#I hope I didn't deviate too far from the main ask

[chatadile2]

Hi! Would you be willing to share anything more about your sidestep? 👀 no pressure, of course, but I’d love to hear more about them!

Hihi, yee don't mind don't mind, thank you for the ask and the interest in her!

One thing before I do tho, that this might change later on mattering from how the next 2 books will be when they come out (not like I'm gonna really remember my choices, so probably will replay and deviate from how I did originally in most things), but overall it shouldn't really, just wanna let my Sidestep actually have a happy life after what happened and be able to heal <:D

Also this is going to be long from what I have written so far, way more than I expected, but hope it's alr :D

(It probably has spoilers in there, but tried to not say too much to make sure anyone reading won't be getting the full picture, till they get there. Also edited it, so it has a cut, cause realised that it might take up more space in searches than I want it to)

-Her name is Tiaxy Draconic (based on my sona since I like to have her in any kind of interactive book story to see what can happen with her and to enjoy the story a bit more personally), a gal with white skin, longer braided blond hair and green eyes, who is a seasoned tech-savy tactician, that becomes very conflicted by the events retribution towards her own self, her villain persona, puppet, life and emotions overall making things more complicated than ever,

-Big sweet toothed telepath, favourite sweet specifically is cheescake!

-Her villain name is Tiamat, based on the goddess and looks somewhat like what they designed for her in the game Smite (Overall my sona herself is connected in a way to the goddess in her own lore outside of the books, so seemed most fitting to make it her villain self's armor), but made to fit the story a bit better, other than with the armor having an expressive face on the helmet, which can show her emotions well enough when she wants it to that can be controlled with cams inside the head aimed at her face and with through the ui. The armor itself wouldn't be exactly like the book describes, being apart, but together, like the power armor in fallout (much more to my liking for what I'm imagining an armor of hers is). It's in the terrifying category with speed, jet boost and telepathy enhancing, helping to keep the "no hit record" alive and well enough that she only got hit majorly once, she isn't planning to get hit majorly anymore even if the armor can take it,

-Main motivation as a villain is justice and truth on the other side and she is an anarchist in the 1st playthrough, mattering from which I like, might switch to another (not really into the politics, but doesn't mean I didn't like punting a guy in one of the later missions tho),

-Her base is an abandoned office building (or whatever it was, can't remember the exact name atm), she refurbished it enough to live there, making sure her armor is close enough by for easy access, old apartment wasn't bad though, she lived well enough, manipulating rich peeps to give her their money, funding her life easily, puppet stayed above the apartment after she moved though,

-As a villain, she isn't trying to kill anyone, atleast any civilians (anyone else will get punted if they are in the way), knows they aren't the problem and tries to show the truth to them and to overall everyone, trying to plant doupt where it needs to be present, even if it's naive at that time, her goals are overall heroic rather than villanious,

-She might pretend a lot, masking as she had always done in fear of being seen and recognised, she is trying/starting to be more positive and genuine towards the end, not by much, but it's way bigger difference then in rebirth with her being very antisocial, it might bite her later though, like before, but hopefully can get out of trouble in the next books,

-Says she doesn't want to keep her friends, yet does, doesn't wanna interact with them, yet does and runs into them by accident a lot, doesn't want to love anyone, yet again does and says things she says she didn't actually want and why did she even do so, for example, she agreed to get together with Herald when she didn't exactly plan to, surpising even her own self and ofc making Herald very happy (he is too much of a positive influence on her, both physical and mental, and she couldn't say no, even tho she thinks she wanted to, she didn't, she can't deny it >:]),

-She overall knows something is wrong with her, broken (literally, yknow yknow when), and instead of keeping the destructive habits, tries to get herself together proper and tries to heal, as well as her own self allows and is able of course, and even tries to accept herself somewhat even if it's very hard, she agreed to see the therapist too by Ortega's wishes and recommendation in rebirth and didn't push them away too much in retri, didn't reveal too much either, but wasn't overall hostile, so didn't really regret it that much compared to when she agreed to it and said it helped some,

-Nightmares are still plenty regardless of change (which I hope will change later and she actually can get sleep, cause my god she needs it, every sidestep needs to have a good night sleep),

-As mentioned, she is starting to accept herself, so she is starting to use her puppet a bit less after 2 years and deciding to start going by herself more to wherever she needs to be or mainly in armor rather most of the time though,

-Speaking of the puppet, his name is Jake a white skinned, green eyed, black and green wild haired guy, who got together with Ortega in rebirth and are eternally flirting in retri, which is still the case by the end,

-Puppet met Ortega while boxing, getting some emotions out, they train whenever they can,

-As herself, she became Herald's coach, which was the extent she wanted the connection be, but things took a turn for possibly better than expected,

-Became even more friendly friends by retri with Steel, Ortega, Herald (ofc, who wouldn't) and Mortum through her puppet (broke my heart through the first playthrough tho of retri when Tia gave him the gun as herself and decided it's as good as of a time to tell him something very important [I never regretted anything more in my life, physical and mental damage irl that I didn't think was possible ;-;], hoping tho that it won't bite me later and actually be agood thing),

