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hantenguclonesimp-minuszoha · 6 months

Note

hantengu (+plus all of his clones) reaction to their wife giving them their first ever kiss on the lips. This would probably take place like at the beginning of their marriage. Also if you don’t feel comfortable with making wife reader kiss Zohakuten on the lips, you could do like his nose or the area above his lips. Thank you! :))

𝓐 𝓚𝓲𝓼𝓼 𝓕𝓸𝓻 𝓖𝓸𝓸𝓭 𝓛𝓾𝓬𝓴.

Hantengu x Fem!Reader Kissing HCs

Synopsis: The Upper Rank 4's now wife couldn't resist kissing her sweet husband just to see his reaction, or in her case, her sweet husbands.

Warnings: A bit of NSFW elements on Sekido's, Karaku's and Urogi's parts, otherwise it's just a whole lot of sweetness \(>v<)/

Divider credits:

Saradika's roses, golden railing and that weird green thing

Purples sparkles and paint roll splodge thing

Water like waves

Note: OMG THIS IS SUCH A CUTE IDEA!!! I LOVE IT!!!! ALL OF YOU HAVE THE BEST IDEAS!! (I wrote this really quickly cuz the smut is taking WAY too long for even me so have at it in the meantime, anyways, enjoy the food ^3^) + please forgive me if this isn't too great, this is my first time doing HCs. I couldn't really picture a full on one-shot with this so I turned them to HCs, it's also a great way for me to try it out for the first time (° 3 °) + did not proofread (I never do)

The mere fact that the Upper Moon Four out of all the six (eight) upper moons actually got married, much less got into a relationship and somehow managed to keep it is a shock in itself for not only the other moons but for Muzan himself. If anything, he thought it'd all end in just a few days, but no, his fourth strongest demon is married now. Oh well, he could care less for any of his employees. As long as they did as they were told, they were free to do as they wish.

As for the newlyweds, they were perfect and happy. The wife's family was very happy for the pair, though, they had been under the impression that it was just one man and not a demon that could split into younger versions of himself. That would've been quite the scandal. Now, the day – or in this case, night – after the wedding, they are all simply relaxing in their shared home after having returned from a mission.

𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐮

— The first thing this little demon does is rush to his wife, sobbing and bawling his eyes out about the fact that demon slayers tried to kill him, claiming that he "can do no wrong" or that he's being "wrongly accused of crimes". It's the same old thing and even then, she listens to every word he has to say as he shivers in her palm.

— Is quite surprised to say the least. He didn't expect the soft lips of his perfect wife to press against his small head but that doesn't mean it wasn't welcomed, if anything he cried more, though this time, not about the fact that he was hunted by demon slayers. Well, maybe that too, but that was only so his wife could pity him more and give him more kisses.

"T-They were all s-so awful! Their b-blades against my n-n-neck was so a-agonising!! It scared me!" He sobbed while hugging her thumb, wiping his tears and snot on the sleeve of his kimono as he continued his complaints. "Oh, my poor husband. Maybe some kisses will make you feel better." She said as she places a multitude of soft pecks on not only his head but also his small body. The small demon could not resist the feeling of his wife's lips against him and thus moved closer so more of his body could gain the sensation of her lips pressing against it.

— Is far too shy (scared) to ask for kisses. Instead, he uses his manipulation tactics to get her to pity him and so she could kiss him. A little bit of guilt here and there but it is all worth it for a few of his wife's kisses.

— Is the one who enjoys getting kissed by his wife the most after Aizetsu and surprisingly enough is very greedy for them to the point where he forgets being shy and simply begs for her to kiss him.

"P-Please kiss me again, d-dear! Just o-one more time!" He pleaded, almost on the verge of crying again at the thought of his wife's show of affection stopping. She chuckles softly at his desperacy for her kisses and is even a little bit surprised at how much he craves them. Usually he's busy cowering in a corner or something. "Of course, my love. I'll give you all the kisses you want." She cooed before her lips pressed themselves against his cheeks.

— Gets extremely flustered if it's on the lips. He'll begin to stutter and perhaps even forget how to speak as his face flushes a bright red despite his still heart not really giving a proper blood flow.

— Must always kiss him whenever he leaves for a mission or in general, or if you go to bed or anywhere else really and it must be on the lips, he will settle for nothing less. And I mean nothing less.

— Will kiss you softly in your sleep if he returns from a mission and you're already lights out before cuddling up beside you.

— Favourite places to kiss you are your lips, forehead and cheeks, how cute.

𝐒𝐞𝐤𝐢𝐝𝐨

— Sekido is probably at the patio rubbing his temples, trying to get a moment of silence and peace all to himself after having dealt with his annoying younger selves. Their tomfoolery and clown-like behaviour makes him want to absorb them so they shut up, especially Karaku who doesn't know when to keep his trap shut.

— The tension in his head is instantly relieved at the mere sound of his wife. He had heard her approaching from a few rooms away and is pleased with her presence before standing up to give her a firm hug and sighing heavily to begin his complaining about the other clones.

— Completely caught off guard and stunned to silence when he suddenly feels his wife's lips against his face, only blinking in pleasant surprise as his crimson eyes stare into hers. He never knew how much he liked her kisses until now.

"They are such a pain to manage and it makes want to rip them all to shreds so they could shut their traps for once!" He spat angrily while shaking his head in annoyance. The urge to punch something grew ever so stronger as he then got up to grab and throw something before he was interrupted by the feeling of soft lips on his jawline. "Don't break stuff, Sekido, those are expensive." Her soothing voice rang out in the large space, the soft sound waves of her voice reaching his hypersensitive pointed ears and instantly calming his extreme rage.

— Will immediately ask for more kisses and is not ashamed about it, though that won't encourage him to openly ask infront of the others, especially not Karaku.

— Surprisingly enough, he gets a bit hot and bothered at just your kisses alone and even moreso when on the lips. Poor clone is constantly stressed out that any outlet of relief already gets him so worked up. Doesn't mean it's unattractive, if you know what I mean 👀

"Again." He huffs softly, rough hands grabbing onto her waist and pulling her to his frame before his lips connect to hers. Immediately, his tongue fights its way through her mouth, intertwining with hers and venturing as deep as it could. His hands hold onto her waist firmly before one of his them slips just below her buttock and groped it firmly, the other slipping upwards and cupping her breast.

— He was beginning to enjoy himself before his advances were stopped by you with the excuse that the others would hear and would also want to join, much to his disappointment and irritation.

— Nevertheless, he's well-aware that you're right. While he doesn't mind sharing you with the others in the slightest, he'd like to have you alone for a little while due to how worked up he is.

— Will give you kisses should you go anywhere that's not near them and may even follow you just ensure your safety and expect the same when he's going on missions.

— Favourite places to kiss are neck, lips and jawline.

𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐤𝐮

— At this point, she's had the idea to go around and kiss the other clones to see how they'd react and she had a fair idea of what Karaku's reaction would be. Karaku, who was in the kitchen doing God knows what, was surprised when his wife suddenly approached him and kissed him on the lips.

— I mean, who said he's complaining? If anything, he can put aside time he had made to play fight with Urogi for a few kisses and perhaps more from his wife (⁠ ͡⁠°⁠ ͜⁠ʖ⁠ ͡⁠°⁠)

"Am I that irresistible to you, sweet thing?" He purred teasingly, face leaning in far beyond her personal space (not that she minds). "Perhaps." She teased back before backing away her head. "Oh no, no, stay a little. I'd like to have some more little kisses from my little wife!" Karaku wasn't going to let her get away that easily, no way. The demon grabbed her hips and pulled her closer before kissing her neck and jawline, slowly trailing his lips upwards towards her lips.

— Instantly got handsy with you (no surprise there), hands busy down there groping your asscheeks as if they were some stress toys while he's busy making out with you. Almost seemed like he wanted to lift you up...

— His mouth was definitely everywhere, especially near your cleavage. The guy has a weird obsession with your boobs and not just in the horny way.

— Was definitely disappointed when you pulled away and said you still have the other clones to attend to but didn't fuss about it. He's just happy he got to get a few grabs on his wife here and there and managed to get a make out session with her, even if short.

"Alright, alright, fine. But were definitely continuing this when you're done." Karaku says before giving her rear a slap and disappearing into the living room as she stood there chuckling at his behaviour. She expected nothing less from the pleasure demon.

— Will often try to engage a make out session with you whether or not the others are present and not giving a rat's ass about what they may think, do, or say as long as he got to taste your lips.

— Favourite places to kiss are definitely cleavage/boobs and neck. He's that guy.

𝐀𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐭𝐬𝐮

— Shocked but gladly welcomed it as his face gained a light red colour before he kissed back harder. Instantly went soft and (politely) asked for more kisses, also wanting to feel his head be held in her delicate hands.

— Immediately begins to complain about Sekido having yelled at him too much and that he was following orders. Out of each clone so far, Aizetsu appeared the most stressed and frustrated and the only way he could out that was through crying since he didn't really possess any other emotional receptors other than sorrow.

"He always yells so much, it hurts my ears and head... Even when I do what I'm told he still yells." The now crying demon sniffles softly into the crook of her neck. She pat his back softly as she listened to him vent while also scolding Sekido in her head at his brash behaviour. "Please kiss me, darling... Your love always makes me feel better." Even if he couldn't feel the emotion love itself, he loved it when his wife would express her love for him no matter what way that may be (pause).

— The longer this goes on, the sappier he gets as he constantly asks for words of affirmation and kisses while snuggling you more. While he prefers kisses on his forehead and cheek, he isn't too shy to kiss back on the lips and they're not just the soft once you see in those love story movies.

— The man (demon) can kiss just as well as the others, I mean for goodness' sake, they're the same person but at different ages of their shared life (even though that's barely noticeable). Aizetsu can start a whole make out session if he so wished with the way his tongue was dancing with yours right now, but all he wants right now is comfort from the frustration his second oldest counterpart had caused (Urami is the oldest, dumb dumb excluding Hantengu).

— Like Hantengu, he's a sucker for kisses. Please kiss this man anywhere (pause) because he loves it. He'll kiss you too in return, can't only take without giving something in return for his lovely wife, now can he?

— He comes to you when he's sadder than usual for kisses and snuggles so he can calm down or in case the others are too loud.

— Favourite places to kiss are corner of your lip, nose and temple

𝐔𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐢

— Oh boy, this one is already so hyperactive and it only gets worse when he gets attention from his wife, so imagine how giggly and jumpy he was when he suddenly felt her lips connect to his. He could almost ascend to the heavens even though that's not where he's ever going.

— Will demand for more because it makes him happy and according to him, he gets "a pleasant feeling" in his chest that he can't get enough of.

— Will instantly grab hold of her to deepen the kiss, so much so that he forgets she needs to breathe (oopsie). He does apologise for forgetting so there's a plus.

"You taste exquisite, songbird. I could kiss those lips forever and not get tired from it." Said the lively harpy clone before once again going in for a deep and passionate kiss while being mindful of his talons and wrapping his wings around her.

— Guaranteed privacy screen with his wings when your kissing him. It reminds him of how you belong to nobody else but him, that you love only him (and the clones) and have eyes for nobody else. It's also a way of asserting his dominance.

— Absolutely LOVES it when you put your hands on his chest, it fuels his already inflated ego since he's the clone who shows off the most ("How do you like my talons?" ahh). Not only does he like to gloat about his talons and their strength, but he also LOVES to show off his body to you and boast about how good he looks (for you).

— Can't have Urogi headcanons without mentioning his wings now, can I? Since – according to actual research – caressing a bird's wings can get them aroused/sexually frustrated (if you don't do anything else), Urogi loves it when you place small kisses on his wings. It makes him feel oh so good. Sometimes he forgets he can't just grab you randomly and make love to you right then and there. Oh well, a kiss will do for now.

"Kiss my wings, it feels good." Urogi commands rather bluntly as he flared his wings out for her, caressing her face gently to coax her into kissing them. She chuckled softly before doing what was requested from her. She was quite surprised to hear a soft, barely audible moan from Urogi before realising why he wanted her to kiss his wings. That gives her ideas for... future playtime.

— Gets embarrassed when you hear him moan and uses the excuse that you must've heard wrong or teases you about wanting him (I sure do 😝). He will never admit that his wings do more than just get him to moan.

— Favourite places to kiss are ears, collarbone, forehead and lips.

𝐙𝐨𝐡𝐚𝐤𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐧

Now, hear me out. While I among many other people see Zohakuten as a child, I've got a more complicated view on it. I see Zohakuten as an adult child if that makes sense. I am comfortable with writing him being married to an adult woman because essentially, he is still an adult, like he has the mental age of an 87 year old man. I can write stuff like kissing and even minor spicy stuff for him but that extends only so far (i.e: him purposely shoving his face into Y/N's breasts like Karaku just to get attention or just very slight groping). I will not go any further than that point. No exceptions. He still physically appears as a child.

— Now, this is a little different. After everyone had calmed down and the wife was wandering elsewhere, they all had gotten the sudden strong urge to fuse. They all realised that Zohakuten wants to have a turn and who could blame him? They just got married and not to mention he rarely ever reveals himself.

— Imagine her surprise when she hears a deep voice – somewhere in the range of Sekido's voice – calling out to her "Woman." and turning around to see a the youngest clone standing there with his arms behind his back.

— Of course, like a good husband, he asked how she fared while he was out on a mission and the usual before respectfully asking for a kiss, however, there was a very faint hint of envy present. She knew he was a tad bit envious of his older counterparts being able to gain her affection at any time of the day or night while he couldn't so of course she couldn't resist him.

"I've missed you..." He mumbles softly before wrapping his arms around his precious wife, reveling the feeling of getting to hold her in his arms even if only for a moment. "I've missed you more, my darling." She coos in return before cupping his small face and placing a soft kiss on his lips. Zohakuten in turn intensified the kiss, his fangs grazing her lower lip as he did so and arms tightening around her waist.

— Believe it or not, this little fella is a certified gentleman. Ignoring what he said to the Love Hashira (💀), this boy is the most gentlemanly after Urami. He's the type to hold your hand like those princes with their princesses to assist you when walking down the stairs.

— I mean, everytime he reveals himself, he greets you with a small bow and a kiss to the back of your palm, idk what more you could want from this little cutie.

— Although, he can be quite vulgar, he tones it down a massive amount when he's around you and is less scornful thanks to the calming effect your presence has on him.

— Do not he surprised when he's simply staring at you with a harsh look as if you've just murdered his main body, that's just him suppressing the urge to kiss you.

"Uhm, d-dear?" The wife calls softly to Zohakuten who's been doing nothing but stare at her with the harshest glare she's ever seen him stare at her with. Zohakuten snaps out of his daze as his expression softens before he hums inquistively. "You've been staring at me like I've just sided with the demon slayers. Is everything, okay?" His eyes then widen slightly before he sighs and shakes his head. "Oh... no. I just simply wish to kiss you, that is all." Her cheeks gained a red tint after that surprisingly blunt and honest confession as she then smiles. "Oh, well... Who am I to say no?"

— Is very honest about what he wants if he's caught. Unlike the other clones – excluding Urami – and the main body, who try to hide what they want, Zohakuten is not shy to admit that he wants your lips against his and he will say that with the straightest face.

— Loves it when you kiss his forehead, it makes him feel all soft inside and he doesn't know why or how.

— Favourite places to kiss are hands, temple and lips.

𝐔𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐢

— His presence alone surprised her even more than Zohakuten, especially when he walked out of the room that Hantengu was in. Urami reveals himself every once in a blue moon due to the fact that he simply wishes not to deal with his younger selves' bickering and monkey business. However, seeing as all the others gained a bit of affection from their wife and that they're newlyweds, he too wished to spend some time with his wife.

— Much like Zohakuten, he's very gentlemanly when it comes to asking for affection from his wife. He respectfully asked if he could hold her and lift her up to his level so he could kiss her properly.

— Hear me out. The best kisser after Karaku. I don't know, he just looks like he has so much experience with women (which he kinda does 😒), like look how massive he is 😳.

She was surprised when a rather large hand gently grabbed her waist to turn her around. "Oh! Hello you!" She greeted happily as she looked up at her massive husband before hugging his legs. He was surprised but allowed it and even picked her up into his arms before kissing her temple. "Yes. I figured why not also be present when the others are gaining your addicting love?" Quite a flirt.

— Urami is surprisingly chill when it comes to kissing yet also really passionate. Like think of just wanting a quick kiss from big ass hubby over there and he picks you up only to give the most leg-shaking casual kiss ever 😫.

— He's quite a flirt. You could almost say he's near Karaku's level just minus to pervert stares, touches and so on. Like, he's the type of "Formal old man dilf" type of flirt and knows how to use his words, he just doesn't do it often due to how rarely he's present and even if he is, he's just mostly quiet (most sane clone).

— Should he ever engage in flirting with you, be prepared to have a face painted red and him drinking blood as if it were tea as he sits there with his most neutral expression.

— I swear, his kisses make you think you're a virgin again with how well he does it. Like, he even uses his fangs to graze your lips and even your tongue softly while also (respectfully) touching you to the point where your legs aren't even jelly, they're straight up water (😏).

Urami felt the familiar grip of his wife's hands on his kimono and knew that he was once again doing a flawless job at making her melt like ice in his arms and he couldn't be more satisfied at that fact as his fangs gently graze her tongue that was being twirled with his as if it were a sort of waltz. "You're doing it again." The tall clone teased before resuming their kiss.

— Holds your face or hands when he's kissing you cuz he's just that guy.

— Favourite places to kiss are hands, neck and forehead.

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luffyvace · 4 months

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yandere hero & villain hxh au

to explain this is uhhh, idk how. But I’ll do my best!! Basically the main 4 & the hunter association are heroes and the villains are the phantom troupe!!

Request via dms by: @animerules898

I’m not sure if they wanted the whole hxh verse to argue over you or if they meant separately…. But I’m gonna do separately but the yandere feels like the heroes/villains wanna take you away 💃👍

Light! Yandere! Themes, nothing too crazy ofc!! (Part 2 here!!)

Gon 🎣 and Killua 🪀!!

