#made it to final boss TWICE AND SHE KILLS ME

[jaynosurname]

Fuck Remilla Scarlet, I hope she gets sunburn and disintegrates.

[izzytheloser12]

~~~~dcmk incorrect quotes parents addition~~~~

Yusaku: Hey, do you know the password to Shinichi’s computer?

Yukiko: Fuck you, Yusaku.

Yusaku: Rude.

Yukiko: No, you misunderstood, the password is "fuckyouYusaku".

Yusaku: Oh, no numbers? Not very safe.

~~~~~~~

Toichi: This date is boring! Yusaku: This isn't a date. I said I was going to the store. Toichi: Then why did you invite me? Yusaku: I didnt, I specifically said "don't come with me," then you said, "fuck you Yusaku I'll do whatever I want!

~~~~~~~~~

Toichi: Ginzo, I screwed up, big time. Ginzo: Toichi, given your daily life experiences, you’re gonna have to be more specific.

~~~~~~~~~

Korogo: Ran is off at an appointment, so while She gone, I’m going to cut the sleeves off all of my shirts. Shinichi: Why? Korogo: Shes like 90% of my impulse control.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Yukiko, when Yusaku walks in: Oh, hey, I'm just making pizza.

Yukiko: *accidentally smacks Shinichi in the face with the baking sheet*

~~~~~~~~

Kaito: Well, Shinichi and I finally did it! All of thier parents: gasps, shocked expressions, etc. Kaito: That's right… We kissed!

~~~~~~~~~~

*Megure and Yukiko are teaching Shinichi how to drive*

Megure: That's a pothole. To the left!

Shinichi: Take it back now y'all *Drives into pothole*

Yukiko, sticking their face into the front over the center console: Cha Cha real smooth.

Shinichi: I don't think that's how the song goes.

Megure, crying and gripping the handle: Please just take me home.

Shinichi: Country Roads.

Yukiko: To the place.

Shinichi and Yukiko in unison: I Belong!

Megure, crying harder: What the fuck

~~~~~~~~~

Yukiko: Remember! Curiosity killed the cat!

Yusaku: Yes, but you forget that satisfaction brought it back. So yes, Shinichi, go find out if that thing can catch fire!

Yukiko: You're a bad influence.

Yusaku: And you don't know your sayings.

~~~~~~~

Kaito: You’re alive. Toichi: No need to sound so disappointed.

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

Shinichi: Can we go out to get lemon pie?

Yusaku: Did you ask mom?

Shinichi: she said no.

Yusaku: Then why did you ask me?

Shinichi: She not the boss of you.

Yusaku, internally: It's a trap, it's a trap, it's a trap.

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

Kaito: Mom, I got suspended from school… Chikage: WHAT?!?! What did you do? Kaito: My teacher pointed at me with a ruler, and he said “there is an idiot at the end of this ruler”. Chikage: And…? Kaito: I asked which end… Chikage, unable to contain her laughter: Okay, you just made my day.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Chikage: Okay, but what if we went to dinner not as friends this time? Yukiko: AS ENEMIES?! Chikage:

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

Conan: Go ahead, Ran. Let it out, cry. If you don't, your tear ducts will get blocked up, and then when you get old, you won't be able to cry. Korogo: Just when we thought it was safe to let you back into the conversation.

~~~~~~~~~

Toichi: It’s nice to be wanted, you know? Ginzo: Not by the law!

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

Yukiko: What are you getting Toichi for the holidays? Yusaku: I don't know. It's kind of hard buying a gift for your partner when they already got everything they could've ever wanted when they married you. So I'm not sure yet. Chikage: I'm getting Toichi a divorce lawyer.

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

Chikage: Why are there little handprints all over the walls? Toichi, whispering: Why are there little handprints all over the walls? Kaito, whispering: Because I have little hands. Toichi: Because he have little hands.

~~~~~~~~~

Toichi: You've been given a new job to do, but I'm worried it might make you angry. Kaito: Just say it quick, like ripping off a band-aid. Toichi: You have to teach Shinichi how to drive. Kaito: …put the band-aid back on.

