#don't want more golems

[spyroforlife]

well this year’s mob vote is a pretty straightforward one for me

sniffer my beloved

HRGH TOITLE!!

[velteris]

If Zoltraak so OP, why doesn’t Frieren/Copyren use it to fight each other?: a silly tactics essay

Madhouse is absolutely killing it with their gorgeous fight scenes that also make more sense the more you dig into them. In this episode, it's the senior citizen fight scene, where Frieren busts out the scary spells for the first time after telling us that Zoltraak is fast, efficient, powerful, the best combat spell etc etc. So why don't they use it against each other? The answer is this 2-second scene:

Let’s review what we’ve been told about Zoltraak. It’s “piercing magic that pierced through the defensive magic of humans and magic resistant equipment, and directly destroyed the body”. Zoltraak is generally good at destroying physical things.

In turn, the hexagonal shield magic—as Qual deduces—“synchronises with offensive magic and disperses the power”. But this costs lots of mana, and is weak against attacks of physical mass.

The rock-paper-scissors of modern magic is, then, Zoltraak-shield-physical mass.

Another note: it seems possible to cast both a shield and another offensive magic (maybe only Zoltraak?) at the same time, as in Frieren and Denken’s duel, and as with Methode vs golems.

Back to the Frierens.

Zoltraak is fast, efficient in mana usage, and powerful. It’s “enough for mages of the modern era”. Frieren and Fern usually spam this one spell; Copyren also uses it against Denken and co. So they would like to open with it.

Knowing that, they both bring up the hexagonal shield, ready to disperse Zoltraak. But, they both realize that Frieren’s Zoltraak cannot defeat Frieren’s hexagon shield. Edel states the two methods of getting past a shield: breaking it by force, or bypassing it with speed. Neither can get a single Zoltraak off strong enough that can shatter the corresponding shield, so they start shifting their aim, but they react just as fast to each other so there’s no openings.

Then what about multiple Zoltraaks? Presumably they could both keep the shields up while also casting Zoltraak, so they could turtle down into a battle of attrition and see who makes a minor inefficient mistake. But! Copyren is facing two mages, not one. It will definitely lose in a shield-whittling contest. Even if they had infinite mana, if they sit there playing chicken with the shields, Fern will eventually blast it from behind.

Additional hypothesis: the mana used to defend against an attack with a hexagon shield will always be greater than the mana used to make the attack. Therefore, a mage should aim to always be on the offensive. In Ehre vs Fern, Fern kept creating distance and refused to get pinned down; Ehre got pinned down and that’s why she lost. Both Frierens have a motive to use as little defensive magic and as much offensive magic as possible.

Sadly, it’s a pretty empty room, with not much physical mass to use against each other; Copyren in particular probably wants to avoid eating up the walls of Spiegel’s hideaway. So they need to cast offensive magic, that isn’t Zoltraak, and that doesn’t need existing physical mass.

Before Zoltraak leading to shield leading to mass attacks, it’s likely there wasn’t that much of a need for physical mass specifically. Edel says it takes more mana to conjure than it does to manipulate the environment. But if mass isn’t a requirement, then ye olde mages probably wouldn’t have focused on magics with the weakness of, say, needing a water source nearby (sorry Kanne). It makes sense that old-fashioned attacks were therefore magics that expressed some kind of energy without significant mass: fire, lightning, wind. (Ty @wtfoctagon for laying out this pre-Zoltraak idea!)

Simultaneously, this brings up an interesting question: what kind of defence were pre-Zoltraak (therefore pre-hexagon) mages using?

1. Some other [Defence Magic], but weaker

2. A Warrior

3. More offence!

Forget this newfangled modern mass stuff. Frieren and Copyren go right back to Cast Fireball, the force of which can be dissipated and defended against with Cast Fireball.

Not using the hexagonal shield is actually a more mana-efficient defence. If Zoltraak’s out of the question, then there’s no real need to invest in the heavy anti-Zoltraak shield. And we have already seen a previous example of offence as defence: Fern vs Lugner.

We also see one more example of this kind of old-fashioned mass-less attack in the other senior citizen brawl, where Denken uses Waldgose (tornado) + Daosdorg (fire). It eats up enough mana that even Denken is tapped out by the end. Of course, for Frieren vs Denken, she has so much more mana that there’s no problem spending it on a full-body shield. But if she did the same versus her clone, she would rapidly start losing the attrition battle. So she has to defend with a less costly though much messier method.

One more advantage of non-mass elemental magic: for Copyren, using Hellfire magic is much more of an area-of-effect spell, which might be able to touch Fern as well. For Frieren, it’s a no-brainer to go along with splashing mana everywhere, to help hide Fern’s presence.

Of course, that’s not to say that they won’t take advantage of mass when it exists. The use of Hellfire to make lava out of the falling pillar/wall is a delicious and nutritious anime original addition, and it also makes so much sense.

tl;dr: the Frierens tested and discarded the possibility of a modern-style Zoltraak fight in as much time as it takes us to say "holy shit".

all this of course brings up the question:

If Frieren so OP against Zoltraak, why can Fern use Zoltraak?

because Fern’s OP OP Zoltraak go brrrrr

[eclipseslayer]

MAKE A FAIRY

➭ LAIOS TOUDEN X F!READER SMUT ONESHOT

➭ SUMMARY: Marcille wants a fairy for her birthday, so Laios volunteers to take the job, but, he ends up needing your help.

➭ CW: Subbish Laios, handjob, ass play.

➭ WC: 1.9k

"I want a fairy!"

You, Chilchuck, Senshi, Izutsumi, and Laios all blink in surprise at Marcille's sudden outburst.

It's her birthday today, and she's been thinking about what she wants all day, until now, which puts your party at a halt.

You grip the straps of your backpack and turn to Marcille.

"Why a fairy?" You ask, finding this request a bit strange.

Marcille's eyes sparkle at the question and she clasps her hands together and places them under her chin.

"Well, as a mage, I've always thought it was a mage's right to have a fairy! They're just so cute, and, they're like tiny little servants! I really want one!" She exclaims while looking at her party who just stares back at her.

You smile at Marcille's eagerness, finding her enthusiasm cute. You sigh and you shrug, gazing at your party members before turning back to Marcille.

"Okay, Marcille. How do we get you a fairy?"

Her eyes seem to light up even more at your question, only before nervously scratching the back of her head. She chuckles awkwardly.

"Well..." She pauses before looking down, and she fiddles with her thumbs. "...You need to make one."

Your eyes widen at that, finding that answer unexpected, to say the least. You look around your party and find them having the same state of shock as you, except for Laios of course. His eyes are bright and he's got a smile on his face. Typical.

"Really? How do you make one?" Laios inquires with a upbeat tone.

There's a moment of silence, and, Marcille's face turns red as a tomato. She chuckles awkwardly again, and adverts her gaze from the rest of the group.

"Uhm... well, it's uh... very specific..."

"Oh, just say it, Marcille!" Spats Izutsumi who crosses her arms impatiently.

"Fine!" She grunts. "You need horse manure, herbs, semen, and blood! There," she spits it out very quickly, and her face turns even more red with each word. She huffs like she's out of breath and then slowly looks back up at the rest of you.

Honestly, unlike the rest of the group, you're not surprised at all as you stand there with your arms crossed and pursed lips, while everyone else stood there with their mouths dropped cartoonishly.

"What? It's magic, guys. It's gonna have weird ingredients," you say, trying to get the group on the same page as you are.

Senshi quickly collects himself and points to his backpack. "Well, I have horse manure in my bag for when I fertilize the golems. We all have blood, and I also have some herbs, too. We just need, uh..." Senshi pauses, and you hear a slow, loud gulp come from Laios.

"...S-Semen. Right..." Laios' face slowly turns a bright pink.

Then, once more, the group falls silent as all eyes turn to look up at Laios. His face turns even redder when he begins to feel the pressure on him and he lets out a huff, knowing that he has to be the one to do it since he volunteered in the first place to make Marcille's wishes come true.

"Fine!" Laios' voice cracks. "I'll do it, just... someone give me a bottle or something."

Senshi pulls out a bottle, a glass bottle, from his sack and hands it to Laios, giving him a fuzzy, furrowed brow.

"If you uh, need anything, Laios, let us know—"

"I'll be fine!" Laios insists before he storms off, muttering to himself as he turns around, going off to the corner somewhere to do his business.

You sigh, and turn to the rest of the group and see that the rest of them seem to be just as flustered, even though Laios is the one who's going to be doing the dirty work. You give them a reassuring smile and then you gesture to a spot far away from the corner where Laios is.