-Since she unintentionally (def intentionally, even if she doesn't realise) got closer with most of the rangers (other than Argent, they are netrual since rebirth), they all noticed something up with her and always ask "are you okay?", which she at the 4th time was like "why is everyone keep asking me this???", which was honestly pretty funny, getting asked so many times if she is, ofc she isn't, but she won't gonna say it just yet (she did admit it a bit though, with Ortega in rebirth, he did recommend the therapist for a reason),

-Spoon is still the best thing that happened interms of animal interactions, she enjoyed her time with Steel there a ton,

-Would absolutelly be a cat person, if she didn't know better, wouldn't mind a dog either (she needs a therapy dog by the end, I swear, hoping and praying here [even if that doesn't happen, rat king might be better for that purpose for Sidestep specifically]),

-Other than the rangers and a select few, she isn't fond of people regardless of how much change she goes through, that won't change, antisocial all the wayyy babbbyyyy other than friends ofc,

-Compared to rebirth, she calmed down a lot more from the high of her villain self's deput, still that doesn't mean she isn't excited to go and be the villain whenever the time comes, that's still exciting regardless, but that doesn't mean she doesn't have her doubts about wether or not it is truly the right path she decided upon after everything,

-Likes rainy days and water overall. Likes to just watch rainfall from her room, esp likes it when it pours. It's somehow pretty terapeutic just watching and listening to the rain fall. Whenever she is able, she does go to the beach to listen to the waves,

-Likes to wear an almost fully black coat, which is just a very dark shade of blue, likes the fact it is long and almost reach the ground, under it a light blue shirt, with long dark purple pants and formal-ish shoes that are made to make sure she can walk on wet and otherwise problematic surfaces without any trouble, and she wears white gloves.

And I think that's it atm, can't remember more from the top of my head and I think this is plenty for now anyways, I wrote down a lot more than I expected to have! Hopefully this can give a bit more inside into my darling Sidestep, since I'm an artist, I might even draw them depending on if I can stick with what I'm drawing and not just put it on the shelf for later, yknow yknow gjjfj.

Again, thank you for the interest in my gal! If you have anymore questions about her that are more specific and not answered here, just lmk! I don't mind talking about it and aswering, I rather enjoy doing so :]

[rotblut]

i’m currently watching sweet home s2 (will finish today and i saved your rant ask about it to read after)

so far i’m mostly having a good time, it’s entertaining, but it’s just … making me reminiscent of season 1? i think s1 had more heart; learning about hyunsu’s backstory and the aching theme of wanting to live, of fighting to live, and humanity and hope in the darkness. idk if im explaining it well but like s2 just feels like a generic apocalypse show now. i know it’s completely diverged from the webtoon now, but i feel like we’ve lost the why of the show. i’m a little :/ because i was really really looking forward to this season because s1 left off on such a cliffhanger and i’d thought we could expand on the story, but lm not interested in military politics.

(also am i the only one put off by seeing song kang’s body so much!? im already not a huge fan of him as an actor - i like him in this show cause he’s just bloody and pathetic - but i think the directors forgot his character is supposed to be a teenager. his head is too small his shoulders are too broad his tits are too big like is this how lesbians feel?)

I agree with your criticism of the SH drama. that's why the drama shouldn't have deviated so strongly from the source material original story. again, looking at season 2 the title doesn't even make sense anymore. the story from the webtoon was always focused on hyun soo and his outer and inner struggles from the beginning till the end and strangly enough he was the human+supernatural anchor that held all the emotional storylines together and made it work but in the drama, it got lost and replaced with violent scenes of him being naked and chained, that had no meaning and felt flat and fanservice-y. also feel like it counts that hyun soo was hardly in s2 as well. and he felt more like a side character instead of the main one. I feel like they also should have explored eunyoo's backstory a bit more because in s1 it was all tell but not seen and they could have used s2 to show us instead of just told us all the time. and even tho i enjoyed her search for eun hyuk it would have been great if she had gotten room for her own character that did not have anything to do with either of the 3 guys. didn't also understand the reasoning why all the female characters were acting *antagonistic* in regards to her as well. also, the violence in general for s2 was just so different from s1. i feel like those kinds of dramas need to move on from having a military-political and scientific-medicine-focused subplot and just concentrate on the *normal people* as they struggle to survive but they won't let that cow die. see them put that same shite subplot in season 2 of all of us are dead as well once they finally decide to give us updates on that one after nearly 2 fucking years...............like as if anyone gives a fuck about any of the other projects that the main cast gets when we all want s2 of aouad.......... insanity

also i'm not commenting on kang's body. it's fine and pretty. and true he's not the best actor but when he hits he hits so it all depends on the role and writing. but also there was a 3 year time jump in sweet home so i guess they had to put some fanservice in there......... but i was surprised about all the bare skin left and right in s2.

[more-than-a-princess]

A fundraiser for the preservation of traditional Japanese arts, curiously presented in the form of a European-style masquerade. How ill-considered. At least the mask Shinobu had chosen covered their face well enough, even if it didn't hide the scar on their cheek. They hoped not to be recognized, after all. Was that not the point of all this pageantry?

