#needed to add some people guh...

[mimiishii]

tagging like... the handful of moots i know or interact with </3

(anyone's welcome to join tho! <3)

@oya-oya-okay @rizdoodles @clove-noko @unity-obj @leonas-hibiscus @tugamas @chlorny @alludeddsparkles

also these three freaks, I'm picking your vibe immediately.

@lilmxky - B3C4

@nevermindmeteehee - A3A1

@cherrybonbon-sana - D4D2 <3

new tag game!

reblog to let prev know what their vibe is :3 (ex. a1a1)

@slitdove @chiyone @the-real-loser-otaku-girl @not-jiraikasa-kun @obsessibun @laven-dere @littleyejin @landmine-ky @k1-2-ur-heart

[rabbitssweethearts]

MY TWISTED WONDERLAND FIRST YEAR HEADCANNONS!!

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Ace Trappolla°

Ace seems to be the guy always out in the sun (hence the sun burn) decided to give his hair a browner hue and add some scars from falls in basketball!!

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Deuce Spade°

Wanted to give him darken skin THATS A LATINO MAN GUYS- I saw some people keeping his blonde from his delinquent days and I fig it, also kept the peaircing, had some scars... mean mug but he's a sweetie guys :3 (also added sideburns)

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Jack Howl°

Facial Hair, Big Ol Biceps GOD I NEED THIS WOLF TO CRU- anyways... erm... guh, hehe I lobe Jack yall, he's my shiggle!! Lots of body hair (beastman) and scars (he's a wolf) whats more to be said-

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Epel Felmeir°

Slightly Darker skin cuz hes from the south, he works guys trust, reder makeup cuz apple!! And some darker hair cuz hes CUNNNTTT, Also freckles and earrings bc well, it suits him!!

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Sebek Zigvolt°

MY DRAGON SHAYLAA (ik hes not actually a dragon...) but anyways I love Sebek yall, him and Jack- TOP TEIR>>> Gave his red makeup cuz he reminds me if a Chinese dragon, lil goatee cuz its hot on him, scars for training and darker hair!!

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Ortho Shroud°

Yes he's a first year fight with the wall, he's my baby, my shiggle i added a little red streak cuz its cute, some sparks in his very analytical eyes and some blue paint on his face, since he's yk... a robot

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Keep in mind these are all my HEADCANNONS, please mo hate lol° just here to have fun :)

[blacklesbothatlovestowrite]

On My Mama Pt 2

Shuri x Fem Reader, Fem Reader x OC

I'm new to the tag list and tagging so bare with me if I left anyone out just let me know and I'll add it in.

Tags: @mixedfandxms @shurislover @sweetalittleselfish-honey @desswright29

Side note: I had an idea for a fic with Jada Kingdom Reader (looks) and Shuri, maybe ShuRiri. I'm Jamaican so you know seh big tunes ah guh run. 💥 reader could be an aspiring model trying to break into music and she meets Shuri or Shuriri at an event and they decide to produce her music wanting to do a fusion between Jamaican, African and American music. And a whole lotta smut and messy, toxic shit in between. 😮‍💨

-

I be in the section dolo, baby, oh

You chose to go to the club on a Friday night, you'd been ducking Riri and Shuri for days. Expensive gifts were delivered daily, Beautiful flower arrangements, your favorite foods. Things you wanted but had no clue as to how they knew that.

Some girl you barely knew invited out out with her group of friends. You weren't very interested at first as you knew girls were catty and competitive by nature and you weren't interested in having to be on the defense all night. You'd done the trying to be a girl's girl before and it never worked out. Girls tended to be weird and you had no time nor energy for the bullshit.

Making acquaintances was the goal. You couldn't spend all your time in college doing nothing but doing work and keeping your head in the books. You wanted some fun, some irresponsibility. You were tired of being a 'good girl' someone that was a people pleaser. You had no people to please any longer. Your mother was a cheating whore and your father the star of your eyes was gone.

Your look + Outfit (with a more subtle eye look)

The club was lit. You noticed many POC students from campus. Which wasn't surprising as this club was marketed towards POC's on the low. Owned by a black couple, and ran with POC staff. It was a safe space for POC's to have fun without fear of harm.

"Y/n, I'm a little miffed. I invited you out and you out here making us all look bad." Gina says, her eyes narrowing at you playfully.

"Girl hush, she couldn't do normal if she tried. Even in casual wear with no makeup she looks hot." Nina giggles, greeting you with a hug.

"I'd kill for your looks and figure..." Gina pouts. You laugh at her. "No wonder your mom's a model. You need to follow in her footsteps, all that damn beauty."

"I'm good. Beauty and Brains is the goal. I'd rather be known for being pretty and a genius rather than pretty and an airhead hoe." You shrug and the girls look between each other in shock. "My mother isn't my favorite person so you'll never hear a compliment out of my mouth about her so it's better to not bring her up."

"Noted..." Gina muttered, clearing her throat. You could practically hear the silent judgment.

"Let's go get some drinks." Nina suggests, leading the way to the bar.

"I want a margarita." Gina calls to one of the bartenders. A pretty tall caramel skinned girl with highlighted curls and a bright smile.

Bartender

"Make that two." Nina agrees.

"I'll have whatever you think is best." You say, watching the girl eye you seductively.

"Coming right up, gorgeous." You bite your lip as she looks you over as she makes the drinks. The look she was giving you had you weak in the knees already.

"Oooh..." Gina giggles, bumping your shoulder. "She feeling you..."

"Here ya'll go." She places each drink down, before handing yours to you. "This one's new, I'm sure it tastes just as good as you look."

You fight the urge to break out in a cheesy smile. Her fingers grazing yours as you take the glass. You down the drink, eyes widening at the sweet yet potent taste that slid down your throat. You felt slightly hot as she smirked at you.

"Ok... I'll have what she's having!" Nina says, wide eyed. The bartender laughs but nods.

"Lord Ha'Mercy I'm too gay for this." Nina fans herself. You smile a genuine smile. Something you hadn't done in a very long time.

"What's your name ?" The bartender asks, as she passes Nina her drink and a hands you a refill.

"Why should I tell you?" You raise a brow, while nibbling on your bottom lip.

"Ok, Smiley it is." She licks her lip and you internally fan girl. "You have such a beautiful smile."

You're making me forget my past

"I'm Jess by the way." She adds.

"Ok, Jess by the way. Thanks for the drinks." You say, your tone playful. You grab a $20 and slide it towards her before heading to the dance floor. You wanted to let loose and have fun, and a small part of you wanted to show off for her.

You let your body sway to the beat, your head slightly tilted back as you gyrates your hips to the beat. As you danced your mind went to Shuri, the lyrics swirling in your head. Your eyes snapped open wanting to remove her from your mind.

You'd been trying to stop thinking about her. You couldn't help your attraction to her, she did something to you but you refused to go there. She was the cause of your family's downfall. She'd been with your mother. It was disgusting to even be thinking about her after that.

Your eyes locked with Jess and you put every effort into seducing her. Something that wasn't so hard since she seemed interested in you. You needed Shuri the fuck out of your head and Jess seemed like the perfect way to do that.

You were sure fucking with Riri would work two fold. Take your mind off Shuri and fuck her over at the same time. Yet you couldn't stand the fact that Riri was friends with the girl. She was bright and from what you'd heard she was by all accounts a morally good person.

The two being friends made no sense to you. How could you trust someone so messy and chaotic unless you had that in you as well? Maybe Riri was better at hiding her dirt and kept it on the low. Regardless you weren't interested in finding out.

As the song finished and you went to make your way back to the bar a familiar face stopped in front of you. She looked bothered, and you couldn't find a fuck to give.

"I see you've gotten my gifts." Riri eyes your body in the outfit she's sent you. You wore it hoping she'd see you in it because you wanted to prove a point to the duo one you knew would be relayed if the other wasn't present.

"And I see you weren't listening." You deadpan. "But if you'd like to send me stuff who am I to stop you? It's giving fan behavior, and I find that very amusing."

"Oh, so you got jokes?" Riri cracks up. She steps closer, her body almost touching yours. "You can continue acting like you don't want me but we both know you secretly like my attention. You like being chased and that's fine. Just know once you get caught, you'll have to beg for my attention."

"Your head being big clearly fits you, Williams." You say her name with malice.

"And that's not the only thing big." You can tell by her tone exactly what she's talking about but you choose not to acknowledge it.

"Well have a good rest of your night." You dismiss her before stepping around her and heading back towards the bar. You see that Nina and Gina are gone. You look around to see them with the other people they were supposed to meet up.

"So Riri's your thing?" Jess says, settling back in front of you.

"Thing?"

"Your type." She clarifies, her eyes sparkling. She had the prettiest eyes you'd seen.

"I think the only type you need to worry about is yourself." You flirt. She raises a brow.

"Word?"

"What do you say to heading home with me?" You get straight to the point, watching as she grins.

"Oh you go for what you want, huh?" She seems impressed. You simply stare at her. "We can head out right now."

She walks over to some guy and they talk for a bit before she gathers her things from under the bar and motions for you to follow her. She leads the way to her car, a black Camry with blue and black interior. Her rims are even blue and her windows tinted.

-

The next morning you're woken by Jess with her skillful tongue and you take pleasure in the fact that you're loud. She'd put you to work the whole night, and you'd returned the favor showing her exactly how much you appreciated her attention.

You sighed as you piled your straight hair into a messy bun and pulled on a oversized t-shirt and walked her to your dorm door. You yawned as you let her out and thanked her for coming over. You made a note to text her for another session as she was definitely a generous and thoughtful lover.

As you watched her leave and was about to close your door you watched in victory as Riri walked towards her dorm room. She'd left at some point in the early hours of the morning, slamming her door. You knew she was jealous and that thought sent chills of satisfaction throughout your body.

"Good morning, Williams." You said, smirking as she clenched her jaw. "Sorry about the noise. I'll try to be quieter next time."

And with that you closed the door with an enthusiastic kick. The message you'd sent very clear. Little did you know, you'd just started a war. One you wouldn't win.

-

Your day was starting to turn to shit as your RA left your dorm. Angry was an understatement. You knew someway somehow your current predicament was curtesy of Riri. You couldn't prove it but you knew it was her.

You'd been reported for having an off campus visitor spend the night. A violation that meant you lost your dorm. You were pissed. You'd already made your dorm home. Decorated it how you wanted and even saged it to clear any bad energy out. Clearly it hadn't worked.

You were being moved to another building where you'd have two roommates. The only upside being you had a room and there weren't many rules. You just hated the fact you had to share a space with people you barely knew in closer and smaller quarters.

It took you the whole day and the help of the sisters Nina and Gina. Once you'd moved into the new apartment, you noticed the apartment was huge. You looked around, steering clear of the other bedrooms not wanting to invade anyone's private spaces.

The apartment was styled nicely. By the door was a shoe rack with dope sneakers, expensive heels and slides. You could tell whoever your roommates were they came from money.

