#not to mention they probably heal a bit faster considering

[jarofstyles]

Indigo- Cobalt

Hellooooo.. Here is part 3 to indigo! Hope you enjoy tattoorry. 

Warnings- tattoos, mention of needles, blood, brief mention of vomit, anxiety, you're going to want to eat harry

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WC- 2.9k

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Y/N felt dizzy.

It wasn’t the prospect of getting a tattoo that was making her so nervous- it was the fact that Harry’s thigh was pressed right up against hers, his body angled towards her as he sketched on his ipad drawing program. He’d said he prefers pencil and paper but it was easier for this type of session to do it there. Faster. She had no input other than the fact that he smelled really fucking good and his leg was warm against her own.

She had indulged some information to him. First and foremost, she wanted a sunflower. A dainty little sunflower with a bit of shading and a longer stem that would go down a bit and twist near her wrist. Her plans for one day having a floral sleeve with her favorite flowers and the birth month flowers of her family had been shared, but she wanted to start off relatively simple with the first one. See how her body reacted, her healing time, all while leaving room if she liked it and wanted to continue with the sleeve.

Harry had been endeared and slightly impressed. It was rare that he got new clients anymore, as most were fairly covered by the time they got to him. However when he did do new clients back in the start, most didn’t have the extensive research she had done, nor the plan. He was all for going for what felt right, but Y/N had been specific and practical in her planning and it made him feel even more fond. She had taken the time to research not only the safety, but the importance of listening to artists suggestions and double checking the work.

It’d been a while since he had done a floral piece, but he was up for it. Truthfully, Y/N could have told him she wanted a rose skull with an infinity symbol in the eye socket and he would have done it for her, but he was relieved it was something that was relatively easy to perfect.

The man knew that he was a perfectionist when it came to his work. Harry didn’t do sloppy- at least not in his work. He kept clean, crisp lines and smooth shading, he did his best to keep any blowout from happening as much as he could on his own end, and he educated each client on the likelihood of the colors they chose longevity and when they’d probably need it touched up. His tattoos were for the clients, sure, but it was also a representation of his work. He was lucky enough now to have his choice on taking clients- there were plenty he turned away or handed off to other artists he thought could better suit them. His hard work had bled into the success he had wanted, leaving him the ability to be picky.

Normally he wouldn’t want to do a first time client because, well…  he really didn’t like doing them. First timers didn’t know what to expect the majority of the time, they didn’t know how to sit still, they would wince and move and complain far too much for Harry to feel at his best. He wasn’t judging them, but now that he had a choice he chose to keep to people who had at least one.

Y/N was the exception to the rule.

He felt honored that she would like his art on her, a bit of that primal satisfaction that it would be his too. No one else would have touched her with the needle, no one else had a shot at marking up her pretty, soft skin. It was a privilege, especially considering their origin.

“What do we think?” He murmured, showing her the second sketch with some of her notes. She hadn’t liked the thickness of the stem originally, and Harry had agreed it had been a bit too leafy so he had taken some off. “S’a bit thinner in the stem and I did a curve at the bottom so it’ll fit with the movement of your arm.”

“Moment of my arm?” She asked curiously, hitting him with a curious gaze. Harry had been extremely patient with her thus far and it made her nervous to ask for corrections, but he had told her that it was going to be on her forever and he needed it to be exactly what she wanted.

“Mhm. Where you’re putting it… The skin moves when you rotate your arm. S’why we don't usually put straight lines there, at least I don’t unless in specific situations. We want it to run smoothly regardless of which way your arm is positioned. So adding a bit of a curve in the stem would make it look straighter when you move it.” He showed the motion on his own arm so she could have an example.

“Oh. I never would have thought of that.” She blinked, watching as his arm moved. He had quite a few tattoos, some she had never been truly able to make out. Now being up so close, she had a front row seat to the anchor on his wrist and the cross on his hand, some of the little doodles that she had been so curious about. He seemed to have different styles of work and she liked that each one seemed to differ just a bit. “How many tattoos do you think you’ve done in your career?”

The question popped into her head out of nowhere but it still remained there. She was increasingly curious as to how he had gotten started, what he did and didn’t like doing. Pure thirst for the knowledge of what went through his head. He’d been a silent shadow most of the time she’d known him, so it was interesting to purely listen to him talk.

“Erm.. I’d say a couple hundred? There are some days I only work on one, some I do none, some days I can do three to four.” He paused, placing his apple pencil down, turning slightly to look at her. Their thighs pressed further together. “When I first started, I did a lot of flash sheets of shit that wasn’t my own. Think of, like, the pinterest stuff. Little hearts and stars, stuff on my mates, myself. They had me practice a ton when I was apprenticing but it made me good.” He brushed the hair out of his face. He really needed to find his hair clip. “Was frustrated at first, because I knew I could draw and stuff, but they were making me do those tiny things for basically no money- but, y’know, It’s harder than you’d think. Especially on someone who’s moving or someone who’s giggling with a bunch of their friends that they brought.”

“Is that why there was that sign out there?” Her face broke into a little grin, remembering the hand lettered sign before you went back to the rooms. ‘No children, No drinking, No plus threes’. “I find it hard to believe that people want to bring three people into the room with them.” That was inconsiderate. One? She could understand. That made sense if you were nervous. But multiple people just made it more crowded and loud. She’d rather be alone and deal with the experience being potentially awkward rather than make herself an inconvenient client.

His scoff took her by surprise, head tipping back in amusement. “Oh, they do. They did. Now it’s limited to one person in the room and you’ve got t’be over 18. Special allowances are made sometimes, but some of the places I worked at before starting my own place had no one enforcing or making those sorts of rules. It’s just unsafe. You’d be surprised how many drunk people come in demanding ink.” It was one of his least favorite clients. Drunk people tended to squirm and vomit, you know, besides getting a permanent image inked into the skin. That’s one thing he would never do again.

“Hm. Well it seems like you’re running a great place. I saw your stuff on instagram.” Her praise made him flush slightly, feeling a tiny bit shy as she continued. “And then the articles and awards you’ve got up front. It’s massively impressive. I’m surprised you’re tattooing me if I’m honest. She said up front I had virgin skin?” A head tilt at the end of her words reminded him of a puppy.

“Well, like I said. Special occasion.” He knocked his knee against hers in a playful attempt. “Just means no ink. Nothing nasty. I usually don’t do people with no ink because they can be twitchy and I can choose the pieces I do now. Usually I do more long and involved ones but, I’m more than happy to be doing yours.” His smile was a reassurance that he was more than happy to do it.

“Are you sure?” Y/N frowned slightly, suddenly feeling a little guilty. She didn’t want him to do a tattoo he didn’t want to do, or even more so do it on her just because he felt bad about the times before. “If you don’t want to do it, I’m happy to go to another artist in your shop-”

“No, I want to do it.” His voice was fast, interrupting hers without meaning to. It had rushed out without his permission, but the ugly twisting inside his gut had started at the mention of someone else doing this. She had wanted him, had planned on him, and if he was being honest? He was a bit selfish. His art was meant to go on people like Y/N. People who appreciated the art, who appreciated the skill. Add in his big fat crush, and it was not something he was going to pass up.

“O-Okay.” Y/N smiled, looking back down at her lap. His jeans were against her leg, and she couldn't stop thinking about how warm he was. How happy she was that he had chosen to sit with her on here instead of the armchair. A giddiness bubbled in her stomach as she felt his eyes on her, a hand coming down into her field of vision and gripping her knee. Her face felt hot, looking down at the fingers that curled over. It felt like she had been shocked at first, but moved into a warm glow.

Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.

If she was any less strong, she would have squeaked. The large hand rested there, giving her leg a squeeze before he continued to speak.

“You ready to get some ink, then?”

—-------------

“You’ve had somethin’ to eat today, right?” Harry’s voice spoke to her as she sat in the red leather seat. His back was turned to her as he opened up a few drawers, grabbing what looked to be some sort of tape, vaseline, ink caps, different wrapped needles maybe? A blue liner sat over the tray, keeping it sanitary as he placed the supplies down. There was no reason to doubt he would be, but it only furthered her comfort.

“Yeah, I had a croissant and a pastry. Coffee too.” She peeped, hoping that would be good enough in his eyes.

With the way he turned in his chair, it wasn’t. “C’mon, babe. You’ve gotta eat better than that… but I can say m’glad you didn’t have a heavy meal a few minutes ago.” That would be a nightmare if she felt the need to spew. “Nothing with protein.. If you feel like you’re getting lightheaded, like you’re going to faint? Tell me immediately. This shouldn’t be too bad, all things considered, but there's no shame in taking a break.” He really didn’t mind it. That was much preferred over someone passing out on him.

“Okay. I’ll tell you.” Her eyes widened slightly but she avoided his eyes again, instead choosing to look at his hair. He’d found his hair clip when they’d walked in, saying something about having been looking for it for ages before gathering hair at the front of his face and clipping it back out of the way. He looked fucking adorable.

Tattoos, piercings and all, he looked adorable. Y/N had always thought he was handsome, hot, even, but his little smiles and concern for her had made her feel a little floaty and giggly and she needed to contain herself.

“Good girl.” His hand squeezed her leg again before turning around on the stool to finish unwrapping supplies.

If he heard her squeak, he didn’t let her know it.

They sat in a comfortable silence, the music hooked to his phone playing at a comfortable level as he did his thing. Y/N looked at his back, admiring the broad nature, his strong shoulders and how it strained slightly against his shirt. At this point, she was nearly positive she was just being extremely thirsty over the man who had always been a faraway object of desire- even if she had thought he hated her.

“Alright.” Harry returned, voice making Y/N jump slightly. “Sorry, sorry. I’ve got the stencil.” Holding it up, he let her take a look and smiled to himself as her eyes rounded and she smiled widely. It did that weird thing to his chest as she squirmed, sitting straighter as he approached with it. “Good? We can put it on in a moment. Just got t’prep you.”

“It’s so beautiful, Harry.” Her wispy voice nearly made him fall off his chair. He wished he wasn’t so weak, wished he wasn’t such a soft heart for her, that he could be a bit more suave, but when she spoke like that, looked at him like that, said his name like that? All he wanted to do was scream.

“M’glad you think so.” He replied gently, taking his seat. “Is it okay if I touch you? I need to adjust your arm.” Touching bare skin was a limit a surprising amount of people had- himself included. He usually preferred his bed partners keeping their hands to themselves, no matter how much they wanted to trace his ink. His actual partners, he enjoyed, but people didn’t have much of a sense of boundary sometimes.

“Yeah! Yeah, of course. You can do whatever you want to me.”

Dangerous fucking words, Harry thought. He couldn’t allow his thoughts to stray at the moment, so he decided to save that sweet tone and double meaning sentence to obsess over at a later time.

It didn’t take him too long, his fingers brushing over the skin as he shaved it to make sure the canvas was clear and prepped her for the stencil. Y/N was quiet, watching his concentration. He got a cute little thing between his brows as he focused on her, making sure the stencil was straight and where she wanted before laying it and pressing down.

When he peeled it away, she audibly gasped. “This is perfect.” Her voice went up in pitch. “It’s better than I imagined, H. Really. I love it.” Speaking like the ink was already in her skin, he flushed again as he placed the paper into the tray.