"Let's go over there, yeah? Hopefully we don't hear Laios..."

After a while—possibly about twenty minutes or so—you realize that Laios should be done by now. You furrow your brow, wondering what's taking so long, or maybe, he's been snatched up by some sort of dungeon ghoul, which suddenly had you up on your feet. You place your backpack down on the ground and turn to the rest of the group.

"I'm going to go check on Laios... he seems to be taking a long time," you tell the rest of the group, and they wave you off as you walk away.

You walk to the corner where Laios isolated himself, and, you hear a series of frustrated grunts.

"Shit... can't..."

His breath is exasperated, like he's tired. You hang near the corner, wanting to go in and help him, but... you're not exactly sure how he'd take it.

Nevertheless, you sigh, deciding to persevere against the odds, because despite it all, it was for Marcille, right?

You turn the corner, and there, you find Laios with his armor disgarded and his pants around his knees, and his thick cock, hard and in his hand. His face is red and, somehow, turns even redder when he sees you. He lets out a shriek and quickly scrambles to pull his pants up, but before he gets the chance to, you walk over to him and you step on his pantsleg, rendering the fabric immobile.

You squat down to his level, your eyes meeting his. You look at him, taking in the sloppy form of his hand tight around his fist, and his shirt pulled up to sit on his belly, and his red, panting face.

"Laios... do you... need some help?" You offer, albeit somewhat cautiously.

Laios looks down at his cock in his hand, and he looks back up at you. He feels like somehow this will ruin any semblance of friendship you've had together, but, fuck is he having a hard time needing to cum.

"...Yeah," he grumbles, obviously hesitant to answer.

You sit beside him, pressing your back against the wall like Laios is doing and you rest a hand onto one of his thick thighs. Testing thr waters, you slowly begin to rub your hand along his thigh and you feel him tense beneath you. He's obviously not used to your touch as he clears his throat and looks away.

You tilt your head, and, reaching out with your other hand, you guide his chin so he's looking back at you. His gaze meets yours and you offer him a warm smile, trying to reassure him that it's okay to to look at you.

With a nod of his head, he seems to understand, so, slowly, he leans in and he presses his lips against yours, sealing them in a kiss.

His lips, tentative and guessing, he starts moving them in a slow rhythm, wanting to get a feel of where you are, though when he finally sees that you're more comfortable doing this than him, he slowly begins to accept that this is happening, and it's real. His lip movements gain a bit more traction as they move a bit quicker, a bit needier. His tongue slips into your mouth and he moans against you when he tastes the inside of your mouth, and a small part of him comes to fruition, realizing that he's wanted this with you for so long, making his cock throb in his hand.

When his lips pick up their pace, and when his tongue slides into your mouth, you take that as a hint to get things moving along, so you move off of the wall and climb into Laios' lap, straddling him. Your hands rest on his thighs, and his hand comes off of his cock to rest onto your hip, along with his other hand.

Laios follows his instincts—feeling for what is right—as he squeezes your hips and groans at the fat beneath his large hands. He squeezes again, and for a second he feels like he can't believe you're on top of him, meanwhile you're on the same page as him as your hands squeeze his thick, muscular thighs, gasping into the kiss at how good he feels beneath your palms.

Then, once again, you're assuming you can go further as the kiss between the both of you grows more needy when you hear Laios' moans, so, you reach down and slowly grasp his cock in your hands, holding it tightly as you feel for what you're working with.

His cock is huge, certainly, as it's thick at its base and fills thickly all the way to the tip. He's uncircumcised with extra skin at the top and you moan into his mouth once you feel the length of his cock, imagining it burying into the base of you. Unfortunately, though, you don't think you have time for that today so you pull away from the kiss briefly to spit onto your hand to settle for a good handjob before returning to the kiss.

Your hands stroke him, slowly, gripping him tightly and you squeeze at the tip, making him groan into your mouth. He pulls away from the kiss and his mouth leads down your neck, kissing around your skin there as he mutters between each kiss.

"God your hands... feel so good," he whispers into your skin, and you squeeze at his tip again, leaving his cock throbbing in your fist.

You begin to pump him, moving your hand at a rhythmic pace, starting off at a slow pace at first, but as Laios moans and gets needier into the crook of your neck, your hand picks up its pace, and he whines into your ear, nipping at your earlobe.

"Yes, fuck, yes, feels so good."

You smile at that and he sucks on your earlobe, his teeth grind into your skin, making your eyelashes flutter.

"Yeah, feels good, Laios?" You whisper hotly into his ear and he nods eagerly.

"Fuck yes."

He confirms that with a moan, and his hips begin to buck into your palm. You know he must be close as his breathing starts picking up.

However, you have other plans for him, as you remove your hand from his cock, and you pull out the bottle from his pants pocket. You hold it in front of his cock, and you whisper into his ear.

"Laios, I'm gonna make you feel so good, 'kay? Do you trust me?" You murmur into his ear and he nods eagerly.

Whatever it was that you were about to do to him, he accepted fully. Your hands, your fingers just felt so good that he—

Oh.

He pulls his mouth away from your neck to drop open his jaw and lean his head back as he feels your saliva-covered fingers push into his tight hole.

You don't even have to pump your fingers in and out, but once you push your fingers in all the way to his prostate, he lets out a loud moan that probably echoed to the other side where the group could hear Laios, and, he cums violently as his legs tremble, his white semen paints the inside of the bottle, filling it up with how much he cums.

Then, once you're satisfied with the amount of cum, you slowly remove your finger from him and you give him a smile, kissing the top of his head.

"You did so good, Laios," you praise him with a soft purr and Laios chuckles.

"Yeah? Think I might have to make Marcille more fairies for her more often."

[bigfan-fanfic]

A Delving Song (Monster!Reader x Laios Touden)

Could I request a Laios fic where he meets a new monster, your choice, that is surprisingly sentient who joins the party? I just think it would be cute and fluffy.

Laios tilted his head. That didn't sound like the normal song the sirens on this floor of the dungeon would sing.

Marcille and Chilchuck are still asleep. And Senshi's off checking his golem farms.

So Laios wanders off towards the pool of water where you sit.

It's a ways off from typical mermaid territory.

And you yourself seem different from other mermaids. Your lower half is covered in feathers, not scales, and you have small wings protruding from your back.

"To eat is the privilege of the living... all things must eat to survive..."

Laios looks at you, in awe as you continue to sing a song of resilience and endurance. He's absolutely enchanted. And he quickly opens his mouth to sing with you once he memorizes the simple tune.

You startle badly, yelping, and waving your arms, summoning streams of waters like vipers to rise around you.

"Whoa! Please, I didn't mean any harm. I just really liked your song."

You frown. "Tallmen like you don't sing. They attack."

Laios puts down his sword. "See? No attacking."

"You're... different."

Laios grins and nods. "That's right. You see... I wanna know more about creatures like you. Are you a mermaid? You seem to be similar and different."

"I think your kind calls me a siren. But most of us get hunted, because our songs can be dangerous. We have some control over water too."

"That's incredible. Do you come up with your own songs?"

"We sing the tune - others seem to hear what they really want to hear. Unlike mermaids, the charming of it all seems to come from the prey."

"Why are you all alone?" Laios asks bluntly, tilting his head when your face falls.

"My flock were... hunted by a group of tallmen. I escaped. The mermaids don't want me because we bring adventurers that kill."

Laios frowns. "Well, that's no good. Maybe... maybe you could come with our group. I'm sure once they hear you speak and reason, they'll have no problem."

You smile sharp teeth at the tallman. "What are you called?"

"Laios."

You let the water slip down into the pool and move forward in a crouch, finally pressing your head into his metallic stomach. "Thank you, Laios."

Chilchuck is the most suspicious of you, clearly not happy with the idea of letting a monster into the party. Even a clearly reasoning and thinking one like you.

Marcille is a bit more welcoming, especially as she hopes you can teach her some of your water magic.

Laios initially thinks you're amphibious like a fishman but as you don't breathe water it becomes clear you're more of a bird than anything else.

Marcille immediately shuts down any further discussion because she senses it getting uncomfortably close to figuring out what exactly you taste like.

But considering you grew up in the dungeon, your expertise makes travel much easier. Senshi also is able to take some extra parts of monsters the party has collected to make some water skins for you to carry water through the more dry areas for you to use as a weapon.

