#about focusing on a small problem while ignoring a huge one

[walking--contradictio---n]

[dailyadventureprompts]

DM Tip: The Debt Always Comes Due

Isn't it weird how little we engage with gold as a real gameplay system? Sure, at low level wealth makes a great questhook, the party is usually hurting for a payout so that they can afford necessary gear upgrades/ubiquitous healing potion restocks/their next trip to the magic item shop. After a while though the promise of raw wealth loses its lustre, and the party is less likely to go out of their way to accept bounties, go off chasing treasuremaps, or accept gigs from shady patrons.

Generally I'd advise that this is a sign that your party are done being run of the mill sellswords, and it's time to hit them with a big epic questline that's focused more on emotional and narrative stakes than base currency. That said, sometimes you want to run a longer adventure arc that's centred around the acquisition of wealth, but to do that, you're going to need to go against the grain on one of the foundational assumptions that underpins D&D both mechanically and narratively.

TLDR: If you want your party to be motivated by gold past their first big pay off you should consider using a "wealth hurdle", which in short is a narrative and gameplay challenge that forces them to collect not only more gold than they already have but also more gold than they could get doing what they've been doing so far. This can be anything from a crimelord calling in a debt on them or one of their allies, a powerful monster swooping in and demanding tribute, comissioning some grand construction, or funding the defence of a region. Having the hurdle active should cause problems for the party, and not clearing the hurdle before a perdetermiend deadline will immensely bad things to happen. This will force the party to take risks they otherwise wouldn't, giving a high degree of focus to their subsequent adventures that they wouldn't have if they were content.

What we're trying to fix:

At it's core, D&D is a power fantasy, and a good chunk of its gameplay mechanics regardless of edition are about acquiring new strengths, options, and assets. These assumptions are likewise built into the genre and narrative structure of most campaigns: Heroes undertake quests usually for the promise of some reward, gain experiance/hit milestones along the way, and eventually stumble across some kind of loot drop at the end. There's nothing strictly wrong with this, but it does mean that all the resource problems the heroes face in the early game (and the inbuilt motivations that come along with them) are all but resolved by the time they hit the next gameplay tier.

This is complicated by the fact that outside of 3rd party options there's not much to spend money on. The DMG (which you should totally ignore) say you shouldn't let them buy magic items, and the common wisdom would say "let them buy a keep", but that solution only appeals a niche selection of adventuring parties.

Using Weath Hurdles turns acquiring gold not just into a quest goal but a gameplay challenge, forcing your party to scour the land for potential sources of wealth (and risk upsetting whoever or whatever happens to be currently holding it) and take on challenges they'd never normally attempt if there was only survival/personal enrichment at stake.

Food for Thought:

Tradional d&d structure has the party getting a huge payout at the end of their adventure in the form of a bosshoard or questgiver reward which is a very backloaded "you can have your dessert after you finish your greens" sort of attitude. Consider switching it up sometimes: have the party's patron or employer give them a small stipend to spend on kitting themselves out, have an early game treasure haul so the party can have a mid-arc shopping episode. This is especially useful in higher level games where your party may go weeks to months without a level up as it preserves the feeling of progression and gives them new toys to play with in between the big character defining abilities.

Recently I've been learning my way around blades in the dark (can't reccomend it enough btw), and just like any other time I've wanted to learn a new ttrpg system I'm having to do a bit of neural rewiring when it comes to figuring out how to write and run sessions of the game. Coin in BitD is both an XP (used for upgrading the party's shared crew sheet) a resource (burned to upgrade the results of various rolls) and a stat ( rolled to see if the players can lay their hands on various hard to come by items). It didn't really click for me until my first group messed up really badly on what was supposed to be their introductory adventure and pissed off the local crimeboss. I was just going to have him bully them, lock them up and then have a jailbreak the next session ( it's what I'd do in d&d), but on the fly I had the idea that he'd let them go with a massive debt they needed to pay off, which forced them to either pay him a percentage of their takings on all future jobs, or do small jobs in utmost secrecy so that they could build up their own strength under his nose.

Interestingly enough, the d&d game where I thought player wealth as a resource was most interestingly used was Dimension 20’s starstruck Odessy, which was a conversion of the amazing fanmade  starwars5e system. Starstruck is a parody of hypercapitalism and aptly uses money as both a narrative and gameplay feature. One character is stuck paying weekly insurance premiums on a debt he would never be able to pay down forcing him to act recklessly to acquire wealth in the immediate future. Another character was a economic and political power player and some of the best moments in the series come from her high stakes wheeling and dealing and bouncing money between accounts while the rest of the group engages in epic space battles; the rest of the crew might’ve barely got their ship out of the dogfight, but she’s the one who ensures they can pay for the repairs once they get to the space dock.   None of this would be possible without completely ignoring the normal constraints of wealth per level: gaining and losing huge sums based on moment by moment player decisions, The need for them to play along with the absurist gig economy to boost their rating and get better paying jobs, making a devil’s bargain with a corporate sponsor all so that they could risk their lives in a deadly arena fight all for the (very unlikely) chance of winning the equivalent of a million GP.  Not every campaign should, or even could so focus on money in this way, but it was FASCINATING to watch it in action. 

Artsource

[queerfortress2]

Hello!

May I request any number of mercs you’d like to write for helping a S/O who is getting burnt out from work/school/general busy life stuff?

I’m having the worst burnout right now and it stinks :/

If I had any preference…any of these: Medic, Engie, Scout, Spy

You can write for one, you can write for all of them, whatever you would like to do.

I’m a woman and use she/her but you can make this gender neutral so non-female folks can also enjoy, whichever you’d like!

Hope you’re well, and thank you <3

an engie request finally you don’t understand — mod engie

GN!READER X MEDIC + ENGINEER + SCOUT + SPY (SEPARATE)

MEDIC

my brother in christ he is ALSO working. 2fort’s best paper pusher right there.

if you see work pile up he wouldn’t be opposed to helping you if you ignore is own work piling up. he doesn’t mind it really, as much as he says he doesn’t get burnt out he absolutely does and completely understands.

also taking you out of a work environment !! separate yourself from work for a little while, it’ll make you feel a lot better. he would take you somewhere nice if he wasn’t banned for 99% of public spaces, but does his best with what he has. you can walk around town together or he’ll invite you to his private quarters for you to relax with him and his Unusual Amount of Doves.

he’s also huge he’s practically a living weighted blanket. he isn’t exactly one to lay down and cuddle for hours but he can give you physical comfort before he finds himself distracted by something else in the room. you WILL have to listen to his crazy side rants if you spend time with him.

over all i think he’s more work oriented, so i think he’s more focused on “getting it all done” than “girl fuck your work we’ll go out on the town”

ENGINEER

paper pusher number two

he saw it happening before you did and probably dragged you out of the workshop before it got too serious. in the most non-creepy way possible he finds himself observing you frequently when you work together (or just in the same area) and will run checks on you frequently. need water? don’t worry about it, got a mini fridge right there for you— hey would you be a darling and pass the beer over too? thanks.

hospitality is his deal, even if you’re dating he finds himself treating you like a guest. you get the top priority. ignore his constant working and hypocrisy and he’s like a mini nurse.

also also probably does the work for you while he distracts you with something else. he doesn’t mean to be untruthful but.. while you nap he might’ve finished up a bit of your work and just told you that you did it but you were so tired you didn’t remember. HE JUST WANTS THE BEST FOR YOU

celebration too! he can actually go places, he takes you to a nice little diner and has dinner with you. he’s wearing his stupid little plaid shirt and jeans to dress nice and is TOTALLY playing but off like he’s the prettiest boy at the party. (he is) he even does the slick back hair motion on his hardhat (or very bald head). i want his dead /pos.

SCOUT

brother doesn’t know what he’s doing. he is one of the WORST at trying to help you get work done. he honestly just tells you to forget about it and you both just leave to go run about the base for a bit. a good jog never hurt anyone, i guess. (pauling is drowning in work)

he’s irresponsible so don’t trust him to help you either, he’ll forget about it and get distracted with something else entirely. but it’s the thought that counts! he’s also illiterate so that’s probably a problem with homework or just filing pages…

he also doesn’t take no for an answer, if you shove him off he’s just gonna keep pestering you, or if you’re small enough? just GRAB YOU. you’re leaving that desk whether you like it or NOT. you’re gonna go— as the kids say— “touch grass.” it’s gonna happen.

on the bright side, you’re never bored, he’s extremely entertaining. even if it gives you guys weird looks out in public, at least you aren’t frowning! you’re just having a good time.

if anything you’re going to get a good break, but when you get back that work is still going to be there, that’s a guarantee.

[cat3ch1sm]

Hello bb 😭💕 I've been such a huge fan of your work for ages now. I hope you are feeling better and taking care of yourself 🥺

If you are comfortable/want to, I was wondering if I could request some kind of nsfw perverted!hisoka x fem reader (the girl he's determined to make his) is now "coincidentally" stuck in a small space together 🤣 reader has avoided him bc she feels the same way but entirely embarrassed

If not pls ignore this request !

--kateaesthetic ✨️

🫖~ hello my love i missed u<33 im so so glad ur a fan, it means the actual world to me that i have supporters like you. here is your request, enjoy 💚💚

notice for my other followers- if you’ve sent me a request, im definitely working on it, i haven’t chosen to ignore any of your requests😭 it’s just i have a lot to work on outside and inside of this app, so it may take me some time. however, i really appreciate your patience, and i love you all endlessly and am so so grateful for your support.

*ೃ༄ nsfw ahead, perv hisoka😭, degradation, fem!reader˚◞♡ ⃗

“Alright, Y/N- thanks for staying so late,” your boss told you with a smile, which you returned politely. “Would you mind locking up the boutique for me? I’d do it myself it it wasn’t my little boy’s birthday, and I absolutely don’t want to miss it.”

“It’s no problem at all,” you assured her. “I hope your son has a wonderful birthday- but I’m sure it will be far more wonderful if you’re home on time! You’d better get going; I’ll be done in no time.”

“Thanks so much. The keys to lock up are on the counter beside the register. Have a great night, Y/N- see you tomorrow!” your boss called, and you waved as she went out the door.

You smiled to yourself. You were very fond of your boss; she’d never been unkind or unfair with you, so doing her this favor didn’t bother you in the slightest. Hanging up one of the dresses you’d been holding on the racks, you started to walk to the front of the dress shop to retrieve the keys.

Before you made it to the counter, though, you heard something that surprised you- the windchime dangling above the front doorframe suddenly made a gentle jingling sound- indicating that somebody had just walked in. You were perplexed upon hearing the noise- all of the lights were off in the building, so you couldn’t imagine why someone would enter. Then it occurred to you- perhaps your boss had just forgotten something. Yes, that’s what it had to be. Relaxing, you walked to the counter and picked up the keys before looking up.

“Oh, you’re back? Did you forget something?” you inquired, your gaze still focused on the keys beneath you, which were frustratingly getting tangled into one another. “I’d be happy to get it for you-“

When you finally looked up, though, you knew instantly that the dark figure who had just entered the shop wasn’t your boss. It was about a foot too tall, and even among the shadows you could tell the build was that of a man. Most notably, though, was the peak of hair that stretched above his head- seemingly defying gravity.

At first, you didn’t recognize the man, and found yourself even more confused. “Uh- sir?” you ventured, tilting your head and squinting your eyes at the figure. “We’re closed right now, but we reopen at 8 am tomorrow- perhaps you could return then?”

“Oh, but my dear- that’s far too late,” the man drawled, inching closer to the counter behind which you were standing, and with every step he took you could hear the clicking of heels on the marble floor. “Can’t you make an exception for me, sweetheart?”

You felt your heart skip a beat in your chest. Hisoka. He was the one who had been pursuing you for weeks, appearing around every corner you turned. And now, he’d managed to find you at your job.

Hisoka had made very clear his intentions with you a number of times- not quite bluntly, but in a manner that you couldn’t mistake. You, in return, had avoided him as much as you could- you simply couldn’t muster up the boldness and slyness that Hisoka possessed, and while you knew something deep inside you wanted Hisoka to want you, you were frankly just too embarrassed to admit it. Nobody had ever really wanted you the way Hisoka claimed to, and you didn’t know how to react.

“Hisoka.” It was all you could come up with. You absently picked up the keys, now disentangled, and habitually singled out the one that locked the closet in which the store kept the custom dress orders. “I… don’t think you should be here.” Quickly, you turned your back on him, already feeling heat rush to your face at his mere presence, and briskly walked over to the dress closet.