“You sure? Placement’s good?”

“Perfect. I like it right here.” She nodded, eyes not leaving the blue stain.

“Okay. We’re going to get started then, okay?” He pulled on a pair of fresh gloves, scooting himself and the station a bit closer to her. “We’re starting with the outlining, then we move to shading. It’s gonna be uncomfortable, mostly when I have to go over the lines again but we aren’t going to be too close to bone so It shouldn't be terrible.” He was doing his job now to mentally prepare her. “You can tell me if you need the bathroom or if you need to move at all. Everyone’s pain thresholds are different. Don’t feel embarrassed. I’m sure as hell not going to judge you.” His smile was reassuring as she looked a little nervous, but more so the excited type. It was easy to tell.

“I will tell you. Do you need me to stay quiet when you're tattooing? To keep focus? I don’t want to distract you.” Y/N questioned, big eyes looking at him with curiosity.

Anyone else? Anyone else in the entire world, he would tell them yes. He preferred a quiet environment to work, to get into the zone and truly concentrate. But there was no way in hell he was going to pass up an opportunity to hear her talk and babble. She had been so quiet around him before- rightfully so, considering she thought he would tell her to shut up- but he ached to just get a little bit closer. That yearning of his soft heart was pulsing, wishing to get to know her more. His brain was telling him to relax and be logical, but they both knew who would win out.

“Absolutely not, Sunflower. Chatter away.”

[violent138]

hi, I'm writing smth and I was wondering if you knew any references for how the batfam's costumes look/are made of (like layering and weapons and stuff)? specificly Cass, Jason and Duke but any of the other ones would be great too

Hello! Delighted to help, and I'll start off by mentioning that the Ultimate Guide to Batman (2022) says the bat-suit is constructed of "15 micro layers of Nomex reinforced fabric, the innermost layers providing insulation against extreme temperatures and covering the whole suit is a shell of triple weave kevlar". Bruce undoubtedly goes just as overboard for his kids' costumes, so that's a pretty good outline of what the layering might be. Additional notes include the suit being fireproof, capable of shocking opponents, vaguely shockproof (but Jason has tased Bruce before so I don't know).

Also, Jason's costumes tend to be sort of all over the place (there are several versions), if you stick to the Under the Hood comic one (he's prepping on fighting Batman I assume this is a pretty decent version of his suit), then you've got:

Which is essentially a streamlined bit of body armour with biker leathers, boots, and a helmet modelled off a bike helmet. Weapons he carries include guns, bombs, combat knives.

If we move onto Cass, she carries most of the same weapons as Bruce, including Batarangs, grapple gun, smoke pellets, and if you want to get creative, considering her canonical master excellency in hand-to-hand and with multiple weapons (including a mace!), you could probably have her roll with several improvised weapons or things like swords. One of her usual costume appears like this (as Oprhan, she has also had several variants):

But she's best known for/most recognizable in one that's essentially a play off Batman's suit usually (so his defensive layers apply). A quick note for Cass is that she's (with deep affection) insane, so even if the suit took plenty of damage she would keep going.

Duke's actually quite fun in this regard, because he's got several cool weapons including modified grapply- Escrima sticks (commonly seen with Nightwing), I think at some point he ran around with Nunchuks (?), but he's also got really cool light-based powers. His suits vary less (from my DEEPLY limited knowledge, sorry!) but his most recognizable look is bright yellow with a helmet (and probably all the same layers as it is one Bruce helped with). Also as a note, as he is a meta, he does heal slightly/moderately faster than the average human (perhaps that shapes how you describe his suit, idk).

The Signal's suit looks a little something something like this:

This is already a super long reply. But I am more than happy to deep dive or even go further in discussing the rest of the Batfam's/other suits/other questions/weaponry if anyone's interested and I hope this helped at all anon (and good luck with your writing)!

[vole-mon-amour]

I don't know if I'll write this fully when I have the time and energy (depends), but I know that if I won't get it out of my system, I'll forget & I don't want that.

The short idea is: a body of water (a river or a big lake). A magical fruit tree whose trunk is fully leaning over the water, so the chances of shaking it really hard and getting the fruits are close to zero. The three grows several kinds of fruit at once: peaches, plums, apples, pears.

Halsin and Astarion have been on the road for several days. Halsin is hungry as hell, they're low on food and money (and the damn druid absolutely forbids any kind of stealing, and it's not like they've encountered a lot of people to steal from on their travelling). And here's the tree, right in front of them.

The catch is, not only can Halsin not climb the tree (he'll probably end up in the water, either out of his clumsiness or because one of the branches/trunk snap under Halsin's weight and size), but he is also magically wounded in a battle.

Why does it matter that he's magically wounded? Because he can't heal himself. No potions or spells he has tried worked, so the healing is very, VERY slow. So climbing the tree and picking the fruits himself is out of the question—dor the reasons of mentions above, for also out of fear to make the damage way worse.

So, we have Astarion that bravely climbs up the tree (doesn't even complain much, he'll do things for Halsin he didn't do before for anyone else—because he cares for him very much), picks enough food that lasts them (Halsin, because Astarion mostly feeds off Halsin's blood—his favourite meal/treat) for days. Then jumps down in the water, makes several in-and-out of the water while carrying the fruits in his shirt.

And all I can think about at that point is Astarion being a wet cat in this situation. Up the tree (he's the beauty, he's the grace; he also knows how to pick pockets, so this should be twice as faster and easier), in the water collecting the fruits (hair sticking to his forehead, a bit grumpy, sopping wet cat),getting out of the water (the clothes sticking to his entire body and it feels horrible), sitting next to Halsin—Halsin is in the shade, Astarion in the sunlight in his underwear while his dripping clothes are drying on the tree. He tried to squeeze the water out of it, but of course it's still dripping.

Halsin probably watches his attempts, then calmly offers a hand (even two) ("Let me help you with that") while also flirting and thanking Astarion in the process. It was a really nice thing that he did, considering he's still unsure of the water and it doesn't always feel nice.

I can also imagine Astarion either wanting to try and get dry in those soaking wet clothes (unsuccessfully, obviously) until Halsin suggests he takes the clothes off. Or having trouble removing the clothes/himself out of the clothes because it's clinging to his body, it's heavy, and he's already been in the water for long enough and he is now kind of overwhelmed. So Halsin helps him get rid of the clothes in his usual calm demeanor, squeezes as much water as he can and hangs it to dry.

And in a while, when Astarion's body is dry again, Halsin offers him a spare change of clothing. When Astarion refuses (hell wait for his clothes to dry, thanks very much), Halsin wraps him in a light blanket and makes him sit in that blanket until the clothes are dry—not only it's important to protect Astarion's pale sensitive skin from a possible sunburn, but to protect from getting sick. The wind, the cold lake water, and a burning sunlight can be a cruel and unpredictable mix on him and his well-being (assuming he can get a cold).

Also, I'm still 100% sure Astarion is a cat. So he acts like one, and Halsin is his well loved, loyal bear. And they're a very, very cute couple.

So.

Would anyone be interested in reading/drawing that? No writing that, please, I want to keep the idea for myself in case I do write it into a proper fic.

[gallifreyinstituteforlearning]

what are some common disabilities that Gallifreyans have? what are some that you think are interesting?

It's quite literally impossible to tell you what's 'common' on Gallifrey; there's just nothing to give us any figures. However, you may like to start here for known and speculative disabilities (and perhaps the fact we know they exist makes them more common than others?).

The truth is if you can think of it, it's probably a thing. So besides the ones mentioned there, here are a couple more theoretical ones that I find particularly interesting:

🩸Artron Retention Disorder

This condition prevents a Gallifreyan from healing or regenerating without consuming external artron because the body can't sustain adequate levels. Because artron is in their blood and the afflicted Gallifreyan would likely need constant blood transfusions, it could be colloquially considered a form of vampirism.

🧠Regenerative Cognitive Disjunction

A condition in which a Gallifreyan's body successfully regenerates, but the mind fails to get a new consciousness. This results in a blank mental state, bordering on catatonia. Different forms of this condition can manifest with varying symptoms and degrees of cognitive disconnection:

Catatonic RCD: Complete lack of mental activity; the individual appears awake but unresponsive and immobile.

Disjunctive RCD: The individual retains some basic functions like eating and breathing but lacks higher cognitive functions such as reasoning, memory, and emotional response.

Fluctuating RCD: The individual's mental state fluctuates between periods of normal cognition and blank, unresponsive episodes.

🧟‍♂️Post-Regenerative Dissociation

A neuropsychiatric disorder affecting Gallifreyans after the regenerative process, similar to Cotard's Syndrome in humans. Individuals believe they are dead, nonexistent, or have lost essential parts of their body or identity.

⏲️Temporal Perception Disorder

A condition that affects Gallifreyans after regeneration, a bit like Alice in Wonderland syndrome for humans. It causes distorted perceptions of size, time, and space, making objects appear larger or smaller and time feel faster or slower, probably caused by changes in the brain’s structure and function during regeneration. It's most likely temporary and will stop after a few hours post-regeneration.

These are, of course, all made up.

Related:

Can disabilities persist through regenerations?: The nature of inherent and regeneration-specific disabilities.

Regenerative Dissonance vs Disassociated Identity Disorder - what's the difference?: How RD and DID compare.

Could a Time Lord have Regenerative Dissonance with a consistent voice?: Exploring a possible variant of RD and how it might work.

Hope that helped! 😃

Any purple text is educated guesswork or theoretical. More content ... →📫Got a question? | 📚Complete list of Q+A and factoids →😆Jokes |🩻Biology |🗨️Language |🕰️Throwbacks |🤓Facts →🫀Gallifreyan Anatomy and Physiology Guide (pending) →⚕️Gallifreyan Emergency Medicine Guides →📝Source list (WIP) →📜Masterpost If you're finding your happy place in this part of the internet, feel free to buy a coffee to help keep our exhausted human conscious. She works full-time in medicine and is so very tired😴

[zelianthos-capercaillie]

A sneak peek of my contribution for the HashiMada Week 2024 event Day 7 prompt, “Historical AU”

It’s a Gladiator AU set in the world of Warring States Period x Ancient Rome

(Wordcount: Approx. <1k)

@hashimada-week

***

“There, Tobi,” Hashirama said after a while. “I’ve healed the worst of your injuries, but I can’t do anything more than this. That last blow was a fatal one so your body needs to properly recuperate. On top of that, your chakra reserves are nearly depleted so you must let Mito help you get back to safety.”

Then he turned to Mito. “Mito?”

“Of course.” She bent down to assist Tobirama.

Hashirama made to stand up and execute a shunshin, but Tobirama grabbed him by the arm before he could do so.

“You’re not—you’re not coming?”

His voice was pained that Hashirama suspected was not just because of the injury, so he gave his brother a smile that he hoped was reassuring. “I have to go back to the frontlines.”

“Hashirama—” Mito began, but Tobirama was faster.

“We’ve already issued the command for retreat. You’ll only end up running straight toward the enemy—”

“I’ll be fine, brother. I’ll meet you at the rendezvous poin—”

“No.” Tobirama’s face crumpled. “Anija, don’t go. They’re going to capture you.”

“Tobirama.” Hashirama gently cupped his brother’s face in his hands. “If there’s even a single one who got left behind, then I want to save them.”