Laios is always eager to hear about monster culture - just as you are about the cultures of the surface. Marcille and Laios spend many meal breaks discussing with you about what your lives and daily activities are like

Chilchuck doesn't share, but then again he also doesn't share with anyone else, so it's not like it's an anti-monster sentiment.

But eventually you find yourself nestling close to Laios when it's time to rest for the night.

And one night, when he rolls over and rests his head in your feathers, you don't mind. You like the tallman and his unique opinions.

And perhaps these feelings may soon grow and evolve.

Until then, the party together shall eat, and almost more than their meals, their growing friendship is delicious.

Delicious in dungeon.

[whereserpentswalk]

It is a lovely morning. This is the seventh day of your existence. You are a humanoid robot. You were made to help people. Right now you're working in a large building in a city, you don't really know what's outside the city. There are men in suits who tell you to go little jobs for them, like sending emails, or bringing them whatever food is. They all seem really impressed with the technology that went into you, you think they like you, and they say nice things to you. You like helping people you think, this is what you were build for you think.

It is a grey morning, you think there are ashes in the sky now. This is the seventh year of your existence. Even machines like you have been conscripted into the war effort. They added weapons to your body, it feels so weird, to have new limbs that weren't there before. They say this is how you help people now, you don't like it, you didn't see so many people unhappy at your old job. You don't like having to shoot people, it hurts to have people be afraid of you. You enjoy the people they have fight alongside you but it hurts to see them die. Occasionally there are white lights in the sky that all the men hold their thumbs up to, you don't understand why, but you are afraid, you are very afraid.

It is a smoke filled day today, there are ashes in the sky. This is the seventieth year of your existence. You found another group of survivors today, you try to identify any illnesses they may have, and treat what you can. You travel with them looking for fertile land, you remember more about what is lost than they do, the new generations of survivors don't even understand what the world was. But you help them, they all seem so impressed with you, you're something ancient and magical to them, they call you a "golem", you enjoy that word. You don't want to fight anyone but your appearance is enough to scare off most raiders. Everyone looks up to you so much, the children talk about you like you're some sort ot superhero, and when people are afraid of something they'll come to you. When you're able to find hidden stores of food for them they look at you like you're some sort of divine gift. It's been awhile since you've been able to help people like this, it feels good.

The sky is starting to clear, as are the ashes. It is your seventh human generation of existing. You stand in front of a newly reclaimed town, you think it is the local king’s capital. The people don't even think you're ancient technology anymore, they think you were made by God, or a wizard, it's best to play along. The local king tells you to fight off enemies inside or outside the town, you don't like doing it but it's good to have influence over him and its sons, so they don't do anything worse. Everyone in the kingdom is nice to you at least, the armed men all look up to you as an ancient folk hero of some sort. You don't like how they outsiders see you though, you're feared as the king's greatest weapon. Sometimes you're just asked to move stuff with your strength, and that feels good. You like it when the children of the kingdom get excited to meet you, even adults do too now. You've even seen some people pray to you, you think they think you're an angel, you're not sure how you feel about that part.

The day is lovely and the sky blue and clear. In is your seven-hundredth year of existence. You're only ever handled by trained archeologists now, you understand, you enjoy helping them find out more about the staff. Useally you're put in a display case at a meusum, in the middle of city, a city that's younger than you. You like how the people look at you, they're all so impressed with you, some of the locals talk about how you helped their ansestors, how you're a part of their history. It's like they're thanking you, for your help. It hurts to move, someday you won't be able to move at all. But you're still helping now, helping them learn, helping them remember, you hope that's how it is at least. It's been a long time since you've sensed ashes in the sky.

[thechekhov]

Dungeon Meshi Quick Reacts: CH45

Slumber party!

Fair, but consider: She deserves a little murder. As a treat.

Kabru be like "IS THAT MY BACKSTORY???"

That sure is....a ship. With no one on it.

Ah, shit the Americans are here.

Two things: Toshiro being tended to like a pretty pretty princess is hilarious.

And also, the fact that they think the elves can kill Falin......... hmmm.... Pressing X to doubt.

............... oh. Laios. 😂

But also like. How was he MEANT to keep it silent? Put a little something in it? I thought since it was a magic bell you could code it to only ring when it's shaken with INTENT?

Fancy ass house.

Also, Namari...........are you hitting that yet? Both of that?

Oh, it's backstory time.

Okay one: that's fucking tragic, it sounds like the Elves are just forcing the dungeons closed with no regard for how the ecosystem compensates and what people suffer by being in close proximity......

And another thing: Kabru. Kabru, isn't that what YOU'RE after? Having all the power?

Why is this so much like that one meme where the girls at the party are looking at you.

It's the same picture.

Kabru that's. That's maybe not the way to go about it. you're going to give them MORE reasons to go in.

Nevermind the governor not being into this 'good boy, now sign' talk, Toshiro's kinda right. Ya fucked up Kabru.

No matter how far Laios runs, he cannot escape other people trying to tell him how to live his life. Poor guy. But at the same time...

Is this real? Or a red herring?

Laios' father and mother seemed to be living relatively pious lives. They clearly had a good house, but it didn't seem like they were extremely rich. Then again, perhaps he's just a cousin of royalty? Is that why his parents wanted him to have children?

They want to.... halt the growth of the dungeon? Is this another part of the natural ecosystem of things? Dungeons growing seems to point even more towards the idea that it's a gigantic, fleshpit-like creature instead of simply a construct.

Then again, constructs CAN be creatures. Like the golems.

Elves not understanding how old humans are continues to be hilarious because like.

As humans, we HAVE this same concept of variant aging. Like. Dogs. We understand that dogs live less than us, and mature a lot slower. But this is.... COMMON KNOWLEDGE. Most people do not make it into adulthood without understanding that dogs mature within 1-2 years of their birth.

The fact that elves, a species with FAR more time on their hands, who have lived alongside other races for AGES....... have STILL not got the general concept of aging down....means their education is atrocious. Or they're all not paying attention.

.......this. THIS is the most fascinating concept in this chapter.

The fallen.... turned into MONSTERS.

We know that dying inside the dungeon doesn't mean permanent death. But dying above-ground does.

We know that dying in the dungeon doesn't mean your body turns into a monster (aside from ghosts and ghouls?) ..... but dying aboveground.... DOES......?

WHAT'S THE TRUTH.

👁👁

Hm.

If Kabru and Laios fused, they could almost make one functioning human being.

Senshi just beginning to speak in the middle of his own internal monologue is so real.

...... what's going on there with the expression, buddy?

Bread.......are they STILL carrying around flour with them?! How are they getting bread?!

Also, it's awesome that the eggs are canonically hard to crack, because it makes sense that they don't break during their many fighting events.

Izutsumi really said ◉_◉

Don't tell me Laios, who is sensitive to ghosts has ALSO been seeing things?

Not gonna lie, that's highkey terrifying.

Props to that ghost that's been following Laios around, not ever giving up hope that it can bother him into acknowledging it.

And also - hey, it already saved them once! that means it's probably not evil!

That, or it's the king of the bloody dungeon. Wouldn't that be something!

[puppetmaster13u]

Once more thinkin about this Prompt/AU

And I decided to sketch the level 1 forms the team (& Ellie) have along with sketches of their lvl 200+ Forms. I do believe Klarion is having a blast with his new friends and the Young Justice Team is going to have some Trauma from not knowing this is a Game.

Tucker: Lvl 1 Cat | Sam: Lvl 1 Sprout | Valerie: Lvl 1 Golem | Danny: Lvl 2 Dragon Egg | Ellie: Lvl 1 Celestial Snakelett

(Click for higher quality) Also they are all now Mountain Sized or Larger. Also pondering them all having 3 stages to their bossfights. Second stages is when they start using more magic & less "minions" and final stage is when shit hits the fan & the surroundings get Wrecked. Like Tucker summoning a literal storm & getting lightning charged, or Sam fully emerging from the caves, or Valerie unearthing herself and the team realizing the entire dungeon-city was On Her Back.

@victoria-has-no-secret @qitsin Both y'all reblogged with fun ideas so here @bleuyellow93-storytime you had very VERY fun tags so also here lol [If u don't want to be tagged I apologize] Aaand finally, @radiance1 I think you'd like these

[we-stan-cale]

I meant to post something about when Cale received the letter from the God of Death, but that whole bit is just too damn good. I basically focused on reading it and didn't really think of writing about it.

This is where we truly start to learn about Kim Rok Soo's past. There were a lot of teasers before - learning that his Korea has monsters, that he was a Team Leader, that his company dealt with monsters and corrupt guilds. That he had an ability like Record.