You were so exhausted you knocked out on the sofa watching some old show.

A loud sound and a cuss woke you up. As your eyes adjusted to the dark you could barely make out two figures.

"Hello?" You called out, you knew you locked the door so the two had to be your roommate. The light was switched on and you instantly jumped up, anger building in you.

"Are you fucking serious!?!?!?!" You bellow.

"Told you she'd be happy to see us." Riri wiggled her brows, bumping Shuri.

"Y...you..." You couldn't find the words to express what you were feeling.

"Chill ma, we just thought you'd like some company." Riri grins, heading for the kitchen.

"Stop antagonizing her, Ri." Shuri speaks up, her demeanor is different. You glare at the duo.

"Fuck you look so good when you're pissed." Riri chuckles, grabbing a water and taking a sip. "Adorable really."

Realizing there wasn't much you could do, you swallowed down all the things you wanted to say and headed for your room. You slammed it, locking it behind you.

They didn't know what they'd started but you were damn sure going to finish it. You started scheming.

💕

[conceptofjoy]

SHIT I loVee your real boy seb. hes like if autism and adhd had a child. him having selective mutism and hiding behind someone close im crying. ive been feeling down/tired lately and seeing him made me genuinely giggle and smile. AND AHHH his interactions with other kids i love how you do the relationships in your posts not only <333 in your art style he and his expressions look so familiar and close.. hes my baby. my head aches its so good. seeing seb doing his bunny deals warms my heart like chocolate cheesecake in the microwave in fact. HELL FUCKING YEAH DESTA GO ON!!!

btw thats offtopic as hell but im that anon who originally said dorkhell LMFAO i saw you made the word? a whole hashtag uhoh! i opened my jaw like a smol bird opening its beak 180 degrees so that its mother bird would feed it WHEN i noticed. its actually so funny to me because i didnt even think about that too long. just a sudden thought i decided to add. but yes... this is your inheritance now joy (>_0)

well back to seb im about to disintegrate into sand. i really like how everyone uh... treats him in some sense? though he, i admit, may be a little disaster here and there but they love him <3 so, the way people treats seb with some kind of understanding (im not sure if thats the right word b i cant find anything better than this) is frankly comforting. i just go all "god damn it" as a person who was that neurodivergent child growing up. i may repeat, but i just adore your relationships between all the characters and I DARE to wander into another field BUT the vriska polycule,,... damn yes thats the thing anyone needs to see to make their earth spinning like its should. and they all care deeply about each other despite their ways of showing it is different. i see now!!!!

i literally cant form sentences anymore but they all are so dear. tyyy for making&sharing your art w random people on the internet again!! puts a turtle in your hand and frogblinks at you

AAAA THANK U puts turtle in a well maintained tank. everyone loves little seb n even though no one rlly has experience talking with kids, all of them are nd + have sibling energy/experience. his mischievousness matches a lot of the others lol.

hes a smart kid and knows how to use his cuteness/ how to play dumb to get out of situations (youngest child behavior) but is also incredibly silly. he takes after hal a lot in his smugness and dirk in his explosive displays of affection.

guh thank u so much for ur kind words. im glad i could make u feel better :) also dorkhell was just so good lol its so fitting. i should def elaborate on the vriska polycule l8r but it would take SEVERAL posts lmfao

[localjarofmayo]

Introduction post (again)

About me:

Name: Mayo or Kibo works just fine!

LGBTQ? Yes. Im a gayass genderfluid panromantic

Pronouns: they/any

Age: adult

This blog is primarily 16+ and sfw (safe for work,)

More below the cut!

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

Need to know basis:

- This blog is primarily a 16+ SFW (Safe For Work) blog. However, there may occasionally be some of the following:

Light jokes for sillies

Barbie doll anatomy (anatomy without detail, will also be non-sexual)

Gore (blood, missing limbs, wounds, scars)

Darker topics (alcohol, etc.)

Needles and other stuff that make people go ick ig?

This will all be given a TW (trigger warning) or CW (censor warning) and the following artwork will be posted under the cut.

- I am sometimes not consistent with replies due to internet connection, social/emotional wellbeing, or busy life. Dont take it personal if I dont get to you right away.

- Tone indicators are encouraged! I use em a lot to help others understand my tone.

- I dont take the internet personally most times. Only when I feel it really calls for it.

- I am the creator of multiple stories, each with their own tag. The following tags are mine. KEEP IN MIND!!! They all have LocalJarOfMayo in front of em. I just didnt add it in for the sake of keeping it short.

Project X

Ill add more once i memorize them

AngelicSinners

Lost Memories

The Wizards Curse

Boundaries

Whats okay?

Reblogs! Bonus if you add your own tags lol, i love reading the crazy things people put

Sending asks

Questions. I love questions. Literally anything. Seriously. Guh. (Any questions I dont feel comfortable answering, ill just dm that i dont feel comfortable. Simple.)

Random Dms are fine

Talking in all caps when excited (i do that a lot)

Keyspamming (i also do that a lot)

Whats not okay?

Being a dick.

Asking to be friends (i see friendships as formed through shared experiences. I get uncomfortable when a stranger i havent talked to or bonded with asks to be my friend).

Repeated asks.

Small talk (i am VERY bad at small talk, it makes me uncomfortable).

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

Extras

- Multimedia Artist

Traditional | Digital | Animator | Story Creator

- Multifandom enjoyer

Just Shapes & Beats

Transformers

Hollow Knight

Deltarune

The Amazing Digital Circus

The Gaslight District

Underworld Office and Charlie in Underworld (if you know them I love you/p)

Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss (a love/hate relationship and i dont associate w the artist)

Im sure theres more but I forget.

Ima be real, i dont know what more to add to intro posts so- yeah-

[noodyl-blasstal]

Sticky Keys

It's @taznovembercelebration day 13 and today's card was "sticky"

Read below or on Ao3. Missed yesterday's? Find it here.

--

If he just jabs the space bar a few more times Kravitz is certain it’ll be fine. The first 78 times haven’t worked, but the next few prods will definitely do it.

“Is everything okay, my guy?” A tall man with long hair pokes his head around the door. “Taako heard keyboard warfare and came to join in if reinforcement was needed.” Something in his tone implies that he absolutely will go to war against the keyboard if Kravitz asks it. He’s tempted to if it means he gets to spend some more time with him.

“It’s the, er…” Kravitz pokes the space bar again. “You know.” He finishes lamely, gesturing at the still very depressed key.

Taako’s mouth quirks at the corner. “Ah yes. Welcome, we’re great at IT here, only the top of the line equipment for the institute’s teaching staff. What’s your handle, kemosabe? I’m assuming you’re new. Cha’boy would definitely remember you.” The last line is accompanied by a not-so-subtle once over.

Kravitz’s mouth dries up. It’s not that this doesn’t happen, he has a mirror, he knows he looks good, but this guy is handsome and engaging and this doesn’t happen to him. It’s strange guys in clubs approaching him in the toilets, not institute staff propositioning him with their eyes in the lecture theatre. Maybe this is his life now? Maybe higher education is precisely as horny as all the trashy horror novels he read in high school made out.

“Guh.” He says, intelligently. Making sure that Taako knew he was charming, witty, and engaging.

“An interesting name. Short, sweet. I'm intrigued.” Taako moves closer like he's stalking prey. He has to know the impact he's having on Kravitz's, has to be able to see the wave of heat clawing its way up his neck.

He can't give in. He can interact normally. “Kravitz.” Says Kravitz, and sticks his hand out to highlight that he actually managed to remember his own name this time.

“Taako.” Says Taako, as if he didn’t already say his, then proceeds to fist bump Kravitz’s palm.

It’s purely instinct, but Kravitz curls his palm around Taako’s fist and shakes it anyway. It’s a move that never ceases to make his nephew shriek. It looks like Taako wants to do the same and that helps honestly. He’s just people, it’s fine.

Kravitz smiles at him like what he’s just done is completely regular. “Pleased to meet you, Taako. I appreciate you coming to help in my time of need.”

“So, do you need cha’boy to do kung fu on the keyboard? They don’t call me flip wizard for nothing.” Taako chops convincingly at the air, then blows on his hand and tucks it back into his pocket.

“Why do they call you flip wizard?” Kravitz needs to know immediately.

“Because Taako has all the moves.” Taako says confident and incomprehensible.

“Every single move?” Kravitz asks, injecting disbelief into his tone.

Taako leans in, close, conspiratorial, “all of ‘em.”

“What about this one?” Kravitz spins in a circle and adds a little kick at the end.

“I can’t believe you stole that and didn't even do it right.” Taako performs the same move. “Ha cha! See, done properly.”

“I’m not convinced there was a difference.”

“Of course not, you’re just out here stealing moves you don’t even understand, that you don’t know the heart of. Where's the nuance, Kravitz? Do you even know what’s the soul of the wiggle circle flick? What the purpose of the kick is?...” Taako pauses to let Kravitz answer, then interrupts the silence. “Exactly, you don’t know.”

“Do you?”

“Of course!”

Kravitz raises an enquiring eyebrow.

“It’s all about synergistics.”

“Taako, if you make this work related I’m going to think about my damn powerpoint again.”

“Speaking of the powerpoint, how much do you love me?”

Kravitz pauses. The answer is more than nothing, which is probably what it should be. Also, he may hold the secrets to salvation.

“A lot?” Says Kravitz.

“Are you asking Taako, or telling him?”

“A whole lot!” Says Kravitz, now with confidence™

“Bit weird, you’ve only known me five minutes.” Taako’s smiling though, so Kravitz’s swoopy ill feeling doesn’t last long. It’s a joke, it’s going to be okay.

“Do you by any chance know how to fix the powerpoint? Or were you just looking for a declaration of love to spice up your Tuesday afternoon?”

“Could the answer be both?”

“I suppose I’ll allow it, this time.” Kravitz smiles, he doesn’t often get to play like this at work. Everyone’s too busy focusing on tenure and being dull.

“Stand back.” Taako orders.

Kravitz bows, elegantly he hopes, and gestures to the computer. “Your dodgy IT equipment, my lord.”

“Ooooh, Lord Taako, cha’boy could get used to it.” Taako muses as he passes. “It has a ring it.”

“Lord Taako: Flip Wizard.” Kravitz gives him his proper title.

Taako hunches over the computer, then reappears a second later looking pleased with himself. “Click it!” He says, holds out a tiny unicorn themed stick to Kravitz.

Kravitz stares at it, unsure of where to begin.

“The horns.” Says Taako, patiently, as if it was obvious, as if Kravitz was being ridiculous..

He presses a horn tentatively. His slide moves on. He clicks again, it moves again, and again, and again. Then back when he presses the other horn. Thank the lady! Kravitz could talk about music and folklore for hours, but the slides would definitely help the class actually stay awake. “Taako! You wonder, I could kiss you.” Fuck. It was a figure of speech, but he’d like to… it definitely wasn’t something you said to colleagues you just met though.