Tobirama closed his eyes in despair, and nodded in resignation. When he opened them again, his expression was resolute. “Then, if you get captured—”

“I told you, I w—”

“If you get captured, then they would most probably take you first to the Capital to be paraded as spoils of war. Once you’re there, seek out—” Tobirama swallowed. “Seek out Izuna. He’ll protect you.”

Izuna?

“Uchiha Izuna? Your childhood friend?”

“Yes.”

Hashirama furrowed his brows. “But... how would I find him? I don’t even know what he looks like.”

“They will take you to him since he is…the current Emperor.”

That bit of information shocked both Hashirama and Mito. Save for the crest bearing two uchiwa, no one knew the true identity of the monarch outside the Capital.

Except Tobirama, it seemed.

“This battle would most likely be declared as a triumph in Izuna’s name,” Tobirama continued. “So you’re going to be meeting him when they hail the general of the army as Imperator. Ask Izuna to grant you sanctuary the moment you have the chance to speak to him.”

“Very well.” Hashirama nodded. “I’ll plead my case to him. Still, I'd like to at least get a description of what he looks like.”

“He…”

“Didn’t you say he’s a beauty?” Mito piped up, casting a knowing glance at Tobirama.

Hashirama raised his eyebrows even higher at his brother. Now that was high praise, considering “passable” was the best compliment he had ever heard his brother say about someone’s appearance (Mito was still disgruntled about that). Today was full of surprises, it seemed.

Tobirama clicked his tongue as he looked away. “They say that he’s grown up to be a beauty. I didn’t say that he is. Beauty is subjective, anyway.” He paused for a moment before continuing. “He has the typical Uchiha features: pale skin, deep black eyes, long dark hair. He’s going to stand out in any type of crowd. Your first interaction with each other will be him smiling at you. Mention my name, and…take this as proof.”

Tobirama still had difficulty moving, so Hashirama took it upon himself to reach for the pendant necklace. He secured it over his head, beneath the armor.

“Emperor Uchiha. Got it.”

“Not Madara. Avoid any interaction with Madara at all cost if you hadn’t made contact with Izuna first. Madara is extremely protective of his brother and you’re going to escalate things fast if you make even a tiny misstep.”

“Avoid Madara. Got it.”

“I’m serious, Anija. If he—” Tobirama broke off coughing, curling on himself as he gasped in pain.

“Tobirama, we have to go.” Mito’s voice brooked no argument.

“Go, brother.”

“…fine. Be safe, Anija.”

Hashirama smiled. “You too, Tobi. I’ll see you both later.”

He watched the two retreat and when they were a good, safe distance away, he turned on his heels toward the frontlines.

🍃🔥

Later, much later, as enemies swarmed around him, Hashirama let out a rueful smile before losing consciousness.

I guess Tobirama was right after all.

🍃🔥

The conquering general, now hailed as Imperator, stood tall, his shoulders broad, his bearing regal.

He’s going to stand out in any type of crowd.

Well, Tobi, Hashirama thought, casting a glance around him, the only one standing out in this crowd is the Imperator himself, so…

Then the Imperator faced the crowd, the high priest holding a laurel wreath above his head, and—

Oh.

Without the red face paint, Hashirama could see what Tobirama was talking about. Smooth pale skin, penetrating deep black eyes, and a wealth of long dark hair. Now unfettered by the helmet, the jet-black spiky mane ran wild, the strands shot-through with blueish-purple starlight under the sun, swaying with deadly elegance in the wind.

The conquering general was the Emperor himself.

As if with preternatural instinct, Emperor Uchiha zeroed in on him, meeting Hashirama’s gaze with unsmiling midnight eyes.

Your first interaction with each other will be him smiling at you.

Here goes.

Hashirama mustered a tremulous smile, transforming into a brighter one as he slowly dredged up his confidence. To his dismay, however, the scowl became even more thunderous. He could practically hear the contemptuous snort that followed as the gaze slid away from him.

Ah, Tobi, Hashirama thought in lament, resisting the urge to shed crocodile tears. It seems that you’re wrong on this one. I’m probably too much in his bad graces to even be deigned a smirk, let alone a smile.

No problem. He would simply show the shard blade pendant the first chance he got. That would win him over.

And as the procession continued, Hashirama was left with one thing in his mind.

Emperor Uchiha was indeed a beauty.

[erithel]

I’ve thought to myself that moments in your comics are far too dragged out beyond the point of mere slow burn. I took the time to reread the comic from the beginning to its most recent update and even when reading it all in one go, it feels too drawn out. If many people are feeling the same thing, maybe you should consider altering the pacing just a tad bit more in the future? And this is not me wanting them “to just kiss already” — this is me feeling like the moment is too elongated, almost frustratingly so. Your art is phenomenal (the expressions and poses are on point + you have a lovely, unique style). Your dialogue is chef’s kiss. But there is something to be said about constructive critique and listening to your fandom’s feedback without getting oversensitive about it.

There are two things I would like to address, here.

The first - and probably most interesting to me - is why things might feel drawn out to certain people.

Because things will only feel drawn out if those people are waiting for a specific goal, or a specific moment to happen that they feel should have happened already.

And that's one of the main reasons for my recent post. Because the goal of Gone was never for them to just kiss and have everything be okay. Of course, it's a klance comic so they are going to kiss, but that was never meant to be the big, defining moment, and purpose of the story.

Since you mentioned constructive critique, I am genuinely curious what parts felt dragged out to you, or what you feel could have been cut to "speed the story up." I'm not being snarky, here, this is a genuine question.

And the second thing I would like to address is the actual constructive critique/criticism you mentioned.

There is a time and a place where creators will be open to accepting constructive criticism and that is:

If the creator asks for it

That's it

Now to clarify, I have been in positions in the past where I have been given constructive criticism on my work when I have not asked for it, and sometimes it has been helpful.

However, there is a stark difference between someone offering genuine critique in the hopes of helping the creator improve, vs getting comments demanding the author speed things up/work faster/post more/change the story to fit what someone else wants.

One is constructive, the other is not.

(I am speaking not only for myself, here, but at least one other creator who has been dealing with this for a long time, as well)

In no way do I think my comic (or anything I've ever created) is perfect. And in no way do I believe everyone should simply love it.

But it is my comic.

It is my story. And it is being told the way I want to tell it.

This is a fan comic I am making because I love these characters and I want to explore their potential.

And as someone who has been expected to "just be okay" and "just get over it" during times when all I've needed was a bit of patience and understanding, it has been a very interesting experience for me to see who has that patience, and who feels the characters (trying to heal from both a physical and mental trauma) should "just hug/kiss already" and have everything suddenly be okay.

[shiningwonderland]

Camus (All Star) Memorial

Translator: Mimi (Twitter: _mimisaurora)

Friend End Memorial - How to Quickly Heal Burns

“Huh? What’s that?”

I didn't understand what he was saying at first.

“Camus sounded like he was worried. Please don’t make me repeat myself, Ranmaru.”

He gave me a glance looking pretty annoyed, speaking pretty indifferently.

It was November.

We were in the studio together so I could record the bass for one of Ai’s songs.

It was when we were taking a break that the subject came up.

“I must admit, I was a little taken aback myself. I didn't suspect that even Camus could panic.”

“I remember him being pissed when there was a hidden camera in the dressing room.”

“Oh, yes, I do recall that happening.”

It was part of the show's plan, but Camus must have been pissed because he was putting on a character for work, and it would have hurt his career to have his true personality broadcast.

“He looks pretty collected, but he's prone to getting worked up, isn't he?”

I sometimes hear stories about how he sometimes breaks his stupid little butler character in the middle of a job.

I'm almost impressed how nobody outside the agency has figured out how he really is.

“But this… it’s different from that incident.”

“Huh?”

“He mentioned there was a burn and wanted to know what to do to make it heal faster.”

“That guy burned himself?”

“No, not Camus. It was someone he knew.”

I see.

“I then asked him why he didn’t take them to the hospital, but he clarified that the person who’d burn themselves insisted they were fine, and that it would be difficult to take them anyway.”

“Then, you should just drop it.”

If this person says they were fine, it doesn’t give everyone else the right to start babbling about it.

“Alright…”

Ai’s brows furrow as he thought, clearly not convinced of something.

“Is it common human behavior to worry and fret over others as if it were happening to you?”

…What was that all of a sudden?

“It’s not?”

“Well… Maybe.”

“That in itself is fascinating to me, but I never considered Camus to be capable of such feelings, so this is taking me a bit of time to process.”

“...Right.”

“I always considered Camus to be rather irregular.”

“Then, your impression was wrong.”

“Well… That may be true. What about you?”

“Me?”

“Do you ever get so consumed with worry over other people?”

“Not at all.”

I just wanna be done with this nonsense.

When I tried to reach for the bass guitar, the corners of his lips lifted a little.

“Of course, because you’re a “lone rockstar”.”

“You brat… are you looking for a fight?”

“No way. I wouldn't waste my time like that.”

Finally, the conversation ended.

Or so I thought.

“I assumed Camus was someone who didn't care much for others, but I guess he can sound panicked too... “

Ai was still going on and mumbling to himself, as if he still had something on his mind.

“I don’t understand.”

“Is it possible for a person's nature to change along the way?”

“What could trigger such a thing?”

“Camus lies so much to begin with that it's difficult to choose which pieces of data are reliable.”

“And speaking of unknowns, I wonder what is causing the occasional drop in temperatures observed in the surrounding area.”

…This guy was a complete mystery too.

“Don’t know. Now stop wasting your breath and let’s have a go at this one more time.”

I could still hear him mumbling, but I didn't care, I got up as quickly as I could.

... although I say that.

Thinking back on it afterwards, I really couldn't picture Camus panicking for anyone else.

I remember my earlier conversation with Ai on the way back home from the studio.

He's the kind of guy who considers everyone but himself and his queen to be pests. The sight of him worrying about others is beyond the limits of my imagination.

It's much easier to picture something else. 

Like an alpaca standing on its head.

Or a hamster eating ramen noodles.

Who is he even worried about, anyway?

Camus probably doesn't owe Shining a thing, and it’s not like he gets along with his junior.

“I never… hear anything about his family.”

If this “earl” thing is true and not a farce, then it probably means he ain’t got much family left, since the title is something that’s inherited. 

Could it be a pet, then?

Doesn’t he have one? A cat, or dog…

Horse?

But how the hell would a horse get burned?

“Is it… that woman?”

Then it hit me. 

The composer who always stuck around the guy.

He mentioned they were together on the day we had dinner at his place.

I didn’t buy it because it smelled fishy.

But thinking about it now, that day, when I had spilled oolong tea on myself and we started talking, Camus flipped his lid.

“....”

He’s always in a pissy mood, but he’s been in an especially sour one whenever we talk to her….

“...Is the Earl is jealous? Camus is seriously in love with her.”

If I told Reiji and the others, they’d eat this up.

But I won’t because that would get too annoying.

But holy shit, I can’t believe it.

Camus?

I mean, I’ve come across plenty of composers, and I have to admit that woman has some talent.

She may even be a decent person compared to some of the other women out there.

But she’s so average.

She does not seem at all like the kind of woman Camus would be into.

In fact, why are they even living together?

How did this come to happen between the two of them?

The only thing in common between them is that they're partners.

