#cause they were from the first games. XD

[memorydragon]

The only problem with older games is when a scene absolutely destroys you and there's not a single gifset. 🙃

[v4mpvelocity]

HWANG IN-HO X READER NSFW HEADCANNONS

pairing: Hwang In-Ho X female reader

SMUT MDNI

A/N wrote this half asleep i just woke up from a nap XD

Hwang In-Ho, the man behind everything yet so good at deceiving you all. Presenting as a reliable friendly man, so naturally when you met him for the first time, it wasn't long until you took to him. His manipulative nature making it very easy to seem a friendly approachable person and not a man behind the mass murdering of struggling and vulnerable people.

Hwang In-Ho, the man who noticed you just as you noticed him, wishing you could have met under different circumstances. You had been put on a team with him during six legs, chosen to play gongii. Failing two times in a row, you began to panic, tears threatening to spill, hand shaking. In-ho or 'Young-Il' as he told you his name was placed a hand on your shoulder. His words seeming much more intimate than they were.

'Just focus.....thats it just breathe' or 'Just play as if this is normal circumstances, you've got this okay?'

Hwang In-Ho, the man who you owed your life to and the man who believed in you when you didn't even believe in yourself. Without hid encouragements, you and the rest of the team would have surely died. Your face plagues his mind, your youthful features contorted in a mix of fear and frustration. It made his cock twitch in his pants, you looked so adorable, scared for your life.

Hwang In-Ho, the man who manipulated you into seeing him as a figure of trust, coming to him when things went wrong, or you were bawling your eyes out wanting to go home. He swore he could've just dragged you to the bathroom and fucked your brains out when you revealed you were only 21, a whole two decades younger than him. That turned him on more than it should of.

Hwang In-Ho, the man who makes you believe he is the only one that you can trust, then has you taken to his private bedroom in the games. The announcement ‘player 267’ was eliminated echoed throughout the arena, he had faked your death all so he could have you all to himself.

Hwang In-ho, the man who has you face down ass up on the bed and he pounds into you at an animalistic pace, his hand on the back of your neck forcing your face into the mattress, muffling your whines and whimpers. The sound of skin on skin echoing throughout the room at a frenzied pace.

Hwang In-Ho, the man who strives to bring you to tears on his cock, forcing orgasm after orgasm out of you as if it were his only life goal. Your overstimulated pussy clenching and twitching around his cock, a white ring of your release gathering at the base of his cock.

‘you gonna cum again honey? shh…shh yeah you can…just take it c’mon…let go’ or ‘you can take it…that’s it…cum on my fucking cock..goood girl’

Hwang In-Ho, the man who forces you to watch yourself fall apart in the reflection of the mirror. Your fucked our expression staring back at you, eyes hazy and half closed, tear stained cheeks and drool covering your chin. You looked pathetic, but In-Ho loved it. He loved the fact he had reduced you to a mess with just his body.

‘look at you…so fucking ruined for my cock hm? oh yeah…feels so good hm?’ or ‘watch yourself while i ruin this tight fucking pussy….fuck’

Hwang In-Ho, the man who claimed you and made you believe you were ruined anyone else, holding your fucked out body close as he pet your hair. A stark difference to how rough he had been with you just moments before. Soothing the damage he had caused with sweet words and soft touches. He’s the only one who can protect you, right?

‘this is where you belong ok? with me…only i can love you like this’ or ‘nobody can love you like i love you….okay honey?’

[saltynsassy31]

Full disclaimer, I have to read any of the fics written for Shockwave and the kids yet as I've been busy and off Tumblr for a bit for my own mental health lol

But I recently saw a photo of an abandoned carousel in some underground area filled with puddles and it reminded me of that one deleted scene from Detroit: Become Human where the Jerry's make a broken carousel work again for Alice and they all just watched her happily play on it as the world around them crumbled.

And, with that thought, it also reminded me of Shockwave and the kids and I simply HAD to write a small drabble fic of it. Sorry if it isn't accurate for the characters or the story already made, but I hope it's enjoyed regardless :3

And, I hope, with all the angst going on, this fluffy story will satisfy yall a bit XD

[This is the post I saw that inspired me to write this, if anyone wants a visual of the place: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DGog_W_vDiR/?igsh=b3FsYm50enJhM3ln ]

AU belongs to @keferon

Carousel

~☆~

As the days went by, the situation they all found themselves in was slowly starting to get far too real. It was fun, at first, running around abandoned buildings and scavenging for whatever they could find, spending time with their newly acquired aquatic dad friend who kept them safe and well fed.

But then things started to show up and it scared them. Shockwave tried to avoid the areas with the most floating bodies, the children having seen enough of that (and he hoped they hadn't seen any they would recognise), but every now and then something would float up and startle them. Other times they'd run into bigger problems while scavenging and they had far too many close calls for Shockwave's liking.

They tend to keep themselves entertained, for the most part. Shockwave only occasionally indulged. But, usually, he could simply gently float on the surface of the water and let the kids tire themselves out. However, they've become more quiet lately.

It was hard to tell what caused it. Could be a myriad of things, as listed before, maybe it was finally starting to dawn on them how the situation was far from ideal. Maybe it was the conversation they had with that Orca - Jazz, was it? Shockwave couldn't tell, and it bothered him.

He missed their lively chatter (it still happened, but few and far between). A part of him was starting to wonder if the humans who called him out on the fact that this wasn't normal behaviour for human children were right, a small pang of regret reaching the back of his mind.

But he shook those thoughts away. Now wasn't the time. Nothing about their situation was normal anyway, he was already providing more than enough for them to survive this cruel world.

Shockwave was aggressively pulled out of his drifting thoughts by an ear piercing screech that immediately put him on high alert.

“Guys! Guys! Look!” He heard Skids say. Turning to look at him, he followed where the boy was pointing at.

It looked to be some kind of fair or theme part, it was a little hard to tell. Half of it was submerged, but there were some areas in which the water had receded. Shockwave relaxed once he deemed the situation safe, but still gave a small scrutinising glare at Skids for causing unnecessary concern - which went, of course, completely ignored.

“Oh wow, it looks pretty banged up, huh?” Tc noted, crawling closer to the edge of Shockwave's back to get a better look.

“But there might still be some things left over. You know how much they tend to sell in these places? And now we can just snag them!” Warp argued, already getting excited at the thought.

“Do we really need more useless things to carry around?” Trailbreaker argued, the bag he carried strangely heavier on his back.

“There are other things we could do there.” Skids quickly chimed in. “We could check out some of the games they have.”

“Would there be any still working?”

“Carnival games easy to fix, Soundwave up to the task.”

They all turned to look at Soundwave, seemingly to silently fall into an agreement.

Warp turned to face Shockwave, clasping his hands together as he pleaded. “Can we go there? Pretty pleaaaase?” Before he could even answer, the others had joined them.

He wasn't going to say no. This was the exact type of fun distraction they needed, maybe it would help them go back to their usual, energetic selves. So the theatrics were unnecessary. Still, he couldn't help the small amusement it brought him. He pretended to think it over, as if he didn't already have their answer.

“Hmm, I don't know…”

Those simple words were enough to make them all Start to plead harder, making their eyes as big as possible, throwing promises he knew they'd never actually follow through.

That broke the façade he was trying to play up, causing him to laugh. “Alright, alright. We can go.” The kids erupted into celebratory cheers, hugging each other and jumping on Shockwave's back. “But don't stray so far where I can't reach you, okay?”

They all nodded, but he only had trust in some of them to actually obey his orders.

Regardless, he swam over to the abandoned park and waited until they had slid off of him before crawling over onto land. The ground was still pretty wet, so it made it easier for him to slide around and follow them, keeping himself to the more deeper puddles when possible.

He watched as they all went to different directions with their own, small group. Tc and Warp, always tied to the hip, ran over to some of the stands that still had some prizes hanging. Windcharger and Trailbreaker followed Damus as he ran to play some of the games that didn't require power to work. And Skids and Soundwave went…

Where did they go?

Panic immediately followed the realisation. Shockwave stood up straighter and began to spin his head around in search of the two missing kids. The others didn't seem to have noticed their absence, too enthralled in their own activity.

He was about to start calling when he heard a familiar boisterous voice call from not too far. “Guys! Over here! Come see what me and Soundwave just discovered!”

Immediately, all of the attention was on Skids who had a smile so wide Shockwave was worried he'd hurt himself with it. The others looked at each other briefly before making their way over, Damus hesitating a bit before putting down the fishing rod he held and following the rest.

Shockwave did so as well, to the best of his abilities anyway. The further they went, the tighter the space became and less water reached the surface for him to easily slide around. He wanted to voice his complaint of them going too far, like he had explicitly told them not to before coming here (and really, he thought Warp would have disobeyed first before Soundwave. Skids made sense, but him?) But before he could even think of what to say, Skids noticed his struggle and seemed to remember something.

“Oh, right! Almost forgot.” He jogged over to the mer shark and gently grabbed at one of his fingers to guide him elsewhere. “There's an opening that takes you directly to the area we found. You have to swim underneath some rubble, but it should fit you.”

The boy took him to some dilapidated attraction of the park, it was too broken to tell what it used to be, but it did create an opening that allowed Shockwave to fit through perfectly fine. “Just swim straight ahead and it should take you to the area, we'll meet you there.”

Immediately, Shockwave didn't like that idea, and he didn't need to voice his thoughts for the teen to catch on, his glare doing the job just fine. “It'll be fine, don't worry! It's not that far. Less than a minute, probably less than a second for you since you're so big you'll just have to slide in and out. Besides, there's nothing here, the place is completely barren.”

Shockwave was still unconvinced.

Skids took to pleading. “Please! It'll be quick, I promise you. And worth it too! It's the exact thing we've been needing, and Soundwave put a lot of work on it. I know you don't like leaving us alone for even a second, but give it a chance?”

They stared at each other for a moment, Skids making his eyes as wide and innocent as possible and Shockwave hoping the stubborn teen would dispel this idea with his glare alone.

In the end, Skids guppy eyes were far too powerful even for a great shak such as Shockwave. And the kid was right, wasn't this what he wanted for them to begin with?

He let out a heavy sigh of defeat and reluctantly agreed to it. “Fine. I trust you, but if anything shows up–”

“We don't engage with it and call for you, yes, I know. Now go! Soundwave is waiting!” Skids ushered Shockwave to submerge himself into the large opening with the wave of his hands and only joined back with the others once he could no longer see the large mer.

One relief Shockwave had was that the tunnel formed was large enough that he could easily turn around and pop back out if he heard any of the kids in danger, though it also lacked any proper escape for him as it only had one direction for him to go. Straight ahead or backwards. 

But Skids was right in saying the trip was short, he could already hear the muffled voices of his children. Soon enough, he found himself resurfacing, the lively chatter being the first thing his senses picked up on.

When the children heard the splash of water, they all turned to look towards the source of the noise, their excitement almost blindingly radiat in contrast to the dark, murky room they found themselves in.

The place was closed off by fallen buildings that created a sort of cave around them, plenty of fauna already making its home here. It was fairly empty as well, save for the large, round attraction in the middle of the room. It had horses stuck to poles inside it, a dim pink and gold decorating the whole thing, the paintings that littered it had long since faded and it was hard to tell what it once was.

“Okay, you're here, good.” Skids turned to Soundwave, who was standing next to what looked to be a control panel. “Soundwave, would you do us the honours?”

The other teen nodded, bending down to start pulling at some wires in place of pressing the buttons offered. Warp scoffed, crossing his arms and looking skeptically at his friend. “There's no power here, how in the world are you going to get it to work? I swear, if you brought us all the way here for nothing I–”

Before he could finish his sentence, a blast of music and light echoed loudly around the empty space, causing everyone to flinch back and cover their ears. Shockwave nervously looked around, worried that the loud noise might have attracted some unwanted attention. Once the shock faded, Skids ran up to Soundwave and gestured proudly at the now working carousel.

“Ta-da!”

“Wh…how is this possible!?” Warp questioned, looking at Soundwave for answers, to not only be ignored, but shoved around by the other kids who ran towards the attraction. “Seriously?! Is no one else even a little bit concerned on how this is possible?”

Tc placed a hand over his shoulder, bringing his attention to him. “Warp, just enjoy the miracle. When are we going to get another chance like this?”

Warp could only grumble. Tc was right, they wouldn't, not for a long time. That didn't mean he had to accept it though.

Shockwave watched as they all walked over and picked their favourite horse, Tc and Skids fighting over the same blue one before Trailbreaker broke their fight up and offered his to Tc, walking up to help Damus up and sit with him instead. Shockwave observed the way Soundwave continued to pick at the control panel and looked up at the other children, waiting for their confirmation that they were ready before clicking something and closing the panel. As soon as he did that, the carousel began to slowly move, the horses bobbing up and down in gentle motions, causing the kids to excitedly cheer.

Soundwave stepped on the moving platform while it was still picking up speed and sat on a random horse near Windcharger. Although not as vocal as the others, he was clearly enjoying it.

Shockwave couldn't quite get what was so entertaining about the thing. It was slow, even after it picked up some speed, and the music was painful to the ears. But that didn't quite matter, did it? They were happy, and they were having fun.

It clearly was something they knew about before the tsunami, before their civilization fell apart. A simple joy of life that they missed.

And, in a world dimmed by tragedy and destruction, where at every corner something threatens their very existence, isn't that all they could ask for?

So, in a small moment of peace, Shockwave let himself relax. He bent forward and rested his chin over his crossed arms and watched as his children sang along with the screechy music, bouncing on their fake horses and pretending they were in some high chase in their little imaginary world.

