#anyways the LORE? juicy. eating it up

[galacticsabc]

Update comic from 2 sessions ago because I wanted to practice drawing comics since I don't do those often.

Colbalt had to go negotiate his way outta this one so as to not completely jeopardize the party while still getting Jarvis out of jail.

Also sorry for the no context for this comic, if I gave the full context, i would be here for 2 hours.

[the-grubdog]

Heritage Theory is Canon

I rise back from the dead (read: college kicking my ass) to say that MY THEORY WAS JUST CONFIRMED CANON. Look at the Japanese website:

Image transcript: The ruins and treasures of this planet, although different in size, are somehow similar to those we know, and sometimes even feel nostalgic. According to "The Shepard Complete History" written by the successive rescue team captains, the ancestors of the Kagiya [Giya] planet came from a "beautiful blue planet". If that was the planet PNF-404, we may have returned to our mother planet after a long time.

I WAS LITERALLY WORKING ON AN UPDATED VERSION OF MY THEORY POST WHEN THIS WAS POSTED.

I WAS RIGHT YA'LL.

I don't think I'll upload that updated version of the post, as it is (a) mostly unfinished and (b) kinda pointless now! Just know that evidence also comes from (all in Pikmin 4/related material):

Other parts of this same site

Olimar's notes on the Buddy Display, Heroic Shield, and Memory Fragment (Center Right)

A conversation you can have with Olimar post-final boss fight

Olimar's notes on the final boss

The Shepherd Family history

Also I want to share some more lore this site brings up. Because it also gives us some juicy Wraith Lore(tm) and some possible explanations for why some ships crash and others don't.

ALSO ALSO: This is all machine translated. If anyone has a human translated version, or is interested in making one, PLEASE let me know so I can reference it instead!

Image transcript: Consideration 1, small size, it doesn't have the engine power to escape the planet. Consideration 2, entering at a high speed, like a shooting star, it crashed into the planet at high speed.

Basically, the S.S. Beagle is small and entered at a high enough speed to escape the planet's grasp.

Image transcript: Unlike the space-time of the universe we know, it is believed that each time the stranded person observes the planet, it transitions to a different phase. The changes are so great that it's as if the planet itself has a will of its own.

This comes after a long description of how the planet changes every game. Just for further context.

Image transcript (with an error fixed for readability): Pikmin are always found near those lost in distress. They are friendly and devoted partners who cooperate with us to achieve our goals. However, isn't this a little too convenient? If the Pikmin are calling for a good leader to ensure the survival of their species and are preventing us from returning, it would be better to think that we are the ones being used. It falls into this category.

I don't think pikmin are evil, FAR from it... but they are still animals, animals that act to survive. You know? If pikmin ARE crashing the ships, then it's no more evil then how bulborbs eat pikmin to survive. Those are my two cents anyways.

Image transcript: According to Olimar, while inside the Amenyudo's [Plasm Wraith's] body, he dreamed of "giant humans similar to ourselves living with Pikmin and lots of other creatures." In addition, the roller-shaped stones of the Amebouzu [Water Wraith] have been found to contain minerals found in meteorites, which may suggest that they may be involved in the crash of the Dolphin. Perhaps they are dreaming of living with humans again and are causing the spaceship to crash?

WRAITH LORE. Also, note the translation of "human". There's a word on the site that the characters use to refer to themselves collectively, which the machine translator translates as "human". Based on me looking the word up on Jisho, an English-Japanese dictionary, this appears to be correct. However, as I don't know Japanese yet, I'll also clarify that "people" might also be a valid translation.

Anyways. Humans once lived with these weird creatures, wraiths and pikmin included. The wraiths missed us. Please ignore how they're also homicidal towards the starfolk.

Image transcript: One theory is that the planet meets the definition of a living organism, meaning that it is somehow beckoning us to it, and that everything we experience here is being orchestrated.

Planet is alive.

I have no idea how else to end this off.

But the planet is alive.

And it wants us back.

[remadra]

Rem good buddy good pal I must ask you. How is Hungy connected to Rcg? I need to know that juicy pct lore!!

Fear not. I have information.

Hunger usually picked its host from a plethora of options, looking for a few key qualities. A couple met unfortunate ends, and it had to find a new one each time. Sometimes there aren't many options, so it ends up with one like Four, and it has to wait for a better one to come along. Five was much more suitable, so it switched and got rid of Four for good. It's best to make sure there's no chance of a jealous previous host.

When Five fell off the cliff, Hunger didn't want to fall with her. It wouldn't be able to find a new host from the bottom of the ocean. So it reached for the nearest child it could find. Five was gone as far as Hunger knew, so Six wouldn't have to worry about her coming back for the entity, and Hunger settled in. Six was a lot easier to convince anyways. They both like to eat.

[almostcolorfulcolor]

Death Note, meet Supernatural- CHAPTER 7

Relationships: L (Death Note)/Reader, L (Death Note)/Original Female Character(s)

Summary: What if Death Note existed in a world with Winchesters in it? Would L finally have the evidence he needs to prove Light is Kira? How will L fare in a world where monsters are real and not every case is solvable by him? Lucky for him, there's a hunter here to work side-by-side with him.

Chapter Summary: L and Reader make an agreement of sorts in this- read on to find out!

CHAPTER 6

Chapter 7: Building Bridges

Boredom. That’s the only word for it. The files are very detailed and I’ve decided to go in chronological order. At least my usual cases had a good old juicy murder or suicide story. These are just facts and hypotheses with a bunch of jargon. To cover everything, I’ve decided to go chronologically which means the initial stuff is mind-numbing as hell. Once I get to only the current task force’s investigation, it should get better.

Aha, the pictures of Kira’s puppets, let’s see what they’ve got. A pentagram in a circle? Was the poor dude hoping for protection? If yes, then what from? If he knew who, or what Kira was, then why didn’t he say so? I take a screenshot to look at it later.

The next 3 photos are just a bunch of text- poetry, badly written. Why would Kira make his victims write poetry in their last seconds? There’s definitely a hidden message in there.

A fearful ode to Kira, not likely. Hmm…first letter of every word? …Nope, doesn’t set. Let’s reverse. Nada. First letter of every line? Nuh-uh. Reverse again. Bingo! Ldoyouknow

I pick up the next 2 photos and decipher them quickly.

L do you know shinigami only eat apples  (A/N: The photos says reapers cause they're from manga but I'm following the show and it says shinigami there- so please bear with me)

Shinigami? What’s this? Sounds like my thing.

A simple search on my personal laptop (with internet access, suck it L) paints one picture- Japanese Spirits of Death.

https://historycooperative.org/japanese-god-of-death-shinigami/ (You can read this article upto Making the Shinigami Angry)

The lore says that Shinigami only take people who are already close to death, but not all of these criminals can be close to death at the same time suddenly. Did someone grow a pair and get a Shinigami on a leash? How? By giving them apples? That also doesn’t explain the heart attacks. Shinigami make people commit suicide so what’s with this new MO? And where do the names and faces fit in? If a Shinigami wanted to kill someone, they just got to possess the person. Kira is not a Shinigami then, but someone who is using a Shinigami in some way at least. This is dangerous. As a rule, reapers or gods or spirits of death are invisible to everyone save those who die- or those who bind them. No EMF or cameras will catch anything. Should I summon Death? He could have jurisdiction over Shinigami too since he’s the literal anthropomorphic representation of death. If he finds out one of his own is fucking around or bound, he could deal with this on his own. But wouldn’t he know already? And he hasn’t done anything which means he’s not interested or whatever’s happening is not wrong- atleast not according to him. Calling him is risky as I have no backup and if he feels I’m wasting his time, he could very well arrange my death. Perhaps later, as a last option with a delicious pizza offering.

Anyway, I shouldn’t rule out the possibility that this could just be to throw L for a loop. He has disregarded this as nonsense but still. Let’s file this for later. The envelope. Penber dying. If Light is Kira, he has a Shinigami chained up somewhere. The footage from the households is next. I first check the Yagami tapes, and it is just as L said. Light is too straight and narrow. It seems practiced, and intentional. He is not as relaxed as a teenager should be at home but seems to be putting on a play. Another thing, he’s talking to himself while doing homework. Now whatever they show you on movies and TVs, nobody talks to themselves out loud about their day or what they’re doing. I’ve watched more houses and even more people than you can count. Just doesn’t happen, nope. The fact that Light is doing it means he wants somebody to listen. The messages would mean nothing to the police watching the cams, which means it’s for someone else. Someone invisible to us. Shinigami again? Congrats Light, you’re top suspect once again, though it’s apparent by the handcuffs that he never made it off L’s list. I watch all of his footage but there’s nothing except this gut instinct that Light is not right .

To be on the safe side, I watch the Kitamura tapes carefully too. They’re normal in the way normal people are- cleared immediately. The Sakura TV incident is next and on comes the tape L made me watch. After that, there are 2 tapes- yes and no. This must be for the police’s decision to join or stand against Kira. There’s truly nothing useful in them, what a waste.  The response of Second Kira to Light’s tape was interesting. Verify each other’s identity by showing each other their Shinigami? Kira doesn’t have eyes? Hm…there is a Shinigami after all. I need to dig deeper but before that, I listen to all Second Kira tapes for any other clues. There’s nothing in the tapes but the diary entry from last year has that word, Shinigami, again. At a match- it could be possible to blend in with so many people but could they be so stupid as to be so obvious? Hang on, the Second Kira sent a message on the 23rd saying they’d found Kira. This means the entries before it, probably the one of the 22nd, is the correct one. 

Met with friend in Aoyama and exhanged notes.

What does this mean? What’s the clue that only Light could understand that made him volunteer to go to Aoyama? It sure as hell isn’t a coincidence. If Misa is the Second Kira, she must have set sights on Light at some point. The CCTV footage didn’t show Misa anywhere so she was either invisible, in disguise, or was watching the cameras. This means she would’ve seen something about Light- something only meaningful to her or something invisible. Shinigami. Maybe I’m getting tunnel vision but the possibility of this being right is too high. Shinigami has already been mentioned thrice, once by Kira and twice by the Second Kira in the tape and diary entry. L mentioned they’d been acting strange during the investigation, let’s check out that footage. L wasn’t joking around when he confined Misa. She’s strapped to her chair like she’s a deadly, vicious killer and not a dumb blonde. Is she a deadly, vicious killer? She’s surprisingly tight-lipped too. Normally it’s a challenge to shut her up. She’s protecting someone, her beloved Light maybe? She suddenly starts crying on the screen to kill her. 5 minutes after this, she passes out. When she comes to, it’s like she’s the dumb blonde again. Something happened when she passed out. Was the spirit of a Shinigami possessing her? And it left her when it realized the girl was useless now- begging for death. If so, why didn’t the Shinigami just kill her? It’s not like there’s any lost love. Light’s confinement is the same way except he isn’t bound. He’s still all serious and silent though, despairing that he’s Kira. About 2 weeks later, he changes his tune saying he isn’t Kira. Begs to be let out. Why is he contradicting his earlier statements? Shinigami spirit left him too when it figured that Light would be useless under 24*7 surveillance? Question is- were Light and Misa aware they were possessed? Are they like Jeffrey? The guy wanted the demon in him, did these guys want the Shinigamis? Figuring I wouldn’t get anything more from the data, I put the laptop aside and start my own research on how the hell is Shinigami connected to Kira. 

Stretching my back, I meet eyes with Ryuzaki. God knows how long he has been staring at me. The intensity of his gaze makes me believe he wants to actually read my mind. The genius he is, he probably reads me more than I know. Not wanting to hide, I lock my laptop and boldly walk over to him. The best plan of action is honesty here- partial honesty, cause there’s no way in hell he wouldn’t admit to the psych ward if I said I wanted to investigate the Japanese Gods of Death.

“Can I have a word in private, Ryuzaki? Just you and me”, I whisper. The staring continues for a moment until he uncuffs himself from Light, gets up to walk out of the room with a quick, “follow me”.

He takes us 2 floors up to an exact replica of the command center down there, only smaller. “This is Watari’s office, the only other room besides mine and the control center that isn’t under surveillance. Based on the tone of your request, I assume you don’t want the other team members to know of it.” At my nod, he sits in his usual position on a chair. “Speak.” “The following questions and requests might seem weird but consider them the most important. Now tell me, what is it about Light and Misa that makes you sure that they are- or were- doing the murders?” “The clues-”

“Forget the clues for a damn minute. What does your gut tell you? Why do you feel that they’re murderers?” After silence stretches for a while, L says in a quiet voice, “His eyes. They had an evil glint to them. His expression. Always perfect. Always what I would expect. It looked manufactured, not real. His intelligence. He could do those murders and get away with it. From the first time I laid my eyes on him, a part of me has always been sure that he is Kira. As for Misa, my interactions with her aren’t frequent. She was apprehended as soon as her DNA was found on those packages. Apart from her mind turning quickly that one time, there’s nothing weird I’ve noticed about her. There is one thing I neglected to mention about her though. Misa’s parents were killed by a burglar in her presence. The suspect walked free due to insufficient evidence. Kira killed them. She adores Kira for that. She also adores Light. Which means she could be the second Kira if Kira was Light.”

“Misa isn’t the chief concern here- but we will have to be careful with her. I’m going to say something, Ryuzaki, and you’re not going to like it. The worst thing you could’ve done is make Light a part of the task force and then keep Misa around. If Misa is the second Kira who can kill by just knowing the face, you’ll be instantly dead when her power gets back to her. And you’re only safe from Light as long as he doesn't know your name.” “You’re sure that he is Kira then?” I’m quick to deny it because I do not know for sure. Another thing I’ve learned in my world is half of the time, the unexpected guy is the killer. For all I know, it could be Matsui. “Then why didn’t you say “if”? You said that I’m only safe from Light as long as he doesn’t know my name. You didn’t say “if he is Kira”.”

“Slip of tongue,” I’m quick to lie. Truth is, with L’s conviction, I have strong doubts about Light as well.

“Nevermind that Ryuzaki. Now focus. In a day or two, I’ll show up with some “ order from headquarters ” that will get civilians off the investigation. The control isn’t in your hands anymore; some unknown FBI department is taking over the reins.”  “That way you can get rid of Light and Misa without making it seem that we are still suspicious of them,” L ponders.

“Bingo. You’re number 1 on Kira’s hitlist, Watari is probably number 2 based on how close you two are. If those 2 are Kiras, we have to make it seem as if you’re not a threat anymore.”

Truth is, I’m not sure this is what Sam and Dean would’ve done. But they’re not here and the decision falls to me, so I’m going to roll with this.

“Reasonable. But I do not want Light off the investigation. He is intelligent and on the chance that he is not Kira, his help will be crucial. And if he is Kira, I want to keep an eye on Misa and him.”