I guess he prefers modest types like her? 

It doesn't suit him.

“This… is stupid. What am I even thinking about?”

Once I'd collected myself, my stomach rumbled.

“That reminds me… I’m starved.”

I guess it's no good being hungry, because when you are, all you can think about is stupid things.

“I’m… going to go eat.”

I lightly scratched my head and turned my feet toward my apartment.

I don't care about other people. 

As long as it doesn't affect my work.

I'm just going to sing my own song.

[selflovewarrior]

hey sweeties!

a new update on the life of Soetkin:

so a couple of weeks after my last post(s) i started a treatment program of three group therapy days a week. it was at a local general hospital, so no specialised program i suppose. while my expectations weren't very high and i saw it more as a tool to not sink deeper into depression and anxiety while i waited out till it would be my turn on the waiting list for the program i actually thought would help me, i quit this program halfway though my planned time there. i felt a lot worse during therapy as it progressed than i did at home. i looked so forward to it being over because i was extremely anxious and felt like i was killing myself on the inside when i was there. home was my safe space, the total opposite of how therapy felt for me. and believe me i know that it's kind of expected that you'll feel worse for a bit during intense therapy since you start opening up and stop running away from what you feel and think. so i quite suddenly quit.

(since this post ended up becoming what resembles a whole novel, i'm going to cut in here so people who don't care don't have to scroll through it ;) anyway it's not all bad if you want to read on, it actualy quite hopeful, the start just isn't very much so.)

i had a plan to pick up some creative activities at facilities for disabled folks, which i have got a government recognition for. i found a place i could start at fairly quickly, i haven't gone very often yet, but all in all i felt such intense relief when i didn't have to go to group therapy there anymore.

i'm still overly anxious and get very (extremely) easily overwhelmed by everything in this world: sounds, proximity, weather. but i am not as deeply depressed anymore. i'm actually feeling more like my regular self in that regard.

i can start the pre-program i've been waiting for since november in two weeks (and the full program one month later) and i'm so very hopeful for the future. i'm not where i used to be yet, but i'll get there, i'll get beyond there. I've already learned more about myself these past 8-9 months, things i never really considered or took seriously. while it still feels strange to say i most probably also have adhd (i got my autism diagnosis as a kid). a lot of the stuff i also struggle with seems to always have something to do with dopamine. i also probably have DCD (i still find it out they didn't look into this when i was in residential treatment when i got my autism diagnosis, but they still mentioned me randomly walking into doorframes and stuff instead of through the doorframes). i'm learning to give myself more time regarding my DCD when doing stuff that's hard(er) for me. even stuff like taking the laundry out of the machine etc. or walking up or down stairs. i'm starting to stop caring about other people being faster. the recognition of that DCD element for myself is a huge thing towards self-acceptance. i now also realise my brand of neurodivergence comes with rejection sensitive dysphoria, which explains SO FUCKING MUCH OMG.

this bout of urgent mental health issues also came with more physical issues than i've ever experienced before. which felt odd, and mostly unexpected. i've had more visits to a physiotherapist than the rest of my life combined these past few months. i also struggled with eating, but not ED wise this time, that part of me is actually doing quite well this time, which is also unexpected but yay. i mostly didn't have the energy to lift my fork and everything tasted meh. but that part is also a lot better now, still happens sometimes, but it's far better now. (i also lost a lot of hair because of it, which is growing back now, so i have plucks of toddler hair in my face all the time, and let me tell you toddler hair is a lot more annoying than baby hairs, they're too short to go anywhere, and too long to not be an annoyance). my last post also came as i was only just healed from what could've been covid, or something similar. but the worst infection i've had since 2020 (and i have had it several times). I always got booster shots (since i worked at a hospital) and never was very inconvenienced, let alone for over a week. but my symptoms now started on new year's day (yay me) and lasted for about a month and they were unpleasant and painful. i guess i partially ought to thank the booster shots in the past for not getting that ill, but i also think i kinda blew my immune system over by not eating properly.

anyway, so here we are. my husband who's a teacher in upper secondary school has started his summer holidays, he's actually had a rather nice last month of the school year since his pupils' finals were evenly spread out for him so he didn't have to rush correcting them.

we're also in a very good place now. i'm so happy and grateful this guy is my husband, that i can call him mine, that we're us. he's also started therapy for his OCD, and while he was terrified he's doing so well, i'm really impressed (a bit scared too though that he might be taking on a bit too much at once in therapy). we're building a sturdy base for our future together (with hopefully a kid at some point sooner rather than later). He's feeling more sad about having to postpone our starting a family plans due to all of this, but we also both see this as a huge opportunity to become even better parents. and in a way we're quite lucky this all happened before i got pregnant and not during or after. not to say it can't or won't happen again, but then we'll be even more prepared to take on this challenge again than we were / are now.

anyway: i still have a long and scary road ahead of me, but i'm not at the start anymore, i've already been hiking for a bit and i'm hopeful about seeing the sun rise beautifully overhead once more.

i also really really really want to reblog stuff for this blog again, and more frequently. i am however still struggling with energy, spoons are often very depleted. i even have a very hard time editing my own pictures and it's not like i've taken many these past 10 months. i've also had people i know irl reach out to me because i'm so absent on all social media and that's very unlike me. and them asking me about it, gives me the feeling that i actually do might belong here and with those people and that people actually care and that i'm missed. and that's a bewildering but amazingly heart warming feeling, that's kind of new to me.

hope to be back sooner next time!

thank you guys so so much for sticking with me, for reblogging my old posts, for sharing positivity on this website and hopefully to people you think need it, including yourself! thank you to all new followers, you're seen! you're loved! you're appreciated!

x Soetkin

[movedraptor5913]

Let's talk a bit about Refraction Railway 2

I'm like a month late on this post, but time means nothing when the track loops infinitely (or at least until the next one comes out). I'm going to give a few thoughts and insights on bosses and mechanics that appear and try to scrape what useful info I can out of my 157-turn first clear. Note that this won't be super in-depth info, just some useful stuff.

Get to the point, how hard is it?

Well, I can't answer that accurately, as I meta-played my way through my first clear (Charge team hits hard). If we compare it to Mirror Dungeon 2 Hard, I'd say it waves around the difficulty of floor 3's fights. The challenge mostly comes from doing it quickly and with few options for healing. There aren't very many attacks I would consider to be "use EGO or die" like there are in later stages of MD2H, but there are some like that.

Overall, if you can consistently clear MD2H in a reasonable amount of time, you probably don't even need my advice to get a sub-200 run. Just take your Mirror Dungeon dream team and send it. If you can only get about halfway in MD2H, you can honestly still probably do this, albeit with some effort. The only caveat about team comp worth mentioning is that Tanks aren't very necessary. You mainly need to worry about winning clashes and hitting things very hard.

As for EGOs, it's a good idea to have some healing ones available like Fluid Sac, Pursuance or Lantern (Sinclair). Fluid Sac will always be the best option for this since it affects everyone and also restores SP. You'll also want some AoE EGOs, if possible, as they'll help trivialize some boss summons and hit multiple parts. Overall, EGOs are going to play a large role in lowering your turn count and keeping your DPS high, so bring a variety, if possible.

About looping

If you're like me, you expected the line to loop from start to finish every time. Well, I have good news and bad news. The good news is you don't have to do the full rotation every time. The bad news is that you're going to see those first three bosses more often than you'd like. Each loop adds more stops until you reach Cycle 5, but you'll always start with the same three bosses. Before we get into them, let's talk about-

Choosing Buffs

Each loop, you'll get a selection of 2 buffs: one for you and one for the enemies. The buffs you choose might not seem huge at first, but you start to feel them as time goes on. Ally buffs you pick will be unavailable for the next loop, but you can pick them again the loop afterwards. Enemy buffs are chosen once each until loop 5. You also get a free revive at the end of Cycle 4, in case one of your units drops dead before you enter the final fight.

For Ally buffs, you'll want to work around your playstyle. Have a lot of a sin affinity or damage type on your field team? Pick buffs that correspond to those. Mileage with effect buffs may vary, as some bosses have caps on how high the count can go for certain effects. I'd strongly suggest not going for the one-off heals if you can avoid it, as you're getting that heal at the cost of DPS in a mode that encourages DPS. If you take a hit you don't think you can recover from via passives/EGO in a fight, there's a retry button built in now. A case can be made for picking Heal All on the stop before Terminus, but that's only if you think you need a full heal before the final boss.

For Enemy buffs, my order is Opportunistic, Inhaling, Accelerating, Thirsting, Hardening. Opportunistic is basically free. There's rarely a point where you don't want to deal HP damage to the enemy. Accelerating and Inhaling are both mildly annoying but can ultimately be relatively harmless. Thirsting and Hardening sit better at the end since Thirsting drains your resources faster and Hardening makes the fights longer. What order you pick them exactly should depend on what you're most confident won't have a high impact on your turn count, but generally, this is what you're going to pick.

The First Stop - So That No One Will Cry

The name apparently stems from it beating you to death. Nobody can cry when they're dead.

The Talisman Doll is the first boss of the railway. This first encounter is probably one of the harder fights due only to a lack of resources. This fight will mark the first and most noteworthy instance of my personal mantra for low odds clashing: "They only need to lose one coin toss." When you clash with multiple coins against bad odds, try to ensure you can at least beat their lowest roll with just one coin.

The Doll will enter a block phase on turn 3, during which it becomes near untouchable. During the block phase, you can use sinners with Curse Talisman on them to attack the blocking parts to force larger stacks of Reattached Talismans on the doll. The event gives it 5 Reattached Talisman on success, so you can either give it 6 beforehand to inflict Bind or give it more than that to give it Attack Power Down. Breaking its arm reduces its Attack Power by 1.

The only scary part about this fight beyond getting your sanity up at the start is the three 17 +2 *5 hits it does on turn 4. It having 10+ Reattached Talismans reduces the coin power by 1, making it 17 +1 *5. Use either EGO or a sufficiently big normal hit to clash, because the Doll's multi-coin attacks hurt.

Steam Transport Machine

If you put a faucet on it, it'll be a time sink in more ways than one.

This dude is the first big sack of hit points you'll fight. It gains bonuses depending on the current total turn count of the run, gaining Protection and Attack Power Down on even turns and Fragile and Attack Power Up on odd turns. Later on, it gains a passive heal and extra skill slots.

Break its Steam Blaster to make it gain Fragile every time it gains Poise. You can't target the blaster once it breaks. Once its main body breaks, it gains Ineffective resistances to everything, and the fight slows to a crawl as your attacks do .25x damage. You'll want to dump as much damage as possible into it the same turn you break the body. Any attacks after that are going to be entirely dependent on Fragile to deal meaningful damage.

Alternatively, you can stack damaging debuffs on it, such as Burn, Bleed, Sinking or Rupture. Burn and Bleed have limits on their stacks against it and Sinking does half damage due to it being Gloom affinity, so Rupture works best of the bunch. Hex Nail can also be useful here if you're running a team with a lot of Envy or Pierce damage.

Drifting Fox

Whoever keeps giving that fox umbrellas, can you knock it off? It's getting angrier.