In this dreary reality, even the artificial light of a broken past could make it all worth it. 

[revelboo]

Hi! Ive hesitated sending this for too long. XD I've been reading your stories since your 4th post on Tumblr, and it was the fist time I've ever turned on notifications for someone on Tumblr. I've had Tumblr since 2014 and have never done so, nor have I ever commented or sent messages to creators! Your stories are what kept me entertained through my postpartum with my first child, besides bobs burgers and my coloring game XD I just wanted you to know that I love and admire your work♡

You also made me love starscream even when I freaking hate his annoying ass, but you write him so well that its hard to keep hating him XD Im very autistic for transformers, so it's super awesome finding your page♡♡ I wish you good health, mentally and physically♡

Here's both my baby's ♡

Awwww babies! 💕 I hope you’re all doing well!

Warm

Starscream

• “Lazy human,” he murmurs affectionately, servos tunneling in your hair and you lift your head from where you’re sprawled on the mass displaced mech enough to make a face at him. But you have no desire to get up, he’s warm and you’re enjoying a rare moment of quiet. Smiling when his head lifts to press a kiss against the tip of your nose. “Do you regret any of it?” You ask. Because you know you complicated his life, ruined his plans.

• Venting against you as your soft fingers trace designs on his neck, he drapes an arm across you. “You mean the sharing you with my mortal enemy and being forever tied to him? Or the sheer drama that you cause without meaning to just by being you?” He teases and you shoot him a filthy look to make one corner of his mouth quirk. “I have regrets, but you’ve never been one of them.”

• “Even if I make you miserable?” Why can’t you drop it? Trying to ease the question with a weak smile, but the answer matters so much it’s hard to breathe as his chin tucks against his chassis to study you with those pretty red optics. Wondering if he’s only saying that he doesn’t regret tying himself to you so he doesn’t hurt your feelings.

• Trying to figure out if you’re being serious, he lazily combs through your hair with his servos. “Even then,” he decides, pleased when you smile and hide your face against him. “Besides, you don’t make me miserable. Your other mates do. They’re terrible.”

• “Soundwave’s not so bad,” you mutter and he makes a noise of disagreement. Megatron? He’s better than he was, but he still can’t help baiting Starscream, though most of the time now he’s fixated on your daughter. You don’t know if it’s because he ended up the carrier for longer than you were, but he loves her. It still makes your chest hurt anytime you see that tiny new sparkling cupped in his huge hands, the way he smiles at her, you know he’d burn the world down to protect her.

• “Not so bad? Always monopolizing my mate,” Starscream grumbles, servos cupping your cheek. Knows you’re carrying Soundwave’s new spark, but he’s never shared well. Even with his own trine. His new trine, he has even more issues trusting. Still tenses whenever he sees his daughter with Megatron, the fear of what those hands can do stringing him tight. Trusts you. Your other mates? Not so much. Brushing a kiss against your forehead, he vents to stir your hair when you cuddle closer against him. But he’s learning to trust for you even if he can’t forgive Megatron.

[sharieb]

LADS X Non-Mc Random Thoughts 2: Destiny Cafe

I was planning to wait a while before posting again, but I unintentionally opened the floodgate in my mind and now I'm currently drowning, so I might as well drag you all with me XD. Also, if there is anyone out there who wants to use any of my random thoughts as ideas for your own fanfic, by all means, do as you please, just make sure you tag me, cause I want to read it, please and thanks. This account will also be a backup account to my SharieB25 account as it's not working at the moment. Random Thought: Destiny Cafe We can all agree that we may have read various fanfics that have considered Destiny Cafe as being empty with no staff or customers whatsoever, but what if it wasn't?

Destiny Cafe may as well be a fairly well-known and successful cafe to the point that it has two different locations, so it may have its fair share of loyal customers. So instead, I came up with the idea that both location has a section in their buildings, maybe a room or floor that not many of their customers use or know about. That's where our LIs like to stay the most. Maybe at first, they visit the cafe due to it being recommended to them by their friends or coworkers due the their delightful atmosphere and menu items, or maybe just them stumbling upon the cafe's location that they all visit at separate times. During their first visit, each LI realised, at the time of each of their separate visit, how crowded the cafe was, despite the quick service at the counter, he were hoping to get a seat somewhere, but the cafe was full, until the old yet sweet owner/manager of the cafe noticed the LI and asked if he would like to sit somewhere more private. At first, each LI at the time was hesitant, but then agreed and followed the manager to either a small room around the back of the cafe or up the stairs to the second floor of the building. The moment they each entered the space, the LI couldn't help but feel drawn to this cosy, closed or open space (depending on which cafe they are at). The manager told the LI that the space was supposed to turn into a storage room, but they couldn't bring themselves to do so for some odd reason. The old manager cleaned the best spot in the space for them to sit (like it in the photo, which I don't own as a disclaimer) and then told the LI that he can stay there as long as he likes before leaving him in the quiet, cosy room. The LI stayed in the room for a time, enjoying both his ordered drink and possible treat(s) before getting comfortable and ending up lounging in the chair (just like in the game) for a while. That was until he sensed a presence near him The same outworldly yet familiar presence from earlier, when he interacted with Mc, was now in the cosy space as if engulfing the entire room, causing the LI to tense up for a moment. The LI who was currently occupying the room at that moment knew that he was supposed to be the only one here in this room, but he couldn't help but feel a pair of eyes on him. The LI should be weirded out or concerned as to whether there were hidden cameras in the room, but instead, he felt completely at ease as if he didn't want to leave this very room as he stared at the wall in front of him. Then he spoke out loud to himself as if greeting a close, yet maybe old friend, who was by the door. In his mind, he thought he was going mad at this point, talking to himself... There was until the presence replied to him

That startled him, but his body didn't show it was as if he currently had no control of his body anymore. In his scrambling thought, he can't help but compare the voice to MC, yet it was so completely different as well. Was it due to the cute accent/tone in its voice when the unknown presence speaks? Or was it because his whole body finally became so at ease and off-guard in a sheer short moment that made him both intrigued and uneasy? Soon, he saw a sudden shift in front of him, as if the presence in the room was becoming almost personified. And when it did, the Li's breath hitched. It was a person... well, more like a holographic/ghostly version of a person. The unsettling thing was... The person looks almost exactly like MC... but not truly her at the same time. This person in front of the LI didn't look perfect or flawless like MC always have been in every way... but at that moment his heart was crying out for the person before him, as if after many years if not centuries out at sea, battling the rough rolling seas, he found the shine of a lighthouse from a distance.

I finally found you.

[bilolli]

Just Dance Care AU!

Ok ok so I thought of a story for this Au but it’s nothing really impactful or full of drama and angst like my other au’s, I wanted to leave this au easy and fun to play around, because, let’s say it. Just Dance and drama in the same sentence makes me laugh. 

story and PNG version under the cut!

(I gave up on Y/n design because I couldn't figure out a general look for them. This is you we are talking about! Draw your own JD fit, I'll draw mine soon XD)

Anyway here’s the story so far: 

Year 2029, videogames industry made a huge step forward and classic consoles and devices were substituted by the new and upgraded VR headsets with full body tracking. It’s something like the NerveGear in Sword Art Online without the kill switch. Some games still require you to actually move your body (like fitness games or sports because yeah, they don’t have a purpose otherwise). 

Y/n wanted to buy the newest VR headset but, while searching for the best offer, they found out FazCo entertainment was hosting a giveaway, the prize? One of their prototypes, a VR meant to be released the next year coinciding with the opening of their first mega pizza plex.

(so the plex doesn’t exist right now). You decide to sign up for the giveaway and after a while you receive an email telling you you won the VR headset and that, to claim it, you need to read and sign a series of NDA policies (understandable, it’s a prototype headset that’s not even in commerce). Some clauses are a little bit concerning but nothing you hadn’t read on other electronics booklets, so you decide to sign. After, like, a day, you have the VR in your hands. 

The box let you know with super saturated and colorful writing, that the VR came with a game pre-installed inside. Uh, that’s why they were giving one away, they wanted a free game tester…but you know what, it’s worth it.

You always liked Just Dance games, they make you think about happy memories of your childhood. This pre-installed game called “Five Dances at Freddy’s” is a close copy of your childhood game with original FazCo songs, characters, environments and also some collaborations with other famous artists. It probably will be the cause of a big copyright infringement report.

There are various ways to play it: story mode, Casual dance, Five Dances, and Just Dance Care.

The first one is similar to the casual dance mode but with little cutscenes between a dance and another to tell a tale, Casual dance is how you can play the collab songs, Five Dances is the multiplayer mode and Just Dance Care is a more uhhhh “hard” way to play the game with all the other modes mixed in it. You stare at the description of the last mode smirking and decide to try it first just to see how far you can get before losing (yes you can lose in hard mode in this Just Dance, but you don’t die, you just have to restart from the beginning). Turns out the FazCo wasn’t kidding when they advertised the new headset as a breakthrough in the world of virtual reality headsets, the thing TRANSPORTED you inside the game itself. 

You almost have a heart attack when you can’t find your VR on your head, but before you can try something you are blocked by two tall individuals who you think are the “tutorial” characters. 

Yadda yadda, tutorial, you can pause the game and exit whenever you need just by opening an hidden menu, you find out your tutorial characters are called Sun and Moon and that you are way worse than you remembered at dancing (damn full body tracking, there is no way you are going to do a cartwheel in the middle of a dance, you still don’t know if your body is inside your home and if you’ll physically feel pain if you fall and you don’t want to find out).

You pass an embarrassingly long time trying to win your first dance battle just to discover it was still the tutorial. 

You try to go on with the story but you fail at the first real battle with a bear character named Freddy. 

And guess what? You have to start again from the tutorial! Y/n is gonna spend A LOT of time with Sun and Moon if this goes on.

[mrabubu]

How do you think the turtles from ROTMNT would deal with their feelings if they were in love with someone (be it human, mutant, Yokai, etc.)?

Oh man... Hmmm...

I really hope that wouldn't be a problem if I mostly ramble about Leo (I'M SORRY GUYS THE BLUE TURTLE LIVES IN MY MIND RENT FREE), and maybe a couple of words about the rest. I'll also be talking about both young and adult Leos, so, here we go.

I'll give short opinions on other turtles before Leo:

Donnie: Would be neglecting his feelings and emotions at first. Even though, in my opinion, he was established as the one prone to romance, I think when he'd actually feel anything towards anyone, he'd be really conflicted, because it's one thing to see this stuff on the TV and all, and another when it's in real life. But once he'll deal with all this mess in his head, he's a real gentleman.

With Raph and Mikey I'm going to refer to @souperwrites words, I hope they don't mind xd

"Mikey is confident and lovey dovey." And I totally agree with it. I feel like he would be the one who'd have the least problems with his feelings.

"Raph is shy but very genuine in his affection but also super nervous because of his size and the potential harm he could cause without meaning to." But honestly, I think my friend @daysofmoron could also give their opinion, since they love the red turtle. xd OKAY, NOW MY BOY LEO.

If start with young Leo, in the show he was always all "EWW!" whenever any sign of romantic love is shown, be it Big Mama and Splinter or Warren and Hypno (at least I remember them being all cuddly, and Leo's was just barfing at them on the background), but I imagine once his own heart goes "doki-doki" for Y/N (let it be Y/N or "you" for now), he's a total mess at first. Remember that episode when they met Jupiter Jim actor, and Leo couldn't even put the syllables together? Yeah, that's him at the start, especially if Y/N doesn't know about his feelings towards them. He'll be trying to impress Y/N but since his emotions are all over the place, he messes up more than usual, maybe even ending up hurting himself (like, he'd try to impress you with his skateboarding skills, but ends up eating concrete because he's too distracted).

And here I'm going to add a bit of my own ideas, because I've been thinking of some scenarios, like, if taking that previous idea with skateboarding, or, more easily, let's take the episode "The Longest Fight" when he fell, I imagine if on the contrary from others you'd actually show any genuine concern about if he's hurt, he'd be like "Oh..." and blushing, because usually his brothers would make fun if him, and here comes in you who doesn't laugh at his failure and worries if he needs help. I think after a moment like this he could begin to feel something.

And with Future Leo HO OHO I have an entire game reference on how I imagine him handling a romance.

First of all, I think as an adult he would be more confident with his feelings if he ever feels anything towards anyone, because, well, he's an adult now, and because when you at war you kinda already went through a lot to be all this blushing mess over feeling butterflies in your stomach.

So, as a reference, whenever I thought of him in a relationship, I though of a romance with Garrus from Mass Effect. I imagine Leo being kinda awkward, trying to make jokes at first that are much more sloppy than usual. Especially if talking about Garrus, I always think of that scene from Mass Effect 2, when he comes into Shepard's room before the final mission, trying to lighten up the mood, flirt and all, but ends up just being an awkward (but adorable) mess, and saying: "I've seen so many things have gone wrong... I want something to go right. Just once. Just..."

And it's just really easy for me to imagine Leo say that. And instead of touching scars you touch his prosthetic.

And also that dialogue with Liara after "The Lair of the Shadow Broker" DLC, when she asks if you fight for giving Garrus some peace, and you say that he's been hurt and deserves something better.

But once Leo's over all the awkwardness and let himself relax, he's just enjoying this new experience with you, having fun.

This scene with Garrus and Shepard trying the "first date" thing which ends up them dancing tango together. With all the teasing and all, I can easily imagine Leo would do something like that.