I let loose a disbelieving laugh. “Listen sugar cube, you do not know how much danger you’re in. I’ve almost identified Kira’s source of power and it is not something you can control. Not a criminal you can lock up or keep an eye on . This is beyond your reach. Not an insult or a doubt on your abilities, just the truth. I want to keep you guys safe. You and Watari will die in this investigation if we don’t cut off Light and Misa right now. They know about your every move and can counter it. If the Chief is leaking the information, even unknowingly, I’ll come up with a way to replace him too. The entire task force, if necessary.”

“What are you so afraid Kira will find out?” “The investigation details, dumbass. What else?”

L’s stare grows even more piercing if possible, his head cocked to the side. Adorable. “No, that’s not it. You’ve been on edge the whole time you’ve been here. You appear sad too; sadder than a normal human. Something is bothering you. The whole time you’ve been convincing me, you’ve had a desperate energy about you. You also keep fidgeting. For anyone else, I would say they weren’t just cut out for this, but you are. Your hands, your stance is of a fighter. You will push away your discomfort by squaring your shoulders and tilting your chin up. You are brave, and experienced too. Then what is it about this investigation that has you on edge?”

The guy learns more than he lets on. For the first time, I realise that L is not just a cute little weirdo. L is the number 1 detective in the world and I need to stay on guard around him or he could very easily figure out what a vault of secrets I am. At the moment though, I want to answer his questions honestly. It’s been so long since somebody has taken the time to really see me. Neglect is getting to me. I’m also in need of some desperate human comfort. What would being hugged by L feel like…L would be such a great cuddle partner…who is still looking at me expectantly.

“You’re right, L. I’m not afraid of Kira finding anything out, except your and Watari’s real names. I am on edge because this is dangerous. And I have no one. My team- we were 5 people. Now it’s just me. This is the first time I’ve taken on something so big without them. I’m scared that I won’t be enough, that I’ll mess up. That’s why I was being pushy earlier because I want to make sure you’re safe in case things go south. The lead I’m working on- if Kira finds out…it wouldn’t be pretty. If there’s even a chance that Light and Misa are the Kiras, we need them off the investigation. I’m alone, and the danger this entails…I’m worried I won’t be enough to handle it.”

L’s eyes have predictably stayed on my face the whole time I’ve talked. Now that I’ve made the confession, sweat is breaking out on my back. The air feels hotter, draining me of my energy. I want to take my words back. The longer L stares, the bigger the urge to crawl into a hole and die. Stupid word vomit. I wanted to earn his respect and view me as an equal, now he’ll just see a scared, incompetent girl who doesn’t feel up for a challenge.

“It doesn’t seem like you will mess things up. Your level of concern shows you will take the utmost care with this investigation. I am…glad of this.” I feel warm again but this warmth is very much welcome. To prevent word vomit again, I stay silent and just give L a grateful smile, seeing which he continues.

“I will agree to your plan of taking Light and Misa off the investigation- but they will remain under surveillance. You can say that all the previous suspects must remain under surveillance as a precautionary measure- orders from headquarters .”

“Okay, we can make that work.”

“That’s not all. This lead you’re investigating- I want to investigate it with you.”

Yeah, right.

“No way in hell, L. It isn’t your thing.”

“Then you don’t investigate it either. You said so yourself, you feel alone. You’re used to working with your team. We can work together on your lead. And don’t forget your promise from yesterday. You di agree you wouldn’t make any moves for the first few days without consulting me. Besides, I am the world’s number 1 detective. Who better than me to investigate with you?”

The logic is sound- and that’s one of the problems. How will L react to knowing that monsters are in fact real, that they defy his logic? That Shinigami are probably real too? Even if it isn’t a Shinigami, it’s 100% something supernatural. How would he be justice then?

“L, you don’t understand. My way of working is very different. Things are looking bad, and the world is actually worse than you think. The lead I have- if it’s actually right- we will have a big problem on our hands. And you may be the best detective in the world but you are not equipped to handle this.”

“If you refuse, I will Light and Misa with us. Your choice.”

Damn him. I can’t exactly take the guy to a bar of hunters and make inquiries about spirits of death. I can’t take him hunting, period. At least not until I know what I’m dealing with.

“How about a compromise? We take Light and Misa off the case, and I do a little research on my lead. If it’s the real deal, I’ll tell you immediately and we can work together on it. If it’s bullshit, no point in risking your life over it. Fair?”

Eyes narrowed, he thinks it over. Too bad if he doesn’t agree cause there’s no chance I’m budging on this one. With my luck, the minute we step out of the building, we’ll be attacked by vampires or something that’ll result in the demise of the world’s greatest detective. It isn’t like I haven’t already gotten a world famous individual killed. Not that he was a human. Just a shape-shifting, all-eating monster that God himself locked away after realizing he fucked up.

“Acceptable. But I will put a tracking device on you to keep me notified of your location at all times. If it is truly as dangerous as you say, you must be monitored”, L finally decides.

“Fine by me. But you can’t come in- no matter what- unless I explicitly ask you to. Clear?”

“Alright. Will you follow your lead after Light and Misa leave?”

“No, I’ll start right away. Staying discreet for 2 days isn’t a problem.”

“I’ll have Watari give you a tracking device as soon as he returns from his errand. Don’t leave until then, and certainly not without informing me.”

“Who says I’m leaving now? Phase 1: Research on my laptop. I’m getting the laptops and holing up in my room. Do NOT let Misa come in. Can’t-”

“-let her know what you’re working on. Fine. I���ll send Watari there. Let’s go back now.”

As L and I head back to the command center, my chest feels lighter than before. Even though he doesn’t know everything, he’s still on my side. I have a plan. Research on the web, research in the local library, meeting the local hunters, confirming the monster, how to kill it and then killing it. 

Easy-peasy, right? CHAPTER 8

A/N: Hey guys, so sorry for the delay- work got super crazy and I couldn't get away but here is an extra long chapter and tomorrow, you guys get another one!

If you enjoyed this one, don't forget to❣️, comment and reblog!

XOXO

[jellyaibo]

i want to hear ur thoughts abt object terror, you philosophor

so disclaimer i havent seen OT in fucking months so this insane ramble isnt gna be. the best but

object terror is one of the best worst fucking object shows ive ever seen, literally the PRIME example of some edgy kid trying to make an object show that isnt ur grandmas object show. no. this is the REAL shit and they say SLURS and theres BLOOD and GORE (yes im serious theres blood and gore and death but itsnot that bad, definitely a bit shocking if u didnt expect it to happen tho)

theres also shitty voice acting and terrible mic quality galore, EX: theres a fucking cup that had this dogshit mic for the longest fucking time and it deadass sounded like bro was talking into a washing machine ohmy god, i remember there was a clip of him going around on twitter a while ago cuz of this (i think that was my first time seeing anything from OT too so theres that)

OH and theres cactus, i barely remember anything abt him but he had this fucking emotionless voice that made me HYSTERICAL. there was a scene where someone got him pissed and he said "you take that back" with. absolutely no emotion at all and since then me and my friends keep fucking quoting that line cuz its the funniest fucking shit ever

btw that slur line i said earlier wasnt a joke, one of the characters straight up drops the R SLUR in the FIRST EPISODE (funnily enough, that character became the creators objectsona i think? ik they kinda used him as a mascot for a bit which is so fucking funny) tho i dont think they drop anymore slurs after that but dont take my word on it

anyways i gotta talk abt my favorite fucking part abt this fucking show before i get to. mint

THESE FUCKING CUNTS.

before i watched object terror i got fucking warned abt these two because there was a . homophobic scene w them or some shit and i had NO idea what it was for the longest time so i was really excited to see what object homophobia was gna be graced upon my faggotly eyes

and then theyjust. started making out randomly. LIKE OUTTA NOWHERE and there were other characters there that were gna try to attack/kill them? but then they saw them kissing and were like omg ewww boys (i think. the stuff that happens after this scene is kinda blurry tbh and im NOT gonna go back and watch the clip to see what happens ok. i REFUSE) and im sorry but thats the best fucking object show scene ever

AND LIKE? IDK? MAYBE ITS JUST ME BUT I DONT GET WHY I SAW PPL SAY THIS WAS HOMOPHOBIC???? i dunno maybe its just me but like these two just kissed while watching tv and eating chicken AND NOTHING BAD HAPPENED TO THEM!!! THEY LITERALLY WON IMMUNITY BY THE END OF THE EPISODE TOO. THEY WON. THE GAYS WON. and its so fucking funny to me bro object terror LOVES the gays

ok now i need to talk about mint im sorry i hate this fucking thing so much I NEED TO KILL HIM WITH A ROCK!!!! FFFUCK!!

hes literally just taco ii but 100x worse, i dont even like tacos evil arc or whatever cuz i always found her annoying BUT MINT IS SO MUCH WORSE

never in my. almost 2 years of watching object shows have i ever hated a character so fucking much LIKE GENUINELY THIS THING MAKES ME SO FRUSTRATED. hes just that. lol XD random character FOR THE WHOLE SERIES. just annoying and loud and does literally fucking nothing AND THE JOKES W HIM ARE SO FORCED I SWEAR THEY STOPPED . EVERYTHING THAT WAS GOING ON IN AN EPISODE JUST TO FOCUS ON THIS MOTHERFUCKER CUZ HE WAS GONNA DO SOMETHING FUNNY. im not mad that im missing out on some "juicy" object terror "lore" im just pissed that i have to see this fucking disgrace on my screen

oh and in the latest episode (as of now, the series isnt actually finished yet and i hope to god it never gets continued) SUDDENLY mint has a fucking arc THAT WAS NEVER FORESHADOWED AT ALL IN THE SERIES!! SO SUDDENLY HES A SMART GENIUS THAT COULD DO ANYTHING CUZ HE HAS MACHINES N SHIT AND A WHOLE ASS LABORATORY ??????? THEN HE FUCKING DIES

do you know how many fucking. mid and uninteresting characters we had to lose for him

DO YOU KNOW THE LOSSES I HAD TO DEAL WITH CUZ OF HIM

he lived for too fuckig long in this show dammit it pisses me off that he's even a character that exists . i blame him for being the reason why i hate joke characters (except david ily david bfdi)

i dont wanna talk abt him anymore im gonna

OK OK BUT. 1 more thing. smore

smore is this guy that they introduced later on in the series and hes a FUCKING. DEMON FROM HELL and i need him so bad actually

i think at some point he tries to . kill mint too so im literaly making out with him rn oh my god HES SO

im so mad hes in object terror IM GETTING YOU OUTTA THERE BABY ‼ ‼ 🗣🗣

honestly tho he was so cool im a little mad that they introduced him so late into the show CUZ WE ONLY SEE HIM FOR LIKE 2 EPISODES GRAHHHH RAAGHHHH babygirl

anyways thats it i feel like theres more but im not gonna wring out any more object terror knowledge from my brain i think that'll kill me

hope u enjoyed my insanity anon heres a loser . hope this heals you

[zmediaoutlet]

in support of Black Lives Matter, @travellingriverside donated $52, and requested Sam/Dean mommy!kink. Thank you for donating!

to get your own personalized fic, please see this post. (no longer taking prompts)

One of Sam’s earliest memories is of Dean washing his hair. Most of his early memories circle around Dean, one way or another--reading together, wrestling for blankets in their shared bed, playing Space Invaders at the arcade with Sam standing on a crate to reach--but that one feels different. In his less self-forgiving moments, he thinks that’s where the trouble started.

In the memory he’s really small--four maybe, though he’s never had a good way of tracking that kind of thing. The houses and apartments and motels changed too much and every old flash of time feels like it’s from a different life. Wherever they were, the bathroom was yellow, and he had a chipped Superman action figure who was swimming in the bath with him, and Dean was kneeling right next to the tub and he was wearing a purple t-shirt that Sam had soaked wet to black. Dean was teasing like he usually did, but Sam doesn’t remember it being mean-spirited like sometimes it could get later. Dean massaged the shampoo into his hair and it smelled like chemical peach, and he said tip your head back, kiddo when it was time to rinse, and Sam did and laughed when the water splashed all over. When the bubbles were gone Dean had him stand up and wrapped him up in a towel, and it felt--safe. He was happy.

Things weren’t as happy, later. He learned things he’d desperately wanted to know, and regretted it when he did. It got worse, between him and Dad. Between him and Dean sometimes, too, and that was way more gutting. Sometimes Dean would be gone, and it’d just be Sam and Dad, and that was miserable--silent car rides, mechanical conversation. Dinner would be whatever takeout Dad could manage and at bedtime Sam would lay curled up all alone and wish desperately that Dean was there so that even if they kicked at each other and wrestled and Dean called him a dumb squirt, when it was time to actually sleep he could lay his head on Dean’s chest or curl up against his back, and it’d feel safe again, like it never did when Dean was gone.

Thirteen and Sam was all torn-up inside. Dean teased him for not flirting with girls but girls weren’t what Sam wanted. Sure, he liked the stuff he saw sometimes, when a skinmag got left out or when Dean thought he was sneaking a porno when Sam was asleep--tits and pussy, soft skin, pretty lips, pretty faces. There was one Playboy that he about rubbed himself raw over--he got it. But it wasn’t--enough. It wasn’t what he thought about, in the middle of the night, and what he had to creep out of their bed and shut himself into the bathroom and freak out about. Soft skin, and pretty lips, and even--even tits, sure, because--at seventeen Dean was the prettiest thing Sam had ever seen, and even if Dean hit a growth spurt and was getting shoulders like a man and he was all tall, he was still--soft, in their bed, and his body was--was Sam’s, the way all the random pornstars and actresses and girls at school weren’t, and never would be. Dean would make dinner, mac & cheese & hamburger just like Sam liked it, and he’d ruffle Sam’s hair and smile at him, and Sam would chub up right there at the formica table, and he’d eat all strangled-up while Dean yessir nosirred Dad, and he’d use the excuse of reading for school to sneak off to bed early, and lay there in the dark with his face buried in Dean’s pillow, hand crammed down his shorts, thinking--what the hell? what the hell?

Later--it got worse. He left. He met a girl. He tried his best. It didn’t escape his notice that she had soft skin and green eyes and fair hair and that when she wanted to make him dinner for a date night he asked completely unthinking for mac & cheese & hamburger, and she laughed and said, “Really?” but she made it, and it was--higher quality, more skill put in, and wasn’t nearly as good. In bed she didn’t mind if he lay with his head on her chest and felt the rise of her tits, and she liked getting fucked with him spooned up behind her, so that was--okay. He could make it. He--he was almost sure he could make it.