A fancy handkerchief with the attending guest's name on it had been provided - further proof in Shinobu's eyes that the masquerade theme was merely a cheap attempt at chasing an aesthetic trend with no consideration for it. A traditional Japanese theme would have been more suitable, but they supposed it didn't matter to the organizers so long as they made their money. The audacity of that impish Anzu to invite her along, and then to cancel her own attendance once it was too late for Shinobu to leave.

In absence of anything else to do, Shinobu had ended up on an outside balcony in the evening rain, shredding the handkerchief to bits with a small knife and letting the pieces fall to the ground stories below. "I do not mind a bit of rain." She hadn't expected anyone to take notice of her brooding outside the main ballroom, but if someone was speaking to her, it was impolite not to answer. "There are far worse things than getting wet."

Unprompted IC starters - Accepting from mutuals!

Flowers, she supposed, were supposed to get wet: water and sunlight, apparently, were all they truly needed to thrive. Not that Sonia was an expert: without Castle staff to look after them properly, plants tended to die in her living spaces. She either over-watered them, determined to succeed in a normal household task for once, or her duties kept her away for far too long, and their leaves and petals withered and died, turning dry and brown by the time she was allowed to see them again.

It was ironic, then, that for all intents and purposes she resembled a flower that couldn't get wet. Couture designer Yumi Katsura had designed and fit one of her handmade confections to her figure, the elderly woman proud that her royalty-inspired floral gowns would finally adorn real royalty. The Princess of Novoselic hadn't been given much in the way of any real say, that honor had gone to her mother via video call, several stylists, and several members of her family's PR staff, but the hand-painted silk petals fashioned over petticoats and an ample hoopskirt made her feel like a jellyfish in their blue-purple gradient finery. More appropriate than a flower, she surmised: jellyfish could only move in a single direction, with the current or aid of other life forms. Royalty, she thought, often operated the same way: never deviating from the course, from duty.

It had been her mild sense of sarcasm, then, that had led her to selecting the coordinating mask. The pale blue lace had its floral pattern, backed in matching silk charmeuse and tying over her updo carefully in coordinating silk strands, but she'd asked the likes of tiny crystal beads and seed pearls to be sewn atop it, causing it to sparkle. Rather like a coral reef, which didn't quite match the traditional Japanese art which the fundraiser was focused on. That was fine, neither did the guest who wore the mask in question: everything she wore that night was in homage to the traditional Japanese arts without appropriating it. Mask or not, she'd be featured in hundreds of photographs and no one really needed her unmasked in order to identify her: tall stature, blonde hair, heavily accented Japanese, and a significant donation made by the Novoselic Royal Family did it for her. In turn, her nation would receive a museum exhibit, composed of artifacts from private collections and artists, to display for the Novosonian public to visit. But someone needed to represent the family that evening, and with Sonia already attending Hope's Peak as the Ultimate Princess, it had been a simple choice. She was far more desirable to dress than her father would have been.

But he would've had more resilience, she thought, where the neverending parade of conversations, flash bulbs, and dancing were concerned, and so under the guise of requiring some air, Sonia had stepped out onto the balcony for quiet. For a little solace. And most importantly, to not have 'Your Royal Highness' echo throughout her head. At least the commemorative handkerchiefs hadn't included it, just her given name and her family's title that, when needed, served as her surname: Sonia Nevermind. At least in that sense, she felt like any other guest.

Which was why her eyes widened when she realized two things: one, she wasn't alone. Yes, she occupied much of the covered awning near the doorway. That was her skirts' fault: as much as she needed a respite, getting wet was out of the question: the gown would be ruined and, come midnight when her assistant swiftly switched out her mask for a tiara from the collection of Novoselic Crown Jewels, the promised speech and accompanying photographs (events that required tiaras always required even more poses and smiles, she'd come to realize) would, too, be ruined. 

And two, the person she'd found had taken their commemorative gift and shredded it to ribbons before her with a small knife, letting the pieces flutter away into the damp night. Even if they had no use for it, it did seem rather rude: as party favors went, it was elegant and discreet. "I rather agree, a bit of rain is wonderful weather and can be quite refreshing," She chimed in, her cheerful tone a stark contrast. "But it is probably fortunate that this is a masquerade ball for the preservation of the arts and not environmental conservation. I doubt our hosts would take kindly to littering, regardless."

She didn't mean to scold. Instead, she only meant to observe from her spot beneath the awning. It wasn't as if she could take a step closer, no matter how much the rain would've served as means to ground her a bit. A reminder that even princesses weren't protected and sheltered from the elements, should they find themselves caught in them. The remaining bonds of duty and responsibility kept her feet, clad in their silk heeled shoes, in place.

That, however, didn't stop her from reaching into a hidden pocket of her opulent gown to retrieve a folded bit of fabric: her own handkerchief, embroidered with her name in Novoselic's traditional green, white, and gold. She held it out to them, a smile on her pink lips.

"However, as soothing as an evening rain is, it might not suit your dancing partners if you are dampening their turn across the ballroom floor," She suggested, nodding for them to take the cloth. "Please, take my handkerchief instead, as you felt the need to dispose with yours. You can keep your face and hands dry for when you come back out of the rain. That'll go a long way with whomever you choose to dance with next, I imagine." 