Taako considers him at length. Probably debating whether to report him to HR or super HR. Kravitz opens his mouth to apologise, but Taako replies before he gets the chance. “Go on then.”

-

I hope you enjoyed! Check out the next prompt here.

[lewis-fosdork]

I need to say something, or I will die of death, it's very important

I've seen a lot of genderbent TF2 mercs, and I don't usually like genderbends, but this actually makes sense...

Or atleast, it WOULD have if people actually made the genderbends actually RESEMBLE THE FREAKIN-GUH MERCS. More often than not, it's some lady doing a vague cosplay of the character. The only time it's actually been pulled off correctly is femscout and fempyro, and even then fempyros a bit iffy due to those f r e a k y modders who sexualize her.

Pyro doesn't really need a female design, they're already pretty ambiguous to begin with, though, this model is pretty good, and tame compared to certain mods.

femscout works, because scout has a pretty generic yet unique design, and it's not to hard to bend it around. In my opinion, the skirt is a bit much, so I use the og scout pants version when I animate*.

(*load the models into an SFM session, add two keyframes, and then forget about the entire thing and doomscroll for a month)

[radishhqueen]

2024 Writing Roundup!

tagged by @bobtheacorn <3

Words Posted:

about 40k, give or take! ao3 says 75k but i think it's counting all of the ol' switcheroo, half of which was published in 2023.

Additional Words Written:

guh. listen. half of my active wip documents were created before 2021. there's words in there. idk when they're from <3 but probably add about 40k, that feels right.

Fandoms:

Rise of the TMNT

Pokemon Legends: Arceus

Batman

guys i am not beating the "interests of a 12yo boy" allegations 😔

Highest kudos + Highest Hit One-Shot:

probably just by virtue of being the most populous fandom on the above list (Batman), my one-shot Twice Over won both of those categories despite only being published in November lol

New Things I Tried:

well first of all, i published fic that wasn't TMNT. 💀 even though i have been writing pretty consistently since like, at least 2018, most of what i wrote was centered on my dnd campaigns or other roleplays i was in.

i wrote and published some flash fiction, even though that hasn't historically been my jam!

Fic I Spent The Most Time On:

the ol switcheroo....... the back half of that fic kicked my entire ass. much emotional processing had to happen. i love it dearly and i'm so so so glad i'm done writing it <3

Fic I Spent The Least Time On:

Not 100% sure on this one, since I actually published a couple short fics this year, but my guess is Freaky Friday. i had a pretty clear image going into it, and I'm pretty sure I hammered it out in like 30-45 min.

Favourite Thing I Wrote:

ok i know i just said that the ol switcheroo haunts my nightmares but it is also definitely my favorite thing I wrote in 2024. I haven't been delving much into rottmnt fics this past year, but I feel like I was able to convey a fresh look on a F!Leo comes back to the past AU.

i struggled a lot to write the ending, but i am very happy with how it came out! i think it tied up all the loose ends nicely, while not minimizing Casey's grief or his recovery process :)

Favourite Thing(s) I Read:

I tend to be pretty stingy with my AO3 bookmarks, but there are two fics I read in 2024 that really stood out.

Creation of a Philosopher's Stone by @ocean-ignition (Rise of the TMNT) - IT COUNTS BC IT COMPLETED JAN 3 2024. Draxum has to deal with the consequences of his actions. Such a good character study on a guy that doesn't usually get character studies. Also all the alchemy bits are so stylistically fun. i am binding my own hardcopy version of this (very slowly)(right angles are intimidating)

The Long Way Home by itsnathalie (Batman) - i tend to dip out of fics somewhere after 60k; my attention span isn't quite long enough. however. I stayed up and read all 111k of this fic in one night on a work night and absolutely obliterated my sleep schedule. Jason and Tim get stuck in a horrible labyrinth that is trying to kill them. Every time a question gets answered, you walk away with three more questions about the lore. I need to go back and reread it with a highlighter and a notebook. It's so good it makes me wanna do analysis.

Writing Goals for 2025:

i want to do another longfic, bc i miss it. being more consistent about writing, even just small amounts daily. however, I am a hobby juggler at heart, so I try not to be too down on myself when my word count drops bc I'm too busy knitting or w/e

New Works:

speaking of longfic! Worrying About the Check is a Batman fic i just started. eyeballing 30k-ish, but everyone knows how good i am at estimating word count.

if the tmnt bug catches me again, i've got a pretty decent outline for mean teen fighting machine's EPF induced camping trip, so that's also possibly on the docket. :)

also I've had this Raph&Casey sickfic in my wips for like 6 months i really need to get that one out of there.

Tagging: @witchofthemoss @uncannyalien @......bro idk who else is writing rn. trying not to double tag people. if you wanna fill this out then by all means <3

[hospitalterrorizer]

diary549

4/1-2/25

tuesday - wednesday

need to sleep soon.

but currently i'm thinking about dilly bars. it's been a really long time since i've had one. i really like dairy queen. i think i've talked about that before. i really want icecream suddenly. i guess i am extremely hungry. i didn't eat a lot today.

there were some buildings out here that used to look like this... like farm basket. what was with buildings from the 70s having that kind of ugly but cute thing going on. where they looked cheap and almost like places dolls would live in. maybe it's just because it's old, to me, and i didn't live through it at all, and have only received those images/associations, that it takes on a kind of miniature affect.

just remembered that coldplay song that interpolates this song:

the coldplay song is like, dreck, it's not formally bad but to, idk, pointlessly borrow from a song that's this beautiful feels insane and baffling and hacky to me. the melody is so tiny and pretty, it makes me want to cry.

today i did some more texture stuff, which feels good, not a lot really, i just think i got the first diamond done, i should do 2 more, though.

mostly today's been good for music, though. which is surprising. but i found a new amp simulator and it just sounds really good and distorts in a way that's immediately more useful for me, and there's something interesting that happens when i stack this other effect i got in front of that amp, the effect is supposed to be a distortion for more grindcore-y or death metal-y type stuff, but i can turn of the distortion portion, use its eq which is really useful, and use the cab sim back into distortion which shaves off a lot of useless white noise in the highs and creates a kind of nasty tonality, which i like a lot. that ran back thru an amp and then another cab creates a much more lively sound, or, it's quicker to get to lively sounds through that. it does add some weirdly physical properties. it also, being easier, made me write something new. riffs and a chorus i like. how frustrating. in the past a lot of the time i'd try really hard to keep to like, how a real guitar signal path would go, so things like this cab simulation back into amp sims and stuff i'd avoid, or feel like it was too... fake or something. i just need to accept stuff sounding good if it sounds good. this is one case where it sounds much better. besides, at this point with pedals that emulate other cabs, this is something people kind of do already, using impulses like fucked up eq curves.

listening to this a lot, though this band's always on my mind. here's something from a related band:

not heard this record. but i like how this winds down and then starts up again, just punishing grinding on all the instruments.

here's something else, wes eisold of some girls, and more famously cold cave, this was another band of his, i'm listening to this now:

i need to sleep now though... guh.. but this is pretty good hardcore, very basic. i need to find some more powerviolence stuff. just wanna live in the sound a bit more than i have been lately. it's crazy how his vocals are on this stuff, he's a bit more harsh here than would be normal for stuff that feels this not extreme. but that's cool, it adds a bit more of a crazier feel.

there's 3 songs left but i am too sleepayyy.... i want to wake up like... at 1 pm today. that's a goal... i'm such a loser, aren't i,

so,

byebye!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[sapphiresterreart]

Tried to scribble a Sonic idea with a throwaway joke-reference only to get completely sidetracked by that very same joke. Got in too deep. Hope it's coherent enough!

Note: Usually picture them as young adults. Prolly early 20s or so. Not super important but might help with context. It's fun for me to mix youthful energy with slightly older characters. Whatever canon experiences they've had took time to happen kinda thing.

Rouge shares her struggle with her roommate’s terrible, no-good very bad coffee bean addiction eating habits. Starring Sonic, Tails, and a startling amount of memes and modern(?) slang as her prisoners. 

Sonic's desperate cries for help go ignored. Maybe if he was a better communicator he wouldn't have these issues.

Under the Read More it goes!

Off-screen, Shadow is blissfully unaware of such plights as he savors a cereal bowl of coffee beans for breakfast. Only faintly wondering why the bag of new beans had been stashed in the wrong kitchen cabinet. Didn’t Rouge know they were supposed to go in the pantry? Mentally shrugs. Everyone makes mistakes. She must've been tired last night or something. She did have eye-bags before putting on makeup this morning. Ah, well. Not his problem.

No. Instead it's Sonic's problem.

"Shadow thinks he's so smart but that guy eats coffee beans for breakfast. It was one thing when he had a gardening phase and cluttered the counters with potted plants; at least that was nice. Got fresh lavender for free and his chao could take care of 'em while he was away, ya know? But coffee beans? Raw? How am I supposed to have my morning coffee when Shadow keeps eating all my chaos-damned coffee beans, boys?" 

"Ah." Sonic blinks and shares a glance with Tails. They’d been trapped on their own living room couch ever since Rouge showed up a solid hour ago with eye bags so heavy not even the secrets of modern makeup could hide them.

Still. He's her friend and he's tried to give her his attention. He tentatively ventures, “I get the feeling you haven't had coffee this morning?"

"I haven't had coffee in days, Sonic, days!"

"Yikes." He grimaces, playing at an attempt for sympathy because there's only so long he can keep trying. An hour is a long time and he still doesn't see what the big deal is, or even care honestly, but he'll at least pretend. "Big oof. That's no good."

Tails slaps his forehead and slumps from where he sits on the couch beside him. Rouge stares at them both. Or maybe just him. Apparently he didn't pretend hard enough. Huh. Oh well. Guess he'll have to try again. 

"I try not to judge people by their dietary needs." Sonic beams, making sure to look as innocent as can be. Adds blinking for good measure

It's a strategic trick he learned while babysitting Cream long ago. She had been, and unfortunately still is, a master of them-big-ole-eyes paired with rapid-fire-eyelashes. 

Whenever Amy did it she looked like she had a bad case of allergies and sometimes caused her mascara to run which only ever made him think of the horror movies he'd seen late at night. It was a problem. She was not good to learn from for that. He's glad she started wearing waterproof stuff or whatever it is at some point. Turns out, black streaks for tear-tracks are terrifying. Not cute.

Guh. Moving on. Maybe his powers of persuasion will sway Rouge away from the dark side of more long-winded rants and dangerously boring tangents. Alas. They fail. She seems unmoved.

"Your diet is nothing but chili dogs." She points at him, needlessly affronted. 

Oh hey now. An age old argument apparently no one is willing to let go of. Not even Rouge. Hmph. He stands by his statement: there's nothing wrong with chili dogs and there never will be! Why fix what ain't broke?

"Like I said," Sonic continues undeterred by non-believers even after all these years. "Dietary needs."