Honestly, I think that's it? There are more scenes in Mass Effect with Garrus and Shepard where I could easily imagine Leo would do something like that, but it's a lot. If you know, you know, If don't, well, I hope I was able to gave you an idea.

[evilminji]

Back on my: Holotuber Jedi Youngling - OC Thoughts >.>

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You think folks debate at first? Shtick or Real Thing? Like? No... no WAY could that be one of those Mysterious Mystic Space Cult Kids. No WAY. They would NEVER let their kid be unsupervised on the Net.

But like... (and since I'm a She, gonna use She, but realistically could be any pronouns here) she LOOKS like she's recording from a...? Is that a closet? This one looks like a vent. THIS video is definitely some sort of maintenance area. So she's definitely sneaking...

Ooooh! Thaaaat's a Jedi! REAL FUCKING JEDI. Just dropped down silently behind her. Arms crossed. Mouse droids be snitching. BUSTED.

:T

"Uuuuuuh, h-heeey, Master Uvalii. Fancy seeing YOU here!"

"Yes. Quite interesting isn't it? Since you should not be able to access this area at all, much less to achieve holonet access. Of which we are both aware you are expressly Forbidden To DO unsupervised."

".........I can explain?"

"Please. Do."

*feed ends, chat goes fucking NUTS*

Like? Oh SHIT. Baby Jedi in troooouble. But also? Oh no! What's gonna happen?! Are they gonna be okay?! S-should they TELL somebody? What do Jedi do to kids who disobey them? Does anyone actually KNOW? What DO any of us know about them!? Someone find their Com Code! MA! MA, I need you to yell at space monks! An adorable CHILD MIGHT BE AT STAKE!!! D:>

Even coming BACK on? For a supervised feed? Going "no, I'm just in trouble. Have to right paragraphs and meditate on 'why I felt the need to do this' (even though I KNOW why, not that they'll LISTEN. They just hope I'll meditate until I come to an answer they LIKE)" under the offscreen supervision of a teacher or Creche master?

Whole ass Net gonna be like "youngling! Blink Twice if they're holding you hostage! We can afford bounty hunters! We got a group pot thing going already!!! Aaaaaaaa-!"

Like? *waves at the camera and chat* she TOLD you. They don't believe you. This is part of WHY she wants to do what she's doing. Palpatine's and his Master's machinations have been building for a while. Eroding trust. The Jedi have become strange, dangerous, semi-mythical cryptids with magic powers we must HOPE are benevolent.

Not people.

Why would they expect some unfeeling, magical, sword-wielding space legend to be patient or kind to children? To even have the capacity? We are said to kidnap children and be unfeeling. Can not reach enough people to show otherwise. To reveal the mundanity of our lives. The traditions. The norms.

Food, children, laughter.

The Common Good.

And like? She obviously isn't gonna name Sith-ly NAMES. Not on CAMERA. But her lil "why I wanna play the tooka game and chat about lunch" speech? Convincing. Calms chat down. Still in trouble, mind you. But... provided it's SUPERVISED? And they work out some sort of effective moderation? Alright.

It's a matter of SAFETY, youngling. And no matter HOW much good you wish to do? They will NOT be sacrificing children to achieve it. That is NOT the Jedi way. There are plenty of old masters who would live nothing more then to ramble all day into cameras, if only to here themselves talk. (Oh? Good to know. Guest speakers pog?)

Like? Imagine making a game. Have a "mystical sage" character you TOTALLY BASED of Jedi in it. And your feed gets? Flooded with XD reactions in response to some smol bby streamer playing it? You go to check it out. Cause you're kinda a big deal on your planet. And?

Oh No™

That tiny streamer? Is a tiny JEDI streamer. Who is sitting there, in the stills, going O.o like "Wut." And the next still? Her lil friends are pulled in. The next? A teenager. The NEXT. An adult. The one after THAT. A few adults looking over her shoulder. Then a CROWD. All deeply, deeply confused looking.

The comments are DYING. Howling with laughter. The Jedi were so earnest. Trying to identify which Era you must be referencing. Which sect. But the head dress... cultural, maybe? It doesn't fit with the features though. Could be adopted. A hint at, I believe the term was, "lore"? No, no, those are DEFINITELY padawan beads! But so MANY? In THAT order?

They aren't even connected to a braid! And he's supposed to be a Master, right? But, wait. Perhaps it's meant to suggest he is a Padawan of the Force itself? A student of life? No, that wouldn't make sense! Stolen? It could suggest he has TAKEN the beads? Is regurgitating stolen texts without true understanding? Much like wearing bead he did not EARN?

They keep going and going. Ripping your character design to SHREDS. Picking it apart. Not even meanly! They are genuinely confused. AND IT ONLY MAKES THE CHAT LAUGH HARDER. Because it devolves into a MARATHON, after the game has been paused, of chat spamming different character names? For the Jedi to go "???" Over.

T...that's not? What? How does he even EAT in those robes? And those ones don't seem very non-humanoid friendly. Is he FLOATING HIS SWORD WITH THE FORCE? WHY!? Just keep it on your belt!!!

And? Now every game developer in the galaxy is PARANOID AF. Either make their mystics Very Obviously NOT Jedi rip offs... or shoot a "if I pay you $20 will you consult on something real quick" email. It's just... just easier man. Last guy got laughed into oblivion. Oof.

They can bill it as "Realism" or something. See guys? WE do or reasearch! Give us your credits!

Oh YEAH? Says the growing fan base of this Funky Lil Monk Child. Then put you game where your communication organs are. Send her the game, you cowards.

Do It.

Cut to "oh no, guys! The sorta-jedi died! What? Next objective? No. No we gotta give him a funeral! Oh good, we ca-BURY HIM?! What!? No!!! I could understand if he was from a race that held beliefs that bodies must be returned to the soil from whence they came, but this guy is a SORTA-JEDI! Absolutely NOT!"

"Let's cut down some trees. WE are building him a PYRE. Never ran one of these, but I can look it up. Gimme a moment. Okay. Draaaaag, him on to it. Where's his weapon. There! Thanks chat! On it goes too. Okay. Looking it up..... got it. Ahem...!"

*hold funeral for the sage character by burning his body*

*mods are IMMEDIATELY created to change the "burial" scene to a "Funeral pyre" with somber music*

Just? I can not let go? Of how the subtle shift would spread? Not in shining senatorial halls, but in class rooms and living rooms, dingy pubs and long hyperdrive flights? Anywhere boredom might be found and "hey check this out" might spread? Where someone else, might overhear and get curious?

Lik?? Imagine being the bounty hunter, who fuckin HATES Jedi, thinks they're sanctimonious BASTARDS, hearing someone snort laugh. Just... just fucking CHOKE on their cheep beer. Oh? Now everyone's interested. What's funny?

It's a teeny, tiny, lil jedi youngling. Playing that new Bounty 5 game. Unrealistic as hell. But they are going "I am a MASTER of stealth. A LEGEND of the hunt. You will not see me. I am sneaky. So, so, sneeeeakyyyyy!" As they concentrate on sneaking through back alleys.

Only for their character to fall RIGHT of a ledge, bounce against three buildings, smash into a parked Speeder, and roll right into a cut scene. Where they are call the "greatest bounty hunter of all time".

They look so incredulous.

"Are you SURE? Cause I'm fairly certain that phrase alone is banned for the trouble it causes, near most Bounty outposts. Could be the concussion talking though!"

They are? A sarcastic lil SHIT. Roast EVERYTHING. Know a surprising number of them. Given that they gave the Duros support character a modded in hat. Named him Definitely-Not-Cad. The fake look mustache REALLY sells it. Yeah, Bane. Clearly not you. YOU don't have a mustaches. *watches as she unleashes the Not Cad Bane like a highly tactical meat thresher on legs* brutal lil shit. They like her.

Granted, it's only BECAUSE it's not real she does so.

But I just? Have so many ideas? Spam the Galaxy with "this is who we are. We are people. Develop bonds with us. Care about us. KNOW us." Because the Sith can not possibly kill us all. Can not stop truth, so widely spread. Light dies, when you smother it in closed hands, hidden away in dark and long forgotten places. When you let fear dictate your actions.

It thrives in the open. With people. With the chance to SPREAD. Grow. Bloom.

It's about talking and caring. Being heard. What better place? Then on the screen in their pocket?

@babbling-babull @hypewinter @hdgnj @legitimatesatanspawn @spidori @spidori

[serensama]

Thursday Bangers: Dr, Who?

Eighth instalment! How crazy hahah >_< As always, I must thank and send all the love to @woundedsoul12 for this game and KICK ASS song choice this week. I love this song and had been secretly hoping it would be chosen (granted a little later for um... other reasons) but I hope I made it work XD As always- went over board - over 5k so, yes, LONG POST.

Read on Ao3

Rules for your Copy and Paste: Free form a blurb or drawing based on the weekly lyrics prompt. It doesn't have to include the prompt just whatever you're inspired to write, write it! Then tag some friends so they can play as well. It doesn't have to be finished on Thursday just post it whenever you can (you have a whole week between Thursdays).

And I'd give up forever to touch you, 'Cause I know that you feel me somehow, You're the closest to Heaven that I'll ever be, And I don't wanna go home right now ~ Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls

——— 

They sat in the backseat of the Uber, and Neve was chatting about something to do with shoe polish, nail polish or Polish sausage, but she just couldn’t keep her mind from straying to a certain man with cheekbones so sharp they should have been classified as weapons. Lips so plush that she wanted to spend hours just nibbling on them and-

“... Want a napkin for your drool?”

“Huh?” she answered eloquently, turning to face her quickly, a surprised look on her dazed face. Neve laughed and leaned against the side of the door, taking a long look at her and laughing even harder. “What?! What is it?”

“You really bloody like this guy.”

“What the hell are you talking about now?” Lilya groused, shirking away and sitting with her back ramrod straight against the seat.

“You were spacing out with a dreamy look on your face. You have never done that except when you first started dating Ashur; you certainly haven't done it since. Well, I mean, except for right now, of course,” she said, leaning over to pinch her friend’s cheek and getting pinched in return. “Ah- hey! Don’t shoot the messenger! It’s not my fault you’re so repressed, you didn’t notice it!”

Lilya threatened to pinch her again, but kept her hands to herself. It was hardly fair to do so when her friend was right. She really hadn’t noticed, just told herself it was all in her head and that it was hormones and couldn’t be anything else… especially with someone like Illario Dellamorte. Even with the things she had to dismiss because it was a secondhand account from Lucanis, it didn’t mean he wasn’t splashed around in the society pages.

After her initial meeting with him, her mild obsession took over her, so she did the perfectly normal thing to do: she googled the shit out of him. He wasn’t hard to find, and he wasn’t particularly secretive about who he was and what he did. He’d been seen with different debutantes and heiresses from around the world, attending fashion shows, and of course, she’d heard his name spoken by people in her circle at times, though she never paid attention to it. They didn’t run in the same crowds, but it didn’t mean their lives couldn’t occasionally intersect. Both of them came from money; his older than hers, but both names and fortunes were well respected. Outside of their family businesses, they were unlikely to have met, except perhaps as a brief greeting at a benefit or a mutual acquaintance’s gala event.

And yet. They met. And every subsequent time they met, the feeling in her chest grew more insistent… she didn’t want to admit it, but not being able to kiss him before physically hurt, like something was torn away from her. She kept herself hidden, hiding behind the pretence of professionalism and what was right. She had followed the rules; her patient was well looked after and no longer under her care. There was no hard and fast length of time that she had to wait to start something with Illario, but still, she would need to speak to her licensing board. Was that something she wanted to do? Did she want to risk her credibility, possibly undermine people’s trust in her, just because she had a little crush? That stuff followed you forever. Was this worth the pain? Could she live without ever knowing?

“Hey Neve.”

“Hmm?”

“You wanna abuse your powers as a detective?”

Neve sent her a sidelong glance and crossed her arms. “... I’m listening.”

“You want to get me Illario’s address? If I recall correctly, he lived uptown because it only took about ten minutes to get to my clinic from his place… I don’t really remember much because I ran out of his house so quickly the last time. This way I can go there real quick and confirm whether all I’m feeling is just me being hornier than I’ve ever felt, or if I actually like him you know.. as a person and stuff.”

Their driver choked on his drink.

“Yeah… no. Not doing that for you. Surely there’s someone in your family who knows him. Just ask them. Go to his office-”

“I’m not doing that again.”

“Again? Maker, I need to be caught up on the latest gossip.”

“Thank you for nothing, you upstanding pillar of the law.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Now I’m going to have to call him.”

“...You had his number all this time?” Neve stared at her agape, shaking her head at her friend.

“Yeah?”

“And you didn’t call him?”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Damn. That’s big. Such restraint from your part.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re obviously really into him, Lil.”

“Why do you keep saying that?”

“I have eyes. They both work just fine. I may only have one leg, but both my eyes are in tip-top shape. You’re biting your lip, your right leg is bouncing nervously, and your left thumb is flicking at each fingertip- you’re nervous. You’re excited. It’s cute.”

“Shut up. Just keep smoking and ruin your eyes already, stop seeing things so well.”

“Damn. Such a hater.”

The phone was ringing and she was so close to hanging up, freaking out that she was about to get his voicemail and she didn’t know what to say. ‘Hey Illario, it’s Lilya. Uh. Dr Lilya de Riva… in case you know more Lilya’s. Anyway, Yeah. So, this is my number, and now you have it. Now, I’m going to anxious-puke into this driver’s backseat console. Bye.’ That would charm the pants right back on to him and super glue them in place.

