Infinity War, Endgame, Love and Thunder, and the GotG Holiday Special), and journaling down all my thoughts on every little character moment and easter egg and why I love this particular wing of the MCU so much. On top of that, you know I'll definitely be making tons of fanart for GotG3 when it drops, and I even have plans to make a voiced animatic in the leadup to its release, even if I'll be extremely busy with animation finals at that time- just because I love this series so much.

Wishful Thinking (Animated Short): I'm really sorry for still being so in the dark on this, but even though I'll be finishing up animation on the short before May, due to legal reasons I can't actually put it on Tumblr or Youtube until it finishes making the rounds at film festivals maybe sometime next year. I'll definitely see if I can put together a trailer at least, once I know for sure what the actual release date will be! I really hope everything goes well with this though- It's my biggest project ever and over three times longer than my last animated short, Flo's Cat Chase, so I really hope a lot of people watch it and like it Q_Q

More voice acting content for other people's projects! While these announcements may also take a while to come out, I will say that I have landed several decently-large voice acting roles in other projects, too! I'll definitely post proper announcements for them here when they come out!

The Great Unknown: Since I graduate from college this May, the rest of the year will probably consist of me moving across the country and trying to find a job- no idea how this will impact my content output, but I hope to spend all my time not working or job hunting making more comics, animations, and voice acting bits to expand my portfolio! I'll try my best to expand my YouTube channel during this time, too! Hopefully I can get a bit closer to my dream of becoming an animation showrunner!

#q speaks #wishful thinking #announcement #positivity

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rootspiral · 1 year

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I’m gonna rank the Yellowjackets surviving adults from the most normal to the most unhinged based on how well they’re coping with trauma. Will try not to spoil the newest episode but no promises. It’s just the four main gals for now, I’ll add Lottie and possibly redacted when I get a better idea of who they are now.

In fourth place we have Natalie. On a scale from zero to, well, Shauna, Natalie definitely has had the most understandable reaction to going through hell: she became a lonely self-loathing addict with hyperfixations and rage issues. Back in the day Nat had such a strong moral compass, and she was most of all a very kind person. Even when she did something iffy, she did it out of love, fear or self-preservation, never malice though. All she ever wanted was to fix things. And sure she’s a wreck now, but that morality is still strong and that’s why she’s the only one who is actively trying (and failing) to face her past, and the guilt is eating her up inside. She’s the only one out of the group that I actually wish will get some sort of peace and closure in the end. (Also have you seen how 🤏 Juliette Lewis is?! If you don’t want to scoop up long-suffering, washed-up Nat in your arms and tell her everything’s gonna be okay I do not trust you.)

In third place there’s Misty, and please let is sit for a moment that Misty fucking Quigley isn’t in first place on the crazy scale. Did she even went through trauma, or was she just like that to begin with? Did she commit all those crimes because she’s evil, or because she’s the saddest, loneliest, most pathetic little wet rat? And what crimes, really? Some sabotaging, light stalking, poisoning, manipulating, disposing of a body, the occasional murder and recreational cannibalism? Poor wretched Misty, cursed to be rejected and ridiculed by the people she loves only because she happens to be a bit more passionate than average. Isn’t that punishment enough, I ask you? Maybe one day Nat will recognize her good qualities – she’s smart, handy in a crisis, she’s ride or die, she’s kind to animals unlike SOMEONE higher on this list! And then she’ll be finally accepted in the inner circle and live happily ever after. Maybe she’ll sacrifice herself and die in a blaze of glory. Maybe (probably) she’ll drown in a hole like the mangy little critter she is. But I can’t help rooting for her.