The Fox itself is pretty straightforward: clash the hits, punch the face. The only noteworthy part is the umbrella summon phase, where it Counters and gains Thorns (reflect 50% damage dealt). More umbrellas are summoned each cycle. The umbrellas power up the big scary hit that occurs the following turn (adding Clash Power +2 to a 16 +6 *1 attack), so kill them quickly.

Big AoE EGOs (Sunshower (Yi Sang) in particular) are useful here on later cycles, even if you accidentally hit the Fox's counter. If you're creative with your targeting, you can wipe out all the umbrellas in the same turn with a combination of AoEs and normal attacks while minimizing stray hits going to the Fox. While I don't know if it changes anything for sure, you can use faster units to take out surviving umbrellas before clashing with the big hit.

Cycle 1 - T Corp. Class 3 Collectors

Unsurprisingly, the only humans in the otherwise all-monster lineup feel a bit lackluster by comparison.

T Corp is the only fight with an enemy sanity gauge in the entire railway, but it only goes down with Sinking. Not much to write home about here in terms of difficulty. You know the drill.

If they end the turn with 6%-24% health, they'll be back up to 80% next turn, so try to knock them to around half on turn 1, then wipe them out on turn 2. On my first run, I fairly consistently killed them in 3 turns due to the healing mechanic until I got used to dealing with it. From Cycle 3 onwards, there's a second wave. It's just the same two dudes again, so 2 turn them again.

Cycle 2 - Faelantern

I have no joke. This is a DPS check and nothing else.

At the start of the fight and any turn when the Fairy is alive, some of your sinners will be charmed and unable to deal damage (the number of which increases with Cycle count). You can't clash with anything until the Fairy dies, so just hit it.

Deal enough damage to kill the Fairy in a turn, then nuke the tree. The Fairy revives the following turn unless the body is staggered. Rinse and repeat until the tree dies. Not the most interesting fight.

Shock Centipede

"Even in death, I stall."

Shock Centipede is a straightforward fight with its main gimmick being Self-Charge. It gains Self-Charge at the start of the fight, at Combat Start with most of its skills, and when it hits you if you have Charge. It having high Self-Charge means it gets more shield when it coils up and its big scary hit becomes bigger and scarier. When it uses High Voltage Discharge (the big hit), try to delay it to the end of the turn to prevent it from benefitting from the Self-Charge it gets at the start of combat from its other skills. When it coils up, hit it in the head to wear down its self-charge. Break its Head to remove its passive Protection and reduce the amount of shield it gets from Coil Up. If you fight it with an Envy-heavy team like I did, Hex Nail can be helpful here. Otherwise, you'll want to have someone who does good Gloom damage or inflicts Sinking to exploit its Gloom weakness.

When the Centipede dies, it doubles however much Self-Charge it had and become invincible. At this point, all you can do is win clashes to wear it out faster. In the best case, you can try to kill the Centipede during a Coil Up to skip this part.

Cycle 3 - Fairy Gentleman (Cycle 4 + Fairy-Long-Legs)

Take a breather, this one's on the house.

Nothing to talk about here, really. Break his arm and take the wine when it's available. Let him use his big scary hit to hit a Tipsy sinner for 0 damage and take the free stagger on him that follows. Just don't let the Tipsy sinner get targeted with multiple big hits, because only the first one will be 0 damage.

When Fairy-Long-Legs joins on Cycle 4, break his arm to lower his Attack Power. When he summons his clover, ignore it and deal with Fairy Gentleman and his gimmick first. FLL will stand there spamming Counter until the clover is destroyed. Just try not to let either of them heal off of you while the clover is alive. Alternatively, kill FLL before he gets the chance to summon the clover. The goal is to get one down before the other.

Cycle 4 - Wayward Passenger

Local Dead Space extra misunderstands "Make us whole", makes holes.

Break its blades to reduce its damage and limit its ability to charge. Be mindful of its Counter and manage who you want to eat the hit from it, because hits are going to hurt this far into the run.

After turn 2, it will disappear and leave behind portals. Break these within 2 turns. If you need to decide which ones to prioritize, focus on the green and blue portals, as they buff Passenger's health and coin power respectively if left alone. After the portals go away, it reemerges and can be hit again. It'll disappear again after being exposed for a turn, but breaking all the rifts forces it to expose itself early. The Passenger's big scary hit is High-Speed Rip Space, which powers up the more rifts you fail to close. You'll only have to deal with it when the Passenger is <30% HP, so it's not unmanageable.

Terminus - Sign of Roses

No matter what happens, at least it'll be over fast.

Sign of Roses gets more health but deals less damage the more cycles you wait to fight it. On turn 2, the Sign summons 7 Roses. This is where you'll want to spam AoE EGOs to kill them quickly, as each flower does a fixed 25% HP in damage to whatever sinner is attached to it by the color of their skill 1. You'll want to kill red Roses with a relatively weak hit, as the damage that kills it will be dealt back to the attacker.

The event that repeats throughout the fight has three outcomes: Refuse to dye the flowers to reduce the damage taken and damage dealt by 10%, Accept to either increase damage dealt and damage taken from the color used to pass the check by 10% or, on a failed check, have nothing happen. If you're going for speed, there's no reason to not Accept every time and just nuke its flesh once the threat of the Roses is managed.

End of the Line

If you made it this far, thanks for reading. I'm definitely going to have to challenge the Railway again to see one of two things: Can I do it with a lower turn count, or can I do it with a more specialized team? My first clear was a Charge team and that's the current meta (W Corp Don/Ryoshu and Rabbit Heathcliff are the epitome of "hit it very hard"). I'm currently in the process of building a Sinking team, but I might wait until the 10/11 patch to actually use it since Sunshower Heathcliff is getting his Protection changed. A Rupture team would also be fun to try, but I'd need more resources to get that team uptied.

My only complaint is that solo/<7 unit fights are dead since you can't gain skill slots in RR2, so we can't meme on the bosses as hard anymore. Imagine the madness that could have ensued now that Sinclair can heal himself with Lantern corrosion. (As I write this, I found this clip of Yi Sang soloing the doll. Solo boss memeing isn't quite dead yet, it seems.) Otherwise, I think Refraction Railway 2 is pretty alright. It's a bit of a time investment and it's still the gameplay you're likely used to at this point, but it's something different to do.

[sc3n3kitt3h]

sky got me ultrakill :3

also. came up with an idea for if i ever make an ultrakill-based robotsona. granted, granted, i cannot at all say what made me think of the idea because. gross kindof. but basically the more health id have (which would be able to overheal naturally btw) the harder melee attacks would hit (leading to a style bonus especially if corpses hit and hurt other enemies) but the slower i'd be, and the less health i have the weaker melee stuff would be but i would move faster. like a LOT faster if im on one drop of bloof

lots of thoughts about this one.... my opinion largely depends on if ur purely thinking of it in the context of the ultrakill universe and not the game itself or if u ARE also considering gameplay. cuz i think in universe its a pretty fun idea with how much combat 4 machines in hell is about spectacle and style so it would make 4 pretty neat matchups with opponents and shit. i think if i was a terminal i would really enjoy watching a machine like that do its thing. but idk how being slowed down would be in a game like ultrakill cuz one of the fundamentals here is getting close 2 enemies 2 heal. Not 2 mention how important the sheer amount of speed v1 has is 2 making the experience as visceral and fun as possible!!I think being slowed down when ur at full health, in ultrakill, would encourage people 2 NOT get close 2 enemies which would fuck everything up a bit. Not 2 mention!!! once u get in the zone, and ur going really fast and fucking shit up and its awesome, being slowed down at all is AGONIZING!!!! and terrible!!! so why would u punish the player like that 4 playing the game well??

It would probably work better if the Faster/Slower modes r whatever werent tied 2 ur hp count and u could just toggle it somehow. But also im overthinking it cuz nobody would ever consider how fun their ultrakill oc would be fun 2 play as/fight against except 4 me cuz of how autistic i am about this game. Sorry 4 being a party pooper about ur silly ultrakill oc concept. I promise this stuff is SUPER fun 2 answer though!!!! I love thinking about this sort of stuff

[nothanksehh]

In the End Chapter 2- Now

Notes:

This is a slow-burn, eventual smut romance with angst. There are themes of child loss and husband loss (loss of life not written), grief and suffering, self-harm thoughts (thought about, not acted upon), and other themes that could be triggering. If anything mentioned above is something you don't want to read please skip this series. Chapter Warnings: loss of life mentioned, self-harm mentioned

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Cp. 3

You want to know what is annoying?

Death is not nearly as peaceful as I would have fucking hoped.

There was no blissful void. Just a fucking headache that wouldn't go away and the most annoying crackling sound.

Why did it even matter anyway? 

I must have made some sort of noise, though. Because something was coming closer to me. 

"Miss, are you awake?" a male voice asked. 

My eyes shot open faster than I could have anticipated. My eyes locked onto the male who spoke, the leather of his wings looked familiar somehow. 

"You probably scared the shit out of her, why don't you back up a bit?" said a woman. 

My head was spinning as I took in the room, sitting up as he backed away from the bed I was on. The room was large. Only two people were inside with me. Tons of medical flasks on the shelves. 

I summoned my voice as curiosity got the best of me.

"Where am I?" 

It might as well have been a croak from a frog with how hoarse my voice was. It also might as well have been a siren's call for help with the way a glass of water appeared before me in a flash. I downed the glass without even blinking. 

"You might want to take it easy. You have been out for a while." the woman spoke again. Her voice was soft but firm. Sure of herself and her surroundings. Was this a healer, then? "You are in the Night Court in our healing ward. I am Feyre, the High Lady of these lands."

Fae? High fae? Me? In their healing ward?

I must have spoken out loud because the expression on her face softened. 

"Do you know that I was once a human? I lived just on the border of the human lands, too." She took a small break before speaking again, gathering her words. "Please do not fear us, we just want to help heal you from those who have hurt you."

It was honestly unbecoming how loud the snort I let out was at her words. The male seemed to shift anxiously at the sound, Feyre only tilted her head to one side in silent question.

"Hard to take that in considering the last time I heard those words the Queens were opening the floodgates to Hybern's assholes and letting them murder my fucking family."

The room stayed silent for a while. My rage seemed to be the only thing that I could hear. Could feel it burning through my veins almost as if there was actual fire fueling it. I took several deep breaths to calm myself before I hurt someone. 

The male slowly approached the side of my bed. Was this the High Lord of the Court then? I didn't know much about the courts here. The only familiarity of these lands was the brutality of their people if you could even call them that after what they had done.

"Who are you, then? Mr. Silent and Broody?" It didn't register in my brain that I should hold my tongue. Nothing matters anyway.

"You may call me Azriel. I am Spymaster of the Night Court. I am also no threat to you."

Azriel. Spymaster. 

As if they had been waiting for the introduction, shadows seemed the breathe behind him. 

"And those?" I made a gesture to the shadows, "What are they called?"

His lips turned up in a half-smile. 

"They have no individual name. My power is that of a shadowsinger. They will also not hurt you."

"So they hurt others?"

A grim shift of his chin was my only answer. 

Fucking great. 

"And you?" the High Lady spoke again, "What is your name?"

"My name is Piper. Piper...P-Piper Kelrie." 

My husband's family name was the hardest to get out. Thinking of my husband hurt... 

"Could you tell us what happened, Piper?" Azriel asked.