Yeah I’m just gonna lump these two together bc they’d definitely help each other out‼️

but the thing is by lumping them together idk if they’d be sharing or separate, and since this is from reader pov there’ll be a 3rd party I say they don’t share, so I think I’ll go with sharing anyway

alright now that that’s settled!

first off they’ll protect you with they’re life, even if your strong

like actually, they’ll give they’re life to make you keep living, and the other must take care of you

or if they both do then make sure you live in for them!

but onto a light topic- they’re really only yandere when they feel jealous or when your in danger, otherwise they’re really playful and friendly ofc, so you likely won’t be scared of them unless they kidnap you or smth-

if your not they’ll be especially protective of you and at least one of them is near you at all times

things don’t get any safer after you become hunters so they’ll either teach you nen or as a last resort send you to live with aunt mito

(cuz killua family ain’t a option 🗿)

as long as it’s not too dangerous they’ll let you choose which one

also they feel disappointed in themselves after getting kidnapped by the phantom troupe, because it proves they aren’t strong enough to protect you from villains!

they’d better not hurt you or adult gon gonna be activated early! >:(

joking! 😜 but they do prioritize getting you free before them

they’re protectiveness becomes heightened after that incident and you’d have to fight not to go stay with aunt mito if you wanna keep going on adventures

but for the chimera ant arc they definitely don’t let you go

at least not to the king’s castle

they’ll find a strong ally to keep you safe in a safe place and when they get back you better be safe or else whoever was supposed to keep you safe isn’t going to be safe

LOL 🤪

Kurapika ⚔️📚

Kurapika would be one of the most protective ones seeing as though his half of the villains in this au are his enemies 😭

he won’t want you to go out a lot at all so I hope your not one for adventure, preferably an introvert too so you aren’t always super hype to see others and maybe a little skeptical like him

With your permission he’ll put a tracker on you just in case, he seems to be surrounded by kidnapping-🗿 so he can’t risk that happening to you

even more so if the troupe finds out about you, which he really really really hopes never happens even tho it just might

i don’t think it’ll be anyone’s fault if they do, unless Kurapika kidnapped you and you try to escape, then Shalnark likely just found out about you through research

And the chances of Chrollo not taking you hostage to use against Kurapika are almost 0%

if that does happen Kurapika will do whatever it take to get you back, even if it means telling the troupe they can have his life as long as they set you free (which Kurapika is smart so he’ll get his friends/Allies to help make sure they actually set you free in case it was a set up, he comes up with a very detailed plan and it’s success rate is pretty high since he’s managed to outsmart Chrollo before using the element of surprise. I’m not sure where he’ll send you but if Gon suggests Aunt Mito’s house he’ll likely take the opportunity seeing as though he has no family to send you to himself).

but if that doesn’t happen! (Thankfully) he will constantly move every few months and make to sure keep lots of locks and passcodes wherever you stay at the moment. He also has lots of security cameras, but don’t worry! He’s a good boyfriend aside from all the crazy stuff you have to go through from his wild life so he still gets you gifts and spends all his free time with you when he’s home! 💗

Leorio 🥼🩺

Being with Leorio will probably give you the most peaceful life at our everyone here 😭😭

seriously tho this dude’s just a doctor!

If you met in college he likely fell in love with you with for your intelligence/appearance and as he discovered more about you he found himself going down a rabbit whole of newfound affection for you

even if you didn’t meet in college he still falls pretty darn fast for you

your one of the few couple who can have a normal life and regular dates

all thanks to the fact that he basically has no ops LOL

he’s aware of villains and is grateful they don’t even know he exists 😭😅

that way he can give you a peaceful life and he has time to get stronger before taking on any seriously dangerous foes to protect you

but yeah! You adventures with gon, killua and kurapika can get pretty wild but your really on the outside looking in since none of gon, killua of Kurapika’s ops really come for you 😂

enjoy your happy life!♡ Ging 📜

this man has the power and disappearance abilities to protect you and hide you well from your enemies..

so your pretty much good!👌✅

Besides idk know many who has the guts to challenge this guy anyway

in fact idk anyone who even found this guy to be able to challenge him!

I mean besides gon but obviously he wasn’t looking for smoke 😭

when you meet gon you probably find him cute!

Ging probably told you about him but he seemed uncomfortable at the topic and didn’t wanna talk about it much cuz he isn’t exactly proud he up and left…

it doesn’t make him look good for you since your his s/o 😃

Ging will take you on any safer adventures he has but idk how often that’ll be

you probably have a pretty home tho! Somewhere safe too! Although I will say you probably have multiple houses with all the traveling he does, in fact you may own 3 in the most common places you go to but otherwise you just rent trusted, clean places to stay at.

It’s a plus that you don’t have to really worry about villains too!

ngl this is also a pretty peaceful life as long as you can deal with Ging’s antics (if he’s anything like Gon)

btw don’t worry he tells you when he’s going and where when he leaves, and always comes back, he cares about you a lot and doesn’t want you to stop loving him bc of a situation like his and Gon’s- 🗿😜

I have a feeling he didn’t kidnap, but courted you as well.

Go on, runaway (🤭) into the sunset together ☀️ I’m gonna make a part 2 for the phantom troupe as the villains bc I might run out of characters 😅💗

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chongoblog · 4 months

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Weird question, I know, but do you have any recommendations for getting into roguelikes? Or at least roguelites?

Great question! As far as the genre of roguelike/lite goes, there’s a pretty wide berth. I think it depends on what kind of experience you’re looking for.

I was gonna give a breakdown of lite vs like, but honestly I’m just gonna go down the list

Hades/Hades 2: Very good if you want to experience a story, tight gameplay, and be pretty sure that you’ll make your way to the end eventually without ragequitting. A lot of its charm comes in it being easier and focusing more on progressing story than Just Being A Wall like some of the other games on this list. Probably the best entry point to roguelikes in this whole list.

Spelunky/Spelunky 2: Remember when I mentioned a wall to throw yourself at? I haven’t played nearly as much Spelunky 2, but I can tell you that I have SOOOOO much time in the first Spelunky (hell I had a lot of time in it back when it was freeware. Now THAT was an exciting time). It’s very very difficult and unforgiving. But it’s a blast once you figure out the tricks.

Slay the Spire: THE deckbuilder roguelike. A ton of roguelikes nowadays have deckbuilder elements and I feel like a lot of it comes from this game. Can’t recommend it enough. If you’re looking for other deckbuilder roguelikes, you can try Monster Train or Balatro (warning this one is crack if you like Number Go Up)

FTL Faster Than Light: You know Star Trek? Imagine if you were a ship captain and you were in control of all the ship functions and crew members. And also everything wanted you dead. And uh oh half your crew is dead. Oh god the O2 chamber is on fire. Another one of those “Throw Yourself At A Wall” type games. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever completed a run myself, but it’s a wonderful experience every time I pick it up

Skul: Definitely one of my favorites in recent memory. A fun action platformer where you get to be a lil skeleton dude, what more could you ask for? Very similar to Dead Cells, which I’ve also played, but I think I like Skul a good bit better (DC is very good though!!!)

Dicey Dungeons: Made by the same guy who did VVVVVV, Dicey Dungeons is a very fun take on the genre, basing it around dice, and allowing for a lot of creative playstyles around the mechanic.

Binding of Isaac: I feel like this one needs no introduction, but in case it does, BoI takes most of its inspiration from the original Legend of Zelda. I have a few issues with it myself which is why I don’t play it nearly as much as I used to (mostly due to it having soooooooo much stuff that trying to remember everything is a hassle, kinda like my issue with TF2 unfortunately) but it’s beloved for a reason so it might just end up being up your alley

Other games I know about but haven’t played much of, so I can’t say much are Streets of Rogue, Risk of Rain 2, Rogue Legacy (I did play a lot back in the day but never got far), Noita, Into the Breach, Darkest Dungeon, and Crypt of the Necrodancer

If anyone else has any recommendations or if you second any of these recs, feel free to put em in the replies

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timbrhead · 2 months

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metanoia. | pt 00 - reincarnated, i was stargazin‘

𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨:

>> welcome, my name is 𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚, and i‘ll be your scriptwriter (^‿^✿). my story will be kind of an choose-your-own-adventure story with a poll at the end of every part, where you can vote how the story continues.

This will be honkai star rail x f!reader story with these elements: reincarnation, slow burn, i gave reader a proper personality (sry, not much customisation there), does not follow the original storyline

>>> next part

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 (this is important);

>> this part includes: descriptions of a panic attack

‚ the sky…was it always so vibrantly blue? ‘

that was the first thing you asked yourself as your eyes fluttered open. it was silent, unusually so, although you couldn’t really compare it to anything else, your mind drew a blank. was your life always this quiet? so calm? you don‘t think so, judging from the fact that you could feel your muscles visibly relaxing from the, possibly most welcome silence, a content, subconscious sigh slipping from your lips as you threatened to doze off again.

it was weird, it was like you were in sort of a trance, your mind carefully balancing the border of reality and the vast dreamscape, as if it had just been born, materialised. you had a feeling that you knew absolutely nothing, even though you knew there was something in your mind reminding you, telling you that you aren’t there, where you are supposed to be.

…

you didn’t know how much time passed till your mind finally broke out of it, the different synapses in your brain finally buzzing in a steady rhythm, allowing you to refocus your eyes, scanning the area around you.

you…were sitting. leaning on a metal crate. are crates made out of metal? you didn’t know. or did you? you shook your head. unimportant. you looked down at your body.

nothing unusual about that as well. you still looked healthy at least, although you couldn’t help an uncomfortable sensation bubbling up from your very core, even if you don’t know how to describe that feeling yet. you had dark blue shorts on, and a shirt draped over your upper body in the same color. no shoes, for some reason. you pressed your lips together in a slight frown at that. how odd. you continued to look around, looking over the endless walls of crates, creating a twisted maze out of them. You could feel an uncomfortable knot in your stomach forming, wondering how you would find back home in the condition you are in, freshly conscious and confused.

home…did you have one? you couldn’t remember. you hoped so. you looked down at your feet, a silent sense of dread creeping up at the realisation how utterly clueless you were. the more aware you became, the more questions emerged. you heard of amnesia before, although you never heard of a case this extreme. you could only remember your name, mei lian. suddenly, a sharp pain courses through your brain. you stop.

…no.

mei lian wasn’t your name. you-no, that you knew for sure, where did that name even come from? and what was your name? as you pondered, the sound of steps rang into your ears. Immediately, you perked up. was it a person?

you took a deep breath, putting your hands on the floor, preparing to push yourself off from the ground on your feet. you never tried it before, so you hoped it worked. the first few tries resulted in an absolute flop. you almost wanted to laugh at yourself as you plopped down on the ground again after the nth time. it reminded you of the protagonist from kill bill, where she tried really hard to wiggle her little toe after breaking out of the hospital. the fact that you remembered something as unsignificant as that and not your government name bewildered you. did you even watch the movie? frustration bubbled up in your chest, resulting in a wave of strength surging through you, directly to your arms.

you let out a grunt when you finally managed to stand up, your muscles screaming at you from being strained again. god, just what did you do before that?

forget that. you needed to get back…home.

you were still a bit wobbly on your feet, legs shaking like a newborn fawn, but you eventually steadied yourself by leaning against crates, taking one step at a time. that was the winning strategy. one step at a time. easy. you could feel your steps getting more and more stable, the soft sound of your bare feet slowly gaining a steady rhythm, walking towards the other pair of steps you heard. you tried to call out, but you also realised that your mouth is incredibly dry, with a weird, copper like taste in your mouth as you swallowed a bit of what little saliva you had left.

you shook your head. now was not the time to think about the taste of your mouth. you could hear the footsteps getting louder, and it seemed like you two would come across each other. thank the lord. you could feel your heart pounding as anxiety bubbled up inside of you, a sense of fear tightly squeezing your beating heart. you don‘t know what kind of people you come across in a place like this, after all.

and then, as you turned a corner, you saw him.

the first thing you noticed was his long, blonde hair. it looked silky and smooth, and you could feel yourself growing envious of the shine they had under the sun (?). the color reminded you of pure sunshine, and watching it flow in the soft wind was utterly mesmerising. green eyes locked with yours, slightly widening at your sight. You couldn’t blame him, you wouldn’t expect to find a random woman in a port (was it a port?) either.

you have never seen vibrant eyes like that before (at least you think so). of course, you knew that people with green eyes exist, you were aware of that, but you think that this was the first time you’ve seen green eyes that were so.. saturated. if he wasn’t standing before you in the flesh, you would probably think that he was a painting, a drawing, a character straight from a fantasy novel. upon further inspection, you could even see little specks of gold weaved into the sea of lush green, making him all the more unique in your eyes.

he was tall, clothed in unique clothing that you haven’t seen before (at least you think you haven’t seen it). he wore a black turtleneck under a white coat, embellished with golden accents, the buttons and brooches designed with so much intricacy and creativity that he almost looked like a professional cosplayer.

you could see him take a step towards you, his eyebrows scrunching up in confusion.

„ …miss, what are you doing here? are you..a worker, by any chance? “

the man spoke, waking you up from your daydream. his voice was awfully soothing. but you forced yourself to go back to what he said. a worker…were you one? did you have a job around here? that would explain why you woke up here, of all places, at least. were you ambushed while working? mugged? you swallowed, gathering your voice to communicate. you tried to think back on what happened, following the path of memory lane to maybe, just maybe, find out your origins. but even as you tried your hardest, there was only a blank canvas to look back on.

suddenly, a pulsing pain shot straight to your brain as you tried to remember. your eyes widen, the stinging sensation still ringing in your ears. what…what was happening?

you could feel your sight growing hazy as the now concerned calls from the man grew more and more muffled, even though you weren’t distancing yourself from him. your mind was drowning in a storm of endless questions, your eyes beginning to tear up as you realised something even more terrifying- it wasn’t just that you didn’t know where you were- you didn’t know who you were either. you had the feeling that your brain was bust wide open, all these little bits and pieces of random information swirling around in a wild tornado, while you were directly in the middle of it, in the eye of the storm.

you could feel your breathing picking up, like you were gasping for air from the way your mind was so empty and full at the same time, the body you were in slowly growing more and more uncomfortable, like you were in the wrong one. this body wasn’t yours.

and that name wasn’t yours either.

you tried your hardest to remember, but only one name came up as you searched through your mind, and you knew for a fact that it wasn’t yours. If you knew one thing, if one thing was now clear to you, this was it -the name, belonging to this body, isn’t yours.

a wave of conflicting emotions bubbled up inside of you, your mind now even further split apart. you felt like an intruder. shamefully possessing something that wasn’t yours, because you had nothing to call truly.. well, a part of you. you weren’t the person you were currently possessing, you were a lie, you were wearing this body like a costume, a costume you couldn’t get rid off-

suddenly, a touch of warmth was felt on your shoulder- a hand. something warm, something familiar. not particularly this specific hand, but the feeling of comfort when someone pats you on the shoulder. you could feel a silent wave of relief wash over you at the feeling of familiarity. that- that at least meant that you had been comforted before. that you weren’t alone your entire life. you look up to the blonde, blinking the tears away you didn’t even know were dripping down your cheeks. he had a concerned expression on his face, his eyebrows scrunched together while his lips curled into a slight frown.

„miss, are you okay?“

he said, his velvety voice cutting through your frenzied emotions like a sharp knife. he grabbed your hand, letting you sit down against one of the crates again.

„what is your name, miss?“

he inquired, seemingly trying to distract you from your panic attack, which you appreciated. but at the question to what your name was, you began shaking again, your emotions bubbling up your throat again, threatening to come out. the man seemed to notice, making him immediately attempt to soothe you by gripping your shoulders, letting his hand rub your arms soothingly.

„ you can call me luocha, i’m a…“

he seemed to ponder for a bit.

„ …travelling merchant. but i‘m also well versed in medicine, so if there is anything you need, please-“

he said, making you slowly but surely, calm down for a bit. he…he seemed nice. he needed to be, helping a complete stranger with her panic attack in the middle of a trade port. you contemplated your next answer carefully. you didn’t want to scare him away by saying all the weird things you feel about your identity, he was your only way back to potential civillization, after all. you didn’t want to, but playing it safe and introducing yourself with that fake persona might also be an option.

so, with the introduction of luocha, the prologue ends on a cliffhanger! please don’t forget to vote what the reader should do next!

- xoxo, laina

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mochiimac · 2 years

Text

About Love 1

My head gets messy when I try to hide

The things I love about you in mind

Pairing: Hybrid!BTS x Fem!Reader

Summary: Becoming a best selling thriller author? Part of the plan. Living in the city and isolating yourself from everyone? Part of the plan. Inheriting your late uncles home in the woods, his sassy assistant and fortune after he died mysteriously? Not part of the plan. Oh, and he failed to mention the 7 'surprises' he left you as well. And come to think of it... was his death an accident? Or is your imagination going wild again?

Genre: Hybrid!AU

Warnings (if bolded then this chapter contains these elements) : Fluff, Hurt, Comfort, Angst, Death, Abuse, Smut, Suggestive Themes, Violence, Dom/Sub, Non-Con Elements, Slow Burn, Trauma

Rating: M 18+

WC: ~7k

Tag List: OPEN- DM ONLY <3

Notes: Here is chapter 1! I’m so excited that people enjoyed the prologue, makes my heart happy(: I wonder who’s waiting for you in the house... Hmmm...

Prologue | Next>>

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“It’s so early... not even the sun is awake... why do I hate myself...” A sob threatened to spill past your lips as you numbly walked outside. The cold air was bullying you into tears as it stung your face and hands.

6 am. 6 am. Who was even up this early, especially on a cold day like this-

Oh yes. That would be you.

The city streets were painted in gold from the streetlights and the remaining leaves that were still clinging on for dear life, ignoring the snow that sprinkled the ground with all their might. It was as though the city had been tucked under a large white blanket overnight, a blanket made of glistening diamonds that reflected the warm lights from all around. Truth be told it was beautiful to look at… just not when you have to be awake and freezing. While some would find this scene breathtakingly beautiful you, on the other hand, craved a flamethrower to tear it all down and seek vengeance for your poor skin.

Just goes to show how important proper sleep and caffeine are to begin the day. It could make the difference between waking up with a smile or beginning your villain arc.

