#It'll probably be a while before I do something similar again

[turtleations]

Pink Cloudy Sky, P.S. To the Beginning of the End (Summarized)

Chapter 00 - 01 Chapter 02 Chapter 03 Chapter 04 Part 1, Part 2 Chapter 05 Chapter 06 Part 1, Part 2 Chapter 07 Part 1 Part 2 Final Chapter

From the cloudy sky, as REM sometimes remembered, the warm rays of the spring sun came down.

A somewhat lazy afternoon in late spring. REM was leaning against the wall of the clinic’s waiting room, feeling the weight of the guitar in his knees as he went through the setlist of tomorrow’s live. During practice that night, he would do the final checks. He’d have to plan the timing of the MCs, the finale, the arrangement of the new songs…

Suddenly, his eyes fell on the list of that afternoon’s appointments. There were a few more patients than usual for a Saturday. Maybe he could take a nap first…

No, before those appointments, he had to practice scales.

What was to become of him and SAVER TIGER from now on, no one could say.

He was nervous about it, and impatient. Claiming anything else would have been a lie. The one thing he could say was that leading SAVER TIGER now was the most fulfilling period of his life so far. The one year in which he had put everything into fulfilling hide’s dying wish.

He could not even dream of paying back all he owed him.

But maybe this was enough?

Everything after this, he should do for himself, REM thought.

The SAVER TIGER of those days was over. This was the SAVER TIGER he had breathed new life into.

There was no point in dragging the past forward.

The end of the century, rock music, and SAVER TIGER. Those were the only things that mattered to him in this moment.

Just that, and keeping up the creation of good music, continuing to perform.

He could play the guitar like this. He could feel the strings under his fingers, feel the melody in his ears, feel the music with his whole being.

There was no greater happiness than that.

-

In the afternoon sunlight filtering through the trees, the pick REM was holding in his right hand fell to the floor with a small noise. In his dream, his soul kept sliding over the fingerboard.

-

From autumn 1998 onwards, the new SAVER TIGER continued to go on tour: Starting on the 1st of November 1998 in Yokohama, they had six performances in Yokohama, Yokosuka, Meguro, and Takadanobaba until the 15th of April 1999. Then, in May, they performed in three locations in Yokohama and Takadanobaba.

The second part of their tour started in early August and took them to Osaka, Tokushima, Yokosuka, Yokohama, Chiba, Machida, Meguro, and Kumagaya in 11 shows. The final one was planned for 13th December 1999 in BAYHALL in Yokohama.

REM expresses how ecstatic he would be if those who read this book would listen to SAVER TIGER’s music. And while they are at it, they should check out their official website.

Speaking of which, it was hide who first got into the internet, and used it to communicate with the fans in a meaningful way.

And with this feeling carved into REM’s chest, he wants to put down the pen.

Appendix

Study of the dental pattern of patient Matsumoto Hideto.

At this point, REM want to attempt an examination of patient Matsumoto Hideto as a dentist. The following is based on a dental model he made, as well as things hide told him.

It was a model made for the purpose of examination. That day, it became a special thing for REM: The only memento he had of hide’s physical form. Every time REM sees the model in the waiting room or touches the examination table where hide had been sitting, he wants to talk to that white, inorganic thing.

That is why he is sharing the report on that medical examination now, resigning himself to the criticism of the other people from his field.

It would probably be terribly unreasonable to reach conclusions about hide’s entire body just from that model, the state of his oral cavity, and what he told REM. Moreover, it would be rude to hide, one might think. Others would be of the opinion that it is okay to do it, of course. REM thinks it’s reasonable enough.

But REM’s honest feelings are these: It is not a bad thing to disclose a little bit of hide’s personal matters to the public. In this moment, as his friend and as his fellow guitarist from a band called SAVER TIGER, REM wishes to do all he can for hide, utilizing his means as a dentist.

Therefore, REM informs that the following is not a true patient’s chart nor an actual medical report. It reflects only the personal opinion of one single dentist.

[Patient Matsumoto Hideto] 1) Main complaint (the patient’s acutely perceived subjective symptoms for discomfort) .. Sometimes his jaw joints are hurting. It also happens that he cannot open his jaw. Also, severely stiff shoulders. 2) Medical history (past illnesses and current systemic ailments) .. Arrythmia 3) History of present illness .. Observations of grating sounds and irregularities of temporomandibular joint at times are ambiguous

Psychologically, systemic problems are ambiguous. 4) Current symptoms .. Abnormally stiff shoulders

Since long ago, many cases of clenched jaw, jaw muscles are stressed.

Palpation of temporomandibular joint not particularly abnormal, movement of lower jaw is not irregular or restricted. No palpation of muscle occurred. 5) Symptoms concluded from model of the mouth cavity .. Extensive wear of all teeth, corresponding low occlusion.

This is what REM got from what he heard from hide and the examination of the dental model.

One week after his visit at REM’s clinic, hide went to L.A. again, with no follow-up appointment planned, no clarity on when he would be back in Japan, and with the symptoms of his jaw not being acute, REM did not interview him too extensively. He also notes that there was no time for photographs of the oral cavity or X-rays.

At this point, REM talks a little about temporomandibular joint and how it works. Compared to other parts of the body, it is extremely complex in its movements. With its position between the upper and lower jaw and before the ears, it executes a lot of movements when speaking, eating, or even during sleep for some people.

Very roughly said, there is complex movement when chewing or opening and closing the mouth: Up, down, left, right. In contrast, the abnormal occlusion comes from a way of chewing that differs from the ordinary. Damage to the teeth can also be caused by accidents and violent fights. In any case, if the teeth are worn down by chewing or grinding, the height doesn’t match anymore, which leads to irregular chewing patterns.

If that irregularity is particularly bad, it leads to pain of the temporomandibular joints and overall discomfort. This, caused by emotional stress in the first place, can lead to muscle pain, which in turn leads to more tension.

Opening and closing the mouth can create various problems. This is called temporomandibular joint disorder. Of course, when it comes to hide, REM can’t diagnose that for the aforementioned lack of examinations and tests. But between what patient Matsumoto Hideto told him and the information provided by the study model, it’s a conclusion he finds definitely possible.

The model shows that from the front to the back teeth, all the pointy bits had been worn away so that the teeth were essentially flat. This must have been caused by the teeth grinding hide had told REM about. But for the wear to be so extensive all over, the grinding and gritting must have been extremely strong and have gone on for a very long time.

Teeth grinding is a phenomenon that happens unconsciously in times of required self-control or nervousness and stress. If the grinding goes on for a long time, it often happens that normal chewing is no longer possible. This disturbs the entire system of the jaw muscles and joints and causes pain. If it gets worse, the pain can spread to the surrounding muscles, then the shoulders and fingers and even the back and legs. Also, this affecting the muscles is often the cause for stiffness of the shoulders.

According to the model, the size of hide’s jaw (the gap between the upper and the lower jaw) when chewing was a lot lower than it used to be due to the wear, and the bones inside the joint no longer fit the normal position. The wear is so extensive that REM assumes the pain spread past the environment of the jaw to parts of the body far away from it.

And thus he concludes this meagre investigation.

Finally, there is one more episode REM wants to add in line with this report.

This is how he remembers it:

That day, hide asked him, “How do I get my teeth back to their original shape?” after he came to REM’s office for consultation.

After the examination, they had, of course, gone for drinks, and this is when hide brought it up. REM said, “For that, I would have to fix all your teeth, I think. There is no time for that now, and there is a risk that the shape of your face is going to change. One day, when we are both old men, and there is time to spare, and visuals no longer matter, I can fix them for you.”

Hide said, “Since my teeth are one source for my stiff shoulders, I want to have them fixed. Just, right now, there really is no time for it, but please do it one day. After all, you are to be my attending physician for the rest of my life.”

As attending physician, REM could have been of some help. Even now, that thought sometimes shoots through his mind.

Afterword (1)

With the irresponsible reports and information going around after that certain day, REM wants to detail his days with hide as precisely as possible. And he wants to let as many people as possible know the truth.

That kind of thought is always with him.

“Hey, REM! Please.”

Every day they have this conversation inside REM’s mind, when he listens carefully for hide’s words from beyond the sky and replies, “Hey, hide. How can I help you, so you can rest easy?”

This is a book that has been created as a joint project by REM and Nakamoto-san of Yokosuka, who goes by the name of BENZO, over the course of half a year.

The aim was to write as accurately, truthfully, and diligently as possible about REM’s life as a musician, the historic band SAVER TIGER as made by hide, as well as REM’s irreplaceable days with his sword friend hide, and the enthusiastic rock scene of Yokosuka.

He was aiming to be accurate, but there are probably points where his memory is off, or his perception differs from others. In that case, he is sincerely sorry.

In the light of the close bond he shared with him who has gone beyond the sky, he hopes it can be forgiven.

Finally, he thanks a great many people, starting with hide’s parents, his younger brother, the people from his office, the former members of X JAPAN, the past members and staff of SAVER TIGER, the members of UNITED, AMIT, Doppel Ganger, LAFERIA, and 4th Dimension, Kuriji-san, and then the people of Zushi Dental Clinic, Takeshi-san, Arakawa-sensei, Nakano-san, Someya-san, and many others. Above all, BENZO, who has become a drinking buddy for life and without whom this book would not exist in this form. All these people have helped him greatly, and he takes this opportunity to express his deepest gratitude.

He dedicates this book to his mother, who went to heaven first and may have met hide there, his father, who is still practicing as a doctor on Shikoku, his older sister and his younger brother, his wife Miwa, and their son.

And of course, he wants to dedicate this book, and the next words that come from his heart, to him, who has gone beyond the sky.

“hide, thank you.”

-

1999-05-02   His first birthday above the sky.

-

Afterword (2)

28 October 1999, Thursday, cloudy sky, 10:30 AM.

The night before, REM drank with his bandmates in their usual place, “99”, but their condition wasn’t bad. The window was wide open. Feeling the comforting wind and the morning’s aroma from his fingertips to his hair that once again reached his shoulders, REM went down the national highway No. 134 southwards, towards the coast of Miura. There, on a small hill, different from the rest and seemingly removed from the reality everyone else is living in, is hide’s resting place.

REM wondered if he was plotting new ideas in this place of rest, and if those were now flying around freely through the air…

As always, REM reported about live performances and new songs, and the state of the band, and then made his way back home along the coastal road. There was one tiny thing he noticed:

As REM was talking to hide, a feathered life-form about the size of his little finger’s nail (some kind of insect) was flying through the air around him and the others. At that time, they didn’t particularly care… And now, that life-form was inside the car.

There was no telling if it was the same creature from before, but form and size were identical.

REM calmly closed the window and, without thinking anything, he turned on the car stereo and stepped on the accelerator.

When he got home and left the car, the line between the ordinary and the extraordinary was crossed again.

Several days had passed since then.

It’s the 6th of November now, and with the image of this feathered little life-form flying freely around in his home, REM decides to let the story come to an end.

[radioisntdead]

Just thought about this, but could I request a platonic ask with the Hazbin Crew (or just Charlie and Vaggie) with a frankenstein-esque sinner reader? Stitches all over their limbs, mismatched and it’s a common sight to see their limbs falling off their body and they only sigh before picking it back up?

They’re very nice, just tired and getting fed up/disgruntled with their own body and how it’s scarred, mismatched and always falling apart.

Good evening my dear! I wasn't too sure how to make this into a full oneshot so I made it into headcanons hopefully that's alright!

I actually have a OC very similar to this however she's a ragdoll so taking inspo from that

Hazbin hotel x gn! reader [platonic]

Warnings:

Limbs falling off, Alastor stealing arms

The first time they witnessed you lose a limb it freaked the majority of them out [Alastor only widened his grin because he's creepy like that]

The lot of you were just hanging out and doing a trust fall exercise and poor Sir Pentious was the one to catch you, he was not expecting your limb to just come straight off, like he was holding you and your arm was beside you on the floor.