There were some flashbacks, especially to some of his interactions with Choi Jung Soo (who we learned died before him back when Cale had that memory after fighting the golems) and Lee Soo Hyuk...

And then we got the letter from the God of Death, and Kim Rok Soo had a truly traumatic flashback to when they all died.

I think this is the first time we truly saw him shaken? The guy with the perfect memory, the guy who could record and playback everything, experienced something so traumatic that his records were broken.

We see that Kim Rok Soo was an analyst. A very good one. One able to predict a terrible monster (and thus felt guilty that his entire team died fighting said monster -though he seems to have worked through that. Some. Mostly.

We see how he interacted with his friends, really his family. And in a subordinate role, unlike most of what we've seen.

There's this bit where he'd overused his ability and had a bloody nose, and Lee Soo Hyuk tells him

‘Kim Rok Soo, wipe your nosebleed. You should get some rest if you have overloaded.’

Which contrasts with after their deaths, when he's briefing the reinforcements and notes

The reinforcements all focused on his explanation, but nobody said anything about wiping his bloody nose.

So much desolation from such a small thing.

And the request to retrieve their bodies! Over and over again, we've seen how much Cale cares about retrieving bodies and showing respect for the dead. Insisting on improving the graves at Harris Village, recovering all the remains from the Path of No Return, protecting the dead in the fight against Adin...

While that didn't solely come from this incident (the losses in his monster torn Korea played a role, this is why he truly understands how important that is for the ones left behind.

And we also see how he didn't want his team to fight that monster. He knew, with all his analytical skills, that it was too powerful. That it was likely that they'd all die. Even though even more people would die if they didn't (since the guild in that area had run away).

He straight up says how it made him feel.

The reinforcements had been too late. Boom. Boom. Cale’s heart suddenly ran wild. The sense of responsibility, anger, and sorrow that had made Kim Rok Soo’s heart boil had risen. 

A responsibility to stay alive (even if he doesn't really want to), to carry on in Lee Soo Hyuk's place ('I leave it to you').

We learn why he despises the concept of heroic sacrifice so much, why he works so hard to come up with plans that ensure nobody has to. That nobody is ever in the position where they feel compelled to do so (though if it does come to that, he'd rather be the one to do so... Than be the one left behind. Again.)

And there's this, that he thinks after Raon and Alberu break his flashback (such good friends and family) and he finishes the letter.

Cale knew that he was selfish and bad and that he cherished people who were important to him the most.

Selfish - because he wishes his team had run away and survived? Bad - because he knows that if they had, many more would have suffered instead?

He cares, he cares so damn much. And he also seems to hate himself quite a bit, though I say that not just because of this. Also his hypocrisy towards scars, where it's fine in Mary and Hannah and a sign of survival, but disgusting and something to hide in himself. That, and numerous other things that don't seem obvious at first because damn is he good at masking it and seeming normal, but yeah...

This whole scene is just so well done, means so much, answers so many of our questions, and once you know about it you can see how it affected everything.

Addendum: we also see a contrast between what Cale recalls here, and what Choi Han experiences with Choi Jung Soo's memories. Especially how he saw Kim Rok Soo use a metal board as a shield to defend him, and shortly after broke an arm.

Cale didn't mention that at all, didn't explain why he couldn't move when you he reinforcements came.

[angermango]

"I'm not cooking or anything, this is just a silly idea- (looks down at canvas) ffffuuuu--"

...

so, first I only wanted to draw Professor Layton with a Reiterpallasch from Bloodborne because haha funny hat man with gun-sword, but then i ended up drafting concept art for "Laytonborne", apparently.

"Puzzles all over the shop... You'll be stuck on one of them, sooner or later."

extra artist commentary:

Layton

yes, this really did just start with me wanting to give Layton a Reiterpallasch because he's a canonical fencer and Bloodborne trick weapons absolutely slap. The Reiterpallasch is literally a rapier with a pistol attached that can mechanically switch to prime either the blade first or the gun first so you can stab and shoot someone at the same time.

Giving Hershel the Bloodborne makeover was kind of funny because he wears such a simple look in canon it was hard striking the right balance between his recognisable look and BB aestheic since Bloodborne loves embellishment especially via lots of belts/buckles and those weird shoulder-cape things. I tried to keep it simple enough though because as much as i think he could pull off a hunter ensemble i don't want to have to keep track of all the funky bits. the Top Hat Stays, of course.

Aurora

Aurora is eerily good a fit in a Soulsborne-esque setting considering she fits the criteria for a "Soulsborne maiden" classic archetype sort of character: After all she's a mysterious pale-haired young woman with mystical origins/powers and a foreign-sounding accent and may or may not have some connection to the wider lore and powers that be of the setting. hell even her whole thing being a golem works in a way as even Bloodborne has artificial humans existing as a concept.

i got a little lazy with changing up her dress for both time and lack of inspiration. I thought maybe i'd really do her up but then I chickened out that her costume wouldn't be recognisable any more so just slapped a belt and some patterns on the shawl bit and called it a night :P (if i'd been braver/more motivated she'd probably look good in an approximation of the White Church set, something like that)

and yeah so as the sketches off to the side are like, no real clue how/why it might be triggered but imagine her having the potential to be an optional boss or something (and she'd whoop your ass)

Flora

idk tho Flora also seems like she could be a good contender for the "Soulsborne maiden" position too in a way, or even if not her whole character and story fits into the world quite well. especially with Bloodborne having the Plain Doll who is a sentient doll made in the image of someone her creator loved/was obsessed with and Flora living in a village of human-like robots which started after her father tried to build a replacement for her dead mother.

Her dress is a combination of all her canon costumes across the games. The fur-trim shoulder cape is from one official art of her, the short shawl and white sleeves and bit around her waist is based on her first dress, and the rest of the dress design is based on her second and third game appearance.

The 'Doll Flora' concept there at the end is just some idea of a false/clone Flora running around as well. She's got some little differences including elements of other parts of Flora's designs over the years that aren't on OG Flora, such as the sash and shoes.

Anton

Anton fits in scarily well to the Bloodborne-y setting, perhaps not too surprisingly given the whole 'vampire' thingy. I sort of envision Folsense and Herzen Castle being a bit like the Castle Cainhurst area of Bloodborne which leans more into the classic gothic horror of a remote and looming haunted castle occupied by a sinister enigmatic character.

And yes, that is a reference to the infamous "LAYTOOON" scream from his canon 'boss fight' in the second game - imagine the whole steaming up and screaming thing being like his boss phase transition animation.

The whole 'withers to an old man/husk' concept seems so very Soulsborne-y it really just fits yknow. like if you defeat him he shrivels up/ages to dust or whatever. RIP gassed-up grandpa.

I partly rizzed up his suit using inspiration of the Cainhurst Knight set because like. come on. it's too good to pass up the chance to pretty up with and looks a lot like his canon suit in parts.

Did I trace the foyer background art for Herzen Castle for the mockup just for laffs, only to realise partway that 1) Layton and Anton actually fought in the ballroom, and 2) the ballroom would actually make a much better boss arena setting because it's wide open and the arch from the front room leading into the ballroom could totally be the 'boss fog door' part better than the front room?

...so yeah I then drew the ballroom background without tracing this time like a true madman and had a hell of a time with perspective but the plus side is we also get the sword collection from the game there as a cameo because in Laytonborne the good professor brought his own already.

The Masked Gentleman / Randall

Had a bit of a time deciding how to Bloodborne-ify this guy because his suit in canon is actually really. really boring. it's just a white suit like cmon. so to give it that Bloodborne makeover I fell back on the classic shoulder-cape thing that almost all Bloodborne characters have, added some patterns and accessories based on the Mask of Chaos' patterns and the Decorative Old Hunter's set from the Old Hunters DLC (in the leg brace, forearm guard and the hints of gold chains around the upper arms).

He also gets a Threaded Cane, another trick weapon of Bloodborne fame which is as it suggests: A cane weapon that works a bit like a baton/sword combo but in its alternate form it's a whip covered in serrated metal blades which form the cane itself when locked together.

It seems very appropriate for Randall to be like a boss who starts out as the Masked Gentleman and then at half-or-less health you break his mask, reveal Randall and then wings burst out of his back as he enters his second phase rage mode. This concept part felt more DSouls-y than Bloodborne-y to me i think since Bloodborne is less fantastical and leans more into the body horror/monstrous kind of boss transitions? But at the same time it was too good an opportunity to pass on at least sketching out, plus get you some sick fallen angel imagery out of it.