Your whole apartment was packed and loaded into the new large SUV, a surprise that came last week with Jackson. You knew you had obtained Takoda’s vehicle but it was surprising that it was brand new and could hold up to 8 individuals. Takoda lived alone with no marriages nor children… So why the large vehicle? Why purchase this large car along with the house? You didn’t miss the confusion on Jackson’s face when he handed you the keys, a hushed comment of ��When did he even buy this?’ didn’t go past you. It only added to the suspicion of your uncle’s death.

What was Takoda planning?

Unfortunately the city left you with dead ends: the Spades family was a family full of successful lawyers, all ranging from medical to even real estate. They were the Eevees of lawyers, your family: one Spades for every type. The family slogan? ‘ Always have an ace of Spades up your sleeve!’ Every time you heard it your teeth would grind together, because for them it wasn’t about the person they were representing. No, never about their clients. It was about the money. And so trying to worm your way around and see what truly happened and what the other morticians wrote was impossible. Their loyalty (and mainly wallets) would be with your father. Rowan Spades. You were going to keep pushing however a small and short voicemail had you stopping dead in your tracks.

“Hi sweetie! Just checking in, Officer Lee mentioned you’ve been asking about your uncle’s case, and… oh hon, I know this mourning process is hard. Reach out if you need to talk! Be careful out there… snow and all!”

Lei Spades, the one person who, despite being shunned, still tried to help you. Perhaps it was because she was your mother. Or maybe she simply didn’t want Rowan to get upset. She had met Rowan when she was young and naive, hell, she was still naive at times. At least you hoped she was. It would be worse for her to know how corrupt your father was and simply turn a blind eye because the money was just too good. But she had saved you a few times in the past from your fathers wrath. This being one of them. She would never call unless she had to. And the number was unknown, not her personal phone. A quick warning for her daughter to back away. And if Lei was the one giving the warning then you knew it was best to keep low… for now. But you did have one more place to look into…

The large home that you had yet to step into. The mysterious building that your new ‘assistant’ was hushed about. Any questions asked were either ignored or cut off with him changing the subject. The one that Jackson was supposed to drive you to later that day. You didn’t miss the urgency in his voice the previous week, the way his eyes were looking deep into your own. The moment was implanted in your mind, the goosebumps could still be felt...

“We will leave Friday at noon. Agreed?” He stood at your door, hands in his pocket as his eyes bore into you. The deep brown that was usually cool seemed to be ignited with a fire of sorts at the topic of the house. You noticed this each time you tried to ask questions or pry; the man was a vault and seemed uneasy.

Unfortunately that only ignited your own flame.

You managed to laugh a little, eyebrow raised. A small test to see how he would react... “Uh, sure? I mean if I’m already up I can always head on out early and meet you-” Your words were cut off as you jumped back when Jackson stepped closer. He crowded your space, face inches from your own as his hand grasped your shoulders. You tried to step back but your heel collided with a wall. His fingers gripped your shirt, however it wasn’t painful. The fire that was in his eyes had increased tenfold and you actually felt a small shiver of fear slide down your spine.

“Together. At. Noon.” His words were cool and flat, but you could hear the underlying tone. He was stressed about something. And while every alarm was going off in your head you managed to school your face, putting on a mask of frozen shock instead.

“N-noon… o-okay.” You managed to sound meek, the act working as Jackson gave you a small smile, hands squeezing your shoulders as he stepped back.

“Not a minute early nor late.” His eyes seemed to have cooled down at your words. His flickered up and down your body, something you noticed he did before leaving each visit. “Stay safe, Heiress.”

As soon as the door closed you leaned against the wall, sliding down while taking deep breaths. He failed the test, he was hiding something and you were going to figure it out. If he can keep secrets then so could you.

After that little show you had whipped out your phone and were quick to contact the Sanity Squad, the video call was between you and your three best friends. And they were in agreement: Jackson was hiding something and whatever it was, it was in the house. Of course the first topic was if you should all go together since the whole situation was bizarre.

Theories of him killing you were out the window seeing that he had nothing to gain and too many opportunities to do so. Oh, and Jessi proclaimed he was ‘too hot’ to be a serial killer. The next theory seemed more plausible: he knew some information on Takoda’s death and wanted to make sure you didn’t find any clues. But Jackson had a key to the house so again, that was a dead end. He could easily hide the evidence or destroy it.

Hours later, and a warning from your phone that the battery was going to die, you announced you would simply beat him there and see for yourself. It was your stance and no one could change your mind.

So here you are on this fine Friday morning, beating the sassy assistant by several hours, and hopping into a brand new vehicle. It was sleek and black, the interior dark with faux leather seats. A large touchpad illuminated the space and you were thankful it was able to self-drive. Although these types of cars are common many prefer the old fashioned way of driving and just doing it themselves. But with this tank? You preferred to let it do the work while you kicked back and watched.

You keyed in your first stop in the car’s GPS, feeling it slowly ease away from the building you had lived in for years. It was odd, knowing that you would never be back but at the same time it was a relief to be going to a place that had room to breathe. And no noisy neighbors to keep you up till the wee hours of the morning. Now that you would not miss, not one bit. But you would miss the cozy feel of the small space. It was bittersweet to see it fade behind you.

Ten minutes later and you were parked outside the small coffee shop, I Need Brew, a place you would frequent with your friends. It was hybrid friendly and a great place for many hybrids to begin working, gaining skills for later careers. Or some chose to stay and continue working for the beloved company. It was run by Bang Chan with his fox hybrid Felix being a manager; you knew the two well after frequenting the quaint shop. The fox adored your visits and would often slip you free goodies when Chan wasn’t looking.

Slipping inside you were greeted with warmth and the smell of fresh coffee and baked goods. The interior was designed to make everyone feel at ease and cozy, soft music playing in the background to help the customers gradually wake up without giving them a headache.

“Y/n? At this hour?”

You looked around, knowing the voice but not knowing where it came from, but then Felix peaked his head around the corner from the back. bright orange hair held specks of flour with his orange ears shooting up. His voice was light and somewhat shocked, but still held the adoration he had for you. In return you smiled and stepped further inside.

“I knew I smelt something sweet walking in,” His face broke into a wide smile.

You smiled back, walking towards the counter. “Yeah it’s a bit early for me… I’ve actually come to meet up with the group.”

“Again, at this hour? Do you know what time it is-?” A buzzing noise had the fox looking over his shoulder. “Go sit, I’ll grab you your favorites and be out in a minute.” He disappeared around back as you moved further into the shop, eyes already set on your usual table.

The past few years your group and yourself had always sat at the table located on the furthest wall, right by the counter and where the employees would mingle when waiting for customers. It was how you befriended so many of the employees, all of whom knew your favorite beverages and treats by heart. As you sat you heard the front door’s bell jingle as a blonde walked in, heading straight for your table.

“I’m surprised you actually woke up,” You grinned as Jessi sat in the chair across from you, snow flurries clinging to her winter coat. “You usually sleep through all your alarms.”

“And miss my best friend leaving to head to the woods alone? Not a chance,” Jessi gave you a grin but you could see the worry in it, leaning closer she asked, “Are you sure we can’t come along? What if something bad happens-?”

“Nothing bad is going to happen.” You waved her off, actually believing yourself. Despite the odd circumstances your instincts were letting you know that this wasn’t dangerous at all. It was more… interesting. “Besides we have that locator app, right? One click and you all know something is wrong and the police will be rushing to save me.” You could still see the doubt in her eyes as she listened.

“I think it’d be best to take one of us with you today… just for safety reasons.” Her arms crossed over her chest, leaning back and watching you. “Especially with all that is going on.”

You opened your mouth to protest once more however the familiar jingle of the bell alerted everyone of more customers. You could hear them before you could see them; quick footsteps headed towards you before arms encased your shoulders, a face buried in your neck as a soft vibration pressed against your back. Something soft and warm wrapped around your waist, tightening a fraction as a giggle reached your ears.

“Wooyoung, how do you have so much energy this morning?”

You glanced up to see Hongjoong taking a seat next to Jessi, the man looking exhausted with his iconic split black and white hair disheveled in a disastrous way. His eyes were dead set on his hybrid Wooyoung who had wrapped himself around you, acting more snake than black panther. You could feel the cat’s purring increase, knowing those vibrant green eyes were focused on Hongjoong.

“Simple,” He nuzzled closer to you, feeling a grin on his face. “I have my Y/n here.”

You remember when Hongjoong first adopted Wooyoung, how the black panther quite literally tackled you and complimented on how nice you smelt and was overjoyed to know that you were best friends with his owner. In his eyes that meant you were part of the ‘extended pack’, along with Jessi, and got to be scented just as much as Hongjoong was. Which he ensured you both were drenched in his scent, looking quite proud of himself each time.

Reaching up you gently rubbed his head, scratching behind his ear just as he liked. You could feel how anxious he was, knowing you would be leaving, heading further away. It was an hour drive to get to the new home and his instincts weren’t liking having part of his pack be so far away.

“You can still sell it and live with us,” Wooyoung mumbled into your neck, his breath tickling a bit. “Hyung wouldn’t mind.”

“Aw, Woo, I won’t be so far away. Plus you can call whenever you want.” You received a pitiful whine from the male as he slowly let go of you, heading over to Jessi to scent her. It was hard to miss the droop of his ears, his last attempt at keeping you in the city gone. Although it tugged your heartstrings and almost made you want to change your mind, one look at Hongjoong and you knew he would be okay; the other male was smiling and shaking his head at the cat.

“I know I said a minute but everyone else showed up. And these just came out fresh from the oven!” Felix was quick to hand out four mugs and a plate of mini muffins with different flavors. Stepping back his eyes landed on you with a raised eyebrow. “So, you’re going to your new home alone in the woods? I’m sure Chan can go with you if you need someone…” His voice trailed off, his tail flicking along with Wooyoung’s. Seemed like he didn’t like the idea either, his animal instincts wary of your decisions. You were thankful you weren’t part of their intimate packs- you wouldn’t even get your foot out the door. Let alone be able to grab the doorknob.

“It’s quite alright, it’s a new home I inherited.” You once again waved off the help. “Nothing wrong with it.” The fox nodded at your words, tail flicking once again to show his displeasure.

“But if anything happens you have people here, okay? Don’t be afraid to ask us for help.” With a boop to your nose he went back to baking while the four of you settled with small talk for a brief moment. Ignoring the world outside while you had the time and just living in the moment.

Truth be told you had no idea how long it would before you got to see them once more. Pushing those thoughts aside you sipped your cup, smiling as Wooyoung took a seat next to you while Hongjoong and Jessi argued over a movie that just came out. As they argued Wooyoung shoved a gift bag in your lap, grinning over at you.

“Woo got you a gift, well, he helped make it.” Hongjoong dropped the argument quickly when he heard the the bag being opened. You opened the gift and pulled out a beautiful red scarf. “The python hybrid next door, San? He taught Wooyoung how to knit.” Hongjoong beamed at Wooyoung with pride while the panther watched you, waiting to see your reaction.

There was a tremble in your lips as you pulled the incredibly soft scarf out. “Woo…” Tears threatened to fall as you turned to the panther. you felt his tail wrap back around you, pulling you into his chest as his purrs started once again.

“It’s made with love from us!” He smiled. “That way we’re never too far away… don’t cry, Y/n!”

It was too late as a few tears fell, feeling Wooyoung pull you back into a hug that soon the others joined in with. “I have the best friends in the whole world.”

“Damn straight you do.” Jessi reached over, grabbing your hand with a grin.

“We love you too, Y/n.” Hongjoong placed his hand on top of Jessi’s, a soft smile on his face.

“You can still live with us- ” Wooyoung’s quick words were cut off with a whine when Hongjoong lightly wacked his arm. Pulling you closer to him, the panther let out the weakest growl you had ever heard. “In case she forgot, hyung not the ears!” You laughed as the growls turned into whines.

Little moments like this made it even harder to say goodbye.

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It felt as though you were now living in a snow globe. Tall pines loomed all around, the roads were covered with inches of snow, all while snow flurries floated all around. The sun may have been hidden behind the clouds but the snow offered enough light to make up for it: everywhere you looked you had to squint from the jarring white canvas. You could feel the SUV cruise cautiously through the piles of snow and up the hills that were hidden from your eyes.

“GPS you better be taking me to the right place…” You mumbled, eyes straying warily to the trees that surrounded you. It felt as though you were encased in a sea of deep green and white; it never seemed to end no matter how far ahead you tried to look.

The estimated time of arrival said five minutes but you wanted to call bullshit on that. The tree’s were so dense, so dark, surely a home couldn’t be located here? Who even built this place? Crossing your arms you watched as the car slowly cruised forward, itching to get out and investigate the home in person. As well as text Jackson that you had left about seven that morning… though you were more happy to wait to send that message. More alone time for you to sneak around the place and it kept Jackson from scolding you a little longer.

“You have arrived!”

Your mouth opened, ready to yell ‘Liar!’ but it quickly closed when the car slowly took a turn and hidden was a house. Truth be told anyone could drive right by and miss it, the driveway being extremely narrow.

The home was snuggled amongst the tall pines, large and yet seemed to almost blend in with it’s surroundings and standout all at the same time. The house held a warmth and coziness to it and reminded you of the feeling of going back home after spending a long time away. It sat in a large clearing of the trees, and in the distance you could make out mountains that peaked to the sky. The early morning rays were just coming up, casting an ethereal glow all around. It was beautiful and you were frozen in your seat, watching the sun’s rays gently light up the clearing. A calling urged you to go inside, your heart was fluttering at the sight of it-

“You have arrived!”

The moment was ruined with the car clearly wanting you to get out now. Grumbling, you stepped out of the vehicle and snuggled further into the scarf Wooyoung gifted you. It was much colder out in the wilderness than in the city, the wind whipping around and nipping at your cheeks in a cruel way. Colder and quieter. You could hear your own deep breaths across the baron land of snow. You knew there was a peace to the quiet however being alone in a foreign place it was hard to find it anything short of eerie. The hairs on your arms were rising as you took a deep breath, quietly closing the car door to not disrupt the stillness around you.

The house lured you in with every step, your heartbeat quickening as the key was gripped between your fingers. Any normal person would be afraid, hell even terrified, if they were in your shoes. A family member was found dead with zero investigation done, trying to gain some answers only had your mother warning you to back off, and lastly a house no one knew of was left to you. An hour away from the city your family basically owned.

However you felt anything but fear. There was curiosity for sure and a yearning for discovering what could be hidden within the walls of this building. What could have Takoda been up to with purchasing this place? It looked new too, no physical wear and tear on the outside from the weather. You wondered what he was hiding… And there was something else too, something deep in you that wanted to run in the building. A call from somewhere inside that had anticipation swimming in your veins.

The key slid in with a soft click! The door slowly opening while your eyes were wide and surveying your new home. You were awaiting darkness to greet you; a home that has been sat for too long and was full of cobwebs and dust from the lack of visitors. A cold and dark home was what you were mentally prepared for especially since Jackson was only dropping your boxes off and then quickly returning to his job. However you were shocked at what awaited you.

The foyer was large and spacious, the walls were painted a neutral color and the floors were solid wood. To your left and right were spacious rooms that were rather empty, save for a large sectional couch in one of them with an insanely large flat screen mounted to the wall. There were tall and large windows throughout, letting in the natural sunlight and giving an airy and soft feel to the overall place. Not far from the door was a large staircase with quite a few steps, and you spotted some of your boxes placed randomly along each step.

Your eyebrows knit together as you stepped closer, noticing the boxes were opened. Some even appeared to be missing items, spotting a box that was full of blankets now only containing a single blanket. A frown tugged on your lips, wondering what Jackson had been up to… he wasn’t stealing from you… was he?

You crept up the stairs, spotting more and more of your boxes placed randomly along the steps. Books had been looked through, some missing; blankets were taken out of the box, one box even being completely empty. Finally making it to the top you felt your stomach knot as you found some of your clothes scattered around the large landing. Thankfully it was just shirts and hoodies, nothing too personal, but it still made your blood freeze.

Jackson was the only one who had the other key… right? No one else should have been there… What if your father found out and sent someone to spy? No, no professional would make it look this terrible. What if this was a warning for you? To leave? Fear shot down your spine as you followed the scattered clothes towards a pair of French doors at the very end of the landing.

Almost like a trail.

Your legs felt like lead as you moved closer, steps silent as you crept along, throat dry as a million thoughts and scenarios ran through your mind. What if someone broke in and was needing a place to stay? What if they were dangerous, a criminal on the run? Or a dangerous hybrid? If the intruder were human you stood a small chance. But if they were a hybrid, a being designed to outperform humans in many ways... and if they were a predator... the very thought had your limbs locking up.

Despite the fear that shook you to your core, there was the feeling again: you needed to be there. Something important was waiting for you in that house. An instinct that pushed you to keep moving, a need that fought against the fear that dwelled in you. As if you found this certain thing, you’d be safe. You’d be fine.

Perhaps you have lost your mind.

Standing before the doors you took a moment to gather yourself, gain some courage, and then you had the doors flying open. Body tense as your eyes scanned the entire area, prepared to face the intruder head on-

No one was inside. But what you saw had you shaking.

Your lips turned downwards at the sight before you, hand gripping the door to try to keep grounded. The room was large, a master bedroom that was fit for a family really. Like the rest of the home it was rather empty with the exception of the large bed, an Alaskan king, and your brain was fried trying to process why a bed that large was there and why all your belongings were all over the bed. You felt a chill roll down your spine as you stepped into the room carefully, mentally waiting for someone to jump out and attack you.

But again that other feeling, the part of you that you called insane, felt secure as well. Something about being in that room had you feeling at ease as well as afraid all at the same time. You felt nauseated with the mixed feelings swirling in your head.

All the blankets, clothes, and books that went missing were right there. A part of you wanted to grab your things and go through it all and see what was done to each item. But a larger part of you wanted to curl up in the warm blankets and hide away, ignore all the craziness that you were facing, and seize to exist. If only...

‘Come on, Y/n. Put on a brave face.’ You mentally scolded yourself for being weak; this was your home after all. Taking a deep breath you strolled into the bedroom with more confidence and was going to begin your investigation when the sound of a door closing echoed across the empty house.