She was going to hang up-

“Hello?”

Shit. Damn. Shit. Shit!

“...Hello?”

Lilya squeezed her eyes shut and weathered the good-natured slaps from Neve after she heard the deeper voice on the other end of the line.

“Maker, Zara, if this is you-”

“I sure hope you don’t lump me in the same boat as your ex, Mr. Dellamorte,” she replied, Neve nodding and silently snapping her fingers to amp her up. She was a shit, but she was her shit, Maker bless her. Lilya heard a surprised huff, and a delicious chuckle followed. She could imagine him dipping further into the seat of his town car, his head thrown back on the headrest, his hand deep in his pocket, and the biggest grin on his face. As if he had won a bet, and her crawling back to him was his prize.

“I would never, Doc. It hurts that you think I ever would,” he said swiftly, and Lilya could hear the smile in his voice. It almost made her want to hang up just to spite him, but that would get them nowhere. “Zara is a breed unto her own. But then again, so are you-”

“...What?!”

“She is an accident of nature. You are the pinnacle of it, hardly comparable.”

Oh, he was smooth; she would give him that.

Neve mouthed, ‘ask for his address,’ and Lilya smacked her, earning a kick in the shin from her prosthetic, and she yelped loudly, causing Illario to ask if she was okay, obvious concern flooding his tone. Her friend whispered her apologies and tried to rub her smarting leg, the commotion resulting in their hushed voices talking over each other.

“Stop it!”

‘‘No, I’m so sorry!”

“Would you stop touching me!”

“Oh, Lil, I feel terrible. I take it back, you can sleep with Elek.”

“What the hell is going on over there?” he asked, his amusement shadowed by worry that the woman might accept the offer to sleep with another man. “Lilya?!”

Lilya pushed her friend off of her and put the phone back to her ear, cursing that she would sound more winded and agitated than before. “Hi, yes, yes, I’m here! Sorry about that. If you see that a woman was killed in the back seat of her Uber, and her friend was the prime suspect, I was with you all evening? Okay?”

She heard him laugh, and she hated to admit that she liked how it sounded- deep and rich. “You got it, alibi secured, you were with me all night- murder away.”

Lilya paused and reminded herself that fortune only favoured the brave. “Do… Do you think we could make that alibi… real?” she said, instantly smacking her forehead to her palm, if that didn’t sound like the worst way to invite herself over for a booty call, she didn’t know what was.

A long stretch of silence played on between them as Illario processed what she had said.

“Um… hello?”

“Yeah, I’m here, Doc.”

“It’s fine. Ignore me. I just… I’m going to go- I’m so sorry to call you so late-”

“I’ll text you my address… unless you want to text me yours?”

“I… we’re not going to have sex!” she blurted out, Neve snorting in the background, and again, Illario laughed.

“Well, that’s a shame, but I figured as much. I’ll send it to you now, see you soon,” he said, promptly hanging up.

---

The woman never failed to surprise him.

Just half an hour ago, he had formulated a plan to win the woman over; he was going to break down her walls, systematically destroy every argument she had to oppose him, and bend every rule there was to get to her. Nothing was going to stop him.

Except her, apparently. Beating him to the punch.

His driver pulled out in front of his building as instructed, and Illario sat back and laughed.

---

Lilya finished fixing herself up - “Yeah, you’re definitely not here to have sex aye, Lil, there’s another reason why you’re pushing your tits up and over your dress” - and pressed call icon under his name, wedging the phone between her ear and shoulder as she climbed out of the car. She didn’t even hear one full ring before it cut off to his voicemail, the generic robotic voice telling her to leave a message, and she hung up, ready to text him back saying she was in front of his building.

“Fancy seeing you here, Doc.”

It was unfair that the man moved so smoothly that he made walking look like he was dancing. She was so entranced by him that he had almost made it to the front of the Uber.

“N-No, wait, stop!” she called out, arm out in front of her, shocking the man to pause with a confused look. “I just… You need to be over there, and I need to be here.”

Illario stuck his tongue in his cheek and grinned, trying not to snicker. “Oh, you do? I wonder why that is?”

“Oh, don’t tease me, Mr Dellamorte,” she sassed him back, hugging his jacket tighter around him, which for some reason he seemed to approve of.

“Why not? You know from experience just how good at it I am.”

He licked at his incisor, and Lilya was tempted to tell him to stop doing that, but she knew he’d relish it far too much. Because she would, if she were in his shoes. Lilya pressed her lips together and shooed him back, Illario raising his arms with his elbows bent in question as he stepped backward until he was in line with the back of his car. “Alright… that’s… that’s far enough.”

“I’m sorry- are you talking? I can’t hear you from over here in Orlais,” he called out, shoving his hands into his pockets. Maker. She hadn’t noticed before but he had rolled up his sleeves and she could see his toned forearms, part of her remembering how some of his veins had become more visible when he had held her up by her hips and she- damn it.

“Just… please, you owe me, remember?” she said, with enough edge to her voice that made Illario drop his usual tone. He gently dipped his head to show he yielded and stood there quietly, waiting for her next move. “I don’t know… whatever it is this is that seems to be between us,” she started, searching for the right words, “but… it will not let me be. I am not too proud to say that you have been on my mind more than I care to admit. But I am not sure if that’s just because we have good chemistry, or if there’s an actual connection there. And I need to know.”

Illario tilted his head to the side and appraised her, unsure of what she meant. Wasn’t that the same thing?

“I know next to nothing about you, the real you, we’ve met less than a handful of times, and we did not do a lot of talking for it to be a viable connection. But I can’t help but wonder… if I'm wrong. And if I am- am I okay with never knowing that?”

He took a moment to mull over her words and deemed them fair enough. Logically, what she said was correct, but for him, it didn’t quite fit. He had never experienced what they shared before in his life; he had so many partners and some of the most intense sexual escapades one could have, but none left him reeling like that night with her. The kisses they shared in his office had felt like he was able to think again, as if everything noisy within him had gone quiet, stilled, and steady. Nothing in his life had ever been able to do that, no drink, no drug, no one. Except this woman who picked him up from a bar and then literally ran out of his life.

“How do you propose to answer this?” he asked, crossing his arms and fixing her with a discerning stare.

“We shall play a game.”

“... A…game?”

“Mhmm. You ask a question, and if I like the answer, you can step forward; if I don’t, you take a step back. I will do the same. Until we either finally meet or stay apart. Do you agree?”

“Does that count as the first question?”

“Illario.”

“Step forward.”

“What?”

“You called me by my name. I liked your answer. Please step forward.”

Lilya’s laughter bubbled out of her without her realising, covering her mouth to stifle herself, as she didn’t need one of his uppity neighbours calling the police on her for being unruly. Though thankfully, it was Antiva, the city never truly slept. “You tricky bastard. I get to ask two questions now.”

“What the hell- that’s not how you said we played the game.”

“I also didn’t say it wasn’t.”

“Are you sure you’re not a lawyer? That doesn’t seem like a therapist-y thing to say.”

“I am. That counts as another one of your questions, by the way, so now I guess I have three questions in a row to ask you,” she said, doing her best not to smile or gloat. Illario’s eyes squinted at her as a grin appeared on his face, chuckling into his hand when he knew he’d been played.

“Please step forward again. What can I say, I liked your answer, Doc. Almost makes me wish you worked for me, that’s some hard ball negotiating even I couldn’t argue against… but I guess if you did work for me, we wouldn’t be here in front of my building playing this weird game at midnight, so, I’ll just be happy you’re not on my payroll.”

“You couldn’t afford me on your payroll.”

“I am wealthy.”

“So am I… and if you tell me to step forward because of that answer, I will lose it.”

Illario raised his hands in surrender and mock innocence. “Wouldn’t dream of it. Besides, it wasn’t a question.”

Three questions. She had three questions to ask him when there were so many that raced around her mind. Go with your gut, it hasn’t led you astray yet. “Alright, what were you doing in the club tonight?”

“I was going to meet someone there for business, I hadn’t expected to find you there.” She nodded, and he took a step forward.

“If money weren’t an object, what would you be doing with your life?”

He paused and took the time to think out his answer. “The thing is, Doc… money isn’t an issue. I’ve never really thought about it because I didn’t think I could think about it. My life has been planned for me since the day I was born. This is who I am. I don’t think… the question should be if money weren’t an object. It should be, if I weren’t a Dellamorte, what would I be doing with my life?”

She had not expected him to be so candid, especially with the witty and flirty responses she had become accustomed to. Lilya nodded again, and he took a step. “Do you see yourself in a committed relationship in the future?”

“Yes.”

It was the way he said it, with his eyes pinned to hers and the barest hint of a smile at the corner of his lips, that made her swallow audibly. He said that with his whole chest. No hesitation. Eyes on the prize. That’s the second time she thought of herself as a prize, that was some egotistical shit right there. She felt herself nod, and he took a larger step toward her, but she said nothing against it, for he answered a big question.

“That’s three questions. My turn. Why did you call me?”

“I-” she stopped talking, about to give some stupid answer, but she owed it to herself to be honest. “... My friend in the car there… shared some keen insight with me that I truly hadn’t considered, and I needed to make sure before resigning myself to a course of action. What-ifs always kill me.”

“Take a step, Doc.”

Lilya took a step forward and realised she was already in front of the side mirror of the car, and Illario was already midway by the driver’s window. “Who was the one that got away?”

He leaned back and laughed, his eyes crinkling shut with such mirth that she was inspired to smile back at him.

“Doc… isn’t it obvious?”

“You can’t be serious!”

“Believe it or not, I am not accustomed to anyone running away from me, let alone getting away from me.”

“So is that it- you’re just intrigued because I’m the first one who didn’t fall over themselves to be with you straight away?”

“That may be a part of it. I don’t know,” he shrugged, still smiling like an idiot. “All I do know is that there is something about you, something in me can’t shake. I’ve tried. I’ve tried to forget about you, I’ve tried to meet other people, but whatever it is inside me doesn’t seem to want to work if it’s not you.”

“They have pills for that now, by the way. Small. Blue. Popular with the men, I hear.”

“Fuck me, Doc, you’re killing me here,” he groaned, shaking his head with a grin.

The sound of a window rolling down, and they were met with a very unimpressed Neve. She looked up at Lilya and tapped on her phone at the time. “Are we planning to stay here all night? Henry needs to get to sleep; he has an early start tomorrow.”

“Who the hell is Henry?” Lilya asked, utterly befuddled.

“Our driver! He’s been waiting here, watching you two play footpath footsie for the last ten minutes, and we’re his last ride. Either you wrap this up now, or we need to let him go.”

Illario strode forward and bowed down slightly in front of Neve’s door with his right hand over his heart in apology. “I am so sorry to you and your driver, please, let my driver take you wherever you need to be.”

“I’m not leaving, I’m invested now,” Neve replied nonplussed. “And I’m not leaving her without a ride, without a witness. I don’t care how pretty you are, there’s just no way. Not with what I’ve seen in this world,” she said, looping her arm around Lilya’s waist. The doctor looked upon the detective with grateful eyes and hugged her back, thankful to have such a friend.

“Alright, Dellamorte, speed round- if I told you we needed to wait two years because I need to adhere to what my licensing board expected of me after reporting this, what would you do? Would you move on, or would you wait with the possibility that whatever you’re feeling would dissipate before the time was even finished?”

“I’d wait.”

“You can’t answer that quickly!”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s not something that can be answered quickly, especially by someone who spent ages pondering what they’d like to do if they were able to!”

“Well, I’m not just anyone. I’m the CFO of our conglomerate. My job involves literally looking at something, running the numbers, casting projections, reviewing potential returns on investments, and analysing our cost-to-benefit ratio for all our acquisitions. I already know that if I invest two years of time in you, whatever I get would produce a return I can’t even quantify. There is only one risk I can see.”

“What’s that?”

“That you don’t see the same when you look at me.”

Lilya’s hand shot out and grabbed Neve by the arm, fingers wrapping around her wrist tightly, as if to ground her and convince herself she wasn’t dreaming. Her friend’s hand rested on top of hers and squeezed back.

“Shit, Lil. If you don’t kiss him, I just might.”

Illario smirked. He almost said “I’m game” in reflex when he realised that, surprisingly, he wasn’t. There was another beautiful woman in front of him paying a compliment he’d normally eat up, but he could only focus on the one who had been haunting him for months on end.

“Take… take many steps forward,” Lilya said against her better judgement.

Neve clucked her tongue and moved toward Illario’s car, talking over her shoulder in their general direction. “I will hop in with -“

“Marcel.”

“That’s right, thank you, Illario. I’ll hop in with Marcel and circle the block a few… dozen… times. You two talk. I’ll be back soon… ish. Lil, I’m a phone call away. He does anything- you call me, and you won’t even need an alibi if something happens to him.”

“Tough words from the cop who wouldn’t even get me an address.”

Neve turned on her heel and pressed her hand daintily to her chest as if she were offended. “There are some sacred lines you just don’t cross, Lil. I’ll be back. Make good choices. Remember, public indecency isn’t cool. So don’t get caught.”

“Just go, Neve!”

Lilya exhaled and closed her eyes, exasperated at her bestie’s antics. She heard the click of his shoes against the pavement and knew he took liberty with how many steps were classified as “many,” stopping short, just in front of her. It was her fault. She had not been specific.

“What is truly holding you back?” he asked, hands twitching at his sides with his need to touch her again. Up close, he could see it, the flicker of emotions, the rapid fire of thoughts as they moved across her face. She was choosing her words carefully, weighing them not just for him, but for herself as well.