[mahalshairyballs]

Since apparently I have more likes here than on Twitter even after I was AWOL for 3 years.

I'll do my thoughts and metas here.

So Jake.

I hope we'll see Jake be more "normal", I.e not just be a killer, in later episodes. I don't want one of Marc's alters to be a "villain" for multiple reasons.

1. They've done such a good job representing DID so far and mental health, that'd kinda ruin it if it turns out one of the alters is just "the killer" and do like Split and others like that . I have faith they won't do that though.

2. Even in the comics Jake is his own person and I just want to admire even more of Oscar's acting range.

Jake might be more violent and have less moral restraints than Marc and Steven, but that's not all he is.

Marc would need to sit down and have a pretty serious conversation with Jake but I don't think he'd be the "hidden villain" as some theorized.

3. Marc can't "defeat" Jake. And he can't be "cured" from his DID (and I really hope they won't go there since it'd be very OOC and ableist) so he'd have to live with an alter he can't control who could kill every time they're fronting. That'd make the Moonknight system into not much of a hero. Which again would be OOC and ableist.

4. That'd also explain the "asking out" scene. As much as people are now retroactively trying to find 'Jake' everywhere, I think there were a few places where it was actually Jake:

a) It is indeed him who asked out Dylan (because I don't see Marc using a fake British accent just to work a day at the giftshop. And Steven had no idea).

b) first switch in the alps when Steven came back with dead bodies all around him. Marc doesn't kill like that (and there were civilians in these casualties) and we got a strong signal that it is Jake's modus operandi in episode 3.

But that's about it for us having seen Jake so far. I don't think he was there in any other significant scene. He could be the one better with women, and have a (maybe slightly different) British accent too if he's such a new alter that Marc doesn't know about him.

One theory I liked though is that Jake is called at the forefront in desperate situations. He's the "last resort" guy, he's the real protector alter. I think he killed those two guys in episode 3 because they were about to kill Marc. After knocking Marc out, the guys brought him to a secluded place to kill him and throw his body somewhere, so Jake was called to front to save them.

Another theory I've seen floating around is that it was Jake who killed Layla's father. I'm not sure how I feel about that one. I'm not too fond of it. Because again, not making an alter into a villain thanks. And in the comics Marc tried to prevent the killing of the archeologists and that's how he got killed himself. I know they'll deviate from the comics with that story but not by that much if we follow the hints we've had so far. Marc (or the system) is definitely involved in Layla's father's death, but we don't know how yet and I don't know myself how I want it to be.

I think it's even possible that Jake would be the main alter we see in episode 4. If we follow the pattern of learning to know each alter in different episode.

And lastly, why didn't Khonshu tell the system that they had another alter? Well because Jake never said "Hi I'm Jake" to Khonshu ? XD Maybe Khonshu does know and didn't tell Marc (because remember Khonshu is indeed a dick) or maybe he thought it was still Marc. Either way, Khonshu doesn't have any incentive to tell anyone since Jake seems to do what Khonshu wants way more willingly than the other two.

So that's my thoughts.

Tl; Dr

[bookwyrminspiration]

thoughts on how grady was practically the first one to out-right "accuse"/"voice" that sophie started a war by burning down the warehouse? i was rereading it and that part made me feel a bit icky(?)

Okay I gotta be honest this (as in Grady doing this, not your ask) infuriates me, but also I can kinda understand the whole debate over the "war" situation, Sophie apparently being the one to turn it into a war and everyone else being like "Sophie I hope you understand the consequences of your actions."

But before I get to the Grady thing, there's this one scene that I think Shannon was using to get us to this mindset to feel icky about it and for us to side with Sophie--as far as I know, there are almost none to no people who disagree with Sophie's actions in the fandom; we've all supported her calling it a war and think it has been a war for a while, none of us siding against her or shocked.

There's a line in Legacy that goes like this: "'The thing is[...] this isn't a game,' she warned Maruca. 'I've called it that before too, because it's easier to think of it that way. But it's not. It's war. Not the global, multispecisial battle that Mr. Forkle things we're building toward--yet. But still. War" (pg 391). Sophie has been thinking of this fight against the Neverseen as war for multiple books, and this is one of the clearer, more recent instances where she makes it very obvious. We, reading from her perspective, have then thought of the battle as a war for a while as well because we're influenced by her. But as far as I can remember, there are very few, if any, instances where war are mentioned by anyone else--and not nearly as plainly as Sophie does.

I think when it comes down to it, Sophie is used to war. Not that she's fought in them before or likes them, but she was raised human and humans have wars and violence and so she more readily applies those labels despite her distaste for them. Those raised in the elven "peaceful" world are more reluctant to use those words and only did when something dramatic shifted--Sophie going on the offense. They never thought it would come to that and were fooling themselves into believing they weren't at war on a technicality. Sophie doesn't have their reservations, so she didn't realize how much everyone else had fooled themselves into thinking it wasn't a war yet.