In the dark, you heard Hisoka chuckle lowly. “Ah, even in the dark, I can tell you’re blushing. You’re simply adorable.” His tone was amused, but you didn’t miss the familiar notes of ardor beneath his voice.

Throughly flustered, you thrust the key into the closet’s lock, turning it in the doorknob. You avoided turning to face Hisoka, and not knowing how else to escape, you rushed into the closet, brushing past the flouncing, poofy petticoats and the long, flowing skirts of the dresses inside. You retreated to the very back, up against the wall, stomach fluttering and hoping Hisoka didn’t see you.

“Hiding, are we?” Hisoka queried slyly, and you saw from behind a particularly fluffy dress his shadow come closer and closer to the closet door. “I just adore games like these.”

You startled as he entered the closet, his face now mostly visible in the dim light. Keeping your back pressed against the wall, you didn’t dare to even breathe, foolishly hoping that the magician would simply bore of your antics and be on his way. However, that wasn’t the case- and you were absolutely sure of this when Hisoka promptly shut the closet door behind him, locking the two of you inside.

Your eyes flew wide open with shock, a million thoughts racing through your head. Shit! I’m locked in. No- we’re locked in. Damn it- I’m locked in this closet with him. With Hisoka. Why didn’t I wait until after he was gone to lock the stupid door?

In your internal frenzy, you made a noise in the corner- instantly drawing the sharp stare of Hisoka. In no time, you felt his piercing yellow eyes burning into your face, and you knew you’d been spotted.

Your eyes rose higher and higher as Hisoka came closer. You didn’t want to look away from his face in case you missed something, but Hisoka only gave you that smirk that somehow made your knees weak whenever he did. Before you knew it, you were looking straight up into his gaze.

“Why do you even bother running from me, sweetheart?” Hisoka took your chin in his grasp, his clawlike nails barely scratching your skin, and lifted your head up to meet his eyes directly. “While I enjoy a good game of chase, you certainly didn’t think you were about to win, did you?”

For a few seconds, you were frozen, heart beating a million beats a minute and your lips sealed shut. Finally, though, you managed to speak. “Hisoka- what do you want?”

“Don’t play stupid.” Hisoka’s smile grew wider. “I believe you already know the answer to that, Y/N.”

Before you had a chance to react, Hisoka’s hand wrapped itself around your upper neck and pulled you into a gentle kiss. Instinctively, your eyes fluttered shut and you felt a blush spread across your face again, caught off guard by how soft it was. However, the surprisingly tender moment was disrupted when you felt a second hand slither around your waist, down your back, and eventually settle on your ass, giving it a playful squeeze.

You squeaked in surprise and pulled away from Hisoka, whose expression told you that he knew exactly what he was doing. “Hisoka!”

“My apologies, darling, I just couldn’t help myself.” An unapologetic grin spread across his face. “But I must add- you don’t seem to mind, my dear.”

Your body had betrayed you yet again- here you were, face hot and blushing like a fool. Embarrassed, you dropped your eyes down to the ground.

Above you, you heard Hisoka let out an amused chuckle. “Don’t be so shy, sweetheart- you’re just adorable when you look like this. It only makes me want to have you even more.”

Before you could respond, your lips were pressed into Hisoka’s again, one of his slender hands around your neck while the other took hold of the hem of your shirt and effortlessly tore it from your body; you felt as if the sound of the fabric ripping could be heard for miles. You allowed yourself to kiss Hisoka back for a few more seconds before pulling away.

“Take off your shirt.”

Hisoka’s thin eyebrows raised in surprise before his expression morphed into one of twisted delight. “So demanding…” he mused, golden eyes burning into yours before he complied with your demand, sliding his shirt over his head and tossing it carelessly to the floor.

For a moment you were in a daze, captivated by Hisoka’s glistening pale skin and his beyond impressive figure, a rippling 8-pack flowing down his abdomen and toned pecs and biceps protruding. It was only after Hisoka’s hands wrapped around your exposed waist and gently lowered your body and his to the ground that you snapped back into reality, the sensation of his lips on your neck and his hands slithering up your thighs suddenly overpowering.

“I’ve always imagined that I’d get you in this position one day, Y/N… but you’re even more inviting than I’d anticipated,” Hisoka hissed, running his tongue from your collarbone to the bottom tip of your ear. The soft warmth and wetness drew a gasp from you, and you felt Hisoka’s lips curl into a smile against your skin.

“Such a pretty sound, darling… be a good girl and make much more of those cute little moans for me, alright?”

You barely heard yourself murmur, “Alright,” before Hisoka nudged your bra straps off of your shoulders and began kissing down your chest. You allowed yourself to throw your head back, lewd gasps escaping your lips as Hisoka’s tongue teased your breasts, flicking each of your erect nipples and circling around the skin softly. Then, moving his head down your abdomen, he took hold of one of your breasts in his head, gripping it tightly as he licked a hot, wet trail from just above your bellybutton to in between your breasts, deriving an unhealthy amount of pleasure from the equally surprised yet passionate moan you emitted. One of your hands came down to tangle itself in Hisoka’s multicolored hair, silently urging him to keep going.

Hisoka obliged, and you felt some control slip away from him, his touch growing rougher and more ravenous as his fingers came down to your legs, dancing up your thigh and slipping beneath your skirt but stopping just before brushing your dripping opening.

“It’s a good thing you wore this cute little skirt for me today, huh, sweetheart? I can already sense how wet you are for me.”

Having his hands so close to where you needed them most but not quite there yet was torture, and you knew Hisoka could tell by the ragged way you were breathing. “Hisoka- please stop teasing me…”

Hisoka made a mock pout at your pitiful demeanor. “Aw, so needy already? You’re dirtier than I thought, my dear.” He flipped up the hem of your skirt, revealing your darkened panties and making you shudder. “But don’t be embarrassed- it’s cute.”

Hisoka finally inched his fingers up higher, running the tip of his sharp nail down your covered slit and making you groan, arching up into his touch. He allowed himself another satisfied chuckle before tugging your panties aside and rubbing the pad of his thumb along your wet entrance, moistening his finger before he began rubbing your clit in circular motions- slowly at first, but gradually picking up speed.

“Ah- mm, Hisoka,” you moaned, thrusting your lower half into his fingers. Hisoka simply pushed his middle finger into your entrance, drawing a long, pathetic whine from you as the sensation of his finger inside of you took over your body.

“Oh, Y/N- I’ve only just started using my fingers and you’re already shaking,” Hisoka remarked coyly, slowly moving his finger back and forth inside of you, silencing you whenever you tried to say something with a broken cry. “How long has it been since your needs were satisfied, dear?” he mused to himself, pretending to be deep in thought. “Seemingly far too long, yes? Especially for you to be behaving the way you are, already such a filthy whore beneath my fingers.”

Your face flushed for what had to be the thousandth time tonight. “I’m not a who- ah! Fuck- fuck, Hisoka-“

“You’re not doing a good job of proving it, sweetheart,” Hisoka teased, two fingers now pumping inside of your hole while his thumb continued to trace your swollen, sensitive clit.

“Shut up,” you managed breathlessly, the pleasure building up both within your clit and your vagina and rendering you unable to speak properly.

Hisoka laughed and took his thumb from your clit, eliciting a displeasured cry from you, but it was quickly replaced with his tongue, flicking back and forth in rapid movements along your clit. The noise that it drew from you could only be described as a scream, and Hisoka kept it up for a little while longer, relishing in your shrieks before promptly sitting up, removing his fingers and mouth from your sex.

You were dismayed, about to ask why Hisoka had pulled away, when you lifted your head and noticed the straining tent in his pants as well as the almost frightening lust in his eyes, running up and down your body hungrily. Wordlessly, he stood up, slipped out of his pants and boxers, and bent back down to your quivering form on the floor.

Hisoka was quite an impressive size- you almost felt obliged to look away, but Hisoka’s hand came up to cup your jawline and forced your face towards him before releasing you, your eyes wide.

“Don’t get nervous now, dear. I want you to see exactly what I’m going to do with you.”

You could only watch, aching and sensitive and anticipating as Hisoka positioned himself at your dripping hole, the tip of his dick at your entrance making you quiver before he pushed himself inside of you, every inch he forced inside of your body eliciting a broken whimper from you. Hisoka’s face tightened ever so slightly as he entered you, but once he was settled and began rocking his hips against you, an borderline sinister smile graced his lips.

“How I’ve fantasized of this moment, my dear,” Hisoka purred, eyes fixated on your face as your eyes rolled back into your head with every movement he made, lips parted in silent ecstasy. His next words, though, were lost on you.

“Such a pretty, useless thing. Surely you didn’t believe I truly desired you, sweetheart. But even so- you’re mine.”

[nonclassyparty]

man with the plan (j.wy) - chapter 1.

Summary: "Don't forget Pretty, I'm serving life plus one. So if I get busted for attempted escape, I'll throw in a homicide in there as well with no problem, that’s like a parking ticket to me." When your brother ends up in jail for a murder he didn't commit, the only thing left for you to do is to find a way to break him out. But after a perfect plan is set in motion, you don't expect a romantic variable to get added into the equation.

Pairing: jung wooyoung x fem. reader, jeong yunho x reader (but if u squint)

Status: in progress

Word count: 6k

Warnings: blood, cursing, violence, men being well men!

Taglist: @tinyjuni @hazysan @atinytinaa @tenebrisirae @doggopepper @dazzlingstarrs @lavishloving @cherrypandora @silentcry329 @jeagerist-20 @myunvillage @manipulatedstars @bitteryu @maru-matt @bubbleteakittyy @joonsthethicc

A/N: hello everyone! welcome to the first chapter, before you start reading i just really wanted to say that some of the parts are kind of corny, i usually hate writing know-it-all characters finding it cringy most of the times so push through pleek lol as i said before in the prologue; this is inspired by prison break, a lot of the dialogue is taken from there as well as most of y/n's characterization so all credits go to them! i just wanted to write this bc i thought it would be a fun little thing and something that could include all of the members in more detail all while still remaining a wooyoung focused story! the story is set in 2005-ish btw! i hope you enjoy <3 -bree

my main masterlist // playlist // moodboard // ao3

prologue // masterlist // chapter 2

Chapter 1; I'm headed straight for the castle, they wanna make me their queen

It was weird to walk through the entrance designated for the employees instead of the visitors.

Your boss, Mrs. Ahn, was walking in front of you while Minho was following closely behind, looking over his shoulder like somebody was about to run across the empty yard, jump over the wired fence and shank him. He was always a little bit of a wimp.

It was barely past seven in the morning, the prisoners weren't allowed to be out of their cells yet so the empty yard covered in fog had a deeply eerie feeling to it. Just as the ride inside the hills where the compound was set. 

Trees, fog and silence all around.

"I hope they have good security around here." Minho mutters to you, hands stuffed inside the pockets of his coat as you neared the door to the building.

"Relax, Minho," You chuckle, as you slide through the door he holds open for you, "You'll be here for an hour tops."

"I'm saying for your sake, Y/N. I've still to see any women working in here." His voice is scolding and all you can do is chuckle again.

The inside of the building where the infirmary is conjoined with the warden's chambers and staff offices is a huge difference to the chilling October air and your cheeks immediately turn pink as they embrace the much needed warmth. 

You observe the yet unfamiliar halls that were empty as it was still early in the morning. Mrs. Ahn insisted that you left the office earlier than necessary, afraid that Minho would get lost somewhere between the hills and the deep forest that surrounded the compound.

"Oh, see." You nudge Minho, staring in the direction of the infirmary halls where a middle aged woman was walking around with a clipboard. You grin at him in triumph. "A woman."

You ignore the set of curious eyes from the same halls that you know follow behind you.

-

"Why you'd want to work here is beyond me." Mrs. Ahn comments with her arms crossed as she stares through the window, lips pursued as she observes the yard that was now filled out by the inmates, doing whatever they do in their free time.

"Someone has to do it." You look up at her from your place behind the desk with a small smile. Minho was outside, near the construction site negotiating with the workers that were supposed to drive over the materials in an hour.

"Y/N, you know very well what I mean." She harps at you, "With your qualifications and capabilities, something like this...supervising a construction site? In a prison no less? It's something JJ with half of his degree could do." She huffs when you just stubbornly stare at her without a word, "It's below you. Let's not even mention how potentially dangerous it could be, these people are animals."

You sigh, eyes falling to the blueprints of the new construction, what they're going to call the 'C-building' of the compound.