Rouge huffs and whirls on a needle-thin heel. They click click click as she paces a circle in front of the TV.  Dang. Those boots look like they could kill someone. Sonic idly wonders if they have then decides he doesn't wanna know. He might be the next victim otherwise. At least not if this endless talkin’ doesn't do him in first.

"As I was saying; it'd be one thing if he ate them after I brewed them," she flicks a wrist already back on topic as she cocks a hip to the side. Her wings twitch from where they're folded along her spine. "But does he do that? Does he have the decency to do that, boys?"

She pauses a beat. Oh no. Is she expecting proper responses now after all that? Or maybe it’s is a rhetorical question and does not require an answer. Should he risk death by boot or death by boredom?

Tails, brave soul that he is, offers himself as tribute. "He... doesn't?"

"No!" Rouge whips around and her wings snap out on cue. The brothers jolt. "He does not!"

Tails makes some sort of noise. "That sounds rough." 

"Major bummer." Sonic agrees and hopes it'll get her tirade to stop.

"It is! And that's not all-"

Ah. It does not. Was she even listening to him? Or hearing him at all? His attention can only last so long. He's reaching his limit here! Maybe if he throws enough nonsense at her, she'll stop? Or talk about something else?

"What an L, Rouge."

"--maybe had some decency he'd-"

"L plus ratio?"

"What am I supposed to do without the beans, Sonic?"

She's not stopping. Luckily, Sonic ain't no quitter. "Cool story, bro. No cap?"

"The beans, Sonic! Focus on the beans!"

"The beans. So not gucci."

"Exactly! What am I supposed to do about the-" 

Tails leans over to him, bumping shoulders, and mutters. "You've been messing with my tech again, haven't you?"

“I just think it’s neat,” he chirps readily. Grins as he takes the lifeline his benevolent brother has provided him like a drowning soul. Ugh, drowning. "The internet’s a pretty cool place to be. So many ways to get your groovy on."

Tails sighs, sounding faintly irritable but his muzzle's twitching. He ain't foolin' nobody. "You are abusing slang on purpose." 

Sonic’s grin only widens. Score! "I would never do such a thing. Especially not in front of a friend. That's way past uncool, totally un-hippoed."

His brother may or may not have choked. An elbow knocks into Sonic’s side and he jumps with a snickering wheeze.

Tails mutters out the side of his mouth, face impossibly composed while pretending to pay attention to their mutual friend. "What even-? That's not- What are you up to?"

"Nuthin'," he lies like the liar they both know he is. Rouge is still goin' on strong in front of them. "Maintaining my sanity in the only way I can, maybe."

"How's that working out?"

"I may or may not lose my mind."

"It was nice knowing you, bruh."

It's Sonic's turn to choke on a snort.

Rouge continues her tirade apparently oblivious to the lapse in her audience's attention. So Sonic seizes the opportunity to set up a new game plan. He whips out and fiddles with his shiny new phone. The sound file had to be in here somewhere. It was unlikely to have been lost in the recent data transfer. His brother was too smart to let that happen.

Tails had done great work on the device; making it so it could keep up with the speed in which he tapped at the screen. The previous one had been durable but admittedly too slow. Yet his kid brother had fixed it up like the champ he's always been. 

He smiles to himself, unbearably soft, gloved thumbs stalling atop the glass. What couldn’t his baby bro do? Well, not much of a baby now, sure, but who gave him permission to grow up? Not Sonic! As his right as the older brother, he made the rules and the rules say Tails is not allowed to get older. 

What was he doing? Oh yeah! That funny audio. Where was it again? Tails had probably kept it in the same place. Or at least with the same name if he used the fancy search bar, right? He adjusted his grip to tap the screen. 

Bingo! Now let’s see here… A clicking of some buttons, a tapping of a few things, and a finger at the ready to press play. He was all set. Now to time it just right...

Rouge, unintentionally or not, plays her part well. She continues on as background noise with his brother watching her indulgently, politely smiling and nodding along to all the right bits because at some point in all these years he had learned manners. Sonic will never know from where. Certainly not from him.

Sonic waits, politely nodding along himself because misusing slang had proven futile. Tactics had to change and as Rouge works herself into a righteous tizzy he sits up and leans forward. Tails doesn't say a word though he can no doubt sense when his big bro’s ‘boutta cause some trouble. 

Wings flare as Rouge hoists herself off the floor and hovers in the middle of the living room. A fist shakes dramatically at the ceiling and her voice get louder with the momentum. She bemoans the tragedy of mortal kind and the emotionally constipated disasters that will be the downfall of them all. 

It's almost moving. Sonic finds himself engaged despite earlier grievances. She shoulda led with that instead of the bean nonsense. Apparently whatever it is she's talking about now is an infectious disease that only plagues the majority of the male population of everyone found everywhere. Unfortunately, Sonic’s not entirely convinced. It’s a good argument, though, he’ll give her that.

Then it happens. Finally happens. He feared he’d lose his mind before he could execute the most ultimate of masterplans (heh heh, Ultimate. No he'll never let it go, Shadow) but his time to shine has finally come. She makes a statement. Perfectly punctuated on a bold note and everything. She pauses for breath and Sonic takes the chance. 

He clicks the screen and the sound plays. A perfect accompaniment to Rouge’s declaration.

“Oh no.”

Tails. Slowly. Very slowly turns to him. 

Sonic. Very very slowly turns in turn. He makes sure to wear the biggest, most trouble-causing-eatingist grin as possible. Barely cuts off a giggle before it can escape. 

Tails does a remarkable job of maintaining a straight face while also stifling the faint wheezes Sonic can see his stomach make only because he's sitting right next to him. Yellow and white fur almost vibrates from the strain. Wow! What an impressive display of control. He's so proud of him. 

Sonic doesn’t even try to hide his delight anymore. A joke well-received is always a good thing. Even the dumb ones.

Neither notice Rouge coming’ in hot to snatch the phone outta his hands. 

"Was that Knuxie.” She says, honing in on the device in her hands like a starving vulture in desperate need of a feast. 

Sonic will never admit he startled as, between blinks, the bat was there and then she wasn’t. He recovers pretty darn well if he does say so himself. Blinks lashes innocently up at her even if it didn't work earlier.

This time he demurs very charmingly. "Who?”

“Don’t play games with me, big blue.” 

Aw. Foiled again. 

She taps at the screen, face nearly smushed against the glass as she clearly finds the recording and plays it again. A grin of her own spreads. Oops. He almost feels sorry for what he's probably unleashed onto Knuckles. Almost. 

“Where is this from?” Her grin’s looking a lil more evil by the second.

Sure she’s been thoroughly distracted from her war on coffee beans (Or was it a war on Shadow? Dang it! Maybe coulda used that somehow). But at what cost?

Eh. It’s probably fine. Knuckles can handle it.

So he leans back into the couch with an evil grin of his own and threads his arms through the quills on the back of his head. Relaxes in place as he firmly decides to delight in the shared goal of causing trouble.

Heh heh. Sux to be Knux. The guy needed to lighten up anyway.

[damerondala]

Suture Up Your Future

i was watching reservoir dogs last night and that scene in the beginning with mr. orange is so intense i wanted to write some bad batch AnGst that mirrors it (and yes, the title is a queens of the stone age song, im really just snatching ideas from everybody huh lol). im also not too knowledgeable about trauma wounds like this and how to patch them up, but i did my best so pls be nice lmao im a sensitive bitch

Pairing: Platonic Bad Batch x Gender Neutral Reader / Platonic Tech x Gender Neutral Reader 

Warnings: adult dialogue, severe wounds and blood loss, wound suturing, sad batch ™ but with a happy ending! yay! 

Word Count: approx. 1.4k 

✧·ﾟ: *✧·ﾟ:* *:·ﾟ✧*:·ﾟ✧

“Say it for me, Tech.” You were met with an agonistic cry instead of the words you needed the trooper to say. Not only to reassure himself, but you as well. “Say it,” you nearly screamed while he lay there bleeding out, “You’re going to be okay, fucking say it. You’re going to be okay.” 

“I,” a sharp intake of breath made his chest heave and a new wave of fresh blood come out of his gaping wound, covering your hands in the warm substance, “‘m guh be oh-okay.” 

“There we go, come on Tech, come on buddy breathe for me.” 

~

Nothing was out of the ordinary when you woke up that day. Hunter asked if you wanted to stay on the Marauder while he, Tech, and Crosshair went on a supply run. Hunter sang his reassurances to you, fully knowing you had a point when you reminded him that this planet was not the most welcoming place for outsiders. Especially the army of the Republic. But Hunter made sure they had civilian clothing to disguise themselves; this was the closest planet you all could get to at the moment, with the little fuel you had, after all. “In and out, just like that,” the sergeant cooed with a snap of his fingers to enunciate the last word of his promise. 

Echo, Wrecker, and yourself gave your best wishes to the group, then retreated back to the hull of the beloved ship. Echo toying with a new prosthetic he and Tech had been working on, Wrecker subjecting poor Gonky to yet another workout, and you occupied yourself with some tidying up. Maker knows that five busy soldiers plus one even busier medic, patching up said soldiers on a regular basis, equaled a filthy ship that was in dire need of some elbow grease. 

What none of you had expected however, was the very early return of the three bad batchers, one of them being supported by the other two. Barely able to walk and blood leaking out of his abdomen. 

Panic set in your gut upon the sight. Wrecker and Echo already in front of you, screaming their concerns and questions while you scrambled back into the ship to clear the table that was littered with empty dishes and Tech’s projects, then sprinting to your medkit to snag the supplies you’d need to treat a wound such as this. Returning to the table just as Wrecker set his vod down on the flat surface that, might you add, was much too small for his six-four frame and much too dirty for the situation at hand, but would have to do. Considering the severity of the scene before you. Tech had an enormous gash — you guessed from some sort of large knife — that ran from the bottom of his left ribs all the way to the front of his abdomen, ending just above his bellybutton. 

“Fucking bounty hunters,” Crosshair growled from behind you but you couldn’t afford to pay him any mind, Tech was damn near about to bleed to death if you didn’t act quick. You could curse the people who did this to your friend later. “Echo, he’s going to need more blood. Get Wrecker hooked up to the blood draw.” You ordered while applying pressure to the gash, Tech’s blood slowing at the contact, but still steadily seeping through your fingers. Normally Wrecker would pout about being hooked up to a machine but the sight of his friend dancing with death made him move quicker than any of you had ever seen, ripping his shirt sleeve up so Echo could begin drawing blood. 

The scene felt like a dream. Well, more like a nightmare, one that never stopped no matter how badly you wished you could just wake up and it would all be over. Instead, you were sweating through your shirt, a few tears stained your cheeks, and you were fucking covered in blood; Tech’s blood, to make the matter even more chilling. Everything happened so fast, you desperately wished you had gone on the run instead of Tech. Maybe that way you could all be sitting around this table, playing cards and giggling at Echo and Wrecker’s bickering over who’s cheating by now. 