Later--worse again. Better, because there was Dean, but Dean didn’t cook anymore and he didn’t share Sam’s bed, and he wore a big square leather jacket that made him look like he was trying to be Dad. They were brothers, of course, and Dean teased and got mad, but it wasn’t--it wasn’t the same as it had been. It was harder. Some days when it was the worst it could be Sam went and hid in the bathroom and everything in him wanted to just curl up, get taken care of. Wanted those old days, of baths and food, of Dean touching his hair like he did, of warmth, of softness. They weren’t on the table though, and he didn’t think they ever would be again. It wasn’t worth pining for, though, because there was work to be done, so: he squared his shoulders, and washed his face, and went out and faced the world.

Later--Dean kissed him. He kissed Dean, and then they did rather more than kissing. The world they’d saved didn’t end. They really were the days of miracles. Finally getting to touch Dean like he’d always dreamed about didn’t fix things, but it sure didn’t make them worse, and the world still rattled on ridiculously and had to be saved over and over again, but--

They end up living in a bunker. Ridiculous, but it could be worse. Dean picks a room, says, “This is going to be awesome,” and he’s happy in a way he hasn’t been in months and so Sam smiles at him, and fucks him right there on the ancient creaking bed, and Dean gasps and eggs him on and then afterward, when they’re laying next to each other and panting, he says, “Man, this mattress sucks,” and he goes shopping.

They have some downtime. No worlds ending, right away. Dean throws himself into the bunker the same way Sam throws himself into the bunker’s records, and while Sam categorizes knowledge and history and lore Dean nests like Sam never knew he could. New soft mattress, new clothes. He cooks again and it’s--amazing. Sam moans, with that first bite of friggin’ perfect hamburger, and Dean grins at him and squeezes his shoulder, and it--oh. Something swirls warm in Sam’s stomach and he swallows, wonders. Remembering.

“I gotta learn to make pie,” Dean says, in bed that night, and Sam kisses the back of his shoulder, doesn’t think much of it, until the next day Dean comes back home from the store with a box of fresh peaches, and Sam comes over to investigate just as Dean bites into one and the ripe smell of the sunwarm skin drifts over Dean’s shoulder, and Sam’s--hard, instantly, his whole body turning on all at once like someone found his levers and threw every one to max.

“Whoa,” Dean says, when Sam grabs him, but he grins and revs up right away because Dean always does. He kisses back, easy, tasting like peach, and Sam groans and drags him to the table, settles him on his ass and starts stripping him, right there. Dean laughs, letting Sam tug off his boots. “We haven’t fucked in here yet, this is awesome,” he says, but Sam’s thinking of--god, his ass, and he goes to his knees on the concrete floor, spreads him wide, licks in. Dean groans wild, up above, gets his hand in Sam’s hair, and--and Sam can’t wait, he can’t wait, but he eats at Dean sloppy and pushes in his fingers and makes him as soft as he can, as open, knowing at least that Dean wants it as much as he does. When Dean’s moaning he stands up, undoes his jeans--spits wet for his dick, fists himself and pushes in--and Dean flinches up into it but moans, wraps his legs around Sam’s hips and his arms around Sam’s shoulders, and Sam shudders and buries his face down by Dean’s throat and crams himself in, overcome.

God, god--Dean still smells like peach, his fingers juicy-sticky as he touches Sam’s cheek, his hair. “Fuck,” Sam says, digging in deeper, and Dean hiccups almost as Sam starts grinding in, not enough wet to make it easy but god, he’s tight and warm, letting Sam in. “That good? God, you feel--”

“Yeah, yeah,” Dean pants back, digging a heel into Sam’s ass, and Sam spits more wet down between them and then starts really giving it to Dean, shoving in, wild--and he starts talking too, because he never can seem to help himself and Dean loves it, anyway, goes bright red and laughs and comes faster when Sam’s telling him all the ridiculous nasty things he’s thinking, and Sam’s going hard, holding Dean’s ass up with one hand and bracing himself with the other and talking soft into Dean’s ear and smelling it, everywhere, like the whole kitchen’s full of that ancient memory, and he babbles you feel so good, you’re incredible, I want to fuck you like this all the time, god, Dean, your pussy’s perfect and Dean gasps, grabs Sam’s hair, because they’ve played with that a little before but it always drives Dean absolutely nuts--and Sam groans and leans into it, slamming him, feeling his gut curl up tight and Dean’s breath come faster, and he says yeah, yeah you like that, me talking about your pussy, god--I’m gonna come in there, cream you up, and you want it, don’t you? you want it like that, up inside, want me to get you all knocked up, get you pregnant--

“Sammy,” Dean says, clawing at Sam’s shoulder, arching up, and Sam presses his face down into Dean’s throat and hitches his ass into just the right place and the words come like from the pit of his gut, no passing his brain, no hesitation--he says, “You’re gonna be so good, Mom--” and he comes then--hard, brutal--curling forward, gasping, and Dean’s tight around him and his hands are in Sam’s hair and he’s holding him deep, warm, safe, and Sam comes back to normal brain function only slowly, and only when Dean’s stroking his shoulders, slow and soft, does Sam realize what he said.

“Jesus,” he blurts out, jerking, and Dean makes a soft ah sound as Sam twitches, still buried inside. “Jesus--sorry, I--”

“Wondered how long it’d take,” Dean says, dry, but he’s still all wrapped up around Sam and still, oh, hard--Sam didn’t take care of him, god--and Sam starts to shift up, away, but Dean holds him, keeps his head down tight against his shoulder. Sam braces, curled over, awkward now that he’s not wound up with his dick doing the thinking. “Sammy.”

He closes his eyes. “Sorry.”

Dean flicks the back of his head. “Quit it.” Sam licks his lips. Dean pets his hair back, gentle like he still is, sometimes. “You been thinking about that, huh? New level of freaky, even for us, you know.” It’s surprisingly quiet and nonjudgmental, considering. Sam shifts, his dick still half-hard. “What’ve you been coming up with in that massive noggin? What--me all barefoot in the kitchen? Your little wife?”

“Not exactly,” Sam says, mortified, and Dean hums thoughtfully and then squeezes Sam’s hips between his thighs, and then he picks up Sam’s head from his shoulder and presses a kiss against his forehead, soft, and that’s--

“It’s okay, Sammy,” Dean says, easy, and his face is bright red but he--he gets it, all the way, because Dean always knows what Sam wants when it comes to this even if Sam’s too fucked-up about it to say it, has known ever since that first time when Sam was torn up with wanting him and Dean said fuck this and dragged Sam’s head down to kiss him, the night unfurling with possibility around them. Dean smiles at him, soft, and tucks Sam’s hair behind his ears, and he says, impossibly he says: “I’ve got you, baby. Let’s finish up and I’ll make you some dinner, okay? Whatever you want.”

Sam’s mouth feels dry. “Mac and cheese,” he says, brainless, hardening up again, and Dean half-laughs, nods, says, “Sure thing,” and Sam pushes up and kisses him, grateful, and Dean holds him, safe.

[ruffled-serpent]

Nethke’s Lair Review

@the-belows-128375​  You’re up, friend!

To start I want to say that right off the bat I noticed that you seem to have a soft spot for guardians! They’re quite excellent dragons, so I understand the sentiment. And also I enjoy how you seem to have a nice, organized biography template that you use for dragons that have lore. The templates you use are legible, and a great reference for both quick refreshers on the dragon’s personality and good for deep diving into their lore. First up, your namesake

Nethke

I like the wild ride of a backstory you gave Nethke, going from abandoned egg, to loner, to slave, and finally ending up in a welcoming home is such a great direction to take this dragon. What I particularly adore about the aesthetics of this dragon is you found a way to incorporate the reds of her tertiary into a nice gradient that shifts into pinks accomplished by your chosen accent and halo. The blues of the cloak mesh nicely with the secondary color AND gene. Excellent work all around in making this genone work so well

Nothing

Nothing really caught my eye due to her name, so I had to click to see if she had some juicy lore. I was rewarded because her lore is incredibly captivating. I personally love shade-related lore, and Nothing is such an interesting way to do just that. I really resonate with the quote in her bio that reads: ”That feeling when you're halfway through a really delicious thing, and you're like "should I finish this?" and you're physically full, but then you're like, "I'm eating this anyways"” because what a dang mood. As for aesthetics, I want to compliment you on your use of matching her browns with the garb and her eyes with the cloak. I imagine you chose her for the muted colors, wanting her to be a shade-touched dragon, and by golly you’ve done a great job with her.

BloodMixer

The whole ebonhide estate tab has me super intrigued, but BloodMixer drew me in on aesthetics alone. He is SUCH a handsome looking dragon. The way you’ve matched the celebration sage with the gold opal is utterly satisfying. The way his ice eyes blend in to look like just another star involved with the StarCon combo is quite lovely. His familiar, the harvest hardshell is such an excellent match as well, with the deeper oranges and tan of the cornucopia matching not only with the dragons own orange range them but with the little Olive wreath apparel as well. A subtle detail that didn’t go unnoticed here :)

Yaremka

Yaremka is such an excellent use of the festival skin, but what I most admire about the way you’ve dressed her is your use of the luminous sundrapes to frame her wings SO nicely. The small empty space is still visually pleasing, and if anything were to fill it, it would probably make the dragon look too busy. What an excellent light representative all around! I also enjoy the feisty wildclaw nature that comes out in her lore.

Firestarter

although not as dressed up as some other dragons I want to talk about how much I LOVE firestarter’s look. I’m not sure if you were going for this angle, but the use of terracotta ghost makes his ribs look like I’m peering into the grate of a furnace. It so wonderfully matches the grating on the banner as well. This dragon literally represents a furnace and I’m absolutely here for this aesthetic

Pandoriax

Pandoriax’s accent goes SO well with facet and opal. It brings in nice flashes of purple which lets the eye wander around the whole dragon which guides the viewer to admire the whole dragon. The wisps and the gloomwillow guide is an excellent combination here and their bright blues mesh well with the accent and the opal gene. Pandoriax is a stunning and beautiful dragon.

Marlowe

Marlowe’s aesthetics really nail down the whole “light dragon accepted into Earth culture” theme. Marlowe’s lore is so amazingly detailed. I love how as a dragonling you’ve given him a lisp and how you illustrated him correcting his lisp overtime. That is such a small, but fantastic detail that just makes the whole piece seem so full. Speaking of full, Marlow looks like he’s filled with gems. The opal gene and the earth halo combined with the gold from his accent is SUCH a fantastic way to bring out the Earth aesthetic. He is such an entertaining dragon to not only look at, but to read about as well

Wistala

Wistala is such a sparkly dragon. I really like how you’ve used the accent to match her tertiary color and her crystal facet genes. The purple gradient also works nicely together with the browns in her apparel, and I like how you matched the white cloth from the gem thief with the map kit. I also rather enjoy how you incorporated her cat into her lore :) a very well put together dragon!

Beautiful Dreamer

There are so many things I like about this dragon. As far as looks, I like the accent paired with the poison primary. The color matching is so spot on. I also really like how he is a dream specialist, and how that can easily tie into his smoke gene. I love it when genes are integrated with lore, and Dreamer’s a fantastic example of it. Speaking of lore, I adore Baku’s involvement in Dreamer’s life, and I’m glad you gave such a cool dragon a happily ever after.

A Practical Heart

right off the bat, A Practical Heart is such a romantic looking dragon. The reds of his accent, flowers, and coat only emphasize the passion, and while this dragon doesn’t have lore in his bio, it almost isn’t needed to at least assume to motive behind his design. I like the small amount of mystery we get from having his eyes covered by the hat. The storytelling done with just his outfit is commendable

A Practical God

I’m sensing a theme here with the names, and honestly I love it. It’s such an intriguing mechanic. So, with A Practical God, I like how you’ve use the skincent to turn the dragon into a ghostly shadow god. The skull and antlers really bring home that “old god” type aesthetic while the magic cards are a good visual storytelling on what we can expect his powers to be. Another great visually based dragon

Practical Bones

I get a witch doctor kind or a vulture culture kind of vibe from this dragon. I can appreciate the raven armor and the birdskull apparel pieces as a part of this dragons collection or aesthetic. I’ve always admired how the raven armor gives dragons an entirely armored leg, and I particularly enjoy the layering you did here with the wingsilks. Sometimes it can be hard working with blacks in regards to apparel because of the differing tones, but you handled that very well in this greyscale themed dragon.

Forgemaker

The use of the skincent and crucible here is just so dang flawless. It almost looked like the crucible was part of the skin until I realized the smoke was definitely a part of an apparel item. The whites involved in this dragon remind me of fallen ash, and work so well with a fire-themed dragon. And while Forgemaker doesn’t have much lore, the small bit in his bio is very telling. Defecting to the Other Power is so ominous and hints so something much larger.

Bayer

Bayer is such an amazing looking arcane dragon. From deep purples to light pinks you’ve worked with such a great range in both Bayer’s genetic colors and apparel items. I love that you’ve chosen a dragon with a dark primary, it brings out all the other details of his apparel and genes that would be washed out if it were any brighter. Everything flows so nicely here, what an intelligent design and inspiration.

Rumple

For Rumple, everything also flows nicely here. The secondary gene you’ve picked for him goes perfectly with the electricity of the stormclaws. I love how close the robin/cyan colors match. Given that he’s the engineer of the estate, you’ve pictured his skill of tinkering well with the steampunk gloves, circuit accent, and again the stormclaws. His spines match so well with the vest, and while not perfectly matched the dark colors do go hand in hand with the lead wings. Lastly, the Sentry Squawker as his familiar is such a great way to drive home the engineering theme you’ve created for him.

Nethke, from your lair I feel like I’ve learned a great deal about visual storytelling. And with dragons that you’ve written lore for, it feels full and enriching. Nothing feels like it’s too much or overdone. Thank you for letting me review your lair!