"You should be going to Tokyo with me. Working on skyscrapers and million dollar deals, not wasting time here."

"It's only a couple of months." You quietly muse, swallowing down your true thoughts, "I won't miss out on too much."

She stays quiet and for a long second, you start thinking she finally dropped it.

"I know it's because of your...." Mrs. Ahn starts trails off, voice laced in sympathy. When the thing with Jongho happened, she advised you to not exactly scream the fact that he's your brother from the rooftops. "But Y/N, you won't be able to talk to him any more than you could during visitations. What do you plan on gaining from this? I know he's your only family, I know how much he means to you but...if anything, aren't you only making it worse for yourself?"

"I don't plan on gaining anything from it." You chuckle softly, leaning back in your chair in defeat as you stare at her. "I'd just like to, I don't know, see what he's doing over the day? When he's in the yard, that is. I'm aware of the circumstances but this opportunity appeared and I just couldn't let it pass me up."

The double meaning to the words was a little inside joke that only you were in on so far.

She quiets down again, returning her attention to the view from the window.

"Supervising a construction site is a shitty job, just so you know. Especially as a woman. The construction workers won't be much better than the damn inmates, acting like they haven't seen a woman in years." She glances at you from the corner of her eyes, "They won't take you seriously, they'll try to intimidate you."

You grin at her, "I can handle them."

Her mouth perks up at the corners as she looks at you. "I know you can."

The little moment is interrupted by Minho walking into the room and observing it in obvious disdain.

The office you've been given is not bigger than a storage room, located on the third floor with nothing more than a bookshelf, desk and an old worn out chair. It's stuffy and the walls are old, probably collecting mold in the corners. 

Much different that your modern and spacious office back in Seoul.

"Well, it's definitely something..." Minho trails off, glancing at you and you have to let out a laugh at his obvious attempt to not offend you. Even Mrs. Ahn chuckles.

"Are you done out there?" She asks him and he nods quickly, collecting his briefcase from the chair in front of your desk that he left it on.

"All done. The materials arrived, half of the workers are here and the other half is arriving in the afternoon. Something about a limited amount of workers being allowed during yard time." Minho explains, fixing the scarf around his neck before sighing.

"We should get going then." Mrs. Ahn says, looking at you with the same scolding look again and all you do is give her a small tight-lipped smile.

"I'll walk you guys out." You pitch in, standing up to pull your coat on.

The halls are already more lively than when you walked in this morning, two officers are conversing by the door and they nod at you three in passing. You give them a smile.

The air is still cold outside, only it's not as quiet this time around. Yells and curses from the basketball court echo through the area from one side along with the construction workers moving the beams off of the trucks from the other.

Minho turns to you and with another sigh, throws his arms around you. You let out a giggle in his embrace as he mutters, "Please, for the love of God, be careful in here."

"You're so dramatic." You say as you pull away, taking a step back. "I'll be fine. Keep my office warm while I'm gone."

"Of course." He nods. 

You give Mrs. Ahn a small wave and she only nods in response before you watching them both walk away through the tall gate that swiftly shuts behind them.

Now, you're on your own.

On instinct, your head immediately turns to the yard not even forty meters away from the building your office is in. A tall, steel wire surrounds the enormous grass surface, small basketball court is set near the middle of one wall that the wire makes, benches are spread across the yard generously, most of them occupied.

You hear someone whistle at you but you pay them no attention, mind set on finding a specific someone. 

Your brother isn't in there, you wonder where the fuck is he but for right now, Jongho isn't the one you're looking for.

Most of the convicts in the yard are separated into small groups, gangs, and the blue uniforms aren't a help to making a distinction between them by any means. 

Until you spot a certain messy black and white head of hair sitting on the highest bench with six other men surrounding him like a kingpin.

You sniffle, nose starting to run from the cold before turning around and heading to the construction site on the opposite end of the compound, far away from the yard or the A and B buildings where the original prison cells were located.

"Good morning." You greet the group of men, shuffling around the site with tools and materials. You get a couple of murmurs of greetings in return.

You glance at the two guards sticking near the site, in case something happens, that's what the warden said as you've been told.

That's how the morning passes, they work and you do what you're supposed to; you supervise.

Mrs. Ahn was right, these men don't take you seriously. They snicker at every suggestion you make, ogle at you when they think you aren't looking and get way too close when they need to speak to you.

 You could use it to your advantage, play the pretty ditz skipping around the site on the daily. Would surely make your job easier.

It's just that if there's one thing you hate more than your brother getting falsely accused of murder and you having to devise a detailed plan on breaking him out of prison; it's people underestimating you.

"Can someone hand me that trowel over there?!" A guy crouching a few feet away from you shouts over his shoulder, your lips quirk up as you quickly jump to your feet. Finally! 

"Here." You hand him the trowel and he glances at you before taking it. You cock your head. "Is everything okay?"

"This whole thing is about to tip over, I need to stabilize it." He speaks loudly, smacking on some more mortar to the brick.

"Maybe if you listened to me when I told you-"

"How about you let me do my job, sweetheart?" He scoffs and another guy a couple of feet away snickers.

You pursue your lips, swallowing down the annoyance before shrugging. 

"Fine, when it starts caving in because it's not attached to the foundation properly and inevitably causes problems for the water and heat isolation which in turn can cause a serious line of health issues, you and your buddy over there can laugh in court over it since you'll be listed as one of the people responsible for it." You lean closer to him, "Because I'll remember your fucking name, Mr. Kim Seojoon."

He stiffens, looking over his shoulder again to meet your gaze. His eyes shoot up to something behind your shoulder before he looks back to you and then towards the very obviously shit job he's done in the past three hours he's been here.

"Tear it down and start again." You spit out before straightening out.

When he notices that you're not moving from your spot of hovering over his shoulders, Kim Seojoon, starts tearing down whatever mess he managed to slap up. You hum in content before turning around on your heels to walk away.

"You'll have to forgive my boys." A voice stops you in your tracks and you turn your head to the left to come face to face to a man that looks to be in his mid-fifties, seemingly the oldest one out of the bunch and by the blueprints stacked in his arms, the boss around here. "They're not used to taking orders from anyone that looks quite like you or is as young as you. They probably expected a drunkard to be supervising in a place like this."

You shrug, "Well, unfortunately for them, they got me."

He laughs, mustache stretching over his top lip. "I'll make sure he fixes it."

"Thank you, Mr...?"

"Cho Hayoon, miss." He holds out a rough hand to you and you gracefully accept it.

"I'm Y/N." You say with a small smile before dropping his hand. "I'll leave you to your work then, Mr. Cho."

He gives you a nod in return and you attempt to move away before something glistening in the ground makes you stop in your tracks.

"What's this?" You mutter, kneeling down and curling your hand around the piece of tin stuck in the ground hard enough until it breaks through the skin of your palm and you jerk your hand away with a yelp. "Shit!"

"Are you okay?" You look up to see one of the officers walk closer towards you.

"Yeah, I, uh, I cut myself on this piece of trash." You spit out staring down the tin stuck into the ground as you show him the gash on your palm where blood already started trickling down.

He looks down at it before turning his attention to you, "You should probably get that checked out at the infirmary." Your heart skips a beat. "Wouldn't want you to bleed out, huh?"

You bite your lip, "You're sure I'm allowed to use it? Isn't it just for prisoners?"

He smiles at you, looking a good ten years your senior, "Of course, you're allowed to use it."

You look towards the entrance of the building where you know the infirmary is before hesitating. He notices it, smile growing bigger. Nothing like a guy that loves playing hero.

"You scared to go alone? There's no inmates there at this time of day."

"I just, uh, would you mind taking me there? I'm not sure I even know where the infirmary is. Wouldn't want to get lost, y'know?" You ask, lips quirking up gently as you look up at him.

He smiled so big someone else would've thought you ripped open your shirt and showed him your tits.

"Of course, this way." He motions in the direction of the infirmary before you both start walking.

You hold back a smirk.

Everyone loves a damsel in distress.

-

"Doc, I got a patient for you!" The officer, Eunwoo is his name (you learned that because he made sure to slip it in a few times in the one minute walk to the infirmary), calls out knocking on the door of the small infirmary.

"Send him in!" A voice is heard from the other side and the guard chuckles sparing you another overly friendly glance before pulling the door open. 

"It's actually a her." The officer, Eunchae-whatever the fuck, comments as he walks in with you following.

The doctor looks confused doing a quick glance before it turns in a double glance when he spots you by the door.

Your blood is simmering below your skin as you take him in. 

A good four inches taller than you, dressed in scrubs and a white coat with a stethoscope hanging under the collar of it. It's him. The most important key to a ticket out of here with your brother's name labeled on it.

"What happened?" His voice is raspier than you would've imagined as he motions for you to sit on the chair next to his desk.

The officer opens his mouth but you're quicker, showing him your bloody hand, "Accident at the construction site." 

You tell him quietly, voice almost shy.

He glances at your face before nodding taking your hand into his hold as he removes the tissues you've clumsily wrapped around the wound.

His hands are warm, slightly calloused but nice looking. Long fingers with neatly trimmed nails. And there was always something attractive about a man with visible veins running up his hands. Hm!

"Uh, miss," The guard coughs but neither you nor the handsome doctor seem to pay much attention to him. "You want me to stay with yo-"

"No." You interrupt without even a second glance at him, eyes not moving from the doctor's concentrated face.

The officer looks like he wants to say more, a little peeved that all your attention was occupied by the young doctor but he doesn't instead he awkwardly turns around and leaves you two alone, closing the door shut behind himself.

Thank you Eunwoo but you've served your purpose.

"Need to clean this, to make sure nothing got inside the wound or you'll be in trouble." The doctor says, voice still raspy, still pleasant as his hands gently work on your wound.

You only hum in response, eyes starting to roam around the room. Observing the big windows along with the metal bars laid over them, then the square water drainage under the sink to your right and lastly, they fall back to the doctor's face.

You've spent a lot of time digging out information about him. 

You've seen his senior photos, high school graduation photos, photos of ceremonies and galas he's attended with his father, photos from his own charity work that gets plastered all over the newspaper because charity work is just that special when he's the one doing it.

And you have to admit, none of the photos do him justice.

His hair is longer now, black and covering the nape of his neck. He has piercings up both ears, shiny jewelry dangling off of them. Honey-like skin without any visible blemishes, cute nose and full lips that seem chapped from the cold. 

You never noticed the mole below his eye and a matching one on his bottom lip in the photos. They give his face even more charm.

He was gorgeous.

"Tattoo looks fresh." His voice interrupts you from inner musings and it's then that you notice his dark eyes trailing the lines on your right arm which was left bare once you rolled up the sleeve of your shirt up to your elbow.

You suck in a sharp breath before giving him a small, soft smile. Here goes nothing.

"Sorry about this, the last thing I want to do is be an inconvenience but...there was a lot of blood." You chuckle breathlessly which causes him to look up at you with his lips curled up in a small smile. "Thank you for doing this."

"No worries, it's quite literally my job." It's his time to chuckle, smile growing wider as he presses a cotton pad soaked in something to the gash that ran across your palm and fuck, he had a pretty smile. 

"You seemed like you were busy..."

"Nah," He shakes his head, eyes rooted on the wound, "Was just going over patient records. It's fine, I treat the staff here sometimes."

You pursue your lips, eyes drawn to his face again. "I'm Y/N, by the way."

He nods, brows jumping up a little as he picks up his head, like he's already aware of who you are. "The new supervisor for the construction site, I've heard."

"And you are?" You ask, a flirty smile blooming across your features as you look at him through your lashes.

"Doctor Jung Wooyoung." He holds your gaze a millisecond longer which is all you needed.

"Jung like the governor?" You ask, heart soaring in thrill when you feel his hands still on your own. You can't help yourself. "You have the same last name as the governor, you sort of look like him as well."

He, Wooyoung, stays quiet and opts to work on your wound instead.

You cock your head to the side, "You're not related, are you?"

Again, silence.

You let out a small hum, mouth curling as you look at the dirty tissues pilling up on the desk in front of you.

"Wouldn't think you'd find the son of frontier justice Jung Myungdae working in a prison." You comment in an almost taunting voice, rich boys who pretended like they cared about the lower classes and were different than their snobby peers always being a little bit of a joke to you, before turning your attention back to him. "As a doctor no less."

You can hear him let out a sharp breath, head picking up to look at you as a fleeting look of being uncomfortable washes over his face.

"I believe in being a part of the solution, not the problem." Doctor Jung says decidedly and you hum again, eyes falling to the way he gently holds the back of your hand with one hand while he holds the gauze with another.