‘Fuck the brave face.’ Your blood turned to ice, instincts taking over you flung yourself under the bed. You pressed your hand against your mouth, trying to calm your breathing as you waited and listened as well as you could. You closed your eyes, willing your ears to straining and hear anything. The silence was torture, not even footsteps could be heard. You wished you could at least hear where they were-

A low growl echoed against the walls of the staircase. An actual growl... an animal? You don’t recall leaving the door open, but perhaps you did when you noticed your belongings scattered about...

Did you accidentally let in a wild animal?

As you tried to decipher how the creature got in you heard heavy paws hitting the stairs, the growl low as it came closer and closer. Every step had your heart pounding in your chest and for a moment you wondered if you would die from a heart attack before being mauled by a beast. The thought died as soon as you realized that the paws had stopped somewhere near the landing.

Then, ever so slowly, you heard the paws approach the bedroom. The growl was coming closer and closer, your body nearly shaking as you squeezed your eyes shut tighter. The paws stopped at the bedroom entrance, the growl lower, more of a rumble now as it continued forward. It got closer and closer, the air feeling heavier with each passing second. The rumbling was now right in front of you.

Swallowing the lump in your throat you slowly opened your eyes.

A cloud of browns, blacks, blondes, and silvers invaded your vision at first. Fur that was so thick and long you felt an urge to reach out touch it, knowing it must have been so warm and soft. But you remained frozen as a pair of eyes, lilac- no... gold? You could have sworn they were lilac for a moment but now they were a brilliant gold, stared you down. Eternity could have passed and you wouldn’t have known, not while the canine was intensely watching your every breath. A moment of silence, a moment of stillness-

It lunged and you screamed, your throat immediately burning from the raw strength behind it. Faster than you thought possible you managed to leave your hiding spot just as the large beast arrived. Your feet were moving too fast for you to keep up, heart leaping up your throat as grunts and whines followed you. When you heard those heavy paws hitting the floor you cried out again, the staircase right there.

You believed you could easily dash down the stairs and into the car. You’d be safe there and maybe you could easily call for help. For a brief moment you wished you had waited for Jackson. At least you could trip the man and give yourself some extra time to escape... unless he did it first, which you knew he would.

However fate was a cruel mistress to you today; wet shoes slid against the wooden floor, propelling you face first down the steps. Your voice was stuck in your throat as you sharply inhaled and braced yourself for impact. You felt something solid, but it wasn’t wood. It was... warm and inviting...

Two arms snaked around you, pulling you closer and easily catching you from the fall. Your feet were dangling off the floor with your cheek pressed against something solid that held a low vibration. Whoever this was was strong enough to hold you carefully around the waist with ease and you stiffened as your realized you weren’t alone with just that canine anymore.

“Relax Beautiful,” The voice was right in your ear, a murmur to help ease you. The voice was soothing to hear and you obeyed immediately as if it were natural to trust a stranger like this. The logical part of your brain was screaming at you to break free and run. But there was another part of your brain, something instinctual, that wanted nothing more than to obey. That there was safety and comfort within these arms that would shield you from the whole world...

The voice let out a soft hum, pleased as you listened without a fuss. The arms were still tight as something soft traced your neck, the vibrations increasing before stopping all at once. “My, my, Beautiful. it’s no wonder he was upset, smelling the way you do.” Their tone became deeper, displeasure stirring just underneath the words. Something in you nearly whined- as if you couldn’t stand the thought of displeasing the stranger. Thankfully the logical side of your brain kicked into action.

You snapped out of the trance you were in and physically flailed yourself away. You could tell the stranger was surprised by your sudden outburst and used it to stumble back, feeling your heel collide with a step, causing you to fall and land on it with your butt. Your nearly fall had thrusted you forward, passing the first flight of stairs and nearly onto the midlevel landing. Which was where a new figure was now peering down at you.

A handsome man with beautiful features stood before you, bright blue eyes watching your every move with plump lips forming a soft smile. His hair was jet black and on top was a set of fuzzy black ears. Something swayed out of the corner of your eye and you saw a fluffy tail that had black fur with white underneath, the tip of the tail was also white. He wore dark denim jeans and a white tee, the letter’s DRF embroidered on the top left corner in crimson. A hybrid was in your new home-

A low growl was behind you and for a brief moment thought it was surely going to attack you now. But you were shocked to feel something cool against your head as another high pitch whine was right by your ear. It’s muzzle was nudging you, whining, trying to get you to move but you were too shocked to move a single muscle.

“Wh-who are you?” You wanted to sound demanding. You wanted to sound strong. But your voice cracked and hands slightly shook as your eyes remained focused on the hybrid in front of you.

He gave you another soft smile, lowering himself on the landing to meet your gaze properly. “My name is Seokjin, but please call me Jin. The wolfdog behind you is Jungkook. You, Beautiful, must be Y/n Spades.” His smile widened as you slowly nodded your head, your own eyes staring at him with mixed emotions. “Your uncle, Takoda Spades, left us a letter detailing that you were to inherit us if anything were to happen... this is correct, yes?”

“I... the will never mentioned hybrids...”

“For all of our protection, yes.”

A new voice. This one deeper than the last, all eyes snapping to the foot of the stairs. He was taller than Jin and seemed to hold more muscle as his white shirt (the same exact one Jin was wearing) had a tighter fit, muscles threatening to breakthrough. His hair was a light ash blonde, smoky and seeming more white/gray, with fluffy dark gray ears on top, pointed and standing alert. Your eyes met his and for a fraction of a second you could have sworn they were glowing lilac but it must have been the lighting, instead they were a warm amber that held a fire inside. A fire that invited you to get closer, to feel his warmth and embrace him. You were lost in that warmth, body leaning slightly forward without your knowledge.

Jin’s tail softly wagged at the sight of the male, bright eyes looking between the two of you. Your actions didn’t go unnoticed by anyone. “Y/n, this is Namjoon, our pack alpha-”

Swoosh!

A blur of movement ran passed the three of you in the matter of a second. The air hit your bare neck, your eyes wide as you realized the wolfdog, Jungkook, swiped your scarf and took off down the steps. There was shock for a brief moment before panic ensued- what if it was destroyed? The worry you emitted had Jin whining, stepping to you while Namjoon growled after the shifted hyrbid.

“Hey-!”

“Jungkook!”

You jumped up and ran past the two, much to their surprise, and ran down the stairs. You were ready to hunt the wolfdog down, get the scarf back and maybe even exile him to the woods for the night. He could freeze out there for the night, and then maybe he would appreciate the scarf a bit more-

“Oof-!”

You felt something solid and warm once again, this time face first. A hand locked on the back of your head, firmly and carefully, while another wrapped around your waist. Warm breath hit the top of your head, blowing a few strands gently, while you felt pressure rubbing your head.

“Please don’t be mad.” The voice was new one and you could hear the pout in it as well as the worry. It was heartbreakingly sad, could even make the world’s smallest violin sound mediocre in comparison. “It’s safe, it’s just in the wash. I couldn’t take it. Just his scent all over you and clinging to you like that-”

“Jungkook.”

Namjoon was right behind you, voice low with a displeased growl. In response Jungkook whined and clung to you, body locking to yours. His tone reminded you of a kid who got caught doing something bad. “Hyung, his scent is all over her! The scarf in the sink, I’ll wash it and have it dried by tomorrow!”

Scent? Wooyoung. It took a second but you realized he was on edge about Wooyoung’s scent, on your and the scarf. It was what Jin was talking about earlier, you smelling with another hybrids scent was making them uncomfortable. You tried to step back but Jungkook refused the space. Instead he held tighter, face buried in your hair, cheek rubbing against you in a rushed manner.

“Jungkook, I’m not mad.” Those magic words had the hybrid loosening his grip on you. It gave you an escape, putting some distance though his arm was still wrapped around your waist with his hand still in on the back of your head. Finger were softly twirling the strands.

He was just as handsome as Jin and Namjoon; hair was a chocoate brown that was kept longer than the others, his ears were triangular like the others and matched the beautiful shades of his fur when he was shifted, as well as his long and fluffy tail. His eyes were doe-like and gold, trained on you with emotions you didn’t understand. A smile broke out on his face, his teeth looking more bunny-like than wolf. The smile and eyes settled your earlier thoughts and put out the angry fire that he had stirred. The idea of putting him outside nearly made your heartbreak.

“You’re not mad? You don’t want me to leave?”

At his question your lips curved up slightly. “I’m not putting you in the doghouse Jungkook. I kind of understand why you did what you did.” His tail wagged, eyes brightening, and toned and bare chest rumbling-

Your cheeks turned red as you realized that Jungkook was lacking clothes. You were still being held close, so close you could feel the toned muscles flush against you, as well as something hard pressed right against your stomach-

“Jungkook. Clothes. Now.”

Namjoon was your saving grace, face so red you didn’t want to face them. But they didn’t need to see you to know how you were feeling. To put it lightly, Jungkook was more than pleased to be the one to have your scent become mouther watering and nearly impossible to ignore. You kept your gaze on his collar, refusing to look elsewhere.

“Yes sir,” You could hear his amusement as his warmth almost disappeared. Almost. “Wait for me in the living room, Honey.” His voice was right in your ear and something sharp nipped at your earlobe. You jumped and squeaked as you hybrid walked out of your view, chuckling at you.

You could feel the burn in your face, still refusing to move incase you got a whole view of the male. Not that a large part of you didn’t want to look, but damnit you were going to at least have some of your dignity.

“He’s gone now, Beautiful. You can turn around.” The tease in Jin’s voice brought a pout to your face as you looked at the other two hybrids. Seeing your flushed cheeks and lips stuttering out had them almost cooing. Jin smiled softly at you. “Jungkook’s very playful, though he doesn’t mean harm.” You wanted to snort because the man was obviously trying to give you a heart attack.

Namjoon stepped forward, a smile trying to form though he held it back. Trying to save you some face at least. In his hands were a few files with DRF stamped in large letters across each one and one envelope with Namjoon written across it. “Mr. Spades left a letter for us and lightly explained a few things.”

Your heart picked up as you wondered what was written to them. Perhaps there was something hidden inside that letter that you needed. What if they knew what happened to him? What if everything written inside the envelope and solved what happened to your late uncle?

“Let’s head to the living room, we’ll wait for Jungkook and then talk.” Jin offered, already taking your hand and leading you towards one of the large room. His thumb rubbed soft circles on the back of your hand as those bright blue eyes seemed worried. You could almost feel Namjoon’s own worry radiate from behind the two of you, and you couldn’t help but wonder...

What was in that letter?

While you were pondering what could have been written you failed to realize you had left your device in the car. The screen lit up once more, 7 missed calls from Sassy ASSistant and followed by one text:

Sassy ASSistant: Y/n Spades you are in serious trouble when I get there.

｡❅*⋆⍋*｡*⍋⋆*❅｡

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#bts hybrid au #bts hybrid x reader #bts fic #bts x reader #bts x y/n #namjoon x reader #jin x reader #yoongi x reader #hoseok x reader #jimin x reader #taehyung x reader #jungkook x reader

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undeadcourier · 1 year

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@lynettethemadscientist replied to your post “me: narratively, it's much more interesting to...”:

I’m willing to hear a humanized view of Raiders. Though I doubt it will convince me

Sure, I'll expand on this. Point of note, this is pretty West Coast/FNV-centric since that's my primary area of interest.

Let's start with defining terms since this is the piss-on-the-poor website. A raider is a bandit, someone who survives by plunder, often roaming in search of things to steal or people to attack. Many raider gangs in the Wasteland are relatively loose allegiances of a few like-minded individuals, but some are established social groups with distinct cultures. The 80s, the Vipers, and the Khans are examples of raider groups that expanded to fit the definition of a tribe—that is, a social division consisting of families or communities linked by social, economic, religious, or blood ties, with a common culture and dialect.

The 80s, first outlined in Joshua Sawyer's rpg, are a gang of bandits that operate along the Northern California 80 Freeway and have long contested territory with the White Legs; The Vipers are organized around their shared religion, which is only vaguely described as ancient, but there are what appear to be ritualistic elements to their organization and raiding practices.

The Khans, inspired by Genghis Khan and the Mongols Motorcycle Club, value strength and martial prowess. Founded around 2141, the Khans raided and traded around Shady Sands and Junktown before they were wiped out by the Vault Dweller. Darion, the lone survivor of the original gang, rebuilt it into the New Khans, who in turn were largely destroyed by the Chosen One. Finally, Papa Khan united the fragmented bands and led them to the Mojave in 2267, where they settled. The massacre at Bitter Springs establishes that at this point, the Khans include non-combatants in their group such as children and elders, and until the NCR occupation, Bitter Springs was their home.

I'm going to proceed on the assumption that we all agree that genocide is wrong and set aside the Khans for now, especially because they are a faction that is not immediately hostile to the player, in contrast to the Vipers, Jackals, and Fiends.

Despite their lore, the Vipers don't get anywhere near the development the Khans have and end up in the category of fodder for the player to indiscriminately kill, an act for which you can even gain karma. And this is what brings me to the point of the original post, which is... hey, what the fuck?

I understand from a game mechanics perspective that it's useful to have an unlimited supply of enemies that the player can slaughter for experience points. But, that necessarily dehumanizes the members of that group, which is extra fucked up when you consider that some of them, like the Vipers, are a distinct tribal group.

And even in the case of, say, the Fiends, who we are told are fueled only by bloodlust/dependence on chems and presumably lack any sort of identifiable cultural allegiance, I don't like that it's considered morally good to just kill them all. They're still people.

I would like, especially from a role-playing game, to have more options to talk them down, to get them help for their addictions, and attempt to reintegrate them into society. Maybe that doesn't work on every character, maybe some of them really do just revel in violence and bloodshed and don't want a way out, but I'd like more recognition that raiders aren't a monolith and don't exist in a vacuum, that these are individuals who were driven to where they are by myriad circumstances and an underlying need to survive. It's more realistic and more interesting.

The way the Khans are developed has plenty of problems, certainly, but I appreciate that there was at least some development of who these people are and how they got to be where they are, and I think that's something that's lacking with a lot of the others.

#lynettethemadscientist #raiders #fallout #fallout 2 #fallout 3 #fallout: new vegas #fallout 4 #fallout 76 #mojave correspondence

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siconetribal · 3 months

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Beyond the Bookshelves (5)

Pairing: Loki x Reader

Warnings: Anger, Tension, Somebody's in big trouble

Summary: You’re a Resource Management Specialist at S.H.I.E.L.D. normally referred to as “The Librarian”. You’ve been assigned the nightmarish task of digitizing all the physical resources currently owned by the agency, with a few new computers and one extra helper.

A/N: Sorry this took too long. I had a lot of work to catch up on post Covid-19. I hope you enjoy!

Please comment/like/reblog. If you’d like to be tagged moving forward, please let me know! (If I missed ant tags, please let me know, I'll add you right away!)

The lovely banners used in this fic are from @cafekitsune.

If you’re new to the story, please check out the master post for the rest of the chapters.

The golden sun gave way to evening shadows as time ticked onwards. Loki sat crouched in the bushes, breath heavy, sweat dripping down the sides of his face, and blue eyes scanning the dark dense foliage surrounding him, looking for any signs of his opponent. His heart was pounding against his chest in a rhythm that seemed far too loud in the silence. Seconds felt like hours as he waited. The distant rustle of branches had him holding his breath. They were close.

“You search East, I’ll go West, and you go North.” The voice was just loud enough to make out the instructions. “They have to be in here somewhere.”

“He’s a lot harder to find than I thought.” The other grumbled. The heavy weight of reluctance was music to Loki’s ears.

“I told you he was not someone to take lightly. He was trained in warfare and is a master strategist, quick on his feet.”

“Yeah, yeah, I heard you, Goldilocks! You sing his praises to the high heavens every time you get.”

“Tony,” the leader, Captain America, hissed loudly. “Lower your voice, or you’ll end up giving us away.” The silence that followed was enough to let Loki know that the method of communication had changed.

I must get in touch with the Snowflake and hawk. He quietly slipped through the trees until he was able to see at least one of them. The tin man. Loki eyed the bright red and gold suit as it moved forward. He could easily take him down now, proving he was able to handle it on his own. But that would lead to failure in this practice. A frown tugged at his lips as he continued to the meeting point.

“Were you able to find them?” Clint’s voice came from above. The younger prince looked up to see him perched on a tree branch.

“Yes, they’ve spread out to find us to the North of us. The overly patriotic leader is heading West, my brother to the East, and the Tin Man further North.”

“The element of surprise is ours if we work together. Who is the closest?” Bucky stood up from the rock he was sitting on.

“The Tin Man relies heavily on his suit to scan the surrounding area, we can use that as a means to lure him into a trap. The next best target would be the Star Soldier, leaving Thor for last if we wish to go with the quickest route. It would be unwise to prolong any fights to preserve our strength.”

“They’ve got strength and firepower, but they don’t take terrain into account. We can use that to our advantage.” Clint hopped down to join them. “Tony first?” The other two nodded their heads.

The blaring sound of an alarm echoed through the room as the forest that once surrounded time vanished, revealing the large empty hanger where the training session took place. The computer voice announced the winning team of the exercise, much to the chagrin of Tony Stark.

“Beginner’s luck,” he grumbled as Captain America and Thor openly congratulated Loki, Clint, and Bucky for a job well done.

“If that’s the case, I’m on his ‘beginner’ team from now on. I’ll never have to worry about losing.” Clint snickered. “That can’t have been just an hour, though. How long did that run?” He frowned, looking up at the holographic screen that displayed the details.

“Four hours?” Thor raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“That took a lot longer than we anticipated, but it was a good session.” Steve let out a slow whistle. “I’ll need to read through the notes for the meetings I’ve missed.”

“Anyone who had a meeting will be stuck reading.” Bucky heaved out a heavy sigh at the boring task. As Clint and Tony contributed to the conversation, Loki silently stared at the times listed. Something about it bothered him, like a constant nudge at the back of his mind begging to be identified.

