#i use 'sick' instead of awesome most of the time

[sonikkuruzu]

@gokutober day 2! Today's prompt is "Sick" so I drew Goku doing a sick skateboard trick

Prompts here - https://gokutober.tumblr.com/post/729317335347888128/gokutober-2023-prompts-are-here

[gender-trash]

(i am seriously late in posting about this due to The Problems BUT whatever! its here now!!)

somewhere around late november 2022, i asked my dad "hey are there any out of print technical books you'd like a reprint of for christmas?"

he linked me to a dubious black-and-white pdf of Foundations of Mechanical Accuracy. now, i wound up checking out a copy through link+, and the original edition is a really nicely put together book! the chapters are themed around various types of measurements (length, angle, etc), and they all have these cute little diagrams which the endpapers reuse in a lil repeating pattern... the image captions are done in this really lovely dark red that did not scan for SHIT... tons and tons of diagrams and illustrations and images (both color and b&w)... just, all around, a fucking nice book!! (see also @morrak's post about it here.)

and that made me feel kind of bad about the crappiness of the pdf, which is where the Problems began. i used my phone to take pictures of all the photos and color diagrams in the original and went about replacing them in the pdf, using what turned out to be the world's worst pdf editing software (i also got through replacing all the image captions in chapter 1 of 5 before my dad convinced me to give up). i did NOT finish the pdf editing before christmas 2022 (i was going somewhat off the deep end, because both my housemates were away visiting family and i had zero external structure in my life so it was just me and my cat and this stupid FUCKING pdf wrecking my sleep schedule together); i poked away at it for most of the rest of my time off and then got so goddamn sick of it i put the project away for months. "it'll be a birthday gift instead", i said optimistically (my dad's birthday is in april! it should have been enough time!)

gentle readers, i did not finish the pdf editing by april. mostly because it was such a miserable slog that i put it off until the last possible moment and then tried to make up for it with another death march.

hating both myself and the project again, i decided i was Not going to let myself typeset Anything Else before it was done, and then took a break to bind my immortal (using the renegade publishing typeset! i didn't do any typesetting!!). SURELY, i said, i can finish this in time for christmas 2023.

i'm sure you know where this is going.

in my defense i DID finish the pdf editing by christmas, despite first doing every other possible procrastination project (including a second edition of the little second century warlord book), because by this point my dad had managed to convince me to lower my standards. on the evening of the 22nd i kicked off the print job and said to myself "this will finish printing overnight and then tomorrow i can work on sewing the textblock!"

late on the 23rd, after lots of babysitting and using at least one cartridge of every color ink in my printer, the print job was finally done. (my sweet and lovely cat wants SO BADLY to hunt and stalk the printer while it is printing -- more specifically, the printed pages, i think because they tend to make noise and move and then STOP moving. for this reason, the printer is kept in the craft room, because the cat can be shut out of the craft room and thus prevented from chewing on the pages when i have an all-day book printing job going. unfortunately the craft room was also being pressed into service as a guest room at the time so 80% of the floor space was consumed by an air mattress which i had to repeatedly trip over in order to reach the printer and replace the ink cartridges.)

then i went to my parents' house on the 24th and 25th and apologized to my dad (again) for not having the book finished. but this worked out well because we finished putting together my awesome new book clamp:

(the feet still aren't done being painted so they're just dry-fit on for now but you can still clamp books in it and that's what matters!!)

i came home, sewed the textblock (french link stitch over four linen tapes, with sewn endbands made of variegated embroidery floss over linen cord, and kozo paper glued over the spine)

... and promptly realized i SHOULD HAVE PUT IN MORE OF A GUTTER because some of the text was getting reeeeeeal close to the spine. "it's fine!" i said. "i just have to make sure it lays flat!! what better time than to try out K118 binding, a technique i have literally never done before and which people on the bookbinding discord notoriously have a hard time pulling off first try! i even have tyvek tape for it!"

so it turns out that tyvek tape isn't actually tyvek with glue on it, it's tape FOR attaching pieces of tyvek TO EACH OTHER, which maybe i could have guessed if i'd done even the slightest amount of research or planning. at this point i think it was the 27th and i was still angling to get this thing done by new year's, so no time to order Actual Tyvek.

fortunately, i had ALSO received An Package in the mail with yarn for a totally unrelated knitting project... shipped in a tyvek envelope.

i peeled all the shipping labels and stickers off my tyvek envelope, cut that shit up, and glued it on there.

and THEN it was time for gluing on covers, which i thought was going to be easy because i had actually thought ahead and ordered materials (specifically acid-free museum board), except when i cracked open the box of museum board i decided i Didn't Like It because the surface was too soft and easily dented, so i glued onto it the too-thin board material i'd previously been using (so that the cardboard goes on the outside of the book). this worked super well (the cardboard stuff has a tendency to curl up from the glue moisture, but the museum board doesn't!) and i'll probably use it on other stuff in the future.

i thought the blue bookcloth i used was kind of boring but i showed my dad the available cloth options and he really liked it, so... what do you know? i cut the piece i used on the back cover very slightly too short but it wound up being covered by the leather, so you can barely tell.

and the leather... a scrap just baaaaarely big enough from my bag of leather scraps from discount fabrics... and this the first time i'd ever attempted to put leather on a book... AND YET the only complaint i have is that i didn't manage to put an even amount on the front and back. it's reasonably square and straight!! amazing!!

i am super super happy with how this project came out (especially given the number of problems i encountered) and oh my god check out how much the spine bends

AND, AS A NEW YEAR'S PRESENT, I FINALLY MANAGED TO GIVE IT TO MY DAD

[in1-nutshell]

Hi is been a while since I requested can you do lost light Fort max has a son that is weak and gets really sick really easily

I hope you have a nice day

Mid way through writing I realized I didn't know which Buddy you wanted, so this is going to be Human Buddy.

If this is not what you want, please let me know.

Hope you enjoy!

Fortress Maximus with a human son who gets sick easily

SFW, Platonic, Familial, Slight Angst, Human reader

IDW

Fortress Maximus officially became Buddy’s Guardian when his parents had passed away on a mission.

According to the will, they had left Buddy in the care of Fortress Maximus, their dear friend and companion.

Max took on the duty full-heartedly.

It did take a while for him and Buddy to officially get used to the new normal.

With his night terrors and with Buddy’s physical state.

Yes, the bot did know about the child’s health before he became his guardian.

He felt appalled to hear how many Earth parents would abandon their kids in the times they need them the most.

Now, because of Buddy’s physical state, he is not allowed to walk on the floor.

It’s too much of a risk.

Instead, if he wants to try walking (with supervision) there are catwalks around.

If not, then Fort Max is just going to pick him up and keep him in his servo.

Red Alert has babyproofed and updated all the guard railings with the arrival of Buddy.

Cerebros helps Fort Max understand what he needs to do with Buddy’s medications or physical therapy.

Holoforms become a necessity with Buddy.

While being hugged by a giant robot is awesome, it’s not the same as getting a hug from a human.

It also helps with any massages on any strained muscle.

Prowl does come by every now and then to check how things are with Buddy and Fort Max.

Has Fortress Maximus found Prowl giving a digit massage to Buddy’s back when he complained about the pain?

Maybe yes, maybe no.

Rung is happy to see how far Fort Max has come since they last met on the Lost Light.

Buddy sometimes joins in on the calls happy to see Uncle Rung again.

Fort Max: “All right time for bed.” Buddy with sleepy eyes: “I can *yawn* stay up a little longer.”

Fort Max chuckles a bit as he gently plucks the boy up and gently places him back in bed.

Fort Max: “Maybe another time we try and stay up later. Now rest.”

Fort Max turns on the little stary night light and turns to the door.

Buddy: “Max? Do you think I’ll be strong like you one day?” The bot stops and turns to his boy. Fort Max: “Sure kid and I bet you’ll grow even strong.” Buddy: “… Do you really think I’ll get better?”

Fort Max comes back into the room and takes a seat by the berth and gently places one of his digits and gently wipes the falling tear from his face.

Fort Max: “You are going to get better. You will get better. You’re a fighter Buddy, stubborn like—” Buddy: “Like Uncle Prowl?”

Fort Max holds the wince at the words ‘Uncle’ and ‘Prowl’ for Buddy’s sake.

Fort Max: “Sure kiddo.”

Buddy seems happy with that.

Buddy: “When can Uncle Prowl come back?” Fort Max: “Whenever he has time kiddo, now bed time.” Buddy: “Can you stay until I fall asleep?”

Fort Max leaves his digit by Buddy’s side. The little boy turns and hugs the digit the best he can and slowly begins closing his eyes.

Buddy: “Mmm… Love you Dad…” Fort Max smiles warmly at his son: “Night… my son.”

[callsign-rogueone]

harvest day - l.m.

secret admirer!Liam x Luceran!reader. part of my Valentine’s Day celly! 💕 words: 932 🏷: reader is feminine and has longish hair (can be tied), but no pronouns used. I am once again making random stuff up about Navarrian cultures. featuring my farm-boy Sawyer headcanon lmao (Luceras doesn’t have one major city on the map in the book. It’s all farmland, and you cannot convince me otherwise.)

You nearly crush it under your boot in your hurry to get to class, stepping back at the last second to pick it up.

A tiny dragon carved from wood -- your dragon, complete with his horns and a tiny spiked tail. You run your fingers over the wood — it’s been sanded, perfectly smooth against your skin. The level of detail is incredible. This must have taken hours.

“You’re going to be late, humble one.”

Right. You tuck it into the pocket of your jacket, locking your door behind you and jogging down the hall. 

You make it just in time, apologizing your way down the row, stepping around people’s feet carefully until you’ve made it to your friends. You settle between Rhiannon and Sawyer, thanking them for saving you a seat. “Overslept,” you explain, digging in your bag for your notebook, which you had nearly forgotten to pack.

You remove your flight jacket, taking the tiny dragon from your pocket and setting it on the desk beside your pen.

“Whoa, sick! Who made that?” Sawyer asks.

“I don’t know. I just found it outside my door. It looks just like him, though. Even got the horns right.”

“It is a very good representation of me,” Cruith appraises. “Though I have never once been that small.”

“That's awesome. Maybe they’re like, a wood-wielder or something,” Ridoc suggests, leaning over to examine it.

“I’m pretty sure that signet doesn’t exist,” Rhiannon says dryly.

“If he can do all that with metal, then it's entirely possible someone could do it with wood,” Ridoc defends.

“That’s what she said,” Sawyer says quietly, trying not to laugh.

Ridoc grins. “I’m rubbing off on you, man.”

You snort. “Now that's what she said.”

“Focus,” Rhiannon scolds lightly, ever the responsible squad leader, her eyes not having left the chalkboard this whole time.

“Yes, mom,” the three of you chorus softly, turning your attention back to the professor. 

Violet looks like she has something to say, but she remains quiet.

---------------------------------------------------

“Mail call,” Rhiannon announces, distributing opened letters to each of you.

Your heart drops as soon as you start to read yours.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, I just didn’t realize the date. It’s Harvest Day on Wednesday. Last year I was just too busy trying to stay alive to think about it, but…”

Sawyer winces, understanding. “I wish I could be there too. I swear when I graduate, I’m gonna use all my leave every year to help them.”

“I’m so lost,” Ridoc says, looking between you.

You laugh, explaining. “Everyone spends the day — the week, really — helping their neighbors harvest their crops, and there’s always a feast at the end with what we’ve grown.”

“Gods, the food. My family doesn’t come from much, but that was always the one day a year I felt like we were rich,” Sawyer admits.