“What do you need me to do?” Hunter stepped to your side, prepared to do anything in order to save the youngest of the squad. “Get the gauze and alcohol out of my pack.” You threw your head in the direction of the stocked medpack sitting on the table near Tech’s legs. Hunter opened the bottle of antiseptic and handed it to you, Crosshair on the other side of the table taking the gauze from Hunter’s hand. Ready to stuff the wound in an attempt to slow the bleeding more until you could properly suture him up. Dumping the alcohol inside the gash caused Tech to gasp, eyebrows furrowing and body going taut at the pain you inflicted on him. You pleaded with him to relax and help you in reassuring himself that he would be fine. Both you and Hunter continuing the verbal comfort while Crosshair unraveled the pristine white gauze and began shoving it into Tech’s side, dying it crimson almost immediately. The pressure from both yours and Crosshair’s hands did a good job at stopping the blood loss, just enough so you could begin really cleaning him up and sewing his abdomen back together. Hunter helped with handing you the needle and thread and you began puncturing Tech’s skin and pulling the thread through the tissue. 

Cries and mumbles of curses came from Tech’s lips, his face paler than any of you had ever seen before. “Shhh…eh..it,” Tech groaned as you diligently worked at his stomach. You silently thanked whatever celestial  power that was out there for slowing down the blood flow to a much more manageable pace. Crosshair’s efforts clearly paid off, you mentally noted, as you watched his steady marksman hands slowly remove the gauze while you advanced with your stitching. 

“Blood transfusion is ready,” Echo suddenly appeared, ready to start replenishing the blood Tech had lost. “Just in time,” you managed a half-smile, not entirely sure of where it came from. But looking back, you think it was out of hope. 

Tech’s glazed eyes silently caught the way your mouth curled up and he was infinitely grateful for it. To him — and the other members of the squad — you were a beacon of light in the cruel and unforgiving war you all were in the midst of. It was easy to let the darkness and the violence consume them, but the second you joined their squad as their senior medic, there was that sudden sense of hope; you were something that made all of it even more worth it. 

The entire procedure of fixing up your friend honestly was a blur for the most part. One second they were dragging Tech’s limp and bloody body up the ramp, the next you all found yourselves slumped into chairs, over crates, hell, you were nearly passed out from exhaustion on the floor next to the table Tech was splayed out on. His wound clean and stitched to near perfection, and Wrecker’s blood slowly being pumped back into his veins, bringing that beautiful, healthy tan back to his features. 

Being so tired led you to neglect the dried blood all over your arms and shirt. In your haze, you remember Wrecker gently grasping your biceps and heaving you off the grimy ground, urging you to wash up and change. When you began to protest, the gentle giant rubbed up and down your arms in an effort to persuade you, “He’ll be fine, kid. You stitched him up real good. Plus, you know how queasy he gets with blood. He’d want you to get cleaned up.” Just as the final syllable left his mouth, you felt the soft cotton of your extra shirt being brushed against your forearm, Crosshair’s arm extended to you from his place on a ration crate with a nod in your direction. A silent way of showing you he agreed with his older brother — we got him, don’t worry. 

Your squad member’s wisdom proved to be true. Stepping out of the fresher in a new shirt sans sweat stains and blood, and your skin nice and clean, you were greeted with the sight of everybody crowding around their youngest vod still laying on the table. Weaseling your way in between Hunter and Echo, you found Tech awake. Albeit less sharp than he usually is, but still awake. Breathing. Fucking alive. The weight of dread that had been crushing your chest was suddenly gone, letting your lungs fully expand for the first time in hours. A soft hand found Tech’s cheek, the tips of your fingers accidentally bumping the edge of his goggles and another smile gracing your face, this one out of relief. 

“Told you you’d be okay.” 

[potassium-pilot]

Prompt 20: Petrichor

I’m in over my head, he thought, I know nothing of the Convocation other than what I learned in school; my creations seem so minimal compared to the Emet-Selch; they’re all taller than I am- I know height has nothing to do with it, but it’s still intimidating. Am I truly worthy of the seat of Elidibus? Am I really the Emissary?

“Do you smell that, young Elidibus?”

He turned his head behind him and noticed a woman. One of the members of the Convocation he met, but which one?

“Y-you’re…the Azem, is that correct?”

“I am, just like you are the brand new Elidibus. Now, do you smell that?”

Elidibus stared down at his lunch that he chose to eat outside on the steps at the back of the Bureau. “Oh…if the scent of my lunch offends, I apologize…”

“Your lunch neither offends my senses, nor is it what I’m referring to, Elidibus. We’ve had a dry period for some time, have we not?”

The weather was far from his mind, but he answered, “Yes, I…think so. Why?” Azem sat down next to the young one and replied with yet another question, “Have you ever noticed that scent that comes before rain after it hasn’t rained for so long?”

Why is she asking me this, he thought. Is this a test? “Uh…no, not really.”

“Hm. You should, young one. One of the gods put in quite a bit of work into making the rain as pleasant as possible. It adds a spice to life to notice the small things.”

He gathered a strange first impression of the Azem, but decided to take a whiff of the air, try to gather what she means. To his surprise, there was indeed a difference. “It’s…sort of earthy…”

“You’re right. It’s a pleasant smell to me, although some have their preferences.”

Elidibus took a moment and asked, “Is this some advice for how to deal with the Convocation?” Azem chuckled with her mouth closed, then responded, “No, friend, I’m just making conversation. You seemed so nervous in there.” Never had he felt more grateful for his red mask as he blushed at the thought that someone would notice such a thing. “The first day is odd, isn’t it?” she asked him.

“I don’t know about odd…but I must admit, I feel a bit…” he didn’t want to finish, but the phrase he was avoiding was ‘out of place”.

“Wanna know a secret about the Emet-Selch?”

That piqued his curiosity. “Uh…will that be all right?”

“Sure, so long as you keep it between the three of us.” Elidibus nodded at the agreement. He watched a wry smile form on the Convocation member’s face. “He’s a sucker for strawberry candy, and he bugs me to bring some home every time I leave Amaurot on my missions.”

His eyes widened at the thought. “Really?” She nodded. “He’ll deny it, but he’s obsessed with it.” Elidibus made a thoughtful hum. “Now what do you like?”

“Me?” he pointed to himself.

“Is there someone else here?”

“N-no…I…” he felt confused as to why she would care, making him hesitate. “I…I like that one concept, that card game…”

“Ah, you’re a gambling man. I see… you and I will need to play one night. I’ll show you some of the cheap tactics I picked up on my travels. You can help me clean out my friend, Hythlodaeus.”

The young man smiled. “What of you, Azem?” She smiled back. “I love to dance. When the Emet-Selch, Hythlodaeus and I go to the park, Hythlodaeus always takes me to see the musicians nearby, and I drag him into dancing when the Emet-Selch inevitably runs to avoid it. There’s another secret for you to keep.” Elidibus chuckled slightly.

“Ah, finally, a laugh.”

“S-sorry…”

“Nothing to be sorry for; I just like knowing that you’re capable of letting loose for a bit.”

He nodded. There was a moment of silence before he asked her, “Azem, is there anything I should know about the Convocation?”

“That we’re all flying by the seat of our pants.”

He stammered at that remark. “I-I beg your pardon?”

“My young friend, confidence is key to being a member of the Convocation. Quite frankly, there’s something new everyday, and it’s impossible to create a real standard for how we handle things. We have our protocol, but as much as they complain about me skirting it, they have also conveniently avoided protocol themselves.”

“But-but we’re supposed to lead our people, keep our society thriving…”

“If that’s how you keep looking at it, you’ll be that nervous every single day for the rest of your tenure.”

He blinked.

“Yes, we’re leaders, and we do, in fact, lead, but there’s no trick to being a Convocation member. There is simply being one. Bring ideas to the floor, engage in debate, do your reports and other paperwork, and go home. You’ll feel much more fulfilled at the end of the day if you remove the unnecessary pressure.”

He contemplated her words.

“The next time we go to the floor, I have an idea about revamping the concept submission process, make it more streamlined for easier processing. Could I…ask for your support, Azem?”

She pretended to ponder, then told him, “Tell you what; I’ll support it…if you can beat me at a game of cards.”

“What?!” he exclaimed in disbelief.

“Those are my terms. Do you accept them?”

“Is that…that can’t be protocol!”

“It’s not, but I should tell you how the Lahabrea got me to support his idea to reconstruct the Akadaemia Anyder.”

BOOM

The thunderclap roared over the Bureau of the Architect, and the rain slowly followed suit.

“Seems like a good time to play in my office, don’t you think?”

He still felt befuddled by the idea that any one of the Convocation of Fourteen should be anything close to him. That they were anything like him felt foreign. They’re leaders of Amaurot, creation masters; how could they be as clueless as the Azem claims them to be?

“Or would you prefer to sit alone in the rain? Because I will be returning inside to listen and watch it from the comfort of my dry and warm office with my meal. I would be pleased for the company, but I will leave that decision to you, young Elidibus.”

She stood up and as she said she would, she turned around and walked inside the Bureau. Elidibus sat there for a moment, realizing just how little he liked to get wet, but still wasn’t sure what to think. Finally, he rose from the stairs himself, and opened the door to return inside himself.

He walked down the halls to locate her office, passing each door, trying to see if there were any that he could peek through, but many were closed. Lahabrea…Igeyorhm…Nabriales…Emet-Selch… and last, but not least, Azem, the only open door. Before young Elidibus could enter, he heard a voice behind him.

“Ah, good afternoon, Elidibus. Were you hoping to speak with me?”

Emet-Selch approached him from behind. Elidibus turned to meet his gaze, despite being hidden behind a white mask, and answered, “Oh, no sir. I was hoping to speak with Azem. She invited me to lunch in her office.”

“Did she now?” he asked with a hint of curiosity in his voice. He took his shoulder and told him, “Come.” The two entered her office together, the Emet-Selch clearing his throat to get her attention. It worked, but she didn’t pry her gaze from the window.

“Hades, use your words”, she teased.

“Helios, are you corrupting this young man?”

That got her attention enough to turn around. Indeed, the young Elidibus stood at his side, a shoulder in the Emet-Selch’s right hand. “He informed me you asked him to lunch with you in here.”

“Oh, Hades, there’s nothing to corrupt. He’s quite stalwart for someone so young.”

“What has she told you, young man?” Before he could answer, she piped in with a teasing, “Nothing of import. Certainly not about how you beg me for strawberry candy when I leave the city.” Hades gasped and stumbled his words, “I-you-guh-I most certainly do not!”

“Uh-huh” she taunted, “Nor how you try to bring home near every stray cat you meet.”

“I would never bring such a pest into our home!”

“Right, now what will you tell Locus when we get home? She’ll be just the saddest cat we’ve ever had.”

He growled, shot his gaze to Elidibus and told him, “Everything she tells you is an absolute lie.”

“Only when it’s convenient for me to be telling the truth will he say I’m telling it, or so I’ve noticed.”

“Helios, you’re impossible!”