What’s wrong with any of it? The start time is correct, and the duration adds up to the end time. I don't have as many meetings for the next couple of days due to the changes in mission plans. What could I possibly be missing? The small dips at the corners of his lips grew into a proper frown, his eyebrows knitting together. There was something he was missing.

“Well done everyone, that was an excellent session. I’ll send out the details for reviewing the footage with the rest of the Avengers on a later date.” The lead trainer’s voice came over the speakers.

“Sounds good, looking forward to it.” Steve waved to the control window before leading them all out.

“Loki, aren’t you coming?” He nearly snapped at Thor for breaking his thoughts. He was moments away from realizing what was nagging at him, but it was lost to now.

“Coming,” he followed the rest of them out. What could I have possibly forgotten?

Y/N glanced at the clock for the umpteenth time. According to the schedule she had, Loki was supposed to be here over two hours ago. It was nearing three, and she was growing more and more irritated with the lack of respect.

If there was some kind of emergency, they would’ve announced it right away. Sure, training can run over by a couple of minutes or even an hour, but three? Is this his way of telling me to eff off? That he hates me for whatever reason? Which I don’t even know why he would! He's the one that's been ignoring me! I thought being raised as a prince comes with etiquette training, was common decency removed from that curriculum or was he trained to be a prickly porcupine? There has to be something, Thor didn't ignore me, he even admitted that Loki was better at devising a plan! But I highly doubt that claim right now.

She hit the refresh button on her email for the hundredth time, another desperate attempt to give him a chance to explain, only to find no response waiting to be read. She would give him a piece of her mind the next time she saw him. That handsome face grew more devilish with each passing minute of no response.

“I get that the task isn't a top priority, but a sliver of decency and respect for your coworker would be nice! I rank above him for crying out loud!” She forced her hand to let go of the computer mouse or else it would have been the victim of her frustration, smashed into the desk or thrown at the closest wall. “Deep breaths, Y/LN, deep breaths. There is clearly a logical explanation, and he will tell you all about it the next time he is available. Things happen, not everyone checks their emails all the time. After he explains himself, I'll ask for his and Thor’s numbers for future contact.”

The ring of the door was music to her ears. A much-needed distraction was here, and she could now avoid self-imploding and over thinking.

“I'll be right there!” She put on her best smile and shoved everything else into the chest at the back of her mind. There was nothing she could do except wait. Putting her best foot forward, she stepped out of her office to greet the patron.

“Librarian.” Her smile nearly dropped through the floor at the smooth, accented voice. There was only one person she knew with that voice, and he was at the top of her hit list right now.

“Loki, how nice of you to finally arrive.” She tried to sound as pleasant as possible. She would finally know what happened. Yes, any minute now I’ll know it all. Any second, he's going to just open up. Floodgates bursting open, telling me exactly why he came so late, which’ll explain the lack of notifying me sooner. She silently stared at him, expecting him to respond. Nothing came. When he turned away, she quickly spoke up. “Well?”

“Well what?”

“Don’t you have something to say to me?”

“No, why would I have something to say to you?” The raising of one eyebrow and the slight scoff she heard in his tone was the last straw.

“The library is closed, leave.” She pulled the last bit of her calmness to avoid trouble.

“No it isn’t, it’s open until,” she cut him off at his haughty tone.

“Until I say it is. This library runs on my command. I say it’s closed, now get out.” She forcibly turned him around and pushed him towards the doors.

“That is arbitrary and,”

“Oh, now you have plenty to say? Maybe you can take this time to think about what you should be saying to me. Breathe some air and touch some grass, or smack your head against a wall, I don’t care what you do! Whatever it is, it can’t be here. End of discussion.” She gave one last shove to force him to step over the threshold. “Oh, and don't bother coming back until you’ve finally remembered. You’re hereby banned until further notice. Good day, sir.” She slammed the door shut in his face and sharply turned on her heel, stomping back to her desk. “Jarvis, you heard me. Loki is banned from the library until I say so. I don’t care if he’s poofing in or climbing through a duct, you alert me right away and tell him to leave or else he will be forcibly removed.” The nerve of him to just blatantly disregard my time and forget his promise! I may have asked for his assistance, but he agreed on his own accord!

“Understood,” the computer voice responded. “Loki, the second prince of Asgard and Avenger, are forbidden from entering the library until cleared by Director Y/LN, the Librarian.”

Tags: @vbecker10 @huntress-artemiss @softestqueeen @thegodofnotknowing @princess-ofthe-pages @firedrakegirl @rcailleachcola @cabingrlandrandomcrap @lotrefcp @lwtannie @jainaeatsstars @msdjsg7 @tom-hlover @kneelingformyloki @gruftiela @gigglingtiggerv2 @kats72 @mischief2sarawr

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threefolddefencespeech · 1 month

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WorldCon!

So - WorldCon's over. I'm safely back home, very tired, only mildly ill, definitely getting the con drop or at least experiencing far too many post con emotions (what do you mean there won't be another one nearby for five years?). So perfect time to write a bit about it. I'm not going to get everything in here, but let's ramble incoherently about some highlights.

The Hugos

My spouse (and the rest of their team) won a Hugo! I am so proud and happy for them - it is, I say with incredible bias and no objectivity, very very well deserved. How could getting to celebrate that not be a highlight?

So. Let's move on to some book opinions. This year, I managed to read almost all of the best novel finalists (bar Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, which I'm still a few chapters into and ping ponging off. Let's say I'm pretty sure where my opinion was going to lie). So I get to have some more detailed opinions than most years, which is fun/regrettable for anyone who got an earful from me about Starter Villain!

It's always interesting to see what makes the Hugo shortlist. This year, a truly massive gulf emerged between my two favourites, the middle-of-the-roads, and one real "no, really, why was this here?" option.

Out in front were Saint of Bright Doors (Vajra Chandrasekera) and Some Desperate Glory (Emily Tesh). I can already see this post getting enormous, so I'll try and be quick (this is a lie).

Saint of Bright Doors is wonderful - the first chapter introduces us to a clear chosen one narrative, with Fetter raised with a destiny: to kill his cult leader father. The second rejects it utterly. Fetter ignores his destiny and his mother's calls, and immigrates to a city - one that has elements of socialist ideal, but gradually reveals more and more of itself to be a fascist police state, and in every case is wonderfully strange. He joins a group of fellow religious "unchosen ones". He drifts. His father's cult grows in influence, and threatens to pull him once more into orbit - but this is not so conventional a story as to fully let it. And he becomes fascinated with the city's bright doors, which lead nowhere, and are unopenable. In a less talented writer's hands, this would feel disjointed. Instead it's wonderful - a dreamy-but-grounded, mythic-but-real story of aimless reality pitted against religious destiny, of cults and pogroms and the structures that lie beneath the world. I have my problems with the ending. But had I liked it more, I suspect it would have been a worse book.

Some Desperate Glory tells a story of a militarised future human society, living to avenge the Earth. It is also, in many ways, a cult. Where Some Desperate Glory particularly succeeds is that its protagonist isn't an outlier. How many dystopias have you read in which the lead is an outcast, or always felt subtly wrong in the society, never quite fit in? But Kyr is in so many ways this future society's model citizen. Which makes her growth - her experimentation in the wider world - and the ways in which this society still abuses her, and still fails her because she can't live up to its ideals, far more powerful. She's not a comfortable head to make a home in, at least to start with, but it's a far better novel for that. While what the novel's doing is far clearer than Saint, it does go to some interesting places - and explores these cultish power structures on various scales. I have quibbles and gripes. Do I wish more page space had been devoted to developing the novel's visions of alternative versions of Kyr, rather than slamming in character development in fast forward? Yes, and I would have happily sacrificed a few big action setpieces (which is where I suspect that space went) to get there. But it's still a powerful book.

Saint definitely my preference there, but both worthy winners.

Then we had the middle of the pack.

Leckie's Translation State was... fine? I expected more, though. We had some alien weirdness, but it was wrapped around a story which had the exact same plot arc as a typical YA arranged marriage novel, with the characters ending up in exactly the same places you'd expect. Aside from one, who simply gets forgotten about. It was perfectly pleasant, but revolutionising the genre this is not.

Martha Wells' Witch King is a secondary world fantasy, told with a flashback-interweaving-with-present-events structure, in a way that's far more evenly balanced between the two narratives than most, with the past narrative holding most of the explanation of characters and relationships highly relevant to the present. However, it fails to really make it work - it sacrifices a lot of character development and foreshadowing for the actual plot to get this structure working, which means the actual key revelations fall a little flat when they come. It's not a bad book! There's some fun magic system stuff, some mildly interesting possession-of-different-gendered body stuff... but it's not life changing, just a fun attempted structural twist on an otherwise pretty classic secondary world fantasy.

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi - well, it's a middle eastern pirate fantasy. The historical inspiration is great here - rich and vibrant. But the prose is clunky - it's doing Historical Feminism but in a really obvious, unsubtle way that's clearly just 2024 views projected backwards, or at least that's how it seems from the "ah, we mens often think x about a powerful lady, don't we?" narrator chapter. I like engaging with these topics, but can I wish for a bit more nuance and some better writing? Mind you, I'm only a few chapters into this one, and keep bouncing off. It might get better when I push through. From what others have said, I doubt it - but I can't really say. I'm maybe being harsh from initial impressions here.

So most of this middle group are small twists or weirdnesses upon otherwise pretty familiar genre novels.

Then there's Starter Villain, which is the only "really, why is this here?" novel of the list. I suspect just because Scalzi's a big name in SFF, and name recognition gets you a long way at the nomination stage. While I might quibble with the middle group - probably there was more interesting SFF published last year? - this was a novel-length shaggy dog story. It's not funny enough to be farce or satire - but it's not doing anything else. The protagonist's main defining traits are "very divorced", "likes cats", and I suppose "vaguely nice". Everyone speaks in the same way. And this goes nowhere - other than a few jokes about dolphins and venture capitalists along the way. Maybe if this hadn't been up for the Hugo, I wouldn't have hated this so much. But I expected something. This was my first Scalzi, and I probably won't choose to repeat the experience.

So, how'd the voting turn out? Some Desperate Glory won, which I vaguely suspected - felt like it had broader appeal as a slightly more traditional novel than Saint of Bright Doors anyway. But Hugo votership, why did you do Saint quite so dirty? It's so far down the list. On the other hand - faith marginally restored by Starter Villain ending up in a clear last place.

Which is to say: probably good job overall, Hugo votership, but you're on some shaky ground. :P

The Panels

Panels! I went to lots of them. I was terribly sabotaged by my very first panel, Revolutions in Speculative Fiction, setting the bar far too high. I was largely picking panels based on people + a vaguely interesting topic, with a few exceptions. Ada Palmer's and Arkady Martine's definitely proved that method of panel picking works well.

...after Dublin, the other thing I learned (alongside picking based on people) was that I really shouldn't plan my con too inflexibly or intensively. So despite wanting to go to 4 things in every slot, I paced myself - I missed out on an interesting panel and went to hang out with people or Do Food occasionally, especially when emotion + tiredness demanded it, and I probably had a better con for it.

There were worse panels too. Several on interestingly nuanced topics had a tendency to regress into more basic topics - particularly into cultural appropriation 101. Cultural Appropriation 101 is not a bad panel topic! It's an incredibly necessary one. But it's also a panel I have been to several times now, and while I think other panels should certainly touch on it where relevant, I wanted a bit more than Different Topic 101 from "Ancient Cultures and Context" and the discussion of religion in fantasy, for instance.

Overall though, I had a good time with the panels - even when frustrating (cough, Scalzi showboating and talking over other panelists in "Systems as Villains" when he didn't actually have anything to say, cough), they were fuel for conversation with interesting people, and there were some truly interesting ideas in there too. Maybe I'll manage to incorporate a few into my own writing. I hope so.

Self-Indulgent Gender Stuff

I'll try not to ramble about this too much, but it was pretty significant to my con experience. This was my first con since coming out as a trans woman (it also coincided with my 1 year anniversary of starting HRT). Honestly, coming up to it, I was pretty stressed - despite knowing on paper that a substantial part of WorldCon is queer nerds, it didn't quite make it through to my brain, or at least I suppose endocrine system (I worry about my appearance anyway, and was just coming off a bit of a doomspiral about my features at the 12 month mark, which may not have helped!).

But everyone was genuinely very nice about it - including everyone I already knew, but who hadn't seen me since pre-transition. And you know, it did feel really good to be able to present the way I actually wanted to at other cons (pre transition, I can't deny a certain - large - amount of envy at fem con + cosplay outfits, and I actually get to do some of that now). I even got some compliments on my outfits, which was very flattering (plus one person inexplicably wanting to draw me at the Hugo afterparty).

Did that stop me from worrying? Silly question. I still spent a lot of the con convinced I looked terrible in so, so many ways, and had to frequently borrow some reassurance from spouse and friend (I'm so sorry). There were a few low points. But I'm so glad I did it. Hopefully the start of many more cons presenting more comfortably.

Plus, I have discovered a great secret. My terrible dancing is drastically improved by the addition of a swooshy skirt. (Well, maybe some other stuff helped too, but I'll go with that)

People

I've talked a lot about official, organised things where I was there as a spectator: panels, the Hugos. But really, so much of WorldCon is just spending time with lovely people.

I got to do lots of the con with spouse and a soon-to-be-ex-Oxford friend, who I have really fond memories of doing other cons with. Lots of silly late night dancing. Lots of in depth discussions, from the deeply absurd to the (maybe) absurdly deep (or maybe just the former all over again). I got to see other Oxford friends in the magic con zone! @frith-in-tombs between track stuff and @vivelabagatelle occasionally too.

I got to catch up with other friends, especially the ex-Oxford folks! It was lovely to spend more time with @howlsmovinglibrary again (who also ran some excellent panels, and has definitely sold me on this villainess book), as well as Entourage, @cardboardmoose, and others (if I haven't named you explicitly it's probably because I thought the only way I've got of naming you might be too identifiable, and I don't know your name on here).

I got to meet new people, which honestly is one of the best things at a con. I spent a lovely night chatting to @canmom about all sorts of diversely interesting things, from opera to game design - completely unexpectedly after inexplicably working up the courage to venture a "hey, you're not [tumblr name] on tumblr, are you?" (at least I didn't comment on anybody's shoelaces, is all I can say in my defence). I met a distant friend from Discord and compared very different con plans - and a truly excellent crocheted Mr Pages. I chatted with a few more in panels. I finally got to hang out with Roseanna more than in passing (typically we've wound up communicating only through a mutual friend, Entourage since we've never really overlapped properly - I remember back when she asked me about reviewing, and look how the tables have tabled!) and had a great time dissecting the Hugos. (Another very well deserved Hugo win btw). I also learned that apparently I was referred to frequently as DAF by her and said friend, and she's completely forgotten what it stood for? I have a pressing need to solve this mystery.

And of course, there are some friends I dearly miss being able to con with too. Perhaps one day we'll be able to do so again.

What Next?

As I mentioned, so many post-con emotions! Five years really is too long between travellable worldcons for my liking.

Which means resolution 1 is: maybe I should do more cons? While flying transatlantic for WorldCon feels like a Lot, I've never made it to an Eastercon before, and I think I'd like to.

I've also reached out to plan a few meetups with nearby-ish worldcon people like Roseanna - I miss the con energy, and I think I'd like to get some more chats about books and such in my life. (Alas, distance remains a barrier for yet others!)

I also want to engage with more SFF writing - I read a fair few novels, but I feel like I miss out on a lot of reviews and criticism these days, and I miss that.

And as always, I come away wanting to put more energy into my own creative work - I've been planning a bigger IF-ish game (than my small silly/gift games I've made) for a long time, and maybe this is the time I'll manage the sustained effort to make it happen (and feel like I have My Own Stuff next WorldCon!). Hehe. Well, I can dream, anyway.

I should probably also catch up on sleep at some point.

It was a wonderful, exhausting, fascinating con - thank you to everyone who made it happen, whether more generally, or for me specifically. :)

#worldcon #personal

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clangenrising · 11 months

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Month 9 - Leaffall

Oddstripe was restless. So was Floodpaw, who had returned for a check up on his shoulder wound.

“Dad,” groaned the apprentice as he wiggled impatiently, “I’m fine. Seriously, you shouldn’t worry so much.”

“Oh,” Oddstripe chewed his lip. He didn’t know how to explain to his son that his worry was probably going to eat himself from the inside out for the rest of his days. He hadn’t realized warrior training would be so dangerous! Although, he probably should have known better. The thought of his boys - his baby girl! - out fighting murderous rogues and foxes and who knows what else! It made him want to pick them all up by the scruff and secret them away somewhere safe for the rest of their lives.

Working the last of the horsetail poultice into Floodpaw’s skin, he sighed. He knew that wasn’t a real option. Still, he didn’t like how cavalier Floodpaw was about the situation.

“I just want you to be safe, sweetheart,” he said and Floodpaw scoffed through his nose. That was disconcerting.

“I am safe,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Goldenstar is the best warrior ever, she’s keeping me safe. And soon I’ll be able to handle myself for real, anyway.”

Oddstripe frowned and began to apply the new cobwebs. “You got bitten. I’d hardly call that safe.”

“I was safe enough,” Floodpaw shook his head. Oddstripe sighed. His little man was growing up and he didn’t like it.

“It’s part of a warrior’s duty to risk their lives,” said Sagetooth as she walked into the den and Oddstripe jumped to attention. “The Clans have always faced dangers. StarClan smiles on those who defend their Clanmates.” Oddstripe tried to mask the frown that wanted to pull their lips even further down.

“Right,” he nodded. “I’m sure they can forgive a bit of parental worry, though.”

“Of course,” Sagetooth chuckled. “How’s the wound doing?”

“Good,” smiled Oddstripe. “We’re nearly out of horsetail but we should be able to make it last long enough to avoid any infection.”

“We’ll have to find some more then,” Sagetooth said. “Or some garlic. We’ll want to be prepared.”

“Right,” Oddstripe said, gut twisting. There were going to be more wounds in the future. Sagetooth had taught him how to treat all kinds of wounds in theory but in practice he’d never tended anything worse than some bramble scratches. He wasn’t looking forward to gaining experience. Sagetooth, for her part, didn't seem that bothered. The advantage of age, he supposed.