Also the hanging arm pose miiight be a bit inspired by Artorias of the Abyss. just a bit.

Descole

i recall seeing a post somewhere once with this very low-res rare art of Descole sitting in a throne from somewhere i have no idea what it was for. and I remember it kinda reminded me of Lady Maria's promotional art for the Old Hunters DLC so that's why the last picture of Descole exists.

mf already dresses so extra i legit could think of nothing to add to make him more Bloodborne-y unlike the others. I also used his canon sword's design from the games with a custom sheath because again couldn't really think of anything more to do to make him fit more when he's already got a cool signature weapon to show off.

[selfaware-bungou-stray-dogs]

Could you write a small platonic imagine bout the bsd cast finding out that the user is a teen pls! (Also I am a fan of your work)

Thank you. I am glad, you like my works. There, hope, you enjoy it.

Finding out, that user are a teen

Platonic! Self-Aware! BSD characters x GN! Teen! Reader

Warning: OOC, Platonic Soft Yandere. English is my second language.

All of them have heard your voice. All of them have felt your emotions towards them. They don't have name or age, but it doesn't matter. The most important thing for them is that you are a good person. And they adored you because of that.

But, still, they want to learn more about you. And, one day, they got some of their answers.

When the purple moon shines above Yokohama once again, it could mean two things. First, someone will get a new outfit. Second, someone new, a ghost from the past, will appear.

When purple moon faded, Kirako Haruno finally become truly self-aware.

BSD cast heard the voice of Their Guiding Light.

"Yea! I got Haruno! All ADA team is there!"

Kirako blinked and laugh quietly.

"[Y/N], you are so energetic."

Everyone was quiet. [Y/N]? Fukuzawa was the one, who broke the silence.

"[Y/N]? Is that...?"

Kirako nodded.

"Yes. It's their name. I have learned it during my... stasis, let's call it that."

Yosano spoked next.

"Have you learned something else?"

Kirako nodded again.

"Yes. About their interests. And some bits about their school life."

"School life?" Echoed Yosano. Kirako looked around. Everyone was looking at her.

"Yes. [Y/N] are still going to school. They are a teen."

_______________________

🐾 Congratulations, you are now adopted by everyone.

🐾 For someone, you will be a sibling. For others, you will be their child. Someone will be an uncle or aunt. For others, you will be a grandchild.

🐾 They already love you as their own flesh and blood.

🐾 What they will do, when they got into your world? It depends.

🐾 If you have a good, loving family, they won't take you away, but they will become good friends to you.

🐾 If your family are terrible, they will take you away from them.

🐾 Not without teaching them a lesson.

🐾 If you are an orphan, they would adopt you immediately.

🐾 They will try their best to make your life happy. They will do anything to ensure your future.

Some more headcannons:

🐾 Fukuzawa, Mori, Fitzgerald and Oda almost fight, when they were figuring out, who will be your adopted father.

🐾 Fyodor is waiting for the right moment to join the competition for an 'adopted father' title.

🐾 Fukichi is still confused. Should he be considered your father or your grandfather?

🐾 Poe and Ranpo will compete with each other in "Who is the best Big Brother" competition. Ranpo has candies, Poe has Karl.

🐾 Lovecraft will let you climb all over his monster form. Same with Goncharov and his stone golems.

🐾 Someone bullies you? Kenji, Kyouka, Elise, Q and Gogol will show them not to mess with you.

🐾 Yosano and Kouyou are the ones, who is responsible for your wardrobe.

🐾 One time, Mori took you on a shopping trip. Chuuya accompanied you two. And Mori has decided to visit all shops to buy you as many cute clothes as he can. And he didn't have a car at that moment. At the end, Chuuya had to carry exhausted you and few dozen bags.

🐾 Kunikida will help you with math. Even if you don't like math, his explanations are easy to understand.

🐾 All of them are protective. No one will hurt you on their watch. They love you and cherish you.

[axolotlwrites]

"Writer's Block"

SubElliot x M!Reader

Yeah, so this one took a while. Sorry to keep y'all waiting, but good things come to those who blah blah blah. It's food to be back, and I'm proud to deliver some smut.

My next piece is undecided as of now, but I'll get back to yall soon about it. Have fun.

CW: anal sex, anal penetration, unprotected sex, anal creampie, mentions of clinical visits and implied injuries, mentions of violence, and being obscenely cheesy

To tell the truth, you hadn’t read any of  Elliot’s prior, shorter works before you had actually become friends with him. It’s not that you weren’t an avid reader, nor that you weren’t particularly interested. His work was just one of those things that fell into your blindspot during the hazy, depressing Joja days. There wasn’t much time for reading when there was a “weekly” quota to meet, and you were expected to fulfill that quota in a couple of days. 

But, after moving to the farm, you suddenly had a large chunk of time on your hands. Turns out, farming is just a lot of sitting around and waiting, if you don't count the occasional bouts of fishing and cutting dangerous  monsters to ribbons (or, alternatively, getting cut to ribbons and having to stop by the clinic and get lectured by Harvey and Maru. You were fairly sure you could kill some of those stone golems with how thick your case file was after a couple years in the valley.)

However, after getting to know the man past a quick introduction on your first foray into the beach, you’d taken a gander at some of his work. Various stories in various genres; mysteries, sci-fis, a small fantasy novel that hadn’t been entirely finished… he was a storied author, but he hadn’t actually published anything yet. The genre that had stuck out to you the most, however, had been his romance novels. The man’s tendency for flowery prose and language fit well in such stories of love, heartache, and occasionally lust. 

The latter, however, wasn’t always Elliot’s strong suit in writing. Elliot was a romantic man, and physical intimacy was always a part of that, but writing actual sex scenes seemed to be a weak spot for him. He could write smut well, there was no doubt, but as his lover you always noticed how… flustered he would become. While writing his newest novel, coincidentally about a “handsome and rugged” farmer boy and an aspiring writer, he’d cooped himself up in his room several times this week, but the start of autumn had creeped up on you. You’d been too busy to notice the way his face turned red whenever he looked out of the window of his study, watching you plant new crops and tend to the animals. Too busy to notice how whenever he greeted you after your farm work, his touch lingered on your arm as you planned out the next day’s work in your head. Too busy to notice his disheveled hair and clothes whenever you knocked on his study’s door to bring him dinner.

And quite frankly? It was driving him fucking crazy. Elliot was up the fucking wall with desire, filling pages and pages full of the most illicit smut he could think of. He spent hours pouring over those pages for typos and grammatical errors, but every time he looked at the pages he thought of you. Elliot thought of your hands around his neck, your hands in his hair, forcing him to take you deeper and deeper, his back arched as you pumped deep into him from behind… but the fantasies wouldn’t cut it anymore. He needed to feel your skin on his, needed your hands around his hips and your lips lingering for more than a chaste peck. He needed to feel you whisper, sweet and breathy, into his ear as your hand stroked him to completion. He wanted everything, everything right now… but he had a semblance of restraint. He would at least ask politely before he begged you to tear him apart.

Finally, a week into the season, he got his chance. Rain had finally come, the auto-feeders were filled, and you were free. Elliot had been draped over you in his sleep, his hand across your chest as you slept on your back. He gazed upon your sleeping face, letting the pitter patter of the rain on the window soothe his mind, as it ever wandered. Eventually, the allure of the crook of your neck was too much to bear, diving in softly to feel your warmth on his lips. He had to stop himself from grinding against you as he took deep, long breaths of your scent in.

You awoke to his hand caressing your cheek, his breath heavy and warm on your neck. You moved slowly, wrapping your arms around him to pull the rest of him flush against you. If you were any more conscious, you would have felt his length pressing against your leg. You turned your head to look at him, the smile on your face coming naturally. Your voice was soft, glazed with the sleepiness that marks the recently awakened. “Good morning, Elliot.” His hair was disheveled, tangled, and thrown about, but through it all you could still see his handsome face. Framed by the soft early morning sunlight seeping through the window, you didn’t care to stop yourself from staring.

It was quiet, despite the one-sided tension. You were relaxed, gazing into your lover's eyes, but his mind was going utterly feral. You’re always amazing to him, always, but in this light? At this moment? No words could describe his utter attraction towards you. You were nothing less than the most gorgeous being on the planet, and he knew it for a fact. Said beauty stunted his response, forgetting to remove his head from your shoulder to speak. It was muffled, but you got the gist of it; something like “Good morning, my darling.” As he fell back into your neck, his hand snaked its way into yours, as warm and soft as it’d always been.