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

Korogo: It’s funny how well you and Shinichi get along. Didn’t they hate you at first? Ran: Shinichi hates everybody at first. It’s his way of reaching out to people.

~~~~~~~~

Shinichi: Do you cook? Yusaku: I made a cake once. Yukiko: Yeah, it was good. Yusaku: Really? Yukiko: Don’t make me lie twice, Yusaku.

[sourkannas]

Uraume x gn! reader

slight Yorozu x Sukuna but thats just Yorozu, straight fluff with miscommunicatation between Uraume and Sukuna, Sukuna is a worried big brother figure to Uraume, no gender mention

>o<

Sukuna is perplexed, and he can't say he feels that way often. And it's starts with the person standing by the door, Uraume, his one and only servant.

For weeks now, Uraume has been disappearing from the estate. It must've started right after winter ended, when spring was finally blooming into existence. Uraume would deal with their duties and tell Sukuna they're leaving the manor. Then they'll be gone for hours on days Sukuna didn't call them back.

To Sukuna, he couldn't wrap his head what Uraume could be doing. Before, they focused on him and only him, nobody else was worth the time of day, but now, Sukuna felt like an after thought.

Not in the bad way, he's asked every servant about what Uraume might be doing (and killed them when their answers didn't seem Uraume–ish at all, how do they not know how their boss acts?!). So now, Sukuna has to resort to 'weakling methods', asking Yorozu.

Gods he could gag right now, as Yorozu had sprawled her half nude body on Sukuna's table, bare flesh pressing against the dark brown wood.

"Husband~" She cooed, kicking her legs and giggling. "What is it that you need? Perhaps," She pouted and blinked eagerly at Sukuna, who blinked blandly. "You, you finally want to connsumate our marri—"

"I need a favor." He said sternly, shoving her body to the other side of the table to continue his work. "Uraume is acting..."

"Stupid? Dumb? Unfit to serve you? You want me to ta—"

"No. I need you to tail Uraume with me." He swallowed as he looked at Yorozu's beady eyes, she looked like a bug. "Consider this....a...hmm, outing toge—"

"A DATE!??" She did nothing but squeal, hopping off the table. "Oh, I do!" She chirped, dancing around Sukuna. Regrets were made this day.

♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎♥︎

It was a still day Uraume thought, over looking the manor before picking up a money pouch and walking out of the estate, unaware of the two sorcerers tailing them.

Yorozu and Sukuna silently followed Uraume, their small figure passing by in crowds as they walked with purpose.

Yorozu frowned softly, tilting her head. "They went straight past the market place, I thought they were buying things." She hummed, watching as Uraume passed stores and vendors alike.

Sukuna huffed as they followed, his two extra arms concelled in his robes. "They don't return with anything." He remarked, his second face covered by a veil, Yorozu shrugged.

"They could have hidden it in their robes?" She suggested, watching as Uraume walked right through the towns gate, heading off in the direction of the bamboo forest. "So far," She huffed before she turned to Sukuna with a pout. "Hey, when is this date happening?" Sukuna grimaced and kept on walking after Uraume.

"After we find out what Uraume is doing." He said, Uraume walking through the barely there paths. Yorozu squealed and jumped about, Sukuna's lips became a thin line and he walked with out her.

◆◆◆◆◆◆◆

Uraume finally reaches their destination, pushing past baby bamboo shoots as you like to call them, finding you knelt over your garden.

"[name], I'm here." They say softly, a ghost of a smile on their lips as they approach, you sit up quickly and beam.

"Ume! Ume!" Suddenly, their body is in your arms, but neither of you care. "I was worried you won't going to make it! Are you alright?" A flurry of questions escape your lips as you happily bring Uraume inside, leaving to baffled sorcerers out.

●●●●●●●●

Yorozu and Sukuna are both perplexed, before Yorozu smiled and cooed. "I see, it was young love all along!" She chimed, but Sukuna was blinking blandly. Did—did this mean he had to give Uraume the talk?!

"C'mon husband! Our date night awaits!" Yorozu cheered and while he doesn't do this often, he finds himself being dragged away from your little hut in the bamboo forest. He blinks once, then twice, then sighs and lets Yorozu drag him along, he'll need destruction to get through that talk he'll have with Uraume.

Bonus!!!

Uraume sets down the large tray of ribs infront of Sukuna, everything was cooked to perfection, as it always is with them. But Uraume couldn't help but notice how, grim, Sukuna looked. His hands didn't move from his lap and even stomach mouth stayed still and quiet.

"My lord," They start, soft and gentle in case Sukuna is in a foul mood. "Is the food not to your liking?" Uraume asked, already thinking of different dishes to make instead.

Sukuna sighs and gives Uraume a grimace, his eyes narrow and lips tight. "Let me ask you a question Uraume," Sukuna demanded, but Uraume nodded anyway.

"Of course my lord."

"Do you, do you know how babies are made?" Sukuna asked, quick and gruff and the question makes Uraume freeze.

'How babies are made? Is my lord unaware of how babies are made?!'

'Look at the expression, Uraume would be a bunny in a world of wolves without me.'

Uraume coughed and rubbed their chest to help their airways. "Why do you ask my lord?" Uraume asked, but their mind was swirling. 'Surely he knows how babies are made, don't doubt your lord Uraume!'

Sukuna gave them a somber look. "Listen up, when two people want to have intense pleasure they———"

Uraume never wanted Sukuna to shut up more.

"—and that's how brats are made, now that you know, I expect you to be safe." He said, assured in himself, feeding the ribs to stomach mouth and walking away. Uraume stood there dazed, perhaps they'll tell you tomorrow.

[chasing-posts]

Allison should have had a villain and redemption arc in the last season.

Now first of all let me say I do like Allison and think she's cool...but I also believe she had some negative character traits that were explored since season one and were really divulged in season 3, and could have/ should have been resolved by the forth season.

For one she did kill Harlan for stopping her child from existing, even though it was an accident and he was basically Victor's foster son. This showed the only children she tends to care for is her own.

Second, we never fully got an answer to one of her most famous Rumors, "I heard a rumor that you loved me." This one has always been speculated to be directed at either her husband, daughter or Luthor. And with how she sexually assaulted Luthor in season 3 before he got married and how he could never get over her, I think it was him.

Third, can we address that she assaulted Luthor?

Forth, she made a pack with Reginald and as such got to redesign the universe so Clair was back, and Ray was alive and possibly her father, which means she erased her last husband from existence and rearranged time and space to get what she wanted in her perfect life.

And all of this is bad stuff, add to the fact that Sloan is missing when Ben is here, and it does not paint a nice picture. In fact I always thought that the reason Sloan was missing, was because Allison could not handle Luthor moving past her, and being happy with another woman. Even if she didn't want him anymore. As such, she erased Sloan to keep her back up, even after getting married (twice) and having sexual/ romantic relationships of her own. She STILL could not handle not having a hold on Luthor.

So if I could change things, I would say let her have EVERYTHING she always wanted at the start of the season. Her daughter, the love of her life, her powers and even her carreer... and absolutely none of it bringing her joy due to the cost she had to pay to make it happen, and how BADLY it screwed over her siblings, especially Victor and Luthor, to make it happen.

Have her repent by actions. Actually have it so the siblings are a little slow to let her back into the group and only do so to protect their own (like when Victor got kidnapped and all 6 were needed to save him.). Have Luthor confront her about their AWEFUL relationship and most inportantly, what she knows about Sloan. What she did to her when she rebooted the universe, and why she's gone when cranky Ben is still here.

Finally, change the rest of her story make her face consequences for her actions. Maybe have both Ray AND Claire leave her after she went too far with her Rumors again only do it ON SCREEN so it's actually impactful and have her be all alone. Maybe have her reconnect with Klaus to help him get off the drugs the first time after her family leaves her (because honestly, I like their relationship a lot this season and her helping him stay on track was good) and that being her foot in the door with the rest of them through Klaus, before she rejoins them all against Reginald/ the Cleanse/ whatever is the true big boss this season. Finally, before she makes things as right with her siblings, try and help THEM get their powers back while she still has hers.

Because while I don't think Allison is a bad person, i think she has done bad things. And I think actually addressing it all instead of sweeping EVERYTHING under the rug like they did in season four, would be great.

FINALLY, PLEASE RESOLVE THAT WEIRD INCEST PLOTLINE WITH LUTHOR. IF IT WAS GOING TO BE SUCH A BIG PART OF THEIR RELATIONSHIP AND CHARACTER ARCS, I WOULD HAVE PREFERED TO SEE IT RESOLVED INSTEAD OF JUST... IGNORED. IF THERE'S NO RESOLUTION WHY EVEN HAVE IT IN THE FIRST THREE SEASONS! COME ON!

[anhed-nia]

R.O.T.O.R. -- AGAIN!

Even ripoffs can be beautiful.

I am writing about R.O.T.O.R., neither for the first time nor the last, because something new strikes me about this startling movie every time I see it. Its amazing premise, which amply rips off THE TERMINATOR and JUDGE DREDD (but not ROBOCOP, oddly, which began shooting after R.O.T.OR., also in Dallas) provides fertile ground for all sorts of useful interpretation. This time I was most struck by the fact that R.O.T.O.R. is all about jobs and going to work.

The story concerns "police scientist" Captain Coldyron (cold-iron) who has invented the Robotic Officer Tactical Operations Research/Reserve, a T-800 type of android made out of a "self-teaching alloy" that can kick anybody's ass. Coldyron resigns in a huff when his boss conspires with local politicians to rush the lawbot to market, and the project races forward dysfunctionally until R.O.T.O.R. inevitably busts lose and starts killing people for minor mischief. Coldyron hooks up with the robot's coauthor Dr. Steel (female bodybuilder Jayne Smith who is like something out of Crying Freeman, which I mean as the highest compliment) to hunt their creation down and destroy it.

Coldyron is played by Richard Gesswein, who was also created in a lab.

That might sound pretty action-packed, but in execution R.O.T.O.R. is heavily focused on the drudgery of daily life. Enormous amounts of time are spent walking through parking lots, traversing the atria of hotels, finding parking, being seated in restaurants, and most of all, spending hours and hours at work, making countless phone calls. You have never seen so many people on the phone in a movie in your entire life. There's work phones, home phones, payphones, and even CB radios. At times it feels as if you may never see more than one person on the same set again. On the phones, people say things to each other that have already been said earlier in the movie if not earlier in the same scene, if not earlier in the same monologue. In the scene where Coldyron learns that R.O.T.O.R. has gone rogue, he delivers this incredible screed during one of THREE calls that he makes in a row:

"Its last program was prime directive... Prime directive to our ROTOR unit is judge and execute. It stops felons, judges the crime, and executes sentence. Justice served, COD. You call the Senator and you tell him ROTOR walked through a busload of nuns to get to a jaywalker, with malice towards no one. It won't stop. It wasn't ready. Its brain functions are incomplete. It can't think twice, can't reason, can't change its prime directive. It's like a chainsaw set on frappe..."

It begins to feel as if he will never stop reiterating whatever he (and others) just said, and this is not the only such example.