And you just causally sighed and wiggled out of a panicking Sir Pentious's arms and grabbed your arm grumbling about having to sew it back on.

I imagine you may have to sometimes reinforce certain parts because sometimes you just go running and SNAP the stitches on your leg becomes undone and your face meets the ground.

There's a sewing kit almost anywhere in the hotel for you to use in emergencies,

Niffty is skilled with sewing so I imagine if you let her and don't mind getting stabbed a couple times she'd sew you right up in mere seconds, I imagine if you don't mind melding fabric to your skin she'll sew on fabrics with pretty patterns on, maybe it'll make you feel better about your loose limbs.

Angel dust LOVES coming up with nicknames for you, Frankie, Patches, Frankenstein's long lost child, patchwork, ragdoll etc etc

I'm gonna be honest Alastor probably tries to munch on your fallen limbs, I can see him grabbing your fallen arm and booking it out of there while you chase after him yelling for Vaggie to do something.

Vaggie gets your limbs back

Going off the fabrics if your okay with that going on your skin Charlie definitely buys some for you as a surprise, she'll ask Vaggie on whether or not she thinks you'd like a certain fabric patch.

I think having a bunch of patches gifted to you by loved ones is a nice thought, we adapt habits, traits, mannerisms etc etc from people we love and the people that love us sometimes adapt our habits, traits, mannerisms etc etc from us, we're a lovely mashup of ourselves and the people we love.

I imagine Sir Pentious would build something to help keep your limbs together, like a brace or a prosthetic covering of sorts?

Alastor gives you a patch and it's just arm themed, he probably steals your limbs like five times in a week,

"DAMN IT AL, THAT'S THE FIFTH TIME THIS WEEK STOP."

"no"

You have to get Vaggie to help you retrieve your limbs before Alastor makes your arm into an arm pot pie or something.

Husk would help you with carrying anything super heavy, particularly if it's alcohol because he is NOT risking your arms ripping off and no more drunky tipsy times [I can't legally drink I don't know how it works and I don't wanna know.]

Whenever Charlie asks for a hand and your arm has been detached you hand her your arm, freaks her out for a second before she's just like "Haha very funny please don't do that again"

Charlie definitely works on making sure your comfortable in the hotel, if you're ever insecure about your scars she'll take a pen or something and doodle around them.

Honestly Charlie probably thinks your mismatched patches look cool and you remind her of a plushie she had as a child,

If your filled with cotton like a plushie do expect hugs.

Good evening folks! I am making my way through requests! Plus the part two to Too sweet and Eldritch horror reader's backstory [EVIL LAUGHING] will be out soon!

[don-dake]

So I've been playing around with Cāngjié…

And I thought a post like this (similar to a post on Zhùyīn done by linghxr) may be of interest to some.

Edited: 10 Sep 2023

This post has gotten a little popular lately and on scrutinizing my own post again, I've come to the conclusion that I had made some mistakes in my given character examples.

Amended now. Namely, 「唔」 and 「龍」 have now been swapped over in the examples.

「唔」 is really the “3-parts”, and 「龍」 is indeed a “2-parts” character! Amendments are reflected in orange.

What (and who) is Cāngjié?

For those who may not know, Cāngjié is another way to input 漢字/汉字 (Hànzì — Chinese characters). It is way less popular than Pinyin (or even Zhuyin) but it still has its fans, and has a few advantages over the other two.

Cāngjié is also the name of the mythical figure in Chinese legend who is said to have been the inventor of 漢字/汉字, for which Cāngjié (the input system) was named after.

Would I recommend it?

Yes, if you think you have already acquired a good (enough) understanding of 漢字/汉字, and/or just like a new challenge.

(TL;DR at the end)

Why am I learning Cāngjié (and why you may like to, too)?

1. Mostly for fun.

Have long been intrigued by both Cāngjié and Zhùyīn, and since I finally mustered up the courage to tackle Zhùyīn not too long ago, I thought I'd finally give Cāngjié a try.

While learning Cāngjié does require more effort than learning Pinyin or Zhuyin, it can also be really fun! Inputting 漢字/汉字 with the Cāngjié method is almost like doing a jigsaw puzzle.

The euphoria derived from figuring out and piecing together the radicals that make up a word is something that learning Jyutping (Cantonese equivalent of Pinyin), Pinyin or Zhuyin can't quite match.

And while I know I'll never be as adept with Cāngjié — my knowledge of 漢字/汉字 is nowhere near good enough to ever use Cāngjié efficiently — as I do Jyutping or Pinyin (or to some extent, Zhuyin), it'll still be fun to use Cāngjié every once in a while!

2. Helps with thinking and typing in Chinese.

The upshot of relying too much on using Jyutping/Pinyin/Zhuyin is, I'd tend to think in Roman letters or ㄅㄆㄇㄈ before I'd even think about the actual 漢字/汉字.

But with Cāngjié, because it's based on knowing radicals and joining them together to form actual characters, it'll encourage thinking of 漢字/汉字 first, so I think that would help some with 漢字/汉字 memory retention.

Now you may be thinking, why not just you know, practise actually writing then? That is the tried and proven method to better remember 漢字/汉字 after all?

Yes, of course I can do that — and am doing so occasionally — but we live in a digital age now, and the probability and opportunity to type things out is much higher than actually writing stuff by hand.

The idea here is, more looking to think of and envision characters fully in my head, and trying to lessen over-reliance on Jyutping/Pinyin/Zhuyin.

And this is where I find Cāngjié can be useful, which leads to my next point…

3. Haunted by “What if” scenario.

What if there comes a day (however improbable) where I'm presented with only a Cāngjié keyboard to use for typing Chinese? It has happened with Zhùyīn for me!

That means, no Pinyin or Zhuyin keyboards, no Handwriting tools/touchscreens to write with fingers/mouse, no speech-to-text, and no option to copy-and-paste characters from somewhere else either! What then?

4. Able to type without knowing pronunciation, and with more accuracy.

Cāngjié is shape-based. Unlike Jyutping/Pinyin/Zhuyin, where you have to know what a character sounds like before you can type it out, with Cāngjié, you can type out (again assuming no Handwriting or other tools available) characters without needing to know how to pronounce them at all.

With shape-based typing, you'd also get more accurate hits in the first few 漢字/汉字 that show up, versus sound-based methods like Pinyin where for e.g., typing out “wan” will get you a whole list under the same sound and you may have to scroll through a whole lot to get the exact “wan” you need.

You can also type both Traditional and Simplified characters without having to toggle something or switch keyboards.

So how does one begin learning Cāngjié?

Install a Cāngjié keyboard.

Duh…but of course! Heh! Gboard offers one, banded under Cantonese language input (Android user here, don't know about iPhones, sorry).

There are two versions of Cāngjié that are prevalent currently. Cāngjié 3 and Cāngjié 5. Cāngjié 5 is supposed to be an improvement over version 3 but I don't find there's much; having a slightly altered version just adds to the confusion and unnecessarily complicates matters, in fact!

If you have a choice, I'd recommend selecting Cāngjié 3 as that is more supported. Some operating systems may not be too compatible with Cāngjié 5 still, for some strange reason.

You may also come across something called “Quick” (速成) aka, “Simplified Cāngjié”.

This is simply a scaled down version of Cāngjié, it's still based on Cāngjié's formula. So you still need to know how Cāngjié works in order to use “Quick” efficiently.

You'd then need a chart like this. ↓

* the 重 (Z) key doesn't really come into use. I don't really know what it's for, but it seems to be used (paired with other keystrokes) mainly to type out various punctuation marks.

There are variants out there, some having a little more, or less, radicals shown than in the above example, but I'll say the chart here is one of the more comprehensive ones I've found so far (and sufficient enough) — other charts often fail to highlight the 難 (X) key and what it corresponds to.

You don't have to memorize the chart all at once. Just always have a chart like this on hand to refer to and with enough typing practise, you'll eventually remember which key corresponds with which radicals.

Remember the rules. ↓

“1 part” character (e.g. 寫) = first 3 & last (radical).

“2 parts” character (e.g. 唔龍) = first & last, first 2 & last.

“3 parts” character (e.g. 難) = first & last, first & last, last.

e.g. 寫 ↓

With radicals 宀，丿，臼 (first 3) and 灬 (last).

Corresponding keys: 十，竹，難 and 火。

寫 → 写 ↓

With radicals 冖，卜，㇆ (first 3)，一 (last).

Corresponding keys：月，卜，尸 and 一。

e.g. 龍 ↓

With radicals 亠，月 (first & last), 卜，コ (first 2)，ヒ (last).

Corresponding keys: 卜，月，卜，尸，and 心。

龍 → 龙 ↓ (Simplified 龍 → 龙，a “1 part” character)

With radicals 丶，ナ，ヒ (first 3).

Corresponding keys: 戈，大，and 心。

e.g. 難 ↓

With radicals 廿，人 (first & last)，亻(first & last)，土 (last).

Corresponding keys: 廿，人，人 and 土。

難 → 难 ↓

With radicals ヌ (first & last)，亻(first & last)，土 (last).

Corresponding keys: 水，人，and 土。

Occasionally, you may get a character that looks like a “2 parts” but is actually a “3 parts”. ↓

e.g. 唔 ↓

With radicals 口 (first & last)，一，一 (first & last)，口 (last).

Corresponding keys: 口，一，一 and 口。

Or looks like a “1 part” but really a “3 parts”. ↓

e.g. 奪 ↓

With radicals 大 (first & last)，亻，土 (first & last)，丶 (last).

Corresponding keys: 大，人，土，and 戈。

奪 → 夺 ↓(Simplified 奪 → 夺，a “1 part” character)

With radicals 大，寸 (first 3; the 丶 is the 3rd component).

Corresponding keys: 大，木，and 戈。

But these are exceptions, and don't occur that often.

And you can start practising!

You can try out this pretty good app called 『五色學倉頡』 (learning Cāngjié with 5 colours), for practise. It's on Playstore, just search for “Cangjie Dictionary” and it should show up.

You have to pay to unlock higher levels, unfortunately. ↓

Anyway, each character comes with colour coded hints and you can opt to turn them off if you like more of a challenge. There are also hints (提示) and the chart (字根表) to refer to if you're really stuck. Also has a dictionary component (查字典) to check out the Cāngjié input for characters.

Another option would be a website called HKCards. ↓

You can use it to check the Cāngjié input for any 漢字/汉字, and there's section for practise (倉頡輸入法練習) as well. After inputting your answer with Cāngjié keys (手田水口廿卜), you can click on the “Answer” (答案) button to see how right or wrong your answers were. ↓

There are 8 characters each time, and you can just hit “Practise Again” (再做練習) to refresh for another 8 to practise with. I've yet to hit a limit.

Unfortunately, this website has lots of ads popping up. And it only supports searching in Traditional characters (Cāngjié was initially catered more for Traditional).

Or you can just try practising randomly with a Cāngjié keyboard and check for mistakes with a Cāngjié dictionary (『五色學倉頡』 app's dictionary comes in really useful here — it appears to support searching in Simplified too).

TL;DR

Cāngjié could be useful (and fun) to know if your 漢字/汉字 knowledge is already adequate, and/or you just like a new challenge.

And if watching videos is more your thing, here's a really helpful YouTube tutorial on how to use Cāngjié (has English subs)!

[grimalkinmessor]

MP100 Characters Ranked on How Likely I Think They Would Be To Use The Death Note:

(because I like combining my hyperfixations ✨)

Mogami. I don't think I have to explain this one.