Now back to the Grady thing: him being the one to first voice that it was Sophie who turned it into a war is kinda icky, because we've come to associate him with complete support and someone she can always rely on to have her back. I mean think about it, what times has Grady spoken against what Sophie was doing? The only times I can remember are times where she was in danger or could be at risk in some way, and that's what he was against. Otherwise, he's supported and agreed with her almost 100%. This is a major change where suddenly...he's not on the same page as her, and actually kinda disagrees with her from what we can see. He still loves her and cares for her, but he didn't think of it as war until after she'd burned down the storehouse.

As much as he's been open to Sophie being in his life and the changes she's trying to bring about, he is still an elf. He was born and raised in the Lost Cities and he thinks like an elf. The main way he deviates is that he has experienced loss and grief, had an intense battle with guilt, and knew of the Black Swan and "what they were capable of" (though he had it wrong) before the rest of the world did. While that does make him more open in his thinking, none of that is nearly as radical as Sophie, so there's that disconnect between them. At his core, he still thinks and lives like an elf. Sophie, on the other hand, thinks like a human. That's a lot of what it is with everyone, actually. All of her friends think like elves while Sophie thinks like a human, and while it's what she was made for and the entire purpose of project moonlark, it was going to cause a rift eventually. And now it has.

Grady being the first one to speak on it I think was more for shock than because he is the most against Sophie. Because it being Grady is like...what? But he's been there with her since the beginning? He's always supported her? Why would he do this? If it had been someone else, like...Wraith or someone, it wouldn't have had that impact. It would just be another person who didn't see eye to eye with her, but this was Grady, which showed that this was serious. It conveyed the impact of her choice and how different her thoughts are from that of her companions. It really singled her out because someone who had been at her side through and through suddenly wasn't in the same way anymore. And that was the purpose of Grady speaking first, and he wasn't needed as much after that. That's why Tiergan stepped in.

So I agree, nonsie!! That scene did feel pretty icky to read, but that was also the point. It was meant to be a shock, because it was a defining point in where the fight, where the war will go from here. And it's put things into perspective, who is on her side and how people think. As icky as it was, it did serve its role effectively.

[fuchstastisch]

So many interesting ones!

I’d like to hear more about „How to bring someone back from the dead“ and „Two days after Heiji dreamt of the apocalypse“ (sounds kinda angsty but fun 😂💕)

Oh and the Plotbunny-Farm :3

Thanks for the asks. :D

I will do separate posts for the storys so that they don't become too long.

"How to bring someone back from the dead" is actually based on this post by @hgk477 with the same name. It's a guide and I thought it would be good practice to write about Heiji following it because I liked the atmosphere it created. 

Here's an excerpt:

His breath rose in little puffs of smoke in front of him, but he paid no attention to the fleeting curls. In the past he would have enjoyed them, but not today. The leaves crunched under his boots as he struggled on and on through the undergrowth. He didn't know how far he had to run, or where, but he was sure of one thing: he wasn't there yet.

He had to keep going, to hang on longer. At least until the sun set. However, he could only guess how much longer that would take. The treetops in front of him towered meters into the sky, so that it was completely swallowed up by them. Further, simply further.

As it gradually became dark, he walked more slowly. He took each step carefully so that he would not stumble and fall. If he fell down, he would miss the glow afterwards and he didn't want that at any price.

The further he got, the darker it became. He didn't falter in front of the figures that the shadows played for him. Nor before the trees, which stretched out their long gnarled fingers after him. He had a goal and it was slowly taking shape before his eyes.

Not far from him, he had spotted the glowing light. It was burning his retina, blinding him for the first few seconds, but then he had become accustomed to the brightness. Now he approached it cautiously and closed his eyes.

"Kazuha," he called to himself. Kazuha was the name of the one he wanted to bring back. "I miss you so much," he whispered. "I need you. Now. Always."

He had almost reached the white light, and as he took the last step, it went out in the same moment. It didn't come as a surprise, he had known that, and yet it still gave him a slight stab in the heart. Now, with clammy fingers, he rummaged the flashlight out of his backpack to settle down on the ground under its protection. He had to sleep now, that was the condition, but that didn't made it any easier.

That he still somehow managed to fall asleep, did he realize when he woke up the next morning. Well, he couldn't really tell if it was morning, since the sky was still covered by the trees, but the forest seemed brighter and that was enough for him. He turned off the flashlight before rising.

He was now standing, just as he had been told, at the edge of a circle of mushrooms. Whether it had been there before, or had shot out of the ground overnight, could not be determined. But this was of secondary importance anyway. The main thing was that it was there, the fairy circle, and confirmed his hopes.

Very carefully, as if one wrong move could ruin everything, he pulled a bottle of water and a sandwich out of his luggage. He took a sip or two, took a quick bite of the bread - he didn't really have an appetite, but was afraid to deviate even a millimeter from the instructions - and set the rest down at his feet. Only then did he step into the circle. Placing the requested quarter on the ground with the head down, he told Kazuha that he was coming for her now. It helped, even if she didn't hear him.

When the coin had sunk completely into the ground, he put on a cloak and closed his eyes. He now felt his feet slowly sinking in as well, or at least imagined it. In any case, he didn't open his eyes until a smoky smell hit his nose and made its wings quiver. It smelled of rot and ... death.

Ignoring that fact as best he could, he stuffed the spare batteries into the handle of his flashlight and shined it into the tunnel ahead. It was long; he would have to hurry.