Most of these calls, like all of the activity in the movie, are focused on jobs. Coldyron calls his girlfriend first thing in the morning to tell her that he is getting ready for work, and to ask her if she is also getting ready to go to work at her own job. He promises that "if you're a good girl and go to work" then he will grill steaks at her house later. When he goes out to buy charcoal for the reward steaks he stumbles upon two creeps robbing the store and trying to take a hostage--a woman who stops the crime with several karate kicks, to whom he says "Hey lady, you want a job?" Meanwhile at the police robot lab, a scientist slaves away while complaining about the impossible new R.O.T.O.R. deadline as the comic relief security bot whines, sighs, and says "One of these days I'm gonna quit this job!" (Later on he actually does) Once R.O.T.O.R. has escaped we meet the Linda Hamilton of this movie (Margaret Trigg), who is having a vicious fight in the car with her fiance because she wants to get a job; the fiance wants to forgo the "barbaric ritual" of the wedding and just be automatically married to a woman who will not embarrass him by getting a job. Finally he concedes, "Elope with me tonight and I'll help you get a job after the honeymoon," but it's too late for all that because he's speeding and about to get killed by R.O.T.O.R.

For extra job-related realism there is workplace harassment in the form of a guy who tries to fuck his colleague by describing ancient execution methods and who calls her a white supremacist for turning him down (he says he's Native American, she says he's not, I don't know the right answer because this is the actor's only credit--and actually he's uncredited for the role, though he is acknowledged for composing the movie's primitive synth soundtrack which I kind of enjoy). It's also worth mentioning that the comedy droid is a real robot with a job, according to iMDB (sadly there is not a wealth of info on this movie):

"Willard the Robot is played by APD2, a robot purchased in 1986 by the police department of the Town of Addison, a northern suburb of Dallas, for $17,750 (approximately $41,000 in 2018 dollars). APD2/Willard performed public relations duties and was tapped to lead the Christmas parade in Addison that year. His contributions to actual law enforcement and his subsequent whereabouts are unknown. "As quoted from 'theoldrobots' website; 'Officer Willi from 1985 - This 21st Century Robotics robot was operated by remote control, showed videos about public safety, and was used in teaching important safety topics such as stranger awareness, traffic safety, and much more..'"

Coldyron is actually a very good prototype of the modern tech mogul who has way too much time on his hands and whose existence is mainly composed of heroic fantasies about himself, whether he is molding the future face of law enforcement, or dicking around on his enormous ranch where he lamely practices his lasso technique on tree stumps before blowing them up with dynamite. At the office he demands "hydrogenated wheat germ and dessicated liver" which boosts his handball game, and I thought, jesus christ I think I've worked for this guy. Coldyron is *I think* the hero of this movie but I'm never sure how much you're really supposed to like him; when his girlfriend sends him out for charcoal so he can cook her reward steaks, he goes to a mini mart and just starts looking for trouble, harassing minorities and flashing his gun. It's like, this is the reason there are loitering laws, but naturally they don't apply when you're a rich cop.

Someone please make these stickers!

The best way to understand R.O.T.O.R. is through the knowledge that director and co-writer Cullen Blaine worked on a variety of popular cartoon shows during what they call "the dark age of animation". First of all, there are scenes in this movie whose aesthetic, humor, and internal logic only begin to make sense if you imagine them taking place in an episode of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles--and actually much if not all of the dialog was dubbed by a whole other cast due to problems with getting the stars back for ADR, creating a whole other layer of literal cartoonishness. But the period in which Cullen Blaine created R.O.T.O.R. and designed many children's shows was dominated by what's called "limited animation" which I almost don't even have to describe. It's all in the name, the goal was to do things as cheaply as possible while turning out dozens of episodes per season. Part of the problem was, as with all things, Ronald Reagan, whose deregulation activities defanged measures to make sure children's programming was not just a steady stream of hard sell marketing. Under Reagan, the requirement for some portion of programs to be educational became so easy to meet and manipulate that animation studios were compelled to crank out zillions of Trojan horse toy ads with glib moral declarations tacked on. (I think I understand this correctly, I'm sure @bogleech has better material on the subject) Animators are a historically abused lot with a sad history of failed strikes, and I'm just extrapolating here, but I bet it's reasonable to guess that R.O.T.O.R. reflects the filmmaker's experiences in the grueling cartoon mines. The brutal sacrifice of quality to speed, the hostile work environments, and the endless, redundant calls and meetings, all smack of a script by someone who has had a very bad job.

"We've all got plenty of time to figure out what this means to each one of us," Coldyron sagely concludes at the end of his misadventure. Obviously I am still working on what it means to me, since this is the fourth or fifth time I've seen this movie and (at least?) the second time I'm writing about it. I will say that while the film I have just described sounds intolerably boring--I mean, a whole movie about rat race drudgery with the fewest and least convincing action sequences ever--but believe me, it is not boring. R.O.T.O.R. is constantly surprising and fascinating, with weirdly vivid imagery and pages and pages of the strangest dialog you will hear anywhere. Just watch the movie and let it shock you. You'll have plenty of time to figure out what it means to you later.

[undertheorangetree]

Under the God’s Eye

The Epilogue

Summary- Everyone has adjusted back to life nine months after the God’s Eye.

Warnings- MDNI 18+ NSFW. Female reader. Me once again having no idea how lawyers work. Domestic and work place fluff. Vaginal fingering. Handjob. P in V sex. Overstimulation.

Author’s Note- I lied before I wrote an epilogue. The idea came to me on my commute and I was feeling fluffy. Full chapter on AO3!

Series masterlist

divider created by firefly-graphics

“I managed to find the Hill files for you,” she tells Rhaenyra as she pulls the beige folder out from under her arm. “They were buried in one of Otto’s filing cabinets. How they got there, I have no idea, but…”

Rhaenyra smiles as she takes the folder from her, flipping it over and scanning through the loose leaf pages inside before giving a curt nod. “Thank you, you’re a life saver. Have you taken lunch yet?”

“Not yet.”

Another nod. “Go take your hour. I’m not sure how long we’ll be here tonight but I imagine you’re going to need it.”

There is no need to tell her twice. With a bouncy nod, she leaves Rhaenyra’s office and makes her way down the hall, sensible heels clicking against the linoleum. There’s a line of windows that lead away from Rhaenyra’s office and she steps from shadow to shadow, the spring sunshine outside leaving warm sun spots in its wake.

Her own small office is not far from Rhaenyra's and she makes a quick pit stop to fetch her water bottle and thermos from her purse before shutting the door behind her and continuing down the hall.

She has enjoyed working at Targaryen and Hightower just as much as she assumed she would these past few months. It is difficult work, to be sure. Long hours on top of her final semester at school, countless mugs of coffee, and cups of noodles late at night when she finally trudges through the door, but it is just as rewarding as she thought it would be. Truthfully, despite the difficulties that have come from working at such a high end firm, she isn't sure she could be happier. Rhaenyra is the best boss she could ask for and a perfect role model for her to work toward. They have become reliant on each other and Rhaenyra has made it a habit to come to her for what seemed to be anything and everything. It should feel more like an assistant position she thinks, but the older woman has never treated her as anything less than an equal, often asking for her opinion and taking her advice on more than one occasion.

She does not see much of Viserys Targaryen or Otto Hightower, both too occupied with their own cases to ever give her much mind, but she doesn’t mind as there is someone else she sees far more often.

Her fist raps against Aemond’s office door, listening carefully before pushing it open slowly. He’s sitting at his desk staring at his laptop screen, one hand braced next to his good eye as he squints it, likely trying to chase away blurry vision. It darts up when it catches sight of movement and the side of his mouth quirks up in a smile when he sees her. “Hi.”

“Hi,” she greets, shutting the door behind her before pressing her back against it. “What are you doing?”

He sighs, squeezing his eyes shut as he leans back in his chair. “Looking over the sales accounts for the Westerling case. It’s melting my brain.”

“You were looking at those this morning. Isn’t it time to take a break?”

He’s shaking his head almost the moment she suggests it, leaning forward again to stare into the blue light. “No. I have to sort them out before tonight or granddad will kill me.”

She purses her lips but elects to say nothing, twisting her thermos lid open and pulling the collapsible fork from the top, straightening it before digging into her leftovers from the night before. It’s lukewarm at best but she does not mind it, watching Aemond as he blinks erratically. Though she winces in sympathy at the thought of the pain in his eye, the irritation exacerbated by the strain, she knows better than to comment on it. He will not take a break regardless of what she says and so she simply watches him while she eats.

He looks good like this, dressed in his white button up and silk tie, the sleeves rolled up his forearms. It has become a routine sight, one that she more than welcomes, and she shifts her weight from one foot to the other. Even from here, she can see the shadow of his eyelashes as they wash over his cheekbones, his lips pursed in half a pout that tells her that his frustration will soon get the better of him. There’s an empty coffee cup next to him and she takes it upon herself to make her way over to his Keurig, placing a pod in and positioning a mug beneath the spout before pressing the button.

She continues to stare at him as it brews, feeling only a little creepy for watching him so long. Whatever tan his skin had managed to soak in from the summer has long since left him, leaving him a little paler than she had gotten used to, and she wonders if he would be willing to go on a trip with her after graduation. To Qarth maybe, for the culture she knows the history buff in him will enjoy. Or maybe Dorne, to the Water Gardens. It would be nice, to go on a holiday with him again.

Read the rest here :)

Taglist: @backyardfolklore @docmartinis @watercolorskyy @barbieaemond @bellaisasleep @yentroucnagol @aemondsbabygirl @randomdragonfires @at-a-rax-ia @violetletovi @launotfound @helaenaluvr @solisarium @bellstwd @moonlightfoxx

[hezuart]

Hey! Dyt that they have Ruined Striker’s Character in Helluva Boss? I Loved The Striker that we had in Season 1 but in Season 2 it feels a bit off for me, I don’t know where to put my finger on it. It’s like he lost that sense of character that he had in Season 1, It’s hard for me to explain it. I guess I shouldn’t have expected as much for This Series but sadly Love it and would it be Bad if I thought that Striker and Blitz should have ended up Together and take his offer in The Harvest Moon festival Episode? (if they did take that offer, I would’ve loved to see them taking down some Overlords in Hell, Plus Something about Their interactions made me Ship Them More Than Stolas, Wondered what actually happened if he joined the I.M.P?? I mean he nearly did but Oh Well) and Also Blitz has a Horse!? Does Loona know about this!? WT-!?

Reasons why Striker's character is "ruined" since season 2:

1. His arrogance has been upped to a ridiculous degree (big d*ck statues of himself) He was only arrogant around Moxie because they hated each other, but Striker showed off in physical skill and song. Not sexually? 2. In season 1, he was stealthy, unknown, and very cunning. In season 2, he is brash, famous, and dumb. (He tries to kill Stolas in a public setting without protecting his own identity, he's apparently a well-known killer for hire in Wrath, and he doesn't kill Stolas immediately after finally tying him up in the alleyway. 3. In season 1 he wiped the floor with Moxie, Millie, and Blitz, while in season 2, randomly, Millie & Moxie and Blitz defeat him easily and twice, making him look pathetic. 4. In season 1 he was hired by Stella, a high-class goetia to kill Stolas, and thus was provided angelic weapons to do so. He hates upper-class demons and to be working for one is a high level of irony that adds more to his character; but it also hinted that he was playing dirty, that he would eventually use these weapons to turn against Stella to kill other high-class demons to fight against the political power balance (which is what he invited Blitz to) and Stella provided a great boon for him; extremely rare, dangerous weapons. In season 2, he's seen working for Crimson. However, he is the one providing his resume, almost begging to be hired by a (supposed to be) low-class IMp Mob Boss, but outside of maybe money, Crimson has nothing of value to offer in comparison to the hot deal that was Stella's offering. 5. In season 1, he is brutal but thorough with his attacks. He doesn't play with his toys. In season 2, he drags Stolas's torture out, messing around and playing with him for no good reason. (Yeah, Stella ordered that, but she ordered it LATER, AFTER Stolas was captured, and even that is against what season 1 Stella wanted, she wanted him dead ASAP. There is no reason to torture Stolas, especially if it leaves things open for him to escape. 6. His voice actor changed. Bosco does a really good job, but it's just not the same. Striker was probably the best villain in the series, and now he's just kind of a villain of the we(a)k kind of character I just don't care about anymore.

His character was only slightly better in the Fizzarolli past episode, but just seeing him dumbly pay attention to Fizz's song just solidified he's a joke now. Season 1 Striker would never do that. He would have sniffed out Blitz and gone after him immediately. Maybe have even shot Fizz; Crimson ordered him not to hurt him, but I dont think Striker would give a damn at that point. I agree that Striker and Blitz would be a far more interesting dynamic. Actually fighting against the power instead of Blitz just... sleeping with said power. Blitz wrapped himself up in Stolas, basically becoming his s*x slave in exchange for the book. Blitz even runs a business for sinners, sinners of which are dangerous towards imps and overpopulating Hell's upper layer. Striker offers him an out, Striker offers him everything. He offers him change, he offers him a chance to be someone. Stolas on the other hand still hasn't changed his classist attitude. A part of him will always disrespect Blitz, and I don't know if the writers will ever address it at this point. I mean, Blitz was confirmed to have been attracted to him. It very well could have happened.

[theraspberryone]

Hiiii! Welcome to "Me discovering that I can talk about my random thoughts on Psychology and MHA cause those two have been hyperfixations for years and Tumblr is the best place to talk like that"

"Fight, Flight, Freeze, Fawn" Part 2 : The League of Villains!

(You can't understand how happy I am to see that the first one really interested people!!)

So Touya/Dabi was already made in Part 1

1st, let's start with Toga. We know her past, she was seen as weird, a freak, disgusting by her own family (I heard she had siblings, so even as far as them). But during years, she faked being a "perfect little child" that listened and was calm and "normal". Her family confronted her behaviours and she was in a full Fawn mode. One day, her mask that she forced onto herself fell and all her repressed needs, who are in her D.N.A., came as they could. The need of blood made her attack someone. This feeling of finally being free (herself) brought her to the LOV and to find a family that accept her and her "abnormal" behaviour. She seems to actually only need that, a family, and when she can (like in the Yakuza mess), she'd rather Flight the conflict. However if her family is targeted (like with Magne and Twice), or when her family gives her orders to, she will Fight. Because she just wants to keep her found family.

2nd is Twice. Pretty much like Toga, he only needed a family. Due to his mental instability, his fears and his self-doubts, he could have been a Freeze and not react, be stucked while facing confrontation (kinda like what we can see even before with his old boss). Though he trusted his new family so much that he was, like Toga, either going for the Flight or the Fight depending of how much his family needed him. (Though a bit more of a Flight then Toga before season 6, still because of his insecurities and fears of fighting eating his confidence away).

3rd Mister Compress. We don't see much of him, we just know that thieves are normal and biological in his family. So I would say that confronted, Compress may prefer to go for the Flight. Fighting would be if an irrespectful act is commited but he wouldn't stay doing nothing, or wouldn't dirty himself for a random person.

4th, Spinner. We know he's a follower. He follow Stain blindly because he doesn't know what else to do, then Shigaraki because he becomes a good leader, and listens to Dabi because he sees him as superior. He doesn't really have his own way of thinking and weighting the good and the bad side of his decisions. His "primary leaders" being Fighters, he would immediatly Fight back too. Same as Toga and Twice for the found family part, if his family is threatened, he will Fight for them. But before the LOV he was definitely a Freeze. Lizard side or not, he seemed to be very "NPC"-like towards his life, so no much reaction to confrontation before he had a goal.

5th is Shigaraki himself. He's a Fight. Confrontation = Fight for him, he was raised that way. OFA raised him that way. He won't be a perfect silent person, he won't say nothing and stay still, he won't escape from the situation. He yearns for a new society, a new reign, he wants to see a country and the world crumbles. A full Fight made to be like that by OFA.

Bonus because he was asked!

Stain : Stain to me would respond by Fight or Flight. But while his Fight would be very direct (you confront him, he confronts back), his Flight would be controlled. He doesn't want to avoid a situation of confrontation because he is scared, how because that's how his mind instinctly answers, he just doesn't want to confronts and will leave instead. But this situation is pretty rare, it's the type of situation we can only see with All Might (because he is worthy enough to be a hero by Stain's psychology). Stain would, and that's what we can see with anyone else until now, only attack and kill because he sees the "unseriousness" of being a hero, the need for fame and not actual saving as a unique goal, as a threat to the job of being a hero.

I hope I didn't forget anyone.

Thanks to have been there for my little talk, if you have anything, professional or not to say or ask you can gladly interact I'l be very happy! ♡♡♡

Part 1 : The Todoroki Siblings

Part 3 : The UA teachers

[crookedteethed]

RADIO appearance (2) | e.m & s.h

Pairing: Rockstar!EddieMunson x Radiohost fem reader x BandManager! Steve Harrington

Summary: You're seemingly going nowhere at your job at Studio 66. You finally get your big break when your boss meets a terrible fate. Given the opportunity to become Mental in the Morning's newest radio host, you embark on a never before experience when you fall into a love triangle between Corroded Coffins, Eddie Munson, and his manager, Steve Harrington, all while trying not to lose yourself to your sudden fame. What will you choose? 

WARNING: Cursing, Misogyny, Love Triangle, eventual smut, Drug and alcohol use, slowburn(?), Ocs,

Author note: Thanks for all the support on part 1 💗💗💗💗

RADIO appearance ⭑ materiel list

Divider credit- @cafekitsune

Spike Van Dyke was a dead idiot. 

…

Okay, so maybe Bonnie hadn't killed Spike. But according to Spike's son, Tommie Van Dyke, Bonnie put staples so deep into Spike's neck she'd punctured his Larynx. And the staples to his head may leave Spike, a brain-dead idiot. So, until further notice:

 "Mental in the morning is on hold, until I can find a replacement for my father." Tommy announced. 

After the paramedics had collected Spike's body and the police had escorted Bonnie to the back of the cop car, the day went on as normal. Except, it wasn't normal. There was still yellow caution tape left behind, and the trail of Spike's blood had started to set and sink into the carpets, and I was almost sure everyone at Studio 66 shuttered at the sight of staplers. 

Tommy didn't seem to care about the staples and his father. As most did, Tommy seemed to hate his father, too. He was only roped into this mess because he was the next heir of Studio 66. 

"Shit!" Tommy curses, accidentally slamming his finger in the metal drawer in Spike's office.

The radio business wasn't Tommy's thing. When asked why don't he be the one to replace Spike, he said: "I don't have time to interview pretentious assholes." 

"You okay?" I squeak, trying not to make him more distraught with my presence. Tommy looks at me while sucking his throbbing finger.   

"Yeah." He sighs. I step further into the room. Though it was nearly hours ago, I still smell Steve's aroma lingering around the room. The camel cigarettes…sniff sniff… And maybe a little hairspray…sniff sniff… And his cologne, an expensive cologne, I assume. 

"You wouldn't know where my father keeps his phone book by chance?" Tommy asks me. I snap out of my thoughts, and I can track down Spike's thick phone book from muscle memory. I hand the book to Tommy. 

"Thanks." He mutters. 

From Cher to Bob Saget, any celebrity, you name it, Spikes had their phone number. For an asshole, he sure did know how to social network. 

"I'm trying to call up a few folks and see if they're interested in guest hosting the show for the next few weeks." He says, preoccupied with flipping through the pages of the book. 

"If you don't mind me asking, sir—"

"Sir? I'm not my father. just call me Tommy." I nod. 

"Tommy," I say, a bit unsure. "What's wrong with it just being Candice on air? I mean, she is the show's co-host." 

"Candice only good reason for being on the show is for looks, make our male audiences dick hard while driving to their dead-end jobs in the morning. Plus, Candice doesn't know music, she's just a spectator of it." 

Like Spike knew music. He bitched and moaned about half of his guest's music, but it was said bitching and moaning and blunt remarks that made him so entertaining.  

As Tommy flips to the M's, my eyes land on Eddie Munson's number: 930-455-. Tommy flips the page. 

I think about the dare I had given Steve and how he'd done it without thinking twice. Suddenly, I had a burst of confidence now that Spike was gone (for now), and I dared myself to say:

"I know music. You hum a tune, and I can name it." I nodded. "Some might say I know music better than old Spike Van Dyke." Be that as it may, I was trying to sell myself. I only knew a slew of songs, half of which were commercial jingles.  

Tommy stops flipping through the pages of the phone book, a stern look of concentration on his face. When I thought my plan backfired, I tried to give him that seductive face Candice makes when she wants something: Doe eyes and pouty lips. That backfires immediately when Tommy asks me if I'm constipated. 

"That isn't a bad idea." Tommy mutters to himself. "You're his assistant, right?" He asks me. I nod my head quickly, turning into a bobblehead.

“It’ll be like killing three birds with one stone,” Tommy said, like he had just had a groundbreaking epiphany. “I wouldn’t have to find another host, that means I wouldn’t have to pay for another host either, and I get to piss off my dad and watch his show go to shit. I mean, the assistant as the host of Mental in the Morning? That’s some funny stuff!” He laughs.

Nonetheless, his statement was demoralizing. But I found myself laughing along with him. I mimic him when the laughter stops, staring at each other harshly.

“Y/N, you’ve got yourself a deal. How would you like to be the temporary host of Mental in the Morning?”

You already knew the answer.

That night, I double-dog dared myself to call Steve. This seemed like something “Significant” to tell him about. After three long rings, Steve picks up.

“Who is this? How did you get my number?” He says harshly.

“It’s me, Y/N?”

His tone instantly changed; he was now delighted about my call. I try to tell him everything that happened today, but he says:

“Hey, Y/N, you’re breaking up! I can’t hear you!”

I was positive I had good reception since I paid my phone bill last week. But I moved to another part of my apartment, asking him:

“Can you hear me now!”

“Yeah, stupid phones. I don’t do well with them. Maybe we can meet up in person to talk, yeah?”

Before I knew it, I dared myself to give Corroded Coffin's manager my address.

“Nice place.” Steve says, spectating the inside of my loft apartment.

“Reminds me a lot of my place back in LA.” Right. He wasn’t from here.

I feel naked as Steve analyzes my apartment. My body flutters.

My apartment was me.

A lot can be told about a person by looking at their living space.

Steve was looking inside of me.

“You went to Stanford?” he states, pointing to my college diploma hung on the wall. I nod slowly.

“Smart girl you must be.” He mumbles. I flutter again; this time, it’s coming from one part of mine. (I’ll give you a hint: It’s shaped like a V).

“Did you go?” I ask him, squeezing my legs together.

“To Stanford?”

“No, to college?” I said. There was quite a distance between us, Steve on one end of the room staring at my college diploma and me on the other end staring at him.

“No.” he says, finally turning to me. I’m met with his lingering gaze. “My father refused to pay the bill…” He pauses, slightly taken aback. “Too worried about social pyramid in high school—I didn’t have the grades to get a scholarship…”

He strolls through the rest of my living room as if he was inside the Met Museum. His Hands crossed behind his back, an academic look plastered on his face. His hair bounces as he walks like he just got it freshly washed and massaged. He dragged the scent of the camels and cologne around the room, making it the only thing I was breathing in.

The camels, the hairspray, and the cologne: they were all giving me life.

"Capitalist. That's what my parents are." He continues. "They don't believe children should freeload off their parents." He bends down, looking at the gallery of photos and knick-knacks displayed on my glass bookshelf. I feel the bees prickling at my bones; once I see the photo that's caught his attention, he smirks. 

"Oh, to think what white collar job I'll be working at now if my parents weren't so tightfisted. Drama club?" He asks, pointing to a photo of me during my high school's rendition of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. I'd been Elizabeth Bennet. 

"You don't like being Corroded Coffin's manager?" I ask, changing the subject. 

"What's not to like? The rock music, the fast cars, the girls, girls, girls…" There was a twinge of sarcasm in his voice. He picks up the picture frame. "You look beautiful in this picture." Flutter. 

He refers to the photo of me decked out in Redford High School sewing club's finest collection. I was dressed in a 19th-century white gown, with silk flower accessories in my wig, a string of pearls, and a simple garnet cross at my throat. 

"Thanks." I meekly say. 

"Something Eddie'll be into." He mutters—another flutter, more like one long, hard pulse. "I'll still be rotting away in Hawkins if it weren't for Corroded Coffin, so what's not to like? Do you still own that dress?" 

"Hawkins is in Indiana?" I question, he hums. Stir the conversation away from me. "That's where you and all the members of Corroded Coffin is from?" He places the picture frame back in its correct spot.  

"Just me and Eddie." I hear the cracks of his joints when he stretches back up. He slowly starts touring the room again. It's not like my living room was spacious; you'd see everything when you stepped into the front door of my loft apartment. 

It takes Steve no time to circle back to me. We both stood face to face in the center of the room. 

“Frances and Dandy were stragglers we found through the big music corporation slave trade.” He says, disdain in his voice. 

We never break eye contact.

His eyes on mine, my eyes on his. There was no longer any distance between us. Steve had been merely 5 inches taller than me, so if I were to kiss him, I would have to stand on my tiptoes, or he would have to hunch his head low. 

Mr. Capri, my twelfth-grade drama club teacher, once told me: “The best kinds of kisses are sentimental. They’re languid, perfect, comfortable.” He said this during the last rehearsal of Pride and Prejudice before opening night. Mr. Capri had been an odd character. He seemed to go off his rendition of Pride and Prejudice because there was nothing other than handholding in the book.

I thought about that moment on opening night when Sebastian Howard (who played the role of Mr. Darcy) placed his chapped lips on mine. The kiss had been far from “sentimental, languid, or perfect.” More so, dispassionate, vigorous, and faulty.  

Since then, I wondered what a sentimental, languid, perfect kiss felt like. I went through all of college without knowing. 

“So, what is there not to like about being Corroded Coffin’s manager?” Steve says. “God forbid if I was doing something I really wanted to do.” 

“What do you really want to do?” I said breathlessly; being this close to Steve suddenly made me remember that his scent gave me life. 

Sentimental. Languid. Perfect.

I wonder if that’s how it’ll be if I were to kiss Steve.

“I could ask you the same. Working for a man that doesn’t even know your name. If you’re the type of girl I think you are, you could do so much better.”

I hadn’t mentioned the thing with Spike yet.

“And what type of girl do you think I am?”

Sentimental. Languid.

“The type to cower.” He says.

Sentimental.

“Let everyone else around her upstage her. Wanting to be front and center but too timid to fathom the thought.”

Dispassionate, vigorous, and faulty.

I feel the bees prickling at my bones again, accompanied by spiders building colonies of cobwebs underneath my skin.

“So, what is it you wanted to tell me?” he asks.

And so, I told him the story. Right after, I told him to leave.

Taglist- @sashaphantomhive

[grape-eating-vampire]

alright, it's done. i finished it.

this is the third and final part of things that happened in my first bg3 playthrough ever that I found so funny that I put them in my notes (spoilers below)

let me start this by saying I have only cried twice in the 155 hours it took me to complete this shit. however, I have almost-screamed at the characters more times than I'd like to admit. but first here's stuff that happened since the last one of these posts I made:

after killing Orin I went around Baldur's Gate for a while and did odd sidequests, including

clearing out a haunted house and sidelining to kill a stinky man in a wardrobe (and drag his body to a guy two streets over)

entirely ignored Gale's quest to look at a book because I kept getting arrested there after having killed the boss mage guy

I also foolishly though this wouldn't have any consequences. oh boy was I wrong

went to see a underwater prison, got told off by Gortash, decided to explore it after killing him, and promptly forgot to do so

killed Gortash! fuck that guy the only good thing about him is his fancy robe

tried to recruit a dragon called Ansur, found out the emperor is Balduran (????????? honestly I was shocked)

killed said dragon and felt like I was playing skyrim all over again

found a letter ("Dear Ansur") by Balduran/the Emperor. this was the first time I cried. I could still cry.

patch 6 came out! that was yesterday and I spent about 10 minutes trying out new kisses and sitting on Shadowhearts stool in camp (she now says "I'm glad you decided to join me" or something like that when you do)

went pretty much straight to the underground pool thing where the brain was supposed to be

failed abysmally to Dominate The Brain™

got pulled out by the emperor and had to start beef with Lae'zel because I had also forgotten to care about Orpheus and the hammer from the House of Hope

admittedly, I didn't really forget, I just didn't want to spend any more time with Raphael than I absolutely had to

my +14 persuasion saved the day once more and Lae'zel was fine with the one hope in her life getting his brains sucked out

went off to fight the brain once more. my game crashed twice trying to load that cutscene.

met all my allies! I forgot how many there were actually, and I only called on two of the groups later on

fought a lot. like a LOT lot.

got to the Netherbrain and kicked it's ass*

*had to reload about 3 times and try again because Minsc at level 12 was stuck on 100 hp for some reason and kept fucking dying

finally managed to kill the fucker! had Lae'zel deal the killing blow which seemed very fitting

more cutscenes, but this one actually didn't crash the game, I got to look at some beautiful unloaded walls and stuff instead

Lae'zel left right after we got to the haven. understandably so

remember how I ignored Gale's quest? well he didn't blow himself up like he inteded earlier, but he left to becOME A GOD????? I cannot fucking deal with this man

Karlach on the pier. this was the second time I cried, but unproportionally much so

Wyll left with her for Avernus, the little cutscene of them arriving there made me feel a bit better

Astarion had to leg it because of the sun (sorry)

Shadowheart didn't do much of anything during all of this, neither did Minsc, Halsin or Jaheira

decided to go help kids with Halsin, seems to fit my character (eventhough I really didn't roleplay so much)

we got an epilogue! yippie!

caught up there with everyone, except Lae'zel (who was there via the fantasy version of zoom) and Gale (who was there via the fantasy equivalent of a voicemail)

tried to hug Gale, couldn't, almost cried again but managed

also met a tressym who I recognized from fanart as Tara. I don't know why she was there, we never met her before and Gale hadn't mentioned her either

read a LOT of letters the party had received. barely kept my composure at the Gur's letter to Astarion

Withers did a cool speech and the game ended

after all of this and so much more that I didn't take notes about, I can confidentially say that Baldur's Gate 3 is the best video game I have ever played, and within it's genre my favourite ever!

I'm also emotionally devestated, especially after these final parts (but in a good way)

that's all, thanks for reading!

[purplemninja]

So, if Six were to return LN3, what kind of role would you want her to play? Or do you think it'd be better if not appear at all?

This one is actually hard for me to answer. Not only in certainty but also in an emotional sense.

[Disclaimer: this post will have a somber tone and mentions on mental health issues I've been having]

You no doubt saw the additional thought I had when thinking about the depressing realisation I had on Six's ending, which I will include in a 'revision' of.

Most of me really does want her to be in LN3, even if it's only for a few seconds. Ever since the trailer of LN3 didn't show any signs of Six, and people on the subreddit being all "let [character] go" and "just move on already" in a kind of stubborn way, I fell into a depression from the signs that Six wouldn't be in it and the people on Reddit who were being a little adamant that she won't be in, that they don't want her to be in it, and especially them telling people to let go and move on. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions but this was really draining me and I had to go on hiatus from the LN subreddit for a couple months.

I'm in a better state of mind now, but it still can be better, though I will say that it wasn't very encouraging when I went back to the subreddit and the mods took down my Christmas video twice and gave me a 3 day ban the second time that they did it. And it really upset me when one of the very people who was telling people to let go of Six initially doubled down on it when I left a comment mentioning what caused me to go on hiatus (without naming names).

[please don't go on a witch-hunt on anyone on the LN subreddit]

I guess Six is embedded deeper into my heart than I thought.

If she does appear in LN3, I really don't know what I'd want to happen, especially if it takes place after LN1, because LN3 could be yet another prequel for all we know.

Even if the idea that Six is trapped on the Maw (not necessarily becoming the Lady/next lady, but trapped nonetheless) from the depressing revelation I made on her ending is true, her story just feels... incomplete to me.

If Six does show up in LN3, I sincerely hope that she's not a boss that must be killed, as that's what a bunch of sick and disgusting people hoped for when LN2 was first released and they saw the ending. And if Low and Alone do end up having to kill her, then I hope it's a type of boss fight that makes the player sad to kill the boss.