She continued into the den to look at the herb stores. “And Pantherhaze? How is he?”

“Oh, much better,” Oddstripe said, trying to shake off the clinging sense of dread. “Although it looks like Branchbark has come down with whitecough instead.” He smoothed out the edges of the cobwebs with care, making sure that every inch of his son’s wound was protected from the elements.

“Tch,” Sagetooth shook her head. “‘Tis the season, I suppose.”

“Can I go now?” Floodpaw whined, shimmying in place as if it were physically uncomfortable to sit still any longer.

“Mm, I guess so,” Oddstripe relented with a half smile. “You’re sure you don’t want to stay a little longer? I miss my boys.” He gave Floodpaw a few licks around the ears which his son squirmed away from.

“Daaaad!” he whined, pushing at his father’s muzzle.

“Sorry, sorry,” said Oddstripe, pulling back to let Floodpaw run a paw over his new cowlick. “I’ll let you go. Just… be safe, please.”

“I will,” promised Floodpaw, and he dashed away, barely impeded by his wound.

“He’s young,” Sagetooth said softly. “He’ll learn patience in time.”

“I hope so,” sighed Oddstripe. Straightening himself, he added, “I’ll go check on Branchbark again.”

“Thank you,” smiled Sagetooth. With that, he headed out to try and focus on what he could change; a friend’s cold. That was simple enough at least.

UPDATES:

Pantherhaze has recovered from whitecough. Branchbark comes down with a case of whitecough instead.

#clan gen #clangen #warrior cats #warrior cats oc #warriors #warriors oc #clangen oc #clan gen oc #Oddstripe #Sagetooth #Pantherhaze #Branchbark #Leaffall #clangenrising #Floodstrike

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bonzos-number-1-fan · 4 months

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TMAGP 18 Thoughts: Dead Letters

Another really great episode. Feels like the show has hit its stride now and it just keeps getting better and better IMO. I can't say I entirely get the episode's title though. This one feels fairly strained to me and I feel like it must be because I'm missing something obvious.

Spoilers for episode 18, and some lightly implied spoilers for TMA, below the cut.

Teddy and Alice being Teddy and Alice isn't something I have a huge amount to say. I'm never 100% sure how you're meant to read these two. Teddy having his own little story in the background is interesting though because the framing of this implies he's very important to the narrative. His leaving is the instigation for two of our main characters to be able to join the OIAR, his leaving party is the opening scene of the show, and every time he's been in it since something about him has progressed. It could just be a grounding element so that not every character is wrapped up in it but it seems fairly obvious that his story is going somewhere.

Fun Fact: I've mentioned it before but as it was name dropped, Robert Smirke was an architect for the Royal Mint.

Lena continuing to be very Lena about everything really does warm my heart. She could just be entirely disinterested, distancing herself from the employees for their safety, or other reasons beside. Either way "Oh, is that its name?" is wonderful and she should never change.

This statement was really great. Augustus being back is a massive highlight. Tim Fearon has killed both of his episodes and I want more of him than we're getting. A haunted house narrated by him is really a treat to listen to. The literal contents of the experience we hear narrated back to us isn't something I have too much to say on. It's got some strong Hilltop Road vibes but is at Church Street. Church Street itself doesn't have anything too important to mention about it. Milton Court, however, is interesting. Violet was seemingly the victim of the same thing that killed Drowning Victim a few episodes back, likely [Error]. But what's interesting about the Milton Court Open Space is that it's about 20 miles from where Drowning Victim was. These cases happened 3 days apart which is ample time to cover that distance but it's interesting because it's largely along the path you'd drive if you were coming from Manchester, where the Institute's ruins were, back to London and taking the M40. You'd drive passed Ickenham. I would not be surprised if we see a similar case from early further north along that route. Another thing of note here is the extreme malnutrition. I think a lot of people are going to link this back to Darrien from the last episode but I think it's more obviously a physical symptom of reliving said experience. Violet wandered though a house with no exit until she starved, like how Drowning Victim, well, drowned. No notes otherwise, great incident. Well, "Some figure reaching asking questions in an alley?" is curious phrasing but I won't get to into that.

Alice and Sam's chat directly addressing the contents of the case is something I love to see. Alice is trying her best to bury all that, bless her, but Sam is for sure never letting this drop. It's just great to see this stuff not washing over them now and it's all becoming more and more relevant. Although it does bring into question why Augustus read this one out. Chester seems to read things that nudge people to act a certain way but this one seemed almost cruel. Like Augustus was trying to get under Alice's skin. In any case its hard to find a thread between this and Taking Notes, at least as far as "motivation" goes.

Oh Gwen. Poor, poor Gwen. Finally opens up about her truly fucking awful experiences and Sam laughs in her face about it. To be fair to Sam leading with Mr. Bonzo is a perfect wind up and I would've laughed too. We all would've laughed if our co-worker said that. To be fair to Gwen, Mr. Bonzo has traumatised the shit out of her and who else is there to really lead with? And as always Anusia killed it here. What a glorious F-bomb too.

Backing up just a little bit, there is this quote during that interaction:

GWEN In the cases, you know how there are often things or places or people or whatever who… aren’t right? Who seem to be causing all the awful things to happen.

Which is fairly interesting if you've been reading theories. Specially about what CAT# means. The most common theory by far is "Person/Place/Object". Meaning that CAT1 indicates a supernatural person in the incident, CAT2 a place, etc. Now, I have written an essay all about this subject entitled "Putting the CAT# Back in the Bag: The Flaws With Person/Place/Object". So, y'know, I don't buy it. Gwen mentioning it now feels like a red herring too given how early it is. Obviously that feeling is rooted in my current belief about said theory. If I don't think it holds water I won't think this is a clue about that. But it's not just that. I think this is too early from a narrative stand point, CAT# standing for those things pointless from a narrative standpoint, and if Gwen has settled on those three things it's not much of a stretch to link it back the the case numbers and part of the point of them is they're inscrutable to everyone there.

Because all of the above isn't enough for this already stellar episode we meet two new characters. Georgie and Jack. Both at long last as they've both come up before. It's hard to talk about this without getting into TMA stuff. I'll try to be light on TMA spoilers but Celia and Georgie have history. Now, unlike with Celia, this very much seems like TMP's version of Georgie. She's a conspiracy theorist instead of a ghost hunt, she's paranoid instead of fearless, and she seems to know as little about Celia as you'd expect. The conspiracy angle is also really clever. TMA was very much just about supernatural encounters but TMP has the cast working for the government. So Georgie has stayed fairly consistent in this regard it's just the shows themes that changed. Celia finding Georgie makes a lot of sense to me though. Their history makes her a good touchstone here and as she's still podcasting about strange things it's a good cover as any. However whatever is happening with Celia is clearly getting worse and she's not lying about it well.

GEORGIE Celia, I’m saying you don’t need to lie to me. CELIA I’m not! [zzzzzt]

Sure you're not, Celia. Sure you're not.

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

Incident/CAT#R#DPHW Master Sheet and Terminology Sheet

DPHW Theory: 2374 not much to explain on this one I don't think. Spooky house that you can't escape from gets you spooky house you can't escape from numbers.

CAT# Theory: CAT1 is semi-interesting for the theory I think it definitely isn't (see here). Because for that theory to remain consistent corpses end up as objects. Which you'd think would put this in CAT3 if assessors were applying those themselves, and if they aren't all headers of this type being people seems very farfetched when we've seem objects that compel already.

R# Theory: C seems reasonably to me. Having a spooky memory and talking about it seems like the sort of thing no one would care about.

Header talk: Memory (Derelict) -/- Compulsion. Two interesting things here. Firstly, the section being Memory implies that this experience actually happened. Either to Violet or someone else. It could be a ham-fisted section choice if there isn't anything for hallucinatory experiences of this nature but I'd assume there must be. This system is so specific and as that would be a large oversight it seems unlikely that it isn't there. But it's hard to say how much any given assessor knows about what they're picking. Misfiles are always possible. The subsection is the other interesting thing. Derelict is such a specific subsection here that Memory must have 100s of them.

#the magnus protocol #tmagp #tmagp theory #tmagp speculation #klaus = kl4-u5

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bleachbleachbleach · 2 months

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I don't know if you'll see this, but I've been having this thought for a while and needed to share

You have already shared your view about that whole "souls can't remember their lives before Soul Society" and such, but I've been thinking...

It's ever said that the souls in Rokungai know that they're dead? Well, the Shinigami makes sense to know and the other souls knows about the Shinigami, obviously, but I don't remember if it was ever commented about them knowing they're dead when they wake up in Soul Society

Maybe someone else needs to explain them the situation when a new soul appears? Idk

What do you think?

And excuse me if I'm being dumb about this topic, I'm just not good at remembering stuff

This blog receives 1 ask every few months and averages about 9 notes per post. XD Of course we saw this! Thank you for stopping by! <3

I think this might be in reference to tags we left on this post? At least, that's the most recent discussion I can recall.

Canonically speaking, this guy comes to mind, who knows the year and location of his death:

[Bleach 076 -- (Sorry, no original text--I'm not on the right laptop right now!]

Granted, that doesn't mean he knew this immediately on entry into Soul Society, or knew that he was in this place because he'd died!

But then, of course, there's also this whole ticket system, so I suppose even if you didn't know intrinsically that you had died, some terrible dude dressed in black and shouting about your having died might be something you take at face value (or not!). Or maybe people in Rukongai find you first, and you get the folktale of your own death from souls like you before they send you off to the proper authorities for your ticket.

I've also written fanfic where Hinamori does a more intensive intake of a soul, sort of like what you're describing (though in his case, he knows he's dead, because he died on purpose).

My preference is pretty much always going to be for things to be as paradoxical, contradictory, elusive, and mutable as possible, so if I were going to incorporate Mr. "1947 in Yamanashi" into something, there's a 99% certainty he'd be the odd duck out in terms of having retained that information, and it would be info that existed in fragments and broken conjurations. I'd probably write that there were entire divination practices within different Rukongai subcultures that strove to either remember/cogently arrange the past, or predict the future (in reincarnation), and it's this whole elaborate thing. Some of the divinators are probably legit--but many are probably charlatans who implant all manner of weird, potentially harmful false memories in people--or benign but ultimately untrue--things in people's heads. But then, maybe that's all they need to be. When you're constantly told that the ghost-life you are currently living exists only as a waypoint or halfway between one reality and the next, I imagine it's hard to hold onto desire. Whether the spark is real or not, maybe the fact of the spark is all that comes to matter.

Personally, I also like the idea that although shinigami have this whole ticket system and they'd love for souls to enter into Soul Society all in the same place, in an orderly fashion, that's not necessarily how it works, and the number crunching the 12th does about how many souls are in which district (and which plane of existence) is based on statistical models and cannot actually account individually for each soul. Maybe some come into Soul Society in human form. Maybe some were STILL A BIRD when they arrived, but ultimately became a boy. Maybe some souls spring out fully formed and humanoid and others are elemental first, before solidifying into something else. Maybe some are cut out of peaches or bamboo, or appear as monsters, almost as Hollows--until it turns out they were a human soul all along (or were they...)

Anyway, that's where I'd take that! I'd love to hear more about your thoughts re: who explains the situation. It's a really fun question!

#asks #no brain just bleach #shinigamiology #bleach headcanons #bleach manga

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thecaroliner · 7 months

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NATLA: An Extremely Mediocre Mess

I spent the entire day watching Netflix's ATLA adaptation and oh boy was it...something.

I struggle sometimes with putting my full thoughts into words but here goes. No idea how long this will be.

Spoilers ahead, obviously.

I want to start out by getting a few things I thought were good or at least fine out of the way.

First off I wanna mention the acting (aside from Gran Gran) was fine. I think Gordon Cormier has a lot of potential and it really felt like sometimes he was being held back by the script and direction. Really hope this role opens up new doors for him in his acting career!

Not that I think ATLA needed more violence or anything, and initially I was against them adding more violence just to make it more "realistic", but I actually didn't mind it. It was way more gruesome than I thought it would be, both Sozin and Ozai literally set people on fire and burn them to a crisp. Kind of does help set in the actual horror of what they're doing. We even saw the same happen to Kya in a flashback. Again, this wasn't needed, but I didn't mind it.

The bending effects DID look a little better than in the trailers I thought. Firebending in particular I thought was decent, all the other elements were just okay, with waterbending I feel suffering the most from it. The rest of the CGI kind of sucked though which I'll get into later.

Having Gyatso be more of a presence I thought was nice, as I always felt like he could've been a little more to the front of Aang's mind in the original series than what he was. I honestly LOVE the idea of him hanging around in the Spirit World for Aang, as in the past I've thought of that idea and wished it had happened. Except....they just kind of throw this plotline away later for no reason. So that's great.

Lastly, it was neat to see Indian culture being represented in Omashu.

Now that that's out of the way....time to really dig in.

The series starts with the Air Nomad genocide, pretty brutal stuff but I don't have much to say about this aside from the moments with Gyatso being nice.

Aang can apparently just fly now, but he only really does it to show off in this first episode. Apparently it's because he's an Airbending prodigy, despite the fact that the ability to fly was established in LOK as being a very rare occurance that only comes after letting go of every earthly attachment. But sure, let's just have Aang fly now. Why even have his glider in the first place?

He gets frozen in pretty much the exact same way, which now leads us to the Southern Water Tribe, where Katara is practicing waterbending in secret in the abandoned Fire Nation ship. It's mentioned later that Sokka and Gran Gran forbid her from practicing bending in case the Fire Nation comes back and tries to kill her, which...sure, I guess.

They find Aang's iceberg, but since Sokka isn't sexist anymore, her anger at him isn't what opens the ice, it's her attempting to pull their canoe back to them and she accidentally splits the iceberg open.

Speaking of Sokka's sexism, remember when people were trying to say "Oh the show isn't getting rid of that arc, it's just updating it because a lot of moments in the original show were iffy!" Yeah, no, they got rid of that arc entirely. Which, honestly if they had just done that without making a big deal out of it in interviews wouldn't have been an issue. The issue is them trying to act as though the narrative of the show itself was sexist and not actively showing us that Sokka is in the wrong.

Anyways, Aang literally just falls out of the iceberg and it's lowkey funny cause he just slides out like he's going down a water slide.

They take him back to the village unconscious and once he wakes up, Gran Gran (who's acting was awful by the way. Not sure if it was the actress' fault or the direction, it really felt like the direction to me). She immediately recognizes Aang's tattoos and just tells him flatly that the Air Nomads are all dead. No compassion or anything. Oh, and she out of the blue begins narrating the original series' intro verbatim which was so out of place and funny. HEY REMEMBER THE OPENING FOR THE CARTOON?? THAT'S IN HERE TOO!!!!!

Weirdly enough....it almost felt like Sokka and Aang had more of a bond than Katara and Aang. Sokka was initially skeptical of Aang but then instantly wants to go save him and I swear they had more interactions than Aang did with Katara. The two of them don't even really feel like friends until the last two episodes or so.

Also, they go to the Southern Air Temple in the first episode where Katara doesn't calm Aang down from the Avatar State but rather a memory of Gyatso did. Okay....

Oh, this also had one more thing I liked, and it was Aang giving Gyatso a proper burial. I always assumed that happened at some point, whether during the series or sometime afterwards. Nice to see it here.

Okay, so my thoughts after this are just gonna skip around a bit because I was writing them down as I went. The first half the series really didn't have much egregiously wrong with it, it was mostly just mid.

It's mentioned briefly that...Aang's airbending went out of control sometimes? Like the reason he had to train with the monks was so that he would stop accidentally hurting his friends with airbending. Because why have the storyline of him accidentally hurt Katara with firebending when you could have this instead?

The like...purple and motion blur effects they used for the Spirit World scenes was such an eyestrain....

In the Spirit World, Kyoshi gives Aang a vision of the attack on the Northern Water Tribe. Before, Aang had no reason to even bother going here, because Katara is teaching herself waterbending (turns out Gran Gran had the waterbending scroll the whole time! But hid it from Katara til now). Aang also doesn't even attempt waterbending at all this season btw

The Gaang gets to Omashu, where they decide to combine The King of Omashu, Jet, The Northern Air Temple...and The Cave of Two Lovers. Despite this sounding clunky and weird, I think these storylines together actually did mesh well (except for the COTL, which OH BOY I WILL GET TO)

The idea here is that the Mechanist, whose name is now Sai (don't know if this was ever mentioned in any supplemental material or if it was just made up for this show) and Teo live here. Jet and the Freedom Fighters also live nearby, where they are trying to plant bombs around Omashu and make the Gaang think it's the Fire Nation.

One scene I wanna mention, and please correct me if I'm wrong, but I SWEAR Sai said he needed to control the "attitude" of the hot air balloon...not "altitude."

Aang ends up getting captured by Bumi's generals, and he almost immediately figures out who Bumi is. Which...I cannot believe Aang named his son after THIS Bumi. He's kind of a huge asshole and is mad at Aang for abandoning them for the past century. Like you really had to make the character angry at him Bumi???

So, um. Let's talk about the COTL plot now.

Katara and Sokka go to try and find Aang and find out that there's a series of elaborate tunnels underneath Omashu, where they run into the singing nomads. This was literally only a plotline so that they had an excuse to sing Secret Tunnel this season. They explain to the siblings the story of Oma and Shu (which is just verbatim from the original series), ending with "Love is brightest in the dark."

Remember that. They preface the storyline of the tunnels by explicitly telling Katara and Sokka about the two lovers. Very romantic.

Katara and Sokka quickly realize that the cave crystals glow in the dark and begin to follow the path. Love is brightest in the dark, right? Along they way they begin bickering because Katara feels like Sokka still sees and treats her like a child.

Eventually they get pursued by a badger mole who begins to chase them. They apologize to one another and hold hands as they think they're about to be killed but...the badger mole stops attacking.

Why does it stop attacking, you ask?

Because now apparently badger moles can feel human emotions. They don't like feeling people fight and want to feel the love between them instead.

I was LOSING IT at this part. "Love is brightest in the dark" was apparently metaphorical.