“The professional aspects are a real concern. It is. I worked too long, too hard and care about my patients too much to lose everything- because my licence can be taken away from me, because of this,” Lilya said as she wildly gestured between them. She took a breath and hugged herself, knowing there was no point in indulging her self-denial any longer. “And yeah, that’s not just it- there’s more luggage than that to unpack. I know there is, and none of it is your fault. I don’t know quite how to fix it because there was no one worth fixing it for before”

He gave in to his desire, reaching for her waist and pulling her gently toward him, closing the last sliver of distance- bringing them back to where they’d been earlier that evening, earlier that day. Just a breath apart. Lilya’s hands moved without thought, settling against his chest. The fine silk of his shirt was warm beneath her fingers, smooth and soft, just like the skin she remembered, the skin she shouldn’t still be thinking about. But she was.

“Final question… You seem willing to go through with this. The waiting. My ethical responsibilities. The crazy friends I keep in the wings to torment you… all of it…”

“That’s a statement, not a question. It’s a true statement surely, but not a question, Doc.”

Lilya’s nails lightly grazed along his chest as she curled her hands into fists, a frown playing at her lips. “The question is… would you go through with all of it, even if it meant hurting your cousin? Because it might. It could really hurt him if we were to continue. Are you willing to do that?”

Illario froze. Could it? Could he?

Lilya smiled sadly at his hesitation- read him like a headline. She took a step back, both of them instantly colder for it.

“And that… that right there. That is why we can’t do this.”

He reached for her, his instincts overriding everything, but she stepped further out of his reach. Illario could feel his heart pounding in his chest as she took another. They were so close, right there, and he felt the chance slip through his fingers. How did the closing of this door feel worse than any of his actual relationships? Were they all so shallow that this flicker of real, actual connection with someone meant more to him than anything he had before? Was that a thing?

“… Yeah, Neve. Come back. It’s okay- I’m fine, I’m fine, we’ve just finished talking. Mhmm. Yup. We’ll get another ride. See you soon.”

Clearing his throat, Illario blinked a few times to come back to himself. “You can take my car. I said he’ll take you anywhere you want.”

“ I couldn’t-“

“You can. You should. Please, I insist.”

“I… thank you.”

They stood in silence as they waited for Neve to return. Lilya shivered and suddenly realised she was still wearing his jacket.

“I should- your jacket”

“It’s fine. Keep it until you get home.”

“Yeah. Okay, thanks.”

An eternity passed as they stood side by side, the awkward tension growing by the second. She wanted to tell him to go inside, but she knew he’d tell her he wasn’t going to leave her alone, and then it would be even more awkward because it would make her heart flutter. Even more than the mere thought of it already did.

“Just tell me this. What was the point then, of coming here? Of this entire exercise?”

“If it were just about sex, then I might be able to sublimate that I’m human and I can make one more mistake. Get you out of my system. But I think... that it’s more than chemistry. And to go into anything with that knowledge, I can’t even pretend to know how to face doing that every day. To choose to make a mistake that hurts the people I promised to help, every day. That’s not who I am.”

“So if it was just sex that’d be fine, but because I actually like you, that’s what makes it worse?!”

“Yes.”

“You shrinks are messed up, you know that?”

“Yes.”

“So what… this is it. For real. No chance of anything, now or in two years?”

“… Yes.”

He swallowed as an acrid taste, like something burnt, bloomed at the back of his throat. “Fine. Then, please, as a man who makes mistakes, may I just have one more? For our old fuck-ups’ sake?”

She looked at him for a moment, something fragile and knowing in her eyes, and then she nodded- slowly, solemnly- with no illusions or promises. Just the quiet agreement of two people who had already said goodbye in everything but gesture.

He stepped down off the curb. She stood slightly above him on the footpath, and he couldn’t help but notice, with a flicker of fond amusement he knew he shouldn’t have, that even now, he was still taller. Illario reached up, brushing a few stray hairs from her face, fingers longing to linger upon her skin. She was still utterly, impossibly enchanting, more so in this moment, wrapped in silence and streetlight and the ache of what they wouldn’t become. And maybe that’s why it hurt. Because she was standing right there, close enough to touch, but still not his.

He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her cheek. Then her temple. And finally, a last, gentle kiss to her lips. Chaste, reverent, a farewell shaped from the affection he bore her from the fleeting moments they had shared. She didn’t pull away. She didn’t have to. They both knew this was the end of it.

When he stepped back, the space between them felt even heavier than before. He had wanted to say something cool or suave or, at the very least, memorable, but his car turned the corner and he missed his chance. Again.

A cold wind tugged at her as if it was urging her to stay back, but her feet remained rooted to the spot. The tension between them, once warm with possibility, cooled fast, like a breath on glass- already fading. She reached for the right words, but found none that would give him the solace he deserved after what she put them through, to sate her own damn curiosity.

“For whatever it’s worth,” she began, meeting his eyes one last time, “I’m thankful to know it was more than sex between us. I’ll mourn it… and be grateful. For what could have been. And I’ll rest easier knowing it wasn’t just chemistry- it was real.” She inhaled sharply, bracing herself. “It just… couldn’t be.”

The silence stretched on between them, tremulous, terrible and tender.

The car pulled up behind him, its headlights slicing through the darkness like a spotlight on a stage, the last act of their messy play. He stepped back, his face unreadable, jaw clenched in silent compliance. He opened the door for her without a word, but his eyes followed her like she was about to step behind a closing curtain he wasn’t ready to let fall.

“Goodbye, Mr. Dellamorte.”

A nod.

“See you around, Dr de Riva.”

Their formality a shield, an effort at dignity between them as they both unravelled.

She slid into the car and he did not look away, even as the shadows stole her from him.

She collapsed into Neve’s waiting arms, embracing her without hesitation, like she’d been bracing for the impact all along. Neve had always known when Lilya was coming apart; she’d learned to listen for her unspoken words long before they were ever said. Lilya tucked her head beneath Neve’s chin, her voice muffled but unmistakably raw. “I don’t want… I can’t be alone tonight. Can I stay with you?”

Neve rested her cheek on the top of her head, her hands rubbing at her arms in quiet reassurance. “Yeah, of course. I’ll have to tidy a little… okay, a lot… but yeah. Of course.”

Lilya closed her eyes. Guilt coiled low in her stomach. She wasn’t sure if she’d made the right choice for her, for them- only that she had made a choice. And for tonight, that would have to be enough.

---

Outside, the car pulled away, its taillights fading into the dark. He stood there, unmoving, like a damned statue carved from an artist’s confusion and regret, watching until even the red smear of light had vanished into the night. He didn’t follow. He couldn’t. Not now. Not after that.

He laughed again, at himself, for he'd fancied himself a hunter. Told himself he would chase her, sweep her off her feet. She really never failed to surprise him. He hadn’t expected her to look at him with those big, bright eyes that told him yesand no within the same breath. She’d given him a taste of maybe, just long enough for him to believe, before snatching it away from them both like a cruel trick, some malicious sleight of hand.

She wanted him. Maker, he knew that much. She did too. It was heard in her trembling voice, felt in the way her hands had touched him, seen from the shine in her eyes she blinked back too quickly to be ever called tears- but it was there, she was there. But wanting wasn't enough. Not for her. Not when it meant hurting Lucanis. So she left- noble, broken and beautiful in retreat.

And he stood there, thoughts soaked in bitterness, drowning in the quiet. A would-be hunter, shot down before the hunt even began. Wounded not by her rejection, but by the brief flare of promise. He was just a man who wandered too close to the flame and never learnt, no matter how many times he was burnt. All he could do was bleed out silently in the dark, as she slipped away and the night closed in behind her.

Softly tagging: @jenn2d2 @rookamell @davrinsleftpectoral @thedissonantverses @mythals-whore @kabsey @brennacedria @talkmagically @gingervitus @jukkaricity @basedonconjecture @serstolas @selennes @blackwall-my-tiny-husband @seaglassmelody @hedwigoprah @himluv and anyone else who may want to play!!! <3

[newkatzkafe2023]

What would happen when the monkey kings have to take care of their army of cubs by their lonesome? Like we have a me day and he’s on baby duty? Does he last ? Does he break? Maybe both XD.

Ahhh childcare, such a lovely hellish time🤭😅👩‍🍼👨‍🍼

(Lmk Wukong) God He doesn't remember it being so difficult, Not even the baby monkeys on FFM gave him so much problems like his own cub do. They were so many of his children that were running around the house and mountain. His cubs would play games with the baby monkeys on flower fruit mountain which he was glad for but His head would be spinning from the chaos He has no idea what's to do with. you would come home to find him in a fetal position, crying tears of joy seeing you finally home.

(NR Wukong) It's like he's in a insane asylum. You went to the mall with Su for the day leaving him with an army of cubs. He would ask Li for some assistance but he had to do a double shift for a co-worker on maternity leave. So the poor old man was all alone. And every cub was hyperactive and would cause absolutely chaos, something they all got from him. You got home from the mall when you saw he was passed out on the floor with the cubs sleeping around him. You smiled knowing That everything was just fine now🥰🥰🥰

(MKR Wukong) Ohhhhhhhhhh man, it's pure hell for everyone involved. The monk made the dumb decision to ask you to go to the market for supplies for the journey. Now their all stuck with the monkey king's hell spawns, while the cubs love fruity like a baby sibling and would bring him to all their activities. It can't be said about Wukong and the pilgrims, The cubs would rob sandy blind, pee on the monk's scripture, and ambushed Wukong. The worst part was that they made pigsy their favorite target. there was never a time that the cubs weren't terrorizing him. The point is that all the men were at their wits' end and what you to hurry up and come back already.

(HIB Wukong) it's the final test for Wukong. If he can raise Luier and Silly Girl by himself, then he can raise a baby monkey. Although there were some problems with that, first it was that he was by himself, because you had gone to the hot springs and two there were so freaking many of them. Wukong had to have eyes all over his body because each cub would get into something and possibly get in trouble. When you came back, he looked like his soul died a bit, but he still remained a loving father.

(Netflix Wukong) Wukong can be an extra kid sometimes🤣. He would encourage the chaos of his cubs, as he would run around with them and play games and pull pranks. He does get serious to make sure his little pebbles don't get hurt, or in trouble with the Villages and would take full responsibility for anything the cubs break or destroy. Over all he's lives up to his fun dad title And can't wait for the next time He has to watch the kids himself.

FEEL FREE TO REBLOG😇😈

[lexicorp]

Transformers Earthspark: Another Place, Another Prison

[screenshot edit thats a bit silly--the maltos are actually generally rather chill even with star being a bit of a lil shit lmao]

This chapter really shoves Starscream into a social gathering with all da peeps for a series of goofy games. Which he roasts the shit out of the majority of the time. He's more into it at the start and gets progressively more drained from it all. It's not as fun if you don't plow the competition after all--XD

just a chap with fun family shenanigans and definitely nothing sus

Previous Chapter: Bee's Good Guy Crash Course

First Chapter: The Need For Read

Next Chapter: Make or Break

Chapter 11: Family Feud

The “Malto Family Game Night”. An intriguing premise. One Bumblebee thought he should drag Starscream into, it seemed, despite the title clearly only set to invite those who are real members of their collective. It even seemed a stretch that the humans and Terrans considered Bumblebee an “honorary” member to begin with. The Terrans, as Earthen cybernetic children, theoretically shared some level of kinship with humans to an extent. As well as apparently being bonded to them on a deeper level. But both he and Bumblebee had no such connection, why should they be roped into human nonsense? 

Why would they allow them to encroach on their little tradition? Perhaps this was some sort of test pertaining to the practice the bug had wanted Starscream to get, after his little lecture. A challenge to see how well Starscream could interact with them. 

Well, for whatever goal the bug had, he certainly could stand a bit of competition. A chance to destroy them at their own ridiculous games? Irresistible. The anticipation of victory, especially one he could lord over the scout later, might just make the growing chaos around him bearable. 

There were too many conversations about too many things being discussed in one room. He’d tried to track a few, but quickly found his audials begin to mute the chatter with a light ringing. If it hadn’t, he wouldn’t have been able to stop himself from calling them all into order himself.

Finally, Hashtag got everyone’s attention and pointed to the whiteboard that now held doodles of all their faceplates, separated into groups. “Alright fam! The teams we’ve decided on are: Me, J.B, and Nightshade with our name NightTagBreaker! Mom and Dad as Purple. Thrash and Mo as Mash–”

“‘Cause we’re gonna MASH the competition!” Thrash cheered as he smacked servos with his human partner.

Hashtag didn’t even seem fazed by the interruption, and scoffed without a hint of disdain. “We’ll see about that! There’s also Robbie and Twitch–”

“Their team’s name is Twobbie.” Mo said with the most dastardly smirk toward her brother, and a mocking tone to the name.

Robbie and Twitch both stood with crossed arms, the human retorting first with an air of superiority. “Uh no. Our name is Twin Blades!” 

Twitch plucked her swords from her back and twirled them as an example with a proud grin. “We’ve got the blades, and we’re basically twins. And way cooler than Mash.” 

Thrash gasped melodramatically with a servo to his chassis, “How dare you!”

“We’ll see who has the cooler name when we beat you!” Mo shot back with a throw of a digit in their direction. Threats so early in the competition? Bold.

Hashtag edited the name on the board discreetly, then turned to ask, “What’d you guys decide on for your name Bee? I was thinking it could be StarBee or Beam for the combo style like ours–” She gestured to her two partners– “Or BugBird, because y’know, Bee is bug coded and Starscream can fly. OR you could be Primary! Because together you have yellow, red, and blue!”