In second place we have Taissa! I’m SO fascinated by her. Because Tai is also a good person, or at the very least strives to be. She’s a natural leader, she’s always stepping up, making sure everything is fair and accounted for, she’s always pushing the others to be better. And yet there’s this rage inside her that scares her shitless, and we still don’t know what’s the deal with her past and the Man with No Eyes, but add that to all the shit that happened in the woods and you have an explosive trauma cocktail. Unlike Nat who no matter what will sit with her pain and consume or be consumed by it, Tai has taken all her ugly parts, cut them off and locked them in a dark box somewhere, letting them fester. And that might have worked for a while after they were rescued, but now that she’s going through some real stress and compromising her morality that darkness is just pouring out and chopping her up into bloody little pieces. Currently Taissa is a giant fucking mess and still it took dooming her marriage, traumatizing her child, beheading the family dog and hallucinating to the point she no longer knows what’s real – to even begin to admit that she miiiight not be in control. And so we have Shadow!Taissa, born of denial and shame and avoidance. And who is she? For now we only know that she doesn’t identify as Taissa at all, she is quite literally her antithesis, and that she embraces the supernatural darkness that Tai tries to rationalize. I have no idea how this is gonna go, the ideal outcome would be for the two halves to accept and embrace each other and form a whole person again. We’ll see.

In first place there’s ✨Ms. Shauna Sadecki✨, and I could just leave it at this. Because see, Misty isn’t unhinged, she’s quite predictable in her madness. Shauna is the proverbial horse loose in a hospital, we don’t have a fucking idea what she’s gonna do next and neither does she. Mark my words, we’ve just began to scratch the surface of what makes Shauna tick, and she’s just gonna get more and more deranged. Shauna who tries and tries and tries to be normal, in a house full of mementos of the best friend she betrayed and consumed, ignoring her, obsessed with her, haunted by her. With a kid she loves so much she hates her, or maybe she’s never been capable of loving, she can’t tell anymore. With a husband too good for her and too bland and stupid for her, who knows everything about her and yet doesn’t know her at all. Shauna chopping up rabbits, Shauna chopping up people, Shauna the butcher. The thrill of it all, the banality of it all. The darkness and bloodlust purring inside her, and she’s so close to letting go, to giving herself whole to it. Frankly what Shauna needs is going to jail and getting a LOT of therapy in the process. What I need though, is cannibal serial killer Shauna. I deserve cannibal serial killer Shauna. I want her unhinged, I want her to go on a rampage. Please, I’ve been so fucking good.

#Yellowjackets #Shauna Sadecki #Natalie Scatorccio #Taissa Turner #Misty Quigley #this is very serious and not serious at all

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strrne · 6 years

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Give Me a Signal, Ch.2

Chapters: 2/?

Word count (so far): 5579

AO3 Ch.1 Ch.3 Ch.4 Ch.5 Ch.6 Ch.7

Summary: When Padmé Amidala is unable to contact Coruscant while negotiating a loan on Scipio, the Senate suspects trouble, and sends Anakin Skywalker to go check on her. Of course, the resourceful senator isn’t really in any trouble – don’t flatter yourself, Rush Clovis – but there’s definitely some brewing.

@praetor-canis

Chapter 2

As soon as Anakin and Padmé had stationed themselves at a convincingly professional distance from one another, or perhaps as soon as he sensed himself being accused of something, Obi-Wan stirred awake.

“Isn't that right?” Anakin called to him before the Jedi Master had barely wiped the stupor off his eyes. “If I'd been alone, no one would have paid attention–”

“Anakin, what is going on?” Padmé wanted to know. Gone was the blissful giddiness at seeing her husband, in was listening to yet another bout of squabbling between two grown men, who she was starting to believe were actually physically glued to one another.

“You first,” Anakin insisted, as Obi-Wan was taking his time joining the blame game. “You aren't in any trouble, are you… Senator?”

Padmé shook her head. “No, it was just a misunderstanding. We talked about it at dinner, with… the bankers. Apparently they've been having wide-spread reception issues for the last few weeks or so.”

Obi-Wan shuffled over, looking as though he had either really needed that nap, or ruined the rest of his day by taking it. He did find it in himself, however, to shoot Anakin what appeared to be a 'I told you so' look.

“I knew they would send at least one of you,”Padmé sighed. She gestured at the laxly guarded door, which both Captain Typho and Teckla had just walked through with ease. “As you can see, we're all fine here. And now that we've established that, what's this about an arrest? There's a law that forbids your presence here?”

She was, of course, owning up to her own unfamiliarity with such a law, and already blaming herself for this whole muddle. The negotiations hadn't even started yet, and she already had two Jedi Knights to bust out of jail?