You sigh in agreement. “It’s gonna be so weird wearing black all day instead of fall colors.” 

“That is the most Luceran thing I’ve ever heard,” Ridoc says. “Sometimes I forget you guys are all farmers.”

“It’s only our single most important holiday,” you laugh. “And we’re not all farmers. Two of us are dragon riders.” 

Sawyer grins at you, putting a hand up for a high five. “Damn right we are.”

---------------------------------------------------

Everyone’s eyes widen at the silky orange ribbon tying your hair back. You beam, turning your head to show it off. “Courtesy of the wood-wielder. I have no idea where they got it.”

Your joy is short-lived.

“Precisely what is that, cadet?” Dain asks sharply, and your face falls. There’s only one thing he can be taking issue with, the only spot of color in the sea of black making up your formation.

“It’s a Luceran tradition,” someone says for you — but not Sawyer or any of your friends. “Today is Harvest Day.”

You turn toward the voice, seeing Liam behind you, his eyes locked with Dain’s as if he’s daring the wingleader to argue with him. How does he know about the holiday? Had he overheard your conversation with your squad earlier?

“I expect it to be gone tomorrow,” Dain concedes. “You’re all dismissed.”

You breathe a sigh of relief as everyone files out of the hall.

“Liam?” You ask softly, and he stops, turning toward you. “Thank you.”

Then you see the small block of wood in his hand, the rough shape of another dragon etched into it. “It was you,” you whisper, stunned.

He laughs. “What?”

You reach into your pocket, producing the carving of Cruith. “You made this, right? Were you the one who wrote those physics notes for me when I was in the infirmary, too?” 

He smiles. “Yeah. That was all me.”

Your heart flutters with hope. “Why?”

“Because I was too nervous to say it, but I really like you.”

You blink. Liam, the one who isn’t scared of anything, was nervous to talk to you? And he has a crush on you? You’ve always found him attractive, but you had never thought this a possibility.

“Say something,” Cruith prods, sounding amused.

You finally form words. “Do you want to go into town with me this weekend?”

He blushes, scratching the back of his neck. “I would really like that.”

“Hey, lovebirds, are you coming to breakfast, or what?” Ridoc calls. “Some of us are starving over here!”

You laugh, a sound Liam will never tire of. “Just a minute!” You yell back.

You touch your fingertips to the soft silk, looking up at him. “Thank you, Liam. It really means a lot to me.”

He smiles. “Of course, sweetheart.”

[alexsoenomel]

Random Dean Winchester Headcanons:

Dean not letting you drive Baby. Too protective over his car. You would beg him but he would always say no. He let you once though – on your birthday – but ended up regretting when you almost crashed into a tree. 

He loved drinking coffee with you in the morning in silence. It was your morning ritual. Coffee and then everything else. 

Loved discussing music with you, especially during road trips. He would even let you pick the next song, just because he thought your taste was awesome. 

Being overprotective and possessive. If someone hurts you – they're dead. If someone flirts with you – they get a polite fuck off. If they continue? They get a punch in the face. 

He loved the way you would look at him whenever he would wear a suit. You loved pulling his tie and giving him a sweet little kiss before work, telling him how handsome he looked. 

He loved sleeping next to you. He loved the smell of your hair and how it lightly tickled his face. He also loved being the small spoon every once in a while – he felt safe next to you. He would still put his gun under his pillow though; old habits die hard. 

Dean loved when you would play with his hair, especially before bed since sleep deprivation was his best friend. 

Random dates. He loved taking you out on random free days. Dinners, drinks, star gazing, night drives – he loved spending time with you. 

He wasn’t much of a reader, but he loved when you would read him your favorite books. Sometimes he would read it to you, the sound of his voice was like a lullaby for you on bad days when you couldn’t sleep. You would use him as a pillow as he would read to you until your light snores filled the room. 

Arguing. You would argue mostly while working. You were both stubborn and impulsive so poor Sam always had to be the voice of reason. He wanted to keep you safe and you wanted to hunt.

Jealousy. You would get jealous. Dean was a good looking man and other women would try to get his attention and of course it never worked. He would just ignore them, but that still didn’t ease your jealousy. You would grow silent, anger written on your face and he would of course tease you, making the situation worse – for him.

“Be careful, she’s going to come and steal your man,” He told you once, after a waitress left her number on a napkin. 

“Be careful,” you started as you kicked him in the shin under the table, “next time I’m kicking you where you like my face the most.” He groaned in pain and Sam almost choked on his coffee. 

Bickering. Because he was a little shit and you were his little shit. Two sides of the same coin, actually. 

Kisses, lots and lots of kisses. He loved kissing every inch of you, taking his sweet time, slow, sensual and tortuous. You would whimper under him every single time. 

Holding hands. First time he held your hand was while driving home after a ghost almost took you out. He lectured you after Sam successfully burnt its bones, told you how reckless and stupid you were for jumping in front of him. Then he realized you almost died – the thought scared the living shit out of him.

He was a switch, plain and simple. Sometimes he loved calling you his dirty little slut, making you scream his name over and over, but other times he just wanted to admire your body as you would ride him. He loved when you were in control. 

Praise kink. That man loved being praised. “You feel so good, baby,” was his favorite. 

He would smile whenever you would call him handsome.

You were his sunshine, darling and sweetheart.  He would call you by your name only when he was pissed.

He loved you more than anything, but at the same time he thought he didn’t deserve you. 

You told him I love you first, drunk on whiskey after a successful hunt. Sam was sick that day, so it was only you and him. He didn’t say anything at first, instead he kissed you and took you home. He made love to you that night and between kisses the words slipped. “I love you too, sweetheart.” 

[joyfuladorable]

Fuck it, here's all my favorite Mikey-centric fanfics!!

There's A LOT + personal blurbs, so they're going under the cut (Mostly AO3, but there are some FFN links, too. Also, besides like the first two, there's no favoritism in the order)

2k3:

Pretend That I Never Left by redstringraven(sirimiri) - Complete/Plans for an Epilogue & Sequel!!

Fic that changed my BRAIN?! If my fanart [1 | 2 | 3] for it is any indicator, lol. I'll say for the umpteenth time that if you're looking for an Excellent Mikey fic with Perfect Characterization, this is IT (and you don't need to know ANYTHING about HZD trust me TRUST ME this fic deserves WAY more love) His swift ride-or-die friendship with Aloy will melt your damn heart!

Dragon of the Sun by ForestWhisper3 - Ongoing

My Other TOP favorite Mikey fic!! Again, fanart [1 | 2 | 3] indicator! Slow Burn(ish) Canon Divergence of Mikey unlocking his Mystic Powers as his family looks on in dismay as they struggle to protect him. The Good Shit!!!

Of Darkness And Light by Bayluff - Complete

OOOOOOO THIS ONE! Very good (also drew fanart for it)! Evil creature literally trying to consume Mikey's lifeforce from within as his family scrambles to help

A Chat With The Titan by secreterces5 - Complete

Mikey has a fun one-on-one talk with the supposedly reformed Bishop in Fast Forward. Mikey vaguely threatening Bishop, HEEHEE

A Simple Act Of Kindness by UlisaBarbic - Complete

That feel when you put your worth in what you can DO and the wish to be Acknowledged and the ONE thing you thought you did right was taken away OOGH AGH OOOOGH

Difficulty Breathing by RealityBreakGirl - Complete

Mikey did not come out of Grudge Match unscathed *smile* Truly one of my favorite 03 Mikey prompts to read about (honestly just check the entirety of the Grudge Match tag on AO3 for a fun time)

"A delivery boy! Uh, or turtle." by LollyHolly99 - Complete

Fic that has the distinction of being the first one I ever did fanart for! Gender Feels for Mikey cuz they're just like me FR!!

What Darkness Most Fears by UlisaBarbic - Complete

OOOGH AGH I LOVE THIS ONE!! Mikey has to save his bros from the clutches of an evil spirit while surviving horrifying monsters and battling a wicked fever!

Michelangelo by ForestWhisper3 - Complete

Mikey through the eyes of his family and how much they respect him and know him UwU

Mikey's Jigsaw by SailorSaysAhoy - Complete

Another awesome gender Mikey fic HOOHAA

Train-Wreck of Thought by halogalopaghost - Complete

When you're so talented you learn how to astral project but you start using it for pranks instead of understanding the drawbacks of said power and that bites you majorly in the ass big time (very good my stomach turned while reading this /pos)

A Brother's Bond by SuperKat - Complete

Mikey gets Real Sick and the fam can't help but remember last time one of them got so ill. OH MAN heartstrings WILL be pulled in this one!!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year by moogsthewriter - Complete

Why can't Mikey ever catch a break during Christmas! A short fic that I enjoy Immensely for Mikey being stubbornly heroic and his family desperately trying to play catch up to help him

Questioning Choices by Mystic Medjai - Complete

Fun day at the beach goes catastrophically bad and the fam has to make difficult decisions to keep Mikey alive. THIS THIS THIS!! If I could pour this into my veins for the perfectly paced plot and characterization...

When It Counts by Kallasilya - Complete

Short fic of Mikey stubbornly and bitterly proving his brothers wrong (+ Don being a good brother)

Favourite Disease by devirnis - Complete

Mikey is forced to save his brothers as his body gradually falls apart from the inside. SO GOOD UGH Mikey being forced to deal with situations on his own always show how far he can Shine!

Nowhere Boy by taizi - Complete

OOOH I dunno how I can summarize this without giving the plot away but just know Mikey pulls through by thinking of his family

To Fit the Crime by T33la - Complete

AHHH AHHHH AHHHHH AHHHHHHHH!! Mikey is accused of Murder and receives his sentence before his brothers can even jump to his defense! Oh the twists and turns of this murder mystery!!

you want to know why i sit and sigh (the night is so young it hurts) by love_killed_the_superstar - Complete

Angel and Mikey bonding over comics and unsupportive brothers So Cute)

imma be real with you (cause i started being real with me) by love_killed_the_superstar - Complete

Leo and Usagi being supportive of Mikey as he struggles to train for the upcoming Battle Nexus fight (and also maybe they flirt with each other a teensy bit)

just a hop, skip, and a jump away by baba_buoy - Complete

Mikey sick fic. Heart melting amounts of comfort UwU

Weak Link by yellowhollyhock - Complete

Sweet fic of Mikey feeling insecure about his place on the team, and Leo going through great lengths to prove him wrong like a good older brother :')

'Cause you are the sun, he is your moon/And though he can't speak, he will thank you soon by naivesilver - Complete

Post-Grudge Match Mikey waking up in the middle of the night bitter and sore and gods damn why's Raph awake, too?

Hunted by DysfunctionalRequest - Complete

Mikey wandering the woods alone in the middle of the night and having a VERY unfortunate encounter with hunters

Flipbook by T33la - Complete

Heartfelt moment between Mikey and Don concerning SAINW that makes me want to smash a cinder block against my head /pos

Dramaturgy by Completely_Unaware - Ongoing

Mind the tags! Mikey deals with a Battle Nexus loss in an unhealthy way (UmU)

The Red Means I Love You (Work) by AnonymousCritter - Ongoing

MIND THE TAGS! AU of Fast Forward. Mikey isn't saved from the traffickers in time and things spiral from there

The So-Called "Champion of the Battle Nexus" by 0ozero0 - Ongoing

Grudge Match canon divergence where Mikey gets hurt a little more seriously than in canon (but still wins)

2012:

Devil took your hand by moogsthewriter & taizi - Complete

Mikey mind controlled by the Shredder moment!! *laughs through my pain and tears and screaming*

walk with open hands by taizi - Complete

Mikey gets his hands on one of Renet's watches and things go topsy turvy from there (and it HURTS ME)

(un)reality by SpectrumWriting - Complete

Mind the Tags! Dimension X AU where Mikey is captured by the Kraang and is put through the wringer in more ways than one (OWIE)

evermore (Dimension X AU) series by coffeejellyenthusiast - Complete?