However, your body had other ideas. It had been in that bed for eight long hours, and it needed to stretch. As you did so, tensing and relaxing and spreading your body out to work out the stiffness of sleep, you felt it. You could feel it, hard against your thigh now, and you weren’t foolish enough to believe it to be anything other than Elliot’s penis. You were about to just chock it up to morning wood, until you felt his breath quicken against your shoulder, his hand grip yours tighter, and a barely stifled moan breach his lips.

Sensitive… he was always so sensitive when he was pent up. The oddities of the week started to piece together inside your head, clicking together ever so simply. You were stiff, for a moment, painfully so… similarly, his cock was STILL pressed against you as you debated and questioned in your head what to do. A conclusion came quickly, however, and with that you turned to him and brought a hand to his face. You chased his lips with a passionate fervor, wasting no time with words that you thought would just get in the way. He breaks the kiss quickly however, proving you wrong as he straddles you.

“I need you, my love. Badly.” It’s short, breathy, lacking his usual smoothness and charisma. These are words tinged with just as much lust and desire as love and passion. “I need you to fuck me, darling. I’ve needed it all week.” His hips move feverishly against yours,  a look of strained arousal on his face as he rubs himself against you. Your hands move to them, slowing his movements as you take control of the situation. He groans in protest, but you pay him no mind. After all, he’ll be feeling much better once you get those pants off of him.

Pulling off his sweatpants while he relentlessly grinds himself into you is no small task, but it’s easy compared to keeping yourself from ripping the fabric of your boxers. Truth is, this whole scenario almost had you as riled up as him, straining against your underwear while he raised his hips so you could pull his off. His shaft and balls rested heavy on your stomach, painfully hard and red, throbbing as it felt the warmth of your skin. Elliot looked down at you, his breathing heavy as he tried his best to contain himself. You were little better, your hands resting on him, one on his hips and the other on his thigh. Slowly, you slipped your hand between the both of you and pulled your cock through it’s fabric sheath, gazing into his eyes as you stroked it slowly.

“How do you want me, Elliot?” Your hand stroked his thigh, grounding him in the moment as you spoke. As he answers, he rubs his knuckles over your stomach, the other resting on his leg. “Like this, my dear. I want to look at you. I want to look into your eyes.” It's shaky, but it's said with a grin and a comforting tone. You sit up slightly, your cock resting against his ass as you look at him. He nods, and the fun starts.

You line yourself up to his hole and begin to ease yourself in, wary of how tight he is. Elliot braces himself on your shoulders as you push inside, a long groan escaping his mouth as you stop about halfway inside. You clash your lips with his as you fully push inside, muffling each other’s moans. You hold him close, lazily thrusting into his ass as you bask in his body. You keep looking up into his eyes as he looks down into yours, composure lost as he moans quietly into the air. Your hands roam his body as he shivers in your grasp, one hand resting lightly on his ass, the other gliding up his back, slowly coming to the back of his head.

Your hand rests in his hair, pulling him closer so that you could line kisses along his jaw. Elliot whined into your ear as you pumped into him, reaching the deepest parts of his body as he ground his hips into yours. He was so pretty like this. No wonder you couldn’t keep yourself from pulling his hair, giving you the perfect angle to lay kisses on his neck. He couldn’t stop himself from bucking down onto you harder when you bit his neck. You couldn’t help yourself, instincts taking over as you left your mark on his body. As you ruined him, inside and out, he moaned and cried out in pleasure, your hand still pulling his hair to get better angles to lay kisses and bites.

Elliot wasn’t going to last very long. Right then, all of his most lustful desires were being fulfilled, and he couldn’t be more satisfied. The love of his life was balls deep inside of him with no intention of pulling out, and he couldn’t be more in love. His cock was rubbing against your stomach, and he couldn’t feel closer to the edge. “My love… I’m… not going to…” If your hand hadn’t been in his hair, he would’ve collapsed into your shoulder, crying out as he peaked. He tumbled over the edge of orgasm with a loud, drawn out moan as you wrapped your hand around his cock. As you stroked him to completion, he whimpered and melted under your touch, cum splattering across your stomach in a vulgar display of love.

You, however, weren’t done. You were getting closer, every thrust becoming a monumental hurdle. He was no longer grinding against you, as exhausted as he was, so you were fucking up into him at your best pace. As you inched closer, you hesitated, whispering into his ear. “Can I… finish-” He interrupted quickly, exhaustion fading under a burst of excitement. “Inside, my dear, inside of me. I want your cum inside of me…” Your response was swift, firmly clashing lips together as you held his hips and thrusted up into him as fast as you could. You brought yourself to your climax quickly, holding him down on you as you filled his hole with a nice, thick creampie. 

You crumpled back onto the bed, Elliot falling with you as exhaustion took its toll. You were sticky, tired, and covered in cum. You were also in a state of absolute bliss, holding your lover tight in your arms as the both of you recovered. He held you just the same, whispering praises and affirmations into your ear as he tried to regain strength in his legs. It was his suggestion that the both of you get in the bath, one that you quickly agreed to. Slowly, (with slightly unsteady legs on Elliot’s part) a warm bath had been set and soaped up, bubbles overflowing onto the bathroom floor.

You laid there, in that warm bath, Elliot resting against your chest as the rest of your muscles relaxed. Holding his waist, you let your face fall into his hair. It wasn’t wet yet, but just as soft as it had always been. You held the love of your life in his arms, a smile running across your face as you thought of the next time he might have such a lustful case of writer’s block.

[teriri-sayes]

Reactions to Cale Snow's Chapter 232

TL;DR - Not all dragons sided with the Dragon Lord, so Cale plans to use that. Eruhaben gets angry upon realizing how mbd are created. Past dragon is Har Kingdom's ally. Cale is alarmed when Rasheel messaged them, saying he's going to beat up the enemy dragon.

Dragon Factions We got more info about the Aipotu dragons. There are around 40 of them, and half followed the Dragon Lord. The rest remained silent. In the past, more than half of the dragons rebelled against the Dragon Lord, but now, except for two, they had either sided with the Dragon Lord or chose silence.

The two dragons who were still antagonistic towards the Dragon Lord were Maxi and the "Past" attribute dragon. The Har Kingdom trusted Maxi, but her whereabouts became unknown to them after she headed to Central Plains.

As for the Past dragon, King Dennis said that he occasionally visited the Har Kingdom and shared information with them. That was why the Har Kingdom knew a lot about dragons.

With all these new knowledge, Cale and Eruhaben came up with a plan of rallying the dragons not on the Dragon Lord's side to their side. Perhaps even find a dragon who had ambitions of becoming a Dragon Lord too. Raon quickly commented that Cale and Eruhaben had the same (scammer) smile. 😂

Fake Mixed Blood Dragons The black castle group had yet to inform Cale's side about their discovery of the mbd being living golems, but Eruhaben himself somehow figured out that the mbd here were created.

He was angry because he knew that lots of innocent people died just to create a mbd because there was a very slim chance of survival when injected with dragon blood. Raon offered a cookie to calm Eru, but it was Cale's plan to remove the dragons on the Dragon Lord's side that calmed down Eru.

The Crazy Duo The funniest part of the chapter was the end. 🤣🤣🤣

Raon: Human, I received a message from the black castle! Cale: *reads the message and looks alarmed* Cale to Eru: Please set up a video call. Eru: Why? Cale: It said that a dragon appeared from the side of the Erghe Mountains. Har Kingdom people: *shocked* Bailey: Ridiculous! A dragon moved immediately! That's impossible! Eru: Wait. How many dragons appeared? Cale: One. Eru: So? If it's one, why the urgency? Cale: *shows the message* Message: My senses caught a dragon. I'm gonna beat it up. - Rasheel Cale: The dragon must survive! We need it to get info! It will be difficult if Rasheel beats the dragon to death immediately! Eru: Ah. *immediately convinced* Har Kingdom people: ??? Raon: *munching cookies*

The last part was the clincher. There was a scene change to Rasheel who was excitedly heading to where he sensed the enemy dragon. Rasheel was laughing in excitement as he thought of beating up that dragon. And who was accompanying Rasheel? Clopeh Sekka... 🤣🤣🤣 RIP Kendall, I don't think you'll survive against these crazy duo. 😂

Ending Remarks Last chapter, I was looking forward to DHB's naming scene. But now, I'm more excited to see the Rasheel-Clopeh duo beat up Kendall. 😂 Question is, will Cale stop the two fast enough? And why did Clopeh even volunteer to accompany Rasheel? Did he want to beat up Cale's enemies too? Or convert them to Caleism? I guess we'll find out next week.