"Well, to be perfectly blunt with you, Azriel, the King of Hybern's band of murdering cock-wads stomped through my village as my husband, two daughters, and myself were attempting to get away. They caught us. They slaughtered the ones that meant the most to me in the whole fucking world. And they had almost gotten to the part where they were going to keep me for a while when a giant bat came and I passed out." 

The room was silent for a long time after I spoke. Too quiet. So lacking in sound that I could almost hear the flames roaring inside me again, so I broke it.

"Would you like to fill in the rest for me? You said I have been out for a while. How long? Has Hybern conquered these lands yet? Is that prick still alive so that I can murder him myself?" 

My questions prattled off like lightning, no real breaks between sentences. 

And again the silence stretched. I rolled my shoulders in frustration. Azriel shot a look at Feyre, not something that I could decipher. She nodded and stepped forward. 

"Piper, you have been out for a year. Azriel was the one who found you that day. He killed the males that were attempting to take you and brought you back here. You... you needed extra care after what happened and our healer said she would give you something to help. It seemed to affect you in a particular way, hence sleeping for so long. The King of Hybern did attempt to take Prythian, and he was stopped. He no longer lives."

My rage stalled. This was too much. If the war is over, then who am I going to make pay? If every last fuck that killed them is gone, where does that leave me?

"Piper, please sit down," I hadn't even realized that I was standing. "There is more."

"MORE? What fucking more could there be?!"

Azriel was the one who decided to grace me with his questions next.

"Do you know who your parents are, Piper?" 

Not what I was expecting in the least. It threw me off guard so much that I did sit back down.

"No, I was told they passed when I was a few months old. My mother's friend raised me until she passed. What does that have to do with anything?"

"The tonic that was given to you, you can think of it almost like a reset of your body. There was so much healing that needed to be done it cleaned the slate, so to speak," Azriel continued, "When your slate was cleaned, it revealed that you had been glamoured."

A glamour? 

"So I am ugly now, then? It wiped away some pretty face or something and now I am beastly?" 

This is all one big fucking joke. Apparently, the biggest fucking joke of my life. 

Feyre's next words hit worse than the blow to the head that knocked me out. 

"Piper, you are fae."

Notes:

Hello! I am so excited to be writing my first ACOTAR fic. I am not new to the fanfic writing community but this will be my first on AO3. I am excited to finally get this brain thought down somewhere. Please enjoy! Also: I do have a busy life so I don't know how often I will upload but I will do my best to be regular.

[kidflashimpulse]

something greg's said multiple times that's always been a bit of a head-scratcher for me is that bart and barry don't have the same metabolism issues as wally (ie. needing to have access to some kind of food basically all the time to keep functioning). he said that isn't to say they don't eat a lot, but they don't need to keep food on them. greg's most recent answer to this question (which was still years ago. before s3) in regards to bart specifically was "he's hungry a lot. whether that's a speedster-metabolism thing or a teenager-metabolism thing, i'll leave to your discernment." (this guy just LOVES being vague), but in the show bart's said to have a "meta-metabolism" (specifically in regards to him healing fast, implying some degree of accelerated function) so i'm just sitting here like. what's the deal then??? i'm assuming he still needs to eat/drink MORE than a non-speedster (same goes for barry), it's just not as much of a necessary constant as it was for wally?? that would conveniently also make surviving in the apocalypse easier if he's never been wally levels of dependent on having food readily available in order to not be drained to the point of exhaustion. thoughts??

you are ON TO SOMETHING anon, thanks for this ask <3 cause i’ve always wondered this lowkey too but never really put it together like u have and i LOVE any opportunity for hyper analysis lol so again, thank u <33

so i went through the asks just to remind myself of his answers which i’ll share for the sake of context too:

okay so wally has his metabolism issues where he needs to make sure he has enough “fuel” to maintain his general energy.

here like u mentioned, greg clarified that bart and barry don’t have the exact same issues as he does but that it also doesn’t mean that because of their speed they don’t have to eat a lot.

here’s the ask u were referring to (classic greg, honestly i don’t mind the vagueness all to much sometimes lol) but yeah again like u mentioned, basically bart does as a fact eat a lot. considering the previous ask, it’s fair to assume that it’s speed related too. Basically, just like any normal human being, we get our energy from food. Considering bart and barry have beyond fighter jet metabolism, it would be fair to think that they need more food.

now u brought up a rlly good point about how metabolism might relate to their speed healing and accelerated function.

So taking the in-series example of Wallys broken arm, he does have accelerated healing but just like his speed in general compared to barry, his healing is significantly slower. So as a result, it took him multiple weeks to recover from it.

This suggests that a speedsters general metabolism does depend on their speed and that wallys specific issue of his energy maintenance is more like in terms of “fuel conversion” efficiency rather than general accelerated function metabolic rate. His energy conservation/conversion isn’t as efficient and as a result he burns through his resources way faster to maintain his overall energy. I think the following ask below gives further good explanation on the topic.

Because of the different circumstances that they all came to have speed, seems like they all probably function on a cellular level slightly differently. Wally has his issues with his metabolism that he needs to make sure to keep an eye on to preserve for energy, whilst Barry and Bart probably need to fuel up to compensate for all the speeding they do. Their general metabolic rate is faster as shown by their in series speed healing (well at least Bart who mentioned it in that scene) so generally they’d need to eat more than the average person, and to keep up with all the energy they burn for missions, they’d probably stock up on even more food, like Bart did for his mission with the Legion (where he was running on the treadmill continuously for atleast about a day)

Now with the interesting point u mentioned about how this may have factored in with his survival during his childhood, personally i always felt it made sense for Bart to have a collar on to help with his general metabolic rate considering their food resources was pretty scarce. So even if he didn’t have the same issues as Wally, i think it would’ve still helped him generally to not starve as much as he could have. Especially since whenever he would speed up he would be draining significant energy. Greg seems to also generally consider this, though he hasn’t worked out the finer details. basically, it’s likely that the collar would’ve helped him in the survival department, but the circumstances weren’t as drastic as they could’ve been with wallys issues.

i hope i managed to address your thoughts :) and thank you for sharing your thoughts with us 😚<3

[alphasobek]

Fic Idea / Recommendation Request?

**Persona 5 Spoilers**

_

_

More of a fic idea than anything else really or like a call for recommendations if it’s already a thing

I’m replaying P5 and passed this part a few days ago but it’s been on my mind since then. After Joker is dropped off back at Sojiro’s house after escaping the interrogation room... do you think there’s any potential there for something? Like, if I’m remembering correctly the rest of the phantom thieves probably weren’t anywhere near Leblanc or the house because they had their own operation to help with the escape. So the idea that Joker gets tossed outta the cab and then taken care of by the thieves is a bit of a stretch considering they have to finish their whole thing and get back to Yongen-Jaya. Although I guess if they left right after Sae did depending on train times (which I have 0 knowledge about) they’d get there near the same time.

Either way I highly doubt I’m the first to think of it but considering I spend all my time on AO3 in my specific ships section (give me that Futaba/MC any day) and literally 90% of the hurt/comfort section is full of Akechi fics (which are fine just like.. not my thing really) I’m a bit starved for that type of thing. That and the ideas been in my head since I replayed that part and that was days ago. 

It doesn’t help that one of my headcanons for my MC is that his parent’s are somewhat abusive. So getting back from that interrogation room, probably slipping in and out of consciousness because drugs and getting taken care of by his friends and/or Futaba (or any other romance option.. I mean hell you could even do like Crime boy bonding with Sojiro at that point) is like.. A+ let me tell you.

Not to mention it works with most romance things too assuming that your preferred romantic option is either a member of the thieves, Tae, or stretch it a bit more and get any of the other options involved somehow. Depending on where your social links are / who knows your identity at that point or not they would definitely have seen the news broadcast after all.

Edit: also I realize I put it buried in the tags and who in their right mind is going to read through that so like I’m up to talk about P5 with peeps like heck yeah (although I am at work right at this moment so not really going to use this hell site to much and I’m going to sleep when I get home most likely - yay night jobs - but like still I check the dashboard often enough so like if anyones up for it there by all means hit me up about it)

[anaer]

batflash for the ship meme please!

slightly angstier ship meme: batflash edition

who is more likely to get injured doing small tasks

Hmmm this is hard one. My initial thought is Wally, ofc, because he's definitely ADHD enough to not pay attention to what he's doing, but then Wally is superhuman and has better reaction times and I feel like Bruce is probably perpetually sleep deprived. I'm still gonna give it to Wally, he just heals so fast that no one notices.

who worries more about the other

Bruce, definitely. Bruce is a control freak, for one, but I feel like Wally looks up to and respects Bruce's capabilities just from like...you know, Bruce being Batman when Wally was growing up. That being said, Wally worries WILDLY more if something actually happens, like if Bruce gets hurt or something. Wally can bounce back from just about anything and Bruce might brood a bit, but Wally will be fine. Bruce getting hurt reminds Wally that Bruce is not at all superhuman and much less durable and much more breakable, and he does not handle that super well.

who is more afraid about the other leaving them

Bruce. Bruce generally worries more about things than Wally, who tends to ignore and completely suppress his anxieties in favor of trying to live in the moment, but like. All Bruce does is worry. Not to mention, Wally can be pretty flightly and impulsive and he's easily bored, so it's not outside the realm of possibility for Bruce that Wally would get bored with him and move on. Especially considering that Bruce is a good deal older than Wally and generally more content with settling down than Wally ever will be.

who is more likely to leave (for any reason)

Wally. I mean, running is his go to move, lolol, but also Bruce is very much the type of dude to overstep and Wally is the type of dude to not put up with Bruce's bullshit and ditch. Especially in, like, early days Wally for sure 100% is much more likely to ditch if anything were to go wrong.

who is more likely to drunkenly confess

Bruce, only because Wally can't get drunk.

who is more likely to push the other away (for any reason)

Wally is more likely to actively push Bruce away as like...an actual decision from his general anxiety or stress or temper, while Bruce is more likely to passively push Wally away just by nature of being...himself and overbearing and the Most and controlling.

who picks fights more often

Wally, for sure. Wally's a total hothead, and he will pick fights just cuz he's in a bad mood sometimes. Bruce doesn't usually actively pick a fight, even though he will definitely CAUSE fights.

who usually apologizes first

Wally, again. It ties back into Wally picking fights much more often, but generally as a character, Wally is a dude who is very aware of his shortcomings. He knows when he's fucked up - he knows when he's actively fucking up, tbh - and doesn't have an issue taking responsibility for that and apologising if he's in the wrong. Bruce...is not the most apologetic person in the world.

who is more likely to withhold their feelings for the other

Bruce, definitely. Bruce, thy name is repression. Bruce doesn't want to admit to himself that he might have FEELINGS for WALLY of all people. Completely false, completely unrealistic.