“I love you too. Now you better not have eaten lunch without me. I’ll excuse dear Elidibus here, but you?”

“I would never. Come, Elidibus, take a seat.” The young man nodded and took one of two seats in front of Azem’s desk.

“Um, Azem, when did you want to play that card game?” Elidibus asked meekly.

“Ah!” She pulled out a deck of cards and answered, “I’d like to finish my meal, then we can get started.”

“You’re not teaching him that ridiculous card game.”

Helios shook her head at her beloved, “I don’t have to. Why, he told me himself he loves card games.”

“Do you?” Emet-Selch asked the new member incredulously. “Uh, yes, sir, I do.” Realizing how this could be taken, he blurted out, “I-I don’t usually play it when I’m working, but-but I was asked to play with her for a work reason.”

“Oh dear…” Emet-Selch rubbed his temples and asked, “I think I know what she’s doing. All right, young one, what did you want to bring to the floor?”

Something within him sparked. That such a powerful creator could possibly listen to someone like him made him feel so honored. “Well, sir, if I may, there’s been many complaints about the process for submitting a concept, and I had an idea for how to streamline it, make it easier for employees to process submissions, and if you’ll hear me out, I think we can make it work”, Elidibus rambled excitedly.

“Hm”, Emet-Selch thoughtfully hummed, “You are correct that many do have trouble with their concepts being input. Long wait lines, a filing system that needs updating…not a bad idea.” He turned his head towards Azem and asked, “But why are you making him play cards for this?”

“I need to see him play now that he’s told me he likes this game. Besides, he may have your support, but I still have my terms.”

“Such are the dealings of our Azem; you truly wish her to be your role model, young man?”

“Role model? I’m simply his coworker.”

“Well, I’m glad you would deny the mantle. It might be better for someone who actually performs his duties to teach him the ropes.”

“Ha! I do my job well, thank you. It’s just not pencil-pushing.”

Emet-Selch shook his head. “Whatever will we do with you?”

“The better one is ‘what will you do without me?’”

“Work, probably.”

She scoffed at him, and told Elidibus, “I’m ready for that game now.”

“Deal me in as well.”

“My stars, Hades- you would play cards at work?”

“We’re not exactly working now, are we?”

A smile formed on her lips as she shuffled the deck. “Not quite. Don’t worry about him, Elidibus, it’s just me you’ll need to beat, not that it’s hard to beat our Emet-Selch at cards.”

“Hmph, slander, my love.”

The three played a good round. Azem gave him a run for his money, but he ultimately succeeded in the end, and received her full support for his proposal. Not that it mattered; she would have supported him anyways, but she enjoyed seeing the young man go from the nervous wreck he started his day as to a more relaxed version of himself, one that realized he was among peers, and not masters.

“There, he won. Are you happy, Helios?” Hades asked annoyedly.

“Quite. Thank you for a good game, my young friend” Azem complimented.

“Now come, Elidibus; it’ll be better for us to discuss this without her influence.” Hades stood up and walked out of her office to go next door. Elidibus stood up, ready to follow him as he requested, but then stopped. Without turning around, he asked her, “Would it be all right if I came back to eat with you tomorrow?”

She grinned. “My friend, anytime I’m in Amaurot, you’re more than welcome here. I’d rather you here than outside in the rain.”

He smiled and said, “Thank you.” Elidibus walked out of her office and moved himself from her office to the Emet-Selch’s.

The day went by without much clamor, then Elidibus gathered his things and left the office for the day. As he walked outside, the humidity left from the rain slicked his skin. It felt sticky, not his favorite sensation. Then he remembered the conversation from his lunch with Azem.

He took a deep breath, and embraced the earthy scent that blessed the city of Amaurot.

[bpro-cardstories]

Miroku Shingari SSR

2019 ー Kaikan＊Everyday [快感＊エブリディ]

"Uwah, instant kill! That’s Tono-sama for you!”

Part 1

ーAt the photoshoot location.ー

Miroku: ‘Good morning.’

Yuduki, Haruhi & Akane: ‘Good morning!’

Tsubasa: ‘Good morning, everyone!’ 

Tsubasa: ‘Since KiLLER KiNG’s photoshoot is the first one, you had to gather here early in the morning, unfortunately, but….. I am looking forward to working with you today.’  

Haruhi: ‘It’s completely fine~. We’re just a big sleepy!’

Miroku: ‘Getting up this early is no problem.’ 

Akane: ‘Tsubasa-chan, too! Thanks for the preparation early in the morning!’

Tsubasa: ‘Fufu, thank you very much. Then, please get ready to change your clothes and for the make-up in the waiting room.’

Haruhi: ‘Yeーs! I’ll go first~.’

Akane (laughs): ‘Ah, he got a head start, how mean! Yucchi, let’s go!’

Miroku: ‘….. Sorry for the noise so early.’ 

Tsubasa: ‘Fufu, I am relieved, everything is like always.’ 

Miroku: ‘Hm….. Tsubasa, is that the catering?’ 

Tsubasa: ‘Yes. Since there is time, please help yourself.’

Tsubasa: ‘The staff was so enthusiastic, so it turned out quite luxurious this time!’ 

Miroku: ‘That’s true. I didn’t think there would be even food with protein.’ 

Miroku (surprised): ‘…..Hm?’

Miroku: ‘…..! That’s…..!!’

Tsubasa: ‘Miroku-kun?’

Miroku: ‘BCAA…..! And this many bottles to add…..!’

Tsubasa: ‘BCAA…..?’

Miroku: ‘Branched Chain Amino Acids.’ 

Miroku: ‘From the essential amino acids, valine, leucine and isoleucine.’

Tsubasa: ‘Valine…..?’

Miroku: ‘It’s said that if you drink that and increase the BCAA within your blood, the breakdown of the muscles will be suppressed and the effect of your muscle training will also increase.’

Miroku: ‘Because when you exercise the carbohydrates and fat that are stored in your muscles are broken down as energy. If that’s not enough, the carbohydrates in the blood and the fat of the muscles will be used as well, unfortunately….. That’s why it affects the muscles.’  

Tsubasa: ‘That means, BCAA is very good for the muscles?’

Miroku: ‘Yeah, exactly.’

Miroku (smiles): ‘Moreover, it’s a flavour I didn’t try yet. That made me happy.’ 

Miroku: ‘When I think about the effect, it’s better to drink it now….. No, maybe after changing clothes? But…..’

(I’ve never seen Miroku-kun so restless…..)

Tsubasa: ‘I think it should be fine to drink it during make-up, so I will prepare water or carbonated water for you.’ 

Miroku: ‘Are you sure…..!?’

Tsubasa: ‘Yes, of course.’

Miroku (smiles): ‘Thanks….. I’m looking forward to it. I hope the orange flavor tastes good.’ 

Part 2

ーShooting time.ー

Akane: ‘Oh, Yuta’s shooting right now. Should we observe for a bit?’

Miroku: ‘Okay.’ 

Goshi: ‘…..…..’

Miroku: ‘Hm….. Kaneshiro-san?’

Akane: ‘What’s wrong? He looks to be in a really bad mood.’ 

Goshi: ‘Of course I’d be. When I thought I could rest after the photoshoot ended, I was pulled along against my will.’ 

Yuta: ‘Gochin, are you looking~?’

Yuta: ‘When it was Gochin’s turn, I cheered for you, so this time give me some good advice~!’

Goshi: ‘I didn’t ask for that!’

Yuta: ‘My poses always look similar. I want to bring in some variation~.’

Akane: ‘I see. If that’s the case, I also want to help!’

Akane: ‘This….. How about clenching your fist and making it look strong? Guaah!’ 

Yuta: ‘Eh? Like this~?’

Miroku: ‘….. That's advice?’

Goshi (sighs): ‘Aah…..’

Goshi: ‘In that case, doesn’t it look better when you stick out your fist towards the camera.’ 

Yuta: ‘Oh, that sounds good!’

Akane: ‘True! How cool!’

Goshi: ‘Geez, what a pain.’ 

Miroku: ‘Fufu, I think it looks fun and it’s interesting to watch.’ 

Goshi: ‘What? That’s no fun.’ 

Miroku: ‘…..The people that play pranks.’

Goshi (surprised): ‘Hm?’

Miroku: ‘They aim at people who overreact rather than those that easily evade the prank.’ 

Goshi: ‘….. What do you want to say with that?’

Miroku: ‘I wonder if those reactions of Kaneshiro-san tickle Ashu-kun’s mischievous side.’ 

Goshi: ‘What’s with that. I don’t understand…..’ 

Miroku: ‘Fufu.’

Goshi: ‘….. You aren’t thinking fun of me, too, right?’

Miroku (smiles): ‘You got me.’ 

Goshi (smiles): ‘Hah, Shingari, you.’ 

Miroku: ‘Ow….. Haha, I’m sorry. It was a joke.’ 

Goshi: ‘Idiot, I won’t let you off now.’

Akane: ‘Oh? When did those two become so close!’ 

Yuta: ‘What is it, what is it? It looks fun~!’

Miroku (smiles): ‘It’s nothing.’

Yuta: ‘How meaーn, tell me~!’

Part 3

Staff: ‘I’m sorry, I will be checking the equipment, so we will stop for a short time.’ 

Stylist: ‘Miroku-kun, I will fix your make-up.’ 

Miroku: ‘Yes.’

Haruhi: ‘Hey, Yuduki. Let’s do arm wrestling?’

Yuduki: ‘Okay.’

Haruhi: ‘Yay~. Ready….. Go!’

Hikaru: ‘Oh, what am I seeing there~? That looks fun!’ 

Tatsuhiro: ‘As expected of twins, they’re on par with each other.’

Hikaru: ‘Who will win….. What will the outcome of this battle be!?’

Yuduki: ‘….. Uugh.’

Hikaru: ‘The winner is Harupyon~!’

Haruhi: ‘Hooray!!’

Miroku: ‘Yuduki, you’re lacking stamina. Do you want to exercise together?’

Yuduki (sulking): ‘I’ll think about it…..’ 

Haruhi: ‘Heheh….. I don’t feel like losing right now!’ 

Haruhi: ‘Tono! Don’t take forever with the make-up and have a battle with me!’ 

Miroku: ‘Alright.’

Hikaru: ‘I’ll be your referee! Okay~ ….. Ready go!’ 

Haruhi: ‘Gyah.’

Hikaru: ‘Uwah, instant kill! That’s Tono-sama for you!!’

Yuta: ‘Alright, who’s next? How about Kenken?’

Kento: ‘Don’t want to.’

Haruhi: ‘Here’s a hero interview! Tono, please let us hear your thoughts about the match.’ 

Miroku: ‘Muscles are honest. The training doesn’t betray you.’ 

Haruhi: ‘Then, will someone appear who can stop Tono~!?’

Hikaru (serious): ‘Let me try!!’ 

Miroku: ‘ ! ‘

Hikaru: ‘I will defeat him in his own discipline~! Tono-sama’s win will be stopped by me!’