And don't get me wrong, I love seeing platonic and familial love portrayed in media...but like, to do this storyline...don't preface it with a romantic tale of two lovers????? It gives off a very unintentionally creepy vibe for the siblings. And I'm sure I don't have to explain why badger moles being able to sense love is just dumb as shit.

Moving on....Bumi is nice again. Yay.

They go to the town where Hei Bai is attacking and Aang somehow accidentally pulls Katara and Sokka into the spirit world with him because the writers also wanted to have The Swamp here. Oh, and the Koh storyline. He doesn't steal faces for showing emotion anymore either, he just captures people and eats them later and steals their faces then. Cool.

Oh, and Wan Shi Tong is there and he looks emaciated.

Katara relives the night her mom dies, while Sokka sees a mysterious looking fox in the forest. Initially I assumed this was one of Wan Shi Tong's knowledge seekers but oh no. Oh no, it is much, MUCH worse. We'll come back to it.

Aang manages to find Gyatso in the Spirit World, which again is an idea that I LOVE. Gyatso explains that after he died, he never moved on to the next cycle of enlightenment, instead choosing to stay in case Aang needed him. They have a really touching moment, and Aang promises to come find him again after he finds Katara and Sokka.........which we'll come back to.

The events of The Blue Spirit happen, not much to talk about here. Aang connects with Roku (apparently he can only connect with past Avatars at their respective shrines, btw) and finds out Roku stole a totem of The Mother of Faces from Koh and that's why Koh hates the Avatar. Why steal that totem?? Hell if I know. Roku's also a funny man now I guess.

Aang saves Katara and Sokka from being Koh food and all is well. Yay.

They finally get to the North and this is where the show really went from being mid to pure cringe for me.

The "women only learn healing" plot is still here. Katara is rightfully angry about it, but Aang's like "oh well maybe you should listen to them". Yes, really.

Here Aang is so worried about losing anyone else, which, obviously understandable. But he doesn't want Katara and Sokka, especially Katara, to fight AT ALL. Which I mean. OG Aang never once tried discouraging her from learning to fight. Obviously he loves her and does have concern for her safety a number of times throughout the show and comics, but he also knows she can kick ass and stand her ground on her own and never tries to stop her.

Katara fights Pakku, and despite literally the day before saying she still has a lot to learn and a long way to go, she's just instantly declared a master waterbender now!

And oh boy my friends, buckle in because now we're gonna talk about Yue.

First off...her wig looks BAD. Like I'm pretty certain I saw her real hair sticking through a few times. Why not just dye the actress' hair....even Shyamalan's Yue hairstyle looked better than this, and we all know what that looked like.

So right off the bat Sokka asks Katara if Yue is at all familiar. Katara says no but Sokka keeps pressing and eventually follows Yue, where we learn she's a waterbender? Okay, not like her being a waterbender or not has any affect whatsoever on the story, but sure. We also learn that she had previously been engaged to Hahn but broke it off because he "wasn't the boy of her dreams". Not sure why they bothered to write him in the first place.

So...Yue and Sokka begin talking, and Sokka finally realizes why she's familiar to him.

I genuinely had to pause the episode to laugh when this reveal happened.

YUE WAS THE FOX SPIRIT SOKKA SAW IN THE SPIRIT WORLD.

Yes, I'm being 100% serious. When Yue was healed by the moon spirit, she turned into Danny Phantom and can now just hop in and out of the Spirit World. As a fox for God knows what reason.

BTW, this has jack shit to do with anything overall. It adds nothing. It serves NO PURPOSE. Genuinely do not know what the hell they were trying to do with that.

Um, so yeah. Moving on.

Apparently in this version, Tui and La only become mortal fish once a year or something? On the night of the "ice moon". Your guess as to what on earth an ice moon is is as good as mine.

Zhao begins to lead an invasion on the north and Momo is killed in the crossfire.

Well, almost.

Again I just busted out laughing because Momo has served NO PURPOSE until now, he's just been there because he was in the og series. I'm sorry Momo, as much as I love you....why were you here.

To save a kid from being crushed by falling debris. He just pushes them out of the way and is crushed. The reason is just so that Yue can take him to the Oasis and use healing on him with the Spirit Water.

Katara and Zuko have their classic fight and Zuko says "Oh you've found a master haven't you?" To which Katara replies, "Yeah, me" because she's a master now after 2 days remember?

Koizilla happens...the tribe is saved...Yue makes her sacrifice. So now she can go be the moon instead of a fox I guess.

Also, I think Iroh killed Zhao, despite earlier in the series refusing to kill the Earth Kingdom soldier who captured him because "we've all seen enough death."

And then...Aang goes back to the Spirit World, to find that the little "house" Gyatso was in is empty now. Gyatso is just gone now, with no explanation, although he seemed to know when he met with Aang beforehand that he would be gone from the Spirit World next time Aang tried to find him. Great job, taking the only interesting storyline made up for this series and just throwing it out the window for no rhyme or reason!

Now lemme talk about Azula....

She's not even Azula anymore. She's really insecure and worried about pleasing her father. Because whenever I thought of Azula, I always thought "insecure!" Like I get what they were going for, Zhao says this honestly kinda raw line about Zuko merely being the fire to sharpen the iron that was Azula, but like....why did she have to be this insecure person now? Also why is she even an archer now? It again has nothing to do with anything

Mai and Ty Lee are there for also no reason at all other than to be like "HEY REMEMBER THESE TWO CHARACTERS FROM THE ORIGINAL SHOW?!" They just stand there and watch Azula train sometimes.

The show ends with a Fire Sage showing Ozai through their planetarium (which they have now I guess) that Sozin's Comet is returning "soon." Who knows when! Just soon!

Also, Kataang shippers do not get your hopes up. Not that I expected much Kataang here at all, but I swear they barely even feel like friends until the end. It almost seems like Katara is more interested in him than he is in her.

My expectations of this series were low from the beginning. When it was first announced this project was in development, I said it was unnecessary and couldn't improve upon the OG in any way...and I was right. Even as its own thing entirely divorced from the cartoon, it's just kind of bland and downright confusing at times.

Anyways, my fingers hurt now so I'm going to wrap this up. Apparently I've been typing for like 1.5 hr now lol

Watch the original series instead :)

#atla #atla spoilers #natla spoilers #natla #netflix atla #atla netflix

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the-bar-sinister · 4 months

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Run Away With Me (4279 words) by thesavagesabretooth Summary: Phoenix gets the final push he needs to come ask Maya to come back with him. Maya gets the final push she needs to finally follow her heart, instead of her grim duty.

October 2, 2028– 11:15 am

Phoenix had been going to visit Maya in Kurain every week since she'd returned to the states in June. Sometimes– often– she wouldn't have much more time than to say hello, and maybe have a cup of coffee, but he still made the hours-long bus ride there just the same, without fail. It didn't matter how much time she had for him. It just mattered that she was there.

He straightened his tie as he arrived at the small bus stop overshadowed by the great stone standing outside the main family’s manor. It hadn’t changed in years– honestly, it was likely it hadn’t even changed in decades from the old wood and the archaic design.

Phoenix would have believed that the bus stop was exactly the same in Maya's mother's and grandmother's time as it was that very day. In fact, he was sure that was the case for most of the village.

He glanced around to see if Maya was there to meet him that day, or if he'd have to go and find her.

The bushes by the bus stop rustled…once…twice…and out leapt a figure clad in purple and white to tackle him in a hug. “NIIIIIiiiiiick!”

Nick yelped in surprise, but caught her in his arms and carried the energy of her tackle into a whirl with the both of them, grinning. "Maya! You took another few years off my life!"

Maya squeezed him tightly, grinning from ear to ear under her dark fringe of hair.

“Shit, I’ll have to be careful. You’re getting on in years. You need ‘em, old man.”

"Ouch, right in the pide," he chuckled with her, letting her down to the ground as he continued to hug her. "You're in good spirits today. I'm glad to see it."

“Don’t tell anyone, I’ll lose their respect as Village Elder.” Maya chuckled as she settled back on her feet. She shrugged her shoulders. “I’m just …ya know…”“I missed you, and believe it or not…I actually have a little free time today.”

Phoenix felt himself light up when she said so, and it showed on his face. "You do? That's fantastic."

Maya grinned and poked his cheek.

“Yep. I’ve got some of the old farts in the sub family handling a couple meetings I don’t gotta attend, so…” She looked over her shoulders “Until someone comes to rain on my parade, we’re golden. You want some tea?”

"I'd love some," he said, slipping one arm around her shoulder. "Unless you have enough time to run back to LA with me for a burger."

He didn't really dare to hope that she could, but he was always going to suggest it.

Maya’s smile faltered for the first time since she’d seen him.

“Ugh… I wish…I haven’t had meat in like, weeks, WEEKS Nick. I’m dyin’ for a good burger but…I mean.” She rubbed her arm “...the people need me , and I could get called back into action any second. You know? I got time, but I dunno if I have ‘hours on the bus both ways’ time.”

He squeezed her close to him and shook his head. "I get it. Don't worry. I brought snacks, anyway. I know how you are. Let's have that tea and I can enjoy watching you tear into them."

Maya laughed into her hand as she backed away and offered her hand with a grin .“You know what I like, Nick.”

It was crazy how much she’d started to look like Mia over the years. She’d grown, considerably, to the point it was almost hard to tell when she channeled her older sister anymore on the rare occasions she tried.

It was very clear in the warm mountain sunlight, at least, with the way the robes fell on her body.

There was an unnerving element to it, sometimes, but mostly, Phoenix just found it amazing how much time had passed between them, and how much it had marked them both.

It wasn't as if he was the same man he'd been when they met, either. He'd grown quite far apart from that man in fact, over the years, and thought for a while that he'd never see him in the mirror again. That was changing now, though, and he was still working on ways to change it even more.

"Some big news this week," he said, catching her up with the goings on at the Wright Agency as he always did, as they made their way to her place.

“Ooooh, big news huh? Did Charlie sprout legs and start pullin’ his weight?” She led him under the arch to the family garden and towards the side door.

"I wish!" he laughed, stepping through the garden with her. "No, it's weirder than that. Trucy went to Khura'in with Klavier."”

“Wuh wuh WHAT???” Maya jolted physically, and all the veneer of ‘Master Fey’ mystique vanished in an instant at her goofy and dramatic gasp. “Trucy went to Khura’in??? With Klavier Frickin’ Gavin??? To Khura’in?????”

He nodded, holding her arm to make sure she didn't trip. "Yeah. They're going to bring Apollo back to the states, apparently. I hope they're going to try to convince him, but they were at least joking about tying him up and smuggling him in a suitcase."

She whistled, sliding the door open with a shake of her head “some kinda bonkers rescue mission then? I guess she really missed the guy….hope they’re gonna be alright. Khura’in is goin’ through some hard times last I heard.”

"Yeah, Apollo's been swamped," Phoenix nodded as they headed into the house. "I hear him and Sadmadhi are the only ones doing the job. And that's not even the political stuff. There's a lot of responsibility on their shoulders."

“Ghhh…” Maya grimaced as she shuffled off her shoes and stepped into her house slippers. “I’m not surprised. Ga’ran amok with a country’s legal system’ Sigatar Khura'in didn’t exactly leave things in a great state. I hope they can book it soon…it wasn’t bad there, but..”

She shook her head, and Nick saw a momentary sadness cross her face “it gets lonely when all you’ve got time for is your responsibility and work that never ends.”

It was personal, he knew that. Even Pearl and Iris had all but moved as far as they could away– which meant Maya was up here with only the occasional visits and the title of ‘Master’.

It has been weighing on Nick's mind. It has been weighing on his mind for months. But never more than in these last few days.

He thought about the item he'd brought in his bag, along with the snacks.

"It sure does get lonely," he murmured. "But hey, if they bring him back, maybe you can actually meet Apollo."

She tugged him in after he switched his shoes, into the long hall surrounding the central courtyard of her Japanese styled manor home.

“You know, I’d like to? He seemed like a pretty cool guy the few times I caught like– half a sight of him.”

"Yeah you guys didn't have much chance to get to know one another in Kuhra'in, sadly," he said, following her into the manor. 'I feel like you guys would get along."

“He always looked so serious!” She laughed as she rounded the corner past the former display area of the Urn of Ami Fey…where Phoenix had once seen Pearl playing with her ball. “You don't think I'd annoy the guy?”

"No way. You'd be surprised by how annoying he is too." Phoenix snickered– though he glanced nostalgically at the spot. Pearl was 18 now, going on 19, and enrolled in the police academy, hoping to become a detective.

Maya glanced out at the courtyard before she tugged him into one of the rooms…a large living room style space with a stove sunken into the center of the room, surrounded by old scrolls and dividers bearing the legacy of the Kurain tradition.

And of course the series of familiar mats around the stove that Maya instantly patted for him to sit atop as she got the pot.

Pearl had grown so much, and pursued a dream nobody had really expected. But this room didn’t look any different than the last time he’d arrived. Hell, it still looked the same as it did that second time she’d been accused of murder.

“No shit? Then we’ll get along like a house on fire.”

Phoenix took a seat and started pulling snacks out of his bag and arranging them on the table for Maya. There were chips, cheese snacks, jerky, and boxes of instant noodles, and more.

"Like a house on fire sounds about right. So I'm hoping they'll get him back just so I can get a front row seat."

Maya laughed.

“Gonna drag him all the way out to Kurain eh? I’d ask if he liked the mountains and uh…” She looked around the room as she filled the teapot from a small spigot in a kitchenette off to the side. “A rustic atmosphere. But if he’s living in Khura’in, he’s gotta love it.”

"I'm sure he'll be thrilled," Phoenix chuckled. He shuffled through the contents of his bag, and hesitated as he grabbed the folder inside, debating with himself.

Maya turned with a broad grin “OH SHIT!” she pointed to the table “you brought me noodles!!!”

Phoenix left the folder where it was and grinned. "I wasn't gonna come without your goodies, Maya."

Maya trotted over and dropped the teapot on the burner with a slight splash of thankfully cool water from its spout.

“You’re my hero, Nick! My literal, actual hero!” She picked up the jerky with a broad grin. “MEAT!”

"Wish I could have brought you some actual burgers, but I figured it was better than nothing." He chuckled, leaning on his hand and watching her.

She flopped down, holding up the jerky like something holy.

“I’ll eat this in memory of you, Nick.” with a giggle, she opened it up and took a big bite with her eyes closed “...It’s been nuffin’ but rice and pickles and veggies for weecksh and weecksh…”

Her mouth was full, her manners as atrocious as ever, but at least she looked happy.

It made him nostalgic, and he felt a swell of affection. "I know it's part of the whole medium thing but it always feels a little rough to me to force you to go without."

“It’s traditional.” She said after she swallowed “and if there’s one thing we love in Kurain it’s tradition!”

She looked down at the jerky in her hands with a chuckle. “There’s always tradition.”

"There sure is," he sighed. He reached back in his bag– then took his hand out and shook his head. He looked back over at Maya. "But there's other stuff, right?"

“There’s channeling!” She said with a lopsided grin “and the mountain air. And…you know…the priestesses and the old folks. It’s nice to see ‘em smiling and happy.”

She reached slowly for a bag of chips. “And I mean..I grew up here, you know?”

He pushed the chips toward her. "Yeah. Like Apollo grew up in Khura'in too. That's why I'm not sure they'll be able to bring him back."

Maya opened the bag of chips, listening to the water as it heated.

“It's hard to leave your home, you know? Especially when it needs ya…you can’t just leave it to suffer without you…and it ain’t the same when you’re gone. Sometimes you just gotta accept that it’s where you belong, you know?

"I guess in the end there's only one person who can make a call like that, huh? Trucy and Klavier might come home covered in bite marks."

“Yikes!” Maya snickered. “If they do, are ya gonna laugh in their faces with an ‘i told ya so’ or give ‘em bandages?”

"I might," he said. "But I might be sad for them too. Any way I can help you with the tea?"

Maya rustled in the bag of chips with a shake of her head “It’s just heating up, don’t worry about that…it’ll just be another minute or two.”

She took a bite of the chip, joy sparking in her eyes for a moment before it quieted again. “I’ll be sad for ‘em too. I bet they miss the guy, huh?”

"Trucy especially. She was his co-counsel, you know? For a while. Like you and me used to do."

Maya had a chip in her mouth when she looked up at him with a half smile.

“those were the days, huh?” She chomped the chip with a look of satisfaction before she continued “...being someone’s co-counsel feels special, can’t blame her for being kind of heartbroken to lose him like that. Suddenly your life’s a lot quieter.”

"Actually," Phoenix said, feeling himself start to sweat. He couldn't believe he was doing this. He shouldn't do it. But… He reached into his bag and pulled out the folder. "Speaking of those days– could I ask you to look over a legal document, for me?"

“Forget how to read legal docs during your break, Phoenix?” Maya teased him playfully as she held out her hand for it. “you’re hopeless. I’ll take a peek for ya, sure.”

"You know I did," he chuckled. "Even a couple years back in the game, I still don't have all the skills back I had when you were around."

His fingers twitched, but he managed to hand her the document. There was a slim stack of papers inside.

They weren't particularly obtuse documents.

He'd typed them himself.

Maya opened it up to read them, starting from the top as she tucked her hair over her ear.

They were business papers. A contract for a permanent position as the manager of Wright Agency, and a full half stake of the company.

He watched as her brow furrowed. She flipped a page– they widened– .and then she jumped as the teapot began to steam and she hurried to take it off the burner with wide eyes

“...N-Nick…this….”

There was a name typed in at the bottom, waiting to be signed.

Maya Fey.

"It's an offer," Phoenix said quietly. "And a plea, too. I know Kurain needs you, Maya, but– I need you too."

Maya pushed her hand through her hair, her breath catching as she looked between the paper and him.

“I…Nick, I miss you too. Of course I miss ya…I need you too but…” She looked down at the paper again, her eyes lingering on the name. “but who’s gonna take care of the village while I’m managing the office? Nobody. There’s nobody else! Mom already abandoned them and died, Mia left….Morgan was a monster, Pearl esca— is following her dream. I’m the only one here who can bear the responsibility!”

She tensed “I trained for it, for years. If I just left I’d …what would happen?”