As he walked, the cold crept up under his skin. He had read that this was normal, but it didn't feel normal. He knew it, of course, the feeling when the wind whistled through your clothes, when even the thick layers of undershirt, T-shirt and sweater weren’t enough, but this was something else. It was as if the cold came from inside and nothing helped. But since he had a goal, he kept walking.

<<<>>>

List with all WIPs

[angstyaches]

For a short hunger drabble, how about someone figuring out how to make their shitty paycheck last the month, then walking by a delicious smelling food establishment and the hunger really tearing through them, but knowing they can't afford to go in. Bonus points if a kind employee notices and offers something, but pride/embarrassment keeps them from accepting, only to come back a week later worse off and hoping the kindness remained.

(I deviated from the "walking past the establishment" bit because this felt right. And the next week part is implied, or maybe I'll come back and do a part two sometime. Thank you so much for the prompt!!)

CW: financial difficulties.

___

It was lashing rain outside, and Asher was starving, when he got the text to say that Jayden was standing him up. Again.

For fuck's sake.

Asher let his phone clatter onto the coffee table, with an immediate stab of regret. He couldn't exactly afford to be flippant with his belongings; if something happened to that phone, he'd have to go begging for a loan of someone's old one.

He couldn't believe he'd just spent €3.50 on coffee, which could have scored him a few multipacks of baked beans, or two whole weeks' worth of dry food for Sparks, for the sake of waiting around to see Jayden.

The black liquid was burning a hole in his stomach.

Then again, Asher couldn't be sure it wasn't burning anger that was doing a number on his insides.

At least he was entitled to a free refill; might as well stretch his already-spent money as far as it would go, he thought bitterly, picking up his cup and wandering up to the barista.

They had been cleaning down the foamer, but they turned to him with a smile when they saw him approach.

"Another?" they asked, smoothly taking his cup.

"Please."

Why not? My social life and financial stability are falling to shit all around me. I may as well be highly caffeinated.

"Can - could I get it to go, actually?"

"Yeah," the barista nodded. "That's no problem."

The barista turned away to replace Asher's mug and pour him a fresh one in a paper cup.

He couldn't help but let his eyes wander towards the menu - why were there so many kinds of coffee anyway? For people like Jayden, so they can sound smarter and more sophisticated when they order - and the food display cabinet.

It was late in the afternoon, but they had just put out a new spread of sandwiches, muffins, and scones. Everything looked so much more appealing than the two frozen waffles that Asher would carefully remove from the packet, and place inside the toaster until they weren't sickening pale to look at.

His stomach let out a pitiful whine at the thought, already dissatisfied with the stature of its main meal. The cramp that slid through his organs was so painful that he couldn't help but press a hand to his belly through his thin hoodie, breath shuddering as he struggled to compose himself.

"I can..."

Asher jumped, realising the barista had come back to him with his coffee in a to-go cup. They cleared their throat.

"I can do a sandwich up for you," they said quietly. They sounded like a secret agent preparing to hand over nuclear codes. "It's no problem."

Asher blinked, his brain refusing to put together what was going on. He was officially dishevelled enough (was it his fault the hot water had been shut off while the building's landlord was out of town?), and had paid earlier in small enough change, that the barista at S.A. had figured out how badly he was struggling.

It was almost enough to bring him to his knees, if the hunger cramps didn't beat it to it.

"Oh... no, no, that's - I'm not - th-that's okay." Tears sprang to Asher's eyes as he wrapped his hands around his coffee, praying the cup wouldn't become too soggy by the time he made it home. "Thank - thank you."

It's okay for now, he thought, as he headed towards the door, towards the storm. He...

Damn it, he would really need to get a new bag of food for Sparks next week, and his next injection was coming up too, not to mention rent...

He took a delicate sip near the door, hoping the hot, thickly fruity liquid would calm the churning ache in his stomach for now.

He couldn't help glancing back over at the barista, intending to cast them a grateful half-smile, should he find himself in need of being in their good books this time next week, but they had already gone back to cleaning up.

[agentfrostbite]

It's Saturday and I'm in the mood, so let's talk about Elijah Kamski

Specifically about how he treats his Chloes. Obviously this is an opinion, and everyone is entitled to theirs, but as I read Chlonnor ship fics (they are adorable and I am unrepentant), I notice that a lot of them have Chloe becoming a deviant after Connor chooses not to shoot her. I don't have a problem with this, per se, but I have noticed several things in game that makes me think she's already a deviant.

1. The other two Chloes are already deviant

It's a small detail that tends to get overlooked because you're busy focusing on meeting Elijah and "OMG, Amanda's dead??" and later whether or not Connor actually shot Chloe. But these two girls right here?

They're talking. They're chatting with each other. I know that doesn't sound like much, but look back on the rest of the game thus far. Androids that aren't deviant don't converse with other androids because there's no reason they should. They have a job, and unless they're being addressed by a human, that job doesn't involve talking. You know who does converse? Deviants. Additionally, they're just lounging in the pool, and I guess that Kamski could have ordered them in there because he doesn't like swimming alone/likes to swim with his Chloes/some other potentially creepier thing, but it feels a little too natural for that.