But also, in another context, Bruce still emotionally shuts down when he's upset and Wally is much more emotionally needy, so that just makes him more angry, and it's just a bad time all around for both of them when they're fighting like that.

who is more likely to lash out at the other

Wally is always going to be more prone to lashing out than Bruce by a lot. Bruce is much more controlled on the emotional outbursts, and again. Wally is easily set off, but he also burns out a lot faster. Wally also acts before he thinks a lot, especially when he's upset, whereas Bruce is definitely a much, much, much slower burn. If Bruce is lashing out someone has fucked up.

who gets more jealous

Both of them, equally, in different ways. I think Bruce gets jealous because Wally is actively flirty with EVERYONE and can't really hold that back, but also Bruce gets women throwing themselves at him in a whole different way that he doesn't even necessarily think about in terms of Wally's feelings because they're such a non-issue to him. Wally is half jealous cuz Bruce, but the other half is jealous that really rich models aren't throwing themselves at HIM instead. He's got lots of jealousy to go around!! And he should always be the center of attention, lbr.

who is more likely to support the other in a relationship with someone else “as long as they’re happy”:

Yeah, Bruce, just because Wally's more likely to actually find and settle down into a happy relationship with someone else. That's not so much Bruce's thing. But also I think this is compounded by the fact that Wally is like half his age, so I think any relationship between them will always have Bruce with the underlying thought that Wally would probably be better off/happier with someone closer in age to him or someone more chill like him, and if that happened, Bruce would have an easier time convincing himself he's let go. He wouldn't really, but.

Wally wouldn't have this issue because Bruce/happiness is Bruce's notp, lolol.

[kyouxa]

Diabolik lovers Chaos Lineage: Shin Tsukinami (Story 12)

In terms of the gameplay: The black choices lead up to a bad ending, the white choices lead up to a good ending. Please no reposting onto other sites, ask me before translating this into another language too! If you enjoy these translations, please consider supporting me on ko-fi.

Place: Abandoned house — Outside

Yui: (Yesterday I was apparently the first one to fall asleep. Was I really that tired though?)

Kino: How nice. C’mon, it’s hot now.

It’s some food I’ve been stealing beforehand, so please eat it as carefully as you can.

Yui: Kino-kun, thank you.

Shin: Did you steal things like this before us knowing about it too?

Kino: I might’ve taken some while you two were resting a bit.

For once, I wasn’t just playing around as you see.

Shin: No, that’s an extension of playing around, don’t you think?

Kino: Meanie. I only brought it with me because I thought that girl might be hungry to begin with. 

Yui: Really? Thank you for your concern then.

Kino: Ah, yeah! I also found something really interesting while I was searching for food!

I want to show it to Shin, so wait here for a hot minute. I’ll go get it.

*Kino leaves*

Shin: What could be so interesting? Well, whatever. I shouldn’t be surprised about anything that guy pulls up anymore.

Go on, you can eat without holding back now. You’re hungry, aren’t you?

Yui: Yep, after everything that happened, I really am. Thanks for the food! 

Ah, it’s hot… ! 

(The meat is really hot because it was freshly roasted… !)

Shin: You’re not a child anymore, so eat more calmly than that. Nobody’s taking it away from you after all.

Yui: Yes, you’re right. 

...Nn, it hurts… it looks like I burnt my tongue

Shin: Haa. Your clumsiness is showing, seriously.

*Shin gets closer*

Shin: Alright, show me your tongue. I have to check on it before it might get even worse.

Yui: Eh!? I’m fine, really! It’s not that big of a deal.

Shin: If it gets worse you’ll suffer deterioration. It’s better to show me yourself before I’m forced to pull your tongue out myself, right?

Yui: (Uhh… it’s no use, but I still hate it… let’s see)

Fine, I get it. I’ll show you myself.

Shin: What? I would’ve been fine with pulling it out myself as well.

Yui: No, thanks… ! Alright, Nn…

*Yui shows tongue*

Shin: Ah, it’s getting really red.

Should I take care of it? It would heal way faster like that, don’t you think?

Yui: Eh!? No! You don’t have to go that far, I’m fine.

Shin: You shouldn’t decline. I would be glad to help you out for the sake of it healing faster. 

Yui: T-That’s not...

Shin: Perhaps you would rather want to be bitten by my fangs than simply being treated? Well, if that’s so you could’ve told me earlier.

Yui: That’s not what I asked for… ! 

Shin: Looks as if the third wheel’s about to come back. I’ll settle this now or never then.

Nn…

*Shin kisses Yui*

Yui: Nn…

Shin: Kuku, your face is bright red. You’re still shy even if it’s just kissing.

If you don’t get used to it, there might be some difficulties in the future.

Yui: It’s embarrassing to me, therefore I can’t help it, okay… !?

Kino: ...Ahem, Ahem! 

Yui: Ah, Kino-kun! You’re back!

Kino: Yep, I’m back. Ah, don’t worry about me, just keep going.

*Shin backs off*

Shin: We can’t easily continue now. There’s nothing more we’re gonna show you either.

Kino: How lewd. Well, whatever. Apart from that, I want you to look at this. 

*Kino gets closer*

Yui: Ah, talking about it, you wanted to show us something interesting, right… ? 

Kino: Hm, yep! Tada, look at this! It’s a caricature of Shin! 

Yui: Eh? Of Shin-kun?

Shin: Uwah! Where did you get this from!?

Kino: I found it when exploring the Orange mansion. I brought it reflexively with me because it was kinda an amazing sketch, in my opinion.

Hey, did you draw this? I found it in Shin-kun’s room, but...

Shin: T-That’s...

Yui: But it looks really good. Did Shin-kun draw this all by himself?

Shin: It’s not like that. Because I had no time to do it myself, I let a familiar draw it for me instead.

Kino: Hmm, so it’s a portrait? As expected from a founder, they really act differently.

But even so, do you really like yourself that much? This portrait is way prettier than you actually are though.

Shin: Shut up! I mean, you’re not beautifaction yourself in person either! I at least let them draw me faithfully.

I’m totally fine with how this turned out. We have to talk about way more important things than that anyway. 

Kino: Yep, Yep. Let’s talk seriously about this matter from now on. Does any of you got something?

Shin: I… I want to regain my brother’s memory.

After I first got to observe the situation, I immediately felt as if it’s an impossible task. We met each other face to face several times, yet I haven’t noticed any change in him.

Yui: Shin-kun…

Kino: Well, guess so. 

Shin: So I think it’s best to find a way to get out of here first, before trying anything with him again.

Kino: Don’t you think that this is also difficult? We’ve just been looking around the mansions for now, that’s it. And even there were no clues.

Shin: I know that. I just want to get out of this ridiculous place if possible. Maybe his memory would come back naturally then.

...I thought that if I can’t somehow shake his memory, they might be able to come back themselves by any chance.

Kino: By chance, huh? Does that mean you actually cared about what I said yesterday?

Shin: ...Not really.

Yui: Yesterday? 

(I wonder what happened while I was asleep?)

Shin: So, what’s it? Do you think it’s the opposite? 

Kino: No. As you said it yourself, I think it would be quicker to get out of here first.

Shin: Thought so. What do you think?

Choices

1) What about Carla-san then? (black)

2) I want to know how to escape (white)♡ ♡ ♡

— What about Carla-san then? 

Yui: What about Carla-san then? You’re the one who wants him to remember the most after all.

Shin: It can’t be helped. I’m worried about my brother, yes, but I can’t let this be a constant priority that weighs on my mind. 

Yui: You’re right. As long as Shin-kun’s fine, I think it would be better to find an escape route first too.

Kino: Aight, it’s unanimous.

— I want to know how to escape♡

Yui: I think it would be best to find a way to escape from here first as well. Maybe Carla-san’s memory will come back once we escape.

Shin: Right? It wouldn’t make sense if we meaninglessly return home without all of their memories coming back to them. We, Kino and everyone else.

Yes, that would be a reason to postpone my brother. This is what we should aim for in the future...

Yui: (He’s speaking to us as if he’s entirely trying to convince himself about this)

(Maybe Shin-kun really wants to go and actually see Carla-san as soon as possible)

(I can’t get this feeling of them wanting to desperately kill us off either though…)

It’ll be fine, Shin-kun. I’m sure this won’t last too long anymore.

Shin: Yes, it’ll be fine. I know that.

Alright, unanimity agreed to it then.

Yui: Yes.

Kino: Okey-doke.

end Choices

Shin: That’s settled then.

Kino: I guess he’ll be able to manage his memory somehow or another. If I could go back to my original house, Yuri would probably help me for sure.

Yui: Yuri-san?

Kino: He’s my loyal servant. As soon as I get home from here, I’ll let him do some research in order to restore your brother's memory.

Shin: Yes, that would help a lot.

Kino: But, y’know… Even if we’re looking for an escape route, we have to first of all figure out how we were brought to this place 

Shin: It’s worse, especially since we know nothing about this place. If there are at least any hints somewhere...

Yui: That’s true. It was also one of the reasons we went into each of the mansions...

Shin: Seriously, did you notice anything?

Yui: What I noticed—

*flashbacks*

Yui: Ah! Speaking of that—

Shin: What?

Yui: Each of the mansions had the exact amounts of chess pieces on their chess boards

Shin: Now that you mention it, I do think I noticed one standing in the living room of the Orange mansion once...

Kino: Ah, there was also one in Scarlet’s mansion.

Yui: I remember there was also one in the Violet mansion. Besides, the floor of the church also has a checkered pattern of black and white marble—

Kino: Like a chessboard.

Yui: Yes!

Shin: I see. But what exactly does this have to do with this? Both are probably just there as decorations.

Kino: No, I doubt that it’s just for decoration… I see now.

Yui: Kino-kun, did you figure something out?

Kino: I wouldn’t call it “figure”. It’s just that I thought of something...

We were forcibly dumbed off in this unknown place and also got a fake memory. In my opinion, this all seems as if it’s definitely someone’s work.

Shin: So you’re saying there’s a mastermind?

Kino: Exactly. If there’s an ongoing game, there also has to be a mastermind behind it.

Us, as the players, were given those hints to probably keep this as interesting as we can.

Shin: Hah? In other words— ...Nn!

Yui: Shin-kun? What’s wrong? Why did you suddenly stand up?

*Shin sniffs air*

Shin: Hnff

Damn it! We’re surrounded!

Yui: Eh… !?

Ayato: Guess we finally found you, traitors!

Kanato: You did terrible things to us, remember? There is no way we would let you kidnap Eve and then join hands with the enemy—

Yui: (Ayato-kun! Kanato-kun! And—)

Ruki: —Shin, I get it now…

I would’ve never expected for my most trusted person to end up betraying me as simple as that.

Shin: Ru… Brother…

Ruki: A traitor, such as yourself, has no right to call me his brother any longer!

Yui: ...Nn!

Shin: It’s useless even if I’ll try to explain. But I never intended to look as if I was about to betray you or anything, I swear.

I know you were a good brother, even if you’ve never been my real older brother in the end...

Ruki: I’ve got no idea about what strange things you’re blabbering, yet the confirmation of you being here is fact enough.

It doesn’t change the situation, even if you start coming up with excuses.

Ayato: Hey, Ruki! Let’s take these guys out quickly!

Kanato: That’s right. Let’s rightfully punish them. I’ll tear them into pieces once I get my hands around them.

Yui: (What should we do now? If we’re doing nothing, they’ll start a battle—! Am I really not able to somehow avoid this?)

Kino: Shin, what do we do?

Shin: The only ones with fighting skills are you and me. It would be 3 vs 2...

Kino: Besides, it would be a battle while we’d also have to try to protect the girl from being taken away from us.

Yui: (What should I do… I’m holding them back from what they have to do because I’m with them)

Shin: We have no choice, seems as if we really have to confront our problems head-on and fight them.