Mind the Tags! Mikey was in Dimension X for over a year and he's NOT OKAY

Gravitational Collapse series by Writing_In_Denial - Ongoing

MIND THE TAGS!! An Incredible it gets worse before it gets better series of Mikey being unintentionally abandoned by his brothers post-series and dealing with some Major Isolation and OOOGH IT HURTS ME SO MUCH BUT I WILL KEEP READING FOR THE EVENTUAL COMFORT

traveling so far to get there by taizi - Complete

Mikey and Raph getting stuck in an empty, post-apocalyptic world and struggling to survive (their BOND IN THIS IS SO SWEET WEH)

Rise:

nice, nice by postergirlsprank - Complete

Short fic of Casey Sr and Mikey bonding after an unfortunate encounter while on a snack run (Hey if you want more context for how this author writes Casey, go read his fic Imperfect Animals too heehoo)

either way, we're not alone by sinaesthesis - Complete

Mikey throughout the years of the Kraang Apocalypse (Lots of Loss and Hurt and Badassery)

going under by redhairedmuses - Complete

Mikey almost drowns during a fight with a mutant

Hyperactive Hypothermia by VeryAngryGremlin - Complete

After Mikey's winter wear accidentally goes in flames and a villain-enduced avalanche, Donnie struggles to keep his baby brother warm

that’s where the blood’s supposed to be! by Dragon_Scales_and_Fairy_Tales - Complete

With Raph and Leo constantly bickering, Mikey ignores a very serious injury after a fight with Meat Sweats

Clever Little Dino! by VeryAngryGremlin - Complete

Mikey trying to keep a robot pet a secret and suffering the consequences

Vs The World by DysfunctionalRequest - Complete

The aftermath of the Kraang strains the family's bonds, and Mikey feels hopelessly alone (and definitely isn't dealing with his trauma properly)

Empathy Amplified by Filsamek - Complete

When you accidentally use your powers to connect with your brothers' emotions then purposefully use them to ease their pain

Sunshine in the Rain by Carnati0n_bl00m - Complete

Probably the first fic I read after watching the Rise movie cuz I wanted to find something Mikey-centric involving Bishop and BOY does it deliver with the additional bonus of Leatherhead!! (also hey look fanart)

A Mystic Connection by rytheoneandonly - Complete

Mikey's mystic powers manifesting and evolving in ways he could never predict (aka Long Fic of Mikey stumbling to figure out why he wakes up exhausted and hurt every night)

The whole world in your corner series by GibbousLunation - Complete

Two fics of Mikey being Mikey and his bros being protective

Better Check Twice by Marz_Zero - Ongoing

Bishop captures a turtle with a bear trap (OW) and is an absolute bastard about it

Come Home Soon by Sherlock_Brolmes - Ongoing

With his brothers unavailable, Mikey (with the help of a former enemy) uncovers a massive conspiracy involving New York and the Hidden City. I LOVE THIS I LOVE SOLO DUO TEAM-UPS!!!! *PUNCHES THE AIR 13 TIMES*

Mikey's Artistic Guide to Dealing with Trauma and Fame by Origami_Nami - Ongoing

Mikey using graffiti as an outlet and accidentally becoming famous

Rook by unorthodoxx - Ongoing

Another Bishop fic of him outwitting the turtles to abduct one of them (Mikey)

Multi/Other:

Mystic Malfunction by VanillaVengeance - Ongoing

Rise Mikey accidentally portals himself to the 2012 Universe and struggles to survive and avoid this other version of his family (with mixed success). The progression of familial bonds in this is just *Chef's Kiss*

The Gauntlet by T33la - Complete

A mix of IDW & 03, a wonderful showcase of how Donnie and Mikey support each other (also, a cool invention and a big rocket and a terrifying near-death experience are involved)

I Get Knocked Down (But I Get Up Again) by Justalittleobsessed - Ongoing

MIND THE TAGS!!! Set in its own original iteration, Mikey has been immortal for as long as he can remember, and he's used to his occasional deaths (and revivals). But then his brothers find out... (AGH AGH THIS ALSO HURTS MEEEEE BUT OOGH the comfort and hope of the later chapters is so Worth It)

Whumptober 2023 series by Justalittleobsessed - Ongoing?

Collection of Mikey-centric one-shots from different iterations and feeling the HURT (Personal favorites are If Only the World Could Stop Spinning..., Just a Flesh Wound, and Not the Best of Days)

To Know Peace (You Gotta Let Go) by Deadpool1763492 - Ongoing (technically)

The Last Ronin Spoilers!! Mikey survives and whisks the new turtle tots away to live on a farm instead of being raised as soldiers. (AUUUUUU THE FEELS!! THE TOTS! MIKEYYYY!!!)

How to accidentally kidnap yourself several times over by Camildeni - Ongoing

Rise Mikey gets captured and accidentally summons other iterations (03, 12, and Bay) of himself trying to get out! They do NOT have a good time!! (but at least they have each other)

the dad diaries by angelmichelangelo - Ongoing

More TLR Mikey being a Dad (and dealing with his trauma sorta kinda)

The neighboring cell by SaltyYagi - Ongoing

2012 Mikey and Rise Leo trying to escape Dimension X together (and bonding)

Bonus Non-Mikey-centric:

Weathered Strings, Tethered Wings by Deadpool1763492 - Ongoing

(2003) SAINW AU!!! With the possibility of Don being alive dangled in front of them, the remaining turtles begrudgingly reunite to save him. Drew a cover for this with more art to come! LOVING the slow burn of reconciliation between these bitter old turtles UwU (Bitter Old Mikey my poor Bestie)

Mutant Nightmare by HamsterMasterSamster - Complete

(2003) The immediate aftermath of Worlds Collide

Hanging By A Turtle by CamsthiSky - Complete

(Rise) Literally the turtles struggling to get out of a deep pit they're hanging over

Shell Game by T33la - Complete

(2003) OKAY OKAY SO!!! OOGH Don encounters something Impossible while prepping a tracking device (for himself) and it snowballs into another Renet-involved time adventure (AND UMMM lots of existential contemplation and a surprise historical guest who's Very Cool)

Turtle Power by halogalopaghost - Complete

(2003) Immediate aftermath of the star ship reactor explosion in Exodus

Disposable by orphan_account (kudos to you wherever you are, author) - Complete

(2003) Bishop captures Don and Mikey and gives them a terrible choice

Dissection by AmevelloBlue - Complete

(2003) So much Comfort after the trauma of Worlds Collide (ie Don's interrogation and Mikey almost getting sliced open)

Find the Road by SillySocks - Complete

(2003) Perfect encapsulation of the family as they cope with Leo's absence while he trains with the Ancient One

Handle with Care by HamsterMasterSamster - Complete

(2003) April is seriously injured during a mission and has to deal with the turtles distancing themselves from her as she recovers

mind-body problem by hiraethseok - Complete

(2003) April and the Turtles Being Siblings the Fic

Healing in Tandem by Eggstasy - Complete

(2003) Canon divergence of Worlds Collide where Splinter is just a little too late to intervene before Bishop starts sawing into Mikey's shell

Let's Take Ibuprofen Together by GreenGoddessSmoothie - Ongoing

(2003) The turtles swap body and have learn to cope with each other's chronic pain

Not the Face I Know by GreenGoddessSmoothie - Ongoing

(2003) Mikey accidentally makes a wish that changes his family's lives forever (THEY'RE HUMAN THEY BECOME HUMAN AND THE PLOT IS COOL AND ALSO QUEER THEMES MY BELOVED)

The Great Skittle Heist of 2105 by AmevelloBlue - Ongoing

(2003) AU of Fast Forward where the Dark Turtles are babies instead and are very swiftly adopted by the Fam

The Labyrinth by HALFnHALF1 - Ongoing

(Mix of IDW/03) The Turtles wake up separated in a labyrinth with only a mysterious voice in their heads to guide them (and manipulate them)

“You didn’t tell me your extended family was in town!” by BoStaffsAreCool - Ongoing

Post-Turtles Forever. The 03 fam is Just beginning to wind down after the events of the movie and look who's knocking at April's door (the 87 turtles)

[unclaimed-garbage]

My First Impression Rant on S2E8: “The Full Moon.”

SPOILERS FOR S2E8 “THE FULL MOON” OF HELLUVA BOSS

[Things that I liked about the newest episode]

The Art/animation:

The art/animation was super good as always. The fight scene were choreographed rather well and it was just awesome. (Shoutout to the effects team as well).

The music and voice acting:

The music and voice acting were also really good (though at some points, certain characters didn’t sound right??? Like there was one scene where Moxxie confronted the Cherubs and his voice sounded COMPLETELY different. Aside from that though, the emotion in Blitzø’s voice for example where absolutely STELLAR.

Unfortunately, I don’t have many good things to say about this episode because tbh, it was a HUGE let down for me.

[Things I didn’t like]

The goddamn plot:

The pacing here was fucking atrocious and especially bad this episode. The goddamn cherubs and Dhorks got more screen time than Stolas and Blitzø, which shouldn’t be the case given that the episode is titled “The Full Moon” and should’ve been about Blitzø and Stolas’ “deal.”

It was also incredibly strange because why in the world would Vivziepop hype up this episode only to have it barely feature the main storyline. Sure, it was nice to see less of Stolitz, but when you market an episode as being a Stolitz-centric episode that’s supposed to be where they break up, you should expect more focus.

Instead though, we got more of Dhorks’ and Cherubs’ rushed Alliance that went nowhere and was the A plot, while the most important part of the series was shafted as the B plot.

Speaking of shafting the B plot, the pacing was another issue:

The pacing was (once again) another huge issue for me. Blitzø and Stolas’ talk about their “deal” was EXTREMELY quick. Though it was incredibly well done both voice acting wise, mood wise, etc, the pacing just went too fast and it would’ve been nice to see more buildup.

Not only that, but with The Cherubs’ and Dhorks’ situation, the fight went on way too long when it didn’t even affect the actual plot or story. It just meant nothing narrative wise and just felt like a waste of time tbh.

That leads to my next issue, the stakes:

The stakes of this episode were meant to be incredibly high. This was the episode where Stolas and Blitzø were theorized (and confirmed) to break up. Despite this high-stakes moment that’s been forever in the making, with the Cherubs portion of the episode (that took up more screen time than the supposed main focus), the stakes were incredibly non-existent most of the episode and then quickly hit you like a brick in the final five minutes where the most important part comes to play.

Like sure, some may argue that the stakes and tension hitting you was supposed to be like that, but it just felt like bad writing to me.

This leads into the next issue which is tone/tonal whiplash:

This episode suffers from pretty bad tonal whiplash imo. While a good portion of the episode was used to bring Dhorks and Cherubs back into relevancy, there were moments where Blitzø went out (and met Fizzeroli later on) to buy new stuff for their monthly fucking.

Despite the audience heavily suspecting this episode would be Stolitz’s breakup episode, there was little to no buildup. In the beginning of the episode, we get Stolas and Blitzø’s duet talking about the full moon and whatnot. We know that Stolas will give the asmodean crystal to Blitzø, but we don’t know how he’ll react.