[rogueshipagogo]

ppl have been asking me my opinions on space channel 5 vr... and i guess since i bought a vr headset off craigslist just so i could play it and speedrun it before work the day it came out... i should talk abt it now... i dont rly think i’ll be able to separate it into ‘good’ and ‘bad’ things i think i’m just going to do a rambly stream of consciousness bc i have a headache... but i DO have good things to say abt this game... so st.... sta stay t tune  d

right off the bat, the thing i appreciate most abt this game- i like that space channel 5 vr doesnt have cash grab vibes. i Do genuinely believe that they Wanted to make this game For the people who are still obsessed with it, and that they ultimately did what they set out to do when they intended to scale certain aspects of the series up conceptually to match the way the fandom perceives it nowadays. but like i’ve said before... i’m not going to Disagree with the very common conclusion that it Needed to be longer, or at Least more intricate plot-wise. one of my fun and fresh excuses for sc5vr being as short as it is is because you arent really supposed to be playing vr games for too long anyways, its really disorienting and kinda painful, but even that doesn’t account for why so much of the game that we got is a rehash of old settings, concepts, songs, and characters. [i dont even have a problem with reusing old songs, i just think the ones they chose ended up being misleading]

for example i think it makes sense that the first report is a remake of the first games first report on the surface, it’s meant to take you back to the way the first game felt and give you an idea of what it means that the games classic scenery can be rendered in actual high quality detail now [same with the recurrence of events like encountering the space pirates in the asteroid belt/the last battle against a villain being singing to it about what it’s done wrong], but i really thought, like, report 1 was going to end up being a simulated scenario for the benefit of lou and kee’s training... which i dont think ended up being the case??? i think they really did write ‘ok here you are in the first game’s setting again, fighting the old enemies again, because... :^) ok have fun playing report 2!’

and then whats report 2... you fight another old boss from the first game... but theres Still no clear villain or motivation for anything thats happening... and there wont be until like... basically the end of the game...

like, glitter is a really cute character, but its kind of underwhelming that shes just a random citizen who was kidnapped by an entity that we NEVER LEARN ANYTHING ABOUT... like part 1 was extremely notable for being about corporate greed and corruption, part 2 honestly wasnt that political in comparison but at least made you do a think wrt purge’s motivation and his methods, and this game just has a plot device that feels like it’ll do smth but then ends up not doing anything beyond what we already learned about it from the information on its character bio before the game was out. if it turns out that cell x is actually relevant again in a future entry in the franchise and they do have a more developed concept for what cell x Is in mind, i’ll do an entire backflip, but for now its just chalked up to being the result of More Space Hijinks that dont need to be explained

ESPECIALLY WITH ALL OF THE ALLUSIONS TO CELL X BEING AN ENTITY THAT FEEDS OFF OF DANCE ENERGY... it had me thinking that there would have to be some New Method of fighting it off that didn’t just lend it more power in the process, but nah apparently just tacking on the disclaimer ‘*this dance energy is not for glitter’ is enough to turn it from smth it can consume for power into big attacks you can use to kill it... like honestly it sounds like im asking for a lot from a game that has Never made too much sense, but considering that in part 2 they could add details like ‘oh didnt you know purge can open pocket dimensions? ulala is capable of manifesting tangible dance energy and the only other person who can do that is purge???’, its not like they havent come up with weird new shit for dance energy to do within the plot before. they just didnt do it in this game fsr

like did anyone else think that cell x/glitter was going to be the result of tossing purge out into deep space and him encountering the sc5 universe’s equivalent of an eldritch alien creature, smth more bestial than morolians?? even if purge wasnt part of it, when you say ‘uh oh, this guy Eats this society’s only source of energy!!!’ i expect the stakes to get HIGH, and i want the ramifications of it to be kinda STARTLING, because blank wanted money and purge wanted to ritualistically end the world but something this near to an ecological disaster that would force an entire paradigm shift hasn’t occurred yet in the series?? its totally new!!! there’s a lot they could do with this but OH DONT WORRY ABOUT IT EVERYONE ulala knows how to make dance energy kill cell x instead of feed it she’s got this we’re good no need to investigate more into all that

i can’t explain why the game is like this. and i dont expect grounding to address it in any meaningful way either. i’m sure they’re Aware of these complaints by now- the game reviewing community has Not been kind to sc5vr specifically due to all of these shortcomings [i didnt even touch on the issues with motion sensing and how many of the games mechanics were removed in favor of smth presumably easier to program yet much less satisfying, like Secret Moves just being mini quicktime events and Turning Your Ratings Into Stars just being replaced with the standard Three Strikes You’re Out method of scoring], but the pr team still seems very enthusiastic abt the game and is still promising dlc and potentially even more games in the series after this one- heres hoping that they’ll at least take these grievances to heart and consider making the experience not only more accessible [aka it will... go back to being a rhythm game with controller input.... and not... an exclusive vr experience...], but also as immersive and detailed as the old games, with less reused plot beats. i can let some of it off the hook in this game simply because i’m aware that it began its life as a tech demo that was only supposed to be that initial first report from the first game But Happening All Around You!, but i Really dont think they could get away with doing this little to expand upon the groundwork set by the first two games again. not with the way people remember part 2 being such a vast upgrade from part 1... the bar had been set so high that this just felt like a huge backslide into something even sillier and harder to take seriously than part 1 before we had any idea what kind of staying power the franchise would have as a hallmark of sega’s quirky antics. like... this game is what i think space channel 5 looks like to people who don’t understand the appeal of the first two games. and that scares me

but i guess for the most part, aside from wishing they had done more to revitalize the setting and the lore of the sc5 universe itself, im kind of glad it didnt do a lot to change the existing storylines the characters have kinda forged for themselves- here i was stressing out that they would pull out some plot development that would utterly and drastically change the way we talked abt the series for the rest of time, but so little happened and so little was added to the bank of sc5 lore that we can kind of all just carry on as usual and keep having the same headcanons we always had.

BUT!!! there ARE a lot of cute little details here and there that make the experience feel wholesome and like i said not an utter cashgrab- like so many of the character profiles referencing previous games [all of the references to npcs in this game being relatives of the npcs of the last games made me lose it] and how often ulala changes her expressions up and looks right at you and talks to you. the new music they wrote for the game also all slaps and everyones redesigns [if they got a redesign... rip pudding] are stunning

one of the most important things they did in this game was give a nice sort of Update to every character.... for example explaining that ulala isn’t a rookie reporter any more like she was in the first 2 games, that she’s moved up to being in charge of training new channel 5 reporters, and that while pudding is still somewhat stuck on her rivalry with ulala her career isn’t stagnant either, she was just cast in a romcom series as the lead... which is really nice considering how in the past she was portrayed as somewhat of a loser with almost no remaining fans left from her idol years

and you knew i was going to bring up jaguar at some point HES ALL OVER THIS GAME AND IT LITERALLY MADE ME FEEL LIKE MY LIFE WAS WORTH POWERING THROUGH THESE LAST FEW YEARS AND ALSO LIKE IM A GENIUS FOR SPENDING SO LONG POSTING EVERY SINGLE DAY ‘NO REALLY, HE’S THE SECONDARY PROTAGONIST OF THE STORY, ITS ABOUT CHANNEL 5 AS A COMPANY AND THEIR IMPACT ON EVERYONE WHO HAS EVER ENCOUNTERED THEM AND THAT INCLUDES JAGUAR AS WELL AS ULALA HES INTEGRAL TO THE PLOT BC SHE WOULDNT BE ALIVE IF IT WEREN’T FOR HIM’ i feel like it’s really incredible how in this game he has genuinely nice energy and doesnt withhold praise from ulala just to be helpful in a mysterious way later and he like HAS FRIENDS now. like consider how he went from disgraced former ch5 employee who got mad every time he saw them, to kidnapped robot henchman kinda humbled by the fact that now the turns tabled and ulala had to rescue Him, and now 3 years later his bio is all about how he has a new tv show thats super popular and he has a new entourage of ladies who he considers his '’’’’’comrades’’’’’’’ within the station he founded??? AND AFTER 20 YEARS THEY WERE FINALLY ABLE TO GIVE HIS MODEL JUICY ASS CHEEKS??????????????? NO MORE PANCAKE BOOTY???? THE BOY HAD A GLOWUP AND NO I WONT STOP TALKING ABOUT IT

WHEN I SAY MEOW MATCH THE POSE MOTHERFUCKERS THIS BLONDE BASTARD GETS TO BE IN CHARGE OF THE HUNDRED STAGE BATTLE NOW TOO THIS IS THE YEAR OF THE SPACE PIRATES BAYBEE

[busan]

opinions on the new christmass stuff?

RIME

are you fucking kidding me, do they understand what they have done for gravityhacker?? anyway they didn't cover his face OR his toesies so this skin is up to my standards. he does look pretty fucking ugly, but that is also up to my standards. also..tummy window? smh im done wit dis horny design (the spray and icon are....ok)

UGLY SWEATER: 76

this skin is so fucking good... this has to be my second favorite skin in the whole game tbqfh,,,and the spray is absolutely 🤘😤🤘...... but they 100% could've done better with the icon, hate the icon

HOLLY

im gonna be real with you people for a moment here..why the freak do they keep making such ugly decisions for moira skins?? scientist is a great skin, but it should have been an epic,, and holly & éireannach should just be not so fucking ugly. the only thing i like about holly is the little bow on her tits. that's it. the skin's color scheme is a terrible match with her purple juicy juice, it just looks too confusing (just like éireannach). this is really annoying bc it wouldn't be a bad skin if they didn't just throw everything together like that. the green hair, the reds and golds. smh, so disappointing. very cute spray, and the icon is pretty good.

SNOW ANGEL

god what a fucking boring design. if you like this, happy for you, but god damn am i snoring just looking at.........cute spray, stupid icon. god what a letdown.

JÖTUNN

this skin is so fucking smexy. i can't tell you how many hours of skyrim i played wishing that my character would just get railed by a draugr. i understand jötunn isn't exactly a draugr, but i will ignore that. anyway his toes are visible, his meaty thighs are visible, his tits, his arm, his abs and most of his back are visible. saying this, i really love this horny design. i like the spray,, i wonder what he will eat (seriously, wtf is he doing in the spray? yawning? idk)..the icon is p great 🤷🏻‍♂️

MOUNTAIN MAN

i get a TERRIBLE vibe from mountain man. idk what it is about this skin that screams dangers, but it's there. is it the furry hand? the fox cape? the fact that i can't tell if he's wearing cowboy boots under the 5 pounds of yeti hair? i just don't know. so um.....,,,, i love this skin. maybe not more than scrooge, but old fuck mccree is pretty great. i also really like that his burlap tunic and pants accentuate his curves, very horny of blizzard to include that. and before i forget, wtf does his belt buckle mean?? what is a bafm/baem???? spray is very very good and the icon is awful. for what reason did they decide to make his hair piss-stained in the icon

RAT KING

i love this skin!!!!!!!! i love it!!!!!!!! the cape, the crown, the red misty eyes, the ears, the gold, the jewels, the stripes on his puffy sleeves, the weird quilt thing that is strapped to his legs & dingding, the shotguns!!!!!! the shotguns!!!!!!! fuck!!!! the shotguns are so good!!!!!!!!!!!my only qualm is that the boots are fucking weird..and maybe the vest is kinda ugly-- but this skin is easily being deemed my favorite reaper skin. spray is pretty great! the mask looks kind of off in the spray, but i like it nonetheless. the icon is v nice, it's what i'll have equipped until new year.

EMOTES

both emotes are fantastic. i love the signing, i love the question behind who regifted the robot. was it zarya that gave it to her? maybe it's a running joke between some of the overwatch kids, that they keep regifting that stupid robot to one another? idk, give me the unnecessary lore behind these things.

VICTORY POSES

detail is always key, and they did a pretty damn good job detailing these. hammond be lookin cute as always, lucio got that big smile with his orange slices and cinnamon and star anise (so very extra of him), and ofc sym has to be holding a coaster for her fancy little cup. im very happy with these!!!!

MEI'S FESTIVE HIGHLIGHT INTRO

my thought process when seeing it: kinda cute, kinda like the idea, kinda boring, kinda hate it. it's kinda just ok.

VOICELINES & SPRAYS

sigma has a way too long VL about the one party he was ever invited to (sig we all know you bored everyone to sleep and you're probably scarred from it, stop making everyone feel awkward bro), roadhog says sweet ass, hammond kills my ears, zarya is a bit early with her new year well-wishing.. but really why tf is her new year VL included rn???? blizzard knows that they have an annual new year event, right??? anyway, it's a mixed bag of boring and good, as per usual.

the bap ornament is so fucking plain, it hurts. why is it so boring, why didn't they do anything with his ornament? whereas they gave sig's ornament so, so much detail in comparison. it also looks very creepy, it would not survive my vibe check. snowball fight is very cute, always balancing being competitive while having fun (also they detailed his asscheeks for whatever reason). a few years late for a nutcracker spray, don't you think? either way, it's a cute spray and he may crack my nuts if he so pleases. holiday surprise is very cute, why is sombra hacking the present and why is tracer so surprised by this? is it a *pretends to be shocked* situation? idk. anyway, polar bear is so fucking cute,, it is so fucking cute, it is so fucking cute. wtf it is so fucking cute hello???? snow snow snow is also cute, not as cute as the others, but i do love chunky reaper snowman with little pine trees.

[diminuel]

Supernatural 15x01 rewatch

As a warning to send you on your way; this is a long post and it’s not clearly structured. It’s a reaction and not a proper analysis/ meta. I’d love to hear your thoughts or be pointed towards your own reactions if you’re willing to share~

Okay, here we go! All under the cut!

I am fond of the smooth transition between the “THEN” and “NOW”. The summary of last season was pretty short and I had somehow expected a montage spanning all seasons, but this is better.

First of all I am confronted with the slight vagueness of the issue at hand: the doors to hell have all been opened, so any soul that wants to is free to walk the earth again. So are they ghosts or are they demons? Since they possess bodies demons would be most likely, but then they wouldn’t be cast out of a body by iron alone. Other ghosts we see later on - any ghost that’s not in the cemetary trying to eat Sam and Dean and Cas - don’t seem to need to possess a body. Neither are they in any way restricted to a particular place or object or bound by lore (White Woman, Bloody Mary... they both just kill whoever is available, not who they would usually go for due to the “rules”).

The second remarkable thing is that we get Belphegor in Jack’s place, both masking his loss but also parading it around, depending on which character he has a scene with. Belphegor, while suspicious, is also highly entertaining and even though he has no eyes he is pretty insightful. Jack’s dead and Dean comments it with “he didn’t deserve this”, but that is the height of emotion for Dean regaring Jack’s demise, at least in this episode. Dean wanted Jack to die but ultimately decided against it, but I assume his lack of emotion (or at least the lack of expression of those emotions) are a good indication that Dean’s anger at what Jack has done still overrides his paternal feelings and any sadness that Jack's death might cause him. He wanted him dead, now he’s dead, moving on to bigger issues.

How Dean deals with his own complicated feelings regarding Jack is one thing, but how he deals with Cas’ feelings is quite another. Dean shows no compassion at all for how Cas feels about Belphegor walking around in Jack’s body. But neither does Sam, not really. They instead jump at the chance of having an ally. A demon comes, possesses Jack’s body, gives them a little speech and conveniently has all the right spells just available to himself and Dean & Sam don’t even think about second guessing it? It’s like “I need angel blood :D” and when Cas hesistates Sam urges him to give his blood anyway.

Also, Sam doesn’t have a lot of scenes with the guy, it’s mostly Dean and Cas being shown to have very different reactions and that’s pretty telling too considering Dean and Cas have been established to be Jack’s parents more than Sam has lately. 

While Dean is pretty unperturbed and cracking jokes like calling Belphegor Crowley Jr. (I’d call him Babybel but to each their own), Castiel went from anger at him possessing Jack to a heart-broken admittal that he can’t even look at Belphegor, something that doesn’t even seem to cross Dean’s mind as a possibility? He lets Cas go without berating him for it, so at least it gave him to think a bit and he didn’t default to not letting Cas have emotions about it.