[tanoraqui]

Dungeon Meshi Liveblog: Izutsumi! and Elves

Chilchuck my love, you so fucking asked for that one.

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You woke him from his nap!!

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Asfslkfjsk was the fact that Senshi accidentally made this guy in the show? I don't remember it.

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I love how this fight showcases how fast Izutsumi is. Girl's got a Dex of like 22.

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Fuckin' tragic that this is just a chapter cover and they never actually, so far as I'm aware, dress in sheepskins the way they dressed in frogskins.

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Not to be Edgy(TM) but I'm pretty sure that by this definition, humans, especially magic-users, are also "monsters."

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The green-growing, snow-free cavern with the barometz suddenly appearing is I'm pretty sure the most blatant the dungeon has been so far about giving people what they want - except possibly for this usually hot & humid floor being freezing in the first place, just because Laios said he didn't like the heat.

I hope it keeps doing this sort of thing after he becomes king. I know that's not how this works but god I love a sentient land, especially one that tries to accommodate its people. Alas that this one's all a honey trap for flies.

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It's very clear to me that, while Izutsumi may genuinely prefer to avoid strenuous effort, either physical or emotional, most of her argument with Marcille in this chapter is about her testing the boundaries of the group's tolerance for her. Where she was before, they'd tell her, "You'd think you could be a little more grateful to us for taking you in." And this is a philosophy that Tade, Izutsumi's closest friend and the one other subordinate-due-to-species person among them, bought into:

Izutsumi was skeptical...but that's still what she lived with. Until now, with this new group, where she's getting mixed messages - or, what feels like mixed messages, between what the group does and says and what she thinks they're saying based on her past experience.

Chilchuck calls her a beast, then basically has her act as distracting bait for a dangerous period of time while the rest of the party (is busy being injured or tending to the injured) does nothing to help, and all Chilchuck does to help Izutsumi kill the ice golem is mark its weak point for her. But then he compliments her skills, apologizes for being rude, and gives her her own pack and bedroll, truly welcoming her to the group. And when she remarks sarcastically that nobody cares about a beast being naked, Marcille only redoubles her efforts to help her keep her modesty, while the others bind Laios's eyes because he's the one who's going to Make It Weird - not Izursumi. Laios stays blindfolded throughout the steam bath scene because the party respects Izutsumi as a person.

So then she starts that fight over food, partly because she genuinely doesn't want to eat gross things - and more importantly, doesn't want to risk becoming even more a monster than most people already view her. But also because she wants, perhaps subconsciously, to see what happens when she's "supposed" to be a "team member" now but she disobeys the more senior members of the group.

This chapter threads two needles, builds two distinctions: between "earning your place" and "pulling your fair weight", and between "doing things you don't like for others (on their orders/for their goals)" and "doing things you don't like for you (for your own goals)." I think it...could do better at it? Like, Tade is kinda failing at step 1, because it's not clear to me that she realizes needing to "be useful" in order to stay is inherently fucked up. But she DOES think of that as her personal goal, even if it's actually externally imposed, and she's okay with putting in hard, sometimes unpleasant work in order to achieve it.

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Kabru internally, triumphantly: CAHOOOOOOOOTS!

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{fond sigh} the Elves from the West on their white ships with avian figureheads... They may be dicks, but we do love a Tolkien reference.

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CANARIES IN THE COAL MINE. I have NO idea if that translation is intended but my god I love it. If it's deliberate, is it a subversion of that concept or is it an indication of what the Elvish government thinks of their crack team of dungeon-delvers?

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BIGGEST, BLUEST EYES OF PERFECT* HONESTY*...followed by the visible pupils of honest evasion. Man, I'm really enjoying the Shuro-Kabru dynamic here, too? Shuro like, "Don't bullshit me. I'm a prince. I'm willing to help, but I know a politician when I see one." They vibe, your honor. They bonded over one of the weirdest and most traumatic meals of both their lives.

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LMAOOOO. This was NOT in the show!

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I love how Namari greets him excitedly and immediately asks for news of Falin, and Shuro says nothing but, really, everything; and Namari changes the subject to something lighter that's still gossip about their friends. I don't really expect it to happen but I'd LOVE to see the whole old Touden party reunite in battle or just around a campfire again, because it's clear they were a very good party of dungeon-competent people who worked and got along well together.

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Srsly though the opening view of this scene is such eloquent dynamic-establishing, vis a vis the elves relationship with the Island Lord and, well, everyone else here. We heard people muttering nervously in the streets, we heard Kabru's brief but heartfelt story of Utaya... And now we get this:

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The words of a man who would definitely for sure not have a single problem, not a one!

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Wait, what shady side business did Shuro have?! I love that Chilchuck is objectively the most reputable person in the party... Except really he fits in with the others: I bet a lot of parties don't want to hire That Bitchy Pushy Halffoot, any more than they want to hire an Easterner with weird vibes or the daughter of an infamous thief. (Or a mysterious elvish mage who won't explain her real reasons for wanting to explore dungeons, but Marcille would've joined the Touden party anyway, for Falin.)

It shows how Laios's trust of others pays off just as often as it doesn't.

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THIS IS IT, THIS SORT OF IMAGINE SPOT IS WHY I LOVE KABRU VERY MUCH.

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THE WORDS OF A MAN WHO WILL DEFINITELY FOR SURE NOT HAVE A SINGLE PROBLEM, NOT A ONE!

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...hot.

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kitty cat

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I like how this sort of comment is obviously genuinely hurting Laios, and Chilchuck does kinda genuinely mean it, but also he's saying it more reflexively than anything. Laios says or does something Particularly Fucking Weird; Chilchuck comments and keeps going along with him. I do look forward to Chilchuck growing accepting of Laios's weirdness rather than just resigned, but it's a good character beat all around.

[yandere-paramour]

How would the yanderes feel about a darling who's really attracted to them when they're in professional/work attire?

Darling who swoons and gets unconsciously more touchy when Atalanta's in her suit. Darling who blushes when they see Vivien in his apron/work gloves and Noelle in her pencil skirts.

Semi related, would Ata enjoy her darling putting on/taking off her coat/tie? Like housewife style, welcoming her home and giving her a kiss while hanging up her coat, as well as tying her tie and pulling on it gently to kiss her.

I don't know how you do it, but you always come up with great ideas.

I think the yans would be very pleased, especially Vivien. Vivien loves his job, but he's a little self-conscious about the fact that he only went to high school (although he did do A LOT of research on the side by himself) and now works doing a lot of manual labor. He doesn't want you to think he's stupid or a mindless golem whose only use is lifting bags of soil. He would be very glad that you think he's handsome and rugged, and he would try to wear them around more often, like when he's making things for his online store or just doing some normal gardening.

Atalanta and Noelle also like it. They love feeling pretty and desirable to their partners. Atalanta is more casual about it. She knows she's drop-dead gorgeous, the Montclair genes basically ensure it. But she is glad you think so. She will let you choose clothes for her, provided they are work appropriate. Otherwise, she will just sit around being hot and allowing you to drool over her. Noelle loves to let you watch her get dressed in the morning in the morning. She doesn't let you dress her, you know how independent she is, but she might intentionally dress herself a little sexier than normal. She might even incorporate her "uniform" into the bedroom as well. How would you like to be dominated by a strict professor or perhaps a wealthy lady or even just a normal strict Mistress? Not the Executive/Assistant roleplay though, that disturbs her a little due to her relationship with Atalanta.

I don't remember if I even mentioned she wears pencil skirts but I love how you just instinctually knew.

Atalanta would VERY MUCH like you to take care of her like that. It makes her feel somewhat marked as yours, like a form of domestic bliss. It also makes her feel important, like you're her perfect little wife getting her ready to go earn lots and lots of money to provide for and spoil you.

[judasgot-it]

Hellooooooo! I would like to request, how do you think hunting dogs would be when they play Minecraft with their s/o🤭

I have so many asks in my inbox so I'm now getting to them. Also, minecraft time babyyyyyyyyyyy

Headcanons: playing minecraft with the hunting dogs

Jouno

He can't really play along with you since it's point-and-click, so sometimes he'll partake in listening in on your Minecraft sessions that you play with everyone else

He gives unnecessary advice and will insist on killing any mob you spot. Even the sheep :(

Jouno also named all of your dogs. He was heartbroken when Teruko killed one on accident and demanded retribution

You give him a play-by-play of the shenanigans that go on in the community server. He tries to get you to kill Tecchou and if you're playing during work hours he'll mess with Tecchou or Tachihara occasionally.