We see everything on Blitzø’s side going wonderfully, he’s buying stuff for their “deal” and whatnot making sure it’s perfect (because it’s heavily implied Blitzø is worried that Stolas is getting sick of him). On the other hand, we see no buildup on Stolas’ side. No buildup whatsoever. After the duet, he’s completely gone until Blitzø meets up with Stolas. I think that works against the episode and it’s intentions. So, it went from Blitzø being happy, to things all going to shit with little buildup imo.

The Episode’s intentions:

Honestly, this episode really rubbed me the wrong way, especially when Blitzø finally confronts Stolas about everything. It truly seems that they’re trying to paint Blitzø as the villain, when that’s furthest from the truth.

In scene one (which I’d previously screen recorded, but you can only upload 1 video from camera roll), we see Stolas asking for the book back. Permanently so he can give Blitzø the Asmodean crystal. Blitzø’s reaction here is VERY telling, as he automatically assumes he isn’t doing good enough in their “deal” and thus is jeopardizing his business and his employee’s livelihoods. This is just one example of the gross power imbalance in their “relationship” and like it or not, this scene alone proves that Stolas has created and upheld a gross power imbalance.

Scene/video two ALSO showcases the gross power imbalance in this situation. Blitzø is literally CRYING and BEGGING to keep the book because (as of this point in the episode), he is unaware of Stolas’ intentions and truly believes that the deal is being revoked and he’ll lose his business, job, and cost his employees’ jobs and livelihoods.

Scene/video three truly bothers me in more ways than one because STOLAS was the one who suggested the “deal”. STOLAS was the one who suggested they meet up on the full moon for sex. So WHY is he acting so surprised that Blitzø expected it to be about sex when that was the standard STOLAS set? It really does feel like the narrative is trying to sympathize and make Stolas seem like the victim when Blitzø is merely upholding the arrangement hess. been confined to.

Scene/video four REALLY REALLY grinds my gears after Blitzø rightfully goes off for being blindsided and given no chance to process what the hell Stolas has told him, Stolas is yet again treated like the victim while Blitzø is made to be the villain. Blitzø literally mentioned in the scene before this that he needed time to think things over and couldn’t have this thrown at him like that (and also rightfully goes off on him for seeing him as lesser and being toyed with).

Not only that, but it’s just misguided at best and downright malicious at worst that Blitzø’s trauma and abuse from Stolas is either completely swept under the rug or spun to make Blitzø be the villain in the situation when he’s merely fighting back against the abuse he’s faced.

The final part, The Hype:

Honestly, this episode was REALLY disappointing. It didn’t even reach the 30 minute mark and was the same/similar length as every normal episode, yet it was supposed to be so much more important. We were promised a good episode where Stolas and Blitzø would discuss their “deal,” yet it was shafted to the last five minutes and felt incredibly rushed and victim-blamey tbh. The hype for the episode didn’t really match what we got imo and I’m more disappointed with this episode than I’ve been with the other episodes in season 2.

Overall, I really hate Stolitz as a ship because of portrayal in the series and the episode heavily suffered because of it and also suffers from the usual issues due to the lack of proper pacing and the fact that it wasn’t even longer to allow for more time.

Rating: Tilts between a three and a negative infinity tbh

Maybe I’ll make a much more in depth/thought out say since this one was kinda a heat in the moment one I made while on my way home from Walmart. 💀

[cosmignon]

I keep thinking about ISAT and the thing that truly keeps sticking with me is [end game spoilers below]

the fact that in the final act, where Siffrin finally gets freed from the time loop, is the act where they say the most unhinged and repugnant shit to their friends. some real fucked up mean words that felt like being made to eat rocks.

their friends both will always know THAT version of them. instead of a perfectly crafted ideal or even just the ever elusive mask they used to hide behind. and their friends were truly hurt.

but they still love him. came to his aid at his most dire moment. moments plural.

I can't recall if I've mentioned this before, but I was genuinely confused for a moment when they showed up at the fight with the King. Despite knowing deep down it would be too far to end the game as a complete tragedy, just based on the themes being presented, some part of me really truly bought into Siffrin's deep pit of despair that they all hated him For Real Now. Like "oh, is this an alternate reality we're being shown where theyre all Extra Happy to be at the boss fight without their shit idiot ex-friend Siffrin"

But no, it was reality lol!! they don't hate him!! and they wont even LET HIM go back and try again even one more time!! bc that isn't gonna help!!! ANYONE!!!!

it makes me SICK!!! ITS DISGUSTANG. AWESOME GAME I LOVE IT.

[alpaca-clouds]

Imagining a better world after the apocalypse?

Now, there are only few followers here, who know me from twitter, I think. But those who do know, that my hyperfixation fandom before Castlevania (though one without much in terms of fanfiction) was Mad Max: Fury Road. Like, I still fucking adore this batshit movie! The action is awesome. The color grading is amazing. And Charlize Theron is.......... Look, I have exactly one celebrity crush and it is this woman, alright?

But let me get to the point. The point is, that within that fandom I had quite a few discussions about one question: "Is Immortan Joe right with how he runs this place?" (Spoiler: My answer is "no".)

Weird question, given that Immortan Joe is the antagonist of the movie and a pretty shitty dude, who only perceives other people as his property that is supposed to serve him in some way or form.

But here is what those people would argue, who would argue for him actually being right and the end of the movie actually spelling desaster for that post-apocalyptic desert society, he has build: "Well, water, oil and sulfur are rare ressources in this post-apocalypse, so one would need to distribute it carefully. And if Furiosa is to establish a more equal society in the end, there will not be enough to go around. Just look at the water. If you leave it running like that, you would empty the reservoir within a couple of days!"

To which my answer always has been: "Our you could just create a better method of sharing the water with everybody. Like faucets. Instead of letting most of it go to waste on the ground. And you can just... not build an entire military based around gas-guzzeling cars and instead use the big advantage of the citadel that it is self-sufficient and super hard to conquer."

But... I think this argumentation also kinda reveals a certain cynicism people have been trained to use to see the world. We are trained to see the world as a "wolf eat wolf" society. That we need scarcity and that there needs to be an underclass of people.

But of course... This is just wrong. Even that post-apocalyptic society in that movie can actually turn into something nice. Into something better.

Especially as all the argumentation people have going on there, ignores one of the greatest things that the citadel has: Knowledge. There is tons of old knowledge through the books that are still there. Books from the old world. Books in engineering. On other things as well. And adding to that, they also have the oral knowledge of the vuvalini in the end.

And because I cannot help myself to bring this from my last hyperfixation to my current hyperfixation: Take the end of the Castlevania Netflix series, for example. Like, sure, most characters have a happy end. But that is not the hopeful thing about it. Because the series ends on the expressed goal of sharing knowledge. The vampires have collected all this knowledge the entire time. Knowledge of technology and medicine. But they have done basically nothing with it, but making their own living kinda nice. I mean, heck, why do vampires even need knowledge about medicine given that they apparently do not get sick and can heal all wounds within minutes.

And then the series ends on the expressed goal of sharing the knowledge. Isaac gets inspired to share his knowledge by the end of the series - and given that he ends up with access to the Styrian library he can share that knowledge as well. And we already see by the end, how the people from Danesti are both in the Belmont Hold and the library of the castle, are learning things.

You could argue, that what happens in the show is, from the perspective of the average person, the apocalypse. Like, there is literal fire raining down onto the earth. But... By the end of it. There is the potential to build a better world. A world, in fact, that would be better than what actually happened in the real world after 1476.

And I think that is just so darn hopeful.

I wished media would explore this more.

[stsumugi11037]

Commentary on aroace/lesbian “fujoshi”

CW: talk of porn (the good and the bad), sex, and gender. Pretty graphic language and imagery. Sex repulsed aroace people BEWARE.

I would like to start this off by saying I am an aroace lesbian. What does that mean? Simply - I don’t want sex, nor romance, but if I did, I know where I’d find it. I love WOMEN. All women. Any women. I also really like yaoi, and I’ve seen some minimal discussion about specifically women who love yaoi or BL, and I’d like to add my two cents.

Several people online seem to take “lesbians liking yaoi” as just a natural reaction to the overall market of fiction. That is to say, there’s not a lot of options. There is a side to yuri which appeals to women, yes. But the way I see it, it’s either magical girl or slice of life, or, written by a man. And most of the stuff written by men is porn - bad porn. Thus it doesn’t appeal to women who actually like women.

In the same vein there is hetero stuff, which some lesbian/aroace yaoi enjoyers say doesn’t appeal to them because the majority of it has a male/female dynamic that is skewed. Oftentimes the woman is portrayed as weak or perhaps just isn’t a correct representation of the lesbian/aroace consumer. So why even bother?

Anecdotal, but I have had this experience too. I have a hard time getting into any kind of hetero ship because the women are often unrelatable or worse - just uninteresting. I don’t like men, so why would I care if it was just some faceless dame and her super hot husband? I don’t give a shit about him.

I’ve found that I enjoy a lot of hetero ships from demon slayer. Some may find this contradictory because there has been some commentary on the usefulness or intrigue around women in demon slayer. I think the demon slayer women are very interesting, story wise and appearance wise, and they fit very well with the men I ship them with. That is to say - men in demon slayer are simps for beautiful, strong, independent women - and I eat that shit up.

Most hetero stuff, however, is victimizing the women. Knowingly or unknowingly. It’s sad that if I want to get my rocks off to Mitsuri x Obanai, I have to scroll through like eight pages of the same inflation, big tits big ass no tummy, fart porn all sourced from the deepest dredges of Apocrypha. In fact, most of the time if you have the balls to like a fictional woman enough to want to see her getting respectfully banged, the cisgender heterosexual gooner men have already beaten you to the punch - and now you see her with her face in a smelly man’s ass. (All real examples by the way)

So it’s not to say I don’t like yuri, or hetero, it’s just that if I want to see women getting railed - I’m very particular. As I should be.

Yaoi, some people on the internet say, sets the men it’s focused around on equal footing. Instead of the woman being the damsel or a plain sexual object, the uke and seme are usually just two dudes. Not to say there aren’t power dynamics in yaoi - just to say that those power dynamics don’t hurt my pride as a woman. It doesn’t victimize a girl for somebody else’s sick kicks.

Yaoi, at least the kind I read, also can have an element of one man (the uke) usually being pretty soft or feminine. Why? Well that’s a pure reflection of how I (and other people) view sex. There is the giver and the receiver, the top and the bottom, the dom and the sub. Not that those lines don’t get crossed - they do, all the time. But as good ol’ Tevye says about Anatevka… TRADITION! (Sorry. It’s 3 AM)

The way I see it, it’s a way of having that traditional dynamic (pretty soft bottom and strong handsome top) without victimizing a woman. I do the same with yuri ships - I absolutely love love love a stone top with a pillow princess. And also - and I say this with no sense of shame - femboys are cute. Women are the superior form. Soz. So it’s awesome to see a man invoking his feminine side. It’s not like it makes him any less of a man. No matter how many times my mom peers at my drawings of Cloud Strife and says, “She’s pretty.” It doesn’t change the fact that he is him.

Gender is a fickle thing. It comes and it goes. I used to have a very conservative view of gender, and even sexuality. I was a “gold star lesbian”, and wanted nothing to do with men (still do, irl). You know what changed me? You’re gonna laugh. My Hero Academia. Oh, did I say you were gonna laugh? I meant cringe.

It’s not what you think. Bakudeku actually traumatized me - not the ship itself but one story I read on AO3 that I now understand for the masterpiece of terror and grossness it is. I would drop it but I don’t want to draw any undue attention to it.