Belphegor has a reaction to the Equalizer, so I assume there might be something coming featuring that kill everything suicide gun. Belphegor probably knows more than he lets on, who knows if he’s even from our version of the Sam and Dean story, but we’ll probably see. The scene showing the gun in Belphegor’s presence was there for a reason and we’re bound to see what it’ll become.

Belphegor commenting on how gorgeous Dean is (and then later on how much he admires him as an artist) is just so funny to me. Kind of uncomfortable of course because it sounds like Belphegor is flirting and the dude is possessing Dean’s kid *lol* Generally, Belphegor is our big question mark of the episode. Is he who he claims to be? What is his goal exactly? Helping the Winchesters to put things back into hell seems far-fetched but not exactly impossible. 

But, I must now comment on one of the high lights of the episode for me. Dean, Cas and Belphegor are in the impala alone. Belphegor witnesses Cas share that he cannot even look at Belphegor. I’m pretty sure Jack made the demon news too, but Belphegor still asks about his meatsuit, which then reveals an interesting, juicy bit that warms every Destiel shipper’s heart. Dean says that Jack was “our” kid. Now, imagine you’re Belphegor and you get that piece of information after having just witnessed a tense moment between Dean and Cas. Who is “our”? Considering that Belphegor knows that Sam and Dean are brothers and he has seen how Cas acts around him, he inevitably must interpret “he was our kid” to mean Dean and Castiel’s. Especially since everyone in hell seems to know that Dean and Cas are “attached”. I’m just waiting for Belphegor to comment on Dean and Cas’ failing marriage.

But hey, back to the plot! I wonder what the Equalizer wound does. In all honesty we don’t even know for sure what the Equalizer does, because it certainly wasn’t the only thing that could kill Jack. Maybe its goal was to purge Jack out of the story since he, in theory, could be a thread to the whole cardhouse structure of the multiverse that is Chuck’s AO3 profile of not beta read variations of the same story (like Metatron said, Chuck posted the first draft). When Jack was born he created rifts into different worlds - the abandoned drafts existing parallel to their own - and he had impacted other worlds, killed players from different universes (well, not that this was the first time this happened, Meta Misha anyone? Poor guy) and could destroy it all. Chuck doesn’t mind losing one story. There are countless more, but having Jack mess up all of them, especially the ones Chuck likes to observe? That would suck. So if that was something the Equalizer was meant to prevent, balacing all the other universes out there, then maybe Sam now accidentally became a portal/ door to other worlds. The fact that we saw a different Sam, heard a different Dean seems to imply this. 

Well, that’s just speculation because it could also be that Sam, having accidentally forged a connection with Chuck due to their common wound, could simply see things - the future, different versions that Chuck is currently invested in. In any case, I’m very excited about that, seeing different versions of Team Free Will is my jam.

And while I’m speaking of things that are my jam? I must mention Cas’ flat “You shot me”. So good. I always wonder why that doesn’t happen more often in close ghost combat when shotguns are involved. Luckily Cas can’t get hurt *lol* 

But... why can a ghost hurt a demon and why can a ghost get a hold of Cas? These ghosts generally do weird things but I assume that might be because they’ve been to hell for a while and are on their way to become demons? But that brings us back to the question I asked initially and I guess we’ll see more of that in the next episode.

And now, the other DeanCas scene. It doesn’t exactly qualify as a conversation but it’s there and it’s still meaningful. Why did Dean get out of the car, why did he approach Cas, why did he ask? The way he cuts any conversation short beyond the quick affirmation that Cas isn’t hurt, Dean shows that he doesn’t want to talk, doesn’t want to hear anything from Cas. Belphegor picks up on the rejection it is meant to be. It is kinda awkard, it is kind of cruel. Dean knows how Cas is struggling with the situation, at least when it gets to Belphegor but Dean is clever enough to know how much Cas is hurting because of Jack’s death. But Dean allows no grief, no expression of it, which I think is cruel... And it’s not necessary. Even if Dean is angry at Cas still (obviously) that doesn’t mean that he gets to decide to not let Cas be sad about the death of their child. (But Dean has done that before, when Charlie died and Sam apologized to her while they gave her a hunter’s funeral, Dean decided that Sam didn’t get to say anything, because he was at fault. It makes Dean seem so self-righteous, deciding who can or cannot be sad and in what shape they are allowed to express their grief.) Cas has shown in S14 and now again that he wants to talk, he wants to tackle the issue as a family. He never rejected Dean’s sadness, anger and grief - it was Sam that held him back, it was Dean who decided to cry alone in the woods even though Cas would have been there for him.

And Cas isn’t even angry at Dean, which is something that I expected. I wonder if that will continue this way; with Cas having plenty of reasons to be upset with Dean, but only ever taking the rejection Dean heaps on him, accepting that Dean doesn’t grant him the right to voice his own grief, without ever speaking up about it. Just... it’s unfair?

By the way, Sam continues to remove himself from the entire issue. He has very little to offer in terms of reactions to Jack’s death, he has nothing to offer in terms of comfort for Cas, presents no grief for either Cas or Dean to comment on and in turn get to show glimpses of their own struggling. And he too takes no responsibility at the current moment for the situation, no apology offered to Cas regarding his involvement in the “kill Jack” mission... Which is disappointing as well but not super unexpected either. Maybe it’ll come later, but as with Dean, Cas doesn’t seem to hold any anger so far.

I did like the ending. From what some interviews stated I had expected Sam and Dean to struggle with having God as the one who wrote their entire lives a lot more. But they’re doing fine so far...

All in all, a good episode. Throwing Belphegor into the mix created some very interesting situations and having him there means that he - as an outsider - gets to poke at things that interests us too, like the focus on the Dean - Cas drama. He comments on it for us, gets Cas to speak up in ways he probably wouldn’t if there was only Jack’s corpse around. So I’m pleased. :D

[jlf23tumble]

Hi! Loved ALL your fic recs!! Do you read girl direction fics? And if so what are your favourites?

LISSSSSTEN, I love rec’ing fic, come ask me for fic recs all day long, my god, you don’t even know. I’ve read some great girl direction fic, but definitely not as much as I’ve read boy direction (sadly, I think that’s down to content in general, there’s just more boy direction than anything else). THAT SAID, I have faves, and I’ve asked some of my faves for their faves, too, so we’ve got you covered, bb! This got kind of long, so I’ll pull it under the cut…fingers crossed, ratcha fratcha, mobile version! 

Updated to say check out @girldirectionfest and @hlgirldirectionfics!!

Let’s start with objectlesson, aka @alienfuckeronmain, and maybe you’ve read ‘em already, but go read them again! I’m only slightly biased because I did the beta job on these, lol, but I also think one of the truly undersung themes in Phoenix’s girl direction work is the tremendous amounts of body positivity in all of ‘em):

The Daisy Chain series, 20k words total, 2 parts, E. Ten minutes later, an awkward, long-legged, curly-haired, so pale she’s reflective, and so obviously gay-looking Harry Styles is sitting shotgun next to Louis in a bikini, denim cut-offs, and heart-framed sunnies. (P’s first girl direction, and it’s so sweet and pure and PUBETASTIC in a way that anyone who’s ever worn a too-small bathing suit will instantly get)

Dream About That Casual Touch, 7.6k Words, E. And that was the first thing Louis noticed about her. Not her nipples, or not only her nipples, anyway, but the fact that she was so confident with her body and didn’t seem to care that her tits were sort of soft and floppy and uneven or that she had a little roll of pudge around her hips that poked over the top of her jeans when she wore crop tops. (A story of two terrible, fucked up dates before finally getting it right)

From Now Until Forever, 9k words, E. The girls go to Britney Nite and Louis wears Juicy track pants and Harry is not ok. (This one is borderline crack fic but only because it’s so fucking FUN, like, you can practically see the outfits, but it still has a tremendous amount of heart/emotion/heat)

In the Heat of the Night, 7.7k words, E. Louis is the only butch in London with a truck and Harry needs to move a couch. (Give this girl a trope like bed-sharing, and she will take it to the NEXT LEVEL)

Diamonds in the Moonlight, 16k words, M. The 70s au where Harry is a rich girl stuck in the suburbs who thinks she loves Shaun Cassidy, and Louis is the skater who breaks into her backyard and changes everything forever. (I dare you to read this and not immediately visualize a tender coming-of-age movie, like, it literally unfolds in your mind’s eye, it’s so VISUAL)

Holy, 6.6k words, E. Louis wants to eat burgers and smoke weed and be twenty three. She wants to wake up with Harry and spend the whole day in bed fingering each other because they finally don’t have to have goddamn acrylic nails for once. She wants to grow her pubes out. She wants to lounge around in a posh, red-velvet High Hefner robe. (One of the rare canon ones, and it’s so fucking good, maybe my fave? I imagine this very much WOULD BE girl Louis)

What a Heavenly Way to Die, 8k words, E. She’s thought about it a lot, and two big things seem to be holding her back, aside from the uncontrollable paralysis that overtakes her body every time she so much as tries to sneak a hand under the waistband of Harry’s knickers. (Another canon one, X Factor era)

Dreaming of a True Love’s Kiss, 17k words, E. Zayn is a no-nonsense career lady and Niall is the literal Disney Princess who uproots her life (and also teaches her a thing or two about birdhouses, and love). (Honestly, so sweet and cute and who knew we all needed ziall enchanted???) 

I Must Confess (I Still Believe), 44k words, M. Harry is the new girl at an all girl Catholic Girl’s School, and Louis is the unattainable, dashing senior who changes her forever. (The author notes on this one still break my heart, aggressive sighing)

…and this one isn’t strictly girl direction, but it’s girls around One Direction, and it’s so brilliant, my god: Snakes and Stones, 1.4k, E. If you call a girl a snake enough, sometimes she becomes one. Her legs lengthen and fuse, her pupils shrink to slits.

Next up, Blake, aka @newleafover. They haven’t written too much girl direction (at least compared to their fantastic boy direction work), but what they’ve done is outstanding (as per usj):

Something in the way she mooooves, 11.4k words, M. Harry is a veterinary science student who’s failing all her science classes and a softball-playing lesbian who runs away from the ball. She chose her major because of her love of cows. She joined the softball team because of Louis. (Do I have a soft spot for this one because it takes place where I went to school? Maybe so! It’s a great read to boot!!)

The Ballet Direction series, 22.9k words, 3 parts, M/E/T.  Harry is invited to practise her Snow Queen solo in a post-class rehearsal with Louis Tomlinson, who is only the most beautiful, charming, talented ex-Sugar Plum Fairy in the whole world. (There are about 25 things to love in this series, and it was such a sweet one to work on!!!!)

I’m putting the rest of my recs here in no particular order, and they aren’t necessarily my top picks by each author, but each author has written a lot of amazing girl direction stories, so I suggest reading their latest ones below and diving deeper:

The Changer and the Changed, @homosociallyyours, 59k words, E. It’s the spring of 1977 and Harry Styles has just moved to New York City after graduating college. She knows she’s a lesbian. She just needs to figure out how to meet other lesbians.

lend me your thoughts, @pattern-pals, 9.9k words, E. Louis and Harry approach sexual discomfort by fantasising about being watched.

Kiss the Girl, @hazzabeeforlou, 48k words, E. Featuring girl love, ancient rituals, sea lore, and perhaps the most beautiful treasure in the entire ocean.

Make the Yuletide Gay, @flowercrownfemme​, 9.7k words, T. A Christmas In Connecticut AU in which Louis is a mommy blogger, Harry is a pop star, and nobody’s really what they seem. Featuring a lot of lying, tons of domesticity, some badly faked heterosexuality, and a few Christmas kisses.

all down your shoulders and back, eleadore, 5.3k words, E. Non AU. Harry and Louis are cisgirls. Everything else is more or less the same.

Massive shoutout to Kim and Phoenix for rec’ing me their faves; anyone tagged here, jump in and recommend more if you want!

[the-jellicle-duelist]

Ryan’s Top 10* Video Games of 2019

I don’t write blog posts but it’s time for Video Game Top 10 Lists for 2019 and I have no where good to put it! So congrats tumblr you get it. I’ll also tweet about it but in a much smaller scale. Anyways if you don’t care that’s fine! But if you do! It’s under that read more baby!!

*there’s always more than 10

First, some honorable mentions.

Dragon Quest 1 

Dragon Quest 1 is the oldest JRPG (I won’t check if this is true) and I finally got around to it this year when it come out on Switch. The nice thing about Dragon Quest 1 is that it is masterful in its simplicity: you are one person. You fight one monster at a time. You go to one town at a time (mostly). You are on one quest (again, mostly). There’s only a few handfuls of anything like weapons, items, spells, monsters. They all work really well in concert with each other, and the package as a whole is this cozy, comfy less than 20 hour JRPG experience that I really enjoyed.

Best MMO I Refused to Get Addicted to in 2019

Final Fantasy XIV

I sure did hear a lot about Final Fantasy XIV this year. From podcasts to people just talking about it on twitter it seemed to be in the cultural zeitgeist this year. I downloaded the client and put about 15 hours into the base game. If I would have had the right combination of time/money/depression at that time I know I would have gotten deep into it. I’m fine that I didn’t, I think. But the potential was there.

Okay list time here we go:

10. Baba is You

Baba is You is this a coding game? You’re manipulating verbs that are represented by blocks, and pushing them next to noun blocks, to make the objects in the world do things, so that you can get Baba to touch the win object, usually a key. It’s great fun! It got really difficult around the third world and I had to put it down but boy did I like messing around. There were several wonderful “YOOOOO” type moments, and the puzzles when you solved them were great for making you feel very cool and smart. 

9. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is From Software doing From Software shit in a way I wanted to like way more but ultimately it’s Here on this list. I liked Sekiro fine but it didn’t click with me like Dark Souls 3 or Bloodborne has in the past. The best parts of Sekiro for me were nailing difficult and tight blocking windows, which gave me an absolute rush every single time. I only got to what I assume was about half way through the game, so I don’t know if this changes later, but for a From game where the bosses were for the most part A Person, the boss encounters were interesting and varied. Also the world design was stunning.

8. Dragon Quest Builders 2

Dragon Builders 2 rules, first off. I wanted to put it higher on this list but I think it fell short because it was so heavily iterative and didn’t do a whole lot to progress itself from the first game. But, there were several quality of life improvements, and there was a big cool area to build in that was permanent and part of the story. I think if they added some more cool things, and made the dialogue not be such a slog to get through, this could have been way higher up on this list.