The most I can hope for is that Six appears in person for just a few seconds at least, then a conclusion to her journey finally happens, whatever that'd be.

But, another part of me wants there to be a DLC for LN3 where we play as Six at least one last time, and a solid conclusion for her story is finally delivered (and the meaning behind Six's name, because that's still the biggest question I have about Little Nightmares, and has been ever since joining the fandom)

[spinningerster]

notes from last night (29/7 evening show)

fun random little things I wanna mention

• did matinee stage door and met so many cast members, they were all so lovely!

• mukeni was just casually walking around the foyer talking on the phone

• we got a bereal with him after the show

• also no joke I was sat next to mukeni's mum - she was lovely! we chatted a little before and after the show

• at stage door after the show archie went past on his scooter and everyone cheered

onto the show notes!!

• matthew gave me a cast pape 🥺

• was right up in the immersion (manhattan row P) and didn't know where to look at some points. like during WWK morgan was basically right in my face. damon was in front of me like twice. (fr would've worn my finch shirt instead if I would have known.) him, lucy & lillie were in front of me in once and for all and I didn't know where to look so just focused on michael on the stage 😂

• ryan went past me after kony but I didn't realise it was him until after nesim & bronte went past lol

• michael & matthew ran past me at one point (during carrying the banner iirc)

• three of them ran past me during seize the day (just before crutchie got arrested) but honestly I have no idea who it was 😂

• there was a bit (think it was just before jack, davey & les ran away from snyder) where matthew was just. laying on the floor?? like where the little banister is for the bronx

• morgan albert. LOVED him. he was brilliant. he killed it

• "that is not nice...morris."

• "and who wants brooklyn?" mark proceeded to spend 5 minutes putting a blindfold on. like the scene had moved on from that bit and he was still tying it

• "who's the big spender that ordered the seltzer?" morgan: starts drumming the table "OVA HERE"

• "two cents? for a glass o' seltzer??"

• bobbie was on vocal rest so no splint rip

• she was absolutely hilarious though. "have you seen this boss? these kids put out a pretty good...nope nevermind goodbye!"

• "and such language, which they should not be using -"

• "he doesn't do happiness, does he?" hannah chuckled which made the audience laugh

• hannah started a sing song when they were leaving pulitzers office

• HECAYNTTAWKHELLCALLYABAYCK

• during the fight scene someone jumped onto and then over the cart (think it was spencer but not sure)

• les: "buy a pape from a poor orphan boy." davey: "hey he ain't an orphan??"

• OH MY GOD RYAN. forgot how much I absolutely love his davey

• "your girl?" "YOU HEARD ME!"

• like act 2 davey was SO SASSY. "oooh, so what does that make you?"

• oh yes. above. flip. the. flip. fold. flip.

• him and jack were like a comedy duo in act 2

• "I'm told we once shared a carriage ride." "TOLD YA"

• damon finch my beloved <3 so happy I got to see him he was amazing

• josh blew some of his smoke into nun bobbie's face

• OH THE CUTEST MOMENT. at the end when jack is like 'we won!' specs immediately hugged ritz and then hugged a few other people it was adorable

• when jack told them to vote 'no' mack literally had to hold spot back it was so funny

• mike was the last person to leave after jack betrayed them at the rally and he gave jack such a dirty look

• matt threw the paper for bronte to catch in kony but she missed and it fell to the ground

• michael jack. my absolute beloved. he was so comedic like the way he said certain lines was so entertaining

• there were like two wolf whistles when jack & katherine kiased in stbi

• michael and bronte were so giggly in the start of the finale scene it was so cute

• final nesim performance. what a little star he is

• in the bit after carrying the banner when davey, les & jack are talking the delanceys (aka morris) was basically like just throwing the papers at the newsies

• officially in love with pips. she did a little star jump during brooklyns here it was so cute. AND HER OUTFIT?? obsessed

• background moments during the bows/curtain call: matthew didn't make the shot. morgan & owen did a funky lil dance. lindsay, lucy, sam, jamie and someone else (they were off to the side so couldn't see who it was) did the wave

[taoofshigeru]

Finished a Throné solo run!

(i.e. complete Throné's chapter 4 without adding any of the other travelers.)

This was, um, a lot harder than a similar run I put together with Partitio. To quantify it, while Partitio fought and beat Steam Tank Obsidian solo at level 55, I lost to Claude decisively with a level 60 Throné and had to spend a bunch of time in Ivory Ravine leveling and practicing builds against the Deep One before I was comfortable going back for another try at level 74. I still died about 7 times before I found the sweet spot. Stacking 3 sidesteps going into the Pirro phantom phase, setting up a 1-turn kill for the Mother/Father phase, and making liberal use of Reinforcing Jams and the extra fully boosted turns they provided were key.

Things to do that are more fun than confronting generational trauma

Neat Stuff I Noticed: A) In these solo runs, there are essentially two types of tough fights. One, the random encounters you have to get through early on to get to tier-2 and tier-3 towns at lower levels. Two, final bosses meant to be fought with a full party. I point this out because I noticed a pattern with the way the respective characters I've run get their KOs.

Solo Partitio wins tough fights by putting the pedal to the metal and bringing lots of help. Solo Throné wins tough fights by dancing around her opponent's blows (with either Veil of Darkness versus groups or just high evasion in the solo Claude/Deep One fights) and closing in for a critical strike with Finish the Job. She fights like an assassin. It's nicely in character.

B) With my high evasion, Claude himself essentially couldn't touch me in the time it took to cue up a fully boosted Hired Help Foreign Assassin and rip his chest to ribbons. The reason why the fight is tougher than Partitio's is that it's broken up with other mandatory phases. I spent about 6 turns on the Claude starter/Chains of Pride phase, but the Pirro and Father+Mother phases quickly made clear that they were the real obstacles to survivability. Pirro has an instakill that will reduce you to 1HP even with Hang tough, and his attacks regularly hit with my level 74 Evasion-focused build. I had to cue up sidesteps to deal with him. And Mother stunlocked me twice with Bind, a nasty trick I had to play a reinforcing jam and then use a fully boosted and double-boosted Hired Help back to back just to rapid kill the phase and survive to the final phase, where Foreign Assassin daggers ripped Claude to ribbons.

C) Claude's collar key can only be stolen in day, so if you are fighting him at night to get Throné's free Blessing of Darkness buff, you'll have to change to day and this orchestrates the moment to happen at dawn.

D) "…It reeks of blood."

The last line of her story made me realize, only the second time through, how blood in Throné's story is associated both with killing and with Blacksnake family drama. In this moment when her collar unlocks, she should be free of both. But, while she's theoretically done with killing and she's free to leave the family as well, the memories she can't shake and the baby crying next to her are both bitter reminders of how hollow her victory still feels.

Really, it's a great final line.

[tobiasdrake]

So that's it. That's the truth of our case. We know who our killer is. In a way, we've known for a while. All that's left is to clinch it.

The deepest, darkest, and most tragic secret of this case. How did a murderer penetrate the inner lab?

The answer is, we wore Yakou like a hat. A hat made of knives. So, Kung Lao's hat. We wore Yakou like Kung Lao's hat.

Poor Halara. They're up there trying desperately to resuscitate Yakou but he's a) dying of incurable gas and b) about to get Soul Reaped anyway. I hope they don't blame themselves when it happens.

Fortunately, if all Fubuki did was crack the Panel Room with us unknowingly, she's off the hook and in no danger. Servan was more involved in Shachi's murder and the Labyrinth let him off with a stern glare.

Obviously Yakou. Also a part of me considered that the woman in question might be Yuma's mom but that's just because she has purple hair. I shouldn't make assumptions. Not everyone with purple hair is related to one another.

It's not even the right shade of purple. Though it could be tempered by Yakou's blue, maybe? Anime hair does that sometimes.

I'm way off base here. Moving on. Our killer is, beyond a shadow of a doubt....

So we can now say pretty confidently that Jawline is Fink the Slaughter Artist. But Fink never set foot in the lab. He was here to conceal the truth behind why Yakou is dead.

Probably to avoid blowback on the Master Detectives when their boss murdered Amaterasu's most important scientist. I said before that the stabbings seemed a) unprofessional and b) emotionally motivated. Both of those things make sense now.

Oh, that's why the photo was here. I figured he simply carried it around on him.

Did Jawline know that Yakou was his client? Or did Yakou wrestle the photo away from him during the struggle?

Sephiroth Vader has been defeated but Vivia's still going to defend Yakou from the cruel grip of the truth.

I'm sure Yakou sincerely meant that. Emotionally motivated. But it was also part of the ruse to disguise the crime as a professional hit. It ensured everyone would be looking at FInk, not Nocturnal Detective Agency, when the smoke settled.

At least, in theory. Didn't work out so well for us in practice.

Or that. I was right on the ball when I said it's weird that Fink would send us a note, and makes more sense if Yakou sent it to us himself.

That also covers his OOC behavior when he's suddenly gung-ho to rescue some dipshit Amaterasu scientist after weeks of telling everyone to lay low and keep our heads down.

In fact, a paranoid part of me wonders if this was the plan from the start. If Yakou was discouraging us from making waves because he didn't want us getting our jolly asses killed by the Peacekeepers before he had a chance to finalize this plan.

To disguise the truth, is what I've been going with. Let's see what Yuma says.

Nobody would think twice about four new corpo-cops suddenly patrolling the halls if everyone's running around trying to thwart Jawline. That makes sense. So it wasn't about protecting us.

That makes my heart sad. :(

That's when he went to the airlock. He didn't go the other direction; He used his lead to get there first.

Jawline was the only person who could have been responsible for the blackout. But since we now know that Jawline isn't complicit in the lab intrusion, it makes more sense. The blackout was part of the plan to kill Yakou, per Yakou's instructions.

For Yakou, it gave him a cover story. "Oh no, a blackout, we need to hurry up and get Huesca out of there before the killer gets him through all that non-powered security!" was what he used to separate from us and instill in us the urgency we used to crack the Most Locked-est Room Ever.

This is why the blackout was the most inscrutable piece of the puzzle. It couldn't open doors or disable Huesca's security. If anything, it made doors more locked until backup power switched on and it didn't matter anymore. It couldn't do fucking anything. There was no practical reason for it. It contributed nothing to this plan.

The reason it was useless is because it's a placebo. It was an empty threat designed to instill in us a sense of urgency and get us moving. Yakou used the blackout to get us in gear and push us towards our steps of the plan.

Yakou spent a long time working on this. It's super premeditated. And reliant on insider knowledge of Amaterasu's classified lab. Photo Lady had to have worked there. Maybe the second desk in that office was Yakou's?

Yakou put his faith in us to ferry him to Huesca. We did not disappoint him.

Y'know, it's weird but I'm proud of that. I mean, a man is dead but fuck 'im. Huesca's far from a sympathetic victim. I know that and I don't even have the full details on Yakou's motive. I know enough to know Huesca got what he had coming for him.

We did this, y'all. We worked together to make this happen. This isn't Yakou's victim. It's all of our victim.