"Maya, I'll be honest, I don't know what would happen," Phoenix said quietly. He looked down at the table. "I don't know what would happen to Kurain, or the people here without their important medium blood leader. But I know what would happen for me. I'd be happy. I'd get to have you in my life. I'd get to wake up and see you smiling, and get to take you out for burgers, and ramen. And have you by my side in court."

His fingers tensed on the edge of the table as he remembered that fateful case almost ten years ago now, when Maya hadn't been by his side. Everything had gone wrong. And he'd lost 7 years of his life to a kind of despair. "It's not the same without you, Maya. I'm not the same. I– it's not fair to put it on you, I know. But I'm a selfish man. I always have been."

Maya’s eyes started to tear up, and she reached up to push her hands through her bangs again. She stared down at the contract.

“It’s not the same for me either, you know” “I mean…I…I’ve changed too.” She looked up at him with a shaky smile. “But you know me, you know I’d love to wake up next to you and fight it out in the courtroom, or have ramen whenever I want, or goof around and watch the Pink Princess and all that! But the people here need a leader…and if it’s me or Pearl, I’ll take the bullet before she has to. She’s got a dream now…”

"Why? Maya?" Phoenix said, leaning across the table.He let it out. He let out what he'd been holding in– what had been building in his chest for years now. "Why do they need a leader, and why does it need to be you? Who even cares about any of this? Do you? Mia left! Pearl left! It's the 21st century– these people don't need you as a leader, they're using you, they're using your talent to bolster their way of life– and you don't even want to live that way!"

“You’re soundin’ a lot like her…” Maya grimaced as she reached for the teapot “louder and louder lately.”

Her fingers curled against the handle as she lifted it and fumbled blindly for the teacups.

Nick staggered to his feet and moved to help her, grabbing the teacups for her.

"Sounding like who? Cause they sound like they have a good head on their shoulders."

October 2, 2028– 11:35 am

Maya heard Phoenix get up, stepping beside her to take care of the cups while she took the teapot. He had a plaintive look on his face, which seemed, just for a moment, to not have aged a day since they'd first met.

She dropped her head into her hands, rubbing at her temples with her fingertips as she felt her jaw tighten “like nobody…don’t worry about it, Nick. I’m just talking to myself.”

Like Mia. She’d always heard her voice since the murder’s aftermath, on and off— and more in more the longer time went on– she wasn’t foolish enough to tell herself it wasn’t real, she was the Master of the Kurain Channeling Technique after all, even if it wasn’t the usual sort of channeling it was clear to her that the voice and presence in her head, draped throughout her like an extension of herself was none other than her departed sister.

“Does it matter? Whether they’re using me or not, this town needs me to survive.”

"Economically, Maya," he said, taking the teapot from her as well, and pouring tea for them. "They need you to survive economically. No one's going to die if you leave. They need you the same way a farmer needs a prize cow to show at the fair, I know that seems harsh, but it's true."

It is harsh, Mia said. But he's not wrong, either.“Ghhh…” Maya closed her eyes tightly. “c-calling me a cow, huh Nick? That’s a great way to convince me to come back to LA, sure!”

She laughed it off like a joke, even as she felt her eyes sting. She knew they were profiting off her, but that’s the way it’d always been. The village was the mediums and the mediums were the village. There wasn’t one without the other.

He set down the teapot and put his hand on her back. "Maya, you know that's not what I'm doing. But what are you getting out of being here, really? They're sucking you dry. Why should you be forced to serve them forever as their pet medium, just so they can get rich off your talent? Just so they can continue their reputation? Tell me off if you really want this, Maya– but if you don't want to be here, you don't have to. You really don't."

Maya bit her lip hard, feeling the pain as her tooth nearly cut the skin. She tried to summon the will to tell him off, but she couldn’t lie to herself…

She didn’t want to be here. Why would she wanna waste away in the mountains doing the job her mother abandoned? The job everyone else escaped from, forever and ever until the last of her talent dried up and she died for whatever offspring she managed to have to take up the burden in her place.

It was miserable. SHE was miserable being so far from every little pleasant thing she got to experience for a short and blissful time away from the village.

Phoenix put his arms around her shoulders.

"Maya. I'm not going to stand here and advocate for Kurain village. To me, they're a bunch of backward people who hurt you, and Pearl, and Mia, and who Pearl and Mia couldn't wait to escape from. They're a bunch of bitchy women who backstab one another and are ashamed of their husbands. I couldn't advocate for them if I tried." She felt his arms trembling around her, and his face on the back of her head.

“I want you, Maya. I love you. I've kept my mouth shut for almost 10 years, because I don't have any right to tell you what to do. I don't own you, you're your own person. But I hate to see you dividing yourself among greedy people when I want you for myself. It hurts, Maya. It hurts because I love you, and I miss you."

Maya felt the hot patter of tears hit her hands as the teapot swam in her vision.

“I…” she hiccuped quietly. “I love you too, Nick. I know we never said it before but…but..I do.” Her fingers tightened on her lap as she looked up at him with a rough attempt at a smile. It hurt, but..the whole thing hurt. “You aren’t wrong…this place is a mess.”

Mia…I don’t know what to do. I know , I know what you’re gonna say but…

You know what I'm going to say, already, Maya. You know you do. I think that you should follow your heart. And I don't think your heart is in Kurain village any more than mine was.

Phoenix combed his fingers through Maya's hair. "I should have said it a long time before now. I didn't want to put a name on it. But I should have. I love you, Maya. Run away with me."

Maya choked, her shoulders shook and she felt the sudden wet trickle of tears hitting the backs of her hands and running onto her kimono below, leaving dark and damp spots near her folded knees. .

“I…I…” she whimpered. “I wish you said it sooner, Nick….wouldn’t have needed to run far at all. Hah. Hah.”

She gripped her kimono tighter in her fingers.

“Looks like everyone’s always runnin’...running from Kurain. Mia…wants…would want…me to go too.”

"Mia, huh?" he said quietly in her ear. "That's what I thought. Yeah. I bet. I'm sorry I didn't say it sooner. I didn't think– after what happened, I didn't think I had any right. And then you were in Khura'in, and I— I realized how completely lost I am without you."

He squeezed her tighter, holding himself against her body.

Maya leaned against him with a choked laugh.

“You really are helpless without me, Nick. I turn my back, you lose your badge…or start smashing your way through a country’s legal system.” The laugh didn’t stop as she half fell against him “Nick…do you got any idea how small Kurain is? It’s like the rest of the world doesn’t exist. It’s just this circle of houses and the channeling chamber…everything outside is …situational.”

"I have some idea, Maya. It's suffocating you, isn't it?"

She nodded , looking up at him with tear stained eyes. “I used to think I could live my whole life there. But Mia, when she vanished, she kept inviting me out and showing me things in the real world. I loved it…but it meant that comin’ back felt like being put in a cage.”

As Maya turned around in his arms to look at him, she saw his own eyes filled with tears as he looked down at her.

"I don't want you to live in a cage, Maya. Pearl doesn't want that. Iris doesn't. Mia didn't want it. Not for you, and not for her. Please, Maya— will you be my partner again? We've been through so many crazy things that turned out to be real. Can we make this real?"

Maya hiccuped again, and she nodded.

“y-...Holy Mother, are the spirits of Aunt Morgan and the rest gonna be unhappy…but y-yes.” She closed her eyes tightly to stop the way her vision swam through her tears. “I wanna be your partner again, Nick. I w-wanna run away.”

He leaned his chin on her head, and she felt his throat against her as he swallowed. "Maya, I don't care who else is unhappy, because I'm the happiest I've ever been. We're going to be happy, together."

Maya leaned up to kiss his chin. It wasn’t going to be easy…not emotionally. Not when the elders of the village came to ask questions…but…

I’m making the right choice, right Mia? I’ve gotta follow my heart.

It's the choice I made, Maya. I didn't even have someone begging me to go with them, and I never regretted it for a second. Even though it made my life a lot shorter.

#narumayo #nickmaya #ace attorney #fanfiction #fan fiction #fanfic #archive of our own #ao3

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cinnamonest · 2 years

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This is by far my favourite genshin yan blog, the way you write the characters are so like how i picture them! My question is, of all the mortal genshin boys, other than Razor, which do you see as the top handful of yans being most mentally determined to find you and bring you home if you managed to escape, even across the continent? Like, the LEAST willing to just give up eventually and find a new darling?

Uwahh ty anon <3

I like that you had to specify “other than Razor” lol

Obviously all are gonna be rather determined to find you again, but some in particular that come to mind:

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Ayato keeps a fairly humble exterior, but in truth, he has a sense of pride, and when that pride is wounded, it’s not something he can easily forgive.

Of course, he has quite a large amount of resources at his disposal, so he'll likely be able to find you rather quickly, in which case you'll get the cold treatment and quite a firm talking-to, after which the matter will be let go of, albeit gradually. Still, it won't be treated as that big of a deal.

Not that he isn’t attached to you, of course, but that pridefulness is a large part of his motivation in tracking you down. It’s not just ‘how could you leave me,’ but it’s more ‘how dare you leave me.’ It’s offense, anger, bitterness. You don’t get to do that. He’s not about to take such an insult without putting every resource he has at his disposal into correcting what he feels to be a transgression against him.

If, on the other hand, even all the subordinates he has on hand can't find you within a day or so, then it becomes a bigger issue. He initially had a few people sent out to retrieve you, but in this case, he'll instead direct all of the staff he has available to do so.

Over time, though, the longer you stay unfound, the more he begins to lose composure. Becomes more irritable, less emotionally stable, begins to uncharacteristically snap at people and lose his temper. Which he realizes and is self-aware of, often stopping and catching himself mid-sentence and forcing himself to calm down... the realization that he's acting so unusually undignified just drives him to put that much more effort in.

Which is also why, by the time you are finally found, it's far from a warm welcome home. You're treated with a rather cold demeanor, narrowed eyes downcast to look at you with disdain. He treats it as quite the offense, which is why you'll never be given such an opportunity again... and frankly, in part due to the fact that he's worried of what would become of his sanity if that were to ever occur again.

-----

Tighnari is a bit sad to witness, really. It’s yet another instance of the whole “mate for life” thing drives him to find you at all costs, his brain is hardwired to have a ‘one and only’ in a way a human’s brain is not. Life ceases to feel worthwhile, nothing else seems to be of any importance. He’ll forget to eat and sleep.

His mental state will gradually deteriorate the longer you’re gone. It's not a matter of logical reasoning that he's likely to find you, and while despair and longing is certainly a major element in it all, that's still not the root cause. It's a sense of wrongness. His brain is constantly alerting him to a sense of something being wrong and needing immediate resolution, an instinct that's subconscious rather than conscious, like pain or hunger, a sensation that is hardwired into the brain and will not go away until the issue is fixed.

People feel a lot of pity for him. He doesn't eat much, doesn't sleep. He'll go out into the forest, aimlessly wandering around, as if expecting to find something. Constantly searching, often to the point he's at the brink of collapse from exhaustion. He takes trips out into the city, to the desert, everywhere he can think of.

He also, probably more so than any other listed here, undergoes personality change, in which he essentially gradually becomes a hollow shell. Rarely speaks. All his movements become slow and lethargic, he walks around with glazed-over eyes staring out into nothing. It's such an innate instinct, he's essentially incapable of functioning normally, his very body begins to shut down out of grief as he becomes emaciated and dull-eyed.

That being said, pitiful as it is, and as tempted as you may be to feel bad for him, that also means it will be extremely unfortunate for you if you were ever found again. The experience leaves him utterly traumatized, to the extent that if you're found, you can be absolutely certain that you will never have the opportunity to leave ever again, regardless of how extreme the measure to ensure it may be.

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Childe is similar to Ayato in that it's partially a pride matter, but it's not a matter of that pride being offended by you running off, so much as it is maintaining it by being able to get you back. That is, he won't see your running off as a slight against him or hold a grudge, but he stakes his confidence in being able to hunt you down with ease.

Far more importantly, however, he likes the challenge of it. It's part of who he is in general, he's the sort of boy that if you say "there's no way you can do that" or the like, it will suddenly become his utmost imperative to do exact the thing in question and not stop until he has accomplished proving you wrong. It's practically compulsive, he has to prove that he is capable of whatever he decides to do, and the thought of being wrong and thus incapable is infuriating. Likewise, you running off is essentially an indirect way of you presenting a challenge to him. How could he ever just sit back and let you go, or not put full effort into finding you?

His attitude changes a bit, though, depending on the duration of time consumed. For the first little while, he treats it sort of like a game, has fun with the whole matter. He doesn't even seem all that upset that you've gotten out; if anything, he's almost excited by it.

Once you've disappeared for some time, though, and he begins to feel like he actually might not be able to find you, that you might get away, his attitude changes. Now he's actually getting nervous, and more importantly, the fact that you successfully hid from him for such a duration of time is... irritating. Basically you getting one over on him, and it feels like you're mocking him... in his head he can practically see you being all smug about it. Makes him grind his teeth, clench his fists.

The angrier he gets, the more frantic and desperate he gets with his search. Normally, he'll be slower about it, likes to see you squirm and finds it cute to see how you will try to hide away somewhere, so he likes to give you enough time to make it to potential "help" and all that, just to see you despair when it all falls apart anyway. But on the rare occasion you hide a little too well, and suddenly he actually can't find you, then it's a problem, and he'll be far stricter and harsher with his searching, and far more emotionally volatile to those around him.

Eventually this can become too much. If it takes too long and he genuinely panics, he'll even drop the usual snarky demeanor after finally finding you, too upset to even mock you, entirely focused on anger and prioritizing taking you back. So if you're finally found, but he's uncharacteristically quiet and cold, it's not a good sign for your immediate future.

-----

Heizou... well, he thinks he can find you, so he sets his mind to it.

He's a much more mentally stable yandere than most, but when it comes to you disappearing, when the situation arises, he has to calm himself down and remind himself that this is basically his specialty, is it not? He's been on plenty of missing persons cases before. He just needs to apply the same methodology he would use for those.

Of course, his personal emotions do get in the way of his efficiency. Due to being very lucid and all, his primary feeling in the moment is intense paranoia and panic that you're going to go to law enforcement. The first thing he does, actually, is head to the station himself, thinking he might catch you there if that is where you decided to go... but then again, you'd probably not do that for obvious reasons. In which case...

He has to calm himself down, but putting his mind to work helps with that process. He goes about it just as he would with anything else, making a mental list of possibilities, narrowing it down and prioritizing the most likely of those possibilities, then gradually begins checking each and using process of elimination. He has to keep his mind distracted, treat it like a case, or else he knows he's going to break down.

But in terms of dedication, he can keep it up for a very, very long time, and puts in every ounce of effort he has, everything he's learned over his years, into seeing it through. This, too, is largely about his own sanity. He focuses his entire mental energy into treating it like a case because he knows he'll fall apart if he doesn't, and thus, he's incredibly dedicated. He has to keep focusing on it, not take his mind off of it. The moment he begins to let himself despair, he'll give into paranoia, and quite possibly fully lose his mind.

Thus, in a way, continuing searching is what keeps him sane. If he stops, he'll be constantly paranoid, constantly panicked, but at least searching for you gives his brain a faux sense of progress, which calms him down... although, given enough time without success, that coping method might start to fail too...

-----

Although what is perhaps the absolute worst isn't immortal nor in any particularly notable position of power.

Kaeya is driven by a lot of things. Love, sure, it's part of it.

But primarily, above all else, when he comes home one day to an empty room, he goes through a few stages. First panic, grief, you know, the expected emotions, the whole process of frantically checking around for you, slowly coming to terms with reality. He then falls into a deep depression, lasting around two or three days, drinks himself to the point of unconsciousness at least twice over.

And then, when he wakes up slumped onto the couch, head pounding and dizzy, staring up at the ceiling, the hurt is quickly overridden by a new sentiment: pure, unadulterated spite.

It's no secret to you, after living with him for so long, that despite the exterior, he's not exactly the most emotionally stable person in the world, that he has quite his fair share of unresolved psychological issues.

It's a bit different from the pridefulness of precious entries. It's an extension of pride, tied to it, but it's more... malicious. Vengeful. Driven by a desire not just to get you back out of love, nor out of desire to restore a sense of pride, but because getting you back is the only way he can ensure you suffer.

Which is why you probably should have known better. You're just inviting the potential consequences. And that spite is one hell of a motivator.

Day in, day out. He takes time away from work, comes up with an excuse about an emergency that must be dealt with. Uses any and every resource at his disposal. Embezzles funds before he departs if necessary.

You think you can just get up and walk off. After everything he's done for you? No, no, you don't get to do that to him. You're not allowed to do that, you don't get to get away with that. It's a bitter, seething feeling, but that sensation just drives him to work harder. It can be easily utilized and converted into energy and dedication, like fuel to an engine.

He doesn't really have any limits to what he's willing to do, either. Unlike some that would still maintain their ethics, if threatening or hurting people is necessary to get information, it's not something he'll hesitate to do.

He may not have what others have — underlings at his command, the animal senses, the professional investigative background, the unlimited lifespan of time, or any of the other advantages that everyone else listed here has — but he gets the top ranking here purely by merit of relentless, boundless, unhinged determination. And, of course, unhesitating use of extreme measures and remarkable willingness for violence doesn't hurt. Quite the force to be reckoned with, and you really don't want to be on the receiving end of the vengefulness fueling it all... not that you have much of a choice, as you will be found eventually, no matter how far.

And yet, despite how unlikely it is, somehow, you know. When you come back one day and notice the lights are all out and door hanging open, you feel dread. When you walk in to a quiet, dark room, walk around the home with trembling footsteps, come to a halt and feel your eyes go wide as you look down to some indistinguishable shapes lying on the floor, you know immediately. Without having to think, without having to wonder, without any clues to go on. You just immediately, instinctively know. Even before you feel a presence right behind you, even before you slowly turn your head over your shoulder...

And you did, in fact, manage to get pretty far. Found some nice people that let you stay with them. How nice of them.

For most people, it would seem like you were in the clear, and even now, whenever you get paranoid, look around with nervous eyes in public and all, people tell you you're letting it get to your head, that there's nothing to worry about. But you can't shake the feeling.

#im not dead #yet #(ily my unhinged baby boy 💕)

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