Ritsu. He is going on a killing spree IMMEDIATELY the boy practically IS Light Yagami, his name is literally spelled with the kanji for justice and he already went on one power-hungry crusade, he is RIPE on the Kira tree og

Dimple. He already has the god complex down, he just has to get on board with the whole killing people thing—considering he's already an evil spirit, it wouldn't take much convincing tbh

Shou. He would cause SO much havoc with it but only for fun. For the meme. For the vine. He kills the Queen of England with it and cackles as he watches the ensuing flood of Megamind memes. He would also threaten his dad into compliance with it because the Death Note isn't Battle Based, it's Instadeath. "Ever go on TV and embarrass me like that again and you're going out by dysentery."

Takenaka. He's not a bad kid, but being telepathic would make him incredibly susceptible to wanting to take bad people out before they did anything wrong. Plus just getting them to shut up. That idiot that keeps having vivid erotic fantasy in the middle of science class has ONE more again before Takenaka would embrace his villain arc whole-heartedly. The only reason he's this far down is because I think he'd hesitate.

Tsubomi. I think she'd kill someone just to see if she could get away with it. Then she'd put it away and only bring it out when certain situations arose that needed a Quick Solution™. That girl knows what needs to be done and she does it—she decisive. Anything like Suzuki happens again and she just drops them dead on live television Lind L. Tailor style and then goes on about her day like nothing happened. All heroes wear pretty hair clips 🙏

Tome. I don't know how to explain this one. Vibes. She feels like she'd be gripped by the powerful urge to kill someone but it would take her a lot to go through with actually writing someone's name down. She'd want to test the Death Note first to see if it worked, so that's one person down, but anyone else would need to have either hurt her or her friends irreversibly, and even then it would probably be a one time thing. She'd use it far less than Tsubomi—two people might actually be her max.

Serizawa. I hc that people with psychic powers can see the Death Note's bad jujus or whatever, so he wouldn't have to test it to know it would work, but I still think he'd use it. If he found it while he was still with Claw, he'd use it because it was easier to kill someone that way than with his psychic powers. Even if it he found it after Claw, it'd be the same reasoning. He's definitely killed people in the past and if someone hurt his friends or his mother he'd very much take the easy out of simply writing down a name rather than going for a fight. He'd still feel really bad about it though, so it'd probably only happen once.

Minori. She uses it to see if it's real, finds that it very much is, and then locks it away in her room. She won't use it, but it'll be a constant thought in her mind. A very real temptation.

Emi. She uses it once out of curiosity to see if it's real, then buries it in the woods where no one will ever find it...but she can go back for it if she ever needs it.

Hanazawa. He's reformed but his temper is still something to behold. He's only this far down the list because he's got that "I could kill you with my powers why would I need a book to do it for me" swag ✨

Shimazaki. Similar to Teru but less reformed. "I would just kill you with my powers why would I need a notebook" two electric boogaloo. Plus he's blind and idk if the Death Note takes braille or morse code.

Toichiro. The ULTIMATE "I'll just kill you with my powers I don't fucking need that thing"

Shinra. He wouldn't use it, but he'd absolutely make the mistake of picking it up and handing it over to someone that WOULD use it (cough rising sun psychic division cOugh)

Onigawara. Talks big shit about using it, but would never. Likes to think he COULD use it though, even though he's too upright for it.

Reigen. Picks it up out of curiosity and gets a laugh out of it, but doesn't test it. He's seen enough shit to be cautious though, so he has Mob look it over and then burns it once Mob confirms it's got bad vibes.

Mob. Sees bad vibes. Doesn't even pick it up. Blasts it into ash and goes home without thinking about it again. Buys milk on the way there.

[riacte]

hope you don't mind me asking, but how do you write/characterise ren?

Hi, thanks for the ask!

For me, Ren has a very distinct character voice, so usually I put in a few words from the Rendog language post and it does like 70% of the work if it's nothing too serious. Hit the dialogue with the Rendogification beam! I know there's a post of people Rendogifying DSMP quotes and it's hilarious. Add a "my dude" before/ after his dialogue and it'll usually work. And maybe pepper in some "get in line"s. Or "outrageous!", "geez", "freakin'".

For HC Ren / Ren in general, I put him as like... a friendly, enthusiastic, charismatic guy who's very supportive of his friends and he's always eager to help. He is kind and sees the best in everyone. He's also very dramatic and unashamed of his dramatic tendencies (singing out loud, posing, twirling). And of course he flirts. He flirts with everything. He's probably flirted with someone's houseplant. He wants everyone to get in line for him. He makes a lot of inappropriate jokes (check my #the rd difference tag) which is greeted with complete silence.

But underneath that, I think he's a guy who tends to look down on himself / self deprecating and he is soooooo self sacrificial. He's gonna be good at something then go "I've never been good at anything 🥺". And he is genuinely so eager to sacrifice himself at all times; he'll probably throw himself in front of his friends to save them. And I think Ren is terrified of being lonely which is why he's clingy. If you leave him to his devices for too long he'll literally burn / blow up his base (Last Life, HC 7). Ren is fantastic with words, he's optimistic and naturally good at bringing people together, but he's also just a doggy who wants company.

Ren is quite talkative and he can ramble about random topics forever. But he also occasionally asks questions to his friends so they can contribute to the conversation. And I think he's fantastic as a storyteller because not only is he a master at "yes, and", he also likes including his friends and subtly inviting them to roleplay with him.

Ren is highly sentimental and remembers a lot of memories. He's not afraid to go sappy and sincere and vulnerable, but then again there's his fear of being a burden. Ren has a tendency to trail after competent, snarky, and mildly intimidating people (insert Ren's greens: Doc, Iskall, Martyn, False, etc) and enjoys being lovingly bullied and lovingly used as a punching bag. He lovesssss being a pathetic lil guy. He loves acting sad and soggy. And he kinda loves being beheaded and beheading his friends.

Ultimately, I think Ren greatly values company and loyalty, and always desires a tightknit group of people to belong to, maybe to even lead (Knights of the Square Table, Dogwarts, etc). And he wants to be useful and not be a burden, leading to his self sacrificial tendencies. He is so eager to serve and offer his services to the rest of the server— in HC, he likes selling / providing food in the early days (HC 4 he made a farm, HC 9 Gigapies) and then proceeds to build infrastructure for everyone to enjoy (HC 6 Hermit Railway Network), or come up with detailed "game" systems (HC 5 Hermitron (?) and HC 9 Hermit Quests). In that way, despite his theatrics, Ren is quite practical and down to earth. Give the man something to manage and he'll be happy.

I don't read a lot of HC fics nowadays but I don't think I've seen like, really severe mischaracterisation of Ren. Probably because Ren RPs a lot so he can RP as a lot of characters which decreases OOC-ness, maybe? Ren's a bit pathetic but he's not a coward, he will literally die for his friends. And while Ren might be a bit of a "derp", he has decent strategies (sometimes) which is mostly him accumulating resources + building a secure fortress (evident in Life series).

For Life series Ren, it's similar but more... guarded and cautious. Still desires a tight knit group of allies (usually his top priority). Still loves gathering his resources and building his defenses. Is kind and forgiving to the point he's taken advantage of (this behaviour decreases in latter series). And he loves his allies with all of his life and would die for them.

Oops, this got long lol. Hope this was helpful! :D

[momowoah]

Okay but I really think that the worst part is that this is season seven. Unless they're planning to turn 9-1-1 into the new Grey's Anatomy the chances of us being already in the final half of the show are huge. I'm not saying that there shouldn't be any drama, but the characters should've started to go forward, and yet nearly all of them feel stuck in the same place they have been for several seasons. Or should I say 2-3 seasons?

tldr: all/most S7 storylines were either useless in the long run or recycles. The only characters who had storylines on the good side of the scale (as in, they helped the characters develop and move to a new place in their lives) were Maddie and Chimney (and maybe Buck but he's on thin ice). All the characters are back to the same place they were in s4/s5. It's probably TM's fault. This shouldn't be happening in a 7th season.

(really long post under the cut but worth it imo)

Bobby and Athena had a whole seven episodes for their storylines and yet it didn't significantly change anything about them or their relationship. The doubts of how they are when they're at peace that were brought up in ep1 ended up not being addressed at all. We started the season with what was supposed to be this huge thing in their relationship and it was just never brought up again! Instead they put bathena through distress again just for the sake of being dramatic. And while I'm extremely glad we got Amir and think there were several high points in his storyline, what difference did it make in the long run? Yes, it brought up interesting things to Bobby's storyline, such as more insight into his childhood and the chance for him to explore another side of the fire he caused, but is it going to change anything? No! Bobby will be reinstated in S8 bc that's just how these things go, and I doubt they'll put any effort to continue the survivors storyline. I'd bet it'll just be ignored in the next seasons.

Hen and Karen have been trying for YEARS AND YEARS to adopt a child and they just can't let them! As a wlw, do you know how awful that is to watch? Seeing them fail time and time again and have their family broken up once again just because??? It was one thing with Nia, she got a happy ending, but that wasn't the case with Mara. The best thing for everyone involved would be for her to stay with Hen and Karen, but they blew it up. I know she's with Madney, but it's not the fucking same. Why do they have to go through this again? Why can't they finally get the family they've spent years fighting for? Why can't the drama be about anything else, why does it have to be about failed adoptions? I've seen this enough times before. Why not let them be able to adopt???? Why? I'm genuinely upset abt this btw, probably more than about anything else that went down.

Buck got to finally come out and it was great but instead of taking it as an opportunity to let him grow into himself they just threw him right back into the hamster wheel of dating people who are either not fully into him or who he's not fully into. (if you like bt probably skip the rest of this paragraph but I'd also be upset about how they're handling them if I liked the ship bc I liked the previous bt and they did something similar to them lol) Tommy's behavior could be explained away at first, but I feel like time and time again the show goes the extra mile to make him uninterested in Buck or just straight up an asshole to him? Instead of taking the small opportunities of portraying them as a healthy happy couple they just consistently screw up their relationship? They're not the couple I support but even then I wanted them to be good together bc I want Buck to be happy, and yet all we get is this?

I don't even have words about Eddie, especially considering what rg has said about him destroying his life and possibly reverting back to military no emotions mode next season. WHY CAN'T HE BE HAPPY? We already saw him break down, WE'VE ALREADY HAD A STORYLINE ABOUT HIM REBUILDING HIS LIFE, but happiness is boring so now he has to ruin his relationship with his son too right? It just pisses me off how they go about his character sometimes. I liked that they were bringing back the Shannon storyline because he was supposed to be able to finally move on, but this wasn't about that. No, it was about retraumatizing Eddie and Chris and splitting them up at a time when they should be leaning on each other and healing, because Chris has also been suffering with the Shannon stuff. We saw it in fucking ep 1. Don't even get me started on the Marisol stuff because idek why she was there at all. Literally don't get it. We had an off-screen breakup anyways. She wasn't relevant at all to anything that happened. Why was she even there? I'm genuinely asking. The only Eddie arc that has some positive potential for next season is him dealing with his relationship with religion (especially if they tie it to the military and the way he lives his life for others' expectations), but tbh I don't trust them not to fuck it up.

Finally, I don't have complaints about madney, except for why tf was Maddie so absent this season? The wedding episode was all about Chimney (who was also maybe kinda missing tbh), and although I love him and his backstory and the opportunity to see Kevin again, I really wanted it to be about their relationship, since it was their wedding, yk. Dispatch was also severely under utilized. We did get the 7x07 Maddie plotline and it might've been bc it was a shortened season but yeah, I'm still not that satisfied.