"Be the change that you want to see in the world." You recite with a nod, still staring at the wound on your palm but noticing the way the comment seemed to strike him. You look at him, not being able to contain the smile on your face when you catch him staring at you. "What?"

He shakes his head, lips pursued like he's holding back a smile. "Nothing. That was just my senior quote."

I know, I had your senior photos glued to my window.

You raise your brows in playful disbelief. "That was you? This whole time I was thinking it was Ghandi."

That gets a laugh out of him. It's a nice sound, slightly higher in pitch but sort of endearing.

"Funny." He comments sparing you another smile and going back to wrapping the gauze around your palm.

Once he's done, you let your bandaged up hand lay on your lap as you watch him stand up.

"Sit tight, I'll get you some painkillers because that's bound to hurt for the next couple of hours." He says before leaving you alone in the room. 

Once he's out of your sight, you pull out a small origami dove out of the pocket of your pants and quickly walk over to kneel down next to the sink, slipping it through the slats of the grate for the water drainage before returning to your place.

Half a minute later, Doctor Jung reenters the room with a glass of water in one hand and painkillers in the other.

"Here you go." He hands them to you and you down them obediently before giving him a grateful look.

"Thank you again for this." You sigh, standing up from the chair and running your healthy hand through your hair before smiling, "Hope I didn't take too much of your time."

"I already told you it's not a problem." He responds with a smile of his own, eyes feeling unusually pleasant on you.

"Well, I'll let you go back to your patient records, then." You say, inching closer to the door.

"If you need anything else, feel free to drop by." Doctor Jung's voice softly calls after you and it makes you pause in your steps as you turn to look at him over your shoulder.

"Then I guess we'll be seeing a lot of each other then." You boldly tell him, enjoying the way he obviously tries to bite back a grin.

"Guess so." He responds, eyes boring into your own.

With one last smile, you disappear through the door and head up the stairs leading to your shitty office.

You will be just perfect, Jung Wooyoung.

-

Schweitzer 

Allen 

11121147

You stare at the writing tattooed on the inner part of your lower right arm, fingers anxiously tapping against the hard surface of your office desk before a knock causes you to lower the sleeve of your shirt as your head snaps to the door.

"Come in."

"Miss, the warden would like to see you." The warden's assistant, Soojin gives you a kind smile which you return, standing up and quickly straightening your outfit before following her through the door and down the hallway.

The section with the offices for administration (and now, you) was on the third floor of the infirmary building and almost completely protected from any spaces where convicts might roam around by locked bars placed on the halls going after the staircases.

And while your office was shitty, the warden's was definitely not. 

You observe the spacious room and the big oak table the older man sits behind as he smiles at you invitingly and offers you a seat.

"Did you settle in accordingly, miss L/N?" The warden asks and you nod comfortably.

"Yes, sir. I plan on being very diligent and making sure everyone does a good job."

"Good, good." He nods his head before a look of hesitation crosses his face that immediately causes your nerves to flare up. "This might seem extremely unprofessional and definitely out of character for me as I don't do it often but I'm in need of a little help, you're a structural engineer, correct?"

You tilt your head to the side, brows furrowing, "Yes, sir."

He clears his throat, pushing his chair back to stand up. "Follow me."

You follow the older man as he walks across his face to the door on the opposite wall of the entrance which you've mistaken for a closet so far. He motions for you to enter first and you do, your mouth can't help but part in slight awe.

You stare at the model of the Taj Mahal propped up on a huge table in the middle of the spacious room connected to the warden's office, surrounded by windows from one side entirely, the light seeps through the model beautifully and you admire it quietly.

"Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal as a monument to his undying love for his wife. My wife is quite fond of the story. It appeals to the romantic side of her." He smiles at you, "Being married to someone on corrections, it's a terrible job, wouldn't wish it on anybody. And yet, in thirty-nine years my wife has never complained and the worst part is I've never thanked her. So because I couldn't say it I thought, you know, I could build it. In January, it's our fortieth anniversary. Well here, look." The warden bends down to look into the base of the structure and you copy his movements, peering inside.

 "The problem is, I build anymore and it's all going to come down like a house of cards. That's where I was hoping you could be of assistance. Obviously, it would be a favor for a favor. I don't know what you would need, new furniture for your office? New heater? I know everything in there is rusty..." He trails off, eyes glinting with pleads.

It felt like Christmas came a month earlier to you.

"Actually, I have something else in mind."

"What? What is it?" He shakes his head, urging you to speak.

"You see your eight wonder of the world might collapse since the stress isn't propagated properly." You inform him with an innocent smile as the warden frowns.

"Propagated properly?"

You nod. "Propagated properly.  The joints are overloaded. They won't provide anywhere near the strength the completed structure will need."

The older man looks at you in mild concern before turning to the model, something he very obviously placed a lot of effort into. "How much work are we talking about?"

"When did you say you need it to be done? January?" You ask, circling around the model again. The warden lets out a small 'yes' and you hum, "Then we better get started then, I'll help you out for an hour every day."

The warden's face lights up in relief and you have to hide the shakiness in your voice as you continue. You clear your throat; "In return, I'd like to be approved weekly visitations to my brother."

The smile on his face freezes for a moment before melting away completely and getting replaced by a deep frown.

"Your brother?"

You gulp down the nerves and wipe your clammy hands on the back of your pants, nodding, "My brother, Choi Jongho."

"Choi Jongho is your brother?!" The warden asks, voice laced with utter disbelief and your eyes fall immediately to the carpeted floor. "How the hell was I not aware of this?"

"I took my mother's last name after I graduated from college." You offer quietly, mustering up the balls to look at the man in the eyes, "It's not like I was hiding it or anything but...it never came up. I didn't exactly learn when was the right moment to say that my brother was one of the inmates in the jail where I'd be sent to supervise the construction site."

"You know you're not allowed visitations if you're a staff member, right?" He asks, crossing his arms over his chest as he gives you a strict look.

"I know but... I'm not a permanent staff member." Your voice drops in volume as your eyes start to burn, "And I'd really just like to see him once a week just like everybody else is allowed. He's my only family, sir."

The warden's eyes soften once he catches sight of your eyes glistening with tears. 

Your nails dig into the wound on your palm.

He opens and closes his mouth a couple of times before sighing, then he starts pacing up and down the length of the room which might be a good indicator that he's actually considering it. 

You dig your nails harder into the wound and the first tear drops, you sniffle.

"The reason I took this job was...I felt like I'd be a little bit closer to him for a short period of time. He's my older brother, he took care of me when no-one else did," You sniffle again, feeling a nail punch through the thick gauze of the gash on your palm. Another tear. "I thought, just being able to look at see him through the window when he plays basketball would be nice but then they told me I wasn't allowed visitations and by then, it was to late to change my mind."

You discover that Chungju Detention Center's warden hated seeing young girls cry.

"That's all you ask for? Nothing else?" He breaks the silence after a long moment of consideration, "Wouldn't a new heater for your office be better, it gets cold during the winters here."

You quickly shake your head, "J-just visitations to my brother."

He's quiet again before he finally lets out a deep sigh.

"Alright but it can't be longer than ten minutes, do you hear?" He asks and you nod, eyes growing in size as your head snaps up to look at him. "And the moment I hear about any funny business, it's over. Do you understand me?"

"Absolutely," You nod with innocent, big eyes. The tears miraculously stopping their flow all of a sudden. "No funny business."

He observes you for a second longer before finally allowing you to leave his quarters.

You let out a big exhale on your way out, staring at the blood that managed to run through the gauze on your palm.

-

You were trouble.

That's all the conclusion Wooyoung could come to as he stared at you, leaning against the doorframe of the infirmary with your bag slung over your shoulder, coat folded over your arm and a smile on your face that made his head spin.

"Hey." You greet him, voice mellow and sounding lightly tired as you lean your head against the frame as well.

"Hey," Play it cool, you're a grown man. "How was the first day?"

"It was good, a little unexpectedly boring almost." You answer him with a smirk and he clears his throat before he started staring at your full lips without the option of looking away being in his books apparently and inevitably got caught.

"What did you expect?" Wooyoung lets out a light laugh, crossing his arms over his chest as he sits at the corner of his messy desk. "Shootouts  and heads getting bashed in all day long?"

You giggle, pearly white teeth on full display as you nod, "I was expecting a lot more yelling and screaming at least."

"Hey, we have some quiet times in here as well. Give it a day or two, though."

You chuckle again before shaking your head, hand coming up to brush your hair from your face and in the meantime, showing off the tattoo you had on your other arm as well.

And as Wooyoung was a red-blooded healthy male, of course, his mind started wandering on just how far the tattoos went.

God, you are trouble, you are so much fucking trouble.

He should've been kind of pissed off at you when you brought up his father but...how the hell could he be?

He saw the way the other guards stared at you, how the one who walked you into the infirmary this morning was almost salivating with his eyes glued to you and just how much Wooyoung's ego skyrocketed when you told the guard he can fuck off because he was there now. He obviously wasn't the only one affected here!

With your pants that hugged your waist and thighs perfectly, the shirt that accentuated your cleavage and it's two intentionally popped open buttons , the thin necklace decorating your collarbones, the tattoos (God, the tattoos), long hair that smelled like vanilla to whoever got close enough, a smile that definitely knew of its effect on other people and eyes that seemed like nothing ever phased them.

Wooyoung liked trouble sooooo much.

"I wanted to, um, ask for a favor." Your soft voice interrupts his current train of thoughts and he raised his brows in question.

"What?"

"I, uh, I'm a Type 1 Diabetic." You tell him, straightening out your posture in a way that tells Wooyoung that you might be nervous for some reason. You give him an awkward chuckle which he finds kind of cute. "And I'd get my daily shots at a doctor's office on my way to and from work every day since my own office was close by."

"Mhm..." He tilts his head in curiosity. He wonders where you used to work, did you drive a car? Wooyoung used to work in the center of Seoul as well! Did you two ever ride the same train downtown? 

"And that's no longer an option anymore since, well, I have to be here every morning so I have to leave, like, an hour earlier at least." You bite your lip, pretty eyes meeting his own, "I was wondering if you'd be able to do it here? Obviously, I don't want to impose on your schedule or anything, I understand if you can't but I thought it might be worth trying. I'd bring my own shots, wouldn't want to steal government resources y'know...heh..."

He notices how you always speak like you're an inconvenience when you need help.

Wooyoung bites back a smile as he watches you ramble before finally finding the heart to interrupt you, "Alright."

Your lips part at that, "You will?"

"Yes," He chuckles, "It's not a big deal, it takes, like, two minutes tops so..."

"Okay, great." You sigh in relief, playing with the bandages on your hand before nodding again. "Thank you. For this and...today, as well."

"It's my job." He's quick to respond out of habit by now, God, he's been out of the game a little too long now. There were, like, five different lines he could've dropped there. He forgot how to flirt.

Or maybe flirting with you seems a bit terrifying if he was honest.

"Right." You chuckle, fixing your bag on your shoulder before smiling at him one last time, "Well, have a good night."

Wooyoung nods, almost a little disappointed that you're leaving already. "You too."

-

Jongho might understand why Jisung decided to wrap that sheet attached to the pipe around his neck and jump from the staircase.

In fact, if he had to listen to this dude, Coin or whatever the fuck, talk about his girlfriend Lim Jiyeon, class 2001 of some damn beauty school in Gangnam with auburn colored hair and perfectly applied lip gloss for one second longer, Jongho just might do the same thing as Jisung.

He was serving a life sentence for something he didn't do, that should be a punishment enough. He already knew there was nothing else to do except to serve time here, nobody else will serve it for him.

But, holy fuck, his new cellmate who invited himself to the seat next to him on this bench, could not keep his mouth shut for a second and Jongho really didn't need this so early in the morning.

"Woah, who's that?" Coin whistles, following someone with his eyes like the sun was shining out of their ass.

"Who?" Jongho mumbles in question not even bothering to turn to the direction his new cellmate was salivating in, thinking it was probably just another stupidity that managed to catch Coin's attention. There's not much to do here, after all...

"That woman." Coin nudges him. Typical, all those woes about his dear girlfriend forgotten at the first sight of another woman. Jongho rolls his eyes, taking a quick glance to where the other man was pointing before turning back around again.

Then he freezes.

Jongho's head whips around in the same direction again, the familiar checkered coat and same hair length making him blink to see if he finally went insane in here.

The walk was the same as well.