What changed my mind on gender was actually Tomura. It didn’t even happen on purpose, l didn’t see him and go, “Oh he’s pretty, let’s dump a little more estrogen into him”. I shipped him with Dabi, paired them off as two dudes gettin it on, and I was loyal to my m/m ships. I ignored the ones tagged “Trans Tomura Shigaraki” because my brain refused to compute it. But then… I ran out of male fics. Well ran dry. I was getting anxious. I needed my shigadabi fix and how to get it?

Well. Can’t be that bad for Tomura to have a pussy.

… huh. He’s cute.

Oh no.

And that’s how it happened.

Just like that, my worldview shifted. Proud to say I’m a lot more open to gender and sexuality, now. It’s sometimes hard to admit that I used to have such rigid views. It’s a bit embarrassing - but I was also 13. My Hero just gave me the push I needed to grow up.

I’ll wrap it up now.

If you’re a lesbian or if you’re aroace and you like reading yaoi - don’t feel bad. Don’t even question it. Fiction is fiction, we’re here for such a short time you might as well enjoy the things you consume, whatever that may be. It doesn’t make you any less of who you are. It might mean that you’re just a feminist. Or it might mean you have some issues with your gender you need to hash out. Or maybe it means you just like hot guys. Who cares?

Some people argue why lesbians and aroace people like yaoi so much. There are many different answers. I’m not really concerned with them, anymore, now that I’ve found my own. What does concern me is the amount of people who I assume are outside of fandom circles… never having heard of women (lesbian or not) enjoying yaoi or BL. Several reddit comments asked, “There are lesbians who like that stuff? I’ve never seen one.”

Lemme tell you, these people are missing something awesome in life. Yaoi written by women is like fucking crack.

[wosoimagines]

Jack Of All Trades - USWNT/Reader

prompt: based off of an incorrect quote from @incorrectnwsl; Emily Sonnett: No one likes a show-off. Kelley O’Hara: Unless what they're showing off is dope as fuck. Emily: [under her breath] Fuck. That's true.

warnings: none

words: 2122

also, a note, i literally speak none of the languages that is used in this fic so i have no idea if i used the correct grammar or words as i have used a translator.

(Y/N) POV

“You’re a really good cook, you know that?” Kelley said.

I looked up at her from where I was cleaning up in the kitchen.

“You are more than welcome to take some with you,” I assured her. I motioned to where the gumbo was still sitting. “There’s more than enough there. I honestly probably made enough to feed more than my family.”

“But who taught you how to cook?” Kelley asked.

“I grew up cooking with my grandparents,” I shrugged. It wasn’t something that I had really sought out. It was just one of those things that had happened. “I loved getting to cook with them. They always cooked for our family get togethers and we were always there early. I eventually asked if I could start helping and they let me.”

“Can you get traded to Washington and come be my personal chef?” Kelley asked. I shook my head at that cause I was perfectly happy playing at Gotham. “Sonny, come convince (Y/N) that she needs to move to Washington.”

“It would be pretty awesome if you joined us,” Sonny said from her spot at the island. I rolled my eyes at that. “We could all play in Washington together. Kelley and I on the back line and you up front. Would be pretty sick.”

“You just want me there so I can cook for you.”

“I mean, yes, but like no?” Sonny said. I shook my head at that because I knew that she did want me to cook for her more if I ended up moving to play for Washington. “Like it would just be fun to have you there in Washington anyways.”

“Well, you can count it out,” I said as I placed most of the dishes I needed to clean into my sink. “I’m staying with Gotham. You two will just have to get over it and come visit me to get my cooking instead.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Who’s playing?” 

I could hear the voice outside of the door ask. I didn’t pay it much mind though as I focused on hitting the right keys. Although, I wasn’t sure as to why I was so worried about messing up. I had been able to play this piece from memory for years now.

“Is there anything (Y/N) can’t do?”

My fingers slipped at that causing me to press all of my fingers down to create a horrendous crashing sound. I looked over my shoulder at my teammates as I sent them a glare.

“Will you all shut up?” I asked. A few of them made their way into the room. “It’s quite hard to focus when you have so many people talking and you’re trying to focus.”

“What were you playing?” Becky asked.

“I had made it all the way to Scarbo,” I said. I noticed her confused look at that. “It’s the third part to Gaspard de la nuit. It’s by Ravel.”

“I didn’t know you knew how to play the piano,” Christen said. I looked over at her and nodded my head. “How long have you been playing?”

“Since I was a little kid. Longer than I’ve been playing soccer,” I admitted. It was true. “I didn’t even stop my piano lessons until I left for college. This was one of the concert pieces I became good at.”

“Is it hard?”

“Is it hard?” I repeated. “You basically have to solve endless quadratic equations in your head while you play it. Is it hard. Unbelievable.”

“Can we hear it?” Becky asked.

I sighed but nodded. The rest of the group moved to take a seat around the room as well. I tuned them out as I focused on the piece.

Once I had finished the piece, many of my teammates clapped. I only sent them a smile. 

“I can’t believe you played that from memory,” Sonny said.

“Like I said, I’ve been playing piano longer than I’ve been playing soccer,” I shrugged. It was just something I had developed a talent for. “I was playing this piece of nearly four years before I stopped taking lessons. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve played it now.”

“But for real, is there anything you can’t do?” Kelley asked.

“Guess you’ll just have to find out.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Ooooh, here’s a good one,” Sonny grinned. She glanced between myself and Tierna. “Does (Y/N) know any other languages other than English and if so, how many?”

Tierna stared at me as I nodded. She knew this. I knew that Tierna knew this. I wrote down the number myself.

“Wait,” I said. Sonny turned to look at me. “Wait, wait wait. I have a question. Is this languages that I like know? Or does it include any languages I’m also learning?”

“That’s a good question,” Sonny said. She looked down at the paper in her hand. “I’m not sure. I guess the languages you know, but if Tierna can get the ones you’re learning then it’s an extra point.”

“That’s not fair,” Kelley whined. I rolled my eyes at her as I changed the answer. “They’re rooming together so Tierna gets to hear (Y/N) practicing.”

“Get over it, Kelley,” Tierna said as she wrote on her board. “Okay, I think I have this right.”

“Okay, on three,” Sonny said. Tierna and I nodded to each other. “One, two, three. Go!”

Tierna and I turned our boards around and I immediately looked at her board.

“Noooo,” I groaned when I saw the number. “One too high.”

“At least I got the one you’re learning right,” Tierna pointed out. She was right about that. I was currently learning Arabic. “At least I got that point.”

“Can you name the four languages that (Y/N) knows, Tierna?” Sonny asked.

This was challenging since Tierna had over guessed how many languages I knew. But I did have hope that Tierna could get it right.

“Okay, I know you know Spanish, I’ve heard you talking in Spanish a lot,” Tierna listed. I nodded at that because that was true. “You also did play in France and so I know that you did learn French. You knew you were going to go to France your senior year and so you spent the year learning French.”

“Oooooh,” I hummed. Sonny turned to me. “That is two of the four.”

“I wanna hear you speak Spanish and French now just to prove it,” Kelley said. I rolled my eyes at that because Kelley had heard me speaking both languages before.

“Ooooh, yes,” Sonny agreed. I shook my head at that. “You have to repeat what I say but in each of the four languages. Let’s start with Spanish. ‘She was between a rock and a hard place.’“

“Ella estaba entre la espada y la pared,” I repeated back to Sonny in Spanish after a moment.

“If anyone watching this video knows Spanish, tell us in the comments whether or not that was correct,” Sonny said as she turned to look at the camera before turning her attention back to me. “Now for French. ‘She won the challenge against all odds.’“

“Elle a remporté le défi contre toute attente,” I said this time in French after I thought about it.

“Again, viewers, I’m relying on you guys to tell me if (Y/N) is actually saying these things correctly,” Sonny said as she looked at the camera. “Tierna, we are still missing two languages.”

“You also know Japanese,” Tierna said. I nodded at that because it was true. “You learned it when we were teenagers so you could watch anime without subtitles.”

My jaw slacked at that. I hadn’t expected for Tierna to rat me out like that.

“Tierna, you weren’t supposed to tell anyone that,” I said as my face heated up. I turned to the camera. “You guys are cutting that out. I’m serious, the world is not gonna know that it’s actually true.”

“Did you really only learn Japanese to watch anime without subtitles?” Alex asked.

“Shut up, Alex.”

“Okay, okay,” Sonny said as she held up her hands. “Now we have to hear something in Japanese. ‘You cannot alter your fate, my prince. However, you can rise to meet it if you choose.’“

“Isn’t that a quote from Princess Mononoke?”

“Shut up and translate it, (Y/N).”

“Okay, okay,” I said as I held my hands up. “王子様、あなたの運命を変えることはできません。ただし、必要に応じて立ち上がることができます。”

“Okay, that one I really do want to make sure was quoted correctly,” Sonny said as she pointed at the camera. I rolled my eyes at that. “Do you know the fourth and final language, Tierna?”

“I’m drawing a blank,” Tierna shook her head. I groaned cause Tierna had been doing so good.

“You know this,” I said. Tierna looked over at me. “Come on, T, we were roommates in college. You know this.”

“Oh. Oh! OH! It’s, um... It’s German. It’s German!”

“Is that your final answer,” Sonny asked Tierna. Tierna nodded at that. “All right, (Y/N)?”

“It is German. I studied it in college. I can’t believe it took you that long. You used to literally hold my notecards,” I said to Tierna.

“Listen, I wasn’t concerned about learning it with you,” Tierna said.  “Oh, you should say that pick-up line you would always use when we were teenagers. What was it?”

“Do you mean, ‘You know what you would look wonderful in? My arms’?” I asked Tierna. She nodded and I groaned at that. “Weißt du, worin du wunderbar aussehen würdest? Meine Arme.“

“And that actually translate to your pick up line?” Sonny asked. I nodded in confirmation.

“Dude, is there really anything you can’t do?” Kelley asked.

“Guess you’ll just have to stick around and find out.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Did you just land a toe flip?” Tobin asked causing me to turn my skateboard around to look at her. I nodded in confirmation. “Dude, I didn’t even realize you could skateboard.”

“So now you can skateboard?” Sonny asked me. 

“Jealous of everything I can do yet?” I asked her. I knew that Sonny and Kelley had both been amazed at everything that they had been learning that I could do. “It’s okay to admit it, Sonny.”

Sonny only rolled her eyes at me. I turned back to look at Tobin as I kicked my skateboard into my hands.

“I haven’t been skating for long honestly,” I shrugged. It was something I hadn’t picked up when I was a kid. “I picked it up in college so I could get around Stanford easier. Plus it’s great for when it isn’t winter and I can’t go snowboarding in Colorado or when we aren’t surfing at the beach.”

“Seriously?” Kelley asked. I turned to look at her. “What are you? Just a jack of all trades?”

“No,” I shook my head. “I did only get a B in calculus.”

“I hate you,” Kelley said. 

I set her a soft smile before I rode away from the group on my skateboard. I did at least make sure that I stayed close to them since we were supposed to be exploring the city together.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I grabbed the ball from the back of the net before turning to face the defenders. Kelley and Sonny had approached me while I was working on my skills and tricks once our practice had ended. They offered to defend the goal in case I wanted to get some practice against defenders in.

“You two ready to give up yet?” I asked the two.

They were both leaned over with their hands on their knees as they were both trying to catch their breath. I jogged past the two and out of the box even. I turned back to look at the two.