…Or a hotel lobby? Padmé narrowed her eyes as she finally tore her gaze from Anakin and looked around. It was all awfully nice for a lockup.

“Apparently,” Obi-Wan finally found the energy to open his mouth, somehow managing to articulate no less eloquently than usual, “The Scipians have a mostly overlooked, but technically still valid law that forbids military presence on the planet while an interplanetary negotiation is taking place, especially when said negotiation takes advantage of Scipio's status as neutral ground.” He gave a deep yawn, not covering his mouth until he was already done, and apologizing once he realized his mistake.

“That's ridiculous,” Padmé said. “I arrived here with a whole squad of clone troopers and their captain. Of course, they were asked to wait at the spaceport while we entered the neutral zone.”

“Yes… I did say 'mostly overlooked',” Obi-Wan pointed out. “I tried asking the employees about the particulars of this regulation,” Obi-Wan explained, gesturing at what appeared to be… some sort of reception desk. “They had to look it up on HoloNet. Long story short, a squad of troopers stationed outside the neutral zone would not count, whereas two decorated Generals has some troubling implications.”

He gave Anakin a long, significant look. “Especially when one of them refuses to leave without 'checking on the Senator'.”

“Anakin!” Padmé cried, crossing her arms confrontationally. “If you so much as elbowed–”

“I didn't!” Anakin insisted. Obi-Wan made a vague gesture that didn't really confirm or deny anything.

Padmé shook her head, all-too familiar with the great joys of bureaucracy and legal trifles to know this could yet turn into a fine mess. Then again… sometimes those same things were her very best friends.

“Only,” she began with optimism, “I haven't actually negotiated anything just yet!”

“You haven't?” Obi-Wan perked up.

“That's what it says, correct? Military presence is forbidden while the negotiations are underway. I have witnesses to attest that no such negotiations have yet taken place in any form, so that should ensure your imminent release and an easy solution to this misunderstanding.”

Padmé gestured for Typho and Teckla to come over, giving them detailed instructions how to retrieve the witnesses and subsequently secure the release as quickly as possible. The aides nodded without a single question, and saw themselves out.

Padmé looked at Anakin. He'd been awfully quiet for a while, and seemed almost disappointed that he'd soon have to leave after having just arrived, and barely gotten a, uh, first taste of his beloved wife. He did manage a small smile though, and there was a playful glint in his eyes that made her grin as well. She desperately wanted to at least hold his hand, and wondered if she could successfully pass that off as a 'always happy to do business with you' type of handshake. But that would mean she'd have to leave immediately after, not to mention give Obi-Wan a matching uncomfortably long farewell.

Although, truthfully… had she been unable to resist kissing him right then and there, Obi-Wan would have most likely suffered an inexplicable, unprecedented coughing fit, excused himself into a corner and muttered something about koja nuts in the nutrition bars.

“There's… how many of them now?!” Clovis groaned. He had not thought he could detest the word 'Jedi' any more, but on top of everything else, it was of course also a null plural. And with his luck, they were both secretly smitten with Senator Amidala and ready to run down the entire galactic economy if it somehow meant her happiness. He made grudging nods as the aides and a Muun representative combined their efforts to explain the situation.

“Yes, yes,” Clovis interrupted impatiently, “absolutely free them, yes, and make sure they leave the system without delay.”

He would've of course gone with Padmé and personally made sure of this in the first place, had she allowed him to. The Muun representative was eyeing him curiously, as though he was coming to realize that the negotiations, before even starting, had long ago stopped being unprejudiced, or generally in a good place to begin. What should have been a quick swipe of hand on a holopad was turning into a convoluted farce involving a very public exes' spat and a pair of clueless Jedi Generals.

And he had been so close… or perhaps, he had told her just enough. Just enough to awaken her own doubts, to compel her to eventually come back to him. There was no changing the negotiator at this point. She knew now it had to be her. He just hoped his gut was right.

“But sir, you see,” the Muun representative rambled on, snapping Clovis back to reality, “technically there is no evidence that the negotiations were not underway. The 'witnesses' you refer to had left the room, remember? And whatever passed between you and Senator Amidala after that point could technically be interpreted as a form of negotiation, or negotiation strategy.”