His legs, with a mind of his own, started swiftly moving across the yard with Coin yelling something behind him but Jongho ignored it, his only goal to get to that fence even if he had to shovel through the inmates.

"Y/N?" He mumbles to himself, watching the woman move across the gravel, long hair carried to the side by the cold wind. And as if she heard him, she slows down with her steps, turning her head in his direction...

Jongho feels like his heart stopped.

"Y/N?" He asks, this time a bit louder because holy fuck, that's his little sister's face. It's her. It's you!

You don't stop to talk to him, you don't say anything back but Jongho, sure as hell, didn't hallucinate the smile that you throw his way as you continue up the gravel to the building leading to the infirmary.

"You know her?" Coin's deep voice makes him jump in his place, Jongho didn't even notice that the older male was standing right next to him by now.

"Yeah." Jongho whispers, words getting stuck in his throat as he finds it hard to swallow.

"Bro, are you okay?" Coin questions, confused by the way Jongho stared at the building you just disappeared into.

"That's my sister."

And she's definitely up to no good.

[justatalkingface]

Out of curiosity: how you would make the whole "lets save Shig" thing? Bc I do like the idea but god the execution is soo bad. Shig never show any remourse to Izu or heroes, gladly participated in a war (I do say he was just a figurehead as Redestro was the main leader of all this. The villains rally on his name) and still talks about destruction...

Izu is just saving (or trying as hori needs to make this mega hard for some reason) bc of bodyhijack (and the wierd thing "I cant ignore the baby tenko and munchan") out of nowhere.

But lets assume this was foreshadow. Lets assume the goal since day 1 was "Izu sees shig is a good person and wants to be saved"

"Ah so shig needs to be the perfect victim?" No. I dont like fics where Shig is a poor baby who needs cuddle, but there a huge difference in making Shig fight back against those who want to hurt or take him away and...Whatever the fuck Hori did.

So, I ask: if you could write "Izu saves Shig" how would go?

Well, the obvious problem is Izuku needs a connection, a real connection, with Shigaraki. The problem with that problem is to do that, to make heroic Izuku want to save a villainous mass-murderer... that's. That's going to need a lot of work.

To be blunt, the fundamental structure of the pre-War story arc would need to be thrown out, because while it develops both of them as characters (if not as much on Shigaraki as I'd like), it does that separately, and they need to spend a lot more time with literally any interaction at all, to start.

The best way to do it, I think, would to be to have Shigaraki played off against Izuku... like, a lot. Have AFO send him against 1A to, I don't know, claim a win? I know the League, in general, ends up against them, but Shigaraki generally isn't a part of it, which doesn't work for this. Have some confrontations where they fight but actually can't get too far into it, for whatever reason, maybe an arc where one or both of them are imprisoned somewhere, giving them time to talk without two absurdly lethal Quirks constantly going off, and them actually fighting enough before Shigarkai's body gets upgraded to make that connection, without someone dying, is far too unlikely to work as a story.

The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of Shigaraki getting captured (or, maybe is purposefully captured, in an AFO plan he may or may not be in on, to help develop him more) and then have an arc or two focused around that. Think about it: all the heroes trying to figure out who he is and what he knows (and AFO had all his information removed from the various records, so they can't figure it out), increasing pressure from the Hero Commision to Do Something, which would develop them more, and then at the core of it all, them trying to make Shigaraki talk, but they really can't; he doesn't want to talk to them. Hell, maybe even throw in a few semi-serious torture attempts from the HC end, only for him to laugh it off.

At the end of the day, he'll only actually talk to two people: All Might (to help drop some cryptic hints for later in the arc, and also for him to vent his frustrations; probably something something 'you didn't save me', he has a lot of All Might-based rage after all) and Izuku. Izuku who he connected with on a small level in the mall. Izuku with OFA. Izuku the hero in training who has defied him and lived.

So, as the plot continues on, and the pressure ratchets up, Izuku and Shigaraki are slowly starting to get a handle on each other, their personalities, likes; similarities are starting to be seen, some deliberate parallels are invoked by various people, to them and to others, about the two of them both being successors. Climax starts, HC says, 'Kill him'... and then it comes out.

The backstory. Who Shigaraki is, who he's related to, what happened to his family, all of the stuff from the War Arc, but not as a flashback, but as a conversation, with Shigaraki triumphantly presenting his horror of a life as proof of AFO's, and to some lesser extent (because it's still developing) his own philosophies, while Izuku stares on in horror, and somewhere else, Gran or All Might or someone else finds out the same information, at the same time.

Izuku agrees with part of what he's saying (society needs to change), but rejects the rest, and counters with a point of his own, and then just as the heroes roll up to interrogate/kill him (depending on who sent them), Kurogiri does his thing and whisks him away, either as some too perfect timing, or perhaps more likely, he's been on standby to save Shigaraki if anything was to go wrong the entire time, or maybe he showed up earlier, and he's been waiting for Izuku to leave, but the new people forced the issue for him (depending on the reason Shigaraki is there, of course).

They go their separate ways, both of them brooding over what happened, and as the heroes and as Izuku try to grapple with the revelations, then the War Arc happens, only this time, there's less, 'here's my trauma story' and more communication, Shigaraki challenging Izuku to prove his ideals, maybe, to help explain why so many heroes survived him (looks at Endeavour), or maybe just both of them affirming which side they're on, with Shigaraki more confident in himself than ever, and Izuku declares he'll show him that he's right.

It's only a skeleton of an idea, and it'd need a lot of work (and a firmer plan), but I think it'd be a good start. At the same time, though, I think it helps highlight just how off that whole motivation really was.

[adventureofthedancinggirl]

the flap of a butterfly's wings (action vs. wishing)

After reading the official translations and being able to see the high-res artwork for Ch. 404 I have more thoughts on the whole "wishing energy" thing, particularly in relation to the "butterfly effect" metaphor that made an appearance again.

First off, I think we need to talk about what Nighteye actually says about the "energy". It's not just "energy from wishing". It's also "energy from striving for a certain future."

What he's really saying is that actions and prayers are both important and these two parts work together to change the future.

The problem is that this chapter leaned too heavily into the wishing energy and reliance on prayers.

Although the composition of the spread where Katsuki is being propelled toward All Might with the backdrop of all the people praying is visually appealing, reducing the text on this page to "someone's prayers" makes it less impactful by focusing only on the "prayers" (wishing) part of the equation and ignoring the "striving" (action) involved.

My hope is that in the next chapter there will be another spread with a similar composition when Katsuki continues to fight, maybe showing all the others who are taking action in their own way (to represent the "energy from striving"), or all the people who have propelled Katsuki forward in his journey, creating that "butterfly effect" and getting him to where he is now.

It could even be something similar to the panels in Ch. 390 when Shouto's friends are there with him in spirit, pushing him forward as he's racing toward Touya the second time.

Katsuki has definitely butted heads with others so something like this that shows how he has grown with the rest of the class and come to see them as equals rather than "extras" would be very fitting. It might be hard to compile enough panels of him interacting with them without yelling at everyone though.

Now, going back to the "butterfly effect" metaphor:

The original butterfly quote is more about tiny actions causing big changes than the magic of thoughts and prayers.

"Can the flap of a butterfly's wings in Brazil really bring about a hurricane in Texas? Is it the fate of our superpowered society-which began with a single glowing baby-to descend into utter chaos? The power of a single man can change the world." (Ch. 374)

If you interpret the last line literally, yes, she's saying that a single person can change the world and Katsuki definitely did that here. However, her ad-libbing at the end of the weather report was essentially a call to action, telling the world that they cannot stop fighting. With this context, the more accurate interpretation, and the one that fits with the entire rest of the series, is that one tiny, seemingly insignificant action has a ripple effect.

While Katsuki saving All Might was a huge action, one that undoubtedly changed the tides of the battle, he didn't do it alone. There were countless tiny things that got him to where he is now.

And that's the entire point.

This whole story was never about complacency or trusting one person to save the day. The narrative even points this out in the wake of All Might's retirement - that it was a mistake to put all their burdens on one person.

It's a theme repeated time and time again, most notably when Izuku tries to do things on his own but is reminded that he needs his friends.

Then, Uraraka's speech makes people realize that they can't just be spectators. Even if they're not prepared to fight the way heroes are, they can't just sit back and do nothing.

And in that moment, people do step forward. They let Izuku rest and acknowledge the efforts of the heroes. However small this might seem, it makes a difference.

Having everyone go back to relying on All Might over the past several chapters during his solo mech-suit fight against AFO and just praying that someone will show up to save the day seems like a step backward thematically.

However, the story is not over and Katsuki's return will undoubtedly give everyone else the push to keep fighting and win. Hopefully that means we'll also get a clear reference to all the tiny actions that made this "butterfly effect" possible. And no, that won't take away from Katsuki's big moment. If done right it'll make it even more meaningful because no one was ever meant to do it on their own.

*I'm using the low quality scan of this panel to make this point because I wanted the original Japanese version. The official English translation changes Katsuki's words to "Time to win this" but the actual translation is closer to "Let's win" or "We'll win". It's a small detail but it's important because this way it's more like Katsuki calling everyone to action rather than declaring his own victory as he would have in the past.

Also, if we don't get a close-up of these kids reacting to Katsuki the way they did with Shouto, what is even the point? I'm only half joking on that one.

TL;DR

Nighteye's theory about being able to change the future wasn't just about "energy from wishing", it was also "energy from striving for a certain future", meaning that both actions and prayers are needed.

The "flap of a butterfly's wings" metaphor is meant as a call to action and has more to do with tiny actions causing big changes than the magic of thoughts and prayers.

They're going to win, not because of one person, but because of the collective efforts of everyone who helped along the way.

[dropintomanga]

The Summer Hikaru Died Volume 1 - The Start of a Horrifying Relationship

While friendships are fun, they sometimes can be very scary. There often will be tense moments of potential conflict where one doesn't know how to address it. Neither party wants to admit a problem is definitely in the air. And then you have a friendship found in Mokumokuren's The Summer Hikaru Died that magnifies the tension that people experience when it comes to a rocky friendship to a terrifying degree.

A lot of critical acclaim and praise was heaped towards this manga for a good reason. The Summer Hikaru Died is a look into what it means to dive into the unknown with a friendship that's not what it appears to be.

The manga is about a young boy named Yoshiki and his relationship with his best friend, Hikaru. The two of them are having a good time hanging out in the small town they live in until Yoshiki asks something about Hikaru. He asks him about an incident 6 months ago that happened in the mountains where he went missing for a week. Hikaru replies that he doesn't remember it well and then Yoshiki pops the grand question, "You ain't the real Hikaru, are ya?" Hikaru replies in grotesque fashion as supernatural deformities start to appear out of him. Hikaru has long been dead and his body has been possessed by a supernatural being. He cries that he wants to be "human" all while saying that he will kill Yoshiki if the latter told people the truth. Yoshiki decides to keep quiet all because he loves Hikaru. However, Hikaru's presence appears to be slowly causing all kinds of chaos around him.

The series is labeled as horror mixed with slice of life. I find the horror label fascinating because I didn't find it to be scary in a traditional sense. I did read a Wikipedia article about the manga and it said that the author Mokumokuren kept the horror element to a minimum and focused more on the emotions (which I later read the official Japanese interview about that statement to double-check). One can argue that this series is more psychological horror than jump-scare horror despite Hikaru's supernatural appearance.

I did read that the series uses the misattribution of arousal/suspension bridge effect as a plot element. The effect goes like this - you believe that you're aroused by someone for a reason that might be good, but the arousal is more fear-based than anything (A visual example in anime can be found here). Throughout volume 1, Yoshiki isn't sure how to deal with the being that is Hikaru. He thinks that even though Hikaru is friendly with him, it's okay no matter what. It's better to have a best friend than none at all. They continue to hang out like nothing happened. However, when strange incidents involving the supernatural start to happen, Yoshiki has doubts about the friendship. There's powerful imagery showing Yoshiki's inner concerns in a chilling manner.

Despite being friends, there's hints of romantic love between Yoshiki and Hikaru. I like how the manga is posing the question, "What are you in love with? Why are you holding it even if it might be unhealthy? Or are you really in love?" The two sides definitely have complicated feelings for one another. The common theme for Yoshiki and Hikaru is a huge fear of loneliness that neither side wants to comprehend.

That's why I find The Summer Hikaru Died so great and fascinating. Emotions can be frightening to handle. Certain emotions and horror go hand-in-hand. Sometimes, there are things we can't ignore and the more we push them away, the more they start to haunt us.