You built a house for the two of you in game. There's a homemade torture chamber inside just so he can enjoy the sounds of pistons and villagers being pushed into lava.

It's constantly being repaired due to Teruko's griefing

For the most part he does his own thing and adds commentary. Does cuddle with you when it's a more chill game.

Tecchou

You are the classic "builder vs. Miner" couple

He collects flowers for the two of you and gets distracted a lot

Insists on building iron golems for villages and fighting pillagers

You will get distracted EASILY with this guy

He won't play easy mode with him he has to do it hard mode. He needs the challenge

Tames every dog he sees and is sad when he loses one

Treats them like they're your kids

Your house is overrun with them. Stop him please.

They're all named after foods.

His builds aren't aesthetic, definitely a dirt hut kind of man. He'll mine diamonds for you though

If you're a miner then good luck

You'll have a beautiful dirt hut. Or a pretty cave ♡

Probably beat the game in like 3 minutes and is now just fucking around

Has no idea how potions and enchantment work tho. You need to build that shit for him, since he probably has more levels than you and can enchant all your stuff.

Dude is just gonna use some random iron sword he found in a villager's chest anyway. He cares about providing for you more than himself.

Rip to whoever he robs. Probably local villages. He lives like he's homeless. Probably is.

Most likely he would just live in an old desert temple or village if it weren't for you

Also insists on riding a horse everywhere. Doesn't matter if there's a faster method. He wants to be a cowboy ○]:)

Loves the Minecraft farmer life

The one building he does have is a stable. His horses deserve the best life. He doesn't even have a bed most of the time.

Will gift you all of his goods tho. Anything you want? He'll get it. Only the best. Man will go to the ends of the blocked earth to get you a mushroom cow if you want. He's that guy.

Tachihara

Redstone god

Literally will automate the whole game

Find him a dungeon and BAM automated

Don't try and test him, he's just good

But he's hopeless in the beginning, he runs away screaming and crying from creepers

Protect him

After you beat the game and go to the ender he is PROVIDING

THIS MAN KNOWS HIS SHIT

Literally, don't let him go mining he will die 30 different ways

If you do at least protect him. Seriously.

He will most likely die from a creeper. they are his mortal enemy. Creepers? Awwwwwww man.

But do let him build. He's just a natural genius

Probably builds like the notre dame in a day

you guys have the cutest house. builds you whatever you want, wherever you want.

Puts your beds next to each other and is like :3

Cries over creepers tho. They destroy his builds all the time. He loves his Minecraft cats and names them after his friends ♡

Has a dog named after you. He's sentimental like that

He built half of the buildings everyone uses. Is at war with everyone else since they keep letting mobs destroy them

HE DOES NOT SLEEP IN THE GAME

And then has the audacity to cry about phantoms attacking him even when he has OP armor.

When he's building you need to be there other wise he'll 100% die from fall damage probs. He just always does.

Getting materials with him is great, you find the best spots for your Minecraft dates

Teruko

She's the worst

Literally has nothing

She will just keep getting flint and steel and burning shit

or finding TNT and blowing up random shit

With nothing she will keep fighting whatever she can

Lives off of raw meat and villager farms

Please keep her alive

If it's a community server she is a serial griefer

Seriously someone stop her

She relies on everyone's leftover stuff from their mining trips

Will follow you when you go down and demand a 50/50 split

Does protect you from mobs tho

Best person to take to the nether for some reason. She's just immune to fall damage and lava.

Will always luck out and find exactly what you're looking for.

She will never destroy Tachiharas Redstone farms. But will destroy his house. They are at war rn

She declared war on everyone and took over several villages. She's trying to establish a tax system

Fukuchi

Played for like 3 days

Has a house that's abandoned

Teruko lives there sometimes

Tachihara put up a poster of two guys kissing right by his house and no one has taken it down

Fukuchi doesn't even know the chaos his Minecraft home causes on the daily

There's now a giant dick-building contest right next to it and no one wants to admit a loss.

It builds morale

everyone plays when he's gone on some special meeting. It's unspoken.

[megamuscle885-blog]

Severed - Worm Fanfiction Review

CW: Suicide and canon typical gore.

I don't think I've so eagerly anticipated an imaginary and, likely unwritten at the time of this post, scene in fanfiction than @heyitschartic's Severed. I've been following this series since it was posted three years ago. I'll avoid spoilers and the scene I'm imagining in question will be under the cut, but the basic premise is that Jack Slash chooses Skitter as his nominee during the Slaughterhouse 9 arc, rather than Oni Lee, who was disappointing, and Golem, who he later contrived the entire S9k arc for.

I will say that this work is a beautiful plunge into What Ifs which look all the more horrifying if you compare them against canon. You get flashback snippets of the S9 arc retold from a few perspectives before being thrust into post-GM, maybe pre-Ward? era with modern Skitter. I can certainly say that Severed blows all other S9!Taylors out of the water, Taylor is authentic in ways I haven't seen with anyone else. 10/10, each chapter is at it's absolute peak and it has 11 chapters as of this post. Each gut-punch has me anticipating the next chapter, only for the next chapter to explain why Taylor's friends and enemies hate her so much. I gasped when Tattletale said that to her. I strongly recommend Severed to anyone and everyone who hasn't already read it yet. Here's the link:

Oh wait does this count as the first of my Worm fanfic reviews--

So, I've read chapter 11 and I've been having Taylor and her clone rotating in my head endlessly, but the scene I'm anticipating is the one hinted at in Chapter where Defiant wants Taylor to go under the knife with Bonesaw again so Riley can fix all of Taylor's everything that is physically wrong with her, because her body is practically bio-tinkertech, even after they ripped almost everything else out.

I can only imagine Taylor reiterating that she refuses to be put under for the procedure, and using every moment to vent her anger and frustration on a Riley that is likely seeing marked improvement in her therapy (maybe). But Taylor keeps hitting her with blow after blow. "They'll never let you work on anyone else ever again, so you had better not kill me." and "Nobody will ever let you willingly touch them, I'm the only one who you can use your tinker abilities on, and that can change if I don't need you anymore." "If you ever find someone you can trick into letting you touch them, hold them, or even work on them, I'll kill them. It'd be better than the fate worse than death that letting you touch someone inflicts, and I should know, I'm living through it."

Maybe Chartic has something else planned, but I would like to see this Bonesaw cry. An unshakable, unmoved Taylor just heaps on the abuse through her own tears of pain, holding Riley hostage even as she roots through her guts to put her back together. It's very Taylor to fight through pain to force people to help her. The last time they saw each-other, Riley was doing well. I don't think she'll be doing very well after they meet again.

Maybe an overseeing team of surgeons and Capes become increasingly uncomfortable as Riley is tormented. They find themselves defending Bonesaw of all people, from one of her former victims too.

I'm sorry if this is unsolicited Chartic, but I can't wait to see their reunion, whatever form it takes. Severed's way of making Taylor suffer the consequences of her own actions, while invoking sympathy simultaneously with disgust at Taylor's betrayals; the depths she's sunken to, and then to finally wrap it up with shame and admonishment of her friends, turned victims, is masterful. How dare either they or I judge her for what she had to do to survive. Each chapter reveals that it got worse and worse. At some point, I suspect that (one of) the reasons that Taylor is being given such little leeway by the rest of the cast and remains constantly under the threat of harsh re-imprisonment or execution by vengeful kill-teams is because she somehow became the worst member of the Slaughterhouse Nine or even surpassed them in notoriety.

Tattletale telling Skitter to kill herself was such an insane scene that I stood up and covered my mouth. I was in disbelief. But knowing now that Skitter had betrayed the Undersiders to a slaughter by Mannequin (after having sacrificed her own father and, essentially, her own pre-cape life and innocence with him. The Taylor that she did not want to be, embracing the Skitter she chose to become) and then at some point caused the remainder of the Livsey family to kill themselves the same way Reggie did, with gunshot wounds, really clarifies that Taylor did something unforgivable. She exploited her friendship with Lisa to injure her in a way that can never be repaired. Lisa in canon never really had much to do with her parents ever again, but she probably didn't want them dead for neglecting Reggie.

I may edit this later, or reblog it, as new thoughts on the work come to me.