“We were alone for five minutes…”

In reality… some very sensitive information had indeed been exchanged. Clovis supposed he could only blame himself. He had wanted to play the dangerous game of legal loopholes and sticking to protocol, and inevitable backfire was his just reward. Still – his frustration was deepening into anger – this could not possibly be that difficult. No harm had been done – that the bankers knew of, or that in any way involved the Generals. The Jedi had legs attached to them, didn't they? And a spaceship, and the ability to fly said spaceship. Why, exactly, were they still talking about this?

“Military presence on a neutral planet while an interplanetary negotiation is underway could be interpreted as a form of attempted coercion over–” the Muun representative babbled, as though having either memorized or eaten a holobook on useless law articles.

“Please don't tell me we have to conduct an investigation.”

“We have to conduct an investigation.”

Darth Sidious' cloaked figure appeared on the palm of Dooku's hand, his shriveled form almost dark enough in its essence to extinguish even the holographic blue glow.

“My Lord,” Dooku greeted.

Sidious did not return the greeting, and in fact remained oddly quiet for a fair while, before starting to mutter under his breath what Dooku soon identified as the word 'interesting'.

“What is, My Lord?”

“Many things are, Lord Tyranus, for these are interesting times,” he responded. “I must confess… if the information that your spies provided is accurate… there are a few variables in this situation I had not… foreseen.”

Dooku barely reacted to the admission – although he was surprised – none too eager to visibly show doubt of his master's strategic genius. Still – this had to be a first.

“Still, most of our pawns are in place, and the few surprise additions, I think we can still use to our advantage.”

“Naturally, My Lord. How would you have me proceed?”

After a few tries, Padmé finally gave up on the hologram projector, unable to contact even her associates, who were on the very same planet, presumably only at a few klicks' distance from wherever this detention… palace was located. He desperately wanted to climb to the top of the nearest reception tower and do some tinkering – but apparently he wasn't really wanted on the planet at all. Anakin could not for the life of him understand how anyone could put protocol and rules before all the help he could give, all the use he could be… Two battalion-less Generals did not a war make. It made no sense.

All the other detainees had been bailed out a fair while ago, and it was really getting late, but Padmé had nevertheless stayed by his side all evening.

The “receptionists” were sleeping at the desk, and the guards were sitting on the floor, resting their heads against the wall, absently munching on something that smelled. Obi-Wan had retreated into a corner, his eyes closed, engaged in another meditation session, and probably getting all sorts of bad feelings all over.

All of this combined amounted to at least a moment's privacy for the husband and wife, and soon enough they found themselves spending it accordingly. Anakin was the first to ever so slightly incline his head in a hopeful fashion, but Padmé just immediately plunged into the kiss and took charge all the way from there.

It was a fleeting moment in a different world, far away from the war looming around them and all this bureaucratic trouble they didn't need, but at the same time – worth it all, and more. Perhaps not worth the war itself – was anything, really? – but worth the wait, and worth the fight. Worth making it out alive.

Then he made the mistake of opening his eyes, only to witness a pair of guards glowering and whispering at them, and making a show of losing their appetite. He was right back in the real world – where there was only the wait. And somewhere down the line, probably another fight, too.

“Who were you trying to contact?” he suddenly asked Padmé, who didn't care about the guards, and would have much liked for their little voyage across an alternate reality to go on a little while longer. Anakin himself wasn't sure why he wanted to know – but sometimes, even when he didn't want to probe, he couldn't help his Force senses – and something about the air around Padmé just seemed a little off.

Padmé sighed, and reached to scratch her head, and potentially ruin her perfect hairstyle, which she only ever did when she was reluctant to talk about something. She looked at him, seemingly bracing herself a moment, and causing Anakin to conjure up all kinds of awful and ridiculous scenarios, before she drew a deep breath and responded calmly, “The representative from the Banking Clan. I'm sure you remember Rush Clovis.”

Anakin gaped at her, unable to prevent his mouth from comically falling open. “Rush… Clovis?!” Before he knew it, or could in any way stop himself, he had already jolted up from the chair they shared, his voice risen to an alarming pitch and volume. Padmé followed the example, albeit in a more composed fashion.