I can't wait to read more because people like Yoshiki struggle to cope with their grief over someone they lost. The way we hold onto the death of our loved ones can get extreme. I hope this manga becomes a great way to talk about grief and relationship loss for teenagers and young adults.

Absolutely one of the best manga reads of 2023 by far.

[alexalily]

I recently heard about another Goodreads-alternative called BookWyrm. I've been using StoryGraph for a while now but have a couple (relatively small) qualms with it so I wanted to see if BookWyrm would fit me better.

While I'm not the biggest fan of the BookWyrm layout, I'm not huge on the StoryGraph one either, so that's a bit of a wash. BW is much closer to GoodRead's layout that SG is, which is definitely part of the problem for me. GR always felt like a site focused around the consumption of books, like it treated them as a thing to be consumed and logged, whereas SG feels like they care more about books as books, if that makes sense. It's not a deal-breaker on BW for me, just something I'd have to get used to just like how I've gotten used to the SG layout/UI.

BookWyrm does seem a lot more social/community focused than StoryGraph is which, if that's what you're looking for that's fine but it isn't what I want out of my book logging site. StoryGraph's community features are light enough that I can ignore it but also can see what my oomfies are reading if I want. The perfect amount for a reading site, since most of my book discussion happens elsewhere, I don't really need it on my logging site as well.

The import process however.... I have about 550 books on my StoryGraph between books I've actually read and my to-read list. And about 10% of those came up with obvious errors that the import process couldn't handle at all. It does have suggestions on what those books might be but almost all of them were wrong. Some of them were at least funny, like when it suggested that Strawberry Panic (a yuri light novel) might actually be Capital by Karl Marx. But the import also confirmed some of my books as books that they definitely aren't? This is harder to confirm since it just threw them all into my finished books but I can tell you I definitely did not read The Holy Bible last year. I think it decided that the short story The Things by Peter Watts is The Bible? Which it extremely is not but I guess I've got to use it as a foundational text for a religion now. The final import error is that almost all of the start dates for when I started reading books are incorrect. I think what happened here is it somehow got the date of when I added them to my to-read list and set that as the "started reading" date? It annoys me way too much and it'd be immensely tedious to fix!! So this all ends up being the biggest marks against BookWyrm.

For now I think I'll be sticking with StoryGraph but I do think it's good to have another solid alternative to Goodreads. Fuck goodreads and fuck amazon, if you log your books, use a different site!!

[solavelyan]

3, 5 & 22 for choose violence!

3. screenshot or description of the worst take you’ve seen on tumblr

lkaj;fdsf god. i think the most recent one was someone speculating on why of all the inquisition love interests, blackwall isn't as popular, and one of their guesses was that people don't like him as much because he's available to dwarves and qunari. as if people are so comically "prejudiced" against dwarves and qunari that the love interests that will fuck them are somehow tainted. that was pretty fucking stupid.

but one of the ones that really stuck with me was someone who said that... if you dislike cullen, you actually hate drug addicts in real life and you're a bad person. as if that's the only reason he might not be your favorite. pffff.

5. worst discord server and why

the one i'm not in anymore. :3

okay but realtalk, i'm not quite high or brave enough to give a specific name, but i will say that i think it's easy for writing-focused discords to get into a sort of feedback loop that it turns out i just really don't enjoy. some of that is definitely me, but i think i have similar feelings to some other people who were on the same servers as i was and left (the feeling of some spaces being a popularity contest, being unsure of how genuine feedback was at any given time because it could feel transactional, just not necessarily vibing with the sort of unspoken preferences of the group wrt canon interpretation/fanon/etc.).

i also just don't like servers that get above a certain member count because they're too active and i feel obligated to read everything and know everything and then i get anxiety lmao. my ideal server size is like... somewhere under 100 people, probably realistically somewhere south of 50. so that's just me.

most of my fannish group activities before 2022 were either just out in the wild on tumblr, or RP circles in IJ, so i had a bit of a discord culture shock after keeping to myself for so long. and i will say that while some people who are loud about being "live and let live" and being open to other people's opinions are being genuine, functionally... yeah, any contained group of people that gets to a certain size is going to start emulating the behaviors of wider fandom, but in ways much more specific to the driving personalities of those servers.

so you end up with some really wild, overly dramatic discussions of "fandom problems" that functionally only affect the 5 people having that discussion and the maybe 3 or 4 other people that got under their skin about it, so you end up with takes like... well, like in my last question, proposing that a straight white man love interest in a fandom historically pretty friendly to straight white men must be unpopular because he's marginalized somehow, and not because his competition was Ex-Templar Fandom Has Been Thirsting Over Since DAO, What the Fuck Do You Mean That's Freddie Prinze, Jr.?, Charismatically Voice Acted Gay Magic Man from Cool Fantasy Rome, and Tragic Elf Man Ianto Jones. people were just not as into burly bearded dilfy types in 2015 as they are now. it's not a mystery, but if your fishbowl is curved enough, it sure looks like one.

22. your favorite part of canon that everyone else ignores

oh, this is probably small and silly, but that bit of flavor text at the beginning of Inquisition for the human pc mentions that trevelyan is from a huge family with close ties to the templar order, is the youngest child of multiple siblings, and was expected to go into service to the chantry, either as a templar or in the clergy. i've seen a lot of religious trevelyans, but i rarely see them portrayed as templars or chantry clergy or something. i'm honestly really surprised, given how popular some of the templar npcs are, that we weren't awash in templar ocs during inquisition's heyday.

i don't mind feeling relatively unique (i think i've only seen one or two other templar trevelyans but that's about it), but this is one of those things that always surprises me when i'm the only one rocking up with an ex-templar oc in a given group. they're so interesting! i would totally read someone else's take on the concept.

[ from the choose violence ask meme ]

[groundlevelcliff]

Point of view (making it harder than it has to be)

Learning RPG Maker MV is going well - as well as one can judge that when they're on the third 10-minute tutorial video - but the thing that struck me once I ran the thing was how small every tile and character is.

That doesn't pose a problem in and of itself, but the player character in this project is a housecat. Since cats are tiny in relation to their surroundings, I had already intended to double the size of each tile. At this point I'd have to blow up each non-player sprite by four just to get the scale right! I'm already going for a pixelated look, but scaling to that degree is excessive - not to mention that it'd make placing even a single item a multi-tile ordeal. What I'll likely do is double each person-sized sprite, then find a plugin to double the zoom level from there.

That's a minor concern, though. What really bothers me isn't the size - it's the perspective.

The perceived size of a sprite is going to carry the tone far more than the actual height and width would. I could quintuple the size of the entire game, but if it's all in top-down view, the player is still stuck looking at the top of everyone's dome. They're going to feel bigger than both the character and the scene, which is antithetical to what I'm trying to convey.

The 3/4ths view is MV's default - not because of anything inherent to the engine, but because every innate sprite resource is drawn in that perspective (as are most user-made resources). It's something we're all used to seeing by now, so we usually ignore the implication that the viewer's watching things happen from the sky. Since most people interpret this view as the "normal" perspective, though, I worry it would struggle in communicating situations where the player character themselves is smaller than the average person.

Side view...just feels flat to me. I don't think anything scary has ever happened in side view.

If I want the player to really feel too small for their surroundings, the only other option I can see is to put the camera in between those two views - something approaching a 1:2 perspective. But I had no idea just how hard it is to find examples! Just about every pixel art tutorial focuses on 3/4 view, side view, or isometric. Isometric actually is pretty close to a 1:2 ratio, but the viewpoint is always at an angle! It's made up of diamonds more than it is squares, and even if that's something MV is capable of handling, I really don't want to mess with all that.

I realized today, though, that working from zero like this is going to get me so wrapped up in theory and research that it's going to be half a year before I ever put tile to map. Why not do a case study of other games?

Hamtaro: Ham-Hams Unite!

This is a weird pick, but this Game Boy Color title informed about 80% of my taste in games (the other 20% was Fallout: New Vegas.) Just a straight-up adventure game. No combat. Just puzzles. It's clearly inspired by point-and-click adventure games without any of the clunky UI weirdness of other genre titles ported to console (COUGH, Maniac Mansion for the NES). I really could talk about this game all day if I don't rein it in, though, so I'm going to focus purely on the visual design.

Hamsters are about three inches tall, which means everything in the environment has to be HUGE in comparison. This is way more dramatic than what I'm planning, but looking at an extreme example may make it easier to see what makes it tick.

Here's what's interesting: the perspective in this game is all over the place.

Locations are divided into chunks that I'd say are roughly twice the size of the GBC's screen. What's funny is that the perspective often changes from one chunk to another.

The environments are often in plain old 3/4 view - like in this first screen of Sunflower Market - while the characters are in profile. They don't feel conflicting...though the scene kind of breaks apart if you stare at that bicycle for too long.

But then you get scenes like the very next room - the characters, floor, left wall, and cardboard boxes (including the "alley" between them) all seem to be at a closer angle, with only the slide being somewhat off.

Look at the left wall and where it meets the floor - it's angled towards the horizon because it's in perspective. But in the previous screen, the angle of the newspaper stacks and the little curb behind the sick hamster are completely straight, because they're purely being seen from a top-down perspective.

The produce shelves are in 3/4 and straight:

But the outside of the fridge is in perspective again:

There's also this screen, which is fun despite the front and back shelves disagreeing on where the vanishing point is:

So the artists couldn't decide what view to use either! But one thing you notice when looking at all the screens together is how every single one includes something that reinforces how small you are and how big the world is. The newspapers, the strawberries, the tape on the cardboard box. The fridge door's handle peeking from the top of the screen places it far lower than it should be in relation to Hamtaro, but it was included for readability; if it wasn't there we might mistake it for a building or weird wall.

Let's leave the market and look at this classroom "cafe" from Sunflower Elementary:

You access this tabletop by climbing up a broom handle (bottom right). The artist could've just colored the floor and wall and called it a day, but they made the conscious decision to have the foot of the life-sized skeleton model visible in the corner. You can examine this model when on the ground floor, and it's enormous. What point is there to include it, other than to emphasize how this grade school child's desk is a staggering height for the player?

Little Nightmares

Maybe it would've made more sense to start with this one? Well, whatever.

I knew I'd have more luck finding write-ups and dissections on this game than an obscure licensed title from 2002, and I wasn't disappointed. In an article published on Game Developer (formerly Gamasutra), Chris Priestman writes "The world that you travel through in Little Nightmares is clearly built for people who are much bigger than Six and so travelling through it is both unwelcoming and challenging. To enhance that, shapes and bodies are exaggerated and bloated, stretched into surreal and sometimes horrific forms."

And he hit the nail on the head! I've actually been playing with the perspective of the cat's owner specifically, tweaking the angle and exaggerating the proportions of his body to make it seem like he's looming over the world around him. But there's a fine, fine line between "mild fish-eye lens effect" and "this guy's straight up drawn in the wrong angle." There's also a drastic difference between pixel art and Little Nightmares' 2.5 D space, but seeing the latter successfully convey that feeling just makes me more determined to make it work.

Focusing on the environment itself, it's not that the player doesn't fit in their surroundings - it's that they're entirely, completely engulfed by them. A good few rooms wouldn't feel unusual in another game with a human-sized character, but open stretches of floor feel yawning and insurmountable. And it's not actually all due to size! Speed plays an enormous role. Six is small, but unlike the lumbering giants of Shadow of the Colossus or RPGs where everyone has the same walking speed, she's also not very fast. In fact, Little Nightmares' giant enemies are pretty spry!

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

Let's not look at this one for perspective tips, okay?

Stuart Little 3: Big Photo Adventure

Sure, why not? I didn't think 3d sandbox games were worth looking at since there's no real shot composition and you can, y'know, just make the models bigger, but I like this shot. Placing the camera just a couple inches off the ground stretches out the stage more than I expected.

In any case, I've got a lot of playing around to do before I find something that clicks, but I think I've got more direction than I did before.