So, we have all the characters stuck in places they've been before. More specifically, in the place they were in season 4/5. Bathena relationship problems followed by a life threatening situation? Check. Henren struggling with adoption? Check. Buck getting into what was supposed to be a good relationship only for it to end up going really bad? Check. Eddie struggling with relationships and his mental health going to hell? Check. Madney in a good place with a new child and about to have an awful fucking time? Hopefully just check for the first part. And you know which question this makes me ask? It's whether Tim Minear is just reverting everyone to their s4 state out of spite for the seasons he was away. And even if it is a genuine attempt at getting the show back on the track he wanted out of good intentions, it still sucks, because it doesn't change the fact that it is just a repeat of old storylines. I actually complained at this before the show even aired, but (iirc) I ended up deleting my post because I thought that I was just overreacting. Guess what? I fucking wasn't, bc that's EXACTLY what they did.

Now, going back to the start of this post, the reason why all these storylines suck so much is not that they are bad. It's not even that they aren't original. No, it's the fact that we're doing storylines that belong in the fourth or fifth season of a show in its seventh season. Even the Gerrard plotline, which is new to 9-1-1, feels like it came too late, because the split up crew/villain captain storyline tends to happen much sooner in procedurals, and for a reason. Besides the fact that this was never really a big bad type of show and I don't get why they are making it one all of a sudden, and ignoring the fact that Gerrard being brought back as captain, especially to the 118 of all places, makes no fucking sense, that kind of plotline is one that it's obviously always temporary. No one believes he'll still be the captain by the end of 8A, much less by the end of the season. He'll hardly survive the first 3-5 episodes. That's ultimately a filler storyline. It helps the show go on for longer, it might even help in the development of a couple characters, but at the end of the day it doesn't change anything, which appears to be a recurring theme when it comes to 9-1-1 storylines.

The reason I have a problem with this is that we don't need a filler storyline, because no one knows whether the show has the luxury of taking its sweet time. Yeah, it has a huge audience and it is doing good numbers, but it is still a fucking money pit that was already cancelled once and it's unsustainable on the long run. It might not end that soon, but is it honestly going to reach season 14? Does anyone truly think that we've only seen half of it (or less) so far? Because I don't. Not many shows make it that far, and there's a reason for that. We have three huge names who are extremely important to the show. What happens if they get tired? What happens if someone gets a better offer? What happens if we're still revisiting old storylines when that happens? Do we get an incomplete story or a rushed one?

The show should be moving forward, even if there are no plans for it to end soon. We have the drama of the huge disasters 9-1-1 loves. We have the drama of the cases. We have a myriad of new possible dramatic storylines for the characters that show development without being too final. Athena could have so many different job related storylines (from moving up in her career to abandoning it), and her and Bobby's storyline from the beginning of the season about being boring together can be played in a good and dramatic line. Henren and Madney have a whole world of parenting issues that they could go through. Buck and Eddie both still need either an endgame love interest (whether it's each other or not) or to get to the point where they are fine not having one, and we have all of the relationship trouble that comes with that. This show can give us new things, storylines that are good for the characters, without losing the dramatic factor (which, if I'm being honest, would not be a deal breaker for me). Yet, it refuses to, and probably not for a good reason, because it comes down to either Tim wanting to rewrite history or just trying to drag this show for as long as possible (which apparently he only knows how to do by refusing to make the characters happy). And you know what? I'm fucking mad about it, and I think you should be too.

Btw, this is not to say the whole season sucked. We got Madney and Henren together multiple times which was great. We finally got Bi Buck. There were several amazing acting moments for both the main and recurring actors. As a standalone season, it was good. It just doesn't work when you look at the bigger picture.

[trojanteapot]

Infinity Train Boots!

Made these a while back as part of my Simon cosplay, must have been almost a month, but I didn't post the process!

(EDIT: hey I did some fixing up of my cosplay which you can see here in this post!)

Not actually sure if anybody would care because it's so niche, unlike my Spider-Gwen suit, but I did write about how I did the Infinity Train harpoon pack, so I'll discuss this too!

STEP 0: Acquire reference pictures:

Yep, pretty straightforward.

Note that Simon's boots have an extra bar/strap thingy, whereas Ryan and Min-Gi's do not.

I didn't include it because it kinda looks ugly and I didn't know how fragile the strap might be.

NEXT!

STEP 1: Acquire Boots!

I got these MIA boots from Journeys Canada. They only cost around 60 bucks which is a bit pricey for cosplay, but I'm not about to go thrift shopping when I'm in a time crunch and I can just order online and get free delivery within 2 days. (Also these days 60 bucks for boots from a retail store is considered cheap. Inflation is nasty.)

They came with these cardboard thingies inside to keep the structure of the boots. They have "left" and "right" written on them in Chinese which was helpful for me when I got a bit confused about which side was which.

Save those for later. You'll need them.

STEP 2: Paint the soles silver

Literally any acrylic silver paint works. May take several layers. Make sure to put masking tape around the top edge of the soles.

I didn't use a primer on the base but you probably should. Any white acrylic paint or Gesso would do and you wouldn't need like 8 coats of silver. Do as I say not as I do.

And make sure to seal everything with a varnish or mod podge!

Here are also the cut toe caps and some silver craft foam. The craft foam was kind of a mistake I'll get into it soon.

STEP 3: Make toe caps

Here's me making sure the placement is good.

I glued the craft foam onto the cardboard caps, and then I was thinking "well the little bit hanging over it isn't going to be a problem, nope! I'll just glue them down and it'll blend right in!"

HAHAHAHA. WRONG.

STEP 3.1: Fuck up the toe caps because you were winging this and you have no idea how crafting materials work you idiot

GROSS. DISGUSTING. VILE.

The hot glue melted the craft foam and now it's got this weird melty edge all around it that's all goopy and shit. Anyway you dont want your boots to look fucked up, you want them to look smooth like polished steel, or whatever they were made of in the show.

STEP 3.2: Fix toe caps

Everything can be fixed with Model Magic and acrylic paint! (and seal your paint with a sealant again!)

I just took some model magic (a type of lightweight air dry clay from Crayola, the cheapest you can get. Other more legit craft supply brands make similar materials as well), and squished it into the ugly bits, making a mostly seemless transition from craft foam to clay to sole.

TIP: to make model magic smooth before sanding, dab your fingers in some water to smooth it out! This also works for Paperclay as well if you decide to use a more higher end type of air dry clay.

STEP 4: Make the back metal thing that goes around the heel

So I did this kinda in tandem with the toe caps which is why the pics will look a little out of order but essentially, I took the parts of the cardboard that I cut off, and I cut them in half, put some other cardboard in between, and then sandwiched the thing in metallic craft foam.

This time it was a bit more successful because I was able to hide the weird gross melted edges on the inside. Also paint that shit silver!

Now you can glue the "heel caps(?)" directly to your boots, but I decided to use stick-on velcro instead so they're kinda removable, and may be easier to transport or clean or something? ehhh.

STEP 5: Make those handle things

So I also hit a bit of a snag with these. I ordered EVA foam dowels with a semi-circle cross-section as well as a triangular one, but I quickly realized they would be too flimsy sticking out like that unless I put something hard in between them.

So this isn't pictured, but I got some thin crafting wire from Dollarama and just bent them into L shapes, and glued the smaller dowels around them. I also shoved them into the bigger down and glued it down.

You can also see from these pictures that that leaves a weird gap in between the smaller dowels. Again I just used model magic to cover them up. There's probably a better solution but this was the one I went with.

I also lengthened the top "handle" part eventually because it looks better that way. (Please ignore the mess on my desk >_<)

Then I just paint them silver like everything else!

COMPLETE!

The nut and bolts are actual nuts and bolts. Since the base was just craft foam and cardboard, you can poke a hole in them easily and insert the bolt.

Hope you found this helpful! Or are just willing to indulge me and my notes on my silly crafting journey!

[alaydabug2]

I feel like being angsty

This is while Keefe is in the Forbidden Cities

Enjoy ☺️

It was getting late in the chilly evening. The sun was slowly dipping over the horizon. If Keefe wasn't about to do what he was thinking of, he would've reveled in its beauty.

He took a deep breath and swung one leg over the railing. Then the other. He balanced on the small ledge.

He had to do this. There was no debating it. It wasn't safe -for him or others- to be around anymore. The longer he was breathing, the longer his mom was able to manipulate him and use him for awful, horrendous things.

Keefe already knew he was never going back to the Lost Cities. He would never see his friends again. It didn't matter if he did this or not. He. Wouldn't. Go. Back.

Tears pricked his eyes as he stared down at the water below. It was a long fall. His heart picked up pace

He'd heard before that falling on water was the equivalent of falling on concrete. He just hoped that it would take him out quickly, and he wouldn't have to suffer through too much of the pain.

But...it'd be worth it. That short amount of time, to never have to feel it again. It strengthened his resolve.

Everything hurt enough as it was. The human emotions cut straight to his gut. The choked back words burned his throat. His head pounded from the constant stress it all caused. His skin ached from his emotions slowly going numb, leaving behind almost a hum from its lack of presence. His heart squeezed against his ribs from knowing how many times he'd hurt his friends before.

He was making sure it never happened again.

Keefe Sencen had officially hit rock bottom. And no matter how hard and long he tried, he didn't have the strength or energy to climb back up. It was too steep.

He'd been fighting for so long. His entire life. At least soon, he would be able to rest.

A few more deep breaths to calm his nerves. Just when he planted his feet for the jump, a panicked voice spoke out behind him.

"What are you doing?"

Keefe turned his head to be face to face with a woman who was likely to be in her late twenties. His eyes widened.

Her face was pale and terror filled her eyes. The man beside her, who Keefe assumed was her husband, had a similar appearance.

"Oh, ummm." How was he supposed to get himself out of this one? He could always just jump off and not have to worry about it, but that would probably traumatize the poor couple. Plus...for some odd reason, he felt compelled to stay on the bridge for a little longer. "I'm just... looking out at the view. The water looks nice this evening. Doesn't it?"

The man nodded. "It does, but...that doesn't seem very safe."

Keefe shrugged. "It'll be fine." He threw in a nervous laugh. "I've always wanted to cross high diving off my bucket list anyhow." He was trying to be convincing, but he couldn't quite meet their eyes.

The woman didn't seem to be buying it. She whispered, "You don't have to do this, you know?" She placed a hand on one of his wrists. Probably to make sure he couldn't try to jump off as easily. "It's not going to be like this forever."

Keefe didn't know why he was saying this, but the next thing that came out of his mouth was, "It's been like this my entire life."

The woman's heartache sliced straight to his core with the contact. He could feel her husband’s in the background as well. It was making his head bleary.

"What's your name?" The man asked him.

"I'm Keefe," he murmured.

"Keefe," the man repeated. "I'm Maverick, that's my wife, Ruby." He seemed to hesitate a moment before asking, "How... How old are you?"

His voice was almost inaudible, "Sixteen."

Both of the couple's eyes teared up. Keefe didn't dare to face them. He squeezed his eyes shut. There was a slight pressure of a hand on his shoulder. He willed himself not to cry.

"Why would you want to do something like this? You have your entire life ahead of you. Why cut it so short?" Ruby whispered.

Keefe shook his head and laughed darkly. "You have zero idea on how messed up my life's been from the start. It's just not worth saving anymore, and I'd rather it be on my own terms than someone making the decision for me. You wouldn't understand. No one does."

"Well," Maverick said, "help us understand." When Keefe didn't say anything, he continued. "We don't have anywhere to be. We're able to listen."

Keefe couldn't help shedding a few tears as he explained, "My parents are pieces of absolute garbage. They don't care about me. My mom has made me do awful, awful things that I don't even remember doing. I've pushed my friends away so many times that they all probably hate me by now. I keep, quite litterly, running away from all of my problems. I keep putting my friends in danger. Everything just keeps spiraling into a dark pit of doom, and," his voice cracked, "I just can't deal with it anymore. It's too much for me to handle."

The hand from his shoulder moved to run up and down his back in slow, soothing  movements. Ruby spoke, "What has your mom made you do? And why would your friends be in danger?" When he didn't say, she added, "It might make you feel better to get it off your chest."