Miroku: ‘As you wish.’ 

Haruhi: ‘Those two are exchanging glares~….. Ready go!’ 

Hikaru: ‘Uwah.’

Hikaru: ‘I understood~! I lost, I lost~!!’

Hikaru: ‘If it has come to this….. Then, then I need to call him!’

Hikaru: ‘MooNs one and only superman with superhuman strength! And famous as well! Nome Tatsuhiro~!!’ 

Tatsuhiro (surprised): ‘Me? Geez, I have no choice I guess…..’ 

Haruhi: ‘A showdown between the two that have confidence in the muscles~!’

Yuduki: ‘The outcome of the battle is unknown…..!’

Miroku: ‘Nome-san…..’

Tatsuhiro (smiles): ‘Miroku. Come at me, if you’re serious.’ 

Miroku (smiles): ‘….. Yes, of course.’ 

Hikaru: ‘Okay, stand ready, you two~….. Ready…..’

Hikaru: ‘Go!!’

Miroku: ‘Guh…..!’

Tatsuhiro: ‘….. Hah, let’s do it…..!’

Miroku: ‘I won’t lose…..!’

Tatsuhiro: ‘Nghh…..!’

Hikaru: ‘Both are on par! It’s an even match~!!’ 

Haruhi: ‘Tono~! Don’t lose! Show him KiLLER KiNG’s youth!’ 

Yuduki: ‘Tono…..!’

Tsubasa: ‘Everyone! Uhm, the shooting is about toーー’

Tatsuhiro (startled): ‘Ngh!’

Miroku: ‘Ah.’

Yuduki: ‘….. Tono, he…..’

Haruhi: ‘He won…..!?’

Hikaru: ‘Ohh! B-PRO’s first arm wrestling king, Shingari Miroku~~!!’

Miroku: ‘No….. That just now is invalid. If Tsubasa’s voice wouldn’t have been there, Nome-san wouldn’t have let up.’ 

Miroku: ‘So much for winning…..’

Tatsuhiro (smiles): ‘Miroku. Defeat is defeat. Be good and let yourself be celebrated.’

Miroku: ‘….. Nome-san…..’

Miroku: ‘….. Yes. Please let us have a battle again some time!’

Tatsuhiro: ‘Sure.’

END

[sonicringnoise]

Have a Jak 3 rant

Okay, I need to talk about Jak 3 and just...how absolutely janky the plot is. 

This rant is extremely long, so I put it under the cut.

First of all, I just want to point out, I love this game. I love it so much, and it’s my favorite out of the trilogy. But it just...it could have been so much better, guh.

And I know that development of this game was rushed (hell, it only came out a year after Jak 2), but I’m still going to rant about it!

It starts out just fine, with the Wasteland and Spargus and the arena, but it gets so weird as it goes on. Just...really disjointed.

We never really find out why Jak keeps going after eco crystals. Seriously, he gets a dark eco crystal from the Dark Maker at the beginning of the game, a light eco crystal from Seem, and just...starts collecting them, for some reason? Like, was he going to make a necklace? Start a rock collection? It’s never explained.

But whatever, it turns out those are needed later in the game to save the world. Fine.

After some Spargus-y missions, we then go...to the Monk Temple. You know, the temple. That’s never been mentioned before, and we didn’t even know existed, but we just went up there to explore and stuff and...

Like, how hard would it have been to have a line where Seem says, “We monks live far to the north, in a temple in the mountains.”

Then we’d at least have a reason to go there. But no, instead we just show up there and start poking around. 

This is one of my biggest issues with the game. In Jak 2, there are cutscenes that set up these missions, or even communications in gameplay that tell us where to go. In Jak 3, there’s just...a lot of that missing.

But, fine. Whatever, Jak has, like, ESPN or something.

At the volcano, Jak gets a dark power of invisibility, I guess. But only when he touches certain statues, and it’s only ever really used to get past a few traps and then never again.

Oddly enough, this was something that...made sense? I mean, invisibility is actually a power that dark eco has. Remember in Jak 2, there were metal heads who could turn invisible. 

But it’s never used! And that complaint holds true for almost every power Jak gets. You basically use the powers when a prompt comes on screen to get through a one-time obstacle, and then never again. 

Then we find out Veger is talking to the monks, but no one ever really expands on why? Or how? Like, for a city hidden in the Wasteland and forgotten, a lot of fucking people know it exists! 

Speaking of which...

We meet Ashelin in the desert and she begs us to come back to Haven City. Jak asks her how she knows Damas and she answers, “It doesn’t matter now.”

Excuse me??

It totally does matter! If Ashelin knows Damas, it begs the question: does she know that Jak is his son? Does she know the Kid is his son? Does she even know about the Kid? 

I mean, Ashelin would almost have to know that Jak is Damas’ son: during this scene, she gives him his seal back and says, “Don’t you remember who you are?”

Whatever. Add that to the list of things that are never mentioned again.

Jak says he’s not coming back to the city, because he’s an angry teenager and he likes hanging around with his Sand Dad. 

This is immediately followed by Jak returning to Haven City.

We head to the Monk Temple, again for no reason. This time, we open up some doors and Pecker leads us back to the city. 

There is no explanation as to why Jak has a change of heart. I actually think that the scene where Damas and Jak had a heart-to-heart and he mentions his lost son should be here: it leads perfectly into Jak deciding that the Greater Good is more important than his feelings.

Instead, we get nothing. Nada. Zilch. Just Jak heading back to Haven City because it’s The Thing To Do.

We reach Haven City after a boss battle and meet with Samos and Keira. Samos sucks, but that’s in character. Keira has no lines in this scene, and only makes goofy faces. Seriously, look: 

That’s it, that’s the character. 

Like, what’s happening in this scene? What’s going on with you, Keira? Are you okay? Are you making bedroom eyes at Jak? Are you confused? Did you smoke some of your father’s funny herbs again?

(Again, I know Keira’s role got cut down a lot because they changed voice actors, but it’s...so...jarring for a normally prominent character to suddenly get shoved into the background.)

We do some missions for Torn and eventually find out that Erol is the bad guy. Never explained how Erol survived slamming his Zoomer into dark eco and exploding in front of a huge crowd, but at this point, it’s whatever. 

We continue on our journey: Tess is a furry, Samos is useless, Torn is...Torn. 

We get a scene with Sig where Jak and Daxter ask him about Damas and his job as a spy and all that stuff. Fine, well and good, except the following exchange happens:

Jak: You’re playing with people’s lives!

Sig: Why not? They played with mine.

I’m sorry??

There’s a story there, and I’d like to know! What the hell happened to Sig? Why is nothing ever explained??!!

We get some Dadmas feelings, then we head over to have a chat with Kleiver. And this happens:

Jak: Kleiver, I need to find some very special Precursor artifacts, but I’m running out of time.

...Are you?? Has that been established?

So, in one of the previous missions, Samos mentions over the communicator (during gameplay, not in a cutscene) that to activate some ruins in Haven Forest, you’ll need some artifacts. But all he says is this:

Samos: Mar wrote that there was some ancient ruins to the west that were activated by five special artifacts and revealed wondrous truths. I'll see what I can find out.

That’s it! There’s never a cutscene where Samos says you need to find the Holo Cube, the Quantum Reflector, the Beam Generator, the Prism, and...by the way, there is no 5th artifact. Samos, you’re full of shit.

(Unless the Eco Sphere you get from Seem towards the end counts, but it’s very unclear.)

And, by the way, I had to Google those artifact names. The artifacts are never actually named until you acquired them in-game. Jak just finds random artifacts and is like, “Welp, this’ll do it! How convenient!”

Sigh.

Once we get all these artifacts no one told us about, we’re told to go take a cab down to the center of the earth. We don’t do that, and instead blow some shit up to visit our friends in person again. 

(Quarantine mood, really.)

And, again, I can’t get over how much of a non-character Keira is. Seriously, she just stands there and claps like a 3-year-old.

And we also come to my own personal pet peeve: the scene where Ashelin strips Veger of his title.

I can’t with this shit.

The biggest issue I have with this game, from a story standpoint, is how quickly the inciting incident is resolved. Like, Jak being banished is the whole reason we have a Jak 3. The city turned against him; his anti-hero choices in Jak 2 led to him being blamed for the war in Jak 3. It made sense.

But Ashelin decides, 75% through the game, to just be like, “Naw, Veger, fuck you. Get out of my face, buh bye.”

It just pisses me off, because if Ashelin had that power, why didn’t she use it before Jak was banished??

And why is Jak okay with this? Why is Moody McAngerface not even a little annoyed that she didn’t care enough to do this when he was dying of heatstroke in the desert?

Uuuuuuggggghhhhh guys I don’t understand.

So we see Vin again, blow some more stuff up, fight Erol, and get some tentacle wings. Seem acts all nice to us and gives us a present we didn’t know we needed. More Dadmas ensues, we see the Dark Maker ship for some reason, blow even more stuff up.

Finally, it’s time to head to the catacombs. We get into some trouble with Dark Makers (even though there’s only, like, three of them), and Damas busts through the goddamn wall in a car.

No idea how he got here, considering the Wasteland appears to be an island, but whatever, it’s a badass scene.

Then, because Jak can’t have anything nice, they get hit and crash the car all over Damas’ legs.

Seriously, dude, I get that you might be dying from blood loss, but why are you coughing, your lungs are fine.

So Damas dies, Jak is his long-lost son, it’s very sad, and Veger you piece of shit.

I will forever be salty that Veger, who was an overall excellent villain, was sidelined for Erol of all people. Admittedly, Jak 2 did the same thing with Praxis, but Kor was a much better Big Bad than Erol.

Regardless, we then get the Worst Plot Twist Ever, when we find out the Precursors are ottsels.

k.

Moving on from that tragedy, we then get to fight Erol. The fight sucks, it’s boring and I hate driving the stupid Wasteland buggies.

And then the end comes, and my blood pressure skyrockets. Somewhere, my PCP senses a disturbance.

The Precursors being ottsels is stupid, but Jak telling them to call him “Mar” is even stupider. First of all, Jak does not seem like the kind of person to get sentimental over his birth name. It’s weird, and I don’t like it.

Second of all, the ottsel leader calls him Mar once, directly after that. And then never again. 

Seriously, 90 seconds after Jak says he wants to be known as Mar, this happens:

I’m sorry, what’s that?

Why would you add that line in about Jak wanting to be called by his birth name, and then ignore it a minute and half later??!!

It just infuriates me. There’s a lot of stuff in Jak 3 that does this: it’s touched on once, then it’s gone forever.

And let’s talk about Daxter’s wish. I actually find this particular decision - where Daxter chooses to wish for pants instead of being human again - totally believable. 

Despite how much Daxter is regarded as the comic relief idiot of the duo, he’s actually shown to be pretty sharp. He’s definitely observant. And at this point, remember that he’s already seen the Precursors at work: he saw them turn Veger into an ottsel.