Starscream took his servo from under his faceplate to tip it at the crowd, straightening his posture with a slight tilt of his helm as he offered confidently, “Why not simply call us The Victors?” He wasn’t exactly thrilled that they had just decided that he was paired with the bug, but that wouldn’t change his plans of total domination over this strange event.

Many of them rolled their optics at Starscream’s proclamation, but Hashtag actually had to stop herself from laughing. Not entirely the correct response. Still, at least she was amused, rather than angered by his insinuation.

Bumblebee shook his helm in a way that Starscream couldn’t tell if he actually disapproved or not. “StarBee is fine, Hashtag.” He determined, then mumbled, “Even if it would be nice if my name was first…”

“Well, you always were more of just the backup, rather than a leader, scout.” Starscream pointed out haughtily. “Obviously my piece of the title would come first.” 

Bumblebee glared at him, “I am not your backup! We’re partners and this is friendly competition! And please try to remember what I was telling you yesterday…” He sounded exasperated. 

Starscream dropped his smirk and crossed his arms to align himself with a more professional posture. “Are you going to disclose the rubric, or will your little test be void of any comprehensible scale like all of your Autobot riddles?”

Bumblebee was about to respond, but the Malto matriarch, Dorothy, interrupted. “No tests. We are not making game night about work again. Right Bee?” The bug nodded, looking rather guilty. “We’re here to have fun.”

“Yeah!” Twitch flew up to meet Starscream’s faceplate, “So don’t you ruin it! Family time is sacred!” 

Starscream leaned slightly toward her, thoroughly unamused. “Yes, how dare I encroach on your ridiculous expression of familial bonding.”

“Okay guys!” Hashtag interjected, “This isn’t exactly supposed to be the mood of this scene. Can we rein it in please?” She looked more at Starscream than her sibling, with a pleading look to her optics. Twitch backed down, as did he. 

“Wonderful!” Nightshade collected a set of cards that seemed to be sized for Cybertronians. “The first game Hashtag and I decided upon from the list of requests, is Uno! Three teams will be in one group, and two in another.”

“Then we shuffle it until every team has had a chance to go against each other!” Hashtag added while shuffling the cards and splitting the deck into two stacks. “First group will be NightTagBreaker, Twin Blades, and Mash; then Purple and StarBee.”

“Would it not make more sense to put the team of three into the group with just two teams?” Starscream asked not as much for some level of fairness, but more in the hopes that he could avoid interacting with Megatron’s little spy. He’d much rather attempt their card game with Hashtag and Nightshade. 

“I mean, maybe, but we’ll get there eventually.” Hashtag gave him an awkward smile, then quickly moved on. Scrap. 

They all took to their tables and dealt the cards. Starscream attempted to read the rules from the little box that was cast aside, but Dorothy’s human conjunx told him that it was apparently quite simple. Same color, same number or action, and you could play your card on your turn. The wild card and plus four were clearly above all the other pathetic actions in the roster. Although the skip option was satisfyingly petty. Starscream managed to skip Bumblebee three times in a row, in fact, which he found hilarious. 

The bug however, was less amused, “We’re supposed to be on the same team! Could you maybe not sabotage me and actually try and collaborate?!”

“Only one of us needs to win to get the credit. I don’t need your help to claim victory over these humans at this silly game.”

“I don’t know about that.” Dorothy tauntingly raised her singular card. “Uno.”

“WHAT?” Starscream’s wings flared and he looked over at the bug’s absurdly large set of cards, then slammed a servo on the table to get his attention. “Unleash a counterattack you fool! You must have something in that embarrassing stack in your servos!”

“Oh look who came crawling back for my help.” The scout hoarded his cards with juvenile snark. 

Starscream stuttered and his optic twitched as he growled through gritted dentas. “Excuse me, but if you don’t we both lose you bit-brained idiot!”

“How about not calling your partner names, and actually asking nicely? Or just working with me instead of acting like I’m still your enemy?”

The bug was a stubborn fool. Ask nicely? Did they expect him to phrase orders as optionary as the Prime did? That’s ridiculous! And of course the bug was still his enemy! How stupid was this mech? Bumblebee had been the first to point a blaster at Starscream in the Titan. Just because the Autobots were acting as if something had changed, didn’t mean anything. This was all just another assignment for the scout. 

Wait…who said that Starscream couldn’t simply take the bug’s cards and do it himself? If they were on the same team, then what did it matter who carried out the move? He didn’t know what stupid arrangement of words they wanted from him. It’d be far easier to–

Starscream forcefully snatched the cards from Bumblebee’s servos in a crimson flash, and slapped down a plus two to destroy the Malto’s hope of victory. He made sure to keep his own remaining two cards safe from getting lost amidst his stolen pile. The bug complained and tossed his servos around before attempting to steal his cards back, as Starscream pushed against his faceplate to hold him off.

Then, Dorothy cleared her throat before crossing her arms. “I win.”

“Wha–HOW?!” Starscream shoved the bug aside before pointing a digit at the human. “You lost your turn and were supposed to gain additional cards as the action dictates! You couldn't have possibly won!” 

Her optical ridge rose and she tapped the card plainly placed upon the one he’d taken from Bumblebee. “My last card was a plus two, and I can stack it on yours. Maybe, you should have actually talked it out with your partner.”

Oh, so this fleshling aimed to lecture him now? And since when could actions be placed upon one another as a means of canceling the other out? That made no sense with the rest of the rules! Sure, if you were not at the receiving end and were simply the player that is being skipped towards–but mid-action?? That was ridiculous, she made that up!

Lightning flickered between his wings. He didn’t lose. She’d only crafted some absurd reason to disguise the fact that she was clearly only attempting to prove some point, and make Starscream look like an idiot. That’s what it was. But he couldn’t do anything about it. The human was Megatron’s little agent. Starscream would be scrapped if he did anything against her. 

Starscream’s optics were burning as he wished again that he could set those blasted cards ablaze with only his processor. This game was just another tool for them to mock him. His vents were the same.

“Chill, it’s not like losing one game is the end of the world. Even if I am definitely blaming this loss, on you. I was just the card draw scrapyard–” Bumblebee was attempting to retrieve the scattered cards, and Starscream reflexively grabbed his wrist and pulled the scout up as he rose to his peds. 

“This IS your fault!” Starscream said dangerously, even as the scout transformed out his blaster with his other servo. But as a deafening silence strangled the cavern, and Starscream stared into the bug's startled yet defiant optics…he hated it. He was doing it again. 

His anger attempted to subside, replaced by something else as his grip loosened on the bug. But the curse didn’t seem to approve of that, and it instead tried to channel its power into the servo which mistakenly held Bumblebee. Starscream’s optics widened and he wrenched his servo away. Then yelped as he found Wheeljack’s little device had sent an equal pulse up his ped in some pathetic counterattack to the power. Instead of neutralizing the surge at his servo, all it did was make him fly back clumsily, and hit his helm on the ground. All while the power still felt as if his arm was being ripped apart by scraplets.

“Uh, you guys okay over there??” Twitch called from their own game.

“Ugh…Peachy.” Bumblebee commented dryly as he picked himself up after having apparently fallen back as well. “Someone is just a sore loser.”

Starscream only sat up to grip his violently shaking servo as he glared at it. He wasn’t like Megatron. “Perhaps…It was an overreaction.” He couldn’t apologize. He was too distracted. But he could acknowledge the bug’s point. Maybe that would be enough. 

Bumblebee watched him a moment before a ridiculous grin came to his faceplate. “No kidding.” 

The scout offered Starscream a servo, and he stared at it hesitantly as the lightning slowly died from his frame. He didn’t smack it away, but he didn’t take it either. Instead, he forced his annoyingly numb right ped to cooperate as he pulled himself up. “Besides, with the human’s knack for simply realigning the rules to her whim, how could either of us be at fault? Megatron clearly taught her well.”

“Excuse me?” Dorothy put her servos on her hips. Apparently his comment was somehow offensive. Even the buckethead’s agent detested being compared to him. How poetic.

Starscream paced to give himself enough distance from bot and human alike, before tipping a servo and his hip out in unbridled sass with an innocent vocalizer, “Oh but I’d never blame you for such a thing. In fact, I might have pulled such a stunt myself if we were more acquainted. Although that was a bit of a clumsy rule you constructed in your haste. Perhaps I could give you some advice for–”

Dorothy put her servo up to silence him. “No. I didn’t make it up. Well, not right at that moment–it’s just a common house rule for the game. It makes things a bit more interesting, and can lead to crazy close calls like that.”

“Yes we would never cheat! Especially Dottie!” Her conjunx attested with a protective servo around her shoulder, which she patted with hers. Disgusting.

Starscream’s faceplate scrunched at their show of affection, but willed himself to put on a smile. “I meant no disrespect, truly.” He gave her a half-afted bow, then began assisting the bug in collecting the cards that had fallen to the floor. “So I assume we shall be shuffling the groups now then?”

Not a moment later, there was an obnoxious uproar from the kids as the Twin Blades team celebrated their victory. They had their own argument about how it was achieved, yet it seemed more out of curiosity for their strategy. Of which they happily went into dramatized detail. They all laughed and congratulated them, with playful counters at how close it had been. No one was angry, or accusatory. The only touch they shared was gentle. Starscream stared at them, transfixed. 

Sure, it was not as if he had always fought with his trinemates over such silly things. But still, there had typically been some sort of transition into a wrestling match to settle the true victor. Anything close to that here was meager at best. He wasn’t surprised…only, afflicted with a strange sense of yearning. Which was ridiculous.

“Sounds like it.” Bumblebee remarked as he placed the now reforged stack of cards on their table, then added teasingly, “Are you actually going to be my teammate this time, fly boy?”

“Yes, it seems that might be necessary.” Starscream avoided the bug’s optics as he took his seat again. 

Team NightTagBreaker switched places with Purple. He didn’t quite care for the dinobot, but the other two terrans could be rather pleasant. Although it did seem that “J.B.” was far more focused on the game than attempting to bite his peds this time. 

Starscream and Hashtag shared a glance, and he was the first to break the silence between them, “Do not expect us to go easy on you.” Mimicking her siblings’ manner of playful banter.

“Wouldn’t dream of it!” She responded with a theatrical tone and servo to her chassis. 

“If anyone should be going easy, it is us!” Nightshade added, to which the dinobot seemed to finish the thought.

“Yeah! Because–we are three bots, and you are not.”

“Don’t think that numbers are everything kids.” Bumblebee warned as he fanned out his new selection of cards in his servos. 

This time, Starscream collaborated with the bug as they discreetly disclosed which cards they possessed, and plotted how to best use them. He used his skips to instead protect his unlikely ally from unwanted card draw, until he could change the color again. As well as parrying reverses, or waiting until the other also had a plus two, as to avoid friendly fire. Perhaps that strange rule could be rather useful, when he actually knew to utilize it. Then, he also did not see why they could not stack other actions in such a way as well…

When the scout had called Uno, the dinobot attempted to skip him to postpone their victory. Unbeknownst to them, Bumblebee also had a skip card, but the bug did not place it down. A pause for dramatic effect?

Starscream cast aside his own useless cards and smacked the bug’s shoulder plating. “Reveal your card already you–eh, just what are you waiting for? We won. Cancel their action with yours!”

Bumblebee looked baffled as he stared at his card then back at Starscream. “What?? Jawbreaker skipped me, I can’t cancel that. It’s your turn. Why don’t you use that reverse card you had?”

Starscream’s wings pulled back and he ripped his cards back off the table to hit them with his other servo. “This scrap will do nothing to change it to the correct color! Why on Cybertron can you not just do as that human did before?! Countering an action of equal title mid-attack is perfectly legal in your stupid house rules! We’ve even done it multiple times this round, how is this any different?”

“Stacking only works with the plus two’s and four’s,” Nightshade attempted to explain their absurd standards, “It is not as if you can add onto one skip with another.”

“Uh-huh, you can’t do that Starscream, that’d be cheating.” J.B. insisted like a foolish child. “Right? Because, that’s definitely against the rules.”

Lightning jumped across Starscream’s frame again.

How was he the one cheating? Their “mom” had come up with it first! Noone had cared when she did it. How did it make any less sense to use the skip card in such a way than the other one? Of course the skips could be added onto one another! All they’d need to do is make it a double skip so that–if he and the scout didn’t already win–it’d send the next turn over to Hashtag. How was that concept so hard for them to understand? This game was stupid. 

Bumblebee nudged him, “Hey, we haven’t lost yet!” Starscream didn’t look at him, nor say anything for a long stint of time. “C’moooon, what cards ya got huh?”

Starscream’s optics flickered red and he took in an extended vent, then hiked his wings up with a strained grin and peak to his vocalizer. “Fine, yes, of course! Let's look at what cards I have. Numbers and a single useless reverse action? That will surely lead us to victory. Especially, when as soon as I place something down, those three will no doubt begin a chain of plus two actions of which you would be defenseless against. Or a plus four. Or they could start a reverse chain between one another. Or lock us in a color neither of us have in a plot to instigate the idiotic notion of infinite card draw!”

“You don’t know what cards we have,” Hashtag seemed to be getting frustrated with him, “And besides, it’s just a game. If we outplay you, we win, it’s not that deep!”

“Well, Uno does contain a higher percentage of RNG than skill, but that is a fair point regardless.” Nightshade nodded.

“Um, so, can we just…finish the game now?” J.B asked meekly.