Yuma's sitting here wrestling with the awful truth, trying not to crumble under the pressure of his world shattering. But I'm over here respecting Yakou more than I have since the day we met him. You did it, man. You beat Amaterasu's highest possible security in the bowels of their HQ and pulled off the crime of the century.

And since the plan called for him to die triumphantly anyway, a legitimate argument could be made that he unknowingly beat Shinigami too while he was at it. Yeah, go ahead and reap his soul. Take the last 45 seconds of his life from him. Not like it fucking matters anyway. He's already won.

Murderer Yakou is infinity times cooler than Detective Yakou ever was! Holy shit, where was this guy in all of our hangouts!?

More than anything, Yakou wanted nobody to know why he did this. Even after his death. I'd thought he was trying to protect the agency but it feels like this goes deeper than that.

I want to say he wanted to discourage us for our own emotional wellbeing but my guy was about to slit Yuma's throat before Ghost Yakou intervened. So. Yeah. This was definitely more about protecting Yakou than anything else.

He wanted to do both if he could help it but if push came to shove, he was ready to kill Yuma to defend Yakou's reputation. It was only Yakou saying outright, "Do not do that thing," that convinced him otherwise.

And. Yeah. We talked about this before but. Like. We're in this mess because the Peacekeepers decided apropos of nothing that we dunit.

Well guess what, fuckos! We did dunit. A stopped clock is right twice a day. Yomi's equation is belligerent nonsense but his result isn't wrong. If anything, the truth makes our situation worse. We have accomplished nothing by learning all of this.

As much as Vivia doesn't outwardly show much of his feelings, he believed in Yakou. He liked working here and he liked Yakou enough to trust Yakou implicity. He doesn't know why Yakou did this, but he also doesn't care. It doesn't matter. He stands behind it, whatever the purpose.

I don't have that same kind of respect for Yakou but I do find myself nonetheless in the same boat as Vivia. I don't know why Yakou did this, but I've seen enough - both of him and of Huesca - to believe he had the right of it.

The grave-dancing Robot Researcher was right.

[silvfyre-writings]

Only Semi-Immortal (High Card Fanfic)

This idea has been on my mind since episode 4 released and I finally said fuck it and wrote it. I think this is the first time I've ever written a fanfic before a series has finished airing, so yay, go me.

I hope you all enjoy this short fic, and I hope that the characterization is good. New characters, new fandom = lots of stress.

Finn took a deep breath, gun levelled at Wendy, waiting for Chris to get the out-of-control woman into position. So far, Wendy—no, LAP—hadn’t noticed him there, and if it all went according to Chris’ plan, he wouldn’t be. It was hard to watch Chris be killed over and over again, but even he knew that there was no way he’d survive if his fellow Player decided to turn her attention towards him. So all he could do in that moment was wait and trust that Chris knew what he was doing; knew what his limits were.

Blood sprayed the air as Chris was impaled by the sword, and Finn tightened his grip on his gun. It was time. He couldn’t hear what Chris was saying, his mentor’s voice too quiet, but suddenly the sword was wrenched from his body and LAP’s attention was on him, all other people in the vicinity forgotten. Now. Finn fired his gun. Once. Twice. Three, four times; four bullets being needed to get the sword out of LAP’s grasp and far enough away from the bloodthirsty woman that Wendy could take over. Finn shuddered at the remark LAP made about meeting him again in the future, which wasn’t something that he was overly looking forward to, before collapsing, her form shifting back to that of the quiet Wendy he’d come to know.

“So that’s Wendy’s card…” Finn said, releasing his own card and making his way over towards the unconscious woman. I hope all the Ace cards aren’t like that.

“LAP is quite troublesome, but still a valuable member of High Card.” Leo came to stand beside him, and Finn watched as his boss pulled the sword out of the ground and put it back into the sheathe, the sword returning to its card form seconds later. “Once she learns to control it properly, she’ll become even more powerful.”

“She’s a little scary when she’s like that.” Finn couldn’t help but admit. “I’m glad she’s on our side.”

“I must say that I am glad as well, although being LAP’s favorite isn’t something I’d consider a good thing.” Finn jumped as Chris appeared behind him, the older man throwing an arm over his shoulder. His mentor caught his eye and grinned, poking his cheek with a gloved hand. “It’s a good thing we had Finn here today, otherwise I may have died even more.”

“One day, you exert your card’s limit trying to contain LAP, and then you won’t be laughing.” Leo scoffed, spinning around and walking away from the two of them.

“Someone’s a bit touchy.” Chris’ grin widened even more, although it seemed to be a little more pained than his usual ones.

“Well, he did lose a helicopter. Those can’t be cheap, even for him.” Finn said, glancing at Chris from the corner of his eye. Was it just him, or was his mentor growing paler the longer they spoke? Suddenly, Chris’ eyes slipped close, the man’s legs buckling a second later, and Finn reacted quickly, just barely preventing Chris from cracking his skull against the concrete. “Woah, hey—Chris!”

His shouts drew the attention of the others, and Leo was by their side in an instant, jamming a hand against Chris’ neck with a frown on his face. “He’s alive. Lucky bastard. He’s not bleeding either, so it’s just overexertion.”

Finn’s heart pounded like it had that night he’d stolen the card before meeting Chris and joining High Card; he hadn’t even considered the possibility that Chris could’ve succumbed to an injury, already far too used to the way the man regenerated and laughed off his deaths like they were a practical joke. He took a breath to steady his heartbeat. “So… he won’t die?”

Leo shook his head. “No, he’ll be fine. It’s been a while since he overused his card’s abilities, but it has happened before.”

“He just needs rest. And some juice.” Finn looked up as Vijay spoke, not realizing that he’d even been standing there, the man giving him a kind and reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, Finn, he’ll be up and about in a few hours.”

“The most troublesome people I’ve ever had to deal with.” Leo sighed, standing up and brushing his pants off. “Let’s get them back to Pinochle before we get an unwanted audience.”

Finn collapsed into the armchair with a sigh, eyes shifting to look at his mentor on the couch to the side of him, unmoving, but with a lot more colour to his skin than he’d had when he’d initially collapsed. Together, he and Leo had managed to move Chris into a car—Vijay had volunteered to take Wendy home—which was harder than it should’ve been, but Chris had been a complete deadweight, and was much taller than both Finn and Leo. But they’d accomplished their task and headed back to the shop.

The hard part had been getting Chris out of the car.

Thankfully, Vijay had been there, his own injuries treated, and between the three of them, they’d managed to get Chris to the couch. Now all they had to do was wait for the man to wake up and everything would be right with the world once again. At least for now.

“Ugh.” Finn looked up from where he’d been scrolling on his phone, and watched as Chris scrunched his eyes, throwing an arm over his face.

“Welcome back.” Finn said. He’d had it briefly explained to him on the drive back that when Chris overextended himself, it was similar to if one hadn’t eaten for days; he’d be lightheaded and weak, but wasn’t in any actual danger, unless he used his card again, but considering they were back at Pinochle, that was unlikely to happen. Still, Finn couldn’t help but keep an eye on his mentor. Just in case. “You collapsed. There’s juice on the table that Leo expects to be empty when he comes back. And Vijay found some of those fudgee bars that you like so much.”

Silence followed his words, and Finn wondered if Chris had fallen unconscious again, when his mentor finally spoke. “Wendy…?”

“At home.” Finn reached across the table and nudged the juice closer to his mentor. “Drink.”

Chris sighed and heaved himself upright a little more on the couch, snatching the juice up to tentatively sit at it. He only managed to drink a few mouthfuls before he dropped his head onto the arm of the couch, eyes closed once again.

“Are you… okay?” Finn asked. It was so strange to see his mentor so still, already having become used to the way that Chris held himself; his loud presence and expressive motions, in the short time they’d known each other. So, to see him so still and quiet, it felt unnatural.

“I’ll be fine.” Chris opened one eye and grinned at him. “Don’t worry about little old me too much, kid.”

Finn rolled his eyes and went back to scrolling on his phone.

Just another day at Pinochle.

[queen-scribbles]

Hell of a Risk

I got distracted by other muses, but finally finished editing etc the Casi and Jorgan rakghoul event fic, what, three weeks after the event's ended. xD Enjoy my reckless girl and her long-suffering bff. ---

There was an unsettling, macabre beauty to the tunnels; the hanging vines in shades of green just shy of healthy, the coral-like growths on the walls, the bizarre flora in pinks and deep greys and glowing blue.

Unfortunately, Casi didn't have time to take it in, as the rakghouls inhabiting said tunnels were a constant threat. Bit hard to form an opinion of the scenery when you were dodging monsters every few steps. They'd gotten lucky so far, been able to put down any attacks before they breached armor or posed serious risk of infections.

She kicked aside the corpse of the most recent to try, and glanced at the tunnel split ahead. "Which way we headed?"

Jorgan consulted the holomap, barrel of his sniper rifle resting in the crook of his elbow. "The right one." There was a cluster of rakghouls visible even from where they stood. "You take me to the nicest places, boss."

"Think of it as me trusting you to watch my back," Casi retorted glibly, watching him heft the rifle and sight in on the biggest of the rakghouls.

He grunted his opinion of that--which made her smirk--and squeezed the trigger twice, dropping two of the rakghouls before the group even registered their presence.

Casi charged in to occupy them, but another dropped even as she reached them. Showoff, she chuckled to herself, and slammed the stock of her bowcaster into the nearest rakghoul's face. There was a satisfying crunch-squawk combination as it fell. She shot it in the head to ensure it stayed down even as she slashed at another with her vibroshiv. It shrieked at her, took a swipe--

--and Jorgan picked it off.

"You're a damn showoff," she called as he caught up and she'd swear she heard him chuckle over the helmet comms.

"I'm playing to my strengths," he corrected, giving her a once-over. "Any breaches?"

"Nah, you didn't give any of them time," Casi drawled, though she did check her armor for punctures. She looked down the tunnel and whistled. "There's a lot of these bastards this way..."

"That doctor said the vaccine's preventative as well as curative, right?"

She knew what he was hinting at. "Yeah, and he also said it only lasts three hours. I don't wanna use it and then get bit at the three hours two minute mark."

"Bull," Jorgan snorted. "You don't want to deal with the paperwork to requisition a replacement."

"Not unless I have to," Casi said cheerfully, watching the light of a luminescent mushroom play across her armor.

"I hate paperwork as much as the next guy, but that's a hell of a risk to take to avoid it, Cas."

"What risk?" she shrugged. "I get bit, I'll take it. I don't get bit, I'll still have it and won't have to waste half an hour on paperwork. You wanna take yours to be safe, that's fine. Just remember Dr. Whatsisname said three hours, so..."

"We're almost halfway done in just over an hour, I think it's safe in that regard," he said dryly, slipping the injector out of a pouch on his belt and removing one gauntlet to administer it. "You sure you don't want to play it safe?"

"That's never been my style and you know it, J."

She couldn't see Jorgan's expression with the helmet on, but he radiated skepticism. Finally, he sighed. "Your call, boss."

There was a heavy note of 'If I have to tell Theron you got yourself killed being a dumbass, I'll drag you back from the afterlife myself,' he was too professional to voice.