2. Kamski pushes Connor toward his own decision

Looking back on the scene, it's clear that Kamski is trying to force Connor into making the choice of whether or not to shoot Chloe, against Connor's will. He directly pits Connor's programming against his collected software instabilities to see which is stronger. Yes, he is a scientist, first and foremost, so he's gathering data through his test, but I think he's strongly leaning towards - and pushing Connor towards - a pro-deviant standpoint.

His dialogue throughout the scene puts longer, more emotional, emphatic language on the idea of deviancy and the free will of androids - specifically of Connor. He pushes Connor to attempt an answer outside his programming ("Well, that's what you're programmed to say... but you...what do you really want?") and he places special emphasis on Connor's individuality ("Decide who you are. An obedient machine... Or a living being endowed with free will...") in the critical moment just before Connor decides whether or not to shoot.

That, combined with the fact that the two Chloes in the pool are conversing - and at this point, watching the scene, one notably with a concerned/uncertain look as she turns back around - tells me that Kamski is supportive of the idea of deviants.

3. Kamski closes off and expresses almost negative emotion if Connor does choose to shoot Chloe

If Connor decides that his mission is more important than Chloe and shoots, Kamski's attitude makes a definite shift. Where earlier he was toying with Hank and Connor, giving cryptic answers and sidestepping the main issue they were there to discuss, after Chloe is shot, he switches to straight answers and short replies.

Additionally, this post by @omentrash​ highlights Kamski's obviously upset expression when Connor chooses to shoot Chloe. Call it what you like, but to me, this says he absolutely did not want Connor to fire.

4. No matter what route you choose, Kamski tells Connor about the emergency exit

In any situation where Connor ends up in a place of partial or total deviancy, Amanda resumes control of his program and traps him in the white-out blizzard Zen Garden. In this case, the only way for Connor to escape is to use the emergency exit. But he only knows about it because Kamski goes out of his way to inform Connor of it (and we'll get to the ramifications of Kamski knowing about Connor having it later).

Obviously in the deviant best ending, Connor uses this to avoid shooting Markus and the surviving Jericrew in the back, and most of the time, this ending was preceded by Connor deciding not to shoot Chloe. So yes, it makes sense that Kamski would inform him about a way out, should something like what Amanda does happen to him. But he also tells Connor about it if Connor does shoot Chloe, which lets us know that Kamski is hoping that perhaps Connor will deviate somewhere later down the line. He didn't do it here, but he might when faced with the same situation at a future time. Kamski is looking out for Connor, even though Connor isn't a deviant yet, because Kamski has hope that he might become one.

5. Deviants are capable of acting like normal androids

I include this one to illustrate that just because Chloe appears to be a perfect hostess here

and shows no emotion when faced with life or death doesn't mean that she's not a deviant. We know that deviants can, when necessary, act like normal androids. Markus and North do it at Stratford. (Specifically pointing out the part where a human opens the bathroom door, and Markus snaps to attention at the side, like a good little obedient Android janitor.)

Kamski is the Man of the Century. He revolutionized life for everyone across the planet by successfully creating a robotic assistant species that walks, talks, and looks roughly human, while doing everything a human can do with far more efficiency. Of course he gets house calls. And if his androids are deviants - and at the very least, the two in the pool are, so why wouldn't his first android be one as well? - and people come calling, they'd need to act like proper androids. Chloe, especially, since she greets people at the door and is the poster child.

And you'll notice, even in her interview, she acts more human than most androids do. She stammers, she smiles, she's clearly nervous. She shifts back and forth, readjusting in her seat like a human would. Sure, she needed to do these things to pass the Turing Test, but there's a deeper feel to it than just good programming. I think she was leaning heavily toward deviancy at that point. Not there yet, but close. That was years before we see her at Kamski's house in the game. She must be a deviant by now.

6. Kamski left an emergency exit in Connor's program, meaning that he had some hand in Connor's creation

So Kamski leaves emergency exits in all his programs; I think we've beaten the dead horse enough at this point, but I gotta do it one more time because why would Connor have his program? Base code, sure. Okay, we can make that argument that every android has the same base code as the original program. But we can also make the argument - and it has stronger evidence - that Kamski himself had a huge hand in developing the RK series. Proof? Markus.

Markus was a gift from Kamski to Carl; we know this from Connor's scan of Markus at Stratford Tower. We also know that Markus was a unique prototype, since his police file not only states this but also doesn't have a picture of him. No photo at all. Just a blank face, and "Unknown series" and a DESTROYED.

If Markus was one of a small handful, then they'd have a photo of another. They certainly wouldn't have a "Unknown Series" on the file. This makes me think that Kamski made Markus on his own and then gifted him to Carl. I suspect this means that he still has connections at CyberLife, which he used to get the parts for Markus. By giving Markus to Carl, knowing that Carl would cause him to deviate, he set up the seed of the revolution. Now why would Kamski do that, unless he was pro-deviant?