Starscream’s wings swiveled up and down as he forced the stupid power back into the corner of his spark. “Sure.” He could play nice for Hashtag’s sake.

The game proceeded just about as insufferably as he anticipated. He and the bug ended with far too many cards, and Nightshade claimed the win for their team. That was fine. He didn’t care.

Every other match of that accursed Uno left Starscream and Bumblebee once again so close, only for it to be ripped away time and time again. Every instance, more inane than the last. How could they have not even won once?! The last time was entirely the bug’s fault, when he’d blatantly ignored Starscream’s order. He made sure to tell the scout just how stupid that had been, but then the others only seemed to get mad at Starscream for it instead! 

The next game that was chosen attempted to usurp the last in stupidity. The “tic-tac-toe” was near impossible to not end in a tie. It had to be replayed repetitively until a victor was concluded. It was boring, exceedingly plain, and the only viable strategy was far too easily thwarted. In fact, when Starscream was in the midst of cornering their opponent, they instead reversed it back onto him! Bumblebee had obviously ruined the whole thing with his insistence on starting in the middle when it was clearly best to start at a corner. Even when they finally did manage to succeed in one matchup, it was anticlimactic as slag. 

The next was a quite straightforward game titled “Spot-it”. All that needed to be done was match an icon on your own card with the one in the discard. And finally, Starscream was able to dominate. Every single match, he rapidly pinpointed the correct image and practically blazed through his entire stack with only minute lapses in his speed. No one stood in his way! No one even got a chance! It was glorious! 

Starscream laughed maniacally as he gained yet another point without the pathetic aid of the bug. “HAHAH you all are not even TRYING! This game is far too easy. Or perhaps you simply have a slow processor for such things, eh, Bumblebee?” He flicked the bug’s helm and fluttered his wings. Elated that he at long last obtained even a fleeting moment of triumph amongst them. “Good thing you have me to carry your constant lag.”

Bumblebee glared at him, then rolled his optics, “Riiiight. You’re taking this whole thing way too seriously.” 

“Why wouldn’t I?” Starscream stated in a more dismissive than questioning manner with a slight tip of his helm and a shrug. “What’s next then?”

“Pictionary!” Hashtag held up the box with far more excitement than she’d had previously. “Nightshade and I even made more little figurines and an extended board for all of us to play together!” She and her sibling began the setup, while J.B. distributed the items required for each team. “The person who draws whatever it is rotates, then the others on your team need to guess what the person is trying to show them! The color on the board determines what subject it is, and you kinda get a bit of a clue on what it is from that too.”

Simple enough, if the bug could draw a straight line. Starscream claimed the marker first, as he was far more confident in his own artistic ability. The first object he got was a “basketball”. He didn’t know what that was, but he did know how to depict a basket and a ball separately. Surely the scout could comprehend an icon based word puzzle as simple as that. Which he did. But the words only got stranger from there, and that is where their downfall began. 

Items like “Taylor Swift”, “Swan”, or “Cell Phone”, were ridiculous. Was he supposed to have done research before this blasted thing? They had to redraw cards in an attempt to acquire a usable item multiple times. Yet even then, there were many moments where the bug had far too much confidence in his ability to depict whatever it was he’d gotten. His illustrative skill was predictively lacking, and he was lucky Starscream had been able to make out any of it at all. At the very least, Bumblebee was adequate at determining what Starscream was forced to illustrate. 

The worst of it was when there had been the perfect opportunity to draw himself throwing Megatron into the Pit–for the action topic of course–and the blasted timer ran out before he could finish! Apparently there needed to be some sort of middle ground in which to prioritize what details were necessary. He could make sacrifices for the sake of their victory, sure, yet it was still disappointing. How was he to find any sort of satisfaction in this game, if he could not at the bare minimum depict the buckethead getting tossed into a scrapheap?

Although he would admit that this game certainly seemed the most balanced, those with their ridiculous bonds and understanding of one another, inevitably gained some sort of advantage. Which got annoying fast. Every little moment longer the scout took to guess what the item was, or the next incoherent blob he depicted, made the tapping of Starscream’s ped quicken. 

Starscream growled and his wings flicked back, “NOW what is it?” He squinted as the crude image began to take some sort of shape. “The Autobots?” The bug shook his helm and gestured for it to be more general. “Cybertronians?” A gesture for him to elaborate. “What other word is there!?–” His optics flashed red, with a brief moment of his spark feeling as though it were being wrenched out of his intake, as the word came to him–“Transformers.” A disgustingly rudimentary title. Of course that was all that they were reduced to in this human game under the subject of pop culture. 

He was correct. But he still felt distant from the bug’s excitement toward their apparent close call. Starscream hit a servo against his own helm in an effort to knock out whatever had possessed him. This reflex was evidently questionable, but he was easily able to brush it off. He couldn’t have his processor glitching in the midst of this event. It would not only be quite discomfiting, but would also bring more petty disruption to something the Terrans seemed to have put a great deal of effort into. He had to keep it under control.

By the end of it, he and the bug only managed to cross half of the spaces needed to win. Infuriating. Starscream despised losing. They weren’t even able to claim second best. Pathetic. 

By the next game, Starscream was decidedly over it. 

This “Charades” only served to make one dance around like a fool in some absurd hope at expressing the word on their slip of flimsy scrap. It was near identical to the concept of the last, but regressed into something far less tolerable. Perhaps it could be more amusing if it was less about imitating Earth creatures and instead aimed toward mimicking someone else in their group. That had been a favorite amongst his trinemates back in the more tolerable cycles amidst the Decepticons.

Bumblebee flapped his arms around stupidly as he attempted to display what he’d plucked from the pile. He looked utterly ridiculous. Starscream would never catch himself offline doing such a thing. What was the bug even supposed to be? He was acting as though he were attempting to fly, similar to how Nightshade seems to need to operate their alt mode. Clearly some form of Earthen avian, but how was he supposed to know which classification was required?

“Ugh,” Starscream rubbed his optics, “what do you call those tiny avian creatures on this planet?” 

“Birds!” Twitch chirped in an oddly endearing manner.

“Right. That is what he is, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, basically.” Bumblebee halted mid motion to shrug, then whirled his arms around before finding his balance again. “Think we can count that one Alex?”

“Mmm…” Dorothy’s conjunx, Alex, squeaked his uncertainty at the notion. Obviously unsatisfied with such a vague answer.

Dorothy smacked his shoulder, although it looked like it barely connected. “I think we can give it to ‘em. Starscream hasn’t exactly gotten as acquainted with what all our little guys here are called yet.”

“I don’t need your pity points, human.” Starscream muttered in a visceral hiss. When would he have had the time to study such things? Why should he care what all these birds were labeled on this insufferable planet? He had far better things to do! Starscream had a million other exceedingly more important matters that required his brilliant processor, than reverting back to cataloging miscellaneous fauna on some backwater rock!

 “Oh, I suppose it’s alright.” Alex relented, none the wiser to Starscream’s bitter comment. “Why don’t you try another one, Bee?”

Bumblebee chuckled as the timer ran out, “Sorry pal, but I’m afraid you’ll have to wait until next time to witness my famously flawless acting skills. How about you and Dot go next? Gotta show me your moves too!”

Starscream watched the rest of them play out what remained of the game with blank optics. The images he processed paced in a choppy framerate, and the clarity distorted to a lower quality. A moment's glance at the scoreboard told him that there was absolutely no way they would win in the larger scheme of things. It meant nothing. He couldn’t even attempt to sabotage the competition, or challenge the validity of his competitors' victories. He’d surely get caught, and only gain pointless drama that’d get him into trouble. Which he did not need more of.

Had he even passed that scout’s stupid test? Even if Starscream didn’t claim the more favorable glory he sought, it’d be worse if the failure was calculated against whatever new standard Megatron sought from him. Starscream was actually surprised his ever looming Lord hadn’t made further appearance by now. He was sure something was bound to happen soon. Perhaps this was all some sort of means to get him to let his guard down. Or to determine what could be used to force him in line. Megatron might be getting a byte more creative in his time as a traitor. Even if he was attempting some type of psychological approach, surely he’d revel in any excuse to beat the slag out of Starscream for any reason he could pull out his exhaust pipe.

This whole ordeal seemed too calm. Too casual. They all had many moments of clear annoyance towards him, yet constantly held themselves back but only a few meager remarks. It was not as if he held any particular power in this situation to warrant them to fear standing against him. They only seemed unsure, or dismissive. Even occasionally acting as if their apprehension was entirely absent. They were clearly hiding something. 

Starscream had been lost in his own thoughts for so long, that he’d just about missed their little awards ceremony to conclude the night. That was until there was a crack and pop that sent a far too familiar shock through his muddled audials. He flinched and stumbled backwards away from the noise. Nearly trampling one of the Terrans but unable to utter an apology as he barely processed their presence. 

It was only a device to distribute colorful material over the crowd. Their laughter was mocking him. Their celebration over their stupid series of trials that they rigged towards their own success, was disorienting. 

Starscream was done. He’d played their games. He was not about to attempt to decode what they wanted next. 

He stealthily retreated back into his corner of the cavern. It hadn’t been all horrible, he supposed…Regardless, he was tired. They were all too loud in the wrong way. 

The curse flared with thoughts echoing some stupid impulse that’d use its power to blast them into oblivion. Then he wouldn’t have to worry about any of it. Then their threat would be neutralized.

But that wasn’t right.

Lightning flickered and stabbed across his frame as he now sat with his wings to those soaring seekers on the wall. He just wanted to leave. To fly away to a Cybertron where they were waiting for him. Where he too could enjoy such festivities. Where they’d cheer his name for his achievements. Where he could revel in their praise–perhaps even…alongside his trinemates, untainted by his mistakes.

Where…it would all feel real.

[hoxooster]

You wanna know the scary thing, @manekinoodle? I don't think that Hoxton became more aggressive in PD2 because he was 'pissed off and hurting from being stuck in prison while the guys roamed free'. I honestly think that that was OVERKILL stereotyping him as 'The Angry Brit', because of how much he yelled in The Heist. Because, yeah, he mentions being mad about being in prison and hyper-focuses on the Rat, but I think that that's the end of it. I truly believe that they were like, "Yeah, he's Hoxton. He yells a lot in the first game. So, he has to do that," and that was the end of their thought process. They just lucked into that fitting in with his characterization and just making sense in general. They never actually thought, 'Hey, so, getting abandoned by the Gang would make him lash out at the Crew. And he would probably see Houston wearing his mask--and replacing him on the team--as a slap in the face from his gang. Also, the paranoia that would be involved from getting nabbed and knowing that someone turned him in? Yeah. There's a lot of pain, trauma, and abandonment issues there.' They were just like, "Hoxton yells and he likes his old mask, so he's just mean to Houston because he took his stuff. Plus, he doesn't like being inconvenienced by prison, so he'd go after the guy who threw him in there."

I mean, I could always be wrong. But, OVK's track record of understanding their own characters has always been extremely poor, so... ¯\_(:|)_/¯

houston in payday 3 upsets me a little

hello chat its been a minute im here to post a take. i dont like houstons design in payday 3.

actual flirting vs harassment

worth mentioning i dont own payday 3 and havent paid a lick of attention to houstons payday 3 voice lines or anything but visually it looks a lot like they took the suave rogue route with his character which is an interpretation but not the one i wanted and frankly not one i find interesting in payday 2 he doesnt look like someone who youd find rob a bank in payday 3 i would feel unsafe in a room with him his unassuming appearance in 2 fits his stealth based skillset practicality is very important to him he doesnt like people touching his things and he is not suave by any meaning of the word i dont think it was intentional that they made him as awkward as he is but "i think i ate too much bran this morning" is NOT suave rogue behavior its not giving james bond mission impossible hes a different kind of stealth he stays out of sight and doesnt like talking to people he lacks charisma but the tuxedo design just makes him look like hes supposed to be manipulating the casinogoers charming security into not minding when he takes a keycard

thats not who he is his whole thing is staying far the fuck away from people and not being seen hes also the mechanic he takes care of the van and keeps it in shape i dont think hed be inclined to care if he got oil on an expensive tuxedo anyway, he steals money bc of poverty and kleptomania(headcanon) not bc of greed and glamour like hoxton but a tuxedo just isnt convenient for being a mechanic also would he really fucking put all that on i dont think so that man would wear an unzipped hoodie, a hawaiian print shirt, a very loose tie, cargo pants on a good day, and the sneakers your dad wears he cares to put on a tie bc his brother cares not because he gives a shit about being seen in a lovely suit and tie

he doesnt care about how hes seen because he wont be seen at all why would he dress up so fancy if his intentions are for nobody to see him in the first place

he looks like i would be afraid to see him on a plane he looks like how he would look if he WAS hoxton there are a couple of things in the new design that i do enjoy

for one his eyes are very similar theyre still very sullen and tired looking which is good but with his angrier looking eyebrows it feels a lot more discomforting

the second thing i like is the addition of the eyebrow slit which loosely supports the headcanon that he lost an eye in prison

[nightwonder7]

GOT THE GREATEST IDEA EVER...

your OCS but they're crossover costumes in idv for Alice and Norton :3

YOU KNOW WHAT

For a while I have been entertained by the thought of which IDV characters would be cast as my OCs if they were a crossover essence or something. Like who would be a skin for who in the game. Sadly none of them fit Norton nor Alice, but these are the ones I've been thinking of:

Emmett Dean Abberoth

I'm thinking Novelist. Emmett is a nervous pharmacist, but he's impeccably dressed and has a notebook, so I can see it fit the most. The alternative could be Professor.