“Don’t worry, I can always practice these without defenders,” I assured them.

Neither of them said much as they both nodded and moved to the sideline where they each grabbed their own waters. I immediately started to move the ball. I made sure that my back was to the goal before performing a rainbow flick and then jumping up to bicycle kick the ball into the net.

“No one likes a show-off,” Sonny called out.

I knew that the two of them must have been annoyed by how many skills I had shown the two considering they had spent a lot more time with me this off season.

“Unless what they’re showing off is dope as fuck,” Kelley pointed out.

I grinned at that because I knew it meant that Kelley thought what I had been doing was cool. I was too focused on the ball in front of me as I started to dribble it again to catch what Sonny had said next.

“Fuck,” Sonny said under her breath. “That’s true.”

[ghoooooooooooooooost]

i only shared it w a friend before but can i tell you all my death mark 2 au/rewrite... here (spoilers obvi, also body horror + insects warning)

(edited so theres more details smile)

most things r the same except for the departed (and no naked girl cgs OFCOURSE)

making it so that the departed pretends to be daimon instead of the two high school girls

normal daimon is around but he’ll gradually get sick n every now n then something weeeeird happens (as in yashiki accidentally talks to fake daimon. also maybe you see the weird bug ghost that hovers above everyone near endgame with him first)

crowbar scene happens w fake daimon while real daimon is actually passed out somewhere. mashita comforts yashiki n then they both realize its a fake

(that's what these doodles were referencing)

my dearest friend chip suggested the departed could also be konoe so n that would make sense n make him more present in the plot so byeah

we both agreed that they didn't push the bug + mold horror theme far enough so i tried my hand at it. mold can be really gross irl ewwww

my design for departed daimon is actually toned down from the og tho, just bc i thought the weird spider face was more goofy than scary. personally bugs are scary to me when they're crawling on you n burrowing into your skin n making holes n laying eggs in there - like the bees in death mark 1. there was some real-stories tv show abt that specific thing happening that aired when i was a kid n it freaked me out a lot

why was hime's mold just ourple swirls boooriiiiiiiiiiiing

/

edit july 15th 2024 adding this into the main og post since wonderful chippard linked it (basically a neater rewrite of everything i just said + what i said in the reblog addition. i rewrote it for a solo zine hence the proper capitalization lol)

Instead of Himeko and Michiho being The Departed, it’s Daimon and Konoe. Normal Daimon is still there but every now and then he’ll start acting strange or feeling sick due to The Departed’s possession. The “love” aspect would be shown through Daimon specifically too so Doctor Duo ship is canon in this. Konoe basically uses Daimon to try to get to his Dear Husband. In place of going into a coma like in the original, his behavior intensifies and condition worsens until he suddenly runs to the bathroom. When he comes back… dun dun dun… that’s The Departed – Yashiki doesn’t know…! Crowbar scene ensues. But!? After Yashiki tells Mashita, they see Daimon perfectly alive in the infirmary. Yasuoka found him collapsed in the hallway at some point.

The plot would play out basically the same with some changes (no fanservice girl cgs; more Konoe screen-time; Michiho + Himeko act differently; Saki or Abe partner? more school-related ghosts...).

Maybe the game could be longer to give the new characters more time to shine while not removing the returning ones. Not sure how that would work exactly… One possible solution would be to have day segments where we get to play as Yashiki while he's actively teaching (which would also address the "why'd they even pick a school setting" problem bc damn they barely did any school specific plot shit outside of Hanako & Kashima). Would be awesome and in-line with how the first game brought up war if they kept addressing problems with the education system. Also I think I wouldn’t have any unavoidable human casualties after Hanako’s chapter? All the unavoidable deaths made my friends confused about if they were doing something wrong or not and it honestly felt off to me too. It would be compelling if after failing to protect the first student(s), Yashiki actually successfully protects the rest of them in the good route. Making him feel like he’s become more steadfast after the first game and staying true to his word. Especially if Naomi survives in my opinion - ‘she almost dies but is spared if you make the right choices’ or something like that. She could even be in the room when Yashiki sings the school song.

Not sure how I'd make The Departed feel even more connected to the school... Maybe there's a romantic superstition popular among the students that's based off their "wedding ceremony" -- but it's innocent enough to not give away how they died.

[goodwriterwithbadhabits]

Seventeen As Hotel Jobs

Hello, I'm back after a ridiculously long time.

The following are jobs I think Seventeen would have if they worked at a hotel. Keep in mind that I literally work in a hotel, so I promise I know what I'm talking about. Additionally, there are no specific brands in mind, but I do use a few terms associated with Marriotts. (Cause that's who I work for.)

Anyway, enjoy! (Oh, here's the Master List)

~~

Back Office/ Breakfast

Seungcheol: GM/ Owner

Comes from a very well off family, but had always been encouraged to work. 

Found this hotel that was run down and in desperate need of repairs and bought it as a project

Now he’s got a Masters in Business Administration, and in Hospitality. 

The hotel is his baby, and he’s poured thousands of his own dollars into turning it into a place people want to stay. 

As GM, he spends a lot of time in his office working on the administration side of things,

Like payroll, budgets, and renovation projects

He’s constantly thinking of ways to improve the hotel so they’re are always contractors in and out of the building

He always makes a point to come help the front desk if a guest is being testy. 

Most people don’t even realize he’s the owner until they threaten to call the owner on him

He likes watching their faces fall when he hands them a business card. 

He takes any slight against the hotel or staff as a slight against himself

He also doesn’t accept any guest that insults or is rude to his staff, and isn’t afraid to kick rude people out. 

He understands that people have bad days, and that sometimes things break, but he won’t just stand there and let his staff be punching bags. 

~~

Jeonghan: AGM

Most of the staff have no idea how Jeonghan got the position. 

He doesn’t seem like he’s ever worked in Housekeeping, or the Front Desk

There were rumors that he’d just slept his way to the top

Truth is, Jeonghan has always worked there. 

It was his first job back in highschool, as a parttime housekeeper on the weekends. 

When everything was going to shit, he refused to leave

Instead just stepped in where needed. 

Hes worked front desk, sales, housekeeping, even engineering

He knows the hotel inside and out and can do just about everything.

It was actually his dedication to the hotel that made Seungcheol want to buy it

He’s currently on his last year of a Masters in Hospitality

Mind you, he loves the fact that he doesn’t have to do much manual labor

As AGM he mostly does the supply ordering, hiring, scheduling, and assisting with guests when Seungcheol is busy. 

He also tends to be the one to run meetings, as Cheol is surprisingly awful at actually bossing people around. 

Despite his teasing nature, he adores his staff, and hand picked them himself

Will verbally destroy anyone who so much as looks at his staff wrong

~~

Mingyu: Director of Sales

Mingyu hadn’t really anticipated getting into sales, let alone hotel sales. 

But here he is. 

Coming from money means that his parents expected him to study business

He picked Sales and Marketing cause he thought it would be an easy A

Then he fell in love with it, and was crazy good. 

He loves making people happy, and selling them part of their vacation is awesome to him

He loves seeing clients with looks of wonder in their eyes or big smiles as they leave. 

Every time someone posts a good review or emails him to thank him, he prints it out and puts it on his office wall. 

He came to Scoups hotel after getting sick of sports teams at his old hotel. 

They were super mean, and he wasn’t getting paid enough to sell a sub par hotel to a bunch of dickweeds. 

Now he gets to chat with super chill people, and he loves the hotel. 

The hotel really sells itself, but he’s in charge of daily rates, groups, anyone renting the meeting rooms, or people just looking to do a walk through.

He could probably sell a fox its own fur, but trips over his own shoes

The rest of the staff tease him relentlessly, but also loves that he’ll cook for any staff meeting or party. 

~~

Chan: Breakfast Attendant

Honestly, Chan needed a job, and he was going to off himself if he had to stay at the restaurant he was at. 

He’d bumped into Cheol, Jeonghan, and Mingyu while the three were out to lunch and discussing their recently departed breakfast attendant. 

He’d given them great service, despite the manager that was constantly belittling him

And let slip that he was interested in leaving his current server job. 

So Jeonghan had left him a business card, along with a hefty tip.

Chan’s taken it upon himself to upgrade the hell out of the breakfast menu

He’s the reason they offer Kosher, and Vegan options.

He’s currently researching other religious diets, so he can make sure everyone can eat. 

Usually he only works 5a to about 10 or 11a, depending on the day

But once a week, the day they get their truck, he stays later and deep cleans the kitchen

Don’t even think about going in there without his permission

He’s known for delivering scathing threats with a sweetest of smiles

Speaking of sweet smiles

He’s great with guests, often letting the desk know if a certain guest had a problem with their stay

He’s even managed to get Jeonghan and Cheol to do table touch service on busier mornings so they can interact with guests more. 

On slow mornings, he’ll dance along with the music playing on the speakers, mostly to entertain small children

He always has a smile on his face and a few moments to chat with guests, even on busy mornings

The hotels reviews went up significantly when he was brought on board. 

Desk Staff: 

Seokmin: 1st shift, Market Champion

The Hotel’s happy virus. 

Which is important to have at 7 in the morning

Seokmin makes it his mission to get every guest to smile before they leave

He’s always liked customer service jobs but usually people are mean and managers just expect him to take the abuse with a smile

But he’s taken to the hotel like a fish to water. 

His work computer always has tabs open with the weather, local events, traffic conditions, and an extra for whatever someone might ask him for

He doesn’t drink coffee at work, but almost always remains super upbeat and energetic

Some of the other staff members think he does drugs

But he’s just a morning person (freak)

Always, and I mean always, has a smile on his face

Even if guests are being literal demons.

Keeps a treasure box of small toys for little kids at the desk

Always singing along to the lobby music when he’s not helping a guest. 

As Market champion he’s in charge of making sure the Market is stocked and orderly. 

Does all the Market ordering, and has a really good rapport with the delivery drivers and sales people

Love the moments when the lobby is quiet and he can just focus on stocking the market and organizing the storage room

Everyone else loves those moments cause he’s singing along to the lobby music

~~

Joshua: Second Shift, Desk Supervisor

Josh prefers working in the afternoon

You couldn’t pay him to wake up before 10a most days

He’s been in hotels since he graduated highschool

He’d even worked at the hotel briefly back when it was awful

Jeonghan had recommended bringing him back when Cheol was replacing the staff

Shua initially just wanted to check and see how everything was going

Was super impressed with Cheol’s work and decided to stay

He’s been at the hotel the longest besides Cheol and Jeonghan

As supervisor, he trains all the new desk staff, and covers for them if they call in 

His temper is pretty short, so he won’t let guests just yell at him for no reason

He’s also a stickler for the rules so expect him to be kicking people out of the pool at exactly 10pm

He does really enjoy his job

He gets to meet new people every day and hear their cool travel stories. 

And the staff are all friendly, especially to one another

Plus he’s getting paid really well with some really good perks. 

~~

Jun: Night Audit

In all honesty, he got the job cause he was desperate and wanted something with minimal responsibilities. 

He’s basically getting paid to watch dramas and occasionally help fold some towels

Yeah, he also had to check in late night guests and handle any complaints that arise

It’s also his responsibility to make sure no one who isn’t supposed to be on the property is there. 