Kino: Eh? That’s not true. If you transform yourself into a wolf, you could carry her and easily run away.

Shin: Hah? I can’t just do that!

Kino: ...Why not? Do you really have to complain about my strategy now?

Shin: My back is limited to only giving one of you a ride! I don’t know if you’d be able to get away without me helping you!

Kino: ...Nn!! What… why would you say something like that…

*Kino mumbles*

Kino: Ahh… I guess I have no choice but to save you as a repayment now too. 

Yui: ….. ?

Shin: So instead of running away, I’d like to break through this in our own ways...

Kino: No, we’re gonna avoid confronting them head-on and not fight them. We’re changing strategies.

Shin: Hah? Why change them so late...

Kino: Ready? When I’ll give you the signal, you have to run.

Shin: Eh? What do you mean?

Kino: With this, we’ll easily be able to get away right in front of them… you guys, close your eyes and noses! 

*Kino throws something*

Ayato: What the!? What did he throw!?

Kanato: A pouch… ?

Ruki: ...Nn! That’s not just a mere pouch. Close your eyes and hold your breath!

*pouch explodes*

Kanato: Ahem, Ahem, Ahem

Ayato: Ngh! What’s going on here!? I can’t see shit anymore! Ahem, Ahem.

Ruki: Kch… Ayato, Kanato can you see the enemy? 

Ayato: Don’t bullshit me! I can’t see anything!

Shin: Damn, that guy’s really something. But he saved us! We only have to run away now!

Yui: (Shin-kun’s voice!)

Where? Where are you? I can’t see anything! 

Shin: Over here!

*Shin grabs Yui*

Yui: (The one holding my hand right now… it’s Shin-kun!)

Kino: Hurry, both of you! 

Yui: (I also heard Kino-kun’s voice. I’m sure I’ll be fine as long as I follow the sound of their voices— !)

Place: Outside — Forest

Yui: Haa… Haa… Haa—

Shin: Haa… Haa…

Kino: Haa, Haa…

Shin: Kino, what was that about?

Kino: It was a wheat bomb.

Yui: Huh!?

Kino: I secretly made it when we were in the Violet mansion back then. All I did was wrap the smoldering wheat in a cloth, get it?

Shin: And you really made that yourself? You’re an unexpectedly shrewd guy.

Yui: Thanks to that, we were saved! Thank you, Kino-kun!  

Kino: I have to admit… I’d love to hear you praise me more, but we have to worry about running away first! 

Yui: (Seriously, it’s all thanks to Kino-kun that we’re safe right now. He’s a really good person after all)

[clean-bands-dirty-stories]

In Your Arms ~J.M.

A/n: This wasn’t a request that inspired me to write a lot, so I didn’t, but I hope y’all enjoy this sweet little short! It’s been in my drafts way too long and I want to get more of these done so I can get to recent requests :)

Request: “...jack Morton x male reader where the reader is human of the pack and he always sleeps on the couch until the pack comes home. Jack thinks it’s adorable and carries him to his room and maybe they have a sleep talking conversation like reader:“no I have to wait for jack.” Jack:”why” reader:”because I like him”...”

Word Count: 1800+

MASTERLIST

Listen, being a werewolf in a human world is hard enough especially when it comes with a whole new world of secret societies and magic and literal demons and magic and endless rules that you have to learn and oh did I mention ACTUAL MAGIC?

It is exponentially harder when you make things worse by shoving a human into that world.

Y/n didn't have a werewolf ability to defend himself, or heal him when he got hurt. He didn't have magic... which you know thinking about it now, might be a good thing. He'd rather be useless than be part of the Order.

That was the problem though, wasn't it? He had chosen to be useless. That's what he was now.

I mean sure,  he'd read the books Jack had given him enough times to memorize them, and he was getting used to playing doctor. He was also getting really good at helping in small ways. Helping Hamish grade papers, or doing one night of homework for Lilith, or passing some messages around when Randall forgot because he was busy with supernatural stuff. He was great to talk or rant to, and all of the Knights had been utilizing the very nice ability to go off to someone who actually listens. Sure, he had fallen into a habit of taking notes for the Knights in the classes he had with each of them, if they missed. But... that was just school stuff. Sure it took off a lot of the pressure in the long run (a lot more than he probably even realized), but if they died what the fuck did school mater?

When Jack almost died after the whole meltdown with Silverback a while ago, it had really pushed Y/n into gear. He was a lot faster at responding to things; a lot more eager to help; and above all, the single most annoying person ever when it came to asking about going along to showdowns to play backup.

The others simply refused again and again, and, again and again, he would end up sitting in an empty room as he pretended to focus on whatever task he had given himself to kill time before the worry got to him and he just curled up on the couch ad stared at the ceiling. Worry ate him alive for several hours, and then he'd fall asleep. Most of the time because things always went far later than intended, but also sometimes because between being a student, having a job, scrambling to cover for your friends too, and spending several hours emotionally exhausting yourself with unimaginably high stress levels, one simply passes out.

As Y/n's falling asleep became more and more of a habit, things started to get complicated. Because the thing was, he always fell asleep waiting, so he would be in the Den's living room, uncomfortably scrunched on the couch. They'd left him there a few times and he always woke up sore and aching. They'd tried to wake him up a few times and, half delirious, he had overly emotional reactions. After he had broken down into tears at how happy he was to see all of them alive and then been so embarrassed he hadn't talked for three hours the next day in pure shame, they had decided against the waking him up method. Which only left one option: one of them carried him to bed.

Lilith had tried, but the size difference between her and Y/n was big enough that it was jst awkward for her. She was small (even though she'd never admit it). She's end up waking him up, or dropping him, and that was the last thing they wanted.

Hamish had also tried, but he was really awkward and didn't know how to let Y/n get comfortable in his arms while walking around so that he wouldn't wake up, so Y/n often would. Then it would be super awkward as they just stared at each other. Their relationship was too brotherly and rigid to make room for touching it seemed.

Of course Randall had given it a try, and he was actually fairly good at it, but as much as he was big enough to actually carry Y/n, and at ease enough to let Y/n stay asleep, he wasn't good at maneuvering, which often left him pinned under Y/n when he actually put the sleeping boy to bed. Which lead to a lot of them cuddling. Which, while that was chill and platonic and fun and stuff, made Jack super jealous.

Oh yeah, Jack had a HUGE crush on Y/n, so it only felt right that eventually everyone left it up to Jack to take Y/n to bed. He could pick Y/n up, carry him to bed, and put him in an actual bed without any problem.  Y/n didn't know this was happening. He had gotten used to everyone taking turns carrying him to bed, and they hadn't said anything so he assumed they'd just gotten better at it.

That's probably why on one particular night, he didn't simply assume that he was talking to Jack when he was picked up and began to be carried to bed.

That night was different, because Jack and Y/n had plans to study. Jack had an important test the next day and he and Y/n had the class in common, so Y/n had volunteered to stay up a little later to go through what Jack had missed. It had gotten derailed when Jack had been called away for Knight business, but Y/n had only written it off and told Jack that he'd still be there when it was over and they could continue if Jack was up for it. Unfortunately, it was one of the really time consuming ones, and Jack didn't get back until well into the night.

Dutifully, Y/n was asleep on the couch. His face was contorted oddly. Even asleep, the couch was uncomfortable enough to leave him with a permanent frown, even if it was soft since he was asleep. Jack wasn't surprised though - the couch was so small it barely fit two people on a good day, so sleeping on it was not a fun time.

Considering all of that, Jack thought it incredibly adorable that Y/n found a way to fall asleep on it anyway. They had told him a hundred times to just go to sleep in his bed, but he had refused time and time again. He had insisted that he needed to be as accessible as possible if nything went wrong. If they needed him, he had to be close. He insisted that it was best to be on the couch, and had sworn that he was trying to get into the habit of not falling asleep. But he always did, and he always ended up in the exact same situation. Not that Jack minded. It gave him a prime moment to hold his crush.

He scooped Y/n up now, smiling as the sleepy boy's head fell on Jack's chest. He sucked in a small breath but then settled. Jack chuckled to himself as Y/n pressed his nose into Jack's shirt, burying his face to get closer to the closest source of warmth since he didn't have a blanket. Jack began to carrying him to the stairs to head upstairs, but was stopped when Y/n's foot caught just a second on the doorframe. See, earlier Jack had hurt his arm. Due to werewolf healing it was almost fine, but it was still quite sore, and the tug on his shoulder when Y/n's ankle caught on the wall, forcing his leg into Jack's shoulder... Well it wasn't a big enough pain to make him drop Y/n or shout or anything, but it was enough to startle Y/n just a little bit awake.

"Wh- what?" Y/n mumbled, blinking heavy eyelids as he tried to look around. Jack winced, feeling guilt rise. "What happened? What did I miss?" His words were slurred, and it was obvious that he was barely conscious.

"Nothing," Jack reassured, hoping Y/n would just go back to sleep. If he knew Jack was there he would insist on staying up and helping. It would be nice and much appreciated - since Jack really did need help - but more than Jack needed help, Y/n needed sleep. He had been crashing on the couch for a reason; he was exhausted.

So Jack immediately rushed to soothe, "Nothing happened, just hit your foot on the wall by accident. Go back to sleep."

Y/n huffed, a whine in his voice when he argued, "No put me back." Jack tried to swallow a smile. It was adorable seeing a sleepy, whiny Y/n and that on top of his sleepy voice that was low and grumbly and kept cracking and having the boy in his arms, Jack was having a hard time not feeling a bit giddy.

He tried to keep his head on a little longer though. He needed to get Y/n to bed. "And why do you NEED to go to bed?" He teased lightly.

"I have to wait for Jack," Y/n mumbled, trying to blink the sleep out of his eyes. "We have plans."

Jack's smile turned warm. He thought about telling he who he was, but if he did then he'd NEVER get Y/n to sleep, so he decided to lean into the misconception that he was no in fact himself. "Jack will understand. It's late, you need to sleep."

"No," Y/n insisted with a firmer voice. He tried to struggle, but it was genuinely so pathetic that only a few seconds later he was still.

It made Jack wonder what Y/n was so desperate for though. "Why not?"

"He has a test tomorrow," Y/n explained with a soft irritation. "He needs help."

"You don't have to help him," Jack reminded softly, feeling suddenly guilty for some reason. Had he made Y/n feel obligated to help him?

"No I don't," Y/m agreed. "But I want to."

"Want to what?" Jack joked. "Stay away with a loser like him and lose sleep you need?" He had reached the top of the stairs now, and was headed to Y/n's door.

Y/n just rolled his eyes. "He's not a loser, but he does need help, and I can sacrifice a little sleep to help him with something he really needs. Making small sacrifices liek that is just what you do when you love someone."

Jack froze. WHAT?

When it was quiet for a long stretch of time, Y/n finally succumbed to the tiredness and his soft snores vibrated against Jack's chest. He cleared his throat and shook his head, opening the door and putting Y/n to bed. When he left the room, closing the door behind him, he came out with the biggest fucking grin he had ever worn.

Y/n like him back.

They had a lot to talk about tomorrow, and none of it had anything to do with a stupid test Jack no longer remembered. Because he loved Y/n too, and that's all he could think about right now.

Sorry Miss Styne.