They headed down the tunnel toward the nearest group of rakghouls, took them out, moved on to the next. Jorgan hung back this time once they reached a point that mitigated the tunnel curves. He was sighting in even as Casi charged in and the first one dropped as she reached them. She took out two with a shrap round--

--more rakghouls poured out of gaps in the wall that had been obscured by the bulbous vines. Casi swore--pretty sure she heard Jorgan do the same--and ripped off a blitz of rounds. She didn't wait to see the effectiveness before charging after the one zeroed in on Jorgan. There were other dangers than infection to these things.

She was running on instinct when she caught it; grabbing it to yank back, her vibroshiv in hand to slash open the throat. Avoid the flailing claws as it fell with a gurgle.

"Cas-!"

She ducked at Jorgan's warning, his shot zipping so close by her head it made her see spots. It took out one of the rakghouls she'd been fighting. The other two got past, one going for her and the other Jorgan. Teeth clamped on her arm even as the thing's momentum slammed her into the wall.

Casi yelled and jammed her vibroshiv into the side of the rakghoul's neck, kicking it away when it screeched. Tandem blasts of gunfire echoed as she and Jorgan finished off their attackers.

"You alright?" Casi asked as she swiped ichor off her armor.

"Yeah," Jorgan grunted, "despite its best efforts. You-?"

He froze staring at her, and Casi grimaced. Saw it.

"One found a weak spot," she joked, her arm throbbing. "Didn't think you'd get proved right so fast."

The rakghoul's teeth had punched straight through her armor, leaving a very obvious breach. She could feel the warmth of the infection pulsing in her arm and tried to write it off as imagination. Not that it matter, she'd just--

She reached for the vaccine injector and found she had much bigger worries than him being smug. It was broken. Cracked transparisteel, the mechanism askew.

"Well. That's a problem." Casi held it up, the warmth in her arm seeming to pulse more strongly.

"Guess that means we're heading back, sir," Jorgan said, after a moment for the news to sink in. Despite the shift formal, there was nothing deferential in his tone.

But she'd already done the math on how long it would take to get back, get treated, get back to work and make up lost ground. "We still have to reconnect three of the satellite tracking beacons, collect a few more DNA samples--"

"None of that is worth you," he growled. "THORN can deal with half-measures. And I can think of at least two people who would agree with me without hesitation."

"Yeah, well, none of them are here to back you up," Casi muttered, trying not to think about one in particular as she tested range of motion on the bitten arm. It was sore but mobile, and the warmth wasn't spreading yet. "Not like it's gonna fully propagate in five minutes, Jorgan, I have some time. What we're doing helps people. And dangerous missions are what Havoc does best, right?"

We're not Havoc anymore. It was such low hanging fruit she was surprised when he didn't say it. Instead he gave a long-suffering sigh of one who knew her too damn well. "...If there's no talking you out of this, we shouldn't dawdle."

She nodded, a gleam on the ceiling catching her eye. Sighting in with her macrobinoculars confirmed it was a satellite spike. A moment's scan had it reconnected to the THORN network. "See? 'Nother one down, only two more to go."

There was a tickle in her throat and she swallowed the urge to cough as they pressed on.

---

She wasn't so lucky over the next twenty minutes.

Her fourth or fifth coughing fit, she could feel Jorgan staring at her. By double that, he'd tried to get her to go back again. But one of the satellite spikes was being elusive, and they really should have more DNA samples...

There was a lot to do, a lot that would help, and she wasn't ready to give up yet.

Casi squinted at the tunnel ahead. It was dim this far in, though the light of various luminescent flora was hauntingly beautiful. She wondered how Jorgan was still managing so well with his sniper rifle. The next group of rakghouls ignored her, initially mobbing him.

That's... probably not good, Casi grimaced. She shot one in the back with a flak round, which scattered to graze a second.

The directly hit one whirled to charge her. She slapped assault plastique dead center on its chest and shot it with her pistol, not willing to wait for the timer. She was already onto the next as the corpse fell with a fist-sized hole in its chest.

This was a small cluster, with no ambush adding to their numbers, and thus easily dispatched. Casi was interrupted halfway through her final volley by a coughing jag that lasted so long she could barely breathe.

"Boss--"

"We're almost done," she panted, cutting him off.

"Casi."

She could count on one hand the number of times he'd called her that. All of them had been either extremely irritated or extremely worried. She figured this one was both.

"I can hang in." Her chest was burning. "We're almost-"

"Done, you said that," Jorgan sighed. "Don't push it. I really don't wanna have to tell Theron--"

"You won't." Was it impatience or the little squirm of guilt making her voice so sharp? Or... something else? She started coughing again. Her tongue felt weird.

"See, I'm not so sure," he said, tension loud and clear even through comms. "I think we should head back."

Casi shook her head. "Let's just find the last beacon," she managed, "and anything we can take care of along the way..."

"Deal. The second it's linked again, we're going back if I have to knock you out and drag you." He paused. "Wish I hadn't used mine, so..."

"Nah, you probably needed it." Casi tapped her fingers against one of the deeper scratches in his armor. "And where would I be without you watchin' my back?"

"Dead thrice over, probably." There was at least a trace of humor in Jorgan's voice. "Let's finish up so that's not true anyway."

Thought I was the boss. But he was right, and she could feel her heartbeat in her entire arm--even if it didn't really hurt anymore--so she pushed away from the wall and veered right at the tunnel split ahead of them.

---

By the time they found the final beacon, Cassi had to pass the macrobinoculars off to let Jorgan scan it for relink. The tickle in her throat was nigh unbearable, the coughing more frequent, and her temples throbbed in time with her heartbeat.

She stared at an eerily beautiful clump of glowing blue spores and pinkish-red... coral growing out of the wall and tried to catch her breath.

Jorgan finished and returned her macrobinoculars. "Time to head back, that was the deal, D'ukal."

Much as she agreed with him, part of her rebelled at leaving a job unfinished. "We only need a couple--"

"We have plenty." He sounded ready to knock her out for reasons other than saving her life.

"THORN really wanted--"

"THORN can make do," Jorgan said brusquely. He grabbed her unbitten arm by the elbow and started dragging her back the way they'd come.

Casi let him pull her along. She didn't relish the thought of turning into some monstrosity her best friend would have to shoot in the head. Least he'd make it quick, she thought with no small amount of irony. She didn't realize the amused snort had been out loud until Jorgan looked back at her.

"What's funny?"

"Nothing. Y'know, I'm on board with going back, J, you don't have to drag me--" A cough interrupted the words.

"Yeah, maybe I'm worried about more than that, boss." He didn't let go of her arm, and his voice was tight, pace quickening.

The few rakghouls they passed largely ignored them. Casi would be creeping out by the implications later, for for now she was grateful it made their passage faster. Her chest was starting to burn, her arm numb where it had been bitten, and none of that was good.

---

Jorgan didn't let go of her arm until they're reached the encampment and tracked down a medtech. The tech blanched (and Jorgan flinched but tried to hide it) when Casi pulled off her helmet.

"That bad, huh-" she started to joke before catching a glimpse of her reflection on a nearby medical apparatus. Her skin was going grey up one side of her face, eyes tinged with a dull green glow.

"Yeah, that bad," Jorgan said gruffly.

"But still treatable," the medtech piped up, "or should be. Since she retains sentience."

"Comforting." Casi and Jorgan snarked in the same moment. She followed up with a coughing fit. The medtech turned away, muttering something about triple-strength dosage.

"Hey, I don't need you to sit here and hold my hand," Casi began as Jorgan looked ready to settle in for just that. "Why don't you go report on what we were able to get done?" She proffered the vacuum-sealed case holding the DNA samples, the scanner slotted on the side. "Sure they're anxious to know."

"Sure." He hesitated briefly taking the case. "Be right back."

"Thanks for the warning," she teased, and would lay fifty credits he rolled his eyes as he left.

Casi grinned briefly before focusing on the tech. "Triple strength, huh?"

"We don't usually have people return with cases this... advanced," the medtech explained, hands busy prepping an IV set-up. "It'll have to be administered intravenously; that much in vaccine form would send you into shock or kill you."

"Fun. How long's that gonna take?" She swallowed a cough.

"About twenty minutes for the IV drip, then you'll have to sit a couple hours to make sure it's effective," the tech said apologetically.

Casi wrinkled her nose. Sitting still was far from her favorite activity, and Jorgan was gonna give her so much crap for this. I'm never living it down. "Hey, better than dying or spreading the plague."

"Exactly." There was relief in the tech's voice. "Do you know where the infecting injury is?"

"Arm," she managed, holding it up as another coughing fit hit.

The tech nodded. "I'll see to that while the IV's going."

"Sounds like a plan."

By the time Jorgan rejoined her, sans helmet, Casi was stripped down to the black tank top from under her armor, IV half done and large synthskin patch smoothed over the bite wound, staring in boredom at the eerie rock walls.

"That gonna scar?" he asked with a nod to the patch.

"Probably," Casi nodded. "How long you think I could hide it from Theron?"

He snorted. "Much as you hate sleeves? Five minutes, tops. Why are you trying to hide it from him?"

"I'm not really." She poked the bed. "Just... He's gonna worry."

"He has a right to, Cas, this was close even for you." Jorgan leaned against the wall and crossed his arms.

Casi arched a brow. "You really think my husband has any leg to stand on when it comes to recklessness?"

"In this case? Yeah." He held her gaze. "But thanks for eventually listening so I don't have to tell him you turned into a rakghoul."

"My pleasure," Casi snorted. "Thanks for handling the report back. You tell 'em it was your fault we didn't get quite everything?"

Jorgan met her teasing with a look equal parts withering and relieved. "I'm not the one who decided I didn't need protection from the damn rakghoul plague, boss."

Okay, there wasn't really a comeback to that. "How was I s'pposed to know the injector would break?"

"Maybe not that specifically, but the chance of something happening should've overruled not wanting to do paperwork. Speaking of..." He straightened and fished out a datapad to hand over. "Vaccine req form, and medical paper work for this."

Apparently since she wasn't dying or mutating he felt justified being smug. Maybe he was.

Kriffing hell, Casi grumbled to herself. She took the datapad with a sigh. "Least it'll give me something to do while I'm sittin' here." She tapped the IV line. "Gotta sit a couple hours after this is done to make sure I'm all clear and not a plague carrier or anything."

Jorgan grunted acknowledgement and dragged over a chair. "You really think I'm going anywhere?" he said when she started to protest.

"Guess not," Casi shrugged, smile tugging one side of her mouth. "Hope you have somethin' to do, though. The view leaves something to be desired."

THORN had cleared out this cavern when they set up, so even the eerie glowing plants, the coral-esque growth, that lent the tunnels an unsettling diversity were gone. And the makeshift medcenter was tucked away from the rest of the encampment, limiting the view to rough rock walls and medical equipment.

"Does getting shut-eye count?"

"D'you really think-- Oh, right, forgot who I was talkin' to," Casi deadpanned. All-time champion of sleeping anywhere. "I'll nudge ya when it's time to go."

"'Preciate it." He nodded toward the datapad with a smirk. "Have fun, boss."

She glared at him, then set to work on the forms.

Sure. Fun.