It was clear they weren't going to be leaving anytime soon, so he gave in. "My mom is part of..." He trailed off. How was he supposed to explain this without them thinking he was crazy. "My mom is apart of...a cult like gang. And she wants me to join, saying that the whole reason I was born is to take her place. And...one night she...gave me some sort of drug so I wouldn't remember what happened. And had me go out in the street to distract this man and his daughter. And..." he hung his head. "They got hit by a bus and died. I learned about this a couple of days ago, and it's been eating me up since. And with my friends, they keep getting hurt from my mom. And I'm not able to stop her. So I ran away and skipped town. I don't plan on ever going back. It's better for them this way. Better for me."

"I'm sure your friends are worried about you, though," Maverick murmured. You don't want them to try and find you, then have to figure out you jumped off a bridge."

Keefe shrugged. "This is the second time I've run away. I'm not counting on them waiting up for me. I've caused them so much trouble. They'll be glad to get rid of."

"What about your dad? I know your mom is bad, but what about him?"

He snorted. "Yeah, I'm sure he's up looking all over the planet for me as we speak. Worried sick. It's not like I'm his only child or anything." The raw truth of that stung. He blinked the tears away from his eyes. He wasn't going to break down in front of them. He just wasn't. He'd at least like to keep a little dignity he had left.

"What about your future?" Ruby's voice was soft. "Don't you want to find love? Get married. Have kids of your own."

The girl he'd been trying very hard not to think about since stepping onto the bridge flashed through his mind. Her blond hair and beautiful brown eyes hurt to think about.

"I've already found it." WHY was he admitting this? "But...she likes my best friend. I don't want to interfere with that. She deserves to be happy, and I'm no good for her. I've hurt her so many times. And as long as my mom is around, I'd never have kids. That's just another person I care about she can hurt. I don't want to become like her or my dad anyhow."

"You have a lot to deal with for a sixteen year old," she noted. "But... there are still reasons to keep going."

"Like what?"

Ruby shared a look with her husband, probably struggling with trying to figure out what to say. Finally, Maverick pointed to the sky. "That's a beautiful sunset, isn't it?" The sun was sinking below the water. It filled the sky with vibrant yellows and pinks and reds. Keefe nodded. "Would you be sad if you were never able to see it again?"

"Yeah."

"Ok. Just... focus on going long enough each day to see the sun set. Then, the day is over. You can try again in the morning, clean slate."

Both Ruby and Maverick waited for him to process it. Finally, something inside him clicked, putting him back into a clearer head space as a gust of wind chilled his body.

"What am I doing?" Keefe muttered. He'd gotten so far. Survived for that long. He couldn't just give up.

He looked around frantically, trying to find a way back off the ledge. Tears pooled in his eyes, blurring his vision. His breath quickened.

"Easy," Ruby whispered. "We'll help you up."

Ruby pulled him up as Maverick made sure he didn't topple backward as he stepped over the rail. He collapsed in their arms, clinging as tight as he could. He shook from the adrenaline and the wind that he had just realized was biting at his skin. He couldn't hold back his tears anymore, and the floodgates broke free.

Neither of them seemed to mind. They held onto him just as tight. Their relief poured off of them in waves. He was pretty sure they were crying, too.

A warm hand squeezed his shoulder. Another one rubbed his back. A third cupped the back of his neck, holding him close to a body. Whose, he wasn't sure. Was this how caring parents were supposed to feel?

After being able to collect himself, they rushed to get him away from the railing and off the bridge. Maverick took off his jacket and placed it over Keefe's shoulders. It blocked some of the bitter wind from reaching his body.

They brought him inside a small, warm café and sat him down at a table. Ruby placed a cup in front of him. Something she called 'hot cocoa'.

He took a sip. It was warm and had mini marshmallows floating in it. It reminded him almost of cinnamcreme, except instead of cinnamon, it was chocolate. It warmed him up from the inside out.

They continued to sit and talk with him until the cafe closed. Even when it did, the owners didn't try to kick them out. They must've known it was important.

He'd seen some awful things from humans, but...they weren't all bad. Humans were still people, too. They had feelings and compassion. And two of them had just saved his life

For some reason, the council couldn't see that. It wasn't even the humans' fault they were separated from the lost cities!

If, by some miracle, he made it back home, he'd have to find a way to explain that to the council

Until then, he took another sip of his hot chocolate and explained the best he could about his mom without giving away the elves. Oddly enough, talking about his problems did actually make him feel a tad better. He'd have to figure out a way to use that to his advantage.

[jar-of-ectoplasm]

Just Teasin: La Squadra x Reader

a/n: ehehehe la squadra flirting with/teasing their crush also hi again here is content this has been in my drafts for about a year now and i finally finished it !!!

Genre/Warnings: Fluff, playful teasing, flirting, pre-relationship, a little bit suggestive at some parts, implied short-ish reader, hinted polyamory (sorlato)

~Risotto~

-for someone that's supposed to be the mature, stoic leader of an assassin team he teases you a lot. pretty much any chance he gets, he'll take

-his ways of teasing are more subtle and he doesn't do it around the team very much

-he will definitely scare you, he'll turn invisible and sneak up behind you before grabbing your shoulders and probably making you drop whatever you were holding

How He Flirts With/Teases You:

-Placing his hand on your waist and pressing his chest to your back when he reaches for something you're standing under

-On missions he'll whisper in your ear and stand really really close to you

-Puts his hand on your shoulder and rubs the place between your neck and shoulder with his thumb

-Calls you stuff like cara/caro (dear) or piccolo tesoro (little darling)

~Prosciutto~

-Also another squad member who's supposed to be mature and serious but totally isn't

-Pros will tease you all the fucking time. On a mission? Teasing. Trying to relax at HQ? Teasing. Literally he won't stop

-Even though he does it literally every day, nobody really knows he's teasing you because he doesn't make it super obvious

How He Flirts With/Teases You:

-Resting his hand just above your ass while you two are out in public

-Caressing your cheek with the back of his hand when nobody's looking

-Calling you into his room to pick which shirt he should wear that day (when he doesn't have one on)

-Putting his hand on your thigh/leg when you sit next to him

~Pesci~

-You'd think since he freaks out about how you perceive him he wouldn't mess with you too much right? incorrect.

-Sort of like a high school boy about it tbh, he's more similar to Formaggio in that way even though his mentor is such a stickler about behavior and manners

-Totally gets red in the face if anybody mentions how he acts different around you when you've left the room though

How He Flirts With/Teases You:

-Compares your hand sizes a LOT, you guys could be doing literally anything (including running from an enemy) and he'd make a comment about how your hands were compared to his

-Fake punches you on the shoulder whenever he passes by you; he'll also throw fake slow-motion punches at you and instigate silly "arguments" over the tiniest things

-Pesci is a pretty big dude, he's the second tallest (beat out by risotto obviously) in the group so unless you're also 6'2 he'll steal things out of your hands and make you jump to get whatever it is back

-Always suggests you guys pretend to be a couple when you're trying to blend in when you guys are paired up on missions and he'll play it up a bunch

~Formaggio~

-Literally nobody is surprised about how not-subtle he is when he's flirting with/teasing you

-It'll hardly ever stop either, so get ready for that too. The only time he'll quit doing it is if it's an insanely serious situation (i.e.: someone [not illuso] is dying)

-Like Pesci, he flirts like a teenager, so most of the shit he says to you is really stupid and is more to annoy you than try winning your affection

How He Flirts With/Teases You

-Always always always breaking out some absolutely horrendous pick-up lines on you, he looks up top 50 worst pick up lines and uses them all within the day

-Is also always trying to get you to agree to go on a date with him; a lot of him getting melone, illuso, and ghiaccio to play waiter after setting up some candles in the headquarter's shitty dining room

-Kind of talks to you how he would talk to his cat?? He uses a lot of stupid ass nicknames when referring and speaking to you and breaks out the baby talk to really annoy you

-Hangs all over you. There isn't a single place you could be where he wouldn't immediately follow (except like, the bathroom but you get what i'm saying); he especially loves making himself tiny and chilling out in one of your pockets (whether or not you notice doesn't matter to him)

~Illuso~

-He is genuinely so awful oml

-When you guys are both around the team he makes fun of and is mean to you so much you'd think he hated you

-But, when you're both alone, he's very similar to Prosciutto in the way he speaks to and interacts with you. It's very confusing

How He Flirts With/Teases You

-Like I said, when you're around the team he's a massive prick. He'll pick at every little thing you do; your performance levels on your missions, your stand, your outfit that day (even though he's dressed like that)

-He thinks he's being clever, throwing any suspicions of his feelings towards you away, but everybody just thinks it's super obvious and weird how much he talks about you even when you aren't there

-When you guys are alone though, it's a whole other game. He'll intentionally make his voice lower and softer, so you'll have to be closer to him to hear what he's saying properly. He'll sprinkle in a lot of almost suggestive comments so you can never really tell what he's trying to convey to you

-He'll also turn his prior statements into something he can use to get physically closer to you; holding your face in his hands to "inspect it for any unsightly blemishes" and running his hands along the material of your clothing (and your body, by proxy) so he can "properly gauge how cheap your tastes are"

~Melone~

-Also awful just in a completely different way compared to Illuso

-Very affectionate, almost treats you like a pet with how much he dotes on and touches you

-Obviously this weirdo is gonna say some freaky shit to try getting you flustered or embarrassed

How He Flirts With/Teases You

-Like I said, he's very touchy. He'll drape his entire body across your own when you guys are trying to sit and watch TV, he'll hang off of you when you're trying to cook, he'll have his hands on some part of you as long as he has you within the same general area

-Loves to spoil you with material items too, so he'll drag you along on shopping trips a lot. Most of the time, he wants to get you clothing, so there will be a lot of him picking out some rather revealing outfits and loudly encouraging you to try them on and model for him

-When you guys are paired on long-distance missions, he always books a hotel/motel room with only one bed so the two of you will have to sleep together. You usually wake up with him drooling all over the side of your face, which is gross, but whatever

-He isn't all weird though, Mel keeps a notebook full of everyone on the team's favorite things, and he uses your page quite often. He'll pick up your favorite food or drink if he sees it when he's out, he'll get some random bit of merchandise from your favorite media if he finds it, though he always leaves this stuff right outside your bedroom door instead of giving it to you directly

~Ghiaccio~

-God this guy can't flirt for shit

-He tries really hard to come across as mysterious and cool but he really just...isn't good at it. It makes him look a lot meaner than he already is with how his resting face looks and the way he phrases a lot of his sentences

-Sometimes it can be really cute when you guys are all alone and he decides he doesn't have to keep up his extreme-asshole personality

How He Flirts With/Teases You

-Loves sneaking up on you and demanding you accompany him on a drive; doesn't matter what you were doing beforehand you are in the car and getting a CD booklet shoved into your lap. He's pretty quite during the whole thing, which kinda makes you second guess his intentions with bringing you out into the country at 11 pm, but eventually he'll drop the scowl and work up the courage to keep his hand on your thigh

-Likes spouting a bunch of random facts about literally anything around you so it makes him look smart. It really just makes him look douchey, but he really doesn't know any other way to impress someone

-Sometimes he'll get Melone to have a fake argument with him so he can go to you and just spend time around you. He doesn't know how to ask to hang out with someone without sounding like he's trying to kill them, so this is the best he can do

-Has definitely made the base much colder than it should be and has hidden most of your heavier jackets/sweaters so he can give you some of his own

~Sorbet and Gelato~

-They're both so scary but they're also both really good at making that scary insanely hot

-Gelato is a lot more touchy with you than Sorbet is, and Sorbet definitely is touchy but he's more prone to flirting through words rather than touch alone

-They are so so weird and Gelato definitely bites

How They Flirt With/Tease You

-They both talk very loudly about the prospect of adding a third person to their relationship when you're around; if you have the courage to look at them during these conversations you'll usually find their eyes already on you

-Gelato likes to corner you in a random room in the house that nobody else is in, grab you, them lean in really close to your face until your noses are practically touching. He'll stare at you like that for a couple minutes before giggling like a weirdo and running off to find Sorbet again

-Sometimes Sorbet will call you into the kitchen to help him cook, and while you're reaching for something in the cabinets or refrigerator he'll come up behind you and keep his hands on your waist and whisper some random sexy bullshit in your ear before walking back to the stove

-Sometimes if it's just the three of you in a room, or god forbid the whole house, they'll never leave you alone. Sorbet likes to creep up behind you to scare you while Gelato keeps you in place from the front, effectively trapping you in between the two

[project-sekai-facts]

VBS event teaser commentary

Sorry for not doing this last month. Again. Yeah I know I'm doing it just before the actual preview drops who even cares.