Melanie Vinter

I can see her as Perfumer. She's a shy vampire with a troubled past. I dunno, the in-game abilities just feels right for some reason. Plus, both of them have regrets about the past.

Timothy Daw

I'm not too sure here tbh. Seer? Or maybe Acrobat (even though he'd likely fall apart in that role fhdsjfgs). Timothy is a scarecrow with a sunny disposition who deeply loves his birds.

Wayne Barner

Grave Keeper most definitely! Even though their personalities couldn't clash more gdghjdkg Wayne is my Don't Starve OC. From the working class and good with the shovel.

Jakob Ross Lockhart

For him, First Officer. He's a psychiatrist with questionable methods and dark secrets. Reckless and a bit of a psychopath. Good at reading people. He uses hypnosis on his patients.

Audrey Haupe

I feel like maybe Gardener would suit her. She is Lockhart's maid. Dedicated and down to earth, she keeps her master grounded.

Cyril Iwo Davinski & Angelica Sage Thornwood

I haven't drawn these two in the IDV style yet, so I'm slapping them here together 💀 I'm not very sure who would fit them best either. I can see Angelica as Faro Lady. Maybe even Coordinator or Antiquarian. Cyril I have the hardest time with cause none of them really fit. Closest I can come up with is maybe Embalmer.

I'd love to make more refined drawings of my OCs in the IDV style some day ;<; Thank you for giving me an excuse to yap about this XD

[gamerbeta]

A Slightly Stretched Theory On The Recent Legends Z-A News

So I saw a some people mention that the trainers that appear to increase your rank have names that correspond to the rank your at. Aka Z for Zach, Y for Yvon, etc. Which means if Emmet was a major part in the Z-A Battle Royale, he would probably be the requirement to Rank D (as E for Emmet, which I originally thought he might be one of the last trainers we fight).

HOWEVER, that being the case, which trainer would get us to Rank A? It could be a random new trainer character they come up with. It could also be Blue(his name does start with B), as he was mentioned in the X/Y games in Lumiose. Even though this could be the case, I don’t exactly know what his wish could be.

Now, there is a character that I didn’t think would actually be in Legends Z-A, but looking at what we’re given, that character might be a good possibility now. Given the fact that his ancestor wasn’t in Legends Arceus even though he was a major role in Diamond and Pearl, I think Barry might actually have a role in Legends Z-A now!

I know this seems like a stretch, but hear me out. He would probably have a nearly identical wish to Emmet, wishing for Dawn/Lucas back while Emmet wants Ingo back. These two could be working in the royale together in both having the same identical wish, to have the people that were from this timeline sent to Hisui back.

That’s why we’d probably fight Emmet at a slightly lower rank. Though he wants their wish to come true, it’s more likely having two of them in the competition. So he probably wouldn’t be upset if we beat him (but Barry might if he’s the cause of us getting to rank A first).

If this is the case, can’t wait to cancel their wish to be a pokémillionaire instead! XD (jk, that’d suck for them)

Definitely let me know what you guys think!

[sage0ftruth]

Hello! I just saw your post abt making an essay on rebutting the “Devsisters ruined ES’s character!” argument in the Hollysugar community,, and I was typing this in those comments but I hit the character limit like a third of the way through XD

I just wanted to share my agreement with your stance alongside why I personally don’t agree with the idea that Eternal Sugar Cookie’s character was ruined,, since I’m new to the fandom space here and thus haven’t seen that argument yet. My blood is BOILING that people don’t understand ES sis let me tell you about it in the form of a long essay

(Spoilers for Beast Yeast episodes 3-10 below)

First of all do not get me wrong, I really like Mystic Flour and Burning Spice (Mystic Flour’s my favourite tbh). The two of them, if you solely compare them, were very different in the way they went about retrieving their Soul Jam. However it would’ve felt extremely repetitive if all the episodes in Beast-Yeast played out the same way. Eps. 6 and 7 held interest, as Pure Vanilla already knew about Shadow Milk and took initiative to find him, and Shadow Milk handled Pure Vanilla differently than the previous two Beasts. It started out as brute force, but developed when Shadow Milk believed he could play mind games on PV to turn him to the dark side, so to speak.

I really like Eternal Sugar’s character and episodes because of this. Hollyberry again takes initiative and goes to find Eternal Sugar to bite the bullet before she comes to her. Since ES is the Beast of Sloth, it makes sense that she didn’t contact Hollyberry first. And even if you don’t like Hollysugar or simply don’t see the two of them that way in canon, all of her actions still make sense.

Think about it: Mystic Flour is a tough cookie (no pun intended). She wants everyone to return to flour, which means having few allies whom she may promise to spare, or who share her ideals and don’t mind working toward that cause. For her, trying to ally with Dark Cacao doesn’t work. Firstly, getting the goddamn ANCIENT OF RESOLUTION to GIVE UP FOREVER is very difficult and not worth the effort if she can just physically and mentally overpower him. Also, her power of just Thanos-snapping people seems to be exclusive to her, so ultimately Dark Cacao would be useless to convert to the cause, unless he also became a Cookie of Apathy and gained powers like hers, which she probably didn’t even know could happen(since if we take the order of Beast-Yeast eps to be chronological, the whole thing with SM and PV happened later), and would also be even MORE difficult than recruiting him as an ally, since he would have to become JUST like her in mindset.

It’s a similar story for Burning Spice. He is a Beast of Destruction, he does not WANT allies (Nutmeg Tiger is an exception). He wants to fight everyone because he finds it fun. Making allies is boring because that means sparing them, and there is nothing from anyone that he thinks he possibly needs. He saw taking back his Soul Jam by force from Golden Cheese Cookie as a welcome challenge after years of not being able to have any fun, and he figured that the Cookie strong enough to deserve his Soul Jam would make great entertainment. He doesn’t do breaking people mentally, unless you count the people in the Spice Desert who do his bidding in fear of being killed, so him working to turn Golden Cheese into an ally doesn’t make sense.

Shadow Milk and Eternal Sugar are both a bit different in that respect. Their specialties are far more mental than physical (Mystic Flour’s could be considered mental, but ultimately the apathy of others is a stepping stone for eventually turning them to dust, so her specialty is more physical than mental imo). Shadow Milk likes spreading lies and rumours until the world is thrown into confusion and torment, and Eternal Sugar likes keeping everyone in her garden where they’ll never get up and do anything again, because everything they could ever want is right at their fingertips.

Eternal Sugar from didn’t ever seem to want to take Hollyberry’s Soul Jam from her, something I and I’m sure lots of others noted from the beginning. As you said in what I could read of your essay, ES could’ve taken it easily at MANY points in eps 9 and 10, most notably at the beginning of ep 10 where Hollyberry was unconscious for an unknown amount of time. Eternal Sugar’s motives for wanting Hollyberry to stay are many, even if you don’t like/don’t see Hollysugar.

Firstly and most importantly, she is the Beast of Sloth, which I feel people who make the argument that “Devsis ruined her character” must have forgotten. When you take the fact that she is slothful into consideration, her wanting to keep Hollyberry around makes a LOT of sense. The most she seems to be willing to do is manipulate her magic to conjure new mental traps in her Garden, otherwise she puts minimal effort into anything (peep her working sprites, she ALWAYS be sleeping on the job). Converting Hollyberry with her spell means doing less work (having Hollyberry run the errands) while also achieving her goal of having everyone remain in her Garden of Eternal Happiness. Work smart, not hard. Not to mention Hollyberry and all of her friends that she brought with her are warriors. Eternal Sugar does NOT want to fight these people, that would be too much work, and mental magic is her specialty anyway so it makes no sense to take her Soul Jam by force.

Secondly, her intentions in general are good, as far as we know. You also mentioned this in your essay. Even HOLLYBERRY at the end of ep 10 after seeing through the haze and being two secs from leaving forever, mentions this to Eternal Sugar. She isn’t like the other Beasts in the sense that she was the Beast of One Thing, then suddenly pivoted to the complete Opposite Thing out of boredom or some twisted kind of enlightenment. Her primary goal in her head still very much appears to be making all Cookies happy, she is just being extremely misguided about it, and the byproduct of her methods of bringing happiness also brings Sloth.

Lastly, you could argue that she’s very lonely (see her yelling “don’t leave” maniacally at the end of ep 10), and sees nothing but pros by letting Hollyberry keep her Soul Jam in exchange for being her closely kept other half. She’s kind of like Shadow Milk in that respect, except she is not afraid to admit that she’s lonely and wants a friend who understands her at her side. She sees Hollyberry for who she is, and sees a piece of herself in her (“you care too much for other Cookies,” “you won’t be able to handle all of the pain out there,” etc.) You could say these were just manipulation tactics which they definitely partially were, but if you accept the previous reason that I mentioned that her intentions are mostly good, then she may also be projecting herself and her past struggles on Hollyberry, and trying to drive her away from the pain that she herself endured and ultimately ran away from.

If people really believe she had ‘character’ besides what we got and that aforementioned (not real) character was RUINED for fanservice purposes, they must have had their eyes closed the entire time they played Beast-Yeast istg 😭

tysm for saying all this bc i totally agree! this was a joy to read, especially from someone who genuinely understood the story. and yes, it is extremely frustrating to see people say these types of things about eternal sugar, especially when shes like, one of my fav characters.

if ur interested, i finished writing the essay and posted it in the hollysugar community if u want to go read it! much love <3

[pixelatedraindrops]

Hundred Line Last Defense Academy Ending 001: Minor SPOILERS

LONGPOST BELOW:

So on day 25 of this route, more than half of your team falls prey to a bad cold as an actual plot point of the story. This moment naturally got me super giddy x3

After one of the various blackouts the heaters shut off in everyone’s rooms. Causing a cold chill in everyone’s rooms for the night.

Takumi was awake to hear the warning and was able to warm up. I was thinking “wait are people gonna get sick over this? Hmm there’s no way right? Just wishful thinking on my part.”

But then Takumi wakes up the next morning and only 2 other people (Gaku and Takemaru) are in the cafeteria. When Nozomi shows up a bit later she asks:

Yeah everyone else forgot to bundle up at night. I was like LETS GOOOO!!! Everyone else is sick!!! It’s an actual canon moment!!

I like how Sirei says it's "probably" not serious, but it probably is serious... xD All anime colds are DEADLY after all :3c (they’re sick for 3 whole days if you don’t finish the medicine)

The next exploration mission involves getting the ingredients to make medicine for everyone. Which yeah I love that, its a good way to have a fixed team set off to gather materials.

Sadly to my disappointment, after making the medicine, that was it. No caretaking moments, they just distributed the medicine offscreen

I was so mad. This game has a majority of the team fall sick as a plot point. AND WITH NO PAYOFF.

Huge missed opportunity to not allow the player choose one specific person that they heal first, have a bonding scene, have their affinity raise by one full diamond, and THEN heal everyone else offscreen.

Like come ON at least give me something!! Everyone laid out with a deathly bad cold and having getting medicine be a mission. I love that. BUT WHERE’S MY CARETAKING SCENE?? I’m so greedy as an illness whump enthusiast, but with a scenario like this can you BLAME me??

So in my salt and need for closure I decided “FINE I’LL JUST DO IT MYSELF!!” So I got sprites of all of the people that were sick and made sick edits of them. Thought it would be fun to edit sprites again. (keep in mind, these are not only full body, but also more limited in expressions than the Raincode sprites so they were a BIT trickier to mess with.) I think I did decently tho.

Hope you enjoy some more sick edits from me :3

Time to imagine my own caretaking scenes: I like to imagine each person gave 2 people the medicine and took care of them.

Takumi tends to Tsubasa and Yugamu

Takemaru tends to Hiruko and Shouma

Nozomi tends to Kurara and Moko

and Gaku tends to the twins.

Takumi would tend to Yugamu, because lets be real, he's another fan favorite Takumi ship of the community as I've seen, and I bet he would LOVE to be cared for by Takumi only for Takumi to likely run away... XD (such a gay freaky little man) And as for Tsubasa, idk I feel like if I had the option to choose who I wanted to tend to, it'd be Tsubasa, she's one of my favorites so I'll be biased here. I think she'd be such a cute and cooperative little patient >w< Super easygoing for Takumi.

Takemaru would naturally tend to Shouma, of course he's his little buddy! I can just imagine him feeding him some protein filled stew to give him energy and Shouma is in tears, snuggling the shiba plushie in bed as Takemaru tends to him because he thinks he doesn't deserve the kindness ;w; As for Hiruko, Takemaru likes her, but I think he'd drop the medicine off and leave wishing her well. He knows Hiruko can take care of herself and won't sully her reputation.

Of course Nozomi would want to be tending to her 2 gal pals. Specifically Kurara given the two recently just made up after their little drama. And despite having a cold, Moko would probably still want to help Nozomi tend to Kurara but Nozomi just ushers her to bed because she's still not well herself x3 I think Kurara would be the more fragile of the 2 (especially without her mask, but she can't wear it while she's running a fever lol)

and that leaves Gaku to deal with the twins. By process of elimination there's no real personal connection, but since the twins are the youngest, and Gaku likely tended to his own siblings, he'd probably be okay with tending to them. But I bet the caretaking would be chaos with Ima snapping at him every time he tries to help Kako. (may as well be chaos for gaku, everything is chaos for him)

Anyway yeah I just wanted to gab about this moment. It annoyed me, but it also gave me the motivation to make more edits. Been a while but yeah may as well make HL edits if I don't wanna make any art... xD