So Daxter probably realized that these guys were on some monkey paw, be-careful-what-you-wish-for bullshit and decided to wish for the most innocuous thing he could. Who knows what would happen if he actually asked to become human again? Might come out lookin’ like Samos.

And he’s right, by the way! Look at what those assholes did to my baby Tess. They could’ve just got her a size 6 pair of Levi’s and been like, “Here, boom, pants.” 

But nooo, they turned her into an ottsel, too, because why not why the fuck not nothing matters ahhhhHHHHHHHHH

...

...

Anyway, like I said, Jak 3 is my favorite in the series. It had such potential. It’s like a puzzle that’s missing pieces. I like it more for what it could have been, rather than the absolute mess it actually is.

[dajaregambler]

HeliosR - Akira Otori Card story “Hotdog Hero”

Translation of Akira Otori’s initial 3* card story from ‘Helios Rising Heroes’.

Akira: Oi, Will. Let’s get some grub

Akira: Doing my best on patrol made me hungry as hell. Eating is important if ya wanna become the strongest hero

Akira: And obviously we’ll be eating hotdogs!

Will: You really love hotdogs, don’t you

Akira: What’re you saying, I’m not the only one that loves ‘em. Hotdogs are THE soul food of New Million

Akira: Especially in Red South, there’s tons of places that sell them here

Akira: ...Alright. We’ll be going to my number one hotdog place “Super Dogs” for lunch

Will: Aah, is it that one stall in Million Park?

Akira: Yup yup. I’ve been dropping by here for a long time now, so I’m familiar with that stall’s old man. Every now and then he gives me toppings as a freebie

Akira: The hotdogs from there are minced, big sausages that fill you up pretty damn good. Add some strong ketchup on it and it’s a perfect match

Akira: Aaah, just thinking about it is making my tummy rumble. Awright, let’s go!

-

Akira: Owah, that’s a giant ass line!?

Will: It is lunchtime, the weather’s nice too so makes sense as to why there are many customers. Though, by the looks of this waiting line we’ll have to wait for more than 40 minutes

Akira: Grr…. I’m starving, there’s no way I can endure it for that long...

Akira: Okay, we’ll go somewhere else

-

Akira: Gwah, crowded here too!?

Akira: It is true that the hotdogs here are delicious and it’s well known but...

Will: It’s going to take time no matter what, should we get something else for today?

Akira: All of this is making me want to eat hotdogs even more! We’re gonna go to the next one, come on!

Will: ….I’m starving too though

-

Akira: Guh, jam-packed again or what!? Is it some kinda day of hotdogs today!?

Will: Akira, I’m going to grab a crêpe from there♪

Akira: Oi, Will……!

Akira: Damnit, how dare he get tempted by sweets….

Akira: (With this line here it’ll more than 30 mins here too. Guess I’ll just get in… No, I wanna eat as soon as possible)

Will: I’m back♪ The crêpe shop wasn’t crowded

Will: Akira, you have to be hungry too, how about giving up on hotdogs for today and opting for something else?

Akira: Uuuh… I wanna eat hotdogs though

Will: Sigh, he’s upset now

Akira: There’s tons of hotdog places in South. There’s definitely gotta be one that’s not crowded...

Akira: Ooh, ain’t there that!

Will: Wai- Akira!

-

Akira: Heeh, if it ain’t a mobile truck from Super Dogs. How lucky to end up tasting what I wanted to in the first place♪

Akira: At last I can eat. ...gimme one hotdog!

Little boy: ~♪

Will: Ah, look at that, Akira. That boy also has a bag from Super Dogs. Fufu, he’s matching with you

Akira: Child or adult, everyone loves ‘em. That’s what hotdogs are all about.

Akira: Awright, time to dig i-...

Little boy: Ah, ouch! Uuh, uuuuuu...

Will: Hey, is everything okay!? You tripped… does it hurt?

Little boy: I’m ok… But, I dropped my hotdog…

Will: Aah… Then, we’ll get a new…

Will: Wha- it’s gone!? Right, it drived off...

Little boy: Uuu, I wanna eat a hotdog…. I was looking forward to it too…

Akira: ……….

Akira: Oi, no need to cry anymore. I’ll give you mine instead

Little boy: Eh?

Will: Akira, are you sure?

Akira: I am a hero. I can’t just pretend nothing happened when someone’s crying

Little boy: Onii-chan, you’re a hero?

Akira: Yup. Otori Akira! A hero from South Sector that’ll be a major hero before you know it!

Akira: C’mon, take it

Little boy: Yaaay! Hero-oniichan, thank you!

Will: I’m happy to see that boy cheered up. Akira, you did a great job

Akira: Don’t treat me like some kid, just did what one gotta do

Will: Yes, yes…. but you’re still hungry, right? Want to have some of my crepe?

Akira: Hell no. That thing has way too much cream on it, it’ll be disgustingly sweet

Akira: (Today’s an unlucky hotdog day, huh. Guess I gotta give up and eat something else)

-

Akira: (Came here to get some hotdogs as revenge for yesterday…)

Akira: Ooh, ain’t crowded today♪ Ol’ man, gimme a hotdog!

Stall owner: If it ain’t Akira! Thanks a bunch for yesterday!

Akira: Yesterday? What’re you talking about? I didn’t drop by yesterday due how crowded it was...

Little boy: Ah, it’s that hotdog hero!

Akira: Hold on, aren’t you that squirt from yesterday!? Also, hotdog hero…?

-

Will: Akira, did you buy that many now?

Akira: The ol’ man from Super Dogs gave ‘em to me

Akira: That boy from yesterday who got my hotdog is his son apparently

Akira: He heard from his song that a hero that loves hotdog had given his hotdog…. something like that 

Will: Ahaha, it's easy to understand that it’s about you, Akira. Come to think of him, you did also say your name

Akira: Yep, and with that he wanted to show his appreciation, and gave me a bunch of hotdogs. And a share of some other things on top of it

Akira: Well, I’m hungry from patrolling, so pretty lucky I got this much. Will, want a bite too?

Will: I’m good, these are yours after all

Will: But this makes sense.….. Wonder if this is what they mean when they say “Compassion is not for other people's benefit.”

Akira: Whadda hell’s that?

Akira: Besides, what is a “hotdog hero”... I wanna be called a superhero, not that

Will: Fufu, being hotdog hero is what fits you the most right now, Akira

Akira: Tch, no way...

[unsettledink]

It’ll Last Longer - Fluffuary Day 4

Prompt: Pictures

Word count: 880

Summary: Peter doesn't know why people seem to think Rhodey is the responsible one.

After all, the pictures are his idea.

*

Peter doesn’t know why people seem to think Rhodey is the responsible one, the level headed one. It’s kind of amazing how Rhodey’s managed to fool people into thinking he’s not nearly as reckless as Tony. 

After all, he sends the first picture. Just a quick, slightly blurry snap of Tony’s face, half squashed against the pillow, eyes closed. 

Rhodey: Rare sighting of a genius at rest. Will update on this momentous event.

And then, a few minutes later, two more pictures, in rapid succession: the first of Tony, in the same position, eyes cracked open. The second, much blurrier, with barely half of Tony’s face in frame, obviously moving.

Rhodey: False alert. It was a ruse! 

Rhodey: Mistakes were made send he

By the time Peter gets  there, it’s devolved into something akin to a pillow fight and no one was sleeping. 

Peter fires the next shot with a selfie of himself kissing Tony’s cheek, Tony in the middle of laughing at him and not even aware of the phone.

Peter: Talking about you

Rhodey: If he’s laughing about it nothing he’s saying is true.

Peter: You know he said the same thing to me about you

Rhodey: Yeah well who’s the msot honest one here?

Peter: …

Peter: Uh, me

Rhodey: ...fuck

And it’s Rhodey who ups the stakes. Rhodey who sends a picture of Tony curled up in bed on his side, maybe asleep (probably not) and completely naked. Guh.

Rhodey: I took your advice

Peter: Uh what advice was that

Peter: You know when they say send nudes it generally means of yourself

Peter: Not that I’m complaining

Rhodey: What you said about finding more creative ways to wear him out

Rhodey: Yeah I bet you’re not complaining

Peter: I totally don’t remember saying that but sure

Peter: Do I even want to know?

The answer he gets isn’t in words. It’s another picture of Tony, flopped over onto his stomach. Low angled, the full length of his body, from the come on his ass to the smirk on his face where he’s looking over his shoulder.

Peter: Holy shit

Peter: I give good advice

He can’t let Rhodey win, of course.

The pictures fly between them fast and furious. Tony seems mostly amused by it all. He’s perfectly willing to play along with them both for maximum effect, probably because he seems like how they’re showing him off. And likes the end results. 

Peter thinks his favorite entry is the one of Tony lying on the bed, clearly post sex; flushed, hickeys on his neck and come on his chin, lips swollen red and grinning, eyes crinkled at the corners. It also just happens to catch Rhodey right as he’s sitting down for some very important meeting. 

Whoops. 

Rhodey gets him back, sending a picture the minute he knows Peter’s going to be leaving the lecture hall. Nearly makes him drop his phone and wow, it would have been awkward if someone picked it up with that still onscreen. That being a picture of Tony’s torso, of his dick hard and dark and a gold ring around the base.

Rhodey: can’t stick around late enough to say bye, but i left you a present

Rhodey: don’t take too long. He’s trying to be good but it’s already been a while

Peter: i will be there in SECONDS

Peter: don’t tell him. that doesn’t mean he’ll get to come any time soon

Rhodey: keep him distracted for me

Peter tries. Rhodey’s gone for a week that time, and Peter doesn’t give him a chance to forget about them for a second. Tony gets in on it even; snags Peter’s phone at one point and sends Rhodey a selfie while Peter’s fucking him, curled behind Tony with a hand in his hair, yanking his head back so Tony’s staring that the camera through almost closed eyes, Peter’s face buried in the crook of his neck. 

Rhodey: that’s the happiest I’ve seen him when I have to be gone like this

Rhodey: you’re good for us, Pete

Peter’s still not completely sure how to respond to things like that, things that make it seem like this could be about a lot more than sex. That maybe they might want to keep him around for a while. 

It’s not that he doesn’t believe it— he just doesn’t know why. The two of them work together so well already. Why add him in for real?

He’s not going to ask.

The last day Rhodey’s gone, when he should already be on his way back, Peter sends a pic: Tony’s ass—his perfect, hot, oh so grabbable ass—with Peter’s hand holding him open for the best possible view of his dick deep inside it.

Peter: I’m keeping him ready 

Peter: hurry home

Peter: we miss you

Rhodey: Fuck

Rhodey: Tell Tony he needs to to make my suit faster

He knows Tony will leap at the opportunity, will somehow find a way even though he’s already upgraded both their suits beyond reason. Peter’ll tell him. 

Later, though. Because right now, Tony’s already too cock drunk to answer anything, and it’s going to be a while before his brain is working again. 

Good thing Tony’s got them to take care of him.

*

AO3