As per the norm, the teaser is just based on the jacket art so there's not a whole lot we can learn there. We know that cards are sometimes based on the song though, so maybe we can guess something there. Personally this gives me a retro nightclub sort of feel, and I'm kinda surprised they haven't done something like that with VBS yet, doubly so when you consider the Gekkou teaser had a very retro feel (I'm grasping at straws atp I've wanted this for two years lol).

Okay, so actual plot predictions time. I reckon this will be another POU or LUTF situation where the event focuses somewhat heavily on a side character. Ah, well, less so "I reckon" and more "Break Down the Wall foreshadows that this event will focus quite a bit on Arata and Souma". Based on bdtw, I think the event is going to focus on two things which heavily overlap with Toya's arc: Toya's feelings towards music, and getting Arata to rejoin the group.

The game has drawn parallels to the relationships between Akito & Toya and Arata & Souma since POU, with Toya outright quoting Kaito's statement from pou about their similarities in bdtw. Toya is able to relate to how Arata feels because their experiences with their partners are very similar. Akito and Souma are the ones who got Toya and Arata into the street music scene and shared their dreams with the other. Because of this similarity, Toya is able to put himself in Arata's shoes somewhat. I'm writing this very late so this is not clear what I'm getting at at all. Basically it's about partners. Toya is the best one to try and reason with Arata, and it's probably why this was his job given to him by Ken. R Sound Design says the song has a focus on relationships between the characters, so to say this will be a big part of the event is not a stretch at all.

(TL by pjsekai_eng)

And connecting to that: Toya (and Arata's) feelings about music. Toya's bdtw chapter also focused a lot on his feelings towards music, and how he'd grown to love it again thanks to Akito and VBS after his bad experiences with classical music as a child. Once again we're right back to the partners thing. Toya talks about his feelings towards music in woao as well, which also happens to be the event where Souma explains the story behind Gurney Flap's formation, and how he was able to get Arata to love music as much as he does. The key difference between Toya and Arata's stories though, is that Toya was able to move on from the past and his trauma. Toya seems to realise that Arata's past is affecting him in bdtw, and Taiga also pointed this out in lutf. While his relationship with his family is by no means mended, Toya was at least able to start healing with the help of his love of street music. On the other hand, Arata is very clearly still grieving the loss of Souma as his partner, and it's what's been holding him back this entire time. I could easily see Toya having a heart to heart with Arata in regards to their feelings towards music and their friends/partners. In a perfect world they do what they did in lutf where they explained a lot of the RADder backstory but for Gurney Flap this time, but I don't want to get attached to that idea. I think at the very least explaning what exactly happened to Souma could happen though.

Oh and on the off chance this ends up being An5, it'll be about her feelings towards Kohane. As in, her insecurities that have been showing up since Bout for Beside You about Kohane essentially becoming too good for her. Like with Toya this was heavily foreshadowed in her bdtw chapter and cards, as well as at the end of kiuan over a year ago. Combine An's grief over Nagi with her insecurities over Kohane and Kohane carrying Nagi's spirit in the sense of her singing, and you have an event story.

[ikamigami]

Something important I realised upon rewatching the ultimatum for Eclipse episode..

When Moon told Sun to let from his chest whatever he wants to say to Eclipse, Sun said that he'd like to see him dead right now..

Notice the way he emphasised the word "dead". He shouts it out unlike the rest of the sentence. Even if many probably thought that the emphasis means that Sun really wants Eclipse gone, I think that it might not be true..

Because idk if any of you realised that but Sun was unable to look at neither Moon nor Eclipse longer than for a few seconds most of the conversation.

While it's understandable that Sun was anxious and nervous from Moon's anger and threats, looking at this scene from broader perspective rises few questions.

Like for example we know that Sun isn't afraid of Eclipse himself anymore. He was able to stand up to him twice before his death back in summer last year. And he simply turned off (destroyed) the device Eclipse was speaking through in Beta 10. He also pointed out how Eclipse isn't a threat because even when he had unlimited power in his hands (star) he didn't do anything with it.

Sun showed us many times how he is mostly unphased by Eclipse's shennaginans at this point. Which is understandable.. because Eclipse didn't carry out most of his threats. It's all bark no bite.

So the question is.. why Sun seems so nervous all of a sudden? What he's scared of? The most obvious thing is Moon's anger. Sun is scared of Moon's anger and how quickly he jumps to violence.

Getting back to what Sun said. I think that the emphasis on word "death" seemed forced as if Sun didn't want for anyone to question if he's truthful or not. And adding on top of this that Sun was looking away most of the time but only at this moment he was looking at Eclipse indicates that Sun was indeed lying that he wants Eclipse to be dead. At least it looks like that to me..

And now we can ask another question. Why Sun was so nervous about them deciding to what to do with Eclipse? We know that Sun is tired of all of this repeating over and over again. Them having to deal with Eclipse time and time again. But wouldn't he be more annoyed than nervous/scared if he was just tired of all of this? That's why I think that Sun was nervous because he doesn't want for them to kill Eclipse but he's too scared to oppose Moon to his face..

I'm almost 100% sure that he'll go behind Moon's back and try to help/reach out to Eclipse somehow..

Although some of you may think that Sun is a good liar and that's true but from viewer perspective we could see that Sun can't lie to Moon. He can lie if he wants and he can lie at whim.. but whenever he was lying to Moon he was always nervous and he was giving more obvious signs that he isn't truthful e.g. when he killed BM and when he was hiding that he was training star's power..

The truth is that Moon either is unable to see Sun's obvious lying or he just simply ignores it.. I think that both things are true.. Because 1) Moon doesn't suspect Sun to lie, obviously and 2) Moon always ignored the issue till it blew right in his face - it was more with Old Moon.. maybe Moon still is like that or maybe due to his paranoia even if he sees those signs he doesn't address any of them immediately simply because he has prepared plans in case of x, y, z situation..

I mean that Moon might suspect that Sun is lying to him and that he might act behind his back so he'll just wait for the right time i.e. when Sun will break his trust to act according to his prepared in advance plan e.g. locking Sun on the island..

Or that's what I think may happen if it'll turn out that I'm right.

The way Moon reassures Sun every step of the way that he trust him, that he got his back, that he wants to improve himself screams to me of paranoia..

You may think that I'm weird because Moon is simply trying to be better.. while it's true.. don't you find it odd.. because for me it looks similar to the scenario in which someone repeats often that they love you as if they were scared that you don't reciprocate the same feelings..

I don't know how to explain it better.. cause well paranoia often makes you question things that you were 100% sure of..

I hope that it makes sense though.. but it's really hard to explain the way that someone who is paranoid may think..

Tl;dr Sun is lying about wanting Eclipse to be dead and he may act behind Moon's back and Moon is paranoid and probably is suspecting that Sun might do something on his own so he'll lock him on the island in case Sun will break his trust

[danwhobrowses]

Okay so we are doing a very rare third post about the events of Critical Role campaign 3 episode 91 so avoid if you still haven't watched it because there will be spoilers again

Right. So I'm not gonna talk more about the Reincarnate vs Stay Dead debate with FCG, I still prefer Reincarnate for reasons I put in my last post but now I'm gonna talk about the other route, if FCG stays dead, what becomes of his remains?

It is almost ironic that a PC death happened a few episodes after Matt created the Ruidian custom of making weapons from a loved one's remains, something Ashton and Fearne were quite intrigued by, so I wonder if the Hells would do the same - in a way carrying a little bit of FCG with them to continue the fight. Outside of his loot it's hard to tell what the Hells can use, if it were me I'd have each of the Hells have a bracelet from his hair at the least, but the rest would probably need to be left in the hands of tinkerers to create things that may enhance the Hells' combat; maybe a conductive whip for Imogen to use for her more lightning-based magic for instance, I can also see Ashton fixing FCG's head onto their outfit or hammer and Chetney and Laudna maybe making little FCG dolls for each of them too.

Loot-wise I had to look at the wiki to remind myself of all the stuff FCG had on them, as well as see what Otohan had but outside of the backpack and swords it wasn't quite descriptive at this point, and even then there's no guarantee it'll all be undamaged from the blast, but there were some notable things that could end up in the Hells' hands to use. I feel like we're all in agreement that if FCG doesn't come back that Ashton keeps the Coin of the Changebringer, perhaps even have it affixed to their hammer so to feel like FCG is still fighting with them. The full extent of its magical properties were not shown outside of the Yes/No question and 1 bout of Lucky per day, but on Ashton's hammer the daily reroll might end up being helpful, though they are not a fan of the gods a little FCG-aided divine buffing could go a long way. Other than that, Ashton probably should claim the two Potions of Possibility FCG had, my earlier post mentioned my belief that Otohan's backpack should go to them because Dunamancy (I didn't however mention how echoes can work as temporary meat shields for Ashton to better negate enemy attacks that'd otherwise be aimed at the party) and the logic is the same here, Matt would probably have to try and balance Ashton's Dunamancy and Titan buffs so to not take all four potions (or more, think Fearne and Orym have one too right? *checks* oh and Laudna so that's 7 potions!) at once but those seem to be key loot Ashton should keep a hold of.

Outside of combat FCG would be helpful in using Identify when the Hells came across new objects. While Chetney has Grim Psychometry to do something similar, the Goggles of Object Reading that FCG used could be taken by Imogen - which in turn may provide Laura and the fandom a means to canonize glasses on the character - along with the Staff of Dark Odyssey that she has used before.

Fearne is another who could hold the Staff, but I find it unlikely. She would probably take the rod used to plane-shift to the Fey Realm, in a way being a key to home if she needs it. I can see her taking the Ivory Branch as well, albeit temporarily until a new healer presents themselves, due to the +1 Spell attack and +1d4 Healing. She might keep the Ruidian mood ring but I feel like that wouldn't survive the blast, same with the recipes FCG collected, though it'd be nice if someone were able to carry on his memory that way; Fearne, Ashton or Orym would be likely candidates for that.

Laudna would perhaps be able to use most of the scrap remains of FCG for her constructs, perhaps a little buffing for Pate is in order plus she doesn't use Sashimi often. Chetney only really works in wood so he probably won't take the remains, stuff such as his saws and propeller could be used to empower Laudna's own creations, maybe even the fake legs too.

One weapon I think will not end in Laudna's hands however is the Grapple cannon, which could suit either Orym or Chetney. Orym is the better candidate to use it though, given the 20 Dexterity compared to Chetney's 14, additionally there is the +1 Mithril Half-Plate Armor, which could be an improvement for either.

If Orym were to get both I could see it being a trade for Chetney not getting anything, in turn granting Chetney both of Otohan's swords to use - since Orym may want nothing to do with her equipment given her role in killing their family. Otherwise I can see Chetney maybe grabbing the saws ahead of Laudna, maybe the goggles but he does already have the monocle, and any utensils he can repurpose for crafting. There is also the possibility of him getting the Aeoran Scrambling Devices that we know little about, maybe adding a little 'this wouldn't happen if it were wooden' catharsis for Chet if he used them on machines.