Summary

CyberLife decides to create an android detective/negotiator with the most cutting edge technology and coding the world has ever seen. This model would hunt down deviants and bring them back, if possible, for analysis so CyberLife could lock down the problem and eliminate it with a software patch. It's a delicate operation; after all, Connor starts with his toes on the line of deviancy. Presumably, when he goes to rescue Emma from Daniel, it's his first mission, and already, he's struggling with software instabilities. To think like a deviant, you have to be as unpredictable as possible. That means that he's right on the edge, and he remains on that edge for most of the game, depending on what the player decides to do with him.

So CyberLife need some assistance getting the code ironed out to ensure their Deviant Hunter doesn't become a deviant himself (until the time is right), so they turn to the man who first invented androids and has already technically worked on the RK series: Kamski. They ask - or perhaps Kamski himself offers - and Kamski works on the code. Not all of it, not even the majority, just the few bits and pieces where their almost-deviant and anti-deviant codes clash. All of his work is surely checked - secretly, of course; no need to make him think they don't trust him - so there's really only one thing he can add to Connor's program: the emergency exit. And that's why Connor is his program, why CyberLife would allow the exit to remain, why Kamski points it out, no matter what you choose.

And Kamski would do none of this - it doesn’t make sense for him to do any of this - unless he's secretly cheering on the revolution from the sidelines.

[hanako-theories]

Toilet-bound Hanako-kun, Episode 6

Spoiler warning!

Now reaching February 13th, we've officially had 6 episodes of JSHK, and till now, it's been fairly solid! I've been beyond excited waiting for this episode to play out, bringing in Tsuchigomori, number 5, and showing parts of Hanako's past! What's not to love?! Well, currently there's a fair balance of pros and cons for this episode. The good and the bad, the sweet and the spicy, everything has two sides and this episode is certainly no different. First, I'll speak about the pros, always good to start on a positive note!

Pros:

The voice acting, as usual is absolutely astounding! These wonderful voice actors work baffles me and they picked voices so incredibly suited to the characters! I'm incredibly pleased with the choice in acting for Tsuchigomori, the voice fluctuates in pitch in a way that's super dynamic and fun and totally him! I was bit worried earlier on about the voice of number 5 and how it would sound, and I've found that it was completely unfounded, and that they did wonderfully! Makes me all the more excited to see who'll voice Mitsuba!

Background imagery! They've consistently done well in this field, with unique backgrounds that fit the tone and style of the scene and don't take too much away from the main focus, the characters! The colours they tend to use are very neutral and dull with the odd occasion of especially bright bits, and this allows the seen to feel more natural and in the moment than if they used obscenely bright colours that take away from the whole experience. Not to mention the detail is fantastic!

Cons:

Animation in some areas seems rushed and messy, the bits, while often short are painfully noticeable and often seem to deviate from the set art style,the lines thinning and the bodys becoming disproportionate from the heads and limbs. I noticed this in particular when Amane ran to the chalk board the write down how far the moon is from earth, the clothes seemed to gape to much and made the body look far to large and bulky.

Speed. For whatever reason, the speed at which Amane slaps Tsuchigomori's hand away seems odd, and it may not necessarily be a legitimate problem or negligence in the editors part, but it just stood out as too slow to me. The speeds at which things go animation wise has been fairly slow the entire time, and has been discussed to death, but aside from this right now it hasn't bothered me. It seemed to slowly and kind of took me out of the moment because it was just very distracting. This may not be an issue for everyone though, I'm likely just nitpicking!

Missing parts. Little jokes and panels were missing throughout the episode, such as when Tsuchigomori announces they're out of time, in the manga Kou and Yashiro rush to reveal even more secrets, completely frantic, but this is pulled completely, instead replaced by him simply skipping to the point where he pats their heads and tells them it was a joke. Another example is when they enter 5's boundary and he hands Yashiro his Yorishiro. In the manga, she asked if it was gifted to him by a beloved, of which he responds with telling it was from a guy. Quickly, Yashiro inquires on if Tsuchigomori is gay, and he quickly jumps to the defensive. This is a scene that really made me laugh, and I'm very disappointed it didn't appear in the episode. There are more bits and pieces from the arc that were missing, but I believe those two examples are sufficient.

Last but not least, the Teru vs Hanako arc. Now, to put it out there, I still believe it'll be animated, quite possibly next episode, as it was set up to begin in episode 5, with Teru already showing his animosity towards Hanako when he comes to speak with Kou. However, I'm not very fond of when the show switches around occurrences, it feels like its messing with the timeline too much and frankly I'd prefer if Manga and Anime viewers were generally on the same page. But I do believe this will still happen, it just been moved around and I dont think that it is really that big of a deal. This could have worked into a two parter like the Misaki Stairs, with the Hanako Teru fight for the first half then Yashiro and Kou going to the library to find Hanako's book. Iylt could have ended off with her viewing the memories stored within the Yorishiro and ended at where it left off in that first chapter in the manga! This, again, is not the biggest deal however, and I doubt in the long run it'll affect much.

In short, this episode didn't live up to the others. It seemed rushed and messy, but this isn't any reason to become upset or discouraged, because while, yes, there were plenty of cons, there were also several pros! All in all I'm incredibly excited to see what the next episode will hold in store for us! I intend to do something like this for each episode that comes out, and I hope that this was enjoyed by whoever's reads it!

-Lily