But for the most part, its quiet

So he spends all night catching up on Dramas, reading, or playing games

He’s got a total of about 30 minutes worth of actual work to do, since the Audit process is mostly automated

He does live on coffee and energy drinks

Solely because he’s determined to stay awake all night

No one knows anything about him cause he’s rarely ever seen during the day

Most people just assume he’s a vampire or something

He does snag breakfast every morning before he leaves though

Engineering Team:

Jihoon: Chief Engineer

Despite his stature and his age, Jihoon is a veritable genius in terms of Hotel Engineering

He can fix just about everything in the building, from PTACs to door locks, toilets to tiles

His dad was the engineer at another hotel so he got dragged around them alot

Mostly just bounced between local hotels after highschool

Jeonghan hired him after schmoozing with a few other GMs he had worked for and found out how good he was

Now Seungcheol is helping pay for him to get a degree in electrical engineering

Incredibly kind and helpful to any guest he may run into

But prefers to leave the guest interaction to the rest of staff 

He just doesn’t have the personality not the patience for stupidity

He isn’t afraid to climb up the 20 foot ladder to fix lights on the lobby ceiling

He is however, terrified of walking into a guest room and finding a guest. 

Will check 20 times with the desk to make sure the room is empty

He’s walked into too many rooms with naked people

If you can’t find him, check the roof

He has an ongoing feud with the solar panels 

~~

Wonwoo: Information Technologies

Computer whiz Wonu has arrived

If its on a computer, he can fix it

Most of the staff are convinced Jeonghan recruited him out of federal prison

He doesn’t care enough to correct them

Also its kind of embarrassing to admit that he had no friends and taught himself everything there is to know about computers because he had too much time to do so

He was just a child prodigy and graduated college super young

Jeonghan literally got him off of Indeed

Is never seen without a coffee or energy drink

He used to drink so many that Cheol and Woozi had to limit him to two drinks, and a max of 8 shots of espresso a day.

Tends not to interact with guests

Partly because he always looks ready to kill a man and Cheol doesn’t want to hear people complain about that

Partly because he’s super shy 

He’s another person the rest of the staff know nothing about cause they never see him outside of work

Seungkwan swears he saw him at an internet cafe once

But Wonu refuses to acknowledge that

~~

Vernon: Second Shift Engineer

As a college student, Nonnie can’t work a regular 9 to 5. 

So he works 9p to 5a instead

Jeonghan hired him at Cheol’s request

He wanted someone on property during the late nights, when problems tend to arise. 

Usually all he has to do is fix PTACs, the occasional door lock, and help people get connected to the internet. 

Mostly just hangs out with Jun or in the Engineering office watching sitcoms

Cheol hates it, but Vernon’s unofficial uniform involves a tie dye hoodie and a pair of headphones

He also usually has a coffee, but that's more because he’s an eternally tired college student

His degree is actually in Mechanical Engineering,

Which tends to shock everyone when they remember

Cause he’s a bit of a space case. 

Housekeeping: 

Soonyoung: Housekeeping Manager

If we are being honest, He’s only the manager cause he’s been here the longest

He mostly just handles the housekeepers boards, inventory control and day end inspections

He’s also incredible at removing stains from carpets and couches

He’s worked as a housekeeper for about a year straight out of highschool, but let for greener pastures

He’s been in housekeeping for years, and even worked as an Ops manager at one point

Jeonghan tracked him down at the hotel he was at and convinced him to join the crew as manager. 

When he gets serious, he’s a force to be reckoned with

But usually he’s a full on goofball

Cheol keeps having to shoot down his idea of tiger themed rooms.

He’s another person who always has a big smile

Probably because he just tunes out the people yelling at him 

~~

Minghao: Housekeeping Supervisor

The man who really runs the housekeeping department

He keeps everyone in line, maintains the storage closets, lets Jeonghan know what they need to order, and trains new housekeepers

He was working at a totally different hotel when he met Jeonghan

Jeonghan was supposed to be on vacation, and staying at Minghao’s hotel. 

The two happened to meet in the hall after Jeonghan overheard Minghao’s supervisor yelling at him for no reason

He offered Minghao a position then and there, which Minghao accepted. 

Hao literally packed up everything and moved to their town. 

Lived in the hotel for a while and everything

He didn’t want to be manager, specifically because he doesn’t want to have to attend the management meetings every week. 

He can clean a room spotless in 30 minutes, and is very proud of this fact. 

Don’t call his Housekeepers “maids” or “Cleaners”

He will not hesitate to correct at a guest about it

The amount of times Hoshi has had to physically restrain him in the laundry room so that he didn’t attack a guest is innumerable. 

~~

Seungkwan: Second Shift Housekeeper

Seungkwan only works this shift because he’s still in school, and because Cheol thought it made sense to have someone on property around check in time. 

He’d gone to the colleges job board and found Jeonghan’s flier

He figured they wouldn’t be able to work around his class schedule

Jeonghan, however, thought he was adorable and decided he needed him on the staff

Cheol agreed that a second shift of housekeeping made sense, 

Partly because Jeonghan wasn’t really giving him a choice

Thus, Seungkwan was hired 4pm to midnight 

He only sometimes has to clean rooms, 

Mostly he just runs people things like towels or fresh sheets

And keeps the common areas clean. 

If you can’t see him, you can almost always hear him,

His voice is always ringing through the halls to the point where Mingyu has debated advertising it. 

On the chance that Housekeeping does have to stay later, he basically spends the whole time taking shit with Minghao until he leaves for the day.

He always brings extra food for Vernon and Jun, cause he knows they don’t feed themselves properly. 

Were it not for him, those two would live on granola bars and take out. 

Thoughts? Let me know in the comments. If you're interested in requesting something, whether for this universe or another, feel free to send me an ask. My inbox is always open.

[sleepingsun501]

Same Heart, Same Blood

Character(s): Fives, Rex, Kix, Hevy's ghost

Summary: Fives' near-death experience after getting shot.

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: Character death, near-death experience, talking to dead people, coma, organ transplantation mention. (Lmk if I missed anything)

Word Count: 2k

Ao3 link

A/N: This goes along with my work Set to Stun, so if you haven't read that, I highly recommend you do!! This is all based on a late-night headcanon discussion, my being sick, and very little editing, so I hope it's not too rough. I also apologize for any medical inaccuracies. But hey, Star Wars medicine! Special thank you to @rexxdjarin for talking me through the organ transplant HC, and to @writingbylee for letting me use her bacta HCs!! You're both awesome!!

Same Heart, Same Blood

He was floating, oddly disconnected from his body but still trapped within its confines. His hearing was irritatingly muffled, and he could not tell up from down or left from right anymore. He was simply there.

Through the cottony filter, he could hear what sounded like Rex, but he could not tell what he was saying. The brash voice of General Skywalker was there, too, but it was quickly fading, replaced by another brother’s voice.

“Six… minu… nee… mo… him… ow…” said the distorted voice. “ves… kno…in…ther… Fi… ang… on.”

He barely felt a pinch in his neck before an ethereal coolness enveloped him, taking him deeper into the welcoming darkness. He let himself drift, unable to do anything to stop it, and was content that he had done all he could.

***

Fives opened his eyes but saw nothing. The inky blackness was all-consuming, but it did not cause him any alarm. There was no need for panic. The deep dark space was calm, tranquil, and welcoming in an odd way. He was no longer in any pain, and there was no danger, no war, and nothing left to fight for. Peace at last.

Was this where death had brought him?

Before he was done registering the question, he saw a wisp of the most beautiful blue glide in a ribbony trail past his vision. Another quickly followed on his other side, splitting through the dark like hyperspace trails. More and more streaked across his line of sight from all around him, and he tracked their movement until he realized they were leading him away from wherever he was.

Fives took an automatic step, not realizing he had been standing on anything at all, and joined the swirling colors in their dance to wherever they were headed. He could not tell how long he walked, for there seemed to be no concept of time at all, but the wisps soon blended and faded into a warm, misty glow. He had no name for the color of the space, but he could see movement in the distance beyond—a figure drawing closer.

“Hello?” he asked. His voice sounded like his own, but it was also more like an echo in his head.

The figure took shape and became more solid the closer it got, and Fives wondered why his heart was not beating through his chest. He knew them—the tattoo on his jaw was unmistakable.

“Hello, Vod.”

“Hevy!” Fives breathed, reaching out for his long-dead brother.

Hevy’s semi-corporeal form reached back, locking a hand around Fives’ neck and bringing their foreheads together. “You did good, Vod, but it’s not your time yet.”

“What?” Fives asked, feeling like he should have been shedding enough tears to fill Kamino’s oceans. The wisps around them started moving faster, becoming brighter, until they were whiter than Fives’ could bear to look at directly. “You’re dead. So, am… am I?”

Hevy released him and gave him a gentle, familiar smile. “There are many things you still need to do.”

“Hevy, I-I don’t u-understand,” Fives stuttered, but the hand on the back of his neck gripped him more firmly.

“You will. Just listen for the echo.” Hevy removed his hand and suddenly began to fade into the bright wisps around them.

“Echo?” It was only then that Fives felt a surge of panic. Echo was dead. But why had Hevy come to him instead? “Hevy, wait! Where’s Echo?!”

Fives felt a hard tug behind his navel, pulling him into the bright light. “Where’s Echo?!” he kept calling. “Hevy!”

***

Beep… beep… beep…

Beep… beep… beep…

Beep… beep… beep…

It was a sharp, repetitive sound ringing in his ears every few moments. It was downright annoying. It was too bright now, pain shooting through his head.

Pain.

Once part of him had registered it, he became aware of it all at once. Every muscle, every limb, every inch of him down to his toes ached. He felt like he had been hit head-on by the Resolute jumping to lightspeed. His throat was dry, his lips hurt, his bones ached, and his lungs felt raw. He squeezed his eyes shut harder against the bright light, and even that hurt.

“…aking up,” said an urgent voice somewhere in the distance. “Contac… Rex…”

Fives groaned, realizing there was some kind of obstruction in his throat. He coughed against it, and it was quickly, albeit painfully, removed. As he slowly came around, blinking his crusty eyes furiously, he realized it was Kix hovering over him.

“Welcome back, brother,” Kix nearly laughed, smiling down at him. “Hang on, this will make you feel better.” He picked up a line and injected a generous amount of myobacta into it. “Thought we lost you there for a while, Vod.”

Fives tried to form the words he wanted to say, but he ended up in a hoarse coughing fit instead. Even as the bacta spread through his body, everything still ached.

“Easy, easy,” Kix soothed, elevating him into a reclined sitting position and adjusting the overhead light so it was not directly in Fives’ eyes. “You’ve been out for a few weeks, and you’ve got a new heart. It’s gonna take some time for you to fully recover. Just try to relax for me. I promise you’ll be all right.”

A new heart? Fives wondered. He lifted a weak hand to move the medical gown aside and looked down at his chest. There was a long, new scar over his sternum and a blotchy burn scar that was still sealed under a bacta patch on his left pec. No wonder everything hurts.

His thoughts were still disconnected and sluggish, but somewhere in the back of his mind, he had known since he was a shiny that the bodies of fallen brothers were often recovered after battles, and their organs were harvested and put into stasis in case another clone needed a replacement organ. It had always made him feel like the Kaminoans had done that purposefully, just to reinforce how expendable they were. He had tried to own it all the same, recalling telling the cadets on Kamino they all had the “same heart, same blood.” It was one of his more poetically symbolic moments, and he remembered Echo saying it would make a good tattoo.

Even though the dark truth was hard to admit, and it made him angry that such a thing as harvesting organs from fallen clones would be necessary, he also knew it had probably saved hundreds, maybe thousands, of other clones’ lives over the years—now including his own.

“Hey, you listening to me?” Kix asked.