The only other thing that is left from FCG are the bolt thrower and the All-Minds-Burn drugs. The latter could go to anyone but Ashton, Fearne and Imogen are more likely (she still needs to plant that seed), the bolt thrower could go to Laudna, she never used Bor'dor's slingshot with the Draconic Rune that Prism added to it, or to Chetney to fire a chisel. His coat he designed like FRIDA's would probably be kept for her to be given too. Outside of that the only other specific loot we currently know from Otohan is the Fake Treshi Ring for Scrying (not its official name), which won't be of use to the Hells since the next time they get close to a major enemy they will be fighting, but perhaps it could be placed in the hands of Liliana Temult, either to keep track of her or to plant on Ludinus so the Hells can track his movements instead.

[anime-fan-05]

Attack on Titan ~Characters with a reader with outworldly powers~

Manga/anime: Attack on Titan

Warnings: spoilers of all the manga

Requested by: @happybunny999

Like you, Eren too has enormous, very powerful powers, so he understands you in a way. He always finds himself in tune with you and loves to talk and exchange opinions with you about your powers. You two have established such a close friendship (in fact, you're the only one who can convince him to do or not do something) he'll ask Armin to protect you before dying.

For Armin you're very similar to Eren, especially due to your powers. In fact, he cares about you as much as he cares about him. He's also interested in you and in your powers because he thinks they could save everyone and you could convince Marley to talk to Eldia and not to fight against it. He'll want to protect you after Eren entrusts you to him.

Even for Mikasa, you and Eren are similar, and she appreciates you very much for always saving and keeping him safe. She wants to fight against you to improve and to be able to save Eren too and, when she needs help to convince him not to do stupid things, she comes to you for help. After Eren's death, she'll want to be with you, since she considers you like a sister.

Jean loves training with you, especially because you teach him tricks to beat an opponent in an easy to understand way. Probably, he's one of the few who doesn't try to protect you: he regularly fights against you, he knows how strong you are and you can protect yourself very well on your own and would defeat all those who should attack you.

Sasha and Connie always ask you for help with their pranks! It all started when you collided with them while they were running away: you made them invisible with your powers, and from there you became their "partner in crime". After Sasha's death, Connie will be closer to you ("I've already lost her, I won't lose you too.").

At first Ymir wasn't interested in you, but then she started to appreciate you more and more because you saved and helped Historia several times. She regularly comes to you for advice on combat and how to best use her titan powers. Furthermore, shortly before dying, she'll entrust Historia to you.

Historia wasn't interested in you at first either, but she started to gain confidence quicker than Ymir when you two were put together in hand-to-hand combat. She's grateful to you for all the times you saved and helped her and, after becoming queen, she'll ask you to become her bodyguard.

Like Jean, Annie too loves to train with you, although she does it not so much to improve to be able to defeat as many giants as possible, but to be able to defeat you and then take you to Marley. However, it'll be after seeing how you fight fiercely to get Eren back with you again she'll deeply admire you.

Reiner and Bertholdt think you know they're actually spies, in fact one day they even tried to capture you, but they didn't succeed; nevertheless, they're actually very surprised you never reported them. Therefore, they still try to capture you, even if all their plans fail. Ironically, the more desperate their attempts to bring you to Marley, the more you'll form a sort of friendship!

Levi has always been very protective of you. At first he was this only because Erwin told him so, then he started to become very fond of you and protect you because he wanted it. During Survey Corp's expeditions, he orders you to stay close to him and not move away from him (once you did, and he was terribly anxious you might die).

Hange and Erwin are very intrigued and interested in your powers. You're always at the center of their plans, especially in Erwin's, since he considers you a very important resource: in fact, he wanted to protect you, so he entrusted you to Levi's protection. Instead, unlike Erwin, who prefers to protect you from afar, Hange prefers to be close to you, especially talking to you about your powers.

Ymir Fritz was very surprised the first time you two met, especially due to your powers. She often asks you for help in controlling her powers, and she's always very happy to spend time with you. In fact, after she dies, she'll be really happy you'll be able to meet her in the Paths and, before disappearing after Eren's death, she'll thank you for always being with her.

💮 Rules 💮 Masterlist 💮

[zoeykallus]

Hi Zoey!! Hope you're doing well!! You deserve all the love!!

This is my 2nd request ever, and you handled my 1st request beautifully, so i thought that perhaps i would request again?

Recently, i was randomly hard-blocked on Tumblr by a (now former) mutual.. and also got randomly cut off by some friends irl too ...

To this day i have not the faintest idea what i did wrong and don't even have the capacity to ask any of them.. it makes me incredibly sad/disheartened to loose them, especially since i don't know/understand if/what i did anything wrong..

As far as i've been aware i never violated anyone's guidelines/boundaries.. it makes me physically and mentally ill to think that i could have somehow done something so terrible accidentally/unknowingly and gotten cut off for it.. 😥💔

Despite getting some support and lovin' about it, I've been crying about it so much and don't know how to deal with it still 😓💔

What are your thoughts on how the TBB, (and possibly Wolffe, Rex, and/or Cody if it isn't too much), would react/deal with/comfort (preferably fem!) Reader on randomly loosing friends and getting very sad over it?

I'm sorry for all the angst here!! Also, i know you already wrote something kind of similar (had to do with TBB helping the reader lose a toxic friend), so if this is too much, repetitive, or uncomfortable for you, i totally understand not doing the request!!

Take care and thank you so much for all that you do!! Your love and support and kindness knows no bounds!! 🫶🏼💕🩷

Aloha, hun!

I'm really sorry to read that. It's hard to lose friends, especially when you don't really know why or what's going on. The only way to find out would be asking them about it. But you mentioned you don't feel up to ask them yourself. Maybe you have someone, a friend, who'd be willing to do that for you? Sometimes you can't change peoples minds, and you don't have to. Real friends don't just leave you behind without telling you what bothered them. Real friends communicate and try to fix things and don't just leave or ignore. Hold on to the real ones and let the ones who want to go just go. I know it feels devastating, but you don't need people like this in your life. If they just show you the cold shoulder without voicing what's the deal, they are not willing to really make an effort for this friendship, so why should you run after them? Invest your energy in your real friends.

And friends who need some time to themselves for personal reasons usually at least tell you that they need to retreat for a while, at least in my experience (I do that sometimes when I need to charge up my mental batteries). Cutting someone off without at least addressing them once about the reason is Kindergarten or headless teenager behavior at best. People who really care/cared, don't just vanish out of your life quietly.

That's probably not making you feel much better, but what I'm trying to say is, that you should focus on yourself a bit more and those who deserve your friendship. Don't cry over undeserving idiots. Easier said than done, I know. It'll take time, like everything emotionally heavy does, but you'll feel better at some point when you manage to sort out your priorities. And Drama queens who cut you off on purpose, to make you run after them, are even worse. Those are energy vampires, don't play that game with them, you will always be at the exhausted, losing end.

But, I'm still here, not exactly a close friend, but a mutual I guess. I hear you and even though I can't do much for you right now, I can send you a hug and write something for you 🤗

I picked this request out of my list to do before the others, because I felt this was a little more... urgent, at the moment.

The Bad Batch/Wolffe/Rex x F!Reader HCs - True Friends

Warnings: Angst/Hurt/Comfort

___________________

Losing friends is never easy. You struggle with being left behind by some of them. How do the clones react?

___________________

Hunter

He is organizing and sorting a few things for the next mission when he talks to you and asks what is bothering you. Your revelation makes him wonder.

"And they didn't say anything? Didn't say why?

You shake your head sadly.

Hunter puts down the datapad on which he's just checked an inventory list and turns to face you fully.

"Then they're not friends either"

You frown and look at him questioningly.

Gently but firmly, he says, "Friends don't just turn their backs on you without comment. Someone who doesn't even expend enough energy to tell you what might be bothering them didn't really care much about this friendship or you in the first place."

You wrap your arms around your body, really not feeling much better now.

Hunter comes closer and takes off a glove and gently strokes your cheek.

"I know that's probably not what you wanted to hear. What I'm trying to say is that you shouldn't have to chase after these people. Focus on your real friends, the ones you can always count on. Me, for example," he says with a smile, "Or my brothers. We would never abandon you".

"It just bugs me that I don't know what's going on," you say dejectedly, leaning your head against his chest.

Hunter puts an arm around your shoulders and continues to stroke your cheek with one hand.

"I know, that would keep me busy too. But all I can tell you is focus on other things, other, real friends, important things in your life. If you want I can ask them if you tell me who it is, but I can guarantee you, no matter how it turns out, friends like that will always let you down, again and again"

You sigh wistfully.

"You are a great person, a great friend and partner, don't worry, there will always be someone who appreciates that, one way or another"

Echo

He looks at you worriedly, a depressed expression on his face. Echo can't quite understand why anyone would act this way toward you.

"Maybe they just need some time to themselves?" he asks cautiously.

"All three of them?" you say doubtfully.

Echo sits down next to you in the grass in the shade where the found you and moves a little closer.

He says thoughtfully, "Real friends talk to each other, they say what's going on and don't just take off. Maybe they weren't as good friends as you thought."

"Maybe," you say quietly.

Echo puts an arm around you, and you automatically lean against him, seeking warmth and comfort from his body.

"You're never all alone, Mesh'la. I'm here, my brothers are here, and Omega adores you. You have a family here with us that you can always count on, at all times."

You smile. The loss of your friends hurts, especially that you don't know why. But the thought and feeling of having Echo by your side gives you a sense of security, the impression that everything is actually okay.

"I love you, Echo, what would I do without you?"

Echo gently hugs you and says, "Don't worry about that, you won't get rid of me that easily".

Wrecker

He looks at you in confusion.

"Why would they do that? Friends don't do that"

With a helpless sigh, you look up at your gentle giant.

"Maybe I've upset them?"

Wrecker frowns critically, takes your hand and pulls you with him to the open ramp where he sits down on it and pulls you onto his lap.

Gently putting both arms around you, he says, "Even if that were true, which I kind of can't imagine, then you bring up something like that. Problems that you ignore or eat into yourself only become bigger and bigger problems. If they're really upset about you, then they need to tell you, have a conversation. To just ignore you or shut you out is pretty childish."

You lean against him, resting your head on his shoulder.

"It just feels so weird, so heavy and devastating".

Wrecker strokes your back and pulls his arms, gently, a little tighter around you.

"Don't be sad Cyar'ika, you still have us after all, and that won't change. I love you"

"You are so sweet, Wrecker" you say softly with a small smile.

He chuckles, "I know, I'm great, aren't I?"

"Indeed," you say with a soft laugh, "I love you too."

Tech

He listened to you carefully. When you finish your sentence, Tech puts the datapad aside and looks at you thoughtfully.

"Why would a friend turn his back on you without justification?"

You shrug your shoulders helplessly.

"That's just what's bothering me. Did I upset them, perhaps?"

"Come here, my love," Tech taps the seat next to him invitingly for you to join him before he says, "Well, I think that's unlikely, but it's still possible. However, it still wouldn't justify a lack of explanation about the situation."

You look at him for help.

"What would you do, Tech?"

He blinks, then says, "You know me, I wouldn't dwell on it for long. Even if I had negative feelings about it, I would go on my way and do what needs to be done."

"But what if it was Hunter and Wrecker?"

Tech sighs, "Well, we had something similar with Crosshair, however he gave us some sort of explanation. I don't know, honestly, I don't think there could be a fault line between us that isn't addressed. Especially Hunter would be looking for a dialogue to clear things up, and Wrecker probably would too."

He looks at you, trying to read your face.