7. Kingdom Hearts 3

God, Kingdom Hearts 3. I was convinced for about 7 years that KH3 would not only never come out, but it would keep getting bad handheld games until I died. But they finally did it, they made the thing. It felt like a PS3 game which is the wildest thing. (It probably was a PS3 game for a while). It was very fun to play mechanically; the part of KH that was always pretty good was the action RPG stuff. The story is bad tho! The reasons you go to the different world’s is the thinnest it’s ever been, and there’s almost no real lore until the last two hours where you get all of it at once. KH3 was clunky, but I still liked swinging the keyblade and shooting fireballs.

6. Judgment

Shout outs to Judgment: I own it. I never played it. It is number 6 on my list. This probably says more about how I felt overall about games this year than it does about Judgment. Judgment comes from the Yakuza studio, and by all accounts it was so close to that vein, that I am confident and comfortable putting it at this number 6 spot without having ever launching the game. I have second hand accounts that it slaps, and will do for me everything Yakuza does for me, which is fine. I just ran out of time. 

5. MiSTer FPGA

I love MiSTer. Wow do I love MiSTer. It’s got everything: old games, tinkering, assembling parts. If you are unaware of the MiSTer device, it’s a custom FPGA board with add-on boards, that developers have written Cores for classic consoles that all run in this FPGA environment. As opposed to emulators, an FPGA as I understand it is mimicking real hardware and then running games ontop of it. It’s a great device, and plays the things it plays (NES, SNES, Master System, Genesis, Game Gear, Gameboy, Gameboy Color, Gameboy Advance, NeoGeo, loads of Arcade games,and more) really well. I have really enjoyed playing games on it, and tinkering with it this year. I spent a lot of my time this year with it. 

4. Slay the Spire

This is where the list starts to get Real. Wow does Slay the Spire rule! Holy shit. Rogue like, deck building, choice making, hard as fuck, big time strategy, unique characters. It’s really got everything. And it’s dense. This was absolutely my “just one more X” game this year. I put hundreds of hours into it. The way all of the cards interact with each other, the way you can really craft so many kinds of specific decks in each character, in each run, really worked for me. The ever-growing engines you could make, and the way that, even if you have a not great deck, it never feels bad. It’s one of the few rogue likes where you feel like when you’ve lost it’s your fault in a good way. It’s tuned to feel good no matter what. It’s tuned to feel tense. God Slay the Spire rules. And there’s a new character on the way? fuck.

3. Monster Hunter World: Iceborne

I loved coming back to Monster Hunter so bad y’all don’t even know. They added a ton, so many good monsters that I love to fight. Tigrex? yes. Zinogre? Yes. Velkhana? YES. The variant monsters are great, too. I just love Monster Hunter World so much. The clutch claw rips ass. This game is so good, and chunky, and feels good to play. I really mastered the bow this time around, but I started off with Hammer again because I will always have a torrent love affair with Hammer. Clutch Claw Grab with the Hammer is the best feeling you can get from video games. 

2. Pokemon Sword/Sheild

Good Pokemon games! They’re good! It was nice to go through all the motions of a new pokemon game this year: rumors, leaks, having a reaction to all the starters and their evolutions, getting my hands on it, catching them all. It’s just a good Pokemon game. It’s not the best one (Black and White still got that crown) but it’s good. And I like a majority of the new designs. I like how they culled the dex to a nice, satisfying but manageable number. Anyone who’s mad please fuck off.

1. Fire Emblem: Three Houses

WE ALL KNEW THIS WAS COMING. Anyone who follows me on twitter, you know. God where do I start. So, I played all the way through Three Houses six times. I did two runs of Golden Deer, two of Black Eagles, one Blue Lions, and one Church of Seiros. I love all of my students. This game hit hard for me for a few reasons: they did Fire Emblem again, but its bigger and there’s more moving parts. More need for spreadsheets, which is stuff that I eat up. Yum yum good. Adding an overworld even in the scope that was as small as, the Monastery School, to this Fire Emblem was a BIG risk because they have been down this road before, and have not really nailed it. But I think with Three Houses they struck a really good balance, and it never overwhelmed me. They took a big page out of Persona’s book here which did wonders for me. You have this big map and it LOOKS scary, but in reality with fast travel and the limited number of actual activities/quests, you can do everything you want very quickly. 

The thing that shined that brightest was the characters. I love them all, even the ones that aren’t cool, and even the ones that are Bad. I love all my kids. I have a lot I could say about how having all of these story routes, with their inconsistencies and their only slightly subtle variations bummed me out, but I did think if you take a macro look at the plot, this is one of the only well-written Fire Emblems ever. There was like, magic and dragons and things like this, but the thing that worked for me was their commitment to keeping the story grounded in the people that were in it? It was a story about three lands, vying for power in their own ways, and the actions/consequences that would follow. They really leaned in to the human part of it. It was not as much Kingdoms doing Politics, it was people doing things, and I think that worked for me.

Honestly the weakest parts of FE:3H was the Fire Emblem parts. The classes are just okay, and they took out a lot of the limitations of weapons/magic and so it was really a class change system about skills mastery, which I think they didn’t hit a home run here, but it was fine. And I liked doing it, clearly. The maps were a little samey in, especially in the first Part of the game. 

All of this said, FE:3H slaps so much fat juicy ass and it is absolutely my game of the year for 2019. 

[enniewritesathing]

the lore~

aka all the juicy bits about this version of lycanthropy. although, bc it’s long, I’ll split it into this and then specifically to John.

Lycanthrophy is split into 4 “grades”. Grade 1 are carriers (aka genes are not activated/dormant/latent) but have no chance to turn, but they can pass them on. In this case, John’s mom is a Grade 1. It’s unknown what grade his father was, but most likely Grade 1 as well. Grade 1 lycans typically don’t know about it until their children have gone through their first transformation. 

There are two main ways of lycanthrophy -- cursed by a witch or warlock that knows the spell or inheriting the gene from their parents. A lesser known way is through biting, but this is exclusive to Grade 4 lycans and they are rare.

John is a Grade 2 -- mostly human appearance aside from his eyes, hands, body hair, and teeth. In this case, he’d probably be refered to as “wolf-man or man-wolf”, and can still blend in with the human population in this state. Grades 3/4 are closer to the classical werewolf image.

He cannot shapeshift as a Grade 2, so he is still the same height. There’s some muscle increase but seeing that John is already this, it’s hard to tell.

However, when there’s the rare super moon eclipse, he is a Grade 3 with partial transformation for the duration of the eclipse. It’s... not good.

Lycan and werewolf are used interchangably -- werewolf being the most common term and easier to remember. Lycan is the more formal term.

Lycans have a common trigger for transformation, and that is the moon. It’s been reported that they can avoid it by not being touched by the moon’s light, not looking at it, locking themselves away for their duration or simply staying inside of their place of residence.

In John’s case, he is turned by a supermoon and not a regular full moon; a supermoon is typically 3 or 4 times a year and this makes him stay in his lycan state longer. Grade 3/4 only turn the night on the full moon. Regular full moons for John, he has a marked agitation and is sensitive to everything.

There’s also triggers unique to the lycan and far easy to stop the process. John is prone to turning from extreme emotion (anger and anxiety), so he meditates from time to time in to keep himself in check. 

Lycans are naturally carnivores, but it depends on the lycan themself. John has a marked increase in eating meat when he’s turned, but will still eat fruits and veggies. 

Other than the deer he ate, he doesn’t have a preference for ‘wild’ food. He does get those urges to ‘hunt’... he has caught a rabbit and a couple of birds.

Lycans have the ability to communicate with other animals, or at least, be very in tune with them. 

Yes, John has talked to Spaghetti. It’s not any different from what he does, but the only difference is that they can understand each other. She’s not afraid of him due to the fact she considers him as her dad (one of them anyway) and has looked after her since she was a kitten.

John loves cats as it is, and he really does when he’s turned. Most cats are confused about this until he explains the situation... but still, he respects their space. (Cats? They gossip.)

Dogs are wary of him at first until he states his friendliness (sitting on the floor and being eye level with them). 

They have a fondness for dogs and/or cats. Most likely to adopt a bunch.

A lycan’s body tempurature is higher than a human’s, so they have a penchant of wearing less clothes. For John, it’s shirtlessness, having an open shirt, or a tank top. (But really prefers not wearing a shirt).

Because lycans have heighten senses, they can also be extremely empathic to the point of being “psychic”. They can sense emotions as if they’re experiencing it. They can read “surface” thoughts and can tell if a person is lying or otherwise. 

As John said, lycans chooses their mate carefully because once they give the sacred mark, they are bonded to each other until death. If the lycan is the surviving mate, they will not seek out another one. He mentions that he skipped the courtship part of it, but that’s honestly the dating part. This can take as little as a couple of weeks to years and maybe decades. 

Lycans don’t really have a concept of sexuality, or at least the very least, they are really relaxed about it.

The relationship/bondship may not be necessarily be sexual either.

With the sacred mark on their neck, it grants the lycan’s mate life longevity and age deceleration. So, John and Brian are gonna live for a long time because of this.

Lycans of all grades can live past 120 years. If they don’t do anything stupid. Which is way easier said than done.

They are extremely protective of their mates. I mean... John killed a bear. A big grizzly bear. But they are not possessive.

Lycans are also naturally fiercesome fighters. It’s not farfetched that they participate in combat sports of all types. It’s also an excellent way to keep their aggression in check. John does Muay Thai, but he does not tap in to his lycan side.

Lycans in their human form have near-exotic eye colors, or a ultra bright version of human eye colors. John’s eyes are a striking amber. In low light, they appear to glow.

The first few times transforming is harsh on the body, but the more times a lycan turns, the better they are off, and the faster the process is. Grade 3/4 lycans can transform as fast as 30 seconds. John, after this, learns to transform within 5 minutes.

The point, the start of transformation is the heart, and then it spreads to the rest of the body. Because of that, it causes immense pain and of course, spikes the lycan’s heart rate to an dangerous rate. 

John tells Brian that his heart was stopped six times last in order for him to not transform and have his human side to take back control. This is a way, but it’s a very extreme way and it only works in a specialized controlled environment. He almost dies because of this. 

To compensate for this, lycan hearts are strong (in order to handle the transformation.)

In the notes, it describes transformation as “succumbing to the ocean’s waves.” John interprets this as a sort of meditation.

The reason there are so few lycans is a combination of calculated purges that have dwindled their population to near non-existance over the course of 500 years. 

It is not known how many remain because they’re scattered across the world and extremely elusive. Because of this, there’s no lycan social hierarchy or dynamics; and if they did exist, it wouldn’t be that rigid/strict. (Meaning, John would theorectically be an alpha... not that he’d really adhere to that. He’s not the posturing, aggressive sort.)

Personality wise, lycans do tend to be introverted as to not draw suspiscion, however, they are known to be very social.

Lycans are pretty durable, even if in their human state. 

The stories and myths about lycans stem from Grade 3/4s losing control of themselves and going feral/berserk.

Lycans are allergic to a certain amount of silver; they can still use utensils to eat with. If wounded with silver, depending on how much, the wound takes longer to heal. If shot with silver bullets, it takes two to kill them -- one to the brain and one to the heart (not necessarily in that order). Otherwise, it will severely wound them and even force the lycan to revert back to their human state.

Lycans can heal themselves if the wound isn’t mortal. The bigger it is, the more time it takes, so it can vary between a few seconds to hours, and will leave behind very faint scars. For broken bones, it takes about a day to mend.

Wolfsbane -- of all types -- smell foul to a lycan.

A lycan’s mate smells very sweet to them. (When John turns again and they’re home, he just... sniffs everything.)

They are more likely to remember a person by their scent than by their name. This is especially important when a Grade 3/4 lycan turns.

Lycans do try to be discrete about that, but curiousity tends to take over when met with new situations.

Some don’t have a sense of space. This true for John when he wants something or attention. 

The first transformation usually takes place around the age of 13. Any earlier, a lycan child may be at high risk of dying. This was true for John’s twin brother, Jacob, who turned at the age of 9. John was 11 when he first turned and nearly died. 

The week preceding turning, lycans grades 2-4 experience a fever that is initially low grade (~100.4F) then turns to high grade (103F+).

Depending on the grade (or themself), a lycan does not wear clothing during turning, or at least something that can stretch with their body in order to not rip their clothing (usually spandex for modesty). Clothing feels very abrasive on their skin as well (which is why John tore his off).

Lycans... do howl, but this is more of a Grade 3/4 thing. John has howled before but it’s very soft and low. It’s like a “woooooo”sound. Certain noises do set them off though.

They do share a lot of their behaviors with dogs. Grade 2 lycans can disguise it as quirks, but it is noticable. (for example, when Brian asks a question that starts with “Do you wanna...?” and John immediately perks up.)

Of course, they are naturally hairy and not exclusive to a lycan’s gender. Some prefer to groom and some prefer to rock it. 

Lycans make excellent cuddlers. Especially during the winter time.

Lycans do get along with other occults... but they don’t like the smell of vampires.

And here’s the spicy portion because I’m sure some of ya’ll were looking for it 👀

Lycans do go through heat from 1 to 5 times a year, and lasts about a week. It’s preceded by being extremely horny on main. John goes through it 3 times a year and can happen in either lycan or human form.

There’s little to no refractory period -- aka cooldown.

John is pretty mindful of Brian’s rules but boy is he annoying until he says it’s okay to go. He is also mindful of teeth and claws but Brian doesn’t mind that. (Or his tongue.)

Sex can last hours and can happen multiple times a day during heat.

This is when most bond marks are made, and typically made on the neck. Other locations include inner thigh, hand (around the thumb area), upper arm, shoulder, collarbone, or if the lycan is really cheeky... the ass cheek.

Some lycans have sex in their human form because of convenience. Some. This doesn’t exactly apply to Grade 2 lycans because they’re still human-shaped. 

Sex can also be a little rough and tends to leave marks behind.

There are... some enhancements. 

[thefragileblackdahlia]

Metamorphosis: Part four

Chapter Summary: Sam and Dean find that a family man is turning into a flesh-eating monster, and they argue about killing him. Ariel makes a big decision that leaves her crippled and alone.

Pairing(s): Eventual Dean x Archangel!OFC

Warning(s): Fluff, Heavy Angst, Blood, Nudity, Self-loathing, Kissing, Typical Supernatural violence, Mild Language

A/N: Here is an episode with some Sam content for those that really like Sam. I never really liked the Ruby storyline, but anyways here you go. Its a bit wonky everything will be explained in flashbacks, I promise. Kinder surprise egg.

Beta’d by no one

Word count: 11,308

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Sam went out for research.

A loud thud came from across the room. With their hunter instincts, Travis and Dean reached for their guns and aimed it from where the noise originated. Dean put out a hand, signaling Travis to wait as he investigated the sound.

A mop of red hair came up from between beds, followed by a bloodied grimace with slices on it.

It was Ariel.