[nursc]

episodes 2-4 analysis

christine got literally one line on episode 2, did not appear at all in episode three, and had limited screentime on episode 4 so i'm going to do a more quick thing so i don't forget any detail i liked.

episode 2.

i was honestly very disappointed we did not get a lot of christine on episode two cause i feel like her thoughts on the case would have been very interesting. christine is the one who used una's genetics to save the crew, who said with her entire chest that she couldn't care less about una's augmentation, she just wanted to help her.

it just feels like a loss, because the crew would have died if una was not there, so to not at all approach the subject from this point??

christine being there with the crew, supporting her (and looking so pretty) did make me happy, and so did the look she seemed to share with una at the end of the episode. this might be me and my obsession with @owedfavors's una but i find that their friendship is so ignored by the writers and that it should be a bigger thing. someone with whom una can share her personal issues and develop her character further??

like, i know the image below is from episode 4, but just!!! let them interact!!

i don't know, i was just sad we did not get to see christine interacting with this story, as i find it fits her character so well. which was not a problem for me with episode 3, which was more focused on a specific plotline that didn't involve her.

truly, christine was just there to look pretty and serve looks.

episode 4.

okay, i loved this episode. i wish they had shown us more about what was going on enterprise instead of down on the planet, but what we got was?? so good?? and gave me so many things about christine that i just loved.

christine was the first person to figure out what was going on and why they were losing their memories! i love a smart girl.

once again, christine is the last person on the ship to succumb to a disease, which i don't associate with her having experimented on her genetics as i've seen some people posit, but her conviction and dedication (which are out of this world). her inner strength is completely human and extremely powerful.

the moment between erica and christine made my gay heart so happy. that they recognized each other without their memories? that one moment of i know you, struck me!

another thing i adored was seeing christine explain a problem, which we haven't seen in a huge while, and this time we got a confirmation on whether or not she is a hand gesture girlie. they aren't overly animated, or big. they are surprisingly small and precise considering her general personality. and i think that's perfect. she is illustrating her point, not distracting from it, a professional. [ link to a hand gesture gifset ]

wishlist based on this episode:

this episode reminded me of my fav tng episode: conumdrum. and i'm once again begging for a thread where the characters wake up on enterprise with no memory and have to figure out what they are doing on the ship and what they mean to each other.

[energyaudit]

Importance Of Energy Audit & How To Conduct It In Australia

Energy audit is an in-depth examination of your commercial building. It will help you know the energy efficiency level of your business and usage practices. Collecting information from the audit a customized plan can be developed focusing on cost-effective solutions. It is important to check whether your organization is energy efficient or not. You may not know but energy may be unnecessarily wasted and that is costing a huge amount of money every month. Audit is important that will help you find ways to reduce energy without compromising operation efficiency. However many things are included in energy efficiency assessment thus you should not involve yourself in the task.

There are certain things to analyze such as HVAC systems, insulation levels, water supply systems, motors, drives, plug-in loads, waste management, recycling, the cooling and heating system, etc. Professional auditors are well informed about the exact process of industrial audit and will conduct it in the right manner. They will do a thorough evaluation of the building, small or big equipment and bulky machines. If there is any fault that is causing energy wastage will be identified in the audit and they will come up with a solution. For industrial energy efficiency assessment you should search for one of the most well known organizations that provide audit service. They have three audit levels such as basic, detailed and precession. You can choose one as per your need.

Major reasons of doing audit :

If your facility consumes less energy then you have to spend less money for energy. Auditing at the right time can save you a good amount of money, it will help discover ways to reduce cost through energy efficient improvements.

Using it for a while there can be problems in your machinery and you may not have noticed yet. A detailed audit will bring small issues into your notice that cost you a lot of money till now. Maybe there was a leak in the pipe and for that you paid a huge amount, ignoring the audit it would have been continued.

Being energy efficient you won’t be responsible for polluting the environment anymore. Energy efficiency for industry is important because it helps reduce the damage to the atmosphere. You will be able to impress your client by showing that you are much concerned about the environment.

Hopefully you have understood the importance of energy audit and why to hire an auditor to conduct it.

[alumort]

Ao3

First - prev - next

hii its me again :DD enjoy!!

Enjoy cuteness while it lasts :P

Lee loved cooking and so, his job was something he usually enjoyed. But there were times when it was… Too much, for his spirit and his upper back.

He had to constantly move around with barely any break outside of lunchtime or when there were barely any complicated dishes to do– he was extremely delicate with decorating food, so Choza tended to assign him to pastry more than anything else, and sometimes to watch over what other people made. It took a lot of control that the cook had slowly gained with the years, and his gaze could now identify even the smallest mistakes with errors in food decoration, he now even complained to his newer coworkers about that.

God, was he becoming a grumpy old man? Lee was just eighteen and he was already getting annoyed at younger people's errors… Well, they did deserve his anger at times, that wasn't part of his imagination. But they had to prepare perfect dishes to suit the nobles' taste, so perhaps being strict wasn't too bad.

Choza had already told him he might even get a promotion by how well he worked! Perhaps Lee wasn't a knight yet, but there was a chance that he would be able to afford a small home for his sister and him at any moment, he didn't save most of his money for nothing after all. Their roommate thankfully didn't pry where he shouldn't, although his huge white dog was a bit clingy to both siblings from time to time they were good company anyways.

Work was good for him to spend some time focused on his thoughts and receiving some coins while doing it. Lee didn't have much to complain about.

At one point Tenten approached him as he was preparing biscuits, to which he groaned by instinct without even looking at her. The brunette giggled, resting her head on his shoulder before talking.

"Your boyfriend wants to meet you tonight," she whispered with a playful smile, separating herself from her brother while he now looked at her with curiosity in his eyes. "He saw me when I went to fetch some stuff, and asked me to 'tell Lee we'll train after dinner.' Then he smiled."

The black haired man wasn't annoyed by the interruption anymore; instead his face brightened up and he let out a huge grin without even realizing.

"Oh! Thanks for telling me, Tenten!" Lee said, more excited about finishing his work than he had been the hours before.

"It's no problem. I'm sure you two will have lots of fun tonight, isn't it?"

Lee felt his face warming up just by seeing his sister's smirk, so he decided to look away and focus on what was in front of him, ignoring her teasings until Tenten got bored and went to prepare the sesame dumplings she and Lord Hizashi enjoyed a lot (and, of course, stealing some in the process without anybody noticing).

He had a long day ahead, and time seemed to go even slower now that he was actually looking forward to something; it had been a while since Neji and him were able to say anything else apart from a quick 'hi' in the hallways, almost as if the brunet was now wary of being with him.

But everything had been alright the previous weeks, months even. What had changed in such a short time? Had Lee done something bad without realizing? Perhaps he would find out later, hopefully his boyfriend was in the mood to talk.

Well, that's why he had sent him a message… Lee quickly moved his head to the sides, trying to stop distracting himself with his thoughts just enough so the food wouldn't get burned.

~

And soon the moon switched places with the sun, marking the hour that the prince and the cook were supposed to meet.

There was barely any light to guide his steps apart from the stars and the moon itself, and a sense of dèjá vu invaded his mind as he walked towards Neji's garden while trying to not be seen by anybody. Lee knew the path by heart by now, and it didn't take long for him to reach the place he had to be in.

With a lantern illuminating his body, his partner was there, welcoming him with a tight embrace before saying anything at all– the cook couldn't help it but smile, returning the hug without wasting time, hiding his face on the crook of Neji's neck in silence.

For a moment, Lee forgot how worried he was about everything, exhaustion fading away just by having the other man close to him even if no words were exchanged at first. And god, he really needed that hug after so long, held by the prince who loved spending time with him without expecting anything in return.

"I missed you," the cook muttered, his voice barely audible even if the only thing surrounding both men was a profound silence.

Neji separated himself from Lee only for a moment, carefully placing a hand on his cheek and carresing it in gentle circles, observing his partner before talking.

"I missed you too. I'm sorry, I'll explain everything, just–" A soft sigh escaped from his lips, and the brunet bit his lower lip without even realizing it. "I'll explain everything later. Just… Let's start today's training, shall we?"

The black haired man squinted his eyes, finding strange how elusive his partner was being about something he probably had no idea about. But there were many things he wasn't allowed to know, royal disputes and diplomatic stuff like these– if something serious was going on, Neji would definitely let him know sooner or later. For now it was time to pick up the wooden swords, and spar as if they were enemies with real weapons in their hands, dodging in a silent dance filled only with their panting and nothing else.

At one point, fighting with his partner stopped being a hard thing, with his movements growing more and more predictable through the passing of the years. Strike, strike, stop… Neji had a certain rhythm in how he moved that Lee now knew how to analyze, trying to take him by surprise but without hurting him at all– and soon the brunet was on the ground, strands of hair blocking his sight, that he didn't even try to remove as the cook was practically pinning him down. His sword was far away from his hands, and no matter how much he extended his harms the brunet wouldn't be able to grab his weapon once again.

"I won," Lee announced with a huge grin on his face, looking at his boyfriend as he talked. He let go of him and laid by his side in silence, observing the bright stars and the moon that was right on top of them.

Without saying anything, Neji rested his head on Lee's shoulder, letting out a content hum while a little smile decorated his face. The cook didn't even know how to react, too anxious to move although there was no real reason to be anymore. Perhaps he was still nervous to be discovered by someone who shouldn't be watching at all.

"... you're getting the hang of this, love," the prince muttered, closing his eyes as he talked. "I have basically taught you everything I know– you should go and find a better mentor. I don't know what else to tell you, apart from that I'll be here if you ever want to spar again."

Lee tilted his head to the side, trying not to pester his boyfriend, who simply got more comfortable on the grass, looking at nothing in particular as it was obvious he was deep in thought.

"Why are you saying this? We will keep seeing each other, Neji! … Right?"

His partner tried to hide his trembling lips to no avail, still deciding to avoid any kind of eye contact with the other man.

"I'll be quite busy for a couple of days. You see, my father– there's no secrets in the castle, and he's… Not fond of the person that has won my heart. He doesn't like that we're together because you're not a nobke," Neji admitted, playing with his hair as he talked, his gaze focused on the grass underneath himself. "Father wants me to be with a noble and so, he has arranged quite a few dates for me with some people from other kingdoms… In hopes that I'll find my other half in one of them, you know? I haven't talked much with you because he's observing me most of the time now.”

Oh, of course. Lord Hizashi didn't like to see his son meddling with a cook, no matter what Neji thought or even wanted. Politics came first, to keep peace or that's what the man said when he thought Lee wasn't listening— those times in which he had to hide in the closet after sex just to not be found by the king or the maids that tended to warn of their presence by knocking, knowing well what was going on.

It was a miracle that they were able to spend any time together at all, away from the crowd and just with each other's company, with the stars and a small lantern as their light.

There was no way of figuring out how much time it would pass until they were able to just… Lay side by side in peace once again, not worrying about anything but the possibility of rain. All Lee wanted was to remain there, chatting with Neji about whatever they felt like talking about all night long.

But that seemed to be far away from reality now, and so they exchanged kisses without caring how much time passed, knowing well that months could pass before they would be able to kiss each other again.

[trashyocstash]

decided to write a multiple chapter aran/cadhla fic, here's the first chapter, it functions as an introduction to cadhla

Cadhla walked down the streets in her hometown of Westport, enjoying the peaceful surroundings. She'd been sent by her mother on an errand to pick up some stuff for lunch. Cadhla didn't mind, she enjoyed taking walks after all.

As she walked, different memories came to her. She could recall her father teaching her how to bike and successfully managing to bike around some of the streets, trying coffee for the first time at a local coffee shop and not being a fan, and all the different times she's visited the other shops, pubs, restaurants and bakeries. Westport had a relatively small population, almost reaching 6,200 people, and it was her home. This was the place she was born and raised in, she had so many memories of this place, both good and bad, and she wouldn't trade it for anything.

As much as she loved her home however, a part of her longed for more. Cadhla needed excitement and she hadn't achieved that yet. She thought about travelling, but wasn't financially ready for that. The best hope she had to find more out of life was a job, so that's what she was focused on finding for now.

She soon arrived at a small store, and picked up everything she needed. Cadhla made her way to the check out when she accidentally bumped into someone.

"Oh I'm..sorry…very sorry about that.." She apologised.

The person she bumped into looked grumpy and annoyed. "Watch where you're going next time."

"I-I know I-"

"Huh? Speak up!"

"I know..I'll be more alert next time.."

"Good."

Then they looked away from Cadhla, now ignoring her presence and going right back to shopping. She frowned and continued on her way to the check out, silently wishing she wasn't so awkward and shy.

Soon, she arrived home and placed the bag of groceries on the kitchen counter. Her mother smiled at her as she shuffled through its contents. "Thank you so much dear."

"It's no problem Mom." Cadhla replied, smiling back.

Her mother then started preparing lunch, and Cadhla headed upstairs to her room in the meantime. 

One look at her room said a lot about Cadhla. The walls were painted a soft yellow colour, there were shelves with dolls and plushies she still liked to buy from time to time and in the corner was a desk with a desktop computer on it. She'd decorated the back with different stickers of things like seashells, cartoon suns, candy and hearts. On her bed was a cute yellow heart pillow, and a few plushies. Posters of different movies like some comedies, and for Nintendo games lined the walls. Her room felt warm, friendly and inviting, just like her.