After a pause, he says, "Well, in my estimation, these friends aren't worth your concern or friendship. If they don't feel the need to communicate with you about any problems that may exist, then they are obviously not willing to put any particular effort into this relationship. So my conclusion would be, if you are not worth their effort, then you should do the same the other way around and save your energy for more important things and people that are worth yours. Time for new priorities. If it helps you, I could work out a plan with you to help you redirect your energies and reorganize. It may be a good therapeutic distraction."

You smile at him.

"My beloved genius, I would greatly appreciate your help, yes."

Crosshair

He frowns.

"Well, I guess they're idiots," he says dryly, "You know I don't like most of your friends anyway."

Crosshair doesn't like to share your attention, that's the main reason. He tolerates your friends for your sake, but he'd much rather have you to himself. However, he would never go so far as to try to separate you from your friends.

When he sees the sad look on your face, he says, "If they just cut all the lines without telling you why, then they weren't friends either. You don't turn your back on a friend for no reason, and even if there is a reason, at least you talk about it, and then you decide whether to go your separate ways."

"Is that so?" asks Echo dryly from the background.

"Quiet back there," Crosshair grumbles, "You knew why we parted ways, I never made a secret of why I left."

"True."

Crosshair looks at you again and says, "People who really care about you don't turn their backs on you without comment, no matter how much your opinions may differ. What happens after a clarifying conversation is another story"

"Sometimes an ugly one," Echo mutters.

Crosshair snorts, "Would you please stay out of this".

You look from one to the other, finally looking up at Crosshair and asking, "What do you think I should do?"

"Keep going. Don't run after them, focus on yourself and the people who are really there for you," he lifts your chin slightly with his long fingers, "Like me for example."

Wolffe

He puts down the box he just took off his speeder, takes off his helmet and tucks it under his arm. He looks at you with a furrowed brow.

"Well, I guess they're not really friends, then."

"What do you mean?"

Wolffe looks at you urgently, "Someone who really cares doesn't turn their back on you without comment. Simple as that."

You wrap your arms around your body.

"I guess they don't care about me then."

Wolffe sighs, lifting your chin with his fingers and seeking eye contact.

"I care about you, a lot. I'm certainly not the only one"

You look up at him, swallowing and blinking back tears.

"It's just so scary. It feels like at some point everyone could suddenly be gone and then I'm alone"

Wolffe puts his helmet on the speeder, then puts both hands on your shoulder left and right.

"Cyare, you're not alone, you won't be alone. It may feel scary and defeating now, but you'll get over it. You will see and learn in time who your real friends are, what really matters and what your priorities should be"

"You won't abandon me, right?"

Wolffe gently kisses your forehead and says, "Never."

Rex

Rex looks at you in surprise. He expected everything possible, but not really.

"Do I know these friends?"

"No not really"

He shrugs and says, "Well, I don't really know what to tell you. In my experience, friendships are never one sided, at least they shouldn't be. You invest quite a lot of energy in these contacts and suddenly nothing comes back? Mesh'la, it sounds like you were used and… well, don't need you anymore. That doesn't have much to do with friendship, though."

Startled, you sit down on a bench nearby. Rex follows you. He looks at you meekly and says, "Sorry, you probably didn't want to hear that."

You sigh softly and say, "Maybe. But maybe I needed to hear it."

Rex shrugs and says quietly, "Maybe I'm wrong too, Mesh'la, but you should focus on yourself for now and be careful in case they contact you again. You can't let them hurt you."

He sits down next to you and says with a gentle smile, "In any case, you have me, I won't let you down."

His hand clasps yours with gentle pressure.

When you look up at his face, he gives you an encouraging look with that mischievous, yet soft and warm smile of his.

"I got you, Mesh'la, always"

Ko-Fi (If you feel like giving me some coffee)

@rintheemolion

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[yukidragon]

Remember one of the asks you had about how MC would reassure Jack if we found out his identity?

I wanted to ask something relating to that, if Jack were to slowly let his mask down around us and start acting like his actual self Joseph do you think he would turn back to Joseph appearance wise too? Sorry if this is dumb to ask I’ve just thought about this for awhile🥲

Don't worry, it's not dumb at all!

I think that if Jack were to slowly let himself be Joseph more and more on a gradual basis, that might be healthy for him actually. While he might never be comfortable using that name again, accepting that not all those traits that made him Joseph were bad would be good for him, I think.

As for his appearance... it's possible that the more Jack thinks like Joseph, the more his appearance will get affected by it. Of course, the second he realizes it's happening, it would probably cause a trauma response similar to the worst ending for the yogurt mini game. It might cause him to backslide a bit.

Sunny Day Jack seems to be a figure that was seen as ideal by the public, and Joseph likely internalized it, comparing how people treated him as Jack verses as himself - a big burly guy with piercings and tattoos who used to be a punk. It's easy for someone to take one look at him and his tastes and just write him off without seeing any other side to him. He was loved as Jack, but not as Joseph... or at least not before he started making friends with his fellow actors. Even then, that's still gaining love because of Jack if you think about it.

The persona of Sunny Day Jack might be something that leaves Jack feeling secure that he's doing all the right things to make him worthy of love, rather than worthless. He doesn't seem to see Joseph as worthy of love, likely having internalized things said to him from his past. This means that being Joseph is something pretty scary for him.

However, if Jack keeps slipping into old habits in small ways and he keeps getting positive reinforcement, particularly from MC, it'll eventually get less scary over time. The less need he feels to be exactly what the character of Sunny Day Jack is supposed to be, the more he can find himself again and accept that he is worthy of love, and not just the character he's trying to portray himself as.

I do think that will affect his appearance. Maybe Jack won't completely shift back to his old look and have some sort of blend in appearances, or maybe he'll be able to be comfortable being the man he used to be and be able to look like his old self completely. It's hard to say for sure, but most likely as he manages to accept himself more, some traces of his former self are going to bleed through, whether he likes it or not. When that happens, he'll need support to see that he's not going to be forgotten again and he is loved even if he's not quite as perfect as he believes Sunny Day Jack to be.

@channydraws @earthgirlaesthetic @sai-of-the-7-stars @cheriihoney @illary-kore @okamiliqueur

[lazodiac]

It's time once again to ramble incoherently about magic cards. Lets try and divine where each of the cards of Outlaws of Thunder Junction are from, why don't we!

You can find the first two parts here and here! And today we're covering...

BLACK

Starting us off with a native to Thunder Junction. God this critter is spooky looking. Love it though!

Aaah, the Hellspurs. I'll get more into them once we meet our first creature Hellspur, but for now just accept that this magmatic thread of doom is native to Thunder Junction.

Another native creature of Thunder Junction! Vultures are important and regal birds and shouldn't be so villainized, I think... but I can't deny they do sometimes look this nasty.

While we've seen a number of vampires in magic practice ye ol' Sanguimancy, the plane most often shown to do this (and the plane most likely to pop their collars THIS ridiculously) is Innistrad.

As mentioned with ghosts in the Blue cards, dead and revived means you're bound to the plane- zombies are native to Thunder Junction, regardless of where they're from previously.

Sweet lord kill it with fire! This abomination is from Thunder Junction and if it's not I never wanna see where it's from. Snorses are wonderful an idea but god they look comfortable.

Gonna say something controversial about this one- the way the lady is posing, her culty robe, and the predominance of ash in her fire, makes me think this is a deep-cut to Azgol, last seen in MOM. It's got similar vibes to various Hellspur aesthetic stuff, but the woman is clearly just too alive to be one of them- more on that later.

Okay this is probably the best place to bring this up. Hellspurs! One of the criminal factions of Thunder Junction. Lawbreakers, murderers, and thieves to a man. Each follows the brutal scorpion-dragon outlaw Akul, and almost every single one of them is mutated beyond all belief by the Chaotic Thunder of the plane.

As a result, much like with zombies and ghosts, these guys have fully stripped away all of their previous life in exchange for lava hands and shit. So, there's gonna be a lot of folk who are native to Thunder Junction purely by this metric, and it'll skew things a little. This is why I'm counting the numbers by colour, since the Hellspurs are predominantly red and black.

A natural (and very spooky!) magical mirage of death. I love this art.

See? This is what happens when you don't "lower" yourself to feeding on animals. You end up shoving your stupid ass face into a cactus. This is a Ravnican vampire, since we've seen before they're often stupid enough to pull this exact trick.

*Dry bones falling apart noises* Tinybones' funny trick and/or prank! This is from Dominaria since that wonderful friend is from Dominaria too.

Raised on the plane, native to the plane. This skeleton owns by the way, this is a good ass skeleton.

Gisa Cecani is, much like her brother, one of my favorite characters in Magic. She's Innistradi born and raised, and seems to fit in like a glove on this plane.

Really unsettling art on this one! Ghost, so native to Thunder Junction... though we can actually, likely, identify the body here; four arms suggests a Mirran Vedalkan. Neat!

Our first actual look at the main antagonist of the set (for as much as that means in a villain focused set). Akul, the Scorpion Dragon of Gastal- a fact revealed right before I started doing this!

Kaervek! The Merciless! The Conqueror! The "too big a deal to be dealing with this shit", imo. Everyone's upset at Marchesa being here but Kaervek is the one that bugs me the most- this man is a country-conqueror, not a petty crook!... but, it's fine, because it's clear in the story Kaervek is insulted Oko's recruited him for such trivialities.

Anyway, he's from Zhalfir. I hope he gets to kill Oko.

Swing your partner round and round, rip their corpus from the ground! Gisa doing a barn-raising in the most literal sense, a uniquely Innistradi way of waking up the dead, with a Thunder Junction flavor.

A hellspur bursting his way out of a shallow grave- oak box included. Funny, and native to the plane.

No real way of figuring out where this guy is from or his gaseous death-cloud... so I'll say Eldraine, based purely on the fact that it's the plane most likely to have such a simple burst of "sleeping" poison.

An easy one! He may be a rat man but he's called out as a Nezumi and that's a Kamigawan thing.

There are a couple places this delightful fellow could be from... but given the pickpocketting and the general demeanor, he's from New Capenna.

Azul, laying a horrific waste to his "friends" to benefit. The scorpion claws being a vent for his breath weapon is exceptional a design, incidentally.

A ridiculous piece of art for many reasons, this one is native to Thunder Junction purely by the fact that this is where the gang was born.

The reason why this is ridiculous is because every single height here is wrong. Vraska is taller than basically everyone to the left of her. Oko is using magic to make himself look taller that's literally canon so that's fine, but Kellan? Annie? One's a baby (described as small for his age) and one's a grandma. Tinybones is also probably far too big. The only person here who is the right height is Rakdos, whose height is "whatever height he wishes to be he can change shape depending on how excited he is". Wild shit.

The only plane with actual snakes-for-hair gorgons is Theros, and even then only half of the time. So this lady is from there. Fitting too, apothecaries making booze and poison is within Pharika's perview absolutely.

As fun as it would be to say this is a raven from Dominaria, implying the presence of Omenpaths are allowing the (currently suppressed and trying to fight his way out of Lili) Raven Man is doing some work, naw. This is just a normal raven.

An all-natural undead member of the Hellspurs, double erasing his identity. God dangit.

This being an ASSASSIN vampire suggests New Capenna. It's kind of their jam, you know?

Gisa showing she is more impulsive than a monkey-goblin obsessed with explosives is why this story spotlight (that isn't given a story spotlight tag) is happening. Innistradi magic running wild and giving us a real Train to Busan energy.

A later card explains that the demons that are natural to the plane grant gifts like this, so this scorpions and their soon to be scorpionman friend are native to the plane.

Fun fact; scorpions do just glow like this. Bio Luminescence is fun!

Jana has the exact same vibe (and the same demon-snake familiar) as Elnor from Yuma's story, so I'm calling it for New Capenna here. Also, funny flavor text AND reminder text. Fantastic work.

And that's it for part 1. Tune in momentarily for part 2 of Black!