Blood seeped from the thousands of cuts on her stripped body. She dipped in and out of consciousness. The ginger tried her best to steady herself by using the bed as support.

"Dean.." Ariel whimpered softly before her eyes rolled to the back of her head and her knees buckled, sending a jolt of pain through her nervous system.

Dean abandoned his gun almost instantaneously and dived for the archangel. He caught her just before she hit the floor.

He hauled her into his arms and sat on the bed with her form limp between his legs. It was a lewd position, but at this moment, Dean cared little about that. The human gingerly caressed her bloodied face, smoothing down her hair in the process.

"Oh, Red..." He whispered sadly. Dean felt like it was his fault. He should have immediately gone to help her. His eyes roamed every part of her naked form, not to be a pervert but to see if she had any significant injuries. 'Fallen' was freshly carved deep on her collar bone, along with many other deep cuts. One particular injury stood out; it was a symbol cut deep into her thigh. It looked self-inflicted.

Why wasn't she healing? Dean remembered when he stabbed her, and she recovered from that almost immediately. So, what could be preventing her?

Dean never tore his eyes away from her as he removed his navy-blue flannel with the notion of covering her up. Dean carefully lifted her arm, which resulted in a small moan from Ariel, but he proceeded. He slid her arm into the sleeves of the flannel and closed it momentarily.

Her savior let out a low grunt as he tossed her arm over his shoulder, then lifted her into the bridal position. He gently lowered her on his bed and began buttoning the shirt; It stopped at her mid-thigh. Dean let out a hard sigh but never looked away from her.

"What the hell?!" Travis exclaimed as he still has his gun trained on the motionless woman. "What just happened?" He gruffed.

"Focus on the case." Dean replied shortly as he delicately sat on the edge of his bed, still watching Ariel.

Travis scoffed and squeezed his gun. "You tell me what the hell she is, or I'll shoot her myself." He drawled.

Dean finally looked away from the archangel on the bed to look at Travis. He had a calm smile on his lips, but it never reached his eyes. The righteous man pushed himself off the bed and slowly stepped to the man who just threatened a defenseless woman.

"If you touch her or so happen to even look at her. You'll be dead before you hit the ground. You understand me?" Dean sneered at the man standing in front of him.

Travis squinted his eyes, challenging Dean, which resulted in Dean snatching the gun away and aiming it at Travis's forehead.

"Focus on the case." Dean commanded, and begrudgingly sat at the table. He picked up his gas can and resumed his work.

. . .

Dean watched Ariel's chest rise and fall as he sat tinkering with the gas can nozzle, deep in thought. She looked peaceful but also plagued with sorrow. Occasionally a low groan came from her, and of course, Dean immediately paused what he was doing to examine her.

Travis was the one to speak first. "It must be important to you...threatening me like that." His eyes darted from the gas can, nozzle to Dean's stoic face.

That comment made Dean frown. Ariel was not an It. She was an archangel. Dean reached for the flamethrower and flicked it on, then waved the flame over the nozzle. "So, fire, huh?"

"The only way I found to kill these bastards; deep-fry 'em." Travis peeped at Dean.

Dean clutched the rag on the table and wiped off the nozzle as he spoke. "Well, that's gonna be... horrible. Is that what you did to Jack's dad?"

"Uh-huh-"

Their talk was cut short by the sound of the doorknob twisting. As Sam entered, his gaze immediately fell on the unmoving woman, but he chose not to mention it. His grip tightened on the papers in his hand, and he closed the door.

"Not wasting any time, are you?" Sam was belaboring the obvious.

"None to waste." Travis gruffed. "The guy hulks out, we won't be finding bodies, just remains."

Sam sat down on the bed Ariel was resting on, immediately catching Dean's attention. Dean eyed him carefully, his hands still working on the can. Sam noticed this and held his hands up toward his brother, who seemed way to protective for someone who only talked to the angel twice.

"He's been that way since that thing just appeared out of nowhere. Won't tell me what it is." Travis drawled.

Sam furrowed his brows and looked to his brother, who donned a stoic expression. He watched his brother's jaw clench at the words 'thing' and 'it,' bothered.

Sam took that into account. "What if he doesn't hulk out? I did a little homework. Uh, I've been checking out the lore on rougarous."

Travis took this as an insult. "What? My 30 years of experience not good enough for you?" The aged hunter lifted a cup of coffee to his lips and sipped while eyeing Sam.

"What?" Samuel chuckled. "No. No, I- I just wanted to be prepared. I mean, not that you didn't..."

Dean picked up on his brother's uneasiness. "Sam loves research." He joked. "He does. He keeps it under his mattress right next to his KY. It's a sickness." He flashed a smile at his younger brother. "It is."

Sam just shook his head. "Look, everything you said checked out, of course, but uh. I found a couple of interesting stories about people who have this rougarou gene or whatever. See, they start to turn, but they never take the final step."

"Really?" Dean questioned.

This reaction made Sam continue. "See, if they never eat human flesh, they don't fully transform."

"So what? Go vegan, stay human?" Dean seemed genuinely interested in not deep-frying a person.

Sam appeared hopeful. "Basically, or in this case, eat a lot of raw meat, just not--"

"Long pig." Dean ended with a dorky grin. He glanced over to Travis, who was just listening to the conversation.

"Good on you for the due diligence, Sam." Travis derided as he stood to his feet and continued. "But those are fairytales." He drawled while shuffling over to the kitchenette and pouring himself another cup of coffee. Travis pivoted on his heel and faced the boys. "Fact is," He sipped his coffee and resumed. "Every rougarou I ever saw or heard of...took that bite."

Sam immediately took a defensive stance and stood to his feet. "Okay, well, that doesn't mean that Jack will."

Dean's olive eyes darted between the two as he also stood. He could sense an argument brewing.

Travis sipped his coffee. "So what do we do? Sit and hope and wait for a body count?" He jeered.

"No, we talk to him. Explain what's happening. That way, he can fight it." Sam confuted.

"Fight it?" Travis laughed at the notion. "Are you kidding me? You ever been really hungry?"

Dean hadn't been paying much attention to the debate, but once Travis asked that question, he was all ears. He gripped the papers in his hands and looked up at the man.

"I mean, haven't-eaten-in-days hungry?" Travis added.

"Yeah." Dean replied quickly.

Travis took this as an opportunity to continue. "Yeah, right then. So somebody slaps a big, juicy, sirloin in front of you, you walking away?"

Dean thought for a moment at the scenario and then raised his brows as he turned to face Sam, who worn an upset expression.

"That's what we are to him now, meat on legs. I'm sorry. I'm sure he's a stand-up guy, but it's pure base instinct. Everything in nature's gotta eat. You think he can stop himself 'cause he's nice?" Travis drawled.

Sam's serious expression never wavered as he stared Travis dead in the eye as he spoke slow and precise. "I don't know. But we're not gonna kill him unless he does something to get killed for." Once he finished, he could barely keep a steady breath. He had to excuse himself from the room.

Dean and Travis exchanged looks of awe and confusion.

"What's wrong with your brother?" Travis questioned.

"Don't get me started." Dean just rolled his eyes and turned to go sit down by Ariel.

Before they left, Dean carried the woman to the bathroom and started the bath. At some point, he messaged Sam to tell him to pick up some clothes for Ariel.

Eventually, the angel stirred awake.

Dean leaned against the wall in front of the sink, his gaze fixed on her cloudy eyes. It was like someone had sucked the joy out of her.

"Hey," Ariel breathed.

Dean smiled faintly. "Wanna tell me why you fought a cheese grater and lost?"

The archangel looked to the man in confusion. "I didn't fight a cheese grater. Half of my grace was extracted, and then I was tortured for a day." Ariel murmured, pain apparent in her voice. She perched herself on the sink, her feet dangling inches above the floor like a small child.

"Anything we should worry about? No one's following you or anything?" Dean questioned.

"Nothing to worry about." She lied.

The atmosphere in the bathroom bounced between sexual tension and awkwardness. It had been a couple days since Dean actually saw Ariel with his own eyes, not including their dream encounters. He stared at the defeated woman and contemplated if he should hug her not. They never hugged before.

"You're a horrible a liar, Y'know that?" Dean chuckled and pushed himself from the wall and closer to the redhead.

"I am not, trust me." Ariel mumbled as she averted her eyes toward the door. "Where's Sam?"

Her attempt to evade the topic did not go unnoticed by Dean. He raised a brow at her question and decided not to answer it and instead pose his own question. "Why were you naked?"

Ariel scoffed and looked down at the flannel she was now wearing. "Was my nude figure making you uncomfortable, human? My captor felt it was necessary." She put hard emphasis on the word captor.

Dean grew silent as he thought about his own time in hell, being tortured, and having to live through the pain of being torn apart and put together again. His body stilled, and his breathing shortened. He couldn't help it, disassociating himself and caving in.

"I know," Ariel whispered softly to the panic induced hunter. Her voice felt like warm blankets you first take out of the dryer on a cold winter day. He could listen to her talk for hours and not get sick of it. A buzzing behind his ears pulled him out of his deep thoughts.

"Know what?" He gruffed, trying his best to keep on his hard exterior facade. Of course, Dean knew exactly what she was referring to, but he just wasn't ready to think about hell. He felt better pretending it didn't happen was much better than admitting it and it being true.

"About what happened in Hell..." She answered simply. Ariel held out her hand for him to take, but he pushed it away. He held a stoic expression on his face. "Dean," Ariel cooed, attempting to comfort him best she could from a distance.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Dean choked out, keeping his eyes on his own reflection behind her head. How much did she know, and if she knew, then why did he deserve to be saved?

Ariel observed his body language, he was panicking. His hard expression, the clenched jaw, and his eyes screaming help. "You remind me of someone I knew long ago...When I visited earth. He and his brother were plagued with many problems just like you." The angel's eyes looked off into the distance as she reminisced about old times. "He was a gentle soul...but then darkness overwhelmed him. He was no longer the man, I knew." She added.

Dean furrowed his brows and finally looked her in the eyes when he addressed her. "Did you try and save him too?"

That question made Ariel smile. "Yes...but he pushed me away."

Dean folded his arms over his chest and gave her a slight nod. He stored this information deep in his brain, perhaps it would be needed at a much later date. "What was his name?"

"Cain." She mumbled.

The green-eyed beauty pursed his lips. "Wow, you must be very old."

Ariel snorted at his observation. "Yes, well, I was made after creation." She teased.

Dean's eyes lit up as her laughter filled the air, cutting through the tension that remained. If he could make her laugh all the time, he would. "Well, I should get out of your hair."

"Oh, yeah, okay." To be honest, She really didn't want him to leave, but she knew that if he watched her bathe, erotic human things would ensue. "Could you help me down from the sink?"

Fuck. Dean was 100% sure he wasn't ready to touch her or make any kind of physical contact. The constant buzzing in his ears urged him to make contact with her any way possible, but he was stubborn and skeptic. Fuck it. The hunter slowly advanced toward the injured angel and hesitantly held out his hands.

"You remind me so much of them..." Ariel whispered as her fingertips grazed his jawline. It was apparent Dean had no idea who she was referring to, but that didn't matter. She shut her eyes once Dean nestled himself between her legs. Ariel furrowed her eyebrows as the heat pooled between her legs, and a tight sensation filled her stomach.

She had no idea her vessel would react in such a way, she was never on earth long enough to feel the intense passion humans shared.

Dean parted his lips and withdrew a sharp breath as his fingers finally grazed over her thigh. The hunter's calloused fingers clasped around the woman's hips, digging into the skin. He almost forgot that she didn't have anything on under the shirt, he cursed himself.

The buzzing grew crescendoed behind their ears, the closer they became.

Dean squeezed the angel's hips as he pulled her close to him. It was almost instinctive for her to wrap her legs around his waist. Ariel pressed herself to the human, tossing her arms over his shoulders and pulling his face to hers.

"Dean?" A voice came from outside the bathroom. Dean stumbled back and finally let out a breath he wasn't aware he was holding. They could never become one no matter how hard they tried, which infuriated him. Dean cleared his throat and hurriedly left the space.

. . .

(Ariel's hunting outfit)

When Sam came back to the motel, finding Travis alone and sitting at the table with a suspicious look on his face. "Dean?"

The hazel-eyed hunter could hear a small thud emanate from behind the bathroom door. The sound made his head whip over to the door. His brother wasn't doing anything he shouldn't; he was just helping her, right? Sam unpacked the shopping bag.

Dean exited the bathroom with a flustered expression. "Ariel is- uh, awake now.." He mumbled to Sam before hustling over to the kitchenette and gulping down the rest of his beer.

Sam's eyes darted over to the bathroom door as a tiny figure emerged. Her minor injuries vanished, except for the large 'Fallen.' Seeing that word on her made him angry, and he swore to himself that whoever was the culprit would wish they were dead sooner. No one should be treated that way.

Ariel bestowed a grimace expression as her eyes examined the three men. She said nothing as she took the clothes and undergarments from Sam.

After twenty minutes had passed, Ariel stepped from the lavatory. Her hair was messy and pushed back; the ends also flipped to reflect a 70s hairstyle. She sported a tan, corduroy jacket over a black long-sleeved shirt. On her lower half, a pair of snug-fit, bell-bottomed, denim jeans accompanied by heeled, dark-brown, combat boots. She made sure to tuck in her shirt; it seemed to look better on her curvaceous physique.

All eyes were on her.

Dean jealously cleared his throat, "Alright, let's roll."

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[blastingxff]

Fate that Binds pt. 7

This part: Cats and Rocketshipping. Almost better than pizza and beer. Also included: a poorly plot out magic plot. (Just thought about something: This fic actually isn’t crack like please proceed with caution)

first part // previous part // next part  Series: Pokemon Characters: Jessie, James, Meowth, Pikachu, Ash, Brock, May, Max, Jessebelle Ships: hints of rocketshipping if you read it that way, mostly just friendshipping though Summary: It had been a throwaway wish, something made out of the frustration of the moment- it wasn’t actually supposed to happen. But the magic of a well haunted by a pokemon’s spirit ended up altering reality. Now, Jessie, James, and Meowth aren’t in Team Rocket. They don’t even know each other. And it’s created far darker a world for the TRio than Ash could have ever imagined, and now he and his friends want nothing more than to change things back to how they were. Genre: Friendship, hurt/comfort, so much angst, all the angst, drama, butchered canon, Words: 1,269 / part 7 out of 16 Trigger Warnings (this part): abuse mention Notes: This popped into my head and didn’t get out until I wrote it down. It’s 16 chapters, and entirely written already in about three days. So that will explain a helluvalot. Like the bus-sized plotholes. I just wanted to be mean to my favorite characters, geeze, is that so bad? XP Also can be read on Ao3.

Chapter 7 (still) Six Days Before the Wedding 

The day saw James exhausted but counting the hours as they passed from day to evening. Counting down until freedom. He could only catch subtle glimpses at the clocks though, for fear of raising suspicion overrode the desperate desire to watch time pass.