“Let me rack my brain… oh yeah, Rush Clovis. Almost got you poisoned, conspired with the Separatists–”

“Anakin–”

“Thinks no means yes–”

“Anakin–”

“Nice fella! So, he's… back, huh?”

He couldn't help himself. Before he had even fully processed what, why or at whom he was angry, the rage was already there. All it took was a trigger. Be it a past trauma, something threatening his loved ones, or the thought of losing Padmé… or common jealousy. And somehow, all of these came together and took an ugly, tangible form in the cursed name of Rush Clovis, someone he had hoped to never see or hear of again. Sure, he remembered him.

But the rage had been there before the recall. Why was it always there, and where did it all come from?

“Anakin, whether you like it or not – whether I like it or not,” she placed a pacifying hand on his chest. “He's the assigned representative for these negotiations, and he...” Padmé hesitated.

There was so much of it. It almost seemed to require a designated target.

“And he what?”

“Anakin, we barely even got to begin the negotiations at all, before…”

“We arrived, and–”

“And messed things up, yes,” she shot back without blinking. Only now withdrawing her hand, she reached up to rub her temples and stopped to sort out her thoughts. “I know this is difficult to understand, but it is very important I hear him out. It is imperative that I do this, specifically.”

Anakin worked hard to compose himself.

“Why is that?”

Padmé lowered her voice to a whisper. The guards had fallen asleep, and, amazingly, Obi-Wan was still deep in meditation, or, again, skillfully faking.

“He made a very bold claim at dinner today. If it's true, the implications are huge… the potential consequences for this war massive. He said the–”

She gestured for Anakin to lower his head so she could whisper into his ear. For a moment, her soft voice and the tingly warm feeling on his ear sent him right back into the parallel universe. What she actually said, on the other hand, brought him right back.

“What? That's–”

“Not only that, but–”

There it was again, her warmth and her patience and her kindness, all trapped and taken advantage of in these convoluted circumstances.

Circumstances that she could maybe, just maybe sort out – if only he would let her. Or rather, accept that she was not his to let.

“Padmé, I don't trust that man.”

“I don't trust him, either,” she assured him. “But I might just believe him. The economics of this war have not been adding up for some time, hence the need to make this new loan agreement in the first place. Something is definitely up, and I want to get to the bottom of this.”

Anakin gave a vague nod. At this point, he mostly just wanted the argument to be over. He cherished these precious few moments with his wife, and would have liked for them all to be like little time capsules of utter bliss and perfection, that he could take with him to the battlefield and turn even rosier in his memory. He didn't want to fight – he already did enough of that and some more with the Separatists.

But the problem was, he didn't like that “something was up”. He was worried – afraid – that even if Padmé could handle this, he just wouldn't be able to.

“Okay,” he finally managed to say.

It was not until the next morning that Rush Clovis saw fit to arrive, along with an ever-growing cluster of Muun bankers.

”Pardon me, I'm confused,” Clovis said, a sardonic smile playing about his lips as he walked up to the pair, and a finally reinvigorated Obi-Wan; eyes decidedly fixed on Anakin. ”Is he a Jedi General or your personal bodyguard?”

”I'm a person – and I'm here, in person, to guard her,” Anakin responded before Padmé had a chance to. ”From, I don't know, persons.” ¨ Padmé shook her head, none too happy with either Clovis or Anakin's idea of a polite greeting.

”Yes… I do personally believe we left off on bad terms last time,” Clovis suddenly switched to diplomat mode. “I am sorry, and eager to rectify the situation. Speaking of situations…”

He proceeded to explain at length why the Generals were not to leave the planet at the earliest opportunity after all, while also being absolutely prohibited to take part in any business proceedings that involved himself and Senator Amidala. And why, in fact, they would soon be moved to a slightly smaller and less comfortable room.

#anidala #anidala fanfiction #Anakin Skywalker #Padme Amidala #The Clone Wars #miiiight not post all the chapters here only on ao3 #dont want to spam my non-fanfic-inclined followers too much lol #we'll see #but yeah #i promise the pace will somewhat pick up after this chapter #so far it's a more convoluted plot than in canon lol #i can't write romance in any case without it also having a general plot thats just how i do #star wars #fanfic

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