Fives nodded weakly, thankful that Kix had moved the unforgivingly bright light. He had to wonder what had happened to him, though, to warrant receiving another brother’s heart. Kix’s bedside manner was also never this good unless someone had really been through hell, but he did not have long to dwell on the thought before the door burst open.

Rex came surging through the door as if he had sprinted the length of the Military Complex parade deck at full speed without stopping. He looked a little worse for wear, sporting an expression that was somewhere between elation and relief, and a new pale scar on the side of his head.

“Fives!” he all but laughed. “You’re awake!”

Fives nodded again. Why did everyone keep saying that? He had never fallen asleep that he could remember. He was with Hevy, and before that…

It all came flooding back in a rush. He remembered the plot, warning Rex and the general, picking up his pistol and screaming in a panic, aiming it at the red-clad Corries sent to take him away. He had been shot. Commander Fox had shot him directly in the heart. He remembered the searing, burning pain as his heart had ceased to exist in his chest, reduced to carbon and ash from the plasma.

“Fives? Hey, talk to me,” Rex said, placing a gloved hand on his shoulder.

“He needs to rest up a bit. Here, drink a little of this if you can,” Kix said, bringing a straw to Fives’ chapped lips. When Fives did as he was told and made a scrunchy, disgusted face at the bitter taste, Kix chuckled. “Yeah, that’s the reaction I expected. He’ll be fine, Captain.”

***

Hours later, Rex had still not left Fives’ side, explaining at length what had happened. They had figured it out after all.

“You made me and Kix dig further into your warning, and we found out the truth about the chips in our heads,” Rex explained, pointing to the healing scar just past his right temple. “We uncovered a whole plot by the chancellor to destroy the Jedi Order, and we would’ve been his tools if you hadn’t tipped us off. The Jedi managed to remove him from power, and he was promptly executed.”

Fives had slowly regained his voice, but he still sounded like he had been screaming over blaster fire on the battlefield for too long. “Still can’t believe I got shot,” he snickered hoarsely. “Can’t say I blame Fox for doing his job, though.”

Rex’s lips pressed into a tight line and twitched at the corners into a tense smile. “It wasn’t his fault, Fives. He doesn't remember doing it.”

“What do you mean?”

“That was Palpatine, too. He’d been manipulating Fox’s chip like a test dummy for years. It caused him to have memory blackouts. Cody found records of it in a journal Palpatine kept while they were sorting through the intel after he was executed,” Rex explained.

Fives grimaced. Even fresh out of a coma, his blood boiled because of all the injustices and inhumanities every clone had endured, all for Palpatine's war. They were human, and they deserved to be treated like humans from the beginning, given rights and choices—not manipulated like programmed droids. “That’s fucked up.”

The captain nodded, resting his elbows on his knees and his chin on his clasped hands. “Actually, Fox said he wants to come visit you—as long as it’s all right with you. Says he wants to apologize and hopes you can forgive him. He’s been pretty beaten up over it.”

“Nothing to forgive. He can come anytime and I’ll tell him myself,” Fives said with a genuine smile. He could not help the wave of grief that swept over him, though. None of this should have happened to any of them. “I just wanted to do my duty, what was right.” Fives’ said sorrowfully. His already hoarse voice cracked. “For Tup, too. He didn’t deserve to die the way he did.”

Rex nodded solemnly in agreement. “But you saved us all, and Tup’s sacrifice wasn’t in vain. With Palpatine dead, peace talks have started all over the galaxy with fracturing Seppie worlds. The CIS is falling apart, but there are a few holdouts that keep fighting. I’m headed to Anaxes with Cody tomorrow. They are proving difficult to counter. It’s like they know our moves before we make them.”

Fives gave a cheeky smile, one that still showed all of the inner fire he still possessed. “I wish I could be there with you, sir.”

Rex squeezed Fives’ atrophied bicep reassuringly. “Don’t worry, there will be plenty of fights left for you once you’re better. Kix might actually skin me alive if I try to sneak you out.” He stood and gathered his bucket, chuckling with his vod before making for the door.

Tell him. Fives thought. He should know. “Rex?” he asked, causing the captain to pause. “I… I know this sounds crazy, but while I was out, I saw Hevy.”

“Your batchmate? The one who died on Rishi Station?”

“Yeah, him. He told me that it wasn’t my time yet, and… he told me to listen for the echo. That’s when I realized… wherever I was, wherever Hevy came from, Echo wasn’t there.”

Rex looked skeptical, furrowing his brow and eyeing Fives curiously. He had his suspicions about an afterlife, but after spending enough time around the Jedi, he had long decided nothing was too farfetched. “You think Echo may still be alive?”

“I don’t expect you to believe me. I’m not sure I entirely believe it myself,” Fives sighed, shaking his head. “But I just have a gut feeling, you know? Just do me a favor and… listen for him, I guess.”

The captain offered him a confident smirk and a nod. “I’ll keep my ears open.”

[kadextra]

after my previous post, I decided to read ahead of the manhwa now bc I can’t wait!!! and I kinda feel like writing down some liveblog thoughts here while doing it :D

here we go, starting from chapter 184

[ MAJOR SPOILERS!!!!! DO NOT CLICK if you haven’t ever read before. I’m so serious its a lot of spoilers. pls just ignore this and scroll on ]

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ummm dokja saying “oh this scenario will be fine! don’t worry i’m prepared this will be problem-free & so very easy haha :)” + getting all emotional about his friends is setting off my red flag senses so hard. dokja you still have the fate message praying on your downfall….

dokja I’m scared. Dokja I Don’t Like This

ah. hah. the demon king guy is literally dead on the floor 🧍awesome

damn I knew this couldn’t be trusted and some plot twist would happen it was never going to be that simple. someone has to take the position now. I hate you nebulaes how about you catch these hands

OH NO JOONGHYUK?? YOU STUPID IDIOT STOP

my boys are fighting o(-(

yo wait turns out the world won’t reset even if he regresses??? but still :( he won’t be able to see this to the end and will get stuck back in the loop :(( joonghyuk has changed so much from the start and I’ve grown to like him a lot he doesn’t deserve this I’ll cry

OF COURSE DOKJA GONNA SACRIFICE HIMSELF INSTEAD. ITS HIS FAVORITE HOBBY!

dokja’s self reflection of how the reason he survived all the tragedies in his life is bc of TWSA & watching how joonghyuk never gave up…. the whole “it’s because you saved me so now it’s my turn to save you” from a person directed to their favorite character and their favorite story which was their life companion…. honestly I don’t quite have words to describe the way these lines make me feel. it’s just profound and deeply relatable

gilyoung my poor son he doesn’t want his hyung to die 😭

sighs it’s too late. at least demon king dokja looks cool…. now the wings fanart I’ve seen in passing makes sense…..

he’s a goner

I am going to be completely honest. I genuinely expected to be reading more of an epic shounen-style final battle where he uses all the cool corrupted demon powers and maybe goes a little wacky because that’s usually what happens in stories when the protagonist unlocks an evil power and has to fight his friends. NOT THIS????????

the situation has zero hope and he is just standing there one sidedly taking hits from his friends who are forced to kill him. while guiding them on how to do it. smiling and offering them words of encouragement. this is so devastating I feel sick

URIEL MY BABY seeing her cry is the worst it’s torture

of course his stigma is called sacrificial will

STOP

THAT ARTWORK

THEY ARE HIS LOVED FAMILY…… HE LOVES THEM ALL N JOONGHYUK WAS YHR PERSON HE LOVED MOST I CALLED IT I want to hit something

im full on crying now

all the constellations messages of they don’t wish for his death I’m not strong enough

reading this feels like getting ripped apart limb by limb

NO WAY THE FVGTIFJFJCKN HELD BY THE NECK THING RETURNS A THIRD TIME LIKE THIS??? STOOOPPPPPPPP

uriel T-T

he died

demon king of salvation

need to just lay here for a bit

ok I’m back joonghyuk is disassociating from the grief. relatable

“What if Yoo Joonghyuk went back and there was no Kim Dokja? or what if Kim Dokja never acted like this again? Yoo Joonghyuk was afraid of something for the first time.”

“He met Kim Dokja in his third regression and they became companions. Then he lost Kim Dokja”

he cares for him so much

a scenario without dokja.

whag did I just read

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UGH that was so good. emotional damage was an understatement now I get why ppl were warning me

why did I decide to do this in the middle of the night…. I need to stop now I’m tired but how am I going to sleep? im haunted with thoughts

it’ll take a bit longer for the manhwa to adapt this part but I’m honestly really glad I continued reading and got to imagine it all myself in detail first- it hit so hard. I’ll let it sit and take a few days break before I continue. excited to see how they adapt it into drawings and cry all over again cause this wound ain’t healing for a while

I have the need to recommend this story to all my friends and family

oh right!!!!

the other day I went through youtube animatics & saved some that I could watch when finishing certain chapters into a note (thank goodness most put a warning of when to watch in the first few seconds!)

since I finished 188, I get to watch this one :D

I just watched it

I cry myself to sleep

[taraljc]

The thing that pisses me off about people opposing universal basic income is that late stage capitalism and Western civilisation require that people uphold the lie that people deserve the circumstances they are born into--whether that is poverty or generational wealth.

It's impossible for so many to confront the reality that the wealth that allows generations of people to live in comfort and ease was bought at the cost of taking comfort and ease from other people.

That the richest nations on earth subscribe to the idea that there is such a concept as the 'deserving poor'. That poverty is a moral judgment and not the most telling symptom of a sick and decaying society.

Every single time I've tried to talk about how awesome it would be to have $2,000 a month to cover all of my bills so that I can pour all of my energy into actually living my life instead of scrambling to come up with $2,000 each month to pay all of my bills, I hit the brick wall of 'no-one deserves to get something for nothing. everyone should have to work hard for what they get'. from people who are perfectly comfortable with the idea of the 1% getting everything for nothing and not having to work at all for what they get.

In America especially it's like we left a constitutional monarchy for a reason. We rejected the divine right of kings for a reason. We came to another country to have the freedoms to practice our own religion without persecution or genocide. and then we turned around and oppressed the fuck out of everybody else the exact same way we had been oppressed, and the idea that our way was smoothed by the colour of our skin or the Anglo-Saxoness of our names or the acceptance that comes with evangelical Christianity's us-vs-them mentality offends us so deeply that it is rejected out of hand over and over again.

Because it's impossible to recognise the universal unavoidable truth that people do not deserve the circumstances they were born into. There is no moral judgment from God that says anyone deserves to be rich or poor.

However the basic tenants of almost all religions do teach that it is the moral obligation of those with more to give to and protect and raise up those who have less. To literally share the wealth, look after not just our neighbours, but strangers and foreigners and even the people who do not share any of our ideals--and provide shelter, food, and clothing for those in desperate need.

And you have all of these supposed Christians ignoring everything they loudly and frequently profess to believe in, while constantly trying to shove everybody who doesn't meet their arbitrary criteria out of the lifeboats to drown.

And it all comes down to this idea that people are worthy or unworthy not based on their actions or inactions, but simply by existing.

That is so fucked up. How is it the 21st century and we are still acting like bronze age barbarians, raiding our neighbours' villages, raping and killing, trafficking in slave labour, and burning their libraries and places of worship to the ground?

It is all such fucking bullshit.

These thoughts brought to you by the facts that I need a root canal and a crown that cost $2,000 I don't have. I need to bring in at least $2,000 a month to keep the lights on. I need $6,000 to drop out of the sky to wipe out credit card debt. I need to never leave my home state for extended periods of time because I can't get the medications that help me manage my physical and mental health because my Medicaid coverage is limited to the state of Illinois.