While waiting for lunch to be finished, Cadhla decided to work on stuff on her computer. She was practising her graphic design skills, hoping to apply them to a job eventually. Cadhla had just graduated college where she had taken a class on graphic design, and while she wasn't expecting a job so soon, she thought it would be nice at least.

Cadhla finished the design she had been working on, which was just for fun, and heard her mother calling down for her. Smiling, Cadhla got up and headed downstairs where her lunch was waiting for her.

As she ate with her parents, her mother spoke up. "So dear, how's your job search going?"

"Well I did an interview with a representative of the WVBA, as they're looking for some more graphic design artists, specifically for advertising." Cadhla replied. That interview had been nerve wracking for her, her shyness was evident during it so she hoped deep down she hadn't messed it up.

"How did that go?" Her father asked.

"I…think it went well…mostly, I've never been one for sports but the WVBA is huge…I really do hope they at least consider me." She looked nervous.

"Well you're very talented, they'd be fools to turn you down." He responded.

Cadhla chuckled. "Come on, you're just saying that because you're my dad!"

He laughed. "Aw come on, you know I mean it!"

"I know I know.." She giggled.

Cadhla continued eating lunch and talking with her family, and once they finished, she made her way back to her room. She laid on her bed and pulled out her phone to scroll through it. Ever since her interview, she had been waiting patiently for a response, to know if she got the job or not, so getting a notification that she got a response was at the back of her mind.

As she decided on a YouTube video and started watching that, she got a notification and saw that the WVBA had finally responded. Cadhla cautiously checked the email, and read through it.

She had gotten the job, and it required her to move to Dublin. According to the email, she'd be provided with her own apartment there as well. Cadhla squealed in delight to herself, thinking that now she finally had the opportunity for some real excitement, and was happy to finally land a job with such a big company.

--------

i could write out accents but i won't bother, i feel i'd mess that up pretty easily. but if you want to know what cadhla's accent would sound like, look up the mayo accent.

[yanderechuu]

do any of the teachers ever notice the things happening to y/n? (i headcannon Mic and Midnight as yanderes that would give advice to 1A lol)

yandere!Class 1A x fem!reader

[2.1K]

Summary: Aizawa is the first one you approached in regards to your certain predicament.

Warning: nonconsensual recording

│

Aizawa suspected something wasn’t quite right by the moment he saw you entering the class a minute before the bell rang, all haggard and teary-eyed, though you tried your best to obscure your disposition. He always knew you to often be in a state of discomfort whenever you were compelled to socialize, especially with your classmates, but now - you looked as if you reached your limit of holding the weight of the world on your shoulders, crashing down all at once as depicted on your crestfallen expression. 

And when you showed up in front of the faculty room, timidly soliciting his presence, his suspicions were only further verified. Even with a pending question regarding subject matters in your mind, you weren’t one to approach a teacher to inquire about it, and if you did it was because the teacher was the one who would ask your attendance; never the other way around.

Present Mic was the first one to acknowledge you. He stood up from his office chair, waving at you comically. “Yo, (l/n)! Having trouble with English again?”

You never had a problem with his subject; he only insisted that you’d come to him in regards to that. “N-no, not really. May I speak to Aizawa-sensei?”

“Talk with me instead!” He enthusiastically spoke and headed over to you. “Come on, what’s the matter?”

“It isn’t your place to ask that when I’m here.” Aizawa interceded, clearly unimpressed by Mic’s antics. He failed to see the latter’s displeased countenance. “(L/n), what is it?”

You avoided eye contact with him, averting your view to the ground - that was alright. You were always like this, and he didn’t mind. Nothing out of place except for the fact that it looked as if you were about to cry any moment now.

“Can we- can we, um, talk somewhere more private?” You asked quietly.

His brows raised in wonder at your request. Nevertheless, he didn’t decline you, only nodding lackadaisically before heading towards the teacher’s lounge, where you followed him suit. He flicked the door tag to ‘occupied’ and entered the room after you, when he told you sit on the three-person sofa situated not quite on the farthest left of the space. Then, he settled himself on the chair across you.

“Well?” He asked, expectantly.

But you had once again your head above a thick cloud of anxiety. You knew that after the event with Momo in the girls’ locker room - where you had injured her against your will because she had been violating your personal space - your homeroom teacher kept a cautious eye on you in case you’d re-enact that incident. And it wasn’t just that incident that made him look at you like you were a criminal on the loose, either. Your classmates found and did a lot of ways to place you in Aizawa’s naughty list just so you wouldn’t snitch on their abusive (they’d call it affectionate) behavior on you.

That didn’t erase the fact that you were nevertheless his student; he cared for you no less than he cared for his other pupils, yet you were just too ignorant in figuring that out. All that mattered to you was that you’d voice out your current concern to him, but with your insecurities holding you down it seemed it would be more difficult than you had primarily foreseen it to be.

“I-I,” you stammered out, fiddling with something inside your pocket, “u-um, you see, t-there’s this, I mean, I can’t-”

He grew increasingly frustrated with your constant stuttering, and although he did understand your shy nature which largely affected your conversational habits, he only had so much patience to deal with it.

“I don’t have all day.” He stated, glowering at your form in mild irritation. “If you’re going to keep doing that, talk to the wall.”

You abruptly halted in speaking after that, only looking down on your lap, staring wide-eyed, grief-stricken at the revelation that perhaps he really did not want to heed any of your words because you were just that bad of a student that he had decided you were not worth much the effort to concern himself with. And maybe he was right - that your words didn’t matter because you didn’t matter; that there were more affairs he better be tending to than yours; that you were only making a big deal out of this when it truthfully wasn’t.

Oh god, you felt like vomiting. Self-deprecation was getting the better of you.

He stood up and sauntered to the exit, not bothering to spare you a glance. “Come back to me when you actually know what you want to say.”

It was a matter of seconds when you ran to him, pulling him back rather harshly by the grip you had on his sleeve. He turned around due to the force to see your head still hung low, avoiding his gaze as always - only, your shoulders were quivering sporadically, and occasional sniffs were heard from your person.

“P-please, sensei...” you voiced out, shaken and horrifyingly delicate. “I-I’m so scared. Please.”

While he looked at you with contracted irises, countenance now alert from your unexpected disposition, you pulled your trembling hand out of your skirt pocket, nervously disclosing to him from your palm a small, black device with a tiny yet prominent lens.

“M-my room,” you heaved, “I-I saw this i-in my room, m-my closet, while- while I was dressing up, and I don’t know how long it had been in there but it probably already caught me bare and-”

You broke down in a flurry misery and shame, allowing yourself to fall to the ground but you didn’t - Aizawa seized you in his arms, his gentle, fatherly arms that could only do so much to console you from the horror of your reality. And he held your head as you cried on his chest, one little thing he could do after ignoring your situation and letting you think that your significance was less than the rest of his other students. At that moment, you were just so little, so fragile, so naïve he’d keep you in his pocket if he could. Why would someone do something as debauched as illegally recording your innocent self?

“I’m sor-sorry,” you sobbed, “I’m really telling the truth, p-please-”

“Shh, it’s okay. I don’t doubt you.” He reassured. Why were you apologizing? Were you that insecure of being a nuisance? No, no, you never were. Not to him. He reached for your hand to take the cursed device. “Since when did you find out?”

“J-just this morning.” You responded.

“Alright. Do you want to rest? This must have taken a huge toll on you.”

But you still had classes ongoing. Then again, you didn’t feel like looking at the faces of the prime suspects who possibly did you dirty, even when you knew that you’d have to eventually interact with them to get notes of your missed lessons. You were so tired from summoning the lot of your courage to confront your teacher regarding your problem, so you probably wouldn’t have the energy to listen to class discussion. Aizawa finalized your decision by pulling you up and guiding you towards the office of Recovery Girl who, after being briefed of your predicament by your homeroom teacher, welcomed you with a warm smile, telling you to make yourself comfortable in one of the beds in the infirmary.

He then made his way to 1A classroom, a newfound swelling of rage and disappointment in his chest, both forwarded to his class and to himself because only now did he realize that perhaps you were often so restless and apprehensive in the presence of your classmates because they did things that made you bury yourself in the deepest parts of your shell as a last attempt to revel in a sense of safety. Your timidity was not entirely derived from your own nature; it was also due to the maltreatment you were receiving from your classmates. Halting his steps by the classroom door, he looked through the glass window, seeing the class focusing on Midnight’s lecture.

Well, not quite. He could tell that your classmates were visibly affected by the lack of your presence, glancing at your desk from time to time as quiz papers were being passed behind - so they were in the middle of a test, he guessed. But that wasn’t his concern.

In impudent manner, he walked in amid Midnight’s talking, disregarding her face’s sudden morphing into vexation as the students gave him a look of confusion.

“Eraser, what are you-” she was rudely interrupted as Aizawa took the test reference papers from her hands. Something about Modern Hero Art History, he read. He faced his class with disdain, stating,

“Until someone confesses their crime of hiding a spy camera on (l/n)’s dorm room, all of you are receiving failing marks on this test.”

Quite suddenly, the class burst into violent upheaval, gasping, perking, some allowing the dreadful news of your situation to sink in, others letting out noises of complaint before actually taking consideration to the main point of Aizawa’s statement. Midnight stared at him in disbelief, but did nothing to stop his measures.

Momo abruptly stood. “I-is (y/n) okay? We should go check on her!”

“No, you shouldn’t.” Aizawa said. “All of you are suspects. You’ve no right to see her.”

“She probably just made that up get back on us for whatever fucking reason!” Yelled Bakugou.

“Yeah?” The male pro-hero disingenuously mused. He then picked up the spy camera and held it for everyone to see, before setting it down the teacher’s podium. “This was found on her closet. Would she risk recording herself naked just to prove that point?”

Noise died down thereafter, setting their sights solemnly at the device, the class collectively having the same thought in regards to the spy camera.

(Why hadn’t they thought of that? It could have been easier to check on you that way, since you almost always confined yourself in the privacy of your own room.)

“So? No one wants to speak up?” Aizawa asked, though expected the silence.

“Aizawa, have them approach you after classes. It’s embarrassing this way.” Midnight intervened.

“Well that’s the point. Get them exposed to the entire class, so everyone could realize how much of a perverted bastard one of these to-be heroes are. Good values, my ass.” He replied, not bothering to filter rather colorful vocabulary. “Where’s your dignity?”

He let a minute or two pass for the perpetrator to reveal themselves, but soon it became apparent that whomever they were refused to admit to their crime, willing to sacrifice the grades of the class for the sake of anonymity. That would be deemed useless, anyway, because Aizawa was already set on figuring out whom they were, no matter the extent he’d go to in order for that to happen. He’d expel them at once.

But he didn’t have the power to expel someone outside of his class.

“I guess that’s it for your test.” He sighed, disgruntled, picking up the small camera and sauntering his way out of the classroom after giving Midnight a look that he was dead serious with marking all of them a failing score. She stared at him in uncertainty, nonetheless abided by his decisions, albeit hesitantly.

Upon ascertaining his absence, Midnight turned to Class 1A, amusement and humor dancing on her seductive countenance.

“Naïve, hormonal teenagers,” she mused, “the closet, really? Couldn’t you have chosen somewhere less conspicuous?”

None of them bothered to tell her that they were truthfully unaware of the incident.

===

Hagakure Toru, stealth hero, entered your room silently in the nude, the only proof of her movements being a tinier, different spy camera she’d brought along with her. No, not the closet, you might find it again. It looked so painfully obvious on the desk, too, and neither in the bathroom due to its pale white interior. 

But on the pencil holder situated atop your nightstand would do. You barely moved it, anyway, only having its purpose served as a decoration; something to fill the vacancy of the bedside table. After a few adjustments in camouflaging the device with the environment and making sure the lens displayed the area of your space, Hagakure checked its concealment one more time, before mechanically heading outside and back to her own dorm. 

Her body collided almost violently with her room’s door, snapping her out of her trance. 

“H-huh!? Weird... how’d I end up in my room?” She asked, receiving no answer from particularly anyone.

But Shinso Hitoshi could provide her one, if only he weren’t outside, staring at your terrace from five stories down your room, a gratifying smirk donned on his features. Now, the only thing he had to do was dismantle and relocate the gadgets wirelessly connected with the camera Aizawa had confiscated.