Ash and his friends had left Jessie to sleep in the grass. They had ventured into the town, heading straight for a Pokémon Center in hopes of getting some information on the mysterious well.

When Jessie stirred finally she realized she was alone. But the evidence around her told her she wasn’t going to be alone for long. There was a relief that filled her as she pulled her still-bruised legs into her body, holding onto herself tight. In the gang, the moments of being alone where her only guaranteed moments of safety. Now, she felt vulnerable. Her eyes squeezed closed, “Only a few more hours,” she whispered under her breath. The night would fall. She’d see him again.

* * *

As is the way of the world, the night soon blanketed the Earth. Ash and his friends had returned with little more than contradicting fable and lore- some had seen something like the well, but much smaller and with a slightly different figure. Some had seen the large one- and had made wishes on the décor. Some claimed that it had made their dreams come true. Others claimed otherwise.

Jessie relayed the information that night as she sat with her back against a tree, fried meat in an open plastic bag in front of them as they munched in the moonlight, “It’s weird, isn’t it?”

James shook his head. He reached into the bag he had brought this time, taking out a small book with a bookmark between the pages, “Look in there, page 48,” Jessie took the book, looking over its pages in the light of the park’s lamp.

“There are two?” the photograph on the yellowed paper of the book looked near identical to the drawings on the well.

“The wells may have captured the soul of one pokémon, but the Hoopa also has two forms. Unbound and Confined. I think your friends-”

“We aren’t friends.”    

“I think the- um… twerps?” Jessie listened to the suggestion, mulling it over before she finally nodded, “may have wished on the Unbound one. As for changing things back, though the Unbound’s behavior is more unpredictable, it has a great deal of power. The Confined is more of a sure thing accuracy wise, but it is much weaker. Maybe too weak for shifting universes. It says some more stuff about strength of spirit, desire, and will and rituals, I never paid too much attention. Just seemed too old wives tale you know? You can keep the book if you want. Just so you can show the… er, twerps.”      

A rustling caught their attention. They found themselves drawn away from their book by a tattered, skinny looking Meowth who had reached into their bag, grabbing a piece of food. Its eyes widened as soon as it saw the humans no longer distracted.

“Hey! That’s ours!” Jessie spat out of habit, her shout shocking both James and the cat. She immediately reprimanded herself for the yell; she knew it freaked out James. The meowth escaped into the bushes, but she could still see the glint of its charm. It was just waiting to see if it would be chased or if it could sneak more food.

“Jess,” the man’s voice was quiet as he reached into the bag of fried meat, taking out a small piece. It was the first time someone had given her a nickname with such sincere kindness. It sort of made her happy. “I think it’s just hungry. Aren’t you?”

That was something Jessie could relate to, she watched as the man next to her held out the snack in his hand, offering it to the cat pokémon.

James… and Meowth.

That’s what the girl twerp had said. A meowth? The pokémon in question was slowly stepping forward, taking the food cautiously, devouring it with less than a second thought. James just laughed, “Tastes good, doesn’t it? Here, have some more.”

With a gentle hand, he fed the pokémon, Meowth growing to trust the humans little by little. Still skittish, but interested in the offerings, Meowth stayed close.

The twerp’s words were still in her mind. Jessie’s interest had been captured by the pokémon who had crashed their evening. Her words were as quiet as his had been, “Hey, James… do you believe in fate?”

“Huh?” He seemed to think on it. His hand empty of food, he kept it out, offering to pet the cat pokémon. The meowth only kept its distance, its position changing to one of defense. James simply resolved to get another piece of food, holding that out instead of a bare hand. The meowth approached for the food. James shook his head in the end, “When I was a kid I did. But not anymore, not really. You?”

“A little, I think.”

* * *

The morning saw Jessie arriving just in time to eat breakfast with the small group. She was exhausted, planning on laying down right after eating, but in the meantime she pulled out the small book that James had lent her.

“James showed me this,” she flipped it open to the page with the pictures of the two wells. By the look on their faces, she was sure it was a match. At least the bigger was. “Seems it’s the spirit of a Hoopa. Unbound and Contained. The Unbound one seems to jump around, kinda a wild magic if you will, but the Contained one stays in one spot. The bigger one is stronger, smaller one when it works is more in tune with what you actually wanted. Typical supernatural stuff.”

Max took the book from her hands, reading over the pages. “The tab near the back opens to a map. Apparently one of James’ uncles liked to track the Unbound one. The Contained one is in a graveyard somewhere. It’s probably too weak but check it out if you want. I’m not gonna stop you.”

“This is great, Jessie. While you rest, we can do some investigating,” Brock nodded, finishing his bowl of porridge. Jessie’s empty bowl beside her as she picked at a bit of broken skin on her nails. There was a question on her mind. One she had yet to be brave enough to ask.

“Twerps,” the word came out before she could remember she wasn’t speaking with just James. Her head shot up, ready to apologize- but their gaze on her held a shock that surprised her. “That isn’t an arbitrary name, is it?”

There was a shake of their heads.

“Fate just keeps knocking them out of the park, doesn’t it?” She tilted her head before sighing, “Anyway, I was wondering. James and I… were we… were we together?”

“You were together all the time.” Ash attempted helpfulness.

“That’s not what she means, Ash,” May then went to answer the question, “I don’t think so,” she frowned, “I think you were just really close. I don’t think either of you were dating anyone at all. Why?”

The question was less than innocent in intention, but not malicious. As though the younger woman was trying to get some juicy tidbits about her feelings. Almost like female friends who would gossip over crushes. Unfortunately for May, Jessie was having trouble just adjusting to not being the only female around.

“Just curious.” No one believed her.

[buffalohair-gazette]

101 Ways to Prepare Long Pork

RECAP FROM OCTOBER 9, 2010: With food shortages and famine encroaching on civilization it should come as no surprise that alternative food sources will gain more popularity as necessity dictates. The ‘junk’ fish people use to discard will find its way onto the frying pan by thankful and starving anglers in the near future. Bones will become the mainstay rather than Fido’s Scooby Treats; hmm Fido will look pretty tasty as well.

The 3-Day Chicken will become commonplace once again provided there are chickens. But when things get dicey and sustenance becomes nonexistent, for a host of catastrophic reasons, the dead guy lying next to you may very well hold the key to your existence. Welcome to the dark side of survival, where a person is forced to lift a fork and consume a fellow human being in the age old culinary adventure called cannibalism. Guess a person could use chop sticks or a piece of fry bread if they chose to.

Granted this is a very taboo subject and totally unacceptable under most conditions but there are times when dining on others is permissible. Throughout the ages people have been placed in situations where they either died along side others or ate from the flesh of the dead. It was once said that Columbus cut and quartered plump native kids then pickled them in wood casks for his first return trip from the ‘New World’. The Donner Party as well as Al Packer comes to mind in American cannibal lore. An old sailor once told me about an unwritten maritime law where it was OK when stranded in a lifeboat to eat a fellow crewman if they expired before you. The Andes Flight Disaster of Oct. 13 1972 where a Uruguayan airplane crashed in the Andes with a soccer team onboard was a classic case for cannibalism and survival. So please bear in mind that the situation must be extreme before people are added to the menu. And in no way am I condoning human flesh as ‘the other white meat’. Personally I prefer legs and thighs, dark meat please.

Let’s say that you and a group of your friends and family survived the time of change and dodged all the bullets man and nature tossed your way. You’ve built a compound with all the amenities your group needs such as living quarters, kitchen and crapper. Reverting to hunter gatherer techniques the hunters would go out in quest of food for the newly evolving clan. Others would scavenge through the ruins of civilization for just about anything useful to bring back to camp. Building materials, clothing, food and other items would be collected as the budding community grows. Eventually anything that was good would be picked through and all the food stuffs would be gathered. Weeks would pass into months then one day the hunters report that the wild game is disappearing.

As time progresses, the hunters come back empty handed more and more. Food stuffs gathered from the ruins of civilization become depleted and the villagers are getting hungry. Daily, people begin to sicken as starvation and disease sets in. First it’s the elderly then the children start to die. The healthiest people begin to succumb from the pangs of starvation as well. Then a bulb lights up in your head, “Why don’t we eat Uncle Otis? After all, he’s dead anyway.” In all reality there would be allot of soul searching before a fork touched Uncle Otis since it’s not normal to eat people, let alone a relative. Whence all the tears were shed and you made your peace with the Creator it’s time to prepare supper. Where would a person start when it came to eating human flesh? And where is Andrew Zimmern (Bazaar Foods, TLC) when you need him?

Long Pork (LP) has been slang for human meat since time immemorial. Interestingly enough human meat or LP has also been treated like pork since it must be well cooked before consuming. So now you have Uncle Otis on the chopping block. The first thing you should do is to dress him out. No, I don’t mean only take his cloths off but to remove the skin and the internal organs then save. Remove the skinned head and place with organs and skin in bucket. Be careful not to tear or puncture the stomach or intestines since the contents can taint the meat. At this time you should check the liver for spots since that would tell you if the meat is diseased or not. Hopefully Uncle Otis was healthy, other than the fact he starved to death. It is a sure bet he will not have much fat on him. Lean is good since triglycerides and serum cholesterol would still be an issue for some folks. LP is greasy and filled with antibiotics, growth hormones and other nasty chemicals that is in their feed so beware because human is also not Kosher or Halal.

LP would provide needed protein for survival in the form of chops and steaks. The back strap would be small but offer tender cuts of meat. Ribs are ribs and neck bone makes good soup. But if you had a grinder burger would be a good way to deal with other odd cuts of meat a human carcass would glean. With that in mind cleaning the intestines would be an excellent idea since you would be able to make sausage also. Hopefully you would have an abundance of salt to preserve your culinary bounty. If not, then it would behoove you to smoke all the meat for preservation sake. There is debate in some circles as to whether red or white wine should be served with LP. In this instance its rule of thumb that red wine should be served since in all actuality LP is a red meat. A vintage Cabernet Sauvignon would be nice. Side dishes are subject to tastes but if you had side dishes in the first place Uncle Otis would not be on the table. Spices are spices so season to taste and hopefully you packed a couple bottles of garlic salt in your survival pack. Just remember to cook until well done because LP may get you sick if served under cooked like other pork products.

There are other factors to consider as well. Is there water handy? If not and there is no possibility of finding any, you will soon be dead along side Uncle Otis within a week or so even if you drank his urine and blood. Thirst would trump hunger as dehydration turned your flesh into jerky. Delirium would set in well before you ever got hungry enough to stick a fork into Uncle Otis. Madness would ensue as your system shut down. Death would become your liberator. Worse yet, you are captured by others that enjoy the taste of LP who promptly tosses you on a make shift rotisserie. No salt, no pepper, not even a sprig of parsley. You are roasted alive without a hint of seasoning. How barbaric could it possibly be? Just to add insult to injury your captures would dine on your char broiled essence while drinking a poor quality pilsner beer. Have they no shame?

Seasoned or unseasoned there is no question that cannibalism is on the rise around the world. Starvation leads to desperation and cannibalism has taken on a new dimension in this era. Ritualistic cannibalism has gone off the charts as well. This is more ghoulishly macabre by design since it’s not about consuming human flesh for survival; it’s more about consuming people because you like it or some bonehead spirit told you to. The consumption of human fetuses for ritual or virility in stews and stir-fry crosses all continents. The scent of placenta soup still wafts in the air of some old world communities after a child is born. Would feeding fat Burmese refugee babies to leeches in vats of water be considered a form of cannibalism if people ate the leeches?

One such restaurant in Thailand specialized in meals prepared with leeches. Burmese soldiers sell infants to Thai human traffickers who in turn sell plump healthy infants to restaurateurs. The restaurateurs fatten up the child then placed them in vats so the leeches can suck the rich milk fed blood from the infant’s veins. The leeches would get fat and juicy then the chef would pluck one out of the baby/water mixture and into a wok filled with spices, vegetables and shrimp paste. To the joy of exotic food aficionados their dining experience would be complete with a piping hot plate of steamed rice and succulent leeches in its own sauce. The leeches would be semi sweet from milk fat yet maintain their musky and savory leech flavor through the ginger onions, garlic and tamarind.

So back to my moral dilemma, if the leeches are full of human baby blood when they are cooked and served would the person who ate the leeches be a cannibal? Would the diner be more of a cannibal if they knowingly ate leeches filled with baby blood? It is alleged General Than Shwe of Burma has taken part in sacrificial rituals involving the consumption of human flesh on more than one occasion. Ritual murder and cannibalism has become a military terror tactic for this criminal regime as well. Shwe is not the only one who practices this dark ritual, not by a long shot. Supermodel Naomi “Blood Diamonds” Campbell’s sweetie, Charles Taylor of Liberia comes to mind though I doubt Shwe or Taylor dined on leeches filled with baby blood.

If it were not for the fact I heard these eyewitness accounts from Christian missionaries and Karen refugees I would not have fathomed this reality. But after visiting and interviewing the survivors of Burma’s blood soaked regime it became clear torture and death was an excepted part of their normality. The only way to cope with the vivid images of gore from disemboweled bodies hung along pathways or to witness loved ones being butchered to death by a crowd of laughing sadistic soldiers is to raise the bar in what is perceived as sane. If not, a person would surely go mad from all the cruelty they endure.

Many of my Asian friends barely raise an eye brow during a bloody western horror movie. In reality they experienced much worse from barbaric soldiers before they came to America. Ritual cannibalism committed by Burmese soldiers was not a surprise revelation. In fact ritual cannibalism is more common than people think and it’s being performed on every continent, well maybe not Antarctica. From India and the followers of Kali to the USA and the secret sects & societies that roam the countryside, LP is on the menu. Maybe next time someone offers you some home made blood sausage you’ll think twice. Toss in a Kaiser roll some sour kraut and mustard, oh yeah, that’s what I’m talking about.

In closing, eating people is not cool, generally speaking. Under the right conditions having a filet of Fred or a side of Sidney can save your life in the most extreme of conditions. If you have to eat Uncle Otis the right seasoning and preparation will make the most of your cannibalistic culinary adventure. After all, it’s not your fault you are starving to death.

So make the best out of a bad situation with a Cotesdeporc Charcutiere au Otis and a wine of your choosing. Just so you know, eating your neighbors is illegal in most Canadian Provinces though I am not sure about Quebec. It is anybody’s guess in America since politicians are known to eat their young.

But if for some reason your fridge is packed with LP chops and steaks now, you may be in need of an attorney. Ritual, fetish or simply because you enjoy the taste of human flesh is no excuse for cannibalism. The exception to the rule is if you’re one of the forgotten millions of homeless and starving people around the globe, bon appétit.

Your Devil’s Advocate

Buffalohair